bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Population-specific recombination maps from segments of identity by descent
Authors: Zhou Ying , Browning Brian L. , Browning Sharon R.
Published: December 2019

Recombination rates vary significantly across the genome, and estimates of recombination rates are needed for downstream analyses such as haplotype phasing and genotype imputation. Existing methods for recombination rate estimation are limited by insufficient amounts of informative genetic data or by high computational cost. We present a method for using segments of identity by descent to infer recombination rates. Our method can be applied to sequenced population cohorts to obtain high-resolution, population-specific recombination maps. We use our method to generate new recombination maps for European Americans and for African Americans from TOPMed sequence data from the Framingham Heart Study (1626 unrelated individuals) and the Jackson Heart Study (2046 unrelated individuals). We compare our maps to existing maps using the Pearson correlation between estimated recombination rates. In Europeans we use the deCODE map, which is based on a very large set of Icelandic family data (126,407 meioses), as a gold standard against which to compare other maps. Our European American map has higher accuracy at fine-scale resolution (1-10kb) than linkage disequilibrium maps from the HapMap and 1000 Genomes projects. Our African American map has much higher accuracy than an admixture-based map that is derived from a similar number individuals, and similar accuracy at fine scales (1-10kb) to an admixture-based map that is derived from 15 times as many individuals.
Cocaine memory reactivation induces functional adaptations of fast-spiking interneurons in the rat medial prefrontal cortex
Authors: Jorgensen Emily T. , Gonzalez Angela E. , Harkness John H. , Hegarty Deborah M. , Burchi Delta J. , Aadland Jake A. , Aicher Sue A. , Sorg Barbara A. , Brown Travis E.
Published: December 2019

Perineuronal nets (PNNs) are specialized extracellular matrix structures that ensheathe parvalbumin-containing fast-spiking interneurons (PV FSIs) and play a key role in neuroplasticity. We previously showed that PNNs within the prelimbic prefrontal cortex (PL PFC) are required for the maintenance of cocaine-associated memories following cocaine memory reactivation. However, how cocaine memory reactivation affects PNNs, PV, and corresponding changes in PV FSI function are unknown. In this study, we characterized the electrophysiological properties of PV FSIs and corresponding changes in PNN and PV intensity within the PL PFC prior to and after cocaine memory reactivation. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were trained to acquire cocaine-conditioned place preference (CPP) and, following cocaine-CPP memory reactivation (30 m, 2 h, and 24 h post-reactivation), we measured PNN intensity (determined by Wisteria floribunda agglutinin [WFA] staining) as well as PV intensity using immunohistochemistry. The intensity of PV staining was reduced at all time points following memory reactivation with no changes in WFA intensity. Using whole-cell electrophysiology we found a reduction in the number of action potentials at 30 m and 2 h that returned to control levels by 24 h. The attenuation in firing was accompanied by a presumed compensatory increase in excitatory synaptic transmission, which was corroborated by an increase in VGluT1 puncta apposing PV/PNN neurons. Collectively, our results indicate that cocaine memory reactivation decreases PV intensity, which may play a role in decreasing excitation of PV FSIs. Thus, the inhibitory tone onto pyramidal neurons may be decreased following memory reactivation, resulting in an increase in PFC output to promote cocaine-seeking behaviors.
Architecture as an agency of resilience in urban armed conflicts
Authors: Kittana Abdalrahman M.G. , Meulder Bruno De
Published: December 2019

Purpose

Contemporary wars are continuously striking population centres across the globe with devastating consequences of destruction and annihilation, and leading to mass casualties within civilians. The purpose of this paper is to question the role of architecture and urban tissue in packing up civilians’ resilience and survival practices during urban warfare.

Design/methodology/approach

The investigation is based on critical spatial analysis of survival narratives obtained from an empirical study conducted in the city of Nablus in Palestine.

Findings

This paper shows that, due to its unique and highly complex socio-spatial entanglement, thekasbahof Nablus represents a paradigm in the (re)creation of community resilience. This paradigm is based on the interaction of three main elements: a multi-layered urban tissue accumulated along 2,000 years of urban evolution; a thick matrix of cultural and social constructs; and the lifting and switching of a lot of social conventions related to space during times of war.

Originality/value

The agency of architecture in supporting civilian survival practices during urban warfare is visited, nevertheless only partially unpacked by a number of prominent studies. This paper provides a deeper level of investigation and understanding of the interplay between the architecture of the city and resilience capacity.
Uncertainty and adaptation in the context of Brexit
Authors: Duarte Alonso Abel , Kok Seng , O'Brien Seamus
Published: December 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to propose a framework to understand firms’ adaptation to uncertainty and change, specifically, in regards to the perceived impacts of the Brexit phenomenon. In doing so, the study considers entrepreneurial action theory (EAT) and the dynamic capabilities approach (DCA).

Design/methodology/approach

Face-to-face interviews were conducted with owners and managers of 34 family-run firms operating in Italy’s Prosecco Superiore and Spain’s Cava industries.

Findings

The element of uncertainty because of the imminent Brexit decision clearly emerged and was demonstrated through various effects on firms including the falling British Pound. The findings revealed that combining the EAT and the DCA provides a stronger explanation in understanding adaptation to uncertainty. For example, sensing (DCA) was suggested to be a precursor of opportunity attention and evaluation (EAT) or recognising opportunities and was subsequently manifested by operators’ action or seizing (DCA), including through more involvement in exports and wine tourism.

Originality/value

The study is one of the few efforts to date to examine the potential impacts of an uncontrollable contemporary phenomenon, and ways to adapt from the perspective of entrepreneurs involved in a traditional and socioeconomically significant industry. The different adaptive strategies that emerged from the findings can provide practical insights. The proposed framework emphasises the theoretical and practical value of understanding adaptation through the lens of the adopted theoretical foundations.
Introducing the do-it-yourself concept in Egypt – the case of House Wonders
Authors: Ayman Ahmed , Shahin Mahitab Mohamed
Published: December 2019

Learning outcomes

Firms that are selling a relatively new market offering have to create the need for that offering. House Wonders entered a market that was not that well-informed about their market offering, and thus, have experimented with several communication channels that had different cost, and naturally different results. The purpose of this case is to encourage the students to compare and contrast the different communication methods, discuss their usage by House Wonders and come up with the best communication strategy.

Case overview/synopsis

This case simulates the challenges faced by a department store that is specialized in home improvement and hardware that recently started operations in Egypt. The store heavily emphasizes the role of “do it yourself” products, which is relatively new to the Egyptian customers. The case study presents the current economic conditions in Egypt, the company profile of the store and its parent company. The following sections involve explaining the concept of “do it yourself,” and other competitive advantages the store, House Wonders, has and how the management team managed to make the best out of it. The case study is concluded by explaining that in spite of all their efforts, the team is still faced with a number of challenges that are yet to be resolved, the most important of which is how to better reach the targeted segment.

Complexity academic level

Undergraduate/ MBA.

Supplementary materials

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Subject code

CSS 8: Marketing.
Minimizing the influence of dynamic rumors based on community structure
Authors: Wu Qingqing , Zhao Xianguan , Zhou Lihua , Wang Yao , Yang Yudi
Published: December 2019

Purpose

With the rapid development of internet technology, open online social networks provide a broader platform for information spreading. While dissemination of information provides convenience for life, it also brings many problems such as security risks and public opinion orientation. Various negative, malicious and false information spread across regions, which seriously affect social harmony and national security. Therefore, this paper aims to minimize negative information such as online rumors that has attracted extensive attention. The most existing algorithms for blocking rumors have prevented the spread of rumors to some extent, but these algorithms are designed based on entire social networks, mainly focusing on the microstructure of the network, i.e. the pairwise relationship or similarity between nodes. The blocking effect of these algorithms may be unsatisfactory in some networks because of the sparse data in the microstructure.

Design/methodology/approach

An algorithm for minimizing the influence of dynamic rumor based on community structure is proposed in this paper. The algorithm first divides the network into communities, and integrates the influence of each node within communities and rumor influence probability to measure the influence of each node in the entire network, and then selects key nodes and bridge nodes in communities as blocked nodes. After that, a dynamic blocking strategy is adopted to improve the blocking effect of rumors.

Findings

Community structure is one of the most prominent features of networks. It reveals the organizational structure and functional components of a network from a mesoscopic level. The utilization of community structure can provide effective and rich information to solve the problem of data sparsity in the microstructure, thus effectively improve the blocking effect. Extensive experiments on two real-world data sets have validated that the proposed algorithm has superior performance than the baseline algorithms.

Originality/value

As an important research direction of social network analysis, rumor minimization has a profound effect on the harmony and stability of society and the development of social media. However, because the rumor spread has the characteristics of multiple propagation paths, fast propagation speed, wide propagation area and time-varying, it is a huge challenge to improve the effectiveness of the rumor blocking algorithm.
Bank loan loss provisioning during election years: cross-country evidence
Authors: Ozili Peterson K.
Published: December 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine bank loan loss provisioning behavior during election years – focusing on the effect of elections on banking sector loan loss provisioning.

Design/methodology/approach

Regression analysis was used to analyze the behavior of bank loan loss provisioning in developed countries during election years.

Findings

The findings reveal that the banking sectors in developed countries have higher loan loss provisions (LLPs) in election years. Also, income smoothing is present in election years which supports the income smoothing hypothesis. Also, banking sectors with high capital levels have higher LLPs. Although, there were no significant differences in bank loan loss provisioning during election years across the four bloc, the EU banking sectors and the banking sectors of BIS member countries generally have higher LLPs while the non-EU banking sectors and the banking sectors of the G7 member countries generally have fewer LLPs.

Originality/value

The literature has not explored the effect of political factors such as “election-year risk” on the managers’ discretion in banks. This is the first study that explores the effect of political change on managerial discretion in banks.
Factors influencing Vietnam’s handicraft export with the gravity model
Authors: Anh Thu Luong , Fang Sun , Kessani Sham Sunder
Published: December 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that affect handicraft export from Vietnam to trading partners in the period 2007–2017, and how those factors influence the export of handicraft products of Vietnam.

Design/methodology/approach

The research uses the approach of gravity model based on panel data to evaluate the export of Vietnamese handicraft to 50 main trading partners, covering the period from 2007 to 2017.

Findings

The estimated results reveal that Vietnam’s GDP, importer’s GDP, trading partner’s population, Vietnam’s inflation, the economic distance between Vietnam and importer, the openness of Vietnam, importing country’s common language and the issue that both Vietnam and importer are member of APEC are the main factors affecting Vietnamese handicraft export.

Research limitations/implications

This study also has some limitations. It is limited in the data, as some other areas in the world have not been observed and included in the research. In the future, a study with large-scale data of space and time should be conducted, which will certainly give a universal result and fewer errors. However, this paper, in our opinion, provides a significant result and may help the government and policy makers to undertake appropriate measures to improve and promote the export of Vietnamese handicrafts to the world markets.

Practical implications

The research describes the current situation, and it studies factors influencing Vietnam’s handicraft export using the qualitative analysis. The result should be useful for the policy maker and enterprises to promote export activities of Vietnamese handicrafts to international markets.

Social implications

Handicraft export of Vietnam plays an important part in retaining the culture value and social development as well as encouraging sustainable development for the rural poor within the country.

Originality/value

The past research related to Vietnamese handicraft export almost analyzed the situation to promote export handicrafts. This research is based on the study of factors affecting trade and the gravity model to elaborate and supplement the factors that affect the export of handicraft in accordance with the actual conditions of Vietnam.
Who is a terrorist? Exploring the utility of interdisciplinary fields
Authors: Zahra Heba Mohamed
Published: December 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to discuss the dilemma of terrorism as a political phenomenon that many political scientists care about; however, they find themselves incapable of explaining some of its aspects and they resort to other disciplines. The second part of the dilemma is related to the incapability of well-established disciplines to provide political scientists with much help. This raises the following question: Will political scientists be able to enhance their knowledge of terrorism with the help of scholars from consolidated and well-established disciplines or with the help of scholars from interdisciplinary fields?

Design/methodology/approach

This research depends on the main theories of psychology and of social psychology and adopts a comparative approach to assess the effectiveness of both disciplines in providing political scientists with the knowledge they lack.

Findings

In spite of being a well-established and consolidated discipline, psychology is not the perfect discipline that can help political scientists know who a terrorist is. Social psychological theories of aggression provide political scientists with greater ability to understand what psychological and sociological factors motivate a person to turn to aggression and terrorism. Moreover, social psychology developed the “terror management theory” which clarifies various aspects of the phenomenon.

Originality/value

This research paper calls the attention of scholars of terrorism to the importance of adopting an interdisciplinary approach to understand the various aspects of a complex phenomenon such as terrorism. The interdisciplinary field adopted will differ according to the research question that a researcher needs to answer.
Understanding social enterprise in The Netherlands
Authors: Backer Joost Willem
Published: December 2019

Purpose

This paper aims to provide a qualitative country case study of The Netherlands, adopting the macro-institutional social enterprise (MISE) framework as developed by Kerlin (2009, 2013, 2017). The research question is twofold: How does the institutional context shape the social enterprise country model in The Netherlands, and To what extent can the MISE framework be a useful tool in explaining this dynamic between the institutional context and social enterprise country model?

Design/methodology/approach

This research applies the MISE framework developed by Kerlin (2017), which is founded upon the historical institutionalist approach.

Findings

The analysis of the institutional context in The Netherlands shows that the country context shares most traits with the autonomous diverse model. Its institutional environment should however be more enabling for the development of social enterprises. This discrepancy is explained through the notion of political will, resulting in the suggestion that the historical institutionalist approach of the MISE framework could be expanded by a greater focus on political will.

Research limitations/implications

To investigate the Dutch social enterprise country model, this paper principally relies on external sources, including surveys (McKinsey, 2016; PwC, 2016; Social Enterprise NL, 2015; 2016; 2018). This is problematic due to its subjective nature, small population size used and potential conceptual misfit with the definitions used in this research.

Practical implications

For academia, this paper enhances the understanding of the relations between the institutional environment and social enterprise by adding a case study of The Netherlands to the body of research around the MISE framework. Furthermore, the paper suggests to enhance the historical institutionalist approach of the MISE framework with a greater focus on political will. For advocates of social enterprises in The Netherlands, including policymakers, this paper may add to their understanding of the current developments around social enterprise in The Netherlands and possibly enhance their effectiveness of advocating for policies that are conducive to the development of social enterprises.

Originality/value

This research is the first in applying a universally applicable theoretical framework to the context of The Netherlands. For scholars of social enterprise in The Netherlands, it provides a comprehensive overview of developments of social enterprise in the country over recent years, as well as a thorough analysis of the current state of affairs. For international scholars of social enterprise, this research provides a case of comparison with other countries, taking into account all main institutions that shape a country and social enterprise in that country. For scholars of the MISE framework, this research offers an additional country case study that further helps improve the framework.
Doxorubicin‐induces NFAT/Fas/FasL cardiac apoptosis in rats through activation of calcineurin and P38 MAPK and inhibition of mTOR signalling pathways
Authors: Shati Ali A.
Published: December 2019

This study investigated the role of NFAT/Fas/FasL axis in cardiomyocyte apoptosis following doxorubicin (DOX) treatment in rats and evaluated the involvement and regulation of all NFAT members in cardiac apoptosis. Forty adult male Wistar rats were divided equally into control or DOX‐treated groups (15 mg/kg over 2 weeks). Cardiomyocytes were cultured and pre‐incubated with various inhibitors and activators (10 μmol/L) prior to DOX exposure (1 μmol/L). In the left ventricles and cultured cells, DOX increased cytoplasmic protein levels of cytochrome C, Bax and increased the activities of caspase‐8, caspase3, ERK1/2, JNK, and P38 mitogen‐activated protein kinases (MAPKs), reducing levels of Bcl‐2 and the activity of mTOR, and inducing cell death. In addition, DOX enhanced mRNA and protein levels of Fas and FasL. Furthermore, the nuclear and cytoplasmic levels of NFAT1 and nuclear accumulation of NFAT2‐4were increased with DOX treatment. The inhibition of calcineurin with FK506 significantly inhibited the nuclear levels of NFAT2 and NFAT4 and the inhibition of P38 MAPK with SB203580 inhibited the nuclear and cytoplasmic accumulation of NFAT1. However, the activation of mTOR by IGF‐1 significantly lowered NFAT3. In conclusion, NFAT/Fas/FasL‐induced cell death in cardiac myocytes of DOX‐treated rats is regulated, at least, by the activation of calcineurin and P38 MAPK and inhibition of mTOR.
Plant susceptibility genes as a source for potyvirus resistance
Authors: Mäkinen Kristiina
Published: December 2019

Virus infection depends on the resources provided by the host plant. A number of host proteins that enable potyvirus infection have been identified. The genes encoding them are called susceptibility genes (S‐genes). Loss‐of‐susceptibility type of resistance is based on S‐gene modifications leading to incompatible host–virus interactions. An increasing number of examples show that this is a viable method for resistance breeding. While the recent advancements in genome editing and sequencing have remarkably reduced the technical limitations, we still need to tackle many biological challenges to be able to utilise S‐genes for durable and broad range potyvirus resistance to their full extent. Many lessons on functional redundancy between gene family members and durability of the resistance have been learned by studying the naturally occurring recessive resistance based on the interplay between eukaryotic initiation factors eIF4E and eIFiso4E and viral protein genome‐linked (VPg). Nevertheless, the outcomes of the S‐gene modifications on resistance or any other characteristic of the host plant cannot be predicted. In addition to the genetic background of the host, also the properties of the viral factors affect the efficiency of the resistance and the emergence of resistance‐breaking mutations. Many potyviral protein–protein interactions occur in multiprotein complexes. This suggests that the susceptibility factors may interact with viral proteins as a part of multifaceted protein–protein interaction networks. Rather than reviewing exhaustively the S‐genes involved in potyvirus infection, my intention here is to discuss in the light of selected examples, the prospects and challenges of the use of potyviral S‐genes in resistance breeding.
Oral health needs of older migrants with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in developed countries: A systematic review
Authors: Hoang Ha , Feike Suzanne , Linden Tanya , Barnett Tony , Crocombe Len
Published: December 2019

Objectives

To identify and synthesise the available evidence regarding the oral health needs of and the oral health promotion provided for older, cultural and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrants in developed countries.

Method

Databases were searched using search terms to identify all relevant English‐language research studies published between 2000 and January 2018.

Results

Thirty‐nine articles met the review criteria. Thirty‐three papers reported on the oral health needs of CALD older migrants and 6 on oral health programs provided for older migrants.

Conclusions

Cultural and linguistically diverse older migrants have high oral health needs and poor oral status and face a variety of barriers in accessing oral health care in their host countries. Recommendations to improve their access to oral health programs include building transcultural dental training into the educational requirements of dental students and developing oral health promotion programs that include culturally and linguistically customised information.
Composition and plasticity of triple‐negative breast carcinoma‐infiltrating regulatory T cells
Authors: Cai Bo , Ma Ping , Ding Pengpeng , Sun Di‐Wen , Bu Qingao , Zhang Jun
Published: December 2019

Low Foxp3+ regulatory T‐cell (Treg) presence in the tumor‐infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) is considered favorable in breast cancer, and numerous CD25‐targeting agents have been applied in the attempt to remove Foxp3+ Treg cells, which typically present CD4+CD25+/hi surface phenotype. However, CD25 is not Treg‐exclusive and can be upregulated by effector T cells. Hence, CD25 depletion may cause the elimination of activated T cells that are responding to tumor‐specific antigens. In this study, the composition and function of CD4+CD25+ cells inside the microenvironment of triple‐negative breast carcinoma (TNBC) were investigated. Directly ex vivo, the Foxp3+ Treg cells represented a minor subset in total CD4+CD25+ TILs. Significant differences were observed in the expression of Treg‐associated molecules between CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ TILs and CD4+CD25+Foxp3− TILs. While both the CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ and the CD4+CD25+Foxp3− TILs could express CTLA‐4 and LAG‐3, the expression levels were significantly higher in CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ TILs than in CD4+CD25+Foxp3− TILs. Upon TCR stimulation, the expression of TGF‐beta was significantly higher in CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ TILs, while the expression of IL‐10 was significantly higher in CD4+CD25+Foxp3− TILs. These differences were conserved in the blood counterparts of these cells. Interestingly, the level of CD25+Foxp3+ cells in circulating CD4+ T cells was positively correlated with the level of CD25+Foxp3+ cells in CD4+ TILs, but the level of CD25+Foxp3− cells in circulating CD4+ T cells was not associated with the level of CD25+Foxp3‐ cells in CD4+ TILs. Th17‐polarizing medium could readily remodel CD4+CD25+Foxp3−, but not CD4+CD25+Foxp3+, T cells into RORgammat and IL‐17‐expressing T cells, demonstrating stronger plasticity of the former subset. Together, these data demonstrated that the CD4+CD25+ TILs were composed of distinctive Foxp3− and Foxp3+ cells, with the former representing the major subset. The antigen specificity and effector molecule expression of the CD4+CD25+Foxp3− thus require further analyses.
Therapeutic potential of aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligands derived from natural products in rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Hui Wenyu , Dai Yue
Published: December 2019

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune‐mediated inflammatory disease, which is characterized by chronic synovitis, progressive bone destruction and reduced mobility. Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a ligand‐dependent transcription factor, has been shown to regulate the differentiation, activation and apoptosis of various cells involved in rheumatoid arthritis. The ligands of AhR such as tetrachlorodibenzo‐p‐dioxin, benzo[a]pyrene and 3,3′‐diindolylmetheane are able to inhibit osteoclastogenesis and attenuate arthritis in mice. However, the long‐term use of these compounds is associated with severe side effects, which limit their use as therapeutic agents in animals or humans. There is an urgent need to search for new AhR ligands that are effective and safe. This MiniReview discusses the potential therapeutic value of the AhR ligands derived from natural products.
Motor problems in children with severe emotional and behavioural difficulties
Authors: Taylor Bronagh , Hanna Donncha , McPhillips Martin
Published: December 2019

Background

There is growing evidence that children with motor difficulties are at risk of psychosocial problems and vice versa. However, it is not clear how far different aspects of motor function are predictive of psychosocial well‐being in the context of other powerful factors, such as family upset, that are known to affect psychosocial development.

Aims

To investigate the role of basic motor skills and primary reflex persistence in young children with severe emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD).

Sample

From a total sample of 225 children, three groups were selected: children excluded from school (severe EBD) (n = 29), a male comparison group (n = 38), and a female comparison group (n = 45). The groups were matched (at group level) on age, IQ, and level of social disadvantage.

Method

All of the selected children completed a range of standardized motor, cognitive, social, and behavioural measures, as well as a clinical protocol for primary reflex persistence.

Results

Children with severe EBD had significant levels of motor difficulties, primary reflex persistence, and family upset, as well as significant literacy problems, attention deficits, and raised levels of hyperactivity/impulsivity relative to the comparison groups. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that basic motor skills, primary reflex persistence, family upset, hyperactivity, and literacy were all significant predictors of psychosocial functioning.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that motor difficulties and primary reflex persistence may act as independent stressors of psychosocial functioning in children with EBD. We suggest that specific movement interventions should be adopted to complement existing provision for children at risk of psychosocial problems.
Biomordanting willow bark dye on cellulosic materials
Authors: Lohtander Tia , Arola Suvi , Laaksonen Päivi
Published: December 2019

A semi‐quantitative study of willow bark dye adsorption on two different cellulose materials using biomordants was carried out. The studied celluloses were microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) AaltoCell and regenerated Ioncell‐F (IC) fibres. The dye was a hot water extract of willow bark and the adsorption to cellulose was carried out using carboxylic acid‐containing biomordants, namely, oxalic acid, citric acid and tannic acid. Alum was employed as the reference mordant. A semi‐quantitative estimation of the dye uptake was conducted using high‐performance liquid chromatography equipped with a diode array detector and also by visual inspection, as well as an evaluation of the coloration using CIELab parameters. The mechanism of the dye adsorption on the cellulose surfaces was studied via Fourier Transform–infrared spectroscopy. According to the results, MCC had a higher affinity for polyphenolic dye than the regenerated cellulose fibres. Dye uptake on MCC was 50%‐80% and 44%‐57% on IC. For MCC, the biomordants improved the dye uptake more effectively than the control mordant, alum, whereas for IC the biomordants were less effective than alum.
Clinical features and endemic trend of histoplasmosis in China: A retrospective analysis and literature review
Authors: Lv Xin , Jiang Mao , He Rongling , Li Mengyu , Meng Jie
Published: December 2019

Introduction

Histoplasmosis is a rare mycosis with nonspecific clinical manifestation and a high misdiagnosis rate, which is an epidemic disease that occurred in several endemic areas. Cases of histoplasmosis were sporadic in China.

Objective

We detected the clinical characteristics and endemic trend of histoplasmosis to understand it more profoundly.

Method

The clinical data of 34 cases of histoplasmosis hospitalized in Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from 2003 to 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. The relevant literature were reviewed roundly which were about histoplasmosis from 2001 to 2019 reported in the Chinese mainland.

Results

Thirty‐four patients were included in the study, male predominance. About 44.1% were combined with underlying disease and HIV infection was observed in eight patients. Common clinical manifestations were fever (94.1%), followed by lymphadenopathy (70.6%) and anemia (67.6%). Organ involvement included lungs (52.9%), oral cavity (5.9%) and intestine (5.9%). Patients were diagnosed by bone marrow smears (44.1%), lymph node biopsy (41.1%), lung tissue biopsy (8.8%) and intestinal tissue biopsy (5.9%). About 70.6% received amphotericin B, while 38.2% received itraconazole therapy and 79.4% were improved. About 611 cases of histoplasmosis in the Chinese mainland were obtained in the study from the related literature, with 217 (37.0%) cases occurred in Yunnan province, 69 (11.9%) cases in Hunan province and 67 (11.6%) cases in Hubei province. All of them were high incidence area of histoplasmosis.

Conclusion

Histoplasmosis is a rare mycosis with high diagnosis rate and has a prominent geographical distribution in China, which should be considered highly in clinical work.
Identification of a subgroup of black South Africans with type 1 diabetes who are older at diagnosis but have lower levels of glutamic acid decarboxylase and islet antigen 2 autoantibodies
Authors: Padoa C. J. , Rheeder P. , Pirie F. J. , Motala A. A. , van Dyk J. C. , Crowther N. J.
Published: December 2019

Aims

To compare the age at diagnosis and prevalence of islet autoantibody [glutamic acid decarboxylase (65 kDa) 65 and islet antigen 2] positivity in black and white participants with type 1 diabetes in South Africa, and to analyse the relationship between age at diagnosis and the presence of autoantibodies.

Methods

Participants were recruited from diabetes outpatient departments and autoantibodies to glutamic acid decarboxylase (65 kDa) and islet antigen 2 were measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay.

Results

We recruited 472 (353 black and 119 white) participants with type 1 diabetes. Age at diagnosis of diabetes was later in black (19.7 ± 10.5) than in white participants (12.7 ± 10.8 years; P < 0.001) with a median (interquartile range) disease duration of 5.0 (2.0–10.0) and 8.5 (4.0–20.0) years (P < 0.001), respectively. An older age at diagnosis (≥ 21 years) was more frequent in black (152 of 340, 45%) than in white participants (24 of 116, 21%; P < 0.001). The prevalence of islet antigen 2 autoantibodies was 19% (66/352) in black and 41% in white participants (48/118; P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in glutamic acid decarboxylase (65 kDa) autoantibody positivity between black (212/353, 60%) and white participants (77/117, 66%; P = 0.269). In black, but not white, participants the prevalence of both glutamic acid decarboxylase (65 kDa) and islet antigen 2 autoantibody positivity was significantly lower in participants diagnosed at age ≥ 21 years (P < 0.001 for both comparisons).

Conclusions

The older age at diagnosis, lower prevalence of islet antigen 2 autoantibodies and a distinct subgroup of participants with type 1 diabetes with age at diagnosis of > 20 years in the black compared to white population suggest a difference in the immunological aetiology of type 1 diabetes in these two population groups.
Are nematodes costly to fig tree–fig wasp mutualists?
Authors: Shi Rong‐Rong , Miao Bai‐Ge , Segar Simon T. , Zeng Yongsan , Wang Bo , Peng Yan‐Qiong
Published: December 2019

Most mutualisms are exploited by parasites, which must strike an evolutionary balance between virulence and long‐term persistence. Fig‐associated nematodes, living inside figs and dispersed by fig wasps, are thought to be exploiters of the fig–fig wasp mutualism. The life history of nematodes is synchronized with the fig development and adapted to particular developmental characteristics of figs. We expect host breeding systems (monoecious vs. gynodioecious figs) and seasonality to be central to this adaptation. However, the details of the adaptation are largely unknown. Here, we conducted the first field surveys on the prevalence of nematodes from monoecious Ficus microcarpa L.f. (Moraceae), gynodioecious Ficus hispida L.f., and their pollinating fig wasps in two seasons and two developmental stages of figs in Xishuangbanna, China. We followed this up by quantifying the effects of nematodes on fitness‐related traits on fig wasps (e.g., egg loads, pollen grains, and longevity) and fig trees (seed production) in gynodioecious F. hispida. The magnitude of nematode infection was compared between pre‐ and post‐dispersal pollinators to quantify the probability of nematodes being transported to new hosts. Our results showed that Ficophagus microcarpus (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae) was the only nematode in F. microcarpa. In F. hispida, Martininema guangzhouensis (Nematoda: Aphelenchoididae) was the dominant nematode species, whereas Ficophagus centerae was rare. For both species of Ficus, rainy season and inter‐floral figs had higher rates of nematode infection than the dry‐hot season and receptive figs. Nematodes did not affect the number of pollen grains or egg loads of female wasps. We did not detect a correlation between seed production and nematode infection. However, carrying nematodes reduced the lifespan and dispersal ability of pollinator wasps, indicating higher rates of post‐emergence mortality in infected fig wasps. Severely infected fig wasps were likely ‘filtered out’, preventing the overexploitation of figs by wasps and stabilizing the interaction over evolutionary time.
Synergy between parasitoids and pathogens for biological control of Helicoverpa armigera in chickpea
Authors: Allahyari Rahim , Aramideh Shahram , Safaralizadeh Mohammad Hassan , Rezapanah Mohammadreza , Michaud J.P.
Published: December 2019

The chickpea pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is an important pest of many legume crops, including chickpea, Cicer arietinum L. (Fabaceae). We field‐tested the efficacy of two pathogens, Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrosis virus (HaNPV) and Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner subsp. kurstaki (Btk), both alone and in combination with the parasitoid Habrobracon hebetor Say (Hh) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), for control of H. armigera larvae in chickpea fields. A randomized complete block design was used at two sites, so that wasp release treatments at one site would not contaminate pathogen‐only treatments at the other. Pathogens were applied when most pest larvae were in the second instar, and wasp releases were made 2 days later. Number of H. armigera larvae per plant, number of damaged pods, yield (kg ha−1), treatment cost (US$ ha−1), and benefit:cost ratio were all determined. Treatments separated significantly at 14 days after treatment, with the HaNPV+Hh and Btk+Hh treatments providing the best control, suggesting a synergistic impact of the wasp and the pathogens when applied together. These treatments also produced the fewest damaged pods, the highest yields, and the greatest yield increments in comparison to untreated controls. However, costs were also highest for these combined treatments, which reduced their net benefit in comparison to use of Hh or Btk alone, although more efficient mass production of the pathogens might make combined applications feasible. We conclude that both HaNPV and Btk are suitable for integration with releases of H. hebetor against H. armigera in chickpea fields, provided parasitoid releases are delayed until 2 days after pathogen application.
Individual differences in behaviour explain variation in survival: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Moiron Maria , Laskowski Kate L. , Niemelä Petri T.
Published: December 2019

Research focusing on among‐individual differences in behaviour (‘animal personality’) has been blooming for over a decade. Central theories explaining the maintenance of such behavioural variation posits that individuals expressing greater “risky” behaviours should suffer higher mortality. Here, for the first time, we synthesize the existing empirical evidence for this key prediction. Our results did not support this prediction as there was no directional relationship between riskier behaviour and greater mortality; however there was a significant absolute relationship between behaviour and survival. In total, behaviour explained a significant, but small, portion (5.8%) of the variance in survival. We also found that risky (vs. “shy”) behavioural types live significantly longer in the wild, but not in the laboratory. This suggests that individuals expressing risky behaviours might be of overall higher quality but the lack of predation pressure and resource restrictions mask this effect in laboratory environments. Our work demonstrates that individual differences in behaviour explain important differences in survival but not in the direction predicted by theory. Importantly, this suggests that models predicting behaviour to be a mediator of reproduction‐survival trade‐offs may need revision and/or empiricists may need to reconsider their proxies of risky behaviours when testing such theory.
Long‐term risk of stroke and its predictors in transient ischaemic attack patients in Germany
Authors: Jacob L. , Tanislav C. , Kostev K.
Published: December 2019

Background and purpose

Little is known about the long‐term association between transient ischaemic attack (TIA) and stroke. Therefore, the goal of this study was to analyze the long‐term risk of stroke and associated predictors in a large cohort of TIA patients followed in general practices in Germany.

Methods

This study included patients with an initial TIA diagnosis and subsequently followed up in one of 1262 general practices in Germany between January 2007 and December 2016 (N = 19 824 patients). The primary outcome of the study was the risk of ischaemic stroke within 10 years of the initial diagnosis of TIA. The secondary outcome was the identification of demographic, clinical and pharmaceutical variables significantly associated with stroke in TIA patients.

Results

Within 10 years of the initial TIA diagnosis, 18.3% of individuals were diagnosed with stroke. Age was positively associated with stroke, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.88 in patients aged 51–60 years to 4.00 in those aged >80 years (reference group: patients aged ≤50 years). Furthermore, male sex, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, atrial fibrillation and ischaemic heart diseases had an additional impact on the risk of stroke. Finally, new oral anticoagulants, heparins, diuretics, angiotensin II receptor blockers and platelet aggregation inhibitors were identified as protective factors.

Conclusions

In a cohort of almost 20 000 TIA patients, 18.3% were diagnosed with stroke within 10 years after the TIA index event. Several demographic, clinical and pharmaceutical variables significantly predicted the long‐term risk of stroke in TIA patients.
Pseudo‐anticipation in Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease is due to a rhomboid‐shaped artifact
Authors: Cohen O. S. , Kahana E. , Korczyn A. D. , Ziv‐Baran T. , Nitsan Z. , Appel S. , Rosenmann H. , Chapman J.
Published: December 2019

Background and purpose

Previous studies have reported conflicting results regarding possible anticipation in familial E200K Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (fCJD). Our objective was to use a large database to assess the age of disease onset (AODO) in CJD.

Methods

The study population included 477 CJD patients [266 with fCJD, 145 with sporadic CJD (sCJD) and 66 patients of Libyan origin but negative family history] from the Israeli registry of CJD conducted since 1954. In all patients, AODO in relatives and family trees was documented. Comparison of AODO was done using a paired t test and regression using Pearson correlation for birth and year of onset.

Results

The initial analysis in 52/73 families in which more than one generation was affected revealed an AODO of 63.30 ± 9.44 in the first generation compared to 56.96 ± 8.99 in the second generation (P < 0.001). However, inspection of individual AODO values plotted by year of birth showed a clear rhomboid methodological artifact generated by missing data of many young onset CJD patients who died before the database began to function in 1954 and of many late onset CJD patients missing at the present time since they will only develop the disease in the future. The ‘generation’ effect completely disappears if analysis is performed by year of disease onset or for the periods in which complete data are available.

Conclusions

In this very large dataset, true anticipation in fCJD patients was not detected. It is plausible that previous reports supporting the presence of anticipation are biased by a rhomboid‐shaped data availability artifact.
Determination of Radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr and Stable δ88/86SrSRM987 Isotope Values of Thirteen Mineral, Vegetal and Animal Reference Materials by DS‐TIMS
Authors: Brazier Jean‐Michel , Schmitt Anne‐Désirée , Pelt Eric , Lemarchand Damien , Gangloff Sophie , Tacail Théo , Balter Vincent
Published: December 2019

This work presents new 87Sr/86Sr and δ88/86SrSRM987 isotopic values of thirteen mineral, vegetal and animal reference materials. Except for UB‐N, all our results are consistent with previously published data. Our results highlight intermediate precisions among the best presently published and a non‐significant systematic shift with the calculated δ88/86SrSRM987 mean values for the three most analysed reference materials in the literature (i.e., IAPSO, BCR‐2 and JCp‐1). By comparison with the literature and between two distinct digestions, a significant bias of δ88/86SrSRM987 values was highlighted for two reference materials (UB‐N and GS‐N). It has also been shown that digestion protocols (nitric and multi‐acid) have a moderate impact on the δ88/86SrSRM987 isotopic values for the Jls‐1 reference materials suggesting that a nitric acid digestion of carbonate can be used without significant bias from partial digestion of non‐carbonate impurities. Different δ88/86SrSRM987 values were measured after two independent Sr/matrix separations, according to the same protocol, for a fat‐rich organic reference material (BCR‐380R) and have been related to a potential post‐digestion heterogeneity. Finally, the δ88/86SrSRM987 value differences measured between animal‐vegetal and between coral‐seawater reference materials agree with the previously published results, highlighting an Sr isotopic fractionation along the trophic chain and during carbonate precipitation.
Wilfred Thesiger and the Umm as Samim, Oman
Authors: Fookes Peter , Waring David , Lee Mark
Published: December 2019

Often our knowledge and understanding of the geology and geomorphology of some of the remotest areas of the world has had its roots in the observations of pioneering European explorers. This is particularly so in the Arabian Peninsula, where the Ar Rub' al Khali (‘the Empty Quarter’) desert is the largest contiguous sand desert in the world, 1200 km long and 650 km wide, covering some 650 000 km2. Extremely dry (hyper‐arid) and almost completely barren, it presented a formidable obstacle to explorers. Indeed, one of the earliest travellers across western Arabia, Charles Doughty, wrote in 1888 ‘I passed one good day in Arabia, and all the rest were evil’.