bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Democracy and Climate Change for Realists: An Integrated Empirical and Normative Assessment
Authors: Maloy J S 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
When scholars consider the relation between domestic political regimes and global climate change, they typically rely on assumptions about liberal democracy's core competencies with respect to environmental protection in general. As a result, an ostensibly normative debate pitting democracy against “eco-authoritarianism” depends for its resolution on causal theory and empirical analysis. I offer an integrated assessment of both empirical (causal) and normative (ethical) theories on democracy, autocracy, and climate change, concluding that democracy's superiority is less compellingly supported than regime-neutrality. Theoretically, the causal logic of environmentally protective democracy cannot readily be extended to climate change as a distinctive political problem. Empirically, my review of global statistical analyses of regime type and climate change reveals that the evidence is more consistent with regime-neutrality than democratic advantage. Regime-neutrality, in turn, revitalizes difficult normative arguments about trade-offs between democratic freedom and climatic stability. Something resembling the “win-win” situation of climate-fixing democracy may still be salvaged, theoretically. But political science's search for this outcome should take a realist turn: abandoning the liberal-authoritarian dichotomy in favor of a new one, pitting post-liberal forms of democracy against climate-fixing hybrid regimes.
The influence of intentions on dream content
Authors: Fechner Julia , Born Maren , Mancini Massimiliano , Akata Zeynep , Haag Philipp , Diekelmann Susanne , Born Jan 
Published: November 2024

Abstract

Study Objectives
The “Zeigarnik effect” refers to the phenomenon where future intentions are remembered effectively only as long as they are not executed. This study investigates whether these intentions, which remain active during sleep, influence dream content.

Methods
After an adaptation night, each of the 19 participants (10 women and 9 men) received three different task plans in the evening before the experimental night, each describing how to perform specific tasks. One of the task plans (completed) was then to be executed before the sleep period, another task (uncompleted) was told to be executed in the next morning, and on the third task (interrupted) participants were interrupted during the enactment before sleep and told to resume it the next morning. Polysomnography and multiple awakenings were conducted, resulting in 86 dream reports, 36 in NREM stage 2, and 50 in rapid eye movement sleep. After a traditional rating-based analysis of dream reports yielded inconsistent results, we analyzed the reports using a transformer-based assessment of dream incorporation, which quantified the semantic similarity between the dreams and pre-sleep tasks.

Results
The number of dreams showing above-criterion similarity to the respective task was significantly lower for the completed than the uncompleted or interrupted tasks (p &lt; .05, χ2 test). This pattern was confirmed through a forced choice approach, where—based on the similarity of single sentences of the dream reports—each dream report was allocated to one of the three task plans (p &lt; 0.01, one-tailed χ2 test).

Conclusions
Active intentions increase the likelihood of dream content being semantically similar to these intentions.
Influence of added 1,25(OH)2D3-glycoside on nursery pig growth performance, bone measurements, and cytokine concentrations
Authors: Becker Larissa L , Tokach Mike D , Woodworth Jason C , Goodband Robert D , DeRouchey Joel M , Devlikamov Murat R , Rahe Michael C , Siepker Christopher L , Sitthicharoenchai Panchan , Gebhardt Jordan T 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
A total of 2,268 crossbred pigs (L337 × 1050, PIC; initially 5.5 ± 0.18 kg) were used in a 42-d growth study to evaluate the effects of 1,25(OH)2D3-glycoside provided from a plant extract on growth performance, bone characteristics, and serum criteria of nursery pigs. Pigs were weaned at approximately 21 d of age and randomly assigned to 1 of the 3 dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design. A total of 84 pens were used with 27 pigs per pen and 28 replications per treatment with pens blocked by BW and date of entry into the facility. Treatment diets were corn–soybean meal-based and consisted of a control diet (1,653 IU/kg of vitamin D3), or the control diet with 1.2 or 2.0 μg of 1,25(OH)2D3-glycoside/kg. Blood samples were collected from 25 gilts/treatment on days 21 and 42 to assess 25(OH)D3, cytokine concentrations, and antibody titers. At the end of the study, 10 pigs per treatment were euthanized and the right fibula, metacarpal, second and 10th ribs were collected to determine bone density, breaking strength, and percentage bone ash. Overall, there was a tendency (linear, P = 0.067) for a reduction in G:F as added 1,25(OH)2D3-glycoside increased, but no significant effects on final BW, ADG, ADFI, or mortality were observed. There were no treatment × bone interactions for bone breaking strength and bone ash. Percentage bone ash increased (linear, P = 0.030) across all bones as 1,25(OH)2D3-glycoside increased. Treatment did not affect bone ash weight and breaking strength. Metacarpals and 10th ribs had the greatest bone ash weight followed by the fibula with the second ribs having the lowest (P &lt; 0.05). Metacarpals had greater breaking strength compared to all other bones, followed by the fibula and 10th rib, with the second rib having the lowest (P &lt; 0.001). There was a bone × treatment interaction for bone density, where increasing 1,25(OH)2D3-glycoside increased bone density for the second rib (P = 0.012), but there was no treatment difference for other bones. There was no difference between treatments for antibody titers, 25(OH)D3 status, or circulating cytokine concentrations except for IL-8 concentrations which decreased (linear, P = 0.037) as 1,25(OH)2D3-glycoside increased. In summary, adding 1.2 or 2.0 μg 1,25(OH)2D3-glycoside/kg provided from a plant extract to a diet already containing 1,653 IU/kg of vitamin D3 had no effect on growth or the evaluated serum parameters; however, increasing 1,25(OH)2D3-glycoside increased percentage bone ash.
Building a Border: The Material Transit of Scientific Labor
Authors: Menchaca Celeste R 
Published: November 2024

Abstract
The U.S.-Mexico Boundary Commission (1849–1855) was a joint effort between the two countries to survey the new border, as designated by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) and later the Gadsden Purchase (1854). This article examines the scientific corps of the U.S. Boundary Commission and its dual role in manufacturing a national border and scientific personhood. While studies on exploration and empire generally examine the cartographic output of these state-sponsored missions, this article centers on the embodied practices of surveying. It considers how the technical procedures and practices of surveying produced spaces of scientific knowledge and scientific subjects. When U.S. surveyors traveled to the Indigenous territories of what was formerly northern Mexico in 1849, they began their fieldwork—observing, collecting, and recording the natural phenomena that surrounded them. I argue that as they moved through space, they contoured the nation—creating a field coherent to the state via their scientific work. Their fieldwork was a mobile technology of place-making. Assembling the astronomical and surveying equipment, positioning their bodies with the utmost care to record the motion of stars, igniting flashes of gunpowder to mark time, laboring for hours calculating spherical triangles, and uprooting trees that obstructed sight lines were all acts that constituted both the surveyor and the border. I draw on textbooks, memoirs, congressional reports, and commission records to demonstrate how engineers of the U.S. Boundary Commission crafted themselves as they built a border.
The role of type 2 diabetes in the severity of adult asthma
Authors: Pham Alisa , Corcoran Rose , Foer Dinah 
Published: November 2024

Purpose of review
This review summarizes recent basic, translational, and clinical research on type 2 diabetes (T2D) and its relationship with asthma severity in the context of T2D mechanisms and asthma outcomes.

Recent findings
Several clinical asthma outcomes, such as lung function and exacerbations, demonstrate a strong association between T2D and asthma and support that T2D contributes to worse asthma outcomes. Multiple mechanisms underlying those observed associations, and their representative biomarkers, have been proposed. However, prospective, controlled human studies in the context of both T2D and asthma are limited.

Summary
T2D is associated with worse asthma outcomes and more severe asthma. Yet patients with more severe or uncontrolled asthma are also at a higher risk for systemic steroid exposure, which worsens glycemic control and metabolic dysregulation. Preclinical and translational studies point to metabolic dysregulation as a driver of airway inflammation. Addressing these metabolic pathways through T2D treatment may, in turn, directly or indirectly improve clinical asthma outcomes. While additional research is needed to identify biomarkers of risk and treatment response in metabolic asthma, this review highlights the importance of considering T2D as a clinically relevant asthma comorbidity.
The Changes in Dietary Intake and Tolerance for Chinese Food after Bariatric Surgery in Taiwan
Authors: Lin Yu-Ning , Lin Ke-Shin , Ng Chong Beng , Yen Mu-Hsin , Lin Shi-Yun , Liu Keng-Hao 
Published: November 2024

Abstract

Background
This study aimed to investigate changes in dietary intake and food tolerance after bariatric surgery in the Taiwanese population with a focus on Taiwanese dietary patterns.

Materials and Methods
The study enrolled 100 patients who had undergone bariatric surgery and were followed for 1 year, recording patient characteristics, laboratory data, and dietary conditions. Food tolerance was assessed using a questionnaire at 1, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after the operation. The surgical methods, changes in body condition, laboratory results, and tolerance scores were analyzed.

Results
The results showed an average decrease in body mass index (BMI) of 11.2 kg/m2 and improvements in metabolic parameters after 1 year of surgery. Calorie and protein intake decreased sharply one month after surgery but increased over the following year. Food tolerance varied for different types of foods and at different time points, with dry rice and bread showing poor tolerance (<3 at post-op 1 month). However, congee, eggs, soybean, fruits, and milk had relatively better tolerance scores (>3.5) in the early post-op period. Nuts, yogurt, and cheese were less commonly tried, which may be related to Taiwanese dietary habits.

Conclusions
Our study provides the analysis of dietary intake and food tolerance after bariatric surgery in the Taiwanese population. We observed that soft-textured protein sources, such as tofu and seafood, along with cooked vegetables, are well-tolerated and beneficial in the early post-op period. Additionally, dairy products like milk and yogurt can be incorporated to support nutritional needs. Poor tolerance of dry rice and bread, which are staples in the Taiwanese diet, suggests that dietary adjustments are crucial for improved food tolerance and quality of life.
Oncogenic GNAQ/11-induced remodeling of the IP3/Calcium signaling pathway protects Uveal Melanoma against Calcium-driven cell death
Authors: Céline Garcia , Louis Roussel , Sarah Massaad , Laura Brard , Rita La Rovere , Sophie Tartare-Deckert , Corine Bertolotto , Geert Bultynck , Sabrina Leverrier-Penna , Aubin Penna 
Published: November 2024

ABSTRACTDespite being considered a rare tumor, uveal melanoma (UVM) is the most common adult intraocular malignancy. With a poor prognosis and limited treatment options, up to 50% of patients develop metastases, primarily in the liver. A range of mutations and chromosomal aberrations with significant prognostic value has been associated with UVM pathogenesis. The most frequently mutated genes are GNAQ and GNA11, which encode the α subunits of Gq proteins and are described as driver mutations that activate multiple signaling cascades involved in cell growth and proliferation. Directly downstream of Gαq/11 activation, PLCβ engagement leads to sustained production of DAG and IP3. While the DAG/PKC/RasGRP3/MAPK signaling branch has been identified as an essential component of UVM unregulated proliferation, the role of IP3-mediated signals has been largely overlooked.Here, we demonstrate that, whilst maintaining Ca²⁺ homeostasis, UVM cells have developed a decoupling mechanism between IP3 and ER Ca²⁺ release by altering IP3 receptor (IP3R) expression. This correlation was observed in human UVM tumors, where IP3Rs were found to be downregulated. Critically, when IP3R3 expression was restored, UVM cells exhibited an increased tendency to undergo spontaneous cell death and became more sensitive to pro-apoptotic modulators of IP3R-mediated Ca²⁺ signaling, such as staurosporine and the Bcl2-IP3R disrupter peptide BIRD2.Finally, inhibition of the Gαq/11 signaling pathway revealed that IP3R expression is negatively regulated by GNAQ/11 oncogenic activation. Hence, we demonstrated that by remodeling IP3R expression, GNAQ/11 oncogenes protect UVM cells against IP3-triggered Ca²⁺ overload and cell death. Therefore, the GNAQ/11 pathway not only drives proliferation through DAG activity but also provides a protective mechanism to evade IP3/Ca²⁺-mediated cell death. These dual functions could potentially be exploited in novel combinatorial therapeutic strategies to effectively block UVM cell proliferation while simultaneously sensitizing them to cell death.
Quantitative genetics of photosynthetic trait variation in maize
Authors: Ali Waqar , Grzybowski Marcin , Torres-Rodríguez J. Vladimir , Li Fangyi , Shrestha Nikee , Mathivanan Ramesh Kanna , de Bernardeaux Gabriel , Hoang Khang , Mural Ravi V. , Roston Rebecca L. , Schnable James C. , Sahay Seema 
Published: November 2024

AbstractNatural genetic variation in photosynthesis-related traits can aid both in identifying genes involved in regulating photosynthetic processes and developing crops with improved productivity and photosynthetic efficiency. However, rapidly fluctuating environmental parameters create challenges for measuring photosynthetic parameters in large populations under field conditions. We measured chlorophyll fluorescence and absorbance-based photosynthetic traits in a maize diversity panel in the field using an experimental design that allowed us to estimate and control multiple confounding factors. Controlling the impact of day of measurement and light intensity as well as patterns of two-dimensional spatial variation in the field substantially increased heritability with the heritability of 7 out of 14 traits measured exceeding 0.4. We were able to identify high confidence GWAS signals associated with variation in four spatially corrected traits (the quantum yield of photosystem II, non-photochemical quenching, redox state of QA, and relative chlorophyll content). Insertion alleles forArabidopsisorthologs of three candidate genes exhibited phenotypes consistent with our GWAS results. Collectively these results illustrate the potential of applying best practices from quantitative genetics research to address outstanding questions in plant physiology and understand the mechanisms underlying natural variation in photosynthesis.Highlights●Controlling spatial and environmental confounding factors increased heritability of photosynthetic traits.●GWAS identified high confidence signals associated with variation in relative chlorophyll, ΦPSII, ΦNPQ, and qL.●Insertion alleles of theArabidopsisorthologs of maize candidate genes exhibited photosynthesis related phenotypes consistent with the GWAS results.
Label-free multiplex microscopic imaging by image-to-image translation overcoming the trade-off between pixel- and image-level similarity
Authors: Morikura Takashi , Funahashi Akira 
Published: November 2024

AbstractEstablishment of multiplex microscopic imaging without labeling is indispensable for understanding complex interactions of subcellular components. Toward the establishment of label-free multiplex microscopic imaging, image-to-image translation models that extract images of multiple subcellular components from bright-field images via nonlinear processing have attracted attention. However, the performance of conventional models is limited by a trade-off relationship between pixel- and image-level similarity, which degrades imaging performance. Here, we developed an image-to-image Wasserstein Schrödinger Bridge model to achieve high-performance image-to-image translation at the pixel level using Schrödinger Bridge while minimizing Wasserstein distance at the image level. Our model dramatically outperformed the conventional models at both levels simultaneously, reducing the mean squared error by 410-fold and improving the structural similarity index measure by 17.1-fold. Label-free multiplex microscopic imaging based on our model paves a way for the analysis of the interactions of subcellular components.
Coral restoration is only practical when local human pressure levels are low
Authors: Brookson Cole B. , Greiner Ariel 
Published: November 2024

AbstractCoral reefs are threatened by interacting local (fishing, coastal development) and global (climate change) stressors that degrade coral cover. Adding coral to the reef (coral restoration) is gaining prominence as a management strategy, however it is unclear whether restoration alone can ensure self-sustaining high coral cover under interacting stressors. We assess how much restoration is needed for a self-sustaining healthy coral reef using a mathematical model and real-world restoration case studies. We find that a reef with low macroalgal cover and high coral recruitment requires low restoration to ensure self-sustaining high coral cover but as nutrient enrichment and fishing increase, more restoration is required. Thus, if the reef is facing high local human stressors, restoration is unlikely to ensure self-sustaining high coral cover, suggesting that under such conditions conservation resources should first be allocated towards reducing the impact of stressors, prior to any restoration.
An abundance ofaliCandaliDgenes were identified in saliva using a novel multiplex qPCR to characterize group II non-encapsulated pneumococci with improved specificity
Authors: Laxton Claire S. , Toekiran Femke L. , Lin Tzu-Yi , Lomeda Beta D. , Hislop Maikel S. , Keller Lance , Allicock OrchMid M. , Wyllie Anne L. 
Published: November 2024

AbstractBackgroundSurveillance of pneumococcus is reporting increasing prevalence of non-encapsulated pneumococci (NESp). NESp are an important reservoir for genetic exchange among streptococci, including for antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and are increasingly implicated in disease. Disease-associated NESp commonly carry the virulence genespspK,oraliCandaliDin theircpslocus instead of capsule genes. While molecular methods targeting the cps region are widely used for serotyping encapsulated strains, there are few assays available for classification of NESp, meaning it is not widely undertaken. Therefore, we exploited these genes as targets for a novel qPCR assay for detecting and classifying NESp strains with improved efficiency and specificity.MethodsWe conducted bioinformatic analysis on sequences from 30 NESp and 23 other mitis-group streptococcal sequences and developed a multiplex-qPCR, targetingpspK,aliDand two regions ofaliC. The assay was validated using 11 previously characterised, and 5 uncharacterised NESp isolates. We then applied the assay to DNA extracted from culture-enriched saliva, and isolated and characterised suspected NESp colonies, with confirmation by whole genome sequencing.ResultsBioinformatic analyses demonstrated that previously published primers foraliCandaliDhad low pneumococcal-specificity but indicated that targeting two regions ofaliCwould improve species-specificity, without compromising sensitivity. Our novel multiplex assay accurately typed all isolates. When screening saliva, we found a high prevalence ofaliCandaliD, even in samples negative for pneumococcal geneslytAandpiaB. Isolated colonies which werealiCandaliDpositive could be differentiated as non-pneumococcal streptococci using our assay.ConclusionOur multiplex-qPCR assay can be used to efficiently screen even highly polymicrobial samples, such as saliva, for NESp genes, to detect and differentiate potentially pathogenic NESp clades from closely related mitis-group streptococci. This will allow for a better understanding of the true prevalence of NESp, and their impact upon pneumococcal carriage, disease, and AMR.
Environmental DNA vs. Community Science: Strengths and Limitations for Urban Odonata Surveys
Authors: Uche-Dike Rhema , Tolman Ethan , Benischek Christian , Schneider Magnolia , Kohli Manpreet K. , Bush Jonas , Frandsen Paul B. , Errigo Isabella , Frankel Wendy , Gnojewski Kristin , Chmura Kim , Jordan Dick , Kittler Hannah , Liao Michel , Tobin Trinity , Su Cindy , Castillo Gracie , Derdarian Ethan , Wei Maleah , Fernandez-Jaurez Santiago , Tamano Towako , Gallafent Ben , Jenson James , Walser Christoph A. , Ware Jessica L. , Beatty Christopher D. 
Published: November 2024

AbstractThe study of insect decline remains a major frontier in insect biodiversity and conservation. Despite growing concern about accelerating rates of insect decline generally, relatively little data has been compiled about species of aquatic insects. Data is particularly lacking on the distribution of aquatic insects in urban ecosystems. Here, we compare environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding and community science observation as means of monitoring Odonata within an urban system in Southwest Idaho. We show that the distribution of Odonata across this urban landscape is not uniform and that both monitoring methods have different strengths and weaknesses. We found that eDNA metabarcoding was very sensitive to the identification of genera from underrepresented families in the region, but was unable to distinguish between closely related genera, particularly from localities where eDNA could accumulate more damage. On the other hand, community science observations effectively identified the presence of genera from more speciose families but missed the presence of relatively rare species, and those that had a short flight season. These findings suggest that, in our study system, eDNA and community science are highly complementary of each other. In cases where only one method is employed for a monitoring or conservation project, care should be given to account for the biases of each approach.