bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Is dietary or microhabitat specialization associated with environmental heterogeneity in horned lizards (Phrynosoma)?
Authors: Refsnider Jeanine M. , Carter Sarah E. , Kramer Gunnar R. , Siefker Adam D. , Streby Henry M. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractNiche breadth is predicted to correlate with environmental heterogeneity, such that generalists will evolve in heterogeneous environments and specialists will evolve in environments that vary less over space and time. We tested the hypothesis that lizards in a heterogeneous environment were generalists compared to lizards in a homogeneous environment. We compared niche breadths of greater short‐horned lizards by quantifying resource selection in terms of two different niche axes, diet (prey items and trophic level), and microhabitat (ground cover and shade cover) between two populations occurring at different elevations. We assessed the heterogeneity of dietary and microhabitat resources within each population's environment by quantifying the availability of prey items, ground cover, and shade cover in each environment. Overall, our results demonstrate that despite differences in resource heterogeneity between elevations, resource selection did not consistently differ between populations. Moreover, environmental heterogeneity was not associated with generalization of resource use. The low‐elevation site had a broader range of available prey items, yet lizards at the high‐elevation site demonstrated more generalization in diet. In contrast, the high‐elevation site had a broader range of available microhabitats, but the lizard populations at both sites were similarly generalized for shade cover selection and were similarly specialized for ground cover selection. Our results demonstrate that environmental heterogeneity of a particular resource does not necessarily predict the degree to which organisms specialize on that resource.
Hydrological function of rapidly induced biocrusts
Authors: Fick Stephen E. , Barger Nichole N. , Duniway Michael C. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractIn dryland ecosystems, land degradation and erosion pose severe threats to ecosystem productivity and human well‐being. Bio‐inoculation of degraded soils with native biological soil crusts (“biocrusts”) is a promising yet relatively untested means to improve soil stability and hydrological function (i.e., increase infiltration and reduce run‐off). In a degraded semiarid grassland on the Colorado Plateau, we studied the establishment and hydrological function (via simulated rainfall) of induced biocrusts grown with and without an organic soil stabilizer (psyllium, derived from Plantago sp.), after a period of 4 months. We found evidence of biocrust establishment, including significantly higher biocrust cover, chlorophyll a, and exopolysaccharides in inoculated plots compared with controls. Plots inoculated with biocrust had higher run‐off and sediment yields than controls during rainfall simulation. However, this effect was mitigated in plots where stabilizer was added, resulting in greater soil aggregate stability and higher levels of infiltration (reduced total run‐off). The time to ponding was significantly greater than control for all inoculated plots, suggesting that induced biocrusts may be most effective at improving infiltration under low‐intensity, smaller precipitation events. Notably, the biocrusts in this study lacked rough surface microtopography, which is common in well‐developed biocrusts regionally and likely instrumental in slowing overland flow and increasing infiltration for larger rain events. These results highlight the temporal lag that may exist between apparent and functional restoration of biocrusts. In addition, the simultaneous additions of stabilizing amendments with biocrust inoculum may work collectively to achieve both short‐ and long‐term restoration targets.
Recruitment of hepatic macrophages from monocytes is independent of IL‐4Rα but is associated with ablation of resident macrophages in schistosomiasis
Authors: Rolot Marion , Dougall Annette M. , Javaux Justine , Lallemand François , Machiels Bénédicte , Martinive Philippe , Gillet Laurent , Dewals Benjamin G. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractAlternatively activated Mφs (AAMφ) accumulate in hepatic granulomas during schistosomiasis and have been suggested to originate in the bone marrow. What is less understood is how these Mφ responses are regulated after S. mansoni infection. Here, we investigated the role of IL‐4 receptor α‐chain (IL‐4Rα)‐signalling in the dynamics of liver Mφ responses. We observed that IL‐4Rα signalling was dispensable for the recruitment of Ly6Chi monocytes and for their conversion into F4/80hiCD64hiCD11bhiMφ. Moreover, while IL‐4Rα provided an AAMφ phenotype to liver F4/80hiCD64hiCD11bhiMφ that was associated with regulation of granuloma formation, it was dispensable for host survival. Resident F4/80hiCD64hiCD11bloMφ did not upregulate the AAMφ signature gene Ym1. Rather, resident Mφ nearly disappeared by week 8 after infection and artificial ablation of resident Mφ in CD169DTR mice did not affect the response to S. mansoni infection. Interestingly, ablation of CD169+ cells in naive mice resulted in the accumulation of F4/80hiCD64hiCD11bhiMφ, which was amplified when ablation occurred during schistosomiasis. Altogether, our results suggest the ablation of resident KCs after S. mansoni infection to be associated with the recruitment and accumulation of F4/80hiCD64hiCD11bhiMφ with lyz2‐dependent IL‐4Rα contributing to the regulation of granuloma inflammation but being dispensable for host survival.
Brucella abortus nitric oxide metabolite regulates inflammasome activation and IL‐1β secretion in murine macrophages
Authors: Campos Priscila Carneiro , Gomes Marco Túlio Ribeiro , Marinho Fábio Antônio Vitarelli , Guimarães Erika Sousa , de Moura Lodi Cruz Mariza Gabriela Faleiro , Oliveira Sergio Costa 
Published: March 2019

AbstractNLRP3 inflammasome is a protein complex crucial to caspase‐1 activation and IL‐1β and IL‐18 maturation. This receptor participates in innate immune responses to different pathogens, including the bacteria of genus Brucella. Our group recently demonstrated that Brucella abortus‐induced IL‐1β secretion involves NLRP3 inflammasome and it is partially dependent on mitochondrial ROS production. However, other factors could be involved, such as P2X7‐dependent potassium efflux, membrane destabilization, and cathepsin release. Moreover, there is increasing evidence that nitric oxide acts as a modulator of NLRP3 inflammasome. The aim of this study was to unravel the mechanism of NLRP3 inflammasome activation induced by B. abortus, as well as the involvement of bacterial nitric oxide (NO) as a modulator of this inflammasome pathway. We demonstrated that NO produced by B. abortus can be used by the bacteria to modulate IL‐1β secretion in infected murine macrophages. Additionally, our results suggest that B. abortus‐induced IL‐1β secretion depends on a P2X7‐independent potassium efflux, lysosomal acidification, cathepsin release, mechanisms clearly associated to NLRP3 inflammasome. In summary, our results help to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of NLRP3 activation and regulation during an intracellular bacterial infection.
Physical activity as a prognostic factor of pain intensity and disability in patients with low back pain: A systematic review
Authors: Oliveira Crystian B. , Pinheiro Marina B. , Teixeira Renan J. , Franco Márcia R. , Silva Fernanda G. , Hisamatsu Thalysi M. , Ferreira Paulo H. , Pinto Rafael Z. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractBackground and objectiveIdentifying factors that influence the course of low back pain (LBP) is important to help clinicians to identify those patients at higher risk of non‐recovery. The objective of this systematic review was to investigate the prognostic role of physical activity in the course of LBP.Databases and data treatmentLiterature searches were conducted in five electronic databases from their inception to February 2018. Prospective cohort studies investigating the influence of any type of physical activity in people with LBP were considered eligible. The primary outcomes were pain intensity and disability. Two independent reviewers extracted the data and assessed the methodological quality of the included studies. Results were stratified according to participants’ symptoms duration at baseline.ResultsTwelve studies were considered eligible for this review. Of these, six included patients with chronic LBP, four studies did not specify the patients’ duration of symptoms, one study included patients with acute LBP, and one study included patients with subacute LBP. Included studies were heterogeneous in terms of physical activity assessment, outcomes, follow‐up duration, and statistical methods, therefore, pooling of results was not performed. We found limited evidence to support the prognostic role of physical activity in the course of LBP.ConclusionsOur review identified limited evidence supporting physical activity as a prognostic factor in LBP. Future cohort studies are needed to clarify the strength and importance of this association.SignificanceDespite recent research in the area, this systematic review shows that there is low quality evidence that physical activity may not be a prognostic factor for predicting pain and disability in patients with LBP.
Toxin gene profiles, genetic diversity, antimicrobial resistance, and coagulase type of Staphylococcus aureus from cream‐filled bakery products
Authors: Cho Yong Sun , Lee Myung Ki , Hwang Sun Hye 
Published: March 2019

AbstractWe determined the toxin gene profile, toxin production, antibiotic resistance coagulase serotype, and genetic diversity of 42 coagulase‐positive Staphylococcus aureus (CPS) isolates collected from 1,464 cream‐filled bakery products in Korea. Among the CPS isolates, 37 (88.1%) produced enterotoxin genes in combination with another toxin; 26 (61.9%) of the strains were positive for sea, 1 (2.4%) for sea‐seb, and 4 (9.5%) for sea‐sec. Among the strains showing antibiotic resistance, 28 (66.7%) showed resistance to only one antibiotic, whereas nine (21.4%) showed resistance to multiple antibiotics: 4 (9.5%) strains were both mecA‐positive and oxacillin‐resistant. Most strains are resistant to at least one antibiotic—benzyl penicillin. The CPS isolates were classified into eight coagulase serotypes. This information will be valuable for assessing the capability risks of CPS food poisoning, contributing a better known of the epidemiology result associated with CPS contamination in bakery products.
Intrastrata geochemical variability of a Paleolithic bone assemblage: The case of single‐phase Gravettian site Jaksice II, southern Poland
Authors: Krajcarz Maciej T. , Wilczyński Jarosław 
Published: March 2019

AbstractBone remains constitute the portion of an archaeological assemblage that may record a geochemical signature of the depositional environment and may be used as an indicator of the homogeneity of the assemblage. However, the range of the inner chemical variability inside a single depositional bone assemblage has not been sufficiently studied. In this study, the chemical composition of 60 fossil bones excavated from a single component Paleolithic site was measured and the statistical variability of the set established via multivariate analysis. Fossil bones from a single stratum exhibited weak internal chemical variability, compared with that shown by fresh recent bones, although fossil material is significantly enriched in trace elements. Data presented here may be used as one example of chemical variability for Late Pleistocene fossil bone assemblages.
The situation or the person? Individual and task‐evoked differences in BOLD activity
Authors: Bolt Taylor , Nomi Jason S. , Bainter Sierra A. , Cole Michael W. , Uddin Lucina Q. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractInvestigations of between‐person variability are enjoying a recent resurgence in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research. Several recent studies have found persistent between‐person differences in blood‐oxygenated‐level dependent (BOLD) activation patterns and resting‐state functional connectivity. Conflicting findings have been reported regarding the extent to which (a) between‐person or (b) within‐person cognitive state differences explain differences in BOLD activation patterns. These discrepancies may arise due to statistical analysis choices, parcellation resolution, and limited sampling of task‐fMRI datasets. We attempt to address these issues in a large‐scale analysis of several task‐fMRI paradigms. Using a novel application of multivariate distance matrix regression, we examine between‐person and task‐condition variability estimates across varying levels of “resolution”, from a coarse region‐of‐interest level to the vertex‐level, and across different distance metrics. These analyses revealed that under most circumstances, differences in task conditions explained a greater amount of variance in activation map differences than between‐person differences. However, this finding was reversed when comparing activation maps at a “high‐resolution” vertex level. More generally, we observed that when moving from “low” to “high” resolutions, the variance explained by between‐person differences increased while variance explained by task conditions decreased. We further analyzed the relationships among subject‐level activation maps across all task‐conditions using an unsupervised clustering approach and identified a superordinate task structure. This structure went beyond conventional task labels and highlighted those experimental manipulations across task conditions that produce contrasting versus similar whole‐brain activation patterns. Overall, these analyses suggest that the question of the subject‐ versus task‐effects on BOLD activation patterns is nontrivial, and depends on the comparison “resolution,” choice of distance metric, and the coding of task‐conditions.
Looking Into the Crystal Ball: Predicting the Future Challenges of Fibrotic NASH Treatment
Authors: Alkhouri Naim , Lawitz Eric , Noureddin Mazen 
Published: March 2019

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common form of chronic liver disease worldwide, and its aggressive form of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is becoming a leading cause for end‐stage liver disease and liver transplantation in the United States. In patients with NASH, the presence of advanced fibrosis is considered the most important prognostic factor in predicting liver‐related morbidity and mortality. Unfortunately, there are no US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)–approved medications to treat patients with NASH‐induced advanced fibrosis. However, the field of drug development to treat NASH and fibrosis has witnessed major advances over the past 5 years with several medications in phase III trials. Results from some of these trials are expected in 2019 with potential FDA approval in 2020. Clinicians who treat patients with NAFLD are likely to face several challenges over the next few years related to identifying patients with advanced fibrosis who may derive most benefit from pharmacologic treatment, the requirement for liver biopsy to assess histologic severity and response to treatment, and the urgent need to validate noninvasive tests to replace liver biopsy—to determine treatment initiation, response, futility, and the need for combination therapy with multiple drugs. Conclusion: In this review, we aim to dissect each of these challenges and attempt to provide suggested solutions while fully realizing that knowledge gaps still exist where future research is likely to provide urgently needed answers.
Synthesis and characterization of biomimetic bioceramic nanoparticles with optimized physicochemical properties for bone tissue engineering
Authors: Ebrahimi Mehdi , Botelho Michael , Lu William , Monmaturapoj Naruporn 
Published: March 2019

AbstractCalcium phosphate bioceramics nanoparticles such as nano‐hydroxyapatite (nHA) and nano‐tricalcium phosphate (nTCP) are the main focus of basic and applied research for bone tissue regeneration. In particular, a combination of these two phases (nHA + nTCP) which refers to as “nano‐biphasic calcium phosphates (nBCP)” is of interest due to the preferred biodegradation nature compared to single‐phase bioceramics. However, the available synthesis processes are challenging and the biomaterials properties are yet to be optimized to mimic the physiochemical properties of the natural nanoscale bone apatite. In this study, a new approach was developed for the production of optimized bioceramic nanoparticles aiming to improve their biomimecity for better biological performances. Nanoparticles were synthesized through a carefully controlled and modified wet mechano‐chemical method combined with a controlled solid‐state synthesis. Different processing variables have been analyzed including; milling parameters, post‐synthesis treatment, and calcination phase. Detailed physicochemical characterizations of nanoparticles revealed higher crystallinity (∼100%), lower crystallite/particle size (58 nm), higher homogeneity, reduced particle agglomeration size (6 μm), and a closer molar ratio (1.8) to biological apatite compared to control and standard samples. Furthermore, the study group was confirmed as calcium‐deficient carbonate‐substituted BCP nanoparticles (nHA/nβ‐TCP: 92/8%). As such, the introduced method can afford an easier and accurate control over nanoparticle physiochemical properties including the composition phase which can be used for better customization of biomaterials for clinical applications. The findings of this article will also help researchers in the further advancement of production strategies of biomaterials. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 107A: 1654–1666, 2019.
In vivo systemic toxicity assessment of an oxidized dextrin‐based hydrogel and its effectiveness as a carrier and stabilizer of granular synthetic bone substitutes
Authors: Pereira Isabel , Fraga Sónia , Maltez Luís , Requicha João , Guardão Luísa , Oliveira Joana , Prada Justina , Alves Helena , Santos José Domingos , Teixeira João Paulo , Pereira José Eduardo , Soares Raquel , Gama Francisco Miguel 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThe worldwide incidence of bone disorders is raising, mainly due to aging population. The lack of effective treatments is pushing the development of synthetic bone substitutes (SBSs). Most ceramic‐based SBSs commercially available display limited handling properties. Attempting to solve these issues and achieve wider acceptance by the clinicians, granular ceramics have been associated with hydrogels (HGs) to produce injectable/moldable SBSs. Dextrin, a low‐molecular‐weight carbohydrate, was used to develop a fully resorbable and injectable HG. It was first oxidized with sodium periodate and then cross‐linked with adipic acid dihydrazide. The in vivo biocompatibility and safety of the dextrin‐based HG was assessed by subacute systemic toxicity and skin sensitization tests, using rodent models. The results showed that the HG did not induce any systemic toxic effect, skin reaction, or genotoxicity, neither impaired the bone repair/regeneration process. Then, the HG was successfully combined with granular bone substitute, registered as Bonelike (250–500 μm) to obtain a moldable/injectable SBS, which was implanted in tibial fractures in goats for 3 and 6 weeks. The obtained results showed that HG allowed the stabilization of the granules into the defect, ensuring effective handling, and molding properties of the formulation, as well as an efficient cohesion of the granules. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 107A: 1678–1689, 2019.
Relationship Between Bone Mineral Density T-Score and Nonvertebral Fracture Risk Over 10 Years of Denosumab Treatment
Authors: Ferrari S , Libanati C , Lin Celia Jow Fang , Brown JP , Cosman F , Czerwiński E , de Gregόrio LH , Malouf-Sierra J , Reginster J-Y , Wang A , Wagman RB , Lewiecki EM 
Published: March 2019

ABSTRACT
Although treat-to-target strategies are being discussed in osteoporosis, there is little evidence of what the target should be to reduce fracture risk maximally. We investigated the relationship between total hip BMD T-score and the incidence of nonvertebral fracture in women who received up to 10 years of continued denosumab therapy in the FREEDOM (3 years) study and its long-term Extension (up to 7 years) study. We report the percentages of women who achieved a range of T-scores at the total hip or femoral neck over 10 years of denosumab treatment (1343 women completed 10 years of treatment). The incidence of nonvertebral fractures was lower with higher total hip T-score. This relationship plateaued at a T-score between -2.0 and -1.5 and was independent of age and prevalent vertebral fractures, similar to observations in treatment-naïve subjects. Reaching a specific T-score during denosumab treatment was dependent on the baseline T-score, with higher T-scores at baseline more likely to result in higher T-scores at each time point during the study. Our findings highlight the importance of follow-up BMD measurements in patients receiving denosumab therapy because BMD remains a robust indicator of fracture risk. These data support the notion of a specific T-score threshold as a practical target for therapy in osteoporosis. © 2019 The Authors Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR)
Fluoride and diethylnitrosamine coexposure enhances oxido‐inflammatory responses and caspase‐3 activation in liver and kidney of adult rats
Authors: Owumi Solomon E. , Aliyu‐Banjo Nazirat O. , Danso Olabisi F. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThe present study investigated the impact of coexposure to fluoride and diethylnitrosamine (DEN) on hepatorenal function in adult rats. The animals were exposed to fluoride (15 mg/L in drinking water) and DEN (10 mg/kg) singly or coexposed to both compounds for 14 days. Results demonstrated that the fluoride or DEN mediated increase in hepatorenal toxicity was intensified in the coexposure group. Additionally, the decrease in antioxidant enzyme activities as well as the elevation in reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, and lipid peroxidation was markedly aggravated in rats coexposed to DEN and fluoride. Furthermore, the increase in levels of nitric oxide, tumor necrosis factor‐α and interleukin‐1β, myeloperoxidase and caspase‐3 activities as well as histological lesions was more pronounced in the liver and kidney of rats coexposed to DEN and fluoride. Conclusively, coexposure to fluoride and DEN exacerbated hepatorenal damage via enhancement of oxido‐inflammatory responses and caspase‐3 activation in rats.