bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
AdaFDR: a Fast, Powerful and Covariate-Adaptive Approach to Multiple Hypothesis Testing
Authors: Zhang Martin J. , Xia Fei , Zou James
Published: December 2018

Multiple hypothesis testing is an essential component of modern data science. Its goal is to maximize the number of discoveries while controlling the fraction of false discoveries. In many settings, in addition to the p-value, additional information/covariates for each hypothesis are available. For example, in eQTL studies, each hypothesis tests the correlation between a variant and the expression of a gene. We also have additional covariates such as the location, conservation and chromatin status of the variant, which could inform how likely the association is to be due to noise. However, popular multiple hypothesis testing approaches, such as Benjamini-Hochberg procedure (BH) and independent hypothesis weighting (IHW), either ignore these covariates or assume the covariate to be univariate. We introduce AdaFDR, a fast and flexible method that adaptively learns the optimal p-value threshold from covariates to significantly improve detection power. On eQTL analysis of the GTEx data, AdaFDR discovers 32% and 27% more associations than BH and IHW, respectively, at the same false discovery rate. We prove that AdaFDR controls false discovery proportion, and show that it makes substantially more discoveries while controlling FDR in extensive experiments. AdaFDR is computationally efficient and can process more than 100 million hypotheses within an hour and allows multi-dimensional covariates with both numeric and categorical values. It also provides exploratory plots for the user to interpret how each covariate affects the significance of hypotheses, making it broadly useful across many applications.
Fitness dependence of the fixation-time distribution for evolutionary dynamics on graphs
Authors: Hathcock David , Strogatz Steven H.
Published: December 2018

Evolutionary graph theory models the effects of natural selection and random drift on structured populations of mutant and non-mutant individuals. Recent studies have shown that fixation times, which determine the rate of evolution, often have right-skewed distributions. Little is known, however, about how these distributions and their skew depend on mutant fitness. Here we calculate the fitness dependence of the fixation-time distribution for the Moran Birth-death process in populations modeled by two extreme networks: the complete graph and the one-dimensional ring lattice, each of which admits an exact solution in the limit of large network size. We find that with non-neutral fitness, the Moran process on the ring has normally distributed fixation times, independent of the relative fitness of mutants and non-mutants. In contrast, on the complete graph, the fixation-time distribution is a weighted convolution of two Gumbel distributions, with a weight depending on the relative fitness. When fitness is neutral, however, the Moran process has a highly skewed fixation-time distribution on both the complete graph and the ring. In this sense, the case of neutral fitness is singular. Even on these simple network structures, the fixation-time distribution exhibits rich fitness dependence, with discontinuities and regions of universality. Applications of our methods to a multi-fitness Moran model, times to partial fixation, and evolution on random networks are discussed.
Salience Network Disruption in US Army Soldiers with PTSD
Authors: Abdallah Chadi , Averill Christopher , Ramage Amy , Averill Lynnette , Goktas Selin , Krystal John , Roache John , Resick Patricia , Young-McCaughan Stacey , Peterson Alan , Fox Peter
Published: December 2018

BACKGROUND: Better understanding of the neurobiology of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be critical to developing novel, effective therapeutics. Here, we conducted a data-driven investigation using a well-established, graph- based topological measure of nodal strength to determine the extent of functional dysconnectivity in a cohort of active duty US Army soldiers with PTSD compared to controls. METHODS: 102 participants with (n=50) or without PTSD (n=52) completed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at rest and during symptom provocation using subject-specific script imagery. Vertex/voxel global brain connectivity with global signal regression (GBCr), a measure of nodal strength, was calculated as the average of its functional connectivity with all other vertices/voxels in the brain gray matter. RESULTS: In contrast to during resting-state, where there were no group differences, we found a significantly higher GBCr, in PTSD participants compared to controls, in areas within the right hemisphere, including anterior insula, caudal- ventrolateral prefrontal, and rostral-ventrolateral parietal cortices. Overall, these clusters overlapped with the ventral and dorsal salience networks. Post hoc analysis showed increased GBCr in these salience clusters during symptom provocation compared to resting-state. In addition, resting-state GBCr in the salience clusters predicted GBCr during symptom provocation in PTSD participants but not in controls. CONCLUSION: In PTSD, increased connectivity within the salience network has been previously hypothesized, based primarily on seed-based connectivity findings. The current results strongly support this hypothesis using whole-brain network measure in a fully data-driven approach. It remains to be seen in future studies whether these identified salience disturbances would normalize following treatment.
Reading eye movements in traumatic brain injury
Authors: Reddy Ashwini V C , Mani Revathy , Selvakumar Ambika , Husaindeen Jameel Rizwana
Published: December 2018

Background: The aim of our study was to measure the reading eye movements in subjects with traumatic brain injury using ReadAlyzer. ReadAlyzer is an objective eye movement recording device that tracks the eye movements while reading. Methods: Reading eye movements were measured using ReadAlyzer in 30 subjects with traumatic brain injury (mild, moderate and severe) who had binocular vision and reading related symptoms and 60 asymptomatic controls. Results: There was a significant decrease in reading eye movement parameters in subjects with traumatic brain injury compared to controls. Reading eye movement parameters were represented in median (IQR). Subjects with traumatic brain injury presented with an increased number of fixations/100 words: 137 (106-159) and regressions/100 words: 24 (12-36), and reduced reading rate 154 (128-173) words per minute. They also had a lesser grade level equivalent: 4.0 (3.0-7.0) and reduced comprehension: 70 (60-80) percentage (Mann-Whitney U test, p<0.05). Reading eye movement parameters were significantly affected in mild and moderate-severe traumatic brain injury subjects compared to controls (Kruskal-Wallis test, p<0.05). Conclusion: Reading eye movement performance using ReadAlyzer was found to be decreased in traumatic brain injury. Reading assessment may serve as a clinical measure to understand the oculomotor system due to traumatic brain injury.
Rapid Determination of Antibiotic Susceptibility by Stimulated Raman Scattering Imaging of D2O Metabolism
Authors: Hong Weili , Cheng Ji-Xin
Published: December 2018

Rapid antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) is urgently needed for treating infections with correct antibiotics and slowing down the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Current clinical methods reply on culture and take at least 16 h. Here, using P. aeruginosa, E. coli and S. aureus as models, we show that the AST can be finished in 10 minutes by stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) imaging of D2O metabolic activities. The metabolic incorporation of D2O, which is used for biomolecule synthesis, can be monitored in a single bacterium. Time lapse experiments show that the C-D vibrational signal can be observed in a single bacterium within 10 minutes culture in D2O medium. Since water is universally used for biosynthesis in bacteria, SRS imaging of D2O metabolism has the potential to be generalizable to different bacteria species.
Genome wide screen reveals a specific interaction between autosome and X that is essential for hybrid male sterility
Authors: Zhao Zhongying , Bi Yu , Ren Xiaoliang , Li Runsheng , Ding Qiutao , Xie Dongying
Published: December 2018

Hybrid male progeny from interspecies cross are more prone to sterility or inviability than hybrid female progeny, and the male sterility and inviability often demonstrate a parent-of-origin asymmetry. However, the underlying mechanism of asymmetric sterility or inviability remains elusive. We previously established a genome-wide hybrid incompatibility (HI) landscape between Caenorhabditis briggsae and C. nigoni by phenotyping a large collection of C. nigoni strains each carrying a C. briggsae introgression. In this study, we investigate the genetic mechanism of asymmetric sterility and inviability in both hybrid male and female progeny between the two species. Specifically, we performed reciprocal crosses between C. briggsae and different C. nigoni strains that each carries a GFP-labeled C. briggsae genomic fragment referred to as introgression, and scored the HI phenotypes in the F1 progeny. The aggregated introgressions cover 94.6% of the C. briggsae genome, including 100% of the X chromosome. Surprisingly, we observed that two C. briggsae X fragments that produce C. nigoni male sterility as an introgression rescued hybrid F1 sterility in males fathered by C. briggsae, indicating that at least two separate X-autosome interactions are involved in the hybrid male sterility. In addition, we identified another two C. briggsae genomic intervals on the Chromosome II or IV, respectively, which can rescue the inviability, but not the sterility, of hybrid F1 males fathered by C. nigoni, suggesting the involvement of differential epistatic interactions in the asymmetric hybrid male fertility and inviability. Importantly, backcrossing of the rescued sterile males with C. nigoni led to isolation of a 1.1-Mb genomic interval that specifically interacts with an X-linked introgression, which is essential for hybrid male fertility. We further identified three C. briggsae genomic intervals on the Chromosome I, II and III, respectively that produce inviability in all F1 progeny dependent or independent of the parent-of-origin. Taken together, we identified multiple independent interacting loci that are responsible for asymmetric hybrid male and female sterility and inviability, which provides important insights into the asymmetric HI and lays a foundation for their molecular characterization.
CBX2 is required during male sex determination to repress female fate at bivalent loci
Authors: Garcia-Moreno Sara Alexandra , Lin Yi-Tzu , Futtner Christopher , Salamone Isabella , Maatouk Danielle , Capel Blanche
Published: December 2018

The epigenetic mechanisms that regulate the male vs. female cell-fate decision in the mammalian bipotential gonad are poorly understood. In this study, we developed a quantitative genome-wide profile of H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 in isolated XY and XX gonadal supporting cells before and after sex determination. We show that male and female sex-determining (SD) genes are bivalent before sex determination, providing insight into how the bipotential state of the gonad is established at the epigenetic level. After sex determination, many SD genes of the alternate pathway remain bivalent, possibly contributing to the ability of these cells to transdifferentiate even in adults. It was previously shown that loss of CBX2, the Polycomb group subunit that binds H3K27me3 and mediates silencing, leads to loss of Sry and male-to-female sex reversal. The finding that many genes in the Wnt signaling pathway were targeted for H3K27me3-mediated repression in Sertoli cells led us to test whether deletion of Wnt4 could rescue male development in Cbx2 mutants. We show that Sry expression and testis development were rescued in XY Cbx2-/-;Wnt4-/- mice. Furthermore, we show that CBX2 directly binds the downstream Wnt signaler Lef1, a female-promoting gene that remains bivalent in Sertoli cells. Our results suggest that stabilization of the male fate requires CBX2-mediated repression of bivalent female-determining genes, which would otherwise block Sry expression and male development.
Synonymous SNPs of viral genes facilitate virus to escape host antiviral RNAi immunity
Authors: Zhang Xiaobo , Sun Yuechao , Zhang Yu
Published: December 2018

Synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are involved in codon usage preference or mRNA splicing. Up to date, however, the role of synonymous SNPs in immunity remains unclear. To address this issue, the SNPs of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) were characterized in shrimp in the present study. Our results indicated that there existed synonymous SNPs in the mRNAs of wsv151 and wsv226, two viral genes of WSSV. In the presence of SNP siRNA, wild-type siRNA, wild-type mRNA and SNP mRNA of wsv151 or wsv226, RNAi was significantly suppressed, showing that the synonymous SNPs of wsv151 and wsv226 played negative roles in host siRNA pathway due to mismatch of siRNA with its target. In insect cells, the mismatch, caused by synonymous SNPs of wsv151 or wsv226, between siRNA and its target inhibited the host RNAi. Furthermore, the data revealed that the co-injection of SNP siRNA and wild-type siRNA of wsv151 or wsv226 into WSSV-infected shrimp led to a significant increase of WSSV copies compared with that of SNP siRNA alone or wild-type siRNA alone, indicating that the synonymous SNPs of viral genes could be a strategy of virus escaping host siRNA pathway in shrimp in vivo. Therefore, our study provided novel insights into the underlying mechanism of virus escaping host antiviral RNAi immunity by synonymous SNPs of viral genes.
Commentary: do brands compete or coexist?
Authors: Aaker David
Published: December 2018

Purpose

A response to Sheth and Koschmann’s Do brands compete or coexist? How persistence of brand loyalty segments the market.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a comment piece written in response to Sheth and Koschmann’s “Do brands compete or coexist? How persistence of brand loyalty segments the market”.

Findings

In their article, Sheth and Koschmann’s position on brand competition reinforces the view that vigorous and costly competitive initiative designed to lure customers from one brand to another are futile in nature. Brand loyalty is too high. This note outlines that the only way to grow a business is to create “must haves” that define subcategories, manage these subcategories to success and build structural barriers to inhibit competition from gaining relevance. A firm’s focus on maintaining existing customers is a sound investment, but attempting to seek growth through attracting customers of competitors will not create growth.

Originality/value

This response to Sheth and Koschmann’s paper provides a scholarly dialogue centered upon the premise of brand loyalty within the context of market competition.
Comments on “Do brands compete or co-exist?”
Authors: Tellis Gerard J.
Published: December 2018

Purpose

This commentary aims to enrich and contextualize the paper by Sheth and Koschmann, “Do Brands Compete or Coexist?” How persistence of brand loyalty segments the market.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a comment piece written in response to Sheth and Koschmann’s “Do brands compete or coexist? How persistence of brand loyalty segments the market”.

Findings

In their article, Sheth and Koschmann present some fascinating insights on competition in mature markets and the concept of brand loyalty, offering three novel hypotheses. However, while the manner in which their findings are stated is novel, the fact that brand loyalty is strong is not new. This note outlines several comments upon the research, three caveats and five opportunities for future research in the area. While Sheth and Koschmann’s approach is novel, their results are not altogether new and their research needs to be related to prior findings on brand loyalty across the canon.

Originality/value

This response to Sheth and Koschmann’s paper provides a scholarly dialogue centered upon the premise of brand loyalty within the context of market competition.
Low Copeptin Levels in Patients With Intradialytic Hypotension
Authors: Korucu Berfu , Helvaci Ozant , Ozbas Burak , Yeter Hasan , Yuce Deniz , Elbeg Sehri , Derici Ulver
Published: December 2018

Intradialytic hypotension (IDH) is related to high morbidity and mortality. There is evidence that arginine‐vasopressin (AVP) responses could play a role. Copeptin is a reliable biomarker of AVP. In this study, copeptin, aldosterone, epinephrine, and norepinephrine levels in patients with IDH were evaluated throughout a hemodialysis (HD) session and compared with the control group. The study includes 15 patients who were normotensive during HD and 15 patients with IDH with a minimum HD vintage of 1 year. Blood samples were collected before the initiation of an HD session (T0), in the mid‐session for control group, 30 min after mean arterial pressure drop for IDH patients (T1), and at the end of the session (T2). Groups had similar demographic features and health parameters, interdialytic weight gains, and ultrafiltration amounts. The IDH group had a mean arterial pressure decline of 39.9 (±6.4) mm Hg. Copeptin levels of the control group increased an average of 79.9 (±97.5) pmol/L at T1 and an additional 24.8 (±33.9) pmol/L at T2. In the IDH group, copeptin level increases at T1 and T2 were 3.2 (±5.5) pmol/L and 34 (±44.6) pmol/L, respectively. Copeptin levels of the IDH group were significantly lower at T1 (P < 0.001) and at the T0–T2 interval than control group (P = 0.05). In the control group, aldosterone levels distinctly decreased, and in the IDH group, aldosterone levels were elevated (P < 0.001). Small changes were detected in epinephrine and norepinephrine levels for both groups but did not reach significance (P = 0.6 and P = 0.3, respectively). Lower copeptin level alterations suggest inadequate AVP responses in patients with IDH.
Association of Asian mitochondrial DNA haplogroup B with new development of knee osteoarthritis in Koreans
Authors: Koo Bon San , Song Yoonah , Lee Seunghun , Sung Yoon‐Kyoung , Shin Kyoung‐Jin , Cho Nam H. , Jun Jae‐Bum
Published: December 2018

Aim

The aim of this study was to determine which mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup is associated with new development of knee osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods

Epidemiologic data and knee radiographs with the Kellgren‐Lawrence (K/L) score of the Ansung cohort study were prospectively obtained from the 2nd (2005‐2006) and 6th follow‐up periods (2013‐2014). The mtDNA was analyzed by multiplex mutagenetically separated polymerase chain reaction to determine Asian mtDNA haplogroups (M, G, D, D4, D5, M7, M8, M9, M10, N, A, N9, R, F and B). The frequency of the mtDNA haplogroup was compared between participants with knee OA (K/L score ≥2 or total knee replacement arthroplasty [OA group]) and those without knee OA (K/L < 2 [control group]) at the 6th follow‐up. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine the relative risk (RR) of mtDNA haplogroups for OA by adjusting for sex, age, body mass index, smoking and metabolic syndrome.

Results

There were 1115 participants with epidemiological data, knee radiographs and DNA samples. Of these, 572 participants had a K/L score of 0 at the 2nd follow up, and 438 underwent knee radiography at the 6th follow up. Among the 438 participants, 160 were classified as having knee OA, and 278 were classified as the control group. The haplogroup B showed a significantly higher frequency in the OA group than in the control group (unadjusted RR = 1.794, P = 0.030; adjusted RR = 2.389, P = 0.004).

Conclusion

Our data suggest that mtDNA haplogroup B contributed to the new development of knee OA in Koreans.
A convolutional neural network for detecting sea turtles in drone imagery
Authors: Gray Patrick C. , Fleishman Abram B. , Klein David J. , McKown Matthew W. , Bézy Vanessa S. , Lohmann Kenneth J. , Johnston David W.
Published: December 2018

Marine megafauna are difficult to observe and count because many species travel widely and spend large amounts of time submerged. As such, management programmes seeking to conserve these species are often hampered by limited information about population levels.

Unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS, aka drones) provide a potentially useful technique for assessing marine animal populations, but a central challenge lies in analysing the vast amounts of data generated in the images or video acquired during each flight. Neural networks are emerging as a powerful tool for automating object detection across data domains and can be applied to UAS imagery to generate new population‐level insights. To explore the utility of these emerging technologies in a challenging field setting, we used neural networks to enumerate olive ridley turtles Lepidochelys olivacea in drone images acquired during a mass‐nesting event on the coast of Ostional, Costa Rica.

Results revealed substantial promise for this approach; specifically, our model detected 8% more turtles than manual counts while effectively reducing the manual validation burden from 2,971,554 to 44,822 image windows. Our detection pipeline was trained on a relatively small set of turtle examples (N = 944), implying that this method can be easily bootstrapped for other applications, and is practical with real‐world UAS datasets.

Our findings highlight the feasibility of combining UAS and neural networks to estimate population levels of diverse marine animals and suggest that the automation inherent in these techniques will soon permit monitoring over spatial and temporal scales that would previously have been impractical.
Challenges and solutions for analysing dual RNA‐seq data for non‐model host–pathogen systems
Authors: O'Keeffe Kayleigh R. , Jones Corbin D.
Published: December 2018

Dual RNA‐seq simultaneously profiles the transcriptomes of a host and of a pathogen during infection and may reveal the mechanisms underlying host–pathogen interactions. Dual RNA‐seq is inherently a mixture of transcripts from at least two species (host and pathogen), so this mixture must be computationally sorted into host and pathogen components. Sorting relies on aligning reads to respective reference genomes, which may be unavailable for both species in non‐model host–pathogen pairs. This lack of genomic resources may present challenges to applying dual RNA‐seq to non‐model systems.

We assessed the accuracy of alignments of dual RNA‐seq when using the genomic resources of a closely related species to the species of interest by simulating datasets of mixed transcripts from a host and pathogen. Specifically, we compared how different aligners performed across different proportions of pathogen‐to‐host transcripts and across variation in the genetic distance between the pathogen genome and reference genome. We performed extensive analyses for a host plant with a fungal pathogen, and then, we extended the plant–fungus results by repeating key analyses in vertebrate (human)–fungus and vertebrate–bacterium systems.

Aligners that were able to map pathogen transcripts to the reference genome of a species closely related to the pathogen (a ‘related reference genome’) also mismapped transcripts originating from the host to the pathogen's related reference genome. This resulted in regions where this occurred being quantified as overexpressed. If a host reference genome was available, we show that, to minimize host transcript mismapping and retain the ability to map pathogen transcripts, one could concatenate the host genome with the pathogen's related reference genome, then map transcripts to the concatenated genomes. If a host genome was unavailable, assembling reads de novo prior to aligning substantially decreased host read mismapping, while retaining the ability to map pathogen transcripts to a related reference genome.

The application of dual RNA‐seq to organisms without reference genomes is currently limited. We propose an analytical workflow that leverages the genomic resources of species closely related to species of interest to facilitate the application of dual RNA‐seq to reveal the mechanisms of host–pathogen interactions across a wider array of systems.
Laparoscopic reversal of Hartmann's procedure: A single‐center experience
Authors: Giuseppe Resta , Nicolò ID Fabbri , Serafino Marino , Sara Giaccari , Nicola Tamburini , Giorgio Cavallesco , Gabriele Anania
Published: December 2018

Introduction

Laparoscopic reversal of Hartmann's procedure (LHR) is considered a technically complex major surgical procedure. We present a retrospective analysis of a single‐institution experience that assesses the treatment patterns and outcomes of patients who underwent LHR.

Materials and Surgical Technique

The study involved patients who underwent LHR between January 2004 and December 2017. All patients had previously undergone a conventional Hartmann's procedure for acute complicated diverticulitis or cancer. Patients were placed in a supine position with their legs spread apart and their left arm out to the side. Access into the abdomen was obtained through open laparoscopy, with a 12‐mm trocar for a 30° laparascope inserted at the periumbilical site. We placed between three and five trocars depending on the level of operative difficulty encountered. The first surgical step was to dissect any existing adhesions, and then rectal mobilization was systematically performed to ensure the feasibility of the end‐to‐end anastomosis and to avoid bladder injury. The stoma was mobilized on the level of the abdominal wall and then freed from the fascia. We used a circular stapler to reestablish a tension‐free anastomosis. Over 13 years, 20 patients underwent LHR. No patient required a temporary colostomy or ileostomy.

Discussion

Reversal of Hartmann's procedure involves high operative morbidity and mortality, and usually only relatively young and healthy patients are eligible for reversal. Our results are consistent with previously published literature regarding the advantages of LHR compared to the conventional technique. However, high‐level evidence is still needed.
Combined immunosuppressants and less steroids in active graves' orbitopathy?
Authors: Salvi Mario , Covelli Danila
Published: December 2018

Steroid therapy in GO is first‐line treatment but has limitations, as it is potentially harmful at high doses and often refused by patients. A steroid‐sparing therapy is a reasonable option as long as it is rapidly effective and devoid of long‐term adverse reactions. Combined immunosuppressive therapy must be studied in randomized clinical trials designed to test efficacy and the potentially increased risk of side effects.
Stronger responses to darks along the ventral pathway of the cat visual cortex
Authors: Oliveira Ferreira de Souza Bruno , Casanova Christian
Published: December 2018

Light increments (brights) and decrements (darks) are differently processed throughout the early visual system. It is well known that a bias towards faster and stronger responses to darks is present in the retina, lateral geniculate nucleus and primary visual cortex. In humans, psychophysical and neurophysiological data indicate that darks are better detected than brights, suggesting that the dark bias found in early visual areas is transmitted across the cortical hierarchy. Here, we tested this assumption by investigating the spatiotemporal features of responses to brights and darks in area 21a, a gateway area of the cat ventral stream, using reverse correlation analysis of a sparse noise stimulus. The receptive field of most 21a neurons exhibited larger dark subfields. Additionally, the amplitude of the responses to darks was considerably greater than those evoked by brights. In the temporal domain, no differences were found between the response peak latency. Thus, the present study supports the notion that bright/dark asymmetries are transmitted throughout the cortical hierarchy and further, that the luminance processing varies as a function of the position in the cortical hierarchy, dark preference being strongly enhanced (in the spatial domain and response amplitude) along the ventral pathway.
Capsular polysaccharide of Streptococcus agalactiae is an essential virulence factor for infection in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus Linn.)
Authors: Zhang Defeng , Ke Xiaoli , Liu Zhigang , Cao Jianmeng , Su Youlu , Lu Maixin , Gao Fengying , Wang Miao , Yi Mengmeng , Qin Fengling
Published: December 2018

Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus, GBS) is associated with diverse diseases in aquatic animals. The capsule polysaccharide (CPS) encoded by the cps gene cluster is the major virulence factor of S. agalactiae; however, limited information is available regarding the pathogenic role of the CPS of serotype Ia piscine GBS strains in fish. Here, a non‐encapsulated mutant (Δcps) was constructed by insertional mutagenesis of the cps gene cluster. Mutant pathogenicity was evaluated in vitro based on the killing of whole blood from tilapia, in vivo infections, measuring mutant survival in tilapia spleen tissues and pathological analysis. Compared to wild‐type (WT) GBS strain, the Δcps mutant had lower resistance to fresh tilapia whole blood in vitro (p < 0.01), and more easily cleared in tilapia spleen tissue, and was highly attenuated in tilapia and zebrafish. Additionally, compared to the Δcps mutant, numerous GBS strains and severe tissue necrosis were observed in the tilapia spleen tissue infected with WT strains. These results indicated that the CPS is essential for GBS pathogenicity and may serve as a target for attenuation in vaccine development. Gaining a better understanding of the role, the GBS pathogenicity in fish will provide insight into related pathogenesis and host–pathogen interactions.
Application of hot air‐assisted radio frequency as second stage drying method for mango slices
Authors: Zhang Hangjin , Gong Chuting , Wang Xiaofan , Liao Meiji , Yue Jin , Jiao Shunshan
Published: December 2018

This study applied hot air‐assisted RF (HA‐RF) as second stage drying method for mango slices. Hot‐air drying was used as first stage drying to reduce moisture content to about 40% (w.b.), then HA‐RF drying was applied as second stage drying to further reduce moisture content to 18% within 45 min with 4.5 cm sample thickness (hot air temperature: 60 °C, electrode gap: 7.5 cm). The time for the two‐stage drying process was about 5 hr, which was clearly lower than that of hot‐air drying (8 hr) or vacuum drying (7 hr). HA‐RF as second stage drying maintained sample overall quality very well except for minor vitamin C degradation (retention rate: 91%); Overall quality of mango slices after the two‐stage drying was better than that dried by hot‐air drying, and close to that dried by vacuum drying. This study demonstrated HA‐RF could be used as second stage drying method for mango slices.

Practical applications

This study applied HA‐RF heating as second stage drying method for mango slices, and research findings in this study indicated that HA‐RF drying could reduce drying time and improve sample quality. This study proposed a new two‐stage drying method for mango slices, and this technology can be easily scale‐up for commercial application. And the two‐stage drying efficiency and products quality could be further improved by other novel and efficient drying techniques as first stage drying.
Quantifying egocentric spatial neglect with cancellation tasks: A theoretical validation
Authors: Huygelier Hanne , Gillebert Céline R.
Published: December 2018

Spatial neglect is characterized by a spatial bias in response to stimuli. The disorder is often assessed with a cancellation task, where several measures can be used to quantify the spatial bias of cancellation responses (e.g., the difference between cancellations on the left and right side, the average location of cancelled targets, and the total number of omissions). Typically, measures of cancellation performance are validated by studying the correlation with measures derived from other tasks to assess neglect (e.g., the directional bisection error derived from performance on the line bisection task). However, the foundation of cancellation performance measures is often more intuitive than theoretical. For instance, it is assumed that measures of cancellation performance isolate the spatial (e.g., the ipsilesional preference typical of spatial neglect) from the non‐spatial (e.g., deficits in working memory or sustained attention) sources of error, but this assumption has not been tested yet. Here we formulated a simple model with conceptually meaningful parameters to predict cancellation performance. Our model parameterizes the spatial and non‐spatial components of cancellation responses. This model allowed us to study the construct representation of commonly used measures of spatial neglect through the use of Monte Carlo simulations. The results showed that most of the cancellation performance measures are also dependent on non‐spatial error sources. The results deepen our understanding of the construct representation of cancellation performance measures, while also having implications for studies focused on the relationship between the spatial and non‐spatial attention deficits in spatial neglect.
Living comfortably in liminal spaces: Trickster and the medical educator
Authors: Browne Julie
Published: December 2018

How does Trickster inform medical education? Browne draws inspiration from this ancient mythological figure to suggest ways to enable greater comfort with its uncertain environment, fault lines, tensions and contradictions.
Time to CHAT about globalisation
Authors: Teodorczuk Andrew , Morris Clare
Published: December 2018

Teodorczuk and Morris explore how novel research approaches, such as Cultural Historical Activity Theory, might shed light on how tensions can be negotiated as medical education continues to globalize.
Clinical educators’ skills and qualities in allied health: a systematic review
Authors: Gibson Simone Jane , Porter Judi , Anderson Amanda , Bryce Andrea , Dart Janeane , Kellow Nicole , Meiklejohn Sarah , Volders Evelyn , Young Anne , Palermo Claire
Published: December 2018

Background

The skills and qualities of effective clinical educators are linked to improved student learning and ultimately patient care; however, within allied health these have not yet been systematically summarised in the literature.

Aims

To identify and synthesise the skills and qualities of clinical educators in allied health and their effect on student learning and patient care.

Method

A systematic search of the literature was conducted across five electronic databases in November 2017. Study identification, data extraction and quality appraisal were performed in duplicate. Qualitative and quantitative data were extracted separately but analysed together using a thematic analysis approach whereby items used in quantitative surveys and themes from qualitative approaches were interpreted together.

Results

Data revealed seven educator skills and qualities: (i) intrinsic and personal attributes of clinical educators; (ii) provision of skillful feedback; (iii) teaching skills; (iv) fostering collaborative learning; (v) understanding expectations; (vi) organisation and planning; and (vii) clinical educators in their professional role. Across all themes was the concept of taking time to perform the clinical educator role. No studies used objective measurements as to how these skills and qualities affect learning or patient care.

Discussion and conclusion

Despite much primary evidence of clinical educator skills and qualities, this review presents the first synthesis of this evidence in allied health. There is a need to examine clinical education from new perspectives to develop deeper understanding of how clinical educator qualities and skills influence student learning and patient care.
Preconception management of women with obesity: A systematic review
Authors: Price Sarah A. , Sumithran Priya , Nankervis Alison , Permezel Michael , Proietto Joseph
Published: December 2018

The prevalence of women of child‐bearing age with obesity continues to rise at an alarming rate. This has significant implications for both the short‐term and long‐term health of mother and offspring. Given the paucity of evidence‐based literature in this field, the preconception management of women with obesity is highly variable both between institutions and around the world. This systematic review aims to evaluate studies that inform us about the role of preconception weight loss in the fertility and pregnancy outcomes of women with obesity. Current therapeutic interventions are discussed, with a specific focus on the suitability of weight loss interventions for women with obesity planning pregnancy. There are significant knowledge gaps in the current literature; these are discussed and areas for future research are explored.
Assessment of Ultrasonic Welds Using Pulsed Infrared Thermography
Authors: McGovern Megan E. , Rinker Teresa J. , Sekol Ryan C.
Published: December 2018

Ultrasonic metal welding is used in the automotive industry for a wide variety of joining applications, including batteries and automotive wire harnessing. During electric vehicle battery pack assembly, the battery cell tab and busbar are ultrasonically welded. Quality inspection of these welds is important to ensure durable packs. A method for inspection of ultrasonic welds is proposed using pulsed infrared (IR) thermography in conjunction with electrical resistance measurements to assess the structural and electrical weld integrity. The heat source distribution (HSD) was calculated to obtain thermal images with high temporal and spatial resolution. All defective welds were readily identifiable using three postprocess analyses: pixel counting, gradient image, and knurl pattern assessment. A positive relationship between pixel count and mechanical strength was observed. The results demonstrate the potential of pulsed thermography for inline inspection to assess weld integrity.
Nondestructive Evaluation of Radio Frequency Connector Continuity Using Stimulated Emissions
Authors: Paul Alex J. , Collins Peter J. , Temple Michael A.
Published: December 2018

A wireless nondestructive fault detection test for loose or damaged connectors is demonstrated. An architecture known as the conditioned multiclassification of stimulated emissions (CMSE) is pretrained on simulated and empirical radar outputs, and transfer learning is applied to classify connected and disconnected coaxial interconnections. The two main data conditioning methods of this architecture, a statistical signal analysis tool and a convolutional filter bank, are evaluated in order to determine the cost-value proposition of each component. Novel contributions of this technique include the use of two simulation-aided convolutional filter banks to generate a multinetwork ensemble and transfer learning from artificial neural networks trained on two primitive datasets revolving around the electromagnetic phenomena of reflection and filtering. A total of 560 different neural network topologies across four different signal conditioning configurations are considered, with all results compared against the current standard for measurement of cable and connection faults, time-domain reflectometry. Metrics used for comparison are time (training and evaluation), detection (connector engagement at state change detection), and clustering (projection space performance, used as a measure of transfer learning potential). It is determined that the full CMSE architecture performs best, with nearly any neural network topology of this configuration displaying an early detection improvement of 113% and requiring 30% less time to execute an individual classification versus the current standard, all while meeting the most stringent definitions of nondestructive evaluation (NDE).
Human brain samples yield a genomic trove
Authors: Servick Kelly
Published: December 2018

Regulatory DNA takes center stage in search for mechanisms of disease.
Starry eyes
Authors: Clery Daniel
Published: December 2018

NASA is planning four of the largest space telescopes ever. But which one will fly?
Revealing hidden spin-momentum locking in a high-temperature cuprate superconductor
Authors: Gotlieb Kenneth , Lin Chiu-Yun , Serbyn Maksym , Zhang Wentao , Smallwood Christopher L. , Jozwiak Christopher , Eisaki Hiroshi , Hussain Zahid , Vishwanath Ashvin , Lanzara Alessandra
Published: December 2018

Revealing spin-orbit coupling in a cuprate

Strong coupling between the spin and orbital degrees of freedom is crucial in generating the exotic band structure of topological insulators. The combination of spin-orbit coupling with electronic correlations could lead to exotic effects; however, these two types of interactions are rarely found to be strong in the same material. Gotlieb
et al.
used spin- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy to map out the spin texture in the cuprate Bi2212. Surprisingly, they found signatures of spin-momentum locking, not unlike that seen in topological insulators. Thus, in addition to strong electronic correlations, this cuprate also has considerable spin-orbit coupling.

Science
, this issue p.
1271
Synaptotagmin-3 drives AMPA receptor endocytosis, depression of synapse strength, and forgetting
Authors: Awasthi Ankit , Ramachandran Binu , Ahmed Saheeb , Benito Eva , Shinoda Yo , Nitzan Noam , Heukamp Alina , Rannio Sabine , Martens Henrik , Barth Jonas , Burk Katja , Wang Yu Tian , Fischer Andre , Dean Camin
Published: December 2018

Forgetting and receptor removal

The trafficking of AMPA receptors to and from the surface of postsynaptic membranes regulates synaptic strength and underlies learning and memory. Awasthi
et al.
found that the integral membrane protein synaptotagmin-3 (Syt3) is predominantly found on postsynaptic endocytic zones of neurons, where it promotes AMPA receptor internalization (see the Perspective by Mandelberg and Tsien). In Syt3 overexpressing or knockdown neurons, synaptic transmission and short-term plasticity were unchanged. However, in neurons from Syt3 knockout mice, synaptic long-term depression was abolished and decaying long-term potentiation endured. In Syt3 knockout mice, spatial learning was unaltered; however, these animals showed signs of impaired forgetting and relearning during the water maze spatial memory task.

Science
, this issue p.
eaav1483
; see also p.
31
Prices and cross-border cigarette purchases in the EU: evidence from demand modelling
Authors: Stoklosa Michal
Published: December 2018

Background

Previous studies of cross-border cigarette purchases in the European Union (EU) relied on survey-reported data. Results of those studies might be affected by under-reporting of tax avoidance in those surveys. This study aims to shed light on the effects of cigarette price differences between EU Member States on cross-border cigarette purchases using a method that is free from potential reporting bias.

Data and methods

2004–2017 pooled time-series data and econometric modelling are used to examine cross-border shopping in the EU. Incentives for cross-border shopping are measured as a function of differences in cigarette prices between bordering countries, controlling for population density near borders. Separate incentive variables are calculated for EU internal versus EU external borders and for terrestrial versus maritime borders. Tax-paid cigarette sales are modelled as a function of cigarette price, per capita income, non-price measures and the incentive variables using fixed-effects models.

Results

The estimated price elasticity of cigarette demand varies, depending on the model, from −0.47 to −0.35. The estimated income elasticity varies from 0.66 to 0.70. Between-country price differences are not significantly associated with purchases across maritime borders and across borders with non-EU neighbours. In an average EU Member State, reducing incentives from cross-border shopping down to zero would increase sales by 1.5% in an importing country and reduce sales by about 6% in an exporting country, ceteris paribus.

Conclusion

An upward convergence of cigarette prices across EU Member States would reduce cross-border cigarette purchasing and improve public health by contributing to decreases in cigarette consumption.
Nutrient sufficiency levels for haskap (Lonicera caeruleaL.) using the boundary-line approach
Authors: Iheshiulo Ekene Mark-Anthony , Abbey Lord , Hammermeister Andrew M.
Published: December 2018

Adequate supply of plant nutrients is crucial for haskap plant growth and increased productivity. A study was carried out to determine the variability in haskap (Lonicera caerulea L. cv. Indigo Gem) plant characteristics in relation to soil and leaf tissue nutrient status. A total of 19 composite soil samples and corresponding plant leaf tissue samples were collected in 2016 from 12 locations in Nova Scotia. Plant parameters measured include growth rate, leaf size, leaf chlorophyll content, and visual observations. A boundary-line approach was used to determine nutrient sufficiency ranges in leaf tissues of 2.23%–2.96% for N, 0.22%–0.28% for P, 0.84%–1.32% for K, 1.63%–2.10% for Ca, and 0.14%–0.50% for Mg. Principal component and correlation analysis suggested a possible antagonistic interaction between leaf K and Mg. Negative associations were observed most frequently between Ca and Mg and other nutrients, especially K. Plant parameters such as bush volume, leaf size, and growth rate were closely related to soil and leaf K. Deficiencies in leaf tissue K and P were identified as potentially important factors limiting growth. Therefore, there is a need to adjust or balance the application of these nutrients. In conclusion, the sufficiency ranges derived can be used as a guiding principle in diagnosing the nutritional status of haskap cv. Indigo Gem on representative farms in Nova Scotia.
Collision centrality dependencies of charged pion production in 12C+ 181 Ta collisions at 4.2 A GeV/c
Authors: Iqbal Akhtar , Olimov Khusniddin K. , Olimov Kosim , Ahmad Mushtaq , Kanokova Sh. Z. , Lutpullaev Sagdulla L. , Olimov Alisher K. , Gulamov Kadyr G. , Tojimamatov Sh. D. , Yuldashev Bekhzod S.
Published: December 2018

The collision centrality dependencies of the average kinematical characteristics of the negative and positive pions, produced in [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text], were investigated. The ratio [Formula: see text] proved to be [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] in the peripheral, semicentral, and central [Formula: see text] collision events, respectively, decreasing noticeably with increasing collision centrality. The suppression (decrease) of the ratio [Formula: see text] was observed in the semicentral and central [Formula: see text] collisions as compared to the ratio [Formula: see text], estimated using the simple model for [Formula: see text] collision system. The ratio [Formula: see text] estimated using the simple model agreed well with the corresponding ratio [Formula: see text], estimated for [Formula: see text] collisions at [Formula: see text] based on the Wounded Nucleon Model (WNM). Comparison of the emission angle as well as momentum distributions of the charged pions in the peripheral and central [Formula: see text] collisions revealed the significant decrease of the fraction of the relatively fast charged pions (with smaller emission angles) and increase of the fraction of the relatively slow charged pions (with larger emission angles) with an increase in collision centrality. The results of the present analysis can be useful for analysis of the centrality dependence of the charged pion production in heavy ion collisions at high energies.