bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of Unleaded Petroleum on the Macrophage Aggregates (MA) formation in Red King tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) Fingerlings
Authors: Beso Ancel Jeff G. , Candelaria Veronica Y. , Dela Cruz Jennifer G. , Tolentino Margie S. , Tameta Anna Danica C , Espinosa Allen A.
Published: March 2016

The Philippines is one of the major producers of tilapia, the most cultured fish and widely consumed in the world. Although fishes in general is said to be adapted to various stressful conditions, the effect on several cellular immune parameters may be of interest to determine the capacity of the organism to withstand stressors. In this paper, the effect of unleaded petroleum on the splenic macrophage aggregate (MA) formation was studied. This was done to have an overview of the immune response of Tilapia or fishes in general when an oil spill, which almost occur annually at different parts of the world, happen. Histological analysis assessed the area occupied by splenic MA 24 hours after introduction of unleaded petroleum to the aquatic system. To determine whether Mabuhay balls, a technology that claims to be beneficial in terms of improving water quality, was added to one tank (T1) to be able to compare it with another tank (T2). There is a strong statistically significant difference between the groups at day1 (p=0.000) opposite the result of day 6 (p=0.155). Thus, unleaded petroleum increased MA formation, a sign that may indicate a high immune activity as an initial positive response to stress. Mabuhay ball have lessen the mortality but has no effect on splenic MA formation.
An atypical role for the myeloid receptor Mincle in CNS injury
Authors: Arumugam Thiruma V. , Manzanero Silvia , Furtado Milena , Biggins Patrick J. , Hsieh Yu-Hsuan , Gelderblom Mathias , MacDonald Kelli PA , Salimova Ekaterina , Li Yu-I , Korn Othmar , Dewar Deborah , Macrae I Mhairi , Ashman Robert B. , Tang Sung-Chun , Rosenthal Nadia A. , Ruitenberg Marc J. , Magnus Tim , Wells Christine A.
Published: March 2016

Mincle is a C-type lectin known to play a role in innate immune responses to sterile inflammation, but its contribution to pathologies following an ischemic or traumatic injury is not well understood. In the current study we demonstrate a key role for Mincle in ischemic (i.e. transient middle cerebral artery occlusion) but not traumatic central nervous system injury; absence of Mincle also did not significantly alter the extent of tissue damage or functional outcome in peripheral models of ischemic tissue injury. In the stroke model mice lacking Mincle displayed significantly improved functional outcome from focal cerebral ischemia. The functional improvements in Mincle KO animals were accompanied by reduced infiltration of neutrophils and lower levels of proinflammatory cytokines in recruited peripheral blood cells. Bone marrow chimera experiments revealed that presence of Mincle in the central nervous system, but not peripheral immune cells, was the critical regulator of a poor outcome following transient focal cerebral ischemia, however we exclude a direct role for Mincle in microglia or neural activation. We demonstrate that Mincle lacks widespread expression in the brain, but is specifically associated with macrophages resident in the perivascular niche. These findings implicate Mincle in the initiation, extent and severity of local responses to ischemic injury in the brain, but not peripheral tissues. Mincle signalling therefore offers a novel therapeutic target in the quest to limit damage after stroke.

Sources of support:

Australian National Health & Medical Research Council [1057846, 1060538 and Fellowship to NAR], SpinalCure Australia (Career Development Fellowship to MJR), the Australian Research Council, the State Government of Victoria, the Australian Government and The University of Queensland.
Many long intergenic non-coding RNAs distally regulate mRNA gene expression levels
Authors: McDowell Ian C. , Pai Athma A. , Guo Cong , Vockley Christopher M. , Brown Christopher D. , Reddy Timothy E. , Engelhardt Barbara E.
Published: March 2016

Long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNA) are members of a class of non-protein-coding RNA transcript that has recently been shown to contribute to gene regulatory processes and disease etiology. It has been hypothesized that lincRNAs influence disease risk through the regulation of mRNA transcription [88], possibly by interacting with regulatory proteins such as chromatin-modifying complexes [37, 50]. The hypothesis of the regulation of mRNA by lincRNAs is based on a small number of specific lincRNAs analyses; the cellular roles of lincRNAs regulation have not been catalogued genome-wide. Relative to mRNAs, lincRNAs tend to be expressed at lower levels and in more tissue-specific patterns, making genome-wide studies of their regulatory capabilities difficult [15]. Here we develop a method for Mendelian randomization leveraging expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) that regulate the expression levels of lincRNAs (linc-eQTLs) to perform such a study across four primary tissues. We find that linc-eQTLs are largely similar to protein-coding eQTLs (pc-eQTLs) in cis-regulatory element enrichment, which supports the hypothesis that lincRNAs are regulated by the same transcriptional machinery as protein-coding RNAs [15, 80] and validates our linc-eQTLs. We catalog 74 lincRNAs with linc-eQTLs that are in linkage disequilibrium with TASs and are in protein-coding gene deserts; the putative lincRNA-regulated traits are highly enriched for adipose-related traits relative to mRNA-regulated traits.
Growth Rate-Dependent Global Amplification of Gene Expression
Authors: Athanasiadou Rodoniki , Neymotin Benjamin , Brandt Nathan , Miller Darach , Tranchina Daniel , Gresham David
Published: March 2016

Regulation of cell growth rate is essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis and survival in diverse conditions. Changes in cell growth rate result in changes in rRNA and tRNA content, but the effect of cell growth rate on mRNA abundance is not known. We developed a new method for measuring absolute transcript abundances using RNA-seq,SPike in-basedAbsoluteRNAQuantification (SPARQ), that does not assume a constant transcriptome size and applied it to the model eukaryote,Saccharomyces cerevisiae(budding yeast), grown at different rates. We find that increases in cell growth rate result in increased absolute abundance of almost every transcript, with significant coordinated changes in abundances among functionally related transcripts. mRNA degradation and synthesis rates increase with increased growth rate, but to differing extents, resulting in the observed net increases in absolute abundance. We propose that regulation of ribosome abundance links environmental conditions to transcriptome amplification via nutrient-sensing pathways.
UnderstandingWolbachiaacquisition and co-divergence of hosts and their associated bacteria:Wolbachiainfection in theChorthippus parallelushybrid zone
Authors: Martinez-Rodriguez Paloma , Arroyo-Yebras Francisca , Bella Jose Luis
Published: March 2016

Wolbachiais one of the best known bacterial endosymbionts affecting insects and nematodes. It is estimated that it infects 40% of insect species, so epidemiologically it may be considered a pandemic species. However, the mechanisms by which it is acquired from other species (horizontal transmission) or by which it coevolves with its hosts as a result of vertical transmission across generations are not known in detail. In fact, there are few systems in which the codivergence between host and bacterium has been described.

This study goes in deep in theWolbachiainfection in the grasshopperChorthippus parallelus. This well-known system allows us to investigate the mechanism of acquisition of variousWolbachiastrains in a new host, and the bacterial genomic changes during bacterial-host codivergence: We describe the genetic diversity ofWolbachiastrains infecting both subspecies ofC. parallelusand analyse their phylogenetic relationship. We also show the emergence of new bacterial alleles resulting from recombination events inWolbachiainfecting hybrid hosts. Our data suggest that F strains detected in this grasshopper have co-diverged with its host,versusa more recent horizontal transmission of B strains. According with this, we discuss the potential role ofWolbachiain the dynamics of the grasshopper hybrid zone and in the divergence of the two grasshopper subspecies since the origin of their hybrid zone.
Antibody mediated epitope mimicry in the pathogenesis of Zika virus related disease
Authors: Homan Jane , Malone Robert W , Darnell Steven J , Bremel Robert D
Published: March 2016

The association of Guillain-Barré syndrome with Zika virus infection raises suspicion of autoimmunity in the pathogenesis of Zika associated disease. Using computational analysis to identify predicted B and T cell epitopes, we assessed whether antibodies elicited by B cell epitopes in Zika virus may also target B cell epitopes in the human proteome. We detected amino acid motifs predicted to be B cell epitopes in Zika virus proteins which are also present in human proteins, including pro-neuropeptide Y (proNPY), NAV2 and other proteins with interacting neurophysiologic function. We examine the predicted MHC binding of peptides likely to provide T cell help to the potential mimic epitopes. Some potential mimic epitopes in Zika virus envelope have apparently strong T cell help, likely facilitating immunoglobulin class switch. We also identify epitope mimic commonalities with dengue serotypes 1 and 3. We hypothesize that antibodies to Zika virus epitopes may contribute to the pathogenesis of Zika-associated Guillain-Barré syndrome, microcephaly, and ocular lesions, and may be a driver of autoimmunity. The risk associated with responses to potential epitope mimics must be addressed in the development of vaccines and therapeutics for Zika virus infections.
A Review of Ambulatory Health Data Collection Methods for Employee Experience Sampling Research
Authors: Eatough Erin , Shockley Kristen , Yu Peter
Published: March 2016

Experience sampling research can offer unique insight into state conditions of employee health. Over the past several years, there has been a surge of popularity for such designs in work and organisational psychology, especially with regard to employee health measurement. Experience sampling health measurement can be executed using a variety of different methods including various objective health metrics such as cardiovascular activity measurement, cortisol response tracking, and actigraphy. Furthermore, recent innovations with personal fitness tracking devices open up many possibilities for researchers to continuously monitor activity and health patterns over many days. Technological advances in self‐reporting methods, especially in combination with innovations in objective health measurement, can offer modern researchers richer sets of data. We summarise and describe these methods, offering insight into their advantages and disadvantages for contemporary health researchers interested in experience sampling designs.
A comparative analysis of host feeding and life‐history traits in parasitoid wasps
Authors: Fischbein Deborah , Jofré Nélida , Corley Juan C.
Published: March 2016

Feeding in insect parasitoids can have significant implications from behavioral and evolutionary ecology standpoints. Females of many species not only search for hosts to lay their eggs on, but also may use them as a food source. Host‐feeding, as this behavior is known, occurs mostly in the Hymenoptera. There is some evidence of benefits of host feeding at the intraspecific level, but there are only few studies of the potential association between host feeding behavior and life‐history traits across hymenopteran parasitoids. The main goal of this paper is to test for correlated evolution of host feeding and various other life‐history traits, aiming for an understanding of the diversity of parasitoid life histories. For this, we performed a comparative analysis based mainly on phylogenetically independent contrasts (PIC), using data for 187 species of hymenopteran parasitoids, and (1) examined whether host‐feeding behavior is correlated with life span, lifetime potential fecundity, and maximum egg load, (2) re‐tested the potential evolutionary correlation suggested by Jervis et al. [Journal of Animal Ecology 70 (2001) 442] between host feeding and the ovigeny index (OI), and (3) re‐tested the possible correlation between lifetime potential fecundity and life span across species and examined whether host feeding affects this relationship. Results indicate a positive evolutionary correlation between host feeding and both life span and maximum egg load, and a negative evolutionary correlation between host feeding and OI. Lifetime potential fecundity does not correlate with host feeding but correlates positively with life span. The effect of the interaction between host feeding and life span on potential fecundity was not significant. As has been noted in the past, the array of correlations between traits suggests the existence of adaptive suites of life‐history traits involving trade‐offs based on resource allocation patterns.
Beyond nectar provision: the other resource requirements of parasitoid biological control agents
Authors: Gillespie Mark A.K. , Gurr Geoff M. , Wratten Steve D.
Published: March 2016

Recent work in natural enemy nutrition has generated dramatic results, ranging from parasitoid longevity increasing several‐fold when appropriate nectar is made available to detailed quantification of changes in parasitoid searching behaviour and ‘giving‐up times’ when they have nectar access. This floral‐resource‐based approach to enhancing biological control of pests has also led to many outcomes and is currently operating in a wider context: that of on‐farm ecosystem services. Some recent publications have demonstrated that the provision of nectar resource subsidies within and around crops can positively impact a number of other ecosystem services, ranging from pollination to aesthetics, and benefit eco‐marketing. However, adult food is not the only resource requirement of parasitoids. Many species require alternative hosts, overwintering habitat, protection from tillage, and refuge from adverse biotic and abiotic conditions. Also, recent work has emphasised the importance of considering spatial and temporal scales when manipulating agro‐ecosystems in favour of beneficial insects and the impact that climate change may make on future host‐parasitoid dynamics. This review summarises recent work on these additional requirements of parasitoids with the aim of promoting the integration of the floral resource subsidies into a more ecosystem‐based view of pest suppression by parasitoids.
Preconditioning of the generalist herbivore Trialeurodes vaporariorum to greenhouse monocultures and its subsequent performance on wild polycultures
Authors: Ovčarenko Irina , Lindström Leena , Saikkonen Kari , Jauhiainen Lauri , Kaseva Janne , Vänninen Irene
Published: March 2016

Generalist herbivores can face many challenges when choosing their host plant. This can be particularly difficult if their choice and performance are affected by host experience. Greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), is an invasive generalist herbivore, which has established in year‐round greenhouses at northern latitudes where it cannot overwinter outdoors. It mainly uses crops such as cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), and ornamentals as host plants. However, every summer the insect escapes greenhouses and is exposed to natural vegetation. We evaluated the performance of T. vaporariorum on diverse vegetation outside greenhouses after prolonged experience of greenhouse crops. First, we surveyed the vegetation near infested greenhouses. Development success of the insect differed among wild hosts. We identified five new hosts among 12 plant species that bore pupae and were thus considered suitable as the insect's host plants. Members of the Urticaceae and Onagraceae were the most preferred and frequently inhabited by all insect life stages. The highest abundance of insects occurred in plots with low plant species richness, independent of plant family in these habitats. We then studied experimentally the impact of 1 year of preconditioning to one of three common greenhouse crops, cucumber, tomato, or poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch), on the performance of the preconditioned adults and their progeny on four wild plants. Adults from tomato and poinsettia preferred the novel host species over the species to which they were preconditioned. The whitefly population preconditioned to cucumber was the most fecund on all offered hosts. We conclude that generalist herbivores can have large variation in performance, despite polyphagy, on novel hosts as shown by the variable abundance of T. vaporariorum pupae among outdoor hosts. Furthermore, performance of whiteflies on natural vegetation was affected by experience on greenhouse crops. Based on our observations, we provide insights and recommendations for pest management.
Boundary line analysis of the effect of water‐filled pore space on nitrous oxide emission from cores of arable soil
Authors: Lark R. M. , Milne A. E.
Published: March 2016

The boundary line has been proposed as a model of the effects of a variable on a biological response, when this variable might limit the response in only some of a set of observations. It is proposed that the upper boundary (in some circumstances the lower boundary) represents the response function of interest. Boundary‐line analysis is a method for estimating this response function from data. The approach has been used to model the emission of N2O from soil in response to various soil properties. However, the methods that have been used to identify the boundary are based on somewhat ad hoc partitions of the data. A statistical model that we have presented previously has not been applied to this problem in soil science, and we do so here to represent how the water‐filled pore space (WFPS) of the soil affects the rate of N2O emission. We derive a boundary‐line response that can be shown to be a better model for the data than an unbounded alternative by statistical criteria. Furthermore, the fitted boundary‐response model is consistent with past empirical observations and modelling studies with respect to both the WFPS at which the potential emission rate is largest and the measurement error for the emission rates themselves. We show how the fitted model might be used to interpret data on soil volumetric water content with respect to seasonal changes in potential emissions, and to compare potential emissions between soil series that have contrasting physical properties.
Structural damage and recovery determined by the colloidal constituents in two forest soils compacted by heavy traffic
Authors: Goutal‐Pousse N. , Lamy F. , Ranger J. , Boivin P.
Published: March 2016

The role of colloidal constituents in soil structure and its resistance to compaction was studied in two acid forest soils of contrasting pH, clay type and texture. The soils were trafficked with an eight‐wheel‐drive forwarder, and undisturbed topsoil samples were taken on trafficked and control plots. Shrinkage analysis was used to assess the soil's physical behaviour, and in addition texture, organic carbon content and exchangeable Al3+ (Alex) and amorphous Al oxide (Aloxa) contents were determined. The effect of each constituent on the soil's physical properties was assessed with covariance analysis. The hydro‐structural stability and coarse pore (> 150 µm radius) and structural pore volumes of control samples were strongly determined by organic carbon and the forms of Al, whereas the plasma porosity was determined by clay content only. Organic carbon and Aloxa increased the structural pore and coarse pore volumes and modified their susceptibility to compaction; organic carbon provided a protecting effect, whereas it was the opposite with Aloxa. We observed contrasting effects of the colloidal constituents and of the behaviour of the pore systems on compaction. The situation is complex and we need to take into account the effects of the colloidal constituents to determine the effects of compaction on the soil's porosity. A simplified approach in which we used the water content at −10 hPa as a covariate predicted soil bulk density as accurately as with all the analytical covariates, and it seems to be an inexpensive way to assess compaction.
Ergot Use and Overuse: A Pharmacoepidemiology Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Donnet A. , Braunstein D. , Pradel V. , Sciortino V. , Allaria‐Lapierre V. , Micallef J. , Lanteri‐Minet M.
Published: March 2016

Objective

The objective of this study was to estimate and to characterize the actual patterns of ergot use and overuse in France using a drug reimbursement database.

Methods

We included all people covered by the French General Health Insurance System (GHIS) from the Provence‐Alpes‐Côte‐d'Azur (PACA) and Corsica administrative areas who had at least one prescription of ergot between May 2010 and December 2011. All prescriptions of ergots, migraine prophylactic treatment, and psychotropic medications were extracted from the GHIS database. We defined occasional ergot users (<3 months of prescription) and regular ergot users (>3 months of prescription). Among regular ergot users, we identified overusers and nonoverusers.

Results

We included 4358 patients who had at least one prescription of ergots (oral ergotamine tartrate, dihydroergotamine mesilate nasal spray, intravenous dihydroergotamine mesilate). Among ergot overusers, a large majority of patients had ergotamine tartrate overuse. The proportion of ergotamine tartrate overusers is maximum after 55 years. Compared with regular users, overusers use more frequently a prophylactic treatment (93/165 [56.4%] versus 398/1057, OR = 2.15, P < .001), antidepressants (72/165 [43.6%] versus 326/1057 [30.8%] OR = 1.79, P < .001), benzodiazepines (111/165 [67.3%] versus 613/1057 [58.0%], OR = 1.50, P < .001), weak opioids (95/165 [57.6%] versus 463/1057 [43.8], OR = 1.77, P < .001) and strong opioids (13/165 [7.9%] versus 24/1057 [2.3%], OR = 3.86, P < .001). The coexistence of ergot consumption and triptan overuse, and the possibility of both triptan and ergot overuse was described; triptan overusers were more described in ergotamine overusers than in nonoverusers.

Conclusions

This work outlines a high prevalence of ergotamine tartrate overuse (11.1%). As ergotamine tartrate users are mostly aged more than 55 years, an evaluation of ergotamine cardiovascular risk profile is necessary in the elderly population.
Global publication trends in the Health Information and Libraries Journal, 2014–2015
Authors: Murphy Jeannette
Published: March 2016

In an age when health science librarians are encouraged to engage in research, it is worth considering how international the published literature is. This article analyses the authorship of articles in Health Information & Libraries Journal over a 1‐year period, to determine the country of the authors who were published.

JM
Characterization and automatic screening of reactive and abnormal neoplastic B lymphoid cells from peripheral blood
Authors: Alférez S. , Merino A. , Bigorra L. , Rodellar J.
Published: March 2016

Introduction

The objective was to advance in the automatic, image‐based, characterization and recognition of a heterogeneous set of lymphoid cells from peripheral blood, including normal, reactive, and five groups of abnormal lymphocytes: hairy cells, mantle cells, follicular lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and prolymphocytes.

Methods

A number of 4389 images from 105 patients were selected by pathologists, based on morphologic visual appearance, from patients whose diagnosis was confirmed by all the remaining complementary tests. Besides geometry, new color and texture features were extracted using six alternative color spaces to obtain rich information to characterize the cell groups. The recognition system was designed using support vector machines trained with the whole image set.

Results

In the experimental tests, individual sets of images from 21 new patients were analyzed by the trained recognition system and compared with the true diagnosis. An overall recognition accuracy of 97.67% was achieved when the cell screening was performed into three groups: normal lymphocytes, abnormal lymphoid cells, and reactive lymphocytes. The accuracy of the whole experimental study was 91.23% when considering the further discrimination of the abnormal lymphoid cells into the specific five groups.

Conclusion

The excellent automatic screening of the three groups of normal, reactive, and abnormal lymphocytes is useful as it discriminates between malignancy and not malignancy. The discrimination of the five groups of abnormal lymphoid cells is encouraging toward the idea that the system could be an automated image‐based screening method to identify blood involvement by a variety of B lymphomas.
Firm‐Level Monopsony and the Gender Pay Gap
Authors: Webber Douglas A.
Published: March 2016

This study uses linked employer–employee data to estimate firm‐by‐gender specific labor supply elasticities. Using a dynamic model of labor supply, I find evidence that females face a greater degree of search frictions than males. However, the majority of the gender gap in labor supply elasticities is driven by across‐firm sorting rather than within‐firm differences. I find that males face a labor supply elasticity 0.15 points higher than females, which leads to 3.3 percent lower earnings for women. Sixty percent of the elasticity differential can be explained by marriage and child penalties faced by women but not men.
Farmers develop more aggressive histologic subtypes of basal cell carcinoma. Experience from a Tertiary Hospital in Northern Greece
Authors: Apalla Z. , Lallas A. , Sotiriou E. , Lazaridou E. , Vakirlis E. , Trakatelli M. , Kyrgidis A. , Ioannides D.
Published: March 2016

Background

Ultraviolet radiation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of non‐melanoma skin cancer. Outdoor workers, including farmers, experience higher exposure levels compared to the general population. Available literature data suggest that occupational ultraviolet exposure represents an independent risk factor for squamous cell carcinoma; whereas for basal cell carcinoma (BCC) this association still remains unclarified.

Objectives

To analyse the epidemiological, clinical and histological data of patients diagnosed with BCC, and correlate them with outdoor occupation in farmers.

Methods

Individuals with histologically diagnosed BCCs, between September 2013 and September 2015, were included in the study. Their medical data, including epidemiological, clinical and histological characteristics, were recorded and analysed in conjunction with the occupation. Farmers were identified based on their specific public health insurance.

Results

Three hundred and forty patients, with 542 BCCs were included in the study. One hundred and twenty (35.3%) were farmers. Mean age of farmers was lower than non‐farmers (66.0 ± 9.1 years vs. 75 ± 6.6 years, Mann–Whitney U‐test, P < 0.001). Farmers had a sixfold higher probability for exhibiting photodamaged skin (OR = 6.02, 95% CI: 3.66–9.90, P < 0.001). Farmer workers were more likely to exhibit infiltrative or morpheaform BCC, but less likely to develop superficial BCC.

Conclusion

Our results indicate a higher risk of earlier development of more aggressive histological subtypes of BCCs in farmers. Photodamage was also more common in this group. Primary and secondary prevention strategies focusing on outdoor workers, including farmers, are mandatory.
Questionnaire‐based evaluation of occupational and non‐occupational solar radiation exposure in a sample of Italian patients treated for actinic keratosis and other non‐melanoma skin cancers
Authors: Modenese A. , Farnetani F. , Andreoli A. , Pellacani G. , Gobba F.
Published: March 2016

Background

An adequate evaluation of the ultraviolet (UV) cumulative exposure is a major problem in epidemiological studies on chronic skin damage. Questionnaires may be applied as useful tools.

Objective

We developed an original questionnaire to evaluate individual cumulative exposure to solar radiation (SR) in patients affected by actinic keratosis (AK), basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

Method

The questionnaire, considering both working and leisure exposure, was applied to evaluate the whole life history of solar UV radiation exposure in a group of patients of the Dermatologic Clinic of UNIMORE.

Results

In outdoor workers (OW), the co‐presence of AK/in situ SCC and invasive non‐melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) was increased compared to indoor workers (IW), as was the frequency of multiple skin lesions. The prevalence of skin lesions of the face was significantly higher in OW. Work ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’ in the shades was associated with an absence of skin lesions on the shoulders and neck, while workers adopting ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’ a downward bent position were more likely to develop lesions on the top of the head. Considering leisure activities, the use of tanning beds was associated to the presence of skin lesions on the shoulders, neck and chest. Considering vacation periods, subjects spending at least 2 h outdoor in the period 11 am to 1 pm presented earlier diagnoses of skin cancers.

Conclusion

Results of the original questionnaire developed are coherent with current knowledge and confirm the important role of UV exposure, both occupational and recreational, in the development of AK and NMSCs. Data support the hypothesis that this questionnaire can be applied as useful tool for the evaluation of cumulative UV exposure in future epidemiological studies.
Determinants of Mortgage Default and Consumer Credit Use: The Effects of Foreclosure Laws and Foreclosure Delays
Authors: CHAN SEWIN , HAUGHWOUT ANDREW , HAYASHI ANDREW , VAN DER KLAAUW WILBERT
Published: March 2016

The mortgage default decision is part of a complex household credit management problem. We examine how factors affecting mortgage default spill over to other credit markets. As home equity turns negative, homeowners default on mortgages and home equity lines of credit at higher rates, whereas they prioritize repaying credit cards and auto loans. Larger unused credit card limits intensify the preservation of credit cards over housing debt. Although mortgage nonrecourse statutes increase default on all types of housing debt, they reduce credit card defaults. Foreclosure delays increase default rates for housing and nonhousing debts. Our analysis highlights the interconnectedness of debt repayment decisions.
Foreign Ownership and Market Power in Banking: Evidence from a World Sample
Authors: DELIS MANTHOS D. , KOKAS SOTIRIOS , ONGENA STEVEN
Published: March 2016

The nexus between ownership and competition in the banking sector is a major concern to policymakers around the world but one that is rarely comprehensively examined. For 131 countries and 13 years we match bank ownership with over 50,000 bank‐year estimates of individual bank market power. We find that ownership does not explain market power at the individual bank level. However, at the country level, foreign bank ownership has a positive and significant impact on market power mainly because foreign banks enter through mergers or acquisitions and not through greenfield investments. The observed increases in market power primarily originate from decreases in the marginal cost.
Learning and the Yield Curve
Authors: SINHA ARUNIMA
Published: March 2016

Two central implications of Expectations Hypothesis under rational expectations are inconsistent with yield curve data: (i) future expected long yields fall, instead of rising, when yield spread rises; (ii) long yields are excessively volatile relative to short yields. I propose an optimization framework in which boundedly rational agents use adaptive learning to form expectations. The belief structure rationalizes pattern of yields observed in the data so that the first puzzle does not arise with subjective expectations: intertemporal income and substitution effects are amplified relative to rational expectations. The second puzzle is partly accounted for by extra volatility due to parameter uncertainty.
Heteroglossia in text‐messaging: Performing identity and negotiating relationships in a digital space
Authors: Tagg Caroline
Published: March 2016

This article uses Bakhtin's concept of heteroglossia to explore how linguistic repertoires are exploited in the performance of identity and management of relationships through text‐messaging. The study focuses on text‐messages sent and received by ‘Laura’, a middle‐class woman who has returned from university to her family home in rural England. Qualitative analysis of Laura's texted exchanges, informed by quantitative corpus data and ethnographic interview, details the role of heteroglossia as Laura and her interlocutors position themselves in relation to each other and negotiate differences in gender, class, education, past experience, and personal aspiration. The study shows how heteroglossia can emerge even in interactions between individuals from similar backgrounds with largely shared language resources, and highlights the need for sociolinguistic studies of linguistic repertoire to consider the part that digitally‐mediated linguistic resources play in individuals’ wider identity projects.
Validation of a Clinical Scoring System for Outcome Prediction in Dogs with Acute Kidney Injury Managed by Hemodialysis
Authors: Segev G. , Langston C. , Takada K. , Kass P.H. , Cowgill L.D.
Published: March 2016

Background

A scoring system for outcome prediction in dogs with acute kidney injury (AKI) recently has been developed but has not been validated.

Hypothesis

The scoring system previously developed for outcome prediction will accurately predict outcome in a validation cohort of dogs withAKImanaged with hemodialysis.

Animals

One hundred fifteen client‐owned dogs withAKI.

Methods

Medical records of dogs withAKItreated by hemodialysis between 2011 and 2015 were reviewed. Dogs were included only if all variables required to calculate the final predictive score were available, and the 30‐day outcome was known. A predictive score for 3 models was calculated for each dog. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the association of the final predictive score with each model's outcome. Receiver operating curve (ROC) analyses were performed to determine sensitivity and specificity for each model based on previously established cut‐off values.

Results

Higher scores for each model were associated with decreased survival probability (P< .001). Based on previously established cut‐off values, 3 models (models A, B, C) were associated with sensitivities/specificities of 73/75%, 71/80%, and 75/86%, respectively, and correctly classified 74–80% of the dogs.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance

All models were simple to apply and allowed outcome prediction that closely corresponded with actual outcome in an independent cohort. As expected, accuracies were slightly lower compared with those from the previously reported cohort used initially to develop the models.
Investigation of Neurokinin‐1 Receptor Antagonism as a Novel Treatment for Chronic Bronchitis in Dogs
Authors: Grobman M. , Reinero C.
Published: March 2016

Background

Canine chronic bronchitis (CCB) results in cough lasting ≥2 months and airway inflammation. Adverse effects include risk of secondary infection associated with lifelong corticosteroid administration and prompt investigation into alternative therapies. Neurogenic pathways mediated by tachykinins that bind neurokinin (NK) 1 receptors may induce cough and airway inflammation. Maropitant, a NK‐1 receptor antagonist, has been advocated for treatment of CCB based on anecdotal improvement, but without scientific evidence.

Hypothesis/Objectives

Maropitant will blunt clinical signs and airway inflammation associated with CCB.

Animals

Client‐owned dogs (n = 8) with cough >2 months, thoracic radiographic evidence of airway disease and sterile airway inflammation (>7% non‐degenerate neutrophils, >7% eosinophils or both) on bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) enrolled.

Methods

Maropitant (2 mg/kg) administered q48h for 14 days. Study endpoints included client perception of clinical signs (surveys at baseline and 14 days, and visual analogue scale [VAS] at baseline, 7, and 14 days), and BAL % neutrophils and eosinophils (baseline and 14 days). One‐way repeated measures ANOVA (VAS) and Wilcoxon‐signed rank‐sum tests (BAL cells, cough frequency) used with P < .05 considered significant.

Results

Maropitant significantly decreased cough frequency (P < .001) and VAS scores (P = .005). No differences in BAL % neutrophils or % eosinophils noted with treatment (P = .279 and P = .382, respectively).

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

Preliminary results suggest that although maropitant may have antitussive properties leading to perceived clinical improvement, its failure to diminish airway inflammation makes it unsuitable for treatment of CCB. Future studies could evaluate maropitant as a cough suppressant for other respiratory disorders in dogs.
Disentangling canopy and soil effects of a savanna tree species on its understorey
Authors: Abdallah Fathia , Michalet Richard , Maalouf Jean‐Paul , Ouled‐Dhaou Saad , Touzard Blaise , Noumi Zouhaier , Chaieb Mohamed
Published: March 2016

Questions

What are the relative contributions of short‐term canopy and long‐term soil effects of a savanna tree species in explaining differences in biomass, species density and composition of understorey plants (1) between trees and open areas, and (2) below trees between the northern and southern sides of the trees?

Location

Acacia tortilis tree savanna ecosystem, southern arid Tunisia (Bou Hedma National Park).

Methods

We measured environmental conditions (soil and microclimate) on the northern and southern sides of the trees and in open areas between trees. We also manipulated light on the southern side of the trees with a shade cloth, and cross‐transplanted soils between north and south sides of the trees while testing for soil disturbance. The response of the vegetation was analysed with CCA and univariate analyses.

Results

Differences in species composition, richness and biomass of understorey communities between trees and open areas were mostly due to long‐term soil effects of A. tortilis, mainly nutrients and water, whereas differences below trees were due to short‐term effects of the trees, in particular on light and temperature conditions. Additionally, the soil disturbance induced by our soil transplantation treatment modified species composition and density, likely because of disruption of the soil crust.

Conclusions

Our study provides additional evidence that savanna trees have the potential to increase the diversity of arid systems at the landscape level. We showed that two main mechanisms are involved: (1) trees improve soil conditions, in particular nutrients and water, resulting in differences between trees and open areas; (2) within trees, there is heterogeneity of light and temperature conditions under the crown, resulting in vegetation differences.
Effects of a block in cysteine catabolism on energy balance and fat metabolism in mice
Authors: Niewiadomski Julie , Zhou James Q. , Roman Heather B. , Liu Xiaojing , Hirschberger Lawrence L. , Locasale Jason W. , Stipanuk Martha H.
Published: March 2016

To gain further insights into the effects of elevated cysteine levels on energy metabolism and the possible mechanisms underlying these effects, we conducted studies in cysteine dioxygenase (Cdo1)–null mice. Cysteine dioxygenase (CDO) catalyzes the first step of the major pathway for cysteine catabolism. When CDO is absent, tissue and plasma cysteine levels are elevated, resulting in enhanced flux of cysteine through desulfhydration reactions. When Cdo1‐null mice were fed a high‐fat diet, they gained more weight than their wild‐type controls, regardless of whether the diet was supplemented with taurine. Cdo1‐null mice had markedly lower leptin levels, higher feed intakes, and markedly higher abundance of hepatic stearoyl‐CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) compared to wild‐type control mice, and these differences were not affected by the fat or taurine content of the diet. Thus, reported associations of elevated cysteine levels with greater weight gain and with elevated hepatic Scd1 expression are also seen in the Cdo1‐null mouse model. Hepatic accumulation of acylcarnitines suggests impaired mitochondrial β‐oxidation of fatty acids in Cdo1‐null mice. The strong associations of elevated cysteine levels with excess H2S production and impairments in energy metabolism suggest that H2S signaling could be involved.
From yeast to human: exploring the comparative biology of methionine restriction in extending eukaryotic life span
Authors: McIsaac R. Scott , Lewis Kaitlyn N. , Gibney Patrick A. , Buffenstein Rochelle
Published: March 2016

Methionine restriction is a widely reported intervention for increasing life span in several model organisms. Low circulating levels of methionine are evident in the long‐lived naked mole‐rat, suggesting that it naturally presents with a life‐extending phenotype akin to that observed in methionine‐restricted animals. Similarly, long‐lived dwarf mice also appear to have altered methionine metabolism. The mechanisms underlying methionine‐restriction effects on life‐span extension, however, remain unknown, as do their potential connections with caloric restriction, another well‐established intervention for prolonging life span. Paradoxically, methionine is enriched in proteins expressed in mitochondria and may itself serve an important role in the detoxification of reactive oxygen species and may thereby contribute to delayed aging. Collectively, we highlight the evidence that modulation of the methionine metabolic network can extend life span—from yeast to humans—and explore the evidence that sulfur amino acids and the concomitant transsulfuration pathway play a privileged role in this regard. However, systematic studies in single organisms (particularly those that exhibit extreme longevity) are still required to distinguish the fundamental principles concerning the role of methionine and other amino acids in regulating life span.
The impact of oil revenues on theIranian economy and theGulf states
Authors: Dreger Christian , Rahmani Teymur
Published: March 2016

Persistent streams of oil revenues can have a long‐lasting impact onGDPper capita in oil‐exporting countries. Higher revenues might finance government activities andGDP. Besides the direct impact, an indirect effect may occur, as revenues may lead to higher investment that could raise capital accumulation and the production frontier. In this paper, the relationship between poli revenues,GDPand investment is explored forIran and the countries of theGulfCooperationCouncil (GCC). To account for nonstationarities of the variables involved, (panel) cointegration techniques are applied. Several results are drawn from the analysis. Cointegration between oil revenues,GDPand investment can be established for all countries. While the cointegration vector is found to be unique forIran, long‐run equations forGDPand investment per capita are distinguished for theGulf countries. WhileGDPand investment both respond to deviations from the steady state, oil income can be treated as weakly exogenous. The long‐run oil elasticities intGCCstates exceed theirIranian counterparts. While oil revenues are closely related to investment activities in theGCCstates, investment inIran does not react to oil revenues in the long run.
Oil nationalisations as protracted affairs: evidence from Venezuela
Authors: Portillo Jorge E
Published: March 2016

Empirical studies tend to treat oil nationalisations as basically discrete, sudden events, an approach that in some cases might be misleading and adds little to disentangle causality. On a contrary vein, we take a closer look at the 1970s nationalisation of Venezuela's oil industry and find evidence that this was a rather protracted affair, expanding over a 17‐year period. We argue that although the transfer of all assets to government hands was not completed until 1975, oil companies fully anticipated such move as early as 1958 and started to operate in a way compatible with a much shorter time horizon. Specifically, we use an estimate of the resource rent (defined as output price minus marginal extraction cost) to show a major shift in oil firms' implicit time horizon after 1958. Our results help to explain the rather weak causality link found in the data between oil nationalisations and price fluctuations.
Life Insurers’ Decision to Use Retained Asset Accounts for Life Insurance Payouts: A Case Study
Authors: Weston Harold , Willey Susan
Published: March 2016

This case study allows students in a variety of insurance courses to analyze the use of retained asset accounts for insurance policy payouts to beneficiaries that, when reported byBloomberg Magazinein a series of articles published in 2010, led to litigation and the enactment of statutory and regulatory reforms in some states. In analyzing this multifaceted case, students can be assigned to examine insurance laws and regulations, insurance operations, decision making under uncertainty, ethics, reputation, and/or customer relations.
Catastrophe Bonds—Regulating a Growing Asset Class
Authors: Smack Lisa
Published: March 2016

As the severity of natural catastrophes continues to intensify, disaster risk management is becoming increasingly important. In order to expand the capacity of the insurance markets, insurers and reinsurers have utilized alternative risk financing mechanisms such as catastrophe (CAT) bonds. Although the CAT bond market has increased recently, past CAT bond defaults have demonstrated that there are still concerns relating to contract documentation and the collateral structure of the bonds. This article argues that additional regulation that addresses these contracting problems and financial risks would facilitate greater use of CAT bonds. Regulatory change should also include industry‐wide accounting and tax reforms that will further support risk management objectives and the growth of the market. If the CAT bond market continues to experience the growth that was witnessed in the past year and additional regulation is implemented, insurers, reinsurers and governments can benefit from the cost‐effective protection that the instruments may provide in the event of a mega‐catastrophe.
Beyond the nation and into the state: identity, belonging, and the ‘hyper‐border’
Authors: Richardson Paul Benjamin
Published: March 2016

The case of the disputed Southern Kuril Islands/Northern Territories is used to introduce the term ‘hyper‐border’ in order to examine the instrumental and pragmatic nature of identity. It seeks to capture how, on one of Russia's most isolated borders, the quotidian realities and challenges of life ‘beyond’ the state had profound implications for how discourses around state, nation, sovereignty and identity are conceived. During the 1990s these islands became a site neither fully within, nor without the state. As the functions of the Russian state diminished and the border with Japan dematerialised, it was the Japanese state that came to provide welfare, infrastructure and economic opportunities for the islanders. This paper attempts to capture how the identity of islanders became articulated not on ethnic, religious or linguistic grounds, but on a purely pragmatic desire for a better life. Among some Kuril islanders an alternative vision of belonging was formulated, which sought to take them beyond the nation and into the state. This paper also traces the counter‐function of the hyper‐border and how an immense material and discursive response to these circumstances by the Russian state led to the recovery of the meaning of these distant islands. On a site between sovereignty regimes, this idea of the hyper‐border attempts to capture how the fluctuating political authority of the state can render identity as contingent, malleable and instrumental.