bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Regular physical activity and insomnia: An international perspective
Authors: Hartescu Iuliana , Morgan Kevin 
Published: August 2018

AbstractBoth very low and very high levels of regular physical activity have been associated with degraded sleep quality. Cross‐national variations in habitual physical activity levels, therefore, may contribute to cross‐national differences in insomnia prevalence. The present study assesses and compares the extent to which weekly durations of moderate‐intensity physical activity contribute to insomnia risk. Demographic, sleep, physical activity and general health profiles were obtained from a convenience sample of 9,238 adults drawn from five countries (South Africa, Australia, China, South Korea and the UK) using social media. Insomnia prevalence, using DSM‐5 criteria, ranged from 4.1% (China) to 14.8% (UK). Evaluating risk using logistic regression adjusted only for age and gender, the lowest level of activity (<10 continuous min per week) was associated with significant insomnia risk (odds ratio = 1.37; 95% confidence interval = 1.05–1.79; p < 0.05). However, when adjusted for all covariates except country, only the highest level of physical activity (>300 min per week) was associated with significantly increased insomnia risk (odds ratio = 1.30; 95% confidence interval = 1.03–2.51; p < 0.05). Risk associated with high activity remained after the addition of “country” to the model (odds ratio = 1.31; 95% confidence interval = 1.02–1.69; p < 0.05). Across all models, female gender, low‐rated health, low education and older age consistently increased insomnia risk. These cross‐national data indicate that extremes of inactivity/activity can significantly influence insomnia risk independent of country. Insomnia risk associated with very low levels of activity may be mediated by poorer health and disadvantageous social status. However, while very high levels of activity increase insomnia risk independent of health and demographic factors, they may also confound with personally and occupationally demanding lifestyles.
Natural variation in stomata size contributes to the local adaptation of water‐use efficiency inArabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Dittberner Hannes , Korte Arthur , Mettler‐Altmann Tabea , Weber Andreas P. M. , Monroe Grey , de Meaux Juliette 
Published: August 2018

AbstractStomata control gas exchanges between the plant and the atmosphere. How natural variation in stomata size and density contributes to resolve trade‐offs between carbon uptake and water loss in response to local climatic variation is not yet understood. We developed an automated confocal microscopy approach to characterize natural genetic variation in stomatal patterning in 330 fully sequencedArabidopsis thalianaaccessions collected throughout the European range of the species. We compared this to variation in water‐use efficiency, measured as carbon isotope discrimination (δ13C). We detect substantial genetic variation for stomata size and density segregating withinArabidopsis thaliana. A positive correlation between stomata size and δ13C further suggests that this variation has consequences on water‐use efficiency. Genome wide association analyses indicate a complex genetic architecture underlying not only variation in stomatal patterning but also to its covariation with carbon uptake parameters. Yet, we report two novel QTL affecting δ13C independently of stomatal patterning. This suggests that, inA. thaliana, both morphological and physiological variants contribute to genetic variance in water‐use efficiency. Patterns of regional differentiation and covariation with climatic parameters indicate that natural selection has contributed to shape some of this variation, especially in Southern Sweden, where water availability is more limited in spring relative to summer. These conditions are expected to favour the evolution of drought avoidance mechanisms over drought escape strategies.
Functional divergence of a heterochromatin‐binding protein during stickleback speciation
Authors: Yoshida Kohta , Ishikawa Asano , Toyoda Atsushi , Shigenobu Shuji , Fujiyama Asao , Kitano Jun 
Published: August 2018

AbstractIntragenomic conflict, the conflict of interest between different genomic regions within an individual, is proposed as a mechanism driving both the rapid evolution of heterochromatin‐related proteins and the establishment of intrinsic genomic incompatibility between species. Although molecular studies of laboratory model organisms have demonstrated the link between heterochromatin evolution and hybrid abnormalities, we know little about their link in natural systems. Previously, we showed that F1hybrids between the Japan Sea stickleback and the Pacific Ocean stickleback show hybrid male sterility and found a region responsible for hybrid male sterility on the X chromosome, but did not identify any candidate genes. In this study, we first screened for genes rapidly evolving under positive selection during the speciation of Japanese sticklebacks to find genes possibly involved in intragenomic conflict. We found that the region responsible for hybrid male sterility contains a rapidly evolving gene encoding a heterochromatin‐binding proteinTRIM24B. We conducted biochemical experiments and showed that the binding affinity ofTRIM24B to a heterochromatin mark found at centromeres and transposons, histone H4 lysine 20 trimethylation (H4K20me3), is reduced in the Japan Sea stickleback. In addition,mRNAexpression levels ofTrim24bwere different between the Japan Sea and the Pacific Ocean testes. Further expression analysis of genes possibly in theTRIM24B‐regulated pathway showed that some gypsy retrotransposons are overexpressed in the F1hybrid testes. We, therefore, demonstrate that a heterochromatin‐binding protein can evolve rapidly under positive selection and functionally diverge during stickleback speciation.
Linking variation in intrinsic water‐use efficiency to isohydricity: a comparison at multiple spatiotemporal scales
Authors: Yi Koong , Maxwell Justin T. , Wenzel Matthew K. , Roman D. Tyler , Sauer Peter E. , Phillips Richard P. , Novick Kimberly A. 
Published: August 2018

Summary

Species‐specific responses of plant intrinsic water‐use efficiency (iWUE) to multiple environmental drivers associated with climate change, including soil moisture (θ), vapor pressure deficit (D), and atmospheric CO2 concentration (ca), are poorly understood.

We assessed how the iWUE and growth of several species of deciduous trees that span a gradient of isohydric to anisohydric water‐use strategies respond to key environmental drivers (θ, D and ca). iWUE was calculated for individual tree species using leaf‐level gas exchange and tree‐ring δ13C in wood measurements, and for the whole forest using the eddy covariance method.

The iWUE of the isohydric species was generally more sensitive to environmental change than the anisohydric species was, and increased significantly with rising D during the periods of water stress. At longer timescales, the influence of ca was pronounced for isohydric tulip poplar but not for others.

Trees’ physiological responses to changing environmental drivers can be interpreted differently depending on the observational scale. Care should be also taken in interpreting observed or modeled trends in iWUE that do not explicitly account for the influence of D.
Financial Instruments for Mitigation of Flood Risks: The Case of Florence
Authors: Castelli Fabio , Galeotti Marcello , Rabitti Giovanni 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThis article analyzes the mechanisms and effects of innovative financial instruments that a central public administration (CPA) may adopt to minimize the flood risk in particularly exposed regions. The pattern we suggest assumes that in risky areas the CPA can issue two financial instruments, called project options and CAT‐bonds, producing a dynamic interaction among three types of agents: the CPA itself, the local public administrations, and private investors. We explore the possible scenarios of such interaction and the conditions under which the CPA's goal of maximal risk reduction is attained. This pattern is proposed for flood risk mitigation in the city of Florence, where the model dynamics are tested assuming parameters obtained from engineering studies.
Daily heliotropic movements assist gas exchange and productive responses in DREB1A soybean plants under drought stress in the greenhouse
Authors: Rakocevic Miroslava , Müller Mariele , Matsunaga Fabio Takeshi , Neumaier Norman , Farias José Renato Bouças , Nepomuceno Alexandre Lima , Fuganti‐Pagliarini Renata 
Published: August 2018

SummaryDrought stress is one of the most severe environmental constraints on plant production. Under environmental pressures, complex daily heliotropic adjustments of leaflet angles in soybean can help to reduce transpiration losses by diminishing light interception (paraheliotropism), increase diurnal carbon gain in sparse canopies and reduce carbon gain in dense canopies by solar tracking (diaheliotropism). The plant materials studied were cultivar BR 16 and its genetically engineered isoline P58, ectopically overexpressing AtDREB1A, which is involved in abiotic stress responses. We aimed to follow the movements of central and lateral leaflets in vegetative stages V7–V10 and reproductive stages R4–R5, integrating the reversible morphogenetic changes into an estimate of daily plant photosynthesis using three‐dimensional modeling, and to analyze the production parameters of BR 16 and P58. The patterns of daily movements of central leaflets of BR 16 in V7–V10 and R4–R5 were similar, expressing fewer diaheliotropic movements under drought stress than under non‐limiting water conditions. Daily heliotropic patterns of lateral leaflets in V7–V10 and R4–R5 showed more diaheliotropic movements in drought‐stressed P58 plants than in those grown under non‐limiting water conditions. Leaf area in R4–R5 was generally higher in P58 than in BR 16. Drought significantly affected gas exchange and vegetative and reproductive architectural features. DREB1A could be involved in various responses to drought stress. Compared with the parental BR 16, P58 copes with drought through better compensation between diaheliotropic and paraheliotropic movements, finer tuning of water‐use efficiency, a lower transpiration rate, higher leaf area and higher pod abortion to accomplish the maximum possible grain production under continued drought conditions.
Adipose‐derived stem cells and the stromal vascular fraction in polyglycolic acid‐collagen nerve conduits promote rat facial nerve regeneration
Authors: Shimizu Mari , Matsumine Hajime , Osaki Hironobu , Ueta Yoshifumi , Tsunoda Satoshi , Kamei Wataru , Hashimoto Kazuki , Niimi Yosuke , Watanabe Yorikatsu , Miyata Mariko , Sakurai Hiroyuki 
Published: August 2018

AbstractAdipose‐derived stem cells (ADSCs) and the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) promote nerve regeneration. Biodegradable nerve conduits are used to treat peripheral nerve injuries, but their efficiencies are lower than those of autologous nerve grafts. This study developed biodegradable nerve conduits containing ADSCs and SVF and evaluated their facial nerve regenerating abilities in a rat model with a 7‐mm nerve defect. SVF and ADSCs were individually poured into nerve conduits with polyglycolic acid‐type I collagen as a scaffold (ADSCs and SVF groups). The conduits were grafted on to the nerve defects. As the control, the defect was bridged with polyglycolic acid‐collagen nerve conduits without cells. At 13 weeks, after transplantation, the regenerated nerves were evaluated physiologically and histologically. The compound muscle action potential of the SVF group was significantly higher in amplitude than that of the control group. Electron microscopy showed that the axon diameter of the SVF group was the largest, followed by the ADSC group and control group with significant differences among them. The SVF group had the largest fiber diameter, followed by the ADSC group and control group with significant differences among them. The ADSC group had the highest myelin thickness, followed by the SVF group and control group with significant differences among them. Identical excellent promoting effects on nerve regeneration were observed in both the ADSC and SVF groups. Using SVF in conduits was more practical than using ADSCs because only the enzymatic process was required to prepare SVF, indicating that SVF could be more suitable to induce nerve regeneration.
Pig tracheal patchy xenotransplantation in the dog
Authors: Lee Tae‐Ki , Kim Jong‐Min , Choi Seok Hwa 
Published: August 2018

AbstractBackgroundA long‐segmental tracheal lesion is difficult to repair by tracheal allotransplantation due to the lack of a well‐defined blood supply for blood vessel anastomosis. The donor trachea needs to be revascularized within a well‐vascularized soft tissue flap for several months to allow successful trachea allotransplantation. To date, xenotransplantation using the wild‐type or genetically modified pig has been widely studied. The object of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a small‐sized (2 × 2 cm) wild‐type pig tracheal patchy in a dog tracheal defect model before trying a long‐segment tracheal defect model and using a genetically modified pig as a donor in dog xenotransplantation.MethodThree healthy beagle dogs (8‐9 kg) were used as recipients, and one pig (20 kg) was used as the donor. A pig cartilaginous tracheal patchy (2 × 2 cm half tube) was sutured to the tracheal resected site in each dog. Antithymocyte globulin (2.5 mg/kg infusion, D0 and 1), tacrolimus (4.5 mg/kg, twice a day for 2 months), and methylprednisolone sodium succinate (1 mg/kg, IV, for 2 days and tapering) were administered for immunosuppression. The levels IL‐2 and IFN‐γ in the serum were measured at D0, 7, and 28. Tracheoscopy was performed at D28, 60, and 90. The recipients were sacrificed at D90, and the expression of dog and pig genes in the graft was evaluated by PCR. Histopathological examination of the graft was conducted.ResultsAll of the dogs survived without complications during the experimental period. Their IL‐2 and IFN‐γ levels were significantly increased at D7 after transplantation compared to D0 and D28 (P < 0.05). The pig tracheal patchy site was open, and no stenosis was observed until D90 on tracheoscopy, when pale mucosa erosion was observed; there was also remnant suture material at D28. However, the tracheal patchy sites gradually became similar to normal mucosa at D60 and 90. The expression of pig genes was detected in the graft by PCR. Normal epithelium and CD3 cells were observed in the histological examination at D90.ConclusionIn this study, our data suggest that the pig tracheal patchy can be successfully engrafted into the trachea of dog, although erosion of mucosa on the graft was seen at D30, in spite of the discordant species.
Gestational chronodisruption leads to persistent changes in the rat fetal and adult adrenal clock and function
Authors: Salazar E. R. , Richter H. G. , Spichiger C. , Mendez N. , Halabi D. , Vergara K. , Alonso I. P. , Corvalán F. A. , Azpeleta C. , Seron‐Ferre M. , Torres‐Farfan C. 
Published: August 2018

Key points
Light at night is essential to a 24/7 society, but it has negative consequences on health. Basically, light at night induces an alteration of our biological clocks, known as chronodisruption, with effects even when this occurs during pregnancy.
Here we explored the developmental impact of gestational chronodisruption (chronic photoperiod shift, CPS) on adult and fetal adrenal biorhythms and function.
We found that gestational chronodisruption altered fetal and adult adrenal function, at the molecular, morphological and physiological levels.
The differences between control and CPS offspring suggest desynchronization of the adrenal circadian clock and steroidogenic pathway, leading to abnormal stress responses and metabolic adaptation, potentially increasing the risk of developing chronic diseases.
AbstractLight at night is essential to a 24/7 society, but it has negative consequences on health. Basically, light at night induces an alteration of our biological clocks, known as chronodisruption, with effects even when this occurs during pregnancy. Indeed, an abnormal photoperiod during gestation alters fetal development, inducing long‐term effects on the offspring. Accordingly, we carried out a longitudinal study in rats, exploring the impact of gestational chronodisruption on the adrenal biorhythms and function of the offspring. Adult rats (90 days old) gestated under chronic photoperiod shift (CPS) decrease the time spent in the open arm zone of an elevated plus maze to 62% and increase the rearing time to 170%. CPS adults maintained individual daily changes in corticosterone, but their acrophases were distributed from 12.00 h to 06.00 h. CPS offspring maintained clock gene expression and oscillation, nevertheless no daily rhythm was observed in genes involved in the regulation and synthesis of steroids. Consistent with adult adrenal gland being programmed during fetal life, blunted daily rhythms of corticosterone, core clock gene machinery, and steroidogenic genes were observed in CPS fetal adrenal glands. Comparisons of the global transcriptome of CPS versus control fetal adrenal gland revealed that 1078 genes were differentially expressed (641 down‐regulated and 437 up‐regulated). In silico analysis revealed significant changes in Lipid Metabolism, Small Molecule Biochemistry, Cellular Development and the Inflammatory Response pathway (z score: 48–20). Altogether, the present results demonstrate that gestational chronodisruption changed fetal and adult adrenal function. This could translate to long‐term abnormal stress responses and metabolic adaptation, increasing the risk of developing chronic diseases.
Association Between Preseason Training and Performance in Elite Australian Football
Authors: McCaskie Callum J. , Young Warren B. , Fahrner Brendan B. , Sim Marc 
Published: August 2018

Purpose: To examine the association between preseason training variables and subsequent in-season performance in an elite Australian football team. Methods: Data from 41 elite male Australian footballers (mean [SD] age = 23.4 [3.1] y, height =188.4 [7.1] cm, and mass = 86.7 [7.9] kg) were collected from 1 Australian Football League (AFL) club. Preseason training data (external load, internal load, fitness testing, and session participation) were collected across the 17-wk preseason phase (6 and 11 wk post-Christmas). Champion Data© Player Rank (CDPR), coaches’ ratings, and round 1 selection were used as in-season performance measures. CDPR and coaches’ ratings were examined over the entire season, first half of the season, and the first 4 games. Both Pearson and partial (controlling for AFL age) correlations were calculated to assess if any associations existed between preseason training variables and in-season performance measures. A median split was also employed to differentiate between higher- and lower-performing players for each performance measure. Results: Preseason training activities appeared to have almost no association with performance measured across the entire season and the first half of the season. However, many preseason training variables were significantly linked with performance measured across the first 4 games. Preseason training variables that were measured post-Christmas were the most strongly associated with in-season performance measures. Specifically, total on-field session rating of perceived exertion post-Christmas, a measurement of internal load, displayed the greatest association with performance. Conclusion: Late preseason training (especially on-field match-specific training) is associated with better performance in the early season.
Two subtypes of symptomatic joint hypermobility: a descriptive study using latent class analysis
Authors: Di Mattia Francesco , Fary Robyn , Murray Kevin J , Howie Erin , Smith Anne , Morris Susan 
Published: August 2018

ObjectiveTo investigate a cohort of children with symptomatic joint hypermobility.MethodsCase notes for 318 children with joint hypermobility attending a rheumatology clinic were reviewed for clinical presentation, medical history, psychosocial factors and physical examination findings. Seven key variables were extracted and used as indicator variables in a latent class analysis to estimate the presence and number of subgroups of children with symptomatic joint hypermobility.ResultsTwo subgroups with differing clinical presentations were identified accounting for age and gender: an ‘athletic-persistent’ class (62%) characterised by higher probabilities for recurrent and chronic musculoskeletal pain, and less severe hypermobility; and a ‘systemic-profound’ class (38%) characterised by generalised hypermobility, recurrent musculoskeletal pain, gastro-oesophageal reflux and motor delay.ConclusionFindings suggest the presence of two distinct presentations of children with hypermobility. This finding may be important for clinical decision-making and management of this group of children.
Global microarray profiling identifiedhsa_circ_0064428as a potential immune-associated prognosis biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Weng Qiaoyou , Chen Minjiang , Li Maoquan , Zheng Yong-Fa , Shao Guoliang , Fan Weijun , Xu Xi-Ming , Ji Jiansong 
Published: August 2018

BackgroundIncreasing evidence has shown that circular RNAs (circRNAs) are involved tumourigenesis and metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, progression about its function in HCC is relatively slow. Here, we aimed to investigate whether plasma circRNAs could reflect the tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in HCC tumour tissues and serve as prognosis biomarker for HCC.MethodsTissue samples of patients with HCC were subjected to immunohistochemistry staining against CD8 to examine the TILs. Then, we investigated the expression profile of circRNAs by microarray between plasma of patients with HCC with high TILs and low TILs, and the differentially expressed circRNAs were validated with qRT-PCR. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS software and GraphPad Prism.ResultsWe have demonstrated that patients with HCC with high TILs exhibit a significant better overall survival, suggesting clinical outcome could be predicted by TILs. Global circRNA microarray between plasma of patients with HCC with high TILs and low TILs successfully identified six differentially expressed novel circRNAs. Among them, the expression ofhsa_circ_0064428was significantly reduced in patients with HCC with high TILs but increased in patients with low TILs. Moreover,hsa_circ_0064428was negatively correlated with patient’s survival, tumour size and metastasis.ConclusionThese findings together imply thathsa_circ_0064428could be considered as a potential HCC prognosis biomarker. Future in-depth research is required to further illustrate the involvement ofhsa_circ_0064428in HCC tumourigenesis and metastasis.