bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Interference competition driven by co‐occurrence with tigers Panthera tigris may increase livestock predation by leopards Panthera pardus: a first step meta‐analysis
Authors: Franchini Marcello , Guerisoli Maria de las Mercedes 
Published: August 2023

Abstract

In coexisting carnivorans (Carnivora) relying on the same food resources, the dominant species imposes a cost on the inferior competitor by limiting its foraging ability. Tigers Panthera tigris and leopards Panthera pardus live in sympatry in most Asian countries and, because of their similar trophic niche, ‘interference competition’ may exist between these two predators. In fact, since tigers generally occupy prime habitats, leopards could be forced to roam into peripheral areas that are heavily used by humans to avoid competition, consequently increasing the risk of human‐leopard conflicts.

Using information collected from the reviewed scientific literature, the purposes of this work were: 1) to assess if livestock predation by leopards increases in areas of coexistence with tigers, and 2) to characterise leopard attacks on livestock to discern the main factors involved in the human‐leopard conflict.

Our findings showed that the leopard's ‘overall’ livestock predation rate (i.e. individuals taken/year) was higher in the absence of tigers than in their presence, and the same was observed for the ‘sheep and goat’ predation rate. These results confirm the leopard's tendency to take livestock and, especially, smaller prey. Conversely, the ‘cattle’ and ‘other’ predation rates were higher in the presence of tigers than in their absence, suggesting the existence of a sort of spatial segregation between predators in certain contexts. Lower levels of predation by leopards were observed on farms in which more prevention measures were used, than in those in which only one measure was implemented.

We stress the importance of using proper prevention measures to mitigate human‐leopard conflicts. However, because their implementation may not be easy or economically feasible, the financial support given by carnivoran‐policy makers assumes remarkable importance to minimise the economic impact on local families and, in turn, to foster the coexistence between leopards and humans in shared landscapes.
Parallel evolution in Crassostrea oysters along the latitudinal gradient is associated with variation in multiple genes involved in adipogenesis
Authors: Teng Wen , Fu Huiru , Li Zhuanzhuan , Zhang Qian , Xu Chengxun , Yu Hong , Kong Lingfeng , Liu Shikai , Li Qi 
Published: August 2023

AbstractParallel diversification provides a proper framework for studying the role of natural selection in evolution. Yet, empirical studies from ecological ‘non‐model’ species of invertebrates are limited at the whole genome level. Here, we presented a chromosome‐scale genome assembly for Crassostrea angulata and investigated the parallel genomic evolution in oysters. Specifically, we used population genomics approaches to compare two southern–northern oyster species pairs (C. angulata–C. gigas and southern–northern C. ariakensis) along the coast of China. The estimated divergence time of C. angulata and C. gigas is earlier than that of southern and northern C. ariakensis, which aligns with the overall elevated genome‐wide divergence. However, the southern–northern C. ariakensis FST profile represented more extremely divergent “islands”. Combined with recent reciprocal hybridization studies, we proposed that they are currently at an early stage of speciation. These two southern–northern oyster species pairs exhibited significant repeatability in patterns of genome‐wide differentiation, especially in genomic regions with extremely high and low divergence. This suggested that divergent and purifying selection has contributed to the genomic parallelism between southern and northern latitudes. Top differentiated genomic regions shared in these two oyster species pairs contained candidate genes enriched for functions in energy metabolism, especially adipogenesis, which are closely related to reproductive behaviours. These genes might be good candidates for further investigation in vivo. In conclusion, our results suggest that similar divergent selection and shared genomic features could predictably transform standing genetic variation within one species pair into differences in another.
First record of Babesia and Theileria parasites in ticks from Kassena‐Nankana, Ghana
Authors: Addo Seth Offei , Bentil Ronald Essah , Baako Bernice Olivia Ama , Addae Charlotte Adwoa , Behene Eric , Asoala Victor , Mate Suzanne , Oduro Daniel , Dunford James C. , Larbi John Asiedu , Baidoo Philip Kweku , Wilson Michael David , Diclaro Joseph W. , Dadzie Samuel K. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractTicks are efficient vectors for transmitting pathogens that negatively affect livestock production and pose a risk to public health. In this study, Babesia and Theileria species were identified in ticks collected from cattle, sheep and goats from the Kassena‐Nankana Districts of Ghana between February and December 2020. A total of 1550 ticks were collected, morphologically identified, pooled and screened for pathogens using primers that amplify a 560 bp fragment of the ssrRNA gene and Sanger sequencing. Amblyomma variegatum (62.98%) was the predominant tick species. From the 491 tick pools screened, 12/15 (2.44%) positive pools were successfully sequenced. The pathogen DNA identified were Theileria ovis in eight (15.38%) pools of Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, Theileria velifera in two (0.78%) pools of A. variegatum and Babesia occultans and Babesia sp. Xinjiang in one (1.72%) pool each of Hyalomma truncatum. It was further observed that T. ovis occurred in ticks collected from only sheep (p < 0.001) which were females (p = 0.023) and < =1 year old (p = 0.040). This study reports the first identification of these pathogens in ticks within Kassena‐Nankana. With the constant trade of livestock, there is a need for effective tick control measures to prevent infection spread.
The importance of eggs in an environmentally sustainable diet
Authors: Mason Pamela 
Published: August 2023

AbstractFood and diet globally have a significant environmental impact. Whilst there is broad agreement on the principles underpinning a healthy, sustainable diet, the interpretation of what it might mean in practice is widely debated. Misconceptions are common, including around the environmental impact of eggs and their place in a healthy, sustainable diet. Eggs are often categorised with other animal proteins such as beef, lamb, poultry, meat and dairy when reporting on the potential environmental impact of food and diets. However, the shift towards more planet‐friendly diets demands a clear understanding of the evidence base on which such a diet should be based. This review evaluates scientific reports and peer‐reviewed articles that have evaluated the environmental impact of hens' eggs in terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGEs), and land and water use and compared the impacts of eggs with those of other animal and plant proteins. This overview shows that eggs are responsible for less carbon, land and water use than other animal proteins, particularly beef and only slightly more than most plant proteins. Eggs are a nutritious, convenient and relatively inexpensive food, which traditionally has had an important place in the diet both in the United Kingdom and globally. It is therefore important to understand where they fit in terms of environmental impact and into advice on healthier, more sustainable dietary patterns.
Effector secretion and stability in the maize anthracnose pathogen Colletotrichum graminicola requires N‐linked protein glycosylation and the ER chaperone pathway
Authors: Mei Jie , Li Zhiqiang , Zhou Shaoqun , Chen Xiao‐Lin , Wilson Richard A. , Liu Wende 
Published: August 2023

Summary

N‐linked protein glycosylation is a conserved and essential modification mediating protein processing and quality control in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), but how this contributes to the infection cycle of phytopathogenic fungi is largely unknown.

In this study, we discovered that inhibition of protein N‐glycosylation severely affected vegetative growth, hyphal tip development, conidial germination, appressorium formation, and, ultimately, the ability of the maize (Zea mays) anthracnose pathogen Colletotrichum graminicola to infect its host.

Quantitative proteomics analysis showed that N‐glycosylation can coordinate protein O‐glycosylation, glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor modification, and endoplasmic reticulum quality control (ERQC) by directly targeting the proteins from the corresponding pathway in the ER. We performed a functional study of the N‐glycosylation pathway‐related protein CgALG3 and of the ERQC pathway‐related protein CgCNX1, which demonstrated that N‐glycosylation of ER chaperone proteins is essential for effector stability, secretion, and pathogenicity of C. graminicola.

Our study provides concrete evidence for the regulation of effector protein stability and secretion by N‐glycosylation.
GmPLP1 negatively regulates soybean resistance to high light stress by modulating photosynthetic capacity and reactive oxygen species accumulation in a blue light‐dependent manner
Authors: Zhang Yanzheng , Zheng Jiqiang , Zhan Yuhang , Yu Zhenhai , Liu Shuhan , Lu Xiangpeng , Li Yue , Li Zeyang , Liang Xiaoyue , Li Haibin , Feng Yuan , Teng Weili , Li Wenbin , Han Yingpeng , Zhao Xue , Li Yongguang 
Published: August 2023

SummaryHigh light stress is an important factor limiting crop yield. Light receptors play an important role in the response to high light stress, but their mechanisms are still poorly understood. Here, we found that the abundance of GmPLP1, a positive blue light receptor protein, was significantly inhibited by high light stress and mainly responded to high blue light. GmPLP1 RNA‐interference soybean lines exhibited higher light energy utilization ability and less light damage and reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in leaves under high light stress, while the phenotype of GmPLP1:GmPLP1‐Flag overexpression soybean showed the opposite characteristics. Then, we identified a protein–protein interaction between GmPLP1 and GmVTC2, and the intensity of this interaction was primarily affected by sensing the intensity of blue light. More importantly, overexpression of GmVTC2b improved soybean tolerance to high light stress by enhancing the ROS scavenging capability through increasing the biosynthesis of ascorbic acid. This regulation was significantly enhanced after interfering with a GmPLP1‐interference fragment in GmVTC2b‐ox soybean leaves, but was weakened when GmPLP1 was transiently overexpressed. These findings demonstrate that GmPLP1 regulates the photosynthetic capacity and ROS accumulation of soybean to adapt to changes in light intensity by sensing blue light. In summary, this study discovered a new mechanism through which GmPLP1 participates in high light stress in soybean, which has great significance for improving soybean yield and the adaptability of soybean to high light.
A fungal CFEM‐containing effector targets NPR1 regulator NIMIN2 to suppress plant immunity
Authors: Shang Shengping , Liu Guangli , Zhang Song , Liang Xiaofei , Zhang Rong , Sun Guangyu 
Published: August 2023

SummaryColletotrichum fructicola causes a broad range of plant diseases worldwide and secretes many candidate proteinous effectors during infection, but it remains largely unknown regarding their effects in conquering plant immunity. Here, we characterized a novel effector CfEC12 that is required for the virulence of C. fructicola. CfEC12 contains a CFEM domain and is highly expressed during the early stage of host infection. Overexpression of CfEC12 suppressed BAX‐triggered cell death, callose deposition and ROS burst in Nicotiana benthamiana. CfEC12 interacted with apple MdNIMIN2, a NIM1‐interacting (NIMIN) protein that putatively modulates NPR1 activity in response to SA signal. Transient expression and transgenic analyses showed that MdNIMIN2 was required for apple resistance to C. fructicola infection and rescued the defence reduction in NbNIMIN2‐silenced N. benthamiana, supporting a positive role in plant immunity. CfEC12 and MdNPR1 interacted with a common region of MdNIMIN2, indicating that CfEC12 suppresses the interaction between MdNIMIN2 and MdNPR1 by competitive target binding. In sum, we identified a fungal effector that targets the plant salicylic acid defence pathway to promote fungal infection.
The Epistemic Aims of Democracy
Authors: Siscoe Robert Weston 
Published: August 2023

AbstractMany political philosophers have held that democracy has epistemic benefits. Most commonly, this case is made by arguing that democracies are better able to track the truth than other political arrangements. Truth, however, is not the only epistemic good that is politically valuable. A number of other epistemic goods – goods including evidence, intellectual virtue, epistemic justice, and empathetic understanding – can also have political value, and in ways that go beyond the value of truth. In this paper, I will survey those who have argued that democracy can be valuable because of these other epistemic benefits, considering (1) the ways in which these epistemic goods can be of political value and (2) the challenges that democracies face in producing them.
Acetylcholinesterase activity in forager honey bees of Nepal
Authors: Pandey Shishir , Gotame Shankar , Sejuwal Sachin , Giri Basant , Giri Susma 
Published: August 2023

AbstractAcetylcholinesterase (AChE) is a promising enzyme and a biomarker to monitor the physiological status of honey bees. To gain a basic understanding of AChE in bees, we measured AChE activity in the head tissue of forager honey bees belonging to Apis cerana, Apis mellifera, and Apis dorsata collected from five districts of Nepal during pre‐winter and winter seasons. We estimated AChE‐tissue activity (μmol/min/g head tissue) and AChE‐specific activity (μmol/min/mg protein) using Ellman assay kit and protein concentration (mg/g head tissue) using Lowry assay method. A significant increase in all three parameters was observed in winter A. cerana and varied between species indicating differences in physiological resistance and responses to various environmental changes between native (A. cerana and A. dorsata) and non‐native (A. mellifera) bees. Overall, AChE‐tissue and specific activities were positively correlated and, as expected, AChE‐specific activity was negatively correlated with the protein concentration.
Quantitative easing rules as a means to achieve optimal levels of structural reforms and government deficits in a monetary union
Authors: Campoy Juan Cristóbal , Negrete Juan Carlos 
Published: August 2023

AbstractThis paper uses a tractable game theory model to study the interactions of structural reforms and fiscal and monetary policies in the European Monetary Union (EMU). Considering the externalities that arise when interest rates have hit the lower bound and monetary policy is carried out through quantitative easing (QE), we show that the subgame perfect equilibrium is suboptimal when structural reforms and fiscal policy are implemented at a national level. Then, we prove that the optimal outcome cannot be obtained if structural reforms are dictated by a supranational institution. By contrast, we establish that the first best can be obtained either by a full‐fledged fiscal union or a rule on QE. Given the practical difficulties that the first of these two solutions have encountered in the EMU, a rule over QE provides a clear, easier and more credible way to make structural reforms and fiscal deficits achieve the levels that maximise the union's welfare.
Does fetal growth restriction induce neuropathology within the developing brainstem?
Authors: Ahmadzadeh Elham , Polglase Graeme R. , Stojanovska Vanesa , Herlenius Eric , Walker David W. , Miller Suzanne L. , Allison Beth J. 
Published: August 2023

AbstractFetal growth restriction (FGR) is a complex obstetric issue describing a fetus that does not reach its genetic growth potential. The primary cause of FGR is placental dysfunction resulting in chronic fetal hypoxaemia, which in turn causes altered neurological, cardiovascular and respiratory development, some of which may be pathophysiological, particularly for neonatal life. The brainstem is the critical site of cardiovascular, respiratory and autonomic control, but there is little information describing how chronic hypoxaemia and the resulting FGR may affect brainstem neurodevelopment. This review provides an overview of the brainstem‐specific consequences of acute and chronic hypoxia, and what is known in FGR. In addition, we discuss how brainstem structural alterations may impair functional control of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. Finally, we highlight the clinical and translational findings of the potential roles of the brainstem in maintaining cardiorespiratory adaptation in the transition from fetal to neonatal life under normal conditions and in response to the pathological environment that arises during development in growth‐restricted infants. This review emphasises the crucial role that the brainstem plays in mediating cardiovascular and respiratory responses during fetal and neonatal life. We assess whether chronic fetal hypoxaemia might alter structure and function of the brainstem, but this also serves to highlight knowledge gaps regarding FGR and brainstem development.
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Geological Characterization, Lithogeochemistry and the Metallogenic Potential for Chromium of the Riacho do Mocambo Mafic-Ultramafic Body, Northeast of the São Francisco Craton, BA, Brazil
Authors: Câmara Ib Silva , Sá José Haroldo da Silva , Oliveira Luís Rodrigues , Ribeiro Tatiana Silva , Misi Aroldo , Santana Pedro Ribeiro Rabelo de , Paim Márcio Mattos , Purificação Carlos Gleidson da 
Published: August 2023

In the geotectonic context of the Salvador-Curaçá Orogen, north portion of the São Francisco Craton, an association of mafic-ultramafic (M-UM) rocks was identified and described in this paper as the Riacho do Mocambo Mafic- Ultramafic Body (RMMUB). Despite being located approximately 60 km from the Vale do Jacurici Complex (VJC), the host of Brazil’s largest reserves of Cr, the RMMUB has never been associated with this Complex in regional geologic mapping projects. When it is mentioned in the bibliography, the M- UM rocks of the RMMUB are genetically related to the São José do Jacuípe Suite (SJJS). While the VJC is described as differentiated sills, associated with a synorogenic to a tardi-orogenic event, the SJJS is interpreted as fragments of an Archean-Paleoproterozoic oceanic crust or as a Gabbro- Anorthosite Stratiform Complex. Such contrasting genesis raised doubts about the RMMUB’s origin and field work along with geochemical analyses were carried out in order to better understand the possible source of the RMMUB. In the field, the RMMUB exhibits an elongated shape of small thickness (7 km of extension by less than 100 m of apparent thickness), displayed concordantly with the Tanque Novo-Ipirá Complex metasediments. In the mapped outcrops it is possible to observe the rhythmic and gradual alternation amid the lithotypes of the RMMUB, varying from serpentinite to metagabbro, suggesting that it is a layered igneous body. The geochemical results support the primitive aspect of the ultramafic rocks of this body (MgO up to 38 wt.%; Ni up to 2972 ppm; Cr up to 7799 ppm) and suggest that the RMMUB shows distinctive characteristics from the SJJS, but similar ones with magma of the VJC such as geochemical signatures, source, depth, and tectonic environment. The discovery of this new M-UM body in an area of great metallogenic fertility opens a potential for the identification of new Cr mineralization and magmatic sulfides of Ni, Cu, and EGP, in the Salvador- Curaçá Orogen, São Francisco Craton, the northeast region of the state of Bahia.
An Analysis of Agenda Setting and Framing of American Marathon Television Coverage
Authors: Clemons Michael , Bogina Austin C. 
Published: August 2023

This study examined nationally televised marathon coverage of three major U.S. marathons (the Boston Marathon, the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, and the Tata Consultancy Services New York City Marathon) to understand how able-bodied men and women, and men and women using wheelchairs were represented. Just under 8 hr of coverage was analyzed for clock time and the descriptions of athletes divided by divisions of able-bodied men and women and wheelchair athlete men and women. Able-bodied women received the majority of clock time in Boston and Chicago, while able-bodied men received the majority of clock time in New York City. Athletes using wheelchairs, both men and women, received much smaller amounts of coverage, especially in New York City. Women received more announcer mentions in all three races, with a heavier focus on their background, coaching, and emotion, although the only statistically significant category was emotion. Experience and race strategy/training were heavily emphasized for all divisions. Through this analysis, race producers have more guidance on how to cover future marathons in a more equitable and appropriate manner.
A new class of protein sensor links spirochete pleomorphism, persistence, and chemotaxis
Authors: Muok A. R. , Kurniyati K. , Cassidy C. K. , Olsthoorn F. A. , Ortega D. R. , Mabrouk A. Sidi , Li C. , Briegel A. 
Published: August 2023

ABSTRACT

Pathogenic spirochetes can alter their morphologies and behaviors to infect and survive within their hosts. Previous reports demonstrate that the formation of the so-called “round bodies” and biofilms, and chemotaxis are involved in spirochete pathogenesis. Here, we report a direct link between these cellular states that involve a new class of protein sensor with hitherto unclear function. Using cryo-electron microscopy, genetics, behavioral assays, and molecular modeling, we demonstrate that spirochetes regulate these behaviors in response to the small molecule
S
-adenosylmethionine (SAM) via a SAM sensor that is anchored to chemotaxis arrays. Furthermore, we establish an improved model for round body formation that now includes characterizations during log phase growth.

IMPORTANCE

A new class of bacterial protein sensors monitors intracellular levels of
S
-adenosylmethionine to modulate cell morphology, chemotaxis, and biofilm formation. Simultaneous regulation of these behaviors enables bacterial pathogens to survive within their niche. This sensor, exemplified by
Treponema denticola
CheWS, is anchored to the chemotaxis array and its sensor domain is located below the chemotaxis rings. This position may allow the sensor to directly interact with the chemotaxis histidine kinase CheA. Collectively, these data establish a critical role of CheWS in pathogenesis and further illustrate the impact of studying non-canonical chemotaxis proteins.