bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ecotourism impacts on the behaviour of whale sharks: an experimental approach
Authors: Montero-Quintana Austin N. , Vázquez-Haikin J. Abraham , Merkling Thomas , Blanchard Pierrick , Osorio-Beristain Marcela 
Published: August 2018

AbstractTourists approaching wild animals can potentially cause disturbance as a result of the perceived predation risk. Risk effects arise when prey alter their behaviour in response to predators. This response may carry costs through its impact on fitness-related activities such as foraging. We recorded behavioural responses of whale sharksRhincodon typusto experimental vessel and swimmer approaches. We simulated the disturbance caused by ecotourism in the foraging site of this planktivorous fish in Bahia de Los Angeles, Gulf of Baja California, Mexico. Stress-related behaviours (vigilance, change of direction, diving and acceleration) were more common directly after both types of disturbance than before, in particular after approach by a swimmer. Individuals were more likely to be vigilant when they were new to the bay, but we did not find evidence of within-season behavioural habituation. Sharks were 24% more likely to forage before human stimuli than after. Our study highlights negative effects of vessel and swimmer approaches on whale shark behaviour, with a short-term increase in stress-related behaviours potentially carrying energetic costs, combined with a decrease in food intake following the disturbance. Our results indicate concerns about the impact of ecotourism on large fish species. An important next step would be to determine whether these short-term behavioural responses to the perception of predation risk negatively affect fitness. Among other guidelines, we recommend preventing swimmers from approaching if whale sharks stop feeding when a vessel approaches.
Does phonological distance impact quality of phonological representations? Evidence from Arabic diglossia
Authors: SAIEGH-HADDAD Elinor , HAJ Lina 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe study tested the impact of the phonological distance between Spoken Arabic (SpA) and Standard Arabic (StA) on quality of phonological representations among kindergarten, first-, second-, and sixth-grade Arabic-speaking children (N = 120). A pronunciation accuracy judgment task targeted three types of StA words that varied in extent of phonological distance from their form in SpA: (a)identical words, with an identical lexical–phonological form in StA and SpA; (b)cognate words, with partially overlapping phonological forms; items in this category varied in degree of phonological distance too; and (c)unique wordswith entirely different lexical–phonological forms. Multilevel Regression analysis showed that phonological distance had a significant impact on quality of phonological representations across all grades. Growth in quality of phonological representations was mainly noted between the three younger groups and the sixth-graders. Implications for the impact of phonological distance on phonological representations and on language and literacy development are discussed.
How do pig farms maintain low Salmonella prevalence: a case-control study
Authors: Smith R. P. , Andres V. , Cheney T. E. , Martelli F. , Gosling R. , Marier E. , Rabie A. , Gilson D. , Davies R. H. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractSalmonella prevalence in UK pigs is amongst the highest in Europe, highlighting the need to investigate pig farms which have managed to maintain a low Salmonella seroprevalence. A total of 19 pig farms that had a consistently low (<10%) seroprevalence over 4 years (named Platinum farms) were compared against 38 randomly selected Control farms, chosen to match the same distribution of production types and geographical distribution of the Platinum farms. Each farm was visited and floor faeces and environmental samples were collected. It was shown that Control farms had a significantly higher median percentage of pooled faecal samples positive for Salmonella compared with the Platinum farms (12.1% and 0.4% for pooled faecal samples, respectively) and were more likely to have serovars of public health importance detected (S. Typhimurium/ monophasic variants or S. Enteritidis). Considering the comprehensive on-farm sampling, the identification of farms negative for Salmonella, along with the identification of those that had maintained low prevalence over a long period is important. The risk factor analyses identified pelleted feed, feed deliveries crossing farm perimeter and regular antibiotic use as associated with being a Control farm. Performance data indicated that Platinum farms were performing better for slaughter live weight than Controls. Limited assessments of available pig movement records suggested that the source of pigs was not key to Platinum status, but further study would be needed to confirm this finding. These results emphasise that maintaining very low prevalence on UK farms is achievable.
The Early Collapse of the 2017 Lincoln Sea Ice Arch in Response to Anomalous Sea Ice and Wind Forcing
Authors: Moore G. W. K. , McNeil K. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractOne of the most dramatic indicators of climate change is the reduction in the extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice that has resulted in an increase in wind‐driven sea ice mobility. During April and May 2017, satellite observations indicated that the ice arch that forms between Nares Strait and the Lincoln Sea collapsed. Typically, this collapse occurs in July or August allowing multiyear ice to exit the Arctic through Nares Strait. Here we show that the period of the collapse was associated with the presence of a polynya in northern Nares Strait, thin ice in the Lincoln Sea, and an unusual wind regime characterized by strong northerly flow. We propose that these anomalous conditions resulted in the arch's early collapse. If the ice in the region continues to thin, early collapses may occur more frequently with implications for the regional as well as the downstream climate and ecosystems.
Global Search for Autumn‐Lead Sea Surface Salinity Predictors of Winter Precipitation in Southwestern United States
Authors: Liu T. , Schmitt R. W. , Li L. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractSea surface salinity (SSS) is sensitive to changes in ocean evaporation and precipitation, that is, to changes in the oceanic water cycle. Through the close connection between the oceanic and terrestrial water cycle, SSS can be used as an indicator of rainfall on land. Here we search globally for teleconnections between autumn‐lead September‐October‐November SSS signals and winter December‐January‐February precipitation over southwestern United States. The SSS‐based model (R2 = 0.61) outperforms the sea surface temperature‐based model (R2 = 0.54). Further, a fresh tropical Pacific in autumn, indicated by low SSS, corresponds with wet winters. Recent studies suggest that anomalously high rainfall in the tropics may excite Rossby waves that can export water to the extratropics. Thus, incorporating SSS, a sensitive indicator of regional oceanic rainfall, can enhance the accuracy of existing precipitation prediction frameworks that rely on sea surface temperature‐based climate indices and, by extension, improve watershed management.
Spatiotemporal Changes of China's Carbon Emissions
Authors: Cai Bofeng , Wang Xiuquan , Huang Guohe , Wang Jinnan , Cao Dong , Baetz Brian W. , Liu Lei , Zhang Hua , Fenech Adam , Liu Zhu 
Published: August 2018

AbstractSpatiotemporal changes in China's carbon emissions during the 11th and 12th Five‐Year Plan periods are quantified for the first time through a reconstructed nationwide high‐resolution gridded data set. The hot spots of carbon emissions in China have expanded by 28.5% (toward the west) in the north and shrunk by 18.7% in the south; meanwhile, the emission densities in North and South China have increased by 15.7% and 49.9%, respectively. This suggests a clear transition to a more intensive economic growth model in South China as a result of the energy conservation and emission reduction policies, while the expanded carbon hot spots in North China are mainly dominated by the Grand Western Development Program. The results also show that China's carbon emissions exhibit a typical spatially intensive, high‐emission pattern, which has undergone a slight relaxation (up to 3%) from 2007 to 2012 due to a typical urbanization process.
Energetics of Semidiurnal Internal Tides in the Andaman Sea
Authors: Mohanty Sachiko , Rao A. D. , Latha G. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractA detailed energetic estimate of the barotropic and baroclinic semidiurnal internal tides over the Andaman Sea is performed by using the three‐dimensional Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model. Model‐simulated currents and density fields are validated using in situ observations with high temporal resolution from a buoy located at 10.5°N, 94°E. The generation and dissipation regions of internal tides and their propagation in the domain are identified by quantifying the distribution of total tidal energy among generation, radiation, and dissipation. The model simulation suggests that the internal tides are mainly generated in the north of Sumatra coast, in the Sombrero channel, south of the Car Nicobar Island, and north of the Andaman Island. From these generation sites, a portion of the energy propagates into the Andaman Sea and the remainder propagates toward the southern Bay of Bengal. The depth‐integrated baroclinic energy fluxes are found to be a maximum of ~30 kW/m at the major generation sites in the domain. The model‐estimated energy dissipation rates suggest that the maximum amount of energy dissipates near the generation sites themselves. In the region north of the Sumatra coast, almost 87% of the barotropic energy is converted into baroclinic energy and 23% (0.91 GW) of the converted baroclinic energy is ultimately radiated out from the generation sites. The barotropic‐to‐baroclinic conversion rate over the whole domain is estimated to be ~23 GW, out of which, a major part ~18 GW (80%) dissipates near the generation sites. This reveals that the local dissipation of baroclinic energy dominates in the Andaman Sea.
Choosing the Optimal Numerical Precision for Data Assimilation in the Presence of Model Error
Authors: Hatfield Sam , Düben Peter , Chantry Matthew , Kondo Keiichi , Miyoshi Takemasa , Palmer Tim 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe use of reduced numerical precision within an atmospheric data assimilation system is investigated. An atmospheric model with a spectral dynamical core is used to generate synthetic observations, which are then assimilated back into the same model using an ensemble Kalman filter. The effect on the analysis error of reducing precision from 64 bits to only 22 bits is measured and found to depend strongly on the degree of model uncertainty within the system. When the model used to generate the observations is identical to the model used to assimilate observations, the reduced‐precision results suffer substantially. However, when model error is introduced by changing the diffusion scheme in the assimilation model or by using a higher‐resolution model to generate observations, the difference in analysis quality between the two levels of precision is almost eliminated. Lower‐precision arithmetic has a lower computational cost, so lowering precision could free up computational resources in operational data assimilation and allow an increase in ensemble size or grid resolution.
Genes associated with anhedonia: a new analysis in a large clinical trial (GENDEP)
Authors: Ren Hongyan , Fabbri Chiara , Uher Rudolf , Rietschel Marcella , Mors Ole , Henigsberg Neven , Hauser Joanna , Zobel Astrid , Maier Wolfgang , Dernovsek Mojca Z. , Souery Daniel , Cattaneo Annamaria , Breen Gerome , Craig Ian W. , Farmer Anne E. , McGuffin Peter , Lewis Cathryn M. , Aitchison Katherine J. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractA key feature of major depressive disorder (MDD) is anhedonia, which is a predictor of response to antidepressant treatment. In order to shed light on its genetic underpinnings, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) followed by investigation of biological pathway enrichment using an anhedonia dimension for 759 patients with MDD in the GENDEP study. The GWAS identified 18 SNPs associated at genome-wide significance with the top one being an intronic SNP (rs9392549) in PRPF4B (pre-mRNA processing factor 4B) located on chromosome 6 (P = 2.07 × 10−9) while gene-set enrichment analysis returned one gene ontology term, axon cargo transport (GO: 0008088) with a nominally significant P value (1.15 × 10−5). Furthermore, our exploratory analysis yielded some interesting, albeit not statistically significant genetic correlation with Parkinson’s Disease and nucleus accumbens gray matter. In addition, polygenic risk scores (PRSs) generated from our association analysis were found to be able to predict treatment efficacy of the antidepressants in this study. In conclusion, we found some markers significantly associated with anhedonia, and some suggestive findings of related pathways and biological functions, which could be further investigated in other studies.
Bipolar mood cycles associated with lunar entrainment of a circadian rhythm
Authors: Wehr Thomas A. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractIn bipolar disorder, episodes of depression and mania are associated with dramatic disturbances in sleep, which experiments show are likely to contribute to the pathogenesis of the episodes. A recent finding that 18 patients’ manic-depressive cycles oscillated in synchrony with biweekly surges in amplitude of the moon’s tides provided a clue to the cause of the sleep-disturbances. Analyses of one of the patients’ sleep–wake cycles suggest that his mood cycles arose when a circadian rhythm that normally is entrained to dawn and controls the daily onset of wakefulness became entrained instead to 24.8-h recurrences of every second 12.4-h tidal cycle. The finding provides the basis for a comprehensive description of the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of the mood cycle.
The prognostic significance of global aberrant alternative splicing in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome
Authors: Yang Yi-Tsung , Chiu Yu-Chiao , Kao Chein-Jun , Hou Hsin-An , Lin Chien-Chin , Tsai Cheng-Hong , Tseng Mei-Hsuan , Chou Wen-Chien , Tien Hwei-Fang 
Published: August 2018

AbstractAberrant alternative splicing (AS) is a hallmark of cancer development. However, there are limited data regarding its clinical implications in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). In this study, we performed an in-depth analysis of global AS in 176 primary MDS patients with 20 normal marrow transplant donors as reference. We found that 26.9% of the expressed genes genome-wide were aberrantly spliced in MDS patients compared with normal donors. These aberrant AS genes were related to pathways involved in cell proliferation, cell adhesion and protein degradation. A higher degree of global aberrant AS was associated with male gender and U2AF1 mutation, and predicted shorter overall survival and time to leukemic change. Moreover, it was an independent unfavorable prognostic factor irrespective of age, revised international prognostic scoring system (IPSS-R) risk, and mutations in SRSF2, ZRSR2, ASXL1, TP53, and EZH2. With LASSO-Cox regression method, we constructed a simple prognosis prediction model composed of 13 aberrant AS genes, and demonstrated that it could well stratify MDS patients into distinct risk groups. To our knowledge, this is the first report demonstrating significant prognostic impacts of aberrant splicing on MDS patients. Further prospective studies in larger cohorts are needed to confirm our observations.
Understanding how excess lead iodide precursor improves halide perovskite solar cell performance
Authors: Park Byung-wook , Kedem Nir , Kulbak Michael , Lee Do Yoon , Yang Woon Seok , Jeon Nam Joong , Seo Jangwon , Kim Geonhwa , Kim Ki Jeong , Shin Tae Joo , Hodes Gary , Cahen David , Seok Sang Il 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe presence of excess lead iodide in halide perovskites has been key for surpassing 20% photon-to-power conversion efficiency. To achieve even higher power conversion efficiencies, it is important to understand the role of remnant lead iodide in these perovskites. To that end, we explored the mechanism facilitating this effect by identifying the impact of excess lead iodide within the perovskite film on charge diffusion length, using electron-beam-induced current measurements, and on film formation properties, from grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Based on our results, we propose that excess lead iodide in the perovskite precursors can reduce the halide vacancy concentration and lead to formation of azimuthal angle-oriented cubic α-perovskite crystals in-between 0° and 90°. We further identify a higher perovskite carrier concentration inside the nanostructured titanium dioxide layer than in the capping layer. These effects are consistent with enhanced lead iodide-rich perovskite solar cell performance and illustrate the role of lead iodide.
AIP1 and cofilin ensure a resistance to tissue tension and promote directional cell rearrangement
Authors: Ikawa Keisuke , Sugimura Kaoru 
Published: August 2018

AbstractIn order to understand how tissue mechanics shapes animal body, it is critical to clarify how cells respond to and resist tissue stress when undergoing morphogenetic processes, such as cell rearrangement. Here, we address the question in the Drosophila wing epithelium, where anisotropic tissue tension orients cell rearrangements. We found that anisotropic tissue tension localizes actin interacting protein 1 (AIP1), a cofactor of cofilin, on the remodeling junction via cooperative binding of cofilin to F-actin. AIP1 and cofilin promote actin turnover and locally regulate the Canoe-mediated linkage between actomyosin and the junction. This mechanism is essential for cells to resist the mechanical load imposed on the remodeling junction perpendicular to the direction of tissue stretching. Thus, the present study delineates how AIP1 and cofilin achieve an optimal balance between resistance to tissue tension and morphogenesis.
Emerging Southeast Asian PfCRT mutations confer Plasmodium falciparum resistance to the first-line antimalarial piperaquine
Authors: Ross Leila S. , Dhingra Satish K. , Mok Sachel , Yeo Tomas , Wicht Kathryn J. , Kümpornsin Krittikorn , Takala-Harrison Shannon , Witkowski Benoit , Fairhurst Rick M. , Ariey Frederic , Menard Didier , Fidock David A. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe widely used antimalarial combination therapy dihydroartemisinin + piperaquine (DHA + PPQ) has failed in Cambodia. Here, we perform a genomic analysis that reveals a rapid increase in the prevalence of novel mutations in the Plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter PfCRT following DHA + PPQ implementation. These mutations occur in parasites harboring the K13 C580Y artemisinin resistance marker. By introducing PfCRT mutations into sensitive Dd2 parasites or removing them from resistant Cambodian isolates, we show that the H97Y, F145I, M343L, or G353V mutations each confer resistance to PPQ, albeit with fitness costs for all but M343L. These mutations sensitize Dd2 parasites to chloroquine, amodiaquine, and quinine. In Dd2 parasites, multicopy plasmepsin 2, a candidate molecular marker, is not necessary for PPQ resistance. Distended digestive vacuoles were observed in pfcrt-edited Dd2 parasites but not in Cambodian isolates. Our findings provide compelling evidence that emerging mutations in PfCRT can serve as a molecular marker and mediator of PPQ resistance.
Decoding a cancer-relevant splicing decision in the RON proto-oncogene using high-throughput mutagenesis
Authors: Braun Simon , Enculescu Mihaela , Setty Samarth T. , Cortés-López Mariela , de Almeida Bernardo P. , Sutandy F. X.  Reymond , Schulz Laura , Busch Anke , Seiler Markus , Ebersberger Stefanie , Barbosa-Morais Nuno L. , Legewie Stefan , König Julian , Zarnack Kathi 
Published: August 2018

AbstractMutations causing aberrant splicing are frequently implicated in human diseases including cancer. Here, we establish a high-throughput screen of randomly mutated minigenes to decode thecis-regulatory landscape that determines alternative splicing of exon 11 in the proto-oncogeneMST1R(RON). Mathematical modelling of splicing kinetics enables us to identify more than 1000 mutations affectingRONexon 11 skipping, which corresponds to the pathological isoform RON∆165. Importantly, the effects correlate withRONalternative splicing in cancer patients bearing the same mutations. Moreover, we highlight heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein H (HNRNPH) as a key regulator ofRONsplicing in healthy tissues and cancer. Using iCLIP and synergy analysis, we pinpoint the functionally most relevant HNRNPH binding sites and demonstrate how cooperative HNRNPH binding facilitates a splicing switch ofRONexon 11. Our results thereby offer insights into splicing regulation and the impact of mutations on alternative splicing in cancer.
Galectin-9 binds IgM-BCR to regulate B cell signaling
Authors: Cao Anh , Alluqmani Nouf , Buhari Fatima Hifza Mohammed , Wasim Laabiah , Smith Logan K. , Quaile Andrew T. , Shannon Michael , Hakim Zaki , Furmli Hossai , Owen Dylan M. , Savchenko Alexei , Treanor Bebhinn 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe galectin family of secreted lectins have emerged as important regulators of immune cell function; however, their role in B-cell responses is poorly understood. Here we identify IgM-BCR as a ligand for galectin-9. Furthermore, we show enhanced BCR microcluster formation and signaling in galectin-9-deficient B cells. Notably, treatment with exogenous recombinant galectin-9 nearly completely abolishes BCR signaling. We investigated the molecular mechanism for galectin-9-mediated inhibition of BCR signaling using super-resolution imaging and single-particle tracking. We show that galectin-9 merges pre-existing nanoclusters of IgM-BCR, immobilizes IgM-BCR, and relocalizes IgM-BCR together with the inhibitory molecules CD45 and CD22. In resting naive cells, we use dual-color super-resolution imaging to demonstrate that galectin-9 mediates the close association of IgM and CD22, and propose that the loss of this association provides a mechanism for enhanced activation of galectin-9-deficient B cells.
Conditional control of fluorescent protein degradation by an auxin-dependent nanobody
Authors: Daniel Katrin , Icha Jaroslav , Horenburg Cindy , Müller Doris , Norden Caren , Mansfeld Jörg 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe conditional and reversible depletion of proteins by auxin-mediated degradation is a powerful tool to investigate protein functions in cells and whole organisms. However, its wider applications require fusing the auxin-inducible degron (AID) to individual target proteins. Thus, establishing the auxin system for multiple proteins can be challenging. Another approach for directed protein degradation are anti-GFP nanobodies, which can be applied to GFP stock collections that are readily available in different experimental models. Here, we combine the advantages of auxin and nanobody-based degradation technologies creating an AID-nanobody to degrade GFP-tagged proteins at different cellular structures in a conditional and reversible manner in human cells. We demonstrate efficient and reversible inactivation of the anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) and thus provide new means to study the functions of this essential ubiquitin E3 ligase. Further, we establish auxin degradation in a vertebrate model organism by employing AID-nanobodies in zebrafish.