bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Classifying Different Types of Music Performance Anxiety
Authors: Spahn Claudia , Krampe Franziska , Nusseck Manfred
Published: April 2021

Music performance anxiety (MPA) is a commonly present topic among musicians. Most studies on MPA investigated effects of a more general occurrence of MPA on performances. Less is known about individual variations of MPA within a performance, more specifically at the times before, during, and after the performance. This study used a questionnaire to investigate these performance times in order to find out if there occur different types in the variation of the perceived MPA across the performance. The study was performed with 532 musicians; 27% of them being professional orchestra musicians, 45% non-professional orchestra musicians, and 28% non-professional choir singers. The musicians were asked to fill in the Performance-specific Questionnaire for Musicians (PQM) immediately after a performance. The questionnaire contains three scales regarding symptoms of MPA, functional coping with MPA and performance-related self-efficacy. A cluster analysis was performed on the PQM scales to identify systematic variations. Findings indicate that there are three different types of MPA in the sample studied. Type 1 describes musicians who have few symptoms of MPA throughout the performance, show functional coping with MPA, and have a stable and well-developed self-efficacy. Type 2 describes musicians who begin their performance with rather high symptoms of MPA but can positively reduce these by the end of the performance and show high values in self-efficacy and in functional coping. Type 3 contains musicians who begin their performance with some symptoms of MPA, which increase to the end of the performance. The values of self-efficacy and functional coping in this type are rather low. Of the total sample, half of the musicians were assigned to Type 1 and approximately a quarter each to Type 2 (27%) and Type 3 (23%). In accordance with the literature, the results confirm the importance of self-efficacy and functional coping for a positive performance experience.
Does It Look Good or Evil? Children’s Recognition of Moral Identities in Illustrations of Characters in Stories
Authors: Obiols-Suari Núria , Marco-Pallarés Josep
Published: April 2021

Children usually use the external and physical features of characters in movies or stories as a means of categorizing them quickly as being either good or bad/evil. This categorization is probably done by means of heuristics and previous experience. However, the study of this fast processing is difficult in children. In this paper, we propose a new experimental paradigm to determine how these decisions are made. We used illustrations of characters in folk tales, whose visual representations contained features that were compatible or incompatible with the moral identity of the characters. Sixteen children between 8 and 10 years old participated in the experiment. We measured their electrodermal activity when they were listening to the story and looking at pictures of the characters. Results revealed a higher increase in skin conductance when the illustrations showed a moral condition that was incompatible with the actions of a character than when they showed one that was compatible. These results suggest that children make fast decisions about the moral identity of characters based on their physical features. They open up new possibilities in the study of the processing of moral decisions in children.
How Does Digital Competence Preserve University Students’ Psychological Well-Being During the Pandemic? An Investigation From Self-Determined Theory
Authors: Wang Xinghua , Zhang Ruixue , Wang Zhuo , Li Tiantian
Published: April 2021

This study conceptualized digital competence in line with self-determined theory (SDT) and investigated how it alongside help-seeking and learning agency collectively preserved university students’ psychological well-being by assisting them to manage cognitive load and academic burnout, as well as increasing their engagement in online learning during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Moreover, students’ socioeconomic status and demographic variables were examined. Partial least square modeling and cluster analysis were performed on the survey data collected from 695 students. The findings show that mental load and mental effort were positively related to academic burnout, which was significantly negatively associated with student engagement in online learning. Digital competence did not directly affect academic burnout, but indirectly via its counteracting effect on cognitive load. However, help-seeking and agency were not found to be significantly negatively related to cognitive load. Among the three SDT constructs, digital competence demonstrated the greatest positive influence on student engagement. In addition, female students from humanities and social sciences disciplines and lower-income families seemed to demonstrate the weakest digital competence, lowest learning agency, and least help-seeking behaviors. Consequently, they were more vulnerable to high cognitive load and academic burnout, leading to the lowest learning engagement. This study contributes to the ongoing arguments related to the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and informs the development of efficient interventions that preserve university students’ psychological well-being in online learning.
Untangle the Multi-Facet Functions of Auts2 as an Entry Point to Understand Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Authors: Pang Wenbin , Yi Xinan , Li Ling , Liu Liyan , Xiang Wei , Xiao Le
Published: April 2021

Neurodevelopmental disorders are psychiatric diseases that are usually first diagnosed in infancy, childhood and adolescence. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterized by core symptoms including impaired social communication, cognitive rigidity and repetitive behavior, accompanied by a wide range of comorbidities such as intellectual disability (ID) and dysmorphisms. While the cause remains largely unknown, genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors are believed to contribute toward the onset of the disease. Autism Susceptibility Candidate 2 (Auts2) is a gene highly associated with ID and ASD. Therefore, understanding the function of Auts2 gene can provide a unique entry point to untangle the complex neuronal phenotypes of neurodevelpmental disorders. In this review, we discuss the recent discoveries regarding the molecular and cellular functions of Auts2. Auts2 was shown to be a key-regulator of transcriptional network and a mediator of epigenetic regulation in neurodevelopment, the latter potentially providing a link for the neuronal changes of ASD upon environmental risk-factor exposure. In addition, Auts2 could synchronize the balance between excitation and inhibition through regulating the number of excitatory synapses. Cytoplasmic Auts2 could join the fine-tuning of actin dynamics during neuronal migration and neuritogenesis. Furthermore, Auts2 was expressed in developing mouse and human brain regions such as the frontal cortex, dorsal thalamus, and hippocampus, which have been implicated in the impaired cognitive and social function of ASD. Taken together, a comprehensive understanding of Auts2 functions can give deep insights into the cause of the heterogenous manifestation of neurodevelopmental disorders such as ASD.
Self-Esteem and Resilience Differences Among Street Children Compared to Non-street Children in Limpopo Province of South Africa: A Baseline Study
Authors: Maepa Mokoena Patronella
Published: April 2021

The phenomenon of street children is a challenging global social problem. Using an independent sample group design, this study explored the differences in self-esteem and resilience among street children and non-street children. A total of 300 (N = 300) street children with ages ranging from 8 to 18 years were selected using a purposive sampling method, while a total of 300 (N = 300) non-street children with ages ranging from 8 to 18 years were selected using a simple random sample to participate in this study. A questionnaire with three sections was used to collect data. Results of an independent sample t-test revealed that street children reported low self-esteem and poor resilience compared to non-street children. The study, therefore, concluded that street children and non-street children differ on self-esteem and resilience. It is recommended that social skills training be provided for the street children population.
Strategies to Address COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Mitigate Health Disparities in Minority Populations
Authors: Strully Kate W. , Harrison Teresa M. , Pardo Theresa A. , Carleo-Evangelist Jordan
Published: April 2021

Beyond the complex logistical task of prioritizing, distributing and safely storing millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines, state and local governments must simultaneously devise and carry out transparent plans that center equity and overcome the barriers to vaccination facing minority communities. Using insights gleaned from four focus groups conducted with health care and social service professionals serving minority communities in New York State as well as from existing research on vaccination, our results emphasize that vaccine hesitancy and access barriers—particularly within minority communities—pose significant hurdles to achieving widespread uptake of COVID-19 vaccines. Overcoming barriers requires community-engaged campaigns that acknowledge and address the historical injustices and on-going inequities that drive distrust within communities of color, emphasize understandable and culturally appropriate messages that directly address people's concerns about vaccine safety and access, and tap existing community infrastructure to make full use of trusted voices to deliver timely and accurate information about vaccines. Given emerging data and changing conditions, campaigns must also be self-reflective and adaptive, assessing progress and outcomes and reevaluating strategies as needed. However, above all, primary goals should remain focused on transparency, equity and building trust.
A Novel Machine Learning Model for Dose Prediction in Prostate Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Using Output Initialization and Optimization Priorities
Authors: Jensen P. James , Zhang Jiahan , Koontz Bridget F. , Wu Q. Jackie
Published: April 2021

Treatment planning for prostate volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) can take 5–30 min per plan to optimize and calculate, limiting the number of plan options that can be explored before the final plan decision. Inspired by the speed and accuracy of modern machine learning models, such as residual networks, we hypothesized that it was possible to use a machine learning model to bypass the time-intensive dose optimization and dose calculation steps, arriving directly at an estimate of the resulting dose distribution for use in multi-criteria optimization (MCO). In this study, we present a novel machine learning model for predicting the dose distribution for a given patient with a given set of optimization priorities. Our model innovates upon the existing machine learning techniques by utilizing optimization priorities and our understanding of dose map shapes to initialize the dose distribution before dose refinement via a voxel-wise residual network. Each block of the residual network individually updates the initialized dose map before passing to the next block. Our model also utilizes contiguous and atrous patch sampling to effectively increase the receptive fields of each layer in the residual network, decreasing its number of layers, increasing model prediction and training speed, and discouraging overfitting without compromising on the accuracy. For analysis, 100 prostate VMAT cases were used to train and test the model. The model was evaluated by the training and testing errors produced by 50 iterations of 10-fold cross-validation, with 100 cases randomly shuffled into the subsets at each iteration. The error of the model is modest for this data, with average dose map root-mean-square errors (RMSEs) of 2.38 ± 0.47% of prescription dose overall patients and all optimization priority combinations in the patient testing sets. The model was also evaluated at iteratively smaller training set sizes, suggesting that the model requires between 60 and 90 patients for optimal performance. This model may be used for quickly estimating the Pareto set of feasible dose objectives, which may directly accelerate the treatment planning process and indirectly improve final plan quality by allowing more time for plan refinement.
Contact Tracing in Healthcare Settings During the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Bluetooth Low Energy and Artificial Intelligence—A Viewpoint
Authors: Tang Guanglin , Westover Kenneth , Jiang Steve
Published: April 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has inflicted great damage with effects that will likely linger for a long time. This crisis has highlighted the importance of contact tracing in healthcare settings because hospitalized patients are among the high risk for complications and death. Moreover, effective contact tracing schemes are not yet available in healthcare settings. A good contact tracing technology in healthcare settings should be equipped with six features: promptness, simplicity, high precision, integration, minimized privacy concerns, and social fairness. One potential solution that addresses all of these elements leverages an indoor real-time location system based on Bluetooth Low Energy and artificial intelligence.
Automation Inner Speech as an Anthropomorphic Feature Affecting Human Trust: Current Issues and Future Directions
Authors: Geraci Alessandro , D'Amico Antonella , Pipitone Arianna , Seidita Valeria , Chella Antonio
Published: April 2021

This paper aims to discuss the possible role of inner speech in influencing trust in human–automation interaction. Inner speech is an everyday covert inner monolog or dialog with oneself, which is essential for human psychological life and functioning as it is linked to self-regulation and self-awareness. Recently, in the field of machine consciousness, computational models using different forms of robot speech have been developed that make it possible to implement inner speech in robots. As is discussed, robot inner speech could be a new feature affecting human trust by increasing robot transparency and anthropomorphism.
Can Trait-Based Schemes Be Used to Select Species in Urban Forestry?
Authors: Watkins Harry , Hirons Andrew , Sjöman Henrik , Cameron Ross , Hitchmough James D.
Published: April 2021

Urban forests in northern Europe are threatened by climate change and biosecurity risks, and in response, city planners are urged to select a wider portfolio of tree species to mitigate the risks of species die-off. However, selecting the right species is a challenge, as most guidance available to specifiers focuses on ecosystem service delivery rather than the information most critical to tree establishment: the ability of a species to tolerate the stresses found in a given place. In this paper, we investigate the potential of using ecological techniques to describe ecological traits at the level of species selection, and the potential of functional ecology theories to identify species that are not widely discussed or specified at present but might be suitable. We collected trait data on 167 tree species across 37 genera, including 38 species within a case study genus, Magnolia L., and tested four theories that posit ways in which traits trade off against each other in predictable ways. We found that at this scale, most species recommended for urban forestry tend to be ordinated along an axis of variation describing pace of life and stress tolerance, and that most Magnolia species are described as being fast-growing rather than stress-tolerant, although there is a degree of inter-specific variation. Further, we found that only one theory offers a succinct and reliable way of describing physiological strategies but translating ecological theory into a form appropriate for urban forestry will require further work.
Tissue Depletion of Olaquindox and Its Six Metabolites in Pigs and Broilers: Identification of a Suitable Marker Residue
Authors: Zhang Heying , Qu Wei , Ding Chaoyue , Han Juncheng , Xie Shuyu , Liu Zhenli , Huang Lingli , Pan Yuanhu , Yuan Zonghui
Published: April 2021

The depletion profiles of olaquindox and its six major metabolites, including O1 (N1-deoxyolaquindox), O2 (deoxyolaquindox), O3 (2-carboxamide-3-methylquinoxaline-N4-oxide), O4 (2-carboxymethylaminocarbonyl-3-methylquinoxaline-N4-oxide), O5 (2-carboxymethylaminocarbonyl-3-methylquinoxaline), and O6 [3-methyl-quinoxaline-2-carboxylic acid (MQCA)] were studied with a sensitive and accurate HPLC-UV method in pigs and broilers after oral administration of olaquindox at the rate of 50 mg kg−1 feed for 14 consecutive days. Five medicated pigs and six medicated broilers and one control animal for each time point were anesthetized and killed at different time points (6 h and 1, 3, 7, and 14 days for pigs and 6 h and 1, 3, 5, and 7 days for broilers) after ingestion of the medicated feed ceased and samples of muscle, liver, kidney, and fat were collected. The samples were assayed using a liquid chromatographic method. Mean concentrations of O2 (deoxyolaquindox) metabolite residues in all tissues of pigs were higher than other metabolite residues at each time point. MQCA was detected at lower concentrations and eliminated more rapidly than deoxyolaquindox (calculated t1/2 1.78–2.28 days vs. t1/2 2.04–2.46 days). The elimination half-lives of deoxyolaquindox residue in broilers' liver and kidney tissues (t1/2 >4 days) were much longer than those in pigs. Thus, the use of olaquindox in poultry is clearly inappropriate, as significant drug residues will occur without a withdrawal time. The results that deoxyolaquindox occurs at higher concentrations in kidney tissue and is more persistent than other residues in edible tissues of pigs which indicate that deoxyolaquindox is the most relevant marker residue and should be monitored in the routine surveillance of olaquindox-related residues in foods of animal origin.
Ideación y conducta suicida en los jóvenes
Authors: Sanchis Cordellat Francisco , Domènech-Llaberia Edelmira
Published: April 2021

El suicidio es una de las principales causas de muerte entre adolescentes en el mundo. Con este antecedente, el objetivo de este artículo es revisar los factores de riesgo y los factores protectores y conocer los procesos asociados con el comportamiento suicida. Para evaluar correctamente el riesgo suicida es esencial conocer las causas más asociadas y en la medida de lo posible prevenirlas. Trabajos anteriores mantienen que la ideación suicida puede ser fácilmente detectada mediante la utilización de instrumentos sencillos y la posterior confirmación por profesionales de los casos encontrados. La exploración de los factores que pueden proteger a los jóvenes, ante el comportamiento suicida, ha de ser una prioridad en las investigaciones de salud pública. El propósito que guía el presente artículo parte de la voluntad de trabajar en esa dirección.
El inventario de historia de pérdidas (ihp): presentación y utilidad clínica
Authors: Chaurand A. , Feixas G. , Neimeyer R. A.
Published: April 2021

Las teorías contemporáneas sobre el duelo enfatizan en el papel de la adaptación activa a la pérdida como un factor que afecta a un amplio rango de aspectos psicosociales. A pesar del considerable número de investigaciones empíricas que refuerzan este punto de vista, los investigadores comúnmente han limitado su atención a las respuestas a las pérdidas más recientes sufridas por las personas en duelo antes que estudiar su posible adaptación a las diversas pérdidas sufridas a lo largo de su historia vital. Para ello, los autores presentan el Inventario de Historia de Pérdidas (IHP), el cual evalúa sistemáticamente la forma en que las pérdidas han sido experimentadas por los sujetos y su percepción de haberse adaptado satisfactoria o insatisfactoriamente a cada una de ellas. El IHP puede ayudar en la evaluación psicológica y en la planificación del tratamiento, así como permitir la recolección de datos históricos relevantes para la investigación futura en temas de duelo y pérdida.
A Representation Generation Approach of Transmission Gear Based on Conditional Generative Adversarial Network
Authors: Li Jie , Zhao Boyu , Wu Kai , Dong Zhicheng , Zhang Xuerui , Zheng Zhihao
Published: April 2021

Gear reliability assessment of vehicle transmission has been a challenging issue of determining vehicle safety in the transmission industry due to a significant amount of classification errors with high-coupling gear parameters and insufficient high-density data. In terms of the preprocessing of gear reliability assessment, this paper presents a representation generation approach based on generative adversarial networks (GAN) to advance the performance of reliability evaluation as a classification problem. First, with no need for complex modeling and massive calculations, a conditional generative adversarial net (CGAN) based model is established to generate gear representations through discovering inherent mapping between features with gear parameters and gear reliability. Instead of producing intact samples like other GAN techniques, the CGAN based model is designed to learn features of gear data. In this model, to raise the diversity of produced features, a mini-batch strategy of randomly sampling from the combination of raw and generated representations is used in the discriminator, instead of using all of the data features. Second, in order to overcome the unlabeled ability of CGAN, a Wasserstein labeling (WL) scheme is proposed to tag the created representations from our model for classification. Lastly, original and produced representations are fused to train classifiers. Experiments on real-world gear data from the industry indicate that the proposed approach outperforms other techniques on operational metrics.
Grassland Restoration at a Graded Ski Slope: Effects of Propagation Material and Fertilisation on Plant Cover and Vegetation
Authors: Scotton Michele
Published: April 2021

The increasing anthropisation of mountain regions is a cause of soil degradation, which needs to be addressed. Conventional methods of ski slope revegetation often fail to stabilise the soil and recover natural vegetation. To test alternative methods to create a persistent, biodiversity-friendly plant cover, different sowing (site-adapted native propagation materials vs. forage cultivars vs. no sowing) and fertilisation treatments were compared over nine years at a graded ski slope. Because of the gravelly soil, the ninth-year plant cover was only 65%, which was sufficient to prevent erosion. All native propagation materials were equally efficient at recreating a semi-natural grassland. Except for Festuca rubra, the forage cultivars did not persist. However, native volunteer species from close natural ecosystems efficiently colonised plots sown with forage cultivars and plots that were not sown. This resulted in a lower plant cover but a high similarity to the surrounding vegetation. Fertilisation had a positive but transient effect on plant cover and a little negative effect on species richness. High-altitude sites with gravelly soils should be revegetated with native propagation materials. Using forage cultivars can attain a persistent plant cover only if the sown non-persistent cultivars are replaced by the species arriving from nearby surrounding vegetation.
Different Mutations Providing Target Site Resistance to ALS- and ACCase-Inhibiting Herbicides in Echinochloa spp. from Rice Fields
Authors: Amaro-Blanco Ignacio , Romano Yolanda , Palmerin Jose Antonio , Gordo Raquel , Palma-Bautista Candelario , De Prado Rafael , Osuna María Dolores
Published: April 2021

Echinochloa spp. is one of the most invasive weeds in rice fields worldwide. Acetolactate synthase (ALS) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase) inhibiting herbicides are two of the most widely used rice herbicides. However, overuse has led to the resistance evolution of Echinochloa spp. to penoxsulam (ALS-inhibitor) and cyhalofop-methyl (ACCase-inhibitor). In this work, 137 different Echinochloa spp. populations were collected in different rice fields in Extremadura (western Spain) where lack of control was detected. Target-site based resistance (by sequencing ALS and ACCase gene) and characterization of Echinochloa species at the molecular level (based on PCR-RFLP analyses) were carried out in those populations. Most of the populations studied (111 of 137) belong to the E. oryzicola/E. oryzoides group. Three-point mutations were identified in ALS genes: Pro197Ser, Pro197Thr, and Ser653Asn, the first being the most frequent substitution in resistant plants. In the ACCase gene, the Ile1781Leu substitution was found. In both ALS and ACCase sequencing, evidence of heterozygosity was also observed. To assess whether cross-resistance patterns differed between mutations, two populations belonging to the E. oryzicola/E. oryzoides group had its most frequent mutations (Pro197Ser, population ech3-14 and Ile1781Leu, population ech114-10) chosen to be carried out in a dose-response assay. It was confirmed that Pro197Ser conferred resistance to triazolopyrimidine, imidazolinone, sulfonylurea, and pyrimidinyl benzoate families. On the other hand, the Ile1781Leu change gave resistance to aryloxyphenoxypropionate and cyclohexanedione families. Of the authorized herbicides in rice in Spain, more that 80% belong to these families. It is therefore important that farmers carry out an integrated control system that combines both chemical and non-chemical tools.
Dissection of the Contributing Factors to the Variable Response of Crop Yield to Surface Applied Lime in Australia
Authors: Oliver Yvette M. , Gazey Chris , Fisher James , Robertson Michael
Published: April 2021

Modern agricultural farming systems acidify the soil profile due to application of fertilisers with acidifying properties. In most parts of Australia, lime has been used to improve agricultural soil conditions and restore its productive potential. The observed response of crop yield to applied lime often varies with soil type, acidity profile and seasonal conditions, so it is difficult to specify the expected yield response in a given situation. We conducted a meta-analysis of 86 agricultural field trials from Western Australia (WA), New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria (VIC) where various rates of lime had been applied to the soil surface and crop yield (wheat, barley, canola, lupin or field pea) measured for a number of years after the initial application. Information from the meta-analysis was then paired with output from a crop simulation model, where the water-limited yield potential was estimated for both a neutral and acidified soil profile. The average increase in yield to applied lime across all locations and crops was 12%, but the response ranged from 0 to 185%. A trend was observed, where sites with topsoil pH (CaCl2) < 5 and subsoil pH < 4.5 had the greater benefit to liming. Soil type had little effect on the percentage yield increase. Overall, responses to applied lime were most likely when the yield of the trial site was at 50% of water-limited yield potential (or less), the quantity of lime applied was greater than 2.5 t ha−1 and the time since lime had been applied was greater than three years (with the maximum response occurring from four and sometimes up to eight years after liming). Therefore, soil pH measurements, combined with an assessment of actual yield relative to potential yield, provide the best guide to the response to surface applied lime and this response is likely to take more than four years to be realised.
Genetic Gains from Selection for Drought Tolerance during Three Breeding Periods in Extra-Early Maturing Maize Hybrids under Drought and Rainfed Environments
Authors: Badu-Apraku Baffour , Obisesan Oluwafemi , Abiodun Adeoti , Obeng-Bio Ebenezer
Published: April 2021

Genetic gain studies in a breeding program are very important for measuring the efficiency of the program over a specific period. It also provides breeders with an understanding of the outcomes of the huge investments committed to the breeding programs. This study sought to (i) estimate the gains in grain yield under drought and rainfed conditions and (ii) identify high-yielding and stable hybrids developed in the last two decades under drought and rainfed conditions. Sixty extra-early maturing hybrids developed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, during three breeding periods: (2008–2010, 2011–2013, and 2014–2016) were assessed under managed drought and rainfed conditions across 14 environments in Nigeria to estimate the genetic gains in grain yield using linear regression analysis. Considerably high genetic gains (4.1%) per year for grain yield was obtained for the extra-early maturing hybrids under drought environments. Six of the top ten hybrids identified were from period 3, an indication of the high genetic gains from selection in period 3. Additionally, two of the top six period 3 hybrids (TZEEI 29 × TZEEI 13) × TZEEI 64 and TZdEEI 64 × TZEEI 54 were found to be the best yielding and most stable across the 14 test environments and were highly recommended for extensive evaluations to warrant their commercialization in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
An Improved Vermicomposting System Provides More Efficient Wastewater Use of Dairy Farms Using Eisenia fetida
Authors: Liu Xue , Geng Bing , Zhu Changxiong , Li Lianfang , Francis Frédéric
Published: April 2021

Dairy cattle farming produces large amounts of wastewater and it causes environmental pollution and eutrophication of rivers, but the nutrients in the waste could be recycled. Here, an improved vermicomposting system was applied to dairy farm wastewater, and wastewater with a nitrogen content of 100 mg/L and 200mg/L tested with different combinations of organic substrates such as cow manure and rice straw in rural solid waste. Results showed that earthworms could continuously grow, wastewater (N 100mg/L) mixed with rice straw corresponding to the most significant gained weight for Eisenia fetida earthworms (2.38 to 9.12-fold), and the earthworms’ weight was positively correlated with the C/N ratio, organic matter content, and pH. Compared to the initial state, the system significantly changed physicochemical parameters in nutrients, such as the percentages of total nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, which were found to increase in vermicomposting while organic matter content, C/N ratio, and cellulose declined as a function of the vermicomposting period, and the final vermicompost was better for the absorption of plants. These results suggest that continuous wastewater addition improved the effective transformation of organic waste to allow valorizing a broad range of organic residues, and avoid the risk of environmental pollution in dairy cattle farming.
Past and Recent Effects of Livestock Activity on the Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Native Guanaco Populations of Arid Patagonia
Authors: Mesas Andrés , Baldi Ricardo , González Benito A. , Burgi Virginia , Chávez Alexandra , Johnson Warren E. , Marín Juan C.
Published: April 2021

Extensive livestock production and urbanization entail modifications of natural landscapes, including installation of fences, development of agriculture, urbanization of natural areas, and construction of roads and infrastructure that, together, impact native fauna. Here, we evaluate the diversity and genetic structure of endemic guanacos (Lama guanicoe) of the Monte and Patagonian Steppe of central Argentina, which have been reduced and displaced by sheep ranching and other impacts of human activities. Analyses of genetic variation of microsatellite loci and d-loop revealed high levels of genetic variation and latitudinal segregation of mitochondrial haplotypes. There were indications of at least two historical populations in the Monte and the Patagonian Steppe based on shared haplotypes and shared demographic history among localities. Currently, guanacos are structured into three groups that were probably reconnected relatively recently, possibly facilitated by a reduction of sheep and livestock in recent decades and a recovery of the guanaco populations. These results provide evidence of the genetic effects of livestock activity and urbanization on wild herbivore populations, which were possibly exacerbated by an arid environment with limited productive areas. The results highlight the importance of enacting conservation management plans to ensure the persistence of ancestral and ecologically functional populations of guanacos.
Treatment of Pulmonary Disease of Cystic Fibrosis: A Comprehensive Review
Authors: Girón Moreno Rosa María , García-Clemente Marta , Diab-Cáceres Layla , Martínez-Vergara Adrián , Martínez-García Miguel Ángel , Gómez-Punter Rosa Mar
Published: April 2021

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disease that causes absence or dysfunction of a protein named transmembrane conductance regulatory protein (CFTR) that works as an anion channel. As a result, the secretions of the organs where CFTR is expressed are very viscous, so their functionality is altered. The main cause of morbidity is due to the involvement of the respiratory system as a result of recurrent respiratory infections by different pathogens. In recent decades, survival has been increasing, rising by around age 50. This is due to the monitoring of patients in multidisciplinary units, early diagnosis with neonatal screening, and advances in treatments. In this chapter, we will approach the different therapies used in CF for the treatment of symptoms, obstruction, inflammation, and infection. Moreover, we will discuss specific and personalized treatments to correct the defective gene and repair the altered protein CFTR. The obstacle for personalized CF treatment is to predict the drug response of patients due to genetic complexity and heterogeneity of uncommon mutations.
Intrauterine Blood Plasma Platelet-Therapy Mitigates Persistent Breeding-Induced Endometritis, Reduces Uterine Infections, and Improves Embryo Recovery in Mares
Authors: Segabinazzi Lorenzo G. T. M. , Canisso Igor F. , Podico Giorgia , Cunha Lais L. , Novello Guilherme , Rosser Michael F. , Loux Shavahn C. , Lima Fabio S. , Alvarenga Marco A.
Published: April 2021

Microorganisms, including pathogenic or opportunistic bacteria and fungi, may gain access to the uterus during breeding, and infectious endometritis plays a major role in equine subfertility. This study aimed to assess the post-breeding inflammatory response, endometrial culture, and embryo recovery of mares susceptible to persistent breeding-induced endometritis (PBIE) treated with plasma-rich (PRP) or -poor (PPP) plasma. Mares (n = 12) susceptible to PBIE had three cycles randomly assigned to receive intrauterine infusions of lactate ringer solution (LRS, control), or autologous PRP or PPP pre- (−48 and −24 h) and post-breeding (6 and 24 h). Mares were bred with fresh semen from one stallion. Intrauterine fluid accumulation (IUF) and endometrial neutrophils were assessed every 24 h up to 96 h post-breeding. Uterine cytokines (Ilβ, IL6, CXCL8, and IL10) were evaluated before (0 h), 6, and 24 h post-breeding, and endometrial culture three and nine days after breed. Embryo flushing was performed 8 days post-ovulation. Data were analyzed with mixed model, Tukey’s post-hoc test, and multivariate regression. PRP treatment reduced endometrial neutrophils, post-breeding IUF, and pro-inflammatory cytokines when compared to control-assigned cycles, but not significantly different than PPP. Controls had a significantly higher percentage of positive bacterial cultures (33%) in comparison to PRP-assigned cycles (0%), whereas cycles treated with PPP were not significantly different from the other groups (25%). The PRP-assigned cycles had significantly greater embryo recovery rates (83%) than the control (33%), though not significantly different than PPP (60%). Plasma infusion reduced the duration and intensity of the post-breeding inflammatory response and improved embryo recovery in mares susceptible to PBIE. Platelets incrementally downregulate PBIE and appear to have a dose-dependent antimicrobial property.
Tracing the Evolution of Plant Glyoxalase III Enzymes for Structural and Functional Divergence
Authors: Kumar Brijesh , Kaur Charanpreet , Pareek Ashwani , Sopory Sudhir K. , Singla-Pareek Sneh L.
Published: April 2021

Glyoxalase pathway is the primary route for metabolism of methylglyoxal (MG), a toxic ubiquitous metabolite that affects redox homeostasis. It neutralizes MG using Glyoxalase I and Glyoxalase II (GLYI and GLYII) enzymes in the presence of reduced glutathione. In addition, there also exists a shorter route for the MG detoxification in the form of Glyoxalase III (GLYIII) enzymes, which can convert MG into D-lactate in a single-step without involving glutathione. GLYIII proteins in different systems demonstrate diverse functional capacities and play a vital role in oxidative stress response. To gain insight into their evolutionary patterns, here we studied the evolution of GLYIII enzymes across prokaryotes and eukaryotes, with special emphasis on plants. GLYIII proteins are characterized by the presence of DJ-1_PfpI domains thereby, belonging to the DJ-1_PfpI protein superfamily. Our analysis delineated evolution of double DJ-1_PfpI domains in plant GLYIII. Based on sequence and structural characteristics, plant GLYIII enzymes could be categorized into three different clusters, which followed different evolutionary trajectories. Importantly, GLYIII proteins from monocots and dicots group separately in each cluster and the each of the two domains of these proteins also cluster differentially. Overall, our findings suggested that GLYIII proteins have undergone significant evolutionary changes in plants, which is likely to confer diversity and flexibility in their functions.
Oxidative and Nitrosative Stress in Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Review of Their Role in Different Stages of Disease
Authors: Toma Caterina , De Cillà Stefano , Palumbo Aurelio , Garhwal Divya Praveen , Grossini Elena
Published: April 2021

Although the exact pathogenetic mechanisms leading to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have not been clearly identified, oxidative damage in the retina and choroid due to an imbalance between local oxidants/anti-oxidant systems leading to chronic inflammation could represent the trigger event. Different in vitro and in vivo models have demonstrated the involvement of reactive oxygen species generated in a highly oxidative environment in the development of drusen and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) changes in the initial pathologic processes of AMD; moreover, recent evidence has highlighted the possible association of oxidative stress and neovascular AMD. Nitric oxide (NO), which is known to play a key role in retinal physiological processes and in the regulation of choroidal blood flow, under pathologic conditions could lead to RPE/photoreceptor degeneration due to the generation of peroxynitrite, a potentially cytotoxic tyrosine-nitrating molecule. Furthermore, the altered expression of the different isoforms of NO synthases could be involved in choroidal microvascular changes leading to neovascularization. The purpose of this review was to investigate the different pathways activated by oxidative/nitrosative stress in the pathogenesis of AMD, focusing on the mechanisms leading to neovascularization and on the possible protective role of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor agents in this context.
CDDO-Me Attenuates Astroglial Autophagy via Nrf2-, ERK1/2-SP1- and Src-CK2-PTEN-PI3K/AKT-Mediated Signaling Pathways in the Hippocampus of Chronic Epilepsy Rats
Authors: Kim Ji-Eun , Kang Tae-Cheon
Published: April 2021

Clasmatodendrosis is an autophagic astroglial death showing extensive swollen cell bodies with vacuoles and disintegrated/beaded processes. This astroglial degeneration is closely relevant to the synchronous epileptiform discharges. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms and the roles of clasmatodendrosis in spontaneous seizure activity are still unknown. The 2-cyano-3,12-dioxo-oleana-1,9(11)-dien-28-oic acid methyl ester (CDDO-Me; RTA 402) is one of the activators for nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) that is a redox-sensitive transcription factor. In the present study, we explored the effects of CDDO-Me on clasmatodendrosis in chronic epilepsy rats, which could prevent epilepsy-related complications. In the present study, clasmatodendritic astrocytes showed reduced Nrf2 expression and its nuclear accumulation, which were restored by CDDO-Me. CDDO-Me also abrogated heat shock protein 25 (HSP25) upregulation in clasmatodendritic astrocytes by regulating extracellular signal-related kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2)-specificity protein 1 (SP1)- and Src-casein kinase 2 (CK2)-phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN)-phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)-AKT-glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β)-bax-interacting factor 1 (Bif-1)-mediated signaling pathways in chronic epilepsy rats. In addition, CDDO-Me ameliorated spontaneous seizure duration, but not seizure frequency and behavioral seizure severity. Therefore, our findings suggest that clasmatodendrosis may affect seizure duration in chronic epilepsy rats, and that CDDO-Me may attenuate autophagic astroglial degeneration by regulating various signaling pathways.
Biomolecules Responsible for the Total Antioxidant Capacity (TAC) of Human Plasma in Healthy and Cardiopathic Individuals: A Chemical Speciation Model
Authors: Prenesti Enrico , Berto Silvia , Gosmaro Fabio , Bagnati Marco , Bellomo Giorgio
Published: April 2021

(1) Background: Much effort has been expended to investigate the antioxidant capacity of human plasma, attempting to clarify the roles of both metabolic and food substances in determining defenses against oxidative stress. The relationship between the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and the concentrations of redox-active biomolecules in the human plasma of healthy and cardiopathic individuals was investigated in the present study to develop a chemical speciation model. (2) Methods: Plasma was collected from 85 blood donors and from 25 cardiovascular surgery patients. The TAC was measured using the CUPRAC-BCS (CUPric Reducing Antioxidant Capacity — Bathocuproinedisulfonic acid) method. Biomolecule concentrations were determined via visible spectrophotometry or HPLC/RP techniques. The relationship between the TAC and the concentrations was defined by applying a multiple regression analysis. The significance of the variables was first tested, and chemical models were proposed for the two datasets. The model equation is βTAC=∑iβi·Ai, where βi and [Ai] are the electronic exchange and the molar concentrations of the ith antioxidant component, respectively. (3) Results: The major contributions to the TAC, ~80%, come from endogenous compounds in both healthy and cardiopathic individuals, whereas the contributions from exogenous compounds were different between the two datasets. In particular, γ-tocopherol showed a different role in the chemical models developed for the two groups.
Plant Feed Additives as Natural Alternatives to the Use of Synthetic Antioxidant Vitamins on Poultry Performances, Health, and Oxidative Status: A Review of the Literature in the Last 20 Years
Authors: Righi Federico , Pitino Rosario , Manuelian Carmen L. , Simoni Marica , Quarantelli Afro , De Marchi Massimo , Tsiplakou Eleni
Published: April 2021

Plant feed additives (PFA) such as essential oils, extracts, and by-products from plant processing can be included in poultry diets. A total of 39 peer-reviewed articles were selected from the literature published in the last 20 years (2000–2020) comparing PFA antioxidant effects with synthetic antioxidant vitamins (mainly vitamin E) in poultry nutrition. The PFA can be used as an effective nutritional strategy to face poultry’s oxidative stress with positive impact also on their productivity and efficiency. They can partially or completely replace antioxidant synthetic vitamins (the latter administered at doses between 150 and 500 mg/kg) in animal diets, sometimes affecting important physiological functions or expressing synergistic effect with the synthetic antioxidants. It is crucial to take into consideration the issues related to the absorption and the metabolism of these additives and their interaction with gut microbiota. However, some form- and dose-dependent negative effects on growth performances are observed.
Mechanochemical Synthesis of the Catechol-Theophylline Cocrystal: Spectroscopic Characterization and Molecular Structure
Authors: González-González Juan Saulo , Jiménez-López Raquel , Ortegón-Reyna David , Gonzalez-Carrillo Gabino , Martínez-Martínez Francisco Javier
Published: April 2021

Pharmaceutical cocrystallization offers the possibility to modify the physicochemical and biopharmaceutical properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The mechanochemical synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of the catechol-theophylline (CAT-TEO) cocrystal is reported. The cocrystal was prepared by the solvent-assisted grinding method. The ATR-IR spectroscopy study allowed to determine the formation of the cocrystal because the O-H and C=O stretching bands in the CAT-TEO cocrystal were shifted with respect to the starting materials, suggesting the formation of the C=O···H-O hydrogen bond interaction. Infrared spectroscopy also allowed to discard hydration of the cocrystal, and polymorphic transitions of the starting products as a consequence of the mechanochemical grinding. The X-ray powder diffraction and thermal studies confirmed the formation of a new solid phase. In the solid state 13C NMR spectra of the cocrystal, the signals were shifted with respect to the starting products. The 13C NMR chemical shifts of the CAT-TEO cocrystal were simulated by using the gauge including the atomic orbital (GIAO) method. These results showed a good correlation between the experimental and calculated 13C NMR results. Theoretical calculations and natural bonding orbital analysis (NBO) at a B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory were performed to obtain structural information of the cocrystal.