bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Heparin MicroIslands to Promote Enhanced Diabetic Wound Healing Outcomes
Authors: Pruett Lauren , Jenkins Christian , Singh Neharika , Catallo Katarina , Griffin Donald 
Published: November 2020

AbstractA powerful tool to improve tissue integration with biomaterial scaffolds for the regeneration of damaged tissues is to promote cell migration using chemotactic gradients of growth factors. This approach has been realized by the exogenous delivery of growth factors, which unfortunately also limits the scaffold’s ability to meet each wound’s unique spatial and temporal regenerative needs. To address this limitation, we present a new approach to gradient generation by incorporating heparin microislands, which are spatially isolated heparin-containing microparticles that create chemotactic microgradients through reorganization of endogenous local growth factors. We incorporated heparin microislands within microporous annealed particle (MAP) scaffolds, which allows us to tune their incorporation ratiometrically to create a heterogenous microenvironment. In this manuscript, we demonstrate the ability of heparin microislands to organize uniform growth factors into spontaneous microgradients and control downstream cell migrationin vitro. Further, we present their ability to significantly improve wound healing outcomes (epidermal regeneration and vascularization) in a diabetic wound model relative to two clinically relevant controls.
Impaired light adaptation of ON-sustained ganglion cells in early diabetes is attributable to diminished dopamine D4 receptor sensitivity
Authors: Flood Michael D. , Wellington Andrea J. , Eggers Erika D. 
Published: November 2020

AbstractPurpose: It has been known for some time that normal retinal signaling is disrupted early on in diabetes, before the onset of the vascular pathologies associated with diabetic retinopathy. There is growing evidence that levels of retinal dopamine, a neuromodulator that mediates light adaptation, may also be reduced in early diabetes. Previously, we have shown that after six weeks of diabetes in a mouse model, light adaptation is impaired at the level of ON-sustained (ON-s) ganglion cells. The purpose of this study was to determine whether changes in dopamine receptor sensitivity contribute to this dysfunction. Here we used single cell retinal patch-clamp recordings from the mouse retina to determine how activating dopamine type D4 receptors (D4Rs) changes the light-evoked and spontaneous excitatory inputs to ON-s ganglion cells, in both control and diabetic animals. We also used in-situ fluorescent hybridization to assess whether D4R expression was impacted by diabetes. We found that D4R activation had a smaller impact on light-evoked excitatory inputs to ON-s ganglion cells in diabetic retinas compared to controls. This impaired D4R signaling is not attributable to a decline in D4R expression, as we found increased D4R mRNA density in the outer plexiform layer in diabetic retinas. This suggests that the cellular machinery of dopaminergic signaling is itself disrupted in early diabetes and may be amenable to chronic dopamine supplementation therapy.
The genetic and ecological landscape of plasmids in the human gut
Authors: Yu Michael K. , Fogarty Emily C. , Eren A. Murat 
Published: November 2020

AbstractDespite their prevalence and impact on microbial lifestyles, ecological and evolutionary insights into naturally occurring plasmids are far from complete. Here we developed a machine learning model, PlasX, which identified 68,350 non-redundant plasmids across human gut metagenomes, and we organized them into 1,169 evolutionarily cohesive ‘plasmid systems’ using our sequence containment-aware network partitioning algorithm, MobMess. Similar to microbial taxa, individuals from the same country tend to cluster together based on their plasmid diversity. However, we found no correlation between plasmid diversity and bacterial taxonomy. Individual plasmids were often country-specific, yet most plasmid systems spanned across geographically distinct human populations, revealing cargo genes that likely respond to environmental selection. Our study introduces powerful tools to recognize and organize plasmids, uncovers their tremendous diversity and intricate ecological and evolutionary patterns in naturally occurring habitats, and demonstrates that plasmids represent a dimension of ecosystems that is not explained by microbial taxonomy alone.
Entrepreneurship education intention and entrepreneurial intention amongst disadvantaged students: an empirical study
Authors: Shrivastava Umesh , Acharya Satya Ranjan 
Published: November 2020

PurposeDisadvantaged students face social exclusion and undergo a different treatment than mainstream students. This alters their entrepreneurial intention subsequently. This study aims to investigate the factors affecting disadvantaged students’ intention in their willingness to undergo entrepreneurship education as a vocational course. The variables include self-efficacy, need for achievement (nAch) and family background. The paper further examines whether entrepreneurship education intention enhances their entrepreneurial intention.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a deductive quantitative study as the chosen approach as it ensures complete anonymity and hence researcher bias is minimized. The sample consists of the third year, final year and postgraduate first year disadvantaged students from different streams of engineering, economics, arts and commerce. The study was conducted with a total of 319 students completing the questionnaire which used a five-point Likert scale.FindingsUsing the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the results show that willingness of disadvantaged students to study entrepreneurship as a vocational course is highly driven by their family background followed by self-efficacy and nAch. The results further strengthen the TPB and has implications for educators of entrepreneurship and a possibility of a widening of entrepreneurship education in disadvantaged community.Research limitations/implicationsThe study measured attitudes and willingness with intentions, but not actual behavior as this was a cross-sectional study. Also, repeated observations could not be made and dynamics of change could not be captured.Originality/valueThis is one of the few studies focused on entrepreneurial intention of students who are socially excluded and therefore it offers a possibility of widening of entrepreneurship education in countries such as India which display a collectivist culture and provides an intention-based linkage to entrepreneurship education among disadvantaged students. This study also puts subjective norm as a strong predictor of intentions which previous studies have refuted. The findings also suggest that there is a strong intent to study entrepreneurship among disadvantaged students in India, which makes entrepreneurship education a seemingly acceptable choice of education and suggests promise for its wider reach and penetration.
The effects of Tier-1 capital to risk management and profitability on performance using multiple fixed effect panel data model
Authors: Rangkuti Zulkifli 
Published: November 2020

Purpose
This paper aims to examine the effects of Tier-1 capital toward risk management and profitability on the performance of Indonesian Commercial Banks.

Design/methodology/approach
The research population consisted of all commercial banks listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange. The data were in the form of financial statements of commercial banks for the periods of 2012 to 2016 with a total of 42 companies (bank). From a total of 42 commercial banks listed in the Indonesia Stock Exchange, not all of them met the criteria. Commercial banks that meet these criteria are as many as 28 banks are sampled research.

Findings
Tier-1 capital has a positive direct effect on risk management, Tier-1 capital has a positive indirect effect on profitability with risk management as a mediation variable, risk management has a positive direct effect on profitability, Tier-1 capital has a positive indirect effect on performance with risk management and profitability as mediation variables, risk management has a positive indirect effect on performance with as mediation variable and profitability has a positive impact on performance.

Originality/value
The originality of this research can be seen from the causal relationship between the effects of Tier-1 capital, risk management and profitability on the performance of commercial banks in the context of stock performance among Indonesia commercial banks. Also, the analysis tools using multiple fixed effect panel data models in this research as a novelty in this research. In addition, previous research findings remain inconsistent with one another. By conducting this research, it is expected that more consistent research findings than the previous ones can be generated. Sluggish global economic conditions, which result in declined bank performance are an interesting topic to investigate. The paper uses an original sample, 28 Indonesian banks in 2012-2016. Also, it links Tier 1 capital with risk management and performance in a novel theoretical framework.
An environmental approach to police misconduct: exploring situational prevention possibilities to understanding and preventing police misconduct
Authors: Hine Kelly Amy , Porter Louise E. , Ransley Janet 
Published: November 2020

PurposeThis paper explores the applicability of environmental theories to understanding patterns of police misconduct. In turn, it aims to offer a method for identifying prevention techniques that can be practically applied by policing agencies.Design/methodology/approachThe study empirically examined 84 substantiated matters of police misconduct in Queensland, Australia. The matters were content-analysed for elements of the first level of the crime triangle. These elements were then analysed to identify their relationships with the situational precipitators that initiated the misconduct; proactive misconduct and situational misconduct.FindingsThe two types of initiating misconduct had differing relationships with the crime triangle elements. Therefore, specific prevention techniques can be tailored by policing agencies to address and prevent each type of misconduct more successfully. The paper discusses these findings in terms of preventative measures according to the second preventative level of the crime triangle and situational crime prevention techniques.Originality/valueThis paper provides an alternative approach to understanding and preventing police misconduct by exploring the applicability of environmental theories. It finds that environmental theories offer a feasible approach for policing agencies to understand and tailor prevention of police misconduct in their jurisdictions.
Increased acclimation ability accompanies a thermal niche shift of a recent invasion
Authors: Bujan Jelena , Charavel Ellouène , Bates Olivia K. , Gippet Jérôme M. W. , Darras Hugo , Lebas Claude , Bertelsmeier Cleo 
Published: November 2020

Abstract

Globalization is removing dispersal barriers for the establishment of invasive species and enabling their spread to novel climates. New thermal environments in the invaded range will be particularly challenging for ectotherms, as their metabolism directly depends on environmental temperature. However, we know little about the role climatic niche shifts play in the invasion process, and the underlining physiological mechanisms.

We tested if a thermal niche shift accompanies an invasion, and if native and introduced populations differ in their ability to acclimate thermal limits.

We used an alien ant species—Tapinoma magnum—which recently started to spread across Europe. Using occurrence data and accompanying climatic variables, we measured the amount of overlap between thermal niches in the native and invaded range. We then experimentally tested the acclimation ability in native and introduced populations by incubating T. magnum at 18, 25 and 30°C. We measured upper and lower critical thermal limits after 7 and 21 days.

We found that T. magnum occupies a distinct thermal niche in its introduced range, which is on average 3.5°C colder than its native range. Critical thermal minimum did not differ between populations from the two ranges when colonies were maintained at 25 or 30°C, but did differ after colony acclimation at a lower temperature. We found twofold greater acclimation ability of introduced populations to lower temperatures, after prolonged incubation at 18°C.

Increased acclimation ability of lower thermal limits could explain the expansion of the realized thermal niche in the invaded range, and likely contributed to the spread of this species to cooler climates. Such thermal plasticity could be an important, yet so far understudied, factor underlying the expansion of invasive insects into novel climates.
Manipulating plant community composition to steer efficient N‐cycling in intensively managed grasslands
Authors: Abalos Diego , De Deyn Gerlinde B. , Philippot Laurent , Oram Natalie J. , Oudová Barbora , Pantelis Ioannis , Clark Callum , Fiorini Andrea , Bru David , Mariscal‐Sancho Ignacio , van Groenigen Jan Willem 
Published: November 2020

Abstract

Minimizing nitrogen (N) losses and increasing plant N uptake in agroecosystems is a major global challenge. Ecological concepts from (semi)natural grasslands suggest that manipulating plant community composition using plant species with different traits may represent a promising opportunity to face this challenge. Here, we translate these trait‐based concepts to agricultural systems in a field experiment, aiming to reveal the main determinants of how plant community composition regulates N‐cycling in intensively managed grasslands.

We focused on key N pools (plant N from soil and from biological N‐fixation, soil mineral N and N2O emissions) as well as on biological drivers of N‐cycling in soil (abundance of N‐cycling microbial communities, earthworm populations and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi), using three common grass and one legume species in monoculture, two‐ and four‐species mixtures. We hypothesized that: (a) plant species mixtures increase plant N uptake, reduce soil mineral N concentrations and N2O emissions and promote the abundance of biological N‐cyclers; (b) legume presence stimulates N pools, fluxes and biological N‐cycling activity, (c) but in combination with a grass with acquisitive traits, more N is retained in the plant community, while N2O emissions are reduced.

We found that mixtures increased plant N and lowered the soil mineral N pool compared to monocultures. However, plant species identity played an overarching role: Legume presence increased N2O emissions, plant N pools, soil mineral N and the abundance of N‐cycling microbes and earthworms. Combining the legume with a grass with low leaf dry matter content and high root length density (and with high root biomass) reduced the higher soil mineral N and N2O emissions induced by the legume, while harnessing positive effects on plant N pools and biological N‐fixation.

Synthesis and applications. Our results show the potential of plant community composition to steer N‐cycling in fertilized agroecosystems, paving the way for a more biologically based agriculture. Legumes will play a crucial role, but selecting an optimum companion species is key for the sustainability of the agroecosystem.
An integrated population model for estimating the relative effects of natural and anthropogenic factors on a threatened population of steelhead trout
Authors: Scheuerell Mark D. , Ruff Casey P. , Anderson Joseph H. , Beamer Eric M. 
Published: November 2020

Abstract

Assessing the degree to which at‐risk species are regulated by density‐dependent versus density‐independent factors is often complicated by incomplete or biased information. If not addressed in an appropriate manner, errors in the data can affect estimates of population demographics, which may obfuscate the anticipated response of the population to a specific action.

We developed a Bayesian integrated population model that accounts explicitly for interannual variability in the number of reproducing adults and their age structure, harvest and environmental conditions. We apply the model to 41 years of data for a population of threatened steelhead trout Oncorhynchus mykiss using freshwater flows, ocean indices and releases of hatchery‐born conspecifics as covariates.

We found compelling evidence that the population is under density‐dependent regulation, despite being well below its historical population size. In the freshwater portion of the lifecycle, we found a negative relationship between productivity (offspring per parent) and peak winter flows, and a positive relationship with summer flows. We also found a negative relationship between productivity and releases of hatchery conspecifics. In the marine portion of the lifecycle, we found a positive correlation between productivity and the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation.

Synthesis and applications. The evidence for density‐dependent population regulation, combined with the substantial loss of juvenile rearing habitat in this river basin, suggests that habitat restoration could benefit this population of at‐risk steelhead. Our results also imply that hatchery programmes for steelhead need to be considered carefully with respect to habitat availability and recovery goals for wild steelhead. If releases of hatchery steelhead have indeed limited the production potential of wild steelhead, there are likely significant trade‐offs between providing harvest opportunities via hatchery steelhead production and achieving wild steelhead recovery goals. Furthermore, harvest rates on wild fish have been sufficiently low to ensure very little risk of overfishing.
The value of time‐series data for conservation planning
Authors: García‐Barón Isabel , Giakoumi Sylvaine , Santos María Begoña , Granado Igor , Louzao Maite 
Published: November 2020

Abstract

Protected areas (PAs) are increasingly being used world‐wide for the conservation and management of wildlife. Systematic conservation planning (SCP) aims at ensuring biodiversity persistence while minimizing the threats faced by the species and/or the economic costs related to protection. To account for spatio‐temporal interactions between species and human threats, conservation planning for mobile wildlife requires time‐series data derived from monitoring of species and human threats, a process that is costly and technically challenging. Therefore, assessments of the monitoring period needed to ensure sufficient data input in the design of efficient, adequate and representative networks of PAs are crucial.

We demonstrated the value of time‐series data in conservation planning by implementing SCP and data from different monitoring periods to identify priority conservation areas for highly mobile marine megafauna accounting for their main threat: commercial fishing. Two analyses of 10 reserve‐design scenarios each, replicated as many times as the data composing each scenario permitted were run in Marxan. The best solutions of the planning scenarios were statistically compared using the Cohen's Kappa test. We also assessed differences in spatial similarity among and within scenarios using the Wilcoxon nonparametric test and a non‐metric multidimensional scaling analysis. Finally, we compared the necessary cost and the area selected for each scenario.

Our study highlights the importance of time‐series ecological and socioeconomic data for the robust selection of priority conservation areas. The results revealed different thresholds of the minimum temporal data required to design efficient networks of PAs for highly mobile species, demonstrating that the incorporation of data covering longer periods to the scenarios produce a more robust selection of priority conservation areas. Conservation plans using data covering <3 years were missing important priority areas.

Synthesis and applications. We provide a method for estimating the minimum number of years of monitoring required to design efficient networks of protected areas that ensure the persistence of highly mobile species such as cetaceans and seabirds. This method can be used within an adaptive management framework to evaluate whether a network of protected areas performs as planned, and to test whether management strategies should be altered or adjusted in response to local and global changes.
Trade‐offs in above‐ and below‐ground biomass allocation influencing seedling growth in a tropical forest
Authors: Umaña María Natalia , Cao Min , Lin Luxiang , Swenson Nathan G. , Zhang Caicai 
Published: November 2020

Abstract

Plants allocate biomass to different organs in response to resource variation for maximizing performance, yet we lack a framework that adequately integrates plant responses to the simultaneous variation in above‐ and below‐ground resources. Although traditionally, the optimal partition theory (OPT) has explained patterns of biomass allocation in response to a single limiting resource, it is well‐known that in natural communities multiple resources limit growth. We study trade‐offs involved in plant biomass allocation patterns and their effects on plant growth under variable below‐ and above‐ground resources—light, soil N and P—for seedling communities.

We collected information on leaf, stem and root mass fractions for more than 1,900 seedlings of 97 species paired with growth data and local‐scale variation in abiotic resources from a tropical forest in China.

We identified two trade‐off axes that define the mass allocation strategies for seedlings—allocation to photosynthetic versus non‐photosynthetic tissues and allocation to roots over stems—that responded to the variation in soil P and N and light. Yet, the allocation patterns did not always follow predictions of OPT in which plants should allocate biomass to the organ that acquires the most limiting resource. Limited soil N resulted in high allocation to leaves at the expense of non‐photosynthetic tissues, while the opposite trend was found in response to limited soil P. Also, co‐limitation in above‐ and below‐ground resources (light and soil P) led to mass allocation to stems at the expense of roots. Finally, we found that growth increased under high‐light availability and soil P for seedlings that invested more in photosynthetic over non‐photosynthetic tissues or/and that allocated mass to roots at the expense of stem.

Synthesis. Biomass allocation patterns to above‐ and below‐ground tissues are described by two independent trade‐offs that allow plants to have divergent allocation strategies (e.g. high root allocation at the expense of stem or high leaf allocation at the expense of allocation to non‐photosynthetic tissues) and enhance growth under different limiting resources. Identifying the trade‐offs driving biomass allocation is important to disentangle plant responses to the simultaneous variation in resources in diverse forest communities.