bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Silver-spoon upbringing improves early-life fitness but promotes reproductive ageing in a wild bird
Authors: Spagopoulou Foteini , Teplitsky Celine , Lind Martin I. , Gustafsson Lars , Maklakov Alexei A.
Published: January 2019

Early-life conditions can have long-lasting effects and organisms that experience a poor start in life are often expected to age at a faster rate. Alternatively, individuals raised in high-quality environments can overinvest in early-reproduction resulting in rapid ageing. Here we use a long-term experimental manipulation of early-life conditions in a natural population of collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis), to show that females raised in a low-competition environment (artificially reduced broods) have higher early-life reproduction but lower late-life reproduction than females raised in high-competition environment (artificially increased broods). Reproductive success of high-competition females peaked in late-life, when low-competition females were already in steep reproductive decline and suffered from a higher mortality rate. Our results demonstrate that “silver-spoon” natal conditions increase female early-life performance at the cost of faster reproductive ageing and increased late-life mortality. These findings demonstrate experimentally that natal environment shapes individual variation in reproductive and demographic ageing in nature.
Lobule-specific dosage considerations for cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation during healthy aging – a computational modeling study using age-specific MRI templates
Authors: Rezaee Zeynab , Dutta Anirban
Published: January 2019

The world population aged 60 years and older is expected to double between 2015 and 2050. Aging is associated with a decline in cognitive and motor performances which are a part of geriatric syndromes. Aging is also associated with the loss of cerebellar volume where the cerebellum has a considerable contribution in cognitive and motor functions. Therefore, cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (ctDCS) has been proposed to study and facilitate cerebellar function during aging. However, the one-size-fits-all approach used for ctDCS can lead to variability in the cerebellar lobule-specific dosing due to age-related changes in the cerebellar structure. Therefore, we investigated lobular electric field (EF) distribution during healthy aging for age groups of 18 to 89 years where computational modeling was based on age-appropriate human brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) templates (http://jerlab.psych.sc.edu/NeurodevelopmentalMRIDatabase/). A fully automated open-source pipeline (Realistic vOlumetric-Approach to Simulate Transcranial Electric Stimulation – ROAST) was used for the age-group specific EF modeling. Then, we extracted the EF distribution at the 28 cerebellar lobules based on a spatially unbiased atlas (SUIT) for the cerebellum. Our computational results showed that the EF strength increased significantly at certain important cerebellar lobules (e.g., Crus I and Crus II relevant for cognitive function) contralateral (contra) to the targeted (ipsi) cerebellar hemisphere at an older age that reduced the ctDCS specificity. Specifically, two-way ANOVA showed that the lobules as well as the age-group (and their interaction term) had a significant effect (p<0.01). Post-hoc multiple comparison tests at Alpha=0.01 using Bonferroni critical values showed that Right (Ipsi) Crus I, Right (Ipsi) Crus II, Right (Ipsi) VI, Vermis VIIb, Vermis VIIIa, Right (Ipsi) VIIb, Left (Contra) VIIIb, Left (Contra) IX, Right (Ipsi) VIIIa, Right (Ipsi) VIIIb, Vermis VIIIb, Right (Ipsi) IX, and Vermis IX, and the age-group 18, 18.5, 19, 20-24, 45-49, 50-54, 70-74, 75-79, 85-89 years experienced higher electric field strength (>0.11V/m). Since there is a dichotomy between the sensorimotor cerebellum and the cognitive cerebellum, therefore, subject-specific MRI based head modeling for lobule-specific dosage considerations will be necessary for clinical translation of ctDCS to address geriatric cerebellar syndromes.
The development, recognition, and learning mechanisms of animal-like neural network
Authors: Qi Feng
Published: January 2019

How animal neural system addresses the object identity-preserving recognition problem is largely unknown. Artificial neural network such as convolution network (CNN) has reached human level performance in recognition tasks, however, animal neural system does not support such kernel scanning operation across retinal neurons, and thus the neuronal responses do not match that of CNN units. Here, we used an alternative recognition-reconstruction network (RRN) architecture as an analogy to animal-like system, and the resulting neural characteristics agreed fairly well with electrophysiological measurements in monkey studies. First, in network development study, the RRN also experienced critical developmental stages characterized by specificities in neuronal types, connectivity strength and firing pattern, from early stage of coarse salience map recognition to mature stage of fine structure recognition. In digit recognition study, we witnessed that the RRN could maintain object invariance representation under various viewing conditions by coordinated adjustment of responses of population neurons. And such concerted population responses contained untangled object identity and properties information that could be accurately extracted via a simple weighted summation decoder. In the learning and forgetting study, novel structure recognition was implemented by adjusting entire synapses in low magnitude while pattern specificities of original synaptic connectivity were preserved, which guaranteed a learning process without disrupting the existing functionalities. This work benefits the understanding of human neural mechanism and the development of humane-like intelligence.
Stable transgenesis in Astyanax mexicanus using the Tol2 transposase system
Authors: Stahl Bethany A. , Peuß Robert , McDole Brittnee , Kenzior Alexander , Jaggard James B. , Gaudenz Karin , Krishnan Jaya , McGaugh Suzanne E. , Duboue Erik R. , Keene Alex C. , Rohner Nicolas
Published: January 2019

Astyanax mexicanus is a well-established and widely used fish model system for evolutionary and developmental biology research. These fish exist as surface forms that inhabit rivers and 30 different populations of cavefish. The establishment of A. mexicanus as an emergent model organism for understanding the evolutionary basis of development and behavior has been accelerated by an increasing availability of genomic approaches to identify genotype-phenotype associations. Despite important progress in the deployment of new technologies, deep mechanistic insights into A. mexicanus evolution and development have been limited by a lack of transgenic lines commonly used in genetic model systems. Here, we expand the toolkit of transgenesis by characterizing two novel stable transgenic lines that were generated using the highly efficient Tol2 system, commonly used to generate transgenic zebrafish. A stable transgenic line consisting of the zebrafish ubiquitin promoter fused to eGFP expressed eGFP ubiquitously throughout development in a surface population of Astyanax. To define specific cell-types, we injected fish with a Cntnap2-mCherry construct that labels lateral line mechanosensory neurons in zebrafish. Strikingly, both constructs appear to label the predicted cell types, suggesting many genetic tools and defined promoter regions in zebrafish are directly transferrable to cavefish. The lines provide proof-of-principle for the application of Tol2 transgenic technology in A. mexicanus. Expansion on these initial transgenic lines will provide a platform to address broadly important problems in the quest to bridge the genotype to phenotype gap.
Human Myosin 1e tail but not motor domain replaces fission yeast Myo1 domains to support myosin-I function during endocytosis
Authors: Barger Sarah R. , James Michael L. , Pellenz Christopher D. , Krendel Mira , Sirotkin Vladimir
Published: January 2019

In both unicellular and multicellular organisms, long-tailed class I myosins function in clathrin-mediated endocytosis. Myosin 1e (Myo1e) in vertebrates and Myo1 in fission yeast have similar domain organization, yet whether these proteins or their individual protein domains are functionally interchangeable remains unknown. In an effort to assess functional conservation of class I myosins, we tested whether human Myo1e could replace Myo1 in fission yeastSchizosaccharomyces pombeand found that it was unable to substitute for yeast Myo1. To determine if any individual protein domain is responsible for the inability of Myo1e to function in yeast, we created human-yeast myosin-I chimeras. By functionally testing these chimeric myosinsin vivo,we concluded that the Myo1e motor domain is unable to function in yeast, even when combined with the yeast Myo1 tail and a full complement of yeast regulatory light chains. Conversely, the Myo1e tail, when attached to the yeast Myo1 motor domain, supports localization to actin patches and partially rescues the endocytosis defect inmyo1Δcells. Further dissection showed that both the TH1 and TH2-SH3 domains in the human Myo1e tail are required for localization and function of chimeric myosin-I at endocytic sites. Overall, this study provides insights into the role of individual myosin-I domains, expands the utility of fission yeast as a simple model system to study the effects of disease-associatedMYO1Emutations, and supports a model of co-evolution between a myosin motor and its actin track.
Focused natural product elucidation by prioritizing high-throughput metabolomic studies with machine learning
Authors: Tobias Nicholas J. , Parra-Rojas César , Shi Yan-Ni , Shi Yi-Ming , Simonyi Svenja , Thanwisai Aunchalee , Vitta Apichat , Chantratita Narisara , Hernandez-Vargas Esteban A. , Bode Helge B.
Published: January 2019

Bacteria of the genera Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus produce a plethora of natural products to support their similar symbiotic lifecycles. For many of these compounds, the specific bioactivities are unknown. One common challenge in natural product research when trying to prioritize research efforts is the rediscovery of identical (or highly similar) compounds from different strains. Linking genome sequence to metabolite production can help in overcoming this problem. However, sequences are typically not available for entire collections of organisms. Here we perform a comprehensive metabolic screening using HPLC-MS data associated with a 114-strain collection (58 Photorhabdus and 56 Xenorhabdus) from across Thailand and explore the metabolic variation among the strains, matched with several abiotic factors. We utilize machine learning in order to rank the importance of individual metabolites in determining all given metadata. With this approach, we were able to prioritize metabolites in the context of natural product investigations, leading to the identification of previously unknown compounds. The top three highest-ranking features were associated with Xenorhabdus and attributed to the same chemical entity, cyclo(tetrahydroxybutyrate). This work addresses the need for prioritization in high-throughput metabolomic studies and demonstrates the viability of such an approach in future research.
Turning a green alga red: engineering astaxanthin biosynthesis by intragenic pseudogene revival in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Authors: Perozeni Federico , Cazzaniga Stefano , Baier Thomas , Zanoni Francesca , Zoccatelli Gianni , Lauersen Kyle J. , Wobbe Lutz , Ballottari Matteo
Published: January 2019

The green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii does not synthesize high-value ketocarotenoids like canthaxanthin and astaxanthin, however, a β-carotene ketolase (CrBKT) can be found in its genome. CrBKT is poorly expressed, contains a long C-terminal extension not found in homologues and likely represents a pseudogene in this alga. Here, we used synthetic re-design of this gene to enable its constitutive overexpression from the nuclear genome of C. reinhardtii. Overexpression of the optimized CrBKT extended native carotenoid biosynthesis to generate ketocarotenoids in the algal host causing noticeable changes the green algal colour to a reddish-brown. We found that up to 50% of native carotenoids could be converted into astaxanthin and more than 70% into other ketocarotenoids by robust CrBKT overexpression. Modification of the carotenoid metabolism did not impair growth or biomass productivity of C. reinhardtii, even at high light intensities. Under different growth conditions, the best performing CrBKT overexpression strain was found to reach ketocarotenoid productivities up to 4.5 mg L-1 day-1. Astaxanthin productivity in engineered C. reinhardtii shown here is competitive with that reported for Haematococcus lacustris (formerly pluvialis) which is currently the main organism cultivated for industrial astaxanthin production. In addition, the extractability and bio-accessibility of these pigments was much higher in cell wall deficient C. reinhardtii than the resting cysts of H. lacustris. Engineered C. reinhardtii strains could thus be a promising alternative to natural astaxanthin producing algal strains and may open the possibility of other tailor-made pigments from this host.
Non-Invasive Detection of Viral Antibodies Using Oral Flocked Swabs
Authors: Speicher David J. , Luinstra Kathy , Smith Emma J. , Castriciano Santina , Smieja Marek
Published: January 2019

Salivary antibodies are useful in surveillance and vaccination studies. However, low antibody levels and degradation by endonucleases are problematic. Oral flocked swabs are a potential non-invasive alternative to blood for detecting viral antibodies. Serum and saliva collected from 50 healthy volunteers were stored at −80°C; dried swabs at room temperature. Seroprevalence for Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Varicella-Zoster virus (VZV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Measles and Mumps IgG antibodies were determined using commercial ELISAs and processed on an automated platform. For each antibody, swabs correlated well with saliva. For CMV IgG, VZV IgG, and EBV EBNA-1 IgG and VCA IgG, the swab sensitivities compared to serum were 95.8%, 96%, 92.1% and 95.5% respectively. For Measles IgG, swab sensitivity was 84.5%. Mumps IgG displayed poor sensitivity for oral swabs (60.5%) and saliva (68.2%). Specificities for IgG antibodies were 100% for CMV, EBV and Mumps. Specificities for VZV and Measles could not be determined due to seropositive volunteers. As oral flocked swabs correlate well with serum, are easy to self-collect and stable at room temperature further research is warranted.

Highlights

Oral flocked swabs are an easy, self-collection method for measuring viral antibodies.

Viral IgG is stable on dried oral flocked swabs for at least two years.

Oral swabs are highly sensitive for CMV, VZV, and EBV IgG.

Oral swabs are potentially useful for surveillance and clinical microbiology.
The network underlying human higher-order motor control: Insights from machine learning-based lesion-behaviour mapping in apraxia
Authors: Sperber Christoph , Wiesen Daniel , Goldenberg Georg , Karnath Hans-Otto
Published: January 2019

Neurological patients with apraxia of pantomime provide us with a unique opportunity to study the neural correlates of higher-order motor function. Previous studies using lesion-behaviour mapping methods led to inconsistent anatomical results, reporting various lesion locations to induce this symptom. We hypothesised that the inconsistencies might arise from limitations of mass-univariate lesion-behaviour mapping approaches if our ability to pantomime the use of objects is organised in a brain network. Thus, we investigated apraxia of pantomime by using multivariate lesion behaviour mapping based both on support vector regression and sparse canonical correlations in a sample of 130 left-hemisphere stroke patients. Both multivariate methods identified multiple areas to underlie high-order motor control, including inferior parietal lobule, precentral gyrus, posterior parts of middle temporal cortex, and insula. Further, long association fibres were affected, such as the superior longitudinal fascicle, inferior occipito-frontal fascicle, uncinated fascicle, and superior occipito-frontal fascicle. The findings thus not only underline the benefits of multivariate lesion-behaviour mapping in brain networks, but they also uncovered that higher-order motor control indeed is based on a common anatomical network.
Re-curation and Rational Enrichment of Knowledge Graphs in Biological Expression Language
Authors: Hoyt Charles Tapley , Domingo-Fernández Daniel , Aldisi Rana , Xu Lingling , Kolpeja Kristian , Spalek Sandra , Wollert Esther , Bachman John , Gyori Benjamin M. , Greene Patrick , Hofmann-Apitius Martin
Published: January 2019

The rapid accumulation of new biomedical literature not only causes curated knowledge graphs to become outdated and incomplete, but also makes manual curation an impractical and unsustainable solution. Automated or semi-automated workflows are necessary to assist in prioritizing and curating the literature to update and enrich knowledge graphs.

We have developed two workflows: one for re-curating a given knowledge graph to assure its syntactic and semantic quality and another for rationally enriching it by manually revising automatically extracted relations for nodes with low information density. We applied these workflows to the knowledge graphs encoded in Biological Expression Language from the NeuroMMSig database using content that was pre-extracted from MEDLINE abstracts and PubMed Central full text articles using text mining output integrated by INDRA. We have made this workflow freely available at https://github.com/bel-enrichment/bel-enrichment.

Database URL

https://github.com/bel-enrichment/results
Dual pathway for metabolic engineering of E. coli metabolism to produce the highly valuable hydroxytyrosol
Authors: Trantas Emmanouil , Navakoudis Eleni , Pavlidis Theofilos , Nikou Theodora , Halabalaki Maria , Skaltsounis Leandros , Ververidis Filippos
Published: January 2019

One of the most abundant phenolic compounds traced in olive tissues is Hydroxytyrosol (HT), a molecule that has been attributed with a pile of beneficial effects, well documented by many epidemiological studies and thus adding value to products containing it. Strong antioxidant capacity and protection from cancer are only some of its exceptional features making it ideal as a potential supplement or preservative to be employed in the nutraceutical, agrochemical, cosmeceutical, and food industry. The HT biosynthetic pathway in plants (e.g. olive fruit tissues) is not well apprehended yet. In this contribution we employed a metabolic engineering strategy by constructing a dual pathway introduced inEscherichia coliand proofing its significant functionality leading it to produce HT. Our primary target was to investigate whether such a metabolic engineering approach could benefit the metabolic flow of tyrosine introduced to the conceived dual pathway, leading to the maximalization of the HT productivity. Various gene combinations derived from plants or bacteria were used to form a newly-inspired, artificial biosynthetic dual pathway managing to redirect the carbon flow towards the production of HT directly from glucose. Various biosynthetic bottlenecks faced due tofeaBgene function, resolved through the overexpression of a functional aldehyde reductase. Currently, we have achieved equimolar concentration of HT to tyrosine as precursor when overproduced straight from glucose, reaching the level of 1.76 mM (270.8 mg/L) analyzed by LC-HRMS. This work realizes the existing bottlenecks of the metabolic engineering process that was dependent on the utilized host strain, growth medium as well as to other factors studied in this work.
Mutational analysis of field cancerization in bladder cancer
Authors: Strandgaard Trine , Nordentoft Iver , Lamy Philippe , Christensen Emil , Houlberg Thomsen Mathilde Borg , Jensen Jørgen Bjerggaard , Dyrskjøt Lars
Published: January 2019

The multifocal and recurrent nature of bladder cancer has been explained by field cancerization of the bladder urothelium. To shed light on field cancerization in the bladder, we investigated the mutational landscape of normal appearing urothelium and paired bladder tumors from four patients. Sequencing of 509 cancer driver genes revealed the presence of 2-16 mutations exclusively localized in normal tissue (average target read depth 634x). Furthermore, 6-13 mutations were shared between tumor and normal samples and 8-75 mutations were exclusively detected in tumor samples. More mutations were observed in normal samples from patients with multifocal disease compared to patients with unifocal disease. Mutations in normal samples had low allele frequencies compared to tumor mutations (p<2.2*10−16). Furthermore, significant differences in the type of nucleotide changes between tumor, normal and shared mutations (p=2.7*10−8) were observed, and mutations in APOBEC context were observed primarily among tumor mutations (p=0.026). No differences in functional impact between normal, shared and tumor mutations were observed (p=0.23). Overall, these findings support the theory of multiple fields in the bladder, and document non-tumor specific driver mutations to be present in normal appearing bladder tissue.
Doc2b Ca2+-binding site mutants act as a gain of function at rest and loss of function during neuronal activity
Authors: Bourgeois-Jaarsma Quentin , Verhage Matthijs , Groffen Alexander J.
Published: January 2019

Communication between neurons involves presynaptic neurotransmitter release which can be evoked by action potentials or occur spontaneously as a result of stochastic vesicle fusion. The Ca2+-binding double C2proteins Doc2a and –b regulate both spontaneous and asynchronous evoked release, but the mechanism remains unclear. Here, we compared wildtype Doc2b with two Ca2+binding site mutants named DN and 6A, respectively considered gain-and loss-of function mutants and carrying the substitutions D218,220N or D163,218,220,303,357,359A. We found that both mutants bound phospholipids at low free Ca2+concentrations and were membrane-associated in neurons at rest, mimicking a Ca2+activated state. Their overexpression in hippocampal primary neurons culture had similar effects on spontaneous and evoked release, inducing higher mEPSC frequencies and increased short-term depression. Together, these data suggest that the DN and 6A mutants both act as gain-of-function mutants at resting conditions but as loss-of-function during neuronal activity.
Cortical and subcortical T1 white/gray contrast, chronological age, and cognitive performance
Authors: Lewis John D. , Fonov Vladimir S. , Louis Collins D. , Evans Alan C. , Tohka Jussi ,   for the Brain Development Cooperative Group, and the Pediatric Imaging, Neurocognition, and Genetics Study
Published: January 2019

The maturational schedule of typical brain development is tightly constrained; deviations from it are associated with cognitive atypicalities, and are potentially predictive of developmental disorders. Previously, we have shown that the white/gray contrast at the inner border of the cortex is a good predictor of chronological age, and is sensitive to aspects of brain development that reflect cognitive performance. Here we extend that work to include the contrast at the white/gray border of subcortical structures. We show that cortical and subcortical contrast together yield better age-predictions than any non-kernel-based method based on a single image-type, and that the residuals of the improved predictions provide new insight into unevenness in cognitive performance. We demonstrate the improvement in age predictions in two large datasets: the NIH Pediatric Data, with 831 scans of typically developing individuals between 4 and 22 years of age; and the Pediatric Imaging, Neurocognition, and Genetics data, with 909 scans of individuals in a similar age-range. Assessment of the relation of the residuals of these age predictions to verbal and performance IQ revealed correlations in opposing directions, and a principal component analysis of the residuals of the model that best fit the contrast data produced components related to either performance IQ or verbal IQ. Performance IQ was associated with the first principle component, reflecting increased cortical contrast, broadly, with almost no subcortical presence; verbal IQ was associated with the second principle component, reflecting reduced contrast in the basal ganglia and increased contrast in the bilateral arcuate fasciculi.
Diaquabis[4-(dimethylamino)pyridine-κN
1]bis[2-(1,3-dioxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-isoindol-2-yl)acetato-κO
1]cobalt(II)
Authors: Makouf Naouel , Chouiter Aziza , Bouzidi Mousser Henia , Djedouani Amel , Fleutot Solenne , François Michel
Published: January 2019

In the mononuclear title complex, [Co(C10H6NO4)2(C7H10N2)2(H2O)2], the CoII ion is located on an inversion centre and has a distorted octahedral coordination geometry of type CoN2O4 by two N atoms from the two 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP) ligands, two carboxylate O atoms from the two deprotonated N-phthaloylglycine (Nphgly) ligands [systematic name: 2-(1,3-dioxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-isoindol-2-yl)acetate] and two coordination water molecules. In the crystal, O—H...O, C—H...O hydrogen bonds and π–π stacking interactions link the molecules into the supramolecular structure.
(2,2′-Bipyridine)(1,2-dicyanoethene-1,2-dithiolato)platinum(II)
Authors: Nesterov Vladimir N. , Hu Jiandu , Reinheimer Eric W. , Smucker Bradley W.
Published: January 2019

In the crystal structure of the title complex, [Pt(C4N2S2)(C10H8N2)], the complex molecules pack as head-to-tail/inversion dimers, which are stabilized by HOMO–LUMO interactions and a Pt...Pt distance of 3.6625 (8) Å. The dimers are linked by C—H...N hydrogen bonds, forming layers parallel to the (101) plane.
Inaugural issue perspectives onInformation and Learning Sciencesas an integral scholarly nexus
Authors: Reynolds Rebecca , Chu Sam , Ahn June , Buckingham Shum Simon , Hansen Preben , Haythornthwaite Caroline , Huang Hong , Meyers Eric M. , Rieh Soo Young
Published: January 2019

Purpose

Many of today’s information and technology systems and environments facilitate inquiry, learning, consciousness-raising and knowledge-building. Such platforms include e-learning systems which have learning, education and/or training as explicit goals or objectives. They also include search engines, social media platforms, video-sharing platforms, and knowledge sharing environments deployed for work, leisure, inquiry, and personal and professional productivity. The new journal,Information and Learning Sciences, aims to advance our understanding of human inquiry, learning and knowledge-building across such information, e-learning, and socio-technical system contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

This article introduces the journal at its launch under new editorship in January, 2019. The article, authored by the journal co-editors and all associate editors, explores the lineage of scholarly undertakings that have contributed to the journal's new scope and mission, which includes past and ongoing scholarship in the following arenas: Digital Youth, Constructionism, Mutually Constitutive Ties in Information and Learning Sciences, and Searching-as-Learning.

Findings

The article offers examples of ways in which the two fields stand to enrich each other towards a greater holistic advancement of scholarship. The article also summarizes the inaugural special issue contents from the following contributors: Caroline Haythornthwaite; Krista Glazewski and Cindy Hmelo-Silver; Stephanie Teasley; Gary Marchionini; Caroline R. Pitt; Adam Bell, Rose Strickman and Katie Davis; Denise Agosto; Nicole Cooke; and Victor Lee.

Originality/value

The article, this special issue, and the journal in full, are among the first formal and ongoing publication outlets to deliberately draw together and facilitate cross-disciplinary scholarship at this integral nexus. We enthusiastically and warmly invite continued engagement along these lines in the journal’s pages, and also welcome related, and wholly contrary points of view, and points of departure that may build upon or debate some of the themes we raise in the introduction and special issue contents.
Lean maturity and quality in primary care
Authors: Kaltenbrunner Monica , Mathiassen Svend Erik , Bengtsson Lars , Engström Maria
Published: January 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to describe Lean maturity in primary care using a questionnaire based on Liker’s description of Lean, complemented with observations; and second, to determine the extent to which Lean maturity is associated with quality of care measured as staff-rated satisfaction with care and adherence to national guidelines (NG). High Lean maturity indicates adoption of all Lean principles throughout the organization and by all staff.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected using a survey based on Liker’s four principles, divided into 16 items (n=298 staff in 45 units). Complementary observations (n=28 staff) were carried out at four units.

Findings

Lean maturity varied both between and within units. The highest Lean maturity was found for “adhering to routines” and the lowest for “having a change agent at the unit.” Lean maturity was positively associated with satisfaction with care and with adherence to NG to improve healthcare quality.

Practical implications

Quality of primary care may benefit from increasing Lean maturity. When implementing Lean, managers could benefit from measuring and adopting Lean maturity repeatedly, addressing all Liker’s principles and using the results as guidance for further development.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to evaluate Lean maturity in primary care, addressing all Liker’s principles from the perspective of quality of care. The results suggest that repeated actions based on evaluations of Lean maturity may help to improve quality of care.
Juvenile case of multiple morphea profunda resulting in joint contracture that was successfully treated with cyclosporin A: A case report and review of the published works
Authors: Ogawa Tatsuya , Okiyama Naoko , Takamuki Risa , Inoue Sae , Saito Akimasa , Nakamura Yoshiyuki , Ishitsuka Yosuke , Watanabe Rei , Fujisawa Yasuhiro , Fujimoto Manabu
Published: January 2019

Morphea profunda refers to inflammatory and sclerotic lesions that start primarily from the deep dermis, subcutaneous fat and fascia. Its pediatric case published work is limited. Here, we report the case of an 8‐year‐old girl with a 5‐year history of multiple subcutaneous nodules on her extremities and a right wrist joint contracture who had been previously diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis and treated with salazosulfapyridine, low‐dose prednisolone (PSL) and methotrexate. We performed biopsies of two subcutaneous nodules, which revealed the typical morphology of morphea profunda. She was administrated a tapered course of oral PSL then cyclosporin A (CyA) for 20 weeks which completely resolved her joint contracture and subcutaneous nodules. We reviewed 11 previously reported cases of morphea profunda and found that some include circumscribed/linear morphea that develop into subcutaneous tissues, indicating that “classical” morphea profunda arising within the deep tissues has rarely been reported. Our report is the first to demonstrate the efficacy of CyA for treatment of morphea profunda, and the possibility of CyA as a treatment option to reduce oral steroid doses in juvenile cases.
Only Time Can Tell: Whether and When the Improvement in Career Development Opportunities Alleviates Knowledge Workers’ Emotional Exhaustion in the Chinese Context
Authors: Gao Zhonghua , Zhao Chen , Cooke Fang Lee , Zhang Bo , Xie Rongyan
Published: January 2019

Through extending the resource perspective, drawing on the temporal comparison theory, this study examines career development opportunities (CDOs), focusing on knowledge workers and considering the relative changes in CDOs before and after their job change in the Chinese context. Findings from a survey of 379 Chinese knowledge workers who have transferred their jobs at least once reveal that the improvement of CDOs can have a double‐edged‐sword effect on knowledge workers’ well‐being, shown as emotional exhaustion in this study. Although the improvement of CDOs negatively predicts knowledge workers’ emotional exhaustion in general, findings of a three‐way interaction reveal that offering more high‐quality CDOs can aggravate emotional exhaustion when knowledge workers have been working in their present position for a relatively long period, but have not received a pay rise. This study makes a theoretical contribution by introducing boundary conditions and testing their interactive influence. It helps broaden understanding of how CDOs can affect knowledge workers’ emotional exhaustion. It also has implications for enhancing the well‐being of knowledge workers, particularly in national and organizational contexts where there are significant skill shortages and retention problems.
Placing Arts Districts within Markets: A Case Study of 798 Arts District in Beijing
Authors: Zhang Amy Y.
Published: January 2019

This article examines the dual role of arts districts as places situated simultaneously in the urban land and art markets. It highlights the need for research into arts districts to take this dual role into account, as well as the impact that the two markets can have on these places. While the impact of the art market on land values in arts districts has been studied in some cases of art‐led gentrification, there has been limited consideration of how the changing organization and structure of the art world and art market have affected these places, especially during the last decade. Through a case study of 798 Arts District in Beijing, China, this article demonstrates that both land value and the art market situation need to be taken into account when explaining changes to and/or the spatial stickiness of an art scene, and that an artist community's investment in the value of an arts district as a generator of symbolic capital in the art market could be one driver of land value. The article concludes by advocating for greater attention to the dual market role of arts districts, as well as a stronger engagement with the knowledge produced by art scholars in geographical and urban studies of arts districts.
Intra‐amniotic digoxin for feticide between 21 and 30 weeks of gestation: a prospective study
Authors: Sharvit M , Klein Z , Silber M , Pomeranz M , Agizim R , Schonman R , Fishman A
Published: January 2019

Objective

Intra‐amniotic injection of digoxin is a well‐known method for feticide before inducing a termination of pregnancy (TOP) at 17–24 weeks of gestation. Information on its effectiveness when administered after 24 weeks of gestation is limited. This study evaluated the efficacy of intra‐amniotic digoxin injection for inducing fetal demise within 18–24 hours, at 21–30 weeks of gestation, and its safety.

Design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

Tertiary university medical centre.

Population

Women at 21–30 weeks of gestation with a singleton pregnancy, admitted for TOP.

Methods

Intra‐amniotic injection of 2 mg of digoxin was performed 1 day before medical TOP. Fetal heart activity was evaluated by ultrasound for 18–24 hours after the injection. Serum digoxin level and maternal electrocardiogram (ECG) were evaluated 6, 10, and 20 hours after injection.

Main outcome measure

Frequency of successful fetal demise.

Results

Fifty‐nine women participated in the study. The mean gestational age was 24+2 weeks (range 21+0–30+0), with 29 (49.2%) beyond 24+0 weeks of gestation. Fetal cardiac activity arrest was achieved in 55/59 cases (93.2%). Normal maternal ECG recordings were noted in all cases. Mean serum digoxin levels 6 and 10 hours after injection were in the therapeutic range (1.3 ± 0.7 ng/l and 1.24 ± 0.49 ng/l, respectively) and below the toxic level (2 ng/l). Extramural delivery following digoxin did not occur. There were no cases of chorioamnionitis.

Conclusion

Intra‐amniotic digoxin for feticide at 21–30 weeks of gestation in a singleton pregnancy appears effective and safe before TOP at advanced gestational ages.

Tweetable abstract

This study shows that feticide by intra‐amniotic digoxin injection at 21–30 weeks of gestation appears effective and safe.
Public open space exposure measures in Australian health research: a critical review of the literature
Authors: Lamb Karen E. , Mavoa Suzanne , Coffee Neil T. , Parker Kate , Richardson Elizabeth A. , Thornton Lukar E.
Published: January 2019

Numerous studies have shown associations between public open space and a variety of health outcomes. Yet the extent to which firm conclusions and planning policy recommendations can be drawn from this body of work depends on how public open space availability has been measured and reported. Other researchers have highlighted potential issues with the way that public open space has been measured but have not systematically assessed the extent of this problem. This paper provides a comprehensive critical review of studies of public open space and health conducted in Australia to identify and compare public open space measurement and data treatment. Our analysis showed wide variation in how public open space was measured, as well as a lack of consistency in reporting public open space exposure measures and under‐reporting of measurement methods. We find that such tendencies limit how much these studies can be compared and contrasted with each other. The corollary of that finding is that without more detailed reporting of exposure measures, it will be difficult to establish an evidence base that informs planning for healthy, liveable environments. In response, we develop and present a checklist for reporting public open space exposure to address this challenge.
In silico prospection of microorganisms to produce polyhydroxyalkanoate from whey: Caulobacter segnis DSM 29236 as a suitable industrial strain
Authors: Bustamante Daniel , Segarra Silvia , Tortajada Marta , Ramón Daniel , del Cerro Carlos , Auxiliadora Prieto María , Iglesias José Ramón , Rojas Antonia
Published: January 2019

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are polyesters of microbial origin that can be synthesized by prokaryotes from noble sugars or lipids and from complex renewable substrates. They are an attractive alternative to conventional plastics because they are biodegradable and can be produced from renewable resources, such as the surplus of whey from dairy companies. After an in silico screening to search for ß‐galactosidase and PHA polymerase genes, several bacteria were identified as potential PHA producers from whey based on their ability to hydrolyse lactose. Among them, Caulobacter segnis DSM 29236 was selected as a suitable strain to develop a process for whey surplus valorization. This microorganism accumulated 31.5% of cell dry weight (CDW) of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) with a titre of 1.5 g l−1 in batch assays. Moreover, the strain accumulated 37% of CDW of PHB and 9.3 g l−1 in fed‐batch mode of operation. This study reveals this species as a PHA producer and experimentally validates the in silico bioprospecting strategy for selecting microorganisms for waste re‐valorization.
Measuring global fish species richness with eDNA metabarcoding
Authors: Jerde Christopher L. , Wilson Emily A. , Dressler Terra L.
Published: January 2019

Despite mounting threats to global freshwater and marine biodiversity, including climate change, habitat alteration, overharvesting and pollution, we struggle to know which species are present below the water's surface that are suffering from these stressors. However, the idea that a water sample containing environmental DNA (eDNA) can be screened using high‐throughput sequencing and bioinformatics to reveal the identity of aquatic species is a revolutionary advance for studying the patterns of species extirpation, invasive species establishment and the dynamics of species richness. To date, many of the critical tests of fisheries diversity using this metabarcoding approach have been conducted in lower diversity systems (<40 fish species), but in this issue of Molecular Ecology Resources, Cilleros et al. (2018) described their eDNA application in the species‐rich French Guiana fishery (>200 fish species) and showed the greater potential and some limitations of using eDNA in species‐rich environments.
Plant DNA‐barcode library and community phylogeny for a semi‐arid East African savanna
Authors: Gill Brian A. , Musili Paul M. , Kurukura Samson , Hassan Abidikadir A. , Goheen Jacob R. , Kress W. John , Kuzmina Maria , Pringle Robert M. , Kartzinel Tyler R.
Published: January 2019

Applications of DNA barcoding include identifying species, inferring ecological and evolutionary relationships between species, and DNA metabarcoding. These applications require reference libraries that are not yet available for many taxa and geographic regions. We collected, identified, and vouchered plant specimens from Mpala Research Center in Laikipia, Kenya, to develop an extensive DNA‐barcode library for a savanna ecosystem in equatorial East Africa. We amassed up to five DNA barcode markers (rbcL, matK, trnL‐F, trnH–psbA, and ITS) for 1,781 specimens representing up to 460 species (~92% of the known flora), increasing the number of plant DNA barcode records for Africa by ~9%. We evaluated the ability of these markers, singly and in combination, to delimit species by calculating intra‐ and interspecific genetic distances. We further estimated a plant community phylogeny and demonstrated its utility by testing if evolutionary relatedness could predict the tendency of members of the Mpala plant community to have or lack “barcode gaps”, defined as disparities between the maximum intra‐ and minimum interspecific genetic distances. We found barcode gaps for 72%–89% of taxa depending on the marker or markers used. With the exception of the markers rbcL and ITS, we found that evolutionary relatedness was an important predictor of barcode‐gap presence or absence for all of the markers in combination and for matK, trnL‐F, and trnH–psbA individually. This plant DNA barcode library and community phylogeny will be a valuable resource for future investigations.
Predators and pastoralists: how anthropogenic pressures inside wildlife areas influence carnivore space use and movement behaviour
Authors: Broekhuis F. , Madsen E. K. , Klaassen B.
Published: January 2019

Across the globe, wildlife populations and their behaviours are negatively impacted by people. Protected areas are believed to be an antidote to increasing human pressures but even they are not immune to the impact of anthropogenic activities. Areas that have been set aside for the protection of wildlife therefore warrant more attention when investigating the impact of anthropogenic pressures on wildlife. We use cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus as a case study to explore how a large carnivore responds to anthropogenic pressures inside wildlife areas. Using GPS‐collar data we investigate cheetah space use, both when moving and stationary, and movement parameters (speed and turn angles) in relation to human disturbance, distance to human settlement, livestock abundance and livestock site use inside wildlife areas. Space use was negatively influenced by human disturbance, resulting in habitat loss and fragmentation and potentially reducing landscape permeability between neighbouring wildlife areas. Cheetahs were also less likely to stop in areas where livestock numbers were high, but more likely to stop in areas that were frequently used by livestock. The latter could reflect that cheetahs are attracted to livestock however, cheetahs in the study area rarely predated on livestock. It is therefore more likely that areas that are frequently used by livestock attract wild herbivores, which in turn could influence cheetah space use. We did not find any effects of people and livestock on cheetahs’ speed and turn angles which might be related to the resolution of the data. We found that cheetahs are sensitive to human pressures and we believe that they could be an indicator species for other large carnivores facing similar challenges. We suggest that further research is needed to determine the levels of anthropogenic pressures needed to maintain ecological integrity, especially inside wildlife areas.
A new classification system for describing concurrent use of nicotine vaping products alongside cigarettes (so‐called ‘dual use’): findings from the ITC‐4 Country Smoking and Vaping wave 1 Survey
Authors: Borland Ron , Murray Krista , Gravely Shannon , Fong Geoffrey T. , Thompson Mary E. , McNeill Ann , O'Connor Richard J. , Goniewicz Maciej L. , Yong Hua‐Hie , Levy David T. , Heckman Bryan W. , Cummings K. Michael
Published: January 2019

Aims

To determine whether a simple combination of level of smoking and level of vaping results in a useful typology for characterizing smoking and vaping behaviours.

Methods

Cross‐sectional data from adults (≥ 18 years) in the 2016 wave 1 ITC Four Country Smoking and Vaping Survey in the United States (n = 2291), England (n = 3591), Australia (n = 1376) and Canada (n = 2784) were used. Participants who either smoked, vaped or concurrently used both at least monthly were included and divided into eight groups based on use frequency of each product (daily, non‐daily, no current use). This resulted in four concurrent use groups (predominant smokers, dual daily users, predominant vapers and concurrent non‐daily users). These groups were compared with each other and with the four exclusive use groups, on socio‐demographics, nicotine dependence, beliefs and attitudes about both products, and quit‐related measures using data weighted to reference population surveys in each country.

Results

Of the sample, 10.8% were concurrent users, with daily smokers vaping non‐daily (predominant smokers), constituting 51.6% of this group. All eight categories differed from other categories on at least some measures. Concurrent daily nicotine users reported higher levels of indicators of nicotine dependence, and generally more positive attitudes toward both smoking and vaping than concurrent non‐daily users. Among daily nicotine users, compared with exclusive daily smokers, reports of interest in quitting were higher in all concurrent use groups. Dual daily users had the most positive attitudes about smoking overall, and saw it as the least denormalized, and at the same time were equally interested in quitting as other concurrent users and were most likely to report intending to continue vaping.

Conclusions

In Australia, Canada, England and the United States in 2016, daily nicotine users differed considerably from non‐daily nicotine users. Among daily nicotine users, dual daily users (those who smoke and vape concurrently) should be treated as a distinct grouping when studying relationships between smoking and vaping. The eight‐level typology characterizing concurrent and exclusive use of smoking and vaping should be considered when studying both products.