bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Modeling potential distribution of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in the Beibu Gulf, China
Authors: Chen Mei , Song Yuqin , Qin Dagong 
Published: January 2018

Background. Mapping key habitats of marine mega-vertebrates with high mobility is crucial for species conservation. Due to difficulties in obtaining sound data in the field, Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) provides an effective alternative to identify habitats. As a keystone and flagship species in inshore waters in southern China, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis) play an important role in coastal ecosystems. However, our knowledge on their key habitats remained unclear in some waters including the Beibu Gulf of South China Sea.
Methods. We used a maximum entropy (Maxent) modeling approach to predict potential habitats for Sousa chinensis in the Beibu Gulf of China. Models were based on eight independent oceanographic variables derived from Google Earth Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and Landsat images, and presence-only sighting data from boat-based surveys and literatures during 2003-2013.
Results. Three variables, distance to major river mouths, to coast and to 10-m isobaths, were the strongest predictors, consistent with other studies on the dolphin habitat selection. Furthermore, we confirmed that influence of estuaries was the most important and irreplaceable. Besides two known distribution areas as well as data sources, a new area close to the boundary of China and Vietnam, Beilunhe Estuary (BE), was predicted as a potential habitat.
Discussion. Influence of estuaries is likely to indicate feeding preference of the humpback dolphins. The “new” habitat BE should be a key area connecting China and Vietnam dolphins, and deserved to be examined and preserved.
Hierarchical multistate models from population data: An application to parity statuses
Authors: Schoen Robert 
Published: January 2018

Hierarchical models are characterized by having N living states connected by N–1 rates of transfer. Demographic measures for such models can be calculated directly from counts of the number of persons in each state at two nearby points in time. Exploiting the ability of population stocks to determine the flows in hierarchical models expands the range of demographic analysis.
The value of such analyses is illustrated by an application to childbearing, where the states of interest reflect the number of children a woman has born. Using Census data on the distribution of women by age and parity, a parity status life table for U.S. Women, 2005-2010, is constructed. That analysis shows that nearly a quarter of American women are likely to remain childless, with a 0-3 child pattern replacing the 2-4 child pattern of the past.
Overload injuries in barefoot/minimal footwear running: evidence from crowd sourcing
Authors: Daumer Martin , Kleinmond Christine , Stolle Christoph , Lederer Christian , Hilgers Marc , Walther Markus 
Published: January 2018

Background: The incidence of injuries in minimal footwear or barefoot runners compared to runners using conventional running shoes is still being discussed.
Methods: We focus here on methods and results of a online survey in a community of minimal footwear/barefoot (MF/B) runners. The aim of the survey was to investigate the viability of the method and to record first insights on running behavior, distance performance and injuries.
Results: In total 226 runners answered the questionnaire, 15 subjects had to be removed due to invalid data. A total of 211 (94%) subjects (152 male, ages 15-71 years [mean=40]) were included in the analysis. The risk to suffer a running related injury was significantly increased during the time period of changing from shod running to MF/B running (see Table 2). The injury rate per km was markedly lower – about one half - in MF/B than in shod running, but threefold higher during the transition period.
Discussion/Conclusion: Future research into the right “dosage” of barefoot/minimal footwear running in the transition period is warranted. We speculate that special adaptations - which may take years and thousands of kilometers to become effective - of the neuromuscular control play a major role, very similar to the thousands of hours a person needs to play and practice playing the piano before becoming a musician.
Color vision in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A pilot visual evoked potential study
Authors: Kim Soyeon , Banaschewski Tobias , Tannock Rosemary 
Published: January 2018

Background: Individuals with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are reported to manifest visual problems (including ophthalmological and color perception problems, particularly for blue-yellow stimuli), but findings are inconsistent. Accordingly, this study investigated visual function and color perception in adolescents with ADHD using VEP.
Method: Participants were 31 adolescents (aged 13-18); 16 with a confirmed diagnosis of ADHD, and 15 healthy peers, matched for age, gender, and IQ. All underwent ophthalmological exam, color vision testing (Mollon-Reffin Minimalist Colour Vision Test), as well as electrophysiological testing (color Visual Evoked Potentials; cVEP) which measured the latency and amplitude of the neural P1 response to chromatic stimuli (Blue-Yellow, Red-Green).
Result: No group differences were found in clinical measure of color perception or opthalmological exam. However, significantly larger P1 amplitude was found for blue and yellow stimuli, but not red/green stimuli, in the ADHD group compared to controls.
Discussion: Larger amplitude in the P1 component for blue-yellow in ADHD group compared to control group may account for no difference in colour perception task. Perhaps activating more resources in early sensory processing (P1) compensated for any underlying problems including compromised retinal input of s-cones due to hypo-dopaminergic tone.
Perceived extrinsic mortality risk and health behaviour: Testing a behavioural ecological model
Authors: Pepper Gillian V , Nettle Daniel 
Published: January 2018

Purpose: Socioeconomic gradients in health behaviour are pervasive and well documented. Yet, outside the evolutionary literature, there is no consensus on their causes. Our previously presented theoretical behavioural ecological model predicted that people of low socioeconomic position (SEP) should perceive greater personal extrinsic mortality risk than those of higher SEP, leading them to disinvest in their future health. We collected data to test this prediction.
Methods: We surveyed North American adults for measures of SEP, effort in looking after health and perceived extrinsic and intrinsic mortality risks. We examined the relationships between SEP, perceived mortality risks and effort in looking after health. We then tested whether the association between SEP and effort in looking after health was mediated by perceived extrinsic mortality risk.
Results: SEP was associated with effort in looking after health. Lower SEP was also associated with higher perceived extrinsic mortality risk, which in turn predicted effort in looking after health. The effect of SEP on effort in looking after health was completely mediated by perceived extrinsic mortality risk.
Conclusions: Our findings support the predictions of our previously presented theoretical model. They show that SEP gradients in perceptions of extrinsic mortality risk mirror known SEP gradients in actual extrinsic mortality risk. The large effect size for the relationship between perceived extrinsic mortality risk and health effort in our sample indicates that perceived extrinsic mortality risk may be a key predictor of health behaviour.
Temporal variability predicts the magnitude of between-group attentional blink differences in developmental dyslexia: a meta-analysis
Authors: Badcock Nicholas A , Kidd Joanna C 
Published: January 2018

Background. Here we report on a meta-analysis of the attentional blink (AB) research focussed on specific reading impairment, commonly referred to as developmental dyslexia. The AB effect relates to a limitation in the allocation of attention over time and examined in a dual-target rapid serial visual presentation paradigm. When the second target appears in close temporal proximity to the first target, the second target is reported less accurately.
Method. A Web of Science search with terms 'dyslexia attentional blink' returned 13 AB experiments (11 papers) conducted with developmental dyslexia (9 were included in this meta-analysis). The main pattern of performance was lower overall accuracy in groups of individuals with dyslexia relative to typically reading peers. That is, a between-group main effect. This meta-analysis examined the size of the between-group effect in relation to physical presentation characteristics, which differed between and within experiments.
Results. Four noteworthy variables were related to the between group effect-size; fixation duration (positive relationship, R2 = .89, p <.01, n = 6), maximum temporal position of T2 (negative relationship, R2 = .46, p <.05, n = 9), the difference between the minimum and maximum temporal position of T2 (negative relationship, R2 = .53, p <.05, n = 9), and the stimulus onset asynchrony (negative relationship, R2 = .46, p <.05, n = 9).
Discussion. These are discussed with respect to the preparation of task-set, temporal orienting, and speed of processing, recommending these as considerations for future research.
Error estimates for the analysis of differential expression from RNA-seq count data
Authors: Burden Conrad , Qureshi Sumaira , Wilson Susan R 
Published: January 2018

A number of algorithms exist for analysing RNA-sequencing data to infer profiles of differential gene expression. Problems inherent in building algorithms around statistical models of over dispersed count data are formidable and frequently lead to non-uniform p-value distributions for null-hypothesis data and to inaccurate estimates of false discovery rates (FDRs). This can lead to an inaccurate measure of significance and loss of power to detect differential expression.
We use synthetic and real biological data to assess the ability of several available R packages to accurately estimate FDRs. The packages surveyed are based on statistical models of overdispersed Poisson data and include edgeR, DESeq, DESeq2, PoissonSeq and QuasiSeq. Also tested is an add-on package to edgeR and DESeq which we introduce called Polyfit. Polyfit aims to address the problem of a non-uniform null p-value distribution for two-class datasets by adapting the Storey-Tibshirani procedure.
We find the best performing package in the sense that it achieves a low FDR which is accurately estimated over the full range of p-values, albeit with a very slow run time, is the QLSpline implementation of QuasiSeq. This finding holds provided the number of biological replicates in each condition is at least 4. The next best performing packages are edgeR and DESeq2. When the number of biological replicates is sufficiently high, and within a range accessible to multiplexed experimental designs, the Polyfit extension improves the performance DESeq (for approximately 6 or more replicates per condition), making its performance comparable with that of edgeR and DESeq2 in our tests with synthetic data.
Exploring the knowledge and attitudes of Pakistani university students towards mental illnesses
Authors: Waqas Ahmed , Zubair Muhammad , Ghulam Hamza , Wajih ullah Muhammad , Tariq Zubair , Arshad Muhammad , Shabbir Muhammad Asim , Sarfaraz Ayeshah 
Published: January 2018

Background: The objectives of the study were to explore the knowledge and attitudes of Pakistani university students toward mental illnesses. People with mental illnesses are challenged not only by their symptoms but also by the prejudices associated with their illness. Acknowledging the stigma of mental illness should be the first essential step toward devising an appropriate treatment plan.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at the University of Punjab, Lahore, CMH Lahore Medical and Dental College, Lahore, and University of Sargodha, Sub-campus Lahore, from February to May, 2014. The self-administered questionnaire consisted of three sections: demographics, general knowledge of psychiatric illnesses, and a modified form of the Community Attitudes towards Mental Illnesses (CAMI) Scale. The questionnaire was distributed to 650 participants enrolled in different disciplines (Social Sciences, Medicine and Formal Sciences).
Results: Response rate was 81% (527/650 respondents). Mean age was 20.98 years. Most of the students (331, 62.8%) had an urban background and studied Social Sciences (238, 45.2%). 418 (79.3%) considered religion very important and most respondents considered psychiatrists (334, 63.4%) and spiritual leaders (72, 13.7%) to be best able to treat mental illnesses. 169 (32.1%) considered black magic to be a cause of mental illness. Only 215 (41%) had ever read an article on mental illnesses. Multiple regression analysis revealed study discipline, exposure, perceived causes of mental illnesses and superstitions to be significantly associated with attitudes towards mental illnesses (p < .05).
Conclusion: Although low awareness and exposure were found in this sample of Pakistani university students, their attitude towards mental illnesses was generally positive. Most respondents gave supernatural explanations for mental illnesses but only a few believed that spiritual leaders can play a role in treatment.
Design considerations when adopting the OpenEdx MOOC platform in campus-based courses: A comparative case study
Authors: Zary Laila , Hernwall Patrik 
Published: January 2018

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are an innovation in higher education (Grajek, 2014). Faculty has challenges in designing MOOCs since most have mainly experience in developing campus-based courses. As MOOC platform are introduced in campus-based courses, it is important to investigate how this learning environment impacts on the design of MOOCs in relation to online environments. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the influence of variations in the learning environment on the design of MOOCs.
A comparative case study approach was chosen to investigate two types of learning environments. The focus was on the similarities, differences and trends. The data collection was performed using semi-structured interviews. The answers were analyzed using a qualitative content analysis.
The pedagogical approach and learning content were the components that were mostly influenced. The targeted learners and the assessment of the learning activities were partly influenced. The learning environment didn’t impact on the course description, intended learning outcomes and aimed competencies.
The study contributed to knowledge on the influence of the learning environment on the design of MOOCs. Increasing understanding of the learning environment among faculty will contribute to a better design, implementation and evaluation of MOOCs and ultimately for the students’ benefit.
Ethylene induces soil microbes to delay fruit ripening
Authors: Perry Guenevere , Williams Diane 
Published: January 2018

The consumer demand for fresh fruits and vegetables increases every year, and farmers need a low cost novel method to reduce post-harvest loss and preserve the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables. This study identifies a method to induce soil bacteria to biosynthesize a nitrile compound that potentially enters the plants tissue and negatively affects climacteric ripening and delays the ripening process at 20-30˚C. This study used soil rich with soil microbes, to delay the ripening of climacteric fruit. The soil was treated with nitrogen, a heavy metal, and ethylene gas.
Ethylene induced the soil to delay the ripening of organic bananas and peaches. A prototype transportation container maintained fruit fresh for up to 72 h at 20-30˚C. The fruit retained color, firmness, texture, no bruising and minimal spotting. The soil also prevented fungal infection in all samples. GC-MS analysis suggests ethylene induced the soil microbes to release an acetonitrile compound into the gaseous environment. The nitrile is released in low concentrations, but mature plants (fruits) contain very low levels of indole-3-acetonitrile (IAN) or indole-3-acetic acid (IAA).
The nitrile may obstruct or modify the mature plants (fruit) late stages development process, thus delay the climacteric ripening process and retarding the physiological and phenotypic effects of fruit ripening. We believe this study may have strong applications for post-harvest biotechnology.
Ethylene induced soil microbes to increase seed germination, reduce growth time, and improve crop yield in Pisum sativum L.
Authors: Perry Guenevere 
Published: January 2018

The main scope of this project was to identify a novel induction method to improve the effectiveness of biological fertilizers for organic farmers. To eliminate additional variables the plants were not treated with chemical or biological pesticides. The biological fertilizer used in this study was induced with co-factors and ethylene under specific conditions. Ethylene induced the soil to release acetonitrile, a component of indole-3-acetonitrile a precursor to the plant hormone indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). It is known that plant growth promoting bacteria can produce IAA and directly/ indirectly modify plant development and growth.
In this preliminary study, the ethylene induced biological fertilizer (EIBF) improved germination rate, enhanced quality, reduced growth time, and improved crop yield of Pisum sativum L (green peas) with a single application. Many biological fertilizer require two to three applications a year to see improved growth.Green peas grown in ethylene induced soil improved pea quantity by 200% per plant compared to control samples. EIBF increased the crop yield by over 57%. The average biological fertilizer only improves crop by 20-30%. The peas harvested from the plants grown in EIBF were 4 times larger peas collected from plants grown in the control soil. The improvement and continued study of EBIF may have a global applications, impacting farming techniques in poor developing countries or organic farms.
The Directory of Open Access Journals covers more biomedical open access journals than other databases
Authors: Liljekvist Mads S , Andresen Kristoffer , Pommergaard Hans-Christian , Rosenberg Jacob 
Published: January 2018

Background: Open access (OA) journals disseminate research papers free of charge to the reader. Traditionally, biomedical researchers use databases like MEDLINE and EMBASE to discover new advances. However, biomedical OA journals might not fulfil such databases’ criteria, hindering dissemination. The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a database searchable at article level, focusing exclusively on OA journals.
The aim of this study was to investigate DOAJ’s coverage of biomedical OA journals compared with the conventional biomedical databases.
Methods: Information on all journals listed in five conventional biomedical databases (MEDLINE, National Library of Medicine, PubMed Central, EMBASE and SCOPUS) and DOAJ were gathered. Journals were included if they were 1) actively publishing, 2) full OA, 3) prospectively indexed in one or more database, and 4) of biomedical subject. Impact factor and journal language were also collected. DOAJ was compared with conventional databases regarding the proportion of journals covered, along with their impact factor and publishing language. The proportion of journals with articles indexed by DOAJ was determined.
Results: In total, 3,236 biomedical OA journals were included in the study. Of the included journals, 86.7% were listed in DOAJ. Combined, the conventional biomedical databases listed 75.0% of the journals; 18.7 % in MEDLINE; 36.5% in PubMed Central; 51.5% in SCOPUS and 50.6% in EMBASE. Of the journals in DOAJ, 88.7% published in English and 20.6% had received impact factor for 2012 compared with 93.5% and 26.0%, respectively, for journals in the conventional biomedical databases. Of journals exclusively listed in DOAJ, only one had received an impact factor. A subset of 51.1% and 48.5% of the journals in DOAJ had articles indexed from 2012 and 2013, respectively.
Conclusions: DOAJ is the most complete registry of biomedical OA journals compared with five conventional biomedical databases. However, DOAJ only indexes articles for half of the biomedical journals listed, making it an incomplete source for biomedical research papers in general.
Ambient air pollution and depressive symptoms
Authors: Szyszkowicz Mieczyslaw , Rowe Brian H 
Published: January 2018

Background. Depression is among the most common mental health problems. Depression interferes with daily functioning and quality of life. Many factors can contribute to depression and air pollution can initiate or intensify symptoms of depression.
Methods. Case-crossover method was used to study associations between emergency department (ED) visits for depression and ambient air pollution. The statistical analysis was applied for patients of different ages.
Results. Positive and statistically significant results, (communicated as odds ratios), were obtained for exposure to ambient carbon monoxide and ED visits for depression.
Discussion. The presented results support the hypothesis that recent exposures to ambient levels of air pollutants can contribute clinically significant worsening in depression symptoms leading to ED visits. As the results suggest the associations are age dependent.
Pooling morphometric estimates: a statistical equivalence approach
Authors: Pardoe Heath R , Cutter Gary , Alter Rachel A , Kucharsky Hiess Rebecca , Semmelroch Mira , Parker Donna , Farquharson Shawna , Jackson Graeme , Kuzniecky Ruben 
Published: January 2018

Changes in hardware or image processing settings are a common issue for large multi-center studies. In order to pool MRI data acquired under these changed conditions, it is necessary to demonstrate that the changes do not affect MRI-based measurements. In these circumstances classical inference testing is inappropriate because it is designed to detect differences, not prove similarity. We used a method known as statistical equivalence testing to address this limitation.
Equivalence testing was carried out on three datasets: (i) cortical thickness and automated hippocampal volume estimates obtained from 16 healthy individuals imaged different multi-channel head coils; (ii) manual hippocampal volumetry obtained using two readers; and (iii) corpus callosum area estimates obtained using an automated method with manual cleanup carried out by two readers. Equivalence testing was carried out using the “two one-sided tests” approach.
Cortical thickness values were found to be equivalent over 78% of the cortex when different head coils were used (p = 0.024). Automated hippocampal volume estimates obtained using the same two coils were statistically equivalent (p = 4.28 × 10-15). Manual hippocampal volume estimates obtained using two readers were not statistically equivalent (p = 0.97). The use of different readers to carry out limited correction of automated corpus callosum segmentations yielded equivalent area estimates (1.28 × 10-14).
We have presented a statistical method for determining if morphometric measures obtained under variable conditions can be pooled. The equivalence testing technique is applicable for analyses in which experimental conditions vary over the course of the study.