bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Asymmetric Information in Automobile Insurance: Evidence From Driving Behavior
Authors: Geyer Alois , Kremslehner Daniela , Muermann Alexander
Published: January 2019

Based on a unique data set of driving behavior we test whether private information in driving characteristics has significant effects on contract choice and risk in automobile insurance. We define a driving factor based on overall distance driven, number of car rides, and speeding. Using local weather conditions, we account for the endogeneity of the driving factor. While this driving factor has an effect on risk, there is no significant evidence for selection effects in the level of third‐party liability and first‐party insurance coverage.
The Mechanisms behind Litigation's “Radiating Effects”: Historical Grievances against Japan
Authors: Arrington Celeste L.
Published: January 2019

Scholars argue that litigation can have positive and negative “radiating” or indirect effects for social movements, irrespective of formal judicial decisions. They see litigation as a dynamic process with distinctive features yet nonetheless intertwined with advocacy in other forums. Litigation can indirectly shape collective identities, reframe debates, or provide political leverage. However, the mechanisms behind these radiating effects are poorly understood. Through an analysis of lawsuits and related activism by Korean survivors of Japanese actions in the first half of the twentieth century, this article disaggregates the mechanisms behind litigation's productive indirect effects. It theorizes and illustrates mechanisms such as attribution of similarity, brokerage, issue dramatization, political cover, and intergroup discussions. These mechanisms help us understand how litigants obtain litigation's indirect effects and thus also the broader impact of postwar compensation lawsuits in East Asia, despite few judicial victories. The article contributes non-Western and transnational cases to scholarship on litigation's indirect effects.
The Path of the Law Review: How Interfield Ties Contribute to Institutional Emergence and Buffer against Change
Authors: Kluttz Daniel N.
Published: January 2019

Early neoinstitutional theory tended to assume institutional reproduction, while recent accounts privilege situations in which alternative models from outside an organizational environment or delegitimizing criticism from within precipitate institutional change. We know little about institutions that persist despite such change conditions. Recent advances in sociological field theory suggest that interfield ties contribute to institutional change but under-theorize how such ties may reinforce institutions. Extending both approaches, I incorporate self-reinforcing mechanisms from path-dependence scholarship. I elucidate my framework by analyzing the student-edited, student-reviewed law review. Despite its anomalous position relative to the dominant peer-reviewed journal model of other disciplines, and despite sustained criticisms from those who publish in them, the law review remains a bedrock institution of law schools and legal scholarship. I combine qualitative historical analyses of legal scholarship and law schools with quantitative analyses of law-review structures and field contestation. The analysis covers law review's entire historical trajectory—its emergence, its institutionalization and coherence of a field around it, and its current state as a contested but persistent institution. I argue that self-reinforcing mechanisms evident in law review's ties to related fields-legal practice, law schools, the university, and legal periodicals—both enabled its emergence and have buffered it against change.
Simulation: the power of what hurts
Authors: Turton Daniel , Buchan Kay , Hall‐Jackson Megan , Pelletier Caroline
Published: January 2019

While simulation provides an ideal opportunity for learners to learn from mistakes, they are commonly skirted over for fear of harming participants. The authors argue novel approaches are needed.
Adding color to a century‐old enigma: multi‐color chromosome identification unravels the autotriploid nature of saffron (Crocus sativus) as a hybrid of wild Crocus cartwrightianus cytotypes
Authors: Schmidt Thomas , Heitkam Tony , Liedtke Susan , Schubert Veit , Menzel Gerhard
Published: January 2019

Saffron crocus (Crocus sativus) is the source of the most expensive spice of the world, produced from manually harvested stigmas, thus serving as a cash crop for rural communities. However, despite its economic importance, its genome and chromosomes are poorly studied. C. sativus is a sterile triploid species harboring eight chromosome triplets, and propagated only as a clonal lineage by corms. Saffron's evolutionary origin, parental species and allo‐ or autotriploidy has been a matter of discussion for almost a century.

We performed a survey sequencing of the saffron genome and selected cytogenetic landmark sequences consisting of major tandem repeats, which we used as probes in comparative multicolor fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH).

We tagged 92 chromosomal positions and resolved the chromosomal composition of saffron triplets. By comparative FISH of six Crocus species from 11 accessions, we demonstrate that C. sativus is an autotriploid hybrid derived from heterogeneous Crocus cartwrightianus cytotypes.

The FISH reference karyotype of saffron is crucial for integrating genome sequencing data with chromosomes and for investigating the relationship among Crocus species. We provide an evolutionary model of the saffron emergence; the knowledge of the parental origin offers a route towards the resynthesis of C. sativus from C. cartwrightianus to broaden saffron's gene pool.
Is Improving Access to University Enough? Socio‐Economic Gaps in the Earnings of English Graduates
Authors: Britton Jack , Dearden Lorraine , Shephard Neil , Vignoles Anna
Published: January 2019

Much research and policy attention has been on socio‐economic gaps in participation at university, but less attention has been paid to socio‐economic gaps in graduates’ earnings. This paper addresses this shortfall using tax and student loan administrative data to investigate the variation in earnings of English graduates by socio‐economic background. We find that graduates from higher income families (with median income of around 77,000) have average earnings which are 20% higher than those from lower income families (with median income of around £26,000). Once we condition on institution and subject choices, this premium roughly halves, to around 10%. The premium grows with age and is larger for men, in particular for men at the most selective universities. We estimate the extent to which different institutions and subjects appear to deliver good earnings for relatively less well off students, highlighting the strong performance of medicine, economics, law, business, engineering, technology and computer science, as well as the prominent London‐based universities.
Branded Axes, Thrown into a Pool? The Hoogeloon Hoard and the Shape‐Based Bronze Economy of the North‐West European Bronze Age
Authors: Fontijn David , Roymans Jan
Published: January 2019

One of the biggest challenges for students of the European Bronze Age is to understand the reason behind the massive deposition of large amounts of recyclable metal in non‐metalliferous regions. Such depositions are particularly puzzling when material was buried in a manner which directly seems to denote trade itself, in so‐called ‘trade hoards’. Based on observations on a recent find of such a hoard, in Hoogeloon (NL), we move to an overview of Bronze Age metalwork economy in general and the deposition of trade stock in particular. We argue that Middle Bronze Age metalwork circulation in North‐west Europe may be understood as an aes formatum system, with the serially produced axes in hoards displaying a koiné having a particular social evaluation: a ‘brand’. We suggest that objects were selected by brands for their deposition in the landscape and that this ‘ritual’ act was integral to the ‘practical’ economy of circulation.
Comparative excitation‐emission dependence of the FV/FM ratio in model green algae and cyanobacterial strains
Authors: Santabarbara Stefano , Villafiorita Monteleone Francesca , Remelli William , Rizzo Federico , Menin Barbara , Casazza Anna Paola
Published: January 2019

The emission spectra collected under conditions of open (F0) and closed (FM) photosystem II (PSII) reaction centres are close‐to‐independent from the excitation wavelength in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella sorokiniana, whereas a pronounced dependence is observed in Synechocystis sp. PCC6803 and Synechococcus PCC7942, instead. The differences in band‐shape between the F0 and FM emission are limited in green algae, giving rise only to a minor trough in the FV/FM spectrum in the 705–720 nm range, irrespectively of the excitation. More substantial variations are observed in cyanobacteria, resulting in marked dependencies of the measured FV/FM ratios on both the excitation and the detection wavelengths. In cyanobacteria, the maximal FV/FM values (0.5–0.7), observed monitoring at approximately 684 nm and exciting Chl a preferentially, are comparable to those of green algae; however, FV/FM decreases sharply below approximately 660 nm. Furthermore, in the red emission tail, the trough in the FV/FM spectrum is more pronounced in cyanobacteria with respect to green algae, corresponding to FV/FM values of 0.25–0.4 in this spectral region. Upon direct phycobilisomes excitation (i.e. >520 nm), the FV/FM value detected at 684 nm decreases to 0.3–0.5 and is close‐to‐negligible (approximately 0.1) below 660 nm. At the same time, the FV spectra are, in all species investigated, almost independent on the excitation wavelength. It is concluded that the excitation/emission dependencies of the FV/FM ratio arise from overlapped contributions from the three independent emissions of PSI, PSII and a fraction of energetically uncoupled external antenna, excited in different proportions depending on the respective optical cross‐section and fluorescence yield.
‘Birth defects’ of photosystem II make it highly susceptible to photodamage during chloroplast biogenesis
Authors: Shevela Dmitry , Ananyev Gennady , Vatland Ann K. , Arnold Janine , Mamedov Fikret , Eichacker Lutz A. , Dismukes G. Charles , Messinger Johannes
Published: January 2019

High solar flux is known to diminish photosynthetic growth rates, reducing biomass productivity and lowering disease tolerance. Photosystem II (PSII) of plants is susceptible to photodamage (also known as photoinactivation) in strong light, resulting in severe loss of water oxidation capacity and destruction of the water‐oxidizing complex (WOC). The repair of damaged PSIIs comes at a high energy cost and requires de novo biosynthesis of damaged PSII subunits, reassembly of the WOC inorganic cofactors and membrane remodeling. Employing membrane‐inlet mass spectrometry and O2‐polarography under flashing light conditions, we demonstrate that newly synthesized PSII complexes are far more susceptible to photodamage than are mature PSII complexes. We examined these ‘PSII birth defects’ in barley seedlings and plastids (etiochloroplasts and chloroplasts) isolated at various times during de‐etiolation as chloroplast development begins and matures in synchronization with thylakoid membrane biogenesis and grana membrane formation. We show that the degree of PSII photodamage decreases simultaneously with biogenesis of the PSII turnover efficiency measured by O2‐polarography, and with grana membrane stacking, as determined by electron microscopy. Our data from fluorescence, QB‐inhibitor binding, and thermoluminescence studies indicate that the decline of the high‐light susceptibility of PSII to photodamage is coincident with appearance of electron transfer capability QA− → QB during de‐etiolation. This rate depends in turn on the downstream clearing of electrons upon buildup of the complete linear electron transfer chain and the formation of stacked grana membranes capable of longer‐range energy transfer.
Loneliness and biological responses to acute stress in people with Type 2 diabetes
Authors: Hackett Ruth A. , Poole Lydia , Hunt Elizabeth , Panagi Laura , Steptoe Andrew
Published: January 2019

Loneliness is linked with all‐cause mortality and coronary heart disease. Altered neuroendocrine and inflammatory responses to stress constitute potential pathways linking loneliness and ill‐health. Stress responsivity is modified in people with Type 2 diabetes, but it is unclear whether loneliness influences biological stress responses in this population. We assessed interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), interleukin‐1 receptor antagonist (IL‐1RA), monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1), and cortisol responses to acute stress in 135 people with Type 2 diabetes. Loneliness was measured used the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale. Loneliness was inversely associated with cortisol output poststress (B = −4.429, p = 0.019) independent of age, sex, education, marital status, body mass index, and smoking. Lonelier individuals had raised MCP‐1 concentrations 75 min poststress independent of covariates (B = 0.713, p = 0.022). No associations between loneliness and IL‐6 or IL‐1RA concentrations were detected. These results suggest that loneliness is associated with disturbances in stress responsivity in people with diabetes, and the impact of loneliness on health in people with diabetes may be mediated in part through dysregulation of inflammatory and neuroendocrine systems. Future research is required to understand if such changes increase the risk of poorer outcomes in this population.
Oral diseases and inflammatory burden and Alzheimer's disease among subjects aged 75 years or older
Authors: Tiisanoja Antti , Syrjälä Anna‐Maija , Tertsonen Miia , Komulainen Kaija , Pesonen Paula , Knuuttila Matti , Hartikainen Sirpa , Ylöstalo Pekka
Published: January 2019

Aim

To study whether dental caries, periodontal disease, and stomatitis, and the related inflammatory burden associate with diagnosed Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia among older people.

Methods

The study population included 170 individuals aged ≥75 years. The primary outcome was diagnosed AD and the secondary outcome was any types of diagnosed dementia. Information about participants’ oral diseases and the related inflammatory burden was based on the clinical oral examination. Relative risks (RRs) and confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using regression models.

Results

Dental caries, the presence of ≥3 carious teeth (RR: 3.47, 95% CI: 1.09–11.1) and the number of carious teeth (RR: 1.24, CI: 1.11–1.39), and inflammatory burden (RR: 1.44, CI: 1.04–2.01) were associated with a higher likelihood of having AD. Also, periodontal disease and stomatitis were associated, although nonstatistically, with AD and dementia. The risk estimates for any type of dementia were in most cases lower than for AD.

Conclusion

Oral diseases and the related inflammatory burden were in most cases associated more strongly with diagnosed AD than dementia in general. Of the oral diseases studied, the strongest association was between dental caries and AD.
Behavior during cyberbullying episodes: Initial validation of a new self‐report scale
Authors: Pozzoli Tiziana , Gini Gianluca
Published: January 2019

Research on cyberbullying has been growing worldwide, with much of the focus on the characteristics of perpetrators and targets of cyberbullying. In recent years, increasing attention has been paid on bystanders of cyber‐attacks. This study presents the Italian validation of a newly developed self‐report scale that measures different forms of participation in cyberbullying, namely cyberbullying, cybervictimization, cyber‐defending and cyber‐passive bystanding. We used responses from 561 young adolescents (289 girls; mean age = 12 years, 1 month; SD = 9 months) attending middle schools in Italy. A 16‐item scale was developed paralleling the content of an already existing scale that measures young adolescents’ behavior in traditional bullying. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the four‐dimensional structure of the scale and the four subscale's scores showed acceptable levels of internal consistency. Multigroup analyses demonstrated full scalar invariance of the scale across gender groups. Finally, each behavior in the electronic context was positively correlated with its counterpart in the school context, suggesting certain stability across contexts. It is concluded that the scale may be a first, promising attempt to measure different youths’ behavior during cyberbullying episodes.
The Geography and Concentration of Authorship in the Top Five: Implications For European Economics
Authors: Ek Simon , Henrekson Magnus
Published: January 2019

We study to what degree authors who publish in the five most prestigious journals in economics have previously published there and in which world region they are based. Although still high, the concentration of United States‐based and previously published top‐five authors has decreased. This trend is driven by increased co‐authorship between USA and non‐USA scholars and between scholars with and without previous top‐five articles. Only around 5% of all articles each year are written solely by first‐time authors from outside the United States, and this share has not increased since the mid‐1990s. Against this background, we argue that European institutions should be wary of putting too much emphasis on publishing in these five journals. Both the advancement and diversity of the economics discipline may otherwise suffer.
The role of oceanographic conditions on Cenozoic carbonate platform drowning: Insights from Alpine and Apennine foreland basins
Authors: Brandano Marco
Published: January 2019

The drowning of carbonate platforms is a fascinating topic because it may be induced by several concomitant factors. A key setting to investigate carbonate platform drowning is a foreland basin. The Nummulitic Limestone ramp developed in the foreland of the western Alps during the Bartonian, while the Lithothamnion and Bryozoan Limestone ramp deposited in the foreland of the central Apennines between the Burdigalian and Serravallian. The drowning of Nummulitic Limestone is related to the reduction in light for the photo‐dependent biota according to the progressively increasing depth and poor efficiency of aphotic carbonate factory. The drowning of the Lithothamnion and Bryozoan Limestone ramp is attributed to the deterioration of the environmental conditions that predate tectonic subsidence related to the Apennine orogenesis. Eutrophication triggered by upwelling events induced a crisis in the shallow‐water carbonate production, while during the following tectonic subsidence the shallow‐water carbonate factory was definitively inactive.
Infections and associated behaviors among deceased organ donors: Informing the assessment of risk
Authors: Davison Katy L. , Ushiro‐Lumb Ines , Lawrance Marcus , Trotter Patrick , Powell James J. , Brailsford Susan R.
Published: January 2019

Background

For infectious disease risk assessment among deceased organ donors, pre‐donation clinical, microbiological, and behavioral information are reviewed; however, uncertainty may arise due to false negative screening results of recently acquired infections.

Method

The burden of hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and residual risks (RR) of undetected virus was estimated, with the impact of more sensitive screening.

Results

For United Kingdom potential deceased organ donors between 2010 and 2014, prevalence of HBsAg was 0.1%, HIV 0.06% and HCV 0.9%, increasing to 25.7% in people who injected drugs (PWID). Incidence, derived from new blood donors, was multiplied by duration of screening assay window periods to give RR per 100 000 donors as 0.43 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.03‐3.99) for HBV, 0.08 (95% CI 0.02‐0.21) for HIV, and 5.96 (95% CI 0.82‐37.89) for HCV. For PWID, HCV RR was 163.3 (95% CI 22.8‐1107.8) compared to 2.76 (95% CI 0.35‐17.36) for non‐PWID. RR decreased significantly with nucleic acid testing (NAT), and, for HCV, antigen testing had a similar impact.

Conclusion

While the burden of HCV risk lies within PWID, these are in small numbers therefore few HCV antigen or NAT tests would be needed to more accurately assess risk.
One of the NAD kinases, sll1415, is required for the glucose metabolism of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
Authors: Ishikawa Yuuma , Miyagi Atsuko , Ishikawa Toshiki , Nagano Minoru , Yamaguchi Masatoshi , Hihara Yukako , Kaneko Yasuko , Kawai‐Yamada Maki
Published: January 2019

Pyridine nucleotides (NAD(P)(H)) are electron carriers that are the driving forces in various metabolic pathways. Phosphorylation of NAD(H) to NADP(H) is performed by the enzyme NAD kinase (NADK). Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 harbors two genes (sll1415 and slr0400) that encode proteins with NADK homology. When genetic mutants for sll1415 and slr0400 (Δ1415 and Δ0400, respectively) were cultured under photoheterotrophic growth conditions only the Δ1415 cells showed a growth defect. In wild‐type cells, the sll1415 transcript accumulated after the cells were transferred to photoheterotrophic conditions. Furthermore, NAD(P)(H) measurements demonstrated that a dynamic metabolic conversion was implemented during the adaptation from photoautotrophic to photoheterotrophic conditions. Electron microscopy observation and biochemistry quantification demonstrated the accumulation of glycogen in the Δ1415 cells under photoheterotrophic conditions at 96 h. Quantitative real‐time reverse transcription PCR (qRT‐PCR) demonstrated the accumulation of mRNAs that encoded glycogen biosynthesis‐related enzymes in photoheterotrophic Δ1415 cells. At 96 h, enzyme activity measurement in the photoheterotrophic Δ1415 cells demonstrated that the activities of glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase and 6‐phosphogluconate dehydrogenase were decreased, but the activities of glucose dehydrogenase were increased. Furthermore, metabolomics analysis demonstrated that the Δ1415 cells showed increased glucose‐6‐phosphate and 6‐phosphogluconate content at 96 h. Therefore, sll1415 has a significant function in the oxidative pentose phosphate (OPP) pathway for catabolism of glucose under photoheterotrophic conditions. Additionally, it is presumed that the slr0400 had a different role in glucose catabolism during growth. These results suggest that the two Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 NADKs (Sll1415 and Slr0400) have distinct functions in photoheterotrophic cyanobacterial metabolism.
Intratumoral collagen index predicts mortality and survival in canine cutaneous mast cell tumours
Authors: Daniel Jessika , Barra Camila N. , Pulz Lidia H. , Kleeb Silvia Regina , Xavier José Guilherme , Catão‐Dias José Luiz , Nishiya Adriana T. , Fukumasu Heidge , Strefezzi Ricardo F.
Published: January 2019

Background

Mast cell tumours (MCTs) constitute almost 25% of cutaneous neoplasms in dogs. Their biological behaviour is predicted using histopathological grading which is based on several subjective criteria that are vulnerable to intra‐ and interobserver variability. To improve the prediction of the biological behaviour, several complementary markers have been studied. The integrity of the extracellular matrix (ECM) may play a protective role against tumoral progression, and favour cellular proliferation, angiogenesis, invasion and metastases when altered.

Hypothesis/Objectives

To evaluate the quantification of collagen and elastic fibres as prognostic markers for MCTs.

Animals

Thirty‐eight random cases of canine cutaneous MCT surgically treated with wide margins were included.

Methods and materials

Intratumoral collagen and elastic fibres were identified and quantified on histological sections stained with Masson's trichrome, Picrosirius red and Verhoeff; the results were compared with histopathological grades, mortality due to the disease and postsurgical survival.

Results

Morphometric analysis revealed a significant relationship between histopathological grade and intratumoral collagen index (CoI). In addition, the CoI was considered an independent indicator for mortality and postsurgical survival.

Conclusions and clinical importance

These results support the importance of the CoI in the grading and prognosis of MCTs, suggesting that preservation and/or synthesis of collagen have the potential to become targets for MCT therapeutics.
Care, Cosmopolitanism, and Anthropology: Introduction to Special Section
Authors: Jaye Chrystal , Fitzgerald Ruth , George Molly
Published: January 2019

Cosmopolitanism speaks to pan-nationalist and pan-human experience. How can this be reconciled with the lived political economies of care across the formal and informal sectors? How do the critical and interpretive medical anthropological commitments to cultural critique and social justice articulate with cosmopolitanism? We examine these thematics through the contributions of Australian and New Zealand anthropologists. In both countries, paid and unpaid care work occurs within a neoliberal capitalist economy characterised by growing inequity between wealthiest and poorest citizens, privileging of autonomy and individualism over collectivist regimes of social organisation and resource allocation, transfer of assets and capital from the public to the private sector, and a significant shift in the balance of power toward employers in the labour marketplace. Each article illustrates the ways in which disability and care are constructed and contested, and the degree to which care exemplifies cosmopolitanism.
Maternally inherited symbiotic bacteria in ticks: incidence and biological importance
Authors: Zhang Yan Kai , Liu Jing Ze
Published: January 2019

Ticks are exclusive blood-feeding parasites that are of medical and veterinary importance. Ticks are also host for several maternally inherited symbiotic bacteria that are non-pathogenic bacteria and have potential roles in tick biology and the transmission of co-infecting pathogens. In order to gain a comprehensive view of these symbionts in ticks, we overviewed their incidence and biological importance within ticks based on available data. The symbionts in ticks are diverse, and their incidence and frequency vary across different tick species and different geographical populations of the same species. In some cases, symbionts of Coxiella, Francisella and Rickettsia genera may provide tick hosts essential nutrients absent from the exclusive food source of ticks and exhibit mutualistic relationships with their hosts. However, most symbionts are facultative and affect the biological phenotypes of their tick hosts through various ways. For some strains of Coxiella and Francisella, advanced genomic data and phylogenetic investigations have revealed their interactions with hosts and their evolutionary transitions of pathogenic and mutualistic forms. These findings are valuable for understanding tick-symbiont associations, and may help to develop new strategies to control ticks and tick-borne diseases.
Passive underwater acoustic tags using layered media
Authors: Satish Aprameya , Nichols Brendan , Trivett David , Sabra Karim G.
Published: January 2019

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) navigation requires accurate positioning information from the environment. Existing underwater navigation paradigms employ active acoustic transponders that assist in this task, but these more complex and costly systems require maintenance and power. This paper presents instead a passive underwater marker made of different horizontally stacked acoustically reflective materials that is cost effective and relatively simple to service. A marker's characteristic acoustic signature can be detected by AUVs as acoustic backscattering upon tag insonification, and hence be used for navigation purposes.
In VitroActivity of a Novel Antifungal Compound, MYC-053, against Clinically Significant Antifungal-Resistant Strains ofCandida glabrata,Candida auris,Cryptococcus neoformans, andPneumocystisspp
Authors: Tetz G. , Collins M. , Vikina D. , Tetz V.
Published: January 2019

An urgent need exists for new antifungal compounds to treat fungal infections in immunocompromised patients. The aim of the current study was to investigate the potency of a novel antifungal compound, MYC-053, against the emerging yeast and yeast-like pathogensCandida glabrata,Candida auris,Cryptococcus neoformans, andPneumocystisspecies.
The Enterococcus: a Model of Adaptability to Its Environment
Authors: García-Solache Mónica , Rice Louis B.
Published: January 2019

The genus
Enterococcus
comprises a ubiquitous group of Gram-positive bacteria that are of great relevance to human health for their role as major causative agents of health care-associated infections. The enterococci are resilient and versatile species able to survive under harsh conditions, making them well adapted to the health care environment.
Intracellular Degradation of Helicobacter pylori VacA Toxin as a Determinant of Gastric Epithelial Cell Viability
Authors: Foegeding Nora J. , Raghunathan Krishnan , Campbell Anne M. , Kim Sun Wook , Lau Ken S. , Kenworthy Anne K. , Cover Timothy L. , Ohi Melanie D.
Published: January 2019

Helicobacter pylori
VacA is a secreted pore-forming toxin that induces cell vacuolation
in vitro
and contributes to the pathogenesis of gastric cancer and peptic ulcer disease. We observed that purified VacA has relatively little effect on the viability of AGS gastric epithelial cells, but the presence of exogenous weak bases such as ammonium chloride (NH
4
Cl) enhances the susceptibility of these cells to VacA-induced vacuolation and cell death.
Characterization of Intact Proviruses in Blood and Lymph Node from HIV-Infected Individuals Undergoing Analytical Treatment Interruption
Authors: Vibholm Line K. , Lorenzi Julio C. C. , Pai Joy A. , Cohen Yehuda Z. , Oliveira Thiago Y. , Barton John P. , Garcia Noceda Marco , Lu Ching-Lan , Ablanedo-Terrazas Yuria , Del Rio Estrada Perla M. , Reyes-Teran Gustavo , Tolstrup Martin , Denton Paul W. , Damsgaard Tine , Søgaard Ole S. , Nussenzweig Michel C.
Published: January 2019

HIV-1 persists as a latent infection in CD4
+
T cells that can be found in lymphoid tissues in infected individuals during ART. However, the importance of this tissue reservoir and its contribution to viral rebound upon ART interruption are not clear. In this study, we sought to compare latent HIV-1 from blood and lymph node CD4
+
T cells from five HIV-1-infected individuals. Further, we analyzed the contribution of lymph node viruses to viral rebound. We observed that the frequencies of intact proviruses were the same in blood and lymph node. Moreover, expanded clones of T cells bearing identical proviruses were found in blood and lymph node. These latent reservoir sequences did not appear to be the direct origin of rebound virus. Instead, latent proviruses were found to contribute to the rebound compartment by recombination.
Interspecies Social Spreading: Interaction between Two Sessile Soil Bacteria Leads to Emergence of Surface Motility
Authors: McCully Lucy M. , Bitzer Adam S. , Seaton Sarah C. , Smith Leah M. , Silby Mark W.
Published: January 2019

The wealth of studies on microbial communities has revealed the complexity and dynamics of the composition of communities in many ecological settings. Fewer studies probe the functional interactions of the community members. Function of the community as a whole may not be fully revealed by characterizing the individuals. In our two-species model community, we find an emergent trait resulting from the interaction of the soil bacteria
Pseudomonas fluorescens
Pf0-1 and
Pedobacter
sp. V48. Observation of emergent traits suggests there may be many functions of a community that are not predicted based on
a priori
knowledge of the community members. These types of studies will provide a more holistic understanding of microbial communities, allowing us to connect information about community composition with behaviors determined by interspecific interactions. These studies increase our ability to understand communities, such as the soil microbiome, plant-root microbiome, and human gut microbiome, with the final goal of being able to manipulate and rationally improve these communities.
Comparison of intravenous, topical or combined routes of tranexamic acid administration in patients undergoing total knee and hip arthroplasty: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Authors: Sun Qi , Li Jinyu , Chen Jiang , Zheng Chenying , Liu Chuyin , Jia Yusong
Published: January 2019

Objective

This study aimed to compare the effects of intravenous, topical and combined routes of tranexamic acid (TXA) administration on blood loss and transfusion requirements in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA).

Design

This was a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCT) wherein the weighted mean difference (WMD) and relative risk (RR) were used for data synthesis applied in the random effects model. Stratified analyses based on the surgery type, region, intravenous and topical TXA dose and transfusion protocol were also conducted. The main outcomes included intraoperative and total blood loss volume, transfusion rate, low postoperative haemoglobin (Hb) level and postoperative Hb decline. However, the secondary outcomes included length of hospital stay (LOS) and/or occurrence of venous thromboembolism (VTE).

Setting

We searched the PubMed, Embase and Cochrane CENTRAL databases for RCTs that compared different routes of TXA administration.

Participants

Patients undergoing TKA or THA.

Interventions

Intravenous, topical or combined intravenous and topical TXA.

Results

Twenty-six RCTs were selected, and the intravenous route did not differ substantially from the topical route with respect to the total blood loss volume (WMD=30.92, p=0.31), drain blood loss (WMD=−34.53, p=0.50), postoperative Hb levels (WMD=−0.01, p=0.96), Hb decline (WMD=−0.39, p=0.08), LOS (WMD=0.15, p=0.38), transfusion rate (RR=1.08, p=0.75) and VTE occurrence (RR=1.89, p=0.15). Compared with the combined-delivery group, the single-route group had significantly increased total blood loss volume (WMD=198.07, p<0.05), greater Hb decline (WMD=0.56, p<0.05) and higher transfusion rates (RR=2.51, p<0.05). However, no significant difference was noted in the drain blood loss, postoperative Hb levels and VTE events between the two groups. The intravenous and topical routes had comparable efficacy and safety profiles.

Conclusions

The combination of intravenous and topical TXA was relatively more effective in controlling bleeding without increased risk of VTE.
Health and productivity at work: which active workstation for which benefits: a systematic review
Authors: Dupont Francois , Léger Pierre-Majorique , Begon Mickael , Lecot François , Sénécal Sylvain , Labonté-Lemoyne Elise , Mathieu Marie-Eve
Published: January 2019

In order to reduce sedentary behaviour at work, research has examined the effectiveness of active workstations. However, despite their relevance in replacing conventional desks, the comparison between types of active workstations and their respective benefits remains unclear. The purpose of this review article is thus to compare the benefits between standing, treadmill and cycling workstations. Search criteria explored Embase, PubMed and Web of Science databases. The review included studies concerning adults using at least two types of active workstations, evaluating biomechanical, physiological work performance and/or psychobiological outcomes. Twelve original articles were included. Treadmill workstations induced greater movement/activity and greater muscular activity in the upper limbs compared with standing workstations. Treadmill and cycling workstations resulted in elevated heart rate, decreased ambulatory blood pressure and increased energy expenditure during the workday compared with standing workstations. Treadmill workstations reduced fine motor skill function (ie, typing, mouse pointing and combined keyboard/mouse tasks) compared with cycling and standing workstations. Cycling workstations resulted in improved simple processing task speeds compared with standing and treadmill workstations. Treadmill and cycling workstations increased arousal and decreased boredom compared with standing workstations. The benefits associated with each type of active workstation (eg, standing, treadmill, cycling) may not be equivalent. Overall, cycling and treadmill workstations appear to provide greater short-term physiological changes than standing workstations that could potentially lead to better health. Cycling, treadmill and standing workstations appear to show short-term productivity benefits; however, treadmill workstations can reduce the performance of computer tasks.
Simple renal cysts and bovine aortic arch: markers for aortic disease
Authors: Brownstein Adam J , Bin Mahmood Syed Usman , Saeyeldin Ayman , Velasquez Mejia Camilo , Zafar Mohammad A , Li Yupeng , Rizzo John A , Dahl Neera K , Erben Young , Ziganshin Bulat A , Elefteriades John A
Published: January 2019

Objective

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of thoracic aortic disease (TAD) and abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) among patients with simple renal cyst (SRC) and bovine aortic arch (BAA).

Methods

Through a retrospective search for patients who underwent both chest and abdominal CT imaging at our institution from 2012 to 2016, we identified patients with SRC and BAA and propensity score matched them to those without these features by age, gender and presence of hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

Results

Of a total of 35 498 patients, 6366 were found to have SRC. Compared with the matched population without SRC, individuals with SRC were significantly more likely to have TAD (10.1% vs 3.9%), ascending aortic aneurysm (8.0% vs 3.2%), descending aortic aneurysm (3.3% vs 0.9%), type A aortic dissection (0.6% vs 0.2%), type B aortic dissection (1.1% vs 0.3%) and AAA (7.9% vs 3.3%). The 920 patients identified with BAA were significantly more likely to have TAD (21.8% vs 4.5%), ascending aortic aneurysm (18.4% vs 3.2%), descending aortic aneurysm (6.5% vs 2.0%), type A aortic dissection (1.4% vs 0.4%) and type B aortic dissection (2.4% vs 0.7%) than the matched population without BAA. SRC and BAA were found to be significantly associated with the presence of TAD (OR=2.57 and 7.69, respectively) and AAA (OR=2.81 and 2.56, respectively) on multivariable analysis.

Conclusions

This study establishes a substantial increased prevalence of aortic disease among patients with SRC and BAA. SRC and BAA should be considered markers for aortic aneurysm development.
CO467 corn inbred line
Authors: Reid L.M. , Gowan R. , Voloaca C. , Wu J. , Woldemariam T. , Jindal K.K. , Zhu X.
Published: January 2019

CO467 is a short-season corn (Zea mays L.) inbred line with excellent combining ability with stiff stalk inbred testers and the early maturing AAFC line CL30. CO467 has intermediate resistance to eyespot and common smut.
The Role of Supply Chain Features in the Effectiveness of Sustainability Practices in the Service Supply Chain: Application of Fuzzy Rule-Based System
Authors: Nouri Fahimeh Aliakbari , Nikabadi Mohsen Shafiei , Olfat Laya
Published: January 2019

This study analyzes the affecting variables on the relation of sustainability practice-performance in the service supply chain. The identified factors (supply chain features) are classified in a hierarchical structure of Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP): Macro Environment Features, Service Provider Features, Supplier Features, Employee Features, and Customer Features. Then, the FAHP is applied to identify the importance of each factor in the hospital supply chain, as an example of the service sector. To extract and predict the factors’ interactions, the knowledge base of the fuzzy if-then rules is constructed. The developed Fuzzy Inference System (FIS) gives insights on the supply chain features with significant impact on the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives. So, by predicting and strategically managing the affecting factors, service supply chain managers can have more effective and sustainable performance. The fuzzy surfaces indicate that the features of the macro environment, especially the government regulations, are crucial factors influencing the movement toward sustainability.
Conformal vector fields and Yamabe solitons
Authors: Bin Turki Nasser , Chen Bang-Yen , Deshmukh Sharief
Published: January 2019

In this paper, we use less topological restrictions and more geometric and analytic conditions to obtain some sufficient conditions on Yamabe solitons such that their metrics are Yamabe metrics, that is, metrics of constant scalar curvature. More precisely, we use properties of conformal vector fields to find several sufficient conditions on the soliton vector fields of Yamabe solitons under which their metrics are Yamabe metrics.
Role of hexyloxy groups in zinc phthalocyanines bearing sulfonic acid anchoring groups for dye-sensitized solar cells
Authors: Güzel Emre , Şişman İlkay , Gül Ahmet , Koçak Makbule B.
Published: January 2019

Zinc phthalocyanine dyes bearing four sulfonic acid anchoring groups with (A-ZnPc) and without (H-ZnPc) four chloro and eight hexyloxy groups were used as sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The dyes were investigated in terms of their optical, electrochemical and photovoltaic properties. The presence of these groups in dye A-ZnPc resulted in both red-shifted absorption and decreased dye aggregation, which are beneficial for the improvement of device performance. In the presence of chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) as a coadsorbent, the DSSC based on H-ZnPc shows a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 0.96%, which is improved by [Formula: see text]40% as compared to the device without CDCA. However, the PCE of an A-ZnPc-based device with CDCA slightly enhances from 1.15% (without CDCA) to 1.22%, indicating that the bulky hexyloxy groups with large steric hindrance can effectively suppress aggregation of the adsorbed dye. The results showed that the zinc phthalocyanine dye bearing bulky hexyloxy groups is a promising candidate to construct efficient coadsorbent-free DSSCs.
Synthesis and investigation of phthalocyanine-biotin conjugates
Authors: Okoth Elizabeth A. , Zhou Zehua , Ongarora Benson , Stutes Alyssa , Mathis J. Michael , Vicente M. Graça H.
Published: January 2019

An isothiocyanato-functionalized phthalocyanine (Pc) was synthesized in good yield from the corresponding amine-substituted Pc. This Pc reacted with ethanolamine, biotin hydrazine, and biotin diethylamine under mild conditions (room temperature in DMF or DMSO in the presence of TEA) to produce the corresponding thiourea products in 60–75% yields. All Pcs showed intense Q absorptions in DMF around 677 nm, emissions centered at 683 nm, and fluorescence quantum yields in the range 0.18–0.27. The Pcs were phototoxic to human carcinoma HEp2 cells (IC[Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] 7 at 1.5 J/cm[Formula: see text] and localized in multiple organelles, including the lysosomes, Golgi and ER. One biotin-Pc conjugate was injected via tail vein into nude mice bearing HT-29 tumors and demonstrated selective localization in the tumor tissue.
Multilateral Trade Liberalization and Terms of Trade Volatility
Authors: Gnangnon Sèna Kimm
Published: January 2019

The world has experienced in recent years a rising anti-trade and anti-globalization sentiment, which would likely jeopardize recent efforts by the international trade community, in particular Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), to promote multilateral trade liberalization (MTP). The current article investigates the impact of MTP on countries’ terms of trade volatility. Results based on a large panel dataset suggest that MTP exerts a significant reducing effect on countries’ terms of trade volatility. However, this impact appears to be dependent on countries’ development level. The take-home message is that greater cooperation on trade matters, including among WTO Members would help promote multilateral trade liberalization, which would surely contribute to reducing terms of trade volatility, for the benefits of all countries, in particular developing economies.
Innovation and High-Tech Exports in Developed and Developing Countries
Authors: Bayraktutan Yusuf , Bıdırdı Hanife
Published: January 2019

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of the number of patents on high and medium-high-tech export (HTEX) performance in developed and developing countries for the period of 1996–2012. In the empirical model, HTEX is explained by the number of patents (PAT), fixed capital (GFC), and FDI inflows. Estimation results show that PAT is one of the key determinants of HTEX in both groups of countries and PAT elasticity of HTEX in developing countries is higher than that of developed ones. However, while there is no short-run causality from PAT to HTEX, there is short-run causality from GFC and FDI to HTEX.
Separation logic
Authors: O'Hearn Peter
Published: January 2019

Separation logic is a key development in formal reasoning about programs, opening up new lines of attack on longstanding problems.
A new golden age for computer architecture
Authors: Hennessy John L. , Patterson David A.
Published: January 2019

Innovations like domain-specific hardware, enhanced security, open instruction sets, and agile chip development will lead the way.
CodeFlow
Authors: CACM Staff
Published: January 2019

A discussion with Jacek Czerwonka, Michaela Greiler, Christian Bird, Lucas Panjer, and Terry Coatta
On max-min fair allocation for multi-source transmission
Authors: Li Geng , Qian Yichen , Yang Y. Richard
Published: January 2019

Max-min fair is widely used in network traffic engineering to allocate available resources among different traffic transfers. Recently, as data replication technique developed, increasing systems enforce multi-source transmission to maximize network utilization. However, existing TE approaches fail to deal with multi-source transfers because the optimization becomes a joint problem of bandwidth allocation as well as flow assignment among different sources. In this paper, we present a novel allocation approach for multi-source transfers to achieve global max-min fairness. The joint bandwidth allocation and flow assignment optimization problem poses a major challenge due to nonlinearity and multiple objectives. We cope with this by deriving a novel transformation with simple equivalent canonical linear programming to achieve global optimality efficiently. We conduct data-driven simulations, showing that our approach is more max-min fair than other single-source and multi-source allocation approaches, meanwhile it outperforms others with substantial gains in terms of network throughput and transfer completion time.
On collaborative predictive blacklisting
Authors: Melis Luca , Pyrgelis Apostolos , De Cristofaro Emiliano
Published: January 2019

Collaborative predictive blacklisting (CPB) allows to forecast future attack sources based on logs and alerts contributed by multiple organizations. Unfortunately, however, research on CPB has only focused on increasing the number of predicted attacks but has not considered the impact on false positives and false negatives. Moreover, sharing alerts is often hindered by confidentiality, trust, and liability issues, which motivates the need for privacy-preserving approaches to the problem. In this paper, we present a measurement study of state-of-the-art CPB techniques, aiming to shed light on the actual impact of collaboration. To this end, we reproduce and measure two systems: a non privacy-friendly one that uses a trusted coordinating party with access to all alerts [12] and a peer-to-peer one using privacy-preserving data sharing [8]. We show that, while collaboration boosts the number of predicted attacks, it also yields high false positives, ultimately leading to poor accuracy. This motivates us to present a hybrid approach, using a semi-trusted central entity, aiming to increase utility from collaboration while, at the same time, limiting information disclosure and false positives. This leads to a better trade-off of true and false positive rates, while at the same time addressing privacy concerns.