bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Integrated twitter analysis to distinguish systems thinkers at various levels: a case study of COVID-19
Authors: Pirim Harun , Nagahi Morteza , Larif Oumaima , Nagahisarchoghaei Mohammad , Jaradat Raed 
Published: February 2023

AbstractSystems Thinking (ST) has become essential for practitioners and experts when dealing with turbulent and complex environments. Twitter medium harbors social capital including systems thinkers, however there are limited studies available in the extant literature that investigate how experts' systems thinking skills, if possible at all, can be revealed within Twitter analysis. This study aims to reveal systems thinking levels of experts from their Twitter accounts represented as a network. Unraveling of latent Twitter network clusters ensues the centrality analysis of their follower networks inferred in terms of systems thinking dimensions. COVID-19 emerges as a relevant case study to investigate the relationship between COVID-19 experts’ Twitter network and their systems thinking capabilities. A sample of 55 trusted expert Twitter accounts related to COVID-19 has been selected for the current study based on the lists from Forbes, Fortune, and Bustle. The Twitter network has been constructed based on the features extracted from their Twitter accounts. Community detection reveals three distinct groups of experts. In order to relate system thinking qualities to each group, systems thinking dimensions are matched with the follower network characteristics such as node-level metrics and centrality measures including degree, betweenness, closeness and Eigen centrality. Comparison of the 55 expert follower network characteristics elucidates three clusters with significant differences in centrality scores and node-level metrics. The clusters with a higher, medium, lower scores can be classified as Twitter accounts of Holistic thinkers, Middle thinkers, and Reductionist thinkers, respectfully. In conclusion, systems thinking capabilities are traced through unique network patterns in relation to the follower network characteristics associated with systems thinking dimensions.
Studies on the potential of the basic substance chitosan in managing Podosphaera pannosa on cutting roses and Erysiphe polygoni on French hydrangea
Authors: Wulf Florian , Podhorna Jana , Rybak Malgorzata , Büttner Carmen , Bandte Martina 
Published: February 2023

AbstractHorticultural production systems have to move forwards to an environment-friendly and sustainable plant production. Basic substances can be added to reduce the use of synthetic plant protectant in conventional plant protection strategies. Regarding the protection of ornamental plants, less is known about the usage and behaviour of these alternative strategies and components. In our study, an infection of Podosphaera pannosa and Erysiphe polygoni in two different cultivars of cutting roses and one cultivar of French hydrangea was investigated. We studied the effect of a weekly foliar treatment of the basic substance chitosan (0.05 g/m2) compared to a water control and potassium hydrogen carbonate (VitiSan, Biofa GmbH, Münsing, Germany) in both production systems. As a result, in cutting roses as well as in French hydrangea, we found a significantly decreased infected leaf area following the use of chitosan and VitiSan compared to the water control. In both treatments, we found a stronger effect in French hydrangea, compared to roses. Results also indicate that the basic substance chitosan has to be used at a low pathogen level. We present a promising approach to reduce conventional plant protectants in ornamental plant production.
A Pilot Study on the Co-existence of Diabetes and Endometriosis in Reproductive-Age Women: Potential for Endometriosis Progression
Authors: Alhallak Iad , Quick Charles M. , Graham Garrett L. , Simmen Rosalia C. M. 
Published: February 2023

AbstractEndometriosis (ENDO) is a chronic estrogen-dependent gynecological condition that affects reproductive-age women, causing pelvic pain, infertility, and increased risk for ovarian cancer. Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disease with significant morbidity and mortality and rising incidence worldwide. The occurrence of DM among ENDO patients remains understudied, despite commonalities in these conditions’ immune, inflammatory, and metabolic dysfunctions. This pilot study evaluated whether a subset of women with ENDO manifests DM co-morbidity and if so, whether DM promotes ENDO status. Archived ectopic lesions obtained at ENDO surgery from non-diabetic (ENDO-N; n = 11) and diabetic (ENDO-DM; n = 15) patients were identified by a search of an electronic health database. Retrieved samples were analyzed by immunohistochemistry for markers of proliferation (Ki67, PTEN), steroid receptor signaling (ESR, PGR) and macrophage infiltration (CD68). Immunostaining data were expressed as percentages of immune-positive cells in lesion stroma and epithelium. In lesion stroma, the percentages of nuclear immune-positive cells were higher for ESR2 and lower for PGR-T, in ENDO-DM than ENDO-N patients. The percentages of nuclear immune-positive cells for ESR1 and PTEN tended to be higher and lower, respectively, in ENDO-DM than ENDO-N groups. In lesion glandular epithelium, the percentages of nuclear immune-positive cells were higher for ESR1 and ESR2, in ENDO-DM than ENDO-N groups. ENDO-N lesions had lower percentages of stromal CD68 immune-positive cells than ENDO-DM Type 1 lesions. Findings demonstrate DM in a subset of women with ENDO, which was associated with significant changes in lesion stromal and epithelial nuclear steroid hormone receptor levels, suggestive of disease progression.
The influence of cyclooxygenase inhibitors on kynurenic acid production in rat kidney: a novel path for kidney protection?
Authors: Zakrocka Izabela , Załuska Wojciech 
Published: February 2023

AbstractBackgroundKidney diseases have become a global health problem, affecting about 15% of adults and being often under-recognized. Immunological system activation was shown to accelerate kidney damage even in inherited disorders. The kynurenine pathway is the main route of tryptophan degradation. A metabolite of kynurenine (KYN), kynurenic acid (KYNA), produced by kynurenine aminotransferases (KATs), was reported to affect fluid and electrolyte balance as a result of natriuresis induction. The accumulation of KYNA was shown in patients with impaired kidney function and its level was related to the degree of kidney damage. Cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitors are well-known analgesics and most of them demonstrate an anti-inflammatory effect. Their main mechanism of action is prostaglandin synthesis blockade, which is also responsible for their nephrotoxic potential. Since the KYN pathway is known to remain under immunological system control, the purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of 9 COX inhibitors on KYNA production together with KATs’ activity in rat kidneys in vitro.MethodsExperiments were carried out on kidney homogenates in the presence of L-KYN and the selected compound in 6 various concentrations.ResultsAmong the examined COX inhibitors only acetaminophen did not change KYNA production in rat kidneys in vitro. Additionally, acetaminophen did not affect the activity of KAT I and KAT II, whereas acetylsalicylic acid and ibuprofen inhibited only KAT II. The remaining COX inhibitors decreased the activity of both KATs in rat kidneys in vitro.ConclusionOur study provides novel mechanisms of COX inhibitors action in the kidney, with possible implications for the treatment of kidney diseases.Graphical abstract
Advance Consent in Acute Stroke Trials: Survey of Canadian Stroke Physicians
Authors: Udoh Ubong , Dewar Brian , Nicholls Stuart , Fedyk Mark , Fahed Robert , Perry Jeff , Hill Michael D. , Menon Bijoy , Swartz Richard H. , Poppe Alexandre Y. , Gocan Sophia , Brehaut Jamie , Dainty Katie , Shepherd Victoria , Dowlatshahi Dar , Shamy Michel 
Published: February 2023

ABSTRACT:Advance consent presents a potential solution to the challenge of obtaining informed consent for participation in acute stroke trials. Clinicians in stroke prevention clinics are uniquely positioned to identify and seek consent from potential stroke trial participants. To assess the acceptability of advance consent to Canadian stroke clinic physicians, we performed an online survey. We obtained 58 respondents (response rate 35%): the vast majority (82%) expressed comfort with obtaining advance consent and 92% felt that doing so would not be a significant disruption to clinic workflow. These results support further study of advance consent for acute stroke trials.
A multisite exploration of the association between critical care implementation factors and clinical outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Silver Santana , Redmond Sarah , Jones Kayla Christine , George Emily , Zornes Sarah , Barwise Amelia , Leppin Aaron , Dong Yue , Harmon Lori A. , Kumar Vishakha K. , Kordik Christina , Drainoni Mari-Lynn , Walkey Allan J. 
Published: February 2023

Abstract

Background:
Little is known about strategies to implement new critical care practices in response to COVID-19. Moreover, the association between differing implementation climates and COVID-19 clinical outcomes has not been examined. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between implementation determinants and COVID-19 mortality rates.

Methods:
We used mixed methods guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR). Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with critical care leaders and analyzed to rate the influence of CFIR constructs on the implementation of new care practices. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons of CFIR construct ratings were performed between hospital groups with low- versus high-mortality rates.

Results:
We found associations between various implementation factors and clinical outcomes of critically ill COVID-19 patients. Three CFIR constructs (implementation climate, leadership engagement, and engaging staff) had both qualitative and statistically significant quantitative correlations with mortality outcomes. An implementation climate governed by a trial-and-error approach was correlated with high COVID-19 mortality, while leadership engagement and engaging staff were correlated with low mortality. Another three constructs (needs of patient; organizational incentives and rewards; and engaging implementation leaders) were qualitatively different across mortality outcome groups, but these differences were not statistically significant.

Conclusions:
Improving clinical outcomes during future public health emergencies will require reducing identified barriers associated with high mortality and harnessing salient facilitators associated with low mortality. Our findings suggest that collaborative and engaged leadership styles that promote the integration of new yet evidence-based critical care practices best support COVID-19 patients and contribute to lower mortality.
Exploring Social Media Network Connections to Assist During Public Health Emergency Response: A Retrospective Case-Study of Hurricane Matthew and Twitter Users in Georgia, USA
Authors: Muniz-Rodriguez Kamalich , Schwind Jessica S. , Yin Jingjing , Liang Hai , Chowell Gerardo , Fung Isaac Chun-Hai 
Published: February 2023

AbstractObjective:To assist communities who suffered from hurricane-inflicted damages, emergency responders may monitor social media messages. We present a case-study using the event of Hurricane Matthew to analyze the results of an imputation method for the location of Twitter users who follow school and school districts in Georgia, USA.Methods:Tweets related to Hurricane Matthew were analyzed by content analysis with latent Dirichlet allocation models and sentiment analysis to identify needs and sentiment changes over time. A hurdle regression model was applied to study the association between retweet frequency and content analysis topics.Results:Users residing in counties affected by Hurricane Matthew posted tweets related to preparedness (n= 171; 16%), awareness (n= 407; 38%), call-for-action or help (n= 206; 19%), and evacuations (n= 93; 9%), with mostly a negative sentiment during the preparedness and response phase. Tweets posted in the hurricane path during the preparedness and response phase were less likely to be retweeted than those outside the path (adjusted odds ratio: 0.95; 95% confidence interval: 0.75, 1.19).Conclusions:Social media data can be used to detect and evaluate damages of communities affected by natural disasters and identify users’ needs in at-risk areas before the event takes place to aid during the preparedness phases.
Where Does General Relativity Break Down?
Authors: Weatherall James Owen 
Published: February 2023

AbstractIt is widely accepted by physicists and philosophers of physics alike that there are certain contexts in which general relativity will “break down.” In such cases, one expects to need some as-yet-undiscovered successor theory. This article discusses certain pathologies of general relativity that might be taken to signal that the theory is breaking down and considers how one might expect a successor theory to do better. The upshot is an unconventional interpretation of the “strong cosmic censorship hypothesis.”
How to Measure Effect Sizes for Rational Decision Making
Authors: Jäntgen Ina 
Published: February 2023

AbstractAbsolute and relative outcome measures measure a treatment’s effect size, purporting to inform treatment choices. I argue that absolute measures are at least as good as, if not better than, relative ones for informing rational decisions across choice scenarios. Specifically, this dominance of absolute measures holds for choices between a treatment and a control group treatment from a trial and for ones between treatments tested in different trials. This distinction has hitherto been neglected, just like the role of absolute and baseline risks in rational decision making that my analysis reveals. Recognizing both aspects advances the discussion on reporting outcome measures.
T Falls Apart: On the Status of Classical Temperature in Relativity
Authors: Chua Eugene Yew Siang 
Published: February 2023

AbstractI argue that the classical temperature concept falls apart in special relativity by examining four consilient procedures for establishing classical temperature: Carnot processes, thermometers, kinetic theory, and black-body radiation. I show that their relativistic counterparts demonstrate no such consilience. I suggest two interpretations for this situation: eliminativism akin to simultaneity, or pluralism akin to rotation.
Random Foraging and Perceived Randomness
Authors: Abrams Marshall 
Published: February 2023

AbstractResearch in evolutionary ecology on random foraging seems to ignore the possibility that some random foraging is an adaptation not to environmental randomness, but to what Wimsatt called “perceived randomness.” This occurs when environmental features are unpredictable, whether physically random or not. Mere perceived randomness may occur, for example, due to effects of climate change or certain kinds of static landscape variation. I argue that an important mathematical model concerning random foraging doesn’t depend on environmental randomness, despite contrary remarks by researchers. I use computer simulations to illustrate the idea that random foraging is an adaptation to mere perceived randomness.
Measuring the Nonexistent: Validity before Measurement
Authors: Zhao Kino 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThis article examines the role existence plays in measurement validity. I argue that existing popular theories of measurement and of validity follow a correspondence framework, which starts by assuming that an entity exists in the real world with certain properties that allow it to be measurable. Drawing on literature from the sociology of measurement, I show that the correspondence framework faces several theoretical and practical challenges. I suggest the validity-first framework of measurement, which starts with a practice-based validation process as the basis for a measurement theory and only posits objective existence when it is scientifically useful to do so.
Temporal Neutrality Implies Exponential Temporal Discounting
Authors: Callender Craig 
Published: February 2023

AbstractHow should one discount utility across time? The conventional wisdom in social science is that one should use an exponential discount function. Such a function is a representation of the axioms that provide a well-defined utility function plus a condition known as stationarity. Yet stationarity doesn’t really have much intuitive normative pull on its own. Here I try to cast it in a normative glow by deriving stationarity from two explicitly normative premises, both suggested by the philosophical thesis of temporal neutralism. Putting the argument in this form helps us better understand exponential discounting and challenges to it.
New Voters and Old Voters: Understanding Volatility in Quebecers’ Federal Election Votes between 2008 and 2019
Authors: Embree Robert , Westlake Daniel 
Published: February 2023

AbstractFederal elections between 2008 and 2019 saw a great of volatility in Quebec, with important consequences for election outcomes. The surge in New Democratic Party (NDP) support in Quebec led the party to official opposition, while Liberal gains in 2011 led the party to a majority government, and Bloc Québécois gains in 2019 helped to reduce the Liberals to a minority. To what extent was this volatility driven by voters switching parties and to what degree was it driven by voters entering and exiting the electorate? This article uses ecological inference based on riding-level data to examine the dynamics of party competition in Quebec from 2008 to 2019. We show that while voter mobilization mattered to volatility, vote switching was the important driver of changing party fortunes during this period.
Correlations of whole blood heavy metals with serum immunological and oxidative markers during the early dry period and transition period of dairy cattle
Authors: Karimi Negar , Seifi Hesam Aldin , Heidarpour Mohammad 
Published: February 2023

AbstractImmunological and oxidative alterations have been reported around calving in dairy cattle. In addition, the levels of heavy metals rise in the blood around parturition, which might affect body systems. Therefore, in this Research Communication we evaluate the changes in whole blood lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and cadmium (Cd) around calving, in comparison with the beginning of the dry period, and assess the correlations of these elements with immunological factors and oxidative markers. Samples were collected from 30 clinically healthy dairy cows in the early dry period (−6 w), one week before expected calving (−1 w), and one week postpartum (+1 w). The highest concentrations of Pb, As, and Cd were observed at −1 w and all the three elements decreased after parturition leading to significantly lower As and Cd, compared to −1 w (P < 0.05). The lowest levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha, immunoglobulin G, interleukin 4, interleukin 10 and haptoglobin were found at −1 w simultaneous with the highest measures of the heavy metals, with tumor necrosis factor-alpha being significantly lower at this time (P < 0.05). At −6 w, As concentration was significantly (P < 0.05) correlated negatively (r = −0.366) and positively (r = 0.417) with total antioxidant capacity and malondialdehyde, respectively. Furthermore, at −1 w Pb and As had significant (P < 0.05) negative correlations with interferon gamma (r = −0.502) and interleukin 4 (r = −0.483), respectively. After parturition, Pb was observed to be negatively correlated with total antioxidant capacity (r = −0.538, P < 0.05). The observed results revealed that the alterations in immunological factors and antioxidant capacity around parturition were correlated with Pb and As levels.
Larvae of Spirocerca lupi and another spirurid species in the same dung beetles: notes on species identification
Authors: Doanh P.N. , Hoa L.T.K. , Hien H.V. , Chinh N.N. , Phuc P.T.H. , Lan N.T.K. 
Published: February 2023

Abstract
Various dung beetle species of the family Scarabaeidae have been reported as intermediate hosts of Spirocerca lupi from different geographical locations, but there has been no data from south-east Asian countries. In the present study in Vietnam, by using morphological and molecular approaches, we identified the third-stage larvae of S. lupi for the first time in two dung beetle species, Catharsius molossus and Copris szechouanicus, adding them as new intermediate hosts of this nematode. In addition, both beetle species were infected with larvae of another spirurid nematode of Physocephalus sp. At large magnifications above 200×, these two spirurid larvae can be differentiated from each other by their body size (1880–2662 vs. 1417–1635 μm) and detailed morphological features of the anterior and posterior ends, such as the length of the buccal cavity, the position of the nerve ring and excretory pore, and tail characters. However, it is difficult to distinguish them at a lower magnification due to their minute size. Moreover, morphometric data of S. lupi larvae vary among reports and the body length may overlap with that of Physocephalus sp., thus, misidentification may occur, indicating the necessity of careful examination for accurate identification. The findings of the present study also supposed that larvae of S. lupi and more spirurid nematodes may be concurrently found in various dung beetle species, including C. molossus and C. szechouanicus, in other south-east Asian countries. Thus, more investigations in various countries should be conducted to identify spirurid larvae from dung beetles in order to fully understand their role as intermediate hosts of S. lupi and other spirurid nematodes.
Soft-walled monothalamid foraminifera from the intertidal zones of the Lorn area, north-west Scotland
Authors: Henderson Zaineb 
Published: February 2023

Abstract
Recent advances in molecular phylogeny and increasing numbers of studies carried out worldwide in subtidal and deep-water marine sites have confirmed that monothalamid foraminifera represent a significant component of the marine benthos. Fewer studies have been carried out on monothalamids in littoral zones, and here I describe more than 13 novel morphotypes of soft-walled monothalamids found at several intertidal sites in the Lorn area of north-west Scotland. Samples of sediment were collected from these areas and monothalamid tests were removed from the mud by direct manipulation with brushes, by coverslip-capture, by capture with a magnet for those with magnetic particles or by extraction from mud balls. Attached forms of tests from the same sites were isolated from collected seaweed blades, pebbles and decaying shells. Monothalamids were observed live and photographed in their natural colours, followed by examination after preservation in alcohol and embedding in glycerol. The greatest diversity of species was found to be at estuaries near to the mouths of the sea lochs, and the abundance of some of the species varied with the time of the year, being different for each species. The observed taxa included a Vellaria sp. and Psammophaga sp., two allogromiids, three saccamminids and six undetermined species; each assemblage of specimens may have contained more than one species not readily discernible by morphological characteristics alone. Taxonomic parallels between the described specimens and those in reports for other parts of the world and in deeper waters in western Scotland are discussed.