bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Prevalence and socio‐economic correlates of insomnia among older people in Anhui, China
Authors: Ma Ying , Hu Zhi , Qin Xia , Chen Ruoling , Zhou Yanfei
Published: September 2018

Objective

To measure the prevalence of insomnia and identify the socio‐economic correlates of insomnia among older people of Anhui Province of China.

Methods

A cross‐sectional study was conducted among 3045 randomly selected consenting residents aged 60 and older from Anhui Province during 2013. Insomnia was assessed using the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS). Data collected included: (i) demographics; (ii) socio‐economic status; (iii) social support; (iv) social contact; and (v) social capital.

Results

Overall, 24% were found to have insomnia and 9% were found to have suspected insomnia according to the AIS score. After adjusting for potential confounders, participants having no fixed income, less social contact, less social capital and living alone were more likely to suffer from insomnia.

Conclusions

A high prevalence of insomnia was found among older people in Anhui Province of China. Socio‐economic determinants should be addressed in devising policies aimed at improving sleep quality for older people in this region.
Mycobacterium abscessus infection following penetrations through wetsuits
Authors: Dickison Philippa , Howard Vicki , O'Kane Gabrielle , Smith Saxon D
Published: September 2018

Mycobacterium abscessus is a rapidly growing mycobacterium which is reportedly increasing in prevalence. Infection of the skin and soft tissue with M. abscessus is rare but typically associated with trauma. We present two cases of M. abscessus infection linked by penetration through wetsuits.
Effects of dietary coated‐oleum cinnamomi supplementation on the immunity and intestinal integrity of broiler chickens
Authors: Guo Shuangshuang , Cheng Qiang , Li Yehan , Duan Rui , Hou Yongqing , Yi Dan , Ding Binying
Published: September 2018

Oleum cinnamomi (OCM) is increasingly used as a feed additive in animal diets. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with coated‐OCM (cOCM) on the immunity and intestinal integrity of broiler chickens. A total of 396 one‐day‐old chicks were randomly assigned into six groups. The basal diets were supplemented with 50 mg/kg of flavomycin (positive control) as well as 0 (control), 50, 100, 200, and 300 mg/kg of cOCM. Compared with the control, both positive control and cOCM treatments did not improve the growth performance. Serum immunoglobulin (Ig) Y levels were decreased by flavomycin and 50 mg/kg of cOCM treatments (p < 0.05). Dietary cOCM decreased ileal secretory IgA contents at d 21 and commonly down‐regulated duodenal and ileal mRNA expression of interleukin (IL)‐1β and IL‐8 at d 42 (p < 0.05). The 300 mg/kg of cOCM increased jejunal ratio of villus height to crypt depth and upregulated intestinal claudin‐1 expression (p < 0.05). Jejunal (at d 21) and duodenal (at d 42) mucin‐2 expression was up and downregulated by both 50 and 300 mg/kg of cOCM, respectively (p < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary cOCM addition helped to maintain noninflammatory states of humoral and mucosal immunity, and improved the intestinal integrity of broiler chickens.
Anti‐Nuclear Norms in Japan and Declining Faith in the U.S. “Nuclear Umbrella”: A Survey
Authors: Machida Satoshi
Published: September 2018

Studies have widely documented the strong opposition to nuclear weapons among the Japanese population. Yet, present research questions the robustness of the anti‐nuclear norms in Japan. Since Japan has been largely dependent on the United States for its security, shifts in the U.S. nuclear strategy in East Asia will significantly influence public attitudes toward nuclear armament in Japan. By taking advantage of the situation in which Donald Trump suggested the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Japan, this study examines the relationship between Japanese citizens’ faith in the U.S. “nuclear umbrella” and their commitment to the anti‐nuclear stance. Results of the statistical analyses show that declining faith in the U.S. nuclear umbrella significantly boosts Japanese citizens’ support for nuclear armament in their country, thus generating critical implications that are highly relevant in understanding the security culture in Japan.
Dictators Against Dependence: Albania and Korea
Authors: White III Lynn T.
Published: September 2018

When a linguistically distinctive ethnicity is surrounded by much larger powers, its leader usually needs resources from one of them – and then that power may try to absorb it. The local leader quickly switches to reliance on the previous protector's main foreign enemy, simultaneously purging (often killing) domestic rivals. Albania's long history through Enver Hoxha, like North Korea's under Kim Jong‐un still, shows recurrent examples of this link between independence and dictatorship – although not all tyrants emerge in this way. The essay also discloses violent aspects of past South Korean politics that few readers of English know. Historical parallels can be observed without any universal covering “law.” Further examples explore limits of this method. History can inform policies toward nonproliferation (American, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean), elucidate the recent effects of surrounding pluralistic states on small countries, and provide evidence about the likely benefits of Korean patriotism and reunification.
Community patterns and environmental drivers in hyper‐diverse kwongan scrub vegetation of Western Australia
Authors: Tsakalos James L. , Renton Michael , Dobrowolski Mark P. , Feoli Enrico , Macintyre Paul D. , Veneklaas Erik J. , Mucina Ladislav
Published: September 2018

Questions

The community patterns in kwongan, a mediterranean‐type scrub on nutrient‐poor soils occurring in Western Australia, are poorly understood due to only few, focused studies using disparate sampling designs. We aimed to determine whether (a) classification of the kwongan vegetation of the Eneabba Sandplains leads to an ecologically informative classification scheme, and (b) we could identify environmental drivers underpinning the plant community patterns.

Location

Township of Eneabba (29°82′S, 115°27′E), approximately 250 km north of Perth, Western Australia, covering 1,210 km2.

Methods

We used a data set consisting of 512 relevés, collected following the standard field methodology of the Braun‐Blanquet approach, and accompanied by an extensive set of environmental data consisting of 94 variables representing climate, fire, soil and terrain properties across 189 relevés. The data were classified and ordinated by a series of multivariate analyses. OptimClass assisted in the selection of the most robust classification procedure. Distance‐based redundancy analysis (db‐RDA) inferred the major ecological drivers of the vegetation patterns.

Results

Numerical classification, nonmetric multidimensional scaling, and syntaxonomic tabular analysis revealed two major community groups (MCGA and B), eight community groups, and 17 communities in the kwongan vegetation of the study area. All vegetation units are characterised in terms of floristic composition and position along major ecological gradients in the studied area. TheMCGs separated along a composite gradient of soil‐texture and exchangeable cations. The first two db‐RDAaxes explained 21% of the total variance which is very low, considering the high number of environmental variables used.

Conclusions

Our study provides a comprehensive insight into the high variability of vegetation types in hyper‐diverse kwongan scrub at a landscape spatial scale; it is the first syntaxonomic account of the Western Australian kwongan vegetation, presenting a complete tabular comparative analysis. The studied major community groups segregate along a soil‐texture and an exchangeable‐cation content gradient. At a community scale, environmental filtering explained a small fraction of the vegetation–environment relationship. We suggest that the unexplained portion of the vegetation‐environment relationship might be a product of slow‐acting neutral processes in this hyper‐diverse system; this assertion is amenable to rigorous future testing.
Dissociable spatial memory systems revealed by typical and atypical human development
Authors: Julian Joshua B. , Kamps Frederik S. , Epstein Russell A. , Dilks Daniel D.
Published: September 2018

Rodent lesion studies have revealed the existence of two causally dissociable spatial memory systems, localized to the hippocampus and striatum that are preferentially sensitive to environmental boundaries and landmark objects, respectively. Here we test whether these two memory systems are causally dissociable in humans by examining boundary‐ and landmark‐based memory in typical and atypical development. Adults with Williams syndrome (WS)—a developmental disorder with known hippocampal abnormalities—and typical children and adults, performed a navigation task that involved learning locations relative to a boundary or a landmark object. We found that boundary‐based memory was severely impaired in WS compared to typically‐developing mental‐age matched (MA) children and chronological‐age matched (CA) adults, whereas landmark‐based memory was similar in all groups. Furthermore, landmark‐based memory matured earlier in typical development than boundary‐based memory, consistent with the idea that the WS cognitive phenotype arises from developmental arrest of late maturing cognitive systems. Together, these findings provide causal and developmental evidence for dissociable spatial memory systems in humans.
It's the journey, not the destination: Locomotor exploration in infants
Authors: Hoch Justine E. , O'Grady Sinclaire M. , Adolph Karen E.
Published: September 2018

What incites infant locomotion? Recent research suggests that locomotor exploration is not primarily directed toward distant people, places, or things. However, this question has not been addressed experimentally. In the current study, we asked whether a room filled with toys designed to encourage locomotion (stroller, ball, etc.) elicits different quantities or patterns of exploration than a room with no toys. Caregivers were present but did not interact with infants. Although most walking bouts in the toy‐filled room involved toys, to our surprise, 15‐month‐olds in both rooms produced the same quantity of locomotion. This finding suggests that mere space to move is sufficient to elicit locomotion. However, infants' patterns of locomotor exploration differed: Infants in the toy‐filled room spent a smaller percent of the session within arms' reach of their caregiver and explored more locations in the room. Real‐time analyses show that infants in the toy‐filled room took an increasing number of steps per bout and covered more area as the session continued, whereas infants in the no‐toy room took fewer and fewer steps per bout and traveled repeatedly over the same ground. Although not required to elicit locomotion, moving with toys encouraged infants to travel farther from their caregivers and to explore new areas.
Connecting pattern to process: Growth of spiral shell sculpture in the gastropod Nucella ostrina (Muricidae: Ocenebrinae)
Authors: Webster Nicole B. , Palmer A. Richard
Published: September 2018

Shell morphology is a well‐suited and underused system to examine the development of novel forms. The three‐dimensional structure produced (the shell) is separate from the largely two‐dimensional tissue that secretes it (the mantle), allowing us to disentangle the pattern from the process. Despite knowing a great deal about the mechanics of shell secretion (process), and the variety of shell shapes that exist (pattern), no effort has been made to understand how the mantle changes to produce different shell shapes. We investigated this question in the dimorphic snail Nucella ostrina, which exhibits both smooth and ribbed shells to determine how ribs are formed by the mantle. Rib thickenings are produced only in the outer calcitic shell layer and secreted by the distal Outer Mantle Epithelium (OME) with increased acid phosphatase activity. The evenly thick inner aragonitic layers are secreted by the proximal OME which expresses acid phosphatase. Here we show that locally thicker ribs in N. ostrina are produced by changing the dimensions of the distal OME: elongation in the direction of growth and increased cell height. This should increase the amount of shell material secreted, producing locally thicker shell (ribs). Preliminary evidence suggests this mechanism may be widespread in gastropods.
Deliberation for wildfire risk management: Addressing conflicting views in the Chiquitania, Bolivia
Authors: Devisscher Tahia , Malhi Yadvinder , Boyd Emily
Published: September 2018

Wildfires are increasingly affecting forest landscapes around the world. In the Bolivian Chiquitania, southern Amazonia, large wildfires during recent droughts have intensified public debate around more systemic solutions to address the possible root causes. While the integration of different forms of fire knowledge is gaining acceptance as an approach to dealing with increasing wildfire risk, little attention has been given to this integration in the Amazonia. In fact, mismatches between policy, science and local realities have curtailed the success of fire risk strategies in the region. To address this challenge, we conducted interviews and focus group discussions with a wide range of actors in the Chiquitania to examine different forms of knowledge and views of fire, and the extent to which these were integrated in prevalent wildfire risk strategies. We found that the risk strategies were in tension between two conflicting understandings of fire. A conceptual framework was developed to capture the configuration of knowledge underpinning this tension. Adopting a more integrated and inclusive approach to manage wildfire risk will require overcoming first this tension through a more open deliberation process within a reflexive governance framework. We proposed three “deliberation arenas” to facilitate this process, which could ultimately support more systemic, inter‐cultural fire management in the Chiquitania and other landscapes with conflicting views in the Amazonia.
The Holy Trinity: Between Mystery and Analysis
Authors: Patterson Colin
Published: September 2018

Two significant strands of trinitarian theology, the analytic and the apophatic, emphasize considerations of logical consistency and divine incomprehensibility respectively. This article seeks to mediate between these two seemingly opposed lines of thought by arguing for a fuller awareness of the particular mystery associated with the trinitarian notion of ‘person’. By specifying more closely this mystery of divine personhood, I qualify an overzealous apophaticism and also open up some scope for analytic approaches. I then highlight an implication of the mystery of divine personhood that any proposition linking together person‐language and nature‐language (e.g. ‘the Son is God’) necessarily contains its own mystery and cannot be understood in analytic terms.
Political Connection and Regulatory Scrutiny through Comment Letters: Evidence from China
Authors: Chen Yunsen , Deng Yilu , Jin Yufang , Lou Hetong , Zhang Xin
Published: September 2018

Heese, Khan, and Ramanna (2017, hereafter, HKR) find that political connection (PC) positively predicts the receipt of comment letter (CL) reviews in the United States. This paper investigates whether this phenomenon exists in China and, if so, the specific channel by which it occurs. We find that Chinese publicly listed firms with PC are more likely to receive CLs from Chinese regulators, and this result is particularly strong for firms that have hired former officials from the lower tier of the political hierarchy. Additionally, the positive association between PC and the chance of receiving CLs is more pronounced in nonstate‐owned enterprises. Overall, we show that HKR's results hold for both the United States and China, and we add new evidence that state ownership and the level of connection moderate this relationship.
Energy transfer and color‐tunable emission in Ba2Y2Si4O13:Bi3+,Eu3+ phosphors
Authors: Song WeiHui , Chen XueYan , Teng LiMing , Zheng ZhiGang , Wen Jun , Hu FangFang , Wei RongFei , Chen LiPing , Guo Hai
Published: September 2018

Single‐composition Ba2Y2Si4O13:Bi3+,Eu3+ (BYSO:Bi3+,Eu3+) phosphors with color‐tunable and white emission were prepared by conventional high temperature solid‐state reaction method. The structural and luminescent properties of these phosphors were thoroughly investigated through X‐ray diffraction, photoluminescence, and decay curves. BYSO:Bi3+ phosphors show two excitation peaks at 342 and 373 nm, and give two emission peaks at 414 and 503 nm, respectively, indicating that there are two sites of Bi3+ in BYSO. The energy transfer from Bi3+ to Eu3+ was investigated in detail. Varied hues from blue (chromaticity coordinate [0.219, 0.350]) to white (0.288, 0.350) and orange‐red light (0.644, 0.341) can be generated by adjusting the content of Eu3+. Pure white light emission (0.311, 0.338) can be obtained under the excitation of 355 nm in BYSO:3%Bi3+,20%Eu3+ phosphor. Besides, BYSO:Bi3+,Eu3+ phosphors exhibit distinct thermal quenching properties, whose emission intensity at 473 K is 82.6% of that at 298 K. Our results indicate that BYSO:Bi3+,Eu3+ may be applied as conversion phosphors for n‐UV‐based W‐LEDs.
Hidradenitis suppurativa/acne inversa: a practical framework for treatment optimization – systematic review and recommendations from the HS ALLIANCE working group
Authors: Zouboulis C.C. , Bechara F.G. , Dickinson‐Blok J.L. , Gulliver W. , Horváth B. , Hughes R. , Kimball A.B. , Kirby B. , Martorell A. , Podda M. , Prens E.P. , Ring H.C. , Tzellos T. , van der Zee H.H. , van Straalen K.R. , Vossen A.R.J.V. , Jemec G.B.E.
Published: September 2018

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS)/acne inversa is a debilitating chronic disease that remains poorly understood and difficult to manage. Clinical practice is variable, and there is a need for international, evidence‐based and easily applicable consensus on HS management. We report here the findings of a systematic literature review, which were subsequently used as a basis for the development of international consensus recommendations for the management of patients with HS. A systematic literature review was performed for each of nine clinical questions in HS (defined by an expert steering committee), covering comorbidity assessment, therapy (medical, surgical and combinations) and response to treatment. Included articles underwent data extraction and were graded according to the Oxford Centre for Evidence‐based Medicine criteria. Evidence‐based recommendations were then drafted, refined and voted upon, using a modified Delphi process. Overall, 5310 articles were screened, 171 articles were analysed, and 65 were used to derive recommendations. These articles included six randomized controlled trials plus cohort studies and case series. The highest level of evidence concerned dosing recommendations for topical clindamycin in mild disease (with systemic tetracyclines for more frequent/widespread lesions) and biologic therapy (especially adalimumab) as second‐line agents (following conventional therapy failure). Good‐quality evidence was available for the hidradenitis suppurativa clinical response (HiSCR) as a dichotomous outcome measure in inflammatory areas under treatment. Lower‐level evidence supported recommendations for topical triclosan and oral zinc in mild‐to‐moderate HS, systemic clindamycin and rifampicin in moderate HS and intravenous ertapenem in selected patients with more severe disease. Intralesional or systemic steroids may also be considered. Local surgical excision is suggested for mild‐to‐moderate HS, with wide excision for more extensive disease. Despite a paucity of good‐quality data on management decisions in HS, this systematic review has enabled the development of robust and easily applicable clinical recommendations for international physicians based on graded evidence.
Tidal‐diel patterns in feeding and abundance of armed snookCentropomus armatusfrom macrotidal mangrove creeks of the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean
Authors: Pülmanns Nathalie , Castellanos‐Galindo Gustavo Adolfo , Krumme Uwe
Published: September 2018

We investigated the influence of temporal and spatial factors on the feeding habits of the armed snookCentropomus armatus(Centropomidae), the most abundant snook species in eastern Pacific mangrove ecosystems. The influence of the combination of semi‐diurnal tides and diel cycles and salinity on the intertidal abundance, stomach fullness, diet composition and daily consumption of this species was investigated over 1 year in the macrotidal Colombian Pacific coast (Bahía Málaga). The abundance of juvenileC. armatus(5.6–23.6 cm total length) in the intertidal creeks was highest during neap tide‐night conditions and lowest during spring‐tide day conditions.Centropomus armatusfed predominantly on crustaceans (Alpheidae and Palaemonidae) and fishes. Stomach fullness index (ISF), a proxy of feeding activity, was not influenced by salinity, but by tidal–diel conditions. Stomach fullness index was highest during neap tide nocturnal inundations, but lowest during diurnal neap tides. Nevertheless, the total daily consumption was higher at spring tide than at neap tides. Higher water temperatures in creeks during neap tides at night could explain not only highC. armatusabundance, but also greater accessibility to active prey. Comparison with the feeding patterns of fishes from other macrotidal mangrove ecosystems suggest that the habitat use and feeding patterns of intertidal fishes in mangroves are strongly influenced by the combination of spring–neap tide and diel cycles. However, the interaction between mangrove geomorphology and flooding regime of the specific mangrove forest might also play a role and deserves further investigation.
Morphological alterations in minor salivary glands of HTLV1+ patients: A pilot study
Authors: do Vale Daniela Assis , Andrade Natália Silva , Casseb Jorge , de Oliveira Augusto Penalva , Bussolotti Filho Ivo , Trierveiler Marilia , Ortega Karem López
Published: September 2018

Background

Among the complex of HTLV‐associated diseases, Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is one of the most controversial. This work aims to detect morphological and inflammatory alterations, including clues of the presence of HTLV‐1, in minor salivary glands of patients with dryness symptoms.

Methods

We have assessed HTLV‐1‐seropositive patients (HTLV‐1 group) and patients with SS (SS group). We used formalin‐fixed, paraffin‐embedded minor salivary gland tissue to evaluate the morphological aspects and, by means of immunohistochemistry, the presence of Tax protein, CD4, CD8 and CD20 cells. Additionally, viral particles and proviral load were analysed by PCR.

Results

The HTLV‐1 group had the highest prevalence of non‐specific chronic sialadenitis (85.71%; P = 0.017) and greater amount of T CD8+ cells. In the SS group, focal lymphocytic sialadenitis (80%; P = 0.017) prevailed, with a greater amount of B CD20+. Both immunohistochemistry and PCR identified the Tax protein and its gene in the salivary glands of both groups and in similar proportions.

Conclusion

The results indicate that HTLV‐1‐seropositive patients have different patterns of morphological/inflammatory alterations, suggesting a likely difference in the process of immune activation.
Application of different pharmacokinetic models to describe and predict pharmacokinetics of voriconazole in magellanic penguins following oral administration
Authors: Parsley Ruth A. , Mutlow Adrian G. , Hansted Jacqueline , Taverne Femke J. , Tell Lisa A. , Gehring Ronette
Published: September 2018

Aspergillosis is a condition causing serious morbidity and mortality in captive penguins and other bird species. It can be treated with antifungal drugs, such as voriconazole. However, the pharmacokinetics of voriconazole are variable between different animal and bird species. Therefore, the pharmacokinetics of voriconazole were investigated in this study in Magellanic penguins. Pharmacokinetic models were constructed and applied to predict the pharmacokinetics of voriconazole during long‐term treatment in Magellanic penguins, since the voriconazole treatment duration in chronic aspergillosis cases can last up to several months. Plasma voriconazole concentration–time data from adult Magellanic penguins (Spheniscus magellanicus; n = 15) following a single oral (PO) dose of either 2.5 mg/kg or 5 mg/kg in a herring in three separate study periods 7–12 months apart were collected. Mean plasma voriconazole concentrations were above the targeted MIC for Aspergillus fumigatus for 2 hr following a single 2.5 mg/kg voriconazole dose while the plasma concentrations exceeded the MIC for least 24 hr following a 5 mg/kg dose. Nonlinear mixed‐effects modeling was used to fit two pharmacokinetic models, one with first‐order and another with saturable elimination, to the single‐dose data. Fits were good for both, as long as dose was included as a covariate for the first‐order model so that clearance was lower and the half‐life longer for animals receiving the 5 mg/kg dose. Although the single‐dose data suggested saturated elimination at higher concentrations, the model with saturable elimination did not predict plasma voriconazole concentrations well for a clinical aspergillosis case receiving long‐term treatment, possibly because of induction of metabolizing enzymes with chronic exposure. Pharmacokinetic models should accurately predict plasma drug concentrations for different dosage regimens in order to be applicable in the field. Future studies should focus on determining clearance at steady‐state to be able to refine the pharmacokinetic models presented here and improve model performance for long‐term oral voriconazole administration in Magellanic penguins.
Spreading Patterns of Malicious Information on Single‐Lane Platooned Traffic in a Connected Environment
Authors: Wang Pengcheng , Yu Guizhen , Wu Xinkai , Wang Yunpeng , He Xiaozheng
Published: September 2018

The connected vehicle can be easily attacked by cyber threats due to its communication through the wireless network in an open‐access environment. But very few studies have paid attention to the spreading of malicious information such as denial of service, message delay/replay, and eavesdropping generated by cyberattacks. To this end, this article introduces an analytical model, named vehicular malicious information propagation (VMIP), which integrates a classical epidemic model through two‐layer system structure, in which the upper layer describes the malicious information spreading and the lower describes the traffic flow dynamics. The proposed VMIP model is designated for platooned (one‐lane, particularly) traffic. Numerical experiments show the proposed model can efficiently describe the interactions between traffic dynamics and malicious information spreading; and the information propagation highly depends on traffic flow patterns. This article is expected to contribute to a better understanding of the impacts of cyberattacks on traffic and lays a foundation for future development of control strategies on mitigating the disastrous effects of cyberattacks.
Aristolochia bhamoensis sp. nov. (Aristolochiaceae) and a diagnostic key to all known A. subgen. Siphisia species from Myanmar
Authors: Do Truong Van , Li Jian‐Wu
Published: September 2018

Aristolochia bhamoensis from Myanmar is here described and illustrated. This new species is morphologically similar to A. faviogonzalezii (confined to northern Vietnam) and A. cathcartii (growing in the Himalayan region) but is distinguished from the latter two species by having a cream‐white upper part of the perianth tube, with visible purple ridges, a trumpet‐shaped limb, 5.0–5.5 cm diameter, inner surface of limb lobes densely covered with dark‐purple bristles, a nearly circular mouth, 3.2–3.5 cm wide, upper half of throat being dark‐purple to blackish, without striations or dots, and lower half purple, with conspicuous white striation. Morphological characters such as a 3‐lobed gynostemium and a 3‐lobed limb support a placement of the new species in the subgenus Siphisia. A diagnostic key is provided to the seven Siphisia species known from Myanmar.
Linaria qartobensis sp. nov. (Plantaginaceae) from the southern Iberian Peninsula
Authors: Blanca Gabriel , Cueto Miguel , Fuentes Julián , Sáez Llorenç , Tarifa Rubén
Published: September 2018

Linaria qartobensis, from southern Iberian Peninsula, is here newly described, illustrated and compared with its morphologically closest relatives from L. sect. Supinae: L. ricardoi and L. orbensis. The new species is characterized by longer calyx lobes, corolla and spur, violet corolla with yellow‐orangish palate, big and globose capsule, and seeds with black and prominently white‐tuberculate disc and subentire wing. Linaria qartobensis is an endemic species growing on marly deposits from the Guadalquivir river basin, in the Córdoba province (Andalusia, Spain).
Inter‐specific brood parasitism and the evolution of avian reproductive strategies
Authors: Avilés Jesús M.
Published: September 2018

Avian brood parasitism is a potent selective agent modulating host behaviors and morphology, although its role in determining diversification of avian breeding strategies remains elusive. Hitherto, the study of selection of brood parasites on host breeding strategies has been based on single reproductive trait approaches, which neglect that evolutionary responses to brood parasites may involve co‐ordinated changes in several aspects of reproduction. Here I consider covariation among reproductive traits to test whether parental breeding strategies of hosts of brown headed cowbird (BHC hereafter) in North America and the common cuckoo (CC hereafter) in Europe, two parasites with contrasting level of virulence, have evolved in response to brood parasitism. The effect of parasitism on avian breeding strategies differed between continents. Long term exposure to BHC parasitism selected for a lower breeding investment in North America, but not so CC parasitism in Europe. These results suggest a key role of parasite virulence on the evolution of avian breeding strategies and that brood parasitism has selected for a co‐ordinated breeding strategy of reducing parasitism costs by shortening and fractioning reproductive events within a single season in North America.
Diverse cellular colonizing endophytic bacteria in field shoots and in vitro cultured papaya with physiological and functional implications
Authors: Thomas Pious , Agrawal Mukta , Bharathkumar Chikkanahally B.
Published: September 2018

The study was envisaged to assess the extent of normally uncultivable endophytic bacteria in field papaya plants and in vitro established cultures adopting cultivation vs molecular analysis and microscopy. Surface‐sterilized axillary shoot‐buds of papaya ‘Arka Surya’ revealed high bacterial diversity as per 16S rRNA metagene amplicon sequencing (6 phyla, 10 classes, 21 families) with an abundance of Pseudomonas (Gammaproteobacteria), which also formed a common contaminant for in vitro cultured field explants. Molecular analysis of seedling shoot‐tip‐derived healthy proliferating cultures of three genotypes (‘Arka Surya’, ‘Arka Prabhath’, ‘Red Lady’) with regular monthly subculturing also displayed high bacterial diversity (11–16 phyla, >25 classes, >50 families, >200 genera) about 12–18 months after initial establishment. ‘Arka Surya’ and ‘Red Lady’ cultures bore predominantly Actinobacteria (75–78%) while ‘Arka Prabhath’ showed largely Alphaproteobacteria corroborating the slowly activated Methylobacterium sp. Bright‐field direct microscopy on tissue sections and tissue homogenate and epi‐fluorescence microscopy employing bacterial DNA probe SYTO‐9 revealed abundant intracellular bacteria embracing the next‐generation sequencing elucidated high taxonomic diversity. Phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states‐ PICRUSt‐ functional annotation suggested significant operational roles for the bacterial‐biome. Metabolism, environmental information processing, and genetic information processing constituted major Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes KEGG attributes. Papaya stocks occasionally displayed bacterial growth on culture medium arising from the activation of originally uncultivable organisms to cultivation. The organisms included Bacillus (35%), Methylobacterium (15%), Pseudomonas (10%) and seven other genera (40%). This study reveals a hidden world of diverse and abundant conventionally uncultivable cellular‐colonizing endophytic bacteria in field shoots and micropropagating papaya stocks with high genotypic similarity and silent participation in various plant processes/pathways.
Effect of nutrients on the growth of a new alpine strain of Haematococcus (Chlorophyceae) from New Zealand
Authors: Mazumdar Nilanjana , Novis Phil M. , Visnovsky Gabriel , Gostomski Peter A.
Published: September 2018

The microalga Haematococcus lacustris is a source of astaxanthin used widely in aquaculture, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. A new strain of Haematococcus (LCR‐26C‐1f) isolated from the New Zealand alpine zone was evaluated in this study. The influence of vitamins, micronutrients, various carbon and nitrogen sources were investigated to maximize biomass production in batch cultures using shake flasks. Supplementation of vitamins consisting of thiamine, biotin, and cyanocobalamin improved the cell density by 40% over the vitamin‐free medium. Out of the individual vitamins tested, thiamine was shown to be necessary to maintain high cell densities. The best nitrogen source tested was nitrate in the form of sodium nitrate, at a 40 mM concentration. Heterotrophic growth yielded much lower cell densities compared to autotrophic growth. The micronutrients iron and manganese were essential for growth. However, the best growth was obtained using a micronutrient mix that included iron, copper, cobalt, zinc, manganese and molybdenum.
Holding Back the Storm: Target Populations and State Climate Adaptation Planning in America
Authors: Koski Chris , Keating Megan
Published: September 2018

This paper investigates the landscape of state‐level adaptation planning in the United States. We answer three primary research questions: First, how are states planning for climate change? Second, who are states targeting for climate adaptation? Third, what tools are states using to motivate climate adaptation efforts? We develop and implement a coding scheme using Schneider and Ingram’s Social Construction Framework (SCF) to characterize variation in 2033 individual adaptation goals mentioned in all 14 American states with explicit adaptation plans. We use these data to understand the types of tools used to motivate different actors (governmental, private, nonprofit) to adapt to climate change. We find that the most frequent target of state adaptation planning is the state itself, which provides an opportunity to extend the SCF to a target group often not mentioned in public policy. Specifically, we find that states target themselves with mandates or tools designed to acquire information. Other stakeholders in adaptation are more likely to be the targets of capacity building tools. Private actors are the only population more likely to be targeted by incentives. The project expands the Social Construction Framework to include targets and tools of planning efforts. Practically, our article offers a methodology by which to compare the vastly heterogeneous efforts to adapt to climate change at the subnational level.
Microstructural Materials Design Via Deep Adversarial Learning Methodology
Authors: Yang Zijiang , Li Xiaolin , Catherine Brinson L. , Choudhary Alok N. , Chen Wei , Agrawal Ankit
Published: September 2018

Identifying the key microstructure representations is crucial for computational materials design (CMD). However, existing microstructure characterization and reconstruction (MCR) techniques have limitations to be applied for microstructural materials design. Some MCR approaches are not applicable for microstructural materials design because no parameters are available to serve as design variables, while others introduce significant information loss in either microstructure representation and/or dimensionality reduction. In this work, we present a deep adversarial learning methodology that overcomes the limitations of existing MCR techniques. In the proposed methodology, generative adversarial networks (GAN) are trained to learn the mapping between latent variables and microstructures. Thereafter, the low-dimensional latent variables serve as design variables, and a Bayesian optimization framework is applied to obtain microstructures with desired material property. Due to the special design of the network architecture, the proposed methodology is able to identify the latent (design) variables with desired dimensionality, as well as capturing complex material microstructural characteristics. The validity of the proposed methodology is tested numerically on a synthetic microstructure dataset and its effectiveness for microstructural materials design is evaluated through a case study of optimizing optical performance for energy absorption. Additional features, such as scalability and transferability, are also demonstrated in this work. In essence, the proposed methodology provides an end-to-end solution for microstructural materials design, in which GAN reduces information loss and preserves more microstructural characteristics, and the GP-Hedge optimization improves the efficiency of design exploration.
Effect of Rim Seal Configuration on Gas Turbine Cavity Sealing in Both Design and Off-Design Conditions
Authors: Da Soghe Riccardo , Bianchini Cosimo , Micio Mirko , D’Errico Jacopo , Bavassano Francesco
Published: September 2018

The desired reduction of secondary air consumption of gas turbines is especially challenging when the sealing of stator-rotor cavities is concerned, where it is necessary to guarantee integrity against hot gas ingestion. Sealing and thermal performance of gas turbine stator-rotor cavities are directly dependent on the rim configuration. This paper provides a CFD-based characterization of heavy-duty gas turbine wheel-spaces when dealing with real engine operating conditions and geometries. Focusing on the rim seal configuration, the geometrical arrangement of the ingestion-cavity, the buffer-cavity and the inner cavities were investigated to improve the ingress flow-discouraging behaviour. The study reveals that the most important geometrical parameters affecting the rim sealing effectiveness are those related to the ingestion-cavity. Moreover, an empirical model to predict the stator-rotor cavity sealing performance in off-design conditions was proposed. The model, that consists in an extension of a well-known literature approach, performed well at the analysed operating conditions, confirming to be an excellent tool for the early design phases. Finally, an investigation on the unsteady behaviour of the seal highlights a coupling with an acoustic mode of the cavity, suggesting possible reasons to justify the presence of rotating structures embedded into the cavity flow.
Experimental Investigation on Additively Manufactured Transpiration and Film Cooling Structures
Authors: Min Zheng , Huang Gan , Parbat Sarwesh Narayan , Yang Li , Chyu Minking K.
Published: September 2018

The last 50 years has witnessed significant improvement in film cooling technologies while transpiration cooling is still not implemented in turbine airfoil cooling. Although transpiration cooling could provide higher cooling efficiency with less coolant consumption compared to film cooling, the fine pore structure and high porosity in transpiration cooling metal media always raised difficulties in conventional manufacturing. Recently, the rapid development of additive manufacturing has provided a new perspective to address such challenge. With the capability of the innovative powder bed selective laser metal sintering (SLMS) additive manufacturing technology, the complex geometries of transpiration cooling part could be precisely fabricated and endued with improved mechanical strength.

Present study utilized the SLMS additive manufacturing technology to fabricate the transpiration cooling and film cooling structures with Inconel 718 supperalloy. Five different types of porous media including two perforated plates with different hole pitches, metal sphere packing, metal wire mesh and blood vessel shaped passages for transpiration cooling were fabricated by EOS M290 System. One laidback fan-shaped film cooling coupon was also fabricated with the same printing process as the control group. Heat transfer tests under 3 different coolant mass flow rates and 4 different mainstream temperatures were conducted to evaluate the cooling performance of the printed coupons. The effects of geometry parameters including porosity, surface outlet area ratio and internal solid-fluid interface area ratio were investigated as well. The results showed that the transpiration cooling structures generally had higher cooling effectiveness than film cooling structure. The overall average cooling effectiveness of blood vessel shaped transpiration cooling reached 0.35, 0.5 and 0.57 respectively with low (1.2%), medium (2.4%) and high (3.6%) coolant injection ratios. The morphological parameters analysis showed the major factor that affected the cooling effectiveness most was the internal solid-fluid interface area ratio for transpiration cooling. This study showed that additive manufactured transpiration cooling could be a promising alternative method for turbine blade cooling and worthwhile for further investigations.
Dynamic Characterization of a Novel Externally Pressurized Compliantly Damped Gas-Lubricated Bearing With Hermetically Sealed Squeeze Film Damper Modules
Authors: Delgado Adolfo , Ertas Bugra
Published: September 2018

Ever-increasing demand for cleaner energy is driving the need for higher power density turbomachinery while reducing cost and simplifying design. Gas lubricated bearings, representing one of the enabling technologies that can help maximize these benefits and have been successfully implemented into turbomachinery applications with rotors weights in the order few kg’s. However, load capacity and damping limitations of existing gas bearing technologies prevents the development of larger size oil-free drive trains in the MW power output range. Compliantly damped hybrid gas bearings (CHGB) were introduced as an alternative design to overcome these limitations by providing external pressurization to discrete tilting pads while retaining flexibility in the bearing support to help tolerate misalignment and rotor-pad geometry changes. Additionally, the CHGB concept addresses damping entitlement through the application of bearing support dampers such a metal mesh. An alternative CHGB design, featuring a novel hermetically seal squeeze film damper (HSFD) in the bearing support, was introduced as alternative approach to metal mesh dampers (MMD) to further improve bearing damping. This paper details the rotordynamic characterization of a CHGB with modular HSFD for various operating conditions. Direct and cross-coupled stiffness and damping coefficients are presented for different rotor speeds up to 12,500 rpm, frequencies of excitation between 20–200 Hz, bearing loads between 200–400 1bf, and external hydrostatic pressures reaching 180psi. Direct comparisons to experimental results for a CHGB using (MMD) shows 3X increase in direct damping levels when using HSFD in the compliant bearing support. In addition to the experimental results, an analytical model is presented based on the implementation of the isothermal compressible Reynolds equation coupled to a flexible support possessing a pad with 3 degrees of freedom. The numerical results capture the direct stiffness and frequency dependency but underpredict the absolute values for both case when compared to experimental data.
In Vitro
Activity of PBTZ169 against Multiple Mycobacterium Species
Authors: Shi Jin , Lu Jie , Wen Shu'an , Zong Zhaojing , Huo Fengmin , Luo Jingjing , Liang Qian , Li Yunxu , Huang Hairong , Pang Yu
Published: September 2018

In this study, we demonstrate that PBTZ169 exhibits significant differences in
in vitro
activity against multiple
Mycobacterium
species. The amino acid polymorphism at codon 387 of decaprenylphosphoryl-beta-
d
-ribose oxidase (DprE1) can be used as a surrogate marker for
in vitro
susceptibility to PBTZ169 in mycobacteria.
Biochemical Characterization of CYP505D6, a Self-Sufficient Cytochrome P450 from the White-Rot Fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium
Authors: Sakai Kiyota , Matsuzaki Fumiko , Wise Lisa , Sakai Yu , Jindou Sadanari , Ichinose Hirofumi , Takaya Naoki , Kato Masashi , Wariishi Hiroyuki , Shimizu Motoyuki
Published: September 2018

Phanerochaete chrysosporium
is a white-rot fungus whose metabolism of lignin, aromatic pollutants, and lipids has been most extensively studied. This fungus harbors 154 cytochrome P450-encoding genes in the genome. As evidenced in this study,
P. chrysosporium
CYP505D6, a fused protein of P450 and its reductase, hydroxylates fatty alcohols (C
9–15
) and fatty acids (C
9–15
) at the ω-1 to ω-7 or ω-1 to ω-6 positions, respectively. Naphthalene and 1-naphthol were also hydroxylated, indicating that the substrate specificity of CYP505D6 is broader than those of the known fused proteins CYP102A1 and CYP505A1. The substrate versatility of CYP505D6 makes this enzyme an attractive candidate for biotechnological applications.
Liquid biopsy for liver diseases
Authors: Mann Jelena , Reeves Helen L , Feldstein Ariel E
Published: September 2018

With the growing number of novel therapeutic approaches for liver diseases, significant research efforts have been devoted to the development of liquid biopsy tools for precision medicine. This can be defined as non-invasive reliable biomarkers that can supplement and eventually replace the invasive liver biopsy for diagnosis, disease stratification and monitoring of response to therapeutic interventions. Similarly, detection of liver cancer at an earlier stage of the disease, potentially susceptible to curative resection, can be critical to improve patient survival. Circulating extracellular vesicles, nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) and tumour cells have emerged as attractive liquid biopsy candidates because they fulfil many of the key characteristics of an ideal biomarker. In this review, we summarise the currently available information regarding these promising and potential transformative tools, as well as the issues still needed to be addressed for adopting various liquid biopsy approaches into clinical practice. These studies may pave the way to the development of a new generation of reliable, mechanism-based disease biomarkers.
Strong absorption of solar energy by using wide band metamaterial absorber designed with plus-shaped resonators
Authors: Ünal Emin , Bağmancı Mehmet , Karaaslan Muharrem , Akgol Oguzhan , Sabah Cumali
Published: September 2018

A new metamaterial absorber (MA) having distinct properties than those given in the literature is investigated. Although several designs have been studied for achieving absorption characteristics in single-band, dual-band and multiple bands within the whole spectrum of solar light, there has been limited number of researches examining the broadband MA in the visible light section of the spectrum. The designed structure is composed of the combination of three layers having different thicknesses including a metallic substrate, dielectric and a metal layer. Due to the sandwich-like structure, it can support the plasmonic resonance. The proposed structure, which provides a maximum absorption level of 99.42% at 579.26 THz, has a high absorption rate of 99% between the frequency band 545 and 628 THz. Numerical results indicate that the proposed structure has perfect absorption which is greater than 90.98% through the whole working frequency band. The dependency of the designed structure on the polarization angle is investigated for different incident angles with TE and TM polarizations as well as the TEM mode. In addition to its potential applications such as solar cells and cloaking, the designed structure can also be considered as a color sensor and an optical frequency sensor.