bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Combining surface and soil environmental DNA with artificial cover objects to improve terrestrial reptile survey detection
Authors: Kyle Kathleen E. , Allen Michael C. , Dragon Jeffrey , Bunnell John F. , Reinert Howard K. , Zappalorti Robert , Jaffe Benjamin D. , Angle Jordan C. , Lockwood Julie L. 
Published: August 2022

AbstractReptiles are increasingly of conservation concern due to their susceptibility to habitat loss, emerging disease, and harvest in the wildlife trade. However, reptile populations are often difficult to monitor given the frequency of crypsis in their life history. This difficulty has left uncertain the conservation status of many species and the efficacy of conservation actions unknown. Environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys consistently elevate the detection rate of species they are designed to monitor, and while their use is promising for terrestrial reptile conservation, successes in developing such surveys have been sparse. We tested the degree to which inclusion of surface and soil eDNA sampling into conventional artificial‐cover methods elevates the detection probability of a small, cryptic terrestrial lizard, Scincella lateralis. The eDNA sampling of cover object surfaces with paint rollers elevated per sample detection probabilities for this species 4–16 times compared with visual surveys alone. We readily detected S. lateralis eDNA under cover objects up to 2 weeks after the last visual detection, and at some cover objects where no S. lateralis were visually observed in prior months. With sufficient sampling intensity, eDNA testing of soil under cover objects produced comparable per sample detection probabilities as roller surface methods. Our results suggest that combining eDNA and cover object methods can considerably increase the detection power of reptile monitoring programs, allowing more accurate estimates of population size, detection of temporal and spatial changes in habitat use, and tracking success of restoration efforts. Further research into the deposition and decay rates of reptile eDNA under cover objects, as well as tailored protocols for different species and habitats, is needed to bring the technique into widespread use.
Planning for people and nature: Comparing quality‐of‐life outcomes across environmental systems to inform conservation planning
Authors: Liberati Marjorie R. , May Christopher A. , Sowa Scott P. , Kyriakakis Stephanie R. , Pearsall Doug R. , Doran Patrick J. 
Published: August 2022

AbstractConservation programs have been slow to integrate socio‐economic indicators into decision making despite growing recognition that addressing social‐ecological systems improves outcomes for nature and people. Our goal was to identify small, comprehensive sets of socio‐economic indicators for conservation programs designed to (1) improve agricultural soil health and reduce sediment and nutrient loading to freshwater systems, (2) restore Great Lakes coastal wetlands, and (3) implement green stormwater infrastructure in cities. We piloted a structured decision‐making process to select indicators more objectively and transparently. Important elements of our process were (a) using a human quality‐of‐life framework to identify potential indicators and (b) evaluating indicators' relevance to conservation, resonance with communities, and data‐availability. The programs identified 278 potential indicators across seven quality‐of‐life domains, of which 78 were evaluated against six selection criteria. For each program, we developed intended use scenarios, assigned relative weights to selection criteria, and used these weights to calculate a weighted sum of the indicator's criteria scores and rank indicators. Across programs and intended uses, 21 indicators achieved top‐five rankings; indicators for flood risk and damage were common across all three programs. Our collaborative approach provided opportunities to evaluate indicator selections across quality‐of‐life domain, conservation program, and intended uses.
Social Norm Change, Behavioural Approaches and the Politics of Knowledge: A Conversation between the Ivory Tower and the Field
Authors: Wazir Rekha 
Published: August 2022

ABSTRACTThe social norms approach (SNA), the new entrant from the behavioural sciences into the field of development practice, professes a scientific, more accurate, efficient and cost‐effective methodology for identifying, measuring and changing harmful social norms. Despite its increasing popularity, no systematic, robust or long‐term field evaluations are available to demonstrate the effectiveness and sustainability of using the SNA, nor its superiority over other, pre‐existing methods. This article critiques the SNA from the perspective of development praxis, highlighting three concerns: the underlying cultural presumptions about development and its subjects; the problematic methodological design and its complexity; and the lack of contextual framing in the approach and its focus on individual behaviour to the exclusion of the structural constraints embedded in the social and economic environment. The recent drift to broaden the SNA framework is also discussed and assessed. To illustrate a contrasting approach, a case study is presented of MV Foundation, a civil society organization that works on changing social norms on issues of education and child labour. The article concludes that the SNA is arguably yet another instance of colonization of the field of development through hegemonic control of the creation of knowledge.
The role of opportunistic quantitative computed tomography in the evaluation of bone disease and risk of fracture in thalassemia major
Authors: Carnevale Aldo , Pellegrino Fabio , Bravi Beatrice , Gamberini Maria Rita , Gagliardi Irene , Reverberi Roberto , Zatelli Maria Chiara , Giganti Melchiore , Ambrosio Maria Rosaria 
Published: August 2022

AbstractObjectiveDual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry (DXA) remains the cornerstone for osteoporosis evaluation in Thalassemia major. However, several drawbacks have been observed in this unique setting. We sought to determine the correlation between quantitative CT (QCT) and DXA‐derived parameters; secondarily, we aimed to investigate the role of the two techniques in predicting the risk of fracture.MethodsWe retrospectively included patients with β‐thalassemia major who had undergone both lumbar and femoral DXA examinations, and CT scans including the lumbar spine, performed for disparate diagnostic issues, within 4 months from the DXA. CT data were examined employing a phantom‐less QCT method for bone mineral density (BMD) assessment. We also retrieved any spontaneous or fragility fractures occurring from 1 year before up to 5 years after the date of DXA scans.ResultsThe 43 patients were included. QCT measures were significantly higher than those determined by DXA. The gap between QCT and DXA values was strongly associated with patient age. The most powerful predictive variable for risk of fracture was the ACR classification based on volumetric BMD obtained by QCT.ConclusionsDXA provided more negative measures than those determined by QCT. However, QCT seemed to evaluate thalassaemic osteopathy better than DXA, since volumetric BMD was a stronger predictor of fracture.
Long‐term modulation of the axonal refractory period
Authors: Jankowska Elzbieta , Kaczmarek Dominik , Hammar Ingela 
Published: August 2022

AbstractThe main question addressed in this study was whether the refractoriness of nerve fibres can be modulated by their depolarisation and, if so, whether depolarisation of nerve fibres evokes a long‐term decrease in the duration of the refractory period as well as the previously demonstrated increase in their excitability. This was investigated on nerve fibres within the dorsal columns, dorsal roots and peripheral nerves in deeply anaesthetised rats in vivo. The results revealed major differences depending on the sites of fibre stimulation and polarisation. Firstly, the relative refractory period was found to be shorter in epidurally stimulated dorsal column fibres than in fibres stimulated at other sites. Secondly, the minimal effective interstimulus intervals reflecting the absolute refractory period were likewise shorter for nerve fibres within the dorsal columns even though action potentials evoked by the second of a pair of stimuli were similarly delayed with respect to the preceding action potentials at all the stimulation sites. Thirdly, the minimal interstimulus intervals were reduced by epidurally applied cathodal direct current polarisation but not at other stimulation sites. Consequently, higher proportions of dorsal column fibres could be excited at higher frequencies, especially following their depolarisation, at interstimulus intervals as short as 0.5–0.7 ms. The results demonstrate that epidural depolarisation results in long‐lasting effects not only on the excitability but also on the refractoriness of dorsal column fibres. They also provide further evidence for specific features of afferent fibres traversing the dorsal columns previously linked to properties of their branching regions.
Aortic valve stenosis associated with valvular heterotopic ossification with extramedullary haematopoiesis in a horse
Authors: Hammond Anna , Savage Victoria , Harley Ross , Borgeat Kieran 
Published: August 2022

SummaryThis report describes a case of functional aortic stenosis with heterotopic ossification in the aortic valve of a 20‐year‐old Thoroughbred mare. The aortic valve pathology was associated with aortic outflow obstruction, dilation of the left ventricle and left atrial enlargement ultimately leading to pulmonary hypertension and clinical signs of right‐sided heart failure. Histopathological examination demonstrated the presence of haemopoietic cells within the calcified aortic valve leaflets, which is a rare finding, and revealed myxomatous degenerative changes in the mitral valve and multifocal areas of fibrous tissue within the myocardium. There is marked similarity between this case and the human condition of calcific aortic valvular disease (CAVD), which is the most common reason for valve replacement surgery. In this case, we report the clinical and pathological features in this first reported case of equine aortic valve stenosis.
State audit of public–private partnerships: Effects on transparency, auditor's roles, and impact on auditee's reactions
Authors: Cracel Viana Luis , Moreira José António , Alves Paulo 
Published: August 2022

AbstractSupreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) play an active role in the government's accountability to the parliament. Public–private partnerships (PPPs) are a different route used to deliver infrastructure‐based public services by private sector entities compared to traditional public procurement. Due to their nature, PPPs raise specific issues related to transparency for public accountability and SAIs, through the independent and competent audit they provide, may enhance the information content of the accountability relationship between the government and the parliament. We conducted a documentary analysis of 16 PPP audit reports issued by the Portuguese Court of Auditors (CoA) to analyze the audit process and outputs. Overall, our evidence suggests that the CoA, through the audit reports, reduced the information asymmetry by disclosing relevant information for more comprehensive public scrutiny and political accountability of PPPs and made several recommendations towards better PPP governance and management. Furthermore, our findings corroborate the two functions of SAIs, which can both be found in the same audit report: the watchdog function (magistrate and public accountant roles), drawing attention to failures at different stages of the PPP cycle, and the shepherding function (management accountant role), providing advice to the Government towards best practices on PPP governance and management. Considering the Government's reactions to the audit reports and the information available about CoA's recommendations implementation, there are doubts about the desired audit impact on the auditee's change of PPPs governance and management.
Biochar and nitrogen fertilizer promote rice yield by altering soil enzyme activity and microbial community structure
Authors: Sun Jiali , Li Hongbo , Wang Yanan , Du Zhangliu , Rengel Zed , Zhang Aiping 
Published: August 2022

AbstractBiochar can significantly change soil properties and improve soil quality. However, the effects of long‐term combined application of biochar (B) and nitrogen (N) fertilizer on relationships between soil enzyme activity, microbial community structure, and crop yield are still obscure. We characterized these relationships in a long‐term (8 years) field experiment with rice, two biochar rates of 0 and 13.5 t ha−1 year−1 (B0 and B) and two N fertilizer rates of 0 and 300 kg N ha−1 year−1 (N0 and N). The repeated, long‐term combined applications of biochar and N fertilizer significantly increased microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), but biochar decreased the abundance of total bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, and gram‐positive and gram‐negative bacteria as well as the amount of total phospholipid fatty acids. The activity of leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) decreased significantly in the biochar‐amended and N fertilized treatment, but the LAP activity either remained unchanged or increased with biochar amendment at N0. The relative abundance of bacterial phylum Chloroflexi was increased in the combined biochar and N fertilizer treatment. The changes in soil organic matter and the activity of α‐1,4‐xylosidase were the major properties influencing soil bacterial community composition, whereas the structure of fungal community was governed by MBC, MBN, and LAP activities. In addition, long‐term biochar and N fertilizer applied together significantly increased rice yield (more than biochar and nitrogen fertilizer applied alone). Yield was significantly positively correlated with LAP activity, but significantly negatively correlated with the relative abundance of Chloroflexi. In conclusion, long‐term biochar and nitrogen fertilizer applications increased rice yield, which was associated with altered soil microbial community and enhanced activity of some enzymes.
Assuring patient participation and care continuity in intermediate care: Getting the most out of family meetings using the four habits model
Authors: Kvæl Linda A. H. , Olsen Cecilie F. 
Published: August 2022

AbstractIntroductionAs a transitional care intervention, intermediate care (IC) bridges the pathway for older patients from hospital to home. Within family meetings in IC, the older patient, his or her relatives, the interdisciplinary team and the municipal case manager come together to discuss goals and interventions during the IC stay, including follow‐up services after discharge. Although family meetings are a common aspect of teamwork in IC, it is unclear how the voices of older people and their relatives are coming across. The aim of this study is to explore how patient participation is framed and negotiated within family meetings in IC.MethodsThis study is based on qualitative data from the observation of 14 interdisciplinary family meetings in Norwegian IC services. As a theoretical framework, the authors have used the four habits model developed by Frankel and Stein as a lens to understand the interrelated sequence of events that typically takes place during a family meeting and the importance of communication skills to promote patient participation.ResultsThe thematic analysis resulted in 16 categories and 4 main themes related to the 4 habits model: (i) grounding the family meetings, (ii) what matters to you?, (iii) being empathically present and (iv) the power of a final closure.ConclusionThere was considerable variation in the way current family meetings were conducted. It seemed crucial to start the meeting with a proper introduction and explanation of the purpose of the meeting to establish trust and to be able to successfully move to the next stage of eliciting the patients' preferences, views and goals via the ‘what matters to you?’ question. There were examples of empathetic communication among meeting participants perceived to facilitate patient participation. Finally, to successfully end the meeting and agree on a shared plan, it seemed crucial for case managers who held the decision‐making power to attend the meetings. Framing family meetings in line with the four habits sequential approach may have the potential to assure patient participation and care continuity in IC services.Patient or Public ContributionThis article is part of a larger project based on a James Lind Alliance process that brings patients, relatives, health care professionals and researchers together in priority setting partnerships to identify and prioritize evidence uncertainties that they agree are the most important. Accordingly, the design and content of this article have been initiated and discussed in the project's stakeholder group consisting of one patient representative, one relative representative, two health care professionals from IC settings, two representatives from the Norwegian Health Association and two representatives from the Agency of Health in Norway.
Duns Scotus on Atonement and Penance
Authors: Labooy Guus H. , Wisse P. M. 
Published: August 2022

ABSTRACTIn this historical contribution, we assess Duns Scotus’s analysis of atonement (Commentary on the Sentences bk. III). We also include a partial exploration of his analysis of penance (Sentences bk. IV), because certain topics which we tend to discuss within atonement‐theory, for example the analysis of the virtue of punishment, pertained to the subject of penance for Scotus. In recent scholarship, Andrew Rosato has argued that Scotus adapted the Anselmian non‐penal view of Christ’s substitutionary satisfaction to the penal understanding of satisfaction operative in penance. In this contribution, however, we argue that Scotus’s understanding remained non‐penal: his view of the atonement depends on meritorious supererogatory acts of love. Additionally, we harvest some valuable Scotistic insights for atonement‐theory, some of them applicable to penal theories as well.
Anticancer maintenance chemotherapy prolonged prognosis of metastatic urothelial carcinoma patients: A single institute retrospective study using propensity score matching
Authors: Yamamoto Akinaru , Kawashima Atsunari , Uemura Toshihiro , Yamamichi Gaku , Tomiyama Eisuke , Koh Yoko , Matsushita Makoto , Kato Taigo , Hatano Koji , Uemura Motohide , Imamura Ryoichi , Nonomura Norio 
Published: August 2022

ObjectivesTo evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of anticancer maintenance chemotherapy for metastatic urothelial carcinoma.MethodsWe retrospectively compared the clinical outcomes of 74 patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma who had been treated with or without anticancer maintenance chemotherapy between 2006 and 2020 at Osaka University Hospital. Progression‐free survival and cancer‐specific survival periods were calculated using the Kaplan–Meier method starting from the end date of induction chemotherapy. The backgrounds of patients who had treated with or without anticancer maintenance chemotherapy were adjusted using the propensity score matching method.ResultsTwenty‐nine patients had undergone anticancer maintenance chemotherapy, whereas 45 patients had not. The median progression‐free survival periods were 18.7 and 5.6 months (p = 0.0209), and the median cancer‐specific survival periods were 25.1 and 15.2 months (p = 0.1299), in patients with or without anticancer maintenance chemotherapy respectively. In multivariate analysis, anticancer maintenance chemotherapy significantly prolonged both progression‐free survival (hazard ratio 3.65, 95% confidence interval 1.96–6.78, p < 0.0001) and cancer‐specific survival (hazard ratio 3.05, 95% confidence interval 1.62–5.76, p = 0.0006) in patients with partial response or stable disease after induction chemotherapy. Also, anticancer maintenance chemotherapy significantly prolonged both progression‐free survival (13.1 months vs. 4.9 months, p = 0.0027) and cancer‐specific survival (35.1 months vs. 11.8 months, p = 0.0044) in propensity score matched patients.ConclusionsAnticancer maintenance chemotherapy may be considered the treatment for metastatic urothelial carcinoma patients after induction chemotherapy.
Impact of family history on clinicopathological variables and disease progression in Japanese prostate cancer patients undergoing robotic‐assisted radical prostatectomy
Authors: Sasaki Takeshi , Matsumoto Ryuki , Higashi Shinichiro , Kato Manabu , Masui Satoru , Yoshio Yuko , Nishikawa Kouhei , Inoue Takahiro 
Published: August 2022

ObjectiveWe evaluated whether a first‐degree family history (FH) of prostate cancer (PCa) in Japanese patients undergoing robotic‐assisted radical prostatectomy (RP) is correlated with clinicopathological variables and disease progression.MethodsWe reviewed consecutive 392 localized PCa patients undergoing robotic‐assisted RP at our institution between 2015 and 2020. Information on FH was obtained via a self‐administered questionnaire. A positive FH was defined as having a first‐degree FH: a father and/or one or more brothers with PCa prior to diagnosis. All patients had clinically localized PCa treated by robotic‐assisted RP. We evaluated the relationship between clinical characteristics, pathological findings, and biochemical progression‐free survival (bPFS) according to first‐degree FH status.ResultsMedian follow‐up was 20.8 months. FH was identified in 42 (10.7%) patients. Patients in the FH group (median, 64.8 years) were diagnosed at a significantly younger age than patients in the non‐FH (NFH) group (patients without FH) (median, 67.7 years) (p = 0.003). The 5‐year bPFS in the FH and NFH groups was 72.0% and 78.1%, respectively (p = 0.90). A subgroup analysis revealed a significant difference in prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) density between the FH group (median, 0.51 ng/ml/cm3) and the NFH group (median, 0.29 ng/ml/cm3) in patients younger than 60 years (p = 0.033).ConclusionsIn this RP population, FH of PCa was not associated with worse clinical characteristics, pathological findings, or disease progression. Patients with a FH underwent surgery at a significantly younger age, and among patients <60 years, patients with a FH had significantly higher PSA density compared with patients without a FH.