bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Non-invasive method to detect high respiratory effort and transpulmonary driving pressures in COVID-19 patients during mechanical ventilation
Authors: Roesthuis Lisanne , van den Berg Maarten , van der Hoeven Hans 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Background
High respiratory drive in mechanically ventilated patients with spontaneous breathing effort may cause excessive lung stress and strain and muscle loading. Therefore, it is important to have a reliable estimate of respiratory effort to guarantee lung and diaphragm protective mechanical ventilation. Recently, a novel non-invasive method was found to detect excessive dynamic transpulmonary driving pressure (∆PL) and respiratory muscle pressure (Pmus) with reasonable accuracy. During the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it was impossible to obtain the gold standard for respiratory effort, esophageal manometry, in every patient. Therefore, we investigated whether this novel non-invasive method could also be applied in COVID-19 patients.

Methods
∆PL and Pmus were derived from esophageal manometry in COVID-19 patients. In addition, ∆PL and Pmus were computed from the occlusion pressure (∆Pocc) obtained during an expiratory occlusion maneuver. Measured and computed ∆PL and Pmus were compared and discriminative performance for excessive ∆PL and Pmus was assessed. The relation between occlusion pressure and respiratory effort was also assessed.

Results
Thirteen patients were included. Patients had a low dynamic lung compliance [24 (20–31) mL/cmH2O], high ∆PL (25 ± 6 cmH2O) and high Pmus (16 ± 7 cmH2O). Low agreement was found between measured and computed ∆PL and Pmus. Excessive ∆PL > 20 cmH2O and Pmus > 15 cmH2O were accurately detected (area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC) 1.00 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.00–1.00], sensitivity 100% (95% CI, 72–100%) and specificity 100% (95% CI, 16–100%) and AUROC 0.98 (95% CI, 0.90–1.00), sensitivity 100% (95% CI, 54–100%) and specificity 86% (95% CI, 42–100%), respectively). Respiratory effort calculated per minute was highly correlated with ∆Pocc (for esophageal pressure time product per minute (PTPes/min) r2 = 0.73; P = 0.0002 and work of breathing (WOB) r2 = 0.85; P < 0.0001).

Conclusions
∆PL and Pmus can be computed from an expiratory occlusion maneuver and can predict excessive ∆PL and Pmus in patients with COVID-19 with high accuracy.
Spatial and temporal dynamics of growth of woody plant species (birch and willows) on the foreland of a retreating glacier in southern Iceland
Authors: Synan Haley E. , Melfi Mikael A. , Tanner Lawrence H. 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBackgroundThe forelands of retreating glaciers are invaluable natural laboratories in which to explore the processes of primary succession. Numerous studies have been conducted on foreland chronosequences to identify temporal and spatial trends of the successional communities. This study focused on the spatio-temporal distribution of three woody plant species on the foreland of a retreating glacier in southern Iceland where historical observations provide precise age control of the moraines. To evaluate colonization and successional trends, we examined which species increase in abundance with time and tested the role of proximity to a seed source in colonization. Additionally, we quantified the rate at which biomass carbon is added to the landscape.ResultsThe density of stems ofBetula pubescensincreases with moraine age across the foreland chronosequence while the density of stems of bothSalix lanataandSalix phylicifoliadecreases. We found low statistical significance to the relationship between the density ofB. pubescensand distance from a forested ridge nor did we find a relationship between the lengths of the stems and the moraine ages. Woody biomass increased fastest during early successional stages and reached a maximum of 28.5 g C m− 2on the oldest moraine.ConclusionsEarly colonization of moraines was controlled by environmental filters which favored bothSalixspecies. Colonization byB. pubescensfollowed as environmental factors, e.g., favorable soil properties, improved. We found no conclusive evidence that proximity to a potential source ofB. pubescenspropagules was a significant factor in controlling colonization. The assumption that the abundance of individuals increased with time through later successional stages proved valid forB. pubescens, but not for either species ofSalix. These findings are consistent with the classical spatial successional model of community homogenization. Thus, general successional processes at the landscape scale control the temporal dynamics of individual species.
GIS-based multi‐criteria analysis for sustainable urban green spaces planning in emerging towns of Ethiopia: the case of Sululta town
Authors: Gelan Eshetu 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Background
Urban green spaces are important components, contributing in different ways to the quality of human well-being. In the planning and management of urban centres, attention to the appropriate site selection of urban green spaces with regard to the importance that these spaces have from the perspectives of ecology, socioeconomic, mentality, etc., is an inevitable requirement. In present decades, land suitability mapping methods and GIS have been used to support urban green space planners in developed countries; however, its application and practices are limited in developing countries, like Ethiopia. Therefore, the aim of this study has to select potential sites for green spaces in Sululta town that assist an effective planning process of green areas in a sustainable way.

Methods
In this study, GIS-based Multi-criteria analysis (MCA) has been adopted to select suitable sites for urban green spaces. Existing land use, proximity to settlement, road and water body, population density, land ownership, topography, and scenic attractiveness were recognized as the key factor affecting urban green land suitability.

Results
The results showed that 13.6%, 34%, 28%, and 18.9% of the study area are highly suitable, suitable, moderately suitable, and poorly suitable, respectively, for urban green spaces development. Furthermore, out of the total area of the study town 5.5% of the landmass is not suitable for urban green spaces development.

Conclusions
Therefore, the application of GIS-based MCA has provided an effective methodology to solve a complex decisional problem in urban green spaces site selection in the study town and urban planning all over the country.
Importance of monitoring arsenic methylation metabolism in acute promyelocytic leukemia patients receiving the treatment of arsenic trioxide
Authors: Zheng Yu , Mao Yuan-Fei , Zhao Hui-Jin , Chen Li , Wang Li-Ning , Zhang Yun-Xiang , Hu Jiong , Li Jun-Min , Li Xiao-Yang , Zhu Hong-Ming 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Background
Arsenic trioxide [ATO, inorganic arsenite (iAsIII) in solution] plays an important role in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). However, the long-term adverse effects (AEs) and the retention of arsenic among APL patients are rarely reported. In this study, we focused on arsenic methylation metabolism and its relationship with chronic hepatic toxicity, as we previously reported, among APL patients who had finished the treatment of ATO.

Methods
A total of 112 de novo APL patients who had completed the ATO-containing treatment were enrolled in the study. Arsenic species [iAsIII, inorganic arsenate (iAsV), and their organic metabolites, monomethylarsonic acid (MMA) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA)] in patients’ plasma, urine, hair and nails were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICP-MS). Eighteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the arsenic (+ 3 oxidative state) methylation transferase (AS3MT) gene, which was known as the main catalyzer for arsenic methylation, were tested with the polymerase chain reaction method.

Results
The study showed the metabolic pattern of arsenic in APL patients undergoing and after the treatment of ATO, in terms of total arsenic (TAs) and four species of arsenic. TAs decreased to normal after 6 months since cessation of ATO. But the arsenic speciation demonstrated significantly higher portion of iAsIII in patient’s urine (40.08% vs. 1.94%, P < 0.001), hair (29.25% vs. 13.29%, P = 0.002) and nails (30.21% vs. 13.64%, P = 0.003) than the healthy controls’, indicating a decreased capacity of arsenic methylation metabolism after the treatment of ATO. Urine primary methylation index (PMI) was significantly lower in patients with both chronic liver dysfunction (0.14 vs. 0.28, P = 0.047) and hepatic steatosis (0.19 vs. 0.3, P = 0.027), suggesting that insufficient methylation of arsenic might be related to chronic liver disorders. Two SNPs (A9749G and A27215G) of the AS3MT gene were associated with impaired urine secondary methylation index (SMI).

Conclusions
The long-term follow-up of arsenic speciation indicated a decreased arsenic methylation metabolism and a probable relationship with chronic hepatic disorders among APL patients after the cessation of ATO. Urine PMI could be a monitoring index for chronic AEs of ATO, and the SNPs of AS3MT gene should be considered when determining the dosage of ATO.
HMD-ARG: hierarchical multi-task deep learning for annotating antibiotic resistance genes
Authors: Li Yu , Xu Zeling , Han Wenkai , Cao Huiluo , Umarov Ramzan , Yan Aixin , Fan Ming , Chen Huan , Duarte Carlos M. , Li Lihua , Ho Pak-Leung , Gao Xin 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Background
The spread of antibiotic resistance has become one of the most urgent threats to global health, which is estimated to cause 700,000 deaths each year globally. Its surrogates, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), are highly transmittable between food, water, animal, and human to mitigate the efficacy of antibiotics. Accurately identifying ARGs is thus an indispensable step to understanding the ecology, and transmission of ARGs between environmental and human-associated reservoirs. Unfortunately, the previous computational methods for identifying ARGs are mostly based on sequence alignment, which cannot identify novel ARGs, and their applications are limited by currently incomplete knowledge about ARGs.

Results
Here, we propose an end-to-end Hierarchical Multi-task Deep learning framework for ARG annotation (HMD-ARG). Taking raw sequence encoding as input, HMD-ARG can identify, without querying against existing sequence databases, multiple ARG properties simultaneously, including if the input protein sequence is an ARG, and if so, what antibiotic family it is resistant to, what resistant mechanism the ARG takes, and if the ARG is an intrinsic one or acquired one. In addition, if the predicted antibiotic family is beta-lactamase, HMD-ARG further predicts the subclass of beta-lactamase that the ARG is resistant to. Comprehensive experiments, including cross-fold validation, third-party dataset validation in human gut microbiota, wet-experimental functional validation, and structural investigation of predicted conserved sites, demonstrate not only the superior performance of our method over the state-of-art methods, but also the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method.

Conclusions
We propose a hierarchical multi-task method, HMD-ARG, which is based on deep learning and can provide detailed annotations of ARGs from three important aspects: resistant antibiotic class, resistant mechanism, and gene mobility. We believe that HMD-ARG can serve as a powerful tool to identify antibiotic resistance genes and, therefore mitigate their global threat. Our method and the constructed database are available at http://www.cbrc.kaust.edu.sa/HMDARG/.
Cultural adaptation and validation of the Attribution Questionnaire for stigma towards disability pension applicants for use among psychiatrists and general practitioners in Sweden
Authors: McAllister Ashley , Burström Bo , Corrigan Patrick 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Background
This study aimed to culturally translate the Attribution Questionnaire (AQ) to the Swedish language and examine the reliability and validity of the new Swedish version to measure stigma towards disability pension applicants in the Swedish context among psychiatrists and general practitioners.

Methods
The AQ was translated from the original English version into Swedish using the recommended guidelines for cultural translation of questionnaires. Steps included forward/back-translation, use of expert committee and pretesting. Cronbach’s alpha was used to determine internal consistency and structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the responsibility model of stigma compared to the original English version.

Results
1,414 physicians completed the questionnaire (23.6%). Cultural translation resulted in many modifications to the original questionnaire to increase the external validity. Internal reliability of the AQ Swedish version (AQ-S) was 0.733 and is considered acceptable. Pity and Segregation-coercion sub-scales showed limited consistency. SEM findings show that the responsibility model of stigma is an acceptable fit for the Swedish setting.

Conclusion
Findings show that the AQ-S is comparable to the other versions of the AQ and is a reliable measure to assess and monitor stigma among physicians in the Swedish setting. Our study shows that cultural translation does not significantly impact the validity of the questionnaire.
When twice is better than once: increased liking of repeated items influences memory in younger and older adults
Authors: Palumbo Rocco , Di Domenico Alberto , Fairfield Beth , Mammarella Nicola 
Published: February 2021

Abstract
Background
Numerous studies have reported that the repeated presentation of a stimulus leads to an increase in positive affect towards the stimulus itself (the so-called mere exposure effect). Here, we evaluate whether changes in liking due to repetition may have a differential impact on subsequent memories in younger and older adults.

Method
In two experiments, younger and older adults were asked to rate a series of nonwords (Experiment 1) or unfamiliar neutral faces (Experiment 2) in terms of how much they like them and then presented with a surprise yes–no recognition memory task. At study, items were repeated either consecutively (massed presentation) or with a lag of 6 intervening items (spaced presentation).

Results
In both experiments, participants rated spaced repeated items more positively than massed items, i.e. they liked them most. Moreover, older adults remembered spaced stimuli that they liked most better than younger adults.

Conclusions
The findings are discussed in accordance with the mechanisms underlying positivity effects in memory and the effect of repetition on memory encoding.
Simple empirical method for estimating lava-effusion rate using nighttime Himawari-8 1.6-µm infrared images
Authors: Kaneko Takayuki , Yasuda Atsushi , Fujii Toshitsugu 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe effusion rate of lava is one of the most important eruption parameters, as it is closely related to the migration process of magma underground and on the surface, such as changes in lava flow direction or formation of new effusing vents. Establishment of a continuous and rapid estimation method has been an issue in volcano research as well as disaster prevention planning. For effusive eruptions of low-viscosity lava, we examined the relationship between the nighttime spectral radiance in the 1.6-µm band of the Himawari-8 satellite (R1.6Mx: the pixel value showing the maximum radiance in the heat source area) and the effusion rate using data from the 2017 Nishinoshima activity. Our analysis confirmed that there was a high positive correlation between these two parameters. Based on the linear-regression equation obtained here (Y = 0.47X, where Y is an effusion rate of 106 m3 day−1 and X is an R1.6Mx of 106 W m−2 sr−1 m−1), we can estimate the lava-effusion rate from the observation data of Himawari-8 via a simple calculation. Data from the 2015 Raung activity—an effusive eruption of low-viscosity lava—were arranged along the extension of this regression line, which suggests that the relationship is applicable up to a level of ~ 2 × 106 m3 day−1. We applied this method to the December 2019 Nishinoshima activity and obtained an effusion rate of 0.50 × 106 m3 day−1 for the initial stage. We also calculated the effusion rate for the same period based on a topographic method, and verified that the obtained value, 0.48 × 106 m3 day−1, agreed with the estimation using the Himawari-8 data. Further, for Nishinoshima, we simulated the extent of hazard areas from the initial lava flow and compared cases using the effusion rate obtained here and the value corresponding to the average effusion rate for the 2013–2015 eruptions. The former distribution was close to the actual distribution, while the latter was much smaller. By combining this effusion-rate estimation method with real-time observations by Himawari-8 and lava-flow simulation software, we can build a rapid and precise prediction system for volcano hazard areas.
Habitat use and space preferences of Eurasian Bullfinches (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) in northwestern Iberia throughout the year
Authors: Hernández Ángel 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBackgroundFor all vertebrates in general, a concerted effort to move beyond single season research is vital to improve our understanding of species ecology. Knowledge of habitat use and selection by Eurasian Bullfinches (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) is limited with regard to the non-breeding season. To date, research on the habitat of the Iberian subspeciesiberiaeconsists of very general descriptions. In relation to space use, only broad features are available for the entire distribution range of Eurasian Bullfinches, including Iberia.MethodsIn this study, seasonal preferences regarding habitat and space in a population of Eurasian Bullfinches are examined for the first time in the Iberian Peninsula, through direct observation during a six-year period. The essential habitat components, substrate selection and perch height were assessed.ResultsHedgerows were the key essential habitat component for bullfinches during all seasons. Nevertheless, small poplar plantations became increasingly important from winter to summer-autumn. Bullfinches perched mostly in shrubs/trees throughout the year, but there were significant seasonal changes in substrate use, ground and herbs being of considerable importance during spring-summer. Throughout the year, over half of the records corresponded to feeding, reaching almost 90% in winter. Generally, bullfinches perched noticeably lower while feeding. Male bullfinches perched markedly higher than females, notably singing males in spring-summer. Juveniles perched at a height not much lower than that of males. In all seasons, males tended to feed at greater heights than females. Bullfinches of different ages and sexes were seen bathing in all seasons except winter.ConclusionsHedgerow habitat in general appeared to be valuable for bullfinches throughout the year. In summer and autumn, they selected sites with an abundance of food and shade, as well as shelter, a much-needed requirement for fledglings and moulting individuals. There was usually a close link between the most used and most consumed plant species in each season. Males appeared to assume a more important role in vigilance, and often they accompanied dependent young in June and July. Bullfinch conservation strategies should consider seasonal demand for habitat and space.
Spatio-temporal patterns of the Red-footed Falcon’s hunting behavior during the nestling period suggest ad hoc conservation policies
Authors: Gustin Marco , Ferrarini Alessandro 
Published: February 2021

AbstractThe Red-footed Falcon (Falco vespertinus) is a species of high international conservation interest. We analyzed its hunting behavior at the two largest colonies in Italy during the nestling period. Using accurate data-loggers, we tracked three adult Red-footed Falcons in June and July, 2019 and collected 4703 GPS points. We detected clear patterns of hovering and perching activity (HPA) in both time and space. HPA occupied one-third of the Red-footed Falcons’ day, and showed two peaks just after sunrise (between 35 and 40% of the monitoring time) and just before sunset (50‒60%) in both June and July, and minimum (20‒30%) at night and during the hottest time interval (10:00 a.m.‒4:00 p.m.). Almost 40% of HPA occurred within 50 m from nests. Our findings, although preliminary, have important implications for the conservation of these two colonies that are located within two Natura 2000 sites. The detected spatio-temporal patterns of Red-footed Falcons’ hunting behavior suggests the creation of two nested protection belts: the inner one is a narrow belt (up to 50 m from the two rows of trees that host the two colonies) with integral conservation, and hopefully increase the alfalfa crops and fallow land, and the outer belt (50 m‒2 km) with optimized agricultural activities.
Proteome profiling of different rat brain regions reveals the modulatory effect of prolonged maternal separation on proteins involved in cell death-related processes
Authors: Drastichova Zdenka , Rudajev Vladimir , Pallag Gergely , Novotny Jiri 
Published: February 2021

AbstractBackgroundEarly-life stress in the form of maternal separation can be associated with alterations in offspring neurodevelopment and brain functioning. Here, we aimed to investigate the potential impact of prolonged maternal separation on proteomic profiling of prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum of juvenile and young adult rats. A special attention was devoted to proteins involved in the process of cell death and redox state maintenance.MethodsLong-Evans pups were separated from their mothers for 3 h daily over the first 3 weeks of life (during days 2–21 of age). Brain tissue samples collected from juvenile (22-day-old) and young adult (90-day-old) rats were used for label-free quantitative (LFQ) proteomic analysis. In parallel, selected oxidative stress markers and apoptosis-related proteins were assessed biochemically and by Western blot, respectively.ResultsIn total, 5526 proteins were detected in our proteomic analysis of rat brain tissue. Approximately one tenth of them (586 proteins) represented those involved in cell death processes or regulation of oxidative stress balance. Prolonged maternal separation caused changes in less than half of these proteins (271). The observed alterations in protein expression levels were age-, sex- and brain region-dependent. Interestingly, the proteins detected by mass spectrometry that are known to be involved in the maintenance of redox state were not markedly altered. Accordingly, we did not observe any significant differences between selected oxidative stress markers, such as the levels of hydrogen peroxide, reduced glutathione, protein carbonylation and lipid peroxidation in brain samples from rats that underwent maternal separation and from the corresponding controls. On the other hand, a number of changes were found in cell death-associated proteins, mainly in those involved in the apoptotic and autophagic pathways. However, there were no detectable alterations in the levels of cleaved products of caspases or Bcl-2 family members. Taken together, these data indicate that the apoptotic and autophagic cell death pathways were not activated by maternal separation either in adolescent or young adult rats.ConclusionProlonged maternal separation can distinctly modulate expression profiles of proteins associated with cell death pathways in prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum of juvenile rats and the consequences of early-life stress may last into adulthood and likely participate in variations in stress reactivity.