bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A group intervention incorporating mindfulness‐informed techniques and relaxation strategies for individuals with learning disabilities
Authors: Jones Serena Anusha , Finch Moyra
Published: June 2020

Accessible Summary

This paper reflects on a group for adults with learning disabilities.

The group taught the adults some mindfulness‐informed and relaxation techniques.

These techniques can help when people feel angry, anxious or upset.

The adults provided really useful comments that will help us when we plan future groups.

Background

Mindfulness‐informed interventions are increasingly being offered to individuals with learning disabilities. The current paper aims to reflect on the provision and effectiveness of a group intervention incorporating mindfulness‐informed techniques and relaxation strategies.

Method

Nine group attendees with mild learning disabilities were invited to attend the 8‐week group intervention, incorporating mindfulness‐informed techniques and relaxation strategies. The Glasgow Anxiety Scale for Intellectual Disabilities (GAS‐ID) and the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale—Revised (CAMS‐R) were used as a pre‐ and post‐measure, to evaluate the effectiveness of the group intervention.

Results

The mean scores from the above measures revealed a decrease in anxiety symptoms and an increase in mindful qualities. Qualitative data gathered post‐intervention, illustrated reductions in challenging behaviour, greater use of the techniques learned and social benefits of participating in the group. A need for a training session for carers and family members was recommended as beneficial to support and assist the individuals to consolidate the techniques learned.

Conclusions

Mindfulness‐informed techniques and relaxation strategies are useful tools that can be adapted for individuals with learning disabilities to yield positive outcomes. However, further research to contribute to this evidence base is required. Recommendations for future practice are also identified.
A Zika virus primary isolate induces neuroinflammation, compromises the blood‐brain barrier and upregulates CXCL12 in adult macaques
Authors: Panganiban Antonito T. , Blair Robert V. , Hattler Julian B. , Bohannon Diana G. , Bonaldo Myrna C. , Schouest Blake , Maness Nicholas J. , Kim Woong‐Ki
Published: June 2020

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a flavivirus that can cause neuropathogenesis in adults and fetal neurologic malformation following the infection of pregnant women. We used a nonhuman primate model, the Indian‐origin Rhesus macaque (IRM), to gain insight into virus‐associated hallmarks of ZIKV‐induced adult neuropathology. We find that the virus causes prevalent acute and chronic neuroinflammation and chronic disruption of the blood‐brain barrier (BBB) in adult animals. ZIKV infection resulted in specific short‐ and long‐term augmented expression of the chemokine CXCL12 in the central nervous system (CNS)of adult IRMs. Moreover, CXCL12 expression persists long after the initial viral infection is apparently cleared. CXCL12 plays a key role both in regulating lymphocyte trafficking through the BBB to the CNS and in mediating repair of damaged neural tissue including remyelination. Understanding how CXCL12 expression is controlled will likely be of central importance in the definition of ZIKV‐associated neuropathology in adults.
The role of complement in arterial hypertension and hypertensive end organ damage
Authors: Wenzel Ulrich O. , Kemper Claudia , Bode Marlies
Published: June 2020

Increasing evidence indicates that hypertension and hypertensive end organ damage are not only mediated by haemodynamic injury but that inflammation also plays an important role. The complement system protects the host from a hostile microbial environment and maintains tissue and cell integrity through the elimination of altered or dead cells. As an important effector arm of innate immunity, it plays also central roles in the regulation of adaptive immunity. Thus, complement activation may drive the pathology of hypertension through its effects on innate and adaptive immune responses, aside from direct effects on the vasculature. Recent experimental data strongly support a role for complement in all stages of arterial hypertension. The remarkably similar clinical and histopathological features of malignant nephrosclerosis and atypical haemolytic uraemic syndrome suggest also a role for complement in the development of malignant nephrosclerosis. Here, we review the role of complement in hypertension and hypertensive end organ damage.

Linked Articles

This article is part of a themed issue on Canonical and non‐canonical functions of the complement system in health and disease. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v178.14/issuetoc
TRADE LIBERALIZATION AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: THE CASE OF THAILAND
Authors: Feliciano Zadia M. , Doytch Nadia
Published: June 2020

After the Asian Financial Crisis, Thailand's trade policy has been driven by the proliferation of free trade agreements (FTAs). We use firm‐level data to estimate the effects of reductions in tariffs applied to Thai imports on Thai firms. Reductions in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) tariffs were associated with increasing firm employment and exports, lower ASEAN‐China import tariffs were associated with increasing firm employment, while lower tariffs from the Japan‐Thailand FTA were associated with reductions in firm employment and increasing likelihood of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certifications. FTAs were associated with a decrease in firm R&D spending. (JEL F1, F2, F6)
Expert or Esoteric? Philosophers Attribute Knowledge Differently Than All Other Academics
Authors: Starmans Christina , Friedman Ori
Published: June 2020

Academics across widely ranging disciplines all pursue knowledge, but they do so using vastly different methods. Do these academics therefore also have different ideas about when someone possesses knowledge? Recent experimental findings suggest that intuitions about when individuals have knowledge may vary across groups; in particular, the concept of knowledge espoused by the discipline of philosophy may not align with the concept held by laypeople. Across two studies, we investigate the concept of knowledge held by academics across seven disciplines (N = 1,581) and compare these judgments to those of philosophers (N = 204) and laypeople (N = 336). We find that academics and laypeople share a similar concept of knowledge, while philosophers have a substantially different concept. These experiments show that (a) in contrast to philosophers, other academics and laypeople attribute knowledge to others in some “Gettier” situations; (b) academics and laypeople are much less likely to attribute knowledge when reminded of the possibility of error, but philosophers are not affected by this reminder; and (c) non‐philosophy academics are overall more skeptical about knowledge than laypeople or philosophers. These findings suggest that academics across a wide range of disciplines share a similar concept of knowledge, and that this concept aligns closely with the intuitions held by laypeople, and differs considerably from the concept of knowledge described in the philosophical literature, as well as the epistemic intuitions of philosophers themselves.
Predators as drivers of insect defenses
Authors: Sugiura Shinji
Published: June 2020

Insects have evolved various types of antipredator defenses. For example, many insects have evolved crypsis, and exhibit cryptic body colors and shapes for hiding from predators. Other insects produce toxins as a form of chemical defense against predators, and some toxic insects are aposematic, with conspicuous body colors for advertising their toxins. Insects can also develop hairs, spines or hard exoskeletons as morphological defenses to protect themselves from predation. In addition, insects can evolve behavioral defenses, in which insects exhibit autotomy or dropping, or feign death. This study investigated which predator types evoke these types of defenses, through a review of the effectiveness of antipredator defenses in insects against carnivorous animals that are commonly used as model predators in studies. These predators include other insects, spiders, fish, frogs, lizards, birds and mammals. The results provide the first step for clarifying the evolutionary drivers of antipredator defenses in insects. The following aspects should be considered for future studies: multiple predator species and sufficient replication, alternative prey and predator models, and tolerance to predators in insects.
Motor hyperactivation during cognitive tasks: An endophenotype of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy
Authors: Caciagli Lorenzo , Wandschneider Britta , Centeno Maria , Vollmar Christian , Vos Sjoerd B. , Trimmel Karin , Long Lili , Xiao Fenglai , Lowe Alexander J. , Sidhu Meneka K. , Thompson Pamela J. , Winston Gavin P. , Duncan John S. , Koepp Matthias J.
Published: June 2020

Objective

Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) is the most common genetic generalized epilepsy syndrome. Myoclonus may relate to motor system hyperexcitability and can be provoked by cognitive activities. To aid genetic mapping in complex neuropsychiatric disorders, recent research has utilized imaging intermediate phenotypes (endophenotypes). Here, we aimed to (a) characterize activation profiles of the motor system during different cognitive tasks in patients with JME and their unaffected siblings, and (b) validate those as endophenotypes of JME.

Methods

This prospective cross‐sectional investigation included 32 patients with JME, 12 unaffected siblings, and 26 controls, comparable for age, sex, handedness, language laterality, neuropsychological performance, and anxiety and depression scores. We investigated patterns of motor system activation during episodic memory encoding and verb generation functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) tasks.

Results

During both tasks, patients and unaffected siblings showed increased activation of motor system areas compared to controls. Effects were more prominent during memory encoding, which entailed hand motion via joystick responses. Subgroup analyses identified stronger activation of the motor cortex in JME patients with ongoing seizures compared to seizure‐free patients. Receiver‐operating characteristic curves, based on measures of motor activation, accurately discriminated both patients with JME and their siblings from healthy controls (area under the curve: 0.75 and 0.77, for JME and a combined patient‐sibling group against controls, respectively;P < .005).

Significance

Motor system hyperactivation represents a cognitive, domain‐independent endophenotype of JME. We propose measures of motor system activation as quantitative traits for future genetic imaging studies in this syndrome.
Scavenger‐driven fish carcass decomposition and phosphorus recycling: Laboratory experiments with freshwater fish and crayfish
Authors: Boros Gergely , Czeglédi István , Erős Tibor , Preiszner Bálint
Published: June 2020

Fish carcass decomposition can generate fluxes of nutrients to the water column at levels comparable to other major nutrient sources. However, relatively little is known about the biological processes modulating fish decay or the rates at which carcass‐bound nutrients are made available to the biota.

This study focused on quantifying scavenger‐mediated phosphorus (P) recycling, because the availability of this essential element can regulate the trophic state of aquatic ecosystems.

To explore the role of some important macroscopic aquatic scavengers in P recycling, laboratory experiments were conducted where carcasses of two fish species (common bleak Alburnus alburnus; pumpkinseed Lepomis gibbosus) were offered to two size classes of black bullhead (Ameiurus melas) and two crustacean species (spiny‐cheek crayfish Faxonius limosus; narrow‐clawed crayfish Astacus leptodactylus).

Our results show that the black bullhead and the two crayfish species are highly efficient macroscopic decomposers as the P contents of scavenged carcasses were reduced at significantly higher rates compared to those of microbially decomposed (control) carcasses.

Pumpkinseed carcasses proved to be more resistant to rapid decomposition, as they typically lost lower proportions of their P content than bleak carcasses during the course of the experiments.

Scavengers sequestered a relatively large fraction (up to 33% in black bullhead and 36% in crayfish) of total carcass P in their bodies. This suggests that the consumer species used in this study can transfer/return considerable quantities of carcass‐derived nutrients directly to higher trophic levels incorporated into their own tissues, and may serve as an additional, short‐term sink of these nutrients.
Geographies of hiding: power, vulnerability and agency in secret spaces
Authors: Gavard‐Suaire Valentine
Published: June 2020

This article explores situations of forced hiding that affect migrants and sex workers – two groups regularly pushed out of site or out of sight. It argues that hiding is an important angle through which geographies of exclusion and abandonment can be approached. The first part of the paper uncovers the governance of hiding patterns, showing how stigmatised groups can be pushed to hide. The paper reveals that it is their right to appear as political actors that is under attack, not their mere visibility or physical presence. The second part focuses on the agentic potential that survives while people are hiding, highlighting how they negotiate the conditions of their truncated presence. Both sections show that hiding needs to be addressed distinctly from other forms of invisibility and absence, and underline the importance of uncovering geographies of hiding to understand how power is inconspicuously negotiated at different scales.
Assemblages and complex adaptive systems: A conceptual crossroads for integrative research?
Authors: Spies Michael , Alff Henryk
Published: June 2020

In human geography and beyond, assemblage thinking has increasingly gained attention as a perspective from which to investigate the emergence and dynamics of more‐than‐human entanglements. Similarly, in the interdisciplinary field of social‐ecological systems analysis, theories of complex adaptive systems have been employed to investigate how social and ecological dynamics and actors interact with each other on different scales. Nonetheless, despite the success of these conceptual perspectives in their respective research fields, there have been few attempts so far to bring these theoretical strands together to explore their common ground and investigate how they could cross‐fertilize each other. This contribution seeks to address this gap, by investigating the ontological compatibility of these two approaches and exploring the potential for meaningful syntheses that could be utilized for integrative research—combining perspectives, approaches, and methods taken from social and environmental sciences for the analysis of human‐environmental relations. Based on a comparative discussion of four selected “guiding principles” found in assemblage thinking and complex adaptive systems, namely, socio‐nature, emergence/historicity, relationality, and self‐organization, we find not only significant common ground between the two perspectives but also discrepancies that may be utilized for cross‐fertilization. In particular, we argue complex adaptive systems would benefit from a deeper engagement with society‐nature theorizations found in the assemblage literature, while assemblage thinking could borrow from complex adaptive systems to broaden its conception of how elements relate to and co‐function with each other.
Authenticity, Coherence, and Power Shifts: A Framework for Assessing Community Engagement Across the Criminal Justice System
Authors: WERTH S. ROSE , COMFORT MEGAN , DEMICHELE MATTHEW , LATTIMORE PAMELA K.
Published: June 2020

Criminal justice agencies increasingly use community engagement practices in efforts to improve public safety and garner legitimacy. While crime rates can be measured, improved legitimacy is harder to gauge. This article provides a framework to assess the influence of community engagement practices in the criminal justice system on legitimacy in three areas: authenticity, coherence in structure, and shifts in power dynamics. We explore each component through case studies of community policing, consent decrees, and community courts, respectively. We propose that this framework could be used to assess or build the capacity of community engagement to repair relationships with marginalised communities.
Potential anti‐ageing effect of chondroitin sulphate through skin regeneration
Authors: Min D. , Park S. , Kim H. , Lee S. H. , Ahn Y. , Jung W. , Kim H.‐J. , Cho Y. W.
Published: June 2020

Objective

Skin ageing is inevitably exposed through its typical features such as wrinkles and sagging. Therefore, skin anti‐ageing is a major issue in cosmetic research to prevent and improve ageing symptoms using effective ingredients. Chondroitin sulphate (CS), a type of glycosaminoglycan, is an important structural component of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and is involved in various biological processes, such as cell proliferation, differentiation and migration. Here, we aimed to investigate the effects of CS on skin regeneration and examine its efficacy as a potential safe and effective skin anti‐ageing ingredient.

Methods

We investigated the effects of CS on cell proliferation in normal human keratinocytes and fibroblasts. Then, cell migration, ECM synthesis and related signalling pathways were examined in fibroblasts through gene and protein expression analysis. Finally, the effect on skin wound healing and regeneration was validated using a full‐thickness skin wound model and an aged skin model.

Results

Chondroitin sulphate treatment increased the proliferation of keratinocytes and fibroblasts. It also stimulated the migration and synthesis of ECM components of fibroblasts. Further analysis revealed that CS induced the expression of type I procollagen by activating the extracellular signal‐regulated kinase pathway. Using a full‐thickness skin wound model and an aged skin model, we confirmed that CS treatment promoted skin wound healing and regeneration.

Conclusion

Together, our results indicated that CS has the potential to facilitate skin regeneration, implying that CS could be clinically applied to improve skin ageing.
A cathode support structure for use in a magnetron oscillator experiment
Authors: Black Daylon , Harper Ryan , Ward Patrick , Davlin Jacob , Bentancourt Omar , Plumlee Donald , Browning Jim
Published: June 2020

A low temperature co‐fired ceramic (LTCC) material system has been used to develop a protype field emission cathode structure for use in an experimental magnetron oscillator. The structure is designed for used with 30 gated field emission array (GFEA) die electrically connected through silver metal traces and electrical vias. To approximate a cylinder, the cathode structure (48 mm long and 13.7 mm in diameter) is comprised of 10 faceted plates which cover the GFEA dies. Slits in the facet plates allow electron injection. The GFEA die (3 mm × 8 mm) are placed in axial columns of 3 and spaced azimuthally around a cylindrical support structure in a staggered configuration resulting in 10 azimuthal locations. LTCC manufacturing techniques were developed in order to fabricate the newly designed cathode with seven layers wrapped to form the cylinder with electrical traces and vias. Two different cathode wrapping techniques and two different via filling techniques were studied and compared. Two different facet plate manufacturing techniques were studied. Finally, four different support stand configurations for firing the cylindrical structure were also compared with a square post stand having the best circularity and linearity measurements of the fired structure.
Are the Big 4 audit firms homogeneous? Further evidence from audit pricing
Authors: Hrazdil Karel , Simunic Dan A. , Suwanyangyuan Nattavut
Published: June 2020

We provide new evidence on audit pricing differences within the Big 4 audit firms in the U.S. market. Industry expertise research argues that an audit firm with greater competencies can differentiate itself from competitors in terms of within‐industry market share and charge an audit fee premium for its services. We show that while KPMG's average fee premium is smaller than those of other Big 4 audit firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers consistently earns an above‐average fee premium and has remained the market share leader across most U.S. industries. More importantly, the supposed effects of industry specialization on audit fees become statistically insignificant after controlling for individual pricing differences within the Big 4. Overall, we conclude that the Big 4 firms are not homogeneous in audit pricing, and that the literature has apparently confounded an individual audit firm reputational effect (as first observed by Simunic, 1980) with an industry specialist fee premium in the U.S. audit market.
Institutions and the gender wage gap: How production and welfare regime moderates the effect of family policy
Authors: Kang Ji Young
Published: June 2020

The aim of this study was to determine whether the effects of work and family reconciliation policy on the gender wage gap are moderated by institutional contexts of production and welfare regime. Using time‐series analysis for 13 countries from 1981 to 2015, the study revealed a strong association between childcare and a lower gender wage gap in the Coordinated Market Economies (CMEs)/social democratic welfare states but not in Liberal Market Economies (LMEs)/liberal welfare states. The study also found that the impact of leave generosity on the gender wage gap in CMEs/social democratic welfare states is less salient than in CMEs/continental welfare states. This study highlights the extent to which family policy affects the gender wage gap hinges on how each country organises its market coordination and welfare institutions and pushes the current literature forward to a question of ‘what kinds of’ family policy matters in ‘which’ production and welfare regimes.
Complement activation by human IgG antibodies to galactose‐α‐1,3‐galactose
Authors: Bernth Jensen Jens Magnus , Laursen Nick Stub , Jensen Rasmus Kjeldsen , Andersen Gregers Rom , Jensenius Jens Christian , Sørensen Uffe B. Skov , Thiel Steffen
Published: June 2020

Some human antibodies may paradoxically inhibit complement activation on bacteria and enhance pathogen survival in humans. This property was also claimed for IgG antibodies reacting with terminal galactose‐α‐1,3‐galactose (Galα3Gal; IgG anti‐αGal), a naturally occurring and abundant antibody in human plasma that targets numerous different pathogens. To reinvestigate these effects, we used IgG anti‐αGal affinity isolated from a pool of normal human IgG and human hypogammaglobulinaemia serum as a complement source. Flow cytometry was performed to examine antibody binding and complement deposition on pig erythrocytes, Escherichia coli O86 and Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 9V. Specific nanobodies were used to block the effect of single complement factors and to delineate the complement pathways involved. IgG anti‐αGal was capable of activating the classical complement pathway on all the tested target cells. The degree of activation was exponentially related to the density of bound antibody on E. coli O86 and pig erythrocytes, but more linearly on S. pneumoniae 9V. The alternative pathway of complement amplified complement deposition. Deposited C3 fragments covered the activating IgG anti‐αGal, obstructing its detection and highlighting this as a likely general caveat in studies of antibody density and complement deposition. The inherent capacity for complement activation by the purified carbohydrate reactive IgG anti‐αGal was similar to that of normal human IgG. We propose that the previously reported complement inhibition by IgG anti‐αGal relates to suboptimal assay configurations, in contrast to the complement activating property of the antibodies demonstrated in this paper.
The effect of bright light therapy on depressive symptoms in adults with intellectual disabilities: Results of a multicentre randomized controlled trial
Authors: Hamers Pauline C. M. , Festen Dederieke A. M. , Bindels Patrick J. E. , Hermans Heidi
Published: June 2020

Background

Although a large number of adults with intellectual disabilities have depressive symptoms, non‐pharmacological treatments are scarce. The present authors investigated whether bright light therapy (BLT) is effective in decreasing depressive symptoms compared to care as usual.

Methods

This multicentre randomized controlled trial consisted of three study groups (10,000 lux BLT, dim light BLT and a no‐BLT group). Participants received BLT for 30 min in the morning (14 consecutive days), additional to their regular care. Primary outcome was as follows: depressive symptoms measured with the ADAMS Depressive Mood subscale 1 week after the end of BLT (same time period in the no‐BLT group).

Results

Forty‐one participants were included in our trial. In both BLT groups, a significant decrease in depressive symptoms was seen. No significant differences were found between 10,000 lux BLT and no‐BLT (p = .199) and no significant differences between dim light BLT and no‐BLT (p = .451). A minimum amount of side effects and no adverse events were reported.

Conclusions

In both BLT interventions, a decrease in depressive symptoms was seen. With 10,000 lux BLT, depressive symptoms decreased even below the clinical cut‐off point, which makes BLT a promising intervention for clinical practice.
Lysosomal dysfunction–induced autophagic stress in diabetic kidney disease
Authors: Zheng Hui Juan , Zhang Xueqin , Guo Jing , Zhang Wenting , Ai Sinan , Zhang Fan , Wang Yaoxian , Liu Wei Jing
Published: June 2020

The catabolic process that delivers cytoplasmic constituents to the lysosome for degradation, known as autophagy, is thought to act as a cytoprotective mechanism in response to stress or as a pathogenic process contributing towards cell death. Animal and human studies have shown that autophagy is substantially dysregulated in renal cells in diabetes, suggesting that activating autophagy could be a therapeutic intervention. However, under prolonged hyperglycaemia with impaired lysosome function, increased autophagy induction that exceeds the degradative capacity in cells could contribute toward autophagic stress or even the stagnation of autophagy, leading to renal cytotoxicity. Since lysosomal function is likely key to linking the dual cytoprotective and cytotoxic actions of autophagy, it is important to develop novel pharmacological agents that improve lysosomal function and restore autophagic flux. In this review, we first provide an overview of the autophagic‐lysosomal pathway, particularly focusing on stages of lysosomal degradation during autophagy. Then, we discuss the role of adaptive autophagy and autophagic stress based on lysosomal function. More importantly, we focus on the role of autophagic stress induced by lysosomal dysfunction according to the pathogenic factors (including high glucose, advanced glycation end products (AGEs), urinary protein, excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lipid overload) in diabetic kidney disease (DKD), respectively. Finally, therapeutic possibilities aimed at lysosomal restoration in DKD are introduced.
Genome‐wide DNA methylation profile analysis in thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum
Authors: Fan Tianqi , Meng Xiangyu , Sun Chuiguo , Yang Xiaoxi , Chen Guanghui , Li Weishi , Chen Zhongqiang
Published: June 2020

Thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum (TOLF) causes serious spinal canal stenosis. The underlying aetiology may relate to genetic and inflammatory factors. DNA methylation plays a critical role in osteogenesis and inflammation, whereas there is no genome‐wide DNA methylation analysis about TOLF. The two subtypes of TOLF (single‐level and multiple‐level) have distinct clinical features. Using micro‐computed tomography (micro‐CT), we showed the ossification arose from the joint between two vertebrae at one/both sides of ligament flavum. With Illumina Infinium Human Methylation 850 BeadChip arrays, genome‐wide DNA methylation profile was measured in ligament flavum of eight healthy and eight TOLF samples. Only 65 of the differentially methylated cytosine‐phosphate‐guanine dinucleotides were found in both subtype groups. Principal component analysis and heat map analysis showed a different methylation pattern in TOLF samples, and methylation patterns of two subtypes are also distinct. The Gene Ontology enrichment analysis was significantly enriched in differentiation and inflammation. Pyrosequencing analysis and quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction were performed to validate the arrays results and expression levels, to test six differentially methylated genes (SLC7A11, HOXA10, HOXA11AS, TNIK, homeobox transcript antisense RNA, IFITM1), using another independent samples (P < 0.05). Our findings first demonstrated an altered Genome‐wide DNA methylation profile in TOLF, and implied distinct methylated features in two subtypes.
Bmi deficiency causes oxidative stress and intervertebral disc degeneration which can be alleviated by antioxidant treatment
Authors: Zhang Qunhu , Li Jie , Li You , Che Hui , Chen Ying , Dong Jianghui , Xian Cory J. , Miao Dengshun , Wang Liping , Ren Yongxin
Published: June 2020

The transcriptional repressor Bmi‐1 is involved in cell‐cycle regulation and cell senescence, the deficiency of which has been shown to cause oxidative stress. This study investigated whether Bmi‐1 deficiency plays a role in promoting disc degeneration and the effect of treatment with antioxidant N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) on intervertebral disc degeneration. Bmi‐1−/− mice were treated with the antioxidant NAC, supplied in drinking water (Bmi‐1−/−+NAC). For in vitro experiments, mouse intervertebral discs were cultured under low oxygen tension and serum‐limiting conditions in the presence of tumour necrosis factor α and interleukin 1β in order to mimic degenerative insult. Disc metabolism parameters in these in vitro and in vivo studies were evaluated by histopathological, immunohistochemical and molecular methods. Bmi‐1−/− mice showed lower collagen Ⅱ and aggrecan levels and higher collagen Ⅹ levels than wild‐type and Bmi‐1−/−+NAC mice. Bmi‐1−/− mice showed significantly lower superoxide dismutase (SOD)‐1, SOD‐2, glutathione peroxidase (GPX)‐1 and GPX‐3 levels than their wild‐type littermates and Bmi‐1−/−+ NAC mice. Relative to Bmi‐1−/− mice, the control and Bmi‐1−/−+NAC mice showed significantly lower p16, p21, and p53 levels. These results demonstrate that Bmi‐1 plays an important role in attenuating intervertebral disc degeneration in mice by inhibiting oxidative stress and cell apoptosis.
LncRNA FAM83H‐AS1 promotes oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma progression via miR‐10a‐5p/Girdin axis
Authors: Feng Bo , Wang Gaoyan , Liang Xiaoliang , Wu Zheng , Wang Xinchen , Dong Zhiming , Guo Yanli , Shen Supeng , Liang Jia , Guo Wei
Published: June 2020

Long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been well demonstrated to emerge as crucial regulators in cancer progression, and they can function as regulatory network based on their interactions. Although the biological functions of FAM83H‐AS1 have been confirmed in various tumour progressions, the underlying molecular mechanisms of FAM83H‐AS1 in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) remained poorly understood. To address this, we treated human oesophageal cancer cell line Eca109 cells with TGF‐β and found FAM83H‐AS1 was notably overexpressed. In the present study, FAM83H‐AS1 was observed to be significantly up‐regulated in ESCC tissues and was associated with TNM stage, pathological differentiation and lymph node metastasis. FAM83H‐AS1 reinforced oesophageal cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and participated in epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) process at mRNA and protein levels. In addition, a concordant regulation between FAM83H‐AS1 and its sense strand FAM83H was detected at the transcriptional and translational levels. Furthermore, FAM83H‐AS1 could act as competing endogenous RNA to affect the expression of Girdin by sponging miR‐10a‐5p verified by RIP and luciferase reporter assays. Consequently, the study provided a unique perspective of FAM83H‐AS1 in ESCC progression, which may be considered as potential biomarker and therapeutic target for ESCC therapy.
The multiscale architecture of tessellated cartilage and its relation to function
Authors: Seidel Ronald , Jayasankar Aravind K. , Dean Mason N.
Published: June 2020

When describing the architecture and ultrastructure of animal skeletons, introductory biology, anatomy and histology textbooks typically focus on the few bone and cartilage types prevalent in humans. In reality, cartilage and bone are far more diverse in the animal kingdom, particularly within fishes (Chondrichthyes and Actinopterygii), where cartilage and bone types are characterized by features that are anomalous or even pathological in human skeletons. This review discusses the curious and complex architectures of shark and ray tessellated cartilage, highlighting similarities and differences with their mammalian skeletal tissue counterparts. By synthesizing older anatomical literature with recent high‐resolution structural and materials characterization work, this review frames emerging pictures of form–function relationships in this tissue and of the evolution and true diversity of cartilage and bone.
Modest alcohol intake not associated with significant hepatic steatosis or more severe liver disease among patients with diabetes mellitus
Authors: Tan Eunice Zhi‐Yi , Lai Lee‐Lee , Vethakkan Shireene Ratna , Nik Mustapha Nik Raihan , Mahadeva Sanjiv , Chan Wah‐Kheong
Published: June 2020

Background

The effect of modest alcohol intake on prevalence of significant hepatic steatosis and severity of liver disease in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is unclear.

Methods

This is a cross‐sectional study on T2DM patients. Modest alcohol intake was defined as alcohol intake ≤ 21 units/week in men and ≤ 14 units/week in women. Significant hepatic steatosis was diagnosed on the basis of controlled attenuation parameter > 263 dB/m, while advanced fibrosis was diagnosed on the basis of liver stiffness measurement ≥ 9.6 kPa using M probe or ≥ 9.3 kPa using XL probe. Patients with liver stiffness measurement ≥ 8.0 kPa were offered liver biopsy.

Results

Five hundred fifty‐seven patients underwent transient elastography, and 71 patients underwent liver biopsy. The prevalence of modest drinking was 16.5%. Modest drinking was equally prevalent among ethnic Indians and Chinese at 22.9% and 23.3%, respectively, but uncommon among ethnic Malays at 1.7%. Modest drinkers were more likely to be male, smoked, and had significantly lower glycated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol, alkaline phosphatase, and platelet count. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of significant hepatic steatosis or advanced fibrosis based on transient elastography and steatohepatitis or advanced fibrosis between modest drinkers and nondrinkers. The prevalence of significant hepatic steatosis was higher among ethnic Malays and Indians compared with ethnic Chinese, but the Chinese did not have a lower prevalence of more severe liver disease.

Conclusion

Modest alcohol intake is not associated with higher prevalence of significant hepatic steatosis or more severe liver disease among patients with T2DM.
Diagnosis and treatment of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy in clinical practice: A survey among Dutch neurologists
Authors: Broers Merel C. , van Doorn Pieter A. , Kuitwaard Krista , Eftimov Filip , Wirtz Paul W. , Goedee Stephan , Lingsma Hester F. , Jacobs Bart C.
Published: June 2020

The diagnosis and treatment of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) is often a challenge. The clinical presentation is diverse, accurate biomarkers are lacking, and the best strategy to initiate and maintain treatment is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine how neurologists diagnose and treat CIDP. We conducted a cross‐sectional survey on diagnostic and treatment practices among Dutch neurologists involved in the clinical care of CIDP patients. Forty‐four neurologists completed the survey (44/71; 62%). The respondents indicated to use the European Federation of Neurological Societies/Peripheral Nerve Society (EFNS/PNS) 2010 CIDP guideline for the diagnosis in 77% and for treatment in 50%. Only 57% of respondents indicated that the presence of demyelinating electrophysiological findings was mandatory to confirm the diagnosis of CIDP. Most neurologists used intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIg) as first choice treatment, but the indications to start, optimize, or withdraw IVIg, and the use of other immune‐modulatory therapies varied. University‐affiliated respondents used the EFNS/PNS 2010 diagnostic criteria, nerve imaging tools, and immunosuppressive drugs more often. Despite the existence of an international guideline, there is considerable variation among neurologists in the strategies employed to diagnose and treat CIDP. More specific recommendations regarding: (a) the minimal set of electrophysiological requirements to diagnose CIDP, (b) the possible added value of nerve imaging, especially in patients not meeting the electrodiagnostic criteria, (c) the most relevant serological examinations, and (d) the clear treatment advice, in the new EFNS/PNS guideline, would likely support its implementation in clinical practice.
Inhibition of thymic stromal lymphopoietin production to improve pruritus and quality of life in infants and children with atopic dermatitis
Authors: Fitoussi Julie , Virassamynaïk Sandrine , Callejon Sylvie , Weber Sophie , Collet Eloïse , Scalia Julie , Chavagnac‐Bonneville Marlène , Trompezinski Sandra , Sayag Michèle
Published: June 2020

Background

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an inflammatory pruritic chronic dermatosis involving the alarmin thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), which is directly implicated in AD pruritus.

Aims

To evaluate the efficacy of Tambourissa trichophylla leaf extract (TTLE) titrated in polyphenols and 18β‐glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) in vitro and in vivo for AD pruritus.

Patients/Methods

Initially, in vitro assessment of TSLP production in keratinocytes was undertaken. In normal human keratinocytes in vitro, TSLP was induced by polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (Poly:IC), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, and interleukin (IL)‐4 and then quantified by ELISA in supernatants. Some cells were pretreated with TTLE and/or GA. Thereafter, an in vivo clinical study was performed including 48 infants and children with mild to severe AD flare‐ups, some of which were treated with topical corticosteroids. A topical spray containing TTLE and GA was applied. After 21 days of topical spray application, pruritus, sleeplessness, the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index, the Infant's Dermatitis Quality of Life index (IDQOL), and the Dermatitis Family Impact Questionnaire (DFIQ) were assessed.

Results

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin secretion was inhibited significantly in an AD environment by TTLE and GA by up to 57.2% and 73.3%, respectively. The use of the topical spray induced a significant reduction in pruritus and sleeplessness scores, as well as the SCORAD, IDQOL, and DFIQ indexes in the total group. Similar results were observed in patient subgroups with or without topical corticosteroid treatment.

Conclusions

A topical spray containing TTLE and GA, which inhibit TSLP secretion, efficiently decreases AD pruritus and improves the quality of life of AD patients.
Hedging against biodiversity loss: Forest herbs’ performance in hedgerows across temperate Europe
Authors: Vanneste Thomas , Van Den Berge Sanne , Riské Enya , Brunet Jörg , Decocq Guillaume , Diekmann Martin , Graae Bente J. , Hedwall Per‐Ola , Lenoir Jonathan , Liira Jaan , Lindmo Sigrid , Litza Kathrin , Naaf Tobias , Orczewska Anna , Wulf Monika , Verheyen Kris , De Frenne Pieter
Published: June 2020

Questions

How do contrasting environmental conditions among forests and hedgerows affect the vegetative and reproductive performance of understorey forest herbs in both habitats? Can hedgerows support reproductive source populations of forest herbs, thus potentially allowing progressive dispersal of successive generations along these linear habitats?

Location

Hedgerows and deciduous forest patches in agricultural landscapes across the European temperate biome.

Methods

First, we assessed differences in environmental conditions among forests and hedgerows. Next, we quantified plant performance based on a set of functional life‐history traits for four forest herbs (Anemone nemorosa, Ficaria verna, Geum urbanum, Poa nemoralis) with contrasting flowering phenology and colonisation capacity in paired combinations of forests and hedgerows, and compared these traits among both habitats. Finally, we assessed relationships between plant performance and environmental conditions in both habitats.

Results

All study species showed a higher above‐ground biomass in hedgerows than in forests. For Poa nemoralis and Geum urbanum, we also found a higher reproductive output in hedgerows, which was mainly correlated to the higher sub‐canopy temperatures therein. The “ancient forest herb” Anemone nemorosa, however, appeared to have a lower reproductive output in hedgerows than in forests, while for Ficaria verna no reproductive differences were found between the two habitats.

Conclusions

This is the first study on such a broad geographical scale to provide evidence of reproductive source populations of forest herbs in hedgerows. Our findings provide key information on strategies by which forest plants grow, reproduce and disperse in hedgerow environments, which is imperative to better understand the dispersal corridor function of these wooded linear structures. Finally, we highlight the urgent need to develop guidelines for preserving, managing and establishing hedgerows in intensive agricultural landscapes, given their potential to contribute to the long‐term conservation and migration of forest herbs in the face of global environmental change.
Moulded by humans: The domestication of blue‐veined cheese fungi
Authors: Gallone Brigida , Steensels Jan , Verstrepen Kevin J.
Published: June 2020

It is hard to imagine a world without food‐associated microbes. The production of bread, wine, beer, salami, coffee, chocolate, cheese and many other foods and beverages all rely on specific microbes. In cheese, myriad microbial species collaborate to yield the complex organoleptic properties that are appreciated by millions of people worldwide. In the early days of cheese making, these complex communities emerged spontaneously from the natural flora associated with the raw materials, the equipment, the production environment or craftsmen involved in the production process. However, in some cases, the microbes shifted their natural habitat to the new cheese‐associated environment. The most obvious cause of this is backslopping, where part of a fermented product is used to inoculate the next batch. In addition, some microbes may simply adhere to the tools used in the production process. These microbial communities gradually adapted to the novel man‐made niches, a process referred to as “domestication.” Domestication is associated with specific genomic and phenotypic changes and ultimately leads to lineages that are genetically and phenotypically distinct from their wild ancestors. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Dumas et al. have investigated a prime example of cheese‐associated microbes, the fungus Penicillium roqueforti. The authors identified several hallmarks of domestication in the genome and phenome of this species, allowing them to hypothesize about the origin of blue‐veined cheese fungi domestication, and the specific evolutionary processes involved in adaptation to the cheese matrix.
Thermotolerant coral symbionts modulate heat stress‐responsive genes in their hosts
Authors: Cunning Ross , Baker Andrew C.
Published: June 2020

Some corals may become more resistant to bleaching by shuffling their Symbiodiniaceae communities toward thermally tolerant species, and manipulations to boost the abundance of these symbionts in corals may increase resilience in warming oceans. However, the thermotolerant symbiont Durusdinium trenchii may reduce growth and fecundity in Caribbean corals, and these tradeoffs need to be better understood as this symbiont spreads through the region. We sought to understand how D. trenchii modulates coral gene expression by manipulating symbiont communities in Montastraea cavernosa to produce replicate ramets containing D. trenchii together with paired ramets of these same genets (n = 3) containing Cladocopium C3 symbionts. We then examined differences in global gene expression between corals hosting Durusdinium and Cladocopium under control temperatures, and in response to short‐term heat stress. We identified numerous transcriptional differences associated with symbiont identity, which explained 2%–14% of the transcriptional variance. Corals with D. trenchii upregulated genes related to translation, ribosomal structure and biogenesis, and downregulated genes related to extracellular structures, and carbohydrate and lipid transport and metabolism, relative to corals with Cladocopium. Unexpectedly, these changes were similar to those observed in Cladocopium‐dominated corals in response to heat stress, suggesting that thermotolerant D. trenchii may cause corals to increase expression of heat stress‐responsive genes, explaining both the increased heat tolerance and the associated energetic tradeoffs in corals containing D. trenchii. These findings provide insight into the ecological changes occurring on contemporary coral reefs in response to climate change, and the diverse ways in which different symbionts modulate emergent phenotypes of their hosts.
A generative adversarial network for travel times imputation using trajectory data
Authors: Zhang Kunpeng , He Zhengbing , Zheng Liang , Zhao Liang , Wu Lan
Published: June 2020

Knowledge of travel times serves an important role in traffic control and management. As an increasingly popular data source, vehicle trajectories can provide large‐scale travel time information. However, real‐world travel time information extracted from sparse or low‐resolution trajectory data often contains missing data that need to be imputed for further traffic analysis. Thus, this study proposes a travel times imputation generative adversarial network (TTI‐GAN) for travel times imputation. Considering the network‐wide spatiotemporal correlations, the TTI‐GAN can generate travel times for links without sufficient observations by modeling travel time distributions (TTDs) for links with rich data. Then, numerical experiments are carried out with trajectory data from Didi Chuxing. The results show that the TTI‐GAN can well estimate link TTDs and performs better than other counterparts in imputing mean travel times under various data missing rates.