bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Accelerated plant breeding.
Authors: Forster B. P. , Till B. J. , Ghanim A. M. A. , Huynh H. O. A. , Burstmayr H. , Caligari P. D. S.
Published: July 2015

The time to develop new cultivars and introduce them into cultivation is an issue of major importance in plant breeding. This is because plant breeders have an urgent need to help provide solutions to feed a growing world population, while in parallel, time savings are linked to profitability. Plant breeding processes may in general be broken down into the following five key elements: (1) germplasm variation; (2) crossing; (3) generation of new genetic combinations; (4) screening and selection (identification and subsequent fixation of desired allelic combinations); and (5) line/cultivar development. Each of these has implications in relation to the time taken to breed a new cultivar; a brief introduction is given for each to highlight the obstacles that may be targeted in accelerating the breeding process. Specific techniques that provide a time advantage for these elements are then discussed. Some targets for enhancing the efficiency of plant breeding, e.g., the manipulation of meiotic recombination, have proven to be recalcitrant. However, other methods that create new genetic variation along with improvements in selection efficiency compensate to a large extent for this limitation. Progress in accelerating the plant breeding process continues by exploiting new emerging ideas in science and technology.
Life History Diversity of Snake River Finespotted Cutthroat Trout: Managing for Persistence in a Rapidly Changing Environment
Authors: Homel K. M. , Gresswell R. E. , Kershner J. L.
Published: July 2015

Over the last century, native trout have experienced dramatic population declines, particularly in larger river systems where habitats associated with different spawning life history forms have been lost through habitat degradation and fragmentation. The resulting decrease in life history diversity has affected the capacity of populations to respond to environmental variability and disturbance. Unfortunately, because few large rivers are intact enough to permit full expression of life history diversity, it is unclear what patterns of diversity should be a conservation target. In this study, radiotelemetry was used to identify spawning and migration patterns of Snake River Finespotted Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii behnkei in the upper Snake River. Individuals were implanted with radio tags in October 2007 and 2008, and monitored through October 2009. Radio-tagged cutthroat trout in the upper Snake River exhibited variation in spawning habitat type and location, migration distance, spawn timing, postspawning behavior, and susceptibility to mortality sources. Between May and July, Cutthroat Trout spawned in runoff-dominated tributaries, groundwater-dominated spring creeks, and side channels of the Snake River. Individuals migrated up to 101 km from tagging locations in the upper Snake River to access spawning habitats, indicating that the upper Snake River provided seasonal habitat for spawners originating throughout the watershed. Postspawning behavior also varied; by August each year, 28% of spring-creek spawners remained in their spawning location, compared with 0% of side-channel spawners and 7% of tributary spawners. These spawning and migration patterns reflect the connectivity, habitat diversity, and dynamic template of the Snake River. Ultimately, promoting life history diversity through restoration of complex habitats may provide the most opportunities for cutthroat trout persistence in an environment likely to experience increased variability from climate change and disturbance from invasive species.

Received June 26, 2014; accepted April 21, 2015
Experimental Determination of the Limits of Using Stable Isotopes to Distinguish Steelhead and Rainbow Trout Offspring
Authors: Thornton Emily J. , Hardy Ronald W. , Quinn Thomas P.
Published: July 2015

Salmonid ecology and conservation projects often necessitate distinguishing the offspring from anadromous or nonanadromous mothers, but the forms are often physically and genetically similar. We reared Oncorhynchus mykiss fry produced by anadromous mothers on one of two diets: one rich in and the other depleted in marine nutrients. We then sampled and analyzed fin and muscle tissues from fish fed both diets for nitrogen stable isotopes over time. Tissue nitrogen values from fish on the marine-nutrient-depleted diet indicated the size and time cutoffs at which offspring of anadromous O. mykiss no longer reflected a marine origin (muscle tissue cutoff: 0.81 g, 50.8 mm, and 29.4 d postfeeding; fin tissue cutoff: 0.65 g, 45.9 mm, and 35.3 d). Salmonids smaller than 50 mm cannot provide a sufficiently large fin sample for isotopic analysis without significant risk of mortality. Therefore, our experiment did not reveal a period when fish were large enough to provide a nonlethal fin clip but still maintain their maternal nitrogen isotope signature. However, fish growing slower than those we examined would likely be distinguishable for a longer period of time than our data indicated.

Received December 21, 2014; accepted May 2, 2015
‘Though the treasure of nature’s germens tumble all together’: the EPO and patents on native traits or the bewitching powers of ideologies
Authors: Girard Fabien
Published: July 2015

The growing criticism of patentability of native traits and genes (of plants obtained by traditional cross-breeding methods of species with the use of molecular biology methods) prompts questions about the constant erosion of boundaries in the field of non-patentability, which has been denounced by authoritative legal writers. But the issue currently at stake is even more worrisome, insofar as these new patents, the volume of which is constantly increasing, are blocking patents and cannot be expected to be circumvented by resort to cross-licensing agreements. Relying on the position expressly adopted by the European Patent Office (EPO) president in the Tomato II case, this paper brings to light the pro-patent bias that affects the functioning of the European patent system. It shows that this troubling phenomenon is rooted in governance issues. Above all, it stresses a deeper factor, namely the dual ideology of an exchange society and of science and technology (the logic of progress) that has dramatically severed the ties between the EPO and people’s representative bodies, multi-stakeholder bodies and citizens themselves.
A dynamical Mordell-Lang property on the disk
Authors: Wang Ming-Xi
Published: July 2015

We prove that two finite endomorphisms of the unit disk with degree at least two have orbits with infinite intersections if and only if they have a common iterate.
Linear and bilinear restriction to certain rotationally symmetric hypersurfaces
Authors: Stovall Betsy
Published: July 2015

Conditional on Fourier restriction estimates for elliptic hypersurfaces, we prove optimal restriction estimates for polynomial hypersurfaces of revolution for which the defining polynomial has non-negative coefficients. In particular, we obtain uniform—depending only on the dimension and polynomial degree—estimates for restriction with affine surface measure, slightly beyond the bilinear range. The main step in the proof of our linear result is an (unconditional) bilinear adjoint restriction estimate for pieces at different scales.
Strongly lensed neutral hydrogen emission: detection predictions with current and future radio interferometers
Authors: Deane R. P. , Obreschkow D. , Heywood I.
Published: July 2015

Strong gravitational lensing provides some of the deepest views of the Universe, enabling studies of high-redshift galaxies only possible with next-generation facilities without the lensing phenomenon. To date, 21-cm radio emission from neutral hydrogen has only been detected directly out to z ∼ 0.2, limited by the sensitivity and instantaneous bandwidth of current radio telescopes. We discuss how current and future radio interferometers such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) will detect lensed H i emission in individual galaxies at high redshift. Our calculations rely on a semi-analytic galaxy simulation with realistic H i discs (by size, density profile and rotation), in a cosmological context, combined with general relativistic ray tracing. Wide-field, blind H i surveys with the SKA are predicted to be efficient at discovering lensed H i systems, increasingly so at z ≳ 2. This will be enabled by the combination of the magnification boosts, the steepness of the H i luminosity function at the high-mass end, and the fact that the H i spectral line is relatively isolated in frequency. These surveys will simultaneously provide a new technique for foreground lens selection and yield the highest redshift H i emission detections. More near term (and existing) cm-wave facilities will push the high-redshift H i envelope through targeted surveys of known lenses.
Trends in gastric cancer mortality and in the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection in Portugal
Authors: Morais Samantha , Ferro Ana , Bastos Ana , Castro Clara , Lunet Nuno , Peleteiro Bárbara
Published: July 2015

Portugal has the highest gastric cancer mortality rates in Western Europe, along with high prevalences of Helicobacter pylori infection. Monitoring their trends is essential to predict the burden of this cancer. We aimed to quantify time trends in gastric cancer mortality in Portugal and in each administrative region, and to compute short-term predictions, as well as to describe the prevalence of H. pylori infection, through a systematic review. Joinpoint analyses were used to identify significant changes in sex-specific trends in gastric cancer age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR) and to estimate annual percent changes (APC). The most recent trends were considered to compute estimates up to 2020 by adjusting Poisson regression models. We searched PubMed and IndexRMP to identify studies carried out in Portugal reporting the prevalence of H. pylori. Gastric cancer mortality has been decreasing in Portugal since 1971 in men (from ASMR=55.3/100 000; APC=−2.4, 95% confidence interval: −2.5 to −2.3) and since 1970 in women (from ASMR=28.0/100 000; APC=−2.8, 95% confidence interval: −2.9 to −2.7), although large regional differences were observed. Predicted ASMR for 2015 and 2020 were 18.8/100 000 and 16.7/100 000 for men and 8.5/100 000 and 7.4/100 000 for women, respectively. The prevalence of H. pylori varied from almost 5% at 0.5–2 years to just over 90% at 70 years or more. No consistent variation was observed since the 1990s. The downward trends in mortality rates are expected to remain in the next decades. The high prevalence of H. pylori infection across age groups and studies from different periods shows a large potential for decrease in the burden of gastric cancer in Portugal.
Image-guided Coring for Large-scale Studies in Molecular Pathology
Authors: Montaser-Kouhsari Laleh , Knoblauch Nicholas W. , Oh Eun-Yeong , Baker Gabrielle , Christensen Stephen , Hazra Aditi , Tamimi Rulla M. , Beck Andrew H.
Published: July 2015

Sampling of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue blocks is a critical initial step in molecular pathology. Image-guided coring (IGC) is a new method for using digital pathology images to guide tissue block coring for molecular analyses. The goal of our study is to evaluate the use of IGC for both tissue-based and nucleic acid–based projects in molecular pathology. First, we used IGC to construct a tissue microarray (TMA); second, we used IGC for FFPE block sampling followed by RNA extraction; and third, we assessed the correlation between nuclear counts quantitated from the IGC images and RNA yields. We used IGC to construct a TMA containing 198 normal and breast cancer cores. Histopathologic analysis showed high accuracy for obtaining tumor and normal breast tissue. Next, we used IGC to obtain normal and tumor breast samples before RNA extraction. We selected a random subset of tumor and normal samples to perform computational image analysis to quantify nuclear density, and we built regression models to estimate RNA yields from nuclear count, age of the block, and core diameter. Number of nuclei and core diameter were the strongest predictors of RNA yields in both normal and tumor tissue. IGC is an effective method for sampling FFPE tissue blocks for TMA construction and nucleic acid extraction. We identify significant associations between quantitative nuclear counts obtained from IGC images and RNA yields, suggesting that the integration of computational image analysis with IGC may be an effective approach for tumor sampling in large-scale molecular studies.
C5b-9 Staining Correlates With Clinical and Tumor Stage in Gastric Adenocarcinoma
Authors: Chen Jian , Yang Wei-jun , Sun Hai-jian , Yang Xia , Wu Yu-zhang
Published: July 2015

The complement system is a critical part of the immune response, acting in defense against viral infections, clearance of immune complexes, and maintenance of tissue homeostasis. Upregulated expression of the terminal complement complex, C5b-9, has been observed on various tumor cells, such as stomach carcinoma cells, and on cells in the necrotic regions of these tumors as well; however, whether and how C5b-9 is related to gastric cancer progression and severity remains unknown. In this study, human gastric adenocarcinoma (HGAC) tissues (n=47 cases) and patient-matched adjacent nontumoral parenchyma (n=20 cases) were evaluated by tissue microarray and immunohistochemistry. The HGAC tissues showed upregulated C5b-9 expression. Multinomial logistic regression and likelihood ratio testing showed that overexpression of C5b-9 in HGAC tissue was significantly correlated with clinical stage (P=0.007) and tumor stage (P=0.005), but not with tumor distant organ metastasis, lymphoid nodal status, sex, or age. Patients with late-stage gastric adenocarcinoma had a higher amount of tumor cells showing positive staining for C5b-9 than patients with early-stage disease. These results may help in diagnosis and assessment of disease severity of human gastric carcinoma.
Aquabacterium olei sp. nov., an oil-degrading bacterium isolated from oil-contaminated soil
Authors: Pham Van Hong Thi , Jeong Seung-Woo , Kim Jaisoo
Published: July 2015

Strain NHI-1T is a Gram-negative, motile, non-spore-forming bacterium isolated from oil-contaminated soil in South Korea. The strain was able to grow by using gasoline, diesel and kerosene as energy and carbon sources. After incubation for 14 days, cells (1 g l− 1) degraded approximately 58 % of oil present at concentration of 1500 p.p.m. at pH 8 and 28 °C. Strain NHI-1T grew well under aerobic conditions, with optimal growth at pH 7–9 and 28 °C–37 °C but grew poorly in the presence of ≥ 0.5 % NaCl. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the closest relatives of strain NHI-1T were Aquabacterium fontiphilum CS-6T (97.96 % sequence similarity), Aquabacterium parvum B6T (96.39 %), Aquabacterium commune B8T (95.76 %), Aquabacterium limnoticum ABP-4T (95.72 %) and Aquabacterium citratiphilum B4T (95.25 %). DNA–DNA relatedness was 41–53 % between strain NHI-1T and its closest type strains. The major fatty acids present in strain NHI-1T were summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c/C16 : 1ω6c, 44.5 %), summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c/C18 : 1ω6c, 21.5 %) and C16 : 0 (16.2 %), and the predominant polar lipids were phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylserine, diphosphatidylglycerol and uncharacterized aminophospholipids. Strain NHI-1T was distinguishable from other members of genus Aquabacterium based on phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and genotypic characteristics. Therefore, strain NHI-1T represents a novel species of the genus Aquabacterium for which the name Aquabacterium olei sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is NHI-1T ( = KEMB 9005-082T =  KACC 18244T = NBRC 110486T).
Dysgonomonas alginatilytica sp. nov., an alginate-degrading bacterium isolated from a microbial consortium
Authors: Kita Akihisa , Miura Toyokazu , Okamura Yoshiko , Aki Tsunehiro , Matsumura Yukihiko , Tajima Takahisa , Kato Junichi , Nakashimada Yutaka
Published: July 2015

Gram-stain-negative, facultatively anaerobic, non-motile, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped bacterium, designated strain HUA-2T, was isolated from an alginate-degrading microbial consortium. Strain HUA-2T was related to Dysgonomonas capnocytophagoides JCM 16697T, Dysgonomonas macrotermitis JCM 19375T and Dysgonomonas mossii CCUG 43457T with 95.1 %, 94.1 % and 92.1 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity, respectively. The optimal growth temperature and pH for strain HUA-2T were 35 °C and pH 8.0, respectively. Enzyme production, major fermentation products from glucose, and the major cellular fatty acids were different from those of D. capnocytophagoides CCUG 17966T or other members of the genus Dysgonomonas. Therefore, strain HUA-2T is proposed to represent a novel species of the genus Dysgonomonas, for which we propose the name Dysgonomonas alginatilytica sp. nov. The type strain is HUA-2T ( = DSM 100214T = HUT 8134T).
Do English NHS Microbiology laboratories offer adequate services for the diagnosis of UTI in children? Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) Audit of Standard Operational Procedures
Authors: McNulty Cliodna A. M. , Verlander Neville Q. , Moore Philippa C. L. , Larcombe James , Dudley Jan , Banerjee Jaydip , Jadresic Lyda
Published: July 2015

The National Institute of Care Excellence (NICE) 2007 guidance CG54, on urinary tract infection (UTI) in children, states that clinicians should use urgent microscopy and culture as the preferred method for diagnosing UTI in the hospital setting for severe illness in children under 3 years old and from the GP setting in children under 3 years old with intermediate risk of severe illness. NICE also recommends that all ‘infants and children with atypical UTI (including non-Escherichia coli infections) should have renal imaging after a first infection’. We surveyed all microbiology laboratories in England with Clinical Pathology Accreditation to determine standard operating procedures (SOPs) for urgent microscopy, culture and reporting of children's urine and to ascertain whether the SOPs facilitate compliance with NICE guidance. We undertook a computer search in six microbiology laboratories in south-west England to determine urine submissions and urine reports in children under 3 years. Seventy-three per cent of laboratories (110/150) participated. Enterobacteriaceae that were not E. coli were reported only as coliforms (rather than non-E. coli coliforms) by 61 % (67/110) of laboratories. Eighty-eight per cent of laboratories (97/110) provided urgent microscopy for hospital and 54 % for general practice (GP) paediatric urines; 61 % of laboratories (confidence interval 52–70 %) cultured 1 μl volume of urine, which equates to one colony if the bacterial load is 106 c.f.u. l− 1. Only 22 % (24/110) of laboratories reported non-E. coli coliforms and provided urgent microscopy for both hospital and GP childhood urines; only three laboratories also cultured a 5 μl volume of urine. Only one of six laboratories in our submission audit had a significant increase in urine submissions and urines reported from children less than 3 years old between the predicted pre-2007 level in the absence of guidance and the 2008 level following publication of the NICE guidance. Less than a quarter of laboratories were providing a service that would allow clinicians to fully comply with the first line recommendations in the 2007 NICE UTI in children guidance. Laboratory urine submission report figures suggest that the guidance has not led to an increase in diagnosis of UTI in children under 3 years old.
A profile-based method for identifying functional divergence of orthologous genes in bacterial genomes
Authors: Wheeler Nicole E. , Barquist Lars , Kingsley Robert A. , Gardner Paul P.
Published: July 2015

Motivation

Next generation sequencing technologies have provided us with a wealth of information on genetic variation, but predicting the functional significance of this variation is a difficult task. While many comparative genomics studies have focused on gene flux and large scale changes, relatively little attention has been paid to quantifying the effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms and indels on protein function, particularly in bacterial genomics.

Results

We present a hidden Markov model based approach we call delta-bitscore (DBS) for identifying orthologous proteins that have diverged at the amino acid sequence level in a way that is likely to impact biological function. We benchmark this approach with several widely used datasets and apply it to a proof-of-concept study of orthologous proteomes in an investigation of host adaptation inSalmonella enterica. We highlight the value of the method in identifying functional divergence of genes, and suggest that this tool may be a better approach than the commonly used dN/dS metric for identifying functionally significant genetic changes occurring in recently diverged organisms.

Availability

A program implementing DBS for pairwise genome comparisons is freely available at:https://github.com/UCanCompBio/deltaBS.

Contact

nicole.wheeler@pg.canterbury.ac.nz,lars.barquist@uni-wuerzburg.de

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at BioRxiv online.
metaCCA: Summary statistics-based multivariate meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies using canonical correlation analysis
Authors: Cichonska Anna , Rousu Juho , Marttinen Pekka , Kangas Antti J , Soininen Pasi , Lehtimäki Terho , Raitakari Olli T , Järvelin Marjo-Riitta , Salomaa Veikko , Ala-Korpela Mika , Ripatti Samuli , Pirinen Matti
Published: July 2015

A dominant approach to genetic association studies is to perform univariate tests between genotype-phenotype pairs. However, analysing related traits together increases statistical power, and certain complex associations become detectable only when several variants are tested jointly. Currently, modest sample sizes of individual cohorts and restricted availability of individual-level genotype-phenotype data across the cohorts limit conducting multivariate tests.

We introducemetaCCA, a computational framework for summary statistics-based analysis of a single or multiple studies that allows multivariate representation of both genotype and phenotype. It extends the statistical technique of canonical correlation analysis to the setting where original individual-level records are not available, and employs a covariance shrinkage algorithm to achieve robustness.

Multivariate meta-analysis of two Finnish studies of nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics bymetaCCA, using standard univariate output from the program SNPTEST, shows an excellent agreement with the pooled individual-level analysis of original data. Motivated by strong multivariate signals in the lipid genes tested, we envision that multivariate association testing usingmetaCCAhas a great potential to provide novel insights from already published summary statistics from high-throughput phenotyping technologies.

Code is available athttps://github.com/aalto-ics-kepaco.
Three-dimensional α colony characterization and prior-β grain reconstruction of a lamellar Ti–6Al–4V specimen using near-field high-energy X-ray diffraction microscopy
Authors: Wielewski E. , Menasche D. B. , Callahan P. G. , Suter R. M.
Published: July 2015

Near-field high-energy X-ray diffraction microscopy has been used to characterize the three-dimensional (3-D) crystallographic orientation field of the hexagonal close-packed α phase in a bulk Ti–6Al–4V specimen with a lamellar (β-annealed) microstructure. These data have been segmented using a 3-D misorientation-based grain finding algorithm, providing unprecedented information about the complex 3-D morphologies and spatial misorientation distributions of the transformed α lamella colonies. A 3-D Burgers orientation relationship-based flood-fill algorithm has been implemented to reconstruct the morphologies and crystallographic orientations of the high-temperature body-centered cubic prior-β grains. The combination of these data has been used to gain an understanding of the role of the prior-β grain structure in the formation of specific morphologies and spatial misorientation distributions observed in the transformed α colony structures. It is hoped that this understanding can be used to develop transformation structures optimized for specific applications and to produce more physically realistic synthetic microstructures for use in simulations.
Magnetic order and phase transitions in Fe50Pt50–x
Rh
x
Authors: Fenske Jochen , Lott Dieter , Tartakovskaya Elena V. , Lee Hwachol , LeClair Patrick R. , Mankey Gary J. , Schmidt Wolfgang , Schmalzl Karin , Klose Frank , Schreyer Andreas
Published: July 2015

Polarized and unpolarized neutron diffraction techniques have been applied to study the temperature-dependent magnetic and structural properties of four 200 nm-thick Fe50Pt50−x
Rh
x
films with x = 5, x = 10, x = 17.5 and x = 25. Similar to the bulk system, an antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic transition can be found in the films with decreasing Rh concentration. The application of structure factor calculations enables one to determine the microscopic magnetic configuration of the different films as a function of temperature and Rh concentration. The developed models indicate a magnetic transition from a dominant antiferromagnetic order in the out-of-plane direction to a dominant ferromagnetic order in the in-plane direction with decreasing Rh concentration. The different magnetic configurations can theoretically be described by a phenomenological model which includes a two-ion and a one-ion interaction Hamiltonian term with different temperature dependencies of the anisotropy constants.
X-ray diffraction by phase diffraction gratings
Authors: Irzhak D. V. , Knyasev M. A. , Punegov V. I. , Roshchupkin D. V.
Published: July 2015

The diffraction properties of phase gratings with the period D = 1.6, 1.0 and 0.5 µm fabricated on an Si(111) crystal by e-beam lithography were studied by triple-axis X-ray diffraction. A 100 nm-thick tungsten layer was used as a phase-shift layer. It is shown that the presence of a grating as a phase-shift W layer on the surface of the Si(111) crystal causes the formation of a complicated two-dimensional diffraction pattern related to the diffraction of X-rays on the phase grating at the X-ray entrance and exit from the crystal. A model of X-ray diffraction on the W phase diffraction grating is proposed.
Lonely are the brave
Authors: Khilay Snéha
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– Highlights the notion of a dominant organizational culture and examines what can happen when this conflicts with an individual employee’s set of beliefs.

Design/methodology/approach

– Provides examples of employees who have challenged the dominant culture in their organization and considers some of the outcomes.

Findings

– Investigates how people get caught up in the “need-to-be-liked” syndrome and behave in a manner that causes discomfort, yet continue to do so while occasionally losing sight of strongly held values or perspectives.

Practical implications

– Tells the stories of individuals who, although their fight for justice involved difficulties and emotional grief, had to take responsibility and focus on the outcome they wanted, basically to continue their personal and professional lives with their heads held high.

Originality/value

– Recounts cases of individuals who have faced adversity in their work because of them voicing their differences, raising concerns and being treated in a negative manner as a result.
Do native and invasive plants differ in their interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi? A meta‐analysis
Authors: Bunn Rebecca A. , Ramsey Philip W. , Lekberg Ylva
Published: July 2015

Divergent hypotheses have been proposed that suggest plant invasions either enhance or degrade the mutualism between plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, but their relative support remains unknown.

We conducted a meta‐analysis using 67 publications, involving 70 native and 55 invasive plant species to assess support for the enhanced mutualism hypothesis, the degraded mutualism hypothesis and an alternative hypothesis that factors other than invasive status (such as plant functional group) better predict AM function following invasion. We used multiple measurements to test these hypotheses: AM fungal colonization, growth responses to AM fungi and AM fungal‐mediated shifts in competitive interactions among native and invasive plants. Additionally, we assessed whether invasive plants alter AM associations in native plants and whether native and invasive plants host different AM fungal abundances and communities.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization (%) and average growth responses did not differ between native and invasive plants. However, growth responses (±) were dampened among invasive plants, and the positive correlation between AM fungal colonization and growth response in native plants was absent in invasive plants. Rather than plant invasive status, plant functional group was a significant explanatory factor; forbs were generally more colonized and exhibited positive growth responses (when grown alone and in competition), whereas grass responses were neutral to negative.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal abundance (measured by percentage colonization, extraradical hyphal and spore densities, as well as neutral lipid fatty acid and glomalin concentrations) did not differ between native and invasive plants, but invasive plants hosted different AM fungal communities in 78% of studies. AM fungal colonization of native plants was lower when grown with, or after, invasive plants, likely due to the prevalence of non‐mycorrhizal plants in studies of neighbour and legacy effects.

Synthesis. Neither the degraded nor the enhanced mutualism hypothesis was supported, suggesting that invasions do not select for directional shifts in AM associations. Instead, our results indicate that AM fungi are most likely to influence invasion trajectories when native and invasive plants belong to different functional groups.
Freshwater protists do not go with the flow: population structure in Gonyostomum semen independent of connectivity among lakes
Authors: Sassenhagen Ingrid , Sefbom Josefin , Säll Torbjörn , Godhe Anna , Rengefors Karin
Published: July 2015

Many recent studies have found genetically differentiated populations in microorganisms despite potentially high dispersal. We designed a study to specifically examine the importance of physical dispersal barriers, i.e. geographic distance and lack of hydrological connectivity, in restricting gene flow and enhancing divergence in limnic microorganisms. We focused on the nuisance microalga Gonyostomum semen, which has recently expanded in Northern Europe and differentiated into genetically distinct populations. G. semen was sampled from six lakes distributed in two adjacent watersheds, which thereby comprised, both connected and non‐connected lakes. The individual isolates were genotyped by amplified fragment length polymorphism. Several lake populations were differentiated from each other, but connectivity within watersheds could not explain the observed population genetic pattern. However, isolation by distance was moderate and might limit the gene flow among distant populations. In addition, we found low, but significant linkage disequilibrium, which indicates regular sexual recombination in this species, despite its high degree of asexual reproduction. Therefore, we conclude that the genetic properties of microalgae with occasional sexual reproduction essentially mirror regularly recombining species. Furthermore, the data indicated bottlenecks supporting the hypothesized recent range expansion of this species.
The Politics of Parliamentary Strengthening
Authors: Power Greg
Published: July 2015

Parliament's International Development Committee made a powerful case this year that DFID should put more money into parliamentary strengthening in developing countries. Arguing that parliaments were central to tackling corruption, improving economic development and building stable political settlements, they recommended that parliaments should be at the ‘heart of DFID's governance work’. The report, though, also touched on wider issues of how DFID commissions and monitors its political programmes, suggesting fundamental changes to both. DFID recognises these challenges, and offered either full or partial agreement with most of the recommendations. The challenge that remains, though, is moving from the rhetoric of ‘engaging with politics’ to a much improved form of political and parliamentary programming.
‘M‐apping’ sleep? Trends and transformations in the digital age
Authors: Williams Simon J. , Coveney Catherine , Meadows Robert
Published: July 2015

This article critically explores recent trends and transformations in the monitoring and management of sleep in the digital age, taking as its focus the advent of new digital technologies to trace and track the ‘sleep of ourselves’ far away from the conventional sleep laboratory or clinic. Our argument is situated dually in the history of sleep science and medicine on the one hand, and the rise of new digital forms of so‐called self‐tracking and mobile health (m‐Health) on the other hand. While the recent history of sleep science and medicine may rightly we suggest, in Kroker's terms, be characterised as a concern with the ‘sleep of others’, a new chapter in this story may well be dawning through the advent of these smart new mobile tools and technologies for mapping, or ‘m‐apping’ as we term it, the ‘sleep of ourselves’ in the digital age. The problems and prospects this holds are then critically considered – through the interrelated themes of selfhood, sociality and governance – and some preliminary conclusions ventured in this new digital domain.
Combination of Face Regions in Forensic Scenarios
Authors: Tome Pedro , Fierrez Julian , Vera‐Rodriguez Ruben , Ortega‐Garcia Javier
Published: July 2015

This article presents an experimental analysis of the combination of different regions of the human face on various forensic scenarios to generate scientific knowledge useful for the forensic experts. Three scenarios of interest at different distances are considered comparing mugshot and CCTV face images using MORPH and SC face databases. One of the main findings is that inner facial regions combine better in mugshot and close CCTV scenarios and outer facial regions combine better in far CCTV scenarios. This means, that depending of the acquisition distance, the discriminative power of the facial regions change, having in some cases better performance than the full face. This effect can be exploited by considering the fusion of facial regions which results in a very significant improvement of the discriminative performance compared to just using the full face.
Development of Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) Nanocoatings on Food Contact Surfaces and Method to Evaluate Their Durability and Photocatalytic Bactericidal Property
Authors: Yemmireddy Veerachandra K. , Farrell Glenn D. , Hung Yen‐Con
Published: July 2015

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a well‐known photocatalyst for its excellent bactericidal property under UVA light. The purpose of this study was to develop physically stable TiO2 coatings on food contact surfaces using different binding agents and develop methods to evaluate their durability and microbicidal property. Several types of organic and inorganic binders such as polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene glycol, polyurethane, polycrylic, sodium and potassium silicates, shellac resin, and other commercial binders were used at 1:1 to 1:16 nanoparticle to binder weight ratios to develop a formulation for TiO2 coating on stainless steel surfaces. Among the tested binders, polyurethane, polycrylic, and shellac resin were found to be physically more stable when used in TiO2 coating at 1:4 to 1:16 weight ratio. The physical stability of TiO2 coatings was determined using adhesion strength and scratch hardness tests by following standard ASTM procedures. Further, wear resistance of the coatings was evaluated based on a simulated cleaning procedure used in food processing environments. TiO2 coating with polyurethane at a 1:8 nanoparticle to binder weight ratio showed the highest scratch hardness (1.08 GPa) followed by coating with polycrylic (0.68 GPa) and shellac (0.14 GPa) binders. Three different techniques, namely direct spreading, glass cover‐slip, and indented coupon were compared to determine the photocatalytic bactericidal property of TiO2 coatings against Escherichia coli 0157:H7 at 2 mW/cm2 UVA light intensity. Under the tested conditions, the indented coupon technique was found to be the most appropriate method to determine the bactericidal property of TiO2 coatings and showed a reduction of 3.5 log CFU/cm2 in 2 h.
Preparation of High‐Grade Powders from Tomato Paste Using a Vacuum Foam Drying Method
Authors: Sramek Martin , Schweiggert Ralf Martin , van Kampen Andreas , Carle Reinhold , Kohlus Reinhard
Published: July 2015

We present a rapid and gentle drying method for the production of high‐grade tomato powders from double concentrated tomato paste, comparing results with powders obtained by foam mat air drying and freeze dried powders. The principle of this method consists of drying tomato paste in foamed state at low temperatures in vacuum. The formulations were dried at temperatures of 50, 60, and 70 °C and vacuum of 200 mbar. Foam stability was affected by low serum viscosity and the presence of solid particles in tomato paste. Consequently, serum viscosity was increased by maltodextrin addition, yielding optimum stability at tomato paste:maltodextrin ratio of 2.4:1 (w/w) in dry matter. Material foamability was improved by addition of 0.5% (w/w, fresh weight) egg white. Because of solid particles in tomato paste, foam air filling had to be limited to critical air volume fraction of Φ = 0.7. The paste was first pre‐foamed to Φ = 0.2 and subsequently expanded in vacuo. After drying to a moisture content of 5.6% to 7.5% wet base (w.b.), the materials obtained were in glassy state. Qualities of the resulting powders were compared with those produced by freeze and air drying. Total color changes were the least after vacuum drying, whereas air drying resulted in noticeable color changes. Vacuum foam drying at 50 °C led to insignificant carotenoid losses, being equivalent to the time‐consuming freeze drying method. In contrast, air drying caused lycopene and β‐carotene losses of 18% to 33% and 14% to 19% respectively. Thus, vacuum foam drying enables production of high‐grade tomato powders being qualitatively similar to powders obtained by freeze drying.
Notes on farm‐retail price transmission and marketing margin behavior
Authors: Kinnucan Henry W. , Zhang Dengjun
Published: July 2015

Perfect farm‐retail price transmission sometimes is taken to mean an elasticity of price transmission (EPT) equal to 1. We show that this definition is inconsistent with Gardner's (1975) model. We also show that the absolute marketing margin (defined as the difference between the retail price and farm price) responds differently to shifts in retail demand, input supply, and technical change in the marketers’ production function than does the relative marketing margin (defined as the ratio of the retail price to the farm price). The empirical implications of these results are discussed in some detail.
Occupational skin disease in Victoria, Australia
Authors: Cahill Jennifer L , Williams Jason D , Matheson Melanie C , Palmer Amanda M , Burgess John A , Dharmage Shyamali C , Nixon Rosemary L
Published: July 2015

Objectives

To describe the characteristics of patients with occupational skin disease (OSD) in a tertiary referral clinic in Victoria, Australia.

Methods

A retrospective review was conducted of records from patients seen at the Occupational Dermatology Clinic in Melbourne, Australia between 1 January 1993 and 31 December 2010.

Results

Of the 2894 people assessed in the clinic during the 18‐year period, 44% were women and 56% were men. In all, 2177 (75%) were diagnosed with occupational skin disease (OSD). Of the patients with a work‐related skin condition, 45% (n = 979) were considered to be atopic. The most common diagnosis in those with OSD was irritant contact dermatitis (ICD) (44%), followed by allergic contact dermatitis (33%) and endogenous eczema (11%). Women were significantly more likely to have soaps and detergents (P < 0.001) and water/wet work (P < 0.001) as causes of their ICD than men. Men were significantly more likely to have oils and coolants (P < 0.001) and solvent exposures (P < 0.001) as causes of their ICD. Occupational groups with the highest incidence of OSD were the hair and beauty professions (70 per 100 000), followed by machine and plant operators (38 per 100 000) and health‐care workers (21 per 100 000).

Conclusion

We confirm the importance of occupational contact dermatitis as the most common cause of OSD, with ICD being the most common diagnosis. There are differences in the causes of ICD between our group of male and female workers. For the first time in Australia, rates of OSD in certain industries have been calculated.
Tree pollen allergens—an update from a molecular perspective
Authors: Asam C. , Hofer H. , Wolf M. , Aglas L. , Wallner M.
Published: July 2015

It is estimated that pollen allergies affect approximately 40% of allergic individuals. In general, tree pollen allergies are mainly elicited by allergenic trees belonging to the orders Fagales, Lamiales, Proteales, and Pinales. Over 25 years ago, the gene encoding the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1 was the first such gene to be cloned and its product characterized. Since that time, 53 tree pollen allergens have been identified and acknowledged by the WHO/IUIS allergen nomenclature subcommittee. Molecule‐based profiling of allergic sensitization has helped to elucidate the immunological connections of allergen cross‐reactivity, whereas advances in biochemistry have revealed structural and functional aspects of allergenic proteins. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of the present knowledge of the molecular aspects of tree pollen allergens. We analyze the geographic distribution of allergenic trees, discuss factors pivotal for allergic sensitization, and describe the role of tree pollen panallergens. Novel allergenic tree species as well as tree pollen allergens are continually being identified, making research in this field highly competitive and instrumental for clinical applications.
Randomized controlled trial of probiotics after colonoscopy
Authors: D'Souza Basil , Slack Timothy , Wong Shing W. , Lam Francis , Muhlmann Mark , Koestenbauer Jakob , Dark Jonathan , Newstead Graham
Published: July 2015

Background

Up to 20% of patients have ongoing abdominal symptoms at day 2 and beyond following colonoscopy. It was hypothesized that some of these symptoms are related to alterations in gut microbiota secondary to bowel preparation and would improve with probiotics compared with placebo.

Methods

Patients were given either a probiotic or placebo capsule in the days following colonoscopy. Colonoscopy was performed with air insufflation. The probiotic capsule contained the strains Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM and Bifidobacterium lactis Bi‐07. Patients recorded their symptoms at 1 h, 1, 2, 4, 7 and 14 days post colonoscopy and returned results once their symptoms had resolved. The primary outcomes used were the length of days to resolution of bloating, abdominal pain and altered bowel function post colonoscopy.

Results

A total of 320 patients were randomized. After loss to follow‐up and withdrawal, 133 patients were analysed in the probiotic group and 126 in the placebo group. Patients having probiotic had a lower number of pain days following colonoscopy, 1.99 versus 2.78 days (P < 0.033). There was no significant difference in bloating or return to normal bowel habit days (P = 0.139 and 0.265 respectively). Subgroup analysis revealed that patients with pre‐existing abdominal pain benefited from probiotics in number of pain days, 2.16 versus 4.08 (P = 0.0498).

Conclusion

Our study has shown a significant reduction in the duration of pain days post colonoscopy in patients taking probiotic compared with placebo. No significant effect was seen in terms of return to normal bowel function or bloating post colonoscopy.
Failures in risk assessment and risk management for cosmetic preservatives in Europe and the impact on public health
Authors: Schwensen Jakob F. , White Ian R. , Thyssen Jacob P. , Menné Torkil , Johansen Jeanne D.
Published: July 2015

Background

In view of the current and unprecedented increase in contact allergy to methylisothiazolinone (MI), we characterized and evaluated two recent epidemics of contact allergy to preservatives used in cosmetic products to address failures in risk assessment and risk management.

Objective

To evaluate temporal trends of preservative contact allergy.

Methods

The study population included consecutive patch tested eczema patients seen at a university hospital between 1985 and 2013. A total of 23 138 patients were investigated for a contact allergy.

Results

The overall prevalence of contact allergy to at least one preservative increased significantly over the study period, from 6.7% in 1985 to 11.8% in 2013 (p < 0.001). Importantly, the preservatives methyldibromo glutaronitrile and MI rapidly resulted in high sensitization prevalence rates, which reached epidemic proportions. Although the proportion of patients with current clinical disease attributable to methyldibromo glutaronitrile contact allergy decreased significantly following the ban on its use in cosmetic products (p < 0.001), the sudden and high proportion of current sensitization to MI requires immediate attention (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

The introduction of new preservatives in Europe with inadequate pre‐market risk assessment has rapidly increased the overall burden of cutaneous disease caused by preservatives. We suggest that the cosmetic industry has a responsibility to react faster and replace troublesome preservatives when a preservative contact allergy epidemic is recognized, but the European Commission has the ultimate responsibility for failures in risk management after new, major sensitizing preservatives are introduced onto the market.
eHSP70/iHSP70 and divergent functions on the challenge: effect of exercise and tissue specificity in response to stress
Authors: Bittencourt Aline , Porto Rossana Rosa
Published: July 2015

Heat‐shock proteins including HSP70 are stress‐related proteins that have been reported in cell protection and survival. In contrast to this, the increase in circulating levels of HSP70 (eHSP70) is associated with cellular damage and inflammatory factors. Physical stress, like exercise, is effective to induce both iHSP70 and eHSP70 in several tissues and cell types, which have different behaviours in response to stress. The different functions of HSP70 before the challenge are dependent of intracellular localization and subsequent molecular chaperone action, but when present in the extracellular space, it activates pro‐inflammatory pathways. The different forms in which tissues and cells respond to stress like physical exercise, as well as the optimal intensity of the stress, are determinants for the beneficial effects or as an indicator of dangerous conditions, summoning immune cells as a warning sign to the body.