bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Expertise in STEM Disciplines
Authors: Feldon David F. , Jeong Soojeong , Franco Joana
Published: February 2019

Enhancing expertise in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is vital to promoting both the intellectual and economic development of a modern society. This chapter synthesizes relevant studies on the acquisition and development of STEM expertise from different areas of research, including cognitive psychology, the psychology of science, sociology and anthropology, and educational research. Specifically, first, the structure of relevant STEM disciplines in conceptualizing the domain of expertise are discussed. Then the fundamental mechanisms of thinking and problem-solving practices in science and engineering that underlie expert performance within these disciplines are presented. Issues pertaining to assessment and recognition of expertise in STEM fields are also examined. Lastly, evidence pertaining to the impact of training and education on the development of STEM expertise is reviewed. The chapter closes with a critical analysis of STEM expertise research to date and identifies unanswered critical questions and new directions for future research.
A Cognitive Examination of Skill and Expertise in Word Games and Puzzles
Authors: Mueller Shane T.
Published: February 2019

In this chapter, word game expertise will be examined from a cognitive perspective. First, a general taxonomic space of word games where the primary organizing axis distinguishes letter versus meaning-centered games will be proposed. Next, crosswords and SCRABBLE will be the focus, and aspects of game expertise will be examined by summarizing past research and news reports, including tournament and practice records. Finally, the results of a number of expert–novice comparison studies that have examined the cognitive differences between word game experts and non-experts will be summarized. The chapter will conclude with the hypothesis that word game expertise is supported by both practice and prior skills and ability, and will suggest predisposition-opportunity may be a fruitful framework for understanding skilled performance in this domain.
Older Adults and Digital Technologies
Authors: Lovarini Meryl , O’Loughlin Kate , Clemson Lindy
Published: February 2019

The increase in the global population of adults over the age of 65 years has occurred alongside other developments at the individual, societal, and structural level, and these changes have shaped the world we live in, altered our life experiences, and transformed our expectations across the life course. A key factor has been the influence of technology and the increasingly technological nature of our interactions and communications in the public and private sphere. This chapter considers the ways in which technology intersects with aging at the individual and societal level by considering what is known about older adults (65+ years) and their use of technology, particularly digital technology, and also what the future holds for people as they age and as they use technology to remain independent, healthy, and socially connected. The key themes addressed in the context of population aging include the evolving technological landscape relevant to people as they age, older adults’ engagement with everyday technologies for information and communication, identifying the opportunities and barriers that need to be considered with older people’s access to and use of technology, and how forms of assistive technology can support older people, including those with complex needs, to age well within their community.
Ethiopia’s Changing Demography
Authors: Hailemariam Assefa
Published: February 2019

Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa. Although it is the fastest-growing economy in Africa, it is also one of the poorest and least urbanized. Recently, the country has been undergoing demographic changes of historic proportions. It has been experiencing rapid declines in fertility, in infant, child, and maternal mortality, and an increase in life expectancy. Currently, the country is going through a demographic transition process. Both the size and the age structure of the population are changing. Understanding these changes is vital as the country plans the pathway for its future development. This contribution uses rigorously generated evidence of Ethiopia’s demographic transition to highlight the changes in population dynamics that have occurred in the country in the last sixty years and to examine the main drivers of these changes and their implications for the country’s future.
Changes in Child Under-Nutrition in Ethiopia, 2000–16
Authors: Golan Jenna , Headey Derek , Hirvonen Kalle , Hoddinott John
Published: February 2019

In the 1980s and 1990s Ethiopia was synonymous with famine and had one of the highest rates of chronic child under-nutrition in the world. From around the turn of the millennium, however, anthropometric measures of nutrition have improved substantially. Among children 0–5 years, the prevalence of stunting—a measure of chronic under-nutrition—fell from 58 per cent in 2000 to 38 per cent in 2016. In this chapter, we carefully document how stunting rates have changed by gender, and across space and wealth strata. We then use insights from the nutrition literature to understand the possible underlying drivers of this rapid reduction in stunting prevalence. This analysis suggests that the fall in stunting over this period was driven by improvements in exclusive breastfeeding practices. Meanwhile, poor maternal health during pregnancy, and poor dietary diversity during complementary feeding remain significant risk factors for stunting.
Urbanization and Industrial Development in Ethiopia
Authors: Gebre-Egziabher Tegegne , Yemeru Edlam Abera
Published: February 2019

Ethiopia is one of the least urbanized countries in Africa; only 20 per cent of the population reside in cities. Over the next twenty years, urbanization will double. The government plans to transform Ethiopia into a middle-income country by 2025 and industrialization has been prioritized to promote economic growth and job creation. Twin pressures of rapid urbanization and high population growth warrant decisive government measures to manage urbanization. To this end, the government is establishing industrial parks (IPs) in selected cities, signifying the close relationship between urbanization and industrialization through urban plans, infrastructure development, and regional service centres, to strengthen rural–urban linkages. Yet several barriers constrain Ethiopian cities from playing an enabling role in industrialization. Ethiopia must therefore strengthen the efficiency, competitiveness, and productivity of its urban centres to become centres of innovation, economic accumulation, and exchange.
Economic Policy and Structural Transformation in Ethiopia
Authors: Manyazewal Mekonnen , Shiferaw Admasu
Published: February 2019

Ethiopia has advanced from the strong economic recovery of the 1990s to rapid growth since the early 2000s. The underlying economic structure exhibits only modest changes as industrialization has yet to take root. This chapter examines the link between policy choices, economic growth, and transformation under the Derg and EPRDF regimes. While policy reforms and public expenditure on infrastructure and basic services since 1991 have triggered rapid growth by reducing major inefficiencies, structural transformation requires action to boost productivity, alter the structure of demand, and build productive capacity. Productivity remains below that of other developing countries both in the production of food and agricultural raw materials. Manufacturing firms exhibit lacklustre levels of investment while import penetration rates continue to rise. Inequality of asset ownership in urban areas, and the weak response of asset positions to income growth in rural areas suggest challenges in raising household demand for non-food consumption items.
Ethiopian Financial Sector Development
Authors: Birru Yohannes Ayalew
Published: February 2019

Financial sector development has played a key role in Ethiopia’s economic development, particularly since the launching of the first Five-year Growth and Transformation Plan in 2010. The gradualist approach that Ethiopia followed in reforming its financial sector seems to have borne fruit as no single commercial bank has gone bust so far, unlike the case in neighbouring countries. Though Ethiopia’s financial sector growth was following output growth in the first two phases, government has started to play a key role in accelerating the sector’s growth through active interventions, such as encouraging branch expansion, and introduction of new financial instruments such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Bond, a housing saving scheme, and the private pension fund. Consequently, the number of bank branches expanded from 681 to 4,257 between 2010 and 2017 while the deposit-to-GDP ratio went up from 25.9 per cent to 31.4 per cent in the same period.
Survey of cow-calf producer perspectives on management strategies and industry challenges. Part 2. Marketing and selection decisions1
Authors: Martin Miriam S , Grau Scott A , Rutherford Burt W , Grandin Temple , Edwards-Callaway Lily N
Published: February 2019

The objective of this study was to benchmark how cow-calf producers were marketing their calves, their priorities when selecting replacements, and if producers saw value in a quality assessment focusing on animal handling and care. A total of 1,414 responses from cow-calf producers in 44 states were collected through a survey conducted in partnership with BEEF. Thirty questions were asked of respondents to gather demographic information, establish at what age and through what avenue respondents were marketing their calves, and gauge respondent perspectives on selection decisions, pain management and a quality assessment outlining handling and care guidelines. The percentage of respondents who marketed their calves at certain ages varied by herd size (P < 0.001). Respondents with 50 head or less or more than 1,000 head most commonly retained their calves through finishing and respondents with 51 to 200 head and 201 head to 500 head more frequently backgrounded and then sold their calves. Respondents’ top priorities when selecting bulls were calving ease, followed by growth and feed efficiency traits. When selecting females, top priorities were reproductive efficiency, followed by mothering ability. The percentage of respondents using pain management differed by whether a veterinarian had offered to administer a drug for pain management (P < 0.001). 13.5% of respondents answered yes, and a veterinarian had offered to administer a drug for pain management when castrating or dehorning. Of those 13.5% who responded yes pain management had been offered, and 54.55% of respondents chose to use a pain relief method. A higher percentage of respondents that precondition also more frequently indicated that they used a pain relief method when castrating or dehorning, though it was still a low percentage (P = 0.006). Overall, 46.3% of respondents saw value in handling and care guidelines and 54.9% of respondents saw value in a program including source and age verification, a vaccination plan, and handling and care guidelines. Respondents who were Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) certified had a beef cow inventory of 501 to 1,000 head, who preconditioned their calves and backgrounded them before selling, and who lived in the West most commonly saw value in a quality assessment outlining handling and care guidelines.
Ant behaviour and brain gene expression of defending hosts depend on the ecological success of the intruding social parasite
Authors: Kaur Rajbir , Stoldt Marah , Jongepier Evelien , Feldmeyer Barbara , Menzel Florian , Bornberg-Bauer Erich , Foitzik Susanne
Published: February 2019

The geographical mosaic theory of coevolution predicts that species interactions vary between locales. Depending on who leads the coevolutionary arms race, the effectivity of parasite attack or host defence strategies will explain parasite prevalence. Here, we compare behaviour and brain transcriptomes of
Temnothorax longispinosus
ant workers when defending their nest against an invading social parasite, the slavemaking ant
Temnothorax americanus
. A full-factorial design allowed us to test whether behaviour and gene expression are linked to parasite pressure on host populations or to the ecological success of parasite populations. Albeit host defences had been shown before to covary with local parasite pressure, we found parasite success to be much more important. Our chemical and behavioural analyses revealed that parasites from high prevalence sites carry lower concentrations of recognition cues and are less often attacked by hosts. This link was further supported by gene expression analysis. Our study reveals that host–parasite interactions are strongly influenced by social parasite strategies, so that variation in parasite prevalence is determined by parasite traits rather than the efficacy of host defence. Gene functions associated with parasite success indicated strong neuronal responses in hosts, including long-term changes in gene regulation, indicating an enduring impact of parasites on host behaviour.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘The coevolutionary biology of brood parasitism: from mechanism to pattern’.
Variation in multicomponent recognition cues alters egg rejection decisions: a test of the optimal acceptance threshold hypothesis
Authors: Hanley Daniel , López Analía V. , Fiorini Vanina D. , Reboreda Juan C. , Grim Tomáš , Hauber Mark E.
Published: February 2019

The optimal acceptance threshold hypothesis provides a general predictive framework for testing behavioural responses to discrimination challenges. Decision-makers should respond to a stimulus when the perceived difference between that stimulus and a comparison template surpasses an acceptance threshold. We tested how individual components of a relevant recognition cue (experimental eggs) contributed to behavioural responses of chalk-browed mockingbirds,Mimus saturninus, a frequent host of the parasitic shiny cowbird,Molothrus bonariensis. To do this, we recorded responses to eggs that varied with respect to two components: colour, ranging from bluer to browner than the hosts' own eggs, and spotting, either spotted like their own or unspotted. Although tests of this hypothesis typically assume that decisions are based on perceived colour dissimilarity between own and foreign eggs, we found that decisions were biased toward rejecting browner eggs. However, as predicted, hosts tolerated spotted eggs more than unspotted eggs, irrespective of colour. These results uncover how a single component of a multicomponent cue can shift a host’s discrimination threshold and illustrate how the optimal acceptance threshold hypothesis can be used as a framework to quantify the direction and amount of the shift (in avian perceptual units) of the response curve across relevant phenotypic ranges.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘The coevolutionary biology of brood parasitism: from mechanism to pattern’.
Reclassification of Arthrobacter endophyticus (Wang et al. 2015) as Glutamicibacter endophyticus comb. nov.
Authors: Busse Hans-Jürgen , Schumann Peter
Published: February 2019

The species

Arthrobacter

endophyticus

is phylogenetically placed within the Glutamicibacter clade and shares 97.3–98.4 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities with the species of this genus. The quinone system with the major menaquinone MK-9 and the peptidoglycan amino acids alanine, glutamic acid and lysine are consistent with the characteristics of the members of the genus Glutamicibacter but the polar lipid profile with phosphatidylinositol distinguishes A. endophyticus from species of the genus

Glutamicibacter

. Re-analysis of both peptidoglycan structure and polar lipid profile revealed peptidoglycan type l-Lys–l-Ala–l-Glu (A11.35) and a polar lipid profile lacking phosphatidylinositol. These traits are consistent with those of representatives of the genus

Glutamicibacter

and distinguish

A. endophyticus

from members of the genus

Arthrobacter
sensu stricto. Due to its phylogenetic position and congruence with the key characteristics of members of the genus

Glutamicibacter

we here propose the reclassification of Arthrobacter endophyticus as a species of the genus

Glutamicibacter

, Glutamicibacter endophyticus comb. nov. (EGI 6500322T=DSM 28750T=KCTC 29490T=JCM 30091T).
Stereotactic system for accurately targeting deep brain structures in awake head-fixed mice
Authors: Katz Yonatan , Sokoletsky Michael , Lampl Ilan
Published: February 2019

Deep brain nuclei, such as the amygdala, nucleus basalis, and locus coeruleus, play a crucial role in cognition and behavior. Nonetheless, acutely recording electrical activity from these structures in head-fixed awake rodents has been very challenging due to the fact that head-fixed preparations are not designed for stereotactic accuracy. We overcome this issue by designing the DeepTarget, a system for stereotactic head-fixation and recording, which allows for accurately directing recording electrodes or other probes into any desired location in the brain. We then validated it by performing intracellular recordings from optogenetically-tagged amygdalar neurons followed by histological reconstruction, which revealed that it is accurate and precise to within ∼100 μm. Moreover, in another group of mice we were able to target both the mammillothalamic tract and subthalamic nucleus. This approach can be adapted to any type of extracellular electrode, fiber optic or other probe in cases where high accuracy is needed in awake, head-fixed rodents.

Highlights

> The Deep Target, new system for accurately targeting deep nuclei in head-fixed animals for electrophysiology and optogenetics.

> Accurate and precise to within 100 μm following a one-time alignment.

> Validation: Opto-tagged Vm recordings in the amygdala of awake mice.

> Validation: Targeting multiple deep brain structures in the same mouse.
Deep conservation of response element variants regulating plant hormonal responses
Authors: Michal Lieberman-Lazarovich , Chen Yahav , Alon Israeli , Idan Efroni
Published: February 2019

Phytohormones regulate many aspects of plant life by activating transcription factors (TF) that bind sequence-specific response elements (RE) in regulatory regions of target genes. Despite their short length, REs are degenerate with a core of just 3-4bps. This degeneracy is paradoxical, as it reduces specificity, and REs are extremely common in the genome. To study whether RE degeneracy might serve a biological function we developed an algorithm for the detection of regulatory sequence conservation, and applied it to phytohormones REs in 45 angiosperms. Surprisingly, we found that specific RE variants are highly conserved in core hormone response genes. Experimental evidence showed that specific variants act to regulate the magnitude and spatial profile of hormonal response in Arabidopsis and tomato. Our results suggest that hormone-regulated TFs bind a spectrum of REs, each coding for a distinct transcriptional response profile. Our approach is applicable for precise editing and rational promoter design.
Comparative analysis of corrected tiger genome provides clues to their neuronal evolution
Authors: Mittal Parul , Jaiswal Shubham , Vijay Nagarjun , Saxena Rituja , Sharma Vineet K.
Published: February 2019

The availability of completed and draft genome assemblies of tiger, leopard, and other felids provides an opportunity to gain comparative insights on their unique evolutionary adaptations. However, genome-wide comparative analyses are very sensitive to errors in genome sequences and thus require accurate genomic assemblies for reliable evolutionary insights. In this study, while analyzing the tiger genome, we found almost one million erroneous substitutions in the coding and non-coding region of the genome affecting 4,472 genes, hence, biasing the current understanding of tiger evolution. Moreover, these errors produced several misleading observations in previous studies. Thus, to gain insights into the tiger evolution, we corrected the erroneous bases in the genome assembly and gene set of tiger, which was also validated by resequencing of a Bengal tiger genome and transcriptome. A comprehensive evolutionary analysis was performed using 10,920 orthologs from nine mammalian species including the corrected gene sets of tiger and leopard, and using five different methods at three hierarchical levels i.e. felids, Panthera, and tiger. The unique genetic changes in tiger revealed that the genes showing the signatures of adaptation in tiger were enriched in development and neuronal functioning. Specifically, the genes belonging to Notch signalling pathway, which is among the most conserved pathways involved in embryonic and neuronal development, were found to be significantly diverged in tiger in comparison to the other mammals. Our findings suggest the role of adaptive evolution in neuronal functions and development processes, which correlates well with the presence of exceptional traits such as sensory perception, strong neuro-muscular coordination, and hypercarnivorous behavior in tiger.
Differential Principal Components Reveal Patterns of Differentiation in Case/Control Studies
Authors: Lengerich Benjamin J. , Xing Eric P.
Published: February 2019

Dimensionality reduction is an important task in bioinformatics studies. Common unsupervised methods like principal components analysis (PCA) extract axes of variation that are high-variance but do not necessarily differentiate experimental conditions. Methods of supervised discriminant analysis such as partial least squares (PLS-DA) effectively separate conditions, but are hamstrung by inflexibility and overfit to sample labels. We would like a simple method which repurposes the rich literature of component estimation for supervised dimensionality reduction.

We propose to address this problem by estimating principal components from a set of difference vectors rather than from the samples. Our method directly utilizes the PCA algorithm as a module, so we can incorporate any PCA variant for improved components estimation. Specifically, Robust PCA, which ameliorates the deleterious effects of noisy samples, improves recovery of components in this framework. We name the resulting method Differential Robust PCA (drPCA). We apply drPCA to several cancer gene expression datasets and find that it more accurately summarizes oncogenic processes than do standard methods such as PCA and PLS-DA. A Python implementation of drPCA and Jupyter notebooks to reproduce experimental results are available at www.github.com/blengerich/drPCA.
Theta oscillations gate the transmission of reliable sequences in the medial entorhinal cortex
Authors: Neru Arun , Assisi Collins
Published: February 2019

Reliable sequential activity of neurons in the entorhinal cortex is necessary to encode spatially guided behavior and memory. In a realistic computational model of a medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) microcircuit, with stellate cells coupled via a network of inhibitory interneurons, we show how intrinsic and network mechanisms interact with theta oscillations to generate reliable outputs. Sensory inputs activate interneurons near their most excitable phase during each theta cycle. As the inputs change, different groups of interneurons are recruited and postsynaptic stellate cells are released from inhibition causing a sequence of rebound spikes. Since the rebound time scale of stellate cells matches theta oscillations, its spikes get relegated to the least excitable phase of theta ensuring that the network encodes only the external drive and ignores recurrent excitation by rebound spikes. In the absence of theta, rebound spikes compete with external inputs and disrupt the sequence that follows. Our simulations concur with experimental data that show, subduing theta oscillations disrupts the spatial periodicity of grid cell receptive fields. Further, the same mechanism where theta modulates the gain of incoming inputs may be used to select between competing sources of input and create transient functionally connected networks.
Rich-Club organization: an important determinant of functional outcome after acute ischemic stroke
Authors: Schirmer Markus D. , Ktena Sofia Ira , Nardin Marco J. , Donahue Kathleen L. , Giese Anne-Katrin , Etherton Mark R. , Wu Ona , Rost Natalia S.
Published: February 2019

Objective

To determine whether the rich-club organization, essential for information transport in the human connectome, is an important biomarker of functional outcome after acute ischemic stroke (AIS).

Methods

Consecutive AIS patients (N=344) with acute brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (<48 hours) were eligible for this study. Each patient underwent a clinical MRI protocol, which included diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). All DWIs were registered to a template on which rich-club regions have been defined. Using manual outlines of stroke lesions, we automatically counted the number of affected rich-club regions and assessed its effect on the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and modified Rankin Scale (mRS; obtained at 90 days post-stroke) scores through ordinal regression.

Results

Of 344 patients (median age 65, inter-quartile range 54-76 years) with a median DWI lesion volume (DWIv) of 3cc, 64% were male. We established that an increase in number of rich-club regions affected by a stroke increases the odds of poor stroke outcome, measured by NIHSS (OR: 1.77, 95%CI 1.41-2.21) and mRS (OR: 1.38, 95%CI 1.11-1.73). Additionally, we demonstrated that the OR exceeds traditional markers, such as DWIv (ORNIHSS 1.08, 95%CI 1.06-1.11; ORmRs 1.05, 95%CI 1.03-1.07) and age (ORNIHSS 1.03, 95%CI 1.01-1.05; ORmRs 1.05, 95%CI 1.03-1.07).

Conclusion

In this proof-of-concept study, the number of rich-club nodes affected by a stroke lesion presents a translational biomarker of stroke outcome, which can be readily assessed using standard clinical AIS imaging protocols and considered in functional outcome prediction models beyond traditional factors.
How the initiating ribosome copes with (p)ppGpp to translate mRNAs
Authors: Vinogradova Daria S. , Kasatsky Pavel , Maksimova Elena , Zegarra Victor , Paleskava Alena , Konevega Andrey L. , Milón Pohl
Published: February 2019

During host colonization, bacteria use the alarmone (p)ppGpp to reshape its proteome by acting pleiotropically on RNA and protein synthesis. Here, we elucidate how the translation Initiation Factor 2 (IF2) senses the cellular ppGpp to GTP ratio and regulates the progression towards protein synthesis. Our results show that the affinity of GTP and the inhibitory concentration of ppGpp for 30S-bound IF2 vary depending on the programmed mRNA. Highly translated mRNAs enhanced GTP affinity for 30S complexes, resulting in fast transitions to elongation of protein synthesis. Less demanded mRNAs allowed ppGpp to compete with GTP for IF2, stalling 30S complexes until exchange of the mRNA enhances the affinity for GTP. Altogether, our data unveil a novel regulatory mechanism at the onset of protein synthesis that tolerates physiological concentrations of ppGpp, and that bacteria can exploit to modulate its proteome as a function of the nutritional shift happening during infection.
Phenome-wide burden of copy number variation in UK Biobank
Authors: Aguirre Matthew , Rivas Manuel , Priest James
Published: February 2019

Copy number variations (CNV) represent a significant proportion of the genetic differences between individuals and many CNVs associate causally with syndromic disease and clinical outcomes. Here, we characterize the landscape of copy number variation and their phenome-wide effects in a sample of 472,228 array-genotyped individuals from the UK Biobank. In addition to population-level selection effects against genic loci conferring high-mortality, we describe genetic burden from syndromic and previously uncharacterized CNV loci across nearly 2,000 quantitative and dichotomous traits, with separate analyses for common and rare classes of variation. Specifically, we highlight the effects of CNVs at two well-known syndromic loci 16p11.2 and 22q11.2, as well as novel associations at 9p23, in the context of acute coronary artery disease and high body mass index. Our data constitute a deeply contextualized portrait of population-wide burden of copy number variation, as well as a series of known and novel dosage-mediated genic associations across the medical phenome.
Shared and dissociable features of apathy and reward system dysfunction in bipolar I disorder and schizophrenia
Authors: Kirschner Matthias , Cathomas Flurin , Manoliu Andrei , Habermeyer Benedikt , Simon Joe J. , Seifritz Erich , Tobler Philippe N. , Kaiser Stefan
Published: February 2019

Background

Bipolar disorder I (BD-I) is defined by episodes of mania, depression, and euthymic states. These episodes are among other symptoms characterized by altered reward processing and negative symptoms (NS), in particular apathy. However, the neural correlates of these deficits are not well understood.

Methods

We first assessed the severity of negative symptoms in 25 euthymic BD-I patients compared to 25 healthy controls (HC) and 27 patients with schizophrenia (SZ). Then, we investigated ventral and dorsal striatal activation during reward anticipation in a Monetary Incentive Delayed Task and its association with NS.

Results

In BD-I patients NS were clearly present and the severity of apathy was comparable to SZ patients. Apathy scores in the BD-I group but not in the SZ group correlated with sub-syndromal depression scores. At the neural level, we found significant ventral and dorsal striatal activation in BD-I patients and no group differences with HC or SZ patients. In contrast to patients with SZ, apathy did not correlate with striatal activation during reward anticipation. Explorative whole brain analyses revealed reduced extra-striatal activation in BD-I patients compared to HC and an association between reduced activation of the inferior frontal gyrus and apathy.

Conclusion

This study found that in BD-I patients apathy is present to an extent comparable to schizophrenia, but is more strongly related to sub-syndromal depressive symptoms. The findings support the view of different pathophysiological mechanisms underlying apathy in the two disorders and suggest that extra-striatal dysfunction may contribute to impaired reward processing and apathy in BD-I.
Restoration of Direct Corticospinal Communication Across Sites of Spinal Injury
Authors: Jayaprakash Naveen , Nowak David , Eastwood Erik , Krueger Nicholas , Wang Zimei , Blackmore Murray G.
Published: February 2019

Injury to the spinal cord often disrupts long-distance axon tracts that link the brain and spinal cord, causing permanent disability. Axon regeneration is then prevented by a combination of inhibitory signals that emerge at the injury site and by a low capacity for regeneration within injured neurons. The corticospinal tract (CST) is essential for fine motor control but has proven refractory to many attempted pro-regenerative treatments. Although strategies are emerging to create relay or detour circuits that re-route cortical motor commands through spared circuits, these have only partially met the challenge of restoring motor control. Here, using a murine model of spinal injury, we elevated the intrinsic regenerative ability of CST neurons by supplying a pro-regenerative transcription factor, KLF6, while simultaneously supplying injured CST axons with a growth-permissive graft of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) transplanted into a site of spinal injury. The combined treatment produced robust CST regeneration directly through the grafts and into distal spinal cord. Moreover, selective optogenetic stimulation of regenerated CST axons and single-unit electrophysiology revealed extensive synaptic integration by CST axons with spinal neurons beyond the injury site. Finally, when KLF6 was delivered to injured neurons with a highly effective retrograde vector, combined KLF6/NPC treatment yielded significant improvements in forelimb function. These findings highlight the utility of retrograde gene therapy as a strategy to treat CNS injury and establish conditions that restore functional CST communication across a site of spinal injury.

Significance Statement

Damage to the spinal cord results in incurable paralysis because axons that carry descending motor commands are unable to regenerate. Here we deployed a two-pronged strategy in a rodent model of spinal injury to promote regeneration by the corticospinal tract, a critical mediator of fine motor control. Delivering pro-regenerative KLF6 to injured neurons while simultaneously transplanting neural progenitor cells to injury sites resulted in robust regeneration directly through sites of spinal injury, accompanied by extensive synapse formation with spinal neurons. In addition, when KLF6 was delivered with improved retrograde gene therapy vectors, the combined treatment significantly improved forelimb function in injured animals. This work represents important progress toward restoring regeneration and motor function after spinal injury.
Prevalence and Risk Factors for Child Labour and Violence against Child in Egypt using Bayesian Geospatial Modelling with Multiple Imputation
Authors: Khatab Khaled , Raheem Maruf A. , Sartorius Benn , Ismail Mubarak
Published: February 2019

Background

The incidence of child labour, especially across the developing nations is of global concern. The use of children in employment in developing economies constitutes a major threat to the societies, and concerted efforts are made by the relevant stakeholders towards addressing some of the factors/issues responsible for the menace. Significant risk factors include socio-demographic and economic factors, including poverty, neglect, lack of adequate care, and exposure of children to various grades of violence, parental education status, gender, place of residence, household size, residence’s type or size, wealth index, parental survivorship and household size.

Objectives

This study, therefore, focuses on identifying socio-demographic/economic and geospatial factors associated with child labour participation.

Methods

We utilised 2014 Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS) from the Ministry health and Population in Egypt, with the record of20, 560never married children aged 5-17years engaging in economic activities, in and out of their home. The data focused on demographic and socio-economic characteristics of household members. Multivariate Bayesian geo-additive models were employed to examine the demographical and socio-economic factors for children working less than 16hrs; between 16 and 45hrs and above 45hrours weekly.

Results

The results showed that at least 31.6% of the children in the age group from 5-10 were working, 68.5% of children aged 11-17 years engaging in child labour (wage), while 44.7 of the children in the age group from 5-10 were engaged in hazard work. From the multivariate Bayesian geo-additive models, the female children (with male children as reference category) working at least 16hrs (OR: 1.3; with 95% CI: 1.2-1.5) are more likely to be engaged in child labour than those working 16 to 45hours (OR: 1; 95% CI: 0.3-1.5). Children born to women without formal education, under non-hazardous jobs, irrespective of the hours spent at work, were mostly exposed to child labour with following percentages: 52.9%, 56.8%, 62.4%, compared to children of mothers with some levels of education. Finally, children that have experienced psychological aggression and physical punishment are mostly exposed to child labour than those without such experience across the job types and hours spent.

Conclusion

This study revealed a significant influence of socio-demographic and economic factors on the children labour and violence against children in Egypt. Poverty neglects, lack of adequate care and exposures of children to various grades of violence are major drivers of child labour across the country. North-eastern region of Egypt has a higher likelihood of child labour than most other regions, while children who live in Delta are more engaged in hazard work.
Recombinant expression of osmotin in barley improves stress resistance and food safety during adverse growing conditions
Authors: Viktorova Jitka , Klcova Barbora , Rehorova Katerina , Vlcko Tomas , Stankova Lucie , Jelenova Nikola , Cejnar Pavel , Kundu Jiban Kumar , Ohnoutkova Ludmila , Macek Tomas
Published: February 2019

Although many genetic manipulations of crops providing biofortified or safer food have been prepared, the acceptance of biotechnology crops still remains limited. We report on a transgenic barley expressing the multi-functional protein osmotin that improves plant defense under stress conditions. An Agrobacterium–mediated technique was used to transform immature embryos of the spring barley cultivar Golden Promise. Transgenic barley plants of the T0 and T1 generations were evaluated by molecular methods.

Transgenic barley tolerance to stress was determined by chlorophyll, total protein, malondialdehyde and ascorbate peroxidase content. Transgenic plants maintained the same level of chlorophyll and protein, which significantly declined in wild-type barley under the same stressful conditions. Salt stress evoked higher ascorbate peroxidase level and correspondingly less malondialdehyde. Methanol extracts of i) Fusarium oxysporum infected or ii) salt-stressed plants, were characterized by their acute toxicity effect on human dermal fibroblasts (HDF). Osmotin expressing barley extracts exhibited a lower cytotoxicity effect of statistical significance than that of wild-type plants under both types of stress tested on human dermal fibroblasts. Extract of Fusarium oxysporum infected transgenic barley was not able to damage DNA in Comet assay, which is in opposite to control plants. Moreover, this particular barley did not affect the local biodiversity interactions, which was tested through monitoring barley natural virus pathogen – host interactions – the BYDV and WDV viruses transmitted to the plants by aphids and leafhoppers. Our findings provide a new perspective which could help to evaluate the safety of products from genetically modified crops.
Wildebeest migration in East Africa: Status, threats and conservation measures
Authors: Msoffe Fortunata U. , Ogutu Joseph O. , Said Mohammed Y. , Kifugo Shem C. , de Leeuw Jan , Van Gardingen Paul , Reid Robin S. , Stabach JA , Boone Randall B.
Published: February 2019

Migration of ungulates is under pressure worldwide from range contraction, habitat loss and degradation, anthropogenic barriers and poaching. Here, we synthesize and compare the extent of historical migrations of the white-bearded wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) to their contemporary status, in five premier East African ecosystems, namely the Serengeti-Mara, Masai Mara, Athi-Kaputiei, Amboseli and Tarangire-Manyara. The current status, threats to migration, migratory ranges and routes for wildebeest were characterized using colonial-era maps, literature reviews, GIS and aerial survey databases, GPS collared animals and interviews with long-term researchers. Interference with wildebeest migratory routes and dispersal ranges has stopped or severely threatens continuation of the historical migration patterns in all but the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem where the threat level is relatively lower. Wildebeest migration has collapsed in Athi-Kaputiei ecosystem and is facing enormous pressures from land subdivision, settlements and fences in Amboseli and Mara ecosystems and from cultivation in Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem. Land use change, primarily expansion in agriculture, roads, settlements and fencing, increasingly restrict migratory wildebeest from accessing traditional grazing resources in unprotected lands. Privatization of land tenure in group ranches in Kenya and settlement policy (villagization) in Tanzania have accelerated land subdivision, fencing and growth in permanent settlements, leading to loss of key wildebeest habitats including their migratory routes and wet season calving and feeding grounds. These processes, coupled with increasing human population pressures and climatic variability, are exerting tremendous pressures on wildebeest migrations. Urgent conservation interventions are necessary to conserve and protect the critical wildebeest habitats and migration routes in East Africa.
Measurement of the absolute number of photons of the hard X-ray beamline at the Linac Coherent Light Source
Authors: Song Sanghoon , Alonso-Mori Roberto , Chollet Matthieu , Feng Yiping , Glownia James M. , Lemke Henrik T. , Sikorski Marcin , Zhu Diling , Moeller Stefan , Lee Hae Ja , Hunter Mark S. , Carini Gabriella , Tiedtke Kai , Jastrow Ulf , Sorokin Andrey , Richter Mathias , Owada Shigeki , Tono Kensuke , Saito Norio , Tanaka Takahiro , Kato Masahiro , Yabashi Makina , Robert Aymeric
Published: February 2019

X-ray free-electron lasers provide intense pulses of coherent X-rays with a short pulse duration. These sources are chaotic by nature and therefore, to be used at their full potential, require that every X-ray pulse is characterized in terms of various relevant properties such as intensity, photon energy, position and timing. Diagnostics are for example installed on an X-ray beamline to specifically monitor the intensity of individual X-ray pulses. To date, these can however only provide a single-shot value of the relative number of photons per shot. Here are reported measurements made in January 2015 of the absolute number of photons in the hard X-ray regime at LCLS which is typically 3.5 × 1011 photons shot−1 between 6 and 9.5 keV at the X-ray Pump–Probe instrument. Moreover, an average transmission of ≈62% of the hard X-ray beamline over this energy range is measured and the third-harmonic content of ≈0.47% below 9 keV is characterized.
Electrochemical studies on pitting corrosion of tin in sodium borate solutions containing nitrate ions
Authors: El Boraei Nobl Foad , Abd El Rehim Sayed S. , Hassan Hamdy H.
Published: February 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the electrochemical behavior of Sn electrode in Na2B2O7 solutions in the absence and presence of NaNO3 as a pitting corrosion agent.

Design/methodology/approach

The electrochemical behavior of Sn electrode was studied by using cyclic voltammetry and potentiodynamic polarization measurements and complemented with scanning electron microscopy examinations.

Findings

This paper shows that in the absence of NO3 − ions, the anodic polarization of Sn electrode exhibits active/passive transition. Addition of various concentrations of NO3 − anions to the borate solution enhances active anodic dissolution and tends to break down the passive oxide film at a certain pitting potential. The pitting potential, and hence the pitting corrosion resistance, decreases with increasing NO3-ion concentration and temperature but increases with scan rate and repetitive cycling. Addition of CrO42−, WO42− or MoO42− oxyanions to the borate nitrate solution inhibits the pitting corrosion of Sn.

Originality/value

This is the first study that shows the effect of NO3 − ion as a pitting corrosion agent.
Disturbances rejection based on sliding mode control
Authors: Taimoor Muhammad , Aijun Li , Amin Rooh ul
Published: February 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper aims to investigate an effective algorithm for different types of disturbances rejection. New dynamics are designed based on disturbance. Observer-based sliding mode control (SMC) technique is used for approximation the disturbances as well as to stabilize the system effectively in presence of uncertainties.

Design/methodology/approach

This research work investigates the disturbances rejection algorithm for fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle. An algorithm based on SMC is introduced for disturbances rejection. Two types of disturbances are considered, the constant disturbance and the sinusoidal disturbance. The comprehensive lateral and longitudinal models of the system are presented. Two types of dynamics, the dynamics without disturbance and the new dynamics with disturbance, are presented. An observer-based algorithm is presented for the estimation of the dynamics with disturbances. Intensive simulations and experiments have been performed; the results not only guarantee the robustness and stability of the system but the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm as well.

Findings

In previous research work, new dynamics based on disturbances rejection are not investigated in detail; in this research work both the lateral and longitudinal dynamics with different disturbances are investigated.

Practical implications

As the stability is always important for flight, so the algorithm proposed in this research guarantees the robustness and rejection of disturbances, which plays a vital role in practical life for avoiding any kind of damage.

Originality/value

In the previous research work, new dynamics based on disturbances rejection are not investigated in detail; in this research work both the lateral and longitudinal dynamics with different disturbances are investigated. An observer-based SMC not only approximates the different disturbances and also these disturbances are rejected in order to guarantee the effectiveness and robustness.
Competitiveness and production efficiency across OECD countries
Authors: Salas-Velasco Manuel
Published: February 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper was to measure the efficiency of resource utilization across OECD countries aiming to verify that higher levels of competitiveness enhance the production capacity – the maximum possible output of an economy in a given period with the available resources.

Design/methodology/approach

The author used a two-stage procedure to first estimate the cross-sectional efficiency scores of 18 OECD economies by data envelopment analysis, and then to assess the impact of contextual variables on efficiency running regressions in the second-stage analysis. In particular, in the second stage, the author examined the effects of competitiveness on the production efficiency of the countries, while controlling for other independent variables.

Findings

The results confirmed that the higher the level of competitiveness, innovation and sophistication factors predominantly, the higher the level of productive efficiency of the countries analyzed.

Originality/value

The paper is novel because it opens the black box of the aggregate process of production of the conversion of resources into a national product. From the social point of view, it is relevant to know if a country could produce more output with the same resources, such as labor and capital and, therefore, could increase per capita income and social welfare.