bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Convergent morphological responses to loss of flight in rails (Aves: Rallidae)
Authors: Gaspar Julien , Gibb Gillian C. , Trewick Steve A. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractThe physiological demands of flight exert strong selection pressure on avian morphology and so it is to be expected that the evolutionary loss of flight capacity would involve profound changes in traits. Here, we investigate morphological consequences of flightlessness in a bird family where the condition has evolved repeatedly. The Rallidae include more than 130 recognized species of which over 30 are flightless. Morphological and molecular phylogenetic data were used here to compare species with and without the ability to fly in order to determine major phenotypic effects of the transition from flighted to flightless. We find statistical support for similar morphological response among unrelated flightless lineages, characterized by a shift in energy allocation from the forelimbs to the hindlimbs. Indeed, flightless birds exhibit smaller sterna and wings than flighted taxa in the same family along with wider pelves and more robust femora. Phylogenetic signal tests demonstrate that those differences are independent of phylogeny and instead demonstrate convergent morphological adaptation associated with a walking ecology. We found too that morphological variation was greater among flightless rails than flighted ones, suggesting that relaxation of physiological demands during the transition to flightlessness frees morphological traits to evolve in response to more varied ecological opportunities.
Drought mildly reduces plant dominance in a temperate prairie ecosystem across years
Authors: Castillioni Karen , Wilcox Kevin , Jiang Lifen , Luo Yiqi , Jung Chang Gyo , Souza Lara 
Published: June 2020

Abstract

Shifts in dominance and species reordering can occur in response to global change. However, it is not clear how altered precipitation and disturbance regimes interact to affect species composition and dominance.

We explored community‐level diversity and compositional similarity responses, both across and within years, to a manipulated precipitation gradient and annual clipping in a mixed‐grass prairie in Oklahoma, USA. We imposed seven precipitation treatments (five water exclusion levels [−20%, −40%, −60%, −80%, and −100%], water addition [+50%], and control [0% change in precipitation]) year‐round from 2016 to 2018 using fixed interception shelters. These treatments were crossed with annual clipping to mimic hay harvest.

We found that community‐level responses were influenced by precipitation across time. For instance, plant evenness was enhanced by extreme drought treatments, while plant richness was marginally promoted under increased precipitation.

Clipping promoted species gain resulting in greater richness within each experimental year. Across years, clipping effects further reduced the precipitation effects on community‐level responses (richness and evenness) at both extreme drought and added precipitation treatments.

Synthesis: Our results highlight the importance of studying interactive drivers of change both within versus across time. For instance, clipping attenuated community‐level responses to a gradient in precipitation, suggesting that management could buffer community‐level responses to drought. However, precipitation effects were mild and likely to accentuate over time to produce further community change.
Large‐scale patterns of seed removal by small mammals differ between areas of low‐ versus high‐wolf occupancy
Authors: Chandler Jennifer L. , Van Deelen Timothy R. , Nibbelink Nathan P. , Orrock John L. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractBecause most tree species recruit from seeds, seed predation by small‐mammal granivores may be important for determining plant distribution and regeneration in forests. Despite the importance of seed predation, large‐scale patterns of small‐mammal granivory are often highly variable and thus difficult to predict. We hypothesize distributions of apex predators can create large‐scale variation in the distribution and abundance of mesopredators that consume small mammals, creating predictable areas of high and low granivory. For example, because gray wolf (Canis lupus) territories are characterized by relatively less use by coyotes (C. latrans) and greater use by foxes (Vulpes vulpes, Urocyon cinereoargentus) that consume a greater proportion of small mammals, wolf territories may be areas of reduced small‐mammal granivory. Using large‐scale, multiyear field trials at 22 sites with high‐ and low‐wolf occupancy in northern Wisconsin, we evaluated whether removal of seeds of four tree species was lower in wolf territories. Consistent with the hypothesized consequences of wolf occupancy, seed removal of three species was more than 25% lower in high‐wolf‐occupancy areas across 2 years and small‐mammal abundance was more than 40% lower in high‐wolf areas during one of two study years. These significant results, in conjunction with evidence of seed consumption in situ and the absence of significant habitat differences between high‐ and low‐wolf areas, suggest that top‐down effects of wolves on small‐mammal granivory and seed survival may occur. Understanding how interactions among carnivores create spatial patterns in interactions among lower trophic levels may allow for more accurate predictions of large‐scale patterns in seed survival and forest composition.
Complete recovery of fulminant cytotoxic CD8 T‐cell‐mediated myocarditis after ECMELLA unloading and immunosuppression
Authors: Jurcova Ivana , Rocek Jan , Bracamonte‐Baran William , Zelizko Michael , Netuka Ivan , Maluskova Jana , Kautzner Josef , Cihakova Daniela , Melenovsky Vojtech , Maly Jiri 
Published: June 2020

AbstractA 19‐year‐old woman with no previous cardiac history was admitted to the hospital with third‐degree atrioventricular block and left ventricular dysfunction. Her condition quickly deteriorated to severe biventricular failure and cardiogenic shock requiring mechanical circulatory support. An endomyocardial biopsy revealed lymphocytic myocarditis with no PCR‐detectable viral genomes, with CD8 T‐cell predominance and pro‐inflammatory macrophage expansion shown by myocardial flow cytometry. The therapy consisted of immunosuppression (high‐dose methylprednisolone) and temporary mechanical circulatory support with enhanced ability to achieve left ventricular unloading by combination of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation with Impella (ECMELLA). After 2 weeks of support, complete and sustained recovery from myocarditis was observed.
Application of Lah transform for security and privacy of data through information hiding in telecommunication
Authors: Ghosal Sudipta Kr , Mukhopadhyay Souradeep , Hossain Sabbir , Sarkar Ram 
Published: June 2020

AbstractDue to rapid growth of digital communication attributed to advancement of Internet technologies, at every time instant huge amount of multimedia information is created and transmitted on the Internet. However, ownership identification, copyright violation, and identity theft are proving as the serious concerns because of the malicious attacks or hacking of open information. Attackers can alter or delete the information, and claim the ownership or prevent the receiver to get the data. Hence, researchers try to address such challenges. One such effort is concerned with multimedia data hiding through Steganography. In this article, a polynomial sequence generator called Lah Transform (LhT) is applied for developing a Steganography method. LhT generates an integer polynomial sequence in coefficient form by evaluating the pixel values using addition and multiplication. Initially, the cover image is partitioned into nonoverlappingb‐pixel groups (where,b = 3 or 4) which in succession are converted into transform domain using LhT in row‐major order. Secret bits are embedded into the LhT coefficients in varying proportions to achieve variable payload. Coefficient adjustment followed by the embedding process ensures minimum quality distortion. Inverse LhT is applied to regenerateb‐pixel groups in the spatial domain. Results assure that incongruity between the cover pixels and stego‐pixels rises as the value ofbincreases. Hence, to achieve a high payload, smaller values ofbare chosen. The proposed method yields higher peak signal to noise ratio values and payload compared to some recent methods found in the literature. Code of our method is availablehere.
Influence of grape seeds on wine composition and astringency of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon wines
Authors: Gombau Jordi , Pons‐Mercadé Pere , Conde Marta , Asbiro Lucie , Pascual Olga , Gómez‐Alonso Sergio , García‐Romero Esteban , Miquel Canals Joan , Hermosín‐Gutiérrez Isidro , Zamora Fernando 
Published: June 2020

AbstractBackgroundThe aim of this work was to study the influence of grape berry morphology, especially the seed weight percentage, on the tannin concentration and astringency of red wine. Clusters of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon were characterized and their seeds were extracted and macerated in a model wine solution. In parallel, we elaborated three types of wines of each cultivar. One wine was made with only grape juice, one wine was made adding the appropriate proportion of seeds to the grape juice, and the last wine was elaborated with the complete destemmed and crushed berries.ResultsMerlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, which have higher percentage of seed weight with respect to the berry weight than Tempranillo and Garnacha grapes originated wines with higher tannin concentration and astringency than Tempranillo and Garnacha wines.ConclusionThe main conclusion of this study is that the seed weight percentage with respect to the berry weight is one of the main determinants of the final tannin concentration and astringency of red wines.
Amygdala and ventral tegmental area differentially interact with hippocampus and cortical medial temporal lobe during rest in humans
Authors: Gregory David F. , Ritchey Maureen , Murty Vishnu P. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractNeuromodulatory regions that detect salience, such as amygdala and ventral tegmental area (VTA), have distinct effects on memory. Yet, questions remain about how these modulatory regions target subregions across the hippocampus and medial temporal lobe (MTL) cortex. Here, we sought to characterize how VTA and amygdala subregions (i.e., basolateral amygdala and central‐medial amygdala) interact with hippocampus head, body, and tail, as well as cortical MTL areas of perirhinal cortex and parahippocampal cortex in a task‐free state. To quantify these interactions, we used high‐resolution resting state fMRI and characterized pair‐wise, partial correlations across regions‐of‐interest. We found that basolateral amygdala showed greater functional coupling with hippocampus head, hippocampus tail, and perirhinal cortex when compared to either VTA or central‐medial amygdala. Furthermore, the VTA showed greater functional coupling with hippocampus tail when compared to central‐medial amygdala. There were no significant differences in functional coupling with hippocampus body and parahippocampal cortex. These results support a framework by which neuromodulatory regions do not indiscriminately influence all MTL subregions equally, but rather bias information processing to discrete MTL targets. These findings provide a more specified model of the intrinsic properties of systems underlying MTL neuromodulation. This emphasizes the need to consider heterogeneity both across and within neuromodulatory systems to better understand affective memory.
Guidance about age‐friendly outdoor exercise equipment and associated strategies to maximise usability for older people
Authors: Levinger Pazit , Panisset Maya , Parker Helen , Batchelor Frances , Tye Marian , Hill Keith D. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractOutdoor exercise equipment has become popular as important environmental infrastructure to provide opportunities for physical activity and social connectedness in public settings. With higher sedentary behaviour and physical inactivity reported among older people, infrastructure changes and safe environments that promote older peoples’ health and mobility are required. Due to ageing‐related functional decline and health conditions associated with ageing, older adults may have special physical needs that require careful consideration when choosing outdoor equipment. However, limited information is available regarding the suitability of the types of exercise equipment for older people. This commentary provides further information on the type of equipment available, its functionality and suitability for older age populations and key considerations for the decision‐maker involved in selecting, installing and supporting community use of outdoor exercise equipment. Recommendations on what is required to maximise usability from a system or organisational‐based approach using research evidence is also discussed. Older people are more susceptible to the negative influences of their local environment and outdoor neighbourhood conditions. Consequently, the age‐friendliness and suitability of the outdoor exercise equipment characteristics, location and settings may facilitate older adults’ engagement in physical and social activities.
Clinical pharmacy service and international collaboration: Model and experience from a medical center in Taiwan
Authors: Wu Chien‐Chih , Lin Fang‐Ju , Lin Shu‐Wen , Ho Yunn‐Fang , Huang Chih‐Fen , Shen Li‐Jiuan , Wu Fe‐Lin Lin 
Published: June 2020

AbstractClinical pharmacy services (CPS) have been well established in the United States for decades but are still not fully applied in many other countries, such as Taiwan. Training competent clinical pharmacists through international collaboration could accelerate the improvement and development of high‐quality CPS. This brief report describes the successful experience of National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) and its model of CPS development and clinical pharmacist cultivation through working with prestigious pharmacy schools abroad. The profession and value of pharmacists lie in providing patients with better drug treatments and outcomes. CPS provided in inpatient departments, pharmacist clinics, and operating room pharmacy through international collaboration all have shown clinical benefits at NTUH. Besides providing high‐quality pharmaceutical care, competent clinical pharmacists participate in clinical lectures, case discussions, and play a critical role as clinical preceptors for advanced pharmacy practice experiences of National Taiwan University (NTU) Pharmacy School, which supports the first Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) program in Taiwan. Clinical pharmacists are also encouraged to be involved in clinical research to show the value of pharmacy services and to improve patient care. Our experience in CPS development and talent cultivation can be a reference for other hospitals so that we can all work together to enhance the value of pharmacists and improve patient care.
All‐electron scalar relativistic basis sets for the elements Rb–Xe
Authors: Rolfes Julian D. , Neese Frank , Pantazis Dimitrios A. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractSegmented all‐electron relativistically contracted (SARC) basis sets are presented for the elements 37Rb–54Xe, for use with the second‐order Douglas–Kroll–Hess approach and the zeroth‐order regular approximation. The basis sets have a common set of exponents produced with established heuristic procedures, but have contractions optimized individually for each scalar relativistic Hamiltonian. Their compact size and loose segmented contraction, which is in line with the construction of SARC basis sets for heavier elements, makes them suitable for routine calculations on large systems and when core spectroscopic properties are of interest. The basis sets are of triple‐zeta quality and come in singly or doubly polarized versions, which are appropriate for both density functional theory and correlated wave function theory calculations. The quality of the basis sets is assessed against large decontracted reference basis sets for a number of atomic and ionic properties, while their general applicability is demonstrated with selected molecular examples.
Synthesis of star‐shaped CuO nanoparticles supported on magnetic functionalized graphene: Catalytic and antibacterial activity
Authors: Zarei Mohammad , Seyedi Neda , Maghsoudi Shahab , Shahabi Nejad Mohaddeseh , Sheibani Hassan 
Published: June 2020

AbstractIn this study, graphene oxide was modified during consecutive functionalization steps with 1,4‐diphenylamine, cyanuric chloride, and ethylenediamine. Then, star‐shaped CuO nanoparticles were synthesized on modified graphene oxide using the seed‐mediated growth method in which nucleation, growth stages, and reduction of graphene oxide to graphene occurred simultaneously. After ensuring successful synthesis of CuO nanoparticles and to facilitate recycling, a magnetization process was utilized by adding iron oxide nanoparticles. This nanocomposite was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The prepared heterogeneous catalyst was investigated for the reduction of organic dyes in the presence of NaBH4 as a reducing reagent. The kinetic data obtained for the reduction of methyl orange (MO), methylene blue (MB), 4‐nitrophenol (4‐NP), and rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) were fitted to first‐order rate equations, and the calculated rate constants for the reduction of MO, MB, 4‐NP and Rh6G were as follows: −0.091, −0.071, −0.045, and 0.040, respectively. As star‐shaped CuO nanoparticles showed a higher antibacterial effect compared to spherical‐shaped CuO nanoparticles, the antibacterial activity of star‐shaped CuO nanoparticles immobilized on magnetic functionalized graphene was evaluated against Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria through an agar well diffusion assay and demonstrated more antibacterial activity against gram‐positive bacteria.
The potential of microRNA‐126 in predicting disease risk, mortality of sepsis, and its correlation with inflammation and sepsis severity
Authors: Lin Run , Hu Haiyan , Li Lehui , Chen Gengqian , Luo Lingqing , Rao Ping 
Published: June 2020

AbstractBackgroundMicroRNA‐126 (miR‐126) has been investigated in autoimmune diseases and organ failures, whereas its implication in sepsis is rarely reported. Our study initially explored the value of miR‐126 in diagnosing sepsis and predicting disease severity, degree of inflammation, and mortality.MethodsTotally, 208 sepsis patients and 210 healthy controls were enrolled; then, their plasma samples were collected for detecting circulating miR‐126 by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. For sepsis patients, their cytokine levels in plasma samples were detected by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay.ResultsmiR‐126 was upregulated in sepsis patients compared with healthy controls, and it was of certain value in distinguishing sepsis patients from healthy controls (AUC: 0.726 (95% CI: 0.678‐0.774)). miR‐126 expression was positively correlated with acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II score, serum creatinine, and C‐reactive protein but not albumin or white blood cell count in sepsis patients. Regarding cytokines, miR‐126 was positively correlated with tumor necrosis factor‐α, interleukin (IL)‐6, and IL‐8, but negatively correlated with IL‐10 in sepsis patients. As for mortality, miR‐126 expression was higher in deaths compared with survivors, and ROC curve displayed that it could predict mortality of sepsis patients to some extent with AUC of 0.619 (95% CI: 0.533‐0.705).ConclusionmiR‐126 potentially serves as an assistant diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for sepsis.
Ten‐year update of the international registry on cytokine‐induced killer cells in cancer immunotherapy
Authors: Zhang Ying , Schmidt‐Wolf Ingo G. H. 
Published: June 2020

AbstractCytokine‐induced killer (CIK) cells represent an exceptional T‐cell population uniting a T cell and natural killer cell‐like phenotype in their terminally differentiated CD3+CD56+ subset, which features non‐MHC‐restricted tumor‐killing activity. CIK cells have provided encouraging results in initial clinical studies and revealed synergistic antitumor effects when combined with standard therapeutic procedures. We established the international registry on CIK cells (IRCC) to collect and evaluate clinical trials for the treatment of cancer patients in 2010. Moreover, our registry set new standards on the reporting of results from clinical trials using CIK cells. In the present update, a total of 106 clinical trials including 10,225 patients were enrolled in IRCC, of which 4,889 patients in over 30 distinct tumor entities were treated with CIK cells alone or in combination with conventional or novel therapies. Significantly improved median progression‐free survival and overall survival were shown in 27 trials, and 9 trials reported a significantly increased 5‐year survival rate. Mild adverse effects and graft‐versus‐host diseases were also observed in the studies. Recently, more efforts have been put into the improvement of antitumoral efficacy by CIK cells including the administration of immune checkpoint inhibitors and modification with chimeric antigen receptorc. The minimal toxicity and multiple improvements on their tumor‐killing activity both make CIK cells a favorable therapeutic tool in the clinical practice of cancer immunotherapy.
Computational and in vitro characterization of ICY‐5: A potential candidate promoting mitochondrial apoptosis via the c‐MET and STAT3 pathways
Authors: Al Shahrani Mesfer , Balasubramaniam Meenakshisundaram , Alshahrani Mohammad Y. , Saif Ahmed , Dera Ayed A. , Alasmari Sultan , Abohassan Mohammad , Makkawi Mohammed , Radhakrishnan Suresh , Rajagopalan Prasanna 
Published: June 2020

AbstractTargeted chemotherapy remains the primary choice in controlling various forms of breast cancer (BC) due to its heterogenous gene expressions in various subtypes. In silico and in vitro evaluation of ICY‐5, a novel arylidene analogue against c‐MET, was performed. ICY‐5 exhibited a docking score of −9.6 kcal/mol in inactive conformation and, − 8.6 kcal/mol in active conformation for c‐MET. ICY‐5 inhibited c‐MET enzyme with an IC50 of 34.34 nM. The compound effectively inhibited MDA‐MB 231 and MCF‐7 cell proliferation, with GI50 values of 62.61 and 75.31 nM, respectively, and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/R c‐MET phosphorylation with IC50s of 71.41 and 83.77 nM, respectively. ICY‐5 dose‐dependently inhibited HGF‐induced transmigration, cell scattering, invasion and altered cell cycle. An increase in apoptotic populations of these cells, with a dose‐dependent decease in phosphorylation of STAT3 protein was observed. Furthermore, ICY‐5 upregulated the caspase‐3, caspase‐9, Bcl‐2‐associated X and survivin, and downregulated Bcl‐2, vascular endothelial growth factor, matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2), and MMP‐9 in both BC cell lines. In summary, ICY‐5 exhibited excellent efficacy in BC cells, targeting c‐MET/SAT‐3‐mediated mitochondrial apoptosis. Further research will be required to ascertain ICY‐5 suitability as a targeted chemotherapeutic against multiple forms of BC.