bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Locally delivered metformin as adjunct to scaling and root planing in the treatment of periodontal defects: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Akram Z. , Vohra F. , Javed F.
Published: June 2018

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of metformin as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP) in the treatment of chronic periodontitis. Electronic searches were conducted in databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register databases) up to August 2017. Randomized clinical trials with data in comparison between adjunctive locally delivered metformin use to SRP and placebo in each group and a follow‐up period of at least 6 months, were included. Primary outcomes included clinical attachment level, while secondary outcomes were bone defect (BD) fill and reduction in probing depth. The weighted mean differences (WMD) of outcomes and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for each variable were calculated using the random effects model. Five clinical studies were included in the qualitative synthesis and 3 studies were included for meta‐analysis. All the included studies showed significant BD fill, probing depth reduction and clinical attachment level gain with adjunctive locally delivered metformin compared to SRP alone. Considering the effects of adjunctive metformin as compared to SRP, a high degree of heterogeneity for BD fill (Q value = 7.03, P = .02, I2 = 71.55%) was noticed among both the groups. Meta‐analysis showed a statistically significant clinical attachment level gain (WMD = −2.83, 95% CI = −3.32 to −2.34, P < .001), BD fill (WMD = −2.96, 95% CI = −3.99 to −1.93, P < .001) and probing depth reduction (WMD = −3.11, 95% CI = −3.63 to −2.59, P < .001) for SRP + metformin treatment vs SRP. Adjunctive use of metformin delivery in periodontal treatment appears to be effective in BD fill, reducing probing depth and gain in clinical attachment level. Further multicentered randomized clinical trials are warranted in future to prove additional benefits of metformin as an adjunct to SRP in the treatment of chronic periodontitis.
Why God Has Left the Netherlands: Explanations for the Decline of Institutional Christianity in the Netherlands Between 1966 and 2015
Authors: Kregting Joris , Scheepers Peer , Vermeer Paul , Hermans Chris
Published: June 2018

Why has the Netherlands witnessed such a strong process of secularization? This article examines this process very extensively. Based on modernization theory, it follows several social cultural developments in Dutch society over the last 50 years and distinguishes between effects on the individual level as well as on the level of society. We are able to do so because of rich data availability, derived from micro‐level longitudinal surveys (God in the Netherlands, Social and Cultural Developments in the Netherlands) enriched with macro‐level statistics (Statistics Netherlands). With this integrated approach, we provide explanatory insights into the transition of the Netherlands from a predominant Christian nation to a predominant secular nation. Our analysis clearly shows that macro‐level educational expansion has affected this process of secularization in the Netherlands, supplemented with the increase in social security, as a so‐called cohort effect. Moreover, the long‐term effect of Christian socialization is waning; Dutch people who were raised in a religious way increasingly lapse later in their life.
Climate, landscape, habitat, and woodland management associations with hazel dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius population status
Authors: Goodwin Cecily E. D. , Suggitt Andrew J. , Bennie Jonathan , Silk Matthew J. , Duffy James P. , Al‐Fulaij Nida , Bailey Sallie , Hodgson David J. , McDonald Robbie A.
Published: June 2018

Although strictly protected, populations of the hazel dormouse Muscardinus avellanarius in the UK declined by 72% from 1993 to 2014. Using National Dormouse Monitoring Programme data from 300 sites throughout England and Wales, we investigated variation in hazel dormouse population status (expressed as Indices of Abundance, Breeding, and population Trend) in relation to climate, landscape, habitat, and woodland management.

Dormice were more abundant and produced more litters on sites with warmer, sunnier springs, summers, and autumns. Dormouse abundance was also higher on sites with consistently cold local climate in winter. Habitat connectivity, woodland species composition, and active site management were all correlated with greater dormouse abundance and breeding. Abundances were also higher on sites with successional habitats, whereas the abundance of early successional bramble Rubus fruticosus habitat, woodland area, and landscape connectivity were important for population stability.

Diversity in the structure of woodlands in Europe has decreased over the last 100 years, and the habitats we found to be associated with more favourable dormouse status have also been in decline. The conservation status of the hazel dormouse, and that of woodland birds and butterflies, may benefit from reinstatement or increased frequency of management practices, such as coppicing and glade management, that maintain successional and diverse habitats within woodland.
Synthesis and secretion of volatile short‐chain fatty acids in Triatoma infestans infected with Beauveria bassiana
Authors: Lobo L. S. , Girotti J. R. , Mijailovsky S. J. , Fernandes É. K. K. , Luz C. , Pedrini N.
Published: June 2018

Physically disturbed Triatoma infestans (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) adults, as well as adults of other Chagas' disease vectors, secrete a mix of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with alarm and possible sexual and defence functions. The aim of the present research was to test whether infection with the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (Ascomycota: Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) has an effect on VOC secretion in disturbed T. infestans and on the expression of two genes (Ti‐brnq and Ti‐bckdc) potentially involved in VOC biosynthesis. The volatiles released by insects at different time periods after fungal treatment were identified and their relative amounts measured. Isobutyric acid was the most abundant volatile found in both healthy and fungus‐infected insects and underwent no significant relative changes through the infection process. The secretion of propionic acid, however, was significantly higher at 1–4 days post‐infection (d.p. i.) compared with that in controls. A slight induction of both Ti‐brnq and Ti‐bckdc genes was found by real‐time polymerase chain reaction at 4 d.p. i., with expression values reaching up to three‐fold those in controls. The early stages of fungal infection seem to affect the composition of the alarm pheromone by changing the expression pattern of both genes analysed. These results help to elucidate the impact of fungal infections on the chemical ecology of triatomine bugs.
Accuracy and reliability of digital craniofacial measurements using a small‐format, handheld 3D camera
Authors: Kim A. J. , Gu D. , Chandiramani R. , Linjawi I. , Deutsch I. C. K. , Allareddy V. , Masoud M. I.
Published: June 2018

Structured Abstract

Objectives

Craniofacial assessments often involve three‐dimensional facial imaging using an expensive camera with 6 SLR lenses to analyse the positions and relations of anatomic landmarks. Recently, a 3D small‐format, handheld camera was developed; however, the accuracy and reliability of this system are largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and reliability of this system.

Materials & Methods

A total of 30 sets of evaluations were completed by 2 examiners on 5 human subjects, using 3 different methods: direct callipers, 3D handheld camera and conventional tripod 3D camera images. Each evaluation included 29 anthropometric landmarks that were used as reference points for facial analysis. Two examiners marked the landmarks directly on the faces and measured linear distances using the 3 measurement methods.

Results

Accuracy analysis was performed for handheld vs direct calliper vs conventional camera measurements. Each of these analyses yielded a grand mean of correlation coefficients of .98. Bias measurements revealed that the handheld and conventional camera methods yielded larger measurements than direct callipers (with a mean difference of 1.74, 1.56 mm, respectively, for rater 1 and 0.94, 1.02 mm, respectively, for rater 2). When compared to one another, both the handheld camera and the conventional camera methods yielded similar values for most measurements, with the average overall difference between these modalities of 0.03 mm for rater 1 and 0.07 mm for rater 2.

Conclusions

The 3D handheld camera showed high accuracy and reliability in comparison with traditional models, indicating that this system may provide a useful tool in craniofacial anthropometry.
English translation of classical Chinese poetry
Authors: Xia Chen , Jing Zhou
Published: June 2018

Classical Chinese poetry and English poetry show huge differences, mainly with regard to literary imagery, sense, rhythm, sound, genre, and format. Hence, English translation of classical Chinese poetry based on equivalence is not an option. This article intends to explore translation as a creative, cross‐cultural practice. We shall suggest that “mirror‐shared reality” may play a critical role in this practice. This notion refers to an intermediate construction made by the translators with the aim of bridging different “realities” of classical Chinese poetry and English poetry with regard to knowledge, tradition, and reference. The construction of a “mirror‐shared reality” is a type of creative practice based on both realities, not just one of them. By selecting some of their relevant shared features, the two realities will mirror each other in certain essential aspects and produce an aesthetic experience among English readers theoretically akin to the experience among their Chinese counterparts. Our discussion is based on a number of English translations of classical Chinese poems, in particular translations by Xu Yuanchong (许渊冲 [Xǔ Yuānchōng]), building on his own theory, “Threefold‐Beauty” (三美论 [sān měi lùn]).
Water availability moderates N2 fixation benefit from elevated [CO2]: A 2‐year free‐air CO2 enrichment study on lentil (Lens culinaris MEDIK.) in a water limited agroecosystem
Authors: Parvin Shahnaj , Uddin Shihab , Bourgault Maryse , Roessner Ute , Tausz‐Posch Sabine , Armstrong Roger , O'Leary Garry , Fitzgerald Glenn , Tausz Michael
Published: June 2018

Increased biomass and yield of plants grown under elevated [CO2] often corresponds to decreased grain N concentration ([N]), diminishing nutritional quality of crops. Legumes through their symbiotic N2 fixation may be better able to maintain biomass [N] and grain [N] under elevated [CO2], provided N2 fixation is stimulated by elevated [CO2] in line with growth and yield. In Mediterranean‐type agroecosystems, N2 fixation may be impaired by drought, and it is unclear whether elevated [CO2] stimulation of N2 fixation can overcome this impact in dry years. To address this question, we grew lentil under two [CO2] (ambient ~400 ppm and elevated ~550 ppm) levels in a free‐air CO2 enrichment facility over two growing seasons sharply contrasting in rainfall.

Elevated [CO2] stimulated N2 fixation through greater nodule number (+27%), mass (+18%), and specific fixation activity (+17%), and this stimulation was greater in the high than in the low rainfall/dry season. Elevated [CO2] depressed grain [N] (−4%) in the dry season. In contrast, grain [N] increased (+3%) in the high rainfall season under elevated [CO2], as a consequence of greater post‐flowering N2 fixation. Our results suggest that the benefit for N2 fixation from elevated [CO2] is high as long as there is enough soil water to continue N2 fixation during grain filling.
Virologic response with 2 different cidofovir dosing regimens for preemptive treatment of adenovirus DNAemia in pediatric solid organ transplant recipients
Authors: Guerra Sanchez Carlos H. , Lorica Cherish D. , Arheart Kristopher L. , Perez Michelle M. , Tekin Akin , Gonzalez Ivan A.
Published: June 2018

ADV is frequently seen in our pediatric SOT population. It presents in a variety of clinical presentation and can cause severe disease. In this population, there are very few studies to determine the safety of CDV as a potential therapeutic agent. We present the findings of our retrospective study evaluating the efficacy and safety of CDV as 2 separate dosing regimens. Regimen A uses the standard 5 mg/kg once a week (Regimen A), and the second uses the 1 mg/kg 3 times per week (Regimen B). Overall, the dosing regimen did not differ in nephrotoxicity, but Regimen B had a higher, although non‐significant, rate of viral load clearance. This suggests that more frequent dosing at lower levels may be more efficacious without any significant side effects in our SOT population.
Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii in granulomatous mastitis: Analysis of formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded biopsy specimens by immunostaining using low‐specificity bacterial antisera and real‐time polymerase chain reaction
Authors: Fujii Mari , Mizutani Yasuyoshi , Sakuma Takahiko , Tagami Kouichiro , Okamoto Kiichiro , Kuno Yasushi , Harada Michihiko , Kubouchi Koichi , Tsutsumi Yutaka
Published: June 2018

Granulomatous mastitis (GM) is a rare inflammatory disease of the post‐lactation breast, clinically mimicking breast cancer. GM is microscopically characterized by formation of epithelioid granulomas and abscess (suppurative granulomas) with lipid droplet‐centered inflammation. Corynebacterium kroppenstedtii (Ck) is known as a causative bacterium of GM, and identification of Ck infection within the lesion should thus be essential for confirming the diagnosis. In the present study, we analyzed formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded (FFPE) biopsy specimens of a total of 18 GM lesions with immunostaining and real‐time PCR for Ck genome. Widely cross‐reactive rabbit antisera against Bacillus Calmette‐Guerin (BCG), Bacillus cereus, Treponema pallidum and Escherichia coli were chosen. With real‐time PCR, Ck genome was demonstrated in 7 of 18 GM lesions. Immunohistochemically, the low‐specificity antisera reacted with the cytoplasm of phagocytes and/or granuloma‐engulfed lipid droplets in 12 of 18 GM lesions. Antigenic positivity was observed in the following order: BCG > B. cereus > T. pallidum > E. coli. Real‐time PCR using DNA extracted from FFPE sections was useful but not consistent for identifying the Ck genome in GM, while immunostaining using cross‐reactive antisera against four kinds of bacteria was not Ck‐specific but was applicable to visualizing bacterial infection within the GM lesions.
Bayesian Inference for Gaussian Graphical Models Beyond Decomposable Graphs
Authors: Khare Kshitij , Rajaratnam Bala , Saha Abhishek
Published: June 2018

Bayesian inference for graphical models has received much attention in the literature in recent years. It is well known that, when the graph G is decomposable, Bayesian inference is significantly more tractable than in the general non-decomposable setting. Penalized likelihood inference in contrast has made tremendous gains in the past few years in terms of scalability and tractability. Bayesian inference, however, has not had the same level of success, though a scalable Bayesian approach has its strengths, especially in terms of quantifying uncertainty. To address this gap, we propose a scalable and flexible novel Bayesian approach for estimation and model selection in Gaussian undirected graphical models. We first develop a class of generalized G-Wishart distributions with multiple shape parameters for an arbitrary underlying graph. This class contains the G-Wishart distribution as a special case. We then introduce the class of generalized Bartlett graphs and derive an efficient Gibbs sampling algorithm to obtain posterior draws from generalized G-Wishart distributions corresponding to a generalized Bartlett graph. The class of generalized Bartlett graphs contains the class of decomposable graphs as a special case but is substantially larger than the class of decomposable graphs. We proceed to derive theoretical properties of the proposed Gibbs sampler. We then demonstrate that the proposed Gibbs sampler is scalable to significantly higher dimensional problems compared with using an accept–reject or a Metropolis–Hasting algorithm. Finally, we show the efficacy of the proposed approach on simulated and real data. In particular, we demonstrate that our generalized Bartlett methodology can be used for efficient model selection by reducing the graph search space by using penalized likelihood and pseudolikelihood methods.
Getting the Story Straight: The Poetics of Non‐Euclidean Space in Dostoevsky's “The Grand Inquisitor” and Kaverin's “The Eleventh Axiom”
Authors: FRATTO ELENA
Published: June 2018

Nikolay Lobachevsky's groundbreaking work in the field of geometry influenced–directly or in mediated ways–late nineteenth‐century literary authors such as Dostoevsky. His “Legend of the Grand Inquisitor,” nested in book V of The Brothers Karamazov, explores the ethical consequences that allowing multiple geometrical systems, as long as they are coherent and cohesive, may entail. Dostoevsky was familiar with Lobachevsky's theories through their German reception. The mathematician became known in his motherland only at the end of the nineteenth century, long after his death, when his articles were translated back from German. In the 1910s and 1920s, Russian artists and writers with a more or less solid mathematical background saluted Lobachevsky's theories with considerable enthusiasm. Among the most imaginative literary expressions of his axiom on parallels ranks Veniamin Kaverin's first piece of prose, the short story “The Eleventh Axiom” (“Odinnadtsataia aksioma,” 1920), enthusiastically received by Shklovsky, Eikhenbaum, and Gorky, and published only in 1998 among other archival materials. This article shows how the cultural and epistemological bearing of Lobachevsky's formulations informs Dostoevsky's and Kaverin's texts on a structural, stylistic, and rhetorical level; how physical space and diegetic space interact in these authors’ storytelling endeavors; and how a poetics of non‐Euclidean geometry emerges from their writings.
Bulgakov's Young Doctor in the Land of the Dead
Authors: HENRY BARBARA
Published: June 2018

This article discusses Mikhail Bulgakov's (1891–1940) short‐story cycle, Notes of a Young Doctor (Zapiski iunogo vracha, 1925–28), as an underworld descent journey, or katabasis. Set in a shadowy hinterland in 1917–18, the cycle is one of Bulgakov's earliest explorations of a theme characteristic of his mature work–the irruption of the supernatural into the everyday. The influence of the katabasis is both linguistic and formal, as the cycle shuttles back and forth in time, which contracts and expands depending on the narrator's proximity to or distance from the realization that he is not meant to be a doctor at all, but a writer. His transformation is effected by the descent itself, which follows in the traumatic wake of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Far from thwarting the writer, it is the precipitating factor in his becoming one.
Soviet Union on the Seine: Kontinent, Sintaksis, and the Social Life of Émigré Journals
Authors: GLEISSNER PHILIP
Published: June 2018

This article examines the ways in which literary journals organized the intellectual life and literary culture of the so‐called third‐wave emigration in the 1970s and 1980s. It focuses on the two periodicals Kontinent and Sintaksis (founded in 1974 and 1978, respectively)–not merely through the lens of individual contributions or statements by editors, such as Vladimir Maximov, Maria Rozanova, and Andrey Sinyavsky. Applying new methodological approaches from the emerging field of periodical studies and digital humanities, this article argues that through these journals, the third wave creates in the West a cultural environment that resembles the Soviet one on a structural level. The disagreement between individual emigre periodicals, like the two discussed here, is not simply an ideological conflict–be it between Soviet socialism and dissidence or along one of the cleavage lines that divided the emigre community. The model of the “literary‐artistic and sociopolitical journal,” now transplanted to the West in the form of Maximov's Kontinent, comes to functionally mimic the Soviet mass publication, absorbing and masking dissent without the need for active censorship. Established successfully in the mid‐1970s, this model prompts a number of subversive tactics expressed in Rozanova's editorial work. Relying on a cultural repertoire rooted in Soviet experience, Sintaksis becomes a constitutive element of the “Soviet Union on the Seine,” a cultural space that understands itself in opposition to and ideologically divorced from the Soviet Union, without, however, becoming fully independent from it.
Turbidites facies response to the morphological confinement of a foredeep (Cervarola Sandstones Formation, Miocene, northern Apennines, Italy)
Authors: Tinterri Roberto , Piazza Alberto
Published: June 2018

The Cervarola Sandstones Formation, Aquitanian–Burdigalian in age, was deposited in an elongate, north‐west stretched foredeep basin formed in front of the growing northern Apennines orogenic wedge. As other Apennine foredeep deposits, such as the Marnoso‐arenacea Formation, the stratigraphic succession of the Cervarola Sandstones Formation records the progressive closure of the basin due to the propagation of thrust fronts towards the north‐east, i.e. towards the outer and shallower foreland ramp. This process produces a complex foredeep that is characterized by syn‐sedimentary structural highs and depocentres that strongly influence lateral and vertical turbidite facies distribution. This work describes and discusses this influence, providing a high‐resolution physical stratigraphy with ‘bed by bed’ correlations of an interval ca 1000 m thick, parallel and perpendicular to the palaeocurrents and to the main structural alignments, on an area of ca 30 km that covers the proximal portion of the Cervarola basin in the northern Apennines. The main aim is to show, for the first time ever, a detailed facies analysis of the Cervarola Sandstones Formation, based on a series of bed types that have proven fundamental to understand the morphology of the basin. The knowledge of the vertical and lateral distribution of these bed types, such as contained‐reflected and slurry (i.e. hybrid) beds, together with other important sedimentary structures, i.e. cross‐bedded bypass facies and delamination structures, is the basis for better understanding of facies processes, as well as for proposing an evolutionary model of the foredeep in relation to the syn‐sedimentary growth of the main tectonic structures. This makes the Cervarola Sandstones, like the Marnoso‐arenacea Formation, a typical example of foredeep evolution.
The validity of the 4‐Skills Scan A double‐validation study
Authors: van Kernebeek W. G. , de Kroon M. L. A. , Savelsbergh G. J. P. , Toussaint H. M.
Published: June 2018

Adequate gross motor skills are an essential aspect of a child's healthy development. Where physical education (PE) is part of the primary school curriculum, a strong curriculum‐based emphasis on evaluation and support of motor skill development in PE is apparent. Monitoring motor development is then a task for the PE teacher. To fulfill this task, teachers need adequate tools. The 4‐Skills Scan is a quick and easily manageable gross motor skill instrument; however, its validity has never been assessed. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the construct and concurrent validity of both 4‐Skills Scans (version 2007 and version 2015). A total of 212 primary school children (6‐12 years old) was requested to participate in both versions of the 4‐Skills Scan. For assessing construct validity, children covered an obstacle course with video recordings for observation by an expert panel. For concurrent validity, a comparison was made with the M‐ABC‐2, by calculating Pearson correlations. Multivariable linear regression analyses were performed to determine the contribution of each subscale to the construct of gross motor skills, according to the M‐ABC‐2 and the expert panel. Correlations between the 4‐Skills Scans and expert valuations were moderate, with coefficients of .47 (version 2007) and .46 (version 2015). Correlations between the 4‐Skills Scans and the M‐ABC‐2 (gross) were moderate (.56) for version 2007 and high (.64) for version 2015. It is concluded that both versions of the 4‐Skills Scans are satisfactory valid instruments for assessing gross motor skills during PE lessons.
Skeletal maturation, fundamental motor skills, and motor performance in preschool children
Authors: Freitas D. L. , Lausen B. , Maia J. A. , Gouveia É. R. , Antunes A. M. , Thomis M. , Lefevre J. , Malina R. M.
Published: June 2018

Relationships among skeletal age (SA), body size and fundamental motor skills (FMS) and motor performance were considered in 155 boys and 159 girls 3‐6 years of age. Stature and body mass were measured. SA of the hand‐wrist was assessed with the Tanner‐Whitehouse II 20 bone method. The Test of Gross Motor Development, 2nd edition (TGMD‐2), and the Preschool Test Battery were used, respectively, to assess FMS and motor performance. Based on hierarchical regression analyses, the standardized residuals of SA on chronological age (SAsr) explained a maximum of 6.1% of the variance in FMS and motor performance in boys (ΔR23, range 0.0%‐6.1%) and a maximum of 20.4% of the variance in girls (ΔR23, range 0.0%‐20.4%) over that explained by body size and interactions of SAsr with body size (step 3). The interactions of the SAsr and stature and body mass (step 2) explained a maximum of 28.3% of the variance in boys (ΔR22, range 0.5%‐28.3%) and 16.7% of the variance in girls (ΔR22, range 0.7%‐16.7%) over that explained by body size alone. With the exception of balance, relationships among SAsr and FMS or motor performance differed between boys and girls. Overall, SA per se or interacting with body size had a relatively small influence in FMS and motor performance in children 3‐6 years of age.
Achieving ultrahigh etching selectivity of SiO2 over Si3N4 and Si in atomic layer etching by exploiting chemistry of complex hydrofluorocarbon precursors
Authors: Lin Kang-Yi , Li Chen , Engelmann Sebastian , Bruce Robert L. , Joseph Eric A. , Metzler Dominik , Oehrlein Gottlieb S.
Published: June 2018

The authors demonstrate that complex hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) precursors offer significant advantages relative to gas mixtures of comparable elemental ratios for plasma-based selective atomic layer etching (ALE). This work compares mixtures of a fluorocarbon precursor and H2 with an HFC precursor, i.e., mixtures of octafluorocyclobutane (C4F8) with H2 and 3,3,3-trifluoropropene (C3H3F3), for SiO2 ALE and etching of SiO2 selective to Si3N4 or Si. For continuous plasma etching, process gas mixtures, e.g., C4F8/H2, have been employed and enable highly selective material removal based on reduction of the fluorine content of deposited steady-state HFC films; however this approach is not successful for ALE since hydrogen-induced etching reduces the thickness of the ultrathin HFC passivation layer which is required for both etching of SiO2 and passivation of the Si3N4 and Si underlayers, leading to lower materials etching selectivity. Conversely, the experimental results show that C3H3F3-based ALE enables ultrahigh ALE selectivity of SiO2 over Si3N4 and Si. The hydrogen in the precursor structure allows to reduce the fluorine content of the deposited HFC film without suppressing the formation of the passivation layer on the surface. Gas pulsing of complex reactive precursors in ALE provides the prospect of utilizing the precursor chemical structure for achieving high materials selectivity in ALE.
Will U.S. academies expel sexual harassers?
Authors: Wadman Meredith
Published: June 2018

Prestigious bodies consider changing bylaws to eject members who offend.
Dunes on Pluto
Authors: Telfer Matt W. , Parteli Eric J. R. , Radebaugh Jani , Beyer Ross A. , Bertrand Tanguy , Forget François , Nimmo Francis , Grundy Will M. , Moore Jeffrey M. , Stern S. Alan , Spencer John , Lauer Tod R. , Earle Alissa M. , Binzel Richard P. , Weaver Hal A. , Olkin Cathy B. , Young Leslie A. , Ennico Kimberly , Runyon Kirby ,   The New Horizons Geology, Geophysics and Imaging Science Theme Team, Buie Marc , Buratti Bonnie , Cheng Andy , Kavelaars J.J. , Linscott Ivan , McKinnon William B. , Reitsema Harold , Reuter Dennis , Schenk Paul , Showalter Mark , Tyler Len
Published: June 2018

Methane ice dunes on Pluto

Wind-blown sand or ice dunes are known on Earth, Mars, Venus, Titan, and comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Telfer
et al.
used images taken by the New Horizons spacecraft to identify dunes in the Sputnik Planitia region on Pluto (see the Perspective by Hayes). Modeling shows that these dunes could be formed by sand-sized grains of solid methane ice transported in typical Pluto winds. The methane grains could have been lofted into the atmosphere by the melting of surrounding nitrogen ice or blown down from nearby mountains. Understanding how dunes form under Pluto conditions will help with interpreting similar features found elsewhere in the solar system.

Science
, this issue p.
992
; see also p.
960
Neuromorphic circuits impart a sense of touch
Authors: Bartolozzi Chiara
Published: June 2018

Flexible organic transistors transmit force signals encoded for direct input to human neurons
A new view of embryo development and regeneration
Authors: Harland Richard M.
Published: June 2018

Transcriptome atlases of vertebrate embryos and regeneration enrich our understanding of development
In Vitro
and Intracellular Activity of Imipenem Combined with Rifabutin and Avibactam against Mycobacterium abscessus
Authors: Le Run Eva , Arthur Michel , Mainardi Jean-Luc
Published: June 2018

Repurposing drugs may be useful as an add-on in the treatment of
Mycobacterium abscessus
pulmonary infections, which are particularly difficult to cure.
M. abscessus
naturally produces a β-lactamase, Bla
MAb
, which is inhibited by avibactam.
Type 1 Does the Two-Step: Type 1 Secretion Substrates with a Functional Periplasmic Intermediate
Authors: Smith T. Jarrod , Sondermann Holger , O'Toole George A.
Published: June 2018

Bacteria have evolved several secretion strategies for polling and responding to environmental flux and insult. Of these, the type 1 secretion system (T1SS) is known to secrete an array of biologically diverse proteins—from small, <10-kDa bacteriocins to gigantic adhesins with a mass >1 MDa.
Combined Drug Resistance Mutations Substantially Enhance Enzyme Production in Paenibacillus agaridevorans
Authors: Funane Kazumi , Tanaka Yukinori , Hosaka Takeshi , Murakami Kiriko , Miyazaki Takatsugu , Shiwa Yuh , Gibu Shigehachi , Inaoka Takashi , Kasahara Ken , Fujita Nobuyuki , Yoshikawa Hirofumi , Hiraga Yoshikazu , Ochi Kozo
Published: June 2018

Enzyme use has become more widespread in industry. This study evaluated the molecular basis and effectiveness of ribosome engineering in markedly enhancing enzyme production (>1,000-fold). This method, due to its simplicity, wide applicability, and scalability for large-scale production, should facilitate not only industrial enzyme production but also the identification of novel enzymes, because microorganisms contain many silent or weakly expressed genes which encode novel antibiotics or enzymes. Furthermore, this study provides a new mechanism for strain improvement, with a consistent rather than transient high expression of the key gene(s) involved in enzyme production.
Arabidopsis Histone Reader EMSY-LIKE 1 Binds H3K36 and Suppresses Geminivirus Infection
Authors: Coursey Tami , Milutinovic Milica , Regedanz Elizabeth , Brkljacic Jelena , Bisaro David M.
Published: June 2018

Histone PTMs convey information that regulates chromatin compaction and DNA accessibility. Histone reader proteins bind specific PTMs and translate their effects by modifying chromatin and/or by recruiting effectors that alter chromatin structure or activity. In this study, CaLCuV was used to characterize the activities of two
Arabidopsis
Agenet domain histone readers, EML1 and EML3. We show that
eml1
mutants are hypersusceptible to CaLCuV, whereas
eml3
plants are more tolerant of infection than wild-type plants. We also demonstrate that EML1 and EML3 associate with histones and viral chromatin
in planta
and that both proteins bind peptides containing H3K36, a PTM associated with active gene expression. Consistent with antiviral activity, EML1 suppresses CaLCuV gene expression and reduces Pol II access to viral chromatin. By linking EML1 and EML3 to pathogenesis, these studies have expanded our knowledge of histone reader proteins and uncovered an additional level of viral chromatin regulation.
In Vivo
Knockdown of the Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Latency-Associated Transcript Reduces Reactivation from Latency
Authors: Watson Zachary L. , Washington Shannan D. , Phelan Dane M. , Lewin Alfred S. , Tuli Sonal S. , Schultz Gregory S. , Neumann Donna M. , Bloom David C.
Published: June 2018

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) establishes a lifelong infection and remains dormant (latent) in our nerve cells. Occasionally HSV reactivates to cause disease, with HSV-1 typically causing cold sores whereas HSV-2 is the most common cause of genital herpes. The details of how HSV reactivates are largely unknown. Most of HSV's genes are silent during latency, with the exception of RNAs made from the latency-associated transcript (LAT) region. While viruses that make less LAT do not reactivate efficiently, these viruses also do not establish latency as efficiently. Here we deliver a ribozyme that can degrade the LAT to the nerve cells of latently infected rabbits using a gene therapy vector. We show that this treatment blocks reactivation in the majority of the rabbits. This work shows that the LAT RNA is important for reactivation and suggests the potential of this treatment as a therapy for treating HSV infections.
Gestational age at birth and wheezing trajectories at 3–11 years
Authors: Leps Caroline , Carson Claire , Quigley Maria A
Published: June 2018

Objective

Children born preterm have an increased risk of asthma in early childhood. We examined whether this persists at 7 and 11 years, and whether wheezing trajectories across childhood are associated with preterm birth.

Design

Data were from the UK Millennium Cohort Study, which recruited children at 9 months, with follow-up at 3, 5, 7 and 11 years.

Outcomes

Adjusted ORs (aOR) were estimated for recent wheeze and asthma medication use for children born <32, 32–33, 34–36 and 37–38 weeks’ gestation, compared with children born at full term (39–41 weeks) at 7 (n=12 198) and 11 years (n=11 690). aORs were also calculated for having ‘early-remittent’ (wheezing at ages 3 and/or 5 years but not after), ‘late’ (wheezing at ages 7 and/or 11 years but not before) or ‘persistent/relapsing’ (wheezing at ages 3 and/or 5 and 7 and/or 11 years) wheeze.

Results

Birth <32 weeks, and to a lesser extent at 32–33 weeks, were associated with an increased risk of wheeze and asthma medication use at ages 7 and 11, and all three wheezing trajectories. The aOR for ‘persistent/relapsing wheeze’ at <32 weeks was 4.30 (95% CI 2.33 to 7.91) and was 2.06 (95% CI 1.16 to 2.69) at 32–33 weeks. Birth at 34–36 weeks was not associated with asthma medication use at 7 or 11, nor late wheeze, but was associated with the other wheezing trajectories. Birth at 37–38 weeks was not associated with wheeze nor asthma medication use.

Conclusions

Birth <37 weeks is a risk factor for wheezing characterised as ‘early-remittent’ or ‘persistent/relapsing’ wheeze.
Disaster preparedness in French paediatric hospitals 2 years after terrorist attacks of 2015
Authors: Mortamet Guillaume , Lode Noella , Roumeliotis Nadia , Baudin Florent , Javouhey Etienne , Dubos François , Naud Julien
Published: June 2018

Objective

We aimed to determine paediatric hospital preparedness for a mass casualty disaster involving children in both prehospital and hospital settings. The study findings will serve to generate recommendations, guidelines and training objectives.

Design and setting

The AMAVI-PED study is a cross-sectional survey. An electronic questionnaire was sent to French physicians with key roles in specialised paediatric acute care.

Results

In total, 81% (26 of 32) of French University Hospitals were represented in the study. A disaster plan AMAVI with a specific paediatric emphasis was established in all the paediatric centres. In case of a mass casualty event, paediatric victims would be initially admitted to the paediatric emergency department for most centres (n=21; 75%). Paediatric anaesthesiologists, paediatric surgeons and paediatric radiologists were in-house in 20 (71%), 5 (18%) and 12 (43%) centres, respectively. Twenty-three (82%) hospitals had a paediatric specialised mobile intensive care unit and seven (25%) of these could provide a prehospital emergency response. Didactic teaching and simulation exercises were implemented in 20 (71%) and 22 (79%) centres, respectively. Overall, physician participants rated the level of readiness of their hospital as 6 (IQR: 5–7) on a 10-point readiness scale.

Conclusion

Paediatric preparedness is very heterogeneous between the centres. Based on the study findings, we suggest that a national programme must be defined and guidelines generated.
Comparison of a smartphone-based ECG recording system with a standard cardiac event monitor in the investigation of palpitations in children
Authors: Macinnes Mairi , Martin Nicholas , Fulton Helen , McLeod Karen A
Published: June 2018

Background

The AliveCor (Kardia) monitor attaches to a smartphone and allows a single-lead ECG to be recorded during symptoms. In 2016, we introduced the use of this smartphone device for investigating palpitations, without syncope, in children. The aim of our study was to review our experience with the smartphone device, comparing it with our previous standard conventional approach to cardiac event monitoring using the Cardiocall monitor, which uses skin electrodes and is given for a finite period.

Methods

Over a period of 24 months, 80 smartphone monitors were issued and compared with the most recent 100 conventional event monitors. The number of ECG recordings received, arrhythmias documented, quality of ECG recordings and patient satisfaction were evaluated.

Results

Median patient age was 11 years in the smartphone monitor group compared with 10 years in the conventional group. Seventy-nine of 80 (98%) patients with a smartphone monitor sent an ECG recorded during symptoms, compared with 62/100 (62%) from the conventional group. A total of 836 ECG recordings were sent from the smartphone monitors compared with 752 from the conventional group. Eight per cent of ECG recordings in each group were of inadequate quality for analysis. Twenty of 80 (25%) patients with a smartphone monitor had documented tachyarrhythmia compared with 6/100 (6%) patients with the conventional monitor (p<0.001). On comparison with the conventional approach, the smartphone monitor outperformed with respect to diagnostic yield and patient satisfaction.

Conclusions

A smartphone-based event monitor allows simple, effective, long-term ECG event monitoring in children that is highly acceptable to the patient and parent.
Low energy availability surrogates correlate with health and performance consequences of Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport
Authors: Ackerman Kathryn E , Holtzman Bryan , Cooper Katherine M , Flynn Erin F , Bruinvels Georgie , Tenforde Adam S , Popp Kristin L , Simpkin Andrew J , Parziale Allyson L
Published: June 2018

Low energy availability (EA) is suspected to be the underlying cause of both the Female Athlete Triad and the more recently defined syndrome, Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) defined RED-S as a syndrome of health and performance impairments resulting from an energy deficit. While the importance of adequate EA is generally accepted, few studies have attempted to understand whether low EA is associated with the health and performance consequences posited by the IOC.

Objective

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to examine the association of low EA with RED-S health and performance consequences in a large clinical population of female athletes.

Methods

One thousand female athletes (15–30 years) completed an online questionnaire and were classified as having low or adequate EA. The associations between low EA and the health and performance factors listed in the RED-S models were evaluated using chi-squared test and the odds ratios were evaluated using binomial logistic regression (p<0.05).

Results

Athletes with low EA were more likely to be classified as having increased risk of menstrual dysfunction, poor bone health, metabolic issues, haematological detriments, psychological disorders, cardiovascular impairment and gastrointestinal dysfunction than those with adequate EA. Performance variables associated with low EA included decreased training response, impaired judgement, decreased coordination, decreased concentration, irritability, depression and decreased endurance performance.

Conclusion

These findings demonstrate that low EA measured using self-report questionnaires is strongly associated with many health and performance consequences proposed by the RED-S models.
Risk factors and determinants of carotid intima-media thickness in children: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Epure Adina Mihaela , Leyvraz Magali , Mivelaz Yvan , Di Bernardo Stefano , da Costa Bruno R , Chiolero Arnaud , Sekarski Nicole
Published: June 2018

Introduction

Carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) is a surrogate marker of atherosclerosis that is measured in adults and children to better understand the natural history of cardiovascular disease (CVD). In adults, CIMT is predictive of myocardial infarction and stroke. In children and adolescents, CIMT is used to assess vascular changes in the presence of CVD risk factors (obesity, hypertension, smoking, etc) or clinical conditions associated with a high risk for premature CVD. However, there is no comprehensive overview, in a life-course epidemiology perspective, of the risk factors and determinants of CIMT in children. It is also important to evaluate between-study differences in CIMT measurement methods and take them into consideration when drawing conclusions. Our objective is to systematically review the evidence on the relationship between CIMT and prenatal and postnatal exposures or interventions in children, as well as documenting and discussing the CIMT measurement methods.

Methods and analysis

Systematic searches of the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Excerpta Medica (EMBASE)and Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases will be conducted. The reference lists and other literatures sources will be browsed. Observational and experimental studies in children from birth up to 18 years will be included. Prenatal and postnatal exposures or interventions assessed in relationship with CIMT will be considered for inclusion. Examples might include gestational age, obesity, hypertension, tobacco exposure, specific at-risk conditions (chronic kidney disease, diabetes, etc) or statin treatment. The outcome will be CIMT assessed by ultrasonography. The setting, scanning and measurement methods for each included study will be described in detail. Results will be synthesised descriptively and, if appropriate, will be pooled across studies to perform meta-analyses. Separate meta-analyses for each exposure or intervention type will be conducted.

Ethics and dissemination

This systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. A report will be prepared for clinicians and other healthcare decision-makers.

PROSPERO registration number

CRD42017075169.
A pushing chronic care forward in Abu Dhabi by identifying priorities and addressing barriers: a modified Delphi technique
Authors: Paulo Marília Silva , Loney Tom , Lapão Luis V
Published: June 2018

Objective

This study aimed to elucidate the top five key priorities and barriers to chronic care in the health system of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Design

A modified Delphi study was performed to reach consensus on priority areas and barriers to the development of the Chronic Care Model in the health system of Abu Dhabi. Individual wireless audience response devices (keypads) linked to a computer were used to reduce 28 priorities and 20 barriers to the top five during three iterative rounds over three consecutive days.

Setting

Chronic care services for patients with diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer, in both private and publicly funded healthcare services in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Participants

A purposive sample of 20 health systems’ experts were recruited. They were front-line healthcare workers from the public and private sector working in the delivery of care for patients with diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

Results

The ‘overall organizational leadership in chronic illness care’ was ranked as the most important priority to address (26.3%) and ‘patient compliance’ was ranked as the most important barrier (36.8%) to the development of the Chronic Care Model.

Conclusions

This study has identified the current priorities and barriers to improving chronic care within Abu Dhabi’s healthcare system. Our paper addresses the UAE’s 2021 Agenda of achieving a world-class healthcare system, and findings may help inform strategic changes required to achieve this mission.
Characterising the research profile of the critical care physiotherapy workforce and engagement with critical care research: a UK national survey
Authors: Connolly Bronwen , Allum Laura , Shaw Michelle , Pattison Natalie , Dark Paul
Published: June 2018

Objective

To characterise the research profile of UK critical care physiotherapists including experience, training needs, and barriers and enablers to engagement in critical care research. ‘Research’ was defined broadly to encompass activities related to quantitative and qualitative studies, service evaluations, clinical audit and quality improvements.

Design

Closed-question online survey, with optional free-text responses.

Setting

UK critical care community.

Participants

UK critical care physiotherapists, regardless of clinical grade or existing research experience.

Results

268 eligible survey responses were received during the 12-week study period (21 incomplete, 7.8%). Respondents were based in university-affiliated (n=133, 49.6%) and district general (n=111, 41.4%) hospitals, and generally of senior clinical grade. Nearly two-thirds had postgraduate qualifications at master’s level or above (n=163, 60.8%). Seven had a doctoral-level qualification. Respondents reported a range of research experience, predominantly data acquisition (n=144, 53.7%) and protocol development (n=119, 44.4%). Perceived research training needs were prevalent, including topics of research methods, critical literature appraisal, protocol development and statistical analysis (each reported by ≥50% respondents). Multiple formats for delivery of future research training were identified. Major barriers to research engagement included lack of protected time (n=220, 82.1%), funding (n=177, 66.0%) and perceived experience (n=151, 56.3%). Barriers were conceptually categorised into capability, opportunity and motivation themes. Key enabling strategies centred on greater information provision about clinical research opportunities, access to research training, secondment roles and professional networks.

Conclusions

UK critical care physiotherapists are skilled, experienced and motivated to participate in research, including pursuing defined academic research pathways. Nonetheless wide-ranging training needs and notable barriers preclude further involvement. Strategies to harness the unique skills of this profession to enhance the quality, quantity and scope of critical care research, benefiting from a multiprofessional National Clinical Research Network, are required.