bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Is adaptation associated with long-term persistence beyond a geographic range limit?
Authors: Cross Regan L , Eckert Christopher G 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
Adaptation to new habitats might facilitate species’ range shifts in response to climate change. In 2005, we transplanted experimental populations of coastal dune plant Camissoniopsis cheiranthifolia into 4 sites within and 1 site beyond its poleward range limit. Beyond-range transplants had high fitness but often delayed reproduction. To test for adaptation associated with experimental range expansion, we transplanted descendants from beyond- and within-range populations after 10 generations in situ into 2 sites within the range, 1 at the range edge, and 2 sites beyond the range. We expected to detect adaptation to beyond-range conditions due to substantial genetic variation within experimental populations and environmental variation among sites. However, individuals from beyond-range experimental populations were not fitter than those from within the range when planted at either beyond-range site, indicating no adaptation to the beyond-range site or beyond-range environments in general. Beyond-range descendants also did not suffer lower fitness within the range. Although reproduction was again delayed beyond the range, late reproduction was not favored more strongly beyond than within the range, and beyond-range descendants did not delay reproduction more than within-range descendants. Persistence in beyond-range environments may not require adaptation, which could allow a rapid response to climate change.
Whole-Tree Green Density Equations for Loblolly and Slash Pine Trees
Authors: Zhao Dehai , Bullock Bronson P , Wang Mingliang , Dickens E David 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
Using extensive legacy and new datasets, two equations of whole-tree green density, defined as the ratio of the green weight of stem wood with bark (GWob) divided either by the stem outside-bark volume (Vob) or by the stem inside-bark volume (Vib), were developed along with individual tree Vob, Vib, and GWob equations for loblolly and slash pines. The green density equations indicated that the GWob/Vob ratio increases while the GWob/Vib ratio decreases with an increase in tree size for both species. The transition from low-intensity management to intensive management has a notable impact on tree green weight characteristics. Generally, trees from older established plantations exhibited a higher GWob/Vob ratio compared with trees from more recently established plantations, spanning both loblolly and slash pines.
Study Implications: Derived whole-tree green density equations, alongside updated stem green weight and volume equations, are valuable tools for estimating the volume and green weight of entire stem boles, facilitating volume-to-green-weight conversion for specific sections for loblolly and slash pines, the primary commercial timber species in the southern United States.
The putative prenyltransferase Nus1 is required for filamentation in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans
Authors: Farheen Aiman , Case Nicola T , MacAlpine Jessie , Fu Ci , Robbins Nicole , Cowen Leah E 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
Candida albicans is a major fungal pathogen of humans that can cause serious systemic infections in vulnerable immunocompromised populations. One of its virulence attributes is its capacity to transition between yeast and filamentous morphologies, but our understanding of this process remains incomplete. Here, we analyzed data from a functional genomic screen performed with the C. albicans Gene Replacement And Conditional Expression collection to identify genes crucial for morphogenesis in host-relevant conditions. Through manual scoring of microscopy images coupled with analysis of each image using a deep learning-based method termed Candescence, we identified 307 genes important for filamentation in tissue culture medium at 37°C with 5% CO2. One such factor was orf19.5963, which is predicted to encode the prenyltransferase Nus1 based on sequence homology to Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We further showed that Nus1 and its predicted interacting partner Rer2 are important for filamentation in multiple liquid filament-inducing conditions as well as for wrinkly colony formation on solid agar. Finally, we highlight that Nus1 and Rer2 likely govern C. albicans morphogenesis due to their importance in intracellular trafficking, as well as maintaining lipid homeostasis. Overall, this work identifies Nus1 and Rer2 as important regulators of C. albicans filamentation and highlights the power of functional genomic screens in advancing our understanding of gene function in human fungal pathogens.
Charophytic Green Algae Encode Ancestral Polymerase IV/Polymerase V Subunits and a CLSY/DRD1 Homolog
Authors: Chakraborty Tania , Trujillo Joshua T , Kendall Timmy , Mosher Rebecca A 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
In flowering plants, euchromatic transposons are transcriptionally silenced by RNA-directed DNA Methylation, a small RNA-guided de novo methylation pathway. RNA-directed DNA Methylation requires the activity of the RNA Polymerases IV and V, which produce small RNA precursors and noncoding targets of small RNAs, respectively. These polymerases are distinguished from Polymerase II by multiple plant-specific paralogous subunits. Most RNA-directed DNA Methylation components are present in all land plants, and some have been found in the charophytic green algae, a paraphyletic group that is sister to land plants. However, the evolutionary origin of key RNA-directed DNA Methylation components, including the two largest subunits of Polymerase IV and Polymerase V, remains unclear. Here, we show that multiple lineages of charophytic green algae encode a single-copy precursor of the largest subunits of Polymerase IV and Polymerase V, resolving the two presumed duplications in this gene family. We further demonstrate the presence of a Polymerase V-like C-terminal domain, suggesting that the earliest form of RNA-directed DNA Methylation utilized a single Polymerase V-like polymerase. Finally, we reveal that charophytic green algae encode a single CLSY/DRD1-type chromatin remodeling protein, further supporting the presence of a single specialized polymerase in charophytic green algae.
Needs and Challenges for Volunteering in Rural Areas: Lessons Learned From a Survey of a Service Organization in Rural Michigan
Authors: Hu Rita Xiaochen , Kayser Jay , Dunkle Ruth E , Tarr Julie 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Background and Objectives
Volunteers are the foundation of social service agencies in rural communities, yet limited research exists on their needs and challenges. Motivated by the multidimensional older voluntarism sustainability framework, this study aims to understand (1) the characteristics of volunteers, (2) the relationships between volunteers’ sense of community and their own aging and volunteer retention, and (3) the unique challenges faced by volunteers and volunteer-based agencies.

Research Design and Methods
This study uses a mixed-methods design. Data were gathered via telephone interviews (n = 76) and in-person focus groups (n = 14) from the volunteer pool of a nonprofit organization in rural Michigan. Descriptive and regression analyses were conducted to understand the characteristics of the volunteers. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify unique challenges faced by rural agencies and volunteers.

Results
Findings show that most volunteers were over 70, women, married, volunteered weekly or more, and were affiliated with multiple agencies. Volunteers with a stronger attachment to the community and higher self-perceptions of aging were likelier to continue and increase volunteering commitments. Due to the low population density in rural areas, volunteers were concerned about the heavy burden of volunteering, the lack of social connections with fellow volunteers, and the lack of active involvement in shaping the organization.

Discussion and Implications
Results from the study shed light on the urgent need for creative and engaging volunteer recruitment and retention strategies to sustain older adults, service agencies, and communities in rural areas.
Mapping bedrock topography and detecting blind faults using the fundamental resonance of microtremor: a case study of the Pohang Basin, southeastern Korea
Authors: Kang Su Young 
Published: June 2024

SUMMARY
The Pohang Basin sustained the most extensive seismic damage in the history of instrumental recording in Korea due to the 2017 Mw 5.5 earthquake. The pattern of damage shows marked differences from a radial distribution, suggesting important contributions by local site effects. Our understanding of these site effects and their role in generating seismic damage within the study area remains incomplete, which indicates the need for a thorough exploration of subsurface information, including the thickness of soil to bedrock and basin geometry, in the Pohang Basin. We measured the depth to bedrock in the Pohang Basin using dense ambient noise measurements conducted at 698 sites. We propose a model of basin geometry based on depths and dominant frequencies derived from the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) of microtremor at 698 sites. Most microseismic measurements exhibit one or more clear HVSR peak(s), implying one or more strong impedance contrast(s), which are presumed to represent the interface between the basement and overlying basin-fill sediments at each measurement site. The ambient seismic noise induces resonance at frequencies as low as 0.32 Hz. The relationship between resonance frequency and bedrock depth was derived using data from 27 boreholes to convert the dominant frequencies measured at stations adjacent to the boreholes into corresponding depths to the strong impedance contrast. The relationship was then applied to the dominant frequencies to estimate the depth to bedrock over the whole study area. Maps of resonance frequency and the corresponding depth to bedrock for the study area show that the greatest depths to bedrock are in the coastal area. The maps also reveal lower fundamental frequencies in the area west of the Gokgang Fault. The results indicate a more complex basin structure than previously proposed based on a limited number of direct borehole observations and surface geology. The maps and associated profiles across different parts of the study area show pronounced changes in bedrock depth near inferred blind faults proposed in previous studies, suggesting that maps of bedrock depth based on the HVSR method can be used to infer previously unknown features, including concealed or blind faults that are not observed at the surface.
A climate of fear? The Scottish universities and the question of devolution, 1974–9
Authors: Cameron Ewen A 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
This article seeks to examine the debate in the Scottish universities during the 1974–9 period, when the Labour government proposed to create a devolved Scottish Assembly. An anti-devolution consensus among university leaders is analysed and the arguments for and against devolution are considered. The article discusses the way in which the perceived result of devolution would be ‘parochialism’, while the advantages of the status quo were seen as ‘internationalist’. Nationalist critiques of the ‘Anglocentric’ universities are discussed. The arguments for devolution centred on bringing the Scottish universities into an integrated system of post-16 education in Scotland. Student opinion, as well as the views of senior academics, is noted. The debate is contextualized as part of the discussion of the merits of devolution but also as part of wider debates about the governance of the university system in Britain in the 1970s. The operation of the University Grants Committee was coming under severe stress as a result of wider economic conditions, and the Scottish debate is seen as part of a wider series of questions about the autonomy of universities from the state. The apparent paradox between the veneration of the British grants committee and the emphasis on the traditions of higher education in Scottish culture and identity are also discussed.
Stability analysis of viscous multi-layer shear flows with interfacial slip
Authors: Katsiavria Anna , Papageorgiou Demetrios T 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
One of the most fundamental interfacial instabilities in ideal, immiscible, incompressible multifluid flows is the celebrated Kelvin–Helmholtz (KH) instability. It predicts short-wave instabilities that, in the absence of other mollifying physical mechanisms (e.g. surface tension, viscosity), render the nonlinear problem ill-posed and lead to finite-time singularities. The crucial driving mechanism is the jump in tangential velocity across the liquid–liquid interface, i.e. interfacial slip, that can occur since viscosity is absent. The purpose of the present work is to analyse analogous instabilities for viscous flows at small or moderate Reynolds numbers as opposed to the infinite Reynolds numbers that underpin KH instabilities. The problem is physically motivated by both experiments and simulations. The fundamental model considered consists of two superposed viscous, incompressible, immiscible fluid layers sheared in a plane Couette flow configuration, with slip present at the deforming liquid–liquid interface. The origin of slip in viscous flows has been observed in experiments and molecular dynamics simulations, and can be modelled by employing a Navier-slip boundary condition at the liquid–liquid interface. The emerging novel instabilities are studied in detail here. The linear stability of the system is addressed asymptotically for long- and short-waves, and for arbitrary wavenumbers using a combination of analytical and numerical calculations. Slip is found to be capable of destabilising perturbations of all wavelengths. In regimes where the flow is stable to perturbations of all wavelengths in the absence of slip, its presence can induce a Turing-type instability by destabilization of a small band of finite wavenumber perturbations. In the case where the underlying layer is asymptotically thin, the results are found to agree with the linear properties of a weakly non-linear asymptotic model that is also derived here. The weakly nonlinear model extends previous work by the authors that had a thin overlying layer that produces a different evolution equation.
Estimating the region of attraction of integral delay equations
Authors: Melchor-Aguilar Daniel , Arismendi-Valle Hector 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
We present estimates of the region of attraction of a class of non-linear integral delay equations. The approach follows the same lines as the Lyapunov method by the first approximation for estimating the attraction region of ordinary and delay differential equations, which uses Lyapunov functions or Lyapunov functionals associated with the linear part of the non-linear equations. The results are illustrated by application problems to the propagation of electric pulses in the heart dynamics and non-linear predictor control.
Barriers to the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programmes in long-term care facilities: a scoping review
Authors: Vicentini Costanza , Libero Giulia , Cugudda Eleonora , Gardois Paolo , Zotti Carla Maria , Bert Fabrizio 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Background
Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) present specific challenges for the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programmes. A growing body of literature is dedicated to AMS in LTCFs.

Objectives
We aimed to summarize barriers to the implementation of full AMS programmes, i.e. a set of clinical practices, accompanied by recommended change strategies.

Methods
A scoping review was conducted through Ovid-MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase and Cochrane Central. Studies addressing barriers to the implementation of full AMS programmes in LTCFs were included. Implementation barriers described in qualitative studies were identified and coded, and main themes were identified using a grounded theory approach.

Results
The electronic search revealed 3904 citations overall. Of these, 57 met the inclusion criteria. All selected studies were published after 2012, and the number of references per year progressively increased, reaching a peak in 2020. Thematic analysis of 13 qualitative studies identified three main themes: (A) LTCF organizational culture, comprising (A1) interprofessional tensions, (A2) education provided in silos, (A3) lack of motivation and (A4) resistance to change; (B) resources, comprising (B1) workload and staffing levels, (B2) diagnostics, (B3) information technology resources and (B4) funding; and (C) availability of and access to knowledge and skills, including (C1) surveillance data, (C2) infectious disease/AMS expertise and (C3) data analysis skills.

Conclusions
Addressing inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in LTCFs through AMS programmes is an area of growing interest. Hopefully, this review could be helpful for intervention developers and implementers who want to build on the most recent evidence from the literature.
A comparative evaluation of ChatGPT 3.5 and ChatGPT 4 in responses to selected genetics questions
Authors: McGrath Scott P , Kozel Beth A , Gracefo Sara , Sutherland Nykole , Danford Christopher J , Walton Nephi 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Objectives
To evaluate the efficacy of ChatGPT 4 (GPT-4) in delivering genetic information about BRCA1, HFE, and MLH1, building on previous findings with ChatGPT 3.5 (GPT-3.5). To focus on assessing the utility, limitations, and ethical implications of using ChatGPT in medical settings.

Materials and Methods
A structured survey was developed to assess GPT-4’s clinical value. An expert panel of genetic counselors and clinical geneticists evaluated GPT-4’s responses to these questions. We also performed comparative analysis with GPT-3.5, utilizing descriptive statistics and using Prism 9 for data analysis.

Results
The findings indicate improved accuracy in GPT-4 over GPT-3.5 (P &lt; .0001). However, notable errors in accuracy remained. The relevance of responses varied in GPT-4, but was generally favorable, with a mean in the “somewhat agree” range. There was no difference in performance by disease category. The 7-question subset of the Bot Usability Scale (BUS-15) showed no statistically significant difference between the groups but trended lower in the GPT-4 version.

Discussion and Conclusion
The study underscores GPT-4’s potential role in genetic education, showing notable progress yet facing challenges like outdated information and the necessity of ongoing refinement. Our results, while showing promise, emphasizes the importance of balancing technological innovation with ethical responsibility in healthcare information delivery.
Deleterious intestinal inflammation in neonatal mice treated with TLR2/TLR6 agonists
Authors: Fernandez Mégane , Pezier Tiffany , Papadopoulos Stylianos , Laurent Fabrice , Werts Catherine , Lacroix-Lamandé Sonia 
Published: June 2024

Abstract
By providing innate immune modulatory stimuli, the early-life immune system can be enhanced to increase resistance to infections. Activation of innate cell surface receptors called pattern recognition receptors by Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands is one promising approach that can help to control infections as described for listeriosis and cryptosporidiosis. In this study, the effect of TLR2/TLR1 and TLR2/TLR6 agonists was compared when injected into neonatal mice. Surprisingly, the stimulation of TLR2/TLR6 led to the death of the neonatal mice, which was not observed in adult mice. The TLR2/TLR6 agonist administration induced higher systemic and intestinal inflammation in both adult and neonatal mice when compared with TLR2/TLR1 agonist. The mortality of neonatal mice was interferon γ dependent and involved the intestinal production of interleukin-22 and interleukin-17A. This study clearly demonstrates that targeting TLRs as new control strategy of neonatal infections has to be used with caution. Depending on its heterodimeric form, TLR2 stimulation can induce more or less severe adverse effects relying on the age-related immune functions of the host.
Proof of concept of the Universal Baby video innovation for early child development in Lima, Peru
Authors: Nelson Adrianne K , Griest Christa J , Munoz Llubitza M , Rumaldo Nancy , Miller Ann C , Soplapuco Guadalupe M , Lecca Leonid , Shin Sonya S , Acuña Llalu R , Valdivia Yesica V , Ramos Alicia R , Ahumada Diego G , Ramos Blanca R H , Mejia Sarah A , Serrano Esther O , Castro William H , Oliva Victoria E , Heyman Annie S , Hartwell Lauren P , Blackwell Ronnie L , Diaz Diego F , Vibbert Martha M 
Published: June 2024

Abstract

Objective
Community-based video interventions offer an effective and potentially scalable early interaction coaching tool for caregivers living in low resource settings. We tested the Universal Baby (UB) video innovation; an early interaction coaching tool using video sourced and produced locally with early child development (ECD) expert supervision.

Methods
This proof-of-concept study enrolled 40 caregivers of children ages 10–18 months assigned to intervention and control groups by health establishments in Carabayllo, Lima, Peru. Mother/child dyads received 12 weekly group health education sessions with social support. Of those, 16 caregivers also received 6 UB videos featuring brain science education and local clips of responsive, reciprocal interaction, also known as “serve and return” interaction. Survey data assessed feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. We assessed improved quality of mother/child interaction using the Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes (PICCOLO).

Results
We found the program feasible. We successfully trained the local team to produce UB videos using locally-sourced footage and delivered the videos as part of a community-based intervention. We also found it to be acceptable in that participants enthusiastically received the UB videos, reporting they enjoyed being videotaped, and learned how to recognize and appropriately respond to their child’s nuanced sounds and gestures. The median change in total PICCOLO scores favored the intervention group compared to the control group.

Conclusions
UB offers great potential as a sustainable, potentially scalable, and culturally appropriate tool to promote equity for child development among young children living in low resource homes globally.