bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, 3 years later: A reality check
Authors: Kantarjian Hagop M.
Published: October 2016

Enacted 3 years ago, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act continues to be the subject of intense discussions and controversy. Herein, the progress in health care promulgated by implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is reviewed, persistent issues and unforeseen consequences discussed, and remedial solutions proposed.
A phase 2 study of the sphingosine‐1‐phosphate antibody sonepcizumab in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma
Authors: Pal Sumanta K. , Drabkin Harry A. , Reeves James A. , Hainsworth John D. , Hazel Susan E. , Paggiarino Dario A. , Wojciak Jon , Woodnutt Gary , Bhatt Rupal S.
Published: October 2016

BACKGROUND

Upregulation of sphingosine‐1‐phosphate (S1P) may mediate resistance to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)‐directed therapies and inhibit antitumor immunity. Antagonism of S1P in preclinical models appears to overcome this resistance. In this phase 2 study, the authors assessed the activity of sonepcizumab, a first‐in‐class inhibitor of S1P, in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) with a history of prior VEGF‐directed therapy.

METHODS

Patients were required to have clear cell mRCC and to have received treatment with at least 1 prior VEGF‐directed agent. Prior treatment with immunotherapeutic agents and ≤1 mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors was permitted. The primary endpoint of the study was progression‐free survival. Additional endpoints included response rate and safety, and overall survival (OS) performed post hoc.

RESULTS

A total of 40 patients were enrolled with a median of 3 prior therapies (range, 1‐5 prior therapies), 78% of whom had intermediate‐risk disease by second‐line International Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Database Consortium (IMDC) criteria. Although the current study did not achieve its primary endpoint based on the 2‐month progression‐free survival, a median OS of 21.7 months was observed. Four patients (10%) demonstrated a partial response, with a median duration of response of 5.9 months. No grade 3/4 treatment‐related adverse events were observed in >5% of patients (adverse events were graded and recorded for each patient using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events [version 4.0]); the most frequent grade 1/2 treatment‐related adverse events were fatigue (30%), weight gain (18%), constipation (15%), and nausea (15%). Biomarker studies demonstrated an increase in S1P concentrations with therapy. Comprehensive genomic profiling of 3 patients with a clinical benefit of >24 months indicated von Hippel–Lindau (VHL) and polybromo‐1 (PBRM1) alterations.

CONCLUSIONS

The encouraging OS and favorable safety profile observed with sonepcizumab should prompt further investigation of the agent in combination with VEGF‐directed agents or checkpoint inhibitors. Cancer 2017;123:576–582. © 2016 American Cancer Society.
Aging analysis of a color facsimile binding for the 14th century manuscript “Registro Notarial de Torres”
Authors: López‐Montes Ana , Collado‐Montero Francisco José , Castillo Esther , Blanc Rosario , Campillo Domingo , Espejo Teresa
Published: October 2016

The re‐use of older documents or parts of books to make covers for archive documents has been common practice throughout the history of books. Such is the case with the 14th Century Registro Notarial de Torres, the binding of which is a fragment of a parchment belonging to a Visigothic codex of extreme historical value. In this work, it was decided that the parchment binding of the notarial register should be conserved as a separate document, replacing it with a color facsimile. The article discusses the accelerated aging tests to determine the stability of the materials used in producing the facsimile. Differences in color, pH, and ink transfer were evaluated. The original appearance of the manuscript was successfully retained using the optimum choice of materials, and the fragment of parchment used as its original binding was preserved, thus safeguarding its physical integrity and its aesthetic and artifactual value. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 42, 474–485, 2017
Traffic scheduling for deep packet inspection in software‐defined networks
Authors: Huang Huawei , Li Peng , Guo Song
Published: October 2016

Deep packet inspection (DPI) is important for network security. In this paper, we consider a software‐defined network where several DPI proxy nodes are available for serving flows from ingress switches. These DPI proxy nodes can be implemented in either software or hardware. We study an integrated proxy allocation and routing determining problem with the objective of minimizing the total delay of flows from ingress switches to DPI proxies. This problem is formulated as an integer linear programming problem that is NP‐hard in general. To solve this problem, we design a 2‐phase algorithm that can quickly select proxy and find routing paths for incoming flows. Finally, extensive simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of our proposed algorithm. Some useful parameter setting insights are obtained.
Impulsive Collision Dynamics of CO Super Rotors from an Optical Centrifuge
Authors: Murray Matthew J. , Ogden Hannah M. , Toro Carlos , Liu Qingnan , Mullin Amy S.
Published: October 2016

We report state‐resolved collision dynamics for CO molecules prepared in an optical centrifuge and measured with high‐resolution transient IR absorption spectroscopy. Time‐resolved polarization‐sensitive measurements of excited CO molecules in the J=29 rotational state reveal that the oriented angular momentum of CO rotors is relaxed by impulsive collisions. The translational energy gains for molecules in the initial plane of rotation are threefold larger than for randomized angular momentum orientations, indicating the presence of anisotropic kinetic energy. The transient data show enhanced population for CO molecules in the initial plane of rotation immediately following the optical centrifuge pulse. A comparison with previous CO2 super rotor studies illustrates the behavior of molecular gyroscopes; spatial reorientation of CO2 J=76 rotors takes substantially longer than that for CO J=29 rotors, despite similarities in classical rotational period and rotational energy gap. High‐resolution transient IR absorption measurements of the CO J=29–39 rotational states show that the collisional depopulation rates increase with J quantum number.
Thermally Stable and Highly Luminescent Green Emissive Fluorophores with Acenaphtho[1,2‐k]fluoranthene Cores and Aromatic Amine Groups
Authors: Han Liang , Ye Kaiqi , Li Chenglong , Zhang Yuewei , Zhang Hongyu , Wang Yue
Published: October 2016

Four acenaphtho[1,2‐k]fluoranthene‐cored fluorophores 1–4 attached by a variety of N‐containing electron‐donating groups have been designed and synthesized. The appending N‐containing moieties and the central acenaphtho[1,2‐k]fluoranthene core form twisted molecular configurations and lead to separated HOMO and LUMO frontier molecular orbitals. X‐ray crystallographic analysis demonstrates that the substituted aromatic amines separate the luminescent π‐conjugated cores in the solid state. These compounds display excellent thermal and amorphous stabilities, high solid‐state fluorescence quantum efficiencies, and ambipolar charge transporting properties, indicating that they are ideal candidates for fabricating non‐doped organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs). The device based on compound 4 exhibits the best electroluminescent performance with an external efficiency of 2.82 % and brightness of 45800 cd m−2, demonstrating the potential applications of this compound for OLED displays and lighting.
Preparation of Low‐Input and Ligation‐Free ChIP‐seq Libraries Using Template‐Switching Technology
Authors: Bolduc Nathalie , Lehman Alisa P. , Farmer Andrew
Published: October 2016

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) followed by high‐throughput sequencing (ChIP‐seq) has become the gold standard for mapping of transcription factors and histone modifications throughout the genome. However, for ChIP experiments involving few cells or targeting low‐abundance transcription factors, the small amount of DNA recovered makes ligation of adapters very challenging. In this unit, we describe a ChIP‐seq workflow that can be applied to small cell numbers, including a robust single‐tube and ligation‐free method for preparation of sequencing libraries from sub‐nanogram amounts of ChIP DNA. An example ChIP protocol is first presented, resulting in selective enrichment of DNA‐binding proteins and cross‐linked DNA fragments immobilized on beads via an antibody bridge. This is followed by a protocol for fast and easy cross‐linking reversal and DNA recovery. Finally, we describe a fast, ligation‐free library preparation protocol, featuring DNA SMART technology, resulting in samples ready for Illumina sequencing. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
A Novel Approach to Treating CFS and Co‐morbid Health Anxiety: A Case Study
Authors: Daniels Jo , Loades Maria E.
Published: October 2016

Objectives

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating condition that affects 0.2–0.4% of the population. First‐line treatments are Cognitive Behaviour Therapy or graded exercise therapy; however, these treatments yield only moderate effect sizes. Emerging research suggests that anxiety about health may be common in CFS. Health anxiety treatment models demonstrate good therapeutic outcomes; however, these models have yet to be applied to CFS. This paper describes the application of a novel cognitive behavioural approach to the treatment of both physical and anxiety related symptoms in a patient with CFS and, furthermore, presents a conceptual hypothesis regarding the mutually maintaining relationship between these two co‐occurring conditions.

Design

A single‐case design was used, with pre‐data, post‐data and follow‐up data. The cognitive behavioural model of health anxiety was adapted and delivered as an eight‐session intervention. The intervention was driven by an individualized formulation developed collaboratively with the patient.

Results

The application of this approach generated reliable and clinically significant reductions in physical and psychological symptoms, which were maintained at 12‐month follow‐up. The participant no longer fulfilled the criteria for CFS or health anxiety following eight treatment sessions. The treatment approach was found to be agreeable to the patient. All treatment hypotheses were supported.

Conclusions

An adapted cognitive behavioural approach to treating CFS and health anxiety yields positive results and shows promise for application to the broader CFS population. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Key Practitioner Messages

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating condition that is difficult to treat successfully; first‐line recommended treatments achieve only moderate effect sizes.

Anxiety, particularly about health, is reported to be common in CFS. However, anxiety is not specifically targeted within treatment and may negatively influence outcome due to the potentially mutually maintaining nature of these complex conditions.

The present study demonstrates that an integrated treatment approach designed to encompass physical and psychological symptoms yields reliable and clinically significant outcomes in 50% of time recommend for first line treatments.

Results reflected non‐case level status for both CFS and health anxiety at end of treatment, in addition to reductions across all clinical measures.

This study demonstrates the fundamental importance of an individualized, rather than generic, treatment approach to complex cases; the ‘meaning’ of experience is a central tenet within a cognitive approach that should be reflected in treatment.
Bridging the Gap between Aetiological and Maintaining Factors in Social Anxiety Disorder: The Impact of Socially Traumatic Experiences on Beliefs, Imagery and Symptomatology
Authors: Norton Alice R. , Abbott Maree J.
Published: October 2016

Background

A number of key environmental factors during childhood have been implicated in the aetiology of social anxiety disorder (SAD), including aversive social experiences, traumatic life events and parent–child interaction. However, understanding the nature, interactions and relative contributions of these factors remains unclear. Furthermore, the relation of aversive social experiences to the development of key maintaining factors in SAD requires elucidation.

Aims

The current study aimed to extend previous research regarding the aetiology of SAD by investigating the relationship between key environmental factors in childhood, negative beliefs and self‐imagery, and the development of SAD.

Method

Social anxiety disorder individuals (n = 40, 87.5% female, Mage = 20.25 years) completed self‐report measures of social anxiety symptomatology, traumatic experiences and parenting style. In addition, participants were administered interviews assessing various domains of childhood trauma, as well as negative self‐imagery and associated socially traumatic memories.

Results

Participants reported a high frequency of early traumatic experiences across all domains (physical, emotional, sexual, social and non‐relational), as well as a high degree of parental overcontrol. However, social anxiety symptomatology was most strongly correlated with socially traumatic experiences, and mediation analyses suggest that appraisal of aversive social/peer experiences accounts for the relationship of SAD symptomatology with negative self‐beliefs and imagery.

Conclusions

These outcomes suggest that social trauma may be a key proximal cause of SAD development, leading to the development of negative beliefs and imagery that subsequently maintain the disorder. These findings have implications for understanding SAD aetiology, and improving treatment outcomes for the disorder. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Key Practitioner Messages

Negative social experiences have been implicated in the development of social anxiety disorder (SAD), but the role of this predisposing factor remains unclear.

Compared with other risk factors for SAD, social anxiety symptomatology was most strongly correlated with socially traumatic experiences.

Mediation analyses suggested that appraisal of aversive social experiences accounted for the relationship of SAD symptomatology with negative self-beliefs and imagery.

These outcomes suggest that SAD individuals would benefit from interventions targeted at processing socially traumatic memories (e.g., imagery rescripting).
Four Pathways to Anorexia Nervosa: Patients' Perspective on the Emergence of AN
Authors: Gulliksen Kjersti S. , Nordbø Ragnfrid H. S. , Espeset Ester M. S. , Skårderud Finn , Holte Arne
Published: October 2016

Introduction

Studies show that patients' perception of their illness has a direct influence both on their utilization of health services and their adherence to treatment plans. This may be particularly relevant to the treatment of Anorexia Nervosa (AN). Previous studies on AN have typically explored single psycho‐social factors that patients with AN relate to the emergence of their illness. There is a need for more coherent systematic descriptions of the complexity of the patients' narratives about how their illness emerged. In this study, we sought to identify common components in the participants' narratives. By identifying different combinations of these components in the narratives, we sought to describe differences in patients' perceived pathways to AN.

Methods

Participants were 36 women aged 18–51 years who had been treated for AN within the past 2 years at five clinical institutions in Norway. Semi‐open qualitative interviews were conducted, tape‐recorded, transcribed and analysed using grounded theory techniques.

Results

We identified the following four distinct perceived pathways into AN: ‘The Avoidant’, ‘The Achiever’, ‘The Transformer’ and ‘The Punisher’. The pathways could be regarded as four different projects for mastering life's challenges.

Discussion

Our results suggest that there seem to be at least four pathways into AN. This indicates that a common array of symptoms might cover very different psychological dynamics. These might need to be treated therapeutically in different ways and should probably be taken into account during the refinement of diagnostic tools. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Key Practitioner Message

Although patients with AN might present similar symptoms, patients' perspectives on the emergence of their problems indicate that a common array of symptoms cover a variety of subjective psychological dynamics.

From the experienced patient's stance, there are at least four distinct pathways to the emergence of AN.

Attempts to master the challenges of life were found to be a common denominator in the emergence of AN.

Recognition and integration of the patient's understanding of her or his problems should be given high priority in treatment of AN.
Targeted Next‐Generation Sequencing for Comprehensive Genetic Profiling of Pharmacogenes
Authors: Han SM , Park J , Lee JH , Lee SS , Kim H , Han H , Kim Y , Yi S , Cho J‐Y , Jang I‐J , Lee MG
Published: October 2016

Phenotypic differences in drug responses have been associated with known pharmacogenomic loci, but many remain to be characterized. Therefore, we developed next‐generation sequencing (NGS) panels to enable broad and unbiased inspection of genes that are involved in pharmacokinetics (PKs) and pharmacodynamics (PDs). These panels feature repetitively optimized probes to capture up to 114 PK/PD‐related genes with high coverage (99.6%) and accuracy (99.9%). Sequencing of a Korean cohort (n = 376) with the panels enabled profiling of actionable variants as well as rare variants of unknown functional consequences. Notably, variants that occurred at low frequency were enriched with likely protein‐damaging variants and previously unreported variants. Furthermore, in vitro evaluation of four pharmacogenes, including cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19), confirmed that many of these rare variants have considerable functional impact. The present study suggests that targeted NGS panels are readily applicable platforms to facilitate comprehensive profiling of pharmacogenes, including common but also rare variants that warrant screening for personalized medicine.
Exercise Mimetics: Running Without a Road Map
Authors: Li S , Laher I
Published: October 2016

Exercise mimetics are bioactive compounds that activate signaling pathways to simulate exercise‐like benefits. Physical exercise activates peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor δ (PPAR δ), a master transcriptional regulator of skeletal muscle oxidative metabolism, and also stimulates AMP‐activated protein kinase, a regulator of skeletal muscle glucose uptake, fat oxidation, and mitochondrial biogenesis. Exercise mimetics have therapeutic potential by activating pathways that regulate metabolic endurance, but our knowledge of these compounds is based almost entirely on preclinical findings in rodents.
PUF‐based solutions for secure communications in Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI)
Authors: Delavar Mahshid , Mirzakuchaki Sattar , Ameri Mohammad Hassan , Mohajeri Javad
Published: October 2016

Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) provides 2‐way communications between the utility and the smart meters. Developing authenticated key exchange (AKE) and broadcast authentication (BA) protocols is essential to provide secure communications in AMI. The security of all existing cryptographic protocols is based on the assumption that secret information is stored in the nonvolatile memories. In the AMI, the attackers can obtain some or all of the stored secret information from memories by a great variety of inexpensive and fast side‐channel attacks. Thus, all existing AKE and BA protocols are no longer secure. In this paper, we investigate how to develop secure AKE and BA protocols in the presence of memory attacks. As a solution, we propose to embed a physical unclonable function (PUF) in each party, which generates the secret values as required without the need to store them. By combining PUFs and 2 well‐known and secure protocols, we propose PUF‐based AKE and BA protocols. We show that our proposed protocols are memory leakage resilient. In addition, we prove their security in the standard model. Performance analysis of both protocols shows their efficiency for AMI applications. The proposed protocols can be easily implemented.
Detection of stanozolol O‐ and N‐sulfate metabolites and their evaluation as additional markers in doping control
Authors: Balcells Georgina , Matabosch Xavier , Ventura Rosa
Published: October 2016

Stanozolol (STAN) is one of the most frequently detected anabolic androgenic steroids in sports drug testing. STAN misuse is commonly detected by monitoring metabolites excreted conjugated with glucuronic acid after enzymatic hydrolysis or using direct detection by liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS). It is well known that some of the previously described metabolites are the result of the formation of sulfate conjugates in C17, which are converted to their 17‐epimers in urine. Therefore, sulfation is an important phase II metabolic pathway of STAN that has not been comprehensively studied. The aim of this work was to evaluate the sulfate fraction of STAN metabolism by LC‐MS/MS to establish potential long‐term metabolites valuable for doping control purposes. STAN was administered to six healthy male volunteers involving oral or intramuscular administration and urine samples were collected up to 31 days after administration. Sulfation of the phase I metabolites commercially available as standards was performed in order to obtain MS data useful to develop analytical strategies (neutral loss scan, precursor ion scan and selected reaction monitoring acquisitions modes) to detect potential sulfate metabolites. Eleven sulfate metabolites (M‐I to M‐XI) were detected and characterized by LC‐MS/MS. This paper provides valuable data on the ionization and fragmentation of O‐sulfates and N‐sulfates. For STAN, results showed that sulfates do not improve the retrospectivity of the detection compared to the previously described long‐term metabolite (epistanozolol‐N‐glucuronide). However, sulfate metabolites could be additional markers for the detection of STAN misuse. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Inheritance genetics of the trait vector competence in Frankliniella occidentalis (Western flower thrips) in the transmission of Tomato spotted wilt virus
Authors: Ogada Pamella Akoth , Debener Thomas , Poehling Hans‐Michael
Published: October 2016

The complexity of tospovirus–vector–host plant interaction is linked to a range of factors influencing vector's efficacy in virus transmission, leading to high variability in the transmission efficiency within vector populations. Main shortcomings of most studies are the missing information on the intrinsic potential of individual insects to serve as efficient vectors, both at phenotypic and at genotypic levels. Moreover, detailed analysis of vector competence heredity and monitoring the splitting of both genotypes and phenotypes in filial generations has not been reported. In this study, using the model system Frankliniella occidentalis and Tomato spotted wilt virus, we evaluated the inheritance and stability of the trait vector competence in a population through basic crossings of individually characterized partners, as well as virgin reproduction. We hypothesized that the trait is heritable in F. occidentalis and is controlled by a recessive allele. From the results, 83% and 94% of competent and noncompetent males respectively, inherited their status from their mothers. The trait was only expressed when females were homozygous for the corresponding allele. Furthermore, the allele frequencies were different between males and females, and the competent allele had the highest frequency in the population. These suggest that the trait vector competence is inherited in single recessive gene in F. occidentalis, for which the phenotype is determined by the haplodiploid mechanism. These findings are fundamental for our understanding of the temporal and spatial variability within vector populations with respect to the trait vector competence and at the same time offer an essential basis for further molecular studies.
A loss of heterozygosity, a loss in competition? The effects of inbreeding, pre‐ and postnatal conditions on nestling development
Authors: de Boer Raïssa A. , Eens Marcel , Müller Wendt
Published: October 2016

The early developmental trajectory is affected by genetic and environmental factors that co‐depend and interact often in a complex way. In order to distinguish their respective roles, we used canaries (Serinus canaria) of different genetic backgrounds (inbred and outbred birds). An artificial size hierarchy was created to provoke within‐nest competition, manipulating postnatal conditions. To this end, inbred birds were weight‐matched with outbred birds into duos, and each nest contained one duo of size‐advantaged, and one duo of size‐disadvantaged inbred and outbred nestlings. Prenatal (maternal) effects were taken into account also, enabling us to study the separate as well as the interactive effects of inbreeding, pre‐ and postnatal conditions on nestling development. We find that postnatal conditions were the most important determinant of early growth, with size‐advantaged nestlings growing faster and obtaining larger size/body mass at fledging in comparison with size‐disadvantaged nestlings. Prenatal conditions were important too, with birds that hatched from eggs that were laid late in the laying order obtaining a larger size at fledging than those hatched from early laid eggs. Inbreeding inhibited growth, but surprisingly this did not depend on (dis)advantageous pre‐ or postnatal conditions. Our findings imply that inbred individuals lose when they are in direct competition with same‐sized outbred individuals regardless of the rearing conditions, and we thus propose that reduced competitiveness is one of the driving forces of inbreeding depression.
Environmental selection is a main driver of divergence in house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in Romania and Bulgaria
Authors: Geue Julia C. , Vágási Csongor I. , Schweizer Mona , Pap Péter L. , Thomassen Henri A.
Published: October 2016

Both neutral and adaptive evolutionary processes can cause population divergence, but their relative contributions remain unclear. We investigated the roles of these processes in population divergence in house sparrows (Passer domesticus) from Romania and Bulgaria, regions characterized by high landscape heterogeneity compared to Western Europe. We asked whether morphological divergence, complemented with genetic data in this human commensal species, was best explained by environmental variation, geographic distance, or landscape resistance—the effort it takes for an individual to disperse from one location to the other—caused by either natural or anthropogenic barriers. Using generalized dissimilarity modeling, a matrix regression technique that fits biotic beta diversity to both environmental predictors and geographic distance, we found that a small set of climate and vegetation variables explained up to ~30% of the observed divergence, whereas geographic and resistance distances played much lesser roles. Our results are consistent with signals of selection on morphological traits and of isolation by adaptation in genetic markers, suggesting that selection by natural environmental conditions shapes population divergence in house sparrows. Our study thus contributes to a growing body of evidence that adaptive evolution may be a major driver of diversification.
Divergent immune priming responses across flour beetle life stages and populations
Authors: Khan Imroze , Prakash Arun , Agashe Deepa
Published: October 2016

Growing evidence shows that low doses of pathogens may prime the immune response in many insects, conferring subsequent protection against infection in the same developmental stage (within‐life stage priming), across life stages (ontogenic priming), or to offspring (transgenerational priming). Recent work also suggests that immune priming is a costly response. Thus, depending on host and pathogen ecology and evolutionary history, tradeoffs with other fitness components may constrain the evolution of priming. However, the relative impacts of priming at different life stages and across natural populations remain unknown. We quantified immune priming responses of 10 natural populations of the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, primed and infected with the natural insect pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis. We found that priming responses were highly variable both across life stages and populations, ranging from no detectable response to a 13‐fold survival benefit. Comparing across stages, we found that ontogenic immune priming at the larval stage conferred maximum protection against infection. Finally, we found that various forms of priming showed sex‐specific associations that may represent tradeoffs or shared mechanisms. These results indicate the importance of sex‐, life stage‐, and population‐specific selective pressures that can cause substantial divergence in priming responses even within a species. Our work highlights the necessity of further work to understand the mechanistic basis of this variability.
The mating consequences of rewarding vs. deceptive pollination systems: Is there a quantity–quality trade‐off?
Authors: Hobbhahn Nina , Johnson Steven D. , Harder Lawrence D.
Published: October 2016

Plant mating commonly involves quality–quantity trade‐offs. Such a trade‐off features explicitly in the cross‐promotion hypothesis for the evolution of pollination by deceit. According to this hypothesis, rewardlessness enhances mating quality by altering pollinator behavior in ways that reduce self‐pollination and increase outcrossing, thus compensating for the reduced pollen dispersal and seed production resulting from lack of reinforcement of pollinator visitation behavior. The high prevalence of rewardlessness in orchids suggests that deceit pollination conveys benefits that outweigh the fecundity advantages of reward production. We test the cross‐promotion hypothesis in Disa, an African orchid genus in which nectar rewards have evolved repeatedly from rewardless ancestors. To address this hypothesis directly, we quantified pollinator behavior and the associated dispersal of stained pollen for four nectar‐producing (N+) and 10 nectarless (N−) species. We also assessed more extensive, if less direct, evidence from a survey of lifetime pollination outcomes for 15 N+ and 32 N− species. Pollinators visited N+ species more frequently and visited 1.5 times more flowers per inflorescence than in N− species. In contrast, pollinators skipped more conspecific plants between visits to donor and recipient plants when visiting N− species than when visiting N+ species. Over floral lifetimes, both N− and N+ species exhibited similar overall pollen‐transfer efficiency (8.2%) and did not differ in the overall fractions of pollen involved in self‐pollination (26% of all pollen deposited), geitonogamy (82% of all self‐pollination), or export to other conspecific plants (74%). N+ species set more fruit per flower (68.8% vs. 48.8%), but equivalent fractions of ovules per fruit were fertilized and subsequently developed into seeds in N− and N+ species. These findings provide only limited evidence that deceit pollination enhances mating quality (nectar production causes more local mating in N+ species than in N− species). Contrary to the hypothesis, deceit does not generally affect pollinator‐mediated self‐pollination. The repeated evolution of nectar production from rewardless ancestors in Disa likely occurred under severe visit limitation, favoring nectar‐producing mutants with higher reproductive output. Given that we did not find any mating quality advantage for rewardlessness in Disa, its persistence in some lineages remains an evolutionary enigma.
Mapping forest vegetation for the western United States using modified random forests imputation ofFIAforest plots
Authors: Riley Karin L. , Grenfell Isaac C. , Finney Mark A.
Published: October 2016

Maps of the number, size, and species of trees in forests across the western United States are desirable for many applications such as estimating terrestrial carbon resources, predicting tree mortality following wildfires, and for forest inventory. However, detailed mapping of trees for large areas is not feasible with current technologies, but statistical methods for matching the forest plot data with biophysical characteristics of the landscape offer a practical means to populate landscapes with a limited set of forest plot inventory data. We used a modified random forests approach with Landscape Fire and Resource Management Planning Tools (LANDFIRE) vegetation and biophysical predictors to impute plot data collected by theUSForest Service's Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) to the landscape at 30‐m grid resolution. This method imputes the plot with the best statistical match, according to a “forest” of decision trees, to each pixel of gridded landscape data. In this work, we used theLANDFIREdata set for gridded input because it is publicly available, offers seamless coverage of variables needed for fire models, and is consistent with other data sets, including burn probabilities and flame length probabilities generated for the continental United States. The main output of this project is a map of imputed plot identifiers at 30 × 30 m spatial resolution for the western United States that can be linked to theFIAdatabases to produce tree‐level maps or to map other plot attributes. In addition, we used the imputed inventory data to generate maps of forest cover, forest height, and vegetation group at 30 × 30 m resolution for all forested pixels in the western United States, as a means of assessing the accuracy of our methodology. The results showed good correspondence between the targetLANDFIREdata and the imputed plot data, with an overall within‐class agreement of 79% for forest cover, 96% for forest height, and 92% for vegetation group.
Detecting and inferring cause of change in an Alaska nearshore marine ecosystem
Authors: Coletti Heather A. , Bodkin James L. , Monson Daniel H. , Ballachey Brenda E. , Dean Thomas A.
Published: October 2016

Community composition, species abundance, and species distribution are expected to change while monitoring ecosystems over time, and effective management of natural resources requires understanding mechanisms contributing to change. Marine ecosystems in particular can be difficult to monitor, in part due to large, multidimensional spatial scales and complex dynamics. However, within the temperate marine ecosystems, the nearshore food web is reasonably well described. This food web is ecologically and socially important, spatially constrained, and has been the focus of extensive experimental research that describes the underlying mechanisms important to system dynamics. Here, we describe a monitoring program initiated in 2006 that focuses on the nearshore benthic food web in the Gulf of Alaska, whose design anticipates potential causes of ecosystem change to improve rigor, resolution, and confidence in understanding the mechanisms underlying change. We established 15 long‐term monitoring sites across more than 1000 km of coastline, including 10 within two national parks and 5 within Prince William Sound, area of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. The program evaluates six ecological indicators and more than 200 species that range from primary producers to top‐level consumers, and is designed to examine both bottom‐up and top‐down dynamics. Employing a design that allows broad spatial inference and selecting species with direct food‐web linkages, we demonstrate the ability of our monitoring program to simultaneously detect change and assess potential mechanisms underlying that change. Detecting change and understanding mechanisms can help guide management and conservation policy. Specifically, we provide an example focusing on the sea otter (Enhydra lutris) that illustrates how (1) analytical methods are used to evaluate changes on various scales and infer potential mechanisms of change, (2) food‐web linkages can enhance the understanding of changes and their effects, and (3) data can be used to inform management.
Warmer seed environments increase germination fractions in Australian winter annual plant species
Authors: Dwyer John M. , Erickson Todd E.
Published: October 2016

Climate can influence plant demographic processes and life stages in different ways, but such details are often ignored in analyses that focus on adult life stages and annual climate averages. In particular, the effects of climate on seeds may be hugely important under climate change. Climate is known to influence seed survival and germination, which in turn can strongly affect population persistence and community dynamics. We investigated climate and other environmental effects on seed viability and germination probabilities of six winter annual plant species persisting in small, isolated habitat fragments in the Mediterranean‐climate region of southwestern Australia. Seeds were collected from southern (cool) and northern (warm) bushland remnants and factorially placed into each location to assess the effects of natural dormancy alleviation via after‐ripening. Seeds were then exposed to cool and warm germination treatments (representing average germination conditions in the two remnants). For five of the six species, seeds from warm maternal populations had higher germination probabilities (or germinated more seeds sooner). Regardless of maternal population, germination probabilities were higher (or germination was more rapid) for seeds that were after‐ripened in the warm remnant for almost all species. For all species, germination was higher (or more rapid) under the warmer germination temperatures. We also found strong microsite effects on seed viability for some species. In the absence of adaptation in dormancy regulation and germination physiology, our results indicate that most of the winter annual species studied will germinate higher fractions of seeds under future climate conditions due to the cumulative effects of warmer maternal, after‐ripening, and germination environments. The fate of isolated populations under climate change may therefore depend strongly on postgermination survival and reproduction to prevent seed bank depletion.
Heterogeneity in ecological and evolutionary meta‐analyses: its magnitude and implications
Authors: Senior Alistair M. , Grueber Catherine E. , Kamiya Tsukushi , Lagisz Malgorzata , O'Dwyer Katie , Santos Eduardo S. A. , Nakagawa Shinichi
Published: October 2016

Meta‐analysis is the gold standard for synthesis in ecology and evolution. Together with estimating overall effect magnitudes, meta‐analyses estimate differences between effect sizes via heterogeneity statistics. It is widely hypothesized that heterogeneity will be present in ecological/evolutionary meta‐analyses due to the system‐specific nature of biological phenomena. Despite driving recommended best practices, the generality of heterogeneity in ecological data has never been systematically reviewed. We reviewed 700 studies, finding 325 that used formal meta‐analysis, of which total heterogeneity was reported in fewer than 40%. We used second‐order meta‐analysis to collate heterogeneity statistics from 86 studies. Our analysis revealed that the median and mean heterogeneity, expressed as I2, are 84.67% and 91.69%, respectively. These estimates are well above “high” heterogeneity (i.e., 75%), based on widely adopted benchmarks. We encourage reporting heterogeneity in the forms of I2 and the estimated variance components (e.g., τ2) as standard practice. These statistics provide vital insights in to the degree to which effect sizes vary, and provide the statistical support for the exploration of predictors of effect‐size magnitude. Along with standard meta‐regression techniques that fit moderator variables, multi‐level models now allow partitioning of heterogeneity among correlated (e.g., phylogenetic) structures that exist within data.
Genetically based latitudinal clines in Artemisia californica drive parallel clines in arthropod communities
Authors: Pratt Jessica D. , Datu Andrew , Tran Thi , Sheng Daniel C. , Mooney Kailen A.
Published: October 2016

Intraspecific variation in plant traits has been clearly shown to drive the structure of associated arthropod communities at the spatial scale of individual plant populations. Nevertheless, it is largely unknown whether plant trait variation among populations drives landscape‐scale variation in arthropod communities, and how the strength of such plant genetic effects compares to, and interacts with, those of environmental variation. We documented the structure of arthropod communities on Artemisia californica for two consecutive years in a common garden of plants sourced from five populations along a 5° latitudinal gradient and grown under precipitation treatments approximating the four‐fold difference between the north and south range margins for this species. Previous study of plant traits from this garden documented clinal genetic variation, suggesting local adaptation to this environmental gradient, as well as effects of precipitation manipulation that were consistent among populations (i.e., no genotype‐by‐environment interaction). Within the common garden, arthropod density, evenness, and diversity increased clinally with population source latitude, and arthropod community composition (i.e., species relative abundance) showed a north‐south divide. The 2.6‐fold cline of northward increase in arthropod density in the common garden was mirrored by a 6.4‐fold increase in arthropod density on wild plants sampled along the species range. In contrast to the strong influence of plant genotype, the precipitation manipulation only influenced arthropod community composition, and plant genetic effects on arthropods operated independently of precipitation regime (no genotype‐by‐environment interaction). Accordingly, we conclude that the strongest driver of landscape‐level variation in arthropod communities in this foundational plant species is not variation in the abiotic environment itself, but rather variation in plant traits underlain by the evolutionary process of plant local adaptation.
Teaching Ferrocenium How to Relax: A Systematic Study on Spin–Lattice Relaxation Processes in tert‐Butyl‐Substituted Ferrocenium Derivatives
Authors: Reiners Matthias , Baabe Dirk , Schweyen Peter , Freytag Matthias , Jones Peter G. , Walter Marc D.
Published: October 2016

Sterically encumbered ferrocenium salts with four, five, or six tert‐butyl substituents and a variety of counteranions ([BF4]–, [SbF6]–, and [PF6]–) were prepared. The electronic structures of these materials were investigated by various physical techniques including electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and Mössbauer spectroscopy and solid‐state magnetic susceptibility measurements. Spin–orbit coupling and low‐symmetry distortions split the electronic ground states (2E2g) in these compounds into two Kramers doublet states (Ψa and Ψb); the energy difference between these states was evaluated by EPR spectroscopy and magnetic susceptibility measurements and decreases with increasing steric demand at the ferrocenium moiety. Further information on the first excited state (2A1g) was obtained by solid‐state magnetic susceptibility measurements, which also indicated that an increasing steric bulk resulted in a decreasing energy gap between the 2E2g(Ψa) and 2A1g states. The Mössbauer spectra revealed temperature‐dependent line shapes attributed to unusually slow paramagnetic relaxation on the 57Fe Mössbauer time scale. The pertinent spin–spin and spin–lattice (Orbach and Raman) relaxation parameters were determined for these materials and further substantiate the trends observed by our EPR spectroscopic and solid‐state magnetic susceptibility studies.
Antinociceptive effect of systemically administered dipyrone (metamizol), magnesium chloride or both in a murine model of cancer
Authors: Brito B.E. , Vazquez E. , Taylor P. , Alvarado Y. , Vanegas H. , Millan A. , Tortorici V.
Published: October 2016

Background

Opioid effectiveness to treat cancer pain is often compromised by the development of tolerance and the occurrence of undesirable side effects, particularly during long‐term treatment. Hence, the search for more efficient analgesics remains a necessity. The main goal of this study was to relieve neuropathic symptoms associated with tumour growth by administering the non‐opioid analgesic dipyrone (DIP) alone or in combination with magnesium chloride (MgCl2), an adjuvant that blocks the NMDA receptor channel.

Methods

Mice were inoculated with a melanoma cell line (B16‐BL6) in the left thigh and two protocols were used to evaluate the effect of DIP (270 mg/kg), MgCl2 (200 mg/kg), or the combination DIP‐MgCl2. In the therapeutic protocol the drugs, alone or combined, were administered once tumour had promoted increased nociception. In the preventive protocol, drugs were administered prior to the appearance of the primary tumour. Tumour growth was assessed with a caliper and nociception was determined using behavioural tests.

Results

DIP promoted antinociception only at the beginning of both protocols due to the development of tolerance. The combination DIP‐MgCl2 improved the antinociceptive effect, avoiding tolerance and reducing tumour growth in the preventive treatment, more efficiently than each compound alone.

Conclusions

These results suggest that DIP‐MgCl2 may represent a safe, affordable and accessible option to reduce tumour growth and to treat cancer pain avoiding the risk of tolerance, without the typical complications of opioids agents, particularly when long‐term treatment is required.

Significance

This study shows a non‐opioid analgesic combined with an adjuvant as a therapeutic option to treat cancer pain. The avoidance of antinociceptive tolerance when repeated administration is required, as well as tumor growth reduction, are additional advantages to be considered.
Green Synthesis and Characterization of Gold and Silver Nanoparticles and their Application for Development of a Third Generation Lactose Biosensor
Authors: Bollella Paolo , Schulz Christopher , Favero Gabriele , Mazzei Franco , Ludwig Roland , Gorton Lo , Antiochia Riccarda
Published: October 2016

In this paper we report on a facile, cost effective and environmental friendly green synthesis method of gold and silver nanoparticles (NPs) by using quercetin as reducing agent. The obtained NPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and UV‐Vis spectroscopy and parameters such as pH, ionic strength and temperature, effectively affecting shape and size of NPs, have been carefully studied and optimized. The obtained results showed that the synthesized NPs were circular in shape with an average diameter of 5 and 8 nm for the AuNPs and the AgNPs, respectively. The “green” NPs, showing increased electroactive areas (AEA) and electronic transfer rate constants (k0), were successively used to fabricate a novel third generation lactose biosensor based on cellobiose dehydrogenase from Trametes villosa (TvCDH). The TvCDH/AuNPs based lactose biosensor revealed the best results showing very efficient DET and a detection limit for lactose of 3.5 mM, a large linear range from 10 to 300 mM, a high sensitivity (5.4 μA mM−1 cm−2) and long‐term stability.