bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Nodal root diameter and node number in maize (Zea mays L.) interact to influence plant growth under nitrogen stress
Authors: Schneider Hannah M. , Yang Jennifer T. , Brown Kathleen M. , Lynch Jonathan P. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractUnder nitrogen limitation, plants increase resource allocation to root growth relative to shoot growth. The utility of various root architectural and anatomical phenotypes for nitrogen acquisition are not well understood. Nodal root number and root cross‐sectional area were evaluated in maize in field and greenhouse environments. Nodal root number and root cross‐sectional area were inversely correlated under both high and low nitrogen conditions. Attenuated emergence of root nodes, as opposed to differences in the number of axial roots per node, was associated with substantially reduced root number. Greater root cross‐sectional area was associated with a greater stele area and number of cortical cell files. Genotypes that produced few, thick nodal roots rather than many, thin nodal roots had deeper rooting and better shoot growth in low nitrogen environments. Fewer nodal roots offset the respiratory and nitrogen costs of thicker diameter roots, since total nodal root respiration and nitrogen content was similar for genotypes with many, thin and few, thick nodal roots. We propose that few, thick nodal roots may enable greater capture of deep soil nitrogen and improve plant performance under nitrogen stress. Synergistic interactions between an architectural and anatomical trait may be an important strategy for nitrogen acquisition. Understanding trait interactions among different root nodes has important implications in for improving crop nutrient uptake and stress tolerance.
Extension of a de novo TIM barrel with a rationally designed secondary structure element
Authors: Wiese Jonas Gregor , Shanmugaratnam Sooruban , Höcker Birte 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe ability to construct novel enzymes is a major aim in de novo protein design. A popular enzyme fold for design attempts is the TIM barrel. This fold is a common topology for enzymes and can harbor many diverse reactions. The recent de novo design of a four‐fold symmetric TIM barrel provides a well understood minimal scaffold for potential enzyme designs. Here we explore opportunities to extend and diversify this scaffold by adding a short de novo helix on top of the barrel. Due to the size of the protein, we developed a design pipeline based on computational ab initio folding that solves a less complex sub‐problem focused around the helix and its vicinity and adapt it to the entire protein. We provide biochemical characterization and a high‐resolution X‐ray structure for one variant and compare it to our design model. The successful extension of this robust TIM‐barrel scaffold opens opportunities to diversify it towards more pocket like arrangements and as such can be considered a building block for future design of binding or catalytic sites.
The expression profile of platelet‐derived miRNA in coronary artery disease patients with clopidogrel resistance
Authors: Lin Shaoyi , Xu Xiaofeng , Hu Haochang , cheng Ji , Chen Ruoyu , Hu Yingchu , Chen Xiaomin 
Published: March 2021

AbstractClopidogrel is widely used for antiplatelet therapy in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), but clopidogrel resistance (CR) is relatively common in these patients. The goal of our study was to explore the platelet‐derived miRNA expression profile of CR in CAD patients. In this study, 66 CAD patients treated with dual antiplatelet therapy (clopidogrel 75 mg once daily plus aspirin 100 mg once daily) were included. According to inhibition of platelet aggregation (IPA), we divided these patients into CR group (IPA <30%) and control group (IPA ≥30%). The concentrations of clopidogrel and clopidogrel active metabolites in plasma were obtained using UHPLC‐Q‐Orbitrap HRMS method. The platelet‐derived miRNA expression profiles of these subjects were detected by high‐throughput sequencing and qRT‐PCR. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were used for function prediction of differentially expressed miRNAs. Our results suggested no significant difference of clopidogrel and active metabolic derivative concentrations between CR group and control group. Correlation analysis showed no significant association between clopidogrel concentration and IPA; active metabolic derivative and IPA. In addition, 67 platelet‐derived miRNAs were differentially expressed between three CR and three control patients. After adjusting, eight miRNAs might be related to CR in CAD. In our validation cohort (30 CR patients and 30 control group), miRNA‐142‐3p and miRNA‐24‐3p expression levels were significantly upregulated, and miRNA‐411‐3p expression was significantly downregulated in the CR group. In conclusion, the miRNA‐142‐3p, miRNA‐24‐3p, and miRNA‐411‐3p might be potential markers for CR in CAD patients.
Interindividual immunogenic variants: Susceptibility to coronavirus, respiratory syncytial virus and influenza virus
Authors: Darbeheshti Farzaneh , Mahdiannasser Mojdeh , Uhal Bruce D , Ogino Shuji , Gupta Sudhir , Rezaei Nima 
Published: March 2021

SummaryThe coronavirus disease (Covid‐19) pandemic is the most serious event of the year 2020, causing considerable global morbidity and mortality. The goal of this review is to provide a comprehensive summary of reported associations between inter‐individual immunogenic variants and disease susceptibility or symptoms caused by the coronavirus strains severe acute respiratory syndrome‐associated coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome‐associated coronavirus‐2, and two of the main respiratory viruses, respiratory syncytial virus and influenza virus. The results suggest that the genetic background of the host could affect the levels of proinflammatory and anti‐inflammatory cytokines and might modulate the progression of Covid‐19 in affected patients. Notably, genetic variations in innate immune components such as toll‐like receptors and mannose‐binding lectin 2 play critical roles in the ability of the immune system to recognize coronavirus and initiate an early immune response to clear the virus and prevent the development of severe symptoms. This review provides promising clues related to the potential benefits of using immunotherapy and immune modulation for respiratory infectious disease treatment in a personalized manner.
New reliableH∞filter design for singular Markovian jump time‐delay systems with sensor failures
Authors: Chen Wenbin , Gao Fang , Liu Guobao , Xu Shengyuan , Zhang Zhengqiang 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe issue of the reliable exponentialH∞filtering (HF) is revisited for singular Markovian jump time‐delay systems (SMJTSs) accompanied by sensor failures and interval time‐varying delays. By a new mode‐dependent Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional (LKF) containing three augmented nonintegral terms, some mean‐square exponentially admissible (MSEA) conditions satisfying anH∞performance are derived subject to state decomposition method. On this basis, a novel reliable filter design approach is first proposed for SMJTSs by means of the idea of the state decomposition and recombining. And the filter parameters we want can be obtained. Worth noting that the results presented are not only related to interval time‐varying delay and sensor failure but also to interval delay‐change‐rate. Meanwhile, the sufficient conditions established have less conservatism and lower computational complexity in comparison with the existing results. The effectiveness and superiority of the proposed methods are verified by two numerical examples derived from some existing papers.
The impact of customer ties and industry segment maturity on business model adaptation in an emerging industry
Authors: Denoo Lien , Yli‐Renko Helena , Clarysse Bart 
Published: March 2021

AbstractResearch SummaryWhy do some young firms change their business models while others do not? Why do some firms make small changes, while others make more substantial changes? And does industry context matter? Drawing on organizational learning theory and utilizing a unique database tracking 187 young firms through the first decade of the mobile health industry, we examine the role of customers in young firms' business model adaptation. We find a positive impact of customer portfolio breadth (capturing the number and diversity of customers) on both the likelihood and degree of business model change. Importantly, industry segment maturity moderates this relation: customer effects are strongest in the earliest, most uncertain stages. Our study provides a rare view into how a new industry and its young ventures co‐evolve.Managerial SummaryCustomers have been viewed as critical in a start‐up venture's search for an initial business model, but their role in young firms' business model adaptation has not been examined. In this study, we show that a young firm's customer portfolio breadth is an important driver of business model change, especially at the earliest, most uncertain stages of an industry. Our results highlight the value of customers as sources of knowledge in emerging industries, and suggest that when making decisions about establishing and fostering customer ties, entrepreneurs should consider the number and diversity of those ties in the context of the maturity of the young firm's industry segment.
An autonomous model for self‐optimizing virtual machine selection by learning automata in cloud environment
Authors: Najafizadegan Negin , Nazemi Eslam , Khajehvand Vahid 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIn recent years, cloud computing has become more popular because of advancements in virtualization technology. By increasing the number of servers in cloud computing environment, cloud data centers have expanded and consumed much energy. Virtual machine consolidation is a solution for energy management in cloud environment. On the other hand, by increasing resource utilization in virtual machine consolidation, service level agreement assurance is difficult to obtain. Two main challenges in virtual machine consolidation are timely detection of overloaded servers and proper immigrant virtual machine selection from detected servers. In this paper, a new model is proposed based on MAPE‐k loop for autonomous virtual machine selection. The presented model uses a proposed ensemble prediction algorithm in the analysis phase. Also, in the planning phase, a new multi‐heuristics algorithm with flexible weights using learning automata is proposed. The effectiveness of the proposed model is evaluated by CloudSim simulator under real workload as compared with well‐known algorithms in this domain. The experimental results indicate that, the proposed approach has averagely improved the balance between service level agreement violations, energy and migration counts by 47.39% compared to other methods.
Cybersecurity protection on in‐vehicle networks for distributed automotive cyber‐physical systems: State‐of‐the‐art and future challenges
Authors: Xie Yong , Zhou Yu , Xu Jing , Zhou Jian , Chen Xiaobai , Xiao Fu 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe ever‐evolving trip mode of human being leads the automobiles moving toward connected, autonomous, sharing, and electrified vehicles rapidly. But the connection introduces new cybersecurity problems on in‐vehicle networks, which poses great challenges for safety guarantee of distributed automotive cyber‐physical systems. This article first analyzes the cybersecurity vulnerabilities and defines the security requirements for in‐vehicle networks, and then introduces the architecture evolution of in‐vehicle network. Based on the definition on architecture of in‐vehicle networks, this article defines a security protection framework for it. And then, it surveys the state‐of‐the‐art works for availability protection, integrity protection, and confidentiality protection of in‐vehicle networks, respectively, and detailed analysis and comparisons are given about the proposed cybersecurity protection mechanisms. Finally, it summarizes the future challenges for cybersecurity protection of in‐vehicle networks, and proposes possible solutions for these challenges.
A systematic gray literature review: The technologies and concerns of microservice application programming interfaces
Authors: Chen Fangwei , Zhang Li , Lian Xiaoli 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe microservice application programming interface (API) becomes a growing concern in the IT industry, as a result of the increasing usage of microservice architecture style. There exist many successful practices among companies, communities, and so on. In contrast, the related academic research is still at an early stage, where lacks an overview of technologies for the design, implementation and operation of microservice APIs, as well as a general picture of concerns. In this article, we try to fill this gap by eliciting the technologies and concerns on microservice APIs and establishing a microservice API description model, with the intention of aiding researchers to gain an overview of this field and find possible research directions, and helping practitioners to better understand microservice APIs and be aware of the existing approaches for daily work. Twelve academic papers and 38 gray literatures are selected and analyzed following the systematic literature review approach. Besides, we give our observations from this study. For researchers, our findings show the most cared concerns of practitioners, and our description model can be used as a reference for new theories, experiments, and future research dimensions. For practitioners, our study can be used as a guideline for microservices experimentation and a starting point for practice.
Multifactor experimental investigation of the mechanical performance of a shape memory alloy‐based self‐centering‐energy‐dissipation device
Authors: Li Ran , Shu Ganping , Li Haiyun 
Published: March 2021

SummaryAn innovative self‐centering‐energy‐dissipation device (SCED) based on a superelastic shape memory alloy (SMA) is developed. This device exhibits asymmetric, flag‐shaped hysteretic behavior and tension–compression symmetry property. The symmetry is attributed to the tension‐only state of the SMA wires in the device during the loading process. The working principle of the device is described, and a theoretical model describing the mechanical properties of the device is proposed. Uniaxial tension–compression cyclic loading tests are carried out to investigate the influence of the section area of the SMA wire, the loading amplitude, and the loading rate on the mechanical performance, including the yield strength, maximum strength, austenite stiffness, martensite stiffness, energy dissipation, and efficiency ratio. Expressions of the correction factors and mechanical performance considering multiple factors are also suggested.
Back to the future: A refined single‐user photostation for massively scaling herbarium digitization
Authors: Davis Charles C. , Kennedy Jonathan A. , Grassa Christopher J. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe digitization of herbarium collections is greatly transforming plant biodiversity science, yet most herbarium data remain inaccessible. Here, we present a novel, single‐user photostation and associated workflow for efficiently mobilizing herbarium specimens. Our apparatus represents a significant improvement to existing technology and is scalable to a variety of digitization tasks from small to massive collections.
Dissecting nematode resistance regions in soybean revealed pleiotropic effect of soybean cyst and reniform nematode resistance genes
Authors: Usovsky Mariola , Lakhssassi Naoufal , Patil Gunvant B. , Vuong Tri D. , Piya Sarbottam , Hewezi Tarek , Robbins Robert T. , Stupar Robert M. , Meksem Khalid , Nguyen Henry T. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractReniform nematode (RN, Rotylenchulus reniformis Linford & Oliveira) has emerged as one of the most important plant parasitic nematodes of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]. Planting resistant varieties is the most effective strategy for nematode management. The objective of this study was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) for RN resistance in an exotic soybean line, PI 438489B, using two linkage maps constructed from the Universal Soybean Linkage Panel (USLP 1.0) and next‐generation whole‐genome resequencing (WGRS) technology. Two QTL controlling RN resistance were identified—the soybean cyst nematode (SCN, Heterodera glycines) resistance gene GmSNAP18 at the rhg1 locus and its paralog GmSNAP11. Strong association between resistant phenotype and haplotypes of the GmSNAP11 and GmSNAP18 was observed. The results indicated that GmSNAP11 possibly could have epistatic effect on GmSNAP18, or vice versa, with the presence of a significant correlation in RN resistance of rhg1‐a GmSNAP18 vs. rhg1‐b GmSNAP18. Most importantly, our preliminary data suggested that GmSNAP18 and GmSNAP11 proteins physically interact in planta, suggesting that they belong to the same pathway for resistance. Unlike GmSNAP18, no indication of GmSNAP11 copy number variation was found. Moreover, gene‐based single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were developed for rapid detection of RN or SCN resistance at these loci. Our analysis substantiates synergic interaction between GmSNAP11 and GmSNAP18 genes and confirms their roles in RN as well as SCN resistance. These results could contribute to a better understanding of evolution and subfunctionalization of genes conferring resistance to multiple nematode species and provide a framework for further investigations.
Ameliorative effect of L‐carnitine on chronic lead‐induced reproductive toxicity in male rats
Authors: Abdel‐Emam Rania A. , Ahmed Esraa A. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractLead toxicity is one of the causative agents of male infertility that raised concern from environmental contamination worldwide. L‐carnitine, a biologically active amino acid, present in high concentration in the reproductive organs such as the epididymis, is involved in sperm maturation. The possible protective effect of L‐carnitine in experimentally lead‐induced male reproductive toxicity in rats was evaluated in this study. Thirty adult male Wistar rats were divided into three groups. Group 1: the negative control group was treated with normal saline; Group 2: exposed to 50 mg/kg lead acetate (2% solution in saline); and Group 3: treated with lead acetate 50 mg/kg (2% solution in saline) + L‐carnitine 100 mg/kg. At the end of the experimental period, body and testicular weights were determined, blood samples were withdrawn for hormonal assays of FSH, LH and testosterone. Sperm parameters as sperm count, morphology, viability and motility were measured. Testicular tissue homogenates were prepared for enzymatic assays and for measuring oxidative stress parameters. Lead significantly increased both oxidative stress and the concentration of lactate dehydrogenase‐C in the testicular tissues with a decrease in sperm count, motility and viability. Lead acetate treatment, induced alteration in sperms with normal morphology together with reductions in the serum FSH, LH, testosterone, body and testicular weights. The concentration of 17β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase was significantly reduced. Co‐administration of L‐carnitine significantly reduced testicular oxidative stress, improved sperm parameters, elevated serum FSH, LH and testosterone with an insignificant reduction in the testicular weight. The concentrations of 17β‐hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and lactate dehydrogenase‐C were significantly improved by L‐carnitine. The overall results indicate that L‐carnitine is expected to improve the lead acetate‐induced male reproductive toxicity.
A comprehensive management model to maximize the benefits of agriculture drainage water reuse
Authors: Helal Esam , Shaban Mohamed , Abd El‐Karim Ehab , Ellayen Ashraf 
Published: March 2021

AbstractWater scarcity in Egypt is an escalating challenge due to the ever‐increasing water demands and limited resources. Economically, agricultural drainage water reuse (ADWR) in irrigation is an essential option to cope with freshwater shortage. However, it requires environmentally sound management to minimize possible risks on irrigated soils and human health. Consequently, this research aims at assessing and managing the reuse process by developing a statistically based quality control model capable to investigate the observed and expected capability of the process. Additionally, complementary corrective actions and the decision models were proposed when the reuse processes operate in violation of the standards. These models were tested and validated using data collected from the year 2015 to 2019 at the Delengat pump station in the Western Nile Delta region, which mixes the Delengat drain water with the El‐Hager irrigation canal. After raising the awareness amongst the farmers and providing them adequate sanitation services, it was inferred that the ADWR process could provide safe drainage water to be mixed with fresh water. Based on the performed simulations, both models proved to be systematic, quantitative, suitable for computers, and helpful in making informed decisions concerning the sustainability of the reuse process under future water uncertainty.Practitioner points

In Egypt, drainage water reuse is an essential option to cope freshwater shortage.

A statistically based quality control model was developed to investigate the capability of the agriculture drainage water reuse process.

Additionally, complementary corrective actions and decision models were proposed when the reuse processes operate in violation of the standards.

Both the models proved helpful in making informed decisions concerning the sustainability of the reuse process under the future water uncertainty.
Improved Strategies for Handling Entire Sounders of Wild Pigs
Authors: LAVELLE MICHAEL J. , SNOW NATHAN P. , ELLIS CHRISTINE K. , HALSETH JOSEPH M. , FISCHER JUSTIN W. , GLOW MICHAEL P. , VANNATTA ERIC H. , FRIESENHAHN BETHANY A. , VERCAUTEREN KURT C. 
Published: March 2021

ABSTRACTAs wild pigs (Sus scrofa) expand throughout North America researchers are increasingly being tasked with trapping and marking entire sounders (family groups) to attach monitoring devices or other identifying markers to gather knowledge to inform management. Capture and marking procedures can be challenging, dangerous for both researchers and animals, and time consuming, particularly when handling sounders. We developed an integrated pig‐handling system to efficiently sort, weigh, chemically immobilize, and mark multiple wild pigs simultaneously in a controlled manner. To assess the functionality of the system, we evaluated 18 capture events in Texas, USA, from January 2018 to March 2019, where we marked 221 pigs of varied age classes and group sizes (2–19 animals). Using the pig‐handling system, we chemically immobilized 51 large (41–101 kg) pigs and manually restrained 170 smaller (<45 kg) pigs with injury rates below 4%. Average handling times for large pigs was 71.9 (SD = 25.7) min and <1 min for smaller ones. We released sounders intact and routinely recorded them together on motion‐activated cameras. Incorporating a handling system into wild pig research and management is encouraged to facilitate safe handling procedures for both pigs and handlers. © 2021 The Wildlife Society. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Synthesis and Characterization of Rhodium Complex Bearing Anionic CNC‐Type Pincer Ligand with Pyrrolide and Imidazo[1,5‐a]pyridin‐3‐ylidene Moieties
Authors: Kuriyama Shogo , Zhao Wenhao , Nishibayashi Yoshiaki 
Published: March 2021

AbstractA novel monoanionic CNC‐type pincer ligand featuring a pyrrolide as a central donor and imidazo[1,5‐a]pyridin‐3‐ylidenes as arm donors is designed and synthesized. The reaction of the lithium complex prepared from the pincer ligand with [RhCl(CO)2]2 gave the corresponding rhodium(I) carbonyl complex. X‐ray analysis and IR spectroscopy of the rhodium complex indicate that the newly designed and synthesized pincer ligand has an electron‐withdrawing character with a planar backbone.