bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Network centrality, connections, and social capital: Evidence from CEO insider trading gains
Authors: El‐Khatib Rwan , Jandik Dobrina , Jandik Tomas 
Published: February 2021

AbstractChief executive officer's (CEO's) insider trading gains are affected by the position of the CEO within the hierarchy of all executives, as assessed by network centrality. CEOs with high centrality earn superior abnormal returns following their company's stock purchases, consistent with social capital advantage. Social capital and trading gains are positively associated primarily in firms that are riskier, have weak governance, or are managed by CEOs with no background in finance. High‐centrality CEOs also gain by selling their shares prior to a bad news event experienced by their firm. Finally, trading gains are positively affected by CEOs having past connections to the chief financial officers.
A manipulative field experiment reveals the ecological effects of invasive mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) in a tropical wetland
Authors: Tsang Alphonse Hin Fat , Dudgeon David 
Published: February 2021

Abstract

The mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis: Poeciliidae) is one of the world's most widespread invaders, but our ability to predict the consequences for native species in the tropics is limited by a paucity of research and a lack of knowledge of how environmental factors influence mosquitofish impacts.

We undertook a field experiment using cages to manipulate mosquitofish densities in a Hong Kong wetland during the warm wet season and the cool dry season. We measured fish effects on invertebrates and periphyton, and tested whether the results were affected by vegetation type (sedge vs. water lily).

Mosquitofish reduced abundance and richness of invertebrates, and altered assemblage composition, but had no effect on periphyton biomass. Effects on invertebrate abundance were consistent between seasons, but mosquitofish reduced invertebrate richness only during the wet season, when effects on assemblage composition were more obvious. Vegetation type had no influence on the experimental results.

This study adds to the few tropical, or Asian, field studies of the ecological impacts of mosquitofish, and is, as far as we are aware, the only such study measuring their seasonal variability. While we detected some cage effects during our field experiment, they were insufficient to obscure the strong influence of mosquitofish on invertebrate abundance and composition.
The Association of Oral Health Status and socio‐economic determinants with Oral Health‐Related Quality of Life among the elderly: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Baniasadi Kamal , Armoon Bahram , Higgs Peter , Bayat Amir‐Hossein , Mohammadi Gharehghani Mohammad Ali , Hemmat Morteza , Fakhri Yadolah , Mohammadi Rasool , Fattah Moghaddam Ladan , Schroth Robert J. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractObjectiveThe aim of this study was to determine the relationship between poor Oral Health‐Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) and oral health determinants (eg being 75 years of age or greater, marital status, smoking status, denture wearing, depression, low educational level (≤8th grade), poor general health, caries history, tooth‐induced pain, decayed, missing filled teeth (DMFT) scores and periodontal diseases) among the elderly.MethodsFormal search strategies in PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane and Web of Science were performed to identify studies in English published before 1 December 2019. We assessed the impacts of the oral health determinants including being 75 years of age or greater, marital status, smoking status, denture wearing, depression, low educational level (≤8th grade), poor general health, caries history, tooth‐induced pain, DMFT scores and periodontal diseases) on OHRQoL among elderly individuals. The data were analysed using Stata 12.0 software.ResultsIn total, 19 publications met the inclusion criteria of this meta‐analysis. Findings indicate a positive association between low educational level (ie ≤8th grade), marital status, depression, smoking status, denture wearing, poor general health, tooth‐induced pain, periodontal diseases and poor OHRQoL among the elderly. We also observed a negative association between DMFT, being older than 75 years of age on poor OHRQoL among the elderly.ConclusionsThis review identified that several oral health determinants were associated with poor OHRQoL. The efficacy of preventive measures and the economic aspects of tooth replacement approaches should be explored in the future. Developing oral healthcare plans and policies with the specific aim of improving OHRQoL among this group is essential.
Sing for me, Mama! Infants' discrimination of novel vowels in song
Authors: Falk Simone , Fasolo Mirco , Genovese Giuliana , Romero‐Lauro Leonor , Franco Fabia 
Published: February 2021

AbstractWhen adults speak or sing with infants, they sound differently than in adult communication. Infant‐directed (ID) communication helps caregivers to regulate infants' emotions and helps infants to process speech information, at least from ID‐speech. However, it is largely unclear whether infants might also process speech information presented in ID‐singing. Therefore, we examined whether infants discriminate vowels in ID‐singing, as well as potential differences with ID‐speech. Using an alternating trial preference procedure, infants aged 4–6 and 8–10 months were tested on their discrimination of an unfamiliar non‐native vowel contrast presented in ID‐like speech and singing. Relying on models of early speech sound perception, we expected that infants in their first half year of life would discriminate the vowels, in contrast to older infants whose non‐native sound perception should deteriorate, at least in ID‐like speech. Our results showed that infants of both age groups were able to discriminate the vowels in ID‐like singing, while only the younger group discriminated the vowels in ID‐like speech. These results show that infants process speech sound information in song from early on. They also hint at diverging perceptual or attentional mechanisms guiding infants' sound processing in ID‐speech versus ID‐singing toward the end of the first year of life.
Assessment of a new algorithm to detect atrial fibrillation in home blood pressure monitoring device among healthy adults and patients with atrial fibrillation
Authors: Watanabe Tomonori , Tomitani Naoko , Yasui Nobuhiko , Kabutoya Tomoyuki , Hoshide Satoshi , Kario Kazuomi 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe authors evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of a new algorithm for detecting atrial fibrillation (AF) using a home blood pressure (BP) monitor. Three serial BP values were measured in 205 subjects with sinus rhythm and 75 subjects with AF confirmed by electrocardiogram. Irregular pulse peak (IPP) 15 was defined as follows: |interval of pulse peak ‐ the average of the interval of the pulse peak| ≥ the average of the interval of the pulse peak × 15%. Irregular heartbeat (IHB) was defined as follows: beats of IPP ≥ total pulse × 20%. The sensitivities of IPP15 for diagnosing AF defined as two or three IHBs of three readings were 1.0 and 0.99, and the corresponding specificities were 0.97 and 0.99, respectively. The algorithm using two or more IHBs of three readings in the setting of IPP15 had the highest diagnostic accuracy for AF.
Holin-Dependent Secretion of the Large Clostridial Toxin TpeL by Clostridium perfringens
Authors: Saadat Angela , Melville Stephen B. 
Published: February 2021

ABSTRACT
Large clostridial toxins (LCTs) are secreted virulence factors found in several species, including Clostridioides difficile, Clostridium perfringens, Paeniclostridium sordellii, and Clostridium novyi. LCTs are large toxins that lack a secretion signal sequence, and studies by others have shown that the LCTs of C. difficile, TcdA and TcdB, require a holin-like protein, TcdE, for secretion. The TcdE gene is located on the pathogenicity locus (PaLoc) of C. difficile, and holin-encoding genes are also present in the LCT-encoded PaLocs from P. sordellii and C. perfringens. However, the holin (TpeE) associated with the C. perfringens LCT TpeL has no homology and a different membrane topology than TcdE. In addition, TpeE has a membrane topology identical to that of the TatA protein, which is the core of the twin-arginine translocation (Tat) secretion system. To determine if TpeE was necessary and sufficient to secrete TpeL, the genes from a type C strain of C. perfringens were expressed in a type A strain of C. perfringens, HN13, and secretion was measured using Western blot methods. We found that TpeE was required for TpeL secretion and that secretion was not due to cell lysis. Mutant forms of TpeE lacking an amphipathic helix and a charged C-terminal domain failed to secrete TpeL, and mutations that deleted conserved LCT domains in TpeL indicated that only the full-length protein could be secreted. In summary, we have identified a novel family of holin-like proteins that can function, in some cases, as a system of protein secretion for proteins that need to fold in the cytoplasm.
IMPORTANCE Little is known about the mechanism by which LCTs are secreted. Since LCTs are major virulence factors in clostridial pathogens, we wanted to define the mechanism by which an LCT in C. perfringens, TpeL, is secreted by a protein (TpeE) lacking homology to previously described secretion-associated holins. We discovered that TpeE is a member of a widely dispersed class of holin proteins, and TpeE is necessary for the secretion of TpeL. TpeE bears a high degree of similarity in membrane topology to TatA proteins, which form the pore through which Tat secretion substrates pass through the cytoplasmic membrane. Thus, the TpeE-TpeL secretion system may be a model for understanding not only holin-dependent secretion but also how TatA proteins function in the secretion process.
Bentonite swelling characteristics with a hypersaline multi-component pore fluid
Authors: Brachman R.W.I. , Rowe R.K. , Baral A. , Hosney M.S. , Su G. , Nguyen T.S. , Brown J. , Lange K. 
Published: February 2021

Swelling characteristics of compacted bentonite when hydrated with a hypersaline pore fluid (332 g/L total dissolved solids; 6.6 mol/L ionic strength) are reported. The pore fluid mimics the multiple constituents and their concentrations found for the Cobourg limestone of the Michigan Basin and is dominated by sodium (25% mole fraction) with some potassium, calcium, and magnesium (10%, 5%, and 4% mole fractions). Measurements of swell pressure for two sodium bentonites when hydrated under conditions of zero volume increase are reported. Swell pressure reached a peak within 10–30 h from the onset of hydration, followed by a continual decrease over 1 year of testing from chemical interaction between the bentonite and pore fluid. After 1 year, the swell pressure of the MX-80 bentonite tested decreased by a factor of nine relative to the peak swell pressure with deionized water when the dry density was 1.6 Mg/m3. Swell pressures increased as dry density increased. However, chemical interactions appear to have more influence on swell pressure than density for the pore fluid examined as a swell pressure of just under 1200 kPa was measured for MX-80 after 1.8 years of hydration when compacted to the highest dry density of 1.8 Mg/m3 examined.
Microbial sensing in the neonatal pig gut: effect of diet-independent and diet-dependent factors1
Authors: Wellington Michael O. , Agyekum Atta K. , Van Kessel Andrew G. 
Published: February 2021

There is considerable agreement that the gastrointestinal microbiota contributes to the performance and health of the neonate, and this relationship includes an ability of the host animal to “sense” changes in the microbial community. Identifying the mechanisms used by the host to sense microbiota is one approach to developing methods to manipulate the microbiota to improve pig health and performance. Diet-independent microbial products are molecules unique to the microbial community and sensed by host pattern recognition receptors stimulating inflammation. Common among all members of the microbial community, their presence is unaffected by diet, but the nature of the response does depends on factors affecting the microenvironment in which the molecule is detected. Diet-dependent microbial products arise as products of fermentation of dietary components and include short-chain fatty acids, ammonia, phenols, hydrogen sulfide, amines, and many other compounds. A plethora of sensing mechanisms exists that include enzymatic metabolism as well as membrane receptors that have evolved to respond to microbial products (e.g., short-chain fatty acid receptors), or simply cross-react with microbial products. This review focuses on host mechanisms used to sense the intestinal microbiota and attempts to establish practical considerations for neonatal gut health based on current understanding.
The effect of epidermal growth factor on performance and oxidative stress in piglets challenged with enterotoxigenicEscherichia coliK88
Authors: Hossain M.M. , Regassa A. , Amarakoon S. , Jayaraman B. , Akhtar N. , Li J. , Karmin O. , Nyachoti C.M. 
Published: February 2021

This study evaluated the efficacy of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in piglets challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli K88 (ETEC). A total of 28 piglets were assigned to the following dietary treatments for 14 d: negative control (NC) (basal diet containing supernatant without EGF), PC (NC + 2.5 g antibiotic·kg−1feed), EGF120 [basal diet + supernatant with 120 μg EGF·kg−1body weight (BW)·d−1], and EGF180 (basal diet + supernatant with 180 μg EGF·kg−1BW·d−1). After a 6 d acclimation period, each pig was gavaged with 6 mL (2.4 × 1013cfu·mL−1) of ETEC on the morning of day 7. Overall, piglets fed the EGF and PC diets tended to have higher gain to feed ratio than those fed the NC diet (P = 0.063). Pigs fed EGF diets had lower rectal temperature than those fed the NC diet at 6 h after challenge (P < 0.05). Serum and ileal malondialdehyde concentrations were higher in piglets fed the NC diet compared with those fed EGF and PC diets on days 6 and 7 after challenge, respectively (P < 0.05). In conclusion, EGF has the potential to reduce oxidative stress and body temperature elevation in piglets exposed to ETEC while supporting better feed efficiency.
Towards a computer vision particle flow
Authors: Di Bello Francesco Armando , Ganguly Sanmay , Gross Eilam , Kado Marumi , Pitt Michael , Santi Lorenzo , Shlomi Jonathan 
Published: February 2021

AbstractIn High Energy Physics experiments Particle Flow (PFlow) algorithms are designed to provide an optimal reconstruction of the nature and kinematic properties of the particles produced within the detector acceptance during collisions. At the heart of PFlow algorithms is the ability to distinguish the calorimeter energy deposits of neutral particles from those of charged particles, using the complementary measurements of charged particle tracking devices, to provide a superior measurement of the particle content and kinematics. In this paper, a computer vision approach to this fundamental aspect of PFlow algorithms, based on calorimeter images, is proposed. A comparative study of the state of the art deep learning techniques is performed. A significantly improved reconstruction of the neutral particle calorimeter energy deposits is obtained in a context of large overlaps with the deposits from charged particles. Calorimeter images with augmented finer granularity are also obtained using super-resolution techniques.
Cosmology of cubic galileon in modified teleparallel gravity
Authors: Boumaza Hamza 
Published: February 2021

AbstractIn this present paper, we study the cosmological evolution of the cubic galileon along with modified teleparallel gravity at perturbed and non-perturbed levels. We show the dynamical equations of motion and investigate the evolution of different cosmological parameters by using the dynamical variables analysis. In addition, a detailed analysis of different cosmological evolution in the matter, radiation and de Sitter eras is presented by solving the dynamical equations numerically. In our analysis, we find that the equations of motion in the Friedmann–Robertson–Walker (FRW) background metric is characterized by a stable de Sitter era and a tracker solution in which $$H{\dot{\varphi }}$$

H

φ
˙

is always constant. We find also that the equation of state of dark energy associated to the proposed model in this work can deviate from − 2 at the matter era. Moreover, the conditions of avoiding ghost and Laplacian instabilities in our model are derived; then we show that the model is free of these instabilities. Furthermore we place an observational constraint on the parameters of the model through Monte Carlo numerical method using growth rate and observational Hubble data. Finally, using the best-fit values of parameters in the model we compare our growth rate of matter perturbation with the prediction of $$\varLambda $$
Λ
CDM model and the latest measurement.
Fragmentation of Small-Cell Lung Cancer Regulatory States in Heterotypic Microenvironments
Authors: Schaff Dylan L. , Singh Shambhavi , Kim Kee-Beom , Sutcliffe Matthew D. , Park Kwon-Sik , Janes Kevin A. 
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Small-cell lung cancers derive from pulmonary neuroendocrine cells, which have stem-like properties to reprogram into other cell types upon lung injury. It is difficult to uncouple transcriptional plasticity of these transformed cells from genetic changes that evolve in primary tumors or secondary metastases. Profiling of single cells is also problematic if the required sample dissociation activates injury-like signaling and reprogramming. Here we defined cell-state heterogeneities in situ through laser capture microdissection–based 10-cell transcriptomics coupled with stochastic-profiling fluctuation analysis. In labeled cells from a small-cell lung cancer mouse model initiated by neuroendocrine deletion of Rb1-Trp53, variations in transcript abundance revealed cell-to-cell differences in regulatory state in vitro and in vivo. Fluctuating transcripts in spheroid culture were partly shared among Rb1-Trp53–null models, and heterogeneities increased considerably when cells were delivered intravenously to colonize the liver. Colonization of immunocompromised animals drove a fractional appearance of alveolar type II–like markers and poised cells for paracrine stimulation from immune cells and hepatocytes. Immunocompetency further exaggerated the fragmentation of tumor states in the liver, yielding mixed stromal signatures evident in bulk sequencing from autochthonous tumors and metastases. Dozens of transcript heterogeneities recurred irrespective of biological context; their mapped orthologs brought together observations of murine and human small-cell lung cancer. Candidate heterogeneities recurrent in the liver also stratified primary human tumors into discrete groups not readily explained by molecular subtype but with prognostic relevance. These data suggest that heterotypic interactions in the liver and lung are an accelerant for intratumor heterogeneity in small-cell lung cancer.

Significance:
These findings demonstrate that the single-cell regulatory heterogeneity of small-cell lung cancer becomes increasingly elaborate in the liver, a common metastatic site for the disease.
See related articles by Singh and colleagues, p. 1840 and Sutcliffe and colleagues, p. 1868
Premalignant Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells Stall in a Heterogeneous State of Replication Stress Prior to Gliomagenesis
Authors: Sutcliffe Matthew D. , Galvao Rui P. , Wang Lixin , Kim Jungeun , Rosenfeld Lauren K. , Singh Shambhavi , Zong Hui , Janes Kevin A. 
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Cancer evolves from premalignant clones that adopt unusual cell states to achieve transformation. We previously pinpointed the oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) as a cell of origin for glioma, but the early changes of mutant OPCs during premalignancy remained unknown. Using mice engineered for inducible Nf1-Trp53 loss in OPCs, we acutely isolated labeled mutant OPCs by laser-capture microdissection, determined global gene-expression changes by bulk RNA sequencing, and compared with cell-state fluctuations at the single-cell level by stochastic profiling, which uses RNA-sequencing measurements from random pools of 10 mutant cells. At 12 days after Nf1-Trp53 deletion, bulk differences were mostly limited to mitotic hallmarks and genes for ribosome biosynthesis, and stochastic profiling revealed a spectrum of stem-progenitor (Axl, Aldh1a1), proneural, and mesenchymal states as potential starting points for gliomagenesis. At 90 days, bulk sequencing detected few differentially expressed transcripts, whereas stochastic profiling revealed cell states for neurons and mural cells that do not give rise to glial tumors, suggesting cellular dead-ends for gliomagenesis. Importantly, mutant OPCs that strongly expressed key effectors of nonsense-mediated decay (Upf3b) and homology-dependent DNA repair (Rad51c, Slx1b, Ercc4) were identified along with DNA-damage markers, suggesting transcription-associated replication stress. Analysis of 10-cell transcriptomes at 90 days identified a locus of elevated gene expression containing an additional repair endonuclease (Mus81) and Rin1, a Ras-Raf antagonist and possible counterbalance to Nf1 loss, which was microdeleted or downregulated in gliomas at 150 days. These hidden cell-state variations uncover replication stress as a potential bottleneck that must be resolved for glioma initiation.

Significance:
Profiling premalignant cell states in a mouse model of glioma uncovers regulatory heterogeneity in glioma cells-of-origin and defines a state of replication stress that precedes tumor initiation.
See related articles by Singh and colleagues, p. 1840 and Schaff and colleagues, p. 1853
Cost-effectiveness Analysis of Breast Cancer Screening Using Mammography in Singapore: A Modeling Study
Authors: Chootipongchaivat Sarocha , Wong Xin Yi , ten Haaf Kevin , Hartman Mikael , Tan Kelvin B. , van Ravesteyn Nicolien T. , Wee Hwee-Lin 
Published: February 2021

Abstract

Background:
Limited research is available on the cost-effectiveness of breast cancer screening programs in Asian countries. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of Singapore's national mammography screening program, implemented in 2002, recommending annual screening between ages 40 and 49 and biennial screening between ages 50 and 69, and alternative screening scenarios taking into account important country-specific factors.

Methods:
We used national data from Singapore in the MIcrosimulation SCreening ANalysis-Fatal diameter (MISCAN-Fadia) model to simulate 302 screening scenarios for 10 million women born between 1910 and 1969. Screening scenarios varied by starting and ending age, screening interval, and attendance. Outcome measures included life-years gained (LYG), breast cancer deaths averted, false positives, overdiagnosis, quality-adjusted life years (QALY), costs (in 2002 Singapore dollars; S$), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICER). Costs and effects were calculated and discounted with 3% using a health care provider's perspective.

Results:
Singapore's current screening program at observed attendance levels required 54,158 mammograms per 100,000 women, yielded 1,054 LYG, and averted 57 breast cancer deaths. At attendance rates ≥50%, the current program was near the efficiency frontier. Most scenarios on the efficiency frontier started screening at age 40. The ICERs of the scenarios on the efficiency frontiers ranged between S$10,186 and S$56,306/QALY, which is considered cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay threshold of S$70,000/QALY gained.

Conclusions:
Singapore's current screening program lies near the efficiency frontier, and starting screening at age 40 or 45 is cost-effective. Furthermore, enhancing screening attendance rates would increase benefits while maintaining cost-effectiveness.

Impact:
Screening all women at age 40 or 45 is cost-efficient in Singapore, and a policy change may be considered.