bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Genetic Diversity in Peatland Restoration: A Case of Jelutung
Authors: Tata Hesti Lestari 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe target of the Indonesian government was to restore at least 2 million ha of degraded peatlands by 2020. This can be achieved by applying three approaches: rewetting, revegetation, and revitalization of the community. In revegetation, the use of native tree species is recommended in the technical guidelines for peatland restoration. The interest in using native plant species for ecosystem restoration, particularly for peatland restoration, is increasing significantly. The native species may adapt well to the environment and usually correspond with the people’s preference. An important concern in revegetation is the selection of suitable genetics of the planting stocks. In peatland restoration, a seed source with high genetic diversity should be used since it maintains the genetic entity. On the other hand, low genetic diversity used for peatland restoration may result in the genetic drift of the populations. A native tree species, Dyera polyphylla (locally known as jelutung), has been widely used for peatland restoration in Indonesia. Many other species can also be developed and require further research. Several community-based seedling nurseries have been established in Sumatra and Kalimantan. The challenge is to emphasize the importance of genetic diversity to the farmers with businesses in a seedling nursery. The necessary strategy of seed sourcing in peatland restoration includes composite provenancing and admixture provenancing.
Characteristics of Bird Community Response to Land Use Change in Tropical Peatland in Riau, Indonesia
Authors: Fujita Motoko S. , Samejima Hiromitsu , Haryadi Dendy Sukma , Muhammad Ahmad 
Published: March 2023

AbstractTropical peatlands have increasingly been targeted for logging or conversion to plantations in recent years. Tropical peatlands are unique ecosystems rich in biodiversity, but they have not attracted as much researcher attention as tropical forests, for example. There is still limited understanding of the ecological significance of peatland disturbance, or of the ecological resilience of peatland ecosystems. This study focuses on birds as indicator species in peatland ecologies. It compares bird communities in peatlands and non-peat lowlands in terms of: (1) species richness; (2) feeding guilds; and (3) responses to disturbance. Our research team analyzed bird communities in peatlands under several different land uses in Riau in comparison to those living in non-peat lowlands in Sumatra Island. We found that species richness in natural forests was lower in peatlands than in non-peat lowlands. The Jackknife estimator of species richness was 77.2 in natural forests on peatland, whereas on non-peat lowland, it was 114.8 and 241. Compared to non-peat lowland forests, the number of terrestrial insectivore and woodpeckers was lower in peatlands. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis showed that the bird community composition in peatland forests is unique compared to non-peat lowland forests, as they showed completely different lines of avifauna. Nevertheless, avifauna in disturbed sites on peatland were close to avifauna in disturbed non-peat lowland sites, which indicates that the disturbance of peatland would lead to homogenization of avifauna and loss of uniqueness, which in turn, leads to loss of biodiversity. Bird community composition in peatlands was very sensitive to land use change. Shifts in the community composition along the disturbance, as measured by Euclidean distances in the NMDS plot between each disturbed habitat and natural forest, were greater in peatland than in non-peat lowland. Although our knowledge and data of peatland ecologies are limited, it seems likely that certain peatland avifauna can only survive in natural peat swamp forest.
Plenty of hyperbolicity on a class of linear homogeneous jerk differential equations
Authors: Bessa Mário 
Published: March 2023

AbstractWe consider $$3\times 3$$

3
×
3

partially hyperbolic linear differential systems over an ergodic flow $$X^t$$

X
t

and derived from the linear homogeneous differential equation $$\dddot{x}(t)+\beta (X^t(t))\dot{x}(X^t(t))+\gamma (t) x(t)=0$$

x
⃛

(
t
)

+
β

(

X
t

(
t
)

)

x
˙

(

X
t

(
t
)

)

+
γ

(
t
)

x

(
t
)

=
0

. Assuming that the partial hyperbolic decomposition $$E^s\oplus E^c\oplus E^u$$

E
s

⊕

E
c

⊕

E
u

is proper and displays a zero Lyapunov exponent along the central direction $$E^c$$

E
c

we prove that some $$C^0$$

C
0

perturbation of the parameters $$\beta (t)$$

β
(
t
)

and $$\gamma (t)$$

γ
(
t
)

can be done in order to obtain non-zero Lyapunov exponents and so a chaotic behaviour of the solution.
Chronic stress targets mitochondrial respiratory efficiency in the skeletal muscle of C57BL/6 mice
Authors: Nikolic Aleksandra , Fahlbusch Pia , Wahlers Natalie , Riffelmann Nele-Kathrien , Jacob Sylvia , Hartwig Sonja , Kettel Ulrike , Dille Matthias , Al-Hasani Hadi , Kotzka Jörg , Knebel Birgit 
Published: March 2023

AbstractEpisodes of chronic stress can result in psychic disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder, but also promote the development of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. We hypothesize that muscle, as main regulator of whole-body energy expenditure, is a central target of acute and adaptive molecular effects of stress in this context. Here, we investigate the immediate effect of a stress period on energy metabolism in Musculus gastrocnemius in our established C57BL/6 chronic variable stress (Cvs) mouse model. Cvs decreased lean body mass despite increased energy intake, reduced circadian energy expenditure (EE), and substrate utilization. Cvs altered the proteome of metabolic components but not of the oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS), or other mitochondrial structural components. Functionally, Cvs impaired the electron transport chain (ETC) capacity of complex I and complex II, and reduces respiratory capacity of the ETC from complex I to ATP synthase. Complex I-OXPHOS correlated to diurnal EE and complex II-maximal uncoupled respiration correlated to diurnal and reduced nocturnal EE. Bioenergetics assessment revealed higher optimal thermodynamic efficiencies (ƞ-opt) of mitochondria via complex II after Cvs. Interestingly, transcriptome and methylome were unaffected by Cvs, thus excluding major contributions to supposed metabolic adaptation processes. In summary, the preclinical Cvs model shows that metabolic pressure by Cvs is initially compensated by adaptation of mitochondria function associated with high thermodynamic efficiency and decreased EE to manage the energy balance. This counter-regulation of mitochondrial complex II may be the driving force to longitudinal metabolic changes of muscle physiological adaptation as the basis of stress memory.
Finiteness properties of automorphism spaces of manifolds with finite fundamental group
Authors: Bustamante Mauricio , Krannich Manuel , Kupers Alexander 
Published: March 2023

AbstractGiven a closed smooth manifold M of even dimension $$2n\ge 6$$

2
n
≥
6

with finite fundamental group, we show that the classifying space $$B\textrm{Diff}(M)$$

B
Diff
(
M
)

of the diffeomorphism group of M is of finite type and has finitely generated homotopy groups in every degree. We also prove a variant of this result for manifolds with boundary and deduce that the space of smooth embeddings of a compact submanifold $$N\subset M$$

N
⊂
M

of arbitrary codimension into M has finitely generated higher homotopy groups based at the inclusion, provided the fundamental group of the complement is finite. As an intermediate result, we show that the group of homotopy classes of simple homotopy self-equivalences of a finite CW complex with finite fundamental group is up to finite kernel commensurable to an arithmetic group.
Unauthorized change of immunosuppressants by patients with rheumatic diseases in the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional analysis of a patient survey
Authors: Dahm Simon , Henes Joerg C. , Saur Sebastian J. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThis study provides insight in behavior and perspective of rheumatic patients during the first COVID-19 wave. Especially, we analyzed the patients’ fear of COVID-19 and unauthorized change of immunosuppressive medication in consequence of their fear. We hereby provide data from 877 patients with valuable insights into the patients’ point of view. We retrospectively interviewed patients of our rheumatic university outpatient clinic. This way, we collected information about the patients’ personal point of view. Data like the rheumatic diagnosis and immunosuppressive medication was extracted from the health records. Statistical analysis was conducted using IBM® SPSS® Statistics (version 26). A total of 877 patients were included into our study. We could show that fear of COVID-19 was clearly present in rheumatic patients. Higher fear levels seem to be associated with comorbidity burden. Unauthorized change of immunosuppressive medication was rare in our study (5%). In our study we provide novel insight into patients’ point of view and behavior of rheumatic patients. Unauthorized change of immunosuppressive medication was rare (5%) as seen in other studies. The low rate of unauthorized change and high rate of compliance is reassuring since good disease control appears to be prognostically important in the progression of COVID-19 disease. Therefore, as the pandemic continues, treatment decisions should be made in close consultation between patient and practitioner to improve adherence and reduce morbidity and mortality.
Topographic patterns of retinal lesions in multiple evanescent white dot syndrome
Authors: Ong Ariel Yuhan , Birtel Johannes , Agorogiannis Eleftherios , Sharma Srilakshmi M. , Charbel Issa Peter 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Purpose
To demonstrate different topographic distributions of multiple-evanescent white dot syndrome (MEWDS) and secondary MEWDS disease and to describe possible associations.

Methods
Clinical evaluation and multimodal retinal imaging in 27 subjects with MEWDS (29 discrete episodes of MEWDS). Ophthalmic assessment included best-corrected visual acuity testing and multimodal retinal imaging with OCT, blue-light autofluorescence, fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography, fundus photography, and widefield pseudocolor and autofluorescence fundus imaging.

Results
The topographic distribution of MEWDS lesions was centered on or around the optic disc (n = 17, 59%), centered on the macula (n = 7, 24%), sectoral (n = 2, 7%), or was indeterminate (n = 3, 10%). The MEWDS episodes either occurred in the absence (‘primary MEWDS’; n = 14, 48%) or presence of concurrent chorioretinal pathology (‘secondary MEWDS’; n = 15, 52%). In patients with the latter, MEWDS lesions were often centered around a coexisting chorioretinal lesion. The majority of patients in both groups experienced resolution of their symptoms and retinal changes on multimodal imaging by 3 months.

Conclusions
Distinct distributions of MEWDS lesions were identified. MEWDS may occur in tandem with other chorioretinal pathology, which may impact the topography of MEWDS lesions.
Value of palliative surgery in perihilar cholangiocarcinoma
Authors: Dondorf Felix , Rohland Oliver , Deeb Aladdin Ali , Ardelt Michael , Settmacher Utz , Rauchfuss Falk 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Purpose
The survival rate of patients
with irresectable perihilar cholangiocarcinoma is remarkably poor. An essential part of palliation is treatment of obstructive cholestasis caused by the tumor. Currently, this is mainly performed endoscopically by stent or via PTBD, requiring frequent changes of the stents and limiting health-related quality of life due to the multiple hospital stays needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate surgical palliation via extrahepatic bile duct resection as an option for palliative treatment.

Methods
Between 2005 and 2016, we treated 120 pCCC patients with primary palliative care. Three treatment strategies were retrospectively considered: extrahepatic bile duct resection (EBR), exploratory laparotomy (EL), and primary palliative (PP) therapy.

Results
The EBR group required significantly less stenting postoperatively, and the overall morbidity was 29.4% (EBR). After the surgical procedure, fewer subsequent endoscopic treatments for stenting or PTBD were necessary in the EBR group over time. The 30-day mortality was 5.9% (EBR) and 3.4% (EL). The median overall survival averaged 570 (EBR), 392 (EL), and 247 (PP) days.

Conclusions
In selected pCCC patients, palliative extrahepatic bile duct resection is a feasible option for treatment of obstructive cholestasis and should be reconsidered as a therapy option for these patients even in a palliative setting.
Pendrin abundance, subcellular distribution, and function are unaffected by either αENaC gene ablation or by increasing ENaC channel activity
Authors: Loffing Johannes , Pech Vladimir , Loffing-Cueni Dominique , Abood Delaney C. , Kim Young Hee , Chen Chao , Pham Truyen D. , Verlander Jill W. , Wall Susan M. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractThe intercalated cell Cl−/HCO3− exchanger, pendrin, modulates ENaC subunit abundance and function. Whether ENaC modulates pendrin abundance and function is however unknown. Because αENaC mRNA has been detected in pendrin-positive intercalated cells, we hypothesized that ENaC, or more specifically the αENaC subunit, modulates intercalated cell function. The purpose of this study was therefore to determine if αENaC is expressed at the protein level in pendrin-positive intercalated cells and to determine if αENaC gene ablation or constitutively upregulating ENaC activity changes pendrin abundance, subcellular distribution, and/or function. We observed diffuse, cytoplasmic αENaC label in pendrin-positive intercalated cells from both mice and rats, with much lower label intensity in pendrin-negative, type A intercalated cells. However, while αENaC gene ablation within principal and intercalated cells of the CCD reduced Cl− absorption, it did not change pendrin abundance or subcellular distribution in aldosterone-treated mice. Further experiments used a mouse model of Liddle’s syndrome to explore the effect of increasing ENaC channel activity on pendrin abundance and function. The Liddle’s variant did not increase either total or apical plasma membrane pendrin abundance in aldosterone-treated or in NaCl-restricted mice. Similarly, while the Liddle’s mutation increased total Cl− absorption in CCDs from aldosterone-treated mice, it did not significantly affect the change in Cl− absorption seen with pendrin gene ablation. We conclude that in rats and mice, αENaC localizes to pendrin-positive ICs where its physiological role remains to be determined. While pendrin modulates ENaC abundance, subcellular distribution, and function, ENaC does not have a similar effect on pendrin.
Perturbed eigenvalues of polyharmonic operators in domains with small holes
Authors: Felli Veronica , Romani Giulio 
Published: March 2023

AbstractWe study singular perturbations of eigenvalues of the polyharmonic operator on bounded domains under removal of small interior compact sets. We consider both homogeneous Dirichlet and Navier conditions on the external boundary, while we impose homogeneous Dirichlet conditions on the boundary of the removed set. To this aim, we develop a notion of capacity which is suitable for our higher-order context, and which permits to obtain a description of the asymptotic behaviour of perturbed simple eigenvalues in terms of a capacity of the removed set, in dependence of the respective normalized eigenfunction. Then, in the particular case of a subset which is scaling to a point, we apply a blow-up analysis to detect the precise convergence rate, which turns out to depend on the order of vanishing of the eigenfunction. In this respect, an important role is played by Hardy–Rellich inequalities in order to identify the appropriate functional space containing the limiting profile. Remarkably, for the biharmonic operator this turns out to be the same, regardless of the boundary conditions prescribed on the exterior boundary.
DEM study of an “avatar” railway ballast with real particle shape, fabric and contact mechanics
Authors: Tolomeo Mathias , McDowell Glenn R. 
Published: March 2023

AbstractIn this paper we show DEM simulations of static and cyclic large triaxial tests on a sample of railway ballast. The sample is reconstructed from X-Ray tomography images of an untested laboratory sample, recovered by impregnation with an epoxy resin. Measurements of both shape and fabric are carried out; the sample shows a high anisotropy of particle orientations due to the preparation procedure and a high shape heterogeneity. A DEM model is then generated using clumps to model single particles, preserving the shape of each particle and the fabric of the sample. Results of static and cyclic simulations are shown and compared with previous simulations on numerically generated samples, showing the importance of an accurate representation of the whole range of particle shapes, as well as confirming the effect of particle anisotropy on the mechanical response.
Graphical Abstract
Robust estimation of fixed effect parameters and variances of linear mixed models: the minimum density power divergence approach
Authors: Saraceno Giovanni , Ghosh Abhik , Basu Ayanendranath , Agostinelli Claudio 
Published: March 2023

AbstractMany real-life data sets can be analyzed using linear mixed models (LMMs). Since these are ordinarily based on normality assumptions, under small deviations from the model the inference can be highly unstable when the associated parameters are estimated by classical methods. On the other hand, the density power divergence (DPD) family, which measures the discrepancy between two probability density functions, has been successfully used to build robust estimators with high stability associated with minimal loss in efficiency. Here, we develop the minimum DPD estimator (MDPDE) for independent but non-identically distributed observations for LMMs according to the variance components model. We prove that the theoretical properties hold, including consistency and asymptotic normality of the estimators. The influence function and sensitivity measures are computed to explore the robustness properties. As a data-based choice of the MDPDE tuning parameter $$\alpha$$
α
is very important, we propose two candidates as “optimal” choices, where optimality is in the sense of choosing the strongest downweighting that is necessary for the particular data set. We conduct a simulation study comparing the proposed MDPDE, for different values of $$\alpha$$
α
, with S-estimators, M-estimators and the classical maximum likelihood estimator, considering different levels of contamination. Finally, we illustrate the performance of our proposal on a real-data example.
The architecture of procurement in sustainable and zero-emission neighborhood projects—strategic challenges and new realities
Authors: Hamdan Hasan A. M. , de Boer Luitzen , Andersen Poul Houman 
Published: March 2023

AbstractAs an intermediate layer located between buildings and cities, neighborhoods are considered critical with regard to the transition to low-carbon cities and zero-emission societies. Sustainable and zero-emission neighborhood (ZEN) projects can be characterized as both complex and multi-organizational. However, there is currently only limited research available concerning collaboration among organizations in relation to ZEN projects. In particular, there is a lack of evidence as to how lead organizations arrange procurement for ZEN projects. Using a case study approach, this paper explores the potential of procurement to serve as a system integrator in ZEN projects. Our findings indicate that system integration by means of procurement in ZEN projects is difficult due to several challenges. Among the identified challenges, the most important are the complex ownership structure, the lack of supporting regulations, and the unclear mandate of the procurement department. In light of these findings, we propose a conceptual model that lead organizations could apply to support the realization of ZEN projects.
Markers of arterial stiffness and urinary metabolomics in young adults with early cardiovascular risk: the African-PREDICT study
Authors: du Toit Wessel L. , Kruger Ruan , Gafane-Matemane Lebo F. , Schutte Aletta E. , Louw Roan , Mels Catharina M. C. 
Published: March 2023

Abstract
Introduction
Increased exposure to risk factors in the young and healthy contributes to arterial changes, which may be accompanied by an altered metabolism.

Objectives
To increase our understanding of early metabolic alterations and how they associate with markers of arterial stiffness, we profiled urinary metabolites in young adults with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor(s) and in a control group without CVD risk factors.

Methods
We included healthy black and white women and men (N = 1202), aged 20–30 years with a detailed CVD risk factor profile, reflecting obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, excessive alcohol intake, masked hypertension, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia and low socio-economic status, forming the CVD risk group (N = 1036) and the control group (N = 166). Markers of arterial stiffness, central systolic blood pressure (BP) and pulse wave velocity were measured. A targeted metabolomics approach was followed by measuring amino acids and acylcarnitines using a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method.

Results
In the CVD risk group, central systolic BP (adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity) was negatively associated with histidine, arginine, asparagine, serine, glutamine, dimethylglycine, threonine, GABA, proline, methionine, pyroglutamic acid, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, branched chain amino acids (BCAAs) and butyrylcarnitine (all P ≤ 0.048). In the same group, pulse wave velocity (adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, mean arterial pressure) was negatively associated with histidine, lysine, threonine, 2-aminoadipic acid, BCAAs and aromatic amino acids (AAAs) (all P ≤ 0.044). In the control group, central systolic BP was negatively associated with pyroglutamic acid, glutamic acid and dodecanoylcarnitine (all P ≤ 0.033).

Conclusion
In a group with increased CVD risk, markers of arterial stiffness were negatively associated with metabolites related to AAA and BCAA as well as energy metabolism and oxidative stress. Our findings may suggest that metabolic adaptations may be at play in response to increased CVD risk to maintain cardiovascular integrity.