bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Meta‐analyses of anxiety, motivation, performance, satisfaction, and self‐efficacy in virtual reality‐assisted language education
Authors: Yu Zhonggen , Duan Peng 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThe popularity of virtual reality (VR) technologies has increased since the onset of the COVID‐19 pandemic. However, there is a paucity of meta‐analytic studies that have investigated the use of VR technologies in language education. This current study addresses this gap by conducting a systematic analysis of 41 randomized controlled studies conducted between 2008 and 2021, examining the effects of VR technologies on language educational outcomes. The findings indicate that VR technologies reduce anxiety levels while enhancing motivation, performance, satisfaction, and self‐efficacy in language learning when compared to traditional learning methods. These outcomes are observed regardless of whether learners engage with immersive or nonimmersive environments and whether they use head‐mounted displays or nonhead‐mounted displays. Future research can investigate the impact of VR on intercultural communicative competence and collaborative problem‐solving abilities.
Recent increases in annual, seasonal, and extreme methane fluxes driven by changes in climate and vegetation in boreal and temperate wetland ecosystems
Authors: Feron Sarah , Malhotra Avni , Bansal Sheel , Fluet‐Chouinard Etienne , McNicol Gavin , Knox Sara H. , Delwiche Kyle B. , Cordero Raul R. , Ouyang Zutao , Zhang Zhen , Poulter Benjamin , Jackson Robert B. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractClimate warming is expected to increase global methane (CH4) emissions from wetland ecosystems. Although in situ eddy covariance (EC) measurements at ecosystem scales can potentially detect CH4 flux changes, most EC systems have only a few years of data collected, so temporal trends in CH4 remain uncertain. Here, we use established drivers to hindcast changes in CH4 fluxes (FCH4) since the early 1980s. We trained a machine learning (ML) model on CH4 flux measurements from 22 [methane‐producing sites] in wetland, upland, and lake sites of the FLUXNET‐CH4 database with at least two full years of measurements across temperate and boreal biomes. The gradient boosting decision tree ML model then hindcasted daily FCH4 over 1981–2018 using meteorological reanalysis data. We found that, mainly driven by rising temperature, half of the sites (n = 11) showed significant increases in annual, seasonal, and extreme FCH4, with increases in FCH4 of ca. 10% or higher found in the fall from 1981–1989 to 2010–2018. The annual trends were driven by increases during summer and fall, particularly at high‐CH4‐emitting fen sites dominated by aerenchymatous plants. We also found that the distribution of days of extremely high FCH4 (defined according to the 95th percentile of the daily FCH4 values over a reference period) have become more frequent during the last four decades and currently account for 10–40% of the total seasonal fluxes. The share of extreme FCH4 days in the total seasonal fluxes was greatest in winter for boreal/taiga sites and in spring for temperate sites, which highlights the increasing importance of the non‐growing seasons in annual budgets. Our results shed light on the effects of climate warming on wetlands, which appears to be extending the CH4 emission seasons and boosting extreme emissions.
Adult‐onset linear IgA bullous dermatosis: a retrospective single‐center cohort study of 81 patients and literature review
Authors: Wang Katherine L. , Lehman Julia S. , Todd Austin , Davis Dawn M. R. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractBackgroundLinear IgA bullous dermatosis (LABD) is a rare autoimmune blistering disorder that may be drug‐induced or paraneoplastic. We aim to characterize features of LABD and determine differentiating factors among idiopathic, drug‐induced, or malignancy‐associated diseases.MethodsWe conducted a single‐center retrospective chart review of adult patients with linear IgA bullous dermatosis at a large tertiary referral center and a literature review of adult linear IgA bullous dermatosis.ResultsEighty‐one patients were included in the study. Ten patients (12.3%) had comorbid malignancy and nine (11.1%) had inflammatory bowel disease. Median disease duration was significantly shorter in both drug‐induced (1.2 vs. 48.8 months; P < 0.001) and malignancy‐associated (1.7 vs. 48.8 months; P < 0.001) LABD compared with idiopathic LABD. Recurrent episodes occurred significantly more often in idiopathic LABD compared to those with drug‐induced (76.1 vs. 11.5%; P < 0.001) or malignancy‐associated disease (76.1 vs. 33.3%; P = 0.019). Time to diagnosis was significantly shorter in the drug‐induced (0.2 vs. 5.4 months; P < 0.001) and malignancy‐associated groups (0.7 vs. 5.4 months; P = 0.049) compared with idiopathic; similarly, time to improvement was significantly shorter in both drug‐induced (0.4 vs. 3.0 months; P < 0.001) and malignancy‐associated disease (1.1 vs. 3.0 months; P = 0.016). Clinical morphology was indistinguishable between groups. Limitations included retrospective data collection, data from tertiary referral centers, and limited racial and ethnic diversity.ConclusionScreening for underlying malignancy, as well as for a predisposing medication or possibly inflammatory bowel disease, may be advisable in patients with LABD, particularly when it is newly diagnosed.
Comparison of influenza viral load in nasopharyngeal and midturbinate swabs
Authors: Bernasconi Corrado , Katugampola Laurie , Wildum Steffen 
Published: January 2024

AbstractDifferent specimen types are used for influenza diagnosis but comparative data for viral loads from different swab types are limited. We compared influenza viral loads (determined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction [RT‐PCR]) in 93 paired midturbinate and nasopharyngeal swab aliquots from influenza infected patients enrolled in a phase 3 randomized‐controlled study with the objective of maximizing the number of swabs available for sequence analysis. Midturbinate swabs yielded a 53% lower viral load versus nasopharyngeal swabs, and this difference was similar for influenza A and B. These data suggest that nasopharyngeal swabs might be preferred in diagnostic settings when obtaining higher viral load is important.
The effects of telecommunication technology and leadership quality on private consumption in Malaysia
Authors: Tang Chor Foon , Lim Yu Syuen 
Published: January 2024

AbstractWe estimate the long‐run impacts of telecommunication technologies, information and communication technology (ICT), and national leadership on private consumption in Malaysia. To accomplish this objective, the research employs the unit root and cointegration tests on a quarterly sample from 1995:Q1 to 2020:Q4. Our results show that private consumption, ICT, leadership quality and other determinants are cointegrated. In the long‐run, we find that ICT and leadership quality both have a significance positive impact on private consumption. We also discovered that better ICT development and leadership quality will moderate the effects of disposable income on private consumption. Interestingly, the impact of ICT on private consumption is also found to be contingent upon the degree of leadership quality. Thus, policy initiatives aimed to improve ICT infrastructure and nurturing first‐class leadership talents should be prioritised in an effort to promote private consumption, which eventually leads to economic growth and development.
Conditionality as an Instrument of European Governance – Cases, Characteristics and Types
Authors: Becker Peter 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThe principle of conditionality has evolved in the European Union from a European foreign policy tool to an instrument of European governance. European conditionality developed as a hard mode of soft governance. This article describes the different forms and cases of using conditionality in European policy so far. Based on this analysis, it elaborates characteristics and patterns of European conditionality policy and tries to distinguish different types of conditionality. This article thus tries to conceptualise the principle, takes a view on the effect and development of the principle in the European Union and finally tries to develop a typology of European conditionality.
Assessing circularity of wastewater treatment systems: A critical review of indicators
Authors: Samberger Caroline , Imen Sanaz , Messologitis Katerina , Umble Arthur , Jacangelo Joseph G. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractGlobal energy demand, water demand, and raw materials extraction are major challenges for society as population grows. While a traditional linear economy approach leads to depletion of finite resources, damage to the Earth's ecosystems, and adverse impacts on human health, a paradigm shift toward implementation of circular economy principles is paramount to the reversal of world resources' exhaustion. The wastewater, or “used water,” sector can contribute to offsetting resource scarcity challenges by adopting circular economy principles to recover and reintroduce recovered resources into the economy. Transitioning to a circular economy model requires monitoring and tracking progress via metrics in the form of indicators. In this paper, a bibliometric analysis followed by a systematic literature review was conducted on available circular economy indicators in the used water treatment sector. Over 200 indicators were categorized into three impact categories: environmental, social, and economic to identify gaps in the existing literature. Results showed that less than 50% of the available circularity indicators are applied in the used water sector and environmental indicators represent the highest percentage among the potential applicable indicators. Research gaps in the circular economy literature in relation to used water treatment systems were identified and future research directions discussed.
Sexual jokes and conversations at the workplace and their relation to employee well‐being: Results from a longitudinal study
Authors: Hommelhoff Sabine , Richter David , Scheibe Susanne 
Published: January 2024

AbstractAmbient social sexual behaviour at work refers to sexual jokes and conversations at the workplace. Prior cross‐sectional studies indicate that this behaviour is relatively widespread and tends to be associated with negative well‐being. We revisit this research by investigating the outcomes of sexual jokes and conversations at work after 1 year in a comparatively large employee sample. The perceived frequency of sexual jokes and conversations at work was negatively related to job satisfaction and positively related to sick days and anger 1 year later, controlling for baseline levels. Moderating effects of gender and age were not significant. Half of the sample reported that such jokes and conversations were relatively common in their workplace, both before and after the onset of the MeToo movement. We discuss implications and propose ideas for studying the theoretical mechanisms of this phenomenon.
The first step in developing an International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health Core Set for Vision Loss: A systematic review
Authors: Billiet Lorenzo , van Nispen Ruth M. A. , De Baets Stijn , de Vries Ralph , Van de Velde Dominique , van der Aa Hilde P. A. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractAimAs a first step in developing an International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) Core Set for adults with vision loss, this systematic review sought to identify the researchers' perspective by identifying the most often used outcome measures and research topics obtained from studies on adults with vision loss.MethodsPubMed, Embase, CINAHL, APA PsycINFO and Web of Science were searched for studies on vision loss. Meaningful outcome measures and research topics were linked to the ICF components: environmental factors, body functions, body structures and the Activities and Participation life domains.ResultsAfter deduplication, 7219 records remained, of which 2328 articles were eligible for further review. For feasibility reasons, approximately 20% were randomly chosen from every publication year, resulting in 446 included articles. After full‐text reading, 349 articles remained, describing 753 outcome measures based on questionnaires and 2771 additional research topics that could be linked to the ICF. Most were linked to the component Activities and Participation, with a focus on recreation and leisure activities (ICF code d920, 70%), reading (d166, 34%) and driving (d475, 27%). For the component body function, seeing functions (b210, 83%) were most often reported. Outcome measures and research topics were least often linked to the body structure component and environmental factors.ConclusionThe broad range of ICF categories identified in this systematic review represents the variety of functioning typical for adults with vision loss. These results reflect the focus of researchers over the past 21 years by using various vision‐related outcomes. In our next steps to develop the ICF Core Set for Vision Loss, we will include perspectives of experts and lived experience.
d‐amino acids metabolism reflects the evolutionary origin of higher plants and their adaptation to the environment
Authors: Porras‐Dominguez Jaime , Lothier Jérémy , Limami Anis M. , Tcherkez Guillaume 
Published: January 2024

Abstractd‐amino acids are the
d stereoisomers of the common
l‐amino acids found in proteins. Over the past two decades, the occurrence of
d‐amino acids in plants has been reported and circumstantial evidence for a role in various processes, including interaction with soil microorganisms or interference with cellular signalling, has been provided. However, examples are not numerous and
d‐amino acids can also be detrimental, some of them inhibiting growth and development. Thus, the persistence of
d‐amino acid metabolism in plants is rather surprising, and the evolutionary origins of
d‐amino acid metabolism are currently unclear. Systemic analysis of sequences associated with
d‐amino acid metabolism enzymes shows that they are not simply inherited from cyanobacterial metabolism. In fact, the history of plant
d‐amino acid metabolism enzymes likely involves multiple steps, cellular compartments, gene transfers and losses. Regardless of evolutionary steps, enzymes of
d‐amino acid metabolism, such as
d‐amino acid transferases or racemases, have been retained by higher plants and have not simply been eliminated, so it is likely that they fulfil important metabolic roles such as serine, folate or plastid peptidoglycan metabolism. We suggest that
d‐amino acid metabolism may have been critical to support metabolic functions required during the evolution of land plants.
The effects of gender political inclusion and democracy on environmental performance: Evidence from the method of moments by quantile regression
Authors: Asongu Simplice A. , Ndour Cheikh T. , Ngoungou Judith C. M. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractMotivated by the difficulty of ensuring gender equality and the chaotic state of democracy, we analyze the effects of gender political inclusion and democracy on environmental policy performance. The study uses a panel of 45 African countries over the period 2012–2018 and employs the method of moments by quantile regression. The results show that gender political inclusion and democracy positively affect environmental performance in all quantiles. These positive effects tend to be stronger at higher quantiles. The magnitude is larger for gender political inclusion. When performance is decomposed into the sub‐indices of environmental health and ecosystem vitality, positive effects of gender political inclusion and democracy are observed in all quantiles. The effects are larger for the gender dimension than for the democracy dimension, regardless of the sub‐index used.Related ArticlesBingham, Natasha. 2016. “Fighting for Our Cause: The Impact of Women's NGOs on Gender Policy Adoption in Four Former Soviet Republics.” Politics & Policy 44(2): 294–318. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12155.Hankivsky, Olena. 2013. “Gender Mainstreaming: A Five‐Country Examination.” Politics & Policy 41(5): 629–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12037.Nchofoung, Tii, Simplice Asongu, Vanessa Tchamyou, and Ofeh Edoh. 2022. “Gender, Political Inclusion, and Democracy in Africa: Some Empirical Evidence.” Politics & Policy 51(1): 137–155. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12505.
APN nurses' core competencies for general clinical health assessment in primary health care. A scoping review
Authors: Søndergaard Susanne Friis , Andersen Anne Bendix , Frederiksen Kirsten 
Published: January 2024

AbstractBackgroundThe field of Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) has developed over the past six decades. However, the definition of roles and responsibilities of APN nurses seem to be contested due to both a lack of a clear definition of the concept and to institutional and cultural barriers that restrict the nurses' opportunities to practise to the full extent of their competencies.AimThe objective of this scoping review was to identify, examine and conceptually map the available literature on APN nurses' core competencies for general health assessment in primary health care.MethodWe performed a scoping review, following the methodological guidance for reporting as it is described by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). Furthermore, the PRISMA‐ScR statement and checklist for reporting scoping reviews were followed. Guiding the initial process for the search, we used the Population, Concept and Context mnemonic (PCC) to clarify the focus and context of the review.ResultsWe found three areas of core competencies on which APN nurse draw in performing general health assessments in primary health care: (1) ‘Collaborative, leadership and management skills’ (2) ‘Person‐centred nursing care skills’ and (3) ‘Academic and educational skills’. Furthermore, we found that the three areas are interrelated, because it is crucial that APN nurses draw on collaborative competencies related to leadership and management to meet the service users' needs and deliver high‐quality and person‐centred care.ConclusionThere is a need for a more specific investigation into how APN nurses' core competencies play a role during general health assessments of patients in primary care. We suggest an evaluation of what works for whom in what circumstances looking into the interrelation between competencies, skills and knowledge when an APN nurse performs a general health assessment in a primary healthcare setting.
Haematopoietic innate interleukin 17A production drives immunopathology in female mouse genital Chlamydia muridarum infection
Authors: Armitage Charles W. , Bryan Emily R. , Trim Logan , Palframan Ella , Wager Lucas , Beagley Kenneth W. , Carey Alison J. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractChlamydia trachomatis infection is the leading cause of bacterial urogenital infection and has been demonstrated to drive inflammation and scarring of the reproductive tract. Recent studies have identified key triggers of proinflammatory adaptive immune responses driven by innate leukocytes and epithelia driving immunopathology. Utilizing chimeric mouse models, we investigated the definitive source and role of IL17 and IL17 signalling receptors during early Chlamydia muridarum infection of the female urogenital tract. Bone marrow transplants from wild‐type (WT) and IL17A−/− mice to recipients demonstrated equivocal infection kinetics in the reproductive tract, but interestingly, adoptive transfer of IL17A−/− immune cells to WT recipients resulted in no infertility, suggesting a haematopoietic (as opposed to tissue) source of IL17 driving immunopathology. To further delineate the role of IL17 in immunopathology, we infected WT and IL17 receptor A (IL17RA)−/− female mice and observed a significant reduction in immunopathology in IL17RA−/− mice. WT bone marrow transplants to IL17RA−/− recipient mice prevented hydrosalpinx, suggesting signalling through IL17RA drives immunopathology. Furthermore, early chemical inhibition of IL17 signalling significantly reduced hydrosalpinx, suggesting IL17 acts as an innate driver of disease. Early during the infection, IL17 was produced by γδ T cells in the cervico‐vagina, but more importantly, by neutrophils at the site of infertility in the oviducts. Taken together, these data suggest innate production of IL17 by haematopoietic leukocytes drives immunopathology in the epithelia during early C. muridarum infection of the female reproductive tract.
Partial Eigenvalues Assignment in Singular Systems Using Brauer and Rado Eigenvalue Embedding for Impulse Elimination
Authors: Araújo José M. , Santos Tito L. M. 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
A partial infinite eigenvalues assignment for singular systems is proposed, inspired by the well-known Brauer theorem for eigenvalue embedding. Removal of infinite eigenvalues is a frequent practice in mechanical systems, for instance, to avoid impulsive acceleration and dangerous jerk of the system degrees-of-freedom with null or highly unbalanced mass. Recent efforts were delivered to extend the Brauer theorem to the generalized singular regular eigenvalue problem. However, removing infinite eigenvalues is treated as a particular example by taking the reciprocal pencil and removing its null eigenvalues. In this note, proof for partial infinite eigenvalues removal is made directly in the original regular singular pencil by updating the descriptor matrix, with no need to take the reciprocal pencil. Multi-step and single-step procedures for impulsive response elimination using Brauer’s and Rado’s type finite eigenvalues embedding are presented. The obtained results are effective, as illustrated in a numerical example.
Serum Vitamin D Levels Mediate the Association Between Physical Activity and Blood Pressure in Adolescents
Authors: Araujo-Moura Keisyanne , Nascimento-Ferreira Marcus Vinicius , Schaan Beatriz , Bloch Kátia , de Carvalho Kênia , Cureau Felipe , Ferreira De Moraes Augusto César 
Published: January 2024

Individuals with low levels of vitamin D are associated with cardiovascular risks, such as elevated blood pressure (BP), and are; therefore, more likely to develop hypertension. Patients with vitamin D deficiency may face an increased risk of cardiovascular events. In this study, a multicenter, cross-sectional, and school-based investigation was conducted as part of the ERICA project. The sample comprised 1152 adolescents aged 12–17 years from 4 Brazilian cities. Anthropometric variables, BP measurements, and hydroxyvitamin D concentrations were assessed. A 2-level linear regression was fitted to examine the relationship between each level of BP and independent variables. Our findings indicate that movement behaviors were not associated with BP levels, with the exception of sleep time, which demonstrated a positive association. However, after adjustment, this association was found to be nonsignificant. Our study’s mediation analysis revealed that vitamin D mediates up to 12.9% of the association between physical activity and systolic BP. Vitamin D is inversely associated with BP in adolescents. In addition to mediating the physical activity and systolic BP association, engaging in physical activity, particularly outdoors, can provide a dual benefit for adolescents by increasing serum vitamin D levels and assisting in the control of BP levels.