bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Electoral Commissions and African Voters
Authors: Kerr Nicholas 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
Chapter 6 tests the implications of the book’s theory for citizens. Chapter 6 considers whether electoral commission (EC) autonomy and capacity (measured using Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) data) can explain cross-national variation in citizens’ trust in ECs, their perceptions of election quality, and reported turnout in elections (measured using Afrobarometer data). The findings from multilevel regression analyses indicate that trust in ECs and perceptions of election quality are higher in countries where ECs possess high autonomy and capacity, but EC capacity is most impactful. Furthermore, opposition supporters and politically aware citizens are more responsive to EC autonomy and capacity when forming their attitudes towards ECs and elections than their counterparts. The results also indicate that mass turnout is correlated with EC autonomy and capacity, especially in regimes with moderate to high levels of democracy. The chapter reminds us that citizens are also capable of taking cues from ECs when making their strategic considerations of elections.
The Aftermath of Battle
Authors: Atherton Ian 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
Scholars typically lose interest in a battlefield as soon as the outcome is clear and the killing ends. But any army had a series of post-battle rituals which, though ignored by historians, are key to understating both the meaning of the battle for contemporaries and the memories of the battle for later ages. These post-bellum customs included dealing with the wounded and prisoners, clearing the field, burying the dead, and celebrating the victory. This chapter looks at these rituals are both part of the aftermath of a battle and as key determinants of the memory and commemoration of conflict in later ages.
Burial and the Battlefield War Memorial in the Late Middle Ages
Authors: Atherton Ian 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
At the heart of late medieval post-bellum practices was the burial of the dead, by which a battlefield became sacred ground. Commonly, the battlefield would then be marked by the erection of some form of structure such as a cross or a battlefield chapel, or by endowing a chantry chapel adjacent to the battlefield for the souls of all the dead. The chapter analyses these practices at a number of late medieval battle sites, but uses the battle of Neville’s Cross (1346) as a case study: there, two crosses were erected on the battlefield, while the neighbouring Durham Cathedral became a noted site of battle memory, with captured flags and relics gifted to the shrine of St Cuthbert (whose intervention was credited for the English victory over the Scots). Many battlefields, including Neville’s Cross, Towton (1461), and Bosworth (1485) became managed sites of memory.
The Nineteenth-Century Invention of the Modern Battlefield
Authors: Atherton Ian 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
Many of the traits associated with the modern battlefield, its commemoration and the tourism associated with it, are first seen not (as scholars often assume) at Gettysburg (1863) in an American context or in the First World War (1914–18) in a European one, but at Waterloo (1815). The first monument to name all the dead, not just officers, was erected there in the 1820s, by which time a thriving industry of battlefield visiting, alongside the erection of battlefield memorials, a trade in relics, the hiring of guides, and the establishment of a museum, were well under way. All the paraphernalia of the battlefield as tourist and heritage site, had been created. These were the product not of industrialized mass slaughter, but of changes in attitudes to ordinary soldiers. The development of these practices is analysed at a range of battlefields, including those of the Crimean War (1853–6).
Conclusion
Authors: Atherton Ian 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
The book concludes with an examination of the foundation of the National Memorial Arboretum in 2001 to evaluate the relationship between memory and place that lies at the heart of the book, arguing that the Arboretum has become a proxy battle site, displaying many of the characteristics of a War Graves cemetery. The chapter discusses the ways that changes in the nature of modern and future wars have and will shape the ways in which conflict is remembered and memorialized, notably the expansion of the battlefield and the shift of conflict into cyberspace, the growth of civilian casualties, and the possibility of wars fought by unmanned vehicles, drones, and artificial intelligence. What will be the limits of the present drive to remember the fallen, and what will be the purpose of names and memorials in future conflict? How will current memory agents have to adapt their practices for future warfare?
Universal Love
Authors: Swanton Christine 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
For some (e.g. Fromm and Buber) universal love has foundational status in an ethical tradition of love. However the concept is often thought incoherent or ethically suspect. If the latter, universal love even if coherent as a concept of love cannot be a virtuous form of love. I consider and defend universal love against six objections of these two broad types, namely: universal love cannot be both particularist and universal: the very concept is incoherent; if universal love is genuinely universal it is aggregative; if universal love is genuinely universal it is undifferentiated and cannot be love; universal love is overly demanding; universal love is subject to the ‘Moral Sainthood’ objection; universal love is implausible as a virtue.
Adoptions of unrelated infants in wild Taihangshan macaques (Macaca mulatta tcheliensis), Jiyuan, north China
Authors: Han Mengya , Zhou Yanyan , Wang Yuwei , Luo Tongtong , Tian Jundong , Lu Jiqi 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
Infant-care behavior, a range of caring behaviors by parental or alloparental individuals towards infants unable to live independently, plays a significant role in the survival of infants and the continuation of the species in non-human primates. During a behavioral ecological study of Taihangshan macaques, we observed 2 cases of infant adoptions by unrelated adult females. In case 1, a multiparous female adopted a lost infant from a neighboring group, with the infant being snatched back by her biological mother 35 days after the adoption. This is the first report of cross-group adoption in Macaca. In case 2, a nulliparous adult female, who had been once adopted by her elder sister, adopted an orphan from her group for 36 days. We describe the details of adoptions in Taihangshan macaques and explore possible reasons for adoptions to contribute to understanding the evolution of infant-care behavior and altruistic behavior of adoption in primates.
Inference of the genetic basis of fruit texture in highbush blueberries using genome-wide association analyses
Authors: Ferrão Luis Felipe V , Azevedo Camila , Benevenuto Juliana , Mengist Molla Fentie , Luby Claire , Pottorff Marti , Casorzo Gonzalo I P , Mackey Ted , Lila Mary Ann , Giongo Lara , Bassil Nahla , Perkins-Veazie Penelope , Iorizzo Massimo , Munoz Patricio R 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
The global production and consumption of blueberry (Vaccinium spp.), a specialty crop known for its abundant bioactive and antioxidant compounds, has more than doubled over the last decade. To hold this momentum, plant breeders have begun to use quantitative genetics and molecular breeding to guide their decisions and select new cultivars that are improved for fruit quality. In this study, we leveraged our inferences on the genetic basis of fruit texture and chemical components by surveying large breeding populations from northern highbush blueberries (NHBs) and southern highbush blueberries (SHBs), the two dominant cultivated blueberries. After evaluating 1065 NHB genotypes planted at the Oregon State University, and 992 SHB genotypes maintained at the University of Florida for 17 texture-related traits, evaluated over multiple years, our contributions consist of the following: (i) we drew attention to differences between NHB and SHB materials and showed that both blueberry types can be differentiated using texture traits; (ii) we computed genetic parameters and shed light on the genetic architecture of important texture attributes, indicating that most traits had a complex nature with low to moderate heritability; (iii) using molecular breeding, we emphasized that prediction could be performed across populations; and finally (iv) the genomic association analyses pinpointed some genomic regions harboring potential candidate genes for texture that could be used for further validation studies. Altogether, the methods and approaches used here can guide future breeding efforts focused on maximizing texture improvements in blueberries.
Strategic ambiguity and chemical warfare in Ukraine
Authors: Bentley Michelle 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
This article revisits the concept of strategic ambiguity to identify and critically assess the overlooked role of international norms. Addressing a significant gap within the existing analysis of strategic ambiguity which fails to fully explain the role of norms, the article demonstrates how international norms construct and function within deliberately ambiguous foreign policy as the normative exploitation of epistemic ambiguity. Yet the article further reveals that strategic ambiguity is then systemically dependent on a precarious overreliance on epistemic ambiguity; this comprises a highly fragile policy framework which is excessively vulnerable to change. The article applies this innovative retheorization to an empirical case-study: United States foreign policy concerning the alleged Russian chemical warfare strategy in Ukraine. This analysis is based on an original and comparative discursive analysis of US administration and institutional public statements drawn primarily from government archives. The new analysis a) identifies US policy as strategic ambiguity and explains the strategy's motivations and perceived benefits; b) shows how an international norm (the chemical weapons taboo) was employed to enact an ambiguous foreign policy; but also, c) demonstrates the intrinsic fragility and potential collapse of this strategic ambiguity as a consequence of normative dynamics.
Embryo thermal manipulation modifies development and hepatic lipid metabolism in post-hatch layer-type chicks
Authors: Li Sheng , Wang Yuyan , Guo Siyu , Li Xiaoqing , Han Guofeng , Zhou Zilin , Li Chunmei 
Published: August 2024

Abstract
Incubation temperature is a crucial environmental factor affecting embryonic development and chick quality. Metabolism during the embryonic stage, particularly liver lipid metabolism, is essential for the growth and development of poultry. This study aimed to investigate the effects of embryo thermal manipulation with high (TMH, 39.5 °C, 65% RH, 8 h/d) and low (TML, 20 °C, 65% RH, 1 h/d) temperatures during 8th to 15th embryonic age on hatching performance and liver lipid metabolism in layer chicks. Additionally, the duration of TM effects was evaluated through a short-term feeding trial. The results indicated that TMH accelerated the hatching process without significantly affecting hatchability and growth performance. In contrast, TML delayed hatching time and significantly reduced hatchability and chick quality. After hatching, TML also increased residual yolk weight and reduced the relative liver weight in relation to body weight and yolk-free body mass. Moreover, lipid droplets in the liver were stained with Oil Red O, and the lipid content in the liver and serum was further detected. TMH had no significant impact on triglyceride (TG) and total-cholesterol (TCHO) content in the liver and serum but upregulated the expression of lipogenesis-related genes ACC, Fas, and Fatp1 compared to the TML group. Conversely, TML significantly reduced liver TG content, enhanced lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity, and promoted the expression of lipid oxidation-related genes CPT-1, PGC-1α, and PPARα. At 7 d of age, liver LPL activity was significantly increased in the TMH group. However, there were no significant changes in the content of TG and TCHO in the liver and the expression of lipid metabolism-related genes in the TML group. Overall, these results indicate that embryonic TM alters hatching performance and liver lipid metabolism in layer chicks. TML reduces TG content by increasing liver lipid oxidation capacity. However, this effect is not long-lasting, as the influence of TM diminishes as the chicks develop.
Examining Retention Sentiments and Attrition Among Active Duty Army Medical Officers
Authors: Vie Loryana L , Whittaker Kerry S , Lathrop Adam D , Hawkins Jake N 
Published: August 2024

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Providing quality care and maintaining exceptional medical providers are important priorities for military medicine. The present study examines the association between retention sentiments and voluntary separation from army service among Army Medical Corps and Nurse Corps Officers. Retention sentiments are derived from the Department of the Army Career Engagement Survey, a voluntary survey that Active Duty Soldiers complete annually.

Materials and Methods
The sample included active Army officers in the Medical Corps (n = 1198) and Nurse Corps (n = 1016) who completed the Department of the Army Career Engagement Survey between May 06, 2020 and November 02, 2023, passed the embedded attention check, and said their responses could be used for research purposes. The most frequently cited “Extremely Important” reasons to leave the army were identified within each sample. Binomial logistic regression was used to examine the likelihood of separating from army service based on the top five reasons to leave the Army as identified on the Department of the Army Career Engagement Survey. This study was determined by Exempt Human Subjects Research.

Results
An examination of the factors most frequently endorsed as an “Extremely Important” reason to leave the Army revealed that “Effects of deployments on Family or personal relationships” and “Impact of military service on my Family’s well-being” were among the five most cited “Extremely Important” reasons to leave the army within both the Medical Corps and the Nurse Corps samples. When examined together (i.e., summed), the Composite Leave Score was associated with a significantly greater odds of separating from army service in each sample. Specifically, each additional top five “Extremely Important” leave reason identified was associated with a 38% greater odds of separating from army service within the Medical Corps and 50% greater odds of separating from army service within the Nurse Corps.

Conclusions
The current study highlights unique retention concerns among army medical providers in the Medical Corps and Nurse Corps. Additionally, this study ties medical provider sentiments to subsequent voluntary separation from the army. These findings can help army senior leaders evaluate, draft, and revise policy aimed at increasing retention among army medical providers, and increasing access to quality healthcare for service members and their families.
Identifying Predictors of Positive and Negative Affect at Mid-Deployment Among Military Medical Personnel
Authors: Gomes Kimberly D , Moore Brian A , Straud Casey L , Baker Monty T , Isler William C , McNally Richard J , Litz Brett T , Peterson Alan L 
Published: August 2024

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Positive and negative affect influence an individual’s ability to utilize available physical, psychological, and social resources to maximize responses to life events. Little research has examined the factors that influence the development of positive affect or reduction of negative affective responses among deployed military personnel. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between deployment-related stressors and symptoms of behavioral health concerns with affectivity among deployed U.S. service members.

Materials and Methods
Participants were 1148 U.S. Air Force medical personnel deployed to Balad, Iraq, between 2004 and 2011. All participants completed self-report measures of PTSD symptoms, general military and combat exposure, stress, and affectivity. The Institutional Review Board at Wilford Hall Medical Center, the Air Force Personnel Survey Program, and the U.S. Army’s Joint Combat Casualty Research Team reviewed and approved the study.

Results
Most respondents (89%, 1,018/1,139) reported a positive military experience, but many respondents reported exposure to a potentially traumatic event during deployment. For example, seeing dead or seriously injured Americans (47%, 523/1,123) was the most common exposure reported by participants. A large portion of personnel (21%, 232/1,089) reported clinical levels of PTSD symptoms (score of 33 or higher on the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist—Military version). Risk factors, including PTSD symptoms, combat exposure, and stress, explained 39% of the variance in negative affect, R2 = 0.39, F(1046) = 224.96, P &lt; .001. Conversely, these risk and resilience factors, including PTSD symptoms, combat exposure, stress, and general military experiences, explained 28% of the variance in positive affect, R2 = 0.28, F(1050) = 103.79, P &lt; .001. No significant gender differences were found between models predicting positive and negative affect.

Conclusions
Negative mood states may be partly an epiphenomenon of PTSD, which has been shown to be safely and effectively treated in the deployed environment. Social support during deployments is uniquely associated with a positive mood. These findings extend beyond the military and into any high-stress occupation wherein leaders could interpret these findings as a need to build or reinforce efforts to provide opportunities to sustain healthy relationships in personnel. These critical indigenous resources support mission readiness and enable the maintenance of positive psychological health.
PLGA Nanoparticles Formulations Loaded With Antibiotics Induce Sustained and Controlled Antibiotics Release for Prolonged Antibacterial Action Against MRSA, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa FRD1
Authors: Guevara Argerie , Armknecht Kevin , Kudary Carlie , Nallathamby Prakash 
Published: August 2024

ABSTRACT
The purpose of the present study was to create resorbable nanoparticles (NPs) using poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) to develop novel antibacterial therapeutics for the treatment of chronic wound infections that are susceptible to recurrent infections. By first performing a release study, it was possible to predict the behavior of the different PLGA NP formulations and assess the efficacy of the nanocomposite drug delivery system. These PLGA NP formulations consisted of varying ratios of PLGA without polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and PLGA with PVA (PLGA-PVA) (i.e., 25:75[PLGA25], 50:50[PLGA50], and 75:25[PLGA75]). Then, different antibiotics (i.e., ciprofloxacin and gentamicin) were incorporated into the PLGA NP formulations to test the antibacterial efficacy of these antimicrobial NPs against different pathogens (i.e., methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus USA300 [MRSA], Pseudomonas aeruginosa FRD1, and Acinetobacter baumannii BAA1605). Of particular interest was testing against the MRSA strain USA300 and the P. aeruginosa strain FRD1. This was possible by measuring the zone of inhibition. A 3-day period was used to monitor the antibacterial efficacy of the different PLGA NP formulations (i.e., PLGA25, PLGA50, and a 1:1 combination of PLGA25:PLGA50) against A. baumannii BAA1605, MRSA, and P aeruginosa FRD1. Throughout the study, A. baumannii was a negative control and was resistant to all the PLGA NP formulations loaded with ciprofloxacin and gentamicin. At the end of the 3-day period, the PLGA and PLGA50 ciprofloxacin-loaded formulations produced zones of inhibition of 27 mm and 23 mm, respectively, against P. aeruginosa FRD1. This indicated that P. aeruginosa FRD1 was susceptible to both formulations. The mixed formulations with equal parts PLGA25:PLGA50 loaded with ciprofloxacin produced a zone of inhibition (i.e., 25 mm). This again indicated that P. aeruginosa FRD1 was susceptible to ciprofloxacin. The formulations tested against MRSA showed that only gentamicin-loaded formulations produced intermediate results, and that ciprofloxacin-loaded formulations were ineffective. The PLGA25 and the PLGA50 NP formulations loaded with gentamicin both produced zones of inhibition of 13 mm. This indicated that MRSA was intermediate to both the formulations. The PLGA25:PLGA50 loaded with gentamicin produced a zone of inhibition of 14 mm, which again showed that MRSA was intermediate to this formulation. Overall, these PLGA NP formulations showed the sustained antibacterial potential of a burst release, followed by a sustained release of antibiotics from antibiotics loaded PLGA NPs in a controlled manner. In the future, this can help prevent the emergence of recurrent infections in the treatment of chronic wounds and reduce the number of medical dressing changes.
Utilizing Augmented Reality to Evaluate Service Member Team Performance
Authors: Kaya Ryan D , Rosenfeldt Anson B , Hastilow Karissa , Owen Kelsey M , Zimmerman Eric M , Alberts Jay L 
Published: August 2024

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Decision-making is a complex process that relies on situational awareness and experience to create a potential list of actions while weighing the risks and benefits of each action. There is a paucity of data evaluating decision-making for individual service members (SM) during the performance of team-based military-relevant activities. Understanding individual performance and decision-making within the context of a team-based activity has potential to aid in the detection and management of mild traumatic brain injuries and assist with safe and timely return-to-duty decision making. The aim of this project was to evaluate cognitive and motor performance in healthy SM during an augmented reality military specific, team-based activity.

Materials and Methods
Data from 110 SMs from Fort Moore Georgia were analyzed for this project. Service members completed 3 augmented reality room breaching and clearing scenarios (Empty Room, Civilian/Combatant, and Incorrect Position of a unit member) with 3 avatar team members. Participants wore a Microsoft HoloLens 2 (HL2) device and used a replica M4 weapon (Haptech Defense Systems) during scenarios. Three-dimensional position data from the HL2 headset was used to compute temporal measures of room breaching and clearing events while the number and timing of weapon discharge was monitored by the M4. Temporal outcomes included time to enter room, time to fire first shot, time in fatal funnel, and total trial time while motor outcomes were distance traveled and average movement velocity.

Results
Pairwise comparisons between the Incorrect Position scenario and the Civilian/Combatant scenario demonstrated no difference in time to enter the room (2.36 seconds in both scenarios). Time to fire the first shot in the Civilian/Combatant scenario was longer (0.97 seconds to 0.58 seconds) while time in fatal funnel (2.58 seconds to 3.31 seconds) and time to trial completion (7.46 seconds to 8.41 seconds) were significantly longer in the Incorrect Position scenario.

Conclusions
Reaction time to fire the first shot, time in the fatal funnel, and total trial time reflect a change in information-processing and decision-making capabilities during military specific, ecological, team-based scenarios when altering the environment inside of the room and modifying avatar movements. Future studies are planned to evaluate the effects of mild traumatic brain injury on specific aspects of military team performance.