bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Determinants of fractional exhaled nitric oxide in healthy men and women from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey III
Authors: Nerpin Elisabet , Olivieri Mario , Gislason Thorainn , Olin Anna C. , Nielsen Rune , Johannessen Ane , Ferreira Diogenes S. , Marcon Alessandro , Cazzoletti Lucia , Accordini Simone , Pin Isabelle , Corsico Angelo , Demoly Pascal , Weyler Joost , Nowak Dennis , Jõgi Rain , Forsberg Bertil , Zock Jan P. , Sigsgaard Torben , Heinric Joachim , Bono Roberto , Leynaert Bénédicte , Jarvis Deborah , Janson Christer , Malinovschi Anderi ,   on behalf of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS) study group
Published: April 2019

Introduction

The fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) is a marker for type 2 inflammation used in diagnostics and management of asthma. In order to use FENO as a reliable biomarker, it is important to investigate factors that influence FENO in healthy individuals. Men have higher levels of FENO than women, but it is unclear whether determinants of FENO differ by sex.

Objective

To identify determinants of FENO in men and women without lung diseases.

Method

Fractional exhaled nitric oxide was validly measured in 3881 healthy subjects that had answered the main questionnaire of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey III without airways or lung disease.

Results

Exhaled NO levels were 21.3% higher in men compared with women P < 0.001. Being in the upper age quartile (60.3‐67.6 years), men had 19.2 ppb (95% CI: 18.3, 20.2) higher FENO than subjects in the lowest age quartile (39.7‐48.3 years) P = 0.02. Women in the two highest age quartiles (54.6‐60.2 and 60.3‐67.6 years) had 15.4 ppb (14.7, 16.2), P = 0.03 and 16.4 ppb (15.6, 17.1), P = <0.001 higher FENO, compared with the lowest age quartile.

Height was related to 8% higher FENO level in men (P < 0.001) and 5% higher FENO levels in women (P = 0.008). Men who smoked had 37% lower FENO levels and women had 30% lower levels compared with never‐smokers (P < 0.001 for both). Men and women sensitized to both grass and perennial allergens had higher FENO levels compared with non‐sensitized subjects 26% and 29%, P < 0.001 for both.

Conclusion and Clinical Relevance

Fractional exhaled nitric oxide levels were higher in men than women. Similar effects of current smoking, height, and IgE sensitization were found in both sexes. FENO started increasing at lower age in women than in men, suggesting that interpretation of FENO levels in adults aged over 50 years should take into account age and sex.
The price of sanctions: An empirical analysis of German export losses due to the Russian agricultural ban
Authors: Fedoseeva Svetlana , Herrmann Roland
Published: April 2019

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the vivid political discussion on the consequences of the Russian agricultural import ban on the German export market by quantifying export losses that German agri‐food exporters encountered on the Russian market due to the agricultural import ban of 2014. A gravity‐type approach is used to measure the sanction effect in a panel of German agri‐food exports covering the period from January 1999 to June 2018. The ban effect is disentangled from a sequence of different geopolitically‐ and economically driven episodes. Once macroeconomic developments of the Russian economy as well as individual stages of decreasing trade cooperation in the preban period are accounted for, the import ban reduced German agri‐food exports significantly but was not the major cause. Therefore, a simple elimination of the ban will not be enough to restore trade to the presanctions level.
Homeodomain‐interacting protein kinase 2 suppresses proliferation and aerobic glycolysis via ERK/cMyc axis in pancreatic cancer
Authors: Qin Yi , Hu Qiangsheng , Ji Shunrong , Xu Jin , Dai Weixing , Liu Wensheng , Xu Wenyan , Sun Qiqing , Zhang Zheng , Ni Quanxing , Yu Xianjun , Zhang Bo , Xu Xiaowu
Published: April 2019

Objectives

To investigate the roles of the homeodomain‐interacting protein kinase (HIPK) family of proteins in pancreatic cancer prognosis and the possible molecular mechanism.

Materials and Methods

The expression of HIPK family genes and their roles in pancreatic cancer prognosis were analysed by using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The roles of HIPK2 in pancreatic cancer proliferation and glycolysis were tested by overexpression of HIPK2 in pancreatic cancer cells, followed by cell proliferation assay, glucose uptake analysis and Seahorse extracellular flux analysis. The mechanism of action of HIPK2 in pancreatic cancer proliferation and glycolysis was explored by examining its effect on the ERK/cMyc axis.

Results

Decreased HIPK2 expression indicated worse prognosis of pancreatic cancer. Overexpression of HIPK2 in pancreatic cancer cells decreased cell proliferation and attenuated aerobic glycolysis, which sustained proliferation of cancer cells. HIPK2 decreased cMyc protein levels and expression of cMyc‐targeted glycolytic genes. cMyc was a mediator that regulated HIPK2‐induced decrease in aerobic glycolysis. HIPK2 regulated cMyc protein stability via ERK activation, which phosphorylated and controlled cMyc protein stability.

Conclusions

HIPK2 suppressed proliferation of pancreatic cancer in part through inhibiting the ERK/cMyc axis and related aerobic glycolysis.
Seeing is (Dis)Believing: A Reading of Thomas Demand's “Modell/Model” (2000)
Authors: Macarthur David
Published: April 2019

In this commentary I interpret Thomas Demand's photographic work “Modell/Model” (2000) as undermining the strong temptation to think that when we view a photograph – a light‐capturing mechanism – seeing is believing. Demand provides a regress of models of models (recalling Plato's skeptical view of art as unknowing copies of copies) that ultimately proves unfathomable, hence, uncanny. Demand is the Socrates of contemporary art photography: here seeing is not‐knowing. What we do not know is that Demand's photograph is based on a partially erased paper and cardboard model of the scene depicted in a Nazi era photograph of a model of the German Pavilion (Hoffman, 1937) – which recalls the global ambitions of Nazism and the aesthetic connection Hitler wanted to make between neo‐classical fascist architecture and the “new man” of the Third Reich.
Assembly and Care of Memory: Placing Objects and Hybrid Media to Revisit International Expositions
Authors: Minner Jennifer
Published: April 2019

The bowerbird assembles and fastidiously cares for displays of found objects. The bowerbird actions are a metaphor that illustrate the deep connections between humans and objects in communicating about places and the past. This article presents three vignettes of artists and history advocates interpreting former international expo, or world's fair, sites. The first vignette discusses Jonathan Jones’barrangal dyara (skin and bones)a large‐scale public art installation in Sydney, Australia. A second focuses on narrations in the landscape and on a YouTube channel of objects and sites associated with memories and remnants of Expo ‘88, in Brisbane, Australia. A third example is Lost Utopias, by Jade Doskow, a series of large‐format photographs of 19th and 20th century expo sites. Each reveals human connections to objects and to landscapes, the power of reinterpretations generated out of assemblies of objects, and the hybrid places constructed out of multiple media.
Paediatric multiple sclerosis: a new era in diagnosis and treatment
Authors: Duignan Sophie , Brownlee Wallace , Wassmer Evangeline , Hemingway Cheryl , Lim Ming , Ciccarelli Olga , Hacohen Yael
Published: April 2019

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic immune‐mediated demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. The diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in children, as in adults, requires evidence of dissemination of inflammatory activity in more than one location in the central nervous system (dissemination in space) and recurrent disease over time (dissemination in time). The identification of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibodies (MOG‐Ab) and aquaporin‐A antibodies (AQP4‐Ab), and the subsequent discovery of their pathogenic mechanisms, have led to a shift in the classification of relapsing demyelinating syndromes. This is reflected in the 2017 revised criteria for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, which emphasizes the exclusion of multiple sclerosis mimics and aims to enable earlier diagnosis and thus treatment initiation. The long‐term efficacy of individual therapies initiated in children with multiple sclerosis is hard to evaluate, owing to the small numbers of patients who have the disease, the relatively high number of patients who switch therapy, and the need for long follow‐up studies. Nevertheless, an improvement in prognosis with a globally reduced annual relapse rate in children with multiple sclerosis is now observed compared with the pretreatment era, indicating a possible long‐term effect of therapies. Given the higher relapse rate in children compared with adults, and the impact multiple sclerosis has on cognition in the developing brain, there is a question whether rapid escalation or potent agents should be used in children, while the short‐ and long‐term safety profiles of these drugs are being established. With the results of the first randomized controlled trial of fingolimod versus interferon‐β1a in paediatric multiple sclerosis published in 2018 and several clinical trials underway, there is hope for further progress in the field of paediatric multiple sclerosis.

What this paper adds

Early and accurate diagnosis of multiple sclerosis is crucial.

The discovery of antibody‐mediated demyelination has changed the diagnosis and management of relapsing demyelination syndromes.

Traditional escalation therapy is being challenged by induction therapy.
Exercise stress echocardiography: Impact on clinical decision‐making in pediatric patients
Authors: Dasgupta Soham , Friedman Heather , Allen Nicole , Stark Megan , Ferguson Eric , Sachdeva Ritu , Border William L.
Published: April 2019

Background

The role of exercise stress echocardiography (ESE) in the pediatric population is less well defined as compared to adults. We aimed to determine the utility and impact of ESE on clinical decision‐making in pediatric patients.

Methods

We identified patients who underwent an ESE at our center from 2011 to 2015. Test indications were categorized into symptoms with exercise; sports/activity clearance; hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) or suspected HCM; coronary anomalies; or abnormal electrocardiogram (EKG). Change in clinical management was assessed by comparing pre‐ and post‐test activity restrictions, which were categorized into unrestricted from exercise or activity; restricted from exercise or activity; and surgical referral.

Results

During the study period, 353 ESEs met inclusion criteria. Of all ESEs performed, 263 (75%) were normal. Clinical management changed as a result of ESE in 144 (40%). Of the abnormal ESEs, 44 were restricted from activity, including 25 (56.8%) restricted from competitive or varsity athletics, 14 (31.8%) restricted from recreational sports, and 5 (11.4%) restricted from all activity. Surgical referrals included valve repair/replacement in 7 (50%), ICD placement in 5 (35.8%), coronary re‐implantation in 1 (7.1%), and atrial septal defect repair in 1 (7.1%).

Conclusion

Exercise stress echocardiography provides the pediatric cardiologist with useful information that impacts management in a wide variety of cardiac disorders. Clinical management changed in nearly half the patients that were subjected to an ESE at our center. This supports the value of ESE for informing clinical decision‐making. Future studies should aim to refine patient selection and examine its impact on patient outcomes.
BDNF increases associated with constant troponin T levels and may protect against poor cognitive interference control: The SABPA prospective study
Authors: Jansen van Vuren Esmé , Malan Leoné , von Känel Roland , Magnusson Martin , Lammertyn Leandi , Malan Nicolaas T.
Published: April 2019

Background

Brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) modulates brain health and cognition, which can interfere with executive cognitive function. BDNF was implicated with microcirculatory ischaemia and may reflect cardiomyocyte injury. We aimed to determine whether prospective changes (%Δ) in BDNF and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) will be associated with executive cognitive function in a bi‐ethnic cohort.

Design

A prospective investigation was conducted over a three‐year period in a bi‐ethnic sex cohort (N = 338; aged 20‐65 years) from South Africa. Fasting serum samples for BDNF and cTnT were obtained. The STROOP‐color‐word conflict test (CWT) was applied to assess executive cognitive function at baseline.

Results

In Blacks, BDNF (P < 0.001) increased over the three‐year period while cTnT did not change. In contrast, in Whites, BDNF and cTnT decreased over three years. In Black men, no change in cTnT was associated with increased ΔBDNF (β = 0.25; 95% CI 0.05‐0.45;P = 0.02). In the Black men, constant cTnT levels were inversely associated with executive cognitive function (β = −0.33; 95% CI −0.53 to −0.12;P = 0.003). Three‐year increases in BDNF increased the likelihood for chronic lower cTnT levels at a pre‐established cut‐point of <4.2 ng/L [OR = 2.35 (1.12‐4.94),P = 0.02]. The above associations were not found in the White sex groups.

Conclusions

Central neural control mechanisms may have upregulated BDNF in Black men as a way to protect against myocardial stress progression and to possibly improve processes related to cognitive interference control. High‐sensitive cTnT levels may act as an early predictor of disturbed neural control mechanisms.
Comparative evaluation of fracture resistance using two rehydration protocols for fragment reattachment in uncomplicated crown fractures
Authors: Madhubala Aripirala , Tewari Nitesh , Mathur Vijay Prakash , Bansal Kalpana
Published: April 2019

Background/Aims

Uncomplicated crown fracture is the most common traumatic dental injury. The International Association of Dental Traumatology has recommended fragment reattachment as the best method for restoring uncomplicated crown fractures of permanent teeth. Dehydration can affect fracture resistance after reattachment. However, a standard protocol for rehydration is still lacking. Hence, the aim of this study was to design a humidification chamber and assess its efficacy for improving the rehydration of tooth fragments and increasing fracture resistance after reattachment.

Materials and Methods

Sixty mandibular bovine incisors with similar dimensions and free of any structural deformities were fractured and randomized into five groups: Group I, Control Group (sound teeth); Group II (dehydrated for 24 hours); Group III (rehydrated in distilled water for 15 minutes); Group IV (rehydrated in a humidification chamber for 15 minutes); and Group V (restored with composite). A humidification chamber was designed and used for rehydration for 15 minutes in Group IV. Fragments in Group III were immersed in distilled water for 15 minutes. Reattachment procedures and materials remained the same in all groups. Fracture resistance was tested in a universal testing machine, and statistical analysis was done by Stata‐14.

Results

The Control Group with sound teeth (Group I) exhibited a maximum value of 282 ± 10.32 N, while Group II (fragment reattached without rehydration) had the least fracture resistance, 49.75 ± 5.2 N. Rehydration by means of the humidification chamber protocol (Group IV) resulted in significantly higher fracture resistance (150.54 ± 6.49 N) than in Group III (rehydration by means of immersion).

Conclusions

Fracture resistance after fragment reattachment was significantly affected by the rehydration of fragments for 15 minutes in the humidification chamber. Fragment reattachment after rehydration showed better fracture resistance than the composite restorations.
Habitat loss over six decades accelerates regional and local biodiversity loss via changing landscape connectance
Authors: Horváth Zsófia , Ptacnik Robert , Vad Csaba F. , Chase Jonathan M.
Published: April 2019

When habitats are lost, species are lost in the region as a result of the sampling process. However, it is less clear what happens to biodiversity in the habitats that remain. Some have argued that the main influence of habitat loss on biodiversity is simply due to the total amount of habitat being reduced, while others have argued that fragmentation leads to fewer species per site because of altered spatial connectance among extant habitats. Here, we use a unique data set on invertebrate species in ponds spanning six decades of habitat loss to show that both regional and local species richness declined, indicating that species loss is compounded by habitat loss via connectivity loss, and not a result of a sampling process or changes in local environmental conditions. Overall, our work provides some of the clearest evidence to date from a longitudinal study that habitat loss translates into species loss, even within the remaining habitats.
Insight into the role of chondroitin sulfate E in angiogenesis
Authors: Kastana Pinelopi , Choleva Effrosyni , Poimenidi Evangelia , Karamanos Nikos , Sugahara Kazuyuki , Papadimitriou Evangelia
Published: April 2019

Chondroitin sulfate E (CS‐E) is a glycosaminoglycan containing type‐E disaccharide units (sulfated at C‐4 and C‐6 of N‐acetylgalactosamine). CS‐E is covalently linked to a core protein to form chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (PGs) that are secreted or associated with the plasma membrane of several types of cells. CS‐E‐containing PGs selectively interact with growth factors and chemokines and control various cellular and/or tissue processes. Angiogenesis is a process that is highly regulated in physiological conditions but deregulated in pathologies, leading to excess or deficient blood vessel formation. Angiogenesis regulation is orchestrated by numerous growth factors, such as vascular endothelial growth factor A, fibroblast growth factors and pleiotrophin, whose functions can be affected by CS‐containing PGs. In the present review, we focus on the emerging area of CS‐mediated angiogenesis and particularly on the critical assessment of data related to a potential role of CS‐E in controlling endothelial cell functions, focusing on angiogenesis regulation and vascular homeostasis in health and disease.
Aging effect on combined mode fracture resistance of bitumen
Authors: Shaker Saied , Aliha Mohammad reza M. , Keymanesh Mahmoud reza
Published: April 2019

Crack growth behaviour of aged and unaged 30/40 asphalt binder at subzero temperature was studied both experimentally and theoretically using a test sample called inclined notched bend beam specimen. A series of fracture tests were conducted on this specimen at two subzero temperatures and different combinations of modes I and II. The fracture toughness of tested asphalt binder was significantly dependent on the aging condition such that the load‐carrying capacity of aged bitumen was up to 60% less than the corresponding fracture resistance of unaged bitumen. Moreover, the effective fracture resistance value of tested binder was reduced by increasing the contribution of mode II and also decreasing the test temperature. The obtained experimental results for both binder types were also evaluated theoretically using a stress base crack growth theory.
The effects of land use disturbance vary with trophic position in littoral cichlid fish communities from Lake Tanganyika
Authors: Britton Adam W. , Murrell David J. , McGill Rona A. R. , Doble Christopher J. , Ramage Calum I. , Day Julia J.
Published: April 2019

Impacts of anthropogenic disturbance are especially severe in freshwater ecosystems. In particular, land use disturbance can lead to increased levels of pollution, including elevated nutrient and sediment loads whose negative impacts range from the community to the individual level. However, few studies have investigated if these impacts are uniform across species represented by multiple trophic levels. To address this knowledge gap, we focused on Lake Tanganyika cichlid fishes, which comprise hundreds of species representing a wide range of feeding strategies. Cichlids are at their most diverse within the near‐shore environment; however, land use disturbance of this environment has led to decreasing diversity, particularly in herbivores. We therefore tested if there is a uniform effect of pollution across species and trophic groups within the hyper‐diverse rocky shore cichlid fish community.

We selected three sites with differing levels of human impact along the Tanzanian coastline and 10 cichlid species, comprising varying taxonomic and trophic groups, common to these sites. Nitrogen and carbon stable isotope values for 528 samples were generated and analysed using generalised linear mixed models. We also estimated stomach contents including sediment proportions.

Our study highlights that multiple sources of pollution are having differing effects across species within a diverse fish community. We found that nitrogen stable isotope values were significantly higher at the most disturbed (urbanised) site for benthic feeding species, whereas there was no difference in these isotopes between sites for the water column feeding trophic group. Stomach contents revealed that the elevated δ15N values were unlikely to have been caused by differences in diet between sites. However, at the most disturbed site, higher proportions of sediment were present in most herbivores, irrespective of foraging behaviour.

It is likely that anthropogenic nitrogen loading is the cause of higher nitrogen stable isotope values since there was no evidence of species shifting trophic levels between sites. Results support our previous study showing herbivore species to be most affected by human disturbance and make the link to pollution much more explicit. As lower diversity of consumers can negatively affect ecosystem processes such as stability, alleviating environmental impact through sewage treatment and afforestation programmes should continue to be a global priority for the conservation of aquatic ecosystems, as well as human health.
Detailed analysis of paternal knockoutGrb10mice suggests effects on stability of social behavior, rather than social dominance
Authors: Rienecker Kira D. A. , Chavasse Alexander T. , Moorwood Kim , Ward Andrew , Isles Anthony R.
Published: April 2019

Imprinted genes are highly expressed in monoaminergic regions of the midbrain and their functions in this area are thought to have an impact on mammalian social behaviors. One such imprinted gene isGrb10, of which the paternal allele is generally recognized as mediating social dominance behavior. However, there has been no detailed study of social dominance inGrb10+/pmice. Moreover, the original study examined tube‐test behavior in isolated mice 10 months of age. Isolation testing favors more territorial and aggressive behaviors, and does not address social dominance strategies employed in group housing contexts. Furthermore, isolation stress impacts midbrain function and dominance related behavior, often through alterations in monoaminergic signaling. Thus, we undertook a systematic study ofGrb10+/psocial rank and dominance behavior within the cage group, using a number of convergent behavioral tests. We examined both male and female mice to account for sex differences and tested cohorts aged 2, 6 and 10 months to examine any developments related to age. We found group‐housedGrb10+/pmice do not show evidence of enhanced social dominance, but cages containingGrb10+/pand wild‐type mice lacked the normal correlation between three different measures of social rank. Moreover, a separate study indicated isolation stress induced inconsistent changes in tube test behavior. Taken together, these data suggest future research onGrb10+/pmice should focus on the stability of social behaviors, rather than dominance per se.
Connectivity in coastal systems: Barrier island vegetation influences upland migration in a changing climate
Authors: Zinnert Julie C. , Via Stephen M. , Nettleton Benjamin P. , Tuley Philip A. , Moore Laura J. , Stallins Jon Anthony
Published: April 2019

Due to their position at the land–sea interface, barrier islands are vulnerable to both oceanic and atmospheric climate change‐related drivers. In response to relative sea‐level rise, barrier islands tend to migrate landward via overwash processes which deposit sediment onto the backbarrier marsh, thus maintaining elevation above sea level. In this paper, we assess the importance of interior upland vegetation and sediment transport (from upland to marsh) on the movement of the marsh–upland boundary in a transgressive barrier system along the mid‐Atlantic Coast. We hypothesize that recent woody expansion is altering the rate of marsh to upland conversion. Using Landsat imagery over a 32 year time period (1984–2016), we quantify transitions between land cover (bare, grassland, woody vegetation, and marsh) and the marsh–upland boundary. We find that the Virginia Barrier Islands have both gains and losses in backbarrier marsh and upland, with 19% net loss from the system during the timeframe of the study and increased variance in marsh to upland conversion. This is consistent with recent work indicating a shift toward increasing rates of landward barrier island migration. Despite a net loss of upland area, macroclimatic winter warming resulted in 41% increase in woody vegetation in protected, low‐elevation areas, introducing new ecological scenarios that increase resistance to sediment movement from upland to marsh. Our analysis demonstrates how the interplay between elevation and interior island vegetative cover influences landward migration of the boundary between upland and marsh (a previously underappreciated indicator that an island is migrating), and thus, the importance of including ecological processes in the island interior into coastal modeling of barrier island migration and sediment movement across the barrier landscape.
Experimental evidence of gradual size‐dependent shifts in body size and growth of fish in response to warming
Authors: Huss Magnus , Lindmark Max , Jacobson Philip , van Dorst Renee M. , Gårdmark Anna
Published: April 2019

A challenge facing ecologists trying to predict responses to climate change is the few recent analogous conditions to use for comparison. For example, negative relationships between ectotherm body size and temperature are common both across natural thermal gradients and in small‐scale experiments. However, it is unknown if short‐term body size responses are representative of long‐term responses. Moreover, to understand population responses to warming, we must recognize that individual responses to temperature may vary over ontogeny. To enable predictions of how climate warming may affect natural populations, we therefore ask how body size and growth may shift in response to increased temperature over life history, and whether short‐ and long‐term growth responses differ. We addressed these questions using a unique setup with multidecadal artificial heating of an enclosed coastal bay in the Baltic Sea and an adjacent reference area (both with unexploited populations), using before‐after control‐impact paired time‐series analyses. We assembled individual growth trajectories of ~13,000 unique individuals of Eurasian perch and found that body growth increased substantially after warming, but the extent depended on body size: Only among small‐bodied perch did growth increase with temperature. Moreover, the strength of this response gradually increased over the 24 year warming period. Our study offers a unique example of how warming can affect fish populations over multiple generations, resulting in gradual changes in body growth, varying as organisms develop. Although increased juvenile growth rates are in line with predictions of the temperature–size rule, the fact that a larger body size at age was maintained over life history contrasts to that same rule. Because the artificially heated area is a contemporary system mimicking a warmer sea, our findings can aid predictions of fish responses to further warming, taking into account that growth responses may vary both over an individual's life history and over time.
Study of the refractory used in a submerged arc furnace in the copper‐making industry
Authors: Pérez Ismael , Moreno‐Ventas Ignacio , Ríos Guillermo
Published: April 2019

A cost driver in the copper‐making industry is the periodical relining of the furnaces because of wear. This paper presents thermochemical calculations (using the FactSage™ database) focused on the evaluation of the slag‐refractory chemical interaction in a submerged arc furnace (SAF) used for slag‐cleaning operations. This evaluation was made under different conditions: slag‐refractory volume ratio, oxygen partial pressure, and different types of slag. The new phases formed as a consequence of the slag‐refractory chemical interaction were identified and quantified. To support the theoretical calculations based on thermochemistry, a postmortem study was carried out on a SAF used at the Atlantic Copper Smelter (Spain) after a 6‐year campaign (4.5 mill. t. slag processed). Refractory samples were taken from different locations on the wall and analyzed using a scanning electron microscope equipped with an Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy system.
Superfine grinding of Dendrobium officinale: the finer the better?
Authors: Meng Qingran , Chen Feng , Xiao Tiancun , Zhang Lianfu
Published: April 2019

In this study, Dendrobium officinale powders with different particle size were prepared, and the functional components solubility, phenolic compounds contents and antioxidant activities were determined and compared. Results showed that powders with smaller particle size usually showed better physicochemical properties compared with coarse ones; however, finer particles were not necessarily better. The nutritional ingredients solubility, antioxidant components contents and antioxidant activities increased with an initial decrease in particle size and then plateaued, indicating that rational processing can meet its objectives. The obtained results indicated that particle size of ~30 μm was suitable for D. officinale powder processing considering the nutritional ingredients solubilities and the antioxidants contents; while from the point of view of antioxidant activities, ~20 μm could meet the requirements. An understanding of the influences of micronization on physicochemical properties of D. officinale was expected to provide new insights in guiding the development of micronized food powders in practice.
The experiences of patients in using sensory rooms in psychiatric inpatient care
Authors: Hedlund Lindberg Mathilde , Samuelsson Mats , Perseius Kent‐Inge , Björkdahl Anna
Published: April 2019

The use of sensory rooms and similar sensory approaches in psychiatric inpatient settings is becoming increasingly common. In sensory rooms, patients can choose different sensory stimulating items that may help regulate distress and enhance well‐being. Outcomes are often measured as effects on patients’ self‐rated distress and rates of seclusion and restraint. The subjective experiences of patients using sensory rooms have been less explored. This paper presents a qualitative study of the experiences of 28 patients who chose to use sensory rooms on seven different types of psychiatric inpatient wards. Data were collected by individual patient interviews and by texts written by patients. A qualitative content analysis resulted in four categories: emotional calm, bodily calm, empowerment, and unexpected effects. A majority of the participants described several positive experiences, such as enhanced well‐being, reduced anxiety, increased self‐management, and enhanced self‐esteem. Our findings align with previous research that has shown similar positive patient experiences, and support the use of sensory rooms as part of person‐centred care.
Husbandry and reproduction of the Indochinese box turtle Cuora galbinifrons, Bourret's box turtle Cuora bourreti and Southern Vietnam box turtle Cuora picturata in North America
Authors: Augustine L. , Haislip N.
Published: April 2019

Despite their historic commonality in the pet trade, there is still relatively little information published on the care and reproduction of the Cuora galbinifrons complex. Now recognized as three distinct species – Indochinese box turtle Cuora galbinifrons, Bourret's box turtle Cuora bourreti and Southern Vietnam box turtle Cuora picturata – this complex contains some of the world's most Critically Endangered chelonians. The following is a husbandry report for these species. Information was collected from North American studbook participants for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan, unpublished reports, websites and the available published literature. Various husbandry methods have proven successful; however, there have been few instances of consistent reproductive success. This paper aims to illuminate some husbandry practices in place at the time of writing and promote the sharing of information for future programmes.
The Sinh-Arcsinh Normal Distribution
Authors: Jones Chris , Pewsey Arthur
Published: April 2019

Not everything in the statistical world is normally distributed. Chris Jones and Arthur Pewsey describe a neat way to extend the normal distribution to allow for skewness as well as heavier or lighter tails
Reliability and Validity of Forensic Science Evidence
Authors: Stern Hal S. , Cuellar Maria , Kaye David
Published: April 2019

Hal S. Stern, Maria Cuellar and David Kaye describe how scientists define and assess the reliability and validity of some commonly encountered types of forensic science evidence. Such assessments are necessary for courts to admit putatively scientific evidence as bona fide and legally “reliable” science.
Machine Learning in Forensic Applications
Authors: Carriquiry Alicia , Hofmann Heike , Tai Xiao Hui , VanderPlas Susan
Published: April 2019

The 2009 National Academy of Sciences report found pattern-evidence disciplines to be rife with subjectivity. In the decade since, machine learning methods have been developed to try to address that issue. By Alicia Carriquiry, Heike Hofmann, Xiao Hui Tai and Susan VanderPlas.
Latitudinal variation in mycorrhizal diversity associated with a European orchid
Authors: Duffy Karl J. , Waud Michael , Schatz Bertrand , Petanidou Theodora , Jacquemyn Hans
Published: April 2019

Aim

Biodiversity is known to be unevenly distributed along latitudinal gradients. While this pattern has been observed for many different organisms, it is unclear whether the distributions of ecologically important belowground mutualists, such as orchid mycorrhizal fungi (OMF), also vary according to latitude.

Location

Europe.

Taxon

Spiranthes spiralis(L. Chevall) Orchidaceae.

Methods

We sampled 37 populations over a >3,000 km latitudinal gradient of the European orchidSpiranthes spiralisto test whether the diversity and community composition ofOMFare influenced by latitude. For this, we sequenced the broad spectrumITS3/4OFregion to identifyOMFand quantified environmental variables that may influence their occurrence. To assess whether seed germination was affected by suitableOMFin different regions, we performed a reciprocal translocation germination experiment at the northern, central and southern part of its range.

Results

In total, 75OMFtaxa were associated withS. spiralis, the majority belonging to the Ceratobasidiaceae and Thelephoraceae. Both taxonomic and phylogeneticOMFdiversity decreased with increasing latitude. Three Ceratobasidiaceae taxa were widespread, but the number of sequences of two of these taxa decreased with increasing latitude. Reciprocal translocation germination experiments revealed thatS. spiralisseeds germinated in each region regardless of seed provenance, but germination rates were highest in the southern part of its range where mycorrhizal diversity was highest.

Main conclusions

OMFdiversity decreased with increasing latitude, indicating that communities ofOMFmay be shaped by latitudinal gradients. These results highlight the need to understand the factors that determine the distribution of belowground mutualists, which are essential to predict how plant distributions will shift under future environmental change.
BZW2 gene knockdown induces cell growth inhibition, G1 arrest and apoptosis in muscle‐invasive bladder cancers: A microarray pathway analysis
Authors: Gao Haifeng , Yu Guanghai , Zhang Xian , Yu Song , Sun Yu , Li Yinghua
Published: April 2019

Bladder cancer is among the most common cancers all over the world. The function of basic leucine zipper and W2 domains 2 (BZW2) in tumour progression has been reported. However, the biological function of BZW2 in muscle‐invasive bladder cancers (MIBCs) remains to be determined. The aim of the present study was to reveal the expression and roles of BZW2 in human MIBCs and to explore the molecular mechanisms underlying these functions. Clinically, BZW2 expression was higher in MIBC tissues than the adjacent non‐tumour tissues. Knocking down BZW2 using shRNA inhibited cell proliferation and G1/S cell cycle progression in vitro, and induced apoptosis in both 5637 and T24 cells. Moreover, in vivo studies with mice xenograft models confirmed the anti‐proliferative effects of BZW2‐knockdown, providing a future therapeutic target. We also performed biochemical microarray analysis to identify the potential signalling pathways, disease states and functions which could be affected by suppressing BZW2 in MIBC cells. Collectively, our findings suggest BZW2 has an oncogenic role in MIBCs and serves as a promising target for molecular diagnosis and gene therapy.
Loss of zinc‐finger protein 143 contributes to tumour progression by interleukin‐8‐CXCR axis in colon cancer
Authors: Verma Vikas , Paek A Rome , Choi Beom-Kyu , Hong Eun Kyung , You Hye Jin
Published: April 2019

Several studies have shown that expression of zinc‐finger protein 143 (ZNF143) is closely related to tumour progression including colon cancer. However, it remains unclear how ZNF143 expression is related to tumour progression within the tumour microenvironment. Here, we investigated whether ZNF143 expression affects the tumour microenvironment and tumour progression by screening molecules secreted by colon cancer cells stably expressing short‐hairpin RNAs against ZNF143 or control RNAs. We observed that secretion of interleukin (IL)‐8 was increased when ZNF143 expression was reduced in two colon cancer cell lines. The mRNA and protein levels of IL‐8 were increased in cells following ZNF143 knockdown, and this effect was reversed when ZNF143 expression was restored. The Janus tyrosine kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) and extracellular signal‐regulated kinase pathways were also shown to contribute to IL‐8 expression in ZNF143‐knockdown cells. The expression levels of ZNF143 and IL‐8 were inversely correlated with three‐dimensionally grown spheroids and colon cancer tissues. THP‐1 cells were differentiated when cells were incubated with condition media from colon cancer cell with less ZNF143, drastically. Loss of ZNF143 may contribute to the development of colon cancer by regulating intracellular and intercellular signalling for cell plasticity and the tumour microenvironment respectively.
Exploring the promise of assessing dynamic characteristics of the family for predicting adolescent risk outcomes
Authors: Fosco Gregory M. , Mak Hio Wa , Ramos Amanda , LoBraico Emily , Lippold Melissa
Published: April 2019

Background

Family‐based assessments of risk factors for adolescent emotional, behavioral, and substance use problems can be used to identify adolescents who are at risk and intervene before problems cause clinically significant impairment. Expanding traditional methods for assessing risk, this study evaluates whetherlability, referring to the degree to which parent–adolescent relationships and parenting fluctuate from day to day, might offer additional value to assessment protocols aimed at identifying precursor risk factors.

Methods

This study sampled 151 adolescents and caregivers, collecting data at a baseline assessment, a 21‐day daily diary protocol, and a 12‐month follow‐up assessment. Daily diary data were used to calculate within‐family lability scores in parenting practices, parent–adolescent connectedness, and parent–adolescent conflict.

Results

Regression analyses evaluated whether lability predicted adolescent's depression, anxiety, antisocial behavior (ASB), drunkenness, and marijuana use at 12‐month follow‐up. Lability in parent–adolescent connectedness, accounting for baseline levels, gender, age, and initial levels of outcomes, was associated with risk for depression, anxiety,ASB, drunkenness, and marijuana use. Lability in parenting practices also was associated with risk for depression, anxiety, and drunkenness. Baseline levels moderated some of these effects. Parent–adolescent conflict lability was only associated with depression.

Conclusions

These findings provide evidence for substantial value added when including dynamic assessments of family lability in predicting long‐term adolescent risk outcomes and call for integration of dynamic methods into assessment practices.
Ovicidal effects of entomopathogenic fungal isolates on the invasive Fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Authors: Akutse Komivi Senyo , Kimemia Jane Wanjiru , Ekesi Sunday , Khamis Fathiya Mbarak , Ombura Odhiambo Levi , Subramanian Sevgan
Published: April 2019

Maize is a major staple food for over 300 million people in sub‐Saharan Africa. Sustainable productivity of this primary crop has been recently threatened by Fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda invasion. Due to lack of environmentally safe management strategies, immediate responses by growers and governments to tackle FAW are based on rampant use of pesticides. Looking for efficient biopesticides, twenty entomopathogenic fungal isolates (14 Metarhizium anisopliae and 6 Beauveria bassiana) were screened for their efficacy against eggs and second instar larvae of FAW. A single discriminating concentration of 1 × 108 conidia ml−1 and four replicates per treatment were used in all experiments. Isolates were assessed for their ability to cause mortality of FAW second instar larvae, eggs and the neonate larvae that emerged from treated eggs. Among the isolates tested, only B. bassiana ICIPE 676 caused moderate mortality of 30% to second instar larvae. Metarhizium anisopliae ICIPE 78, ICIPE 40 and ICIPE 20 caused egg mortalities of 87.0%, 83.0% and 79.5%, respectively, and M. anisopliae ICIPE 41 and ICIPE 7 outperformed all the others by causing 96.5% and 93.7% mortality to the neonate larvae, respectively. The cumulated mortality of eggs and neonates was highest with M. anisopliae ICIPE 41 (97.5%), followed by M. anisopliae ICIPE 7, 655, 40, 20 and 78 with total mortality of 96.0%, 95.0%, 93.5%, 93.0% and 92.0%, respectively. These isolates with high cumulated mortality (≥92%), especially ICIPE 78 and 7, which are already commercialized for spider mites and ticks control respectively, would be good candidates for development as biopesticides for management of FAW in Africa if further evidence of their efficacy is obtained in the field.
Gastric coccidiosis in Thoracocharax stellatus caused by Goussia guamaensis n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae) from the Amazon region
Authors: da Silva Marcelo F. , de Araújo Rebeca S. , da Silva Diehgo T. , Sanches Osimar , Hamoy Igor , Matos Edilson
Published: April 2019

Ninety‐seven specimens of spotfin hatchetfish, Thoracocharax stellatus, an ornamental freshwater species from the Amazon basin, were captured in the basin of the Guamá River in the municipality of Belém, in northern Brazil, and analysed for coccidiosis infection. Overall, 26 of the specimens were infected by apicomplexan parasites of the genus Goussia, with unsporulated forms being found in the gastric epithelium and sporulated forms in the intestinal lumen. The spheroid oocysts (mean diameter: 13.2 ± 1.7 μm) have four elliptical sporocysts. A partial sequence of the SSU rDNA of the new species was obtained, which contained 1,121 base pairs, with 43.8% guanine + cytosine (G + C), and the bases distributed as follows: A = 28.1%, C = 18.3%, G = 25.5% and T = 28.1%. The combined analysis of the morphometric and phylogenetic evidence confirmed that the specimens represented the genus Goussia and were allocated to a new species, Goussia guamaensis n. sp., which is described here.
Usefulness of intestinal real‐time virtual sonography in patients with inflammatory bowel disease
Authors: Kawai Shoichiro , Iijima Hideki , Shinzaki Shinichiro , Hiyama Satoshi , Yamaguchi Toshio , Araki Manabu , Iwatani Shuko , Shiraishi Eri , Mukai Akira , Inoue Takahiro , Tsujii Yoshiki , Hayashi Yoshito , Tsujii Masahiko , Takehara Tetsuo
Published: April 2019

Background and Aim

Transabdominal ultrasonography (US) examination for the intestine is often difficult, and its precedence for intestinal examination depends on accessibility to experienced ultrasonographers. Real‐time virtual sonography (RVS) assists examination of US as a fusion method by synchronizing US images with pre‐captured computed tomography or magnetic resonance images. We aimed to evaluate the feasibility to use RVS for the examination of the intestine.

Methods

The time to scan three parts of the intestine was compared between conventional US and RVS in seven participants without intestinal diseases. Whether RVS accurately synchronized US images with reference images of intestinal target lesions was judged in 20 patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Results

Examination time to scan the ascending colon and the ileocecum using intestinal RVS was significantly shorter than that using conventional US alone (36.7 vs 50.0 s [P = 0.0313] and 35.4 vs 66.4 s [P = 0.0156], respectively) in participants without intestinal diseases. Well‐synchronized US images of the intestinal lesions, such as stenosis, with reference computed tomography/magnetic resonance images were obtained by RVS in all the lesions in the fixed parts of the colon (ascending and descending colon), and images of nine lesions in 12 lesions (75%) were well synchronized in the unfixed part of the intestine in Crohn's disease patients.

Conclusion

Real‐time virtual sonography significantly reduced the examination time of intestinal US. Intestinal RVS can help the ultrasonographer to guide the US probe to detect and monitor intestinal lesions by synchronizing reference images, especially in inflammatory bowel disease patients (UMIN Clinical Trials Registry number: UMIN000011571).