bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Trends and risk factors of hepatitis A in Catalonia after the introduction of a hepatitis A+B vaccination programme
Authors: Godoy P. , Carmona G. , Manzanares S. , Jane M. , Borràs E. , Camps N. , Álvarez J. , Barrabeig I. , Sala M.‐R. , Rius C. , Minguell S. , Carol M. , Ferras J. , Domínguez A. ,   the Working Group for the Study of Hepatitis in Catalonia
Published: March 2018

SummaryAt the end of 1998, universal hepatitis A+B vaccination of 12 year olds was introduced in Catalonia. The aim was to examine trends in hepatitis A during 2005‐2015 and assess risk factors by age group. We carried out an observational epidemiological study of the incidence and risk factors of hepatitis A reported to the surveillance system. Information on exposure was recorded for each case for the 2‐6 weeks before symptom onset. Spearman's coefficient was used to evaluate the trends of rates. The chi‐square test was used to compare categorical. We studied 2621 hepatitis A cases; the age mean was 26.6 years (SD=18.2), and >50% of cases were in the 20‐49 years age group. The incidence decreased from 3.28/100 000 in 2005 to 1.50/100 000 in 2015. The rate for women decreased over time (P = .008), but the reduction was not significant in men (P = .234). Men consistently had higher rates than women with the biggest difference being in the 20‐34 years age group (rate 8.8 vs 2.8). The greatest risk factor was travel to an endemic country (42.1%) in the 0‐19 years age group and male‐to‐male sexual contact (18.6%) in the 20‐49 years age group. The case fatality rate in adults aged >49 years was 0.4%. In conclusion, the vaccination programme of preadolescents resulted in a reduction in hepatitis A cases. However, a significant amount of cases still appear in immigrants and men who have sex with men. Hepatitis A in adults is an emerging health problem that will require new strategies.
Alterations in serum amino acid concentrations in dogs with protein‐losing enteropathy
Authors: Kathrani Aarti , Allenspach Karin , Fascetti Andrea J. , Larsen Jennifer A. , Hall Edward J. 
Published: March 2018

BackgroundCertain amino acids are decreased in humans with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and supplementation with the same amino acids has shown beneficial effects in animal models of IBD. Currently, the amino acid status of dogs with protein‐losing enteropathy (PLE) is unknown.Hypothesis/ObjectiveTo determine if serum amino acid concentrations are abnormal in dogs with PLE and correlated with clinical and laboratory variables and outcome.AnimalsThirty client‐owned dogs diagnosed with PLE and 12 apparently healthy dogs seen at Bristol Veterinary School.MethodsRetrospective study using stored residual serum from fasted dogs with PLE, collected at the time of diagnostic investigation and from apparently healthy dogs. Serum was analyzed for 30 amino acids using an automated high‐performance liquid chromatography amino acid analyzer.ResultsSerum tryptophan concentrations were significantly decreased in dogs with PLE (median, 22 nmol/mL; range, 1–80 nmol/mL) compared with apparently healthy control dogs (median, 77.5 nmol/mL; range, 42–135 nmol/mL, P < .001). There were no significant differences in the remaining 29 serum amino acids between dogs with PLE and apparently healthy. Serum tryptophan concentrations were also significantly correlated with serum albumin concentrations in dogs with PLE (P = .001, R2 = 0.506).Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceDecreased serum tryptophan concentration might play a role in the pathogenesis of canine PLE or be a consequence of the disease.
Novel amoxicillin nanoparticles formulated as sustained release delivery system for poultry use
Authors: Güncüm E. , Bakırel T. , Anlaş C. , Ekici H. , Işıklan N. 
Published: March 2018

Amoxicillin is used in the treatment and prevention of a wide range of diseases in poultry breeding. However, its short half‐life and low bioavailability restrict its clinical application in these species. Entrapment of drugs into polymeric nanoparticles (nps) presents a means to improve gastrointestinal absorption and oral bioavailability of drugs. This study was aimed to overcome limitation of amoxicillin use in poultry breeding. Amoxicillin was loaded into sodium alginate‐polyvinyl alcohol (NaAlg‐PVA) blend nps, and characterization of the prepared nps was performed. For pharmacokinetic study, commercial male broilers were used and comparative pharmacokinetics of free and nanoparticle form of amoxicillin were investigated. Twenty‐one broilers were divided into three groups. All groups received 10 mg/kg drug. Blood samples were collected, and drug plasma concentrations were determined by HPLC. The results demonstrated that the particle size, zeta potential, encapsulation efficiency, and loading capacity of the nps were 513.96 ± 19.46 nm, −45.36 ± 1.35 mV, 43.66 ± 3.30, and 12.06 ± 0.83%, respectively. In vitro drug release exhibited a biphasic pattern with an initial burst release of 18% within 2 hr followed by a sustained release over 22 hr. The pharmacokinetic results showed that amoxicillin nps have higher bioavailability and longer plasma half‐life (p < .01) than free amoxicillin. These results indicate that amoxicillin nano formulation is suitable for oral administration in broilers.
One shape fits all, but only in the aggregate: Diversity in sub‐stand scale diameter distributions
Authors: Zenner Eric K. , Peck JeriLynn E. , Sagheb‐Talebi Khosro 
Published: March 2018

AbstractQuestionsTo what extent are the sub‐stand size class distributions at the neighbourhood patch scale masked at the stand level via spatial smoothing? What are the implications for naturalness assessment of obscuring, at the stand level, structures that arise from endogenous processes at the neighbourhood scale?LocationElborz Mountains, south of the Caspian Sea, Iran.MethodsNatural uneven‐aged old‐growth Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis) forest subject to fine‐scale disturbances was stem‐mapped in a 1.2‐ha plot of live trees >7.5 cm DBH; neighbourhoods were delineated across multiple scales using the tree‐centred floating neighbourhood approach of spatial tessellation to connect trees to their natural neighbours. Cluster analysis was used to identify an optimal number of recurring diameter distribution types (DDT) based on the proportion of trees in each of the five size classes. The richness of DDTs was assessed and the extent of DDTs was modelled as a function of tree size.ResultsThe number of member trees and spatial extent increased with neighbourhood scale. While the stand‐level tree size class distribution exhibited a rotated sigmoid shape, the nine most distinct DDTs were characterized by four different distribution shapes (negative exponential, increasing‐q, rotated sigmoid and unimodal) and varied considerably in the abundance of trees in different size classes. Each individual tree contributed to at least three of the nine DDTs, which were nonetheless spatially distinct and varied in extent with size class composition. As expected, all metrics exhibited spatial smoothing (i.e., increasing homogeneity with increasing scale) as small, heterogeneous tree neighbourhoods were expanded into larger neighbourhoods with more similar average composition, which converged on a rotated sigmoid shape at the broadest scale.ConclusionsThe stand‐level rotated sigmoid distribution reflected spatial smoothing across more heterogeneous fine‐scale tree neighbourhood patches. Further studies are needed to assess if a better measure of natural forest structure may be the diversity of sub‐stand structures and the contribution of individual trees to that diversity, rather than an aggregated metric that averages across the hallmark heterogeneity of neighbourhood dynamics.
Grasslands maintained with frequent fire promote cold‐tolerant species
Authors: Ladwig Laura M. , Damschen Ellen I. , Martin‐Blangy Soline , Alstad Amy O. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractQuestionIn temperate grasslands and savannas that were historically maintained by frequent, low‐intensity fires, disturbance by fire may promote community resistance to winter climate change by favouring slow‐growing, resource‐conservative species that may also be more cold‐tolerant. The lack of functional trait data for measuring cold tolerance, however, has prevented testing this idea. We ask, are slower growing, resource‐conservative species more cold‐tolerant than fast‐growing species, and are plant responses to fire frequency and cold tolerance related?LocationPrairies and savannas of south‐central Wisconsin, USA.MethodsWe measured leaf cold tolerance for 120 plant species from prairies and savannas and compared cold tolerance to fire affinity as well as other functional traits describing plant strategies.ResultsAs predicted, resource‐conservative species are more cold‐tolerant than fast‐growing species in temperate grasslands and savannas. Cold tolerance is also associated with disturbance regime such that species found in frequently burned sites are more cold‐tolerant.ConclusionsThe ability to predict the degree of susceptibility of species and communities to winter climate change and extreme climate events, such as freezing, will provide insight into the conservation and management practices to promote species persistence into the future. Under climate change, communities composed of more stress‐tolerant species may be more likely to persist. Our results demonstrate that cold‐tolerant species are more common in temperate grasslands and savannas managed with frequent, low‐intensity fire that simulate historic disturbance regimes. Identifying and maintaining ecosystems composed of stress‐tolerant species may play a key role in preserving natural communities under environmental uncertainty.
Impact of climate change environmental conditions on the resilience of different formulations of the biocontrol agent Candida sake CPA-1 on grapes
Authors: Carbó A. , Torres R. , Teixidó N. , Usall J. , Medina A. , Magan N. 
Published: March 2018

Abstract
Biocontrol agents have become components of integrated crop protection systems for controlling economically important fungal pathogens. Candida sake CPA-1 is a biocontrol agent of fungal pathogens of fruits, both pre- and post-harvest. While the efficacy of different formulations have been examined previously, few studies have considered the resilience of different formulations under changing climatic conditions of elevated temperature, drought stress and increased atmospheric CO2. This study examined the effect of (a) temperature × RH × elevated CO2 (400 vs 1000 ppm) on the temporal establishment and viability of two dry and one liquid C. sake CPA-1 formulations on grape berry surfaces; (b) temperature stress (25 vs 35°C); and (c) elevated CO2 levels. Results indicated that temperature, RH and CO2 concentration influenced the establishment and viability of the formulations but there was no significant difference between formulations. For the combined three-component factors, increased temperature (35°C) and lower RH (40%) reduced the viable populations on grapes. The interaction with elevated CO2 improved the establishment of viable populations of the formulations tested. Viable populations greater than Log 4 CFUs per g were recovered from the grape surfaces suggesting that these had conserved resilience for control of Botrytis rot in grapes.

Significance and Impact of the Study
The interaction between environmental factors that are expected to occur in response to climate change (CC) will have a significant impact on food security and availability. Little information exists on how elevated temperature, drought stress and increased CO2 will have on the efficacy of biocontrol agents. The impact of these factors on the viability of different formulations of the biocontrol yeast Candida sake on the surface of grapes berries was evaluated for the first time. Such knowledge is critical for projecting the efficacy of biocontrol under climate change conditions and to identify formulations that have the necessary resilience to perform under CC conditions.
Hepatotoxicity of immune checkpoint inhibitors: An evolving picture of risk associated with a vital class of immunotherapy agents
Authors: Suzman Daniel L. , Pelosof Lorraine , Rosenberg Amy , Avigan Mark I. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) block CTLA‐4, PD‐1 and PD‐L1, or other molecules that control antitumour activities of lymphocytes. These products are associated with a broad array of immune‐related toxicities affecting a variety of organs, including the liver. ICI‐associated immune‐mediated hepatitis (IMH) ranges in severity between mild and life‐threatening and is marked by findings that bear both similarities as well as differences with idiopathic autoimmune hepatitis. Hepatotoxic events are often detected in clinical trials of ICIs that are powered for efficacy. Risk levels for ICI‐induced liver injury may be impacted by the specific checkpoint molecule targeted for treatment, the ICI dose levels, and the presence of a pre‐existing autoimmune diathesis, chronic infection or tumour cells which infiltrate the liver parenchyma. When patients develop liver injury during ICI treatment, a prompt assessment of the cause of injury, in conjunction with the application of measures to optimally manage the adverse event, should be made. Strategies to manage the risk of IMH include the performance of pretreatment liver tests with regular monitoring during and after ICI treatment and patient education. Using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events developed at the National Cancer Institute to measure the severity level of liver injury, recommended actions may include continued ICI treatment with close patient monitoring, ICI treatment suspension or discontinuation and/or administration of corticosteroids or, when necessary, a non‐steroidal immunosuppressive agent. The elucidation of reliable predictors of tumour‐specific ICI treatment responses, as well as an increased susceptibility for clinically serious immune‐related adverse events, would help optimize treatment decisions for individual patients.
Development of spatial similarity‐based modelling to improve integrated lake water quality management in Malaysia
Authors: Fazli Bashirah , Shafie Aziz , Mohamed Azuhan , Mohamad Mohd F. , Yahaya Nasehir K. E. M. , Noordin Normaliza 
Published: March 2018

AbstractThis study describes similarity‐based modelling techniques used to develop a spatially based water quality prediction model to facilitate sustainable lake water quality management. The lentic nature of lakes allows them to slowly absorb pollutants over a long period of time with readily noticeable signs, causing symptoms to appear only when the water quality has significantly degraded, meaning the risk of improper water quality management can be very high. Thus, failure to establish sustainable planning at the watershed scale was found to be a major threat of water quality degradation, from extemporary approaches often practised in lake management. Accordingly, the developed model is tailored for lakes facing moderate to serious water quality data limitation. The geodatabase integrates the identified driving factors of physical, social and water quality with significant influences on the status of lake water quality. A 1 km buffer radius with percentages of built‐up area, population, lake surface area and rainfall is measured. Calculation of a water quality index was then quantified on the basis of a similarity‐modelling technique. Lake Putrajaya was chosen as a control point for developing the indicator index. A total of 93 recreational lakes within Selangor and Kuala Lumpur were selected as modelling points. The results of this study indicated the similarity technique of spatial modelling is sufficiently reliable to be applied as an early assessment indicator. From the 93 lakes in this study, none feel in the category of either “bad” or “excellent,” with the majority being in class 3 (medium water quality status) and only four considered as having a good water quality condition. The balance of 35 lakes was considered to exhibit poor water quality. The model output is an indicator index, providing classification guidelines for the water quality status of the assessed lake as an early assessment tools.
An experimental study on impact‐induced alterations of planetary organic simulants
Authors: Sekine Yasuhito , Kodama Kenya , Kobayashi Takamichi , Obata Seiji , Chang Yu , Ogawa Nanako O. , Takano Yoshinori , Ohkouchi Naohiko , Saiki Koichiro , Sekine Toshimori 
Published: March 2018

AbstractThe present study systematically investigates shock‐induced alteration of organic simulants of planetary bodies (OSPBs) as a function of peak shock pressure and temperature by impact experiments. Our results show that the composition and structure of OSPBs are unchanged upon impacts at peak pressures ≤~5 GPa and temperatures ≤~350 °C. On the other hand, these are dramatically changed upon impacts at >7–8 GPa and > ~400 °C, through loss of hydrogen‐related bonds and concurrent carbonization, regardless of the initial compositions of OSPBs. Compared with previous results on static heating of organic matter, we suggest that shock‐induced alteration cannot be distinguished from static heating only by Raman and infrared spectroscopy. Our experimental results would provide a proxy indicator for assessing degree of shock‐induced alteration of organic matter contained in carbonaceous chondrites. We suggest that a remote‐sensing signature of the 3.3–3.6 μm absorption due to hydrogen‐related bonds on the surface of small bodies would be a promising indicator for the presence of less‐thermally‐altered (i.e., <350 °C) organic matter there, which will be a target for landing to collect primordial samples in sample‐return spacecraft missions, such as Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS‐REx.
Model‐based detection and analysis of introgressed Neanderthal ancestry in modern humans
Authors: Steinrücken Matthias , Spence Jeffrey P. , Kamm John A. , Wieczorek Emilia , Song Yun S. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractGenetic evidence has revealed that the ancestors of modern human populations outside Africa and their hominin sister groups, notably Neanderthals, exchanged genetic material in the past. The distribution of these introgressed sequence tracts along modern‐day human genomes provides insight into the selective forces acting on them and the role of introgression in the evolutionary history of hominins. Studying introgression patterns on the X‐chromosome is of particular interest, as sex chromosomes are thought to play a special role in speciation. Recent studies have developed methods to localize introgressed ancestries, reporting long regions that are depleted of Neanderthal introgression and enriched in genes, suggesting negative selection against the Neanderthal variants. On the other hand, enriched Neanderthal ancestry in hair‐ and skin‐related genes suggests that some introgressed variants facilitated adaptation to new environments. Here, we present a model‐based introgression detection method called dical‐admix. We demonstrate its efficiency and accuracy through extensive simulations and apply it to detect tracts of Neanderthal introgression in modern human individuals from the 1000 Genomes Project. Our findings are largely concordant with previous studies, consistent with weak selection against Neanderthal ancestry. We find evidence that selection against Neanderthal ancestry was due to higher genetic load in Neanderthals resulting from small effective population size, rather than widespread Dobzhansky–Müller incompatibilities (DMIs) that could contribute to reproductive isolation. Moreover, we confirm the previously reported low level of introgression on the X‐chromosome, but find little evidence that DMIs contributed to this pattern.
Genetic costructure in a meta‐community under threat of habitat fragmentation
Authors: De Kort Hanne , Baguette Michel , Prunier Jérôme G. , Tessier Marc , Monsimet Jérémy , Turlure Camille , Stevens Virginie 
Published: March 2018

AbstractHabitat fragmentation increasingly threatens the services provided by natural communities and ecosystem worldwide. An understanding of the eco‐evolutionary processes underlying fragmentation‐compromised communities in natural settings is lacking, yet critical to realistic and sustainable conservation. Through integrating the multivariate genetic, biotic and abiotic facets of a natural community module experiencing various degrees of habitat fragmentation, we provide unique insights into the processes underlying community functioning in real, natural conditions. The focal community module comprises a parasitic butterfly of conservation concern and its two obligatory host species, a plant and an ant. We show that both historical dispersal and ongoing habitat fragmentation shape population genetic diversity of the butterfly Phengaris alcon and its most limited host species (the plant Gentiana pneumonanthe). Genetic structure of each species was strongly driven by geographical structure, altitude and landscape connectivity. Strikingly, however, was the strong degree of genetic costructure among the three species that could not be explained by the spatial variables under study. This finding suggests that factors other than spatial configuration, including co‐evolutionary dynamics and shared dispersal pathways, cause parallel genetic structure among interacting species. While the exact contribution of co‐evolution and shared dispersal routes on the genetic variation within and among communities deserves further attention, our findings demonstrate a considerable degree of genetic parallelism in natural meta‐communities. The significant effect of landscape connectivity on the genetic diversity and structure of the butterfly also suggests that habitat fragmentation may threaten the functioning of the community module on the long run.
A high‐quality pedigree and genetic markers both reveal inbreeding depression for quality but not survival in a cooperative mammal
Authors: Wells David A. , Cant Michael A. , Nichols Hazel J. , Hoffman Joseph I. 
Published: March 2018

AbstractInbreeding depression, the reduced fitness of offspring of closely related parents, is commonplace in both captive and wild populations and has important consequences for conservation and mating system evolution. However, because of the difficulty of collecting pedigree and life‐history data from wild populations, relatively few studies have been able to compare inbreeding depression for traits at different points in the life cycle. Moreover, pedigrees give the expected proportion of the genome that is identical by descent (IBDg) whereas in theory with enough molecular markers realized IBDg can be quantified directly. We therefore investigated inbreeding depression for multiple life‐history traits in a wild population of banded mongooses using pedigree‐based inbreeding coefficients (fped) and standardized multilocus heterozygosity (sMLH) measured at 35–43 microsatellites. Within an information theoretic framework, we evaluated support for either fped or sMLH as inbreeding terms and used sequential regression to determine whether the residuals of sMLH on fped explain fitness variation above and beyond fped. We found no evidence of inbreeding depression for survival, either before or after nutritional independence. By contrast, inbreeding was negatively associated with two quality‐related traits, yearling body mass and annual male reproductive success. Yearling body mass was associated with fped but not sMLH, while male annual reproductive success was best explained by both fped and residual sMLH. Thus, our study not only uncovers variation in the extent to which different traits show inbreeding depression, but also reveals trait‐specific differences in the ability of pedigrees and molecular markers to explain fitness variation and suggests that for certain traits, genetic markers may capture variation in realized IBDg above and beyond the pedigree expectation.