bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Addition Pinus massoniana fallen wood improved the growth of Plagiomnium acutum in a substrate cultivation
Authors: Shi Bingyang , Wang Xiurong , Yang Shuoyuan , Chen Hongmei , Zhao Yang 
Published: October 2022

AbstractSoilless culture has been widely used in horticultural plant production, but little research has been done on bryophyte. In this study, we selected a cultivation substrate mixed and proportioned with garden soil, granular soil, grass charcoal soil, general-purpose nutrient soil, and decomposed grade II, III, and IV fallen wood of Pinus massoniana as the raw materials of soilless substrate to investigate its effects on the growth and physiology of Plagiomnium acutum. The results showed that the total porosity, water-holding porosity, and water-holding capacity of the mixed substrate containing fallen wood of P. massoniana were significantly higher than those of other cultivated substrates. The average cover of the P. acutum was significantly and positively correlated with the substrate’s total porosity and water-holding porosity. Chlorophyll content was highly significantly and positively correlated with the water holding capacity and total nitrogen content of the substrate. Among them, VIII decomposition grade Pinus massoniana fallen log:Vgrass charcoal soil = 1:1 (SW8) substrate had the highest overall evaluation index and the best overall growth condition of P. acutum. In summary, VIII decomposition grade Pinus massoniana fallen log:Vgrass charcoal soil = 1:1 (SW8) substrate can be the best substrate for cultivation of P. acutum. The addition of P. massoniana fallen wood to the soil substrate increased the total porosity, water-holding porosity, and water-holding capacity of the substrate, which was conducive to the growth of P. acutum and the increase of chlorophyll content.
Evidence of visual crossmodal reorganization positively relates to speech outcomes in cochlear implant users
Authors: Paul Brandon T. , Bajin Münir Demir , Uzelac Mila , Chen Joseph , Le Trung , Lin Vincent , Dimitrijevic Andrew 
Published: October 2022

AbstractDeaf individuals who use a cochlear implant (CI) have remarkably different outcomes for auditory speech communication ability. One factor assumed to affect CI outcomes is visual crossmodal plasticity in auditory cortex, where deprived auditory regions begin to support non-auditory functions such as vision. Previous research has viewed crossmodal plasticity as harmful for speech outcomes for CI users if it interferes with sound processing, while others have demonstrated that plasticity related to visual language may be beneficial for speech recovery. To clarify, we used electroencephalography (EEG) to measure brain responses to a partial face speaking a silent single-syllable word (visual language) in 15 CI users and 13 age-matched typical-hearing controls. We used source analysis on EEG activity to measure crossmodal visual responses in auditory cortex and then compared them to CI users’ speech-in-noise listening ability. CI users’ brain response to the onset of the video stimulus (face) was larger than controls in left auditory cortex, consistent with crossmodal activation after deafness. CI users also produced a mixture of alpha (8–12 Hz) synchronization and desynchronization in auditory cortex while watching lip movement while controls instead showed desynchronization. CI users with higher speech scores had stronger crossmodal responses in auditory cortex to the onset of the video, but those with lower speech scores had increases in alpha power during lip movement in auditory areas. Therefore, evidence of crossmodal reorganization in CI users does not necessarily predict poor speech outcomes, and differences in crossmodal activation during lip reading may instead relate to strategies or differences that CI users use in audiovisual speech communication.
Environmental RNA as a Tool for Marine Community Biodiversity Assessments
Authors: Giroux Marissa S. , Reichman Jay R. , Langknecht Troy , Burgess Robert M. , Ho Kay T. 
Published: October 2022

AbstractMicroscopic organisms are often overlooked in traditional diversity assessments due to the difficulty of identifying them based on morphology. Metabarcoding is a method for rapidly identifying organisms where Environmental DNA (eDNA) is used as a template. However, legacy DNA is problematically detected from organisms no longer in the environment during sampling. Environmental RNA (eRNA), which is only produced by living organisms, can also be collected from environmental samples and used for metabarcoding. The aim of this study was to determine differences in community composition and diversity between eRNA and eDNA templates for metabarcoding. Using mesocosms containing field-collected communities from an estuary, RNA and DNA were co-extracted from sediment, libraries were prepared for two loci (18S and COI), and sequenced using an Illumina MiSeq. Results show a higher number of unique sequences detected from eRNA in both markers and higher α-diversity compared to eDNA. Significant differences between eRNA and eDNA for all β-diversity metrics were also detected. This study is the first to demonstrate community differences detected with eRNA compared to eDNA from an estuarine system and illustrates the broad applications of eRNA as a tool for assessing benthic community diversity, particularly for environmental conservation and management applications.
Epithelial–mesenchymal transition inhibition by metformin reduces melanoma lung metastasis in a murine model
Authors: Veloso Emerson Soares , de Carvalho Bárbara Andrade , de Souza Silva Felipe Henrique , Ribeiro Thaís Salviana , Lima Bruna Mendes , Almeida Camila Pereira , da Silva Vítor Henrique Soares Romão , Rocha Sara Aparecida , de Araújo Campos Marina Rios , Del Puerto Helen Lima , Ferreira Enio 
Published: October 2022

AbstractMelanoma is an aggressive cancer with fast metastatic spread and reduced survival time. One common event during the neoplastic progression is the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), which enhances invasiveness, cell migration, and metastasis. In this study, we investigated the effects of metformin at EMT in melanoma cell lines B16-F10 and A-375, in vitro, and the impact of EMT downregulation on melanoma progression in vivo. The metformin cells treatment reduces the migration potential in vitro and reduced the development of pulmonary metastases and the expressions of N-cadherin, vimentin, ZEB1, and ZEB2 at the metastases site, in vivo. These results indicate that metformin can promote EMT downregulation impairing the metastatic potential of melanoma cells.
Hunting and persecution drive mammal declines in Iran
Authors: Yusefi Gholam Hosein , Brito José Carlos , Soofi Mahmood , Safi Kamran 
Published: October 2022

AbstractThe negative impacts of human activities on biodiversity are well documented. However, extinction risk studies incorporating direct human threats particularly direct killing remain limited. Here, we evaluate the potential role that direct killing through hunting and persecution, indirect human threats via land-use change, and environmental and species traits such as reproductive rate and trophic level among others, may play in driving mammal species to extinction. Based on data for 156 mammal species from Iran, we applied generalized linear models to investigate correlates of extinction risk for: (1) all mammalian species, (2) large- and (3) small-bodied species. We show that hunting vulnerability is the most important predictor to affect extinction risk across all species. We also found that the small-bodied species are impacted by indirect human influence, whereas large species are highly affected by direct killing. Overall, the extrinsic environmental factors and intrinsic species traits had lower importance in our models. Our study gives insight into the dominant role of direct killing on mammal species decline and extinction, emphasizing the need to account for the different sources of threats when analysing the correlates of extinction risk.
Effects of plastic fragments on plant performance are mediated by soil properties and drought
Authors: Krehl Anne , Schöllkopf Undine , Májeková Maria , Tielbörger Katja , Tomiolo Sara 
Published: October 2022

AbstractIn recent years, the effects of plastic contamination on soil and plants have received growing attention. Plastic can affect soil water content and thus may interact with the effects of drought on soil and plants. However, the effects of plastic on soil are highly context-dependent, and interactions with drought have been hardly tested. We conducted two greenhouse experiments to test the combined effects of plastic fragments (of varying size and concentration), water availability and soil texture, on soil water content and performance of the plantArabidopsis thaliana. Plastic fragments had stronger negative effects on soil water content in low water availability, and the shape of this response (linear vs. unimodal) was mediated by soil texture. Conversely, increasing concentration of plastic had positive effects on plant growth. We suggest that plastic fragments introduce fracture points within soil aggregates. This increases number and size of soil pores favoring water loss but also facilitating root growth. Our results suggest complex interactive effects of plastic and drought, that may lead to a decoupling of plant and soil response. These processes should be taken into account in ecological studies and agricultural practices.
Vitamin D enhances type I IFN signaling in COVID-19 patients
Authors: Hafezi Shirin , Saheb Sharif-Askari Fatemeh , Saheb Sharif-Askari Narjes , Ali Hussain Alsayed Hawra , Alsafar Habiba , Al Anouti Fatme , Hamid Qutayba , Halwani Rabih 
Published: October 2022

AbstractThe ability of Vitamin D (VitD) to modulate antiviral responses through induction of antimicrobial peptide is well established. However, the effect of VitD on host responses to SARS-CoV-2 is not well investigated. We here report the ability of VitD to enhance host IFN-alpha/beta (a/β) signaling both in vitro and among severe COVID-19 patients treated with VitD. Blood and saliva specimens were obtained from severe COVID-19 patients treated (43 patients), or not (37 patients), with vitD, during their stay in intensive care unit. Patients were followed up to 29 days following admission, and patient survival outcomes were collected. Higher activity levels of RIG-1/MDA-5 and JAK-STAT signaling pathways were observed with significantly higher gene and protein levels of antiviral interferon stimulating genes (ISGs) such as MX-1 and ISG-15; both in vitro, following treatment of PBMCs with vitD, and in whole blood and saliva specimens of VitD treated patients. Moreover, VitD treated patients had lower risk of all-cause mortality by day 29 compared to untreated patients (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.37, 95% confidence interval of 0.14–0.94; P = 0.038). The herein uncovered regulatory role of VitD on type I IFNs suggests the importance of insuring a normal level of VitD for the prevention and probably treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Additional mechanistic studies, however, are needed to fully elucidate the antiviral effects of VitD particularly in the setting of COVID-19 infection.
A multicohort geometric deep learning study of age dependent cortical and subcortical morphologic interactions for fluid intelligence prediction
Authors: Wu Yunan , Besson Pierre , Azcona Emanuel A. , Bandt S. Kathleen , Parrish Todd B. , Breiter Hans C. , Katsaggelos Aggelos K. 
Published: October 2022

AbstractThe relationship of human brain structure to cognitive function is complex, and how this relationship differs between childhood and adulthood is poorly understood. One strong hypothesis suggests the cognitive function of Fluid Intelligence (Gf) is dependent on prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex. In this work, we developed a novel graph convolutional neural networks (gCNNs) for the analysis of localized anatomic shape and prediction of Gf. Morphologic information of the cortical ribbons and subcortical structures was extracted from T1-weighted MRIs within two independent cohorts, the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD; age: 9.93 ± 0.62 years) of children and the Human Connectome Project (HCP; age: 28.81 ± 3.70 years). Prediction combining cortical and subcortical surfaces together yielded the highest accuracy of Gf for both ABCD (R = 0.314) and HCP datasets (R = 0.454), outperforming the state-of-the-art prediction of Gf from any other brain measures in the literature. Across both datasets, the morphology of the amygdala, hippocampus, and nucleus accumbens, along with temporal, parietal and cingulate cortex consistently drove the prediction of Gf, suggesting a significant reframing of the relationship between brain morphology and Gf to include systems involved with reward/aversion processing, judgment and decision-making, motivation, and emotion.
Development of forecast models for COVID-19 hospital admissions using anonymized and aggregated mobile network data
Authors: Taghia Jalil , Kulyk Valentin , Ickin Selim , Folkesson Mats , Nyström Cecilia , Ȧgren Kristofer , Brezicka Thomas , Vingare Tore , Karlsson Julia , Fritzell Ingrid , Harlid Ralph , Palaszewski Bo , Kjellberg Magnus , Gustafsson Jörgen 
Published: October 2022

AbstractReliable forecast of COVID-19 hospital admissions in near-term horizons can help enable effective resource management which is vital in reducing pressure from healthcare services. The use of mobile network data has come to attention in response to COVID-19 pandemic leveraged on their ability in capturing people social behavior. Crucially, we show that there are latent features in irreversibly anonymized and aggregated mobile network data that carry useful information in relation to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus. We describe development of the forecast models using such features for prediction of COVID-19 hospital admissions in near-term horizons (21 days). In a case study, we verified the approach for two hospitals in Sweden, Sahlgrenska University Hospital and Södra Älvsborgs Hospital, working closely with the experts engaged in the hospital resource planning. Importantly, the results of the forecast models were used in year 2021 by logisticians at the hospitals as one of the main inputs for their decisions regarding resource management.
Mandarin Biochar-TETA (MBT) prepared from Citrus reticulata peels for adsorption of Acid Yellow 11 dye from water
Authors: Eleryan Ahmed , Yılmaz Murat , El-Nemr Mohamed A. , Ragab Safaa , Helal Mohamed , Hassaan Mohamed A. , El Nemr Ahmed 
Published: October 2022

AbstractDehydration technique with 80% sulfuric acid was used to create a novel biochar from mandarin peel wastes followed by condensate with triethylenetetramine (TETA) to give Mandarin Biochar-TETA (MBT). BJH, BET, FTIR, SEM, DSC, TGA, and EDX studies were used to characterise the MBT. The capacity of the newly developed biochar to remove Acid Yellow 11 (AY11) dye from a water solution was studied. The pH of AY11 dye adsorption was found to be best at pH 1.5. Using 100 ppm AY11 dye as a beginning concentration and 1.75 g L–1 MBT dose, the greatest percent of AY11 dye removal by MBT was 97.83%. The MBT calculated maximum adsorption capacity (Qm) was 384.62 mg g–1. Langmuir (LIM), Freundlich (FIM), Tempkin (TIM), and Dubinin–Radushkevich (DRIM) isotherm models were applied to analyse the experimental data. Furthermore, the results of these isotherm models were investigated by various known error function equations. The MBT experimental data was best suited by the LIM. Pseudo-first-order (PFO), pseudo-second-order (PSO), Elovich kinetic model (EKM), intraparticle diffusion (IPD), and film diffusion (FD) models were used to calculate kinetic data. A PSO rate model with a high correlation (R2 > 0.990) was used to assess the adsorption rate. The main mechanism of the MBT adsorption method of the AY11 dye’s anions adsorption is the electrostatic attractive forces that arise with the increase of positively charged sites in an acidic medium. The obtained data suggest that the prepared MBT adsorbent has the potential to be an effective material to remove the AY11 dye from water and that it may be used repeatedly without losing its adsorption efficiency.
Ambiguous controls on simulated diazotrophs in the world oceans
Authors: Löptien U. , Dietze H. 
Published: October 2022

AbstractNitrogen fixers, or diazotrophs, play a key role in the nitrogen and carbon cycle of the world oceans. Diazotrophs are capable of utilising atmospheric dinitrogen which is a competitive advantage over generally faster growing ordinary phytoplankton in nitrogen-depleted conditions in the sun-lit surface ocean. In this study we argue that additional competitive advantages must be at play in order to explain the dynamics and distribution of diazotrophs in the global oceans. Backed by growing published evidence we test the effects of preferential grazing (where zooplankton partly avoids diazotrophs) and high-affinity diazotrophic phosphorus uptake in an Earth System Model of intermediate complexity. Our results illustrate that these fundamentally different model assumptions result in a very similar match to observation-based estimates of nitrogen fixation while, at the same time, they imply very different trajectories into our warming future. The latter applies to biomass, fixation rates as well as to the ratio of the two. We conclude that a more comprehensive understanding of the competition between ordinary and diazotrophic phytoplankton will reduce uncertainties in model-based projections of the oceanic N cycle.
Context-dependent choice and evaluation in real-world consumer behavior
Authors: Otto A. Ross , Devine Sean , Schulz Eric , Bornstein Aaron M. , Louie Kenway 
Published: October 2022

AbstractA body of work spanning neuroscience, economics, and psychology indicates that decision-making is context-dependent, which means that the value of an option depends not only on the option in question, but also on the other options in the choice set—or the ‘context’. While context effects have been observed primarily in small-scale laboratory studies with tightly constrained, artificially constructed choice sets, it remains to be determined whether these context effects take hold in real-world choice problems, where choice sets are large and decisions driven by rich histories of direct experience. Here, we investigate whether valuations are context-dependent in real-world choice by analyzing a massive restaurant rating dataset as well as two independent replication datasets which provide complementary operationalizations of restaurant choice. We find that users make fewer ratings-maximizing choices in choice sets with higher-rated options—a hallmark of context-dependent choice—and that post-choice restaurant ratings also varied systematically with the ratings of unchosen restaurants. Furthermore, in a follow-up laboratory experiment using hypothetical choice sets matched to the real-world data, we find further support for the idea that subjective valuations of restaurants are scaled in accordance with the choice context, providing corroborating evidence for a general mechanistic-level account of these effects. Taken together, our results provide a potent demonstration of context-dependent choice in real-world choice settings, manifesting both in decisions and subjective valuation of options.
Neuromodulator-dependent synaptic tagging and capture retroactively controls neural coding in spiking neural networks
Authors: Lehr Andrew B. , Luboeinski Jannik , Tetzlaff Christian 
Published: October 2022

AbstractEvents that are important to an individual’s life trigger neuromodulator release in brain areas responsible for cognitive and behavioral function. While it is well known that the presence of neuromodulators such as dopamine and norepinephrine is required for memory consolidation, the impact of neuromodulator concentration is, however, less understood. In a recurrent spiking neural network model featuring neuromodulator-dependent synaptic tagging and capture, we study how synaptic memory consolidation depends on the amount of neuromodulator present in the minutes to hours after learning. We find that the storage of rate-based and spike timing-based information is controlled by the level of neuromodulation. Specifically, we find better recall of temporal information for high levels of neuromodulation, while we find better recall of rate-coded spatial patterns for lower neuromodulation, mediated by the selection of different groups of synapses for consolidation. Hence, our results indicate that in minutes to hours after learning, the level of neuromodulation may alter the process of synaptic consolidation to ultimately control which type of information becomes consolidated in the recurrent neural network.
A multifunctional ultra-thin acoustic membrane with self-healing properties for adaptive low-frequency noise control
Authors: Boccaccio Marco , Myronidis Konstantinos , Thielke Michael , Meo Michele , Pinto Fulvio 
Published: October 2022

AbstractThis paper proposes a novel multifunctional ultra-thin membrane based on a Polyborosiloxane-based gel with stimuli-responsive sound absorption and sound transmission loss (STL) and characterised by excellent self-healing properties. This adaptive behaviour is the result of a dynamically activated phase transition in the membrane’s polymeric network which is given by the interaction with the travelling sound pressure wave. The presence and the extent of such phase transition in the material was investigated via oscillatory rheological measurements showing the possibility to control the dynamic response by modifying the Boron content within the polymer. Acoustic analyses conducted at different stimuli responses showed high and dynamic absorption (95%) at the absorption coefficient peaks and an adaptive shift to lower frequencies while sound amplitudes were increased. An average STL up to 27 dB in the frequency range between 500 to 1000 Hz was observed and an increased STL above 2 dB was measured as the excitation amplitude was increased. Results demonstrated that the new membrane can be used to develop deep subwavelength absorbers with unique properties (1/54 wavelength in absorption and 1/618 in STL) able to tune their performance in response to an external stimulus while autonomously regaining their properties in case of damage thanks to their self-healing ability.
Spontaneous variability predicts compensative motor response in vocal pitch control
Authors: Tachibana Ryosuke O. , Xu Mingdi , Hashimoto Ryu-ichiro , Homae Fumitaka , Okanoya Kazuo 
Published: October 2022

AbstractOur motor system uses sensory feedback to keep desired performance. From this view, motor fluctuation is not simply ‘noise’ inevitably caused in the nervous system but would play a role in generating variations to explore better outcomes via sensory feedback. Vocalization system offers a good model for studying such sensory-motor interactions since we regulate vocalization by hearing our own voice. This behavior is typically observed as compensatory responses in vocalized pitch, or fundamental frequency (fo), when artificial fo shifts were induced in the auditory feedback. However, the relationship between adaptive regulation and motor exploration in vocalization has remained unclear. Here we investigated behavioral variability in spontaneous vocal fo and compensatory responses against fo shifts in the feedback, and demonstrated that larger spontaneous fluctuation correlates with greater compensation in vocal fo. This correlation was found in slow components (≤ 5 Hz) of the spontaneous fluctuation but not in fast components (between 6 and 30 Hz), and the slow one was amplified during the compensatory responses. Furthermore, the compensatory ratio was reduced when large fo shifts were applied to the auditory feedback, as if reflecting the range of motor exploration. All these findings consistently suggest the functional role of motor variability in the exploration of better vocal outcomes.