bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Linking ecosystem services provisioning with demand for animal-sourced food: an integrated modeling study for Tanzania
Authors: Enahoro Dolapo , Kozicka Marta , Pfeifer Catherine , Jones Sarah K. , Tran Nhuong , Chan Chin Yee , Sulser Timothy B. , Gotor Elisabetta , Rich Karl M. 
Published: February 2023

AbstractStandard tools that can quantitatively track the impacts of higher global demand for animal-sourced food to their local environmental effects in developing countries are largely missing. This paper presents a novel integrated assessment framework that links a model of the global agricultural and food system, a landscape-level environmental impact assessment model, and an ecosystem services simulation model. For Tanzania, this integrated assessment showed that a projected increase in the demand and production of foods of livestock origin with optimistic economic growth between 2010 and 2030 leads to an improvement in food security. However, resulting transitions in land use impact negatively on the future provisioning of ecosystem services, increasing phosphorus, nitrogen, and sediment in runoff and reducing water quality in areas downstream of the agricultural expansion. Losses in ecosystem services are lowest when diversified farming practices are adopted in areas of agricultural land expansion. The role of land management in the environmental impacts of expanded livestock production is highlighted, as is the need for a new generation of analytical tools to inform policy recommendations.
Prevalence, Pattern, and Outcome of Congenital Anomalies Admitted to a Neonatal Unit in a Low-Income Country—a Ten-Year Retrospective Study
Authors: Anane-Fenin Betty , Opoku Douglas Aninng , Chauke Lawrence 
Published: February 2023

AbstractObjectiveThe incidence of congenital abnormalities is highest in low-and-middle-income countries. However, the prevalence, spectrum, trends of neonatal congenital anomalies and their admission outcomes have not been well explored. This study was a 10 year retrospective hospital-based research in a low-income country to address the above.MethodsAll infants hospitalized in the Special Care Baby Unit at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital in Ghana, between 1st January 2010 and 31st December 2019, had their demographic, obstetric, and clinical data recorded.ResultsOver the decade, 236 neonates with congenital abnormalities were admitted to the unit, accounting for 2.8% of total neonatal admissions and 8.6 per 1000 births. Mortality occurred in 33.2% of neonates with congenital abnormalities, corresponding to 4.6% of all neonatal deaths. Mortality was significantly associated with place of delivery and gravidity of more than five. The commonest anomalies were in the nervous system, particularly neural tube defects, followed by suspected chromosomal abnormalities and then cardiac defects. Neonates with cardiac defects had a higher chance of dying.Health center/clinic delivery proffered a better survival than hospital delivery, but this should be interpreted with caution.ConclusionNeural tube defects were the most predominant anomalies; hence, intensification of preconception and antenatal folic acid supplementation is pivotal towards their reduction. Making prenatal screening for early detection of fetal anomalies an integral part of routine antenatal care is also essential. This research was conducted in a single center and did not include stillbirths and abortions so cannot give an accurate estimation of the number of congenital abnormalities in the population. A national registry of congenital anomalies is recommended.
Cannabidiol and Cannabis Sativa as a potential treatment in vitro prostate cancer cells silenced with RBBp6 and PC3 xenograft
Authors: Motadi Lesetja R. , Jantjies Zodwa E. , Moleya Boitumelo 
Published: February 2023

Abstract
Background
Prostate cancer is the second most frequently occurring carcinoma in males worldwide and one of the leading causes of death in men around the world. Recent studies estimate that over 1.4 million males are diagnosed with prostate cancer on an annual basis, with approximately 375,000 succumbing to the disease annually. With current treatments continuing to show severe side effects, there is a need for new treatments. In this study we looked at the effect of cannabis sativa extract, cannabidiol and cisplatin on prostate cancer cells, PC3.

Methods
In addressing the above questions, we employed the MTT assay to measure the antiproliferative effect on PC3 cells following treatment with varying concentrations of Cannabis sativa extract, cisplatin and cannabidiol. xCELLigence was also used to confirm the IC50 activity in which cells were grown in a 16 well plate coated with gold and monitor cell attachment. Caspase 3/7 activity was also measured using 96 well-plate following treatment. Western-blot and qRT-PCR was also used to measure the gene expression of tumour suppressor genes, p53, Bax and Bcl2. Animal studies were employed to measure the growth of PC3-mouse derived cancer to evaluate the effect of compounds in vivo.

Results
From the treatment with varying concentrations of Cannabis sativa extract, cannabidiol and cisplatin, we have observed that the three compounds induced antiproliferation of PC3 cancer cell lines through the activation of caspase 3/7 activity. We also observed induction of apoptosis in these cells following silencing of retinoblastoma binding protein 6 (RBBP6), with upregulation of p53 and bax mRNA expression, and a reduction in Bcl2 gene expression. The growth of tumours in the mouse models were reduced following treatment with cisplatin and cannabidiol.

Conclusion
We demonstrated that cannabidiol is a viable therapy to treat prostate cancer cells, in combination with silencing of RBBP6. This suggests that cannabidiol rather Cannabis sativa extract may play an important role in reducing cancer progression.
Outcomes of intraventricular 131-I-omburtamab and external beam radiotherapy in patients with recurrent medulloblastoma and ependymoma
Authors: Tringale Kathryn R. , Wolden Suzanne L. , Karajannis Matthias , Haque Sofia , Pasquini Luca , Yildirim Onur , Rosenblum Marc , Benhamida Jamal K. , Cheung Nai-Kong , Souweidane Mark , Basu Ellen M. , Pandit-Taskar Neeta , Zanzonico Pat B. , Humm John L. , Kramer Kim 
Published: February 2023

Abstract
Purpose
Intraventricular compartmental radioimmunotherapy (cRIT) with 131-I-omburtamab is a potential therapy for recurrent primary brain tumors that can seed the thecal space. These patients often previously received external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) to a portion or full craniospinal axis (CSI) as part of upfront therapy. Little is known regarding outcomes after re-irradiation as part of multimodality therapy including cRIT. This study evaluates predictors of response, patterns of failure, and radiologic events after cRIT.

Methods
Patients with recurrent medulloblastoma or ependymoma who received 131-I-omburtamab on a prospective clinical trial were included. Extent of disease at cRIT initiation (no evidence of disease [NED] vs measurable disease [MD]) was assessed as associated with progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) by Kaplan–Meier analysis.

Results
All 27 patients (20 medulloblastoma, 7 ependymoma) had EBRT preceding cRIT: most (22, 81%) included CSI (median dose 2340 cGy, boost to 5400 cGy). Twelve (44%) also received EBRT at relapse as bridging to cRIT. There were no cases of radionecrosis. At cRIT initiation, 11 (55%) medulloblastoma and 3 (43%) ependymoma patients were NED, associated with improved PFS (p = 0.002) and OS (p = 0.048) in medulloblastoma. Most relapses were multifocal. With medium follow-up of 3.0 years (95% confidence interval, 1.8–7.4), 6 patients remain alive with NED.

Conclusion
For patients with medulloblastoma, remission at time of cRIT was associated with significantly improved survival outcomes. Relapses are often multifocal, particularly in the setting of measurable disease at cRIT initiation. EBRT is a promising tool to achieve NED status at cRIT initiation, with no cases of radiation necrosis.
Business As Usual Versus Climate-responsive, Optimised Crop Plans – A Predictive Model for Irrigated Agriculture in Australia in 2060
Authors: Lewis Andrew , Montgomery James , Lewis Max , Randall Marcus , Schiller Karin 
Published: February 2023

AbstractClimate change is impacting people’s lives, with management of water resources and food security being major concerns for the future of many countries. In this paper, future water availability, crop water needs, yields, market costs and returns of current crops in a case study area in Australia are evaluated under future climatic conditions. The predictive methods on which the work is based have the advantage of being robust—they are able to simultaneously consider many climate change models—giving greater confidence in determining what the future will hold in this regard. The results indicate business as usual, in terms of the quantity and types of crops that can be grown presently, will not be sustainable in the medium and long term future. Instead, modelling indicates that changes in production and land use to maximise revenue per megalitre of water will be needed to adapt to future conditions and deliver climate-smart agriculture.
Sleeping Beauty transposon system for GDNF overexpression of entrapped stem cells in fibrin hydrogel in a rat model of Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Stahn Laura , Rasińska Justyna , Dehne Tilo , Schreyer Stefanie , Hakus Aileen , Gossen Manfred , Steiner Barbara , Hemmati-Sadeghi Shabnam 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThere is currently no causal treatment available for Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, the use of glial cell line–derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) to provide regenerative effects for neurons is promising. Such approaches require translational delivery systems that are functional in diseased tissue. To do so, we used a non-viral Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon system to overexpress GDNF in adipose tissue–derived mesenchymal stromal cells (adMSCs). Entrapment of cells in fibrin hydrogel was used to boost potential neurorestorative effects. Functional GDNF-adMSCs were able to secrete 1066.8 ± 169.4 ng GDNF/120,000 cells in vitro. The GDNF-adMSCs were detectable for up to 1 month after transplantation in a mild 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) hemiparkinson male rat model. Entrapment of GDNF-adMSCs enabled GDNF secretion in surrounding tissue in a more concentrated manner, also tending to prolong GDNF secretion relatively. GDNF-adMSCs entrapped in hydrogel also led to positive immunomodulatory effects via an 83% reduction of regional IL-1β levels compared to the non-entrapped GDNF-adMSC group after 1 month. Furthermore, GDNF-adMSC-treated groups showed higher recovery of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-expressing cells, indicating a neuroprotective function, although this was not strong enough to show significant improvement in motor performance. Our findings establish a promising GDNF treatment system in a PD model. Entrapment of GDNF-adMSCs mediated positive immunomodulatory effects. Although the durability of the hydrogel needs to be extended to unlock its full potential for motor improvements, the neuroprotective effects of GDNF were evident and safe. Further motor behavioral tests and other disease models are necessary to evaluate this treatment option adequately.
Graphical Abstract
Potential impacts of Ascophyllum nodosum, Arthrospira platensis extracts and calcium phosphite as therapeutic nutrients for enhancing immune response in pepper plant against Fusarium wilt disease
Authors: Attia Mohamed S. , Elsayed Salah M. , Abdelaziz Amer M. , Ali Mohamed M. 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThe search for active inducers against diseases in the formula of therapeutic nutrients has become a necessity for many researchers. The study’s chief purpose was to make agronomic farming simpler by applying newly created therapeutic nutrients. The novelty of this research is the applied of algal extracts in adding to minerals as therapeutic nutrion. Calcium (Maxifos Ca), Ascophyllum nodosum (Greencal), and Arthrospira platensis (A. platensis), were tested for induction pepper plant resistance against Fusarium wilt. The disease index (DI), morphological growth, photosynthetic pigments, free proline, total phenol, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), malondialdehyde (MDA), and antioxidant enzymes as reactions to the induction of protection in challenged tested plants were measured. Results revealed that the use of entirely different treatments significantly minimized the danger of Fusarium wilt. Treatment of infected plants with Maxifos Ca was the best treatment, as it reduced the DI to 25% and thus reduced symptoms and improved the percentage of plant protection from the disease by 69.6%. Surprisingly, it was widely assumed that Greencal was the greatest treatment for restoring vegetative growth, followed by Maxifos Ca and an algal extract, A. platensis. The application of Greencal, followed by Maxifos Ca, and then A. platensis significantly increased the expression of all metabolic resistance indices (phenols, polyphenol oxidase, and peroxidase). The best treatments for reducing the signs of stress represented in (MDA and H2O2) were Maxifos Ca and then Greencal. According to the findings the use of Maxifos Ca, Greencal, and A. platensis as alternate therapeutic nutrients of eco-destructive chemically synthesized fungicides appears to be a significant methodology for reducing the harmful effects of Fusarium wilt on pepper plants.
A Qualitative Microanalysis of the Immediate Behavioural Effects of Mindfulness Practices on Students’ Self-Regulation and Attention
Authors: Ojell Heta , Palohuhta Maria , Ferreira Juliene Madureira 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThe study examined the immediate effects of mindfulness practices on students’ attention and self-regulation during mathematical problem-solving tasks. Participants were 15 4th-grade Finnish students and their teacher. Data were collected during six study sessions of mathematical problem-solving, with and without mindfulness practices. The sessions were video-recorded, and children responded to the Freiburg mindfulness inventory and the cognitive and affective mindfulness scale-revised. A qualitative video micro-analysis focused on coding the observable behaviours related to attention and self-regulation. Self-report instruments were scored and tabulated for comparison. The findings indicate microbehavioural changes indicating positive effects of mindfulness practices on students’ self-regulation, with higher signs of engagement and lower signs of disengagement after mindfulness practices. This study enlightens the use of mindfulness practices in school routines and discusses the impacts of these practices while evidencing that future research on the topic is needed.
Conducting Fieldwork with San and Hadza (Post-)Hunter-Gatherer Communities in Africa: Regulatory and Ethical Issues
Authors: Abels Monika , Ninkova Velina 
Published: February 2023

Abstract
In this paper, we address some of the challenges and opportunities of conducting international research in psychology. We examine issues that arise from working in contexts that differ substantially from those in which most psychological research is still conducted. We take our experiences with Tanzanian and Namibian (post-)hunter-gatherers as a starting point for discussing regulatory and ethical issues. We have experienced a highly structured and regulated approach to research in Tanzania and a much less regulated situation in Namibia. We compare both and discuss conflicts that arise from differing demands of national regulations (or lack thereof) and funders or home institutions in the Global North. We focus on the special point of establishing informed consent. While the people we have worked with are not only often illiterate, they also have a very different background of experiences, which means that the translation of consent procedures is not sufficient, and other considerations need to come into play. We discuss cultural characteristics of hunter-gatherer groups, particularly norms related to individual autonomy, that convince us that our participants have the ability to consent nevertheless and compare this with the situation in other groups that we have worked with (for example, Indian farmers). However, we also reflect on ethical choices that become relevant in a digitalized world, particularly when working with children. We argue that an understanding of cultural models and norms is necessary to design and conduct meaningful psychological research and enable us to interpret findings correctly. We suggest to include communities that researchers work with into the research process wherever possible, to aim for long-term commitment and to cultivate an ethical stance regarding research, already in students that become involved in research projects.
Enhanced Bacteriostatic Properties of Ti Alloys by Surface Nitriding
Authors: Fu Le , Rajaseka Karthik , Katsaros Ioannis , Liu Yihong , Wang Helen , Engqvist Håkan , Xia Wei 
Published: February 2023

AbstractSurface nitriding has been widely used to improve the surface physicochemical properties of Ti alloys. However, the currently utilized surface nitriding methods, such as laser nitriding, typically require expensive and complicated instruments, which makes surface nitriding a less cost-effective process. Meanwhile, the antibacterial properties of surface-nitrided Ti alloy implants have not been evaluated. Thereafter, in this study, we were aiming to develop an effective, simple, and cost-effective surface nitriding strategy to enhance the antimicrobial properties of Ti alloy implants. The surface nitriding strategy was realized by wet-chemical etching and thermal treatment at controlled conditions. Results showed that the above surface modification treatments exerted significant effects on the phase composition and morphology of the newly formed phases on the surface of Ti samples. Crystalline TiN and TiO2 formed after treatments. Meanwhile, amorphous nitrides and oxynitride were also presented on the sample surfaces. The surface-modified Ti samples showed a bacterial inhibition effect compared with the non-treated Ti ones, and the bacterial inhibition effect was attributed to the released ammonia species from the surface of Ti samples. The surface modification strategy shows promise to improve the bacteriostatic property of Ti implants in dental and orthopedic fields.
Metabolic and behavioural effects of hermit crab shell removal techniques: Is heating less invasive than cracking?
Authors: Burciaga Luis M , Alcaraz Guillermina 
Published: February 2023

AbstractHermit crabs (Paguroidea; Latreille 1802) offer great opportunities to study animal behaviour and physiology. However, the animals’ size and sex cannot be determined when they are inside their shell; information crucial to many experimental designs. Here, we tested the effects of the two most common procedures used to make crabs leave their shells: heating the shell apex and cracking the shell with a bench press. We compared the effects of each of the two procedures on the metabolic rate, hiding time, and duration of the recovery time relative to unmanipulated hermit crabs. The hermit crabs forced to abandon their shell through heating increased their respiratory rate shortly after the manipulation (1 h) and recovered their metabolic rate in less than 24 h, as occurs in individuals suddenly exposed to high temperatures in the upper-intertidal zone. Hermit crabs removed from their shells via cracking spent more time hiding in their new shells; this effect was evident immediately after the manipulation and lasted more than 24 h, similar to responses exhibited after a life-threatening predator attack. Both methods are expected to be stressful, harmful, or fear-inducing; however, the temperature required to force the crabs to abandon the shell is below the critical thermal maxima of most inhabitants of tropical tide pools. The wide thermal windows of intertidal crustaceans and the shorter duration of consequences of shell heating compared to cracking suggest heating to be a less harmful procedure for removing tropical hermit crabs from their shells.
Reason in Kant’s Theory of Cognition
Authors: Hamid Nabeel 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThis paper reconstructs and defends Kant’s argument for the transcendental status of reason’s principles of the systematic unity of nature in the Appendix to the Transcendental Dialectic. On the present account, these principles neither contain mere methodological recommendations for conducting scientific inquiry nor do they have the normative force of categorical imperatives—two extant interpretations of Kant’s discussion of reason in the Appendix. Instead, they are regulative yet transcendental principles restricted to theoretical cognition. The principles of the systematic unity of nature count as transcendental in virtue of their role as conditions of the inferential articulation of empirical concepts.
Arms for influence? The limits of Great Power leverage
Authors: Spindel Jennifer 
Published: February 2023

AbstractScholars and policymakers agree that major powers have leverage over their more junior partners. Giving security assistance or providing arms is supposed to increase this leverage. However, major powers often hit roadblocks when trying to influence the behaviour of their junior partners. This article demonstrates that junior partners are often successful in constraining the behaviour of the major power partners, and have particular success in extracting additional resources from their major partners. This article develops the concept of loyalty coercion to explain that leverage is based on rhetorical and symbolic moves, rather than material preponderance. It then uses cases of US arms sales to show that weapons transfers did not lead to US leverage, instead opened opportunities for junior partner influence. The article contributes to scholarly and policy perspectives on alliance management and reputation, and leverage in world politics.
Estimating the Value of Gender- and Race-Specific Job Injury Risk
Authors: Mridha Hosne A. , Khan Farida C. 
Published: February 2023

AbstractThe compensating wage differential (CWD) for nonfatal injury and value of statistical life or injury in occupations have rarely been analysed separately by gender or race. This paper uses individual-level data from the 2012–2015 March Current Population Survey to estimate the CWD as well as the value of statistical injury (VOI) by race and gender. We find male workers command a positive risk premium, and this is higher when they are unionised. We also find a positive risk premium for White unionised workers and a slightly lower risk premium for White males. Like other investigators, we find that nonfatal risk is heterogenous, and its compensation is difficult to estimate using a standard wage equation, even with some smaller subsamples from our dataset that are gender- or race-specific. Our estimates of the VOI show us that male workers who are unionised have the highest VOI, followed by Hispanic union workers, and Black females. This last finding follows from Black females working in jobs that have the highest risk rates compared to White and Hispanic females.