bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Invariant properties of mycobiont‐photobiont networks in Antarctic lichens
Authors: Pérez‐Ortega Sergio , Verdú Miguel , Garrido‐Benavent Isaac , Rabasa Sonia , Green T. G. Allan , Sancho Leopoldo G. , de los Ríos Asunción 
Published: August 2023

AbstractAimLichens are often regarded as paradigms of mutualistic relationships. However, it is still poorly known how lichen‐forming fungi and their photosynthetic partners interact at a community scale. We explored the structure of fungus‐alga networks of interactions in lichen communities along a latitudinal transect in continental Antarctica. We expect these interactions to be highly specialized and, consequently, networks with low nestedness degree and high modularity.LocationTransantarctic Mountains from 76° S to 85° S (continental Antarctica).Time PeriodPresent.Major Taxa StudiedSeventy‐seven species of lichen‐forming fungi and their photobionts.MethodsDNA barcoding of photobionts using nrITS data was conducted in 756 lichen specimens from five regions along the Transantarctic Mountains. We built interaction networks for each of the five studied regions and a metaweb for the whole area. We explored the specialization of both partners using the number of partners a species interacts with and the specialization parameter d'. Network architecture parameters such as nestedness, modularity and network specialization parameter H2' were studied in all networks and contrasted through null models. Finally, we measured interaction turnover along the latitudinal transect.ResultsWe recovered a total of 842 interactions. Differences in specialization between partners were not statistically significant. Fungus‐alga interaction networks showed high specialization and modularity, as well as low connectance and nestedness. Despite the large turnover in interactions occurring among regions, network parameters were not correlated with latitude.Main ConclusionsThe interaction networks established between fungi and algae in saxicolous lichen communities in continental Antarctica showed invariant properties along the latitudinal transect. Rewiring is an important driver of interaction turnover along the transect studied. Future work should answer whether the patterns observed in our study are prevalent in other regions with milder climates and in lichen communities on different substrates.
Employment leave for early pregnancy endings: A biopolitical reproductive governance analysis in England and Wales
Authors: Middlemiss Aimee Louise , Boncori Ilaria , Brewis Joanna , Davies Julie , Newton Victoria Louise 
Published: August 2023

AbstractWhen a pregnancy ends in England and Wales, statutory time away from paid employment is limited to circumstances where there is a live birth or stillbirth. Forms of leave, such as Maternity Leave or Paternity Leave, depend on parental status derived from the civil registration of a new person or a post‐viability stillbirth. Other early pregnancy endings, such as miscarriage or abortion, do not provide specific time off work after pregnancy. This paper uses the concept of reproductive governance to analyze current and shifting biopolitical truth discourses, strategies of intervention, and modes of subjectification around post‐pregnancy leaves. It shows how different inclusions and exclusions are generated by the classificatory boundaries which act as political technologies in this field. Contributing to an area that is under‐researched in the literature, we provide a review of post‐pregnancy statutory employment leave entitlements in this context. We then consider proposals for change presented in the United Kingdom political system in relation to more inclusive leave benefits offered by some employers and different pregnancy ending leaves offered in other jurisdictions. We argue that current arrangements and proposals do not adequately reflect the complexity and diversity of pregnancy endings. We conclude with a call to policymakers in all contexts to carefully assess the consequences of new ideas around leaves for pregnancy endings and to formulate inclusive and fair proposals for change.
Alternative SNP weighting for multi‐step and single‐step genomic BLUP in the presence of causative variants
Authors: Santana Bruna Folegatti , Riser Molly , Hay El Hamidi A. , Fragomeni Breno de Oliveira 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe accuracy of genetic selection in dairy can be increased by the adoption of new technologies, such as the inclusion of sequence data. In simulation studies, assigning different weights to causative single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers led to better predictions depending on the genomic prediction method used. However, it is still not clear how the weights should be calculated. Our objective was to evaluate the accuracy of a multi‐step method (GBLUP) and single‐step GBLUP with simulated data using regular SNP, causatives variants (QTN) and the combination of both. Additionally, we compared the accuracies of all previous scenarios using alternatives for SNP weighting. The data were simulated assuming a single trait with a heritability of 0.3. The effective population size (Ne) was approximately 200. The pedigree contained 440,000 animals, and approximately 16,800 individuals were genotyped. A total of 49,974 SNP markers were evenly placed throughout the genome, and 100, 1000 and 2000 causative QTN were simulated. Both GBLUP and ssGBLUP were used in this study. We evaluated quadratic and nonlinear SNP weights in addition to the unweighted G. The inclusion of QTN to panels led to significant accuracy gains. Nonlinear A was demonstrated to be superior to quadratic weighting and unweighted approaches; however, results from Nonlinear A were dependent on the equation parameters. The unweighted approach was more suitable for less polygenic scenarios. Finally, SNP weighting might help elucidate trait architecture features based on changes in the accuracy of genomic prediction.
Modeling of microwave‐ and ultrasound‐ohmic‐assisted hydro‐distillation extraction of the Pimpinella anisum essential oil
Authors: Jafari Roya , Zandi Mohsen , Ganjloo Ali 
Published: August 2023

AbstractFirst‐order, second‐order, sigmoid, and absorption models were used to predict the extraction yield (EY) of anise essential oil (AEO). Sigmoid model was able to predict the EY with R2 0.9852 and 0.9869 respectively for ohmic‐assisted hydro‐distillation methods with ultrasound and microwave pretreatments. It was found that among the different prediction models, adaptive neuro‐fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) has the highest accuracy for EY estimating. So that a network with the help of Mamdani's maximum‐minimum method and triangular membership function was able to predict the EY in both pretreatments with R2 above 0.99. The results of artificial neural network (ANN) modeling showed that the multilayer perceptron network with feed‐forward back propagation structure, Levenberg–Marquardt training algorithm, and with configurations 3‐16‐7‐1 and 3‐14‐5‐1 was able to have the best performance in EY predicting of ultrasound and microwave pretreatments, respectively. The results emphasize the successful use of models, especially dynamic models, in predicting the kinetics of essential oil extraction.Practical applicationsModeling helps to understand the basic process and is suitable for better control of the process and increasing its efficiency. Mathematical models, as a relatively simple method, lead to a better understanding of the mechanism and factors affecting extraction processes. Although mathematical models have many advantages in identifying and predicting the behavior of parameters in different conditions, generally, they are not very accurate in predicting complex behaviors. Dynamic modeling including artificial neural networks (ANNs) and fuzzy logic has recently received much attention due to its ability to learn complex processes and predict nonlinear relationships. The results emphasize the successful use of models, especially dynamic models, in predicting the kinetics of essential oil extraction.
Epidemiological survey of post‐void residual urine volume in older adult patients in an acute‐care hospital: A cross‐sectional observational study
Authors: Shogenji Miho , Yoshida Mikako , Kitagawa Yasuhide 
Published: August 2023

AbstractAimTo epidemiologically determine post‐void residual urine volume (PVR) and identify the characteristics of “potential” older adult patients with voiding dysfunction in an acute‐care hospital.MethodsA cross‐sectional study was conducted on 614 older adult patients in an acute‐care hospital between November 2018 and May 2019. Using portable ultrasound devices, nurses measured the patients' PVR three times after admission. Lower urinary tract symptoms were evaluated using the Core Lower Urinary Tract Symptom Score prior to admission.ResultsA total of 107 older adult patients (17.4%) had episodes of abnormal PVR ≥100 mL. An age of over 75 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 1.899) and feeling of incomplete emptying (aOR: 4.337) were associated with having at least one episode of abnormal PVR, whereas neurological or circulatory diseases (aOR: 3.699) were associated with having two or three episodes.ConclusionsThe results showed a high prevalence of abnormal PVR in older adult patients. Screening for PVR in older adult patients aged over 75 years who experience incomplete emptying or neurological or circulatory diseases may help identify those at risk for voiding dysfunction.
Ophthalmological involvement in wild‐type transthyretin amyloidosis: A multimodal imaging study
Authors: Frizziero Luisa , Salvalaggio Alessandro , Cosmo Eleonora , Cipriani Alberto , Midena Edoardo , Briani Chiara 
Published: August 2023

AbstractBackground and AimsOphthalmological abnormalities have been reported in hereditary transthyretin‐related amyloidosis (ATTRv, v for variant) but not in wild‐type transthyretin‐related amyloidosis (ATTRwt).MethodsPatients with ATTRwt, ATTRv, and light chain amyloidosis (AL) and healthy subjects (controls) underwent complete eye examination, including optical coherence tomography (OCT), OCT angiography (OCTA), and in vivo corneal confocal microscopy (CCM).ResultsSeventeen ATTRwt, nine ATTRv, two ATTRv carriers, and seven AL patients were enrolled. Compared with other groups, ATTRwt patients had 10 letters lower visual acuity and a higher prevalence of glaucoma, cataract, and retinal pigment epithelium alterations. In the whole group of patients, especially in ATTRwt, we observed (1) a reduced corneal nerve fiber length and more tortuous stromal nerves at CCM, (2) a reduced macular volume and peripapillary nerve fiber layer thickness at OCT, and (3) impairment of peripapillary and macular vascularization at OCTA.InterpretationOphthalmological abnormalities are common in ATTRwt, significantly impairing visual acuity. Noninvasive imaging modalities allow for the identification of small nerve fibers and small vessel damage, which may represent further warning signs for early diagnosis of ATTRwt.
Differential responses to ethical vegetarian appeals: Exploring the role of traits, beliefs, and motives
Authors: Smillie Luke D. , Ruby Matthew B. , Tan Nicholas P. , Stollard Liora , Bastian Brock 
Published: August 2023

AbstractObjectiveThis research examines differential responses to ethical vegetarian appeals as a fuction of individuals' personalities.BackgroundEthical vegetarian appeals are persuasive messages promoting the adoption of a plant‐based diet on moral grounds. Individuals may vary in their receptivity to such appeals, depending on their morally relevant traits (e.g., agreeableness), beliefs (e.g., speciesism), and motives (e.g., concerns about animal welfare).MethodsWe explored (Study 1, N = 907) and then attempted to confirm (Study 2, N = 980) differential responses to three vegetarian appeals—two highlighting moral concerns (animal welfare, the environment) and a third focusing on individual health (control condition).ResultsBoth studies revealed several differential effects of our vegetarian appeals on the perceived effectiveness of the appeal and resultant intentions to reduce meat consumption. These mostly consisted of differences in receptivity to appeals focused on animal welfare. However, only one such effect observed in Study 1 was clearly replicated in Study 2: People who more strongly believed that eating meat was “normal” rated the vegetarian appeals focused on animal welfare as less effective.ConclusionEthical vegetarian appeals may elicit different responses from different people, particularly those focused on animal welfare, depending on how normative one believes meat‐eating to be. Such insights can inform behavior change efforts in this area.
How does the Covid‐19 pandemic affect regional labor markets and why do large cities suffer most?
Authors: Hamann Silke , Niebuhr Annekatrin , Roth Duncan , Sieglen Georg 
Published: August 2023

AbstractWe estimate the spatially heterogeneous effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic on labor market dynamics in Germany until December 2021. While initially slightly stronger in rural regions and large agglomerations, adverse effects quickly become more pronounced and persistent in large agglomerations compared to all other region types. We ascribe the larger impact of the pandemic in large agglomerations to two factors. First, a combination of a higher share of skilled workers and jobs suitable for working from home is positively related to an increased inflow rate into unemployment. We argue that local spillover effects from reduced product market demand in large cities caused by changes in behavior such as working from home or online shopping are a possible explanation. Second, some of our results suggest that a lower outflow rate out of unemployment is associated with a higher precrisis unemployment rate in large agglomerations. This might reflect the less favorable composition of unemployment in large cities, which reduces the probability of transitions into employment during crises.
Asymmetric regulators in polluting mixed oligopolies: Agency problems and second‐mover advantage
Authors: Strandholm John C. , Espinola‐Arredondo Ana , Munoz‐Garcia Felix 
Published: August 2023

AbstractWe investigate privatization decisions in a mixed oligopoly market, with and without environmental regulation. We consider three agents: the manager of the public firm, the environmental agency, and the regulator choosing privatization levels; allowing them to assign different weights to pollution. When environmental policy is absent, we find that privatization decisions in equilibrium suffer from agency problems, yielding potentially inefficient privatizations. When environmental regulation is present and privatization decisions precede this regulation, privatizations have no impact on equilibrium output; while the opposite holds when environmental policy is chosen first. Our results, then, identify the presence of a second‐mover advantage when asymmetric government agencies act sequentially.
Scaling relationships of maximal gape and prey size of snakes for an egg‐eating specialist (Dasypeltis gansi) and a dietary generalist (Pantherophis obsoletus)
Authors: Jayne B. C. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThe size of both predators and prey can profoundly affect the foraging ecology of animals. This is especially true for snakes which consume prey whole. Although their gape imposes an anatomical limit on prey size, different snake species have a wide variety of prey types, prey sizes, and dietary breadth. To test whether a dietary specialist that only consumes bird eggs (Dasypeltis gansi) differed from a generalist that occasionally eats eggs (Pantherophis obsoletus), I quantified and compared the scaling relationships between overall size, cranial dimensions, and maximal gape and the orientation and mobility of relevant bones. Compared to P. obsoletus with a given overall size, D. gansi had maximal gape areas approximately 3–4 times greater and a significantly larger relative contribution to gape by the intermandibular (IM) soft tissues (50% vs. 19%). The greater distensibility of the IM soft tissues also allowed much greater lateral displacement of the distal end of the lower jaw in D. gansi versus P. obsoletus, but at maximal gape, the bones of these species had unexpectedly similar orientations in lateral view. The large gape of D. gansi was attained despite having a significantly shorter head than P obsoletus for a given snout–vent length. As a result of their large gape and more slender build, the predicted values of relative prey masses (RPM) for D. gansi at maximal gape vastly exceeded those of P. obsoletus for a given prey type. Although eggs are much stouter than rats, values of RPM at maximal gape for D. gansi eating eggs greatly exceeded those for P. obsoletus eating rats. Perhaps, Dasypeltis has the greatest size‐corrected gape and potential values of RPM (for a given prey shape) of any snake taxon as these values of D. gansi exceed those from all previously studied species with similar data.
Geographic distribution of the Cross Seamount beaked whale based on acoustic detections
Authors: McCullough Jennifer L. K. , Henderson E. Elizabeth , Trickey Jennifer S. , Barlow Jay , Baumann‐Pickering Simone , Manzano‐Roth Roanne , Alongi Gabriela , Martin Stephen , Fregosi Selene , Mellinger David K. , Klinck Holger , Szesciorka Angela R. , Oleson Erin M. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractBeaked whales produce frequency‐modulated echolocation pulses that appear to be species‐specific, allowing passive acoustic monitoring to play a role in understanding spatio‐temporal patterns. The Cross Seamount beaked whale is known only from its unique echolocation signal (BWC) with no confirmed species identification. This beaked whale spans the Pacific Ocean from the Mariana Archipelago to Baja California, Mexico, south to the equator, but only as far north as latitude 29°N. Within these warm waters, 92% of BWC detections occurred at night, 6% during crepuscular periods, and only 2% during daylight hours. Detections of BWC signals on drifting recorders with a vertical hydrophone array at 150 m depth demonstrated that foraging often occurred shallow in the water column (<150 m). No other species of beaked whale to date has been documented foraging in waters this shallow. Given their nocturnal, shallow foraging dives, this species appears to prefer prey that may be available in the water column only during those hours. The foraging behavior of Cross Seamount beaked whales appears to be unique among all beaked whales, and these findings contribute additional ecological and acoustic information which can help guide future efforts to identify this cryptic whale.
Traditional Chinese medication for oral submucous fibrosis: A systematic review and network meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials
Authors: Mao Ting , Yang Liudi , Xiong Haofeng , Hu Xin , Su Tong , Chen Wenxin 
Published: August 2023

AbstractObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of various drug therapy methods for treating oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) in terms of increasing mouth opening, reducing VAS score, decreasing lesion area, minimizing side effects, and determining effective proportion.MethodA database search was conducted. Only randomized clinical trials were included, and Cochrane checklist was used for assessing the risk of bias. Stata.17 software was employed and effective treatment ranking was used.ResultsThirty‐one RCT studies, with a total of 2986 patients, were included in the period of 2010–2022. The combination of oral Chinese herbal medicine formulas (OC) and intralesional Salvia miltiorrhiza (ISM) was found to be the most effective treatment in improving mouth opening. For reducing the burning pain, the combination of intralesional steroids (IS) and oral Salvia miltiorrhiza (OSM) was found to be more effective than the others. In terms of lesion area, IS combined with OC was more effective than the others. IS combined with ISM had the highest effective proportion while having the lowest incidence of side effects which mentioned the incidence of side effects.ConclusionThis study indicates that OC and SM can be employed by clinicians for treating OSF effectively.
Austrian memory to be discarded, deformed and deposited: An analysis of Eva Menasse'sDunkelblum
Authors: Jiang Xiaohu 
Published: August 2023

AbstractFrom the perspective of memory studies, this paper analyzes the unique Austrian mechanisms and mentalities regarding its Nazi memory across generations, as reflected in Eva Menasse'sDunkelblum(2021). This novel is another of Menasse's critical observations of Austria's collective silence and distinctive processes of discarding, deforming, and depositing its Nazi history and memory. Exceeding the scope of family history and memory,Dunkelblumportrays how a fictive Austrian city on the country's border with Hungary functions as a witness and participant of the Nazi Holocaust and a potential recorder of the memory. The novel also discloses and analyzes Austria's complex and controversial phases of denial, evasion, and subsequent acknowledgment of its deeds in the Nazi Holocaust. Different from the war generation, a new generation retrieves, preserves, and transmits the local memory through diverse mnemonic techniques and thus explores the collaboration, silence, and agony of its hometown and its nation during the Nazi regime.
When therapists talk to voices: Perspectives from service‐users who experience auditory hallucinations
Authors: Longden Eleanor , Branitsky Alison , Jones Wendy , Peters Sarah 
Published: August 2023

AbstractPurposeThe purpose of the study was to investigate service‐users' experiences of a therapist engaging with their voices (auditory hallucinations) using psychological formulation and direct dialogue.MethodA nested qualitative study was conducted within a randomised controlled trial of a novel intervention for supporting voice hearers with a diagnosis of psychosis (Talking With Voices: TwV). Of 24 participants allocated to therapy, 13 (54%) consented to a semi‐structured, in‐depth interview which was audio‐recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using inductive thematic analysis.ResultsParticipants described their experiences of using the intervention to improve the relationship between themselves and their voice(s). The findings are organised within three themes and associated subthemes: (1) A desire for suitable help (Motivation to reduce voice‐related distress, Limitation of other treatment options); (2) Engaging with voices (Challenges, Support and safety, Exploration and revelation); and (3) Contemplating the future (The aftermath of adversity, Living well with voices, Resources for moving forward).ConclusionDespite the emotional challenges of the work, many participants experienced tangible gains in the ways they related to their voices post‐intervention. For those who responded well, the development of safety strategies, including a strong therapeutic alliance, could facilitate a basis for developing new insights about the origin/nature of the voices which could then be applied in constructive ways. Further research is needed to understand which client characteristics indicate suitability for TwV as opposed to relational therapies that require less direct engagement with voices and/or the psychosocial conflicts with which they may be associated.