bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Size is not everything: differing activity and foraging patterns between the sexes in a monomorphic mammal
Authors: Lodberg-Holm Hanna Kavli , Steyaert S.M.J.G. , Reinhardt S. , Rosell F. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractAnimals balance foraging with other activities, and activity patterns may differ between sexes due to differing physical requirements and reproductive investments. Sex-specific behavioural differences are common in sexually dimorphic mammals, but have received limited research attention in monomorphic mammals where the sexes are similar in body size. Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) are obligate monogamous and monomorphic mammals and a good model species to study sex-specific differences. As females increase energy expenditure during reproduction, we hypothesized differing seasonal activity budgets, circadian activity rhythms and foraging patterns between male and reproducing female beavers. To test this hypothesis, we equipped adult beavers with VHF transmitters (N=41; 16 female, 25 male) and observed them throughout their active period at night from spring to late summer. Occurrence of their main activities (foraging, travelling and being in lodge) and use of food items (trees/shrubs, aquatic vegetation and herbs/grasses) were modelled to investigate sex-specific seasonal activity budgets and circadian activity rhythms. The sexes did not differ in time spent foraging across the season or night, but during spring, females resided more in the lodge and travelled less. Males and females both foraged on aquatic vegetation during spring, but females used this food source also during late summer, whereas males mostly foraged on trees/shrubs throughout the year. We conclude that seasonal activity budgets and foraging differ subtly between the sexes, which may relate to different energy budgets associated with reproduction and nutritional requirements. Such subtle seasonal behavioural adaptions may be vital for survival and reproduction of monomorphic species.Significance statementActivity budgets and foraging patterns of animals are key to their survival and may differ between males and females with different body sizes and physical requirements. In monomorphic species, where males and females have similar body sizes, fewer differences are expected, but may still be pronounced during certain times of the year. We modelled sex-specific seasonal activity budgets and circadian activity rhythms and use of food items in a monomorphic mammal, the Eurasian beaver. By treating season and time of day as a continuous variable rather than modelling differences within distinct predefined periods, we identified subtle sex-specific seasonal trends in activity budgets and use of food items.
How to Approach Secondary Breast Reduction: International Trends and a Systematic Review of the Literature
Authors: Broer P. Niclas , Moellhoff Nicholas , Aung Thiha , Forte Antonio J. , Topka Charlotte , Richter Dirk F. , Colombo Martin , Sinno Sammy , Kehrer Andreas , Zeman Florian , Rohrich Rodney J. , Prantl Lukas , Heidekrueger Paul I. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractBackgroundSecondary breast reduction is complex and poses significant challenges to surgeons. Complication rates exceed those of primary reduction, commonly caused by impaired vascular supply of the nipple-areolar complex (NAC). Literature on the topic is scare and provides contradicting recommendations, especially with regard to pedicle choice in cases with unknown primary reduction technique. Aim of this study was to investigate international trends and to compare findings with literature.MethodsA large-scale web-based questionnaire on international trends in mammaplasty (mastopexy and breast reduction) was designed and distributed to over five thousand surgeons in eight geographic regions. The presented manuscript evaluated information regarding pedicle choice in secondary breast reduction and compared data to literature identified in a systematic review.ResultsThe survey was completed by 1431 participants. Overall, secondary procedures were performed in less than 5% or in 5 to 10% of cases. The preferred pedicle for secondary reductions differed significantly between geographic regions (p<0.001). The majority of respondents reported to use a superior or supero-medial pedicle (34.8% and 32.2%, respectively). Residual analysis revealed a strong association between the use of an inferior pedicle and procedures performed in North America.ConclusionsSecondary breast reduction is challenging and there remains international disparity with regard to pedicle choice for secondary procedures. Studies investigating outcome when the primary pedicle is unknown are scarce and provide incoherent recommendations. High-quality data is needed to provide evidence-based practice guidelines.Level of Evidence IIIThis journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authorswww.springer.com/00266
Pelvimetric and Nutritional Factors Predicting Surgical Difficulty in Laparoscopic Resection for Rectal Cancer Following Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy
Authors: Sun Yanwu , Chen Jianhua , Ye Chengwei , Lin Huiming , Lu Xingrong , Huang Ying , Chi Pan 
Published: April 2021

AbstractAimLaparoscopic total mesorectal excision (LaTME) following preoperative chemoradiotherapy (PCRT) in locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC) is technically demanding. The present study is intended to evaluate predictive factors of surgical difficulty of LaTME following PCRT by using pelvimetric and nutritional factors.MethodConsecutive LARC patients receiving LaTME after PCRT were included. Surgical difficulty was classified based upon intraoperative (operation time, blood loss, and conversion) and postoperative outcomes (postoperative hospital stay and morbidities). Pelvimetry was performed using preoperative T2‐weighted MRI. Nutritional factors such as albumin‐to‐globulin ratio (AGR) and prognostic nutritional index (PNI) were calculated. Multivariable logistic analysis was used to identify predictors of high surgical difficulty. A predictive nomogram was developed and validated internally.ResultsAmong 294 patients included, 36 (12.4%) patients were graded as high surgical difficulty. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that previous abdominal surgery (OR = 6.080, P = 0.001), tumor diameter (OR = 1.732, P = 0.003), intersphincteric resection (vs. low anterior resection, OR = 13.241, P < 0.001), interspinous distance (OR = 0.505, P = 0.009), and preoperative AGR (OR = 0.041, P = 0.024) were independently predictive of high surgical difficulty of LaTME after PCRT. Then, a predictive nomogram was built (C‐index = 0.867).ConclusionBesides previous abdominal surgery, type of surgery (intersphincteric resection), tumor diameter, and interspinous distance, we found that preoperative AGR could be useful for the prediction of surgical difficulty of LaTME after PCRT. A predictive nomogram for surgical difficulty may aid in planning an appropriate approach for rectal cancer surgery after PCRT.
MRI-based diagnosis and treatment of pediatric brain tumors: is tissue sample always needed?
Authors: Soleman Jehuda , Dvir Rina , Ben-Sira Liat , Yalon Michal , Boop Frederick , Constantini Shlomi , Roth Jonathan 
Published: April 2021

AbstractTraditional management of newly diagnosed pediatric brain tumors (PBTs) consists of cranial imaging, typically magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and is frequently followed by tissue diagnosis, through either surgical biopsy or tumor resection. Therapy regimes are typically dependent on histological diagnosis. To date, many treatment regimens are based on molecular biology. The scope of this article is to discuss the role of diagnosis and further treatment of PBTs based solely on MRI features, in light of the latest treatment protocols. Typical MRI findings and indications for surgical biopsy of these lesions are described.
Evolving patterns of sterodynamic sea-level rise under mitigation scenarios and insights from linear system theory
Authors: Wu Quran , Zhang Xuebin , Church John A. , Hu Jianyu , Gregory Jonathan M. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractLong-term behaviour of sea-level rise is an important factor in assessing the impact of climate change on multi-century timescales. Under the stabilisation scenario RCP4.5, Sterodynamic Sea-Level (SdynSL) and ocean density change in the CMIP5 models exhibit distinct patterns over the periods before and after Radiative Forcing (RF) stabilisation (2000–2070 vs. 2100–2300). The stabilisation pattern is more geographically uniform and involves deeper penetration of density change than the transient pattern. In RCP2.6, 4.5 and 8.5, the spatiotemporal evolution of SdynSL change can be approximated as a linear combination of the transient and stabilisation patterns. Specifically, SdynSL change is dominated by the transient pattern when RF increases rapidly, but it is increasingly affected by the stabilisation pattern once RF starts to stabilise. The growth of the stabilisation pattern could persist for centuries after RF ceases increasing. The evolving patterns of SdynSL change can also be approximated as a linear system's responses (characterised by its Green’s function) to time-dependent boundary conditions. By examining SdynSL change simulated in linear system models with different estimates of Green's functions, we find that both the climatological ocean circulation and the ocean's dynamical response to RF play a role in shaping the patterns of SdynSL change. The linear system model is more accurate than the univariate pattern scaling in emulating the CMIP5 SdynSL change beyond 2100. The emergence of the stabilisation pattern leads to a 1–10% decrease in the ocean's expansion efficiency of heat over 2000–2300 in RCP2.6 and 4.5.
Neural representations underlying mental imagery as unveiled by representation similarity analysis
Authors: Boccia Maddalena , Sulpizio Valentina , Bencivenga Federica , Guariglia Cecilia , Galati Gaspare 
Published: April 2021

AbstractIt is commonly acknowledged that visual imagery and perception rely on the same content-dependent brain areas in the high-level visual cortex (HVC). However, the way in which our brain processes and organizes previous acquired knowledge to allow the generation of mental images is still a matter of debate. Here, we performed a representation similarity analysis of three previous fMRI experiments conducted in our laboratory to characterize the neural representation underlying imagery and perception of objects, buildings and faces and to disclose possible dissimilarities in the neural structure of such representations. To this aim, we built representational dissimilarity matrices (RDMs) by computing multivariate distances between the activity patterns associated with each pair of stimuli in the content-dependent areas of the HVC and HC. We found that spatial information is widely coded in the HVC during perception (i.e. RSC, PPA and OPA) and imagery (OPA and PPA). Also, visual information seems to be coded in both preferred and non-preferred regions of the HVC, supporting a distributed view of encoding. Overall, the present results shed light upon the spatial coding of imagined and perceived exemplars in the HVC.
Codon usage bias and environmental adaptation in microbial organisms
Authors: Arella Davide , Dilucca Maddalena , Giansanti Andrea 
Published: April 2021

AbstractIn each genome, synonymous codons are used with different frequencies; this general phenomenon is known as codon usage bias. It has been previously recognised that codon usage bias could affect the cellular fitness and might be associated with the ecology of microbial organisms. In this exploratory study, we investigated the relationship between codon usage bias, lifestyles (thermophiles vs. mesophiles; pathogenic vs. non-pathogenic; halophilic vs. non-halophilic; aerobic vs. anaerobic and facultative) and habitats (aquatic, terrestrial, host-associated, specialised, multiple) of 615 microbial organisms (544 bacteria and 71 archaea). Principal component analysis revealed that species with given phenotypic traits and living in similar environmental conditions have similar codon preferences, as represented by the relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) index, and similar spectra of tRNA availability, as gauged by the tRNA gene copy number (tGCN). Moreover, by measuring the average tRNA adaptation index (tAI) for each genome, an index that can be associated with translational efficiency, we observed that organisms able to live in multiple habitats, including facultative organisms, mesophiles and pathogenic bacteria, are characterised by a reduced translational efficiency, consistently with their need to adapt to different environments. Our results show that synonymous codon choices might be under strong translational selection, which modulates the choice of the codons to differently match tRNA availability, depending on the organism’s lifestyle needs. To our knowledge, this is the first large-scale study that examines the role of codon bias and translational efficiency in the adaptation of microbial organisms to the environment in which they live.
Biangular Lines Revisited
Authors: Ganzhinov Mikhail , Szöllősi Ferenc 
Published: April 2021

AbstractLine systems passing through the origin of the d-dimensional Euclidean space admitting exactly two distinct angles are called biangular. It is shown that the maximum cardinality of biangular lines is at least $$2(d-1)(d-2)$$

2
(
d
-
1
)
(
d
-
2
)

, and this result is sharp for $$d\in \{4,5,6\}$$

d
∈
{
4
,
5
,
6
}

. Connections to binary codes, few-distance sets, and association schemes are explored, along with their multiangular generalization.
3D-CT Evaluation of Swallowing: Metrics of the Swallowing Response Using Swallowing CT
Authors: Inamoto Yoko , González-Fernández Marlís , Saitoh Eiichi 
Published: April 2021

AbstractVideofluoroscopy and videoendoscopy dramatically changed the evaluation and management of swallowing disorders. Later advancements in techniques for the instrumental evaluation of swallowing were limited by technique and positioning. The advent of 320-row area detector CT solved previous challenges and allowed for the study of swallowing physiology and dysphagia in greater detail. In this summary, we describe the history and evolution of CT technology and describe research and clinical applications for the evaluation of swallowing physiology and pathophysiology.
Rock Triaxial Tests: Global Deformation vs Local Strain Measurements—Implications
Authors: Perbawa A. , Gramajo E. , Finkbeiner T. , Santamarina J. C. 
Published: April 2021

AbstractAccurate stress–strain measurements in triaxial tests are critical to compute reliable mechanical parameters. We focus on compliance at the interfaces between the specimen and endcaps, and test specimens under various triaxial conditions using different instrumentation protocols. The tested materials include aluminum, Eagle Ford shale, Berea sandstone, and Jubaila carbonate. Results obtained following common practice reveal that surface roughness at the specimen-endcap interfaces leads to marked seating effects, affects all cap-to-cap based measurements and hinders ultrasonic energy transmission. In particular, cap-to-cap deformation measurements accentuate hysteretic behavior, magnify biases caused by bending and tilting (triggered by uneven surfaces and misalignment), and affect the estimation of all rock parameters, from stiffness to Biot’s α-parameter. Higher confining pressure diminishes seating effects. Local measurements using specimen-bonded strain gauges are preferred (Note: mounting strain gauges on sleeves is ill-advised). We confirm that elastic moduli derived from wave propagation measurements are higher than quasi-static moduli determined from local strain measurements using specimen-bonded strain gauges, probably due to the lower strain level in wave propagation and preferential high-velocity travel path for first arrivals.
How to correctly apply Gaussian statistics in a non-stationary climate?
Authors: Steinacker Reinhold 
Published: April 2021

AbstractTime series with a significant trend, as is now being the case for the temperature in the course of climate change, need a careful approach for statistical evaluations. Climatological means and moments are usually taken from past data which means that the statistics does not fit to actual data anymore. Therefore, we need to determine the long-term trend before comparing actual data with the actual climate. This is not an easy task, because the determination of the signal—a climatic trend—is influenced by the random scatter of observed data. Different filter methods are tested upon their quality to obtain realistic smoothed trends of observed time series. A new method is proposed, which is based on a variational principle. It outperforms other conventional methods of smoothing, especially if periodic time series are processed. This new methodology is used to test, how extreme the temperature of 2018 in Vienna actually was. It is shown that the new annual temperature record of 2018 is not too extreme, if we consider the positive trend of the last decades. Also, the daily mean temperatures of 2018 are not found to be really extreme according to the present climate. The real extreme of the temperature record of Vienna—and many other places around the world—is the strongly increased positive temperature trend over the last years.
Collagen metabolism as a regulator of proline dehydrogenase/proline oxidase-dependent apoptosis/autophagy
Authors: Palka Jerzy , Oscilowska Ilona , Szoka Lukasz 
Published: April 2021

AbstractRecent studies on the regulatory role of amino acids in cell metabolism have focused on the functional significance of proline degradation. The process is catalysed by proline dehydrogenase/proline oxidase (PRODH/POX), a mitochondrial flavin-dependent enzyme converting proline into ∆1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C). During this process, electrons are transferred to electron transport chain producing ATP for survival or they directly reduce oxygen, producing reactive oxygen species (ROS) inducing apoptosis/autophagy. However, the mechanism for switching survival/apoptosis mode is unknown. Although PRODH/POX activity and energetic metabolism were suggested as an underlying mechanism for the survival/apoptosis switch, proline availability for this enzyme is also important. Proline availability is regulated by prolidase (proline supporting enzyme), collagen biosynthesis (proline utilizing process) and proline synthesis from glutamine, glutamate, α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) and ornithine. Proline availability is dependent on the rate of glycolysis, TCA and urea cycles, proline metabolism, collagen biosynthesis and its degradation. It is well established that proline synthesis enzymes, P5C synthetase and P5C reductase as well as collagen prolyl hydroxylases are up-regulated in most of cancer types and control rates of collagen biosynthesis. Up-regulation of collagen prolyl hydroxylase and its exhaustion of ascorbate and α-KG may compete with DNA and histone demethylases (that require the same cofactors) to influence metabolic epigenetics. This knowledge led us to hypothesize that up-regulation of prolidase and PRODH/POX with inhibition of collagen biosynthesis may represent potential pharmacotherapeutic approach to induce apoptosis or autophagic death in cancer cells. These aspects of proline metabolism are discussed in the review as an approach to understand complex regulatory mechanisms driving PRODH/POX-dependent apoptosis/survival.
Characterization of an ester-based core-multishell (CMS) nanocarrier for the topical application at the oral mucosa
Authors: Dommisch H. , Stolte KN. , Jager J. , Vogel K. , Müller R. , Hedtrich S. , Unbehauen M. , Haag R. , Danker K. 
Published: April 2021

Abstract
Objectives
Topical drug administration is commonly applied to control oral inflammation. However, it requires sufficient drug adherence and a high degree of bioavailability. Here, we tested the hypothesis whether an ester-based core-multishell (CMS) nanocarrier is a suitable nontoxic drug-delivery system that penetrates efficiently to oral mucosal tissues, and thereby, increase the bioavailability of topically applied drugs.

Material and methods
To evaluate adhesion and penetration, the fluorescence-labeled CMS 10-E-15-350 nanocarrier was applied to ex vivo porcine masticatory and lining mucosa in a Franz cell diffusion assay and to an in vitro 3D model. In gingival epithelial cells, potential cytotoxicity and proliferative effects of the nanocarrier were determined by MTT and sulphorhodamine B assays, respectively. Transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) was measured in presence and absence of CMS 10-E-15-350 using an Endohm-12 chamber and a volt-ohm-meter. Cellular nanocarrier uptake was analyzed by laser scanning microscopy. Inflammatory responses were determined by monitoring pro-inflammatory cytokines using real-time PCR and ELISA.

Results
CMS nanocarrier adhered to mucosal tissues within 5 min in an in vitro model and in ex vivo porcine tissues. The CMS nanocarrier exhibited no cytotoxic effects and induced no inflammatory responses. Furthermore, the physical barrier expressed by the TEER remained unaffected by the nanocarrier.

Conclusions
CMS 10-E-15-350 adhered to the oral mucosa and adhesion increased over time which is a prerequisite for an efficient drug release. Since TEER is unaffected, CMS nanocarrier may enter the oral mucosa transcellularly.

Clinical relevance
Nanocarrier technology is a novel and innovative approach for efficient topical drug delivery at the oral mucosa.