bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ecological and environmental predictors of escape among birds on a large tropical island
Authors: Ekanayake Kasun B. , Gnanapragasam Jonathan Jebamaithran , Ranawana Kithsiri , Vidanapathirana Dulan Ranga , Abeyawardhana U. Tiran , Fernando Chandima , McQueen Alexandra , Weston Michael A. , Symonds Matthew R. E. 
Published: February 2022

Abstract
Ecological and environmental traits can influence avian escape behaviour but most data underpinning our current understanding relates to continental and temperate areas and species. We conducted a phylogenetically controlled comparative analysis of flight-initiation distance (FID) against a variety of environmental, behavioural and life history attributes for Sri Lankan birds (202 species; n = 2540). As with other studies, body mass was positively associated with FID, and longer FIDs occurred in areas where human population density was lower. We also found that the effect of human population density was more pronounced in larger birds. Birds that were in groups when approached tended to have longer FIDs. Unlike the findings of other comparative analyses, based mostly on continental, temperate populations, most other ecological variables did not feature in the best models predicting FID (time of year, breeding system, clutch size, habitat, migratory behaviour, development [altricial/precocial], elevation and diet). Thus, some associations (body mass and exposure to humans) may be universal, while others may not manifest themselves among tropical avifaunas. Further tropical datasets are required to confirm truly universal associations of environmental and ecological attributes and escape distances among birds.

Significance statement
Escape responses in birds are influenced by the environment in which they live, the conditions under which they face a threat and their own biological characteristics. The vast majority of our knowledge of avian escape behaviour is derived from continental, temperate species. We examined the environmental and ecological factors that shape flight-initiation distance (FID), the distance at which a bird reacts to an approaching threat (a walking human) by escaping, using 2540 observations of 202 bird species on a large tropical island—Sri Lanka. Several predictors of FIDs in birds are clearly influential for Sri Lankan birds: body mass, human population density and whether the bird is alone or in as group. However, many other putative predictors are not, suggesting that tropical island avifaunas may have different responses to approaching threats compared to their temperate continental counterparts.
A review of the effects of incubation conditions on hatchling phenotypes in non-squamate reptiles
Authors: Gatto Christopher R. , Reina Richard D. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractDeveloping embryos of oviparous reptiles show substantial plasticity in their responses to environmental conditions during incubation, which can include altered sex ratios, morphology, locomotor performance and hatching success. While recent research and reviews have focused on temperature during incubation, emerging evidence suggests other environmental variables are also important in determining hatchling phenotypes. Understanding how the external environment influences development is important for species management and requires identifying how environmental variables exert their effects individually, and how they interact to affect developing embryos. To address this knowledge gap, we review the literature on phenotypic responses in oviparous non-squamate (i.e., turtles, crocodilians and tuataras) reptile hatchlings to temperature, moisture, oxygen concentration and salinity. We examine how these variables influence one another and consider how changes in each variable alters incubation conditions and thus, hatchling phenotypes. We explore how incubation conditions drive variation in hatchling phenotypes and influence adult populations. Finally, we highlight knowledge gaps and suggest future research directions.
A damage phase-field model for fractional viscoelastic materials in finite strain
Authors: da Costa-Haveroth T. C. , Haveroth G. A. , Bittencourt M. L. , Boldrini J. L. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractThis paper proposes a thermodynamically consistent phase-field damage model for viscoelastic materials following the strategy developed by Boldrini et al. (Methods Appl Mech Eng 312:395–427, 2016). Suitable free-energy and pseudo-potentials of dissipation are developed to build a model leading to a stress-strain relation, under the assumption of finite strain, in terms of fractional derivatives. A novel degradation function, which properly couples stress response and damage evolution for viscoelastic materials, is proposed. We obtain a set of differential equations that accounts for the evolution of motion, damage, and temperature. In the present work, for simplicity, this model is numerically solved for isothermal cases by using a semi-implicit/explicit scheme. Several numerical tests, including fitting with experimental data, show that the developed model accounts appropriately for damage in viscoelastic materials for small and finite strains. Non-isothermal numerical simulations will be considered in future works.
Unbiased decision making in location-routing problems with uncertain customer demands
Authors: De Maio Annarita , Musmanno Roberto , Vocaturo Francesca 
Published: February 2022

AbstractIn this paper, we focus on a location-routing problem (LRP) in the dairy industry. This problem consists of locating a cold storage warehouse, from which vehicles of limited capacity are dispatched to serve a given number of supermarkets with uncertain service requirements, and determining the order of supermarkets served by each vehicle. First, the LRP is solved by using a classical approach based on a deterministic model where the service requirements, i.e. customer demands, are defined through sample means. Second, we propose an indifference zone approach to the LRP. The indifference zone procedures are specific ranking and selection methods aimed at selecting the best option from a set of alternative configurations. In particular, they attempt to guarantee the probability of correct choice, while minimising the computational effort. The numerical results presented in the paper highlight the risk of biased decision making when mere sample means are used in a deterministic model. In addition, they show the effectiveness of indifference zone approaches to the dairy products distribution activity.
The acoustic bases of human voice identity processing in dogs
Authors: Gábor Anna , Kaszás Noémi , Faragó Tamás , Pérez Fraga Paula , Lovas Melinda , Andics Attila 
Published: February 2022

AbstractSpeech carries identity-diagnostic acoustic cues that help individuals recognize each other during vocal–social interactions. In humans, fundamental frequency, formant dispersion and harmonics-to-noise ratio serve as characteristics along which speakers can be reliably separated. The ability to infer a speaker’s identity is also adaptive for members of other species (like companion animals) for whom humans (as owners) are relevant. The acoustic bases of speaker recognition in non-humans are unknown. Here, we tested whether dogs can recognize their owner’s voice and whether they rely on the same acoustic parameters for such recognition as humans use to discriminate speakers. Stimuli were pre-recorded sentences spoken by the owner and control persons, played through loudspeakers placed behind two non-transparent screens (with each screen hiding a person). We investigated the association between acoustic distance of speakers (examined along several dimensions relevant in intraspecific voice identification) and dogs’ behavior. Dogs chose their owner’s voice more often than that of control persons’, suggesting that they can identify it. Choosing success and time spent looking in the direction of the owner’s voice were positively associated, showing that looking time is an index of the ease of choice. Acoustic distance of speakers in mean fundamental frequency and jitter were positively associated with looking time, indicating that the shorter the acoustic distance between speakers with regard to these parameters, the harder the decision. So, dogs use these cues to discriminate their owner’s voice from unfamiliar voices. These findings reveal that dogs use some but probably not all acoustic parameters that humans use to identify speakers. Although dogs can detect fine changes in speech, their perceptual system may not be fully attuned to identity-diagnostic cues in the human voice.
Prediction of transcription factors associated with DNA demethylation during human cellular development
Authors: Miyajima Yurina , Noguchi Shuhei , Tanaka Yuki , Li Jing-Ru , Nishimura Hajime , Kishima Mami , Lim Joanne , Furuhata Erina , Suzuki Takahiro , Kasukawa Takeya , Suzuki Harukazu 
Published: February 2022

AbstractDNA methylation of CpG dinucleotides is an important epigenetic modification involved in the regulation of mammalian gene expression, with each type of cell developing a specific methylation profile during its differentiation. Recently, it has been shown that a small subgroup of transcription factors (TFs) might promote DNA demethylation at their binding sites. We developed a bioinformatics pipeline to predict from genome-wide DNA methylation data TFs that promote DNA demethylation at their binding site. We applied the pipeline to International Human Epigenome Consortium methylome data and selected 393 candidate transcription factor binding motifs and associated 383 TFs that are likely associated with DNA demethylation. Validation of a subset of the candidate TFs using an in vitro assay suggested that 28 of 49 TFs from various TF families had DNA-demethylation-promoting activity; TF families, such as bHLH and ETS, contained both TFs with and without the activity. The identified TFs showed large demethylated/methylated CpG ratios and their demethylated CpGs showed significant bias toward hypermethylation in original cells. Furthermore, the identified TFs promoted demethylation of distinct sets of CpGs, with slight overlap of the targeted CpGs among TF family members, which was consistent with the results of a gene ontology (GO) term analysis of the identified TFs. Gene expression analysis of the identified TFs revealed that multiple TFs from various families are specifically expressed in human cells and tissues. Together, our results suggest that a large number of TFs from various TF families are associated with cell-type-specific DNA demethylation during human cellular development.
Institutional Response to Trafficking in Human Beings in Spain: Are All Victims Equally Protected?
Authors: Villacampa Carolina , Torres Clàudia , Miranda Xavier 
Published: February 2022

AbstractTrafficking in human beings is closely related to the cross-border movements of people and smuggling of migrants. However, the victim-centred regulatory approach to this reality internationally adopted places the protection of victims’ human rights at the centre and demands an institutional response focused on their detection and protection. In order to determine whether this type of approach is being adopted in Spain, an online survey was conducted of 150 bodies, units and organisations that may have come into contact with such victims. The research results make it possible to determine how cases of trafficking are brought to light and which bodies are most effective at detecting them. They also offer information about the type of assistance offered to victims and the protection measures provided for under immigration law that are used depending on the type of trafficking suffered. These findings confirm that the institutional response to trafficking in human beings in Spain remains too focused on the trafficking of foreign women for sexual exploitation. Alternatives are proposed to overcome this highly biased response to the phenomenon.
Young People, Antisocial Behavior and Unemployment: Toward a Trans-Disciplinary Analysis of Criminalization
Authors: Fergusson Ross 
Published: February 2022

AbstractThis article considers the diverse use of the concept of criminalization in criminological and socio-legal analyses, the meanings attached to it, and the differentiated modes and manifestations of the processes of criminalization in the United Kingdom. It draws together the contributions of both disciplines (criminology and socio-legal studies) to extend understanding and theorization of the concept of criminalization, and it applies them to antisocial behavior legislation and unemployment policy concerning young people. The article identifies three distinctive modes of criminalization—illegalizing, impelling and imputing—through which the criminalization of targeted young people is realized. The article argues that criminological assessments and theorizations of criminalization and assessments developed in socio-legal studies have largely developed independently. It considers the prospects for a trans-disciplinary approach to criminalization in theory and in practice that would attempt to build on complementarities between the critiques developed by both disciplines, and it identifies possibilities for synthesizing their insights.
“I’ll Choose My Own Way”: Delinquent Girls and Boys in Search of Gender Hegemony
Authors: Weil Armelle 
Published: February 2022

AbstractThis article analyzes juvenile delinquency through the concept of “gender projects.” It argues that delinquency makes the embodiment of specific masculinities and femininities possible, and thereby contributes to “gender achievement” (or “gender accomplishment”). Drawing on in-depth interviews conducted with Swiss juvenile offenders and using Raewyn Connell’s (1987, 1995) notion of “hegemonic masculinity,” this article examines “gender projects” that boys and girls pursue through a variety of offenses and trajectories in the criminal justice system. By inscribing the youth’s delinquent trajectories in social space and by paying attention to the intersection of power relations they face, this article discusses how delinquency can be a tactic to sustain, produce or overcome gender hegemony.
On the Equivalence of Causal Propagators of the Dirac Equation in Vacuum-Destabilising External Fields
Authors: Beesley Jonathan J. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractIn QED, an external electromagnetic field can be accounted for non-perturbatively by replacing the causal propagators used in Feynman diagram calculations with Green’s functions for the Dirac equation under the external field. If the external field destabilises the vacuum, then it is a difficult problem to determine which Green’s function is appropriate, and multiple approaches have been developed in the literature whose equivalence, in many cases, is not clear. In this paper, we demonstrate for a broad class of external fields that includes all that act for a finite time, that four Green’s functions used in the literature are equivalent: Schwinger’s “proper-time” propagator; the “causal propagator” used in the “Bogoliubov transformation” method based on the canonical quantization of the field operator; and two defined using analytic continuation from complexified parameters. To do so, we formulate Schwinger’s “proper-time quantum mechanics" as a Schrödinger wave mechanics, and use this to re-derive Schwinger’s expression for the propagator as a statement relating solutions of the inhomogeneous Dirac equation to those of the inhomogeneous “proper-time Dirac equation”. This is done by constructing direct integral spectral decompositions of the Hamiltonians of both equations, and deriving a form for solutions of the inhomogeneous Dirac equation in terms of these decompositions. We then show that all four propagators return solutions of the inhomogeneous Dirac equation that satisfy the same boundary condition, which under a physically reasonable assumption is sufficient to specify the solution uniquely.
A model-based approach to generating annotated pressure support waveforms
Authors: van Diepen A. , Bakkes T. H. G. F. , De Bie A. J. R. , Turco S. , Bouwman R. A. , Woerlee P. H. , Mischi M. 
Published: February 2022

AbstractLarge numbers of asynchronies during pressure support ventilation cause discomfort and higher work of breathing in the patient, and are associated with an increased mortality. There is a need for real-time decision support to detect asynchronies and assist the clinician towards lung-protective ventilation. Machine learning techniques have been proposed to detect asynchronies, but they require large datasets with sufficient data diversity, sample size, and quality for training purposes. In this work, we propose a method for generating a large, realistic and labeled, synthetic dataset for training and validating machine learning algorithms to detect a wide variety of asynchrony types. We take a model-based approach in which we adapt a non-linear lung-airway model for use in a diverse patient group and add a first-order ventilator model to generate labeled pressure, flow, and volume waveforms of pressure support ventilation. The model was able to reproduce basic measured lung mechanics parameters. Experienced clinicians were not able to differentiate between the simulated waveforms and clinical data (P = 0.44 by Fisher’s exact test). The detection performance of the machine learning trained on clinical data gave an overall comparable true positive rate on clinical data and on simulated data (an overall true positive rate of 94.3% and positive predictive value of 93.5% on simulated data and a true positive rate of 98% and positive predictive value of 98% on clinical data). Our findings demonstrate that it is possible to generate labeled pressure and flow waveforms with different types of asynchronies.
Technical efficiency and firm heterogeneity in stochastic frontier models: application to smallholder maize farms in Ethiopia
Authors: Oumer Ali M. , Mugera Amin , Burton Michael , Hailu Atakelty 
Published: February 2022

AbstractThis study estimates the technical efficiency measures of maize producing farm households in Ethiopia using stochastic frontier (SF) panel models that take different approaches to model firm heterogeneity. The efficiency measures are found to vary depending on how the estimation model treats both unobserved and observed firm heterogeneity. Estimates from the ‘true’ random effects (TRE) models that treat firm effects as heterogeneity are found to be identical to those from pooled SF models. Those results differ from the ones generated from the basic random effects (RE) models that treat firm effects as part of overall technical inefficiency. The more flexible generalised ‘true’ random effects (GTRE) model that splits the error term into firm effects, persistent inefficiency, transient inefficiency, and a random noise component indicates the presence of higher levels of persistent inefficiency than transient inefficiency. The basic truncated-normal RE model and heteroscedastic RE model yields similar efficiency estimates. The GTRE model predict persistent efficiency measures similar to those from the basic RE and flexible RE model with environmental variables incorporated in the variance function as well as in the deterministic production frontier. These results imply that the RE and GTRE panel models provide reliable efficiency estimates for our data compared to the TRE models. All the estimated SF models generate comparable production function parameters in terms of magnitude and sign. Overall, the results underscore the importance of scrutinising stochastic frontier models for their reliability of analytical results before drawing policy inferences.
Vocabulary limitations undermine bilingual children’s reading comprehension despite bilingual cognitive strengths
Authors: Babayiğit Selma , Hitch Graham J. , Kandru-Pothineni Swathi , Clarke Annie , Warmington Meesha 
Published: February 2022

AbstractPrevious research reported bilingual cognitive strengths in working memory, executive function and novel-word learning skills (Bialystok in Psychol Bull 143:233–262, 2017; Kaushanskaya and Marian in Psychon Bull Rev 16:705–710, 2009). These skills should also support bilingual children’s vocabulary and reading development, yet bilingual children show weaknesses in their second language vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. Our primary aim was to clarify these seemingly paradoxical reports by investigating the cognitive strengths and weaknesses associated with both bilingual experience and reading comprehension in a single study. The participants were 102 English-speaking monolingual children and 104 Hindi/Urdu-English speaking bilingual children (mean age = 118.26 months, SD = 11.23 months) in the UK. We tested children’s vocabulary, working memory, executive function (cognitive inhibition, updating memory), novel-word learning, and reading skills. All testing was conducted in English. The findings supported the previous reports of bilingual cognitive strengths in working memory, novel-word learning and cognitive inhibition skills. However, despite their cognitive strengths and adequate word reading skills, the bilingual group displayed weaker reading comprehension than their monolingual peers. As anticipated, there was a direct association between bilingual children’s smaller English vocabulary size and underperformance on reading comprehension. Along with word reading, vocabulary was the most powerful unique predictor of reading comprehension. The effects of cognitive control skills on reading comprehension were mixed and mostly indirect through word reading skills. These relations were comparable across the monolingual and bilingual groups. Together, our findings highlighted the importance of clear educational policies on oral language assessment and support in our increasingly multilingual classrooms.
Associations between morphological awareness and literacy skills in German primary school children: the roles of grade level, phonological processing and vocabulary
Authors: Haase Astrid , Steinbrink Claudia 
Published: February 2022

AbstractStudies investigating relations between morphological awareness and literacy in German, a language with a rather transparent but asymmetric orthography, are sparse. Little is known about the role of grade level for these relationships and of their relative strength compared to those between other language-related variables and literacy skills. This cross-sectional study was conducted with German-speaking second-, third- and fourth-graders (n of final sample ≥ 85 per grade). Morphological awareness tasks required the production of inflections, derivations and compounds. Additionally, phonological processing, vocabulary, reading fluency, reading comprehension and spelling were measured. Factor analyses revealed two facets of morphological awareness: morphological fluency and morphological awareness for pseudowords. These were correlated with both reading and spelling skills in all grades. More literacy variables were related to morphological fluency in Grade 4 than in Grades 2 and 3. In regression analyses, variance in literacy skills was predominantly explained by phonological awareness. Morphological awareness did not explain additional variance. The results reveal that different facets of morphological awareness are related to literacy skills in German primary school children. Despite the asymmetry of German orthography, no evidence was found for differences in the association of morphological awareness with spelling versus reading. Phonological processing shows stronger relations with literacy than morphological awareness does. This might indicate that in the transparent German orthography, alphabetic reading and spelling strategies are particularly relevant until the end of Grade 4. Yet, morphological fluency might start to unfold its relevance for reading and spelling near the end of fourth grade in German.