bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evaluating forest resilience to global threats using functional response traits and network properties
Authors: Aquilué Núria , Filotas Élise , Craven Dylan , Fortin Marie‐Josée , Brotons Lluís , Messier Christian 
Published: February 2020

AbstractEcosystem functions provided by forests are threatened by direct and indirect effects of global change drivers such as climate warming land‐use change, biological invasions, and shifting natural disturbance regimes. To develop resilience‐based forest management, new tools and methods are needed to quantitatively estimate forest resilience to management and future natural disturbances. We propose a multidimensional evaluation of ecological resilience based on species functional response traits (e.g., functional response diversity and functional redundancy) and network properties of forested patches (e.g., connectivity, modularity, and centrality). Using a fragmented rural landscape in temperate south‐eastern Canada as a reference landscape, we apply our multidimensional approach to evaluate two alternative management strategies at three levels of intensity: (1) functional enrichment of current forest patches and (2) multi‐species plantations in previously non‐forested patches. Within each management strategy, planted species are selected to maximize functional diversity, drought tolerance, or pest resistance. We further compare how ecological resilience under these alternative management strategies responds to three simulated disturbances: drought, pest outbreak, and timber harvesting. We found that both management strategies enhance resilience at the landscape scale by increasing functional response diversity and connectivity. Specifically, when the less functionally diverse patches are prioritized for management, functional enrichment is more effective than the establishment of new multi‐species plantations in increasing resilience. In addition, randomly allocated multi‐species plantations increased connectivity more than those allocated in riparian areas. Our results show that across various management strategies, planting species to enhance biodiversity led to the highest increase in functional response diversity while planting pest‐resistant species led to the highest increase in landscape connectivity. Planting biodiversity‐enhancing species (i.e., species that maximize functional diversity) mitigated drought effects equally well as planting with drought‐tolerant species. Our multidimensional approach facilitates the characterization at the landscape scale of forest resilience to disturbances using both functional diversity and network properties while accounting for the importance of response traits to future disturbances. The simulation approach we used can be applied to forest landscapes across different biomes for the evaluation and comparison of forest management initiatives to enhance resilience.
Consumer impacts on ecosystem functions in coastal wetlands: The data gap
Authors: Moore Alexandria , Fauset Emma , Asher Frederick 
Published: February 2020

AbstractOver the last 30 yr, our understanding of the factors that control the structure and function of coastal wetlands has shifted from a narrative that focused on bottom‐up control to one that explicitly includes top‐down factors. However, the emphasis of this transition has been on how consumers influence wetland vegetation; comparatively, few studies evaluate how consumers influence broader ecosystem properties and functions such as nutrient cycling and decomposition while fewer still investigate how trophic interactions affect these relationships. Here, we review the literature on consumer impacts on coastal wetland ecosystems and highlight areas where additional studies are sorely needed. It is our hope that identifying the current gaps in our knowledge will provide additional impetus for the study of community and ecosystem ecology within these globally important ecosystems.
Climate warming and heat waves alter harmful cyanobacterial blooms along the benthic–pelagic interface
Authors: Urrutia‐Cordero Pablo , Zhang Huan , Chaguaceda Fernando , Geng Hong , Hansson Lars‐Anders 
Published: February 2020

AbstractIn addition to a rise in mean air and water temperatures, more frequent and intense extreme climate events (such as heat waves) have been recorded around the globe during the past decades. These environmental changes are projected to intensify further in the future, and we still know little about how they will affect ecological processes driving harmful cyanobacterial bloom formation. Therefore, we conducted a long‐term experiment in 400‐L shallow freshwater mesocosms, where we evaluated the effects of a constant +4°C increase in mean water temperatures and compared it with a fluctuating warming scenario ranging from 0 to +8°C (i.e., including heat waves) but with the same +4°C long‐term elevation in mean water temperatures. We focused on investigating not only warming effects on cyanobacterial pelagic dynamics (phenology and biomass levels), but also on their recruitment from sediments—which are a fundamental part of their life history for which the response to warming remains largely unexplored. Our results demonstrate that (1) a warmer environment not only induces a seasonal advancement and boosts biomass levels of specific cyanobacterial species in the pelagic environment, but also increases their recruitment rates from the sediments, and (2) these species‐specific benthic and pelagic processes respond differently depending on whether climate warming is expressed only as an increase in mean water temperatures or, in addition, through an increased warming variability (including heat waves). These results are important because they show, for the first time, that climate warming can affect cyanobacterial dynamics at different life‐history stages, all the way from benthic recruitment up to their establishment in the pelagic community. Furthermore, it also highlights that both cyanobacterial benthic recruitment and pelagic biomass dynamics may be different as a result of changes in the variability of warming conditions. We argue that these findings are a critical first step to further our understanding of the relative importance of increased recruitment rates for harmful cyanobacterial bloom formation under different climate change scenarios.
An empirical investigation of time‐varying cost‐effectiveness across the product life cycle
Authors: Stevens Warren , Incerti Devin , Peneva Desi , Shrestha Anshu , Smith Gregory , Ramaswamy Krishnan 
Published: February 2020

ABSTRACTCost‐effectiveness is traditionally treated as a static estimate driven by clinical trial efficacy and drug price at launch. Prior studies suggest that cost‐effectiveness varies over the drug's lifetime. We examined the impact of “learning by doing,” one of the least studied drivers of changes in cost‐effectiveness across the product life cycle. We combined time‐series trends in effectiveness over time by cancer regimen using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results‐Medicare database. We estimated the time‐varying effects of treatments in colorectal and pancreatic cancer over their life cycle, including FOLFOX (leucovorin, 5‐fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin) and gemcitabine, on survival of patients. Mean prices over time by strength and dosage form were calculated using historical wholesale acquisition costs. We found consistent downward trends in the mortality hazard ratios, which suggest that effectiveness improves over time. In the case of first‐line FOLFOX for colorectal cancer, the implied incremental cost‐effectiveness ratio based on the observational data fell from $610,000 per life year gained in 2004 to $27,000 per life year gained in 2011. Cost‐effectiveness estimated at launch is unlikely to be representative of cost‐effectiveness over the drug's lifetime. In the drugs studied, the impact of time‐varying clinical effectiveness dominated the impact of changing prices overtime.
The efficacy and safety of Epstein‐Barr virus‐specific antigen peptide‐activated cytotoxic T‐cells treatment for refractory or recurrent angioimmunoblastic T‐cell lymphoma: A prospective clinical observational study
Authors: Bingjie Wang , Lihong Wang , Yongjin Shi , Huihui Liu , Jinping Ou , Xi'nan Cen 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe efficacy and safety of Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV)‐specific antigen peptide‐activated cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in the treatment of refractory or recurrent angioimmunoblastic T‐cell lymphoma (AITL) was determined in this prospective one‐arm clinical study. Seven males and two females were enrolled with a median age of 70 years. The tumor stages were all stage III and IV. All patients had group B symptoms and IPI scores of 3 to 5 points. All patients received chemotherapy before CTLs infusion which the median chemotherapy cycle was three. The diseases states before CTLs included five cases of disease progression (PD), two cases of recurrence (R), and two cases with residual lesions after chemotherapy. Eight patients received HLA‐haploidentical EBV‐specific CTLs, and one patient chose autologous CTLs. The number of transfused cells was 1.67 to 2.38 × 1010 for one course of CTLs therapy. One patient was treated with three courses of CTLs, three patients were treated with two courses of CTLs, and five patients were treated with one course of CTLs. During the infusion, eight patients had fever, one patient had rash, and no graft‐vs‐host diseases were observed. The EBV‐DNA decreased by more than two orders of magnitude in six patients, and the response rate was 66.7%. Two patients of PD status achieved complete remission (CR), one patient of PD status achieved partial remission, two patients with residual lesions after chemotherapy achieved CR, and four patients had no response. The objective remission rate was 55.6%. After the median follow‐up of 14.5 months, five patients died, and three patients were completely relieved while one patient was lost during follow‐up. The 3‐year overall survival was 44.4% and 3‐year progression‐free survival was 33.3%. EBV‐specific antigen peptide‐activated CTLs showed positive effect in certain patients with refractory and recurrent AITL with high clinical safety.
Analysis of a fully wetted moving fin with temperature‐dependent internal heat generation using the finite element method
Authors: Sowmya Ganeshappa , Gireesha Bijjanal Jayanna , Madhu Macha 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThe temperature field of a moving longitudinal porous fin with varying internal heat generation with respect to temperature has been studied under natural radiation and convection effects. The Darcy model was implemented for the analysis and the parameters, whose effect on the thermal process were grouped and nondimensionalized. By using the finite element method, the obtained highly nonlinear second order ordinary differential equations were numerically solved. The relevant parameters were studied by means of graphs and subsequently their importance in the rate of heat transfer was interpreted.
The Evolution of Decarboxylative Allylation: Overcoming pKa Limitations
Authors: Tunge Jon A. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractSince early focus on development of the allylation of non‐stabilized enolates, decarboxylative allylation has undergone tremendous evolution. This account describes the progression of decarboxylative allylation within the Tunge group with a focus on efforts to identify and overcome pKa requirements that initially limited the carboxylates that would undergo decarboxylative allylation.
Development and validation of autophagy‐related‐gene biomarker and nomogram for predicting the survival of cutaneous melanoma
Authors: Wan Qi , Jin Lin , Su Yaru , liu Ying , Li Chaoyang , Wang Zhichong 
Published: February 2020

AbstractAutophagy plays a critical role in cutaneous melanoma, but the prognostic research of differentially expressed autophagy‐related genes (DEARGs) in melanoma is lacking. Therefore, autophagy‐related gene expression data of 630 melanoma patients were obtained from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and The Cancer Genome Atlas database. The DEARGs were identified by “limma” package in R software. Best survival analysis and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator method were performed to identify a robust 7‐DEARG signature as well as construct nomogram associated with the clinical characteristics and validation in internal and external sets. This 7‐DEARG signature could be regarded as an independent prognostic signature in clinical setting, and nomogram may supply a more simple and accurate prediction for the prognosis of melanoma. Moreover, 5 cancer hallmarks and 18 potential compounds are commonly enriched in high‐risk expression phenotype. Thus, our finding provides new clinical evidences for the accurate diagnosis and identifies a potential prognostic autophagy‐related marker for the treatment of melanoma.
Toxicological assessments of an ethanol extract complex of Descurainia sophia and Peucedanum praeruptorum: Subacute oral toxicity and genotoxicity studies
Authors: Cho Eun‐Sang , Shin Sarah , Lee You Jin , Kim No Soo , Kim Jinhee , Lee Seok‐Jong , Son Hwa‐Young , Lee Woo‐Joo , Bang Ok‐Sun 
Published: February 2020

AbstractAn ethanol extract complex of Descurainia sophia seeds and Peucedanum praeruptorum roots, called BP10A, has antitumor potential against colorectal cancer. In the present study, we evaluated the 28‐day oral toxicity and the genotoxicity of BP10A. The subacute toxicity test was done through oral administration to mice. ICR mice (n = 10) received daily oral BP10A doses of 0, 500, 1000 and 2000 mg/kg for 28 consecutive days. During administration, general clinical signs, food consumption, organ weights, and hematologic, biochemical and histopathological parameters in male and female mice were assessed. No significant adverse effects up to the highest dose (2000 mg/kg) were found. The genotoxicity was evaluated using a battery of tests, including an in vitro bacterial reverse mutation (Ames) test, an in vivo micronucleus test using bone marrow cells in ICR mice and a chromosomal aberration test using CHL/IU cells. BP10A did not show any genotoxic signs in the Ames (up to 5000 μg/plate), micronucleus (up to 5000 mg/kg) and the chromosomal aberration tests (550‐1750 μg/mL). Therefore, BP10A was considered safe based on the subacute toxicity and genotoxicity results, indicating that it is a useful pharmaceutical material with no adverse toxicity.
Comparison of optical microscopy and optical coherence tomography as quality assurance methods for evaluating lubricious hydrophilic coatings surrounding catheter shafts
Authors: Oliver Alexander A. , Stinson Jonathan S. , Osborne Ashley , Taylor Catherine , Goldman Jeremy , Kirkpatrick Sean J. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractCardiac catheters are a vital tool in medicine due to their widespread use in many minimally invasive procedures. To aid in advancing the catheter within the patient's vasculature, many catheters are coated with a lubricious hydrophilic coating (HPC). Although HPCs benefit patients, their delamination during use is a serious safety concern. Adverse health effects associated with HPC delamination include pulmonary and myocardial embolism, embolic stroke, infarction, and death. In order to improve patient outcomes, more consistent manufacturing methods and improved quality assurance techniques are needed to evaluate HPC medical devices. The present work investigates the efficacy of two novel methods to image and evaluate HPCs post‐manufacturing, relative to industry‐standard scanning electron microscopy (SEM)‐based methods. We have shown that novel evaluation approaches based on optical microscopy (OM) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) are capable of imaging HPC layers and quantifying HPC thickness, saving hours of time relative to SEM sample preparation and imaging. Additionally, the nondestructive nature of OCT avoids damage and alteration to the HPC prior to imaging, leading to more reliable HPC thickness measurements. Overall, the work demonstrated the feasibility and advantages of using OM and OCT to image and measure HPC thickness relative to industry‐standard SEM methods.
A novel signal‐on fluorescent aptasensor for ochratoxin A detection based on RecJf exonuclease‐induced signal amplification
Authors: Wei Min , He Xing , Xie Yanli 
Published: February 2020

AbstractThis article describes a simple and homogeneous fluorescent aptasensor for the detection of ochratoxin A (OTA). With its high specificity and simplicity; RecJf exonuclease is used to cleave DNA strand of the FAM‐aptamer/OTA complex and realize target recycling signal amplification. In order to avoid the loss of reaction system, magnetic beads (MBs) are added only once at the last experimental step. This proposed fluorescent aptasensor showed the higher sensitivity in the range of 0.1–100 ng/mL with LOD of 0.056 ng/mL, and the good selectivity against other interfering toxins. The feasibility of the prepared aptasensor was studied by detecting OTA in spiked liquor and cereal samples. The obtained average recoveries ranged from 92% to 115%. This study provides a promising application with convenience and rapidness in the aptasensor fabrication for food safety analysis.
Early outcomes of robotic extended cholecystectomy for the treatment of gallbladder cancer
Authors: Byun Yoonhyeong , Choi Yoo Jin , Kang Jae Seung , Han Youngmin , Kim Hongbeom , Kwon Wooil , Jang Jin‐Young 
Published: February 2020

AbstractBackgroundSimple laparoscopic cholecystectomy is sufficient for patients with early gallbladder cancer (GBC). However, because advanced GBCs of T2 or more advanced stages require more complex procedures such as liver resection and lymph node dissection, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has not been popularized. To evaluate the applicability of MIS for GBC, we report the early outcomes of robotic extended cholecystectomies (RECs).MethodsThirteen patients who radiologically suspected to have T2 or more advanced stages of GBC underwent REC from February 2018 to April 2019. Thirty‐nine patients who underwent open extended cholecystectomy were selected by 1:3 propensity score matching, and the differences of clinicopathologic features according to surgical methods were analyzed.ResultsCompared with open method, operation time, estimated blood loss, postoperative complication rate, and number of retrieved lymph nodes were not significantly different. In REC group, duration of hospital stay was shorter (6.6 vs 8.3 days, P = .002) and postoperative pain was significantly lower in the REC group (P = .024).ConclusionThe early outcomes of REC were favorable with regard to early recovery and less pain, with similar number of retrieved lymph nodes. REC is a promising option for treatment of GBC, but further long‐term survival studies are needed.
Developments in the treatment of Fabry disease
Authors: van der Veen Sanne J. , Hollak Carla E. M. , van Kuilenburg André B. P. , Langeveld Mirjam 
Published: February 2020

AbstractEnzyme replacement therapy (ERT) with recombinant α‐galactosidase A (r‐αGAL A) for the treatment of Fabry disease has been available for over 15 years. Long‐term treatment may slow down disease progression, but cardiac, renal, and cerebral complications still develop in most patients. In addition, lifelong intravenous treatment is burdensome. Therefore, several new treatment approaches have been explored over the past decade. Chaperone therapy (Migalastat; 1‐deoxygalactonojirimycin) is the only other currently approved therapy for Fabry disease. This oral small molecule aims to improve enzyme activity of mutated α‐galactosidase A and can only be used in patients with specific mutations. Treatments currently under evaluation in (pre)clinical trials are second generation enzyme replacement therapies (Pegunigalsidase‐alfa, Moss‐aGal), substrate reduction therapies (Venglustat and Lucerastat), mRNA‐ and gene‐based therapy. This review summarises the knowledge on currently available and potential future options for the treatment of Fabry disease.
Nitisinone causes acquired tyrosinosis in alkaptonuria
Authors: Khedr Milad , Cooper Maggie S. , Hughes Andrew T. , Milan Anna M. , Davison Andrew S. , Norman Brendan P. , Sutherland Hazel , Jarvis Jonathan C. , Fitzgerald Richard , Markinson Louise , Psarelli Eftychia‐Eirini , Ghane Parisa , Deutz Nicolaas E. P. , Gallagher James A. , Ranganath Lakshminarayan R. 
Published: February 2020

AbstractFor over two decades, nitisinone (NTBC) has been successfully used to manipulate the tyrosine degradation pathway and save the lives of many children with hereditary tyrosinaemia type 1. More recently, NTBC has been used to halt homogentisic acid accumulation in alkaptonuria (AKU) with evidence suggesting its efficacy as a disease modifying agent. NTBC‐induced hypertyrosinaemia has been associated with cognitive impairment and potentially sight‐threatening keratopathy. In the context of a non‐lethal condition (ie, AKU), these serious risks call for an evaluation of the wider impact of NTBC on the tyrosine pathway. We hypothesised that NTBC increases the tyrosine pool size and concentrations in tissues.In AKU mice tyrosine concentrations of tissue homogenates were measured before and after treatment with NTBC. In humans, pulse injection with l‐[13C9]tyrosine and l‐[d8]phenylalanine was used along with compartmental modelling to estimate the size of tyrosine pools before and after treatment with NTBC. We found that NTBC increased tyrosine concentrations in murine tissues by five to nine folds. It also significantly increased the tyrosine pool size in humans (P < .001), suggesting that NTBC increases tyrosine not just in serum but also in tissues (ie, acquired tyrosinosis).This study provides, for the first time, the experimental proof for the magnitude of NTBC‐related acquired tyrosinosis which should be overcome to ensure the safe use of NTBC in AKU.
Recently increased cold air outbreaks over Mongolia and their specific synoptic pattern
Authors: Munkhjargal Erdenebadrakh , Shinoda Masato , Iijima Yoshihiro , Nandintseteseg Banzragch 
Published: February 2020

AbstractIn recent years, extreme cold air outbreak events (COEs) in winter have tended to occur more frequently over the mid‐latitudes of Eurasia, including Mongolia, despite marked warming across the continent. In the 2000s, an increase in COEs contributed to huge losses of livestock throughout Mongolia, causing socioeconomic stagnation. This study diagnosed the interdecadal variability of the frequency of COEs during cold season (November–March) using observations from 70 meteorological stations in Mongolia by contrasting a past period (PP:1981–1999) and a recent period (RP:2000–2016). Then, this analysis was extended to characterize the synoptic pattern of each period using ERA‐Interim reanalysis data in terms of the ridge and trough system and cold advection. We defined a COE as an event having at least five continuous days with a daily average air temperature lower than minus one standard deviation from the daily climatology during cold season in 1981–2016. The results revealed that totally 112 COEs could be identified over Mongolia during 1981–2016 with a higher number of events (59) during the RP. Regionally, a slight increase in COEs was observed in the north, whereas no clear change was evident in the south. Composite analyses for each period demonstrated that a trough in the central Eurasian mid‐troposphere was deepened and southwestward advection of cold air enhanced during the RP, in comparison with the PP, which changed the wind direction over northern Mongolia from westerly to northwesterly. In addition, the number of snow cover days have increased slightly in the RP in northern Mongolia, likely acting as a favourable condition for low air temperatures with intensifying surface cooling. These findings suggest that a deepened trough over central Eurasia, strengthened northerly cold advection into Mongolia, and cooling from the snow‐covered surface are most likely to have resulted in the increased frequency of COEs overnorthern Mongolia in the RP.