bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of fecal steroid and thyroid hormone metabolites in eastern North Pacific gray whales
Authors: Lemos Leila S , Olsen Amy , Smith Angela , Chandler Todd E , Larson Shawn , Hunt Kathleen , Torres Leigh G 
Published: December 2020

AbstractBaleen whale fecal samples have high potential for endocrine monitoring, which can be used as a non-invasive tool to identify the physiological response to disturbance events and describe population health and vital rates. In this study, we used commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to validate and quantify fecal steroid (progestins, androgens and glucocorticoids) and thyroid hormone metabolite concentrations in eastern North Pacific gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) along the Oregon coast, USA, from May to October of 2016–2018. Higher mean progestin metabolite concentrations were observed in postweaning females, followed by pregnant females. Mean androgen, glucocorticoid and thyroid metabolites were higher in mature males. Progestin, glucocorticoids and thyroid fecal metabolites varied significantly by year, with positive correlations between progestin and androgen, and between glucocorticoid and thyroid metabolites. We also present two case studies of a documented injured whale and a mature male displaying reproductive competitive behavior, which provide reference points for physiologically stressed individuals and adult breeding males, respectively. Our methods and findings advance the knowledge of baleen whale physiology, can help guide future research on whale physiology and can inform population management and conservation efforts regarding minimizing the impact of anthropogenic stressors on whales.
Endoglucanase activity of cellulolytic bacteria from lake sediments and its application in hydrophyte degradation
Authors: Zhang Hongpei , Li Qianzheng , Zhao Yuqing , Zhang Mingzhen , Xu Dong , Wu Zhenbin , Zhou Qiaohong 
Published: December 2020

ABSTRACT
Hydrophytes are plants that grow in or on water. Their overgrowth adversely affects the ecosystem because of crowding out other aquatic organisms and polluting the environment with plant residue. In principle, cellulolytic bacteria can be used to degrade hydrophyte biomass. We here isolated and characterized four cellulolytic bacterial strains from Lake Donghu sediments (Wuhan, China) that are rich in organic matter and plant residues. The isolates (WDHS-01 to 04) represent Bacillus, Micromonospora and Streptomyces genera. The bacteria exhibited pronounced endoglucanase activities (from 0.022 to 0.064 U mL–1). They did not extensively degrade the emerged plant Canna indica L. However, in an Hydrilla verticillata (submerged plant) degradation medium, strain WDHS-02 exhibited a high degradation rate (54.91%), endoglucanase activity of 0.35 U mL–1 and the conversion rate of cellulose to reducing sugars of 7.15%. Correlation analysis revealed that bacterial endoglucanase activity was significantly correlated with the degradation rate, and acid detergent lignin, ash and cellulose content of the residual H. verticillata powder. In conclusion, the identified bacteria efficiently decomposed submerged plants without the need for acid–base pretreatment. They expand the set of known cellulolytic bacteria and can be used for natural degradation of submerged plants.
Malyl-CoA lyase provides glycine/glyoxylate synthesis in type I methanotrophs
Authors: But S Y , Egorova S V , Khmelenina V N , Mustakhimov I I 
Published: December 2020

ABSTRACT
The biochemical routes for assimilation of one-carbon compounds in bacteria require many clarifications. In this study, the role of malyl-CoA lyase in the metabolism of the aerobic type I methanotroph Methylotuvimicrobium alcaliphilum 20Z has been investigated by gene inactivation and biochemical studies. The functionality of the enzyme has been confirmed by heterologous expression in Escherichia coli. The mutant strain lacking Mcl activity demonstrated the phenotype of glycine auxotrophy. The genes encoding malyl-CoA lyase are present in the genomes of all methanotrophs, except for representatives of the phylum Verrucomicrobium. We suppose that malyl-CoA lyase is the enzyme that provides glyoxylate and glycine synthesis in the type I methanotrophs supporting carbon assimilation via the serine cycle in addition to the major ribulose monophosphate cycle.
A Strategic Forest Management Model for Optimizing Timber Yield and Carbon Sequestration
Authors: Carle Marc-André , D’Amours Sophie , Azouzi Riadh , Rönnqvist Mikael 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Strategic forest management planning models designed to maintain existing carbon stocks and maximize capacity for future sequestration can help identify underused opportunities to increase carbon stocks without diminishing other forest products. This study proposed a carbon stock unit that allows summing up the stocks in the different forest pools even if the decomposition far exceeds the planning horizon. This unit is used to integrate the methods and algorithms from the Carbon Budget Model of the Canadian Forest Sector (CBM-CFS3) model into a wood supply model. The resulting model could be used to predict changes in carbon stocks, transfers between carbon pools, and greenhouse gas emissions that would result from every forest management activity. We tailored this model to meet different strategies: maximizing carbon storage in the forest, maximizing high-sustained timber yield, and achieving the dual objectives of yield and carbon storage. A range of management scenarios were simulated using the data of a 485,000 hectares mixed-wood forest in Quebec, Canada. Our results demonstrate that, with the reduction in the harvest rates, the increase in the ecosystem carbon storage is insufficient to offset the carbon losses associated with the increase in the harvest rates.
Association of Complicated Diverticulitis With Development of De Novo Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Authors: ur Rahman Asad , Hussain Ishtiaq , Hasan Badar , ur Rashid Mamoon , Tandon Kanwarpreet Singh , Castro Fernando 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Background
There has been a historic similarity in the epidemiology and pathophysiology of diverticular disease and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Because there are limited to no data on the role of diverticulitis as a potential risk factor for de novo IBD, we aimed to evaluate the role of diverticulitis and complicated diverticulitis as a potential predictor of IBD.

Methods
We performed a retrospective, single-center study including patients older than age 18 years who were diagnosed with diverticulitis from January 2012 until December 2018 without a prior diagnosis of IBD. These patients were then evaluated for development of IBD. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to compare the characteristics and outcomes between patients who did or did not develop IBD.

Results
A total of 2770 patients were diagnosed with diverticulitis from 2012 until 2018. Of these patients, 17 were diagnosed with IBD, resulting in an incidence rate of 0.23% per patient-year. The incidence rate among patients who required surgery for diverticulitis was 0.44% per patient-year, and patients with complicated diverticulitis had an incidence rate of 0.91% per patient-year. Univariate analysis showed that the need for surgery related to diverticulitis (hazard ratio [HR], 6.27; P = 0.003) and complicated diverticulitis was associated with the development of IBD (HR, 14.71; P &lt; 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that complicated diverticulitis was the sole factor associated with IBD (HR, 10.34; P &lt; 0.001).

Conclusions
Patients with diverticulitis are at a higher risk of developing de novo IBD. This risk is highest in patients with complicated diverticulitis.
Disease- and Treatment-related Complications in Older Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Comparison of Adult-onset vs Elderly-onset Disease
Authors: Rozich Jacob J , Luo Jiyu , Dulai Parambir S , Collins Angelina E , Pham Lysianne , Boland Brigid S , Sandborn William J , Singh Siddharth 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Background
The incidence and prevalence of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) in older adults are rising. There is a limited comparative assessment of risk of disease- and treatment-related complications in older patients (older than 60 years) with adult-onset (age at disease onset, 18–59 years; AO-IBD) vs elderly-onset IBD (age at disease onset, older than 60 years; EO-IBD). We compared clinical outcomes in older patients with IBD with AO-IBD vs EO-IBD.

Methods
We conducted a retrospective cohort study comparing risk of disease-related complications (IBD-related surgery, hospitalization, treatment escalation, clinical flare, or disease complication) and treatment-related complications (serious infection, malignancy, or death) in older patients with AO-IBD vs EO-IBD through Cox proportional hazard analysis, adjusting for age at cohort entry, disease phenotype, disease duration, prior surgery and/or hospitalization, medication use, disease activity at cohort entry, and comorbidities.

Results
We included 356 older patients with IBD (AO-IBD, 191 patients, 67 ± 5 y at cohort entry; EO-IBD, 165 patients, 72 ± 8 y at cohort entry). No significant differences were observed in the risk of disease-related complications in older patients with prevalent vs incident IBD (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.85; 95% CI, 0.58–1.25), although risk of IBD-related surgery was lower in older patients with prevalent IBD (aHR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.25–0.89). Older patients with prevalent IBD were significantly less likely to experience treatment-related complications (aHR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.39–0.87).

Conclusion
Patients with AO-IBD have lower risk of treatment-related complications as they age compared with patients with EO-IBD, without a significant difference in risk of disease-related complications.
“We Can Do This”: Merkel, Migration and the Fantasy of Control
Authors: Zehfuss Maja 
Published: December 2020

AbstractAt the height of the so-called 2015 refugee crisis, Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is thought to have opened the country's borders to a million refugees. She was celebrated as an international leader and the refugees’ savior, while the country was seen as having a welcome culture. Retrospectively, however, her refugee policy is construed as a mistake. Both interpretations agree that Merkel opened the border. Deploying a detailed reading of events, this article asks what political imaginary is invoked through this representation and what its consequences are. It draws out how paying attention to temporality reveals the racialization involved in producing the problem. First, the article sets out the centrality of Merkel and the border opening to accounts of the events, drawing out the temporality of events and its implications. Second, it asks what it means to say that the border was opened, complicating this representation. Finally, it shows how the focus on the border opening invoked a political imaginary marked by a fantasy of control that obscures its own exclusions. Recognizing bordering as about control over the temporality of community alerts us to how the impossible desire to control the future racializes those seeking refuge.
Spanning Thousands of Miles and Years: Political Nostalgia and China's Revival of the Silk Road
Authors: Benabdallah Lina 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
The study of international relations (IR) has paid increasing attention over the last decade or so to the politics of memory, trauma, shame, but to a less extent to the political instrumentalization of positive experiences of the past. Indeed, IR theory rarely engaged the concept of nostalgia and its place within foreign policy making despite its potential for providing a powerful theoretical lens to explain hegemonic power dynamics. Sitting at the intersection of time and space, of time and affect, and of past and present, political nostalgia enables state leaders to move back and forth in time bringing back the past not for the past's sake but for the promise of a prosperous future. This article examines Chinese government's nostalgic borrowings from the Ancient Silk Road in order to associate Xi Jinping's new grand strategy, the New Silk Road to notions of inclusivity and prosperity. Reviving stories about fifteenth-century Chinese admiral Zheng He and reconstructing the history of his maritime navigations through stories and images of camel caravans crossing sand dunes are illustrations of political nostalgia.
Angling for Influence: Institutional Proliferation in Development Banking
Authors: Pratt Tyler 
Published: December 2020

Abstract
Why do states build new international organizations (IOs) in issue areas where many institutions already exist? Prevailing theories of institutional creation emphasize their ability to resolve market failures, but adding new IOs can increase uncertainty and rule inconsistency. I argue that institutional proliferation occurs when existing IOs fail to adapt to shifts in state power. Member states expect decision-making rules to reflect their underlying power; when it does not, they demand greater influence in the organization. Subsequent bargaining over the redistribution of IO influence often fails due to credibility and information problems. As a result, under-represented states construct new organizations that provide them with greater institutional control. To test this argument, I examine the proliferation of multilateral development banks since 1944. I leverage a novel identification strategy rooted in the allocation of World Bank votes at Bretton Woods to show that the probability of institutional proliferation is higher when power is misaligned in existing institutions. My results suggest that conflict over shifts in global power contribute to the fragmentation of global governance.
Prevalence of Field-Collected House Flies and Stable Flies With Bacteria Displaying Cefotaxime and Multidrug Resistance
Authors: Pileggi Matthew T , Chase John R , Shu Runhang , Teng Lin , Jeong Kwangcheol C , Kaufman Phillip E , Wong Adam C N 
Published: December 2020

AbstractAntibiotic use in livestock accounts for 80% of total antibiotic use in the United States and has been described as the driver for resistance evolution and spread. As clinical infections with multidrug-resistant pathogens are rapidly rising, there remains a missing link between agricultural antibiotic use and its impact on human health. In this study, two species of filth flies from a livestock operation were collected over the course of 11 mo: house flies Musca domestica (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), representing a generalist feeder, and stable flies Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), representing a specialist (blood) feeder. The prevalence of flies carrying cefotaxime-resistant (CTX-R) bacteria in whole bodies and dissected guts were assayed by culturing on antibiotic-selective media, with distinct colonies identified by Sanger sequencing. Of the 149 flies processed, including 81 house flies and 68 stable flies, 18 isolates of 12 unique bacterial species resistant to high-level cefotaxime were recovered. These isolates also showed resistance to multiple classes of antibiotics. The CTX-R isolates were predominantly recovered from female flies, which bore at least two resistant bacterial species. The majority of resistant bacteria were isolated from the guts encompassing both enteric pathogens and commensals, sharing no overlap between the two fly species. Together, we conclude that house flies and stable flies in the field could harbor multidrug-resistant bacteria. The fly gut may serve as a reservoir for the acquisition and dissemination of resistance genes.
A Checklist of Macronyssid Species (Mesostigmata: Macronyssidae) From Brazil
Authors: Bassini-Silva Ricardo , Jacinavicius Fernando de Castro , Huang-Bastos Matheus , Dowling Ashley P G , Barros-Battesti Darci Moraes 
Published: December 2020

AbstractMacronyssid mites are parasites of reptiles, birds, and mammals. A checklist of macronyssid species of Brazil is provided, containing 13 genera and 26 species collected from 99 host species.
Plastic Surgery at War: A Scoping Review of Current Conflicts
Authors: Fox Justin P , Markov Nickolay P , Markov Alexandra M , O’Reilly Eamon , Latham Kerry P 
Published: December 2020

ABSTRACT

Introduction
The scope of military plastic surgery and location where care is provided has evolved with each major conflict. To help inform plastic surgeon utilization in future conflicts, we conducted a review of military plastic surgery-related studies to characterize plastic surgeon contributions during recent military operations.

Materials and Methods
Using a scoping review design, we searched electronic databases to identify articles published since September 1, 2001 related to military plastic surgery according to a defined search criterion. Next, we screened all abstracts for appropriateness based on pre-established inclusion/exclusion criteria. Finally, we reviewed the remaining full-text articles to describe the nature of care provided and the operational level at which care was delivered.

Results
The final sample included 55 studies with most originating in the United States (54.5%) between 2005 and 2019 and were either retrospective cohort studies (81.8%) or case series (10.9%). The breadth of care included management of significant upper/lower extremity injuries (40%), general reconstructive and wound care (36.4%), and craniofacial surgery (16.4%). Microsurgical reconstruction was a primary focus in 40.0% of published articles. When specified, most care was described at Role 3 (25.5%) or Roles 4/5 facilities (62.8%) with temporizing measures more common at Role 3 and definite reconstruction at Roles 4/5. Several lessons learned were identified that held commonality across plastic surgery domain.

Conclusions
Plastic surgeons continue to play a critical role in the management of wounded service members, particularly for complex extremity reconstruction, craniofacial trauma, and general expertise on wound management. Future efforts should evaluate mechanisms to maintain these skill sets among military plastic surgeons.
Evaluating Perioperative Glycemic Control of Non-cardiac Surgical Patients with Diabetes
Authors: Todd L Alan , Vigersky Robert A 
Published: December 2020

ABSTRACTIntroductionHyperglycemia during the perioperative period has generally been accepted as a contributor of poor outcomes in patients with diabetes mellitus undergoing surgery. Although an optimal glycemic range has not been clearly established in the literature, a consensus among national medical organizations generally recommends serum glucose levels to be maintained less than 180 mg/dL during the perioperative period.Materials and MethodsThe primary purpose of this evidence-based project was to identify the range of blood glucose values obtained from adult patients with diabetes mellitus undergoing non-cardiac surgery at a large military medical facility. The secondary purpose of this project was to assess the need for change in future practice. A retrospective review of the electronic medical record was conducted to identify adult surgical patients with diabetes scheduled for non-cardiac surgery. Preoperative and postoperative blood glucose values were obtained from the electronic medical record. The frequency of blood glucose values maintained within the recommended range of 140-180 mg/dL was recorded. Additional demographic data were collected to include age, height, weight, body mass index, length of surgery, and insulin/oral glycemic medications.ResultsOf the 9,449 surgeries performed between January 1, 2013, and December 31, 2013, there were 762 (8%) adult non-cardiac surgical patients identified with either a diagnosis of diabetes or a blood glucose value reported during the perioperative period. The recommended blood glucose range of 140-180 mg/dL was achieved in 31.3% (179 of 572) of patients before surgery and 28.6% (71 of 248) after surgery. A blood glucose value was not recorded before or after surgery in 24.9% (190 of 762) of patients identified as having pre-diabetes or diabetes.ConclusionDiabetes is a frequent finding in surgical patients. Monitoring blood glucose values during the perioperative period may allow for early treatment and prevent complications related to poor glycemic control. The results of this project revealed 2 potential areas of improvement in the care of non-cardiac surgical patients with diabetes: (1) improving compliance with obtaining blood glucose values before and after surgery and (2) reducing the incidence of postoperative hyperglycemia (&gt;180 mg/dL) which potentially could prevent avoidable complications related to poor glycemic control.
Inclusion of a Military-specific, Virtual Reality–based Rehabilitation Intervention Improved Measured Function, but Not Perceived Function, in Individuals with Lower Limb Trauma
Authors: Sheehan Riley C , Fain AuraLea C , Wilson Jonathan B , Wilken Jason M , Rábago Christopher A 
Published: December 2020

Abstract

Introduction
Lower extremity injury is common in the military and can lead to instability, pain, and decreased function. Military service also places high physical demands on service members (SMs). Standard treatment interventions often fail to align with these unique demands. Thus, the goal of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a military-specific virtual reality–based rehabilitation (VR) intervention supplemental to standard care (SC) in improving military performance in SMs with lower extremity injuries.

Materials and Methods
As part of an institutional review board–approved randomized control trial, SMs receiving care at an advanced rehabilitation center were randomized to receive either SC or VR in addition to SC (VR+SC). Participants were evaluated before treatment and ∼3 weeks later using a previously developed and validated military-specific assessment. Perceived improvement in physical function was measured using a Global Rating of Change (GROC) questionnaire. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to evaluate the effects of adding VR on the military-specific assessment measures. Linear regression was used to determine the relationship between perceived improvement, measured improvement, and VR volume.

Results
The VR+SC group was able to traverse a greater distance in the assessment following the VR intervention. There was no significant difference in GROC between groups. For the VR+SC group, change in distance completed was not correlated with GROC, but GROC was correlated with VR volume.

Conclusion
VR improved the distance that participants were able to traverse in the assessment. However, the VR+SC group demonstrated a disconnect between their perceived functional improvement as measured by the GROC and functional improvement as measured by the change in the distance completed. Rather, the perceived improvement appears to be more correlated with the volume of VR received. The way in which the treatment progression is structured and communicated may influence how patients perceive their change in physical function.