bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Spatio‐temporal dynamics of the threatened elkhorn coral Acropora palmata: Implications for conservation
Authors: Chen Yi‐Hsiu , Shertzer Kyle W. , Viehman T. Shay 
Published: August 2020

AbstractAimSpecies distribution models (SDMs) can be useful for predicting spatial dynamics. For species vulnerable to climate change, much attention has focused on predicting the future range of occurrence. However, predicted range changes provide little information about the potential impacts on population structure. Here, we develop and apply an SDM approach that incorporates population demography of a threatened coral species (U.S. Endangered Species Act) and aim to provide guidance for conservation efforts. We additionally use projected climate change scenarios to predict the potential future range of occurrence and spatial population structure.LocationU.S. Virgin Islands, United States.MethodsWe applied process‐based dynamic range models to jointly model the spatio‐temporal population dynamics and spatial habitat suitability of the threatened elkhorn coral Acropora palmata in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The approach integrates information from multiple data sources under a hierarchical Bayesian framework. The models connect two components: (1) a niche model that correlates environmental predictors with demographic rates and (2) a size‐structured population model that describes local population dynamics and dispersal.ResultsThe model predicts that, under scenarios of elevated sea surface temperature and significant wave height, (a) A. palmata will occur at only a small proportion of its potential habitat (water depth ≤ 20 m) and (b) population structure of the colony will shift from larger towards smaller size classes.Main conclusionsFor A. palmata, restricted geographic range and smaller colony sizes, as predicted by the models, would limit future population success. In general, the inclusion of demographic structure into a population range model provides critical information for conservation or restoration efforts in the context of climate change.
Age‐ and sex‐based differences in patients with acute pericarditis
Authors: Lazaros George , Antonopoulos Alexios S. , Lazarou Emilia , Vlachopoulos Charalambos , Vogiatzi Georgia , Vassilopoulos Dimitrios , Tousoulis Dimitris 
Published: August 2020

AbstractBackgroundAcute pericarditis has a wide spectrum of clinical presentations largely depending on underlying aetiologies. We assessed the role of age and sex in the clinical features and outcome of acute pericarditis.Materials and methodsA total of 240 consecutive patients hospitalized with a first episode of acute pericarditis were included. At baseline demographics, clinical features, laboratory and imaging findings and medical therapy were recorded. Patients were followed up for at least 18 months for complications. Data comparisons were performed according to sex and age (≤60 or >60 years).ResultsThe male/female ratio was 1.42, and 56% of patients were >60 years. Younger patients depicted more often chest pain (P = .001), fever and rubs (P < .001 for both), ST elevation and PR depression (P = .032 and .009, respectively), higher CRP values (P = .009) and less often dyspnoea (P = .046) and pericardial effusion (P = .036). Moreover, they received less often glucocorticoids (P < .001) and depicted less atrial fibrillation (P = .003) and a higher rate of recurrent pericarditis (P = .013). After multivariate adjustment for confounders, age >60 years remained an independent predictor for a lower risk of recurrent pericarditis (hazard ratio 0.60, 95% CI: 0.39‐0.96, P = .033). Regarding sex, females were older (P = .007), showed less often ST elevation and PR depression (P < .001 and .002, respectively) and had a higher baseline heart rate (P = .02). Sex was not associated with recurrent pericarditis risk.ConclusionsPatients with acute pericarditis have distinct presenting clinical, biochemical and prognostic features according to age and sex. Awareness of such differences is important for clinical decision‐making.
TMS over the posterior cerebellum modulates motor cortical excitability in response to facial emotional expressions
Authors: Ferrari Chiara , Fiori Francesca , Suchan Boris , Plow Ela B. , Cattaneo Zaira 
Published: August 2020

AbstractEvidence suggests that the posterior cerebellum is involved in emotional processing. Specific mechanisms by which the cerebellum contributes to the perception of and reaction to the emotional state of others are not well‐known. It is likely that perceived emotions trigger anticipatory/preparatory motor changes. However, the extent to which the cerebellum modulates the activity of the motor cortex to contribute to emotional processing has not been directly investigated. In this study, we assessed whether the activity of the posterior cerebellum influences the modulation of motor cortical excitability in response to emotional stimuli. To this end, we transiently disrupted the neural activity of the left posterior cerebellum using 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and examined its effect on motor cortical excitability witnessed during emotional face processing (in comparison to the effects of sham rTMS). Motor excitability was measured as TMS‐based motor evoked potentials (MEPs) recorded from bilateral first dorsal interosseous (FDI) muscles during the viewing of negative emotional (i.e. fearful) and neutral facial expressions. In line with previous evidence, we found that MEP amplitude was increased during the viewing of fearful compared to neutral faces. Critically, when left posterior cerebellar activity was transiently inhibited with 1 Hz rTMS, we observed a reduction in amplitude of MEPs recorded from the contralateral (right) motor cortex during the viewing of emotional (but not neutral) faces. In turn, inhibition of the left posterior cerebellum did not affect the amplitude of MEPs recorded from the ipsilateral motor cortex. Our findings suggest that the posterolateral (left) cerebellum modulates motor cortical response to negative emotional stimuli and may serve as an interface between limbic, cognitive, and motor systems.
When Should I Use a Measure to Support Instructional Improvement at Scale? The Importance of Considering Both Intended and Actual Use in Validity Arguments
Authors: Ing Marsha , Chinen Starlie , Jackson Kara , Smith Thomas M. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractDespite the ease of accessing a wide range of measures, little attention is given to validity arguments when considering whether to use the measure for a new purpose or in a different context. Making a validity argument has historically focused on the intended interpretation and use. There has been a press to consider both the intended and actual interpretations and how users make sense of the data when constructing validity arguments, but the practice is not widespread. This paper contributes to existing research on validity by highlighting the value of attending to the actual interpretation and use of a measure aimed at supporting instructional improvement in mathematics. We describe the use of the same measure across two contexts to highlight the importance of attending to characteristics of both users and the contexts in which the measures are used when assessing the validity of inferences for the purpose of instructional improvement efforts.
Relationships and influence of yield components on spaced‐plant and sward seed yield in perennial ryegrass
Authors: Heineck Garett C. , Ehlke Nancy J. , Altendorf Kayla R. , Denison R. Ford , Jungers Jacob M. , Lamb Eric G. , Watkins Eric 
Published: August 2020

AbstractAdequate seed production is essential for cultivar success in perennial ryegrass turf and forage industries, but improvement is limited by the complexity of yield components and low‐rank correlations between selection and production environments. This study examined seed yield components among 20 perennial ryegrass entries in both spaced plantings (selection environment) and swards (production environment) at two locations in Minnesota. Competitive (23 plants/m2) and non‐competitive (3 plants/m2) spaced‐plant nurseries were tested. Competitive spaced‐plant total yield was highly correlated with sward yield (rs = 0.64 and 0.66, p < 0.01) at both locations, whereas the non‐competitive environment showed no correlation. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to explore the indirect and direct relationship of fall vegetative growth, winterkill, and yield components on total seed yield in all environments. Fertile tiller number (spikes plant−1/m−2) exhibited both strong direct and indirect influence on total seed yield in all environments. However, the importance of fertile tiller number in the SEM was reduced with increased plant competition. The SEM showed that both weight per spike and seed yield per spike influenced total yield in spaced plants; however, neither consistently predicted total sward yield. The ratio of these two traits (g seed spike−1/g spike−1) gave an index of fertility that was easy to measure and had a superior correlation with sward yield at two locations (rs = 0.81 and 0.54, p < 0.05) when spaced plants were under competition. Results suggest that increasing competition in spaced plantings and selecting for spike fertility may more accurately identify superior plant material compared to lower competition environments.
Predicting the distributions of regional endemic dragonflies using a combined model approach
Authors: Boys Wade A. , Siepielski Adam M. , Smith Brenda D. , Patten Michael A. , Bried Jason T. 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Climate warming is predicted to have large effects on insects, yet several data shortfalls, including distributional information, impede effective conservation strategies.
Knowledge of species distributions is a critical component for assessing conservation need but is often lacking for endemic or rare taxa, especially invertebrates.
One approach to better inform this gap is by using species distribution modelling (SDM) to predict suitable habitat and guide field surveys.
Here, we combine the predictions of two machine learning algorithms, maximum entropy and Random Forest, to estimate the current and future distributions of two endemic dragonflies of the Ozark‐Ouachita Interior Highlands region in the southcentral United States.
Current suitable areas predicted by both algorithms largely overlapped for each species, but different environmental variables were most important for predicting their distributions. Field validation of these models resulted in new detections for both species showing their utility in guiding subsequent field surveys.
Future projections under two climate change scenarios support maintaining current suitable areas as these are predicted to be strongholds for these species. Our results suggest that combining outputs of multiple species distribution models is a useful tool for better informing the distributions of geographically limited or rare species.
Dihydrotanshinone I inhibits ovarian cancer cell proliferation and migration by transcriptional repression of PIK3CA gene
Authors: Wang Xiaoqing , Xu Xiao , Jiang Guoqiang , Zhang Cuili , Liu Likun , Kang Jian , Wang Jing , Owusu Lawrence , Zhou Liye , Zhang Lin , Li Weiling 
Published: August 2020

AbstractDihydrotanshinone I (DHTS), extracted from Salvia miltiorrhiza, was found to be the most effective compound of tanshen extracts against cancer cells in our previous studies. However, the therapeutic benefits and underlying mechanisms of DHTS on ovarian cancer remain uncertain. In this study, we demonstrated the cytocidal effects of DHTS on chemosensitive ovarian cancer cells with or without platinum‐based chemotherapy. DHTS was able to inhibit proliferation and migration of ovarian cancer cells in vitro and in vivo through modulation of the PI3K/AKT signalling pathways. Combinatorial treatment of DHTS and cisplatin exhibited enhanced DNA damage in ovarian cancer cells. Overall, these findings suggest that DHTS induces ovarian cancer cells death via induction of DNA damage and inhibits ovarian cancer cell proliferation and migration.
Long non‐coding RNA CASC7 is associated with the pathogenesis of heart failure via modulating the expression of miR‐30c
Authors: Xu Yu‐li , Liu Yang , Cai Ru‐ping , He Shi‐rong , Dai Ri‐xin , Yang Xi‐heng , Kong Bing‐hui , Qin Zhen‐bai , Su Qiang 
Published: August 2020

AbstractMiRNAs can be used as promising diagnostic biomarkers of heart failure, while lncRNAs act as competing endogenous RNAs of miRNAs. In this study, we collected peripheral blood monocytes from subjects with or without HF to explore the association between certain lncRNAs, miRNAs and HF. Heart failure patients with preserved or reduced ejection fraction were recruited for investigation. ROC analysis was carried out to evaluate the diagnostic values of certain miRNAs and lncRNAs in HF. Luciferase assays were used to study the regulatory relationship between above miRNAs and lncRNAs. LncRNA overexpression was used to explore the effect of certain miRNAs in H9C2 cells. Expression of miR‐30c was significantly decreased in the plasma and peripheral blood monocytes of patients suffering from heart failure, especially in these with reduced ejection fraction. On the contrary, the expression of lncRNA‐CASC7 was remarkably increased in the plasma and peripheral blood monocytes of patients suffering from heart failure. Both miR‐30c and lncRNA‐CASC7 expression showed a promising efficiency as diagnostic biomarkers of heart failure. Luciferase assays indicated that miR‐30c played an inhibitory role in lncRNA‐CASC7 and IL‐11 mRNA expression. Moreover, the overexpression of lncRNA‐CASC7 suppressed the expression of miR‐30c while evidently increasing the expression of IL‐11 mRNA and protein in H9C2 cells. This study clarified the relationship among miR‐30c, lncRNA‐CASC7 and IL‐11 expression and the risk of heart failure and showed that lncRNA‐CASC7 is potentially involved in the pathogenesis of HF via modulating the expression of miR‐30c.
Characterization of a non‐coding RNA‐associated ceRNA network in metastatic lung adenocarcinoma
Authors: Fan Feifei , Ping Yu , Yang Li , Duan Xiaoran , Resegofetse Maimela Nomathamsanqa , Li Bingjie , Li Xiangnan , Chen Jing , Zhang Kai , Wang Liping , Liu Shasha , Zhao Xuan , Wang Hongmin , Zhang Yi 
Published: August 2020

AbstractLung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a highly malignant cancer. Although competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA)‐based profiling has been investigated in patients with LUAD, it has not been specifically used to study metastasis in LUAD. We found 130 differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs, 32 DE miRNAs and 981 DE mRNAs from patients with LUAD in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. We analysed the functions and pathways of 981 DE mRNAs using the Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases. Based on the target DE mRNAs and DE lncRNAs of DE miRNAs, we established an lncRNA‐miRNA‐mRNA ceRNA network, comprising 37 DE lncRNAs, 22 DE miRNAs and 212 DE mRNAs. Subsequently, we constructed a protein‐protein interaction network of DE mRNAs in the ceRNA network. Among all, DE RNAs, 5 DE lncRNAs, 5 DE miRNAs and 45 DE mRNAs were confirmed found to be associated with clinical prognosis. Moreover, 3 DE lncRNAs, 4 DE miRNAs and 9 DE mRNAs in the ceRNA network were associated with clinical prognosis. We further screened 3 DE lncRNAs, 3 DE miRNAs and 3 DE mRNAs using clinical samples. These DE lncRNAs, DE miRNAs and DE mRNAs in ceRNA network may serve as independent biomarkers of LUAD metastasis.
Chronic stress, executive functioning, and real‐life self‐control: An experience sampling study
Authors: Wolff Max , Enge Sören , Kräplin Anja , Krönke Klaus‐Martin , Bühringer Gerhard , Smolka Michael N. , Goschke Thomas 
Published: August 2020

AbstractObjectiveTo test the hypothesis that chronic stress impairs the use of cognitive control for self‐control, we examined how chronic stress affects the relation between individual differences in general executive functioning (GEF) and self‐control in real‐life situations.MethodAbout 338 young adults with varying degrees of chronic stress underwent experience sampling of real‐life self‐control for 7 days and completed a battery of nine executive function tasks from which a latent variable representing individual differences in GEF was derived.ResultsStructural equation models showed that higher levels of chronic stress were associated with stronger desires and a less negative relationship between GEF and desire strength. Chronic stress and GEF did not predict desire enactment in situations where effortful resistance was attempted.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that chronic stress may impair self‐control by reducing the use of cognitive control for “early” desire regulation strategies while leaving “late” resistance strategies unaffected. That relationships between executive functioning and real‐life self‐control can be moderated by third factors such as chronic stress may to some extent explain the common finding of weak or missing associations between laboratory measures of executive functioning and real‐life self‐control.
Nocturnal eye movements in patients with idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behaviour disorder and patients with Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Christensen Julie A. E. , Cesari Matteo , Pizza Fabio , Antelmi Elena , Frandsen Rune Asger Vestergaard , Plazzi Giuseppe , Jennum Poul 
Published: August 2020

AbstractPatients with idiopathic rapid‐eye‐movement (REM) sleep behaviour disorder (iRBD) have a high risk of converting into manifest α‐synucleinopathies. Eye movements (EMs) are controlled by neurons in the lower brainstem, midbrain and frontal areas, and may be affected by the early neurodegenerative process seen in iRBD. Studies have reported impairment of the oculomotor function in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) during wakefulness, but no studies have investigated EMs during sleep. We aimed to evaluate nocturnal EMs in iRBD and PD, hypothesizing that these patients present abnormal EM distribution during sleep. Twenty‐eight patients with periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), 24 iRBD, 23 PD without RBD (PDwoRBD), 29 PD and RBD (PDwRBD) and 24 controls were included. A validated EM detector automatically identified EM periods between lights off and on. The EM coverage was computed as the percentage of time containing EMs during stable wake after lights off, N1, N2, N3 and REM sleep. Between‐group comparisons revealed that PDwRBD had significantly less EM coverage during wake and significantly higher EM coverage during N2 compared to controls and PLMD patients. PDwoRBD showed significantly less EM coverage during wake compared to controls and higher EM coverage during N2 compared to controls and PLMD. Finally, iRBD showed less coverage of EM during wake compared to controls. The same trend was observed between iRBD and controls in N2 but was not significant. The different profiles of EM coverage in iRBD and PD with/without RBD may mirror different stages of central nervous system involvement across neurodegenerative disease progression.
What can electrophysiology tell us about the cognitive processing of scalar implicatures?
Authors: Politzer‐Ahles Stephen 
Published: August 2020

AbstractOne of the most widely studied phenomena in neuropragmatics—the study of how the brain derives context‐ and speaker‐based aspects of meaning—isscalar implicature. A scalar implicature is the interpretation of a proposition likeSome of the students failedas meaning that a stronger proposition (All of the students failed) is not true. While scalar implicatures have been a significant object of study for decades, in recent years there has been an explosion of experiments investigating them using neuroscientific methods, particularly electroencephalography. Much of this research aims to identify neural substrates of comprehending scalar implicatures. Here, I review the extant findings and argue that the most of these studies have not directly observed neural correlates of scalar implicatures; rather, they have mostly observed downstream and/or domain‐general processes that happen to be related to implicatures, but not uniquely so. I argue that an instrumental approach to neuroscience—one that treats brain components not as objects of research in of themselves, but as tools for learning about pragmatics—would be a valuable addition to this emerging field.
Modelling technical and biological biases in macroinvertebrate community assessment from bulk preservative using multiple metabarcoding markers
Authors: Martins Filipa M. S. , Porto Miguel , Feio Maria J. , Egeter Bastian , Bonin Aurélie , Serra Sónia R. Q. , Taberlet Pierre , Beja Pedro 
Published: August 2020

AbstractDNA metabarcoding from the ethanol used to store macroinvertebrate bulk samples is a convenient methodological option in molecular biodiversity assessment and biomonitoring of aquatic ecosystems, as it preserves specimens and reduces problems associated with sample sorting. However, this method may be affected by errors and biases, which need to be thoroughly quantified before it can be mainstreamed into biomonitoring programmes. Here, we used 80 unsorted macroinvertebrate samples collected in Portugal under a Water Framework Directive monitoring programme, to compare community diversity and taxonomic composition metrics estimated through morphotaxonomy versus metabarcoding from storage ethanol using three markers (COI‐M19BR2, 16S‐Inse01 and 18S‐Euka02) and a multimarker approach. A preliminary in silico analysis showed that the three markers were adequate for the target taxa, with detection failures related primarily to the lack of adequate barcodes in public databases. Metabarcoding of ethanol samples retrieved far less taxa per site (alpha diversity) than morphotaxonomy, albeit with smaller differences for COI‐M19BR2 and the multimarker approach, while estimates of taxa turnover (beta diversity) among sites were similar across methods. Using generalized linear mixed models, we found that after controlling for differences in read coverage across samples, the probability of detection of a taxon was positively related to its proportional abundance, and negatively so to the presence of heavily sclerotized exoskeleton (e.g., Coleoptera). Overall, using our experimental protocol with different template dilutions, the COI marker showed the best performance, but we recommend the use of a multimarker approach to detect a wider range of taxa in freshwater macroinvertebrate samples. Further methodological development and optimization efforts are needed to reduce biases associated with body armouring and rarity in some macroinvertebrate taxa.