bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Epistemic Beliefs in Science—A Systematic Integration of Evidence From Multiple Studies
Authors: Schiefer Julia , Edelsbrunner Peter A. , Bernholt Andrea , Kampa Nele , Nehring Andreas 
Published: February 2022

AbstractRecent research has integrated developmental and dimensional perspectives on epistemic beliefs by implementing an approach in which profiles of learners’ epistemic beliefs are modeled across multiple dimensions. Variability in study characteristics has impeded the comparison of profiles of epistemic beliefs and their relations with external variables across studies. We examined this comparability by integrating data on epistemic beliefs about the source, certainty, development, and justification of knowledge in science from six studies comprisingN = 10,932 German students from elementary to upper secondary school. Applying latent profile analyses to these data, we found that profiles of epistemic beliefs that were previously conceptualized were robust across multiple samples. We found indications that profiles of epistemic beliefs homogenize over the course of students’ education, are related to school tracking, and demonstrate robust relations with students’ personal characteristics and socioeconomic background. We discuss implications for the theory, assessment, and education of epistemic beliefs.
Pivotal discrepancy measures for Bayesian modelling of spatio-temporal data
Authors: Morris Lindsay R. , Sibanda Nokuthaba 
Published: February 2022

AbstractWithin the field of geostatistics, Gaussian processes are a staple for modelling spatial and spatio-temporal data. Statistical literature is rich with estimation methods for the mean and covariance of such processes (in both frequentist and Bayesian contexts). Considerably less attention has been paid to developing goodness-of-fit tests for assessment of model adequacy. Jun et al. (Environmetrics 25(8):584–595, 2014) introduced a statistical test that uses pivotal discrepancy measures to assess goodness-of-fit in the Bayesian context. We present a modification and generalization of their statistical test. The initial method involves spatial partitioning of the data, followed by evaluation of a pivotal discrepancy measure at each posterior draw to obtain a posterior distribution of pivotal statistics. Order statistics from this distribution are used to obtain approximate p-values. Jun et al. (Environmetrics 25(8):584–595, 2014) use arbitrary partitions based on pre-existing spatial boundaries. The partitions are made to be of equal size. Our contribution is two-fold. We use K-means clustering to create the spatial partitions and we generalise Jun et al.’s approach to incorporate unequal partition sizes. Observations from a spatial or spatio-temporal process are partitioned using an appropriate feature vector that incorporates the geographic location of the observations into subsets (not necessarily of the same size). The method’s viability is illustrated in a simulation study, and in an application to hoki (Macruronus novaezelandiae) catch data from a survey of the sub-Antarctic region.
Value Promotion and the Explanation of Evidential Standards
Authors: Magalotti Tricia 
Published: February 2022

AbstractWhile it is commonly accepted that justified beliefs must be strongly supported by evidence and that support comes in degrees, the question of how much evidential support one needs in order to have a justified belief remains. In this paper, I consider how the question about degrees of evidential support connects with recent debates between consequentialist and deontological explanations of epistemic norms. I argue that explaining why strong, but not conclusive, evidential support is required for justification should be one explanandum that such theories seek to explain. Furthermore, I argue that foundational theories that appeal to the promotion of epistemic value (especially consequentialism, but perhaps also some versions of epistemic deontology) are better suited to provide such an explanation.
Diving beetle (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) community dissimilarity reveals how low landscape connectivity restricts the ecological value of urban ponds
Authors: Liao Wenfei , Venn Stephen , Niemelä Jari 
Published: February 2022

AbstractContextStructural and functional connectivity, as subconcepts of landscape connectivity, are key factors in biodiversity conservation and management. Previous studies have focused on the consequences of connectivity for populations of terrestrial organisms, which may not be appropriate for aquatic organisms.ObjectivesAs landscape connectivity critically affects the potential value of ponds for biodiversity, here we used diving beetles (Dytiscidae), an indicator taxon of wetland biodiversity, to investigate how structural connectivity affects functional connectivity to aquatic invertebrates in an urban landscape.MethodsWe assessed pairwise similarities of dytiscid community, i.e. the variation of species composition between clustered and isolated ponds in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland. We investigated how dytiscid community similarity is affected by Euclidean distances between ponds, as an indicator of structural connectivity.ResultsWe found that clustered ponds shared more species than isolated ponds. Dytiscid species community similarity responded negatively to increasing Euclidean distance between ponds. Effectively dispersing species were widely distributed across the landscape, while poor dispersers were scarcely distributed in the same landscape.ConclusionsStructural connectivity determines which species are able to disperse successfully, with poor dispersers restricted to well-connected ponds. The different responses of effective dispersers and poor dispersers to the same structural connectivity indicate that functional connectivity determines species composition. We recommend providing well-connected aquatic habitats in urban landscapes and the implementation of measures to reduce isolation of wetland assemblages. Even clustered ponds need dispersal from other habitats to ensure their contribution to urban biodiversity.
Equity financing incentive and corporate disclosure: new causal evidence from SEO deregulation
Authors: Chen Jun , Li Ningzhong , Zhou Xiaolu 
Published: February 2022

AbstractWe provide new causal evidence for the impact of equity financing incentive on firms’ voluntary disclosure decisions by exploring the 2008 seasoned equity offering deregulation, which exogenously facilitates small firms’ access to public equity financing and increases their equity issuance incentives without changing their business and information environments. We argue that the heightened equity financing incentive due to the deregulation can motivate a firm to increase disclosures even in the period without actual equity issuance, because such disclosures, by signaling a commitment to disclosure, could reduce the cost of equity in case the firm issues equity in the future. Consistent with this argument, we find that, benchmarking against control firms that are not affected by the deregulation, an average treatment firm that is affected by the deregulation but does not issue equity provides more management earnings forecasts in the post-deregulation period. The effect is mainly driven by repeated forecasters and is more pronounced for firms with greater equity financing needs and firms with higher information asymmetry in the equity market.
Solid Lubrication on Hard Metal Specimens with Micropits Under Normal and Elevated Temperatures
Authors: Dawari Christopher K. , Mönkkönen Kari , Suvanto Mika , Saarinen Jarkko J. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractSolid lubrication in tribological applications was studied on hard metal specimens with micropits fabricated using metal injection molding (MIM). This study investigated synergy effects of paraffin wax mixed with 5 wt% MoS2 on the lubricating potential both under normal and elevated temperatures. Pin-on-plate sliding tests were performed on a CSM tribometer in which WC–Co pins oscillated against microstructured and flat reference WC–Co specimens under 10 N applied normal load. Surface morphology characterization of test specimens was carried out before and after tribological tests using scanning electron microscopy. Solid paraffin wax displayed enhanced lubrication compared to solid paraffin wax mixed with 5 wt% MoS2 on micropit specimens under normal temperature. On the contrary, under heating conditions, solid paraffin mixed with 5 wt% MoS2 significantly reduced the dynamic coefficient of friction (COF) values for both flat and micropit specimens. The results showed that the micropits in textured specimens can be used as a reservoir for the lubricant that can significantly reduce friction compared to flat reference specimens.
Graphical Abstract
Optimising Operational Reliability and Performance in Aerobic Passive Mine Water Treatment: the Multistage Westfield Pilot Plant
Authors: Opitz Joscha , Bauer Martin , Eckert Jutta , Peiffer Stefan , Alte Matthias 
Published: February 2022

AbstractA three-stage pilot system was implemented for passive treatment of circumneutral, ferruginous seepage water at a former opencast lignite mine in southeast Germany. The pilot system consisted of consecutive, increasingly efficient treatment stages with settling ponds for pre-treatment, surface-flow wetlands for polishing and sediment filters for purification. The overall objective of the multistage approach was to demonstrate applicability and operational reliability for successive removal of iron as the primary contaminant broadly following Pareto’s principle in due consideration of the strict site-specific effluent limit of 1 mg/L. Average inflow total iron concentration was 8.4(± 2.4) mg/L, and effluent concentration averaged 0.21(± 0.07) mg/L. The bulk iron load (≈69%) was retained in settling ponds, thus effectively protecting wetlands and sediment filter from overloading. In turn, wetlands and sediment filters displayed similar discrete treatment efficiency (≈73% each) relative to settling ponds and thus proved indispensable to reliably meet regulatory requirements. Moreover, the wetlands were found to additionally stimulate and enhance biogeochemical processes that facilitated effective removal of secondary contaminants such as Mn and NH4. The sediment filters were found to reliably polish particulate and redox-sensitive compounds (Fe, As, Mn, NH4, TSS) whilst concomitantly mitigating natural spatiotemporal fluctuations that inevitably arise in open systems. Both treatment performance and operational reliability of the multistage pilot system were comparable to the conventional treatment plant currently operated on site. Altogether the study fully confirmed suitability of the multistage passive setup as a long-term alternative for seepage water treatment on site and provided new insights into the performance and interrelation of consecutive treatment stages. Most importantly, it was demonstrated that strategically combining increasingly efficient components may be used for optimisation of treatment performance and operational reliability whilst providing an opportunity to minimise land consumption and overall costs.
Effects of organic matter degradation in cohesive sediment: linking sediment rheology to spatio-temporal patterns of organic matter degradability
Authors: Zander F. , Shakeel A. , Kirichek A. , Chassagne C. , Gebert J. 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Purpose
Sediment organic matter (SOM) influences settling and thus the rheological behavior of suspended particles by enhancing flocculation or reducing surface charges by forming organo-mineral complexes that facilitate particle–particle interactions in consolidating sediments. It was, therefore, assumed that the microbial degradation of SOM and its spatio-temporal variability would affect sediment rheological properties and enhance port maintenance dredging and navigability of ports and waterways.

Methods
To investigate this effect, samples were taken at six locations along a transect of 30 river kilometers through the Port of Hamburg, Germany, during nine sampling campaigns within two years. The collected samples were divided into different layers based on the differences in visual consistency and strength. For analysis of SOM degradability, the samples were incubated in the laboratory for 250 days in glass bottles under aerobic and anaerobic conditions following the evolution of gas composition (CH4, CO2) and pressure in the bottle headspace over time. Yield stress was analyzed before and after the dissolved organic matter (DOM) decay using a rheometer with Couette geometry. Standard properties of solids and pore water were also analyzed.

Results
Shear strength decreased upon SOM decay under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions. Under anaerobic conditions, organic matter decay reduced static and fluidic yield stresses to an average of 74% and 79% of the fresh sample values. Consolidated layers at lower depths showed the highest absolute decrease in fluidic yield stress of up to –110 Pa due to a larger absolute amount of degradable organic matter in these layers in connection to higher bulk density. Pronounced spatial trends with higher changes in yield stress at upstream locations and lower yield stress changes at downstream locations coincided with a decreasing gradient of SOM degradability from upstream to downstream. Seasonal trends indicated that the investigation area is impacted by temporally changing factors.

Conclusion
The availability of easily degradable organic matter significantly affects sediment strength, especially under the anaerobic conditions, even when the mass loss of organic matter mass loss is small. Seasonal variability in yield stress changes upon SOM decay indicate that the site-specific responses were modulated by overarching seasonal effects impacting the entire investigation area. It was assumed that during an anaerobic decay, the formation of gas bubbles added an additional physical component to the effect of biological SOM decay.
Multi-Cue Kinetic Model with Non-Local Sensing for Cell Migration on a Fiber Network with Chemotaxis
Authors: Conte Martina , Loy Nadia 
Published: February 2022

AbstractCells perform directed motion in response to external stimuli that they detect by sensing the environment with their membrane protrusions. Precisely, several biochemical and biophysical cues give rise to tactic migration in the direction of their specific targets. Thus, this defines a multi-cue environment in which cells have to sort and combine different, and potentially competitive, stimuli. We propose a non-local kinetic model for cell migration in which cell polarization is influenced simultaneously by two external factors: contact guidance and chemotaxis. We propose two different sensing strategies, and we analyze the two resulting transport kinetic models by recovering the appropriate macroscopic limit in different regimes, in order to observe how the cell size, with respect to the variation of both external fields, influences the overall behavior. This analysis shows the importance of dealing with hyperbolic models, rather than drift-diffusion ones. Moreover, we numerically integrate the kinetic transport equations in a two-dimensional setting in order to investigate qualitatively various scenarios. Finally, we show how our setting is able to reproduce some experimental results concerning the influence of topographical and chemical cues in directing cell motility.
Nitrous oxide-induced myeloneuropathy: an emerging public health issue
Authors: McCormick John P. , Sharpe Sophie , Crowley Karen , Dudley Alexander , O’Laoi Ruadhan , Barry Michael , Owens Lisa , Doherty Colin P. , Redmond Janice , Yeung Sarah-Jane 
Published: February 2022

AbstractIncreasing use of nitrous oxide as a recreational drug has been reported among young adults in western countries over the past decade. We present two cases of young males presenting to the Emergency Department (ED) of a large urban university hospital in Dublin with progressive neurological dysfunction related to nitrous oxide use. We review the pathophysiology, clinical features and treatment of nitrous oxide neurotoxicity. It is important that clinicians are aware of this evolving public health issue and are able to recognize the clinical features of this rare presentation, which may become more common in Irish EDs and GP surgeries as nitrous oxide abuse becomes more prevalent.
Stem Cell-Based Tissue Engineering for the Treatment of Burn Wounds: A Systematic Review of Preclinical Studies
Authors: Lukomskyj Alissa Olga , Rao Nikitha , Yan Lei , Pye Jasmine Sarah , Li Haiyan , Wang Bin , Li Jiao Jiao 
Published: February 2022

AbstractBurn wounds are a devastating type of skin injury leading to severe impacts on both patients and the healthcare system. Current treatment methods are far from ideal, driving the need for tissue engineered solutions. Among various approaches, stem cell-based strategies are promising candidates for improving the treatment of burn wounds. A thorough search of the Embase, Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science databases was conducted to retrieve original research studies on stem cell-based tissue engineering treatments tested in preclinical models of burn wounds, published between January 2009 and June 2021. Of the 347 articles retrieved from the initial database search, 33 were eligible for inclusion in this review. The majority of studies used murine models with a xenogeneic graft, while a few used the porcine model. Thermal burn was the most commonly induced injury type, followed by surgical wound, and less commonly radiation burn. Most studies applied stem cell treatment immediately post-burn, with final endpoints ranging from 7 to 90 days. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) were the most common stem cell type used in the included studies. Stem cells from a variety of sources were used, most commonly from adipose tissue, bone marrow or umbilical cord, in conjunction with an extensive range of biomaterial scaffolds to treat the skin wounds. Overall, the studies showed favourable results of skin wound repair in animal models when stem cell-based tissue engineering treatments were applied, suggesting that such strategies hold promise as an improved therapy for burn wounds.Graphical abstract
Tetrahydrobiopterin induces proteasome inhibitor resistance and tumor progression in multiple myeloma
Authors: Zhang Hua , Chen Jintong , Zhang Mingyue , Zhao Munan , Zhang Luyao , Liu Bin , Wang Siqing 
Published: February 2022

AbstractMultiple myeloma (MM) still remains an incurable disease due to widespread drug resistance and high frequency of relapse. In this study, we found that tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) promotes MM cell proliferation and tumor growth in vivo. BH4 also increases MM bortezomib (Bor) resistance in vitro and in vivo. We show that BH4 increases the expressions of USP7 and USP46 in MM cells, which are responsible for MM Bor resistance primed by BH4. BH4 promotes the degradation of P53 and the activation of NF-κB signaling through the up-regulation of USP7 and USP46. Furthermore, the inhibition of USPs increases the therapeutic effects of Bor in MM tumor bearing mice. Our results demonstrate the important role of BH4 in MM Bor resistance and tumor progression in vivo. These findings could potentially have clinical implications.
Effects of metformin on human bone-derived mesenchymal stromal cell—breast cancer cell line interactions
Authors: Teufelsbauer Maryana , Lang Clemens , Plangger Adelina , Rath Barbara , Moser Doris , Staud Clement , Radtke Christine , Neumayer Christoph , Hamilton Gerhard 
Published: February 2022

AbstractMetformin is used to treat patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and was found to lower the incidence of cancer. Bone metastasis is a common impairment associated with advanced breast cancer. The present study investigated the effects of metformin on human bone-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (BM-MSC)—breast cancer cell line interactions. BM-MSCs grown from box chisels were tested for growth-stimulating and migration-controlling activity on four breast cancer cell lines either untreated or after pretreatment with metformin. Growth stimulation was tested in MTT tests and migration in scratch assays. Furthermore, the expression of adipokines of BM-MSCs in response to metformin was assessed using Western blot arrays. Compared to breast cancer cell lines (3.6 ± 1.4% reduction of proliferation), 500 µM metformin significantly inhibited the proliferation of BM-MSC lines (mean 12.3 ± 2.2 reduction). Pretreatment of BM-MSCs with metformin showed variable effects of the resulting conditioned media (CM) on breast cancer cell lines depending on the specific BM-MSC—cancer line combination. Metformin significantly reduced the migration of breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-436 in response to CM of drug-pretreated BM-MSCs. Assessment of metformin-induced alterations in the expression of adipokines by BM-MSC CM indicated increased osteogenic signaling and possibly impairment of metastasis. In conclusion, the anticancer activities of metformin are the result of a range of direct and indirect mechanisms that lower tumor proliferation and progression. A lower metformin-induced protumor activity of BM-MSCs in the bone microenvironment seem to contribute to the positive effects of the drug in selected breast cancer patients.
Knockout of high-mobility group box 1 in B16F10 melanoma cells induced host immunity-mediated suppression of in vivo tumor growth
Authors: Yokomizo Kanako , Waki Kayoko , Ozawa Miyako , Yamamoto Keiko , Ogasawara Sachiko , Yano Hirohisa , Yamada Akira 
Published: February 2022

AbstractHigh-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) has been reported as a damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) molecule that is released from damaged or dead cells and induces inflammation and subsequent innate immunity. However, the role of HMGB1 in the anti-tumor immunity is unclear since inflammation in the tumor microenvironment also contributes to tumor promotion and progression. In the present study, we established HMGB1-knockout clones from B16F10 and CT26 murine tumors by genome editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 system and investigated the role of HMGB1 in anti-tumor immunity. We found that (1) knockout of HMGB1 in the tumor cells suppressed in vivo, but not in vitro, tumor growth, (2) the suppression of the in vivo tumor growth was mediated by CD8 T cells, and (3) infiltration of CD8 T cells, macrophages and dendritic cells into the tumor tissues was accelerated in HMGB1-knockout tumors. These results demonstrated that knockout of HMGB1 in tumor cells converted tumors from poor infiltration of immune cells called “cold” to “immune-inflamed” or “hot” and inhibited in vivo tumor growth mediated by cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Infiltration of immune cells to the tumor microenvironment is an important step in the series known as the cancer immunity cycle. Thus, manipulation of tumor-derived HMGB1 might be applicable to improve the clinical outcomes of cancer immunotherapies, including immune checkpoint blockades and cancer vaccine therapies.