bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Genetic study of early‐onset Graves’ disease in the Chinese Han population
Authors: Yuan F.‐F. , Ye X.‐P. , Liu W. , Xue L.‐Q. , Ma Y.‐R. , Zhang L.‐L. , Zhang M.‐M. , Sun F. , Wan Y.‐Y. , Zhang Q.‐Y. , Zhao S.‐X. , Song H.‐D. ,   The China Consortium for the Genetics of Autoimmune Thyroid Disease
Published: June 2017

Graves’ disease (GD) is a complex autoimmune disorder in which genetic and environmental factors are both involved in the pathogenesis. Early‐onset patients have a shorter exposure time to environmental factors and are, therefore, good models to help understand the genetic architecture of GD. Based on previous studies of early‐onset GD, 11 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and their related SNPs (R2 > .6), SNPs located within a ±1‐Mb region of the FOXP3 gene, and 20 validated GD‐risk SNPs were selected and screened for genotyping in 3735 GD and 4893 control patients to investigate whether early‐onset GD is a subtype of GD with distinct susceptibility genes. Ultimately, we did not confirm the reported genetic markers of early‐onset GD in our Chinese Han population but found that a GD‐risk SNP located in the human leukocyte antigen class I region—rs4947296—was more strongly correlated with early‐onset GD than non‐early‐onset GD. In addition, heterogeneity analysis of GD patients suggests that it may be more reasonable to define early‐onset GD as an onset age ≤20 years.
Phylogeny and systematics of Aphroditiformia
Authors: Gonzalez Brett C. , Martínez Alejandro , Borda Elizabeth , Iliffe Thomas M. , Eibye‐Jacobsen Danny , Worsaae Katrine
Published: June 2017

Aphroditiformia represents one of the most successful radiations of annelids, and is therefore an interesting model to understand morphological and functional evolution. Previous phylogenetic analyses yielded most families as monophyletic but excluded anchialine and interstitial species while failing to recover relationships within Sigalionidae. Here we address these shortcomings through the analysis of four molecular markers and 87 morphological characters sampled across 127 species under the assumptions of parsimony and model‐based methods. Of the 34 newly sequenced taxa, five anchialine and 24 interstitial species were included, with increased representation of Sigalionidae. An additional 28 elusive Sigalionidae taxa were included, represented only by morphological partitions. Molecular and morphological partitions were evaluated under exhaustive sensitivity analyses, testing the effects of alignment algorithms and optimization criteria on tree topologies. Our trees congruently recovered six clades corresponding to the families within Aphroditiformia: Acoetidae, Aphroditidae, Eulepethidae, Iphionidae, Polynoidae and Sigalionidae, respectively. An anchialine polynoid lineage was nested among strictly deep sea species, and interstitial pisionids and pholoids formed two independent clades nested within Sigalionidae. Additionally, Sigalionidae resulted in four clades, defined by combinations of apomorphies, and hereby we propose the subfamilies Pelogeniinae, Pholoinae, Pisioninae, Sthenelanellinae, as well as the provisionally included polyphyletic Sigalioninae.
Use of radar detectors to track attendance of albatrosses at fishing vessels
Authors: Weimerskirch H. , Filippi D.P. , Collet J. , Waugh S.M. , Patrick S.C.
Published: June 2017

Despite international waters covering over 60% of the world's oceans, understanding of how fisheries in these regions shape ecosystem processes is surprisingly poor. Seabirds forage at fishing vessels, which has potentially deleterious effects for their population, but the extent of overlap and behavior in relation to ships is poorly known. Using novel biologging devices, which detect radar emissions and record the position of boats and seabirds, we measured the true extent of the overlap between seabirds and fishing vessels and generated estimates of the intensity of fishing and distribution of vessels in international waters. During breeding, wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) from the Crozet Islands patrolled an area of over 10 million km2 at distances up to 2500 km from the colony. Up to 79.5% of loggers attached to birds detected vessels. The extent of overlap between albatrosses and fisheries has widespread implications for bycatch risk in seabirds and reveals the areas of intense fishing throughout the ocean. We suggest that seabirds equipped with radar detectors are excellent monitors of the presence of vessels in the Southern Ocean and offer a new way to monitor the presence of illegal fisheries and to better understand the impact of fisheries on seabirds.
A novel GIP analogue, ZP4165, enhances glucagon‐like peptide‐1‐induced body weight loss and improves glycaemic control in rodents
Authors: Nørregaard Pia K. , Deryabina Maria A. , Tofteng Shelton Pernille , Fog Jacob U. , Daugaard Jens R. , Eriksson Per‐Olof , Larsen Lone F. , Jessen Lene
Published: June 2017

Aim

To investigate the effects of the novel glucose‐dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) analogue, ZP4165, on body weight and glycaemic control in rodents, and to investigate if ZP4165 modulates the anti‐obesity and anti‐hyperglycaemic effects of a glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) agonist (liraglutide).

Methods

The acute insulinotropic effect of ZP4165 was investigated in rats during an oral glucose tolerance test. The long‐term effects of ZP4165 on body weight and glycaemic control, either alone or in combination with liraglutide, were assessed in diet‐induced obese mice and diabetic db/db mice.

Results

ZP4165 showed insulinotropic action in rats. The GIP analogue did not alter the body weight of obese mice but enhanced GLP‐1‐induced weight loss. In diabetic mice, 4 weeks’ dosing with ZP4165 reduced glycated haemoglobin levels vs vehicle by an extent similar to the GLP‐1 agonist.

Conclusions

ZP4165 potentiated the anti‐obesity effect of a GLP‐1 agonist in obese mice and improved glycaemic control in diabetic mice. These studies support further investigation of dual‐incretin therapy as a more effective treatment option than mono GLP‐1 medication for type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity.
Noninvasive pulmonary transit time: A new parameter for general cardiac performance
Authors: de Lepper Anouk G.W. , Herold Ingeborg H.F. , Saporito Salvatore , Bouwman R. Arthur , Mischi Massimo , Korsten Hendrikus H.M. , Reesink Koen D. , Houthuizen Patrick
Published: June 2017

Introduction

Pulmonary transit time (PTT) assessed with contrast‐enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is a novel tool to evaluate cardiac function. PTT represents the time for a bolus of contrast to pass from the right to the left ventricle, measured according to the indicator dilution principles using CEUS. We investigated the hypothesis that PTT is a measure of general cardiac performance in patient populations eligible for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).

Methods

The study population consisted of heart failure patients referred for CRT with NYHA class II–IV, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF)≤35% and QRS≥120 ms. CEUS, ECG, and blood were analyzed, and participants completed a quality of life questionnaire at baseline and 3 months after CRT implantation. Normalized PTT (nPTT) was calculated to compensate for the heart rate. Correlations were assessed with Pearson's or Spearman's coefficients and stratified for rhythm and NYHA class.

Results

The study population consisted of 94 patients (67 men) with a mean age of 70±8.9 years. (n)PTT was significantly correlated with left ventricular parameters (rs=−.487, P<.001), right ventricular parameters (r=−.282, P=.004), N‐terminal pro‐B‐type natriuretic peptide (NT‐proBNP) (rs=.475, P<.001), and quality of life (rs=.364, P<.001). Stronger significant correlations were found in patients in sinus rhythm.

Conclusion

CEUS‐derived PTT and nPTT correlate to a fair degree with measures of systolic and diastolic function, NT‐pro‐BNP, and quality of life. As CEUS‐derived PTT can be obtained easily, noninvasively and at the bedside, it is a promising future measure of general cardiac performance.
Impact of Epichloë endophytes on adult Argentine stem weevil damage to perennial ryegrass seedlings
Authors: Ruppert Katrin G. , Matthew Cory , McKenzie Catherine M. , Popay Alison J.
Published: June 2017

In New Zealand, the fungal endophyte Epichloë festucae var. lolii Latch, Christensen & Samuels (Hypocreales) is widely used to enhance productivity and survival of mature perennial ryegrass, Lolium perenne L. (Poaceae) plants. These endophytes produce alkaloids that reduce damage by insect pests, such as Argentine stem weevil (ASW), Listronotus bonariensis (Kuschel) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). However, knowledge of the effect of these fungi on seedlings is limited. High concentrations of grass‐endophyte‐derived alkaloids occur in endophyte‐infected seed and can be translocated into seedlings to provide early protection from insect herbivory. A glasshouse experiment was conducted in which adult ASW were given a choice between perennial ryegrass cultivar ‘One50’ without endophyte (Nil) or containing endophyte strains AR1, AR37, or NZCT, and cv. ‘Trojan’ containing strain NEA2, in three post‐sowing time periods. ASW feeding damage was assessed together with plant survival and dry weight production. Plant survival and dry matter production was reduced in all treatments with mortality highest in endophyte‐free and AR37 treatments, especially in the first and second time period. Strongest adult ASW deterrence occurred on seedlings infected with endophyte strains that produce peramine (AR1, NZCT, and NEA2). Strain NZCT was virtually undamaged in the third time period whereas damage initially increased in AR1 and NEA2 up until day 50–53 post‐sowing and then declined. Endophyte‐free and AR37 treatments were significantly more damaged than AR1, NZCT, and NEA2. This research indicated there is a period of seedling vulnerability to adult ASW attack during germination, even for strains producing peramine. Possible explanations for these results are discussed.
Intra‐ and interspecific competition in two congeneric parasitoids of the diamondback moth
Authors: Sithole Rudo , Lohr Bernhard
Published: June 2017

In solitary parasitoids, a host can only support the complete development of a single parasitoid. For this reason, intraspecific or interspecific competition takes place whenever two or more individuals of the same or different species parasitize the same host. The exotic Diadegma semiclausum (Hellen) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) was introduced into Kenya in 2002 for the control of the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), and led to the competitive displacement of its indigenous congeneric species Diadegma mollipla (Holmgren) in some areas but not in others. In an attempt to understand this process, superparasitism in D. mollipla and multiparasitism involving both species were investigated in the laboratory through exposure of non‐parasitized and parasitized host larvae to D. mollipla. Hosts were exposed to the two congeners both simultaneously and sequentially. The study revealed that D. mollipla minimizes parasitism and superparasitism in the presence of hosts containing a larva of a conspecific female. When the two parasitoid species competed for non‐parasitized hosts simultaneously, there were no significant differences in the total progeny produced under intraspecific vs. interspecific competition. Under simultaneous interspecific competition, D. semiclausum produced 74% of total progeny. Under sequential exposure, the species that attacked first always dominated with 85–96% of the resultant progeny, irrespective of the exposure interval. Offspring sex ratio was significantly more female‐biased when the larvae were exposed to D. mollipla first. Overall, our results indicate that D. semiclausum dominates under simultaneous competition and D. mollipla dominates in terms of female progeny, but under delayed exposure to the other species, the first attacker is always the winner. On the basis of our results, D. semiclausum may not completely displace D. mollipla from diamondback moth in the field.
Enhanced decomposition of stable soil organic carbon and microbial catabolic potentials by long‐term field warming
Authors: Feng Wenting , Liang Junyi , Hale Lauren E. , Jung Chang Gyo , Chen Ji , Zhou Jizhong , Xu Minggang , Yuan Mengting , Wu Liyou , Bracho Rosvel , Pegoraro Elaine , Schuur Edward A. G. , Luo Yiqi
Published: June 2017

Quantifying soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition under warming is critical to predict carbon–climate feedbacks. According to the substrate regulating principle, SOC decomposition would decrease as labile SOC declines under field warming, but observations of SOC decomposition under warming do not always support this prediction. This discrepancy could result from varying changes in SOC components and soil microbial communities under warming. This study aimed to determine the decomposition of SOC components with different turnover times after subjected to long‐term field warming and/or root exclusion to limit C input, and to test whether SOC decomposition is driven by substrate lability under warming. Taking advantage of a 12‐year field warming experiment in a prairie, we assessed the decomposition of SOC components by incubating soils from control and warmed plots, with and without root exclusion for 3 years. We assayed SOC decomposition from these incubations by combining inverse modeling and microbial functional genes during decomposition with a metagenomic technique (GeoChip). The decomposition of SOC components with turnover times of years and decades, which contributed to 95% of total cumulative CO2 respiration, was greater in soils from warmed plots. But the decomposition of labile SOC was similar in warmed plots compared to the control. The diversity of C‐degradation microbial genes generally declined with time during the incubation in all treatments, suggesting shifts of microbial functional groups as substrate composition was changing. Compared to the control, soils from warmed plots showed significant increase in the signal intensities of microbial genes involved in degrading complex organic compounds, implying enhanced potential abilities of microbial catabolism. These are likely responsible for accelerated decomposition of SOC components with slow turnover rates. Overall, the shifted microbial community induced by long‐term warming accelerates the decomposition of SOC components with slow turnover rates and thus amplify the positive feedback to climate change.
Restless roosts: Light pollution affects behavior, sleep, and physiology in a free‐living songbird
Authors: Ouyang Jenny Q. , de Jong Maaike , van Grunsven Roy H. A. , Matson Kevin D. , Haussmann Mark F. , Meerlo Peter , Visser Marcel E. , Spoelstra Kamiel
Published: June 2017

The natural nighttime environment is increasingly polluted by artificial light. Several studies have linked artificial light at night to negative impacts on human health. In free‐living animals, light pollution is associated with changes in circadian, reproductive, and social behavior, but whether these animals also suffer from physiologic costs remains unknown. To fill this gap, we made use of a unique network of field sites which are either completely unlit (control), or are artificially illuminated with white, green, or red light. We monitored nighttime activity of adult great tits, Parus major, and related this activity to within‐individual changes in physiologic indices. Because altered nighttime activity as a result of light pollution may affect health and well‐being, we measured oxalic acid concentrations as a biomarker for sleep restriction, acute phase protein concentrations and malaria infection as indices of immune function, and telomere lengths as an overall measure of metabolic costs. Compared to other treatments, individuals roosting in the white light were much more active at night. In these individuals, oxalic acid decreased over the course of the study. We also found that individuals roosting in the white light treatment had a higher probability of malaria infection. Our results indicate that white light at night increases nighttime activity levels and sleep debt and affects disease dynamics in a free‐living songbird. Our study offers the first evidence of detrimental effects of light pollution on the health of free‐ranging wild animals.
THE ALLURE OF DARK TIMES: MAX WEBER, POLITICS, AND THE CRISIS OF HISTORICISM
Authors: EICH STEFAN , TOOZE ADAM
Published: June 2017

This article argues that realist invocations of Weber rely on an unrealistic reading of Weber's realism. In order to escape the allure of Weber's dramatic posture of crisis, we place his seminal lecture on “Politics as a Vocation” (1919) in its historical and philosophical context of a revolutionary conjuncture of dramatic proportions, compounded by a broader crisis of historicism. Weber's rhetoric, we argue, carries with it not only the emotion of crisis but is also the expression of a deeper intellectual impasse. The fatalistic despair of his position had already been detected by some of his closest contemporaries for whom Weber did not appear as a door‐opener to a historically situated theory of political action but as a telling and intriguing impasse. Although the disastrous history of interwar Europe seems to confirm Weber's bleakest predictions, it would be perverse to elevate contingent failure to the level of retrospective vindication.
WHITE, FRIEDLÄNDER, “… AND THE REST IS HISTORY”: A PAX HISTORIANA
Authors: Lang Berel
Published: June 2017

Close analysis of the ostensive disagreement between Saul Friedländer and Hayden White on the necessarily literary character of Holocaust historiography shows instead of conflict two compatible and even mutually supportive emphases in that project: the assumption in modernist and disruptive narratives as elsewhere of a “corpus of facts,” together with the role of figurative discourse in conveying relevant features of events that linear chronological or causal narratives alone do not convey.
HISTORICAL TELEOLOGY: THE GRAND ILLUSION
Authors: Carr David
Published: June 2017

The sixteen essays in this volume treat a broad array of topics related to the idea of teleology in history. The majority are not concerned with evaluating or even analyzing arguments for or against the teleological view of history. Their purpose is more to display the wide variety of teleological views. In their introduction, the editors speak of the Enlightenment origins of the teleological view of history, but the volume “seeks to explore that enlightened project … across its fragmentation and multiplication in the nineteenth century” (13). In fact, they believe that “the very idea that a single, however powerful, conception of time could function as the unifying principle of all modern historicity is cast in doubt. Our volume intends to expand on this doubt” (14). Thus, in addition to discussions of Kant, Hegel, Marx, Darwin, and so on, we learn about the Canudos revolt in Brazil, the Taiping rebellion in China, missionary writings in colonial India, John Brown, Scholem on Zionism, and much more. But this often fascinating profusion of microhistorical research suffers from considerable conceptual confusion. Terms like teleology, eschatology, providence, and messianism are not adequately distinguished. In my essay I point out that the teleological view of history does not date from the Enlightenment but is part of the religious tradition of the West. Many nineteenth‐ and twentieth‐century versions discussed here simply continue or adapt these religious views. The puzzling question is why those modern thinkers who question or reject the idea of divine providence continue to think in teleological terms about history. This question, which could have served as an organizing principle for these essays, is for the most part not even addressed.
ON THE MANY WAYS OF SAYING MEMORY
Authors: Barash Jeffrey Andrew
Published: June 2017

This essay examines the concept and the discourse of collective memory in view of interpreting the novel function with which it has been endowed in recent decades and the problematic character of its interpretation. To this end, it focuses on the recent book by Manuel Cruz, On the Difficulty of Living Together: Memory, Politics, and History, which examines the contemporary functions that collective memory has assumed in recent decades and takes into account interpretations of it elaborated in a number of seminal works that have set the framework for contemporary ways of understanding it. My investigation engages critical analysis of the psychological approach to collective memory that Cruz adopts, which, in interpreting recent public preoccupation with collective memory as an expression of trauma occasioned by the Holocaust and other horrific twentieth‐century events, assumes that analogous psychic mechanisms govern forms of remembrance in the public sphere and memory in personal and small‐group interaction. By taking into account alternate possibilities of interpretation, suggested above all by the public function of the mass media, I seek to widen the scope of enquiry to scrutinize in a broader perspective the contemporary role of collective memory and its political significance in the public realm.
Sovereignty as a State of Craziness: Empowering Female Indigenous Psychologies in Australian “Reconciliatory Literature”
Authors: Sefton‐Rowston Adelle
Published: June 2017

Reading and writing must be more than passive processes of mimetic display; rather, they should offer a platform for psychological transformations across race and gender. Thus literary sovereignty vis‐à‐vis ownership of creative expression and representations of self can be reclaimed. This essay offers close analysis of contemporary Australian Indigenous literature to explore the sovereignty of feminist psychologies. Does creative writing reflect a strengthening of female Indigenous psychologies, and how might this implicate race relations and the decolonization of textual worlds? These questions are inspired by Alexis Wright's most recent novel The Swan Book where she writes about “the quest to regain sovereignty over [her] own brain.” This article will explore the term craziness in a metaphorical sense: looking at whether rejecting dominant white culture equates to psychological sovereignty, improved mental well‐being, and better race relations in imaginary realms. Indigenous characters in Wright's The Swan Book and Marie Munkara's Every Secret Thing may appear “crazy” for living in a state of indifference, but paradoxically, it is this state of “craziness” or indifference that empowers them to find psychological peace and resist assimilation. Seeking psychological sovereignty means assuming a position so averse to patriarchy and colonization that it renders transformation in imaginary worlds, and urges transformation in the psyches of white readers too.
Structural Violence, Intersectionality, andJustpeace: Evaluating Women's Peacebuilding Agency in Manipur, India
Authors: Cross Riddle Karie
Published: June 2017

The general scholarship on armed conflict in Manipur, India, ignores the experiences of women as agents. Feminist scholarship counters this tendency, revealing women's everyday responses to the violence that constrains them. However, this scholarship often fails to be intersectional, and it lauds every instance of women's agency without evaluating it in terms of its ability to build peace. Employing Kimberlé Crenshaw's underused distinction between structural and political intersectionality and Saba Mahmood's concept of agency, I analyze my field research conducted with women's peacebuilding groups in Manipur in 2014 and 2015. Using structural intersectionality, I first describe the qualitatively different experiences of women peacebuilders living at different social locations. Using political intersectionality as a normative tool, I then show that ethnic and religious hierarchies often disrupt women's attempts to build peace. Interethnic peacebuilding groups that rely on gender‐based solidarity tend to privilege the experiences of the women coming from the majority ethnic group. Other peacebuilding groups, bound by ethnicity, often distrust and resent women who come from different ethnic enclaves. I argue that women's peacebuilding agency must aim at an inclusive justpeace if it is to succeed. We should evaluate agency, rather than glorifying all instances of women's responses to violence.
Stepwise algorithm using computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging for diagnosis of fat‐poor angiomyolipoma in small renal masses: Development and external validation
Authors: Tanaka Hajime , Fujii Yasuhisa , Tanaka Hiroshi , Ishioka Junichiro , Matsuoka Yoh , Saito Kazutaka , Uehara Sho , Numao Noboru , Yuasa Takeshi , Yamamoto Shinya , Masuda Hitoshi , Yonese Junji , Kihara Kazunori
Published: June 2017

Objectives

To develop a stepwise diagnostic algorithm for fat‐poor angiomyolipoma in small renal masses.

Methods

Two cohorts of small renal masses <4 cm without an apparent fat component that was pathologically diagnosed were included: 153 cases (18 fat‐poor angiomyolipomas/135 renal cell carcinomas) for model development and 71 cases (seven fat‐poor angiomyolipomas/59 renal cell carcinomas/5 oncocytomas) for validation. Dynamic contrast‐enhanced computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and clinical findings were analyzed. Based on multivariate analysis, we developed two prediction models for fat‐poor angiomyolipoma, the computed tomography model and the computed tomography + magnetic resonance imaging model, and a stepwise algorithm that proposes the sequential use of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.

Results

The computed tomography model, which was composed of female aged <50 years, high attenuation on unenhanced computed tomography, less enhancement than the normal renal cortex and homogeneity in the corticomedullary phase, differentiated tumors with none of the factors as the low angiomyolipoma‐probability group, and the others were candidates for the computed tomography + magnetic resonance imaging model. The computed tomography + magnetic resonance imaging model, consisting of the first three factors of the computed tomography model, low signal intensity and absence of pseudocapsule on T2‐weighted magnetic resonance imaging, re‐stratified the tumors into low, intermediate and high angiomyolipoma‐probability groups. The incidence of fat‐poor angiomyolipoma in each group was 0%, 26% and 93%, respectively (area under the curve 0.981). External validation by two readers showed a high area under the curve (0.912 and 0.924) for each. The interobserver agreement was good (kappa score 0.77).

Conclusions

The present algorithm differentiates fat‐poor angiomyolipoma in small renal masses with high accuracy by adding magnetic resonance imaging to computed tomography in selected patients.
Did Firms Manage Earnings more Aggressively during the Financial Crisis?
Authors: Chintrakarn Pandej , Jiraporn Pornsit , Kim Young S.
Published: June 2017

We investigate the extent of earnings management during the financial crisis of 2008 (The Great Recession). Based on a large sample of 14,000 observations across 15 years, our results show that firms managed earnings less aggressively during the crisis. We also show a severe decline in firm value and profitability during the crisis. Our results are consistent with the notion that, during the crisis, firm performance was so far below the target that no amount of earnings management would have been sufficient to reverse the poor earnings picture. As a result, managers were less motivated to manage earnings. Furthermore, the crisis serves as a convenient excuse for poor performance, lessening the motivation and necessity for managers to manage earnings. Additional analysis including fixed‐effects regressions, propensity score matching, and GMM dynamic panel data estimation shows that our results are robust and are not driven by unobserved heterogeneity. Further analysis documents similar findings for the Dot‐com crisis in 2001 and the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997–1998.
The Computer Ate my Personality
Authors: Olhede Sofia , Rodrigues Russell
Published: June 2017

Human–algorithm interactions are making the digital world more personal – and polarised. By Sofia Olhede and Russell Rodrigues
Has Life Expectancy Fallen?
Authors: Bland Martin
Published: June 2017

A reported decrease in life expectancy at age 65 has been blamed on funding cuts made by the UK's coalition and Conservative governments. But the story is not so straightforward, as Martin Bland explains
The Ups and Downs of Pregnancy
Authors: Eckel Sandrah
Published: June 2017

As a biostatistician, Sandrah Eckel kept a close eye on her weight gain while expecting her first child. And the data came in handy in the classroom too
Should International Students be Classed as “Long-Term Migrants”?
Authors: Tarran Brian
Published: June 2017

The United Nations and the UK government say “yes”, but others prefer a different definition. Brian Tarran reports
Rank uncertainty: Why the “Most Popular” Baby Names might not be the Most Popular
Authors: Höhle Michael
Published: June 2017

Soon-to-be parents, souvenir mug producers and onomatologists are all equally fascinated by baby name statistics. But end-of-year lists of the most popular names fail to account for uncertainty says Michael Höhle. Can we trust the rankings?
Improving resistance against terminal drought in bread wheat by exogenous application of proline and gamma‐aminobutyric acid
Authors: Farooq M. , Nawaz A. , Chaudhry M. A. M. , Indrasti R. , Rehman A.
Published: June 2017

Scarcity of water is a severe constraint, which hinders the wheat productivity worldwide. However, foliage application of osmoprotectants may be useful in reducing the drought‐induced yield losses in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). In this study, potential of foliage applied osmoprotectants (proline, gamma‐aminobutyric acid) in improving the performance of bread wheat against terminal drought was evaluated. Both proline and gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) were foliage applied at 50, 100 and 150 mg/L at anthesis stage (BBCH‐identification code‐ 61), in two bread wheat cultivars viz. Mairaj‐2008 and BARS‐2009. After 1 week of foliage application of these osmoprotectants, drought was imposed by maintaining the pots at 35% water holding capacity. Imposition of drought caused significant reduction in the grain yield of both tested bread wheat cultivars; nonetheless, foliage applied osmoprotectants at either concentration improved the chlorophyll contents, accumulation of proline, glycinebetaine and total soluble phenolics and reduced the malondialdehyde contents, which resulted in better stay green, maintenance of grain weight and grain number under drought stress, thus resulting in better grain yield, water‐use efficiency and transpiration efficiency in both wheat cultivars. However, foliage applied proline at 150 mg/L, and GABA at 100 mg/L was most effective than other concentrations of these osmoprotectants. Performance of cultivar Mairaj‐2008 was quite better than cultivar BARS‐2009. In crux, foliar application of proline and GABA at pre‐optimized rate can be opted as a shotgun approach to improve the performance of wheat under terminal drought.
Multiple independent colonizations into the Congo Basin during the continental radiation of African Mastacembelus spiny eels
Authors: Day Julia J. , Fages Antoine , Brown Katherine J. , Vreven Emmanuel J. , Stiassny Melanie L. J. , Bills Roger , Friel John P. , Rüber Lukas
Published: June 2017

Aim

There has been recent interest in the origin and assembly of continental biotas based on densely sampled species‐level clades, however, studies from African freshwaters are few so that the commonality of macroevolutionary patterns and processes among continental clades remain to be tested. Within the Afrotropics, the Congo Basin contains the highest diversity of riverine fishes, yet it is unclear how this fauna was assembled. To address this, and the diversification dynamics of a continental radiation, we focus on African Mastacembelus spiny eels.

Location

Afrotropical freshwaters.

Methods

The most complete molecular phylogeny to date was reconstructed for African spiny eels. Divergence times were estimated applying a Bayesian relaxed clock comparing fossil and geological calibrations across nuclear and mitochondrial trees. Biogeographic reconstructions, applying a dispersal–extinction–cladogenesis model and lineage diversification dynamics were examined.

Results

Spiny eels originated in Asia and colonized Africa c. 15.4 Ma (95% HPD: 23.9–8.8 Ma) from which their subsequent radiation across the Afrotropics was best fitted by a constant rate model. Ancestral state estimation identified multiple colonization events into the Congo Basin, whereas all other regions were likely to have been colonized once indicating considerable geographic constraints. Application of the fossil calibration gave similar age estimates across datasets, whereas a geological calibration estimated considerably older nuclear divergences.

Main conclusions

Despite profound environmental events during the evolutionary history of the group, there is no evidence for rapid lineage diversification. This finding supports several recent studies on tropical continental radiations that contrast to the common pattern of density‐dependent diversification. We further show that dispersal has occurred into, as well as out of the Congo Basin, indicating the importance of this region in the generation of biodiversity.
Substrate characterization and catheter ablation in patients with scar‐related ventricular tachycardia using ultra high‐density 3‐D mapping
Authors: Nührich Jana M. , Kaiser Lukas , Akbulak Ruken Özge , Schäffer Benjamin N. , Eickholt Christian , Schwarzl Michael , Kuklik Pawel , Moser Julia , Jularic Mario , Willems Stephan , Meyer Christian
Published: June 2017

Background

Ablation of scar‐related ventricular tachycardia (VT), especially in noninducible VT or hemodynamically unstable patients, can be challenging. Thus, we evaluated feasibility of an ultra high‐density 3‐D mapping approach to characterize the ventricular substrate and, if possible, to map VT.

Methods and results

Twenty‐two patients (67 ± 2 years, mean LV‐EF 36 ± 3%) with both ischemic and nonischemic cardiomyopathy and documented VT underwent mapping and catheter ablation using a 64‐electrode mini‐basket catheter. Substrate characterization included ultra high‐density voltage maps, identification of areas of slow conduction and late potentials. Whenever VT was inducible activation mapping was performed.

In 13 of 22 patients, the presumed clinical VT (in 16 of 22 any VT) was inducible. A total of 50 maps were generated (22 substrate maps, 28 during VT), mapping time was 33 ± 4 minutes, number of points was 10,937 ± 1,923. Low voltage areas were related with the site of origin in all mapped VT. Isochronal maps indicated areas of slow conduction in 14 of 22 patients, all in border zone scar. In 95% of patients, late potentials were found. Mapping time during VT was 9 ± 2 minutes, number of points 6,740 ± 1,140. Covered cycle length was 82 ± 5% (16 re‐entry, 10 focal, and two undetermined). During 4 months follow‐up, 90% remained free from VT recurrence.

Conclusion

Ultra high‐density mapping in patients with scar‐related VT is feasible, safe and enables detailed insight into tachycardia mechanisms. Critical sites can be identified (1) by precise substrate characterization when VT is not inducible or hemodynamically not tolerated and (2) during short lasting episodes of VT in order to guide catheter ablation.
Cimifugin suppresses allergic inflammation by reducing epithelial derived initiative key factors via regulating tight junctions
Authors: Wang Xiaoyu , Jiang Xiaoyan , Yu Xi , Liu Hailiang , Tao Yu , Jiang Guorong , Hong Min
Published: June 2017

Cimifugin is a bioactive component of Saposhnikovia divaricata, a Chinese herb for treating allergy. Our previous studies demonstrated that cimifugin inhibited allergic inflammation efficiently. This study aims to determine the mechanism of cimifugin on epithelial cells in allergic inflammation. Mice were sensitized and challenged with FITC to establish type 2 atopic dermatitis (AD) model. The initial stage of AD model, in which mice were just sensitized with FITC, was established in vivo and immortalized human epidermal (HaCaT) cells were utilized in vitro. Initiative key cytokines, TSLP and IL‐33, were measured by ELISA, the junctions in ECs were observed by electron microscopy and TJs (CLDN‐1, occludin and CLDND1) were assessed by Western blot, immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. The results showed that TSLP and IL‐33 were inhibited significantly by cimifugin in the initial stage of AD model. Simultaneously, cimifugin reduced the separated gap among the epithelial cells and increased the expression of TJs. Similar effects on TSLP/IL‐33 and TJs were obtained in vitro. The effect of cimifugin on TSLP decreased significantly when expression of CLDN1 was interfered with siRNA and this implied cimifugin inhibits initiative cytokines through restoring TJs. Furthermore, cimifugin administered only in the initial stage obviously attenuated the ultimate allergic inflammation, which indicate that impacts of cimifugin in the initial stage on TSLP/IL‐33 and TJs are sufficient for suppressing allergic inflammation. This study not only revealed the mechanisms of cimifugin, but also indicated the possibility of initiative key cytokines and TJs as therapeutic targets.
Periodontal Disease Associated with Higher Risk of Dementia: Population‐Based Cohort Study in Taiwan
Authors: Lee Ya‐Ling , Hu Hsiao‐Yun , Huang Li‐Ying , Chou Pesus , Chu Dachen
Published: June 2017

Objectives

To determine the magnitude and temporal aspect of the effect of poor dental health and periodontal disease (PD) on dementia.

Design

Retrospective cohort study

Setting

Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.

Participants

Individuals with newly diagnosed PD (N = 182,747)

Measurements

Participants were followed from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2010. Participants were assigned to dental prophylaxis, intensive periodontal treatment, tooth extraction, or no treatment, according to International Classification of Diseases codes and PD treatment codes. The incidence rate of dementia of the groups was compared. The association between PD and dementia was analyzed using Cox regression, with adjustments for age, sex, monthly income, residential urbanicity, and comorbidities.

Results

The incidence of dementia was significantly higher in the group with PD that did not receive treatment (0.76% per year) and in the group that had teeth extracted (0.57% per year) than in the group that underwent intensive PD treatment (0.35% per year) and the group that received dental prophylaxis (0.39% per year) (P < .001). After adjusting for confounders, the Cox proportional hazards model revealed a higher risk of dementia in the group with PD who did not undergo treatment (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.04–1.24) and the group that had teeth extracted (HR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.04–1.16) than in the group that received dental prophylaxis.

Conclusion

Subjects who had more severe PD or did not receive periodontal treatment were at greater risk of developing dementia.
Engineering crop nutrient efficiency for sustainable agriculture
Authors: Chen Liyu , Liao Hong
Published: June 2017

Increasing crop yields can provide food, animal feed, bioenergy feedstocks and biomaterials to meet increasing global demand; however, the methods used to increase yield can negatively affect sustainability. For example, application of excess fertilizer can generate and maintain high yields but also increases input costs and contributes to environmental damage through eutrophication, soil acidification and air pollution. Improving crop nutrient efficiency can improve agricultural sustainability by increasing yield while decreasing input costs and harmful environmental effects. Here, we review the mechanisms of nutrient efficiency (primarily for nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and iron) and breeding strategies for improving this trait, along with the role of regulation of gene expression in enhancing crop nutrient efficiency to increase yields. We focus on the importance of root system architecture to improve nutrient acquisition efficiency, as well as the contributions of mineral translocation, remobilization and metabolic efficiency to nutrient utilization efficiency.
Inflammation in the developing rat modulates astroglial reactivity to seizures in the mature brain
Authors: Setkowicz Zuzanna , Kosonowska Emilia , Janeczko Krzysztof
Published: June 2017

Astrocytes participate in neuronal development and excitability, and produce factors enhancing or suppressing inflammatory processes occurring due to neurodegenerative diseases, such as epilepsy. Seizures, in turn, trigger the release of inflammatory mediators, causing structural and functional changes in the brain. Therefore, it appears reasonable to determine whether generalized inflammation at developmental periods can affect astrocyte reactivity to epileptic seizures occurring in the adult brain.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was injected in 6‐ or 30‐day‐old rats (P6 or P30, respectively). At the age of 2 months, seizures were induced, and pilocarpine and morphological changes of astrocytes located within the hippocampal formation were assessed. Additionally, expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), glutamine synthetase (GS), aquaporin 4 (AQP4), and inwardly rectifying potassium channel Kir 4.1 (Kir4.1) was determined using Western blots.

The animal group given LPS on P6 displayed maximal susceptibility to pilocarpine‐induced seizures, significantly higher than the group that received LPS on P30. In the immunohistologically examined hippocampal formation, the GFAP‐immunoreactive area was not affected by LPS alone. However, it was reduced following seizures in naïve controls but not in LPS‐pretreated rats. Increases in the ramification of astrocytic processes were detected only in adult rats given LPS on P30, not on P6. Seizures abolished the effects. Following seizures, the process ramification showed no significant change in the two LPS‐treated rat groups, whereas it was significantly reduced in the dentate gyrus of LPS‐untreated controls.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression showed no changes induced with LPS alone and rose slightly after seizures. AQP4 content was lower in rats given LPS on P6 and was seizure‐resistant in the two LPS‐treated groups, contrary to a decrease in untreated controls. GS expression was not affected by LPS treatments and was reduced after seizures without an intergroup difference. Kir4.1 underwent highly significant increases in all groups experiencing seizures, but LPS alone had no effect.

It can be concluded that the generalized inflammatory status led to some important changes in astrocytes reflected, in part at least by permanent modifications of their morphology and molecular profile. Moreover, the previously experienced inflammation prevented the cells from much stronger changes in response to seizures observed in adult untreated controls. The obtained results point to a link between the activation of astrocytes by transient systemic inflammation occurring during the developmental period and their subsequent reactivity to seizures, which may play an important role in the functional features of the brain, including its susceptibility to seizures.
Discrimination and resilience and the needs of people who identify as Transgender: A narrative review of quantitative research studies
Authors: McCann Edward , Brown Michael
Published: June 2017

Aims and objectives

To examine discrimination and resilience experiences of people who identify as transgender and establish potential health service responses.

Background

People who identify as transgender face many challenges in society in terms of the knowledge, understanding and acceptance of a person's gender identity.

Design

A narrative review of quantitative empirical research.

Methods

A comprehensive search of CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Sociological Abstracts electronic databases from 2006–2016 was conducted.

Results

The search yielded 1,478 papers and following the application of rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria a total of 19 papers were included in the review. The findings reveal that there is a need to ensure that the needs of transgender people are represented, fully integrated and clearly linked to outcomes that improve their health and quality of life.

Conclusions

Discrimination experiences can result in poorer health outcomes; however, many people have developed resilience and positive coping strategies.

Relevance to clinical practice

Nurses need to recognise and respond appropriately to the care and treatment needs of this population. Comprehensive nursing assessments and plans of care that encompass all aspects of the person should be in place supported by clear policy guidelines and evidence‐based research. The education requirements of practitioners are outlined.
Temporomandibular disorders and dental occlusion. A systematic review of association studies: end of an era?
Authors: Manfredini D. , Lombardo L. , Siciliani G.
Published: June 2017

To answer a clinical research question: ‘is there any association between features of dental occlusion and temporomandibular disorders (TMD)?’ A systematic literature review was performed. Inclusion was based on: (i) the type of study, viz., clinical studies on adults assessing the association between TMD (e.g., signs, symptoms, specific diagnoses) and features of dental occlusion by means of single or multiple variable analysis, and (ii) their internal validity, viz., use of clinical assessment approaches to TMD diagnosis. The search accounted for 25 papers included in the review, 10 of which with multiple variable analysis. Quality assessment showed some possible shortcomings, mainly related with the unspecified representativeness of study populations. Seventeen (N = 17) articles compared TMD patients with non‐TMD individuals, whilst eight papers compared the features of dental occlusion in individuals with TMD signs/symptoms and healthy subjects in non‐patient populations. Findings are quite consistent towards a lack of clinically relevant association between TMD and dental occlusion. Only two (i.e., centric relation [CR]‐maximum intercuspation [MI] slide and mediotrusive interferences) of the almost forty occlusion features evaluated in the various studies were associated with TMD in the majority (e.g., at least 50%) of single variable analyses in patient populations. Only mediotrusive interferences are associated with TMD in the majority of multiple variable analyses. Such association does not imply a causal relationship and may even have opposite implications than commonly believed (i.e., interferences being the result, and not the cause, of TMD). Findings support the absence of a disease‐specific association. Based on that, there seems to lack ground to further hypothesise a role for dental occlusion in the pathophysiology of TMD. Clinicians are encouraged to abandon the old gnathological paradigm in TMD practice.