bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Facing Muscular Dystrophy During Covid-19 Pandemic: The Role of Support Associations and Spirituality
Authors: Palazzo Lorenza , Pompele Sara , Rossi Marta , Rossi Gabriella , Spinoglio Simona , Testoni Ines 
Published: February 2022

AbstractSeveral researches in scientific literature analyze the theme of Muscular Dystrophy (MD), As well as many others focus on the theme of the Covid-19 pandemic; however, there is a rather limited number of studies that analyse how the pandemic has affected the life of people suffering from MD, especially during the time of the first lockdown in the spring of 2020. The present study has applied a qualitative research design with the aim to investigate how patients with MD have lived the social restrictions imposed for the contagion containment and whether the assistance of associations for their support has contributed to make the participants feel closer or more distant from the spiritual dimension. The analysis involved 12 participants, and they were presented with a semi-structured interview. The data obtained from the interviews have been analysed through a thematic analysis from which 4 thematic areas have emerged: (1) the impact of the pandemic on an emotional level; (2) the illness management and the role of family; (3) the role of the associations; (4) aspects related to spirituality. The crucial role that the closeness of family and the activities promoted remotely by the associations for patients’ support has emerged, since they have allowed the participants to feel united by something beyond, to discover new aspects of themselves, to give more value to Life and to move closer to their spiritual dimension.
Local environmental quality and heterogeneity in an OLG agent-based model with spatial externalities
Authors: Caravaggio Andrea , Sodini Mauro 
Published: February 2022

AbstractMost of the theoretical contributions on the relationship between economy and environment assume the environment as a good distributed homogeneously among agents. The aim of this work is to relax this hypothesis and to consider that the environment can have a local character even if conditioned through externalities by the choices made at the global level. In this article, we adapt the classical framework introduced in John and Pecchenino (Econ J 104(427):1393–1410, 1994) to analyze the dynamic relationship between environment and economic process, and we propose an OLG agent-based model where each agent perceives her own level of environmental quality determined by her own decisions, and by the decisions of those living around her. Despite the attention devoted to local environmental aspects, network externalities (determined through the scheme of Moore neighborhoods) play a fundamental role in defining environmental dynamics and they may induce the emergence of cyclical dynamics. The occurrence of oscillations in the local environmental quality is partially mitigated by the presence of heterogeneity in individuals’ preferences. Finally, when a centralized planner is introduced, the dynamics converge to stationary values regardless of the assumption on heterogeneity of agents.
An Insight into the Gelatinization Properties Influencing the Modified Starches Used in Food Industry: A review
Authors: Chakraborty Ishita , N Pooja , Mal Sib Sankar , Paul Uttam C. , Rahman Md. Hafizur , Mazumder Nirmal 
Published: February 2022

AbstractNative starch is subjected to various forms of modification to improve its structural, mechanical, and thermal properties for wider applications in the food industry. Physical, chemical, and dual modifications have a substantial effect on the gelatinization properties of starch. Consequently, this review explores and compares the different methods of starch modification applicable in the food industry and their effect on the gelatinization properties such as onset temperature (To), peak gelatinization temperature (Tp), end set temperature (Tc), and gelatinization enthalpy (ΔH), studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Chemical modifications including acetylation and acid hydrolysis decrease the gelatinization temperature of starch whereas cross-linking and oxidation result in increased gelatinization temperatures. Common physical modifications such as heat moisture treatment and annealing also increase the gelatinization temperature. The gelatinization properties of modified starch can be applied for the improvement of food products such as ready-to-eat, easily heated or frozen food, or food products with longer shelf life.
Bourgain–Brezis–Mironescu Approach in Metric Spaces with Euclidean Tangents
Authors: Górny Wojciech 
Published: February 2022

AbstractIn the setting of metric measure spaces satisfying the doubling condition and the (1, p)-Poincaré inequality, we prove a metric analogue of the Bourgain–Brezis–Mironescu formula for functions in the Sobolev space $$W^{1,p}(X,d,\nu )$$

W

1
,
p

(
X
,
d
,
ν
)

, under the assumption that for $$\nu $$
ν
-a.e. point the tangent space in the Gromov–Hausdorff sense is Euclidean with fixed dimension N.
Evaluation of the importance of ionic and osmotic components of salt stress on the photosynthetic efficiency of epiphytic lichens
Authors: Chowaniec Karolina , Rola Kaja 
Published: February 2022

AbstractSalt stress can significantly disrupt the functioning of lichens which are self-sufficient symbiotic organisms inhabiting various severe environments. The aim was to test the effect of salt and sucrose on the photosynthetic efficiency of two selected epiphytic lichens inhabiting the interior of the land. Firstly, we compared the effect of salt and sucrose solutions of different concentrations. Secondly, the effect of salt and sucrose solutions with identical osmotic pressures was compared. The results showed that short-term salt stress leads to a significant reduction of FV/FM, greater changes in chlorophyll fluorescence parameters and OJIP transients compared to the osmotic effects induced by sucrose. This proved that the negative impact of salt stress is associated primarily with ionic effects. The most symptomatic effect of the ionic stress was a significant reduction of the utilisation of trapped energy in electron transport and thereby down-regulation of electron transfer. Since lichens are resistant to a temporary lack of water, ionic stress could have more serious consequences than osmotic stress itself. Hypogymnia physodes was more sensitive to salt stress than Pseudevernia furfuracea, but the reduction of photosynthetic efficiency was not permanent since after 24 h FV/FM returned to the level characteristic for healthy lichens. Nevertheless, repeated exposure to salt may reduce the vitality of lichens growing along communication routes sprinkled with salt in the winter season. Finally, the changes in certain JIP-test parameters were stronger than FV/FM, thus they could be better indicators of salt stress in lichens.
Long-term physical, mental and social health effects of COVID-19 in the pediatric population: a scoping review
Authors: Borel Madeline , Xie Luyu , Kapera Olivia , Mihalcea Adrian , Kahn Jeffrey , Messiah Sarah E. 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Background
The majority of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) symptom presentations in adults and children appear to run their course within a couple of weeks. However, a subgroup of adults has started to emerge with effects lasting several months or more after initial infection, which raises questions about the long-term physical, mental and social health effects of COVID-19 in the pediatric population. The purpose of this review was to determine these impacts well into the second year of the pandemic.

Methods
A search was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Cochrane between 11/1/2019 and 9/1/2021. Search inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) COVID-19 illness and symptoms in children; (2) severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in children; (3) English language; and (4) human studies only.

Results
The few studies that have documented long-term physical symptoms in children show that fatigue, difficulty in concentrating (brain fog), sleep disturbances, and sensory problems are the most reported outcomes. Most studies examining the impact of COVID-19 in pediatric populations have focused on initial clinical presentation, and symptoms, which are similar to those in adult populations. In addition, COVID-19 has had a moderate impact on children and adolescents’ social environment, which may exacerbate current and future physiological, psychological, behavioral, and academic outcomes.

Conclusions
There are limited studies reporting long physical symptoms of COVID-19 in the pediatric population. However, pediatric COVID-19 cases are underreported due to low rates of testing and symptomatic infection, which calls for more longitudinal studies. Children who have experienced COVID-19 illness should be monitored for long physiological, psychological, behavioral, and academic outcomes.
Why food insecurity persists in sub-Saharan Africa: A review of existing evidence
Authors: Bjornlund Vibeke , Bjornlund Henning , van Rooyen André 
Published: February 2022

AbstractThis article is the third in a series of historical reviews on sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), exploring why agricultural production and irrigation schemes are underperforming, and how this contributes to high levels of food insecurity. The expression ‘food security’ emerged in 1974 following the Sahel and Darfur famines. Despite SSA being a net agricultural exporter, food insecurity has persisted and is increasing. This is largely a legacy of the export-oriented colonial agricultural production systems, which procured scarce fertile land, water and labour to meet the needs of industries and consumers in the Global North. Colonialism also undermined the social contract between traditional leaders and communities, which had been instrumental in managing food scarcity in earlier times. Post-independence, agricultural policies remained focused on exports and neglected critical research and investment: integrating food productions systems into the domestic economy; developing supply chains and associated market, storage and value-adding infrastructure; and introducing appropriate technologies. As a result, Africa is the only region in the world where increased export production caused a decline in per capita food production. African nations should be extracted from the debt accrued due to poor colonial investments, World Bank lending practices, and global currency and interest fluctuations, which have crippled their capacity to support agriculture and improve livelihoods and food security. Farming needs to be profitable, which includes farmers being connected to domestic supply chains and market signals, local value-adding, and post-harvest storage. This will create jobs and increase income earning capacity, which is the key to households’ food security.
The Effects of Digital Technology on Opportunity Recognition
Authors: Kreuzer Thomas , Lindenthal Anna-Katharina , Oberländer Anna Maria , Röglinger Maximilian 
Published: February 2022

AbstractRecognizing opportunities enabled by digital technology (DT) has become a competitive necessity in today’s digital world. However, opportunity recognition is a major challenge given the influence of DT, which not only disperses agency across various actors, but also blurs boundaries between customers, companies, products, and industries. As a result, traditional entrepreneurship knowledge needs to be rethought and the effects of DT on opportunity recognition need to be better understood. Drawing from opportunity recognition theory – as one of the central theories in the entrepreneurship domain – this study builds on a structured literature review to identify and explain three direct as well as three transitive effects of DT on opportunity recognition. These effects have been validated with real-world cases as well as interviews with academics and practitioners. In sum, this study contributes to descriptive and explanatory knowledge on the evolution from traditional to digital entrepreneurship. As a theory for explaining, the findings extend opportunity recognition theory by illuminating how and why DT influences opportunity recognition. This supports research and practice in investigating and managing opportunities more effectively.
University-Industry Technology Transfer in India: a Plausible Model Based on Success Stories from the USA, Japan, and Israel
Authors: Ravi Ramya , Janodia Manthan D. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractPatenting and technology commercialization activities are rapidly gaining momentum in Indian academia. Currently, there is paucity of data suggesting technology commercialization activities among Indian academia. This study aims to examine issues regarding technology commercialization among Indian academics. The objectives of this study are to (1) understand the policy implications of university-industry technology transfer and (2) propose a conceptual model for technology transfer suitable for Indian scenario. The data included for our analysis is drawn from our previous study of 25 Indian Universities. The orientation of the paper is as follows: “Literature Review” is subdivided into two sub-sections — “Policies Implemented for Leveraging Successful Academic Research Commercialization in the USA, Japan, and Israel” and “University Research Commercialization — Case Studies of Universities in the USA, Japan, and Israel” are presented. “Methodology” deals with the methodology used for the study. “Discussion” is further subdivided into three sections — “Analysis and Comparisons of Policy Implications on University-Industry Technology Transfer,” “Practice of Academic Technology Transfer in Indian Universities/Institutes,” and “Conceptual Model Recommended for University-Industry Tech Commercialization in India.” “Conclusion” concludes the topic. The current practices of academia-industry knowledge commercialization in India are limited, and the paper is an attempt to propose a suitable model to encourage commercialization activities by Indian universities.
Another Hole in the Wall? Evaluating the Legality of Egypt’s 2017 Airstrikes Against Non-State Targets in Libya Under the Jus ad Bellum
Authors: Birkett Daley J. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractIn May 2017, the Egyptian armed forces conducted airstrikes against non-State targets in the neighbouring State of Libya in response to a series of attacks perpetrated against groups of Coptic Christians on Egyptian territory, killings later claimed by the self-styled Islamic State. In justifying its use of armed force, resort to which is generally impermissible in international law, Egypt purports to rely upon two exceptions to this general rule, namely: (i) authorisation on the part of the United Nations Security Council; and (ii) self-defence, while also invoking the doctrine of military assistance on request (or intervention by invitation). This article tests the legality of Egypt’s airstrikes—which have yet to be subjected to scholarly attention—in light of the three foregoing justifications. In so doing, the article evaluates the implications of this use of force for thejus ad bellum, particularly the law regulating resort to force by way of response to an armed attack for which not another State, but a non-State actor, is responsible.
Recovery of Metals from Mine Wastes: The Effect of Biochar–Fe Composites in the Immobilization of Arsenic
Authors: Álvarez M. L. , Gascó G. , Rodíguez-Pacheco R. , Paz-Ferreiro J. , Méndez A. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractMine wastes are a major environmental problem of main mines activities. However, in recent years, related to the circular economy strategy, some of these wastes have been considered as secondary source of raw materials. Generally, metal’s content show low concentrations and their recovery made the development of cheap and sustainable technologies necessary. The main objective of the present research is to study the potential recovery of zinc from one mine waste (MW) originated in an old zinc/lead mine exploitation. Two biochar–Fe composites (BM–Fe and HM–Fe) were used as catalysts in the leaching of zinc and copper. Biochars were obtained by pyrolysis of pruning waste (BM–Fe) or hydrochar from pruning waste (HM–Fe), impregnated with 5 wt% ferric sulfate. The use of the two biochars did not improve the amount of zinc recovered, but was able to reduce, significantly, the arsenic leaching, promoting its immobilization in the final residue.
Graphical Abstract
Technical Comparison of Commercially Available Trams and Review of Standardization Frame and Design Principles
Authors: Megna Gianluca , Bracciali Andrea 
Published: February 2022

AbstractTram manufacturers have different ways of approaching the design of low-floor trams with compact and reliable running gears, and therefore several tram architectures can still be found. A complete standardization of trams is nearly impossible, and technical innovations can be more easily introduced if compared to conventional railway vehicles, but the trend towards large-scale standardization based on vehicle “platforms” can be seen in recent years. However, the current “standard” tram architecture, which includes only non-pivoting bogies, is not able to solve some typical problems of tram operations, such as high wheel and rail wear and high-pitched tonal noise (squeal) in sharp curves, which are described in the present paper. This research analyses the tram market with the aim of describing the state of the art of currently available products and comparing their main technical parameters. The analysis is based on information available from the literatures (journals, web) where data about the vehicles can be found, while a new designation code (tram architecture designation, TAD for short) is specifically introduced for easier identification of the different tram architectures. Even if the complete low floor is still one of the main requested features, several solutions combining pivoting and non-pivoting bogies are commercially available, showing a tendency to give more relevance to running quality performance with respect to the recent past.
Top k Optimal Sequenced Route Query with POI Preferences
Authors: Zhu Huaijie , Li Wenbin , Liu Wei , Yin Jian , Xu Jianliang 
Published: February 2022

AbstractThe optimal sequenced route (OSR) query, as a popular problem in route planning for smart cities, searches for a minimum-distance route passing through several POIs in a specific order from a starting position. In reality, POIs are usually rated, which helps users in making decisions. Existing OSR queries neglect the fact that the POIs in the same category could have different scores, which may affect users’ route choices. In this paper, we study a novel variant of OSR query, namely Rating Constrained Optimal Sequenced Route query (RCOSR), in which the rating score of each POI in the optimal sequenced route should exceed the query threshold. To efficiently process RCOSR queries, we first extend the existing TD-OSR algorithm to propose a baseline method, called MTDOSR. To tackle the shortcomings of MTDOSR, we try to design a new RCOSR algorithm, namely Optimal Subroute Expansion (OSE) Algorithm. To enhance the OSE algorithm, we propose a Reference Node Inverted Index (RNII) to accelerate the distance computation of POI pairs in OSE and quickly retrieve the POIs of each category. To make full use of the OSE and RNII, we further propose a new efficient RCOSR algorithm, called Recurrent Optimal Subroute Expansion (ROSE), which recurrently utilizes OSE to compute the current optimal route as the guiding path and update the distance of POI pairs to guide the expansion. Then, we extend our techniques to handle a variation of RCOSR query, namely RCkOSR query. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm significantly outperforms the existing approaches.
Panoramic Insights into Microevolution and Macroevolution of a Prevotella Copri-Containing Lineage in Primate Guts
Authors: Li Hao , Meier-Kolthoff Jan P. , Hu Canxin , Wang Zhongjie , Zhu Jun , Zheng Wei , Tian Yun , Guo Feng 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Prevotella copri and its related taxa are widely detected in mammalian gut microbiomes and have been linked with an enterotype in humans. However, their microevolution and macroevolution among hosts are poorly characterized. In this study, extensively collected marker genes and genomes were analyzed to trace their evolutionary history, host specificity, and biogeographic distribution. Investigations based on marker genes and genomes suggest that a P. copri-containing lineage (PCL) harbors diverse species in higher primates. Firstly, P. copri in the human gut consisted of multiple groups exhibiting high genomic divergence and conspicuous but non-strict biogeographic patterns. Most African strains with high genomic divergence from other strains were phylogenetically located at the root of the species, indicating the co-evolutionary history of P. copri and Homo sapiens. Secondly, although long-term co-evolution between PCL and higher primates was revealed, sporadic signals of co-speciation and extensive host jumping of PCL members were suggested among higher primates. Metagenomic and phylogenetic analyses indicated that P. copri and other PCL species found in domesticated mammals had been recently transmitted from humans. Thirdly, strong evidence was found on the extensively horizontal transfer of genes (e.g., genes encoding carbohydrate-active enzymes) among sympatric P. copri groups and PCL species in the same primate host. Our study provides panoramic insights into the combined effects of vertical and horizontal transmission, as well as potential niche adaptation, on the microevolutionary and macroevolutionary history for an enterotype-representative lineage.
Tips and traps for behavioural animal experimentation
Authors: Arjmand Shokouh , Wegener Gregers , Landau Anne M. , Eskelund Amanda 
Published: February 2022

AbstractBehavioural animal experimentation is an inseparable part of research trying to understand the biological underpinnings of human behaviour, diseases and disorders. Working with animals comes with great responsibility to achieve reliable and reproducible results of highest scientific quality. In a simple step-by-step fashion, we highlight some common issues that may occur along the path to conducting behavioural animal experimentations and posit some solutions and grounds to ensure the excellence of work done in this research area while aspiring to improve conditions for laboratory animals. It entails topics of study design, animal and experimenter welfare, experimental considerations and frequentist biostatistics. At the end, we direct to some guidelines and manuals that may prove valuable to researchers in this field. Our ten simple tips and traps are meant for students who are learning about important concepts for the first time; graduates whose statistics training all too often has neglected the concept of power in experimental design; and researches who would like a light-hearted refresher on these topics. With this perspective, we hope that you will avoid falling into traps and find answers to what you always wanted to know about conducting behavioural animal experimentation.