bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
CRISPR/Cas9 engineering of albino cystinuria Type A mice
Authors: Beckermann Thomas M. , Welch Richard C. , Williams Felisha M. , Mortlock Douglas P. , Sha Feng , Ikizler Talat A. , Woodard Lauren E. , Wilson Matthew H. 
Published: February 2020

SummaryCystinuria Type A is a relatively common genetic kidney disease occurring in 1 in 7,000 people worldwide that results from mutation of the cystine transporter rBAT encoded by Slc3a1. We used CRISPR/Cas9 technology to engineer cystinuria Type A mice via genome editing of the C57BL/6NHsd background. These mice are an improvement on currently available models as they are on a coisogenic genetic background and have a single defined mutation. In order to use albinism to track Cas9 activity, we co‐injected gRNAs targeting Slc3a1 and tyrosinase (Tyr) with Cas9 expressing plasmid DNA into mouse embryos. Two different Slc3a1 mutational alleles were derived, with homozygous mice of both demonstrating elevated urinary cystine levels, cystine crystals, and bladder stones. We used whole genome sequencing to evaluate for potential off‐target editing. No off‐target indels were observed for the top 10 predicted off‐targets for Slc3a1 or Tyr. Therefore, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to generate coisogenic albino cystinuria Type A mice that could be used for in vivo imaging, further study, or developing new treatments of cystinuria.
Retention forestry influences understory diversity and functional identity
Authors: Curzon Miranda T. , Kern Christel C. , Baker Susan C. , Palik Brian J. , D’Amato Anthony W. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractIn recent decades, a paradigm shift in forest management and associated policies has led to greater emphasis on harvest practices that retain mature, overstory trees in forest stands that would otherwise be clear‐cut. While it is often assumed that the maintenance of compositional and structural complexity, such as that achieved through retention forestry approaches, will also mitigate negative impacts to functional diversity, empirical evidence of this relationship is sparse. We examined the effects of an aggregated retention system on taxonomic and functional diversity in a regenerating aspen‐dominated forest. Sampling was conducted along transects arranged to capture the transition from harvested (regenerating) forest to mature, unharvested forest (both intact forest stands and 0.1 ha retention aggregates). We then assessed the magnitude and distance of edge effects on multiple indices of taxonomic and functional diversity as well as functional identity. Twelve years after harvest, the distance and magnitude of edge effects on functional and taxonomic diversity did not differ between the two unharvested patch sizes (intact vs. aggregate); however, intact forest exhibited greater resistance to edge effects and greater depth of edge influence into harvested areas for some traits compared to aggregates. Analyses relying on functional traits were generally applicable across sites within a highly variable forest type, and our results demonstrate the promise of using functional traits to assess management impacts on plant diversity across a landscape. Aggregates maintained some functional attributes associated with interior forest and influenced adjacent regeneration. However, trends in some traits (i.e., shade tolerance and seed mass), particularly in the seedling layer, suggest aggregates of this size provide primarily edge habitat.
Paleo‐metagenomics of North American fossil packrat middens: Past biodiversity revealed by ancient DNA
Authors: Moore Grace , Tessler Michael , Cunningham Seth W. , Betancourt Julio , Harbert Robert 
Published: February 2020

AbstractFossil rodent middens are powerful tools in paleoecology. In arid parts of western North America, packrat (Neotoma spp.) middens preserve plant and animal remains for tens of thousands of years. Midden contents are so well preserved that fragments of endogenous ancient DNA (aDNA) can be extracted and analyzed across millennia. Here, we explore the use of shotgun metagenomics to study the aDNA obtained from packrat middens up to 32,000 C14 years old. Eleven Illumina HiSeq 2500 libraries were successfully sequenced, and between 0.11% and 6.7% of reads were classified using Centrifuge against the NCBI “nt” database. Eukaryotic taxa identified belonged primarily to vascular plants with smaller proportions mapping to ascomycete fungi, arthropods, chordates, and nematodes. Plant taxonomic diversity in the middens is shown to change through time and tracks changes in assemblages determined by morphological examination of the plant remains. Amplicon sequencing of ITS2 and rbcL provided minimal data for some middens, but failed at amplifying the highly fragmented DNA present in others. With repeated sampling and deep sequencing, analysis of packrat midden aDNA from well‐preserved midden material can provide highly detailed characterizations of past communities of plants, animals, bacteria, and fungi present as trace DNA fossils. The prospects for gaining more paleoecological insights from aDNA for rodent middens will continue to improve with optimization of laboratory methods, decreasing sequencing costs, and increasing computational power.
A comparison of wetland characteristics between Agricultural Conservation Easement Program and public lands wetlands in West Virginia, USA
Authors: Lewis Katharine E. , Rota Christopher T. , Anderson James T. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractIn West Virginia, USA, there are 24 conservation easement program wetlands enrolled in the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP). These wetlands are located on private agricultural land and are passively managed. Due to their location within fragmented agricultural areas, wetlands enrolled in ACEP in West Virginia have the potential to add wetland ecosystem services in areas that are lacking these features. We evaluated ACEP wetlands compared to reference wetlands on public land in West Virginia by using surrounding land cover, vegetative cover, and wetland features and stressors such as the presence or absence of erosion, upland inclusion, algal mats, and evidence of impacts from the surrounding landscape as surrogate measurements of wetland function on 13 ACEP wetlands and 10 reference wetlands. ACEP wetlands had higher percentages of tree coverage and a higher proportion of agricultural land in the areas immediately surrounding the wetland. Reference wetlands had higher percent coverage of emergent vegetation and had a higher proportion of forest in the immediate landscape. Our findings suggest that ACEP wetlands provide valuable early successional and forested wetland cover in a state that is largely forested. Because of this, it is important to maintain and even expand ACEP in West Virginia to continue providing a valuable source of early successional wetland habitat.
Counting niches: Abundance‐by‐trait patterns reveal niche partitioning in a Neotropical forest
Authors: D’Andrea Rafael , Guittar John , O’Dwyer James P. , Figueroa Hector , Wright S. J. , Condit Richard , Ostling Annette 
Published: February 2020

AbstractTropical forests challenge us to understand biodiversity, as numerous seemingly similar species persist on only a handful of shared resources. Recent ecological theory posits that biodiversity is sustained by a combination of species differences reducing interspecific competition and species similarities increasing time to competitive exclusion. Together, these mechanisms counterintuitively predict that competing species should cluster by traits, in contrast with traditional expectations of trait overdispersion. Here, we show for the first time that trees in a tropical forest exhibit a clustering pattern. In a 50‐ha plot on Barro Colorado Island in Panama, species abundances exhibit clusters in two traits connected to light capture strategy, suggesting that competition for light structures community composition. Notably, we find four clusters by maximum height, quantitatively supporting the classical grouping of Neotropical woody plants into shrubs, understory, midstory, and canopy layers.
Maximizing fish detection with eDNA metabarcoding
Authors: Bessey Cindy , Jarman Simon N. , Berry Oliver , Olsen Ylva S. , Bunce Michael , Simpson Tiffany , Power Matthew , McLaughlin James , Edgar Graham J. , Keesing John 
Published: February 2020

AbstractFish biodiversity can be measured by capturing and then sequencing free DNA present in water. Such environmental DNA (eDNA) methods offer an effective, noninvasive tool for species diversity measurement, although standardized protocols are not yet developed. We investigate how metrics of fish biodiversity revealed through eDNA analysis of water are influenced by sampling volume. Water samples were collected from the intertidal reef of Browse Island, a tropical, remote island in the Timor Sea. Aliquots from a single 20,700‐ml sample and multiple 2,000‐ml samples were filtered in various volumes (25–2,000 ml) across two membrane sizes (0.20 and 0.45 µm). A fish metabarcoding assay was used to characterize the fish diversity within aliquots. All samples, except one, yielded fish DNA sequences. Two hundred and nine operational taxonomic units (cf. species) representing 48 fish families were identified from the complete collection of DNA contained in all samples, comparable to the 200 fish species detected using conventional surveys at this location. Notable additions from eDNA methods were cryptic and nocturnal fish species. Nevertheless, large differences in taxonomic composition (<60% species overlap) between aliquots of identical volumes demonstrate that eDNA in seawater is patchy and that estimates of biodiversity are strongly influenced by the volume of water filtered. We suggest that eDNA studies maximize water volumes as much as logistically possible if the aim is to detect the greatest number of taxa and that species accumulation curves be provided as an indication of sampling adequacy.
Behavioral characteristics of nanosecond pulsed discharge in coaxial electrodes
Authors: Ryu Terumasa , Wang Douyan , Namihira Takao 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe environmental improvements by pulsed discharge plasma, a type of nonthermal plasma, have received much attention all over the world. The observation of discharge plasmas is beneficial for better understanding of the plasma physics of this growing field. Recently, nanosecond (ns) pulsed discharge with a short pulse duration of 5 ns achieved the higher energy efficiency on ozone generation and NO removal. However, the underlying mechanisms of these high efficiencies remain unclear. In the present study, the effects of electrode geometry on propagation process of ns pulsed discharge in coaxial electrodes were investigated using an ICCD camera. As the results, increasing wire diameters from 0.2 to 2.0 mm lead the different streamer discharge parameters; propagation velocity of streamer heads from 4.8 mm/ns to 12.5 mm/ns, peak of discharge current from 243 to 328 A, respectively. Therefore, it is concluded that the wire diameter is one of the paramount parameters to control the characteristics of the ns pulsed streamer discharge.
Sex differences in mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist trials: a pooled analysis of three large clinical trials
Authors: Rossello Xavier , Ferreira João Pedro , Pocock Stuart J. , McMurray John J.V. , Solomon Scott D. , Lam Carolyn S.P. , Girerd Nicolas , Pitt Bertram , Rossignol Patrick , Zannad Faiez 
Published: February 2020

AbstractAimsWomen with heart failure (HF) are under‐represented in individual randomized clinical trials (RCTs). Little is known about sex‐specific treatment effects in HF medications. We evaluated sex differences in the response to mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs) in major HF MRA trials, including a broad spectrum of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF).Methods and resultsIndividual patient data fixed‐effect meta‐analysis was performed using 6167 patients (31.4% were women) recruited in three placebo‐controlled RCTs: Randomized Aldactone Evaluation Study (RALES), Eplerenone in Mild Patients Hospitalization and Survival Study in Heart Failure (EMPHASIS‐HF) and Spironolactone for Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction (TOPCAT)‐Americas. Compared to men, women were older, had higher body mass index and lower glomerular filtration rate. They also had higher LVEF and poorer New York Heart Association functional class and were less likely to be taking angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers. Placebo‐arm event rates were lower for women compared with men (15.4 vs. 22.1 per 100 person‐year; P = 0.002). MRAs reduced consistently, in men and women, the relative risk for cardiovascular death or HF hospitalization (P for interaction = 0.83), cardiovascular death (P for interaction = 0.44) and all‐cause death (P for interaction = 0.19). These findings remained consistent after adjustment for potential confounders, regardless of LVEF. There was no sex‐specific impact of MRA on the rate of hyperkalaemia and worsening renal function during the median 22 months of follow‐up.ConclusionIn three large MRA RCTs, women were substantially different from men with regard to their clinical features and event rates. Nonetheless, this meta‐analysis supports a consistent and beneficial MRA effect regardless of sex.
Association between potassium level and outcomes in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: a cohort study from the Swedish Heart Failure Registry
Authors: Cooper Lauren B. , Benson Lina , Mentz Robert J. , Savarese Gianluigi , DeVore Adam D. , Carrero Juan‐Jesus , Dahlström Ulf , Anker Stefan D. , Lainscak Mitja , Hernandez Adrian F. , Pitt Bertram , Lund Lars H. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractAimsHyperkalaemia and hypokalaemia are common in heart failure and associated with worse outcomes. However, the optimal potassium range is unknown. We sought to determine the optimal range of potassium in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (< 40%) by exploring the relationship between baseline potassium level and short‐ and long‐term outcomes using the Swedish Heart Failure Registry from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2012.Methods and resultsWe assessed the association between baseline potassium level and all‐cause mortality at 30 days, 12 months, and maximal follow‐up, in uni‐ and multivariable stratified and restricted cubic spline Cox regressions. Of 13 015 patients, 93.3% had potassium 3.5–5.0 mmol/L, 3.7% had potassium <3.5 mmol/L, and 3.0% had potassium >5.0 mmol/L. Potassium <3.5 mmol/L and >5.0 mmol/L were more common with lower estimated glomerular filtration rate and heart failure of longer duration and greater severity. The potassium level associated with the lowest hazard risk for mortality at 30 days, 12 months, and maximal follow‐up was 4.2 mmol/L, and there was a steep increase in risk with both higher and lower potassium levels. In adjusted strata analyses, lower potassium was independently associated with all‐cause mortality at 12 months and maximal follow‐up, while higher potassium levels only increased risk at 30 days.ConclusionIn this nationwide registry, the relationship between potassium and mortality was U‐shaped, with an optimal potassium value of 4.2 mmol/L. After multivariable adjustment, hypokalaemia was associated with increased long‐term mortality but hyperkalaemia was associated with increased short‐term mortality.
Effect of magnetic and electric fields on plasma membrane of single cells: A computational approach
Authors: Escobar Juan F. , Vaca‐González Juan J. , Guevara Johana M. , Garzón‐Alvarado Diego A. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractCell membrane is a lipid bilayer that allows the flow of ions through their ionic pumping proteins. The ionic flow can be stimulated with external stimuli to activate specific signaling pathways intracellularly. Although studies have applied electric and magnetic stimuli to modify the cell function, the parameters to stimulate the cell membrane are unknown. Accordingly, a computational model to simulate the effect of electric and magnetic fields on the cell membrane was developed. Cells were stimulated with electric fields from 45 × 103 V/m to 12.6 × 105 V/m and magnetic fields of 2 mT, at frequencies of 60 kHz, 10 MHz, and 1 GHz. Results showed that the electric fields applied to the cell membrane tend to increase according to the frequency used, while magnetic fields do not have any effect on it. It was observed that electric fields generate a high voltage concentrator in the cell membrane of ellipsoidal cells when a frequency window from 1 kHz to 1 GHz was applied. These findings demonstrate that depending on the intensity of the field and frequency, it was possible to stimulate different cell membrane zones. This model is a promising tool to establish the adequate parameters to stimulate cells, and accurately predict if the stimulation modifies the cell membrane potential.
Numerical simulation and simplified calculation method for heat exchange performance of dry air cooler in natural gas pipeline compressor station
Authors: Liu Enbin , Guo Bingyan , Lv Liuxin , Qiao Weibiao , Azimi Mohammadamin 
Published: February 2020

AbstractIn view of the complicated heat transfer calculation for air coolers and the difficulty of directly calculating the exit temperature of natural gas in a compressor station, taking the dry air cooler of model GP12 × 3‐6‐258‐13.0S‐S‐23.4/DR‐Ia configured in the West‐East Natural Gas Pipeline II as an example, a three‐dimensional simplified model of the air cooler is established. The model is used to simulate a temperature flow field of a dry air cooler‐finned tube based on Fluent flow field analysis software. This paper studies the cooling effect of the dry air cooler‐finned tube on high‐temperature and high‐pressure natural gas at compressor outlet. By comparing and analyzing the relationships among natural gas mass flow, inlet air temperature, inlet natural gas temperature, and outlet natural gas temperature for an air cooler, the formula of temperature drop of dry air cooler to natural gas is fitted, and the fitting formula is verified by field operation data. The results show that the average error between the fitting results and the actual data is less than 1.5%, which proves the correctness of the fitting formula and greatly simplifies the heat transfer calculation process for air coolers.
Glaciers, rock avalanches and the ‘buzzsaw’ in cirque development: Why mountain cirques are of mainly glacial origin
Authors: Evans Ian S. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractIt has been proposed that most cirques are source‐area depressions of large, deep‐seated rock‐slope failures. Yet the close relation between cirques and climate is convincing evidence of the dominance of glacial erosion, rather than rock‐slope failure, in mountain cirque development and distribution. Cirque floor altitudes have a lower limit that varies with snowfall by 1000 m or more between windward and leeward sides of mountain systems. Glaciation levels and equilibrium line altitudes implied by cirques vary in parallel with those for modern glaciers. Cirques are often found mainly on the poleward or leeward slopes of individual mountain ranges, as are modern small glaciers (because of solar radiation and wind effects on ablation and accumulation).Most rock‐slope failures (RSFs: rock slides, rock avalanches and gravitational deformations) do not involve the deep‐seated rotational movement that would produce a cirque form. Although some deep‐seated RSFs with arcuate head scars may be confused with cirques, identification as a glacial cirque is more confident as the floor is longer, wider and more gently sloping. Some scars from major RSFs may resemble poor or moderately developed cirques, but tend to have steeper floors, to be more scattered and closely related to geology, whereas glacial cirques develop on all rock types. Deep‐seated RSFs high on slopes can be associated with seismic shaking, but cirques develop without relation to seismicity. Degree of cirque development can be related to duration of exposure to glaciation. Often RSFs are found adjacent to cirques, or in glacial transfluences; only a proportion are well situated to develop into glacial cirques. Valley‐head cirques are continued down‐valley by glacial troughs. The ‘overdeepening’ (rock basins with reversed slopes) found in a large minority of cirques is not due to rock avalanching, fluvial or periglacial erosion.The RSF proposal should therefore be rejected in favour of the traditional glacial explanation, without any nivation stage being necessary. Rock‐slope failure is one of several possible ways of initiating hollows for glacier accumulation, as well as an ancillary process of cirque extension or widening through collapse of glacially oversteepened slopes.Headward extension of adjacent cirques on a ridge leads to displacement of the divide, sometimes by 2 km or more, lowering ridge and summit altitudes and producing the ‘glacial buzzsaw’ effect. Where a relatively lower snowline has led to cirque erosion on all sides of a mountain, cirque intersection lowers summits further. The buzzsaw hypothesis is not applicable, however, where remnants of a preglacial summit surface survive. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Temporal Variation of Mercury in Effluent from Two Municipal Wastewater-Treatment Plants in Southwest Ohio
Authors: Perusini Heather B. , Hammerschmidt Chad R. 
Published: February 2020

Abstract
Wastewater-treatment plants (WWTPs) are an important source of mercury (Hg) to surface waters, but little is known about temporal variability of efflux to aquatic systems. We found that Hg concentrations in effluent varied by about a factor of 2 on monthly, weekly, and hourly timescale comparisons. These results suggest that limited sampling can yield a representative concentration with reasonable uncertainty for purposes of estimating the environmental significance of Hg from WWTPs. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:1027–1031. © 2020 SETAC
Multiscale deep network based multistep prediction of high‐dimensional time series from power transmission systems
Authors: Zhu Hanlin , Zhu Yongxin , Wang Hui , Wang Shihui , Liu Ziwei , Balamurugan Balusamy , Vijayakumar Pandi , Xia Ming 
Published: February 2020

AbstractInternet of energy makes the future power and energy network a more complicated and intelligent system. With the development of energy industry, the sample data of such system is high dimensional, dynamic, correlative, and complex. In order to meet people's needs and reduce the power redundancy, predicting the future energy demand and production is an essential approach. It is necessary for us to predict the later hours' or days' data, which means multistep prediction. However, the common one‐step prediction model cannot forecast the power demand or production to make adequate preparation and the data have thousands of dimensions, which makes the problem challenging. In addition, the changeable pattern makes the common prediction algorithm do not perform good enough. In this article, we propose a sequence to sequence model to make multistep prediction with a baseline mean squared error (MSE) of 1.49×10−5. In addition, we improve the model to be a multiscale deep network and decrease the MSE to 1.23×10−5through adding extra information to match different patterns. Furthermore, the multitask learning trick makes the MSE decrease to 1.18×10−5.