bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Soil microbial processes and resource limitation in karst and non‐karst forests
Authors: Chen Hao , Li Dejun , Xiao Kongcao , Wang Kelin
Published: February 2018

Soil micro‐organisms play a key role in soil biogeochemical cycles, but their growth and activities are often limited by resource availability. Understanding soil processes that are driven by micro‐organisms and resource limitation of microbes will help to elucidate controls on soil fertility and improve the ability to predict the responses of an ecosystem to global changes. As a widespread ecosystem type, karst ecosystem develops from limestone or dolomite with unique soil; however, karst ecosystems remain poorly understood regarding their soil microbial processes and microbial resource limitation.

Here, ecoenzymatic stoichiometry was used as an indicator of microbial resource limitation, and to model major microbial processes (i.e. decomposition of soil organic carbon and microbial respiration) in a karst and a non‐karst forest.

Results showed that the modelled decomposition and respiration rates were significantly higher in the karst forest than in the non‐karst forest. In addition, results of ecoenzymatic stoichiometry showed that the karst forest was more carbon‐limited than the non‐karst forest. In contrast, the karst forest was likely saturated with nitrogen, but the non‐karst forest was limited by nitrogen. Both the karst and non‐karst forests were limited by phosphorus, but phosphorus deficiency was more evident in the non‐karst forest than in the karst forest.

These findings highlight the specific profiles of karst ecosystems, and they suggest that the responses of karst ecosystems to global changes should be very different compared to other ecosystems.

A plain language summary is available for this article.
When to monitor and when to act: Value of information theory for multiple management units and limited budgets
Authors: Bennett Joseph R. , Maxwell Sean L. , Martin Amanda E. , Chadès Iadine , Fahrig Lenore , Gilbert Benjamin
Published: February 2018

The question of when to monitor and when to act is fundamental to applied ecology and notoriously difficult to answer. Value of information (VOI) theory holds great promise to help answer this question for many management problems. However,VOItheory in applied ecology has only been demonstrated in single‐decision problems and has lacked explicit links between monitoring and management costs.

Here, we present an extension ofVOItheory for solving multi‐unit decisions of whether to monitor before managing, while explicitly accounting for monitoring costs. Our formulation helps to choose the optimal monitoring/management strategy among groups of management units (e.g. species, habitat patches) and can be used to examine the benefits of partial and repeat monitoring.

To demonstrate our approach, we use case‐simulated studies of single‐species protection that must choose among potential habitat areas, and classification and management of multiple species threatened with extinction. We provide spreadsheets and code to illustrate the calculations and facilitate application. Our case studies demonstrate the utility of predicting the number of units with a given outcome for problems with probabilities of discrete states and the efficiency of having a flexible approach to manage according to monitoring outcomes.

Synthesis and applications. The decision to act or gather more information can have serious consequences for management. No decision, including the decision to monitor, is risk‐free. Our multi‐unit expansion of Value of Information theory can reduce the risk in monitoring/acting decisions for many applied ecology problems. While our approach cannot account for the potential value of discovering previously unknown threats or ecological processes via monitoring programmes, it can provide quantitative guidance on whether to monitor before acting, and which monitoring/management actions are most likely to meet management objectives.
Disturbance intensity is a stronger driver of biomass recovery than remaining tree‐community attributes in a managed Amazonian forest
Authors: de Avila Angela L. , van der Sande Masha T. , Dormann Carsten F. , Peña‐Claros Marielos , Poorter Lourens , Mazzei Lucas , Ruschel Ademir R. , Silva José N. M. , de Carvalho João O. P. , Bauhus Jürgen
Published: February 2018

Forest recovery following management interventions is important to maintain ecosystem functioning and the provision of ecosystem services. It remains, however, largely unclear how above‐ground biomass (AGB) recovery of species‐rich tropical forests is affected by disturbance intensity and post‐disturbance (remaining) tree‐community attributes, following logging and thinning interventions.

We investigated whether annual AGB increment (∆AGB) decreases with management‐related disturbance intensity (disturbance hypothesis), and increases with the diversity (niche‐complementarity hypothesis) and the community‐weighted mean (CWM) of acquisitive traits of dominant species (biomass‐ratio hypothesis) in the remaining tree community.

We analysed data from a long‐term forest‐management experiment in the Brazilian Amazon over two recovery periods: post‐logging (1983–1989) and post‐thinning (1995–2012). We computed the ∆AGB of surviving trees, recruit trees and of the total tree community. Disturbance intensity was quantified as basal area reduction and basal area remaining. Remaining diversity (taxonomic, functional and structural) and CWM of five functional traits linked to biomass productivity (specific leaf area, leaf nitrogen and phosphorous concentration, leaf toughness and wood density) were calculated for the post‐intervention inventories. Predictors were related to response variables using multiple linear regressions and structural equation modelling.

We found support for the disturbance hypothesis in both recovery periods. AGB increment of survivors and of the total tree community increased with basal area remaining, indicating the importance of remaining growing stock for biomass recovery. Conversely, AGB increment of recruit trees increased with basal area reduction because changes in forest structure increased resource availability for young trees. We did not find consistent support for the niche‐complementarity and biomass‐ratio hypotheses, possibly because of a high redundancy in these extremely species‐rich forests.

Synthesis and applications. The intensity of disturbance through management, expressed as basal area reduction and basal area remaining, was consistently more important for explaining forest biomass recovery following harvesting and thinning than remaining diversity or trait composition. This points to the importance of controlling logging and thinning intensity in forests of the eastern Amazon. Given the high intervention intensities applied in this experiment, it is likely that low to moderate harvesting intensities permitted by the current legislation for the Brazilian Amazon (30 m³/ha) will not impair biomass recovery in these forests.
Conduct of Conduits: Engineering, Desire and Government through the Enclosure and Exposure of Urban Water
Authors: Usher Mark
Published: February 2018

This article scrutinizes the relationship between governmental reform and infrastructural change in Singapore. Focusing on the role of engineers, it is argued that neoliberal decentralization has occurred through the physical reconfiguration of drainage. Neoliberalization is conceived as a localized technical response to a public health crisis resulting from infrastructural enclosure, which is orchestrated on and through the material‐ecological environment. A closed drainage system consisting of trapezoidal canals and concrete culverts had produced an ideal breeding environment for dengue‐carrying mosquitoes, undermining the state's centralized approach to water governance. This article reorients Michel Foucault's analytics of government around engineering and the ‘milieu’ to consider how drainage infrastructure was consequently opened up to an emerging civil society to relieve pressure on the state and allow greater public participation in the surveillance and management of canals, pipes and culverts. Alongside landscape architects, engineers would increasingly turn to naturalized waterways and open catchment policy to encourage citizens to form an affective bond with water and to inculcate principles of individual ownership and responsibility through physical contact. The article contends that with the proliferation of integrated resource management systems, governmental power is increasingly exercised through the liveliness as well as the fetishization of urban infrastructure.
Engineering Cities: Mediating Materialities, Infrastructural Imaginaries and Shifting Regimes of Urban Expertise
Authors: Björkman Lisa , Harris Andrew
Published: February 2018

This symposium opens up new critical insights and analytical perspectives into the relationships between power, politics, materiality and urban engineering. In so doing it demonstrates the central role of engineers in the production and negotiation of everyday life in the city. In contrast to the technocratic exercise engineering often professes to be, the contributors to this symposium argue that the assembling and choreography of cities through the myriad techniques, routines, standards and visions of engineers is inextricably bound up with broader socio‐cultural, material and political urban dynamics and processes. This necessitates investigating the multiple and competing social imaginations, forms of knowledge and regimes of expertise associated with urban engineering. The symposium's five articles, straddling disciplinary backgrounds in geography, anthropology, engineering and history, focus analytical and empirical attention on the figure of the engineer and on the work of engineering in the cities of Paris, Mumbai, Singapore and London. Engineering, we suggest, is a diagnostic for probing the shifting forms of mediation that animate and inhabit contemporary dynamics of urban change. The symposium thus opens up a new avenue for cross‐disciplinary and transregional research for urban studies while also suggesting innovative ways of conceptualizing urban transformation and contestation.
Perioperative outcomes of pancreaticoduodenectomy: Superior mesenteric artery first approach in Rajavithi Hospital, Thailand
Authors: Inthasotti Wipawee , Teepongkaruna Sa‐ard , Chaibut Kittipong , Singhirunusorn Jumpol , Duriyaprapan Pornchanan , Jantarateptewan Natcha , Subwongcharoen Somboon
Published: February 2018

Aim

Superior mesenteric artery (SMA) first approach has been widely accepted as an effective surgical technique for en‐bloc resection in periampullary cancer. There are currently multiple different artery first approach (AFA) techniques. The aim of the present study was to assess the perioperative outcome by comparing two surgical techniques at a single institute.

Patients and Methods

This was retrospective study comparing consecutive patients who had undergone pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) with mesenteric and left posterior AFA between July 2012 and March 2017 at Rajavithi Hospital, Thailand.

Results

In total, 103 patients were included. Both groups were comparable regarding demographics, tumour characteristics and perioperative outcomes. The mean operative time was 420 min in the SMA PD group and 360 min in the left posterior artery (LPA) PD group. The mean operative blood loss in the SMA PD group and LPA PD group was 750 and 700 cc, respectively. Overall, complications occurred in 45.6 per cent of patients. Eighty‐seven patients (84.5 per cent) had negative resection margins, and the median number of lymph nodes harvested was 11 nodes in the MSA PD group and 16 nodes in the LPA group.

Conclusion

The AFA to PD has comparable perioperative outcomes with standard PD without increasing morbidity and mortality.
Prevalence of celiac disease in adult Chinese patients with diarrhea‐predominant irritable bowel syndrome: A prospective, controlled, cohort study
Authors: Kou Guan Jun , Guo Jing , Zuo Xiu Li , Li Chang Qing , Liu Chao , Ji Rui , Liu Han , Wang Xiao , Li Yan Qing
Published: February 2018

Objective

Celiac disease is a chronic inflammatory enteropathy with a symptom spectrum similar to that of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It is a common but largely undiagnosed condition in the Western countries. However, it is extremely rare among Chinese individuals, and few studies have investigated its prevalence in China. The aim was to determine the prevalence of celiac disease in patients with IBS who were diagnosed using the Rome III criteria in a single center of northern China.

Methods

This was a single‐center, prospective, controlled cohort study performed in Qilu Hospital involving 246 patients with IBS and 246 healthy controls. Blood samples were drawn to assess serum tissue transglutaminase immunoglobulin A (tTg‐IgA). Patients with a positive or equivocal tTg‐IgA (≥15 U/mL) were subjected to probe‐based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) and duodenal biopsy to confirm celiac disease.

Results

Altogether 12 (4.9%) patients with IBS and two (0.8%) healthy controls were positive or equivocal for serum tTg‐IgA. Of these, five patients with IBS underwent pCLE and a targeted biopsy; all were histopathologically found to have celiac disease, although one was eventually diagnosed with lymphoma. After implementation of a gluten‐free diet, seven patients serologically positive for IBS showed clinical improvement, thus our study illustrated a minimum prevalence of 2.85% of celiac disease among patients with IBS in our center.

Conclusions

Celiac disease is not rare in Chinese individuals, particularly among those with IBS. Therefore, it should receive higher attention in clinical practice in China.
mobsim: An r package for the simulation and measurement of biodiversity across spatial scales
Authors: May Felix , Gerstner Katharina , McGlinn Daniel J. , Xiao Xiao , Chase Jonathan M.
Published: February 2018

Estimating biodiversity and its change in space and time poses serious methodological challenges. First, there has been a long debate on how to quantify biodiversity, and second, measurements of biodiversity and its change are scale‐dependent. Therefore, comparisons of biodiversity metrics between communities are ideally carried out across scales. Simulations can be used to study the behaviour of biodiversity metrics across scales, but most approaches are system specific, plagued by large parameter spaces, and therefore cumbersome to use and interpret. However, realistic spatial biodiversity patterns can be generated without reference to ecological processes, which suggests a simple simulation framework as important tool for ecologists.

Here, we present the r package mobsim that allows users to simulate the abundances and the distributions of individuals of different species in a spatially explicit landscape. Users can define key properties of communities, including the total number of individuals, the species‐abundance distribution (SAD) and the degree of intraspecific spatial aggregation. Furthermore, the package provides functions that derive biodiversity measures, such as rarefaction curves and species–area relationships (SAR), from simulated communities or from observed data, as well as functions that simulate different sampling designs.

We show several example applications of the package. First, we illustrate how species rarefaction and accumulation curves can be used to disentangle changes in the fundamental components that underlie biodiversity: (i) total abundance, (ii) species‐abundance distribution and (iii) species aggregation. Second, we demonstrate how mobsim can be applied to assess the performance of species‐richness estimators. The latter indicates how spatial aggregation challenges classical non‐spatial species‐richness estimators.

mobsim allows the simulation and analysis of a large range of biodiversity scenarios and sampling designs in a comprehensive way by directly manipulating key community properties. The simplicity and control provided by the package also makes it a useful didactic tool. The combination of controlled simulations and their analysis will facilitate a more rigorous interpretation of real‐world data that exhibit sampling effects and scale dependence.
Multivariate analysis of cytokine profiles in pregnancy complications
Authors: Azizieh Fawaz , Dingle Kamaludin , Raghupathy Raj , Johnson Kjell , VanderPlas Jacob , Ansari Ali
Published: February 2018

Problem

The immunoregulation to tolerate the semiallogeneic fetus during pregnancy includes a harmonious dynamic balance between anti‐ and pro‐inflammatory cytokines. Several earlier studies reported significantly different levels and/or ratios of several cytokines in complicated pregnancy as compared to normal pregnancy. However, as cytokines operate in networks with potentially complex interactions, it is also interesting to compare groups with multi‐cytokine data sets, with multivariate analysis. Such analysis will further examine how great the differences are, and which cytokines are more different than others.

Methods

Various multivariate statistical tools, such as Cramer test, classification and regression trees, partial least squares regression figures, 2‐dimensional Kolmogorov‐Smirmov test, principal component analysis and gap statistic, were used to compare cytokine data of normal vs anomalous groups of different pregnancy complications.

Results

Multivariate analysis assisted in examining if the groups were different, how strongly they differed, in what ways they differed and further reported evidence for subgroups in 1 group (pregnancy‐induced hypertension), possibly indicating multiple causes for the complication.

Conclusion

This work contributes to a better understanding of cytokines interaction and may have important implications on targeting cytokine balance modulation or design of future medications or interventions that best direct management or prevention from an immunological approach.
Predictors of persistent prescription opioid analgesic use among people without cancer in Australia
Authors: Lalic Samanta , Gisev Natasa , Bell J. Simon , Korhonen Maarit Jaana , Ilomäki Jenni
Published: February 2018

Aims

To identify patterns of opioid analgesic use and determine predictors of persistent opioid use among people without cancer.

Methods

A population‐based cohort study of Australians initiating prescription opioids from July 2013 to December 2015 was conducted using data from a random 10% sample of people who accessed medicines through Australia's Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. A 12‐month retrospective period was used to define opioid initiation, exclude people with cancer and determine comorbidities. Persistent use over 12 months since initiation was identified through group‐based trajectory modelling. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for predictors of opioid persistence were estimated using logistic regression.

Results

The cohort consisted of 431 963 people without cancer who initiated opioids. A total of 11 323 (2.6%) persistent opioid users were identified. Predictors of persistence included initiation with transdermal formulations (OR 4.2, 95% CI 3.9–4.5), or initiation with total oral morphine equivalents (OME) ≥ 750 mg (3.7, 3.3–4.1), having depression (1.6, 1.5–1.7) or psychotic illness (2.0, 1.9–2.2). Previous dispensing of paracetamol (2.0, 1.9–2.1), pregabalin (2.0, 1.8–2.1) and benzodiazepines (1.53, 1.4–1.6) predicted persistence. Compared to people aged 18–44 years, those ≥75 years were 2.5 (2.3–2.6) times more likely to be persistent users.

Conclusions

Patient‐specific characteristics (older age, prior history of mental health comorbidities and use of non‐opioid analgesics) and prescriber choice of initial opioid (transdermal formulation and higher total OMEs) were found to strongly predict persistent use. This information may help prescribers target monitoring and early intervention efforts in order to prevent harms associated with the long‐term use of opioids.
NRF2 addiction in cancer cells
Authors: Kitamura Hiroshi , Motohashi Hozumi
Published: February 2018

The Kelch‐like ECH‐associated protein 1/nuclear factor erythroid‐derived 2‐like 2 (KEAP1‐NRF2) system is a pivotal defense mechanism against oxidative and electrophilic stress. Although transient NRF2 activation in response to stress is beneficial for health, persistent NRF2 activation in cancer cells has deleterious effects on cancer‐bearing hosts by conferring therapeutic resistance and aggressive tumorigenic activity on cancer cells. Because NRF2 increases the antioxidant and detoxification capability of cancer cells, persistently high levels of NRF2 activity enhance therapeutic resistance of cancer cells. NRF2 also drives metabolic reprogramming to establish cellular metabolic processes that are advantageous for cell proliferation in cooperation with other oncogenic pathways. As a result of these advantages, cancer cells with persistent activation of NRF2 often develop “NRF2 addiction” and show malignant phenotypes leading to poor prognoses in cancer patients. Inhibition of NRF2 is a promising therapeutic approach for NRF2‐addicted cancers and NRF2 inhibitors are being actively developed. However, giving systemic NRF2 inhibitors might have undesirable effects on cancer‐bearing hosts, considering the central roles of NRF2 in cytoprotection. To avoid these side‐effects, new therapeutic targets besides NRF2 for NRF2‐addicted cancers have been actively explored. This review introduces recent studies describing the development and characterization of NRF2‐addicted cancers, as well as their potential therapeutic targets. Expected advances in diagnostic and therapeutic interventions for NRF2‐addicted cancers are also discussed.
Assessing normal values for the FACE‐Q rhinoplasty module: An observational study
Authors: Radulesco T. , Mancini J. , Penicaud M. , Dessi P. , Michel J.
Published: February 2018

Objectives

The goal of this study was to determine normal values for the FACE‐Q rhinoplasty module.

Design

A prospective monocentric observational cohort study.

Setting

We tested FACE‐Q Satisfaction with Nose and Satisfaction with Nostrils in two groups of patients, seeking or not a rhinoplasty.

Participants

One hundred and four patients were included in the study, fifty‐two in each group.

Main outcome measurements

Primary outcome was to identify possible cutting scores to establish normal values for each of the FQRM questionnaires.

Results

Regarding the Satisfaction with Nose scale, there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P < .001). Area under the ROC curve was 0.964 (95% CI = 0.931‐0.997). Forty‐seven points was the value presenting the best Youden index (sensitivity = 96.2%, specificity = 86.5%). Regarding the Satisfaction with Nostrils scale, there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups (P < .001). Area under the ROC curve was 0.820 (95% CI = 0.741‐0.899). Sixty‐four points was the value presenting the best Youden index (sensitivity = 94.2%, specificity = 53.8%).

Conclusion

This is the first study to generate normative data for the FACE‐Q rhinoplasty module. The findings presented here have important implications for future clinical care and research. The definition of a normal score can help practitioners to better analyse their patients and to support a therapeutic indication.
Assessment of narrative writing by Persian‐speaking students with hearing impairments
Authors: Zamani P. , Soleymani Z. , Mousavi S.M. , Akbari N.
Published: February 2018

Objective

Previous studies have highlighted that narrative skill is critical to the development of the literacy skills by children. Children with cochlear implants (CI) and hearing aids (HA) may have problems in narrative development compared to peers with healthy hearing (HH). There is no exact data about the narrative writing ability of Persian‐speaking students who are hearing‐impaired. This study was undertaken to compare the microstructure and macrostructure scores for narrative writing of Persian‐speaking students who are hearing‐impaired and peers with HH.

Design

This was a cross‐sectional descriptive‐analytical study.

Setting

The subjects were recruited from elementary schools in the city of Tehran.

Participants

A total of 144 elementary school students were participated.

Outcome measures

The written narratives were elicited using a wordless pictorial storybook story. Three‐way ANOVA with post hoc adjusted Bonferroni test was applied to determine the main effects and interactions of grounded variables on the microstructure and macrostructure components of narrative writing.

Results

No significant differences were observed in the macrostructure components of narrative writing between hearing‐impaired and HH students. Factors analysis showed that the 4th grade HH students had significantly the highest scores, and the 3rd grade HA students had significantly the lowest scores in microstructure components of narrative writing.

Conclusion

The findings revealed that hearing‐impaired students similarly to their HH peers can transmit the main idea (macrostructure) of narrative writing, but show critical difficulties when using complete grammatical elements (microstructures) to form sentences to convey the idea in the narrative.
Intuitive Probabilities and the Limitation of Moral Imagination
Authors: Ryazanov Arseny A. , Knutzen Jonathan , Rickless Samuel C. , Christenfeld Nicholas J. S. , Nelkin Dana Kay
Published: February 2018

There is a vast literature that seeks to uncover features underlying moral judgment by eliciting reactions to hypothetical scenarios such as trolley problems. These thought experiments assume that participants accept the outcomes stipulated in the scenarios. Across seven studies (N = 968), we demonstrate that intuition overrides stipulated outcomes even when participants are explicitly told that an action will result in a particular outcome. Participants instead substitute their own estimates of the probability of outcomes for stipulated outcomes, and these probability estimates in turn influence moral judgments. Our findings demonstrate that intuitive likelihoods are one critical factor in moral judgment, one that is not suspended even in moral dilemmas that explicitly stipulate outcomes. Features thought to underlie moral reasoning, such as intention, may operate, in part, by affecting the intuitive likelihood of outcomes, and, problematically, moral differences between scenarios may be confounded with non‐moral intuitive probabilities.
Histological immune response patterns in sentinel lymph nodes involved by metastatic melanoma and prognostic significance
Authors: Abbott James , Buckley Meghan , Taylor Laura A. , Xu George , Karakousis Giorgos , Czerniecki Brian J. , Gimotty Phyllis A. , Zhang Paul J.
Published: February 2018

Background

To further characterize the micromorphometric immunological pattern to metastatic melanoma in sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsies and completion lymph node (CLN) dissections and their relation to 5‐year overall survival (OS).

Methods

Retrospective cohort of 49 patients from 1996 to 2005 with a positive SLN who underwent CLN dissection (CLD) was studied. Micromorphometric characteristics included follicular center count (FCC)/profile, sinus histiocytosis, metastatic size, tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (intranodal), paracortical dendritic cells, germinal center reaction and morphology. Comparison of Kaplan‐Meier survival curves used the exact log‐rank statistic.

Results

In the high‐FCC (n = 5‐51) vs the low‐FCC (n < 5) lymph nodes, a delayed separation occurred at 3 years, with 5‐year OS rates being 73% vs 54% in the high‐ and low‐FCC groups, respectively. Improved survival up to 3 years was also noted in CLDs that showed a higher FCC when compared to the prior SLN. Patients with metastatic deposits >2 mm had significantly lower 5‐year survival (both <.001).

Conclusions

Nodal micromorphometric features (ie, FCC) are probably related to host immune response to metastasis. Quantitative evaluation of lymphoid follicular centers could provide valuable prognostic information to help to stratify patients.
qPCR quantification of Ophiognomonia clavigignenti‐juglandacearum from infected butternut trees under different release treatments
Authors: Tanguay P. , Blais M. , Potvin A. , Stewart D. , Walker D. , Nadeau‐Thibodeau N. , DesRochers P. , Rioux D.
Published: February 2018

The use of a molecular assay for quantifying conidia of Ophiognomonia clavigignenti‐juglandacearum, the fungal pathogen responsible of butternut canker, was investigated. Purified DNA from conidia collected on glass fibre filters of a passive rain collectors was quantified using a TaqMan real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay. The qPCR assay could specifically discriminate the target species from all other North American known species of Ophiognomonia, and it was sensitive enough to repeatedly detect one conidium. A linear relationship between numbers of conidia and qPCR Ct values was determined, and used to assess the sporulation of the pathogen under trees that were released to promote their vigour. In total, 977 samples of field‐captured conidia from 49 trees, at two locations, and from two successive growing seasons were analysed. No significant difference of sporulation was observed under control and release treatments. However, our results demonstrated that qPCR assay was reliable for detecting and quantifying O. clavigignenti‐juglandacearum from environmental samples, which will be useful to assess further control methods for this disease.
Effects of climate on soil phosphorus cycle and availability in natural terrestrial ecosystems
Authors: Hou Enqing , Chen Chengrong , Luo Yiqi , Zhou Guoyi , Kuang Yuanwen , Zhang Yuguang , Heenan Marijke , Lu Xiankai , Wen Dazhi
Published: February 2018

Climate is predicted to change over the 21st century. However, little is known about how climate change can affect soil phosphorus (P) cycle and availability in global terrestrial ecosystems, where P is a key limiting nutrient. With a global database of Hedley P fractions and key‐associated physiochemical properties of 760 (seminatural) natural soils compiled from 96 published studies, this study evaluated how climate pattern affected soil P cycle and availability in global terrestrial ecosystems. Overall, soil available P, indexed by Hedley labile inorganic P fraction, significantly decreased with increasing mean annual temperature (MAT) and precipitation (MAP). Hypothesis‐oriented path model analysis suggests that MAT negatively affected soil available P mainly by decreasing soil organic P and primary mineral P and increasing soil sand content. MAP negatively affected soil available P both directly and indirectly through decreasing soil primary mineral P; however, these negative effects were offset by the positive effects of MAP on soil organic P and fine soil particles, resulting in a relatively minor total MAP effect on soil available P. As aridity degree was mainly determined by MAP, aridity also had a relatively minor total effect on soil available P. These global patterns generally hold true irrespective of soil depth (≤10 cm or >10 cm) or site aridity index (≤1.0 or >1.0), and were also true for the low‐sand (≤50%) soils. In contrast, available P of the high‐sand (>50%) soils was positively affected by MAT and aridity and negatively affected by MAP. Our results suggest that temperature and precipitation have contrasting effects on soil P availability and can interact with soil particle size to control soil P availability.
Lipase‐catalysed acidolysis of mango kernel fat with capric acid to obtain medium‐ and long‐chain triacylglycerols
Authors: Sneha Ramesh , Jeyarani Thangaraj
Published: February 2018

Mango kernel fat (MKF) was blended with capric acid (1:5 mole ratio) and subjected to acidolysis using 1,3 specific lipase Lipozyme IM (Mucor miehei) for different time intervals (30 min to 24 h). The capric acid content increased gradually up to 43.5 mol% with corresponding decrease in stearic acid content (45.7–17.4 mol%). DSC crystallisation thermograms showed a new exothermic peak at lower temperature, and HPLC profile showed new peaks both indicating the formation of new lower melting triglycerides. A decrease in higher melting triglycerides and gradual increase in new triglycerides was observed. Two prominent newly formed triglycerides were characterised by ESI/MS studies and identified as 2‐oleo‐dicaprin (10, 18′, 10) and stearo‐oleo‐caprin (18, 18′, 10). Solid fat content decreased at all temperatures and samples interesterified for 5 h remained liquid at ambient conditions. The modified MKF can increase the food application from MKF in addition to contributing to health benefits of medium‐ and long‐chain triglycerides.
Sloth bear Melursus ursinus maternity denning at the Wildlife SOS Bannerghatta Bear Rescue Centre, India
Authors: Arun A. S. , Sharp T. R. , Pillai H. C. , Swaminathan S. , Satyanarayan K. , Seshamani G.
Published: February 2018

Little is known about Sloth bear Melursus ursinus birthing behaviour and denning. The Wildlife SOS Bannerghatta Bear Rescue Centre, India, which houses rescued bears, is visited by wild male Sloth bears during the breeding season (April–July). Two female Sloth bears have been impregnated by these wild males, giving researchers the opportunity to observe maternal behaviour closely. One female bear made use of an excavated a den to give birth and raise her cubs. A second bear gave birth in an excavated shallow cavity. Neither mother left the cubs for food or water for weeks (22 and 28 days, respectively). In the first case, the cubs eventually joined their mother leaving the den for food and water 20 days after the mother had initially left the den alone, whereas in the second case, the cub still had not joined the mother on outings for provisions after 68 days, when both were moved from the den area.
Scale sensitivity of the relationship between alpha and gamma diversity along an alpine elevation gradient in central Nepal
Authors: Bhatta Kuber Prasad , Grytnes John‐Arvid , Vetaas Ole Reidar
Published: February 2018

Aim

Components of scale, such as grain, focus and extent, influence the spatial patterns of alpha and gamma diversity and the relationships between them. We explored these scale relations by testing whether the gamma diversity and alpha diversity along an elevation gradient were related independent of scale and whether the elevational patterns of herbaceous and woody species richness were dependent on scale.

Location

Langtang National Park, Nepal.

Methods

We estimated alpha diversity (plot richness) for woody and herbaceous plant species along an alpine elevation gradient (3,900–5,000 m a.s.l.) in nested plots of 1 m2, 16 m2 and 100 m2 and gamma diversity (regional richness) from published sources. Generalized linear modelling was used to analyse alpha and gamma diversity and their correspondence at different grain sizes.

Results

Elevational trends of gamma and alpha diversity were significantly correlated for both woody and herbaceous species at all grain sizes. The concordance increased with increasing grain size and area for gamma diversity estimation, particularly for the monotonously decreasing elevational gamma and alpha diversity patterns of woody species. The hump‐shaped patterns of elevational gamma and alpha diversity for herbaceous species were also significantly correlated, but the concordance between the alpha diversity of herbaceous species and local gamma diversity was stronger. Elevational patterns of alpha diversity were coarsely consistent across grain sizes, although the patterns became more pronounced at larger grain sizes.

Main conclusions

The correspondence of elevational gamma and alpha diversity was largely scale invariant, implying that elevational and possibly other geographical diversity patterns can reliably be studied at different spatial scales. Nonetheless, the alpha diversity pattern was the least pronounced at fine grain size, particularly for woody life‐forms. This finding suggests that for large‐scale patterns such as elevational gradients at regional or continental scales, coarse grain sizes and large areas for gamma estimation are more appropriate.
Difference between renal and splenic resistive index as a novel criterion in Doppler evaluation of renal artery stenosis
Authors: Grupp Clemens , Koziolek Michael J. , Wallbach Manuel , Hoxhold Kerstin , Müller Gerhard A. , Bramlage Carsten
Published: February 2018

Detection of renal artery stenosis (RAS) using Doppler is difficult to evaluate, particularly under conditions such as bilateral RAS or difficultly accessible renal arteries (RA). The objective of the present study was to assess the utility of splenic arterial compared to renal flow as an additional parameter in the Doppler evaluation of RAS. The difference between the resistive indices (RI) determined in renal and splenic parenchymal arteries (ΔRIK−S) was evaluated in 181 hypertensive subjects without any evidence of RAS. Subsequently 47 RA in 24 patients with suspected RAS were angiographically assessed. A ΔRIK−S of 0.055 (median) was determined in the population without any evidence of RAS similar to RA with angiographically excluded stenosis (ΔRIK−S 0.068). In contrast, in angiographic proven RAS, ΔRIK−S was significantly lower (−0.050; P < .005). The assessment of the ΔRIK−S, proved to be an easily feasible parameter, which improves the diagnostic accuracy in the detection of RAS.
Guidance on home blood pressure monitoring: A statement of the HOPE Asia Network
Authors: Kario Kazuomi , Park Sungha , Buranakitjaroen Peera , Chia Yook‐Chin , Chen Chen‐Huan , Divinagracia Romeo , Hoshide Satoshi , Shin Jinho , Siddique Saulat , Sison Jorge , Soenarta Arieska Ann , Sogunuru Guru Prasad , Tay Jam Chin , Turana Yuda , Wong Lawrence , Zhang Yuqing , Wang Ji‐Guang
Published: February 2018

Hypertension is an important modifiable cardiovascular risk factor and a leading cause of death throughout Asia. Effective prevention and control of hypertension in the region remain a significant challenge despite the availability of several regional and international guidelines. Out‐of‐office measurement of blood pressure (BP), including home BP monitoring (HBPM), is an important hypertension management tool. Home BP is better than office BP for predicting cardiovascular risk and HBPM should be considered for all patients with office BP ≥ 130/85 mm Hg. It is important that HBPM is undertaken using a validated device and patients are educated about how to perform HBPM correctly. During antihypertensive therapy, monitoring of home BP control and variability is essential, especially in the morning. This is because HBPM can facilitate the choice of individualized optimal therapy. The evidence and practice points in this document are based on the Hypertension Cardiovascular Outcome Prevention and Evidence (HOPE) Asia Network expert panel consensus recommendations for HBPM in Asia.
Sex‐specific manifestation of genetic risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the general population
Authors: Martin Joanna , Taylor Mark J. , Rydell Mina , Riglin Lucy , Eyre Olga , Lu Yi , Lundström Sebastian , Larsson Henrik , Thapar Anita , Lichtenstein Paul
Published: February 2018

Background

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is more commonly diagnosed in males than in females. A growing body of research suggests that females with ADHD might be underdiagnosed or receive alternative diagnoses, such as anxiety or depression. Other lines of reasoning suggest that females might be protected from developing ADHD, requiring a higher burden of genetic risk to manifest the disorder.

Methods

We tested these two hypotheses, using common variant genetic data from two population‐based cohorts. First, we tested whether females and males diagnosed with anxiety or depression differ in terms of their genetic risk for ADHD, assessed as polygenic risk scores (PRS). Second, we tested whether females and males with ADHD differed in ADHD genetic risk burden. We used three different diagnostic definitions: registry‐based clinical diagnoses, screening‐based research diagnoses and algorithm‐based research diagnoses, to investigate possible referral biases.

Results

In individuals with a registry‐based clinical diagnosis of anxiety or depression, females had higher ADHD PRS than males [OR(CI) = 1.39 (1.12–1.73)] but there was no sex difference for screening‐based [OR(CI) = 1.15 (0.94–1.42)] or algorithm‐based [OR(CI) = 1.04 (0.89–1.21)] diagnoses. There was also no sex difference in ADHD PRS in individuals with ADHD diagnoses that were registry‐based [OR(CI) = 1.04 (0.84–1.30)], screening‐based [OR(CI) = 0.96 (0.85–1.08)] or algorithm‐based [OR(CI) = 1.15 (0.78–1.68)].

Conclusions

This study provides genetic evidence that ADHD risk may be more likely to manifest or be diagnosed as anxiety or depression in females than in males. Contrary to some earlier studies, the results do not support increased ADHD genetic risk in females with ADHD as compared to affected males.
Experimental impact cratering: A summary of the major results of the MEMIN research unit
Authors: Kenkmann Thomas , Deutsch Alex , Thoma Klaus , Ebert Matthias , Poelchau Michael H. , Buhl Elmar , Carl Eva‐Regine , Danilewsky Andreas N. , Dresen Georg , Dufresne Anja , Durr Nathanaël , Ehm Lars , Grosse Christian , Gulde Max , Güldemeister Nicole , Hamann Christopher , Hecht Lutz , Hiermaier Stefan , Hoerth Tobias , Kowitz Astrid , Langenhorst Falko , Lexow Bernd , Liermann Hanns‐Peter , Luther Robert , Mansfeld Ulrich , Moser Dorothee , Raith Manuel , Reimold Wolf Uwe , Sauer Martin , Schäfer Frank , Schmitt Ralf Thomas , Sommer Frank , Wilk Jakob , Winkler Rebecca , Wünnemann Kai
Published: February 2018

This paper reviews major findings of the Multidisciplinary Experimental and Modeling Impact Crater Research Network (MEMIN). MEMIN is a consortium, funded from 2009 till 2017 by the German Research Foundation, and is aimed at investigating impact cratering processes by experimental and modeling approaches. The vision of this network has been to comprehensively quantify impact processes by conducting a strictly controlled experimental campaign at the laboratory scale, together with a multidisciplinary analytical approach. Central to MEMIN has been the use of powerful two‐stage light‐gas accelerators capable of producing impact craters in the decimeter size range in solid rocks that allowed detailed spatial analyses of petrophysical, structural, and geochemical changes in target rocks and ejecta. In addition, explosive setups, membrane‐driven diamond anvil cells, as well as laser irradiation and split Hopkinson pressure bar technologies have been used to study the response of minerals and rocks to shock and dynamic loading as well as high‐temperature conditions. We used Seeberger sandstone, Taunus quartzite, Carrara marble, and Weibern tuff as major target rock types. In concert with the experiments we conducted mesoscale numerical simulations of shock wave propagation in heterogeneous rocks resolving the complex response of grains and pores to compressive, shear, and tensile loading and macroscale modeling of crater formation and fracturing. Major results comprise (1) projectile–target interaction, (2) various aspects of shock metamorphism with special focus on low shock pressures and effects of target porosity and water saturation, (3) crater morphologies and cratering efficiencies in various nonporous and porous lithologies, (4) in situ target damage, (5) ejecta dynamics, and (6) geophysical survey of experimental craters.
Validation of acute kidney injury according to the modified KDIGO criteria in infants after cardiac surgery for congenital heart disease
Authors: Ueno Kentaro , Seki Shunji , Shiokawa Naohiro , Matsuba Tomoyuki , Miyazono Akinori , Hazeki Daisuke , Imoto Yutaka , Kawano Yoshifumi
Published: February 2018

Aim

We aimed to validate the incidence of, risk factors for, and postoperative outcomes of acute kidney injury (AKI) according to the modified Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (m‐KDIGO) criteria and compare this criteria with both the paediatric Risk, Injury, Failure, Loss, End‐stage disease (pRIFLE) and Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN) criteria in infants after cardiac surgery.

Methods

We retrospectively enrolled 145 consecutive infants who underwent open‐heart surgery at Kagoshima University Hospital.

Results

Acute kidney injury was present in 55 (37.9%), 111 (75.9%), and 95 (65.5%) patients according to the m‐KDIGO, pRIFLE, and AKIN criteria, respectively. Among these, 71.9% of patients pRIFLE Risk patients and 60.5% of AKIN 1 patients were categorized in the ‘no‐AKI’ group according to the m‐KDIGO criteria. Low body weight (m‐KDIGO odds ratio [OR], 0.73; P = 0.015; pRIFLE OR, 0.66; P = 0.001; AKIN OR 0.69, P = 0.002) and prolonged cross‐clamp time (m‐KDIGO OR, 1.02; <P = 0.001; pRIFLE OR, 1.02; P = 0.003; AKIN OR, 1.02; P = 0.001) were independent risk factors for the development of AKI. Further, m‐KDIGO‐based AKI grade was more strongly associated with higher incidence of requiring renal replacement therapy and mortality than both the pRIFLE‐ and AKIN‐ based AKI grade.

Conclusion

Application of the three criteria resulted in different AKI incidences, but each criterion could be useful for detecting risk factors for AKI. Notably, using m‐KDIGO criteria provides more important subsequent postoperative outcomes. The m‐KDIGO AKI criteria describe clinically relevant AKI in infants after cardiac surgery.
Impaired phloem loading in zmsweet13a,b,c sucrose transporter triple knock‐out mutants in Zea mays
Authors: Bezrutczyk Margaret , Hartwig Thomas , Horschman Marc , Char Si Nian , Yang Jinliang , Yang Bing , Frommer Wolf B. , Sosso Davide
Published: February 2018

Crop yield depends on efficient allocation of sucrose from leaves to seeds. In Arabidopsis, phloem loading is mediated by a combination of SWEET sucrose effluxers and subsequent uptake by SUT1/SUC2 sucrose/H+ symporters. ZmSUT1 is essential for carbon allocation in maize, but the relative contribution to apoplasmic phloem loading and retrieval of sucrose leaking from the translocation path is not known.

Here we analysed the contribution of SWEETs to phloem loading in maize.

We identified three leaf‐expressed SWEET sucrose transporters as key components of apoplasmic phloem loading in Zea mays L. ZmSWEET13 paralogues (a, b, c) are among the most highly expressed genes in the leaf vasculature. Genome‐edited triple knock‐out mutants were severely stunted. Photosynthesis of mutants was impaired and leaves accumulated high levels of soluble sugars and starch. RNA‐seq revealed profound transcriptional deregulation of genes associated with photosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism. Genome‐wide association study (GWAS) analyses may indicate that variability in ZmSWEET13s correlates with agronomical traits, especifically flowering time and leaf angle.

This work provides support for cooperation of three ZmSWEET13s with ZmSUT1 in phloem loading in Z. mays.