bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Agricultural diversification in West Africa: an archaeobotanical study of the site of Sadia (Dogon Country, Mali)
Authors: Champion Louis , Fuller Dorian Q. , Ozainne Sylvain , Huysecom Éric , Mayor Anne 
Published: March 2021

AbstractWhile narratives of the spread of agriculture are central to interpretation of African history, hard evidence of past crops and cultivation practices are still few. This research aims at filling this gap and better understanding the evolution of agriculture and foodways in West Africa. It reports evidence from systematic flotation samples taken at the settlement mounds of Sadia (Mali), dating from 4 phases (phase 0=before first–third century AD; phase 1=mid eighth–tenth c. AD; phase 2=tenth–eleventh c. AD; phase 3=twelfth–late thirteenth c. AD). Flotation of 2200 l of soil provided plant macro-remains from 146 archaeological samples. As on most West African sites, the most dominant plant is pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum). But from the tenth century AD, sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and African rice (Oryza glaberrima) appear in small quantities, and fonio (Digitaria exilis) and barnyard millet/hungry rice (Echinochloa sp.), sometimes considered weeds rather than staple crops, are found in large quantities. Some samples also show remains of tree fruits from savannah parklands, such as baobab (Adansonia digitata), marula (Sclerocarya birrea), jujube (Ziziphus sp.), shea butter (Vittelaria paradoxa) and African grapes (Lannea microcarpa). Fonio and Echinochloa sp. cultivation appears here to be a later addition that helped to diversify agriculture and buffer against failures that might affect the monoculture of pearl millet. This diversification at the end of the 1st millennium AD matches with other evidence found in West Africa.
Do Investor–State Disputes (Still) Harm FDI?
Authors: Kerner Andrew , Pelc Krzysztof J. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractWhat are the consequences of being sued for violating bilateral investment treaties? The conventional wisdom is that investor–state disputes (ISDS) tarnish countries' compliance records, and harm foreign direct investment in the process. This article re-examines this belief in light of recent trends in ISDS. The regime has witnessed a proliferation of claims, a growing proportion of which allege breaches of provisions like fair and equitable treatment and indirect expropriation. Combined with a decrease in the rate of success of such claims, the authors argue that the average ISDS claim now contains less information than it once did. If this is the case, investors should be less likely to update their expectations and reduce investments. This study examines 812 investor–state disputes from 1987 to the present day, and finds consistent evidence for this across two different datasets relating to firms' risk perceptions. Consequences of investor–state claims on foreign direct investment are only apparent in cases that allege direct expropriation. Even among these, the effects are smaller today than they were in the past. In sum, the reputational effects of ISDS claims appear to have been eroded by the developments of the last two decades. ISDS just isn't what it used to be.
The genetic basis of major depression
Authors: Kendall K. M. , Van Assche E. , Andlauer T. F. M. , Choi K. W. , Luykx J. J. , Schulte E. C. , Lu Y. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is a common, debilitating, phenotypically heterogeneous disorder with heritability ranges from 30% to 50%. Compared to other psychiatric disorders, its high prevalence, moderate heritability, and strong polygenicity have posed major challenges for gene-mapping in MDD. Studies of common genetic variation in MDD, driven by large international collaborations such as the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, have confirmed the highly polygenic nature of the disorder and implicated over 100 genetic risk loci to date. Rare copy number variants associated with MDD risk were also recently identified. The goal of this review is to present a broad picture of our current understanding of the epidemiology, genetic epidemiology, molecular genetics, and gene–environment interplay in MDD. Insights into the impact of genetic factors on the aetiology of this complex disorder hold great promise for improving clinical care.
Psychosocial working conditions and the risk of diagnosed depression: a Swedish register-based study
Authors: Almroth Melody , Hemmingsson Tomas , Sörberg Wallin Alma , Kjellberg Katarina , Burström Bo , Falkstedt Daniel 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBackgroundHigh job demands, low job control, and their combination (job strain) may increase workers' risk of depression. Previous research is limited by small populations, not controlling for previous depression, and relying on the same informant for reporting exposure and outcome. This study aims to examine the relationship between objectively measured workplace factors and the risk of developing clinical depression among the Swedish working population while controlling for previous psychiatric diagnoses and sociodemographic factors.MethodsControl, demands, and job strain were measured using the Swedish Job Exposure Matrix (JEM) measuring psychosocial workload linked to around 3 million individuals based on their occupational titles in 2005. Cox regression models were built to estimate associations between these factors and diagnoses of depression recorded in patient registers.ResultsLower job control was associated with an increased risk of developing depression (HR 1.43, 95% CI 1.39–1.48 and HR 1.27, 95% CI 1.24–1.30 for men and women with the lowest control, respectively), and this showed a dose–response relationship among men. Having high job demands was associated with a slight decrease in depression risk for men and women. High strain and passive jobs (both low control jobs) were associated with an increased risk of depression among men, and passive jobs were associated with an increased risk among women.ConclusionHigh job control appears important for reducing the risk of developing depression even when accounting for previous psychiatric diagnoses and sociodemographic factors. This is an important finding concerning strategies to improve occupational and in turn mental health.
New Developments in the Comprehensive Inner Magnetosphere‐Ionosphere Model
Authors: Fok M.‐C. , Kang S.‐B. , Ferradas C. P. , Buzulukova N. Y. , Glocer A. , Komar C. M. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractA Comprehensive Inner Magnetosphere‐Ionosphere (CIMI) model was developed to study the dynamic variations of the radiation belts, ring current, and plasmasphere as well as the couplings between these populations and with the ionosphere. The CIMI model has been used in multiple studies to simulate a number of magnetic storms and reproduce many observable features that involve cross‐region and cross‐energy processes. This model has been continuously validated and improved. In this study, we report on two major recent advancements in CIMI. The first improvement is transforming coordinates in both configuration and velocity space into uniform grids. Numerical schemes, especially those of high order, are generally more stable on such uniform grids. The second advancement is to solve both advection and diffusion in the CIMI equation in a single coordinate system. Previously, the phase space distribution was expressed in terms of the first two adiabatic invariants when solving for particle drift, whereas particle distributions were transformed into energy and pitch angle for calculating wave diffusion. In the new approach in CIMI, particles and distribution functions are identified by their momentum. This change avoids interpolation errors inherent in the mapping of the phase space distribution when switching back and forth between advective and diffusive transport. We describe the detailed implementation of these recent advancements in the CIMI model, and demonstrate how the newly improved model provides better predictions of the ring current and radiation belt dynamics.
Global Prediction of Soil Saturated Hydraulic Conductivity Using Random Forest in a Covariate‐Based GeoTransfer Function (CoGTF) Framework
Authors: Gupta Surya , Lehmann Peter , Bonetti Sara , Papritz Andreas , Or Dani 
Published: March 2021

AbstractSaturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) is a key soil hydraulic parameter for representing infiltration and drainage in land surface models. For large scale applications, Ksat is often estimated from pedotransfer functions (PTFs) based on easy‐to‐measure soil properties like soil texture and bulk density. The reliance of PTFs on data from uniform arable lands and the omission of soil structure limits the applicability of texture‐based predictions of Ksat in vegetated lands. To include effects of terrain, climate, and vegetation in the derivation of a new global Ksat map at 1 km resolution, we harness technological advances in machine learning and availability of remotely sensed surrogate information. For model training and testing, a global compilation of 6,814 geo‐referenced Ksat measurements from the literature was used. The accuracy assessment based on spatial cross‐validation shows a concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) of 0.16 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.18 for log10 Ksat values in cm/day (CCC = 0.79 and RMSE = 0.72 for non‐spatial cross‐validation). The generated maps of Ksat represent spatial patterns of soil formation processes more distinctly than previous global maps of Ksat based on easy‐to‐measure soil properties. The validation of the model indicates that Ksat could be modeled without bias using Covariate‐based GeoTransfer Functions (CoGTFs) that harness spatially distributed surface and climate attributes, compared to soil information based PTFs. The relatively poor performance of all models in the validation (low CCC and high RMSE) highlights the need for the collection of additional Ksat values to train the model for regions with sparse data.
Sialylated human milk oligosaccharides program cognitive development through a non-genomic transmission mode
Authors: Hauser Jonas , Pisa Edoardo , Arias Vásquez Alejandro , Tomasi Flavio , Traversa Alice , Chiodi Valentina , Martin Francois-Pierre , Sprenger Norbert , Lukjancenko Oksana , Zollinger Alix , Metairon Sylviane , Schneider Nora , Steiner Pascal , Martire Alberto , Caputo Viviana , Macrì Simone 
Published: March 2021

AbstractBreastmilk contains bioactive molecules essential for brain and cognitive development. While sialylated human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) have been implicated in phenotypic programming, their selective role and underlying mechanisms remained elusive. Here, we investigated the long-term consequences of a selective lactational deprivation of a specific sialylated HMO in mice. We capitalized on a knock-out (KO) mouse model (B6.129-St6gal1tm2Jxm/J) lacking the gene responsible for the synthesis of sialyl(alpha2,6)lactose (6′SL), one of the two sources of sialic acid (Neu5Ac) to the lactating offspring. Neu5Ac is involved in the formation of brain structures sustaining cognition. To deprive lactating offspring of 6′SL, we cross-fostered newborn wild-type (WT) pups to KO dams, which provide 6′SL-deficient milk. To test whether lactational 6′SL deprivation affects cognitive capabilities in adulthood, we assessed attention, perseveration, and memory. To detail the associated endophenotypes, we investigated hippocampal electrophysiology, plasma metabolomics, and gut microbiota composition. To investigate the underlying molecular mechanisms, we assessed gene expression (at eye-opening and in adulthood) in two brain regions mediating executive functions and memory (hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, PFC). Compared to control mice, WT offspring deprived of 6′SL during lactation exhibited consistent alterations in all cognitive functions addressed, hippocampal electrophysiology, and in pathways regulating the serotonergic system (identified through gut microbiota and plasma metabolomics). These were associated with a site- (PFC) and time-specific (eye-opening) reduced expression of genes involved in central nervous system development. Our data suggest that 6′SL in maternal milk adjusts cognitive development through a short-term upregulation of genes modulating neuronal patterning in the PFC.
YAP1 overexpression contributes to the development of enzalutamide resistance by induction of cancer stemness and lipid metabolism in prostate cancer
Authors: Lee Hsiu-Chi , Ou Chien-Hui , Huang Yun-Chen , Hou Pei-Chi , Creighton Chad J. , Lin Yi-Syuan , Hu Che-Yuan , Lin Shih-Chieh 
Published: March 2021

AbstractMetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) is a malignant and lethal disease caused by relapse after androgen-deprivation (ADT) therapy. Since enzalutamide is innovated and approved by US FDA as a new treatment option for mCRPC patients, drug resistance for enzalutamide is a critical issue during clinical usage. Although several underlying mechanisms causing enzalutamide resistance were previously identified, most of them revealed that drug resistant cells are still highly addicted to androgen and AR functions. Due to the numerous physical functions of AR in men, innovated AR-independent therapy might alleviate enzalutamide resistance and prevent production of adverse side effects. Here, we have identified that yes-associated protein 1 (YAP1) is overexpressed in enzalutamide-resistant (EnzaR) cells. Furthermore, enzalutamide-induced YAP1 expression is mediated through the function of chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factor 2 (COUP-TFII) at the transcriptional and the post-transcriptional levels. Functional analyses reveal that YAP1 positively regulates numerous genes related to cancer stemness and lipid metabolism and interacts with COUP-TFII to form a transcriptional complex. More importantly, YAP1 inhibitor attenuates the growth and cancer stemness of EnzaR cells in vitro and in vivo. Finally, YAP1, COUP-TFII, and miR-21 are detected in the extracellular vesicles (EVs) isolated from EnzaR cells and sera of patients. In addition, treatment with EnzaR-EVs induces the abilities of cancer stemness, lipid metabolism and enzalutamide resistance in its parental cells. Taken together, these results suggest that YAP1 might be a crucial factor involved in the development of enzalutamide resistance and can be an alternative therapeutic target in prostate cancer.
Microbiome diversity of cotton aphids (Aphis gossypii) is associated with host alternation
Authors: Ma Yan-jie , He Hao-peng , Zhao Hai-meng , Xian Yi-dan , Guo Hui , Liu Biao , Xue Kun 
Published: March 2021

AbstractAphids are infected by a series of bacteria that can help them survive on specific host plants. However, the associations between aphids and these bacteria are not clear, and the bacterial communities in many aphid species are poorly characterized. Here, we investigated the bacterial communities of cotton aphids (Aphis gossypii) on 2 representative winter host plants and transferred to 3 summer host plants by 16S rDNA sequencing using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Our results revealed that the bacterial communities varied among cotton aphids on hibiscus, cotton aphids on pomegranate, cotton aphids on cotton transferred from hibiscus, cotton aphids on muskmelon transferred from hibiscus, cotton aphids on cucumber transferred from hibiscus,. The diversity and richness of the bacterial communities were significantly higher in aphids on muskmelon and aphids on cucumber than in the other treatments. There were two main factors influencing the distribution of internal bacterial OTUs revealed by principal component analysis, including the differences among Punicaceae, Malvaceae and Cucurbitaceae. There were 28 bacterial communities with significant differences between two arbitrary treatments, which could be grouped into 6 main clusters depending on relative abundance. Moreover, our results indicated that in addition to the obligate endosymbiont Buchnera, with a dominant position (> 52%), A. gossypii also harbored 3 facultative endosymbiotic bacteria (Serratia, Arsenophonus, and Wolbachia) and 3 possibly symbiotic bacteria (Acinetobacter, Pantoea, and Flavobacterium). There were several correspondences between the symbiotic bacteria in cotton aphids and the specific host plants of the aphids. This study provides a better understanding of the interactions among symbiotic bacteria, aphids and host plants, suggesting that the selection pressure on aphid bacterial communities is likely to be exerted by the species of host plants.
Distinct effects of V617F and exon12-mutated JAK2 expressions on erythropoiesis in a human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based model
Authors: Nilsri Nungruthai , Jangprasert Panchalee , Pawinwongchai Jaturawat , Israsena Nipan , Rojnuckarin Ponlapat 
Published: March 2021

AbstractActivating mutations affecting the JAK-STAT signal transduction is the genetic driver of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) which comprise polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET) and myelofibrosis. The JAK2p.V617F mutation can produce both erythrocytosis in PV and thrombocytosis in ET, while JAK2 exon 12 mutations cause only erythrocytosis. We hypothesized that these two mutations activated different intracellular signals. In this study, the induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were used to model JAK2-mutated MPNs. Normal iPSCs underwent lentiviral transduction to overexpress JAK2p.V617F or JAK2p.N542_E543del (JAK2exon12) under a doxycycline-inducible system. The modified iPSCs were differentiated into erythroid cells. Compared with JAK2V617F-iPSCs, JAK2exon12-iPSCs yielded more total CD71+GlycophorinA+ erythroid cells, displayed more mature morphology and expressed more adult hemoglobin after doxycycline induction. Capillary Western immunoassay revealed significantly higher phospho-STAT1 but lower phospho-STAT3 and lower Phospho-AKT in JAK2exon12-iPSCs compared with those of JAK2V617F-iPSCs in response to erythropoietin. Furthermore, interferon alpha and arsenic trioxide were tested on these modified iPSCs to explore their potentials for MPN therapy. Both agents preferentially inhibited proliferation and promoted apoptosis of the iPSCs expressing mutant JAK2 compared with those without doxycycline induction. In conclusion, the modified iPSC model can be used to investigate the mechanisms and search for new therapy of MPNs.
RETRACTED ARTICLE: Uncertainty in estimating the number of contributors from simulated DNA mixture profiles, with and without allele dropout, from Chinese, Malay, Indian, and Caucasian ethnic populations
Authors: Chong Kevin Wai Yin , Syn Christopher Kiu-Choong 
Published: March 2021

AbstractDetermining the number of contributors (NOC) accurately in a forensic DNA mixture profile can be challenging. To address this issue, there have been various studies that examined the uncertainty in estimating the NOC in a DNA mixture profile. However, the focus of these studies lies primarily on dominant populations residing within Europe and North America. Thus, there is limited representation of Asian populations in these studies. Further, the effects of allele dropout on the NOC estimation has not been explored. As such, this study assesses the uncertainty of NOC in simulated DNA mixture profiles of Chinese, Malay, and Indian populations, which are the predominant ethnic populations in Asia. The Caucasian ethnic population was also included to provide a basis of comparison with other similar studies. Our results showed that without considering allele dropout, the NOC from DNA mixture profiles derived from up to four contributors of the same ethnic population could be estimated with confidence in the Chinese, Malay, Indian and Caucasian populations. The same results can be observed on DNA mixture profiles originating from a combination of differing ethnic populations. The inclusion of an overall 30% allele dropout rate increased the probability (risk) of underestimating the NOC in a DNA mixture profile; even a 3-person DNA mixture profile has a > 99% risk of underestimating the NOC as two or fewer contributors. However, such risks could be mitigated when the highly polymorphic SE33 locus was included in the dataset. Lastly there was a negligible level of risk in misinterpreting the NOC in a mixture profile as deriving from a single source profile. In summary, our studies showcased novel results representative of the Chinese, Malay, and Indian ethnic populations when examining the uncertainty in NOC estimation in a DNA mixture profile. Our results would be useful in the estimation of NOC in a DNA mixture profile in the Asian context.
Role of wetlands in reducing structural loss is highly dependent on characteristics of storms and local wetland and structure conditions
Authors: Sheng Y. Peter , Rivera-Nieves Adail A. , Zou Ruizhi , Paramygin Vladimir A. 
Published: March 2021

AbstractCoastal communities in New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY), and Connecticut (CT) sustained huge structural loss during Sandy in 2012. We present a comprehensive science-based study to assess the role of coastal wetlands in buffering surge and wave in the tri-state by considering Sandy, a hypothetical Black Swan (BS) storm, and the 1% annual chance flood and wave event. Model simulations were conducted with and without existing coastal wetlands, using a dynamically coupled surge-wave model with two types of coastal wetlands. Simulated surge and wave for Sandy were verified with data at numerous stations. Structural loss estimated using real property data and latest damage functions agreed well with loss payout data. Results show that, on zip-code scale, the relative structural loss varies significantly with the percent wetland cover, the at-risk structural value, and the average wave crest height. Reduction in structural loss by coastal wetlands was low in Sandy, modest in the BS storm, and significant in the 1% annual chance flood and wave event. NJ wetlands helped to avoid 8%, 26%, 52% loss during Sandy, BS storm, and 1% event, respectively. This regression model can be used for wetland restoration planning to further reduce structural loss in coastal communities.
Risk factors for distant metastasis in locoregionally controlled oral squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective study
Authors: Tomioka Hirofumi , Yamagata Yuko , Oikawa Yu , Ohsako Toshimitsu , Kugimoto Takuma , Kuroshima Takeshi , Hirai Hideaki , Shimamoto Hiroaki , Harada Hiroyuki 
Published: March 2021

AbstractThe control of distant metastasis in oral squamous cell carcinoma is an important determinant of improved prognosis. The study aimed to identify risk factors for distant metastasis in patients with locoregionally controlled oral carcinoma. We identified 982 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma treated at our hospital between January 2008 and December 2017. After excluding patients with distant metastasis at initial treatment, patients with metastasis to the oral cavity, those receiving palliative treatment, and those lacking follow-up data, 941 patients were selected. Finally, among these 941 patients, 887 with locoregionally controlled oral squamous cell carcinoma were included in the study. Among the 887 patients, 36 had confirmed distant metastasis (4.1%), and the lung was the most common site (31/36 patients, 86.1%). Multivariate analysis showed that the incidence of primary intraosseous carcinoma of the mandible, cervical lymph node metastasis at levels IV and V, and the presence of pathological extranodal extension were significant risk factors for distant metastasis. When treating patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma who are positive for the aforementioned risk factors, the possibility of developing distant metastases must be accounted for, and aggressive treatment should be planned accordingly.