bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Measuring the Statistical Capacity of Nations*
Authors: Cameron Grant J. , Dang Hai‐Anh H. , Dinc Mustafa , Foster James , Lokshin Michael M. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThe international development community has used the World Bank's Statistical Capacity Index since its inception in 2004. The Sustainable Development Goals create new challenges for national statistical systems to produce high‐quality and internationally comparable data. This paper reviews measurement methodologies, posits desired attributes, and presents theoretical and empirical frameworks to propose a new, improved index to monitor progress in the statistical capacity of nations. The paper illustrates the properties of the proposed index with global data from 2016.
Production of tocotrienols in seeds of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) enhances oxidative stability and offers nutraceutical potential
Authors: Salimath Shanmukh S. , Romsdahl Trevor B. , Konda Anji Reddy , Zhang Wei , Cahoon Edgar B. , Dowd Michael K. , Wedegaertner Thomas C. , Hake Kater D. , Chapman Kent D. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractUpland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is an economically important multi‐purpose crop cultivated globally for fibre, seed oil and protein. Cottonseed oil also is naturally rich in vitamin E components (collectively known as tocochromanols), with α‐ and γ‐tocopherols comprising nearly all of the vitamin E components. By contrast, cottonseeds have little or no tocotrienols, tocochromanols with a wide range of health benefits. Here, we generated transgenic cotton lines expressing the barley (Hordeum vulgare) homogentisate geranylgeranyl transferase coding sequence under the control of the Brassica napus seed‐specific promoter, napin. Transgenic cottonseeds had ~twofold to threefold increases in the accumulation of total vitamin E (tocopherols + tocotrienols), with more than 60% γ‐tocotrienol. Matrix assisted laser desorption ionization‐mass spectrometry imaging showed that γ‐tocotrienol was localized throughout the transgenic embryos. In contrast, the native tocopherols were distributed unequally in both transgenic and non‐transgenic embryos. α‐ Tocopherol was restricted mostly to cotyledon tissues and γ‐tocopherol was more enriched in the embryonic axis tissues. Production of tocotrienols in cotton embryos had no negative impact on plant performance or yield of other important seed constituents including fibre, oil and protein. Advanced generations of two transgenic events were field grown, and extracts of transgenic seeds showed increased antioxidant activity relative to extracts from non‐transgenic seeds. Furthermore, refined cottonseed oil from the two transgenic events showed 30% improvement in oxidative stability relative to the non‐transgenic cottonseed oil. Taken together, these materials may provide new opportunities for cottonseed co‐products with enhanced vitamin E profile for improved shelf life and nutrition.
Wittgenstein and Meaning
Authors: Freeman‐Core Charles 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThe subject of this paper is something very general – namely, Wittgenstein’s conception of meaning. The concept of meaning necessarily brings with it other concepts, such as ‘subject’, ‘rule’, ‘language’ and ‘system’, and so we shall be concerned in one way or another with all of these too. However, our direct focus will be on the concept of the proposition, and our primary aim will be to clarify various category distinctions which determine this concept. The overall thesis which we shall argue towards is that there is more of a common conception of meaning between early and later Wittgenstein than is generally acknowledged, and that this common conception can be elucidated through the application of Kantian ideas.
Peroxidase activity and operation of photo‐protective component of NPQ play key roles in drought tolerance of mung bean [Vigna radiata (L.) Wilcziek]
Authors: Bano Hussan , Athar Habib‐ur‐Rehman , Zafar Zafar Ullah , Ogbaga Chukwuma C. , Ashraf Muhammad 
Published: January 2021

AbstractDeveloping drought‐tolerant cultivars is mainly restricted due to poor knowledge of the mechanism behind drought tolerance. In the present work, available germplasm of Vigna radiata (mung bean) was screened for drought tolerance using multiple agronomic and physiological parameters and used to selected one drought‐tolerant (NM‐13‐1) and one drought‐sensitive (NM‐54) cultivar for further studies. Plant water status and PSII activity were found to be potential physiological discriminating traits. Changes in PSII and PSI activity, accumulation of proline, oxidative damage, and antioxidants were further assessed in selected drought‐sensitive and drought‐tolerant cultivars. Drought stress reduced PSII efficiency and electron transport in both mung bean cultivars. Drought increased NPQ and Y(NPQ), a greater increase in NPQ and Y(NPQ) was found in the drought‐tolerant cv NM‐13‐1, indicating that the drought‐tolerant cultivar managed over‐excitation of PSII by safe heat dissipation via photo‐protective component of NPQ. A decrease in PSI efficiency with an increase in donor end limitation of PSI in both mung bean cultivars further confirmed that the electron transport through PSII became down‐regulated. However, the drought‐sensitive cv. NM‐54 had poor ability to manage over‐excitation of PSII through buildup of Y(NPQ) thereby causing greater oxidative stress. Mung bean cultivars counteracted oxidative stress by accumulation of proline and increasing POD activities. Drought‐tolerant cv. NM‐13‐1 had higher proline accumulation and antioxidant potential than in the drought‐sensitive cultivar. Overall, drought tolerance in the mung bean cultivars can be related to plant water status, PSII activity, Y(NPQ), and POD activity, which can be effectively used for selecting mung bean cultivars for drought tolerance.
Nicotinamide riboside supplementation does not alter whole‐body or skeletal muscle metabolic responses to a single bout of endurance exercise
Authors: Stocks Ben , Ashcroft Stephen P. , Joanisse Sophie , Dansereau Linda C. , Koay Yen Chin , Elhassan Yasir S. , Lavery Gareth G. , Quek Lake‐Ee , O'Sullivan John F. , Philp Ashleigh M. , Wallis Gareth A. , Philp Andrew 
Published: January 2021

Key points
Acute nicotinamide riboside (NR) supplementation does not alter substrate metabolism at rest, during or in recovery from endurance exercise.
NR does not alter NAD+‐sensitive signalling pathways in human skeletal muscle.
NR supplementation and acute exercise influence the NAD+ metabolome.
AbstractOral supplementation of the NAD+ precursor nicotinamide riboside (NR) has been reported to alter metabolism alongside increasing sirtuin (SIRT) signalling and mitochondrial biogenesis in rodent skeletal muscle. However, whether NR supplementation can elicit a similar response in human skeletal muscle is unclear. This study assessed the effect of 7‐day NR supplementation on whole‐body metabolism and exercise‐induced mitochondrial biogenic signalling in skeletal muscle. Eight male participants (age: 23 ± 4 years, 46.5 ± 4.4 ml kg–1 min–1) received 1 week of NR or cellulose placebo (PLA) supplementation (1000 mg day–1). Muscle biopsies were collected from the medial vastus lateralis prior to supplementation and pre‐, immediately post‐ and 3 h post‐exercise (1 h of 60% Wmax cycling) performed following the supplementation period. There was no effect of NR supplementation on substrate utilisation at rest or during exercise or on skeletal muscle mitochondrial respiration. Global acetylation, auto‐PARylation of poly ADP‐ribose polymerase 1 (PARP1), acetylation of Tumour protein 53 (p53)Lys382 and Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD)Lys122 were also unaffected by NR supplementation or exercise. NR supplementation did not increase skeletal muscle NAD+ concentration, but it did increase the concentration of deaminated NAD+ precursors nicotinic acid riboside (NAR) and nicotinic acid mononucleotide (NAM) and methylated nicotinamide breakdown products (Me2PY and Me4PY), demonstrating the skeletal muscle bioavailability of NR supplementation. In summary, 1 week of NR supplementation does not alter whole‐body metabolism or skeletal muscle signal transduction pathways implicated in the mitochondrial adaptation to endurance exercise.
Syn-Collision Folding and Multi-Layers Detachment in the Molassic Basin, Northeastern Tunisia
Authors: Ramzi A. , Noureddine M. , Lassaad C. 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Tunisia had been the place of various tectonic episodes which have drawn the actual structural map of the country. The Neogene period was the most active period in which the collision contributed to the mountain ranges formation such as the Atlassic chain. The contrast of mechanical behavior between the different sedimentary units of the cover and the substratum is a determining factor that has controlled the deformation style of many folding structures. Detachment folding has been studied on the basis of field and seismic data examples from the Northeastern Tunisia. We discuss different aspects of detachment to constrain the chronology of structural events and understand the cover‒substratum relationship during the major folding phases. In the present paper, we found that the deformation style admitted previously do not reflect adequately the tectonic structure of Kechabta Neogene basin (North of Tunisia). The cover-substratum relationship study at this area revealed two major shortening phases; the first had been happened during the Upper Tortonian and the second in the Lower Quaternary. The resulting folding style is characterized by disharmonic and multi-layers detachment phenomena produced by incompetent evaporitic sequences. The two described folding phases are superimposed and testify at a large scale the continental collision which controls the North African margin during the Late Miocene to the Quaternary.
Implementing a unique immersive near-peer-led clinical skills educational bootcamp for early-year clinical medical students
Authors: Khan Umair , Bakhiet Abdelwakeel 
Published: January 2021

AbstractWe establish the development of a unique immersive clinical skills bootcamp for third-year medical students, with formal teaching under five key themes: procedural skills day, examinations, imaging, data interpretation and prescribing. Lastly a simulation event was developed to allow the participants to bring the different themes together, in order to successfully manage an acutely unwell patient for their stage of learning using the newly learnt skills. A 4-week bootcamp was developed and delivered to students. A curriculum was developed based on student's precourse answers to specific questions. Pre and post bootcamp questionnaires were used to assess participants confidence and knowledge using a 5-point Likert scale. A combination of objective structured examination, didactic lectures and group-based discussions were utilised. Tutors' teaching performance was also analysed. A focus group was held post bootcamp. Bootcamp was delivered to 15 students. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Students were more confident in all of the five key domains post bootcamp. All students feel more equipped to take opportunities that arise on medical wards as a result of the skills learnt. Participants were receptive to the combination of teaching methods used. All students would recommend this course to their peers. Early-year clinical students successfully received an immersive goal-directed course with formal teaching. The near-peer teaching model improved participants educational experience. We were able to successfully demonstrate that near-peer teaching is effective when it is goal directed, and further when it addresses areas of medical education whereby there is a disparity in the formal teaching available.
Stable small spatial hairs in a power-law k-inflation model
Authors: Do Tuan Q. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractIn this paper, we extend our investigation of the validity of the cosmic no-hair conjecture within non-canonical anisotropic inflation. As a result, we are able to figure out an exact Bianchi type I solution to a power-law k-inflation model in the presence of unusual coupling between scalar and electromagnetic fields as $$-f^2(\phi )F_{\mu \nu }F^{\mu \nu }/4$$

-

f
2

(
ϕ
)

F

μ
ν

F

μ
ν

/
4

. Furthermore, stability analysis based on the dynamical system method indicates that the obtained solution does admit stable and attractive hairs during an inflationary phase and therefore violates the cosmic no-hair conjecture. Finally, we show that the corresponding tensor-to-scalar ratio of this model turns out to be highly consistent with the observational data of the Planck 2018.
Charge-carrier collective motion in germanium detectors for $$\beta \beta $$-decay searches
Authors: Comellato Tommaso , Agostini Matteo , Schönert Stefan 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThe time analysis of the signal induced by the drift of charge carriers in high purity germanium detectors provides information on the event topology. Millions of charge carriers are produced in a typical event. Their initial distribution, stochastic diffusion and Coulomb self-repulsion affect the time structure of the signal. We present a comprehensive study of these effects and evaluate their impact on the event discrimination capabilities for the three geometries which will be used in the Legend experiment for neutrinoless double-beta decay.
Sex-Related Differences in Clinical Features, Neuroimaging, and Long-Term Prognosis After Transient Ischemic Attack
Authors: Purroy Francisco , Vicente-Pascual Mikel , Arque Gloria , Baraldes-Rovira Mariona , Begue Robert , Gallego Yhovany , Gil M. Isabel , Gil-Villar M. Pilar , Mauri Gerard , Quilez Alejandro , Sanahuja Jordi , Vazquez-Justes Daniel 
Published: January 2021

Background and Purpose:
Differences in sex in the incidence, presentation, and outcome of events after ischemic stroke have been studied in depth. In contrast, only limited data are available after transient ischemic attack (TIA). We aim to assess sex-related differences in the presentation, cause, neuroimaging features, and predictors of long-term prognosis in patients with TIA.

Methods:
We carried out a prospective cohort study of consecutive patients with TIA from January 2006 to June 2010. Nondefinitive TIA events were defined by the presence of isolated atypical symptoms. The risk of stroke recurrence (SR) and composite of major vascular events were stratified by sex after a median follow-up time of 6.5 (interquartile range, 5.0–9.6) years.

Results:

Among the 723 patients studied, 302 (41.8%) were female and 79 (10.9%) suffered a nondefinitive TIA event. Vascular territory diffusion-weighted imaging patterns (odds ratio, 1.61 [95% CI, 0.94–2.77]), and nondefinitive TIA events (odds ratio, 2.66 [95% CI, 1.55–4.59]) were associated with women, whereas active smoking (odds ratio, 0.30 [95% CI, 0.15–0.58]) and large artery atherosclerosis causes (odds ratio, 0.50 [95% CI, 0.29–0.83]) were related to men. The risk of SR was similar in both sexes (12.6% [95% CI, 8.9–16.3] for women versus 14.3% [95% CI, 11.0–17.6] for men). In contrast, the risk of major vascular events was significantly lower in women than in men (17.5% [95% CI, 13.2–21.8] versus 23.8% [95% CI, 19.7–27.9]). In both sexes, after adjusting for age, large artery atherosclerosis was associated with SR (hazard ratio, 3.22 [95% CI, 1.42–7.24] and hazard ratio, 2.00 [95% CI, 1.14–3.51]). In a Kaplan-Meier analysis, females with positive diffusion-weighted imaging (
P
=0.014) and definitive TIA (log-rank test
P
=0.022) had a significantly higher risk of SR.

Conclusions:
Despite similar risks of SR, there were sex-related differences in baseline characteristics, presenting symptoms, patterns of acute ischemic lesions, cause, and outcomes. These findings encourage further research into optimal preventive strategies that take into account these differences.
Stroke Incidence by Sex Across the Lifespan
Authors: Vyas Manav V. , Silver Frank L. , Austin Peter C. , Yu Amy Y.X. , Pequeno Priscila , Fang Jiming , Laupacis Andreas , Kapral Moira K. 
Published: January 2021

Background and Purpose:
We evaluated the influence of age on the association between sex and the incidence of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) using a population-based cohort from Ontario, Canada.

Methods:
We followed a cohort of adults (≥18 years) without prior stroke from January 1, 2003 (cohort start date) to March 31, 2018, to identify incident events. We calculated hazard ratios (HRs), in women compared to men, of incident stroke or TIA, adjusted for demographics and comorbidities, overall and stratified by stroke type. We calculated piecewise adjusted HRs for each decade of age to evaluate the effect of age on sex differences in stroke incidence.

Results:
We followed 9.2 million adults for a median of 15 years and observed 280,197 incident stroke or TIA events. Compared with men, women had an overall lower adjusted hazard of stroke or TIA (HR, 0.82 [95% CI, 0.82–0.83]), with similar findings across all stroke types except for subarachnoid hemorrhage (HR, 1.29 [95% CI, 1.24–1.33]). We found a U-shaped association between age and sex differences in the incidence of stroke or TIA: compared with men, the hazard of stroke was higher in women among those aged ≤30 years (HR, 1.26 [95% CI, 1.10–1.45]), lower among those between ages 40 and 80 years (eg, age 50–59, HR, 0.69 [95% CI, 0.68–0.70]), and similar among those aged ≥80 years (HR, 0.99 [95% CI, 0.98–1.01]).

Conclusions:
Overall, women have a lower hazard of stroke than men, but this association varies by age and across stroke types. Recognition of age-sex variations in stroke incidence can help guide prevention efforts to reduce stroke incidence in both men and women.
Under-Enrollment of Women in Stroke Clinical Trials
Authors: Carcel Cheryl , Reeves Mathew 
Published: January 2021

Abstract:
The under-representation of women in clinical trials is a commonly recognized and seemingly intractable problem in many different areas of clinical medicine. Discrepancies in the enrollment of women in clinical trials raises concerns about the generalizability of trial evidence, as well as the potential for reduced access and utilization of new therapies in women. Recent studies confirm that the problem of under-enrollment of women continues to exist in stroke clinical trials, even after accounting for the sex ratio of stroke cases in the underlying population. The origins of these disparities are complex, and there remains a relative dearth of stroke studies that have examined the causes in detail. Although caution should be used when generalizing research findings from studies conducted in other medical conditions including cardiology trials, factors that contribute to lower enrollment in women include the use of specific trial eligibility criteria (eg, older age, presence of specific comorbidities), patient attitudes and beliefs (resulting in less interest and more refusals in women), and potentially implicit biases among study personnel. Beyond a general call to prioritize stroke research in this area, we also recommend the greater use of trial screening logs, the use of qualitative studies to understand patient attitudes and beliefs towards stroke research, avoiding the use of age-based exclusion criteria (eg, >80 years), and increasing the number of women who lead stroke clinical trials.
GECO: gene expression clustering optimization app for non-linear data visualization of patterns
Authors: Habowski A. N. , Habowski T. J. , Waterman M. L. 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Background
Due to continued advances in sequencing technology, the limitation in understanding biological systems through an “-omics” lens is no longer the generation of data, but the ability to analyze it. Importantly, much of this rich -omics data is publicly available waiting to be further investigated. Although many code-based pipelines exist, there is a lack of user-friendly and accessible applications that enable rapid analysis or visualization of data.

Results
GECO (Gene Expression Clustering Optimization; http://www.theGECOapp.com) is a minimalistic GUI app that utilizes non-linear reduction techniques to rapidly visualize expression trends in many types of biological data matrices (such as bulk RNA-seq or proteomics). The required input is a data matrix with samples and any type of expression level of genes/protein/other with a unique ID. The output is an interactive t-SNE or UMAP analysis that clusters genes (or proteins/other unique IDs) based on their expression patterns across the multiple samples enabling visualization of expression trends. Customizable settings for dimensionality reduction, data normalization, along with visualization parameters including coloring and filters, ensure adaptability to a variety of user uploaded data.

Conclusion
This local and cloud-hosted web browser app enables investigation of any -omic data matrix in a rapid and code-independent manner. With the continued growth of available -omic data, the ability to quickly evaluate a dataset, including specific genes of interest, is more important than ever. GECO is intended to supplement traditional statistical analysis methods and is particularly useful when visualizing clusters of genes with similar trajectories across many samples (ex: multiple cell types, time course, dose response). Users will be empowered to investigate -omic data with a new lens of visualization and analysis that has the potential to uncover genes of interest, cohorts of co-regulated genes programs, and previously undetected patterns of expression.
Environmental and genetic regulation of plant height in soybean
Authors: Yang Qing , Lin Gaoming , Lv Huiyong , Wang Cunhu , Yang Yongqing , Liao Hong 
Published: January 2021

Abstract
Background
Shoot architecture is fundamentally crucial to crop growth and productivity. As a key component of shoot architecture, plant height is known to be controlled by both genetic and environmental factors, though specific details remain scarce.

Results
In this study, 308 representative soybean lines from a core collection and 168 F9 soybean progeny were planted at distinct field sites. The results demonstrated the presence of significant genotype × environment interaction (G × E) effects on traits associated with plant height in a natural soybean population. In total, 19 loci containing 51 QTLs (quantitative trait locus) for plant height were identified across four environments, with 23, 13 and 15 being QTLs for SH (shoot height), SNN (stem node number) and AIL (average internode length), respectively. Significant LOD ranging from 2.50 to 16.46 explained 2.80–26.10% of phenotypic variation. Intriguingly, only two loci, Loc11 and Loc19–1, containing 20 QTLs, were simultaneously detected across all environments. Results from Pearson correlation analysis and PCA (principal component analysis) revealed that each of the five agro-meteorological factors and four soil properties significantly affected soybean plant height traits, and that the corresponding QTLs had additive effects. Among significant environmental factors, AD (average day-length), AMaT (average maximum temperature), pH, and AN (available nitrogen) had the largest impacts on soybean plant height. Therefore, in spite of uncontrollable agro-meteorological factors, soybean shoot architecture might be remolded through combined efforts to produce superior soybean genetic materials while also optimizing soil properties.

Conclusions
Overall, the comprehensive set of relationships outlined herein among environment factors, soybean genotypes and QTLs in effects on plant height opens new avenues to explore in work aiming to increase soybean yield through improvements in shoot architecture.