bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Supplementation during pregnancy with small‐quantity lipid‐based nutrient supplements or multiple micronutrients, compared with iron and folic acid, increases women's urinary iodine concentration in semiurban Ghana: A randomized controlled trial
Authors: Adu‐Afarwuah Seth , Young Rebecca T. , Lartey Anna , Okronipa Harriet , Ashorn Per , Ashorn Ulla , Zeilani Mamane , Dewey Kathryn G.
Published: December 2017

There is little information on whether prenatal multiple micronutrient (MMN) supplements containing iodine affect women's iodine status. In the International Lipid‐based Nutrient Supplements DYAD‐Ghana trial, we aimed to assess women's urinary iodine concentration (UIC, μg/L) during pregnancy, as one of the planned secondary outcomes. Women (n = 1,320) <20 weeks of gestation were randomized to consume 60 mg iron and 400 μg folic acid per day (iron and folic acid [IFA]); 18 vitamins and minerals including 250 μg iodine per day (MMN); or 20 g/day of small‐quantity lipid‐based nutrient supplements (LNS) with the same and additional 4 vitamins and minerals as the MMN (LNS). In a subsample (n = 295), we tested differences in groups' geometric mean UICs at 36 weeks of gestation controlling for baseline UIC and compared the geometric means (approximately median UICs) with the World Health Organization (WHO) cut‐offs: median UIC <150, 150–249, and ≥500 reflecting low, adequate, and excessive iodine intakes, respectively. At baseline, overall median UIC was 137. At 36 weeks of gestation, controlling for baseline UIC, geometric mean (95% confidence interval) UICs of the MMN (161 [133, 184]) and LNS (158 [132, 185]) groups did not differ; both values were significantly greater (overall p = .004) than that of the IFA group (116 [101, 135]). The median UICs of the MMN and LNS groups were within the WHO “adequate” range, whereas that of the IFA group was below the WHO adequate range. In this setting, supplementation during pregnancy with small‐quantity LNS or MMN providing iodine at the WHO‐recommended dose, compared with IFA, increases the likelihood of adequate iodine status.
Correlates of Record Linkage and Estimating Risks of Non-Linkage Biases in Business Data Sets
Authors: Moore Jamie C. , Smith Peter W. F. , Durrant Gabriele B.
Published: December 2017

Researchers often utilize data sets that link information from multiple sources, but non-linkage biases caused by linked and non-linked subject differences are little understood, especially in business data sets. We address these knowledge gaps by studying biases in linkable 2010 UK Small Business Survey data sets. We identify correlates of business linkage propensity, and also for the first time its components: consent to linkage and register identifier appendability. As well, we take a novel approach to evaluating non-linkage bias risks, by computing data set representativeness indicators (comparable, decomposable sample subset similarity measures). We find that the main impacts on linkage propensities and bias risks are due to consenter–non-consenter differences explicable given business survey response processes, and differences between subjects with and without identifiers caused by register undercoverage of very small businesses. We then discuss consequences for the analysis of linked business data sets, and implications of the evaluation methods we introduce for linked data set producers and users.
Provincializing urban appropriation: Agonistic transgression as a mode of actually existing appropriation in South African cities
Authors: Lawhon Mary , Pierce Joseph , Makina Anesu
Published: December 2017

Urban appropriation is a key dimension of both Lefebvre's widely hailed ‘Right to the City’ and Bayat's concept of ‘quiet encroachment’. For Lefebvre, appropriation is a (generally unrealized) claim by those who do not ‘have’ the city of a right to ‘take’ it. Bayat, in contrast, characterizes actually existing appropriation as motivated by everyday needs, not aimed at wider social change. While both theorizations may be useful, we argue that a third mode of appropriation is apparent in South African urban contexts. Actors often act in ways that could be characterized as appropriative, yet do not work to consolidate an abrogated appropriative right or durable permission. Nor are they adequately explained as apolitical or individualistic; the logic used to justify them similarly is based neither on rights nor needs. We label such appropriation ‘agonistically transgressive’. We argue that agonistically transgressive appropriations are particularly evident in post‐apartheid South Africa, in part because of changing urban conditions and consequent renegotiations of spatial regulation. Using examples of urban land appropriation for housing in South Africa, we briefly illustrate how thinking pluralistically about urban appropriation might help better understand its actually existing forms in—and beyond—the global South.
Optimal Storage Conditions for Apheresis Research (OSCAR): a Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion (BEST) Collaborative study
Authors: Gniadek Thomas J. , Garritsen Henk S.P. , Stroncek David , Szczepiorkowski Zbigniew M. , McKenna David H. ,   on behalf of the Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion (BEST) Collaborative
Published: December 2017

BACKGROUND

Cell therapy products are often stored and transported between sites. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of storage temperature, solution, and cell concentration on nonmobilized, peripheral blood–derived mononuclear cells (MNCs).

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

This was a multicenter prospective study involving healthy volunteers who underwent nonmobilized MNC collection by apheresis. Products were processed at local laboratories and concentrated to either 100 × 106 or 300 × 106 nucleated cells/mL in 5% human serum albumin (HSA) or HypoThermosol FRS (HT; BioLife Solutions). Products were stored at room temperature (RT; 20‐25°C) or refrigerated temperatures (2‐8°C) with assessment at 0, 24, 48, and 72 hours. NC and MNC concentration, viability, and flow cytometric analysis for CD3, CD4, CD8, CD14, CD19, CD25, and CD56 were measured.

RESULTS

Viability decreased over time for all conditions tested. Refrigerated storage preserved viability greater than RT storage, especially for products with a higher cell concentration. RT maintenance with a high cell concentration was associated with a relative loss of CD14‐ and CD4‐positive cells, whereas the concentration of cells positive for other markers tested did not vary. Finally, there was delayed decrease in pH when using HT compared with HSA; however, there was no difference in viability between the two solutions.

CONCLUSION

Low cell concentrations (approx. 100 × 106 cells/mL), refrigerated temperatures, and HT storage solution appear to be the optimal conditions for storing nonmobilized, peripheral blood–derived MNC products.
Acute polyneuromyopathy with respiratory failure secondary to monensin intoxication in a dog
Authors: Bosch Luis , Bersenas Alexa M. , Bateman Shane
Published: December 2017

Objective

To describe a successfully managed case of polyneuropathy and respiratory failure secondary to presumed monensin intoxication.

Case Summary

A 9‐month‐old Australian Shepherd was evaluated for progressive generalized weakness and respiratory distress. Several days preceding presentation, the dog was seen playing with a monensin capsule, and had free access to a barn where the product was stored and where chewed capsules were subsequently found. The dog was presented with flaccid tetraparesis, hyperthermia, and severe respiratory distress. Bloodwork and urinalysis revealed marked increase in serum creatine kinase concentration and presumed myoglobinuria. Cardiac troponin I level was markedly increased. Management included mechanical ventilation for 5 days, fluid‐therapy, active cooling, antimicrobial therapy, analgesia, gastroprotectants, antiemetics, enteral feedings, continuous nursing care, and physiotherapy. Intravenous lipid rescue therapy was administered with lack of improvement in respiratory function and muscle strength. The patient completely recovered and was discharged after 12 days of hospitalization.

New or Unique Information Provided

Monensin intoxication should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute polyneuromyopathy and respiratory failure in dogs with access to this compound. Respiratory failure secondary to monensin intoxication does not necessarily carry a poor prognosis if mechanical ventilation can be provided as a bridge until return of respiratory function is achieved.
Delayed revascularization of islets after transplantation by IL‐6 blockade in pig to non‐human primate islet xenotransplantation model
Authors: Min Byoung‐Hoon , Shin Jun‐Seop , Kim Jong‐Min , Kang Seong‐Jun , Kim Hyun‐Je , Yoon Il‐Hee , Park Su‐Kyoung , Choi Ji‐won , Lee Min‐Suk , Park Chung‐Gyu
Published: December 2017

Background

Pancreatic islet transplantation is currently proven as a promising treatment for type 1 diabetes patients with labile glycemic control and severe hypoglycemia unawareness. Upon islet transplantation, revascularization is essential for proper functioning of the transplanted islets. As IL‐6 is important for endothelial cell survival and systemic inflammation related to xenograft, the effect of IL‐6 receptor antagonist, tocilizumab, on revascularization of the transplanted islets was examined in pig to non‐human primate islet xenotransplantation model. Also, the endothelial cell origin in a new vessel of the transplanted pig islets was determined.

Methods

Pig islets were isolated from designated pathogen‐free (DPF) SNU miniature pigs and transplanted via portal vein into five streptozotocin‐induced diabetic monkeys. One group (n = 2, basal group) was treated with anti‐thymoglobulin (ATG), anti‐CD40 antibody (2C10R4), sirolimus, and tacrolimus, and the other group was additionally given tocilizumab on top of basal immunosuppression (n = 3, Tocilizumab group). To confirm IL‐6 blocking effect, C‐reactive protein (CRP) levels and serum IL‐6 concentration were measured. Scheduled biopsy of the margin of the posterior segment right lobe inferior of the liver was performed at 3 weeks after transplantation to assess the degree of revascularization of the transplanted islets. Immunohistochemical staining using anti‐insulin, anti‐CD31 antibodies, and lectin IB4 was conducted to find the origin of endothelial cells in the islet graft.

Results

CRP significantly increased at 1~2 days after transplantation in Basal group, but not in Tocilizumab group, and higher serum IL‐6 concentration was measured in latter group, showing the biological potency of tocilizumab. In Basal group, well‐developed endothelial cells were observed on the peri‐ and intraislet area, whereas the number of CD31+ cells in the intraislet space was significantly reduced in Tocilizumab group. Finally, new endothelial cells in the pig islet graft were positive for CD31, but not for lectin IB4, suggesting that they are originated from the recipient monkey.

Conclusions

Our results demonstrated that tocilizumab can delay revascularization of the transplanted islet, although this effect had no significant correlation to the overall islet graft survival. In the pig to NHP islet xenotransplantation model, the endothelial cells from recipient monkey form new blood vessels in and around pig islets.
Crosslink between calcium and sodium signalling
Authors: Verkhratsky Alexei , Trebak Mohamed , Perocchi Fabiana , Khananshvili Daniel , Sekler Israel
Published: December 2017

New Findings

What is the topic of this review?

This paper overviews the links between Ca2+ and Na+ signalling in various types of cells.

What advances does it highlight?

This paper highlights the general importance of ionic signalling and overviews the molecular mechanisms linking Na+ and Ca2+ dynamics. In particular, the narrative focuses on the molecular physiology of plasmalemmal and mitochondrial Na+–Ca2+ exchangers and plasmalemmal transient receptor potential channels. Functional consequences of Ca2+ and Na+ signalling for co‐ordination of neuronal activity with astroglial homeostatic pathways fundamental for synaptic transmission are discussed.

Transmembrane ionic gradients, which are an indispensable feature of life, are used for generation of cytosolic ionic signals that regulate a host of cellular functions. Intracellular signalling mediated by Ca2+ and Na+ is tightly linked through several molecular pathways that generate Ca2+ and Na+ fluxes and are in turn regulated by both ions. Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels bridge endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release with generation of Na+ and Ca2+ currents. The plasmalemmal Na+–Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) flickers between forward and reverse mode to co‐ordinate the influx and efflux of both ions with membrane polarization and cytosolic ion concentrations. The mitochondrial calcium uniporter channel (MCU) and mitochondrial Na+–Ca2+ exchanger (NCLX) mediate Ca2+ entry into and release from this organelle and couple cytosolic Ca2+ and Na+ fluctuations with cellular energetics. Cellular Ca2+ and Na+ signalling controls numerous functional responses and, in the CNS, provides for fast regulation of astroglial homeostatic cascades that are crucial for maintenance of synaptic transmission.
Endogenous peripheral hydrogen sulfide is propyretic: its permissive role in brown adipose tissue thermogenesis in rats
Authors: Soriano Renato N. , Braga Sara P. , Breder Jéssica S. C. , Batalhao Marcelo E. , Oliveira‐Pelegrin Gabriela R. , Ferreira Luiz Fernando R. , Rocha Maria José A. , Carnio Evelin C. , Branco Luiz G. S.
Published: December 2017

New Findings

What is the central question of this study?

In fever, the most striking response in the acute phase
reaction of systemic inflammation, plasma H2S concentration increases. However, the role of endogenous peripheral H2S in fever is unknown.

What is the main finding and its importance?

Endogenous peripheral H2S is permissive for increased brown adipose tissue thermogenesis to maintain thermal homeostasis in cold environments as well as to mount fever. This finding expands the physiological role of the gaseous modulator as a key regulator of thermal control in health (thermal homeostasis) and disease (fever in systemic inflammation).

In recent years, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has been reported as a gaseous modulator acting in several tissues in health and disease. In animal models of systemic inflammation, the plasma H2S concentration increases in response to endotoxin (bacterial lipopolysaccharide, LPS). The most striking response in the acute phase reaction of systemic inflammation is fever, but we found no reports of the peripheral action of H2S on this thermoregulatory response. We aimed at investigating whether endogenous systemic H2S modulates LPS‐induced fever. A temperature datalogger capsule was inserted in the abdominal cavity of male Wistar rats (220–270 g) to record body core temperature. These animals received an i.p. injection of a systemic H2S inhibitor (propargylglycine; 50 or 75 mg kg−1), immediately followed by an i.p. injection of LPS (50 or 2500 μg kg−1), and were exposed to different ambient temperatures (16, 22 or 27°C). At 22°C, but not at 27°C, propargylglycine at 75 mg kg−1 significantly attenuated (P < 0.0001) the fever induced by LPS (50 μg kg−1), indicating a modulatory (permissive) action of endogenous peripheral H2S on brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis. Evidence on the modulatory role of peripheral H2S in BAT thermogenesis was strengthened when we discarded (i) the possible influence of the gas on febrigenic signalling (when measuring plasma cytokines), and (ii) its interaction with the nitric oxide pathway, and mainly when (iii) we carried out physiological and pharmacological activations of BAT. Endogenous peripheral H2S modulates (permits) BAT activity not only in fever but also during maintenance of thermal homeostasis in cold environments.
The Differences Between the Two Forms of Semi-Analytical Nodal Methods on Solving the Third-Order Simplified Spherical Harmonics Method Equations1
Authors: Qingquan Pan , Haoliang Lu , Dongsheng Li , Kan Wang
Published: December 2017

Solving the third-order simplified spherical harmonics method (SP3) equations is one of the key points in the development of advanced reactor calculation methods and has been widely concerned. The semi-analytical nodal method (SANM), based on transverse-integrated diffusion equation, has the advantages of high accuracy and convenience for multigroup calculation. Due to its advantages, the method is expected to be used in solving the SP3 equations. However, the traditional SANM is not rigorous since the expansion process does not take the special modality of the SP3 equations and their analytical solutions into consideration. There are two modalities of the SP3 equations, so there are two traditional SANM forms on solving the SP3 equations, and the differences between the two forms will be very important in further research on the SANM. A code is developed to solve the SP3 equations under the two different forms. After the calculation of the same benchmark, the difference between the two forms on solving the SP3 equations is found. According to the results, and in view of the special modality of the SP3 equations, points on a more rigorous SANM for solving the SP3 equations are discussed.
A Unified Analytical Method of Stress Analysis for Tubesheet—Part II: Case Study
Authors: Zhu Hongsong
Published: December 2017

Based on the unified analytical method of stress analysis for fixed tubesheet (TS) heat exchangers (HEX), floating head and U-tube HEX presented in Part I, numerical comparisons with ASME method are performed in this paper as Part II. Numerical comparison results indicate that predictions given by the unified method agree well with finite element analysis (FEA), while ASME results are not accurate or not correct. Therefore, it is concluded that the unified method deals with thin TS of different types of HEX in equal detail with confidence to predict design stresses.
Erratum: “A Concise Methodology for the Design of Statically-Equivalent Deep-Offshore Mooring Systems” [ASME 2014 33rd International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering, Volume 1A: Offshore Technology, San Francisco, California, USA, June 8–13, 2014, Conference Sponsors: Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering Division, ISBN: 978-0-7918-4537-0, Copyright © 2014 by ASME. Paper No. OMAE2014-23054, pp. V01AT01A004; 11 pages; doi:10.1115/OMAE2014-23054]
Authors: Udoh Ikpoto E.
Published: December 2017

This erratum corrects errors that appeared in the paper “A Concise Methodology for the Design of Statically-Equivalent Deep-Offshore Mooring Systems” which was published in Proceedings of the ASME 2014 33rd International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering, Volume 1A: Offshore Technology, V01AT01A004, June 2014, OMAE2014-23054, doi: 10.1115/OMAE2014-23054.
Erratum: “Modeling of an Oscillating Wave Surge Converter With Dielectric Elastomer Power Take-Off” [ASME 2014 33rd International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering, Volume 9A: Ocean Renewable Energy, San Francisco, California, USA, June 8–13, 2014, Conference Sponsors: Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering Division, ISBN: 978-0-7918-4553-0, Copyright © 2014 by ASME. Paper No. OMAE2014-23559, pp. V09AT09A034; 10 pages; doi:10.1115/OMAE2014-23559]
Authors: Moretti Giacomo , Forehand David , Vertechy Rocco , Fontana Marco , Ingram David
Published: December 2017

This erratum corrects errors that appeared in the paper “Modeling of an Oscillating Wave Surge Converter With Dielectric Elastomer Power Take-Off” which was published in Proceedings of the ASME 2014 33rd International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering, Volume 9A: Ocean Renewable Energy, V09AT09A034, June 2014, OMAE2014-23559, doi: 10.1115/OMAE2014-23559.
Erratum: “Fatigue Strength Assessment of Propellers by Means of Weakly Coupled CFD and FEM Analyses” [ASME 2014 33rd International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering, Volume 7: Ocean Space Utilization; Professor Emeritus J. Randolph Paulling Honoring Symposium on Ocean Technology, San Francisco, California, USA, June 8–13, 2014, Conference Sponsors: Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering Division, ISBN: 978-0-7918-4549-3, Copyright © 2014 by ASME. Paper No. OMAE2014-24655, pp. V007T12A029; 11 pages; doi:10.1115/OMAE2014-24655]
Authors: Bertoglio Chiara , Gaggero Stefano , Rizzo Cesare M. , Viviani Michele
Published: December 2017

This erratum corrects errors that appeared in the paper “Fatigue Strength Assessment of Propellers by Means of Weakly Coupled CFD and FEM Analyses” which was published in Proceedings of the ASME 2014 33rd International Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering, Volume 7: Ocean Space Utilization; Professor Emeritus J. Randolph Paulling Honoring Symposium on Ocean Technology, V007T12A029, June 2014, OMAE2014-24655, doi: 10.1115/OMAE2014-24655.
Trouble on the Frontier: Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Sovereignty, and State Violence
Authors: Aikman Pounamu Jade William Emery
Published: December 2017

Beneath the hilarity of Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) emerges a telling commentary on the increasingly normalised presence of paramilitarism in aspects of Aotearoa New Zealand’s society. In this essay, I use Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople as a lens through which to discuss the on-going nature of colonial violence directed towards the Ngāi Tūhoe people, exemplified in the 2007 ‘anti-terror’ raids codenamed ‘Operation 8’, and the more recent (but less well known) raids that have targeted Tūhoe since 2007. I stipulate that such raids demonstrate a return to sites of ‘originary violence’ (as per Irene Watson’s thesis (2009)), where Crown sovereignty is violently reinscribed upon the frontier to reinforce the supremacy of the state. This discussion continues Vijay Devadas’ argument that Operation 8 reflected a ‘…racialised sovereignty the very foundation [of] which the legitimacy and power of state sovereignty is constituted in Aotearoa’ (2008, 124).
UNDRIP Ten Years On: The Struggle For Peace in a Settler Colonial World
Authors: Aikman Pounamu Jade William Emery
Published: December 2017

none
Collective Memory-work as Method and Resistance
Authors: Farrelly Trisia , Stewart-Withers Rochelle , McLennan Sharon , Gibson Lorena
Published: December 2017

Four academic mothers share their first foray into collective memory-work while exploring academic mother subjectivities located within tertiary education in New Zealand. Originating in education and gender studies, memory-work is currently an untapped research method in anthropology. The authors invite anthropologists to explore the value of collective memory-work, particularly when all participants seek academic outputs; where power imbalances in the group are minimal; and where trusting relationships are pre-established.
Key words: memory-work; collective memory-work; mothers; academic mothers; method; PBRF.
Toilet Training in Aotearoa New Zealand: The Use of Critical, Quality and Purchased Time
Authors: Robinson Rita Mary
Published: December 2017

The socialization of a child into society’s ways of managing body wastes is an important life skill which can impact the physical and mental health of the child and the public health of the child’s community. Literature in this area has predominantly focused on how to toilet train, the connection between toilet training methods and ongoing incontinence issues, and the risk of cross contamination in child care facilities. It is our argument, however, that the discursive practices of ‘in the moment time’ of toilet training are under considered. Using a Foucauldian discourse analysis drawing on texts accessible within Aoteraroa New Zealand. We located three constructions of toilet training time with children, purchasing time, quality time and critical time. We propose that these constructions are contested, with multiple requirements produced from medical, aesthetic and moral discourses. Our findings showcase the covert underpinning of medical neurodevelopmental knowledge to the justification for aesthetic and moral discourses, as well as locating the opposing subjectivities of a committed mother and a non-committed mother. This analysis opens space to think otherwise about the assumptions underpinning the task of toilet training, how mothers are required or choose to use their ‘in the moment time’ during this task.
Book Reviews
Authors: MacRae Graeme S
Published: December 2017

none
Measurements and modeling of the impact of radical recombination on silicon nitride growth in microwave plasma assisted atomic layer deposition
Authors: Iwao Toshihiko , Ventzek Peter L. G. , Upadhyay Rochan , Raja Laxminarayan L. , Ueda Hirokazu , Ishibashi Kiyotaka
Published: December 2017

High material quality silicon nitride thin film deposition by plasma enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) is necessary for many advanced semiconductor device and memory fabrication applications. Understanding film growth mechanism is quite important not only for the device production control but also device performance due to the strong correlation of film growth speed and film chemical property. Nevertheless, predicting film deposition rates, let alone film quality, is difficult as quantitative surface reaction mechanisms are still not well known and the species fluxes that play the central role in film growth are not easy to measure. In this paper, the authors describe how a plasma reactor model for the nitridation step required in PEALD of silicon nitride can be combined with a phenomenological site balance model to predict film growth rate variation with some key process parameters. The relative insensitivity of growth rates to plasma power are explained by competing destruction and regeneration mechanisms for NH3, an important nitrogen source in Si3N4 growth. The model also helps to reveal why H2 can be important.
Comparison of time-domain source-separation techniques for short-pulse distortion-product otoacoustic emissions
Authors: Zelle Dennis , Dalhoff Ernst , Gummer Anthony W.
Published: December 2017

Distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) are presumed to consist mainly of two components, a nonlinear-distortion component and a coherent-reflection component. Wave interference between these two components reduces the accuracy of DPOAEs when used to evaluate cochlear function. Here, short tone pulses are utilized to record DPOAE signals in normal-hearing subjects. DPOAE components are extracted from recordings at discrete frequencies using two different techniques in the time domain. The extracted DPOAE components are compared to recordings obtained with conventional, continuous primary tones.
Update from a 12-Year Nationwide Fungemia Surveillance: Increasing Intrinsic and Acquired Resistance Causes Concern
Authors: Astvad K. M. T. , Johansen H. K. , Røder B. L. , Rosenvinge F. S. , Knudsen J. D. , Lemming L. , Schønheyder H. C. , Hare R. K. , Kristensen L. , Nielsen L. , Gertsen J. B. , Dzajic E. , Pedersen M. , Østergård C. , Olesen B. , Søndergaard T. S. , Arendrup M. C.
Published: December 2017

New data from the years 2012 to 2015 from the Danish National Fungemia Surveillance are reported, and epidemiological trends are investigated in a 12-year perspective (2004 to 2015). During 2012 to 2015, 1,900 of 1,939 (98%) fungal bloodstream isolates were included. The average incidence was 8.4/100,000 inhabitants, and this appears to represent a stabilizing trend after the increase to 10.1/100,000 in 2011. The incidence was higher in males than females (10.0 versus 6.8) and in patients above 50 years, and those changes were mainly driven by an increasing incidence among 80-to-89-year-old males (65.3/100,000 in 2014 to 2015). The proportion ofCandida albicansisolates decreased from 2004 to 2015 (64.4% to 42.4%) in parallel with a doubling of the proportion ofCandida glabrataisolates (16.5% to 34.6%,P< 0.0001).C. glabratawas more common among females (34.0% versus 30.4% in males). Following an increase in 2004 to 2011, the annual drug use stabilized during the last 2 to 3 years of that time period but remained higher than in other Nordic countries. This was particularly true for the fluconazole and itraconazole use in the primary health care sector, which exceeded the combined national levels of use of these compounds in each of the other Nordic countries. Fluconazole susceptibility decreased (68.5%, 65.2%, and 60.6% in 2004 to 2007, 2008 to 2011, and 2012 to 2015, respectively,P< 0.0001), and echinocandin resistance emerged inCandida(0%, 0.6%, and 1.7%, respectively,P< 0.001). Amphotericin B susceptibility remained high (98.7%). Among 16 (2.7%) echinocandin-resistantC. glabrataisolates (2012 to 2015), 13 harbored FKS mutations and 5 (31%) were multidrug resistant. The epidemiological changes and the increased incidence of intrinsic and acquired resistance emphasize the importance of continued surveillance and of strengthened focus on antifungal stewardship.
Subcellular Localization and Functional Characterization of GII.4 Norovirus-Encoded NTPase
Authors: Yen Ju-Bei , Wei Ling-Huei , Chen Lee-Wen , Chen Li-Yu , Hung Chien-Hui , Wang Shie-Shan , Chang Pey-Jium
Published: December 2017

The genotype II.4 (GII.4) variants of human noroviruses (HuNVs) are recognized as the major agent of global gastroenteritis outbreaks. Due to the lack of an efficient cell culture system for HuNV propagation, the exact roles of HuNV-encoded nonstructural proteins (including Nterm, NTPase, P22, VPg, Pro, and RdRp) in viral replication or pathogenesis have not yet been fully understood. Here, we report the molecular characterization of the GII.4 HuNV-encoded NTPase (designated GII-NTPase). Results from our studies showed that GII-NTPase forms vesicular or nonvesicular textures in the cell cytoplasm, and the nonvesicular fraction of GII-NTPase significantly localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) or mitochondria. Deletion analysis revealed that the N-terminal 179-amino-acid (aa) region of GII-NTPase is required for vesicle formation and for ER colocalization, whereas the C-terminal region is involved in mitochondrial colocalization. In particular, two mitochondrion-targeting domains were identified in the C-terminal region of GII-NTPase which perfectly colocalized with mitochondria when the N-terminal region of GII-NTPase was deleted. However, the corresponding C-terminal portions of NTPase derived from the GI HuNV did not show mitochondrial colocalization. We also found that GII-NTPase physically interacts with itself as well as with Nterm and P22, but not VPg, Pro, and RdRp, in cells. The Nterm- and P22-interacting region was mapped to the N-terminal 179-aa region of GII-NTPase, whereas the self-assembly of GII-NTPase could be achieved via a head-to-head, tail-to-tail, or head-to-tail configuration. More importantly, we demonstrate that GII-NTPase possesses a proapoptotic activity, which can be further enhanced by coexpression with Nterm or P22.

IMPORTANCE
Despite the importance of human norovirus GII.4 variants in global gastroenteritis outbreaks, the basic biological functions of the viral nonstructural proteins in cells remain rarely investigated. In this report, we focus our studies on characteristics of the GII.4 norovirus-encoded NTPase (GII-NTPase). We unexpectedly find that GII-NTPase can perfectly colocalize with mitochondria after its N-terminal region is deleted. However, such a phenomenon is not observed for NTPase encoded by a GI strain. We further reveal that the N-terminal 179-aa region of GII-NTPase is sufficient to mediate (i) vesicle formation, (ii) ER colocalization, (iii) the interaction with two other nonstructural proteins, including Nterm and P22, (iv) the formation of homodimers or homo-oligomers, and (v) the induction of cell apoptosis. Taken together, our findings emphasize that the virus-encoded NTPase must have multiple activities during viral replication or pathogenesis; however, these activities may vary somewhat among different genogroups.
Controlled Activity of the
Salmonella
Invasion-Associated Injectisome Reveals Its Intracellular Role in the Cytosolic Population
Authors: Klein Jessica A. , Grenz Jesse R. , Slauch James M. , Knodler Leigh A.
Published: December 2017

The
Salmonella
invasion-associated type III secretion system (T3SS1) is an essential virulence factor required for entry into nonphagocytic cells and consequent uptake into a
Salmonella
-containing vacuole (SCV). While
Salmonella
is typically regarded as a vacuolar pathogen, a subset of bacteria escape from the SCV in epithelial cells and eventually hyperreplicate in the cytosol. T3SS1 is downregulated following bacterial entry into mammalian cells, but cytosolic
Salmonella
cells are T3SS1 induced, suggesting prolonged or resurgent activity of T3SS1 in this population. In order to investigate the postinternalization contributions of T3SS1 to the
Salmonella
infectious cycle in epithelial cells, we bypassed its requirement for bacterial entry by tagging the T3SS1-energizing ATPase InvC at the C terminus with peptides that are recognized by bacterial tail-specific proteases. This caused a dramatic increase in InvC turnover which rendered even assembled injectisomes inactive. Bacterial strains conditionally expressing these unstable InvC variants were proficient for invasion but underwent rapid and sustained intracellular inactivation of T3SS1 activity when InvC expression ceased. This allowed us to directly implicate T3SS1 activity in cytosolic colonization and bacterial egress. We subsequently identified two T3SS1-delivered effectors, SopB and SipA, that are required for efficient colonization of the epithelial cell cytosol. Overall, our findings support a multifaceted, postinvasion role for T3SS1 and its effectors in defining the cytosolic population of intracellular
Salmonella
.

IMPORTANCE
A needle-like apparatus, the type III secretion system (T3SS) injectisome, is absolutely required for
Salmonella enterica
to enter epithelial cells; this requirement has hampered the analysis of its postentry contributions. To identify T3SS1-dependent intracellular activities, in this study we overcame this limitation by developing a conditional inactivation in the T3SS whereby T3SS activity is chemically induced during culture in liquid broth, permitting bacterial entry into epithelial cells, but is quickly and perpetually inactivated in the absence of inducer. In this sense, the mutant acts like wild-type bacteria when extracellular and as a T3SS mutant once it enters a host cell. This “conditional” mutant allowed us to directly link activity of this T3SS with nascent vacuole lysis, cytosolic proliferation, and cellular egress, demonstrating that the invasion-associated T3SS also contributes to essential intracellular stages of the
S. enterica
infectious cycle.
Trabeculectomy bleb needling and antimetabolite administration practices in the UK: a glaucoma specialist national survey
Authors: Mercieca Karl , Drury Brett , Bhargava Archana , Fenerty Cecilia
Published: December 2017

Aims

To evaluate, describe and quantify the diversity in postoperative antimetabolite administration and bleb needling practices among glaucoma specialists performing trabeculectomy surgery within the UK and Ireland.

Methods

A cross-sectional online survey was distributed to all consultant glaucoma specialists who are on the United Kingdom and Eire Glaucoma Society (UKEGS) contact list. Participants were asked specific questions about their current practices for post-trabeculectomy antimetabolite administration followed by questions directly related to bleb needling procedures.

Results

60 (83%) of UKEGS glaucoma subspecialty consultants completed the survey. 70% of respondents administered 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in their clinic room while 30% used a separate treatment room. Doses of 5-FU varied considerably but 70% used 5 mg as standard. Techniques used to reduce corneal toxicity included precipitation with amethocaine (44%) or benoxinate (14%), saline wash (14%) and modified injection technique (8%). Topical antibiotics and/or betadine were used to prevent infection following 5-FU injection in just over 50%. Bleb needling was exclusively performed in operating theatre by 56% of respondents and solely at the slit lamp in the clinic room by 12%. A further 30% used a combination of both theatre and outpatient clinic rooms. Anti-metabolites used were 5-FU (72%) and mitomycin C (22%) with 12% using either of the two substances.

Conclusions

There is a significantly wide variety of current practices for antimetabolite administration and bleb needling within the UK and Ireland. This may be influenced by a glaucoma surgeon’s specific experience and audit results as well as particular clinical set-up, availability of antimetabolite and clinic room space.
‘We lost because of his drunkenness’: the social processes linking alcohol use to self-harm in the context of daily life stress in marriages and intimate relationships in rural Sri Lanka
Authors: Sørensen Jane Brandt , Agampodi Thilini , Sørensen Birgitte Refslund , Siribaddana Sisira , Konradsen Flemming , Rheinländer Thilde
Published: December 2017

Introduction

Harmful alcohol use has been found to cause detriment to the consumers and those around them. Research carried out in Sri Lanka has described the socioeconomic consequences to families owing to alcohol consumption. However, the social processes around alcohol use and how it could result in behaviour such as self-harm was unclear. With an outset in daily life stressors in marriages and intimate relationships we explored alcohol use in families with a recent case of self-harm.

Methods

Qualitative data were collected for 11 months in 2014 and 2015 in the North Central and North Western provinces of Sri Lanka. Narrative life story interviews with 19 individuals who had self-harmed where alcohol was involved and 25 of their relatives were conducted. Ten focus group discussions were carried out in gender and age segregated groups. An inductive content analysis was carried out.

Results

Participants experienced two types of daily life stressors: non-alcohol-related stressors, such as violence and financial difficulties, and alcohol-related stressors. The alcohol-related stressors aggravated the non-alcohol-related daily life stressors within marriages and intimate relationships, which resulted in conflict between partners and subsequent self-harm. Women were disproportionately influenced by daily life stressors and were challenged in their ability to live up to gendered norms of marriage. Further, women were left responsible for their ownandtheir husband’s inappropriate behaviour. Self-harm appeared to be a possible avenue of expressing distress. Gendered alcohol and marriage norms provided men with acceptable excuses for their behaviour, whether it was alcohol consumption, conflicts or self-harm.

Conclusions

This study found that participants experienced both alcohol-related and non-alcohol-related daily life stressors. These two categories of daily life stressors, gender inequalities and alcohol norms should be considered when planning alcohol and self-harm prevention in this setting. Life situations also reflected larger community and structural issues.
Brief history of the specialty of emergency medicine
Authors: Williams David John
Published: December 2017

This is a brief overview of the development of the specialty of Emergency Medicine from small beginnings fifty years ago. It describes how the specialty evolved simultaneously in the UK and the USA and later in Australasia and Europe.
Misleading signs in acute vertigo
Authors: Lance Sean , Mossman Stuart Scott
Published: December 2017

The acute vestibular syndrome is common and usually has a benign cause. Sometimes, however, even experienced neurologists can find it difficult to determine the cause clinically. Furthermore, neuroimaging is known to be insensitive.

We describe two cases of acute vestibular syndrome where conflicting clinical findings contributed to a delay in making the correct diagnosis. The first patient with symptomatic vertigo had signs consistent with horizontal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo but also had an abnormal horizontal head impulse test, superficially suggesting acute vestibular neuritis but later accounted for by the finding of a vestibular schwannoma (acoustic neuroma). The second patient also had an abnormal horizontal head impulse test, with skew deviation suggesting stroke as the cause. However, later assessment identified that a long-standing fourth nerve palsy was the true cause for her apparent skew. We discuss potential errors that can arise when assessing such patients and highlight ways to avoid them.
Thermal effects on yielding and wetting-induced collapse of recompacted and intact loess
Authors: Ng C.W.W. , Cheng Q. , Zhou C.
Published: December 2017

Yielding and wetting-induced collapse are two important interrelated aspects of unsaturated loess behaviour. Previous studies on loess were generally conducted under a single temperature condition. The principal objective of this study is to investigate thermal effects on yielding and wetting-induced collapse of recompacted and intact loess. Isotropic compression tests were carried out to determine yield stress at different suctions (0 and 100 kPa) and temperatures (5, 23, and 50 °C). Moreover, wetting tests were conducted at various temperatures and stresses. Results of the wetting tests were interpreted using the measured yield stress at various suctions and temperatures. It is found that yield stress decreases with decreasing suction (wetting-induced softening). The wetting-induced softening of recompacted loess is more significant at a higher temperature. The observed thermal effects on wetting-induced softening are likely because with decreasing suction, the stabilizing interparticle normal force decreases more at a higher temperature. In contrast, when the applied stress reaches the yield stress during wetting, yielding and plastic volumetric contraction can be observed. More importantly, wetting-induced contraction of recompacted loess at 50 °C is about three times of that at 5 °C. The larger contraction at 50 °C is mainly because the wetting-induced softening is larger at a higher temperature.
Exotic Asian pheretimoid earthworms (Amynthas spp., Metaphire spp.): Potential for colonisation of south-eastern Canada and effects on forest ecosystems
Authors: Moore Jean-David , Görres Josef H. , Reynolds John W.
Published: December 2017

Exotic species invasions are among the most significant global-scale problems caused by human activities. They can seriously threaten the conservation of biological diversity and of natural resources. Exotic European earthworms have been colonizing forest ecosystems in northeastern United States and southern Canada since the European settlement. By comparison, Asian earthworms began colonizing forests in the northeastern United States more recently. Since Asian species have biological traits compatible with a greater potential for colonization and disturbance than some European species, apprehension is growing about their dispersal into new territories. Here we review the extent of the current northern range of Asian earthworms in northeastern North America, the factors facilitating or limiting their propagation and colonization, and the potential effects of their invasion on forest ecosystems. Data compilation shows that Asian earthworms are present in all northeastern American states. So far, only one mention has been reported in Canada. Data confirm that their distribution has now reached the Canadian border, particularly along the Michigan–Ontario, New York–Ontario, Maine–New Brunswick, and Vermont–Québec frontiers. Studies report that the presence of Asian earthworms is strongly associated with human activities such as horticulture, vermicomposting, and the use of worms as fish bait. Some climatic (temperature, soil moisture) and edaphic (soil pH) factors may also influence their distribution. Controlling their dispersal at the source is essential to limiting their spread, as there is currently no effective way to eradicate established earthworm populations without unacceptable nontarget effects. Proposed management options in the United States include the prohibition of fish bait disposal and better management of the international trade of horticultural goods, commercial nurseries, and vermicomposting industries. We conclude that although regulations and awareness may delay their expansion, Asian earthworms are likely to spread further north into Canada. They are expected to cause important changes to biodiversity and dynamics of the newly invaded forest ecosystems.
On Andrews–Curtis conjectures for soluble groups
Authors: Guyot Luc
Published: December 2017

The Andrews–Curtis conjecture claims that every normally generating [Formula: see text]-tuple of a free group [Formula: see text] of rank [Formula: see text] can be reduced to a basis by means of Nielsen transformations and arbitrary conjugations. Replacing [Formula: see text] by an arbitrary finitely generated group yields natural generalizations whose study may help disprove the original and unsettled conjecture. We prove that every finitely generated soluble group satisfies the generalized Andrews–Curtis conjecture in the sense of Borovik, Lubotzky and Myasnikov. In contrast, we show that some soluble Baumslag–Solitar groups do not satisfy the generalized Andrews–Curtis conjecture in the sense of Burns and Macedońska.
Flows in non-equilibrium quantum systems and quantum photosynthesis
Authors: Kozyrev S. V. , Mironov A. A. , Teretenkov A. E. , Volovich I. V.
Published: December 2017

A three-level quantum system interacting with non-equilibrium environment is investigated. The stationary state of the system is found (both for non-coherent and coherent environment) and relaxation and decoherence to the stationary state is described. The stationary state of the system will be non-equilibrium and will generate flows. We describe the dependence of the flows on the state of the environment.

We also discuss application of this model to the problem of quantum photosynthesis, in particular, to the description of flows of excitons and generation of excitonic coherences.
Chowla’s theorem over function fields
Authors: Hamahata Yoshinori
Published: December 2017

Sarvadaman Chowla proved that if [Formula: see text] is an odd prime, then [Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]) are linearly independent over the field of rational numbers. We establish an analog of this result over function fields. As an application, we prove an analog of the Baker–Birch–Wirsing theorem about the non-vanishing of Dirichlet series with periodic coefficients at [Formula: see text] in the function field setup with a parity condition.
On a conjectured q-congruence of Guo and Zeng
Authors: Ni He-Xia , Pan Hao
Published: December 2017

Suppose that [Formula: see text] is an odd prime and [Formula: see text] is a positive integer with [Formula: see text]. Then for any integer [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text] is the least non-negative remainder of [Formula: see text] modulo [Formula: see text]. This confirms a conjecture of Guo and Zeng.
Improved rank bounds from 2-descent on hyperelliptic Jacobians
Authors: Creutz Brendan
Published: December 2017

We describe a qualitative improvement to the algorithms for performing [Formula: see text]-descents to obtain information regarding the Mordell–Weil rank of a hyperelliptic Jacobian. The improvement has been implemented in the Magma Computational Algebra System and as a result, the rank bounds for hyperelliptic Jacobians are now sharper and have the conjectured parity.