bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Avenging the Primal Wound: Women as the Unacknowledged Enemy in World War I
Authors: Dippel John V. H.
Published: January 2016

Like many modern conflicts, World War I arose to a large extent from long—simmering social pressures to reverse a trend toward greater freedoms and power for women. Men threatened by these advances saw volunteering for the military as a way to reaffirm their singular value to society and return women to supportive, secondary positions. In their eyes, emancipated females—not other nations—were the enemy which posed the greatest danger to their self‐esteem, status, and well—being.
Jeanne Halbwachs, International Feminist Pacifism, and France's Société d’Études Documentaires et Critiques sur la Guerre
Authors: Johnston Andrew M.
Published: January 2016

Feminist pacifism during the First World War demonstrated both considerable organization and intellectual productivity, despite its minority status. In France, feminist peace activists were especially isolated because of the unity induced by the German invasion. Most feminist organizations rejected pacifist calls for a mediated end to the war. Of those few women who did not accept the union sacrée, one of them, Jeanne Halbwachs, came to influence the direction of a study group within France's liberal and pro‐war Ligue des droits de l'homme (or Human Rights League) known as the Société d’études documentaires et critiques sur la guerre. Halbwachs was one of a tiny number of French women who managed to sustain ties to the International Committee of Women for Permanent Peace in Amsterdam during the war, and who used her awareness of their ideas to turn the male‐dominated Société toward a pacifist position that was critical of France's claim to be fighting a just war. Halbwachs’ story shows the extent to which transnational feminist peace activists succeeded in traversing wartime borders and influencing national politics.
The Intricacies of Shell Shock: A Chronological History of The Lancet's Publications by Dr. Charles S. Myers and His Contemporaries
Authors: Fueshko Tara M.
Published: January 2016

Originally defined as a “derangement of the nervous system deriving primarily from explosion at close range,” shell shock became a medical diagnosis for war trauma during the Great War. The term originated due to the subjection of exploding shells in dug out trenches, but came to encompass a variety of war trauma due to the horrors of modern warfare. Previous wars acknowledged war trauma by the common theme of weak heartedness leading to the derogatory outlook on the soldier who could not bear up under the pressures of war. However, the wars prior to 1900 did not use the tactics seen in The Great War and emphasis on the psychological ramifications of trauma was limited. Countries like Great Britain were therefore unprepared for the war trauma that occurred between 1914 and 1918. Faced with inadequate information and old practices, the field of Psychiatry grew in prominence as the state and its society looked for answers for the syndrome. Doctors such as Charles S. Myers published their findings in The Lancet, a medical journal aimed at publishing original research as well as reviews, correspondence, news, and case reports. This paper focuses on the publications of Dr. Myers, his contemporaries, the evolution of shell shock as a psychosomatic illness, and its progressive shift in British medical practices that paved the way for further analysis and treatment on war trauma as well as mental illness going forward.
Literary Representations of Shell Shock as a Result of World War I in the Works of Virginia Woolf and Ernest Hemingway
Authors: Church Johanna
Published: January 2016

World War I was a transformative catalyst towards the increased portrayal of psychological trauma in literary works. Neurological disorders became common within literary narratives after the war. Characters such as Septimus Smith in Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway and the works of Ernest Hemingway are just some of the examples. This is significant because it provided returning soldiers with representation and voices to educate society of the problem. This article will focus on the representation of the neurological manifestations of trauma as a result of WWI. A voice was given to the millions of soldiers returning from the front experiencing shell shock and depression. Specifically, this article explores the portrayals of neurological trauma through the characters in Virginia Woolf's novels To The Lighthouse and Mrs. Dalloway and Ernest Hemingway's novels A Farewell to Arms and The Sun Also Rises.
“Shell Shock” in the American Imagination: World War I's Most Enduring Legacy
Authors: Lembcke Jerry
Published: January 2016

The war veteran suffering shell shock is one of the most enduring images of twentieth‐century war. Coined during World War I, it was soon discredited as a diagnostic category and studied thereafter as a socially constructed concept akin to hysteria. Culturally, however, shell shock played out in Germany's interwar period as a metaphor for a nation traumatized by war whose defeat and hurt could only be avenged through more war. In the United States, the notion of shell shock proved useful for defining a new diagnostic category, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was said to be “like shell shock.” This paper will reprise in greater detail this biography of shell shock with attention to the way art, film, and other cultural forms played into its construction, and how PTSD and traumatic brain injury (TBI) now abet an American lost‐war narrative eerily similar to that which remilitarized Germany in its interwar period.
The temporal ‘structure’ and function of the insect photoperiodic clock: a tribute to Colin S. Pittendrigh
Authors: Saunders David S.
Published: January 2016

In 1936, Erwin Bünning suggested that photoperiodic time measurement was a function of the circadian system. Colin Pittendrigh became an ardent supporter of Bünning's hypothesis, drawing parallels between photoperiodism and his own group's investigations of adult eclosion rhythmicity in the fruit fly Drosophila pseudoobscura. They developed several more modern versions of Bünning's general hypothesis based on the entrainment of circadian oscillations to the light cycle, including ‘external coincidence’, which is a derivation of Bünning's original model, and ‘internal coincidence’, which relied upon seasonal changes in the mutual phase relationship of oscillators within a multi‐oscillator circadian system. This review considers the experimental evidence for the central role of the circadian system in photoperiodic timing and, in some species, for both external and internal coincidence. Pittendrigh, however, pursued the idea of internal coincidence further with his analysis of the pacemaker–slave organization of eclosion rhythmicity in D. pseudoobscura and proposed a similar theoretical model for photoperiodism comprising a group of slave oscillators driven by a light‐sensitive pacemaker. In this model, the phase relationships of the slaves to the pacemaker were affected by (i) the relative periods of the pacemaker and slave(s); (ii) the strength(s) of the coupling between the two; and (iii) the dampening coefficients of the various slaves. Manipulation of these variables showed that the slaves adopted different internal phase relationships (both to each other and to the pacemaker) under the influence of changes in daily photophase, the period of the Zeitgeber and phase shifts of the entraining light cycle.
Evaluation of immune responses induced by rhoptry protein 5 and rhoptry protein 7 DNA vaccines against Toxoplasma gondii
Authors: Wang L. , Lu G. , Zhou A. , Han Y. , Guo J. , Zhou H. , Cong H. , He S.
Published: January 2016

Infection with the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii is widespread, and the organism can cause congenital infections in humans. The horizontal transmission of Toxoplasma is even more common than congenital. An effective vaccine strategy brings the prospect of improving Toxoplasma disease control. Rhoptry protein 5 (ROP5) and ROP7 are potential stimulators of humoral and cellular immune responses. In this study, we constructed a multi‐antigenic DNA vaccine expressing ROP5 and ROP7 of T. gondii and compared the protective efficacy to single‐gene vaccines and control groups. BALB/c mice were immunized intramuscularly three times. The levels of IgG antibodies and cytokines in mice immunized with the multi‐antigenic DNA vaccine (pROP5/ROP7) were significantly higher than those in the control mice. Mice vaccinated with pROP5/ROP7 showed a longer survival time (16 days) than single‐gene‐immunized mice (11 and 12 days, respectively) or control mice (8 days) after a challenge with 1 × 104 tachyzoites of RH strain of T. gondii. Furthermore, after intragastric infection with 20 cysts of PRU strain of T. gondii, the number of brain cysts in mice immunized with pROP5/ROP7 was only 25% of the number in control mice. Our results showed that a DNA vaccine encoding ROP5 and ROP7 significantly enhanced protection against T. gondii challenge.
Root–shoot interactions explain the reduction of leaf mineral content in Arabidopsis plants grown under elevated [CO2] conditions
Authors: Jauregui Ivan , Aparicio‐Tejo Pedro M. , Avila Concepción , Cañas Rafael , Sakalauskiene Sandra , Aranjuelo Iker
Published: January 2016

Although shoot N depletion in plants exposed to elevated [CO2] has already been reported on several occasions, some uncertainty remains about the mechanisms involved. This study illustrates (1) the importance of characterizing root–shoot interactions and (2) the physiological, biochemical and gene expression mechanisms adopted by nitrate‐fed Arabidopsis thaliana plants grown under elevated [CO2]. Elevated [CO2] increases biomass and photosynthetic rates; nevertheless, the decline in total soluble protein, Rubisco and leaf N concentrations revealed a general decrease in leaf N availability. A transcriptomic approach (conducted at the root and shoot level) revealed that exposure to 800 ppm [CO2] induced the expression of genes involved in the transport of nitrate and mineral elements. Leaf N and mineral status revealed that N assimilation into proteins was constrained under elevated [CO2]. Moreover, this study also highlights how elevated [CO2] induced the reorganization of nitrate assimilation between tissues; root nitrogen assimilation was favored over leaf assimilation to offset the decline in nitrogen metabolism in the leaves of plants exposed to elevated [CO2].
Complex coastal change in response to autogenic basin infilling: An example from a sub‐tropical Holocene strandplain
Authors: Hein Christopher J. , FitzGerald Duncan M. , de Souza Luis H. P. , Georgiou Ioannis Y. , Buynevich Ilya V. , Klein Antonio H. da F. , de Menezes João Thadeu , Cleary William J. , Scolaro Thelma L.
Published: January 2016

Thick bay‐fill sequences that often culminate in strandplain development serve as important sedimentary archives of land–ocean interaction, although distinguishing between internal and external forcings is an ongoing challenge. This study employs sediment cores, ground‐penetrating radar surveys, radiocarbon dates, palaeogeographic reconstructions and hydrodynamic modelling to explore the role of autogenic processes – notably a reduction in wave energy in response to coastal embayment infilling – in coastal evolution and shoreline morphodynamics. Following a regional 2 to 4 m highstand at ca 5·8 ka, the 75 km2 Tijucas Strandplain in southern Brazil built from fluvial sediments deposited into a semi‐enclosed bay. Holocene regressive deposits are underlain by fluvial sands and a Pleistocene transgressive–regressive sequence, and backed by a highstand barrier‐island. The strandplain is immediately underlain by 5 to 16 m of seaward‐thickening, fluvially derived, Holocene‐age, basin‐fill mud. Several trends are observed from the landward (oldest) to the seaward (youngest) sections of the strandplain: (i) the upper shoreface and foreshore become finer and thinner and shift from sand‐dominated to mud‐dominated; (ii) beachface slopes decrease from >11° to ca 7°; and (iii) progradation rates increase from 0·4 to 1·8 m yr−1. Hydrodynamic modelling demonstrates a correlation between progressive shoaling of Tijucas Bay driven by sea‐level fall and sediment infilling and a decrease in onshore wave‐energy transport from 18 to 4 kW m−1. The combination of allogenic (sediment supply, falling relative sea‐level and geology) and autogenic (decrease in wave energy due to bay shoaling) processes drove the development of a regressive system with characteristics that are rare, if not unique, in the Holocene and rock records. These findings demonstrate the complexities in architecture styles of highstand and regressive systems tracts. Furthermore, this article highlights the diverse internal and external processes and feedbacks responsible for the development of these intricate marginal marine sedimentary systems.
SOT1, a pentatricopeptide repeat protein with a small MutS‐related domain, is required for correct processing of plastid 23S–4.5S rRNA precursors in Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Wu Wenjuan , Liu Sheng , Ruwe Hannes , Zhang Delin , Melonek Joanna , Zhu Yajuan , Hu Xupeng , Gusewski Sandra , Yin Ping , Small Ian D. , Howell Katharine A. , Huang Jirong
Published: January 2016

Ribosomal RNA processing is essential for plastid ribosome biogenesis, but is still poorly understood in higher plants. Here, we show that SUPPRESSOR OF THYLAKOID FORMATION1 (SOT1), a plastid‐localized pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein with a small MutS‐related domain, is required for maturation of the 23S–4.5S rRNA dicistron. Loss of SOT1 function leads to slower chloroplast development, suppression of leaf variegation, and abnormal 23S and 4.5S processing. Predictions based on the PPR motif sequences identified the 5′ end of the 23S–4.5S rRNA dicistronic precursor as a putative SOT1 binding site. This was confirmed by electrophoretic mobility shift assay, and by loss of the abundant small RNA ‘footprint’ associated with this site in sot1 mutants. We found that more than half of the 23S–4.5S rRNA dicistrons in sot1 mutants contain eroded and/or unprocessed 5′ and 3′ ends, and that the endonucleolytic cleavage product normally released from the 5′ end of the precursor is absent in a sot1 null mutant. We postulate that SOT1 binding protects the 5′ extremity of the 23S–4.5S rRNA dicistron from exonucleolytic attack, and favours formation of the RNA structure that allows endonucleolytic processing of its 5′ and 3′ ends.
Hematopoietic peripheral circulating blood stem cells as an independent marker of good transfusion management in patients with β‐thalassemia: results from a preliminary study
Authors: Napolitano Mariasanta , Gerardi Calogera , Di Lucia Anna , Accardo Pietro Andrea , Rizzuto Luigi , Ferraro Maria , Siragusa Sergio , Buscemi Filippo
Published: January 2016

BACKGROUND

Beyond hemoglobin (Hb) levels and performance status, further surrogate markers of appropriate transfusion management should improve the quality of thalassemia care. We investigated the levels of peripheral circulating CD34+ stem cells as an independent marker of appropriate hematopoietic balance in patients with thalassemia.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Peripheral circulating CD34+ stem cells, colony‐forming unitgranulocyte, erythrocyte, macrophage, magakaryocyte (CF‐GEMM), colony‐forming unitgranulocyte/macrophage (CFU‐GM), and erythroidburst‐forming units (BFU‐E) were assayed, according to standard procedures. Patients with thalassemia major (TM) and thalassemia intermedia (TI) were tested and compared to healthy controls. Demographic and clinical data were recorded.

RESULTS

Overall, 56 patients with TM (median age, 35 years; range, 13‐52 years) and 13 with TI (median age, 44 years; range, 27‐67 years) were evaluated. Annual red blood cell (RBC) transfusion requirements ranged from 10 to 65 units in all patients except four nontransfused cases. A significant increase in peripheral circulating stem cells was observed in patients, in comparison with healthy controls. Nontransfused patients showed the mean highest levels of stem cells (CD34, 32.5 ± 14.8/μL; BFU‐E, 41.3 ± 22.8/mL; CFU‐GM, 19.6 ± 5.6/mL; CFU‐GEMM, 9.0 ± 6.1/mL). CD34+ cell count was 6.9 ± 4.5/μL in TM (p = 0.014) and 11.8 ± 14.8/μL (p = 0.051) in TI. Furthermore, only in patients with TI was a significant increase in CFU‐GEMM (3.0 ± 4.8 vs. 0.75 ± 2.05/mL, p = 0.0001) observed. At multivariate analysis, peripheral circulating CD34+ stem cells did not correlate with age, sex, smoking habit, number of RBCs units transfused, Hb levels, iron chelation therapy, history of splenectomy, and hypothyroidism.

CONCLUSION

Circulating peripheral CD34 + stem cells are increased in β‐thalassemia, in particular in nontransfused patients, compared to healthy controls.
Effect of intravenous iron on outcomes of acute kidney injury
Authors: Clark Barbara A. , Osadchuk Liliana , John Jones , Culver Thuyanh , Marcus Richard
Published: January 2016

BACKGROUND

Little is known about benefit versus risk in treating iron deficiency anemia with intravenous (IV) iron in patients with acute kidney injury (AKI). Concerns about adverse outcomes may dissuade use and could contribute to greater use of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

We performed a retrospective case‐control study of patients with AKI who received IV iron (cases) compared to those with AKI without IV iron (controls).

RESULTS

We identified 67 cases and 67 controls matched for age, stage of chronic kidney disease, and severity of anemia (hemoglobin [Hb], 7.7 ± 0.1 mg/dL vs. 7.5 ± 0.1 mg/dL; p = 0.47). Cases tended to be sicker with longer length of stay (27 + 4 days vs. 15 + 1.3 days; p = 0.003) and more intensive care unit days (13 + 2 days vs. 5 + 1 days; p = 0.003), more often with diagnosis of sepsis and greater number of antibiotics used (2.7 ± 0.3 vs. 1.8 ± 0.2; p = 0.02). Sepsis and AKI preceded use of IV iron. Despite greater illness severity, there was no difference in dialysis (38.8% vs. 34.3%; p = 0.59), mortality (24% vs. 21%; p = 0.679), or severity and/or recovery of AKI. Discharge Hb was similar (9.0 ± 0.1 mg/dL vs. 9.1 ± 0.1 mg/dL; p = 0.47). IV iron was used later in the stay and hence the cases also had more RBC transfusions.

CONCLUSIONS

We were unable to find any adverse consequences of use of IV iron when used to treat anemia in patients with AKI in regard to recovery of AKI or mortality even in patients with a diagnosis of sepsis. Consideration of preemptive use of IV iron in AKI with severe anemia is warranted to determine if this would reduce RBC transfusion.
Impact of using different blood donor subpopulations and models on the estimation of transfusion transmission residual risk of human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus in Zimbabwe
Authors: Mapako Tonderai , Janssen Mart P. , Mvere David A. , Emmanuel Jean C. , Rusakaniko Simbarashe , Postma Maarten J. , van Hulst Marinus
Published: January 2016

BACKGROUND

Various models for estimating the residual risk (RR) of transmission of infections by blood transfusion have been published mainly based on data from high‐income countries. However, to obtain the data required for such an assessment remains challenging for most developing settings. The National Blood Service Zimbabwe (NBSZ) adapted a published incidence‐window period (IWP) model, which has less demanding data requirements. In this study we assess the impact of various definitions of blood donor subpopulations and models on RR estimates. We compared the outcomes of two published models and an adapted NBSZ model.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

The Schreiber IWP model (Model 1), an amended version (Model 2), and an adapted NBSZ model (Model 3) were applied. Variably the three models include prevalence, incidence, preseroconversion intervals, mean lifetime risk, and person‐years at risk. Annual mean RR estimates and 95% confidence intervals for each of the three models for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and hepatitis C virus (HCV) were determined using NBSZ blood donor data from 2002 through 2011.

RESULTS

The annual mean RR estimates for Models 1 through 3 were 1 in 6542, 5805, and 6418, respectively for HIV; 1 in 1978, 2027, and 1628 for HBV; and 1 in 9588, 15,126, and 7750, for HCV.

CONCLUSIONS

The adapted NBSZ model provided comparable results to the published methods and these highlight the high occurrence of HBV in Zimbabwe. The adapted NBSZ model could be used as an alternative to estimate RRs when in settings where two repeat donations are not available.
Effect of storage conditions on subpopulations of peripheral blood T lymphocytes isolated from naïve cattle and cattle infected with foot‐and‐mouth disease virus
Authors: Eschbaumer Michael , Stenfeldt Carolina , Pacheco Juan M. , Rekant Steven I. , Arzt Jonathan
Published: January 2016

Background

Immunophenotyping of blood lymphocytes by flow cytometry is important in infectious disease research. In animal experiments and other longitudinal studies, the processing, prompt staining, and analysis of fresh samples is a logistical challenge and daily assay variation can confound data interpretation.

Objective

This study examined the feasibility of cryopreservation and deferred analysis of bovine peripheral blood T lymphocytes from normal or infected animals.

Methods

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were collected from 4 naïve Holstein steers and 4 steers infected with foot‐and‐mouth‐disease virus serotype Asia1. Identical aliquots were labeled and analyzed immediately, labeled for deferred analysis, or stored at −70°C or over liquid nitrogen for up to 3 weeks before labeling.

Results

Freezing of unlabeled cells induced statistically significant changes in phenotypic recognition. In infected animals, the γδ T‐cell population increased by 28% and CD8+ αβT cells by 32%, while total CD3+ cells decreased by 16%, and CD4+ αβT cells decreased by 12%. Subsequent storage of frozen cells for the duration of the study, however, had no significant effect. There was less than 20% relative change in subpopulation sizes, and storage at −70°C or over liquid nitrogen was equivalent.

Conclusions

Depending on the objectives and practical limitations of a study, deferred labeling of peripheral blood lymphocytes can be a viable option. Although frozen storage of lymphocytes can introduce some artifactual distortion of relative cell populations, frozen cells can be maintained in storage until all samples in a longitudinal study can be analyzed in batch under standardized conditions and without introducing further bias.
The diagnostic value of two commercially available human cTnI assays in goat kids with myocarditis
Authors: Karapinar Tolga , Eroksuz Yesari , Hayirli Armagan , Beytut Enver , Kaynar Ozgur , Baydar Ersoy , Sozdutmaz Ibrahim , Isidan Hakan
Published: January 2016

Background

Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) is a peripheral blood marker for myocardial damage. Because of the unavailability of goat‐specific cTnI assays human cTnI assays may be validated for detection of myocarditis in goat kids.

Objectives

The purpose of the study was to evaluate 2 commercially available human cTnI assays in goat kids with myocardial damage, and to determine the cTnI expression in cardiac muscle.

Materials and Methods

Plasma cTnI concentrations were measured in healthy goat kids (n = 7) and goat kids with myocardial damage (n = 8) using the Beckman Coulter Access Accu TnI and the Biomérieux Vidas Ultra. The results were correlated with gross necropsy and histopathologic findings, and cTnI immunhistochemistry in cardiac tissue.

Results

Macro‐ and microscopic findings confirmed myocardial damage in the myocarditis group. Mean plasma cTnI concentration was significantly higher in the myocarditis group than in the healthy control group (104.82 vs 0.02 ng/mL). The overall mean plasma cTnI concentration measured by Biomérieux Vidas Ultra (61.75 ng/mL, 95% CI: 19.55–103.95) was comparable to the mean measured by Beckman Coulter Access Accu TnI (50.08 ng/mL, 95% CI: 24.11–76.06), and cTnI concentrations measured by these assays were highly correlated (r = .977) with a −6.2% bias. Both assays were precise and accurate.

Conclusion

The human‐specific Beckman Coulter Access Accu TnI and the Biomérieux Vidas Ultra can be used for diagnostic confirmation of myocardial damage in caprine medicine.
Interaction between left ventricular twist mechanics and arterial haemodynamics during localised, non‐metabolic hyperaemia with and without blood flow restriction
Authors: van Mil Anke C. C. M. , Pearson James , Drane Aimee L. , Cockcroft John R. , McDonnell Barry J. , Stöhr Eric J.
Published: January 2016

New Findings

What is the central question of this study?

Left ventricular (LV) twist is reduced when afterload is increased, but the meaning of this specific heart muscle response and its impact on cardiac output are not well understood.

What is the main finding and its importance?

This study shows that LV twist responds even when arterial haemodynamics are altered only locally, and without apparent change in metabolic (i.e. heat‐induced) demand. The concurrent decline in cardiac output and LV twist during partial arterial occlusion despite the increased peripheral demand caused by heat stress suggests that LV twist may be involved in the protective sensing of heart muscle stress that can override the provision of the required cardiac output.

Whether left ventricular (LV) twist and untwisting rate (LV twist mechanics) respond to localised, peripheral, non‐metabolic changes in arterial haemodynamics within an individual's normal afterload range is presently unknown. Furthermore, previous studies indicate that LV twist mechanics may override the provision of cardiac output, but this hypothesis has not been examined purposefully. Therefore, we acutely altered local peripheral arterial haemodynamics in 11 healthy humans (women/men n = 3/8; age 26 ± 5 years) by bilateral arm heating (BAH). Ultrasonography was used to examine arterial haemodynamics, LV twist mechanics and the twist‐to‐shortening ratio (TSR). To determine the arterial function‐dependent contribution of LV twist mechanics to cardiac output, partial blood flow restriction to the arms was applied during BAH (BAHBFR). Bilateral arm heating increased arm skin temperatures [change (Δ) +6.4 ± 0.9°C, P < 0.0001] but not core temperature (Δ −0.0 ± 0.1°C, P > 0.05), concomitant to increases in brachial artery blood flow (Δ 212 ± 77 ml, P < 0.0001), cardiac output (Δ 495 ± 487 l min−1, P < 0.05), LV twist (Δ 3.0 ± 3.5 deg, P < 0.05) and TSR (Δ 3.3 ± 1.3, P < 0.05) but maintained carotid artery blood flow (Δ 18 ± 147 ml, P > 0.05). Subsequently, BAHBFR reduced all parameters to preheating levels, except for TSR and heart rate, which remained at BAH levels. In conclusion, LV twist mechanics responded to local peripheral arterial haemodynamics within the normal afterload range, in part independent of TSR and heart rate. The findings suggest that LV twist mechanics may be more closely associated with intrinsic sensing of excessive pressure stress rather than being associated with the delivery of adequate cardiac output.
Physiological and pathophysiological reactive oxygen species as probed by EPR spectroscopy: the underutilized research window on muscle ageing
Authors: A. Abdel‐Rahman Engy , Mahmoud Ali M. , Khalifa Abdulrahman M. , Ali Sameh S.
Published: January 2016

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS) play crucial roles in triggering, mediating and regulating physiological and pathophysiological signal transduction pathways within the cell. Within the cell, ROS efflux is firmly controlled both spatially and temporally, making the study of ROS dynamics a challenging task. Different approaches have been developed for ROS assessment; however, many of these assays are not capable of direct identification or determination of subcellular localization of different ROS. Here we highlight electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy as a powerful technique that is uniquely capable of addressing questions on ROS dynamics in different biological specimens and cellular compartments. Due to their critical importance in muscle functions and dysfunction, we discuss in some detail spin trapping of various ROS and focus on EPR detection of nitric oxide before highlighting how EPR can be utilized to probe biophysical characteristics of the environment surrounding a given stable radical. Despite the demonstrated ability of EPR spectroscopy to provide unique information on the identity, quantity, dynamics and environment of radical species, its applications in the field of muscle physiology, fatiguing and ageing are disproportionately infrequent. While reviewing the limited examples of successful EPR applications in muscle biology we conclude that the field would greatly benefit from more studies exploring ROS sources and kinetics by spin trapping, protein dynamics by site‐directed spin labelling, and membrane dynamics and global redox changes by spin probing EPR approaches.

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The effect of age and unilateral leg immobilization for 2 weeks on substrate utilization during moderate‐intensity exercise in human skeletal muscle
Authors: Vigelsø A. , Gram M. , Dybboe R. , Kuhlman A. B. , Prats C. , Greenhaff P. L. , Constantin‐Teodosiu D. , Birk J. B. , Wojtaszewski J. F. P. , Dela F. , Helge J. W.
Published: January 2016

Key points

This study aimed to provide molecular insight into the differential effects of age and physical inactivity on the regulation of substrate metabolism during moderate‐intensity exercise.

Using the arteriovenous balance technique, we studied the effect of immobilization of one leg for 2 weeks on leg substrate utilization in young and older men during two‐legged dynamic knee‐extensor moderate‐intensity exercise, as well as changes in key proteins in muscle metabolism before and after exercise.

Age and immobilization did not affect relative carbohydrate and fat utilization during exercise, but the older men had higher uptake of exogenous fatty acids, whereas the young men relied more on endogenous fatty acids during exercise.

Using a combined whole‐leg and molecular approach, we provide evidence that both age and physical inactivity result in intramuscular lipid accumulation, but this occurs only in part through the same mechanisms.

Age and inactivity have been associated with intramuscular triglyceride (IMTG) accumulation. Here, we attempt to disentangle these factors by studying the effect of 2 weeks of unilateral leg immobilization on substrate utilization across the legs during moderate‐intensity exercise in young (n = 17; 23 ± 1 years old) and older men (n = 15; 68 ± 1 years old), while the contralateral leg served as the control. After immobilization, the participants performed two‐legged isolated knee‐extensor exercise at 20 ± 1 W (∼50% maximal work capacity) for 45 min with catheters inserted in the brachial artery and both femoral veins. Biopsy samples obtained from vastus lateralis muscles of both legs before and after exercise were used for analysis of substrates, protein content and enzyme activities. During exercise, leg substrate utilization (respiratory quotient) did not differ between groups or legs. Leg fatty acid uptake was greater in older than in young men, and although young men demonstrated net leg glycerol release during exercise, older men showed net glycerol uptake. At baseline, IMTG, muscle pyruvate dehydrogenase complex activity and the protein content of adipose triglyceride lipase, acetyl‐CoA carboxylase 2 and AMP‐activated protein kinase (AMPK)γ3 were higher in young than in older men. Furthermore, adipose triglyceride lipase, plasma membrane‐associated fatty acid binding protein and AMPKγ3 subunit protein contents were lower and IMTG was higher in the immobilized than the contralateral leg in young and older men. Thus, immobilization and age did not affect substrate choice (respiratory quotient) during moderate exercise, but the whole‐leg and molecular differences in fatty acid mobilization could explain the age‐ and immobilization‐induced IMTG accumulation.
Influence of exercise intensity and duration on functional and biochemical perturbations in the human heart
Authors: Stewart Glenn M. , Yamada Akira , Haseler Luke J. , Kavanagh Justin J. , Chan Jonathan , Koerbin Gus , Wood Cameron , Sabapathy Surendran
Published: January 2016

Key points

Strenuous endurance exercise induces transient functional and biochemical cardiac perturbations that persist for 24–48 h.

The magnitude and time‐course of exercise‐induced reductions in ventricular function and increases in cardiac injury markers are influenced by the intensity and duration of exercise.

In a human experimental model, exercise‐induced reductions in ventricular strain and increases in cardiac troponin are greater, and persist for longer, when exercise is performed within the heavy‐ compared to moderate‐intensity exercise domain, despite matching for total mechanical work.

The results of the present study help us better understand the dose–response relationship between endurance exercise and acute cardiac stress/injury, a finding that has implications for the prescription of day‐to‐day endurance exercise regimes.

Strenuous endurance exercise induces transient cardiac perturbations with ambiguous health outcomes. The present study investigated the magnitude and time‐course of exercise‐induced functional and biochemical cardiac perturbations by manipulating the exercise intensity–duration matrix. Echocardiograph‐derived left (LV) and right (RV) ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS), and serum high‐sensitivity cardiac troponin (hs‐cTnI) concentration, were examined in 10 males (age: 27 ± 4 years; : 4.0 ± 0.8 l min−1) before, throughout (50%, 75% and 100%), and during recovery (1, 3, 6 and 24 h) from two exercise trials. The two exercise trials consisted of 90 and 120 min of heavy‐ and moderate‐intensity cycling, respectively, with total mechanical work matched. LVGLS decreased (P < 0.01) during the 90 min trial only, with reductions peaking at 1 h post (pre: −19.9 ± 0.6%; 1 h post: −18.5 ± 0.7%) and persisting for >24 h into recovery. RVGLS decreased (P < 0.05) during both exercise trials with reductions in the 90 min trial peaking at 1 h post (pre: −27.5 ± 0.7%; 1 h post: −25.1 ± 0.8%) and persisting for >24 h into recovery. Serum hs‐cTnI increased (P < 0.01) during both exercise trials, with concentrations peaking at 3 h post but only exceeding cardio‐healthy reference limits (14 ng l−1) in the 90 min trial (pre: 4.2 ± 2.4 ng l−1; 3 h post: 25.1 ± 7.9 ng l−1). Exercise‐induced reductions in ventricular strain and increases in cardiac injury markers persist for 24 h following exercise that is typical of day‐to‐day endurance exercise training; however, the magnitude and time‐course of this response can be altered by manipulating the intensity–duration matrix.
A Scale-Adaptive Turbulence Model Based on the k-Equation and Recalibrated Reynolds Stress Constitutive Relation
Authors: Zhang Yang , Bai Jun-Qiang , Xu Jing-Lei
Published: January 2016

An algebraic relationship between turbulent dissipation rate and von Karman length are used to dismiss the transport equation of turbulent dissipation rate in standard k−ε (SKE) turbulence model. Meanwhile, a recalibrated Bradshaw's assumption is built based on the data from a boundary layer flow of turbulent flat plate simulated by direct numerical simulation (DNS). The JL model is reformed to a one-equation model which only depends on the turbulent energy, so the new model can also be called kinetic-energy dependent only (KDO) turbulence model. As the KDO model is using the von Karman length scale, it can automatically adjust to fit the resolved structures of the local flow. Results will be shown for the boundary layer flow on a turbulent flat plate, and the external flows of an NACA4412 airfoil, an ONERA-M6 wing, a three dimension delta wing, and an NACA0012 airfoil at deep stall.
Costs of migratory decisions: A comparison across eight white stork populations
Authors: Flack Andrea , Fiedler Wolfgang , Blas Julio , Pokrovsky Ivan , Kaatz Michael , Mitropolsky Maxim , Aghababyan Karen , Fakriadis Ioannis , Makrigianni Eleni , Jerzak Leszek , Azafzaf Hichem , Feltrup-Azafzaf Claudia , Rotics Shay , Mokotjomela Thabiso M. , Nathan Ran , Wikelski Martin
Published: January 2016

Researchers uncover a large variation in the lifetime migratory decisions of young white storks.
Seasonal reproductive endothermy in tegu lizards
Authors: Tattersall Glenn J. , Leite Cleo A. C. , Sanders Colin E. , Cadena Viviana , Andrade Denis V. , Abe Augusto S. , Milsom William K.
Published: January 2016

Ectothermic lizards become endothermic in the breeding season, supporting a parental care model for the origins of endothermy.
Environmentally-friendly aqueous Li (or Na)-ion battery with fast electrode kinetics and super-long life
Authors: Dong Xiaoli , Chen Long , Liu Jingyuan , Haller Servane , Wang Yonggang , Xia Yongyao
Published: January 2016

Environmentally-friendly aqueous Li (or Na)-ion battery with super-long life is built for large-scale energy storage.
Tunable light emission by exciplex state formation between hybrid halide perovskite and core/shell quantum dots: Implications in advanced LEDs and photovoltaics
Authors: Sanchez Rafael S. , de la Fuente Mauricio Solis , Suarez Isaac , Muñoz-Matutano Guillermo , Martinez-Pastor Juan P. , Mora-Sero Ivan
Published: January 2016

A perovskite–quantum dot exciplex has been detected, opening a broad range of possibilities for advanced optoelectronic devices.
Metainference: A Bayesian inference method for heterogeneous systems
Authors: Bonomi Massimiliano , Camilloni Carlo , Cavalli Andrea , Vendruscolo Michele
Published: January 2016

Researchers present a Bayesian inference method for heterogeneous systems that integrates prior information with noisy experimental data.
Evidence of Apis cerana
Sacbrood virus
Infection in Apis mellifera
Authors: Gong Hong-Ri , Chen Xiu-Xian , Chen Yan Ping , Hu Fu-Liang , Zhang Jiang-Lin , Lin Zhe-Guang , Yu Ji-Wei , Zheng Huo-Qing
Published: January 2016

Sacbrood virus
(SBV) is one of the most destructive viruses in the Asian honeybee
Apis cerana
but is much less destructive in
Apis mellifera
. In previous studies, SBV isolates infecting
A. cerana
(AcSBV) and SBV isolates infecting
A. mellifera
(AmSBV) were identified as different serotypes, suggesting a species barrier in SBV infection. In order to investigate this species isolation, we examined the presence of SBV infection in 318
A. mellifera
colonies and 64
A. cerana
colonies, and we identified the genotypes of SBV isolates. We also performed artificial infection experiments under both laboratory and field conditions. The results showed that 38
A. mellifera
colonies and 37
A. cerana
colonies were positive for SBV infection. Phylogenetic analysis based on RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) gene sequences indicated that
A. cerana
isolates and most
A. mellifera
isolates formed two distinct clades but two strains isolated from
A. mellifera
were clustered with the
A. cerana
isolates. In the artificial-infection experiments, AcSBV negative-strand RNA could be detected in both adult bees and larvae of
A. mellifera
, although there were no obvious signs of the disease, demonstrating the replication of AcSBV in
A. mellifera
. Our results suggest that AcSBV is able to infect
A. mellifera
colonies with low prevalence (0.63% in this study) and pathogenicity. This work will help explain the different susceptibilities of
A. cerana
and
A. mellifera
to sacbrood disease and is potentially useful for guiding beekeeping practices.
Airborne Microalgae: Insights, Opportunities, and Challenges
Authors: Tesson Sylvie V. M. , Skjøth Carsten Ambelas , Šantl-Temkiv Tina , Löndahl Jakob
Published: January 2016

Airborne dispersal of microalgae has largely been a blind spot in environmental biological studies because of their low concentration in the atmosphere and the technical limitations in investigating microalgae from air samples. Recent studies show that airborne microalgae can survive air transportation and interact with the environment, possibly influencing their deposition rates. This minireview presents a summary of these studies and traces the possible route, step by step, from established ecosystems to new habitats through air transportation over a variety of geographic scales. Emission, transportation, deposition, and adaptation to atmospheric stress are discussed, as well as the consequences of their dispersal on health and the environment and state-of-the-art techniques to detect and model airborne microalga dispersal. More-detailed studies on the microalga atmospheric cycle, including, for instance, ice nucleation activity and transport simulations, are crucial for improving our understanding of microalga ecology, identifying microalga interactions with the environment, and preventing unwanted contamination events or invasions.
Evaluation of the Efficacy of Methyl Bromide in the Decontamination of Building and Interior Materials Contaminated with Bacillus anthracis Spores
Authors: Wood Joseph P. , Wendling Morgan , Richter William , Lastivka Andrew , Mickelsen Leroy
Published: January 2016

The primary goal of this study was to determine the conditions required for the effective inactivation of
Bacillus anthracis
spores on materials by using methyl bromide (MeBr) gas. Another objective was to obtain comparative decontamination efficacy data with three avirulent microorganisms to assess their potential for use as surrogates for
B. anthracis
Ames. Decontamination tests were conducted with spores of
B. anthracis
Ames and
Geobacillus stearothermophilus
,
B. anthracis
NNR1Δ1, and
B. anthracis
Sterne inoculated onto six different materials. Experimental variables included temperature, relative humidity (RH), MeBr concentration, and contact time. MeBr was found to be an effective decontaminant under a number of conditions. This study highlights the important role that RH has when fumigation is performed with MeBr. There were no tests in which a ≥6-log
10
reduction (LR) of
B. anthracis
Ames was achieved on all materials when fumigation was done at 45% RH. At 75% RH, an increase in the temperature, the MeBr concentration, or contact time generally improved the efficacy of fumigation with MeBr. This study provides new information for the effective use of MeBr at temperatures and RH levels lower than those that have been recommended previously. The study also provides data to assist with the selection of an avirulent surrogate for
B. anthracis
Ames spores when additional tests with MeBr are conducted.
Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Vibrio splendidus JZ6 Reveals the Mechanism of Its Pathogenicity at Low Temperatures
Authors: Liu Rui , Chen Hao , Zhang Ran , Zhou Zhi , Hou Zhanhui , Gao Dahai , Zhang Huan , Wang Lingling , Song Linsheng
Published: January 2016

Yesso scallop-pathogenic
Vibrio splendidus
strain JZ6 was found to have the highest virulence at 10°C, while its pathogenicity was significantly reduced with increased temperature and completely incapacitated at 28°C. In the present study, comparative transcriptome analyses of JZ6 and another nonpathogenic
V. splendidus
strain, TZ19, were conducted at two crucial culture temperatures (10°C and 28°C) in order to determine the possible mechanism of temperature regulation of virulence. Comparisons among four libraries, constructed from JZ6 and TZ19 cultured at 10°C and 28°C (designated JZ6_10, JZ6_28, TZ19_10, and TZ19_28), revealed that 241 genes were possibly related to the increased virulence of JZ6 at 10°C. There were 10 genes, including 2 encoding Flp pilus assembly proteins (FlhG and VS_2437), 6 encoding proteins of the “
Vibrio cholerae
pathogenic cycle” (ToxS, CqsA, CqsS, RpoS, HapR, and Vsm), and 2 encoding proteins in the Sec-dependent pathway (SecE and FtsY), that were significantly upregulated in JZ6_10 (
P
< 0.05) compared to those in JZ6_28, TZ19_10, and TZ19_28, which were supposed to be responsible for adhesion, quorum sensing, virulence, and protein secretion of
V. splendidus
. When cultured at 10°C, JZ6 cells were larger and tended to aggregate more than those cultured at 28°C. The virulence factor (extracellular metalloprotease) was also found to be highly expressed in the extracellular product (ECP) of JZ6 at 10°C, and this ECP exhibited obvious cytotoxicity to oyster primary hemocytes, A549 cells, and L929 cells. These results indicated that low temperatures (10°C) could enhance adhesion, activate the quorum sensing systems, upregulate virulence factor synthesis and secretion, and, lastly, increase the pathogenicity of JZ6.
P212A Mutant of Dihydrodaidzein Reductase Enhances (
S
)-Equol Production and Enantioselectivity in a Recombinant Escherichia coli Whole-Cell Reaction System
Authors: Lee Pyung-Gang , Kim Joonwon , Kim Eun-Jung , Jung EunOk , Pandey Bishnu Prasad , Kim Byung-Gee
Published: January 2016

(
S
)-Equol, a gut bacterial isoflavone derivative, has drawn great attention because of its potent use for relieving female postmenopausal symptoms and preventing prostate cancer. Previous studies have reported on the dietary isoflavone metabolism of several human gut bacteria and the involved enzymes for conversion of daidzein to (
S
)-equol. However, the anaerobic growth conditions required by the gut bacteria and the low productivity and yield of (
S
)-equol limit its efficient production using only natural gut bacteria. In this study, the low (
S
)-equol biosynthesis of gut microorganisms was overcome by cloning the four enzymes involved in the biosynthesis from
Slackia isoflavoniconvertens
into
Escherichia coli
BL21(DE3). The reaction conditions were optimized for (
S
)-equol production from the recombinant strain, and this recombinant system enabled the efficient conversion of 200 μM and 1 mM daidzein to (
S
)-equol under aerobic conditions, achieving yields of 95% and 85%, respectively. Since the biosynthesis of
trans
-tetrahydrodaidzein was found to be a rate-determining step for (
S
)-equol production, dihydrodaidzein reductase (DHDR) was subjected to rational site-directed mutagenesis. The introduction of the DHDR P212A mutation increased the (
S
)-equol productivity from 59.0 mg/liter/h to 69.8 mg/liter/h in the whole-cell reaction. The P212A mutation caused an increase in the (
S
)-dihydrodaidzein enantioselectivity by decreasing the overall activity of DHDR, resulting in undetectable activity for (
R
)-dihydrodaidzein, such that a combination of the DHDR P212A mutant with dihydrodaidzein racemase enabled the production of (3
S
,4
R
)-tetrahydrodaidzein with an enantioselectivity of >99%.