bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Flower size evolution in the Southwest Pacific
Authors: Ciarle Riccardo , Burns Kevin C , Mologni Fabio 
Published: January 2025

Abstract

Background and Aims
Despite accelerating interest in island evolution, the general evolutionary trajectories of island flowers remain poorly understood. In particular the island rule, which posits that small organisms become larger and large organisms become smaller after island colonization, while tested for various plant traits, has never been tested for flower size. Here, we provide the first test of the island rule for flower size for animal- and wind-pollinated flowers, and the first evidence for generalized in situ evolution of flower size on islands.

Methods
Focusing on ten archipelagos in the Southwest Pacific, we amassed a dataset comprising 129 independent colonization events, by pairing each island endemic to its closest mainland relative. We then tested for the island rule in flower size and for gigantism/dwarfism in floral display for animal- and wind-pollinated flowers.

Key Results
Animal-pollinated flowers followed the island rule, while wind-pollinated flowers did not, instead showing evidence of gigantism. Results remained consistent after controlling for breeding system, mainland source pool, degree of taxonomic differentiation, taxonomic family and island type.

Conclusions
While in situ evolution of flower size is widespread on islands in the Southwest Pacific, animal- and wind-pollinated flowers exhibited unexpected and markedly different evolutionary trajectories. Further studies are needed to understand the mechanisms behind these patterns.
Effects of a home-based multicomponent exercise programme on frailty in post-cardiac surgery patients: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Huang Wan-Ting , Liu Chieh-Yu , Shih Chun-Che , Chen Yih-Sharng , Chou Chen-Liang , Lee Jen-Ting , Chiou Ai-Fu 
Published: January 2025

Abstract

Aims
A randomized controlled trial was conducted to examine the effects of a home-based multicomponent exercise programme on frailty in patients who underwent cardiac surgery.

Methods and results
A convenience sample of 92 patients who underwent cardiac surgery at two medical centres in Taiwan were recruited and randomly allocated to the intervention (n = 46) and control (n = 46) groups. The intervention group underwent a 12-week home-based multicomponent exercise programme, including individual nursing consultation, home-based exercise intervention, nutritional assessment and guidance, and continuous support. The control group did not receive any interventions. Frailty was assessed with the Fried frailty phenotype at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks. The prevalence rates of prefrailty and frailty at baseline were 67 and 33%, respectively, and no statistically significant differences in frailty status were noted between the two groups at baseline. However, patients in the intervention group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in their frailty scores, handgrip strength, and physical activity than the control group at 6 and 12 weeks post-intervention, with no adverse events reported.

Conclusion
A home-based multicomponent exercise programme is safe and effective in improving frailty outcomes among post-cardiac surgery patients and is suitable for application in clinical practice. Future studies with larger sample sizes and long-term follow-up are needed to verify the long-term effects of this home-based multicomponent exercise programme.

Registration
ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04332887
Slow slip events and megathrust coupling changes contribute to the earthquake potential in Oaxaca, Mexico
Authors: Villafuerte C , Cruz-Atienza V M , Tago J , Solano-Rojas D , Garza-Girón R , Franco S I , Dominguez L A , Kostoglodov V 
Published: January 2025

SUMMARY
Stress accumulation on the plate interface of subduction zones is a key parameter that controls the location, timing and rupture characteristics of earthquakes. The diversity of slip processes occurring in the megathrust indicates that stress is highly variable in space and time. Based on global navigation satellite system and interferometric synthetic aperture radar data, we study the evolution of the interplate slip-rate along the Oaxaca subduction zone, Mexico, from October 2016 through October 2020, with particular emphasis on the pre-seismic, coseismic and post-seismic phases associated with the 2020 June 23 Mw 7.4 Huatulco earthquake (also known as La Crucecita earthquake), to understand how different slip regimes contribute to the stress accumulation in the region. Our results show that continuous changes in both the aseismic stress-releasing slip and the coupling produced a high stress concentration [i.e. Coulomb failure stress (CFS) of 80 kPa] prior to the event on the region with the highest moment release of the Huatulco earthquake (between 17 and 30 km depth) and a stress deficit zone in the adjacent updip region (i.e. shallower than 17 km depth with CFS around −90 kPa). This region under negative stress accumulation can be explained by possible recurrent shallow slow slip events (SSE) offshore Huatulco as well as by the stress shadow from adjacent locked segments. Absent in the literature, the shallow rupture is characterized by a secondary slip patch (between 7 and 14 km depth) that overlaps with the highest concentration of aftershocks. Two months prior to the event, a Mw 6.6 long-term SSE also occurred about 80 km northwest from the hypocentre, between 25 and 55 km depth. Transient increments of the interplate coupling around the adjacent 1978 (Mw 7.8) Puerto Escondido rupture zone correlate with the occurrence of the last three SSEs in Oaxaca far downdip of this zone, possibly associated with along-dip fluid diffusion at the subduction interface. Throughout the 4-yr period analysed, the interface region of the 1978 event experienced a high CFS build up of 80–150 kPa, primarily attributable to both the coseismic and early post-seismic slip of the Huatulco rupture, that, considering the 55 yr average return period of the region, indicates large earthquake potential near Puerto Escondido. Continuous monitoring of the interplate slip-rate thus provides a better estimation of the stress accumulation in seismogenic regions than those given by long-term, time-invariant coupling models and improves our understanding of the megathrust mechanics where future earthquakes are likely to occur.
Can public education campaigns equitably counter the use of substandard and falsified medical products in African countries?
Authors: Wagnild Janelle M , Owusu Samuel Asiedu , Mariwah Simon , Kolo Victor I , Vandi Ahmed , Namanya Didacus Bambaiha , Kuwana Rutendo , Jayeola Babatunde , Prah-Ashun Vigil , Adeyeye Moji Christianah , Komeh James , Nahamya David , Hampshire Kate 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Substandard and falsified (SF) medical products are a serious health and economic concern that disproportionately impact low- and middle-income countries and marginalized groups. Public education campaigns are demand-side interventions that may reduce the risk of SF exposure, but the effectiveness of such campaigns, and their likelihood of benefitting everybody, is unclear. Nationwide pilot risk communication campaigns, involving multiple media, were deployed in Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Uganda in 2020–21. Focus group discussions (n = 73 with n = 611 total participants) and key informant interviews (n = 80 individual interviews and n = 4 group interviews with n = 111 total informants) were conducted within each of the four countries to ascertain the reach and effectiveness of the campaign. Small proportions of focus group discussants (8.0–13.9%) and key informants (12.5–31.4%) had previously encountered the campaign materials. Understandability varied: the use of English and select local languages, combined with high rates of illiteracy, meant that some were not able to understand the campaign. The capacity for people to act on the messages was extremely limited: inaccessibility, unavailability, and unaffordability of quality-assured medicines from official sources, as well as illiteracy, constrained what people could realistically do in response to the campaign. Importantly, reach, understandability, and capacity to respond were especially limited among marginalized groups, who are already at the greatest risk of exposure to SF products. These findings suggest that there may be potential for public education campaigns to help combat the issue of SF medicines through prevention, but that the impact of public education is likely to be limited and may even inadvertently widen health inequities. This indicates that public education campaigns are not a single solution; they can only be properly effective if accompanied by health system strengthening and supply-side interventions that aim to increase the effectiveness of regulation.
Beurling–Fourier Algebras of q-Deformations of Compact Semisimple Lie Groups and Complexification
Authors: Lee Heon , Voigt Christian 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
We study Beurling–Fourier algebras of $ q $-deformations of compact semisimple Lie groups. In particular, we show that the space of irreducible representations of the function algebras of their Drinfeld doubles is exhausted by the irreducible representations of Beurling–Fourier algebras associated to a certain family of central weights.
Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis boosts stress resistance and host defense mechanisms in Caenorhabditis elegans
Authors: Ali Mohammad Shaokat , Ahmed Shamima , Tanimoto Yoshihiko , Wada Takayuki , Kage-Nakadai Eriko 
Published: January 2025

Abstract

Aims
To investigate the effects of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis strains LL100933 and LL12007 on the host defense mechanisms of Caenorhabditis elegans against pathogenic infections and stressors.

Methods and results
Caenorhabditis elegans fed a 1:1 mixture of Escherichia coli OP50 and LL100933 (OP50 + LL100933) or E. coli OP50 and LL12007 (OP50 + LL12007) had significantly higher survivability than the control diet (OP50). Moreover, when OP50 + LL100933 and OP50 + LL12007 were fed to C. elegans deficient in daf-16 and pmk-1, survival did not exceed that of control-fed worms under Salmonella infection. Therefore, these strains may enhance the survivability of C. elegans through the p38 MAPK and DAF-16-related pathways. Gene expressions responsible for these enhanced defense responses were estimated using RNA sequencing and gene ontology analysis. The test groups showed significant upregulation of glutathione S-transferase (gsto-1, gst-5, and gst-17), UDP-glucuronyl transferase (ugt-13, ugt-16, and ugt-21), heme-responsive (hrg-4), invertebrate-type lysozyme (ilys-2), and C-type lectin (clec-52) genes compared to those in the control group.

Conclusion
Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis LL100933 and LL12007 strains demonstrated promising benefits as probiotics for enhancing host defense mechanisms in C. elegans.
Life table analyses and feeding behaviors of cannabis aphid, cotton aphid, and green peach aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae) on industrial hemp
Authors: Leede Alex E , Davis Jeffrey A 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Industrial hemp, Cannabis sativa L., is an herbaceous annual plant that has recently re-entered crop production both in the field and in greenhouses within the United States. Like many agronomic crops, hemp production faces several insect pest challenges. Aphids pose a unique threat to hemp, being found in both indoor and outdoor production. Aphids affect hemp by reducing plant growth, bud production, concentrations of cannabinoids, and removing photosynthate. Additionally, aphids are vectors of plant viruses, and several species are known to transmit viruses to hemp. Limited research exists regarding the host suitability of hemp for common aphid pests in Louisiana. Thus, experiments were conducted to determine the life table statistics and feeding behaviors of Myzus persicae, Aphis gossypii, and Phorodon cannabis to determine the potential pest population dynamics of these pests on hemp. Hemp cv. Maverick was not a good host for either A. gossypii or M. persicae, resulting in negative intrinsic rates of increase and no sustained colonization. Although individuals of M. persicae and P. cannabis initiated probes at comparable rates, M. persicae probe durations were significantly shorter and probes were more frequent, indicating an absence of positive responses to probing hemp. A significant difference was observed in the percentage of individuals of A. gossypii initiating probes, and probe duration was significantly shorter than P. cannabis and significantly longer than M. persicae. Both A. gossypii and M. persicae spent significantly less time probing in phloem when compared with P. cannabis. These electrical penetration graph results indicate that A. gossypii and M. persicae do not find C. sativa cv. Maverick a suitable host; however, both species of aphids may still pose a threat to C. sativa production as virus vectors.
Impact of time to treatment initiation on the development of cachexia and clinical outcomes in lung cancer
Authors: Katsushima Utae , Kurose Satoshi , Fukushima Takuya , Nakano Jiro , Ogushi Naoya , Fujii Kazuki , Nagata Yutaro , Kamisako Keisuke , Okuno Yukiko , Okazaki Yuta , Nakanishi Kentaro , Yoshida Kiyori , Ikoma Tatsuki , Takeyasu Yuki , Yamanaka Yuta , Yoshioka Hiroshige , Hase Kimitaka , Kurata Takayasu 
Published: January 2025

Abstract

Background
Pre-cancer onset of cachexia raises uncertainties regarding the optimal timing for early intervention in lung cancer patients. We aimed to examine changes in physical function, nutritional status, and cachexia incidence in patients with lung cancer from the initial visit to treatment initiation and determine the effect of these changes on lung cancer treatment.

Methods
This single-center retrospective cohort study enrolled patients suspected of having advanced lung cancer who visited Kansai Medical University Hospital between January and February 2023 and were definitely diagnosed with the disease. Patients were categorized into three groups based on their cachexia status: those with cachexia at initial diagnosis (group C), those who developed cachexia between the initial visit and treatment initiation (group OC), and those without cachexia (group NC).

Results
Out of 61 patients, 21 had cachexia at their first outpatient visit (group C). The time between the first visit and treatment initiation was 42.5 days. The rate of cachexia in patients with stage IV lung cancer in group OC was significantly higher than that in patients with other stages (P = 0.008). Of the 33 patients with advanced lung cancer, 11 received supportive care only. The first-line treatment induction rate for the OC group was low. Half of the patients declined chemotherapy and received the best supportive care; their disease control rate (37.5%) was significantly worse than that of the other groups (P = 0.007).

Conclusions
Cachexia negatively impacts the effectiveness of initial cancer treatment, necessitating early anti-cachexia interventions at the first clinical visit.
Adenosine accumulation in the blood of newborn mice weakens antimicrobial host defenses
Authors: Ledderose Carola , Valsami Eleftheria-Angeliki , Elevado Mark , Stevenson Ava , Abutabikh Reem , Curatolo Julian , Junger Wolfgang G 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
Pediatric intensive care patients are particularly susceptible to severe bacterial infections because of ineffective neutrophil responses. The reasons why neutrophils of newborns are less responsive than those of adults are not clear. Because adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine (ADO) tightly regulate neutrophils, we studied whether the ATP and ADO levels in the blood of newborn mice could impair the function of their neutrophils. We observed significant changes in plasma ATP and ADO levels throughout the lifespan of mice. ADO levels in newborns were significantly higher than in older mice, while ATP levels were significantly lower. These changes were particularly striking in newborn and juvenile mice with ATP and ADO levels of about 80 and 600 nM in newborns versus 130 and 190 nM in juveniles, respectively. The ratios of the ATP versus ADO levels of newborns were (with 0.2) significantly lower than those of juveniles (1.4) and adults (0.5). These low ATP/ADO ratios correlated with significantly weakened neutrophil activation responses following in vitro stimulation with a formyl peptide receptor agonist and a markedly higher morbidity and mortality rate of newborns following bacterial infection. We found that enhanced AMP hydrolysis via CD73, a lack of ADO breakdown by adenosine deaminase, and reduced ADO uptake by nucleoside transporters are responsible for the low ATP/ADO ratios in blood of newborn mice. We conclude that the extracellular ADO accumulation in newborn mice impairs inflammatory responses and reduces the ability of neutrophils to mount effective antimicrobial defenses against bacterial infections.
Spatial Dialectology of Texts: Isoglosses for Presentatives in Written Algerian Judaeo-Arabic
Authors: Tirosh-Becker Ofra , Becker Oren M 
Published: January 2025

Abstract
In this article, we introduce an innovative methodology that applies concepts of geographic dialectology to the realm of corpus texts. As a case study, this methodology is applied to the diverse array of presentative particles found in Algerian Judaeo-Arabic, based on a substantial textual corpus from 19th and 20th century Constantine, Algeria. This corpus encompasses texts categorized into four distinct groups: Judaeo-Arabic translations of the Bible, post-biblical texts, non-canonical Hebrew texts, and original writings. We identify six primary presentative forms, each with distinct usage patterns across text groups. Analyzing these patterns, we calculate text similarity and construct a ‘geographical-like’ map of the corpus. This map serves as a visual representation upon which we delineate lexical isoglosses corresponding to specific presentative particles. This analytical approach illuminates the utilization of presentative particles throughout the textual corpus, revealing underlying relationships and idiosyncrasies that might otherwise evade detection.
Photobiomodulation therapy for the treatment of vulvar pain among those with provoked vestibulodynia: a randomized controlled trial
Authors: I Antonio Flavia , Pukall Caroline , McLean Linda 
Published: January 2025

Abstract

Background
Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) is characterized by recurring pain confined to the vulvar vestibule; histological studies show inflammatory mediators and neural proliferation in the vulvar tissues.

Objective
To determine whether a 15-session photobiomodulation (PBM) intervention is more effective than sham-PBM for reducing vulvar pain. Secondary objectives were to evaluate the effect of the PBM intervention on broader domains of vulvar pain, psychological outcomes, sexual function, perceived improvement and satisfaction, as well as to describe adverse events and adherence.

Design
Randomized controlled trial.

Participants
Participants with PVD were recruited from the local community.

Allocation
Randomized allocation to real- or sham-PBM (1:1) was concealed from participants and all members of the research team until after data analysis was complete.

Outcomes
Primary outcomes: pressure pain threshold (PPT), pain reported on the tampon test, and vulvar pain sensitivity reported on the Vulvar Pain Assessment Questionnaire (VPAQ). Secondary outcomes: pain-related domains reported on the VPAQ, sexual function, depression, anxiety and stress, pain catastrophizing, central sensitization to pain, Patient Global Perception of Improvement (PGPI), Perceived overall percent improvement (P%I), perceived satisfaction with treatment (%), adherence and adverse events. The primary end point was one week following the last PBM intervention session.

Intervention
Fifteen sessions of a real- or sham-PBM intervention were delivered over an 8-week period, progressing through five stages of incremental exposure to light in the red and near-infrared spectra applied to the vulvar vestibule, the perineum, and the sacral region.

Results
Thirty participants (16 real-PBM, 14 sham-PBM) enrolled and received their intended intervention; one (sham-PBM) was lost to follow-up. Vulvar pain was reduced more in the real- compared to the sham-PBM group; between group differences were 28.2-112.0 g/cm2 (d = 0.61) for PPT, 0.1-2.5 1(d = 0.60) for pain reported on the tampon test, and 0.1-0.9 (d = 0.87) for pain sensations reported on the VPAQ. Changes in other pain-related domains reported on the VPAQ, psychological outcomes and sexual function were not different between the real- and sham-PBM groups. Adherence to the intervention was nearly 100% among those who completed the study. Most participants in both groups were satisfied or very satisfied with the intervention (real-PBM = 80%; sham-PBM = 64%), with no group differences in satisfaction or perception of improvement.

Conclusions
The PBM intervention resulted in greater reductions in vulvar pain than the sham intervention. However, patients did not perceive that the real-PBM was significantly better than the sham-PBM intervention, and the intervention did not impact psychological outcomes or sexual function.
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04234542.