bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A general numerical model of leukocyte adhesion in microchannels
Authors: Fu Peixin , Li Peiye , Hu Yandong
Published: April 2022

Leukocyte adhesion on the vascular endothelium plays an important role in human immune system and reflects the physiological condition of a human body. In this paper, a generally implementable dynamic adhesion model based on the length limit of microvilli was developed to explore the behavior of a suspended leukocyte's adhesion process under microchannel shear flow. Simulations showed that the whole adhesion process can be divided into cell sedimentation, preliminary adhesion and stable dynamic adhesion stages. The cell tumbling kinetics, cell deformation, cell adhesion area and adhesion force were studied under the conditions of various bond strength, cell membrane surface tension, inlet flow velocity and cytoplasmic viscosity. Results showed that the bond strength affects the cell tumbling behaviors differently by changing the adhesion force. The cell with lower membrane surface tension induces a larger adhesion area, and eventually results in a greater adhesion and a lower cell tumbling velocity. The flow velocity changes cell velocity through the flow viscous force during the whole adhesion process. The cytoplasmic viscosity affects adhesion mainly in the preliminary adhesion stage by changing the cell deformation rate but has slight effect on the stabilized dynamic adhesion on cells. This study provides a simple theoretical basis to further clarify the mechanism of cell behaviors under stress and adhesion and becomes one of the prerequisites for study of tissue inflammation, wound healing, and disease treatments.
A rare case of synovial sarcoma of diaphragm
Authors: Mishra Anand Kumar , Raja Javid , Mittal Apeksha , Bansal Vidur
Published: April 2022

Background

Primary diaphragmatic synovial sarcoma is a rare clinical entity with only few cases reported in the literature. It is found mainly in young adults, in the limbs. However, the name is a misnomer as it probably arises from primitive mesenchyme rather than articular surfaces of the joints.

Case

We report a case of 21‐year‐old patient with synovial sarcoma of the diaphragm, treated by complete surgical excision of the tumor with diaphragmatic reconstruction and confirmed on immunohistopathology. The peculiarity of this case stems from the atypical location of the tumor with complete surgical resection and thereby providing a better quality of life for the patient.

Conclusion

Synovial sarcoma of the diaphragm is a rare malignancy and more data and research is needed for defining the best management for this tumor.
New and Emerging Research on Solute Carrier and ATP Binding Cassette Transporters in Drug Discovery and Development: Outlook From the International Transporter Consortium
Authors: Giacomini Kathleen M. , Yee Sook W. , Koleske Megan L. , Zou Ling , Matsson Pär , Chen Eugene C. , Kroetz Deanna L. , Miller Miles A. , Gozalpour Elnaz , Chu Xiaoyan
Published: April 2022

Enabled by a plethora of new technologies, research in membrane transporters has exploded in the past decade. The goal of this state‐of‐the‐art article is to describe recent advances in research on membrane transporters that are particularly relevant to drug discovery and development. This review covers advances in basic, translational, and clinical research that has led to an increased understanding of membrane transporters at all levels. At the basic level, we describe the available crystal structures of membrane transporters in both the solute carrier (SLC) and ATP binding cassette superfamilies, which has been enabled by the development of cryogenic electron microscopy methods. Next, we describe new research on lysosomal and mitochondrial transporters as well as recently deorphaned transporters in the SLC superfamily. The translational section includes a summary of proteomic research, which has led to a quantitative understanding of transporter levels in various cell types and tissues and new methods to modulate transporter function, such as allosteric modulators and targeted protein degraders of transporters. The section ends with a review of the effect of the gut microbiome on modulation of transporter function followed by a presentation of 3D cell cultures, which may enable in vivo predictions of transporter function. In the clinical section, we describe new genomic and pharmacogenomic research, highlighting important polymorphisms in transporters that are clinically relevant to many drugs. Finally, we describe new clinical tools, which are becoming increasingly available to enable precision medicine, with the application of tissue‐derived small extracellular vesicles and real‐world biomarkers.
Coordinate control strategy for two‐stage wide gain DC/DC converter
Authors: Tang Yu , Jiang Xingzhen , Gao Yahu
Published: April 2022

Two‐stage converters are widely used in many industrial scenarios, especially in the field of new energy. Through the cascade of two single‐stage converters, the two‐stage converter combines their advantages and can achieve high efficiency in a wide input voltage range. However, the two‐stage converter usually needs a large capacitor to balance the instantaneous power difference between the front stage and the rear stage. The ripple current flowing through the capacitor will affect its lifetime and the overall efficiency of the converter. Although there are many ways to reduce the ripple current, they will increase the complexity of the circuit structure. Therefore, a two‐stage coordinated control strategy is proposed in this paper, which not only reduces the ripple current flowing through the capacitor without increasing the circuit complexity but also effectively improves the efficiency and life of the two‐stage converter. According to the proposed control strategy, taking the Boost cascade LLC resonant converter as the model, a prototype with rated power of 1000 W is established in the laboratory. The experimental results verify the feasibility of the strategy.
Crystallizing galactocele of the breast masquerading as a malignancy: Report of a rare case with cytological diagnosis
Authors: Zaman Shamsuz , Gupta Ruchika , Gupta Sanjay
Published: April 2022

Galactoceles are the common benign cystic breast lesions during pregnancy and lactation. This report describes the cytological findings of a case of long standing galactocele which underwent crystallization and mimicked carcinoma clinically as well as on sonography. A young woman presented with a hard painless lump in the right breast. She noticed the lump during her pregnancy 2.5 years back. Clinically the lesion was hard and sonography was equivocal in categorizing the lesion. An FNAC was performed which showed granular amorphous material along with crystals of various shapes and sizes. A diagnosis of crystallizing galactocele was made and woman was assured about the benign nature of the lesion. The cytological findings of crystallizing galactocele have been reported in very few cases. In the present case, a detailed history and clinical examination followed by fine needle aspiration established the diagnosis of crystallizing galactocele.
Speciation with gene flow between two Neotropical sympatric species (Pitcairnia spp.: Bromeliaceae)
Authors: Tavares Marília Manuppella , Ferro Milene , Leal Bárbara Simões Santos , Palma‐Silva Clarisse
Published: April 2022

The study of mechanisms that generate new species is considered fundamental for broad areas of ecology and evolution. Speciation is a continuous process in which reproductive isolation is established, and it is of fundamental importance to understand the origins of the adaptations that contribute to this process. Hybrid zones are considered natural laboratories for the study of speciation and represent ideal systems for such studies. Here, we investigated genomic differentiation between hybridizing Neotropical species Pitcairnia staminea (G. Lodd.) and P. albiflos (Herb.). Using thousands of SNPs genotyped through RAD‐seq, we estimate effective population sizes, interspecific gene flow, as well as time of divergence between these two sister species and identify candidate genomic regions for positive selection that may be related to reproductive isolation. We selected different scenarios of speciation and tested them by using approximate Bayesian computation (ABC); we found evidence of divergence with gradual reduction in gene flow between these species over time, compatible with the hypothesis of speciation with gene flow between these Pitcairnia species. The parameter estimates obtained through ABC suggested that the effective population size of P. albiflos was around three times larger than that of P. staminea. Our divergence date estimates showed that these two species diverged during the Pliocene (4.7 Mya; CI = 1.3–8.5 Mya), which has likely allowed this species to accumulate genome‐wide differences. We also detected a total of 17 of 4165 loci which showed signatures of selection with high genetic differentiation (FST > 0.85), 12 of these loci were annotated in de novo assembled transcriptomes of both species, and 4 candidate genes were identified to be putatively involved in reproductive isolation. These four candidate genes were previously associated with the function of pollen development, pollen tube germination and orientation, abiotic stress, and flower scent in plants, suggesting an interplay between pre‐ and postpollination barriers in the evolution of reproductive isolation between such species.
Life history strategies of stream fishes linked to predictors of hydrologic stability
Authors: Hitt Nathaniel P. , Landsman Andrew P. , Raesly Richard L.
Published: April 2022

Life history theory provides a framework to understand environmental change based on species strategies for survival and reproduction under stable, cyclical, or stochastic environmental conditions. We evaluated environmental predictors of fish life history strategies in 20 streams intersecting a national park within the Potomac River basin in eastern North America. We sampled stream sites during 2018–2019 and collected 3801 individuals representing 51 species within 10 taxonomic families. We quantified life history strategies for species from their coordinates in an ordination space defined by trade‐offs in spawning season duration, fecundity, and parental care characteristic of opportunistic, periodic, and equilibrium strategies. Our analysis revealed important environmental predictors: Abundance of opportunistic strategists increased with low‐permeability soils that produce flashy runoff dynamics and decreased with karst terrain (carbonate bedrock) where groundwater inputs stabilize stream flow and temperature. Conversely, abundance of equilibrium strategists increased in karst terrain indicating a response to more stable environmental conditions. Our study indicated that fish community responses to groundwater and runoff processes may be explained by species traits for survival and reproduction. Our findings also suggest the utility of life history theory for understanding ecological responses to destabilized environmental conditions under global climate change.
Community assembly during vegetation succession after metal mining is driven by multiple processes with temporal variation
Authors: Li Ting , Yang Huaju , Yang Xinting , Guo Zhaolai , Fu Denggao , Liu Chang’e , Li Shiyu , Pan Ying , Zhao Yonggui , Xu Fang , Gao Yang , Duan Changqun
Published: April 2022

The mechanisms governing community assembly is fundamental to ecological restoration and clarification of the assembly processes associated with severe disturbances (characterized by no biological legacy and serious environmental problems) is essential. However, a systematic understanding of community assembly in the context of severe anthropogenic disturbance remains lacking. Here, we explored community assembly processes after metal mining, which is considered to be a highly destructive activity to provide insight into the assembly rules associated with severe anthropogenic disturbance. Using a chronosequence approach, we selected vegetation patches representing different successional stages and collected data on eight plant functional traits from each stage. The traits were classified as establishment and regenerative traits. Based on these traits, null models were constructed to identify the processes driving assembly at various successional stages. Comparison of our observations with the null models indicated that establishment and regenerative traits converged in the primary stage of succession. As succession progressed, establishment traits shifted to neutral assembly, whereas regeneration traits alternately converged and diverged. The observed establishment traits were equal to expected values, whereas regenerative traits diverged significantly after more than 20 years of succession. Furthermore, the available Cr content was linked strongly to species' ecological strategies. In the initial stages of vegetation succession in an abandoned metal mine, the plant community was mainly affected by the available metal content and dispersal limitation. It was probably further affected by strong interspecific interaction after the environmental conditions had improved, and stochastic processes became dominant during the stage with a successional age of more than 20 years.
Flow behaviour in a multi‐layered vegetated floodplain region of a compound channel
Authors: Barman Jyotirmoy , Kumar Bimlesh
Published: April 2022

Riparian vegetation plays a crucial role in determining the flow behaviour in the channel. The effect of flow on the slope and main channel varies based on the size, type, and density of floodplain vegetation in a compound channel. Though real field vegetation distribution is non‐uniform, most studies mainly concentrate on uniformly distributed vegetation with fixed vegetation height. This paper attempts to address this issue through laboratory studies as it was not explored properly. Flow properties like velocity, Reynolds shear stress, turbulence intensities, and turbulent kinetic energy behave differently in heterogeneous vegetated channel compared with the homogeneous vegetated channel. These flow properties in the slopes and main channel section are more pronounced for uniformly distributed vegetation than non‐uniform distribution. The multi‐layered/varying vegetation height showed higher velocity, turbulent intensity, and turbulent kinetic energy than single‐layered/constant vegetation height on slopes and main channel sections. Integral scales (Taylor and Euler) analysis showed greater magnitude for uniform multi‐layered vegetation than non‐uniform multi‐layered vegetation. Further, the study of octant analysis reveals that internal outward and internal inward interaction events dominate the slope floodplain interaction section, which is not seen in no‐vegetation cases. These studies give a better perspective to understand flow in heterogenous vegetation and move closer to real field scenarios.
Large herbivores trigger spatiotemporal changes in forest plant diversity
Authors: Beguin Julien , Côté Steeve D. , Vellend Mark
Published: April 2022

Large herbivores can exert top‐down control on terrestrial plant communities, but the magnitude, direction, and scale dependency of their impacts remain equivocal, especially in temperate and boreal forests, where multiple disturbances often interact. Using a unique, long‐term, and replicated landscape experiment, we assessed the influence of a high density of white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) on the spatiotemporal dynamics of diversity, composition, and successional trajectories of understorey plant assemblages in recently logged boreal forests. This experiment provided a rare opportunity to test whether deer herbivory represents a direct filter on plant communities or if it mainly acts to suppress dominant plants, which, in turn, release other plant species from strong negative plant–plant interactions. These two hypotheses make different predictions about changes in community composition and alpha and beta diversity in different vegetation layers and at different spatial scales. Our results showed that deer had strong effects on plant community composition and successional trajectories, but the resulting impacts on plant alpha and beta diversity patterns were markedly scale dependent in both time and space. Responses of tree and non‐tree vegetation layers were strongly asymmetric. Deer acted both as a direct filter and as a suppressor of dominant plant species during early forest succession, but the magnitude of both processes was specific to tree and non‐tree vegetation layers. Although our data supported the ungulate‐driven homogenization hypothesis, compositional shifts and changes of alpha diversity were poor predictors of beta diversity loss. Our findings underscore the importance of long‐term studies in revealing nonlinear temporal community trends, and they challenge managers to prioritize particular community properties and scales of interest, given contrasting trends of composition and alpha and beta diversity across spatial scales.
Wild bee larval food composition in five European cities
Authors: Casanelles‐Abella Joan , Keller Alexander , Müller Stefanie , Aleixo Cristiana , Alós‐Orti Marta , Chiron François , Laanisto Lauri , Myczko Łukasz , Pinho Pedro , Samson Roeland , Tryjanowski Piotr , Van Mensel Anskje , Villarroya‐Villalba Lucía , Pellissier Loïc , Moretti Marco
Published: April 2022

Urbanization poses threats and opportunities for the biodiversity of wild bees. At the same time, cities can harbor diverse wild bee assemblages, partly due to the unique plant assemblages that provide resources. While bee dietary preferences have been investigated in various studies, bee dietary studies have been conducted mostly in nonurban ecosystems and data based on plant visitation observations or palynological techniques. This data set describes the larval food preferences of four wild bee species (i.e., Chelostoma florisomne, Hylaeus communis, Osmia bicornis, and O. cornuta) common in urban areas in five different European cities (i.e., Antwerp, Belgium; Paris, France; Poznan, Poland; Tartu, Estonia; and Zurich, Switzerland). In addition, the data set describes the larval food preferences of individuals from three wild bee genera (i.e., Chelostoma sp., Hylaeus sp., and Osmia sp.) that could not be identified to the species level. These data were obtained from a Europe‐level study aimed at understanding the effects of urbanization on biodiversity across different cities and cityscapes and a Swiss project aimed at understanding the effects of urban ecosystems in wild bee feeding behavior. Wild bees were sampled using standardized trap nests at 80 sites (32 in Zurich and 12 in each of the remaining cities), selected following a double gradient of available habitat at local and landscape scales. Larval pollen was obtained from the bee nests and identified using DNA metabarcoding. The data provide the plant composition at the species or genus level preferred by each bee. These unique data can be used for a wide array of research questions, including urban ecology (e.g., diversity of food sources along urban gradients), bee ecology (characterization of bee feeding preferences), or comparative studies on the urban evolution of behavioral traits between urban and nonurban sites. In addition, the data can be used to inform urban planning and conservation strategies, particularly concerning flower resources (e.g., importance of exotic species and, thus, management activities). This data set can be freely used for noncommercial purposes, and this data paper should be cited if the data is used; we request that collaboration with the data set contact person to be considered if this data set represents an important part of the data analyzed in a study.
Synthesis of Hierarchical Silicoaluminophosphate (SAPO) Molecular Sieves by Post‐Synthetic Modification and Their Catalytic Application
Authors: Prajapati Rohit , Jadav Divya , Pandey Madhu , Nishimura Keisuke , Inagaki Satoshi , Kubota Yoshihiro , Bandyopadhyay Rajib , Bandyopadhyay Mahuya
Published: April 2022

Silicoaluminophosphates SAPO‐34 (CHA topology) and SAPO‐5 (AFI topology) molecular sieves are selectively prepared by hydrothermal method using templates tetraethylammonium hydroxide and triethylamine, respectively and suitably modified. Hierarchical SAPO‐34 & SAPO‐5 catalysts were post‐synthetically prepared by facile acid (HNO3 and HCl) and base (NaOH) etching. X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric analysis (TG), FT‐IR and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) were employed to investigate structural changes of the molecular sieves. Hierarchical SAPO‐34 & SAPO‐5 were used for the ring opening reaction of propylene oxide with morpholine producing the corresponding β‐amino alcohols, and catalytic activity of the acid‐treated SAPO‐34 & SAPO‐5 was compared with that of alkali treated counterparts. The catalytic performance of the acid treated materials was found better than the base treated one. 91 % conversion was achieved using acid treated SAPO‐34, whereas 74 % conversion was achieved using alkali treated SAPO‐34.
Catalytic Synthesis of Methyl 9,10‐dihydroxystearate from Technical Feedstocks in Continuous Flow via Epoxidation and Hydrolysis
Authors: Vondran Johanna , Benninghoff Tobias , Emminghaus Anahita Irene , Seidensticker Thomas
Published: April 2022

The sequence of the homogeneously Ru‐catalyzed epoxidation of methyl oleate and acid‐catalyzed hydrolysis of the corresponding epoxide methyl 9,10‐epoxy stearate is successfully transferred from batch into flow mode, allowing for the continuous production of methyl 9,10‐dihydroxystearate. Thereby, methyl oleate is first converted up to 97% within 14 min at excellent selectivity in the epoxidation using aqueous hydrogen peroxide as the sole oxidant. In the subsequent hydrolysis, a residence time of 10 min is sufficient for quantitative conversion of the epoxide. The desired, pure vicinal diol is isolated upon crystallization from the crude reaction mixture in an integrated process starting from technical grade (91.5%) substrate. The isolated yield is increased upon the addition of water as a green antisolvent from 75% up to 97%. Finally, the concept is transferred to methyl oleate of even lower purity (76%), still obtaining an isolated yield of 66% of the vicinal diol. Thus, the integration of sequential epoxidation and hydrolysis into continuous flow and subsequent crystallization allows for high conversion and selectivities within a total residence time of 27 min, corresponding to a space–time yield of 190 g h−1 L−1 in the epoxidation and 164 g h−1 L−1 in the hydrolysis, respectively.

Practical applications: The modular flow setup enables the targeted functionalization toward the epoxide intermediate or the vicinal diol. Both offer versatile applications for the production of polymers, surfactants, or toward further conversion as in oxidative cleavage starting from methyl oleate. The application of flow chemistry offers advantages for the safe handling of hydrogen peroxide even at high temperatures. With fats and oils being natural substances, oleochemicals such as fatty acid methyl esters are typically available in technical purity so that efficient strategies for the isolation of pure products are of need. Crystallization of the product is promising, as additional organic solvents are not required. Thus, using the difference in melting point and solubility behavior of the desired product compared to other compounds is a promising method for the applicability of renewable resource‐based substrate mixtures.
GAN‐based deep neural networks for graph representation learning
Authors: Zhao Ming , Zhang Yinglong
Published: April 2022

Graph representation learning has attracted increasing attention in a variety of applications that involve learning on non‐Euclidean data. Recently, generative adversarial networks(GAN) have been increasingly applied to the field of graph representation learning, and large progress has been made. However, most GAN‐based graph representation learning methods use adversarial learning strategies directly on the update of the vector representation instead of the deep embedding mechanism. Compared with deep models, these methods are less capable of learning nonlinear features. To address this problem and take full advantage of the essential advantages of GAN, we propose to use adversarial idea on the reconstruction mechanism of deep autoencoders. Specifically, the generator and the discriminator are the two basic components of the GAN structure. We use the deep autoencoder as the discriminator, which can capture the highly nonlinear structure of the graph. In addition, the generator another generative model is introduced into the adversarial learning system as a competitor. A series of empirical results proved the effectiveness of the new approach.
Redistribution of the soil 137Cs inventory through litter and sediment transport on a hillslope covered by deciduous forest in Fukushima, Japan
Authors: Oda Tomoki , Hotta Norifumi , Miura Satoru , Endo Izuki , Tanoi Keitaro , Renschler Chris S. , Ohte Nobuhito
Published: April 2022

The long‐term behaviour of radiocaesium (137Cs) activity concentrations in forest ecosystems and their downstream impacts remain important issues in the deciduous broadleaf forests of Fukushima, Japan following the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. To predict 137Cs cycling and discharge in the forest ecosystem, it is important to understand the spatial dynamics of the 137Cs inventory and transport along hillslopes. Therefore, we observed the spatial distribution of the 137Cs inventory and 137Cs transport via sediment and litter of a deciduous forest hillslope in Fukushima, Japan in 2016 and 2017 and examined how the spatial distribution of 137Cs inventory was formed using a mass balance model. In 2017, the 137Cs activity concentration was significantly greater in the downslope riparian area (455 kBq/m2) than in the upslope ridge area (179 kBq/m2). Annual 137Cs transport within litter and sediment contributed <0.5% to the current 137Cs inventory and cannot explain the current spatial variation of 137Cs inventory on the hillslope. The mass balance model results showed that if the initial 137Cs deposition was distributed uniformly in 2011, the spatial distribution of the hillslope 137Cs inventory was influenced mainly by the movement of leaf litter with a high 137Cs activity concentration.
Cyclin‐dependent kinase 7 contributes to myelin maintenance in the adult central nervous system and promotes myelin gene expression
Authors: Dion Valérie , Schumacher Nathalie , Masar Nathalie , Pieltain Alexandra , Tocquin Pierre , Lesoinne Pierre , Malgrange Brigitte , Vandenbosch Renaud , Franzen Rachelle
Published: April 2022

Mechanisms regulating oligodendrocyte differentiation, developmental myelination and myelin maintenance in adulthood are complex and still not completely described. Their understanding is crucial for the development of new protective or therapeutic strategies in demyelinating pathologies such as multiple sclerosis. In this perspective, we have investigated the role of Cyclin‐dependent kinase 7 (Cdk7), a kinase involved in cell‐cycle progression and transcription regulation, in the oligodendroglial lineage. We generated a conditional knock‐out mouse model in which Cdk7 is invalidated in post‐mitotic oligodendrocytes. At the end of developmental myelination, the number and diameter of myelinated axons, as well as the myelin structure, thickness and protein composition, were normal. However, in young adult and in aged mice, there was a higher number of small caliber myelinated axons associated with a decreased mean axonal diameter, myelin sheaths of large caliber axons were thinner, and the level of some major myelin‐associated proteins was reduced. These defects were accompanied by the appearance of an abnormal clasping phenotype. We also used an in vitro oligodendroglial model and showed that Cdk7 pharmacological inhibition led to an altered myelination‐associated morphological modification combined with a decreased expression of myelin‐specific genes. Altogether, we identified novel functions for Cdk7 in CNS myelination.
Strong parallel evidence of selection during switchgrass sward establishment in hybrid and lowland ecotypes
Authors: Tilhou Neal W. , Kaeppler Shawn M. , Casler Michael D.
Published: April 2022

Background

Switchgrass sward establishment results in up to 90% seedling mortality. The degree of selection during sward establishment has not been reported using modern genetic methods.

Methods

Pooled leaf samples were sequenced from replicated swards of 46 half‐sib families from two breeding groups (lowland and hybrid) before and through 3 years of stand establishment. Pooled allele frequencies were then assessed using fixation indices (Fst) and an independent data set was used to predict the polygenic impact of establishment selection on two traits (heading date and winter survivorship). Last, the DNA pools were assigned survival rankings to predict the sward survival genomically estimated breeding values within the training data set.

Results

Strong and parallel selection occured in both breeding groups. Five genomic regions exceeded the significant threshold of 99.9% in >10 families, indicating consistent selection across families and breeding groups. Polygenic trait predictions determined that establishment selection was partially associated with winter survivorship but resulted in variable heading date alterations. The genomewide variation is consistent with selection for a small number of related parental lines.

Conclusions

This study observed strong selection for a small number of hybrid and coastal ecotype individuals which are promising germplasm sources for improved sward survival. This confirms prior reports of sward selection during grassland establishment and highlights the strength of pooled DNA sequencing for survival traits.
Photothermal controls of vegetative dormancy in Poa secunda
Authors: Chen Allen A. , Fei Shui‐zhang , Lenssen Andrew W. , Moore Kenneth J.
Published: April 2022

Background

Summer vegetative dormancy is a desirable trait in cool‐season grasses when they are interplanted with annual crops. Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda J. Presl.) shows summer dormancy, but the environmental cues that control dormancy remain unknown.

Methods

A controlled environment study using temperature and day length combinations of 32.2°C/15 h, 26.6°C/14 h, 21.1°C/13 h, and 15.5°C/12 h was conducted with P. secunda accessions PI232347, PI639272, and PI232348, and ‘Audubon’ red fescue as a nondormant control to determine the optimum treatment for dormancy induction. A second study using treatments of 26.6°C/14 h, 21.1°C/13 h, and 15.5°C/12 h was conducted to determine the thresholds for dormancy release. A third study used a factorial experiment with two temperatures (32.2°C and 15.5°C) and two day lengths (15 and 12 h) to differentiate between temperature and day length effects on dormancy induction.

Results

Of the four temperature and day length combinations, all except for 15.5°C/12 h resulted in dormancy by the end of 6 weeks, with 32.2°C/15 h inducing dormancy in only 17 days. Of the three treatments for dormancy release, 15.5°C/12 h broke dormancy the fastest in all accessions and released the most number of plants from dormancy. Considerable variation existed between accessions for the speed of dormancy release in the 21.1°C/13 h and 26.6°C/14 h treatments. The third study showed that temperature is the primary inducer for summer dormancy, while longer day length may promote dormancy under inductive temperatures.

Conclusions

This study identified the optimum photothermal for induction and release of summer dormancy in P. secunda, which will help future studies in elucidating the mechanism of summer dormancy.
Use, calibration and verification of agroecological models for boreal environments: A review
Authors: Forster Daniel , Helama Samuli , Harrison Matthew T. , Rotz Clarence Alan , Chang Jinfeng , Ciais Phillippe , Pattey Elizabeth , Virkajärvi Perttu , Shurpali Narasinha
Published: April 2022

Past assessments report negative impacts of the climate crisis in boreal areas; but milder and shorter winters and elevated atmospheric CO2may provide opportunities for agricultural productivity potentially playing a significant role in future food security. Arable cropping systems are expanding in boreal areas, but the regional mainstay will likely continue to be livestock production. Agroecological models can when appropriately calibrated and evaluated, facilitate improved productivity while minimising environmental impacts by identifying system interactions, and quantifying greenhouse gas emissions, soil carbon stocks and fertiliser use. While models designed for temperate and tropical zones abound, few are developed specifically for boreal zones, and there is uncertainty around the performance of existing models in boreal areas. We reviewed model performance across boreal environments and management systems. We identified a dearth of modelling studies in boreal regions, with the publication of three or less papers per year since the year 2000, constituting a significant research gap. Models IFSM and BASGRA_N performed best in grassland production, DNDC best in predicting soil N2O and NH3emissions. No model outperformed all others, strengthening the case for ensemble modelling. Existing agroecological models would be worthy of further evaluation, providing model improvements designed for boreal systems.
Predictors of nursing home placement at 2 years in Alzheimer's disease: A follow‐up survey from the THERAD study
Authors: Villars Hélène , Gardette Virginie , Frayssignes Pauline , Deperetti Eva , Perrin Amélie , Cantet Christelle , Soto‐Martin Maria
Published: April 2022

Objectives

Nursing Home Placement (NHP) can prove to be the only solution to some dead‐end situations in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The predictors of NHP are known and can be related to either the person with dementia or his/her caregiver. We aimed to identify predictors of NHP among people with AD over a 2‐year follow‐up period, with a particular interest in the modifiable predictors, notably those involving caregivers.

Methods

We studied data from the THERAD study, a French monocentric randomized controlled trial, involving 196 community‐dwelling dyads, primarily assessing an educational intervention in AD. We performed a bivariate analysis followed by a multivariate Cox model, with a backward stepwise procedure.

Results

The mean age of the patients was 82 years old, 67.7% were women and 56.9% were living with a partner. The mean age of the caregivers was 65.8 years old, 64.6% were women and half were spouses of the patients with a moderate burden. During the follow‐up, 23 patients died and 49 were institutionalized. The majority of NHPs occurred during the first year (35 NHP). The mean time to NHP was 27.77 months after the diagnosis. Five independent predictors of NHP were found: a higher patient education level (aHR 6.31; CI95% = 1.88–21.22), a high caregiver Burden (aHR 3.97; CI95% = 1.33–11.85), the caregiver being the offspring of the patient (aHR 2.92; CI95% = 1.43–5.95), loss of autonomy (aHR 2.75; CI95% = 1.13–6.65) and disinhibition as a behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) (aHR 2.38; CI95% = 1.26–4.47).

Conclusions

Our data are in accordance with the literature in identifying loss of autonomy, burden and BPSD (disinhibition) as risk factors of NHP. We also found high patient education level and status of offspring caregiver as additional factors. It is essential to take into account the caregiver status when designing psychoeducational trials aiming to delay NHP. Further studies need to take into account both the modifiable risk factors related to the patient (productive BPSD) and the needs of offspring caregivers (work–life balance, mental load).
Spindle–slow oscillation coupling correlates with memory performance and connectivity changes in a hippocampal network after sleep
Authors: Bastian Lisa , Samanta Anumita , Ribeiro de Paula Demetrius , Weber Frederik D. , Schoenfeld Robby , Dresler Martin , Genzel Lisa
Published: April 2022

After experiences are encoded, post‐encoding reactivations during sleep have been proposed to mediate long‐term memory consolidation. Spindle–slow oscillation coupling during NREM sleep is a candidate mechanism through which a hippocampal‐cortical dialogue may strengthen a newly formed memory engram. Here, we investigated the role of fast spindle‐ and slow spindle–slow oscillation coupling in the consolidation of spatial memory in humans with a virtual watermaze task involving allocentric and egocentric learning strategies. Furthermore, we analyzed how resting‐state functional connectivity evolved across learning, consolidation, and retrieval of this task using a data‐driven approach. Our results show task‐related connectivity changes in the executive control network, the default mode network, and the hippocampal network at post‐task rest. The hippocampal network could further be divided into two subnetworks of which only one showed modulation by sleep. Decreased functional connectivity in this subnetwork was associated with higher spindle–slow oscillation coupling power, which was also related to better memory performance at test. Overall, this study contributes to a more holistic understanding of the functional resting‐state networks and the mechanisms during sleep associated to spatial memory consolidation.
The impact of hyperbaric oxygen therapy on late irradiation injury in oral microcirculation
Authors: Helmers Renée , Milstein Dan M. J. , Straat Nina F. , Navran Arash , Teguh David N. , van Hulst Robert A. , Smeele Ludi E. , de Lange Jan
Published: April 2022

Background

Late side effects of radiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer (HNCPs) result in decreased tissue vascularity, a compromised healing capacity and spontaneous breakdown of tissue. The aim of this study was to examine the in vivo effect of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) on the microcirculation in irradiated oral tissue.

Methods

Using a handheld microscope, the effect of HBOT on oral mucosal microcirculation parameters was measured in 34 previously irradiated HNCPs prior to HBOT and at 4 weeks and 6 months posttreatment.

Results

A significant increase in mean buccal vessel density and decrease in buccal vessel diameter was found 6 months after HBOT compared to baseline, 22 ± 11 versus 25 ± 7 cpll/mm2 (p < 0.05) and 20 ± 4 versus 16 ± 5 μm (p < 0.05), respectively.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that oral microcirculation histopathology associated with irradiation is able to respond to HBOT by redirecting oral microcirculation parameters towards values consistent with healthy tissue.
Machine perfusion in liver transplantation
Authors: Sousa Da Silva Richard X. , Weber Achim , Dutkowski Philipp , Clavien Pierre‐Alain
Published: April 2022

Although liver transplantation is a true success story, many patients still die awaiting an organ. The increasing need for liver grafts therefore remains an unsolved challenge to the transplant community. To address this, transplant donor criteria have been expanded and, for example, more liver grafts with significant steatosis or from donors with circulatory death are being used. These marginal grafts, however, carry an increased risk of graft‐associated complications, such as primary nonfunction, delayed graft function, or late biliary injuries. Therefore, reliable assessment of graft viability before use is essential for further success. To achieve this, machine liver perfusion, a procedure developed more than 50 years ago but almost forgotten at the end of the last century, is again of great interest. We describe in this review the clinical most applied machine perfusion techniques, their mechanistic background, and a novel concept of combining immediate organ assessment during hypothermic oxygenated perfusion, followed by an extended phase of normothermic machine perfusion, with simultaneous ex situ treatment of the perfused liver. Such a new approach may allow the pool of usable livers to dramatically increase and improve outcomes for recipients.
Shock/expansion fan interaction with real gas effects for Earth and Mars atmospheric conditions
Authors: Das Dipankar , Desai Siddesh , Kulkarni Vinayak
Published: April 2022

Numerical simulations are performed to investigate the real gas effects on shock/expansion fan interaction. Initial perfect gas simulations at low enthalpy capture the flow structures efficiently and outcomes are found to have excellent agreement with the analytical calculations. Furthermore, the simulations with the real gas solver for different enthalpies showed that the variation in enthalpy significantly changes the flow structures. It is observed that an increase in enthalpy leads to a decrease and increase in the postshock and postexpansion fan Mach numbers, respectively. Another important observation is the decrement in the peak pressure ratio with an increment in the enthalpy. These effects are noted to be more pronounced for Mars's environment due to the higher dependency of specific heat on temperature.
Non‐Newtonian electromagnetic fluid flow through a slanted parabolic started Riga surface with ramped energy
Authors: Asogwa Kanayo Kenneth , Goud B. Shankar , Reddy Yanala Dharmendar
Published: April 2022

The present study deals with the implications of non‐Newtonian fluid via a slanted parabolic started surface with ramped energy. In addition, the characteristics of electrically conducting viscoelastic liquid moving across the Riga surface are investigated systematically, emphasized within the time‐dependent concentration and temperature variations. The mathematical model is made possible by enforcing momentum and heat conservation principles in the format of partial differential equations (PDEs). Heat considerations are emphasized with respect to radiant heat influx. Similarity characteristics are leveraged to convert PDEs to ordinary differential equations. The Laplace transform method is used to find the exact solutions for the obtained differential configuration. The effect of flow on associated patterns is depicted graphically and with tables. Furthermore, fluctuation in relevant engineering parameters such as wall shear stress, temperature, and mass variability on the surface is measured. The range of parameters selected is as follows: , , , , , and . The analytical and numerical solutions are validated and in good agreement. It is worth reporting that the improved Hartmann number and thermal radiation values boost velocity dispersion and skin friction. As expected, respectively, energy and mass transfer rates are escalated with large values of Prandtl number and Schmidt number.
Research progress of the paraventricular thalamus in the regulation of sleep–wake and emotional behaviors
Authors: Bu Xiao‐Li , Liu Cheng‐Xi , Fu Bao
Published: April 2022

The paraventricular thalamus (PVT) is a major component of the midline structure of the thalamus. It is one of the nonspecific nuclei of the thalamus, which plays a great role in the regulation of cortical arousal. PVT, an important node in the central nervous system, sends widespread outputs to many brain regions and also accepts plentiful inputs from many brain regions to modulate diverse functions, including sleep–wake state, attention, memory, and pain. Recently, with the increasing prevalence of sleep disorders and mood disorders, people pay great attention to PVT, which was implicated in arousal and emotional behaviors. Therefore, the main purpose of this review is to illustrate the characteristic of PVT to provide a reference for future research.
Association between medical androgen deprivation therapy and long‐term cardiovascular disease and all‐cause mortality in nonmetastatic prostate cancer
Authors: Forster Rachel B. , Engeland Anders , Kvåle Rune , Hjellvik Vidar , Bjørge Tone
Published: April 2022

Studies have suggested that prostate cancer (PCa) patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) are at increased risk of developing or exacerbating cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aimed to explore the association between ADT for PCa and subsequent CVD and all‐cause mortality in this nationwide, longitudinal study. We also evaluated the role of cardiovascular risk and ADT duration to determine effect modification. Norwegian registry data were used to identify patients with PCa from 2008‐18 and who received primary ADT in the first year after diagnosis. The associations between ADT and composite cardiovascular events, and the individual components of myocardial infarction, stroke and heart failure, in addition to atrial fibrillation and all‐cause mortality, were explored using time‐varying Cox regression models. We included 30 923 PCa patients, of whom 8449 (27%) received primary ADT. Mean follow‐up was 2.9 and 3.8 years for CVD events and mortality, respectively. We found an association between ADT and composite CVD (adjusted HR 1.13: 95% CI 1.05‐1.21), myocardial infarction (1.18: 1.05‐1.32), stroke (1.21: 1.06‐1.38), heart failure (1.23: 1.13‐1.35) and all‐cause mortality (1.49: 1.39‐1.61). These associations persisted in those with low and moderate CVD risk and ADT longer than 7 months. A relationship between ADT and composite CVD and all‐cause mortality was observed, especially in those with moderate CVD risk and longer treatment duration. Future studies with more detailed cancer data are needed to verify the clinical relevance of these results, especially when considering all‐cause mortality within the context of treatment guidelines and benefits of ADT.
Classification of tissue biopsies by Raman spectroscopy guided by quantitative phase imaging and its application to bladder cancer
Authors: Taieb Almog , Berkovic Garry , Haifler Miki , Cheshnovsky Ori , Shaked Natan T.
Published: April 2022

We present a multimodal label‐free optical measurement approach for analyzing sliced tissue biopsies by a unique combination of quantitative phase imaging and localized Raman spectroscopy. First, label‐free quantitative phase imaging of the entire unstained tissue slice is performed using automated scanning. Then, pixel‐wise segmentation of the tissue layers is performed by a kernelled structural support vector machine based on Haralick texture features, which are extracted from the quantitative phase profile, and used to find the best locations for performing the label‐free localized Raman measurements. We use this multimodal label‐free measurement approach for segmenting the urothelium in benign and malignant bladder cancer tissues by quantitative phase imaging, followed by location‐guided Raman spectroscopy measurements. We then use sparse multinomial logistic regression (SMLR) on the Raman spectroscopy measurements to classify the tissue types, demonstrating that the prior segmentation of the urothelium done by label‐free quantitative phase imaging improves the Raman spectra classification accuracy from 85.7% to 94.7%.
Background‐free wide‐field fluorescence imaging using edge detection combined with HiLo
Authors: Hu Yuyao , Liang Dong , Wang Jing , Xuan Yaping , Zhao Fu , Liu Jun , Li Ruxin
Published: April 2022

Fluorescence microscopy has been widely used in the field of biological imaging, but the disturbance of background noise has always been an unavoidable phenomenon. To obtain a background free image, a virtual HiLo based on edge detection (V‐HiLo‐ED) method for background removing is proposed, which is different from the existing popular software algorithms that obtain the background‐free image by subtracting the estimated background, but the background‐free image is directly reconstructed by estimating the foreground. Compared with two other popular software‐based methods, the wavelet‐based background and noise subtraction algorithm (WBNS) and the rolling ball algorithm (RBA), the V‐HiLo‐ED owns a better quality on achieving background‐free imaging. Compared with hardware‐based method such as HiLo method, V‐HiLo‐ED exhibits almost the same performance but faster speed. In combination with light sheet microscopy, the V‐HiLo‐ED further improves the signal‐to‐noise ratio of images with thick light‐sheet. These experiment results indicate that the V‐HiLo‐ED owns the potentiality in many other image applications such as endoscopy.