bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Association of urinary bisphenols with thyroid function in the general population: a cross-sectional study of an industrial park in China
Authors: Hu Yang , Lai Shiming , Li Ying , Wu Xiaodong , Xing Mingluan , Li Xueqing , Xu Dandan , Chen Yuan , Xiang Jie , Cheng Ping , Wang Xiaofeng , Chen Zhijian , Ding Hao , Xu Peiwei , Lou Xiaoming 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Background: Bisphenols (BPs) are potential thyroid disruptors that are widely used in many consumer products, leading to their widespread exposure in the general population. Current studies have found that there is a certain association between exposure to BPs and serum thyroid function measures, albeit with some controversy.
Objectives: To describe demographic characteristics, BP exposure levels, and thyroid function measurements in potentially exposed and control districts and to investigate the association of urinary BPs with thyroid function.
Methods: Data were collected from a general population aged 3–79 years (N = 281) recruited by the Zhejiang Human Biomonitoring Program (ZJHBP). The concentrations of 10 kinds of BPs in urine and serum free triiodothyronine (FT3), total triiodothyronine (TT3), free thyroxine (FT4), total thyroxine (TT4), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), thyroglobulin (Tg), thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAb), thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb), and thyrotropin receptor antibody (TRAb) in serum were measured.
Results: Bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol S (BPS), and bisphenol P (BPP) were detected, respectively, in 82.73%, 94.24%, and 55.40% of the population in the exposed area and 81.69%, 61.27%, and 43.66% of the population in the control area. Among adult females, serum TT3 was negatively associated with urinary BPA (β = –0.030, P = 0.047). Among minor females, FT4 and Tg levels were negatively associated with the urinary BPA (β = −0.026, P = 0.032 for FT4; β = −0.129, P = 0.035 for Tg), and TPOAb was positively associated with urinary BPA (β = 0.104 P = 0.039).
Conclusion: We found widespread exposure to BPA, BPS, and BPP in the general population of Zhejiang province and found a limited association between BPA and thyroid hormones. This association is gender- and age-dependent and needs to be confirmed in further studies.
Synergistic remediation of e-waste contaminated soil using thermally treated sludge residue and Lolium perenne L.
Authors: Gu Weihua , Bai Jianfeng , Chen Jianmeng 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Electronic waste (e-waste) generation has significantly increased because of the widespread use of electronic products, and thermally treated sludge residue improves e-waste-contaminated soil by synergizing with Lolium perenne L. This study investigated the effects of different doses of thermally treated sludge residue (0% and 5%) in synergy with L. perenne L. on organic matter, nutrients, heavy metal morphology, and heavy metal uptake and transport by L. perenne L. in e-waste-contaminated soil using pot experiments. The results showed that the thermally treated sludge residue improved soil quality and significantly increased soil conductivity, cation exchange, organic matter, effective phosphorus, and fast-acting potassium content. New heavy metal crystalline phases were detected, and soil solubility humus components were found. Sludge fermentation residue significantly increased dissolved organic matter content, whereas sludge pyrolysis residue showed no significant effect. The combination of thermally treated sludge residue and L. perenne L. increased steady-state proportions of Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd. The thermally treated sludge residue promoted L. perenne L. growth, increasing fresh weight, plant height, phosphorus uptake, and potassium uptake of L. perenne L.; it significantly reduced L. perenne L. response to Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd. In addition, L. perenne L. promoted the activity of microorganisms in thermally treated sludge residue and improved its ability to reduce heavy metals. This approach has the potential for ecological remediation of contaminated sites, providing a new method for the remediation of e-waste-contaminated soil.
Pollination services are resilient to an extreme climatic event and mitigate crop yield declines
Authors: Devkota Kedar , Santos Charles F. dos , Nicholson Charlie C. , Egan Paul Anthony 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Extreme climatic events pose a threat to pollinators and their ecosystem services to agriculture. Yet little remains known on how pollinator communities respond to many climate shocks and experimental studies on crop pollination remain worryingly absent. Here we examined the effects of an extreme flooding event on pollinator communities in Nepal, and conducted insect exclusion experiments to quantify potential impacts on pollination services to two globally-important crops (oilseed mustard and buckwheat). We found that flooding led to lower pollinator abundance as a whole and significantly altered community composition. While social bees (Apis florea, A. cerana, A. dorsata, and A. mellifera) did not show large changes, flooding effects were instead stronger and more consistent for solitary bee species – and in particular mining and ground nesting guilds (Halictus, Lasioglossum, Andrena spp.). Despite these impacts, pollinator services to both crops remained resilient to flooding. Although buckwheat in particular incurred significant yield loss due to flooding, due to the resilience of pollination services pollinators made a proportionally greater contribution to yield in flooded fields (54.1% of yield) than in non-flooded fields (36.1%). Our study highlights how extreme events such as flooding can disrupt pollinator communities, but also how pollination services can still show resilience to such shocks, and buffer against crop yield loss. Accordingly, we discuss the need to incorporate pollination into strategies for agricultural climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction, and call for more knowledge on the response of pollination services to extreme climatic events – in particular for smallholder farming systems.
Does explorative behavior allow the successful finding of ephemeral food resources in the wild?
Authors: Wirowska Martyna , Iwińska Karolina , Borowski Zbigniew , Brzeziński Marcin , Solecki Paweł , Boratyński Jan S 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
The repeatable among-individual variation in behavior (animal personality) is considered to affect fitness. The variation in personality traits is shaped by complex evolutionary mechanisms involving mainly energy allocation and resource acquisition. However, an association between personality and individual performance in energy gain in the natural environment still seems underexplored. The aim of our study was to test a hypothesis that consistent individual variation in behavior affects the energy acquisition of unpredictable food resources. We predicted that more explorative individuals would be finding ephemeral food resources with higher probability than those less explorative. The quasi-experiment with ‘random-walking-feeders’ was performed to assess the use of unpredictable food resources in the natural habitat occupied by free-ranging arboreal rodents – edible dormice Glis glis. Repeated open field test at laboratory conditions was conducted to assess whether male dormice show consistent among-individual variation in behavior. The open field test analysis indicated two main components of dormice behavior: exploration and boldness, from which only the first one was repeatable and thus considered as a component of animal personality. The probability of finding a feeder increased with exploration, independently of dormice age and body size. The results indicate that exploration can be considered an adaptive trait that improve the energy acquisition. We suggest that the behavioral among-individual variation within populations persists due to use of distinct foraging strategies in the face of fluctuations in food resources availability.
Implication of novel BMP15 and GDF9 variants in unexpected poor ovarian response
Authors: Mehdizadeh Anahita , Soleimani Mansoureh , Amjadi Fatemehsadat , Sene Azadeh Akbari , Sheikhha Mohammad Hassan , Dehghani Ali , Ashourzadeh Sareh , Aali Bibi Shahnaz , Dabiri Shahriar , Zandieh Zahra 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Unexpected poor ovarian response (UPOR) occurs when nine or fewer oocytes are retrieved from a young patient with normal ovarian reserve. Bone morphogenetic protein15 (BMP15) and Growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) are two oocyte-specific factors with pivotal role in folliculogenesis. The aim of this study was to assess the relation between BMP15 and GDF9 variants with UPOR. All participants were aged 39 and younger with AMH ≥1.27 IU/ml who were divided into UPOR cases and normal ovarian responders (NOR), based on their oocyte number. After genomic DNA extraction, the entire exonic regions of BMP15 and GDF9 were amplified and examined by direct sequencing. Western blotting was performed to determine the expression levels of BMP15 and GDF9 in follicular fluid. Additionally, in-silico analysis was applied to predict the effect of discovered mutations.
From four novel variants, silent mutations (c.744T>C) and (c.99G>A) occurred in both groups, whereas missense variants: c.967-968insA and c.296A>G were found exclusively in UPORs. The latter variants caused reduction in protein expression. Moreover, the mutant allele (T) in a GDF9 polymorphism (C447T) found to be more in NOR individuals (58% NOR vs. 37% UPOR (OR=2.3, CI 1.32-4.11, p=0.004).
The novel missense mutations which were predicted as damaging, along with other mutations that happened in UPORs might result in ovarian resistance to stimulation. The mutant allele (T) in C447T polymorphism, has a protective effect. Our study proves that BMP15 and GDF9 variants play crucial roles in follicular development and ovarian response, however further investigation is needed for related mechanisms.
2-BFI protects against ischemic stroke by selectively acting on NR2B-containing NMDA receptors
Authors: Xu Shasha , Chen Jiaou , Xu Ye , Xu Lu , Xu Chunfei , Zhao Meiqi , Xu Tong , Cao Yungang , Li Peijun , Zhao Han 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
NMDA receptors play opposing roles in the pathology of ischemic stroke, depending on whether they contain the NR2A or NR2B subunit. Building on our previous finding that the compound 2-(benzofuran-2-yl)-2-imidazoline (2-BFI) can inhibit NMDA receptor currents and exert neuroprotective effects during ischemic stroke, here we examined whether 2-BFI acts on NR2A- and/or NR2B-containing NMDARs. Whole-cell patch-clamp results showed that 2-BFI dose-dependently inhibited NR2A-containing NMDARs currents (IC50 = 238.6µM) and NR2B-containing NMDARs currents (IC50 = 18.47µM). Experiments in HEK293 cells expressing exogenous receptor subunits showed that 2-BFI exhibited a significantly higher affinity towards NR2B-containing NMDARs as compared to NR2A-containing ones. Administering both 2-BFI and an inhibitor of the NR2A subunit NVP-AAM077 to rats with transient middle cerebral artery occlusion(tMCAO) led to less severe cerebral ischemic injury than administering only NVP-AAM077. 2-BFI significantly altered the expression of proteins downstream of NR2B-containing NMDA receptor, but not of proteins downstream of NR2A-containing receptor. These results suggest that 2-BFI may exert neuroprotective effects in ischemic stroke by preferentially inhibiting NR2B-containing NMDA receptors.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies
Authors: Wahezi Dawn M , BY Yi 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Background:
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been concerns regarding the risks of infection in patients with autoimmune disease. In this study, we investigated the impact of the pandemic on patients with juvenile idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (JIIM).
Methods:
Data were collected using a patient/caregiver survey via Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) database. Eligibility included JIIM diagnosis and current age less than 21 years old. Surveys were distributed via the CureJM organization, social media, Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA) network and Dr. Peter Dent Pediatric Rheumatology Bulletin Board.
Results:
Eighty-four respondents accessed the survey, 70 (83%) consented to participate, and 54 out of 70 completed the full survey (77%). Twenty-seven out of 57 patients (47%) tested positive for COVID-19, with 7 (12%) testing positive more than once. Despite broad usage of immunosuppressive medications, 24 out of 27 (89%) reported mild symptoms with none requiring hospitalization. Four patients reported a flare of JIIM symptoms after COVID-19; three of whom held immunomodulatory medications during their infection. Thirty-seven out of 54 respondents (69%) reported vaccination against COVID-19, with 9 out of 37 (24%) reporting minor vaccine side effects and one reporting JIIM flare post vaccination. Twenty-one out of 54 (39%) respondents reported psychosocial concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Conclusions:
Patients with JIIM, including those on multiple immunosuppressive medications, had mild symptoms related to COVID-19. Most patients tolerated COVID-19 vaccination well. Few patients had disease flare post-COVID-19 or vaccination. Mental health concerns were demonstrated in JIIM patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Soil microorganisms and root exudation mediate rhizosphere acidification of the gypsum specialist Ononis tridentata Devesa &amp; G. López
Authors: Puente Laura de la , Echevarría Lola , Igual José M. , Ferrio Juan Pedro , Palacio Sara 
Published: July 2023

Abstract

Background and Aims
Plants living on gypsum are adapted to uptake nutrients in extremely poor alkaline soils. Under such extreme conditions, processes affecting the chemical conditions of the rhizosphere may be crucial for plant survival and growth. Rhizosphere acidification in plants living on gypsum soils has never been reported before and the effect of root exudation and microbial fungi on the rhizosphere pH remains undescribed.
Methods
In this study we cultivated seeds of the gypsum specialist Ononis tridentata in rhizoboxes with natural gypsum soil and with fungi-sterile gypsum soil, and monitored changes in the rhizosphere pH with planar optodes coupled to a calibrated image recording system. Soil microbial life and root exudation were characterised.
Results
The acidification was steep in both treatments, more intense in the root tip. The higher presence of fungi led to lower pH values in the natural gypsum soil treatment. In the fungi-sterile treatment, however, rhizosphere acidification was more extensive across the root surface. Several organic acids and alcohols were exuded by plant roots, with a significantly higher concentration of some compounds in fungi-sterile roots, potentially due to the reduced fungal activity. However, the exudation of lactic acid, a compound related to rhizosphere bacteria, was higher in plants grown in the natural treatment.
Conclusion
Root exudation seemed to be a fundamental process to acidify the rhizosphere in gypsum soil, and fungal microbiota participated in the process without showing a dependency on plant growth. The direct visualization of pH changes at the rhizosphere helped to describe an important mechanism of plant life on gypsum.
Daily step counts and intensity both associated with obesity in Chinese older women
Authors: Zhang Xianliang , Wu Qinmei , Yin Shuting , Du Litao , Li Ting , Ren Xiaoyu , He Qiang , Pan Yang , Chen Si 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the associations of objectively measured daily step counts and intensity with overweightness/obesity in older women.
METHODS: Totally, 1 085 community-dwelling older women were included. Overweightness/obesity indicators were measured by body composition analyzer. Daily step counts, peak 1-minute cadence (peak 1 cadence), and peak 30-minute cadence (peak 30 cadence) were measured via tri-axial accelerometer. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to assess the association of total daily step counts, peak cadence and their joint effects with different overweightness/obesity indicators. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was used to determine the optimal daily steps, peak 1 cadence, peak 30 cadence cut-off values to distinguish overweightness/obesity.
RESULTS:After adjusting for confounders, a significant association was found between daily step counts, cadence or intensity and the overweightness/obesity. Each 1 000 step increase in daily step counts was associated with a 0.2% reduction in body fat ratio (BFR). Each 1 steps/min increase in peak 1 cadence and peak 30 cadence was associated with a decrease in BFR 0.09% and 0.07%, respectively. The joint effect showed that the high step and intensity (HSHI) group had the best effect on reducing obesity. ROC curve analysis showed that the optimal cut-off points of daily step count, peak 1 cadence and peak 30 cadence for predicting overweightness/obesity were 9 135 steps, 126.9 steps/min and 89.0 steps/min, respectively.
CONCLUSION: Increasing daily step count and intensity in walking activities is an effective way to lose weight although daily step count is not associated with BMI. It is recommended that older women walk more than 9 135 steps a day. Different steps and intensity combination can be considered according to the actual condition of older women, and increase daily step count or step intensity appropriately.
Diagnostic potential of LncRNAs-ANRIL and MIAT in the blood of patients with cerebral venous thrombosis
Authors: Zayani Zoofa , Hooshmandi Etrat , Borhani-Haghighi Afshin , Rahimi Mousa , Ostovan Vahid Reza , Fadakar Nima , Tabrizi Reza , Bayat Mahnaz , Hojati Seyedehshamim , Gharbi Negin , Mahmoudinasab Hamideh 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Background: Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) have been implicated as possible circulating stroke indicators. This study focused on the expression status of ANRILand MIAT in cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) patients.
Methods: In this study, fifty CVT patients and one hundred age/gender-matched individuals as controls were included. The circulating levels of ANRIL and MIATin the first 24 hours after admission were evaluated using the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. We compared the expression levels of ANRIL and MIAT between patients and controls using the independent two-sample t-test. Subgroup analysis was used toinvestigate the association of lncRNAs with clinical characteristics in CVT patients. ROC curve analyses conducted the diagnostic value of two lncRNAs in patient assessment.
Results: The relative expression of lncRNAs ANRILand MIAT significantly decreased in patients compared to the control. ANRILand MIAT showed potential markers for discriminating CVT patients from the healthy controls with an AUC of 0.98 and 0.99, respectively.
Conclusion: For the first time we found downregulation and diagnostic potential of LncRNAs-ANRILand MIAT in the blood of patients with CVT.
Enhanced phenylpropanoid metabolism underlies resistance to Fusarium oxysporum vasinfectum f. sp. race 4 infection in the cotton cultivar Pima-S6 (Gossypium barbadense L.)
Authors: Ojeda-Rivera Jonathan , Ulloa Mauricio , Najera-Gonzalez Hector Rogelio , Roberts Philip A. , Montes Ricardo Chavez , Herrera-Estrella Luis , Lopez-Arredondo Damar 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Background
Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. vasinfectum (FOV) race 4 (FOV4) is a highly pathogenic soil-borne fungus responsible for Fusarium wilt in cotton (Gossypium spp.) and represents a continuing threat to cotton production in the southwest states of the U.S., including California, New Mexico, and Texas. Even though the Pima (G. barbadense L.) cotton gene pool shows more susceptibility to this pathogen than Upland (G. hirsutum L.) cotton, fortunately, some Pima cultivars present resistance to FOV4 infection, like Pima-S6. To gain insights into the mechanism underlying FOV4 resistance, we performed comparative transcriptional and metabolomic profiling of FOV4-resistant Pima-S6 and FOV4-susceptible Pima S-7 and Pima 3–79 cotton.
Results
Comparative analysis of transcriptional FOV4 infection responses on these genotypes indicated a differential response between resistant Pima-S6 and susceptible Pima S-7 and 3–79. GO-enriched analysis found clusters related to various biological processes, including transmembrane transport, glycoside hydrolysis, metabolism of small molecules, and phenylpropanoid metabolism. Arabidopsis ortholog genes comparison with categories significantly enriched in Pima-S6 resulted in multiple categories clustered to similar biological processes such as the metabolism of small molecules, regulation of enzymatic activity, diterpenoid biosynthetic processes, and phytohormone signaling-related processes, being phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and metabolism highly enriched. These results correlated with the accumulation of secondary metabolites in Pima-S6 roots, specifically esculetin, a coumarin that inhibits the growth of Fusarium. Transcriptomic profiling enabled the identification of candidate genes potentially involved in the resistance mechanism of FOV4-resistance in protecting the Pima-S6 cotton cultivar from this pathogenic fungus. Some genes of this pathway were found to be in chromosome-QTL regions linked with resistance to FOV4.
Conclusions
Our results highlight an essential role for the phenylpropanoid synthesis pathway in FOV4 resistance and create opportunities for gene discovery and SNP development for marker-associated selection (MAS) for breeding for FOV4 resistance.
Treadmill exercise ameliorated stress-induced neuron impairment and dopamine loss in rat hippocampus and improved working memory
Authors: Yang Rui , Zhang Xiguang , Li Wenyi , Guo Cheng 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Stress-related memory deficit is correlated with neurotransmitter system impairment. Exercise improves memory function and neurotransmitter. However, no studies have been performed to directly observe exercise-related effects on neurotransmitter in stress model, in association with memory function and hippocampal neuron. This study aimed to investigate the effect of exercise on hippocampal neuron and dopamine in stress model, followed by working memory in a passive avoid test. Our study found that stress rat had significantly neuron impairment and dopamine loss in hippocampus plus working memory deficit, which can be rescued by exercise. In summary, this study demonstrated that the neuroprotective effect of stress-associated working memory by treadmill exercise via ameliorated neuron impairment and dopamine loss.
The Psychophysics of Human Three-Dimensional Active Visuospatial Problem-Solving
Authors: Solbach Markus D. , Tsotsos John K. 
Published: July 2023

Abstract
Our understanding of how visual systems detect, analyze and interpret visual stimuli has advanced greatly. However, the visual systems of all animals do much more; they enable visual behaviours. How well the visual system performs while interacting with the visual environment and how vision is used in the real world is not well studied, especially in humans. It has been suggested that comparison is the most primitive of psychophysical tasks. Thus, as a probe into these active visual behaviours, we use a same-different task: are two physical 3D objects visually the same? This task is a fundamental cognitive ability. We pose this question to human subjects who are free to move about and examine two real objects in an actual 3D space. Past work has dealt solely with a 2D static version of this problem. We collected detailed, first-of-its-kind data of humans performing a visuospatial task in hundreds of trials. Strikingly, humans are remarkably good at this task without training, with a mean accuracy of 93.82%. No learning effect was observed on accuracy after many trials, but some effect was seen for response time, number of fixations and extent of head movement. Subjects demonstrated a variety of complex strategies involving a range of movement and eye fixation changes, suggesting that solutions were developed dynamically and tailored to the specific task.