bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Quasi-extinction risk and population targets for the Eastern, migratory population of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus)
Authors: Semmens Brice X. , Semmens Darius J. , Thogmartin Wayne E. , Wiederholt Ruscena , López-Hoffman Laura , Diffendorfer Jay E. , Pleasants John M. , Oberhauser Karen S. , Taylor Orley R. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractThe Eastern, migratory population of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus), an iconic North American insect, has declined by ~80% over the last decade. The monarch’s multi-generational migration between overwintering grounds in central Mexico and the summer breeding grounds in the northern U.S. and southern Canada is celebrated in all three countries and creates shared management responsibilities across North America. Here we present a novel Bayesian multivariate auto-regressive state-space model to assess quasi-extinction risk and aid in the establishment of a target population size for monarch conservation planning. We find that, given a range of plausible quasi-extinction thresholds, the population has a substantial probability of quasi-extinction, from 11–57% over 20 years, although uncertainty in these estimates is large. Exceptionally high population stochasticity, declining numbers and a small current population size act in concert to drive this risk. An approximately 5-fold increase of the monarch population size (relative to the winter of 2014–15) is necessary to halve the current risk of quasi-extinction across all thresholds considered. Conserving the monarch migration thus requires active management to reverse population declines and the establishment of an ambitious target population size goal to buffer against future environmentally driven variability.
3D-printed guiding templates for improved osteosarcoma resection
Authors: Ma Limin , Zhou Ye , Zhu Ye , Lin Zefeng , Wang Yingjun , Zhang Yu , Xia Hong , Mao Chuanbin 
Published: March 2016

AbstractOsteosarcoma resection is challenging due to the variable location of tumors and their proximity with surrounding tissues. It also carries a high risk of postoperative complications. To overcome the challenge in precise osteosarcoma resection, computer-aided design (CAD) was used to design patient-specific guiding templates for osteosarcoma resection on the basis of the computer tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the osteosarcoma of human patients. Then 3D printing technique was used to fabricate the guiding templates. The guiding templates were used to guide the osteosarcoma surgery, leading to more precise resection of the tumorous bone and the implantation of the bone implants, less blood loss, shorter operation time and reduced radiation exposure during the operation. Follow-up studies show that the patients recovered well to reach a mean Musculoskeletal Tumor Society score of 27.125.
First Introduction of NiSe2 to Anode Material for Sodium-Ion Batteries: A Hybrid of Graphene-Wrapped NiSe2/C Porous Nanofiber
Authors: Cho Jung Sang , Lee Seung Yeon , Kang Yun Chan 
Published: March 2016

AbstractThe first-ever study of nickel selenide materials as efficient anode materials for Na-ion rechargeable batteries is conducted using the electrospinning process. NiSe2-reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-C composite nanofibers are successfully prepared via electrospinning and a subsequent selenization process. The electrospun nanofibers giving rise to these porous-structured composite nanofibers with optimum amount of amorphous C are obtained from the polystyrene to polyacrylonitrile ratio of 1/4. These composite nanofibers also consist of uniformly distributed single-crystalline NiSe2 nanocrystals that have a mean size of 27 nm. In contrast, the densely structured bare NiSe2 nanofibers formed via selenization of the pure NiO nanofibers consist of large crystallites. The initial discharge capacities of the NiSe2-rGO-C composite and bare NiSe2 nanofibers at a current density of 200 mA g−1 are 717 and 755 mA h g−1, respectively. However, the respective 100th-cycle discharge capacities of the former and latter are 468 and 35 mA h g−1. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements reveal the structural stability of the composite nanofibers during repeated Na-ion insertion and extraction processes. The excellent Na-ion storage properties of these nanofibers are attributed to this structural stability.
Differential response of patient-derived primary glioblastoma cells to environmental stiffness
Authors: Grundy Thomas James , De Leon Ellen , Griffin Kaitlyn Rose , Stringer Brett William , Day Bryan William , Fabry Ben , Cooper-White Justin , O’Neill Geraldine Margaret 
Published: March 2016

AbstractThe ability of cancer cells to sense external mechanical forces has emerged as a significant factor in the promotion of cancer invasion. Currently there are conflicting reports in the literature with regard to whether glioblastoma (GBM) brain cancer cell migration and invasion is rigidity-sensitive. In order to address this question we have compared the rigidity-response of primary patient-derived GBM lines. Cells were plated on polyacrylamide gels of defined rigidity that reflect the diversity of the brain tissue mechanical environment and cell morphology and migration were analysed by time-lapse microscopy. Invasiveness was assessed in multicellular spheroids embedded in 3D matrigel cultures. Our data reveal a range of rigidity-dependent responses between the patient-derived cell lines, from reduced migration on the most compliant tissue stiffness to those that are insensitive to substrate rigidity and are equally migratory irrespective of the underlying substrate stiffness. Notably, the rigidity-insensitive GBM cells show the greatest invasive capacity in soft 3D matrigel cultures. Collectively our data confirm both rigidity-dependent and independent behaviour in primary GBM patient-derived cells.
Effect of Alzheimer's Disease Risk Variant rs3824968 at SORL1 on Regional Gray Matter Volume and Age-Related Interaction in Adult Lifespan
Authors: Huang Chu-Chung , Liu Mu-En , Kao Hung-Wen , Chou Kun-Hsien , Yang Albert C. , Wang Ying-Hsiu , Chen Tong-Ru , Tsai Shih-Jen , Lin Ching-Po 
Published: March 2016

AbstractSortilin receptor 1 (SORL1) is involved in cellular trafficking of amyloid precursor protein and plays an essential role in amyloid-beta peptide generation in Alzheimer disease (AD). The major A allele in a SORL1 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs3824968, is associated with an increased AD risk. However, the role of SORL1 rs3824968 in the normal ageing process has rarely been examined in relation to brain structural morphology. This study investigated the association between SORL1 rs3824968 and grey matter (GM) volume in a nondemented Chinese population of 318 adults within a wide age range (21–92 years). Through voxel-based morphometry, we found that participants carrying SORL1 allele A exhibited significantly smaller GM volumes in the right posterior cingulate, left middle occipital, medial frontal and superior temporal gyri. Considerable interaction between age and SORL1 suggested a detrimental and accelerated ageing effect of allele A on putamen. These findings provide evidence that SORL1 rs3824968 modulates regional GM volume and is associated with brain trajectory during the adult lifespan.
Higher-order Multivariable Polynomial Regression to Estimate Human Affective States
Authors: Wei Jie , Chen Tong , Liu Guangyuan , Yang Jiemin 
Published: March 2016

AbstractFrom direct observations, facial, vocal, gestural, physiological and central nervous signals, estimating human affective states through computational models such as multivariate linear-regression analysis, support vector regression and artificial neural network, have been proposed in the past decade. In these models, linear models are generally lack of precision because of ignoring intrinsic nonlinearities of complex psychophysiological processes; and nonlinear models commonly adopt complicated algorithms. To improve accuracy and simplify model, we introduce a new computational modeling method named as higher-order multivariable polynomial regression to estimate human affective states. The study employs standardized pictures in the International Affective Picture System to induce thirty subjects’ affective states and obtains pure affective patterns of skin conductance as input variables to the higher-order multivariable polynomial model for predicting affective valence and arousal. Experimental results show that our method is able to obtain efficient correlation coefficients of 0.98 and 0.96 for estimation of affective valence and arousal, respectively. Moreover, the method may provide certain indirect evidences that valence and arousal have their brain’s motivational circuit origins. Thus, the proposed method can serve as a novel one for efficiently estimating human affective states.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Revealed Splenic Targeting of Canine Parvovirus Capsid Protein VP2
Authors: Ma Yufei , Wang Haiming , Yan Dan , Wei Yanquan , Cao Yuhua , Yi Peiwei , Zhang Hailu , Deng Zongwu , Dai Jianwu , Liu Xiangtao , Luo Jianxun , Zhang Zhijun , Sun Shiqi , Guo Huichen 
Published: March 2016

AbstractCanine parvovirus (CPV) is a highly contagious infectious virus, whose infectious mechanism remains unclear because of acute gastroenteritis and the lack of an efficient tool to visualize the virus in real time during virology research. In this study, we developed an iron oxide nanoparticle supported by graphene quantum dots (GQD), namely, FeGQD. In this composite material, GQD acts as a stabilizer; thus, vacancies are retained on the surface for further physical adsorption of the CPV VP2 protein. The FeGQD@VP2 nanocomposite product showed largely enhanced colloidal stability in comparison with bare FeGQD, as well as negligible toxicity both in vitro and in vivo. The composite displayed high uptake into transferrin receptor (TfR) positive cells, which are distinguishable from FeGQD or TfR negative cells. In addition, the composite developed a significant accumulation in spleen rather than in liver, where bare FeGQD or most iron oxide nanoparticles gather. As these evident targeting abilities of FeGQD@VP2 strongly suggested, the biological activity of CPV VP2 was retained in our study and its biological functions might correspond to CPV when the rare splenic targeting ability is considered. This approach can be applied to numerous other biomedical studies that require a simple yet efficient approach to track proteins in vivo while retaining biological function and may facilitate virus-related research.
Pinus sylvestris as a missing source of nitrous oxide and methane in boreal forest
Authors: Machacova Katerina , Bäck Jaana , Vanhatalo Anni , Halmeenmäki Elisa , Kolari Pasi , Mammarella Ivan , Pumpanen Jukka , Acosta Manuel , Urban Otmar , Pihlatie Mari 
Published: March 2016

AbstractBoreal forests comprise 73% of the world’s coniferous forests. Based on forest floor measurements, they have been considered a significant natural sink of methane (CH4) and a natural source of nitrous oxide (N2O), both of which are important greenhouse gases. However, the role of trees, especially conifers, in ecosystem N2O and CH4 exchange is only poorly understood. We show for the first time that mature Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) trees consistently emit N2O and CH4 from both stems and shoots. The shoot fluxes of N2O and CH4 exceeded the stem flux rates by 16 and 41 times, respectively. Moreover, higher stem N2O and CH4 fluxes were observed from wet than from dry areas of the forest. The N2O release from boreal pine forests may thus be underestimated and the uptake of CH4 may be overestimated when ecosystem flux calculations are based solely on forest floor measurements. The contribution of pine trees to the N2O and CH4 exchange of the boreal pine forest seems to increase considerably under high soil water content, thus highlighting the urgent need to include tree-emissions in greenhouse gas emission inventories.
Roles of endothelial A-type lamins in migration of T cells on and under endothelial layers
Authors: Song Kwang Hoon , Lee Jaehyun , Park HyoungJun , Kim Hye Mi , Park Jeehun , Kwon Keon Woo , Doh Junsang 
Published: March 2016

AbstractStiff nuclei in cell-dense microenvironments may serve as distinct biomechanical cues for cell migration, but such a possibility has not been tested experimentally. As a first step addressing this question, we altered nuclear stiffness of endothelial cells (ECs) by reducing the expression of A-type lamins using siRNA, and investigated the migration of T cells on and under EC layers. While most T cells crawling on control EC layers avoided crossing over EC nuclei, a significantly higher fraction of T cells on EC layers with reduced expression of A-type lamins crossed over EC nuclei. This result suggests that stiff EC nuclei underlying T cells may serve as “duro-repulsive” cues to direct T cell migration toward less stiff EC cytoplasm. During subendothelial migration under EC layers with reduced expression of A-type lamins, T cells made prolonged contact and substantially deformed EC nuclei, resulting in reduced speed and directional persistence. This result suggests that EC nuclear stiffness promotes fast and directionally persistent subendothelial migration of T cells by allowing minimum interaction between T cells and EC nuclei.
CpG methylation patterns of human mitochondrial DNA
Authors: Liu Baojing , Du Qingqing , Chen Lu , Fu Guangping , Li Shujin , Fu Lihong , Zhang Xiaojing , Ma Chunling , Bin Cong 
Published: March 2016

AbstractThe epigenetic modification of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is still in controversy. To clarify this point, we applied the gold standard method for DNA methylation, bisulfite pyrosequencing, to examine human mtDNA methylation status. Before bisulfite conversion, BamHI was used to digest DNA to open the loop of mtDNA. The results demonstrated that the linear mtDNA had significantly higher bisulfite conversion efficiency compared with circular mtDNA. Furthermore, the methylation values obtained from linear mtDNA were significantly lower than that of circular mtDNA, which was verified by SEQUENOM MassARRAY. The above impacts of circular structure were also observed in lung DNA samples but not in saliva DNA samples. Mitochondrial genome methylation of blood samples and saliva samples from 14 unrelated individuals was detected. The detected regions covered 83 CpG sites across mtDNA including D-loop, 12 S rRNA, 16 S rRNA, ND1, COXI, ND3, ND4, ND5, CYTB. We found that the average methylation levels of nine regions were all less than 2% for both sample types. In conclusion, our findings firstly show that the circular structure of mtDNA affects bisulfite conversion efficiency, which leads to overestimation of mtDNA methylation values. CpG methylation in human mtDNA is a very rare event at most DNA regions.
In situ Fabrication of α-Bi2O3/(BiO)2CO3 Nanoplate Heterojunctions with Tunable Optical Property and Photocatalytic Activity
Authors: Huang Yu , Wang Wei , Zhang Qian , Cao Jun-ji , Huang Ru-jin , Ho Wingkei , Lee Shun Cheng 
Published: March 2016

AbstractExploring the full potential use of heterojunction photocatalysts containing bismuth has attracted considerable interest in recent years. Fabrication of well-defined heterojunction photocatalysts with precise modulation of their chemical composition is crucial for tuning their optical properties and photocatalytic activity. In this study, we fabricated nanoplate α-Bi2O3/(BiO)2CO3 heterojunctions through in situ thermal treatment of (BiO)2CO3 nanoplates synthesized using a facile hydrothermal process. Characterization results showed that the as-prepared Bi2O3/(BiO)2CO3 heterojunctions possessed distinct crystal interface and exhibited pronounced structural and optical modulation, resulting in significant improvement of their photocatalytic activity for NO removal under simulated solar light irradiation compared with pristine (BiO)2CO3. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy showed that ⋅OH radicals were the major reactive species involved in NO degradation, which is consistent with the theoretical analysis. The heterojunction formation can not only broaden the light absorption range but also improve the charge separation of photo-induced electron–hole pairs. This study is an important advancement in the development of semiconductor heterojunctions towards achieving functional photocatalysts.
The conifer biomarkers dehydroabietic and abietic acids are widespread in Cyanobacteria
Authors: Costa Maria Sofia , Rego Adriana , Ramos Vitor , Afonso Tiago B. , Freitas Sara , Preto Marco , Lopes Viviana , Vasconcelos Vitor , Magalhães Catarina , Leão Pedro N. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractTerpenes, a large family of natural products with important applications, are commonly associated with plants and fungi. The diterpenoids dehydroabietic and abietic acids are defense metabolites abundant in resin, and are used as biomarkers for conifer plants. We report here for the first time that the two diterpenoid acids are produced by members of several genera of cyanobacteria. Dehydroabietic acid was isolated from two cyanobacterial strains and its identity was confirmed spectroscopically. One or both of the diterpenoids were detected in the cells of phylogenetically diverse cyanobacteria belonging to four cyanobacterial ‘botanical orders’, from marine, estuarine and inland environments. Dehydroabietic acid was additionally found in culture supernatants. We investigated the natural role of the two resin acids in cyanobacteria using ecologically-relevant bioassays and found that the compounds inhibited the growth of a small coccoid cyanobacterium. The unexpected discovery of dehydroabietic and abietic acids in a wide range of cyanobacteria has implications for their use as plant biomarkers.
Influences of population density on polyandry and patterns of sperm usage in the marine gastropod Rapana venosa
Authors: Xue Dong-Xiu , Zhang Tao , Liu Jin-Xian 
Published: March 2016

AbstractPolyandry is a common mating strategy in animals, with potential for sexual selection to continue post-copulation through sperm competition and/or cryptic female choice. Few studies have investigated the influences of population density on polyandry and sperm usage, and paternity distribution in successive broods of marine invertebrates. The marine gastropod Rapana venosa is ideal for investigating how population density influences the frequency of polyandry and elucidating patterns of sperm usage. Two different population density (12 ind/m3 and 36 ind/m3) treatments with two replications were set to observe reproductive behaviors. Five microsatellite markers were used to identify the frequency of multiple paternity and determine paternal contributions to progeny arrays in 120 egg masses. All of the mean mating frequency, mean number of sires and mean egg-laying frequency were higher at high population density treatment relative to low population density treatment, indicating population density is an important factor affecting polyandry. The last sperm donors achieved high proportions of paternity in 74.77% of egg masses, which supported the “last male sperm precedence” hypothesis. In addition, high variance in reproductive success among R. venosa males were detected, which might have an important influence on effective population size.
Real‐time crash prediction on urban expressways: identification of key variables and a hybrid support vector machine model
Authors: Sun Jie , Sun Jian 
Published: March 2016

The traffic safety on expressways is crucial for the efficient operation of the expressway system, and there is a close relationship between traffic states and crashes on expressways, and the occurrence of crashes may be influenced by the interaction of different combinations of traffic states upstream and downstream of the crash location. Based on the crash data and the corresponding traffic flow detector data collected on expressways in Shanghai, this study proposes a hybrid model combining a support vector machine (SVM) model with a k‐means clustering algorithm to predict the likelihood of crashes. The random forest (RF) model is employed to select the important and significant variables for model construction from the data of the traffic flow 5–10 min before the crash occurred. Then, the cross‐validation and transferability of different models (SVM model without variable selection, SVM model with variable selection, and hybrid SVM model with variable selection) are determined using 577 crashes and 5794 matched non‐crash events. The results show that the crash prediction model along with the four most important variables selected using the RF model can obtain a satisfactory prediction performance for crashes. With the combination of the clustering algorithm and SVM model, the accuracy of the crash prediction model can be as high as 78.0%. Moreover, the results of the transferability of the three different models imply that the variable selection and clustering algorithm both have an advantage for crash prediction.
Ultrasonic processing of molten and solidifying aluminium alloys: Overview and outlook
Authors: Eskin D. G. 
Published: March 2016

Ultrasonic melt processing attracts since the 1930 a lot of interest both from academic researchers and industry. In the last 10 years the interest to ultrasonic melt processing grew with regard to understanding the underlying mechanisms of previously established effects, developing numerical models of ultrasonic cavitation and the development of nanocomposite technology. This review paper summarises the mechanisms involved in the ultrasonic melt processing, including cavitation, flows, nucleation, activation, fragmentation and their consequences for degassing, structure refinement and particle dispersion. Some typical mistakes made by researchers in performing experiments and in interpretation of the results are discussed. New advanced methods of studying ultrasonic treatment and phenomena are considered. The paper also gives an outlook to future developments and challenges. This paper is part of a Themed Issue on Aluminium-based materials: processing, microstructure, properties, and recycling.
A Comparison of Circle Hook Size on Hooking Success, Deep Hooking Rate, and Postrelease Mortality of Hatchery-Reared Rainbow Trout
Authors: Sell Matthew T. , Kazyak David C. , Hilderbrand Robert H. , Heft Alan A. , Cooper Ryan M. 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
We investigated the effects of circle hook size and angling technique on hooking location, capture success, and postrelease mortality in salmonids by using hatchery-reared Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. Fish were caught using a range of inline circle hook sizes (4, 6, 8, and 10) baited and fished both actively and passively. While hook size had no influence on capture rates, active fishing resulted in significantly higher capture rates. Very few mortalities (2%) were observed across angling methods or hook sizes during 72 h of postrelease monitoring. However, significantly more fish were deeply hooked with passive fishing. Contrary to claims by manufacturers and sportfishing entities, mounting evidence indicates that passively fished circle hooks have lower capture rates and might actually increase deep hooking in salmonids.
Received May 19, 2015; accepted November 12, 2015 Published online March 21, 2016
Effect of calcium on cell-wall degrading enzymes of Botrytis cinerea
Authors: Sasanuma Izumi , Suzuki Takuya 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
Effective anti-Botrytis strategies leading to reduce pesticides on strawberries are examined to provide the protection that is harmless to humans, higher animals and plants. Calcium treatments significantly inhibited the spore germination and mycelial growth of B. cinerea. The intracellular polygalacturonase and CMCase showed low activities in B. cinerea cultivated by medium containing calcium. On the other hand, calcium-stimulated β-glucosidases production occurred. Our findings suggest that the calcium treatments keep CMCase activity low and cause low activities of cell-wall degrading enzymes of B. cinerea in the late stage of growth.