bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Interdependence of placenta and fetal cardiac development
Authors: Leon Rachel L. , Bitar Lynn , Rajagopalan Vidya , Spong Catherine Y. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe placenta and fetal heart undergo development concurrently during early pregnancy, and, while human studies have reported associations between placental abnormalities and congenital heart disease (CHD), the nature of this relationship remains incompletely understood. Evidence from animal studies suggests a plausible cause and effect connection between placental abnormalities and fetal CHD. Biomechanical models demonstrate the influence of mechanical forces on cardiac development, whereas genetic models highlight the role of confined placental mutations that can cause some forms of CHD. Similar definitive studies in humans are lacking; however, placental pathologies such as maternal and fetal vascular malperfusion and chronic deciduitis are frequently observed in pregnancies complicated by CHD. Moreover, maternal conditions such as diabetes and pre‐eclampsia, which affect placental function, are associated with increased risk of CHD in offspring. Bridging the gap between animal models and human studies is crucial to understanding how placental abnormalities may contribute to human fetal CHD. The next steps will require new methodologies and multidisciplinary approaches combining innovative imaging modalities, comprehensive genomic testing, and histopathology. These studies may eventually lead to preventative strategies for some forms of CHD by targeting placental influences on fetal heart development.
The cuticle proteome of a planktonic crustacean
Authors: Otte Kathrin A. , Fredericksen Maridel , Fields Peter , Fröhlich Thomas , Laforsch Christian , Ebert Dieter 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe cuticles of arthropods provide an interface between the organism and its environment. Thus, the cuticle's structure influences how the organism responds to and interacts with its surroundings. Here, we used label‐free quantification proteomics to provide a proteome of the moulted cuticle of the aquatic crustacean Daphnia magna, which has long been a prominent subject of studies on ecology, evolution, and developmental biology. We detected a total of 278 high‐confidence proteins. Using protein sequence domain and functional enrichment analyses, we identified chitin‐binding structural proteins and chitin‐modifying enzymes as the most abundant protein groups in the cuticle proteome. Structural cuticular protein families showed a similar distribution to those found in other arthropods and indicated proteins responsible for the soft and flexible structure of the Daphnia cuticle. Finally, cuticle protein genes were also clustered as tandem gene arrays in the D. magna genome. The cuticle proteome presented here will be a valuable resource to the Daphnia research community, informing genome annotations and investigations on diverse topics such as the genetic basis of interactions with predators and parasites.
Pharmacist intervention to improve adherence to medication among heart failure patients at North East Ethiopia hospital
Authors: Tsige Abate Wondesen , Kotiso Tsegaye Ababiya , Ayenew Kassahun Dires , Ayele Siraye Genzeb 
Published: April 2024

AbstractHeart failure (HF) is a major and growing medical problem and its management is still challenging due to the coexistence of complications, co‐morbidity, and medication non‐adherence. HF patients who are adherent to their medication have fewer HF exacerbations, improved survival, and lower healthcare expenditure. Adherence to HF medication plays a pivotal role in attaining maximal therapeutic outcomes. The aim was to assess the medication adherence of heart failure patients at Debre Berhan Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (DBCSH). A pre‐post interventional study was undertaken from July 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022, at the medical referral clinic of DBCSH. The educational interventions were provided for 6 months. Medication adherence was determined using the Morisky Green Levin Medication Adherence Scale (MGLS). The data was entered into Epidata version 4.2.0 and analyzed using SPSS version 25.0 statistical software. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analysis were performed. The strength of the association between predictor variables and outcome variables was determined using a 95% confidence interval and adjusted odd ratio. In the pre‐intervention phase, 54.6% of patients had medium medication adherence, while in the post‐intervention phase, 36.4% of patients had high medication adherence and 61.9% of patients had medium medication adherence. Following the intervention, medication cost (120, 50%), inadequate availability of drugs (75, 31%), and forgetfulness (30, 13%) were the main reasons for medication non‐adherence. The presence of co‐morbidity and the number of co‐morbidity (p < .05) were significantly associated with the occurrence of decreased medication adherence in the pre‐intervention phase. Interventions by pharmacists to educate HF patients about the nature of their disease and providing brochures to increase awareness of their medications have been shown to improve medication adherence.
The miR184‐3p targets neuron‐specific ecdysone inducible protein 78 to promote rice black streaked dwarf virus propagation in its planthopper vector
Authors: Wang Haitao , Dong Yan , Wang Man , Li Shuo , Zhou Yijun , Ji Yinghua 
Published: April 2024

AbstractBACKGROUNDMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non‐coding RNAs that play a pivotal role in antiviral infection. The miR184‐3p has been identified to promote rice black streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV) infection in vector Laodelphax striatellus, whether it targets other genes of L. striatellus to modulate RBSDV propagation remains unknown.RESULTSWe first analyzed the expression profiles of miR184‐3p and its role in regulating RBSDV infection in L. striatellus. Then the candidate genes expression of miR184‐3p were systemically analyzed with gain and loss function of miR184‐3p, and the interaction of candidate gene, ecdysone inducible protein 78 (Eip78) with miR184‐3p was verified by dual luciferase reporter assay. We found Eip78 is evolutionary conserved among agricultural pests and predominantly expressed in the central nervous system (CNS) of L. striatellus. Knockdown of Eip78 effectively increased RBSDV propagation and transmission. Blockade with Eip78 antibody or injection with Eip78 protein could significantly regulate RBSDV infection. Further analysis revealed that knockdown of Eip78 specifically suppresses RBSDV infection in the head part but not in the body part of L. striatellus. Besides, knockdown of ecdysone receptor (EcR) notably restricted Eip78 expression and increased RBSDV accumulation in L. striatellus.CONCLUSIONSTaken together, we identified a novel target gene of miR184‐3p, Eip78, a member of the ecdysone signaling pathway, and revealed the anti‐RBSDV role of Eip78 in the CNS of L. striatellus. These results shed light on the interaction mechanisms of miRNAs, virus and ecdysone signaling pathway in insect vector. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.
Do typologies of pesticide risk knowledge influence the adoption of IPM strategies? Evidence from rice farmers' behavior in northern Iran
Authors: Sharifzadeh Mohammad Sharif , Abdollahzadeh Gholamhossein 
Published: April 2024

AbstractBACKGROUNDThe active participation of farmers in adopting eco‐friendly practices is vital to mitigate the environmental and health risks linked to pesticide usage. Farmers' awareness of these risks significantly influences their adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) methods over traditional pesticide applications. This study sought to explore the range of understanding on pesticide effects, categorize IPM strategies employed in pest management, and examine the correlation between knowledge levels and IPM strategy choices. Data was gathered through structured questionnaires from 391 rice farmers in Sari County, Mazandaran province, Northern Iran.RESULTSExploratory factor analysis revealed three distinct dimensions of pesticide risk knowledge: personal risk of pesticide, environmental risk of pesticide, and community risk of pesticide. Furthermore, the study identified three primary categories of IPM strategies: high familiarity, intermediate familiarity, and low familiarity. The results of the regression analysis indicated that the personal risk of pesticides (β = 0.556; P < 0.01) and the environmental risk of pesticides (β = 0.262; P < 0.01) are significantly correlated with the adoption of high familiarity IPM strategies. Furthermore, the study revealed that there was no significant statistical evidence to support the notion that different types of pesticide risk knowledge had any influence on the adoption of intermediate and low familiarity strategies.CONCLUSIONThe findings of this study imply the critical importance for agricultural extension programs to focus on enhancing farmers' knowledge of pesticide risks and various IPM strategies. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.
Optimal sample size division in two‐stage seamless designs
Authors: Berry Lindsay R. , Marion Joe , Berry Scott M. , Viele Kert 
Published: April 2024

AbstractInferentially seamless 2/3 designs are increasingly popular in clinical trials. It is important to understand their relative advantages compared with separate phase 2 and phase 3 trials, and to understand the consequences of design choices such as the proportion of patients included in the phase 2 portion of the design. Extending previous work in this area, we perform a simulation study across multiple numbers of arms and efficacy response curves. We consider a design space crossing the choice of a separate versus seamless design with the choice of allocating 0%–100% of available patients in phase 2, with the remainder in phase 3. The seamless designs achieve greater power than their separate trial counterparts. Importantly, the optimal seamless design is more robust than the optimal separate program, meaning that one range of values for the proportion of patients used in phase 2 (30%–50% of the total phase 2/3 sample size) is nearly optimal for a wide range of response scenarios. In contrast, a percentage of patients used in phase 2 for separate trials may be optimal for some alternative scenarios but decidedly inferior for other alternative scenarios. When operationally and scientifically viable, seamless trials provide superior performance compared with separate phase 2 and phase 3 trials. The results also provide guidance for the implementation of these trials in practice.
Theoretical insight into electrochemical nitrate reduction on transition metal iron doped graphdiyne
Authors: Xie Shuyi , Ruan Wenqi , Liu Qianqian , Zhang Yongfan , Guo Xiangyu , Ding Kaining 
Published: April 2024

AbstractProduction of ammonia (NH3) by electrocatalytic reduction of nitrate (NO3RR) not only eliminates harmful pollution, but also provides a way to reduce the energy consumption associated with predominated Haber‐Bosch process. However, realization of this process still faces many challenges because of the complexity of the reaction mechanism. Here we investigated the catalytic activity and selectivity of a series of graphdiyne supported single atom catalysts (SACs), namely TM/GDY, for the reduction of N to NH3 by first‐principles calculations. Among the 10 SACs studied, Fe/GDY was found to have good catalytic performance, consistent with the fact that the Fe‐doped GDY molecular layer was located near the top of the volcano plot, with a reaction limit potential of −0.44 V and showed excellent selectivity in inhibiting the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The formation of the by‐products NO2, NO, N2O and N2 on Fe/GDY requires a considerable energy barrier, which ensures high selectivity. Furthermore, detailed electronic property analyses indicate that the GDY can work as an electron repository to effectively balance the charge transfers during the reaction process. This study not only offers an eligible NO3RR electrocatalyst but also provides an atomic understanding of the mechanisms of the NO3RR process behind.
Effectiveness of fishways on the Pinka Stream and the Rába River, Central Europe: An evaluation with species from the order Cypriniformes
Authors: Sály Péter , Sallai Márton , Sallai Zoltán 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThis study assessed the functional effectiveness in terms of passage proportion of three fishways, one nature‐like bypass, one partly nature‐like bypass and partly technical pool‐type and one completely technical, on the Pinka Stream and Rába River in Western Hungary. Radio frequency identification with passive integrated transponder tagging was used to collect data on the upstream passage. A total of 2976 tagged individuals were included in the study; 2863 individuals were either barbel (Barbus barbus), nase (Chondrostoma nasus) or chub (Squalius cephalus), which were chosen as model species, and 113 individuals belonged to four other species. There were 540 individuals of the model species and 18 individuals of the other species detected while successfully ascending one of the fishways. The time‐to‐event (survival) analysis of the data of the model species revealed significant species‐specific differences in passage probability between the fishways. The passage probabilities of the barbel were the highest, and those of the nase were the lowest at all three fishways. The findings demonstrate that single‐species evaluations can lead to incorrect conclusions on fishway effectiveness. Technical fishways can be as effective as nature‐like ones, and hybrid solutions (technical fishways combined with nature‐like bypasses) can function as well. The limitations of the study and recommendations for further evaluations are also discussed.
Suspended‐sediment response to wildfire and a major post‐fire flood on the Colorado Front Range
Authors: Ryan Sandra E. , Shobe Charles M. , Rathburn Sara L. , Dixon Mark K. 
Published: April 2024

AbstractWildfires, and the sediment‐rich floods that commonly follow, increasingly threaten riverine ecosystems and water infrastructure. Suspended sediment exported throughout fire–flood sequences poses particular risks due to rapid transit times and direct impacts on water quality. However, opportunities to measure suspended‐sediment transport during and after post‐fire floods, and therefore to illuminate what controls the magnitude and timing of suspended‐sediment export from burned, flooded watersheds, are rare. A ~ 100‐year flood that occurred one year into a three‐year study monitoring suspended‐sediment response to wildfire in the Colorado Front Range provides a unique opportunity to (1) quantify how suspended‐sediment concentrations and loads change throughout a fire–flood sequence, and (2) infer what controls the timescale over which suspended‐sediment dynamics recover toward pre‐fire conditions. We find that suspended‐sediment concentrations (SSCs) during summer storms declined monotonically to background conditions over 3 years. Snowmelt SSCs peaked in the second year before declining to background levels. Sediment load calculations reveal that the flood exported ~35 years' worth of suspended sediment and triggered ~1.5 years of elevated SSCs and sediment loads. SSCs and sediment loads indicate a fairly short post‐fire recovery timescale of about 3 years. We suggest that the flood accelerated recovery by (1) exporting much of the available suspended sediment from this supply‐limited landscape and (2) facilitating the export of remaining sediment by making it more accessible to subsequent flows. Our results indicate that large post‐wildfire floods, though representing major geomorphic disturbances, may hasten post‐fire suspended‐sediment recovery to background conditions, at least in supply‐limited regions.
Testing versus estimation of graph properties, revisited
Authors: Shapira Asaf , Kushnir Nick , Gishboliner Lior 
Published: April 2024

AbstractA graph on vertices is ‐far from property if one should add/delete at least edges to turn into a graph satisfying . A distance estimator for is an algorithm that given and distinguishes between the case that is ‐close to and the case that is ‐far from . If has a distance estimator whose query complexity depends only on , then is said to be estimable. Every estimable property is clearly also testable, since testing corresponds to estimating with . A central result in the area of property testing is the Fischer–Newman theorem, stating that an inverse statement also holds, that is, that every testable graph property is in fact estimable. The proof of Fischer and Newman was highly ineffective, since it incurred a tower‐type loss when transforming a testing algorithm for into a distance estimator. This raised the natural problem, studied recently by Fiat–Ron and by Hoppen–Kohayakawa–Lang–Lefmann–Stagni, whether one can find a transformation with a polynomial loss. We obtain the following results.
We show that if 𝒫 is hereditary, then one can turn a tester for 𝒫 into a distance estimator with an exponential loss. This is an exponential improvement over the result of Hoppen et al., who obtained a transformation with a double exponential loss.
We show that for every 𝒫, one can turn a testing algorithm for 𝒫 into a distance estimator with a double exponential loss. This improves over the transformation of Fischer–Newman that incurred a tower‐type loss.
Our main conceptual contribution in this work is that we manage to turn the approach of Fischer–Newman, which was inherently ineffective, into an efficient one. On the technical level, our main contribution is in establishing certain properties of Frieze–Kannan Weak Regular partitions that are of independent interest.
Investigation of short‐term effects of forage radish on water and solute transport through a tracer test and inverse modeling
Authors: Camarotto Carlo , Dal Ferro Nicola , Piccoli Ilaria , Longo Matteo , Duwig Celine , Oxarango Laurent , Morari Francesco 
Published: April 2024

AbstractThe benefits of using cover crops for improving soil and water quality are well known. Less clear is whether cover crops, especially those forming a taproot system, can favor solute transport down to the groundwater by modifying soil hydraulic properties and solute dynamics. In this study, we employed 12 lysimeters to conduct a comparative analysis between a taproot cover crop, specifically forage radish (FR), and bare soil (BS), under three water table management conditions. Our objective was to evaluate whether the enhancement of root‐derived macroporosity could have modified water and solute dynamics, and offset the benefits provided by FR that is commonly used to mitigate solute leaching. A tracer solution of bromide (Br−) was added to lysimeters, and solute flux concentrations were determined at different depths during a 25‐day test. Soil moisture and pressure heads were monitored. Water and solute transport parameters were estimated by inverse modeling using HYDRUS‐1D. A complementary laboratory experiment was performed to quantify the effect of FR root apparatus on the macropore structure by using noninvasive X‐ray microtomography (µCT). Results showed that the growth of FR within the lysimeters induced alterations in water and solute dynamics compared with BS. This is primarily attributed to its proficiency as solute scavenger, with an uptake capacity of up to 47% of the total injected tracer. Our comparative analysis instead revealed subtle differences in soil structure and hydraulic properties brought about by the presence of FR. Major changes were observed for the saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks), which increased from an average of 8.4–49.8 cm day−1 within the 20–45 cm layer in BS and FR, respectively. Additionally, there was a difference in immobile water content (θim), with the values in FR averaging 21% lower than those in BS. These modifications can be attributed to the formation of fissures and channels, primarily concentrated in the proximity of taproot development, without extending into deep preferential flow pathways. These structural changes were supported by the nondestructive µCT analyses. Upon aggregating the effects observed, solute movement to groundwater was not affected by FR compared to BS conditions.
Activating Ion Channels in Collapsed Hydrogel Derived Densified MXene Films with Cellulose Nanofibers to Overcome the Areal Versus Volumetric Capacitance Trade‐Off
Authors: Dutta Pronoy , Deb Sujit Kumar , Patra Amalika , Karim Golam Masud , Majumder Abhisek , Kumar Pradip , Iyer Parameswar Krishnan , Padma Narayanan , Maiti Uday Narayan 
Published: April 2024

AbstractConcomitant achievement of all three performance pillars of a supercapacitor device, namely gravimetric, areal, and volumetric capacitance is a grand challenge. Nevertheless, its fulfilment is indispensable for commercial usage. Although, high compactness is the fundamental requirement to achieve high volumetric performance, it severely affects ion transportation in thick electrodes. Such trade‐off makes it extremely challenging to realize very high areal and volumetric performance simultaneously. Here, a collapsed hydrogel strategy is introduced to develop MXene/cellulose nanofiber (CNF) based densified electrodes that offer excellent ion transportation despite a massive increase in areal mass loading (>70 mg cm−2). Quasi‐oriented MXene/CNF (MXCF) hydrogels are produced through an electric field‐guided co‐assembly technique. Ambient dehydration of these hydrogels incorporates numerous pores in the resultant compact electrodes due to crumpling of the MXene sheets, while CNF ensures connectivity among the locally blocked pores in different length scales. The resultant collapsed MXCF densified electrode shows a remarkably high areal capacitance of 16 F cm−2 while simultaneously displaying a high volumetric capacitance of 849.8 F cm−3 at an ultrahigh mass loading of up to 73.4 mg cm−2. The universality of strategy, including the co‐assembly of hydrogel and its collapse, is further demonstrated to develop high‐performance asymmetric and wearable devices.
Polymerase‐Based Signal Delay for Temporally Regulating DNA Involved Reactions, Programming Dynamic Molecular Systems, and Biomimetic Sensing
Authors: Rong Qinze , Deng Yingnan , Chen Fangzhou , Yin Zhe , Hu Lingfei , Su Xin , Zhou Dongsheng 
Published: April 2024

AbstractComplex temporal molecular signals play a pivotal role in the intricate biological pathways of living organisms, and cells exhibit the ability to transmit and receive information by intricately managing the temporal dynamics of their signaling molecules. Although biomimetic molecular networks are successfully engineered outside of cells, the capacity to precisely manipulate temporal behaviors remains limited. In this study, the catalysis activity of isothermal DNA polymerase (DNAP) through combined use of molecular dynamics simulation analysis and fluorescence assays is first characterized. DNAP‐driven delay in signal strand release ranged from 100 to 102 min, which is achieved through new strategies including the introduction of primer overhangs, utilization of inhibitory reagents, and alteration of DNA template lengths. The results provide a deeper insight into the underlying mechanisms of temporal control DNAP‐mediated primer extension and DNA strand displacement reactions. Then, the regulated DNAP catalysis reactions are applied in temporal modulation of downstream DNA‐involved reactions, the establishment of dynamic molecular signals, and the generation of barcodes for multiplexed detection of target genes. The utility of DNAP‐based signal delay as a dynamic DNA nanotechnology extends beyond theoretical concepts and achieves practical applications in the fields of cell‐free synthetic biology and bionic sensing.