bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of genetic diversity and agronomic traits of durum wheat germplasm under drought environment of the northern Great Plains
Authors: Salsman Evan , Liu Yuan , Hosseinirad Seyed Ali , Kumar Ajay , Manthey Frank , Elias Elias , Li Xuehui 
Published: January 2021

AbstractDurum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. ssp. durum) is an important food crop worldwide. Modern breeding has yielded elite durum wheat cultivars with improved grain yield, end‐use quality, and disease resistance. In this study, we compared 150 breeding lines from the North Dakota State University (NDSU) durum wheat breeding program to 163 durum landraces using a large set of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. We found that the genetic diversity of the NDSU durum breeding population was decreased by ∼60% relative to collection of 163 landraces. Selective sweep analysis identified several candidate regions that might have undergone breeding selection. Also in this study, over 260 worldwide durum wheat accessions were evaluated in drought environments of the northern Great Plains for 3 yr, a major growing area of durum wheat in the United States. One line showed significantly higher grain yield than the local elite cultivars. A number of lines showed significantly higher grain yield component traits like seeds per spike and thousand‐kernel weight. Those desirable lines may contain complementary favorable alleles and can possibly be used to improve grain yield under drought stress. Genome‐wide association mapping found no major quantitative trait loci (QTL) but a number of QTL with minor effect for grain yield, which could be explained by grain yield's complex genetic nature, the rare frequency of the novel complementary alleles, and the limited number of environments and replications for phenotypic evaluation in the study. Further QTL mapping using biparental populations derived from the identified desirable lines and elite cultivars may be able to identify the QTL related to grain yield, which can facilitate introgression of the complementary favorable alleles through marker‐assisted selection.
Mechanisms of TGFß in prostaglandin synthesis and sperm guidance in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Hu Muhan , Tiwary Ekta , Prasain Jeevan K. , Miller Michael , Serra Rosa 
Published: January 2021

AbstractBackgroundThe transparent epidermis of Caenorhabditis elegans makes it an attractive model to study sperm motility and migration within an intact reproductive tract. C elegans synthesize specific F‐series prostaglandins (PGFs) that are important for guiding sperm toward the spermatheca. These PGFs are synthesized from polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) precursors, such as arachidonic acid (AA), via a novel pathway, independent of the classical cyclooxygenases (Cox) responsible for most PG synthesis. While the enzyme(s) responsible for PG synthesis has yet to be identified, the DAF‐7 TGFß pathway has been implicated in modulating PG levels and sperm guidance.ResultsWe find that the reduced PGF levels in daf‐1 type I receptor mutants are responsible for the sperm guidance defect. The lower level of PGs in daf‐1 mutants is due in part to the inaccessibility of AA. Finally, lipid analysis and assessment of sperm guidance in daf‐1;daf‐3 double mutants suggest DAF‐3 suppresses PG production and sperm accumulation at the spermatheca. Our data suggest that DAF‐3 functions in the nervous system, and possibly the germline, to affect sperm guidance.ConclusionThe C elegans TGFß pathway regulates many pathways to modulate PG metabolism and sperm guidance. These pathways likely function in the nervous system and possibly the germline.
Response of macroinvertebrate communities to land use and water quality in Wudalianchi Lake
Authors: Du Xue , Song Dan , Ming Kun , Jin Xing , Wang Huibo , Wang Le , Liu Hui , Zhao Chen , Huo Tangbin 
Published: January 2021

AbstractMacroinvertebrate assemblages are structured by a number of abiotic and biotic factors interacting simultaneously. We investigated macroinvertebrate assemblages along gradients of human disturbance and morphometric characteristics in five lakes connected by the same stream. We aimed to assess the relative effects of environmental gradients on macroinvertebrate assemblages and to investigate whether water quality effects on the assemblages were correlated with buffer land use. There were significant differences in macroinvertebrate community compositions among lakes, and our results indicated that oligochaetes (mainly Limnodrilus) and insects (mainly Chironomus) contributed highly to the differences. We used redundancy analysis with variation partitioning to quantify the independent and combined anthropogenic effects of water quality and land use gradients on the macroinvertebrate community. The independent effect of water quality was responsible for 17% of the total variance in macroinvertebrate community composition, the independent effect of buffer land use accounted for 6% of variation, and the combined variation between land use change and water quality accounted for 12%. Our study indicated that both the independent effects of land use and within‐lake water quality can explain the influence in macroinvertebrate assemblages, with significant interactions between the two. This is rather important to notice that changes in buffer land use generally may alter nutrient inputs and thus severely affect abiotic conditions encountered by macroinvertebrate. Our study demonstrates that considering buffer zone effects explicitly may be significant in the selection and application of conservation and management strategies.
Large frugivores matter more on an island: Insights from island‐mainland comparison of plant–frugivore communities
Authors: Naniwadekar Rohit , Gopal Abhishek , Page Navendu , Ghuman Sartaj , Ramachandran Vivek , Joshi Jahnavi 
Published: January 2021

AbstractEndozoochory, a mutualistic interaction between plants and frugivores, is one of the key processes responsible for maintenance of tropical biodiversity. Islands, which have a smaller subset of plants and frugivores when compared with mainland communities, offer an interesting setting to understand the organization of plant–frugivore communities vis‐a‐vis the mainland sites. We examined the relative influence of functional traits and phylogenetic relationships on the plant–seed disperser interactions on an island and a mainland site. The island site allowed us to investigate the organization of the plant–seed disperser community in the natural absence of key frugivore groups (bulbuls and barbets) of Asian tropics. The endemic Narcondam Hornbill was the most abundant frugivore on the island and played a central role in the community. Species strength of frugivores (a measure of relevance of frugivores for plants) was positively associated with their abundance. Among plants, figs had the highest species strength and played a central role in the community. Island‐mainland comparison revealed that the island plant–seed disperser community was more asymmetric, connected, and nested as compared to the mainland community. Neither phylogenetic relationships nor functional traits (after controlling for phylogenetic relationships) were able to explain the patterns of interactions between plants and frugivores on the island or the mainland pointing toward the diffused nature of plant–frugivore interactions. The diffused nature is a likely consequence of plasticity in foraging behavior and trait convergence that contribute to governing the interactions between plants and frugivores. This is one of the few studies to compare the plant–seed disperser communities between a tropical island and mainland and demonstrates key role played by a point‐endemic frugivore in seed dispersal on island.
Impact of COVID‐19 on inpatient referral of acute heart failure: a single‐centre experience from the south‐west of the UK
Authors: Doolub Gemina , Wong Chih , Hewitson Lynsey , Mohamed Ahmed , Todd Fraser , Gogola Laisha , Skyrme‐Jones Andrew , Aziz Shahid , Sammut Eva , Dastidar Amardeep 
Published: January 2021

AbstractAimsHealthcare services worldwide have been significantly impacted by the COVID‐19 pandemic. Recent reports have shown a decline in hospitalization for emergency cardiac conditions. The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on hospitalization and particularly mortality due to acute heart failure has not been thoroughly described.Methods and resultsIn this single‐centre observational study, we examined referrals to the acute heart failure team over a period of 16 weeks (7 January to 27 April 2020) spanning the ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic; 283 patients referred to our acute heart failure services over the study period were included on the basis of typical symptoms, raised BNP, and echocardiogram. There was a substantial but statistically non‐significant drop in referrals with 164 referred in the 8 weeks before the first UK death due to COVID‐19 on 2 March 2020 (BC), compared with 119 referred after (AC) in the subsequent 8 weeks, representing a 27% reduction overall (P = 0.06). The 30 day case fatality rate was increased from 11% in the BC group compared with 21% in the AC group (risk ratio = 1.9, 95% confidence interval 1.09–3.3). Age, gender, length of stay, left ventricular ejection fraction, and N‐terminal pro‐brain natriuretic peptide were similar between the groups. Admission creatinine, age, and AC cohort status were found to be univariable predictors of mortality. On multivariate Cox regression analysis, only age (hazard ratio 1.04, P = 0.03) and AC cohort status (hazard ratio 2.1, P = 0.017) remained significant predictors of mortality. On sensitivity analysis, this increased mortality was driven by COVID‐19 positive status.ConclusionsThere was a reduction in referral of patients with acute heart failure with significant increase in mortality in the 8 weeks following the first reported UK death due to COVID‐19. The observation of increased mortality does not appear related to a change in population in terms of demographics, left ventricular ejection fraction, or N‐terminal pro‐brain natriuretic peptide. The observed increased mortality appears to be related to the coexistence of COVID19 infection with acute heart failure. The study highlights the need for widespread preventative and shielding measures particularly in this group of patients especially in the light of the second wave. Longer follow‐up with inclusion of data from other centres and community heart failure services will be needed.
Organic Electron Donor‐Acceptor Co‐intercalated NiMn‐LDHs – Photocatalysts with Enhanced Separation of Charge Carriers for Photocatalytic Reduction of CO2
Authors: Li Yuexian , Shi Jingjing , Wu Lei , Zhang Junzheng , Lu Jun 
Published: January 2021

AbstractDeveloping good photocatalysts for reducing CO2 to carbonaceous fuels has aroused interest. However, the efficiency of photocatalytic CO2 reduction remains low. In this work, we report a novel organic electron donor‐acceptor system to realize the two dimensional photoinduced electron transfer (PET) process by coprecipitation‐in situ oxidation method to synthesize 4,4′‐diaminostilbene‐2,2′‐disulfonic acid (DAS) and 4,4′‐dinitrostilbene‐2,2′‐disulfonic acid disodium salt (DNS) co‐intercalated Ni2Mn‐LDHs (Ni2Mn‐LDHs‐DAS, DNS). Due to the two‐dimensional confinement of LDHs, DAS and DNS were arranged in a single molecule parallel in the interlayer, resulting in a π‐π interaction between the two organic anions. It promoted the photogenerated electrons by the DAS‐DNS to migrate to the hydrotalcite layer to participate in CO2 photoreduction rather than recombination with the holes. The optimum Ni2Mn‐DAS, DNS‐n showed the highest total consumed electron number of 13.99 μmol g−1, which was 3 times higher than that of Ni2Mn−CO3. Our findings provide a new way for improving the CO2 photoreduction activity of hydrotalcite‐based photocatalysts and achieve the combination of organic and inorganic semiconductors.
Tetravalent Group 14 Derivatives of a Bulky Aminocarbazole
Authors: Strecker Jonas , Pfeuffer Bastian , Hinz Alexander 
Published: January 2021

AbstractStepwise metalation and metathesis reactions with a bulky aminocarbazole were conducted to prepare derivatives of tetravalent group 14 elements. These were regarded as putatively suitable precursors for the formation of doubly bonded group 14/group 15 molecules such as imino species. Starting from an N‐aminocarbazole, deprotonation with benzyl potassium formed the corresponding solvent‐free dimeric amide. Metathesis reactions with EBr4 (E=Si, Ge, Sn) afforded RN(H)EBr3. Deprotonation of RN(SiMe3)H with benzyl potassium afforded the solvent‐free monomeric amide RN(SiMe3)K which was then treated with SiCl4, GeBr4 and SnI4. Both obtained series of compounds, RN(H)EBr3 and RN(SiMe3)EX3, were characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and SCXRD studies.
Slow Magnetic Relaxation in a [Na2Dy4] Complex and Coexistence of Multiple Metal Rings
Authors: Yang Hua , Zhang Yi‐Quan , Sun Lei , Li Da‐Cheng , Zeng Su‐Yuan , Li Yun‐Wu , Yang Yan , Dou Jian‐Min 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThree rare isostructural heterometallic complexes [Na2{Ln4(μ3‐OH)2(ppt)4(Hppt)2(OAc)2}(DMF)4] ⋅ xH2O (H2ppt=3‐(2‐hydroxyphenyl)‐5‐(pyrazin‐2‐yl)‐1,2,4‐triazole, x=2.5, Ln=Dy (1); x=2, Ln=Er (2); x=0, Ln=Yb (3)) have been obtained. The structural analysis displayed that two NaI and four LnIII ions were linked together through N−N groups and O atoms to form a metallmacrocycle with the connectivity pattern [Dy−O−Na−N−N−Dy−O]2. Such cases possess rare hexametallic ring, which further displays one tetrametallic and two trimetallic cyclic units. Magnetic measurements reveal single‐molecule magnet (SMM) behavior for 1 with the effective energy barrier of 51.6 K and pre‐exponential factor of 6.16×10−6 s deduced from frequency‐dependent magnetic susceptibilities. Ab initio calculations prove that the weak ferromagnetic coupling mainly originats from the dipolar interaction. The transversal magnetic moments in the ground Kramers could suppressed the quantum tunneling of magnetization.
Unusual Synthesis of Triosmium Carbene Clusters by Tandem Activation of Chlorohydrocarbons and Heterocyclic Amines
Authors: Savkov Boris Y. , Virovets Alexander V. , Peresypkina Eugenia V. , Potemkin Vladimir A. , Palko Nadezhda N. , Maksakov Vladimir A. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractReactions of the [Os3H2(CO)10] cluster complex (1) with six‐membered heterocyclic amines (morpholine, thiomorpholine, piperidine) and halohydrocarbons (CH2Cl2, ClHC=CHCl, CH2=CCl2) at ∼25 °C have been studied. Two main types of products are formed in all studied reactions. One product is carbene cluster [Os3(μ−H)(μ−Cl){η1−C(CH3)N(CH2CH2)2X}(CO)9] (X=O, S, CH2) (3, 3 a and 3 b). Second product is cluster containing enamine ligand [Os3(μ−H){μ‐CH=CHN(C2CH2)2Х)}2(CO)10] (X=O, S, CH2) (2, 2 a and 2 b). The carbene ligand is assembled on a cluster, from three organic molecules, thus representing the first example of carbene ligands formed in this way. Clusters with carbene ligand exist as two stable isomers (rotamers hindered towards the Os−C bond), as confirmed by NMR studies and conformational analysis. We have found that in reactions of cluster 1 with acyclic amines containing an oxygen atom in γ‐position (likely morpholine in CH2Cl2), only complexes with bridging enamine ligands are formed. Compounds 2 a, 2 b, 3 and 3 b are characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction.
Trimodular Solution‐Phase Protocol for Rapid Large‐Scale Synthesis of Hydrogen Bond Surrogate‐Constrained α‐Helicomimics
Authors: Pal Sunit , Prabhakaran Erode N. 
Published: January 2021

AbstractScalability, optimal reagent usage, high yields, easy isolation, and cost‐effectiveness, are key for the applicability of synthetic methodologies in the production of potential therapeutics. Hydrogen bond surrogate (HBS) constrained α‐helical peptides (α‐helicomimics) have shown promise as therapeutics based on their efficiency to interfere with protein‐biomolecular interactions. The propyl HBS‐constrained α‐helicomimics have shown the highest helicities in both single turn and extended, α‐helices (STαH, EαH). Here we present a solution‐phase synthetic (SPS) method, for the rapid, large‐scale, low‐cost synthesis of libraries of STαH and EαH in high yields. The key to efficiency is our trimodular (M1, M2, M3) synthetic protocol where M1 is a library of HBS‐linked peptidomimetic synthons of both STαH and EαH; M2 and M3 are desired oligopeptide libraries. Advantages of the trimodular method over conventional unimodular methods are demonstrated through the synthesis of large‐scale libraries of M1, STαH, and EαH.
Annual forecasting of inflation rate in Iran: Autoregressive integrated moving average modeling approach
Authors: Jafarian‐Namin Samrad , Fatemi Ghomi Seyyed Mohammad Taghi , Shojaie Mohsen , Shavvalpour Saeed 
Published: January 2021

AbstractBox‐Jenkins methodology is one of the most famous modeling approaches to describe the underlying stochastic structure and forecasting future values of various phenomena. In this methodology, the models are of type ARIMA, that is, autoregressive integrated moving average. Some advantages of those include robustness, easiness to use, and wide applicability in various disciplines ranging from engineering to economics. Inflation has been a highly discussed issue in economics. This research focuses on modeling and forecasting the yearly inflation rate of Iran from 1960 to 2019 using ARIMA. According to various measures, different ARIMA models are investigated to confirm their effectiveness. It is here showed that non‐seasonal ARIMA (1,0,0) is the most appropriate model for this application.
Forecasting US overseas travelling with univariate and multivariate models
Authors: Nicholas Apergis 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThis study makes use of specific econometric modelling methodologies to forecast US outbound travelling flows to certain destinations: Europe, Caribbean, Asia, Central America, South America, Middle East, Oceania and Africa, spanning the period 2000–2019 on a monthly basis. Both univariate (jointly with business conditions) and multivariate models are employed, whereas out‐of‐sample forecasts are generated, and the results are compared based on popular forecasting performance criteria. These criteria show that in the case of univariate models, the largest forecasting gains are obtained when the modelling process follows the kitchen sink autoregressive of order one (KS‐AR[1]) model with the business cycles being measured as the coincident indicator. In the case of multivariate models, the largest forecasting gains occur with the standard vector autoregressive (VAR) model for very short forecasting horizons and with the Bayesian VAR for longer horizons. The results are robust to both total and individual destinations. The findings allow interested stakeholders to gain insights into near‐future US outbound tourism to popular diversified international destinations, as well as to better understand its positive and negative impacts for strategic planning and destination adaptation purposes.
Application of Google Trends‐based sentiment index in exchange rate prediction
Authors: Ito Takumi , Masuda Motoki , Naito Ayaka , Takeda Fumiko 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThis study explores the possibilities of applying Google Trends to exchange rate forecasting. Specifically, we construct a sentiment index by using Google Trends to capture market sentiment in Japan and the United States. We forecast the USD/JPY rates using three structural models and two autoregressive models and examine whether our sentiment index can improve the predictive power of these models. We also check the robustness of the main results using the Taylor rule‐based model and rolling regression methodology. The data we use run from January 2004 to August 2018, treating January 2004 to February 2011 as the training sample and March 2011 to August 2018 as the forecast sample. We find that the addition of the sentiment index into these models decreases the mean squared prediction error. We also test the sentiment indices of different word numbers and find that the 25‐ and 30‐word indices perform best; in particular, the 30‐word index improves all the models tested in this study.
Nutritional characterization and food value addition properties of dehydrated spinach powder
Authors: Waseem Muhammad , Akhtar Saeed , Manzoor Muhammad Faisal , Mirani Asif A. , Ali Zulfiqar , Ismail Tariq , Ahmad Nazir , Karrar Emad 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThis study aimed at investigating the physicochemical and bread‐making features of dehydrated spinach. Physicochemical composition of spinach powder was compared with wheat flour and the effect of spinach powder supplementation on the nutritional composition, dough rheology, and quality attributes of chapatti were assessed. The results suggested spinach powder to be holding 8.2% crude fiber, 19.2% protein, 1,304 mg/100g calcium, and 40.4 mg/100g iron. Spinach powder indicated significantly increased values for hygroscopicity, swelling power, and water solubility index values, that is, 6.4%, 7.1 g/g, and 4.2%, respectively, when compared with wheat flour. Supplementation of spinach powder in wheat flour at 20% substitution level significantly reduced dough development properties including water absorption, dough stability, and peak dough development time. Color measurements of baked chapatti indicated a significant reduction in L*, a*, and chroma values with increasing the level of spinach powder supplementation; however, sensory profiling confirmed that supplementation of spinach powder at 7.5% had an optimum effect on the overall acceptability of the baked product. The results further suggested that replacing wheat flour with spinach powder (5%–7.5%, w/w) in baked products could be a viable dietary approach to enhance the optimum supply of micronutrients and to combat micronutrient deficiencies among various population segments.
The utility of the Laplace effect size prior distribution in Bayesian fine‐mapping studies
Authors: Walters Kevin , Cox Angela , Yaacob Hannuun 
Published: January 2021

AbstractThe Gaussian distribution is usually the default causal single‐nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) effect size prior in Bayesian population‐based fine‐mapping association studies, but a recent study showed that the heavier‐tailed Laplace prior distribution provided a better fit to breast cancer top hits identified in genome‐wide association studies. We investigate the utility of the Laplace prior as an effect size prior in univariate fine‐mapping studies. We consider ranking SNPs using Bayes factors and other summaries of the effect size posterior distribution, the effect of prior choice on credible set size based on the posterior probability of causality, and on the noteworthiness of SNPs in univariate analyses. Across a wide range of fine‐mapping scenarios the Laplace prior generally leads to larger 90% credible sets than the Gaussian prior. These larger credible sets for the Laplace prior are due to relatively high prior mass around zero which can yield many noncausal SNPs with relatively large Bayes factors. If using conventional credible sets, the Gaussian prior generally yields a better trade off between including the causal SNP with high probability and keeping the set size reasonable. Interestingly when using the less well utilised measure of noteworthiness, the Laplace prior performs well, leading to causal SNPs being declared noteworthy with high probability, whilst generally declaring fewer than 5% of noncausal SNPs as being noteworthy. In contrast, the Gaussian prior leads to the causal SNP being declared noteworthy with very low probability.