bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Seaweed farming in Africa: current status and future potential
Authors: Msuya Flower E. , Bolton John , Pascal Fred , Narrain Koushul , Nyonje Betty , Cottier-Cook Elizabeth J. 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Global demand for seaweed and its products has increased exponentially over the last 25 years. Equally, the continent of Africa and its offshore islands have considerable potential for seaweed production to contribute to world demand. Compared with China and the rest of Asia, Africa lags behind in seaweed production and utilisation. However, for red eucheumatoid seaweeds, Africa is the third-largest producer in the world, producing about 120,000 t (FW) annually. Details are provided for 13 African countries that are currently involved in seaweed farming and harvesting, commercially or experimentally, for export or domestic utilisation. Eucheuma spp. and Kappaphycus spp. in Tanzania represent 92% and in Madagascar 4.7% of continental production, and Ulva spp. and Gracilaria spp. in South Africa represent 1.5%. Over 2000 species of seaweed have been recorded in Africa, some of which are already successfully cultivated in other parts of the world. The environmental conditions across the continent range from warm, tropical waters to the cooler, nutrient-rich waters of the southwest, enabling the cultivation of seaweeds from the tropical, carrageenan-producing eucheumatoids to temperate kelp species. Seaweed aquaculture production in Africa, led predominantly by women, has improved the livelihoods of its coastal people. Challenges through disease and pest outbreaks, as a result of climate change, and the low prices paid to farmers are highlighted as major constraints on the development of this industry. Through scaling up and expanding current efforts in production and utilisation of seaweeds, Africa has the potential to join China and Southeast Asia as a global leader in producing, processing and consuming a wide variety of seaweeds.
Young Adult Adaptability to the Social Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Protective Role of Friendships
Authors: Juvonen Jaana , Lessard Leah M. , Kline Naomi G. , Graham Sandra 
Published: February 2022

AbstractThe continuing COVID-19 pandemic enables assessment of the adaptability of young adults to non-normative stressors threatening their social-emotional wellbeing. Focusing specifically on a developmentally critical social challenge of restricted in-person contact, the goal of the current study was to examine the role of friendships in alleviating social-emotional problems. Data were collected via online surveys from an ethnically diverse sample (n = 1557) of 20 to 24-year-olds (62% cisgender female, 31% male, 7% gender diverse or gender questioning) in spring of 2021. Longitudinal data from an earlier time point involving an age-normative social challenge (transition out of high school) were used as a comparison. The comparisons between the transition from high school and the pandemic showed that whereas social anxiety and depressive symptoms increased, loneliness decreased. Participants also reported having slightly more friends and rated the overall quality of their friendships as somewhat higher. Regression analyses revealed that a greater number of friends over time and greater satisfaction with friend electronic communication during the pandemic were most robustly related to lower social and generalized anxiety as well as depressive symptoms, over and above earlier social-emotional wellbeing and a number of relevant correlates. Loneliness was protected by higher quality of friendships, greater contact with friends, as well as more frequent and satisfying electronic communication with friends. The results suggest that although young adults are facing emotional challenges during the continued pandemic, they are also able to adapt by keeping in touch with friends to decrease subjective sense of isolation. The findings have novel intervention implications to reduce loneliness.
Gender-sensitive sentiment analysis for estimating the emotional climate in online teacher education
Authors: Usart Mireia , Grimalt-Álvaro Carme , Iglesias-Estradé Adolf Maria 
Published: February 2022

AbstractTeacher training takes place in distance education to a large extent. Within these contexts, trainers should make use of all the information available to adapt and refine their instructional methods during the training process. Sentiment analysis (SA) can give immediate feedback of the emotions expressed and help in the training process, although it has been used infrequently in educational settings, slow to assess, and bound to interpretative issues, such as gender bias. This research aimed to design and evaluate a SA gender-sensitive method as a proxy to characterize the emotional climate of teacher trainees in an online course. An explanatory case study with mixed methods was implemented among students of the Interuniversity Master of Educational Technologies (N = 48). Participants’ messages were analyzed and correlated with learning achievement and, along with a qualitative study of participants’ satisfaction with the Master’s degree, to validate the effectiveness of the method. Results show that sentiment expression cannot be used to exactly predict participants’ achievement, but it can guide trainers to foresee how participants will broadly act in a learning task and, in consequence, use SA results for tuning and improving the quality of the guidance during the course. Gender differences found in our study support gendered patterns related to the emotional climate, with female participants posting more negative messages than their counterparts. Last but not least, the design of well-adjusted teaching–learning sequences with appropriate scaffolding can contribute to building a positive climate in the online learning environment.
Agroforestry and reforestation with the Gold Standard-Decision Analysis of a voluntary carbon offset label
Authors: Netter Leonie , Luedeling Eike , Whitney Cory 
Published: February 2022

AbstractVoluntary standards can help to ensure the quality of projects eligible for carbon offsetting, i.e., selling carbon certificates. However, in deciding on whether to adopt such standards, the managers of carbon offset projects are faced with uncertainty regarding the costs and risks involved. Decision Analysis provides a helpful set of tools that can support such decisions by forecasting outcomes under different scenarios. We applied Decision Analysis methods to generate models for the decisions to certify two projects in Costa Rica with the voluntary carbon offset label “The Gold Standard”. We evaluated certifying an additional site of a partially certified reforestation project, as well as the initial certification of an agroforestry project.We calibrated and interviewed decision-makers and stakeholders of the certification projects to identify important parameters and translate these into a decision model. We ran the final decision model as a Monte Carlo simulation to project plausible ranges of decision outcomes, expressed as Net Present Values and annual cash flows. We identified critical uncertainties and research priorities by using the Expected Value of Perfect Information. The results indicate that certification of the two projects would result in a positive Net Present Value. The partially low return on investment of the certification, however, shows the need for projects to undergo thorough evaluation and generate customized strategies before participating in a voluntary carbon offset scheme. The Decision Analysis approaches we describe can help to improve the process of decision making under uncertainty and should be widely adopted for evaluating the potential impacts of certification.
Convergence rates of RLT and Lasserre-type hierarchies for the generalized moment problem over the simplex and the sphere
Authors: Kirschner Felix , de Klerk Etienne 
Published: February 2022

AbstractWe consider the generalized moment problem (GMP) over the simplex and the sphere. This is a rich setting and it contains NP-hard problems as special cases, like constructing optimal cubature schemes and rational optimization. Using the reformulation-linearization technique (RLT) and Lasserre-type hierarchies, relaxations of the problem are introduced and analyzed. For our analysis we assume throughout the existence of a dual optimal solution as well as strong duality. For the GMP over the simplex we prove a convergence rate of O(1/r) for a linear programming, RLT-type hierarchy, where r is the level of the hierarchy, using a quantitative version of Pólya’s Positivstellensatz. As an extension of a recent result by Fang and Fawzi (Math Program, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10107-020-01537-7) we prove the Lasserre hierarchy of the GMP (Lasserre in Math Program 112(1):65–92, 2008. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10107-006-0085-1) over the sphere has a convergence rate of $$O(1/r^2)$$

O
(
1
/

r
2

)

. Moreover, we show the introduced linear RLT-relaxation is a generalization of a hierarchy for minimizing forms of degree d over the simplex, introduced by De Klerk et al. (J Theor Comput Sci 361(2–3):210–225, 2006).
Desiderata for Rational, Non-doxastic Faith
Authors: Palmqvist Carl-Johan 
Published: February 2022

AbstractAccording to an increasingly popular view known as non-doxasticism, religious faith need not include belief, but only some cognitively weaker attitude. This view comes with great promises, as it offers a way for the agnostic to partake in religion. My concern is how such a non-doxastic faith might be understood as a rational attitude. I offer three desiderata for any account of rational, non-doxastic faith. These desiderata are based on general considerations regarding epistemic rationality and on major themes from current literature on the closely related notions of trust and hope. The first desideratum states that faith must be able to meet the demands of reason. The second requires, perhaps surprisingly, that faith should not imply trust. The third requires that faith should imply hope while excluding despair. I show how several prominent accounts of non-doxastic faith, by Lara Buchak, Daniel Howard-Snyder and Daniel McKaughan, all fail to meet at least one of these desiderata. I also suggest that the desiderata should make us prefer a reconstructive methodology.
Literature review and proposal of best practice for ophthalmologists: monitoring of patients following intravitreal brolucizumab therapy
Authors: Kilmartin Dara J. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractBrolucizumab is a novel humanised, single-chain, variable fragment inhibitor of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A for the treatment of neurovascular age-related macular degeneration. Brolucizumab gained US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency approval following the Phase III HAWK (NCT02307682) and HARRIER (NCT02434328) trials which compared brolucizumab with aflibercept, presenting a tolerable safety and favourable efficacy profile. The mean change (least squares [LS] mean ± standard error) in best-corrected visual acuity letters from baseline to week 96 in the HAWK trial was 5.9 ± 0.78 for brolucizumab (6 mg) versus 5.3 ± 0.78 for aflibercept, and in the HARRIER trial, 6.1 ± 0.73 (6 mg) for brolucizumab (6 mg) and 6.6 ± 0.73 for aflibercept. Within both trials, greater reductions were noted in the central subfield thickness from baseline to week 96 in the brolucizumab (6 mg) groups versus the aflibercept group. Subsequent post-marketing reports detailed intraocular inflammation (IOI) after brolucizumab treatment and in response an independent safety review committee conducted a post hoc data review. While comparable, the rate of brolucizumab-associated IOI was higher in the post hoc analysis than the trials (4.6% and 4.4%, respectively). Findings from trials and real-world data indicate there may be pre-defining risk factors that predispose patients to IOI following brolucizumab treatment. With a thorough understanding of IOI classification and best practice management, ophthalmologists can use brolucizumab confidently and, should a case arise, they should act quickly to prevent vision loss. Herein, we provide information and guidance to support clinical decision-making related to brolucizumab use.
GSK-126 Protects CA1 Neurons from H3K27me3-Mediated Apoptosis in Cerebral Ischemia
Authors: Wang Zhongcheng , Su Yaxin , Zhang Lei , Lan Ting , Li Li , Qi Suhua 
Published: February 2022

AbstractEpigenetics, including histone modifications, play a significant role in central nervous system diseases, but the underlying mechanism remains to be elucidated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of H3K27me3 in regulating transcriptomic and pathogenic mechanisms following global ischemic stroke. Here, we found that in vivo ischemic/reperfusion (I/R) injury induced marked upregulation of H3K27me3 in the hippocampus. The administration of GSK-126 to rat brains decreased the levels of H3K27me3 in the hippocampus and reduced neuronal apoptosis after experimental stroke. Furthermore, ChIP-seq data demonstrated that the primary role of GSK-126 in the ischemic brain is to reduce H3K27me3 enrichment, mediating negative regulation of the execution phase of apoptosis and the MAPK signaling pathway. Further study suggested that the protective role of GSK-126 in ischemic rats was antagonized by U0126, an inhibitor of ERK1/2. Collectively, we demonstrated the potential of H3K27me3 as a novel stroke therapeutic target, and GSK-126 exerted a neuroprotective function in ischemic brain injury, which might be associated with activation of the MAPK/ERK pathway.
Graphical Abstract
Expert consensus to optimize the treatment of elderly patients with luminal metastatic breast cancer
Authors: Torregrosa-Maicas M. D. , del Barco-Berrón S. , Cotes-Sanchís A. , Lema-Roso L. , Servitja-Tormo S. , Gironés-Sarrió R. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractMost patients diagnosed with luminal metastatic breast cancer (MBC) who are seen in oncology consultations are elderly. MBC in elderly patients is characterized by a higher percentage of hormone receptor (HR) expression and a lower expression of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). The decision regarding which treatment to administer to these patients is complex due to the lack of solid evidence to support the decision-making process. The objective of this paper is to review the scientific evidence on the treatment of elderly patients with luminal MBC. For this purpose, the Oncogeriatrics Section of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), the Spanish Breast Cancer Research Group (GEICAM) and the SOLTI Group appointed a group of experts who have worked together to establish consensus recommendations to optimize the treatment of this population. It was concluded that the chronological age of the patient alone should not guide therapeutic decisions and that a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) should be performed whenever possible before establishing treatment. Treatment selection for the elderly population should consider the patient’s baseline status, the expected benefit and toxicity of each treatment, and the impact of treatment toxicity on the patient’s quality of life and functionality.
Near-Adult Heights and Adult Height Predictions Using Automated and Conventional Greulich–Pyle Bone Age Determinations in Children with Chronic Endocrine Diseases
Authors: Choukair Daniela , Hückmann Annette , Mittnacht Janna , Breil Thomas , Schenk Jens Peter , Alrajab Abdulsattar , Uhlmann Lorenz , Bettendorf Markus 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Objectives
To validate adult height predictions (BX) using automated and Greulich–Pyle bone age determinations in children with chronic endocrine diseases.

Methods
Heights and near-adult heights were measured in 82 patients (48 females) with chronic endocrinopathies at the age of 10.45 ± 2.12 y and at time of transition to adult care (17.98 ± 3.02 y). Further, bone age (BA) was assessed using the conventional Greulich–Pyle (GP) method by three experts, and by BoneXpert™. PAH were calculated using conventional BP tables and BoneXpert™.

Results
The conventional and the automated BA determinations revealed a mean difference of 0.25 ± 0.72 y (p = 0.0027). The automated PAH by BoneXpert™ were 156.26 ± 0.86 cm (SDS − 2.01 ± 1.07) in females and 171.75 ± 1.6 cm (SDS − 1.29 ± 1.06) in males, compared to 153.95 ± 1.12 cm (SDS − 2.56 ± 1.5) in females and 169.31 ± 1.6 cm (SDS − 1.66 ± 1.56) in males by conventional BP, respectively and in comparison to near-adult heights 156.38 ± 5.84 cm (SDS − 1.91 ± 1.15) in females and 168.94 ± 8.18 cm (SDS − 1.72 ± 1.22) in males, respectively.

Conclusion
BA ratings and adult height predictions by BoneXpert™ in children with chronic endocrinopathies abolish rater-dependent variability and enhance reproducibility of estimates thereby refining care in growth disorders. Conventional methods may outperform automated analyses in specific cases.
Expected Centre of Mass of the Random Kodaira Embedding
Authors: Hashimoto Yoshinori 
Published: February 2022

AbstractLet$$X \subset \mathbb {P}^{N-1}$$X⊂PN-1be a smooth projective variety. To each$$g \in SL (N , \mathbb {C})$$g∈SL(N,C)which induces the embedding$$g \cdot X \subset \mathbb {P}^{N-1}$$g·X⊂PN-1given by the ambient linear action we can associate a matrix$$\bar{\mu }_X (g)$$μ¯X(g)called the centre of mass, which depends nonlinearly ong. With respect to the probability measure on$$SL (N , \mathbb {C})$$SL(N,C)induced by the Haar measure and the Gaussian unitary ensemble, we prove that the expectation of the centre of mass is a constant multiple of the identity matrix for any smooth projective variety.
Soil Amendments and Biostimulants from the Hydrothermal Processing of Spent Coffee Grounds
Authors: Massaya Jackie , Mills-Lamptey Ben , Chuck Christopher J. 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Purpose
Use of spent coffee grounds (SCG) in horticulture has deleterious effects on plant health and yields, suggesting that processing of SCG is necessary prior to field application. To this end, two products of an SCG based biorefinery were investigated: primary chars from the hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) of SCG and enzymatic protein hydrolysates.

Methods
Primary chars were produced under various HTC regimes from raw SCG, and alkaline pre-treated SCG. Primary chars were evaluated in germination toxicity tests and under soil stress conditions using Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis). Proteolytic enzymes were screened in production of SCG protein hydrolysates; biostimulant activity in the growth of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, germination of Arabidopsis thaliana under normal and cold conditions and auxin-like activity was assessed.

Results
Toxicity assays of primary chars with land cress (Barbarea verna L.) showed a maximum 35% increase in root length, relative to the control. In Arabidopsis growth trials, outstanding performances were recorded at 100 t/ha for primary chars produced from alkaline pre-treated SCG: rosette diameter and dry weight increased by 531 and 976%, respectively, relative to the control. SCG protein hydrolysate from Bacillus lichenformis proteolysis (glycine present at 47% of total) gave 140% increase in Arabidopsis seeds with expanded cotyledons, relative to the control. Auxin-like activity was also measured in the extracts.

Conclusion
Cascade process design was used to valorise a major waste stream. Removal of phytotoxic components from SCG hydrochars enhanced plant growth, while biostimulant activity of SCG protein hydrolysates was observed.

Graphical Abstract
Applicability of classifier to discovery knowledge for future prediction modelling
Authors: Chauhan Ritu , Yafi Eiad 
Published: February 2022

AbstractThe immense growth of new technological interventions has forced researchers and scientists around the globe to adopt the widely anticipated technology of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). ML and AI have generously prospected itself from the past decade in the discovery of knowledge from databases. Several ML and AI based adoptive technologies have emerged in varied application domains, and are thus widely opening a new era of knowledge in decision making. Moreover, ML and AI are techniques that can improve the treatment and diagnosis of diseases. In the current study, we have designed and deployed a “PROCLAVE”. The tool was designed in varied layers of structure, where each layer plays a significant role in determining the patterns. We have applied several libraries for the processing of a prototype to develop a visualization interface. The tool forecasts health vulnerability, makes a comparison among variable classifiers and visualize the results for end users. Moreover, the proposed architecture is based on the concepts of conceptualization and visualization to detect the overall dashboard. Furthermore, the current approach was synthesized and populated with a database that allows the end users to select the variable features and relatively determine the interactive patterns for the number of cases. The database was collected from the National Institute of Health Stroke (NIHS) in the United States. Data was gathered for stroke patients who were diagnosed with stroke from 1950 to 2015. The study was based on several attributes which included causes of death, sex, race, Hispanic origin and others to discover unknown patterns for future decision making.
Glycemic control after switching to faster aspart in adults with type 1 diabetes
Authors: Fadini G. P. , Boscari F. , Falaguasta D. , Ferretto S. , Maran A. , Avogaro A. , Bruttomesso D. 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Aims
Post-prandial hyperglycemia remains an unmet need in the management of type 1 diabetes (T1D). In randomized trials, faster insulin aspart (FIA) showed modest but significant reductions of glycemic spikes after meals. Whether such benefit is evident in routine clinical practice is unclear.

Methods
We analyzed data of patients with T1D at the time they switched from a prior bolus insulin to FIA and at the first available follow-up. The primary endpoint was the change in the time spent in hyperglycemia > 250 mg/dl during daytime from flash glucose monitoring (FGM). Secondary outcomes included the change in HbA1c, body weight, insulin dose and other FGM metrics.

Results
We included 117 patients with T1D on multiple daily injections who switched to FIA, 57 of whom had data from FGM. Patients were 41-year-old, 51.3% men, with 19.3 years diabetes duration and a baseline HbA1c of 7.7% (60 mmol/mol). Mean observation time was 4.3 months. After switching to FIA, HbA1c declined by 0.1% (1 mmol/mol) only in patients with baseline HbA1c > 7.0% (53 mmol/mol). Time spent in hyperglycemia > 250 mg/dl during daytime was significantly reduced from 14.8 to 11.9% (p = 0.006). Time in range improved from 48.3 to 51.0% (p = 0.028). Results were consistent across various patient characteristics.

Conclusions
Under routine care, patients with T1D who switched to FIA experienced a reduction in the time spent in hyperglycemia > 250 mg/dl during daytime and an increase in time in range. These improvements may be due to better control of post-prandial hyperglycemia, as observed in trials.
Voters’ Distance, Information Bias and Politicians’ Salary
Authors: Bartolini David , Sacchi Agnese , Scalera Domenico , Zazzaro Alberto 
Published: February 2022

AbstractThis paper presents a theoretical model exploring the role of institutional distance between voters and politicians in the provision of public goods and citizens’ welfare. Proximity eases access to information about public policies, increasing political accountability. However, rent-seeking politicians can bias information reducing citizens’ welfare. We show that the optimal distance depends on the pool of politicians, voters’ political awareness and the cost of distorting information. As these elements differ across regions, a one-size-fits-all institutional reform may be beneficial for some jurisdictions and detrimental for others. A mechanism based on politicians’ remuneration can mitigate possible welfare-decreasing effects of voter-politician proximity.