bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Living Wonders case: A Backwards Step in Australian Climate Litigation on Coal Mines
Authors: Peel Jacqueline 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
As one of the world’s largest exporters of coal and gas, Australia’s domestic regulation of fossil fuels plays an important part in global greenhouse gas emission reduction efforts. This analysis examines the Australian Federal Court’s Living Wonders decision—the latest judicial review challenge to coal mines based on Australia’s federal environmental law, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).1 This legislation has significant flaws as a tool for regulating the climate impacts of fossil fuel projects, which the Living Wonders decision emphasises. The Federal Court found no legal error in the Environment Minister’s reasoning that large export-oriented coal mines will produce ‘no net increase’ in global emissions and/or have emissions which are too ‘small’ to warrant detailed assessment under the EPBC Act. The Living Wonders judgment delivers a blow to hopes for progressive, climate-friendly interpretation of Australia’s federal law in coal litigation and strengthens arguments for law reform.
Screening and identification of persistent viruses in cell lines derived from medically important arthropods
Authors: Matsumura Ryo , Kobayashi Daisuke , Faizah Astri Nur , Sasaki Toshinori , Itoyama Kyo , Isawa Haruhiko 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Arthropod-derived cell lines serve as crucial tools for studying arthropod-borne viruses (arboviruses). However, it has recently come to light that certain cell lines harbor persistent infections of arthropod-specific viruses, which do not cause any apparent cytopathic effects. Moreover, some of these persistent viral infections either inhibit or promote the growth of arboviruses. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to identify the presence of such persistent viruses and understand their impact on arboviral infections. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive virome analysis of several arthropod-derived cell lines, including mosquito-derived NIID-CTR, Ar-3, MSQ43, NIAS-AeAl-2, CCL-126 cells, and tick-derived IDE8 cells, along with flesh fly-derived NIH-Sape-4 cells. The aim was to determine if these cells were infected with persistent viruses. The results revealed the presence of 15 persistent viruses in NIID-CTR, Ar-3, MSQ43, NIAS-AeAl-2, and IDE8 cells. Among these, 11 were already known arthropod-specific viruses, while the remaining 4 were novel viruses belonging to Orthophasmavirus, Rhabdoviridae, Totiviridae, and Bunyavirales. In contrast, CCL-126 and NIH-Sape-4 cells appeared to be free of viral infections. This study provides valuable insights into the diversity and latency of arthropod-specific viruses within arthropod-derived cell lines. Further investigations are required to explore persistent viral infections in other arthropod-derived cell cultures and their effects on arbovirus replication. Understanding these factors will enhance the accuracy and reliability of experimental data obtained using these cell lines.
Combining magnetic resonance imaging with a multi-ancestry polygenic risk score to improve identification of clinically significant prostate cancer
Authors: Plym Anna , Madueke Ikenna , Naik Sachin , Isabelle Mark , Conti David V , Haiman Christopher A , Penney Kathryn L , Mucci Lorelei A , Khorasani Rhamin , Kibel Adam S 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) has emerged as an important tool for identifying clinically significant prostate cancer. We examined if the addition of a 400-variant multi-ancestry polygenic risk score (PRS) to mpMRI has the potential to improve identification. Based on data from 24 617 men from the Mass General Brigham Biobank, we identified 1243 men who underwent mpMRI. Men in the top PRS quartile were more likely to have clinically significant prostate cancer (47.1% vs 28.6% in the bottom PRS quartile, adjusted relative proportion 1.72 [95% CI = 1.35 to 2.19]). Both among men with a positive and a negative mpMRI, men in the top PRS quartile had the highest frequency of clinically significant cancer. In a constructed scenario for selecting men to undergo biopsy, use of the PRS lowered the frequency of missed clinically significant cancers from 9.1% to 5.9%. Our study provides initial support for using the PRS to improve identification of potentially lethal prostate cancer.
Pre-Transplantation Strategies for Infectious Disease Mitigation and Prevention
Authors: Heald-Sargent Taylor , Michaels Marian G , Ardura Monica I 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Pediatric Infectious Disease (ID) clinicians play a critical role in helping prevent and mitigate infectious risks in children peri- and post-transplantation. Prevention starts during the pre-transplant evaluation and persists throughout the solid organ transplant and hematopoietic cell transplant continuum. The pre-transplant evaluation is an opportunity to screen for latent infections, plan preventative strategies, optimize immunizations, and discuss risk mitigation practices. An ideal pre-transplant evaluation establishes a relationship with the family that further promotes post-transplant infectious risk reduction. This manuscript builds on shared pediatric ID prevention strategies, introduces updated ID testing recommendations for transplant donors/candidates, highlights emerging data, and identifies ongoing knowledge gaps that are potential areas of research.
Cytomegalovirus Cell-mediated Immunity Assays in Pediatric Transplantation
Authors: Otto William R , Vora Surabhi B , Dulek Daniel E 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in pediatric transplantation. However, currently utilized CMV prevention paradigms have limitations, leading to research aimed at novel strategies for mitigation of CMV infection. Cell-mediated immunity (CMI) is crucial in controlling CMV infection and the use of CMV-specific CMI assays to guide prevention and treatment of CMV infection in both solid organ transplant and hematopoietic cell transplant recipients shows great promise. In this article, we review the immune response to CMV infection to highlight the rationale for CMI assays, describe available commercial assays and strategies for their use, and summarize relevant literature regarding the use of CMI assays in transplant recipients.
Molecular detection of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in bats from Portugal
Authors: Cruz Andreia V S , López-López Pedro , Santos-Silva Sérgio , Rivero-Juárez Antonio , Rebelo Hugo , Mesquita João R 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Enterocytozoon bieneusi is a microsporidia commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and a wide range of other animals, constituting a major cause of microsporidiosis in humans. Although E. bieneusi has been detected in humans, domestic, and wild animals in Portugal, and its presence in bats has been linked to zoonotic characteristics, its occurrence in bats within the country has not been reported. In this study, we investigated the presence of E. bieneusi in 380 bat fecal samples collected in mainland Portugal through a nested PCR assay targeting the internal transcribed spacer region and the flanking small and large subunits of the ribosomal RNA. Enterocytozoon bieneusi was detected in one bat sample (i.e., 0.26%; Pipistrellus pipistrellus). Additionally, another sample tested positive for Enterocytozoon sp. Phylogenetic analysis of the obtained ITS sequence of E. bieneusi revealed clustering within the potentially zoonotic Group 1. This study represents the first report of E. bieneusi in a bat from Europe. Findings presented here contribute to an enhanced understanding of E. bieneusi epidemiology.
The dissolution of planetesimals in electrostatic fields
Authors: Onyeagusi F C , Teiser J , Becker T , Wurm G 
Published: February 2024

ABSTRACT
Planetesimals or smaller bodies in protoplanetary discs are often considered to form as pebble piles in current planet formation models. They are supposed to be large but loose, weakly bound clusters of more robust dust aggregates. This makes them easy prey for destructive processes. In microgravity experiments, we apply strong electric fields on clusters of slightly conductive dust aggregates. We find that this generates enough tensile stress on the fragile clusters to sequentially rip off the aggregates from the cluster. These experiments imply that electric fields in protoplanetary discs can dissolve pebble pile planetesimals. This process might induce a bias for the local planetesimal reservoir in regions with strong fields. Planetesimals prevail with certain kinds of compositions where they are either good isolators or compacted bodies. The less lucky ones generate pebble clouds that might be observable as signposts of electrostatic activity in protoplanetary discs.
Introducing cuDisc: a 2D code for protoplanetary disc structure and evolution calculations
Authors: Robinson Alfie , Booth Richard A , Owen James E 
Published: February 2024

ABSTRACT
We present a new two-dimensional (2D) axisymmetric code, cuDisc, for studying protoplanetary discs, focusing on the self-consistent calculation of dust dynamics, grain-size distribution and disc temperature. Self-consistently studying these physical processes is essential for many disc problems, such as structure formation and dust removal, given that the processes heavily depend on one another. To follow the evolution over substantial fractions of the disc lifetime, cuDisc uses the cuda language and libraries to speed up the code through GPU acceleration. cuDisc employs a second-order finite-volume Godonuv solver for dust dynamics, solves the Smoluchowski equation for dust growth, and calculates radiative transfer using a multifrequency hybrid ray-tracing/flux-limited-diffusion method. We benchmark our code against current state-of-the-art codes. Through studying steady-state problems, we find that including 2D structure reveals that when collisions are important, the dust vertical structure appears to reach a diffusion-settling-coagulation equilibrium that can differ substantially from standard models that ignore coagulation. For low fragmentation velocities, we find an enhancement of intermediate-sized dust grains at heights of ∼1 gas scale height due to the variation in collision rates with height, and for large fragmentation velocities, we find an enhancement of small grains around the disc mid-plane due to collisional ‘sweeping’ of small grains by large grains. These results could be important for the analysis of disc spectral energy distributions or scattered light images, given these observables are sensitive to the vertical grain distribution.
Genetic Basis and Evolution of Structural Color Polymorphism in an Australian Songbird
Authors: Sin Simon Yung Wa , Ke Fushi , Chen Guoling , Huang Pei-Yu , Enbody Erik D , Karubian Jordan , Webster Michael S , Edwards Scott V 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Island organisms often evolve phenotypes divergent from their mainland counterparts, providing a useful system for studying adaptation under differential selection. In the white-winged fairywren (Malurus leucopterus), subspecies on two islands have a black nuptial plumage whereas the subspecies on the Australian mainland has a blue nuptial plumage. The black subspecies have a feather nanostructure that could in principle produce a blue structural color, suggesting a blue ancestor. An earlier study proposed independent evolution of melanism on the islands based on the history of subspecies divergence. However, the genetic basis of melanism and the origin of color differentiation in this group are still unknown. Here, we used whole-genome resequencing to investigate the genetic basis of melanism by comparing the blue and black M. leucopterus subspecies to identify highly divergent genomic regions. We identified a well-known pigmentation gene ASIP and four candidate genes that may contribute to feather nanostructure development. Contrary to the prediction of convergent evolution of island melanism, we detected signatures of a selective sweep in genomic regions containing ASIP and SCUBE2 not in the black subspecies but in the blue subspecies, which possesses many derived SNPs in these regions, suggesting that the mainland subspecies has re-evolved a blue plumage from a black ancestor. This proposed re-evolution was likely driven by a preexisting female preference. Our findings provide new insight into the evolution of plumage coloration in island versus continental populations, and, importantly, we identify candidate genes that likely play roles in the development and evolution of feather structural coloration.
Clinical Value of Timely Targeted Therapy for Patients With Advanced Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer With Actionable Driver Oncogenes
Authors: Stricker Thomas , Jain Neha , Ma Esprit , Yu Elaine , Wang Rongrong , Schuldt Robert , Price Richard , Szado Tania , Sussell Jesse , Ogale Sarika , Lin Victor , Arrowsmith Edward , Slater Dennis , Vaena Daniel , Staszewski Harry , Fang Bruno , Seneviratne Lasika , Daniel Davey 
Published: February 2024

Abstract

Background
A recent real-world study observed that 24% of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) with actionable driver oncogenes (ADOs) initiated nontargeted therapies before biomarker test results became available. This study assessed the clinical impact of the timing of first-line (1L) targeted therapies (TTs) in aNSCLC.

Materials and Methods
This retrospective analysis of a nationwide electronic health record–derived deidentified database included patients aged ≥18 years diagnosed with aNSCLC with ADOs (ALK, BRAF, EGFR, RET, MET, ROS-1, and NTRK) from January 1, 2015, to October 18, 2022, by biomarker testing within 90 days after advanced diagnosis and received 1L treatment. Cohorts were defined by treatment patterns ≤42 days after test results: “Upfront TT” received 1L TT ≤42 days; “Switchers” initiated 1L non-TT before or after testing but switched to TT ≤42 days; and “Non-switchers” initiated non-TT before or after testing and did not switch at any time. Adjusted multivariate Cox regression evaluated real-world progression-free survival, real-world time to next treatment or death, and real-world overall survival.

Results
A total of 3540 patients met the study criteria; 78% were treated in a community setting, and 50% underwent next-generation sequencing (NGS). There was no significant difference in outcomes between Switchers and Upfront TT; inferior outcomes were observed in Non-switchers versus Upfront TT.

Conclusion
Our findings demonstrated improved outcomes with upfront 1L TT versus non-TT in patients with aNSCLC with ADOs and observed timely switching to TT after biomarker test result had similar outcomes to Upfront TT. Opportunities remain to improve the use of NGS for early ADO identification and determination of 1L TT.
The spatiotemporal properties of artificial feeding schemes influence the post-fledging movement of Egyptian Vultures
Authors: Reznikov Korin , Efrat Ron , Berger-Tal Oded , Sapir Nir 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Many vulture populations have severely declined in the past decades, showing high juvenile mortality. To support these populations, feeding stations are used to increase food availability and to supply food without antibiotics and toxic compounds. Yet, supplying food at feeding stations may affect vulture behavior. We present a large-scale field experiment testing how different food provision schemes affected the movement of Egyptian Vultures (Neophron percnopterus). We used GPS transmitters harnessed to 18 vulture chicks and described their movements post-fledging. We categorized the vultures into 3 groups according to the feeding scheme used at feeding stations near their nests: frequent and spatially dispersed food supply (FD); non-frequent and spatially dispersed food supply (NFD); and frequent food supply, concentrated in one location (FC). We found that birds from all three groups increased their roosting distances from the nest with fledgling age, with the NFD and FC groups showing a greater increase than the FD group. Additionally, all 3 groups increased their daily flight distances, with the NFD group presenting the largest increase and the FD group presenting the smallest increase. Our findings offer new insights into the relevance of spatiotemporal differences in the management of feeding stations and show its effect on movement during birds’ early life stages, creating 2 main movement patterns: local and regional. Our findings can help decide upon the preferable feeding scheme in a way that will either encourage or reduce the early dispersal distances of fledglings, according to long- and short-term conservation objectives. For example, local movements during the post fledging period to known and stable food resources may reduce the risk of anthropogenic-induced mortality, while it may negatively affect long-term survival by hindering foraging, flight, and exploring skills and affect dispersion to future breeding sites.
From pain compliance to leverage-based control: Evidence of reduced use of force severity and injuries following police training
Authors: Huff Jessica , Zauhar Sean , Agniel Denis 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Training is a frequently requested response to contentious police use of force incidents. Yet limited research evaluating use of force training has been conducted and most has focussed on officer perceptions of training, as opposed to the impact of training on use of force in the field. We address this gap through evaluating a 120-h Response to Resistance and Aggression training developed and implemented by the Saint Paul Police Department. By integrating leverage-based control and de-escalation techniques, this program sought to reduce the severity of force used by police officers. Results from machine learning models indicate that training did reduce reliance on pain-compliance techniques. Adjusting for factors including encounter, subject, and officer characteristics, training was associated with an estimated 3.3 percentage point reduction in officer injuries and a 1.3 percentage point reduction in significant subject injury. These findings contribute to the evidence base surrounding effective police training programs.
How Parties and Ambitious Politicians Undermined American Democracy—and the Reforms that Might Save It
Authors: Nackenoff Carol 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Asserting that American checks and balances have broken down, Lawrence Jacobs asserts that parties must filter out dangerous candidates such as Donald Trump. To do so requires a number of reforms to undo several wrong turns in the evolution of the party system. Ambitious political elites including Jefferson, Jackson, LaFollette, and McGovern introduced changes in the name of greater equality that served their own interests but also had a number of harmful consequences. Reforms are needed to expand and reinvigorate citizen political participation along many dimensions and curb elite influence. In his book Democracy Under Fire: Donald Trump and the Breaking of American History, Lawrence Jacobs offers a robust vision of democracy and argues democracy is incompatible with entrenching minority control of electoral outcomes or political decision-making. Yet some of the failures and changes that gave rise to current threats to democracy, including authoritarian candidates, have affected other nations and have causes that go beyond remedies considered here. Some of the modest reforms proposed by Jacobs seem unlikely to achieve the purposes he envisions. However, reforms that do not require constitutional amendments and broader citizen political engagement that extends beyond election season are welcome proposals.
PySSED: an automated method of collating and fitting stellar spectral energy distributions
Authors: McDonald Iain , Zijlstra Albert A , Cox Nick L J , Alexander Emma L , Csukai Alexander , Ramkumar Ria , Hollings Alexander 
Published: February 2024

Abstract
Stellar atmosphere modelling predicts the luminosity and temperature of a star, together with parameters such as the effective gravity and the metallicity, by reproducing the observed spectral energy distribution. Most observational data come from photometric surveys, using a variety of passbands. We herein present the Python Stellar Spectral Energy Distribution (PySSED) routine, designed to combine photometry from disparate catalogues, fit the luminosity and temperature of stars, and determine departures from stellar atmosphere models such as infrared or ultraviolet excess. We detail the routine’s operation, and present use-cases on both individual stars, stellar populations, and wider regions of the sky. PySSED benefits from fully automated processing, allowing fitting of arbitrarily large data sets at the rate of a few seconds per star.
Insulin secretory actions of polyphenols of Momordica charantia regulate glucose homeostasis in alloxan-induced type 2 diabetic rats
Authors: Ansari Prawej , Khan Joyeeta T , Soultana Mousume , Hunter Lauren , Chowdhury Suraiya , Priyanka Suriya K , Paul Saikat R , Flatt Peter R , Abdel-Wahab Yasser H A 
Published: February 2024

Abstract

Objective
Momordica charantia, commonly known as bitter gourd, is traditionally used as remedies for various diseases including diabetes. The main objective of this study is to investigate the in vitro and in vivo insulinotropic and antidiabetic effects of an 80% ethanolic extract of M. charantia (EEMC) fruit, as well as the underlying molecular mechanism involved and preliminary phytochemical screening.

Methods
The insulin secretion was measured using clonal pancreatic BRIN-BD11 β-cells and isolated mouse islets. The ability of EEMC to inhibit carbohydrate digestive enzymes and glucose absorption and to scavenge free radicals was assessed via starch digestion, glucose diffusion, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl assay methods. The effects of EEMC on a variety of metabolic parameters were evaluated in alloxan-induced type 2 diabetic rats, including lipid profile. Finally, a preliminary phytochemical screening was conducted to identify the active phytoconstituents.

Key findings
EEMC increased insulin release through the KATP-dependent/cyclic adenosine monophosphate pathway, which depolarizes the β-cell membrane and elevates intracellular calcium. It also inhibited glucose absorption and free radicals, suggesting its potential to delay gastric emptying, attenuate oxidative stress, and reduce inflammatory cytokines. In vivo studies showed that EEMC improves oral glucose tolerance, food intake, fasting blood glucose, plasma insulin, and lipids and promotes intestinal motility. The active phytoconstituents in EEMC, such as flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, saponins, steroids, and glycosides, are likely responsible for these effects.

Conclusion
The antihyperglycemic properties of EEMC indicate that it might be a promising candidate for diabetes management. However, additional study into the application of M. charantia in type 2 diabetes is essential.