bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Development and Characterization of Novel Polymorphic Microsatellite Markers for Tapinoma indicum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Authors: Lim Li Yang , Ab Majid Abdul Hafiz 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Tapinoma indicum (Forel) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is a nuisance pest in Asia countries. However, studies on T. indicum are limited, especially in the field of molecular biology, to investigate the species characteristic at the molecular level. This paper aims to provide valuable genetic markers as tools with which to study the T. indicum population. In this study, a total of 143,998 microsatellite markers were developed based on the 2.61 × 106 microsatellites isolated from T. indicum genomic DNA sequences. Fifty selected microsatellite markers were amplified with varying numbers of alleles ranging from 0 to 19. Seven out of fifty microsatellite markers were characterized for polymorphism with the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) and linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis. All seven microsatellite markers demonstrated a high polymorphic information content (PIC) value ranging from 0.87 to 0.93, with a mean value of 0.90. There is no evidence of scoring errors caused by stutter peaks, no large allele dropout, and no linkage disequilibrium among the seven loci; although loci Ti-Tr04, Ti-Tr09, Ti-Te04, Ti-Te13, and Ti-Pe5 showed signs of null alleles and deviation from the HWE due to excessive homozygosity. In conclusion, a significant amount of microsatellite markers was developed from the data set of next-generation sequencing, and seven of microsatellite markers were validated as informative genetic markers that can be utilized to study the T. indicum population.
Paying Americans to take the vaccine—would it help or backfire?
Authors: Robertson Christopher , Scheitrum Daniel , Schaefer Aleks , Malone Trey , McFadden Brandon R , Messer Kent D , Ferraro Paul J 
Published: June 2021

ABSTRACT
This research investigates the extent to which financial incentives (conditional cash transfers) would induce Americans to opt for vaccination against coronavirus disease of 2019. We performed a randomized survey experiment with a representative sample of 1000 American adults in December 2020. Respondents were asked whether they would opt for vaccination under one of three incentive conditions ($1000, $1500, or $2000 financial incentive) or a no-incentive condition. We find that—without coupled financial incentives—only 58 per cent of survey respondents would elect for vaccination. A coupled financial incentive yields an 8-percentage-point increase in vaccine uptake relative to this baseline. The size of the cash transfer does not dramatically affect uptake rates. However, incentive responses differ dramatically by demographic group. Republicans were less responsive to financial incentives than the general population. For Black and Latino Americans especially, very large financial incentives may be counter-productive.
Mechanical properties of food and masticatory behavior in llamas, Llama glama
Authors: Nett Emily M , Jaglowski Brielle , Ravosa Luca J , Ravosa Dominick D , Ravosa Matthew J 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Mammals typically process food items more extensively in their oral cavities than do other vertebrates. Dental morphology, jaw-muscle activity patterns, mandibular movements, and tongue manipulation work to facilitate oral fragmentation of dietary items. While processing mechanically challenging foods, mammals modulate mandibular movements and bite forces via recruitment of greater jaw-adductor muscle forces and protracted biting or chewing. Because jaw-loading patterns are influenced by magnitude; frequency; and duration of muscular, bite, and reaction forces during routine feeding behaviors, relatively larger jaws are thought to be more characteristic of mammals that experience higher masticatory loads due to the processing of mechanically challenging foods. The ease of food fracture during post-canine biting and chewing is mainly determined by food stiffness and toughness. Such foods have been associated with increased loading magnitude and/or greater amounts of cyclical loading (i.e., chewing duration). Dietary properties are thought to modulate cyclical loading through changes in chewing frequency and chewing investment. On the other hand, chewing frequency has been found to be independent of dietary properties in rabbits and primates; however, little evidence exists regarding the influence of dietary properties on these parameters in a broader range of mammals. Here, we assessed chewing behavior in seven adult llamas (Llama glama) processing foods with a wide range of mechanical properties (grain, hay, carrots, and dried corn). Each subject was filmed at 60 frames/s, with video slowed for frame-by-frame computer analysis to obtain length of feeding bout and number of chewing cycles for each food type. These parameters were used to calculate chewing frequency (chews/s), chewing investment (chews/g), and chewing duration (s/g). Chewing frequency was not significantly related to mechanical properties of food, but chewing investment and chewing duration were significantly related to dietary stiffness and toughness. Therefore, cyclical loading is positively influenced by stiff and tough foods. This suggests that variation in jaw morphology in extinct and extant mammals is positively related to dietary stiffness and toughness, which requires greater chewing investment and increased chewing duration.
Corneal Laser Refractive Surgery Curriculum Development in the Military: Using the Nominal Group Technique
Authors: Evangelista Charisma B , Larsen Kelsey L , Cervero Ronald M , Samuel Anita 
Published: June 2021

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Corneal laser refractive surgery (CRS) has emerged over the past three decades as a surgical method for correcting or improving vision. In the military, CRS helps warfighters achieve weapon grade vision, which offers a tactical advantage in the deployed environment. As refractive surgery has become more prevalent in both the military and civilian sector, more ophthalmologists need to learn about treatment options as well as management of complications in order to meet increasing patient demand. Currently, little is known about the most effective curriculum for teaching refractive surgery in training programs, and a standardized curriculum does not exist. Since unification of training programs is a Defense Health Agency priority, this study aimed to collect expert consensus on a standardized curriculum for CRS training in the military.

Materials and Methods
To achieve this goal, the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used wherein a panel of experts, currently practicing refractive surgeons involved in military refractive surgery training programs, arrived at consensus on a standardized CRS curriculum. The framework for developing this curriculum is based on Kern’s Six-Step Approach to Curriculum Development. The International Council of Ophthalmology refractive surgery curriculum, National Curriculum for Ophthalmology Residency Training, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education competencies and surgical minimums, and American Academy of Ophthalmology Refractive Surgery Preferred Practice Guidelines were used as the starting materials from which panelists’ consensus was drawn. This consensus-building method allowed for equal representation of experts’ ideas and fostered collaboration to aid in the creation of a robust and standardized curriculum for refractive surgery training programs in the military.

Results
The panelist experts from this NGT were able to reach consensus on the components of a standardized military refractive surgery curriculum to include generalized and targeted needs assessment, goals and objectives, educational strategies, and curriculum implementation.

Conclusion
A standardized CRS curriculum is warranted in military training programs. This NGT achieved expert consensus on the goals, objectives, educational methods, and implementation strategies for a standardized CRS curriculum in military ophthalmology residency.
The GALANTE photometric survey of the northern Galactic plane: project description and pipeline
Authors: Maíz Apellániz J , Alfaro E J , Barbá R H , Holgado G , Vázquez-Ramió H , Varela J , Ederoclite A , Lorenzo-Gutiérrez A , García-Lario P , García Escudero H , García M , Coelho P R T 
Published: June 2021

ABSTRACT
The GALANTE optical photometric survey is observing the northern Galactic plane and some adjacent regions using seven narrow- and intermediate-filters, covering a total of 1618 deg2. The survey has been designed with multiple exposure times and at least two different air masses per field to maximize its photometric dynamic range, comparable to that of Gaia, and ensure the accuracy of its photometric calibration. The goal is to reach at least 1 per cent accuracy and precision in the seven bands for all stars brighter than AB magnitude 17 while detecting fainter stars with lower values of the signal-to-noise ratio. The main purposes of GALANTE are the identification and study of extinguished O+B+WR stars, the derivation of their extinction characteristics, and the cataloguing of F and G stars in the solar neighbourhood. Its data will be also used for a variety of other stellar studies and to generate a high-resolution continuum-free map of the Hα emission in the Galactic plane. We describe the techniques and the pipeline that are being used to process the data, including the basis of an innovative calibration system based on Gaia DR2 and 2MASS photometry.
From downtown to the outskirts: a radio survey of the Orion Nebula Cluster
Authors: Vargas-González J , Forbrich J , Dzib S A , Bally J 
Published: June 2021

ABSTRACT
We present a newly enlarged census of the compact radio population towards the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) using high-sensitivity continuum maps (3–10 $\mu$Jy beam−1) from a total of ∼30-h centimetre-wavelength observations over an area of ∼20 × 20 arcmin2 obtained in the C-band (4–8 GHz) with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in its high-resolution A-configuration. We thus complement our previous deep survey of the innermost areas of the ONC, now covering the field of view of the Chandra Orion Ultra-deep Project (COUP). Our catalogue contains 521 compact radio sources of which 198 are new detections. Overall, we find that 17 per cent of the (mostly stellar) COUP sources have radio counterparts, while 53 per cent of the radio sources have COUP counterparts. Most notably, the radio detection fraction of X-ray sources is higher in the inner cluster and almost constant for r &gt; 3 arcmin (0.36 pc) from θ1 Ori C, suggesting a correlation between the radio emission mechanism of these sources and their distance from the most massive stars at the centre of the cluster, e.g. due to increased photoionisation of circumstellar discs. The combination with our previous observations 4 yr prior lead to the discovery of fast proper motions of up to ∼373 km s−1 from faint radio sources associated with ejecta of the OMC1 explosion. Finally, we search for strong radio variability. We found changes in flux density by a factor of ≲5 within our observations and a few sources with changes by a factor &gt;10 on long time-scales of a few years.
Testing the tidal stripping scenario of ultracompact dwarf galaxy formation by using internal properties
Authors: Mayes Rebecca J , Drinkwater Michael J , Pfeffer Joel , Baumgardt Holger , Liu Chengze , Ferrarese Laura , Côté Patrick , Peng Eric W 
Published: June 2021

ABSTRACT
We use the hydrodynamical EAGLE simulation to test if ultracompact dwarf galaxies (UCDs) can form by tidal stripping by predicting the ages and metallicities of tidally stripped galaxy nuclei in massive galaxy clusters, and compare these results to compiled observations of age and metallicities of observed UCDs. We further calculate the colours of our sample of simulated stripped nuclei using single stellar population models and compare these colours to observations of UCDs in the Virgo Cluster. We find that the ages of observed UCDs are consistent with simulated stripped nuclei, with both groups of objects having a mean age &gt;9 Gyr. Both stripped nuclei and UCDs follow a similar mass–metallicity relationship, and the metallicities of observed UCDs are consistent with those of simulated stripped nuclei for objects with M &gt; 107 M⊙. The colours of observed UCDs are also consistent with our simulated stripped nuclei, for objects with M &gt; 107 M⊙, with more massive objects being redder. We find that the colours of stripped nuclei exhibit a bimodal red and blue distribution that can be explained by the dependency of colour on age and metallicity, and by the mass–colour relation. We additionally find that our low-mass stripped nuclei sample is consistent with the colour of blue globular clusters. We conclude that the internal properties of simulated nuclei support the tidal stripping model of UCD formation.
Outflows in the radio-intermediate quasar III Zw 2: a polarization study with the EVLA and uGMRT
Authors: Silpa S , Kharb P , Harrison C M , Ho L C , Jarvis M E , Ishwara-Chandra C H , Sebastian B 
Published: June 2021

ABSTRACT
We present results from a polarization study of the radio-intermediate quasar, III Zw 2, at a redshift of 0.089, with the upgraded Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (uGMRT) at 685 MHz and the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) at 5 and 34 GHz. We detect a kpc-scale outflow, exhibiting transverse magnetic (B-) fields. The curved jet terminates in a bow-shock-like radio structure with inferred B-fields aligned with the lobe edges. We suggest that the radio outflow in III Zw 2 is a combination of a collimated jet along with a wind-like component. This ‘wind’ component could be a magnetized accretion disc wind or the outer layers of a broadened jet or a combination of both. The current data cannot differentiate between these possibilities. We also detect kpc-scale lobe emission that is misaligned with the primary lobes in the uGMRT images. The spectral indices and the electron lifetimes in the misaligned lobe are similar to the primary lobe, suggesting that the misaligned lobe is not a relic. We propose that changing spectral states of the accretion disc, and the subsequent intermittent behaviour of the outflow, along with the close interplay between the jet and ‘wind’ could explain the radio-intermediate nature of III Zw 2. Our study shows that radio-intermediate quasars are promising sources for understanding the role of jets and winds in galaxy evolution and demonstrates the power of radio polarization studies towards achieving this.
Study Protocol on Defining Core Outcomes and Data Elements in Chronic Subdural Haematoma
Authors: Holl Dana C , Chari Aswin , Iorio-Morin Christian , Dammers Ruben , van der Gaag Niels A , Kolias Angelos G , Hutchinson Peter J , Edlmann Ellie ,   on behalf of the CODE-CSDH Advisory Group
Published: June 2021

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Core Outcome Sets (COSs) are necessary to standardize reporting in research studies. This is urgently required in the field of chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH), one of the most common disease entities managed in neurosurgery and the topic of several recent trials. To complement the development of a COS, a standardized definition and baseline Data Elements (DEs) to be collected in CSDH patients, would further improve study quality and comparability in this heterogeneous population.

OBJECTIVE
To, first, define a standardized COS for reporting in all future CSDH studies; and, second, to identify a unified CSDH Definition and set of DEs for reporting in future CSDH studies.

METHODS
The overall study design includes a Delphi survey process among 150 respondents from 2 main stakeholder groups: healthcare professionals or researchers (HCPRs) and Patients or carers. HCPR, patients and carers will all be invited to complete the survey on the COS, only the HCPR survey will include questions on definition and DE.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES
It is expected that the COS, definition, and DE will be developed through this Delphi survey and that these can be applied in future CSDH studies. This is necessary to help align future research studies on CSDH and to understand the effects of different treatments on patient function and recovery.

DISCUSSION
This Delphi survey should result in consensus on a COS and a standardized CSDH Definition and DEs to be used in future CSDH studies.
Optical Brain Biopsy with a Fluorescence and Vessel Tracing Probe
Authors: Richter Johan , Haj-Hosseini Neda , Milos Peter , Hallbeck Martin , Wårdell Karin 
Published: June 2021

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Accurate stereotactic biopsies of brain tumors are imperative for diagnosis and tailoring of the therapy. Repetitive needle insertions enhance risks of brain lesioning, hemorrhage, and complications due to prolonged procedure.

OBJECTIVE
To investigate clinical benefits of a combined 5-aminolaevulinic acid (5-ALA) fluorescence and laser Doppler flowmetry system for the detection of malignant brain tumor and blood vessels in stereotactic biopsies.

METHODS
Planning of targets and trajectories was followed by optical measurements in 20 patients, using the Leksell Stereotactic System and a manual insertion device. Fluorescence spectra, microvascular blood flow, and tissue grayness were recorded each millimeter along the paths. Biopsies were taken at preplanned positions. The diagnoses were compared with the fluorescence signals. The recordings were plotted against measurement positions and compared. Sites indicating a risk of hemorrhage were counted as well as the time for the procedures.

RESULTS
Signals were recorded along 28 trajectories, and 78 biopsies were collected. The final diagnosis showed 17 glioblastomas, 2 lymphomas, and 1 astrocytoma grade III. Fluorescence was seen along 23 of the paths with 4 having the peak of 5-ALA fluorescence 3 mm or more from the precalculated target. There was increased microcirculation in 40 of 905 measured positions. The measurement time for each trajectory was 5 to 10 min.

CONCLUSION
The probe provided direct feedback of increased blood flow along the trajectory and of malignant tissue in the vicinity of the target. The method can increase the precision and the safety of the biopsy procedure and reduce time.
Generation of a 100-billion cyclic peptide phage display library having a high skeletal diversity
Authors: Carle Vanessa , Kong Xu-Dong , Comberlato Alice , Edwards Chelsea , Díaz-Perlas Cristina , Heinis Christian 
Published: June 2021

AbstractPhage display is a powerful technique routinely used for the generation of peptide- or protein-based ligands. The success of phage display selections critically depends on the size and structural diversity of the libraries, but the generation of large libraries remains challenging. In this work, we have succeeded in developing a phage display library comprising around 100 billion different (bi)cyclic peptides and thus more structures than any previously reported cyclic peptide phage display library. Building such a high diversity was achieved by combining a recently reported library cloning technique, based on whole plasmid PCR, with a small plasmid that facilitated bacterial transformation. The library cloned is based on 273 different peptide backbones and thus has a large skeletal diversity. Panning of the peptide repertoire against the important thrombosis target coagulation factor XI enriched high-affinity peptides with long consensus sequences that can only be found if the library diversity is large.
Hall of Mirrors: Corporate Philanthropy and Strategic Advocacy
Authors: Bertrand Marianne , Bombardini Matilde , Fisman Raymond , Hackinen Brad , Trebbi Francesco 
Published: June 2021

AbstractInformation is central to designing effective policy, and policy makers often rely on competing interests to separate useful from biased information. We show how this logic of virtuous competition can break down, using a new and comprehensive data set on U.S. federal regulatory rulemaking for 2003–2016. For-profit corporations and nonprofit entities are active in the rulemaking process and are arguably expected to provide independent viewpoints. Policy makers, however, may not be fully aware of the financial ties between some firms and nonprofits—grants that are legal and tax-exempt but hard to trace. We document three patterns that suggest that these grants may distort policy. First, we show that shortly after a firm donates to a nonprofit, the nonprofit is more likely to comment on rules on which the firm has also commented. Second, when a firm comments on a rule, the comments by nonprofits that recently received grants from the firm’s foundation are systematically closer in content to the firm’s own comments, relative to comments submitted by other nonprofits. Third, the final rule’s discussion by a regulator is more similar to the firm’s comments on that rule when the firm’s recent grantees also commented on it.
Mitochondria-acting carrier-free nanoplatform self-assembled by α-tocopheryl succinate carrying cisplatin for combinational tumor therapy
Authors: Mei Heng , Li Jing , Cai Shengsheng , Zhang Xuequan , Shi Wenqiang , Zhu Hai , Cao Jun , He Bin 
Published: June 2021

Abstract
Unsatisfactory drug loading capability, potential toxicity of the inert carrier and the limited therapeutic effect of a single chemotherapy drug are all vital inhibitory factors of carrier-assisted drug delivery systems for chemotherapy. To address the above obstacles, a series of carrier-free nanoplatforms self-assembled by dual-drug conjugates was constructed to reinforce chemotherapy against tumors by simultaneously disrupting intratumoral DNA activity and inhibiting mitochondria function. In this nanoplatform, the mitochondria-targeting small-molecular drug, α-tocopheryl succinate (TOS), firstly self-assembled into nanoparticles, which then were used as the carrier to conjugate cisplatin (CDDP). Systematic characterization results showed that this nanoplatform exhibited suitable particle size and a negative surface charge with good stability in physicochemical environments, as well as pH-sensitive drug release and efficient cellular uptake. Due to the combined effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation by TOS and DNA damage by CDDP, the developed nanoplatform could induce mitochondrial dysfunction and elevated cell apoptosis, resulting in highly efficient anti-tumor outcomes in vitro. Collectively, the combined design principles adopted for carrier-free nanodrugs construction in this study aimed at targeting different intracellular organelles for facilitating ROS production and DNA disruption can be extended to other carrier-free nanodrugs-dependent therapeutic systems.