bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Using phenology to unravel differential soil water use and productivity in a semiarid savanna
Authors: Steiner Blake , Scott Russell L. , Hu Jia , MacBean Natasha , Richardson Andrew , Moore David J. P. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractSavannas are water‐limited ecosystems characterized by two dominant plant types: trees and an understory primarily made up grass. Different phenology and root structures of these plant types complicate how savanna primary productivity responds to changes in water availability. We tested the hypothesis that productivity in savannas is controlled by the temporal and vertical distribution of soil water content (SWC) and differences in growing season length of understory and tree plant functional types. To quantify the relationship between tree, understory, and savanna‐wide phenology and productivity, we used PhenoCam and satellite observations surrounding an eddy covariance tower at a semiarid savanna site in Arizona, USA. We distinguished between SWC across two different depth intervals (shallow, <0–30 cm and deep, >30–100 cm). We found that tree greenness increased with SWC at both depths, while understory greenness was only sensitive to the shallower SWC measurements. Onset of ecosystem dormancy, estimated from satellite observations close to the eddy covariance tower, explained more variability in annual gross primary productivity (GPP) than in other phenometrics. Higher SWC led to an extended growing season, caused by delayed dormancy in trees, but the understory showed no evidence of delayed dormancy in wetter periods. We infer that the timing of ecosystem scale dormancy, driven by trees, is important in understanding changes in a savanna's GPP. These findings highlight the important effects of rainfall during the winter. These findings suggest that savanna GPP is conditional on different responses to moisture availability in each of the dominant vegetation components.
Identifying drivers of demographic rates in an at‐risk population of marine mammals using integrated population models
Authors: Nelson Benjamin W. , Ward Eric J. , Linden Daniel W. , Ashe Erin , Williams Rob 
Published: February 2024

AbstractEffective conservation of threatened populations requires identification of the processes limiting recovery. When multiple population processes are potentially limiting, they are sometimes analyzed independently, often using different datasets. Analytically, this is suboptimal, as processes are often correlated, which can lead to biased estimates of parameters and quantities of interest. Integrated population models (IPMs) can synthesize several data streams in the same probabilistic framework to circumvent these issues. Lack of prey was identified as one of the primary threats to recovery of critically endangered southern resident killer whales (SRKWs), Orcinus orca. Previous studies have correlated SRKW demographic rates with indices of Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha abundance, but these approaches have modeled reproduction and survival independently. We developed an IPM for SRKWs that models both processes simultaneously, as a function of Chinook salmon abundance along the west coast of North America. We used this model to evaluate the relationship between Chinook salmon abundance and demographic rates of SRKWs, with the goal of updating our understanding of a potential causal relationship between prey availability and SRKW population dynamics, and how these relationships may have changed over time. Results suggest that SRKW mortality rates are more strongly associated with Chinook salmon abundance than birth rates. Our analysis also suggests northern resident killer whale abundance could also be affecting SRKW carrying capacity, possibly through competition over shared prey resources. The IPM fit observed total abundance data well and predicted temporal changes in population demographics with reasonable accuracy, but small sample size may have opacified model selection. Our approach offers a valuable tool for predicting the response of the SRKW population to alternative management strategies involving the recovery of Chinook salmon stocks in the eastern Pacific.
Iron Deficiency and Incident Heart Failure in Older Community‐Dwelling Individuals
Authors: Sharma Shilpa , Katz Ronit , Chaves Paulo H.M. , Hoofnagle Andrew N. , Kizer Jorge R. , Bansal Nisha , Ganz Tomas , Ix Joachim H. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractAimsAmong persons with prevalent heart failure (HF), iron deficiency has been linked to HF admissions, and intravenous iron replacement improves HF outcomes. Recent studies in persons with chronic kidney disease (CKD) demonstrate that iron deficiency is associated with incident HF. This study aimed to determine the relationship of iron status with incident HF in community‐dwelling older adults irrespective of their kidney function.MethodsIn this case‐cohort study, 1,006 Cardiovascular Health Study participants (785 from the random sub‐cohort [including 193 HF cases] and 221 additional HF cases [N = 414 total HF cases]) aged ≥ 65 years without HF (41% with CKD), we used weighted Cox models to evaluate associations of iron status with incident HF. Participants were categorized based on quartiles of transferrin saturation and ferritin as “iron replete” (27.3%), “functional iron deficiency” (7.7%), “iron deficiency” (11.8%), “mixed iron deficiency” (5.6%), “high iron” (9.3%) and “non‐classified” (38.1%), consistent with prior studies.ResultsCompared to older persons who were iron replete, those with iron deficiency were at higher risk of incident HF (HR 1.47; 1.02–2.11) in models adjusting for demographics, HF risk factors, and estimated glomerular filtration rate. Other iron categories did not associate with incident HF. The relationship of iron deficiency with incident HF did not differ by CKD status (interaction P value 0.2).ConclusionsAmong community‐dwelling elders, iron deficiency is independently associated with incident HF, an association that was similar irrespective of CKD status. Our findings support conduct of clinical trials of iron replacement for prevention of HF in older adults with iron deficiency.
Using velocity recordings to predict squat repetitions to failure in high‐level wrestlers
Authors: Janicijevic Danica , Şentürk Deniz , Akyildiz Zeki , Weakley Jonathon , García‐Ramos Amador 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThe aim of this study was to assess whether lifting velocity (MV) can provide accurate estimations of the maximum number of repetitions that can be performed to failure (RTF) during the parallel back‐squat exercise performed in a Smith machine. Thirty male wrestlers from the Turkey Olympic preparation center (age = 22.6 ± 2.2 years) completed four testing sessions: a session to determine the back‐squat one‐repetition maximum [1RM], two sessions consisting of single sets to failure against three loads (90%‐80%‐70%1RM), and one session consisting of four sets to failure against the 75%1RM. The goodness‐of‐fit of the generalized RTF‐MV relationship was strong (r2 = 0.838), but the individualized RTF‐MV relationships were stronger (r2 = 0.957 ± 0.058). Only 3 out of 60 individualized RTF‐MV relationships revealed a r2 lower than the r2 of the generalized RTF‐MV relationship (r2 = 0.685, 0.779 and 0.810). The reliability of the fastest MV associated with each RTF ranged from acceptable (4 out of 15 RTFs) to high (11 out of 15 RTFs). The raw and absolute errors in the prediction of RTF did not increase under fatigue and were comparable for both generalized (raw errors: −1.0–0.3 repetitions; absolute errors: 1.1–1.7 repetitions) and individualized (raw errors: −0.8 to 0.1 repetitions; absolute errors: 1.2–1.8 repetitions) RTF‐MV relationships. These results indicate that RTF can be predicted with acceptable precision from MV recordings in resistance‐trained skilled wrestlers during the parallel back‐squat exercise performed in a Smith machine.
Recursive nearest neighbor co‐kriging models for big multi‐fidelity spatial data sets
Authors: Cheng Si , Konomi Bledar A. , Karagiannis Georgios , Kang Emily L. 
Published: February 2024

AbstractBig datasets are gathered daily from different remote sensing platforms. Recently, statistical co‐kriging models, with the help of scalable techniques, have been able to combine such datasets by using spatially varying bias corrections. The associated Bayesian inference for these models is usually facilitated via Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods which present (sometimes prohibitively) slow mixing and convergence because they require the simulation of high‐dimensional random effect vectors from their posteriors given large datasets. To enable fast inference in big data spatial problems, we propose the recursive nearest neighbor co‐kriging (RNNC) model. Based on this model, we develop two computationally efficient inferential procedures: (a) the collapsed RNNC which reduces the posterior sampling space by integrating out the latent processes, and (b) the conjugate RNNC, an MCMC free inference which significantly reduces the computational time without sacrificing prediction accuracy. An important highlight of conjugate RNNC is that it enables fast inference in massive multifidelity data sets by avoiding expensive integration algorithms. The efficient computational and good predictive performances of our proposed algorithms are demonstrated on benchmark examples and the analysis of the High‐resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder data gathered from two NOAA polar orbiting satellites in which we managed to reduce the computational time from multiple hours to just a few minutes.
Hybrid large eddy simulation and Lagrangian simulation of a compressible turbulent planar jet with a chemical reaction
Authors: Xing Jiabao , Watanabe Tomoaki , Nagata Koji 
Published: February 2024

AbstractLarge eddy simulation (LES) coupled with Lagrangian particle simulation (LPS) is applied to investigate high‐speed turbulent reacting flows. Here, LES solves a velocity field while LPS solves scalar transport equations with notional particles. Although LPS does not require sub‐grid scale models for chemical source terms, molecular diffusion has to be modeled by a so‐called mixing model, for which a mixing volume model (MVM), that is originally proposed for an inert scalar in incompressible flow, is extended to reactive scalars in compressible flows. The extended model is based on a relaxation process toward the average of nearby notional particles and assumes a common mixing timescale for all species. LES/LPS with the MVM is applied to a temporally‐evolving compressible turbulent planar jet with an isothermal reaction and is tested by comparing the results with direct numerical simulation (DNS). The results show that LES/LPS well predicts the statistics of mass fractions. As the jet Mach number increases, the reaction progress delays due to the delayed jet development. This Mach number dependence is also well reproduced in LES/LPS. The mean molecular diffusion term of the product calculated as a function of its mass fraction also agrees well between LES/LPS and DNS. An important parameter for the MVM is the distance among particles, for which the requirement for accurate prediction is presented for the present test case. LES/LPS with the MVM is expected to be a promising method for investigating compressible turbulent reactive flows at a moderate computational cost.
Sirtuin 3 regulates astrocyte activation by reducing Notch1 signaling after status epilepticus
Authors: Zhu Jing , Park Soojin , Kim Se Hoon , Kim Chul Hoon , Jeong Kyoung Hoon , Kim Won‐Joo 
Published: February 2024

AbstractSirtuin3 (Sirt3) is a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide enzyme that contributes to aging, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Recent studies have reported that Sirt3 exerts anti‐inflammatory effects in several neuropathophysiological disorders. As epilepsy is a common neurological disease, in the present study, we investigated the role of Sirt3 in astrocyte activation and inflammatory processes after epileptic seizures. We found the elevated expression of Sirt3 within reactive astrocytes as well as in the surrounding cells in the hippocampus of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and a mouse model of pilocarpine‐induced status epilepticus (SE). The upregulation of Sirt3 by treatment with adjudin, a potential Sirt3 activator, alleviated SE‐induced astrocyte activation; whereas, Sirt3 deficiency exacerbated astrocyte activation in the hippocampus after SE. In addition, our results showed that Sirt3 upregulation attenuated the activation of Notch1 signaling, nuclear factor kappa B (NF‐κB) activity, and the production of interleukin‐1β (IL1β) in the hippocampus after SE. By contrast, Sirt3 deficiency enhanced the activity of Notch1/NF‐κB signaling and the production of IL1β. These findings suggest that Sirt3 regulates astrocyte activation by affecting the Notch1/NF‐κB signaling pathway, which contributes to the inflammatory response after SE. Therefore, therapies targeting Sirt3 may be a worthy direction for limiting inflammatory responses following epileptic brain injury.
Analysis of immunoglobulin/T‐cell receptor repertoires by high‐throughput RNA sequencing reveals a continuous dynamic of positive clonal selection in follicular lymphoma
Authors: Bobée Victor , Viennot Mathieu , Rainville Vinciane , Veresezan Liana , Drieux Fanny , Viailly Pierre‐Julien , Michel Victor , Sater Vincent , Lanic Marie‐Delphine , Bohers Elodie , Camus Vincent , Tilly Hervé , Jardin Fabrice , Ruminy Philippe 
Published: February 2024

AbstractFollicular lymphoma (FL) course is highly variable, making its clinical management challenging. In this incurable and recurring pathology, the interval between relapses tends to decrease while aggressiveness increases, sometimes resulting in the transformation to higher‐grade lymphoma. These evolutions are particularly difficult to anticipate, resulting from complex clonal evolutions where multiple subclones compete and thrive due to their capacity to proliferate and resist therapies. Here, to apprehend further these processes, we used a high‐throughput RNA sequencing approach to address simultaneously the B‐cell immunoglobulin repertoires and T‐cell immunoglobulin repertoires repertoires of lymphoma cells and their lymphoid microenvironment in a large cohort of 131 FL1/2‐3A patients. Our data confirm the existence of a high degree of intra‐clonal heterogeneity in this pathology, resulting from ongoing somatic hyper‐mutation and class switch recombination. Through the evaluation of the Simpson ecological‐diversity index, we show that the contribution of the cancerous cells increases during the course of the disease to the detriment of the reactive compartment, a phenomenon accompanied by a concomitant decrease in the diversity of the tumoral population. Clonal evolution in FL thus contrasts with many tumors, where clonal heterogeneity steadily increases over time and participates in treatment evasion. In this pathology, the selection of lymphoma subclones with proliferative advantages progressively outweighs clonal diversification, ultimately leading in extreme cases to transformation to high‐grade lymphoma resulting from the rapid emergence of homogeneous subpopulations.
Development and psychometric testing of the Coronavirus Awareness and Preparedness Scale: A cross‐sectional study
Authors: Zhao Meng , Lee Kyoung , Huang Yuxia 
Published: February 2024

AbstractBackground and AimsA comprehensive standardized evaluation tool was needed to assess community awareness and preparedness when the pandemic hit the United States. This study aimed to develop and validate a new Coronavirus Awareness and Preparedness Scale (CAPS) through psychometric testing.MethodsThis study unfolded in two phases. Phase 1 (conducted in March and April 2020) focused on the development of the scale. Phase 2 (conducted in June and July 2020) measured the reliability and validity of the scale. Psychometric testing, including exploratory factor analysis and reliability testing, was performed with a convenience sample of 1237 faculty, staff, and students at a southern university in the United States.ResultsThe final CAPS model consists of four factors with 26 items: threat (seven items), confidence (11 items), individual precautions (three items), and public precautions (five items). The scale demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.75). Strong and statistically significant item correlations were observed within the subscales through item analysis.ConclusionThe CAPS is a reliable and valid comprehensive evaluation instrument designed to gauge community awareness and preparedness during the early stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Its adaptability makes it suitable for measuring readiness and preparedness concerning any novel airborne disease or future airborne pandemic within a community.
Cognizance and mitigation of falsified immunization documentation: Analyzing the consequences for public health in Nigeria, with a focus on counterfeited COVID‐19 vaccination cards: A case report
Authors: Ali Victor E. , Asika Marvellous O. , Elebesunu Emmanuel Ebuka , Agbo Chioma , Antwi Maxwell Hubert 
Published: February 2024

AbstractBackground and AimsThe global immunization campaign against COVID‐19 has mandated vaccination certificates, leading to a surge in fake documentation. In Nigeria, the proliferation of counterfeit COVID‐19 vaccination cards, facilitated by unscrupulous health workers, raises critical public health concerns. This research spotlights various forms of this malpractice, analyzes the factors contributing to the circulation of fake vaccination cards, their implications on public health, and provides recommendations for addressing the issue.MethodsExtensive literature review and analysis were conducted to investigate the emergence of fake COVID‐19 vaccination cards in Nigeria. Perspectives from health workers and reports from reputable undercover investigations were examined to identify factors contributing to the circulation of fraudulent records. The research also delved into corruption within the health sector and the impact of low salaries on healthcare workers. Additionally, global instances of fake vaccination cards were explored to provide a comprehensive understanding of the issue.ResultsHealthcare workers' vaccine hesitancy, corruption, and inadequate salaries were identified as key contributors to the circulation of fake vaccination cards in Nigeria. Instances of health workers accepting bribes to issue cards without administering vaccines were uncovered. The implications on public health included threats to herd immunity, compromised disease surveillance, erosion of public trust, and reinforcement of vaccine hesitancy. The research also highlighted global challenges with fake vaccination cards, emphasizing the need for international cooperation.ConclusionFake vaccination cards in Nigeria poses challenges to public health, affecting the reliability of immunization data and jeopardizing disease control efforts. It is crucial to strengthen healthcare worker engagement, tackle corruption through increased transparency and improved policies, and implement digital vaccination verification systems. International collaboration is essential to establish standardized security measures and verification checkpoints. Addressing flawed vaccination records requires urgent action to enhance vaccination efforts, and safeguard the population from the resurgence of vaccine‐preventable diseases.
18F‐FDG PET/CT findings of endometriosis and corpus luteum cyst
Authors: Wang Guo‐Jie , Chen Jun‐Yong , Hu Qi‐Yi , Chen Shang‐Qiu , Zhang Jie , Wang Ying 
Published: February 2024

SynopsisPET/CT can differentiate between endometriosis, the malignant progression of endometriosis, and ovarian cysts.
Rocephin‐graphene oxide‐silver nanocomposites: A versatile platform for biomedical applications
Authors: Kashif Humaira , Ahmed Muhammad Naeem , Altaf Muhammad , Haq Ihsan ul , Iqbal Anila , Haq Sirajul 
Published: February 2024

AbstractFor many years, the synthesis of graphene oxide (GO) had involved exfoliating graphite flakes, and the methods applied were expensive and time‐consuming. Thus, an attempt had been made to create an inventive, less expensive method for the synthesis of GO using unrefined, raw carbon‐containing material. Modified Hummer's method was used to prepare GO from banana peel. In addition, the metallic silver nanocomposite was also synthesized along with laoding of drug Rocephin where they interact with each other through electrostatic hydrogen bond interaction. The degree of crystallinity and the crystallite size were through x‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and the crystallite size of AgNPs was found to be 40.40 nm. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis shows that the morphology of the GO gradually changes with the addition of AgNPs and Rocephin. A blue shift was seen in the absorbance maxima of the raw carbon upon the conjugation of Rocephin in UV analysis. The Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, and energy dispersive X‐ray (EDX) spectroscopy were used to determine the chemical composition of the samples. Furthermore, a broad biological screening of the synthesized samples had been carried out following the total reducing power (TRP), total antioxidant capacity (TAC), antibacterial, antifungal, MTT (Cytotoxicity of biologically synthesized silver nanoparticles in MDA‐MB‐231 human breast cancer cells) cell viability, brine shrimp lethality, and hemolytic protocols. Significant results were obtained, and the Rocephin‐GO‐AgNPs had depicted promising activity as compared with their counterparts.Research Highlights
The GO was prepared from the raw carbon extracted from banana peels and was used as a substrate for the synthesis Graphene oxide silver nanoparticles (GO‐AgNPs) and Rocephin‐loaded graphene oxide silver nanoparticles (Rocephin‐GO‐AgNPs)
The structural and compositional analysis of the nanomaterial was carried out, and they were screened for several biomedical applications.
The Rocephin‐GO‐AgNPs exhibit the highest activity as compared with their counterparts.
Weather regimes associated with summer precipitation over the southeast Tibetan Plateau and the relationship with ENSO
Authors: Li Qixu , Lin Zhiqiang , Zhou Shunwu , Yang Limin , Du Jun , Zhou Zhenbo 
Published: February 2024

AbstractThe Tibetan Plateau (TP), known as the “Asian water tower,” provides freshwater resources for hundreds of millions of people in Asia. Most of the Asian rivers, such as the Yangtze, the Jinsha, the Salween and the Brahmaputra, are generated from southeastern part of the TP (SETP). In order to explore the influences of atmospheric circulation on the precipitation over the SETP, self‐organizing mapping (SOM) was utilized to identify the weather regimes (WRs) and related precipitation over the SETP and its surrounding areas. The daily scale of large‐scale circulation via ERA5 were classified into nine WRs by the SOM. There are two favourable regimes (rainy WRs) and three adverse ones (rainless WRs) for the SETP precipitation among these WRs, respectively. Furthermore, water vapour transport of the WRs and the relevant effects of ENSO are investigated. The droughts and floods of SETP are determined by the interannual variations of occurred frequency of the WRs. In particular, the SETP is flooded in the years with frequent occurrence of the rainy WRs and vice versa. The occurrence of WRs is closely related to the phase state of ENSO. The 9th WR (SOM9) and the 4th WR (SOM4) are separately occurred more frequently in the El Niño and the La Niña years. Regulation of ENSO on the SETP precipitation are effective through its influences on the state of atmospheric circulation, that is, frequency of various WRs. It implies that the occurred frequency of WRs is modulated by the climate systems and results in the interannual variations of precipitation over the SETP.