bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Arterial Stiffness in Hypertension and Function of Large Arteries
Authors: Zhang Yi , Lacolley Patrick , Protogerou Athanase D , Safar Michel E
Published: February 2020

BACKGROUND

Arterial stiffness—typically assessed from non-invasive measurement of pulse wave velocity along a straight portion of the vascular tree between the right common carotid and femoral arteries—is a reliable predictor of cardiovascular risk in patients with essential hypertension.

METHODS

We reviewed how carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity increases with age and is significantly higher in hypertension (than in age- and gender-matched individuals without hypertension), particularly when hypertension is associated with diabetes mellitus.

RESULTS

From the elastic aorta to the muscular peripheral arteries of young healthy individuals, there is a gradual but significant increase in stiffness, with a specific gradient. This moderates the transmission of pulsatile pressure towards the periphery, thus protecting the microcirculatory network. The heterogeneity of stiffness between the elastic and muscular arteries causes the gradient to disappear or be inversed with aging, particularly in long-standing hypertension.

CONCLUSIONS

In hypertension therefore, pulsatile pressure transmission to the microcirculation is augmented, increasing the potential risk of damage to the brain, the heart, and the kidney. Furthermore, elevated pulse pressure exacerbates end-stage renal disease, particularly in older hypertensive individuals. With increasing age, the elastin content of vessel walls declines throughout the arterial network, and arterial stiffening increases further due to the presence of rigid wall material such as collagen, but also fibronectin, proteoglycans, and vascular calcification. Certain genes, mainly related to angiotensin and/or aldosterone, affect this aging process and contribute to the extent of arterial stiffness, which can independently affect both forward and reflected pressure waves.
Assessing the impact of clinical pharmacists on naloxone coprescribing in the primary care setting
Authors: Watson Alexandra , Guay Kyle , Ribis Dara
Published: February 2020

Purpose

Opioid use and overdose are epidemic in the United States. While there is concern regarding the abuse of illegal opioids, overdose is also strongly associated with prescription opioids. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supports coprescribing of naloxone with opioids; however, a review of naloxone prescriptions recorded within a primary care group indicated limited use of the reversal agent.

Methods

Through the collaboration of pharmacy and information services personnel, a report was created to identify all patients receiving chronic opioid therapy. To assess the risk of overdose, a validated risk scoring method was used. If patients were determined to be at high risk for overdose, outreach by a clinical pharmacist was conducted to educate them on the benefits of naloxone. For patients agreeable to receiving naloxone, prescriptions were entered into the electronic health record for primary care provider (PCP) verification. Contact was made following order verification to ensure patient understanding of proper naloxone use and naloxone accessibility.

Results

Prior to the project (ie, in calendar year 2016), only 5 prescriptions for naloxone had been prescribed within the medical group. During the naloxone coprescribing initiative, 230 patients were identified by clinical pharmacists as being at elevated risk for opioid overdose. Of these, 86 (37%) were deemed ineligible for naloxone. Out of the 144 patients determined to be eligible, 63 (44%) were agreeable to receiving naloxone. Further review determined that 7 additional patients were agreeable after a follow-up conversation with their PCP. Of the patients that agreed to receive naloxone, 48 (76%) confirmed that they had picked up naloxone from their pharmacy.

Conclusion

The naloxone coprescribing initiative was an innovative project that focused on an epidemic that affects communities across the United States. This program embraced the strengths of multiple departments for the good of the patient, in keeping with the idea of team-based care. The pharmacy-driven approach highlighted the importance of having pharmacists within an ambulatory care setting and allowed high-level pharmacist practice without adding to the workload of other members of the healthcare team.
IV—Philosophical Foundations of Anti-Casteism
Authors: Dhanda Meena
Published: February 2020

The paper begins from a working definition of caste as a contentious form of social belonging and a consideration of casteism as a form of inferiorization. It takes anti-casteism as an ideological critique aimed at unmasking the unethical operations of caste, drawing upon B. R. Ambedkar’s notion of caste as ‘graded inequality’. The politico-legal context of the unfinished trajectory of instituting protection against caste discrimination in Britain provides the backdrop for thinking through the philosophical foundations of anti-casteism. The peculiar religio-discursive aspect of ‘emergent vulnerability’ is noted, which explains the recent introduction of the trope of ‘institutional casteism’ used as a shield by deniers of caste against accusations of casteism. The language of protest historically introduced by anti-racists is thus usurped and inverted in a simulated language of anti-colonialism. It is suggested that the stymieing of the UK legislation on caste is an effect of collective hypocrisies, the refusal to acknowledge caste privilege, and the continuity of an agonistic intellectual inheritance, exemplified in the deep differences between Ambedkar and Gandhi in the Indian nationalist discourse on caste. The paper argues that for a modern anti-casteism to develop, at stake is the possibility of an ethical social solidarity. Following Ambedkar, this expansive solidarity can only be found through our willingness to subject received opinions and traditions to critical scrutiny. Since opposed groups ‘make sense’ of their worlds in ways that might generate collective hypocrisies of denial of caste effects, anti-casteism must be geared to expose the lie that caste as the system of graded inequality is benign and seamlessly self-perpetuating, when it is everywhere enforced through penalties for transgression of local caste norms with the complicity of the privileged castes. The ideal for modern anti-casteism is Maitri (friendship) formed through praxis, eschewing birth-ascribed caste status and loyalties.
Do similar foragers flock together? Nonbreeding foraging behavior and its impact on mixed-species flocking associations in a subtropical region
Authors: Jones Harrison H , Walters Mitchell J , Robinson Scott K
Published: February 2020

Mixed-species flocks are ubiquitous in forest bird communities, yet the extent to which positive (facilitative) or negative (competitive) interactions structure these assemblages has been a subject of debate. Here, we describe the fine-scale foraging ecology and use network analysis to quantify mixed-species flocking interactions of an insectivorous bird community in hardwood forests of north-central Florida. Our goal was to determine if similarly foraging species are more (facilitation hypothesis) or less (competition hypothesis) likely to associate in flocks, and if foraging ecology can explain intraspecific abundance patterns within flocks. We quantified attack maneuvers, foraging substrate, and foraging microhabitat of all 17 common insectivorous species in these forests and characterized the composition of 92 flocks encountered. Flocking was important in our community; 14 of 17 species joined more than 5% of flocks, and 10 species had flocking propensities of over 0.80. Our results supported both hypothesized mechanisms structuring flock composition. Species had distinct, well-defined foraging niches during the nonbreeding season, but foraging niche overlap among flocking species was greater than expected by chance. Consistent with the facilitation hypothesis, we found that similarly foraging species were significantly more likely to associate in flocks, a result driven by lower association strengths in large-bodied woodpeckers. We found no evidence of assortment by foraging behavior, however, likely because foraging behavior and substrate use showed strong niche partitioning at the fine scale within our community. Intraspecific abundance patterns were significantly linked to foraging substrate use, with live leaf use correlated with high within-flock abundance and relative abundance at study sites. Species that specialized on comparatively less abundant substrates (tree trunks, epiphytes, dead leaves) joined flocks as singletons, showed lower relative abundance, and may exhibit nonbreeding territoriality. Our results highlight the importance of foraging substrate use and mixed-species flocks in structuring the nonbreeding ecology of migratory birds.
SSIF: Subsumption-based Sub-term Inference Framework to audit Gene Ontology
Authors: Abeysinghe Rashmie , Hinderer Eugene W , Moseley Hunter N B , Cui Licong
Published: February 2020

Motivation

The Gene Ontology (GO) is the unifying biological vocabulary for codifying, managing and sharing biological knowledge. Quality issues in GO, if not addressed, can cause misleading results or missed biological discoveries. Manual identification of potential quality issues in GO is a challenging and arduous task, given its growing size. We introduce an automated auditing approach for suggesting potentially missing is-a relations, which may further reveal erroneous is-a relations.

Results

We developed a Subsumption-based Sub-term Inference Framework (SSIF) by leveraging a novel term-algebra on top of a sequence-based representation of GO concepts along with three conditional rules (monotonicity, intersection and sub-concept rules). Applying SSIF to the October 3, 2018 release of GO suggested 1938 unique potentially missing is-a relations. Domain experts evaluated a random sample of 210 potentially missing is-a relations. The results showed SSIF achieved a precision of 60.61, 60.49 and 46.03% for the monotonicity, intersection and sub-concept rules, respectively.

Availability and implementation

SSIF is implemented in Java. The source code is available at https://github.com/rashmie/SSIF.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Reconstructing ancestral chromosome numbers and inflorescence features in Eleusininae (Poaceae: Chloridoideae: Cynodonteae)
Authors: Chiavegatto Raquel B , Carta Angelino , Pereira Diego G S , Benites Flavio R G , Techio Vânia H , Peruzzi Lorenzo
Published: February 2020

The chromosome number in Poaceae has changed widely over 77 Myr of evolution and polyploidization. Chromosome number changes can suggest a high rate of diversification and evolutionary novelties, and such changes can contribute to speciation. Despite this, chromosome numbers alone do not allow the evolutionary history of a group to be traced. Combined phylogenetic and karyological analyses can clarify the evolutionary history of taxa and allow taxonomic relationships and hierarchical levels to be inferred. The subtribe Eleusininae is the largest of the subfamily Chloridoideae. This study aims to reconstruct their chromosome number evolution, for which ChromEvol 2.0 software was used. Haploid chromosome numbers of Eleusininae were retrieved from the literature, and a consensus phylogenetic tree of Eleusininae was reconstructed. It was possible to infer 41 events of chromosome rearrangements along the evolutionary history of Eleusininae, according to the probabilistic model used. Chromosome number evolution in Eleusininae was mainly influenced by polyploidy events. The ancestral basic chromosome number for Eleusininae was p = 6, but the most recent common ancestor showed p2 = 10. In addition, some derived basic chromosome numbers, such as x = 9, arose through dysploidy, whereas x = 20 was generated via polyploidy.
Smaller Compressed Suffix Arrays†
Authors: Benza Ekaterina , Klein Shmuel T , Shapira Dana
Published: February 2020

An alternative to compressed suffix arrays is introduced, based on representing a sequence of integers using Fibonacci encodings, thereby reducing the space requirements of state-of-the-art implementations of the suffix array, while retaining the searching functionalities. Empirical tests support the theoretical space complexity improvements and show that there is no deterioration in the processing times.
Validation and update of the thoracic surgery scoring system (Thoracoscore) risk model
Authors: Die Loucou Julien , Pagès Pierre-Benoit , Falcoz Pierre-Emmanuel , Thomas Pascal-Alexandre , Rivera Caroline , Brouchet Laurent , Baste Jean-Marc , Puyraveau Marc , Bernard Alain , Dahan Marcel
Published: February 2020

OBJECTIVES

The performance of prediction models tends to deteriorate over time. The purpose of this study was to update the Thoracoscore risk prediction model with recent data from the Epithor nationwide thoracic surgery database.

METHODS

From January 2016 to December 2017, a total of 56 279 patients were operated on for mediastinal, pleural, chest wall or lung disease. We used 3 recommended methods to update the Thoracoscore prediction model and then proceeded to develop a new risk model. Thirty-day hospital mortality included patients who died within the first 30 days of the operation and those who died later during the same hospital stay.

RESULTS

We compared the baseline patient characteristics in the original data used to develop the Thoracoscore prediction model and the validation data. The age distribution was different, with specifically more patients older than 65 years in the validation group. Video-assisted thoracoscopy accounted for 47% of surgeries in the validation group compared but only 18% in the original data. The calibration curve used to update the Thoracoscore confirmed the overfitting of the 3 methods. The Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test was significant for the 3 updated models. Some coefficients were overfitted (American Society of Anesthesiologists score, performance status and procedure class) in the validation data. The new risk model has a correct calibration as indicated by the Hosmer–Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test, which was non-significant. The C-index was strong for the new risk model (0.84), confirming the ability of the new risk model to differentiate patients with and without the outcome. Internal validation shows no overfitting for the new model

CONCLUSIONS

The new Thoracoscore risk model has improved performance and good calibration, making it appropriate for use in current clinical practice.
The dual trade impact of non-tariff measures: an empirical assessment of China’s pork imports
Authors: Peci Jurgen , Sanjuán Ana Isabel
Published: February 2020

Theoretical arguments and empirical evidence suggest that non-tariff measures (NTMs) generate a mixture of trade effects. Using the maximum level of disaggregation provided by the UNCTAD NTMs database (four-digit), and focusing on those measures applied by China in its pork trade, a gravity equation is estimated with the poisson pseudo maximum likelihood estimator. Results confirm both restricting and promoting effects that higher levels of NTM aggregation mask. Compared to the average tariff applied by main importers (9 per cent) and China (14 per cent), the most restrictive NTMs are more stringent, with ad-valorem equivalents between 15 and 33 per cent. Simulations illustrate the upper bound bilateral trade gain from NTM removal and the resulting repercussions for China’s pork import shares.
Quality of collaboration and information handovers in palliative care: a survey study on the perspectives of nurses in the Southwest Region of the Netherlands
Authors: Engel Marijanne , van der Ark Andrée , Tamerus Rosanne , van der Heide Agnes
Published: February 2020

Background

When patients receiving palliative care are transferred between care settings, adequate collaboration and information exchange between health care professionals is necessary to ensure continuity, efficiency and safety of care. Several studies identified deficits in communication and information exchange between care settings. Aim of this study was to get insight in the quality of collaboration and information exchange in palliative care from the perspectives of nurses.

Methods

We performed a cross-sectional regional survey study among nurses working in different care settings. Nurses were approached via professional networks and media. Respondents were asked questions about collaboration in palliative care in general and about their last deceased patient. Potential associations between quality scores for collaboration and information handovers and characteristics of respondents or patients were tested with Pearson’s chi-square test.

Results

A total of 933 nurses filled in the questionnaire. Nurses working in nursing homes were least positive about inter-organizational collaboration. Forty-six per cent of all nurses had actively searched for such collaboration in the last year. For their last deceased patient, 10% of all nurses had not received the information handover in time, 33% missed information they needed. An adequate information handover was positively associated with timeliness and completeness of the information and the patient being well-informed, not with procedural characteristics.

Conclusion

Nurses report that collaboration between care settings and information exchange in palliative care is suboptimal. This study suggests that health care organizations should give more attention to shared professionalization towards inter-organizational collaboration among nurses in order to facilitate high-quality palliative care.
Aging Increases the Severity of Colitis and the Related Changes to the Gut Barrier and Gut Microbiota in Humans and Mice
Authors: Liu Ailing , Lv Hong , Wang Hongying , Yang Hong , Li Yue , Qian Jiaming
Published: February 2020

This study aims to compare intestinal mucosal barrier function in older and young ulcerative colitis (UC) patients and the healthy population, and to explore the possible mechanisms through which aging increases the severity of colitis in mice. The old healthy group showed discontinued tight junction (TJ) strand. The E-cadherin and occludin protein expressions in the colonic tissue of the old healthy subjects were lower than those in the younger healthy people. The protein expressions of E-cadherin and occludin were lower in the old UC patients than in the younger UC patients. In mice, disease activity indexes induced by inflammatory stimulus differed as a function of age. Weight loss level, histological scores, and expression of proinflammatory factors were higher in the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced group of aged mice than in the young DSS-induced mice. Compared with the results observed in the young DSS-induced mice, the protein expressions of E-cadherin and occludin in the aged DSS-induced mice were lower. Furthermore, significant differences were observed in the composition of the gut microbiota between the young and aged mice. In the aged mice, the fraction of beneficial bacteria (Lactobacillus) was lower before the DSS treatment, while the fraction of the harmful bacteria (Turicibacter, Parasutterella) was higher than that observed in the young mice. After the DSS treatment in the aged mice, the fraction of beneficial bacteria (Odoribacter and Alistipes) was lower, while the fraction of harmful bacteria (Turicibacter) was higher than in the young mice. We demonstrate that the aging of the human colon is characterized by an impairment of the intestinal barrier. Aging leads to more severe disease following DSS challenge. Age-related deterioration of gastrointestinal barrier function and gut microbial dysbiosis may be involved in the pathogenesis of colitis in the aged mice.
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression and function in the mammalian reproductive Tract
Authors: Chow R , Wessels J M , Foster W G
Published: February 2020

BACKGROUND

Neurotrophins of the nerve growth factor family are soluble polypeptides that are best known for their role in nerve growth, survival and differentiation in the central nervous system. A growing body of literature shows that neurotrophins and their receptors are also expressed throughout the reproductive tract.

OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE

Neurotrophins are key regulatory proteins in reproductive physiology during development and throughout adult life. Of the neurotrophins, the literature describing the expression and function of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its high-affinity receptor, neurotrophin receptor kinase-2 (NTRK2), has been expanding rapidly. We therefore conducted a systematic inductive qualitative review of the literature to better define the role of the BDNF in the reproductive tract. We postulate that BDNF and NTRK2 are central regulatory proteins throughout the reproductive system.

SEARCH METHODS

An electronic search of Medline (PubMed) and Web of Science for articles relating to BDNF and the reproductive system was carried out between January 2018 and February 2019.

OUTCOMES

In the ovary, BDNF expression and levels have been linked with follicle organisation during ovarian development, follicle recruitment and growth and oocyte maturation. In the endometrium, BDNF is involved in cell proliferation and neurogenesis. In contrast, literature describing the role of BDNF in other reproductive tissues is sparse and BDNF-NTRK2 signalling in the male reproductive tract has been largely overlooked. Whilst estradiol appears to be the primary regulator of BDNF expression, we also identified reports describing binding sites for glucocorticoid and myocyte enhancer factor-2, a calcium-response element through activation of an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, and aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear transporter protein-4 (ARNT) response elements in promoter regions of the BDNF gene. Expression is also regulated by multiple microRNAs and post-translational processing of precursor proteins and intracellular shuttling. BDNF-NTRK2 signalling is modulated through tissue specific receptor expression of either the full-length or truncated NTRK2 receptor; however, the functional importance remains to be elucidated. Dysregulation of BDNF expression and circulating concentrations have been implicated in several reproductive disorders including premature ovarian failure, endometriosis, pre-eclampsia, intra-uterine growth restriction (IUGR) and several reproductive cancers.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS

We conclude that BDNF and its receptors are key regulatory proteins central to gonadal development, ovarian regulation and uterine physiology, as well as embryo and placenta development. Furthermore, dysregulation of BDNF-NTRK2 in reproductive diseases suggests their potential role as candidate clinical markers of disease and potential therapeutic targets.
Thoracoscopic lobectomy for non-small-cell lung cancer in patients with impaired pulmonary function: analysis from a national database
Authors: Bongiolatti Stefano , Gonfiotti Alessandro , Vokrri Eduart , Borgianni Sara , Crisci Roberto , Curcio Carlo , Voltolini Luca ,   Italian VATS Group
Published: February 2020

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this retrospective multi-institutional study was to evaluate the postoperative outcomes of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS)-lobectomy (VATS-L) for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients with impaired lung function. The second end point was to illustrate the effective role of forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1%) and the diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO%) in predicting complications in this population.

METHODS

Data from patients who underwent VATS-L at participating centres were analysed and divided into 2 groups: group A comprised patients with FEV1% and/or DLCO% >60% and group B included patients with impaired lung function defined as FEV1% and/or DLCO% ≤60%. To define clinical predictors of death and complications, we performed univariate and multivariable regression analyses.

RESULTS

A total of 5562 patients underwent VATS-L, 809 (14.5%) of whom had impaired lung function. The postoperative mortality rate did not differ between the 2 groups (2.3% vs 3.2%; P = 0.77). The percentage of patients who had any complication (21.4% vs 34.2%; P ≤ 0.001), the complication rate (28% vs 49.8%; P ≤ 0.001) and the length of hospital stay (P ≤ 0.001) were higher for patients with limited pulmonary function. Impaired lung function was a strong predictor of overall and pulmonary complications at multivariable analysis.

CONCLUSIONS

VATS-L for NSCLC can be performed in patients with impaired lung function without increased risk of postoperative death and with an acceptable incidence of overall and respiratory complications. Our analysis suggested that FEV1% and DLCO% play a substantial role in estimating the risk of complications after VATS-L, but their role was less reliable for estimating the mortality.
Spectrofluorometric Determination of Olanzapine and Fluphenazine Hydrochloride in Pharmaceutical Preparations and Human Plasma Using Eosin: Application to Stability Studies
Authors: Belal Fathalla , El-Brashy Amina , El-Enany Nahed , El-Bahay Nihal
Published: February 2020

A simple, rapid, and sensitive spectrofluorometric method has been developed for the determination of olanzapine (OLZ) and fluphenazine hydrochloride (FPZ HCl). The proposed method is based on the quantitative quenching effect of the studied drugs on the native fluorescence of eosin at pH 3.4 and 3.2 for OLZ and FPZ HCl, respectively. The fluorescence was measured at 547 nm after excitation at 323 nm. The fluorescence-concentration plots were rectilinear over the range of 0.051.0 and 0.101.0 g/mL, with lower detection limits of 1.8 103 and 1.2 103 g/mL, for OLZ and FPZ HCl, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to the analysis of commercial tablets and ampules containing the drugs, and the results were in good agreement with those obtained with reference methods. The proposed method was further applied to the determination of OLZ in spiked human plasma. The mean recovery was 98.62 0.24 (n 4). The method was also used for stability studies of FPZ HCl upon oxidation with hydrogen peroxide, and the kinetics of the reaction were studied. A proposal for the reaction pathway was postulated.
Headspace Characterization and Quantification of Aromatic Organosulfur Compounds in Garlic Extracts Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering with a Mirror-in-a-Cap Substrate
Authors: Qu Yanqi , Wang Minqi , Huang Shijun , Decker Eric A , McClements D Julian , He Lili
Published: February 2020

Background

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has been deployed in the analysis of food at solid and aqueous states. However, its capability has not been fully explored in headspace profiling.

Objective

To develop an innovative SERS method for analyzing headspace volatile compounds in foods.

Methods

A volatile-capture device was developed by depositing a film of silver nanoparticles in a vial cap to capture the volatiles released from a model flavor compound (garlic).

Results

SERS peaks at 1632, 1400, 1291, 1191, 731, and 577 cm−1 were identified in the headspace of the garlic sample, which was representative of an organosulfur compound (diallyl disulfide), and its concentration was determined at 135 ppm, which was comparable to the value determined using GC. Preparation and analysis could be carried out in <10 min for the SERS method. The sensitivity of the SERS method (10 ppm), however, was slightly less than that of the GC method (5 pm).

Conclusions

The SERS method was able to quantify the concentration of diallyl disulfide in the headspace of a raw garlic ethanolic extract. Compared to GC, the SERS method had a much shorter analysis time and simpler sample preparation procedure than GC when analyzing large numbers of samples.

Highlights

The innovative “mirror-in-a-cap” substrate was simpler and faster than other reported SERS substrates used for this purpose. Additionally, SERS has much better portability and the potential for real-time monitoring of changes in the garlic headspace concentration during manufacturing and processing.
Association analysis of loci implied in “buffering” epistasis
Authors: Reverter Antonio , Vitezica Zulma G , Naval-Sánchez Marina , Henshall John , Raidan Fernanda S S , Li Yutao , Meyer Karin , Hudson Nicholas J , Porto-Neto Laercio R , Legarra Andrés
Published: February 2020

The existence of buffering mechanisms is an emerging property of biological networks, and this results in the buildup of robustness through evolution. So far, there are no explicit methods to find loci implied in buffering mechanisms. However, buffering can be seen as interaction with genetic background. Here we develop this idea into a tractable model for quantitative genetics, in which the buffering effect of one locus with many other loci is condensed into a single statistical effect, multiplicative on the total additive genetic effect. This allows easier interpretation of the results and simplifies the problem of detecting epistasis from quadratic to linear in the number of loci. Using this formulation, we construct a linear model for genome-wide association studies that estimates and declares the significance of multiplicative epistatic effects at single loci. The model has the form of a variance components, norm reaction model and likelihood ratio tests are used for significance. This model is a generalization and explanation of previous ones. We test our model using bovine data: Brahman and Tropical Composite animals, phenotyped for body weight at yearling and genotyped at high density. After association analysis, we find a number of loci with buffering action in one, the other, or both breeds; these loci do not have a significant statistical additive effect. Most of these loci have been reported in previous studies, either with an additive effect or as footprints of selection. We identify buffering epistatic SNPs present in or near genes reported in the context of signatures of selection in multi-breed cattle population studies. Prominent among these genes are those associated with fertility (INHBA, TSHR, ESRRG, PRLR, and PPARG), growth (MSTN, GHR), coat characteristics (KIT, MITF, PRLR), and heat resistance (HSPA6 and HSPA1A). In these populations, we found loci that have a nonsignificant statistical additive effect but a significant epistatic effect. We argue that the discovery and study of loci associated with buffering effects allow attacking the difficult problems, among others, of the release of maintenance variance in artificial and natural selection, of quick adaptation to the environment, and of opposite signs of marker effects in different backgrounds. We conclude that our method and our results generate promising new perspectives for research in evolutionary and quantitative genetics based on the study of loci that buffer effect of other loci.
Water amino acid-chelated trace mineral supplementation decreases circulating and intestinal HSP70 and proinflammatory cytokine gene expression in heat-stressed broiler chickens
Authors: Baxter Mikayla F A , Greene Elizabeth S , Kidd Michael T , Tellez-Isaias Guillermo , Orlowski Sara , Dridi Sami
Published: February 2020

Heat stress (HS) is a financial and physiological burden on the poultry industry and the mitigation of the adverse effects of HS is vital to poultry production sustainability. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to determine the effects of an amino acid-chelated trace mineral supplement on growth performance, stress and inflammatory markers, and meat quality in heat-stressed broilers. One day-old Cobb 500 male broilers (n = 480) were allocated into 12 environmental chambers (24 floor pens) and divided into two groups: one group supplemented with amino acid-chelated trace mineral in drinking water and one control group. On day 28, birds were subjected to chronic heat stress (HS, 2 wk, 35 °C and 20% to 30% RH) or maintained at thermoneutral condition (TN, 24 °C) in a 2 × 2 factorial design. Feed intake (FI), water consumption, and body weight were recorded. At day 42, serum fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran (FITC-D) levels, blood gas, electrolyte, and stress markers were measured. Jejunum samples were collected to measure gene expression of stress, inflammation, and tight junction proteins. The rest of the birds were processed to evaluate carcass traits. HS resulted in an increase in core body temperature, which increased water intake and decreased FI, body weight, and feed efficiency (P < 0.05). HS reduced carcass yield and the weight of all parts (P < 0.05). HS significantly increased levels of circulating corticosterone (CORT), heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), interleukin 18 (IL-18), tumor necrosis factor alpha, C-reactive protein, and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain leucine-rich repeat and pyrin domain-containing 3 expression. HS significantly increased serum FITC-D levels and the expression of HSP70 and IL-18 in the jejunum. Although it did not affect the growth performance, amino acid-chelated trace mineral supplementation reversed the effect of HS by reducing CORT and FITC-D levels and the expression of stress and proinflammatory cytokines in the circulation and the jejunum. However, it upregulated these parameters in birds maintained under TN conditions. Together, these data indicate that the amino acid-chelated trace mineral might alleviate stress and inflammation and improve gut integrity in heat-stressed but not thermoneutral broilers.
Persistent Urinary Ethyl Sulfate in the Absence of Urinary Ethyl Glucuronide in a Patient with Alcohol Use Disorder Who Claimed Abstinence
Authors: Reisfield Gary M , Teitelbaum Scott A , Jones Joseph T
Published: February 2020

A 48-year-old nurse with an alcohol use disorder history was being monitored in a professional health program. She consistently produced low-to-moderate urinary ethyl sulfate (EtS) concentrations in the absence of detectable urinary ethyl glucuronide (EtG), blood phosphatidylethanol and breath alcohol. She denied intentional ethanol consumption. After prolonged monitoring in a drug treatment program, including a period in a controlled environment, we concluded that this individual’s urinary EtS likely resulted from anatomical and microbial factors related to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, with possible contributions from hidden dietary sources of ethanol. We have no definitive explanation for the lack of urinary EtG.
I walk, therefore I am: a multidimensional study on the influence of the locomotion method upon presence in virtual reality
Authors: Soler-Domínguez José L , de Juan Carla , Contero Manuel , Alcañiz Mariano
Published: February 2020

A defining virtual reality (VR) metric is the sense of presence, a complex, multidimensional psychophysical construct that represents how intense is the sensation of actually being there, inside the virtual environment (VE), forgetting how technology mediates the experience. Our paper explores how locomotion influences presence, studying two different ways of artificial movement along the VE: walking-in-place (through head bobbing detection) and indirect walking (through touchpad). To evaluate that influence, a narrative-neutral maze was created, from where 41 participants (N=41) had to escape. Measuring presence is a controversial topic since there is not a single, objective measure but a wide range of metrics depending on the different theoretical basis. For this reason, we have used for the first time, representative metrics from all three traditional dimensions of presence: subjective presence (SP) (self-reported through questionnaires), behavioral presence (BP) (obtained from unconscious reactions while inside the VE), and physiological presence (PP) [usually measured using heart rate or electrodermal activity (EDA)]. SP was measured with the ITC-SOPI questionnaire, BP by collecting the participants’ reactions, and PP by using a bracelet that registered EDA. The results show two main findings: (i) There is no correlation between the different presence metrics. This opens the door to a simpler way of measuring presence in an objective, reliable way. (ii) There is no significant difference between the two locomotion techniques for any of the three metrics, which shows that the authenticity of VR does not rely on how you move within the VE.
Understanding Difficult Consumer Transitions: The In/Dividual Consumer in Permanent Liminality
Authors: Appau Samuelson , Ozanne Julie L , Klein Jill G
Published: February 2020

Some life transitions are difficult and prolonged, such as becoming an independent adult, forming a family, or adopting healthy consumption habits. Permanent liminality describes transitions that can span years and even a lifetime with no anticipated end. To understand how consumers are caught in permanent liminality, we examine how Pentecostal converts consume religious services in their difficult transition from the secular “world” to Pentecostalism. We draw on the concept of in/dividual personhood to explain how the Pentecostal dividual is coconstituted in an endless movement between the undesired “worldly” in/dividual and the contiguous incorporation into the desired Pentecostal in/dividual and structure. Pentecostals’ permanent liminality thus involves ongoing cycles of separation and incorporation within zones of indeterminacy, in which neither separation nor incorporation is ever completed. This theoretical framework explains the unfinished transition of Pentecostal converts as contested dividuals. We extend this theoretical explanation for future research on liquid modernity and consumers caught in permanent liminality.
Analysis of local setup errors of sub-regions in cone-beam CT-guided post-mastectomy radiation therapy
Authors: Zhou Jidan , Li Shuai , Ye Chengwei , Shen Konglong , Li An , Chen Gang , Li Xiaoyu , Bai Sen , Wang Weifeng , Zhong Renming
Published: February 2020

The purpose of the study was to quantify local setup errors and evaluate the planning target volume (PTV) margins for sub-regions in cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT)-guided post-mastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT). The local setup errors of 20 patients undergoing CBCT-guided PMRT were analysed retrospectively. Image registration between CBCT and planning CT was performed using four sub-regions of interest (ROIs): the supraclavicular area (SROI), ipsilateral chest wall region (CROI), ipsilateral chest wall plus supraclavicular region (SROI + CROI) and vertebral region (TROI). Bland–Altman analysis, correlation, local setup errors and PTV margins among these ROIs were evaluated. There was no significant consistency or correlation for registration results between the TROI and the CROI or SROI regions on any translational axis. When using the SROI + CROI as the ROI, the systematic error (Σ) and random error (σ) of the local setup errors for the CROI region were 1.81, 1.19 and 1.76 mm and 1.84, 2.64 and 3.00 mm along the medial–lateral (ML), superior–inferior (SI) and anterior–posterior (AP) directions, respectively. The PTV margins for the CROI region were 5.80, 4.82 and 6.50 mm. The Σ and σ of the local setup errors for the SROI region were 1.29, 1.15 and 0.77 mm and 1.96, 2.65 and 2.2 mm, respectively, and the PTV margins were 4.59, 4.73 and 3.47 mm. Large setup errors and local setup errors occur in PMRT. The vertebral body should not be a position surrogate for the supraclavicular region or chest wall. To compensate for the local setup errors, different PTV margins are required, even with CBCT guidance.
Pulmonary artery banding for initial treatment of ventricular septal rupture
Authors: Koichi Yuta , Kitahara Hiroto , Wakabayashi Naohiro , Ise Hayato , Tanaka Chiharu , Nakanishi Sentaro , Ishikawa Natsuya , Kamiya Hiroyuki
Published: February 2020

Ventricular septal rupture (VSR) is a serious and fatal mechanical complication after acute myocardial infarction. Emergent or urgent, surgical/transcatheter intervention is necessary to treat VSR, though the outcome is not favorable. We performed temporary pulmonary artery banding (PAB) in an 85-year-old man who presented with chest pain to adjust the shunt flow through the VSR, which prevented further pulmonary edema and delayed the timing of surgical repair. There has been no report showing successful PAB performed for VSR after myocardial infarction.
Anthropogenic noise affects winter song structure of a long-distance migrant, Gambel’s white-crowned sparrow
Authors: Phillips Jennifer N , Katti Madhusudan
Published: February 2020

Many animals learn to produce acoustic signals that are used to attract mates and defend territories. The structure of these signals can be influenced by external features of the environment, including the anthropogenic soundscape. In many sedentary species, habitat features and soundscape appears to influence the cultural evolution of songs, often with tradeoffs for better transmission over sexually selected song structure. However, none have investigated whether noise on the wintering grounds affects song structure, which for long-distance migrants may result in an acoustic ‘mismatch’ when returning to a breeding ground. This study investigates urban noise effects on song structure in a long-distance migrant, Zonotrichia leucophrys gambelii, on the wintering grounds in the Fresno Clovis Metropolitan Area and in outlying non-urban areas. Songs and background noise levels were recorded concurrently, and song measurements of frequency and duration were examined differences across noise levels and habitats . We found that the buzz and trill decrease in bandwidth in the presence of noise. The length of the whistle and buzz portion of the song also tends to decreases with noise in urban habitats. This trend toward short, pure tones in noisy areas may transmit better in noisy urban winter habitats, but may not be adaptive on quieter breeding grounds. We suggest that future studies should consider whether winter auditory feedback and song learning environments have consequences for song crystallization and breeding success for long-distance migrants.
The calcineurin β-like interacting protein kinase CIPK25 regulates potassium homeostasis under low oxygen in Arabidopsis
Authors: Tagliani Andrea , Tran Anh Nguyet , Novi Giacomo , Di Mambro Riccardo , Pesenti Michele , Sacchi Gian Attilio , Perata Pierdomenico , Pucciariello Chiara
Published: February 2020

Hypoxic conditions often arise from waterlogging and flooding, affecting several aspects of plant metabolism, including the uptake of nutrients. We identified a member of the CALCINEURIN β-LIKE INTERACTING PROTEIN KINASE (CIPK) family in Arabidopsis, CIPK25, which is induced in the root endodermis under low-oxygen conditions. A cipk25 mutant exhibited higher sensitivity to anoxia in conditions of potassium limitation, suggesting that this kinase is involved in the regulation of potassium uptake. Interestingly, we found that CIPK25 interacts with AKT1, the major inward rectifying potassium channel in Arabidopsis. Under anoxic conditions, cipk25 mutant seedlings were unable to maintain potassium concentrations at wild-type levels, suggesting that CIPK25 likely plays a role in modulating potassium homeostasis under low-oxygen conditions. In addition, cipk25 and akt1 mutants share similar developmental defects under waterlogging, further supporting an interplay between CIPK25 and AKT1.
Identifying the formation mechanism of redback pulsars
Authors: De Vito M A , Benvenuto O G , Horvath J E
Published: February 2020

We analyse the evolution of close binary systems containing a neutron star that lead to the formation of redback pulsars. Recently, there has been some debate on the origin of such systems and the formation mechanism of redbacks may still be considered as an open problem. We show that the operation of a strong evaporation mechanism, starting from the moment when the donor star becomes fully convective (or alternatively since the formation of the neutron star by accretion-induced collapse), produces systems with donor masses and orbital periods in the range corresponding to redbacks with donors appreciably smaller than their Roche lobes, i.e. they have low filling factors (lower than 0.75). Models of redback pulsars can be constructed assuming the occurrence of irradiation feedback. They have been shown to undergo cyclic mass transfer during the epoch at which they attain donor masses and orbital periods corresponding to redbacks, and stay in quasi-Roche lobe overflow conditions with high filling factors. We show that, if irradiation feedback occurs and radio ejection inhibits further accretion on to the neutron star after the first mass transfer cycle, the redback systems feature high filling factors. We suggest that the filling factor should be considered as a useful tool for discriminating among those redback formation mechanisms. We compare theoretical results with available observations and conclude that observations tend to favour models with high filling factors.
Understanding the physical properties of young M dwarfs: NIR spectroscopic studies
Authors: Khata Dhrimadri , Mondal Soumen , Das Ramkrishna , Ghosh Supriyo , Ghosh Samrat
Published: February 2020

We present here medium resolution (λ/Δλ ∼ 1200) H- and K-band spectra of M-type dwarf stars covering the wavelength ranges 1.50–1.80 μm and 1.95–2.45 μm. The sample includes 53 dwarf stars (M0V–M7V) from new observations using the TIFR Near-Infrared Spectrometer and Imager instrument on the 2-m Himalayan Chandra Telescope. Using interferometrically measured effective temperature (Teff), radius and luminosity of nearby bright calibrator stars, we have created new empirical relationships among those fundamental parameters and spectral indices. The equivalent widths of H-band spectral features like Mg (1.57 μm), Al (1.67 μm) and Mg (1.71 μm), and the H2O–H index are found to be good indicators of Teff, radius and luminosity and we establish linear functions using these features relating to those stellar parameters. The root-mean-squared error of our best fits are 102 K, 0.027$\, \mathrm{R}_{\odot }$ and 0.12 dex respectively. Using spectral-type standards along with known parallaxes, we calibrate both H- and K-band H2O indices as a tracer of spectral type and absolute Ks magnitude. Metallicities of M-dwarf samples are estimated using the K-band calibration relationships. The masses of M dwarfs could be determined using the luminosity ($L/{\rm L_\odot }$) and we establish a new empirical relation for this. We also compare and contrast our results with other similar work from the literature.
Electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave events from Gaia
Authors: Kostrzewa-Rutkowska Z , Jonker P G , Hodgkin S T , Eappachen D , Harrison D L , Koposov S E , Rixon G , Wyrzykowski Ł , Yoldas A , Breedt E , Delgado A , van Leeuwen M , Wevers T , Burgess P W , De Angeli F , Evans D W , Osborne P J , Riello M
Published: February 2020

The recent discoveries of gravitational wave events and in one case also its electromagnetic (EM) counterpart allow us to study the Universe in a novel way. The increased sensitivity of the LIGO and Virgo detectors has opened the possibility for regular detections of EM transient events from mergers of stellar remnants. Gravitational wave sources are expected to have sky localization up to a few hundred square degrees, thus Gaia as an all-sky multi-epoch photometric survey has the potential to be a good tool to search for the EM counterparts. In this paper, we study the possibility of detecting EM counterparts to gravitational wave sources using the Gaia Science Alerts system. We develop an extension to current used algorithms to find transients and test its capabilities in discovering candidate transients on a sample of events from the observation periods O1 and O2 of LIGO and Virgo. For the gravitational wave events from the current run O3, we expect that about 16 (25) per cent should fall in sky regions observed by Gaia 7 (10) d after gravitational wave. The new algorithm will provide about 21 candidates per day from the whole sky.