bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Geochemical Analysis of the Hittite‐Period Pottery from Tarsus‐Gözlükule, Turkey
Authors: Karacic S. , Boulanger M. T. , Glascock M. D.
Published: April 2016

Neutron activation analysis was conducted on Late Bronze IIA pottery from Tarsus‐Gözlükule and compared with archival data from contemporary sites in Cilicia and Cyprus. The results provide a model for the organization of pottery production at Tarsus‐Gözlükule when the settlement was under the rule of the Hittite Empire. It is proposed that multiple contemporary pottery workshops provided the community of Tarsus‐Gözlükule with both Hittite‐style pottery and other wares. It is further suggested that these workshops may have differed in the extent to which they were attached to the imperial administration.
Pharmacokinetics of ixazomib, an oral proteasome inhibitor, in solid tumour patients with moderate or severe hepatic impairment
Authors: Gupta Neeraj , Hanley Michael J. , Venkatakrishnan Karthik , Perez Raymond , Norris Robin E. , Nemunaitis John , Yang Huyuan , Qian Mark G. , Falchook Gerald , Labotka Richard , Fu Siqing
Published: April 2016

Aim

The aim of the present study was to characterize the pharmacokinetics of the oral proteasome inhibitor, ixazomib, in patients with solid tumours and moderate or severe hepatic impairment, to provide posology recommendations.

Methods

Eligible adults with advanced malignancies for which no further effective therapy was available received a single dose of ixazomib on day 1 of the pharmacokinetic cycle; patients with normal hepatic function, moderate hepatic impairment or severe hepatic impairment received 4 mg, 2.3 mg or 1.5 mg, respectively. Blood samples for single‐dose pharmacokinetic characterization were collected over 336 h postdose. After sampling, patients could continue to receive ixazomib on days 1, 8 and 15 in 28‐day cycles.

Results

Of 48 enrolled patients (13, 15 and 20 in the normal, moderate and severe groups, respectively), 43 were pharmacokinetics‐evaluable. Ixazomib was rapidly absorbed (median time to reach peak concentration was 0.95–1.5 h) and highly bound to plasma proteins, with a similar mean fraction bound (~99%) across the three groups. In patients with moderate/severe hepatic impairment (combined group), the geometric least squares mean ratios (90% confidence interval) for unbound and total dose‐normalized area under the plasma concentration vs. time curve from time zero to the time of the last quantifiable concentration in reference to the normal hepatic function group were 1.27 (0.75, 2.16) and 1.20 (0.79, 1.82), respectively. Seven (15%) of the 48 patients experienced a grade 3 drug‐related adverse event; there were no drug‐related grade 4 adverse events.

Conclusions

In patients with moderate/severe hepatic impairment, unbound and total systemic exposures of ixazomib were 27% and 20% higher, respectively, vs. normal hepatic function. A reduced ixazomib starting dose of 3 mg is recommended for patients with moderate or severe hepatic impairment.
The influence of ability, benevolence, and integrity in trust between managers and subordinates: the role of ethical reasoning
Authors: Lleó de Nalda Álvaro , Guillén Manuel , Gil Pechuán Ignacio
Published: April 2016

Numerous researchers have examined the antecedents of trust between managers and subordinates. Recent studies conclude that their influence varies depending on whether what is being examined is a manager's trust in a subordinate or a subordinate's trust in a manager. However, the reasons given to justify this phenomenon present limitations. This article offers a new theoretical approach that relates the influence of each antecedent to Aristotelian forms of reasoning, ethical, and instrumental. The proposed approach shows that the influence of each antecedent depends on which rationality prevails in the person who trusts. The contribution of this article is to better explain the phenomenon of interpersonal trust formation and its logic, while offering at the same time several practical implications for managers interested in developing an organizational culture based on trust. The article begins with a literature review of more relevant empirical studies analyzing superior–subordinate trust formation and presents some theoretical limitations of the arguments described in these works. Then, it offers a new theorerical approach based on Aristotelian thought to explain the influence of the antecedents of trust in management–subordinate relationships. The theoretical contribution is then confirmed in an empirical study of 163 mid‐level managers in Spain.
Testosterone therapy, association with age, initiation and mode of therapy with cardiovascular events: a systematic review
Authors: Albert Stewart G. , Morley John E.
Published: April 2016

Background

Although male hypogonadism is associated with increased cardiovascular events (CVE), recent concerns are that testosterone supplementation may increase CVE. The purpose was to determine associations with age, initiation or mode of therapy to explain these discrepancies.

Data synthesis

Meta‐analyses were supplemented through Scopus and PubMed with search terms ‘testosterone’, ‘random’ and ‘trial’. CVE, defined before data extraction, were death, myocardial infarction, acute coronary syndrome, percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary bypass, syncope, arrhythmia, hospital admission for congestive heart failure or cerebrovascular event.

Results

There were 45 trials with 5328 subjects evaluated, with a mean age of 63·3 (SD ±7·9) years, followed for mean study duration of 10·6 (± 8·6) months. Overall, testosterone supplementation was not associated with increased CVE risk ratio (rr = 1·10 (95% CI 0·86; 1·41, P = 0·45)). However, there was an increase event rate during the first 12 months (rr = 1·79 (1·13;2·83, P = 0·012)), predominantly in those ≥65 years, (rr = 2·90 (1·35;6·21, P = 0·006)). Within studies with lipid data, CVE were associated with fall in HDL, P = 0·002. Intramuscular testosterone appeared neutral for CVE (rr = 0·96 (0·462;1·98, P = 0·91)) compared with oral testosterone (rr = 2·28 (95% CI 2·28;8·59, P = 0·22)) and transdermal testosterone (rr = 2·80 (1·38;5·68, P = 0·004)). Intramuscular testosterone had the least effect of lowering HDL and non‐HDL cholesterol (both P < 0·001).

Conclusions

Testosterone supplementation may be associated with increased CVE in those ≥65 years especially during the first year. Biological actions may differ depending upon mode of testosterone administration with intramuscular testosterone having less cardiovascular risk.
Synthesis and application of dyes derived from benz[cd]indol‐2(1H)‐one as visible‐light‐absorbing polymerisation photoinitiators
Authors: Strzelczyk Rafał , Michalski Radosław , Podsiadły Radosław
Published: April 2016

Several potential initiators based on benz[cd]indol‐2(1H)‐one dye have been synthesised and evaluated in the radical polymerisation of a system containing trimethylolpropane triacrylate under visible light. Absorption, fluorescence, and phosphorescence spectra and the electrochemical properties of these novel dyes were determined. Owing to the presence of an appropriate hydrogen donor group in their structure, these photoinitiators do not need an extra coinitiator to initiate the polymerisation process. During photopolymerisation they act both as a triplet sensitiser and as a hydrogen donor. The relationship between the polymerisation rate and the triplet‐excited‐state reduction potential suggests that initiating radicals are formed from the triplet state via hydrogen transfer. This mechanism is supported by density functional theory calculations. 8‐Bromo‐6‐[(2‐sulphanylethyl)sulphanyl]benzo[cd]indol‐2(1H)‐one and 8‐bromo‐6‐sulphanylbenz[cd]indol‐2(1H)‐one may be applied as visible‐light initiators of free radical polymerisation to obtain a low‐molecular‐weight polymer.
A comparison of head motion and prefrontal haemodynamics during upright and recumbent cycling exercise
Authors: Tempest Gavin D. , Eston Roger G. , Parfitt Gaynor
Published: April 2016

The aim of this observational study was to compare head motion and prefrontal haemodynamics during exercise using three commercial cycling ergometers. Participants (n = 12) completed an incremental exercise test to exhaustion during upright, recumbent and semi‐recumbent cycling. Head motion (using accelerometry), physiological data (oxygen uptake, end‐tidal carbon dioxide [PETCO2] and heart rate) and changes in prefrontal haemodynamics (oxygenation, deoxygenation and blood volume using near infrared spectroscopy [NIRS]) were recorded. Despite no difference in oxygen uptake and heart rate, head motion was higher and PETCO2 was lower during upright cycling at maximal exercise (P<0·05). Analyses of covariance (covariates: head motion P>0·05; PETCO2, P<0·01) revealed that prefrontal oxygenation was higher during semi‐recumbent than recumbent cycling and deoxygenation and blood volume were higher during upright than recumbent and semi‐recumbent cycling (respectively; P<0·05). This work highlights the robustness of the utility of NIRS to head motion and describes the potential postural effects upon the prefrontal haemodynamic response during upright and recumbent cycling exercise.
Sex ratios, virginity, and local resource enhancement in a quasisocial parasitoid
Authors: Kapranas Apostolos , Hardy Ian C.W. , Tang Xiuyun , Gardner Andy , Li Baoping
Published: April 2016

Sclerodermus harmandi (Buysson) (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) is an economically beneficial species of parasitoid wasp that has an unusual level of sociality: groups of female foundresses reproduce on a single host and exhibit cooperative post‐ovipositional brood care. The beneficial effects females have on each other's reproductive success provide, via the theory of local resource enhancement (LRE), an explanation for their female‐biased progeny sex ratios, which is part of the same framework for understanding sex‐ratio evolution as the more often invoked theory of local mate competition (LMC). Here, we show that S. harmandi sex ratios are overdispersed, with high variance largely attributable to the common occurrence (60%) of developmental mortality. Developmental mortality is also positively associated with the proportion of broods which contain only females at emergence (virgin broods). Virginity is more common when broods are produced by fewer foundresses. Virginity is expected to be disadvantageous under LRE, as it is under LMC, but theory for LRE is less extensively developed. We suggest approaches for the development of LRE theory, in particular using models of ‘population elasticity’ in which the intensity of kin competition is reduced because extra resources are available to local populations that are more cooperative. For S. harmandi, such extra resources may include large hosts that can only be successfully utilised if multiple foundresses cooperate.
Predicting the potential establishment of two insect species using the simulation environment INSIM (INsect SIMulation)
Authors: Hemerik Lia , van Nes Egbert H.
Published: April 2016

Degree‐day models have long been used to predict events in the life cycle of insects and therewith the timing of outbreaks of insect pests and their natural enemies. This approach assumes, however, that the effect of temperature is linear, whereas developmental rates of insects are non‐linearly related to temperature. Therefore, we have developed the simulation tool INSIM (INsect SIMulation) that can easily handle non‐linear temperature relationships, because the program interpolates between measured growth, mortality, and reproduction parameter values given at two subsequent ambient temperatures. We use the tool for predicting the establishment of two insect species. For the application of the biological control agent Podisus maculiventris (Say) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in The Netherlands, we compare a linear and a non‐linear function for the development. The number of adult females increases six‐fold in the course of a year for the non‐linear case, suggesting that the Dutch climate might be warm enough for this beneficial insect to settle. The implementation of a linear development rate shows approximately the same increase. For the invasive pest Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in The Netherlands, we assessed that it is probably well‐adapted to the current Dutch climate: it is predicted to establish easily in most of the simulated scenarios. However, if it were only to attack blueberries (and not cherries), its invasion success is predicted to be limited, because the reproduction in blueberries is low. The implementation of a linear development rate gives rise to 50% fewer adult females (on cherry) or even 95% fewer (on blueberry) after a year. More data are needed for both systems, specifically on overwintering survival for P. maculiventris and for D. suzukii on lifetime reproduction at various temperatures and in different fruit hosts. From the implementation of the linear rate model we can see that, depending on how well the linear approximation is, the results may differ considerably. We have demonstrated that the INSIM program is a useful tool that can easily be adapted to predict the success and individual variation for different insect species.
Economic Policy Coordination as a Game Involving Economic Stability and National Sovereignty
Authors: Adamski Dariusz
Published: April 2016

The economic crisis has paved the way for reconsideration of the Eurozone's constitutional design. This paper shows that what may seem as a massive empowerment of European institutions at the cost of national economic sovereignty in actual constitutional practice has left economic policy coordination largely unchanged. By means of conceptualising its previous and current patterns as a game between supranational and national institutions, it is shown that the scale of change has been widely exaggerated. The new Eurozone design has mitigated in practice the extent to which national economic sovereignty has been undermined, but only at the cost of shifting to the European Central Bank the burden of shoring up the stability of the common currency; such burden the ECB is bound to prove unable to sustain in the long run.
Galanin 3 receptor‐deficient mice show no alteration in the oxazolone‐induced contact dermatitis phenotype
Authors: Botz Bálint , Brunner Susanne M. , Kemény Ágnes , Pintér Erika , McDougall Jason J. , Kofler Barbara , Helyes Zsuzsanna
Published: April 2016

Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is an inflammatory skin disease induced by allergen exposure and characterized by erythema, oedema and immune cell infiltration. The sensory peptide galanin (GAL) and its three receptors (GAL1–3) are involved in regulating inflammation. As GAL and its receptors are expressed in human and murine skin and GAL expression is increased in oxazolone‐induced contact allergy, it could play a role in dermatitis. As GAL reduces neurogenic plasma extravasation in the mouse skin via GAL3 activation, the role of GAL3 in the oxazolone‐induced dermatitis model was explored. Following topical challenge with oxazolone, GAL3 gene‐deficient mice showed a trend towards reduced ear thickness. Plasma extravasation and neutrophil infiltration increased considerably upon oxazolone challenge in both GAL3 knockout animals and wild‐type controls without any observable effect of the gene deletion. We conclude that a lack of GAL3 does not influence oxazolone‐induced ACD.
Topiramate for Treatment in Patients With Migraine and Epilepsy
Authors: Spritzer Scott D. , Bravo Thomas P. , Drazkowski Joseph F.
Published: April 2016

Background

Antiepileptic drugs (AED) are often considered first line for monotherapy in treatment of patients with migraines, and also those with comorbid migraine and epilepsy. Topiramate, a newer generation AED, has broad mechanism of action and evidence of benefit in patients with either episodic or chronic migraine along with epilepsy, both generalized and focal.

Methods

Our goal is to review the relevant mechanisms of action along with any supportive evidence published to date on the use of topiramate (TPM) in patients with both migraine headache and epilepsy.

Conclusions

There has been very little published to date on the use of TPM in patients diagnosed with both disorders. Despite this, TPM has been adopted as first line therapy in this patient population. Future studies investigating the effectiveness of this treatment strategy are warranted in order to determine the most effective use of this medication in patients diagnosed with migraine headaches and epilepsy.
Creating the “International Mind”: The League of Nations Attempts to Reform History Teaching, 1920–1939
Authors: Osborne Ken
Published: April 2016

After the First World War, the League of Nations, through its International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, attempted to reshape the teaching of history in its member states. The League's supporters realized that its long-term success depended in part on supportive public opinion and that this, in turn, had implications for education. Aware of the strength of national loyalties, the League sought not to abolish the teaching of national history but to suffuse it with the spirit of the “international mind.” To this end, the League promoted revision of history textbooks and curricula, retraining of teachers, and rethinking of teaching methods. National governments responded by including some study of the League in history curricula but ignored the League's broader plans. Nonetheless, the League's attempt to internationalize the teaching of history opened up a debate that continues today as schools seek to strike a balance between claims of national and global history.
Historiographic Reconsideration of Colonial Education in Africa: Domestic Forces in the Early Expansion of English Schooling in Northern Igboland, 1890–1930
Authors: Odugu Desmond Ikenna
Published: April 2016

Mainstream historiography often turns to Europe's era of empire building to explain the expansion of Western formal education in Africa. Popular accounts suggest that in Africa (1) colonial involvement in education was late and short lived, spanning the early decades of the twentieth century, (2) missionaries were largely responsible for early educational expansion, and (3) education expansion resulted from interdenominational rivalries among missionaries. However, these popular narratives inadequately account for Africans' own responses to colonial education. This study examines social and cultural shifts in northern Igboland in southeastern Nigeria between 1890 and 1930. It uses colonial archives and oral sources to demonstrate that beyond missionary rivalry, domestic contests converged with the fledgling colonial process to promote English education in northern Igboland. To accomplish this task, the article reviews methodological assumptions responsible for marginal attention to the agency of the colonized in the historiography of Western education in former colonies.
The State of Educational Improvement: The Legacy of ESEA Title I
Authors: Moffitt Susan L.
Published: April 2016

Title I has a mixed legacy that poses a paradox. Part of that legacy has yielded tremendous accomplishments. Title I asserted a federal priority to help disadvantaged students and broke with long resistance to a significant federal role in elementary and secondary schooling. It has deepened and expanded government responsibility and management of schooling at all levels—federal, state, and local. Over time, it has helped sweep schools, regardless of their student population's poverty levels, into the broader national standards-accountability movement, most recently expressed in the Common Core. While resistance to some aspects of federal authority remains, and may have intensified, Title I has developed durable constituencies and appetites for federal funds. Improving the education of children who live in poverty remains politically salient. These are remarkable accomplishments. And these accomplishments are intimately intertwined with other policies, including the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which facilitated the passage of other legislation, such as Head Start and Title I. Title I's legacy is intertwined in other ways, beyond its connections with contemporaneous policies; and these dependencies will be the focus of my remarks today.
TESTING FOR A UNIT ROOT AGAINST TRANSITIONAL AUTOREGRESSIVE MODELS
Authors: Park Joon Y. , Shintani Mototsugu
Published: April 2016

This article develops a novel test for a unit root in general transitional autoregressive models, which is based on the infimum of t‐ratios for the coefficient of a parametrized transition function. Our test allows for very flexible specifications of the transition function and short‐run dynamics and is significantly more powerful than all the other existing tests. Moreover, we develop a large sample theory general enough to deal with randomly drifting parameter spaces, which is essential to properly test for a unit root against stationary transitional models. An empirical application of our test to the exchange rate data is also provided.
PRODUCTION FUNCTION ESTIMATION WITH UNOBSERVED INPUT PRICE DISPERSION
Authors: Grieco Paul L. E. , Li Shengyu , Zhang Hongsong
Published: April 2016

We propose a method to consistently estimate production functions in the presence of input price dispersion when intermediate input quantities are not observed. We find that the traditional approach to dealing with unobserved input quantities—using deflated expenditure as a proxy—substantially biases the production estimates. In contrast, our method controls for heterogeneous input prices by exploiting the first‐order conditions of the firm's profit maximization problem and consistently recovers the production function parameters. Using our preferred method, we provide empirical evidence of significant input price dispersion and even wider productivity dispersion than is estimated using proxy methods.
EFFICIENCY AND BARGAINING POWER IN THE INTERBANK LOAN MARKET
Authors: Allen Jason , Chapman James , Echenique Federico , Shum Matthew
Published: April 2016

Using detailed transactions‐level data on interbank loans, we examine the efficiency of an overnight interbank lending market and the bargaining power of its participants. Our analysis relies on the equilibrium concept of the core, which imposes a set of no‐arbitrage conditions on trades in the market. For Canada's Large Value Transfer System, we show that although the market is fairly efficient, systemic inefficiency persists throughout our sample. The level of inefficiency matches distinct phases of both the Bank of Canada's operations as well as phases of the 2007–8 financial crisis. We find that bargaining power tilted sharply toward borrowers as the financial crisis progressed and (surprisingly) toward riskier borrowers.
Mechanical Properties of Submicrometer‐Grained Transparent Yttria Ceramics by Hot Pressing with Hot‐Isostatic Pressing
Authors: Gan Lin , Park Young‐Jo , Kim Haneul , Kim Jin‐Myung , Ko Jae‐Woong , Lee Jae‐Wook
Published: April 2016

Here, we report the fabrication and mechanical properties of submicrometer‐grained (0.29–0.58 μm) transparent yttria ceramics by hot pressing combined with hot‐isostatic pressing. The effects of the grain size on the microhardness and the fracture toughness were studied. An unusual decrease of the fracture toughness with an increase in the grain size was revealed, which may be attributed to the different grain size dependence of the fracture behavior of the ZrO2‐doped yttria ceramics compared to that of other yttria ceramics. The microhardness and fracture toughness of the transparent yttria ceramics were found to be better than those of the large‐grained yttria ceramics.
“Evaluating normative epistemic frameworks in medicine: EBM and casuistic medicine”
Authors: Bingeman Emily
Published: April 2016

Since its inception in the early 1990s, evidence‐based medicine (EBM) has become the dominant epistemic framework for Western medical practice. However, in light of powerful criticisms against EBM, alternatives such as casuistic medicine have been gaining support in both the medical and philosophical community. In the absence of empirical evidence in support of the claim that EBM improves patient outcomes, and in light of considerations that it is unlikely that such evidence will be forthcoming, another standard is needed to assess EBM against its alternatives. In this paper, I propose a set of criteria for this purpose based on Helen Longino's criteria for assessing the objectivity of a knowledge productive community. I then apply these criteria to assess EBM against a casuistic framework for medical knowledge. I argue that EBM's strict adherence to a hierarchical organization of knowledge can reasonably be expected to block it from fulfilling a high level of objectivity. A casuistic framework, on the other hand, because it emphasizes critical evaluation in conjunction with the flexibility of a case‐based approach, could be expected to better facilitate a more optimal epistemic community.
Screening for ASD in adults with ID—moving toward a standard using the DiBAS‐R and the ACL
Authors: Mutsaerts C. G. , Heinrich M. , Sterkenburg P. S. , Sappok T.
Published: April 2016

Background

Identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in persons with intellectual disability (ID) is challenging but essential to allow adequate treatment to be given. This study examines whether the combination of two ASD screening instruments specifically developed for persons with ID, namely, the Diagnostic Behavioral Assessment for ASD—Revised (DiBAS‐R) and the Autism Checklist (ACL), improves diagnostic accuracy when used in combination compared to the application of the single instrument.

Method

A clinical sample of adults with ID who are suspected of having ASD (N =148) was assessed using two ID specific screening scales (DiBAS‐R and ACL). The diagnostic validity of the single instruments and of their combination was assessed.

Results

While both instruments showed acceptable diagnostic validity when applied alone (DiBAS‐R/ACL: sensitivity: 75%/91%; specificity: 75%/75%; overall agreement: 75%/83%), specificity increased when two positive screening results were used (88%), and sensitivity increased (95%) when at least one positive screening result was used.

Conclusions

Different combinations of the ASD screening instruments DiBAS‐R and ACL lead to improvements in sensitivity and specificity. The complementary use of the ACL in addition to the sole use of the DiBAS‐R improves overall accuracy.
Functional severity and Latino ethnicity in specialty services for children with autism spectrum disorder
Authors: Magaña S. , Parish S. L. , Son E.
Published: April 2016

Background

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience a range of severity levels characterised as levels of support they need for everyday functioning. By this definition, greater levels of severity should warrant greater use of services and supports among children with ASD. In previous studies, Latino children with ASD in the USA have been shown to have lower access to diagnosis and treatment services than White children. However, none have examined service use in relation to severity. In this study, we examined whether there are ethnic disparities between Latino and White children with ASD in specialty autism‐related services, and whether functional severity moderates the relationship between ethnicity and receipt of autism services.

Methods

We used data from the Survey of Pathways to Diagnosis and Services, a supplement to the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs and analysed four specialty services commonly used by children with ASD, adjusting for demographic variables.

Results

We found that Latino children with ASD who had severe limitations received fewer specialty autism‐related services than White children with similarly severe conditions. These disparities were evident despite the fact that the sample of Latino children in these data were more privileged than the general US Latino population.

Conclusion

Assertive policy initiatives are needed to address these disparities and ensure that these highly vulnerable children with severe functional limitations receive appropriate services and supports.
The enhancing effect of a laser photochemotherapy with cisplatin or zolendronic acid in primary human osteoblasts and osteosarcoma cells in vitro
Authors: Heymann Paul Günther Baptist , Ziebart Thomas , Kämmerer Peer Wolfgang , Mandic Robert , Saydali Akram , Braun Andreas , Neff Andreas , Draenert Guy Florian
Published: April 2016

Background

Photodynamic therapies (PDT) have become increasingly popular in the adjuvant treatment of different tumour entities. Chemotherapeutic agents, such as cisplatin may be used in combination with low‐level laser therapy (LLLT) as laser photochemotherapy. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of LLLT on cell bioviability of normal and malignant bone cells under chemotherapeutic conditions with either cisplatin or zolendronic acid in vitro.

Methods

Primary human osteoblasts (HOB) and an osteosarcoma cell line (Saos‐2) were treated with different concentrations of zolendronic acid or cisplatin and irradiated twice with a diode laser (wavelength 670 nm, 120 s, energy outputs of 100mW/cm2, continuous wave mode). Cell viability was tested by XTT‐assay and via histomorphological analysis.

Results

LLLT alone increased bioviability for both cell lines. LLLT lowered HOB viability at the three highest concentrations of cisplatin and zolendronic acid. For Saos‐2, LLLT reduced cell viability at every concentration of cisplatin. In cases of incubation with zolendronic acid, similar to osteoblasts, LLLT lowered cell viability at the highest concentration only.

Conclusions

Based on the conditions of this study, laser photochemotherapy may be able to raise the cytotoxicity of cisplatin and zolendronic acid in benign and malignant bone cells. This could be of interest in the development of new therapeutic treatment modalities against neoplastic bone diseases like osteosarcoma.
Impacts of aquaculture on fish biodiversity in the freshwater lake Laguna de Bay, Philippines
Authors: Cuvin‐Aralar Maria Lourdes A.
Published: April 2016

Laguna de Bay is the largest inland water body in the Philippines, being used predominantly for aquaculture and open water fisheries. Aquaculture in the lake began decades ago, with many changes in the lake ecosystem having occurred since that time. Most dominant species for fish culture are introduced species. Other invasive species were also introduced to the lake as escapees from land‐based aquaculture facilities. This study was conducted to monitor fish diversity in two adjacent, but distinctly different, sites in the lake, namely an open fishery area (OFS), with no adjacent aquaculture structures, and an aquaculture site (AQS), with cages for the culture of various commodities. Fish traps were installed at both sites, with the traps being sampled at least every 2 weeks from April 2013 to February 2015. The results of pairwise t‐tests indicated significantly higher Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H′), evenness (J′), Simpson's similarity index (D) and species richness (s) in OFS than in AQS. In terms of total catch per day, significantly greater fish biomass were obtained from AQS than from OFS. Introduced aquaculture species had a mean dominance of 83% and 47% in AQS and OFS, respectively. However, invasive species introduced from the ornamental fish trade exhibited a mean relative dominance of 10.3% in AQS and 13.5% in OFS. The relative dominance of native species was also significantly higher in OFS (41%) than in AQS (6.5%). The results of this study demonstrated the adverse impacts of aquaculture in regard to the species diversity of fish in localized areas in Laguna de Bay. The dependency of aquaculture on introduced fish species adversely impacted the natural fish population in the lake. Focusing on the culture of commercially important local species for aquaculture, rather than introduced species, will improve fish production of inland waters without accompanying adverse impacts on biodiversity.
Evolved plasmid‐host interactions reduce plasmid interference cost
Authors: Yano Hirokazu , Wegrzyn Katarznya , Loftie‐Eaton Wesley , Johnson Jenny , Deckert Gail E. , Rogers Linda M. , Konieczny Igor , Top Eva M.
Published: April 2016

Antibiotic selection drives adaptation of antibiotic resistance plasmids to new bacterial hosts, but the molecular mechanisms are still poorly understood. We previously showed that a broad‐host‐range plasmid was poorly maintained in Shewanella oneidensis, but rapidly adapted through mutations in the replication initiation gene trfA1. Here we examined if these mutations reduced the fitness cost of TrfA1, and whether this was due to changes in interaction with the host's DNA helicase DnaB. The strains expressing evolved TrfA1 variants showed a higher growth rate than those expressing ancestral TrfA1. The evolved TrfA1 variants showed a lower affinity to the helicase than ancestral TrfA1 and were no longer able to activate the helicase at the oriV without host DnaA. Moreover, persistence of the ancestral plasmid was increased upon overexpression of DnaB. Finally, the evolved TrfA1 variants generated higher plasmid copy numbers than ancestral TrfA1. The findings suggest that ancestral plasmid instability can at least partly be explained by titration of DnaB by TrfA1. Thus under antibiotic selection resistance plasmids can adapt to a novel bacterial host through partial loss of function mutations that simultaneously increase plasmid copy number and decrease unfavorably high affinity to one of the hosts' essential proteins.
Identification and functional analysis of the HvD14 gene involved in strigolactone signaling in Hordeum vulgare
Authors: Marzec Marek , Gruszka Damian , Tylec Piotr , Szarejko Iwona
Published: April 2016

In this study, the barley HvD14 gene encoding α/β hydrolase, which is involved in strigolactone (SL) signaling, was identified. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the identified gene is an orthologue of the D14, AtD14 and PhDAD2 genes that have been described in rice, Arabidopsis thaliana and petunia, respectively. Using TILLING strategy, an hvd14.d mutant that carried the G725A transition, located in the second exon, was identified. This mutation led to the substitution of a highly conserved glycine‐193 to glutamic acid in the conserved fragment of the α/β hydrolase domain of the HvD14 protein. The plants that carry the hvd14.d allele were semi‐dwarf and produced a higher number of tillers in comparison to the wild‐type (WT) parent cultivar. Additionally, the root architecture of mutant plants was affected: the total length of the seminal roots was significantly reduced, and the density of the lateral roots was higher than in the WT. Plants with the hvd14.d allele were insensitive to treatment with GR24, which is the synthetic analogue of SL. Analysis of the indole‐3‐acetic acid (IAA) concentration in the lateral buds showed no differences between the WT and mutant plants. By contrast, the WT seedlings treated with GR24 developed a lower number of tillers, longer primary roots with a reduced number of lateral roots and had an increased concentration of IAA in lateral buds. This paper describes the first barley SL mutant and shows the potential functions of SLs in barley growth and development.
Dasya adela sp. nov. (Rhodophyta, Ceramiales), an enigmatic new Dasya from a landlocked fjord in southwest Norway
Authors: Sjøtun Kjersti , Heggøy Erling , Gabrielsen Tove M. , Rueness Jan
Published: April 2016

We here report a new Dasya species found in a landlocked fjord or poll in southwestern Norway; Dasya adela sp. nov. The thallus of this species is small (1–3 cm), normally sparsely branched, and its axes are completely covered with cortex cells. The species is set with long (3–4 mm) and flaccid monosiphonous pseudolaterals, and during autumn it showed high growth of adventitious monosiphonous branches. Only a few individuals with tetrasporangia have been recorded, and no sexual reproductive structures have been observed in field collections. In culture stichidia readily developed on the pseudolaterals, with four tetrasporangia per section. The spores showed high mortality. A few sporelings survived in culture, and developed into small and loosely organized filaments with no upright axes. After 2 years in culture a few plants bearing spermatangial branches were observed, but no individuals with carpogonia. The monosiphonous branches are readily shed in culture, attach themselves by rhizoids and rapidly develop into new thalli, some of which have produced tetrasporangial stichidia. Sequences analyses of partial COI and the rbc
L gene showed that the new taxon belongs within Dasyoideae. However, no close relationship was found with other European species of Dasya. The new taxon was compared to other Dasya taxa with which it shared a number of selected characters, but none of these taxa shared all characters of the new Dasya.
Acute and subacute idiopathic interstitial pneumonias
Authors: Taniguchi Hiroyuki , Kondoh Yasuhiro
Published: April 2016

Idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs) may have an acute or subacute presentation, or acute exacerbation may occur in a previously subclinical or unrecognized chronic IIP. Acute or subacute IIPs include acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP), cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP), nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP), acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (AE‐IPF) and AE‐NSIP. Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) including connective tissue disease (CTD) associated ILD, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, acute eosinophilic pneumonia, drug‐induced lung disease and diffuse alveolar haemorrhage need to be differentiated from acute and subacute IIPs. Despite the severe lack of randomized controlled trials for the treatment of acute and subacute IIPs, the mainstream treatment remains corticosteroid therapy. Other potential therapies reported in the literature include corticosteroids and immunosuppression, antibiotics, anticoagulants, neutrophil elastase inhibitor, autoantibody‐targeted treatment, antifibrotics and hemoperfusion therapy. With regard to mechanical ventilation, patients in recent studies with acute and subacute IIPs have shown better survival than those in previous studies. Therefore, a careful value‐laden decision about the indications for endotracheal intubation should be made for each patient. Noninvasive ventilation may be beneficial to reduce ventilator associated pneumonia.
Coping With Strain (CWS) course – its effects on depressive symptoms: A four‐year longitudinal randomized controlled trial
Authors: Sælid Gry Anette , Czajkowski Nikolai Olavi , Holte Arne , Tambs Kristian , Aarø Leif Edvard
Published: April 2016

The Coping With Strain (CWS) course is a modification of the Coping With Depression (CWD) course. CWD is by far the most studied psycho‐educational intervention to reduce and prevent depression, but CWD has never been tested in a randomized controlled trial in the workplace. This study seeks to examine the extent to which CWS, on a short‐term and a long‐term basis, reduces depressive symptoms in employees. After advertising at workplaces, 119 employees were randomized into Intervention Group I (IG1), which immediately participated in CWS, or Intervention Group II (IG2), which functioned as a control group for six months until its participation in CWS. The follow up period lasted for four years in both IG1 and IG2. Linear mixed models were fitted to the data. Depressive symptoms were significantly reduced during the course. The reduction of depressive symptoms was maintained over a period of four years in both IG1 and IG2, although there is a slight increase towards the end of the follow‐up period. CWS is effective in reducing depressive symptoms among employees. The effects are long lasting and may be maintained over a period of four years.
AGlycine sojamethionine sulfoxide reductase B5a interacts with the Ca2+/CAM‐binding kinase GsCBRLKand activatesROSsignaling under carbonate alkaline stress
Authors: Sun Xiaoli , Sun Mingzhe , Jia Bowei , Qin Zhiwei , Yang Kejun , Chen Chao , Yu Qingyue , Zhu Yanming
Published: April 2016

Although research has extensively illustrated the molecular basis of plant responses to salt and high‐pHstresses, knowledge on carbonate alkaline stress is poor and the specific responsive mechanism remains elusive. We have previously characterized aGlycine sojaCa2+/CAM‐dependent kinase GsCBRLKthat could increase salt tolerance. Here, we characterize a methionine sulfoxide reductase (MSR) B protein GsMSRB5a as a GsCBRLKinteractor by using Y2H and BiFc assays. Further analyses showed that the N‐terminal variable domain of GsCBRLKcontributed to the GsMSRB5a interaction. Y2H assays also revealed the interaction specificity of GsCBRLKwith the wild soybeanMSRBsubfamily proteins, and determined that the BoxI/BoxII‐containing regions within GsMSRBs were responsible for their interaction. Furthermore, we also illustrated that the N‐terminal basic regions in GsMSRBs functioned as transit peptides, which targeted themselves into chloroplasts and thereby prevented their interaction with GsCBRLK. Nevertheless, deletion of these regions allowed them to localize on the plasma membrane (PM) and interact with GsCBRLK. In addition, we also showed thatGsMSRB5aandGsCBRLKdisplayed overlapping tissue expression specificity and coincident expression patterns under carbonate alkaline stress. Phenotypic experiments demonstrated thatGsMSRB5aandGsCBRLKoverexpression in Arabidopsis enhanced carbonate alkaline stress tolerance. Further investigations elucidated thatGsMSRB5aandGsCBRLKinhibited reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation by modifying the expression ofROSsignaling, biosynthesis and scavenging genes. Summarily, our results demonstrated that GsCBRLKand GsMSRB5a interacted with each other, and activatedROSsignaling under carbonate alkaline stress.
HSP90 canonical content organizes a molecular scaffold mechanism to progress flowering
Authors: Margaritopoulou Theoni , Kryovrysanaki Nikoleta , Megkoula Panagiota , Prassinos Constantinos , Samakovli Despoina , Milioni Dimitra , Hatzopoulos Polydefkis
Published: April 2016

Highly interactive signaling processes constitute a set of parameters intertwining in a continuum mode to shape body formation and development. A sophisticated gene network is required to integrate environmental and endogenous cues in order to modulate flowering. However, the molecular mechanisms that coordinate the circuitries of flowering genes remain unclear. Here using complemented experimental approaches, we uncover the decisive and essential role of HEAT SHOCK PROTEIN 90 (HSP90) in restraining developmental noise to an acceptable limit. Localized depletion of HSP90 mRNAs in the shoot apex resulted in low penetrance of vegetative‐to‐reproductive phase transition and completely abolished flower formation. Extreme variation in expression of flowering genes was also observed in HSP90 mRNA‐depleted transformed plants. Transient heat‐shock treatments moderately increased HSP90 mRNA levels and rescued flower arrest. The offspring had a low, nevertheless noticeable failure to promote transition from vegetative into the reproductive phase and showed flower morphological heterogeneity. In floral tissues a moderate variation in HSP90 transcript levels and in the expression of flowering genes was detected. Key flowering proteins comprised clientele of the molecular chaperone demonstrating that the HSP90 is essential during vegetative‐to‐reproductive phase transition and flower development. Our results uncover that HSP90 consolidates a molecular scaffold able to arrange and organize flowering gene network and protein circuitry, and effectively counterbalance the extent to which developmental noise perturbs phenotypic traits.
Hydrological analysis as a technical tool to support strategic and economic development: A case study of Lake Navaisha, Kenya
Authors: Yihdego Yohannes , Reta Gebrehiwet , Becht Robert
Published: April 2016

Effective integrated water resources management requires reliable estimation of an overall basin water budget and of hydrologic fluctuations between groundwater and surface‐water resources. Seasonal variability of groundwater‐surface water exchange fluxes impacts on the water balance. The long term lake water balance was calculated by Modflow using the stage‐volume rating curve of Lake Package LAK3. The long term average storage volume change is 8.4 × 108 m3/month. The lake water balances suggests that the lake is not in equilibrium with the inflow and outflow terms. Using field abstraction data analysis and model simulation, the combined volume of lake‐groundwater used for industrial abstraction since the last three decades was estimated. This requires an average abstraction amount of 7.0 × 106 m3/month with a long term trend of abstraction ratio 30% (groundwater) and 70% (lake water) since 1980. The amount resulted in a lake which might have been 4.8 m higher than was observed in the last stress period (2010).

A long term regional groundwater budget is calculated reflecting all water flow in to and out of the regional aquifer. The model water balance suggests that lake Navaisha basin is in equilibrium with a net outflow about 1% greater than the inflow over the calibrated period of time (1932–2010). The regional model is best used for broad‐scale predictions and can be used to provide a general sense of groundwater to surface water and groundwater to groundwater impacts in the basin. A basin wide water resource management strategy can be designed by integrating the lake/wetland within the regional groundwater model to increase the level of sustainable production and good stewardship in Lake Navaisha. Such hydrological analysis is crucial in making the model serve as simulator of the response of lake stage to hydraulic stresses applied to the aquifer and variation in climatic condition.
Direct wafer bonding of highly conductive GaSb/GaInAs and GaSb/GaInP heterojunctions prepared by argon-beam surface activation
Authors: Predan Felix , Reinwand Dirk , Cariou Romain , Niemeyer Markus , Dimroth Frank
Published: April 2016

The authors present a low-temperature wafer bonding process for the formation of electrically conductive n-GaSb/n-Ga0.79In0.21As and n-GaSb/n-Ga0.32In0.68P heterojunctions. The surfaces are deoxidized by sputter-etching with an argon-beam and bonded in ultrahigh vacuum. The sputtering behavior was investigated for each material, revealing a distinct selective sputtering characteristic for Ga0.32In0.68P. According to these findings, the settings for the bonding process were chosen. The mechanical and electrical properties of the wafer bonds were studied. Fully bonded 2 in. wafer pairs were found for both material combinations exhibiting high bond energies, which are comparable to the binding energies in the semiconductors. Furthermore, bond resistances below 5 mΩ cm2 could be reached, which are in the range of the lowest resistances that have been reported for wafer bonded heterojunctions. This speaks, together with the high bond energies, for a high amount of covalent bonds at the interfaces. These promising bond characteristics make the integration of antimonides with arsenides or phosphides by wafer bonding attractive for various optoelectronic applications such as multijunction solar cells.