bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fish prey change strategy with the direction of a threat
Authors: Nair Arjun , Changsing Kelsey , Stewart William J. , McHenry Matthew J.
Published: June 2017

Predation is a fundamental interaction between species, yet it is unclear what escape strategies are effective for prey survival. Classical theory proposes that prey should either escape in a direction that conforms to a performance optimum or that is random and therefore unpredictable. Here, we show that larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) instead use a mixed strategy that may be either random or directed. This was determined by testing classic theory with measurements of the escape direction in response to a predator robot. We found that prey consistently escaped in a direction contralateral to the robot when approached from the side of the prey's body. At such an orientation, the predator appeared in the prey's central visual field and the contralateral response was consistent with a model of strategy that maximizes the distance from the predator. By contrast, when the robot approached the rostral or caudal ends of the body, and appeared in the prey's peripheral vision, the escape showed an equal probability of a contralateral or ipsilateral direction. At this orientation, a contralateral response offered little strategic advantage. Therefore, zebrafish larvae adopt an escape strategy that maximizes distance from the threat when strategically beneficial and that is otherwise random. This sensory-mediated mixed strategy may be employed by a diversity of animals and offers a new paradigm for understanding the factors that govern prey survival.
Fear of the human ‘super predator’ reduces feeding time in large carnivores
Authors: Smith Justine A. , Suraci Justin P. , Clinchy Michael , Crawford Ayana , Roberts Devin , Zanette Liana Y. , Wilmers Christopher C.
Published: June 2017

Large carnivores' fear of the human ‘super predator’ has the potential to alter their feeding behaviour and result in human-induced trophic cascades. However, it has yet to be experimentally tested if large carnivores perceive humans as predators and react strongly enough to have cascading effects on their prey. We conducted a predator playback experiment exposing pumas to predator (human) and non-predator control (frog) sounds at puma feeding sites to measure immediate fear responses to humans and the subsequent impacts on feeding. We found that pumas fled more frequently, took longer to return, and reduced their overall feeding time by more than half in response to hearing the human ‘super predator’. Combined with our previous work showing higher kill rates of deer in more urbanized landscapes, this study reveals that fear is the mechanism driving an ecological cascade from humans to increased puma predation on deer. By demonstrating that the fear of humans can cause a strong reduction in feeding by pumas, our results support that non-consumptive forms of human disturbance may alter the ecological role of large carnivores.
How to get the most bang for your buck: the evolution and physiology of nutrition-dependent resource allocation strategies
Authors: Ng'oma Enoch , Perinchery Anna M. , King Elizabeth G.
Published: June 2017

All organisms use resources to grow, survive and reproduce. The supply of these resources varies widely across landscapes and time, imposing ultimate constraints on the maximal trait values for allocation-related traits. In this review, we address three key questions fundamental to our understanding of the evolution of allocation strategies and their underlying mechanisms. First, we ask: how diverse are flexible resource allocation strategies among different organisms? We find there are many, varied, examples of flexible strategies that depend on nutrition. However, this diversity is often ignored in some of the best-known cases of resource allocation shifts, such as the commonly observed pattern of lifespan extension under nutrient limitation. A greater appreciation of the wide variety of flexible allocation strategies leads directly to our second major question: what conditions select for different plastic allocation strategies? Here, we highlight the need for additional models that explicitly consider the evolution of phenotypically plastic allocation strategies and empirical tests of the predictions of those models in natural populations. Finally, we consider the question: what are the underlying mechanisms determining resource allocation strategies? Although evolutionary biologists assume differential allocation of resources is a major factor limiting trait evolution, few proximate mechanisms are known that specifically support the model. We argue that an integrated framework can reconcile evolutionary models with proximate mechanisms that appear at first glance to be in conflict with these models. Overall, we encourage future studies to: (i) mimic ecological conditions in which those patterns evolve, and (ii) take advantage of the ‘omic’ opportunities to produce multi-level data and analytical models that effectively integrate across physiological and evolutionary theory.
Maternal and nourishment factors interact to influence offspring developmental trajectories in social wasps
Authors: Jandt Jennifer M. , Suryanarayanan Sainath , Hermanson John C. , Jeanne Robert L. , Toth Amy L.
Published: June 2017

The social and nutritional environments during early development have the potential to affect offspring traits, but the mechanisms and molecular underpinnings of these effects remain elusive. We used
Polistes fuscatus
paper wasps to dissect how maternally controlled factors (vibrational signals and nourishment) interact to induce different caste developmental trajectories in female offspring, leading to worker or reproductive (gyne) traits. We established a set of caste phenotype biomarkers in
P. fuscatus
females, finding that gyne-destined individuals had high expression of three caste-related genes hypothesized to have roles in diapause and mitochondrial metabolism. We then experimentally manipulated maternal vibrational signals (via artificial ‘antennal drumming’) and nourishment levels (via restricted foraging). We found that these caste-related biomarker genes were responsive to drumming, nourishment level or their interaction. Our results provide a striking example of the potent influence of maternal and nutritional effects in influencing transcriptional activity and developmental outcomes in offspring.
TET-mediated epimutagenesis of theArabidopsis thalianamethylome
Authors: Ji Lexiang , Jordan William T. , Shi Xiuling , Hu Lulu , He Chuan , Schmitz Robert J.
Published: June 2017

DNA methylation in the promoters of plant genes sometimes leads to transcriptional repression, and the wholesale removal of DNA methylation as seen in methyltransferase mutants results in drastic changes in gene expression and severe developmental defects. However, many cases of naturally-occurring DNA methylation variations have been reported, whereby the altered expression of differentially methylated genes is responsible for agronomically important traits. The ability to manipulate plant methylomes to generate populations of epigenetically distinct individuals could provide invaluable resources for breeding and research purposes. Here we describe “epimutagenesis”, a novel method to rapidly generate variation of DNA methylation through random demethylation of theArabidopsis thalianagenome. This method involves the expression of a human Ten-eleven translocation (TET) enzyme, and results in widespread hypomethylation that can be inherited to subsequent generations, mimicking mutants in the maintenance DNA methyltransferasemet1. Application of TET-mediated epimutagenesis to agriculturally significant plants may result in differential expression of alleles normally silenced by DNA methylation, uncovering previously hidden phenotypic variations.
Towards a unified theory of efficient, predictive and sparse coding
Authors: Chalk Matthew , Marre Olivier , Tkačik Gašper
Published: June 2017

A central goal in theoretical neuroscience is to predict the response properties of sensory neurons from first principles. Several theories have been proposed to this end. “Efficient coding” posits that neural circuits maximise information encoded about their inputs. “Sparse coding” posits that individual neurons respond selectively to specific, rarely occurring, features. Finally, “predictive coding” posits that neurons preferentially encode stimuli that are useful for making predictions. Except in special cases, it is unclear how these theories relate to each other, or what is expected if different coding objectives are combined. To address this question, we developed a unified framework that encompasses these previous theories and extends to new regimes, such as sparse predictive coding. We explore cases when different coding objectives exert conflicting or synergistic effects on neural response properties. We show that predictive coding can lead neurons to either correlate or decorrelate their inputs, depending on presented stimuli, while (at low-noise) efficient coding always predicts decorrelation. We compare predictive versus sparse coding of natural movies, showing that the two theories predict qualitatively different neural responses to visual motion. Our approach promises a way to explain the observed diversity of sensory neural responses, as due to a multiplicity of functional goals performed by different cell types and/or circuits.
Unique genomic features and deeply-conserved functions of long non-coding RNAs in the Cancer LncRNA Census (CLC)
Authors: Carlevaro-Fita Joana , Lanzós Andrés , Feuerbach Lars , Hong Chen , Mas-Ponte David , Pedersen Jakob Skou , Johnson Rory ,   On behalf of the PCAWG Drivers and Functional Interpretation Group and the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Network
Published: June 2017

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that drive tumorigenesis are a growing focus of cancer genomics studies. To facilitate further discovery, we have created the “Cancer LncRNA Census” (CLC), a manually-curated and strictly-defined compilation of lncRNAs with causative roles in cancer. CLC has two principle applications: first, as a resource for training and benchmarkingde novoidentification methods; and second, as a dataset for studying the fundamental properties of these genes.

CLC Version 1 comprises 122 lncRNAs implicated in 29 distinct cancers. LncRNAs are included based on functional or genetic evidence for causative roles in cancer progression. All belong to the GENCODE reference annotation, to enable integration across projects and datasets. For each entry, the evidence type, biological activity (oncogene or tumour suppressor), source reference and cancer type are recorded. Supporting its usefulness, CLC genes are significantly enriched amongstde novopredicted driver genes from PCAWG. CLC genes are distinguished from other lncRNAs by a series of features consistent with biological function, including gene length, high expression and sequence conservation of both exons and promoters. We identify a trend for CLC genes to be co-localised with known protein-coding cancer genes along the human genome. Finally, by integrating data from transposon-mutagenesis functional screens, we show that mouse orthologues of CLC genes tend also to be cancer genes.

Thus CLC represents a valuable resource for research into long non-coding RNAs in cancer. Their evolutionary and genomic properties have implications for understanding disease mechanisms and point to conserved functions across ~80 million years of evolution.
A robust explicit integration of elasto-plastic constitutive models, based on simple subincrement size estimation
Authors: Halilovic Miroslav , Starman Bojan , Vrh Marko , Stok Boris
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study, which is designed for the implementation of models in the implicit finite element framework, is to propose a robust, stable and efficient explicit integration algorithm for rate-independent elasto-plastic constitutive models.

Design/methodology/approach

The proposed automatic substepping algorithm is founded on an explicit integration scheme. The estimation of the maximal subincrement size is based on the stability analysis.

Findings

In contrast to other explicit substepping schemes, the algorithm is self-correcting by definition and generates no cumulative drift. Although the integration proceeds with maximal possible subincrements, high level of accuracy is attained. Algorithmic tangent stiffness is calculated in explicit form and optionally no analytical second-order derivatives are needed.

Research limitations/implications

The algorithm is convenient for elasto-plastic constitutive models, described with an algebraic constraint and a set of differential equations. This covers a large family of materials in the field of metal plasticity, damage mechanics, etc. However, it cannot be directly used for a general material model, because the presented algorithm is convenient for solving a set of equations of a particular type.

Practical implications

The estimation of the maximal stable subincrement size is computationally cheap. All expressions in the algorithm are in explicit form, thus the implementation is simple and straightforward. The overall performance of the approach (i.e. accuracy, time consumption) is fully comparable with a default (built-in) ABAQUS/Standard algorithm.

Originality/value

The estimated maximal subincrement size enables the algorithm to be stable by definition. Subincrements are much larger than those in conventional substepping algorithms. No error control, error correction or local iterations are required even in the case of large increments.
An effective members-adding method for truss topology optimization based on principal stress trajectories
Authors: Gao Ge , Li Yaobin , Pan Hui , Chen Limin , Liu Zhenyu
Published: June 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an effective members-adding method for truss topology optimization in plastic design.

Design/methodology/approach

With the help of the distribution of principal stress trajectories, obtained by finite element analysis of the design domain, ineffective zones for force transmission paths can be found, namely, areas whose nodes may have ersatz nodal displacements. Members connected by these nodes are eliminated and the reduced ground structure is used for optimization. Adding members in short to long order and limiting the number of members properly with the most strained ones added, large-scale truss problems in one load case and multiple-load cases are optimized.

Findings

Inefficient members (i.e. bars that fulfil the adding criterion but make no contribution to the optimal structure) added to the ground structure in each iterative step are reduced. Fewer members are used for optimization than before; therefore, faster solution convergence and less computation time are achieved with the optimized result unchanged.

Originality/value

The proposed members-adding method in the paper can alleviate the phenomenon of ersatz nodal displacements, enhance computational efficiency and save calculating resources effectively.
Herbivore performance and plant defense after sequential attacks by inducing and suppressing herbivores
Authors: de Oliveira Elisa Faria , Pallini Angelo , Janssen Arne
Published: June 2017

It is well known that herbivore‐induced plant defenses alter host plant quality and can affect the behavior and performance of later arriving herbivores. Effects of sequential attacks by herbivores that either suppress or induce plant defenses are less well studied. We sequentially infested leaves of tomato plants with a strain of the phytophagous spider mite Tetranychus urticae that induces plant defenses and the closely related Tetranychus evansi, which suppresses plant defenses. Plant quality was quantified through oviposition of both spider mite species and by measuring proteinase inhibitor activity using plant material that had been sequentially attacked by both herbivore species. Spider‐mite oviposition data show that T. evansi could suppress an earlier induction of plant defenses by T. urticae, and T. urticae could induce defenses in plants previously attacked by T. evansi in 1 day. Longer attacks by the second species did not result in further changes in oviposition. Proteinase inhibitor activity levels showed that T. evansi suppressed the high activity levels induced by T. urticae to constitutive levels in 1 day, and further suppressed activity to levels similar to those in plants attacked by T. evansi alone. Attacks by T. urticae induced proteinase inhibitor activity in plants previously attacked by T. evansi, eventually to similar levels as induced by T. urticae alone. Hence, plant quality and plant defenses were significantly affected by sequential attacks and the order of attack does not affect subsequent performance, but does affect proteinase inhibitor activity levels. Based on our results, we discuss the evolution of suppression of plant defenses.
Processing of acceleration and dive data on‐board satellite relay tags to investigate diving and foraging behaviour in free‐ranging marine predators
Authors: Cox Sam L. , Orgeret Florian , Gesta Mathieu , Rodde Charles , Heizer Isaac , Weimerskirch Henri , Guinet Christophe
Published: June 2017

Biologging technologies are changing the way in which the marine environment is observed and monitored. However, because device retrieval is typically required to access the high‐resolution data they collect, their use is generally restricted to those animals that predictably return to land. Data abstraction and transmission techniques aim to address this, although currently these are limited in scope and do not incorporate, for example, acceleration measurements which can quantify animal behaviours and movement patterns over fine‐scales.

In this study, we present a new method for the collection, abstraction and transmission of accelerometer data from free‐ranging marine predators via the Argos satellite system. We test run the technique on 20 juvenile southern elephant seals Mirounga leonina from the Kerguelen Islands during their first months at sea following weaning. Using retrieved archival data from nine individuals that returned to the colony, we compare and validate abstracted transmissions against outputs from established accelerometer processing procedures.

Abstracted transmissions included estimates, across five segments of a dive profile, of time spent in prey catch attempt (PrCA) behaviours, swimming effort and pitch. These were then summarised and compared to archival outputs across three dive phases: descent, bottom and ascent. Correlations between the two datasets were variable but generally good (dependent on dive phase, marginal R2 values of between .45 and .6 to >.9) and consistent between individuals. Transmitted estimates of PrCA behaviours and swimming effort were positively biased to those from archival processing.

Data from this study represent some of the first remotely transmitted quantifications from accelerometers. The methods presented and analysed can be used to provide novel insight towards the behaviours and movements of free‐ranging marine predators, such as juvenile southern elephant seals, from whom logger retrieval is challenging. Future applications could however benefit from some adaption, particularly to reduce positive bias in transmitted PrCA behaviours and swimming effort, for which this study provides useful insight.
Response of maize stemborers and associated parasitoids to the spread of grasses in the rainforest zone ofKisangani,DR Congo: effect on stemborers biological control
Authors: Kankonda Onésime M. , Akaibe Benjamin D. , Sylvain Ntambo M. , Le Ru Bruno‐Pierre
Published: June 2017

The challenge with respect to nourishing the human population should be met in the context of global environmental change. Land‐use change has the potential to affect insect pest–natural enemy interactions.

In theDemocraticRepublic ofCongo, the rainforest zone is subjected to intense anthropogenic disturbances that lead to the spread of habitats with a higher proportion of grasses in the landscape. Such a land‐use change raises the question of its effects on the biological control of insect pests.

The proximity of varying vegetation types around agroecosystems is expected to influence species fitting differently and hence the population dynamics of insect pests and their biological control.

Thus, the response of maize stemborers and their parasitoids to the spread of habitats with a higher proportion of grasses was assessed along an anthropogenic disturbance gradient in the rainforest zone ofKisangani,DemocraticRepublic ofCongo.

The present study identified a decreased density of stemborers and infestation rates on maize as a result of an increased larval/pupal parasitism in wild habitats as the amount of grasses increased in the landscape. This effect was attributed to an increased parasitoid diversity subsequent to the settlement of an abundant and diverse stemborer community in wild habitats.
Demographic characteristics and pregnancy outcomes in adolescents – Experience from an Australian perinatal centre
Authors: Daniels Samuel , Robson Danielle , Flatley Christopher , Kumar Sailesh
Published: June 2017

Background

Adolescent pregnancy is defined as pregnancy in girls aged 10–19 years and can be associated with increased risks.

Aim

To investigate obstetric and perinatal outcomes in a cohort of adolescent girls from a major Australian tertiary centre.

Materials and Methods

This was a nine‐year retrospective cohort study of women who birthed at the Mater Mother's Hospital (MMH) in Brisbane, Australia between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2015. The adolescent cohort was aged <19 years and the control group was aged 20–24 years.

Results

Over the study period the total study cohort comprised 8904 women. Of these, the adolescent cohort consisted of 1625 girls (18.2%) and the control group consisted of 7279 women (81.8%). Adolescents were more likely to be nulliparous, single, of Indigenous ethnicity or to have refugee status. They had higher rates of smoking, asthma, diabetes mellitus and thyroid disease. They were more likely to have an uncomplicated spontaneous vaginal delivery but were less likely to have an intact perineum and had higher rates of pre‐term delivery and low birth weight babies. There were no differences in rates of postpartum haemorrhage.

Conclusions

Teenage pregnancy results in poorer obstetric and perinatal outcomes. A focus on optimising maternal health care and providing culturally appropriate antenatal and intrapartum care is imperative to improving outcomes.
Research on potential biomarker correlates for suicidal behavior: A review
Authors: Kim Sangha , Lee Kyoung‐Uk
Published: June 2017

Suicide is a world health priority. Studies over the last few decades have revealed the complexity underlying the neurobiological mechanisms of suicide. Researchers have found dysregulations in the serotonergic system, the stress system, neural plasticity, lipid metabolism, and cell signaling pathways in relation to suicidal behaviors. These findings have provided more insight into the final path leading to suicide, at which medical intervention should be applied to prevent the action. However, because these molecular mechanisms have been implicated in both depression and suicide, the specificity of the mechanisms has been obscured. In this review, we summarize the main findings of studies on molecular mechanisms of suicidal behavior from the last 2 decades, with particular emphasis on the potential, independent role of each mechanism that is not contingent upon an underlying psychopathology, such as depression. The act of suicide is multifactorial; no single molecular mechanism is sufficient to fully account for the act. Knowledge of the reciprocal interactions among these molecular mechanisms and studying them in the context of brain circuitry by using neuroimaging techniques will provide a better understanding of the neurobiology of suicide.
Introspection Plays an Early Role in Children's Explicit Theory of Mind Development
Authors: Gonzales Christopher R. , Fabricius William V. , Kupfer Anne S.
Published: June 2017

This study assessed children's (N = 236) ability to introspect the mental states ofseeingandknowingrelative to their ability to attribute each state to others. Children could introspectseeing10 months before they could introspectknowing. Two‐ and 3‐year‐olds correctly reported their ownseeingstates, whereas 3‐ and 4‐year‐olds correctly reported their ownknowingstates. For each mental state, there was a 7‐month difference before children could correctly attribute that state to another. These findings indicate thatknowingis more difficult to introspect thanseeingand that the ability to introspect each mental state emerges prior to the ability to correctly attribute them to others. Theoretical implications for self–other differences in theory‐of‐mind development are considered.
European diabetes research and its funding, 2002–2013
Authors: Begum M. , Lewison G. , Sommariva S. , Ciani O. , Tarricone R. , Sullivan R.
Published: June 2017

Aim

This study examined the outputs of research papers in diabetes from 31 European countries between 2002 and 2013, and their funding.

Methods

Diabetes research papers in the Web of Science were identified by means of a filter based on journals and title words. For 2009–2013 papers, the funders were coded to show their sector and nationality.

Results

Europe published 40 547 diabetes papers in the 12 years between 2002 and 2013. Denmark, Sweden and Finland published the most relative to their wealth, but the UK published the most absolutely despite an apparently low burden (as measured by disability‐adjusted life years). The largest source of funding was government (30%), followed by the non‐profit sector (18%) and industry (13%). The European Commission supported 2.7% of papers, but more in Latvia (33%) and Estonia (16%). Based on an estimated cost per paper of €260 000, the annual research expenditure in Europe was approximately €986 million in 2013.

Conclusions

The European diabetes burden in disability‐adjusted life years increased by one third between 2002 and 2012, but its output of research papers has decreased from 44% to 36% of the world total. This decrease needs to be reviewed in the context of European non‐communicable disease research policy.
Prepregnancy overweight and obesity are associated with impaired child neurodevelopment
Authors: Widen Elizabeth Marie , Kahn Linda Gross , Cirillo Piera , Cohn Barbara , Kezios Katrina Lynn , Factor‐Litvak Pam
Published: June 2017

The authors examined the relationship of prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) with child neurodevelopment. Mother–child dyads were a subgroup (n = 2,084) of the Child Health and Development Studies from the Oakland, California, area enrolled during pregnancy from 1959 to 1966 and followed at child age 9 years. Linear regression was used to examine associations between prepregnancy BMI, GWG, and standardized Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test and Raven Progressive Matrices scores and to evaluate effect modification of GWG by prepregnancy BMI. Before pregnancy, 77% of women were normal weight, 8% were underweight, 11% were overweight, and 3% were obese. Associations between GWG and child outcomes did not vary by prepregnancy BMI, suggesting no evidence for interaction. In multivariable models, compared to normal prepregnancy BMI, prepregnancy overweight and obesity were associated with lower Peabody scores (b: −1.29; 95% CI [−2.6, −0.04] and b: −2.7; 95% CI [−5.0, −0.32], respectively). GWG was not associated with child Peabody score [b: −0.03 (95% CI: −0.13, 0.07)]. Maternal BMI and GWG were not associated with child Raven score (all P >0.05). Maternal prepregnancy overweight and obesity were associated with lower scores for verbal recognition in mid‐childhood. These results contribute to evidence linking maternal BMI with child neurodevelopment. Future research should examine the role of higher prepregnancy BMI values and the pattern of pregnancy weight gain in child cognitive outcomes.
Capital Budgeting and Management Practices: Smoothing Out Rough Spots in Government Outlays
Authors: Srithongrung Arwiphawee
Published: June 2017

Public capital budgeting and management literature recommends long‐term capital and fiscal planning practices to prevent large fluctuations in outlays caused by fiscal stresses. This study extends the literature by examining the effects of long‐term capital planning and management practices such as the use of a capital budget, separate impact analyses, and the use of bond financing and dedicated revenue sources on capital spending volatility. The empirical results confirm that several of these practices smooth out state government capital outlays that vary because of socio‐economic and financial factors.
Inequality and public debt: A positive analysis
Authors: Arawatari Ryo , Ono Tetsuo
Published: June 2017

This study extends the multi‐country, politico‐economic model of fiscal policy to incorporate wage inequality within each country. In this extended framework, we present conflict over fiscal policy within and across generations and show that a low‐inequality country realizes tight fiscal policy with low public debt accumulation, whereas a high‐inequality country experiences loose fiscal policy with high public debt. This model prediction is consistent with empirical evidence from OECD countries for the years 1980 to 2010.
STRESS RESPONSES IN PIGMENTED BACILLUS PUMILUS SF14
Authors: Fakhry Saad Sabah , Hasan Manal Abdalteef , Hashim Saba Talib , Jebur Zahraa Abbas , Abdulhameed Farqad Farhan
Published: June 2017

Microbial producers of carotenoids belongs to a various species of unicellular algae, filamentous fungi and several bacteria. A recent report has shown that up to 15% of aerobic spore-formers identified from soil samples are pigmented and in many cases the pigments are carotenoids. Pigmented spore-forming Bacillus was obtained from culture maintained in the microbial culture collection of Department of Structural Functional Biol. University of Naples Federico II and partially characterized their pigments. A classical mutagenesis approach has been used to obtain mutant strains producing altered pigments or no pigments. Our results suggest that pigmentation in spore’s represent an additional, and may be alternative protection strategy against oxidative stress. A mutants (SF214-M1, SF214-M2, SF214-M3 and SF214-M4) of Bacillus pumilus strain SF214 producing a carotenoids water soluble-pigment were obtained after treatment with the mutagenic agent N-Methyl-N-nitroso-N'-nitroguanidine (NTG). Several microbiological and biochemical properties of these 4 strains were analyzed and the results were differences between wild type and other four mutants in producing pigments, color changing, sporulation, cannot produce spores after mutation and sporulation efficiency was constant with color development.
ETHANOL SEPARATION USING SEPABEADS207 ADSORBENT
Authors: Beden Mazin Abdulhusein , Ahmad Zaini Muhammad Abbas , Tuan Abdullah Tuan Amran
Published: June 2017

This work was aimed at evaluating the ethanol separation using Sepabeads207 adsorbent. A 10 wt% of ethanol solution was used as a model fermentation broth. The separation of ethanol from the solution was performed in a tube containing Sepabeads207 at different operating conditions: temperatures, 20 to 40oC; solution pH, 4 to 7; and contact times, 5 to 25 minutes. Recovery of ethanol via stripping was studied between 15 and 35 minutes, and at different air temperatures of 80 to 95oC. The concentration of liquid ethanol was measured using gas chromatography and refractometer. A higher ethanol concentration by Sepabeads207 adsorption was obtained at 20oC and solution pH 4 for 5 minutes, while the recovery was performed better at 80oC for 15 minutes. By applying these conditions, 10 wt% of ethanol in the solution was concentrated to 46 wt%. The ethanol adsorption data are: i). capacity of 0.22 g ethanol/g adsorbent, ii). selectivity of 7.75 (g ethanol/g water (adsorbed)) / (g ethanol/g water (original solution)), and iii). efficiency of 100%. Sepabeads207 is a promising adsorbent for ethanol separation from the dilute ethanol solution.
Facilities Management-Future Prospect in Malaysia
Authors: Awang Mariah , Mohammed Abd. Hakim , Md. Salleh Mohd Norizam , Johari Nur Hafizah , Khair Nurhayati
Published: June 2017

The concept of facilities management were introduced in Malaysia since mid-90s with its aim was to ensure national own facilities are functioning well and to reach its maximum life time. Nevertheless 20 years had passed not much development since then. This claim is proven factual, as the root cause for some problems or incident happen such as buildings and ceilings collapsed, roofs or roof leaking and cracking on bridges were lead to the failure to carry out the facility management systems. Although the Government is now seen taking a move more aggressively in enhancing facility management, but obviously our country is still lagging with other practitioners. In this regard, this article aims to provide a deeper understanding for the Organisation and individual on the importance of facility management within an organisation in producing high-income organisation in line with the 10th Malaysia Plan to feature Malaysia into high-income developed countries.
Cost of Preliminaries of Construction Projects for Civil Infrastructure Works in Malaysia
Authors: Abas Abdul Aziz , Ismail Zulhabri , Ismail Faridah , Arshad Ruslan Affendy
Published: June 2017

The preliminaries bill for quantities of a construction project provides general information, mandatory instructions, and setup running costs for a construction contract period. The bill is crucial and arbitrary in nature. The aim of this study is to verify the percentage difference between preliminaries of building and civil infrastructure works. The objective is to assist players in the construction industry to differentiate the preliminaries percentage between both types of civil works. As such, the decision maker would be able to make a more reliable budget allocation, particularly for the civil infrastructure project. 25 tender evaluation documents from six civil infrastructure tender evaluation exercises were analysed. The average preliminaries were derived based on the qualitative method using content analysis. The preliminaries for building works established by previous researchers and civil infrastructure derived from this study were compared to verify any significant deviation. The statistical analyses using Boussabaine's  and standard deviation were compared to establish the most reliable result. The study concludes that the preliminaries of civil infrastructure works are between 3.26% and 6.38% as compared to that of building works between 3.60% and 7.94%. Consequently, the preliminaries of civil infrastructure work are lower up to 16.5% as compared to the building work. Despite the differences, average preliminaries are higher than 3% but not exceeding 10% of the tender sum for both types of construction works. Thus, the findings provided significant updates for the Malaysian construction industry.
Literasi Karbon dalam kalangan Pelajar Sekolah Menengah Rendah: Kajian Kes di Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya
Authors: Norkhaidi Saiyidatina Balkhis , Mahat Hanifah , Hashim Mohmadisa , Nayan Nasir , Saleh Yazid
Published: June 2017

Carbon literacy is a key medium to enhance the understanding of an individual's consciousness on reducing carbon emissions in the atmosphere towards addressing the issue of global warming and climate change. This article aims to identify the level of carbon literacy among lower secondary schools students in Malaysia. The study involved 463 Form 2 students from eleven schools in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya. The schools were selected using a systematic sampling and respondents were selected using a simple random sampling. Questionnaire Likert scale of 1 to 5 were used as a research instrument. Carbon literacy variable studies include four variables, namely the carbon footprint knowledge, low carbon attitudes, carbon literate value and low carbon practices. Carbon footprint knowledge variables consist of six sub variables: energy saving, recycling, mode of travel, carbon footprint, air pollution and the greenhouse effect. As for the variables of carbon literacy attitude, sub variables consist of energy saving, recycling and mode of travel followed by sub variables of carbon literacy value of the individual and the society. And for the practice of low-carbon, it consists of sub variables, namely energy saving, recycling and mode of travel. Result showed that the questionnaire reliability obtained with Cronbach alpha values for each variable was greater than 0.7. Meanwhile, the level of knowledge of the carbon footprint, low-carbon attitudes, values and practices of low-carbon literacy carbon is at a high level as a whole except for the variable sub knowledge that air pollution is moderate. These findings demonstrated that carbon literacy level of students at the high level and the situation are clear implications of a positive target inapplicable in Federal Territory of Putrajaya towards a Low Carbon City and Green City in 2025.
Pemodelan Kesediaan Masyarakat Beranjak Kepada Pengangkutan Aktif
Authors: Mat Yazid Muhamad Razuhanafi , Borhan Muhamad Nazri , Tuan Yaakub Nik Mohd Iznan , Jamaludin Sharinatol Akmanida
Published: June 2017

Active transport is vital to ensure urban living in a clean, healthy and quality environment. Today, rapid motorisation in Malaysia has been associated with congestion and accidents. Besides, carbon gas emission is polluted the environment and grossly affect people’s quality of life. This study is aimed to predict the variable that effect shift to active transport for short trips. The study employed a survey method, where a set of questionnaire was distributed to 400 samples involved population of five sub-districts in Kota Bharu, which is within 12 km radius from the city centre. The data indicated that almost 100% of the respondents and their households use motorised for daily activities. In addition, 52% of respondents agreed to switch to active transport and 48% the rest did not agree. Willingness to shift to active transport based on state preference survey is significantly influence by level of education and occupation. A study using logistic regression has shown that the highest level of education and occupation of an increasingly less likely a user is to use active transportation. The findings of this study can help relevant agencies such as transportation planners and urban planners to introduce the use of active transport as a mode of transport in city centre.
Regular aerobic exercise reduces endothelin‐1‐mediated vasoconstrictor tone in overweight and obese adults
Authors: Dow Caitlin A. , Stauffer Brian L. , Brunjes Danielle L. , Greiner Jared J. , DeSouza Christopher A.
Published: June 2017

New Findings

What is the central question of this study?

Does aerobic exercise training reduce endothelin‐1 (ET‐1)‐mediated vasoconstrictor tone in overweight/obese adults? And, if so, does lower ET‐1 vasoconstriction underlie the exercise‐related enhancement in endothelium‐dependent vasodilatation in overweight/obese adults?

What is the main finding and its importance?

Regular aerobic exercise reduces ET‐1‐mediated vasoconstrictor tone in previously sedentary overweight/obese adults, independent of weight loss. Decreased ET‐1 vasoconstriction is an important mechanism underlying the aerobic exercise‐induced improvement in endothelium‐dependent vasodilator function in overweight/obese adults.

Endothelin‐1 (ET‐1)‐mediated vasoconstrictor tone is elevated in overweight and obese adults, contributing to vasomotor dysfunction and increased cardiovascular disease risk. Although the effects of habitual aerobic exercise on endothelium‐dependent vasodilatation in overweight/obese adults have been studied, little is known regarding ET‐1‐mediated vasoconstriction. Accordingly, the aims of the present study were to determine the following: (i) whether regular aerobic exercise training reduces ET‐1‐mediated vasoconstrictor tone in overweight and obese adults; and, if so, (ii) whether the reduction in ET‐1‐mediated vasoconstriction contributes to exercise‐induced improvement in endothelium‐dependent vasodilatation in this population. Forearm blood flow (FBF) in response to intra‐arterial infusion of selective ETA receptor blockade (BQ‐123, 100 nmol min−1 for 60 min), acetylcholine [4.0, 8.0 and 16.0 μg (100 ml tissue)−1 min−1] in the absence and presence of ETA receptor blockade and sodium nitroprusside [1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 μg (100 ml tissue)−1 min−1] were determined before and after a 3 month aerobic exercise training intervention in 25 (16 men and nine women) overweight/obese (body mass index 30.1 ± 0.5 kg m−2) adults. The vasodilator response to BQ‐123 was significantly lower (∼25%) and the FBF responses to acetylcholine were ∼35% higher after exercise training. Before the exercise intervention, the co‐infusion of acetylcholine plus BQ‐123 resulted in a greater vasodilator response than acetylcholine alone; however, after the exercise intervention the FBF response to acetylcholine was not significantly increased by ETA receptor blockade. These results demonstrate that regular aerobic exercise reduces ET‐1‐mediated vasoconstrictor tone in previously sedentary overweight and obese adults. Moreover, decreased ET‐1‐mediated vasoconstriction is an important mechanism underlying the aerobic exercise‐induced improvement in endothelium‐dependent vasodilator function in overweight/obese adults.
Multi-omics Analysis of Periodontal Pocket Microbial Communities Pre- and Posttreatment
Authors: Califf Katy J. , Schwarzberg-Lipson Karen , Garg Neha , Gibbons Sean M. , Caporaso J. Gregory , Slots Jørgen , Cohen Chloe , Dorrestein Pieter C. , Kelley Scott T.
Published: June 2017

Periodontal disease affects the majority of adults worldwide and has been linked to numerous systemic diseases. Despite decades of research, the reasons for the substantial differences among periodontitis patients in disease incidence, progressivity, and response to treatment remain poorly understood. While deep sequencing of oral bacterial communities has greatly expanded our comprehension of the microbial diversity of periodontal disease and identified associations with healthy and disease states, predicting treatment outcomes remains elusive. Our results suggest that combining multiple omics approaches enhances the ability to differentiate among disease states and determine differential effects of treatment, particularly with the addition of metabolomic information. Furthermore, multi-omics analysis of biofilm community instability indicated that these approaches provide new tools for investigating the ecological dynamics underlying the progressive periodontal disease process.
Formation and distribution of food reserves during autumn and their subsequent utilization in jack pine
Authors: Glerum C. , Balatinecz J. J.
Published: June 2017

Five Pinus banksiana (Lamb.) seedlings were fed 50 μCi of 14CO2 (1 Ci = 37 GBq) per seedling in August and at 2-week intervals another set of five trees was fed until December for a total of 10 feedings. Trees of each set were sampled from January to June, in their dormant frost hardy phase and in their growing phase. Sampled trees were separated into needles, bark, xylem, and roots, freeze-dried, and ground. Samples of ground tissues were extracted sequentially for saponifiable and nonsaponifiable lipids, starch, lignin, hemicelluloses, and cellulose. Some protein, amino acids, and sugars were also extracted.In the dormant trees the total amount of 14C in the tissues decreased from August to December except for the needles where it increased towards December. Considerable amounts of 14C occurred in the structural components of the early feedings. The 14C distribution among the chemical components within the tissues was fairly similar over the entire feeding period except for an increase in root starch, xylem lipids, and sugars. No 14C occurred in the amino acids. A drastic reduction in 14C occurred with the onset of growth from all chemical components and little 14C occurred in the new growth.The photosynthate produced during the autumn contributes substantially more to respiration than to the buildup of reserves. In conifers the important forms of food reserves are carbohydrates and lipids. There is an increase in lipid synthesis in early fall which is chiefly restricted to the xylem. All tissue components of the tree are important for storage of food reserves but they are not of equal importance simultaneously. Food reserves do not play a direct role in wood formation of the secondary meristem which is dependent on current photosynthate. Some hemicelluloses appear to be a form of food reserve in trees.
X-ray microanalysis of air-dried conidia and conidiophores of Erysiphe graminis hordei
Authors: Kunoh Hltoshi , Ishizaki Hiroshi
Published: June 2017

Inorganic elements in air-dried conidia and conidiophores of Erysiphe graminis hordei were analyzed with an energy dispersive X-ray microanalyzer. Prominent peaks of Mg, Si, P, S, K, and Ca were obtained when several points on these fungal structures were analyzed. As peaks of Mg, P, S, and K had not been detected in chemically fixed specimens, these elements were considered to have been leached out during specimen preparation. Area analyses for K and P, and spot analyses for the other elements, led us to conclude that chemical elements were apparently distributed homogeneously in the conidia and conidiophores. This conclusion, however, is persuasive only within the detection capabilities of the present method.
Effect of naphthalene and aqueous crude-oil extracts on the green flagellate Chlamydomonas angulosa. VI. Phosphate uptake and retention
Authors: Hutchinson T. C. , Soto C. , Hellebust J. A.
Published: June 2017

Chlamydomonas angulosa when grown in normal Bold's basal medium (BBM) (1.7 mM Pi) has a very high cell P content (120 fg-at. P∙cell−1) and low C: P atomic ratio (35: 1) and is only able to show net Pi uptake in media with Pi concentrations higher than 0.1 mM when grown in the light. The presence of light enhances net phosphate uptake or decreases net phosphate loss under all external Pi concentrations. Cells transferred to low-Pi media will, however, grow rapidly while reducing their cell P to almost 1/10 of the initial level, indicating that most of the cell P in cells grown in high-P media represents reserve P, probably in the form of polyphosphates. The presence of naphthalene and crude-oil components in the culture media decreases net uptake of Pi at high external Pi concentrations and increases the rate of Pi loss at low external concentrations. Naphthalene present at 100% saturation level in BBM causes rapid loss of a large fraction of cell P under all conditions tested. The phosphorus lost appears as reactive phosphorus in the medium, suggesting that cell polyphosphates are rapidly converted to Pi, which then leaks out of the cells in response to the presence of saturating naphthalene concentrations in the medium. BBM with 50% naphthalene saturation causes much less loss of cell P under most of the incubation conditions, and net uptake can take place at the highest external Pi concentrations tested in the light. Media saturated with crude oil are even less effective than 50% naphthalene saturated media in causing P efflux, or in reducing net Pi uptake, although at low external P concentrations, uptake of P is decreased compared with the control.