bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the biological activities of β-glucan isolated from Lentinula edodes
Authors: Yehia R.S. 
Published: April 2022

Abstract
Lentinula edodes (shiitake) is an edible mushroom that contains many constituents and β-glucan is considered a major polysaccharide. This study, therefore, aimed to characterize β-glucan and evaluate its activities. Fresh fruit bodies of L. edodes were used for β-glucan extraction and followed by analyses via Fourier transform infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance and high performance liquid chromatography confirming its characteristic structure. For evaluating biological activities of β-glucan, different concentrations (0·1–3·5 mg ml−1) were assessed. The optimal dose was 3·5 mg ml−1 that showed the highest scavenging radical ability (75·3%) confirms antioxidant activity, strong inhibition of the peroxyl radical (80·9%) to inhibit lipid peroxidation, elevation the inhibition percentage of both α-amylase (73·4%) and α-glucosidase (70·3%) indicates the antidiabetic properties, and highest AFB1 reduction (88%) which ensured the aflatoxin-detoxifying ability. In addition, antifungal activity of β-glucan was evaluated to inhibit sporulation process in Aspergillus niger and recorded with minimum inhibitory concentration of 2·5 mg ml−1 and minimum fungicidal concentration of 3 mg ml−1. In a dose-dependent manner, higher concentration of β-glucan affects viability of tumour cells concomitant induces potent anti-cancer immune responses and inhibited the activity of topoisomerase I which are considered an important target for cancer chemotherapy. Therefore, L. edodes-β-glucan has the potential to act as a suggestive agent for antioxidant, antidiabetic, antifungal activity and aflatoxin detoxification.
Swedish police officers' strategies when interviewing suspects who decline to answer questions
Authors: Magnusson Mikaela , Ernberg Emelie , Granhag Pär Anders , Nyström Lina , Luke Timothy J. 
Published: April 2022

AbstractPurposeResearch‐based interviewing techniques typically rely upon suspects being, at least partially, responsive and engaged in the conversation. To date, the scientific literature is more limited regarding situations where suspects exercise their legal right to silence. The present study aimed to examine Swedish police officers' self‐reported strategies when interviewing suspects who decline to answer questions.MethodsA total of 289 police officers responded to a national survey that included questions about handling silence. The participants worked with a wide range of criminal cases, including financial crimes, fraud, violent offences, domestic abuse, volume crime and traffic violations. We used content analysis to examine their written responses to the open‐ended question: ‘What, if any, strategies do you use when interviewing suspects who speak very little or not at all?’ResultsFour main categories were identified relating to (1) question strategies (e.g. asking the questions anyway, using silence), (2) information strategies (e.g. emphasizing the benefits of cooperating and informing about their legal right to silence), (3) supportive strategies (e.g. being friendly and asking about reasons for silence) and (4) procedural strategies (e.g. changing interviewers and conducting multiple interviews). Practitioners working with violent crimes reported meeting silent suspects more frequently compared with practitioners working with other criminal offences.ConclusionsThe results provide an initial exploration into the various strategies used by police interviewers when questioning suspects who decline to answer questions. Further research is necessary for understanding and evaluating the ethics and effectiveness of such strategies.
National identity in historical video games: An analysis of how Civilization V represents the past
Authors: Bijsterveld Muñoz Andrés 
Published: April 2022

AbstractAlthough the last two decades have seen a vast increase in studies that analyse banal nationalism in media, there is one medium that has largely been ignored in these discussions: video games. This article fills part of this gap by analysing the way in which the historical strategy game Civilization V represents the Past and what role it gives nations within historical processes. This video game was marketed globally by an American company, but it evokes Spanish, Japanese, and English nationalist narratives and imagery. Although globalization and nationalism are often framed as opposing forces, this is hardly the case here. This paper will combine insights of Game Studies and Nationalism Studies to illustrate how the elements that conform Civilization V incentivise and enable players to re‐enact a narrative that portrays essentialised nation‐states as the only relevant actors in the past, present, and future of humankind. Although a product of globalization, Civilization V strengthens rather than erodes national boundaries.
Forest wildflowers bloom earlier as Europe warms: lessons from herbaria and spatial modelling
Authors: Willems Franziska M. , Scheepens J. F. , Bossdorf Oliver 
Published: April 2022

Summary

Today plants often flower earlier due to climate warming. Herbarium specimens are excellent witnesses of such long‐term changes. However, the magnitude of phenological shifts may vary geographically, and the data are often clustered. Therefore, large‐scale analyses of herbarium data are prone to pseudoreplication and geographical biases.

We studied over 6000 herbarium specimens of 20 spring‐flowering forest understory herbs from Europe to understand how their phenology had changed during the last century. We estimated phenology trends with or without taking spatial autocorrelation into account.

On average plants now flowered over 6 d earlier than at the beginning of the last century. These changes were strongly associated with warmer spring temperatures. Flowering time advanced 3.6 d per 1°C warming. Spatial modelling showed that, in some parts of Europe, plants flowered earlier or later than expected. Without accounting for this, the estimates of phenological shifts were biased and model fits were poor.

Our study indicates that forest wildflowers in Europe strongly advanced their phenology in response to climate change. However, these phenological shifts differ geographically. This shows that it is crucial to combine the analysis of herbarium data with spatial modelling when testing for long‐term phenology trends across large spatial scales.
Who is leading the digital transformation? Understanding the adoption of digital technologies in Germany
Authors: Ohlert Clemens , Giering Oliver , Kirchner Stefan 
Published: April 2022

AbstractDebates on digitalisation in Germany often refer to ‘Industrie 4.0’ describing a seamless and technology‐driven process spearheaded by manufacturing. This view conflicts with sociological arguments, assuming highly differentiated processes of digitalisation. We review the literature and empirically test the core assumption that digital technologies relate to organisational characteristics and that adoption differs according to the type of technology. We analyse German IAB‐Establishment‐Panel data, which contains organisation‐level information, including digital technologies. Our results show a lead of manufacturing in the adoption of digital production technologies. Regarding other digital technologies, manufacturing performs on par or is outperformed by specific service industries. Additionally, the usage of digital technologies relates to organisational characteristics, other than industry (e.g., establishment size, age, competition, employees’ qualification). The relationship patterns largely persist across technologies, with some technology‐specific variants. Our empirical results underline the embeddedness of digitalisation processes in Germany and underline the relevance of the technologies in question.
Methods for the economic evaluation of obesity prevention dietary interventions in children: A systematic review and critical appraisal of the evidence
Authors: Mahdi Sundus , Marr Colette , Buckland Nicola J. , Chilcott Jim 
Published: April 2022

SummaryObjectivesWe aim to describe and provide a discussion of methods used to conduct economic evaluations of dietary interventions in children and adolescents, including long‐term modelling, and to make recommendations to assist health economists in the design and reporting of such evaluations.MethodsA systematic review was conducted in 11 bibliographic databases and the grey literature with searches undertaken between January 2000 and December 2021. A study was included if it (1) was an economic evaluation or modelling study of an obesity‐prevention dietary intervention and (2) targeted 2‐ to 18‐year‐olds.ResultsTwenty‐six studies met the inclusion criteria. Twelve studies conducted an economic evaluation alongside a clinical trial, and 14 studies modelled long‐term health and cost outcomes. Four overarching methodological challenges were identified: modelling long‐term impact of interventions, measuring and valuing health outcomes, cost inclusions and equity considerations.ConclusionsVariability in methods used to predict, measure and value long‐term benefits in adulthood from short‐term clinical outcomes in childhood was evident across studies. Key recommendations to improve the design and analysis of future economic evaluations include the consideration of weight regain and diminishing intervention effects within future projections; exploration of wider intervention benefits not restricted to quality‐of‐life outcomes; and inclusion of parental or caregiver opportunity costs.
Estimating the 3‐D location of impacted maxillary canines: A CBCT‐based analysis of severity of impaction
Authors: Ross Greg , Abu Arqub Sarah , Mehta Shivam , Vishwanath Meenakshi , Tadinada Aditya , Yadav Sumit , Upadhyay Madhur 
Published: April 2022

AbstractObjectivesThe objective of the study was to quantify the 3‐D location of impacted canines by measuring their linear and angular deviations in relation to adjacent structures and further evaluate impaction severity.MethodsCBCT images of 314 impacted canines were analysed in the sagittal, coronal and axial planes. Linear and angular measurements were recorded. Canine inclination was identified in coronal and sagittal planes. An evaluation system was constructed for analysis. Upright canine was considered as the appropriate position for fully erupted maxillary canine. Outcomes were compared between right and left sides and by gender. For categorical variables, chi‐square tests were used while Mann‐Whitney U test was used for continuous variables. Regression models were used to measure severity.ResultsImpactions were greater in females (119/207; 57.5%). No significant differences between unilateral (100/207; 49.3%) and bilateral (107/207; 51.7%) (P > 0.05). Out of 314 impactions, 105 (33.4%) were mild, 118 (37.58%) moderate and 91 (28.98%) severe. Severe impactions were primarily buccal (44/ 91; 48.3%), in the occlusal ½ of the adjacent incisor root (38/ 91, 41.7%), mesial to the distal border of central incisor (47/91, 51.6%), with sagittal angle value + >45 ̊ (46/ 91, 50.5%) and mesial tip + >30 ̊ (86/ 91, 94.5%).ConclusionsSeverely impacted canines had their crowns buccal, closer to occlusal plane and mesial to the distal border of the central incisor with greater than 45‐degree buccal inclination and greater than 30‐degree mesial tip. The sagittal angle can have a significant impact on the severity of impaction. A new classification system was proposed to quantify severity.
OsAT1, an anion transporter, negatively regulates grain size and yield in rice
Authors: Liu Kun , Wang Xin , Liu Hengchen , Wu Jiarui , Liang Feng , Li Shaobo , Zhang Jianjun , Peng Xinxiang 
Published: April 2022

AbstractImproving the grain yield of rice is a central goal of basic and applied scientific research. Here, we identified an anion transporter, OsAT1, localized in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi. OsAT1 is highly expressed in flag, stem, and sheath as monitored using qRT‐PCR and pOsAT1::GUS. Thousand‐grain weight, grain weight per plant, and content of starch were significantly increased in OsAT1 knock‐down mutants (OsAT1‐Ri) but significantly decreased in OsAT1 overexpressed lines (OsAT1‐OE). In addition, the grain weight per plant increased by 6.17% to 6.78% in OsAT1‐RNAi lines, whereas it decreased by 45.93% to 46.76% in OsAT1‐OE lines, compared to wild‐type. Moreover, the copper content was noticeably reduced in flag leaf of OsAT1‐Ri lines and increased in OsAT1‐OE lines. RNA‐sequencing analysis of OsAT1‐OE lines revealed that the genes related to starch biosynthesis and metabolism pathway were enriched in the down‐regulated category. Thus, our results suggest that knock‐down of OsAT1 in rice possibly reduces copper accumulation and improves the accumulation of storage starch, hence, increasing the grain size and weight. OsAT1 may be a useful gene to consider for cereal breeding programs.
A systematic data‐driven approach to analyze sensor‐level EEG connectivity: Identifying robust phase‐synchronized network components using surface Laplacian with spectral‐spatial PCA
Authors: Smith Ezra E. , Bel‐Bahar Tarik S. , Kayser Jürgen 
Published: April 2022

AbstractAlthough conventional averaging across predefined frequency bands reduces the complexity of EEG functional connectivity (FC), it obscures the identification of resting‐state brain networks (RSN) and impedes accurate estimation of FC reliability. Extending prior work, we combined scalp current source density (CSD; spherical spline surface Laplacian) and spectral‐spatial PCA to identify FC components. Phase‐based FC was estimated via debiased‐weighted phase‐locking index from CSD‐transformed resting EEGs (71 sensors, 8 min, eyes open/closed, 35 healthy adults, 1‐week retest). Spectral PCA extracted six robust alpha and theta components (86.6% variance). Subsequent spatial PCA for each spectral component revealed seven robust regionally focused (posterior, central, and frontal) and long‐range (posterior–anterior) alpha components (peaks at 8, 10, and 13 Hz) and a midfrontal theta (6 Hz) component, accounting for 37.0% of FC variance. These spatial FC components were consistent with well‐known networks (e.g., default mode, visual, and sensorimotor), and four were sensitive to eyes open/closed conditions. Most FC components had good‐to‐excellent internal consistency (odd/even epochs, eyes open/closed) and test–retest reliability (ICCs ≥ .8). Moreover, the FC component structure was generally present in subsamples (session × odd/even epoch, or smaller subgroups [n = 7–10]), as indicated by high similarity of component loadings across PCA solutions. Apart from systematically reducing FC dimensionality, our approach avoids arbitrary thresholds and allows quantification of meaningful and reliable network components that may prove to be of high relevance for basic and clinical research applications.
Molecular farming: Expanding the field of edible vaccines for sustainable fish aquaculture
Authors: Mičúchová Alžbeta , Piačková Veronika , Frébort Ivo , Korytář Tomáš 
Published: April 2022

AbstractVaccines represent one of the most promising strategies for mitigating economic losses imposed by infectious diseases to global aquaculture. While the majority of commercial vaccines employ injection as the main route of delivery, a substantial body of research explores other avenues for the stimulation of protective immunity. Oral vaccines, representing the most favourable and convenient solution for the aquaculture industry, have been at the forefront of scientific interest for the last couple of decades. The orchestrated effort resulted in identifying the main roadblocks on the path to an ideal edible vaccine and provided several ingenious solutions improving the activation of immunity, ensuring the stability of administered antigens and their uptake upon the passage through the stomach. In the presented review, we describe advances in the available knowledge of the processes prerequisite for developing protective mucosal vaccines and focus readers' attention on the untapped potential of plant‐based production systems in this effort. We propose that these approaches not only meet production demands but also fulfil all requirements of an oral vaccine, addressing all the obstacles, previously solved via separate strategies, in one platform. Thus, combined with the available knowledge of molecular adjuvants and produced for a fraction of the cost, plant‐based production, so‐called molecular farming, is an ideal candidate for vaccine development, paving the road to sustainable aquaculture.
The impact of Option B+ on mother‐to‐child transmission of HIV in Africa: A systematic review
Authors: Maingi Mildred , Stark Aliza Hannah , Iron‐Segev Sharon 
Published: April 2022

AbstractObjectiveIn 2015, the WHO released new guidelines to reduce mother‐to‐child transmission (MTCT) of HIV. The recommendations, known as Option B+, included initiation of lifelong highly active antiretroviral therapy regardless of CD4 count for all HIV‐positive pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. For infants, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and antiviral therapy were sanctioned. Targets of <5% transmission in breastfeeding populations and <2% in non‐breastfeeding populations were set. This review evaluated the impact of Option B+ on MTCT in African countries.MethodsUsing the PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search of PubMed and Google Scholar databases was conducted to identify relevant studies published between 2015 and 2021. All studies meeting inclusion criteria were evaluated.ResultsOf the 687 references screened, 22 studies from 11 countries (Cameroon, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) met inclusion criteria. Six studies reported MTCT rates of <2%, 16 studies reported rates of 2–5% and two studies (Uganda and Zambia) reported 6% or more. Rates varied within the same study at different time points postpartum and amongst studies from the same country. Overall, reported MTCT rates appear to be close to WHO targets. However, diverse study designs, selection bias, extensive loss to follow‐up and undocumented adherence rates to Option B+ protocols may significantly underestimate MTCT rates of HIV in Africa.ConclusionsStandardised protocols for impact evaluation must be established to provide evidenced‐based data on the efficacy of Option B+ in Africa.
Neuroprotective effect of CTK 01512‐2 recombinant toxin at the spinal cord in a model of Huntington's disease
Authors: Joviano‐Santos Julliane V. , Valadão Priscila A. C. , Magalhães‐Gomes Matheus P. S. , Fernandes Lorena F. , Diniz Danuza M. , Machado Thatiane C. G. , Soares Kivia B. , Ladeira Marina S. , Massensini Andre R. , Gomez Marcus V. , Miranda Aline S. , Tápia Juan C. , Guatimosim Cristina 
Published: April 2022

New Findings
What is the central question of this study?
We investigated the effects of intrathecal administration of a novel toxin, CTK 01512‐2, in a mouse model of Huntington's disease. We asked whether spinal cord neurons can represent a therapeutic target, given that the spinal cord seems to be involved in motor symptoms of Huntington's disease. Pharmacological approaches focusing on the spinal cord and skeletal muscles might represent a more feasible strategy than a high‐risk brain intervention.
What is the main finding and its importance?
We provided evidence of a novel, local, neuroprotective effect of CTK 01512‐2, paving a path for the development of approaches to treat motor symptoms of Huntington's disease beyond the brain.
AbstractPhα1β is a neurotoxin from the venom of the Phoneutria nigriventer spider, available as CTK 01512‐2, a recombinant peptide. Owing to its antinociceptive and analgesic properties, CTK 01512‐2 has been described to alleviate neuroinflammatory responses. Despite the diverse actions of CTK 01512‐2 on the nervous system, little is known regarding its neuroprotective effect, especially in neurodegenerative conditions such as Huntington's disease (HD), a genetic movement disorder without cure. Here, we investigated whether CTK 01512‐2 has a neuroprotective effect in a mouse model of HD. We hypothesized that spinal cord neurons might represent a therapeutic target, because the spinal cord seems to be involved in the motor symptoms of HD (BACHD) mice. We treated BACHD mice with CTK 01512‐2 by intrathecal injection and performed in vivo motor behavioural and morphological analyses in the CNS (brain and spinal cord) and muscles. Our data showed that intrathecal injection of CTK 01512‐2 significantly improved motor performance in the open field task. CTK 01512‐2 protected neurons in the spinal cord (but not in the brain) from death, suggesting a local effect. CTK 01512‐2 exerted its neuroprotective effect by inhibiting BACHD neuronal apoptosis, as revealed by a reduction in caspase‐3 in the spinal cord. CTK 01512‐2 was also able to revert BACHD muscle atrophy. In conclusion, our data suggest a novel role for CTK 01512‐2 acting directly in the spinal cord to ameliorate morphofunctional aspects of spinal cord neurons and muscles and improve the performance of BACHD mice in motor behavioural tests. Given that HD shares similar symptoms with many neurodegenerative conditions, the findings presented herein might also be applicable to other disorders.