bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Sperm storage organs change with female age and mating history in the Golden Silk spider Trichonephila clavipes (Araneae: Araneidae)
Authors: Land H. , Christenson T. E. , Uhl G. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractFemale sperm storage organs in arthropods are used as taxonomic characters since it is assumed that they do not change after maturation. However, in the Golden Silk spider, Trichonephila clavipes, the shape and sclerotization of the spermathecae change with a mating event. Moreover, mating in T. clavipes consists of several hundred copulations, but the male transfers all sperm during the first insertion of each pedipalp. Given this puzzling mating behaviour, we hypothesize that multiple copulations serve purposes other than sperm transfer and uptake, such as further altering the morphology of the storage site and/or transferring substances other than sperm. We compared virgin female T. clavipes with females after two copulations, one for each spermatheca, and after ad‐libitum mating. Each treatment consisted of two sub‐treatments in which the state of the sperm storage organs was inspected after a short (1–3 days) or a long (11 days) time interval after the female's final moult. The size of the spermathecae increased twofold in all mating treatments compared to virgin females. The thickness of the spermathecal wall increased significantly with time in all treatments similarly. The spermathecal epithelium, which releases secretion into the lumen of the spermathecae, seems most active in virgin females during the time when mating would normally occur and turns less active after mating and with age. The spermathecae contain secretion produced by the female before mating; and after mating, sperm and another secretion transferred by the male. The numerous sperm‐less matings in the ad‐libitum treatment resulted in male secretion in the copulatory ducts of the female genitalia, likely impeding sperm transfer by subsequent males. Out study shows that female genitalia can change considerably after having reached maturity and suggests that sperm‐less matings evolved in the context of sperm competition.
Polyphenols in obesity and weight management: Are they worth further research? An umbrella review
Authors: Farhat Grace 
Published: March 2024

AbstractPolyphenols are widely known for their putative antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory effects and their potential protective role in several diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. They have also attracted significant interest as ‘anti‐obesity’ agents, although with mechanisms of action that have been exclusively demonstrated in animal and in vitro studies. This umbrella review aims to evaluate current evidence surrounding the role of polyphenols in obesity and weight management and to establish the usefulness of these agents in combatting obesity. A search of systematic reviews and meta‐analyses of randomised controlled trials was carried out. Nine systematic reviews (of which eight included a meta‐analysis) were included. Evidence of polyphenols' effects on reducing bodyweight is mixed, and where the effects are significant, they are numerically small and unlikely to be of help in reducing bodyweight or preventing weight gain. Future research should focus on establishing the anti‐inflammatory and antioxidant effects of polyphenols through well‐designed randomised controlled trials. Such research could be more valuable and cost‐effective since it has shown potential to improve human health.
The interesting case of special and extraordinary items: What are they and how do they influence municipal government finances?
Authors: Ke Laiyang , Jimenez Benedict S. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractOne‐shot revenue shocks influence government budget decisions and service provision. However, how governments respond to transitory income remains a theoretical and empirical puzzle. The permanent income hypothesis posits that governments save windfalls to smooth expenditures, while other models predict spending increases. Empirical findings are inconclusive as the focus has been on revenues that are not truly transitory. The case of special and extraordinary gains allows us to investigate the effects of transitory resources. Taking advantage of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board's requirement that governments report such gains in their financial statements, this study examines the effects of gains on expenses for a sample of cities across 10 years. Using a staggered adoption event study design, we find that gains stimulate spending and that the size of gains matters before one observes the stimulatory effects. These results have substantial implications for budgetary transparency and fiscal sustainability in municipal governments.
Carrot or stick, or both? Examining U.S. presidents' use of counterterrorism tools in Pakistan, 2001–2020
Authors: Jadoon Amira , Yon Richard M. , Rice Dennis J. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractWithin the context of eliciting partner country cooperation and interests alignment, U.S. presidents and their administrations have a wide array of policy tools at their disposal to mitigate terrorist threats emanating from other countries. Yet, the factors that account for variation in American presidents' and their administrations' specific counterterrorism policy choices to influence target states' behavior remain underexplored. To understand the underlying factors that influence the adoption of different U.S. counterterrorism tools within a given country, and their variation across administrations in the post‐9/11 era, we examine the case of Pakistan—a challenging yet enduring partner in the U.S.‐led Global War on Terror. Categorizing the counterterrorism policies and tools adopted by Presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump as punitive or nonpunitive policy decisions, we explore the extent to which each president's policy choices during the Global War on Terror were largely a continuation of predecessors or responded to specific shifting patterns of terrorism within Pakistan. Our study yields important insights regarding the extent to which path dependency or evolving security environments shape choices of counterterrorism tools.
Post exercise hot water immersion and hot water immersion in isolation enhance vascular, blood marker, and perceptual responses when compared to exercise alone
Authors: Steward Charles J. , Hill Mathew , Menzies Campbell , Bailey Stephen J. , Rahman Mushidur , Thake C. Douglas , Pugh Christopher J. A. , Cullen Tom 
Published: March 2024

AbstractExercise and passive heating induce some similar vascular hemodynamic, circulating blood marker, and perceptual responses. However, it remains unknown whether post exercise hot water immersion can synergise exercise derived responses and if they differ from hot water immersion alone. This study investigated the acute responses to post moderate‐intensity exercise hot water immersion (EX+HWI) when compared to exercise (EX+REST) and hot water immersion (HWI+HWI) alone. Sixteen physically inactive middle‐aged adults (nine males and seven females) completed a randomized cross‐over counterbalanced design. Each condition consisted of two 30‐min bouts separated by 10 min of rest. Cycling was set at a power output equivalent to 50% V̇o2 peak. Water temperature was controlled at 40°C up to the mid sternum with arms not submerged. Venous blood samples and artery ultrasound scans were assessed at 0 (baseline), 30 (immediately post stressor one), 70 (immediately post stressor two), and 100 min (recovery). Additional physiological and perceptual measures were assessed at 10‐min intervals. Brachial and superficial femoral artery shear rates were higher after EX+HWI and HWI+HWI when compared with EX+REST (p < 0.001). Plasma nitrite was higher immediately following EX+HWI and HWI+HWI than EX+REST (p < 0.01). Serum interleukin‐6 was higher immediately after EX+HWI compared to EX+REST (p = 0.046). Serum cortisol was lower at 30 min in the HWI+HWI condition in contrast to EX+REST (p = 0.026). EX+HWI and HWI+HWI were more enjoyable than EX+REST (p < 0.05). Irrespective of whether hot water immersion proceeded exercise or heating, hot water immersion enhanced vascular and blood marker responses, while also being more enjoyable than exercise alone.
Radical Collective Intelligence and the Reimagining of Cognitive Science
Authors: Rabb Nathaniel , Sloman Steven A. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractTo introduce our special issue How Minds Work: The Collective in the Individual, we propose “radical CI,” a form of collective intelligence, as a new paradigm for cognitive science. Radical CI posits that the representations and processes necessary to perform the cognitive functions that humans perform are collective entities, not encapsulated by any individual. To explain cognitive performance, it appeals to the distribution of cognitive labor on the assumption that the human project runs on countless interactions between locally acting individuals with specialized skills that each retain a small part of the relevant information. Some of the papers in the special issue appeal to radical CI to account for a variety of cognitive phenomena including memory performance, metacognition, belief updating, reasoning, and problem‐solving. Other papers focus on the cultural and institutional practices that make radical CI possible.
A novel nucleic acid linker for multi‐gene expression enhances plant and animal synthetic biology
Authors: Ma Xuhui , Yue Qun , Miao Liqing , Li Suzhen , Tian Jian , Si Wei , Zhang Liwen , Yang Wenzhu , Zhou Xiaojin , Zhang Junmin , Chen Rumei , Xu Yuquan , Liu Xiaoqing 
Published: March 2024

SUMMARYThe production of compact vectors for gene stacking is hindered by a lack of effective linkers. Here, we report that a 26‐nt nucleic acid linker, NAL1, from the fungus Glarea lozoyensis and its truncated derivatives could connect two genes as a bicistron, enabling independent translation in a maize protoplast transient expression system and human 293 T cells. The optimized 9‐nt NAL10 linker was then used to connect four genes driven by a bidirectional promoter; this combination was successfully used to reconstruct the astaxanthin biosynthesis pathway in transgenic maize. The short and efficient nucleic acid linker NAL10 can be widely used in multi‐gene expression and synthetic biology in animals and plants.
Lexical distance and the diffusion of technology
Authors: Wigton‐Jones Evan 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThis research shows that linguistic differences can influence the diffusion of technology and income between countries. I use a measure of language similarity known as the normalised Levenshtein distance to show that lexical distances closely track bilateral differences in the adoption intensities of key production technologies. This relationship holds for technologies in the transportation, information technology, steel, telecommunications and health sectors. Linguistic differences also result in larger bilateral gaps in per capita income. These results hold among higher but not low‐income nations, likely because language affects technology transfer only once a threshold level of development is surpassed.
Gender differences in scholarly productivity of early‐career transfusion medicine physicians
Authors: Ipe Tina S. , Tanhehco Yvette C. , Booth Garrett S. , Adkins Brian D. 
Published: March 2024

AbstractBackground and ObjectivesPromotion in academic medicine requires evidence of the creation and dissemination of scholarly output, primarily through peer‐reviewed publications. Studies demonstrate that scholarly activity and impact are lower for women physicians than for men physicians, especially during the early stages of their academic careers. This report reviewed physicians' academic productivity after passing their Blood Banking/Transfusion Medicine (BBTM) subspecialty exam to determine if gender discrepancies exist.MethodsA cross‐sectional analysis was designed to determine trends in scholarly activity for women physicians versus men physicians in BBTM. Indexed publications were reviewed using iCite, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Portfolio Analysis tool, from 1 January 2017 to 1 December 2021, for BBTM examinees who passed the sub‐speciality fellowship exam in the years 2016 through 2018.ResultsOverall, women physicians had statistically significant fewer total career publications (median 6 vs. 9 cumulative papers, p = 0.03). Women published at a lower rate after passing BBTM boards, which was not statistically significant (0.7 vs. 1.3 publications per year). Other statistically significant findings include fewer early‐career BBTM women physicians were first authors compared with men physicians (p = 0.03) and impact as assessed by relative citation ratio was higher for men (p = 0.01).ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that there are gender differences in scholarly productivity and impact on early‐career BBTM physicians. Given that this cohort of BBTM physicians are early‐career professionals, the significant difference in first authorship publications between women and men physicians is especially concerning. Publication metrics should be followed to ensure equitable research environments for early‐career BBTM physicians.
Current and future glyphosate use in European agriculture
Authors: Neve Paul , Matzrafi Maor , Ulber Lena , Baraibar Bàrbara , Beffa Roland , Belvaux Xavier , Farré Joel Torra , Mennan Hüsrev , Ringselle Björn , Salonen Jukka , Soukup Josef , Andert Sabine , Duecker Rebecka , Gonzalez Emilio , Hamouzová Katerina , Karpinski Isabella , Travlos Ilias S. , Vidotto Francesco , Kudsk Per 
Published: March 2024

AbstractThere has been a longstanding and contentious debate about the future of glyphosate use in the European Union (EU). In November 2023, the European Commission approved the renewal of the use registration for glyphosate for a further 10 years. Nevertheless, the EU Farm to Fork strategy calls for a 50% reduction in pesticide use by 2030. In November 2022, the European Weed Research Society organised a 2 day workshop to identify critical glyphosate uses in current EU cropping systems and to review the availability of glyphosate alternatives. Workshop participants identified four current, critical uses in EU cropping systems; control and management of perennial weeds, weed control in conservation agriculture, vegetation management in tree and vine crops and herbicide resistance management. There are few herbicide alternatives that provide effective, economic, broad‐spectrum control of weeds, particularly perennial weeds. Mechanical weed control, and in particular, soil cultivation is the most obvious glyphosate alternative. However, this is not possible in conservation agriculture systems and, in general, increased soil cultivation has negative impacts for soil health. Emerging technologies for precision weed control can enable more targeted use of glyphosate, greatly reducing use rates. These technologies also facilitate the use and development of alternative targeted physical weed control (e.g. tillage, lasers, electricity), reducing the energy and environmental costs of these approaches. In tree crops, the use of organic and inorganic mulches can reduce the need for glyphosate use. In general, reduced use of glyphosate will require an even greater focus on integrated weed management to reduce weed establishment in agroecosystems, increase weed management diversity and limit the use of alternative resistance‐prone herbicides.
Direct Current Motor Velocity Control With Integral Retarded Controller Under Unintentional Delay
Authors: Fan Haonan , Ramírez Adrián , Mondié Sabine , Sipahi Rifat 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Delay-based controllers have been recently revisited over proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers, with promising analytical tuning formulae and capabilities to effectively control plants with noisy measurements even without low-pass filters. One such controller is the integral retarded (IR) controller, which utilizes an intentional delay to reduce actuator chattering against noisy measurements while its integral part achieves zero steady-state error for set-point regulation of Type-0 open-loop systems. However, measurements can be unintentionally delayed in many applications. The integral retarded framework for such cases has not been studied in the literature. Here, we provide new analytical tuning rules of the controller in such cases, as well as validations through simulations and a direct current (DC) motor velocity control hardware experiment.
General Muscle Torque Generator Model for a Two Degree-of-Freedom Shoulder Joint
Authors: Bell Sydney , Nasr Ali , McPhee John 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Muscle torque generators (MTGs) have been developed as an alternative to muscle-force models, reducing the muscle-force model complexity to a single torque at the joint. Current MTGs can only be applied to single Degree-of-freedom (DoF) joints, leading to complications in modeling joints with multiple-DoFs such as the shoulder. This study aimed to develop an MTG model that accounts for the coupling between 2-DoF at the shoulder joint: shoulder plane of elevation (horizontal abduction/adduction) and shoulder elevation (flexion/extension). Three different 2-DoF MTG equations were developed to model the coupling between these two movements. Net joint torques at the shoulder were determined for 20 participants (10 females and 10 males) in isometric, isokinetic, and passive tests. Curve and surface polynomial fitting were used to find the best general fit for the experimental data in terms of the different degrees of coupling. The models were validated against experimental isokinetic torque data. It was determined that implicit coupling that used interpolation between single-DoF MTGs resulted in the lowest root-mean-square percent error of 8.5%. The work demonstrated that general MTG models can predict torque results that are dependent on multiple-DoFs of the shoulder.
Actuation Modeling of a Microfluidically Reconfigurable Radiofrequency Device
Authors: Parsi Behzad , Metten Jason B. , Waite Clinton , Maynes Daniel , Crane Nathan B. 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
Microfluidic-based techniques have been shown to address limitations of reconfigurable radio frequency (RF) antennas and filters in efficiency, power handling capability, cost, and frequency tuning. However, the current devices suffer from significant integration challenges associated with packaging, actuation, and control. Recent advances in reconfigurable microfluidics that utilize the motion of a selectively metalized plate (SMP) for RF tuning have demonstrated promising RF capabilities but have exposed a need for an accurate fluid actuation model. This research presents a model for the mechanical motion of a moving plate in a channel to relate the SMP size, microfluidic channel size, velocity, and inlet pressure. This model facilitates understanding of the actuation response of an RF tuning system based on a moving plate independent of the actuation method. This model is validated using a millimeter-scale plate driven by a gravitational pressure head as a quasi-static pressure source. Measurements of the prototyped device show excellent agreement with the analytical model; thus, the designer can utilize the presented model for designing and optimizing a microfluidic-based reconfigurable RF device and selecting actuation methods to meet desired outcomes. To examine model accuracy at device scale, recent papers in the microfluidics reconfigurable RF area have been studied, and excellent agreement between our proposed model and the literature data is observed.
Oxygen Storage Incorporated Into Net Power and the Allam–Fetvedt Oxy-Fuel sCO2 Power Cycle—Techno-Economic Analysis
Authors: Moore J. Jeffrey , Pryor Owen , Cormier Ian , Fetvedt Jeremy 
Published: March 2024

Abstract
With the planned future reliance on variable renewable energy, the ability to store energy for prolonged time periods will be required to reduce the disruption of market fluctuations. This paper presents a method to analyze a hybrid liquid-oxygen (LOx) storage/direct-fired supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power cycle and optimize the economic performance over a diverse range of scenarios. The system utilizes a modified version of the NET Power process to produce energy when energy demand exceeds the supply while displacing much of the cost of the air separation unit (ASU) energy requirements through cryogenic storage of oxygen. The model uses marginal cost of energy data to determine the optimal times to charge and discharge the system over a given scenario. The model then applies ramp rates and other time-dependent factors to generate an economic model for the system without storage considerations. The size of the storage system is then applied to create a realistic model of the plant operation. From the real plant operation model, the amount of energy charged and discharged, the capital expenditures (CAPEX) of each system, energy costs and revenue and other parameters can be calculated. The economic parameters are then combined to calculate the net present value (NPV) of the system for the given scenario. The model was then run through the SMPSO genetic algorithm in Python for a variety of geographic regions and large-scale scenarios (high solar penetration) to maximize the NPV based on multiple parameters for each subsystem. The LOx storage requirements will also be discussed.
Does Participating in a Variety of Activities at a Variety of Locations or With Different People Predict Physical Activity Behavior Among Adolescents? The Mediating Role of Perceived Variety
Authors: Murray Ross M. , Sylvester Benjamin D. , Sabiston Catherine M. , Doré Isabelle , Bélanger Mathieu 
Published: March 2024

We examine whether adolescents’ participating in a variety of physical activities, locations, and/or with a variety of people relates to physical activity 16 months later and whether perceptions of variety mediate these relationships. Adolescents (N = 369) completed measures indicating various physical activities they participated in, where they primarily participated, and with whom they primarily participated, at three time points over a year (averaged for baseline measures). Perceptions of variety was measured 8 months later. Physical activity was measured 16 months after baseline. Mediation analyses tested perceptions of variety as a mediator of variety support and physical activity. Results indicated that variety of activities and variety of locations were indirectly associated with physical activity through perceptions of variety. Participating in a breadth of physical activities in a variety of locations during adolescence is positively associated with perceptions of variety, which relates to physical activity 16 months later.