bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Diet and prey selectivity of the specialist myrmecophage, Temminck's ground pangolin
Authors: Pietersen D. W. , Symes C. T. , Woodborne S. , McKechnie A. E. , Jansen R. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractThe diet of Temminck's ground pangolin Smutsia temminckii (hereafter, pangolin) has thus far been studied only in mesic savannahs. We provide arid‐zone dietary data for this species based on direct observations, and compare these to available prey species assemblages. We also report stable carbon and nitrogen isotope enrichment values for liver and scales obtained from pangolin carcasses compared to the diet. Pangolins were recorded consuming four ant (Anoplolepis steingroeveri, Camponotus fulvopilosus, two Crematogaster spp.) and one termite (Trinervitermes trinervoides) species, which represent 7.5 and 25% of the available ant and termite species respectively. The stable isotope data corroborate the direct observations and confirm that pangolins display a high degree of prey selectivity, however stable isotopes alone were not able to infer the diet of pangolins as a number of non‐prey species had similar isotopic values to prey species. Direct observations suggest that purported non‐prey species are not consumed, possibly because they have chemical or mechanical defenses or gallery structures that make them unsuitable as prey. Liver was enriched by 3.8 ± 1.2‰ (mean ± SD) and 2.5 ± 1.4‰ for δ15N and δ13C respectively, relative to the mean δ15N and δ13C values of the prey species, and scales were enriched by 2.9 ± 1.0‰ and 5.3 ± 1.8‰ respectively. We observed no seasonal variation or age or sex‐related differences in diet, either from direct observations or isotope data. These results support previous findings that pangolins have further specialized within an already unusual mammalian dietary niche.
Constrained growth flips the direction of optimal phenological responses among annual plants
Authors: Lindh Magnus , Johansson Jacob , Bolmgren Kjell , Lundström Niklas L. P. , Brännström Åke , Jonzén Niclas 
Published: November 2015

Summary

Phenological changes among plants due to climate change are well documented, but often hard to interpret. In order to assess the adaptive value of observed changes, we study how annual plants with and without growth constraints should optimize their flowering time when productivity and season length changes. We consider growth constraints that depend on the plant's vegetative mass: self‐shading, costs for nonphotosynthetic structural tissue and sibling competition.

We derive the optimal flowering time from a dynamic energy allocation model using optimal control theory. We prove that an immediate switch (bang‐bang control) from vegetative to reproductive growth is optimal with constrained growth and constant mortality.

Increasing mean productivity, while keeping season length constant and growth unconstrained, delayed the optimal flowering time. When growth was constrained and productivity was relatively high, the optimal flowering time advanced instead. When the growth season was extended equally at both ends, the optimal flowering time was advanced under constrained growth and delayed under unconstrained growth.

Our results suggests that growth constraints are key factors to consider when interpreting phenological flowering responses. It can help to explain phenological patterns along productivity gradients, and links empirical observations made on calendar scales with life‐history theory.
A global analysis of parenchyma tissue fractions in secondary xylem of seed plants
Authors: Morris Hugh , Plavcová Lenka , Cvecko Patrick , Fichtler Esther , Gillingham Mark A. F. , Martínez‐Cabrera Hugo I. , McGlinn Daniel J. , Wheeler Elisabeth , Zheng Jingming , Ziemińska Kasia , Jansen Steven 
Published: November 2015

SummaryParenchyma is an important tissue in secondary xylem of seed plants, with functions ranging from storage to defence and with effects on the physical and mechanical properties of wood. Currently, we lack a large‐scale quantitative analysis of ray parenchyma (RP) and axial parenchyma (AP) tissue fractions.Here, we use data from the literature onAPandRPfractions to investigate the potential relationships of climate and growth form with total ray and axial parenchyma fractions (RAP).We found a 29‐fold variation inRAPfraction, which was more strongly related to temperature than with precipitation. Stem succulents had the highestRAPvalues (mean ± SD: 70.2 ± 22.0%), followed by lianas (50.1 ± 16.3%), angiosperm trees and shrubs (26.3 ± 12.4%), and conifers (7.6 ± 2.6%). Differences inRAPfraction between temperate and tropical angiosperm trees (21.1 ± 7.9% vs 36.2 ± 13.4%, respectively) are due to differences in theAPfraction, which is typically three times higher in tropical than in temperate trees, but not inRPfraction.Our results illustrate that both temperature and growth form are important drivers ofRAPfractions. These findings should help pave the way to better understand the various functions ofRAPin plants.
Making the Cut: Improved Ranking and Selection for Large-Scale Inference
Authors: Henderson Nicholas C. , Newton Michael A. 
Published: November 2015

SummaryIdentifying leading measurement units from a large collection is a common inference task in various domains of large-scale inference. Testing approaches, which measure evidence against a null hypothesis rather than effect magnitude, tend to overpopulate lists of leading units with those associated with low measurement error. By contrast, local maximum likelihood approaches tend to favour units with high measurement error. Available Bayesian and empirical Bayesian approaches rely on specialized loss functions that result in similar deficiencies. We describe and evaluate a generic empirical Bayesian ranking procedure that populates the list of top units in a way that maximizes the expected overlap between the true and reported top lists for all list sizes. The procedure relates unit-specific posterior upper tail probabilities with their empirical distribution to yield a ranking variable. It discounts high variance units less than popular non-maximum-likelihood methods and thus achieves improved operating characteristics in the models considered.
Institutional Differences and the Direction of Bilateral Foreign Direct Investment Flows: Are South–South Flows any Different than the Rest?
Authors: Demir Firat , Hu Chenghao 
Published: November 2015

AbstractWe explore the asymmetric effects of institutional differences on bilateral foreign direct investment (FDI) flows conditional on countries' development levels, previous experiences of foreign investors and bilateral trade relations. The empirical results using bilateral FDI data from 134 countries during 1990–2009 suggest that institutional differences create entry barriers for foreign investors only in North–South and South–North directions, and more so for the former. Furthermore, Southern investors appear to have a comparative advantage in institutionally different developing countries. Finally, we find no evidence that investor experiences in other institutionally different countries or existing trade linkages negate the negative effect of institutional distance.
Retrospective comparison of early‐ versus late‐insulin therapy regarding effect on time to resolution of diabetic ketosis and ketoacidosis in dogs and cats: 60 cases (2003–2013)
Authors: DiFazio Jillian , Fletcher Daniel J. 
Published: November 2015

AbstractObjectiveTo determine whether early insulin administration (≤6 h after admission) results in more rapid resolution of diabetic ketosis (DK) and ketoacidosis (DKA), shorter duration of hospitalization, and higher incidence of complications, and whether more severe ketonuria is associated with longer time to resolution of DK/DKA.DesignRetrospective study (January 1, 2003–March 1, 2013).SettingUniversity teaching hospital.AnimalsSixty dogs and cats with DK or DKA receiving short‐acting insulin therapy.InterventionsNone.Measurements and Main ResultsMedical records were reviewed and data recorded including signalment; previous history of diabetes; intake temperature, blood pressure, blood glucose, pH, base excess, and degree of ketonuria; time to short‐acting insulin therapy and resolution of DK/DKA; length of hospitalization; and complications. Insulin was initiated ≤6 hours in the early group and >6 hours in the late group after hospital admission. Early group patients had more rapid resolution of DK/DKA after starting short‐acting insulin therapy (36.4 ± 22.6 vs. 55.4 ± 26.6 h,P= 0.014). There was no difference in duration of hospitalization or complications. More severe ketonuria resulted in longer time to resolution of DK/DKA after initiation of short‐acting insulin (severe: 50.9 ± 24.2; moderate: 29.6 ± 19; mild: 23.4 ± 21.9 h,P= 0.005, all individual pairwise comparisonsP< 0.05).ConclusionsEarly insulin administration is associated with more rapid resolution of DK/DKA without an associated increase in complication rates. DK/DKA took longer to resolve with more severe ketonuria. Prospective studies are warranted to identify specific time targets for insulin administration in DK/DKA patients.
AN in vitro STUDY OF WOUND HEALING ACTIVITY OF Ficus deltoidea LEAF EXTRACT
Authors: Wan Mustaffa Nurul Ain Aqilla , Hasham Rosnani , Sarmidi Mohamad Roji 
Published: November 2015

Ficus deltoidea (Mas Cotek) is one of the popular herbs that has been used traditionally to alleviate illnesses. The present study aimed to investigate the in vitro wound healing activity of F. deltoidea leaf extract on skin cell. Cell proliferative and migration assay were done on the Human Skin Fibroblast cell (HSF 1184) which were treated with different concentrations of F. deltoidea leaf extract. The data of wound closure were collected at time intervals of 0, 6, 12 and 24 hours and analyzed using ImageJ™ software. MTT assay revealed that the F. deltoidea leaf extract could induce cell proliferation at a dose dependent manner. F. deltoidea leaf extract significantly accelerated the wound closure process in comparison to cells treated with ascorbic acid and untreated cells in scratch assay. Following 24 hours of incubation, cells treated with 50 mg/mL of F. deltoidea leaf extract showed remarkable proliferative and wound closure effect with 143.67% and 5.96%, respectively as compared to other concentrations. Collectively, these findings suggested that F. deltoidea leaf extract possesses wound healing potential and may be useful for the development of efficient wound healing drug.
INVENTORY RISK BASED TECHNIQUE FOR SPARE PARTS UTILIZATION
Authors: Mohd Sharif Kamal Imran , Ibrahim Jafni Azhan , M Udin Zulkifli 
Published: November 2015

The equipment breakdown due to unavailability of spare parts has incurred challenges for the manufacturing industry in managing the inventory. Consequently, the problem of spare parts unavailability has lead the organization towards unproductive and eventually impact the financial performance. Therefore, maintaining good system has direct connection with spare parts availability. The inventory planner always strive hard to ensure that the spare parts are always available for the maintenance used. Nevertheless, maintaining high inventories of spare parts often conflict from meeting the needs of equipment reliability for the manufacturing plant. In view of this situation, management of spare parts become critical in ensuring the equipment reliability. This paper describes an innovative risk quantification technique using Binary Decision Diagram (BDD) for the spare parts inventory control. The technique modified the BDD concept by translating the failure history into binary decision. From the binary process, the data will be converted into spare parts probability table and failure impact is analyzed. These two functions of risk, will be calculated in order gain the risk in monetary value.
Beam's‐eye‐view imaging during non‐coplanar lung SBRT
Authors: Yip Stephen S. F. , Rottmann Joerg , Berbeco Ross I. 
Published: November 2015

Purpose:Beam's‐eye‐view (BEV) imaging with an electronic portal imaging device (EPID) can be performed during lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) to monitor the tumor location in real‐time. Image quality for each patient and treatment field depends on several factors including the patient anatomy and the gantry and couch angles. The authors investigated the angular dependence of automatic tumor localization during non‐coplanar lung SBRT delivery.Methods:All images were acquired at a frame rate of 12 Hz with an amorphous silicon EPID. A previously validated markerless lung tumor localization algorithm was employed with manual localization as the reference. From ten SBRT patients, 12 987 image frames of 123 image sequences acquired at 48 different gantry–couch rotations were analyzed. δ was defined by the position difference of the automatic and manual localization.Results:Regardless of the couch angle, the best tracking performance was found in image sequences with a gantry angle within 20° of 250° (δ = 1.40 mm). Image sequences acquired with gantry angles of 150°, 210°, and 350° also led to good tracking performances with δ = 1.77–2.00 mm. Overall, the couch angle was not correlated with the tracking results. Among all the gantry–couch combinations, image sequences acquired at (θ = 30°, ϕ = 330°), (θ = 210°, ϕ = 10°), and (θ = 250°, ϕ = 30°) led to the best tracking results with δ = 1.19–1.82 mm. The worst performing combinations were (θ = 90° and 230°, ϕ = 10°) and (θ = 270°, ϕ = 30°) with δ > 3.5 mm. However, 35% (17/48) of the gantry–couch rotations demonstrated substantial variability in tracking performances between patients. For example, the field angle (θ = 70°, ϕ = 10°) was acquired for five patients. While the tracking errors were ≤1.98 mm for three patients, poor performance was found for the other two patients with δ ≥ 2.18 mm, leading to average tracking error of 2.70 mm. Only one image sequence was acquired for all other gantry–couch rotations (δ = 1.18–10.29 mm).Conclusions:Non‐coplanar beams with gantry–couch rotation of (θ = 30°, ϕ = 330°), (θ = 210°, ϕ = 10°), and (θ = 250°, ϕ = 30°) have the highest accuracy for BEV lung tumor localization. Additionally, gantry angles of 150°, 210°, 250°, and 350° also offer good tracking performance. The beam geometries (θ = 90° and 230°, ϕ = 10°) and (θ = 270°, ϕ = 30°) are associated with substantial automatic localization errors. Overall, lung tumor visibility and tracking performance were patient dependent for a substantial number of the gantry–couch angle combinations studied.
Quantitative model selection for enhanced magnetic nanoparticle imaging in magnetorelaxometry
Authors: Coene Annelies , Leliaert Jonathan , Dupré Luc , Crevecoeur Guillaume 
Published: November 2015

Purpose:The performance of an increasing number of biomedical applications is dependent on the accurate knowledge of the spatial magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) distribution in the body. Magnetorelaxometry (MRX) imaging is a promising and noninvasive technique for the reconstruction of this distribution. To date, no accurate and quantitative measure is available to compare and optimize different MRX imaging models and setups independent of the MNP distribution. In this paper, the authors employ statistical parameters to develop quantitative MRX imaging models. Using these models, a straightforward optimization of setups and models is possible resulting in improved MNP reconstructions.Methods:A MRX imaging setup is considered with different coil configurations, each corresponding to a MRX imaging model. The models can be represented by a sensitivity matrix. These are compared by employing the matrices as inputs to statistical parameters such as conditional entropy and mutual information (MI). These parameters determine the best model to reconstruct the MNP amount for each volume‐element (voxel) in the sample. The matrix is transformed by multiplying the columns with different weightings depending on the performance of the MRX imaging model with respect to the other models. This transformed matrix is compared to the original sensitivity matrix without weightings.Results:Compared to the original sensitivity matrix, an increased numerical stability and improved noise robustness for the transformed sensitivity matrix are observed. The reconstruction of the MNP shows improvements: a correlation to the actual MNP distribution of 99.2%, whereas the original matrix only had 82.5%. By selecting the MRX models with the smallest MI, the authors are able to reduce the measurement time by 65% and still obtain an improved imaging accuracy and noise robustness. The statistical parameters allow a direct measure of the relative information content within the setup such that the optimal voxel size for the MRX setup is determined to be between 5 and 15 mm, while other sizes show a significant change in the statistical parameters.Conclusions:The use of statistical parameters in MRX imaging models results in quantitative models which can optimize MRX setups in a very fast and elegant way such that improved MNP imaging can be realized. Finally, the presented measure allows to quantitatively and accurately compare different MRX models and setups independent of the MNP distribution.
Identification of Genes Conferring Tolerance to Lignocellulose-Derived Inhibitors by Functional Selections in Soil Metagenomes
Authors: Forsberg Kevin J. , Patel Sanket , Witt Evan , Wang Bin , Ellison Tyler D. , Dantas Gautam 
Published: November 2015

ABSTRACT
The production of fuels or chemicals from lignocellulose currently requires thermochemical pretreatment to release fermentable sugars. These harsh conditions also generate numerous small-molecule inhibitors of microbial growth and fermentation, limiting production. We applied small-insert functional metagenomic selections to discover genes that confer microbial tolerance to these inhibitors, identifying both individual genes and general biological processes associated with tolerance to multiple inhibitory compounds. Having screened over 248 Gb of DNA cloned from 16 diverse soil metagenomes, we describe gain-of-function tolerance against acid, alcohol, and aldehyde inhibitors derived from hemicellulose and lignin, demonstrating that uncultured soil microbial communities hold tremendous genetic potential to address the toxicity of pretreated lignocellulose. We recovered genes previously known to confer tolerance to lignocellulosic inhibitors as well as novel genes that confer tolerance via unknown functions. For instance, we implicated galactose metabolism in overcoming the toxicity of lignin monomers and identified a decarboxylase that confers tolerance to ferulic acid; this enzyme has been shown to catalyze the production of 4-vinyl guaiacol, a valuable precursor to vanillin production. These metagenomic tolerance genes can enable the flexible design of hardy microbial catalysts, customized to withstand inhibitors abundant in specific bioprocessing applications.
Microbial Activation of Wooden Vats Used for Traditional Cheese Production and Evolution of Neoformed Biofilms
Authors: Gaglio Raimondo , Cruciata Margherita , Di Gerlando Rosalia , Scatassa Maria Luisa , Cardamone Cinzia , Mancuso Isabella , Sardina Maria Teresa , Moschetti Giancarlo , Portolano Baldassare , Settanni Luca 
Published: November 2015

ABSTRACT

Three
Lactococcus lactis
subsp.
cremoris
strains were used to develop
ad hoc
biofilms on the surfaces of virgin wooden vats used for cheese production. Two vats (TZ) were tested under controlled conditions (pilot plant), and two vats (TA) were tested under uncontrolled conditions (industrial plant). In each plant, one vat (TA1 and TZ1) was used for the control, traditional production of PDO Vastedda della Valle del Belìce (Vastedda) cheese, and one (TA2 and TZ2) was used for experimental production performed after lactococcal biofilm activation and the daily addition of a natural whey starter culture (NWSC). Microbiological and scanning electron microscopy analyses showed differences in terms of microbial levels and composition of the neoformed biofilms. The levels of the microbial groups investigated during cheese production showed significant differences between the control trials and between the control and experimental trials, but the differences were not particularly marked between the TA2 and TZ2 productions, which showed the largest numbers of mesophilic lactic acid bacterium (LAB) cocci. LAB populations were characterized phenotypically and genotypically, and 44 dominant strains belonging to 10 species were identified. Direct comparison of the polymorphic profiles of the LAB collected during cheese making showed that the addition of the NWSC reduced their biodiversity. Sensory evaluation showed that the microbial activation of the wooden vats with the multistrain
Lactococcus
culture generated cheeses with sensory attributes comparable to those of commercial cheese. Thus, neoformed biofilms enable a reduction of microbial variability and stabilize the sensorial attributes of Vastedda cheese.
Archaeal Inorganic Pyrophosphatase Displays Robust Activity under High-Salt Conditions and in Organic Solvents
Authors: McMillan Lana J. , Hepowit Nathaniel L. , Maupin-Furlow Julie A. 
Published: November 2015

ABSTRACTSoluble inorganic pyrophosphatases (PPAs) that hydrolyze inorganic pyrophosphate (PPi) to orthophosphate (Pi) are commonly used to accelerate and detect biosynthetic reactions that generate PPias a by-product. Current PPAs are inactivated by high salt concentrations and organic solvents, which limits the extent of their use. Here we report a class A type PPA of the haloarchaeonHaloferax volcanii(HvPPA) that is thermostable and displays robust PPi-hydrolyzing activity under conditions of 25% (vol/vol) organic solvent and salt concentrations from 25 mM to 3 M. HvPPA was purified to homogeneity as a homohexamer by a rapid two-step method and was found to display non-Michaelis-Menten kinetics with aVmaxof 465 U · mg−1for PPihydrolysis (optimal at 42°C and pH 8.5) and Hill coefficients that indicated cooperative binding to PPiand Mg2+. Similarly to other class A type PPAs, HvPPA was inhibited by sodium fluoride; however, hierarchical clustering and three-dimensional (3D) homology modeling revealed HvPPA to be distinct in structure from characterized PPAs. In particular, HvPPA was highly negative in surface charge, which explained its extreme resistance to organic solvents. To demonstrate that HvPPA could drive thermodynamically unfavorable reactions to completion under conditions of reduced water activity, a novel coupled assay was developed; HvPPA hydrolyzed the PPiby-product generated in 2 M NaCl by UbaA (a “salt-loving” noncanonical E1 enzyme that adenylates ubiquitin-like proteins in the presence of ATP). Overall, we demonstrate HvPPA to be useful for hydrolyzing PPiunder conditions of reduced water activity that are a hurdle to current PPA-based technologies.