bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
How and why patterns of sexual dimorphism in human faces vary across the world
Authors: Kleisner Karel , Tureček Petr , Roberts S. Craig , Havlíček Jan , Valentova Jaroslava Varella , Akoko Robert Mbe , Leongómez Juan David , Apostol Silviu , Varella Marco A. C. , Saribay S. Adil 
Published: March 2021

AbstractSexual selection, including mate choice and intrasexual competition, is responsible for the evolution of some of the most elaborated and sexually dimorphic traits in animals. Although there is sexual dimorphism in the shape of human faces, it is not clear whether this is similarly due to mate choice, or whether mate choice affects only part of the facial shape difference between men and women. Here we explore these questions by investigating patterns of both facial shape and facial preference across a diverse set of human populations. We find evidence that human populations vary substantially and unexpectedly in both the magnitude and direction of facial sexually dimorphic traits. In particular, European and South American populations display larger levels of facial sexual dimorphism than African populations. Neither cross-cultural differences in facial shape variation, sex differences in body height, nor differing preferences for facial femininity and masculinity across countries, explain the observed patterns of facial dimorphism. Altogether, the association between sexual shape dimorphism and attractiveness is moderate for women and weak (or absent) for men. Analysis that distinguishes between allometric and non-allometric components reveals that non-allometric facial dimorphism is preferred in women’s faces but not in faces of men. This might be due to different regimes of ongoing sexual selection acting on men, such as stronger intersexual selection for body height and more intense intrasexual physical competition, compared with women.
Integrative analysis of the microbiome and metabolome in understanding the causes of sugarcane bitterness
Authors: Huang Weijuan , Sun Donglei , Chen Lijun , An Yuxing 
Published: March 2021

AbstractPlant–microbe interactions can modulate the plant metabolome, but there is no information about how different soil microbiomes could affect the sugarcane metabolome and its quality. Here, we collected soil and stalk samples from bitter sugarcane (BS) and sweet sugarcane (SS) to conduct chemical analysis, microbiome and metabolome analysis. Our data revealed lower species diversity in the BS group than in the SS group, and 18 discriminatory OTUs (relative abundance ≥ 0.01%) were identified. Sugarcane metabolomic analysis indicated the different abundances of 247 metabolites between the two groups in which 22 distinct metabolites involved in two flavonoid biosynthesis pathways were revealed. Integrated analysis between soil microbial taxa, stalk chemical components, and soil properties showed that the flavonoid content in stalks and the nitrogen concentration in soil were highly correlated with the soil microbiome composition. Bacteria at the genus level exhibited greater associations with distinct metabolites, and six genera were independently associated with 90.9% of the sugarcane metabolites that play a major metabolic role in sugarcane. In conclusion, this study provided evidences that the interaction between plant–microbiome can change the plant metabolome.
Endogenous suppression of WNT signalling in human embryonic stem cells leads to low differentiation propensity towards definitive endoderm
Authors: Dziedzicka Dominika , Tewary Mukul , Keller Alexander , Tilleman Laurentijn , Prochazka Laura , Östblom Joel , Couvreu De Deckersberg Edouard , Markouli Christina , Franck Silvie , Van Nieuwerburgh Filip , Spits Claudia , Zandstra Peter W. , Sermon Karen , Geens Mieke 
Published: March 2021

AbstractLow differentiation propensity towards a targeted lineage can significantly hamper the utility of individual human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) lines in biomedical applications. Here, we use monolayer and micropatterned cell cultures, as well as transcriptomic profiling, to investigate how variability in signalling pathway activity between human embryonic stem cell lines affects their differentiation efficiency towards definitive endoderm (DE). We show that endogenous suppression of WNT signalling in hPSCs at the onset of differentiation prevents the switch from self-renewal to DE specification. Gene expression profiling reveals that this inefficient switch is reflected inNANOGexpression dynamics. Importantly, we demonstrate that higher WNT stimulation or inhibition of the PI3K/AKT signalling can overcome the DE commitment blockage. Our findings highlight that redirection of the activity of Activin/NODAL pathway by WNT signalling towards mediating DE fate specification is a vulnerable spot, as disruption of this process can result in poor hPSC specification towards DE.
Ocular phenotypes in a mouse model of impaired glucocerebrosidase activity
Authors: Weber Martin , Min Sang-Won , Truong Tom , Hung Jeffrey , Dale Stephanie , Reichelt Mike , Ubhayakar Savita , Cain-Hom Carol , Baca Miriam , Jiang Zhiyu , Li Qingling , Brendza Robert , Lin Han , Kung Chung , Forrest William F. , Quiason-Huynh Cristine , Sandoval Wendy , Chen Buyun , Deng Yuzhong , Easton Amy , Foreman Oded , Sene Abdoulaye , Bingol Baris 
Published: March 2021

AbstractMutations in the GBA1 gene encoding glucocerebrosidase (GCase) are linked to Gaucher (GD) and Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Since some GD and PD patients develop ocular phenotypes, we determined whether ocular phenotypes might result from impaired GCase activity and the corresponding accumulation of glucosylceramide (GluCer) and glucosylsphingosine (GluSph) in the Gba1D409V/D409V knock-in (Gba KI/KI; “KI”) mouse. Gba KI mice developed age-dependent pupil dilation deficits to an anti-muscarinic agent; histologically, the iris covered the anterior part of the lens with adhesions between the iris and the anterior surface of the lens (posterior synechia). This may prevent pupil dilation in general, beyond an un-responsiveness of the iris to anti-muscarinics. Gba KI mice displayed atrophy and pigment dispersion of the iris, and occlusion of the iridocorneal angle by pigment-laden cells, reminiscent of secondary open angle glaucoma. Gba KI mice showed progressive thinning of the retina consistent with retinal degeneration. GluSph levels were increased in the anterior and posterior segments of the eye, suggesting that accumulation of lipids in the eye may contribute to degeneration in this compartment. We conclude that the Gba KI model provides robust and reproducible eye phenotypes which may be used to test for efficacy and establish biomarkers for GBA1-related therapies.
Air-bridged Schottky diodes for dynamically tunable millimeter-wave metamaterial phase shifters
Authors: Vassos Evangelos , Churm James , Powell Jeff , Viegas Colin , Alderman Byron , Feresidis Alexandros 
Published: March 2021

AbstractA low loss metamaterial unit cell is presented with an integrated GaAs air-bridged Schottky diode to produce a dynamically tunable reflective phase shifter that is capable of up to 250° phase shift with an experimentally measured average loss of 6.2 dB at V-band. The air-bridged Schottky diode provides a tuneable capacitance in the range between 30 and 50 fF under an applied reverse voltage bias. This can be used to alter the resonant frequency and phase response of a split patch unit cell of a periodic metasurface. The air-bridged diode die, which is flip-chip soldered to the patch, has ultra-low parasitic capacitance and resistance. Simulated and measured results are presented which verify the potential for the attainment of diode switching speeds with acceptable losses at mmWave frequencies. Furthermore the study shows that this diode-based unit cell can be integrated into metamaterial components, which have potential applications in future mmWave antenna beam-steering, intelligent reflecting surfaces for 6G communications, reflect-arrays, transmit-arrays or holographic antennas.
Critical evaluation of deep neural networks for wrist fracture detection
Authors: Raisuddin Abu Mohammed , Vaattovaara Elias , Nevalainen Mika , Nikki Marko , Järvenpää Elina , Makkonen Kaisa , Pinola Pekka , Palsio Tuula , Niemensivu Arttu , Tervonen Osmo , Tiulpin Aleksei 
Published: March 2021

AbstractWrist Fracture is the most common type of fracture with a high incidence rate. Conventional radiography (i.e. X-ray imaging) is used for wrist fracture detection routinely, but occasionally fracture delineation poses issues and an additional confirmation by computed tomography (CT) is needed for diagnosis. Recent advances in the field of Deep Learning (DL), a subfield of Artificial Intelligence (AI), have shown that wrist fracture detection can be automated using Convolutional Neural Networks. However, previous studies did not pay close attention to the difficult cases which can only be confirmed via CT imaging. In this study, we have developed and analyzed a state-of-the-art DL-based pipeline for wrist (distal radius) fracture detection—DeepWrist, and evaluated it against one general population test set, and one challenging test set comprising only cases requiring confirmation by CT. Our results reveal that a typical state-of-the-art approach, such as DeepWrist, while having a near-perfect performance on the general independent test set, has a substantially lower performance on the challenging test set—average precision of 0.99 (0.99–0.99) versus 0.64 (0.46–0.83), respectively. Similarly, the area under the ROC curve was of 0.99 (0.98–0.99) versus 0.84 (0.72–0.93), respectively. Our findings highlight the importance of a meticulous analysis of DL-based models before clinical use, and unearth the need for more challenging settings for testing medical AI systems.
Very long-chain fatty acids are accumulated in triacylglycerol and nonesterified forms in colorectal cancer tissues
Authors: Hama Kotaro , Fujiwara Yuko , Hayama Tamuro , Ozawa Tsuyoshi , Nozawa Keijiro , Matsuda Keiji , Hashiguchi Yojiro , Yokoyama Kazuaki 
Published: March 2021

AbstractColorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cancer, and its precise diagnosis is especially important for the development of effective therapeutics. In a series of metabolome analyses, the levels of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA) were shown to be elevated in CRC tissues, although the endogenous form of VLCFA has not been fully elucidated. In this study we analyzed the amount of nonesterified fatty acids, acyl-CoA species, phospholipids and neutral lipids such as cholesterylesters using liquid-chromatography–mass spectrometry. Here we showed that VLCFA were accumulated in triacylglycerol (TAG) and nonesterified forms in CRC tissues. The levels of TAG species harboring a VLCFA moiety (VLCFA-TAG) were significantly correlated with that of nonesterified VLCFA. We also showed that the expression level of elongation of very long-chain fatty acids protein 1 (ELOVL1) is increased in CRC tissues, and the inhibition of ELOVL1 decreased the levels of VLCFA-TAG and nonesterified VLCFA in CRC cell lines. Our results suggest that the upregulation of ELOVL1 contributes to the accumulation of VLCFA-TAG and nonesterified VLCFA in CRC tissues.
Ocular biometric features of pediatric patients with fibroblast growth factor receptor-related syndromic craniosynostosis
Authors: Lee Byung Joo , Lee Kihwang , Chung Seung Ah , Lim Hyun Taek 
Published: March 2021

AbstractAmetropia is reported as a common ophthalmic manifestation in craniosynostosis. We retrospectively compared childhood refractive error and ocular biometric features of fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR)-related syndromic craniosynostosis patients with those of non-syndromic craniosynostosis and control subjects. Thirty-six eyes (18 patients) with FGFR-related syndromic craniosynostosis, 76 eyes (38 patients) with non-syndromic craniosynostosis, and 114 eyes (57 patients) of intermittent exotropes were included in the analysis. Mean age at examination was 7.82 ± 2.51 (range, 4–16) years and mean spherical equivalent was -0.09 ± 1.46 Diopter. Mean age and refractive error were not different between groups, but syndromic craniosynostosis patients had significantly longer axial length, lower corneal power, and lower lens power than other groups (p < 0.01, p < 0.01, and p < 0.01, respectively). Axial length was positively correlated and keratometry and lens power were negatively correlated with age in non-syndromic craniosynostosis and controls, while these correlations between age and ocular biometric parameters were not present in the FGFR-related syndromic craniosynostosis. In conclusion, ocular biometric parameters in FGFR-related syndromic craniosynostosis differed from those of non-syndromic craniosynostosis and age-matched controls, and did not show the relations with age, suggesting this cohort may have abnormal refractive growth.
African soil properties and nutrients mapped at 30 m spatial resolution using two-scale ensemble machine learning
Authors: Hengl Tomislav , Miller Matthew A. E. , Križan Josip , Shepherd Keith D. , Sila Andrew , Kilibarda Milan , Antonijević Ognjen , Glušica Luka , Dobermann Achim , Haefele Stephan M. , McGrath Steve P. , Acquah Gifty E. , Collinson Jamie , Parente Leandro , Sheykhmousa Mohammadreza , Saito Kazuki , Johnson Jean-Martial , Chamberlin Jordan , Silatsa Francis B. T. , Yemefack Martin , Wendt John , MacMillan Robert A. , Wheeler Ichsani , Crouch Jonathan 
Published: March 2021

AbstractSoil property and class maps for the continent of Africa were so far only available at very generalised scales, with many countries not mapped at all. Thanks to an increasing quantity and availability of soil samples collected at field point locations by various government and/or NGO funded projects, it is now possible to produce detailed pan-African maps of soil nutrients, including micro-nutrients at fine spatial resolutions. In this paper we describe production of a 30 m resolution Soil Information System of the African continent using, to date, the most comprehensive compilation of soil samples ($$N \approx 150,000$$N≈150,000) and Earth Observation data. We produced predictions for soil pH, organic carbon (C) and total nitrogen (N), total carbon, effective Cation Exchange Capacity (eCEC), extractable—phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), sodium (Na), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn)—silt, clay and sand, stone content, bulk density and depth to bedrock, at three depths (0, 20 and 50 cm) and using 2-scale 3D Ensemble Machine Learning framework implemented in the (Machine Learning in ) package. As covariate layers we used 250 m resolution (MODIS, PROBA-V and SM2RAIN products), and 30 m resolution (Sentinel-2, Landsat and DTM derivatives) images. Our fivefold spatial Cross-Validation results showed varying accuracy levels ranging from the best performing soil pH (CCC = 0.900) to more poorly predictable extractable phosphorus (CCC = 0.654) and sulphur (CCC = 0.708) and depth to bedrock. Sentinel-2 bands SWIR (B11, B12), NIR (B09, B8A), Landsat SWIR bands, and vertical depth derived from 30 m resolution DTM, were the overall most important 30 m resolution covariates. Climatic data images—SM2RAIN, bioclimatic variables and MODIS Land Surface Temperature—however, remained as the overall most important variables for predicting soil chemical variables at continental scale. This publicly available 30-m Soil Information System of Africa aims at supporting numerous applications, including soil and fertilizer policies and investments, agronomic advice to close yield gaps, environmental programs, or targeting of nutrition interventions.
High-dose-rate brachytherapy with external beam radiotherapy versus low-dose-rate brachytherapy with or without external beam radiotherapy for clinically localized prostate cancer
Authors: Yamazaki Hideya , Masui Koji , Suzuki Gen , Aibe Norihiro , Shimizu Daisuke , Kimoto Takuya , Yamada Kei , Ueno Akihisa , Matsugasumi Toru , Yamada Yasuhiro , Shiraishi Takumi , Fujihara Atsuko , Okihara Koji , Yoshida Ken , Nakamura Satoaki 
Published: March 2021

AbstractTo compare the outcomes of localized prostate cancer treatment with high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) and low-dose-rate brachytherapy (LDR-BT), we examined 924 patients treated with HDR-BT + external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and 500 patients treated with LDR-BT ± EBRT using multi-institutional retrospective data. The HDR-BT treated advanced disease with more hormonal therapy than LDR-BT. To reduce background selection bias, we performed inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) analysis using propensity scores and excluded patients with T3b-4 disease/ initial prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels > 50 ng/ml. The actuarial 5-year biochemical control rates (5y-bNED) were 96.3% and 95.7% in the HDR-BT and LDR-BT groups, respectively. The corresponding values were 100% and 96.5% in the low-risk group; 97.4% and 97.1% in the intermediate-risk group (97.2% and 97% in the higher titer group and 97.5% and 94.6% in the lower titer group, respectively); and 95.7% and 94.9% in the selected high-risk group, respectively. IPTW correction indicated no significant difference among the groups. The 5y-bNED in the HDR-BT + EBRT, LDR-BT + EBRT, and LDR-BT alone groups were 96.3%, 95.5%, and 97%, respectively (P = 0.3011). The corresponding values were 97.4%, 94.7%, and 96.6% (P = 0.1004) in the intermediate-risk group (97.5%, 100%, and 94.5% in the lower titer group [P = 0.122] and 97.2%, 96.2%, and 100% [P = 0.664] in the higher titer group, respectively) and 95.7%, 95.5%, and 100% (P = 0.859) in the high-risk group, respectively. The HDR-BT group showed a lower incidence of acute grade ≥ 2 genitourinary toxicities; the incidence of other early and late grade ≥ 2 toxicities were similar between the HDR-BT and LDR-BT groups. Acute genitourinary toxicity predicted the occurrence of late genitourinary toxicity. EBRT increased the risk of grade ≥ 2 gastrointestinal toxicity. HDR-BT + EBRT is a good alternative to LDR-BT ± EBRT for low-, intermediate-, and selected high-risk patients.
Protective effect of titanium tetrafluoride and silver diamine fluoride on radiation-induced dentin caries in vitro
Authors: de Souza Beatriz Martines , Silva Mayara Souza , Braga Aline Silva , Bueno Patrícia Sanches Kerges , da Silva Santos Paulo Sergio , Buzalaf Marília Afonso Rabelo , Magalhães Ana Carolina 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThis in vitro study evaluated the protective effect of titanium tetrafluoride (TiF4) varnish and silver diamine fluoride (SDF) solution on the radiation-induced dentin caries. Bovine root dentin samples were irradiated (70 Gy) and treated as follows: (6 h): 4% TiF4 varnish; 5.42% NaF varnish; 30% SDF solution; placebo varnish; or untreated (negative control). Microcosm biofilm was produced from human dental biofilm (from patients with head-neck cancer) mixed with McBain saliva for the first 8 h. After 16 h and from day 2 to day 5, McBain saliva (0.2% sucrose) was replaced daily (37 °C, 5% CO2) (biological triplicate). Demineralization was quantified by transverse microradiography (TMR), while biofilm was analyzed by using viability, colony-forming units (CFU) counting and lactic acid production assays. The data were statistically analyzed by ANOVA (p < 0.05). TiF4 and SDF were able to reduce mineral loss compared to placebo and the negative control. TiF4 and SDF significantly reduced the biofilm viability compared to negative control. TiF4 significantly reduced the CFU count of total microorganism, while only SDF affected total streptococci and mutans streptococci counts. The varnishes induced a reduction in lactic acid production compared to the negative control. TiF4 and SDF may be good alternatives to control the development of radiation-induced dentin caries.
The cyclophilin inhibitor NIM-811 increases muscle cell survival with hypoxia in vitro and improves gait performance following ischemia–reperfusion in vivo
Authors: El Baradie Khairat Bahgat Youssef , Khan Mohammad B. , Mendhe Bharati , Waller Jennifer , O’Brien Frederick , Hamrick Mark W. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractAcute ischemia–reperfusion injury in skeletal muscle is a significant clinical concern in the trauma setting. The mitochondrial permeability transition inhibitor NIM-811 has previously been shown to reduce ischemic injury in the liver and kidney. The effects of this treatment on skeletal muscle are, however, not well understood. We first used an in vitro model of muscle cell ischemia in which primary human skeletal myoblasts were exposed to hypoxic conditions (1% O2 and 5% CO2) for 6 h. Cells were treated with NIM-811 (0–20 µM). MTS assay was used to quantify cell survival and LDH assay to quantify cytotoxicity 2 h after treatment. Results indicate that NIM-811 treatment of ischemic myotubes significantly increased cell survival and decreased LDH in a dose-dependent manner. We then examined NIM-811 effects in vivo using orthodontic rubber bands (ORBs) for 90 min of single hindlimb ischemia. Mice received vehicle or NIM-811 (10 mg/kg BW) 10 min before reperfusion and 3 h later. Ischemia and reperfusion were monitored using laser speckle imaging. In vivo data demonstrate that mice treated with NIM-811 showed increased gait speed and improved Tarlov scores compared to vehicle-treated mice. The ischemic limbs of female mice treated with NIM-811 showed significantly lower levels of MCP-1, IL-23, IL-6, and IL-1α compared to limbs of vehicle-treated mice. Similarly, male mice treated with NIM-811 showed significantly lower levels of MCP-1 and IL-1a. These findings are clinically relevant as MCP-1, IL-23, IL-6, and IL-1α are all pro-inflammatory factors that are thought to contribute directly to tissue damage after ischemic injury. Results from the in vitro and in vivo experiments suggest that NIM-811 and possibly other mitochondrial permeability transition inhibitors may be effective for improving skeletal muscle salvage and survival after ischemia–reperfusion injury.
Resilient fuzzy control design of singular stochastic biological economic fishery model
Authors: Susana Ramya L. , Leelamani A. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThis research paper focusses on designing a resilient fuzzy controller for a kind of singular stochastic biological economic fishery model with a variable economic profit. Initially, the singular stochastic biological economic fishery model is formulated as T‐S fuzzy singular systems. By using the ideas of continuous frequency distribution and Lyapunov approach, a fresh collection of linear matrix inequalities is developed which are sufficient to establish the asymptotic stability of the singular biological economic fishery model. Later these conditions are extended to obtain some novel sufficient finite‐time stability conditions for the addressed model. The ultimate objective of this research paper is to develop a more generalized version of the resilient controller against nonlinear actuator faults such that it makes the considered system stable within a finite interval of time. Moreover, the developed conditions are based on the solutions of LMIs which provides maximal estimation of region of attraction. Conclusively, simulation results are provided to embellish the usefulness of the obtained control design.