bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparative and functional morphology of chevron bones among mammals
Authors: Zavodszky Anna M , Russo Gabrielle A 
Published: January 2020

AbstractTail morphology and function vary considerably across mammals. While studies of the mammalian tail have paid increasing attention to the caudal vertebrae, the chevron bones, ventrally positioned elements that articulate with the caudal vertebrae of most species and that serve to protect blood vessels and provide attachment sites for tail flexor musculature, have largely been ignored. Here, morphological variation in chevron bones is documented systematically among mammals possessing different tail locomotor functions, including prehensility, terrestrial propulsion (use for pentapedal locomotion), and postural prop, during which chevron bones are presumably under different mechanical stresses or serve different mechanical roles. Several chevron bone morphotypes were identified along the tail, varying both within and between tail regions. While some morphotypes were present across many or all clades surveyed, other morphotypes were clade-specific. Chevron bone dorsoventral height was examined at key vertebral levels among closely related species with different tail locomotor functions to assess whether variation followed any functional patterns. Dorsoventral height of chevron bones differed between prehensile- and nonprehensile-tailed, prop-tailed and nonprop-tailed, and pentapedal and nonpentapedal mammals. However, small sample sizes precluded rigorous statistical analyses. Distinctions were also qualified among species (not grouped by tail locomotor function), and the utility of metrics for quantifying specific aspects of chevron bone anatomy is discussed. This study offers information about the functional morphology of mammalian tails and has implications for reconstructing tail function in the fossil record.
Functional connectivity of the right inferior frontal gyrus and orbitofrontal cortex in depression
Authors: Rolls Edmund T , Cheng Wei , Du Jingnan , Wei Dongtao , Qiu Jiang , Dai Dan , Zhou Qunjie , Xie Peng , Feng Jianfeng 
Published: January 2020

Abstract
The orbitofrontal cortex extends into the laterally adjacent inferior frontal gyrus. We analyzed how voxel-level functional connectivity of the inferior frontal gyrus and orbitofrontal cortex is related to depression in 282 people with major depressive disorder (125 were unmedicated) and 254 controls, using FDR correction P &lt; 0.05 for pairs of voxels. In the unmedicated group, higher functional connectivity was found of the right inferior frontal gyrus with voxels in the lateral and medial orbitofrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, temporal lobe, angular gyrus, precuneus, hippocampus and frontal gyri. In medicated patients, these functional connectivities were lower and toward those in controls. Functional connectivities between the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the angular and middle frontal gyri were higher in unmedicated patients, and closer to controls in medicated patients. Medial orbitofrontal cortex voxels had lower functional connectivity with temporal cortex areas, the parahippocampal gyrus and fusiform gyrus, and medication did not result in these being closer to controls. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the orbitofrontal cortex is involved in depression, and can influence mood and behavior via the right inferior frontal gyrus, which projects to premotor cortical areas.
Schisandrin B for treatment of male infertility
Authors: Zou Di-Xin , Meng Xue-Dan , Xie Ying , Liu Rui , Duan Jia-Lun , Bao Chun-Jie , Liu Yi-Xuan , Du Ya-Fei , Xu Jia-Rui , Luo Qian , Zhang Zhan , Ma Shuang , Yang Wei-Peng , Lin Rui-Chao , Lu Wan-Liang 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe decline of male fertility and its consequences on human populations are important public-health issues. However, there are limited choices for treatment of male infertility. In an attempt to identify a compound that could promote male fertility, we identified and characterized a library of small molecules from an ancient formulation Wuzi Yanzong-Pill, which was used as a folk medicine since the Tang dynasty of China. We found that SB enabled evident repairs in oligoasthenospermia-associated testicular tissue abnormality and in spermatogenesis disruption, resulting in significant improvements of sperm count, mobility, and reproductive ability in oligoasthenospermia mice. Furthermore, SB could alter substantial testicular genes (2033), among which, upregulation ofFstwhile downregulation ofInhbainvolved in reproductive signaling pathway could explain its role in enhancing spermatogenesis. The encouraging preclinical data with pharmacokinetics warranted a rapid development of this new class of therapeutic agent. Our finding provides a strong potent drug for treatment of male infertility.
Genomic and protein structure modelling analysis depicts the origin and infectivity of 2019-nCoV, a new coronavirus which caused a pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China
Authors: Dong Ning , Yang Xuemei , Ye Lianwei , Chen Kaichao , Chan Edward Wai-Chi , Yang Mengsu , Chen Sheng 
Published: January 2020

AbstractDetailed genomic and structure-based analysis of a new coronavirus, namely 2019-nCoV, showed that the new virus is a new type of bat coronavirus and is genetically fairly distant from the human SARS coronavirus. Structure analysis of the spike (S) protein of this new virus showed that its S protein only binds weakly to the ACE2 receptor on human cells whereas the human SARS coronavirus exhibits strongly affinity to the ACE receptor. These findings suggest that the new virus does not readily transmit between humans and should theoretically not able to cause very serious human infection. These data are important to guide design of infection control policy and inform the public on the nature of threat imposed by 2019-nCov when results of direct laboratory tests on this virus are not expected to be available in the near future.
A defect in thymic tolerance causes T cell-mediated autoimmunity in a murine model of COPA syndrome
Authors: Deng Zimu , Law Christopher S. , Ho Frances O. , Wang Kristin M. , Jones Kirk D. , Shin Jeoung-Sook , Shum Anthony K. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractCOPA syndrome is a recently described Mendelian autoimmune disorder caused by missense mutations in theCoatomer protein complex subunit alpha (COPA)gene. Patients with COPA syndrome develop arthritis and lung disease that presents as pulmonary hemorrhage or interstitial lung disease (ILD). Immunosuppressive medications can stabilize the disease, but many patients develop progressive pulmonary fibrosis that requires life-saving measures such as lung transplantation. Because very little is understood about the pathogenesis of COPA syndrome, it has been difficult to devise effective treatments for patients. To date, it remains unknown which cell types are critical for mediating the disease as well as the mechanisms that lead to autoimmunity. To explore these issues, we generated aCopaE241K/+germline knock-in mouse bearing one of the sameCopamissense mutations in patients. Mutant mice spontaneously developed ILD that mirrors lung pathology in patients, as well as elevations of activated cytokine-secreting T cells. Here we show that mutant Copa in epithelial cells of the thymus impairs the thymic selection of T cells and results in both an increase in autoreactive T cells and decrease in regulatory T cells in peripheral tissues. We demonstrate that T cells fromCopaE241K/+mice are pathogenic and cause ILD through adoptive transfer experiments. In conclusion, we establish a new mouse model of COPA syndrome to identify a previously unknown function for Copa in thymocyte selection and demonstrate that a defect in central tolerance is a putative mechanism by whichCOPAmutations lead to autoimmunity in patients.One Sentence SummaryA new mouse model of COPA syndrome develops lung pathology that recapitulates patients and reveals that T cells are important drivers of the disease.
Criminalisation of terrorism financing in Iranian law
Authors: Malakoutikhah Zeynab 
Published: January 2020

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that to what extent the Iranian criminalisation of terrorism financing meets the international standards of counter-terrorism financing regime, particularly the Financing Convention and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations, and what is the main impediment for Iran to integrate at the international level to combat terrorism financing. Also, it tries to rate the Iranian criminalisation of terrorism financing in accordance with the FATF technical compliance rating.

Design/methodology/approach
This subject is analysed from an Iranian perspective by undertaking fieldwork through collecting documents in Iran and using the official documents, statements and laws, particularly the Iranian Law of Combating Financing of Terrorism (2018) from both Persian and English sources.

Findings
Iran’s terrorism financing offence is not completely in line with international counter-terrorism financing regime because of an exemption for the struggle of individuals, nations and national liberation movements with the aim of countering domination, foreign occupation, colonisation and racism. The Iranian support for national liberation movements is derived from the Constitutional Law that requires Iran supports the struggles of the oppressed for their rights against the oppressors anywhere in the world. As a result, the FATF Recommendation 5 (criminalisation of terrorism financing) would be rated partially compliant.

Originality/value
No article exists specifically on this research field. To the author’s knowledge, this paper, for the first time, examines the Iranian criminalisation of terrorism financing. It rates the criminalisation (Recommendation 5) based on the FATF technical compliance rating because no mutual evaluation has been conducted to date. The paper is useful for academicians, law enforcement, policymakers, legislators and researchers.
An improved interpolation scheme at receiver positions for 2.5D frequency‐domain marine controlled‐source electromagnetic forward modelling
Authors: Li Gang , Duan Shuangmin , Cai Hongzhu , Han Bo , Ye Yixin 
Published: January 2020

ABSTRACTAn improved interpolation scheme is presented for 2.5‐dimensional marine controlled‐source electromagnetic forward modelling. For the marine controlled‐source electromagnetic method, due to the resistivity contrast between the seawater and seafloor sedimentary layers, it is difficult to compute the electromagnetic fields accurately at receivers, which are usually located at the seafloor. In this study, the 2.5‐dimensional controlled‐source electromagnetic responses are simulated by the staggered finite‐difference method. The secondary‐field approach is used to avoid the source singularities, and the one‐dimensional layered background model is used for calculating the primary fields excited by the source quasi‐analytically. The interpolation of electromagnetic fields at the cell nodes for the whole computational domain to the receiver locations is discussed in detail. Numerical tests indicate that the improved interpolation developed is more accurate for simulating the electromagnetic responses at receivers located at the seafloor, compared with the linear or rigorous interpolation.
Crop pollination management needs flower‐visitor monitoring and target values
Authors: Garibaldi Lucas A. , Sáez Agustín , Aizen Marcelo A. , Fijen Thijs , Bartomeus Ignasi 
Published: January 2020

Abstract

Despite the crucial importance of biotic pollination for many crops, land managers rarely monitor the levels of crop pollination needed to guide farming decisions.

The few existing pollination recommendations focus on a particular number of honeybee or bumblebee hives per crop area, but these guidelines do not accurately predict the actual pollination services that crops receive.

We argue that pollination management for pollinator‐dependent crops should be based on direct measures of pollinator activity. We describe a protocol to quickly perform such a task by monitoring flower visitation rates.

We provide target values of visitation rates for crop yield maximization for several important crops by considering the number of visits per flower needed to ensure full ovule fertilization. If visitation rates are well below or above these target values, corrective measures should be taken.

Detailed additional data on visitation rates for different species, morpho‐species, or groups of species and/or flower‐visitor richness can improve pollination estimates.

Synthesis and applications. We present target values of visitation rates for some globally important pollinator‐dependent crops and provide guidance on why monitoring the number and diversity of pollinators is important, and how this information can be used for decision‐making. The implementation of flower monitoring programmes will improve management in many aspects, including enhanced quality and quantity of crop yield and a more limited spillover of managed (often exotic) pollinators from crop areas into native habitats, reducing their many potential negative impacts.
Sodium‐glucose co‐transporters and diabetic nephropathy: Is there a link with toll‐like receptors?
Authors: Ashrafi Jigheh Zahra , Ghorbani Haghjo Amir , Argani Hassan , Sanajou Davoud 
Published: January 2020

AbstractThe incidence of diabetes mellitus (DM) has increased alarmingly over the last decades. Despite taking measures aimed at controlling hyperglycaemia and blood pressure, the rate of end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) is continually growing. Upon increased amounts of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and their correspondent receptors (RAGEs), AGE‐RAGE axis is over‐activated in DM, being the first step in the initiation and propagation of inflammatory cascades. Meanwhile, HMGB1, released from damaged cells in the diabetic kidneys, is the most notable ligand for the highly expressed toll‐like receptors (TLRs) and RAGEs. TLRs play an indispensable role in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy. Sodium‐glucose co‐transporter 2 (SGLT‐2) inhibitors are hypoglycaemic agents acting on the renal proximal tubules to prevent glucose reabsorption and therefore increase urinary glucose excretion. Besides improving glycaemic control, these hypoglycaemic agents possess direct renoprotective properties. Here, therefore, we review the most recent findings regarding interrelationship between SGLT2 inhibitors and HMGB1‐TLR4 axis.
Positioning ethnicity in dementia awareness research: does the use of senility risk ascribing racialised knowledge deficits to minority groups?
Authors: Fletcher James R. 
Published: January 2020

AbstractOver recent decades, the importance of increasing dementia awareness has been promoted by charities, researchers and governments. In response, a large body of research has emerged that evaluates the awareness of different populations. One such population are minority ethnic communities. Associated studies typically conclude that minority ethnic groups have a poor awareness of dementia and that interventions should be developed to better educate them. Operationalisations of awareness almost always reference senility – the traditional notion that dementia is a natural outcome of ageing – a widely held belief among many populations. Senility is considered incorrect knowledge in the research literature, and those participants who identify with it are deemed to have poor awareness. Despite the researchers’ claims that senility is false, the scientific evidence is inconclusive, and the concept is contested. As such, a large body of research repeatedly positions minority ethnic communities as inferior and in need of re‐education based on researchers’ questionable assumptions. This issue is bound up with a racialised deficit‐model of science communication and wider critiques of psychiatric colonialism. In response, researchers of dementia and ethnicity should reflect on their own awareness and the ways in which they position others in relation to it.
‘The Miracle of Density': The Socio‐material Epistemics of Urban Densification
Authors: Pérez Federico 
Published: January 2020

AbstractDespite being a foundational concept in urban studies and practice, urban density has remained relatively immune to critical study. In the midst of contemporary global housing and environmental crises, density has become an even more paradigmatic, almost common‐sense urban category and planning idiom. This article interrogates urban density as a socio‐material epistemology, as a knowledge form and practice about people, things and their mutual entailments. Based on archival and ethnographic research among city planning networks in Bogotá, Colombia, I draw attention to the political projects that are encoded in the supposedly technical physics and aesthetics of urban densification. Far from a stable, descriptive category, actors actively mobilize density to reimagine and craft urban worlds. The article tracks the shifting deployments of density in Bogotá from the middle of the twentieth century to the present, from approaches aimed at removing urban crowds and stimulating modern densities to recent projects aimed at regulating densification and rendering it more inclusionary. The article's grounded ethnographic analysis critically illuminates the ways in which the grammar of density—as a taken‐for‐granted metric of urban transformation and an ideology of socio‐materiality—both shapes and limits the praxis of urban politics.
Endometriosis fertility index for predicting non‐assisted reproductive technology pregnancy after endometriosis surgery: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Vesali S , Razavi M , Rezaeinejad M , Maleki‐Hajiagha A , Maroufizadeh S , Sepidarkish M 
Published: January 2020

BackgroundResults of studies that have assessed the accuracy of the endometriosis Fertility Index (EFI) for predicting non‐assisted reproductive technology (ART) pregnancy are inconsistent.ObjectiveWe intended to evaluate the accuracy of EFI for the prediction of non‐ART pregnancy.Search strategyEmbase, Medline, Scopus and Web of Science were searched up to 5 October 2019.Selection criteriaWe included studies that used EFI to predict non‐ART pregnancy in women with surgically documented endometriosis.Data collection and analysisA total of 5547 studies were identified, from which we included 17 studies on 4598 women in the meta‐analysis. Eight studies were classified as good quality, and the rest were considered to be of fair quality. Only five (29.41%) studies used appropriate approaches to account for potential confounders. Pooled effect sizes with corresponding 95% CI were calculated using random‐effects model.Main resultsThe cumulative non‐ART pregnancy rate at 36 months was 10% (95% CI: 3, 16%; P < 0.001) for women with an EFI of 0–2, which significantly increased to 69% (95% CI: 58, 79%; P < 0.001) for women with an EFI of 9–10. Compared with women with an EFI of 3–4 (18%, 95% CI: 12, 24%; P < 0.001), the combined cumulative non‐ART pregnancy rates were 44% (95% CI: 26, 63%; P < 0.001) for women with an EFT of 5–6 and 55% (95% CI: 47, 64%; P < 0.001) for women with an EFI of 7–8. Paired comparison by the chi‐square test showed a significant difference between all categories (P < 0.001). The odds ratio (OR) for EFI was 1.33 (95% CI: 1.17, 1.49, P < 0.001) and the summary area under the curve (AUC) was 72% (95% CI: 65, 80%, P < 0.001).ConclusionThe current findings highlighted the good performance of the EFI score in predicting the non‐ART pregnancy rate. However, these findings should be considered with caution because of the substantial heterogeneity between studies.Tweetable abstractReview findings show the merits of Endometriosis Fertility Index as having a prognostic ability for non‐assisted reproductive technology pregnancy.
Effluent free infrared radiation assisted dry‐peeling of ginger rhizome: A feasibility and quality attributes
Authors: Kate Adinath Eknath , Sutar Parag Prakash 
Published: January 2020

AbstractInfrared radiation (IR)‐assisted peeling is one of the effulent free, environtment friendly emerging technique for tender fruit and vegetables. In this study standerdization and optimization of the infrared assisted dry‐peeling method was carried out for ginger rhizome. During the investigation, the effects of selected independent parameters like infrared temperature (300–400 °C), heater to product surface spacing (10–30 mm), and treatment time (120–300 s) were studied on the peeling feasibility and quality as dependent variables. The experimental conditions were designed through CCRD statistical method. Multiple response optimization was done through RSM. The optimum conditions of selected independent variables were 300 °C IR temperature, 21 mm heater to product spacing, and 120 seconds treatment time resulted in the 90.40% of peeling efficiency, 35 °C of rhizome surface temperature, 8.67% of color change, 0.56% volatile oil loss, and 11.53 kg of firmness. The comparison of optimized infrared assisted peeling was carried out with conventional abrasion and lye peeling methods based on their quality attributes. IR assisted dry‐peeling results in minimum quality losses, higher peeling efficiency and feasible over conventional peeling methods of ginger rhizome. There was zero effluent generated during infrared assisted peeling of ginger rhizome.Practical ApplicationPeeling is one of the foremost mandatory unit operation for processing of all fruits, vegetables, and rhizomes like ginger. Presently, lye peeling is most widely used peeling method in industries followed by mechanical peeling. Both of these methods have serious issues like huge effluent generation (BOD) and water consumption which leads to the concern about environmental issues. Infrared dry peeling is the most prominent alternative for industries having the potential to deals with environmental issues. IR peeling method can be easily designed and scaled‐up as per the specific requirment of industries. Therefore, understanding its feasibility for peeling of a most difficult commodity like ginger and understanding its insight into the quality of peeled product is need of the hour.