bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Plasma Angiopoietin-2/-1 Ratio is Elevated and Angiopoietin-2 Levels Correlate With Plasma Syndecan-1 Following Pediatric Trauma
Authors: Richter Robert P. , Russell Robert T. , Hu Parker J. , Uhlich Rindi M. , Swain Thomas A. , Kerby Jeffrey D. , Pittet Jean-Francois , Richter Jillian R.
Published: October 2018

Background:

Angiopoietin-1 (Agpt-1) and Agpt-2 are cytokine regulators of vascular endothelial integrity. Elevated plasma Agpt-2 levels and ratios of Agpt-2:Agpt-1 are associated with adverse outcomes in adult trauma and pediatric sepsis populations. However, the behavior of the angiopoietins after pediatric trauma has not been characterized, and their relationship to endothelial glycocalyx damage, indicated by plasma syndecan-1 (Syn-1) levels, has not been established.

Methods:

We performed a secondary analysis of prospectively collected data from 52 pediatric trauma patients and 12 control patients at a level one pediatric trauma center from 2013 to 2016. We measured Agpt-1, Agpt-2, and Syn-1 levels from plasma taken upon hospital arrival and 24 h after admission. Angiopoietin levels were compared to controls, and the correlation between Agpt-2 and Syn-1 was assessed.

Results:

Plasma Agpt-1 and Agpt-2 levels are elevated immediately after pediatric trauma compared with controls. At 24 h, trauma patients demonstrated significantly elevated plasma Agpt-2:Agpt-1 ratios relative to controls due to decline of Agpt-1 levels to near that of controls. Higher 24-h Agpt-2 levels are associated with more hypoperfusion, and elevated 24-h Agpt-2:Agpt-1 ratios are associated with adverse clinical outcomes. Significant positive correlations between Agpt-2 and Syn-1 upon admission and at 24 h after injury were identified.

Conclusion:

Our findings suggest dysregulation of circulating angiopoietins after pediatric trauma that may be linked to endothelial glycocalyx injury. Larger prospective studies are needed to validate these findings and determine the relationship of Agpt-2 with other markers of endotheliopathy.
Early Differential Value of Plasma Presepsin on Infection of Trauma Patients
Authors: Kang Jian , Gong Ping , Zhang Xiao-Dong , Wang Wen-Juan , Li Chun-Sheng
Published: October 2018

Objective:

Early differential diagnosis of an infection in a trauma patient is likely to have a significant influence on the prognosis. In the present study, we evaluated the early differential value of plasma presepsin, procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), and white blood cells (WBCs) on infection in trauma patients.

Methods:

Trauma patients were divided into noninfected (n = 89) and infected trauma groups (n = 68); healthy adult volunteers (n = 60) and patients having sterile surgery (n = 60) were enrolled as the controls. Plasma presepsin, PCT, CRP, and WBC counts were measured and the injury severity score (ISS) was calculated.

Results:

Plasma presepsin levels within the first 3 d of admission were only significantly increased in the infected trauma group, but not in the noninfected trauma and sterile groups. This indicated that presepsin might have an ability to differentiate the infection in trauma patients; however, plasma PCT, CRP, and WBCs were significantly increased in both the infected and noninfected trauma patients. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that only increased plasma presepsin, PCT, and ISS were significantly associated with an increased likelihood of infection in trauma patients. Both presepsin and PCT were valuable for diagnosing infection; presepsin had a higher area under the curve than PCT.

Conclusion:

Presepsin might be a superior biomarker for early differentiation of infection in trauma patients; however, trauma stress elevates PCT, CRP, and WBCs even in the absence of infection; therefore, caution is advised when using these indicators to diagnose infection.
Defining the developmental program leading to meiosis in maize
Authors: Nelms Brad , Walbot Virginia
Published: October 2018

In multicellular organisms, the entry into meiosis is a complex process characterized by increasing levels of meiotic specialization. We used single-cell RNA-sequencing to reconstruct the developmental program into meiosis in maize. We observed a smooth continuum of expression stages leading up to meiosis, followed by a sharp reorganization of the transcriptome in early meiotic prophase. This latter transcriptional shift was dramatic, with 26.7% of expressed genes changing by 2 fold or more, and occurred just prior to a proposed cell cycle checkpoint. Changes in cell physiology accompanied the nuclear events of meiosis, including a decrease in protein translation capacity and increase in membrane-bound organelles. We further identified differences in gene expression between the mitotic and meiotic cell cycles. Our results uncover a multi-step pathway into meiosis and highlight the power of single cell RNA-seq to define developmental transitions.
A computational model of the escape response latency in the Giant Fiber System ofDrosophila melanogaster
Authors: Augustin Hrvoje , Zylbertal Asaph , Partridge Linda
Published: October 2018

The Giant Fiber System (GFS) is a multi-component neuronal pathway mediating rapid escape response in the adult fruit-flyDrosophila melanogaster, usually in the face of a threatening visual stimulus. Two branches of the circuit promote the response by stimulating an escape jump followed by flight initiation. Our recent work demonstrated an age-associated decline in the speed of signal propagation through the circuit, measured as the stimulus-to-muscle depolarization response latency. The decline is likely due to the diminishing number of interneuronal gap junctions in the GFS of ageing flies. In this work, we presented a realistic conductance-based, computational model of the GFS that recapitulates our experimental results and identifies some of the critical anatomical and physiological components governing the circuit’s response latency. According to our model, anatomical properties of the GFS neurons have a stronger impact on the transmission than neuronal membrane conductance densities. The model provides testable predictions for the effect of experimental interventions on the circuit’s performance in young and ageing flies.
Bright and photostable chemigenetic indicators for extended in vivo voltage imaging
Authors: Abdelfattah Ahmed S. , Kawashima Takashi , Singh Amrita , Novak Ondrej , Liu Hui , Shuai Yichun , Huang Yi-Chieh , Grimm Jonathan B. , Patel Ronak , Friedrich Johannes , Mensh Brett D. , Paninski Liam , Macklin John J. , Podgorski Kaspar , Lin Bei-Jung , Chen Tsai-Wen , Turner Glenn C. , Liu Zhe , Koyama Minoru , Svoboda Karel , Ahrens Misha B. , Lavis Luke D. , Schreiter Eric R.
Published: October 2018

Imaging changes in membrane potential using genetically encoded fluorescent voltage indicators (GEVIs) has great potential for monitoring neuronal activity with high spatial and temporal resolution. Brightness and photostability of fluorescent proteins and rhodopsins have limited the utility of existing GEVIs. We engineered a novel GEVI, ‘Voltron’, that utilizes bright and photostable synthetic dyes instead of protein-based fluorophores, extending the combined duration of imaging and number of neurons imaged simultaneously by more than tenfold relative to existing GEVIs. We used Voltron for in vivo voltage imaging in mice, zebrafish, and fruit flies. In mouse cortex, Voltron allowed single-trial recording of spikes and subthreshold voltage signals from dozens of neurons simultaneously, over 15 minutes of continuous imaging. In larval zebrafish, Voltron enabled the precise correlation of spike timing with behavior.
Serum amyloid A levels in the blood of patients with atopic dermatitis and cutaneous T‐cell lymphoma
Authors: Suzuki Hideko , Sugaya Makoto , Nakajima Rina , Oka Tomonori , Takahashi Naomi , Nakao Momoko , Miyagaki Tomomitsu , Asano Yoshihide , Sato Shinichi
Published: October 2018

Serum amyloid A (SAA) is an acute phase protein, which activates immune cells and induces cytokines and chemokine. SAA levels in blood have been reported to be elevated in case of inflammation, infections, neoplasia and tissue injury. In this study, we examined SAA levels in the blood of patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) and cutaneous T‐cell lymphoma (CTCL). SAA levels in sera of AD patients, those of CTCL patients and those of healthy controls were not significantly different. When AD or CTCL patients were classified by disease severity, there was still no difference in SAA levels. In AD patients, however, SAA levels positively correlated with the number of eosinophils in peripheral blood and serum soluble interleukin‐2 receptor (sIL‐2R) levels. There were significant correlations between SAA levels in blood and the number of white blood cells in peripheral blood and serum sIL‐2R levels in CTCL patients. AD patients without topical steroid treatment and CTCL patients without narrowband ultraviolet B therapy showed increased levels of SAA, which suggested that SAA levels may easily fluctuate with treatment. These results imply a possible contribution of SAA in development of AD and CTCL.
Prediction of therapeutic response before and during i.v. cyclophosphamide pulse therapy for interstitial lung disease in systemic sclerosis: A longitudinal observational study
Authors: Sumida Hayakazu , Asano Yoshihide , Tamaki Zenshiro , Aozasa Naohiko , Taniguchi Takashi , Toyama Tetsuo , Takahashi Takehiro , Ichimura Yohei , Noda Shinji , Akamata Kaname , Saigusa Ryosuke , Miyazaki Miki , Kuwano Yoshihiro , Yanaba Koichi , Yoshizaki Ayumi , Sato Shinichi
Published: October 2018

There have been no established parameters to predict responsiveness to i.v. cyclophosphamide (IVCY) pulse therapy in combination with corticosteroids in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) related to systemic sclerosis (SSc). This retrospective study was conducted to determine predictive factors for efficacy of IVCY at the time of before and during the treatment. Thirty‐two Japanese SSc patients, ever treated for ILD with IVCY in combination with prednisolone, were analyzed retrospectively. We performed detailed time‐course analyses of parameters derived from blood samples and pulmonary function tests. With the exclusion of eight unclassified patients, 24 patients were classified into 14 good responders (GR) or 10 poor responders (PR) on the basis of changes in percent predicted diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide (DLco). Pretreatment percent predicted DLco was significantly reduced in PR compared with GR. In addition, serum parameters such as Krebs von den Lungen‐6 (KL‐6), surfactant protein D (SP‐D) and C‐reactive protein were significantly higher in PR than in GR. Furthermore, our time‐course analyses revealed a transient increase in serum KL‐6 levels with a peak at 3 months after the first infusion of cyclophosphamide, which showed no relation to therapeutic efficacy. Moreover, continuously high serum KL‐6 levels (>2000 U/mL) and rapid decrease in SP‐D levels (<200 ng/mL) during IVCY were remarkably characteristic of PR and GR, respectively. ILD severity/activity before treatment and variability of serum KL‐6 and SP‐D levels during treatment may be useful to predict therapeutic effects of IVCY on SSc‐ILD.
Target‐level waveform inversion: a prospective application of the convolution‐type representation for the acoustic wavefield
Authors: da Costa Carlos A.N. , Costa Jessé C. , Medeiros Walter E. , Verschuur D.J. , Soni Alok K.
Published: October 2018

Nowadays, full‐waveform inversion, based on fitting the measured surface data with modelled data, has become the preferred approach to recover detailed physical parameters from the subsurface. However, its application is computationally expensive for large inversion domains. Furthermore, when the subsurface has a complex geological setting, the inversion process requires an appropriate pre‐conditioning scheme to retrieve the medium parameters for the desired target area in a reliable manner. One way of dealing with both aspects is by waveform inversion schemes in a target‐oriented fashion. Therefore, we propose a prospective application of the convolution‐type representation for the acoustic wavefield in the frequency–space domain formulated as a target‐oriented waveform inversion method. Our approach aims at matching the observed and modelled upgoing wavefields at a target depth level in the subsurface, where the seismic wavefields, generated by sources distributed above this level, are available. The forward modelling is performed by combining the convolution‐type representation for the acoustic wavefield with solving the two‐way acoustic wave‐equation in the frequency–space domain for the target area. We evaluate the effectiveness of our inversion method by comparing it with the full‐domain full‐waveform inversion process through some numerical examples using synthetic data from a horizontal well acquisition geometry, where the sources are located at the surface and the receivers are located along a horizontal well at the target level. Our proposed inversion method requires less computational effort and, for this particular acquisition, it has proven to provide more accurate estimates of the target zone below a complex overburden compared to both full‐domain full‐waveform inversion process and local full‐waveform inversion after applying interferometry by multidimensional deconvolution to get local‐impulse responses.
Review Paper: Historical development of the total normalized gradient method in profile gravity field interpretation
Authors: Elysseieva I.S. , Pašteka R.
Published: October 2018

In the Russian school, the total normalized gradient method belongs to the most wide‐spread of direct interpretation methods for potential field data. This method was also used and partly developed by many experts from abroad. The main advantage of the total normalized gradient method is its relative independence of parameters such as the expected differential density of interpreted structures. The method is built from a construction of a specially transformed field (total normalized gradient) on a section crossing the potential field sources. The special properties of this transformed field allow it to be used to detect the source positions. From the 1960s, the mathematical basis of the method underwent enormous development and several modifications of the method have been elaborated. The total normalized gradient operator itself represents a relatively complicated, non‐linear band‐pass filter in the spectral domain. The properties of this operator can be handled by means of several parameters that act to separate the information about field sources at different depth levels. In this contribution, we describe the development of the method from its very beginning (based mostly on qualitative interpretation of simple total normalized gradient sections) through to more recent numerical improvements to the method. These improvements include the quasi‐singular points method, which refines the filter properties of the total normalized gradient operator and defines an objective criteria (so called criterion ‘α’ and ‘Г') for the definition of source depths in the section. We end by describing possibilities for further development of the method in the future.
Making the transition from discrete shot records to continuous seismic records and source wavefields, and its potential impact on survey efficiency and environmental footprint
Authors: Hegna Stian , Klüver Tilman , Lima Jostein , Wisløff Jens F.
Published: October 2018

A marine seismic method based on continuous source and receiver wavefields has been developed. The method requires continuous recording of the seismic data. The source that may consist of multiple source elements can emit signals continuously while moving. The ideal source wavefield to be used with this method should be as white as possible both in a temporal and a spatial sense to avoid deep notches in the spectrum enabling a stable multi‐dimensional deconvolution. White noise has such properties. However, equipment that can generate white noise does not exist. In order to generate a continuous source wavefield that is approaching the properties of white noise using existing equipment onboard marine seismic vessels, individual air‐guns can be triggered with short randomized time intervals in a near‐continuous fashion. The main potential benefits with the method are to reduce the environmental impact of marine seismic surveys and to improve acquisition efficiency. The peak sound pressure levels are significantly reduced by triggering one air‐gun at a time compared to conventional marine seismic sources. Sound exposure levels are also reduced in most directions. Since the method is based on continuous recording of seismic data and the air‐guns are triggered based on time and not based on position, there are less vessel speed limitations compared to conventional marine seismic data acquisition. Also, because the source wavefield is spread out in time, the wavefields emitted from source elements in different cross‐line positions can be designed such that the emitted wavefield is spatially white in this direction. This means that source elements in multiple cross‐line positions can be operated simultaneously, potentially improving the cross‐line sampling and/or the acquisition efficiency.
Individual differences in learning and biogenic amine levels influence the behavioural division between foraging honeybee scouts and recruits
Authors: Cook Chelsea N. , Mosqueiro Thiago , Brent Colin S. , Ozturk Cahit , Gadau Jürgen , Pinter‐Wollman Noa , Smith Brian H.
Published: October 2018

Animals must effectively balance the time they spend exploring the environment for new resources and exploiting them. One way that social animals accomplish this balance is by allocating these two tasks to different individuals. In honeybees, foraging is divided between scouts, which tend to explore the landscape for novel resources, and recruits, which tend to exploit these resources. Exploring the variation in cognitive and physiological mechanisms of foraging behaviour will provide a deeper understanding of how the division of labour is regulated in social insect societies.

Here, we uncover how honeybee foraging behaviour may be shaped by predispositions in performance of latent inhibition (LI), which is a form of non‐associative learning by which individuals learn to ignore familiar information.

We compared LI between scouts and recruits, hypothesizing that differences in learning would correlate with differences in foraging behaviour. Scouts seek out and encounter many new odours while locating novel resources, while recruits continuously forage from the same resource, even as its quality degrades.

We found that scouts show stronger LI than recruits, possibly reflecting their need to discriminate forage quality. We also found that scouts have significantly elevated tyramine compared to recruits. Furthermore, after associative odour training, recruits have significantly diminished octopamine in their brains compared to scouts.

These results suggest that individual variation in learning behaviour shapes the phenotypic behavioural differences between different types of honeybee foragers. These differences in turn have important consequences for how honeybee colonies interact with their environment. Uncovering the proximate mechanisms that influence individual variation in foraging behaviour is crucial for understanding the ecological context in which societies evolve.
How imperfect can land sparing be before land sharing is more favourable for wild species?
Authors: Balmford Ben , Green Rhys E. , Onial Malvika , Phalan Ben , Balmford Andrew
Published: October 2018

Two solutions, at opposite ends of a continuum, have been proposed to limit negative impacts of human agricultural demand on biodiversity. Under land sharing, farmed landscapes are made as beneficial to wild species as possible, usually at the cost of lower yields. Under land sparing, yields are maximised and land not needed for farming is spared for nature. Multiple empirical studies have concluded that land‐sparing strategies would be the least detrimental to wild species, provided the land not needed for agriculture is actually spared for nature. However, the possibility of imperfections in the delivery of land sparing has not been comprehensively considered.

Land sparing can be imperfect in two main ways: land not required for food production may not be used for conservation (incomplete area sparing), and habitat spared may be of lower quality than that assessed in surveys (lower habitat quality sparing). Here we use published data relating population density to landscape‐level yield for birds and trees in Ghana (167 and 220 species respectively) and India (174 birds, 40 trees) to assess effects of imperfect land sparing on region‐wide population sizes and hence population viabilities.

We find that incomplete area and lower habitat quality imperfections both reduce the benefits of a land‐sparing strategy. However, sparing still outperforms sharing whenever ≥28% of land that could be spared is devoted to conservation, or the quality of land spared is ≥29% of the value of that surveyed. Thresholds are even lower under alternative assumptions of how population viability relates to population size and for species with small global ranges, and remain low even when both imperfections co‐occur.

Comparison of these thresholds with empirical data on the likely real‐world performance of land sparing suggests that reducing imperfections in its delivery would be highly beneficial. Nevertheless, given plausible relationships between population size and population viability, land sparing outperforms land sharing despite its imperfections.

Policy implications. Our results confirm that real‐world difficulties in implementing land sparing will have significant impacts on biodiversity. They also underscore the need for strategies which explicitly link yield increases to setting land aside for conservation, and for adoption of best practices when spared land requires restoration. However, land‐sparing approaches to meeting human agricultural demand remain the least detrimental to biodiversity, even with current imperfections in implementation.
Landscape structure regulates pest control provided by ants in sun coffee farms
Authors: Aristizábal Natalia , Metzger Jean Paul
Published: October 2018

Ants play a fundamental role in coffee pest control. Despite this, there is a lack of understanding about how landscape configuration and composition regulate the ecosystem service provided by ants in sun coffee farms within highly fragmented landscapes.

We measured whether landscape structure influences ants’ ability to regulate coffee berry borer (CBB) in sun coffee farms in Southeastern Brazil. Considering the ecological interactions between ants and CBB at three different stages of pest control (reduction of CBB presence, CBB infestation, and CBB bean damage), we measured pest control among 10 landscapes that represented a gradual difference in forest and coffee cover. We manipulated ants through exclusion experiments and tested whether interactions between ants and different landscape structure metrics (distance to forest fragments, 2‐km‐level forest cover, and 300‐m‐level forest and coffee cover) influenced pest control.

The presence of ants reduced CBB presence and CBB damage by up to 40%. We show how pest control service indicators change depending on the landscape level. The probability of CBB presence increased with expanding coffee and forest cover at the 300‐m‐level but decreased at the 2‐km‐level. CBB infestation reduced further after 25 m from forest edges, suggesting ants that provide these ecosystem services are adapted to matrix conditions in sun coffee farms. Ants reduced CBB presence, CBB infestation, and CBB damage in landscapes with at least 40% 2‐km‐level forest cover. Beyond this threshold, there is a turning point for ecological processes involved in pest control.

Synthesis and applications. This is the first long‐term branch‐level exclusion experiment to present strong evidence of ants as efficient providers of pest control in sun coffee farms. We show how landscape structure modulates key ecological processes involved in three different ant‐CBB interactions that regulate CBB populations. Forest cover measured at different landscape levels yielded different results for CBB presence, emphasizing the importance of multi‐scale studies for landscape management. Considering surrounding forest cover and crop proximity to forest fragments in planning the spatial arrangement of coffee farms can thus both improve pest control as well as contribute to biodiversity conservation.
Abiotic heterogeneity underlies trait‐based competition and assembly
Authors: Borges Isabela L. , Forsyth Leila Z. , Start Denon , Gilbert Benjamin
Published: October 2018

The fitness of individual species depends on their ability to persist and establish at low densities, just as the diversity of ecological communities depends on the establishment and persistence of low‐density, “invader” species. Theory predicts that abiotic conditions and the competitive make‐up of resident communities jointly shape invader fitness, limiting the phenotypic identity of successful invaders.

We use an invasion experiment to ask how competitive traits of 20 introduced plant species alter their absolute fitness in fragments that differ in size, abiotic conditions, and traits of the resident community.

We show that abiotic conditions interact with both invader traits and resident functional diversity to determine invader survival. Optimal invader traits depended on the soil characteristics, while greater resident trait diversity lowered invader fitness and had especially strong effects in low‐resource environments. Unlike other abiotic conditions, fragment size had consistent effects irrespective of invader identity, decreasing survival in larger fragments.

Synthesis. Our results illustrate how the abiotic environment mediates the effects of resident and invader traits on establishment, creating fitness landscapes that structure local diversity and the functional identities of successful species.
The type of nutrient limitation affects the plant species richness–productivity relationship: Evidence from dry grasslands across Eurasia
Authors: Palpurina Salza , Chytrý Milan , Hölzel Norbert , Tichý Lubomír , Wagner Viktoria , Horsák Michal , Axmanová Irena , Hájek Michal , Hájková Petra , Freitag Martin , Lososová Zdeňka , Mathar Wanja , Tzonev Rossen , Danihelka Jiří , Dřevojan Pavel
Published: October 2018

The species richness–productivity relationship is one of the most debated patterns in ecology. Species coexistence theory suggests that it could be tightly linked to the type of nutrient limitation (no limitation, single‐nutrient limitation, colimitation by several nutrients). Yet, the effects of nutrient limitation on the species richness–productivity relationship have been rarely studied at the regional and continental scales.

Combining the predictions of the humped‐back model and the niche dimension hypothesis, we hypothesized that an increase in plant species richness with the number of different limiting nutrients is detectable only at higher productivity levels, at which competition for nutrients is more intense. Therefore, we expected the shape of the diversity–productivity relationship to differ between sites colimited by nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), sites limited by a single nutrient (either N or P), and sites not limited by any of these nutrients.

To test this hypothesis, we used species richness data collected in 10 m × 10 m plots at 694 temperate dry grassland sites across eight regions in northern Eurasia. Productivity ranged from 10 to ~500 g/m2 of above‐ground standing biomass. The type of nutrient limitation was identified by critical nutrient ratios alone and their combination with critical nutrient concentrations measured in the plant tissue. Relationships were analysed using generalized linear and mixed‐effect models.

In line with our expectations, species richness of Eurasian temperate dry grasslands increased more steeply and peaked higher under higher productivity levels at N&P‐colimited sites. When nutrient limitation was assessed by both ratios and concentrations, species richness at N&P‐colimited sites continued to increase monotonically until the maximum productivity sampled in this study. In contrast, at sites with a single‐nutrient limitation or no limitation, the peak in species richness was lower and occurred at a lower productivity of about 300–400 g/m2.

Synthesis. We provide the first evidence that the species richness–productivity relationship may depend on the type of nutrient limitation as predicted by the species coexistence theory. To generalize these findings, the role of nutrient limitation needs to be tested in other ecosystems, including more productive plant communities.
N‐Acetylcysteine potentiates the haemodynamic‐improving effect of sildenafil in a rabbit model of acute pulmonary thromboembolism via the p38 MAPK pathway
Authors: Zhang Ruipeng , Wang Yang , Pan Longfei , Tian Hongyan
Published: October 2018

The current study aimed to investigate the effects of sildenafil and N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) on the haemodynamics in a rabbit model of acute pulmonary thromboembolism (APT). We developed an APT model using healthy male China big‐ear rabbits (2.7 ± 0.4 kg). The rabbits were divided into five groups subjected to various interventions. We recorded the haemodynamic parameters and assessed the oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation response in the groups. Additionally, we detected apoptosis‐associated molecules, FoxO1, Bad and Bcl‐2, in the lung tissue. Gelatine zymography was used to detect matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity in bronchoalveolar lavage (BLA). Pulmonary artery endothelial cells were isolated, and their apoptosis rates and MMP activity were assayed. N‐acetylcysteine potentiated the haemodynamic‐improving effect of sildenafil and significantly inhibited the oxidative stress response. N‐acetylcysteine combined with sildenafil decreased MMP‐2 and MMP‐9 activity and NO consumption and inhibited apoptosis of pulmonary arterial endothelial cells. Moreover, NAC combined with sildenafil inhibited the expression of MCP‐1 and p‐p38 MAPK. Thus, NAC potentiates the haemodynamic‐improving effect of sildenafil in a rabbit model of acute pulmonary thromboembolism via the MCP‐1 and p38 MAPK signalling pathway. This study may provide a promising treatment method for APT.
Unfolding the pleiotropic facades of rosuvastatin in therapeutic intervention of myriads of neurodegenerative disorders
Authors: Husain Ibraheem , Khan Sana , Khan Saba , Madaan Tushar , Kumar Sanjeev , Najmi Abul K.
Published: October 2018

Rosuvastatin, a 3‐hydroxy‐3‐methylglutaryl‐coenzyme (HMG‐CoA) reductase inhibitor, and one of the most popular antihyperlipidemic medications have been found to possess pharmacodynamic activities much different from its usual indication. Recent research studies have revealed the efficacy of rosuvastatin in attenuating neuroinflammation, reducing the progression of Alzheimer's disease, providing protection against cerebral ischaemia and spinal cord injury as well as ameliorating epilepsy. Mechanisms behind the neuroprotective potential of rosuvastatin can be attributed to its pleiotropic effects, independent of its ability to inhibit HMG‐CoA reductase. These processes include modulation of several cellular pathways, isoprenylation, effects on oxidative stress, nitrosative levels, inflammation, and immune response. This review aims to assimilate and summarize recent findings on the pharmacological actions of rosuvastatin in attenuating neurological disorders in order to guide future research in this space.
Iron‐ and aluminium‐induced depletion of molybdenum in acidic environments impedes the nitrogen cycle
Authors: Ge Xiaoxuan , Vaccaro Brian J. , Thorgersen Michael P. , Poole Farris L. , Majumder Erica L. , Zane Grant M. , De León Kara B. , Lancaster W. Andrew , Moon Ji Won , Paradis Charles J. , von Netzer Frederick , Stahl David A. , Adams Paul D. , Arkin Adam P. , Wall Judy D. , Hazen Terry C. , Adams Michael W. W.
Published: October 2018

Anthropogenic nitrate contamination is a serious problem in many natural environments. Nitrate removal by microbial action is dependent on the metal molybdenum (Mo), which is required by nitrate reductase for denitrification and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium. The soluble form of Mo, molybdate (MoO42−), is incorporated into and adsorbed by iron (Fe) and aluminium (Al) (oxy) hydroxide minerals. Herein we used Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) as a model nitrate‐contaminated acidic environment to investigate whether the formation of Fe‐ and Al‐precipitates could impede microbial nitrate removal by depleting Mo. We demonstrate that Fe and Al mineral formation that occurs as the pH of acidic synthetic groundwater is increased, decreases soluble Mo to low picomolar concentrations, a process proposed to mimic environmental diffusion of acidic contaminated groundwater. Analysis of ORR sediments revealed recalcitrant Mo in the contaminated core that co‐occurred with Fe and Al, consistent with Mo scavenging by Fe/Al precipitates. Nitrate removal by ORR isolate Pseudomonas fluorescens N2A2 is virtually abolished by Fe/Al precipitate‐induced Mo depletion. The depletion of naturally occurring Mo in nitrate‐ and Fe/Al‐contaminated acidic environments like ORR or acid mine drainage sites has the potential to impede microbial‐based nitrate reduction thereby extending the duration of nitrate in the environment.
Neutral mechanisms and niche differentiation in steady‐state insular microbial communities revealed by single cell analysis
Authors: Liu Zishu , Cichocki Nicolas , Hübschmann Thomas , Süring Christine , Ofiţeru Irina Dana , Sloan William T. , Grimm Volker , Müller Susann
Published: October 2018

In completely insular microbial communities, evolution of community structure cannot be shaped by the immigration of new members. In addition, when those communities are run in steady state, the influence of environmental factors on their assembly is reduced. Therefore, one would expect similar community structures under steady‐state conditions. Yet, in parallel setups, variability does occur. To reveal ecological mechanisms behind this phenomenon, five parallel reactors were studied at the single‐cell level for about 100 generations and community structure variations were quantified by ecological measures. Whether community variability can be controlled was tested by implementing soft temperature stressors as potential synchronizers. The low slope of the lognormal rank‐order abundance curves indicated a predominance of neutral mechanisms, i.e., where species identity plays no role. Variations in abundance ranks of subcommunities and increase in inter‐community pairwise β‐diversity over time support this. Niche differentiation was also observed, as indicated by steeper geometric‐like rank‐order abundance curves and increased numbers of correlations between abiotic and biotic parameters during initial adaptation and after disturbances. Still, neutral forces dominated community assembly. Our findings suggest that complex microbial communities in insular steady‐state environments can be difficult to synchronize and maintained in their original or desired structure, as they are non‐equilibrium systems.
The uses of disorder in negotiated information orders: information leveraging and changing norms in global public health governance
Authors: Heimer Carol A.
Published: October 2018

The SARS epidemic that broke out in late 2002 in China’s Guangdong Province highlighted the difficulties of reliance on state‐provided information when states have incentives to conceal discrediting information about public health threats. Using SARS and the International Health Regulations (IHR) as a starting point, this article examines negotiated information orders in global public health governance and the irregularities in the supply of data that underlie them. Negotiated information orders within and among the organizations in a field (here, e.g., the World Health Organization, member states, government agencies, and international non‐governmental organizations) spell out relationships among different categories of knowledge and non‐knowledge – what is known, acknowledged to be known, and available for use in decision making versus what might be known but cannot be acknowledged or officially used. Through information leveraging, technically sufficient information then becomes socially sufficient information. Thus it is especially information initially categorized as non‐knowledge – including suppressed data, rumour, unverified evidence, and unofficial information – that creates pressure for the renegotiation of information orders. The argument and evidence of the article also address broader issues about how international law and global norms are realigned, how global norms change, and how social groups manage risk.
The IMF failure that wasn’t: risk ignorance during the European debt crisis
Authors: Pénet Pierre
Published: October 2018

This article builds on ignorance studies to revisit how we understand the role of expertise in international policymaking. A fundamental component of ignorance is concealing what you know. For experts, risk ignorance is a strategic resource when the policymaking process becomes a contested exchange. This article covers IMF lending programmes in Europe in 2008–13 with a special focus on Greece. Empirical data is drawn from policy documents. I find that risk ignorance at the IMF resulted from a joint process of ‘private alteration’ and ‘public obfuscation’: the alteration of normal scenarios of debt sustainability in private negotiations worked in tandem with the obfuscation of programme risks in the public stage. The empirical contribution of this article is to show that the ‘failure’ of the IMF programme for Greece can be reconceptualized as ‘success’. The immediate goal of the programme was to bailout Greece’s creditors and avoid the breakup of European monetary institutions. In this respect, the programme was successful. But success came at a huge cost for Greece. Analytically, this article suggests that knowledge procurement based on empirical fact‐gathering is not always the ultimate goal of international organizations and the communities of experts working within them.
Plausible folk theories: throwing veils of plausibility over zones of ignorance in global governance
Authors: Halliday Terence C.
Published: October 2018

In an age of expertise, where knowledge ostensibly reigns, global governance not infrequently settles for ignorance. To understand this puzzle, this article draws upon extensive empirical research on two sites within the global governance of finance. One is directed to the suppression of money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism by the Financial Action Task Force and International Monetary Fund. Another intends to stimulate the supply of otherwise scarce money to financial markets through global lawmaking by the UN Commission on International Trade Law. In both cases vast enterprises of global regulation and lawmaking proceed on weakly founded justificatory rhetorics designated here as ‘plausible folk theories.’ Six properties make a folk theory plausible: parsimony, face validity, rhetorical compactness, ambiguity, affinity with extant beliefs, and unexamined premises and logics. Plausible folk theories offer organizational benefits to IOs. They also allow a politics of temporality that may shorten temporal horizons, or weaken and eliminate IO accountability. Finally, three variants of ignorance contribute to choices by international organizations not to get beyond plausible folk theories to justify their regulatory and lawmaking initiatives: inadvertent ignorance, willful ignorance, and strategic or rational ignorance.
Postpartum depression and child growth in Tanzania: a cohort study
Authors: Holm‐Larsen CE , Madsen FK , Rogathi JJ , Manongi R , Mushi D , Meyrowitsch DW , Gammeltoft T , Sigalla GN , Rasch V
Published: October 2018

Objective

To examine the association between postpartum depression and child growth in a Tanzanian birth cohort.

Design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

Moshi, Tanzania.

Population

Pregnant women over the age of 18 who sought antenatal care at two health clinics in Moshi, and the children they were pregnant with, were assessed for inclusion in this study.

Methods

The women were interviewed twice during pregnancy and three times after birth, the final follow up taking place 2–3 years postpartum. Signs of postpartum depression were assessed approximately 40 days postpartum with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale.

Main outcome measures

Child growth was assessed with anthropometric measurements at 2–3 years of age and expressed as mean z‐scores.

Results

In all, 1128 mother–child pairs were followed throughout the duration of the study. In total, 12.2% of the mothers showed signs of postpartum depression. Adjusted mean height‐for‐age z‐score (HAZ) was significantly lower at 2–3 years follow up for children of mothers with postpartum depression than for children of mothers without (difference in HAZ: −0.32, 95% CI−0.49 to −0.15). Adjusted mean weight‐for‐height z‐score (WHZ) was significantly increased for the children exposed to postpartum depression (difference in WHZ: 0.21, 95% CI 0.02–0.40), whereas there was no significant difference in adjusted weight‐for‐age z‐score (WAZ; difference in WAZ: −0.04, 95% CI −0.20 to 0.12).

Conclusions

We found that postpartum depressive symptoms predicted decreased linear height in children at 2–3 years of age and slightly increased weight‐for‐height.

Tweetable abstract

Postpartum depression in Tanzanian mothers is associated with impaired child growth at 2–3 years of age.
Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome: Epidemiological and Morphological Characteristics in Thai Autopsy Cases
Authors: Srettabunjong Supawon
Published: October 2018

With limited knowledge on epidemiological and morphological characteristics of sudden unexplained nocturnal death syndrome (SUNDS), this study was aimed to identify such data in Thai SUNDS autopsy cases. All the cases were men and nondrug abusers aged 20–49 years old. Most cases were originated in the Northeastern region of Thailand. Half of them were found dead from midnight to 6 a.m., with a peak time at 2 a.m. The death rate was relatively higher in May and June. Most SUNDS cases were blue‐collar workers (93.2%) and nonsmokers (60%), with a normal BMI (72.1%). Approximately one‐fifth of the cases had detectable blood alcohol concentrations. Symptoms before death were respiratory difficulty, seizures, and urinary incontinence. Their mean heart weight was 329.8 ± 35.1 g. Their lungs (88.6%) had some degree of congestion. Acute pancreatitis was not found in these SUNDS cases, and approximately half (40.9%) of the cases had their gastric content <100 mL.
Identifying animal species in camera trap images using deep learning and citizen science
Authors: Willi Marco , Pitman Ross T. , Cardoso Anabelle W. , Locke Christina , Swanson Alexandra , Boyer Amy , Veldthuis Marten , Fortson Lucy
Published: October 2018

Ecologists often study wildlife populations by deploying camera traps. Large datasets are generated using this approach which can be difficult for research teams to manually evaluate. Researchers increasingly enlist volunteers from the general public as citizen scientists to help classify images. The growing number of camera trap studies, however, makes it ever more challenging to find enough volunteers to process all projects in a timely manner. Advances in machine learning, especially deep learning, allow for accurate automatic image classification. By training models using existing datasets of images classified by citizen scientists and subsequent application of such models on new studies, human effort may be reduced substantially. The goals of this study were to (a) assess the accuracy of deep learning in classifying camera trap data, (b) investigate how to process datasets with only a few classified images that are generally difficult to model, and (c) apply a trained model on a live online citizen science project.

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) were used to differentiate among images of different animal species, images of humans or vehicles, and empty images (no animals, vehicles, or humans). We used four different camera trap datasets featuring a wide variety of species, different habitats, and a varying number of images. All datasets were labelled by citizen scientists on Zooniverse.

Accuracies for identifying empty images across projects ranged between 91.2% and 98.0%, whereas accuracies for identifying specific species were between 88.7% and 92.7%. Transferring information from CNNs trained on large datasets (“transfer‐learning”) was increasingly beneficial as the size of the training dataset decreased and raised accuracy by up to 10.3%. Removing low‐confidence predictions increased model accuracies to the level of citizen scientists. By combining a trained model with classifications from citizen scientists, human effort was reduced by 43% while maintaining overall accuracy for a live experiment running on Zooniverse.

Ecology researchers can significantly reduce image classification time and manual effort by combining citizen scientists and CNNs, enabling faster processing of data from large camera trap studies.
Clinical factors predicting treatment resistant depression: affirmative results from the European multicenter study
Authors: Kautzky A. , Dold M. , Bartova L. , Spies M. , Kranz G. S. , Souery D. , Montgomery S. , Mendlewicz J. , Zohar J. , Fabbri C. , Serretti A. , Lanzenberger R. , Dikeos D. , Rujescu D. , Kasper S.
Published: October 2018

Objectives

Clinical variables were investigated in the ‘treatment resistant depression (TRD)‐ III’ sample to replicate earlier findings by the European research consortium ‘Group for the Study of Resistant Depression’ (GSRD) and enable cross‐sample prediction of treatment outcome in TRD.

Experimental procedures

TRD was defined by a Montgomery and Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) score ≥22 after at least two antidepressive trials. Response was defined by a decline in MADRS score by ≥50% and below a threshold of 22. Logistic regression was applied to replicate predictors for TRD among 16 clinical variables in 916 patients. Elastic net regression was applied for prediction of treatment outcome.

Results

Symptom severity (odds ratio (OR) = 3.31), psychotic symptoms (OR = 2.52), suicidal risk (OR = 1.74), generalized anxiety disorder (OR = 1.68), inpatient status (OR = 1.65), higher number of antidepressants administered previously (OR = 1.23), and lifetime depressive episodes (OR = 1.15) as well as longer duration of the current episode (OR = 1.022) increased the risk of TRD. Prediction of TRD reached an accuracy of 0.86 in the independent validation set, TRD‐I.

Conclusion

Symptom severity, suicidal risk, higher number of lifetime depressive episodes, and comorbid anxiety disorder were replicated as the most prominent risk factors for TRD. Significant predictors in TRD‐III enabled robust prediction of treatment outcome in TRD‐I.