bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Competitive Dynamics
Authors: Tuschke Anja , Salomon Viktoria Judith
Published: August 2019

This article introduces research in competitive dynamics, a collection of work that has developed within the field of strategic management since the late 1980s. Competitive dynamics is the study of interfirm rivalry constituted of competitive actions and responses, their micro- and macro-level context as well as their antecedents and consequences (Chen and Miller 2012, cited under Reviews). Related research addresses fundamental questions such as: “Why do firms engage in competitive rivalry?” “What characterizes the competitive interaction between firms?” “How do focal firms’ competitive actions and rivals’ responses influence firm performance?” “How do contextual factors influence competitive dynamics?” Competition has long been at the center of academic debate, starting with the analysis on the functioning of economic markets and Adam Smith’s welfare competition. While this debate had traditionally been dominated by economists, scholars such as Michael Porter introduced a management perspective on competition. Within the management discipline, two conceptions of competition developed. In a more static conception based on economic theory, competition was formalized as an inherent characteristic of market structures, viewing market forces as determinants of the degree and the type of competition within an industry (Baum and Korn 1996, cited under Multimarket Contact, Multimarket Competition, and Mutual Forbearance). A second conception was motivated by Joseph Schumpeter’s concept of “creative destruction” and the Austrian school of economics (Smith, et al. 2001, cited under Reviews). This dynamic conception of competition accentuates the individual behavior of each competing firm (Baum and Korn 1996, cited under Multimarket Contact, Multimarket Competition, and Mutual Forbearance) and became known as “competitive dynamics research.” It assumes that performance differences between firms operating in the same industry are the result of competitive actions that are aimed at obtaining successive temporary advantages (Young, et al. 1996, cited under Competitive Actions: Characteristics, Drivers, and Performance Outcomes). Since the beginning of the 1990s, the competitive dynamics research program has flourished, and a large body of work has emerged within the literature on competitive strategy, consisting of several sub-streams such as competitive action and response, first-mover advantage, and multimarket competition(Ketchen, et al. 2004, cited under Reviews). Research within these sub-streams is largely unified by its reliance on a common theoretical perspective, the awareness-motivation-capability (AMC) framework (Chen 1996, cited under Awareness-Motivation-Capability Framework). Leading scholars in the field of competitive dynamics are, among others, Ming-Jer Chen, Walter J. Ferrier, Danny Miller, and Ken G. Smith.
Impact of Maternal HIV Infection and Placental Malaria on the Transplacental Transfer of Influenza Antibodies in Mother–Infant Pairs in Malawi, 2013–2014
Authors: Ho Antonia , Mapurisa Gugulethu , Madanitsa Mwayiwawo , Kalilani-Phiri Linda , Kamiza Steve , Makanani B , Ter Kuile Feiko O , Buys Amelia , Treurnicht Florette , Everett Dean , Mwapasa Victor , Widdowson Marc-Alain , Mcmorrow Meredith , Heyderman Robert S
Published: August 2019

Background

Maternal influenza vaccination protects infants against influenza virus infection. Impaired transplacental transfer of influenza antibodies may reduce this protection.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study of influenza vaccine–naïve pregnant women recruited at delivery from Blantyre (urban, low malaria transmission) and Chikwawa (rural, high malaria transmission) in Southern Malawi. HIV-infected mothers were excluded in Chikwawa. Maternal and cord blood antibodies against circulating influenza strains A/California/7/2009, A/Victoria/361/2011, B/Brisbane/60/2008, and B/Wisconsin/1/2010 were measured by hemagglutination inhibition (HAI). We studied the impact of maternal HIV infection and placental malaria on influenza antibody levels in mother–infant pairs in Blantyre and Chikwawa, respectively.

Results

We included 454 mother–infant pairs (Blantyre, n = 253; Chikwawa, n = 201). HIV-infected mothers and their infants had lower seropositivity (HAI titer ≥1:40) against influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 (mothers, 24.3 vs 45.4%; P = .02; infants, 24.3 vs 50.5%; P = .003) and A(H3N2) (mothers, 37.8% vs 63.9%; P = .003; infants, 43.2 vs 64.8%; P = .01), whereas placental malaria had an inconsistent effect on maternal and infant seropositivity. In multivariable analyses, maternal HIV infection was associated with reduced infant seropositivity (A(H1N1)pdm09: adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.15–0.79; A(H3N2): aOR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.21–0.89). Transplacental transfer was not impaired by maternal HIV or placental malaria.

Conclusions

Maternal HIV infection influenced maternal antibody response to influenza A virus infection, and thereby antibody levels in newborns, but did not affect transplacental antibody transfer.
Purulent pneumococcal pericarditis, a vaccine-preventable illness
Authors: Rees Matthew J , Wilson Andrew
Published: August 2019

A 74-year-old gentleman presented to hospital with a 1-day history of acute onset pleuritic chest pain and fever. He was found to have widespread ST segment elevation on electrocardiogram, and blood cultures taken were positive for Streptococcus pneumoniae. Two days following admission the patient developed dyspnea, and a large pericardial effusion and right middle lobe consolidation were demonstrated on a computed tomography scan of the chest. A transthoracic echocardiogram confirmed the presence of a large circumferential pericardial effusion with multiple prominent adhesions and marked heterogenous thickening of the pericardium, without evidence of tamponade. Pericardiocentesis drained a purulent exudate positive for pneumococcal antigen. The occurrence of purulent pericarditis secondary to pneumococcal community-acquired pneumonia is rare in the modern antibiotic era and represents an often-lethal manifestation of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). IPD is a vaccine-preventable illness for which adult vaccination rates are low despite high morbidity. Healthcare professionals need to vaccinate older patients opportunistically.
Following the Money: Fenian Bonds, Diasporic Nationalism, and Distant Revolutions in the Mid-Nineteenth-Century United States*
Authors: Sim David
Published: August 2019

This article tracks and analyses the history of bonds issued by the Fenian Brotherhood in the 1860s to argue that US Americans could take part in a marketplace in distant revolutions in the mid-nineteenth century. In this period, various, disparate nationalist groups issued bonds, suggesting a commonly understood method of generating funds, sustaining sentimental attachment, and projecting the authority of authentic nation-states. The Civil War-era United States was a particularly fertile environment for the issuance of such bonds because of its traditions of free banking, the ease with which bonds might be floated to a public increasingly au fait with their operation, and a broad rhetorical sympathy with the distant revolutions for which these bonds stood. The debt these bonds represented acted as a sentimental form of ‘special money’ and, for Irish-Americans, as for other immigrant communities in the United States, they allowed participation in a transnational movement without ever leaving their immediate neighbourhood. Tracing their issuance and circulation, then, allows us to write a material, sentimental and social history of everyday transnationalism and anti-imperialism in the mid-nineteenth century. For later generations, this sentimental quality could and did devolve into a more immediately financial form, and the article concludes by identifying the redemption of these bonds as a significant step in legitimating the new Irish republic to a US audience.
The Logic of Leibniz’s Borrowed Reality Argument
Authors: Puryear Stephen
Published: August 2019

Leibniz argues that there must be a fundamental level of simple substances because composites borrow their reality from their constituents and not all reality can be borrowed. I contend that the underlying logic of this ‘borrowed reality argument’ has been misunderstood, particularly the rationale for the key premise that not all reality can be borrowed. Contrary to what has been suggested, the rationale turns neither on the alleged viciousness of an unending regress of reality borrowers nor on the Principle of Sufficient Reason, but on the idea that composites are phenomena and thus can be real only insofar as they have a foundation in substances, from which they directly ‘borrow’ their reality. The claim that composites are phenomena rests in turn on Leibniz's conceptualism about relations. So understood, what initially looked like a disappointingly simple argument for simples turns out to be a rather rich and sophisticated one.
Do we need a book citation index for research evaluation?
Authors: Gingras Yves , Khelfaoui Mahdi
Published: August 2019

Given the importance of books and book chapters as vehicles of knowledge in social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines, it has previously been thought that the application of citation metrics to the evaluation of these disciplines should also include, in addition to journal articles, citations from books and book chapters. The main argument supporting this claim is the belief that top cited authors in journal articles and in monographs form two distinct populations. In this article, we compare the rankings of the most cited authors in three SSH disciplines (sociology, philosophy, and history), obtained by counting citations in the journal articles covered in the Web of Science, and a large sample of books and book chapters covered in the book citation index. Contrary to what is often suggested, we show that adding book and book chapter citations to journal citations does not produce significantly different rankings than those obtained solely on the basis of citations in journal articles.
Quartet-Based Computations of Internode Certainty Provide Robust Measures of Phylogenetic Incongruence
Authors: Zhou Xiaofan , Lutteropp Sarah , Czech Lucas , Stamatakis Alexandros , Looz Moritz Von , Rokas Antonis
Published: August 2019

Incongruence, or topological conflict, is prevalent in genome-scale data sets. Internode certainty (IC) and related measures were recently introduced to explicitly quantify the level of incongruence of a given internal branch among a set of phylogenetic trees and complement regular branch support measures (e.g., bootstrap, posterior probability) that instead assess the statistical confidence of inference. Since most phylogenomic studies contain data partitions (e.g., genes) with missing taxa and IC scores stem from the frequencies of bipartitions (or splits) on a set of trees, IC score calculation typically requires adjusting the frequencies of bipartitions from these partial gene trees. However, when the proportion of missing taxa is high, the scores yielded by current approaches that adjust bipartition frequencies in partial gene trees differ substantially from each other and tend to be overestimates. To overcome these issues, we developed three new IC measures based on the frequencies of quartets, which naturally apply to both complete and partial trees. Comparison of our new quartet-based measures to previous bipartition-based measures on simulated data shows that: (1) on complete data sets, both quartet-based and bipartition-based measures yield very similar IC scores; (2) IC scores of quartet-based measures on a given data set with and without missing taxa are more similar than the scores of bipartition-based measures; and (3) quartet-based measures are more robust to the absence of phylogenetic signal and errors in phylogenetic inference than bipartition-based measures. Additionally, the analysis of an empirical mammalian phylogenomic data set using our quartet-based measures reveals the presence of substantial levels of incongruence for numerous internal branches. An efficient open-source implementation of these quartet-based measures is freely available in the program QuartetScores (https://github.com/lutteropp/QuartetScores).
Inside the head of a cybertype – three-dimensional reconstruction of the head muscles of Ommatoiulus avatar (Diplopoda: Juliformia: Julidae) reveals insights into the feeding movements of Juliformia
Authors: Naumann Benjamin , Reip Hans S , Akkari Nesrine , Neubert David , Hammel Jörg U
Published: August 2019

The origin and diversification of the arthropod head is one of the major topics in the field of evolutionary morphology of Arthropoda. Among the major arthropod groups, Myriapoda and, more precisely Diplopoda, are generally poorly studied regarding their head anatomy. However, this group is of pivotal importance to understand the evolutionary functional morphology of the arthropod head. In this study, we investigate the complete musculoskeletal system of the diplopod head with a detailed description of the cephalic anatomy of the recently described species Ommatoiulus avatar. The comparison of our data with the literature on the few other species available show that the morphology of the musculoskeletal system within Juliformia, a subgroup of the Diplopoda, is relatively conservative. Using video recordings of the feeding movements in addition to the anatomical data, we revise the mechanism of the mandibular movements in Juliformia. There was a controversy whether mandibular abduction is an active process, facilitated by contraction of an abductor muscle, or if it is a passive process, mediated by tentorial and gnathochilarial movements not involving a direct abduction by muscular contraction. We show that mandibular abduction in Ommatoiulus is an active movement involving the contraction of an abductor muscle. This is similar to the mandibular abduction in other arthropod groups.
Activation of ROS/MAPKs/NF‐κB/NLRP3 and inhibition of efferocytosis in osteoclast‐mediated diabetic osteoporosis
Authors: An Yanan , Zhang Haifeng , Wang Chao , Jiao Fangtai , Xu Hongyue , Wang Xuefei , Luan Wenjing , Ma Fangxue , Ni Lihui , Tang Xudong , Liu Mingyuan , Guo Weiying , Yu Lu
Published: August 2019

Diabetes mellitus (DM) affects bone metabolism and leads to osteoporosis; however, its pathogenetic mechanisms remain unknown. We found that high glucose (HG) conditions induced the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the expression of proteins related to MAPKs [phosphorylated (p)‐ERK, p‐JNK, and p‐p38], NF‐κB(NF‐κB, p‐IαB, and IKK), and NACHT‐LRR‐PYD domains‐containing protein 3 (NALP3) (NLRP3) [apoptosis‐associated speck‐like protein containing a caspase activation and recruitment domain (ASC), caspase‐1, IL‐18, IL‐1β, and NLRP3] in osteoclasts (OCs) in vitro. Further analysis showed that in HG‐induced OCs, ROS is an upstream signal for MAPKs, NF‐κB, and the NLRP3 inflammasome. Moreover, MAPKs mediated the activation of NF‐κB and NLRP3, whereas NF‐κB up‐regulated the NLRP3 inflammasome response. Interestingly, HG inducement enhanced the bone resorption of OCs but inhibited their efferocytosis, whereas insulin and lipoxin A4 (4) treatment reversed this phenomenon. In streptozotocin‐induced diabetic rats in vivo, the numbers and the bone‐resorption capacity of OCs as well as the serum levels of TRACP‐5b were significantly increased, and the expression of MAPK‐, NF‐κB‐, and NLRP3 inflammasome‐related proteins in the proximal tibia were also significantly elevated; however, treatment with insulin and LXA4 reversed this elevation. Together, these results demonstrated that the activation of ROS/MAPKs/NF‐κB/NLRP3 and the inhibition of efferocytosis in OCs are the main causes of osteoporosis in DM.—An, Y., Zhang, H., Wang, C., Jiao, F., Xu, H., Wang, X., Luan, W., Ma, F., Ni, L., Tang, X., Liu, M., Guo, W., Yu, L. Activation of ROS/MAPKs/NF‐κB/NLRP3 and inhibition of efferocytosis in osteoclast‐mediated diabetic osteoporosis. FASEB J. 33, 12515–12527 (2019). www.fasebj.org
Roles of the hypoximir microRNA‐424/322 in acute hypoxia and hypoxia‐induced pulmonary vascular leakage
Authors: Tsai Shih‐Hung , Huang Po‐Hsun , Tsai Hsiao‐Ya , Hsu Yu‐Juei , Chen Yen‐Wen , Wang Jen‐Chun , Chen Ying‐Hsin , Lin and Shing‐Jong
Published: August 2019

Acute mountain sickness (AMS) occurs in up to 25% of unacclimatized persons who ascend to 3000 m and can result in high‐altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). MicroRNAs (miRs) can regulate gene expression at the post‐transcriptional level. Hypoxia selectively disrupts endothelial tight junction complexes through a hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1α (HIF‐1α)‐dependent mechanism. Though increased HIF‐1α expression is associated with adaptation and protection from AMS development in the early stage of hypoxia, a downstream effector of HIF‐1a, VEGF, can induce overzealous endothelial barrier dysfunction, increase vascular permeability, and ultimately result in HAPE and high‐altitude cerebral edema. We hypothesized that the fine‐tuning of downstream effectors by miRs is paramount for the preservation of endothelial barrier integrity and the prevention of vascular leakage. We found that several miRs were up‐regulated in healthy volunteers who were subjected to a 3100‐m height. By reviewing the literature and using online bioinformatics prediction software, we specifically selected miR‐424 for further investigation because it can modulate both HIF‐1α and VEGF. Hypoxia‐induced miR‐424 overexpression is HIF‐1α dependent, and miR‐424 stabilized HIF‐1α, decreased VEGF expression, and promoted vascular endothelial cadherin phosphorylation. In addition, hypoxia resulted in endothelial barrier dysfunction with increased permeability; miR‐424 thus attenuated hypoxia‐induced endothelial cell senescence and apoptosis. miR‐322 knockout mice were susceptible to hypoxia‐induced pulmonary vascular leakage. miR‐322 mimics improved hypoxia‐induced pulmonary vascular leakage in vivo. We conclude that several miRs were up‐regulated in healthy adult volunteers subjected to hypobaric hypoxemia. miR‐424/322 could modulate the HIF‐1α‐VEGF axis and prevent hypoxia‐induced pulmonary vascular leakage under hypoxic conditions.—Tsai, S.‐H., Huang P.‐H., Tsai, H.‐Y., Hsu, Y.‐J., Chen, Y.‐W., Wang, J.‐C., Chen, Y.‐H., Lin, S.‐J. Roles of the hypoximir microRNA‐424/322 in acute hypoxia and hypoxia‐induced pulmonary vascular leakage. FASEB J. 33, 12565–12575 (2019). www.fasebj.org
Diabetes Mellitus in Children with Acute Recurrent and Chronic Pancreatitis
Authors: Bellin Melena D. , Lowe Mark , Zimmerman M. Bridget , Wilschanski Michael , Werlin Steven , Troendle David M. , Shah Uzma , Schwarzenberg Sarah J. , Pohl John F. , Perito Emily , Ooi Chee Yee , Nathan Jaimie D. , Morinville Veronique D. , McFerron Brian A. , Mascarenhas Maria R. , Maqbool Asim , Liu Quin , Lin Tom K. , Husain Sohail Z. , Himes Ryan , Heyman Melvin B. , Gonska Tanja , Giefer Matthew J. , Gariepy Cheryl E. , Freedman Steven D. , Fishman Douglas S. , Barth Bradley , Abu‐El‐Haija Maisam , Uc Aliye
Published: August 2019

Objectives:

Adults with chronic pancreatitis (CP) have a high risk for developing pancreatogenic diabetes mellitus (DM), but little is known regarding potential risk factors for DM in children with acute recurrent pancreatitis (ARP) or CP. We compared demographic and clinical features of children with ARP or CP, with and without DM, in the INternational Study Group of Pediatric Pancreatitis: In Search for a CuRE (INSPPIRE) registry.

Methods:

We reviewed the INSPPIRE database for the presence or absence of physician‐diagnosed DM in 397 children, excluding those with total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation, enrolled from August 2012 to August 2017. Patient demographics, BMI percentile, age at disease onset, disease risk factors, disease burden, and treatments were compared between children with DM (n = 24) and without DM (n = 373).

Results:

Twenty‐four children (6% of the cohort) had a diagnosis of DM. Five of 13 tested were positive for beta cell autoantibodies. The DM group was 4.2 years [95% confidence interval (CI) 3–5.4] older at first episode of acute pancreatitis, and tended to more often have hypertriglyceridemia [odds ratio (OR) 5.21 (1.33–17.05)], coexisting autoimmune disease [OR 3.94 (0.88–13.65)] or pancreatic atrophy [OR 3.64 (1.13, 11.59)].

Conclusion:

Pancreatic atrophy may be more common among children with DM, suggesting more advanced exocrine disease. However, data in this exploratory cohort also suggest increased autoimmunity and hypertriglyceridemia in children with DM, suggesting that risk factors for type 1 and type 2 DM, respectively may play a role in mediating DM development in children with pancreatitis.
Impact of Primary Antibody Clone, Format, and Stainer Platform on Ki67 Proliferation Indices in Breast Carcinomas
Authors: Røge Rasmus , Nielsen Søren , Riber-Hansen Rikke , Vyberg Mogens
Published: August 2019

Ki67 is a nuclear protein expressed during the active phases of the cell cycle, which makes it a biomarker of cell proliferation. In clinical pathology settings, immunohistochemical (IHC) detection of Ki67 is used to calculate Ki67 proliferation indices (PIs), which have prognostic information and are used to subdivide breast carcinomas and neuroendocrine neoplasias. Calculation of Ki67 PIs is notoriously hard and prone to intraobserver and interobserver variance. In addition, IHC protocol settings [such as primary antibody (Ab) clone, clone format, and stainer platform] can affect the result of the IHC assays and in turn the Ki67 PI. Digital image analysis has been suggested as a useful tool to standardize Ki67 counting. Recently, virtual double staining, a computer algorithm segmenting Ki67+ and Ki67− tumor cells using digitally fused parallel cytokeratin and Ki67-stained slides, has been introduced. In this study, we compare Ki67 PIs obtained by virtual double staining in 41 breast carcinomas stained using the most commonly used commercially available primary Ab clones and formats on the main stainer platforms. IHC protocols for the concentrated (conc) Ab and platform combinations were optimized for the highest analytical sensitivity and optimal signal-to-noise ratio, whereas ready-to-use (RTU) formats were used, as recommended by the vendor. Significant differences in the mean Ki67 PIs (relativized to the mean core Ki67) were observed not only between the different Ab clones but also the different formats and stainer platforms; Ki67 PIs with SP6 conc stained on the Ventana BenchMark ULTRA platform were on average 11.9 percentage points (pp) higher than the mean core average, whereas with Ab 30.9 RTU on the Ventana platform, they were 10.4 pp higher. Mib1 RTU (Dako Autostainer Link 48) and MM1 RTU (Leica Bond) provided 8.6 and 12.5 pp lower Ki67 PIs, respectively. Mib1 conc and SP6 conc on the Dako Autostainer and Leica Bond provided similar results—close to the overall average. Significant variations in the proportion of tumors with Ki67 high-level expression (Ki67 PI ≥20%) were observed among Ab, format, and stainer platform combinations. The results underline the challenges in the comparison of Ki67 PIs across Abs, formats, and platforms. Researchers and clinicians need to account for these differences when reporting Ki67 PIs. To advance the usefulness of Ki67 PIs in the research and clinical setting, standardization of Ki67 IHC assays is needed.
Serial Visual Evoked Potentials in Patients with Craniosynostosis and Invasive Intracranial Pressure Monitoring
Authors: Haredy Mostafa M. , Liasis Alki , Fu Valeria , Davis Amani , Pollack Ian F. , Losee Joseph E. , Saied Samia , Nischal Ken K. , Goldstein Jesse A.
Published: August 2019

This study aimed to detect the ability of pattern visual evoked potentials to detect visual pathway dysfunction in a cohort of patients with craniosynostosis who also had invasive intracranial pressure measurement. A retrospective review was conducted on craniosynostosis patients who had invasive intracranial pressure measurement and at least one pattern visual evoked potentials test. Reversal pattern visual evoked potentials were performed with both eyes open. Thirteen patients met the inclusion criteria (mean age at intracranial pressure measurement, 5.7 years). Seven patients had raised intracranial pressure, and of these, five (71.4 percent) had abnormal or deteriorated pattern visual evoked potentials parameters on serial testing, whereas all patients (100 percent) with normal intracranial pressure had normal pattern visual evoked potentials amplitude and latency. Four of the five patients (80 percent) with raised intracranial pressure and abnormal pattern visual evoked potentials did not show evidence of papilledema. The mean latency in patients with raised intracranial pressure (118.7 msec) was longer than in those with normal intracranial pressure (108.1 msec), although it did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.09), whereas the mean amplitude in patients with raised intracranial pressure (12.4 µV) was significantly lower than in patients with normal intracranial pressure (23.3 µV) (p = 0.03). The authors’ results showed that serial pattern visual evoked potentials testing was able to detect visual pathway dysfunction resulting from raised intracranial pressure in five of seven craniosynostosis patients, and of these five patients, 80 percent had no evidence of papilledema, demonstrating the utility of serial pattern visual evoked potentials in follow-up of the visual function in craniosynostosis patients.

CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:

Diagnostic, II.
Surgical Treatment of Lymphedema
Authors: Schaverien Mark V. , Coroneos Christopher J.
Published: August 2019

Lymphedema affects up to 250 million people worldwide. The understanding of the pathophysiology of the condition, however, is incomplete and a cure remains elusive. A growing body of evidence supports the effectiveness of modern surgical techniques in ameliorating the long-term disability and functional impairment inflicted by lymphedema on the lives of those affected. These procedures can be broadly categorized as physiologic, including lymphovenous bypass and using a vascularized lymph node transplant; or de bulking, by suction-assisted lipectomy or direct excisional procedures. The lymphovenous bypass procedure involves identification of obstructed lymphatic vessels and targeted bypass of these into neighboring venules. The vascularized lymph node transplant procedure involves microvascular anastomosis of functional lymph nodes into an extremity, either to an anatomical (orthotopic) or nonanatomical (heterotopic) location, to restore physiologic lymphatic function. In patients undergoing postmastectomy breast reconstruction, this may be performed by transferring a deep inferior epigastric artery perforator flap with a chimeric groin lymph node flap. For patients that have undergone breast-conserving surgery, in those for whom a free abdominal flap is contraindicated, or for those with lymphedema affecting the lower extremity, many other vascularized lymph node transplant options are available; these include flaps harvested from within the axillary, inguinal, or cervical lymph node basins, or from within the abdominal cavity. Chronic lymphedema is characterized by fibroadipose soft-tissue deposition that can only be removed by lipectomy, either minimally invasively using liposuction, or by direct excision. This article reviews the techniques and outcomes of surgical procedures used to treat lymphedema.
Fine Particle Air Pollution and Physiological Reactivity to Social Stress in Adolescence: The Moderating Role of Anxiety and Depression
Authors: Miller Jonas G. , Gillette Julia S. , Manczak Erika M. , Kircanski Katharina , Gotlib Ian H.
Published: August 2019

Objective

Exposure to high levels of fine particle air pollution (PM2.5) is associated with adolescent pathophysiology. It is unclear, however, if PM2.5 is associated with physiology within psychosocial contexts, such as social stress, and whether some adolescents are particularly vulnerable to PM2.5-related adverse effects. This study examined the association between PM2.5 and autonomic reactivity to social stress in adolescents and tested whether symptoms of anxiety and depression moderated this association.

Methods

Adolescents from Northern California (N = 144) participated in a modified Trier Social Stress Test while providing high-frequency heart rate variability and skin conductance level data. PM2.5 data were recorded from CalEnviroScreen. Adolescents reported on their own symptoms of anxiety and depression using the Youth Self-Report, which has been used in prior studies and has good psychometric properties (Cronbach’s α in this sample was .86).

Results

Adolescents residing in neighborhoods characterized by higher concentrations of PM2.5 demonstrated greater autonomic reactivity (i.e., indexed by lower heart rate variability and higher skin conductance level) (β = .27; b = .44, p = .001, 95% CI = 0.19 to 0.68) in response to social stress; this association was not accounted for by socioeconomic factors. In addition, adolescents who reported more severe anxiety and depression symptoms showed the strongest association between PM2.5 and autonomic reactivity to social stress (β = .53; b = .86, p < .001, 95% CI = 0.48 to 1.23).

Conclusions

Exposure to PM2.5 may heighten adolescent physiological reactivity to social stressors. Moreover, adolescents who experience anxiety and depression may be particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of PM2.5 on stress reactivity.
Pressure Injury
Authors: Hajhosseini Babak , Longaker Michael T. , Gurtner Geoffrey C.
Published: August 2019

Background:

Pressure injury is seen across all healthcare settings and affects people of any age and health condition. It imposes a significant burden, with annual costs of up to $17.8 billion in the United States alone. Despite considerable resources it exhausts, the disease remains very prevalent, and the incidence is on the rise. This is in part due to aging population, growing number of nursing home residents, poorly understood biology, and dismal track record of clinical research in this field.

Methods:

In our Review Article, we discuss the disease pathophysiology, clinical manifestation, evidence based recommendations for risk assessment, prevention and timely management, existing challenges, and directions to improve research on the field. This article encompasses dedicated sections on the full spectrum of the pressure related pathologies including “conventional pressure ulcers”, “medical device related pressure injuries”, “pressure injuries in mucosal membranes”, “pressure injuries in pediatric population”, “pressure injury at end of life”, and the “role of pressure in pathogenesis of diabetic foot ulcers”.
A Nationwide Population-based Study From Taiwan Assessing the Influence of Preventable Hospitalization Rate on Mortality After Oncologic Surgery
Authors: Kuo Chang-Fu , Kotsis Sandra V. , Wang Lu , Chen Jung-Sheng , Chung Kevin C.
Published: August 2019

Objective:

To determine the effect of a previously unassessed measure of quality—preventable hospitalization rate—on mortality after oncologic surgery for 4 procedures with established volume–outcome relationships. We hypothesize that hospitals with higher preventable hospitalization rates (indicating poor quality of primary care) have increased hospital mortality. Additionally, patients having surgery at hospitals with higher preventable hospitalization rates have increased mortality.

Summary Background Data:

Although different factors have been used to measure healthcare quality, most have not resulted in long-term hospital-based improvements in patient outcomes.

Methods:

We retrieved data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance database for patients who underwent surgery during 2001 to 2014 for esophagectomy, pancreatectomy, lung resection, or cystectomy. Preventable hospitalization rates assess hospitalizations for 11 chronic conditions that are deemed to be preventable with effective primary care. The outcome was 30-day surgical mortality. Identifiable factors potentially related to surgical mortality, including surgeon and hospital volume, were controlled for in the models.

Results:

Our dataset contained 35,081 patients who had surgery for one of the procedures. For all procedures, hospitals with high preventable hospitalization rates were associated with higher mortality rates (all P < 0.01). For esophagectomy, lung resection, and cystectomy, the adjusted odds of individual mortality increased by 8% to 10% (P < 0.01) for every 1% increase in the preventable hospitalization rate. For pancreatectomy, the adjusted odds of individual mortality increased by 21% for every 1% increase in preventable hospitalization rate when the rate was ≥8% (P < 0.01).

Conclusions:

Preventable hospitalization rates could serve as warning signs of low quality of care and be a publically-reported quality measure.
Digit ratio (2D : 4D) and prosocial behaviour in economic games: no direct correlation with generosity, bargaining or trust-related behaviours
Authors: Brañas-Garza Pablo , Espín Antonio M. , García-Muñoz Teresa , Kovářík Jaromír
Published: August 2019

Prenatal exposure to sex hormones exerts organizational effects on the brain which have observable behavioural correlates in adult life. There are reasons to expect that social behaviours—fundamental for the evolutionary success of humans—might be related to biological factors such as prenatal sex hormone exposure. Nevertheless, the existing literature is inconclusive as to whether and how prenatal exposure to testosterone and oestrogen, proxied by the second-to-fourth digit ratio (2D : 4D), may predict non-selfish behaviour. Here, we investigate this question using economic experiments with real monetary stakes and analyse five different dimensions of social behaviour in a comparatively large sample of Caucasian participants (
n
= 560). For both males and females, our results show no robust association between right- or left-hand 2D : 4D and generosity, bargaining or trust-related behaviours. Moreover, no differences in behaviour were found according to sex. We conclude that there is no direct correlation between 2D : 4D and these social behaviours.
Facial width-to-height ratio is associated with agonistic and affiliative dominance in bonobos (
Pan paniscus
)
Authors: Martin J. S. , Staes N. , Weiss A. , Stevens J. M. G. , Jaeggi A. V.
Published: August 2019

Facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) is associated with social dominance in human and non-human primates, which may reflect the effects of testosterone on facial morphology and behaviour. Given that testosterone facilitates status-seeking motivation, the association between fWHR and behaviour should be contingent on the relative costs and benefits of particular dominance strategies across species and socioecological contexts. We tested this hypothesis in bonobos (
Pan paniscus
), who exhibit female dominance and rely on both affiliation and aggression to achieve status. We measured fWHR from facial photographs, affiliative dominance with Assertiveness personality scores and agonistic dominance with behavioural data. Consistent with our hypothesis, agonistic and affiliative dominance predicted fWHR in both sexes independent of age and body weight, supporting the role of status-seeking motivation in producing the link between fWHR and socioecologically relevant dominance behaviour across primates.
Palaeo-trajectories of forest savannization in the southern Congo
Authors: Aleman Julie C. , Blarquez Olivier , Elenga Hilaire , Paillard Jordan , Kimpuni Victor , Itoua Gaubin , Issele Gauthier , Staver A. Carla
Published: August 2019

Tropical savannah and forest are thought to represent alternative stable states in ecosystem structure in some climates. The implication is that biomes are maintained by positive feedbacks, e.g. with fire, and that historical distributions could play a role in determining modern ones. In this context, climate alone does not govern transitions between biomes, and understanding the causes and pathways of such transitions becomes crucial. Here, we use a multi-proxy analysis of a 2000-year core to evaluate modes of transition in vegetation structure and fire regimes. We demonstrate a first transition
ca
1540 BP, when a cyclic fire regime entered a forested landscape, eventually resulting, by
ca
1060 BP, in a transition to a more open savannah-like or mosaicked structure. This pattern may parallel currently accelerating fire regimes in tropical forests suggesting that fires can savannize forests, but perhaps more slowly than feared. Finally,
ca
540 BP, a drought combined with anthropogenic influences resulted in a conclusive transition to savannah, probably resembling the modern landscape in the region. We show here that fire interacted with drought to transition forest to savannah, suggesting that disturbance by fire can be a major driver of biome change.
Variation in chronotype is associated with migratory timing in a songbird
Authors: Rittenhouse Jeffrey L. , Robart Ashley R. , Watts Heather E.
Published: August 2019

Like many organisms, birds exhibit daily (circadian) and seasonal biological rhythms, and within populations both daily and seasonal timing often vary among individuals. Because photoperiod interacts with the circadian rhythms of many organisms to induce seasonal changes in behaviour and physiology, it is hypothesized that differences in daily timing, called chronotypes, underpin differences among individuals in the timing of seasonal events. For seasonal events stimulated by increasing daylength, this hypothesis predicts a positive relationship between the timing of daily and seasonal activities of individuals, with advanced chronotypes expressing events earlier in the year. The few previous tests of this hypothesis have focused on seasonal reproductive timing in birds. However, the hypothesis predicts that this relationship should extend to other photoinduced seasonal events. Therefore, we tested whether variation in chronotype was associated with variation in spring migratory timing in a captive songbird model, the pine siskin (
Spinus pinus
). We found that pine siskins expressing migratory restlessness exhibited repeatable chronotypes in their timing of nocturnal activity. Further, chronotype was significantly associated with the onset date of migratory behaviour, consistent with the hypothesized relationship between chronotype and seasonal timing.
John Newsom-Davis. 18 October 1932—24 August 2007
Authors: Vincent Angela
Published: August 2019

John Newsom-Davis (‘JND’) was a neurologist who played an important role in the discovery of the causes of, and treatments for, myasthenia gravis (MG), and of other diseases of the nerve–muscle junction. He started his career at the National Hospital in London, becoming director of the Batten Unit there, with an interest in respiratory physiology. He began to work on MG in collaboration with Ricardo Miledi (FRS 1970) at University College London and in 1978, after performing the first study on plasma exchange in that disease, he established an MG research group at the Royal Free Hospital, subsequently identifying the role of the thymus in this disease and demonstrating an autoimmune basis for the Lambert–Eaton myasthenic syndrome and ‘seronegative’ myasthenia. He was awarded the first Medical Research Council Clinical Research Professorship in 1979 but moved to Oxford in 1987 when he was elected Action Research Professor of Neurology. While at Oxford he continued to run a very successful multidisciplinary group, and began the molecular work that identified the genetic basis for many forms of congenital myasthenic syndrome. He also helped to establish the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB) Centre. Meanwhile he was also involved in university and college governance and contributed widely to the Medical Research Council, government committees, and the Association of British Neurologists (ABN). Among many honours, he was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1996 and made a Foreign Associate Member of the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine) in the USA in 2001. Following retirement from Oxford, he was President of the ABN and Editor ofBrain, and led a National Institutes of Health-funded international trial of thymectomy.
Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore. 4 March 1923—9 December 2012
Authors: May Alex , Longair Malcolm
Published: August 2019

Patrick Moore was the archetype of the English eccentric, bringing a passionate enthusiasm for astronomy to the general public, principally through his long-running television series
The Sky at Night
. He was an inspired amateur who made no pretence at being a professional, but who had the extraordinary ability to communicate in simple, articulate and direct language the significance of advances in astronomy and astrophysics to the general public. He inspired generations of young people to take an interest in astronomy, and in science in general. This passion was combined with a love of everything English, especially cricket, and political views which might be mildly described as extreme right-wing.
Data scarcity and ecological complexity: the cutaneous leishmaniasis dynamics in Ecuador
Authors: Morales Diego , Paredes Marlio , Morales-Butler Emmanuel J. , Cruz-Aponte Mayteé , Arriola Leon , Cevallos Varsovia , Ponce Patricio , Mubayi Anuj
Published: August 2019

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a neglected tropical disease transmitted by species of Phlebotominae sand flies. CL is responsible for more than 1000 reported cases per year in Ecuador. Vector collection studies in Ecuador suggest that there is a strong association between the ecological diversity of an ecosystem, the presence of potential alternative or reservoir hosts and the abundance of sand fly species. Data collected from a coastal community in Ecuador showed that
Leishmania
parasites may be circulating in diverse hosts, including mammalian and potentially avian species, and these hosts may serve as potential hosts for the parasite. There has been limited reporting of CL cases in Ecuador because the disease is non-fatal and its surveillance system is passive. Hence, the actual incidence of CL is unknown. In this study, an epidemic model was developed and analysed to understand the complexity of CL transmission dynamics with potential non-human hosts in the coastal ecosystem and to estimate critical epidemiological quantities for Ecuador. The model is fitted to the 2010 CL outbreak in the town of Valle Hermoso in the Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas province of Ecuador and parameters such as CL transmission rates in different types of hosts (primary and alternative), and levels of case reporting in the town are estimated. The results suggest that the current surveillance in this region fails to capture 38% (with 95% CI (29%, 47%)) of the actual number of cases under the assumption that alternative hosts are dead-end hosts and that the mean CL reproduction number in the town is 3.9. This means that on the average 3.9 new human CL cases were generated by a single infectious human in the town during the initial period of the 2010 outbreak. Moreover, major outbreaks of CL in Ecuador in coastal settings are unavoidable until reporting through the surveillance system is improved and alternative hosts are managed properly. The estimated infection transmission probabilities from alternative hosts to sand flies, and sand flies to alternative hosts are 27% and 32%, respectively. The analysis highlights that vector control and alternative host management are two effective programmes for Ecuador but need to be implemented concurrently to avoid future major outbreaks.
Modelling the ballistic-to-diffusive transition in nematode motility reveals variation in exploratory behaviour across species
Authors: Helms Stephen J. , Rozemuller W. Mathijs , Costa Antonio Carlos , Avery Leon , Stephens Greg J. , Shimizu Thomas S.
Published: August 2019

A quantitative understanding of organism-level behaviour requires predictive models that can capture the richness of behavioural phenotypes, yet are simple enough to connect with underlying mechanistic processes. Here, we investigate the motile behaviour of nematodes at the level of their translational motion on surfaces driven by undulatory propulsion. We broadly sample the nematode behavioural repertoire by measuring motile trajectories of the canonical laboratory strainCaenorhabditis elegansN2 as well as wild strains and distant species. We focus on trajectory dynamics over time scales spanning the transition from ballistic (straight) to diffusive (random) movement and find that salient features of the motility statistics are captured by a random walk model with independent dynamics in the speed, bearing and reversal events. We show that the model parameters vary among species in a correlated, low-dimensional manner suggestive of a common mode of behavioural control and a trade-off between exploration and exploitation. The distribution of phenotypes along this primary mode of variation reveals that not only the mean but also the variance varies considerably across strains, suggesting that these nematode lineages employ contrasting ‘bet-hedging’ strategies for foraging.
Photocatalytic decolorization of three commercial dyes using a new heteropolyoxotantalate catalyst
Authors: Wang Yansong , Zhou Zhimin
Published: August 2019

The decolorization of commercial dyes is still a pertinent issue since these azo dyes are relatively resistant to conventional biological treatment methods. It is well known that polyoxometalates can absorb light in UV–Vis range that delivers electrons to the reducible species resulting in the decomposition of organic compounds. In this paper, we present the third heteropolyoxotantalate under conventional synthetic conditions in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The compound has been thoroughly characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and powder X-ray diffraction. The polyanion incorporates two 3-peroxotantalo-2-phosphate clusters that are linked together by four oxygen bridges. In addition, the photocatalytic activities of the title compound
1a
were investigated. After 270 min irradiation, about 90% of Rhodamine B (RhB) was removed in the presence of
1a
while the degradation of RhB could be negligible in the absence of
1a
, indicating it can be a promising catalyst candidate for decolorization of organic dyes. Also, photocatalytic experiment for hydrogen generation was studied, and the results show that the H
2
evolution rate is 3383 µmol h
−1
g
−1
for compound
1a
(100 mg) over 6 h with the corresponding turnover number of 432.
A multifactor coupling prediction model for the failure depth of floor rocks in fully mechanized caving mining: a numerical and
in situ
study
Authors: Jiang Yulong , Cai Tingting , Zhang Xiaoqiang
Published: August 2019

To study the mining-induced failure depth of floor rocks in a fully mechanized mining caving field affected by different coal seam pitches, mining face lengths, burial depths and aquifer water pressures, multifactor-coupled orthogonal numerical tests on the failure depth of floor rocks were conducted. The numerical results show that the failure depth of floor rocks increases with increasing mining face length, coal seam pitch and burial depth. According to the relationship between failure depth and these impact factors, a multifactor-coupled prediction model for the failure depth of floor rocks was established. In addition, the
in situ
measurement of the failure depth of floor rocks in the Yitang Coal Mine in Huoxi coal field in Shanxi Province, China, was performed, and the
in situ
failure depths of floor rocks in the 100 502 (80 m) and 100 502 (180 m) mining faces were approximately 12.50–14.65 m and 17.50–19.20 m, in good agreement with the results of the multifactor prediction model. Furthermore, the sensitivity of each impact factor in the prediction model of the floor failure depth was further analysed by
F
-test and range analysis, and the impact order of studied factors on the floor failure depth is coal seam pitch > mining face length > burial depth > aquifer water pressure.