bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Study protocol of a randomised controlled trial to examine the impact of a complex intervention in pre-frail older adults
Authors: Teh Ruth , Kerse Ngaire , Waters Debra L. , Hale Leigh , Pillai Avinesh , Leilua Evelingi , Tay Esther , Rolleston Anna , Edlin Richard , Maxted Eruera , Heppenstall Claire , Connolly Martin J.
Published: January 2019

Background

Frailty is a multidimensional geriatric syndrome associated with functional loss. The Senior Chef (SC, nutrition) and SAYGO (strength and balance exercise) programmes are well accepted among older adults but the impact of each, or a combination of both, on the frailty syndrome in pre-frail older adults is unknown.

Aims

To determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a complex intervention consisting of the SC and/or SAYGO programmes to prevent progression of frailty in pre-frail older adults.

Methods

A multi-centre randomised controlled assessor-blinded study. The four intervention groups are SC, an 8-week nutrition education and cooking class; SAYGO, a 10-week strength and balance exercise class; SC plus SAYGO, and a social group (Control). Community-dwelling adults aged 75+ (60 + Māori and Pasifika) in New Zealand are recruited through health providers. Participants are not terminally ill or with advanced dementia, and have a score of 1 or 2 on the FRAIL questionnaire. Baseline assessments are completed using standardised questionnaires prior to randomisation. Four follow-up assessments are completed: immediately after intervention, 6, 12 and 24 months post-intervention. The primary outcome is frailty score, secondary outcomes are falls, physical function, quality of life, food intake, physical activity, and sustainability of the strategy. Study outcomes will be analysed using intention-to-treat approach. Cost analyses will be completed to determine if interventions are cost effective relative to the control group.

Discussion

This trial is designed to be a real world rigorous assessment of whether the two intervention strategies can prevent progression of frailty in older people. If successful, this will generate valuable information about effectiveness of this nutrition and exercise strategy, and provide insights for their implementation.

Trial registration

Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry number—ACTRN12614000827639.
The social functioning in dementia scale (SF‐DEM): Exploratory factor analysis and psychometric properties in mild, moderate, and severe dementia
Authors: Budgett Jessica , Brown Anna , Daley Stephanie , Page Thomas E. , Banerjee Sube , Livingston Gill , Sommerlad Andrew
Published: January 2019

Introduction

The psychometric properties of the social functioning in dementia scale over different dementia severities are unknown.

Methods

We interviewed 299 family carers of people with mild, moderate, or severe dementia from two UK research sites; examined acceptability (completion rates); conducted exploratory factor analysis; and tested each factor's internal consistency and construct validity.

Results

Of 299, 285 (95.3%) carers completed questionnaires. Factor analysis indicated three distinct factors with acceptable internal consistency: spending time with other people, correlating with overall social function (r = 0.56, P < .001) and activities of daily living (r = −0.48, P < .001); communicating with other people correlating with activities of daily living (r = −0.66, P < .001); and sensitivity to other people correlating with quality of life (r = 0.35, P < .001) and inversely with neuropsychiatric symptoms (r = −0.45, P < .001). The three factors' correlations with other domains were similar across all dementia severities.

Discussion

The social functioning in dementia scale carer version measures three social functioning domains and has satisfactory psychometric properties in all severities of dementia.
Structural anatomy and evolution of supply chain alliance networks: A multi‐method approach
Authors: Park Hyunwoo , Bellamy Marcus A. , Basole Rahul C.
Published: January 2019

We investigate the evolution of supply chain alliance networks with a focus on the influence of structural, firm‐, and industry‐level mechanisms. While several structural supply chain characteristics have been found to be significant drivers of firm innovation and performance, a dearth of studies exists examining how these characteristics change over time by influencing one another. We develop and empirically test hypotheses on the impact of prior structural configurations and the moderating roles of absorptive capacity and industry growth on the temporal trajectory of supply chain alliance network structures. Adopting a multi‐method approach, we jointly use econometric analyses and simulation experiments to examine our hypotheses from complementary angles. Specifically, we characterize the dynamic relationship between the structural mechanisms on a longitudinal dataset of 2221 unique firms and 13,668 firm‐year observations spanning 25 years. We find empirical support for negative crossover effects between two key structural properties of supply chain alliance networks, a positive moderation of a firm's absorptive capacity, and a negative moderation of industry growth on the structural reinforcement. We conduct corresponding simulation experiments based on a separable temporal exponential random graph model (STERGM) to track the temporal changes in the simulated networks' key measures. The simulation results concur with most of our empirical findings and provide additional insights complementary to our econometric analysis results. By focusing on the mechanism of temporal changes in network structural properties, our study contributes to supply chain management research with a supply network perspective and interfirm alliance network research by broadening its scope into structural dynamism. Our multi‐method approach demonstrates how multiple complementary methodologies can foster a more nuanced understanding of managing supply chain alliance network management.
Effectiveness of bonus and penalty incentive contracts in supply chain exchanges: Does national culture matter?
Authors: Lee Yun Shin , Ribbink Dina , Eckerd Stephanie
Published: January 2019

In this study, we investigate the impact of national culture on the effectiveness of bonus and penalty incentive contracts in supply chain exchanges. We conducted laboratory experiments in Canada, China, and South Korea, involving transactional exchanges in which suppliers were presented with either bonus or penalty contracts. Then we compared suppliers’ contract acceptance, level of effort, and shirking across national cultures. Our findings reveal critical cultural influences on contract effectiveness. We show that although acceptance of bonus contracts is comparable across cultures, suppliers from Canada, a national culture considered low in power distance and high in humane orientation, exhibit lower acceptance rates of penalty contracts. In addition, we find evidence that suppliers associated with collectivist cultures exert more effort and shirk less in bonus contracts but these relationships also are more complex. When we compare contract effectiveness across bonus and penalty contracts within a given cultural setting, we find in all three countries greater acceptance of bonus contracts than penalty contracts. Also, after contracts are accepted, bonus contracts are more successful in China because suppliers exert greater effort and shirk less under bonus contracts than penalty contracts. However, in Canada and South Korea, the results of accepted contracts for both penalty and bonus contracts are nearly indistinguishable.
Inventory record inaccuracy dynamics and the role of employees within multi‐channel distribution center inventory systems
Authors: Barratt Mark , Kull Thomas J. , Sodero Anníbal Camara
Published: January 2019

The dynamics of inventory record inaccuracy (IRI) remain under‐explored in a multi‐channel distribution center (MCDC) setting. Additionally, how employees interact with the rest of an MCDC's inventory system to impact IRI is yet to be explored. To address these issues, our research adopts a multi‐method exploratory approach to understand the nature and existence of IRI between cycle counts in a multi‐channel environment based on continuous, daily IRI‐related observations. These data are then used to develop a system dynamics model to further explore the interaction between employees and the rest of the inventory system. Our case study finds substantial levels of IRI on a daily basis, with varying levels of consistency and a bias toward negative errors, raising concerns as to the suitability and stability of MCDC inventory systems. We also find varying IRI effects depending on the channel, with inventory density, in particular, having mixed influences. Further, we provide evidence for substantial volatilities of daily IRI likely generated by employee‐system interactions in the MCDC. Without the daily perspective, such evidence would otherwise have remained unobserved. Our system dynamics model also provides a novel framework to show how employees interact with MCDC inventory characteristics to affect the dynamic level and stability of IRI. This research also provides suggestions for managing and further examining these phenomena.
American Sovietology's Great Blunder: the Marginalization of the Nationality Issue
Authors: Subtelny Orest
Published: January 2019

Sovietology's gross neglect of the nationality issue is now embarrassingly evident. It was, indeed, a blunder of vast proportions, one that raised doubts about the basic assumptions that dominated the field and the sound judgement of many of its leaders. By analyzing the Soviet past and present, Sovietologists attempted to predict Soviet behavior in the future. For this purpose they produced a variety of models, approaches and scenarios. But if there was one scenario or prognosis which they regularly discounted, it was the one that actually occurred: the disintegration of the multinationalist USSR due to the forces of nationalism.
Resolution on the Situation in Nicaragua (OAS)
Authors: Cerna Christina M.
Published: January 2019

On July 18, 2018, the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted a resolution on the crisis situation in Nicaragua, almost thirty-nine years after the date of the triumph of the Nicaraguan Revolution over the dictator Anastasio Somoza. The crisis started three months earlier, on April 18, 2018, unexpectedly, when pro-government groups violently crushed a protest demonstration against reforms to Nicaragua's social security system announced by President Daniel Ortega's wife, Rosario Murillo. The “reforms” increased the contributions to be paid by workers and pensioners and decreased their benefits, in order to shore up the failing social security system, widely seen as a source of discretionary funds abused by previous governments. Corruption was not unique with Ortega. Arnoldo Aleman, for example, a former president of Nicaragua (1997–2002), was convicted in 2003 of money laundering, fraud, embezzlement, and electoral crimes, and sentenced to twenty years in prison. The demonstrators against the social security reform resented paying for the state's mismanagement of the system. Subsequently, as the demonstrations increased, the protesters equated Ortega with Somoza and called for his departure as they had done for Somoza's. Since April 18, some 400 Nicaraguan demonstrators have been killed and over 2,000 have been injured.
Association Pour le Progrès et la Défense Des Droits Des Femmes Maliennes (APDF) and the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) v. Republic of Mali (Afr. Ct. H.P.R.)
Authors: Budoo Ashwanee
Published: January 2019

On May 11, 2018, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Court) delivered a judgment against Mali concerning its Persons and Family Code (Family Code). This case is groundbreaking because it is the first time that the African Court has found violations of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (African Children's Charter).
Late Quaternary vegetation, climate, and fire history of the Southeast Atlantic Coastal Plain based on a 30,000-yr multi-proxy record from White Pond, South Carolina, USA
Authors: Krause Teresa R. , Russell James M. , Zhang Rui , Williams John W. , Jackson Stephen T.
Published: January 2019

The patterns and drivers of late Quaternary vegetation dynamics in the southeastern United States are poorly understood due to low site density, problematic chronologies, and a paucity of independent paleoclimate proxy records. We present a well-dated (15 accelerator mass spectrometry14C dates) 30,000-yr record from White Pond, South Carolina that consists of high-resolution analyses of fossil pollen, macroscopic charcoal, andSporormiellaspores, and an independent paleotemperature reconstruction based on branched glycerol dialkyl tetraethers. Between 30,000 and 20,000 cal yr BP, openPinus-Piceaforest grew under cold and dry conditions; elevatedQuercusbefore 26,000 cal yr BP, however, suggest warmer conditions in the Southeast before the last glacial maximum, possibly corresponding to regionally warmer conditions associated with Heinrich event H2. Warming between 19,700 and 10,400 cal yr BP was accompanied by a transition from conifer-dominated to mesic hardwood forest.Sporormiellaspores were not detected and charcoal was low during the late glacial period, suggesting megaherbivore grazers and fire were not locally important agents of vegetation change.Pinusreturned to dominance during the Holocene, with step-like increases inPinusat 10,400 and 6400 cal yr BP, while charcoal abundance increased tenfold, likely due to increased biomass burning associated with warmer conditions. Low-intensity surface fires increased after 1200 cal yr BP, possibly related to the establishment of the Mississippian culture in the Southeast.
Pre-meal and postprandial lipaemia in subjects with the metabolic syndrome: effects of timing and protein quality (randomised crossover trial)
Authors: Bjørnshave Ann , Johansen Trine Nygaard , Amer Bashar , Dalsgaard Trine Kastrup , Holst Jens Juul , Hermansen Kjeld
Published: January 2019

Non-fasting TAG – postprandial lipaemia (PPL) – are to a higher degree associated with cardiovascular risk compared with fasting TAG. Dietary protein, especially whey proteins (WP), may lower PPL. We hypothesised that a WP pre-meal (17·6 g protein) consumed 15 v. 30 min before a fat-rich meal reduces the PPL response in subjects with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and that a WP pre-meal has more potent effects than casein and gluten pre-meals. A total of sixteen subjects with the MetS completed an acute, randomised, crossover trial. WP pre-meals were consumed 15 and 30 min, and casein and gluten 15 min before a fat-rich meal. Blood samples were drawn 360 min postprandially to determine metabolite and hormone responses, S-paracetamol (for assessment of gastric emptying) and amino acids. Insulin and glucagon responses were affected by both timing and protein type (for all P <0·01), with significantly higher concentrations for WP given at –15 min than WP at –30 min and higher responses compared with gluten for the first 30 min after pre-meal consumption (for all P <0·05). The PPL responses changed neither by timing nor by protein type. Glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide but not glucagon-like peptide 1 responses differed between the three protein types. S-paracetamol concentration was higher for WP (–30 min) than for WP (–15 min) 15 min after the main meal (P = 0·028), and higher for casein and gluten than for WP at time point 30 min (for all P <0·05). In conclusion, the PPL response was not changed by ingestion of a 17·6 g protein pre-meal, whereas both timing and protein quality affected hormone secretion (insulin and glucagon).
Bilingualism and Bureaucratism*
Authors: Pozniak Zenon
Published: January 2019

In its 6th and 7th issues last year, “Rainbow” published an article by the linguist Mati Hint entitled “The Problems of Bilingualism: A View Without Rose-tinted Glasses.” The article, which examines the problems of bilingualism, provoked a debate which went far beyond the boundaries not only of Estonia and bilingualism, but according to many beyond the boundaries of permissibility. We know that the problem of bilingualism in the nationalities republics is a highly acute one, but we did not expect such an avalanche of responses…. Mati Hint's article continued its “religious procession through the country, eliciting more and more responses from people of feeling and conscience from all the corners of our country. In their responses people write “Rainbow” about their innermost concerns—about their people and about their native tongue. Today we received letters fom Moscow, Georgia, Armenia, Belorussia, Latvia, Lithuania, Chuvash, etc. The journal “Peoples' Friendship” ordered our writer Mati Hint to write an article about the problems of bilingualism.
Igor Zevelev, Russia and Its New Diasporas.
Washington: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2001, xi., 219 pp.
Authors: Miller Justin L.
Published: January 2019

One of the burgeoning areas of political study over the past ten years has concentrated on the role of non-state actors in world politics. In the wake of the Soviet collapse and the end of the Cold War rivalry, some social scientists began to construct paradigms and theories centered on identity and to concentrate their research on ethnodemographic challenges posed by migration and porous borders in the post-Soviet states, including how various groups facilitated secessionist movements and insurgencies, undermining regional stability and efforts at democratization in the process.
Shokhrat Kadyrov, Rossiisko-Turkmenskii Istoricheskii Slovar', tom I.
Bergen: Biblioteka Al'manakha ‘Turkmeny’, 2001, 456 pp.
Authors: Sabol Steven
Published: January 2019

Turkmenistan remains the least studied and understood republic to have achieved independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The autocratic and dictatorial rule of Saparmurat Niyazov (also known as “Turkmenbashi,” or “Leader of the Turkmen”) has so restricted information about this resource-rich but economically desperate republic that any new work about Turkmenistan and the Turkmen is always a welcome addition. Shokhrat Kadyrov is a well-known Turkmen historian whose opposition to the Niyazov regime resulted in his exile to Norway, where he compiled what will be the first of two encyclopedia-like volumes devoted to Turkmen history, culture, and society. In addition, the author has added a historical foreword, chronology, and epilogue, which fill in various gaps that both Soviet and current scholarship in Turkmenistan avoided. As with Soviet interpretations of Turkmen history and culture, present-day Turkmen scholars must conform their work to the wishes of Niyazov's whims and fancies. Moreover, most works now published in Turkmenistan must include praise to Turkmenbashi for his guidance, wisdom, and enlightened vision for Turkmenistan. The most ostentatious demonstration of this reverence is the Rukhnama, Niyazov's quasi-religious history of the Turkmen, which is required reading in schools and necessary to know if one wants employment.
Ethnic and Social Diversity in the Membership of the Communist Party of Poland: 1918 - 1938
Authors: Simoncini Gabriele
Published: January 2019

The Communist movement in interbellum Poland was a small political entity that did not constitute a threat to the power of the state, nor did it become a visible presence since it failed to attract a majority of the working class. The movement, overall, consisted of a number of parties, organizations and groups, usually illegal, but some at times provisionally legal. The Communist Party of Poland - CPP (Komunistyczna Partia Polski - KPP) was the main party, entrusted with the guiding role by the Comintern, and also the umbrella organization and ideological reference point for the Communists throughout the twenty-year existence of the Second Polish Republic. The CPP was originally formed under the name “Communist Workers' Party of Poland” - CWPP, (Komunistyczna Partia Robotnicza Polski-KPRP). In 1920, it briefly took on the designation “Section of the Communist International” of which it was a founding member. By virtue of its name, the Party proclaimed a total proletarian orientation, ignoring the reality of an almost completely agricultural Poland at the time.
Health-related quality of life in pre-school age children with single-ventricle CHD
Authors: Heye Kristina N. , Knirsch Walter , Scheer Ianina , Beck Ingrid , Wetterling Kristina , Hahn Andreas , Hofmann Karoline , Latal Beatrice , Reich Bettina , Landolt Markus A.
Published: January 2019

Background

Little is known about health-related quality of life in young children undergoing staged palliation for single-ventricle CHD. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of CHD on daily life in pre-schoolers with single-ventricle CHD and to identify determinants of health-related quality of life.

Method

Prospective two-centre cohort study assessing health-related quality of life using the Preschool Paediatric Cardiac Quality of Life Inventory in 46 children at a mean age of 38 months and 3 weeks. Children with genetic anomalies were excluded. Scores were compared with reference data of children with biventricular CHD. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify determinants of health-related quality of life.

Results

Health-related quality of life in pre-schoolers with single-ventricle CHD was comparable to children with biventricular CHD. Preterm birth and perioperative variables were significant predictors of low health-related quality of life. Notably, pre-Fontan brain MRI findings and neurodevelopmental status were not associated with health-related quality of life. Overall, perioperative variables explained 24% of the variability of the total health-related quality of life score.

Interpretation

Despite substantial health-related burden, pre-schoolers with single-ventricle CHD showed good health-related quality of life. Less-modifiable treatment-related risk factors and preterm birth had the highest impact on health-related quality of life. Long-term follow-up assessment of self-reported health-related quality of life is needed to identify patients with poorer health-related quality of life and to initiate supportive care.
The Yew Disaster Severity Index: A New Tool in Disaster Metrics
Authors: Yew Ying Ying , Castro Delgado Rafael , Heslop David James , Arcos González Pedro
Published: January 2019

Objectives

The Richter Scale measures the magnitude of a seismic occurrence, but it does not feasibly quantify the magnitude of the “disaster” at the point of impact in real humanitarian needs, based on United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR; Geneva, Switzerland) 2009 Disaster Terminology. A Disaster Severity Index (DSI) similar to the Richter Scale and the Mercalli Scale has been formulated; this will quantify needs, holistically and objectively, in the hands of any stakeholders and even across timelines.

Background

An agreed terminology in quantifying “disaster” matters; inconsistency in measuring it by stakeholders posed a challenge globally in formulating legislation and policies responding to it.

Methods

A quantitative, mathematical calculation which uses the median score percentage of 100% as a baseline, indicating the ability to cope within the local capacity, was used. Seventeen indicators were selected based on the UNISDR 2009 disaster definition of vulnerability and exposure and holistic approach as a pre-condition. The severity of the disaster is defined as the level of unmet needs. Thirty natural disasters were tested, retrospectively, and non-parametric tests were used to test the correlation of the DSI score against the indicators.

Results

The findings showed that 20 out of 30 natural disasters tested fulfilled the inability to cope, within local capacity in disaster terminology. Non-parametric tests showed that there was a correlation between the 30 DSI scored and the indicators.

Conclusion

By computing a median fit percentage score of 100% as the ability to cope, and the correlation of the 17 indicators, in this DSI Scale, 20 natural disasters fitted into the disaster definition. This DSI will enable humanitarian stakeholders to measure and compare the severity of the disaster objectively, as well as enable future response to be based on needs.

YewYY, Castro DelgadoR, HeslopDJ, Arcos GonzálezP. The Yew Disaster Severity Index: a new tool in disaster metrics. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2019;34(1):8–19.
Development, implementation, and initial results of the UC San Diego Health Moores Cancer Center Wellbeing Screening Tool
Authors: Cardenas Veronica , Abbott Yuko , Hirst Jeremy M. , Mausbach Brent T. , Agarwal Suzanne , Collier Georgianna , Tran Luke , Tamayo Geline , Downey Anna , Herring Maurice , Irwin Scott A.
Published: January 2019

Objective

All accredited cancer institutions are required to screen patients for psychosocial distress. This paper describes the development, implementation, and preliminary outcomes of the University of California San Diego Health Moores Cancer Center Wellbeing Screening Program.

Method

Essential steps learned in a formal National Cancer Institute–funded training workshop entitled “Implementing Comprehensive Biopsychosocial Screening” were followed to ensure successful program implementation. These steps included identification of stakeholders; formation of a working committee; establishment of a vision, process, and implementation timeline; creation of a screening tool; development of patient educational material; tool integration into an electronic medical record system; staff training and pilot testing of tool administration; and education about tool results and appropriate follow-up actions. Screening data were collected and analyzed retrospectively for preliminary results and rapid cycle improvement of the wellbeing screening process.

Results

Over an 8-month implementation and assessment period, the screening tool was administered 5,610 times of 7,664 expected administrations (73.2%.) to 2,394 unique patients. Visits in which the questionnaire was administered averaged 39.6 ± 14.8 minutes, compared with 40.3 ± 15.2 minutes for visits in which the questionnaire was not administered (t = −1.76, df = 7,662, p = 0.079).

Significance of results

This program provides a process and a tool for successful implementation of distress screening in cancer centers, in a meaningful way for patients and providers, while meeting accreditation standards. Further, meaningful data about patient distress and tool performance were able to be collected and utilized.
Meaning and Purpose (MaP) therapy I: Therapeutic processes and themes in advanced cancer
Authors: Lethborg Carrie , Kissane David W. , Schofield Penelope
Published: January 2019

Objective

Understanding the way therapy works is a complex undertaking. Historically, such enquiry has been dominated by “outcomes” leading to a lack of discourse about clinical processes. In the cancer setting, identifying clinical process can be even more complex because of the added challenges of an ongoing illness. This study investigated the therapeutic processes used in a meaning-based intervention developed for the advanced cancer setting: Meaning and Purpose therapy.

Method

Four sessions of therapy were delivered to 24 participants. Transcribed sessions (n = 96) of the intervention were analyzed by two independent researchers to describe participant themes, therapeutic processes, and patterns of change related to common points in the intervention.

Result

Although both suffering and meaning were present in all sessions, when we tracked the focus of the content across sessions, there was a clear progressive shift toward meaning-centered content for all participants. This finding is in spite of the fact that all participants had progressive disease and were living with ongoing challenges.

Significance of results

Processes such as focusing on meaning, reflecting a sense of significance, joining with participants to explore their unique meaning, and directing them away from a preoccupation with suffering were identified as clear influences of a shift toward a meaning-based focus. These processes offer a fresh focus on meaning and a buffer to the distress of advanced cancer.
Thermoelastic Properties of Eclogitic Garnets and Omphacites: Implications for Deep Subduction of Oceanic Crust and Density Anomalies in the Upper Mantle
Authors: Xu Jingui , Zhang Dongzhou , Fan Dawei , Dera Przemyslaw K. , Shi Feng , Zhou Wenge
Published: January 2019

Synchrotron‐based high‐pressure/high‐temperature single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction experiments to ~24 GPa and 700 K were conducted on eclogitic garnets (low‐Fe: Prp28Alm38Grs33Sps1 and high‐Fe: Prp14Alm62Grs19Adr3Sps2) and omphacites (low‐Fe: Quad57Jd42Ae1 and high‐Fe: Quad53Jd27Ae20), using an externally heated diamond anvil cell. Fitting the pressure‐volume‐temperature data to a third‐order Birch‐Murnaghan equation of state yields the thermoelastic parameters including bulk modulus (KT0), its pressure derivative (K′T0), temperature derivative ((∂KT/∂T)P), and thermal expansion coefficient (αT). The densities of the high‐Fe and low‐Fe eclogites were then modeled along typical geotherms of the normal mantle and the subducted oceanic crust to the transition zone depth (550 km). The metastable low‐Fe eclogite could be a reason for the stagnant slabs within the upper range of the transition zone. Eclogite would be responsible for density anomalies within 100–200 km in the upper mantle of Asia.
Strength of Strained Two‐Phase Mixtures: Application to Rapid Creep and Stress Amplification in Subduction Zone Mélange
Authors: Beall Adam , Fagereng Åke , Ellis Susan
Published: January 2019

Aseismic creep may occur by distributed deformation in mélange shear zones comprising weak matrix and stronger clast materials. Slow slip events or steady tectonic displacement can be distributed over <100‐m thick shear zones if weak matrix controls bulk shear zone deformation. We use 2‐D numerical models to quantify the rheology of moderately strained (shear strain <1.75) mélange for various volumetric proportions of competent clasts. Mélange deformation with <50% clasts is matrix dominated and can accommodate steady creep. At higher clast proportions mélange viscosity increases more than tenfold after small strains, because strong clasts interact and form force chains. Clast shear stress is amplified above the imposed shear stress, by a factor of <14 where force chains develop. Slow slip events may occur due to a temporary absence of force chains, while localized regions of high shear stress generate coincident fracturing and potentially tremor events.
Generation and Utilization of Volatile Fatty Acids and Alcohols in Hydrothermally Altered Sediments in the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California
Authors: Zhuang Guang‐Chao , Montgomery Andrew , Samarkin Vladimir A. , Song Min , Liu Jiarui , Schubotz Florence , Teske Andreas , Hinrichs Kai‐Uwe , Joye Samantha B.
Published: January 2019

Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and alcohols are key intermediates of anaerobic carbon metabolism, yet their biogeochemical cycling remains poorly constrained in hydrothermal systems. We investigated the abundance, stable carbon isotopic composition, and metabolic cycling of VFAs and alcohols to elucidate their generation and utilization pathways in hydrothermally influenced sediments (4 °C to 90 °C) from the Guaymas Basin. Acetate (up to 229 μM) and methanol (up to 37 μM) were abundant in porewaters. The δ13C values of acetate varied between −35.6‰ and −18.1‰. Carbon isotopic signatures, thermodynamic predictions, and experimental incubations suggested biological sources such as fermentation and acetogenesis for acetate. Acetate and methanol were predominantly consumed by nonmethanogenic processes (e.g., sulfate reduction), as reflected in high oxidation rates versus low methanogenesis rates, and further evidenced through inhibition experiments with molybdate. These results reveal an important role for VFAs and alcohols as energy sources for diverse chemoheterotrophs in organic‐rich hydrothermally influenced sediments.
Application of Ps Scattering Kernels to Imaging the Mantle Transition Zone With Receiver Functions
Authors: Zhang Han , Schmandt Brandon
Published: January 2019

Seismic imaging of the global boundaries of the mantle transition zone provides important constraints regarding mantle composition and convection. Additionally, modern hypotheses about mantle convection and increasing seismic data resources motivate attempts to image more complex regional transition zone structures such as dipping and discontinuous interfaces. Here we extend a 3‐D prestack migration method to make it more applicable for transition zone imaging with Ps receiver functions. After validation with 1‐D synthetic data, two types of hypothetical structures are adopted to demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of different practical imaging parameters with 2‐D synthetic tests. The results show that the method can resolve dipping anomalies and laterally discontinuous low velocity layers. However, receiver spacing of 0.5° is inadequate to accurately migrate scattering from all possible angles in the transition zone at ~0.3 Hz. Application of a slowness cutoff window about the Ps raypath can mitigate artifacts due to low receiver density, but the tradeoff is a decrease in the maximum resolvable dip angle. Further synthetic tests evaluate source wavelet effects, addition of observed seismic noise to synthetic data, and imaging grid dimensions. Cumulatively, the tests indicate that generic application of migration algorithms to the limited source‐receiver distributions relevant for the transition zone should be treated cautiously. Imaging parameters, such as the slowness cutoff and wavelet, should be chosen based on synthetic tests for hypothetical targets and realistic source‐receiver geometries. Finally, observational Ps receiver functions from the USArray are migrated with the new method.
A Column Canopy‐Air Turbulent Diffusion Method for Different Canopy Structures
Authors: Chen Xuelong , Massman William J. , Su Zhongbo
Published: January 2019

An accurate simulation of the sensible heat flux (H) over vegetation from thermal remote sensing requires an a priori estimate of roughness length and the excess resistance parameter kB−1. Despite being the subject of considerable interest in hydrometeorology, there still does not exist a uniform method for estimating roughness length from remote sensing techniques. This study demonstrates a turbulent diffusion method to simulate canopy‐air sensible heat. The performance of the roughness length scheme as described in Chen et al. (2013, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC‐D‐12‐056.1) was examined by comparing simulated H to measured values at 28 flux tower stations, which include seven different land covers (needle forest, broadleaf forest, shrub, savanna, grassland, cropland, and sparsely vegetated land). The model predictions of H for grass, crop, and sparsely vegetated land compare favorably with observed values, when actual canopy height is given. H is significantly underestimated at forest sites due to a high value of kB−1. Among the different physical representations for the canopy, canopy‐soil mixture, and soil component, it is found that such a high kB−1 value is caused by the high kB−1 value for the canopy part. The reasons for this high kB−1 were investigated from canopy‐air physical process of turbulent diffusion. This study introduces the vertical foliage density information into a column canopy‐air turbulent diffusion model to include the different momentum and heat transfer efficiencies in the vertical canopy layers to enhance the thermal turbulent transfer intensity above the tall canopy. The new model has been verified to provide accurate simulation over different canopy structures.
Land‐Atmosphere Responses to a Total Solar Eclipse in Three Ecosystems With Contrasting Structure and Physiology
Authors: Wood J. D. , Sadler E. J. , Fox N. I. , Greer S. T. , Gu L. , Guinan P. E. , Lupo A. R. , Market P. S. , Rochette S. M. , Speck A. , White L. D.
Published: January 2019

Mid‐Missouri experienced up to 2 min 40 s of totality at around solar noon during the total eclipse of 2017. We conducted the Mid‐Missouri Eclipse Meteorology Experiment to examine land‐atmosphere interactions during the eclipse. Here, research examining the eclipse responses in three contrasting ecosystems (forest, prairie, and soybeans) is described. There was variable cloudiness around first and fourth contacts (i.e., the start and end of partial solar obscuration) at the forest and prairie; however, solar irradiance (K↓) signals during the eclipse were relatively clean. Unfortunately, the eclipse forcing at the soybean field was contaminated by convective activity, which decreased K↓ beginning about an hour before first contact and exposed the field to cold outflow ~30 min before second contact. Turbulence was suppressed during the eclipse at all sites; however, there was also an amplified signal at the soybean field during the passage of a gust front. The standard deviations of the horizontal and vertical wind velocities and friction velocities decreased by ~75% at the forest (aerodynamically rough), and ~60% at the prairie (aerodynamically smooth). The eddy fluxes of energy were highly coherent with the solar forcing with the latent and sensible heat fluxes approaching 0 W/m2 and changing in direction, respectively. For the prairie site, we estimated a canopy‐scale time constant for the surface conductance light response of 10 min. Although the eclipse imparted large forcings on surface energy balances, the air temperature response was relatively muted (1.5–2.5 °C decrease) due to the absence of topographic effects and the relatively moist land and atmosphere.
Linking Remote Sensing and Dendrochronology to Quantify Climate‐Induced Shifts in High‐Elevation Forests Over Space and Time
Authors: Correa‐Díaz A. , Silva L. C. R. , Horwath W. R. , Gómez‐Guerrero A. , Vargas‐Hernández J. , Villanueva‐Díaz J. , Velázquez‐Martínez A. , Suárez‐Espinoza J.
Published: January 2019

It is well known that tree growth is strongly affected by climate at high elevations, but it is still unclear how climate variability influences the distribution of montane forest ecosystems, particularly tree line species. To advance knowledge in this field, we combined temporal (tree ring measurements) and spatial data (remotely sensed variables), to quantify how forests responded to climatic variability across altitudinal gradients in Central Mexico. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), tree‐ring chronologies, and site‐level climatic data were used in a vegetation trend analysis of greenness and browning and to reconstruct canopy vigor for the last century. Although a common ring width chronology was developed, we found significant site‐dependent forest growth response, where young trees (<100 years) exhibited heterogeneous growth trends, without an altitudinal pattern. However, mature trees (100–200 years) showed a common growth decline during the middle twentieth century, regardless of their altitude. Annual maximum NDVI anomalies did not show a general greening effect at high‐elevations. The forest showed both greening and browning zones denoting spatial variability in tree vigor. Furthermore, temperature from the previous year had a positive effect on both NDVI and ring width index but negative at beginning of the growing season. The significant relationship between winter‐spring NDVI (December to March) and ring width index (r = 0.64, p < 0.05), was useful to reconstruct the canopy vigor for the last 151 years. Thus, the greening effect derived from NDVI should be carefully interpreted as a direct forest growth increase. These results highlight the potential of integrating remotely sensed and dendrochronological methods to improve predictions of forest ecosystem responses.
Tectonothermal Evolution of the Cameros Basin: Implications for Tectonics of North Iberia
Authors: Rat J. , Mouthereau F. , Brichau S. , Crémades A. , Bernet M. , Balvay M. , Ganne J. , Lahfid A. , Gautheron C.
Published: January 2019

Constraining the way in which continental deformation is accommodated in time and space is essential to reconcile past plate movements with geological observations. Kinematic reconstructions of the Iberia‐Europe plate boundary are still debated. Here we focus on an inverted Mesozoic rift basin, the Cameros basin, which is part of the Iberian chain. We use a combination of detrital low‐temperature thermochronological techniques to define the time‐temperature evolution of the basin from Mesozoic rifting to Cenozoic collision. Zircon fission‐track analyses of Oligocene–Miocene sedimentary rocks yield two main age populations at ~170 ± 10 and ~100 ± 10 Ma, reflecting (i) an Early Jurassic thermal event related to the Atlantic‐Alpine Tethys opening and (ii) an Albo‐Cenomanian thermal event related to the Bay of Biscay opening. Thermal modeling of combined zircon fission‐track, apatite fission‐track, and apatite (U‐Th‐Sm)/He data reveals that collision‐related cooling of the Cameros basin started during the Paleocene (~60 Ma). A second cooling/exhumation phase of the basin is recorded from 35 to 25 Ma. Initial cooling occurred after a protracted postrift period characterized by persistence of high geothermal gradients, a feature also recognized in the Pyrenees. Our results show that the Iberian chain shared the same Early to Late Jurassic tectonothermal evolution with the Atlantic‐Alpine Tethyan rifted margins. From the Albian onward, the thermal evolution of the Cameros basin was very similar to that of the Pyrenees. This study shows that the preservation in mountain ranges of a succession of rifting events provide important clues for plate reconstructions.
Efficacy of an orally active small-molecule inhibitor of RANKL in bone metastasis
Authors: Nakai Yuta , Okamoto Kazuo , Terashima Asuka , Ehata Shogo , Nishida Jun , Imamura Takeshi , Ono Takashi , Takayanagi Hiroshi
Published: January 2019

Bone is one of the preferred sites for the metastasis of malignant tumours, such as breast cancer, lung cancer and malignant melanoma. Tumour cells colonizing bone have the capacity to induce the expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL), which promotes osteoclast differentiation and activation. Tumour-induced osteoclastic bone resorption leads to a vicious cycle between tumours and bone cells that fuels osteolytic tumour growth, causing bone pain and hypercalcaemia. Furthermore, RANKL contributes to bone metastasis by acting as a chemoattractant to bone for tumour cells that express its receptor, RANK. Thus inhibition of the RANKL–RANK pathway is a promising treatment for bone metastasis, and a human monoclonal anti-RANKL antibody, denosumab, has been used in the clinic. However, orally available drugs targeting RANKL must be developed to increase the therapeutic benefits to patients. Here we report the efficacy of the small-molecule RANKL inhibitor AS2676293 in treating bone metastasis using mouse models. Oral administration of AS2676293 markedly inhibited bone metastasis of human breast cancer cells MDA-MB-231-5a-D-Luc2 as well as tumour-induced osteolysis. AS2676293 suppressed RANKL-mediated tumour migration in the transwell assay and inhibited bone metastasis of the murine cell line B16F10, which is known not to trigger osteoclast activation. Based on the results from this study, RANKL inhibition with a small-molecule compound constitutes a promising therapeutic strategy for treating bone metastasis by inhibiting both osteoclastic bone resorption and tumour migration to bone.
Correction: Epistasis between Pax6Sey and genetic background reinforces the value of defined hybrid mouse models for therapeutic trials
Authors: Hickmott Jack W. , Gunawardane Uvini , Jensen Kimberly , Korecki Andrea J. , Simpson Elizabeth M.
Published: January 2019

This Article was originally published under Nature Research’s License to Publish, but has now been made available under a CC BY 4.0 license. The PDF and HTML versions of the Article have been modified accordingly.
Central dogma rates and the trade-off between precision and economy in gene expression
Authors: Hausser Jean , Mayo Avi , Keren Leeat , Alon Uri
Published: January 2019

Steady-state protein abundance is set by four rates: transcription, translation, mRNA decay and protein decay. A given protein abundance can be obtained from infinitely many combinations of these rates. This raises the question of whether the natural rates for each gene result from historical accidents, or are there rules that give certain combinations a selective advantage? We address this question using high-throughput measurements in rapidly growing cells from diverse organisms to find that about half of the rate combinations do not exist: genes that combine high transcription with low translation are strongly depleted. This depletion is due to a trade-off between precision and economy: high transcription decreases stochastic fluctuations but increases transcription costs. Our theory quantitatively explains which rate combinations are missing, and predicts the curvature of the fitness function for each gene. It may guide the design of gene circuits with desired expression levels and noise.
Discovery of colossal Seebeck effect in metallic Cu2Se
Authors: Byeon Dogyun , Sobota Robert , Delime-Codrin Kévin , Choi Seongho , Hirata Keisuke , Adachi Masahiro , Kiyama Makoto , Matsuura Takashi , Yamamoto Yoshiyuki , Matsunami Masaharu , Takeuchi Tsunehiro
Published: January 2019

Both electrical conductivity σ and Seebeck coefficient S are functions of carrier concentration being correlated with each other, and the value of power factor S2σ is generally limited to less than 0.01 W m−1 K−2. Here we report that, under the temperature gradient applied simultaneously to both parallel and perpendicular directions of measurement, a metallic copper selenide, Cu2Se, shows two sign reversals and colossal values of S exceeding ±2 mV K−1 in a narrow temperature range, 340 K < T < 400 K, where a structure phase transition takes place. The metallic behavior of σ possessing larger magnitude exceeding 600 S cm−1 leads to a colossal value of S2σ = 2.3 W m–1 K–2. The small thermal conductivity less than 2 W m−1 K−1 results in a huge dimensionless figure of merit exceeding 400. This unusual behavior is brought about by the self-tuning carrier concentration effect in the low-temperature phase assisted by the high-temperature phase.
The transcription factor STAT5 catalyzes Mannich ligation reactions yielding inhibitors of leukemic cell proliferation
Authors: Wong Ee Lin , Nawrotzky Eric , Arkona Christoph , Kim Boo Geun , Beligny Samuel , Wang Xinning , Wagner Stefan , Lisurek Michael , Carstanjen Dirk , Rademann Jörg
Published: January 2019

Protein-templated fragment ligations have been established as a powerful method for the assembly and detection of optimized protein ligands. Initially developed for reversible ligations, the method has been expanded to irreversible reactions enabling the formation of super-additive fragment combinations. Here, protein-induced Mannich ligations are discovered as a biocatalytic reaction furnishing inhibitors of the transcription factor STAT5. STAT5 protein catalyzes multicomponent reactions of a phosphate mimetic, formaldehyde, and 1H-tetrazoles yielding protein ligands with greatly increased binding affinity and ligand efficiency. Reactions are induced under physiological conditions selectively by native STAT5 but not by other proteins. Formation of ligation products and (auto-)inhibition of the reaction are quantified and the mechanism is investigated. Inhibitors assembled by STAT5 block specifically the phosphorylation of this protein in a cellular model of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), DNA-binding of STAT5 dimers, expression of downstream targets of the transcription factor, and the proliferation of cancer cells in mice.