bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Addressing Hazardous Implications of Additive Manufacturing: Complementing Life Cycle Assessment with a Framework for Evaluating Direct Human Health and Environmental Impacts
Authors: Bours Justin , Adzima Brian , Gladwin Susan , Cabral Julia , Mau Serena 
Published: May 2017

SummaryAdditive manufacturing (AM) is transforming manufacturing technology and the distribution of production capital. As the use of three‐dimensional printers begins to extend into homes, schools, and factories, the industry is not well equipped to address the potential for deleterious environmental and health impacts. Proactive assessment tools are needed so that materials developers and designers, printer operators, and print end users can create and choose the most appropriate and safe materials and AM processes based on their use cases. Current life cycle assessments (LCAs) do not provide sufficient information to support materials decisions based on concerns about hazard exposure. To address this shortcoming, we developed a framework that complements LCA with hazard and green design metrics derived from analyzing human health and environmental impacts in the later stages of the AM life cycle. We then identified suitable existing methodologies for evaluation across these stages and synthesized the methodologies into higher‐level metrics for comparative analysis of materials. To illustrate the benefits of this framework, we compared two common AM materials: Autodesk Standard Clear Prototyping Resin (PR48), an open‐source formulation used in photopolymerization processing AM, and bio–polylactic acid, a ubiquitous, biosourced polymer used in an extrusion‐based AM system called fused filament fabrication.
Self‐esteem development in the school context: The roles of intrapersonal and interpersonal social predictors
Authors: Wagner Jenny , Lüdtke Oliver , Robitzsch Alexander , Göllner Richard , Trautwein Ulrich 
Published: May 2017

AbstractObjectiveWhen considering that social inclusion is a basic human need, it makes sense that self‐esteem is fueled by social feedback and the sense of being liked by others. This is particularly true with respect to early adolescence, when peers become increasingly important. In the current article, we tested which components of social inclusion are particularly beneficial for the development of self‐esteem by differentiating between intrapersonal components (i.e., self‐perceptions of social inclusion) and interpersonal components (i.e., perceiver and target effects of liking).MethodUsing longitudinal data from 2,281 fifth graders and 1,766 eighth graders (TRAIN; Jonkmann et al., 2013), we tested mean‐level self‐esteem development and the role of intrapersonal components in this development. Using classroom round‐robin data on liking from subsamples of 846 (689) fifth‐(eighth‐)grade students nested in 46 (39) classes, we tested effects of interpersonal relationship components on self‐esteem development in the classroom context.ResultsThe three major findings demonstrated, first, no consistent trends in mean levels of self‐esteem in early to middle adolescence; second, constant positive effects of intrapersonal components between students and within students across time; and third, no stable effects of interpersonal components.ConclusionsThe discussion highlights the role of intrapersonal components and the methodological challenges of our study.
Putative Cerebral Microbleeds in Dogs Undergoing Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Head: A Retrospective Study of Demographics, Clinical Associations, and Relationship to Case Outcome
Authors: Kerwin S.C. , Levine J.M. , Budke C.M. , Griffin J.F. , Boudreau C.E. 
Published: May 2017

BackgroundCerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are focal intraparenchymal signal voids on gradient‐echo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), corresponding to regions of chronic hemorrhage. In humans, they are associated with systemic disease and shorter survival times. Although similar findings have been identified in dogs, their epidemiology and clinical correlations have not been investigated.ObjectiveTo determine epidemiological features, clinical associations, and associations with outcome for putative CMB‐like foci (putative microbleeds [pMBs]) identified by T2*‐weighted MRI in dogs.AnimalsFive hundred and eighty‐two dogs undergoing 3T brain MRI between 2011 and 2016.MethodsRetrospective case–control study. Demographic, diagnostic, and clinicopathological data were obtained from medical records and phone follow‐up. Demographic variables were compared between dogs with and without evidence of pMBs. For dogs with such evidence, and a subset of matched controls, associations with clinical presentation, concurrent disease, and survival times were evaluated.ResultsDogs with pMBs were older (P < .001) and smaller (P = .004) than unaffected dogs. Compared to matched controls, they presented more frequently for vestibular signs (P = .030). Cortical atrophy occurred concurrently with pMBs in 26% (14/54) of dogs. Diagnosed renal disease was not significantly associated with pMBs, but proteinuria was more common in dogs with pMBs than in matched controls (odds ratio = 3.01, P = .005). Dogs with pMBs had a shorter median survival time than did matched controls (P = .011).Conclusions and Clinical ImportancePutative microbleeds occurred in 54 of 582 (9.3%) of dogs undergoing brain MRI, but may not be a normal consequence of aging. They were associated with shorter survival time and proteinuria in the study population.
Variation in male ornaments in two lizard populations with contrasting parasite loads
Authors: Llanos‐Garrido A. , Díaz J. A. , Pérez‐Rodríguez A. , Arriero E. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractIn the context of the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis, we explored how differences in parasite load affect the way in which sexual ornaments codify information about individual quality. We studied variation in sexual signals in two Iberian populations of the lizard Psammodromus algirus, a species in which sexually active males display a red head coloration. In one population, males were free of tick nymphs, whereas in the other one all males were tick‐infested (mean of 12.7 tick nymphs/individual).At the onset of the breeding season, the red‐coloured surface was larger in the non‐parasitized population than in the parasitized one, whereas the opposite was true for colour saturation. We experimentally simulated a bacterial infection (by intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide) to examine the effects of immune activation on the expression of this sexual ornament. In the non‐parasitized population, our treatment caused a reduction in the red‐coloured surface of experimental males, whereas in the parasitized population it caused a decrease in colour saturation. In the parasitized population, males that displayed sexual coloration were larger, and had fewer parasites, than uncoloured ones, and inflammatory response to lipopolysaccharide injection in the palm of the hind paw was negatively correlated with colour saturation, but not with colour extension. Thus, we suggest parasites not only constrained the expression of sexual ornaments, but they also changed the signal properties that conveyed useful information about the quality of their bearers.
Probabilistic Baseline of Finite Element Model of Bridges under Environmental Temperature Changes
Authors: Liu Yang , Zhang Shaoyi 
Published: May 2017

AbstractThe material properties and structural stiffness of actual bridges fluctuate with variations in environmental temperature; therefore, it is not appropriate to use a determined finite element model (FEM) as the baseline model for localizing the structural damage of bridges. To address this issue, we proposed the concept of the probabilistic baseline of FEM of bridges under variable environmental temperature, that is, we established reasonable probability distributions of the physical parameters of bridges that are suitable for damage localization with varying environmental temperature. First, a method is presented to obtain the probabilistic baseline of FEM of bridges, which imports cluster analysis into stochastic FEM updating. Unlike the conventional methods, the measured natural frequencies first are classified into different clusters using the Gaussian mixture method (GMM), with each cluster consisting of measured data that satisfy the same Gaussian distribution. Then, the conventional methods of stochastic FEM updating can be conveniently implemented to obtain the probabilistic baseline of FEM for each cluster. Second, for each cluster, the mean values and covariance of the updating parameters are updated in two sequential steps, and a new approach is proposed for determining the initial covariance of the updating parameters. The results of an actual example show that predetermining a reasonable initial covariance for the updating parameters can accurately and efficiently obtain the updated results. Finally, the effectiveness of the presented method is verified through the monitoring data of an actual bridge.
The serine/threonine phosphatases of apicomplexan parasites
Authors: Yang Chunlin , Arrizabalaga Gustavo 
Published: May 2017

SummaryThe balance between phosphorylation and de‐phosphorylation, which is delicately regulated by protein kinases and phosphatases, is critical for nearly all biological processes. The Apicomplexa are a large phylum which contains various parasitic protists, including human pathogens, such as Plasmodium, Toxoplasma, Cryptosporidium and Babesia species. The diverse life cycles of these parasites are highly complex and, not surprisingly, many of their key steps are exquisitely regulated by phosphorylation. Interestingly, many of the kinases and phosphatases, as well as the substrates involved in these events are unique to the parasites and therefore phosphorylation constitutes a viable target for antiparasitic intervention. Most progress on this realm has come from studies in Toxoplasma and Plasmodium of their respective kinomes and phosphoproteomes. Nonetheless, given their likely importance, phosphatases have recently become the focus of research within the apicomplexan parasites. In this review, we concentrate on serine/threonine phosphatases in apicomplexan parasites, with the focus on comprehensively identifying and naming protein phosphatases in available apicomplexan genomes, and summarizing the progress of their functional analyses in recent years.
Plant–plant interactions influence developmental phase transitions, grain productivity and root system architecture in Arabidopsis via auxin and PFT1/MED25 signalling
Authors: Muñoz‐Parra Edith , Pelagio‐Flores Ramón , Raya‐González Javier , Salmerón‐Barrera Guadalupe , Ruiz‐Herrera León Francisco , Valencia‐Cantero Eduardo , López‐Bucio José 
Published: May 2017

AbstractTranscriptional regulation of gene expression influences plant growth, environmental interactions and plant–plant communication. Here, we report that population density is a key factor for plant productivity and a major root architectural determinant in Arabidopsis thaliana. When grown in soil at varied densities from 1 to 32 plants, high number of individuals decreased stem growth and accelerated senescence, which negatively correlated with total plant biomass and seed production at the completion of the life cycle. Root morphogenesis was also a major trait modulated by plant density, because an increasing number of individuals grown in vitro showed repression of primary root growth, lateral root formation and root hair development while affecting auxin‐regulated gene expression and the levels of auxin transporters PIN1 and PIN2. We also found that mutation of the Mediator complex subunit PFT1/MED25 renders plants insensitive to high density‐modulated root traits. Our results suggest that plant density is critical for phase transitions, productivity and root system architecture and reveal a role of Mediator in self‐plant recognition.
Depression symptom dimensions and asymmetrical frontal cortical activity while anticipating reward
Authors: Nelson Brady D. , Kessel Ellen M. , Klein Daniel N. , Shankman Stewart A. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractUnipolar depression has been characterized as involving diminished approach motivation and reward sensitivity. A psychophysiological indicator of approach motivation involves an asymmetry in frontal EEG activity, such that greater left relative to right frontal cortical activity indicates increased approach motivation. Consistent with the perspective of reduced approach motivation tendencies, depression has been associated with decreased relative left frontal cortical activity. To date, supporting research has primarily relied on categorical diagnoses or composite symptom counts. However, given the heterogeneity in depression, it is unclear what specific symptom dimensions relate to decreased relative left frontal cortical activity. The present study examined the association between multiple depression symptom dimensions and asymmetrical frontal cortical activity while anticipating reward in separate undergraduate (n = 75) and clinical samples (current major depressive disorder [n = 68] and never depressed controls [n = 67]). All participants completed the Inventory of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms, a self‐report measure of factor‐analytically derived symptom dimensions. Frontal cortical activity was assessed during a computerized slot machine task while participants anticipated potential monetary reward or no incentive. In undergraduates with low depression symptoms and never depressed controls, reward trials relative to no‐incentive trials elicited greater relative left frontal cortical activity. Furthermore, in both samples across all participants, increased dysphoria and lassitude symptoms were associated with decreased relative left frontal cortical activity while anticipating reward. The present study suggests that depression symptoms consistent with motivational disengagement are associated with decreased relative left frontal cortical activity.
Does size matter? An examination of problem gamblers’ skin conductance responses to large and small magnitude rewards
Authors: Lole Lisa , Gonsalvez Craig J. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractPrevious research has shown that individuals with substance use disorder equally value small and large magnitude rewards. This has led some researchers to conceptualize the problematic behaviors associated with this disorder as being, at least in part, caused by a deficiency in processing reward stimuli. Considering the documented similarities between substance use disorder and disordered gambling, the current study sought to investigate whether problem gamblers also display such an aberrant pattern of incentive processing. Skin conductance responses (SCRs) to small and large magnitude wins were recorded from 16 problem gamblers (PGs) and 16 healthy controls (HCs) while they completed a computer‐simulated electronic gaming machine task. The results show that, while large wins elicited greater SCRs compared to small wins for the HC group, no difference in SCR amplitude was found following large and small wins in the PG group. These findings suggest that problem gamblers may be less effective at evaluating the value of incentives, and are discussed in terms of relevant theoretical frameworks.
Plant community responses to thinning in densely regenerating Acacia harpophylla forest
Authors: Dwyer John M. , Mason Riah 
Published: May 2017

AbstractThinning is thought to be particularly effective at accelerating plant community recovery in some dense regenerating forests where one species dominates. However, longer‐term experimental data are required to confirm the efficacy of thinning for this purpose. We investigated plant community responses 8 years after thinning in densely resprouting brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) forests in Australia. We examined the abundance, diversity, composition, and size of all woody recruits, as well as the functional composition of woody plant assemblages using functional traits. The average prethinning density of A. harpophylla was 15,600 stems/ha. Four treatments were applied to 25 × 25 m plots in a randomized block design: control (no thinning) and random thinning (ringbarking) down to 4,000, 2,000, and 1,000 stems/ha. Reference plots were also established in a nearby mature forest. Thinning accelerated the recruitment of certain shrub species and increased some measures of diversity. However severe thinning led to an overabundance of exploitative shrub species (high‐specific leaf area and low stem‐specific density), akin to pioneer dominance during early stages of rainforest succession. Species with more conservative growth strategies have so far failed to recruit, potentially due to dispersal limitation. Longer‐term monitoring is required to determine if thinning does in fact accelerate compositional recovery in this endangered Australian ecosystem.
Stepwise partitioning of Xp21: a profiling method for XK deletions causative of the McLeod syndrome
Authors: Gassner Christoph , Brönnimann Chantal , Merki Yvonne , Mattle‐Greminger Maja P. , Sigurdardottir Sonja , Meyer Eduardo , Engström Charlotte , O'Sullivan John D. , Jung Hans H. , Frey Beat M. 
Published: May 2017

BACKGROUNDMcLeod syndrome (MLS) is hematologically defined by the absence of the red blood cell (RBC) antigen Kx on the transmembrane RBC protein, XK, representing a highly specific diagnostic marker. Direct molecular assessment of XK therefore represents a desirable diagnostic tool. Whereas pathogenic point mutations may be simply identified, partial and complete deletions of XK on Xp21.1, eventually covering adjacent genes and causing multifaceted “continuous gene syndromes,” are difficult to localize.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODSThree different McLeod patient samples were tested using 16 initial positional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedures distributed over an approximately 2.8‐Mbp Xp‐chromosomal region, ranging telomeric from MAGEB16 to OTC, centromeric of XK. The molecular breakpoint of one sample with an apparent large Xp deletion was iteratively narrowed down by stepwise positioning further PCR procedures and sequenced. Two mutant XK genes, one previously published and serving as a positive control, were also sequenced.RESULTSWe confirmed the positive control as previously published and listed as XK*N.20 by the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT). The other XK showed a novel four‐nucleotide deletion in Exon 1, 195‐198delCCGC (newly listed as XK*N.39 by the ISBT). The third sample had an approximately 151‐kbp X‐chromosomal deletion, reaching from Exon 2 of LANCL3, across XK to Exon 3 of CYBB (newly listed as XK*N.01.016 by the ISBT). Carrier status of the patients' sister was diagnosed using a diagnostic “gap‐PCR.”CONCLUSIONSThe stepwise partitioning of Xp21.1 is pragmatic and cost‐efficient in comparison to other diagnostic techniques such as “massive parallel sequencing” given the rarity of MLS. All males with suspected MLS should be considered for molecular XK profiling.
Transient Silencing of DNA Repair Genes Improves Targeted Gene Integration in the Filamentous Fungus Trichoderma reesei
Authors: Chum Pak Yang , Schmidt Georg , Saloheimo Markku , Landowski Christopher P. 
Published: May 2017

ABSTRACT

Trichoderma reesei
is a filamentous fungus that is used worldwide to produce industrial enzymes. Industrial strains have traditionally been created though systematic strain improvement using mutagenesis and screening approaches. It is also desirable to specifically manipulate the genes of the organism to further improve and to modify the strain. Targeted integration in filamentous fungi is typically hampered by very low frequencies of homologous recombination. To address this limitation, we have developed a simple transient method for silencing genes in
T. reesei
. Using gene-specific small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) targeted to
mus53
, we could achieve up to 90% knockdown of
mus53
mRNA. As a practical example, we demonstrated that transient silencing of DNA repair genes significantly improved homologous integration of DNA at a specific locus in a standard protoplast transformation. The best transient silencing of
mus53
with siRNAs in protoplasts could achieve up to 59% marker gene integration.

IMPORTANCE
The previous solution for improving targeted integration efficiency has been deleting nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) DNA repair genes. However, deleting these important repair genes may lead to unintended consequences for genomic stability and could lead to the accumulation of spontaneous mutations. Our method of transiently silencing NHEJ repair pathway genes allows recovery of their important repair functions. Here we report a silencing approach for improving targeted DNA integration in filamentous fungi. Furthermore, our transient silencing method is a truly flexible approach that is capable of knocking down the expression of a target gene in growing mycelial cultures, which could facilitate the broad study of gene functions in
T. reesei
.
An Environmentally Friendly Engineered Azotobacter Strain That Replaces a Substantial Amount of Urea Fertilizer while Sustaining the Same Wheat Yield
Authors: Bageshwar Umesh K. , Srivastava Madhulika , Pardha-Saradhi Peddisetty , Paul Sangeeta , Gothandapani Sellamuthu , Jaat Ranjeet S. , Shankar Prabha , Yadav Rajbir , Biswas Dipak R. , Kumar Polumetla A. , Padaria Jasdeep C. , Mandal Pranab K. , Annapurna Kannepalli , Das Hirendra K. 
Published: May 2017

ABSTRACTIn our endeavor to improve the nitrogen fixation efficiency of a soil diazotroph that would be unaffected by synthetic nitrogenous fertilizers, we have deleted a part of the negative regulatory genenifLand constitutively expressed the positive regulatory genenifAin the chromosome ofAzotobacter chroococcumCBD15, a strain isolated from the local field soil. No antibiotic resistance gene or other foreign gene was present in the chromosome of the engineered strain. Wheat seeds inoculated with this engineered strain, which we have namedAzotobacter chroococcumHKD15, were tested for 3 years in pots and 1 year in the field. The yield of wheat was enhanced by ∼60% due to inoculation of seeds byA. chroococcumHKD15 in the absence of any urea application. Ammonium only marginally affected acetylene reduction by the engineeredAzotobacterstrain. When urea was also applied, the same wheat yield could be sustained by using seeds inoculated withA. chroococcumHKD15 and using ∼85 kg less urea (∼40 kg less nitrogen) than the usual ∼257 kg urea (∼120 kg nitrogen) per hectare. Wheat plants arising from the seeds inoculated with the engineeredAzotobacterstrain exhibited far superior overall performance, had much higher dry weight and nitrogen content, and assimilated molecular15N much better. A nitrogen balance experiment also revealed much higher total nitrogen content. Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) production by the wild type and that by the engineered strain were about the same. Inoculation of the wheat seeds withA. chroococcumHKD15 did not adversely affect the microbial population in the field rhizosphere soil.IMPORTANCEApplication of synthetic nitrogenous fertilizers is a standard agricultural practice to augment crop yield. Plants, however, utilize only a fraction of the applied fertilizers, while the unutilized fertilizers cause grave environmental problems. Wild-type soil diazotrophic microorganisms cannot replace synthetic nitrogenous fertilizers, as these reduce atmospheric nitrogen very inefficiently and almost none at all in the presence of added nitrogenous fertilizers. If the nitrogen-fixing ability of soil diazotrophs could be improved and sustained even in the presence of synthetic nitrogenous fertilizers, then a mixture of the bacteria and a reduced quantity of chemical nitrogenous fertilizers could be employed to obtain the same grain yield but at a much-reduced environmental cost. The engineeredAzotobacterstrain that we have reported here has considerably enhanced nitrogen fixation and excretion abilities and can replace ∼85 kg of urea per hectare but sustain the same wheat yield, if the seeds are inoculated with it before sowing.