bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Disruption of pollination by herbivores is rescued by nectar yeasts
Authors: Deng Guo‐Cui , Dai Can , Song Qing‐Qing , Zhang You‐Xuan , Zhang Xiao‐Xiao , Wang Xiao‐Fan , Gong Yan‐Bing 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Attracting pollinators to achieve successful reproduction is a key challenge for wild plants that may be disturbed by complex multispecies interactions in nature. Pairwise plant–pollinator interactions have traditionally been studied for decades, while ignoring other ecological players may obscure a comprehensive understanding on how plants recruit partners or combat enemies in the pollination process. Hence, integrated studies considering the inherent complexity of ecological interactions are needed, which may open up new perspectives for deciphering intricate systems and predicting ecological consequences.

We examined the presence of nectar yeasts using a combination of high‐throughput sequencing, cultivation and microscopy and quantified floral herbivory by evaluating the incidence of flowers with visible holes in 13 natural populations of Iris bulleyana in the Hengduan Mountains of southwest China during 2017–2022. We combined yeast inoculation and herbivore manipulation treatments to illustrate the isolated and combined impacts of two contrasting nectarivorous organisms, the ascomycetous yeast Metschnikowia reukaufii and adult sawflies, on pollinator visitation and plant reproductive success in two populations. In the lab, we first employed gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to profile the volatile metabolites of yeast‐inoculated nectar relative to control, followed by a behavioural bioassay to test the preference of honeybees for these microbial volatiles.

Yeasts commonly inhabited floral nectar and insect herbivores frequently bit holes in the perianth tube to consume nectar and nectaries. Nectar yeasts indirectly facilitated plant reproduction through increased pollinator visits, probably because of microbial metabolism as honeybees preferred nectar volatiles produced by yeasts in behavioural bioassays. Insect herbivores increased total floral visits but reduced legitimate visits by inducing legitimate‐to‐robbing behavioural changes of honeybees, thus leading to lower seed production. The detrimental effect of herbivory was mitigated by the presence of yeasts, which diminished the relative proportion of robbing visits and thereby ‘rescued’ flowers from reproductive failure.

Synthesis: Overall, we found contrasting effects of non‐pollinator species, including both micro‐ and macro‐organisms, on plant–pollinator interactions in a biodiversity hotspot, where pollination deficit may be a ubiquitous phenomenon. Our findings suggest that both microbial and herbivory effects are likely to be important in explaining the exact causes of pollen limitation in species‐rich areas, highlighting the biological context dependence of species interactions in natural ecosystems.
Disturbance‐mediated community characteristics and anthropogenic pressure intensify understorey plant invasions in natural forests
Authors: Jo Insu , Bellingham Peter J. , Mason Norman W. H. , McCarthy James K. , Peltzer Duane A. , Richardson Sarah J. , Wright Elaine F. 
Published: July 2024

Abstract

Although disturbance is considered a major driver of plant invasions across many systems, our understanding of the mechanisms by which disturbance mediates understorey invasions in natural forests is limited.

We used a national natural forest inventory dataset spanning New Zealand's wide climatic and soil fertility gradients to disentangle disturbance‐mediated community characteristics driving abundance, species richness and functional composition of understorey plant invasions.

Disturbance‐mediated declines in canopy tree abundance and increases in soil fertility and pH increased non‐native plant richness and cover relative to co‐occurring native plant assemblages. Cover of non‐native species also increased with proximity to anthropogenic land cover.

Non‐native plant assemblages had higher community‐weighted mean (CWM) values for specific leaf area (SLA) but lower CWM values for height and woodiness relative to native assemblages irrespective of disturbance. However, greater nearby anthropogenic land cover drove increased woodiness in non‐native assemblages but decreased woodiness in co‐occurring native assemblages.

Synthesis: Our study provides the first national‐scale evidence that canopy disturbance effects on soil properties increase both richness and abundance of non‐native plants in natural forest understories. We also revealed functional trait differences between native and non‐native assemblages (SLA in particular), which could alter fundamental forest ecosystem processes like litter decomposition and nutrient cycling. Finally, landscape‐scale anthropogenic impacts may exacerbate forest invasions by increasing non‐native abundance and favouring woody invaders, which may achieve dominance in future forest communities over the longer‐term.
The messy ethics of household biogas in Tanzania: ambivalence and aesthetics in energy‐from‐waste
Authors: Phillips Kristin D. 
Published: July 2024

AbstractHousehold biogas is an off‐grid energy technology that converts human, animal, and agricultural waste into fuel. This article analyses the emergence and use of household biogas technologies in Tanzania to theorize energy ethics in a postcolonial world. It engages Jane Bennett's theorization of the ‘energetics’ and aestheticization of ethics to ask how people assert and think through their own notions of good energy in postcolonial Africa. It documents two distinct registers people use to evaluate the ethics of biogas. The ‘circle of life’ register mobilizes popular environmental aesthetics of circle, cycle, and reuse as well as neoliberal and socialist political aesthetics of self‐containment and self‐reliance to enchant biogas with an ethical aura. The ‘excremental ambivalence’ register, alternately, disenchants biogas through referencing the polyvalent semiotics of shit and the sedimentation of racial and economic inequalities that condition the propagation of biogas. People engage both registers in the context of specific political economic and ecological conditions that also affect biogas uptake or refusal. The article thus argues that political economy, materiality, and aestheticization all play a role in people's ethical orientation to biogas and that ambivalence is a defining feature of energy transition in the Global South.
Clean, competitive, and productive? The impact of environment‐friendly technologies on exporting and productivity of the manufacturing companies in Belarus
Authors: Shershunovich Yauheniya , Mirzabaev Alisher 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThe impact of trade on the environment is a big concern, with increasing focus on the role of international trade in climate change. This study explores the bidirectional relationships between export intensity, adoption of environmentally friendly measures, and productivity using the firm‐level data from Belarus. It aims to answer whether exporting enterprises are more environmentally oriented and whether the application of cleaner technologies brings productivity improvement and increases the export intensity of an enterprise. We estimate a system of structural equations using three‐stage least squares in which export intensity, adoption of environmentally friendly measures, and productivity are by design treated as endogenous. The findings show that when a company adopts one more environmentally friendly measure, it increases its export intensity by 4.4%–4.6%. Adoption of cleaner technologies improves labor productivity in a company by 20.7%, but it is negatively associated with its resource productivity (a 1.9% decrease), which results in the neutral effect on the total productivity.
Unpredictable supplementation of vitamin D to infants in the neonatal intensive care unit: An experimental study
Authors: Albinsson Eva , Grönlund Astrid Bergentz , Paulsson Mattias , Wikström Sverre , Ahlsson Fredrik 
Published: July 2024

AbstractAimExtremely premature infants receive nutrition and medication through nasogastric tubes. Breastmilk given accordingly is subject to fat loss. This study aimed to investigate whether this could also apply to vitamin D.MethodsA questionnaire investigated vitamin D administration at a level III neonatal intensive care unit in Sweden in 2021. Feeding simulations with breastmilk and various vitamin D mixtures were done accordingly. After administration, vitamin D3 concentration was analysed using chromatography with mass spectrometry, followed by repeated simulations with vitamin D mixtures without breastmilk in 2023.ResultsThe questionnaire was completed by 10 persons. Vitamin D was administered as drops using an enteral syringe and a nasogastric tube in conjunction with a breastmilk meal. In the feeding simulations, vitamin D3 concentration after administration was significantly higher using a syringe alone compared to standard administration. When vitamins were administered according to standard but without breastmilk, 100% of the vitamin D and 40% of the multivitamins were lost. The vitamins adhered to the material, mainly in the nasogastric tube.ConclusionOur findings indicate that standard vitamin D supplementation in the neonatal intensive care unit may be unpredictable when administered by enteral syringe and nasogastric tube. We suggest using direct oral administration whenever possible.
CREST‐UK: Real‐world effectiveness, safety and outpatient delivery of CPX‐351 for first‐line treatment of newly diagnosed therapy‐related AML and AML with myelodysplasia‐related changes in the UK
Authors: Mehta Priyanka , Campbell Victoria , Maddox Jamie , Floisand Yngvar , Kalakonda Anita J. M. , O'Nions Jenny , Coats Thomas , Nagumantry Sateesh , Hodgson Katherine , Whitmill Richard , Amott Ian , Flynn Gillian , Taussig David , Zhao Rui , Cunningham Nicholas , Roset Montse , Cuadras Daniel , Medalla Greg , Kuter Hayley , Park Saemi , Legg Alex , Khan Anjum B. 
Published: July 2024

SummaryFavourable outcomes with CPX‐351 versus conventional 7 + 3 were demonstrated in the pivotal phase III trial in adults aged 60–75 years with newly diagnosed, highrisk/secondary acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). As a complement to the clinical trial and to address important data gaps, the CPX‐351 Real‐World Effectiveness and SafeTy (CREST‐UK; NCT05169307) study evaluated the use of CPX‐351 in routine clinical practice in the UK, in 147 patients with newly diagnosed therapy‐related AML or AML with myelodysplasia‐related changes. Best response of complete remission or complete remission with incomplete platelet or neutrophil recovery was achieved by 53% of evaluable patients. Kaplan–Meier median overall survival (OS) was 12.8 months (95% confidence interval 9.2–15.3). Fifty (34%) patients proceeded to haematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT); median OS landmarked from the HCT date was not reached. There were no new safety concerns with CPX‐351 identified in CREST‐UK. Patients treated with CPX‐351 in the outpatient setting spent an average of 24.4, 16.7, 28.2, and 27.7 fewer days on the ward compared with inpatients during first induction, second induction, first consolidation, and second consolidation, respectively. The results from CREST‐UK provide valuable insights into the effectiveness, safety, and outpatient delivery of CPX‐351 in routine clinical practice in the UK.
Efficacy of thrombopoietin receptor agonists versus rituximab in non‐responsive immune thrombocytopenia—A single centre retrospective analysis
Authors: Stolz Sebastian M. , Schwotzer Rahel , Rösler Wiebke , Hofer Kevin D. , Balabanov Stefan , Manz Markus G. , Rieger Max J. 
Published: July 2024

SummaryManagement of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) beyond initial glucocorticoid therapy is challenging. In this retrospective single‐centre cohort study, we compared all ITP patients relapsed or non‐responsive to glucocorticoid therapy treated with either continuous TPO‐RAs (n = 35) or rituximab induction (n = 20) between 2015 and 2022. While both groups showed high initial complete response rates (CR, 68.6 vs. 80.0%, ns), the overall rate of progression to the next therapy was higher after time‐limited rituximab (75.0 vs. 42.9%), resulting in a lower relapse‐free survival (median 16.6 vs. 25.8 months, log‐rank; p < 0.05). We conclude that both treatments show similar initial efficacy and their ideal duration of therapy warrants further investigation.
A pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic analysis of l‐glutamine for the treatment of sickle cell disease: Implications for understanding the mechanism of action and evaluating response to therapy
Authors: Sadaf Alina , Dong Min , Pfeiffer Amanda , Korpik Jennifer , Kalfa Theodosia A. , Latham Teresa , Vinks Alexander A. , Ware Russell E. , Quinn Charles T. 
Published: July 2024

SummaryThe mechanisms of action of l‐glutamine for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD) are not well understood and there are no validated clinical biomarkers to assess response. We conducted a three‐week, dose‐ascending trial of glutamine and measured the pharmacokinetic (PK) exposure parameters, peak concentration (Cmax) and area under the curve (AUC). We used a panel of biomarkers to investigate the pharmacodynamics (PD) of glutamine and studied PK–PD relationships. There was no plasma accumulation of glutamine, glutamate, arginine or other amino acids over time, but modestly improved arginine bioavailability was observed. In standard analysis by dose levels over time, there were no measurable effects on blood counts, viscosity, ektacytometry or reactive oxygen species (ROS). In PK–PD analysis, however, higher glutamine exposure (Cmax or AUC) was associated with increased whole blood viscosity and cellular dehydration, yet also with higher haemoglobin concentration, increased haematocrit‐to‐viscosity ratio, decreased reticulocyte ROS, improved RBC deformability and decreased point of sickling. This novel PK–PD analysis identified biomarkers reflecting the positive and negative effects of glutamine, helping to elucidate its mechanisms of action in SCD. PK‐optimized dosing to achieve glutamine exposure (AUC or Cmax) that is associated with salutary biological effects should be studied to support its therapeutic use.
GATA2 deficiency syndrome: A compensatory mechanism gone awry?
Authors: Rio‐Machin Ana 
Published: July 2024

In their paper, using zebrafish models, Gioacchino et al. have demonstrated the GATA2 haploinsufficiency, the genetic hallmark of GATA2 deficiency syndrome, promotes erythroid and myeloid cytopenia, and have discovered a self‐regulatory mechanism to compensate GATA2 levels and protein function.Commentary on: Gioacchino et al. GATA2 heterozygosity causes an epigenetic feedback mechanism resulting in myeloid and erythroid dysplasia. Br J Haematol 2024;205:580‐593.
Dependence of Europe's most threatened mammals on movement to adapt to climate change
Authors: Alagador Diogo 
Published: July 2024

AbstractCurrent rates of climate change and gloomy climate projections confront managers and conservation planners with the need to integrate climate change into already complex decision‐making processes. Predicting and prioritizing climatically stable areas and the areas likely to facilitate adaptive species’ range adjustments are important stages in maximizing conservation outcomes and rationalizing future land management. I determined, for the most threatened European terrestrial mammal species, the spatial adaptive trajectories (SATs) of highest expected persistence up to 2080. I devised simple spatial network indices for evaluation of species in those SATs: total persistence; proportion of SATs that offer in situ adaptation (i.e., stable refugia); number of SATs converging in a site; and relationship between SAT convergence and persistence and protected areas, the Natura 2000 and Emerald networks, and areas of low human disturbance. I compared the performance of high‐persistence SATs with a scenario in which each species remained in the areas with the best climatic conditions in the baseline period. The 1000 most persistence SATs for each of the 39 species covered one fifth of Europe. The areas with the largest adaptive potential (i.e., high persistence, stability, and SAT convergence) did not always overlap for all the species. Predominantly, these regions were located in southwestern Europe, Central Europe, and Scandinavia, with some occurrences in Eastern Europe. For most species, persistence in the most climatically suitable areas during the baseline period was lower than within SATs, underscoring their reliance on adaptive movements. Importantly, conservation areas (particularly protected areas) covered only minor fractions of species persistence among SATs, and hubs of spatial climate adaptation (i.e., areas of high SAT convergence) were seriously underrepresented in most conservation areas. These results highlight the need to perform analyses on spatial species’ dynamics under climate change.
Assessment of Posttransplant Bacteremia Caused by Extended‐Spectrum Beta‐Lactamase–Producing Gram‐Negative Bacteria Among Kidney Transplant Recipients
Authors: Tilley Madeleine S. , Edwards Seth W. , Brown Matthew L. , Li Peng , Mehta Shikha , Walker Jeremey , Gutierrez Kristofer C. 
Published: July 2024

ABSTRACTBackgroundExtended‐spectrum beta‐lactamase–producing gram‐negative rods (ESBL‐GNR) are a rising cause of bacteremia in kidney transplant recipients (KT). The study purpose was to examine patient mortality, allograft survival, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at the end of 1 year, and readmission rates while looking at treatment strategies among KTs with ESBL‐GNR and non–ESBL‐GNR bacteremia at our institution.MethodsThis study was a retrospective, cohort analysis of KTs with gram‐negative bacteremia from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2021. The primary outcome of the study was mortality. Patient outcomes were assessed for 365 days after positive blood cultures.ResultsThe study included 63 patients. Of these, 18 (29%) patients had bacteremia caused by an ESBL‐GNR and 45 (71%) patients had bacteremia caused by a non–ESBL‐GNR. Patient survival at 90 days was 94% in the ESBL‐GNR group and 96% in the non–ESBL‐GNR group. Ciprofloxacin was the most common antimicrobial therapy at discharge (68.9%) in the non–ESBL‐GNR group whereas ertapenem was the most common in the ESBL‐GNR group (44.5%). Median eGFR at discharge was 41 mL/min/1.73 m2 in the ESBL‐GNR group and 48 mL/min/1.73 m2 in the non–ESBL‐GNR group. Ninety‐day readmission occurred in 9 (50%) ESBL‐GNR patients and 14 (32%) non–ESBL‐GNR patients. None of the above comparisons are statistically significant (p > 0.05). Eleven (61%) ESBL‐GNR and 2 (4%) non–ESBL‐GNR patients used outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (p < 0.001).ConclusionsAmong KTs with ESBL‐GNR bacteremia, no significant difference was detected in mortality or allograft function compared to non–ESBL‐GNR bacteremia.
A phase I thorough QT/QTc study evaluating therapeutic and supratherapeutic doses of avacopan in healthy participants
Authors: Miao Shichang , Staehr Peter , Tai Ezra , Darpo Borje , Xue Hongqi , Armas Danielle , Webster Kenneth , Oberoi Rajneet K. 
Published: July 2024

AbstractThis phase I thorough QTc, double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐ and positive‐controlled, parallel group, multiple‐dose study evaluated avacopan's effect on cardiac repolarization using concentration‐QTc (C‐QTc) as the primary analysis. Avacopan 30 mg b.i.d. (therapeutic dose) was administered orally on days 1 through 7 followed by avacopan 100 mg b.i.d. (supratherapeutic dose) on days 8 through 14 in 29 healthy participants. Moxifloxacin 400 mg and placebo were administered on days 1 and 15 in a nested crossover design for assay sensitivity in separate cohorts to 28 participants. Time‐matched plasma concentrations and up to 10 replicate ECGs were obtained on prespecified days at baseline and postdose on days 1, 7, 14, and 15. The mean change from baseline on QTcF for avacopan (−5.5 to 3.5 ms) was similar to placebo (−6.9 to 1.4 ms) across days 1, 7, and 14. The mean effect on ΔΔQTcF (90% CI) was estimated as 1.5 ms (−0.17 to 3.09) and 0.8 ms (−2.41 to 4.05) for 30 and 100 mg avacopan b.i.d. treatments, respectively. Based on the C‐QTc analysis, avacopan's effect on ΔΔQTcF >10 ms can be excluded within the observed plasma concentration range of up to ~1220 and ~335 ng/mL for avacopan and active major metabolite, M1, respectively. The estimated population slopes showed a shallow relationship, which was not statistically significant. There was no clinically meaningful effect of avacopan on heart rate or cardiac conduction (PR and QRS intervals). Avacopan appeared to be generally well tolerated in this study population.
It's more than just beating teen pregnancy: Incentivizing comprehensive sex education programs in the United States
Authors: Cauley Erin 
Published: July 2024

AbstractCurrently in the United States, many states provide abstinence only education to students, if sexual education is mandatory at all. This is largely because of the 2017 policy that redirected funding through grants from comprehensive sexual education to abstinence only education. This Note proposes that the current administration redirect the money back to comprehensive sexual education policies that were productive during the early 2010s. The federal government should also provide a level‐based curriculum to states to ease the implementation of comprehensive sexual education in schools.
MYB expression by immunohistochemistry is highly specific and sensitive for detection of solid variant of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the breast among all triple‐negative breast cancers
Authors: Batra Harsh , Bose Priya S C , Ding Yang , Dai Alan , Chen Hui , Albarracin Constance T , Sun Hongxia , Sahin Aysegul A , Yang Fei , Wistuba Ignacio I , Raso Maria G 
Published: July 2024

BackgroundAdenoid cystic carcinoma is a rare subtype of triple‐negative breast carcinoma. These low‐grade tumours, which are treated by simple mastectomy and have an excellent prognosis compared to other triple‐negative breast carcinomas. Solid‐variant adenoid cystic carcinomas have basaloid features and are difficult to distinguish morphologically from other triple‐negative breast cancers. Breast adenoid cystic carcinoma exhibits MYB protein overexpression, which can be detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC).AimWe compared the IHC expression of MYB in solid‐variant adenoid cystic carcinoma with that in other triple‐negative breast cancers.MethodsWe conducted IHC staining of 210 samples of triple‐negative breast cancers, including solid‐variant adenoid cystic carcinoma (n = 17), metaplastic breast carcinoma (n = 44), basaloid triple‐negative breast cancer (n = 21), and other triple‐negative invasive ductal carcinoma (n = 128). We classified nuclear staining of MYB as diffuse/strong (3+), focal moderate (2+), focal weak (1+), or none (0).ResultsAll 17 solid/basaloid adenoid cystic carcinoma cases exhibited 3+ MYB expression. Of the 21 solid/basaloid triple‐negative breast cancers, one (5%) had 2+ expression, seven (33%) 1+ expression, and 13 (62%) 0 expression. Of the 44 metaplastic carcinoma cases, 39 cases (89%) had no (0) staining, and the other five cases had focal weak (1+) or moderate (2+) staining. Among the 128 triple‐negative invasive ductal carcinoma cases, 92 cases (72%) had no (0) staining, 36 cases (28%) exhibited focal weak (1+) or moderate (2+) staining.ConclusionsOur study revealed diffuse/strong MYB staining (3+) only in solid/basaloid adenoid cystic carcinomas. Thus, we recommend routine MYB IHC staining in triple‐negative breast carcinoma with solid/basaloid morphology to improve diagnostic accuracy.