bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Beef embryos in dairy cows: feedlot performance, mechanistic responses, and carcass characteristics of straightbred Holstein calves and Angus-sired calves from Holstein, Jersey, or crossbred beef dams
Authors: Fuerniss Luke K , Wesley Kaitlyn R , Bowman Sydney M , Hall Jerica R , Young J Daniel , Beckett Jonathon L , Woerner Dale R , Rathmann Ryan J , Johnson Bradley J 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Improved reproductive management has allowed dairy cow pregnancies to be optimized for beef production. The objective of this sire-controlled study was to test the feedlot performance of straightbred beef calves raised on a calf ranch and to compare finishing growth performance, carcass characteristics, and mechanistic responses relative to beef × dairy crossbreds and straightbred beef cattle raised in a traditional beef cow/calf system. Tested treatment groups included straightbred beef steers and heifers reared on range (A × B; n = 14), straightbred beef steers and heifers born following embryo transfer to Holstein dams (H ET; n = 15) and Jersey dams (J ET; n = 16) The finishing trial began when cattle weighed 301 ± 32.0 kg and concluded after 195 ± 1.4 d. Individual intake was recorded from day 28 until shipment for slaughter. All cattle were weighed every 28 d; serum was collected from a subset of steers every 56 d. Cattle of straightbred beef genetics (A × B, H ET, and J ET) and A × H were similar in final shrunk body weight, dry matter intake, and carcass weight (P &gt; 0.05 for each variable). Compared with A × J cattle, J ET was 42 d younger at slaughter with 42 kg more carcass weight (P &lt; 0.05 for both variables). No difference was observed in longissimus muscle area between all treatments (P = 0.40). Fat thickness was greatest for straightbred beef cattle, least for A × J cattle, and intermediate for A × H cattle (P &lt; 0.05). When adjusted for percentage of adjusted final body weight, feed efficiency was greater for straightbred beef cattle compared with beef × dairy crossbred cattle (P = 0.04). A treatment × day interaction was observed for circulating insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I; P &lt; 0.01); 112 d after being implanted, beef × dairy crossbred cattle had greater circulating IGF-I concentration than cattle of straightbred beef genetics (P &lt; 0.05). Straightbred beef calves born to Jersey cows had more efficient feedlot and carcass performance than A × J crossbreds. Calves of straightbred beef genetics raised traditionally or in a calf ranch performed similarly in the feedlot.
Transcriptomic analysis of ovarian follicles uncovers the crucial genes relevant to follicle selection and preovulatory hierarchy in hens
Authors: Sun Xue , Zhu Hongyan , Zhang Changyan , Ilboudo Jean Philippe Harold Wensesso , Zhao Jinghua , Ma Chang , Yan Chunchi , Liswaniso Simushi , Qin Ning , Xu Rifu 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Follicle selection and preovulatory hierarchy of hen ovaries were important stages of follicle development and crucially determining egg-laying performance. The selected follicles with a higher expression level of follicle-stimulating hormone receptor (FSHR) mRNA that facilitates response to FSH, and rapidly develops into preovulatory follicles with distinctive characteristics of granulosa cells (GCs) proliferation and differentiation. Identification of the key genes involved in these developmental events is helpful for elucidation of the molecular mechanism underlying egg-laying traits in chicken and other domestic fowl. Herein, the comparative transcriptomic analysis of ovarian prehierarchical follicles before selection (BSF), follicles at selection stage (ASF), and hierarchical follicles (HF) were implemented in the Jilin Black chicken (JB) and Lohmann Brown layer (LB) with the divergences in their egg-laying performance by RNA-sequencing. The results showed that nine deferentially expressed genes (DEGs), including STMN4, FABP3, ROBO2, RSPO4, and DMRT1 were revealed between follicles BSF and ASF; and seventeen DEGs, such as SLC6A15, SLITRK3, PRKG2 and TMC3 were mined between ASF and HF. These two group DEGs being co-expressed between BSF and ASF, and between ASF and HF were compared and substantiated in the JB and LB layers, respectively. Furthermore, 10 signaling pathways, such as cAMP signaling, PPAR signaling pathway, AMPK(Adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase) pathway, and estrogen signaling pathway were also identified. Moreover, the roles of two representative candidates ROBO2 and PRKG2 genes presented as downregulated mRNA expression pattern in the transcriptomic profiles were further verified in vitro. The results demonstrated that downregulation of ROBO2 or PRKG2 significantly increased the expression levels of FSHR mRNA and protein with the boosted expression of CCND1, STAR, and BCL-2, whereas remarkably inhibited the expression of Caspase-3, consequently, brought about the decrease of GC apoptosis in the ovarian follicles, but increase of GC proliferation and differentiation serving as the hallmarks for follicle selection. It indicated that ROBO2 and PRKG2 may play indispensable roles in follicle selection and preovulatory hierarchy of hen ovaries separately. Our findings provided a comparative transcriptomic evidence for clarifying the molecular mechanism of the follicle development underlying egg-laying traits in chicken.
Beneath the surface: correlates of solitary, paired, and group living in a cryptic burrowing ghost shrimp Trypaea australiensis Dana, 1852 (Decapoda: Axiidea: Calianassidae)
Authors: Kirby Renae L , Wong Marian Y L 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Marine organisms, particularly invertebrates, are relatively understudied regarding social structure and behaviour, especially those that are cryptic. While empirically challenging to investigate, these species can provide novel insights into the evolution of sociality given their unique ecology. Our aim was to quantify in-situ the social structure and its underlying correlates in the Australian burrowing shrimp, Trypaea australiensis Dana, 1852 (Callianassidae). We show that T. australiensis exhibits intraspecific variation in social structure, being most often found in solitary arrangements, frequently in pairs (including homosexual and heterosexual arrangements), and sometimes in groups. The majority of shrimp in pairs and groups were found in heterosexual pairings or groups of one male and multiple females. Variation in social structure was correlated with variation in body size characteristics, seasonality, and site. These findings demonstrate that a wider array of social structures are exhibited by this species than previously expected, but the obvious limitations associated with sampling a cryptic burrowing species in situ mean that further investigations under controlled conditions, including laboratory behavioural manipulations, will be needed to confirm the current findings. The use of resin casts to understand burrow morphology would be important for understanding the causes of intraspecific variation in this and other cryptic species.
Chicosciencea Bochini, Cunha, Terossi & Almeida, 2020 is not a subjective junior synonym of Microprosthema Stimpson, 1860 (Decapoda: Stenopodidea: Spongicolidae): A response to Goy (2023)
Authors: Bochini Gabriel L , Cunha Andressa M , Terossi Mariana , Almeida Alexandre O 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
The stenopodidean shrimp Chicosciencea pernambucensis Bochini, Cunha, Terossi & Almeida, 2020 was described as a new genus and species from northeastern Brazil based on morphological and molecular assessments. J. Goy nevertheless proposed that Chicosciencea Bochini, Cunha, Terossi & Almeida, 2020 is a subjective synonym of Microprosthema Stimpson, 1860. We comment on the synonymy and present the alternative proposition that Chicosciencea is a valid genus, distinctly separated from Microprosthema.
A draft reference genome assembly of the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly, Battus philenor hirsuta
Authors: Chaturvedi Samridhi , Escalona Merly , Marimuthu Mohan P A , Nguyen Oanh , Chumchim Noravit , Fairbairn Colin W , Seligmann William , Miller Courtney , Bradley Shaffer H , Whiteman Noah K 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
The California Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly, Battus philenor hirsuta, and its host plant, the California Pipevine or Dutchman’s Pipe, Aristolochia californica Torr., are an important California endemic species pair. While this species pair is an ideal system to study co-evolution, genomic resources for both are lacking. Here, we report a new, chromosome-level assembly of B. philenor hirsuta as part of the California Conservation Genomics Project (CCGP). Following the sequencing and assembly strategy of the CCGP, we used Pacific Biosciences HiFi long reads and Hi-C chromatin proximity sequencing technology to produce a de novo assembled genome. Our genome assembly, the first for any species in the genus, contains 109 scaffolds spanning 443 mega base (Mb) pairs, with a contig N50 of 14.6 Mb, a scaffold N50 of 15.2 Mb, and BUSCO complete score of 98.9%. In combination with the forthcoming A. californica reference genome, the B. philenor hirsuta genome will be a powerful tool for documenting landscape genomic diversity and plant–insect co-evolution in a rapidly changing California landscape.
Interactions between the omnivorous bug Nesidiocoris tenuis (Heteroptera: Miridae) and the tomato pests Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Phthorimaea absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae): predation, phytophagy, and prey preference
Authors: Totin Félicien Abègnonhou , Togbé Delano Ronald , Sinzogan Antonio , Karlsson Miriam Frida 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) (Heteroptera: Miridae) is a zoophytophagous bug that can derive nutrients from 3 trophic levels: plants, herbivorous arthropods, and other predators. On tomato, besides damaging the plants as they feed, might the mirid also forage on pest species and repel pests. In greenhouse and laboratory experiments, we investigated the functional response of the bug, its prey preference, and its influence on the oviposition potentials of 2 major pest species Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and Phthorimaea absoluta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) on tomato Solanum lycopersicum L. (Solanaceae). Nesidiocoris tenuis showed a Type II functional response to both prey species. The estimated handling time was higher for H. armigera eggs than for P. absoluta yet N. tenuis attack rates did not differ between the 2 prey species. Nesidiocoris tenuis did not show a preference for 1 species when prey eggs were provided in equal proportions. The feeding on tomato plants by N. tenuis did not affect oviposition by the 2 moth species, as neither species showed a preference for clean or N. tenuis-adult-damaged plants and clean or N. tenuis-nymph-damaged plants. This study shows that N. tenuis can prey upon eggs of both moth species as the 3 species co-occur in tomato fields. However, because of the shorter handling time of P. absoluta eggs by the predator and the higher number of eggs laid by H. armigera, the co-occurrence might be less detrimental to the H. armigera populations compared to P. absoluta.
Trends in patients’ behavior for cancer care and the number of registered cancer cases in Ehime Prefecture during the coronavirus disease pandemic
Authors: Teramoto Norihiro , Yamashita Natsumi , Ohira Yutsuko 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

Background
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has reduced diagnosed cancer cases worldwide. This study aimed to elucidate the recovery of cancer care from the COVID-19 pandemic in Ehime Prefecture, Japan.

Methods
This study collected data from the hospital-based cancer registry (HBCR) as well as the number of outpatients, medical information provision fee payments (MIP2) and second opinion patients (SOP) from the Council of Ehime Cancer Care Hospitals (ECCH). Then cancer care and patient requests for hospital transfers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were analysed.

Results
The HBCR from the ECCH comprises &gt;80% of cancer cases in Ehime Prefecture. In 2020, the numbers of all registered cases, first-line treatment cases and cases detected by cancer screening in the HBCR decreased from those in 2018–2019. In 2021, they increased to almost the same levels as those in 2018–19. In contrast, the number of registered patients that changed hospitals (hospital-change cases) after first-line treatments, patients who lived outside the metropolitan area of Ehime but registered in metropolitan hospitals, MIP2 and SOP remained low in 2021 after decreasing in 2020. Furthermore, the monthly numbers of hospital-change cases, MIP2 and SOP were significantly smaller in 2021 than in 2018–2019 (Wilcoxon rank sum test).

Conclusions
The assessed indicators suggest that the decreased patients’ behavior to further cancer care had not returned to pre-pandemic levels by 2021. Hence, psychological measures in society to prevent self-restraint in patients and support for the caregivers of the patients who have some problems visiting the hospital are necessary.
How penalizing substance use in pregnancy affects treatment and research: a qualitative examination of researchers’ perspectives
Authors: Shah Seema K , Perez-Cardona Leishla , Helner Khrystyna , Massey Suena H , Premkumar Ashish , Edwards Renee , Norton Elizabeth S , Rogers Cynthia E , Miller Emily S , Smyser Christopher D , Davis Matthew M , Wakschlag Lauren S 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

Introduction
Laws regulating substance use in pregnancy are changing and may have unintended consequences on scientific efforts to address the opioid epidemic. Yet, how these laws affect care and research is poorly understood.

Methods
We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews using purposive and snowball sampling of researchers who have engaged pregnant people experiencing substance use. We explored views on laws governing substance use in pregnancy and legal reform possibilities. Interviews were double coded. Data were examined using thematic analysis.

Results
We interviewed 22 researchers (response rate: 71 per cent) and identified four themes: (i) harms of punitive laws, (ii) negative legal impacts on research, (iii) proposals for legal reform, and (iv) activism over time.

Discussion
Researchers view laws penalizing substance use during pregnancy as failing to treat addiction as a disease and harming pregnant people and families. Respondents routinely made scientific compromises to protect participants. While some have successfully advocated for legal reform, ongoing advocacy is needed.

Conclusion
Adverse impacts from criminalizing substance use during pregnancy extend to research on this common and stigmatized problem. Rather than penalizing substance use in pregnancy, laws should approach addiction as a medical issue and support scientific efforts to improve outcomes for affected families.
Range-wide site-occupancy modeling of Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus)
Authors: Johnston Mickayla Mulvihill , Feldman Richard E , De León Luis F 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Globally, habitat loss and land conversion are major drivers of bird population decline. To halt the decline, it is essential that habitat conservation and restoration efforts are based on an understanding of how individual species use their habitat. Here, we examine habitat use by Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) by quantifying their probability of occurrence in different land cover types and in association with varying degrees of habitat modification across most of the species’ range. To do so, we used the citizen-science eBird dataset, in combination with MODIS land cover data to model site occupancy for two breeding seasons and related presence/absence to the Global Human Modification Index. We found that Red-winged Blackbirds occupy rural and suburban habitats at higher probabilities than they do habitats with high levels of urbanization, and at similar or higher probabilities than they do their historic, natural habitats. Furthermore, we found that occurrence probability peaks at intermediate values of the Global Human Modification Index. The results were consistent across most ecoregions and the geographic range of the species, confirming that the Red-winged Blackbird is a suburban-adaptable species, persisting in moderately disturbed environments. Although more research is needed to understand the ecological and evolutionary consequences of this pattern of habitat use, our results provide novel data on Red-winged Blackbird habitat use in the midst of increasing urbanization. More broadly, they provide insight into how common, widespread avian species may be affected by anthropogenic disturbance and highlight the importance of rural and suburban environments in urban ecology and evolution.
Hantavirus Infections among Military Forces
Authors: Mustonen Jukka , Henttonen Heikki , Vaheri Antti 
Published: July 2023

ABSTRACT

Introduction
Hantaviruses cause two kinds of clinical syndromes. Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome is caused by Hantaan virus in Asia, Puumala virus (PUUV) and Dobrava virus in Europe, and Seoul virus worldwide. Hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome is caused by Sin Nombre virus in North America and Andes virus and related viruses in Latin America. All hantaviruses are carried by rodents and insectivores. Humans are infected via inhaled aerosols of rodent excreta. In the history, there are several epidemics of acute infectious diseases during many wars, which have been suggested or proven to be caused by various hantaviruses.

Materials and Methods
Literature review of 41 original publications and reviews published between 1943 and 2022 was performed. Among them, 23 publications handle hantavirus infections among military forces, and the rest 17 hantavirus infections themselves.

Results
A large epidemic during World War II in 1942 among German and Finnish soldiers in Northern Finland with more than 1,000 patients was most probably caused by PUUV. During Korean War in 1951–1954,∼ 3,200 cases occurred among United Nations soldiers in an epidemic caused by Hantaan virus. During Balkan war from 1991 to 1995, numerous soldiers got ill because of hantavirus infection caused by PUUV and Dobrava virus. Several other reports of cases of various hantavirus infections especially among U.S. soldiers acting in South Korea, Germany, Bosnia, and Kosovo have been described in the literature.

Conclusions
Military maneuvers usually include soil removal, spreading, digging with accompanied dust, and living in field and other harsh conditions, which easily expose soldiers to rodents and their excreta. Therefore, the risks of hantavirus infections in military context are obvious. All military infections have been caused by hantaviruses leading to hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome.
The Sum of Well-Being
Authors: Nebel Jacob M 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Is well-being the kind of thing that can be summed across individuals? This paper takes a measurement-theoretic approach to answering this question. To make sense of adding well-being, we would need to identify some natural ‘concatenation’ operation on the bearers of well-being that satisfies the axioms of extensive measurement and can therefore be represented by the arithmetic operation of addition. I explore various proposals along these lines, involving the concatenation of segments within lives over time, of entire lives led alongside one another or in sequence, and of evaluatively basic propositions via conjunction. All of these proposals turn out to carry highly controversial commitments about the good. I do not claim that these commitments are unacceptable. But they suggest that we cannot simply take for granted, as many philosophers do, that there is any such thing as the sum of well-being.
Reconstruction of inflationary scenarios in non-conservative unimodular gravity
Authors: Piccirilli María Pía , León Gabriel 
Published: July 2023

ABSTRACT
Unimodular gravity is an alternative theory of gravity to general relativity. The gravitational field equations are given by the trace-free version of Einstein’s field equations. Due to the structure of the theory, unimodular gravity admits a diffusion term that characterizes a possible non-conservation of the canonical energy–momentum tensor locally. Employing this feature of unimodular gravity, in this work, we explicitly show how to construct an inflationary phase that can be contrasted with current observations. In particular, we focus on three different inflationary scenarios of physical interest. An important element in these scenarios is that the accelerated expansion is driven by the diffusion term exclusively, i.e. there is no inflaton. Furthermore, the primordial spectrum during inflation is generated by considering inhomogeneous perturbations associated to standard hydrodynamical matter (modelled as a single ultra-relativistic fluid). For each of the scenarios, we obtain the prediction for the primordial spectrum and contrast it with recent observational bounds using Planck 2018 + Bicep2/KECK Array data.
Brain metastasis screening in the molecular age
Authors: Tabor Joanna K , Onoichenco Amanda , Narayan Vinayak , Wernicke A Gabriella , D’Amico Randy S , Vojnic Morana 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
The incidence of brain metastases (BM) amongst cancer patients has been increasing due to improvements in therapeutic options and an increase in overall survival. Molecular characterization of tumors has provided insights into the biology and oncogenic drivers of BM and molecular subtype-based screening. Though there are currently some screening and surveillance guidelines for BM, they remain limited. In this comprehensive review, we review and present epidemiological data on BM, their molecular characterization, and current screening guidelines. The molecular subtypes with the highest BM incidence are epithelial growth factor receptor-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), BRCA1, triple-negative (TN), and HER2+ breast cancers, and BRAF-mutated melanoma. Furthermore, BMs are more likely to present asymptomatically at diagnosis in oncogene-addicted NSCLC and BRAF-mutated melanoma. European screening standards recommend more frequent screening for oncogene-addicted NSCLC patients, and clinical trials are investigating screening for BM in hormone receptor+, HER2+, and TN breast cancers. However, more work is needed to determine optimal screening guidelines for other primary cancer molecular subtypes. With the advent of personalized medicine, molecular characterization of tumors has revolutionized the landscape of cancer treatment and prognostication. Incorporating molecular characterization into BM screening guidelines may allow physicians to better identify patients at high risk for BM development and improve patient outcomes.