bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
How Does the Adoption of e‐Commerce Impact the Selling Prices of Agricultural Products? Empirical Evidence From Apple Farmers in China
Authors: Liu Min , Liu Tianjun , Ren Yanjun , Wu Leslie 
Published: October 2024

ABSTRACTThe sale of products through e‐commerce is emerging in rural China, and it cuts out intermediaries and allows farmers direct access to the market. To understand how adopting e‐commerce impacts the selling prices of agricultural products and who benefits more from adopting e‐commerce, we interviewed 480 apple farmers from the three representative provinces in China. The Propensity Score Matching approach combined with sensitivity analysis is employed to address the potential self‐selection bias in estimating the impacts of adopting e‐commerce. We find that adopting of e‐commerce drives significant increases in the selling prices of apple products, including the average price, the maximum price and the minimum price. The heterogeneity analysis suggests that the adoption of e‐commerce has significant heterogeneous effects on selling prices across various ages and education of household heads, land area, distance to the local town centre and social capital. The analysis of potential pathways reveals that increases in selling prices are attributed to farmers achieving more marketing flexibility through more adaptable sale times and extended sale periods due to adopting e‐commerce. The research findings provide rigorous evidence on optimal future policy design regarding the development of rural e‐commerce for poverty alleviation in China and other developing countries.
A novel RAV transcription factor from pear interacts with viral RNA‐silencing suppressors to inhibit viral infection
Authors: Xie Yin‐Shuai , Zeng Qi , Huang Wen‐Ting , Wang Jin‐Ying , Li Han‐Wei , Yu Shang‐Zhen , Liu Can , Zhang Xue‐Qing , Feng Chen‐Lu , Zhang Wen‐Hao , Li Tian‐Zhong , Cheng Yu‐Qin 
Published: October 2024

SUMMARYIn plants, RNA silencing constitutes a strong defense against viral infection, which viruses counteract with RNA‐silencing suppressors (RSSs). Understanding the interactions between viral RSSs and host factors is crucial for elucidating the molecular arms race between viruses and host plants. We report that the helicase motif (Hel) of the replicase encoded by apple stem grooving virus (ASGV)—the main virus affecting pear trees in China—is an RSS that can inhibit both local and systemic RNA silencing, possibly by binding double‐stranded (ds) siRNA. The transcription factor related to ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE3/VIVIPAROUS1 from pear (PbRAV1) enters the cytoplasm and binds Hel through its C terminus, thereby attenuating its RSS activity by reducing its binding affinity to 21‐ and 24‐nt ds siRNA, and suppressing ASGV infection. PbRAV1 can also target p24, an RSS encoded by grapevine leafroll‐associated virus 2 (GLRaV‐2), with similar negative effects on p24's suppressive function and inhibition of GLRaV‐2 infection. Moreover, like the positive role of the PbRAV1 homolog from grapevine (VvRAV1) in p24's previously reported RSS activity, ASGV Hel can also hijack VvRAV1 and employ the protein to sequester 21‐nt ds siRNA, thereby enhancing its own RSS activity and promoting ASGV infection. Furthermore, PbRAV1 neither interacts with CP, an RSS encoded by grapevine inner necrosis virus, nor has any obvious effect on CP's RSS activity. Our results identify an RSS encoded by ASGV and demonstrate that PbRAV1, representing a novel type of RAV transcription factor, plays a defensive role against viral infection by targeting viral RSSs.
A modified approach to portal placement for arthroscopic management of osteochondritis dissecans lesions of the tarsocrural joint in 15 dogs (19 tarsi)
Authors: Cruciani Benoît , Gros Lucile , Ragetly Guillaume 
Published: October 2024

AbstractObjectiveTo describe the surgical technique and outcomes of arthroscopic treatment for talar osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) in dogs, using scope and instrument portals placed on the same side of the joint as the lesion.Study designRetrospective case series.AnimalsFifteen client‐owned dogs (19 tarsi).MethodsThe records of dogs with talar OCD lesions managed by arthroscopy using this modified approach to portal placement were reviewed. Signalment, owner‐completed questionnaires—the Canine Brief Pain Inventory (CBPI) and a visual analog scale (VAS)—together with clinical and imaging data, surgical techniques, and postoperative complications were recorded. Mid‐ to long‐term outcomes (over 6 months) were assessed using orthopedic examinations, osteoarthritis radiographic scores, and owner‐completed questionnaires.ResultsVisualization of the affected articular structures was adequate in all cases. The multiple OCD fragments identified on CT scans were removed without intraoperative complication in 17 tarsi. Mini‐arthrotomy was performed in one dog and mini‐tenotomy of the deep digital flexor sheath was performed in another. Minor postoperative complications (synovial cysts) were reported in four cases. Mid‐ to long‐term outcomes were good to excellent in 11 of the 14 dogs with substantial improvement in lameness, CBPI, and VAS scores compared with preoperative results. Degenerative joint disease progression was observed in 10 of the 14 cases.ConclusionThe modified arthroscopic technique resulted in few complications, rapid clinical improvement, and full or acceptable function in most cases.Clinical significanceThis modified approach to portal placement is an appealing and suitable alternative to the approach described previously for managing tarsal OCD lesions.
Experience‐driven competition in neural reorganization after stroke
Authors: Jones Theresa A. , Nemchek Victoria , Fracassi Michela 
Published: October 2024

AbstractBehavioural experiences interact with regenerative responses to shape patterns of neural reorganization after stroke. This review is focused on the competitive nature of these behavioural experience effects. Interactions between learning‐related plasticity and regenerative reactions have been found to underlie the establishment of new compensatory behaviours and the efficacy of motor rehabilitative training in rodent stroke models. Learning in intact brains depends on competitive and cooperative mechanisms of synaptic plasticity. Synapses are added in response to learning and selectively maintained and strengthened via activity‐dependent competition. Long‐term memories for experiences that occur closely in time can be weakened or enhanced by competitive or cooperative interactions in the time‐dependent process of stabilizing synaptic changes. Rodent stroke model findings suggest that compensatory reliance on the non‐paretic hand after stroke can shape and stabilize synaptic reorganization patterns in both hemispheres, to compete with the capacity for experiences of the paretic side to do so. However, the competitive edge of the non‐paretic side can be countered by overlapping experiences of the paretic hand, and might even be shifted in a cooperative direction with skilfully coordinated bimanual experience. Advances in the basic understanding of learning‐related synaptic competition are helping to inform the basis of experience‐dependent variations in stroke outcome.
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ARGONAUT-IV: susceptibility of carbapenemase-producing
Klebsiella pneumoniae
to the oral bicyclic boronate β-lactamase inhibitor ledaborbactam combined with ceftibuten
Authors: Jacobs Michael R. , Good Caryn E. , Abdelhamed Ayman M. , Mack Andrew R. , Bethel Christopher R. , Marshall Steven H. , Hujer Andrea M. , Hujer Kristine M. , Patel Robin , van Duin David , Fowler Vance G. , Rhoads Daniel D. , Six David A. , Moeck Greg , Uehara Tsuyoshi , Papp-Wallace Krisztina M. , Bonomo Robert A. 
Published: October 2024

ABSTRACT

Ledaborbactam (formerly VNRX-5236), a bicyclic boronate β-lactamase inhibitor with activity against class A, C, and D β-lactamases, is under development as an orally bioavailable etzadroxil prodrug (VNRX-7145) in combination with ceftibuten for the treatment of urinary tract infections. At ceftibuten breakpoints of ≤1 mg/L (EUCAST) and ≤8 mg/L (CLSI), 92.5% and 99.0%, respectively, of 200 carbapenem-resistant
Klebsiella pneumoniae
isolates, predominantly
K. pneumoniae
carbapenemase producing, were susceptible to ceftibuten-ledaborbactam (ledaborbactam tested at a fixed concentration of 4 mg/L) compared to 4.5% and 30.5%, respectively, to ceftibuten alone.
C→U transition biases in SARS-CoV-2: still rampant 4 years from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic
Authors: Simmonds Peter 
Published: October 2024

ABSTRACT

The evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the pandemic and post-pandemic periods has been characterized by rapid adaptive changes that confer immune escape and enhanced human-to-human transmissibility. Sequence change is additionally marked by an excess number of C→U transitions suggested as being due to host-mediated genome editing. To investigate how these influence the evolutionary trajectory of SARS-CoV-2, 2,000 high-quality, coding complete genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 variants collected pre-September 2020 and from each subsequently appearing alpha, delta, BA.1, BA.2, BA.5, XBB, EG, HK, and JN.1 lineages were downloaded from NCBI Virus in April 2024. C→U transitions were the most common substitution during the diversification of SARS-CoV-2 lineages over the 4-year observation period. A net loss of C bases and accumulation of U’s occurred at a constant rate of approximately 0.2%–0.25%/decade. C→U transitions occurred in over a quarter of all sites with a C (26.5%; range 20.0%–37.2%) around five times more than observed for the other transitions (5.3%–6.8%). In contrast to an approximately random distribution of other transitions across the genome, most C→U substitutions occurred at statistically preferred sites in each lineage. However, only the most C→U polymorphic sites showed evidence for a preferred 5′U context previously associated with APOBEC 3A editing. There was a similarly weak preference for unpaired bases suggesting much less stringent targeting of RNA than mediated by A3 deaminases in DNA editing. Future functional studies are required to determine editing preferences, impacts on replication fitness
in vivo
of SARS-CoV-2 and other RNA viruses, and impact on host tropism.

IMPORTANCE
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the pandemic and post-pandemic periods has shown a remarkable capacity to adapt and evade human immune responses and increase its human-to-human transmissibility. The genome of SARS-CoV-2 is also increasingly scarred by the effects of multiple C→U mutations from host genome editing as a cellular defense mechanism akin to restriction factors for retroviruses. Through the analysis of large data sets of SARS-CoV-2 isolate sequences collected throughout the pandemic period and beyond, we show that C→U transitions have driven a base compositional change over time amounting to a net loss of C bases and accumulation of U’s at a rate of approximately 0.2%–0.25%/decade. Most C→U substitutions occurred in the absence of the preferred upstream-base context or targeting of unpaired RNA bases previously associated with the host RNA editing protein, APOBEC 3A. The analyses provide a series of testable hypotheses that can be experimentally investigated in the future.
Unprecedented N
2
O production by nitrate-ammonifying
Geobacteraceae
with distinctive N
2
O isotopocule signatures
Authors: Xu Zhenxing , Hattori Shohei , Masuda Yoko , Toyoda Sakae , Koba Keisuke , Yu Pei , Yoshida Naohiro , Du Zong-Jun , Senoo Keishi 
Published: October 2024

ABSTRACT

Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), driven by nitrate-ammonifying bacteria, is an increasingly appreciated nitrogen-cycling pathway in terrestrial ecosystems. This process reportedly generates nitrous oxide (N
2
O), a strong greenhouse gas with ozone-depleting effects. However, it remains poorly understood how N
2
O is produced by environmental nitrate-ammonifiers and how to identify DNRA-derived N
2
O. In this study, we characterize two novel enzymatic pathways responsible for N
2
O production in
Geobacteraceae
strains, which are predominant nitrate-ammonifying bacteria in paddy soils. The first pathway involves a membrane-bound nitrate reductase (Nar) and a hybrid cluster protein complex (Hcp–Hcr) that catalyzes the conversion of NO
2
−
to NO and subsequently to N
2
O. The second pathway is observed in Nar-deficient bacteria, where the nitrite reductase (NrfA) generates NO, which is then reduced to N
2
O by Hcp–Hcr. These enzyme combinations are prevalent across the domain Bacteria. Moreover, we observe distinctive isotopocule signatures of DNRA-derived N
2
O from other established N
2
O production pathways, especially through the highest
15
N-site preference (SP) values (43.0‰–49.9‰) reported so far, indicating a robust means for N
2
O source partitioning. Our findings demonstrate two novel N
2
O production pathways in DNRA that can be isotopically distinguished from other pathways.

IMPORTANCE

Stimulation of DNRA is a promising strategy to improve fertilizer efficiency and reduce N
2
O emission in agriculture soils. This process converts water-leachable NO
3
−
and NO
2
−
into soil-adsorbable NH
4
+
, thereby alleviating nitrogen loss and N
2
O emission resulting from denitrification. However, several studies have noted that DNRA can also be a source of N
2
O, contributing to global warming. This contribution is often masked by other N
2
O generation processes, leading to a limited understanding of DNRA as an N
2
O source. Our study reveals two widespread yet overlooked N
2
O production pathways in
Geobacteraceae
, the predominant DNRA bacteria in paddy soils, along with their distinctive isotopocule signatures. These findings offer novel insights into the role of the DNRA bacteria in N
2
O production and underscore the significance of N
2
O isotopocule signatures in microbial N
2
O source tracking.
An orphan kinesin in
Trypanosoma brucei
regulates hook complex assembly and Golgi biogenesis
Authors: Zhou Qing , Kurasawa Yasuhiro , Hu Huiqing , Souza Onofre Thiago , Li Ziyin 
Published: October 2024

ABSTRACT

Kinesins are microtubule-based motor proteins that play diverse cellular functions by regulating microtubule dynamics and intracellular transport in eukaryotes. The early branching kinetoplastid protozoan
Trypanosoma brucei
has an expanded repertoire of kinetoplastid-specific kinesins and orphan kinesins, many of which have unknown functions. We report here the identification of an orphan kinesin named KIN-G that plays an essential role in maintaining hook complex integrity and promoting Golgi biogenesis in
T. brucei
. KIN-G localizes to the distal portion of the centrin arm of the flagellum-associated hook complex through association with the centrin arm protein TbCentrin4. Knockdown of KIN-G in
T. brucei
disrupts the integrity of the hook complex by reducing the length of the centrin arm and eliminating the shank part of the hook complex, thereby impairing flagellum attachment zone elongation and flagellum positioning, which leads to unequal cytokinesis. KIN-G associates with Golgi through a centrin arm-localized Golgi peripheral protein named CAAP1, which maintains Golgi-centrin arm association to facilitate Golgi biogenesis. Knockdown of KIN-G impairs Golgi biogenesis by disrupting CAAP1 at the centrin arm, thereby impairing the maturation of centrin arm-associated Golgi.
In vitro
microtubule gliding assays demonstrate that KIN-G is a plus end-directed motor protein, and its motor activity is required for hook complex assembly and Golgi biogenesis. Together, these results identify a kinesin motor protein for promoting hook complex assembly and uncover a control mechanism for Golgi biogenesis through KIN-G-mediated maintenance of Golgi-hook complex association.

IMPORTANCE

Trypanosoma brucei
has a motile flagellum, which controls cell motility, cell morphogenesis, cell division, and cell-cell communication, and a set of cytoskeletal structures, including the hook complex and the centrin arm, associates with the flagellum. Despite the essentiality of these flagellum-associated cytoskeletal structures, their mechanistic roles and the function of their associated proteins remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that the orphan kinesin KIN-G functions to promote the biogenesis of the hook complex and the Golgi apparatus. KIN-G exerts this function by mediating the association between centrin arm and Golgi through the centrin arm protein TbCentrin4 and a novel Golgi scaffold protein named CAAP1, thereby bridging the two structures and maintaining their close association to facilitate the assembly of the two structures. These findings uncover the essential involvement of a kinesin motor protein in regulating the biogenesis of the hook complex and the Golgi in trypanosomes.
Circulating extracellular vesicles from severe COVID-19 patients induce lung inflammation
Authors: Qian Huifeng , Zang Ruoxi , Zhang Ruoyang , Zheng Guoping , Qiu Guanguan , Meng Jianbiao , Wang Jiangmei , Xia Jie , Huang Ruoqiong , Le Zhenkai , Shu Qiang , Xu Jianguo 
Published: October 2024

ABSTRACT

Circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been associated with the development of COVID-19 due to their roles in viral infection, inflammatory response, and thrombosis. However, the direct induction of lung inflammation by circulating EVs from severe COVID-19 patients remains unknown. EVs were extracted from the plasma of severe COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care and healthy controls. To study the effect of COVID-19 EVs on lung inflammation, mice were intratracheally instilled with EVs. To examine the proinflammatory effects of EVs
in vitro
, bone marrow-derived macrophages were treated with EVs. COVID-19 but not control EVs triggered lung inflammation, as assessed by total protein level, total cell count, neutrophil count, and levels of proinflammatory cytokines in the bronchoalveolar lavage. COVID-19 EVs also promoted M1 polarization of alveolar macrophages
in vivo
. Treatment of bone marrow-derived macrophages with COVID-19 EVs enhanced the M1 phenotype and augmented the production of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α. In summary, circulating EVs from severe COVID-19 patients induce lung inflammation in mice. EVs could become a potential therapeutic target for alleviating lung injury in COVID-19.

IMPORTANCE

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been reported to facilitate cytokine storm, coagulation, vascular dysfunction, and the spread of the virus in COVID-19. The direct role of circulating EVs from severe COVID-19 patients in lung injury remains unrecognized. Our study demonstrated that plasma EVs obtained from severe COVID-19 patients induced lung inflammation and polarization of alveolar macrophages
in vivo
.
In vitro
experiments also revealed the proinflammatory effects of COVID-19 EVs. The present study sheds fresh insight into the mechanisms of COVID-19-induced lung injury, highlighting EVs as a potential therapeutic target in combating the disease.
Multicyclic Phanerozoic orogeny recorded in the Qaidam continent, northern Tibet: Implications for the tectonic evolution of the Tethyan orogenic system
Authors: Wu Chen , Zhao Yonghui , Li Jie , Liu Wenyou , Zuza Andrew V. , Haproff Peter J. , Ding Lin 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
The growth and evolution of the Eurasian continent involved the progressive closure of major ocean basins during the Phanerozoic, including the Tethyan and Paleo-Asian oceanic realms. Unraveling this complicated history requires interpreting multiple overprinted episodes of subduction-related magmatism and collisional orogeny, the products of which were later affected by the Cenozoic construction of the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen due to the India-Asia collision. In particular, the tectonic evolution of northern Tibet surrounding the Cenozoic Qaidam Basin is poorly resolved due to several phases of Phanerozoic orogeny that have been reactivated during the Cenozoic deformation. In this study, we investigated the geology of the northern Qaidam continent, which experienced Paleozoic–Mesozoic tectonic activity associated with the development of the Eastern Kunlun orogen to the south and the Qilian orogen to the north. We combined new and published field observations, geochronologic and thermochronologic ages, and geochemical data to construct regional tectonostratigraphic sections and bracket phases of Paleozoic–Mesozoic magmatism associated with oceanic subduction and continental collision. Results suggest that the Qaidam continent experienced two major phases of subduction magmatism and collision. First, a Cambrian–Ordovician magmatic arc developed in the northern Qaidam continent due to south-dipping subduction. This phase was followed by the closure of the Qilian Ocean and the collision of the North China craton and Qaidam continent, resulting in Silurian–Devonian orogeny and the development of a regional unconformity across northern Tibet. A subsequent Permian–Triassic magmatic arc developed across the northern Qaidam continent due to north-dipping subduction. This phase was followed by the closure of the Neo-Kunlun Ocean and the collision of the Songpan Ganzi terrane in the south and Qaidam continent. These interpretations are incorporated into a new and comprehensive model for the Phanerozoic formation of northern Tibet and the Eurasia continent.
Boron isotopes identify deep-slab serpentinite in the source of Aleutian arc magma
Authors: Jensen Owen , Waldman Ryan , Yogodzinski Gene , Bizimis Michael , Ryan Jeffrey , Leeman William , Scher Howie , Hoernle Kaj 
Published: October 2024

Abstract
Seafloor lavas of the Western Aleutian arc have isotopically heavy boron (δ11B to +13.4‰) that is negatively correlated with B content (ppm). Endmember samples are primitive dacites and rhyodacites (δ11B &gt; +10‰, SiO2 = 63%–70%, Mg# &gt; 0.60) with adakitic trace-element and isotopic characteristics that require roles for residual garnet and rutile in their formation. The source of isotopically heavy B is likely serpentinite in the mantle section of the subducting plate, which dewaters into an inverted geothermal gradient and drives melting within the overlying volcanic section at depths where prior effects of seawater alteration were minimal. Most volcanic rocks from the Aleutian Island locations have 10–30 ppm B with an average δ11B of ~+1.0‰ ± 1.3‰, reflecting a mixed source dominated by subducted sediment. A subset of island samples has B that is isotopically light (δ11B &lt; –2.4‰) and at low concentrations (&lt;11.0 ppm), which is typical of arc lavas globally from rear-arc settings where depth-to-slab is high, and where δ11B may be interpreted to reflect a source in dehydrated (isotopically light) altered oceanic crust. Mass balance modeling indicates that isotopically heavy B from deep-slab serpentinite is present in the Aleutian source arc-wide but is typically masked by sediment-derived B at volcanic centers outside of the westernmost segment of the arc.