bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Intrinsic and extrinsic factors modulating vigilance and foraging in two gregarious foragers
Authors: Monti Flavio , Ferretti Francesco , Fattorini Niccolò 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
A continuous balance between costs and benefits dictates individual vigilance and foraging dynamics. In group-living animals, understanding the resulting trade-off is often complicated by multiple confounding effects. Vigilance and foraging levels may be the result of intrinsic (e.g., body size, trophic ecology, migratory phenology) and extrinsic (e.g., flock size, edge effect, group dynamism) factors, potentially differing between species, individuals, and contexts. We explored this idea by investigating intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing vigilance and foraging behavior of two sympatric gregarious bird species that differ markedly in body size and foraging strategies (Greylag Goose Anser anser and Common Crane Grus grus), during their non-breeding period. Interspecific differences were detected in activity allocation and in response to group-related variables. For both species, time spent in vigilance decreased with increasing flock size and with increasing distance from the edge of the group. While cranes allocated the resulting time to foraging, the same did not occur in geese. Changes in individual position in the group (i.e., peripheral vs. central or vice versa) elicited a prompt behavioral change (i.e., vigilance vs. foraging or other activity). Temporal changes in activity budgets were reported for geese but not for cranes, with a decrease of vigilance and an increase of foraging as winter progressed. Results allowed to disentangle the role of multifactorial determinants of vigilance and foraging, in turn increasing our understanding of underlying forces driving the evolution of behavioral traits and of group-living.
A Lockdown a Day Keeps the Doctor Away: The Global Effectiveness of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions in Mitigating the Covid-19 Pandemic
Authors: Levelu Anthonin , Sandkamp Alexander 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Countries have employed a variety of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in order to curtail the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the success of individual measures in reducing the number of infections remains controversial. This article exploits a panel dataset of 181 countries to estimate the effects of 12 NPIs on the spread of the disease in 2020. The employed fixed effects estimation greatly reduces endogeneity concerns. Estimated coefficients imply that while almost all measures had a dampening effect on the reproduction rate of the virus, school closings and restrictions on gatherings were most effective. The obligation to wear face masks was more effective during the second wave. Measures requiring significant resources, such as testing, were more effective in developed countries. (JEL codes: C13, C23, D04, and I18)
Mask refinement network for tooth segmentation on panoramic radiographs
Authors: Niu Li , Zhong Shengwei , Yang Zhiyu , Tan Baochun , Zhao Junjie , Zhou Wei , Zhang Peng , Hua Lingchen , Sun Weibin , Li Houxuan 
Published: January 2024

Abstract

Objectives
Instance-level tooth segmentation extracts abundant localization and shape information from panoramic radiographs (PRs). The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a mask refinement network that extracts precise tooth edges.

Methods
A public dataset which consists of 543 PRs and 16211 labelled teeth was utilized. The structure of a typical Mask Region-based Convolutional Neural Network (Mask RCNN) was used as the baseline. A novel loss function was designed focus on producing accurate mask edges. In addition to our proposed method, 3 existing tooth segmentation methods were also implemented on the dataset for comparative analysis. The average precisions (APs), mean intersection over union (mIoU), and mean Hausdorff distance (mHAU) were exploited to evaluate the performance of the network.

Results
A novel mask refinement region-based convolutional neural network was designed based on Mask RCNN architecture to extract refined masks for individual tooth on PRs. A total of 3311 teeth were correctly detected from 3382 tested teeth in 111 PRs. The AP, precision, and recall were 0.686, 0.979, and 0.952, respectively. Moreover, the mIoU and mHAU achieved 0.941 and 9.7, respectively, which are significantly better than the other existing segmentation methods.

Conclusions
This study proposed an efficient deep learning algorithm for accurately extracting the mask of any individual tooth from PRs. Precise tooth masks can provide valuable reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment. This algorithm is a fundamental basis for further automated processing applications.
A novel regulatory sex-skewing method that inhibits testicular DPY30 expression to increase female rate of dairy goat offspring
Authors: He Huanshan , Li Xiang , Li Jintao , Ning Yong , Luo Jun , Shi Huaiping 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
The demand for goat milk products has increased exponentially with the growth of the global population. The shortage of dairy products will be addressed extraordinarily by manipulating the female rate of goat offspring to expand the goat population and goat milk yield. No studies have reported bioinformatic analyses of X- and Y-bearing sperm of dairy goats, although this will contribute to exploring novel and applied sex-skewing technologies. Regulatory subunit of the histone methyltransferase complex (DPY30) was determined to be the key differentially expressed protein (DEP) among 15 DEPs identified in the present study. The spatiotemporal expression of DPY30 strongly suggested a functional involvement of the protein in spermatogenesis. DPY30 promoted meiosis via upregulating SYCP3, which played a crucial role in mediating sex ratio skewing in goats. Although DPY30 suppressed the self-renewal of spermatogonia stem cells through AKT/PLZF, DPY30 inhibition in the testis did not induce testicular dysgenesis. Based on the biosafety assessment in mice testes, lentivirus-mediated DPY30 knockdown in bucks’ testes increased X-bearing sperm proportion and female kids’ rate (22.8 percentage points) without affecting sperm quality, pregnancy rate, and kidding rate. This study provides the first evidence of the DEGs in the sexed sperm of dairy goats. DPY30 inhibition in the testes of bucks increased the female kids’ rate without influencing reproductive performance. The present study provides evidence for expanding the female dairy goat population to address the concern of dairy product shortage.
Dissolution of ribonucleoprotein condensates by the embryonic stem cell protein L1TD1
Authors: Jin Sang Woo , Seong Youngmo , Yoon Dayoung , Kwon Young-Soo , Song Hoseok 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
L1TD1 is a cytoplasmic RNA-binding protein specifically expressed in pluripotent stem cells and, unlike its mouse ortholog, is essential for the maintenance of stemness in human cells. Although L1TD1 is the only known protein-coding gene domesticated from a LINE-1 (L1) retroelement, the functional legacy of its ancestral protein, ORF1p of L1, and how it is manifested in L1TD1 are still unknown. Here, we determined RNAs associated with L1TD1 and found that, like ORF1p, L1TD1 binds L1 RNAs and localizes to high-density ribonucleoprotein (RNP) condensates. Unexpectedly, L1TD1 enhanced the translation of a subset of mRNAs enriched in the condensates. L1TD1 depletion promoted the formation of stress granules in embryonic stem cells. In HeLa cells, ectopically expressed L1TD1 facilitated the dissolution of stress granules and granules formed by pathological mutations of TDP-43 and FUS. The glutamate-rich domain and the ORF1-homology domain of L1TD1 facilitated dispersal of the RNPs and induced autophagy, respectively. These results provide insights into how L1TD1 regulates gene expression in pluripotent stem cells. We propose that the ability of L1TD1 to dissolve stress granules may provide novel opportunities for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases caused by disturbed stress granule dynamics.
The Use of Lay Drafts as Drafting Instructions: A Case Study of Nigeria
Authors: Dauda Michael Habila 
Published: January 2024

Abstract
Lay drafts as used in Nigeria are erroneously thought to speed up the drafting process but they are insufficient as drafting instruction and they reduce the quality and effectiveness of legislation. Good drafting instructions will lead to good legislation while bad drafting instructions will lead to the drafter’s failure to grasp the fundamentals of the policy, and failure to get the draft right, and ultimately failure to achieve the purpose of the policy. This article is intended to analyse the drafting process in Nigeria to point out the causes of ineffectiveness in legislation and how that can be improved.
Rapid assessment of coverage of doxycycline/azithromycin chemoprophylaxis against leptospirosis following floods, Kozhikode district, Kerala, 2018
Authors: Sasikumar Harishankar , Ganeshkumar Parasuraman , R Sabarinathan , Rubeshkumar Polani , Venkatasamy Vettrichelvan , Murhekar Manoj 
Published: January 2024

Abstract

Background
We estimated coverage of doxycycline chemoprophylaxis (200 mg once weekly) following floods in Kerala, India.

Methods
A cross-sectional survey was conducted to gather data on exposure to flood or stagnant water and receipt and consumption of chemoprophylaxis.

Results
Of 1573 individuals interviewed, 152 (10%) were exposed to flood water. Among these, 119 (78%) were eligible for chemoprophylaxis. Of those eligible, 58 (38.2% [95% confidence interval 30.8 to 46.1]) reported consuming the prescribed chemoprophylaxis.

Conclusions
Despite the availability of chemoprophylaxis, consumption was less than ideal. We recommend targeted interventions to improve chemoprophylaxis coverage and public awareness campaigns to enhance its consumption among the affected population.
Utility of peak inspiratory flow measurement for dry powder inhaler use in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Loh Chee Hong , Ohar Jill A. 
Published: January 2024

Purpose of review
Every type of dry powder inhaler (DPI) device has its own intrinsic resistance. A patient's inspiratory effort produces a pressure drop that determines the inspiratory flow, depending on the inhaler's specific internal resistance. Optimal peak inspiratory flow (PIF) is needed for effective release of dry powder, disaggregation of drug-carrier agglomerates, and optimal deposition of respirable drug particles, particularly generation of a high fine-particle fraction to reach the small airways of the lungs. However, standardized recommendations for PIF measurements are lacking and instructions appeared vague in many instances.

Recent findings
Suboptimal PIFs are common in outpatient chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and during acute exacerbations of COPD, and are associated with increased healthcare resource utilization. There is significant variation in the results of studies which is in part related to different definitions of optimal flow rates, and considerable variation in how PIF is measured in clinical and real-life studies.

Summary
Standardization of technique will facilitate comparisons among studies. Specific recommendations for PIF measurement have been proposed to standardize the process and better ensure accurate and reliable PIF values in clinical trials and clinical practice. Clinicians can then select and personalize the most appropriate inhaler for their patients and help them achieve the optimal PIF needed for effective drug dispersion.
Neurotransmitter Genes in the Nucleus Accumbens that Are Involved in the Development of Behavioral Pathology After Positive Fighting Experiences and Their Deprivation. A Conceptual Paradigm for Neurogenomic Data Analysis
Authors: Kudryavtseva Natalia N. , Smagin Dmitry A. , Redina Olga E. , Kovalenko Irina L. , Galyamina Anna G. , Babenko Vladimir N. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractIt has been shown earlier that repeated positive fighting experience in daily agonistic interactions is accompanied by the development of psychosis-like behavior with signs of an addiction-like state associated with changes in the expression of genes encoding the proteins involved in the main neurotransmitter events in some brain regions of aggressive male mice. Fighting deprivation (a no-fight period of 2 weeks) causes a significant increase in their aggressiveness. This paper is aimed at studying—after a period of fighting deprivation—the involvement of genes (associated with neurotransmitter systems within the nucleus accumbens) in the above phenomena. The nucleus accumbens is known to participate in reward-related mechanisms of aggression. We found the following differentially expressed genes (DEGs), whose expression significantly differed from that in controls and/or mice with positive fighting experience in daily agonistic interactions followed by fighting deprivation: catecholaminergic genesTh,Drd1,Drd2,Adra2c,Ppp1r1b, andMaoa; serotonergic genesMaoa,Htr1a,Htr1f, andHtr3a; opioidergic genesOprk1,Pdyn, andPenk; and glutamatergic genesGrid1,Grik4,Grik5,Grin3a,Grm2,Grm5,Grm7, andGad1.The expression of DEGs encoding proteins of the GABAergic system in experienced aggressive male mice mostly returned to control levels after fighting deprivation except forGabra5. In light of the conceptual paradigm for analyzing data that was chosen in our study, the aforementioned DEGs associated with the behavioral pathology can be considered responsible for consequences of aggression followed by fighting deprivation, including mechanisms of an aggression relapse.
Indirect effects of habitat amount mediated by habitat configuration determine bat diversity at the landscape-scale in Peninsular Malaysia
Authors: Hazard Quentin C.K. , Yoh Natalie , Moore Jonathan , Senawi Juliana , Gibson Luke , Froidevaux Jérémy S.P. , Palmeirim Ana Filipa 
Published: January 2024

AbstractThe impacts of fragmentation are often overlooked in landscape studies investigating how habitat loss impacts biodiversity, despite the casual relationship linking both processes. As habitat loss is the primary cause of fragmentation, understanding the inter-related effects of these twin processes on biodiversity is key to minimise biodiversity loss. Here we assess how habitat amount and configuration influence insectivorous bat assemblages, considering both the direct effects of these processes, as well as the indirect effects of habitat amount mediated through configuration. Bats were acoustically surveyed along independent gradients of habitat amount (forest cover) and configuration (number of patches and edge density) across 28 insular landscapes embedded within a Malaysian hydroelectric reservoir. Using Structural Equation Modelling, the direct and indirect effects of habitat amount were examined on bat sonotype richness, total, and guild-specific activity (forest, edge and open-space foragers). Forest cover had a direct and positive effect on sonotype richness and forest forager activity. The quadratic relationship linking edge density and forest cover was strong and overall positive, but while below 30% of forest cover, increasingly forested landscapes had increasingly high edge densities, the opposite pattern was observed in more forested landscapes. On the other hand, increasingly forested landscapes consistently harboured less patches. Owing to the overall low habitat amount in our landscapes and negative edge effects, the indirect effects of forest cover (mediated through edge density) were therefore negative on sonotype richness, outweighing any positive direct effect. The number of patches had little effect on the bat assemblage, except on total activity which was higher in landscapes harbouring more forest patches. As a result, negative indirect effects of forest cover mediated through number of patches were only observed on total activity. Our results highlight that, in natural settings, habitat amount can hardly be altered without influencing habitat configuration, thereby preventing any independent management of these threats. Minimising habitat loss is therefore essential to balance the associated prevailing negative effects of fragmentation on insectivorous bats across tropical forests.
Pharmacological inhibition of mTORC1 reduces neural death and damage volume after MCAO by modulating microglial reactivity
Authors: Villa-González Mario , Rubio Marina , Martín-López Gerardo , Mallavibarrena Paula R , Vallés-Saiz Laura , Vivien Denis , Wandosell Francisco , Pérez-Álvarez Maria José 
Published: January 2024

AbstractIschemic stroke is a sudden and acute disease characterized by neuronal death, glia activation, and a severe inflammatory process. Neuroinflammation is an early event after cerebral ischemia, with microglia playing a leading role. Microglial activation involves functional and morphological changes that drive a wide variety of phenotypes. In this context, deciphering the molecular mechanisms underlying such microglial activation is essential to devise strategies to protect neurons and maintain certain brain functions affected by early neuroinflammation after ischemia.Here, we studied the role of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) activity in the microglial response using a murine model of cerebral ischemia in the acute phase. We also determined the therapeutic relevance of the pharmacological administration of rapamycin, a mTOR inhibitor, before and after ischemic injury.Our data show that rapamycin, administered before or after brain ischemia induction, reduced the volume of brain damage and neuronal loss by attenuating the microglial response. Therefore, our findings indicate that the pharmacological inhibition of mTORC1 in the acute phase of ischemia may provide an alternative strategy to reduce neuronal damage through attenuation of the associated neuroinflammation.
Decoding of resting-state using task-based multivariate pattern analysis supports the Incentive-Sensitization Theory in nicotine use disorder
Authors: Lor Cindy S. , Steyrl David , Zhang Mengfan , Zhou Feng , Becker Benjamin , Herdener Marcus , Quednow Boris B. , Haugg Amelie , Scharnowski Frank 
Published: January 2024

AbstractBackgroundThe Incentive-Sensitization Theory postulates that addiction is primarily driven by the sensitization of the brain’s reward system to addictive substances, such as nicotine. According to this theory, exposure to such substances leads to an increase in ‘wanting’, while ‘liking’ the experience remains relatively unchanged. Although this candidate mechanism has been well substantiated through animal brain research, its translational validity for humans has only been partially demonstrated so far, with evidence from human neuroscience data being very limited.MethodsFrom fMRI data of N=31 individuals with Nicotine Use Disorder, we created multivoxel patterns capable of capturing wanting and liking-related dimensions from a smoking cue-reactivity task. Using these patterns, we then designed a novel resting-state ‘reading’ method to evaluate how much wanting or liking still persist as a neural trace after watching the cues.ResultsWe found that the persistence of wanting-related brain patterns at rest increases with longer smoking history but this was not the case for liking-related patterns. Interestingly, such behavior has not been observed for non-temporal measures of smoking intensity.ConclusionThis study provides basic human neuroscience evidence that the dissociation between liking and wanting escalates over time, further substantiating the Incentive-Sensitization Theory, at least for Nicotine Use Disorder. These results suggest that treatment approaches could be personalized to account for the variability in individuals’ neural adaptation to addiction by considering how individuals differ in the extent to which their incentive salience system is sensitized.
Three new species in the Onygenaceae isolated from marine environment
Authors: Wang Meng-Meng , Li Qi , Li Wei , Cai Lei 
Published: January 2024

AbstractSeveral fungal isolates affiliated withAphanoascusandChrysosporiumwere obtained from the sediments of Chinese seas by us. Among them, one newAphanoascusspecies (A. sedimenticola) and two newChrysosporiumspecies (C. microsporum, C. sphaerospermum) were taxonomically identified and recognized based on phylogenetic analyses and morphological characteristics. This paper provided the detailed descriptions and illustrations of the three new taxa.
A genetically-encoded fluorescent biosensor for visualization of acetyl-CoA in live cells
Authors: Smith Joseph J. , Valentino Taylor R. , Ablicki Austin H. , Banerjee Riddhidev , Colligan Adam R. , Eckert Debra M. , Desjardins Gabrielle A. , Diehl Katharine L. 
Published: January 2024

AbstractAcetyl-coenzyme A is a central metabolite that participates in many cellular pathways. Evidence suggests that acetyl-CoA production and consumption are highly compartmentalized in mammalian cells. Yet methods to measure acetyl-CoA in living cells are lacking. In this work, we engineer an acetyl-CoA biosensor from the bacterial protein PanZ and circularly permuted green fluorescent protein (cpGFP). We biochemically characterize the sensor and demonstrate its selectivity for acetyl-CoA over other CoA species. We then deploy the biosensor in E. coli and HeLa cells to demonstrate its utility in living cells. In E. coli, we show that the biosensor enables detection of rapid changes in acetyl-CoA levels. In human cells, we show that the biosensor enables subcellular detection and reveals the compartmentalization of acetyl-CoA metabolism.
Mitochondrial choline import regulates purine nucleotide pools via SLC25A48
Authors: Verkerke Anthony R.P. , Shi Xu , Abe Ichitaro , Gerszten Robert E. , Kajimura Shingo 
Published: January 2024

ABSTRACTCholine is an essential nutrient for cellular metabolism, including the biosynthesis of phospholipids, neurotransmitters, and one-carbon metabolism. A critical step of choline catabolism is the mitochondrial import and synthesis of chorine-derived methyl donors, such as betaine. However, the underlying mechanisms and the biological significance of mitochondrial choline catabolism remain insufficiently understood. Here, we report that a mitochondrial inner-membrane protein SLC25A48 controls mitochondrial choline transport and catabolismin vivo. We demonstrate that SLC25A48 is highly expressed in brown adipose tissue and required for whole-body cold tolerance, thermogenesis, and mitochondrial respiration. Mechanistically, choline uptake into the mitochondrial matrix via SLC25A48 facilitates betaine synthesis and one-carbon metabolism. Importantly, cells lacking SLC25A48 exhibited reduced synthesis of purine nucleotides and failed to initiate the G1-to-S phase transition, thereby leading to cell death. Taken together, the present study identified SLC25A48 as a mitochondrial carrier that mediates choline import and plays a critical role in mitochondrial respiratory capacity, purine nucleotide synthesis, and cell survival.Key pointsSLC25A48 is required for mitochondrial choline uptake.Mitochondrial choline uptake regulates one-carbon contribution to purine nucleotide synthesis.Brown fat thermogenesis requires mitochondrial choline catabolism for respiratory capacity.Cancer cells require mitochondrial choline uptake for cell survival.