bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A hybrid location‐dependent ultra convolutional neural network‐based vehicle number plate recognition approach for intelligent transportation systems
Authors: Ramasamy Sathya , Selvarajan Ananthi , Kaliyaperumal Vaidehi , Aruchamy Prasanth 
Published: January 2023

SummaryIn today's world, identifying the owner and proprietor of a vehicle that violates driving rules or does any unintentional work on the street is a challenging task. Inspection of each driver's license number takes a long time for a highway police officer. To overcome this, many researchers have introduced an automated number plate recognition approach which is usually a computer vision‐based technique to identify the vehicle's registration plate. However, the existing recognition approaches are lagged to extract the influential features which degrade the detection accuracy and increase the misclassification errors. In this article, a novel automated number plate recognition methodology has been proposed to identify the number plates accurately with minimal error rates. Primary, a new pretrained location‐dependent ultra convolutional neural network (LUCNN) is employed to learn the influential features from the input images. These obtained features are then fed into hybrid single‐shot fully convolutional detectors with a support vector machine (SSVM) classifier to separate the vehicle's city, model, and number from the registration location. At varied automobile distances, the proposed LUCNN + SSVM model is able to retrieve the number plate regions in the picture acquired from its back end. The performance results manifest that the proposed LUCNN + SSVM model attains a better accuracy of 98.75% and a lesser error range of 1.25% than the existing recognition models.
Dimensional changes of endodontic sealers—An in vitro model simulating a clinical extrusion scenario during 18 months
Authors: Razdan Ankur , Benetti Ana R. , Bakhshandeh Azam , Darvann Tron A. , Bjørndal Lars 
Published: January 2023

AbstractObjectivesTo examine the dimensional changes of endodontic sealers during 18 months using three‐dimensional (3D) surface scanning and subtraction radiography in a novel in vitro sealer‐extrusion model.Material and MethodsFifty endodontically instrumented acrylic teeth were randomly allocated to five groups (n = 10) filled with Apexit Plus, AH Plus, BioRoot RCS, TubliSeal EWT, and gutta‐percha (control). Freshly mixed sealers were intentionally extruded during obturation. All teeth were immersed in a physiologic solution for up to 18 months. Blinded 3D surface scans (resolution: ~10 μm) and digital radiographs of the teeth were obtained at baseline (immediately after obturation); and then after 1 week, and at 1, 3, and 18 months. For blinded assessment of sealer dimensional change, 3D models and radiographs were superimposed using specific software. Volumetric differences, root mean square (RMS), and area change from subtraction radiography measured at each period within each sealer group were thereafter calculated. Repeated measures analyses were done with Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons; standard errors, p values, and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were reported.ResultsAnalyses of the volumetric data confirmed significant, progressive material loss for Apexit Plus when compared to the other investigated sealers or the control group (p ≤ 0.02). Immersion period significantly influenced the volumetric dimensional changes of Apexit Plus already after 1 month (p < 0.01). For TubliSeal EW, the effect of the immersion period on the dimensional changes was noted after immersion for 3 months (p ≤ 0.02), while for BioRoot RCS this was evident only at 18 months (p < 0.01). Same trends were noted for the RMS data, whereas progressive dimensional changes using subtraction radiography only revealed significant changes for Apexit Plus (p = 0.01).ConclusionsThe largest dimensional changes were shown by Apexit Plus, followed by Tubliseal EWT and BioRoot RCS. AH Plus remained stable throughout 18 months.
In‐frame deletion of SMC5 related with the phenotype of primordial dwarfism, chromosomal instability and insulin resistance
Authors: Zhu Wenjiao , Shi Yuanping , Zhang Changrun , Peng Yajie , Wan Yueyue , Xu Yue , Liu Xuemeng , Han Bing , Zhao Shuangxia , Kuang Yanping , Song Huaidong , Qiao Jie 
Published: January 2023

AbstractBackgroundSMC5/6 complex plays a vital role in maintaining genome stability, yet the relationship with human diseases has not been described.MethodsSMC5 variation was identified through whole‐exome sequencing (WES) and verified by Sanger sequencing. Immunoprecipitation, cytogenetic analysis, fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) and electron microscopy were used to elucidate the cellular consequences of patient's cells. smc5 knockout (KO) zebrafish and Smc5K371del knock‐in mouse models were generated by CRISPR‐Cas9. RNA‐seq, quantitative real‐time PCR (qPCR), western blot, microquantitative computed tomography (microCT) and histology were used to explore phenotypic characteristics and potential mechanisms of the animal models. The effects of Smc5 knockdown on mitotic clonal expansion (MCE) during adipogenesis were investigated through Oil Red O staining, proliferation and apoptosis assays in vitro.ResultsWe identified a homozygous in‐frame deletion of Arg372 in SMC5, one of the core subunits of the SMC5/6 complex, from an adult patient with microcephalic primordial dwarfism, chromosomal instability and insulin resistance. SMC5 mutation disrupted its interaction with its interacting protein NSMCE2, leading to defects in DNA repair and chromosomal instability in patient fibroblasts. Smc5 KO zebrafish showed microcephaly, short length and disturbed glucose metabolism. Smc5 depletion triggers a p53‐related apoptosis, as concomitant deletion of the p53 rescued growth defects phenotype in zebrafish. An smc5K371del knock‐in mouse model exhibited high mortality, severe growth restriction and fat loss. In 3T3‐L1 cells, the knockdown of smc5 results in impaired MCE, a crucial step in adipogenesis. This finding implies that defective cell survival and differentiation is an important mechanism linking growth disorders and metabolic homeostasis imbalance.
Prognostic and therapeutic potential of microRNAs for fracture healing processes and non‐union fractures: A systematic review
Authors: Breulmann Franziska Lioba , Hatt Luan Phelipe , Schmitz Boris , Wehrle Esther , Richards Robert Geoff , Della Bella Elena , Stoddart Martin James 
Published: January 2023

AbstractBackgroundApproximately 10% of all bone fractures result in delayed fracture healing or non‐union; thus, the identification of biomarkers and prognostic factors is of great clinical interest. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to be involved in the regulation of the bone healing process and may serve as functional markers for fracture healing.Aims and methodsThis systematic review aimed to identify common miRNAs involved in fracture healing or non‐union fractures using a qualitative approach. A systematic literature search was performed with the keywords ‘miRNA and fracture healing’ and ‘miRNA and non‐union fracture’. Any original article investigating miRNAs in fracture healing or non‐union fractures was screened. Eventually, 82 studies were included in the qualitative analysis for ‘miRNA and fracture healing’, while 19 were selected for the ‘miRNA and fracture non‐union’ category.Results and conclusionsOut of 151 miRNAs, miR‐21, miR‐140 and miR‐214 were the most investigated miRNAs in fracture healing in general. miR‐31‐5p, miR‐221 and miR‐451‐5p were identified to be regulated specifically in non‐union fractures. Large heterogeneity was detected between studies investigating the role of miRNAs in fracture healing or non‐union in terms of patient population, sample types and models used. Nonetheless, our approach identified some miRNAs with the potential to serve as biomarkers for non‐union fractures, including miR‐31‐5p, miR‐221 and miR‐451‐5p. We provide a discussion of involved pathways and suggest on alignment of future research in the field.
An application of meta‐heuristic and nature‐inspired algorithms for designing reliable networks based on the Internet of things: A systematic literature review
Authors: Gong Jianhu 
Published: January 2023

SummaryThe widespread use of Internet of Things (IoT) in various wireless sensor networks applications has increased their importance in recent years. IoT is a smart technology that connects anything anywhere at any time. These smart objects, which connect the physical world with the world of computing infrastructure, are expected to permeate all aspects of our daily lives and revolutionize a number of application domains such as healthcare, energy conservation, and transportation. As wireless networking expands, the disadvantage of wireless communication is clearly obvious. People's apprehension over the IoT's dependability has therefore skyrocketed. IoT networks' key requirements are dependability, channel security, fault tolerance, and reliability. Monitoring the IoT networks depends on the availability and correct functioning of all the network nodes. Recent research has proposed promising solutions to address these challenges. This article systematically examines recent articles that use meta‐heuristic and nature‐inspired algorithms to establish reliable IoT networks. Eighteen articles were analyzed in four groups. Results showed that reliable enhancement mechanisms in IoT networks increase fault node detection, network efficiency, and lifetime and attain energy optimization results in the IoT concept. Additionally, it was discovered in the literature that the current studies focus on how to effectively use edge network capabilities for IoT application executions and support, along with the related needs.
Associations between the human immune system and gut microbiome with neurodevelopment in the first 5 years of life: A systematic scoping review
Authors: Mancini Vincent O. , Brook Juliet , Hernandez Christian , Strickland Deborah , Christophersen Claus T. , D'Vaz Nina , Silva Desiree , Prescott Susan , Callaghan Bridget , Downs Jenny , Finlay‐Jones Amy 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe aim of this review was to map the literature assessing associations between maternal or infant immune or gut microbiome biomarkers and child neurodevelopmental outcomes within the first 5 years of life. We conducted a PRISMA‐ScR compliant review of peer‐reviewed, English‐language journal articles. Studies reporting gut microbiome or immune system biomarkers and child neurodevelopmental outcomes prior to 5 years were eligible. Sixty‐nine of 23,495 retrieved studies were included. Of these, 18 reported on the maternal immune system, 40 on the infant immune system, and 13 on the infant gut microbiome. No studies examined the maternal microbiome, and only one study examined biomarkers from both the immune system and the gut microbiome. Additionally, only one study included both maternal and infant biomarkers. Neurodevelopmental outcomes were assessed from 6 days to 5 years. Associations between biomarkers and neurodevelopmental outcomes were largely nonsignificant and small in effect size. While the immune system and gut microbiome are thought to have interactive impacts on the developing brain, there remains a paucity of published studies that report biomarkers from both systems and associations with child development outcomes. Heterogeneity of research designs and methodologies may also contribute to inconsistent findings. Future studies should integrate data across biological systems to generate novel insights into the biological underpinnings of early development.
Geothermal stickleback populations prefer cool water despite multigenerational exposure to a warm environment
Authors: Pilakouta Natalie , Killen Shaun S. , Kristjánsson Bjarni K. , Skúlason Skúli , Lindström Jan , Metcalfe Neil B. , Parsons Kevin J. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractGiven the threat of climate change to biodiversity, a growing number of studies are investigating the potential for organisms to adapt to rising temperatures. Earlier work has predicted that physiological adaptation to climate change will be accompanied by a shift in temperature preferences, but empirical evidence for this is lacking. Here, we test whether exposure to different thermal environments has led to changes in preferred temperatures in the wild. Our study takes advantage of a “natural experiment” in Iceland, where freshwater populations of threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) are found in waters warmed by geothermal activity year‐round (warm habitats), adjacent to populations in ambient‐temperature lakes (cold habitats). We used a shuttle‐box approach to measure temperature preferences of wild‐caught sticklebacks from three warm–cold population pairs. Our prediction was that fish from warm habitats would prefer higher water temperatures than those from cold habitats. We found no support for this, as fish from both warm and cold habitats had an average preferred temperature of 13°C. Thus, our results challenge the assumption that there will be a shift in ectotherm temperature preferences in response to climate change. In addition, since warm‐habitat fish can persist at relatively high temperatures despite a lower‐temperature preference, we suggest that preferred temperature alone may be a poor indicator of a population's adaptive potential to a novel thermal environment.
Rapid eco‐phenotypic feedback and the temperature response of biomass dynamics
Authors: Gibert Jean P. , Wieczynski Daniel J. , Han Ze‐Yi , Yammine Andrea 
Published: January 2023

AbstractBiomass dynamics capture information on population dynamics and ecosystem‐level processes (e.g., changes in production over time). Understanding how rising temperatures associated with global climate change influence biomass dynamics is thus a pressing issue in ecology. The total biomass of a species depends on its density and its average mass. Consequently, disentangling how biomass dynamics responds to increasingly warm and variable temperatures ultimately depends on understanding how temperature influences both density and mass dynamics. Here, we address this issue by keeping track of experimental microbial populations growing to carrying capacity for 15 days at two different temperatures, and in the presence and absence of temperature variability. We develop a simple mathematical expression to partition the contribution of changes in density and mass to changes in biomass and assess how temperature responses in either one influence biomass shifts. Moreover, we use time‐series analysis (Convergent Cross Mapping) to address how temperature and temperature variability influence reciprocal effects of density on mass and vice versa. We show that temperature influences biomass through its effects on density and mass dynamics, which have opposite effects on biomass and can offset each other. We also show that temperature variability influences biomass, but that effect is independent of any effects on density or mass dynamics. Last, we show that reciprocal effects of density and mass shift significantly across temperature regimes, suggesting that rapid and environment‐dependent eco‐phenotypic dynamics underlie biomass responses. Overall, our results connect temperature effects on population and phenotypic dynamics to explain how biomass responds to temperature regimes, thus shedding light on processes at play in cosmopolitan and abundant microbes as the world experiences increasingly warm and variable temperatures.
Integrating remote international experience and community engagement into course‐based animal behavior research
Authors: Kay Adam D. , Lager Zach , Bhebheza Litha , Heinen‐Kay Justa L. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractHuman‐centered, active‐learning approaches can help students develop core competencies in biology and other STEM fields, including the ability to conduct research, use quantitative reasoning, communicate across disciplinary boundaries, and connect science education to pressing social and environmental challenges. Promising approaches for incorporating active learning into biology courses include the use of course‐based research, community engagement, and international experiences. Disruption to higher education due to the COVID‐19 pandemic made each of these approaches more challenging or impossible to execute. Here, we describe a scalable course‐based undergraduate research experience (CURE) for an animal behavior course that integrates research and community engagement in a remote international experience. Students in courses at two U.S. universities worked with community partners to analyze the behavior of African goats grazing near informal settlements in Western Cape, South Africa. Partners established a relationship with goat herders, and then created 2‐min videos of individual goats that differed in criteria (goat sex and time of day) specified by students. Students worked in small groups to choose dependent variables, and then compared goat behavior across criteria using a factorial design. In postcourse surveys, students from both universities indicated overall enthusiasm for the experience. In general, students indicated that the laboratory provided them with “somewhat more” of a research‐based experience compared with biology laboratories they had taken of similar length, and “somewhat more” to “much more” of a community‐engagement and international experience. Educational benefits were complemented by the fact that international educational partners facing economic hardship due to the pandemic received payment for services. Future iterations of the CURE can focus on goat behavior differences across ecological conditions to help herders increase production in the face of continued environmental and social challenges. More generally, applying the structure of this CURE could facilitate mutually beneficial collaborations with residents of under‐resourced areas around the world.
Like a rolling stone: Colonization and migration dynamics of the gray reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos)
Authors: Lesturgie Pierre , Braun Camrin D. , Clua Eric , Mourier Johann , Thorrold Simon R. , Vignaud Thomas , Planes Serge , Mona Stefano 
Published: January 2023

AbstractDesigning appropriate management plans requires knowledge of both the dispersal ability and what has shaped the current distribution of the species under consideration. Here, we investigated the evolutionary history of the endangered gray reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) across its range by sequencing thousands of RADseq loci in 173 individuals in the Indo‐Pacific (IP). We first bring evidence of the occurrence of a range expansion (RE) originating close to the Indo‐Australian Archipelago (IAA) where two stepping‐stone waves (east and westward) colonized almost the entire IP. Coalescent modeling additionally highlighted a homogenous connectivity (Nm ~ 10 per generation) throughout the range, and isolation by distance model suggested the absence of barriers to dispersal despite the affinity ofC. amblyrhynchosto coral reefs. This coincides with long‐distance swims previously recorded, suggesting that the strong genetic structure at the IP scale (FST ~ 0.56 between its ends) is the consequence of its broad current distribution and organization in a large number of demes. Our results strongly suggest that management plans for the gray reef shark should be designed on a range‐wide rather than a local scale due to its continuous genetic structure. We further contrasted these results with those obtained previously for the sympatric but strictly lagoon‐associatedCarcharhinus melanopterus, known for its restricted dispersal ability.Carcharhinus melanopterusexhibits a similar RE dynamic but is characterized by a stronger genetic structure and a nonhomogeneous connectivity largely dependent on local coral reefs availability. This sheds new light on shark evolution, emphasizing the roles of IAA as source of biodiversity and of life‐history traits in shaping the extent of genetic structure and diversity.
Evaluating the spatial and temporal variability of groundwater uptake by riparian vegetation in a humid southeastern US catchment
Authors: Riley Jeffrey W. , Pangle Luke A. , Aulenbach Brent T. 
Published: January 2023

AbstractIn environments with shallow water tables, vegetation may use groundwater to support transpiration (TG). This process has been carefully studied in some arid climates but rarely in humid climates—even those with severe droughts and seasonal water deficits. As such, the role of TG in humid‐catchment hydrology is poorly constrained. We analysed water table fluctuations from nine monitoring wells along three transects in a second‐order forested catchment to estimate TG at plot and whole‐riparian zone scales. Average TG estimated around all well locations ranged from 1.06 to 4.95 mm d−1 and did not change systematically as a function of distance from stream channel or with plot‐scale tree basal area. Counter to some previous studies, we found that TG was greater when the water table depth was deeper. Furthermore, the pattern of TG with water table depth was not monotonic at all locations. The ratio of TG to potential evapotranspiration tended to increase over the growing season, reflecting the progressive decrease in soil moisture storage and a greater reliance by vegetation on groundwater. Due to the lack of consistent spatial patterns in TG, we explored the number of monitoring wells needed to consistently estimate average TG within the 95% confidence bounds of the true mean. Based on this analysis, six or more wells were needed to consistently fall within the 95% confidence interval of the true mean. While this is based on the observed variability at a single site, it provides information for others considering this approach in similar upland forested catchments in humid regions.
Mechanisms of fire‐maintained plant species diversity in species‐rich wet pine savannas
Authors: Brewer J. Stephen 
Published: January 2023

AbstractTemperate savannas and grasslands maintained by frequent, low‐intensity disturbances such as fire contain among the most species‐rich plant communities in the world. Precisely how these disturbances maintain such high fine‐scale diversity is poorly understood. This study examined the effects of the frequency of simulated fire (clipping combined with litter removal) and the relative importance of recruitment and survival on species diversity and trait and species composition at each of two pine savannas in southeastern Mississippi (USA) that had not been recently burned. Ten 2 × 2 m plots at each site were clipped/cleared annually from 2014 to 2019 and again in spring 2021 (annual frequency). The other 10 clipping plots were not clipped from 2018 to 2020 (reduced frequency). Vegetation in small subplots in annual frequency and reduced frequency plots was compared in August 2021 to test the effects of a short period without clipping on diversity and composition. To test the relative importance of recruitment and survival on diversity and composition, four 0.25 × 0.25 m quarter plots were established within each of 10 annual frequency plots per site following a clipping treatment in fall 2019 and assigned a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of transplantation of sods from long‐unburned areas and herbicide application. Reducing the frequency of clipping reduced plant diversity and altered composition at both sites. A comparison of diversity and trait composition responses to transplant and herbicide treatments revealed how recruitment and survival combined to affect species diversity. Partial or complete recovery of diversity following clipping and litter removal at both sites was driven by rapid increases in short‐lived, resilient species that show fire‐stimulated emergence from a seed bank and the persistence of long‐lived species capable of surviving the prolonged period without fire or clipping. Species with reduced resilience and persistence were more likely to be lost in the reduced frequency treatment. Results are consistent with a model of short‐term coexistence of maximum species diversity maintained by the most frequent fire regime fuels will permit.