bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The role of dominant prairie species ecotypes on plant diversity patterns of restored grasslands across a rainfall gradient in the US Great Plains
Authors: Ren Zhe , Baer Sara G. , Johnson Loretta C. , Galliart Matthew B. , Wilson Laurel R. , Gibson David J. 
Published: April 2023

AbstractQuestionsA robust ecosystem requires a functionally heterogeneous community of organisms with ecological traits that permit broad resource partitioning. Understanding community diversity patterns can help investigate drivers of community assembly and assess restoration success. Do biodiversity patterns differ among grassland communities sown with different ecotypes of dominant species during restoration along a rainfall gradient in the tallgrass prairie of the central US Great Plains?LocationFour field sites across a rainfall gradient within the North American Great Plains: Colby, Kansas (39°23′17.8″N, 101°04′57.4″W), Hays, Kansas (38°51′13.2″N, 99°19′08.6″W), Manhattan, Kansas (39°08′22.3″N, 96°38′23.3″W), and Carbondale, Illinois (IL, 37°41′47.0″N, 89°14′19.2″W).MethodsWe applied linear mixed models to assess the effect of dominant species ecotype, year, and location on grassland taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity.ResultsThe non‐local grass ecotype (compared to the local ecotype) promoted species richness. In contrast, the effect of the dominant species ecotype on phylogenetic or functional diversity was site‐specific over the 10‐year restoration. Richness decreased across the rainfall gradient from dry to moist sites, and the wettest site had the highest phylogenetic and functional diversity.ConclusionsOur results suggest that abiotic filtering by rainfall is a key assembly mechanism that could predict grassland changes in biodiversity in the early restoration phases. Given the community response across the tallgrass prairie, restoration practitioners should consider the impact of regional sources of dominant species used in restoration when biodiversity is a restoration goal. It is recommended for future grassland restoration to detect gaps and limitations in evolutionary and trait structure that will reveal which diversity components to evaluate.
Vegetation change in acidic dry grasslands in Moravia (Czech Republic) over three decades: Slow decrease in habitat quality after grazing cessation
Authors: Harásek Martin , Klinkovská Klára , Chytrý Milan 
Published: April 2023

AbstractAimsShallow soils on acidic bedrock in dry areas of Central Europe support dry grasslands and heathlands that were formerly used as extensive pastures. These habitats are of high conservation value, but their abandonment in the 20th century triggered slow natural succession that poses a threat to specialized plant species. We asked how this vegetation and its plant diversity have changed over the past three decades and whether protected areas have positively affected habitat quality.LocationSouthwestern and central Moravia, Czech Republic.MethodsIn 2018–2019, we resurveyed 94 vegetation plots first sampled in 1986–1991 at 47 acidic dry grassland and heathland sites. We compared the number of all vascular plant species, Red List species and alien species per plot using parametric and non‐parametric tests, life‐form spectra using the chi‐square test, species composition using detrended correspondence analysis, and indicator values using a permutation test. We also compared these changes between sites within and outside protected areas.ResultsVegetation changes over the past three decades have been relatively small. However, we detected a decrease in total species richness, the number of Red List species and the number of characteristic species of dry grasslands. Neophytes were infrequent, while archaeophytes increased slightly. The competitive tall grass Arrhenatherum elatius, annual species and young woody plants increased in abundance or newly established at many sites. Indicator values did not change except for a slight increase in nutrient values. These negative trends occurred both within and outside protected areas but were more pronounced outside.ConclusionsFormerly grazed acidic dry grasslands and heathlands in Moravia are slowly losing habitat specialists, including threatened plant species, and are increasingly dominated by Arrhenatherum elatius. Conservation management, especially cutting in protected areas, slows down the negative trends of decline in plant diversity and habitat quality but is insufficient to halt these processes completely.
Mitochondrial dynamics as a pathobiological mediator of clonal myeloid disorders
Authors: Hayashi Yoshihiro , Harada Hironori 
Published: April 2023

AbstractMyeloid malignancies, including myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia, are a group of clonal hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) diseases. The incidence increases with global population aging. Genome sequencing uncovered mutational profiles in patients with myeloid malignancies and healthy elderly individuals. However, the molecular and cellular basis of disease development remains unclear. Accumulating evidence shows mitochondrial involvement in the pathogenesis of myeloid malignancies, aging‐related HSC phenotypes, and clonal hematopoiesis. Mitochondria are dynamic organelles that continuously undergo fission and fusion processes to maintain their function, integrity, and activity. Mitochondria could be a hub of various biological processes that underlie cellular and systemic homeostasis. Thus, mitochondrial dysfunction could directly lead to the disruption of cellular homeostasis and the development of various disorders, including cancer. Notably, emerging data have revealed that mitochondria dynamics also primarily affect not only mitochondrial function and activity but also cellular homeostasis, the aging process, and tumorigenesis. Here, by focusing on mitochondrial dynamics, we highlight the current understanding of mitochondrial roles as a pathobiological mediator of myeloid malignancies and aging‐related clonal hematopoiesis.
Christ's Love and Borders
Authors: Ramachandra Vinoth 
Published: April 2023

AbstractThis article is a keynote address given at the Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI) held in Karlsruhe, Germany, August‐September 2022, on the theme “Christ's love (re)moves borders” and organized in conjunction with the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches. The article argues that around the world, political borders are being cemented by populist nationalisms even as pandemics, capital flows, and climate change ignore them. If Christians are to resist such ideologies, they must recover a robust incarnational theology and their fundamental identity as members of the worldwide body of Christ. Simultaneously, even as borders between people are being reinforced, the border between people and machines is blurred by transhumanist and posthumanist agendas. Such paradoxes will continue to abound in an intellectual landscape where what is distinctively human is obscured by technological hubris and philosophical naïveté.
Report of the Acting General Secretary to the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Karlsruhe, 2022
Authors: Sauca Ioan 
Published: April 2023

AbstractThis is the text of the report on 31 August 2022 of the acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to the WCC's 11th Assembly, which took place in Karlsruhe, Germany, from 31 August to 8 September 2022.
Effects of small hydropower dams on macroinvertebrate and fish assemblages in southern Brazil
Authors: Couto Thiago B. A. , Rezende Renan S. , de Aquino Pedro P. U. , Costa‐Pereira Raul , de Campos Gelso L. , Occhi Thiago V. T. , Vitule Jean R. S. , Espírito‐Santo Helder M. V. , Soares Yan F. F. , Olden Julian D. 
Published: April 2023

Abstract

Hydropower dams affect freshwater biodiversity by virtue of modifying flow regimes and degrading habitat conditions both above and below the water impoundment and diversion structure. In recent decades, there has been a global proliferation of Small Hydropower Plants (SHPs) propelled by incentive policies and a general perception that small dams are less harmful to the environment. However, limited science is available on the effects of SHPs on freshwater biodiversity, which is concerning considering their sheer numbers and the high variability in the size and operation of dams classified as SHPs.

We investigated the ecological effects of 12 SHPs on macroinvertebrate and fish assemblages of the Chapecó River Basin, Brazil. Our study included sites located upstream of the SHPs and sites directly affected by their operations (i.e., reservoir, dewatering section and downstream of the powerhouse). This design allowed us to quantify shifts in taxonomic composition and examine the relative role of different SHP attributes (e.g., dam height, reservoir area, age) in explaining these changes.

Our results reveal that SHPs modify the composition of both macroinvertebrate and fish assemblages, but the magnitude of such changes vary widely among dams. Both assemblages exhibited directionality in taxonomic shifts, resulting in a gradual replacement of taxa associated with fast‐flowing habitats by other groups more commonly associated with standing waters. We also found that changes in assemblage structureare related to structural (dam height, reservoir area) and spatial attributes (distance from headwaters) of SHPs, although the predictive power of these attributes varied taxonomically and among reservoir, dewatering and downstream sites.

Overall, our results demonstrate that SHPs have important and heterogeneous effects on freshwater assemblages, which may manifest individually or cumulatively across the riverscape. This suggests that it is unlikely that a priori classifications of dams based on their structural attributes can replace site‐specific and cumulative impact assessments. The results also shed light on the need for better understanding of how SHP attributes shape their ecological effects, so that a full assessment of the potential environmental impacts of the wide range of "small" dams is possible.
A comprehensive resilience assessment of Mexican tree species and their relationship with drought events over the last century
Authors: Correa‐Díaz A. , Villanueva‐Díaz J. , Gómez‐Guerrero A. , Martínez‐Bautista H. , Castruita‐Esparza L. U. , Horwath W. R. , Silva L. C. R. 
Published: April 2023

AbstractThe resilience of forests to drought events has become a major natural resource sustainability concern, especially in response to climate change. Yet, little is known about the legacy effects of repeated droughts, and tree species ability to respond across environmental gradients. In this study, we used a tree‐ring database (121 sites) to evaluate the overall resilience of tree species to drought events in the last century. We investigated how climate and geography affected the response at the species level. We evaluated temporal trends of resilience using a predictive mixed linear modeling approach. We found that pointer years (e.g., tree growth reduction) occurred during 11.3% of the 20th century, with an average decrease in tree growth of 66% compared to the previous period. The occurrence of pointer years was associated with negative values of the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI, 81.6%) and Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI, 77.3%). Tree species differed in their resilience capacity, however, species inhabiting xeric conditions were less resistant but with higher recovery rates (e.g., Abies concolor, Pinus lambertiana, and Pinus jeffreyi). On average, tree species needed 2.7 years to recover from drought events, with extreme cases requiring more than a decade to reach pre‐drought tree growth rates. The main abiotic factor related to resilience was precipitation, confirming that some tree species are better adapted to resist the effects of droughts. We found a temporal variation for all tree resilience indices (scaled to 100), with a decreasing resistance (−0.56 by decade) and resilience (−0.22 by decade), but with a higher recovery (+1.72 by decade) and relative resilience rate (+0.33 by decade). Our results emphasize the importance of time series of forest resilience, particularly by distinguishing the species‐level response in the context of legacy of droughts, which are likely to become more frequent and intense under a changing climate.
Tracing the future of epidemics: Coincident niche distribution of host animals and disease incidence revealed climate‐correlated risk shifts of main zoonotic diseases in China
Authors: Cao Bo , Bai Chengke , Wu Kunyi , La Ting , Su Yiyang , Che Lingyu , Zhang Meng , Lu Yumeng , Gao Pufan , Yang Jingjing , Xue Ying , Li Guishuang 
Published: April 2023

AbstractClimate has critical roles in the origin, pathogenesis and transmission of infectious zoonotic diseases. However, large‐scale epidemiologic trend and specific response pattern of zoonotic diseases under future climate scenarios are poorly understood. Here, we projected the distribution shifts of transmission risks of main zoonotic diseases under climate change in China. First, we shaped the global habitat distribution of main host animals for three representative zoonotic diseases (2, 6, and 12 hosts for dengue, hemorrhagic fever, and plague, respectively) with 253,049 occurrence records using maximum entropy (Maxent) modeling. Meanwhile, we predicted the risk distribution of the above three diseases with 197,098 disease incidence records from 2004 to 2017 in China using an integrated Maxent modeling approach. The comparative analysis showed that there exist highly coincident niche distributions between habitat distribution of hosts and risk distribution of diseases, indicating that the integrated Maxent modeling is accurate and effective for predicting the potential risk of zoonotic diseases. On this basis, we further projected the current and future transmission risks of 11 main zoonotic diseases under four representative concentration pathways (RCPs) (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0, and RCP8.5) in 2050 and 2070 in China using the above integrated Maxent modeling with 1,001,416 disease incidence records. We found that Central China, Southeast China, and South China are concentrated regions with high transmission risks for main zoonotic diseases. More specifically, zoonotic diseases had diverse shift patterns of transmission risks including increase, decrease, and unstable. Further correlation analysis indicated that these patterns of shifts were highly correlated with global warming and precipitation increase. Our results revealed how specific zoonotic diseases respond in a changing climate, thereby calling for effective administration and prevention strategies. Furthermore, these results will shed light on guiding future epidemiologic prediction of emerging infectious diseases under global climate change.
H. pylori predictors and outcomes among adults undergoing upper endoscopy at a Jamaican teaching hospital: A cross‐sectional study
Authors: Dawkins Y. M. , Rowe‐Gardener S. , Guthrie‐Dixon N. , Thompson R. , Thompson T. , Lee M. G. , Cunningham‐Myrie C. 
Published: April 2023

AbstractBackgroundRecent data on the prevalence of H. pylori infection in Jamaica are lacking. It is postulated that there has been a decline in the prevalence of H. pylori infection and its associated complications. We determined sociodemographic characteristics, prevalence of H. pylori infection and clinical outcomes among adults undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) and histology at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) between May 2018 and December 2020.Materials and methodsA cross‐sectional study of patients (≥18 years old), who underwent EGD and histological evaluation for H. pylori infection, was conducted. Associations of H. pylori positivity and gastric cancer with sociodemographic/clinical variables and endoscopic findings were determined by stepwise logistic regression using backward selection. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios with related 95% confidence intervals (Cis) were calculated for H. pylori positivity and gastric cancer status.ResultsThere were 323 participants (mean age 58.6 ± 17.8 years, 54.2% females). H. pylori prevalence was 22.2% (n = 70 of 315), 5.6% had gastric neoplasia (GN), 15.5% gastric atrophy, 11.4% intestinal metaplasia and 3.7% dysplasia on histology. Mucositis (64.5%), gastric ulcer (14.9%), and duodenal ulcer (13.9%) were the most common endoscopic findings. Participants with peptic ulcer disease (PUD) (unOR = 4.0; p = .017), gastric cancer (unOR = 9.5; p = .003), gastric atrophy (unOR = 12.8; p < .001), and intestinal metaplasia (unOR = 5.0; p < .001) had a significantly higher odds of being H. pylori positive, but after multivariable analyses only gastric atrophy remained significant (aOR = 27.3; p < .001). Participants with mucositis had a significantly lower odds of gastric cancer (unOR 0.1; p = .035) while participants with dysplasia had significantly higher odds (unOR 8.0; p = .042), but these were no longer significant after multivariable analyses (aOR = 0.2; p = .156 and aOR = 18.9; p = .070, respectively).ConclusionsHistology based prevalence of H. pylori infection is lower than previously reported in Jamaica. Gastric atrophy is a significant predictor of H. pylori positivity.
Microencapsulation of Lactobacillus casei in psyllium–gelatin gum enriched with selenium: effects on bacterial survival under gastrointestinal and storage conditions
Authors: Hashami Zahra , Sadeghi Ehsan , Ebrahimi Behzad , Zibaei Rezvan , Hasanvand Sara , Roshandel Zahra , de Toledo Guimarães Jonas , Mohammadi Reza 
Published: April 2023

SummaryThe current study aimed to evaluate the viability of microencapsulated Lactobacillus casei to simulated gastrointestinal digestion and storage after optimisation of the psyllium (PG) and gelatin (GE) gum mixtures (2:1, 1:2, 1:1, 0:1 and 1:0) enriched with selenium (Se). Our results exhibited that the size of spherical particles ranged from 643.9 ± 1.77 to 1151.5 ± 3.38 μm. The ratio of 2PG:1GE showed the highest encapsulation efficiency (89.8% ± 0.77) and selenium entrapment (6.92 ± 0.16 ppm). Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) data exposed new spectra in the 2PG:1GE samples. Microencapsulated L. casei with 2PG:1GE were resistant to simulated gastric conditions (pH 1.8, 1 h) and bile solution (pH 7.4, 120 min), and during the storage period at room temperature, leading to significant (p < 0.05) higher survival in comparison with free cells. In short, this study optimised the concentrations of PG and GE to entrap Se and carry L. casei efficiently, providing significant protection during exposure to various aggressive conditions.
The shadow economy and education in Uganda: Is there a long‐run relationship?
Authors: Esaku Stephen , Mugoda Salmon 
Published: April 2023

AbstractUsing time series data from Uganda covering the period from 1991 to 2017, this paper applies autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing approach to examine the long‐ and short‐run relationship between education and the shadow economy. We find evidence of the long‐run relationship. The results indicate that an increase in both primary and secondary school enrolment significantly reduce the size of the shadow economy in the long run, all else equal. The above relationship is robust to alternative specification and estimation methods. We also uncover bidirectional causal relationship between education and the shadow economy. In the short run, increased school enrolment reduces the shadow economy but in an insignificant manner. At the policy level, the existence of a negative relationship between education and the shadow economy suggests that mitigating informality requires reforming education system to address issues of quality. Additionally, addressing informality may require improving the economic and financial environment so that the needs and obstacles faced by individuals and or businesses are handled. Furthermore, reforming the political and institutional environment may go a long way into mitigating the expansion of the shadow economy in Uganda and Africa in general.
Against ‘Hate Speech’
Authors: Kindermann Dirk 
Published: April 2023

ABSTRACTThis article argues against the term and concept of ‘hate speech’ and in favour of using the concept and term ‘discriminatory speech’. ‘Hate speech’ is a misnomer; we should name the harmful speech in question by what it in fact does: it discriminates. The article argues for this conceptual replacement claim by identifying a number of functions the concept ‘hate speech’ has been meant to serve and by arguing that extant concepts of hate speech have not served this function well. Roughly, they do not serve the functions well because of five properties of hate speech: hate centricity, perpetrator centricity, intention centricity, emotion centricity, and individual centricity. The article then proposes a definition of discriminatory speech and argues that it fulfils the conceptual functions better.
Full‐mouth rehabilitation in a completely digital workflow using partially adhesive monolithic zirconia restorations
Authors: Luna‐Domínguez Carlos Roberto , Luna‐Domínguez Jorge Humberto , Blatz Markus 
Published: April 2023

AbstractObjectiveThis clinical case describes a completely digital workflow using current digital technologies for a full‐mouth adhesive rehabilitation with ultra‐translucent multilayer zirconia restorations.Clinical ConsiderationsA healthy 60‐year‐old man with abfractions on all upper and lower molars and severe tooth wear underwent a full‐mouth rehabilitation with laminate veneers and partial adhesive restorations. A proper zirconia bonding protocol was realized to provide a durable bond between the ultra‐translucent zirconia and the resin cement. Furthermore, the implementation of a digital workflow enables the clinician to have an effective communication during treatment planning and simplify the clinical and laboratory procedures, providing the patient with long‐term esthetic treatment and functional results.ConclusionThe implementation of a completely digital workflow and the use of ultra‐translucent multilayer zirconia for indirect adhesive restorations can be an alternative with simplified and predictable procedures for patients with dental wear and teeth discolorations.Clinical SignificanceThe digital workflow described is intended to facilitate the planning and execution of a full‐mouth adhesive rehabilitation and demonstrates to clinicians a reliable zirconia bonding concept for minimally invasive anterior and posterior restorations.