bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Improved clonality detection in Hodgkin lymphoma using a semi‐nested modification of the BIOMED‐2 PCR assay for IGH and IGK rearrangements: A paraffin‐embedded tissue study
Authors: Han Shusen , Masaki Ayako , Sakamoto Yuma , Takino Hisashi , Murase Takayuki , Iida Shinsuke , Inagaki Hiroshi
Published: March 2018

The BIOMED‐2 PCR protocols targeting IGH and IGK genes may be useful for detecting clonality in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). The clonality detection rates, however, have not been very high with these methods using paraffin‐embedded tumor sections. We previously described the usefulness of the semi‐nested BIOMED‐2 IGH assay in B‐cell malignancies. In this study, we devised a novel semi‐nested BIOMED‐2 IGK assay. Employing 58 cases of classical HL, we carried out the standard BIOMED‐2, BIOMED‐2 followed by BIOMED‐2 re‐amplification, and BIOMED‐2 followed by semi‐nested BIOMED‐2, all targeting IGH and IGK, using paraffin‐embedded tissues. In both IGH and IGK assays, semi‐nested assays yielded significantly higher clonality detection rates than the standard assays and re‐amplification assays. Clonality was detected in 13/58 (22.4%) classical HL cases using the standard IGH/IGK assays while it was detected in 38/58 (65.5%) cases using semi‐nested IGH/IGK assays. The detection rates were not associated with the HL subtypes, CD30‐positive cell density, CD20‐positive cell density, or Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) positivity. In conclusion, tumor clonality was detected in nearly two‐thirds of classical HL cases using semi‐nested BIOMED‐2 IGH/IGK assays using paraffin tumor sections. These semi‐nested assays may be useful when the standard IGH/IGK assays fail to detect clonality in histopathologically suspected HLs.
Piriformospora indica inoculation alleviates the adverse effect of NaCl stress on growth, gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)
Authors: Ghorbani A. , Razavi S. M. , Ghasemi Omran V. O. , Pirdashti H.
Published: March 2018

Salinity is now an increasingly serious environmental issue that affects the growth and yield of many plants.

In the present work, the influence of inoculation with the symbiotic fungus, Piriformospora indica, on gas exchange, water potential, osmolyte content, Na/K ratio and chlorophyll fluorescence of tomato plants under three salinity levels (0, 50, 100 and 150 mm NaCl) and three time periods (5, 10 and 15 days after exposure to salt) was investigated.

Results indicate that P. indica inoculation improved growth parameters of tomato under salinity stress. This symbiotic fungus significantly increased photosynthetic pigment content under salinity, and more proline and glycine betaine accumulated in inoculated roots than in non‐inoculated roots. P. indica further significantly improved K+ content and reduced Na+ level under salinity treatment. After inoculation with the endophytic fungus, leaf physiological parameters, such as water potential, net photosynthesis, stomatal conductance and transpiration, were all higher under the salt concentrations and durations compared with controls without P. indica. With increasing salt level and salt treatment duration, values of F0 and qP increased but Fm, Fv/Fm, F′v/F′m and NPQ declined in the controls, while inoculation with P. indica improved these values.

The results indicate that the negative effects of NaCl on tomato plants were alleviated after P. indica inoculation, probably by improving physiological parameters such as water status and photosynthesis.
State Implementation of the Affordable Care Act: Four Case Studies
Authors: Mayer Martin , Kenter Robert C. , Morris John C. , Lucero Luisa
Published: March 2018

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has been the subject of one of the most contentious policy issues in recent memory. Previous research has tracked the volatility of state decisions over a three‐year period, 2012, 2013, and 2014, using an index ranking states by their policy decisions regarding whether they were in support or opposition to the ACA. The present study suggests state legislatures may increasingly be making health‐care choices based on the needs of the citizens in the state and less on partisanship. This article employs a case study methodology to examine the health‐care policy decisions made in four states: Alabama, which ranked as one of the staunchest opponents; Michigan, which scored as neutral; California, which scored as highly supportive; and New Hampshire, which moved from opposition to support during the reviewed three‐year time frame. This research examines influences driving these decisions at the state level.

Related Articles

Bernick, Ethan M., and
Nathan Myers. 2012. “.” Politics & Policy 40 (): 131‐159. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2011.00340.x/abstract

Heidbreder, Brianne. 2012. “.” Politics & Policy 40 (): 296‐319. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2012.00345.x/abstract

Malloy, Liam C.,
Shanna Pearson‐Merkowitz, and
Irwin Morris. 2016. “.” Politics & Policy 44 (): 945‐975. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/polp.12176/abstract

Related Media

2017. “How Healthy Are the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVsseQKuEg8

2013. “How Does the Affordable Care Act Work?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vju70I6qSKk

Cthealthpolicy.org. 2014. “Syllabus: ‘Implementing Health Care in CT.’” http://www.cthealthpolicy.org/cthealthbook/obamacare/syllabus.pdf
Effect of temperature on resistance to Potato virus Y in potato cultivars carrying the resistance gene Rychc
Authors: Ohki T. , Sano M. , Asano K. , Nakayama T. , Maoka T.
Published: March 2018

The effect of cultivation temperatures on the resistance reaction to three Potato virus Y strains (PVYO, PVYN and PVYNTN) in potato cultivars carrying Rychc was examined. When potato plants carrying Rychc were cultivated at 22 °C, a few small necrotic spots developed on inoculated leaves by 5 days after mechanical inoculation (dpi), and systemic infection of a few symptomless plants was confirmed at 28 dpi by IC‐RT‐PCR. At 28 °C, distinct necrotic spots developed on inoculated leaves by 5 dpi, and systemic symptoms occasionally appeared at 28 dpi. Thus, high temperature weakens Rychc‐conferred resistance. However, the incidence of systemic infection and the titre of virus in resistant cultivars at 28 °C were lower than in a susceptible cultivar. In graft inoculation under high summer temperatures, some plants developed necrosis on the leaves and stem, but PVY was barely detected by RT‐PCR in leaves on potato carrying Rychc. When seedlings from progeny tubers of plants that were inoculated with PVY and grown in a greenhouse at >30 °C in the daytime were examined by ELISA and IC‐RT‐PCR, PVY was not detected in cultivars carrying Rychc. These results show that Rychc confers an extreme resistance to PVY strains occurring in Japan.
Changes in the mitochondrial proteome of developing maize seed embryos
Authors: Wang Wei‐Qing , Wang Yue , Zhang Qi , Møller Ian M. , Song Song‐Quan
Published: March 2018

Mitochondria are required for seed development, but little information is available about their function and role during this process. We isolated the mitochondria from developing maize (Zea mays L. cv. Nongda 108) embryos and investigated the mitochondrial membrane integrity and respiration as well as the mitochondrial proteome using two proteomic methods, the two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis (2‐DE) and sequential windowed acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion mass spectra (SWATH). Mitochondrial membrane integrity and respiration were maintained at a high level up to 21 days after pollination (DAP) and decreased thereafter, while total mitochondrial number, cytochrome c oxidase activity and respiration per embryo exhibited a bell‐shaped change with peaks at 35–45 DAP. A total of 286 mitochondrial proteins changed in abundance during embryo development. During early stages of seed development (up to 21 DAP), proteins involved in energy production, basic metabolism, protein import and folding as well as removal of reactive oxygen species dominated, while during mid or late stages (35–70 DAP), some stress‐ and detoxification‐related proteins increased in abundance. Our study, for the first time, depicted a relatively comprehensive map of energy production by mitochondria during embryo development. The results revealed that mitochondria were very active during the early stages of maize embryo development, while at the late stages of development, the mitochondria became more quiescent, but well‐protected, presumably to ensure that the embryo passes through maturation, drying and long‐term storage. These results advance our understanding of seed development at the organelle level.
In vitro differentiation of bovine bone marrow‐derived mesenchymal stem cells into male germ cells by exposure to exogenous bioactive factors
Authors: Cortez J , Bahamonde J , De los Reyes M , Palomino J , Torres CG , Peralta OA
Published: March 2018

Contents

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are multipotent progenitor cells defined by their ability to self‐renew and give rise to differentiated progeny. Previous studies have reported that MSC may be induced in vitro to develop into different types of specialized cells including male gametes. In vitro gamete derivation technology has potential applications as an alternative method for dissemination of elite animal genetics, production of transgenic animals and conservation of endangered species. This study aimed at investigating the in vitro effect of BMP4, TGFβ1 and RA on the potential for germ cell (GC) differentiation of bovine foetal MSC (bfMSC) derived from bone marrow (BM). The effect of BMP4, TGFβ1 and RA was analysed on the expression of pluripotent, GC and male GC markers on bfMSC during a 21‐day culture period. bfMSC cultured under in vitro conditions expressed OCT4, NANOG and DAZL, but lacked expression of mRNA of VASA, STELLA, FRAGILIS, STRA8 and PIWIL2. Treatment with exogenous BMP4 and TGFβ1 induced a transient increase (p < .05) in DAZL and NANOG mRNA levels, respectively. However, exposure to RA was more effective in increasing (p < .05) expression of DAZL and regulating expression of OCT4 and mRNA levels of NANOG. These data suggest that bfMSC may possess potential for early GC differentiation, where OCT4, NANOG and specially DAZL may play significant roles in controlling progression along the GC lineage.
Identification of ectopic ovotestis in a dog with XX ovotesticular, SRY‐negative, disorder of sexual development
Authors: Diel de Amorim M , Lerer A , Durzi T , Foster RA , Gartley CJ
Published: March 2018

Contents

A 1‐year‐old, previously spayed phenotypic female Poodle/Soft‐coated Wheaten Terrier (Whoodle) cross was presented for a suspected ovarian remnant. Serum luteinizing hormone (LH) concentration was below the detection limit (<1 ng/ml Witness® LH), and serum progesterone concentration was elevated in the chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA; 20 ng/ml), consistent with dioestrus and presence of ovarian tissue. Transabdominal ultrasound revealed a retroperitoneal soft tissue structure suspected to be a gonad. On exploratory laparotomy, a gonad was removed from the cranial retroperitoneum, cranial to the right kidney, after ligation of its primary blood supply. Histological examination proved the gonad to be an ovotestis. Subsequent cytogenetics revealed a 78 XX karyotype, thus confirming the diagnosis of ectopic ovotestis in a XX ovotesticular, SRY‐negative, disorder of sexual development in a dog.
Undertaking large‐scale forest restoration to generate ecosystem services
Authors: Lamb David
Published: March 2018

The global community is seeking to substantially restore the world's forest cover to improve the supply of ecosystem services. However, it is not clear what type of reforestation must be used and there is a risk that the techniques used in industrial timber plantations will become the default methodology. This is unlikely to be sufficient because of the well‐known relationship between biodiversity and ecological functioning. Restoration may be achieved through natural regeneration but this may not always occur at critical locations. Ecological restoration involving species‐rich plantings might also be used but can be difficult to implement at landscape scales. I review here the consequence of planting more limited numbers of species and the effects of this on the delivery of ecosystem services. Evidence suggests many commonly sought ecosystem services—though not all—may be generated by the modest levels of species richness provided these species have appropriate traits. The literature also shows that the alpha diversity of restored forests is not the only driver of functionality and that the location and extent of any reforestation are significant as well; beta and gamma diversity may also affect functionality but these relationships remain unclear. Encouraging the adoption of even moderately diverse plantings at landscape scales and at key locations will require policies and institutions to balance the type, location, and scale of restoration and make the necessary trade‐offs between national and local aspirations. New approaches and metrics will have to be developed to monitor and assess restoration success at these larger scales.
Understanding voluntary program performance: Introducing the diffusion network perspective
Authors: van der Heijden Jeroen
Published: March 2018

Voluntary programs have rapidly become a means for the public, private, and third sectors to regulate and govern complex societal problems. Following the rapid and widespread emergence of these programs, scholars have been active in mapping, exploring, and interrogating their design and performance. Considerable advances have been made in describing program design and context conditions, and the actors involved in the voluntary program that relate to program performance. Less is known, however, about how these conditions affect program performance. Starting with one of the dominant theories on voluntary programs, the club theory perspective, this article seeks to understand how different program design conditions interact to affect the performance of 26 voluntary programs for low carbon building and city development in Australia, the Netherlands, and the United States. Applying qualitative comparative analysis, the study finds that the club theory perspective has limited explanatory power for this specific set of cases. Iterative rounds of analysis indicate that a diffusion network perspective is the best complementary perspective for explaining the performance of this set of programs. The article concludes that, in situations of a non‐homogeneous market of voluntary program participants, a focus on the programs’ diffusion networks helps to explain their performance. This has implications for the design and implementation of such programs.
Genesis of Pb–Zn Mineralization Beneath the Xiangshan Uranium Orefield, South China: Constraints from H–O–S–Pb Isotopes and Rb–Sr Dating
Authors: Guo Jian , Li Ziying , Nie Jiangtao , Huang Zhizhang , Wang Jian , Lai Chun‐Kit
Published: March 2018

The volcanic‐hosted Xiangshan uranium orefield is the largest uranium deposit in South China. Recent exploration has discovered extensive Pb–Zn mineralization beneath the uranium orebodies. Detailed geological investigation reveals that the major metallic minerals include pyrite, sphalerite, galena, and chalcopyrite, whilst the major non‐metallic minerals include quartz, sericite, and calcite. New δ18Ofluidand δDfluiddata indicate that the ore‐forming fluids were mainly derived from magmatic, and the sulfide δ34S values (2.2–6.9‰) suggest a dominantly magmatic sulfur source. The Pb isotope compositions are homogeneous (206Pb/204Pb = 18.120–18.233,207Pb/204Pb = 15.575–15.698, and208Pb/204Pb = 37.047–38.446). The87Sr/86Sr ratios of sulfide minerals range from 0.7197 to 0.7204, which is much higher than volcanic rocks and fall into the range of metamorphic basement. Lead and strontium isotopic compositions indicate that the metallogenic materials probably were derived from metamorphic basement. Pyrite Rb–Sr dating of the ores yielded 131.3 ± 4.0 Ma, indicating that the Pb–Zn mineralization occurred in the Early Cretaceous.
A North–South model of outsourcing and growth
Authors: Saito Yuki
Published: March 2018

In this paper, I formulate a simple North–South R&D‐based growth model where final goods firms in the North endogenously determine the range of international outsourcing of intermediate goods to the South. I show that a fall in the trade cost (through trade liberalization) of intermediate goods in the North: (i) reduces the wage of the North relative to that of the South; (ii) increases the outsourced variety of intermediate goods in the North; and (iii) stimulates Northern R&D activity and economic growth in both countries. By conducting welfare analysis, I also show that a decline in the trade cost of intermediate goods in the North improves welfare in the South more than in the North.
Bayesian Semiparametric Modelling of Contraceptive Behaviour in India Via Sequential Logistic Regressions
Authors: Rigon Tommaso , Durante Daniele , Torelli Nicola
Published: March 2018

Family planning has been characterized by highly different strategic programmes in India, including method-specific contraceptive targets, coercive sterilization and more recent target-free approaches. These major changes in family planning policies over time have motivated considerable interest towards assessing the effectiveness of the different planning programmes. Current studies mainly focus on the factors driving the choice among specific subsets of contraceptives, such as a preference for alternative methods other than sterilization. Although this restricted focus produces key insights, it fails to provide a global overview of the different policies, and of the determinants underlying the choices from the entire range of contraceptive methods. Motivated by this consideration, we propose a Bayesian semiparametric model relying on a reparameterization of the multinomial probability mass function via a set of conditional Bernoulli choices. This binary decision tree is defined to be consistent with the current family planning policies in India, and coherent with a reasonable process characterizing the choice between increasingly nested subsets of contraceptive methods. The model allows a subset of covariates to enter the predictor via Bayesian penalized splines and exploits mixture models to represent uncertainty in the distribution of the state-specific random effects flexibly. This combination of flexible and careful reparameterizations allows a broader and interpretable overview of the policies and contraceptive preferences in India.
Power and Commensurate Priors for Synthesizing Aggregate and Individual Patient Level Data in Network Meta-Analysis
Authors: Hong Hwanhee , Fu Haoda , Carlin Bradley P.
Published: March 2018

In network meta-analysis, it is often desirable to synthesize different types of studies, featuring aggregated data and individual patient level data. However, existing methods do not sufficiently consider the quality of studies across different types of data and assume that the treatment effects are exchangeable across all studies regardless of these types. We propose Bayesian hierarchical network meta-analysis models that allow us to borrow information adaptively across aggregated data and individual patient level data studies by using power and commensurate priors. The power parameter in the power priors and spike-and-slab hyperprior in the commensurate priors govern the level of borrowing information among study types. We incorporate covariate-by-treatment interactions to deliver personalized decision making and model any ecological fallacy. The methods are validated and compared via extensive simulation studies and then applied to an example in diabetes treatment comparing 28 oral antidiabetic drugs. We compare results across model and hyperprior specifications. Finally, we close with a discussion of our findings, limitations and future research.
Nonlocal and Multipoint Boundary Value Problems for Linear Evolution Equations
Authors: Pelloni Beatrice , Smith David Andrew
Published: March 2018

We derive the solution representation for a large class of nonlocal boundary value problems for linear evolution partial differential equations (PDE) with constant coefficients in one space variable. The prototypical example of such PDE is the heat equation, for which problems of this form model physical phenomena in chemistry and for which we formulate and prove a full result. We also consider the third‐order case, which is much less studied and has been shown by the authors to have very different structural properties in general. The nonlocal conditions we consider can be reformulated as multipoint conditions, and then an explicit representation for the solution of the problem is obtained by an application of the Fokas transform method. The analysis is carried out under the assumption that the problem being solved is well posed, i.e., it admits a unique solution. For the second‐order case, we also give criteria that guarantee well posedness.
Rheumatologic complications in a cohort of 227 patients with common variable immunodeficiency
Authors: Azizi G. , Kiaee F. , Hedayat E. , Yazdani R. , Dolatshahi E. , Alinia T. , Sharifi L. , Mohammadi H. , Kavosi H. , Jadidi‐Niaragh F. , Ziaee V. , Abolhassani H. , Aghamohammadi A.
Published: March 2018

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is the most prevalent symptomatic type of human primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID). Clinically, CVID is characterized by increased susceptibility to infections and a wide variety of autoimmune and rheumatologic disorders. All patients with CVID registered in Iranian PID Registry (IPIDR) were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. We investigated the frequency of rheumatologic diseases and its association with immunological and clinical phenotypes in patients with CVID. A total of 227 patients with CVID were enrolled in this study. The prevalence of rheumatologic disorders was 10.1% with a higher frequency in women than men. Most common rheumatologic manifestations were juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and adult rheumatoid arthritis (RA) followed by juvenile spondyloarthritis (JSpA) and undifferentiated inflammatory arthritis (UIA). Septic arthritis in patients with CVID with a history of RA and JIA was higher than patients without rheumatologic complication. Patients with CVID with a history of autoimmunity (both rheumatologic and non‐rheumatologic autoimmunity) had lower regulatory T cells counts in comparison with patients without autoimmune disorders. There was an association between defect in specific antibody responses and negative serologic test results in patients with rheumatologic manifestations. JIA, RA, JSpA and UIA are the most frequent rheumatologic disorders in patients with CVID. Due to antibody deficiency, serologic tests may be negative in these patients. Therefore, these conditions pose significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges for immunologists and rheumatologists in charge of the care for these patients.
Predicting Suicide Attempts for Racial and Ethnic Groups of Patients During Routine Clinical Care
Authors: Coleman Karen J. , Johnson Eric , Ahmedani Brian K. , Beck Arne , Rossom Rebecca C. , Shortreed Susan M. , Simon Greg E.
Published: March 2018

The aim of this study was to examine variation in suicide ideation and its relationship to risk of suicide attempt in the subsequent 90 days by race and ethnicity. Participants were adults who completed the Patient Health Questionnaire depression module (PHQ9) during an outpatient encounter between January 10, 2010, and December 12, 2012 (N = 509,945 patients; N = 1,228,308 completed PHQ9). Data came from the Virtual Data Warehouse from four health care systems in the Mental Health Research Network. The sample was majority female (73.7%), primarily 30–64 years old (60.1%), healthy (64.5% comorbidity index = 0), and over half were non‐Hispanic White (52.9%). Only Asian patients (OR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.24, 1.39) had higher odds of reporting suicide ideation when compared to non‐Hispanic White people. All racial and ethnic groups had increased risk for suicide attempt with increased frequency of suicide ideation. The PHQ9 item 9 can be used as an indicator of suicide ideation and risk for suicide attempt up to 90 days after the reported ideation in racial and ethnic minority patients during routine clinical care.
Contemporary Definitions of Suicidal Behavior: A Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Goodfellow Benjamin , Kõlves Kairi , de Leo Diego
Published: March 2018

To address the lack of comparability around the world, we conducted a systematic review of existing definitions of suicide and suicidal behaviors. In the literature, four key features appear to cover the vast majority of concepts underpinning definitions: agency, knowledge of a potential fatal outcome, intent, and outcome. Intent and outcome appear to be the most consensual features of definitions of suicide, albeit revealing interesting conceptual variations. The four key features could be used to devise a research tool able to explore the meanings of suicide across different countries and different cultures.
Knee‐high compression socks minimize head‐up tilt‐induced cerebral and cardiovascular responses following dynamic exercise
Authors: Dorey T. W. , O'Brien M. W. , Robinson S. A. , Kimmerly D. S.
Published: March 2018

In healthy individuals during a non‐exercised state, knee‐high compression socks (CS) may reduce the magnitude of lower limb venous pooling during orthostasis but are not effective at minimizing the incidence of pre‐syncopal symptoms. However, exaggerated reductions in cerebral blood flow velocity (CBV) and cardiac stroke volume (SV) occur during passive head‐up tilt (HUT) testing following dynamic exercise. It is unknown ifCScan minimize post‐exerciseHUT‐induced decrements inCBVandSVin this population. To test the hypothesis thatCSwill attenuate the reductions inSVandCBVduring 60°HUTfollowing 60 minutes of moderate‐intensity (60%VO2peak) cycling exercise. Ten healthy volunteers (22.6 ± 2.1 years, 24.1 ± 2.5 kg/m2) completed pre‐ and post‐exercise 15‐minuteHUTtests during randomizedCSand Control (noCS) conditions. Changes in blood pressure (finger plethysmography),SV(Modelflow® method), andCBV(Transcranial Doppler) were measured duringHUTand preceding supine rest periods. Pre‐exerciseHUT‐induced similar (all,P > .47) reductions inSV(Control; −23.1 ± 11.5%,CS; −20.5 ± 10.9%) andCBV(Control; −18.1 ± 6.3%,CS; −15.3 ± 9.0%). However, larger post‐exercise decreases inSVandCBVduringHUTwere observed in the Control versusCScondition. Specifically,CSattenuated the drop inSV(Control: −32.9 ± 5.6%,CS: −24.3 ± 11.6%;P = .01) andCBV(Control: −25.1 ± 5.8%,CS: −17.6 ± 7.8%;P = .02) during the post‐exerciseHUTtest. These results indicate thatCSattenuatedHUT‐induced reductions inSVandCBVfollowing moderate‐intensity cycling exercise and suggest thatCSmay be an effective countermeasure to reduce the incidence of post‐exercise syncope in vulnerable populations.
Towards a critical psychology of human–animal relations
Authors: Adams Matthew
Published: March 2018

This article argues that critical psychological engagement with the field of human–animal relations is largely absent, but of potential significance, and begins to outline more concretely what such a perspective might contribute, especially as a form of social psychology. The article provides a brief overview of the emerging psychology of human–animal relations and the extent to which it emphasises situated human–animal interactions in real‐world settings, including from the standpoint of animal participants. Recent elaborations of the “animal turn” outside of the discipline of psychology are considered, as they place fresh emphasis on human–animal interaction and interdependence and might further extend the boundaries of what counts as relations that matter in critical and social psychology. These foundations are argued to offer an invitation to critical psychology to engage more fully in the study of human–animal relations and enliven it as a result.
Counterfactual thought in reasoning and performance
Authors: Smallman Rachel , Summerville Amy
Published: March 2018

Counterfactual thoughts mutate reality to imagine how things might have been different than they actually are. These types of thoughts are more frequent when the antecedent is unusual or the outcome is temporally or numerically close. Counterfactuals have functional benefits for causal reasoning, motivation, intentions, and behavior change. However, they can also bias or hinder these same phenomena under certain conditions. In this article, we review the processes by which counterfactuals produce functional (vs. dysfunctional) outcomes and suggest that this relies on four essential criteria: a causal antecedent is identified accurately; the antecedent can be acted upon by the individual; the counterfactual thought facilitates the means or motivation to alter future behavior; and a future relevant opportunity for application is recognized. Counterfactuals will be functional to the extent that they satisfy all four criteria.
Stress and eating: Definitions, findings, explanations, and implications
Authors: Araiza Ashley M. , Lobel Marci
Published: March 2018

As high stress has become ubiquitous in modern society, so too has the prevalence of overweight and obesity, leading many to question whether these changes are related. Does stress affect eating? In this article, we summarize research investigating associations between stress and eating and describe the mechanisms that may explain such associations. Our review indicates that regardless of how stress and eating are operationalized, manipulated, or analyzed, and regardless of sample characteristics, associations of stress with eating behavior are observed quite consistently, with some variability due to individual differences. There is also evidence that the link between stress and eating involves both biological and behavioral processes. We discuss the possible longer term implications of stress–eating associations for weight gain, weight stigma, and subsequent health, and we identify specific methodological and conceptual advances needed to improve further research and application.
Reflections on cohesion research with sport and exercise groups
Authors: Eys Mark A. , Brawley Lawrence R.
Published: March 2018

The purpose of this article is to highlight cohesion research emanating from sport and exercise investigations. Across 3 sections, we detail how physical activity cohesion research converges with, and diverges from, mainstream literature in other areas (e.g., organizational psychology). In the first section, information pertaining to the definition, conceptualization, and measurement of cohesion in sport and exercise is provided and contrasted with recent reviews on these topics from organizational psychology. The second section provides an overview of recent studies conducted within the physical activity context to illustrate the diverse nature of cohesion research in this area. Specifically, the summary of sport literature highlights the associations of personal, social, and team factors to cohesion, in addition to drawing attention to its potential maladaptive effects. Exercise research is summarized via associations with personal, leadership, environmental, and group factors. Finally, in the third section, future suggestions are provided encouraging researchers to explore (a) the temporal dynamics of cohesion, (b) greater theoretical integration, (c) measurement issues, and (d) diverse populations of physical activity participants.
Recent use of medical infrared thermography in skin neoplasms
Authors: Magalhaes C. , Vardasca R. , Mendes J.
Published: March 2018

Background

Infrared thermal imaging captures the infrared radiation emitted by the skin surface. The thermograms contain valuable information, since the temperature distribution can be used to characterize physiological anomalies. Thus, the use of infrared thermal imaging (IRT) has been studied as a possible medical tool to aid in the diagnosis of skin oncological lesions. The aim of this review is to assess the current state of the applications of IRT in skin neoplasm identification and characterization.

Methods

A literature survey was conducted using the reference bibliographic databases: Scopus, PubMed and ISI Web of Science. Keywords (thermography, infrared imaging, thermal imaging and skin cancer) were combined and its presence was verified at the title and abstract of the article or as a main topic. Only articles published after 2013 were considered during this search.

Results

In total, 55 articles were encountered, resulting in 14 publications for revision after applying the exclusion criteria. It was denoted that IRT have been used to characterize and distinguish between malignant and benign neoplasms and different skin cancer types. IRT has also been successfully applied in the treatment evaluation of these types of lesions.

Conclusion

Trends and future challenges have been established to improve the application of IRT in this field, disclosing that dynamic thermography is a promising tool for early identification of oncological skin conditions.
Anchored phylogenomics of burrowing mayflies (Ephemeroptera) and the evolution of tusks
Authors: Miller Dustin B. , Bartlett Stephanie , Sartori Michel , Breinholt Jesse W. , Ogden T. Heath
Published: March 2018

This study investigated the phylogenetic relationships among seven burrowing mayfly families. Genetic data from four ribosomal DNA genes (12S, 16S, 18S and 28S) generated with Sanger sequencing, 448 protein‐coding loci generated using a novel hybrid enrichment probe set and available RNAseq and genome assembly for 19 ingroup taxa and four outgroup taxa. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses were carried out to estimate phylogenetic relationships. The results indicated that Potamanthidae, Euthyplociidae, Behningiidae and Palingeniidae were recovered as monophyletic. Ephemeridae was not monophyletic. Mandibular tusks evolved in the common ancestor of burrowing mayflies and were lost in the lineage leading to Behningiidae.
Characterization of a novel allele, HLA‐C*02:135N, by full‐length gene sequencing in a bone marrow donor
Authors: Mostafa A. A. , Kostur C. , Stamm L. , Khan F. , Berka N.
Published: March 2018

A frameshift because of a two‐nucleotide deletion results in an HLA‐C null allele, HLA‐C*02:135N.
Predictors of student use of an electronic record
Authors: Huang William Y , Grigoryan Larissa , Aggarwal Anjali
Published: March 2018

Background

Little is known on ambulatory clerkship students’ use of an electronic medical record (EMR). We investigated students’ use of recommended EMR tasks across different types of sites and studied the predictors of these recommended tasks.

Methods

Students documented how often they performed recommended EMR tasks and suggested improvements to enhance EMR use. We compared student performance of recommended tasks across different types of sites using χ2 tests and the Fisher's exact test. We performed regression analyses to investigate factors predicting students’ performance of EMR tasks. Two faculty members read all of the suggested improvements and agreed on themes.

Results

From January 2014 to June 2015, 263 of 295 Family and Community Medicine Clerkship (FCMC) students (89.2%) were at sites that used an EMR. Of the 263 students, 68.4% typed their own note into the EMR, but only 31.2% entered orders and 27.8% entered prescriptions for their teacher to sign. Students’ rating of the orientation to the EMR predicted their use of all EMR tasks. The number of years that the teaching site used an EMR predicted the students’ use of some tasks. Suggested improvements included a better orientation to the EMR, more use of the EMR, and access to a computer and the EMR.

Little is known on ambulatory clerkship students’ use of an electronic medical record

Discussion

Many students did not perform recommended EMR tasks. To help more students learn EMR tasks, clinical teachers can offer students a detailed orientation to their EMR, provide them with access to a computer and the EMR, and give them the opportunity to perform recommended EMR tasks, including typing their own note and entering orders and prescriptions.
Parental body mass index and blood pressure are associated with higher body mass index and blood pressure in their adult offspring: a cross‐sectional study in a resource‐limited setting in northern Peru
Authors: Carrillo‐Larco Rodrigo M. , Bernabé‐Ortiz Antonio , Sal y Rosas Víctor G. , Sacksteder Katherine A. , Diez‐Canseco Francisco , Cárdenas María K. , Gilman Robert H. , Miranda J. Jaime
Published: March 2018

Objectives

High body mass index (BMI) and blood pressure (BP) are major contributors to the high burden of non‐communicable diseases in adulthood. Individual high‐risk and population approaches for prevention require newer strategies to target these risk factors and focusing on the family to introduce prevention initiatives appears as a promising scenario. Characterisation of the relationship between BMI and BP among the adult members of a given family merits evaluation. We conducted a secondary analysis of an implementation study in Tumbes, Peru, benefiting from data derived from families with at least one adult offspring.

Methods

The exposures of interest were the BMI, systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) of the mother and father. The outcomes were the BMI, SBP and DBP of the offspring. Mixed‐effects linear regression models were conducted.

Results

The mean age of the offspring, mothers and fathers was 29 (SD: 9.5), 54 (SD: 11.8) and 59 (SD: 11.6) years, respectively. Father's BMI was associated with a quarter‐point increase in offspring BMI, regardless of the sex of the offspring. Mother's BMI had a similar effect on the BMI of her sons, but had no significant effect on her daughters’. Mother's SBP was associated with almost one‐tenth of mmHg increase in the SBP of the adult offspring. There was no evidence of an association for DBP.

Conclusions

In families with adult members, the higher the parents’ BMI and SBP, the higher their adult offspring's levels will be.
Involving private practitioners in the Indian tuberculosis programme: a randomised trial
Authors: Yellappa Vijayashree , Battaglioli Tullia , Gurum Sanath Kumar , Narayanan Devadasan , Van der Stuyft Patrick
Published: March 2018

Objectives

To assess a multicomponent intervention to improve private practitioners (PPs) involvement in referral of presumptive pulmonary TB (PTB) cases to the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP) for sputum examination.

Methods

Randomised controlled trial. We randomly allocated all 189 eligible PPs in Tumkur city, South India, to intervention or control arm. The intervention, implemented between December 2014 and January 2016, included two sets of activities, one targeted at health system strengthening (building RNTCP staff capacity to collaborate with PPs, provision of feedback on referrals through SMS) and one targeted at intervention PPs (training in RNTCP, provision of referral pads and education materials and monthly visits to PPs by RNTCP staff). Crude and adjusted referral and PTB case‐finding rate ratios were calculated with negative binomial regression.

Results

PPs referred 836 individuals (548 from intervention and 169 from control arm PPs) of whom 176 were diagnosed with bacteriologically confirmed PTB. The proportion (95% confidence interval) of referring PPs [0.59 (0.49, 0.68) vs. 0.42 (0.32, 0.52) in the intervention and control arm, respectively], mean referral rate per PP‐year [(5.7 (3.8, 8.7) vs. 1.8 (1.2, 2.8)] and smear‐positive PTB case‐finding rate per PP‐year [(1.5 (0.9, 2.2) vs. 0.6 (0.3, 0.9)] were significantly higher in the intervention than the control arm. Stratifying by qualification, a statistically significant difference in the above indicators remained only among GPs and internists. Overall, surgeons, paediatricians and gynaecologists referred few patients. PP referrals contributed to 20% of the sputum smear positive PTB cases detected by RNTCP in Tumkur city (14% were from intervention arm PPs).

Conclusions

We demonstrated the effectiveness of a health system‐oriented intervention to improve PP’s referrals of presumptive PTB cases to RNTCP.
Cephalosporin‐resistant Escherichia coli isolated from farm workers and pigs in northern Vietnam
Authors: Dang Son T. T. , Bortolaia Valeria , Tran Nhat T. , Le Huan Q. , Dalsgaard Anders
Published: March 2018

Objective

Antimicrobial‐resistant bacteria may be transmitted between farm workers and livestock. This study aimed to determine and compare the prevalence and the genetic determinants of cefotaxime‐resistant and ESBL‐producing Escherichia coli in faecal isolates from workers and pigs at 100 farms in northern Vietnam.

Methods

Farmers were interviewed about antimicrobial usage in livestock. Escherichia coli isolated on MacConkey agar containing 2 mg/l of cefotaxime (CTX) were tested for susceptibility to different cephalosporins by disc diffusion and screened for occurrence of ESBL‐encoding genes by PCR.

Results

Antimicrobial usage was widespread and included classes regarded of critical or high importance in human medicine. Dosages were 0.5–2 times higher than recommended, and antimicrobials were often administered right until slaughter. Prevalence of CTX‐resistant E. coli was 86% in farm workers and 89% in pigs. In 76% of farms, CTX‐resistant E. coli were shared by pigs and farm workers. ESBL‐producing E. coli were detected from pigs and workers at 66 and 69 farms, respectively. The ESBL phenotype was mainly mediated by CTX‐M and to a lesser extent by TEM. Occurrence of blaCTX‐M was similar in E. coli from pigs (66.7%) and humans (68.5%).

Conclusion

The high occurrence of ESBL‐producing E. coli in pig farmers and pigs could present a risk for spillover of these bacteria from pig farms into the community. Genomic studies are needed to elucidate reservoirs and transmission routes of ESBL‐producing E. coli at livestock farms.
Divergently Seeking Clarification: The Emergence of Clarification Interaction
Authors: Ginzburg Jonathan , Kolliakou Dimitra
Published: March 2018

Clarification requests, queries posed in response to a “problematic” (misheard, misunderstood, etc.) utterance, are a challenge to mainstream semantic theories because they call into question notions such as “shared content” or “the context.” Given their strong parallelism requirements,ellipticalclarification requests introduce in addition significant complexities concerning the need for long‐term maintenance of non‐semantic information in context. In this paper, we consider a puzzle concerning the emergence of elliptical clarification requests in child English: Data from the Belfast and Manchester corpora fromCHILDESdemonstrate thatreprise fragments, the highest frequency clarification request construction among adults, emerges with significant delay in comparison withreprise sluices, barewh‐phrases used to request clarification. This is a puzzling finding a priori: first, since reprise fragments are by most plausible measures the most readily available clarification request form in that it involves mere repetition of material primed by the previous utterance and children have the ability to repeat parts of the previous utterance from the earliest stages of speech. Moreover, as we show, reprise fragments predominate—in some cases vastly so, over sluicing in the input of fragmentary clarification requests available to the child—and it would, therefore, be difficult to construct an explanation for order of emergence primarily based on frequency of the construction in the children's input. Our account is based on grammatical explication of the difference between the constructions, how constructional difference is represented in a hierarchy of constructions, and in terms of a notion of semantic complexity that suggests reprise sluicing is, in fact, less complex than reprise fragments.
Phosphoproteomic profiling reveals ABA‐responsive phosphosignaling pathways in Physcomitrella patens
Authors: Amagai Anna , Honda Yoshimasa , Ishikawa Shinnosuke , Hara Yurie , Kuwamura Mayuri , Shinozawa Akihisa , Sugiyama Naoyuki , Ishihama Yasushi , Takezawa Daisuke , Sakata Yoichi , Shinozaki Kazuo , Umezawa Taishi
Published: March 2018

Abscisic acid (ABA) and its signaling system are important for land plants to survive in terrestrial conditions. Here, we took a phosphoproteomic approach to elucidate the ABA signaling network in Physcomitrella patens, a model species of basal land plants. Our phosphoproteomic analysis detected 4630 phosphopeptides from wild‐type P. patens and two ABA‐responsive mutants, a disruptant of group‐A type‐2C protein phosphatase (PP2C; ppabi1a/b) and AR7, a defective mutant in ARK, identified as an upstream regulator of SnRK2. Quantitative analysis detected 143 ABA‐responsive phosphopeptides in P. patens. The analysis indicated that SnRK2‐mediated phosphorylation and target motifs were partially conserved in bryophytes. Our data demonstrate that the PpSnRK2B and AREB/ABF‐type transcription factors are phosphorylated in vivo in response to ABA under the control of ARK. On the other hand, our data also revealed the following: (i) the entire ABA‐responsive phosphoproteome in P. patens is quite diverse; (ii) P. patens PP2C affects additional pathways other than the known ABA signaling pathway; and (iii) ARK is mainly involved in ABA signaling. Taken together, we propose that the core ABA signaling pathway is essential in all land plants; however, some ABA‐responsive phosphosignaling uniquely developed in bryophytes during the evolutionary process.
Improving Nelumbo nucifera genome assemblies using high‐resolution genetic maps and BioNano genome mapping reveals ancient chromosome rearrangements
Authors: Gui Songtao , Peng Jing , Wang Xiaolei , Wu Zhihua , Cao Rui , Salse Jérôme , Zhang Hongyuan , Zhu Zhixuan , Xia Qiuju , Quan Zhiwu , Shu Liping , Ke Wedong , Ding Yi
Published: March 2018

Genetic and physical maps are powerful tools to anchor fragmented draft genome assemblies generated from next‐generation sequencing. Currently, two draft assemblies of Nelumbo nucifera, the genomes of ‘China Antique’ and ‘Chinese Tai‐zi’, have been released. However, there is presently no information on how the sequences are assembled into chromosomes in N. nucifera. The lack of physical maps and inadequate resolution of available genetic maps hindered the assembly of N. nucifera chromosomes. Here, a linkage map of N. nucifera containing 2371 bin markers [217 577 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)] was constructed using restriction‐site associated DNA sequencing data of 181 F2 individuals and validated by adding 197 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Additionally, a BioNano optical map covering 86.20% of the ‘Chinese Tai‐zi’ genome was constructed. The draft assembly of ‘Chinese Tai‐zi’ was improved based on the BioNano optical map, showing an increase of the scaffold N50 from 0.989 to 1.48 Mb. Using a combination of multiple maps, 97.9% of the scaffolds in the ‘Chinese Tai‐zi’ draft assembly and 97.6% of the scaffolds in the ‘China Antique’ draft assembly were anchored into pseudo‐chromosomes, and the centromere regions along the pseudo‐chromosomes were identified. An evolutionary scenario was proposed to reach the modern N. nucifera karyotype from the seven ancestral eudicot chromosomes. The present study provides the highest‐resolution linkage map, the optical map and chromosome level genome assemblies for N. nucifera, which are valuable for the breeding and cultivation of N. nucifera and future studies of comparative and evolutionary genomics in angiosperms.