bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Reviewing the risk of feed as a vehicle for swine pathogen transmission
Authors: Jones Cassandra K. , Woodworth Jason , Dritz Steve S. , Paulk Chad B.
Published: December 2019

Background

While porcine biological hazards have had the potential to be transmitted through feed and feed mills for decades, the emerging threat of foreign animal disease has elevated the concern that these may enter or be transmitted throughout the domestic swine herd via a feed vehicle.

Objective

The goal of this review was to describe the current classification for emerging porcine biological pathogen transmission through the feed supply chain so resources can be best directed towards those of highest risk.

Methods

By assessing the pathogen severity to pigs and the probability of pathogen transmission through feed, an overall risk can be established using a hazard analysis matrix.

Results

There is negligible risk for feed‐based transmission of a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, Trichinella spiralis, Toxoplasma gondii, Salmonella Choleraesuis, Salmonella spp. except Choleraesuis and I 4,[5],12:i:‐, porcine deltacoronavirus, Senecavirus A, mammalian orthoreovirus 3, foot and mouth disease virus, classical swine fever virus or Chinese pseudorabies virus. However, the combined severity and probability of Salmonella enterica serotype I 4,[5],12:i:‐, porcine epidemic diarrhoea virus and African swine fever virus warrant a moderate risk characterization for transmission through the US feed supply chain.

Conclusions

This risk can be maintained below critical status by minimizing the likelihood that a pathogen can enter the feed supply chain, such as by excluding high‐risk ingredients from facilities, extending biosecurity to mills, and considering proactive mitigation strategies. In reality, all these actions may be necessary to prevent the detrimental transmission of porcine biological hazards into the US swine herd through the feed supply chain.
Nitrate removal from aqueous solutions by adsorption onto hydrogel‐rice husk biochar composite
Authors: Sadeghi Afjeh Mahsa , Bagheri Marandi Gholam , Zohuriaan‐Mehr Mohammad Jalal
Published: December 2019

In the present study, we investigated the performance of hydrogel‐rice husk biochar composites, as low‐cost, alternative, and biocompatible adsorbents for separating nitrate ions from aqueous solutions. Hydrogel‐biochar composite was synthesized at dosages of 2.5%, 3.6%, 4.8%, and 9.6% weight ratios of biochar. The composite was characterized by several common methods including FTIR, SEM, TEM, TGA, and DSC. In addition, the effect of contact time, initial concentration of nitrate ions, and solution pH were considered. The maximum removal of nitrate was about 34.3% at acidic pH (pH = 3) using 0.02 g of adsorbent in 25 ml of nitrate solution with the initial concentration (20 mg/L) and temperature of 25°C for 60 min. Based on the findings, 5% biochar in the composite was the optimal dosage. Adsorption kinetic study revealed that this process followed the first‐order kinetic model. The experimental equilibrium adsorption data were tested by the Temkin isotherm model with R2 > 0.97. Based on the thermodynamic studies, the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous. Overall, the results suggested that the obtained composite can be specifically employed for removal of contaminations from aqueous solutions.

Practitioner points

Hydrogel‐biochar composite provides a biocompatible and cost‐effective adsorbent.

Hydrogel‐biochar composite was applied to eliminate nitrate from aqueous solutions.

Nitrate removal increased in the synthesized composite upon elevation of the weight ratio of biochar to 0.2 g.
An exploratory, randomised, placebo-controlled, 14 day trial of the soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator praliciguat in participants with type 2 diabetes and hypertension
Authors: Hanrahan John P. , Seferovic Jelena P. , Wakefield James D. , Wilson Phebe J. , Chickering Jennifer G. , Jung Joon , Carlson Kenneth E. , Zimmer Daniel P. , Frelinger Andrew L. , Michelson Alan D. , Morrow Linda , Hall Michael , Currie Mark G. , Milne G. Todd , Profy Albert T.
Published: December 2019

Aims/hypothesis

Praliciguat (IW-1973), a soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator, amplifies nitric oxide signalling. This exploratory trial investigated the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic profile and pharmacodynamic effects of praliciguat in individuals with type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

Methods

This Phase IIA, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigated praliciguat in 26 participants with type 2 diabetes and hypertension on stable glucose- and BP-lowering therapies. Participants were randomly allocated in a 3:5:5 ratio to three groups: placebo (n = 6), praliciguat 40 mg once daily for days 1–14 (n = 10), or praliciguat 20 mg twice daily for days 1–7 then 40 mg once daily for days 8–14 (n = 10). Assessments were made in clinic and included treatment-emergent adverse events, pharmacokinetics, metabolic variables, 24 h BP and heart rate, platelet function, reactive hyperaemia index (RHI) and plasma biomarkers. Participants, the sponsor, the investigator and clinic study staff (except designated pharmacy personnel) were blinded to group assignment.

Results

Participants treated for 14 days with praliciguat had least-square mean change-from-baseline differences vs placebo (95% CI) of −0.7 (−1.8, 0.4) mmol/l for fasting plasma glucose, −0.7 (−1.1, −0.2) mmol/l for total cholesterol, −0.5 (−1.0, −0.1) mmol/l for LDL-cholesterol, −23 (−56, 9) for HOMA-IR in those not being treated with insulin, and −5 (−10, 1) mmHg and 3 (−1, 6) beats/min for average 24 h mean arterial pressure and heart rate, respectively. Apart from one serious adverse event (SAE; upper gastrointestinal haemorrhage), praliciguat was well tolerated. Praliciguat did not affect platelet function or RHI. Among exploratory biomarkers, plasma levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine decreased in praliciguat vs placebo recipients.

Conclusions/interpretation

In participants with type 2 diabetes and hypertension on standard therapies, over 14 days praliciguat was well tolerated, except for a single SAE, and showed positive trends in metabolic and BP variables. These results support further clinical investigation of praliciguat.

Trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03091920.

Funding

This trial was funded by Cyclerion Therapeutics.
A Model to Predict Significant Macrosteatosis in Hepatic Grafts
Authors: Swelam Ahmed , Adam René , Lauka Lelde , Basilio Rodrigues Luiza , Elgarf Sherif , Sebagh Mylène , Golse Nicolas , Sa Cunha Antonio , Cherqui Daniel , Castaing Denis , Allard Marc‐Antoine
Published: December 2019

Background and aims

Assessing the risk of significant macrosteatosis in donors is crucial before considering hepatic graft procurement. We aimed to build a model to predict significant macrosteatosis based on noninvasive methods.

Methods

From January 2012 to December 2018, liver attenuation indices and liver‐to‐spleen (L/S) ratio were measured in 639 brain‐dead donors by local radiologists. Quantity and quality of steatosis were evaluated by an expert pathologist, blinded for attenuation indices measurement.

Results

Macrosteatosis ≥ 30% was found in 33 donors (5.2%). Body weight, body mass index (BMI), abdominal perimeters, history of alcohol abuse, L/S ratio, and liver parenchyma attenuation were associated with macrosteatosis ≥ 30%. The L/S ratio, BMI, and a history of alcohol abuse remained independent predictors in multivariate analysis and were used to build a predictive model (C‐index: 0.77). The optimal cutoff to predict macrosteatosis ≥ 60% was 0.85.

Conclusion

Our model, including L/S ratio, BMI, and history of alcohol, might be helpful to refine indication for liver biopsy before donation after brain death. External validation is required.
A prospective, longitudinal monocentric study on laser Doppler imaging of microcirculation: comparison with macrovascular pathophysiology and effect of adalimumab treatment in early rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Dávida László , Pongrácz Vanda , Mohamed Emir Awad , Szamosi Szilvia , Szücs Gabriella , Váncsa Andrea , Tímár Orsolya , Csiki Zoltán , Végh Edit , Soltész Pál , Szekanecz Zoltán , Kerekes György
Published: December 2019

Increased cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality have been found in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α) inhibitors may improve vascular function. In the first part of this study, we determined microcirculation during postoocclusive reactive hyperemia (PORH) representing endothelial function. In a nonselected population (n = 46) we measured flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) of the brachial artery and laser Doppler flow (LDF) by ultrasound. Among LDF parameters, we determined TH1 (time to half before hyperemia), TH2 (time to half after hyperemia), Tmax (time to maximum) and total hyperemic area (AH). We measured von Willebrand antigen (vWF:Ag) by ELISA. In the second part of the study, we assessed the effects of adalimumab treatment on microcirculatory parameters in 8 early RA patients at 0, 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks. We found significant positive correlations between FMD and LDF Tmax (R = 0.456, p = 0.002), FMD and TH2 (R = 0.435, p = 0.004), and negative correlation between vWF:Ag and Tmax (R = − 0.4, p = 0.009) and between vWF:Ag and TH2 (R = − 0.446, p = 0.003). Upon adalimumab therapy in early RA, TH2 times improved in comparison to baseline (TH2baseline = 26.9 s vs. TH24weeks = 34.7 s, p = 0,032), and this effect prolonged until the end of treatment (TH28weeks = 40.5, p = 0.026; TH212weeks = 32.1, p = 0.013). After 8 weeks of treatment, significant improvement was found in AHa (AHbaseline = 1599 Perfusion Units [PU] vs. AH8weeks = 2724 PU, p = 0.045). The PORH test carried out with LDF is a sensitive option to measure endothelial dysfunction. TH1 and TH2 may be acceptable and reproducible markers. In our pilot study, treatment with adalimumab exerted favorable effects on disease activity, endothelial dysfunction and microcirculation in early RA patients.
Electrophysiological adaptations of insect photoreceptors and their elementary responses to diurnal and nocturnal lifestyles
Authors: Frolov Roman V. , Ignatova Irina I.
Published: December 2019

Nocturnal vision in insects depends on the ability to reliably detect scarce photons. Nocturnal insects tend to have intrinsically more sensitive and larger rhabdomeres than diurnal species. However, large rhabdomeres have relatively high membrane capacitance (Cm), which can strongly low-pass filter the voltage bumps, widening and attenuating them. To investigate the evolution of photoreceptor signaling under near dark, we recorded elementary current and voltage responses from a number of species in six insect orders. We found that the gain of phototransduction increased withCm, so that nocturnal species had relatively large and prolonged current bumps. Consequently, although the voltage bump amplitude correlated negatively withCm, the strength of the total voltage signal increased. Importantly, the background voltage noise decreased strongly with increasingCm, yielding a notable increase in signal-to-noise ratio for voltage bumps. A similar decrease in the background noise with increasingCmwas found in intracellular recordings in vivo. Morphological measurements of rhabdomeres were consistent with ourCmestimates. Our results indicate that the increased photoreceptorCmin nocturnal insects is a major sensitivity-boosting and noise-suppressing adaptation. However, by requiring a compensatory increase in the gain of phototransduction, this adaptation comes at the expense of the signaling bandwidth.
Distribution and classification of the extracellular matrix in the olfactory bulb
Authors: Hunyadi Andrea , Gaál Botond , Matesz Clara , Meszar Zoltan , Morawski Markus , Reimann Katja , Lendvai David , Alpar Alan , Wéber Ildikó , Rácz Éva
Published: December 2019

Extracellular matrix (ECM) became an important player over the last few decades when studying the plasticity and regeneration of the central nervous system. In spite of the established role of ECM in these processes throughout the central nervous system (CNS), only few papers were published on the ECM of the olfactory system, which shows a lifelong plasticity, synaptic remodeling and postnatal neurogenesis. In the present study, we have described the localization and organization of major ECM molecules, the hyaluronan, the lecticans, tenascin-R and HAPLN1 link protein in the olfactory bulb (OB) of the rat. We detected all of these molecules in the OB showing differences in the molecular composition, staining intensity, and organization of ECM between the layers and in some cases within a single layer. One of the striking features of ECM staining pattern in the OB was that the reactions are shown dominantly in the neuropil, the PNNs were found rarely and they exhibited thin or diffuse appearance Similar organization was shown in human and mice samples. As the PNN limits the neural plasticity, its rare appearance may be related to the high degree of plasticity in the OB.
Die traumatische Aortenruptur
Authors: Schachner Thomas , Oji-Zurmeyer Julia , Rylski Bartosz , Kapral Stephan , Stanger Olaf , Widmann Gerlig , Schönhoff Florian , Czerny Martin , Jochberger Stefan
Published: December 2019

Verkehrsunfälle sind für den größten Teil der traumatischen Aortenrupturen verantwortlich, meist zusammen mit weiteren schweren Begleitverletzungen. Die prähospitale Sterblichkeit ist hoch. Bei Verdacht auf eine beteiligte Aortenverletzung, aufgrund eines hohen traumatic aortic injury scores, ist eine Computertomographie durchzuführen. Es erfolgt eine Triage der Verletzungen, und die Versorgungspriorität der Aorta richtet sich nach dem Schweregrad der Aorten- und Begleitverletzungen sowie dem Zustand des Patienten. Bis zur definitiven Versorgung der aortalen Läsion muss der Blutdruck konsequent gesenkt werden. Grad I und II können in Einzelfällen unter enger Kontrolle inital konservativ gemanagt werden. Grad III (gedeckte Ruptur) und Grad IV (freie Ruptur) benötigen eine raschestmögliche Versorgung (interventionell, chirurgisch). In ausgesuchten Fällen kann auch eine verzögerte Versorgung günstig sein.

Als bevorzugte Versorgungsform hat sich die interventionelle Stentgrafttherapie etabliert.
Contingent Behavior and Asymmetric Preferences for Baltic Sea Coastal Recreation
Authors: Bertram Christine , Ahtiainen Heini , Meyerhoff Jürgen , Pakalniete Kristine , Pouta Eija , Rehdanz Katrin
Published: December 2019

In this study, we augment the traditional travel cost approach with contingent behavior data for coastal recreation. The objective is to analyze the welfare implications of future changes in the conditions of the Baltic Sea due to climate change and eutrophication. Adding to the literature, we assess the symmetricity of welfare effects caused by improvements and deteriorations in environmental conditions for a set of quality attributes. Responses are derived from identical online surveys in Finland, Germany and Latvia. We estimate recreational benefits using linear and non-linear negative binomial random-effects models. The calculated annual consumer surpluses are considerably influenced by the magnitude of the environmental changes in the three countries. We also observe asymmetries in the effects of environmental improvements and deteriorations on the expected number of visits. In particular, the results indicate that deteriorations lead to larger or more significant impacts than improvements in the case of blue-green algal blooms and algae onshore for Finland, water clarity for Germany, and water clarity and blue-green algal blooms for Latvia. For the remaining attributes, the effects are ambiguous.
A Cap-and-Trade Commitment Policy with Allowance Banking
Authors: Kuusela Olli-Pekka , Lintunen Jussi
Published: December 2019

We examine the planner’s dynamic regulation problem in an emission trading system (ETS) with allowance banking. The planner sets the emissions cap for the next period after the current period allowance market has cleared, but before knowing the next period’s abatement cost realization. This creates a time consistency problem when banking is possible. We examine two policies to overcome the consistency problem: a commitment solution and the Markov perfect solution. We show that the endogenous price floor generated by the banking demand becomes an integral feature of the two policies. Hence, they can be best described as hybrid policies that combine elements from emissions taxes and tradable allowances. This reveals new welfare implications that have an influence on instrument choice in the traditional prices versus quantities setup. We compare the expected welfare outcomes of four different policy instruments: the commitment policy, the Markov policy, a Pigouvian tax, and a no-banking ETS. We show that allowing banking can yield welfare gains compared to tax and quantity regulation, with or without commitment.
Treatment-Seeking Problem Gamblers: Characteristics of Individuals Who Offend to Finance Gambling
Authors: Roberts Amanda , Sharman Stephen , King Matthew , Bayston Andy , Bowden-Jones Henrietta
Published: December 2019

The relationship between crime and gambling is well established; however, few studies have examined offending specifically to finance gambling within a UK gambling treatment-seeking population. A total of 1226 treatment-seeking gamblers completed the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI), Patient Health Questionnaire and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 item scale, and were asked whether they had committed any illegal behaviours to finance gambling. A total of 42.5% reported offending behaviour. A greater proportion of the offending group was single or married/cohabiting, had a lower level qualifications, lower income, had experienced childhood abuse, family mental health problems and gambling-related harms compared with the non-offending group. Offenders reported higher anxiety, depression and disordered gambling scores. Disordered gamblers who offend make up a discrete and complex subgroup with distinct vulnerabilities. Findings will be useful to clinicians involved in the assessment and management of problematic gambling. Gamblers who offend to finance gambling may have different treatment needs and treatment providers should administer appropriate clinical interventions to address vulnerabilities.
Selective Estrogen Receptor β Agonists: a Therapeutic Approach for HIV-1 Associated Neurocognitive Disorders
Authors: McLaurin Kristen A. , Moran Landhing M. , Booze Rosemarie M. , Mactutus Charles F.
Published: December 2019

The persistence of HIV-1 associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) in the post-cART era, afflicting between 40 and 70% of HIV-1 seropositive individuals, supports a critical need for the development of adjunctive therapeutic treatments. Selective estrogen receptor β agonists, including S-Equol (SE), have been implicated as potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of neurocognitive disorders. In the present study, the therapeutic efficacy of 0.2 mg SE for the treatment of HAND was assessed to address two key questions in the HIV-1 transgenic (Tg) rat. First, does SE exhibit robust therapeutic efficacy when treatment is initiated relatively early (i.e., between 2 and 3 months of age) in the course of viral protein exposure? Second, does the therapeutic utility of SE generalize across multiple neurocognitive domains? Treatment with SE enhanced preattentive processes and stimulus-response learning to the level of controls in all (i.e., 100%) HIV-1 Tg animals. For sustained and selective attention, statistically significant effects were not observed in the overall analyses (Control: Placebo, n = 10, SE, n = 10; HIV-1 Tg: Placebo, n = 10, SE, n = 10). However, given our a priori hypothesis, subsequent analyses were conducted, revealing enhanced sustained and selective attention, approximating controls, in a subset (i.e., 50%, n = 5 and 80%, n = 8, respectively) of HIV-1 Tg animals treated with SE. Thus, the therapeutic efficacy of SE is greater when treatment is initiated relatively early in the course of viral protein exposure and generalizes across neurocognitive domains, supporting an adjunctive therapeutic for HAND in the post-cART era.
Control of Platinum Loss in WEEE Smelting
Authors: Klemettinen Lassi , Avarmaa Katri , O’Brien Hugh , Jokilaakso Ari , Taskinen Pekka
Published: December 2019

In spite of significant economic value, the solubilities of the platinum group and precious metals in metallurgical copper smelting slags are not well known. Recent experimental information on iron-free and low-iron silicate melts indicates that the chemical solubility of platinum is very low, < 1 ppmw (part per million weight). In this study, the concentration of platinum in alumina spinel-saturated iron silicate slags in equilibrium with a solid iron-platinum alloy was measured as a function of oxygen partial pressure at 1300°C. The results were converted to unit activity of platinum by the thermodynamic properties of the iron-platinum alloy formed. This allowed the mechanism of dissolution of platinum in the slag and the forms of platinum species in alumina-rich iron silicate slags in copper scrap smelting and refining conditions to be obtained. Our findings explain some inconsistent results in the geochemical literature by proposing an anionic dissolution mechanism at low oxygen partial pressures in iron-containing silicate slags.
Warped product pointwise semi-slant submanifolds of cosymplectic space forms and their applications
Authors: Alqahtani Lamia Saeed
Published: December 2019

In this paper some characterizations for the existence of warped product pointwise semi-slant submanifolds of cosymplectic space forms are obtained. Moreover, a sharp estimate for the squared norm of the second fundamental form is investigated, the equality case is also discussed. By the application of derived inequality, we compute an expression for Dirichlet energy of the involved warping function. Finally, we also proved some classifications for these warped product submanifolds in terms of Ricci solitons and Ricci curvature. A non-trivial example of these warped product submanifolds is provided.
Impact of molecular testing on reported Clostridoides difficile infection rates
Authors: Ilieş Iulian , Benneyan James C. , Jabur Tiago Barbieri Couto , Baker Arthur W. , Anderson Deverick J.
Published: December 2019

Background:

The reported incidence of Clostridoides difficile infection (CDI) has increased in recent years, partly due to broadening adoption of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) replacing enzyme immunoassay (EIA) methods. Our aim was to quantify the impact of this switch on reported CDI rates using a large, multihospital, empirical dataset.

Methods:

We analyzed 9 years of retrospective CDI data (2009–2017) from 47 hospitals in the southeastern United States; 37 hospitals switched to NAAT during this period, including 24 with sufficient pre- and post-switch data for statistical analyses. Poisson regression was used to quantify the NAAT-over-EIA incidence rate ratio (IRR) at hospital and network levels while controlling for longitudinal trends, the proportion of intensive care unit patient days, changes in surveillance methodology, and previously detected infection cluster periods. We additionally used change-point detection methods to identify shifts in the mean and/or slope of hospital-level CDI rates, and we compared results to recorded switch dates.

Results:

For hospitals that transitioned to NAAT, average unadjusted CDI rates increased substantially after the test switch from 10.9 to 23.9 per 10,000 patient days. Individual hospital IRRs ranged from 0.75 to 5.47, with a network-wide IRR of 1.75 (95% confidence interval, 1.62–1.89). Reported CDI rates significantly changed 1.6 months on average after switching to NAAT testing (standard deviation, 1.9 months).

Conclusion:

Hospitals that switched from EIA to NAAT testing experienced an average postswitch increase of 75% in reported CDI rates after adjusting for other factors, and this increase was often gradual or delayed.
Case Concerning the Detention of Three Ukrainian Naval Vessels (Ukraine v. Russian Federation): Provisional Measures Order (ITLOS)
Authors: Ishii Yurika
Published: December 2019

On May 25, 2019, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) issued a provisional measures order to the Russian Federation to release two Ukrainian warships, a naval auxiliary ship, and their servicemen. This case adds to the jurisprudence concerning the Tribunal's institutional authority to issue a provisional measures order under Article 290(5) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Protocol No. 16 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and Advisory Opinion Concerning the Recognition in Domestic Law of a Legal Parent-child Relationship Between a Child Born Through a Gestational Surrogacy Arrangement Abroad and the Intended Mother (Eur. Ct. H.R.)
Authors: Lyons Scott W.
Published: December 2019

On April 14, 2018, Protocol 16 to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms received sufficient ratifications and entered into force on August 1, 2018. The Protocol, for the first time, enabled the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to provide advisory opinions for the states that ratified the Protocol.
Photograph as Skin, Skin as Wax: Indexicality and the Visualisation of Syphilis in Fin-de-Siècle France The William Bynum Prize Essay
Authors: Pierce Kathleen
Published: December 2019

In early twentieth-century France, syphilis and its controversial status as a hereditary disease reigned as a chief concern for physicians and public health officials. As syphilis primarily presented visually on the surface of the skin, its study fell within the realms of both dermatologists and venereologists, who relied heavily on visual evidence in their detection, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease. Thus, in educational textbooks, atlases, and medical models, accurately reproducing the visible signposts of syphilis – the colour, texture, and patterns of primary chancres or secondary rashes – was of preeminent importance. Photography, with its potential claims to mechanical objectivity, would seem to provide the logical tool for such representations.

Yet photography’s relationship to syphilographie warrants further unpacking. Despite the rise of a desire for mechanical objectivity charted in the late nineteenth century, artist-produced, three-dimensional, wax-cast moulages coexisted with photographs as significant educational tools for dermatologists; at times, these models were further mediated through photographic reproduction in texts. Additionally, the rise of phototherapy complicated this relationship by fostering the clinical equation of the light-sensitive photographic plate with the patient’s skin, which became the photographic record of disease and successful treatment. This paper explores these complexities to delineate a more nuanced understanding of objectivity vis-à-vis photography and syphilis. Rather than a desire to produce an unbiased image, fin-de-siècle dermatologists marshalled the photographic to exploit the verbal and visual rhetoric of objectivity, authority, and persuasion inextricably linked to culturally constructed understandings of the photograph. This rhetoric was often couched in the Peircean concept of indexicality, which physicians formulated through the language of witness, testimony, and direct connection.
Defining Man as Animal Religiosum in English Religious Writing ca. 1650–ca. 1700
Authors: Mills R. J. W.
Published: December 2019

This article surveys the emergence and usage of the redefinition of man not asanimal rationale(rational animal) but asanimal religiosum(religious animal) by numerous English theologians between 1650 and 1700. Across the continuum of English Protestant thought, human nature was being redescribed as unique due to its religious, not primarily its rational, capabilities. This article charts said appearance as a contribution to debates over man's relationship with God; then its subsequent incorporation into the discussion over the theological consequences of arguments in favor of animal rationality, as well as its uses in anti-atheist apologetics; and then the sudden disappearance of the definition of man as animal religiosum at the beginning of the eighteenth century. In doing so, the article hopes to make a useful contribution to our understanding of changing early modern understandings of human nature by reasserting the significance of theological writing in the dispute over the relationship between humans and beasts. As a consequence, it offers a more wide-ranging account of man as animal religiosum than the current focus on “Cambridge Platonism” and “Latitudinarianism” allows.
CONFRONTING THE COMMUNAL GRAVE: A REASSESSMENT OF SOCIAL RELATIONS DURING THE HOLOCAUST IN EASTERN EUROPE
Authors: BURZLAFF JAN
Published: December 2019

This historiographical review focuses on the complex interactions between Nazi Germany, local populations, and east European Jews during the Holocaust. Braving fierce historical revisionism in eastern Europe and the Baltic states, recent studies have shifted the spotlight from Germans to Poles, Ukrainians, Russians, Lithuanians, and other ethnicities. As a result, the analytic categories with which most historians still work – notably ‘perpetrator/victim/bystander’ and ‘collaboration/resistance’ – have outlived their usefulness. A more complex picture of the Nazi-occupied territories in eastern Europe has emerged and now awaits new theoretical frameworks. This article argues that past paradigms blinded scholars to a range of groups lost in the cracks and to behaviours remaining outside the political sphere. Through four criteria that shed light on the social history of the Holocaust in eastern Europe, it draws connections between central and east European, German, Jewish, and Soviet histories, in order to engage with other fields and disciplines that examine modern mass violence and genocide. As Holocaust studies stands at a crossroads, only a transnational history including all ethnicities and deeper continuities, both temporal and geographical, will enhance our knowledge of how social relations shaped the very evolution of the Holocaust.
“Bite, Bite against the Iron Cage”: The Ambivalent Dreamscape of Zoos in Colonial Seoul and Taipei
Authors: Seeley Joseph , Skabelund Aaron
Published: December 2019

This article examines the zoological gardens established by Japanese imperialists in colonial Seoul (1908) and Taipei (1914). Drawing on multilingual sources, it argues that zoos explicitly exposed the unequal interethnic and interspecies hierarchies that undergirded the colonial project. The colonial zoo was an ambivalent “dreamscape”: a carefully constructed landscape of iron cages and manicured pathways wherein colonizers’ dreams of ordering the natural world and colonized populations existed in uneasy tension with the actual experiences of zoo visitors and encaged zoo animals. Intellectuals sometimes criticized zoo excesses or identified the bondage of caged animals with the colonized experience. Yet these zoos also enjoyed immense popularity as Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese visitors alike participated in the physical and discursive subjugation of zoo animals. Sensitivity to these contradictions, this essay contends, is essential for understanding both the broader significance of these institutions and their contested legacies today.
Spatial variation in the benthic community composition of coral reefs in the Wakatobi Marine National Park, Indonesia: updated baselines and limited benthic community shifts
Authors: Marlow Joseph , Haris Abdul , Jompa Jamal , Werorilangi Shinta , Bates Tracey , Bennett Holly , Bell James J.
Published: December 2019

Coral reefs have experienced extensive degradation across the world over the last 50 years as a result of a variety of stressors operating at a range of spatial and temporal scales. In order to assess whether declines are continuing, or if reefs are recovering, detailed baseline information is required from across wide spatial scales. Unfortunately, for some regions this information is not readily available, making future reef trajectories difficult to determine. Here we characterized the current benthic community state for coral reefs in the Wakatobi region of Indonesia, one of the most biodiverse marine regions in the world. We surveyed 10 reef sites (5, 10 and 15 m depth) to explore spatial variation in coral reef benthic communities and provide a detailed baseline. Previous data (2002–2011) were available for coral, sponges, algae and soft coral at six of our study sites. Using this information, we determined if any changes had occurred in dominance of these benthic groups. We found that benthic assemblage composition differed significantly over relatively small spatial scales (2–10 km) and hard coral cover was highly variable, ranging from 7–48% (average 19.5% ± 1.5 SE). While coral cover appears to have declined at all sites where data were available since 2002, we found little evidence for widespread increases in other benthic groups or regime shifts. Our study provides a comprehensive baseline dataset for the region that can be used in the future to determine rates of change in benthic communities.
Bushra El-Turk and Eleanor Knight, Silk Moth Grimeborn, 9 August 2019
Authors: Haggett George K.
Published: December 2019

When Eleanor Knight began researching her libretto for Silk Moth, she had to decide how to frame an opera about honour violence. Meeting women whose lives it had ruptured through the Iranian and Kurdish Women's Rights Organisation, she confronted the usual images that accompany the dozen-or-so honour killings per year in the UK media. Between the ‘old, faded school photos’ that illustrate victimhood and the male perpetrators with ‘blankets over their heads … shoved into waiting police cars’, she saw a gulf of painful complexity. ‘What’, she asks, ‘of the mothers?’.
OF NEON LIGHT: MULTIPHONIC AGGREGATES ON THE ELECTRIC GUITAR
Authors: Ciszak Thomas , Josel Seth F.
Published: December 2019

Considerable research has been made into the harmonic properties and playability of woodwind multiphonics, while the utility of string multiphonics has received far less attention. In recent years, however, there has been an increasing amount of interest in the topic, and several publications have been devoted to acoustic guitar multiphonics. Primarily written for non-guitarist composers, these studies range from the scientific to the practical. Variously, they describe the sonic qualities of the multiphonics, discuss methods of performing them, or examine their spectral content and morphology. Until now, published research into guitar multiphonics has been limited to the acoustic guitar and has examined only its three lower strings. In this study, we analyse multiphonics on all six strings of the electric guitar and present a catalogue of harmonic aggregates on strings 3–1. We test these multiphonics on five different guitars and examine their response to three commonly used analogue effect pedals (compression, overdrive and distortion). In order to precisely indicate the spectral components and harmonic nodes, we have used the Extended Helmholtz-Ellis JI Pitch Notation (HEJI).
Perception of sibilant–liquid phonotactic frequency in full-term and preterm infants
Authors: HENRIKSON Brenna , SEIDL Amanda , SODERSTROM Melanie
Published: December 2019

We examined full-term and preterm infants’ perception of frequent and infrequent phonotactic pairings involving sibilants and liquids. Infants were tested on their preference for syllables with onsets involving /s/ or /ʃ/ followed by /l/ or /r/ using the Headturn Preference Procedure. Full-term infants preferred the frequent to the infrequent phonotactic pairings at 9 months, but not at either younger or older ages. Evidence was inconclusive regarding a possible difference between full-term and preterm samples; however, limitations on the preterm sample size limited our power to detect differences. Preference for the frequent pairing was not related to later vocabulary development.
Rethinking the genre: urban biographies as means of creating critical public spheres
Authors: Ira Jaroslav
Published: December 2019

In this article, I rethink the genre of urban biographies and argue that it can be given new potency when remodelled to become a means of reinvigorating the critical public. In the first part, I reflect upon some of the recent biographies of cities in the Czech Republic. In the second part, I discuss promising strategies, drawn from a sample of innovative urban biographies. In the final part, I outline the guiding principles of an adapted model for urban biographies. I propose that the cities must be repoliticized and recentred in the biographies, which entails adopting a political concept of the city, a deconstructive approach, utilization of the urban presence and a more urban-sensitive treatment of time.
P wave dispersion in assessment of dysrhythmia risk in patients with secundum type atrial septal defect and the effect of transcatheter or surgical closure
Authors: Cenk Mürüvvet , Akalın Figen , Şaylan Berna Ç. , Ak Koray
Published: December 2019

Atrial dysrhythmia is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in patients with atrial septal defect. Increased P wave duration can predict the risk of atrial dysrhythmia. The aim of this study is to evaluate the risk of atrial dysrhythmia by measuring P wave dispersion, and to observe the effect of surgical and transcatheter closure. Sixty-one patients and 30 controls were investigated. In patient group, before and after closure and in control group at the time of presentation, 12-lead electrocardiography records were evaluated. P wave duration and amplitude, P wave axis, PR interval, P wave dispersion, QRS axis, corrected QT interval, and QT dispersion were calculated. The measurements in patient and control groups, measurements before and after closure, and measurements of surgical and transcatheter group were compared. There were 27 patients in surgical group and 34 patients in transcatheter group. In patient group, signs of right heart volume overload were apparent but there was no significant difference in terms of P wave dispersion between two groups. We compared patient group in itself and found that while the use of medication, cardiothoracic index, ratio of right ventricular dilation, and paradoxical movement in interventricular septum were increased, mean age of closure was younger in surgical group. While P wave dispersion decreased in transcatheter group after closure, it increased in surgical group (p = 0.021). In conclusion, atrial septal defects may cause atrial repolarisation abnormalities and this effect persists even after surgical closure. Transcatheter closure in childhood may decrease dysrhythmia risk in long-term follow-up.
Clinical profile in schizophrenia and schizoaffective spectrum: relation with unconjugated bilirubin in a prospective and controlled study with psychopathological and psychosocial variables
Authors: Gama Marques João , Ouakinin Sílvia
Published: December 2019

Objective

Our objective was to assess unconjugated bilirubin (UCB) as biomarker for schizophrenia (SCZ) and schizoaffective (SAF) spectrums disorder (relapse vs. partial remission).

Methods

Eighty-eight psychotic patients completed first assessment during relapse at ward admission, half with SCZ and half with SAF disorder. Forty-four acute bipolar patients were used as controls. After 12-month follow-up, we collected longitudinal protocol (laboratory, psychopathological, and psychosocial data) from 60 patients, half with SCZ and half with SAF disorder.

Results

During psychotic relapse (N = 88), we found a statistically significant difference (analysis of variance [ANOVA]; p = .002), confirmed after post hoc multiple comparisons (Bonferroni) between SCZ (N = 44) and both SAF (N = 44; p = .05) and bipolar controls (N = 44; p = .05); a positive correlation (Pearson’s r = .314) between UCB mean levels and Personal and Social Performance item (d) “disturbing and aggressive behaviors”; and a positive correlation (R2 = .223), with statistically significance (p = .008), between UCB mean levels and mean length of stay at the psychiatric ward in SAF patients who completed full protocol (N = 30). During partial remission (N = 60) we found: a statistically significant difference (ANOVA; p = .006), confirmed after post hoc multiple comparisons (Bonferroni) between SCZ (N = 30) and SAF (N = 30; p = .05); plus a negative correlation (Pearson’s r = −.399) between UCB mean levels and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale item G7 “psychomotor retardation.” Comparing first and second assessments (paired samples t test) we found a statistically significant difference in UCB mean levels among SAF patients (p = .034).

Conclusions

There is potential in the research of UCB as a biological marker for SCZ and SAF spectrums disorders during relapse and partial remission of both syndromes.
Integrating Reservoir Dynamics, Crustal Stress, and Geophysical Observations of the Laguna del Maule Magmatic System by FEM Models and Data Assimilation
Authors: Zhan Y. , Gregg P. M. , Le Mével H. , Miller C. A. , Cardona C.
Published: December 2019

The Laguna del Maule volcanic field is a large rhyolitic magmatic system in the Chilean Andes, which has exhibited frequent eruptions during the past 20 ka. Rapid surface uplift (>20 cm/year) has been observed since 2007 accompanied by localized earthquake swarms and microgravity changes, indicating the inflating magma reservoir may interact with a preexisting weak zone (i.e., Troncoso fault). In this investigation, we model the magma reservoir by data assimilation with Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar data. The reservoir geometry is comparable to the magma body inferred by seismic tomography, magnetotelluric, and gravity studies. The models also suggest that a weak zone, which has little effect on surface displacement, is important as a fluid transport channel to promote earthquakes and microgravity changes. In particular, concentrated dilatancy within the weak zone facilitates the microfracture formation during reservoir inflation. High‐pressure fluid can inject into the weak zone from the magma reservoir to trigger earthquakes and further migrate upward to create positive gravity changes by occupying unsaturated storages. The pore pressure will then decrease, halting the seismicity swarm until the next cycle. This “hydrofracturing” process may release some accumulated stress along the magma reservoir delaying an eventual eruption in turn. Besides, the resultant models are propagated forward in time to evaluate potential stress trajectories for future unrest.
Deep Convective Evolution From Shallow Clouds Over the Amazon and Congo Rainforests
Authors: Chakraborty Sudip , Jiang Jonathan H. , Su Hui , Fu Rong
Published: December 2019

Using satellite measurements from A‐Train constellation and Global Precipitation Measurement mission, we investigate the relationships between the afternoon time shallow convective top height (CTHafternoon) and the evening time deep convective storm top height (CTHevening) and rain rate (RRevening) over the Amazon and Congo regions. We use CloudSat cloud type stratus and stratocumulus as the shallow afternoon clouds. Our results indicate that the afternoon shallow clouds over the Congo region are associated with suppressed and weakened evening time deep convection, whereas shallow clouds over the Amazon region are associated with the growth of the evening time deep convection. Over the Congo region, we find that as CTHafternoon increases, shallow convective rain rate in the afternoon (RRafternoon) increases. As a result, the evening time convective available potential energy (CAPE) as well as free tropospheric humidity (RH700‐300) decrease. Consequently, condensation occurring inside deep convection reduces and CTHevening as well as RRevening decrease over there. Over the Amazon region, however, RRafternoon does not vary significantly with CTHafternoon. As CTHafternoon increases, CAPE, RH700‐300, and condensation occurring inside deep convection increase in the evening. As a result, deep convective CTHevening and RRevening increase with CTHafternoon over the Amazon basin. These dissimilarities in the ambient condition drive the shallow to deep convective evolution differently over these two rainforests. On the other hand, shallow clouds that remain shallow in the evening are associated with less CAPE and RH700‐300, RRafternoon, and RRevening. Although CAPE and RH700‐300 promote deep convection to a height cloud top height, high vertical wind shear inhibits deep convection.
Comprehensive expression patterns of inflammatory cytokines in aqueous humor of patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration
Authors: Sato Tomohito , Takeuchi Masaru , Karasawa Yoko , Takayama Kei , Enoki Toshio
Published: December 2019

Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is a complex and multi-factorial disease, and low-grade inflammation is associated with pathogenesis of nAMD. Aqueous humor could reflect intraocular immune environments in various eye diseases. The research so far used aqueous humor samples and revealed that inflammation is involved in pathophysiology of nAMD, although immunological roles of cytokines were evaluated inadequately with aspect to individual effects. Here we used 27 kinds of cytokines covering general immunologic reactions, examined specific expression patterns of cytokines, and assessed relationships between inflammation and pathophysiology of nAMD by multivariate analyses. In nAMD eyes, principal component analysis showed that IL-7, MCP-1, MIP-1β and VEGF had high principal component loadings of over 0.6 in the first principal component constituting 32.6% of all variability of the data. In exploratory factor analysis, IL-6, MCP-1 and MIP-1β had high factor loadings (FL) of over 0.5 in Factor 1 constituting 32.6% of all variability, while VEGF had FL of over 1.0 in Factor 3 constituting 10.7% of all variability. In hierarchical cluster analysis, MCP-1 and VEGF were located in the cluster of first proximate mutual distance to central retinal thickness. These data could suggest that low-grade inflammation is a principal contributor in nAMD.
Temporal-spatial trends in potentially toxic trace element pollution in farmland soil in the major grain-producing regions of China
Authors: Shang Erping , Xu Erqi , Zhang Hongqi , Huang Caihong
Published: December 2019

Pollution from potentially toxic trace elements (PTEs) is becoming serious and widespread in farmland soils in China, threatening food security and human health. Few large-scale studies systematically analyzed their temporal-spatial trends over vast spatially elaborate sites. The soil health status of the main grain producing areas was first announced based on a total of 3662 spatially elaborate farmland topsoil sites from the 1980s to the 2000s. Nearly 21.5% of sites were polluted, although only slightly. Pollution from the Cd, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Hg was more serious. Pollution was more extensive in the south than in the north. There was an increasing trend in the PTE concentrations, especially Cd with a growth of 21–25%, and in the proportion of mixed pollution at the sites (19.3%), Cd (21.5%), Pb (3.6%), Zn (5.7%), Cu (7.0%), and Hg (3.1%). Furthermore, temporal variations in severe Cd pollution and mixed-level Hg pollution in the north are severer. This study may provide guidance for policymakers regarding the protection and high-risk area of PTE contamination in the soils.