bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Efficient and stable large-area perovskite solar cells with inorganic charge extraction layers
Authors: Chen Wei , Wu Yongzhen , Yue Youfeng , Liu Jian , Zhang Wenjun , Yang Xudong , Chen Han , Bi Enbing , Ashraful Islam , Grätzel Michael , Han Liyuan
Published: October 2015

Perovskites go large

Solar cells made of planar organic-inorganic perovskites now have reported efficiencies exceeding 20%. However, these values have been determined from small illuminated areas. Chen
et al.
used highly doped inorganic charge extraction layers to make solar cells on the 1 cm
2
scale (see the Perspective by Sessolo and Bolink). The layers helped to protect the active layer from degradation by air. The cells achieved governmentlab–certified efficiencies of >15%. Furthermore, 90% of the efficiency was maintained after 1000 hours of operation.

Science
, this issue p.
944
; see also p.
917
Draft Genome Sequences of Two New Zealand Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris Isolates, ICMP 4013 and ICMP 21080
Authors: Desai Dhairyasheel , Li Jin-Hua , van Zijll de Jong Eline , Braun Robert , Pitman Andrew , Visnovsky Sandra , Hampton John , Christey Mary
Published: October 2015

Xanthomonas campestris
pv. campestris is a necrotrophic bacterial pathogen of crucifers. We report here the draft genome sequences of isolates ICMP 4013 and ICMP 21080 from New Zealand. These sequences will facilitate the identification of race-specific factors in
X. campestris
pv. campestris.
Draft Genome Sequence of the Streptothricin-Producing Strain
Streptomyces
sp. fd2-tb
Authors: Tang Biao , Yu Yucong , Cen Xufeng , Zhu Yongqiang , Dai Ruixue , Wang Xianwei , Zhao Guoping , Ding Xiaoming
Published: October 2015

Streptomyces
sp. fd2-tb can produce streptothricin class antibiotics with broad antimicrobial spectra. To better understand the mechanism of streptothricin biosynthesis and to assess the capacity of this strain in secondary metabolism, we report the draft genome sequence of
Streptomyces
sp. strain fd2-tb.
Pm2.5 and ash residue from combustion of moxa floss
Authors: Huang Jian , Lim Min Yee , Zhao Baixiao , Shao Longyi , Lao Lixing
Published: October 2015

Background

Moxibustion, a Traditional Chinese Medicine technique, involves burning moxa floss to apply heat to certain points or areas of the body surface to treat disease. Moxibustion releases a considerable amount of smoke into the environment. There remains controversy over the safety of moxa smoke and its potential effects on human health.

Methods

We measured the PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <2.5 μm) mass concentration in moxa smoke and the oxidative capacity of PM2.5 and moxa ash (using a plasmid scission assay in whole and water-soluble fractions) in the by-products of moxibustion produced from burning moxa floss of different ratios (3:1 or 15:1) and duration of storage (3 or 10 years) in three simulated moxibustion clinics.

Results

PM2.5 mass concentration was 224.28, 226.39  and 210.56 μg/m3 for samples A (3 years and 3:1 ratio), B (3 years and 15:1 ratio), and C (10 years and 3:1 ratio), respectively. Average D500 oxidative damage of PM2.5 was 29.42%, 29.16% and 27.01% and that of moxa ash was 22.78%, 20.60% and 21.42% for samples A, B and C, respectively. PM2.5 demonstrated a significantly greater oxidative capacity than moxa ash (p<0.05).

Conclusions

The oxidative DNA damage induced by individual PM2.5 following moxibustion was lower than that reported in other environments. However, PM2.5 mass concentration after moxibustion is still relatively high. We would recommend ensuring adequate ventilation during moxibustion to reduce any possible risks. Further studies are needed to better define the potential impact of particles in moxibustion by-products on human health.
Thermoregulatory effects of swaddling in Mongolia: a randomised controlled study
Authors: Tsogt Bazarragchaa , Manaseki-Holland Semira , Pollock Jon , Blair Peter S , Fleming Peter
Published: October 2015

Objective

To investigate thermal balance of infants in a Mongolian winter, and compare the effects of traditional swaddling with an infant sleeping-bag in apartments or traditional tents (Gers).

Design

A substudy within a randomised controlled trial.

Setting

Community in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Subjects

A stratified randomly selected sample of 40 swaddled and 40 non-swaddled infants recruited within 48 h of birth.

Intervention

Sleeping-bags and baby outfits of total thermal resistance equivalent to that of swaddled babies.

Outcome measure

Digital recordings of infants’ core, peripheral, environmental and microenvironmental temperatures at 30-s intervals over 24 h at ages 1 month and 3 months.

Results

In Gers, indoor temperatures varied greatly (<0–>25°C), but remained between 20°C and 22°C, in apartments. Despite this, heavy wrapping, bed sharing and partial head covering, infant core and peripheral temperatures were similar and no infants showed evidence of significant heat or cold stress whether they were swaddled or in sleeping-bags. At 3 months, infants in sleeping-bags showed the ‘mature’ diurnal pattern of a fall in core temperature after sleep onset, accompanied by a rise in peripheral temperature, with a reverse pattern later in the night, just before awakening. This pattern was not related to room temperature, and was absent in the swaddled infants, suggesting that the mature diurnal pattern may develop later in them.

Conclusions

No evidence of cold stress was found. Swaddling had no identifiable thermal advantages over sleeping-bags during the coldest times, and in centrally heated apartments could contribute to the risk of overheating during the daytime.

Trial registration number

ISRTN01992617.
Association of rule of law and health outcomes: an ecological study
Authors: Pinzon-Rondon Angela Maria , Attaran Amir , Botero Juan Carlos , Ruiz-Sternberg Angela Maria
Published: October 2015

Objectives

To explore whether the rule of law is a foundational determinant of health that underlies other socioeconomic, political and cultural factors that have been associated with health outcomes.

Setting

Global project.

Participants

Data set of 96 countries, comprising 91% of the global population.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

The following health indicators, infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, life expectancy, and cardiovascular disease and diabetes mortality rate, were included to explore their association with the rule of law. We used a novel Rule of Law Index, gathered from survey sources, in a cross-sectional and ecological design. The Index is based on eight subindices: (1) Constraints on Government Powers; (2) Absence of Corruption; (3) Order and Security; (4)FundamentalRights; (5) Open Government; (6) Regulatory Enforcement, (7) Civil Justice; and (8) Criminal Justice.

Results

The rule of law showed an independent association with infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, life expectancy, and cardiovascular disease and diabetes mortality rate, after adjusting for the countries’ level of per capita income, their expenditures in health, their level of political and civil freedom, their Gini measure of inequality and women's status (p<0.05). Rule of law remained significant in all the multivariate models, and the following adjustment for potential confounders remained robust for at least one or more of the health outcomes across all eight subindices of the rule of law. Findings show that the higher the country's level of adherence to the rule of law, the better the health of the population.

Conclusions

It is necessary to start considering the country's adherence to the rule of law as a foundational determinant of health. Health advocates should consider the improvement of rule of law as a tool to improve population health. Conversely, lack of progress in rule of law may constitute a structural barrier to health improvement.
Non-dental primary care providers’ views on challenges in providing oral health services and strategies to improve oral health in Australian rural and remote communities: a qualitative study
Authors: Barnett Tony , Hoang Ha , Stuart Jackie , Crocombe Len
Published: October 2015

Objectives

To investigate the challenges of providing oral health advice/treatment as experienced by non-dental primary care providers in rural and remote areas with no resident dentist, and their views on ways in which oral health and oral health services could be improved for their communities.

Design

Qualitative study with semistructured interviews and thematic analysis.

Setting

Four remote communities in outback Queensland, Australia.

Participants

35 primary care providers who had experience in providing oral health advice to patients and four dental care providers who had provided oral health services to patients from the four communities.

Results

In the absence of a resident dentist, rural and remote residents did present to non-dental primary care providers with oral health problems such as toothache, abscess, oral/gum infection and sore mouth for treatment and advice. Themes emerged from the interview data around communication challenges and strategies to improve oral health. Although, non-dental care providers commonly advised patients to see a dentist, they rarely communicated with the dentist in the nearest regional town. Participants proposed that oral health could be improved by: enabling access to dental practitioners, educating communities on preventive oral healthcare, and building the skills and knowledge base of non-dental primary care providers in the field of oral health.

Conclusions

Prevention is a cornerstone to better oral health in rural and remote communities as well as in more urbanised communities. Strategies to improve the provision of dental services by either visiting or resident dental practitioners should include scope to provide community-based oral health promotion activities, and to engage more closely with other primary care service providers in these small communities.
Maximizing toll revenue and level of service on managed lanes with a dynamic feedback-control toll pricing strategy
Authors: Cheng Danhong , Ishak Sherif
Published: October 2015

In recent years, congestion pricing emerged as a cost-effective and efficient strategy to mitigate congestion on freeways. This study develops a dynamic toll pricing strategy based on feedback control rules and compares its performance with the current strategy deployed on the I-95 express lanes in south Florida. The proposed strategy aims to maximize the toll revenue while maintaining a minimum desirable level of service on the managed lanes. A detailed numerical example is provided to demonstrate how the proposed strategy works and the performance is examined for low and high traffic demand. An external module is developed to execute the strategy in real time during VISSIM runtime. The impact of the value of time based on the income level is also examined. Three values in the range of 60% to 120% of the mean hourly income are used. The results show that for high demand, an increase in the probability of choosing managed lanes becomes more evident, with the highest increase observed for the case of 120%. Also, during high traffic demand, high income groups exhibit higher probabilities of choosing the managed lanes despite the increase in toll rate due to the increase in travel time savings. When compared to the currently adopted toll pricing strategy on I-95, the proposed strategy shows a steadier toll rate profile and a greater overall toll revenue, while maintaining the speed at nearly 72.4 kph (45 mph).
The effect of moderate-intensity exercise on the expression of HO-1 mRNA and activity of HO in cardiac and vascular smooth muscle of spontaneously hypertensive rats
Authors: Ren Cailing , Qi Jie , Li Wanwei , Zhang Jun
Published: October 2015

The objective of this study was to observe the effects of moderate-intensity training on the activity of heme oxygenase (HO) and expression of HO-1 mRNA in the aorta and the cardiac muscle of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). After 9 weeks of swimming exercise, the activity of HO and expression of HO-1 mRNA in the SHRs were measured. The resting blood pressure in the exercise group was increased by 1.7% (P > 0.05), whereas it was significantly elevated by 10.3% (P < 0.01) in the SHR rats. Compared with animals in the control and sedentary groups, the expression level of HO-1 mRNA of aorta and cardiac muscle in the exercise group was significantly enhanced (P < 0.01). The HO activity and the content of plasma carbon monoxide (CO) in the sedentary group were dramatically decreased (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively) compared with the control group. HO activity and content of plasma CO in the exercise group were significantly higher compared with those in the sedentary group (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively). The HO/CO metabolic pathway might be involved in the regulation of blood pressure of the SHR models.
Probabilistic Approach to Predicting Risk in Software Projects Using Software Repository Data
Authors: Jeon Changkyun , Kim Neunghoe , In Hoh Peter
Published: October 2015

Although the factors that need to be focused on for a successful software project appear to be difficult to define, risk management has become one of the key activities for achieving such success because significant risk is involved in each software development phase. Software project failures are often a result of insufficient and ineffective risk information regarding the future. To overcome this, software risk prediction should be performed in advance to allow project managers insight into providing more valuable information for decision making, such as scope coverage, resource allocation, and schedule changes. In this research, we propose a risk prediction model from the perspective of quality using a software repository. We evaluated the risk threat level by mapping some defect attributes that exist in the defect lifecycle, defined their risk threat transition states, and applied a Markov chain for predicting the potential risk level. We evaluated the proposed approach using practical real-industry mobile software projects. The experimental results confirm that our approach is applicable to software threat risk estimation.
COMPARISON BETWEEN BENCH PRESS AND LEG PRESS FOR CHANGES IN SERUM CREATINE KINASE ACTIVITY AND MUSCLE SORENESS
Authors: Koch Alexander Joseph , Machado Marco , Mayhew Jerry L.
Published: October 2015

We compared perceived muscle soreness (MS) and serum creatine kinase (CK) activity after upper body or lower body resistance exercise. A total of 64 previously sedentary men were randomized into two groups: bench press (BP; [Formula: see text], age [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]y, body mass [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]kg,) or leg press (LP; [Formula: see text], age [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]y, body mass [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]kg). Subjects were tested for 1RM for their respective exercise. Two weeks later, subjects performed four sets to failure of each exercise at 85% 1RM. MS and serum CK activity were assessed before exercise and 24, 48, and 72[Formula: see text]h after exercise. Volume load lifted was significantly greater during LP than BP ([Formula: see text][Formula: see text]kg versus [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]kg, respectively; [Formula: see text]). Despite a lesser volume load, BP elicited greater MS ([Formula: see text]) and peak CK activity ([Formula: see text]) than LP after exercise at each time period. MS was modestly correlated to volume load lifted during LP ([Formula: see text], [Formula: see text]) but not during BP ([Formula: see text]). CK activity was not correlated with volume load for either BP or LP. In addition, MS was not significantly correlated with CK at any time period. These data indicate that upper body resistance exercise elicits greater levels of MS and CK than does lower body exercise in untrained men and suggests that both factors appear to be more dependent on the muscle group engaged rather than the amount of weight lifted.
COUPLED NETWORK APPROACH TO PREDICTABILITY OF FINANCIAL MARKET RETURNS AND NEWS SENTIMENTS
Authors: CURME CHESTER , STANLEY H. EUGENE , VODENSKA IRENA
Published: October 2015

We analyze the network structure of lagged correlations among daily financial news sentiments and returns of financial market indices of 40 countries from 2002 to 2012. Using a spectral method, we decompose the network into bipartite sub-structures, and show that these sub-structures are relevant to the performance of prediction models, bridging concepts from network theory and time series analysis. Our results suggest that, at the daily level, endogenous influences among financial markets overwhelm exogenous influences of news outlets, and that changes in financial news sentiments respond to market movements more substantially than they drive them.
QUANTILE CORRELATIONS: UNCOVERING TEMPORAL DEPENDENCIES IN FINANCIAL TIME SERIES
Authors: SCHMITT THILO A. , SCHÄFER RUDI , DETTE HOLGER , GUHR THOMAS
Published: October 2015

We conduct an empirical study using the quantile-based correlation function to uncover the temporal dependencies in financial time series. The study uses intraday data for the S&P500 stocks from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). After establishing an empirical overview, we compare the quantile-based correlation function to stochastic processes from the GARCH family and find striking differences. This motivates us to propose the quantile-based correlation function as a powerful tool to assess the agreements between stochastic processes and empirical data.
HOTSAT: a multiplatform system for the thermal monitoring of volcanic activity using satellite data
Authors: Ganci G. , Bilotta G. , Cappello A. , Herault A. , Del Negro C.
Published: October 2015

The HOTSAT multiplatform system for the analysis of infrared data from satellites provides a framework that allows the detection of volcanic hotspots and an output of their associated radiative power. This multiplatform system can operate on both Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager data. The new version of the system is now implemented on graphics processing units and its interface is available on the internet under restricted access conditions. Combining the estimation of time-varying discharge rates using HOTSAT with the MAGFLOW physics-based model to simulate lava flow paths resulted in the first operational system in which satellite observations drive the modelling of lava flow emplacement. This allows the timely definition of the parameters and maps essential for hazard assessment, including the propagation time of lava flows and the maximum run-out distance. The system was first used in an operational context during the paroxysmal episode at Mt Etna on 12–13 January 2011, when we produced real-time predictions of the areas likely to be inundated by lava flows while the eruption was still ongoing. This allowed key at-risk areas to be rapidly and appropriately identified.
Efficient and Accurate Spherical Kernel Integrals Using Isotropic Decomposition
Authors: Soler Cyril , Bagher Mahdi M. , Nowrouzezahrai Derek
Published: October 2015

Spherical filtering is fundamental to many problems in image synthesis, such as computing the reflected light over a surface or anti-aliasing mirror reflections over a pixel. This operation is challenging since the profile of spherical filters (e.g., the view-evaluated BRDF or the geometry-warped pixel footprint, mentioned before) typically exhibits both spatial and rotational variation at each pixel, precluding precomputed solutions. We accelerate complex spherical filtering tasks using
isotropic spherical decomposition
(ISD), decomposing spherical filters into a linear combination of simpler isotropic kernels. Our general ISD is flexible to the choice of the isotropic kernels, and we demonstrate practical realizations of ISD on several problems in rendering: shading and prefiltering with spatially varying BRDFs, anti-aliasing-environment-mapped mirror reflections, and filtering of noisy reflectance data. Compared to previous basis-space rendering solutions, our shading solution generates ground-truth-quality results at interactive rates, avoiding costly reconstruction and large approximation errors.
Band-Sifting Decomposition for Image-Based Material Editing
Authors: Boyadzhiev Ivaylo , Bala Kavita , Paris Sylvain , Adelson Edward
Published: October 2015

Photographers often “prep” their subjects to achieve various effects; for example, toning down overly shiny skin, covering blotches, etc. Making such adjustments digitally after a shoot is possible, but difficult without good tools and good skills. Making such adjustments to video footage is harder still. We describe and study a set of 2D image operations, based on multiscale image analysis, that are easy and straightforward and that can consistently modify perceived material properties. These operators first build a subband decomposition of the image and then selectively modify the coefficients within the subbands. We call this selection process
band sifting
.

We show that different siftings of the coefficients can be used to modify the appearance of properties such as gloss, smoothness, pigmentation, or weathering. The band-sifting operators have particularly striking effects when applied to faces; they can provide “knobs” to make a face look wetter or drier, younger or older, and with heavy or light variation in pigmentation. Through user studies, we identify a set of operators that yield consistent subjective effects for a variety of materials and scenes. We demonstrate that these operators are also useful for processing video sequences.
Backdoors to Normality for Disjunctive Logic Programs
Authors: Fichte Johannes K. , Szeider Stefan
Published: October 2015

The main reasoning problems for disjunctive logic programs are complete for the second level of the polynomial hierarchy and hence considered harder than the same problems for normal (i.e., disjunction-free) programs, which are on the first level. We propose a new exact method for solving the disjunctive problems which exploits the small distance of a disjunctive programs from being normal. The distance is measured in terms of the size of a smallest “backdoor to normality,” which is the smallest number of atoms whose deletion makes the program normal. Our method consists of three phases. In the first phase, a smallest backdoor is computed. We show that this can be done using an efficient algorithm for computing a smallest vertex cover of a graph. In the second phase, the backdoor is used to transform the logic program into a quantified Boolean formula (QBF) where the number of universally quantified variables equals the size of the backdoor and where the total size of the quantified Boolean formula is quasilinear in the size of the given logic program. The quasilinearity is achieved by means of a characterization of the least model of a Horn program in terms of level numberings. In a third phase, the universal variables are eliminated using universal expansion yielding a propositional formula. The blowup in the last phase is confined to a factor that is exponential in the size of the backdoor but linear in the size of the quantified Boolean formula. By checking the satisfiability of the resulting formula with a S
at
solver (or by checking the satisfiability of the quantified Boolean formula by a Q
bf
-S
at
solver), we can decide the A
sp
reasoning problems on the input program. In consequence, we have a transformation from A
sp
problems to propositional satisfiability where the combinatorial explosion, which is expected when transforming a problem from the second level of the polynomial hierarchy to the first level, is confined to a function of the distance to normality of the input program. In terms of parameterized complexity, the transformation is fixed-parameter tractable. We complement this result by showing that (under plausible complexity-theoretic assumptions) such a fixed-parameter tractable transformation is not possible if we consider the distance to tightness instead of distance to normality.
Why widget design is giving us Fitts
Authors: Bias Randolph , Gillan Douglas
Published: October 2015

This forum addresses conceptual, methodological, and professional issues that arise in the UX field's continuing effort to contribute robust information about users to product planning and design.
--- David Siegel and Susan Dray, Editors
Educating ourselves on HCI education
Authors: Grandhi Sukeshini
Published: October 2015

HCI education reflects the continual evolution of HCI, embracing the changing landscapes of technology, infrastructure, and technology use. This forum aims to provide a platform for HCI educators, practitioners, researchers, and students to share their perspectives, reflections, and experiences related to HCI education.
--- Sukeshini Grandhi, Editor
Sewing as a design method
Authors: Jungnickel Kat
Published: October 2015

This forum highlights conversations at the intersection of design methods and social studies of technology. By highlighting a diversity of perspectives on design interventions and programs, we aim to forge new connections between HCI design and communication, science and technology studies, and media studies scholarship.
--- Daniela Rosner, Editor
Places to play
Authors: Coyne Richard
Published: October 2015

Interaction design is increasingly about embedding interactive technologies in our built environment; architecture is increasingly about the use of interactive technologies to reimagine and dynamically repurpose our built environment. This forum focuses on this intersection of interaction and architecture.
--- Mikael Wiberg, Editor
Molecular Basis for Adaptation of Oysters to Stressful Marine Intertidal Environments
Authors: Zhang Guofan , Li Li , Meng Jie , Qi Haigang , Qu Tao , Xu Fei , Zhang Linlin
Published: October 2015

Oysters that occupy estuarine and intertidal habitats have well-developed stress tolerance mechanisms to tolerate harsh and dynamically changing environments. In this review, we summarize common pathways and genomic features in oyster that are responsive to environmental stressors such as temperature, salinity, hypoxia, air exposure, pathogens, and anthropogenic pollutions. We first introduce the key genes involved in several pathways, which constitute the molecular basis for adaptation to stress. We use genome analysis to highlight the strong cellular homeostasis system, a unique adaptive characteristic of oysters. Next, we provide a global view of features of the oyster genome that contribute to stress adaptation, including oyster-specific gene expansion, highly inducible expression, and functional divergence. Finally, we review the consequences of interactions between oysters and the environment from ecological and evolutionary perspectives by discussing mass mortality and adaptive divergence among populations and related species of the genus Crassostrea. We conclude with prospects for future study.
Evolution of Selfing: Recurrent Patterns in Molecular Adaptation
Authors: Shimizu Kentaro K. , Tsuchimatsu Takashi
Published: October 2015

Selfing has evolved in animals, fungi, and plants, and since Darwin's pioneering study, it is considered one of the most frequent evolutionary trends in flowering plants. Generally, the evolution of selfing is characterized by a loss of self-incompatibility, the selfing syndrome, and changes in genome-wide polymorphism patterns. Recent interdisciplinary studies involving molecular functional experiments, genome-wide data, experimental evolution, and evolutionary ecology using Arabidopsis thaliana, Caenorhabditis elegans, and other species show that the evolution of selfing is not merely a degradation of outcrossing traits but a model for studying the recurrent patterns underlying adaptive molecular evolution. For example, in wild Arabidopsis relatives, self-compatibility evolved from mutations in the male specificity gene, S-LOCUS CYSTEINE-RICH PROTEIN/S-LOCUS PROTEIN 11 (SCR/SP11), rather than the female specificity gene, S-LOCUS RECEPTOR KINASE (SRK), supporting the theoretical prediction of sexual asymmetry. Prevalence of dominant self-compatible mutations is consistent with Haldane's sieve, which acts against recessive adaptive mutations. Time estimates based on genome-wide polymorphisms and self-incompatibility genes generally support the recent origin of selfing.
The Influence of Paleoclimate on Present-Day Patterns in Biodiversity and Ecosystems
Authors: Svenning Jens-Christian , Eiserhardt Wolf L. , Normand Signe , Ordonez Alejandro , Sandel Brody
Published: October 2015

Earth's climate has experienced strong changes on timescales ranging from decades to millions of years. As biodiversity has evolved under these circumstances, dependence on these climate dynamics is expected. In this review, we assess the current state of knowledge on paleoclimatic legacies in biodiversity and ecosystem patterns. Paleoclimate has had strong impacts on past biodiversity dynamics, driving range shifts and extinctions as well as diversification. We outline theory for how these dynamics may have left legacies in contemporary patterns and review the empirical evidence. We report ample evidence that Quaternary glacial–interglacial climate change affects current patterns of species distributions and diversity across a broad range of organisms and regions. We also report emerging evidence for paleoclimate effects on current patterns in phylogenetic and functional diversity and ecosystem functioning and for legacies of deeper-time paleoclimate conditions. Finally, we discuss implications for Anthropocene ecology and outline an agenda to improve our understanding of paleoclimate's role in shaping contemporary biodiversity and ecosystems.
Seven Shortfalls that Beset Large-Scale Knowledge of Biodiversity
Authors: Hortal Joaquín , de Bello Francesco , Diniz-Filho José Alexandre F. , Lewinsohn Thomas M. , Lobo Jorge M. , Ladle Richard J.
Published: October 2015

Ecologists and evolutionary biologists are increasingly using big-data approaches to tackle questions at large spatial, taxonomic, and temporal scales. However, despite recent efforts to gather two centuries of biodiversity inventories into comprehensive databases, many crucial research questions remain unanswered. Here, we update the concept of knowledge shortfalls and review the tradeoffs between generality and uncertainty. We present seven key shortfalls of current biodiversity data. Four previously proposed shortfalls pinpoint knowledge gaps for species taxonomy (Linnean), distribution (Wallacean), abundance (Prestonian), and evolutionary patterns (Darwinian). We also redefine the Hutchinsonian shortfall to apply to the abiotic tolerances of species and propose new shortfalls relating to limited knowledge of species traits (Raunkiæran) and biotic interactions (Eltonian). We conclude with a general framework for the combined impacts and consequences of shortfalls of large-scale biodiversity knowledge for evolutionary and ecological research and consider ways of overcoming the seven shortfalls and dealing with the uncertainty they generate.
Existential Sentences Crosslinguistically: Variations in Form and Meaning
Authors: McNally Louise
Published: October 2015

Though the term “existential sentence” goes back at least as far as Jespersen (1924 , p. 155) and is used in descriptions of many languages to refer to a designated construction, it is difficult to identify exactly what these constructions have in common crosslinguistically. Following McNally (2011 , p. 1829), the term is used here to refer to sentence types that are “noncanonical,” whether due to some aspect of their syntax or the presence of a distinguished lexical item (e.g., Spanish hay) and that are “typically used to express a proposition about the existence or the presence of someone or something.” I discuss a representative sample of the different structural resources used to build existential sentences: distinguished existential predicates, on the one hand, and copular, possessive, and expletive or impersonal constructions, on the other. I then address the corresponding variation in the compositional semantics of existentials, as well as pragmatic or discourse functional variation. I contrast the variationist perspective with universalist approaches to existentials, such as that by Freeze (2001) .
Ecological Insights from Pelagic Habitats Acquired Using Active Acoustic Techniques
Authors: Benoit-Bird Kelly J. , Lawson Gareth L.
Published: October 2015

Marine pelagic ecosystems present fascinating opportunities for ecological investigation but pose important methodological challenges for sampling. Active acoustic techniques involve producing sound and receiving signals from organisms and other water column sources, offering the benefit of high spatial and temporal resolution and, via integration into different platforms, the ability to make measurements spanning a range of spatial and temporal scales. As a consequence, a variety of questions concerning the ecology of pelagic systems lend themselves to active acoustics, ranging from organism-level investigations and physiological responses to the environment to ecosystem-level studies and climate. As technologies and data analysis methods have matured, the use of acoustics in ecological studies has grown rapidly. We explore the continued role of active acoustics in addressing questions concerning life in the ocean, highlight creative applications to key ecological themes ranging from physiology and behavior to biogeography and climate, and discuss emerging avenues where acoustics can help determine how pelagic ecosystems function.
Marijuana Legalization: Impact on Physicians and Public Health
Authors: Wilkinson Samuel T. , Yarnell Stephanie , Radhakrishnan Rajiv , Ball Samuel A. , D'Souza Deepak Cyril
Published: October 2015

Marijuana is becoming legal in an increasing number of states for both medical and recreational use. Considerable controversy exists regarding the public health impact of these changes. The evidence for the legitimate medical use of marijuana or cannabinoids is limited to a few indications, notably HIV/AIDS cachexia, nausea/vomiting related to chemotherapy, neuropathic pain, and spasticity in multiple sclerosis. Although cannabinoids show therapeutic promise in other areas, robust clinical evidence is still lacking. The relationship between legalization and prevalence is still unknown. Although states where marijuana use is legal have higher rates of use than nonlegal states, these higher rates were generally found even prior to legalization. As states continue to proceed with legalization for both medical and recreational use, certain public health issues have become increasingly relevant, including the effects of acute marijuana intoxication on driving abilities, unintentional ingestion of marijuana products by children, the relationship between marijuana and opioid use, and whether there will be an increase in health problems related to marijuana use, such as dependence/addiction, psychosis, and pulmonary disorders. In light of this rapidly shifting legal landscape, more research is urgently needed to better understand the impact of legalization on public health.
An Odyssey to Viral Pathogenesis
Authors: Oldstone Michael B.A.
Published: October 2015

This odyssey is mine from early junior high school, where my dreams for adventure were shaped by Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Percival Christopher Wren's Beau Geste, and best of all the remarkable explorers in Paul de Kruif's Microbe Hunters . My birth site was in Manhattan (my mother was a Vogue model and my father worked in retail), and I traveled to college at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, where my love of history and English literature was shaped along with a sufficient exposure to biology, chemistry, and genetics to meet requirements for entering medical school. By the second year at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, through expert teachers such as Theodore (Ted) Woodward and Sheldon (Shelly) Greisman in medicine and Charles Weissmann in virology and microbiology, I found that understanding why and how people became ill was more my cup of tea than identifying and treating their illnesses. Although I was becoming competent in diagnosis and treatment, I left medical school at the end of my sophomore year to seek a more basic understanding of biology and chemistry. I achieved this by working toward a PhD in biochemistry at Johns Hopkins McCollum-Pratt Institute combined with study of rickettsial toxin at Maryland. This was a very important time in my life, because it convinced me that addressing biologic and medical questions in a disciplined scientific manner was what my life voyage should be. That voyage led me initially, through Woodward's contact, to work a summer in Joe Smadel's unit at Walter Reed (Smadel being one of the deans of American virology) and to meet several times with Carleton Gajdusek and then John Enders at Harvard, who pointed me to Frank Dixon at Scripps in La Jolla, California, for postdoctoral training. Dixon was among the founders of modern immunology and a pathfinder for immunopathology. Training by and association with Dixon and his other postdoctoral fellows, my independent position at Scripps, early polishing by Karl Habel (a superb senior virologist who left the National Institutes of Health and came to Scripps), and the gifted postdoctoral fellows who joined my laboratory over four decades form the log of my scientific voyage. The strong friendships and collaborations developed with other young but growing experimentalists like Bernie Fields and Abner Notkins are the fabric of the tale I will weave and were pivotal in the establishment of viral pathogenesis as a discipline.
Biobanking Comes of Age: The Transition to Biospecimen Science
Authors: Vaught Jim
Published: October 2015

Biobanking involves the collection, processing, storage, and distribution of biological specimens and the policies and procedures necessary to accomplish those aims successfully. Although biobanking may also involve collections for environmental studies or museum archives, most efforts to standardize biobanking practices have been directed toward human biomedical research. Initially focused primarily on collecting samples for diagnostic purposes in pathology settings, biobanks have evolved into complex organizations engaged in advancing personalized (or precision) medicine and translational research. This evolution has involved the development of biobanking best practices and the transformation of a field driven by empirical approaches into the emerging area of biospecimen science. It has become increasingly important to develop evidence-based practices for collecting biospecimens and data that can be shared with confidence with international collaborators. Aside from these technical approaches, other factors play crucial roles, such as ethical and regulatory issues, business planning and sustainability, and approaches to data collection and sharing.
My Winding Road: From Microbiology to Toxicology and Environmental Health
Authors: Birnbaum Linda S.
Published: October 2015

I would certainly never have predicted that I would become the director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Toxicology Program (NTP) when I was a Jewish girl growing up in Teaneck, New Jersey. My family stressed the importance of education. Yet for a girl there were many not-so-subtle suggestions that the appropriate careers were in teaching or nursing, and the most important thing was to be a wife and mother. Well, I can't disagree with the latter, although I would have to add grandmother to that list of achievements. My parents were both college graduates, but my mom only taught high school English for one year before leaving the field to start our family. My dad returned from World War II and joined his brother in accounting. After my first sister was born, my father joined my mother's family jewelry business and helped to open a second retail store. My mother helped my dad out during the busy times—Christmas and wedding season—but otherwise focused on our growing family of three girls and one boy. This became increasingly challenging when it became clear that my little brother was severely retarded and would require extra care.
New Strategies in Cancer Nanomedicine
Authors: Tong Rong , Kohane Daniel S.
Published: October 2015

We review recent progress in cancer nanomedicine, including stimulus-responsive drug delivery systems and nanoparticles responding to light for phototherapy or tumor imaging. In addition, several new strategies to improve the circulation of nanoparticles in vivo, tumor penetration, and tumor targeting are discussed. The application of nanomedicine in cancer immunology, a relatively new type of cancer therapy, is also highlighted.
Can Humanized Mice Predict Drug “Behavior” in Humans?
Authors: Xu Dan , Peltz Gary
Published: October 2015

Most of what we know about a drug prior to human clinical studies is derived from animal testing. Because animals and humans have substantial differences in their physiology and in their drug metabolism pathways, we do not know very much about the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic behavior of a drug in humans until after it is administered to many people. Hence, drug-induced liver injury has become a significant public health problem, and we have a very inefficient drug development process with a high failure rate. Because the human liver is at the heart of these problems, chimeric mice with humanized livers could be used to address these issues. We examine recent evidence indicating that drug testing in chimeric mice could provide better information about a drug's metabolism, disposition, and toxicity (i.e., its “behavior”) in humans and could aid in developing personalized medicine strategies, which would improve drug efficacy and safety.
Structure, Function, and Drug Interactions of Neurotransmitter Transporters in the Postgenomic Era
Authors: Omote Hiroshi , Miyaji Takaaki , Hiasa Miki , Juge Narinobu , Moriyama Yoshinori
Published: October 2015

Vesicular neurotransmitter transporters are responsible for the accumulation of neurotransmitters in secretory vesicles and play essential roles in chemical transmission. The SLC17 family contributes to sequestration of anionic neurotransmitters such as glutamate, aspartate, and nucleotides. Identification and subsequent cellular and molecular biological studies of SLC17 transporters unveiled the principles underlying the actions of these transporters. Recent progress in reconstitution methods in combination with postgenomic approaches has advanced studies on neurotransmitter transporters. This review summarizes the molecular properties of SLC17-type transporters and recent findings regarding the novel SLC18 transporter.
Myocardial steatosis as a possible mechanistic link between diastolic dysfunction and coronary microvascular dysfunction in women
Authors: Wei Janet , Nelson Michael D. , Szczepaniak Edward W. , Smith Laura , Mehta Puja K. , Thomson Louise E. J. , Berman Daniel S. , Li Debiao , Bairey Merz C. Noel , Szczepaniak Lidia S.
Published: October 2015

Women with coronary microvascular dysfunction (CMD) and no obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) have increased rates of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). The mechanisms of HFpEF are not well understood. Ectopic fat deposition in the myocardium, termed myocardial steatosis, is frequently associated with diastolic dysfunction in other metabolic diseases. We investigated the prevalence of myocardial steatosis and diastolic dysfunction in women with CMD and subclinical HFpEF. In 13 women, including eight reference controls and five women with CMD and evidence of subclinical HFpEF (left ventricular end-diastolic pressure >12 mmHg), we measured myocardial triglyceride content (TG) and diastolic function, by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and magnetic resonance tissue tagging, respectively. When compared with reference controls, women with CMD had higher myocardial TG content (0.83 ± 0.12% vs. 0.43 ± 0.06%; P = 0.025) and lower diastolic circumferential strain rate (168 ± 12 vs. 217 ± 15%/s; P = 0.012), with myocardial TG content correlating inversely with diastolic circumferential strain rate (r = −0.779; P = 0.002). This study provides proof-of-concept that myocardial steatosis may play an important mechanistic role in the development of diastolic dysfunction in women with CMD and no obstructive CAD. Detailed longitudinal studies are warranted to explore specific treatment strategies targeting myocardial steatosis and its effect on diastolic function.
Aurora A Is Critical for Survival in HPV-Transformed Cervical Cancer
Authors: Gabrielli Brian , Bokhari Fawzi , Ranall Max V. , Oo Zay Yar , Stevenson Alexander J. , Wang Weili , Murrell Melanie , Shaikh Mushfiq , Fallaha Sora , Clarke Daniel , Kelly Madison , Sedelies Karin , Christensen Melinda , McKee Sara , Leggatt Graham , Leo Paul , Skalamera Dubravka , Soyer H. Peter , Gonda Thomas J. , McMillan Nigel A.J.
Published: October 2015

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the causative agent in cervical cancer. HPV oncogenes are major drivers of the transformed phenotype, and the cancers remain addicted to these oncogenes. A screen of the human kinome has identified inhibition of Aurora kinase A (AURKA) as being synthetically lethal on the background of HPV E7 expression. The investigational AURKA inhibitor MLN8237/Alisertib selectively promoted apoptosis in the HPV cancers. The apoptosis was driven by an extended mitotic delay in the Alisertib-treated HPV E7–expressing cells. This had the effect of reducing Mcl-1 levels, which is destabilized in mitosis, and increasing BIM levels, normally destabilized by Aurora A in mitosis. Overexpression of Mcl-1 reduced sensitivity to the drug. The level of HPV E7 expression influenced the extent of Alisertib-induced mitotic delay and Mcl-1 reduction. Xenograft experiments with three cervical cancer cell lines showed Alisertib inhibited growth of HPV and non-HPV xenografts during treatment. Growth of non-HPV tumors was delayed, but in two separate HPV cancer cell lines, regression with no resumption of growth was detected, even at 50 days after treatment. A transgenic model of premalignant disease driven solely by HPV E7 also demonstrated sensitivity to drug treatment. Here, we show for the first time that targeting of the Aurora A kinase in mice using drugs such as Alisertib results in a curative sterilizing therapy that may be useful in treating HPV-driven cancers. Mol Cancer Ther; 14(12); 2753–61. ©2015 AACR.
Evaluating Behavior in Mouse Models of the Behavioral Variant of Frontotemporal Dementia: Which Test for Which Symptom?
Authors: Vernay Aurélia , Sellal François , René Frédérique
Published: October 2015

The behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is a neurodegenerative disease affecting people in their early sixties, characterized by dramatic changes in individual and social behavior. Despite the heterogeneity in the presentation of the clinical symptoms of bvFTD, some characteristic changes can be highlighted. Social disinhibition, changes in food preferences as well as loss of empathy and apathy are commonly described. This is accompanied by a characteristic and dramatic atrophy of the prefrontal cortex with the accumulation of protein aggregates in the neurons in this area. Several causative mutations in different genes have been discovered, allowing the development of transgenic animal models, especially mouse models. In mice, attention has been focused on the histopathological aspects of the pathology, but now studies are taking interest in assessing the behavioral phenotype of FTD models. Finding the right test corresponding to human symptoms is quite challenging, especially since the frontal cortex is much less developed in mice than in humans. Although challenging, the ability to detect relevant prefrontal cortex impairments in mice is crucial for therapeutic approaches. In this review, we aim to present the approaches that have been used to model the behavioral symptoms of FTD and to explore other relevant approaches to assess behavior involving the prefrontal cortex, as well as the deficits associated with FTD.