bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Weight loss induced by bariatric surgery restores adipose tissue PNPLA3 expression
Authors: Wieser Verena , Adolph Timon E. , Enrich Barbara , Moser Patrizia , Moschen Alexander R. , Tilg Herbert
Published: August 2016

Background & Aims

Obesity and its related co‐morbidities such as non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are increasing dramatically worldwide. The genetic variation in Patatin‐like phospholipase domain‐containing protein 3 (PNPLA3), which is also called adiponutrin (ADPN), in residue 148 (I148M, rs738409) has been associated with NAFLD. However, the regulation and function of PNPLA3 in metabolic diseases remains unclear. Laparoscopic gastric banding (LAGB) of severely obese patients reduces body weight, liver and adipose tissue inflammation. In this study, we investigated whether weight loss induced by LAGB affected PNPLA3 expression in hepatic and adipose tissue.

Methods

Liver and subcutaneous adipose tissue samples were collected from 28 severely obese patients before and 6 months after LAGB. PNPLA3 expression was assessed by quantitative real‐time PCR. To understand whether inflammatory stimuli regulated PNPLA3 expression, we studied the effect of tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on PNPLA3 expression in human adipocytes and hepatocytes.

Results

PNPLA3 was strongly expressed in the liver and clearly detectable in subcutaneous adipose tissue of obese patients. Weight loss induced by LAGB of severely obese patients led to significantly increased adipose, but not hepatic, tissue expression of PNPLA3. Subcutaneous PNPLA3 expression negatively correlated with body‐mass‐index, fasting glucose and fasting insulin. TNFα potently suppressed PNPLA3 expression in adipocytes but not hepatocytes.

Conclusions

Weight loss induced by LAGB restored adipose tissue PNPLA3 expression which is suppressed by TNFα. Further studies will be required to determine the functional impact of PNPLA3 and its related genetic variation on adipose tissue inflammation and NAFLD.
Adolescent girls' infant and young child nutrition knowledge levels and sources differ among rural and urban samples in Bangladesh
Authors: Hoddinott John , Karachiwalla Naureen I. , Ledlie Natasha A. , Roy Shalini
Published: August 2016

In many low‐income countries, girls marry early and have children very soon after marriage. Although conveying infant and young child nutrition (IYCN) knowledge to adolescent girls in time is important to ensure the well‐being of their children, little is known about the best ways to convey these messages. This study examines the extent of, and sources from which adolescent girls derive IYCN knowledge in order to inform the design of programmes that convey such information. Data on adolescent girls aged 12–18 was collected in 2013 in 140 clusters of villages in rural areas (n = 436), and 70 clusters of slums in urban areas (n = 345) in Bangladesh. Data were analysed using multivariable Poisson regression models. In both the urban and rural samples, girls' schooling is positively and significantly associated with IYCN knowledge (P < 0.01 and P < 0.10, respectively). IYCN knowledge of adolescent girls' mothers is also associated with adolescents' IYCN knowledge in both urban and rural samples, but the magnitude of association in the urban sample is only half that of the rural sample (P < 0.01 and P < 0.10, respectively). In Bangladesh, efforts to improve knowledge regarding IYCN are typically focused on mothers of young children. Only some of this knowledge is passed onto adolescent girls living in the same household. As other messaging efforts directed towards mothers have only small, or no association with adolescent girls' knowledge of IYCN, improving adolescent girls' IYCN knowledge may require information and messaging specifically directed towards them. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Foraging environment determines the genetic architecture and evolutionary potential of trophic morphology in cichlid fishes
Authors: Parsons Kevin J. , Concannon Moira , Navon Dina , Wang Jason , Ea Ilene , Groveas Kiran , Campbell Calum , Albertson R. Craig
Published: August 2016

Phenotypic plasticity allows organisms to change their phenotype in response to shifts in the environment. While a central topic in current discussions of evolutionary potential, a comprehensive understanding of the genetic underpinnings of plasticity is lacking in systems undergoing adaptive diversification. Here, we investigate the genetic basis of phenotypic plasticity in a textbook adaptive radiation, Lake Malawi cichlid fishes. Specifically, we crossed two divergent species to generate an F3 hybrid mapping population. At early juvenile stages, hybrid families were split and reared in alternate foraging environments that mimicked benthic/scraping or limnetic/sucking modes of feeding. These alternate treatments produced a variation in morphology that was broadly similar to the major axis of divergence among Malawi cichlids, providing support for the flexible stem theory of adaptive radiation. Next, we found that the genetic architecture of several morphological traits was highly sensitive to the environment. In particular, of 22 significant quantitative trait loci (QTL), only one was shared between the environments. In addition, we identified QTL acting across environments with alternate alleles being differentially sensitive to the environment. Thus, our data suggest that while plasticity is largely determined by loci specific to a given environment, it may also be influenced by loci operating across environments. Finally, our mapping data provide evidence for the evolution of plasticity via genetic assimilation at an important regulatory locus, ptch1. In all, our data address long‐standing discussions about the genetic basis and evolution of plasticity. They also underscore the importance of the environment in affecting developmental outcomes, genetic architectures, morphological diversity and evolutionary potential.
Effects of age, sex, and blood pressure on the blood flow velocity in dental pulp measured by Doppler ultrasound technique
Authors: Kim Dohyun , Park Sung‐Ho
Published: August 2016

Objective

To examine the effects of age, sex, and BP on the PBFV in human maxillary anterior teeth.

Methods

A total of 332 maxillary anterior teeth from 95 participants were included. The age and sex of each subject were recorded. The systolic and diastolic BPs were measured by a digital sphygmomanometer. The PBFV of each tooth was measured by a Doppler ultrasound system with a 20 MHz transducer.

Results

Among the variables, only systolic BP demonstrated a significant association with the PBFV. There were significant decreases in the PBFV with the groups of lower BP (P<.05). Age, sex, and tooth type were not significantly associated with the PBFV.

Conclusions

Within the limitations of this study, it is considered that the PBFV increases with an increase in systolic BP. Age, sex, and tooth type had no significant effect on the PBFV of maxillary anterior teeth.
Spatial and temporal specificity of Ca2+ signalling in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii in response to osmotic stress
Authors: Bickerton Peter , Sello Simone , Brownlee Colin , Pittman Jon K. , Wheeler Glen L.
Published: August 2016

Ca2+‐dependent signalling processes enable plants to perceive and respond to diverse environmental stressors, such as osmotic stress. A clear understanding of the role of spatiotemporal Ca2+ signalling in green algal lineages is necessary in order to understand how the Ca2+ signalling machinery has evolved in land plants.

We used single‐cell imaging of Ca2+‐responsive fluorescent dyes in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to examine the specificity of spatial and temporal dynamics of Ca2+ elevations in the cytosol and flagella in response to salinity and osmotic stress.

We found that salt stress induced a single Ca2+ elevation that was modulated by the strength of the stimulus and originated in the apex of the cell, spreading as a fast Ca2+ wave. By contrast, hypo‐osmotic stress induced a series of repetitive Ca2+ elevations in the cytosol that were spatially uniform. Hypo‐osmotic stimuli also induced Ca2+ elevations in the flagella that occurred independently from those in the cytosol.

Our results indicate that the requirement for Ca2+ signalling in response to osmotic stress is conserved between land plants and green algae, but the distinct spatial and temporal dynamics of osmotic Ca2+ elevations in C. reinhardtii suggest important mechanistic differences between the two lineages.
Seed to seedling transitions in successional habitats across a tropical landscape
Authors: de la Peña‐Domene Marinés , Howe Henry F. , Cruz‐León Emiliano , Jiménez‐Rolland Rita , Lozano‐Huerta Cesar , Martínez‐Garza Cristina
Published: August 2016

Recognition that tree recruitment depends on the balance between seed arrival and seedling survival has led to a surge of interest in seed‐dispersal limitation and seedling‐establishment limitation in primary forests. Virtually unaddressed are comparisons of this balance in mature and early successional habitats. We assessed seed rain and seedling recruitment dynamics of tree species in primary forest, secondary forest and pasture released from grazing in a tropical agricultural landscape. Seed to seedling ratios (seed effectiveness; Φi) for 43 species in southern Mexico determined differences in the extent to which seeds produced seedlings by habitat, life history, and dispersal mode. Reproductive potential as estimated by the transition from seed rain to seedling recruitment, differed by habitats, and varied dramatically by life history and dispersal mode. Expected recruit densities (Eit) were higher for animal‐dispersed than wind‐dispersed species, and for non‐pioneer than pioneer species. Non‐pioneers and animal‐dispersed species had higher expected relative recruit abundance (εit) in primary forest (median of 4 seeds recruit−1) whereas in secondary forest wind‐dispersed pioneers had the highest expected relative recruit abundance (median of 16 seeds per recruit). In pastures, wind‐dispersed pioneer species were most successful with many more seeds per recruit (median of 291) than both forest habitats. Seeds per recruit (Φi) appeared to decrease with increase in seed mass for 43 species for which data were available (r = –0.55, P < 0.001). This was associated with a negative correlation of Φi with seed size in primary forest (r = –0.50, P = 0.08 for 13 species); Φi was not correlated with seed size in secondary forest (n = 16) or pasture (n = 14). Metrics of seeds per recruit, expected recruit density and expected relative recruit abundance dramatically illustrate differences in barriers to recruitment in successional habitats.
Nutrient release from moose bioturbation in aquatic ecosystems
Authors: Bump Joseph K. , Bergman Brenda G. , Schrank Amy J. , Marcarelli Amy M. , Kane Evan S. , Risch Anita C. , Schütz Martin
Published: August 2016

While the ecological importance of bioturbation is well recognized and the prevalence of aquatic foraging by terrestrial ungulates is increasingly appreciated, research linking how terrestrial ungulates function as disturbance mechanisms via bioturbation in freshwater systems is lacking. The purpose of this study was to quantify potential nutrient pulses released from benthic sediments into the water column when moose Alces alces feed on aquatic plants. We also determined if we could experimentally mimic the benthic disturbance and the expected nutrient pulse created when moose feed aquatically. When moose foraged aquatically, significant releases of both total and dissolved phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) resulted in the waters that were disturbed in foraging areas compared to adjacent undisturbed waters. Nutrient concentrations for total P and N ranged from 42.5 × and 2.7 × greater in disturbed than undisturbed, respectively. Dissolved P and N were 26.8 × and 1.5 × greater, respectively, in disturbed versus undisturbed waters. Our experimental mimic created increases of total and dissolved P and N that were equivalent to pulses created by moose. This indicates that it is possible to experimentally test by proxy the potential impact of moose bioturbation on other ecosystem processes. This study is the first quantification of moose foraging as a consumer mechanism that influences the release of limiting nutrients in aquatic systems, thereby emphasizing the potential cascading importance for nutrient uptake and productivity of plants and microbes.
Micro‐management: curbing chronic wound infection
Authors: Withycombe C. , Purdy K.J. , Maddocks S.E.
Published: August 2016

Chronic wounds, including pressure ulcers, foot ulcers, and venous leg ulcers, have a detrimental impact on the health and well‐being of an estimated 2% of people in the UK. Chronic wounds are normally colonized by bacteria and in some instances bacterial load increases sufficiently for infection to ensue. Once a chronic wound becomes infected it is difficult to resolve and a combination of continuous inflammation and bacterial proliferation makes these wounds difficult to manage. A state of prolonged inflammation can occur as a result of impaired homeostatic pathways, which are exacerbated by bacterial growth. Chronic, infected wounds can persist for many months or even years, sometimes requiring surgical intervention in the form of regular debridement or amputation when other strategies such as antimicrobial treatments fail. The complex relationships between both oral microbiota and the host have been extensively characterized, including the shift from health to disease, and this has allowed the development of numerous control strategies. This knowledge, combined with contemporary studies of chronic infected wounds, can be used to develop an understanding of the relationship between the host and microorganism in the chronic wound environment. Such information has the potential to inform wound management including strategies to control infection and promote wound healing.
RHETORIC, ORGANIZATIONAL CATEGORY DYNAMICS AND INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE: A STUDY OF THE UK WELFARE STATE
Authors: COULE TRACEY M. , BENNETT ELLEN
Published: August 2016

Accounts of institutional change and categorization conventionally assume that high‐status change agents can impose change, even to stable category systems, which lower‐status actors accommodate in order to ensure social approval and material resources. By exploring the UK Conservative‐Liberal Coalition's rhetorical efforts to reform the welfare state, how welfare providers are categorized and the subsequent response of implicated category members, we offer instead an account of institutional change that exposes the agentic limitations of high‐status actors. While governments may well be in a position to impose changes in the formal rules of the game through manipulation of material resources (fiscal contraction, privatization, open markets, deregulation), we find that they cannot necessarily monopolize symbolic resources (identities/cultural features). We also find that deviation from cultural expectations is available not only to large, high‐status organizations; low‐status actors too have discretion over their responses to institutional pressures regarding how they are categorized and subsequently judged.
Key innovations in Mesozoic ammonoids: the multicuspidate radula and the calcified aptychus
Authors: Keupp Helmut , Hoffmann René , Stevens Kevin , Albersdörfer Raimund
Published: August 2016

A nearly complete radula with seven elements per row preserved inside of an isolated, bivalved, calcitic lower jaw (= aptychus) of the Late Jurassic ammonite Aspidoceras is described from the Fossillagerstätte Painten (Bavaria, southern Germany). It is the largest known ammonite radula and the first record for the Perisphinctoidea. The multicuspidate tooth elements (ctenodont type of radula) present short cusps. Owing to significant morphological differences between known aptychophoran ammonoid radulae, their possible function is discussed, partly in comparison with modern cephalopod and gastropod radulae. Analogies between the evolution of the pharyngeal jaws of cichlid fishes and the ammonoid buccal apparatus raise the possibility that the evolution of a multicuspidate radula allowed for a functional decoupling of the aptychophoran ammonoid jaw. The radula, therefore, represents a key innovation which allowed for the evolution of the calcified lower jaws in Jurassic and Cretaceous aptychophoran ammonites. Possible triggers for this morphological change during the early Toarcian are discussed. Finally, we hypothesize potential adaptations of ammonoids to different feeding niches based on radular tooth morphologies.
Deacetylation biocatalysis and elicitation by immobilized Penicillium canescens in Astragalus membranaceus hairy root cultures: towards the enhanced and sustainable production of astragaloside IV
Authors: Gai Qing‐Yan , Jiao Jiao , Luo Meng , Wang Wei , Yao Li‐Ping , Fu Yu‐Jie
Published: August 2016

A novel biotechnology approach by combining deacetylation biocatalysis with elicitation of immobilized Penicillium canescens (IPC) in Astragalus membranaceus hairy root cultures (AMHRCs) was proposed for the elevated production of astragaloside IV (AG IV). The highest AG IV accumulation was achieved in 36‐day‐old AMHRCs co‐cultured with IPC for 60 h, which resulted in the enhanced production of AG IV by 14.59‐fold in comparison with that in control (0.193 ± 0.007 mg/g DW). Meanwhile, AG IV precursors were almost transformed to AG IV by IPC deacetylation. Moreover, expression of genes involved in AG IV biosynthetic pathway was significantly up‐regulated in response to IPC elicitation. Also, FTIR and SEM showed that cell wall lignification was enhanced following IPC treatment and root surface was likely to be IPC deacetylation site. Overall, dual roles of IPC (biocatalyst and elicitor) offered an effective and sustainable way for the mass production of AG IV in AMHRCs.
Buyer and Nonprofit Levers to Improve Supplier Environmental Performance
Authors: Karaer Özgen , Kraft Tim , Khawam John
Published: August 2016

Material IQ (MiQ) is a new decision tool designed by GreenBlue to help suppliers safely share sensitive chemical‐toxicity data with their customers. As GreenBlue takes MiQ to market, it must determine under what market conditions to promote the use of MiQ and when to recommend that a buyer uses its implementation as an opportunity to work with an existing supplier. We study GreenBlue's problem in two parts. First, we investigate when a buyer can use a wholesale price premium and/or buyer–supplier cost sharing to improve a supplier's environmental performance. Based on our findings, we then develop insights into GreenBlue's strategy. We model both a single‐supplier and a supplier‐competition setting. We find that in the single‐supplier setting, if the buyer's optimal strategy is to offer the supplier a premium, then he also fully subsidizes her investment cost to build quality. By developing the supplier's capabilities, the buyer can increase the impact of the premium he offers. In the supplier‐competition setting, although cost sharing is less effective as a lever, cases can occur in which the buyer chooses to share costs and prevent the incumbent supplier from having to compete. From GreenBlue's perspective, promoting the use of MiQ and cost sharing are often viable strategies when there exists a one‐to‐one relationship between a buyer and a supplier. However, GreenBlue's strategy becomes more restricted when competition exists between suppliers. Only when the relative market awareness of quality is high and there is a dominant party in the supply chain should GreenBlue recommend the use of MiQ.
Effects of Financial Crises on Productivity, Capital and Employment
Authors: Oulton Nicholas , Sebastiá‐Barriel María
Published: August 2016

We examine the hypothesis that capacity can be permanently damaged by financial, particularly banking, crises. A model which allows a financial crisis to have both a short‐run effect on the growth rate of labor productivity and a long‐run effect on its level is estimated on 61 countries over 1954–2010. A banking crisis as defined by Reinhart and Rogoff reduces the long‐run level of GDP per worker, and also that of capital per worker, by on average 1.1 percent, for each year that the crisis lasts; it also reduces the TFP level by 0.8%. The long run, negative effect on the level of GDP per capita, 1.8 percent, is substantially larger. So there is also a hit to employment. The effects on labor productivity, capital and TFP are larger in developing than in developed countries; the opposite is the case for employment.
Testing parametric models in linear‐directional regression
Authors: GarcÍa‐Portugués Eduardo , Van Keilegom Ingrid , Crujeiras and Rosa M. , González‐Manteiga Wenceslao
Published: August 2016

This paper presents a goodness‐of‐fit test for parametric regression models with scalar response and directional predictor, that is, a vector on a sphere of arbitrary dimension. The testing procedure is based on the weighted squared distance between a smooth and a parametric regression estimator, where the smooth regression estimator is obtained by a projected local approach. Asymptotic behaviour of the test statistic under the null hypothesis and local alternatives is provided, jointly with a consistent bootstrap algorithm for application in practice. A simulation study illustrates the performance of the test in finite samples. The procedure is applied to test a linear model in text mining.
“I Found God in The Glory Hole”: The Moral Career of a Gay Christian
Authors: Sumerau J. E. , Cragun Ryan T. , Mathers Lain A. B.
Published: August 2016

This article examines processes wherein Gay Christian men transition from closeted religious people to openly Gay Christians. Based on 36 months of fieldwork in a southeastern lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Christian church and a synthesis of research intoLGBTChristian experience over the past 25 years, we conceptualize these transformations as a moral career consisting of (1) essentializing religious belief and practice (2) emotionalizing early religious experience, (3) spiritualizing coming out of the closet and religion, and (4) sexualizing coming back to religious participation. In so doing, Gay Christian men interpreted the stages of their lives as an ongoing sexual–religious process wherein they became the spiritual and sexual beings they believed God always wanted them to be. In conclusion, we draw out implications for understanding (1) the moral career of a Gay Christian, (2) the usefulness of conceptualizing religious and sexual transitions as elements of a moral career, and (3) the reproduction of religious privilege.
Unsupervised delineation of stratum corneum using reflectance confocal microscopy and spectral clustering
Authors: Bozkurt A. , Kose K. , Alessi‐Fox C. , Dy J. G. , Brooks D. H. , Rajadhyaksha M.
Published: August 2016

Background

Measuring the thickness of the stratum corneum (SC) in vivo is often required in pharmacological, dermatological, and cosmetological studies. Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) offers a non‐invasive imaging‐based approach. However, RCM‐based measurements currently rely on purely visual analysis of images, which is time‐consuming and suffers from inter‐user subjectivity.

Methods

We developed an unsupervised segmentation algorithm that can automatically delineate the SC layer in stacks of RCM images of human skin. We represent the unique textural appearance of SC layer using complex wavelet transform and distinguish it from deeper granular layers of skin using spectral clustering. Moreover, through localized processing in a matrix of small areas (called ‘tiles’), we obtain lateral variation of SC thickness over the entire field of view.

Results

On a set of 15 RCM stacks of normal human skin, our method estimated SC thickness with a mean error of 5.4 ± 5.1 μm compared to the ‘ground truth’ segmentation obtained from a clinical expert.

Conclusion

Our algorithm provides a non‐invasive RCM imaging‐based solution which is automated, rapid, objective, and repeatable.
Clinical assessment of rosacea severity: oriental score vs. quantitative assessment method with imaging and biomedical tools
Authors: Kim J. , Ahn J. W. , Ha S. , Kwon S. H. , Lee O. , Oh C.
Published: August 2016

Background

Rosacea is a common chronic inflammatory disorder affecting facial skin. Currently, no accurate and objective method is available for assessing the severity of rosacea. Most studies use the National Rosacea Society Standard (NRSS) grading method, which lacks objectivity and yields varying results.

Methods

Eighteen patients with rosacea were included. Clinical severity was assessed on the basis of the NRSS grade, Investigators' Global Assessment, Patients' Global Assessment, and Dermatology Quality of Life Index. A skin color analysis system was used to measure the facial area showing erythema, and biophysical parameters of facial skin (transepidermal water loss and skin surface hydration) were examined. To find statistical significant in classification severity of the rosacea, statistical analysis was performed with all parameters.

Results

A significant correlation (P < 0.05) was found between the NRSS grade, facial area showing erythema, and biophysical parameters. The latter two factors differed significantly among patients with rosacea of different levels of severity (mild, moderate, severe; P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Color imaging systems can be useful and reliable for evaluating the severity of rosacea, in addition to biophysical parameter assessment. The combination of these two analytical methods enabled objective and quantitative evaluation of the severity of rosacea.
Discovery of HLA‐B*58:80, a novel HLA‐B*58 variant, in a Taiwanese bone marrow donor
Authors: Yang K. L. , Hung J. H. , Lin P. Y.
Published: August 2016

One nucleotide substitution at residue 133 of HLA‐B*58:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA‐B*58:80.
Rare late Neoproterozoic detritus in SW Scandinavia as a response to distant tectonic processes
Authors: Slama Jiri
Published: August 2016

Rare late Neoproterozoic (Cryogenian and Ediacaran) detrital zircons are detected in sedimentary sequences of Ediacaran to Carboniferous age in SW Scandinavia. New data on five samples of clastic metasediment corroborate their presence. Three distinct sources are proposed for late Neoproterozoic zircons based on new and literature data: (1) rift‐related magmatism along the W margin of Baltica connected with the opening of Iapetus in the Neoproterozoic, (2) the Neoproterozoic to Cambrian Timanian orogeny at the NE margin of Baltica and (3) Cadomian terranes incorporated into the Variscan orogen accreted from the south to Laurussia during the Devonian and Carboniferous. The appearance of late Neoproterozoic detritus, which is otherwise exotic to Baltica, is therefore bound to tectonic processes active at the margins of the palaeocontinent. In a broader perspective, rare detrital zircon populations, when confirmed as genuine, are extremely valuable provenance indicators.
The confusion continues: results from an American Association for the Surgery of Trauma survey on massive transfusion practices among United States trauma centers
Authors: Etchill Eric , Sperry Jason , Zuckerbraun Brian , Alarcon Louis , Brown Joshua , Schuster Kevin , Kaplan Lewis , Piper Greta , Peitzman Andrew , Neal Matthew D.
Published: August 2016

BACKGROUND

Massive transfusion practices have undergone several recent developments. We sought to examine institutional practices guiding hemostatic resuscitation in the setting of massive hemorrhage.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

A 37‐question online survey was sent to American Association for the Surgery of Trauma members.

RESULTS

A total of 191 surgeons from 125 institutions completed the survey. Level I and II centers composed 70 and 18% of responding sites, respectively. A total of 123 institutions have a massive transfusion protocol (MTP); 54% report having an MTP for less than 5 years. The number of coolers and units of red blood cells, plasma, and platelets are highly variable. Tranexamic acid is part of the MTP at 64% of centers; 26% continue to use recombinant activated Factor VII. MTP activation occurs more than five times per month at 32% of centers. MTPs are utilized for nontrauma patients in 82% of institutions. Point‐of‐care prothrombin time, international normalized ratio, and partial thromboplastin time testing is utilized in 37% of institutions. Only 9% routinely utilize thromboelastography or rotational thromboelastometry (TEG/ROTEM) within their MTP. Just 7% use a validated scoring system to guide MTP activation. The incorporation of TEG/ROTEM into the MTP is associated with the use of a scoring system in regression analysis (p = 0.024).

CONCLUSION

Most institutions regularly activate recently implemented MTPs for trauma and nontrauma indications; however, few use validated scoring systems for MTP activation. MTP content is highly variable. Few institutions use TEG, while most have incorporated tranexamic acid into their protocol. The lack of consistent practices underscores the need for outcome‐based studies to guide transfusion practices.
The association between frequency of blood donation and the occurrence of low birthweight, preterm delivery, and stillbirth: a retrospective cohort study
Authors: Germain Marc , Delage Gilles , Robillard Pierre , Katz Louis M. , Grégoire Yves
Published: August 2016

BACKGROUND

Women who donate blood on a regular basis are at high risk of becoming iron depleted. Iron deficiency anemia has been shown to increase the risk of low birthweight and possibly preterm birth. Therefore, there is a concern that regular blood donation by female donors might adversely impact the well‐being of their offspring. This retrospective cohort study examined the association between blood donation and the occurrence of adverse pregnancy outcomes.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

The study sample included 18,483 female blood donors in their childbearing years (age 18 to 45 years) who delivered during the period 2001 to 2011 in the province of Québec (Canada). The occurrence of low birthweight (<2500 g), preterm delivery (<37 weeks of gestation), and stillbirth was ascertained by linking the donor information with provincial birth and stillbirth registries.

RESULTS

There was no association between the frequency of donation in the 2‐year period before pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes; compared to women who did not donate during that period, those who donated three or more donations (mean, 3.9 donations) had a relative risk of 0.83 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.65‐1.06) for low birthweight, 0.91 (95% CI, 0.75‐1.11) for preterm birth, and 0.62 (95% CI, 0.18‐2.12) for stillbirth. These associations remained unchanged after adjusting for baseline characteristics.

CONCLUSION

Women who donate blood on a regular but moderate basis do not appear to be at higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. These findings, while reassuring, will need to be replicated in different settings.
Fixed Export Costs and Trade Patterns: The Case of China
Authors: Gao Yu , He Yin , Yin Xiaopeng
Published: August 2016

Current research on heterogeneous firms does not include firms' choices on trade patterns. This is an important issue in developing countries. The growth in the number of low‐productivity processing firms in developing countries needs further study to show how these firms survive and prosper. In this study, we adopt the idea in Castro, Li, Maskus and Xie that fixed trade costs should be a co‐determinant of a firm's export decisions and it is a substitute for productivity. We use firm‐level data for China, for the period 2000–2006, to show that fixed export costs play a key role in firms' trade pattern decisions. More specifically, firms with low productivity and low fixed trade costs have a significantly higher probability to choose the processing trade pattern. Although the processing trade is often criticised for its low productivity and value added, it has natural advantages in its savings on fixed export costs. Therefore, the exporting firm is able to survive, prosper and contribute to growth in developing regions.
La formación de competencias profesionales en los estudiantes de Comunicación Social de las emisoras universitarias en España y Portugal: situación y resultados asimétricos
Authors: Ortiz Sobrino Miguel Ángel , Marta-Lazo Carmen , Pena Daniel Martín
Published: August 2016

El artículo expone los resultados de una investigación sobre las emisoras universitarias de España y Portugal realizada en el 2014. El objetivo de la investigación fue conocer las competencias profesionales que adquieren los alumnos tras su paso por las estaciones de radio. La investigación se apoyó en el enfoque de diferentes estudios sobre competencias y perfiles profesionales radiofónicos demandados por el sector de la comunicación y contemplados también en el Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior (Cordeiro, 2005; Lazo, 2009; Perona y Barbeito, 2010; Peinado, Fernández Sande, Rodríguez Barba, Ortiz Sobrino, 2011; Agustín Lacruz, Marta-Lazo & Ubieto, 2013). La metodología se basó en un cuestionario con tratamiento estadístico descriptivo (Montero Lorenzo, 2007). Los resultados reflejan que en estas emisoras se adquieren competencias multidisciplinares y polivalentes para la radio. También revelan que en España existe una fuerte relación entre universidad y radio universitaria, mientras que en Portugal esa relación es bastante menor y apenas participan estudiantes.
Un modelo de análisis de prácticas culturales. El caso del cortometraje colombiano Los retratos, de Iván Gaona
Authors: Rosales Cueva José Horacio
Published: August 2016

A partir del desarrollo de una investigación sobre las representaciones del arte, se busca especificar los desafíos analíticos planteados por prácticas significantes, sincréticas y multimodales tales como el cine. Para resolver el problema de análisis inmanente de este tipo de mediaciones y objetos semióticos, se recurre al modelo propuesto por Jacques Fontanille para abordar los niveles de pertinencia de las prácticas culturales. El modelo es expuesto a través del análisis del cortometraje colombiano Los retratos. Este trabajo demuestra la pertinencia del procedimiento analítico para tratar las diferentes capas que afectan al objeto cultural, entendido como práctica significante y caracterizado por la complejidad constitutiva.
Insights into metastability of photovoltaic materials at the mesoscale through massiveI–Vanalytics
Authors: Peshek Timothy J. , Fada Justin S. , Hu Yang , Xu Yifan , Elsaeiti Mohamed A. , Schnabel Erdmut , Köhl Michael , French Roger H.
Published: August 2016

The authors demonstrate the feasibility of quantifying cell-level performance heterogeneity from module-level I–V curves by determining conditions of bypass diode turn-on. Analysis of these curves falls outside of typical diode-based models of photovoltaic (PV) performance. The authors show that this approach can leverage statistical and machine learning techniques for broad application to massive datasets, and combine those insights with simulations and laboratory-based experiments to provide useful information into the metastability of the interfaces of a PV cell. The authors find good agreement between the experimentally determined curves and the simulated curves, which guide the variable selection in the massive dataset collected from sites in Cleveland, OH, USA, the Negev Desert, Israel, Isla Gran Canaria, Spain, and Mount Zugspitze, Germany.
Effect of the cadmium chloride treatment on RF sputtered Cd0.6Zn0.4Te films for application in multijunction solar cells
Authors: Shimpi Tushar M. , Kephart Jason M. , Swanson Drew E. , Munshi Amit H. , Sampath Walajabad S. , Abbas A. , Walls John M.
Published: August 2016

Single phase Cd0.6Zn0.4Te (CdZnTe) films of 1 μm thickness were deposited by radio frequency planar magnetron sputter deposition on commercial soda lime glass samples coated with fluorine-doped tin oxide and cadmium sulphide (CdS). The stack was then treated with cadmium chloride (CdCl2) at different temperatures using a constant treatment time. The effect of the CdCl2 treatment was studied using optical, materials, and electrical characterization of the samples and compared with the as-deposited CdZnTe film with the same stack configuration. The band gap deduced from Tauc plots on the as-deposited CdZnTe thin film was 1.72 eV. The deposited film had good crystalline quality with a preferred orientation along the {111} plane. After the CdCl2 treatment, the absorption edge shifted toward longer wavelength region and new peaks corresponding to cadmium telluride (CdTe) emerged in the x-ray diffraction pattern. This suggested loss of zinc after the CdCl2 treatment. The cross sectional transmission electron microscope images of the sample treated at 400 °C and the energy dispersive elemental maps revealed the absence of chlorine along the grain boundaries of CdZnTe and residual CdTe. The presence of chlorine in the CdTe devices plays a vital role in drastically improving the device performance which was not observed in CdZnTe samples treated with CdCl2. The loss of zinc from the surface and incomplete recrystallization of the grains together with the presence of high densities of stacking faults were observed. The surface images using scanning electron microscopy showed that the morphology of the grains changed from small spherical shape to large grains formed due to the fusion of small grains with distinct grain boundaries visible at the higher CdCl2 treatment temperatures. The absence of chlorine along the grain boundaries, incomplete recrystallization and distinct grain boundaries is understood to cause the poor performance of the fabricated devices.
Registration of human skull computed tomography data to an ultrasound treatment space using a sparse high frequency ultrasound hemispherical array
Authors: O'Reilly Meaghan A. , Jones Ryan M. , Birman Gabriel , Hynynen Kullervo
Published: August 2016

Purpose:

Transcranial focused ultrasound (FUS) shows great promise for a range of therapeutic applications in the brain. Current clinical investigations rely on the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to monitor treatments and for the registration of preoperative computed tomography (CT)‐data to the MR images at the time of treatment to correct the sound aberrations caused by the skull. For some applications, MRI is not an appropriate choice for therapy monitoring and its cost may limit the accessibility of these treatments. An alternative approach, using high frequency ultrasound measurements to localize the skull surface and register CT data to the ultrasound treatment space, for the purposes of skull‐related phase aberration correction and treatment targeting, has been developed.

Methods:

A prototype high frequency, hemispherical sparse array was fabricated. Pulse‐echo measurements of the surface of five ex vivo human skulls were made, and the CT datasets of each skull were obtained. The acoustic data were used to rigidly register the CT‐derived skull surface to the treatment space. The ultrasound‐based registrations of the CT datasets were compared to the gold‐standard landmark‐based registrations.

Results:

The results show on an average sub‐millimeter (0.9 ± 0.2 mm) displacement and subdegree (0.8° ± 0.4°) rotation registration errors. Numerical simulations predict that registration errors on this scale will result in a mean targeting error of 1.0 ± 0.2 mm and reduction in focal pressure of 1.0% ± 0.6% when targeting a midbrain structure (e.g., hippocampus) using a commercially available low‐frequency brain prototype device (InSightec, 230 kHz brain system).

Conclusions:

If combined with ultrasound‐based treatment monitoring techniques, this registration method could allow for the development of a low‐cost transcranial FUS treatment platform to make this technology more widely available.
Should regional ventilation function be considered during radiation treatment planning to prevent radiation‐induced complications?
Authors: Lan Fujun , Jeudy Jean , Senan Suresh , van Sornsen de Koste J. R. , D'Souza Warren , Tseng Huan‐Hsin , Zhou Jinghao , Zhang Hao
Published: August 2016

Purpose:

To investigate the incorporation of pretherapy regional ventilation function in predicting radiation fibrosis (RF) in stage III nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with concurrent thoracic chemoradiotherapy.

Methods:

Thirty‐seven patients with stage III NSCLC were retrospectively studied. Patients received one cycle of cisplatin–gemcitabine, followed by two to three cycles of cisplatin–etoposide concurrently with involved‐field thoracic radiotherapy (46–66 Gy; 2 Gy/fraction). Pretherapy regional ventilation images of the lung were derived from 4D computed tomography via a density change–based algorithm with mass correction. In addition to the conventional dose–volume metrics (V20, V30, V40, and mean lung dose), dose–function metrics (fV20, fV30, fV40, and functional mean lung dose) were generated by combining regional ventilation and radiation dose. A new class of metrics was derived and referred to as dose–subvolume metrics (sV20, sV30, sV40, and subvolume mean lung dose); these were defined as the conventional dose–volume metrics computed on the functional lung. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values and logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate these metrics in predicting hallmark characteristics of RF (lung consolidation, volume loss, and airway dilation).

Results:

AUC values for the dose–volume metrics in predicting lung consolidation, volume loss, and airway dilation were 0.65–0.69, 0.57–0.70, and 0.69–0.76, respectively. The respective ranges for dose–function metrics were 0.63–0.66, 0.61–0.71, and 0.72–0.80 and for dose–subvolume metrics were 0.50–0.65, 0.65–0.75, and 0.73–0.85. Using an AUC value = 0.70 as cutoff value suggested that at least one of each type of metrics (dose–volume, dose–function, dose–subvolume) was predictive for volume loss and airway dilation, whereas lung consolidation cannot be accurately predicted by any of the metrics. Logistic regression analyses showed that dose–function and dose–subvolume metrics were significant (P values ≤ 0.02) in predicting volume airway dilation. Likelihood ratio test showed that when combining dose–function and/or dose–subvolume metrics with dose–volume metrics, the achieved improvements of prediction accuracy on volume loss and airway dilation were significant (P values ≤ 0.04).

Conclusions:

The authors’ results demonstrated that the inclusion of regional ventilation function improved accuracy in predicting RF. In particular, dose–subvolume metrics provided a promising method for preventing radiation‐induced pulmonary complications.
Assessment of the masking effects of birdsong on the road traffic noise environment
Authors: Hao Yiying , Kang Jian , Wörtche Heinrich
Published: August 2016

This study aims to explore how the soundscape quality of traffic noise environments can be improved by the masking effects of birdsong in terms of four soundscape characteristics, i.e., perceived loudness, naturalness, annoyance and pleasantness. Four factors that may influence the masking effects of birdsong (i.e., distance of the receiver from a sound source, loudness of masker, occurrence frequencies of masker, and visibility of sound sources) were examined by listening tests. The results show that the masking effects are more significant in the road traffic noise environments with lower sound levels (e.g., <52.5 dBA), or of distance from traffic (e.g., >19 m). Adding birdsong can indeed increase the naturalness and pleasantness of the traffic noise environment at different distances of the receiver from a road. Naturalness, annoyance, and pleasantness, but not perceived loudness, can be altered by increasing the birdsong loudness (i.e., from 37.5 to 52.5 dBA in this study). The pleasantness of traffic noise environments increases significantly from 2.7 to 6.7, when the occurrence of birdsong over a period of 30 s is increased from 2 to 6 times. The visibility of the sound source also influences the masking effects, but its effect is not as significant as the effects of the three other factors.
Estimating cochlear tuning dependence on stimulus level and frequency from the delay of otoacoustic emissions
Authors: Moleti Arturo , Sisto Renata
Published: August 2016

An objective technique based on the time-frequency analysis of otoacoustic emissions is proposed to get fast and stable estimates of cochlear tuning. Time-frequency analysis allows one to get stable measurements of the delay/frequency function, which is theoretically expected to be a function of cochlear tuning. Theoretical considerations and numerical solutions of a nonlinear cochlear model suggest that the average phase-gradient delay of the otoacoustic emission single-reflection components, weighted, for each frequency, by the amplitude of the corresponding wavelet coefficients, approximately scales as the square root of the cochlear quality factor. The application of the method to human stimulus-frequency and transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions shows that tuning decreases approximately by a factor of 2, as the stimulus level increases by 30 dB in a moderate stimulus level range. The results also show a steady increase of tuning with increasing frequency, by a factor of 2 between 1 and 5 kHz. This last result is model-dependent, because it relies on the assumption that cochlear scale-invariance breaking is only due to the frequency dependence of tuning. The application of the method to the reflection component of distortion product otoacoustic emissions, separated using time-frequency filtering, is complicated by the necessity of effectively canceling the distortion component.
Genome Sequence of
Gordonia
Phage Emalyn
Authors: Pope Welkin H. , Guido Madeline J. , Iyengar Pragnya , Nigra Jonathan T. , Serbin Matthew B. , Kasturiarachi Naomi S. , Pressimone Catherine A. , Schiebel Johnathon G. , Furbee Emily C. , Grubb Sarah R. , Warner Marcie H. , Montgomery Matthew T. , Garlena Rebecca A. , Russell Daniel A. , Jacobs-Sera Deborah , Hatfull Graham F.
Published: August 2016

Emalyn is a newly isolated bacteriophage of
Gordonia terrae
3612 and has a double-stranded DNA genome 43,982 bp long with 67 predicted protein-encoding genes, 32 of which we can assign putative functions. Emalyn has a prolate capsid and has extensive nucleotide similarity with several previously sequenced phages.
Complete Genome Sequence of
Escherichia coli
ER1821R, a Laboratory K-12 Derivative Engineered To Be Deficient in All Methylcytosine and Methyladenine Restriction Systems
Authors: Jobling Michael G. , Raleigh Elisabeth A. , Frank Daniel N.
Published: August 2016

We present here the complete genomic sequence of a rifampin-resistant derivative of the
Escherichia coli
K-12 laboratory strain ER1821, engineered to be deficient in all known restriction systems, making it suitable for generating unbiased libraries from organisms with non-K-12 methylation patterns. The ER1821R genome is most closely related to that of DH1, another popular cloning strain (both derived from MM294), but is deleted for the
e14
prophage (McrA
-
) and the immigration control (McrBC
-
EcoKI R
-
M
-
Mrr
-
) loci.
Draft Genome Sequences of
Citrobacter freundii
Strains CF04 and A41 Isolated from Moribund, Septicemic Giant Gourami (
Osphronemus goramy)
in Sri Lanka
Authors: Honein Karim , Jagoda S. S. S. De S. , Arulkanthan Appudurai , Ushio Hideki , Asakawa Shuichi
Published: August 2016

Citrobacter freundii
is a Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen associated with many infectious conditions including septicemia in humans and animals. Here, we announce the draft genome sequences of two multidrug-resistant
C. freundii
strains (CF04 and A41) isolated from septicemic giant gourami (
Osphronemus goramy
) collected from aquaria in Sri Lanka.
Draft Genome Sequence of
Anoxybacillus suryakundensis
Strain JS1
T
(DSM 27374
T
) Isolated from a Hot Spring in Jharkhand, India
Authors: Deep Kamal , Poddar Abhijit , Whitman William B. , Das Subrata K.
Published: August 2016

Anoxybacillus suryakundensis
strain JS1
T
, a facultative anaerobic, moderately thermophilic, alkalitolerant bacterium, was isolated from a hot spring. The estimated genome is 2.6 Mb and encodes 2,668 proteins.