bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Monitoring Reading Component Skills during a Word‐Level Intervention for Adolescents with Limited Reading Proficiency
Authors: Washburn Jocelyn 
Published: April 2023

AbstractThis study examined incremental change for several reading component skills while adolescents were actively learning a word‐level intervention and measured pre‐/postintervention change in skills. Six ninth graders in two different classes participated during the 2019–2020 academic year. Primary analysis was based on an A‐B single‐case design across behaviors and participants to observe change in skills proximal to the intervention. Visual analyses of baseline and intervention phase data indicated correlational relationships between the word‐level intervention and word identification of multisyllabic words and oral reading fluency. Specifically, an aggregate Tau‐U statistical calculation for prosody showed a moderate 0.70 effect size. Secondary analysis indicated a statistically significant group effect for improved strategy knowledge and skill with a 0.90 effect size but no statistically significant group effects for silent reading fluency or sentence comprehension. Discussion includes connections between progress monitoring and reading theory as well as limitations and implications for researchers and practitioners.
Resilience and vulnerabilities of urban food environments in the Asia‐Pacific region
Authors: Rousham Emily , Clark Martyn , Latham Michelle , Oo Swan Pyae , Read Sonja , Griffiths Paula , Blankenship Jessica , Goudet Sophie 
Published: April 2023

AbstractRapid urbanisation in the Asia‐Pacific region is associated with complex changes to urban food environments. The impact of changing food environments on food purchasing and consumption and the diets and nutritional status of vulnerable groups, especially women and young children, is not well researched in low‐ and middle‐income country cities. This paper aimed to examine: the risks and opportunities for healthy diets for low income populations offered by modernising urban centres; the concept of food deserts in relation to urban food environments in the Asia‐Pacific region and how these could be mitigated; and measures to strengthen the resilience of food environments in the region using a case study of the impact of COVID‐19 on informal food vendors. Our findings indicate that the dynamic changes in urban food environments in the Asia‐ Pacific region need to be understood by examining not only modern retail food outlets but also wet markets and informal food outlets, including street foods. Efforts should be made to ensure both modern and traditional outlets provide complementary platforms for convenient, affordable and accessible nutritious foods for urban populations. The resilience of urban food environments to environmental, physical and socio‐economic shocks can be strengthened by shortening food supply chains and maximising food production in cities. Support mechanisms targeting urban informal food outlets and street vendors can also strengthen resilience and improve food security. Further research is needed on the impact of urbanising food environments on consumer choices, preferences, diets and health outcomes.
Determining the Good and Human Culpability: Catholic Catechesis on Overcoming the Anxiety of Sin
Authors: Goodey Daniel J. 
Published: April 2023

AbstractThis article focuses on the implications of modernity for human culpability and moral responsibility. Although the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation is most often approached theologically and pastorally, this article is intended as an answer to Pope Benedict XVI's call to explore catechesis through new lenses by adopting a psychological therapeutic approach. As such, this article will examine how the rejection of religious ascription to God for defining and determining the good and re-ascribing it to humanity leads to a rupture and the psychological conditions of anxiety, depression, and melancholia. The article will go on to argue for a Lacanian reading of Thomas Aquinas’ definition of the good and how the Thomistic understanding provides a more comprehensive approach to determining culpability and overcoming the associated fear which leads to anxiety, depression, and melancholia.
An Alternative Perspective on the Changing Relationships between Fertility and Replacement Level in European Countries
Authors: Parr Nick 
Published: April 2023

AbstractThis paper brings a new perspective to the population growth implications of the low fertility levels of European countries. For years between 2009 and 2018, whether constant fertility, mortality, and net migration would generate long‐run population growth or population decrease is indicated simply and visually by comparison of the total fertility rate (TFR) to a migration‐adjusted replacement level. The results show that, when considered in combination with concurrent net migration and mortality, the population growth implication of low fertility varies between countries and over time. For Sweden, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the United Kingdom for all the years considered the fertility–mortality–migration combination is coherent with long‐run population growth. For the former two countries, long‐run population growth would be sustained by net migration at current levels even if fertility were to fall to very low levels. In contrast, for every Eastern European country and year considered, unchanged fertility–mortality–migration combination would lead to population decrease. The need for an alternative view of low fertility in terms of whether the TFR is above or below a migration‐adjusted replacement level and the need for a migration context‐specific view, as distinct from a universal best view, of the desirability of fertility level are discussed.
The SCL30a SR protein regulates ABA‐dependent seed traits and germination under stress
Authors: Laloum Tom , Carvalho Sofia D. , Martín Guiomar , Richardson Dale N. , Cruz Tiago M. D. , Carvalho Raquel F. , Stecca Kevin L. , Kinney Anthony J. , Zeidler Mathias , Barbosa Inês C. R. , Duque Paula 
Published: April 2023

AbstractSR proteins are conserved RNA‐binding proteins best known as splicing regulators that have also been implicated in other steps of gene expression. Despite mounting evidence for a role in plant development and stress responses, the molecular pathways underlying SR protein regulation of these processes remain poorly understood. Here we show that the plant‐specific SCL30a SR protein negatively regulates ABA signaling to control seed traits and stress responses during germination in Arabidopsis. Transcriptome‐wide analyses revealed that loss of SCL30a function barely affects splicing, but largely induces ABA‐responsive gene expression and genes repressed during germination. Accordingly, scl30a mutant seeds display delayed germination and hypersensitivity to ABA and high salinity, while transgenic plants overexpressing SCL30a exhibit reduced ABA and salt stress sensitivity. An ABA biosynthesis inhibitor rescues the enhanced mutant seed stress sensitivity, and epistatic analyses confirm that this hypersensitivity requires a functional ABA pathway. Finally, seed ABA levels are unchanged by altered SCL30a expression, indicating that the gene promotes seed germination under stress by reducing sensitivity to the phytohormone. Our results reveal a new player in ABA‐mediated control of early development and stress response.
An evaluation of conventional and deep learning‐based image‐matching methods on diverse datasets
Authors: Ji Shunping , Zeng Chang , Zhang Yongjun , Duan Yulin 
Published: April 2023

AbstractImage matching plays an important role in photogrammetry, computer vision and remote sensing. Modern deep learning‐based methods have been proposed for image matching; however, whether they will surpass and take the place of the conventional handcrafted methods in the remote sensing field still remains unclear. A comprehensive evaluation on stereo remote sensing images is also lacking. This paper comprehensively evaluates the performance of conventional and deep learning‐based image‐matching methods by dividing the matching process into feature point extraction, description and similarity measure on various datasets, including images captured from close‐range indoor and outdoor scenarios, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and satellite platforms. Different combinations of the three steps are evaluated. The experimental results reveal that, first, the performance of the different combinations varies between individual datasets, and it is difficult to determine the best combination. Second, by using more comprehensive indicators on all of the datasets, that is, the average rank and absolute rank, the combination of scale‐invariant feature transform (SIFT), ContextDesc and the nearest neighbour distance ratio (NNDR), and also the original SIFT, achieve the best results, and are recommended for use in remote sensing. Third, the deep learning‐based Sub‐SuperPoint extractor obtains a good performance, and is second only to SIFT. The learning based ContextDesc descriptor is as effective as the SIFT descriptor, and the learning based SuperGlue matcher is not as stable as NNDR, but leads to a few top‐performing combinations. Finally, the handcrafted methods are generally faster than the deep learning‐based methods, but the efficiency of the latter is acceptable. We conclude that although a full deep learning‐based method/combination has not yet beaten the conventional methods, there is still much room for improvement with the deep learning‐based methods because large‐scale aerial and satellite training datasets remain to be constructed, and specific methods for remote sensing images remain to be developed. The performance of the different combinations of feature extractor, descriptor and similarity measure varies between individual datasets. The combination of SIFT, ContextDesc and NNDR, and also the original SIFT, achieve the best results when using more comprehensive indicators on all the datasets. For extractor, the learning based Sub‐SuperPoint is second only to SIFT; for descriptor, learning‐based ContextDesc is as effective as the SIFT descriptor; and for matcher, learning‐based SuperGlue is not as stable as NNDR.
Global supply chains and cross‐border financing
Authors: Hertzel Michael , Peng Jie , Wu Jing , Zhang Yu 
Published: April 2023

This paper provides evidence that the formation of global supply chain partnerships leads to an increased usage of cross‐border financing. The findings are detected in all three major financing markets—equities, syndicated loans, and public debt. Difference‐in‐differences tests allow us to draw a causal interpretation of our main findings, which also holds in several robustness tests. Our findings suggest that increased cross‐border financing reflects greater ability to access global financial markets, due to enhanced firm visibility and investor attention, as well as operational forces that arise when establishing new global supply chain partnerships. Specifically, we provide evidence that firms that are small, held less by institutional investors, and followed by fewer analysts have more benefits in cross‐border financing from the formation of the global supply chain. Our findings have important implications for firms attempting to integrate into the global supply chain network. More broadly, our findings suggest that the information generated by operational activities can have significant effects on subsequent financing activities.
Barriers of Women in Acquiring Leadership Positions in Agricultural Cooperatives: The Case of Cambodia☆
Authors: Huot Sovanneary , Jensen Leif , Bates Ricky , Ader David 
Published: April 2023

AbstractGender inequality in agriculture remains a global concern. Cambodia is marked by a lack of women representatives in leadership and decision‐making positions at every level, a problem that is clearly seen in agriculture. Previous research suggests a need to focus on financial and time constraints for women in acquiring leadership positions. Therefore, we study the barriers that women face in acquiring and continuing in leadership roles within two farmer cooperatives in Battambang and Siem Reap Provinces, Cambodia. Qualitative data were gathered through key informant interviews and focus group discussions with smallholder farmers. We find that women in these two cooperatives do have leadership opportunities, and some do acquire leadership roles. However, they face challenges in this regard. Obstacles include domestic work burden that limits time for activities off the farm, low education that inhibits capacity and the confidence to serve as leaders, and lack of proper compensation for leadership positions. If government agencies, policymakers, donors, NGOs, and others want women to play a greater leadership role, they need to reduce the interrelated constraints of time poverty, lack of capacity, and insufficient compensation.
Rethinking the regularity in mobility patterns of personal vehicle drivers: A multi‐city comparison using a feature engineering approach
Authors: Ji Yuhan , Gao Song , Huynh Tam , Scheele Chris , Triveri James , Kruse Jacob , Bennett Collin , Wen Yicheng 
Published: April 2023

AbstractLarge‐scale trajectory data offer a finer lens into the regularity in individual mobility choices. Previous studies have exerted efforts to measure the regularity in people's location visiting patterns. However, the complexity of travel behavior at different spatial and temporal scales has not been adequately considered. To capture regularity in a more comprehensive manner, we construct human mobility profiles with interpretable features at three levels, that is, location, motif, and route, on personal vehicle drivers. A feature engineering approach is designed to analyze the extent to which individuals exhibit multi‐level regularity. The analysis pipeline includes feature selection, user segmentation and profiling, and feature importance evaluation. Our empirical study analyzed over 4 million trips of 3743 personal vehicle drivers collected over a month in six metropolitan areas in the United States. The weak correlations between features confirm the validity of quantifying regularity from different aspects. We discovered five clusters of drivers (i.e., gig drivers, homebodies, movers, typical drivers, and work‐focused commuters) that differ in their regularity to commute to the workplace and the inclination to participate in non‐work activities. A similar driver segmentation and profiling pattern is found in all of the studied metro areas. The minor differences are interpreted from the distribution of mobility features and urban features. The proposed method using multi‐level feature engineering provides a generic framework to study regularity and can be readily adapted to other mobility data sources by customizing the features. The improved understanding of mobility patterns within the built environment is valuable for innovating urban transportation solutions.
Screening for Zika virus in US armed services blood program donors: An opportunity to compare emerging infectious disease risk between the general US population and military donors
Authors: Fedyk Chriselda G. , Shahin George M. , Hill Ronnie , Cap Andrew P. ,   DoD Zika IND Investigators
Published: April 2023

AbstractBackgroundThe U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) collects blood from volunteer DoD donors in U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)‐regulated centers, and from emergency donor panels in overseas operations. Emerging infectious diseases could reduce DoD access to blood products. In August 2016, FDA determined that Zika virus was transfusion‐transmitted and advised that donated blood should be screened for Zika utilizing one of two investigational new drug (IND) applications. The Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) tested blood using its own protocol concurrently with the IND study sponsored by Roche Molecular Systems, Inc., titled “A Prospective Study to Evaluate the Specificity of the cobas Zika test for use on the cobas 6800/8800 System for Screening of Blood Donations for the Presence of Zika virus RNA.”Study Design and MethodsThis prospective clinical trial (September 2016–August 2017) evaluated the specificity of the cobas Zika 6800/8800 System. Consenting volunteers were screened for Zika by participating reference labs. Participants with positive screens were offered a follow‐up study using alternative PCR and serology assays.Results92,618 DoD donors enrolled; four tested positive on screening (0.0043%; CI 0.001176896%, 0.01105894%). Three enrolled in follow‐up testing and none were positive. These results were comparable to all U.S. donors: 3,858,114 enrolled (excluding Puerto Rico) with 459 positive screens (0.0119%; CI 0.01083582%, 0.01303962%).ConclusionThe study demonstrated the effectiveness of the cobas Zika test. DoD donors, who are included in emergency donor panels during military operations, were at no higher risk for Zika than the overall U.S. donor population.
Scoping Review of Population-Based Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Saudi Arabia
Authors: Evenson Kelly R. , Alhusseini Noara , Moore Christopher C. , Hamza Mariam M. , Al-Qunaibet Ada , Rakic Severin , Alsukait Reem F. , Herbst Christopher H. , AlAhmed Reem , Al-Hazzaa Hazzaa M. , Alqahtani Saleh A. 
Published: April 2023

Background: Saudi Arabia is experiencing rapid development of the built environment and implementing policy changes to promote physical activity (PA) and reduce sedentary behavior (SB) among its population. In light of these developments, this scoping review systematically summarized population levels of PA/SB in Saudi Arabia. Methods: The authors searched 6 databases on December 13, 2021, for articles published in English or Arabic from 2018 to the search date. Studies using population-based sampling in Saudi Arabia and measuring PA/SB were included. Results: Of the 1272 records found, 797 were screened, and 19 studies (9 on children/adolescents age 6–19 y and 10 on adults age 15–75 y) were included. All studies were cross-sectional in design, and 18 studies collected data at only one point in time, ranging from 2009 to 2020. A total of 18 studies relied on self-reporting to assess PA/SB using a variety of questionnaires. Among children/adolescents, approximately 80% to 90% did not attain at least 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous PA and 50% to 80% engaged in ≥2 hours per day of screen time or SB. Among adults, approximately 50% to 95% had low or insufficient PA (eg, less than meeting PA guidelines) and about half had a sitting time of ≥5 hours per day. Population-based studies were not found among children <10 years and adults >75 years. Conclusions: A high proportion of participants in the reviewed studies did not meet PA recommendations and spent excessive time in SB. Ongoing surveillance efforts for all ages may help identify target populations for interventions and prioritize the national strategy on PA/SB in Saudi Arabia.
Effect of a Geometric Potential on the Eigenfunction and Eigenvalue of the Energy of State in a Twisted Graphene Nanoribbon
Authors: Sadykov N. R. , Petrova Yu. A. , Pilipenko I. A. , Khrabrov R. S. , Skryabin S. N. 
Published: April 2023

Abstract
An expression is obtained for an effective geometric potential based on a coordinate system for a nanoribbon twisted in the form of a helicoid. The effective geometric potential for a Schrödinger equation is used to study a graphene nanoribbon of finite length with “armchair” edges under the action of an external electric field parallel to them. Solutions are calculated for the energy levels and wave functions of electrons in the vicinity of the Dirac point. It is shown there is only one state in the transverse direction.
Engaging pregnant individuals and healthcare professionals in an international mixed methods study to develop a core outcome set for studies on placenta accreta spectrum disorder (COPAS): a study protocol
Authors: O’Rinn Susan E , Barrett Jon F R , Parsons Janet A , Kingdom John C , D’Souza Rohan 
Published: April 2023

IntroductionPlacenta accreta spectrum (PAS) disorder is a life-threatening condition that may result in serious maternal complications, including mortality. The placenta which is pathologically adherent to the uterine wall, places individuals at high risk of major haemorrhage during the third stage of labour. Current research reports on PAS disorder outcomes have highly variable levels of information, which is therefore difficult for investigators to aggregate to inform practice. There is an urgent need to harmonise data collection in prospective studies to identify and implement best practices for management. One approach to standardise outcomes across any health area via the use of core outcome sets (COSs), which are consensus-derived standardised sets of outcomes that all studies for a particular condition should measure and report. This protocol outlines the steps for developing a COS for PAS disorder (COPAS).Methods and analysisThis protocol outlines steps for the creation of COPAS. The first step, a systematic review, will identify all reported outcomes in the scientific literature. The second step will use qualitative one-on-one interviews to identify additional outcomes identified as important by patients and healthcare professionals that are not reported in the published literature. Outcomes from the first two steps will be combined to form an outcome inventory. This outcome inventory will inform the third step which is a Delphi survey that encourages agreement between patients and healthcare professionals on which outcomes are most important for inclusion in the COS. The fourth step, a consensus group meeting of representative participants, will finalise outcomes for inclusion in the PAS disorder COS.Ethics and disseminationThis study has obtained Research Ethics Board approval from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (#2338, #1488). We will aim to publish the study findings in an international peer-reviewed OBGYN journal.Registration detailsCOMET Core Outcome Set Registration:https://www.comet-initiative.org/Studies/Details/1127.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020173426.
Clinical and economic burden of low back pain in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review
Authors: Fatoye Francis , Gebrye Tadesse , Mbada Chidozie Emmanuel , Useh Ushotanefe 
Published: April 2023

ObjectivesLow back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of disability and work absenteeism globally, and it poses significant clinical and economic burden to individuals, health systems and the society. This study aimed to synthesise the clinical and economic burden of LBP in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs).MethodsA systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines was performed. PubMed, Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, AMED, Embase and Scopus databases were systematically searched for studies that examined the clinical and economic burden of LBP in LMICs, published from inception to 10 December 2021. Only studies with clearly stated methodologies and published in English were eligible for review.ResultsNine studies met the inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Of these, three of them were clinical burden studies. The mean Newcastle–Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS) score of the included studies was 4, with an average from 3 to 6. The included studies were conducted in Argentina, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Republic of Serbia. The rates of hospitalisation due to LBP ranged between 13.4% and 18.7%. Due to variation of methodological approaches, the reported cost estimates were inconsistent across the studies. A total cost of US$2.2 billion per population and US$1226.25 per patient were reported annually due to LBP.ConclusionThis systematic literature review suggests that LBP is associated with significantly high rates of hospitalisation and costs. As LBP is an important threat to the population, health professionals and policymakers are to put in place appropriate programmes to reduce the clinical and economic burden associated with LBP and improve the health outcomes of individuals with this condition in LMICs.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42020196335.