bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A comparative evaluation of five common pairwise tests of species association
Authors: Lavender Thomas Michael , Schamp Brandon S. , Arnott Shelley E. , Rusak James A. 
Published: February 2019

AbstractResearchers have long viewed patterns of species association as key to understanding the processes that structure communities. Community‐level tests of species association have received the most attention; however, pairwise species associations may offer greater opportunity for linking patterns to specific mechanisms. Although several tests of pairwise association have been developed, there remain gaps in our understanding of their performance. Consequently, it is unclear whether these methods reliably detect patterns of association, or if any one method is superior. We maximized association patterns for single species pairs in synthetic community matrices and examined how accurately five pairwise association tests found that pair, while not finding others (i.e., type I and II error rates). All tests are more likely to miss patterns of association than to falsely detect them. When we maximized association for a species pair that included one or more rare or common species, tests were frequently unable to identify that pair as significantly associated. Consequently, these tests are best suited for identifying significant associations between pairs of species that occur in an intermediate number of samples; for such pairs, three of the five tests considered here detected 100% of the pairs for which we maximized associations.
Biogeochemical recuperation of lowland tropical forest during succession
Authors: Sullivan Benjamin W. , Nifong Rachel L. , Nasto Megan K. , Alvarez‐Clare Silvia , Dencker Camie M. , Soper Fiona M. , Shoemaker Kevin T. , Ishida F. Yoko , Zaragoza‐Castells Joana , Davidson Eric A. , Cleveland Cory C. 
Published: February 2019

AbstractHigh rates of land conversion and land use change have vastly increased the proportion of secondary forest in the lowland tropics relative to mature forest. As secondary forests recover following abandonment, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) must be present in sufficient quantities to sustain high rates of net primary production and to replenish the nutrients lost during land use prior to secondary forest establishment. Biogeochemical theory and results from individual studies suggest that N can recuperate during secondary forest recovery, especially relative to P. Here, we synthesized 23 metrics of N and P in soil and plants from 45 secondary forest chronosequences located in the wet tropics to empirically explore (1) whether there is a consistent change in nutrients and nutrient cycling processes during secondary succession in the biome; (2) which metrics of N and P in soil and plants recuperate most consistently; (3) if the recuperation of nutrients during succession approaches similar nutrient concentrations and fluxes as those in mature forest in ~100 yr following the initiation of succession; and (4) whether site characteristics, including disturbance history, climate, and soil order are significantly related to nutrient recuperation. During secondary forest succession, nine metrics of N and/or P cycling changed consistently and substantially. In most sites, N concentrations and fluxes in both plants and soil increased during secondary succession, and total P concentrations increased in surface soil. Changes in nutrient concentrations and nutrient cycling processes during secondary succession were similar whether mature forest was included or excluded from the analysis, indicating that nutrient recuperation in secondary forest leads to biogeochemical conditions that are similar to those of mature forest. Further, of the N and P metrics that recuperated, only soil total P and foliar δ15N were strongly influenced by site characteristics like climate, soils, or disturbance history. Predictable nutrient recuperation across a diverse and productive ecosystem may support future forest growth and could provide a means to quantify successful restoration of ecosystem function in secondary tropical forest beyond biomass or species composition.
Seed limitation in an Amazonian floodplain forest
Authors: Terborgh John , Zhu Kai , Alvarez Loayza Patricia , Cornejo Valverde Fernando 
Published: February 2019

AbstractWe monitored a close‐spaced grid of 289 seed traps in 1.44 ha for 8.4 yr in an Amazonian floodplain forest. In a tree community containing hundreds of species, a median of just three to four species of tree seeds falls annually into each 0.5‐m2 establishment site. The number of seed species reaching a given site increased linearly with time for the duration of the monitoring period, indicating a roughly random arrival of seed species in a given site‐year. The number of seed species captured each year over the entire grid ranged from one‐third to one‐half of the total captured over the 8.4 yr of monitoring, revealing a substantial temporal component of variation in the seed rain. Seed rain at the 0.5‐m2 scale displayed extreme spatial variability when all potentially viable seeds were tallied, whereas the rain of dispersed seeds was scant, more nearly uniform, and better mixed. Dispersal limitation, defined as failure of seeds to reach establishment sites, is ≥99% per year for a majority of species, explaining why seed augmentation experiments are often successful. Dispersal limitation has been evoked as an explanation for distance‐dependent species turnover in tropical tree communities, but that interpretation contrasts with the fact that many Amazonian tree species possess large geographical ranges that extend for hundreds or thousands of kilometers. A better understanding of the processes that bridge the gap between the scales of seedling establishment and the regulation of forest composition will require new methodologies for studying dispersal on scales larger than those yet achieved.
Role of community resource persons in improving use of modern family planning methods among women of reproductive age in a rural area in Ebonyi State, Nigeria
Authors: Akamike Ifeyinwa C. , Mbachu Chinyere , Onwasigwe Chika , Okedo‐Alex Ijeoma , Eze Irene , Eze Nelson 
Published: February 2019

SummaryBackgroundThe study set out to determine the role of community resource persons in improving uptake of modern family planning methods among women of reproductive age in Ebonyi State.MethodsA non‐randomized intervention study with control was done. A multistage sampling technique was used to select a sample of 484 in union women of reproductive age. Data were collected using a pretested structured questionnaire. Community resource persons were trained to provide culturally appropriate information on family planning to men and women in the community. Postintervention data were collected after a waiting period of 3 months.ResultIn the intervention arm, use of modern methods of family planning increased significantly by 7.4% at 3 months postintervention (P = 0.01) compared with the control arm. The most commonly used modern methods of family planning were pills, injectables, and barrier methods in the intervention arm and implant in the control arm. The major source of modern methods of family planning was health facility both before and after the intervention in both arms. Number of living children, increasing age and husband's education were predictors of current use of modern family planning methods.ConclusionCommunity‐driven strategies are useful for increasing uptake of modern methods of family planning and are recommended.
Digital Access is not Binary: The 5'A's of Technology Access in the Philippines
Authors: Roberts Tony , Hernandez Kevin 
Published: February 2019

AbstractOnline political participation has been presented as a possible solution to declining levels of trust in traditional politics. However, the most marginalised communities are often the least connected and participate least in digital citizenship programmes. Much existing literature rests on a binary understanding of citizens as being either connected or unconnected. Progress is therefore often understood simply as a process of “connecting the unconnected.” This paper presents primary empirical research from the Philippines, which suggests that such binary understandings disguise more than they reveal. We argue that it is descriptively more accurate and more analytically useful to recognise that multiple classes of technology access exist, which limit digital citizenship in multiple ways. Qualitative methods were used to learn from non‐users and the least connected about the barriers to online civic participation that they experience. The 5'A's of Technology Access was employed as a framework to analyse those barriers and reveal the social and economic factors that they reflect, reproduce, and amplify. Findings suggest that nonbinary and nontechnical understandings of the barriers to digital inclusion are essential to any effective attempt to remove the remaining obstacles to genuinely inclusive digital citizenship.
Silencing MEKK3 attenuates cardiomyocyte injury caused by hypoxia/reoxygenation via the sonic hedgehog pathway
Authors: Wang Lei , Yan Weijun , Wang Jing 
Published: February 2019

AbstractMEKK3 is a member of MAP3K, which plays a pivotal role in cardiac diseases. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects and potential mechanisms of MEKK3 on hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) injury of cardiomyocytes. After exposing H9C2 cells to H/R insult, real‐time polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis showed that MEKK3 was highly expressed. Cell viability, cell apoptosis, caspase 3/7 activity, and cleaved‐caspase 3 expression were tested using a CCK‐8 assay, Cell Death Detection PLUS ELISA, Caspase‐Glo 3/7 Assay Kit and western blot analysis, respectively. Mitochondrial membrane potential, cytochrome C expression, adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and reactive oxygen species also were measured using JC‐1 staining, western blot analysis, an ATP Assay Kit, and DCFH
2‐DA staining, respectively. The messenger RNA (mRNA) levels and secretions of TNF‐α, IL‐6, and IL‐1β were evaluated. The results revealed that MEKK3 silencing promoted cell survival and attenuated lactate dehydrogenase leakage, cell apoptosis, caspase 3/7 activity, and the protein level of cleaved‐caspase 3. Moreover, knockdown of MEKK3 blocked mitochondrial impairment by inhibiting the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and cytochrome C expression as well as promoting ATP synthesis. MEKK3 deficiency led to a decrease in reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde (MDA) generation and an increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Deletion of MEKK3 led to reduced inflammatory cytokines in mRNA level and secretion. MEKK3 suppression activated the sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway in H9C2 cells. After blocking the Shh signaling pathway with a specific inhibitor, cyclopamine, the cardioprotective functions of MEKK3 downregulation were partly abolished. In conclusion, downregulation of MEKK3 prevented apoptosis and inflammation in H9C2 cells via the Shh signaling pathway.
LINC00052 functions as a tumor suppressor through negatively modulating miR‐330‐3p in pancreatic cancer
Authors: Xiong Xingcheng , Shi Qiao , Yang Xiaojia , Wang Weixing , Tao Jing 
Published: February 2019

AbstractPancreatic cancer is a serious solid malignant tumor worldwide. Increasing evidence has pointed out that abnormal expressions of long noncoding RNAs are involved in various tumors. Meanwhile, LINC00052 is reported as a famous tumor regulator in several cancers. Nevertheless, the biological role of LINC00052 in pancreatic cancer progression is still unknown. Our study was to explore the specific mechanism of LINC00052 in pancreatic cancer. First, we observed that the LINC00052 was obviously downregulated in several pancreatic cancer cell lines. Overexpression of LINC00052 greatly repressed AsPC‐1 and SW1990 cell proliferation, triggered the apoptosis and prevented cell cycle in the G1 phase. For another, AsPC‐1 and SW1990 cell migration and invasion capacity were also obviously repressed by LINC00052 upregulation. Moreover, miR‐330‐3p was elevated in pancreatic cancer cells and can function as a target of LINC00052 confirmed by luciferase reporter and RNA Immunoprecipitation (RIP) experiments. Inhibition of miR‐330‐3p could depress pancreatic cancer progression while overexpressed miR‐330‐3p exhibited an opposite process. Finally, our data indicated that the LINC00052 also remarkably suppressed pancreatic tumor growth via modulating miR‐330‐3p in vivo. To conclude, our study revealed that the LINC00052 might provide a new perspective for pancreatic cancer therapy.
Identification of microRNA expression in sentinel lymph nodes from patients with breast cancer via RNA sequencing for diagnostic accuracy
Authors: Sun Desheng , Zhong Jieyu , Wei Wei , Chen Xiangmei , Liu Jun , Hu Zhengming 
Published: February 2019

AbstractBackgroundSentinel lymph node (SLN) property assessment (with or without metastasis) is important when deciding the surgery for breast cancer; however, the current diagnosis of SLN metastasis remains to be studied. microRNAs (miRNAs) have been confirmed previously as a molecular marker for the diagnosis, development and prognosis of tumors. However, the detailed role of miRNAs in the diagnosis of SLN metastasis has not been reported.MethodsThe present study aimed to explore the potential use of miRNAs in the diagnosis of SLN using RNA sequencing (RNA‐seq) and a quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR) to compare the expression profiles of miRNAs in patients with breast cancer with or without SLN metastasis.ResultsThe RNA‐seq results revealed that 1993 miRNAs were differentially expressed in patients with breast cancer with SLN metastasis. Among these miRNAs, 1960 were up‐regulated and 33 were down‐regulated. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses revealed that these differentially expressed miRNAs were associated with tumor growth and metastasis and were also predicted to regulate a series of tumorigenesis and metastasis genes. In particular, the most differentially expressed miRNAs were validated by qRT‐PCR, such that miR‐200a‐3p and miR‐96‐5p were up‐regulated and miR‐1‐3p and miR‐486‐3p were down‐regulated in patients with breast cancer with SLN metastasis.ConclusionsThe findings of the present study suggest that there is an association of miRNAs with SLN metastasis and also that miRNAs function as biomarkers with respect to the choice of therapy and disease prognosis.
Analysis of HBV X gene quasispecies characteristics by next‐generation sequencing and cloning‐based sequencing and its association with hepatocellular carcinoma progression
Authors: Mei Fanbiao , Ren Jingjing , Long Long , Li Jilin , Li Kezhi , Liu Haizhou , Tang Yanping , Fang Xiang , Wu Hanghang , Xiao Chanchan , Huang Tianren , Deng Wei 
Published: February 2019

AbstractObjectivesThis study aimed to describe the differences between next‐generation sequencing (NGS) and cloning‐based sequencing (CBS) in HBX quasispecies research and primitively investigate the relationship between the dominant HBX quasispecies and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).MethodsA total of 12 serum samples were collected. Serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA was extracted, and the HBV X‐region (HBX) was amplified by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The PCR products were simultaneously tested with NGS and CBS to detect quasispecies of the HBX.ResultsA total of 9348 eligible quasispecies sequences were obtained by NGS, which were much larger than the 98 of that by CBS. By the phylogenetic tree, the dominant quasispecies sequence of each sample could be found, although they had several nucleotides differences between the dominant quasispecies sequences found by CBS and NGS. By comparing the quasispecies heterogeneity, it was found that the quasispecies complexity value of HBV X‐region obtained by NGS was higher than CBS (P < 0.05). The diversity values, including
d,
dS,
dN, an
d d N/
dS obtained by NGS were lower than by CBS (all of
P < 0.01). The relativity of Spearman(rs) in
d,
dS, and
dN were statistically significant (rs_
d = 0.865,
P = 0.001; rs_
dS = 0.722,
P = 0.014; and rs_
dN = 0.738,
P = 0.011, respectively). There were 21 different bases between the HBX quasispecies of case A and control B.ConclusionThe results of this can be used as guidance when researchers plan to choose a suitable method to study quasispecies, especially the HBV X gene quasispecies. Some high‐risk mutations of HBX quasispecies were also found in this study and their relationship with HCC need deeper exploration.
Effects of future sea level rise on coastal habitat
Authors: Von Holle Betsy , Irish Jennifer L. , Spivy Annette , Weishampel John F. , Meylan Anne , Godfrey Matthew H. , Dodd Mark , Schweitzer Sara H. , Keyes Tim , Sanders Felicia , Chaplin Melissa K. , Taylor Nick R. 
Published: February 2019

ABSTRACTSea level rise (SLR) and disturbances from increased storm activity are expected to diminish coastal ecosystems available to nesting species by removing habitat and inundating nests during incubation. We updated the United States Geological Survey's (USGS) Coastal Vulnerability Index, which provides a qualitative and relative assessment of a coastal area's vulnerability to erosion and shoreline retreat as a function of SLR and other factors, for the South Atlantic Bight. We considered a eustatic SLR projection of 14 cm by 2030. We linked long‐term survey data for 3 sea turtle species, 3 shorebird species, and 5 seabird species to future coastal erosion vulnerability to SLR to understand effects of future SLR on nesting habitats. Over 2,000 km (43%) of the South Atlantic Bight coastline is projected to have an increase in coastal erosion vulnerability by the 2030s, with respect to its present vulnerability. Future vulnerability of SLR‐induced erosion along the South Atlantic Bight is spatially variable, and the 11 coastal study species also varied in their use of coastal habitats with high future coastal vulnerability to SLR. For example, only 23% of high‐density nesting habitat for the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is expected to be at increased vulnerability to SLR, whereas >70% of the high‐nesting density habitat for 2 seabird species (gull‐billed tern [Gelochelidon nilotica], sandwich tern [Thalasseus sandvicensis]) is predicted to have higher future coastal erosion vulnerability by 2030. We provide predictions for the level of susceptibility of the study species to erosion from future SLR, which is the first step in managing coastal species for the changing environmental conditions associated with climate change and SLR. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Wildlife Management Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Wildlife Society.
Abundance and ecological associations of small mammals
Authors: Weldy Matthew J. , Epps Clinton W. , Lesmeister Damon B. , Manning Tom , Linnell Mark A. , Forsman Eric D. 
Published: February 2019

ABSTRACTEffective conservation and management of small mammals require knowledge of the population dynamics of co‐occurring species. We estimated the abundances, autocorrelations, and spatiotemporal associations of 4 small‐mammal species from 2011–2016 using live‐trapping mark‐recapture methods on 9 sites across elevation and canopy openness gradients of a late‐successional forest in the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest, on the west slope of the Oregon Cascades. We also quantified species‐specific spatial variation in adult sex ratios and body mass. We used Huggins closed capture models to estimate site‐ and year‐specific abundances of 4 target species: Humboldt's flying squirrels (Glaucomys oregonensis), Townsend's chipmunks (Neotamias townsendii), western red‐backed voles (Myodes californicus), and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus). We estimated the temporal autocorrelations among site‐ and species‐specific abundance estimates and used generalized linear mixed effects models to investigate the effects of 7 spatiotemporal covariates on species‐specific mean abundance estimates. Species‐specific adult sex ratios, juvenile to adult ratios, and adult body masses were not widely variable among study sites. Abundance estimates varied by as much as 4‐fold among years and 6‐fold among sites. Humboldt's flying squirrel abundance was temporally autocorrelated at intervals of 1 and 5 years, Townsend's chipmunk abundance was temporally autocorrelated at intervals of 1–4 years, and western red‐backed vole abundance was temporally autocorrelated at 1, 4, and 5 years. Mean fall abundance estimates were associated with elevation and climate and in some cases, canopy openness and berry‐producing shrubs, but the direction of the association differed among species for some covariates. Our findings could provide additional management tools for small‐mammal abundance objectives, and highlight the importance of careful covariate selection in studies using indices of small‐mammal abundance. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Wildlife Management Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Wildlife Society.
Understanding conservation decisions of agriculture producers
Authors: Sweikert Lily A. , Gigliotti Larry M. 
Published: February 2019

ABSTRACTMost land in the United States is privately owned and used for agriculture. To address the effect of agriculture on wildlife, conservation professionals and organizations need to understand the land use decisions made by farmers and ranchers. We developed a tool for categorizing farmers and ranchers by their conservation land use values (LUVs) to understand how those values affect their land use motivations and resultant decisions. We defined land as the whole natural environment including soil, water, plants, fish, and wildlife. We used principal axis factoring and reliability analysis to identify statements representing human‐centered values and nature‐centered values of farmers and ranchers. We tested the validity of the combined statements with a survey of South Dakota's private landowners (n = 4,000, Jan through May 2016), resulting in the LUV scale. Crossing the average scores on the human‐centered and nature‐centered statements identified 4 LUV types: humans first (20%), nature first (29%), interconnected (29%), and disconnected (22%). Analysis of variance and chi‐square tests showed that, compared to the humans first and disconnected LUV types, the nature first and interconnected LUV types reported significantly greater importance of the following: most categories of wildlife in their land use decisions, conservation‐related motivations for participating in a United States Farm Bill Conservation Program, conservation‐related motivations for land use decisions, and participation in conservation‐related behaviors. Conservation professionals and organizations can use the LUV scale to better understand landowners’ land use decisions to evaluate and inform conservation policy, programs, messaging, and improve conservation outcomes. © 2019 The Wildlife Society.