bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
LncRNA DCST1‐AS1 inhibits PDLCs’ proliferation in periodontitis and may bind with miR‐21 precursor to upregulate PLAP‐1
Authors: Wang Xiaoying , Wang Yanhua 
Published: February 2021

AbstractObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the potential interactions among long noncoding RNA domain containing 1‐antisense (lncRNA DCST1‐AS1), miR‐21, and periodontal ligament–associated protein‐1 (PLAP‐1) in periodontitis.Background data discussing the present state of the fieldIt has been verified that miR‐21 can target PLAP‐1 to regulate the osteogenic differentiation of periodontal ligament cells (PDLCs).MethodsDifferential expression of DCST1‐AS1 and miR‐21 in PDLCs derived from periodontitis patients and healthy controls was determined by qPCR and unpaired t test. QPCR and Western blots were conducted to evaluate the effects of overexpression of DCST1‐AS1 and miR‐21 on the expression of PLAP‐1. CCK‐8 assay was applied to evaluate the effect of DCST1‐ASI, miR‐21, or PLAP‐1 on PDLCs’ proliferation. Western blotting was conducted to detect the expression levels of CKD family (CDK4, CDK6, and CCND1).ResultsDCST1‐AS1 was downregulated in PDLCs derived from periodontitis patients, and its expression was inversely correlated with the expression of miR‐2 but positively correlated with PLAP‐1. Bioinformatics analysis showed that DCST1‐AS1 might bind with miR‐21 precursor but not mature miR‐21. Transfection experiments showed that overexpression of DCST1‐AS1 led to decreased expression levels of miR‐21 and significantly increased the expression levels of PLAP‐1 at both mRNA and protein levels, while overexpression of miR‐21 resulted in a dramatic lower level of PLAP‐1. CCK‐8 assay indicated that overexpression of DCST1‐AS1 or PLAP‐1 prohibited PDLCs’ proliferation. However, elevation of miR‐21 had a contrary effect on the proliferation of PDLCs. And increased expression levels of DCST1‐AS1 could significantly inhibit the expression of CDK4, CDK6, and CCND‐1, while overexpression of miR‐21 inversed the effects of DCST1‐AS1.ConclusionTherefore, the expression levels of DCST1‐AS1 are much lower in periodontitis patients compared to that in healthy controls, and overexpression of DCST1‐AS1 can significantly elevate the expression of PLAP‐1 by inhibiting miR‐21 in PDLCs.
Optimizing citric acid protocol to control implant‐related infections: Anin vitroandin situstudy
Authors: Cordeiro Jairo M. , Pires Júlia M. , Souza João G. S. , Lima Carolina V. , Bertolini Martinna M. , Rangel Elidiane C. , Barão Valentim A. R. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractObjectiveThe present study aimed to establish an optimized protocol for biofilm removal from titanium (Ti) surfaces using citric acid (CA) solutions.BackgroundBiofilm accumulation is the main factor to trigger peri‐implant infections and to increase the risk of treatment failures. Although CA has been suggested as the anti‐infective agent with highest potential for biofilm removal on Ti, there is no consensus that CA could improve the anti‐infective treatment and its effect.MethodsPhysical and chemical alterations, electrochemical behavior, cytotoxicity, and antimicrobial effect of CA on Ti discs were evaluated using four concentrations (1, 10, 20, and 40%) and two application methods (immersion and rubbing). Negative control using 0.9% NaCl was used in all experiments. To evaluate whether different application times can have similar response, polymicrobial biofilm (microcosm model) was formed on Ti and treated with CA for 1, 2, 4, and 8 min. Anin situstudy was conducted to verify whether the established protocol is equally effective in biofilms formed on machined and sandblasted, large‐grit, and acid‐etched (SLA) Ti surfaces.ResultsCA 40% induced significantly higher surface alterations observed by confocal images and profilometry. In general, rubbing protocol decreased the surface roughness and increased the wettability (p < 0.05), exhibiting better surface cleaning by biofilm removal. CA 10% presented no indirect cytotoxicity and, when applied by rubbing for 8 min, presented properin vitroantibacterial action and potential corrosion inhibition. When CA 10% was rubbed on Ti surfaces for 4 min, it displayed optimum cleaning ability as 8 min, working equally to removein situbiofilm on machined and SLA surfaces.ConclusionsThe application of CA 10% by rubbing for at least 4 min demonstrated to be a promising protocol to eliminate biofilms formed in smooth and rougher surfaces, which could improve implant‐related infection therapies.
Value of thoracic and abdominal screening in dogs with neurological signs
Authors: Destri A. , Shea A. , Sparkes A. H. , Dennis R. 
Published: February 2021

ObjectivesTo detect the incidence of clinically important thoracic and abdominal imaging abnormalities in patients with neurological signs but with no clinical signs or laboratory findings consistent with thoracic or abdominal disease.Materials and MethodsReview of imaging findings in dogs with neurological signs but no thoracic or abdominal signs that underwent thoracic, or thoracic and abdominal screening during the same hospitalisation as the neurological investigation.ResultsTwo hundred and six dogs were included in the thoracic study. Of those, only eight (3.9%) had clinically important findings and in only five cases (2.4%) were the findings related to pathology identified on MRI. One hundred and forty‐seven dogs were included in the abdominal study. Abnormalities were found in 23 dogs (15.6%), but in only eight (5.4%) were they considered to be of current clinical importance and in only three (2%) were they related to the pathology identified on MRI. Ultrasonography provided valuable additional information in 22 cases (15%) but this was only considered important in four (2.7%) and related to the neurological condition in one (0.7%). As expected, abdominal ultrasonography often provided more information than radiography alone in the abdominal screening but this was rarely clinically relevant or related to the reason for referral.Clinical SignificanceThoracic and abdominal screening of neurological patients with no clinically evident thoracic or abdominal clinical signs only infrequently identified occult but clinically important pathology which changed the current management plan, regardless of neurolocalisation or age.
Daily associations between sleep and pain in patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain
Authors: Abeler Karin , Bergvik Svein , Sand Trond , Friborg Oddgeir 
Published: February 2021

AbstractPatients with chronic pain commonly report sleep problems, and the evidence for a relationship between sleep disturbance and pain seems robust. The day‐to‐day associations between these constructs are less well studied, particularly with objective sleep measures such as actigraphy. Moreover, the concurrent presence of negative affective symptoms, as well as seasonality effects at extreme latitudes may complicate it further. Here, we studied 56 patients with chronic primary musculoskeletal pain conditions, contributing data in two separate 7‐day data‐collection periods during the summer and winter, respectively. The effect of self‐reported sleep quality, and actigraphy measured sleep duration, efficiency and timing on next‐day pain, as well as the effect of pain on the same sleep indices were estimated by generalised linear mixed regression models. The models were additionally adjusted for age, sex, education, data collection period, weekend, season and mental distress, with the latter two also specified as moderators. We observed a significant effect of pain as a predictor of next‐night sleep quality (p = .003) and marginally of next‐night sleep duration (p = .079). Conversely, sleep quality tentatively predicted next‐day pain (p = .063). No other day‐to‐day associations were present. Mental distress was the strongest predictor of pain, but it did not modify the sleep–pain associations, nor did season. In conclusion pain, sleep quality and mental distress are closely related, underscoring the importance of encompassing this complexity in assessment and treatment of patients with chronic pain.
Prevalence of gastrointestinal lesions in dogs chronically treated with nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs
Authors: Mabry Kasey , Hill Tracy , Tolbert Mary Katherine 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBackgroundNonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most common pharmaceutical associated with gastroduodenal ulceration and perforation. The prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) injury associated with chronic use of NSAIDs in dogs is unknown.Objective/HypothesisTo determine the prevalence of GI mucosal erosions in dogs receiving chronic treatment with NSAIDs. We hypothesized that dogs receiving NSAIDs would have more GI mucosal erosions and longer GI transit time than a control population.AnimalsFourteen client‐owned medium‐ and large‐breed dogs receiving an NSAID for at least 30 days and 11 client‐owned control dogs undergoing video capsule endoscopy (VCE) for evaluation of chronic GI disease.MethodsDogs were prospectively recruited after determining no clinically relevant comorbidities were present and VCE was performed. The GI transit time and the presence of mucosal lesions were recorded.ResultsTwelve dogs receiving NSAIDs and 11 retrospectively evaluated control dogs were included. The NSAIDs administered included carprofen (9 dogs), meloxicam (2 dogs), and firocoxib (1 dog) for a median of 6 months. Ten (83.3%; 95% confidence interval; 51.6%‐97.9%) NSAID‐treated dogs had GI erosions. Erosions were seen with all 3 NSAIDs in at least 1 dog. Three of 11 control dogs had gastric erosions. Dogs receiving NSAIDs had more erosions detected (P= .004).Conclusions and Clinical RelevanceSubclinical GI erosions are more common in dogs receiving chronic treatment with NSAIDs than in control dogs with chronic GI disease, suggesting that NSAIDs be used with caution, particularly in dogs with comorbidities predisposing them to GI ulceration.
Contrasting effects of the El Niño 2015–16 event on coral reefs from the central pacific coast of Mexico
Authors: Nava Héctor , López Norma , Ramírez‐García Pedro , Garibay‐Valladolid Elizabeth 
Published: February 2021

AbstractCoral reefs are highly diverse and productive ecosystems, and certain oceanographic processes, such as El Niño, have resulted in severe coral bleaching and mortality of reef‐building corals and to the global decline of the area covered by coral reefs. Here, we report the response of corals and both green and red filamentous and coralline algae from the central Mexican Pacific coast to the 2015–16 El Niño event. Sea surface temperature (SST) was recorded in the area between june 2012 and December 2018. Additionally, SST, DHW and the Oceanic El Niño Index (ONI) provided by NOAA for the El Niño 3 region during the same period were considered. Relative cover (%) of healthy, pale, bleached and dead corals, coral rubble, filamentous algae, rocks, and sand were recorded at five reefs during 2010, 2015, and 2018. Between April 2015 and April 2016, the SST was warmer than average, and the ONI showed temperature anomalies near 3, indicating a strong El Niño event. The response of corals varied among reefs and years. No relevant changes in substrata cover were recorded at two reefs through the years, but extensive coral bleaching occurred at the other reefs in June 2015, with dramatic coral mortality as a consequence. An inability to recover and the resulting dominance of filamentous algae over dead corals was evident at two reefs in January 2018. Multivariate analysis based on the cover of substrata and the comparison with previous studies suggested that the response of the coral reefs was not related to the previous state of conservation or the level of anthropogenic impact at each reef. The causes of such thermal resistance are uncertain; nonetheless, it has a high potential to cope with future El Niño impacts.
The hidden landscape: Evidence that sea‐level change shaped the present population genomic patterns of marginal marine species
Authors: Dolby Greer A. 
Published: February 2021

Oftentimes, to understand the genetic relatedness and diversity of today's populations requires considering the ancient landscape on which those populations evolved. Nowhere is this clearer than along Earth's coastline, which has been in its present‐day configuration for only about 6.5% of the past 800,000 years (Dolby et al., 2020; Miller et al., 2005). During ice ages when glaciers expanded in the Northern Hemisphere, they stored enough of the planet's water to drop global sea level by ~120 m below present levels (“lowstand”, Figure 1a), and there have been at least eight of these 100,000‐year cycles preceding today. When glaciers melted, ocean water reflooded shorelines, shifting and re‐forming marginal marine habitats globally and shaping the relatedness of populations (Dolby et al., 2016). In a From the Cover article in this issue of Molecular Ecology, Stiller et al. (2020) integrate population genomic analysis of leafy seadragons in southern Australia with estimates of available seabed area to reveal that the expansion of habitat that accompanied this reflooding led to strong demographic expansions. With statistical models, they also show that western populations were eliminated and then recolonized because the continental shelf there is narrow, leaving little available habitat when sea level was low (Figure 1b). Their results document the dynamic and interrelated nature of a hidden, changing landscape and the evolution of species inhabiting it.
Root presence modifies the long‐term decomposition dynamics of fungal necromass and the associated microbial communities in a boreal forest
Authors: Maillard François , Kennedy Peter G. , Adamczyk Bartosz , Heinonsalo Jussi , Buée Marc 
Published: February 2021

AbstractRecent studies have highlighted that dead fungal mycelium represents an important fraction of soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) inputs and stocks. Consequently, identifying the microbial communities and the ecological factors that govern the decomposition of fungal necromass will provide critical insight into how fungal organic matter (OM) affects forest soil C and nutrient cycles. Here, we examined the microbial communities colonising fungal necromass during a multiyear decomposition experiment in a boreal forest, which included incubation bags with different mesh sizes to manipulate both plant root and microbial decomposer group access. Necromass‐associated bacterial and fungal communities were taxonomically and functionally rich throughout the 30 months of incubation, with increasing abundances of oligotrophic bacteria and root‐associated fungi (i.e., ectomycorrhizal, ericoid mycorrhizal and endophytic fungi) in the late stages of decomposition in the mesh bags to which they had access. Necromass‐associated β‐glucosidase activity was highest at 6 months, while leucine aminopeptidase peptidase was highest at 18 months. Based on an asymptotic decomposition model, root presence was associated with an initial faster rate of fungal necromass decomposition, but resulted in higher amounts of fungal necromass retained at later sampling times. Collectively, these results indicate that microbial community composition and enzyme activities on decomposing fungal necromass remain dynamic years after initial input, and that roots and their associated fungal symbionts result in the slowing of microbial necromass turnover with time.
Febrile temperature causes transcriptional downregulation ofPlasmodium falciparumSirtuins through Hsp90‐dependent epigenetic modification
Authors: Tabassum Wahida , Bhattacharyya Sunanda , Varunan Shalu M. , Bhattacharyya Mrinal Kanti 
Published: February 2021

AbstractSirtuins (PfSIR2AandPfSIR2B) are implicated to play pivotal roles in the silencing of sub‐telomeric genes and the maintenance of telomere length inP. falciparum3D7 strain. Here, we identify the key factors that regulate the cellular abundance and activity of these two histone deacetylases. Our results demonstrate thatPfSIR2AandPfSIR2Bare transcriptionally downregulated at the mid‐ring stage in response to febrile temperature. We found that the molecular chaperone PfHsp90 acts as a repressor ofPfSIR2A&Btranscription. By virtue of its presence in thePfSIR2A&Bpromoter proximal regions PfHsp90 helps recruiting H3K9me3, conferring heterochromatic state, and thereby leading to the downregulation ofPfSIR2A&Btranscription. Such transcriptional downregulation can be reversed by the addition of 17‐(allylamino)‐17‐demethoxygeldanamycin or Radicicol, two potent inhibitors of PfHsp90. The reduced occupancy of PfSir2 at sub‐telomericvarpromoters leads to the de‐repression ofvargenes. Thus, here we uncover how exposure to febrile temperature, a hallmark of malaria, enables the parasites to manipulate the expression of the two prominent epigenetic modifiers PfSir2A and PfSir2B.
Gastric accumulation of enteral nutrition reduces pressure changes induced by phasic contractility in an isovolumetric intragastric balloon
Authors: Goelen Nick , Doperé Glynnis , Byloos Kris , Ghysels Stefan , Putzeys Guido , Vandecaveye Vincent , Morales John , Van Huffel Sabine , Tack Jan , Janssen Pieter 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBackgroundAn isovolumetric intragastric balloon to continuously measure gastric phasic contractility was recently developed by us. We aimed to investigate the readout of this technique in relation to gastric content and gastric emptying.MethodsIn this crossover investigation, the VIPUNTM Gastric Monitoring System, which comprises a double lumen nasogastric feeding tube with integrated intragastric balloon, was used to assess phasic gastric contractility by interpretation of the pressure in an isovolumetric balloon in 10 healthy subjects. Balloon pressure was recorded in fasted state, during a 2‐hour intragastric nutrient infusion (1 kcal/ml at 25, 75, or 250 ml/h) and 4 hours post‐infusion, and quantified as Gastric Balloon Motility Index (GBMI), ranging from 0 (no contractility) to 1 (maximal contractility). Gastric accumulation was quantified with magnetic resonance imaging and gastric emptying with a13C‐breath test. Results are expressed as mean(SD).Key ResultsGBMI was significantly lower during infusion at 250 ml/h compared to baseline (0.13(0.05) versus 0.46(0.12)) and compared to infusion at 25 (0.54(0.21)) and 75 ml/h (0.43(0.20)), all P < 0.005. Gastric content volume was larger after infusion at 250 versus 75 ml/h (P < 0.001). Half‐emptying time and accumulation were both negatively correlated with postprandial contractility. Postprandial GBMI was significantly lower when GCV>0 ml compared to when the stomach was empty.Conclusions and InferencesEnteral nutrition dose‐dependently decreased the contractility readout. This decrease was linked to gastric accumulation of enteral nutrition.
Making space for the normativity of coherence
Authors: Worsnip Alex 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThis paper offers a new account of how structural rationality, or coherence, is normative. The central challenge to the normativity of coherence – which I term the problem of “making space” for the normativity of coherence – is this: if considerations of coherence matter normatively, it is not clear how we ought to take account of them in our deliberation. Coherence considerations don't seem to show up in reasoning about what to believe, intend, desire, hope, fear, and so on; moreover, they seem awkward to take account of alongside more “substantive” considerations about the merits of such attitudes. I aim here to solve this problem, and in so doing to offer the aforementioned new account of how coherence is normative. On the view I defend, which I call the Reasons‐to‐Structure‐Deliberation model, considerations of coherence constitute reasons for structuring deliberation in certain ways: more particularly, to treat incoherent combinations of attitudes as off‐limits, and so to focus one's deliberation on choosing between the coherent combinations.
The eco‐evolutionary significance of rainfall constancy for facultative CAM photosynthesis
Authors: Schweiger Andreas H. , Nürk Nicolai M. , Beckett Heath , Liede‐Schumann Sigrid , Midgley Guy F. , Higgins Steven I. 
Published: February 2021

Summary

A flexible use of the crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) has been hypothesised to represent an intermediate stage along a C3 to full CAM evolutionary continuum, when relative contributions of C3 vs CAM metabolism are co‐determined by evolutionary history and prevailing environmental constraints. However, evidence for such eco‐evolutionary interdependencies is lacking.

We studied these interdependencies for the leaf‐succulent genus Drosanthemum (Aizoaceae, Southern African Succulent Karoo) by testing for relationships between leaf δ13C diagnostic for CAM dependence (i.e. contribution of C3 and CAM to net carbon gain), and climatic variables related to temperature and precipitation and their temporal variation. We further quantified the effects of shared phylogenetic ancestry on CAM dependence and its relation to climate.

CAM dependence is predicted by rainfall and its temporal variation, with high predictive power of rainfall constancy (temporal entropy). The predictive power of rainfall seasonality and temperature‐related variables was negligible. Evolutionary history of the tested clades significantly affected the relationship between rainfall constancy and CAM dependence.

We argue that higher CAM dependence might provide an adaptive advantage in increasingly unpredictable rainfall environments when the anatomic exaptation (succulence) is already present. These observations might shed light on the evolution of full CAM.
Leaf surface water, not plant water stress, drives diurnal variation in tropical forest canopy water content
Authors: Xu Xiangtao , Konings Alexandra G. , Longo Marcos , Feldman Andrew , Xu Liang , Saatchi Sassan , Wu Donghai , Wu Jin , Moorcroft Paul 
Published: February 2021

Summary

Variation in canopy water content (CWC) that can be detected from microwave remote sensing of vegetation optical depth (VOD) has been proposed as an important measure of vegetation water stress. However, the contribution of leaf surface water (LWs), arising from dew formation and rainfall interception, to CWC is largely unknown, particularly in tropical forests and other high‐humidity ecosystems.

We compared VOD data from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR‐E) and CWC predicted by a plant hydrodynamics model at four tropical sites in Brazil spanning a rainfall gradient. We assessed how LWs influenced the relationship between VOD and CWC.

The analysis indicates that while CWC is strongly correlated with VOD (R2 = 0.62 across all sites), LWs accounts for 61–76% of the diurnal variation in CWC despite being < 10% of CWC. Ignoring LWs weakens the near‐linear relationship between CWC and VOD and reduces the consistency in diurnal variation. The contribution of LWs to CWC variation, however, decreases at longer, seasonal to inter‐annual, time scales.

Our results demonstrate that diurnal patterns of dew formation and rainfall interception can be an important driver of diurnal variation in CWC and VOD over tropical ecosystems and therefore should be accounted for when inferring plant diurnal water stress from VOD measurements.