bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Coinfection of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) with virulent Aeromonas hydrophila and Flavobacterium covae exacerbates mortality
Authors: Wise Allison L. , LaFrentz Benjamin R. , Kelly Anita M. , Liles Mark R. , Griffin Matt J. , Beck Benjamin H. , Bruce Timothy J. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractFlavobacterium covae and virulent Aeromonas hydrophila are prevalent bacterial pathogens within the US catfish industry that can cause high mortality in production ponds. An assessment of in vivo bacterial coinfection with virulent A. hydrophila (ML09‐119) and F. covae (ALG‐00‐530) was conducted in juvenile channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). Catfish were divided into seven treatments: (1) mock control; (2) and (3) high and low doses of virulent A. hydrophila; (4) and (5) high and low doses of F. covae; (6) and (7) simultaneous challenge with high and low doses of virulent A. hydrophila and F. covae. In addition to the mortality assessment, anterior kidney and spleen were collected to evaluate immune gene expression, as well as quantify bacterial load by qPCR. At 96 h post‐challenge (hpc), the high dose of virulent A. hydrophila infection (immersed in 2.3 × 107 CFU mL−1) resulted in cumulative percent mortality (CPM) of 28.3 ± 9.5%, while the high dose of F. covae (immersed in 5.2 × 106 CFU mL−1) yielded CPM of 23.3 ± 12.9%. When these pathogens were delivered in combination, CPM significantly increased for both the high‐ (98.3 ± 1.36%) and low‐dose combinations (76.7 ± 17.05%) (p < .001). Lysozyme activity was found to be different at 24 and 48 hpc, with the high‐dose vAh group demonstrating greater levels than unexposed control fish at each time point. Three proinflammatory cytokines (tnfα, il8, il1b) demonstrated increased expression levels at 48 hpc. These results demonstrate the additive effects on mortality when these two pathogens are combined. The synthesis of these mortality and health metrics advances our understanding of coinfections of these two important catfish pathogens and will aid fish health diagnosticians and channel catfish producers in developing therapeutants and prevention methods to control bacterial coinfections.
Disentangling effects of remote mild traumatic brain injury characteristics and posttraumatic stress on processing speed and executive function in veterans
Authors: Thompson Ryan C. , Melinder Meredith R. D. , Daly Heather A. , Warren Stacie L. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractMild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and posttraumatic stress are prevalent in military service members and share objective and subjective cognitive symptoms, complicating recovery. We investigated the effects of remote mTBI characteristics and current posttraumatic stress symptoms on neuropsychological performance in 152 veterans with a history of remote mTBI and current cognitive concerns. Participants completed clinical neuropsychological evaluations within a Veterans Affairs Level‐II TBI/Polytrauma outpatient clinic (i.e. tertiary trauma care center for US military veterans outside of a research or teaching hospital setting). Archival data analysis of mTBI injury characteristics, clinical diagnoses, scores on the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist–Military Version (PCL‐M) and performance on tests of processing speed, attention and executive function was conducted. Hierarchical linear regression demonstrated that elevated PCL‐M scores were associated with slower performance on trail making test (TMT) Parts A and B (p < .016). PCL‐M symptoms moderated the effect of alteration of consciousness (AOC) on TMT performance, with endorsement of AOC associated with better performance, but only when PCL‐M scores were high (p < .005). Follow‐up mediation analyses demonstrated that PCL‐M score fully mediated the relationship between AOC and TMT‐A performance and partially mediated the relationship between AOC and TMT‐B performance. Post‐hoc analyses meant to separate the impact of processing speed on TMT‐B were all non‐significant. Remote mTBI characteristics, specifically AOC, were not associated with decrements in cognitive performance. Posttraumatic symptoms were associated with worse processing speed, suggesting that psychological distress and psychopathology are contributing factors in understanding and treating persistent cognitive distress following remote mTBI.
Inner ear morphology in wild versus laboratory house mice
Authors: Renaud Sabrina , Amar Léa , Chevret Pascale , Romestaing Caroline , Quéré Jean‐Pierre , Régis Corinne , Lebrun Renaud 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThe semicircular canals of the inner ear are involved in balance and velocity control. Being crucial to ensure efficient mobility, their morphology exhibits an evolutionary conservatism attributed to stabilizing selection. Release of selection in slow‐moving animals has been argued to lead to morphological divergence and increased inter‐individual variation. In its natural habitat, the house mouse Mus musculus moves in a tridimensional space where efficient balance is required. In contrast, laboratory mice in standard cages are severely restricted in their ability to move, which possibly reduces selection on the inner ear morphology. This effect was tested by comparing four groups of mice: several populations of wild mice trapped in commensal habitats in France; their second‐generation laboratory offspring, to assess plastic effects related to breeding conditions; a standard laboratory strain (Swiss) that evolved for many generations in a regime of mobility reduction; and hybrids between wild offspring and Swiss mice. The morphology of the semicircular canals was quantified using a set of 3D landmarks and semi‐landmarks analyzed using geometric morphometric protocols. Levels of inter‐population, inter‐individual (disparity) and intra‐individual (asymmetry) variation were compared. All wild mice shared a similar inner ear morphology, in contrast to the important divergence of the Swiss strain. The release of selection in the laboratory strain obviously allowed for an important and rapid drift in the otherwise conserved structure. Shared traits between the inner ear of the lab strain and domestic pigs suggested a common response to mobility reduction in captivity. The lab‐bred offspring of wild mice also differed from their wild relatives, suggesting plastic response related to maternal locomotory behavior, since inner ear morphology matures before birth in mammals. The signature observed in lab‐bred wild mice and the lab strain was however not congruent, suggesting that plasticity did not participate to the divergence of the laboratory strain. However, contrary to the expectation, wild mice displayed slightly higher levels of inter‐individual variation than laboratory mice, possibly due to the higher levels of genetic variance within and among wild populations compared to the lab strain. Differences in fluctuating asymmetry levels were detected, with the laboratory strain occasionally displaying higher asymmetry scores than its wild relatives. This suggests that there may indeed be a release of selection and/or a decrease in developmental stability in the laboratory strain.
Preventive effects of melatonin on periodontal tissue destruction due to psychological stress in rats with experimentally induced periodontitis
Authors: Bostan Semih Alperen , Yemenoglu Hatice , Kose Oğuz , Akyildiz Kerimali , Mercantepe Tolga , Saral Sinan , Tumkaya Levent , Yilmaz Adnan 
Published: January 2024

AbstractObjective and BackgroundPsychological stress is a potential modifiable environmental risk factor causally related to the exacerbation of periodontitis and other chronic inflammatory diseases. This animal study aimed to investigate comprehensively the preventive efficacy of systemic melatonin administration on the possible effects of restraint stress on the periodontal structures of rats with periodontitis.MethodsForty‐eight male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups: control, restraint stress (S), S‐melatonin (S‐Mel), experimental periodontitis (Ep), S‐Ep, and S‐Ep‐Mel. Periodontitis was induced by placing a 3.0 silk suture in a sub‐paramarginal position around the cervix of the right and left lower first molars of the rats and keeping the suture in place for 5 weeks. Restraint stress was applied simultaneously by ligation. Melatonin and carriers were administered to the control, S, Ep, and S‐Ep groups intraperitoneally (10 mg/body weight/day, 14 days) starting on day 21 following ligation and subjection to restraint stress. An open field test was performed on all groups on day 35 of the study. Periodontal bone loss was measured via histological sections. Histomorphometric and immunohistochemical (RANKL and OPG) evaluations were performed on right mandibular tissue samples and biochemical (TOS (total oxidant status), TAS (total antioxidant status), OSI (oxidative stress index), IL‐1β, IL‐10, and IL‐1β/IL‐10) evaluations were performed on left mandibular tissue samples.ResultsMelatonin significantly limited serum corticosterone elevation related to restraint stress (p < .05). Restraint stress aggravated alveolar bone loss in rats with periodontitis, while systemic melatonin administration significantly reduced stress‐related periodontal bone loss. According to the biochemical analyses, melatonin significantly lowered IL‐1β/IL‐10, OSI (TOS/TAS), and RANKL/OPG rates, which were significantly elevated in the S‐Ep group.ConclusionMelatonin can significantly prevent the limited destructive effects of stress on periodontal tissues by suppressing RANKL‐related osteoclastogenesis and oxidative stress.
Institutional delivery and maternal health: Anthropological insights from Southwest Ethiopia
Authors: Kibret Dejene Teshome , Firisa Tekle Wakijira 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThe quest to ensure maternal health has long been in focus, mainly since the Safe Motherhood Initiative of the 1980s. Maternal health is contingent, among other things, on the availability of maternal health care services and the context in which the services are available. Therefore, we conducted rapid ethnographic research at four public hospitals in Southwest Ethiopia to gain anthropological insights into maternal health, maternal health‐seeking behavior, and healthcare services. We collected data from maternal near‐miss patients, patients with obstetric fistula, and health professionals working in maternity and labor wards. Our data reveal that there has been a huge effort to promote institutional delivery and ensure maternal health in the study area. However, failure to consider socioculturally embedded issues undermined the outcome of these efforts. We suggest that maternal health‐seeking for institutional delivery and, hence, ensuring maternal health should be understood as a process that should take into account these socioculturally embedded issues.
Consuming unregulated “diet weed”: The social context of motivations and risk among users of Delta‐8 THC
Authors: Riell Malka , Henry Doug 
Published: January 2024

AbstractA relatively novel, laboratory‐produced, hemp‐derived psychoactive cannabinoid called “Delta‐8 THC” has become widely available to consumers since 2020. Lack of federal oversight and a loose patchwork of regulations by states have resulted in numerous “adverse events” reported by poison control centers and the CDC, and even warnings from the industry itself. Yet consumer demand for cannabinoids like Delta‐8 THC has risen sharply. Published social science studies of Delta‐8 THC use are in their infancy and have yet to document the social context of use, consumer preferences and motivations, behaviors, embodied experiences, perceptions of risk, and risk mitigation. We conducted 25 in‐depth, qualitative interviews with consumers of Delta‐8 THC to give insight into consumer practices and preferences. Data show that consumers of Delta‐8 are aware of supply chain vulnerabilities but deploy personal calculations of risk‐benefit and personal strategies of risk mitigation to reduce perceived threats.
Parallel evolution of morphological and genomic selfing syndromes accompany the breakdown of heterostyly
Authors: Zeng Zhi‐Hua , Zhong Li , Sun Hua‐Ying , Wu Zhi‐Kun , Wang Xin , Wang Hong , Li De‐Zhu , Barrett Spencer C. H. , Zhou Wei 
Published: January 2024

Summary
Evolutionary transitions from outcrossing to selfing in flowering plants have convergent morphological and genomic signatures and can involve parallel evolution within related lineages. Adaptive evolution of morphological traits is often assumed to evolve faster than nonadaptive features of the genomic selfing syndrome.
We investigated phenotypic and genomic changes associated with transitions from distyly to homostyly in the Primula oreodoxa complex. We determined whether the transition to selfing occurred more than once and investigated stages in the evolution of morphological and genomic selfing syndromes using 22 floral traits and both nuclear and plastid genomic data from 25 populations.
Two independent transitions were detected representing an earlier and a more recently derived selfing lineage. The older lineage exhibited classic features of the morphological and genomic selfing syndrome. Although features of both selfing syndromes were less developed in the younger selfing lineage, they exhibited parallel development with the older selfing lineage. This finding contrasts with the prediction that some genomic changes should lag behind adaptive changes to morphological traits.
Our findings highlight the value of comparative studies on the timing and extent of transitions from outcrossing to selfing between related lineages for investigating the tempo of morphological and molecular evolution.
Coordination of leaf, root, and seed traits shows the importance of whole plant economics in two semiarid grasslands
Authors: Mueller Kevin E. , Kray Julie A. , Blumenthal Dana M. 
Published: January 2024

Summary

Uncertainty persists within trait‐based ecology, partly because few studies assess multiple axes of functional variation and their effect on plant performance.

For 55 species from two semiarid grasslands, we quantified: (1) covariation between economic traits of leaves and absorptive roots, (2) covariation among economic traits, plant height, leaf size, and seed mass, and (3) relationships between these traits and species' abundance.

Pairs of analogous leaf and root traits were at least weakly positively correlated (e.g. specific leaf area (SLA) and specific root length (SRL)). Two pairs of such traits, N content and DMC of leaves and roots, were at least moderately correlated (r > 0.5) whether species were grouped by site, taxonomic group and growth form, or life history. Root diameter was positively correlated with seed mass for all groups of species except annuals and monocots. Species with higher leaf dry matter content (LDMC) tended to be more abundant (r = 0.63). Annuals with larger seeds were more abundant (r = 0.69).

Compared with global‐scale syntheses with many observations from mesic ecosystems, we observed stronger correlations between analogous leaf and root traits, weaker correlations between SLA and leaf N, and stronger correlations between SRL and root N. In dry grasslands, plant persistence may require coordination of above‐ and belowground traits, and dense tissues may facilitate dominance.
Contrasting leaf‐scale photosynthetic low‐light response and its temperature dependency are key to differences in crop‐scale radiation use efficiency
Authors: Wu Alex , Truong Sandra Huynh , McCormick Ryan , van Oosterom Erik J. , Messina Carlos D. , Cooper Mark , Hammer Graeme L. 
Published: January 2024

Summary

Radiation use efficiency (RUE) is a key crop adaptation trait that quantifies the potential amount of aboveground biomass produced by the crop per unit of solar energy intercepted. But it is unclear why elite maize and grain sorghum hybrids differ in their RUE at the crop level. Here, we used a non‐traditional top‐down approach via canopy photosynthesis modelling to identify leaf‐level photosynthetic traits that are key to differences in crop‐level RUE.

A novel photosynthetic response measurement was developed and coupled with use of a Bayesian model fitting procedure, incorporating a C4 leaf photosynthesis model, to infer cohesive sets of photosynthetic parameters by simultaneously fitting responses to CO2, light, and temperature.

Statistically significant differences between leaf photosynthetic parameters of elite maize and grain sorghum hybrids were found across a range of leaf temperatures, in particular for effects on the quantum yield of photosynthesis, but also for the maximum enzymatic activity of Rubisco and PEPc.

Simulation of diurnal canopy photosynthesis predicted that the leaf‐level photosynthetic low‐light response and its temperature dependency are key drivers of the performance of crop‐level RUE, generating testable hypotheses for further physiological analysis and bioengineering applications.
Role of routine investigations post cardiac devices implants in detecting peri‐procedural complications: A retrospective analysis from a tertiary UK center
Authors: Menexi Christina , ElRefai Mohamed , Abouelasaad Mohamed , Chua Anne Y. T. , Handa Ishita , Newbery Clare , Hoskins Nicola , Ullah Waqas , Yue Arthur , Roberts Paul R. , Paisey John 
Published: January 2024

AbstractBackgroundPeri‐procedural complications associated with cardiac implantable electronic devices are not uncommon. European Society of Cardiology guidelines recommend device checks of all devices within 72 h of implant. European Heart Rhythm Association expert practical guide on Cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) recommend that a chest x‐ray (CXR) should be performed within 24 h to rule out pneumothorax and document lead positions. First, the rate of peri‐procedural complications associated with CIED implants at our center, as well as patient and/or procedural‐related factors that are associated with higher rates of complications, is analyzed. Second, the yield of the guideline‐recommended measures in the early detection of peri‐procedural complications is examined.Materials and methodsConsecutive de novo transvenous device implants at our center in 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients’ demographics, types and indications for device therapy, procedural reports, device checks, and CXRs were obtained from the hospital electronic records.ResultsA total of 578 patients (Age 74 ± 16 years, 68% male) were included. All patients had routine post‐procedure CXRs and device checks. There were 16 (2.8%) complications; 7 (1.2%) pneumothoraxes, 6 (1%) pericardial effusions, and 3 (0.5%) lead displacements. Procedure time correlated significantly with complications; in uncomplicated cases it was 99 ± 43 min versus 127 ± 50 min in procedures associated with complications (p = .02).ConclusionsRoutine post CIED implantation CXRs can detect early peri‐procedural complications, while repeat post mobilization device checks has low yield of detection of complications. The only statistically significant predictor of peri‐procedural complications is the duration of the procedure; longer procedures were associated with higher rates of complications.
COVID‐19 and Contraceptive Use in Two African Countries: Examining Conflicting Pressures on Women
Authors: Yu Jiao , Grace Kathryn , Boyle Elizabeth Heger , Mikal Jude P. , Gunther Matthew , Kristiansen Devon 
Published: January 2024

AbstractWomen in Africa may have experienced conflicting pressures during the COVID‐19 pandemic. While the unpredictable nature of the pandemic was prompting some women to delay pregnancies, the pandemic was potentially limiting access to reproductive health services due to supply shortages, fears of virus exposure, and mobility restrictions. In this study, we used longitudinal data from Kenya and Burkina Faso and applied a multilevel perspective to better understand the factors contributing to change or persistence in contraceptive use during the early months of the pandemic. We found a marginal increase in contraceptive uptake in the early days of the pandemic. Multilevel logistic regression results revealed that interpersonal trust and accurate knowledge of COVID‐19 precautions were associated with a greater likelihood of initiating contraception. These factors appeared to have provided women with confidence to navigate the complicated COVID‐19 landscape. At the same time, we observed a decrease in contraceptive use in regions with high COVID‐19 cases, suggesting the virus was limiting access to contraception in some contexts. These findings highlighted the need for public health officials to ensure that women have the necessary knowledge and ability to safely access contraception during public health crises, when overall demand for contraception may be increasing.
The genetic architecture of flowering in the Arabidopsis accession colonising southern Patagonia
Authors: Matsusaka Daniel , Sanchez Diego H. , Botto Javier F. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractFlowering is a critical developmental step impacting the survival of plant species, and a plethora of complex interdependent regulatory pathways have evolved to sense and integrate environmental with endogenous signals. Extensive explorations in Arabidopsis thaliana revealed some key genes controlling flowering time and associated phenotypic traits. However, quantitative and population genetics suggest that other less explored flowering players may also have relevant impact on the natural variability, explaining adaptive developmental responses to local environments. Here, we report on the flowering time genetic architecture in A. thaliana, using a Recombinant‐Inbred‐Line (RIL) population constructed with accessions bearing contrasting flowering phenotypes, such as the laboratory standard Col‐0 and the anthropically introduced southern Patagonia accession (Pat). Informative Quantitative‐Trait‐Loci (QTLs) mapping resulted in the recognition of a most significant QTL under vernalisation, localised at the end of chromosome V, and independently confirmed genetically by Heterogeneous‐Inbred‐Family lines (HIFs) and Near‐Isogenic‐Lines (NILs). Importantly, classical genes controlling flowering time and vernalisation, such as FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT), FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) and FRIGIDA (FRI) do not occur in this QTL. Furthermore, the associated Col‐0 allele contributed to delayed flowering with an increased number of leaves and correlated increase in leaf length; however, this was counterintuitive, as Col‐0 presented the contrary phenotypes when compared to Pat. We conclude that vernalisation contributing to local adaptation may be more diversely influenced across natural species variants than previously thought, with causative alleles having both positive and negative effects depending on genetic background.