bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Blood Biomarkers of Intestinal Epithelium Damage Regenerating Islet‐derived Protein 3α and Trefoil Factor 3 Are Persistently Elevated in Patients with Alcoholic Hepatitis
Authors: Yang Jing , Syed Fahim , Xia Ying , Sanyal Arun J. , Shah Vijay H. , Chalasani Naga , Zheng Xiaoqun , Yu Qigui , Lou Yongliang , Li Wei 
Published: February 2021

BackgroundHeavy alcohol consumption disrupts gut epithelial integrity, leading to increased permeability of the gastrointestinal tract and subsequent translocation of microbes. Regenerating islet‐derived protein 3α (REG3α) and Trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) are mainly secreted to the gut lumen by Paneth and Goblet cells, respectively, and are functionally linked to gut barrier integrity. Circulating levels of REG3α and TFF3 have been identified as biomarkers for gut damage in several human diseases. We examined whether plasma levels of REG3α and TFF3 were dysregulated and correlated with conventional markers of microbial translocation (MT) and pro‐inflammatory mediators in heavy drinkers with and without alcoholic hepatitis (AH).MethodsCross‐sectional and longitudinal studies were performed to monitor plasma levels of REG3α and TFF3 in 79 AH patients, 66 heavy drinkers without liver disease (HDC), and 46 healthy controls (HC) at enrollment and at 6‐ and 12‐month follow‐ups. Spearman correlation was used to measure the relationships of REG3α and TFF3 levels with MT, disease severity, inflammation, and effects of abstinence from alcohol.ResultsAt enrollment, AH patients had significantly higher levels of REG3α and TFF3 than HDC and HC. The elevated REG3α levels were positively correlated with the 30‐day fatality rate. Plasma levels of REG3α and TFF3 in AH patients differentially correlated with conventional MT markers (sCD14, sCD163, and LBP) and several highly up‐regulated inflammatory cytokines/chemokines/growth factors. At follow‐ups, although REG3α and TFF3 levels were decreased in AH patients with alcohol abstinence, they did not fully return to baseline levels.ConclusionsCirculating levels of REG3α and TFF3 were highly elevated in AH patients and differentially correlated with AH disease severity, MT, and inflammation, thereby serving as potential biomarkers of MT and gut epithelial damage in AH patients.
Attitudes towards dignity of risk in older people: A survey following a short narrative film
Authors: Li Yingtong , Bugeja Lyndal , Bhullar Navjot , Ibrahim Joseph E. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate aged care staff's ‘willingness to help an older person with risk‐taking activities’ that improve quality of life (‘dignity of risk’).MethodsOpportunity‐based cross‐sectional anonymous electronic survey in four Australian jurisdictions, conducted immediately after screening a short animated narrative film describing ‘dignity of risk’. Survey comprised nine questions including respondent demographics, professional role, risk‐taking and outcome.ResultsFrom 24 separate screenings, there were 929 respondents. Agreement to ‘help an older person with risk‐taking activities’ was associated with respondent prediction of the least severe harm occurring (OR = 2.22 [1.20, 4.12], P = .001). Conversely, respondents in non‐executive, non‐managerial roles—that is, nurses and care workers—were unlikely to agree to help with risk‐taking activities (OR 0.36‐0.49, P ≤ .03). There was not an association with respondent's age grouping (P = .6).ConclusionStaff self‐reported attitudes towards dignity of risk are important to understand to enhance in an older person's quality of life.
Moving forwards: A problem for full ectogenesis
Authors: Baron Teresa 
Published: February 2021

ABSTRACTMost existing literature on the ethics of full ectogenesis has proceeded under the presupposition that science will at some point produce sophisticated technologies for full‐term gestation (from embryo to infant) outside the human womb, delivering neonate health outcomes comparable with (or even superior to) biological gestation. However, the development of this technology—as opposed to the support systems currently being advanced—would require human subject experiments in embryo‐onwards development using ectogenic prototypes. Literature on ectogenic research ethics has so far focused on ‘backwards’ development of partial ectogenesis: incubation and ectogestation technologies that would allow the support of earlier and earlier neonates and foetuses. However, little has been said about the ethics of ‘forwards’ development of (partial or full) ectogenesis, involving the development of embryos and foetuses in prototype environments. Such a prototype might allow us to produce a gestateling or live neonate from a human embryo, but with poorer expected development and health outcomes than from biological gestation; it might also produce only gestatelings (healthy or otherwise) before the technology was developed to a stage where full‐term gestation was achievable. This paper explicates some of the ethical issues that this raises for the development of ‘full’ ectogenesis, and presents prima facie reasons to consider this research problematic and therefore to require extensive further argument in its defence.
Geomorphological characterization of basal flow markers during recurrent mass movement: A case study from the Taranaki Basin, offshore New Zealand
Authors: Kumar Priyadarshi Chinmoy , Omosanya Kamal’deen O. , Eruteya Ovie Emmanuel , Sain Kalachand 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThis work examines the mode of basal to substrate interaction, and flow dynamics of recurrent mass wasting events from a high‐quality 3D seismic reflection data. The Taranaki Basin, offshore New Zealand offers a unique environment to understand these processes, as the Neogene succession of the area preserves vertical stacks of mass transport deposits (MTDs) from the Miocene to Pliocene. The approach used here combines seismic interpretation of the basal shear zones (BSZs) of the MTD, seismic attribute analyses and colour rendering of both RMS amplitude and energy gradient maps. The five mass transport deposits are characterized into blocky‐MTDs consisting of moderate to high amplitude and variably deformed rafted blocks, and chaotic masses composed of slides and debris flow deposits. Classic examples of kinematic indicators at the BSZ of the MTDs akin to free‐slip flow processes such as liquefaction, hydroplaning and shear wetting are convolute flow fabrics and basal shear zone cut‐offs (fractures). Striations, grooves, mega scours, U‐ and V‐shaped scours, substrate erosion, monkey fingers (peel backs), substrate deformation and shearing are associated with no‐slip flows, suggesting that the mass movements efficiently interacted with the underlying substrate. Importantly, the intersection of different kinematic indicators along the BSZs of all the MTDs suggests an overlap of flow regimes, flow overprinting and transformation during mass movement. Although basal tooling by rafted blocks seems dominant during remobilization of the blocky MTDs, the presence of other kinematic indicators signifies combined mechanisms involving both free‐flow and no‐slip processes during their translation. The classification scheme evaluated here innovatively shows mass movements habitually occur through a combination of flow mechanisms rather than an independent flow regime.
PRRX1 deficiency induces mesenchymal‐epithelial transition through PITX2/miR‐200–dependent SLUG/CTNNB1 regulation in hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Chen Weibo , Wu Junyi , Shi Weiwei , Zhang Guang , Chen Xuemin , Ji Anlai , Wang Zhongxia , Wu Junhua , Jiang Chunping 
Published: February 2021

AbstractMetastasis is a major obstacle to better prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Mesenchymal‐epithelial transition (MET) is the driving force for metastatic colonization in which E‐cadherin re‐expression is a critical procedure. It has been reported that the loss of paired‐related homeobox transcription factor 1 (PRRX1) is required for cancer cell metastasis. However, the role of PRRX1 in MET and how its downregulation triggers E‐cadherin re‐expression are unknown. In this study, we performed a systematic, mechanistic study regarding the role of PRRX1 in MET of HCC. We observed PRRX1 downregulation in HCC tissues, which correlated with early metastasis and short overall survival. Overexpression of PRRX1 induced epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT), but did not promote metastasis formation, while knockdown of PRRX1 promoted metastasis and colonization of circulating HCC cells as shown in animal model. PRRX1 protein levels reversely correlated with E‐cadherin levels in HCC cell lines. PRRX1 knockdown promoted E‐cadherin re‐expression and cell proliferation and inhibited cell invasion and migration. The microarray results showed that PRRX1 deficiency regulated extracellular matrix (ECM) interaction, focal adhesion, TGF‐β signaling and cancer pathways. PRRX1 knockdown upregulated paired‐like homeodomain 2 (PITX2) and inhibited catenin beta 1 (CTNNB1) and SNAIL family zinc finger 2 (SLUG). Silencing of PITX2 reversed CTNNB1 and SLUG inhibition and E‐cadherin re‐expression. PITX2 upregulation increased miR‐200a and miR‐200b/429, which further inhibited the transcription of CTNNB1 and SLUG, respectively, thus abrogating the inhibitory effect on E‐cadherin. In conclusion, our data showed that the downregulation of PRRX1 induced E‐cadherin re‐expression through PITX2/miR‐200a/CTNNB1 and PITX2/miR‐200b/429/SLUG pathway.
The role of sperm and oocyte in fetal programming: Is Lamarck making a comeback?
Authors: Tavares Renata Santos , Ramalho‐Santos João 
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Compelling evidence has shown that parental experiences and age at conception may potentially shape the future health of the next generation(s).

Certain factors may affect both the female and, strikingly, the male gametes potentially causing the transmission of acquired traits, which was strongly defended by Jean‐Baptiste Lamarck.

Neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders, trinucleotide repeat‐associated diseases, cardiovascular pathologies, diabetes, obesity and cancer in the offspring, among others, have now been associated with events occurring at the preconception level.

The potential implications of a (trans)generational inheritance of parental disease and exposure effects should be taken into account in counselling and public policy.

Further research into how exactly gametes apparently deliver more than DNA to a new generation is warranted.
Symptom development and mortality rates caused by Armillaria ostoyae in juvenile mixed conifer stands in British Columbia’s southern interior region
Authors: Cleary Michelle , Morrison Duncan J. , van der Kamp Bart 
Published: February 2021

ABSTRACTPlots were established in 20 juvenile mixed conifer stands in the Interior Cedar Hemlock biogeoclimatic zone of British Columbia's southern interior region in western Canada to assess mortality and host response to infection in the form of basal lesions caused by Armillaria ostoyae. Western redcedar showed significantly lower mortality and a higher proportion of callused lesions at the root collar than Douglas‐fir and western hemlock. Mortality decreased with increasing tree diameter for all species; however, the rate of decrease was markedly greater for western redcedar than Douglas‐fir or western hemlock. Results from logistic regression analysis showed that the probability of Douglas‐fir being killed is 14.6 times greater than western redcedar in these juvenile stands. Because western redcedar displayed significant resistance to A. ostoyae at both the root and stand level, this species represents an excellent choice as a significant stand component with more susceptible conifers. Should susceptible conifers succumb to Armillaria root disease, western redcedar will likely fill in the stand.
Evaluating costs of heavy metal tolerance in a widely distributed, invasive butterfly
Authors: Shephard Alexander M. , Zambre Amod M. , Snell‐Rood Emilie C. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractOrganismal tolerance to environmental pollution is thought to be constrained by fitness costs, where variants with higher survival in polluted environments have lower performance in nonpolluted environments. Yet, costs are not always detected in empirical studies. One hypothesis suggests that whether tolerance costs emerge depends on the degree of heterogeneity populations experience with respect to pollution exposure. For instance, in populations confined to local environments where pollution is persistent, selection may favour alleles that enhance pollution tolerance but reduce performance in nonpolluted environments (costs). However, in broadly distributed populations that undergo selection in both polluted and nonpolluted patches, costs should be eroded. Understanding tolerance costs in broadly distributed populations is relevant to management of invasive species, which are highly dispersive, wide ranging, and often colonize disturbed or polluted patches such as agricultural monocultures. Therefore, we conducted a case study quantifying costs of tolerance to zinc pollution (a common heavy metal pollutant) in wild cabbage white butterflies (Pieris rapae). This wide ranging, highly dispersive and invasive pest periodically encounters metal pollution by consuming plants in urban and agricultural settings. In contrast to expected costs of tolerance, we found that cabbage white families with greater zinc tolerance also produced more eggs and had higher reproductive effort under nonpolluted conditions. These results contribute to a more general hypothesis of why costs of pollution tolerance vary across studies: patchy selection with pollutants should erode costs and may favour genotypes that perform well under both polluted and nonpolluted conditions. This might partly explain why widely distributed invasive species are able to thrive in diverse, polluted and nonpolluted habitats.
Case Studies of Geothermal System Response to Perturbations in Groundwater Flow and Thermal Regimes
Authors: Abesser Corinna , Schincariol Robert A. , Raymond Jasmin , García‐Gil Alejandro , Drysdale Ronan , Piatek Alex , Giordano Nicolò , Jaziri Nehed , Molson John 
Published: February 2021

AbstractGlobal demands for energy‐efficient heating and cooling systems coupled with rising commitments toward net zero emissions is resulting in wide deployment of shallow geothermal systems, typically installed to a depth of 100 to 200 m, and in the continued growth of the global ground source heat pump (GSHP) market. Ground coupled heat pump (GCHP) systems take up to 85% of the global GSHP market. With increasing deployment of GCHP systems in urban areas coping with limited regulations, there is growing potential and risk for these systems to impact the subsurface thermal regime and to interact with each other or with nearby heat‐sensitive subsurface infrastructure. In this paper, we present three numerical modeling case studies, from the UK and Canada, which examine GCHP systems' response to perturbation of the wider hydrogeological and thermal regimes. The studies demonstrate how GCHP systems can be impacted by external influences and perturbations arising from subsurface activities that change the thermal and hydraulic regimes in the area surrounding these systems. Additional subsurface heat loads near existing schemes are found to have varied impacts on system efficiency with reduction ranging from <1% to 8%, while changes in groundwater flow rates (due to a nearby groundwater abstraction) reduced the effective thermal conductivity at the study site by 13%. The findings support the argument in favor of regulation of GCHP systems or, to a minimum, their registration with records of locations and approximate heat pump capacity—even though these systems do not abstract/inject groundwater.
Viral susceptibility across host species is largely independent of dietary protein to carbohydrate ratios
Authors: Roberts Katherine E. , Longdon Ben 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe likelihood of a successful host shift of a parasite to a novel host species can be influenced by environmental factors that can act on both the host and parasite. Changes in nutritional resource availability have been shown to alter pathogen susceptibility and the outcome of infection in a range of systems. Here, we examined how dietary protein to carbohydrate altered susceptibility in a large cross‐infection experiment. We infected 27 species of Drosophilidae with an RNA virus on three food types of differing protein to carbohydrate ratios. We then measured how viral load and mortality across species was affected by changes in diet. We found that changes in the protein:carbohydrate in the diet did not alter the outcomes of infection, with strong positive inter‐species correlations in both viral load and mortality across diets, suggesting no species‐by‐diet interaction. Mortality and viral load were strongly positively correlated, and this association was consistent across diets. This suggests changes in diet may give consistent outcomes across host species, and may not be universally important in determining host susceptibility to pathogens.
Three‐dimensional morphological and positional analysis of the temporomandibular joint in adults with posterior crossbite: A cross‐sectional comparative study
Authors: Almaqrami Bushra Sufyan , Alhammadi Maged Sultan , Tang Bojun , ALyafrusee Enas Senan , Hua Fang , He Hong 
Published: February 2021

AbstractObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to three‐dimensionally (3D) evaluate the morphological and positional features of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in adults with unilateral and bilateral posterior crossbite compared with aligned control subjects.Materials and MethodsThis cross‐sectional comparative study analysed cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of 90 adult subjects’ divided into three equal groups: bilateral posterior crossbite (BCG), unilateral posterior crossbite (UCG) and control group (CG). 3D measurements of the TMJ included the following: (a) position, angulation and inclination of the mandibular condyles; (b) centralisation of the condyles in their respective mandibular fossae; and (c) volumetric measurements of the TMJ spaces. Intra‐ and intergroup differences were identified using the paired Student's t test and an analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey's post hoc test, respectively.ResultsRegarding the intra‐group side‐based comparisons, there were significant differences in the anterior and superior joint spaces and the anteroposterior condylar joint position in the UCG. Intergroup comparisons revealed significant differences in the vertical condylar inclination, medial condylar position, condylar width and height, and volumetric joint space between the unaffected side of the UCG and left sides of the other groups. There were significant differences in the anteroposterior condylar inclination, medial condylar position, condylar width and height, anterior, posterior, superior and volumetric joint spaces, and anteroposterior condylar joint position between the crossbite side of the UCG and the right sides of the other groups.ConclusionSkeletal crossbite accompanied with characteristic morphological and positional TMJ features associated with unilateral posterior crossbite and are associated with side‐specific TMJ asymmetry.
Validation of the HCC‐RESCUE score to predict hepatocellular carcinoma risk in Caucasian chronic hepatitis B patients under entecavir or tenofovir therapy
Authors: Güzelbulut Fatih , Gökçen Pınar , Can Güray , Adalı Gupse , Değirmenci Saltürk Ayça Gökçen , Bahadır Özgür , Özdil Kamil , Doğanay Hamdi Levent 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe HCC‐RESCUE score was developed to predict hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk in Korean chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients under entecavir therapy. We aimed to validate the HCC‐RESCUE score to predict HCC risk in Caucasian CHB patients under entecavir or tenofovir therapy and to compare the predictive performance of the HCC‐RESCUE score with those of the CAMD, PAGE‐B and modified PAGE‐B (mPAGE‐B) scores. The study included 647 nucleos(t)ide analogue‐naive noncirrhotic and compensated/decompensated cirrhotic patients who had received entecavir or tenofovir for ≥6 months and did not develop HCC during the first 6 months of therapy. Patients with HCC‐RESCUE scores ≤64, 65–84 and ≥85 points were classified into low‐, intermediate‐ and high‐risk groups, respectively. The AUROCs of the HCC‐RESCUE, CAMD, PAGE‐B and mPAGE‐B scores to predict HCC risk at 5 years were 0.875, 0.870, 0.866 and 0.880, and those at 10 years were 0.862, 0.845, 0.841 and 0.862, respectively (both p > .05). Cumulative HCC incidences at 5 years were 0.0%, 10.5% and 15.8%, and those at 10 years were 1.4%, 15.5% and 24.9%, respectively, in the low‐, intermediate‐ and high‐risk groups based on the HCC‐RESCUE score (both log rank p < .001). In the entecavir versus tenofovir cohorts, the AUROCs of the HCC‐RESCUE score to predict HCC risk at 5 and 10 years were 0.831 versus 0.898 and 0.803 versus 0.910, respectively (both p > .05). The HCC‐RESCUE score accurately predicted HCC risk in Caucasian CHB patients under entecavir or tenofovir therapy. A substantial proportion of patients can be dropped from HCC surveillance by using the HCC‐RESCUE score.
Feasts of Memory: Collective Remembering, Liturgical Time Travel and the Actualisation of the Past
Authors: Cockayne Joshua , Salter Gideon 
Published: February 2021

AbstractHow does religious liturgy connect participants to each other and to those that went before them thereby creating a living tradition that can span millennia? By drawing together insights from theology, psychology, and the philosophy of mind, we seek to explore the nature of communal remembering in religious rites. We begin by showing that the sense of memory used in Jewish and Christian Scriptures is much richer than mere fact recollection; to remember is to participate in the events of the past, to experience them as part of the narrative of a community’s present, and to fuel the community’s imagination about its future. Crucial to this corporate religious sense of memory is the concept of actualisation, in which some ritual or narrative allows the community to relive events of the past. We then argue that contemporary work on the psychology and philosophy of memory can help us to think about the application of these biblical senses of memory to contemporary practice.
Compassionate Theodicy: A Suggested Truce Between Intellectual and Practical Theodicy
Authors: Sollereder Bethany N. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe basic morality of theodicy is oft disputed. Classical theodicists defend the pursuit of an intellectual solution to the problem of evil while anti‐theodicists and practical theodicists argue that this distracts efforts from alleviating the pain people suffer. In this article, I draw on psychological studies that show that beliefs about God and evil change how resilient people are in their experience of pain. In light of that research, I suggest that the pursuit of an intellectual solution to the problem of evil is actually a part of the practical response to evil. However, the pursuit of a solution must be undertaken by the person who has suffered evil, not by the theodicist on their behalf. The theodicist must instead take up the role of coach or guide to the process of making sense of evil—this is what I call compassionate theodicy. I finish with an example of a resource that attempts a compassionate theodicy, showing the links between theory and practice.