bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Digital re‐evaluation of down‐dip channel‐fill architecture in deep‐water slope deposits: Multi‐scale perspectives from UAV‐SfM
Authors: Nesbit Paul R. , Hubbard Stephen M. , Daniels Benjamin G. , Bell Daniel , Englert Rebecca G. , Hugenholtz Christopher H. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractRecent advances in sea floor measurements and modelling have revealed new insight into submarine channel processes; however, understanding how these short‐term perspectives influence long‐term evolution of submarine channels has been limited by the difficulty in linking processes to products in the stratigraphic record. Outcrops present opportunities to characterise the detailed internal architecture of deep‐water channel fills over a wide range of timescales, but obtaining observations is compounded by challenges in outcrop accessibility and perspective along broad exposures. To demonstrate the potential value of modern remote sensing techniques in supplementing fieldwork, an extensive dip‐oriented outcrop exposure of Cretaceous deep‐water channel deposits was re‐evaluated using a 3D digital outcrop model generated from uninhabited/unmanned aerial vehicle photogrammetry. Results confirmed previous field‐based documentation of depositional element‐scale stratigraphic architecture, but also revealed nuanced internal detail that was not captured from field‐based perspectives alone. Subtle internal channel‐fill architecture, including discontinuous sandstone wedges and the interpreted stratigraphic products of upslope‐migrating bedforms, are also recognised. This study demonstrates the sedimentary detail that can be uncovered by integrating conventional field‐based approaches limited by viewable scale, perspective, and/or accessibility, with emerging remote sensing techniques. The unmanned aerial vehicle photogrammetry approach used here provides valuable supplemental data in the investigation of deep‐water channel system deposits and has the potential to overcome inherent challenges in outcrop mapping for numerous applications.
Relative genetic diversity of the rare and endangered Agave shawii ssp. shawii and associated soil microbes within a southern California ecological preserve
Authors: Vu Jeanne P. , Vasquez Miguel F. , Feng Zuying , Lombardo Keith , Haagensen Sora , Bozinovic Goran 
Published: January 2021

AbstractShaw's Agave (Agave shawii ssp. shawii) is an endangered maritime succulent growing along the coast of California and northern Baja California. The population inhabiting Point Loma Peninsula has a complicated history of transplantation without documentation. The low effective population size in California prompted agave transplanting from the U.S. Naval Base site (NB) to Cabrillo National Monument (CNM). Since 2008, there are no agave sprouts identified on the CNM site, and concerns have been raised about the genetic diversity of this population. We sequenced two barcoding loci, rbcL and matK, of 27 individual plants from 5 geographically distinct populations, including 12 individuals from California (NB and CNM). Phylogenetic analysis revealed the three US and two Mexican agave populations are closely related and have similar genetic variation at the two barcoding regions, suggesting the Point Loma agave population is not clonal. Agave‐associated soil microbes used significantly more carbon sources in CNM soil samples than in NB soil likely due to higher pH and moisture content; meanwhile, soil type and soil chemistry analysis including phosphorus, nitrate nitrogen, organic matter, and metals revealed significant correlations between microbial diversity and base saturation (p < 0.05, r2 = 0.3676), lime buffer capacity (p < 0.01, r2 = 0.7055), equilibrium lime buffer capacity (p < 0.01, r2 = 0.7142), and zinc (p < 0.01, r2 = 0.7136). Soil microbiome analysis within the CNM population revealed overall expected richness (H′ = 5.647–6.982) for Agave species, while the diversity range (1 − D = 0.003392–0.014108) suggests relatively low diversity marked by high individual variation. The most prominent remaining US population of this rare species is not clonal and does not seem to be threatened by a lack of genetic and microbial diversity. These results prompt further efforts to investigate factors affecting Agave's reproduction and fitness.
Considering the flanking region variants of nonbinary SNP and phenotype‐informative SNP to constitute 30 microhaplotype loci for increasing the discriminative ability of forensic applications
Authors: Wen Dan , Sun Shule , Liu Ying , Li Jienan , Yang Zedeng , Kureshi Aliye , Fu Yan , Li Henan , Jiang Bowei , Jin Chuan , Cai Jifeng , Zha Lagabaiyila 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThe flanking region variants of nonbinary SNPs and phenotype‐informative SNPs (piSNPs) have been observed, which may greatly improve the discriminative ability after constituting microhaplotype. In this study, 30 microhaplotype loci based on the nonbinary SNPs and piSNPs (shown to be related to phenotypes such as hair and eye color) were selected. Genotyping were conducted on 100 unrelated northern Han Chinese, and the 26 populations from the 1000 Genome Project were also included for comparison of populations differentiation. The simulated study was conducted for evaluating the efficiency of kinship testing. These 30 microhaplotype loci we selected had good polymorphism, with a mean effective number of alleles (Ae) of 3.46. The average Ae increase was 1.27 compared with the target SNPs. The populations from the five regions worldwide could also be distinguished using these loci. The results of kinship testing showed that these microhaplotype loci had the similar ability as 15 STR loci of AmpFlSTRR IdentifilerR PCR Amplification Kit to identify the biological parent and a stronger ability to exclude the nonbiological parents. So, these 30 microhaplotype loci may be multifunctional for forensic application, including the ability of personal identification and kinship testing equivalent to 15 STR loci, and the power of ancestry inference for distinguishing the main intercontinental population. Moreover, our selected phenotypic microhaplotype loci may theoretically have phenotype prediction capabilities. But the phenotype prediction efficiency of these phenotypic microhaplotype loci may be worse than that of piSNPs and the detailed prediction accuracy of different populations needs to be further studied.
A new energy‐compatible nonstationary stochastic ground‐motion simulation method
Authors: Wang Shaoqing , Yu Ruifang , De Risi Raffaele , Li Xiaojun 
Published: January 2021

AbstractA new time‐frequency modulating function with a novel equivalent average‐intensity envelope based on the instantaneous energy is proposed to simulate fully nonstationary ground motions. The new model utilizes simple, uncoupled, and statistically well‐studied temporal and spectral nonstationary parameters. Then, a period‐by‐period simulation method based on the proposed stochastic model is developed to match multiple targets. A numerical comparison shows that the new method replicates well both the target temporal and spectral nonstationarities and it is efficient and easy to use in engineering practice. This study also demonstrates that for obtaining site‐specific seismic input by means of site response analysis: (1) the frequency contents of bedrock motion, including the energy concentration in terms of frequency and frequency decaying with respect to time, have a significant impact on the site response with moderate and large PGA levels; (2) using the proposed instantaneous‐frequency‐related time modulating function to approximate the real ground motion leads to results sufficiently close to the record for nonlinear site response regardless PGA levels and site condition. Therefore, attention should be paid to the change of nonstationary characteristics of ground‐motion frequency according to the source, path, and site condition when simulating ground motion on bedrock. As the proposed methods can approximately control various ground‐motion characters, different targets of ground‐motion simulation can be matched for different engineering purpose such as site response analysis, time‐history analysis of special structures, etc.
Variability of white matter anatomy in the subcallosal cingulate area
Authors: Tsolaki Evangelia , Sheth Sameer A. , Pouratian Nader 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThe subcallosal cingulate (SCC) area is a putative hub in the brain network underlying depression. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting a particular subregion of SCC, identified as the intersection of forceps minor (FM), uncinate fasciculus (UCF), cingulum and fronto‐striatal fiber bundles, may be critical to a therapeutic response in patients with severe, treatment‐resistant forms of major depressive disorder (MDD). The pattern and variability of the white matter anatomy and organization within SCC has not been extensively characterized across individuals. The goal of this study is to investigate the variability of white matter bundles within the SCC that structurally connect this region with critical nodes in the depression network. Structural and diffusion data from 100 healthy subjects from the Human Connectome Project database were analyzed. Anatomically defined SCC regions were used as seeds to perform probabilistic tractography and to estimate the connectivity from the SCC to subject‐specific target areas believed to be involved in the pathology of MDD including ventral striatum (VS), UCF, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). Four distinct areas of connectivity were identified within SCC across subjects: (a) postero‐lateral SCC connectivity to medial temporal regions via UCF, (b) postero‐medial connectivity to VS, (c) superior‐medial connectivity to ACC via cingulum bundle, and (d) antero‐lateral connectivity to mPFC regions via forceps minor. Assuming white matter connectivity is critical to therapeutic response, the improved anatomic understanding of SCC as well as an appreciation of the intersubject variability are critical to developing optimized therapeutic targeting for SCC DBS.
Diminished substrate‐mediated cardiac mitochondrial respiration and elevated autophagy in adult male offspring of gestational diabetic rats
Authors: Raji Sasikala Rajendran , Nandini Ravikumar Jayakumari , Ashok Sivasailam , Anand Chellappan Reghuvaran , Vivek Velayudhan Pillai , Jayakumar Karunakaran , Harikrishnan Vijayakumar Sreelatha , Manjunatha Shankarappa , Gopala Srinivas 
Published: January 2021

AbstractHeart diseases are common in the offspring of diabetic mother (ODM). Defects in mitochondrial metabolism and autophagy may, in part, be responsible for the adverse structural and functional alterations in the heart. The principal objective of this study was to investigate cardiac mitochondrial respiration and autophagy in male and female offspring of diabetic pregnancy at two different developmental stages of life, weaning and adult. Male and female offspring of rats with streptozotocin‐induced gestational diabetes were used for the study and compared with offspring of control (non‐diabetic) mother (OCM) rats. High‐resolution respirometry was used to measure substrate‐mediated respiration in mitochondria isolated from ventricular tissues of ODM and OCM. Expression of proteins associated with autophagy and oxidative stress was examined by western blot analysis. Mitochondrial complex I and complex II respiration was significantly reduced in adult male ODM while it was unaltered or less affected in weaning male, adult and weaning female ODM. Elevated autophagy was observed in adult male but not in adult female ODM. Expression of oxidative stress markers was observed to be similar in all the groups. Altered cardiac mitochondrial respiration and autophagy were observed in adult male ODM compared to OCM, while the male and female offspring at weaning stage were less affected. The results of the study show that maternal hyperglycemia affects mitochondrial respiration and autophagy in the ODM heart, which may potentially be responsible for the cardiovascular complications observed in adult life.
Characterization of Primary Cilia in Osteoblasts Isolated From Patients With ADPKD and CKD
Authors: Pereira Renata C , Gitomer Berenice Y , Chonchol Michel , Harris Peter C , Noche Kathleen J , Salusky Isidro B , Albrecht Lauren V 
Published: January 2021

ABSTRACTAutosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common inherited cause of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and leads to a specific type of bone disease. The primary cilium is a major cellular organelle implicated in the pathophysiology of ADPKD caused by mutations in polycystin‐1 (PKD1) and polycystin‐2 (PKD2). In this study, for the first time, cilia were characterized in primary preosteoblasts isolated from patients with ADPKD. All patients with ADPKD had low bone turnover and primary osteoblasts were also obtained from patients with non‐ADPKD CKD with low bone turnover. Image‐based immunofluorescence assays analyzed cilia using standard markers, pericentrin, and acetylated‐α‐tubulin, where cilia induction and elongation were chosen as relevant endpoints for these initial investigations. Osteoblastic activity was examined by measuring alkaline phosphatase levels and mineralized matrix deposition rates. It was found that primary cilia can be visualized in patient‐derived osteoblasts and respond to elongation treatments. Compared with control cells, ADPKD osteoblasts displayed abnormal cilia elongation that was significantly more responsive in cells with PKD2 nontruncating mutations and PKD1 mutations. In contrast, non‐ADPKD CKD osteoblasts were unresponsive and had shorter cilia. Finally, ADPKD osteoblasts showed increased rates of mineralized matrix deposition compared with non‐ADPKD CKD. This work represents the first study of cilia in primary human‐derived osteoblasts from patients with CKD and patients with ADPKD who have normal kidney function, offering new insights as bone disease phenotypes are not well recapitulated in animal models. These data support a model whereby altered cilia occurs in PKD‐mutated osteoblasts, and that ADPKD‐related defects in bone cell activity and mineralization are distinct from adynamic bone disease from patients with non‐ADPKD CKD. © 2021 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Efficacy of therapeutic plasma exchange in patients with Crimean‐Congo hemorrhagic fever
Authors: Beştepe Dursun Zehra , Korkmaz Serdal , Türe Zeynep , Kaynar Leylagül , Dursun Adem , Çelik İlhami 
Published: January 2021

AbstractObjectiveTo examine the efficacy of therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) in patients critically ill with Crimean‐Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF).MethodsPatients with CCHF received supportive treatment (ST) or TPE. After laboratory and clinical evaluations, the patients were divided into mild, moderate, and severe CCHF groups according to the severity score index (SSI). To assess the efficacy of TPE, the incubation period, time of admission to hospital, hospitalization duration, mortality rate and times to recovery of the platelet count and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were compared between patients receiving ST and TPE.ResultA total of 119 confirmed CCHF cases was analyzed. The median SSIs were 7 in the TPE group and 5 in the ST group. The SSI stages, median incubation times and admission times were similar in the two groups. However, the duration of hospitalization was longer in the TPE group. The overall mortality rates were 9% (3 of 33 patients) in the TPE group and 16% (5 of 31 patients) in the ST group; the difference was significant. The platelet count recovered after a median of 6 (4‐7) days in the ST group.ConclusionThe mortality rate was lower in the TPE group than in the ST group, but the duration of hospitalization and the time to platelet recovery were longer in the TPE group than in the ST group. TPE did not contribute significantly to the prognosis of patients with intermediate‐severity CCHF. However, TPE might be efficacious in patients with severe CCHF.
Advertising and the impact on stock price accuracy
Authors: Hyman Michael , Jayamohan Parvathi , Watts Omar 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThis paper examines how advertising impacts the information environment in which stocks are priced and whether it serves to benefit or obfuscate the stock pricing environment. We find that advertising leads to stock prices which better anticipate future earnings, suggesting that the information contained within marketing campaigns is price relevant despite its potential for puffery. We find that this result is concentrated in firms with greater information availability as proxied by size and analyst coverage, more sophisticated investors, and periods of low investor sentiment. Altogether, we find as the information environment is richer and investors are more capable of utilizing financial information to invest, advertising becomes a more useful tool in anticipating future operating performance and creating accurate stock prices.
Establishment of age‐ and sex‐specific reference intervals for serum liver function tests in pediatric population aged 1–<18 years: A prospective study
Authors: Zhu Xuetong , Wang Kaijin , Zhou Qi , Xu Jiancheng 
Published: January 2021

AbstractBackgroundThe diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of pediatric diseases rely on the accurate establishment of the reference interval (RI). This study aimed to establish pediatric RIs for liver function tests and evaluated the correlation of the analytes.MethodsPediatric population (aged 1–<18 years) was prospectively recruited in Jilin Province, China. Analytes detected by Ortho VITORS 5600 automatic biochemical analyzer. All strata were divided using the regression tree and Harris and Boyd's method. The dynamic changes of RI were evaluated by the lambda‐mu‐sigma method.ResultsReference individuals were comprised of 6,322 children and adolescents. Age and sex differences were present in all analytes except serum total protein. The serum albumin, total protein, γ‐glutamyl transferase, total bilirubin, and unconjugated bilirubin levels increased with age while serum aspartate aminotransferase was opposite. The serum alanine aminotransferase level reached a trough at the age of 5 and later steadily in males but slowly decreased in females. The serum alkaline phosphatase level dropped rapidly after reaching a peak at 9 years old in females and 12 years old in males. RIs were divided into 11 partitions at most and 5 partitions at least. The strongest correlation between analytes was total bilirubin and unconjugated bilirubin (r = 0.788), followed by total bilirubin and albumin (r = 0.511).ConclusionsAnalytes show unique dynamic changes in pediatric population. The correlations among liver function tests can inform future studies of particular variables. Age‐ and sex‐special pediatric RIs should be established to help an accurate diagnosis of disease.
Helicobacter pylori rescue treatment with vonoprazan, metronidazole, and sitafloxacin in the presence of penicillin allergy
Authors: Sue Soichiro , Sasaki Tomohiko , Kaneko Hiroaki , Irie Kuniyasu , Kondo Masaaki , Maeda Shin 
Published: January 2021

AbstractBackground and AimTo assess the efficacy and safety of 7‐day Helicobacter pylori rescue treatment consisting of a vonoprazan (VPZ), metronidazole (MNZ), and sitafloxacin (STFX) regimen (VPZ‐MNZ‐STFX therapy) in patients with penicillin allergy.MethodsThis was a registered prospective intervention study. Patients with penicillin allergy who were diagnosed with H. pylori infection and had a history of H. pylori eradication were eligible for inclusion. Seventeen patients were prospectively treated with VPZ 20 mg bid, MNZ 250 mg bid, and STFX 100 mg bid for 7 days. Safety was evaluated using a questionnaire on adverse effects.ResultsThe eradication rate of 7‐day VPZ‐MNZ‐SFTX therapy was 88.2% (95% confidence interval: 63.6–98.5%; n = 17) in both intention‐to‐treat and per‐protocol analyses. On the questionnaire, 25% of patients reported experiencing diarrhea, with a score of 2 or 3. All patients undergoing VPZ‐MNZ‐STFX therapy completed 100% of their medication course.ConclusionRescue H. pylori eradication with VPZ‐MNZ‐STFX therapy is effective and well tolerated in patients with penicillin allergy (UMIN000016335, jRCTs031180133).
Evaluation of microchannel plate gain drops caused by high ion fluxes in time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry: A novel evaluation method using a multi‐turn time‐of‐flight mass spectrometer
Authors: Kobayashi Hiroshi , Hondo Toshinobu , Toyoda Michisato 
Published: January 2021

AbstractUse of a two‐stage microchannel plate (MCP) detector is common in time‐of‐flight (TOF) mass spectrometry because it shows excellent time resolution with sufficient gains. However, the gain drops significantly when the detector detects intense ion fluxes, such as matrix ions, by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry. As a result, significant ion signals corresponding to analytes, such as proteins, are hidden, thereby hampering the mass spectral interpretation. However, details of this phenomenon have not previously been investigated using ions because of the lack of suitable measurement methods and apparatus. Thus, we herein report a novel method for controlling the TOF of two selected ions, as a function of time differences between each other using a multi‐turn TOF mass spectrometer. This method involves the use of an isotope cluster of ions that fly in a figure‐of‐eight orbit and the extraction of an ion at a given lap number. A series of time differences (∆t) between two ions in a TOF spectrum can be generated using this method. We evaluated the time constants of gain recovery after high ion‐flux detection for two sets of two‐stage MCP detectors to obtain values of 1,600 and 180 μs for channel plate resistances of 500 and 71 MΩ, respectively. The obtained time constants from the gains determined at various values of ∆t were 0.48 and 0.38 fold (for 500 and 71 MΩ, respectively) of the values suggested from the channel plate resistance and capacitance.
Chondrocytes from osteoarthritic cartilage of obese patients show altered adiponectin receptors expression and response to adiponectin
Authors: Harasymowicz Natalia Sara , Azfer Asim , Burnett Richard , Simpson Hamish , Salter Donald M. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractObesity and osteoarthritis (OA) are well‐known comorbidities and their precise molecular interactions are still unidentified. Adiponectin, a major adipokine, known to have an anti‐inflammatory effect in atherosclerosis or Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), has also been postulated to be pro‐inflammatory in OA. This dual role of adiponectin is still not explained. The precise mechanism by which adiponectin affects cartilage and chondrocytes remains to be elucidated. In the present observational study chondrocytes from 30 patients with OA (18 females and 12 males) undergoing total knee replacement (TKR) were isolated. Expression of adiponectin receptors 1 and 2 (ADIPOR1 and ADIPOR2) was examined both at gene and protein levels in chondrocytes. The difference in adiponectin receptor expression between lean and obese patients with OA and the role of adiponectin in regulating pro‐inflammatory genes (MCP‐1, IL‐6, and VCAM‐1, MMP‐1, MMP‐2, and TIMP‐1) has been investigated. We found that ADIPOR1 represented the most abundant adiponectin receptor in primary OA chondrocytes. ADIPOR1 and ADIPOR2 genes and ADIPOR1 protein were differently expressed in OA chondrocytes obtained from obese compared with lean patients with OA. Adiponectin induced gene expression of MCP‐1, IL‐6, and MMP‐1 in all OA patients’ chondrocytes. In contrast, VCAM‐1 and MMP‐2 were differently regulated by adiponectin depending on the patient's body mass index. This study suggests that adiponectin and ADIPOR1 may have important roles in the pathogenesis of cartilage degeneration in OA of obese subjects.