bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Temporal and spatial distribution of the alpine meadow carbon budget in Gannan, China from 1969 to 2018
Authors: Wang Xingyu , Zhang Meiling , Nazieh Stephen , Nkrumah Teddy 
Published: January 2023

In recent years, carbon balance has been a hot research topic both at home and abroad. The grasslands are rich in carbon storage and are also sensitive to climate change, and the Gannan alpine meadow, a distinct type of grassland in Gansu Province, is used as the study area in this paper. The consequences of climate change have a huge impact on human development and can even cause major human disasters. Effective management of climate change is, therefore, a major problem that currently needs to be solved, and grasslands play an indispensable role in the process of carbon deposition in terrestrial ecosystems. The CENTURY model has been used to study the spatial distribution and changes in the carbon budget in the Gannan alpine meadow of Gansu Province over the last 50 years, which is of great significance for climate change management. The results show that 1) the carbon budget has different distribution characteristics in different regions. 2) The spatial distribution of the carbon budget changes over time, as evidenced by the different spatial distribution of the carbon budget in each study stage and quarter. The spatial distribution differs as well. Some areas in the northern part of southern Gansu are carbon sources in spring and carbon sinks in summer, autumn, and winter. The spatial distribution of the carbon budget changes over time and is different at each stage, but it is a carbon sink overall. 3) The Gannan alpine meadow as a whole demonstrated a carbon sink phenomenon from 1969 to 2018, and the carbon balance is a carbon sink. 4) Every year, the carbon sink initially increases and then shows a decreasing trend, with the carbon sink reaching a maximum in August. 5) Temperature and precipitation are positively correlated with net ecosystem productivity (NEP). 6) In the last 50 years, the Gannan alpine meadow has sequestered 43,580.9 gC of carbon. The annual and monthly average NEP values are approximately 871.62 gC/m2 and 72.635 gC/m2, respectively.
Genetic association of wool quality characteristics in United States Rambouillet sheep
Authors: Becker Gabrielle M. , Woods Julia L. , Schauer Christopher S. , Stewart Whit C. , Murdoch Brenda M. 
Published: January 2023

Introduction: Fine wool production is an important source of revenue, accounting for up to 13% of total revenue in extensively managed wool sheep production systems of the United States. The Rambouillet are a predominant breed that excels in wool quality characteristics. Understanding the genetic basis of wool quality characteristics would aid in the development of genomic breeding strategies to facilitate genetic improvement.Methods: Wool characteristics and DNA were collected for rams enrolled in the North Dakota State University and University of Wyoming annual central performance ram tests over a three-year period (2019–2021, N = 313). The relationships of wool quality characteristics including grease fleece weight adjusted 365 days (wt. 365 adj.), clean fleece wt. 365 adj., staple length 365 adj., average fiber diameter, face wool cover, amount of skin wrinkles and belly wool were evaluated through genome-wide association studies (GWAS), Pearson correlation and ANOVA.Results: The GWAS identified four genome-wide significant genetic markers (p-value &lt;1.19e-06) and five chromosome-wide significant markers (p-value &lt;1.13e-05) on chromosomes 1, 2, 4, 15, and 19. Significant markers were associated with genes notable for relevant wool biological functions, including the gene ABCC8 which codes for SUR1, an ATP-sensitive potassium channel known to affect hair growth and 60S ribosomal protein L17-like, previously found to be expressed during follicle formation. The strongest Pearson correlation coefficients were identified between clean fleece wt. 365 adj. and grease fleece wt. 365 adj. (r = 0.83) and between clean fleece wt. 365 adj. and staple length 365 adj. (r = 0.53). Additionally, clean fleece wt. 365 adj. was correlated with final body weight (r = 0.35) and scrotal circumference (r = 0.16). Staple length 365 adj. (p-value = 5e-04), average fiber diameter (p-value = .0053) and clean fleece wt. 365 adj. (p-value = .014) were significantly associated with belly wool score.Discussion: The results of this study provide important insight into the relationships between wool quality characteristics and report specific markers that Rambouillet sheep producers may use to help inform selection and breeding decisions for improved wool quality.
Blood transcriptome responses in patients correlate with severity of COVID-19 disease
Authors: Wang Ya , Schughart Klaus , Pelaia Tiana Maria , Chew Tracy , Kim Karan , Karvunidis Thomas , Knippenberg Ben , Teoh Sally , Phu Amy L. , Short Kirsty R. , Iredell Jonathan , Thevarajan Irani , Audsley Jennifer , Macdonald Stephen , Burcham Jonathon , McLean Anthony ,   PREDICT-19 consortium, Tang Benjamin , Shojaei Maryam 
Published: January 2023

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Infected individuals display a wide spectrum of disease severity, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO). One of the main factors underlying this heterogeneity is the host immune response, with severe COVID-19 often associated with a hyperinflammatory state.AimOur current study aimed to pinpoint the specific genes and pathways underlying differences in the disease spectrum and outcomes observed, through in-depth analyses of whole blood transcriptomics in a large cohort of COVID-19 participants.ResultsAll WHO severity levels were well represented and mild and severe disease displaying distinct gene expression profiles. WHO severity levels 1-4 were grouped as mild disease, and signatures from these participants were different from those with WHO severity levels 6-9 classified as severe disease. Severity level 5 (moderate cases) presented a unique transitional gene signature between severity levels 2-4 (mild/moderate) and 6-9 (severe) and hence might represent the turning point for better or worse disease outcome. Gene expression changes are very distinct when comparing mild/moderate or severe cases to healthy controls. In particular, we demonstrated the hallmark down-regulation of adaptive immune response pathways and activation of neutrophil pathways in severe compared to mild/moderate cases, as well as activation of blood coagulation pathways.ConclusionsOur data revealed discrete gene signatures associated with mild, moderate, and severe COVID-19 identifying valuable candidates for future biomarker discovery.
Cost-effectiveness of sintilimab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone as first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Liu Lulu , Wang Lei , Chen Li , Ding Yiling , Zhang Qilin , Shu Yamin 
Published: January 2023

BackgroundSintilimab plus chemotherapy significantly prolongs overall survival (OS) for patients with advanced or metastatic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). However, the cost-effectiveness of this high-priced therapy is currently unknown. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of sintilimab plus chemotherapy vs chemotherapy alone as fist-line therapy in patients with advanced or metastatic OSCC from the perspective of Chinese healthcare system.MethodsA partitioned survival model consisting of 3 discrete health states was constructed to assess the cost and effectiveness of sintilimab plus chemotherapy vs chemotherapy as first-line treatment of OSCC. Key clinical data in the model came from the ORIENT-15 trial. Costs and utilities were collected from published sources. Life-years, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER), incremental net health benefits (INHB), and incremental net monetary benefits (INMB) were calculated for the two treatment strategies. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted to account for uncertainty and model stability. Additional subgroup and scenario analyses were performed.ResultsTreatment with sintilimab plus chemotherapy provided an additional 0.37 QALYs and an incremental cost of $8,046.58 compared with chemotherapy, which resulted in an ICER of $21,782.24 per QALY gained. One-way sensitivity analysis revealed that the model was most sensitive to utility of progression-free survival (PFS) and the cost of sintilimab. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis indicated that the probability of sintilimab plus chemotherapy being cost-effective was 0.01%, 76.80% and 98.60% at the threshold of 1, 2 or 3 times GDP per capita per QALY, respectively. Subgroup analysis found that all subgroups other than PD-L1 expression combined positive scores &lt; 1 subgroup favored sintilimab plus chemotherapy treatment due to its association with positive INHBs by varying the hazard ratios for OS and PFS. The scenario analyses showed altering the time horizon of the model or fitting survival curves separately did not reverse results of the model.ConclusionSintilimab plus chemotherapy was associated with improved QALYs and an additional cost but was estimated to be cost-effective compared with chemotherapy alone as a first-line treatment for patients with advanced or metastatic OSCC at the commonly adopted willingness-to-pay threshold of 3 times GDP per capita per QALY in China.
Anthropogenic and biological sound effects on the maternal care behavior of a key crab species
Authors: Sal Moyano María Paz , Ceraulo Maria , Luppi Tomás , Gavio María Andrea , Buscaino Giuseppa 
Published: January 2023

IntroductionMaternal care in marine decapods involves eggs caring in the brood compartment until the larvae hatch. This behavior mainly allows embryo mass oxygen supply, ensuring healthy embryonic development. The present study aimed to analyze the effect of different sound sources (anthropogenic and biologic) and their temporal patterns (low and high rate: 1 min of the sound stimulus + 5 min of silence and 1 min of the sound stimulus + 1 min of silence, respectively) on the maternal care of the key crab species, Neohelice granulata.MethodsIn the laboratory, three acoustic stimuli were played back: an artificial white noise (10 Hz – 20 kHz), and two sounds obtained from the crabs´ natural habitat, motorboat passages and biological signals from a crabs’ predator fish. Three behavioral variables were quantified: still position, and two maternal care behaviors: abdominal flapping and chelae probing.ResultsResults demonstrated that the high rate anthropogenic stimuli, white noise and motorboat, affected all behavioral variables, increasing the still position and diminishing the maternal care behaviors. Otherwise, the predatory stimulus did not affect the still position although diminished the maternal care behaviors (high rate).DiscussionThe different behavioral response depending on the sound stimuli may indicate that crabs distinguish sound sources. The anthropogenic noise is suggested to cause distraction that is linked to the increased still position, while the predator stimulus would be associated with an alert behavior not affecting the locomotion behavior. The sound stimuli effect on the maternal care behavior revealed a negative effect that potentially could affect offspring survival. This is important considering the ecosystem engineering function of the studied key crab species. The reduction of the noise emission pattern rate is suggested as a mitigation action to diminish sound impact effects in the crab’s natural habitat. The study contributes the first to assessing the effect of different sound sources on the maternal care behavior of a crustacean species.
Macrofauna community of the cold seep area at Site F, South China Sea
Authors: Wang Haining , Wang Xiaocheng , Cao Lei , Zhong Zhaoshan , Luan Zhendong , Li Chaolun 
Published: January 2023

A cold seep is one of the typical deep-sea chemical energy ecosystems and a hotspot for studying unique life processes and biogeochemical cycles in the deep sea. Macrofauna, which is one of the most important components of the cold seep ecosystem, has not been thoroughly studied. We examined the macrofauna community at Site F using images collected in 2016 by an imaging and laser profiling system and biological samples collected in 2020 and 2021 by TV grab and a remotely operated vehicle. In total, 41 species were found. The overall number of macrofauna identified at Site F (20,000 m2) reached 252,943 individuals, and the biomass reached 726.15 kg by dry weight. As the dominant species, Gigantidas platifrons and Shinkaia crosnieri reached their highest densities of 629 and 396 individuals/m2, respectively. The comparisons between different stations revealed that the diversity and density, even the biomass of dominant species, were much higher in the south than in the north at Site F in 2020. Correlation analysis showed that methane had a positive effect on macrofauna density. Compared with S. crosnieri, G. platifrons seems to be more adapted to the harsh cold seep environment. Methane consumption rates of the dominant species show that macrofauna are important in influencing seafloor methane fluxes. Our findings provide valuable insights into the ecology, community structure, and biota-environment interaction in the cold seep at Site F.
Mutational characterization of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 lineages circulating in Chhattisgarh, a central state of India
Authors: Singh Pushpendra , Sharma Kuldeep , Shaw Dipika , Bhargava Anudita , Negi Sanjay Singh 
Published: January 2023

IntroductionThe emergence of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant from various states of India in early 2022 has caused fear of its rapid spread. The lack of such reports from Chhattisgarh (CG), a central state in India, has prompted us to identify the Omicron circulating lineages and their mutational dynamics.Materials and methodsWhole-genome sequencing (WGS) of SARS-CoV-2 was performed in 108 SARS-CoV-2 positive combined samples of nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs obtained from an equal number of patients.ResultsAll 108 SARS-CoV-2 sequences belonged to Omicron of clade 21L (84%), 22B (11%), and 22D (5%). BA.2 and its sub-lineages were predominantly found in 93.5% of patients, BA.5.2 and its sub-lineage BA.5.2.1 in 4.6% of patients, and B.1.1.529 in 2% of patients. Various BA.2 sub-lineages identified were BA.2 (38%), BA.2.38 (32%), BA.2.75 (9.25%), BA.2.56, BA.2.76, and BA.5.2.1 (5% each), BA.2.74 (4.6%), BA.5.2.1 (3.7%), BA.2.43 and B.1.1.529 (1.8% each), and BA.5.2 (0.9%). Maximum mutations were noticed in the spike (46), followed by the nucleocapsid (5), membrane (3), and envelope (2) genes. Mutations detected in the spike gene of different Omicron variants were BA.1.1.529 (32), BA.2 (44), BA.2.38 (37), BA.2.43 (38), BA.2.56 (30), BA.2.74 (31), BA.2.75 (37), BA.2.76 (32), BA.5.2, and BA.5.2.1 (38 similar mutations). The spike gene showed the signature mutations of T19I and V213G in the N-terminal domain (NTD), S373P, S375F, T376A, and D405N in receptor-binding domain (RBD), D614G, H655Y, N679K, and P681H at the furin cleavage site, N764K and D796K in fusion peptide, and Q954H and N969K in heptapeptide repeat sequence (HR)1. Notably, BA.2.43 exhibited a novel mutation of E1202Q in the C terminal. Other sites included ORF1a harboring 13 mutations followed by ORF1b (6), ORF3a (2), and ORF6 and ORF8 (1 mutation each).ConclusionBA.2 followed by BA.2.38 was the predominant Omicron lineage circulating in Chhattisgarh. BA.2.75 could supersede other Omicron due to its mutational consortium advantage. The periodical genomic monitoring of Omicron variants is thus required for real-time assessment of circulating strains and their mutational-induced severity.
Clinical characteristics of chronic rhinitis following stroke
Authors: Choi Jae Eun , Kim Yeong Wook , Jee Sungju , Sohn Min Kyun 
Published: January 2023

BackgroundWe previously observed that patients with stroke complained of rhinitis symptoms that developed following the occurrence of stroke.ObjectivesTo investigate the relationship between chronic rhinitis (CR) and stroke.MethodsThis retrospective study analyzed the medical records and questionnaires of patients with stroke who visited our outpatient clinic from June to December 2020. Stroke lesions were mainly classified as supratentorial, infratentorial, and supra/infratentorial lesions. Supratentorial lesions were further divided into cortex, subcortex, and mixed. Participants were screened for CR and were subsequently divided into the CR and non-CR groups. The Sino-Nasal Outcome Test questionnaire and a questionnaire on autonomic nervous system symptoms were administered to all patients.ResultsClinically evaluated indicators were not significantly different between the two groups. The number of patients with lesions in both the cortex and subcortex was significantly higher in the CR group than in the non-CR group. The risk of CR was higher in male patients with stroke than their female counterparts; additionally, the risk of CR was higher in patients with stroke who had both cortical and subcortical lesions, as well as autonomic dysfunction.ConclusionsIndividuals with subcortical stroke damage had a greater probability of developing CR. The risk was increased in men, as compared with that in women, when autonomic symptoms were present.
Diagnosis and functional prediction of microbial markers in tumor tissues of sporadic colorectal cancer patients associated with the MLH1 protein phenotype
Authors: Zhu Anchao , Liu Yingying , Li Zongmin , He Ying , Bai Lijing , Wu Youtian , Zhang Yuying , Huang Ying , Jiang Ping 
Published: January 2023

ObjectiveMost patients with sporadic colorectal cancer (SCRC) develop microsatellite instability because of defects in mismatch repair (MMR). Moreover, the gut microbiome plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of SCRC. In this study, we assessed the microbial composition and diversity of SCRC tumors with varying MutL protein homolog 1 (MLH1) status, and the effects of functional genes related to bacterial markers and clinical diagnostic prediction.MethodsThe tumor microbial diversity and composition were profiled using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene V4 region. Phylogenetic Investigation of Communities by Reconstruction of Unobserved States (PICRUSt2) software and BugBase tool were used to predict the functional roles of the microbiome. We aimed to construct a high-accuracy model to detect and evaluate the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve with candidate biomarkers.ResultsThe study included 23 patients with negative/defective MLH1 (DM group) and 22 patients with positive/intact MLH1 (IM group). Estimation of alpha diversity indices showed that the Shannon index (p = 0.049) was significantly higher in the DM group than in the controls, while the Simpson index (p = 0.025) was significantly lower. At the genus level, we observed a significant difference in beta diversity in the DM group versus the IM group. Moreover, the abundance of Lachnoclostridium spp. and Coprococcus spp. was significantly more enriched in the DM group than in the IM group (q &lt; 0.01 vs. q &lt; 0.001). When predicting metagenomes, there were 18 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways and one BugBase function difference in both groups (all q &lt; 0.05). On the basis of the model of diagnostic prediction, we built a simplified optimal model through stepwise selection, consisting of the top two bacterial candidate markers (area under the curve = 0.93).ConclusionIn conclusion, the genera Lachnoclostridium and Coprococcus as key species may be crucial biomarkers for non-invasive diagnostic prediction of DM in patients with SCRC in the future.
1H NMR-based metabolomics of paired tissue, serum and urine samples reveals an optimized panel of biofluids metabolic biomarkers for esophageal cancer
Authors: Ouyang Ting , Ma Changchun , Zhao Yan , Ye Wei , Zhao Jiayun , Cai Rongzhi , Zhang Huanian , Zheng Peie , Lin Yan 
Published: January 2023

IntroductionThe goal of this study was to establish an optimized metabolic panel by combining serum and urine biomarkers that could reflect the malignancy of cancer tissues to improve the non-invasive diagnosis of esophageal squamous cell cancer (ESCC).MethodsUrine and serum specimens representing the healthy and ESCC individuals, together with the paralleled ESCC cancer tissues and corresponding distant non-cancerous tissues were investigated in this study using the high-resolution 600 MHz 1H-NMR technique.ResultsWe identified distinct 1H NMR-based serum and urine metabolic signatures respectively, which were linked to the metabolic profiles of esophageal-cancerous tissues. Creatine and glycine in both serum and urine were selected as the optimal biofluids biomarker panel for ESCC detection, as they were the overlapping discriminative metabolites across serum, urine and cancer tissues in ESCC patients. Also, the were the major metabolites involved in the perturbation of “glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism”, the significant pathway alteration associated with ESCC progression. Then a visual predictive nomogram was constructed by combining creatine and glycine in both serum and urine, which exhibited superior diagnostic efficiency (with an AUC of 0.930) than any diagnostic model constructed by a single urine or serum metabolic biomarkers.DiscussionOverall, this study highlighted that NMR-based biofluids metabolomics fingerprinting, as a non-invasive predictor, has the potential utility for ESCC detection. Further studies based on a lager number size and in combination with other omics or molecular biological approaches are needed to validate the metabolic pathway disturbances in ESCC patients.
Predictive signature of static and dynamic functional connectivity for ECT clinical outcomes
Authors: Fu Zening , Abbott Christopher C. , Sui Jing , Calhoun Vince D. 
Published: January 2023

Introduction: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains one of the most effective approaches for treatment-resistant depressive episodes, despite the potential cognitive impairment associated with this treatment. As a potent stimulator of neuroplasticity, ECT might normalize aberrant depression-related brain function via the brain’s reconstruction by forming new neural connections. Multiple lines of evidence have demonstrated that functional connectivity (FC) changes are reliable indicators of antidepressant efficacy and cognitive changes from static and dynamic perspectives. However, no previous studies have directly ascertained whether and how different aspects of FC provide complementary information in terms of neuroimaging-based prediction of clinical outcomes.Methods: In this study, we implemented a fully automated independent component analysis framework to an ECT dataset with subjects (n = 50, age = 65.54 ± 8.92) randomized to three treatment amplitudes (600, 700, or 800 milliamperes [mA]). We extracted the static functional network connectivity (sFNC) and dynamic FNC (dFNC) features and employed a partial least square regression to build predictive models for antidepressant outcomes and cognitive changes.Results: We found that both antidepressant outcomes and memory changes can be robustly predicted by the changes in sFNC (permutation test p &lt; 5.0 × 10−3). More interestingly, by adding dFNC information, the model achieved higher accuracy for predicting changes in the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale 24-item (HDRS24, t = 9.6434, p = 1.5 × 10−21). The predictive maps of clinical outcomes show a weakly negative correlation, indicating that the ECT-induced antidepressant outcomes and cognitive changes might be associated with different functional brain neuroplasticity.Discussion: The overall results reveal that dynamic FC is not redundant but reflects mechanisms of ECT that cannot be captured by its static counterpart, especially for the prediction of antidepressant efficacy. Tracking the predictive signatures of static and dynamic FC will help maximize antidepressant outcomes and cognitive safety with individualized ECT dosing.