bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Soil fertility shapes fire activity across Mediterranean‐type climate regions
Authors: Paula Susana , Ramírez Diego P. , Estay Sergio , Pausas Juli G. 
Published: December 2023

AbstractAimTo quantify the role of soil fertility in the spatial variability of fire activity and to identify the mechanisms that drive this variability.LocationThe five Mediterranean‐type climate regions of the world.Time Period2002–present.Major Taxa StudiedTerrestrial plants.MethodsWe compiled remotely sensed data on fire activity, climate, net primary productivity and chemical soil properties for bioclimatically homogeneous zones within the five Mediterranean‐type climate regions of the world. Putative direct and indirect effects of the environmental variables on fire activity were evaluated through structural equation modelling.ResultsFire activity increased with net primary productivity, as expected for ecosystems with fuel‐limited fire regimes. Soil acidity and the concentration of exchangeable aluminium also increased fire activity, supporting the idea that low fertility promotes plant characteristics that favour fire initiation and spread.Main ConclusionsOur research supports a positive relationship between wildfires and low soil fertility in Mediterranean‐type climate regions across the globe. Therefore, soil fertility should be incorporated into models predicting future fires in a warming world.
Are larger cities more central in urban networks: A meta‐analysis
Authors: Li Xiaomeng , Neal Zachary P. 
Published: December 2023

AbstractAs cities develop more and longer‐range external relations, some have challenged the long‐standing notion that population size indicates a city's power in its urban system. But are population size and network centrality really independent properties in practice, or do larger cities tend to be more central in urban networks? To answer this question, we conducted a systematic literature search and meta‐analysed 41 reported correlations between city size and degree centrality. The results show that population size and degree centrality are significantly and positively correlated for cities across various urban systems (r = 0.77), but the correlation varies by network scale and type. The size‐centrality association is weaker for global economic and transportation networks
(r = 0.43), and stronger for non‐global social and communication networks (r = 0.91). This clarifies seemingly contradictory predictions in the literature regarding the association betweensize and centrality for cities.
Transparency's impact on the professionalization of government
Authors: Batista Mariana , Michener Gregory 
Published: December 2023

AbstractFreedom of information (FOI) laws are known to expose governmental weaknesses, but do they improve the structural workings of public administration, professionalizing governance? This study examines FOI's effect on a cornerstone of effective governance—bureaucratic hiring. Using coarsened matching methods to compare over 5400 municipalities in Brazil—approximately half possessing FOI regulations and half without—we identify significant reductions in discretionary patronage‐based appointments. Municipalities with FOI regulations reduce both higher level “political control” and lower‐level “electoral rewards” hires. Our explanation, tentatively supported by a comparison of early versus late FOI adopters, centers on sequencing: in the short term, leaders view FOI as a supplement to administrative control and thus reduce higher‐level hires. As FOI becomes more institutionalized and exposures more probable, leaders reduce lower‐level hires. Contributing to scholarship on transparency and bureaucracies, our results enjoin policymakers to double‐down on commitments to FOI policies.
The shame of sexual violence towards women in rural areas
Authors: Jones Rikki , Usher Kim , Rice Kylie , Morley Louise , Durkin Joanne 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThis perspective paper presents a discussion around the issues of sexual violence (SV) in rural and remote areas and the associated discourses of shame. The authors propose that shame of SV adds additional trauma to survivors, further impacting survivors' mental health which may be exacerbated in rural areas. Shame is a complex emotion that can result in increased feelings of guilt, humiliation, and embarrassment. Shame has been identified as an underlying risk factor and a mechanism for post‐assault mental health problems. We propose it can be particularly pronounced for women subjected to sexual assault in rural or remote areas. This paper will explore the link between SV and shame, explain how shame attached to SV may be used as an informal social control mechanism for women, particularly in rural and remote areas, and discuss the role of health practitioners, particularly mental health nurses, who play a key role in supporting people impacted by SV. SV is an insidious social phenomenon that can have profound consequences for individuals, families, and communities. Addressing shame and stigma is a crucial component of supporting survivors of SV in rural and remote areas. There is a need for targeted community‐led interventions and responsive support services to address the complex and multifaceted issues contributing to SV in rural and remote communities.
Leisure crafting and work engagement among Chinese ICU nurses: The multiple mediation effect of recovery experience and humanistic care ability
Authors: Liu Qingwei , Zhao Li , Guo Xiaojing , Zhang Yuchen , Xin Chen , Gai Yubiao 
Published: December 2023

AbstractAimsBased on the conservation of resources theory, this study explored the intermediary role of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses’ recovery experience and humanistic care ability between leisure crafting and work engagement.BackgroundAs the ICU is an important life‐saving department, the level of work engagement of nurses directly affect the quality of life and health outcomes of patients. Actively seeking countermeasures to improve the work engagement level of ICU nurses is of great significance to enhancing the nursing quality of the ICU. According to the theory of resource conservation, the resources owned by individuals are limited and must be replenished promptly and effectively to maintain relatively stable physical, mental, and working states. Therefore, determining ways for ICU nurses to supplement the consumed resources effectively and efficiently in a limited time to maintain a high level of work engagement is the main concern of this study.MethodsIn this cross‐sectional study from January 2023 to March 2023, 478 ICU nurses were recruited by convenience sampling. The survey tools included the Leisure Crafting Scale, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale‐9, the Caring Ability Inventory, and the Recovery Experience Questionnaire. Descriptive data and Pearson correlation coefficients were analyzed via SPSS 26.0 (IBM Corp.). PROCESS v4.0 (by Andrew F. Hayes) Macro Model 6 was applied to analyze the serial multiple mediator models. We used the STROBE checklist to report the results.ResultsFirst, the results showed that leisure crafting, humanistic care ability, and recovery experience were positively correlated with work engagement. Second, recovery experience and humanistic care ability played a partially mediating role between leisure crafting and work engagement, respectively. Third, recovery experience and humanistic care ability also had a serial mediation effect between leisure crafting and work engagement.ConclusionThe findings of the study indicated that improving nurses’ active control of leisure time may have particularly positive effects on ICU nurses’ work engagement through increasing recovery experience and humanistic care ability.Implications for nursing and nursing policyAdministrators can formulate intervention measures to improve the leisure crafting level of ICU nurses, promote work–life balance, which enhances recovery and supports engagement with patient‐focused humanistic care, and have a positive impact on the work engagement of ICU nurses.
Computational complexity and linear formulations for optimizing the location of shared mobility stations
Authors: Monteiro Cristiano Martins , dos Santos Vinicius Fernandes , Davis Junior Clodoveu Augusto 
Published: December 2023

AbstractProperly planned shared mobility services can be attractive even for who owns and drives a private vehicle, but would consider not owning it anymore if a cheaper, more sustainable, and accessible transport service is available. However, planning such services may become computationally intractable as demand and coverage widen, requiring different methods for optimizing them. This work contextualizes the computational challenges in defining station locations for shared mobility services; proves the NP‐hardness of optimizing the exact locations for shared mobility stations; proves the NP‐hardness of selecting street segments to have shared mobility stations; proposes mixed‐integer linear programming formulations for both problems; proposes and compares the performance of these formulations to two heuristics; and applies these formulations to the road network of the metropolitan region of São Paulo in Brazil. Results show the trade‐off between computational efforts and the precision of optimal solutions by choosing which problem to solve.
Proactive berth scheduling with data‐driven buffer time in container terminals
Authors: Woo Sung Hun , Park Hyun Ji , Cho Sung Won , Kim Ki Hong 
Published: December 2023

AbstractGlobal shipment volumes have been increasing due to changes in the business environment of e‐commerce and manufacturing. Consequently, container vessels carry more cargo for international trade, increasing uncertainties in terminal management. Terminal operators manage terminals by establishing a proactive schedule that responds to disruptions such as vessel delays, and the introduction of buffer time is a representative proactive strategy. In this study, by analyzing historical delay data with machine learning, we propose data‐driven buffer times to consider the heterogeneous arrival uncertainty of vessels. Thus, we proactive scheduling with data‐driven buffer times according to the desired robustness levels. This is a novel study on berth scheduling that applies data mining approaches to improve operations research techniques. Numerical experiments were conducted on the berth scheduling with time‐invariant quay crane assignment using real‐life data to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. These experimental results revealed that applying the data‐driven buffer time could effectively reduce the cost incurred at the terminal by balancing baseline and recovery costs. In addition, our proposed methodology ensured the quality of the solution compared with a stochastic method and reduced the computational burden of a stochastic problem by using the data‐driven buffer times obtained prior to the solution construction. Therefore, the proposed method can be introduced into terminal operations to overcome the deficiencies of traditional approaches in terms of academic perspective.
Older people's experiences of elder abuse in residential care settings: A scoping review
Authors: Duffy Anita , Connolly Michael , Browne Freda 
Published: December 2023

AbstractBackgroundElder abuse is a global human rights issue, particularly in residential care settings where there is limited understanding of older people's experiences of this phenomenon. This scoping review aims to map and describe the existing literature on this phenomenon.MethodsUsing Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review methodology, further developed by Levac et al. and the Joanna Briggs Institute, a systematic search of six databases was conducted to identify relevant studies published from inception to January 2023. Studies were included if they focused on older people's experience of abuse within residential care settings. A comprehensive data extraction process was employed to identify key themes from the included studies.ResultsThe initial search yielded a total of 3701 articles of which eight met the inclusion criteria. The findings revealed a range of abusive experiences encountered by older people living in residential care settings, including psychological, physical, financial, neglect and sexual abuse. The common attributes of residents vulnerable to abuse were evident throughout each of the studies. Finally, the theme of organizational neglect was apparent through the absence of effective safeguarding measures in the included studies. The findings revealed the insufficient implementation of safeguarding measures increases the risk of abuse among residents.ConclusionThis scoping review highlights the limited research on the experiences of older people who have encountered elder abuse in residential care settings. The findings stress the need for further research exploring the complex interplay of factors contributing to elder abuse within aged care settings. The insights gained from this scoping review can inform the development of comprehensive safeguarding strategies to prevent and address elder abuse in residential care settings, promoting the well‐being and safety of older people.Patient or Public ContributionThis project is a scoping review of the literature; therefore, no patient or public contribution was deemed necessary.What this paper contributes to the wider global community

Most research on elder abuse has been conducted in the community rather than in Residential Care Settings where there is a limited understanding of older people’s experiences of abuse within the published literature.

The scoping review highlights the presence of inadequate safeguarding strategies in Residential Care Settings within the reviewed studies, providing recommendations for developing and improving safeguarding measures in Residential Care Settings to prevent abuse, neglect, and harm in the future.
Antioxidant therapy against TGF‐β/SMAD pathway involved in organ fibrosis
Authors: Ghafouri‐Fard Soudeh , Askari Arian , Shoorei Hamed , Seify Mohammad , Koohestanidehaghi Yeganeh , Hussen Bashdar Mahmud , Taheri Mohammad , Samsami Majid 
Published: December 2023

AbstractFibrosis refers to excessive build‐up of scar tissue and extracellular matrix components in different organs. In recent years, it has been revealed that different cytokines and chemokines, especially Transforming growth factor beta (TGF‐β) is involved in the pathogenesis of fibrosis. It has been shown that TGF‐β is upregulated in fibrotic tissues, and contributes to fibrosis by mediating pathways that are related to matrix preservation and fibroblasts differentiation. There is no doubt that antioxidants protect against different inflammatory conditions by reversing the effects of nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur‐based reactive elements. Oxidative stress has a direct impact on chronic inflammation, and as results, prolonged inflammation ultimately results in fibrosis. Different types of antioxidants, in the forms of vitamins, natural compounds or synthetic ones, have been proven to be beneficial in the protection against fibrotic conditions both in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we reviewed the role of different compounds with antioxidant activity in induction or inhibition of TGF‐β/SMAD signalling pathway, with regard to different fibrotic conditions such as gastro‐intestinal fibrosis, cardiac fibrosis, pulmonary fibrosis, skin fibrosis, renal fibrosis and also some rare cases of fibrosis, both in animal models and cell lines.
Role of AT‐rich interaction domain 1A in gastric cancer immunotherapy: Preclinical and clinical perspectives
Authors: Zhang Xuemei , Zhang Youzhi , Zhang Qiaoyun , Lu Mengyao , Chen Yuan , Zhang Xiaoyu , Zhang Peng 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThe application of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) using monoclonal antibodies has brought about a profound transformation in the clinical outcomes for patients grappling with advanced gastric cancer (GC). Nonetheless, despite these achievements, the quest for effective functional biomarkers for ICI therapy remains constrained. Recent research endeavours have shed light on the critical involvement of modified epigenetic regulators in the pathogenesis of gastric tumorigenesis, thus providing a glimpse into potential biomarkers. Among these regulatory factors, AT‐rich interaction domain 1A (ARID1A), a pivotal constituent of the switch/sucrose non‐fermentable (SWI/SNF) complex, has emerged as a promising candidate. Investigations have unveiled the pivotal role of ARID1A in bridging the gap between genome instability and the reconfiguration of the tumour immune microenvironment, culminating in an enhanced response to ICI within the landscape of gastric cancer treatment. This all‐encompassing review aims to dissect the potential of ARID1A as a valuable biomarker for immunotherapeutic approaches in gastric cancer, drawing from insights garnered from both preclinical experimentation and clinical observations.
Association of RPS26 gene polymorphism with different types of diabetes in Chinese individuals
Authors: Song Rong , Xie Lingxiang , Ding Jin , Chen Yan , Zou Hailan , Pang Haipeng , Peng Yiman , Xia Ying , Xie Zhiguo , Li Xia , Xiao Yang , Zhou Zhiguang , Hu Jingyi 
Published: December 2023

AbstractAims/IntroductionDifferent types of diabetes show distinct genetic characteristics, but the specific genetic susceptibility factors remain unclear. Our study aimed to explore the associations between the ribosomal protein S26 (RPS26) gene rs1131017 polymorphisms and susceptibility to type 1 diabetes mellitus, latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) and type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Chinese Han population, and their correlations with clinical features.Materials and MethodsGenotyping of the rs1131017 variant was carried out for 1,006 type 1 diabetes mellitus patients, 210 LADA patients, 642 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients and 2,099 control individuals.ResultsWe found that the rs1131017 C allele was a risk locus for both type 1 diabetes mellitus and LADA (odds ratio [OR] 1.50, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.33–1.69, P < 0.001; OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.04–1.64, P = 0.021, respectively). Nevertheless, this association was not found for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Carrying the C allele genotype was associated with a lower postprandial C‐peptide for type 1 diabetes mellitus (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.11–1.80, P = 0.006) and lower fasting C‐peptide for LADA (OR 1.55, 95% CI 1.01–2.38, P = 0.047). Interestingly, a lower GC frequency was noted for LADA than for type 1 diabetes mellitus, regardless of classification based on age at diagnosis, C‐peptide or glutamic acid decarboxylase antibody positivity.ConclusionsThe RPS26 polymorphism was associated with susceptibility and clinical characteristics of type 1 diabetes mellitus and LADA in the Chinese population, but was not related to type 2 diabetes mellitus. Thus, it might serve as a novel biomarker for particular types of diabetes.
Baricitinib treatment rapidly improves the four signs of atopic dermatitis assessed by Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) clinical subscores
Authors: Wollenberg Andreas , Simon Dagmar , Kulthanan Kanokvalai , Figueras‐Nart Ignasi , Misery Laurent , Tangsirisap Nithi , Spina Lara , Lu Na , Grond Susanne , Eyerich Kilian 
Published: December 2023

AbstractBackgroundBaricitinib treatment in adults with moderate‐to‐severe atopic dermatitis (AD) has demonstrated rapid improvements in itch as well as AD sign severity and affected body surface area as assessed by the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) total score, whether administered as monotherapy or in combination with topical corticosteroids (TCS). As EASI clinical signs differ in time course and associated antecedents, the effects of baricitinib on each individual clinical sign are of interest.ObjectivesIn this post hoc analysis, we aimed to investigate the effects of baricitinib on individual EASI subscores, namely excoriation, oedema/papulation, erythema and lichenification, in both monotherapy and TCS combination therapy trials.MethodsWe analysed the percent change from baseline in individual EASI subscores from three phase‐III, double‐blind, 16‐week trials of baricitinib in monotherapy (BREEZE‐AD1/BREEZE‐AD2) and TCS combination therapy (BREEZE‐AD7) cohorts via mixed model repeated measures (MMRM).ResultsBaricitinib 4 mg showed rapid and sustained improvements in all four clinical signs in both cohorts. Significant effects emerged at week 1 for excoriation, oedema/papulation and erythema scores in monotherapy (p < 0.001) and TCS combination therapy (p < 0.001, p < 0.01, p < 0.001), plateaued at week 4, and remained significant versus placebo through week 16. The effect on lichenification scores also emerged early, at week 1 in monotherapy (p < 0.05) and week 2 in combination therapy (p < 0.001), with scores continuously improving without a clear plateau. Effect magnitude was highest in excoriation scores, exhibiting near‐maximal reduction in week 1 of monotherapy and remaining highest across all timepoints in combination therapy.ConclusionsRapid and sustained improvements were observed across clinical signs of inflammation and particularly on excoriation following baricitinib treatment. Our findings suggest that selective inhibition of janus kinases 1 and 2 leads to rapid and sustained control of skin inflammation, and that rapid reductions in itch translate into early disruption of the itch‐scratch cycle.
The role of dietary vitamin A in mechanisms of cataract development in the teleost lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus L)
Authors: Deering Margret J. , Paradis Hélène , Ahmad Raahyma , Al‐Mehiawi Adil S. , Gendron Robert L. 
Published: December 2023

AbstractLumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus L) are highly prone to cataract development in the wild and in culture. There is evidence that cataract in farmed fish is related to nutrition. However, both the nutrients and the mechanisms involved in cataract development in lumpfish are not clear. Here we investigated the mechanisms involved and the role of dietary vitamin A in cataract development in a cultured lumpfish population. Cultured lumpfish were fed three diets differing only in vitamin A supplementation level (5000, 15,000 and 120,000 IU/kg) over an 18‐month period, and fish weight, cataract frequencies and severities were determined. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were performed on lens tissue to measure the levels of oxidative stress, and apoptosis. The lowest levels of vitamin A significantly reduced cataract frequencies in adult lumpfish and resulted in less severe cataract and increased weight in males. Oxidative stress levels in the lens were positively correlated with vitamin A intake. Apoptosis was observed at high levels in lenses with severe cataract. Oxidative stress and apoptosis levels were the highest in regions of the lens with severe, advanced cataract pathology when compared to regions with no visible pathology. These results suggest that higher vitamin A intake contributes to cataract development through an oxidative stress pathway, and that both oxidative stress and apoptosis are involved in advanced stages of cataract in lumpfish.