bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Egg-laying increases body temperature to an annual maximum in a wild bird
Authors: Guillemette Magella , Pelletier David 
Published: January 2022

AbstractMost birds, unlike reptiles, lay eggs successively to form a full clutch. During egg-laying, birds are highly secretive and prone to disturbance and predation. Using multisensor data loggers, we show that average daily body temperature during egg-laying is significantly increased (1 °C) in wild eider ducks (Somateria mollissima). Strikingly, this increase corresponds to the annual maximum body temperature (40.7 °C), representing a severe annual thermogenic challenge. This egg-laying-induced rise in body temperature may prove to be a common feature of wild birds and could be caused by habitat-related thermoregulatory adjustments and hormonal modulation of reproduction. We conclude our findings with new perspectives of the benefits of high body temperature associated with egg-laying of birds and the potential effect of heat stress that may occur with the future advent of heatwaves.
Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis multiple strains in sputum samples from patients with pulmonary tuberculosis in south western Uganda using MIRU-VNTR
Authors: Micheni Lisa Nkatha , Kassaza Kennedy , Kinyi Hellen , Ntulume Ibrahim , Bazira Joel 
Published: January 2022

AbstractInfections with multiple strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis are now widely recognized as a common occurrence. Identification of patients infected with multiple strains provides both insight into the disease dynamics and the epidemiology of tuberculosis. Analysis of Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Unit-Variable-Number Tandem Repeats (MIRU-VNTR) has been shown to be highly sensitive in detecting multiple M. tuberculosis strains even in sputum. The goal of this study was to identify cases of multiple M. tuberculosis strain infections among patients diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis in Southwestern Uganda and assessment of factors associated with multiple strain infections. DNA extracted directly from 78 sputum samples, each from an individual patient, was analyzed using the standard 24 loci MIRU-VNTR typing. Five (6.4%) of the 78 patients were infected with multiple strains of M. tuberculosis with all of them being the newly diagnosed cases while two-thirds of them were co-infected with HIV. Exact regression analysis projected that the natives were more likely to harbor multiple strains (OR; 0.981, 95% CI 0–7.926) as well as those with a high microbial load (OR; 0.390, 95% CI 0–3.8167). Despite these findings being not statistically significant due to the small sample size, this points to a critical component of disease dynamics that has clinical implications and emphasizes a need for a study using a larger cohort. It is also essential to study the potential factors associated with higher risk of exposure to newly diagnosed and HIV positive patients at the community level. In addition, our ability to detect multiple M. tuberculosis strains using the standard 24 loci MIRU-VNTR typing especially with allelic diversity in loci 2059 and 3171, which are excluded from the 15-locus MIRU-VNTR, lead us to recommend the use of this genotyping technique, especially in areas with tuberculosis endemicity similar to this study.
Effect of endurance training and PGC-1α overexpression on calculated lactate production volume during exercise based on blood lactate concentration
Authors: Takeda Reo , Nonaka Yudai , Kakinoki Katsuyuki , Miura Shinji , Kano Yutaka , Hoshino Daisuke 
Published: January 2022

AbstractLactate production is an important clue for understanding metabolic and signal responses to exercise but its measurement is difficult. Therefore, this study aimed (1) to develop a method of calculating lactate production volume during exercise based on blood lactate concentration and compare the effects between endurance exercise training (EX) and PGC-1α overexpression (OE), (2) to elucidate which proteins and enzymes contribute to changes in lactate production due to EX and muscle PGC-1α OE, and (3) to elucidate the relationship between lactate production volume and signaling phosphorylations involved in mitochondrial biogenesis. EX and PGC-1α OE decreased muscle lactate production volume at the absolute same-intensity exercise, but only PGC-1α OE increased lactate production volume at the relative same-intensity exercise. Multiple linear regression revealed that phosphofructokinase, monocarboxylate transporter (MCT)1, MCT4, and citrate synthase equally contribute to the lactate production volume at high-intensity exercise within physiological adaptations, such as EX, not PGC-1α OE. We found that an exercise intensity-dependent increase in the lactate production volume was associated with a decrease in glycogen concentration and an increase in P-AMPK/T-AMPK. This suggested that the calculated lactate production volume was appropriate and reflected metabolic and signal responses but further modifications are needed for the translation to humans.
Construction and validation of a pyroptosis-related gene signature associated with the tumor microenvironment in uveal melanoma
Authors: Zhang Feng , Deng Yan , Wang Dong , Wang Shuai 
Published: January 2022

AbstractThe present study aimed to construct a pyroptosis-related gene signature in uveal melanoma (UM) patients. Patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) served as the training cohort, whereas patients (GSE22138) from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) served as the validation cohort. Using the Kaplan–Meier (KM) method, univariate analysis, and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) Cox regression, A five pyroptosis-related gene signature was constructed in the training cohort. Patients were divided into high- and low-risk groups. Survival analysis showed that patients in the high-risk group had a shorter survival time. Risk and survival analysis, time-independent receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) validated that the prognostic signature had greater predictive value in both cohorts. Multivariate analysis proved that the risk score was an independent prognostic factor. Functional analysis showed that the expressed genes in the high-risk group were most abundant in immunological repose-related and tumor-related signaling pathways. Single-sample gene-set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) revealed that the different risk groups were associated with the tumor microenvironment. Moreover, the predictive signature could help patients be better matched to immunotherapy and targeted treatments. In conclusion, the pyroptosis-related gene signature associated with the tumor microenvironment maybe a reliable tool for predicting the prognosis of UM patients.
Livestock grazing impact differently on the functional diversity of dung beetles depending on the regional context in subtropical forests
Authors: Guerra Alonso Celeste B. , Zurita Gustavo A. , Bellocq M. Isabel 
Published: January 2022

AbstractThe replacement of native forest by cattle pastures reduces functional diversity; however, little is known about whether the changes depend on regional variation. Dung beetles are one of the most diverse and functionally important taxa; through organic matter burial, dung beetles improve soil quality. We collected dung beetles in native forests and cattle ranching areas in subtropical forests with contrasting climatic conditions: the Atlantic Forest, the Humid Chaco, and the Dry Chaco. We measured 11 traits related to the ecology and the physiology of species. Irrespectively of the region, functional richness was higher in forests (native and with cattle) when compared to open pastures. Humid forests (Atlantic Forest and Humid Chaco) showed higher functional richness than Dry Chaco. Functional dispersion in humid forests was similar between native forest and livestock systems, however, functional dispersion in the Dry Chaco was higher in open pastures compared to native forest. According to our results, native forests and forests with cattle maintain functional diversity in all regions. However, in the case of open pastures, the response depends on the regional context; the replacement of native forest by open pastures strongly affected functional diversity in humid forests and showed less impact on dry forest.
Induction of internal circadian desynchrony by misaligning zeitgebers
Authors: Heyde Isabel , Oster Henrik 
Published: January 2022

Abstract24-h rhythms in physiology and behaviour are orchestrated by an endogenous circadian clock system. In mammals, these clocks are hierarchically organized with a master pacemaker residing in the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). External time signals—so-called zeitgebers—align internal with geophysical time. During shift work, zeitgeber input conflicting with internal time induces circadian desynchrony which, in turn, promotes metabolic and psychiatric disorders. However, little is known about how internal desynchrony is expressed at the molecular level under chronodisruptive environmental conditions. We here investigated the effects of zeitgeber misalignment on circadian molecular organisation by combining 28-h light–dark (LD-28) cycles with either 24-h (FF-24) or 28-h feeding-fasting (FF-28) regimes in mice. We found that FF cycles showed strong effects on peripheral clocks, while having little effect on centrally coordinated activity rhythms. Systemic, i.e., across-tissue internal circadian desynchrony was profoundly induced within four days in LD-28/FF-24, while phase coherence between tissue clocks was maintained to a higher degree under LD-28/FF-28 conditions. In contrast, temporal coordination of clock gene activity across tissues was reduced under LD-28/FF-28 conditions compared to LD-28/FF-24. These results indicate that timed food intake may improve internal synchrony under disruptive zeitgeber conditions but may, at the same time, weaken clock function at the tissue level.
Molecular characterization of three CYP450 genes reveals their role in withanolides formation and defense in Withania somnifera, the Indian Ginseng
Authors: Shilpashree H. B. , Sudharshan S. J. , Shasany Ajit K. , Nagegowda Dinesh A. 
Published: January 2022

AbstractThe medicinal properties of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) are attributed to triterpenoid steroidal lactones, withanolides, which are proposed to be derived from phytosterol pathway, through the action of cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes. Here, we report the characterization of three transcriptome-mined CYP450 genes (WsCYP749B1, WsCYP76 and WsCYP71B10), which exhibited induced expression in response to methyl jasmonate treatment indicating their role in secondary metabolism. All three WsCYP450s had the highest expression in leaf compared to other tissues. In planta characterization of WsCYP450s through virus induced gene silencing (VIGS) and transient overexpression approaches and subsequent metabolite analysis indicated differential modulation in the accumulation of certain withanolides in W. somnifera leaves. While WsCYP749B1-vigs significantly enhanced withaferin A (~ 450%) and reduced withanolide A (~ 50%), its overexpression drastically led to enhanced withanolide A (> 250%) and withanolide B (> 200%) levels and reduced 12-deoxywithastramonolide (~ 60%). Whereas WsCYP76-vigs led to reduced withanolide A (~ 60%) and its overexpression increased withanolide A (~ 150%) and reduced 12-deoxywithastramonolide (~ 60%). Silencing and overexpression of WsCYP71B10 resulted in significant reduction of withanolide B (~ 50%) and withanolide A (~ 60%), respectively. Further, while VIGS of WsCYP450s negatively affected the expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes and compromised tolerance to bacteria P. syringae DC3000, their overexpression in W. somnifera and transgenic tobacco led to improved tolerance to the bacteria. Overall, these results showed that the identified WsCYP450s have a role in one or several steps of withanolides biosynthetic pathway and are involved in conferring tolerance to biotic stress.
Visceral adipose tissue remodeling in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cachexia: the role of activin A signaling
Authors: Xu Pauline C. , You Mikyoung , Yu Seok-Yeong , Luan Yi , Eldani Maya , Caffrey Thomas C. , Grandgenett Paul M. , O’Connell Kelly A. , Shukla Surendra K. , Kattamuri Chandramohan , Hollingsworth Michael A. , Singh Pankaj K. , Thompson Thomas B. , Chung Soonkyu , Kim So-Youn 
Published: January 2022

AbstractPancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients display distinct phenotypes of cachexia development, with either adipose tissue loss preceding skeletal muscle wasting or loss of only adipose tissue. Activin A levels were measured in serum and analyzed in tumor specimens of both a cohort of Stage IV PDAC patients and the genetically engineered KPC mouse model. Our data revealed that serum activin A levels were significantly elevated in Stage IV PDAC patients in comparison to age-matched non-cancer patients. Little is known about the role of activin A in adipose tissue wasting in the setting of PDAC cancer cachexia. We established a correlation between elevated activin A and remodeling of visceral adipose tissue. Atrophy and fibrosis of visceral adipose tissue was examined in omental adipose tissue of Stage IV PDAC patients and gonadal adipose tissue of an orthotopic mouse model of PDAC. Remarkably, white visceral adipose tissue from both PDAC patients and mice exhibited decreased adipocyte diameter and increased fibrotic deposition. Strikingly, expression of thermogenic marker UCP1 in visceral adipose tissues of PDAC patients and mice remained unchanged. Thus, we propose that activin A signaling could be relevant to the acceleration of visceral adipose tissue wasting in PDAC-associated cachexia.
Metabolomics study of COVID-19 patients in four different clinical stages
Authors: Valdés Alberto , Moreno Lorena Ortega , Rello Silvia Rojo , Orduña Antonio , Bernardo David , Cifuentes Alejandro 
Published: January 2022

AbstractSARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) is the coronavirus strain causing the respiratory pandemic COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019). To understand the pathobiology of SARS-CoV-2 in humans it is necessary to unravel the metabolic changes that are produced in the individuals once the infection has taken place. The goal of this work is to provide new information about the altered biomolecule profile and with that the altered biological pathways of patients in different clinical situations due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. This is done via metabolomics using HPLC–QTOF–MS analysis of plasma samples at COVID-diagnose from a total of 145 adult patients, divided into different clinical stages based on their subsequent clinical outcome (25 negative controls (non-COVID); 28 positive patients with asymptomatic disease not requiring hospitalization; 27 positive patients with mild disease defined by a total time in hospital lower than 10 days; 36 positive patients with severe disease defined by a total time in hospital over 20 days and/or admission at the ICU; and 29 positive patients with fatal outcome or deceased). Moreover, follow up samples between 2 and 3 months after hospital discharge were also obtained from the hospitalized patients with mild prognosis. The final goal of this work is to provide biomarkers that can help to better understand how the COVID-19 illness evolves and to predict how a patient could progress based on the metabolites profile of plasma obtained at an early stage of the infection. In the present work, several metabolites were found as potential biomarkers to distinguish between the end-stage and the early-stage (or non-COVID) disease groups. These metabolites are mainly involved in the metabolism of carnitines, ketone bodies, fatty acids, lysophosphatidylcholines/phosphatidylcholines, tryptophan, bile acids and purines, but also omeprazole. In addition, the levels of several of these metabolites decreased to “normal” values at hospital discharge, suggesting some of them as early prognosis biomarkers in COVID-19 at diagnose.
Severity of thermal burn injury is associated with systemic neutrophil activation
Authors: Laggner Maria , Lingitz Marie-Therese , Copic Dragan , Direder Martin , Klas Katharina , Bormann Daniel , Gugerell Alfred , Moser Bernhard , Radtke Christine , Hacker Stefan , Mildner Michael , Ankersmit Hendrik Jan , Haider Thomas 
Published: January 2022

AbstractBurn injuries elicit a unique and dynamic stress response which can lead to burn injury progression. Though neutrophils represent crucial players in the burn-induced immunological events, the dynamic secretion pattern and systemic levels of neutrophil-derived factors have not been investigated in detail so far. Serum levels of neutrophil elastase (NE), myeloperoxidase (MPO), citrullinated histone H3 (CitH3), and complement factor C3a were quantified in burn victims over 4 weeks post injury. Furthermore, the potential association with mortality, degree of burn injury, and inhalation trauma was evaluated. In addition, leukocyte, platelet, neutrophil, and lymphocyte counts were assessed. Lastly, we analyzed the association of neutrophil-derived factors with clinical severity scoring systems. Serum levels of NE, MPO, CitH3, and C3a were remarkably elevated in burn victims compared to healthy controls. Leukocyte and neutrophil counts were significantly increased on admission day and day 1, while relative lymphocytes were decreased in the first 7 days post burn trauma. Though neutrophil-derived factors did not predict mortality, patients suffering from 3rd degree burn injuries displayed increased CitH3 and NE levels. Accordingly, CitH3 and NE were elevated in cases with higher abbreviated burn severity indices (ABSI). Taken together, our data suggest a role for neutrophil activation and NETosis in burn injuries and burn injury progression. Targeting exacerbated neutrophil activation might represent a new therapeutic option for severe cases of burn injury.
3D MHD wave propagation near a coronal null point: New wave mode decomposition approach
Authors: Yadav N. , Keppens R. , Popescu Braileanu B. 
Published: January 2022

Context. Ubiquitous vortex flows at the solar surface excite magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves that propagate to higher layers of the solar atmosphere. In the solar corona, these waves frequently encounter magnetic null points. The interaction of MHD waves with a coronal magnetic null in realistic 3D setups requires an appropriate wave identification method.
Aims. We present a new MHD wave decomposition method that overcomes the limitations of existing wave identification methods. Our method allows for an investigation of the energy fluxes in different MHD modes at different locations of the solar atmosphere as waves generated by vortex flows travel through the solar atmosphere and pass near the magnetic null.
Methods. We used the open-source MPI-AMRVAC code to simulate wave dynamics through a coronal null configuration. We applied a rotational wave driver at our bottom photospheric boundary to mimic vortex flows at the solar surface. To identify the wave energy fluxes associated with different MHD wave modes, we employed a wave decomposition method that is able to uniquely distinguish different MHD modes. Our proposed method utilizes the geometry of an individual magnetic field-line in the 3D space to separate the velocity perturbations associated with the three fundamental MHD waves. We compared our method with an existing wave decomposition method that uses magnetic flux surfaces instead. Over the selected flux surfaces, we calculated and analyzed the temporally averaged wave energy fluxes, as well as the acoustic and magnetic energy fluxes. Our wave decomposition method allowed us to estimate the relative strengths of individual MHD wave energy fluxes.
Results. Our method for wave identification is consistent with previous flux-surface-based methods and provides the expected results in terms of the wave energy fluxes at various locations of the null configuration. We show that ubiquitous vortex flows excite MHD waves that contribute significantly to the Poynting flux in the solar corona. Alfvén wave energy flux accumulates on the fan surface and fast wave energy flux accumulates near the null point. There is a strong current density buildup at the spine and fan surface.
Conclusions. The proposed method has advantages over previously utilized wave decomposition methods, since it may be employed in realistic simulations or magnetic extrapolations, as well as in real solar observations whenever the 3D fieldline shape is known. The essential characteristics of MHD wave propagation near a null – such as wave energy flux accumulation and current buildup at specific locations – translate to the more realistic setup presented here. The enhancement in energy flux associated with magneto-acoustic waves near nulls may have important implications in the formation of jets and impulsive plasma flows.
Verortung von Zweitmeinungsanbietern in Deutschland – Gibt es
regionale Unterschiede?
Authors: Prediger Barbara , Koller Daniela , Heß Simone , Könsgen Nadja , Pieper Dawid 
Published: January 2022

Zusammenfassung
Ziel der Studie Seit 2015 ist das Recht auf eine Zweitmeinung im
Sozialgesetzbuch V verankert. Dieses wurde im Rahmen der „Richtlinie zum
Zweitmeinungsverfahren“ konkretisiert. Seit 2019 können sich
Versicherte der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung im Falle einer Indikation zur
Tonsillektomie/Tonsillotomie (TE/TT) oder Hysterektomie (HE)
eine unabhängige Zweitmeinung einholen. Fachärzte, die bestimmte
Qualifikationen erfüllen, können bei den
Kassenärztlichen Vereinigungen (KVen) einen Antrag stellen und so die
Zweitmeinung abrechnen. Die KVen veröffentlichen die Adressen der
Zweitmeiner auf ihren Webseiten. Ziel der Studie ist die Darstellung der
räumlichen Verteilung von Zweitmeinern und die Analyse regionaler
Unterschiede.
Methodik Am 19.06.2020 wurden alle Zweitmeiner über die Webseiten
der einzelnen KVen identifiziert. Die dazugehörigen Adressen wurden
heruntergeladen und nach Bundesland und Indikation (TE/TT und HE)
sortiert. Zur Darstellung der räumlichen Verteilung wurden
Erreichbarkeitskarten erstellt, die die Entfernung von jedem potentiellen
Wohnort zum nächstgelegenen Zweitmeiner abbilden.
Ergebnisse Es sind insgesamt 253 Zweitmeiner für TE/TT und
407 Zweitmeiner für HE gemeldet. Betrachtet man die Gesamtzahl der
Zweitmeiner für TE/TT und HE gibt es mit 18 Zweitmeinern pro
Million Einwohner die meisten Zweitmeiner im Saarland und mit einem pro Million
Einwohner die wenigsten in Bremen. Ebenfalls unterschiedlich gestaltet sich die
Fahrtzeit, die eine Person zu einem Zweitmeiner aufwenden muss: In Hamburg sind
es im Schnitt 0,23 Stunden bis zum nächsten Zweitmeiner für
TE/TT und in Berlin 0,25 Stunden für HE. Die längsten
Anfahrtszeiten haben Patienten aus Rheinland-Pfalz (1,4 Stunden für HE)
und Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (1,2 Stunden für TE/TT).
Abducens Nerve Schwannoma: Case Report and Literature Review
Authors: Finger Guilherme , Godoy Bruno Loyola , Silva Bruna Koeche da , Mello Rafael de , Nogueira Janio , Souto Antonio Aversa do 
Published: January 2022

AbstractThe authors describe a rare case of abducens nerve schwannoma, manifested with headache and diplopia, associated to right side cerebellar syndrome. During surgery, the authors identified that the origin of the tumor was from the abducens nerve, and the histopathological diagnosis confirmed that it was a schwannoma. A gross total tumor resection was performed, and the patient recovered from her symptoms 1 month after surgery. The authors followed the Case Report guidelines (CARE) guideline and the patient authorized the authors to publish the present case report by signing an informed consent form.