bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Context sensitivity in action decreases along the autism spectrum: a predictive processing perspective
Authors: Palmer Colin J. , Paton Bryan , Kirkovski Melissa , Enticott Peter G. , Hohwy Jakob
Published: January 2015

Recent predictive processing accounts of perception and action point towards a key challenge for the nervous system in dynamically optimizing the balance between incoming sensory information and existing expectations regarding the state of the environment. Here, we report differences in the influence of the preceding sensory context on motor function, varying with respect to both clinical and subclinical features of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Reach-to-grasp movements were recorded subsequent to an inactive period in which illusory ownership of a prosthetic limb was induced. We analysed the sub-components of reach trajectories derived using a minimum-jerk fitting procedure. Non-clinical adults low in autistic features showed disrupted movement execution following the illusion compared to a control condition. By contrast, individuals higher in autistic features (both those with ASD and non-clinical individuals high in autistic traits) showed reduced sensitivity to the presence of the illusion in their reaching movements while still exhibiting the typical perceptual effects of the illusion. Clinical individuals were distinct from non-clinical individuals scoring high in autistic features, however, in the early stages of movement. These results suggest that the influence of high-level representations of the environment differs between individuals, contributing to clinical and subclinical differences in motor performance that manifest in a contextual manner. As high-level representations of context help to explain fluctuations in sensory input over relatively longer time scales, more circumscribed sensitivity to prior or contextual information in autistic sensory processing could contribute more generally to reduced social comprehension, sensory impairments and a stronger desire for predictability and routine.
Climate variability slows evolutionary responses of
Colias
butterflies to recent climate change
Authors: Kingsolver Joel G. , Buckley Lauren B.
Published: January 2015

How does recent climate warming and climate variability alter fitness, phenotypic selection and evolution in natural populations? We combine biophysical, demographic and evolutionary models with recent climate data to address this question for the subalpine and alpine butterfly,
Colias meadii
, in the southern Rocky Mountains. We focus on predicting patterns of selection and evolution for a key thermoregulatory trait, melanin (solar absorptivity) on the posterior ventral hindwings, which affects patterns of body temperature, flight activity, adult and egg survival, and reproductive success in
Colias
. Both mean annual summer temperatures and thermal variability within summers have increased during the past 60 years at subalpine and alpine sites. At the subalpine site, predicted directional selection on wing absorptivity has shifted from generally positive (favouring increased wing melanin) to generally negative during the past 60 years, but there is substantial variation among years in the predicted magnitude and direction of selection and the optimal absorptivity. The predicted magnitude of directional selection at the alpine site declined during the past 60 years and varies substantially among years, but selection has generally been positive at this site. Predicted evolutionary responses to mean climate warming at the subalpine site since 1980 is small, because of the variability in selection and asymmetry of the fitness function. At both sites, the predicted effects of adaptive evolution on mean population fitness are much smaller than the fluctuations in mean fitness due to climate variability among years. Our analyses suggest that variation in climate within and among years may strongly limit evolutionary responses of ectotherms to mean climate warming in these habitats.
Geographical variation in mutualistic networks: similarity, turnover and partner fidelity
Authors: Trøjelsgaard Kristian , Jordano Pedro , Carstensen Daniel W. , Olesen Jens M.
Published: January 2015

Although species and their interactions in unison represent biodiversity and all the ecological and evolutionary processes associated with life, biotic interactions have, contrary to species, rarely been integrated into the concepts of spatial β-diversity. Here, we examine β-diversity of ecological networks by using pollination networks sampled across the Canary Islands. We show that adjacent and distant communities are more and less similar, respectively, in their composition of plants, pollinators and interactions than expected from random distributions. We further show that replacement of species is the major driver of interaction turnover and that this contribution increases with distance. Finally, we quantify that species-specific partner compositions (here called partner fidelity) deviate from random partner use, but vary as a result of ecological and geographical variables. In particular, breakdown of partner fidelity was facilitated by increasing geographical distance, changing abundances and changing linkage levels, but was not related to the geographical distribution of the species. This highlights the importance of space when comparing communities of interacting species and may stimulate a rethinking of the spatial interpretation of interaction networks. Moreover, geographical interaction dynamics and its causes are important in our efforts to anticipate effects of large-scale changes, such as anthropogenic disturbances.
Discovery of a polyomavirus in European badgers (Meles meles) and the evolution of host range in the family Polyomaviridae
Authors: Hill Sarah C. , Murphy Aisling A. , Cotten Matthew , Palser Anne L. , Benson Phillip , Lesellier Sandrine , Gormley Eamonn , Richomme Céline , Grierson Sylvia , Bhuachalla Deirdre Ni , Chambers Mark , Kellam Paul , Boschiroli María-Laura , Ehlers Bernhard , Jarvis Michael A. , Pybus Oliver G.
Published: January 2015

Polyomaviruses infect a diverse range of mammalian and avian hosts, and are associated with a variety of symptoms. However, it is unknown whether the viruses are found in all mammalian families and the evolutionary history of the polyomaviruses is still unclear. Here, we report the discovery of a novel polyomavirus in the European badger (Meles meles), which to our knowledge represents the first polyomavirus to be characterized in the family Mustelidae, and within a European carnivoran. Although the virus was discovered serendipitously in the supernatant of a cell culture inoculated with badger material, we subsequently confirmed its presence in wild badgers. The European badger polyomavirus was tentatively named Meles meles polyomavirus 1 (MmelPyV1). The genome is 5187 bp long and encodes proteins typical of polyomaviruses. Phylogenetic analyses including all known polyomavirus genomes consistently group MmelPyV1 with California sea lion polyomavirus 1 across all regions of the genome. Further evolutionary analyses revealed phylogenetic discordance amongst polyomavirus genome regions, possibly arising from evolutionary rate heterogeneity, and a complex association between polyomavirus phylogeny and host taxonomic groups.
Inhibition of Auxin Signaling in Frankia Species-Infected Cells in Casuarina glauca Nodules Leads to Increased Nodulation
Authors: Champion Antony , Lucas Mikael , Tromas Alexandre , Vaissayre Virginie , Crabos Amandine , Diédhiou Issa , Prodjinoto Hermann , Moukouanga Daniel , Pirolles Elodie , Cissoko Maïmouna , Bonneau Jocelyne , Gherbi Hassen , Franche Claudine , Hocher Valérie , Svistoonoff Sergio , Laplaze Laurent
Published: January 2015

Actinorhizal symbioses are mutualistic interactions between plants and the soil bacteria Frankia spp. that lead to the formation of nitrogen-fixing root nodules. The plant hormone auxin has been suggested to play a role in the mechanisms that control the establishment of this symbiosis in the actinorhizal tree Casuarina glauca. Here, we analyzed the role of auxin signaling in Frankia spp.-infected cells. Using a dominant-negative version of an endogenous auxin-signaling regulator, INDOLE-3-ACETIC ACID7, we established that inhibition of auxin signaling in these cells led to increased nodulation and, as a consequence, to higher nitrogen fixation per plant even if nitrogen fixation per nodule mass was similar to that in the wild type. Our results suggest that auxin signaling in Frankia spp.-infected cells is involved in the long-distance regulation of nodulation in actinorhizal symbioses.
XFEL diffraction: developing processing methods to optimize data quality
Authors: Sauter Nicholas K.
Published: January 2015

Serial crystallography, using either femtosecond X-ray pulses from free-electron laser sources or short synchrotron-radiation exposures, has the potential to reveal metalloprotein structural details while minimizing damage processes. However, deriving a self-consistent set of Bragg intensities from numerous still-crystal exposures remains a difficult problem, with optimal protocols likely to be quite different from those well established for rotation photography. Here several data processing issues unique to serial crystallography are examined. It is found that the limiting resolution differs for each shot, an effect that is likely to be due to both the sample heterogeneity and pulse-to-pulse variation in experimental conditions. Shots with lower resolution limits produce lower-quality models for predicting Bragg spot positions during the integration step. Also, still shots by their nature record only partial measurements of the Bragg intensity. An approximate model that corrects to the full-spot equivalent (with the simplifying assumption that the X-rays are monochromatic) brings the distribution of intensities closer to that expected from an ideal crystal, and improves the sharpness of anomalous difference Fourier peaks indicating metal positions.
Men procuring sexual services from women: everyman or peculiar man?
Authors: Birch Philip , Ireland Jane
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore characteristics of men procuring sexual services from women.

Design/methodology/approach

– This is a quantitative study using questionnaires and purposive sampling. The sample was from New South Wales, Australia, and included brothels and outreach organisations where sex work is decriminalised. The participants were 309 men who reported procuring sexual services with women.

Findings

– Primary motivations for procurement included thrill/excitement and attractiveness of the sex worker. Cluster analysis identified five groups, the most frequent being those with a drive for exciting, thrill-seeking sex with an attractive partner and those with the same drive but not wanting investment. High proportions of men were married, in professional employment and did not present with a criminal history. Sexual experiences procured were conventional. Procurement presented as an enduring behaviour maintained across decades, commencing at a young age. Involvement in procurement preceded decriminalisation.

Practical implications

– The results do not support men's procurement as primarily “deviant”. Professionals may need to explicitly enquire about such behaviour where relevant to do so (e.g. in discussing sexual health) and in doing so ensure procurement is discussed as normative and not as unusual behaviour.

Originality/value

– Challenges any conceptualisation of procurement as deviant, extending the research base further by capturing users of such services as opposed to attitudes towards procurement.
The psychosocial experience of role reversal for paraprofessionals providing substance misuse and offender treatment: an interpretative phenomenological analysis
Authors: James Nicola , Harvey Joel
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– Many ex-offenders and substance misusers are employed in the treatment and intervention of offenders. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this role as a protective factor in the maintenance of desistance.

Design/methodology/approach

– Seven paraprofessional employees of a substance misuse service were interviewed using semi-structured interview and analysed by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis.

Findings

– Four super-ordinate themes emerged: “The Fragile Sense of Self”; “Hitting Rock Bottom”; “Belonging and identity” and “Maintaining the role reversal”. These themes captured the journey of moving through crime and substance misuse into desistance and employment.

Research limitations/implications

– The sample size is small; therefore generalisation is reduced. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) could be considered subjective. Further research should attempt to explore similar ideas with different populations and using different methods.

Practical implications

– This work suggests that practitioners and policy makers should look at the vital importance of paraprofessional employment in relation to desistance from crime.

Social implications

– Offenders and substance misusers are often left without direction or a fixed new identity, and return to the only life they have known. This study suggests that paraprofessional employment might provide a sense of belonging and identity that could benefit the ex-offender, their clients and society.

Originality/value

– This is an opportunity to advance knowledge in the area of paraprofessional employment as an aid to “recovery” and lifelong desistance.
An empirical investigation of the role of rural development policies in stimulating rural entrepreneurship in the Lazio Region of Italy
Authors: De Rosa Marcello , McElwee Gerard
Published: January 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of the paper is to provide an analysis of the adoption of Rural Development Policies (Rdp) as the result of entrepreneurial behaviours carried out by family farms with a focus on the Lazio Region of Italy. Family farming is the backbone of the European model of agriculture. Rdp provide family farms with a set of opportunities which, if well exploited, could drum up farm’s development.

Design/methodology/approach

– An empirical analysis of a data base provided by the Lazion region of Italy on the adoption of Rdp by family farms in the Lazio region for the period of 2007-2013. Cluster analysis is the main analytical tool used.

Findings

– The results evidence significant differences in the adoption of rural policy on the basis of family life cycle and the composition of the family farm. The empirical analysis underlines the low degree of coherence by farms located in rural areas.

Practical implications

– Farmers’ success in accessing funds requires them to be proactive and take a strategic perspective to convince funders that they have a coherent strategy which meets the requirements of the particular Rdp which they are trying to access.

Social implications

– In terms of policy, a more nuanced understanding of the entrepreneurial nature of some practices in a rural setting and how they require multi-agency investigation.

Originality/value

– The paper is unique, in that it considers the consumption of policy by farmers who are entrepreneurial in their vision. By consumption of Rdp, we mean the farmer’s strategic capability to obtain funds from regional funding pots for rural development.
Correlation between osteocalcin‐positive endothelial progenitor cells and spotty calcification in patients with coronary artery disease
Authors: Zhang He , Wang Li‐jun , Si Dong‐lei , Wang Chuan , Yang Jing‐ci , Jiang Ping , Du Chao , Wang Jian‐jun
Published: January 2015

Immature endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) carrying osteocalcin (OCN) might mediate vascUlar calcification in coronary artery disease (CAD). Spotty calcification within atherosclerotic plaque is associated with cardiovascular events. The aim of the present study was to assess the correlation between immature EPC levels and spotty calcification in CAD patients. In the 224 CAD patients studied, 76 had acute myocardial infarction (AMI), 102 had unstable angina pectoris (UAP), and 46 had stable angina pectoris (SAP). The levels of OCN‐positive (OCN+) EPC were analysed by flow cytometry. The status of spotty calcification was determined by cardiac computed tomography angiography. OCN+ EPC and calcium deposits were significantly increased in acute coronary artery syndrome (ACS) when compared with those in SAP patients. Positive correlation was also revealed between the number of OCN+ EPC and the frequency of spotty calcification and levels of serum high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein (hs‐CRP) and serum alkaline phosphatase in AMI and UAP patients. In summary, the number of OCN+ EPC is positively related to the frequency of spotty calcification in ACS patients. Serum hs‐CRP and serum alkaline levels are thought to contribute to the elevation of OCN+ EPC.
Fungicide efflux and the MgMFS1 transporter contribute to the multidrug resistance phenotype in Zymoseptoria tritici field isolates
Authors: Omrane Selim , Sghyer Hind , Audéon Colette , Lanen Catherine , Duplaix Clémentine , Walker Anne‐Sophie , Fillinger Sabine
Published: January 2015

Septoria leaf blotch is mainly controlled by fungicides. Zymoseptoria tritici, which is responsible for this disease, displays strong adaptive capacity to fungicide challenge. It developed resistance to most fungicides due to target site modifications. Recently, isolated strains showed cross‐resistance to fungicides with unrelated modes of action, suggesting a resistance mechanism known as multidrug resistance (MDR). We show enhanced prochloraz efflux, sensitive to the modulators amitryptiline and chlorpromazine, for two Z. tritici strains, displaying an MDR phenotype in addition to the genotypes CYP51I381V Y461H or CYP51I381V ΔY459/G460, respectively, hereafter named MDR6 and MDR7. Efflux was also inhibited by verapamil in the MDR7 strain. RNA sequencing lead to the identification of several transporter genes overexpressed in both MDR strains. The expression of the MgMFS1 gene was the strongest and constitutively high in MDR field strains. Its inactivation in the MDR6 strain abolished resistance to fungicides with different modes of action supporting its involvement in MDR in Z. tritici. A 519 bp insert in the MgMFS1 promoter was detected in half of the tested MDR field strains, but absent from sensitive field strains, suggesting that the insert is correlated with the observed MDR phenotype. Besides MgMfs1, other transporters and mutations may be involved in MDR in Z. tritici.
Factors influencing farmers’ participation in contractual biodiversity conservation: a choice experiment with northern Australian pastoralists
Authors: Greiner Romy
Published: January 2015

Private landholders’ contributions to biodiversity conservation are critical in landscapes with insufficient formal conservation reserves, as is the case in Australia's tropical savannas. This study reports results from a discrete choice experiment conducted with pastoralists and graziers across northern Australia. The experiment was designed to explore the willingness of pastoralists and graziers to sign up to voluntary biodiversity conservation contracts. Understanding preferences for contractual attributes and preference heterogeneity were additional objectives. Such knowledge can increase effectiveness and efficiency of conservation programs by informing contract design, negotiation and administration. Random parameter logit modelling showed that of contract attributes, conservation requirement, stewardship payment, contract duration and flexibility in contract conditions significantly influenced choices. Land productivity was a significant factor as were attitudes. There was significant heterogeneity of preferences for all contract attributes. Models were run for best–worst scaling responses and the first preferences subset, with the latter model deemed superior. Latent class modelling distinguished four classes of decision‐makers and illustrated different decision heuristics. Conservation investment strategies, which offer farmers contract options that meet biodiversity requirements while accommodating heterogeneous attribute preferences, are likely to lead to increased participation rates. Complementary suasion efforts are also required which espouse the benefits that pastoralists derive from biodiversity and participation in voluntary conservation contracts.
Financial Accountability: The Contribution of Senate Estimates
Authors: Bowrey Graham , Smark Ciorstan , Watts Ted
Published: January 2015

One of the key financial accountability processes in the Australian system of government is the Budget Estimates hearings of the Senate Legislation Committees. These Estimates hearings focus on undertaking a detailed examination of the proposed annual expenditure of government departments and authorities outlined in the Appropriation Bills. The hearings also provide participating Senators the opportunity to question senior public sector managers about the delivery of government services. This paper, through the application of content analysis of the Hansard transcripts of a government organization, explores the extent to which the Estimates hearings contribute to the financial accountability process of the Senate Legislation Committees and correspondingly the accountability of Parliament and government. The key findings of this study of the selected Hansards is that the Senate Legislation Committees’ Estimates hearings do contribute to the discharge of both Parliament's and the Government's financial accountability.
Crises and Paradigm Shift: A Response to Critics
Authors: Mackintosh Stuart P. M.
Published: January 2015

International financial and regulatory reform continues in 2014, building upon the burst of crisis‐induced institutional and regulatory reforms begun in 2008. In particular, the Financial Stability Board is an element and an agent of reform and this paradigm shift. The leap taken was and remains a predominantly technocratic central banking macroprudential narrative and process, controlled by this elite epistemic community. As the new regulatory normal evolves in 2014, it now does so at a slower pace, as the crisis appears to abate. Today elements of paradigm defence, maintenance and resilience are seen.
English Question or Union Question? Neither has Easy Answers
Authors: Hazell Robert , Sandford Mark
Published: January 2015

While devolution has provided a stronger political voice for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland since the late 1990s, it is only in the past few years that English public opinion appears to have become exercised by the lack of similar arrangements for England. The renewed debates over the character of the Union after the Scottish independence referendum reveal a desire for ‘fair treatment’ of England within a Union conceived as a partnership of equals. At the same time, numerous proposals have been made for devolution of power within England, reflecting long‐held concerns about the territorial hegemony of London. Solutions to the former issue include English votes for English laws and an English Parliament. Solutions to the latter include city‐regions, strengthened local government, the first of these appears to be the government's preferred route, in the light of the recent ‘Greater Manchester Agreement’. However, none of these ‘solutions’ can count on being implemented.
The quality of set‐style yoghurt responsible to partial lactose hydrolysis followed by protein cross‐linking of the skimmed milk
Authors: Han Yan‐Ping , Fu Miao , Zhao Xin‐Huai
Published: January 2015

Skimmed milk used for set‐style yoghurt production was treated with lactase at 0.1 g/kg for 30 min to give partial lactose hydrolysis and then treated with horseradish peroxidase and glucose oxidase at 200 and 6 kU/kg protein to result in protein cross‐linking. Two treatments conferred higher apparent viscosity on the milk, but led to the yoghurt prepared from it with insignificantly different chemical compositions to the counterparts (P > 0.05). The prepared yoghurt also showed decreased syneresis (about 17.7%), higher apparent viscosity and viscoelastic modulus, firmer texture and finer microstructure. This ternary enzyme system is a potential approach to improving the quality of set‐style yoghurt.
Physicochemical Characteristics, Antioxidant Activity, Organic Acid and Sugar Contents of 12 Sweet Cherry (Prunus Avium L.) Cultivars Grown in Turkey
Authors: Hayaloglu Ali Adnan , Demir Nurullah
Published: January 2015

Physical characteristics, antioxidant activity and chemical constituents of 12 cultivars (Prunus avium L.) of sweet cherry (Belge, Bing, Dalbasti, Durona di Cesena, Lambert, Merton Late, Starks Gold, Summit, Sweetheart, Van, Vista, and 0–900 Ziraat) were investigated. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed among tested cultivars for pH, total soluble solid, hardness, color parameters, antioxidant activities and pomological measurements (P < 0.05). The color parameters were important tools for the determination of fruit maturity and anthocyanin contents. Belge cultivar showed the highest levels of total phenolic and anthocyanin, while Starks Gold contained the lowest level of anthocyanins. The darker cultivars, measured by ABTS+•, DPPH• and FRAP, exhibited higher antioxidant activities than the lighter ones. Bing (42.78 g/kg) and Sweetheart (40.53 g/kg) cultivars contained higher levels of malic acid, which was the most intense organic acid in sweet cherries. Four different sugars were observed in the samples and their concentrations ordered as glucose > fructose >> sucrose > xylose. Sugar alcohol in the cherries was represented by sorbitol (more than 90%) and its concentration varied between 13.93 and 27.12 g/kg. As a result significant differences were observed among the physical properties and chemical constituents of the cherry cultivars.
Quantitative assessment of liver fibrosis by digital image analysis: Relationship to Ishak staging and elasticity by shear‐wave elastography
Authors: Yegin Ender Gunes , Yegin Korkut , Karatay Emrah , Kombak Erdem Faruk , Tuney Davut , Ataizi‐Celikel Cigdem , Ozdogan Osman Cavit
Published: January 2015

Objective

To analyze the relationship between fibrosis staged by Ishak stage and quantified by digital image analysis (DIA), and to reveal the optimum performance of shear‐wave elastography (SWE) using quantitative DIA measurements as a comparative histological standard.

Methods

The proportionate area (PA) of fibrosis was measured by DIA from images of the PA of trichrome‐stain (TPA) of 168 chronic hepatitis patients. SWE was performed in 105 patients. The accuracy of SWE for predicting the fibrosis defined by quantitative PA thresholds (≥2.5%, ≥5%, ≥10% and ≥20%, respectively) and by Ishak stages was measured using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC).

Results

DIA was proven to be highly reproducible (interclass correlation coefficient  0.926). The TPA range corresponding to each Ishak stage was large, widened as stages progressed, and reached its greatest extent in cirrhosis. TPA magnified at ×50 ranges 11.9–56% for Ishak stage F5–6. A good correlation between TPA and elasticity was presented for more advanced fibrosis (TPA ≥10%, rs = 0.732, P = 0.000) than milder fibrosis (TPA <10%, rs = 0.308, P = 0.006). With the advance of fibrosis either by stages or PA thresholds the discriminative accuracy of SWE gradually increased, but was less satisfactory for milder fibrosis.

Conclusions

DIA may serve as a reproducible and reliable quantitative standard for surrogate tests for liver fibrosis. The performance and correlation of SWE with the fibrotic extent were better for advanced fibrosis, but less satisfactory for milder fibrosis.
Screening incentives and privacy protection in financial markets: a theoretical and empirical analysis
Authors: Kim Jin‐Hyuk , Wagman Liad
Published: January 2015

We study a model in which firms offer financial products to individuals, post prices for their products, and screen consumers who apply to purchase them. Any information obtained in the screening process may be traded to another firm selling related products. We show that firms' ability to sell consumer information can lead to lower prices, higher screening intensities, and increased social welfare. By exploiting variations in the adoption of local financial‐privacy ordinances in five California Bay Area counties, we are able to provide simple estimates of the effects of stricter financial‐privacy laws on mortgage denial rates during 2001–2006. Consistent with the model's predictions, denial rates for home‐purchase loans and refinancing loans decreased in counties where opt‐in privacy ordinances were adopted. Moreover, estimated foreclosure start rates during the financial crisis of 2007–2008 were higher in counties where the privacy ordinance was adopted.
Biomarkers of inflammation in major vascular surgery: a prospective randomised trial
Authors: LINDHOLM E. E. , AUNE E. , SELJEFLOT I. , OTTERSTAD J. E. , KIRKEBØEN K. A.
Published: January 2015

Background

Surgery induces inflammation and pro‐inflammatory cytokines are associated with post‐operative complications. In cardiac surgery, it has been shown that volatile anaesthetics have cardioprotective properties. We explored whether sevoflurane affects the pro‐inflammatory response favourably compared with total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA) after surgery.

Methods

We measured monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP‐1), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP‐9), C‐reactive protein (CRP), vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM‐1), interleukin (IL)‐6 and IL‐8 perioperatively and evaluated if the anaesthetic regimen affected these mediators. Our hypothesis was that sevoflurane‐based anaesthesia is associated with a reduced release of biomarkers of inflammation compared with TIVA with propofol/remifentanil.

Results

In the total population, MCP‐1, MMP‐9, IL‐6 and IL‐8 increased 30 min after arrival intensive care unit, compared with before surgery (P < 0.001), whereas CRP and VCAM‐1 transiently declined (P < 0.001). From 30 min after arrival intensive care unit to 1st post‐operative day, MCP‐1 and IL‐6 levels declined (P < 0.001), CRP and VCAM‐1 increased (P < 0.001), whereas MMP‐9 and IL‐8 were not significantly altered. Pre‐operatively there were no significant differences in any variables between the two anaesthetic groups. Lower levels of MCP‐1 and IL‐8 (P < 0.001) and higher levels of IL‐6 and MMP‐9 (P = 0.003) were found in the sevoflurane group, compared with the TIVA group 30 min post‐operatively. CRP and VCAM‐1 levels did not differ. There were no significant differences between the two anaesthetic groups before surgery or at 1st post‐operative day.

Conclusion

We found an inflammatory response during the observation period, which was modified by the anaesthetic regimen in the early phase. This short‐lasting difference is probably too short to support a cardioprotective effect of sevoflurane compared with TIVA in open abdominal aortic surgery.
Difference in inflammatory cytokine production by mononuclear cells from obese and non‐obese schizophrenic patients
Authors: Sirota P. , Hadi E. , Djaldetti M. , Bessler H.
Published: January 2015

Objective

Schizophrenic patients have an increased risk for obesity compared with the general population. Evidence suggests the existence of an inflammatory process in the etiology of both obesity and schizophrenia. Our study compares in vitro secretion of inflammatory cytokines by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) obtained from obese and non‐obese schizophrenic patients.

Method

Mononuclear cells were isolated from 20 obese (BMI >27) and 20 non‐obese (BMI <24) schizophrenic in‐patients. The levels of TNF‐α, IL‐1β, IL‐6, IL‐1ra, IL‐10 or IL‐2 and IFN‐γ in the supernatants of stimulated PBMC, as well as leptin and adiponectin serum values were evaluated.

Results

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients in the obese group showed a significantly increased TNF‐α and IL‐1β production, whereas the release of IL‐1ra was decreased as compared with the non‐obese group. In the obese group, the serum concentration of leptin was significantly higher and that of adiponectin was significantly lower. The results of the remaining cytokines did not differ between the two groups.

Conclusion

Our study indicates the existence of a difference between obese and non‐obese schizophrenic subjects as for inflammatory cytokine production and serum leptin and adiponectin levels, suggesting a ‘subclinical inflammatory state’ in obese schizophrenic patients that may contribute to a predisposition to inflammation and infections.
Phylogenetic placement of Australian carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae)
Authors: King Jocelyn E , Riegler Markus , Thomas Richard G , Spooner‐Hart Robert N
Published: January 2015

Australia hosts two endemic species of silphid beetles, Ptomaphila lacrymosa and Ptomaphila perlata, and a third species, Diamesus osculans, that also occurs throughout south‐east Asia. While field studies have shown that Silphidae can provide useful information for determining the post‐mortem interval, the inability to identify larvae in locations with multiple species excludes this application. Before molecular diagnostic tools can be developed for larvae of the three Australian species, an analysis of their phylogenetic relationship is required. However, this has previously not been attempted by using molecular markers. Including DNA sequences of non‐endemic silphid species, we determined the phylogenetic placement of all three Australian species based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA markers from morphologically identified adult specimens. In our study, Ptomaphila spp. grouped with South American Oxelytrum at the base of the Silphinae and thus represent ancient lineages from the southern hemisphere. Our findings support previous theories that the truncate elytra only found within Necrodini (i.e. Diamesus and Necrodes of the subfamily Silphinae) and the subfamily of Nicrophorinae result from convergent evolution. In an attempt to identify larvae of the three Australian silphid species collected within two locations in the Hawkesbury region near Sydney, we developed a preliminary PCR‐based tool for their molecular identification using the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences obtained from the morphologically identified adult specimens. Sequence analysis and species characteristic PCR amplicon sizes provided a reliable method for identification of silphid larvae from this location to species level in the absence of any comparative morphological keys and descriptions for these life stages, although it is recommended that this method be tested for individuals from throughout the species' distribution in the future.
Sustained effect of grass pollen subcutaneous immunotherapy on suppression of allergen‐specific basophil response; a real‐life, nonrandomized controlled study
Authors: Zidarn M. , Košnik M. , Šilar M. , Bajrović N. , Korošec P.
Published: January 2015

Background

An important advantage of allergen immunotherapy as compared to pharmacotherapy for allergic rhinitis is the long‐term effect that persists after completing immunotherapy. The mechanism of the sustained effect of allergen immunotherapy is not completely understood.

Methods

We conducted a 7‐year study of monitoring allergen‐specific basophil response and serological markers in 20 subjects with moderate‐to‐severe grass pollen‐allergic rhinitis just before beginning and after up‐dosing of subcutaneous grass pollen immunotherapy, before the first pollen season, and 1–2 years after completion of 3–5 years of treatment. Comparable untreated rhinitis subjects were followed at the same time points. Clinical outcomes included assessment of symptoms, use of rescue medication, and quality of life. The basophil response was also monitored after removal of IgG antibodies.

Results

Basophil response assessed as area under the curve (AUC) halved during initiation of SCIT and was 55% lower 1–2 years after completing SCIT. In the untreated group, the basophil response remained comparable. Although immunotherapy‐induced grass pollen‐specific IgG4 levels decreased to near pre‐immunotherapy levels after completing SCIT, the removal of IgG antibodies resulted in an increase in basophil response almost to the pre‐immunotherapy levels. In untreated subjects, removal of IgG did not have any effect on basophil response.

Conclusions

Grass pollen immunotherapy induces sustained suppression of the allergen‐specific basophil response that persists after completion of treatment and could account for long‐term clinical tolerance. It also seems to be associated with persistent blocking activity of IgG antibodies.
Expression of oxytocin receptors in the uterine junctional zone in women with adenomyosis
Authors: Zhang Ying , Yu Pei , Sun Fujing , Li Tin Chiu , Cheng Jiu mei , Duan Hua
Published: January 2015

Objective

To compare the expression of oxytocin receptor in the uterine junctional zone of the fundus and isthmus in the proliferative and secretory phases in women with and without adenomyosis.

Design

Experimental prospective clinical study.

Setting

Tertiary gynecologic medical center.

Population

Twenty‐nine women with adenomyosis (15 in proliferative phase, 14 in secretory phase) and 27 women without adenomyosis (15 in proliferative phase, 12 in secretory phase).

Methods

Samples from the uterine fundus and isthmus were obtained at hysterectomy. The expression of oxytocin receptor was evaluated using immunohistochemistry.

Main outcome measures

Immuno‐reactive score was used evaluate semi‐quantitatively the oxytocin receptor expression.

Results

In normal uteri, the expression of oxytocin receptor in the isthmus was significantly higher than in the fundus in the proliferative phase (p < 0.01) but the opposite distribution pattern was observed in the secretory phase. Conversely, in adenomyosis uteri, the expression of oxytocin receptor in the fundus was significantly higher than in the isthmus in the proliferative phase (p < 0.05); however, this difference was not significant in the secretory phase. Moreover, oxytocin receptor expression in the fundus of adenomyosis uteri was higher than that in the control uteri in both the proliferative and secretory phases.

Conclusions

The expression pattern of oxytocin receptor in the normal junctional zone is disrupted in women with adenomyosis. This may be one possible explanation for the symptomatology of the condition.
Vitrectomy combined with endolaser or an encircling scleral buckle in primary retinal detachment surgery: a pilot study
Authors: Falkner‐Radler Christiane I. , Graf Alexandra , Binder Susanne
Published: January 2015

Purpose

To compare pars plana vitrectomy and 360° endolaser therapy with pars plana vitrectomy and an encircling scleral buckle for the treatment of primary rhegmatogenous retinal detachments in a randomized pilot study including 60 patients.

Methods

Main outcome measures were single‐surgery anatomic success rate and final best‐corrected visual acuity at 6 months follow‐up. Cofactors analysed were complication rates, patients' comfort, refractive outcome and macula status assessed using a spectral‐domain optical coherence tomography.

Results

With differences between both treatment groups regarding type of the retinal detachment, localization of retinal tears (p = 0.0085) and the choice of the intraocular tamponade (p < 0.0202), there were no significant differences between the single‐surgery anatomic success rate (93.33% both groups, p = 1.0) and the visual acuity at final follow‐up (≤0.3 logMAR [logarithm of minimum angle of resolution] in 66.67% in the endolaser group versus 40.0% in the scleral buckle group, p = 0.0514). Questionnaire responses showed lower levels of patients’ discomfort in the endolaser group. A significant difference between both groups was found in the refractive error change after surgery (−0.20 ± 0.51 dioptres in the endolaser group versus −0.88 ± 0.88 dioptres in the scleral buckle group, p = 0.0003).

Conclusion

Primary vitrectomy combined with 360° endolaser therapy seems to be as effective as vitrectomy combined with an encircling scleral buckle in patients with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment, with possible benefits of an improved patients' comfort and a more stable refractive status after surgery.
Up‐regulated integrinα4β1 on systemic lymphocytes and serum IL‐17A in interstitial pneumonia
Authors: Taooka Yasuyuki , Ohe Miki , Tada Mitsuhiro , Sutani Akihisa , Isobe Takeshi
Published: January 2015

Background and Aims

In interstitial pneumonia (IP), lymphocytes play an important role in lung injury and the involvement of integrinα4β1 on leukocytes has previously been reported in animal models. Although the integrinα4β1 expression level is known to be up‐regulated by inflammatory cytokines, the involvement of interleukin (IL)‐17A is unclear. The purpose of this study is to address the possible involvement of integrinα4β1 on circulating lymphocytes and its correlation with serum IL‐17A in interstitial lung diseases (ILDs).

Methods

We measured the expression levels of integrinα4β1 on peripheral lymphocytes and the serum concentration of IL‐17A and IL‐23 in subjects with ILDs (n = 27; 14 males and 13 females, 66.7 ± 7.8 years old) and control subjects (n = 10; 5 males and 5 females, 66.6 ± 4.6 years old).

Results

Recombinant IL‐17A up‐regulated expression levels of integrinα4β1 on healthy human lymphocytes in an in vitro experiment. Expression levels of integrinα4β1 were significantly higher in those with acute hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) and non‐specific IP (NSIP) compared with control. Serum IL‐17A concentration was also significantly increased in acute HP and NSIP subjects compared with control. And IL‐17A concentration positively correlated with integrinα4β1 expression level (P < 0.05). Serum IL‐23 was below the minimal detectable level in all subjects.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that up‐regulated levels of integrinα4β1 on systemic lymphocytes and elevated serum IL‐17A might be involved in the extravasation of lymphocytes in IP.
Functional analysis of centipede development supports roles for Wnt genes in posterior development and segment generation
Authors: Hayden Luke , Schlosser Gerhard , Arthur Wallace
Published: January 2015

The genes of the Wnt family play important and highly conserved roles in posterior growth and development in a wide range of animal taxa. Wnt genes also operate in arthropod segmentation, and there has been much recent debate regarding the relationship between arthropod and vertebrate segmentation mechanisms. Due to its phylogenetic position, body form, and possession of many (11) Wnt genes, the centipedeStrigamia maritimais a useful system with which to examine these issues. This study takes a functional approach based on treatment with lithium chloride, which causes ubiquitous activation of canonical Wnt signalling. This is the first functional developmental study performed in any of the 15,000 species of the arthropod subphylum Myriapoda. The expression of all 11 Wnt genes inStrigamiawas analyzed in relation to posterior development. Three of these genes,Wnt11,Wnt5, andWntA, were strongly expressed in the posterior region and, thus, may play important roles in posterior developmental processes. In support of this hypothesis, LiCl treatment ofS. maritimaembryos was observed to produce posterior developmental defects and perturbations inAbdBandDeltaexpression. The effects of LiCl differ depending on the developmental stage treated, with more severe effects elicited by treatment during germband formation than by treatment at later stages. These results support a role for Wnt signalling in conferring posterior identity inStrigamia. In addition, data from this study are consistent with the hypothesis of segmentation based on a “clock and wavefront” mechanism operating in this species.
Simpler is better: fewer non‐target insects trapped with a four‐component chemical lure vs. a chemically more complex food‐type bait for Drosophila suzukii
Authors: Cha Dong H. , Hesler Stephen P. , Park Shinyoung , Adams Todd B. , Zack Richard S. , Rogg Helmuth , Loeb Gregory M. , Landolt Peter J.
Published: January 2015

Baits – fermented food products – are generally attractive to many types of insects, which makes it difficult to sort through non‐target insects to monitor a pest species of interest. We test the hypothesis that a chemically simpler and more defined attractant developed for a target insect is more specific and attracts fewer non‐target insects than a chemically more complex food‐type bait. A four‐component chemical lure isolated from a food bait and optimized for the spotted wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), was compared to the original wine/vinegar bait to assess the relative responses of non‐target insects. In several field experiments in Washington State, USA, it was shown that numbers of pest muscid flies, cutworm and armyworm moths, and pest yellowjackets were reduced in traps baited with the chemical lure compared to the wine/vinegar bait. In other field experiments in the states of Washington, Oregon, and New York, numbers of non‐target drosophilid flies were also reduced in traps baited with the chemical lure relative to wine/vinegar bait. In Washington, numbers of Drosophila melanogaster Meigen and Drosophila obscura Fallen species groups and Drosophila immigrans Sturtevant were reduced in the chemical lure traps, whereas in New York, D. melanogaster and D. obscura species groups, D. immigrans, Drosophila putrida Sturtevant, Drosophila simulans Sturtevant, Drosophila tripunctata Loew, and Chymomyza spp. numbers were reduced. In Oregon, this same effect was observed with the D. melanogaster species group. Taken together, these results indicate that the four‐component SWD chemical lure will be more selective for SWD compared to fermentation baits, which should reduce time and cost involved in trapping in order to monitor SWD.
Eco‐evolutionary experience in novel species interactions
Authors: Saul Wolf‐Christian , Jeschke Jonathan M.
Published: January 2015

A better understanding of how ecological novelty influences interactions in new combinations of species is key for predicting interaction outcomes, and can help focus conservation and management efforts on preventing the introduction of novel organisms or species (including invasive species, GMOs, synthetic organisms, resurrected species and emerging pathogens) that seem particularly ‘risky’ for resident species. Here, we consider the implications of different degrees of eco‐evolutionary experience of interacting resident and non‐resident species, define four qualitative risk categories for estimating the probability of successful establishment and impact of novel species and discuss how the effects of novelty change over time. Focusing then on novel predator–prey interactions, we argue that novelty entails density‐dependent advantages for non‐resident species, with their largest effects often being at low prey densities. This is illustrated by a comparison of predator functional responses and prey predation risk curves between novel species and ecologically similar resident species, and raises important issues for the conservation of endangered resident prey species.