bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Biodiversity hotspots and conservation efficiency of a large drainage basin: Distribution patterns of species richness and conservation gaps analysis in the Yangtze River Basin, China
Authors: Zhang Wendi , Bussmann Rainer W. , Li Jin , Liu Bo , Xue Tiantian , Yang Xudong , Qin Fei , Liu Huiming , Yu Shengxiang 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThe Yangtze River Basin (YRB), a key biodiversity area and a major economic zone in China, the biodiversity of the area is confronted with severe challenges. In this paper, we analyzed species distribution patterns based on a dataset with 18,538 seed plant species to identify hotspots and evaluate conservation effectiveness and gaps of the YRB. We calculated distribution patterns of species richness with the top 5% richness algorithm and complementarity algorithm, and reconstructed a phylogenetic tree and elucidated spatial phylogenetics. There were 214 hotspot grid cells covering only 6.8% of the study region, but containing 88% seed plant species. Then, we conducted correlation analysis on distribution patterns of different algorithms and species categories, which showed moderate or weak correlations between the top 5% richness algorithm and complementary algorithm. Conservation effectiveness analysis indicated there were 116 hotspot grid cells (accounting for 73.6% of the total species) protected by current conservation networks and there are many conservation gaps remaining. Finally, we used the maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) to predict suitable habitat areas of threatened species under current and future climate scenarios. Prediction analysis results indicated future expansion of suitable habitat to the southeast, and reduction in the central and western portions of the study area. When we considered anthropogenic areas, the suitable habitat was severely decreased, indicating the importance of optimizing the layout of conservation networks and comprehensive biodiversity conservation planning in the YRB.
1012. SENECIO SQUALIDUS: Compositae
Authors: Hind Nicholas , King Christabel 
Published: March 2022

SummaryThe widespread Senecio squalidus L. (Compositae: Senecioneae: Senecioninae), a diploid hybrid species with strong self‐incompatibility, that originated in the British Isles within the last 300 years, is described and illustrated. The origins of this species are briefly outlined. The history of the spread of this plant in the British Isles, and the presence of several natural hybrids is commented on. Senecio squalidus can be separated from other species, and hybrids, by allozyme differences. The species synonymy is thus minimal as it originated in the British Isles. Its morphological recognition encompasses a broader concept within Europe, including the hybrid swarm, between S. aethnensis and S. chrysanthemifolia, on Mount Etna, Sicily, where British material was originally derived. Both narrow concept and broad concept synonymy are provided, including full protologue citations and distribution of type material when known.
Changes over time in the cardiovascular risk profile of type 2 diabetes from 2007 to 2020: A community‐based study
Authors: Williams Brent A. , Brady Jonathan P. , Voyce Stephen , Kumar Neela , Paprocki Yurek , Rajpura Jigar 
Published: March 2022

AbstractAimsTo quantify changes over time in cardiovascular (CV) risk factor control and in the uptake of glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists (GLP‐1RAs) and sodium‐glucose cotransporter‐2 (SGLT2) inhibitors from 2007 to 2020 in a real‐world community‐based cohort of type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients.Materials and MethodsThis study identified 95 461 T2D patients, who were followed for an average of 6.4 years through a single healthcare organization's electronic health record. The primary outcome was global risk factor control according to four factors (“ABCS”): glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c [<8%]); Blood pressure (systolic/diastolic <140/90 mmHg); Cholesterol (non‐HDL cholesterol <130 mg/dL); and Smoking (not). Concomitant presence of microvascular complications and commonly used medication classes were tracked.ResultsAccording to the ABCS metric, global risk factor control did not appreciably change over time; in 2020, 40.9% (95% confidence interval 40.2, 41.5) of patients had all four factors controlled. Among individual components, HbA1c control (<8%) worsened over time from 84% in 2007 to 78% in 2020, while lipid control (non‐HDL cholesterol <130 mg/dL) improved from 59% to 72%. Coexisting microvascular complications were more prevalent over time; for example, neuropathy prevalence increased from 21% (2007) to 35% (2020). Use of thiazolidinediones and sulphonylureas decreased over time while metformin, insulin, dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitor, GLP‐1RA and SGLT2 inhibitor use increased. In 2020, GLP‐1RAs and SGLT2 inhibitors were each used by 13% of T2D patients.ConclusionsIn this community‐based study, global CV risk factor control in T2D did not improve, although glycaemic control worsened and lipid control improved. Given increased uptake of GLP‐1RAs and SGLT2 inhibitors, the collective effect of these changes on CV outcomes warrants evaluation.
Normal values of proximal aorta diameters in healthy Sub Saharan Africans: The TAHES study
Authors: Vandroux David , Aboyans Victor , Houehanou Yessito Corine , Saka Dominique , Sonou Arnaud , Houinato Dismand , Preux Pierre Marie , Magne Julien , Lacroix Philippe ,   TAHES study investigators
Published: March 2022

AbstractObjectivesReported ranges of normal values are mostly issued from studies performed with Caucasians. This study is a part of TAHES, a population‐based prospective cohort study in Benin and aims to establish normal reference values for echocardiographic diameters of the proximal aorta in Africans.MethodsTransthoracic echocardiography (TTE) examinations were performed by four cardiologists following pre‐defined protocols, and analyzed off‐line by a single observer. Aortic root diameters were measured during diastole for sinuses of Vasalva (SV), sinotubular junction (STJ) and proximal ascending aorta (AA), and during systole for annulus. Upper limits were defined as the 95th percentiles.ResultsWe included 513 normotensive, non‐diabetic, and cardiovascular disease‐free individuals (206 men, 307 women, age 40 ± 14 years). The diameters of the proximal aorta were significantly greater in men. The inner‐edge‐to‐inner‐edge non‐indexed upper values for the annulus, SV, STJ and AA were respectively 25, 34, 28.5, 32 mm in men and 22, 30, 26, 30 mm in women. The leading‐edge‐to‐leading‐edge upper values were respectively 38, 35, 36 for men and 34, 33, 32 mm for women. No significant differences between sexes were recorded for body surface area (BSA)‐indexed diameters of the annulus, STJ and AA. BSA‐indexed SV dimension was greater in men than women were. SV, STJ, AA indexed‐diameters correlated with age in both sexes but not for annulus indexed‐diameter.ConclusionNormal values from a general population in West Africa could to differ from those established in Caucasian populations. Ethnic‐specific reference diameters are here proposed for appropriate diagnosis of proximal aortic diseases in sub‐Saharan Africa.
Prediction of saturated hydraulic conductivity of sandy soil using Sauter mean diameter of soil particles
Authors: Su Mingyu , Liu Chongxuan , Wang Lian‐Ping , Zheng Wenjuan 
Published: March 2022

AbstractSaturated hydraulic conductivity of soil, Ksat, is a critical parameter for mathematical modelling of groundwater and soil water flow. Current empirical Ksat models, such as Kozeny–Carman model, Hazen models, or empirical approaches based on soil pedotranfer functions (PTFs) rely on the specific surface area, certain characteristic particle size(s), for example, d5, d10, d15, d50, etc., or the fractionation of sand, silt and clay. In this study, we proposed an alternative modelling framework to estimate Ksat from void ratio and arithmetic mean diameter of soil particles. We suggested to describe the particle size distribution (PSD) using a continuous mathematical distribution function, for example, the lognormal distribution function, and to obtain the Sauter mean diameter (dS) by calculating the moments of the PSD function. The proposed empirical equations were tested against the measured Ksat values for 54 sand samples with available measured PSD and void ratio as reported in Toumpanou et al. and validated using 49 sandy soil samples obtained from the Unsaturated Soil Database (UNSODA). We found that the dS was more relevant to Ksat than the number mean diameter (dN) and mass mean diameter (dM) (the RMSE was 0.486 for Ksat ‐ dN; 0.187 for Ksat ‐ dS; and 0.212 for Ksat ‐ dM, respectively). We also found that the proposed equation with dS had superior performance over the Hazen equation and PTF‐based models. Our results indicated that the Ksat calculated using dS, which was either estimated from discrete experimental data or calculated from a continuous lognormal PSD function, best matched with the measured values for coarse‐textured soils. Future studies should focus on developing empirical relationships for soil water retention curves and other soil properties based on continuous PSD functions.Highlights
A modelling framework to estimate Ksat from the void ratio and arithmetic mean diameter is proposed.
Sauter mean diameter, dS, can be obtained by calculating the moments of the PSD function.
Ksat model using dS performs better than that using dN, dM, d5, d10, or d50 or PTF‐based models.
A model for leveraging animal movement to understand spatio‐temporal disease dynamics
Authors: Wilber Mark Q. , Yang Anni , Boughton Raoul , Manlove Kezia R. , Miller Ryan S. , Pepin Kim M. , Wittemyer George 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThe ongoing explosion of fine‐resolution movement data in animal systems provides a unique opportunity to empirically quantify spatial, temporal and individual variation in transmission risk and improve our ability to forecast disease outbreaks. However, we lack a generalizable model that can leverage movement data to quantify transmission risk and how it affects pathogen invasion and persistence on heterogeneous landscapes. We developed a flexible model ‘Movement‐driven modelling of spatio‐temporal infection risk’ (MoveSTIR) that leverages diverse data on animal movement to derive metrics of direct and indirect contact by decomposing transmission into constituent processes of contact formation and duration and pathogen deposition and acquisition. We use MoveSTIR to demonstrate that ignoring fine‐scale animal movements on actual landscapes can mis‐characterize transmission risk and epidemiological dynamics. MoveSTIR unifies previous work on epidemiological contact networks and can address applied and theoretical questions at the nexus of movement and disease ecology.
Corrosion fatigue and damage tolerance in the nickel‐based superalloy RR1000 subjected to SO2 environments
Authors: Bache Martin , Ball Christopher , Hardy Mark , Mignanelli Paul 
Published: March 2022

AbstractWhen exposed to a high‐temperature corrosive environment, nickel‐based superalloys may experience surface pitting and sulphide diffusion, which will influence concurrent or subsequent fatigue behavior. Sulphur, pre‐existing in the environment or as a bi‐product of burning fossil fuels, reacts with sodium (as an atmospheric pollutant), creating molten sodium sulphate deposits on the metal surface. Combined with sodium chloride, these deposits attack the protective oxide layer allowing sulphides to migrate along grain boundaries. Continued sulphide diffusion promotes a weakened subsurface layer, inducing grain dropout and fatigue crack initiation. The present investigation focussed upon the subsequent effects of exposure to SO2 containing atmospheres on low cycle fatigue performance, together with the impact of an intermediate cleaning process. Damage tolerance data suggest that exposure to a SO2 environment fails to affect fatigue crack growth threshold or Stage II growth behaviors when compared with standard laboratory air.
Validation of the Spanish version of the Memory Failures of Everyday questionnaire in older adults using Rasch analysis
Authors: Rodríguez‐Blázquez Carmen , Ayala‐García Alba , Forjaz Maria João , García‐Herranz Sara , Venero César , Rodríguez‐Fernández Raquel , Díaz‐Mardomingo María del Carmen 
Published: March 2022

AimThe Memory Failures of Everyday (MFE) is a widely used instrument for assessing memory failure. The aim of the study was to analyze the MFE items using the Rasch model in a sample of cognitively older adults in Spain.MethodsA cross‐sectional validation study in a sample of 214 healthy people aged ≥60 years who used centers for older people in Madrid (Spain). The MFE for the assessment of memory complaints was used. The following properties of the Rasch model were assessed: data fit, reliability, unidimensionality, local dependence and lack of differential item functioning by gender, age and marital status.ResultsThe MFE showed a good fit to the Rasch model (χ2(140) = 160.2; P = 0.116) and high reliability (person separation index = 0.808). The questionnaire was unidimensional (6.54% t‐test; IC binomial = 0.036–0.095). The items showed lack of local dependence between them and differential item functioning. The MFE scores were transformed into linear interval scores with a median of 44.31 and an observed range of 17.9–89.2 (theoretical range: 0–100).ConclusionsThe MFE is a unidimensional, reliable instrument to assess memory complaints in cognitively healthy older adults in Spain, with usefulness in clinical research and practice. The construct validity of the MFE linear score could not be fully confirmed and this deserves further investigation. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2022; 22: 332–337.
Patient and public involvement in the build‐up of COVID‐19 testing in Sweden
Authors: Fredriksson Mio 
Published: March 2022

AbstractBackgroundPatient and public involvement in healthcare can be particularly challenging during crises such as the COVID‐19 pandemic.ObjectiveThe aims of the study, which focuses on COVID‐19 testing in Sweden, were to explore (1) how, or to what extent, patients and members of the public were involved in decisions about the organization of COVID‐19 testing during the first year of pandemic and (2) whether this was seen as feasible or desirable by regional and national stakeholders.MethodsA qualitative interview study was conducted with key organizational stakeholders at three national agencies and within three Swedish regions (n = 16).ResultsThere had been no patient and public involvement activities in the area of COVID‐19 testing. The regions had, however, tried to respond to demands or critiques from patients and the public along the way and to adapt the services to respond to their preferences. The need for rapid decision‐making, the uncertainty about whom to involve, as well as a hesitation about the appropriateness of involving patients and the public contributed to the lack of involvement.ConclusionFuture studies on patient and public involvement during crises should address what structures need to be in place to carry out involvement successfully during crises and when to use activities with varying degrees of power or decision‐making authority for patients and members of the public.Patient or Public ContributionFifteen members of the public contributed with short reflections on the study findings.
THE TWICE UNEARTHED: THE TROPE OF CENSORSHIP AND THE SENSE OF HISTORY
Authors: Wurgaft Benjamin Aldes 
Published: March 2022

ABSTRACTIn this review essay occasioned by Antoon De Baets's short book Crimes against History, I argue that the censorship of a historical work can produce narrative effects. Drawing on Hayden White's method of examining the literary tropes that shape historical narratives and determine much of their meaning, I suggest that the reception of works (including their censorship and even the murder or repression of history workers) can act like a second layer of tropes. When we tell stories about formerly repressed historians or formerly censored interpretations of the past, we add layers of meaning so that an original work of history that has been “rescued” comes to mean something new. The result is what I call the trope of the twice unearthed, and I suggest that one of its primary effects is to yield a particular moral sense of the meaning of the past. However, any serious consideration of the problem of censorship will show us something troubling: as Leo Strauss once argued, censorship of a less dramatic kind affects us even in liberal democracies because the political, social, and cultural systems in which we live and work act with censorious effect. Censorship is not a “crime against history” but rather one of the forces that creates history in the first place.
Sodium‐glucose co‐transporter 2 inhibitor therapy: use in chronic kidney disease and adjunctive sodium restriction
Authors: Tiwary Mansi , Milder Tamara Y. , Stocker Sophie L. , Day Richard O. , Greenfield Jerry R. 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThe global burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has increased significantly over the past few decades. This reflects the rising prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hypertension, two leading causes of CKD. Hypertension, which can also be a complication of CKD, accelerates renal disease progression and augments cardiovascular risk, especially in individuals with diabetic kidney disease. Hence, blood pressure (BP) reduction is a vital component of CKD management. Sodium‐glucose co‐transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors are a relatively novel class of medications developed to treat T2DM by inducing glycosuria and hence, lowering glycaemia. Additionally, SGLT2 inhibitors are antihypertensive, renoprotective and cardioprotective, even in individuals without T2DM, making them effective therapeutic agents for CKD. Another therapy that has proven to be antihypertensive, renoprotective and cardioprotective is dietary sodium restriction. This review evaluates the potential combined benefits of SGLT2 inhibition and dietary sodium restriction on the BP and renal parameters of individuals with CKD.
Improving care for people with bronchiectasis: opportunities and challenges highlighted from service evaluation
Authors: Rees Megan , Liu Belinda , Pascoe Amy , Smallwood Natasha 
Published: March 2022

AbstractBackgroundBronchiectasis is a serious, debilitating condition warranting specialist care.AimsTo determine if care provided in a tertiary hospital general respiratory clinic was guideline concordant and to validate the Bronchiectasis Severity Index (BSI) in the Australian context.MethodsA single‐centre ambispective study was conducted. The first stage involved a retrospective medical record audit between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2016. All aspects of bronchiectasis management were reviewed. In the second prospective phase the cohort was followed for 4 years to determine survival and the validity of the BSI determined.ResultsA total of 145 patients was included, with mean age of 65 years (standard deviation = 16.6). The aetiology of bronchiectasis was explicitly documented for 58 (40%) patients, with potential causes identified in another 37 patients. Post‐infectious aetiologies were described in 62 (43%) patients. Most patients had lung function testing (n = 142; 97%) and sputum culture results (n = 120; 83%). Long‐term antibiotics were prescribed to 49 (34%) patients. Only patients culturing Pseudomonas spp. were prescribed inhaled antibiotics. Documentation regarding essential management recommendations was low, including airway clearance (46%), pneumococcal vaccination (27%) and written action plans (32%). Severe disease was common, with more than one‐third (34–48%) having BSI scores >9. One‐fifth (21%) of the cohort died during the 4‐year follow‐up period. The BSI was significantly associated with mortality risk (odds ratio 7.7; 95% confidence interval = 3.1–19.3; P < 0.001).ConclusionOur cohort had a high proportion of patients with severe disease and significant mortality; some, but not all, aspects of recommended care were delivered.
Renewable energy, economic globalization and foreign direct investment linkage for sustainable development in the E7 economies: revisiting the pollution haven hypothesis
Authors: Gyamfi Bright Akwasi , Bein Murad A. , Udemba Edmund Ntom , Bekun Festus Victor 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThis present study is motivated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN‐SDGs) that concerns pertinent issues that comprises environmental sustainability (SDG‐13), sustainable development (SGD‐8), and responsible consumption (SDG‐11), among others. To this end, this study examines the long‐run and causality linkage between renewable and non‐renewable energy, foreign direct investment, and economic globalisation in a carbon‐income framework by use of both carbon dioxide emission and ecological footprint as a determinant for environmental degradation for E7 countries. Furthermore, a series of panel econometrics panel tests in conjunction with quantile regression is used to explore the relationship between the outlined variables for annual frequency data from 1990 to 2016. Empirical results trace a long‐run equilibrium relationship among the highlighted variables as reported by Westerlund (2007). Additionally, this study gives credence and validates the pollution haven for the emerging (E7) countries examined, thus, implying the detrimental effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on quality of environment in E7 economies. Interestingly, we observe that investment in renewable energy consumption will improve environmental quality. This outcome resonates with the advocacy of UN‐SDGs‐7, 11, 12, and 13, where emphasis is placed on responsible energy consumption (renewables), access to clean energy, and climate change mitigation. Conclusively, these revelations suggest the chase for adoption of low‐carbon development technologies and strategies in E7 countries.
A reflection on health and disease amid COVID‐19 pandemic
Authors: Park Si‐Woon 
Published: March 2022

AbstractCoronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is persisting for more than a year and it's still far from being controlled. It is making a big impact not only on physical illness but also on mental and social aspects. In this situation, we need to reflect on current medical society's view of disease and health. The dominant paradigm in contemporary medicine is the reductionist view of disease and the biomedical model of health. As a result, the healthcare system seems to be more focused on virus eradication than on patient care. We need to look back on this position in view of humanities and ethics and broaden our perspective to an ecological view of disease and the sociomedical model of health. The quarantine and health care policy also needs to be re‐built with more focus on patient care.