bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Switching of dominant positions between two sand‐fixing shrub species during the dune revegetation process is underlain by their contrasting xylem hydraulics and water‐use strategies
Authors: Guo Jing‐Jing , Gong Xue‐Wei , Fang Li‐Dong , Jiang De‐Ming , Ala Musa , Bucci Sandra J. , Scholz Fabian G. , Goldstein Guillermo , Hao Guang‐You 
Published: November 2019

AbstractDifferences in key physiological characteristics between plant species can result in their contrasting performances in vegetation restoration projects, but ecophysiological comparative studies in close relation to ecological restoration projects are scarce. Hedysarum fruticosum Pall. and Caragana microphylla Lam. are two leguminous shrub species widely used in combination for fixation of active sand dunes in semiarid regions of northern China, but they clearly differ in fitness at different stages of dune vegetation development; that is, H. fruticosum quickly gains a community dominance at the initial stage but yields to C. microphylla in a few years after the fixation of dunes. To reveal the underlying mechanism of such a pattern, key physiological characteristics related to xylem water transport, leaf water use, and drought tolerance were compared between these two species at a typical site of sand dune fixation project in Inner Mongolia. Compared with C. microphylla, H. fruticosum shows an acquisitive and risky water management strategy with substantially higher hydraulic efficiency and photosynthetic capability but reduced resistance to drought‐induced xylem embolism, which endows it an advantage under conditions of relatively high soil water availability at the early stage of dune fixation. In contrast, C. microphylla exhibits more conservative water use and characteristics of greater drought tolerance, which results in greater dominance under the more drought‐stressed conditions of the later stage of dune fixation. Our study for the first time provides a potential mechanistic explanation for the clear switching of dominant positions between the two important sand‐fixing shrub species during the sand dune revegetation process.
The ecological role of bacterial seed endophytes associated with wild cabbage in the United Kingdom
Authors: Tyc Olaf , Putra Rocky , Gols Rieta , Harvey Jeffrey A. , Garbeva Paolina 
Published: November 2019

AbstractEndophytic bacteria are known for their ability in promoting plant growth and defense against biotic and abiotic stress. However, very little is known about the microbial endophytes living in the spermosphere. Here, we isolated bacteria from the seeds of five different populations of wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea L) that grow within 15 km of each other along the Dorset coast in the UK. The seeds of each plant population contained a unique microbiome. Sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes revealed that these bacteria belong to three different phyla (Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria). Isolated endophytic bacteria were grown in monocultures or mixtures and the effects of bacterial volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on the growth and development on B. oleracea and on resistance against a insect herbivore was evaluated. Our results reveal that the VOCs emitted by the endophytic bacteria had a profound effect on plant development but only a minor effect on resistance against an herbivore of B. oleracea. Plants exposed to bacterial VOCs showed faster seed germination and seedling development. Furthermore, seed endophytic bacteria exhibited activity via volatiles against the plant pathogen F. culmorum. Hence, our results illustrate the ecological importance of the bacterial seed microbiome for host plant health and development.
A mechanically pattern reconfigurable array
Authors: Lee Yi‐Lung , Wang Po‐Kai , Chen Tsair‐Rong , Row Jeen‐Sheen 
Published: November 2019

AbstractA design of pattern reconfigurable arrays realized with mechanical mechanism is presented. The radiating element of the array is a printed dipole backed with a metallic box, and it has a broad impedance bandwidth as well as a high front‐to‐back ratio. Four of the elements are connected together by using a mounting fixture with rotatable joints. When the joints are rotated manually, the array configuration is changed, and each array configuration can generate a specific radiation pattern. For the proposed array, a prototype designed at the frequency band from 4.8 to 5.9 GHz is constructed. Measured results for the prototype operating in three typical radiation modes are exhibited, including high‐directivity radiation mode, two‐beam radiation mode, and omnidirectional radiation mode. Simulated results also validate the experiments.
On the use of the absorbed depth‐dose measurements in the beam calibration of a surface electronic high‐dose‐rate brachytherapy unit, a Monte Carlo‐based study
Authors: Valdes‐Cortez Christian , Niatsetski Yury , Ballester Facundo , Vijande Javier , Candela‐Juan Cristian , Perez‐Calatayud Jose 
Published: November 2019

PurposeTo evaluate the use of the absorbed depth‐dose as a surrogate of the half‐value layer in the calibration of a high‐dose‐rate electronic brachytherapy (eBT) equipment. The effect of the manufacturing tolerances and the absorbed depth‐dose measurement uncertainties in the calibration process are also addressed.MethodsThe eBT system Esteya® (Elekta Brachytherapy, Veenendaal, The Netherlands) has been chosen as a proof‐of‐concept to illustrate the feasibility of the proposed method, using its 10 mm diameter applicator. Two calibration protocols recommended by the AAPM (TG‐61) and the IAEA (TRS‐398) for low‐energy photon beams were evaluated. The required Monte Carlo (MC) simulations were carried out using PENELOPE2014. Several MC simulations were performed modifying the flattening filter thickness and the x‐ray tube potential, generating one absorbed depth‐dose curve and a complete set of parameters required in the beam calibration (i.e., HVL, backscatter factor (Bw), and mass energy‐absorption coefficient ratios (µen/ρ)water,air), for each configuration. Fits between each parameter and some absorbed dose‐ratios calculated from the absorbed depth‐dose curves were established. The effect of the manufacturing tolerances and the absorbed dose‐ratio uncertainties over the calibration process were evaluated by propagating their values over the fitting function, comparing the overall calibration uncertainties against reference values. We proposed four scenarios of uncertainty (from 0% to 10%) in the dose‐ratio determination to evaluate its effect in the calibration process.ResultsThe manufacturing tolerance of the flattening filter (±0.035 mm) produces a change of 1.4% in the calculated HVL and a negligible effect over the Bw, (µen/ρ)water,air, and the overall calibration uncertainty. A potential variation of 14% of the electron energies due to manufacturing tolerances in the x‐ray tube (69.5 ± ~10 keV) generates a variation of 10% in the HVL. However, this change has a negligible effect over the Bw and (µen/ρ)water,air, adding 0.1% to the overall calibration uncertainty. The fitting functions reproduce the data with an uncertainty (k = 2) below 1%, 0.5%, and 0.4% for the HVL, Bw, and (µen/ρ)water,air, respectively. The four studied absorbed dose‐ratio uncertainty scenarios add, in the worst‐case scenario, 0.2% to the overall uncertainty of the calibration process.ConclusionsThis work shows the feasibility of using the absorbed depth‐dose curve in the calibration of an eBT system with minimal loss of precision.
Designing parallel transmit head coil arrays based on radiofrequency pulse performance
Authors: Cao Zhipeng , Yan Xinqiang , Gore John C. , Grissom William A. 
Published: November 2019

PurposeA new approach to design parallel transmit (pTx) head arrays is proposed that integrates transmit radiofrequency pulse designs with electromagnetic modeling of array coil elements.Theory and MethodsAn approach to design pTx head arrays is proposed that finds optimal groupings of a large number of coils into a small number of channels. An algorithm is proposed to extend array‐compressed parallel transmit pulse design by adding the ability to optimally select and prune coil elements, in addition to optimizing compression weights. The performance of the method is demonstrated in simulations of dynamic multislice shimming of the human brain in axial, coronal, and sagittal directions, and of reduced field‐of‐view excitation targeting the human occipital lobe, with simulated electromagnetic field maps from a group of 5 human head models at 7T.ResultsFor both dynamic multislice shimming and reduced field‐of‐view excitation, the method successfully designed pTx arrays that simultaneously achieved in general 15% lower mean excitation errors with 20% lower SDs, along with 20% lower mean global averaged specific absorption rate and 50% lower SD than previously reported pTx head array designs.ConclusionWith the proposed optimal coil element selection algorithm, the array‐compressed parallel transmit pulse design can be extended to design pTx transmit head arrays with joint consideration of the fields within the sample and the radiofrequency pulse. The pTx arrays from such an approach achieved higher transmit excitation accuracy, lower radiofrequency heating in subjects, and more robust performance across subjects compared with previously reported pTx head arrays with the same number of channels.
Safe guidewire visualization using the modes of a PTx transmit array MR system
Authors: Godinez Felipe , Scott Greig , Padormo Francesco , Hajnal Joseph V. , Malik Shaihan J. 
Published: November 2019

PurposeMRI‐guided cardiovascular intervention using standard metal guidewires can produce focal tissue heating caused by induced radiofrequency guidewire currents. It has been shown that safe operation is made possible by using parallel transmit radiofrequency coils driven in the null current mode, which does not induce radiofrequency currents and hence allows safe tissue visualization. We propose that the maximum current modes, usually considered unsafe, be used at very low power levels to visualize conductive wires, and we investigate pulse sequences best suited for this application.MethodsSpoiled gradient echo, balanced steady‐state free precession, and turbo spin echo sequences were evaluated for their ability to visualize a conductive guidewire embedded in a gel phantom when run in maximum current modes at very low power level. Temperature at the guidewire tip was monitored for safety assessment.ResultsExcellent guidewire visualization could be achieved using maximum current modes excitation, with the turbo spin echo sequence giving the best image quality. Although turbo spin echo is usually considered to be a high‐power sequence, our method reduced all pulses to 1% amplitude (0.01% power), and heating was not detected. In addition, visualization of background tissue can be achieved using null current mode, also with no recorded heating at the guidewire tip even when running at 100% (reported) specific absorption rate.ConclusionParallel transmit is a promising approach for both guidewire and tissue visualization using maximum and null current modes, respectively, for interventional cardiac MRI. Such systems can switch excitation mode instantaneously, allowing for flexible integration into interactive sequences.
Core‐sheath structured TiO2@PVDF/PAN electrospun membranes for photocatalysis and oil‐water separation
Authors: Sun Fei , Huang Shih‐Yu , Ren Hai‐Tao , Li Ting‐Ting , Zhang Yue , Lou Ching‐Wen , Lin Jia‐Horng 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThis study uses PVDF, PAN, and coaxial electrospinning technique to build a core‐sheath structure for TiO2@PVDF/PAN electrospun membranes. The resulting electrospun membranes are compared with traditional electrospun membranes in terms of photocatalysis and oil‐water separation, which examines the influences of electrospinning fibrous structure. The test results show that the core‐sheath structure provides TiO2@PVDF/PAN electrospun membranes with a large diameter, high strength, a rough surface, a high photocatalysis, and good oil‐water separation. With PVDF as the sheath and PAN as the core, TiO2@PVDF/PAN electrospun membranes have a maximum strength of 8.96 MPa and exhibit 97% of rhodamine B pollutant after the exposure to the UV light. Moreover, the oil‐water separation rate is 99% and an oil flux is 40 163.79 L·m2·h−1, and the membrane maintains a high flux after 10 cycles, which makes TiO2@PVDF/PAN electrospun membranes an important candidate for treating wastewater produced in industry and daily life.
Stability of memory SuperAgers over 3 years
Authors: Červenková Markéta , Heissler Radek , Kopeček Miloslav 
Published: November 2019

AbstractSome people aged 80 years and older are “memory SuperAgers” (SAs), that is, they have the episodic memory of a sexagenarian. In a sample of 208 non‐demented adults, we found that 12% were SAs. A total of 101 participants completed the 4‐year study; of this subsample, 10.9% were stable SAs and 61.3% stable non‐SAs across all assessments. The SA phenotype is conducive to further research.
Exome sequencing for perinatal phenotypes: The significance of deep phenotyping
Authors: Aggarwal Shagun , Vineeth Venugopal Satidevi , Das Bhowmik Aneek , Tandon Ashwani , Kulkarni Aditya , Narayanan Dhanya Lakshmi , Bhattacherjee Amrita , Dalal Ashwin 
Published: November 2019

AbstractObjectiveTo ascertain the performance of exome sequencing (ES) technology for determining the etiological basis of abnormal perinatal phenotypes and to study the impact of comprehensive phenotyping on variant prioritization.MethodsA carefully selected cohort of 32/204 fetuses with abnormal perinatal phenotypes following postmortem/postnatal deep phenotyping underwent ES to identify a causative variant for the fetal phenotype. A retrospective comparative analysis of the prenatal versus postmortem/postnatal phenotype–based variant prioritization was performed with aid of Phenolyzer software. A review of selected literature reports was done to examine the completeness of phenotypic information for cases in those reports and how it impacted the performance of fetal ES.ResultsIn 18/32 (56%) fetuses, a pathogenic/likely pathogenic variant was identified. This included novel genotype‐phenotype associations, expanded prenatal phenotypes of known Mendelian disorders and dual Mendelian diagnoses. The retrospective analysis revealed that the putative diagnostic variant could not be identified on basis of prenatal findings alone in 15/22 (68%) cases, indicating the importance of comprehensive postmortem/postnatal phenotype information. Literature review was supportive of these findings but could not be conclusive due to marked heterogeneity of involved studies.ConclusionComprehensive phenotyping is essential for improving diagnostic performance and facilitating identification of novel genotype‐phenotype associations in perinatal cohorts undergoing ES.
Utility of a Reverse Phase Protein Array to Evaluate Multiple Biomarkers in Diffuse Large B‐Cell Lymphoma
Authors: Suzuki Masaki , Muroi Atsushi , Nojima Masanori , Numata Ayumi , Takasaki Hirotaka , Sakai Rika , Yokose Tomoyuki , Miyagi Yohei , Koshikawa Naohiko 
Published: November 2019

PurposeDiffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the most common non‐Hodgkin lymphoma, is a heterogeneous lymphoma with different clinical manifestations and molecular alterations, and several markers are currently being measured routinely for its diagnosis, subtyping, or prognostication by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Here, the utility of a reverse‐phase‐protein‐array (RPPA) as a novel supportive tool to measure multiple biomarkers for DLBCL diagnosis is validated.Experimental designThe expression of seven markers (CD5, CD10, BCL2, BCL6, MUM1, Ki‐67, and C‐MYC) is analyzed by RPPA and IHC using 37 DLBCL tissues, and the correlation between the two methods is determined. To normalize tumor content ratio in the tissues, the raw RPPA values of each marker are adjusted by that of CD20 or PAX‐5.ResultsThe CD20‐adjusted data for CD5, MUM1, BCL2, Ki‐67, and C‐MYC has better correlation with IHC results than PAX‐5‐adjusted data. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis reveals that CD5, MUM1, BCL2, and C‐MYC exhibit a better sensitivity and specificity >0.750. Furthermore, the CD20‐adjusted C‐MYC value strongly correlates with that of IHC, and has a particularly high specificity (0.882).Conclusions and clinical relevanceAlthough further investigation using a large number of DLBCL specimens needs to be conducted, these results suggest that RPPA could be applicable as a supportive tool for determining lymphoma prognosis.
The impact of student financial aid reforms on leaving home: Evidence from the Netherlands
Authors: van den Berg Lonneke 
Published: November 2019

AbstractTo save costs, young adults may delay leaving the parental home in times of welfare cuts. However, although the impact of student financial aid reforms on educational decisions has received considerable attention in previous research, the impact on leaving home has not previously been studied. Using register data, this study investigates how recent student aid reforms in the Netherlands have impacted students' home‐leaving decisions. Event history models suggest that students who started studying after the reforms are substantially less likely to leave the parental home than students who began studying before the reforms. These findings underline the importance of the family for support: The family tends to take over when state support declines. The findings for income patterns are mixed. The decrease is greater for low‐income students relative to middle‐income students, whereas there is no difference in the effect of the reforms between low‐income and high‐income students.
Airmass analysis of the processes driving the progression of the Indian summer monsoon
Authors: Volonté A. , Turner A.G. , Menon A. 
Published: November 2019

AbstractThe Indian summer monsoon is a vital source of water and a cause of severe impacts for more than a billion people in the Indian subcontinent. The INCOMPASS project investigates the mechanisms driving its onset and progression through an observational field campaign supplemented by high‐resolution numerical simulations for the 2016 season using UK Met Office models. A 4.4 km resolution convection‐permitting limited‐area model simulation (driven at its boundaries by a daily‐initialised global model) is used in this study, and verified against observations, along with short‐lead‐time operational global forecasts. These data show that the monsoon progression towards northwest India in June 2016 is a non‐steady process, modulated by the interaction between moist low‐level southwesterly flow from the Arabian Sea and a northwesterly incursion of descending dry air from western and central Asia. The location and extent of these two flows are closely linked to midlatitude dynamics, through the southward propagation of potential vorticity streamers and the associated formation of cyclonic circulations in the region where the two airmasses interact. Particular focus is devoted to the use of Lagrangian trajectories to characterise the evolution of the airstreams and complement the Eulerian monsoon progression analysis. The trajectories confirm that the interaction of the two airstreams is a primary driver of the general moistening of the troposphere associated with monsoon progression. They also indicate the occurrence of local diabatic processes along the airstreams, such as turbulent mixing and local evaporation from the Arabian Sea, in addition to moisture transport from remote sources. In summary, this combined Eulerian–Lagrangian analysis reveals the non‐steady nature of monsoon progression towards northwest India. This process is driven by the interaction of different airmasses and influenced by a synergy of factors on a variety of scales, such as midlatitude dynamics, transient weather systems and local diabatic processes.
Metabolomics of soybean green stem and foliar retention (GSFR) disease using mass spectrometry and molecular networking
Authors: Zanzarin Daniele Maria , Hernandes Carolina Parcero , Leme Luiza Mariano , Silva Evandro , Porto Carla , Martin do Prado Rodolpho , Meyer Mauricio C. , Favoreto Luciany , Nunes Estela de Oliveira , Pilau Eduardo Jorge 
Published: November 2019

RationaleThe nematode Aphelenchoides besseyi is the causal agent of green stem and foliar retention, a soybean disease recently described in Brazil. This condition can reduce soybean yield by up to 100%. However, little is known about chemical interactions between the plant and pathogen. Therefore, this work aimed to investigate metabolites from healthy soybean roots and from soybean roots that were inoculated with A. besseyi.MethodsA. besseyi were multiplied in vitro with Fusarium sp. colonies in Petri dishes for 25 days, and were axenically inoculated into hydroponics healthy soybean plants. The metabolites were extracted from the roots of healthy and A. besseyi‐infected plants 16 days post‐inoculation. These extracts were analyzed using an untargeted metabolomic method with an ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization /tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC/ESI‐MS/MS) and molecular networking approach.ResultsRoots from infected plants showed morphological alterations such as shrinkage, darkening, and arching. Similarly, they also showed an increased presence of flavonoids, compared with healthy roots. Compounds such as neobavaisoflavone, glycitin, genistin, and genistein were putatively identified and had greater intensity in inoculated roots. These compounds are linked to the defensive mechanisms in plants against nematodes. Moreover, coumaric acid, also exclusively putatively identified in inoculated roots, shows activity related to inhibition of root growth.ConclusionsLiquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and molecular networking approaches proved to be a powerful tool for the metabolomic study of GSFR. This study showed metabolomics differences of protective substances in the roots, evidencing a quick response of the plant to the attack of A. besseyi.
Automated Scoring of Students’ Use of Text Evidence in Writing
Authors: Correnti Richard , Matsumura Lindsay Clare , Wang Elaine , Litman Diane , Rahimi Zahra , Kisa Zahid 
Published: November 2019

AbstractDespite the importance of analytic text‐based writing, relatively little is known about how to teach to this important skill. A persistent barrier to conducting research that would provide insight on best practices for teaching this form of writing is a lack of outcome measures that assess students’ analytic text‐based writing development and that are feasible to implement at scale. Automated essay‐scoring (AES) technologies offer one potential approach to increasing the feasibility of research in this area, provided that the scores yield information about substantive dimensions of writing aligned to new standards and are sensitive to variation in literacy instruction. The authors describe an approach to using AES technologies to provide information about students’ skills at marshaling text evidence in the upper elementary grades. Specifically, the authors examined 1,529 responses to a response‐to‐text assessment (RTA) from 65 fifth‐ and sixth‐grade language arts classrooms, from which the authors also collected data on instruction via logs, text‐based writing assignments, and surveys. Through correlational, univariate, and multilevel multivariate analyses, the authors found validity evidence supporting automated scoring of the RTA: The authors found close correspondence of human and AES scores, alignment of AES scores with components of instruction that the authors expected would predict variation in students’ writing quality, and association between AES scores and other expected measures of student achievement. These findings provide encouraging evidence that AES technologies as applied to the RTA can generate valid inferences about students’ ability to marshal text evidence in writing and, thus, could be a useful tool for advancing large‐scale writing research.