bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Elective Egg Freezing for Non‐Medical Reasons
Authors: Anderson RA , Davies MC , Lavery SA ,   the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Published: February 2020

Plain language summaryAlthough a woman’s fertility declines markedly in her late‐30s and early‐40s, gradually more and more women start a family at this stage of their lives, with the average age of childbirth progressively increasing. More women are storing their eggs (oocytes) to give them the potential opportunity to have a baby in the future. Nonetheless, the number of egg freezing cycles accounts for less than 2% of IVF cycles, and the number of cycles using stored eggs is even lower. The technology for freezing eggs changed dramatically about a decade ago with the development of a technique of rapid freezing called vitrification, which gives success rates almost as good as using fresh eggs. The growing use of this technique, and the publicity surrounding how this technique may have been promoted, has led to this paper.It is essential that women are very clearly informed about the likely success rates of egg freezing, particularly as it is entirely provided by the private sector, with the associated concerns of financial costs and inappropriate or inaccurate marketing. Its success is strongly dependent on the age of the woman at the time of freezing her eggs, with much higher success rates in those aged 35 years and under. Current legislation only allows women to store eggs for 10 years, which conflicts with the better success rates when women do so at a younger age. The reasons behind the increase in egg freezing are complex, but the most common reason given by women storing eggs is that they do not have a partner and are concerned that by the time they do find themselves in a relationship within which they wish to start a family, they may not be able to.We conclude that elective egg freezing provides women with an opportunity to take action about the drop in their fertility, but at present most women who are doing this are already in their later 30s when the success rates are limited. We strongly support the need for improved and continuing education of both women and men regarding the decline in female fertility with age.
A method to generate multilocus barcodes of pinned insect specimens using MiSeq
Authors: Akankunda Trace , To Hien , Rodriguez Lopez Carlos , Leijs Remko , Hogendoorn Katja 
Published: February 2020

AbstractFor molecular insect identification, amplicon sequencing methods are recommended because they offer a cost‐effective approach for targeting small sets of informative genes from multiple samples. In this context, high‐throughput multilocus amplicon sequencing has been achieved using the MiSeq Illumina sequencing platform. However, this approach generates short gene fragments of <500 bp, which then have to be overlapped using bioinformatics to achieve longer sequence lengths. This increases the risk of generating chimeric sequences or leads to the formation of incomplete loci. Here, we propose a modified nested amplicon sequencing method for targeting multiple loci from pinned insect specimens using the MiSeq Illumina platform. The modification exists in using a three‐step nested PCR approach targeting near full‐length loci in the initial PCR and subsequently amplifying short fragments of between 300 and 350 bp for high‐throughput sequencing using Illumina chemistry. Using this method, we generated 407 sequences of three loci from 86% of all the specimens sequenced. Out of 103 pinned bee specimens of replicated species, 71% passed the 95% sequence similarity threshold between species replicates. This method worked best for pinned specimens aged between 0 and 5 years, with a limit of 10 years for pinned and 14 years for ethanol‐preserved specimens. Hence, our method overcomes some of the challenges of amplicon sequencing using short read next generation sequencing and improves the possibility of creating high‐quality multilocus barcodes from insect collections.
Scat on the doorstep: Refuge choice in a group‐living lizard is influenced by the presence of scat piles
Authors: Thompson Shelley A. , Pearson Sarah K. , While Geoffrey M. , Chapple David G. , Gardner Michael G. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractGroup living often requires strong levels of communication between individuals. This communication is usually studied in the context of visual or auditory communication. However, chemical communication is the most widely used form of communication. We examined the role of chemical communication in mediating social decisions in a group‐living lizard, Egernia stokesii. Specifically, we examined the extent to which scat‐piling, a behaviour by which individuals deposit scat in a communal area, affected the refuge choice of individual E. stokesii. To achieve this, we examined individual refuge choice in response to scat piles or single scats and against two types of scat stimuli, one being their own scat and the other being scat belonging to an unrelated and unfamiliar conspecific. We show that lizards behave differently when presented with a scat pile compared with a single scat, and whether the scat stimulus was their own or sourced from an unfamiliar conspecific. When scats were in piles, individuals spent more time inspecting, more time in, and more often chose the treatment refuge as their final refuge choice, at a trial’s end, when the treatment was their own scat compared with when the treatment was the refuge with the unfamiliar scat. In contrast, for individual scat treatments, individuals spent more time inspecting and more often ended up in the treatment refuge with an unfamiliar scat compared with when the treatment was their own scat. These results suggest that individuals are responding to information contained within multiple components of the scats – both their volume and their source. These results have implications for understanding how social aggregations are maintained within squamates, where sociality has evolved independently from other vertebrate lineages.
Extinction threat to neglected Plinia edulis exacerbated by climate change, yet likely mitigated by conservation through sustainable use
Authors: Lima Valdeir Pereira , Marchioro Cesar Augusto , Joner Fernando , ter Steege Hans , Siddique Ilyas 
Published: February 2020

AbstractForecasting the impacts of climate change on species distribution has several implications for conservation. Plinia edulis is a rare and threatened tree species from Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest. In this study, we assessed the impact of global climate change on the distribution of P. edulis. Additionally, we evaluated the efficacy of the Brazilian protected network to conserve this species. Ecological niche models were built using the maximum entropy method based on occurrence records and environmental predictors. Models predicted a reduction of climatically suitable areas for P. edulis in all evaluated scenarios in the coming years. Furthermore, we observed that Brazilian protected areas (PAs) are ineffective to conserve this species. Given the fact that P. edulis is a promising tree species rarely found within Brazilian PAs and threatened by global climate change, we strongly recommend the cultivation of this multipurpose species in agroforestry systems, landscaping and homegardens in order to promote its conservation through sustainable use.
Accuracy of colposcopy‐directed biopsy vs dynamic spectral imaging directed biopsy in correctly identifying the grade of cervical dysplasia in women undergoing conization: A methodological study
Authors: Booth Berit Bargum , Petersen Lone Kjeld , Blaakaer Jan , Johansen Tonje , Mertz Henrik , Dahl Katja , Bor Pinar 
Published: February 2020

AbstractIntroductionDynamic spectral imaging (DSI) colposcopy has previously been found to improve sensitivity of CIN2+ detection. The aim of this study was to compare the histological diagnosis of colposcopic‐directed biopsies (CDB) with that of DSI‐directed biopsies in women undergoing conization, using the histological diagnosis of the conization specimen as gold standard.Material and methodsWomen referred for colposcopy were included in a prospective cohort study at Randers Regional Hospital, Denmark, from January 2016 to February 2019. All women had four cervical punch biopsies taken. The first biopsy was taken from the area that appeared most abnormal by conventional colposcopy (ie, CDB) and the second biopsy from the area that appeared most abnormal using the DSI map. An additional two biopsies were taken either from other visible lesions or as random biopsies. Biopsies were analyzed separately. If any biopsies revealed cervical dysplasia of such a degree that excisional treatment was recommended, the patient was referred for conization. Subsequently, we compared the histological diagnosis of CDB and DSI‐directed biopsies with that of the cone biopsy.ResultsA total of 573 women were enrolled, 170 of which underwent conization. In women with an adequate colposcopy and representative biopsies (n = 124) there was an overall agreement rate between the worst biopsy diagnosis (of any four) and the conization diagnosis in 95.2% (95% CI 89.8‐98.2) of women. CDB diagnosis agreed with the cone diagnosis in 80.6% (95% CI 72.6‐87.2) of women. DSI‐directed biopsy agreed with the cone diagnosis in 83.9% (95% CI 76.2‐89.9) of women. The difference in detection rate between the CDB and the DSI‐directed biopsy was, however, not significant (P = .54). Taking four biopsies increases the detection rate of cervical dysplasia to 95.2%, which was a significant increase from both CDB alone (P = .0008) and DSI‐directed biopsy alone (P = .0053).ConclusionsWe found no significant difference in the ability to identify the cervical dysplasia grade between CDB and DSI‐directed biopsies. A higher detection rate of cervical dysplasia was achieved with four biopsies than with one CDB biopsy or one DSI‐directed biopsy.
Antibiotics promote abdominal fat accumulation in broilers
Authors: Li Dongfeng , Zhang Kun , Pan Zaixu , Yu Minli , Lu Yinglin , Wang Guiying , Wu Junfeng , Zhang Jin , Zhang Kangning , Du Wenxing 
Published: February 2020

AbstractAntibiotics stimulate the growth of animals but result in drug residues and bacterial resistance. In this study, the negative effect of antibiotics on abdominal fat deposition was evaluated in broilers. The results showed that adding both chlortetracycline (50 g/1,000 kg) and tylosin (50 g/1,000 kg) significantly increased abdominal fat weight, abdominal fat percentage (p < .05), and triglyceride and cholesterol levels (p < .05) in blood. Also, both products synchronously stimulated intestinal absorption and synthesis of liver fat. The expression levels of the peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ (PPARγ), diacylgycerol acyltransferase 2 (DGAT2), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and fatty acid‐binding protein (FABP4) genes in abdominal fat tissue significantly increased (p < .05 or 0.01) when antibiotics were added to the feed. However, no significant difference was found in expression of the fatty acid synthesis (FAS) or acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC) genes. Further in vitro study results revealed that antibiotics had no effect on fat content or the related gene expression levels in preadipocytes. In summary, the antibiotics induced fat deposition in adipose tissues by activating extracellular absorption of fatty acids from intestinal absorption and synthesis of liver fat. However, it shows no direct regulation by adipose tissue.
Temporal and environmental correlates of carbon stocks in a regenerating tropical forest
Authors: Capellesso Elivane Salete , Cequinel Anamaria , Marques Renato , Marques Marcia Cristina Mendes 
Published: February 2020

AbstractQuestionsCarbon dynamics in tropical forests is influenced by a variety of biotic and abiotic factors that act over temporal and spatial scales. At the local scale, carbon stock and dynamics can be determined by the environment and ecosystem diversity. Also, during forest regeneration, which is a temporal process, it is expected that those factors that influence carbon also change over time. Here we examine how carbon stock and dynamics are influenced by forest age, environment and functional diversity during forest regeneration. Using the relative effects of the different drivers of carbon dynamics, we attempt to discern the mechanisms (mass effect or niche complementarity) that explain those processes.LocationWe carried out this study in Atlantic Forest of different ages during natural regeneration in southern Brazil.MethodsWe measured environmental characteristics (soil physical and chemical attributes and canopy openness), estimated functional diversity and above‐ground carbon and its dynamics over time. We examined univariate and multivariate predictors of carbon stock and dynamics using structural equation models.ResultsWe found that age had the strongest influence on carbon stock, while environmental characteristics, functional and taxonomic diversities were much less important or unimportant. Our results suggest that the influence of time on tropical forest carbon dynamics overlaps and outweighs the effects due to environmental limits and mechanisms mediated by diversity (mass effects, niche complementarity).ConclusionsNatural regeneration can be an effective strategy for restoring carbon sequestration and methods that use manipulation of regenerating forests with the hope of improving the process are unlikely to bring additional advantage in terms of carbon sequestration.
Association between hydroxycarbamide exposure and neurocognitive function in adolescents with sickle cell disease
Authors: Partanen Marita , Kang Guolian , Wang Winfred C. , Krull Kevin , King Allison A. , Schreiber Jane E. , Porter Jerlym S. , Hodges Jason , Hankins Jane S. , Jacola Lisa M. 
Published: February 2020

SummaryPatients with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at increased risk for neurocognitive impairments. While disease‐modifying treatment, such as hydroxycarbamide (hydroxyurea), may decrease this risk, it has not been systematically investigated in children with SCD. We screened neurocognitive functioning in 103 adolescents with SCD (16–17 years, 50% female) and compared outcomes between patients with a history of exposure to hydroxycarbamide (n = 12 HbSC/HbSβ+ thalassaemia; n = 52 HbSS/HbSβ0 thalassaemia) and those never treated with hydroxycarbamide (n = 31 HbSC/HbSβ+ thalassaemia; n = 8 HbSS/HbSβ0 thalassaemia). Demographic distributions were similar between the groups. After adjusting for socioeconomic status, the hydroxycarbamide group had significantly higher scores on nonverbal IQ (HbSC/HbSβ thalassaemia: P = 0·036, effect size [d] = 0·65), reaction speed (HbSS/HbSβ0 thalassaemia: P = 0·002, d = 1·70), sustained attention (HbSS/HbSβ0 thalassaemia: P = 0·014, d = 1·30), working memory (HbSC/HbSβ+ thalassaemia: P = 0·034, d = 0·71) and verbal memory (HbSC/HbSβ+ thalassaemia: P = 0·038, d = 0·84) when compared to those who did not receive hydroxycarbamide. In patients with HbSS/HbSβ0 thalassaemia, longer treatment duration with hydroxycarbamide was associated with better verbal memory (P = 0·009) and reading (P = 0·002). Markers of hydroxycarbamide effect, including higher fetal haemoglobin (HbF), higher mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and lower white blood cell count (WBC), were associated with better verbal fluency (HbF: P = 0·014, MCV: P = 0·006, WBC: P = 0·047) and reading (MCV: P = 0·021, WBC: P = 0·037). Cognitive impairment may be mitigated by exposure to hydroxycarbamide in adolescents with SCD.
Three lessons for gender equity in biodiversity conservation
Authors: Lau Jacqueline D. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractAmid a growing global agenda, biodiversity conservation has embraced gender equity as a pillar of equitable and effective practice. Gender equity has become enshrined in the global environment and development agenda through global commitments, policy and funding. However, for various reasons, conservation biodiversity often takes a simplistic view of gender as synonymous with women or as a dualism between women and men. This narrow view risks promoting inequitable processes and ineffective outcomes. Deeper engagement with feminist theory, and feminist political ecology in particular, could help advance biodiversity conservation's approach to how gender is understood, framed and integrated. Engaging with lessons from feminist political ecology can help advance gender equity in conservation through attention to power dynamics, intersectionality, and subjectivity.
Lossy‐Context Surprisal: An Information‐Theoretic Model of Memory Effects in Sentence Processing
Authors: Futrell Richard , Gibson Edward , Levy Roger P. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractA key component of research on human sentence processing is to characterize the processing difficulty associated with the comprehension of words in context. Models that explain and predict this difficulty can be broadly divided into two kinds, expectation‐based and memory‐based. In this work, we present a new model of incremental sentence processing difficulty that unifies and extends key features of both kinds of models. Our model, lossy‐context surprisal, holds that the processing difficulty at a word in context is proportional to the surprisal of the word given a lossy memory representation of the context—that is, a memory representation that does not contain complete information about previous words. We show that this model provides an intuitive explanation for an outstanding puzzle involving interactions of memory and expectations: language‐dependent structural forgetting, where the effects of memory on sentence processing appear to be moderated by language statistics. Furthermore, we demonstrate that dependency locality effects, a signature prediction of memory‐based theories, can be derived from lossy‐context surprisal as a special case of a novel, more general principle called information locality.
The prognostic value of the serum albumin level for long‐term prognosis in patients with acute pulmonary embolism
Authors: Tanık Veysel Ozan , Çınar Tufan , Karabağ Yavuz , Şimşek Barış , Burak Cengiz , Çağdaş Metin , Rencüzoğulları İbrahim 
Published: February 2020

AbstractIntroduction and objectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate the association of serum albumin (SA) level with long‐term prognosis in patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE).Materials and methodsWe retrospectively enrolled 269 patients with acute PE. The SA level was obtained within 12‐24 hours following admission. The primary endpoints were the incidence of short‐ and long‐term mortality in acute PE patients. The mean duration of the study follow‐up was 21 ± 19 months.ResultsDuring the follow‐up period, short‐ and long‐term mortality rates were higher in patients who had low SA level compared to those who did not have. In multivariate Cox regression analysis, the SA level was found to be independently associated with long‐term mortality (HR: 0.47, 95%CI: 0.28‐0.78, P = 0.004). In receiver operating characteristics analysis, the SA level of ≤3.17 predicted long‐term mortality with a sensitivity of 77.5% and a specificity of 79.5% (area under the curve 0.82, 95%CI: 0.76‐0.87, P < 0.001). In addition, when the SA plus simplified pulmonary embolism severity index (sPESI) risk score compared to the sPESI risk score alone, it produced a net reclassification improvement of 0.22 with P < 0.001, that is a 22% improved classification.ConclusionTo the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate that the low SA level is a strong and independent predictor for long‐term mortality in patients with acute PE.
Decreasing organic carbon bioreactivity in European rivers
Authors: Berggren Martin , Al‐Kharusi Enass Said 
Published: February 2020

Abstract

European rivers experience increased loading of total organic carbon (TOC) from terrestrial sources due to factors involving changes in land use, climate and soil acidity. However, little is known about how increased TOC is linked to changes in the bioreactivity of organic matter in these rivers on a continental scale.

We compiled paired measurements of TOC and biological oxygen demand in 5‐day 20°C dark incubations from 3,486 EU monitoring rivers. Assuming first‐order decay and a fixed respiratory quotient, annual average TOC and biological oxygen demand values were used to calculate 11,060 values of the decay coefficient k.

The k decreased by two orders of magnitude as a power function of increasing TOC. This relationship could partly be explained by carbon quality, as the C:N ratio of the organic matter was the lowest in high‐reactivity low‐TOC rivers, and vice versa. A trend analysis showed that TOC increased by 18% from 1996 to 2012, while k decreased by as much as 50%. As a consequence, the biological oxygen demand in the water decreased over time in spite of the water browning trend (increased TOC).

Together, these results suggest that reactivity is low near terrestrial hot spots for TOC export, and low during years with high terrestrial TOC loading, but increases in rivers with low TOC concentrations where internal processes in the water have high relative influence on bulk TOC quality. Thus, browning of European freshwaters is linked to strong decreases in TOC reactivity on a continental scale, suggesting that the impacts of browning on microbial water deoxygenation and greenhouse gas production are less severe than previously thought.
Mapping the black box of intraministerial organization: An analytical approach to explore structural diversity below the portfolio level
Authors: Bertels Jana , Schulze‐Gabrechten Lena 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThis article explores the structural diversity of intraministerial organization over time. Based on organization theory, it proposes a generic typology for intraministerial units applicable to any hierarchically structured government organization. We empirically investigate the critical case of the German federal bureaucracy. By classifying its subunits, we analyze the longitudinal development of structural differentiation and its correspondence to denominational variety. The data stem from a novel international dataset, covering all ministries between 1980 and 2015. We find that intraministerial structure differentiates over time, across and within ministries. A stable core of traditional Weberian structure is complemented by structurally innovative intraministerial units. We conclude that the German federal bureaucracy is more diverse than suggested in previous literature. Our findings indicate that less Weberian bureaucracies are at least as structurally diverse and that more reform‐driven bureaucracies will have experienced at least as many changes in structural diversity.