bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of antibiotics and low-crude protein diets on growth performance, health, immune response, and fecal microbiota of growing pigs
Authors: Gomes Maykelly da S , Duarte Marcos E , Saraiva Alysson , de Oliveira Leandro L , Teixeira Lucas M , Rocha Gabriel C 
Published: October 2023

AbstractThis study aimed to investigate the effects of diets with and without antibiotics supplementation and diets with 18.5% and 13.0% crude protein (CP) on growth performance, carcass characteristics, disease incidence, fecal microbiota, immune response, and antioxidant capacity of growing pigs. One hundred and eighty pigs (59-day-old; 18.5 ± 2.5 kg) were distributed in a randomized complete block design in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, nine replicates, and five pigs per pen. The factors were CP (18.5% or 13.0%) and antibiotics (none or 100 mg/kg tiamulin + 506 mg/kg oxytetracycline). Medicated diets were fed from days 59 to 73. After that, all pigs were fed their respective CP diets from 73 to 87 days. Data were analyzed using the Mixed procedure in SAS version 9.4. From days 59 to 73, pigs fed antibiotics diets had higher (P &lt; 0.05) average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily weight gain (ADG), gain to feed ratio (G:F), compared to the diets without antibiotics. From days 73 to 87 (postmedicated period), any previous supplementation of antibiotics did not affect pig growth performance. Overall (days 59 to 87), pigs-fed antibiotics diets had higher (P &lt; 0.05) G:F compared to pigs-fed diets without antibiotics. In all periods evaluated, pigs fed 18.5% CP diets had higher (P &lt; 0.05) ADG and G:F compared to pigs fed 13.0% CP. Pigs fed the 13.0% CP diets had lower (P &lt; 0.05) fecal score and diarrhea incidence than those fed 18.5% CP. Pigs fed 18.5% CP diets had improved (P &lt; 0.05) loin area compared to pigs-fed diets with 13.0% CP. At 66 days of age, pigs-fed antibiotics diets had lower (P &lt; 0.05) alpha diversity estimated with Shannon and Simpson compared to the pig-fed diets without antibiotics. At family level, pigs fed 18.5% CP diets had higher (P &lt; 0.05) relative abundance of Streptococcaceae, and lower (P &lt; 0.05) relative abundance of Clostridiaceae at days 66 and 87 compared with pigs fed 13.0% CP. Pigs-fed antibiotics diets had lower (P &lt; 0.05) immunoglobulin G and protein carbonyl concentrations at day 66 compared to the pigs-fed diets without antibiotics. The reduction of dietary CP from 18.5% to 13.0% reduced the growth performance and loin muscle area of growing pigs, although it was effective to reduce diarrhea incidence. Antibiotics improved growth performance, lowered diarrhea incidence, improved components of the humoral immune response, and reduced microbiota diversity. However, in the postmedicated period, we found no residual effect on the general health of the animals, and considering the overall period, only G:F was improved by the use of antibiotics.
The Nuclear Cap-Binding Complex, a multitasking binding partner of RNA polymerase II transcripts
Authors: Kataoka Naoyuki 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
In eukaryotic cells, RNAs transcribed by RNA polymerase-II receive the modification at the 5′ end. This structure is called the cap structure. The cap structure has a fundamental role for translation initiation by recruiting eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4F (eIF4F). The other important mediator of the cap structure is a nuclear cap-binding protein complex (CBC). CBC consists of two proteins, which are renamed as NCBP1 and NCBP2 (previously called as CBP80/NCBP and CBP20/NIP1, respectively). This review article discusses the multiple roles CBC mediates and co-ordinates in several gene expression steps in eukaryotes.
Pharmacomagnetography assessment of the prokinetic effect on metronidazole absorption
Authors: Soares Guilherme Augusto , Rodrigues Gustavo Serafim , Buranello Lais Pereira , de Oliveira Ricardo Brandt , de Arruda Miranda José Ricardo 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Objectives
This study aimed to evaluate the effects of prucalopride, a prokinetic agent that acts as a potent serotonin agonist of 5-HT4 receptors, on gastric emptying and small bowel transit and assess its impact on the absorption of metronidazole.

Methods
Six healthy volunteers, three men and three women, aged between 20 and 27 years, with a body weight ranging from 50 to 80 kg, were enrolled in this study. The pharmacokinetics and gastrointestinal transit parameters were evaluated simultaneously through pharmacomagnetography assessment, combining alternating current biosusceptometry and blood analysis.

Key findings
The results showed that prucalopride enhances gastric emptying and small bowel transit when administered orally and significantly impacts the rate of metronidazole absorption, leading to enhanced bioavailability and rapid therapeutic response.

Conclusion
Pharmacomagnetography assessment allows simultaneous tracking of transit by images and is a valuable method for analysing drug absorption using multiple instruments.
UPrimer: A Clade-Specific Primer Design Program Based on Nested-PCR Strategy and Its Applications in Amplicon Capture Phylogenomics
Authors: Li JiaXuan , Han GuangCheng , Tian Xiao , Liang Dan , Zhang Peng 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Amplicon capture is a promising target sequence capture approach for phylogenomic analyses, and the design of clade-specific nuclear protein-coding locus (NPCL) amplification primers is crucial for its successful application. In this study, we developed a primer design program called UPrimer that can quickly design clade-specific NPCL amplification primers based on genome data, without requiring manual intervention. Unlike other available primer design programs, UPrimer uses a nested-PCR strategy that greatly improves the amplification success rate of the designed primers. We examined all available metazoan genome data deposited in NCBI and developed NPCL primer sets for 21 metazoan groups with UPrimer, covering a wide range of taxa, including arthropods, mollusks, cnidarians, echinoderms, and vertebrates. On average, each clade-specific NPCL primer set comprises ∼1,000 NPCLs. PCR amplification tests were performed in 6 metazoan groups, and the developed primers showed a PCR success rate exceeding 95%. Furthermore, we demonstrated a phylogenetic case study in Lepidoptera, showing how NPCL primers can be used for phylogenomic analyses with amplicon capture. Our results indicated that using 100 NPCL probes recovered robust high-level phylogenetic relationships among butterflies, highlighting the utility of the newly designed NPCL primer sets for phylogenetic studies. We anticipate that the automated tool UPrimer and the developed NPCL primer sets for 21 metazoan groups will enable researchers to obtain phylogenomic data more efficiently and cost-effectively and accelerate the resolution of various parts of the Tree of Life.
Low RNA stability signifies strong expression regulatability of tumor suppressors
Authors: Gao Xinlei , Yi Yang , Lv Jie , Li Yanqiang , Arulsamy Kulandaisamy , Babu Sahana Suresh , Bruno Ivone , Zhang Lili , Cao Qi , Chen Kaifu 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
RNA expression of a gene is determined by not only transcriptional regulation, but also post-transcriptional regulation of RNA decay. The precise regulation of RNA stability in the cell plays an important role in normal development. Dysregulation of RNA stability can lead to diseases such as cancer. Here we found tumor suppressor RNAs tended to decay fast in normal cell types when compared with other RNAs. Consistent with a negative effect of m6A modification on RNA stability, we observed preferential deposition of m6A on tumor suppressor RNAs. Moreover, abundant m6A and fast decay of tumor suppressor RNAs both tended to be further enhanced in prostate cancer cells relative to normal prostate epithelial cells. Further, knockdown of m6A methyltransferase METTL3 and reader YTHDF2 in prostate cancer cells both posed stronger effect on tumor suppressor RNAs than on other RNAs. These results indicated a strong post transcriptional expression regulatability mediated by abundant m6A modification on tumor suppressor RNAs.
ADAR1 links R-loop homeostasis to ATR activation in replication stress response
Authors: Zhang Biao , Li Yi , Zhang Jieyou , Wang Yuejiao , Liang Can , Lu Ting , Zhang Chunyong , Liu Ling , Qin Yan , He Jiahuan , Zhao Xiangnan , Yu Jia , Hao Jihui , Yang Jie , Li Mulin Jun , Yao Zhi , Ma Shuai , Cheng Hui , Cheng Tao , Shi Lei 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Unscheduled R-loops are a major source of replication stress and DNA damage. R-loop-induced replication defects are sensed and suppressed by ATR kinase, whereas it is not known whether R-loop itself is actively involved in ATR activation and, if so, how this is achieved. Here, we report that the nuclear form of RNA-editing enzyme ADAR1 promotes ATR activation and resolves genome-wide R-loops, a process that requires its double-stranded RNA-binding domains. Mechanistically, ADAR1 interacts with TOPBP1 and facilitates its loading on perturbed replication forks by enhancing the association of TOPBP1 with RAD9 of the 9–1-1 complex. When replication is inhibited, DNA–RNA hybrid competes with TOPBP1 for ADAR1 binding to promote the translocation of ADAR1 from damaged fork to accumulate at R-loop region. There, ADAR1 recruits RNA helicases DHX9 and DDX21 to unwind R-loops, simultaneously allowing TOPBP1 to stimulate ATR more efficiently. Collectively, we propose that the tempo-spatially regulated assembly of ADAR1-nucleated protein complexes link R-loop clearance and ATR activation, while R-loops crosstalk with blocked replication forks by transposing ADAR1 to finetune ATR activity and safeguard the genome.
Changing gender norms and household resource allocation
Authors: Lee Jung Hyuk 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Traditional gender norms that assume gendered household resource allocation are persistent. What happens when society-wide gender norms begin to change? By collecting newspaper articles about feminism in the past 10 years in Korea and exploiting their region–year variations, we first provide evidence that an explosive increase in newspaper coverage of feminism after the mid-2010s caused a steep change toward egalitarian attitudes among women. Then, we construct a Bartik IV with the newspapers’ market shares and growth of the feminism-related articles to show that the change in women’s perceptions of gender norms induced by the media-influence affected both spouses’ time use in household labor and women’s welfare. The wives influenced by those articles substantially reduced their household labor and outsourced them to the market, while the husbands’ participation did not increase as much. The wives’ marital happiness was improved by replacing housework burdens with shared activities with their husbands.
A mediation analysis of metabolic and inflammatory factors in the severe sleep apnea–coronary heart disease association
Authors: Lin Jing , Sheng Baihe , Zhang Xinyu 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Background
It is unclear whether metabolic and inflammatory factors mediate the association between severe sleep apnea and coronary heart disease (CHD) in observational studies based on the large-scale population. This study aims to assess the association between severe sleep apnea and CHD and to explore the extent to which this association is mediated by metabolic factors and C-reactive protein (CRP).

Methods
In UK Biobank, 213 442 CHD-free (mean age: 55.00) adults were followed up for 15 years to detect incident CHD. Metabolic factors included hyperglycemia, hypertension, dyslipidemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and hyperuricemia. A higher CRP concentration level was defined as a cutoff point of &gt;3.0 mg/l. Data were analyzed using Cox proportional hazards models and the generalized structural equation model.

Results
During follow-up, 9278 participants developed incident CHD (4.3%). The multi-adjusted hazard ratio and 95% confidence interval of CHD related to severe sleep apnea were 1.76 (1.44–2.15). In the mediation analysis, the strongest indirect association was for dyslipidemia, accounting for 20.8% of the association between severe sleep apnea and CHD (β = 0.22, 95% confidence interval = 0.16–0.28), followed by hypertriglyceridemia (12.3%). The proportion of mediation increased to 29.1% when CRP was added to the metabolic mediators.

Conclusions
Severe sleep apnea was associated with an increased risk of CHD. Lipid factors might play an essential role in the severe sleep apnea–CHD relationship. CRP increased the magnitude of mediation effects of overall metabolic factors.
What is already known on this topic It is unknown whether the association between severe sleep apnea and CHD among the large population-based cohort study. Evidence on the mediating effect of metabolic and inflammatory factors in the severe sleep apnea-CHD association remains unclear. What this study adds Lipid factors were the biggest mediation driver in the severe sleep apnea–CHD path. C-reactive protein increased the magnitude of mediation effects of overall metabolic factors. How this study might affect research, practice or policy Investigating mediation analyses not only enhances comprehension of the pathophysiological connection between severe sleep apnea and CHD but also offers valuable insights into preventing CHD.
Reduced muscle strength is closely linked to computed tomography-defined myosteatosis among inpatients with cirrhosis
Authors: Sun Chao , Zhao Tianming , Yang Wanting , Guo Gaoyue , Wang Han , Li Chaoqun , Hui Yangyang , Cui Binxin , Wang Xiaoyu , Fan Xiaofei , Zhao Xingliang 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Background
Myosteatosis indicates pathological fat infiltration in muscles and is regarded as a distinct disease from sarcopenia. This muscular condition exhibits a link to muscle fiber disarrangement coinciding with disrupted muscle contractility and weakened mechanical action, mirrored as decreased muscle quality. However, the relationship between handgrip strength (HGS) and computed tomography-defined myosteatosis among cirrhosis is unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between HGS and myosteatosis and determine gender-specific cutoffs regarding HGS to identify myosteatotic subjects.

Methods
We prospectively recruited 221 cirrhotic patients. The presence of myosteatosis was determined according to intramuscular adipose tissue content. The relationship between HGS and myosteatosis was evaluated according to Spearman correlation coefficient, area under the ROC curve, and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Moreover, a model based on the classification and regression tree method was generated.

Results
Our results showed that HGS exhibits modestly negative correlation with intramuscular adipose tissue content in the entire cohort (rs = −0.269, P &lt; .001) and across diverse subgroups precluding extremely deteriorating conditions. After controlling for multiple clinical features and biochemical parameters, HGS (odds ratio = 0.921, P = .010) was independently associated with myosteatosis in addition to age and body mass index. On applying the Japan Society of Hepatology-recommended cutoffs, an area under the ROC curve of HGS was 0.627 with a sensitivity of 77.4% and a specificity of 47.9%. The decision tree including body mass index and low HGS correctly classified ~85% of the cases in development and validation sets.

Conclusions
HGS was in close relation to myosteatosis among inpatients with cirrhosis.
The effect of applied research institutes on invention: Evidence from the Fraunhofer centres in Europe
Authors: Llanos-Paredes Pedro 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
This study examines the impact of the Fraunhofer Society, Europe’s largest network of applied research institutes, on patent applications. A difference-in-differences strategy was employed exploiting the establishment of five new Fraunhofer centres in the 2000s. The panel includes 65,963 European applicants (both firms and independent inventors) between 1980 and 2019. The results show that establishing a centre increases patent output by at least 13%, robust to using applicants of cities that established a centre by the end of the 2010s as an alternative control group. The effect is driven by an increase in applicants’ productivity and not by agglomeration dynamics.
Evidence for Reduced Sensory Precision and Increased Reliance on Priors in Hallucination-Prone Individuals in a General Population Sample
Authors: Benrimoh David , Fisher Victoria L , Seabury Rashina , Sibarium Ely , Mourgues Catalina , Chen Doris , Powers Albert 
Published: October 2023

Abstract

Background
There is increasing evidence that people with hallucinations overweight perceptual beliefs relative to incoming sensory evidence. Past work demonstrating prior overweighting has used simple, nonlinguistic stimuli. However, auditory hallucinations in psychosis are often complex and linguistic. There may be an interaction between the type of auditory information being processed and its perceived quality in engendering hallucinations.

Study Design
We administered a linguistic version of the conditioned hallucinations (CH) task to an online sample of 88 general population participants. Metrics related to hallucination-proneness, hallucination severity, stimulus thresholds, and stimulus detection rates were collected. Data were used to fit parameters of a Hierarchical Gaussian Filter (HGF) model of perceptual inference to determine how latent perceptual states influenced task behavior.

Study Results
Replicating past results, higher CH rates were observed both in those with recent hallucinatory experiences as well as participants with high hallucination-proneness; CH rates were positively correlated with increased prior weighting; and increased prior weighting was related to hallucination severity. Unlike past results, participants with recent hallucinatory experiences as well as those with higher hallucination-proneness had higher stimulus thresholds, lower sensitivity to stimuli presented at the highest threshold, and had lower response confidence, consistent with lower precision of sensory evidence.

Conclusions
We replicate the finding that increased CH rates and recent hallucinations correlate with increased prior weighting using a linguistic version of the CH task. Results support a role for reduced sensory precision in the interplay between prior weighting and hallucination-proneness.
Beyond Clueless Mothers: Israeli “Women Wage Peace” Activists’ Perceptions of Why Women Are Key to Peacemaking
Authors: Halperin Liv 
Published: October 2023

Abstract
Focusing on a contemporary peace movement in Israel, Women Wage Peace (WWP), this article studies female Jewish and Arab-Palestinian activists to understand if/why they believe in women’s peacefulness and why they chose a women-led movement. While not challenging the idea of women’s peacefulness, the activists’ testimonies shed light on various explanations behind the “women and peace hypothesis,” beyond maternal arguments. Despite a militaristic/patriarchal context where maternal collective action frames are culturally resonant, some activists refuse to be reduced to one-dimensional mothers. The article also finds that through caring practices, WWP creates a unique feeling of belonging, including for Arab-Palestinian activists experiencing a deficit of belonging. The article draws on qualitative methodologies, interviews, and ethnographic work conducted in 2019–2020. Implications include the value for women’s peace movements to use both maternal and feminine collective action frames, decoupled from motherhood, and to actively create “safe spaces” where women feel that they belong.
Comparison of Tonotopic and Default Frequency Fitting for Speech Understanding in Noise in New Cochlear Implantees: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind, Cross-Over Study
Authors: Creff Gwenaelle , Lambert Cassandre , Coudert Paul , Pean Vincent , Laurent Stephane , Godey Benoit 
Published: October 2023

Objectives:
While cochlear implants (CIs) have provided benefits for speech recognition in quiet for subjects with severe-to-profound hearing loss, speech recognition in noise remains challenging. A body of evidence suggests that reducing frequency-to-place mismatch may positively affect speech perception. Thus, a fitting method based on a tonotopic map may improve speech perception results in quiet and noise. The aim of our study was to assess the impact of a tonotopic map on speech perception in noise and quiet in new CI users.

Design:
A prospective, randomized, double-blind, two-period cross-over study in 26 new CI users was performed over a 6-month period. New CI users older than 18 years with bilateral severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss or complete hearing loss for less than 5 years were selected in the University Hospital Centre of Rennes in France. An anatomical tonotopic map was created using postoperative flat-panel computed tomography and a reconstruction software based on the Greenwood function. Each participant was randomized to receive a conventional map followed by a tonotopic map or vice versa. Each setting was maintained for 6 weeks, at the end of which participants performed speech perception tasks. The primary outcome measure was speech recognition in noise. Participants were allocated to sequences by block randomization of size two with a ratio 1:1 (CONSORT Guidelines). Participants and those assessing the outcomes were blinded to the intervention.

Results:
Thirteen participants were randomized to each sequence. Two of the 26 participants recruited (one in each sequence) had to be excluded due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-four participants were analyzed. Speech recognition in noise was significantly better with the tonotopic fitting at all signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) levels tested [SNR = +9 dB, p = 0.002, mean effect (ME) = 12.1%, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) = 4.9 to 19.2, standardized effect size (SES) = 0.71; SNR = +6 dB, p < 0.001, ME = 16.3%, 95% CI = 9.8 to 22.7, SES = 1.07; SNR = +3 dB, p < 0.001 ME = 13.8%, 95% CI = 6.9 to 20.6, SES = 0.84; SNR = 0 dB, p = 0.003, ME = 10.8%, 95% CI = 4.1 to 17.6, SES = 0.68]. Neither period nor interaction effects were observed for any signal level. Speech recognition in quiet (p = 0.66) and tonal audiometry (p = 0.203) did not significantly differ between the two settings. 92% of the participants kept the tonotopy-based map after the study period. No correlation was found between speech-in-noise perception and age, duration of hearing deprivation, angular insertion depth, or position or width of the frequency filters allocated to the electrodes.

Conclusion:
For new CI users, tonotopic fitting appears to be more efficient than the default frequency fitting because it allows for better speech recognition in noise without compromising understanding in quiet.