bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Regionalization of environmental and anthropic variables associated to livestock predation by large carnivores in Mexico
Authors: Reyna‐Sáenz F. , Zarco‐González M. M. , Monroy‐Vilchis O. , Antonio‐Némiga X. 
Published: July 2019

AbstractConflicts with humans are one of the main causes of the decline in populations of large carnivores, making it a crucial conservation issue worldwide. In Mexico, jaguarPanthera onca, pumaPuma concolorand American black bearUrsus americanusare involved in livestock predation and are persecuted in retaliation. The sites where predation occurs are distributed throughout the country and differ not only in environmental characteristics, but also in social, economic and livestock management practices. However, due to the general focus of the studies carried out so far, the proposed mitigation measures are also general. It is necessary to consider conditions that encourage predation in the design of strategies to be more effective. In this study, environmental, anthropic and livestock management characteristics of livestock predation by large carnivores were analyzed for conflict regionalization. The variables most related to predation sites were identified, with a high percentage of them being livestock management practices. Based on these variables, we formed clusters of similar sites and analyzed their spatial distribution, which presented grouping patterns in the cases of predation by puma and black bear, in contrast to the jaguar clusters, which presented a dispersed distribution. Considering the characteristics of the clusters, we propose as mitigation measures the confinement of livestock, construction or improvement of corrals and improvement of management practices. The anthropic component and livestock management practices are closely related to the predation events and, therefore, their inclusion in the conservation programs of carnivores in Mexico is fundamental.
The effectiveness of an educational intervention to enhance happiness in Iranian older people: Applying social support theory
Authors: Moeini Babak , Barati Majid , Farhadian Maryam , Heydari Ara Milad 
Published: July 2019

AbstractObjectiveThe aim of this study was to explore the effectiveness of an educational program based on social support theory (SST) to enhance happiness in older adults (60‐75 years) in Hamadan (Iran) in 2017.MethodsThis study was a quasi‐experimental intervention with a control group, consisting of 60 participants and an intervention group of 40 participants. The research instruments included the Oxford Argyle Happiness Inventory and a questionnaire derived from SST.ResultsThe findings showed that there was a significant difference between the scores of happiness, social support and their components in the intervention group compared to the control group three months after the intervention.ConclusionThe study results indicate that an educational intervention to promote happiness using social support can play a pivotal role in the mental health, life satisfaction and happiness of older adults.
Diverse and highly cross‐reactive T‐cell responses in ragweed allergic patients independent of geographical region
Authors: Würtzen Peter A. , Hoof Ilka , Christensen Lars H. , Váczy Zuzana , Henmar Helene , Salamanca Guillermo , Lundegaard Claus , Lund Lise , Kráľova Tatiana , Brooks Edwars G. , Andersen Peter S. 
Published: July 2019

AbstractBackgroundRagweed frequently causes seasonal allergies in North America and Europe. In the United States, several related ragweed species with diverse geographical distribution cause allergic symptoms. Cross‐reactivity towards related ragweed species of IgE and treatment‐induced IgG4 has been demonstrated previously. However, less is known about the underlying T‐cell cross‐reactivity.MethodsThe allergen content of ragweed extracts was determined by mass spectrometry and related to T‐cell epitopes of Amb a allergens (group 1, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 11) in 20 American ragweed allergic patients determined by FluoroSpot and proliferation assays. T‐cell responses to 50 frequently recognized Amb a‐derived T‐cell epitopes and homologous peptides from western ragweed (Amb p), giant ragweed (Amb t) and mugwort (Art v) were investigated in an additional 11 American and 14 Slovakian ragweed allergic donors.ResultsRagweed extracts contained all known allergens and isoallergens thereof. Donor T‐cell responses were diverse and directed against all Amb a 1 isoallergens and to most minor allergens investigated. Similar response patterns were seen in American and Slovakia donors. Several epitopes were cross‐reactive between isoallergens and ragweed species, some even including mugwort. T‐cell cross‐reactivity generally correlated with allergen sequence homology.ConclusionT‐cell epitopes of multiple allergens/isoallergens are involved in the diverse T‐cell responses in ragweed allergic individuals. T‐cell lines were highly cross‐reactive to epitopes of related ragweed species without any apparent geographical response bias. These data support that different ragweed species can be considered an allergen homology group with Amb a as the representative species regarding diagnosis as well as allergy immunotherapy.
Hesperidin attenuated apoptotic‐related genes in testicle of a male rat model of varicocoele
Authors: Shokoohi M. , Khaki A. , Shoorei H. , Khaki A. A. , Moghimian M. , Abtahi‐Eivary S.‐H. 
Published: July 2019

AbstractBackgroundVaricocoele is a swollen bulge of the pampiniform venous plexus inside the scrotum. It is also considered one of the causes of infertility in males. It has been demonstrated that hesperidin has remarkable pharmacological potentials, including antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anticarcinogenic effects.ObjectiveThe present study aimed to evaluate the protective effect of hesperidin on varicocoele‐induced testicular tissue damage and oxidative stress in the testicles of adult male rats.Materials and methodsAnimals were assigned into the following groups: control group (Ctrl) or sham, varicocoele group (Vcl) which received no treatment, varicocoele group that was daily fed with hesperidin (Vcl+Hsp) at a dose of 50 mg/kg for eight weeks, and hesperidin group (Hsp) which received only hesperidin. At the end of the treatment period, the levels of oxidative stress markers were measured in plasma, and the expression of Bax and Bcl‐2 was determined by immunocytochemistry and RT‐qPCR methods. The index of apoptosis was assessed by the TUNEL assay.ResultsJohnsen's score, the epithelium thickness, and diameter of seminiferous tubules were improved in the Vcl+Hsp group as compared to the Vcl group. Treatment with hesperidin enhanced the serum levels of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzymes and decreased the heightened concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) in testicular tissue (p < 0.001). Moreover, our results demonstrated that hesperidin considerably diminished Bax and increased Bcl‐2 expression (gene and protein) levels compared with the Vcl group (p < 0.05). It also markedly reduced the rate of programmed cell death in germ cells (p < 0.05).ConclusionsIt seems that the treatment with hesperidin could mitigate testicular tissue damage in rats underwent varicocoele possibly through its antioxidant properties.
Discomfort/pain due to periodontal and peri‐implant probing with/without platform switching
Authors: Parvini Puria , Saminsky Michael , Stanner Julia , Klum Matthias , Nickles Katrin , Eickholz Peter 
Published: July 2019

AbstractObjectiveTo compare discomfort/pain following periodontal probing around teeth and peri‐implant probing around implants with or without platform switching.MethodsTwo dentists recruited and examined 65 patients, each of them exhibiting a dental implant with a contralateral tooth. Only two types of implants were included: one with and one without platform switching. Periodontal and peri‐implant probing depths (PPD) and probing attachment level (PAL) were assessed. Whether implant or tooth was measured first was randomly assigned. Immediately after probing, patients scored discomfort/pain using a visual analogue scale (VAS). The emergence profiles of implant crowns were assessed as angles between interproximal surfaces on radiographs.ResultsSixty‐five patients (age 69; 63/76 years [median; lower/upper quartile]; 38 females, 11 smokers) were examined. With the exception of mean PPD and PAL (p < .05) clinical parameters (PPD, PAL, bleeding on probing, suppuration) were well balanced between implants and teeth. Peri‐implant probing (VAS: 10; 0.75/16.25) caused significantly (p < .001) more discomfort/pain than periodontal probing (4; 0/10). Logistic regression analysis identified a larger difference between discomfort/pain for peri‐implant and periodontal probing in the maxilla than the mandible (p = .003). Comparing discomfort/pain between implants maxilla (p = .006) and emergence profile (p = .015) were associated with discomfort/pain. Type of implant (with/without platform switching) had no significant effect on discomfort/pain.ConclusionsPeri‐implant probing caused significantly more discomfort/pain than periodontal probing. Implant design with/without platform switching failed to have a significant effect on discomfort/pain.
The Role of Domestic and Foreign Knowledge Inflows on the Relationship between R&D Portfolio Mix and Innovation Outcomes: An Empirical Study of Manufacturing Firms in an Emerging Economy*
Authors: Choo Adrian S. , Chandrasekaran Aravind , Chinaprayoon Chinawut 
Published: July 2019

ABSTRACTManufacturing firms in emerging economies face research and development (R&D) challenges that are quite different from firms in developed economies. Firms in emerging economies complement their internal R&D capabilities by accessing two forms of external knowledge: domestic knowledge from local partners and foreign knowledge from multinationals. Accessing these knowledge sources requires distinct organizational capabilities, and they may differently moderate the relationship between internal R&D investments on exploration and exploitation and innovation outcomes. Exploitation R&D investments refer to investments made on refining products and processes, while exploration R&D investments refer to investments made on designing new products and processes. We examine this issue by combining two waves of surveys from 155 manufacturing firms in Thailand. Results show that relative exploration (i.e., the ratio of R&D investments made toward exploration over sum of exploration and exploitation) exhibits an inverted U‐shaped relationship with the number of process and product innovations developed by the firm. This optimal mix, corresponding to the tipping point of an inverted U‐shaped curve, shifts toward a higher level of relative exploration (i.e., higher exploration and lower exploitation) when manufacturers have more access to domestic knowledge, and shifts toward a lower level of relative exploration (i.e., lower exploration and higher exploitation) when manufacturers have more access to foreign knowledge. Our findings are robust with similar effects on a firm's revenue generated from innovations. Taken together, these results demonstrate how external knowledge flows can moderate, in contrasting ways, the relationship between R&D portfolio mix and innovation outcomes. These findings also imply that inappropriately prioritizing R&D mix can lead to suboptimal innovation outcomes, offering further insights to both practicing managers and academics interested in emerging economy contexts.
Cryptic species of a water hyacinth biological control agent revealed in South Africa: host specificity, impact, and thermal tolerance
Authors: Paterson Iain D. , Coetzee Julie A. , Weyl Philip , Griffith Tamzin C. , Voogt Nina , Hill Martin P. 
Published: July 2019

AbstractThe discovery that cryptic species are more abundant than previously thought has implications for weed biological control, as there is a risk that cryptic species may be inadvertently released with consequences for the safety of the practice. A cryptic species of a biological control agent released for the control of the invasive alien macrophyte, water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes (C. Mart.) Solms. (Pontederiaceae), was recently discovered in South Africa. The two species were considered a single species prior to genetic analysis and interbreeding experiments. The original biological control agent retains the name Eccritotarsus catarinensis (Carvalho) (Heteroptera: Miridae) whereas the new species has been described as Eccritotarsus eichhorniae Henry. In this study, we compared the host specificity, efficacy, and thermal physiologies of the two species. The host specificity of the two species within the Pontederiaceae was very similar and both are safe for release in South Africa. Comparison of the per capita impact of the two species indicated that E. eichhorniae was the more damaging species but this is likely to be influenced by temperature, with E. catarinensis being more effective under lower temperatures and E. eichhorniae being more effective under higher temperatures. Releasing the correct species for the thermal environment of each release site will improve the level of control of water hyacinth in South Africa. This example highlights the need to keep populations of biological control agents from different native range collection localities separate, and to screen for host specificity and efficacy.
Pathogenicity of fungi associated with ash dieback symptoms of one‐year‐old Fraxinus excelsior in Montenegro
Authors: Vemić Aleksandar , Tomšovský Michal , Jung Thomas , Milenković Ivan 
Published: July 2019

AbstractIn addition to Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, two fungi identified as Diaporthe eres aff. and Fusarium sambucinum aff. were also isolated from necrotic bark lesions on declining one‐year‐old Fraxinus excelsior in a forest stand in Montenegro. To examine their involvement in ash decline, a pathogenicity test was performed using under bark inoculations on one‐year‐old Fraxinus excelsior. Hymenoscyphus fraxineus was included as comparison. All three fungal species proved highly pathogenic towards one‐year‐old seedlings although lesion sizes differed significantly between the different species. Hymenoscyphus fraxineus was most aggressive, followed by F. sambucinum aff., while D. eres aff. caused the smallest lesions. This study demonstrates for the first time the ability of isolates in the D. eres and F. sambucinum species complexes to cause decline on one‐year‐old common ash seedlings.
Risk factors for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP): antecedent events, lifestyle and dietary habits. Data from the Italian CIDP Database
Authors: Doneddu P. E. , Bianchi E. , Cocito D. , Manganelli F. , Fazio R. , Filosto M. , Mazzeo A. , Cosentino G. , Cortese A. , Jann S. , Clerici A. M. , Antonini G. , Siciliano G. , Luigetti M. , Marfia G. A. , Briani C. , Lauria G. , Rosso T. , Cavaletti G. , Carpo M. , Benedetti L. , Beghi E. , Liberatore G. , Santoro L. , Peci E. , Tronci S. , Cotti Piccinelli S. , Toscano A. , Piccolo L. , Verrengia E. P. , Leonardi L. , Schirinzi E. , Mataluni G. , Ruiz M. , Dacci P. , Nobile‐Orazio E. ,   the Italian CIDP Database Study Group
Published: July 2019

Background and purposeThe role of lifestyle and dietary habits and antecedent events has not been clearly identified in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP).MethodsInformation was collected about modifiable environmental factors and antecedent infections and vaccinations in patients with CIDP included in an Italian CIDP Database. Only patients who reported not having changed their diet or the lifestyle habits investigated in the study after the appearance of CIDP were included. The partners of patients with CIDP were chosen as controls. Gender‐matched analysis was performed with randomly selected controls with a 1:1 ratio of patients and controls.ResultsDietary and lifestyle data of 323 patients and 266 controls were available. A total of 195 cases and 195 sex‐matched controls were used in the analysis. Patients eating rice at least three times per week or eating fish at least once per week appeared to be at decreased risk of acquiring CIDP. Data on antecedent events were collected in 411 patients. Antecedent events within 1–42 days before CIDP onset were reported by 15.5% of the patients, including infections in 12% and vaccinations in 1.5%. Patients with CIDP and antecedent infections more often had an acute onset of CIDP and cranial nerve involvement than those without these antecedent events.ConclusionsThe results of this preliminary study seem to indicate that some dietary habits may influence the risk of CIDP and that antecedent infections may have an impact on the onset and clinical presentation of the disease.
What’s ploidy got to do with it? Understanding the evolutionary ecology of macroalgal invasions necessitates incorporating life cycle complexity
Authors: Krueger‐Hadfield Stacy A. 
Published: July 2019

AbstractBiological invasions represent grave threats to terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems, but our understanding of the role of evolution during invasions remains rudimentary. In marine environments, macroalgae account for a large percentage of invaders, but their complicated life cycles render it difficult to move methodologies and predictions wholesale from species with a single, free‐living ploidy stage, such as plants or animals. In haplodiplontic macroalgae, meiosis and fertilization are spatiotemporally separated by long‐lived, multicellular haploid and diploid stages, and gametes are produced by mitosis, not meiosis. As a consequence, there are unique eco‐evolutionary constraints that are not typically considered in invasions. First, selfing can occur in both monoicious (i.e., hermaphroditic) and dioicious (i.e., separate sexes) haplodiplontic macroalgae. In the former, fertilization between gametes produced by the same haploid thallus results in instantaneous, genome‐wide homozygosity. In the latter, cross‐fertilization between separate male and female haploids that share the same diploid parent is analogous to selfing in plants or animals. Separate sexes, therefore, cannot be used as a proxy for outcrossing. Second, selfing likely facilitates invasions (i.e., Baker's law) and the long‐lived haploid stage may enable purging of deleterious mutations, further contributing to invasion success. Third, asexual reproduction will result in the dominance of one ploidy and/or sex and the loss of the other(s). Whether or not sexual reproduction can be recovered depends on which stage is maintained. Finally, fourth, haplodiplontic life cycles are predicted to be maintained through niche differentiation in the haploid and diploid stages. Empirical tests are rare, but fundamental to our understanding of macroalgal invasion dynamics. By highlighting these four phenomena, we can build a framework with which to empirically and theoretically address important gaps in the literature on marine evolutionary ecology, of which biological invasions can serve as unnatural laboratories.
Mixed mode fatigue and fracture in planar geometries: Observations onKeqand crack path modelling
Authors: Tavares Sérgio M.O. , Reis Luis , de Freitas Manuel , de Castro Paulo M.S.T. 
Published: July 2019

AbstractThe mixed mode I‐II fatigue and fracture is briefly reviewed, addressing experimental and numerical modelling aspects, and focusing on planar specimens. One major challenge concerns the determination of equivalent stress intensity factor (Keq) in mixed mode situations. Several approaches were compared through the determination ofKeq/KIover a wide range of values ofKI/KIIorKII/KI. Whereas all different approaches converge to the same value asKI/KIIincreases, the same does not happen for largeKII/KI, where differences between values ofKeqpersist. In the regions of 0 < KI/KII < 2 and 0 < KII/KI < 2, no stable trend of results can be defined.Experimental fatigue crack growth results are presented for Al alloy AA6082‐T6. Compact tension specimens, modified with holes, and four‐point bending specimens under asymmetrical loading promoting mixed mode situations, were subjected to fatigue crack growth tests, where crack path and crack growth rate were measured. The presentation of the fatigue crack growth data was made using a Paris law based uponKeq. Differences in the Paris law constants were found for the differentKeqcriteria.Recent developments in numerical techniques, as the implementation of the extended finite element method (XFEM) in finite element software packages allows to determine accurately crack paths in mixed mode fracture. This article highlights concepts for mixed‐mode fatigue and fracture and supporting data, identifying challenges still to be overcome.
Estimation of the opening load under variable amplitude loading
Authors: Moreno Belen , Lopez‐Crespo Pablo , Cruces Alejandro S. , Dominguez Jaime 
Published: July 2019

AbstractThe crack opening/closure load concept is widely used to justify the fatigue crack growth behaviour with different load ratios and the load interaction effects. Many experimental techniques have been proposed to measure crack opening/closure load, and amongst them, compliance offset methods are widely used for their simplicity and consistency. In this paper, a modification of the ASTM method is proposed. The new method has a more general applicability as it can be applied to broadband variable amplitude loads. The method is described in detail and is applied on a 2024‐T351 aluminium alloy. The good correlation of the opening load estimated with the new method and the strip‐yield model implemented in Nasgro indicates that the new method could be used as an alternative for the cases where complex variable amplitude loads occur.