bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Forests Mitigate Drought in an Agricultural Region of the Brazilian Amazon: Atmospheric Moisture Tracking to Identify Critical Source Areas
Authors: Mu Ye , Biggs Trent W. , De Sales Fernando 
Published: February 2021

AbstractTropical rainforests provide essential ecosystem services to agricultural areas, including moisture recycling. In the Amazon basin, drought frequency has increased in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, but the role of forests, ocean, and nonforested areas in causing or mitigating drought has not been determined. Using a precipitationshed moisture tracking framework, we quantify the contribution sources of evaporation to rainfall in Rondônia in the Brazilian Amazon. Forests account for ∼48% of annual rainfall on average, and more than half of the forest source is from protected areas (PAs). During droughts in 2005 and 2010, moisture supply decreased from oceans and nonforested areas, while supply from forests was stable and compensated for the decrease. Remote sensing and land surface models corroborate the relative insensitivity of forest evapotranspiration to droughts. Forests mitigate drought in the agricultural study region, providing an important ecosystem service that could be disrupted with further deforestation.
Seismic Anisotropy and Mantle Deformation Beneath the Central Sunda Plate
Authors: Song Wenkai , Yu Youqiang , Gao Stephen S. , Liu Kelly H. , Fu Yifang 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe central Sunda plate, which forms the core of Southeast Asia, has been extensively studied based on analyses of data mainly from surface geological observations. In contrast, largely due to the limited coverage by seismic stations in the area, a number of key issues associated with mantle structure and dynamics remain enigmatic. These can possibly be constrained by investigating seismic azimuthal anisotropy in the upper mantle. Here we employ the shear wave splitting technique on three P‐to‐S converted phases from the core‐mantle boundary (PKS, SKKS, and SKS) recorded by 11 stations to systematically explore the spatial variation of azimuthal anisotropy beneath the central Sunda plate. Most of the Malay Peninsula is revealed to possess mostly trench‐perpendicular fast orientations that can be attributed to mantle flow induced by the Indo‐Australian subduction. In addition, the central part of the Malay Peninsula is characterized by a 2‐layered model of anisotropy, which is possibly associated with the joint effects of lithospheric fabrics and a slab tear‐induced toroidal flow. Absolute plate motion (APM)‐parallel anisotropy is observed in northern Borneo and the Nansha Block, where APM‐driven simple shear in the transitional layer between the partially coupled lithosphere and asthenosphere is mostly responsible for the observed anisotropy. The APM‐induced flow may be locally modified by a fossil slab segment beneath Sabah.
A Satellite‐Based Assessment of the Relative Contribution of Hydroclimatic Variables on Vegetation Growth in Global Agricultural and Nonagricultural Regions
Authors: Asoka Akarsh , Wardlow Brian , Tsegaye Tadesse , Huber Matthew , Mishra Vimal 
Published: February 2021

AbstractVegetation growth plays a crucial role in the carbon cycle and climate change mitigation. However, the relative contribution of hydroclimatic variables (relative humidity, terrestrial water storage, day and night‐time land surface temperatures) on vegetation growth of agricultural and nonagricultural areas at the global scale remains unexplored. Using satellite‐based datasets, we examined the changes in Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the four hydroclimatic variables during 2003–2014. Also, the relative contribution of the four hydroclimatic variables on vegetation growth in agricultural and nonagricultural areas was estimated. A significant (p‐value < 0.05) greening has occurred in the agricultural regions of India and Brazil during 2003–2014. Whereas in nonagriculture areas, a considerable greening occurred only in India and China during the 2003–2014 period. Among the four hydroclimatic variables, both day‐time and night‐time land surface temperature are the significant contributors of vegetation growth in the two‐thirds of the global landmass. Terrestrial water storage is a substantial contributor to the vegetation growth in the tropics and subtropics. Night‐time land surface temperature is strongly associated with the vegetation growth in the colder regions. The hydroclimatic variables do not explain the considerable amount of the total variance of vegetation growth over the agricultural areas in China, which is due to human agricultural management practices. Generally, the response of hydroclimate variables on vegetation growth in the agricultural and nonagricultural areas has significant implications in many areas, including food security, carbon sequestration, water resource management, and climate change.
Forest Thinning in Ponderosa Pines Increases Carbon Use Efficiency and Energy Flow From Primary Producers to Primary Consumers
Authors: Doughty Christopher E. , O. Prŷs‐Jones Tomos , Abraham Andrew J. , Kolb Thomas E. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractA better understanding of carbon use efficiency (CUE) and carbon allocation during disturbance is critical to improve simulations of the global carbon cycle and understanding future climate impacts. Forest thinning of high‐stem density, high elevation dry western US forests is becoming more common to reduce severe fire danger but there are uncertainties about how forest thinning may impact forest CUE, carbon allocation and energy flow through the food chain. In three, quarter ha stands with similar soils, elevation and climate along a forest thinning gradient near Flagstaff (AZ), we measured total net primary production (NPP of wood, fine root, and leaves), total autotrophic respiration (Raof wood, rhizosphere, and canopy respiration), gross primary production (GPP = NPP + Ra) and large mammal herbivory (with camera traps and dung counts) over a ∼2‐year period. We found strong seasonality in all carbon cycling variables and herbivory, peaking during the warm, wet monsoon period. Carbon was produced more efficiently in the thinned stands, with carbon use efficiency (CUE = NPP/GPP) of ∼0.63, versus the unthinned stand with CUE of 0.38. GPP was similar in the two thinned stands (∼3.5 Mg C ha−1 yr−1) but was about 30% greater in the unthinned stands (5.0 Mg C ha−1 yr−1). Finally, the thinned stand had higher understory NPP, large herbivore consumption and had triple the total energy going into primary consumers. Overall, the thinning, and the return to a more natural prefire suppression forest structure, increased the CUE and energy flow from primary producers to primary consumers.
A 1 Million Year Record of Biogenic Silica in the Indian Ocean Sector of the Southern Ocean: Regional Versus Global Forcing of Primary Productivity
Authors: Kaiser Emily A. , Billups Katharina , Bradtmiller Louisa 
Published: February 2021

AbstractA new orbital‐scale record of bulk sediment biogenic silica (opal) content from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 745B spans the past 630 kyr (Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1–16). Together with the published portion of the record (MIS 16–31, Billups et al., 2018), we obtain a 1 million year orbital‐scale record of paleoproductivity in the Antarctic Zone of the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean. A coherent age model is based on tuning variations in the opal content to the benthic foraminiferal δ18O stack of Lisiecki and Raymo (2005). Consistent with other sites from the Antarctic Zone of the Southern Ocean, we align opal maxima with interglacial and opal minima with glacial intervals. Opal variations are significant at all three primary periodicities (100, 40, and 23 kyr), coherent (>95%), and in‐phase with the tuning target on the scale of individual cycles as well as their amplitude modulation. This supports the assumption of global ice volume‐related changes in Southern Ocean paleoproductivity in the derivation of the age model. Between MIS 11 and 4, however, the opal record lacks minima corresponding to the glacial extremes of MIS 10, 8, and 6. During this interval of time, opal fluctuates primarily with a 23 kyr precession signal. We suggest that the productivity response to precession reflects an ice‐free sea surface that remains sensitive to wind‐driven upwelling of nutrients. Results from Site 745B illustrate the potential importance of regional climate forcing factors on longer time scales and their interplay with global climate background conditions.
miR-18a promotes glioblastoma development by down-regulating ALOXE3-mediated ferroptotic and anti-migration activities
Authors: Yang Xinzhi , Liu Jiangang , Wang Chenci , Cheng Kenneth King-yip , Xu Hongchao , Li Qingzhong , Hua Tian , Jiang Xue , Sheng Lili , Mao Jie , Liu Zhuohao 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe development of glioblastoma (GBM) is typically accompanied by marked changes in lipid metabolism. Oxylipins and their catalyzed enzymes lipoxygenases (LOXs) have been shown to participate in the development of cancers via multiple pathways, while the understanding of LOXs in GBM remains enigmatic. Thus, we aimed to explore the expression and functional roles of LOXs in the development of GBM. Here we showed that ALOXE3 was markedly down-regulated in human GBM. Knockdown of ALOXE3 in GBM cells fostered the orthotopic tumor growth and shortened lifespan in mice. ALOXE3 deficiency rendered GBM cells resistant to p53-SLC7A11 dependent ferroptosis, promoting GBM cell survival. Mechanistically, miR-18a directly targeted ALOXE3 and suppressed its expression and functions in GBM cells. Furthermore, ALOXE3 silencing promoted 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (12-HETE) secretion from GBM cells, in turn, 12-HETE enhanced migration of GBM cells by activating Gs-protein-coupled receptor (GsPCR)-PI3K-Akt pathway in an autocrine manner. Altogether, miR-18a/ALOXE3 axis exerts tumor promoting functions by regulating ferroptosis and migration of GBM cells. Targeting miR-18a/ALOXE3 axis may provide novel therapeutic approaches for GBM treatment.
Using mitochondrial respiration inhibitors to design a novel model of bipolar disorder-like phenotype with construct, face and predictive validity
Authors: Damri O. , Asslih S. , Shemesh N. , Natour S. , Noori O. , Daraushe A. , Einat H. , Kara N. , Las G. , Agam G. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractWe mimicked mild mitochondrial-distress robustly reported in bipolar-disorder (BD) by chronic exposure to uniquely low doses of inhibitors of mitochondrial-respiration complexes in vitro and in vivo. Exposure of the neuronal-originating SH-SY5Y cells to very low dose (10 pM) rotenone, a mitochondrial-respiration complex (Co)I inhibitor, for 72 or 96 h did not affect cell viability and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Yet, it induced a dual effect on mitochondrial-respiration: overshooting statistically significant several-fold increase of most oxygen-consumption-rate (OCR) parameters vs. significantly decreased all OCR parameters, respectively. Chronic low doses of 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP) (CoII inhibitor) did not induce long-lasting changes in the cells’ mitochondria-related parameters. Intraperitoneal administration of 0.75 mg/kg/day rotenone to male mice for 4 or 8 weeks did not affect spontaneous and motor activity, caused behaviors associated with mania and depression following 4 and 8 weeks, respectively, accompanied by relevant changes in mitochondrial basal OCR and in levels of mitochondrial-respiration proteins. Our model is among the very few BD-like animal models exhibiting construct (mild mitochondrial dysfunction), face (decreased/increased immobility time in the forced-swim test, increased/decreased consumption of sweet solution, increased/decreased time spent in the open arms of the elevated plus maze) and predictive (reversal of rotenone-induced behavioral changes by lithium treatment) validity. Our rotenone regime, employing doses that, to the best of our knowledge, have never been used before, differs from those inducing Parkinson’s-like models by not affecting ROS-levels and cell-viability in vitro nor motor activity in vivo.
The interrelationship between confidence and correctness in a multiple-choice assessment: pointing out misconceptions and assuring valuable questions
Authors: Grazziotin-Soares Renata , Blue Coca , Feraro Rachel , Tochor Kristen , Ardenghi Thiago Machado , Curtis Donald , Ardenghi Diego Machado 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Introduction
The aim of this study was to better understand the interfaces of being correct or incorrect and confident or unconfident; aiming to point out misconceptions and assure valuable questions.

Methods
This cross-sectional study was conducted using a convenience sample of second-year dental students (n = 29) attending a preclinical endodontics course. Students answered 20 multiple-choice questions (“basic” or “moderate” level) on endodontics, all of which were followed by one confidence question (scale). Our two research questions were: (1) How was the students’ performance, considering correctness, misconceptions, and level of confidence? (2) Were the questions valuable, appropriate and friendly, and which ones led to misconceptions? Four situations arouse from the interrelationship between question correctness and confidence level: (1st) correct and confident, (2nd) correct and unconfident, (3rd) incorrect and confident (misconception) and (4th) incorrect and unconfident. Statistical analysis (α = 5%) considered the interaction between (a) students’ performance with misconceptions and confidence; (b) question’s difficulty with correctness and confidence; and (c) misconceptions with clinical and negative questions.

Results
Students had 92.5% of correctness and 84.6% of confidence level. Nine students were responsible for the 12 misconceptions. Students who had more misconceptions had lower correctness (P < 0.001). High achieving students had low confidence in their incorrect responses (P = 0.047). ‘Moderate’ questions had more incorrectness (P < 0.05) and less confidence (P = 0.02) than ‘basic’. All questions were considered valuable [for example, the ones that presented images or required a mental picture of a clinical scenario, since they induced less misconception (P = 0.007)]. There was no difference in misconceptions between negative questions and other questions (P = 0.96).

Conclusion
Preclinical endodontic students were highly correct and very confident in their responses. Students who had more misconceptions had also the lowest performance in the assessment. Questions were valuable; but some will worth further improvement for the future. A multiple-choice assessment, when combined with confidence questions, provided helpful information regarding misconceptions and questions value.
Characterising cancer-associated fibroblast heterogeneity in non-small cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Irvine Andrew F. , Waise Sara , Green Edward W. , Stuart Beth , Thomas Gareth J. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractCancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are a key component of the tumour microenvironment with evidence suggesting they represent a heterogeneous population. This study summarises the prognostic role of all proteins characterised in CAFs with immunohistochemistry in non-small cell lung cancer thus far. The functions of these proteins in cellular processes crucial to CAFs are also analysed. Five databases were searched to extract survival outcomes from published studies and statistical techniques, including a novel method, used to capture missing values from the literature. A total of 26 proteins were identified, 21 of which were combined into 7 common cellular processes key to CAFs. Quality assessments for sensitivity analyses were carried out for each study using the REMARK criteria whilst publication bias was assessed using funnel plots. Random effects models consistently identified the expression of podoplanin (Overall Survival (OS)/Disease-specific Survival (DSS), univariate analysis HR 2.25, 95% CIs 1.80–2.82) and α-SMA (OS/DSS, univariate analysis HR 2.11, 95% CIs 1.18–3.77) in CAFs as highly prognostic regardless of outcome measure or analysis method. Moreover, proteins involved in maintaining and generating the CAF phenotype (α-SMA, TGF-β and p-Smad2) proved highly significant after sensitivity analysis (HR 2.74, 95% CIs 1.74–4.33) supporting attempts at targeting this pathway for therapeutic benefit.
Characterization of kinesthetic motor imagery compared with visual motor imageries
Authors: Yang Yu Jin , Jeon Eun Jeong , Kim June Sic , Chung Chun Kee 
Published: February 2021

AbstractMotor imagery (MI) is the only way for disabled subjects to robustly use a robot arm with a brain-machine interface. There are two main types of MI. Kinesthetic motor imagery (KMI) is proprioceptive (OR somato-) sensory imagination and Visual motor imagery (VMI) represents a visualization of the corresponding movement incorporating the visual network. Because these imagery tactics may use different networks, we hypothesized that the connectivity measures could characterize the two imageries better than the local activity. Electroencephalography data were recorded. Subjects performed different conditions, including motor execution (ME), KMI, VMI, and visual observation (VO). We tried to classify the KMI and VMI by conventional power analysis and by the connectivity measures. The mean accuracies of the classification of the KMI and VMI were 98.5% and 99.29% by connectivity measures (alpha and beta, respectively), which were higher than those by the normalized power (p < 0.01, Wilcoxon paired rank test). Additionally, the connectivity patterns were correlated between the ME-KMI and between the VO-VMI. The degree centrality (DC) was significantly higher in the left-S1 at the alpha-band in the KMI than in the VMI. The MI could be well classified because the KMI recruits a similar network to the ME. These findings could contribute to MI training methods.
A new heterotropic vascularized model of total urinary bladder transplantation in a rat model
Authors: Jundziłł Arkadiusz , Witmanowski Henryk , Żary-Sikorska Ewa , Adamowicz Jan , Bodnar Magdalena , Marszałek Andrzej , Kloskowski Tomasz , Męcińska-Jundziłł Kaja , Gagat Maciej , Siedlecka Natalia , Drewa Tomasz , Pokrywczyńska Marta 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThis study developed a new procedure of urinary bladder transplantation on a rat model (n = 40). Heterotopic urinary bladder transplantation (n = 10) in the right groin vessels was performed. Direct urinary bladder examination, microangiography, histological analysis, and India ink injection were performed to evaluate the proposed method's functionality. Observation time was four weeks. One week after the procedure, the graft survival rate was 80%, two urinary bladders were lost due to anastomosis failure. The rest of the grafts survived two weeks without any complications. Lack of transitional epithelium or smooth muscle layer loss and lack of inflammatory process development were observed. This study was performed in order to obtain the necessary knowledge about urinary bladder transplantation. The proposed technique offers a new approach to the existing orthotropic models.
Few-shot pulse wave contour classification based on multi-scale feature extraction
Authors: Lu Peng , Liu Chao , Mao Xiaobo , Zhao Yvping , Wang Hanzhang , Zhang Hongpo , Guo Lili 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe annotation procedure of pulse wave contour (PWC) is expensive and time-consuming, thereby hindering the formation of large-scale datasets to match the requirements of deep learning. To obtain better results under the condition of few-shot PWC, a small-parameter unit structure and a multi-scale feature-extraction model are proposed. In the small-parameter unit structure, information of adjacent cells is transmitted through state variables. Simultaneously, a forgetting gate is used to update the information and retain long-term dependence of PWC in the form of unit series. The multi-scale feature-extraction model is an integrated model containing three parts. Convolution neural networks are used to extract spatial features of single-period PWC and rhythm features of multi-period PWC. Recursive neural networks are used to retain the long-term dependence features of PWC. Finally, an inference layer is used for classification through extracted features. Classification experiments of cardiovascular diseases are performed on photoplethysmography dataset and continuous non-invasive blood pressure dataset. Results show that the classification accuracy of the multi-scale feature-extraction model on the two datasets respectively can reach 80% and 96%, respectively.
Compromised balance control in older people with bilateral medial knee osteoarthritis during level walking
Authors: Lee Pei-An , Wu Kuan-Hsien , Lu Hsuan-Yu , Su Kai-Wen , Wang Ting-Ming , Liu Hwa-Chang , Lu Tung-Wu 
Published: February 2021

AbstractAbout half of the elderly population has knee osteoarthritis (OA), showing altered gait patterns with increased fall risk. The current study aimed to identify the effects of severe bilateral medial knee osteoarthritis on gait balance control, in terms of the inclination angle (IA) of the center of pressure to center of mass vector, and the rate of change of IA (RCIA). Fifteen older adults with severe bilateral medial knee OA and 15 healthy controls walked at their preferred walking speed while the kinematic and forceplate data were measured to calculate IA, RCIA and temporal–spatial parameters. The OA group showed compromised gait balance control, due to a decreased average and range of sagittal RCIA over double-limb support (DLS, p < 0.002) and single-limb support (SLS, p < 0.002), as well as an increased sagittal IA (DLS, p < 0.005). Significantly decreased frontal RCIA averages during DLS, heel-strike and toe-off, and decreased RCIA ranges during SLS and swing (p < 0.027) were also observed. Reducing RCIA during DLS appeared to help reduce the loading rate and pain at the knees, and reduced RCIA at the subsequent SLS. The results indicated an increased risk of loss of balance in the OA group, and may warrant regular monitoring for reduced RCIA during gait to determine fall risk.
Dynamic scan paths investigations under manual and highly automated driving
Authors: Navarro Jordan , Lappi Otto , Osiurak François , Hernout Emma , Gabaude Catherine , Reynaud Emanuelle 
Published: February 2021

AbstractActive visual scanning of the scene is a key task-element in all forms of human locomotion. In the field of driving, steering (lateral control) and speed adjustments (longitudinal control) models are largely based on drivers’ visual inputs. Despite knowledge gained on gaze behaviour behind the wheel, our understanding of the sequential aspects of the gaze strategies that actively sample that input remains restricted. Here, we apply scan path analysis to investigate sequences of visual scanning in manual and highly automated simulated driving. Five stereotypical visual sequences were identified under manual driving: forward polling (i.e. far road explorations), guidance, backwards polling (i.e. near road explorations), scenery and speed monitoring scan paths. Previously undocumented backwards polling scan paths were the most frequent. Under highly automated driving backwards polling scan paths relative frequency decreased, guidance scan paths relative frequency increased, and automation supervision specific scan paths appeared. The results shed new light on the gaze patterns engaged while driving. Methodological and empirical questions for future studies are discussed.