bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Circulating extracellular vesicles during pregnancy in women with type 1 diabetes: a secondary analysis of the CONCEPTT trial
Authors: Abolbaghaei Akram , Langlois Marc-André , Murphy Helen R , Feig Denice S. , Burger Dylan ,   on behalf of the CONCEPTT Collaborative Group
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Background
Extracellular vesicles are membrane vesicles that are released into the extracellular environment and accumulate in the circulation in vascular disease. We aimed to quantify circulating extracellular vesicles in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes and to examine associations between extracellular vesicle levels, continuous glucose measures, and pregnancy outcomes.

Methods
We used plasma samples from the Continuous Glucose Monitoring in Women with Type 1 Diabetes in Pregnancy Trial study and quantified circulating extracellular vesicles by flow cytometry (n = 163). Relationships with clinical variables were assessed by repeated measures correlation. Logistic regression was used to assess associations between elevated extracellular vesicle levels and pregnancy outcomes.

Results
Platelet extracellular vesicle levels were inversely associated with glucose time above range and glycaemic variability measures (P < 0.05). A weak positive association was observed between endothelial extracellular vesicles and mean amplitude of glycemic excursion (P < 0.05). In a univariate logistic regression model, high baseline endothelial extracellular vesicles was associated with increased risk of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) admission (OR: 2.06, 1.03–4.10), and respiratory distress requiring ventilation (OR: 4.98, 1.04–23.92). After adjusting for HbA1c and blood pressure the relationship for NICU admission persisted and an association with hyperbilirubinemia was seen (OR: 2.56, 1.10–5.94). Elevated platelet extracellular vesicles were associated with an increased risk of NICU admission (OR: 2.18, 1.04–4.57), and hyperbilirubinemia (OR: 2.61, 1.11–6.12) after adjusting for HbA1c and blood pressure.

Conclusions
High levels of extracellular vesicles in early pregnancy were associated with adverse neonatal outcomes. Assessment of extracellular vesicles may represent a novel approach to personalized care in type 1 diabetes pregnancy.
Food and ecology or how dietary alterations can affect an aquatic ecosystem
Authors: Tsounis Lambros , Iliadi Katerina , Kehayias George 
Published: September 2021

AbstractFishing ensures necessary food for humans and is inextricably linked with the environment because coastal communities developed special fishing procedures to achieve better exploitation of the aquatic resources. Lake Trichonis, Greece’s largest natural lake, is a freshwater ecosystem in which a marine species (Atherina boyeri) has entered and dominate the ichthyofauna. This species is exploited by purse seine fishing with the use of light, and previous studies revealed that the fishing lights create a particular food chain reaction, which promotes predation among the attracted fish species, one of which is Scardinius acarnanicus that preys upon A. boyeri. The purse seine fishers typically return to the lake alive S. acarnanicus, due to its low market demand, although it is the main predator of their catch. This custom, apart from causing income losses, promotes instability in the fish populations, while eventually altered the foraging behaviour of S. acarnanicus and made it a fish-predator instead of a typical omnivorous species. Based on data from official fish landing recordings, interviews with local fishers, and responses to questionnaires completed by residents of villages around Lake Trichonis, the present study investigates how changes in the dietary habits of the lakeside communities over time have led to the low market demand for S. acarnanicus. The present findings revealed an interesting relation between the dietary preferences of the local population and their ecological consequences for the fish community of this lake. This will eventually lead to the increase in the top predator (S. acarnanicus) and an inevitable decrease in the main catch (A. boyeri), affecting not only the ecological status of the lake, but also the socioeconomic characteristics of the human populations in this area. From another perspective, the results demonstrate a paradigm of adapted evolution by a wild fish under the pressure of human activities.
Exposure to microplastic fibers does not change fish early life stage development of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)
Authors: Bunge Anja , Kammann Ulrike , Scharsack Jörn Peter 
Published: September 2021

AbstractMicroplastic fibers are frequent contaminants of aquatic ecosystems. Early life stages of aquatic organisms are predicted to be especially vulnerable to microplastic pollution. We hypothesized that microplastic fibers in the water column might interfere with fertilization and embryonic development of fish. We tested this with an in vitro fertilization system with three-spined sticklebacks. Six egg clutches were divided and one half was fertilized and bread out in water with polyester fibers (PET fibers; mean diameter 9.7 ± 2.3 μm; mean length 245.6 ± 163.1 μm) at a concentration of 1 × 104 fibers/L while the other half served as control without fibers.Observation with a dissection microscope revealed that some polyester fibers stuck to the outside of the eggs in the fiber treatments. Yet, overall 67.4 ± 12.9% eggs were fertilized from which 97.2 ± 4.2% larvae hatched without any significant difference between treatments. Mortality and abnormal development of larvae was low and was not changed by microplastic fibers, as was the heart rate of developing embryos five days post fertilization.The present study illustrates that polyester fibers, even at concentrations three to four orders above levels reported from the environment, do not impair fertilization success, embryonic and early larval development of sticklebacks. Accordingly, concentrations of microplastic fibers currently observed in aquatic habitats do not appear to be harmful to early live stages of fish.
Approach to the Patient: Pharmacological Management of Trans and Gender-Diverse Adolescents
Authors: O’Connell Michele A , Nguyen Thomas P , Ahler Astrid , Skinner S Rachel , Pang Ken C 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
Internationally, increasing numbers of children and adolescents with gender dysphoria are presenting for care. In response, gender-affirming therapeutic interventions that seek to align bodily characteristics with an individual’s gender identity are more commonly being used. Depending on a young person’s circumstances and goals, hormonal interventions may aim to achieve full pubertal suppression, modulation of endogenous pubertal sex hormone effects, and/or development of secondary sex characteristics congruent with their affirmed gender. This is a relatively novel therapeutic area and, although short-term outcomes are encouraging, longer term data from prospective longitudinal adolescent cohorts are still lacking, which may create clinical and ethical decision-making challenges. Here, we review current treatment options, reported outcomes, and clinical challenges in the pharmacological management of trans and gender-diverse adolescents.
Cyclical endometrial repair and regeneration
Authors: Salamonsen Lois A. , Hutchison Jennifer C. , Gargett Caroline E. 
Published: September 2021

ABSTRACTUniquely among adult tissues, the human endometrium undergoes cyclical shedding, scar-free repair and regeneration during a woman's reproductive life. Therefore, it presents an outstanding model for study of such processes. This Review examines what is known of endometrial repair and regeneration following menstruation and parturition, including comparisons with wound repair and the influence of menstrual fluid components. We also discuss the contribution of endometrial stem/progenitor cells to endometrial regeneration, including the importance of the stem cell niche and stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles. Finally, we comment on the value of endometrial epithelial organoids to extend our understanding of endometrial development and regeneration, as well as therapeutic applications.
Membrane architecture and adherens junctions contribute to strong Notch pathway activation
Authors: Falo-Sanjuan Julia , Bray Sarah J. 
Published: September 2021

ABSTRACTThe Notch pathway mediates cell-to-cell communication in a variety of tissues, developmental stages and organisms. Pathway activation relies on the interaction between transmembrane ligands and receptors on adjacent cells. As such, pathway activity could be influenced by the size, composition or dynamics of contacts between membranes. The initiation of Notch signalling in the Drosophila embryo occurs during cellularization, when lateral cell membranes and adherens junctions are first being deposited, allowing us to investigate the importance of membrane architecture and specific junctional domains for signalling. By measuring Notch-dependent transcription in live embryos, we established that it initiates while lateral membranes are growing and that signalling onset correlates with a specific phase in their formation. However, the length of the lateral membranes per se was not limiting. Rather, the adherens junctions, which assemble concurrently with membrane deposition, contributed to the high levels of signalling required for transcription, as indicated by the consequences of α-Catenin depletion. Together, these results demonstrate that the establishment of lateral membrane contacts can be limiting for Notch trans-activation and suggest that adherens junctions play an important role in modulating Notch activity.
Kinematic and dynamic aspects of chimpanzee knuckle walking: finger flexors likely do not buffer ground impact forces
Authors: Leijnse J. N. , Spoor C. W. , Pullens P. , Vereecke E. E. 
Published: September 2021

ABSTRACT
Chimpanzees are knuckle walkers, with forelimbs contacting the ground by the dorsum of the finger's middle phalanges. As these muscular apes are given to high-velocity motions, the question arises of how the ground reaction forces are buffered so that no damage ensues in the load-bearing fingers. In the literature, it was hypothesized that the finger flexors help buffer impacts because in knuckle stance the metacarpophalangeal joints (MCPJs) are strongly hyperextended, which would elongate the finger flexors. This stretching of the finger flexor muscle–tendon units would absorb impact energy. However, EMG studies did not report significant finger flexor activity in knuckle walking. Although these data by themselves question the finger flexor impact buffering hypothesis, the present study aimed to critically investigate the hypothesis from a biomechanical point of view. Therefore, various aspects of knuckle walking were modeled and the finger flexor tendon displacements in the load-bearing fingers were measured in a chimpanzee cadaver hand, of which also an MRI was taken in knuckle stance. The biomechanics do not support the finger flexor impact buffering hypothesis. In knuckle walking, the finger flexors are not elongated to lengths where passive strain forces would become important. Impact buffering by large flexion moments at the MCPJs from active finger flexors would result in impacts at the knuckles themselves, which is dysfunctional for various biomechanical reasons and does not occur in real knuckle walking. In conclusion, the current biomechanical analysis in accumulation of previous EMG findings suggests that finger flexors play no role in impact buffering in knuckle walking.
Thermal stress induces tissue damage and a broad shift in regenerative signaling pathways in the honey bee digestive tract
Authors: Bach Dunay M. , Holzman Miriam A. , Wague Fatoumata , Miranda JJ L. , Lopatkin Allison J. , Mansfield Jennifer H. , Snow Jonathan W. 
Published: September 2021

ABSTRACTHoney bee colonies in the USA have suffered from increased die-off in the last few years with a complex set of interacting stresses playing a key role. With changing climate, an increase in the frequency of severe weather events, such as heat waves, is anticipated. Understanding how these changes may contribute to stress in honey bees is crucial. Individual honey bees appear to have a high capacity to endure thermal stress. One reason for this high-level endurance is likely their robust heat shock response (HSR), which contributes to thermotolerance at the cellular level. However, less is known about other mechanisms of thermotolerance, especially those operating at the tissue level. To elucidate other determinants of resilience in this species, we used thermal stress coupled with RNAseq and identified broad transcriptional remodeling of a number of key signaling pathways in the honey bee, including those pathways known to be involved in digestive tract regeneration in the fruit fly such as the Hippo and JAK/STAT pathways. We also observed cell death and shedding of epithelial cells, which likely leads to induction of this regenerative transcriptional program. We found that thermal stress affects many of these pathways in other tissues, suggesting a shared program of damage response. This study provides important foundational characterization of the tissue damage response program in this key pollinating species. In addition, our data suggest that a robust regeneration program may also be a critical contributor to thermotolerance at the tissue level, a possibility which warrants further exploration in this and other species.
A Google Earth Engine-enabled Python approach for the identification of anthropogenic palaeo-landscape features
Authors: Brandolini Filippo , Domingo-Ribas Guillem , Zerboni Andrea , Turner Sam 
Published: September 2021

The necessity of sustainable development for landscapes has emerged as an important theme in recent decades. Current methods take a holistic approach to landscape heritage and promote an interdisciplinary dialogue to facilitate complementary landscape management strategies. With the socio-economic values of the “natural” and “cultural” landscape heritage increasingly recognised worldwide, remote sensing tools are being used more and more to facilitate the recording and management of landscape heritage. The advent of freeware cloud computing services has enabled significant improvements in landscape research allowing the rapid exploration and processing of satellite imagery such as the Landsat and Copernicus Sentinel datasets. This research represents one of the first applications of the Google Earth Engine (GEE) Python application programming interface (API) in studies of historic landscapes. The complete free and open-source software (FOSS) cloud protocol proposed here consists of a Python code script developed in Google Colab, which could be adapted and replicated in different areas of the world. A multi-temporal approach has been adopted to investigate the potential of Sentinel-2 satellite imagery to detect buried hydrological and anthropogenic features along with spectral index and spectral decomposition analysis. The protocol's effectiveness in identifying palaeo-riverscape features has been tested in the Po Plain (N Italy).
Manipulating and measuring single atoms in the Maltese cross geometry
Authors: Bianchet Lorena C. , Alves Natalia , Zarraoa Laura , Bruno Natalia , Mitchell Morgan W. 
Published: September 2021

Background: Optical microtraps at the focus of high numerical aperture (high-NA) imaging systems enable efficient collection, trapping, detection and manipulation of individual neutral atoms for quantum technology and studies of optical physics associated with super- and sub-radiant states. The recently developed “Maltese cross” geometry (MCG) atom trap uses four in-vacuum lenses to achieve four-directional high-NA optical coupling to single trapped atoms and small atomic arrays. This article presents the first extensive characterisation of atomic behaviour in a MCG atom trap. Methods: We employ a MCG system optimised for high coupling efficiency and characterise the resulting properties of the trap and trapped atoms. Using current best practices, we measure occupancy, loading rate, lifetime, temperature, fluorescence anti-bunching and trap frequencies. We also use the four-directional access to implement a new method to map the spatial distribution of collection efficiency from high-NA optics: we use the two on-trap-axis lenses to produce a 1D optical lattice, the sites of which are stochastically filled and emptied by the trap loading process. The two off-trap-axis lenses are used for imaging and single-mode collection. Correlations of single-mode and imaging fluorescence signals are then used to map the single-mode collection efficiency. Results: We observe trap characteristics comparable to what has been reported for single-atom traps with one- or two-lens optical systems. The collection efficiency distribution in the axial and transverse directions is directly observed to be in agreement with expected collection efficiency distribution from Gaussian beam optics. Conclusions: The multi-directional high-NA access provided by the Maltese cross geometry enables complex manipulations and measurements not possible in geometries with fewer directions of access, and can be achieved while preserving other trap characteristics such as lifetime, temperature, and trap size.
Identifying knowledge gaps for successful restorative aquaculture of Ostrea edulis: a bibliometric analysis
Authors: Bertolini Camilla , Pastres Roberto 
Published: September 2021

Background: Active restoration is necessary to enhance the recovery of Ostrea edulis reefs, which contribute to many ecosystem services. Restoration can be integrated within aquaculture practices, bringing positive environmental changes while maximising space utilisation. The restoration project MAREA (MAtchmaking Restoration Ecology and Aquaculture) aims to bring back O. edulis in the North-West Adriatic addressing the feasibility of its cultivation. Both successful restoration and sustainable aquaculture require a thorough understanding of the ecological needs, as the requirements of both activities (e.g. to maximise ecosystem services, seed production, settlement for maintaining population and for starting a new culture) need to be harmonized. Therefore, one of the preliminary activities before embarking on the pilot was the completion of a thorough literature review to identify research directions and gaps required for ‘restorative aquaculture’, aiming to gather the most up to date O. edulis knowledge on a global and local scale. Methods: Internet (Web of Science, Scopus, Google scholar) and physical resources (libraries) were searched for all available global and local knowledge on O. edulis. Bibliometrix was used to identify the main research topics using keywords, titles and abstracts analyses. Studies were then manually screened and summarised to extract knowledge specific to restoration and aquaculture. Results: While restoration studies are recent, evidence for the loss of this species and potential causes (and solutions) have been discussed since the end of the 19th century. While diseases was a leading cause for reef loss, substratum limitation appears to be one of the leading limiting factors for both restoration and aquaculture of O. edulis, and was already mentioned in the early texts that were found. Conclusions: Information regarding the best materials, location and timing for larval settlement were collated in this review, and the focus of MAREA will be shifted to the crucial stage of settlement.
Combined heart and liver transplantation: an updated systematic review
Authors: Frountzas M , Karampetsou N , Nikolaou C , Schizas D , Tsapralis D , Avgerinos D , Toutouzas K 
Published: September 2021

Introduction Combined heart and liver transplantation (CHLT) is one of the most complex procedures of surgery that has been implemented in the last 35 years. The aim of our meta-analysis was to investigate the safety and efficacy of CHLT. Materials The meta-analysis was designed according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) and AMSTAR (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess systematic Reviews) recommendations. A literature search was conducted up to April 2020 using the MEDLINE,® SCOPUS,® ClinicalTrials.gov, Embase™, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Google Scholar™ databases. Results Our meta-analysis included 16 studies with 860 patients. The mortality rate following CHLT was 14.1%. One and five-year survival rates were 85.3% and 71.4% while the heart and liver rejection rates were 6.1% and 9.1% respectively. The hospital stay was 25.8 days and the intensive care unit stay was 9.9 days. Pooled values were also calculated for cardiopulmonary bypass duration, units of transfused red blood cells and fresh frozen plasma, postoperative infection rate, mechanical ventilation rate and follow-up duration. Conclusions Despite its complexity, CHLT is a safe and effective procedure for the management of lethal diseases that lead to progressive heart and/or liver failure. Nevertheless, there must be strict adherence to the indications for surgery, and future studies should compare CHLT with isolated cardiac and hepatic transplantations.
O jornalista na Revolução de Abril
Authors: Figueira João , Marques Gomes Pedro 
Published: September 2021

Com o 25 de Abril de 1974 e o derrube da longa ditadura, a sociedade portuguesa vai conhecer múltiplas e profundas transformações. No campo dos media verificam-se alterações imediatas, provocadas desde logo pela possibilidade de exercer a profissão de jornalista em liberdade, mas também outras graduais, que vão ocorrendo em paralelo à evolução do próprio processo revolucionário.
Neste artigo, analisamos essas alterações, notando a emergência do “jornalista-militante” e de um profissional novo em construção nos anos de 1974-1975, no contexto de um quadro legal instável e de ausência de um código deontológico da profissão. Sustenta-se que aquilo que verificamos no campo jornalístico no Portugal do pós 25 de Abril – o jornalista enquanto profissional comprometido e empenhado na ação política – tem claras semelhanças com o que sucedeu noutras épocas históricas de mudança de regime.
Effects of different enantiomers of amlodipine on lipid profiles and vasomotor factors in atherosclerotic rabbits
Authors: Zhang Jing , Yao Ming-yan , Zhang Guo-rui , Chen Xian-ru , Liu Qi , Guo Yifang , Jia Xin-wei 
Published: September 2021

Abstract
This research aimed to describe the functions of vascular endothelial cells (VECs) in protecting target organs and the anti-atherosclerotic effects of different enantiomers of amlodipine on a rabbit model of atherosclerosis. Thirty male New Zealand white rabbits were randomly allocated to four groups (nA = 9, nB = 7, nC = 7, and nD = 7 rabbits): rabbits in group-A (control group) were fed a high-fat diet, group-B rabbits were fed a high-fat diet plus 2.5 mg/kg/day S-amlodipine, group-C rabbits were fed a high-fat diet plus 2.5 mg/kg/day R-amlodipine, and group-D rabbits were fed a high-fat diet plus 5 mg/kg/day racemic amlodipine. Different enantiomers of amlodipine did not influence lipid profiles and serum level of eNOS in the rabbit atherosclerosis model but decreased ET-1 expression to some extent. The serum NO and iNOS levels in the drug intervention groups were significantly reduced. No significant differences in the rabbits’ body weights were observed. At the 4th and 8th weeks, the serum lipid profiles significantly increased in high cholesterol diet groups. The serum ET-1 level was significantly increased in each group of rabbits at the 8th week. Both S-amlodipine and R-amlodipine may protect the endothelium by reducing the serum ET-1 level, downregulating iNOS expression.