bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Post‐transcriptional control of the essential enzyme MurF by a small regulatory RNA in Brucella abortus
Authors: King Kellie A. , Benton Angela H. , Caudill Mitchell T. , Stoyanof S. Tristan , Kang Lin , Michalak Pawel , Lahmers Kevin K. , Dunman Paul M. , DeHart Tanner G. , Ahmad Saadman S. , Jutras Brandon L. , Poncin Katy , De Bolle Xavier , Caswell Clayton C. 
Published: December 2023

AbstractBrucella abortus is a facultative, intracellular, zoonotic pathogen that resides inside macrophages during infection. This is a specialized niche where B. abortus encounters various stresses as it navigates through the macrophage. In order to survive this harsh environment, B. abortus utilizes post‐transcriptional regulation of gene expression through the use of small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs). Here, we characterize a Brucella sRNAs called MavR (for MurF‐ and virulence‐regulating sRNA), and we demonstrate that MavR is required for the full virulence of B. abortus in macrophages and in a mouse model of chronic infection. Transcriptomic and proteomic studies revealed that a major regulatory target of MavR is MurF. MurF is an essential protein that catalyzes the final cytoplasmic step in peptidoglycan (PG) synthesis; however, we did not detect any differences in the amount or chemical composition of PG in the ΔmavR mutant. A 6‐nucleotide regulatory seed region within MavR was identified, and mutation of this seed region resulted in dysregulation of MurF production, as well as significant attenuation of infection in a mouse model. Overall, the present study underscores the importance of sRNA regulation in the physiology and virulence of Brucella.
Functional traits shape plant–plant interactions and recruitment in a hotspot of woody plant diversity
Authors: Cooksley Huw , Dreyling Lukas , Esler Karen J. , Griebenow Stian , Neumann Günter , Valentine Alex , Schleuning Matthias , Schurr Frank M. 
Published: December 2023

Summary

Understanding and predicting recruitment in species‐rich plant communities requires identifying functional determinants of both density‐independent performance and interactions.

In a common‐garden field experiment with 25 species of the woody plant genus Protea, we varied the initial spatial and taxonomic arrangement of seedlings and followed their survival and growth during recruitment. Neighbourhood models quantified how six key functional traits affect density‐independent performance, interaction effects and responses.

Trait‐based neighbourhood models accurately predicted individual survival and growth from the initial spatial and functional composition of species‐rich experimental communities. Functional variation among species caused substantial variation in density‐independent survival and growth that was not correlated with interaction effects and responses. Interactions were spatially restricted but had important, predominantly competitive, effects on recruitment. Traits increasing the acquisition of limiting resources (water for survival and soil P for growth) mediated trade‐offs between interaction effects and responses. Moreover, resprouting species had higher survival but reduced growth, likely reinforcing the survival–growth trade‐off in adult plants.

Resource acquisition of juvenile plants shapes Protea community dynamics with acquisitive species with strong competitive effects suffering more from competition. Together with functional determinants of density‐independent performance, this makes recruitment remarkably predictable, which is critical for efficient restoration and near‐term ecological forecasts of species‐rich communities.
The tonoplast localized protein PtNPF1 participates in the regulation of nitrogen response in diatoms
Authors: Santin Anna , Russo Monia Teresa , de los Ríos Laura Morales , Chiurazzi Maurizio , d'Alcalà Maurizio Ribera , Lacombe Benoît , Ferrante Maria Immacolata , Rogato Alessandra 
Published: December 2023

Summary
Diatoms are a highly successful group of phytoplankton, well adapted also to oligotrophic environments and capable of handling nutrient fluctuations in the ocean, particularly nitrate. The presence of a large vacuole is an important trait contributing to their adaptive features. It confers diatoms the ability to accumulate and store nutrients, such as nitrate, when they are abundant outside and then to reallocate them into the cytosol to meet deficiencies, in a process called luxury uptake.
The molecular mechanisms that regulate these nitrate fluxes are still not known in diatoms. In this work, we provide new insights into the function of Phaeodactylum tricornutum NPF1, a putative low‐affinity nitrate transporter. To accomplish this, we generated overexpressing strains and CRISPR/Cas9 loss‐of‐function mutants.
Microscopy observations confirmed predictions that PtNPF1 is localized on the vacuole membrane. Furthermore, functional characterizations performed on knock‐out mutants revealed a transient growth delay phenotype linked to altered nitrate uptake.
Together, these results allowed us to hypothesize that PtNPF1 is presumably involved in modulating intracellular nitrogen fluxes, managing intracellular nutrient availability. This ability might allow diatoms to fine‐tune the assimilation, storage and reallocation of nitrate, conferring them a strong advantage in oligotrophic environments.
Peer Migration in China
Authors: Chen Yuyu , Jin Ginger Zhe , Yue Yang 
Published: December 2023

AbstractWith over 290 million rural labourers transitioning to urban areas in 2019, China is experiencing an unparalleled scale of internal migration, the largest in human history. Employing instrumental variables (IVs) gleaned from the 2006 China Agricultural Census (CAC), we find that a 10 percentage point increase in the migration rate among co‐villagers amplifies an individual's probability of migrating by 7.13 percentage points. Influencing factors such as information dissemination at the origin and cost efficiencies at the destination likely contribute to the observed clustering of migration by age, destination and industrial sector. Intriguingly, migration seems to exert a negligible influence on the agricultural productivity of those who remain, which may be due to substantial labour redundancy at the point of origin and potentially higher productivity among migrants.
Relationship between burning mouth disorder and gastroesophageal reflux disease: A scoping review
Authors: Li Linman , Wu Shuangshuang , Noma Noboru , Young Andrew , Wang Xu , Yan Zhimin 
Published: December 2023

AbstractObjectiveThis study aims to provide a scoping review and attempts to uncover the possible association between burning mouth disorder and gastroesophageal reflux disease.MethodsPubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Ovid, Scopus, and a search platform (EBSCOhost) were searched from their inception to August 22, 2023.ResultsAfter screening 2795 records, 18 articles were included in the final review, comprising cross‐sectional studies (n = 9), case–control studies (n = 5), case reports (n = 2), case series (n = 1), and experimental study (n = 1). The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease and its extraesophageal manifestations of laryngopharyngeal reflux in burning mouth patients was reported 3.39%–23.4% and 50%–93.8%, respectively, while oral burning was reported in 9%–45% of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. In case–control studies, gastroesophageal reflux disease was more prevalent in patients with burning mouth disorder compared with controls. Burning mouth would be resolved after antireflux therapy in laryngopharyngeal reflux patients in case series. PH value and saliva alternation might be the possible mechanisms.ConclusionThe possibility of the correlation between burning mouth disorder and gastroesophageal reflux disease still needs to be clearly demonstrated through better‐conducted studies. The link between them is worth to be explored in future research.
Methods and approaches to facilitate inclusion of the views, perspectives and preferences of people with moderate‐to‐severe dementia in research: A narrative systematic review
Authors: Collins Rachel , Martyr Anthony , Hunt Anna , Quinn Catherine , Pentecost Claire , Hughes Julian C. , Clare Linda 
Published: December 2023

AbstractBackgroundThe perspectives of people with moderate‐to‐severe dementia are rarely directly elicited in research studies.ObjectivesThis systematic review will explore methods and approaches for including the perspectives and preferences of people with moderate‐to‐severe dementia in research.MethodsAgeLine, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed, Social Policy and Practice and Web of Science were searched until June 16 2022. Study quality was assessed using the 16‐item Quality Assessment Tool. We described specific communication tools, reviewed the evidence for their effectiveness and considered their strengths and limitations. We examined the more general communication skills and techniques applied to support the use of these tools using thematic synthesis. The review protocol was registered with PROSPERO CRD42019130386 and the review was conducted and reported according to PRISMA guidelines.ResultsSeven studies reported in 11 publications were included. In these studies five specific communication tools were used: Talking Mats, Augmentative and Alternative Communication Flexiboard, generic photographs in combination with a preference placement board, consultation ballot and personalised communication prescriptions. Each tool identified had advantages and disadvantages depending on dementia severity, verbal or physical ability, expense, researcher training requirements and ease of use. Thematic synthesis identified five general approaches to optimising communication that were employed to support use of the tools: ensuring conversations are individual and person‐centred, managing external influences, engaging others, creating structure and facilitation skills.ConclusionAll tools had some utility and there was no clear evidence to support the recommendation of any one specific tool; therefore, researchers are advised to select the tool most appropriate to their context.Implications for PracticeThe findings offer general guidance for researchers and practitioners on how to facilitate communication with people with moderate‐to‐severe dementia.
The Utilitarian's Guide to Dreams
Authors: Piovarchy Adam 
Published: December 2023

AbstractUnpleasant dreams occur much more frequently than many people realise. If one is a hedonistic utilitarian – or, at least, one thinks that dreams have positive or negative moral value in virtue of their experiential quality – then one has considerable reason to try to make such dreams more positive. Given it is possible to improve the quality of our dreams, we ought to be promoting and implementing currently available interventions that improve our dream experiences, and conducting research to find new, more effective interventions.
Selection for drought tolerance in backcross populations derived from interspecific crosses of Solanum lycopersicum × Solanum pennellii
Authors: Henschel Juliane Maciel , Batista Diego Silva , de Souza de Voltare Heloisa , Silva Júnior André Dutra , Ribas Alessandra Ferreira , da Silva Daniel Fernandes , Zeist André Ricardo 
Published: December 2023

AbstractDrought strongly limits tomato yield, and the introgression of genes from wild tomatoes is a powerful tool to obtain drought‐tolerant progenies. The aim of this study was to select drought‐tolerant transgressive progeny obtained from interspecific crosses between drought‐susceptible tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) × drought‐tolerant wild species (Solanum pennellii) under in vitro and greenhouse conditions. BC1F2 populations were advanced from backcrosses between F1 × Jumbo AG‐592 (cultivar for fresh consumption) and F1 × BRS Tospodoro (cultivar for industrial processing). For this, BC1F2 seeds were germinated in vitro and evaluated for tolerance to drought. Then, eight genotypes from each BC1F2 were selected and submitted to 14 days of drought (0% of water supply) or well‐watered (100% of water supply) in greenhouse conditions and evaluated for growth, water balance and gas exchanges. Using in vitro assays with mannitol‐induced drought proved to be effective for the initial screening of drought‐tolerant BC1F2 plants, while greenhouse experiments showed that drought decreased photosynthesis in all genotypes, but almost all the BC1F2 progenies had greater photosynthetic capacity, water balance and growth than their commercial parents. As a result, we selected six progenies for fresh consumption and six progenies for industrial processing with increased drought tolerance.
Applications of the new Aeva‐HE™ imaging system: Its link with the visual evaluation of facial wrinkles and its potential in screening tensile products
Authors: Shaiek Ayet , Monot Muriel , Rubert Virginie , Cornillon Celine , Vicic Marco , Decocq Geraldine , Flament Frederic 
Published: December 2023

AbstractObjectivesTo evaluate, in vivo, a recently developed imaging system (Aeva‐HE™), based on fringe projection methodology: (i) its correlation with expert's assessments and real age of 85 French Caucasian women and (ii) its potential, as a screening tool, in rapidly selecting prototypes of tensile cosmetic products.Materials and MethodsFirst, the bare faces of 85 differently aged French/Caucasian women were photographed under standard conditions and further analyzed by the Aeva‐HE™ device. An expert aesthetician graded the severity of wrinkling on a fixed scale, helped by the use of a dedicated Skin Aging Atlas. A panel of 15 judges performed the same task on full‐face standard photographs. The Aeva‐HE™ software yielded various wrinkle's parameters (density, volume, mean depth, etc.) on different facial locations, according to age‐groups. Second, seven women, balanced in age and wrinkling severity, were recruited in a separate study. These women applied at Day 1 a prototype of the tensile product and at Day 2, they applied another prototype of the tensile product. The whole faces (before and after products application) of the seven studied women were captured and analyzed by the Aeva‐HE™ system.ResultsThe density of wrinkles was significantly highly correlated with the aesthetician scores and, unsurprisingly, with age. Some parameters (volume, depths) of different wrinkles (glabellar, crow's feet, cheeks) were quantified, showing different absolute values and of statistically different progressions with age. The amplitudes of the rapid effects brought by the two prototypes of tensile products were clearly differentiated.ConclusionThe recently developed device Aeva‐HE™ is an efficient system for rapidly establishing a faithful and precise status of facial wrinkles, in vivo and seems like a precious tool in the rapid screening of tensile products, possibly performed on a rather limited number of subjects.
Concept and measurement: Exploring foreign policy similarity
Authors: Lee Sukwon 
Published: December 2023

AbstractObjectiveThis paper aims to evaluate existing measurements and propose new ones for foreign policy similarity in international politics, emphasizing the importance of measurement in social science. The indicators designed must align with theoretical concepts and data characteristics to ensure consistency and validity.MethodsThe paper meticulously examines the assumptions and calculation methods of existing indicators, such as the S‐score and tau‐b, to rigorously evaluate their alignment with theoretical concepts and data characteristics. It then proposes alternative measurements that can address these criteria.ResultsThe new indicators introduced in this paper address the limitations of the existing measurements. While producing values similar to existing measurements, they maintain conceptual consistency and operational interpretability. Additionally, the paper presents a tau‐like indicator weighted by national capability, an aspect not feasible with the previous tau‐b, leading to new meaningful conclusions.ConclusionsThis paper emphasizes the importance of understanding measurements when creating or using them. A deep comprehension of similarity measures and the research topic facilitates more precise measurements, thereby enhancing research outcomes in international politics.
Referential Cohesion, Ambiguity, Vagueness and Generality in Parliamentary Debate*
Authors: Ribera Josep E. 
Published: December 2023

AbstractPolitical discourse has been characterised as being ‘vague’ and ‘ambiguous’. It is argued that politicians tend to use generic and unspecific words in order to avoid explicit commitment (McGee 2018). Although this situation may describe discourse genres such as political interviews and election debates, it is unclear that it can be applied to parliamentary debate. This study analyses a corpus consisting of two parliamentary debates in English and Catalan with respect to ambiguity, vagueness and generality in connection to referential cohesion. Three variables are qualitatively and quantitatively analysed: a) the abstractness of the topics, b) the non‐specific or specific nature of these entities, and c) the grammatical or lexical nature of the units that maintain referential cohesion. The results show that ambiguity and vagueness are rather infrequent in parliamentary debate. However, the high frequencies of non‐concrete referential entities, and of non‐specific referents characterise parliamentary debate as a general discourse. As a counterpart, lexical cohesion devices as repetition and encapsulation highlight the topics under discussion, what leads to avoid ambiguity and vagueness.
The Effects of 2 Different Soft Tissue Mobilization Techniques on Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness in Male Recreational Athletes: A Single-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: Sarac Devrim Can , Kocak Umut Ziya , Bayraktar Deniz , Gucenmez Sercan , Kaya Derya Özer 
Published: December 2023

Context: Soft tissue mobilization is frequently employed for delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) management. Foam roller and percussive massage are 2 popular soft tissue mobilization methods preferred by various professionals. However, their effects on DOMS symptoms are controversial and there are no studies comparing these 2 methods. The aim of the present study was to compare the acute effects of soft tissue mobilization with a foam roller or a percussive massage device on DOMS in young male recreational athletes. Design: A parallel, single-blinded, randomized controlled trial. Methods: Thirty-six participants (median [interquartile range 25/75]; age: 20.0 [19.3/21.0] y) were randomly allocated to percussive massage group (n = 12), foam roller group (n = 12), and control group (n = 12). First, a fatigue protocol targeting quadriceps femoris was performed. Then, participants received soft tissue mobilization with foam roller/percussive massage or rested for 10 minutes according to their groups. Pain and fatigue were evaluated by a visual analog scale, and the skin surface temperature of over the quadriceps femoris was measured with thermal camera imaging. Evaluations were performed at baseline, following fatigue protocol, at 24th hour, and at 48th hour. Changes from the baseline at 24th and 48th hours were compared between groups. Results: No significant between-group differences were observed at the assessments performed at 24th or 48th hour regarding the changes from baseline in pain (P value for 24th hour = .905, P value for 48th hour = .733), fatigue (P value for 24th hour = .895, P value for 48th hour = .606), or skin surface temperature measurements (P values for 24th hour = between .300 and .925, P values for 48th hour = between .311 and .750). Conclusions: Soft tissue mobilizations applied with foam roller or percussive massage device do not seem to be superior to passive resting in alleviating DOMS symptoms in recreational athletes.
Antifungal susceptibility testing following the CLSI M27 document, along with the measurement of MFC/MIC ratio, could be the optimal approach to detect amphotericin B resistance in
Clavispora
(
Candida
)
lusitaniae
. Susceptibility patterns of contemporary isolates of this species
Authors: Sasoni Natalia , Caracciolo Beatriz , Cabeza Matías S. , Gamarra Soledad , Carnovale Susana , Garcia-Effron Guillermo 
Published: December 2023

ABSTRACT

Antifungal susceptibility testing (AST) is crucial in clinical settings to guide appropriate therapy. Nevertheless, discrepancies between treatment response and some results still persist, particularly in detecting resistance to amphotericin B (AMB) in
Clavispora
(
Candida
)
lusitaniae
. This study aimed to assess the susceptibility patterns of 48 recent isolates of
C. lusitaniae
to 9 antifungal agents and explore the feasibility of using a CLSI reference-based method to identify AMB resistance. Microdilution techniques revealed a wide range of minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for azole antifungals, while echinocandins and AMB exhibited a narrow range of MIC values, with all strains considered wild-type for the tested polyene and echinocandins. However, when agar diffusion (ellipsometry) was employed for AST, certain strains displayed colonies within the inhibition ellipse, indicating potential resistance. Interestingly, these strains did not respond to AMB treatment and were isolated during AMB treatment (breakthrough). Moreover, the evaluation of AMB minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs) indicated that only the strains with colonies inside the ellipse had MFC/MIC ratios ≥ 4, suggesting reduced fungicidal activity. In conclusion, this study confirms the effectiveness of ellipsometry with RPMI-1640 2% glucose agar for detecting AMB resistance in
C. lusitaniae
. Additionally, the proposed approach of culturing “clear” wells in the microdilution method can aid in uncovering resistant strains. The findings highlight the importance of appropriate AST methods to guide effective treatment strategies for deep-seated candidiasis caused by
C. lusitaniae
. Further collaborative studies are warranted to validate these findings and improve the detection of AMB clinical resistance.