bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
For whom does flow not enhance online gamer loyalty?
Authors: Pham Thi Tuan Linh , Huang Han-Chung , Tseng Fan-Chen , Cheng T.C.E. , Teng Ching-I
Published: October 2021

Purpose

Flow, or total concentration with intrinsic enjoyment, has been recognized as being able to enhance online gamer loyalty. However, some gamers who experience flow do not exhibit strong loyalty, posing the vital research question asking for whom flow would not enhance loyalty. Limited knowledge on this issue may lead game providers to assume that flow is influential in strengthening loyalty among all gamers, thus leading to suboptimal resource allocation and reduced effectiveness in retaining gamers. The purpose of the paper is to examine how gaming experience and gaming intensity moderate the impact of flow on online gamer loyalty.

Design/methodology/approach

In the paper, the hypotheses were tested using responses from 273 gamers.

Findings

The findings show that flow and gaming experience positively impact gamer loyalty. Gaming experience reduces the positive relationship between flow and gamer loyalty. However, gaming intensity does not reduce.

Practical implications

Game providers should focus on creating a flow experience to strengthen the loyalty of gamers with short-gaming experience. However, game providers should devise other means to strengthen loyalty among gamers with long-gaming experience.

Originality/value

The study challenged the assumption of flow theory, i.e. that flow always determines loyalty. Instead, the paper offers a moderator – gaming experience – which sets a boundary condition for this theory. Flow works well only among gamers with relatively short-gaming experience. The study also extended the literature on gaming experience by uniquely indicating its attenuating effect on the relation between flow and loyalty.
Herbivore grazing mitigates the negative effects of nitrogen deposition on soil organic carbon in low‐diversity grassland
Authors: Li Guangyin , Cai Jinting , Song Xuxin , Pan Xiaobin , Pan Duofeng , Jiang Shicheng , Sun Jinyan , Zhang Minna , Wang Ling
Published: October 2021

Changes in soil carbon (C) sequestration in grassland ecosystems have important impacts on the global C cycle. As such, it is important that researchers better understand the underlying mechanisms affecting soil C. Increasing evidence has shown that atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition can cause dramatic changes in grassland soil C. It remains unclear whether herbivore grazing, a primary means to manage and utilize grassland resources, can regulate the effects of N deposition on soil C, and whether these effects are dependent on plant community diversity.

Here, we examined the joint effects of herbivore grazing and N‐addition on soil organic C (SOC) stocks in two types of communities with low and high plant diversity respectively.

Our results showed that the effects of N‐addition and its combination with herbivore grazing on grassland SOC were inconsistent in the two types of communities. In the low‐diversity community, N‐addition greatly decreased SOC stocks, while grazing significantly increased it. Additionally, the grazing‐induced increase in soil C stocks in the presence of N‐addition was so great that it completely counteracted the significant decline in SOC induced by N‐addition. However, in the high‐diversity community, we observed no effects of N‐addition on SOC and grazing increased SOC only in the absence of N‐addition and had no significant effect in the presence of N‐addition.

Synthesis and applications. Our study suggests that increased N deposition can trigger a remarkable reduction in soil C sequestration in grasslands with low plant diversity, but that herbivore grazing can offset this decline, which may help to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions caused by atmospheric N deposition. As a result, we suggest that moderate herbivore grazing should be considered as an effective grassland management measure for maintaining and improving grassland soil C sequestration as the increasing global changes such as elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide, N deposition and biodiversity losses threat.
Pollination efficiency and pollen limitation in bistaminate vs tetrastaminate Lamiaceae
Authors: Naghiloo Somayeh , Nikzat‐Siahkolaee Sedigheh , Esmaillou Zahra , Claßen‐Bockhoff Regine
Published: October 2021

The evolution of bilabiate flowers in Lamiaceae has several times led to a reduction in stamen number. It is generally assumed that stamen reduction goes along with decreasing pollen production. One should, therefore, expect that bistaminate flowers have either a more efficient pollen transfer mechanism or a higher selfíng rate than tetrastaminate species to adapt to the stamen reduction. We tested this hypothesis in a community of Lamiaceae including three bistaminate and three tetrastaminate species. The results of selfing experiments, extra‐pollination, counting pollen number, and stigmatic pollen load analysis were used to calculate the autonomous selfing index, the pollen limitation index, and the pollination efficiency index. The results indicate a significantly lower pollen number in bistaminate flowers than in tetrastaminate flowers of similar anther size. Bistaminate species shared a higher selfing rate which was related to their structural adaptation to delayed selfing. In Ziziphora clinopodioides, the delayed selfing was accompanied by low pollination efficiency, and plants suffered from pollen limitation at the location studied. However, in Salvia sclarea and Salvia hypoleuca, which benefited from a relatively high pollination efficiency, no pollen limitation was observed. Our results reveal a close association between adaptive mechanisms such as increasing precision of pollen transfer and evolution of delayed selfing with stamen reduction in bistaminate Lamiaceae.
The effects of climate change and fluctuations on the riparian bird communities of the arid Intermountain West
Authors: Neate‐Clegg M. H. C. , Horns J. J. , Buchert M. , Pope T. L. , Norvell R. , Parrish J. R. , Howe F. , Şekercioğlu Ç. H.
Published: October 2021

Riparian corridors are critical refuges for biodiversity in arid regions like the southwestern US. Birds in particular rely on these habitats for breeding and as migratory stopover sites within a resource‐scarce landscape. Climate change is likely to affect the distribution of resources across such landscapes and how birds use riparian zones. In this study, we used 15 years of bird‐banding data (1994–2008) from eight riparian sites across the state of Utah to examine the effects of variation in climate and vegetation on birds at the community and population level. We used generalized linear mixed models to analyze the effects of temperature, precipitation, El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) on daily total captures, species richness and community composition. We found that total captures and species richness increased in hotter, drier, less green years and in El Niño years, and the relationships were more pronounced for non‐riparian species than for species breeding in riparian zones. We also found changes in community composition in relation to temperature and precipitation. At the population level, we used capture–mark–recapture (CMR) models to analyze the effects of these covariates on the rates of population growth, recruitment and apparent survival. We found that population growth rates were negatively associated with temperature and ENSO for roughly half of the focal species. This pattern was almost entirely due to lower recruitment, likely caused by the combination of fewer resources and increased competition from the influx of non‐riparian birds into riparian oases. Our results have important implications for arid areas which are expected to become hotter and drier. Reducing other anthropogenic threats to riparian corridors, such as cattle grazing and water management, is likely to increase the resilience to climate change of riparian habitats and their avian residents.
Editorial: brain‐gut research needs objective measures of disease activity and mental disorders—authors’ reply
Authors: Mules Thomas C. , Swaminathan Akhilesh , Gearry Richard B.
Published: October 2021

LINKED CONTENT

This article is linked to Mules et al and Mikocka‐Walus & Knowles papers. To view these articles, visit https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16616 and https://doi.org/10.1111/apt.16639
Excess polyspermy reduces the ability of porcine oocytes to promote male pronuclear formation after in vitro fertilization
Authors: Nguyen Hiep Thi , Dang‐Nguyen Thanh Quang , Somfai Tamas , Men Nguyen Thi , Beck‐Woerner Barbara , Viet Linh Nguyen , Xuan Nguyen Bui , Noguchi Junko , Kaneko Hiroyuki , Kikuchi Kazuhiro
Published: October 2021

Male pronucleus (MPN) formation is a very important physiological event during fertilization, which affects in vitro production of transferrable embryos. The aim of this study was to find out the correlation between the number of penetrated sperm and the occurrence of failure of MPN formation in porcine oocytes. In vitro matured porcine oocytes were fertilized in vitro with frozen epididymal sperm. Two different frozen sperm lots were tested in this study, which were different in terms of polyspermy rates. The numbers and the status of penetrated sperm in oocytes were evaluated 10 h after insemination. Under high polyspermy condition, the polyspermy rate was 83.5% with an average mean of 3.5 sperms per penetrated oocyte, whereas the percentage of polyspermy was 65.5% with an average mean of 2.4 sperms per penetrated oocyte under moderate polyspermic condition. Correlation analysis revealed a negative correlation between the number of penetrated sperm and their MPN formation percentage both in the sperm lot of high polyspermy (R = −0.560, p < 0.05) and in the sperm lot of moderate polyspermy (R = −0.405, p < 0.05) which suggests that penetration of excessive spermatozoa disables the oocyte cytoplasm to promote MPN formation.
c4c: Paediatric pharmacovigilance: Methodological considerations in research and development of medicines for children – A c4c expert group white paper
Authors: Aurich Beate , Apele‐Freimane Dina , Banaschewski Tobias , Chouchana Laurent , Day Simon , Kaguelidou Florentia , Kelly Lauren E. , Kindblom Jenny M. , Neubert Antje , Wong Ian C. K.
Published: October 2021

Children frequently respond differently to therapies compared to adults. Differences also exist between paediatric age groups for pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in both efficacy and safety. Paediatric pharmacovigilance requires an understanding of the unique aspects of children with regard to, for example, drug response, growth and development, clinical presentation of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), how they can be detected and population‐specific factors (e.g., more frequent use of off‐label/unlicensed drugs). In recognition of these challenges, a group of experts has been formed in the context of the conect4children (c4c) project to support paediatric drug development. This expert group collaborated to develop methodological considerations for paediatric drug safety and pharmacovigilance throughout the life‐cycle of medicinal products which are described in this article.

These considerations include practical points to consider for the development of the paediatric section of the risk management plan (RMP), safety in paediatric protocol development, safety data collection and analysis. Furthermore, they describe the specific details of post‐marketing pharmacovigilance in children using, for example, spontaneous reports, electronic health care records, registries and record‐linkage, as well as the use of paediatric pharmacoepidemiology studies for risk characterisation. Next the details of the assessment of benefit–risk and challenges related to medicinal product formulation in the context of a Paediatric Investigation Plan (PIP) are presented. Finally, practical issues in paediatric signal detection and evaluation are included.

This paper provides practical points to consider for paediatric pharmacovigilance throughout the life‐cycle of medicinal products for RMPs, protocol development, safety data collection and analysis and PIPs.
Untrapped potential: Do bear hunter cameras accurately index nontarget species?
Authors: Candler Ellen M. , Severud William J. , Beyer Dean E. , Frawley Brian , Bump Joseph K.
Published: October 2021

Remote camera use by hunters offers the potential to collect citizen‐derived data on multiple species using hunter surveys, but the effectiveness of this approach is untested. We examine whether observations from remote cameras that hunters use at their black bear (Ursus americanus) bait sites and reported via hunter surveys are an effective method to monitor species. We compared data collected from pseudo‐bear bait sites established for this study to hunter established bear bait site observations from the same study area. We also quantified observations reported on hunter surveys as a landscape index alternative to white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) hunter indices, gray wolf (Canis lupus) surveys, and mustelid (Mustelidae) trapper indices. We did not detect a difference in hunter‐reported camera observations versus our observations for four of the six species recorded at pseudo‐bear bait sites. Hunters were over nine times more likely to report photographing wolves and nearly one third as likely to report photographing mustelids. We observed a relationship between trapper survey‐derived mustelid indices and the camera‐derived index, but not for deer or wolves. Foremost, these results emphasize the need to further evaluate the utility of remote camera data derived from hunters. The widespread use of remote cameras by hunters, the low‐cost of hunter surveys, and the potential to collect accurate community composition and occurrence/presence indices, points to the value of adding questions to hunter surveys regarding multiple species of interest.
COVID‐19 patient diagnosis and treatment data mining algorithm based on association rules
Authors: Shan Zicheng , Miao Wei
Published: October 2021

Association rules are used in different data mining applications, including Web mining, intrusion detection, and bioinformatics. This study mainly discusses the COVID‐19 patient diagnosis and treatment data mining algorithm based on association rules. General data The key time interval during the main diagnosis and treatment process (including onset to dyspnea, first diagnosis, admission, mechanical ventilation, death, and the time from first diagnosis to admission, etc.), the cause of death by laboratory examination, and so forth. The frequency of drug use was counted and association rule algorithm was used to analyse and study the effect of drug treatment. The results could provide reference for rational drug use in COVID‐19 patients. In this study, in order to improve the efficiency of data mining in data processing, it is necessary to pre‐process these data. Secondly, in the application of this data mining, the main objective is to extract association rules of COVID‐19 complications. So its properties for mining should be various diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to classify individual disease types. During the construction of association rules database, the data in the data warehouse is analysed online and the association rules data mining is analysed. The results are stored in the knowledge base for decision support. For example, the prediction results of the decision tree can be displayed at this level. After the construction of the mining model, the display interface can be mined, and the decision‐maker can input the corresponding attribute value and then predict it. 0.76% of people had both COVID‐19, CHD and hypertension, while 46.5% of people with COVID‐19 and CHD were likely to have hypertension. This study is helpful to analyse the imaging factors of COVID‐19 disease.
Factors influencing farmers’ willingness and behavior choices to withdraw from rural homesteads in China
Authors: Gao Jia , Song Ge , Liu Shuhan
Published: October 2021

The rapid pace of urban development and farmer differentiation has led to large‐scale migration of farmers to cities, resulting in the abandonment of rural homesteads in China. This study aims to explore the key factors influencing farmers’ willingness and choices to withdraw from rural homesteads and find the key factor of different groups of farmer differentiation degree. Data from 479 farmers in Weinan and Shizuishan and multigroup structural equation model were used for analysis. The results showed that labor supply shortages in completely non‐agricultural farmer households had the greatest influence on their willingness to withdraw from rural homesteads. Whether a withdrawal compensation could guarantee farmers’ future livelihood has the greatest influence on willingness to withdraw from rural homesteads among non‐agricultural and agricultural farmer households. The per‐capita area of rural homesteads has the greatest influence on willingness to withdraw among completely agricultural farmer households. Regardless of the farmer differentiation degree, whether the withdrawal compensation can guarantee their future livelihood significantly affects farmers’ willingness to withdraw from their rural homesteads. The policy implication of the study was that, for different levels of livelihood dependence, local governments should adopt a targeted policy to encourage farmers to withdraw from their rural homesteads.
Apremilast effectively inhibits TNFα‐induced vascular inflammation in human endothelial cells
Authors: Otto M. , Dorn B. , Grasmik T. , Doll M. , Meissner M. , Jakob T. , Hrgovic I.
Published: October 2021

Background

Patients with chronic inflammatory diseases (e.g. psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis) are at increased risk for the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Previous studies have suggested that phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors possess anti‐inflammatory properties.

Objectives

Here we examined the effect of the PDE4 inhibitor apremilast, a well‐established anti‐psoriatic drug, on pro‐inflammatory responses in TNFα‐activated endothelial cells.

Methods

Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) were treated with tumour necrosis factor‐α (TNFα) in the presence or absence of apremilast. Expression levels of pro‐inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and adhesion molecules were assessed by ELISA, western blot and RT‐PCR. Effects of apremilast on adhesion and transendothelial migration (TEM) of THP‐1 monocytic cells were analysed in transwell assays.

Results

Apremilast suppressed TNFα‐induced expression and secretion of important endothelial and monocytic pro‐inflammatory factors, including granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF), C‐X‐C motif chemokine ligand 10 (CXCL10), chemokine (C‐C motif) ligand 2 (CCL2), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM‐1), E‐selectin and matrix metalloproteinase‐9 (MMP9). Functionally, apremilast reduced adhesion of THP‐1 cells to activated HUVECs and TEM in response to TNFα. Mechanistically, apremilast suppressed activation of nuclear factor κB (NFκB) and mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPK) signalling in activated HUVECs. Furthermore, inhibition of p38, C‐Jun‐N‐terminale Kinase (JNK) and NFκB in activated HUVECs decreased expression of GM‐CSF, VCAM‐1 and E‐selectin. Additionally, apremilast decreased IL‐17A‐induced secretion of IL‐6 and CCL2.

Conclusions

We demonstrate that apremilast has distinct anti‐inflammatory effects in activated HUVECs, indicating that apremilast could have the therapeutic potential to prevent higher risk for CVD in patients with chronic inflammatory diseases.
The role of CuO on the microstructure and phase composition of SO3‐activated clinker
Authors: Boháč Martin , Khongová Ingrid , Zezulová Anežka , Kotlánová Krejčí Michaela , Kubátová Dana , Staněk Theodor
Published: October 2021

The mineralising effect of CuO on microstructure and phase composition of SO3‐doped clinker was studied by a combination of phase analysis, light and scanning electron microscopy and QXRD. Results show proportionally higher C4AF content in clinker interstitial matter due to CuO doping. CuO also lowers the SO3 incorporation in main clinker phases C3S and C2S. Observation in back‐scattered electrons revealed that Cu crystallises mainly as a Cu‐rich phase in the clinker interstitial matter and inclusions in crystals of C2S with distorted structure. CuO partially inhibits the incorporation of Fe2O3 in C2S.
Gene clusters for biosynthesis of mycosporine‐like amino acids in dinoflagellate nuclear genomes: Possible recent horizontal gene transfer between species of Symbiodiniaceae (Dinophyceae)
Authors: Shoguchi Eiichi
Published: October 2021

Global warming increases the temperature of the ocean surface, which can disrupt dinoflagellate‐coral symbioses and result in coral bleaching. Photosynthetic dinoflagellates of the family Symbiodiniaceae include bleaching‐tolerant and bleaching‐sensitive coral symbionts. Therefore, understanding the molecular mechanisms for changing symbiont diversity is potentially useful to assist recovery of coral holobionts (corals and their associated microbes, including multiple species of Symbiodiniaceae), although sexual reproduction has not been observed in the Symbiodiniaceae. Recent molecular phylogenetic analyses estimate that the Symbiodiniaceae appeared 160 million years ago and diversified into 15 groups, five genera of which now have available draft genomes (i.e., Symbiodinium, Durusdinium, Breviolum, Fugacium, and Cladocopium). Comparative genomic analyses have suggested that crown groups have fewer gene families than early‐diverging groups, although many genes that were probably acquired via gene duplications and horizontal gene transfers (HGTs) have been found in each decoded genome. Because UV stress is likely a contributor to coral bleaching, and because the highly conserved gene cluster for mycosporine‐like amino acid (MAA) biosynthesis has been found in thermal‐tolerant symbiont genomes, I reviewed genomic features of the Symbiodiniaceae, focusing on possible acquisition of a biosynthetic gene cluster for MAAs, which absorb UV radiation. On the basis of highly conserved noncoding sequences, I hypothesized that HGTs have occurred among members of the Symbiodiniaceae and have contributed to the diversification of Symbiodiniaceae–host relationships. Finally, I proposed that bleaching tolerance may be strengthened by multiple MAAs from both symbiotic dinoflagellates and corals.
A Sociocultural Perspective: Seeking Evidence of Development in a PACE Approach to Grammar Instruction
Authors: Davin Kristin J. , Kushki Ali
Published: October 2021

Situated within Sociocultural theory (SCT), this article analyzed an existing data set (Toth, 2021a, 2021b, 2021c, available at https://www.iris-database.org) to investigate learners’ development through participation in a dialogic approach to grammar instruction called PACE. The target of instruction was the Spanish pronominal clitic se. Microgenetic analysis of the interaction between the teacher and learners was used to track two students’ development during both small‐group work and whole‐class instruction. To analyze the process of development, evidence of obuchenie (i.e., teaching‐learning activity) that preceded changes in each learner's performance was sought. These findings were compared to the two students’ performance on a pre‐, post‐ and delayed‐intervention picture description task. Findings highlight the instances of mediation that promoted students’ metalinguistic awareness and use of se. The article concludes with a discussion of the extent to which claims of development could be made based on the provided data set and considerations of the affordances of dialogic versus deductive explanations of grammar.
Environmental conditions drive zooplankton community structure in the epipelagic oceanic water of the southern Gulf of Mexico: A molecular approach
Authors: Cicala Francesco , Arteaga María C. , Herzka Sharon Z. , Hereu Clara M. , Jimenez‐Rosenberg Sylvia P. A. , Saavedra‐Flores Anaid , Robles‐Flores Javier , Gomez Ricardo , Batta‐Lona Paola G. , Galindo‐Sánchez Clara E.
Published: October 2021

Zooplankton plays a pivotal role in sustaining the majority of marine ecosystems. The distribution patterns and diversity of zooplankton provide key information for understanding the functioning of these ecosystems. Nevertheless, due to the numerous cryptic and sibling species and the lack of diagnostic characteristics for early developmental stages, the identification of the global‐to‐local patterns of zooplankton biodiversity and biogeography remains challenging in different research fields. The spatial and temporal changes in the zooplankton community in the open waters of the southern Gulf of Mexico were assessed using metabarcoding analysis of the V9 region of 18S rRNA and mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI). Additionally, a multiscale analysis was implemented to evaluate which environmental predictors may explain the variability in the structure of the zooplankton community. Our findings suggest that the synergistic effects of dissolved oxygen concentration, temperature, and longitude (intended as a proxy for still unidentified predictors) may explain both spatial and temporal zooplankton variability even with low contribution. Furthermore, the zooplankton distribution probably reflects the coexistence of three heterogeneous ecoregions and a bio‐physical partitioning of the studied area. Finally, some taxa were either exclusive or predominant with either 18S or COI markers. This may suggest that comprehensive assessments of the zooplankton community may be more accurately met by the use of multilocus approaches.
Effects of oestrogen on vulvovaginal candidosis
Authors: He Yufei , Tang Ruoyu , Deng Jie , Cai Tongkai , He Ping , Wu Jianhua , Cao Yongbing
Published: October 2021

As a frequently occurring infectious disease mainly caused by Candida albicans, vulvovaginal candidosis (VVC) affects more than 100 million women worldwide every year. Multiple factors that influence C. albicans colonisation have been linked to the incidence of VVC, including high levels of circulating oestrogen due to pregnancy, the use of oral contraceptives, and hormone replacement therapy. This review provides an overview of the current understanding of the mechanism(s) by which oestrogen contributes to VVC, which might provide meaningful guidance to the prevention and treatment of this disease.
Simulation‐based assessment of care for an infant with cardiogenic shock in the emergency department
Authors: Alsaedi Hani , Berrens Zachary J. , Lutfi Riad , Weinstein Elizabeth , Montgomery Erin E , Pearson Kellie J. , Kirby Michelle L. , Abu‐Sultaneh Samer , Abulebda Kamal , Thammasitboon Satid
Published: October 2021

Background

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of infant deaths associated with birth defects. Neonates with undiagnosed CHD often present to general emergency departments (GEDs) for initial resuscitation that are less prepared than paediatric centres, resulting in disparities in the quality of care. Neonates with undiagnosed CHD represent a challenge; thus, it is necessary for GEDs to be prepared for this population.

Aim

To evaluate the process of resuscitative care provided to a neonate in cardiogenic shock due to CHD in the GEDs in a simulated setting and to describe the impact of teams and GED variables on the process of care.

Methods

This is a prospective simulation‐based assessment of the process of care provided to a neonate with coarctation of the aorta in cardiogenic shock. Simulation sessions were conducted at participating GEDs utilizing each GED's interdisciplinary team and resources. The primary outcome was adherence to best practice, as measured by a 15‐item overall composite adherence score (CAS). In addition, we stratified the overall CAS into CHD‐critical items and the general resuscitation items CAS. The secondary outcome was the impact of the team's and GED's characteristics on the scores.

Results

This study enrolled 32 teams from 12 GEDs. Among 161 participants, 103 (63.97%) were registered nurses, 33 (20.50%) were physicians, 17 (10.56%) were respiratory therapists, and 8 (4.97%) were other medical professionals. The overall median CAS was 84, with the CHD‐critical items having a median CAS of 34.5. The most underperformed tasks are checking pulses on the upper and lower extremities (44%), obtaining blood pressure in the upper and lower extremities (25%), and administering prostaglandin E1 (22%).

Conclusions

Using in situ simulation in a set of GEDs, we revealed gaps in the resuscitation care of neonates with CHD in cardiogenic shock.

Relevance to clinical practice

These findings highlight the importance of targeted improvement programs for high‐stakes illnesses in GED.
Species differences drive spatial scaling of foraging patterns in herbivorous reef fishes
Authors: Chow Cher F. Y. , Wassénius Emmy , Dornelas Maria , Hoey Andrew S.
Published: October 2021

Herbivory is a core ecosystem function that is delivered heterogeneously across space. Disentangling the drivers of foraging patterns is key to understanding the functional impact of herbivores. Because intrinsic drivers of foraging like metabolism, nutritional requirements and movement costs scale allometrically, foraging movement patterns in terrestrial herbivores have been shown to also scale positively with body size. However, spatial patterns of herbivory can also be explained by orthogonal factors such as trophic position, competition and functional groupings. Here, we investigate body size and species traits as drivers of the spatial scaling of foraging patterns in herbivorous coral reef fishes. We quantified foraging patterns of 119 individuals from nine common herbivorous species using focal individual surveys. Body size, species identity, feeding substrata, social grouping and functional group were tested as predictors of three foraging metrics: foraging area, inter‐foray distance and tortuosity. Our resulting model revealed that species identity overshadowed body size as a predictor in models for all foraging metrics. While foraging area was explained best by species only, the resulting tortuosity and mean inter‐foray distance models included a small effect of body size that explained within‐species variation. We do not find strong support for size‐scaling of foraging patterns in our study species. These findings indicate that foraging allometry based on Optimal foraging theory cannot be generally applied to reef fish assemblages due to a diversity of foraging strategies, such as spatial partitioning and territoriality. Our work reveals the importance of behavioural ecology and taxonomic diversity in understanding herbivory, especially given the functional differences across species. With coral reefs under threat across the world, this is an important step to disentangling the spatial delivery of a core ecosystem function.
Left bundle branch area pacing versus right ventricular pacing in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation requiring ventricular pacing
Authors: Wang Zhao , Zhu Haojie , Li Xiaofei , Yao Yan , Liu Zhimin , Fan Xiaohan
Published: October 2021

Purpose

This study aims to assess whether left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP) can result in favorable clinical and echocardiographic outcomes among patients with persistent atrial fibrillation (PeAF).

Methods

We prospectively enrolled consecutive patients with PeAF if they required ventricular pacing and had left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) > 35%. During the same period, two experienced operators performed LBBAP and right ventricular pacing (RVP). All‐cause death and heart failure hospitalization (HFH) were routinely followed after procedure. The primary outcome was the composite endpoints of all‐cause death or HFH.

Results

LBBAP was successful in 49 of 52 patients (94.2%), whereas 44 patients received RVP. During a mean follow‐up of 13.9 ± 7.0 months, LBBAP group presented with higher ventricular pacing percentage (80% vs. 50.9%, p = .04) and narrower paced QRS duration (117.2 ± 18.8 ms vs. 151.8 ± 13.7 ms, p < .001) than RVP group. The primary endpoint was slightly reduced in LBBAP group than RVP without reaching statistical significance (7.7% vs. 11.4%, p = .48). Compared with baseline, we observed significant changes in LVEF (+0.7% vs. −2.2%, p = .007) and left atrial diameter (−1.63 mm vs. +1.23 mm, p = .011) between LBBAP and RVP.

Conclusion

Our results indicate possible effect of LBBAP on reverse remodeling of left atrium and a trend towards favorable clinical outcomes in patients with PeAF requiring high burden of ventricular pacing when compared with RVP.
The Behavior of Triplet Thymine in a Model B‐DNA Strand. Energetics and Spin Density Localization Revealed by ab initio Molecular Dynamics Simulations†*
Authors: Allahkaram Laleh , Monari Antonio , Dumont Elise
Published: October 2021

Among the naturally occurring nucleobases, thymine presents the lowest triplet state, hence it represents a hotspot for energy transfer and photosensitization. In turn, the population of the triplet state may lead to thymine dimerization and hence to the production of toxic DNA lesions and has been the subject of intensive theoretical and experimental investigations. Relying on QM/MM molecular dynamics simulations, we have sought to situate the energy of the lowest triplet state of thymine embedded in a B‐DNA environment. The energy gap varies between 305 and 329 kJ mol−1 when a single thymine is treated at the quantum chemistry level, depending on its position in the model double‐stranded 16‐bp oligonucleotide. The energy of triplet state decreases up to 300 kJ mol−1, due to polarization effects, when we consider coupled stacked nucleobases up to the inclusion of four nucleobases. Our value lies in good agreement with the energy inferred experimentally by Miranda and coworkers (270 kJ mol−1), and our theoretical exploration opens the door to investigations toward other more complex and biologically relevant environments, such as thymines embedded in nucleosome core particles. Our investigations also provide a reference for further studies using semi‐empirical approaches such as density functional‐based tight‐binding, allowing to further rationalize sequence effects.
Depth Penetration of Light into Skin as a Function of Wavelength from 200 to 1000 nm
Authors: Finlayson Louise , Barnard Isla R. M. , McMillan Lewis , Ibbotson Sally H. , Brown C. Tom A. , Eadie Ewan , Wood Kenneth
Published: October 2021

An increase in the use of light‐based technology and medical devices has created a demand for informative and accessible data showing the depth that light penetrates into skin and how this varies with wavelength. These data would be particularly beneficial in many areas of medical research and would support the use and development of disease‐targeted light‐based therapies for specific skin diseases, based on increased understanding of wavelength‐dependency of cutaneous penetration effects. We have used Monte Carlo radiative transport (MCRT) to simulate light propagation through a multi‐layered skin model for the wavelength range of 200–1000 nm. We further adapted the simulation to compare the effect of direct and diffuse light sources, varying incident angles and stratum corneum thickness. The lateral spread of light in skin was also investigated. As anticipated, we found that the penetration depth of light into skin varies with wavelength in accordance with the optical properties of skin. Penetration depth of ultraviolet radiation was also increased when the stratum corneum was thinner. These observations enhance understanding of the wavelength‐dependency and characteristics of light penetration of skin, which has potential for clinical impact regarding optimizing light‐based diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for skin disease.
First record and verification of Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Acari: Acaridae) causing direct damage on anthurium plants cultivated in vitro
Authors: Murillo Pamela , Arias Julio , Aguilar Hugo
Published: October 2021

The population size at which Tyrophagus putrescentiae can produce damage on anthurium plants (Anthurium sp.), cultivated in vitro, was determined. Symptoms caused by these mites on the plants are described. Two anthurium varieties coded as ANMIRO and ANWHGE, were cultivated in a Murashige and Skoog medium for four weeks. The treatments for each variety were as follows: a) Absolute Control (AC), b) fungus inoculated in the cultured medium (CF), c) fungus on leaves + mites (FLM), d) fungus in medium + mites (FMM), and e) only mites (OM). Mite density within the vessels increased through time. Fifty-five days after the first evaluation, the highest amount of injury was observed in the treatments FLM, FMM, and OM. The observed symptoms were holes on the foliar lamina produced by the feeding of mites until complete plant deterioration. According to the prediction model, when there is an average population close to 62 mites per vessel, it would be expected to find 20% damaged. The probability of observing damage on the variety ANWHGE was 1.7 times higher than on the variety ANMIRO. Although T. putrescentiae is a known contaminant in tissue culture laboratories as it carries bacteria and fungi on its body, this is the first record of this species causing direct damage to plants cultivated in vitro.
Two Events, Two Brazils: A Critical Discourse Analysis of the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games
Authors: Gutierrez Diego Monteiro , de Almeida Marco Antonio Bettine , Gutierrez Gustavo Luis , Pedersen Zack P. , Williams Antonio S.
Published: October 2021

The current investigation uses critical discourse analysis to compare how international media entities portrayed Brazil in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. The aim of the study was to understand how the specific characteristics of each event impact the media discourse and influence the portrayal of the host country. In this sense, the research concluded that the popular appeal of the event and the historical relation of the country with the sport have a profound impact on the type of coverage. Also, historical aspects and the diversity of athletes in the Summer Olympics contributed to a coverage more focused on the social issues of the host country. In the Brazilian case, this resulted in a more positive view of the country from the FIFA World Cup than the Summer Olympics.
A Framework of Strategic Approaches to Membership Growth in Nonprofit Community Sport
Authors: Morrison Kristen A. , Misener Katie E.
Published: October 2021

Engaging in strategic planning may help leaders of community sport organizations (CSOs) to develop strategic thinking as well as build capacity to sustain and expand their programs despite environmental uncertainty. This study proposes a framework for understanding how the membership growth strategies of CSOs are shaped based on their environment. Semi-structured interviews with presidents of CSOs, alongside analysis of strategic plan documents, were used to identify strategic imperatives that CSO leaders considered when formulating their organizational strategies. These imperatives were grouped into two dimensions: organizational readiness for growth and environmental dynamism. These dimensions were then juxtaposed to create a matrix of four strategic approaches: Trailblazers, Enhancers, Maintainers, and Carers. Each approach is described in detail and implications for strategic management in community sport are discussed.
Temporal-Geographical Dispersion of SARS-CoV-2 Spike Glycoprotein Variant Lineages and Their Functional Prediction Using
in Silico
Approach
Authors: Boon Siaw Shi , Xia Chichao , Wang Maggie Haitian , Yip Ka Lai , Luk Ho Yin , Li Sile , Ng Rita W. Y. , Lai Christopher K. C. , Chan Paul Kay Sheung , Chen Zigui
Published: October 2021

Our study showed the global distribution of SARS-CoV-2 S protein variants from January 2020 to the end of April 2021. We highlighted the key amino acids of S protein subjected to positive selection.
Supplemental Material: Stratigraphy of the Eocene–Oligocene Titus Canyon Formation, Death Valley, California, and Eocene extensional tectonism in the Basin and Range
Authors: Midttun N. , al. et
Published: October 2021

Text: Additional explanation of the methods used to recalculate the Ar/Ar ages of Gutenkunst (2006), Saylor and Hodges (1994), and Saylor (1991). Figure S1: Analytical plots recalculated from 40Ar/39Ar data originally produced by Gutenkunst (2006). Figure S2: Scans of a large scale map and seven isochron plots for five samples provided by B. Saylor (personal commun., 2015). Table S1: Detrital zircon U-Pb analytical data. Table S2: Zircon (U‐Th)/He analytical data. Table S3: Analytical data for 40Ar/39Ar ages of Gutenkunst (2006).
Supplemental Material: An overview of strains in the Sevier thin-skinned thrust belt, Idaho and Wyoming, USA (latitude 42° N)
Authors: Craddock John , Malone David
Published: October 2021

Appendix S1: Summary strain spreadsheet from literature; Appendix S2: Summary strain data for Figures 2–9; Appendix S3: Appalachian calcite strain data.
Phagocytic Activity of Rat Primary Astrocytes Is Regulated by Insulin and Ganglioside GM1
Authors: Sokolova T. V. , Rychkova M. P. , Basova N. E. , Vasilev D. S. , Avrova N. F. , Yefimova M. G.
Published: October 2021

A timely and efficient removal of apoptotic cells and their
fragments is essential to maintain tissue homeostasis in normal
and pathological conditions. Since the removal of apoptotic substrates
is executed by the cells endowed with phagocytic activity, the issue
of its regulation is of particular interest. In this work, we studied
the effect of two biologically active substances, insulin and ganglioside
GM1, on phagocytic activity of rat primary astrocytes. We showed
that cell incubation with 1 µM insulin significantly decreased the
phagocytic activity of astrocytes (58.5% vs. control), whereas the
incubation with 10 µM GM1 caused an increase in phagocytic activity
(133.4% vs. control). Preincubation of brain astrocytes with GM1
completely blocked the inhibitory effect of insulin. These results
can be instrumental in developing novel therapeutic strategies for
the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases accompanied by the emergence
of apoptotic substrates.
Risks and benefits of reinduction ipilimumab/nivolumab in melanoma patients previously treated with ipilimumab/nivolumab
Authors: Chapman Paul B , Jayaprakasam Vetri Sudar , Panageas Katherine S , Callahan Margaret , Postow Michael A , Shoushtari Alexander N , Wolchok Jedd D , Betof Warner Allison
Published: October 2021

Background

In melanoma patients who progress after prior ipilimumab/nivolumab (ipi/nivo) combination immunotherapy, there is no information regarding the risks and benefits of reinduction ipi/nivo.

Methods

This was a retrospective review of 26 melanoma patients treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) since 2012 who received reinduction ipi/nivo at least 6 months following completion of an initial course of ipi/nivo. We collected data on demographics, genetics, immune-related adverse events (irAEs), best overall responses (BORs), time to treatment failure (TTF) and overall survival (OS).

Results

The BOR rate (complete response+partial response) was 74% (95% CI 52% to 90%) after the first course of ipi/nivo but only 23% (95% CI 8% to 45%)) after reinduction. Response to reinduction did not correlate with response to the initial course. Among the 16 patients who had an objective response to the first course, only four (25%) responded to reinduction. Of five patients who did not respond to the first course, one responded to reinduction. For all patients, median TTF was 5.3 months after reinduction; TTF was shorter for reinduction than for the first course in 85% of patients. Median OS from reinduction was 8.4 months; estimated 2-year OS was 18%. Although reinduction was associated with fewer irAEs than the initial course of ipi/nivo (58% of patients vs 85% of patients in the initial course), eight (31%) patients experienced at least one new irAE after the second course.

Conclusions

BOR rate and TTF were markedly less favorable after reinduction with ipi/nivo than after the initial course of ipi/nivo. Reinduction ipi/nivo was associated with frequent irAEs although less frequent than for the initial course.
Prediction of large vessel occlusion for ischaemic stroke by using the machine learning model random forests
Authors: Wang Jianan , Zhang Jungen , Gong Xiaoxian , Zhang Wenhua , Zhou Ying , Lou Min
Published: October 2021

Backgrounds

The timely identification of large vessel occlusion (LVO) in the prehospital stage is extremely important given the disease morbidity and narrow time window for intervention. The current evaluation strategies still remain challenging. The goal of this study was to develop a machine learning (ML) model to predict LVO using prehospital accessible data.

Methods

Consecutive acute ischaemic stroke patients who underwent CT or MR angiography and received reperfusion therapy within 8 hours from symptom onset in the Computer-based Online Database of Acute Stroke Patients for Stroke Management Quality Evaluation-II dataset from January 2016 to August 2021 were included. We developed eight ML models to integrate National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) items with demographics, medical history and vascular risk factors to identify LVO and validate its efficiency.

Results

Finally, 15 365 patients were included in the training set and 4215 patients were included in the test set. On the test set, random forests (RF), gradient boosting machine and extreme gradient boosting presented area under the curve (AUC) of 0.831 (95% CI 0.819 to 0.843), which were higher than other models, and RF presented the highest specificity (0.827). In addition, the AUC of RF was higher than other scales, and the accuracy of the model was improved by 6.4% compared with NIHSS. We also found the top five items of identifying LVO were total NIHSS score, gaze deviation, level of consciousness (LOC), LOC commands and motor left leg.

Conclusions

Our proposed model could be a useful screening tool to predict LVO based on the prehospital accessible medical data.

Trial registration number

NCT04487340.
Foliation of a space associated to vertex operator algebra
Authors: Zuevsky A.
Published: October 2021

In this paper, we construct the foliation of a space associated to correlation functions of vertex operator algebras, considered on Riemann surfaces. We prove that the computation of general genus [Formula: see text] correlation functions determines a foliation on the space associated to these correlation functions a sewn Riemann surface. Certain further applications of the definition are proposed.
Nilpotent (anti-)BRST and (anti-)co-BRST symmetries in 2D non-Abelian gauge theory: Some novel observations
Authors: Kumar S. , Kureel B. K. , Malik R. P.
Published: October 2021

We discuss the nilpotent Becchi–Rouet–Stora–Tyutin (BRST), anti-BRST and (anti-) co-BRST symmetry transformations and derive their corresponding conserved charges in the case of a two [Formula: see text]-dimensional (2D) self-interacting non-Abelian gauge theory (without any interaction with matter fields). We point out a set of novel features that emerge out in the BRST and co-BRST analysis of the above 2D gauge theory. The algebraic structures of the symmetry operators (and corresponding conserved charges) and their relationship with the cohomological operators of differential geometry are established too. To be more precise, we demonstrate the existence of a single Lagrangian density that respects the continuous symmetries which obey proper algebraic structure of the cohomological operators of differential geometry. In the literature, such observations have been made for the coupled (but equivalent) Lagrangian densities of the 4D non-Abelian gauge theory. We lay emphasis on the existence and properties of the Curci–Ferrari (CF)-type restrictions in the context of (anti-)BRST and (anti-)co-BRST symmetry transformations and pinpoint their key differences and similarities. All the observations, connected with the (anti-)co-BRST symmetries, are completely novel.