bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Relationships Between Adult Male and Maturing Mountain Gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) Persist Across Developmental Stages and Social Upheaval
Authors: Rosenbaum Stacy , Hirwa Jean Paul , Silk Joan B. , Stoinski Tara S.
Published: December 2015

Across the animal kingdom, long‐term social relationships outside the context of reproductive pair bonds are rare. However, they have been demonstrated in some mammals including primates, cetaceans, and social carnivores. The ontogeny of such relationships is likely to depend on the benefits individuals can gain by cultivating them. Previous studies demonstrated that young mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) have strong relationships with adult males, but little is known about the longevity of these bonds. Here, we examine the temporal stability of proximity relationships between coresident adult male and maturing gorillas in the habituated population monitored by the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International's Karisoke Research Center in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. We used spatial proximity data to assess the strength of relationships between adult males and juveniles, and tracked these relationships as the juveniles matured into subadults (3–4 yr later; n = 229 dyads) and then young adults (7 yr later; n = 42 dyads). The proximity relationships of juveniles of both sexes predicted their proximity relationships with adult males in both subadulthood and young adulthood. However some young adult males who had lost their top adult male proximity partner from juvenilehood developed new relationships with older males that had risen in the dominance hierarchy. These data suggest that (1) kin selection may play a more important role in social relationships between potential fathers and adult female offspring than previously suspected, and (2) when maturing males' foremost adult male social partners remain available to them, their relationships can be stable past the age at which younger males become reproductive competitors.
Yoga and compassion meditation program improve quality of life and self‐compassion in family caregivers of Alzheimer's disease patients: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Danucalov Marcelo AD , Kozasa Elisa H , Afonso Rui F , Galduroz José CF , Leite José R
Published: December 2015

Aim

To investigate the effects of the practice of yoga in combination with compassion meditation on the quality of life, attention, vitality and self‐compassion of family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Methods

A total of 46 volunteers were randomly allocated to two groups, the yoga and compassion meditation program group (n = 25), and the control group (CG) that received no treatment (n = 21). The program lasted 8 weeks, and comprised three yoga and meditation practices per week, with each session lasting 1 h and 15 min. Quality of life, attention, vitality, and self‐compassion scores were measured pre‐ and postintervention.

Results

The yoga and compassion meditation program group showed statistically significant improvements (P < 0.05) on quality of life, attention, vitality and self‐compassion scores as compared with the control group, which showed no statistical significant differences at the postintervention time‐point.

Conclusions

The findings of the present study suggest that an 8‐week yoga and compassion meditation program can improve the quality of life, vitality, attention, and self‐compassion of family caregivers of Alzheimer's disease patients. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 85–91.
Management of post‐traumatic headaches in children and adolescents
Authors: Kacperski Joanne , Arthur Todd
Published: December 2015

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) occur in an estimated 475,000 children aged 0–14 each year. Worldwide, mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) represent around 75–90% of all hospital admissions for TBI. mTBI are a common occurrence in children and adolescents, particularly in those involved in athletic activities. An estimated 1.6–3.8 million sports‐related TBIs occur each year, including those for which no medical care is sought. Headache is a common occurrence following TBI, reported in as many as 86% of high school and college athletes who have suffered from head trauma. As most clinicians who manage concussion and post‐traumatic headaches (PTHs) can attest, these headaches may be difficult to treat. There are currently no established guidelines for the treatment of PTHs, especially when persistent, and practices can vary widely from one clinician to the next. Making medical management more challenging, there are currently no randomized controlled trials evaluating the efficacy of therapies for PTHs in children and adolescents.
Writing within an international context
Authors: Grant Maria J.
Published: December 2015

For Health Information and Libraries Journal, 2015 has had a distinctly international feel to it, something we have consciously been fostering for the past eight years. This issue is no exception in mirroring the journal’s Regular Feature International Perspectives and Initiatives, edited by Jeannette Murphy, in shining a light on the best international practice the health information and libraries sector has to offer.
Association of the HLA‐G 3′UTR polymorphisms with colorectal cancer in Italy: a first insight
Authors: Garziera M. , Catamo E. , Crovella S. , Montico M. , Cecchin E. , Lonardi S. , Mini E. , Nobili S. , Romanato L. , Toffoli G.
Published: December 2015

This study aimed to explore functional and regulatory polymorphisms and haplotypes at the HLA‐G 3′UTR region in colorectal cancer development. The presence of nonpolymorphic variants was also evaluated. Three‐hundred and eight patients with colorectal cancer and 294 healthy controls were analysed at the germinal level. We found an association with increased risk of colorectal cancer for +2960 14‐bp INDEL, +3196 C>G SNPs and UTR‐2 haplotype, and a ‘protective’ role for +3003 T>C, +3010 C>G polymorphisms and UTR‐4 haplotype. We detected in 3 distinct patients, a novel nucleotide change (+3037 C>A) and 2 already described rare variants, +3032 G/C (EUR MAF = 0.1%) and +3092 G/T (EUR MAF = 0%). This is the first study showing associations between different polymorphisms in the HLA‐G 3′UTR and colorectal cancer susceptibility.
Clinical application of neutrophil CD64 quantification for differential diagnosis of acute scrotum
Authors: Hayashi Hirofumi , Mochizuki Taku , Sanjo Hiroyuki , Komiya Akiko , Matsui Toshihiro , Tohma Shigeto , Hirai Kotaro
Published: December 2015

The management of acute scrotum can be challenging, especially in infants or patients with a neurological or neurodevelopmental disorder in whom presentation, diagnosis and definitive management tends to be delayed. This leads to poor outcomes, such as loss of the affected testis. Here we present two cases of testicular torsion in patients with neurodevelopmental disorders, and a further two cases of epidydimo‐orchitis in whom measurement of CD64 expression on neutrophils was helpful for differential diagnosis. These data suggest that the levels of expression of CD64 by neutrophils, known as a marker of infection, could also be useful for differentiating between testicular torsion and infection in acute scrotum.
Porcine acellular dermal matrix (PADM) vascularises after exposure in open necrotic wounds seen after complex hernia repair
Authors: Gowda Arvind U , Chang Sarah M. , Chopra Karan , Matthews Jamil A , Sabino Jennifer , Stromberg Jeffrey A , Zahiri Hamid R , Pinczewski Joel , Holton Luther H , Silverman Ronald P , Singh Devinder P
Published: December 2015

Biological alternatives to synthetic meshes are increasingly utilised in complex abdominal wall reconstruction. There is a lack of evidence demonstrating that non‐cross‐linked porcine acellular dermal matrix vascularizes and integrates with human tissue in suboptimal wound conditions. We aimed to evaluate these properties in Strattice™ (Life Cell Inc., Branchburg, NJ) following ventral hernia repair. A retrospective review of patients with high‐risk ventral hernia repair utilising Strattice™ as an onlay after open component separation was conducted. Patients with postoperative wound exploration and exposure of the onlay were included in this review. One patient underwent punch biopsy for histological analysis. Eleven patients with wound complications necessitating postoperative debridement and exposure of Strattice™ onlay were identified. The onlay was partially debrided in two cases, and one case required complete excision. Vascularisation was clinically evident in 10 of 11 cases (91%) as demonstrated by the presence of granulation tissue and/or the ability to support a skin graft. Histological analysis of one onlay 3 months postoperatively showed neovascularisation and collagen remodelling with minimal inflammatory response. Strattice™ demonstrated resistance to rejection, ability to undergo vascularisation and incorporation into host tissues in sub‐optimal wound conditions following ventral hernia repair.
ANCIENT ILLITERACY?
Authors: WOOLF GREG
Published: December 2015

Ancient writing is conventionally approached as a counterpart of speech, as in the dyad orality/literacy. Alphabetical writing systems are often regarded as superior precisely because they are better able to record speech. This paper takes inspiration from the work on ancient Near Eastern writing systems and considers ancient literacy as a general competence in handling sign systems that are often as much about numbers and quantities as about phonetic transcription. Means of recording proper names assume a special importance in transactions between strangers, and in documents that circulate without much context. But judged in terms of a capacity to handle numbers, signs, diagrams, and other symbols the debate over ancient literacy, and illiteracy, looks rather different. The paper argues that relative to their need to handle sign systems of this kind, very few members of the ancient world can be considered as functionally illiterate. Moving away from orality/literacy also raises questions about the widespread (but incomplete) spread of alphabets and abjads in the last and first millennia.
WAR AND MEMORY: THE BATTLE OF PSYTTALEIA BEFORE HERODOTUS' HISTORIES
Authors: PROIETTI GIORGIA
Published: December 2015

Summary: Before Herodotus, the Persian Wars underwent a multifaceted process of memorialization. As a consequence of the homeostasis of historical memory with contemporary social and semantic needs, pre-Herodoteanand Herodotean narratives about the same event can differ a great deal. This is well exemplified by the development of the historical tradition about the clash between Greeks and Persians at Psyttaleia. Reduced to a trivial appendix to the battle of Salamis by Herodotus, it seems instead to have played a prominent role within Athenian contemporary memory, as both literary and epigraphic evidence suggest. This paper first explores the different phases of the memorialization of Psyttaleia; second, it investigates the reasons for its re-shaping, arguing against political propaganda from above and dwelling instead on the deeper mechanisms of collective memory.
ASPIRATIONS AND IDENTITIES: PROXENIA AT OROPOS DURING THE FOURTH TO SECOND CENTURIES BC
Authors: WILDING ALEXANDRA
Published: December 2015

Inscribed grants of proxenia were more than just stone copies of a community's diplomatic and honorific transactions. The paper presented here, which focuses upon the widespread inscription of proxeny decrees at Oropos during the fourth to second centuries BC, argues that the documentation of such awards enabled clear public expression of the multifaceted aspirations and identities a community wished to enunciate; in the case of the Oropian dēmos, it articulated both polis identity and its place within the Boiotian confederacy of the Hellenistic period. The city-stateof Oropos is often perceived as a vulnerable territory with severely limited independence, but this paper, by assessing the features and epigraphical practices of those 275 extant Oropian grants of proxeny status, offers fresh insight into its community's social and political expressions, as well as their ambitions in the late Classical and Hellenistic periods.
BETWEEN UTOPIA AND DYSTOPIA: MOSES FINLEY AND THE ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY VERSUS MOSES FINLEY AND THE ANCIENT ECONOMY
Authors: NAFISSI MOHAMMAD
Published: December 2015

Modern scholarly accounts of ancient Greece and more particularly the research programme which broadly frames Moses Finley's contributions are generally traced to George Grote's politically anchored History of Greece and re-evaluationof Athenian democracy. However, notwithstanding their far-reachinginfluence, Finley's writings display an exceptional complexity that has invited a wide spectrum of contradictory interpretations and evaluations. This article extends my previous study of Finley's Athens by locating and exploring an unresolved and still significant debate that he held with himself through the major political and economic writings of his last period (1973–85). It thereby discloses the normative, theoretical, and empirical demands that, on the one hand, informed his account of ‘the ancient economy’ and necessitated its overall incoherence, and, on the other, allowed for a coherently normative account of ‘ancient politics’. In the process, some notable claims about Finley's work and politics are clarified, and it is shown why ‘Finley's ghost is [still] everywhere’ even though the short twentieth century that spanned his life, posed its major questions and set the context and constraints of his answers, has long been over.
Bismuth‐Doped Multicomponent Optical Fiber Fabricated by Melt‐in‐Tube Method
Authors: Fang Zaijin , Zheng Shupei , Peng Wencai , Zhang Hang , Ma Zhijun , Dong Guoping , Zhou Shifeng , Chen Danping , Qiu Jianrong
Published: December 2015

Bismuth‐doped multicomponent optical fiber was fabricated by a melt‐in‐tube method. The fiber was prepared at drawing temperature where the clad was softened, while the fiber core glass was melted. The obtained fiber was characterized by electroprobe microanalyzer and X‐ray diffraction. No obvious precipitation of crystals or bismuth metals was observed in the fiber. Excited by 808‐nm laser, intense broadband near‐infrared emission with full width at half maximum of about 325 nm was observed from the fiber. Consequently, this fiber is promising for broadband fiber amplification. The melt‐in‐tube method is generally applicable for fabricating bismuth‐doped multicomponent optical fiber.
Within‐female plasticity in sex allocation is associated with a behavioural polyphenism in house wrens
Authors: Bowers E. K. , Thompson C. F. , Sakaluk S. K.
Published: December 2015

Sex allocation theory assumes individual plasticity in maternal strategies, but few studies have investigated within‐individual changes across environments. In house wrens, differences between nests in the degree of hatching synchrony of eggs represent a behavioural polyphenism in females, and its expression varies with seasonal changes in the environment. Between‐nest differences in hatching asynchrony also create different environments for offspring, and sons are more strongly affected than daughters by sibling competition when hatching occurs asynchronously over several days. Here, we examined variation in hatching asynchrony and sex allocation, and its consequences for offspring fitness. The number and condition of fledglings declined seasonally, and the frequency of asynchronous hatching increased. In broods hatched asynchronously, sons, which are over‐represented in the earlier‐laid eggs, were in better condition than daughters, which are over‐represented in the later‐laid eggs. Nonetheless, asynchronous broods were more productive later within seasons. The proportion of sons in asynchronous broods increased seasonally, whereas there was a seasonal increase in the production of daughters by mothers hatching their eggs synchronously, which was characterized by within‐female changes in offspring sex and not by sex‐biased mortality. As adults, sons from asynchronous broods were in better condition and produced more broods of their own than males from synchronous broods, and both males and females from asynchronous broods had higher lifetime reproductive success than those from synchronous broods. In conclusion, hatching patterns are under maternal control, representing distinct strategies for allocating offspring within broods, and are associated with offspring sex ratios and differences in offspring reproductive success.
The Midwifery Workforce: ACNM 2012 and AMCB 2013 Core Data
Authors: Fullerton Judith , Sipe Theresa Ann , Hastings‐Tolsma Marie , McFarlin Barbara L. , Schuiling Kerri , Bright Carrie D. , Havens Lori B. , Krulewitch Cara J.
Published: December 2015

Introduction

Core data are crucial for detailing an accurate profile of the midwifery workforce in the United States. The American College of Nurse‐Midwives (ACNM) and the American Midwifery Certification Board, Inc. (AMCB), at the request and with support from the US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), are engaged in a collaborative effort to develop a data collection strategy (the Midwifery MasterFile) that will reflect demographic and practice characteristics of certified nurse‐midwives (CNMs) and certified midwives (CMs) in the United States.

Methods

Two independent datasets, one collected by ACNM in 2012 and one by AMCB in 2013, were examined to determine key workforce information. ACNM data were collected from the online Core Data Survey sent to ACNM members. AMCB data were extracted from information submitted online by applicants seeking initial certification in 2013 and applicants seeking to recertify following 5 years of initial certification.

Results

The ACNM 2012 survey was partially or fully completed by 36% (n = 2185) of ACNM members (N = 6072). AMCB respondents included 100% of new certificants (N = 539) and those applying for recertification in 2013 (n = 1323) of the total 11,682 certificants in the AMCB database. These two datasets demonstrate that midwives remain largely white, female, and older in age, with most engaged in clinical midwifery while employed primarily by hospitals and medical centers. Differences were reported between the ACNM membership and AMCB certification datasets in the numbers of midwives holding other certifications, working full‐time, attending births, and providing newborn care.

Discussion

The new collaboration among HRSA, ACNM, and AMCB, represented as the Midwifery MasterFile, provides the opportunity to clearly profile CNMs/CMs, distinct from advanced practice registered nurses, in government reports about the health care workforce. This information is central to identifying and marketing the role and contribution of CNMs/CMs in the provision of primary and reproductive health care services.
The Effects of Nutrition Label Comparison Baselines on Consumers' Food Choices
Authors: Hieke Sophie , Newman Christopher L.
Published: December 2015

Recent legislative changes in the European Union have mandated nutrition labeling for the majority of pre‐packaged foods. This research compared effects of several nutrition labeling formats on consumers' food choices (i.e., the nutrition table, GDA 100 g/ml, and GDA portion). We primarily focused on whether nutrition label information was standardized to a fixed or varying comparison baseline. Fixed baselines (e.g., 100 g/ml) allow consumers to make direct, relative comparisons of products, while varying baselines (e.g., portion size) often require consumers to undertake complex mathematical calculations. Findings suggest that consumers' food choices are likely to be healthier when nutrition label information is presented on a fixed baseline. Gender was found to moderate these effects such that women made healthier choices—but only when the nutrition label baseline was fixed. Thus, the type of comparison baseline is an important characteristic of nutrition labels for public policymakers, public health officials, and academic researchers to consider.
Monitoring of Intracranial Pressure by CT‐Defined Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter
Authors: Bekerman Inessa , Kimiagar Itzhak , Sigal Tal , Vaiman Michael
Published: December 2015

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Intracranial pressure (ICP) can be monitored by the optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) technique. We hypothesized that diameter of the optic canal (OC) can be a limiting factor for this technique.

METHODS

In the prospective cohort study, we analyzed CT scans of 600 OCs of healthy adults and 54 canals of patients with ICP monitoring. The diameters were measured through its length and the narrowest one was chosen for further analysis. ONSD was measured at 3 and 10 mm from the anterior opening of the canal. The correlation analysis was performed between invasive and ONSD methods of ICP monitoring and OC diameters in pathological cases.

RESULTS

The narrowest cross‐sectional area of the normal OC was 13.85±2.89 mm² and varied from 25.5 to 6.6 mm². Apparently 9.17% OCs were narrow (˂10.9 mm²). Correlations exist between the optic nerve sheath area at the 3‐mm distance from the anterior opening of the canal and the area of the anterior opening itself (P = .012), and the sheath area 10 mm from the anterior opening and the narrowest part of the canal (P = .015). Cases with narrow canals provided false‐negative readings via ONSD method if compared with invasive monitoring.

CONCLUSION

In its narrowest part, the average OC is 11 to 16.75 mm² wide. We suggest measuring this area simultaneously with the ONSD during ICP monitoring. If the area of the narrowest lumen of the canal is less than 10 mm², ONSD technique for ICP monitoring should not be used.
Intravenous Thrombolysis Increases the Rate of Dramatic Recovery in Patients with Acute Stroke with an Unknown Onset Time and Negative FLAIR MRI
Authors: Aoki Junya , Sakamoto Yuki , Kimura Kazumi
Published: December 2015

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The safety and feasibility of intravenous thrombolysis using recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV‐tPA) were retrospectively compared between patients with unknown onset time and no ischemia on fluid‐attenuated inversion recovery (negative FLAIR) and patients receiving standard therapy.

METHODS

Acute stroke patients with unknown onset times were treated using IV‐tPA if they had: negative FLAIR; internal carotid artery and/or middle cerebral artery occlusion; and a diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI)‐Alberta Stroke Programme Early CT Score ≥5. All patients had abnormal DWI scans indicating an acute stroke. IV‐tPA therapy was performed within 3‐4.5 h of first found abnormal time (FAT). Patients who were admitted within 3‐4.5 h of FAT and did not receive IV‐tPA therapy despite the same imaging findings were extracted from our registry as controls.

RESULTS

There were 24 patients in the IV‐tPA group and 28 in the control group. None of the IV‐tPA group and 1 (4%) of the control group patients experienced symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (P = 1.000). The rate of dramatic recovery at day 7 (≥10‐point reduction in the total National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale [NIHSS] score or NIHSS score of 0‐1) was 46% in the IV‐tPA group and 18% in the control group (P = .038). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that IV‐tPA was an independent predictor of dramatic recovery at day 7 (odds ratio 13.74; 95% confidence interval, 1.95‐96.92; P = .009).

CONCLUSIONS

IV‐tPA may safely increase the rate of dramatic recovery in acute stroke patients with unknown onset times and negative FLAIR.
Association of Demanding Kin Relations With Psychological Distress and School Achievement Among Low‐Income, African American Mothers and Adolescents: Moderating Effects of Family Routine
Authors: Taylor Ronald D.
Published: December 2015

Association of demanding kin relations and family routine with adolescents' psychological distress and school achievement was assessed among 200 low‐income, African American mothers and adolescents. Demanding kin relations were significantly associated with adolescents' psychological distress. Family routine was significantly related to adolescents' school achievement. Demanding kin relations were negatively associated with school achievement for adolescents from families low in routine, but unrelated to achievement for adolescents in families high in routine. Additional research is needed on poor families and their social networks.
Chiropractic abnormalities of the lumbar spine significantly associated with urinary incontinence and retention in dogs
Authors: Thude T. R.
Published: December 2015

OBJECTIVES

To retrospectively summarise chiropractic findings in dogs presented in a veterinary practice with urinary incontinence and urinary retention over a 6‐year period, and compare these to non‐urinary patients presented during the same time period.

METHODS

Twenty‐two cases were included in the study. They all first underwent a standard clinical examination to rule out or treat other possible causes of their urinary problems. They then underwent chiropractic examination and hypomobility findings were recorded using Gonstead listings. Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated for the occurrence of chiropractic findings in urinary versus non‐urinary patients for each vertebra in the lumbar, sacral and ilial regions.

RESULTS

All patients had chiropractic findings in the lumbar region that differed from non‐urinary patients. The urinary patients were significantly more likely to have chiropractic findings in L3 (OR=4 · 81; 95%CI: 2 · 02 to 11 · 44; P = 0 · 0004), L4 (OR=6 · 85; 95%CI: 2 · 63 to 17 · 84; P = 0 · 0001) and L5 (OR=3 · 98; 95%CI: 1 · 64 to 9 · 69; P = 0 · 0023). In addition, urinary patients were significantly less likely to have chiropractic findings associated with the ilium (OR=0 · 26; 95%CI: 0 · 11 to 0 · 66; P = 0 · 0043).

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

This is the first report of an association between chiropractic findings in the lumbar vertebrae and urinary incontinence and retention in dogs.
The Irish exclusionary rule after DPP v JC
Authors: Leon Clare , Ward Tony
Published: December 2015

This commentary updates the paper ‘Excluding evidence (or staying proceedings) to vindicate rights in Irish and English law’ by analysing the recent decision of the Supreme Court of Ireland in DPP v JC. It argues that although the court has relaxed the exclusionary rule in one major respect, it has strengthened it in others, and that Ireland's approach to unconstitutionally or illegally obtained evidence remains very different from that of England and Wales.
The mammals of northernMelanesia: speciation, ecology, and biogeography
Authors: Lavery Tyrone H. , Olds Andrew D. , Seddon Jennifer M. , Leung Luke K.‐P.
Published: December 2015

Analyses of the distributions of northernMelanesia's avifauna have helped researchers formulate major theories of evolution, speciation, and biogeography. In comparison, the region's mammalian fauna has been the subject of few empirical analyses of biogeography. Knowledge of mammalian biogeography is needed to formulate sound conservation strategies for mammals in the region and will help further advance these theories.

We aim to assess the relative importance of biogeographic variables to mammalian zoogeography in northernMelanesia and empirically describe patterns of species richness.

Using published literature, museum data bases and our own surveys, we compiled mammal inventories for 75 islands found within northernMelanesia (comprising theAdmiralty,Bismarck,D‘Entrecasteaux,Louisiade,Solomon, andTrobriandArchipelagos). We used direct comparisons of family compositions andOchiai and endemism indices to compare mammal assemblages between island groups and a definedNewGuinea source pool region. Generalised linear models and non‐parametric multivariate analyses were used to identify, and rank, the importance of local and regional scale abiotic variables for mammalian species richness.

NorthernMelanesia's islands are depauperate in marsupials and have a moderate diversity of insectivorous bats and a diversity of pteropodid bats that exceeds that known to occur in the adjacent northeastern area ofNewGuinea. TheSolomonIslands are conspicuous for their outstandingly high mammalian endemism.

The mammalian fauna of northernMelanesia's islands was related primarily to island size and secondarily to isolation. Island size best explained inter‐island variation in total mammal species richness and bat species richness. The linear distance toNewGuinea best explained the species richness of non‐volant mammals. Our results reveal islands that are in need of survey focus because their mammal inventories are lower than expected for their size, and we highlight areas of endemism where conservation actions might be prioritised to prevent species extinctions.
Pathway analysis using 13C‐glycerol and other carbon tracers reveals a bipartite metabolism of Legionella pneumophila
Authors: Häuslein Ina , Manske Christian , Goebel Werner , Eisenreich Wolfgang , Hilbi Hubert
Published: December 2015

Amino acids represent the prime carbon and energy source for Legionella pneumophila, a facultative intracellular pathogen, which can cause a life‐threatening pneumonia termed Legionnaires’ disease. Genome, transcriptome and proteome studies indicate that L. pneumophila also utilizes carbon substrates other than amino acids. We show here that glycerol promotes intracellular replication of L. pneumophila in amoeba or macrophages (but not extracellular growth) dependent on glycerol‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase, GlpD. An L. pneumophila mutant strain lacking glpD was outcompeted by wild‐type bacteria upon co‐infection of amoeba, indicating an important role of glycerol during infection. Isotopologue profiling studies using 13C‐labelled substrates were performed in a novel minimal defined medium, MDM, comprising essential amino acids, proline and phenylalanine. In MDM, L. pneumophila utilized 13C‐labelled glycerol or glucose predominantly for gluconeogenesis and the pentose phosphate pathway, while the amino acid serine was used for energy generation via the citrate cycle. Similar results were obtained for L. pneumophila growing intracellularly in amoeba fed with 13C‐labelled glycerol, glucose or serine. Collectively, these results reveal a bipartite metabolism of L. pneumophila, where glycerol and carbohydrates like glucose are mainly fed into anabolic processes, while serine serves as major energy supply.
Function of the conserved FHIPEP domain of the flagellar type III export apparatus, protein FlhA
Authors: Barker Clive S. , Inoue Tomoharu , Meshcheryakova Irina V. , Kitanobo Seiya , Samatey Fadel A.
Published: December 2015

The Type III flagellar protein export apparatus of bacteria consists of five or six membrane proteins, notably FlhA, which controls the export of other proteins and is homologous to the large family of FHIPEP export proteins. FHIPEP proteins contain a highly‐conserved cytoplasmic domain. We mutagenized the cloned Salmonella flhA gene for the 692 amino acid FlhA, changing a single, conserved amino acid in the 68‐amino acid FHIPEP region. Fifty‐two mutations at 30 positions mostly led to loss of motility and total disappearance of microscopically visible flagella, also Western blot protein/protein hybridization showed no detectable export of hook protein and flagellin. There were two exceptions: a D199A mutant strain, which produced short‐stubby flagella; and a V151L mutant strain, which did not produce flagella and excreted mainly un‐polymerized hook protein. The V151L mutant strain also exported a reduced amount of hook‐cap protein FlgD, but when grown with exogenous FlgD it produced polyhooks and polyhook‐filaments. A suppressor mutant in the cytoplasmic domain of the export apparatus membrane protein FlhB rescued export of hook‐length control protein FliK and facilitated growth of full‐length flagella. These results suggested that the FHIPEP region is part of the gate regulating substrate entry into the export apparatus pore.
Field evaluation of baited traps for surveillance of Aedes japonicus japonicus in Switzerland
Authors: BALESTRINO F. , SCHAFFNER F. , FORGIA D. L. , PASLARU A. I. , TORGERSON P. R. , MATHIS A. , VERONESI E.
Published: December 2015

The efficacy of Centers for Disease Control (CDC) miniature light traps and ovitraps was tested in the outskirts of the city of Zurich in Switzerland for their use in the surveillance of Aedes (Hulecoeteomyia) japonicus japonicus (Theobald) (Diptera: Culicidae), the invasive Asian bush mosquito. Sets of single CDC traps were run overnight (n = 18) in three different environments (forest, suburban and urban) in 3 × 3 Latin square experimental designs. Traps were baited with: (a) carbon dioxide (CO2); (b) CO2 plus light, or (c) CO2 plus lure blend [Combi FRC 3003 (iGu®)]. At the same locations, mosquito eggs were collected weekly using standard ovitraps baited with different infusions (oak, hay or tap water) and equipped with different oviposition substrates (a block of extruded polystyrene, a germination paper strip or a wooden stick). Data were analysed using Poisson and negative binomial general linear models. The use of light (P < 0.001) or lure (P < 0.001) significantly increased the attractiveness of CDC traps baited with CO2. Oak and hay infusions did not increase the attractiveness of ovitraps compared with standing tap water (P > 0.05), and extruded polystyrene blocks were preferred as an oviposition substrate over wooden sticks (P < 0.05) and seed germination paper (P < 0.05). Carbon dioxide‐baited CDC miniature light traps complemented with light or iGu® lure and ovitraps containing standing tap water and polystyrene oviposition blocks can be considered as efficient and simple tools for use in Ae. j. japonicus surveillance programmes.
Hypersialylation is a common feature of neurofibrillary tangles and granulovacuolar degenerations in Alzheimer's disease and tauopathy brains
Authors: Nagamine Shun , Yamazaki Tsuneo , Makioka Kouki , Fujita Yukio , Ikeda Masaki , Takatama Masamitsu , Okamoto Koichi , Yokoo Hideaki , Ikeda Yoshio
Published: December 2015

Glycosylation is one of the major post‐translational modifications of proteins. The status of sialylation of the neuropathological hallmarks of various neurodegenerative disorders was investigated in this study. Here, we report the novel findings that two phosphorylated tau (p‐tau)‐containing structures associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), that is, neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and granulovacuolar degenerations (GVDs), were hypersialylated. The NFTs, GVDs and dystrophic neurites of senile plaques (SPs) in AD hippocampi were clearly visualized by immunohistochemistry using an anti‐sialic acid (SA) antibody. In contrast, the amyloid core of SPs was not sialylated at all. Interestingly, other p‐tau‐containing structures, that is, globose‐type NFTs in progressive supranuclear palsy and Pick bodies and ballooned neurons in frontotemporal lobar degeneration with Pick bodies, were also hypersialylated. Unlike the p‐tau‐containing structures observed in tauopathies, the hallmarks of other neurodegenerative disorders, such as Lewy bodies in Parkinson's disease, glial cytoplasmic inclusions in multiple system atrophy, Bunina bodies, skein‐like inclusions and round inclusions in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, intranuclear inclusions in neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease and physiological bodies or granules (lipofuscin granules, corpora amylacea and melanin granules), were not immunolabeled by the anti‐SA antibody. Because this antibody specifically identified NFTs and GVDs, immunostaining for sialylation represents a useful tool to screen these structures in a diagnostic setting. These results clearly indicate that the pathological hallmarks of various tauopathies are commonly hypersialylated, and that sialylation plays an important role in the process of p‐tau accumulation in AD and other tauopathies.
GERD phenotypes from pH‐impedance monitoring predict symptomatic outcomes on prospective evaluation
Authors: Patel A. , Sayuk G. S. , Kushnir V. M. , Chan W. W. , Gyawali C. P.
Published: December 2015

Background

Combinations of reflux parameters (acid exposure time, AET; symptom association probability, SAP) on pH‐impedance monitoring describe varying confidence in reflux evidence. We compared outcomes between phenotypes with distinct pre‐identified reflux parameters.

Methods

In this observational cohort study, patients undergoing pH‐impedance testing over a 5‐year period were phenotyped by strength of reflux evidence as strong (abnormal AET, positive SAP), good (abnormal AET, negative SAP), reflux hypersensitivity (RH, normal AET, positive SAP), and equivocal evidence of reflux, and compared to two historical institutional pH monitoring cohorts. Symptom burden (dominant symptom intensity, DSI; global symptom severity, GSS) was assessed by questionnaire at baseline and on prospective follow‐up and compared between phenotypes.

Key Results

Of 94 patients tested off proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy, baseline symptom burden was highest with strong reflux evidence and lowest when equivocal (DSI: p = 0.01; GSS: p = 0.03 across groups). After 3.1 ± 0.2 years follow‐up, symptomatic improvement with surgical or medical therapy was highest with strong or good evidence, and lowest when equivocal (DSI: p = 0.008; GSS: p = 0.005 across groups). This was most pronounced for typical symptoms (DSI: p = 0.001; GSS: 0.016 across groups), but not atypical symptoms (DSI: p = 0.6; GSS: p = 0.2). For testing on PPI therapy, only GSS followed a similar trend (GSS: p = 0.057, DSI: p = 0.3). Compared to historical cohorts with pH monitoring alone, equivocal evidence for reflux was partly replaced by RH, especially off PPI (p < 0.0001).

Conclusions & Inferences

Phenotyping gastroesophageal reflux disease by the strength of reflux evidence on pH‐impedance testing off PPI efficiently stratifies symptomatic outcome, especially for typical symptoms, and could be useful in planning management.
Identifying risk factors associated with White Spot Disease outbreaks of shrimps in the Gulf of California (Mexico) through expert opinion and surveys
Authors: Muniesa Ana , Perez‐Enriquez Ricardo , Cabanillas‐Ramos Julio , Magallón‐Barajas Francisco J. , Chávez‐Sánchez Cristina , Esparza‐Leal Héctor , de Blas Ignacio
Published: December 2015

White spot disease is one of the most serious problems in the shrimp‐farming industry in Mexico. An assessment of risk of an outbreak of the disease could be useful for farmers making decisions concerning early harvest to minimize economic losses. A group of researchers identified the most important risk factors, classified in four broad categories: management variables at the regional level, environmental variables at the regional level, management variables at the farm and population variables at the farm. For each variable, categories were defined and a risk score assigned. To validate these scores, a survey was carried out with 65 stakeholders. A semi‐quantitative risk assessment model was proposed and implemented as a questionnaire containing 21 risk variables with weighted scores. The most important risk factors were the period of fallowing within farm's region and health quality of larvae. Also important were estimated level of viral load and virus detection in wild hosts in the surrounding area, pond water temperature, length of fallowing period of pond, vector control at water intake and stocking density. The overall estimated risk was calculated as the sum of all scores with a further adjustment, according to maximum and minimum total scores. Three risk levels for white spot disease outbreak at ponds are based on estimated risk: low (≤0.2), moderate (0.2–0.4) and high (≥0.4).
A New Group Dutch Book Argument
Authors: Kopec Matthew
Published: December 2015

In this essay, I repair the group Dutch Book argument presented by Donald Gillies. I then examine what additional assumptions would be needed for the argument to generate genuinely normative prescriptions for groups of inquirers. Although the resulting norms will apply to fewer groups than Gillies originally intended, they are still an important addition to the normative landscape in social epistemology.
The effectiveness of different planting frameworks for recruitment of tropical rainforest species on ex‐rainforest land
Authors: Florentine Singarayer K. , Pohlman Catherine L. , Westbrooke Martin E.
Published: December 2015

A long‐term rainforest restoration experiment was established on abandoned pasture in northeastern Queensland in 1993 to examine the effectiveness of five different restoration planting methods: (T1) control (no plantings); (T2) pioneer monoculture (planting seedlings of one pioneer species, Homalanthus novoguineensis, Euphorbiaceae); (T3) Homalanthus group framework method (H. novoguineensis and eight other pioneer species); (T4) Alphitonia group framework method (Alphitonia petriei, Rhamnaceae, with eight other pioneer species); and (T5) maximum diversity method (planting pioneers, middle‐phase species, and mature‐phase species). We investigated temporal patterns in the (1) fate of seedlings originally planted in 1993; (2) natural recruitment of native plant species; and (3) current habitat structure (canopy cover and ground cover of grasses and invasive plants) within each restoration treatment. A total of 97% of seedlings planted in T2 died within the first 13 years and all had died by 2014. A total of 72% of seedlings planted in T3, 55.5% of seedlings planted in T4, and 55% of seedlings planted in T5 also died by 2014. By 2014, 42 species from 21 families had recruited across the experimental site, and the abundance of recruits was almost twice that recorded in 2001 and 2006. Overall, T3, T4, and T5 had the greatest diversity and abundance of recruits. By 2014, canopy cover was greatest in T3, T4, and T5 but grass cover was least in T5. It is concluded that some restoration success measures increase with planting diversity, but overall the rate of recovery is similar in framework species and maximum diversity method.
Does Actor Perspective Matter? A Case Study of Designing Intervention for Small‐Scale Palm Oil Production Enterprises in Kwaebibirem District of Ghana
Authors: Osei‐Amponsah C. , Visser Leontine
Published: December 2015

Despite the fact that the government of Ghana imports the bulk of its industrial palm oil needs, it still fails to give assistance to about 80 percent of small‐scale producers to enhance development in the industry. To design interventions that will be sustainable for and beneficial to these producers, it is important to understand their perspectives first, so as not to “fix development” for them. This case study in the Kwaebibirem District of Ghana uses an actor‐oriented approach to understand the dynamics in the palm oil enterprise (kramer). Improvements in the kramer evidently evolve from the actors’ own agency. Any intervention for development should therefore first understand the dynamics of the kramer as a social field, and take this perspective as a bottom‐up starting point. This article is divided into six sections; the first section is an introduction, while the second describes our methodology. We next outline our conceptual approach, followed by an analysis of experiences of actors and their interactions. We then describe the resource flows and their interrelationships, including the power relations at play in the kramer networks. Finally, we conclude by drawing lessons on the relevance of an actor perspective in designing a learning intervention for processors, scientists, and extensionists.
An alternate technique of care using silver fluoride followed by stannous fluoride in the management of root caries in aged care
Authors: Deutsch Alan
Published: December 2015

An alternate technique of care to prevent, arrest and manage root caries using aqueous silver fluoride followed by stannous fluoride (AgF+SnF2) in aged care is demonstrated by three case studies. With increasing age, the inability to maintain ones own oral care from dementia, illness or frailty and polypharmacy induced salivary gland hypofunction will result in dental caries becoming a progessively greater burden for the elderly. Future generations of elders will live longer and need to maintain many more teeth longer than earlier generations. Both silver diamine fluoride (SDF)and AgF+SnF2 arrest and prevent caries and are easy to use in residential aged care facilities. Clinical differences between SDF and AgF+SnF2 are discussed. However, in aged care, AgF+SnF2 may offer advantages over SDF. AgF+SnF2 used to arrest and prevent caries in children can be modified to provide effective but minimally invasive care for an ageing and frail population. These techniques are rapid, inexpensive and nonthreatening suited to treat frail elders, dementia patients exhibiting challenging behaviours and patients with multiple rapidly progressing decay. Silver fluoride, applied before placing glass‐ionomer cement (GIC) restorations is an important adjunct to the atraumatic restorative technique and may retard caries reactivation more than GIC used alone.
From Loose Alliances to Professional Political Players: How Swiss Party Groups Changed
Authors: Bailer Stefanie , Bütikofer Sarah
Published: December 2015

Swiss parliamentary party groups have undergone a process of professionalization over the course of the last few decades. Swiss parties increasingly resemble party groups in established and more professionalized Western European parliamentary systems. Party unity has increased and party leaderships have started using instruments to strengthen party unity, in view of which party group members increasingly accept behavioural rules and norms. Our analysis suggests that Swiss parties have professionalized over the course of the last thirty years, and we demonstrate that this change has resulted from the ideological polarization in the Swiss political landscape, and conscious effort on the part of Swiss party group leaders. Thus, we contribute to the on‐going debate about party change and the question of what drives the development of parties. The development of the Swiss parties is documented using data from three parliamentary surveys from the last thirty years, and two interview rounds with party group leaders, their staff and political experts.
Argonaute3 is a key player in miRNA‐mediated target cleavage and translational repression in Chlamydomonas
Authors: Yamasaki Tomohito , Kim Eun‐Jeong , Cerutti Heriberto , Ohama Takeshi
Published: December 2015

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in diverse biological processes in eukaryotes, generally through degradation and/or inhibition of the translation of target mRNAs. MicroRNAs are loaded into Argonaute (AGO) proteins to form the RNA‐induced silencing complex (RISC) and used as guides to identify complementary transcripts. The distinct functions and features, such as associated small RNA classes and modes of silencing, of individual AGO paralogs have been well documented in multicellular eukaryotes. However, this aspect of miRNA function remains poorly understood in the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, which contains three AGO paralogs. In this study, we isolated AGO2 and AGO3 insertional mutants and confirmed that AGO3 is more abundantly expressed than AGO2. MicroRNA‐directed target transcript cleavage and translational repression were impaired in the AGO3 mutant background, indicating that AGO3 can mediate both modes of silencing. In contrast, although the AGO2 mutant is not a null, the involvement of AGO2 in miRNA‐directed silencing appears to be more limited. Our results strongly suggest that miRNA‐mediated post‐transcriptional gene silencing relies primarily on AGO3 in Chlamydomonas.