bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Development of an ethogram/guide for identifying feline emotions: a new approach to feline interactions and welfare assessment in practice
Authors: Nicholson Sandra Louise , O’Carroll Roslyn Áine 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBackgroundAn accurate assessment of feline behaviour is essential in reducing the risk of handler injury and evaluating/improving feline welfare within veterinary practices. However, inexperience and/or suboptimal education in feline behaviour may cause many veterinary professionals to be ill equipped for this. In addition, busy veterinary professionals may not have time to thoroughly search the literature to remediate this deficiency. Upon searching the literature, terms such as aggression and stress predominate, but these do not completely represent the rich mental lives that cats are now understood to have. Emotions have recently emerged as an alternative approach to animal behaviour/welfare assessment. However, few resources describe how to identify them, and positive emotions are particularly neglected. In addition, no simple, broad, and concise guide to feline emotions currently exists within the research literature. Therefore, this research aimed to develop a straightforward and clear reference guide to feline emotions (ethogram) to aid veterinary professionals in interpreting feline behaviour in practice and for use in veterinary education.ResultsFive primary emotions were identified and defined for domestic species (fear, anger/rage, joy/play, contentment and interest). A feline emotions guide (feline emotions ethogram) was created. Three hundred and seventy-two images were captured of feline behaviours indicative of emotional states. Of these, ten of the best quality and most representative images were selected to illustrate the guide (two of each emotional state). The feline emotions guide and its associated images were subsequently validated by two feline behaviour experts.ConclusionsFollowing slight modifications, the emotions definitions yielded during the feline ethogram design process may be transferable to other domestic species. The feline emotions ethogram/guide itself may be particularly helpful for distinguishing immediate motivations and customising patient care within short- term veterinary contexts. Hence, its use may improve feline welfare and feline handling/interactions. However, the guide will need to be reliability tested/ tested in the field and may require adaptation as the feline emotions’ knowledge base grows. In addition, novices may benefit from exposure to more images of feline emotional state, particularly those involving mixed emotions. Freely available online images and videos may be sourced and used to supplement the accompanying image bank.
Phylogenetic Core Groups: a promising concept in search of a consistent methodological framework
Authors: Pascual-García Alberto 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIn this comment, we analyse the conceptual framework proposed by Aguirre de Cárcer (Microbiome 7:142, 2019), introducing the novel concept of Phylogenetic Core Groups (PCGs). This notion aims to complement the traditional classification in operational taxonomic units (OTUs), widely used in microbial ecology, to provide a more intrinsic taxonomical classification which avoids the use of pre-determined thresholds. However, to introduce this concept, the author frames his proposal in a wider theoretical framework based on a conceptualization of selection that we argue is a tautology. This blurs the subsequent formulation of an assembly principle for microbial communities, favouring that some contradictory examples introduced to support the framework appear aligned in their conclusions. And more importantly, under this framework and its derived methodology, it is not possible to infer PCGs from data in a consistent way. We reanalyse the proposal to identify its logical and methodological flaws and, through the analysis of synthetic scenarios, we propose a number of methodological refinements to contribute towards the determination of PCGs in a consistent way. We hope our analysis will promote the exploration of PCGs as a potentially valuable tool, helping to bridge the gap between environmental conditions and community composition in microbial ecology.
Metagenomic insights into the taxonomy, function, and dysbiosis of prokaryotic communities in octocorals
Authors: Keller-Costa T. , Lago-Lestón A. , Saraiva J. P. , Toscan R. , Silva S. G. , Gonçalves J. , Cox C. J. , Kyrpides N. , Nunes da Rocha U. , Costa R. 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Background
In octocorals (Cnidaria Octocorallia), the functional relationship between host health and its symbiotic consortium has yet to be determined. Here, we employed comparative metagenomics to uncover the distinct functional and phylogenetic features of the microbiomes of healthy Eunicella gazella, Eunicella verrucosa, and Leptogorgia sarmentosa tissues, in contrast with the microbiomes found in seawater and sediments. We further explored how the octocoral microbiome shifts to a pathobiome state in E. gazella.

Results
Multivariate analyses based on 16S rRNA genes, Clusters of Orthologous Groups of proteins (COGs), Protein families (Pfams), and secondary metabolite-biosynthetic gene clusters annotated from 20 Illumina-sequenced metagenomes each revealed separate clustering of the prokaryotic communities of healthy tissue samples of the three octocoral species from those of necrotic E. gazella tissue and surrounding environments. While the healthy octocoral microbiome was distinguished by so-far uncultivated Endozoicomonadaceae, Oceanospirillales, and Alteromonadales phylotypes in all host species, a pronounced increase of Flavobacteriaceae and Alphaproteobacteria, originating from seawater, was observed in necrotic E. gazella tissue. Increased abundances of eukaryotic-like proteins, exonucleases, restriction endonucleases, CRISPR/Cas proteins, and genes encoding for heat-shock proteins, inorganic ion transport, and iron storage distinguished the prokaryotic communities of healthy octocoral tissue regardless of the host species. An increase of arginase and nitric oxide reductase genes, observed in necrotic E. gazella tissues, suggests the existence of a mechanism for suppression of nitrite oxide production by which octocoral pathogens may overcome the host’s immune system.

Conclusions
This is the first study to employ primer-less, shotgun metagenome sequencing to unveil the taxonomic, functional, and secondary metabolism features of prokaryotic communities in octocorals. Our analyses reveal that the octocoral microbiome is distinct from those of the environmental surroundings, is host genus (but not species) specific, and undergoes large, complex structural changes in the transition to the dysbiotic state. Host-symbiont recognition, abiotic-stress response, micronutrient acquisition, and an antiviral defense arsenal comprising multiple restriction endonucleases, CRISPR/Cas systems, and phage lysogenization regulators are signatures of prokaryotic communities in octocorals. We argue that these features collectively contribute to the stabilization of symbiosis in the octocoral holobiont and constitute beneficial traits that can guide future studies on coral reef conservation and microbiome therapy.
Facilitating fine-grained intra-urban dengue forecasting by integrating urban environments measured from street-view images
Authors: Liu Kang , Yin Ling , Zhang Meng , Kang Min , Deng Ai-Ping , Li Qing-Lan , Song Tie 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Background
Dengue fever (DF) is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that has threatened tropical and subtropical regions in recent decades. An early and targeted warning of a dengue epidemic is important for vector control. Current studies have primarily determined weather conditions to be the main factor for dengue forecasting, thereby neglecting that environmental suitability for mosquito breeding is also an important factor, especially in fine-grained intra-urban settings. Considering that street-view images are promising for depicting physical environments, this study proposes a framework for facilitating fine-grained intra-urban dengue forecasting by integrating the urban environments measured from street-view images.

Methods
The dengue epidemic that occurred in 167 townships of Guangzhou City, China, between 2015 and 2019 was taken as a study case. First, feature vectors of street-view images acquired inside each township were extracted by a pre-trained convolutional neural network, and then aggregated as an environmental feature vector of the township. Thus, townships with similar physical settings would exhibit similar environmental features. Second, the environmental feature vector is combined with commonly used features (e.g., temperature, rainfall, and past case count) as inputs to machine-learning models for weekly dengue forecasting.

Results
The performance of machine-learning forecasting models (i.e., MLP and SVM) integrated with and without environmental features were compared. This indicates that models integrating environmental features can identify high-risk urban units across the city more precisely than those using common features alone. In addition, the top 30% of high-risk townships predicted by our proposed methods can capture approximately 50–60% of dengue cases across the city.

Conclusions
Incorporating local environments measured from street view images is effective in facilitating fine-grained intra-urban dengue forecasting, which is beneficial for conducting spatially precise dengue prevention and control.
Two distinct conformers of PrPD type 1 of sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease with codon 129VV genotype faithfully propagate in vivo
Authors: Cali Ignazio , Espinosa Juan Carlos , Nemani Satish K. , Marin-Moreno Alba , Camacho Manuel V. , Aslam Rabail , Kitamoto Tetsuyuki , Appleby Brian S. , Torres Juan Maria , Gambetti Pierluigi 
Published: March 2021

AbstractCurrent classifications of sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (sCJD) identify five subtypes associated with different disease phenotypes. Most of these histopathological phenotypes (histotypes) co-distribute with distinct pairings of methionine (M)/valine (V) genotypes at codon 129 of the prion protein (PrP) gene and the type (1 or 2) of the disease-associated PrP (PrPD). Types 1 and 2 are defined by the molecular mass (~ 21 kDa and ~ 19 kDa, respectively) of the unglycosylated isoform of the proteinase K-resistant PrPD (resPrPD). We recently reported that the sCJDVV1 subtype (129VV homozygosity paired with PrPD type 1, T1) shows an electrophoretic profile where the resPrPD unglycosylated isoform is characterized by either one of two single bands of ~ 20 kDa (T120) and ~ 21 kDa (T121), or a doublet of ~ 21–20 kDa (T121−20). We also showed that T120 and T121 in sCJDVV have different conformational features but are associated with indistinguishable histotypes. The presence of three distinct molecular profiles of T1 is unique and raises the issue as to whether T120 and T121 represent distinct prion strains. To answer this question, brain homogenates from sCJDVV cases harboring each of the three resPrPD profiles, were inoculated to transgenic (Tg) mice expressing the human PrP-129M or PrP-129V genotypes. We found that T120 and T121 were faithfully replicated in Tg129V mice. Electrophoretic profile and incubation period of mice challenged with T121−20 resembled those of mice inoculated with T121 and T120, respectively. As in sCJDVV1, Tg129V mice challenged with T121 and T120 generated virtually undistinguishable histotypes. In Tg129M mice, T121 was not replicated while T120 and T121−20 generated a ~ 21–20 kDa doublet after lengthier incubation periods. On second passage, Tg129M mice incubation periods and regional PrP accumulation significantly differed in T120 and T121−20 challenged mice. Combined, these data indicate that T121 and T120 resPrPD represent distinct human prion strains associated with partially overlapping histotypes.
Macrophages and microglia: the cerberus of glioblastoma
Authors: Buonfiglioli Alice , Hambardzumyan Dolores 
Published: March 2021

AbstractGlioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive and deadliest of the primary brain tumors, characterized by malignant growth, invasion into the brain parenchyma, and resistance to therapy. GBM is a heterogeneous disease characterized by high degrees of both inter- and intra-tumor heterogeneity. Another layer of complexity arises from the unique brain microenvironment in which GBM develops and grows. The GBM microenvironment consists of neoplastic and non-neoplastic cells. The most abundant non-neoplastic cells are those of the innate immune system, called tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). TAMs constitute up to 40% of the tumor mass and consist of both brain-resident microglia and bone marrow-derived myeloid cells from the periphery. Although genetically stable, TAMs can change their expression profiles based upon the signals that they receive from tumor cells; therefore, heterogeneity in GBM creates heterogeneity in TAMs. By interacting with tumor cells and with the other non-neoplastic cells in the tumor microenvironment, TAMs promote tumor progression. Here, we review the origin, heterogeneity, and functional roles of TAMs. In addition, we discuss the prospects of therapeutically targeting TAMs alone or in combination with standard or newly-emerging GBM targeting therapies.
Characterization of electrospun Aronia melanocarpa fruit extracts loaded polyurethane nanoweb
Authors: Woo Ho Woo , Lee Jung Soon 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIn this study, Aronia melanocarpa fruit was extracted with ethanol, distilled water (pH 7), acidified distilled waters (at pH 5 and 3) as the solvent, the total polyphenol content, total flavonoid content, and anti-oxidant activity of the extracts were analyzed. Then, we investigated the possibility of producing nanofibers by the electrospinning process by adding the Aronia melanocarpa fruit extract (AE), which showed the greatest antioxidant effect, to a polyurethane (PU). The electrospinning method used a PU concentration of 10 wt% and 12 wt%, an applied voltage of 10 kV, a tip-to-collector distance of 15 cm, and flowrate of 0.3 mL/h. The analysis confirmed that the total polyphenol, total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activity of the distilled water extract were the highest at a pH value of 3. As the AE was added and its concentration increased, both the viscosity and the diameter of the nanofibers also increased. At PU concentrations of 10%, 12%, relatively uniform nanofibers without beads were prepared by adding 2 to 3 wt% and 0.5 to 2 wt% of the AE, respectively. At the above conditions, the diameters of the nanofibers that were produced were in the range of 227 to 420 nm, so it was evident that PU/AE nanofibers with various diameters could be prepared by controlling the concentration of PU and AE. In addition, the FT-IR, XRD, and DSC analyses confirmed that hydrogen bonding occurred between the AE and the PU. Thus, the resulting crystallinity, melting point, and reduction in the heat capacity confirmed that the AE was well mixed with the PU polymer.
Influence of implant protrusion length on non-grafting osteotome sinus floor elevation with simultaneous implant: a 3- to 9-year retrospective study
Authors: Yu Yi , Jiang Qiming , Zhang Zhengchuan , Yu Xiaolin , Deng Feilong 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBackgroundThis study analyzed the influence of implant protrusion length (IPL) on the possible factors that affect the long-term outcomes utilizing non-grafting osteotome sinus floor elevation (OSFE) with simultaneous implant placement, and to explore the optimal range of IPL.Materials and methodsA retrospective study design was adopted. The clinical and radiographic data of 105 implants in 65 patients were collected after 3–9 (mean 5.04) years follow-up. IPL was divided into three groups (group1, IPL<2mm; group2, 2mm≤IPL<4mm; group3, IPL≥4mm). Endo-sinus bone gain (ESBG), peri-implant marginal bone loss (MBL), bone to implant contact length (BICL), and percentage of ESBG (%ESBG) were used to evaluate non-grafting OSFE. A Kaplan-Meier analysis was performed to assess the cumulative survival rate. Multiple linear regression model was used to explore the relationship between the possible influence factors and ESBG. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to explore the correlation of IPL with ESBG, MBL, BICL, and %ESBG.ResultsA total of 102 implants in 62 patients fulfilled the survival criteria, giving the cumulative survival rates of 96.4% and 94.1% for implant-based analysis and patient-based analysis, respectively. The mean ESBG, MBL, and BICL at the latest follow-up were 1.95±0.88 mm, 0.58±0.68 mm, and 5.51±1.47 mm. ESBG was found to be positively correlated to IPL. A significant decreased bone formation efficiency was found when IPL was over 4 mm (P=0.02).ConclusionsAn optimal range of IPL within 4 mm was recommended for better long-term outcomes when applying non-grafting OSFE with simultaneous implant placement.
Digit ratio in the common toad Bufo bufo: the effects of reduced fingers and of age dependency
Authors: Kaczmarski Mikołaj , Kaczmarek Jan M. , Jankowiak Łukasz , Kolenda Krzysztof , Tryjanowski Piotr 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIntroductionDespite the growing number of studies describing digit ratio patterns in tetrapods, knowledge concerning certain basic issues is still scarce. In lower vertebrates such as tailless amphibians (Anura), the numbering of individual fingers on the forelimbs and their homology with the fingers of other vertebrates pose an unsolved problem. Based on reviewed data on anuran limb development, we argue that the correct finger numbering scheme should be based on the assumption that the first finger, not the fifth finger, was reduced on the forelimbs. We analyzed the digit ratio in the common toad (Bufo bufo, Bufonidae), a species characterized by well-developed sexual dimorphism whereby females are larger than males, using both numbering schemes present in the literature.ResultsWe found that the digit ratio on hindlimbs differed significantly between the sexes only in the cases of left 2D:3D, with lower digit ratios in females, and of left 3D:4D, with lower digit ratios in males. We found that sex was the only significant variable for forelimbs, differentiating 2D:3D on the left forelimb, with lower digit ratios in females; 2D:4D on the right forelimb, with lower digit ratios in males; and 3D:4D on both forelimbs, with lower digit ratios in males. These results relate to variant II reflecting the hypothesis that the first digit was reduced during phylogenesis. There was no relationship between the body size (SVL) of individuals and any digit ratio, excluding 2D:4D on the right forelimbs in models with age variables. Additionally, for a subset of data where individual age was known, the models indicated that age was linked to significant differences in 2D:4D and 3D:4D on the left hindlimbs, while age, SVL, and sex influenced 2D:4D on the right forelimbs.ConclusionWe emphasize the importance of the problem of the correct numbering of forelimb digits in Anura and, under the assumption that it was the fifth digit that was reduced, argue that earlier results on digit ratio in this group should be interpreted with caution. The detected relationship between digit ratio and age in amphibians expands our knowledge, indicating that the age of individuals should be included in future digit ratio studies. This relationship may also apply to studies using digit ratio as a noninvasive indicator of endocrine disruption in amphibians.
The effects of orthognathic surgery on auditory function
Authors: Ghorbani Farhad , Danesteh Hossein , Khoramnia Afshin , Tavanafar Saeid 
Published: March 2021

Abstract
Background
Orthognathic surgery is widely used in treating functional and skeletal problems. Any surgical procedure could cause side effects.

Objectives
This study aimed to evaluate the potential changes in orthognathic surgery on the hearing function of patients.

Materials and methods
Thirty-one orthognathic surgery candidates were recruited in this study. Patients underwent either single or double jaw surgery. Pure tone audiometry (PTA), tympanometry, and Eustachian Tube Dysfunction Test (ETFT) were performed postoperatively at 24 h, 6 weeks, and 6 months after surgery. Patients were tabulated based on the type of maxilla and mandibular surgical movements (vertical and horizontal).

Results
PTA evaluation, based on horizontal or vertical movements, did not show significant differences, although vertical movements resulted in less change in hearing threshold. In other words, no significant changes occurred in patients’ hearing threshold after surgery. No significant difference was also observed between horizontal and vertical movements in the results of tympanometry. Negative changes were found in the results of ETFT in vertical movements, which returned to pre-surgery values in the final test.

Conclusions
The risk of minor changes in hearing function is probable during the first week after orthognathic surgery, but these negative changes will either totally fade or remain negligible. Patients gave informed consent preoperatively, and reassurance postoperatively is prudent.
CMR for myocardial characterization in ischemic heart disease: state-of-the-art and future developments
Authors: Emrich Tilman , Halfmann Moritz , Schoepf U. Joseph , Kreitner Karl-Friedrich 
Published: March 2021

AbstractIschemic heart disease and its sequelae are one of the major contributors to morbidity and mortality worldwide. Over the last decades, technological developments have strengthened the role of noninvasive imaging for detection, risk stratification, and management of patients with ischemic heart disease. Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging incorporates both functional and morphological characterization of the heart to determine presence, acuteness, and severity of ischemic heart disease by evaluating myocardial wall motion and function, the presence and extent of myocardial edema, ischemia, and scarring. Currently established clinical protocols have already demonstrated their diagnostic and prognostic value. Nevertheless, there are emerging imaging technologies that provide additional information based on advanced quantification of imaging biomarkers and improved diagnostic accuracy, therefore potentially allowing reduction or avoidance of contrast and/or stressor agents. The aim of this review is to summarize the current state of the art of CMR imaging for ischemic heart disease and to provide insights into promising future developments.
Imaging myocardial ischemia: from emerging techniques to state-of-the-art
Authors: Varga-Szemes Akos , Suranyi Pal 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe widespread clinical use of cardiovascular imaging inspires constant improvement in imaging technology and post-processing applications. Recent advances in hardware and software have brought about important developments in the assessment of myocardial ischemia such as the rapid evaluation of cardiac volumes and function, ability for detection of subtle myocardial changes, and the combination of anatomic and functional assessment of a coronary artery stenosis via a single modality, which was previously not possible in a noninvasive fashion. These milestones indicate the start of a new era, a paradigm shift that broadens the role of noninvasive imaging. The thematic series Myocardial tissue characterization in ischemic heart disease introduces a set of narrative review and original articles by world renowned authors demonstrating such novel advancements and the state-of-the-art techniques in cardiac imaging.