bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Underlying mechanisms of ANAMMOX bacteria adaptation to salinity stress
Authors: Wang Han , Li Han-Xiang , Fang Fang , Guo Jin-song , Chen You-Peng , Yan Pen , Yang Ji-Xiang
Published: January 2019

Dealing with nitrogen-rich saline wastewater produced by industries remains challenging because of the inhibition of functional microorganisms by high salinity. The underlying mechanisms of anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB) exposed to salinity stress should be studied to investigate the potential of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX) for applications in such wastewater. In this study, the total DNA from granular sludge was extracted from an expanded granular sludge bed (EGSB) reactor operated at 0, 15 and 30 g/L salinity and subjected to high-throughput sequencing. The nitrogen removal performance in the reactor could be maintained from 86.2 to 88.0% at less than 30 g/L salinity level. The microbial diversity in the reactor under saline conditions was lower than that under the salt-free condition. Three genera of AnAOB were detected in the reactor, and Candidatus Kuenenia was the most abundant. The predictive functional profiling based on the Clusters of Orthologous Groups of proteins (COGs) database showed that the inhibition of AnAOB under saline conditions was mainly characterised by the weakening of energy metabolism and intracellular repair. AnAOB might adapt to salinity stress by increasing their rigidity and intracellular osmotic pressure. The predictive functional profiling based on the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway database revealed that the inhibition of AnAOB was mainly manifested by the weakening of intracellular carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, the blockage of intracellular energy supply and the reduction of membrane transport capacity. AnAOB might adapt to salinity stress by strengthening wall/membrane synthesis, essential cofactors (porphyrins) and energy productivity, enhancing intracellular material transformation and gene repair and changing its structure and group behaviour. The stability of the nitrogen removal performance could be maintained via the adaptation of AnAOB to salinity and their increased abundance.
Elastic, Viscoelastic and Fibril-Reinforced Poroelastic Material Properties of Healthy and Osteoarthritic Human Tibial Cartilage
Authors: Ebrahimi Mohammadhossein , Ojanen Simo , Mohammadi Ali , Finnilä Mikko A. , Joukainen Antti , Kröger Heikki , Saarakkala Simo , Korhonen Rami K. , Tanska Petri
Published: January 2019

Articular cartilage constituents (collagen, proteoglycans, fluid) are significantly altered during osteoarthritis (OA). A fibril-reinforced poroelastic (FRPE) material model can separate the contribution of each constituent on the mechanical response of cartilage. Yet, these properties and their OA related alterations are not known for human tibial cartilage. To answer this gap in the knowledge, we characterized the FRPE as well as elastic and viscoelastic properties of healthy and osteoarthritic human tibial cartilage. Tibial osteochondral explants (n = 27) harvested from 7 cadavers were mechanically tested in indentation followed by a quantification of elastic, viscoelastic and FRPE properties. Then they were histopathologically OARSI graded for the severity of OA. FRPE modeling revealed that non-fibrillar matrix modulus was higher in the healthy group compared to the early OA (p = 0.003) and advanced OA (p < 0.001) groups. The initial fibril network modulus was also higher in the healthy group compared to the early OA (p = 0.009) and advanced OA (p < 0.001) groups. The permeability correlated with the OARSI grade (p = 0.002, r = 0.56). For the first time, the FRPE properties were characterized for human tibial cartilage. This knowledge is crucial to improve the accuracy of computational knee joint models.
Why Dutch Women are Still More Religious than Dutch Men: Explaining the Persistent Religious Gender Gap in the Netherlands Using a Multifactorial Approach
Authors: Kregting Joris , Scheepers Peer , Vermeer Paul , Hermans Chris
Published: January 2019

In many secular Western countries, women continue to demonstrate higher levels of religiosity than men. But why does this religious gender gap persist? In this research note, we set out to explain the religious gender gap in the Netherlands for three dimensions of religiosity: belief in God, frequency of prayer and frequency of church attendance. Using high quality national representative survey data from LISS (Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social sciences), an empirical model is built combining social and psychological determinants. We find that the experience of health restrictions, the personality trait conscientiousness and the gender orientation masculinity contribute to an explanation for the gender gap in the Netherlands regarding all three dimensions of religiosity. For belief in God and frequency of prayer, an additional psychological explanation comes from the gender orientation femininity.
Interdependence, participation, and coordination in the budgeting process
Authors: Weiskirchner-Merten Katrin
Published: January 2019

This article studies the role of participation in the budgeting process when the company has to coordinate two interdependent divisions. The focus lies on the design of the budgeting process (top-down vs. participative budgets) and the underlying supply of information. This is studied in a principal agent model where two divisions (agents) jointly generate earnings. With the participative budgeting process, the company (principal) implements an information system that provides the division managers with private information. Two economic effects occur. First, the company can benefit from the division managers’ private information by perfectly coordinating the divisions’ operations. Second, the company has to induce the managers to provide productive effort and with participation, to additionally report truthfully. Thus, the company incurs incentive costs. The two considered budgeting processes trade off these effects diametrically. For a low importance of coordination, the company prefers the top-down budgeting process and not installing an information system that allows the managers to obtain private information. Otherwise, the participative budgeting process is used. In contrast to the company, managers always prefer the participative budgeting process. In addition, the model predicts that a higher earnings potential increases the attractiveness of participative budgets.
Don't watch me read: how mere presence and mandatory waiting periods affect consumer attention to disclosures
Authors: CHIN ALYCIA , BECKETT DUSTIN H.
Published: January 2019

To help people make informed decisions, policy-makers often require entities to provide consumers with informational materials known as disclosures. However, it is unclear whether consumers pay attention to disclosures. In two experiments where we manipulate the delivery of disclosures, we find that the mere presence of an observer negatively affects attention to disclosures, while introducing a mandatory waiting period after receiving a disclosure increases attention. In a third study, we analyze more than 3000 surveys answered by recent mortgage borrowers. Borrowers who report receiving disclosures at mortgage closing meetings (which are often attended by multiple stakeholders) are less likely to have questions about their disclosures than those who receive disclosures beforehand, suggesting differential attention. Our findings demonstrate that both mandatory waiting periods and the presence of observers can affect consumers’ attention to disclosures. We discuss implications of our research for policies designed to promote informed consumer decision-making.
Explosive ripple instability due to incipient wave breaking
Authors: Mailybaev Alexei A. , Nachbin André
Published: January 2019

Considering two-dimensional potential ideal flow with a free surface and finite depth, we study the dynamics of small-amplitude and short-wavelength wavetrains propagating in the background of a steepening nonlinear wave. This can be seen as a model for small ripples developing on the slopes of breaking waves in the surf zone. Using the concept of wave action as an adiabatic invariant, we derive an explicit asymptotic expression for the change of ripple steepness. Through this expression, nonlinear effects are described using the intrinsic frequency and intrinsic gravity along Lagrangian (material) trajectories on a free surface. We show that strong compression near the tip on the wave leads to an explosive ripple instability. This instability may play an important role in the understanding of fragmentation and whitecapping at the surface of breaking waves. Analytical results are confirmed by numerical simulations using a potential theory model.
Scale-invariant singularity of the surface quasigeostrophic patch
Authors: Scott R. K. , Dritschel D. G.
Published: January 2019

Numerical simulations of the surface quasigeostrophic patch indicate the development of a scale-invariant singularity of the boundary curvature in finite time, with some evidence of universality across a variety of initial conditions. At the time of singularity, boundary segments are shown to possess an exact and simple analytic form, described by branches of a logarithmic spiral centred on the point of singularity. The angles between the branches depend non-trivially on the shape of the smooth connecting boundary as the singularity is approached, but are independent of the global boundary.
Context Matters: Measuring Nationalism in the Countries of the Former Czechoslovakia
Authors: Bahna Miloslav
Published: January 2019

This paper compares nationalism in the two ex-Czechoslovak countries—the Czech and Slovak republics. The aim is to analyze the measurement of nationalism in the 1995, 2003, and 2013 International Social Survey Program (ISSP) National Identity surveys. According to the nationalism measures from the ISSP survey – which are frequently used by authors analyzing nationalism—both countries experienced a significant rise in nationalism in the 1995 to 2013 period. Moreover, invariance testing of the nationalism latent variable confirms the possibility of comparing levels of nationalism between Czechia and Slovakia over time. However, the associations between nationalism, as measured in the study, and concepts related to nationalism—such as xenophobia, protectionism, or assertive foreign policy—suggest that what is measured as nationalism in 1995 is very different from what is measured in 2013. This is explained by a change of context which occurred in both countries between 1995 and 2013. While answering the same question had a strong nationalistic connotation in 1995, this was not the case in 2013. Based on our findings we advise against using the analyzed “nationalism” items as measurement of nationalism even beyond the two analyzed countries.
Chinese Nationalism: Myths, Reality, and Security Implications
Authors: Giannakos Symeon
Published: January 2019

China’s most prominent dissident, the late Liu Xiaobo, criticized the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts “to promote what he considered a toxic mixture of traditional culture and modern patriotism.” He worried more about “a mentality of world domination” characterized by a “thuggish outlook.” Quoted in Orville Schell and John Delury’s (2013) book Wealth and Power, this statement reveals the culmination of some 150 years of nation-building, which now encapsulates what is probably the strongest and potentially most explosive primordial nationalism in the region since Imperial Japan. This article examines the sources of Chinese nationalism and gauges the extent to which Chinese nationalism contributes to cooperation or confrontation in China’s foreign relations.
Morphological study of Ionic Exchange Resins to support the 14C release investigation from radioactive wastes—EURATOM CAST project
Authors: Rizzo A , Bruni S , Gessi A , Marghella G , Moretti L , Telloli C , Rizzato C , Luce A
Published: January 2019

Radiocarbon (14C) is one of the key radionuclides for the performance and safety assessment of a radioactive waste disposal, due to its high activity concentration in waste materials from the nuclear cycle and to its mobility. The measurement of the 14C content in spent ion exchange resins from nuclear reactors is important for the safety assessment of the disposal concept and for the choice of the appropriate treatment/disposal method. Ion exchange resins are commonly used in nuclear reactors as filters for the purification of process liquids or wastes streams and they retain molecules containing radioactive isotopes, among which is 14C. Their efficiency, both as filters and as waste containers, is strictly connected with the morphology. The preservation of spherical shape upon aging is one of the key parameters for their quality assessment and for the evaluation of the potential release of 14C during storage conditions. In this study, the change in IERs morphology during storage periods has been investigated in order to verify correlation with 14C release. Both brand new and aged specimens have been studied in order to assess the quality of the resins after 10 yr of storage and to contribute to the understanding of 14C release mechanisms.
Release and speciation of14C during the corrosion of activated steel in deep geological repositories for the disposal of radioactive waste
Authors: Mibus J , Diomidis N , Wieland E , Swanton S W
Published: January 2019

Carbon-14 (radiocarbon,14C) is an important radionuclide in the inventory of radioactive waste in many disposal programs due to its significant dose contributions in safety assessments for geological repositories. Activated steels from nuclear reactors are one of the major sources of14C. Knowledge of14C release from steel wastes and its chemical form (speciation) is limited giving rise to uncertainty regarding the fate of14C and a conservative treatment in assessment calculations. In this work, we summarize and make a synthesis of selected results from Work Package 2 of the EU CAST project aiming to improve understanding of14C release related to steel corrosion under repository-relevant conditions. The outcome of the experiments is discussed in the context of the long-term evolution of a repository and its potential consequences for safety assessment.
Oat bran, but not its isolated bioactiveβ-glucans or polyphenols, have a bifidogenic effect in anin vitrofermentation model of the gut microbiota
Authors: Kristek Angelika , Wiese Maria , Heuer Patrizia , Kosik Ondrej , Schär Manuel Y. , Soycan Gulten , Alsharif Sarah , Kuhnle Gunter G. C. , Walton Gemma , Spencer Jeremy P. E.
Published: January 2019

Wholegrain oats are known to modulate the human gut microbiota and have prebiotic properties (increase the growth of some health-promoting bacterial genera within the colon). Research to date mainly attributes these effects to the fibre content; however, oat is also a rich dietary source of polyphenols, which may contribute to the positive modulation of gut microbiota.In vitroanaerobic batch-culture experiments were performed over 24 h to evaluate the impact of two different doses (1 and 3 % (w/v)) of oat bran, matched concentrations ofβ-glucan extract or polyphenol mix, on the human faecal microbiota composition using 16S RNA gene sequencing and SCFA analysis. Supplementation with oats increased the abundance of Proteobacteria (P<0·01) at 10 h, Bacteroidetes (P<0·05) at 24 h and concentrations of acetic and propionic acid increased at 10 and 24 h compared with the NC. Fermentation of the 1 % (w/v) oat bran resulted in significant increase in SCFA production at 24 h (86 (sd27)v. 28 (sd5) mm;P<0·05) and a bifidogenic effect, increasing the relative abundance ofBifidobacteriumunassigned at 10 h andBifidobacterium adolescentis(P<0·05) at 10 and 24 h compared with NC. Considering theβ-glucan treatment induced an increase in the phylum Bacteroidetes at 24 h, it explains the Bacteriodetes effects of oats as a food matrix. The polyphenol mix induced an increase in Enterobacteriaceae family at 24 h. In conclusion, in this study, we found that oats increased bifidobacteria, acetic acid and propionic acid, and this is mediated by the synergy of all oat compounds within the complex food matrix, rather than its main bioactiveβ-glucan or polyphenols. Thus, oats as a whole food led to the greatest impact on the microbiota.
Different forms and sources of iron in relation to colorectal cancer risk: a case–control study in China
Authors: Luo Hong , Zhang Nai-Qi , Huang Jing , Zhang Xin , Feng Xiao-Li , Pan Zhi-Zhong , Chen Yu-Ming , Fang Yu-Jing , Zhang Cai-Xia
Published: January 2019

Few studies have examined the association of various types of Fe with colorectal cancer risk. The aim of this study was to investigate different forms and sources of Fe in relation to colorectal cancer risk in a Chinese population. A total of 2138 patients with colorectal cancer and 2144 sex- and age-matched (5-year interval) controls were recruited from July 2010 to November 2017. Dietary information was assessed by face-to-face interviews using a validated FFQ. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the OR and 95 % CI on models. Intake of Fe from plants and Fe from white meat were inversely associated with the risk of colorectal cancer, while haem Fe and Fe from red meat were positively associated with colorectal cancer risk. The multivariable OR for the highest quartilev.the lowest quartile were 0·72 (95 % CI 0·59, 0·87,Ptrend<0·001) for Fe from plants, 0·54 (95 % CI 0·45, 0·66,Ptrend<0·001) for Fe from white meat, 1·26 (95 % CI 1·04, 1·53,Ptrend=0·005) for haem Fe and 1·83 (95 % CI 1·49, 2·24,Ptrend<0·001) for Fe from red meat intake, respectively. However, no significant association was found between the consumption of total dietary Fe, non-haem Fe, Fe from meat and colorectal cancer risk. This study showed that lower intake of Fe from plants and white meat, as well as higher intake of haem Fe and Fe from red meat, were associated with colorectal cancer risk in a Chinese population.
Effect of pyrroloquinoline quinone disodium in female rats during gestating and lactating on reproductive performance and the intestinal barrier functions in the progeny
Authors: Zhang Boru , Yang Wei , Zhang Hongyun , He Shiqi , Meng Qingwei , Chen Zhihui , Shan Anshan
Published: January 2019

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary pyrroloquinoline quinone disodium (PQQ·Na2) supplementation on the reproductive performance and intestinal barrier functions of gestating and lactating female Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats and their offspring. Dietary supplementation with PQQ·Na2increased the number of implanted embryos per litter during gestation and lactation at GD 20 and increased the number of viable fetuses per litter, and the weight of uterine horns with fetuses increased at 1 d of newborn. The mRNA expression levels of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx2), superoxide dismutase (SOD1), solute carrier family 2 member 1 (Slc2a1) and solute carrier family 2 member 3 (Slc2a3) in the placenta were increased with dietary PQQ·Na2supplementation. Dietary supplementation with PQQ·Na2in gestating and lactating rats increased the CAT, SOD and GPx activities of the jejunal mucosa of weaned rats on PD 21. Dietary supplementation with PQQ·Na2in female rats affected the expression of tight junction proteins (claudin, zonula occludens-1(ZO-1) andoccludin) in the jejunal mucosa of their offspring by increasing the expression ofZO-1mRNA in the expression ofZO-1and claudin mRNA in the jejunal mucosa of weaned rats on PD 21. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with PQQ·Na2in gestating and lactating female rats had positive effects on their reproductive performance and on the intestinal barrier of weaned rats.
Non-dietary factors associated with n-3 long-chain PUFA levels in humans – a systematic literature review
Authors: de Groot Renate H. M. , Emmett Rebecca , Meyer Barbara J.
Published: January 2019

Numerous health benefits are attributed to the n-3 long-chain PUFA (n-3 LCPUFA); EPA and DHA. A systematic literature review was conducted to investigate factors, other than diet, that are associated with the n-3 LCPUFA levels. The inclusion criteria were papers written in English, carried out in adult non-pregnant humans, n-3 LCPUFA measured in blood or tissue, data from cross-sectional studies, or baseline data from intervention studies. The search revealed 5076 unique articles of which seventy were included in the qualitative synthesis. Three main groups of factors potentially associated with n-3 LCPUFA levels were identified: (1) unmodifiable factors (sex, genetics, age), (2) modifiable factors (body size, physical activity, alcohol, smoking) and (3) bioavailability factors (chemically bound form of supplements, krill oil v. fish oil, and conversion of plant-derived α-linolenic acid (ALA) to n-3 LCPUFA). Results showed that factors positively associated with n-3 LCPUFA levels were age, female sex (women younger than 50 years), wine consumption and the TAG form. Factors negatively associated with n-3 LCPUFA levels were genetics, BMI (if erythrocyte EPA and DHA levels are <5·6 %) and smoking. The evidence for girth, physical activity and krill oil v. fish oil associated with n-3 LCPUFA levels is inconclusive. There is also evidence that higher ALA consumption leads to increased levels of EPA but not DHA. In conclusion, sex, age, BMI, alcohol consumption, smoking and the form of n-3 LCPUFA are all factors that need to be taken into account in n-3 LCPUFA research.
Behaviour of minor arcuate shapes hosted in curved fold-and-thrust belts: an example from the Northern Apennines (Italy)
Authors: Satolli Sara , Agostini Simone , Calamita Fernando
Published: January 2019

Arcuate fold-and-thrust belts have been extensively studied in the literature. Less attention, however, has been paid to the characteristics of local-scale arcuate structures, meaning 5–10 km long fold or thrust traces that display map-view curvature. Nevertheless, detailed investigation of small arcuate structures hosted in major arcs can contribute to understanding the pervasiveness of deformation mechanisms. We performed a combined geological and palaeomagnetic study on 21 sites from ac. 60 km2area in the Northern Apennines in order to analyse minor arcs at a kilometric scale. As evidenced by the geological and structural analysis performed on the 21 sites, the fold axial trend changes from N–S to NW–SE in the study area. The comparison with palaeomagnetic results shows the lack of correlation between vertical axis rotations and fold axial trends. As a consequence, the minor arcuate shapes of thrusts and related folds are interpreted as mostly primary features inherited from the geometry of the palaeomargin, represented by pre-orogenic faults, according to a context of inversion tectonics.
THE PROCEDURAL APPROACH OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS: BETWEEN SUBSIDIARITY AND DYNAMIC EVOLUTION
Authors: Kleinlein Thomas
Published: January 2019

This article explores how a procedural approach in the case law of the ECtHR combines subsidiarity and progressive development of international obligations. Rather than constituting a simple retreat from substantive commitments, it renders the obligations of Conventions States more flexible and has the potential to enhance the democratic legitimacy of the Court's rulings. This article first sets out various aspects of proceduralization in international human rights law. This is followed by a discussion of how procedural approaches are linked to subsidiarity. In the case law of the ECtHR, procedural approaches facilitate dynamic evolution, both in the practice of Convention States (analytic or bottom-up approach) or by the Court itself (constructive or top-down approach). This interaction of the procedural approach and arguments based on European Consensus allows the ECtHR and domestic institutions to fulfil their ‘shared responsibility’ for the effective protection of human rights in Europe.
Social stratification and allostatic load: shapes of health differences in the MIDUS study in the United States
Authors: Rodriguez Javier M. , Karlamangla Arun S. , Gruenewald Tara L. , Miller-Martinez Dana , Merkin Sharon S. , Seeman Teresa E.
Published: January 2019

Social stratification is an important mechanism of human organization that helps to explain health differences between demographic groups commonly associated with socioeconomic gradients. Individuals, or group of individuals, with similar health profiles may have had different stratification experiences. This is particularly true as social stratification is a significant non-measurable source of systematic unobservable differences in both SES indicators and health statuses of disadvantage. The goal of the present study was to expand the bulk of research that has traditionally treated socioeconomic and demographic characteristics as independent, additive influences on health by examining data from the United States. It is hypothesized that variation in an index of multi-system physiological dysregulation – allostatic load – is associated with social differentiation factors, sorting individuals with similar demographic and socioeconomic characteristics into mutually exclusive econo-demographic classes. The data were from the Longitudinal and Biomarker samples of the national Study of Midlife Development in the US (MIDUS) conducted in 1995 and 2004/2006. Latent class analyses and regression analyses revealed that physiological dysregulation linked to socioeconomic variation among black people, females and older adults are associated with forces of stratification that confound socioeconomic and demographic indicators. In the United States, racial stratification of health is intrinsically related to the degree to which black people in general, and black females in particular, as a group, share an isolated status in society. Findings present evidence that disparities in health emerge from group-differentiation processes to the degree that individuals are distinctly exposed to the ecological, political, social, economic and historical contexts in which social stratification is ingrained. Given that health policies and programmes emanate from said legal and political environments, interventions should target the structural conditions that expose different subgroups to different stress risks in the first place.
Market Evidence on Investor Preference for Fewer Directorships
Authors: Bar-Hava Keren , Gu Feng , Lev Baruch
Published: January 2019

We examine investors’ preference for directors serving on fewer versus more boards (“busy directors”) by measuring market reaction to busy directors’ resignations at the companies that still keep these directors on the board. We find a positive reaction implying a preference for fewer directorships. The reaction is more positive when the need for the director’s services is greater, when the resignation frees up more of the director’s time, and when the director is of higher quality. Furthermore, we find that following their resignation, directors increase their board responsibilities/leadership at firms that still retain them and seek no board appointments elsewhere.
Illegal Border Crossers and Unruly Citizens: Burma-Pakistan-Indian borderlands from the nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries
Authors: MAZUMDER RAJASHREE
Published: January 2019

This article studies borders and border crossers in the area that became Burma, India, and Pakistan from the colonial period through to the immediate post-independence years in the mid-twentieth century. At independence, the new states’ borders not only confused vast sections of their populations by their imprecision but deprived them of their traditional practices of traversing forests, lands, and rivers to use those resources or visit kin. Border crossers’ complaints about the loss of customary access were largely ignored by the states, which tended to view crossers as illegal interlopers or plotters sent over by neighbouring polities. The states redoubled efforts to control such movement by strictly defining citizenship and foreignness, and by militarizing the border police. In addition, the introduction of boundaries between India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar caused conflict between diverse groups within the borderlands and between those groups and the state, often on the basis of religion and ethnicity, which persist to this day and has resulted in the displacement of thousands of people across the borders. An examination of states’ actions and popular reactions shows the evolution of states’ citizenship criteria, their implementation, and challenges to them by mundane or violent ‘transgressions’ of borderlanders. In doing so, it clarifies the mechanics—and the breakdowns—of state-making.
Urban food environments in Africa: implications for policy and research
Authors: Holdsworth Michelle , Landais Edwige
Published: January 2019

Africa is currently experiencing rapid urbanisation impacting on people's food environments and dietary habits. Such changes are associated with higher prevalence of obesity coexisting with undernutrition. The present paper provides an overview of the healthiness of African urban food environments. We discuss the ways that food environments can be characterised and summarise the methods that can be used to investigate and intervene in the food environment. Data for Africa over a 50-year period (1961–2013) suggest an increasing availability of energy, animal products, fruit and vegetables, vegetable oils, sugar and sweeteners but a decrease in animal fats. There is a lack of evidence about how social, physical and macro-environments drive dietary habits in urban Africa, as most research has focused on the individual level. Examining how food consumption is embedded in everyday life, by investigating social environments is crucial to developing effective interventions. The informal food sector plays an important role in the retail food environment. Macro-level food price changes are an important factor influencing nutritional quality of African diets. The rapid expansion of food/beverages advertising in Africa threatens traditional food habits. Liberalisation of food trade is already impacting on the nutritional quality of food available. Improving African food environments represents a pressing public health concern and has the potential to prevent all forms of malnutrition. Hence, by conducting research into the role of urban social, physical and macro-environments, emerging interventions and policies are likely to positively impact on nutritional status, thereby enhancing social and economic development.
Cognitive behaviour therapy for depression in primary care: systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Santoft Fredrik , Axelsson Erland , Öst Lars-Göran , Hedman-Lagerlöf Maria , Fust Jens , Hedman-Lagerlöf Erik
Published: January 2019

Depression is common in primary care, and most patients prefer psychological treatment over pharmacotherapy. Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment, but there are gaps in current knowledge about CBT in the primary care context, especially with regard to long-term effects and the efficacy of specific delivery formats. This is an obstacle to the integration of primary care and specialist psychiatry. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials of CBT for primary care patients with depression to investigate the effect of CBT for patients with depression in primary care. A total of 34 studies, with 2543 patients in CBT and 2815 patients in control conditions, were included. CBT was more effective than the control conditions [g = 0.22 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.15–0.30)], and the effect was sustained at follow-up [g = 0.17 (95% CI 0.10–0.24)]. CBT also led to a higher response rate [odds ratio (OR) = 2.47 (95% CI 1.60–3.80)] and remission rate [OR = 1.56 (95% CI 1.15–2.14)] than the control conditions. Heterogeneity was moderate. The controlled effect of CBT was significant regardless of whether patients met diagnostic criteria for depression, scored above a validated cut-off for depression, or merely had depressive symptoms. CBT also had a controlled effect regardless of whether the treatment was delivered as individual therapy, group therapy or therapist-guided self-help. We conclude that CBT appears to be effective for patients with depression in primary care, and recommend that patients with mild to moderate depression be offered CBT in primary care.
Environmental and social determinants of acute rheumatic fever: a longitudinal cohort study
Authors: Cannon J. W. , Abouzeid M. , de Klerk N. , Dibben C. , Carapetis J. R. , Katzenellenbogen J. M.
Published: January 2019

Acute rheumatic fever (ARF), an auto-immune response to a group AStreptococcusinfection and precursor to rheumatic heart disease (RHD), remains endemic in many socio-economically disadvantaged settings. A Global Resolution on ARF and RHD was recently adopted at the 71st World Health Assembly where governments committed to improving efforts to prevent and control ARF and RHD. To inform these efforts, the objectives of this study were to examine associations between childhood ARF in the UK between 1958 and 1969 and a range of environmental and social factors. Of 17 416 children from the nationally representative birth cohort of the National Child Development Study, ARF was reported in 23 children during early childhood (between birth and the 7-year follow-up) and in 29 additional children during middle childhood (between the 7- and 11-year follow-ups). Risk factors associated with ARF in both early and middle childhood were: a large family size; attendance at a private nursery or class; a history of nephritis, kidney or urinary tract infections; and a history of throat or ear infections. Risk factors for ARF in early childhood alone were families with fathers in a professional or semi-professional occupation and families who moved out of their local neighbourhood. Risk factors in late childhood alone included overcrowding and free school meals. These data suggest that prevention strategies in ARF endemic settings may be enhanced by targeting, for example, new members entering a community and children in environments of close contact, such as a nursery or shared bedrooms.
Dimension-specific symptom patterns in trajectories of broad anxiety: A longitudinal prospective study in school-aged children
Authors: Ahlen Johan , Ghaderi Ata
Published: January 2019

Theories of maladaptive anxiety in children have suggested different developmental trajectories across age. Weems (2008) suggested that one subgroup of children demonstrates high and stable levels of broad anxiety, but shifting levels of dimension-specific symptoms in part due to related normative challenges. In a prospective longitudinal design, the current study examined patterns of dimension-specific anxiety symptoms in subgroups of children following different developmental trajectories of broad anxiety. A total of 300 children (150 girls, 150 boys) ages 8–11 at baseline, completed the Spence Children's Anxiety Scale four times over 3 years. Using latent class growth mixture modeling, we found evidence of three subgroups of children following different trajectories of broad anxiety across age: low-stable, moderate-increasing, and high-decreasing. Compared with other children, the subgroup with moderate and increasing levels of broad anxiety demonstrated an initially higher level of separation anxiety with larger improvement across time but, initially, similar levels of generalized and social anxiety with a larger increase across age. High broad anxiety was partly carried by different sets of dimension-specific symptoms at different ages, which suggests that children with high levels of broad anxiety across time may be more sensitive to normative challenges that happen in typical child development.
Left and right ventricular function by echocardiography, tissue Doppler imaging, carotid intima-media thickness, and asymmetric dimethyl arginine levels in obese adolescents with metabolic syndrome
Authors: Aslan Eyup , Sert Ahmet , Buyukinan Muammer , Pirgon Mustafa Ozgur , Kurku Huseyin , Yilmaz Hakan , Odabas Dursun
Published: January 2019

Purpose

The aim of our study was to assess left ventricle and right ventricle systolic and diastolic functions in obese adolescents with metabolic syndrome using conventional echocardiography and pulsed-wave tissue Doppler imaging and to investigate carotis intima-media thickness, and asymmetric dimethyl arginine levels.

Methods

A total of 198 obese adolescents were enrolled in the study. The obese patients were divided into metabolic syndrome group and non-metabolic syndrome group. All subjects underwent laboratory blood tests, including asymmetric dimethyl arginine, complete two-dimensional, pulsed, and tissue Doppler echocardiography, and measurement of the carotid intima-media thickness.

Results

Obese adolescents were characterised by enlarged left end-diastolic, end-systolic and left atrial diameters, thicker left and right ventricular walls compared with non-obese adolescents. The metabolic syndrome group had normal left ventricle systolic function, impaired diastolic function, and altered global systolic and diastolic myocardial performance. In the metabolic syndrome obese group patients, left ventricle mass was found positively correlated with body mass index, waist and hip circumferences, diastolic blood pressure, age, and waist-to-hip circumference ratio. The carotid intima-media thickness was found positively correlated with waist and hip circumferences and total cholesterol levels. Asymmetric dimethyl arginine levels were found positively correlated with systolic blood pressure, waist-to-hip circumference ratio, and diastolic blood pressure.

Conclusions

The results of this study demonstrate that metabolic syndrome in adolescence is associated with significant changes in myocardial geometry and function. In addition, it has been associated with a high level of asymmetric dimethyl arginine concentration and thicker carotid intima-media thickness reflecting endothelial dysfunction.
Determinants of second pillar pension reforms: economic crisis and globalization
Authors: Fong Joelle H. , Leibrecht Markus
Published: January 2019

In this paper, we examine reforms characterized by the establishment of mandatory funded privately-managed schemes in the social security framework. We construct a new dataset to analyze the determinants of pension reforms over 1980–2012 in about 100 medium and large economies around the world. Our results highlight the fundamental importance of economic forces in explaining the speed of reforms after adjusting for the confounding effects of demographic and geopolitical factors. Countries with greater globalization growth and a history of economic crisis experienced a shorter time until reform. These findings are robust to variations in empirical methodology.
Meteorological Scale Correlation Relationship of the Ionospheric Longitudinal Structure Wavenumber 4 and Upper Atmospheric Daily DE3 Tide
Authors: Li Xing , Wan Weixing , Cao Jinbin , Ren Zhipeng
Published: January 2019

In order to analyze the relationship between atmospheric tides and the ionospheric day‐to‐day variations, this paper mainly presents the meteorological scale (period is shorter than 60 days) correlation relationship between the daily longitudinal structure wavenumber 4 (WN4) in the ionosphere and the daily diurnal eastward propagating with zonal wavenumber 3 (DE3) tide in the upper atmosphere. We deduce the latitudinal integration of total electron content from the global ionospheric maps in the middle‐ to low‐latitude ionosphere and the upper atmospheric temperature from Thermosphere‐Ionosphere‐Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics\Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry observations in the MLT region. Applying new techniques proposed by Li et al. (2015, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JA021577), we extract the daily WN4 structure and daily DE3 tide, respectively. We found that (1) the meteorological scale cross‐correlation coefficients are symmetric about the equator and dominate at the low latitudes; (2) there is a remarkable valley value around sunrise: the amplitudes in day time are a little larger than those at night; the phases in day time are stable and change slowly at night and dramatically before dawn; (3) they vary gradually with altitudes, and the vertical propagating wavelength is about 35‐km altitude; (4) they present an obvious annual variation that the amplitudes are larger from June solstice to early north autumn, and the phases are stable in these months; and (5) they display an obvious quasi‐biennial oscillation phenomenon, and in June to August of 2008–2009 the amplitudes almost disappear before dawn.
Are drivers of root-associated fungal community structure context specific?
Authors: Alzarhani A Khuzaim , Clark Dave R , Underwood Graham J C , Ford Hilary , Cotton T E Anne , Dumbrell Alex J
Published: January 2019

The composition and structure of plant-root-associated fungal communities are determined by local abiotic and biotic conditions. However, the relative influence and identity of relationships to abiotic and biotic factors may differ across environmental and ecological contexts, and fungal functional groups. Thus, understanding which aspects of root-associated fungal community ecology generalise across contexts is the first step towards a more predictive framework. We investigated how the relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors scale across environmental and ecological contexts using high-throughput sequencing (ca. 55 M Illumina metabarcoding sequences) of >260 plant-root-associated fungal communities from six UK salt marshes across two geographic regions (South-East and North-West England) in winter and summer. Levels of root-associated fungal diversity were comparable with forests and temperate grasslands, quadrupling previous estimates of salt-marsh fungal diversity. Whilst abiotic variables were generally most important, a range of site- and spatial scale-specific abiotic and biotic drivers of diversity and community composition were observed. Consequently, predictive models of diversity trained on one site, extrapolated poorly to others. Fungal taxa from the same functional groups responded similarly to the specific drivers of diversity and composition. Thus site, spatial scale and functional group are key factors that, if accounted for, may lead to a more predictive understanding of fungal community ecology.
Bacterial and protozoan dynamics upon thawing and freezing of an active layer permafrost soil
Authors: Schostag Morten , Priemé Anders , Jacquiod Samuel , Russel Jakob , Ekelund Flemming , Jacobsen Carsten Suhr
Published: January 2019

The active layer of soil overlaying permafrost in the Arctic is subjected to annual changes in temperature and soil chemistry, which we hypothesize to affect the overall soil microbial community. We investigated changes in soil microorganisms at different temperatures during warming and freezing of the active layer soil from Svalbard, Norway. Soil community data were obtained by direct shotgun sequencing of total extracted RNA. No changes in soil microbial communities were detected when warming from −10 to −2 °C or when freezing from −2 to −10 °C. In contrast, within a few days we observed changes when warming from −2 to +2 °C with a decrease in fungal rRNA and an increase in several OTUs belonging to Gemmatimonadetes, Bacteroidetes and Betaproteobacteria. Even more substantial changes occurred when incubating at 2 °C for 16 days, with declines in total fungal potential activity and decreases in oligotrophic members from Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria. Additionally, we detected an increase in transcriptome sequences of bacterial phyla Bacteriodetes, Firmicutes, Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria—collectively presumed to be copiotrophic. Furthermore, we detected an increase in putative bacterivorous heterotrophic flagellates, likely due to predation upon the bacterial community via grazing. Although this grazing activity may explain relatively large changes in the bacterial community composition, no changes in total 16S rRNA gene copy number were observed and the total RNA level remained stable during the incubation. Together, these results are showing the first comprehensive ecological evaluation across prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial communities on thawing and freezing of soil by application of the TotalRNA technique.
High cholesterol triggers white matter alterations and cognitive deficits in a mouse model of cerebrovascular disease: benefits of simvastatin
Authors: Tong Xin-Kang , Trigiani Lianne J. , Hamel Edith
Published: January 2019

Transgenic mice overexpressing transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF mice) display impaired cerebrovascular reactivity, cerebral hypoperfusion and neurovascular uncoupling, but no overt cognitive deficits until old age. Cardiovascular diseases are a major risk factor for vascular cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID). We investigated the impact of a high cholesterol diet (HCD) on cerebrovascular and cognitive function in adult (6 months) and aged (12 months) TGF mice, together with the potential benefit of simvastatin (SV), an anti-cholesterol drug with pleiotropic effects, in adult mice. HCD increased blood, but not brain, cholesterol levels in treated mice, which SV did not reduce. In WT mice, HCD induced small, albeit significant, impairment in endothelium-dependent dilatory function. In TGF mice, HCD worsened the established brain vessel dilatory dysfunction in an age-dependent manner and increased the number of string vessels in the white matter (WM), alterations respectively normalized and significantly countered by SV. HCD triggered cognitive decline only in TGF mice at both ages, a deficit prevented by SV. Concurrently, HCD upregulated galectin−3 immunoreactivity in WM microglial cells, a response significantly reduced in SV-treated TGF mice. Grey matter astrogliosis and microgliosis were not affected by HCD or SV. In the subventricular zone of adult HCD-treated TGF mice, SV promoted oligogenesis and migration of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells. The results demonstrate that an underlying cerebrovascular pathology increases vulnerability to cognitive failure when combined to another risk factor for dementia, and that WM alterations are associated with this loss of function. The results further indicate that myelin repair mechanisms, as triggered by SV, may bear promise in preventing or delaying cognitive decline related to VCID.