bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Seasonal swarming behavior of Myotis bats revealed by integrated monitoring, involving passive acoustic monitoring with automated analysis, trapping, and video monitoring
Authors: Thomas Robert J. , Davison Stephen P. 
Published: September 2022

AbstractBat abundance, diversity, and behavior can be monitored by capturing bats for identification and measurement in the hand, but this has several disadvantages. These include disturbance to the bats, which limits the frequency with which captures can be made at an individual capture site, and potentially alters the behaviors being studied. Infrared video monitoring, passive acoustic recording and automated analysis and identification of bat calls offers an alternative set of noninvasive methods for monitoring bats. In this study, we examine the effectiveness of acoustic monitoring in comparison with capture‐based and video monitoring of seasonal swarming behavior among several species of Myotis bats in southern Britain. We applied these complementary approaches to describe seasonal, overnight, and species‐specific variation in swarming behavior in a multispecies community of Myotis bats. We show that the three monitoring approaches have advantages and disadvantages for different tasks, but can be viewed as highly complementary methods for addressing different types of research questions. In our study of swarming behavior, capture and examination of bats in the hand was necessary for measuring sex ratios, reproductive status, and even for confirmation of species identification for some difficult to separate taxa. Capture is also an essential aspect of tagging bats for individual identification and tracking studies. Video monitoring is useful for understanding the behavior of bats at swarming sites, and measuring the flux of individuals into and out of roosting or swarming sites. Passive acoustic monitoring is a valuable noninvasive method for continuous monitoring of within‐night, seasonal, and between‐year variation in the abundance of bat calls. These can be used as an index of variation in relative abundance within—but not between—bat species.
Diagnostic accuracy of fine needle aspiration biopsy versus postoperative histopathology for diagnosing thyroid malignancy
Authors: Aliyev Aziz , Aliyeva Irada , Giammarile Francesco , Talibova Narmin , Aliyeva Gunay , Novruzov Fuad 
Published: September 2022

AbstractIntroductionUltrasound‐guided fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is currently widely used for the initial screening of patients with thyroid nodules enabling prevention of unnecessary surgery. The purpose of this study was to retrospectively analyse the diagnostic accuracy of thyroid FNAB compared with postoperative histopathology of a large cohort from Azerbaijan.MethodsWe evaluated the FNAB results of 738 patients who underwent thyroid surgery at the National Centre of Oncology in Azerbaijan. The measures of diagnostic accuracy were calculated for the ultrasound‐guided preoperative FNAB results (based on the six diagnostic categories of the Bethesda classification) compared with postoperative histopathologic results (benign or malignant) for correspondent areas.ResultsConsidering both DC V and DC VI categories (387 cases) as ‘cytologic‐positive’ and DC II category (72 cases) as ‘cytologic‐negative’, we found 14 false‐positive and 10 false‐negative results. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and diagnostic accuracy were 97.4%, 86.1%, 96.4%, 81.6% and 94.8%, respectively. Conversely, when considering only the DC VI category as ‘cytologic‐positive’, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and diagnostic accuracy of FNA were 93.2%, 100%, 100%, 81.6% and 97.1%, respectively.ConclusionsThe results of our cohort demonstrated high levels of diagnostic accuracy, supporting FNAB's role as a reliable diagnostic tool in the preoperative evaluation of thyroid nodules. The sensitivity, specificity, NPV, PPV and accuracy of thyroid FNAB in our institution were comparable with those of other institutions.
Environmental DNA highlights fish biodiversity in mesophotic ecosystems
Authors: Muff Marion , Jaquier Mélissa , Marques Virginie , Ballesta Laurent , Deter Julie , Bockel Thomas , Hocdé Régis , Juhel Jean‐Baptiste , Boulanger Emilie , Guellati Nacim , Fernández Andrea Polanco , Valentini Alice , Dejean Tony , Manel Stéphanie , Albouy Camille , Durville Patrick , Mouillot David , Holon Florian , Pellissier Loïc 
Published: September 2022

AbstractMesophotic marine ecosystems are characterized by lower light penetration supporting specialized fish fauna. Due to their depths (−30–−150 m), accessibility is challenging, and the structure of mesophotic fish assemblages is generally less known than either shallow reefs or deep zones with soft bottoms which are generally trawled. Environmental DNA metabarcoding from seawater filtered in situ could improve our ability to monitor the diversity of mesophotic ecosystems. Here, we developed and tested a submersible standalone pumping device allowing targeted marine water filtering to explore the biodiversity of two mesophotic ecosystems, one temperate along the Provence coast in the North‐Western Mediterranean Sea and one tropical at the seamount La Pérouse in the Western Indian Ocean. We filtered water samples from depths ranging between 0 and 200 m in the Mediterranean Sea and between 60 and 140 m in the Indian Ocean and applied a metabarcoding protocol using the teleo primer pair targeting the 12S mitochondrial rDNA (Actinopterygii and Chondrichthyes). For both study regions, our eDNA surveys were able to recover highly diverse fish assemblages, and the compositional analysis of eDNA samples showed both a marked signal of fish compositional turnover and overlapping taxa between depth zones. Further, we observed that a substantial number of species were found in samples collected in depths beyond their reported depth range suggesting an underestimation of species' depth tolerances. eDNA metabarcoding should thus complement existing knowledge of species' geographic distributions across space and depth. Overall, our results demonstrate the potential of eDNA metabarcoding for future mesophotic surveys as it allows fast and broad biodiversity assessment.
EnvironmentalDNAsurveys of African biodiversity: State of knowledge, challenges, and opportunities
Authors: von der Heyden Sophie 
Published: September 2022

AbstractEnvironmental DNA surveys have become a well‐established tool for detecting natural communities, showing excellent promise for supporting biodiversity monitoring, conservation, and management efforts. Africa is a continent of exceptional biodiversity, threatened not only by anthropogenic pressures but also by a general lack of research capacity and infrastructure, limiting evaluation and monitoring of ecosystems. This commentary explores the use of environmental DNA in surveying natural diversity, a rapidly moving field, within the context of capturing Africa's natural capital. Through an extensive literature search and filtering, 65 papers from 22 countries were identified, with research from Madagascar and Africa forming the bulk of the literature (~38%), with many countries only represented by one to three papers. There was a diverse range of studies, with more than half reporting on communities or diet analyses; freshwater and marine research are underrepresented, accounting for ~5% of studies. There were some papers on disease monitoring, particularly in freshwater. Disturbingly, representation of authors was highly skewed and highlights the ongoing inequality of scientific publishing and the extent of parachute science; one‐third of papers (n = 21) reported no African representation, in contrast with the 18 papers that had either first or senior authors affiliated with an institution in Africa. The remainder of the papers (n = 27) had at least one author affiliated with an African institution. In addition, less than half of papers reported appropriate sampling permits. Importantly and with a concerted global effort, building long‐term capacity, through meaningful and equitable relationships will help increase self‐sustaining science around technologies based on eDNA, thus ensuring not only biodiversity but also humanitarian benefits across Africa.
Characterization of therapeutic mAb charge heterogeneity by iCIEF coupled to mass spectrometry (iCIEF–MS)
Authors: Schlecht Johannes , Moritz Bernd , Kiessig Steffen , Neusüß Christian 
Published: September 2022

AbstractImaged capillary isoelectric focusing (iCIEF) has emerged as an important technique for therapeutic monoclonal antibody (mAb) charge heterogeneity analysis in the biopharmaceutical context, providing imaged detection and quantitation by UV without a mobilization step. Besides quantitation, the characterization of separated charge variants ideally directly by online electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry (ESI–MS) is crucial to ensure product quality, safety, and efficacy. Straightforward direct iCIEF–MS coupling combining high separation efficiency and quantitative results of iCIEF with the characterization power of MS enables deep characterization of mAb charge variants. A short technical setup and optimized methodical parameters (30 nl/min mobilization rate, 2%–4% ampholyte concentration, 0.5–2 mg/ml sample concentration) allow successful mAb charge variant peak assignment from iCIEF to MS. Despite a loss of separation resolution during the transfer, separated intact mAb charge variants, including deamidation as well as major and minor glycoforms even from low abundant charge variants, could be characterized by online ESI–MS with high precision. The presented setup provides a large potential for mAb charge heterogeneity characterization in biopharmaceutical applications.
NOx and CO levels in the Mediterranean major Patras area, Greece
Authors: Bloutsos Aristeidis A. , Yannopoulos Panayotis C. 
Published: September 2022

AbstractGaseous pollutants negatively affect air quality and consequently human health and wellbeing. Thus, the University of Patras Campus (UPC) air quality is evaluated in comparison to Patras downtown air quality, regarding nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) concentration levels. The air pollution station installed at the suburban area of UPC was monitoring the air quality during the period 2014–2018. The daily average concentrations ± standard deviations recorded by continuous measurements of NO, NO2, NOx, and CO were 0.4 ± 0.5, 4.6 ± 2.7, and 5.0 ± 3.0, and 39.3 ± 64.1 μg m−3, correspondingly. These values are lower than the corresponding ones measured by downtown monitoring stations during 2001–2018. After analyzing the data recorded, the diurnal, weakly and yearly variations of NO, NO2, NOx, CO concentrations and NO/NOx, NO2/NOx, NO/NO2 ratios were obtained. The yearly variations show that the pollutant concentrations at UPC are below the legislation limits. On the contrary, in Patras Downtown only NOx concentrations overcome the limit, while NO2 concentrations found marginally below the limit during the last decade. Statistical analysis showed that concentration levels are affected by seasonality and meteorological parameters. The present findings may be useful in environmental impact assessments necessary for sustainable development projects.
Vulvar ductal carcinoma in situ as a manifestation of ectopic breast tissue
Authors: Sandak Michael D. , Chandler Katherine A. , Goberdhan Samuel P. , Willett William F. , Scarborough Charles S. 
Published: September 2022

SynopsisThe fourth known occurrence of ductal carcinoma in situ found in ectopic breast tissue of the vulva successfully treated with wide‐excision biopsy and anastrozole.
Risk and protective factors for marijuana use and problems with use in a national sample of female Ecuadorian secondary school students
Authors: Ocaña‐Gordillo Daniela , Kliewer Wendy 
Published: September 2022

This study investigated risk and protective factors for marijuana use and problems with use in Ecuadorian girls in an attempt to inform this growing problem. Female secondary school students (N = 16,310; M = 15.02, SD = 1.73 years) who completed the 2016 national survey of drug use participated. The likelihood of lifetime marijuana use, reported by 7.3% of the sample, was predicted by older age, greater perceived access to marijuana and affiliation with tobacco‐ and marijuana‐using peers; aspects of parental monitoring and perceived physical safety in and around school were negatively related to the probability of use. Among girls reporting any marijuana use, age, frequency of past year use, ease of access and affiliation with marijuana‐using peers was positively associated with marijuana use problems. These data support the roles of both parents and communities in reducing marijuana use among Ecuadorian girls and highlight the important role of peer influence.
Research progress on components and mechanisms of neurotoxicity induced by traditional Chinese medicine
Authors: Guo Jiafu , Zhang Jian , Liu Qiuyan , Yang Nannan , Huang Yan , Hu Tingting , Rao Chaolong 
Published: September 2022

AbstractOver the years, the safety of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has received widespread attention, especially the central nervous system‐related adverse reactions. Indeed, the complexity of TCM has limited the widespread application of TCM. The article summarizes the main components associated with neurotoxicity, including alkaloids, terpenes, flavonoids, saponins, proteins, and heavy metals, by reviewing the literature on the neurotoxicity of TCM. It has been established that the neurotoxicity mechanisms mainly include mitochondrial damage, oxidative damage, inhibition of cell proliferation (including transcriptional and DNA damage), changes in cell membrane permeability, and apoptosis. By reviewing the latest literature, this paper provides the foothold for follow‐up studies and can assist clinicians in preventing neurotoxicity via rational and safe TCM drug use.
Extracellular vesicle‐bound DNA in urine is indicative of kidney allograft injury
Authors: Sedej Ivana , Štalekar Maja , Tušek Žnidarič Magda , Goričar Katja , Kojc Nika , Kogovšek Polona , Dolžan Vita , Arnol Miha , Lenassi Metka 
Published: September 2022

AbstractExtracellular vesicle‐bound DNA (evDNA) is an understudied extracellular vesicle (EV) cargo, particularly in cancer‐unrelated research. Although evDNA has been detected in urine, little is known about its characteristics, localization, and biomarker potential for kidney pathologies. To address this, we enriched EVs from urine of well‐characterized kidney transplant recipients undergoing allograft biopsy, characterized their evDNA and its association to allograft injury. The SEC‐based method enriched pure EVs from urine of kidney transplant recipients, regardless of the allograft injury. Urinary evDNA represented up to 29.2 ± 8% (mean ± SD) of cell‐free DNA (cfDNA) and correlated with cfDNA in several characteristics but was less fragmented (P < 0.001). Importantly, using DNase treatment and immunogold labelling TEM, we demonstrated that evDNA was bound to the surface of urinary EVs. Normalised evDNA yield (P = 0.042) and evDNA copy number (P = 0.027) significantly differed between patients with normal histology, rejection injury and non‐rejection injury, the later groups having significantly larger uEVs (mean diameter, P = 0.045) and more DNA bound per uEV. ddDNA is detectable in uEV samples of kidney allograft recipients, but its quantity is highly variable. In a proof‐of‐principle study, several evDNA characteristics correlated with clinical and histological parameters (P = 0.040), supporting that the potential of evDNA as a biomarker for kidney allograft injury should be further investigated.
Active antithrombin glycoforms are selectively physiosorbed on plasma extracellular vesicles
Authors: Radeghieri Annalisa , Alacqua Silvia , Zendrini Andrea , Previcini Vanessa , Todaro Francesca , Martini Giuliana , Ricotta Doris , Bergese Paolo 
Published: September 2022

AbstractAntithrombin (AT) is a glycoprotein produced by the liver and a principal antagonist of active clotting proteases. A deficit in AT function leads to AT qualitative deficiency, challenging to diagnose. Here we report that active AT may travel physiosorbed on the surface of plasma extracellular vesicles (EVs), contributing to form the “EV‐protein corona.” The corona is enriched in specific AT glycoforms, thus suggesting glycosylation to play a key role in AT partitioning between EVs and plasma. Differences in AT glycoform composition of the corona of EVs separated from plasma of healthy and AT qualitative deficiency‐affected subjects were also noticed. This suggests deconstructing the plasma into its nanostructured components, as EVs, could suggest novel directions to unravel pathophysiological mechanisms.
Clinical evaluation of deep learning and atlas‐based auto‐segmentation for critical organs at risk in radiation therapy
Authors: Gibbons Eddie , Hoffmann Matthew , Westhuyzen Justin , Hodgson Andrew , Chick Brendan , Last Andrew 
Published: September 2022

AbstractIntroductionContouring organs at risk (OARs) is a time‐intensive task that is a critical part of radiation therapy. Atlas‐based automatic segmentation has shown some success at reducing this time burden on practitioners; however, this method often requires significant manual editing to reach a clinically accurate standard. Deep learning (DL) auto‐segmentation has recently emerged as a promising solution. This study compares the accuracy of DL and atlas‐based auto‐segmentation in relation to clinical ‘gold standard’ reference contours.MethodsNinety CT datasets (30 head and neck, 30 thoracic, 30 pelvic) were automatically contoured using both atlas and DL segmentation techniques. Sixteen critical OARs were then quantitatively measured for accuracy using the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and Hausdorff distance (HD). Qualitative analysis was performed to visually classify the accuracy of each structure into one of four explicitly defined categories. Additionally, the time to edit atlas and DL contours to a clinically acceptable level was recorded for a subset of 9 OARs.ResultsOf the 16 OARs analysed, DL delivered statistically significant improvements over atlas segmentation in 13 OARs measured with DSC, 12 OARs measured with HD, and 12 OARs measured qualitatively. The mean editing time for the subset of DL contours was 50%, 23% and 61% faster (all P < 0.05) than that of atlas segmentation for the head and neck, thorax, and pelvis respectively.ConclusionsDeep learning segmentation comprehensively outperformed atlas‐based contouring for the majority of evaluated OARs. Improvements were observed in geometric accuracy and visual acceptability, while editing time was reduced leading to increased workflow efficiency.
Influence of damaged starch on thermal and rheological properties of wheat starch and wheat starch–gluten systems in water and sucrose
Authors: Teobaldi Andrés Gustavo , Barrera Gabriela Noel , Severini Hernán , Ribotta Pablo Daniel 
Published: September 2022

AbstractBACKGROUNDThe granular integrity of starch granules is affected by the mechanical action of the milling‐process, thus producing what is called damaged starch (DS). The effect of DS on bakery products was extensively studied, but there is not much information about the effect of this minor flour component on batter‐type products in which there is a high amount of sucrose. The objective of this work was to study the influence of damaged wheat‐starch on starch and starch–gluten systems dispersed in water and sucrose 500 g kg−1 solution.RESULTSThermal and pasting properties and the viscoelastic behavior of the systems were evaluated. Gelatinization enthalpy decreased when DS amount increased in the samples in both solvents. In starch–gluten systems, the degree of influence of DS on the gelatinization enthalpy was solvent‐dependent. The presence of gluten minimized the effect of DS on the gelatinization process in water. The viscosity profile of starch and starch–gluten samples was reduced in both solvents when DS level increased. The influence of DS on the viscosity profile was solvent‐dependent in starch–gluten systems. The presence of gluten lessened the influence of DS on the viscosity profile during the pasting process in sucrose solution. Higher DS levels decreased the viscoelastic behavior of the systems in both solvents and further reduced the viscoelastic behavior of the systems in sucrose solution.CONCLUSIONThese results contribute to understanding the influence of the DS levels on the batter properties of flour‐based batter‐type products, mainly those generated on starch and gluten–starch systems dispersed in sucrose solution. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
Efficient degradation of rice straw through a novel psychrotolerant Bacillus cereus at low temperature
Authors: Wang Yu , Cai Jinling , Li Demao 
Published: September 2022

AbstractBACKGROUNDRice straw (RS) is one of the largest sources of lignocellulosic, which is an abundant raw material for biofuels and chemicals. However, the natural degradation of RS under a low temperature environment is the biggest obstacle to returning straw to the field.RESULTSIn the present study, one bacillus strain W118 was isolated. Strain W118 was identified as Bacillus cereus through morphological and physiological characterization and 16S rDNA sequencing. The optimum growth temperature and pH of strain W118 were 20 °C and 6.5, respectively. Simultaneously, it was found that the strain W118 grew well at low temperature, even at a temperature of 4 °C (OD600 = 1.40 ± 0.01). The decrease of various compositions of RS after the fermentation process at a temperature of 20 °C and 4 °C for 14 days was 27.00 ± 0.02% and 23.70 ± 0.04%, respectively. The composition of RS decreased to 50.71 ± 0.02% after being fermented at 4 °C for 25 days. The results of scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X‐ray diffraction of RS showed that the compositions of RS were significant decreased.CONCLUSIONThis test suggests that the strain W118 is efficient for degrading RS at low temperature, which has great application potential for straw degradation in a low temperature area. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
Usefulness of Shear Wave Elastography in Determining the Tumor Extent of Basal Cell Carcinomas
Authors: Liang Jian‐Feng , Feng Ming‐Chu , Wang Jing , Chen Dong‐Xiang , Guan Jian‐Ying , Luo Ping‐Ping 
Published: September 2022

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to investigate the value of shear wave elastography (SWE) in determining tumor extent of basal cell carcinomas (BCC), and thereby determine the optimal surgical margins (OSM).Methods10 patients (40 surgical margins) with BCC were collected, the visual observation boundaries (VOB) were marked, and the SWE parameters of soft tissues were measured 1 mm intervals in “3, 6, 9, 12” clock directions, starting from VOB. Then tumors were resected with a 5 mm surgical margin outward expansion of VOB. All specimens were examined pathologically 1 mm intervals from VOB in four clock directions. With the positive margins furthest from the tumor as the real tumor boundaries (RTB) and the negative margins closest to the tumor as the optimal surgical margins (OSM). The SWE parameters were compared between these two groups.ResultsThe elasticity ratio (Eratio) of average young's modulus between region of interest and adjacent normal soft tissue had statistically significant differences between groups (P = .000), while other parameters show no difference. The Eratio of RTB and OSM were 1.22 ± 0.14 and 0.99 ± 0.07. The area under the ROC curve was .947. Taking 1.075 as the threshold of Eratio for the diagnosis of tumor extent, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 87.5%, 90.0% and 90.0%. The surgical margins designed according to OSM were better than those designed according to VOB + 5 mm (P = .000).ConclusionsThe Eratio of SWE is helpful in determining tumor extent of BCC. This is beneficial for surgical margin designing.