bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Not all shell beds are made equal: Recognizing singular event‐concentrations in megalakes
Authors: Rodrigues Mariza Gomes , Giovanini Varejão Filipe , Fürsich Franz Theodor , Christofoletti Beatriz , Matos Suzana Aparecida , Warren Lucas Veríssimo , Inglez Lucas , Cerri Rodrigo Irineu , Assine Mario Luis , Simões Marcello Guimarães 
Published: July 2024

ABSTRACTEvent deposition accounts for a large part of the preserved sedimentary record. Tempestites, tsunamites and turbidites are among the most common event deposits in marine and lacustrine systems. While facies models exist for these deposits, the challenge lies in the fact that diverse triggers can give rise to analogous depositional processes and comparable taphonomic features, making it difficult to pinpoint the precise trigger for an event bed. Hence, five distinct modern‐type shell concentrations are studied in Permian strata from the Paraná Basin, West Gondwana, to access the parameters to discriminate event phenomena, and their associated depositional and taphonomic processes. During this time interval, the basin underwent continuous continentalization due to orogenic events, leading to the entrapment of epeiric marine waters and the transformation of the system into a megalake, supporting a diverse and endemic freshwater bivalve fauna. While sedimentation was primarily influenced by meteorological events, certain stratigraphic intervals were also affected by tectonically active periods and meteor impact events. The different products are categorized into bioclastic sandstone, shell bed, shell‐rich phosclast rudstone and shell‐rich conglomerate that are interpreted as proximal and distal tempestites and tsunamites, respectively. Finally, the products and the processes that lead to the deposition of tempestites and tsunamites are compared to establish diagnostic signatures that may be applied to differentiate these event concentrations in analogous settings from the geological record.
Omnivore and vegetarians show similar body composition and skin physiology across body regions—A comparative analysis
Authors: Andrade Sérgio Fallone de , Ferreira‐Pêgo Cíntia , Fontes Tatiana , Lopes Sofia , Rodrigues Luís Monteiro 
Published: July 2024

AbstractBackgroundSkin physiology seems to be influenced by dietary choices and body composition, although links between these factors remain poorly characterised. In the present manuscript, we elaborate on the potential relationships among food groups, body composition and skin physiology in omnivores and vegetarians.Material and MethodsThis cross‐sectional observational study involved 181 participants, 129 omnivores and 52 vegetarians. The main functions of the skin measured in our laboratory were transepidermal water loss, deep and superficial epidermal hydration, skin elasticity, and carotenoid content. Skin variables obtained from different body regions were made comparable by a new Proportional Skin Index calculated to respect their relative representativity.ResultsNo statistical differences were found when comparing both groups' body composition and skin variables from different body regions, with the exception of the skin carotenoid content significantly higher in the vegetarian group (p < 0.001).ConclusionAlthough dietary patterns significantly differed between groups, with vegetarians consuming fewer animal‐derived products and more plant‐based foods, multiple linear regression analysis revealed no differences or association between the dietary pattern and the skin physiology. These findings highlight the need for further research to elucidate the specific impact of diet and food groups and body composition on skin physiology.
Prinsepia utilis Royle polysaccharides promote skin barrier repair through the Claudin family
Authors: Wang Bo , Wang Feifei , Qu Liping , Ma Hongyu , Cheng Yuying , Wu Xinlang , Liu Junxi , He Li 
Published: July 2024

AbstractBackgroundPlant polysaccharides have various biological activities. However, few studies have been conducted on the skin barrier of Prinsepia utilis Royle polysaccharide extract (PURP).Materials and methodsThe proportions of polysaccharides, monosaccharides and proteins were determined by extracting polysaccharides from fruit meal using water. The healing rate was measured by cell scratch assays. SDS‐damaged reconstructed human epidermal models, an acetone–ether‐induced mouse model and an IL‐4‐induced cellular inflammation model were used to detect the effects of polysaccharides on the phenotype, HA, TEWL, and TEER, with further characterizations performed using QRT‐PCR, Western blotting, immunofluorescence (IF) assays.ResultsPURP contained 35.73% polysaccharides and 11.1% proteins. PURP promoted cell migration and increased skin thickness in a reconstructed human epidermis model. The TEWL significantly decreased, and the HA content significantly increased. PURP significantly increased the TEER and decreased the permeability of the SDS‐damaged reconstructed human epidermis model. Claudin‐3, Claudin‐4, and Claudin‐5 were significantly upregulated. IF and Western blot analysis revealed that the Claudin‐4 level significantly increased after treatment with PURP. Claudin‐1, Claudin‐3, Claudin‐4, and Claudin‐5 gene expression and IF and immunohistochemical staining were significantly increased in mice treated with acetone–ether. PURP promoted the expression of Claudin‐1, Claudin‐3, Claudin‐4, and Claudin‐5 after treatment with 100 ng/mL IL‐4. PURP also downregulated the expression of NO, IL6, TNFα and NFκB in Raw 264.7 cells and in a mouse model.ConclusionWe hypothesize that PURP may repair the skin barrier by promoting the expression of the claudin family and can assist in skin therapy.
Compaction behaviour of a sandy road base contaminated with microplastics from vehicle tires
Authors: Ozhan Hakki O. , Elnemr Abdelrahman Maher Taha 
Published: July 2024

AbstractDisintegrated tire particles can easily be transferred into the road bases because of the abrasion of vehicle tires on roads. The fragmented tire particles that have a grain size of smaller than 5 mm can be expressed as microplastics. In order to simulate the tire chip microplastic concentration in a sandy road base and assess the effect of microplastics on the compaction degree of the road base, standard Proctor compaction tests were performed on 0.05%, 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.4%, 1%, 2%, 4% and 8% tire chip microplastics‐amended sandy soil by dry mass. Results showed that maximum dry unit weight (ɣdmax) of the sand increased from 16.04 to 16.99 kN/m3 as the tire chip microplastic concentration increased up to 0.4%. Further increase in the microplastic concentration resulted in a decrease in ɣdmax. Contrarily, optimum water content (wopt) decreased from 15.9 to 12.5% as a result of the tire chip microplastic addition up to a concentration of 0.4%. An additional increase in the microplastic concentration led to an increase in wopt. By considering these results, a concentration of 0.4% tire chip microplastics was found to be the optimum amount that enhanced the degree of compaction. Besides contributing to the stabilization of a sandy road base, tire chip microplastics can also be assessed in terms of environmental protection. These microplastics are forced to be stacked in the sand because of compaction. As a result, they cannot easily be transferred to water resources or agricultural products that may threaten human health and cause environmental contamination.
Use of letermovir for cytomegalovirus primary prophylaxis in lung transplant recipients
Authors: Kleiboeker Hanna L. , Wang Jacob , Borkowski Nicole , Miner Brad , Prom Alyson , Paplaczyk Krista , Wright Jennifer , Subramani Mrinalini Venkata , Arunachalam Ambalavanan , Betensley Alan D. , Tomic Rade , Myers Catherine N. 
Published: July 2024

AbstractBackgroundCytomegalovirus (CMV) is a driver of negative outcomes after lung transplant (LTX) and primary prophylaxis (PPX) with valganciclovir (VGC) is standard‐of‐care. VGC is associated with myelosuppression, prompting interest in letermovir (LTV).MethodsAdults receiving LTX between April 1, 2015, and July 30, 2022, at our institution were evaluated. Patients were excluded if low CMV risk (D‐/R‐), survived <90 days post‐LTX, or transferred care before PPX withdrawal. Primary outcomes were leukopenia (white blood cell count [WBC] ≤ 3.0 × 109/L), severe leukopenia (WBC ≤ 2.0 × 109/L), and neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count ≤ 1500 cells/µL) requiring granulocyte‐colony stimulating factor (GCSF) on PPX. Secondary outcomes included breakthrough CMV infection and post‐PPX CMV infection.Results204 patients met inclusion criteria: 175 patients on VGC and 29 patients on LTV (after VGC conversion). Most patients received bilateral LTX (62.7%) with non‐lymphocyte‐depleting induction (96.6%) and moderate‐risk serostatus (D+/R+, 48.5%). Patients transitioned from VGC to LTV after a mean of 178 days (SD 80.8 days) post‐transplant. Patients on VGC experienced significantly more leukopenia (82.3% vs. 58.6%, p = 0.008), severe leukopenia (57.1% vs. 31.0%, p = 0.016), and neutropenia requiring GCSF (70.9% vs. 51.7%, p = 0.048). Breakthrough (5.7% vs. 3.4%, p = 0.955) and post‐PPX (24.6% vs. 37.9%, p = 0.199) infections were similar. A subgroup analysis of patients with high‐risk serostatus showed similar trends, though did not reach statistical significance.ConclusionsIn this single‐center study, the incidence of leukopenia and neutropenia requiring GCSF were reduced with LTV compared to VGC. Breakthrough and post‐PPX infections were not significantly different. This evidence suggests that LTV has comparable efficacy with reduced myelosuppression compared to VGC in LTX recipients, and may be an appropriate alternative for PPX.
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Transcription factor OsbZIP10 modulates rice grain quality by regulating OsGIF1
Authors: Jiang Meng , Zhang Huali , Song Yue , Chen Jiale , Bai Jianjiang , Tang Jianhao , Wang Qing , Fotopoulos Vasileios , Zhu Qian‐Hao , Yang Ruifang , Li Ruiqing 
Published: July 2024

SUMMARYUnderstanding and optimizing the process of grain filling helps the quest to maximize rice (Oryza sativa L.) seed yield and quality, yet the intricate mechanisms at play remain fragmented. Transcription factors (TFs) are major players in the gene networks underlying the grain filling process. Here, we employed grain incomplete filling (OsGIF1)/cell wall invertase 2, a key gene involved in grain filling, to explore its upstream TFs and identified a bZIP family TF, OsbZIP10, to be a transcriptional activator of OsGIF1. Rice grains of the knockouts of OsbZIP10 showed increased white‐core rates but lower amylose content (AC), leading to better eating and cooking qualities in all genetic backgrounds investigated, though the impact of mutations in OsbZIP10 on grain weight depended on genetic background. Multi‐omics analyses suggested that, in addition to OsGIF1, multiple genes involved in different biological processes contributing to grain filling were targeted by OsbZIP10, including OsAGPS1, a gene encoding the ADP‐Glc pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) small subunit, and genes contributing to homeostasis of reactive oxygen species. Distinct genetic make‐up was observed in OsbZIP10 between japonica and indica rice varieties, with the majority varieties of each subspecies belonging to two different haplotypes that were closely associated with AC. Overexpressing the haplotype linked to high‐AC in the low‐AC genetic background increased AC. Overall, this study sheds crucial light on the significance of the OsbZIP10–OsGIF1 module in the determination of rice grain quality, offering a potential avenue for genetic engineering of rice to produce seeds with tailored attributes.
Deciphering Pteronia's evolution in the Cape Floristic Region: A comprehensive study disputes polyploid deficiency and affirms diploid radiation
Authors: Chumová Zuzana , Havlíčková Eliška , Zeisek Vojtěch , Šemberová Kristýna , Mandáková Terezie , Euston‐Brown Douglas , Trávníček Pavel 
Published: July 2024

SUMMARYThe Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) is renowned for its exceptional biodiversity, accommodating over 11 000 plant species, notable degree of endemism, and substantial diversification within limited plant lineages, a phenomenon ascribed to historical radiation events. While both abiotic and biotic factors contribute to this diversification, comprehensive genomic alterations, recognized as pivotal in the diversification of angiosperms, are perceived as uncommon. This investigation focuses on the genus Pteronia, a prominent representative of the Asteraceae family in the GCFR. Employing NGS‐based HybSeq and RADSeq methodologies, flow cytometry, karyology, and ecological modeling, we scrutinize the intricacies of its polyploid evolution. Phylogenetic reconstructions using 951 low‐copy nuclear genes confirm Pteronia as a well‐supported, distinct clade within the tribe Astereae. The ingroup displays a structure indicative of rapid radiation likely antedating polyploid establishment, with the two main groups demarcated by their presence or absence in the fynbos biome. Genome size analysis encompasses 1293 individuals across 347 populations, elucidating significant variation ranging from 6.1 to 34.2 pg (2C‐value). Pteronia demonstrates substantially large genome sizes within Astereae and phanerophytes. Polyploidy is identified in 31% of the studied species, with four discerned ploidy levels (2x, 4x, 6x, 8x). Cytotypes exhibit marked distinctions in environmental traits, influencing their distribution across biomes and augmenting their niche differentiation. These revelations challenge the presumed scarcity of polyploidy in the Cape flora, underscoring the imperative need for detailed population studies. The intricate evolutionary history of Pteronia, characterized by recent polyploidy and genome size variation, contributes substantially to the comprehension of diversification patterns within the GCFR biodiversity hotspot.
Volitional modulation of neuronal activity in the external globus pallidus by engagement of the cortical–basal ganglia circuit
Authors: Luo Shengtao , Zhou Xiaopeng , Zhou Hui , Li Tao , He Yutong , Chen Jiang‐Fan , Zhang Liping 
Published: July 2024

AbstractVolitional modulation of neural activity is not confined to the cortex but extends to various brain regions. Yet, it remains unclear whether neurons in the basal ganglia structure, the external globus pallidus (GPe), can be volitionally controlled. Here, we employed a volitional conditioning task to compare the volitional modulation of GPe and primary motor cortex (M1) neurons as well as the underlying circuits and control mechanisms. The results revealed that the volitional modulation of GPe neuronal activity engaged both M1 and substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) neurons, indicating the involvement of the cortex–GPe–SNr loop. In contrast, the volitional modulation of M1 neurons primarily occurred through the engagement of M1 local circuitry. Furthermore, lesioning M1 neurons did not affect the volitional learning or volitional control signal in GPe, whereas lesioning of GPe neurons impaired the learning process for the volitional modulation of M1 neuronal activity at the intermediate stage. Additionally, lesion of GPe neurons enhanced M1 neuronal activity when performing the volitional control task without reward delivery and a random reward test. Taken together, our findings demonstrated that GPe neurons could be volitionally controlled by engagement of the cortical–basal ganglia circuit and inhibit learning process for the volitional modulation of M1 neuronal activity by regulating M1 neuronal activity. Thus, GPe neurons can be effectively harnessed for independent volitional modulation for neurorehabilitation in patients with cortical damage.
imageKey points
The cortical–basal ganglia circuit contributes to the volitional modulation of GPe neurons.
Volitional modulation of M1 neuronal activity mainly engages M1 local circuitry.
Bilateral GPe lesioning impedes volitional learning at the intermediate stages.
Lesioning of GPe neurons inhibits volitional learning process by regulating M1 neuronal activity.
Transient Radiation Heat Transfer of Thermally Compact, Lumped Bodies: An Explicit Solution
Authors: Allison Jonathan 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
An explicit, analytical solution is offered to the problem of transient radiation heat transfer of thermally lumped bodies. This solution is readily implemented as a calculator on a simple spreadsheet software, allowing prediction of transient radiation that can aid didactics, design, test, and operations. It is shown that transient radiation heat transfer has a few similarities, and many differences, in comparison to linear forms of transient heat transfer such as conduction and convection. Both linear and radiation forms of transient heat transfer asymptotically approach their steady-state conditions. Differences of note are that transient radiation heat transfer is nonself-similar, it depends upon two nondimensional variables, transient radiative heating is generally faster than transient radiative cooling, and externally applied heat sources substantially delay transient radiation heat transfer relative to internally applied heat sources.
Toward Smart Ultrasound Image Augmentation to Advance Tumor Treatment Monitoring: Exploring the Potential of Diffusion Generative Model
Authors: Yangue Emmanuel , Ranjan Ashish , Feng Yu , Liu Chenang 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
Medical imaging is a crucial tool in clinics to monitor tumor treatment progress. In practice, many imaging tools (such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans) are in general costly and may also expose patients to radiation, leading to potential side effects. Recent studies have demonstrated that ultrasound imaging, which is safe, low-cost, and easy to access, can monitor the drug delivery progress in solid tumors. However, the noisy nature of ultrasound images and the high-level uncertainty of cancer disease progression are still challenging in ultrasound-based tumor treatment monitoring. To overcome these barriers, this work presents a comparative study to explore the potential advantages of the emerging diffusion generative models against the commonly applied state-of-the-art generative models. Namely, the denoising diffusion models (DDMs), against the generative adversarial networks (GAN), and variational auto-encoders (VAE), are used for analyzing the ultrasound images through image augmentation. These models are evaluated based on their capacity to augment ultrasound images for exploring the potential variations of tumor treatment monitoring. The results across different cases indicate that the denoising diffusion implicit models (DDIM)/kernel inception distance (KID)-inception score (IS) model leveraged in this work outperforms the other models in the study in terms of similarity, diversity, and predictive accuracy. Therefore, further investigation of such diffusion generative models could be considered as they can potentially serve as a great predictive tool for ultrasound image-enabled tumor treatment monitoring in the future.
Aerodynamic Impact of Secondary Air Injection Flowrates on the Main Annulus Flow Field for a Transonic High-Pressure Turbine Stage
Authors: Okita Yoji , Kazawa Junichi , Yamane Takashi , Tanaka Nozomi , Fuchigami Kazutaka , Sato Hiroki , Hamabe Masaaki , Tanimitsu Haruyuki 
Published: July 2024

Abstract
In this study, the influence of secondary air blowing on the main annulus flow field of a transonic high-pressure turbine (HPT) was investigated experimentally and numerically. The experimental setup was a single-stage, unshrouded turbine with a blading consistent with modern HPTs. The entire testing campaign was conducted in a full annular, rotating, continuous turbine test rig at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), which realized the most faithful matching unrivalled of both the primary and secondary stream similarity parameters to reality. An elaborate secondary air system implemented in the hardware enabled it to mimic all the dominant coolant/purge streams representative of advanced hot sections: the full coverage film-cooling on stator and rotor airfoils, disk wheelspace purge air blown forward and aft of the rotor, and coolant injection through the over-tip casing. Detailed three-dimensional flow field measurements for various secondary air flowrates were performed by traversing a pneumatic thermometric combination probe downstream of the rotor. A complete set of numerical simulations was run concurrently with the testing to determine how well they captured the flow physics, particularly the interaction of the ejected secondary streams with the primary flow. The JAXA in-house code, UPACS, and its best practice settings, based on past verification and validation efforts, were employed and not intentionally tuned to better fit the data. Given the study's primary goal, important features such as coolant holes, internal plenums, and wheelspace cavities that affect the interactions were all directly resolved in the calculation rather than simplified by the boundary conditions and/or source-term modeling. The rotor exit survey in the experiment suggested that the both disk forward hub purge and the blowing from the over-tip casing intensified the passage vortex in the cascade. In contrast, it was indicated that a positive effect also resulted from ejection from the tip casing, diminishing the tip leakage vortex. Additionally, the data suggested that coolant blown off the airfoil has an impact also on the near-endwall zone in particular and can boost (by vane coolant) or weaken (by blade coolant) the secondary flow.
Phage display-derived alpaca nanobodies as potential therapeutics for
Naja atra
snake envenomation
Authors: Wang Wei-Chu , Chang Jungshan , Lee Chi-Hsin , Chiang Yu-Wei , Leu Sy-Jye , Mao Yan-Chiao , Chiang Jen-Ron , Yang Chun-Kai , Wu Chao-Jung , Yang Yi-Yuan 
Published: July 2024

ABSTRACT

Naja atra
, the Chinese cobra, is a major cause of snake envenomation in Asia, causing hundreds of thousands of clinical incidents annually. The current treatment, horse serum-derived antivenom, has unpredictable side effects and presents manufacturing challenges. This study focused on developing new-generation snake venom antidotes by using microbial phage display technology to derive nanobodies from an alpaca immunized with attenuated
N. atra
venom. Following confirmation of the immune response in the alpaca, we amplified

V
H
H

genes from isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells and constructed a phage display

V
H
H

library of 1.0 × 10
7
transformants. After four rounds of biopanning, the enriched phages exhibited increased binding activity to
N. atra
venom. Four nanobody clones with high binding affinities were selected: aNAH1, aNAH6, aNAH7, and aNAH9. Specificity testing against venom from various snake species, including two Southeast Asian cobra species, revealed nanobodies specific to the genus
Naja
. An
in vivo
mouse venom neutralization assay demonstrated that all nanobodies prolonged mouse survival and aNAH6 protected 66.6% of the mice from the lethal dosage. These findings highlight the potential of phage display-derived nanobodies as valuable antidotes for
N. atra
venom, laying the groundwork for future applications in snakebite treatment.

IMPORTANCE
Chinese cobra venom bites present a formidable medical challenge, and current serum treatments face unresolved issues. Our research applied microbial phage display technology to obtain a new, effective, and cost-efficient treatment approach. Despite interest among scientists in utilizing this technology to screen alpaca antibodies against toxins, the available literature is limited. This study makes a significant contribution by introducing neutralizing antibodies that are specifically tailored to Chinese cobra venom. We provide a comprehensive and unbiased account of the antibody construction process, accompanied by thorough testing of various nanobodies and an assessment of cross-reactivity with diverse snake venoms. These nanobodies represent a promising avenue for targeted antivenom development that bridges microbiology and biotechnology to address critical health needs.