bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The potential role of the gut microbiota in shaping host energetics and metabolic rate
Authors: Lindsay Elle C. , Metcalfe Neil B. , Llewellyn Martin S. 
Published: August 2020

Abstract

It is increasingly recognized that symbiotic microbiota (especially those present in the gut) have important influences on the functioning of their host. Here, we review the interplay between this microbial community and the growth, metabolic rate and nutritional energy harvest of the host.

We show how recent developments in experimental and analytical methods have allowed much easier characterization of the nature, and increasingly the functioning, of the gut microbiota. Manipulation studies that remove or augment gut microorganisms or transfer them between hosts have allowed unprecedented insights into their impact. Whilst much of the information to date has come from studies of laboratory model organisms, recent studies have used a more diverse range of host species, including those living in natural conditions, revealing their ecological relevance.

The gut microbiota can provide the host with dietary nutrients that would be otherwise unobtainable, as well as allow the host flexibility in its capacity to cope with changing environments. The composition of the gut microbial community of a species can vary seasonally or when the host moves between environments (e.g. fresh and sea water in the case of migratory fish). It can also change with host diet choice, metabolic rate (or demands) and life stage. These changes in gut microbial community composition enable the host to live within different environments, adapt to seasonal changes in diet and maintain performance throughout its entire life history, highlighting the ecological relevance of the gut microbiota.

Whilst it is evident that gut microbes can underpin host metabolic plasticity, the causal nature of associations between particular microorganisms and host performance is not always clear unless a manipulative approach has been used. Many studies have focussed on a correlative approach by characterizing microbial community composition, but there is now a need for more experimental studies in both wild and laboratory‐based environments, to reveal the true role of gut microbiota in influencing the functioning of their hosts, including its capacity to tolerate environmental change. We highlight areas where these would be particularly fruitful in the context of ecological energetics.
Keratin 18 induces proliferation, migration, and invasion in gastric cancer via the MAPK signalling pathway
Authors: Wang Peng‐Bin , Chen Yan , Ding Guang‐Rong , Du Hong‐Wei , Fan Hong‐Yan 
Published: August 2020

AbstractPurposeKeratin 18 (KRT18) is a cytoskeleton protein that plays a key role in multiple cancers. The present study aims to further investigate the roles of KRT18 in gastric cancer (GC) tissues and cells.MethodsThe KRT18 protein expression levels of GC tissues and cells were detected using immunohistochemistry and western blot. The relationship between KRT18 expression levels and the prognosis of GC patients was further analyzed. To explore this relationship, small interfering RNA (siRNA) was used to inhibit the endogenous expression of KRT18 in GC cells. Furthermore, the effects of KRT18 on the proliferation, invasion, migration, and apoptosis of GC cells were analyzed in vitro. In addition, the role of KRT18 in GC‐specific processes was investigated.ResultsKeratin 18 expression was shown to be up‐regulated in GC tissues and associated with poor prognosis. Following KRT18 silencing with siRNA, the proliferation, invasion, and migration ability of GC cells were significantly inhibited, while the apoptotic process was promoted. Furthermore, the activation of the MAPK signalling pathway was identified as the potential mechanism through which KRT18 influenced GC processes.ConclusionsKeratin 18 plays a cancer‐promoting role and might be a potential therapeutic target in the treatment of GC.
Environmental Ethics and Ontologies: Humanist or Posthumanist? The Case for Constrained Pluralism
Authors: Stables Andrew 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
This paper will evaluate a range of humanist and posthumanist ethical positions as useful bases for environmental education. It will conclude that a range of such positions can be seen as embracing respect for non-human nature. Therefore, environmental education can effectively embrace ethical pluralism to some extent. Embracing a degree of pluralism potentially makes it easier for teachers and students with a wide range of preconceptions to become more pro-environmental, while highly committed and exclusive approaches can prove divisive. However, some humanist and posthumanist positions are grounded in dismissive or reductive attitudes to non-human nature. In summary, there is no one suitable ethical basis for environmental education in the humanist and non-humanist traditions, but several. However, the key to the effectiveness of any of these is full acceptance that human and non-human flourishing are integrally related, and that non-human nature must therefore be both respected (that is, both admired and cared for), and not merely when this meets short-term instrumental human goals.
Beauty in the Darkness: Aesthetic Education in the Ecological Crisis
Authors: Affifi Ramsey 
Published: August 2020

Abstract
Engaging with beauty can orient mind, heart and action in this era of ecological destruction. First, I present a vision of beauty that acknowledges some of its common critiques while salvaging it from claims that it is merely subjective, or worse, destructive. I then focus on how the ecological crisis elicits and invites participation in actions towards vulnerable things and the beauty they invoke. I reflect on my life experiences and engagements with art to help understand the possibilities and power in the beauty of vulnerable things and of actions towards them. While I acknowledge and address some difficulties with beauty as the basis for action, I suggest it is better suited to engage the ecological crisis than appealing to emotions such as hope or relying on prevalent ethical approaches. I end the paper by considering the transformative role aesthetics should play in reimagining subject focus, interdisciplinarity and character development in school curricula and pedagogy aimed at sustainability.
Relationship of neighborhood social determinants of health on racial/ethnic mortality disparities in US veterans—Mediation and moderating effects
Authors: Wong Michelle S. , Steers W. Neil , Hoggatt Katherine J. , Ziaeian Boback , Washington Donna L. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractObjectiveTo examine mediation and moderation of racial/ethnic all‐cause mortality disparities among Veteran Health Administration (VHA)‐users by neighborhood deprivation and residential segregation.Data sourcesElectronic medical records for 10/2008‐9/2009 VHA‐users linked to National Death Index, 2000 Area Deprivation Index, and 2006‐2009 US Census.Study designRacial/ethnic groups included American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN), Asian, non‐Hispanic black, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and non‐Hispanic white (reference). We measured neighborhood deprivation by Area Deprivation Index, calculated segregation for non‐Hispanic black, Hispanic, and AI/AN using the Isolation Index, evaluated mediation using inverse odds‐weighted Cox regression models and moderation using Cox regression models testing for neighborhood*race/ethnicity interactions.Principal findingsMortality disparities existed for AI/ANs (HR = 1.07, 95%CI:1.01‐1.10) but no other groups after covariate adjustment. Neighborhood deprivation and Hispanic segregation neither mediated nor moderated AI/AN disparities. Non‐Hispanic black segregation both mediated and moderated AI/AN disparities. The AI/AN vs. non‐Hispanic white disparity was attenuated for AI/ANs living in neighborhoods with greater non‐Hispanic black segregation (P = .047). Black segregation's mediating effect was limited to VHA‐users living in counties with low black segregation. AI/AN segregation also mediated AI/AN mortality disparities in counties that included or were near AI/AN reservations.ConclusionsNeighborhood characteristics, particularly black and AI/AN residential segregation, may contribute to AI/AN mortality disparities among VHA‐users, particularly in communities that were rural, had greater black segregation, or were located on or near AI/AN reservations. This suggests the importance of neighborhood social determinants of health on racial/ethnic mortality disparities. Living near reservations may allow AI/AN VHA‐users to maintain cultural and tribal ties, while also providing them with access to economic and other resources. Future research should explore the experiences of AI/ANs living in black communities and underlying mechanisms to identify targets for intervention.
FEAR Index, city characteristics, and housing returns
Authors: Aroul Ramya Rajajagadeesan , Sabherwal Sanjiv , Saydometov Sergiy 
Published: August 2020

AbstractWe use Google search frequency to construct a measure of aggregate sentiment in housing markets—Financial, Economic, and Real Estate (FEAR) Index—and analyze its relationship to housing returns. We find that housing markets react inversely to changes in FEAR Index, which captures negative sentiment, and that market characteristics affect the strength of this relationship. More financially distressed markets, as measured by bankruptcy rates and mortgage default double trigger, are more responsive to changes in FEAR Index than less distressed markets, and cold markets (markets with slow price appreciation) are more responsive than hot markets (markets with rapid price appreciation). We also examine these characteristics jointly and find that cold markets with financial distress are the most responsive to negative sentiment. Finally, we show that home prices are more sensitive to negative sentiment during recessionary periods.
A comprehensive food safety short course (FSSC) improves food safety knowledge, behaviors, attitudes, and skills of Ukrainian participants
Authors: Ercan Oruc Duygu , Pokharel Siroj , Anantheswaran Ramaswamy C. , Bucknavage Martin W. , Gourama Hassan , Shanina Olga , Cutter Catherine N. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractUnderstanding and enacting standardized food safety practices in a global economy is important. In 2018, a comprehensive food safety training program, including courses in sanitation, food microbiology and mycology, thermal processing, Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, cereal quality, and food defense, was delivered to food industry professionals, students, and faculty members in Kyiv, Ukraine. The curriculum included lectures, hands‐on laboratories, as well as case studies and product development activities. Prior to the delivery of the curriculum, demographic data were collected (n = 33). Participants’ food safety knowledge, attitude, behavior, and skills were assessed prior to the program starting and after program completion (immediately and 6 months later). Food safety knowledge of participants immediately after the program and 6 months later was significantly higher (p < .05) than before the program started. Immediately after the delivery of the curriculum and 6 months later, the participants’ food safety attitude and behavior were positively enhanced, with long‐term, sustained changes in proper food safety practices, training requirements, and regulations. Additionally, handwashing skills were improved significantly because of the training program. Use of case studies and product development activities demonstrated positive impacts on participants’ food safety learning experience in terms of awareness of their knowledge, communication skills, and the ability to connect scientific concepts and real‐life examples. To our knowledge, little information exists on the use of these training tools with international audiences. This information may be useful to food industry professionals, researchers, and academics who are interested in finding ways to improve the global safety of the food supply through training and education.
Wax‐based delivery systems: Preparation, characterization, and food applications
Authors: Soleimanian Yasamin , Goli Sayed Amir Hossein , Shirvani Atefe , Elmizadeh Ameneh , Marangoni Alejandro G. 
Published: August 2020

AbstractThe development of lipid‐based delivery systems has attracted much attention over the last years and a wide variety of strategies and formulations are currently available to encapsulate, protect, and target delivery of bioactive and functional lipophilic constituents within the food and pharmaceutical industries. Waxes are crystalline lipid material, consisting of a complex mixture of long‐chain fatty acids and fatty alcohols, hydrocarbons, aldehydes, and ketones and show great promises as constituents of carrier systems. Most of waxes are classified under food‐grade category and show high availability at a low cost. This review article has provided a comprehensive summary of research on major carriers containing wax as one of the main constituents, including solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, oleogels, and Pickering emulsions, with a focus on their food applications. The physical and chemical nature of natural waxes are described in the first while the second part deals with the structure, formulation, main methods of preparation, characterization, and finally utilization of each type of wax‐based delivery system for specific food applications.
Fruiting‐body‐base flour from an Oyster mushroom waste in the development of antioxidative chicken patty
Authors: Wan‐Mohtar Wan Abd Al Qadr Imad , Halim‐Lim Sarina Abdul , Kamarudin Nurul Zahidah , Rukayadi Yaya , Abd Rahim Muhamad Hafiz , Jamaludin Adi Ainurzaman , Ilham Zul 
Published: August 2020

AbstractIn a commercial oyster mushroom farm, from 300 g of the total harvest, only the cap and stem of the fruiting body parts are harvested (200 g) while the unused lower section called fruiting‐body‐base (FBB) is discarded (50 g). A new antioxidative FBB flour (FBBF) conversion to mixed‐ratio chicken patty was recently developed which converts 16.67% of FBB into an edible flour. At the initial stage, pretreatments of FBBF were optimized at particle size (106 µm) and citric acid concentration (0.5 g/100 mL) to improve flour antioxidant responses. Such pretreatments boosted total phenolic content (2.31 ± 0.53 mg GAE/g) and DPPH (51.53 ± 1.51%) of pretreated FBBF. Mixed‐ratio chicken patty containing FBBF (10%, 20%, 30%) significantly (P < 0.05) influenced the hardness, cohesiveness, springiness, and chewiness of the patties. However, only the hardness and chewiness increased proportionally with the increase FBBF in concentration. Notably, 60 panellists considered that 10% FBBF‐chicken patty sensory attributes, including lightness, redness, and yellowness, is acceptable to consumers. This information could be used to market any type of commercial mushroom farm waste as alternative food products.Practical ApplicationThis study shows that unused harvested mushroom waste from a local farm can be used to make an antioxidative chicken patty that is acceptable to consumer panellists. The converted mushroom waste into flour suggests that smaller particles and citric acid pretreatment can increase its nutritional value. This information can be used for waste conversion into new product development from any type of mushroom farm.
Carboxymethyl chitosan‐decorated proliposomes as carriers for improved stability and sustained release of flaxseed oil
Authors: Song Fan‐fan , Tian Shao‐jun , Chen Fu‐sheng , Sun Xiao‐yang , Zhang Bei‐bei 
Published: August 2020

AbstractA flaxseed oil carboxymethyl chitosan‐decorated proliposome system was fabricated in this research. The physicochemical characteristics, stability, and in vitro release behaviors of flaxseed oil were studied and compared with that of flaxseed oil‐loaded liposomes. The results of dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and oxidation stability indicated that the storage stability of proliposomes was better. After 28 days of storage, the peroxide value of flaxseed oil‐loaded liposomes (20.1 meq/kg) was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than that of flaxseed oil‐loaded proliposomes (9.0 meq/kg); the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances in the former (0.53 mmol/kg) was also higher than that in the latter (0.27 mmol/kg). The in vitro release behavior of flaxseed oil indicated the proliposomes were more stable in the simulated gastrointestinal fluids. Therefore, the flaxseed oil‐loaded proliposome system could be a promising vehicle for delivery flaxseed oil in food industry.Practical ApplicationA flaxseed oil‐loaded proliposome delivery system was fabricated in this research. Their physical and oxidation stability of flaxseed oil were improved, and the in vitro cumulative release of flaxseed oil was delayed compared with flaxseed oil liposomes. This system may provide an effective strategy for the flaxseed oil encapsulation in the food industry.
phyr: An r package for phylogenetic species‐distribution modelling in ecological communities
Authors: Li Daijiang , Dinnage Russell , Nell Lucas A. , Helmus Matthew R. , Ives Anthony R. 
Published: August 2020

Abstract

Model‐based approaches are increasingly popular in ecological studies. A good example of this trend is the use of joint species distribution models to ask questions about ecological communities. However, most current applications of model‐based methods do not include phylogenies despite the well‐known importance of phylogenetic relationships in shaping species distributions and community composition. In part, this is due to a lack of accessible tools allowing ecologists to fit phylogenetic species distribution models easily.

To fill this gap, the r package phyr (pronounced fire) implements a suite of metrics, comparative methods and mixed models that use phylogenies to understand and predict community composition and other ecological and evolutionary phenomena. The phyr workhorse functions are implemented in C++ making all calculations and model estimations fast.

phyr can fit a variety of models such as phylogenetic joint‐species distribution models, spatiotemporal‐phylogenetic autocorrelation models, and phylogenetic trait‐based bipartite network models. phyr also estimates phylogenetically independent trait correlations with measurement error to test for adaptive syndromes and performs fast calculations of common alpha and beta phylogenetic diversity metrics. All phyr methods are united under Brownian motion or Ornstein–Uhlenbeck models of evolution, and phylogenetic terms are modelled as phylogenetic covariance matrices.

The functions and model formula syntax we propose in phyr provide an easy‐to‐use collection of tools that we hope will ignite the use of phylogenies to address a variety of ecological questions.
DeepForest: A Python package for RGB deep learning tree crown delineation
Authors: Weinstein Ben G. , Marconi Sergio , Aubry‐Kientz Mélaine , Vincent Gregoire , Senyondo Henry , White Ethan P. 
Published: August 2020

Abstract

Remote sensing of forested landscapes can transform the speed, scale and cost of forest research. The delineation of individual trees in remote sensing images is an essential task in forest analysis. Here we introduce a new Python package, DeepForest that detects individual trees in high resolution RGB imagery using deep learning.

While deep learning has proven highly effective in a range of computer vision tasks, it requires large amounts of training data that are typically difficult to obtain in ecological studies. DeepForest overcomes this limitation by including a model pretrained on over 30 million algorithmically generated crowns from 22 forests and fine‐tuned using 10,000 hand‐labelled crowns from six forests.

The package supports the application of this general model to new data, fine tuning the model to new datasets with user labelled crowns, training new models and evaluating model predictions. This simplifies the process of using and retraining deep learning models for a range of forests, sensors and spatial resolutions.

We illustrate the workflow of DeepForest using data from the National Ecological Observatory Network, a tropical forest in French Guiana, and street trees from Portland, Oregon.
Detecting plant species in the field with deep learning and drone technology
Authors: James Katherine , Bradshaw Karen 
Published: August 2020

Abstract

Aerial drones are providing a new source of high‐resolution imagery for mapping of plant species of interest, amongst other applications. On‐board detection algorithms could open the door to allow for applications in which drones can intelligently interact with their environment. However, the majority of plant detection studies have focused on detection in post‐flight processed orthomosaics. Greater research into developing detection algorithms robust to real‐world variations in environmental conditions is necessary, such that they are suitable for deployment in the field under variable conditions.

We outline the steps necessary to develop such a system, show by example how real‐world considerations can be addressed during model training and briefly illustrate the performance of our best performing model in the field when integrated with an aerial drone.

Our results show that introducing variations in brightness as an additional augmentation strategy during training is beneficial when dealing with real‐life data. We achieved a 27% improvement in the F1‐score obtained on the unseen test set when using this approach. Further improvements to the model performance were obtained through the use of weight map‐based loss, accounting for uncertainty in the annotation masks due to the indistinct nature of the edges of the target plants using weighting. This resulted in a 15% improvement in precision for the best configuration of hyper‐parameters, yielding a final model with an F1‐score of 83% and accuracy of 96%. Finally, results computed on the fly show that such a system is deployable in the field.

This study shows that it is possible for a commercially available drone, integrated with a deep learning model, to detect invasive plants in the field and demonstrates methodology which could be applied to developing similar systems for other plant species of interest. The ability to perform detection on the fly is necessary for future applications in which intelligent interaction between a drone and its environment is required.