bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
On the use of multicriteria decision analysis to formally integrate community values into ecosystem‐based freshwater management
Authors: Langhans Simone D. , Jähnig Sonja C. , Schallenberg Marc
Published: December 2018

Freshwater ecosystems are essential to peoples' economic, cultural, and social well‐being, yet are still among the most threatened ecosystems on the planet. Consequently, a plethora of recent regulations and policies seek to halt the loss of restore or safeguard freshwaters, their biodiversity, and the ecosystem services they provide. Ecosystem‐based management (EBM), an approach that considers human society as an integral part of ecosystems, is increasingly being promoted to help meet this challenge. EBM involves an overarching regulatory framework and local solutions with trade‐offs and compromises—factors that not only make decision processes complex but also provide the means for combining top–down regulation with bottom‐up priorities into collaborative management strategies. Although stakeholder participation is encouraged in most modern freshwater management, community values are often largely neglected. Here, we introduce a well‐known participatory decision support framework based on multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) to operationalize EBM and promote community‐inclusive decision making in freshwater management. We explain the different steps that this approach comprises, which lead to the prioritization of a management strategy in a collaborative way. We also show how cultural values that inherently embed strong links between the environment and people can be used together with typical ecological and socio‐economic values. We illustrate the MCDA‐based EBM‐approach for New Zealand, one of the few countries in which regional freshwater management is mandated to uphold environmental quality standards, while safeguarding local community values and ecosystem services. Finally, we discuss some of the challenges, which are increasingly emerging as a result of mandated community collaboration in environmental management.
There is no impact of exposure measurement error on latency estimation in linear models
Authors: Peskoe S.B. , Spiegelman D. , Wang M.
Published: December 2018

Identification of the latency period for the effect of a time‐varying exposure is key when assessing many environmental, nutritional, and behavioral risk factors. A pre‐specified exposure metric involving an unknown latency parameter is often used in the statistical model for the exposure‐disease relationship. Likelihood‐based methods have been developed to estimate this latency parameter for generalized linear models but do not exist for scenarios where the exposure is measured with error, as is usually the case. Here, we explore the performance of naive estimators for both the latency parameter and the regression coefficients, which ignore exposure measurement error, assuming a linear measurement error model. We prove that, in many scenarios under this general measurement error setting, the least squares estimator for the latency parameter remains consistent, while the regression coefficient estimates are inconsistent as has previously been found in standard measurement error models where the primary disease model does not involve a latency parameter. Conditions under which this result holds are generalized to a wide class of covariance structures and mean functions. The findings are illustrated in a study of body mass index in relation to physical activity in the Health Professionals Follow‐Up Study.
Solution‐Controlled Conformational Switching of an Anchored Wireframe DNA Nanostructure
Authors: Hoffecker Ian T. , Chen Sijie , Gådin Andreas , Bosco Alessandro , Teixeira Ana I. , Högberg Björn
Published: December 2018

Self‐assembled DNA origami nanostructures have a high degree of programmable spatial control that enables nanoscale molecular manipulations. A surface‐tethered, flexible DNA nanomesh is reported herein which spontaneously undergoes sharp, dynamic conformational transitions under physiological conditions. The transitions occur between two major macrostates: a spread state dominated by the interaction between the DNA nanomesh and the BSA/streptavidin surface and a surface‐avoiding contracted state. Due to a slow rate of stochastic transition events on the order of tens of minutes, the dynamic conformations of individual structures can be detected in situ with DNA PAINT microscopy. Time series localization data with automated imaging processing to track the dynamically changing radial distribution of structural markers are combined. Conformational distributions of tethered structures in buffers with elevated pH exhibit a calcium‐dependent domination of the spread state. This is likely due to electrostatic interactions between the structures and immobilized surface proteins (BSA and streptavidin). An interaction is observed in solution under similar buffer conditions with dynamic light scattering. Exchanging between solutions that promote one or the other state leads to in situ sample‐wide transitions between the states. The technique herein can be a useful tool for dynamic control and observation of nanoscale interactions and spatial relationships.
High Performance, Tunable Electrically Small Antennas through Mechanically Guided 3D Assembly
Authors: Liu Fei , Chen Ying , Song Honglie , Zhang Fan , Fan Zhichao , Liu Yuan , Feng Xue , Rogers John A. , Huang Yonggang , Zhang Yihui
Published: December 2018

To address demands for increased data transmission rates, electrically small antennas (ESAs) that simultaneously offer large frequency bandwidths and small physical sizes are of growing interest. 3D layouts are particularly important in this context and among various 3D ESAs, systems that adopt hemispherical shapes are very promising, because they can occupy the entire Chu‐sphere and offer outstanding electrical performance. Researchers have developed a few different approaches to fabricate high‐quality hemispherical ESAs, but most have static layouts and fixed operating frequencies. Here, a mechanically guided 3D assembly approach is introduced for the design and fabrication of deformable hemispherical ESAs that can offer tunable, dynamic properties to adapt to changes in environmental conditions. The strategy exploits controlled compressive buckling of strategically patterned 2D precursor structures, as a low‐cost and high‐yield scheme that can exploit conventional, planar processing technologies and commercially available platforms. Combined numerical simulations and experimental measurements show outstanding performance characteristics in terms of the quality factor and radiation efficiency. Application of external tensile strains to elastomeric substrates for these systems allows them to be reshaped and reversibly tuned through a wide range of center frequencies. Mechanical testing under different loading conditions demonstrates the ability of these ESAs to accommodate large deformations.
MOFs for Electrocatalysis: From Serendipity to Design Strategies
Authors: Aiyappa Harshitha Barike , Masa Justus , Andronescu Corina , Muhler Martin , Fischer Roland A. , Schuhmann Wolfgang
Published: December 2018

The rapid upsurge of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) as well as MOF‐derived materials has stimulated profound interest to capitalize on their many potential untapped benefits in electrocatalysis for energy applications. The possibility of tuning the metal–ligand junctions of the MOF architecture opens new avenues to design robust, extended heterostructures for addressing the present‐day energy challenges. Interestingly, despite having detailed crystallographic information, it is often difficult to envisage the interplay of charge transport (electrons and ions), mass transport (pore system) together with the specific effects of the molecularly defined reaction center of MOFs for a given electrocatalytic reaction. Here, guidelines are offered for judiciously engineering the electronic structure of MOFs to deliver targeted electrocatalytic function. Some of the pivotal works on MOF‐based materials for electrocatalysis are discussed, which can be correlated to the biological models in terms of their structural resemblance and an instructive insight is provided about the “new chemistry” that can be explored based on the lessons learned from nature in combination with the theoretical understanding of the energetics of the reactions.
Symbolic Interactionism in Canada: Shared Meaning and the Perpetuation of Ideas
Authors: Low Jacqueline
Published: December 2018

In this paper I critically discuss Helmes‐Hayes and Milne's institutional perspective, as well as Neil McLaughlin's emphasis on scientific intellectual movements and Coserian intellectual sects, in explaining the emergence and potential future of symbolic interactionist theory in Canada. I contest claims that the interactionism is on the verge of disappearing and instead offer an explanation grounded in insights about shared meaning. I conclude that it is ironic that debates over the presumed demise of symbolic interaction may well contribute to its continued existence within the canon of Canadian sociology.
Affine template matching by differential evolution with adaptive two‐part search
Authors: Sato Junya , Akashi Takuya , Yamada Takayoshi , Ito Kazuaki
Published: December 2018

In this paper, we address the affine template matching of general images. The extensive search space of affine transformations necessitates effective searches of the global optimum. The proposed method utilizes differential evolution (DE), which is a method of metaheuristic optimization, to achieve that goal. Self‐adaptive DEs can be useful and are applicable in a wide range of studies as they tune crossover rate and scaling factor (F) themselves over generation iteration. However, this approach is not particularly good for affine template matching because the population often converges to local optima. In order to solve this problem, the population is divided into two equal groups for exploitation and exploration. The former group utilizes current‐to‐best/1, and the latter group adopts improved current‐to‐rand/1 for the mutation scheme. Furthermore, the proportion of the population sizes of the two groups are linearly changed on the basis of the best sum of absolute difference error measurements over each generation. These ideas are easy and simple, but experimental results have revealed our method to be more accurate than the state‐of‐the‐art method. © 2018 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Rationalization of stereoselectivity in enzyme reactions
Authors: Chan H. C. Stephen , Pan Lu , Li Yi , Yuan Shuguang
Published: December 2018

Enzymes are responsible for more than 5,000 different types of biochemical reactions. Enzymes speed up various chemical reactions in cell that would otherwise take millions of years to occur in milliseconds. The ability to discriminate between optical isomers is vital for living systems. The selective formation of only one product stereoisomer from achiral substrates is one of the most sophisticated tasks for enzymes. Because of the importance of stereoselectivity in biology, the structural and mechanistic basis underlying these phenomena has become the subject of intensive research. Enzymatic reactions provide the basis of cellular biochemistry and typically display high stereoselectivity. With the advances of enzyme engineering, in vitro evolution and, especially, computational rational design, scientists start to provide various methods and tools to manipulate the stereoselective properties of enzymes. To gain an insightful view of stereoselectivity in enzyme reactions, we present an extensive discussion on the latest progresses in this area.

This article is categorized under:

Structure and Mechanism > Computational Biochemistry and Biophysics

Structure and Mechanism > Reaction Mechanisms and Catalysis

Molecular and Statistical Mechanics > Molecular Dynamics and Monte‐Carlo Methods
Subnetwork identification and chemical modulation for neural regeneration: A study combining network guided forest and heat diffusion model
Authors: Wang Hui , Wang Gang , Zhu Li‐Da , Xu Xuan , Diao Bo , Zhang Hong‐Yu
Published: December 2018

Background

The induction of neural regeneration is vital to the repair of spinal cord injury (SCI). While compared with peripheral nervous system (PNS), the regenerative capacity of the central nervous system (CNS) is extremely limited. This indicates that modulating the molecular pathways underlying PNS repair may lead to the discovery of potential treatment for CNS injury.

Methods

Based on the gene expression profiles of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) after a sciatic nerve injury, we utilized network guided forest (NGF) to rank genes in terms of their capacity of distinguishing injured DRG from sham‐operated controls. Gene importance scores deriving from NGF were used as initial heat in a heat diffusion model (HotNet2) to infer the subnetworks underlying neural regeneration in the DRG. After potential regulators of the subnetworks were found through Connectivity Map (cMap), candidate compounds were experimentally evaluated for their capacity to regenerate the damaged neurons.

Results

Gene ontology analysis of the subnetworks revealed ubiquinone biosynthetic process is crucial for neural regeneration. Moreover, almost half of the genes in these subnetworks are found to be related to neural regeneration via text mining. After screening compounds that are likely to modulate gene expressions of the subnetworks, three compounds were selected for the experiment. Of them, trichostatin A, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, was validated to enhance neurite outgrowth in vivo via an optic nerve crush mouse model.

Conclusions

Our study identified subnetworks underlying neural regeneration, and validated a compound can promote neurite outgrowth by modulating these subnetworks. This work also suggests an alternative approach for drug repositioning that can be easily extended to other disease phenotypes.
Polarization, Partisan Preferences and Strategic Voting
Authors: Daoust Jean-François , Bol Damien
Published: December 2018

In this article, we study how polarization affects the propensity of supporters of non-viable parties to cast a strategic vote. To do so, we rely on Canadian election panel surveys from the Making Electoral Democracy Work project that were specifically designed to identify strategic voting. We find that the polarization between viable parties increases the probability of a supporter of a non-viable party casting a strategic vote, because it increases how much she likes her favourite viable party, and decreases how much she dislikes her least favourite viable party. Polarization thus increases strategic voting because it alters partisan preferences.
Paleocommunity mixing increases with marine transgression in Dinosaur Park Formation (Upper Cretaceous) vertebrate microfossil assemblages
Authors: Oreska Matthew P. J. , Carrano Matthew T.
Published: December 2018

Vertebrate microfossil assemblages in a stratigraphic sequence often yield similar assortments of taxa but at different relative abundances, potentially indicative of marginal paleocommunity changes driven by paleoenvironmental change over time. For example, stratigraphically younger assemblages in the Dinosaur Park Formation (DPF) yield proportionally more aquatic taxa, consistent with marine transgression. However, individual deposits may have received specimens from multiple source paleocommunities over time, limiting our ability to confidently identify ecologically significant, paleocommunity differences through direct assemblage comparisons. We adapted a three-source, two-tracer Bayesian mixing model to quantify proportional contributions from different source habitats to DPF microfossil assemblages. Prior information about the compositions of separate, relatively unmixed terrestrial, freshwater, and marine assemblages from the Belly River Group allowed us to define expected taxon percent abundances for the end-member habitats likely contributing specimens to the mixed deposits. We compared the mixed assemblage and end-member distributions using 21 different combinations of vertebrate taxa. Chondrichthyan, dinosaur, and amphibian occurrence patterns ultimately allowed us to parse the contributions from the potential sources to 14 of the 15 mixed assemblages. The results confirmed a significant decline in terrestrial contributions at younger DPF sites, driven primarily by increased freshwater specimen inputs—not incursions from the adjacent marine paleocommunity. A rising base level likely increased lateral channel migration and the prevalence of freshwater habitats on the landscape, factors that contributed to increased paleocommunity mixing at younger channel deposit sites. Bayesian methods can account for source-mixing bias, which may be common in assemblages associated with major paleoenvironmental changes.
Concerns about contracting HIV, knowing partners’ HIV sero-status and discussion of HIV/STI with sexual partners as determinants of uptake of HIV testing
Authors: Ajayi Anthony Idowu , Abioye Abdulazeez Olumide , Adeniyi Oladele Vincent , Akpan Wilson
Published: December 2018

Worldwide, adolescents and young adults (aged 15–25 years) account for the highest proportion of new HIV infections, yet the uptake of HIV testing among this cohort is sub-optimal. Understanding factors that predict the uptake of HIV testing among adolescents and young adults is critical for designing effective and relevant interventions to increase testing. Drawing from the psychosocial constructs of the Health Belief Model, the study examined the effects of HIV risk perception, discussion of HIV with partners and knowing partners’ HIV status on HIV testing uptake among adolescents and young adults in two Nigerian universities. The study was conducted in 2018 and was cross-sectional in design, with a final sample of 784 male and female students selected using stratified random sampling. Adjusted and unadjusted logistic regression models were used to examine the effect of HIV risk perception, discussion of HIV with partners and knowing partners’ HIV status on HIV testing uptake. Only 50.6% of participants had ever tested for HIV with 30.7% being tested in the last year, with no significant differences by sex. After controlling for other covariates (age, sex and being sexually active), knowing partners’ HIV status, having discussed HIV with partners and being very concerned about contracting HIV were found to be significantly associated with ever being tested for HIV and recent HIV testing uptake. Uptake of HIV testing was found to be low in the study setting and fell short of the first ‘90%’ UNAIDS target. Age-appropriate strategies, targeting open communication on HIV/STIs and disclosure of sero-status between sexual partners are required to promote uptake of HIV testing among young adults and adolescents in Nigeria.
Facilitating creativity in dementia care: the co-construction of arts-based engagement
Authors: Robertson Jane M. , McCall Vikki
Published: December 2018

This paper seeks to understand the engagement of people with dementia in creative and arts-based activities by applying a relational model of citizenship and incorporating concepts of contextual and embodied learning from adult learning theory. A theoretically driven secondary analysis of observational and interview data focuses on the engagement of staff, volunteers and people with dementia during an arts-based intervention in a day centre and care home. The processes through which learning is co-constructed between the person with dementia, staff/volunteer facilitators and peers in the group to co-produce a creative engaged experience involves: increasing confidence for learning, facilitating social and physical connections, and affirming creative self-expression. The role of facilitator is central to the process of creative engagement to reinforce a sense of agency amongst participants and recognise people's prior experiences of learning and engagement in creative activities. People with dementia continue to learn and grow through engagement in creative activities to produce positive outcomes for the individual participants and for the care staff who observe and participate in this creativity. Facilitating creativity requires attention to lifelong experiences of learning in addition to the immediate interactional context to integrate arts-based interventions in dementia care successfully.
The Problem with Post-Work: Work and the Work Ethic as Units of Historical Analysis
Authors: Resnikoff Jason
Published: December 2018

“Work means everything to us,” James Livingston writes in the introduction to his recent book,No More Work: Why Full Employment Is A Bad Idea. The meaning of work, what Livingston calls the work ethic, is our problem. “And we've believed that, even if it sucks, a job gives meaning, purpose and structure to our everyday lives—at any rate, we're pretty sure that it gets us out of bed, pays the bills, makes us feel responsible, and keeps us away from daytime TV.” The time for this mode of thinking, we learn, has passed. “These beliefs are no longer plausible,” Livingston says. “In fact, they've become ridiculous, because there's not enough work to go around, and what there is of it won't pay the bills.”
The Making of a “Simple Domestic:” Domestic Workers, the Supreme Court, and the Law in Postrevolutionary Mexico
Authors: Hidalgo Sara
Published: December 2018

This article examines the legal construction of domestic labor as an unskilled and undervalued occupation in postrevolutionary Mexico, a milieu that was otherwise renowned for an extraordinary expansion of workers’ rights. Based on the writing of legal scholars and legal disputes between domestic workers and their employers that reached Mexico's Supreme Court, the article discusses how a discourse that framed domestic labor as an occupation confined within the protective bounds of the household became an enduring legal formula to justify and reinforce the exclusion of domestics from labor protections recognized for other workers. In so doing, it shows how Supreme Court jurisprudence ultimately redefined the criteria for delimiting this large occupational category based on what was understood as its particular spatialization (the indoor household space) and its distinctive temporalization (guided by family needs instead of production demands). Designating workers who fit these criteria as “simple domestics,” the Court erased any professional specialization among them, marginalizing this overwhelmingly female workforce from other service workers, such as doormen and private drivers, who had previously been considered “domestic.”
APPROXIMATION OF THE TAIL PROBABILITIES FOR BIDIMENSIONAL RANDOMLY WEIGHTED SUMS WITH DEPENDENT COMPONENTS
Authors: Shen Xinmei , Ge Mingyue , Fu Ke-Ang
Published: December 2018

Let $\left\{ {{\bi X}_k = {(X_{1,k},X_{2,k})}^{\top}, k \ge 1} \right\}$ be a sequence of independent and identically distributed random vectors whose components are allowed to be generally dependent with marginal distributions being from the class of extended regular variation, and let $\left\{ {{\brTheta} _k = {(\Theta _{1,k},\Theta _{2,k})}^{\top}, k \ge 1} \right\}$ be a sequence of nonnegative random vectors that is independent of $\left\{ {{\bi X}_k, k \ge 1} \right\}$. Under several mild assumptions, some simple asymptotic formulae of the tail probabilities for the bidimensional randomly weighted sums $\left( {\sum\nolimits_{k = 1}^n {\Theta _{1,k}} X_{1,k},\sum\nolimits_{k = 1}^n {\Theta _{2,k}} X_{2,k}} \right)^{\rm \top }$ and their maxima $({{\max} _{1 \le i \le n}}\sum\nolimits_{k = 1}^i {\Theta _{1,k}} X_{1,k},{{\max} _{1 \le i \le n}}\sum\nolimits_{k = 1}^i {\Theta _{2,k}} X_{2,k})^{\rm \top }$ are established. Moreover, uniformity of the estimate can be achieved under some technical moment conditions on $\left\{ {{\brTheta} _k, k \ge 1} \right\}$. Direct applications of the results to risk analysis are proposed, with two types of ruin probability for a discrete-time bidimensional risk model being evaluated.
A NOTE ON RÉNYI'S ENTROPY RATE FOR TIME-INHOMOGENEOUS MARKOV CHAINS
Authors: Li Wenxi , Wang Zhongzhi
Published: December 2018

In this note, we use the Perron–Frobenius theorem to obtain the Rényi's entropy rate for a time-inhomogeneous Markov chain whose transition matrices converge to a primitive matrix. As direct corollaries, we also obtain the Rényi's entropy rate for asymptotic circular Markov chain and the Rényi's divergence rate between two time-inhomogeneous Markov chains.
Association between Rift Valley fever virus seroprevalences in livestock and humans and their respective intra-cluster correlation coefficients, Tana River County, Kenya
Authors: Bett B. , Lindahl J. , Sang R. , Wainaina M. , Kairu-Wanyoike S. , Bukachi S. , Njeru I. , Karanja J. , Ontiri E. , Kariuki Njenga M. , Wright D. , Warimwe G. M. , Grace D.
Published: December 2018

We implemented a cross-sectional study in Tana River County, Kenya, a Rift Valley fever (RVF)-endemic area, to quantify the strength of association between RVF virus (RVFv) seroprevalences in livestock and humans, and their respective intra-cluster correlation coefficients (ICCs). The study involved 1932 livestock from 152 households and 552 humans from 170 households. Serum samples were collected and screened for anti-RVFv immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies using inhibition IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Data collected were analysed using generalised linear mixed effects models, with herd/household and village being fitted as random variables. The overall RVFv seroprevalences in livestock and humans were 25.41% (95% confidence interval (CI) 23.49–27.42%) and 21.20% (17.86–24.85%), respectively. The presence of at least one seropositive animal in a household was associated with an increased odds of exposure in people of 2.23 (95% CI 1.03–4.84). The ICCs associated with RVF virus seroprevalence in livestock were 0.30 (95% CI 0.19–0.44) and 0.22 (95% CI 0.12–0.38) within and between herds, respectively. These findings suggest that there is a greater variability of RVF virus exposure between than within herds. We discuss ways of using these ICC estimates in observational surveys for RVF in endemic areas and postulate that the design of the sentinel herd surveillance should consider patterns of RVF clustering to enhance its effectiveness as an early warning system for RVF epidemics.
Characterization of first blastomeres in Patagonian blenny (Eleginops maclovinus) (Perciformes: Eleginopidae)
Authors: Isler Iván Valdebenito , Figueroa Villalobos Elías , Sandoval Leydy , Contreras Mellado Pablo , Sánchez Caamaño Juan Carlos , Avendaño Jorge Farías , Risopatrón Jennie
Published: December 2018

There is no information about the characteristics of early cleavage in the Patagonian blennie (Eleginops maclovinus), which can be used as a diagnostic tool for embryo quality. The purpose of this investigation, therefore, was to characterize the first blastomeres of E. maclovinus morphologically. Of a ‘pool’ of incubated eggs at 10.7 ± 0.5°C, 100 microphotographs of blastodiscs were extracted at different incubation periods from 0.25 to 5 h after fertilization and analyzed. Blastodiscs taken at 3.5, 4.0 and 5.0 h were characterized and classified into symmetric or asymmetric groups according to their morphology. The proportions of length (L) and width (W) of each blastomere were determined to establish its symmetry. Additionally, 20 microphotographs of blastodiscs of normal appearance were analyzed morphologically (control blastodisc: CB) and compared other blastodiscs (4.0 and 5.0 h). The results showed that before fertilization oocytes presented a somehow turgid aspect (maximum average diameter of 987 ± 41 µm) and after fertilization and hydration, their diameter increased to 1001.5 ± 11 µm (but not statistically significant) and presented a spherical shape. First cleavage ends after 3.5 h of development, forming two blastomeres 467 ± 45 μm length (L) and 328 ± 21 μm width (W) with a L/W ratio of 1.43 ± 0.19. The second cleavage ends after development at 4.5 h forming four blastomeres 238 ± 65 μm length and 227 ± 65 μm width with a ratio L/W of 1.06 ± 0.09. Five categories were identified during the blastomere characterization: 70% normal or symmetric; 8% with odd numbers of blastomeres; 6% unequal; 6% ‘pie shaped’ and 10% amorphous.
Comparison of national cross-sectional breast-feeding surveys by maternal education in Europe (2006–2016)
Authors: Sarki Mahesh , Parlesak Alexandr , Robertson Aileen
Published: December 2018

Objective

Breast-feeding is an important determinant of health of mothers and their offspring. The present study aimed to compare breast-feeding rates across Europe disaggregated by maternal education and establish what proportion achieves at least 50 % exclusive breast-feeding (EBF) at 6 months.

Design/Setting

Secondary analysis of national or sub-national studies’ breast-feeding data for EU Member States plus Norway and Iceland, published in 2006–2016. Nineteen EU Member States plus Norway reported rates of EBF and any breast-feeding disaggregated by maternal education, of which only thirteen could be matched to the International Standard Classification of Education.

Participants

Mothers and their infants aged 0–12 months.

Results

Data on EBF rates at 6 and 4 months were found in only four and six countries, respectively. At 6 months, EBF rates of 49 % in Slovakia and 44 % in Hungary were closest to WHO’s target of at least 50 % EBF. At 4 months, mothers with high education level in Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany had the highest EBF rates (71, 52 and 50 %, respectively). Mothers with low education level were less likely to initiate breast-feeding and cessation occurred early. The inequality gap ranged from 63 % in Irish mothers to no gap or very low levels of inequality in Poland, Sweden and Norway.

Conclusions

More mothers with high, compared with low, education initiate breast-feeding and practise EBF for longer. More European policies should be targeted to protect, support and promote breast-feeding, especially among mothers with only mandatory education.
Effects of folic acid food fortification scenarios on the folate intake of a multi-ethnic pregnant population
Authors: Teixeira Juliana A , Castro Teresa G , Wall Clare R , Marchioni Dirce Maria , Berry Sarah , Morton Susan MB , Grant Cameron C
Published: December 2018

Objective

To simulate effects of different scenarios of folic acid fortification of food on dietary folate equivalents (DFE) intake in an ethnically diverse sample of pregnant women.

Design

A forty-four-item FFQ was used to evaluate dietary intake of the population. DFE intakes were estimated for different scenarios of food fortification with folic acid: (i) voluntary fortification; (ii) increased voluntary fortification; (iii) simulated bread mandatory fortification; and (iv) simulated grains-and-rice mandatory fortification.

Setting

Ethnically and socio-economically diverse cohort of pregnant women in New Zealand.

Participants

Pregnant women (n 5664) whose children were born in 2009–2010.

Results

Participants identified their ethnicity as European (56·0 %), Asian (14·2 %), Māori (13·2 %), Pacific (12·8 %) or Others (3·8 %). Bread, breakfast cereals and yeast spread were main food sources of DFE in the two voluntary fortification scenarios. However, for Asian women, green leafy vegetables, bread and breakfast cereals were main contributors of DFE in these scenarios. In descending order, proportions of different ethnic groups in the lowest tertile of DFE intake for the four fortification scenarios were: Asian (39–60 %), Others (41–44 %), European (31–37 %), Pacific (23–26 %) and Māori (23–27 %). In comparisons within each ethnic group across scenarios of food fortification with folic acid, differences were observed only with DFE intake higher in the simulated grains-and-rice mandatory fortification v. other scenarios.

Conclusions

If grain and rice fortification with folic acid was mandatory in New Zealand, DFE intakes would be more evenly distributed among pregnant women of different ethnicities, potentially reducing ethnic group differences in risk of lower folate intakes.
Politics, markets, and rare commodities: responses to Chinese rare earth policy
Authors: Vekasi Kristin
Published: December 2018

This paper examines economic statecraft in the case of rare-earth elements, of which China controls over 90% of the world's current supply, and famously cut off exports to Japan during a territorial dispute in 2010. The rare-earth sanctions provide an opportunity to investigate claims of economic statecraft, power and interdependence, and the political implications of near-monopoly control of a resource critical for high-tech military, consumer, medical, and environmental industries. A vector error correction model statistically disentangles the effects of China's economic statecraft from their rare-earth quota and pricing policies. Prior to the sanctions, there was little international supply diversification. China's purported use of rare-earth elements was an economically costly diplomatic signal that demonstrated their potential leverage, but also had unintended consequences, as Japan moved to diversify rare-earth supplies and in doing so deepened diplomatic ties with China's neighbors. Economic statecraft served to heighten regional tensions and undermine the China's own end goals.
Electoral incentives, policy compromise, and coalition durability: Japan's LDP–Komeito Government in a mixed electoral system
Authors: Liff Adam P. , Maeda Ko
Published: December 2018

Political parties’ behavior in coalition formation is commonly explained by their policy-, vote-, and office-seeking incentives. From these perspectives, the 20-year partnership of Japan's ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its pacifistic Komeito junior coalition partner is an anomalous case. The longevity, closeness, and nature of their unlikely partnership challenges core assumptions in existing theories of coalition politics. LDP–Komeito cooperation has sustained for two decades despite vastly different support bases and ideological differences on fundamental policy issues. LDP leaders also show no signs of abandoning the much smaller Komeito despite enjoying a single-party majority. We argue that the remarkable durability of this puzzling partnership results primarily from the two parties’ electoral incentives and what has effectively become codependence under Japan's mixed electoral system. Our analysis also demonstrates that being in a coalition can induce significant policy compromises, even from amuchlarger senior partner. Beyond theoretical implications, these phenomena yield important real-world consequences for Japanese politics: especially, a far less dominant LDP than the party's Diet seat total suggests, and Komeito's remarkable ability to punch significantly above its weight and constrain its far larger senior partner, even on the latter's major national security policy priorities.
When and Where Do Women's Legislative Caucuses Emerge?
Authors: Mahoney Anna Mitchell , Clark Christopher J.
Published: December 2018

Women have organized around their gendered identity to accomplish political goals both inside and outside legislatures. Formal and informal institutional norms shape the form this collective action takes and whether it is successful. What, then, are the favorable conditions for organizing women's caucuses inside legislatures? Using an original dataset and employing an event history analysis, we identify the institutional conditions under which women's caucuses emerged in the 50 US states from 1972 to 2009. Within a feminist institutional framework, we argue that women's ability to alter existing organizational structures and potentially affect gender norms within legislatures is contextual. Although we find that women's presence in conjunction with Democratic Party control partially explains women's ability to act collectively and in a bipartisan way within legislatures, our analysis suggests that institutional-level variables are not enough to untangle this complicated phenomenon. Our work explains how gender and party interact to shape legislative behavior and clarifies the intractability of institutional norms while compelling further qualitative evidence to uncover the best conditions for women's collective action within legislatures.
New insights into the morphology of the Carboniferous tetrapodCrassigyrinus scoticusfrom computed tomography
Authors: HERBST Eva C. , HUTCHINSON John R.
Published: December 2018

The Carboniferous tetrapodCrassigyrinus scoticusis an enigmatic animal in terms of its morphology and its phylogenetic position.Crassigyrinushad extremely reduced forelimbs, and was aquatic, perhaps secondarily. Recent phylogenetic analyses tentatively placeCrassigyrinusclose to the whatcheeriids. Many Carboniferous tetrapods exhibit several characteristics associated with terrestrial locomotion, and much research has focused on how this novel locomotor mode evolved. However, to estimate the selective pressures and constraints during this important time in vertebrate evolution, it is also important to study early tetrapods likeCrassigyrinusthat either remained aquatic or secondarily became aquatic. We used computed tomographic scanning to search for more data about the skeletal morphology ofCrassigyrinusand discovered several elements previously hidden by the matrix. These elements include more ribs, another neural arch, potential evidence of an ossified pubis and maybe of pleurocentra. We also discovered several additional metatarsals with interesting asymmetrical morphology that may have functional implications. Finally, we reclassify what was previously thought to be a left sacral rib as a left fibula and show previously unknown aspects of the morphology of the radius. These discoveries are examined in functional and phylogenetic contexts.
Thermal Evolution of the Impact‐Induced Cryomagma Chamber Beneath Occator Crater on Ceres
Authors: Hesse M. A. , Castillo‐Rogez J. C.
Published: December 2018

The faculae in Occator Crater on dwarf planet Ceres are an accumulation of salts that have been interpreted as cryovolcanic products. Current age estimates from crater counting suggest a maximum 18‐Ma difference between the crater forming impact and the formation of Cerealia Facula, the central and most recent region in the crater. Here we model the thermal evolution of the potential impact‐induced cryomagma chamber beneath Occator Crater and show that it cools in less than 12 Ma. To reach cooling times of 18 Ma requires initial melt volumes exceeding 11,000 km3. However, simulations suggest that smaller initial cryomagma chambers may lead to partial melting of the lower crust. This may allow recharge of the magma chamber by deep brines located in the porous upper mantle of Ceres and may extend the longevity of cryovolcanic activity.
Fault Reactivation by Fluid Injection: Controls From Stress State and Injection Rate
Authors: Passelègue François. X. , Brantut Nicolas , Mitchell Thomas M.
Published: December 2018

We studied the influence of stress state and fluid injection rate on the reactivation of faults. We conducted experiments on a saw cut Westerly granite sample under triaxial stress conditions. Fault reactivation was triggered by injecting fluids through a borehole directly connected to the fault. Our results show that the peak fluid pressure at the borehole leading to reactivation increases with injection rate. Elastic wave velocity measurements along‐fault strike highlight that high injection rates induce significant fluid pressure heterogeneities, which explains that in such cases, the onset of fault reactivation is not determined by a conventional Coulomb law and effective stress principle, but rather by a nonlocal rupture initiation criterion. Our results demonstrate that increasing the injection rate enhances the transition from drained to locally undrained conditions, where local but intense fluid pressures perturbations can reactivate large faults, and contribute to continuing seismicity beyond the period of injection.
A framework for estimating the US mortality burden of fine particulate matter exposure attributable to indoor and outdoor microenvironments
Authors: Azimi Parham , Stephens Brent
Published: December 2018

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is associated with increased mortality. Although epidemiology studies typically use outdoor PM2.5 concentrations as surrogates for exposure, the majority of PM2.5 exposure in the US occurs in microenvironments other than outdoors. We develop a framework for estimating the total US mortality burden attributable to exposure to PM2.5 of both indoor and outdoor origin in the primary non-smoking microenvironments in which people spend most of their time. The framework utilizes an exposure-response function combined with adjusted mortality effect estimates that account for underlying exposures to PM2.5 of outdoor origin that likely occurred in the original epidemiology populations from which effect estimates are derived. We demonstrate the framework using several different scenarios to estimate the potential magnitude and bounds of the US mortality burden attributable to total PM2.5 exposure across all non-smoking environments under a variety of assumptions. Our best estimates of the US mortality burden associated with total PM2.5 exposure in the year 2012 range from ~230,000 to ~300,000 deaths. Indoor exposure to PM2.5 of outdoor origin is typically the largest total exposure, accounting for ~40–60% of total mortality, followed by residential exposure to indoor PM2.5 sources, which also drives the majority of variability in each scenario.
Temporal proteomic profiling of postnatal human cortical development
Authors: Breen Michael S. , Ozcan Sureyya , Ramsey Jordan M. , Wang Zichen , Ma’ayan Avi , Rustogi Nitin , Gottschalk Michael G. , Webster Maree J. , Weickert Cynthia Shannon , Buxbaum Joseph D. , Bahn Sabine
Published: December 2018

Healthy cortical development depends on precise regulation of transcription and translation. However, the dynamics of how proteins are expressed, function and interact across postnatal human cortical development remain poorly understood. We surveyed the proteomic landscape of 69 dorsolateral prefrontal cortex samples across seven stages of postnatal life and integrated these data with paired transcriptome data. We detected 911 proteins by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and 83 were significantly associated with postnatal age (FDR < 5%). Network analysis identified three modules of co-regulated proteins correlated with age, including two modules with increasing expression involved in gliogenesis and NADH metabolism and one neurogenesis-related module with decreasing expression throughout development. Integration with paired transcriptome data revealed that these age-related protein modules overlapped with RNA modules and displayed collinear developmental trajectories. Importantly, RNA expression profiles that are dynamically regulated throughout cortical development display tighter correlations with their respective translated protein expression compared to those RNA profiles that are not. Moreover, the correspondence between RNA and protein expression significantly decreases as a function of cortical aging, especially for genes involved in myelination and cytoskeleton organization. Finally, we used this data resource to elucidate the functional impact of genetic risk loci for intellectual disability, converging on gliogenesis, myelination and ATP-metabolism modules in the proteome and transcriptome. We share all data in an interactive, searchable companion website. Collectively, our findings reveal dynamic aspects of protein regulation and provide new insights into brain development, maturation, and disease.
CREPT/RPRD1B associates with Aurora B to regulate Cyclin B1 expression for accelerating the G2/M transition in gastric cancer
Authors: Ding Lidan , Yang Liu , He Yuqi , Zhu Bingtao , Ren Fangli , Fan Xuanzi , Wang Yinyin , Li Mengdi , Li Jun , Kuang Yanshen , Liu Sihan , Zhai Wanli , Ma Danhui , Ju Yanfang , Liu Quentin , Jia Baoqing , Sheng Jianqiu , Chang Zhijie
Published: December 2018

Gastric cancer, like most of other cancers, has an uncontrolled cell cycle regulated by cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs). In this study, we reported that gastric cancer cells showed an accelerated G2/M transition promoted by CREPT/RPRD1B and Aurora kinase B (Aurora B). We found that CREPT/RPRD1B and Aurora B were coordinately expressed during the cell cycle in gastric cancer cells. Deletion of CREPT/RPRD1B disturbed the cell progression and extended the length of cell cycle, leading to a significant accumulation of mitotic cells. Mechanistically, we revealed that CREPT/RPRD1B interacted with Aurora B to regulate the expression of Cyclin B1 in gastric cancer cells. Interestingly, Aurora B phosphorylates S145 in a well-conserved motif of CREPT/RPRD1B. We proposed that phosphorylation of CREPT/RPRD1B by Aurora B is required for promoting the transcription of Cyclin B1, which is critical for the regulation of gastric tumorigenesis. Our study provides a mechanism by which gastric tumor cells maintain their high proliferation rate via coordination of Aurora B and CREPT/RPRD1B on the expression of Cyclin B1. Targeting the interaction of Aurora B and CREPT/RPRD1B might be a strategy for anti-gastric cancer therapy in the future.
Ferritin heavy subunit enhances apoptosis of non-small cell lung cancer cells through modulation of miR-125b/p53 axis
Authors: Biamonte Flavia , Battaglia Anna Martina , Zolea Fabiana , Oliveira Duarte Mendes , Aversa Ilenia , Santamaria Gianluca , Giovannone Emilia Dora , Rocco Gaetano , Viglietto Giuseppe , Costanzo Francesco
Published: December 2018

Ferritin is a nanocage protein composed by the variable assembly of 24 heavy and light subunits. As major intracellular iron storage protein, ferritin has been studied for many years in the context of iron metabolism. However, recent evidences have highlighted its role, in particular that of the heavy subunit (FHC), in pathways related to cancer development and progression, such as cell proliferation, growth suppressor evasion, cell death inhibition, and angiogenesis. At least partly, the involvement in these pathways is due to the ability of FHC to control the expression of a repertoire of oncogenes and oncomiRNAs. Moreover, the existence of a feedback loop between FHC and the tumor suppressor p53 has been demonstrated in different cell types. Here, we show that ectopic over-expression of FHC induces the promoter hypermethylation and the down-regulation of miR-125b that, in turn, enhances p53 protein expression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines. Notably, analysis by absolute quantitative RT-PCR of FHC, miR-125b, and p53 strongly suggests that this axis might be active in human NSCLC tissue specimens. In vitro, FHC over-expression attenuates survival of NSCLC cells by inducing p53-mediated intrinsic apoptosis that is partially abrogated upon miR-125b re-expression. Overall, our findings demonstrate that FHC acts as a tumor suppressor gene, thus providing a potential molecular strategy for induction of NSCLC apoptotic cell death.