bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cytoreductive cryosurgery in patients with bone metastatic prostate cancer: A retrospective analysis
Authors: Sheng Ming‐Xiong , Wan Ling‐Ling , Liu Chang‐Ming , Liu Chun‐Xiao , Chen Shu‐Shang
Published: August 2017

The current study is a retrospective analysis of 49 patients with bone metastatic prostate cancer: 26 receiving androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) alone versus 23 receiving cytoreductive cryosurgery of the primary tumor plus ADT treatment. Progression‐free survival (PFS) was the primary outcome variable, and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to identify predictors for PFS. The baseline characteristics were generally comparable between the 2 groups. Median follow‐up time was 41 months (range 24–56) and 37 months (range 19–53) in ADT alone group and cryosurgery groups, respectively. Patients receiving cryosurgery had significantly longer PFS (35 vs 25 months, P = 0.0027) and time to castration resistance (36 vs 25 months, P = 0.0011). Cox multivariate analysis associated longer PFS with the following factors: cryosurgery (HR0.207, 95% CI 0.094–0.456), lower prostate specific antigen at diagnosis (≤100 ng/ml, HR0.235, 95% CI 0.072–0.763) and lower Gleason score (≤7, HR0.195, 95% CI 0.077–0.496). Cryosurgery reduced the risk of progression by 79.3%. In conclusion, cytoreductive cryosurgery of the primary tumor in patients with bone metastatic prostate cancer could reduce the risk of progression and delay time to castration‐resistant prostate cancer.
Effect of Modified Otago Exercises on Postural Balance, Fear of Falling, and Fall Risk in Older Fallers With Knee Osteoarthritis and Impaired Gait and Balance: A Secondary Analysis
Authors: Mat Sumaiyah , Ng Chin Teck , Tan Pey June , Ramli Norlisah , Fadzli Farhana , Rozalli Faizatul Izza , Mazlan Mazlina , Hill Keith D. , Tan Maw Pin
Published: August 2017

Background

Osteoarthritis (OA) is considered an established risk factor for falls. Published studies evaluating secondary falls prevention strategies among individuals with OA are limited.

Objective

To evaluate the effect of a personalized home‐based exercise program to improve postural balance, fear of falling, and falls risk in older fallers with knee OA and gait and balance problems.

Design

Randomized controlled trial.

Setting

University of Malaya Medical Centre.

Participants

Fallers who had both radiological OA and a Timed Up and Go (TUG) score of over 13.5 seconds.

Main Outcome Measure

Postural sway (composite sway) was quantified with the Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance (mCTSIB) under 4 different sensory conditions: eyes open on firm surface, eyes closed on firm surface, eyes open on unstable foam surface, and eyes closed on unstable foam surface. Participants were asked to stand upright and to attempt to hold their position for 10 seconds for each test condition. The average reading for all conditions were calculated.

Methods

Participants randomized to the intervention arm received a home‐based modified Otago Exercise Program (OEP) as part of a multifactorial intervention, whereas control participants received general health advice and conventional treatment. This was a secondary subgroup analysis from an original randomized controlled trial, the Malaysian Falls Assessment and Intervention Trial (MyFAIT) (trial registration number: ISRCTN11674947). Posturography using a long force plate balance platform (Balancemaster, NeuroCom, USA), the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and the short‐form Falls Efficacy Scale−International (short FES‐I) were assessed at baseline and 6 months.

Results

Results of 41 fallers with radiological evidence of OA and impaired TUG (intervention, 17; control, 24) were available for the final analysis. Between‐group analysis revealed significant improvements in the Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance (mCTSIB), Limits of Stability (LOS), and short FES‐I scores by the intervention group compared to the control group at 6 months. No significant difference in time to first fall or in fall‐free survival between the intervention and control groups was found.

Conclusion

Home‐based balance and strength exercises benefited older fallers with OA and gait and balance disorders by improving postural control, with no observable trend in reduction of fall recurrence. Our findings will now inform a future, adequately powered, randomized controlled study using fall events as definitive outcomes.

Level of Evidence

I
Wildlife agencies: practice, intentionality and history in twentieth-century animal field studies
Authors: REES AMANDA
Published: August 2017

This paper explores the ways in which scientists have managed the concept of animal ‘agency’ in twentieth-century field-based studies of animal behaviour. Using a range of popular accounts published between 1868 and 2012, it provides the intellectual and historical context for the sharp increase in field studies of animals – and their popularizations – that took place from the late 1960s on. It argues that the vivid depiction of animal characters and personalities, with individual and community histories intertwined, is firmly grounded in the methodologies adopted for field studies of animal behaviour. It suggests that intellectual interest in animal agency not only itself needs to be historically situated, but also close historiographical attention needs to be paid to the public deployment of the concept for intellectual, political and moral reasons. It concludes that – as far as field studies of animal behaviour are concerned – animals are not just the subjects of research, but can often be treated as active collaborators in the research process.
Importance of limiting hohlraum leaks at cryogenic temperatures on NIF targets
Authors: Bhandarkar Suhas , Teslich Nick , Haid Ben , Mapoles Evan
Published: August 2017

Inertial confinement fusion targets are complex systems designed to allow fine control of temperature and pressure for making precise spherical ice layers of hydrogen isotopes at cryogenic temperatures. We discuss the various technical considerations for a maximum leak rate based on heat load considerations. This maximum flow rate turns out to be $5\times 10^{-6}$ standard cc per second, which can be caused by an orifice less than half a micron in diameter. This makes the identification of the location and resolution of the leak a significant challenge. To illustrate this, we showcase one example of a peculiar failure mode that appeared suddenly but persisted whereby target production yield was severely lowered. Identification of the leak source and the root cause requires very careful analysis of multiple thermomechanical aspects to ensure that the end solution is indeed the right remedy and is robust.
Steady and unsteady fluidised granular flows down slopes
Authors: Jessop D. E. , Hogg A. J. , Gilbertson M. A. , Schoof C.
Published: August 2017

Fluidisation is the process by which the weight of a bed of particles is supported by a gas flow passing through it from below. When fluidised materials flow down an incline, the dynamics of the motion differs from their non-fluidised counterparts because the granular agitation is no longer required to support the weight of the flowing layer. Instead, the weight is borne by the imposed gas flow and this leads to a greatly increased flow mobility. In this paper, a framework is developed to model this two-phase motion by incorporating a kinetic theory description for the particulate stresses generated by the flow. In addition to calculating numerical solutions for fully developed flows, it is shown that for sufficiently thick flows there is often a local balance between the production and dissipation of the granular temperature. This phenomenon permits an asymptotic reduction of the full governing equations and the identification of a simple state in which the volume fraction of the flow is uniform. The results of the model are compared with new experimental measurements of the internal velocity profiles of steady granular flows down slopes. The distance covered with time by unsteady granular flows down slopes and along horizontal surfaces and their shapes are also measured and compared with theoretical predictions developed for flows that are thin relative to their streamwise extent. For the horizontal flows, it was found that resistance from the sidewalls was required in addition to basal resistance to capture accurately the unsteady evolution of the front position and the depth of the current and for situations in which sidewall drag dominates, similarity solutions are found for the experimentally measured motion.
Heteroclinic path to spatially localized chaos in pipe flow
Authors: Budanur N. B. , Hof B.
Published: August 2017

In shear flows at transitional Reynolds numbers, localized patches of turbulence, known as puffs, coexist with the laminar flow. Recently, Avila et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 110, 2013, 224502) discovered two spatially localized relative periodic solutions for pipe flow, which appeared in a saddle-node bifurcation at low Reynolds number. Combining slicing methods for continuous symmetry reduction with Poincaré sections for the first time in a shear flow setting, we compute and visualize the unstable manifold of the lower-branch solution and show that it extends towards the neighbourhood of the upper-branch solution. Surprisingly, this connection even persists far above the bifurcation point and appears to mediate the first stage of the puff generation: amplification of streamwise localized fluctuations. When the state-space trajectories on the unstable manifold reach the vicinity of the upper branch, corresponding fluctuations expand in space and eventually take the usual shape of a puff.
Stability of a growing cylindrical blob
Authors: Krechetnikov R.
Published: August 2017

The stability of an accelerating cylindrical blob of a time-varying radius is considered with the goals of understanding the effects of time dependence of the underlying base state on a Rayleigh–Plateau instability as well as of evaluating a contribution due to a lateral acceleration of the blob, treated as a perturbation here. All of the key processes contributing to instability development are dissected, with analytical analyses of the exact incompressible inviscid potential flow formulation. Herein, without invoking the ‘frozen’ base state assumption, the entire time interval of the evolution of a perturbation is explored, discerning physical mechanisms at each stage of development. It transpires that the stability picture proves to be cardinally different from Rayleigh’s standard analysis.
Mathematical Model of Cable Winding/Unwinding System
Authors: Kevac Lj. B. , Filipovic M. M.
Published: August 2017

The general form of mathematical model of cable winding/unwinding system is defined for several different constructions. The novelty of this mathematical model is detection and mathematical formulation of influence of new dynamic variables: winding/unwinding radius and cable length on dynamic response of cable winding/unwinding system. The validity of the obtained theoretical contribution has been illustrated through one case study by using a newly developed software package CWUSOFT which was generated in MATLAB. Theoretical and simulation results are confirmed through the experimental analysis of one novel construction of the cable winding/unwinding system.
Convergence in National Alcohol Consumption Patterns: New Global Indicators
Authors: Holmes Alexander J. , Anderson Kym
Published: August 2017

With increasing globalisation and interactions between cultures, countries are converging in many ways, including in their consumption patterns. The extent to which this has been the case in alcohol consumption has been the subject of previous studies, but those studies have been limited in scope to a specific region or group of high-income countries or to just one or two types of alcohol. The present study updates earlier findings, covers all countries of the world since 1961, and introduces two new summary indicators to capture additional dimensions of the extent of convergence in total alcohol consumption and in its mix of beverages. It also distinguishes countries according to whether their alcoholic focus was on wine, beer, or spirits in the early 1960s as well as their geographic regions and their real per-capita incomes. For recent years, we add expenditure data and compare alcohol with soft drink retail expenditure, and we show the difference it makes when unrecorded alcohol volumes are included as part of total alcohol consumption. The final section summarizes our findings and suggests that further research could provide new demand elasticity estimates and use econometrics to explain the varying extents of convergence over time, space, and beverage type. (JEL Classifications: D12, L66, N10)
Geoarchaeological evidence for the construction, irrigation, cultivation, and resilience of 15th--18th century AD terraced landscape at Engaruka, Tanzania
Authors: Lang Carol , Stump Daryl
Published: August 2017

Agricultural landscapes are human-manipulated landscapes, most obviously in areas modified by terracing and/or irrigation. Examples from temperate, arid, and desert environments worldwide have attracted the attention of many disciplines, from archaeologists, palaeoecologists, and geomorphologists researching landscape histories to economists, agronomists, ecologists, and development planners studying sustainable resource management. This article combines these interdisciplinary interests by exploring the role archaeology can play in assessing sustainability. Our case study is Engaruka, Tanzania, archaeologically famous as the largest abandoned irrigated and terraced landscape in East Africa. The site has been cited as an example of economic and/or ecological collapse, and it has long been assumed to have been irrigated out of necessity because agriculture was presumed to be nearly impossible without irrigation in what is now a semiarid environment. Geoarchaeological research refutes this assumption, however, demonstrating that parts of the site flooded with sufficient regularity to allow the construction of more than 1000 ha of alluvial sediment traps, in places greater than 2 m deep. Soil micromorphology and geochemistry also record changes in irrigation, with some fields inundated to create paddylike soils. Geoarchaeological techniques can be applied to both extant and abandoned agricultural systems, thereby contributing to an understanding of their history, function, and sustainability.
Effects of precision planting patterns and irrigation on winter wheat yields and water productivity
Authors: MAO X. M. , ZHONG W. W. , WANG X. Y. , ZHOU X. B.
Published: August 2017

The production of winter wheat (Triticum aestivumL.) is affected by crop population structures and field microclimates. This 3-year study assessed the effect of different precision planting patterns and irrigation conditions on relative humidity (RH), air and soil temperature within the canopy, intercepted photosynthetically active radiation (iPAR), evapotranspiration (ET), water productivity (WP) and grain yields. Field experiments were conducted from 2011 to 2014 on a two-factor split-plot design with three replicates. The experiments involved three precision planting patterns (single row, alternating single and twin rows [hereafter ‘single–twin’] and twin row) and three irrigation treatments (0 mm (I0), 90 mm (I90) and 180 mm (I180)). Planting patterns and irrigation treatments exerted a significant effect on RH, air and soil temperature, iPAR,ET,WPand grain yield. The lowest RH and iPAR levels were detected in the single row pattern. When the irrigation treatment was identical, the highest soil and air temperatures were detected in the single row pattern, followed by the single–twin row and twin row patterns. Compared with the single row, the single–twin and twin row patterns increasedETby 0·3 and 1·4,WPby 4·7 and 5·7% and yields by 6·0 and 7·9%, respectively. Compared with I0, the I90and I180irrigation treatments increasedETby 0·3 and 1·4%, andWPby 4·7 and 5·7%, respectively. The grain yields of the twin row pattern were 5·8 and 1·7% higher than those of the single row and single–twin row patterns, respectively. Compared with I0, I90increased yield by 19·3%. The twin row pattern improved crop structure and farmland microclimate by increasing RH and iPAR, and reducing soil and air temperatures, thus increasing grain yield. These results indicated that a twin row pattern effectively improved grain yield at I0. On the basis of iPAR,WPand grain yield, it was concluded that a twin row pattern combined with an I90irrigation treatment provided optimal cropping conditions for the North China plain.
Effects of age and stimulus material on character introductions of Swedish-speaking four- to six-year-olds
Authors: LINDGREN JOSEFIN
Published: August 2017

This study investigates effects of age on character introductions in the oral narratives of seventy-two monolingual Swedish-speaking four- to six-year-olds, comparing results from the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN; Gagarina et al., 2012, 2015), and the Edmonton Narrative Norms Instrument (ENNI; Schneider et al., 2005). The proportion of appropriate referring expressions for introducing story characters clearly increases from age four to six. However, the children's performance is strongly stimulus-dependent. All age groups perform better on MAIN than on ENNI. One should thus be careful when drawing conclusions about the age at which children are able to use referring expressions appropriately.
Central–Local Relations: Recentralization and Environmental Governance in China
Authors: Kostka Genia , Nahm Jonas
Published: August 2017

Recent literature on environmental governance in China frequently ascribes blame for China's environmental problems to sub-national governments' lax environmental enforcement. Such research implicitly assumes that more central control would lead to better results but, as yet, the role of the centre in environmental governance remains underresearched. In the context of the current phase of recentralization, this article studies central and local interests, capacities and interactions across policy issues and government agencies. By “bringing the centre back” into the study of central–local relations in China, we examine both where such recentralization has in fact occurred and whether such recentralization efforts have improved environmental outcomes. We argue that centralization does not improve outcomes in every case. Further, central and local levels of governance are not as different as they might seem. Indeed, there are significant areas of overlapping interests and similar patterns of behaviour, both positive (enforcement) and negative (shirking), between central and local administrations. The results draw an empirically and theoretically rich picture of central–local relations that highlights the innate complexity of China's environmental governance patterns during the current phase of recentralization.
CONSISTENCY AND DISCONTINUITY: MY SEIGELIAN LIFE CYCLE (OR, GROWING UP WITH JERRY)
Authors: LAQUEUR THOMAS W.
Published: August 2017

Marx's Fate begins with a quote from W. B. Yeats, who says that he “often has had the fancy that there is some one Myth for every man, which, if we but knew it, would make us understand all he did and thought.” There is no one Myth for anyone, including Jerry Seigel, but there is, I think, in his work an “inner sameness and continuity,” as Erik Erikson would put it, which is matched, once we reflect on the matter, by a “continuity of [his] meaning for others.”
Scaling Democracy: Participation and Resource Extraction in Latin America
Authors: Riofrancos Thea N.
Published: August 2017

In an extractive economy with territorially uneven costs and benefits, who should decide the fate of oil and mining projects: directly affected minorities or national citizenries? I reframe this question empirically: How are the collective identities and interests attached to various scales of democracy politically constructed in the increasingly frequent conflicts over resource extraction in Latin America, and what can we learn from these conflicts about broader dynamics of democratic contestation? To answer this question, I propose the concept of scaling democracy: the agonistic processes by which the scales of democratic decision-making and the democratic people are contested, established, and transformed. The concept of scaling democracy draws our attention to the ways in which the collective identities and interests attached to the various scales of democracy are constructed. These interest-articulations and collective identities are shaped by available institutional norms, organizational infrastructures, and social meanings. I draw on data from participant observation of a community mining consultation in Ecuador, and show that participatory institutions in the arena of resource extraction have fueled a contentious process of scaling democracy, with broader implications for the study of participatory democracy and scholarship on the relationship between resource-dependency and democracy.
The Fact of Experience: Rethinking Political Knowledge and Civic Competence
Authors: Cramer Katherine J. , Toff Benjamin
Published: August 2017

In the study of political knowledge, the emphasis on facts is misplaced. Evidence has grown that predispositions and social contexts shape how individuals are exposed to and interpret facts about politics, and the ready availability of information in the contemporary media environment may exacerbate these biases. We reexamine political knowledge from the bottom up. We look at what citizens themselves treat as relevant to the task of understanding public affairs and how they use this information. We draw upon our research in three different projects involving observation of political talk and elite interviews to do so. We observe that people across a range of levels of political engagement process political information through the lens of their personal experience. Failing to acknowledge this aspect of the act of using political information presents an incomplete empirical understanding of political knowledge. We propose an Expanded Model of Civic Competence that presents an alternative interpretation for what it means to be an informed citizen in a democracy. In this model, the competence of listening to and understanding the different lived experiences of others cannot be considered separately from levels of factual knowledge.
Tumor cell senescence response produces aggressive variants
Authors: Yang Leixiang , Fang Jia , Chen Jiandong
Published: August 2017

Tumors often respond favorably to initial chemotherapy but eventually relapse with drug resistance and increased metastatic potential. Cellular senescence is a major therapeutic outcome of cancer chemotherapy, which leads to tumor stasis or regression through immune clearance of senescent cells. However, senescent tumor cells have been shown to resume proliferation at low frequency. We found that subjecting arrested senescent tumor cells to cytotoxic treatments stimulates the clonogenic proliferation of remaining survivors. The senescence revertants showed a reduced rate of proliferation but increased migration and invasion potential in vitro, and increased tumorigenic potential in vivo. Gene expression profiling showed that the senescence revertants are distinct from both parental and senescent cells. A subset of senescence-activated genes remains active in the revertants. These genes are implicated in regulating cell motility, invasion, and metastasis, which may collectively contribute to the aggressiveness of the revertants. The findings suggest that although therapy-induced senescence has short-term benefits, the response also causes reprogramming of gene expression and activates invasion-related genes that accelerate tumor progression.
An integrated bioinformatics platform for investigating the human E3 ubiquitin ligase-substrate interaction network
Authors: Li Yang , Xie Ping , Lu Liang , Wang Jian , Diao Lihong , Liu Zhongyang , Guo Feifei , He Yangzhige , Liu Yuan , Huang Qin , Liang Han , Li Dong , He Fuchu
Published: August 2017

The ubiquitination mediated by ubiquitin activating enzyme (E1), ubiquitin conjugating enzyme (E2), and ubiquitin ligase (E3) cascade is crucial to protein degradation, transcription regulation, and cell signaling in eukaryotic cells. The high specificity of ubiquitination is regulated by the interaction between E3 ubiquitin ligases and their target substrates. Unfortunately, the landscape of human E3-substrate network has not been systematically uncovered. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a high-throughput and efficient strategy to identify the E3-substrate interaction. To address this challenge, we develop a computational model based on multiple types of heterogeneous biological evidence to investigate the human E3-substrate interactions. Furthermore, we provide UbiBrowser as an integrated bioinformatics platform to predict and present the proteome-wide human E3-substrate interaction network (http://ubibrowser.ncpsb.org).
Decidualisation and placentation defects are a major cause of age-related reproductive decline
Authors: Woods Laura , Perez-Garcia Vicente , Kieckbusch Jens , Wang Xiaoqiu , DeMayo Francesco , Colucci Francesco , Hemberger Myriam
Published: August 2017

Mammalian reproductive performance declines rapidly with advanced maternal age. This effect is largely attributed to the exponential increase in chromosome segregation errors in the oocyte with age. Yet many pregnancy complications and birth defects that become more frequent in older mothers, in both humans and mice, occur in the absence of karyotypic abnormalities. Here, we report that abnormal embryonic development in aged female mice is associated with severe placentation defects, which result from major deficits in the decidualisation response of the uterine stroma. This problem is rooted in a blunted hormonal responsiveness of the ageing uterus. Importantly, a young uterine environment can restore normal placental as well as embryonic development. Our data highlight the pivotal, albeit under-appreciated, impact of maternal age on uterine adaptability to pregnancy as major contributor to the decline in reproductive success in older females.
Energetics of Baird aromaticity supported by inversion of photoexcited chiral [4n]annulene derivatives
Authors: Ueda Michihisa , Jorner Kjell , Sung Young Mo , Mori Tadashi , Xiao Qi , Kim Dongho , Ottosson Henrik , Aida Takuzo , Itoh Yoshimitsu
Published: August 2017

For the concept of aromaticity, energetic quantification is crucial. However, this has been elusive for excited-state (Baird) aromaticity. Here we report our serendipitous discovery of two nonplanar thiophene-fused chiral [4n]annulenes
Th4
COT
Saddle
and
Th6
CDH
Screw
, which by computational analysis turned out to be a pair of molecules suitable for energetic quantification of Baird aromaticity. Their enantiomers were separable chromatographically but racemized thermally, enabling investigation of the ring inversion kinetics. In contrast to
Th6
CDH
Screw
, which inverts through a nonplanar transition state, the inversion of
Th4
COT
Saddle
, progressing through a planar transition state, was remarkably accelerated upon photoexcitation. As predicted by Baird’s theory, the planar conformation of
Th4
COT
Saddle
is stabilized in the photoexcited state, thereby enabling lower activation enthalpy than that in the ground state. The lowering of the activation enthalpy, i.e., the energetic impact of excited-state aromaticity, was quantified experimentally to be as high as 21–22 kcal mol–1.
Regulation of RIPK1 activation by TAK1-mediated phosphorylation dictates apoptosis and necroptosis
Authors: Geng Jiefei , Ito Yasushi , Shi Linyu , Amin Palak , Chu Jiachen , Ouchida Amanda Tomie , Mookhtiar Adnan Kasim , Zhao Heng , Xu Daichao , Shan Bing , Najafov Ayaz , Gao Guangping , Akira Shizuo , Yuan Junying
Published: August 2017

Stimulation of TNFR1 by TNFα can promote three distinct alternative mechanisms of cell death: necroptosis, RIPK1-independent and -dependent apoptosis. How cells decide which way to die is unclear. Here, we report that TNFα-induced phosphorylation of RIPK1 in the intermediate domain by TAK1 plays a key role in regulating this critical decision. Using phospho-Ser321 as a marker, we show that the transient phosphorylation of RIPK1 intermediate domain induced by TNFα leads to RIPK1-independent apoptosis when NF-κB activation is inhibited by cycloheximide. On the other hand, blocking Ser321 phosphorylation promotes RIPK1 activation and its interaction with FADD to mediate RIPK1-dependent apoptosis (RDA). Finally, sustained phosphorylation of RIPK1 intermediate domain at multiple sites by TAK1 promotes its interaction with RIPK3 and necroptosis. Thus, absent, transient and sustained levels of TAK1-mediated RIPK1 phosphorylation may represent distinct states in TNF-RSC to dictate the activation of three alternative cell death mechanisms, RDA, RIPK1-independent apoptosis and necroptosis.
Construction and in vivo assembly of a catalytically proficient and hyperthermostable de novo enzyme
Authors: Watkins Daniel W. , Jenkins Jonathan M. X. , Grayson Katie J. , Wood Nicola , Steventon Jack W. , Le Vay Kristian K. , Goodwin Matthew I. , Mullen Anna S. , Bailey Henry J. , Crump Matthew P. , MacMillan Fraser , Mulholland Adrian J. , Cameron Gus , Sessions Richard B. , Mann Stephen , Anderson J. L. Ross
Published: August 2017

Although catalytic mechanisms in natural enzymes are well understood, achieving the diverse palette of reaction chemistries in re-engineered native proteins has proved challenging. Wholesale modification of natural enzymes is potentially compromised by their intrinsic complexity, which often obscures the underlying principles governing biocatalytic efficiency. The maquette approach can circumvent this complexity by combining a robust de novo designed chassis with a design process that avoids atomistic mimicry of natural proteins. Here, we apply this method to the construction of a highly efficient, promiscuous, and thermostable artificial enzyme that catalyzes a diverse array of substrate oxidations coupled to the reduction of H2O2. The maquette exhibits kinetics that match and even surpass those of certain natural peroxidases, retains its activity at elevated temperature and in the presence of organic solvents, and provides a simple platform for interrogating catalytic intermediates common to natural heme-containing enzymes.
Corrosion of high entropy alloys
Authors: Qiu Yao , Thomas Sebastian , Gibson Mark A. , Fraser Hamish L. , Birbilis Nick
Published: August 2017

High entropy alloys represent a unique class of metal alloys, comprising nominally five or more elements in near equiatomic proportions. High entropy alloys have gained significant interest on the basis that the high configurational entropy of such alloy systems is purported to result in a single-phase solid solution structure. While such a single-phase structure can occur in unique systems, it is now appreciated that the definition of high entropy alloys can be broader, with systems comprising only four elements possible of forming single phases, and most five (or more) element systems actually being multi (>2) phases. To this end, the notion of compositionally complex alloys is a more general description, with the concise review herein focusing on the corrosion of compositionally complex alloys (inclusive of high entropy alloys). It is noted that generally, in spite of complex compositions and in many cases complicated microstructural heterogeneity, compositionally complex alloys are nominally corrosion-resistant. This is discussed and aspects of the status and needs are presented.
Purple spot damage dynamics investigated by an integrated approach on a 1244 A.D. parchment roll from the Secret Vatican Archive
Authors: Migliore Luciana , Thaller Maria Cristina , Vendittozzi Giulia , Mejia Astrid Yazmine , Mercuri Fulvio , Orlanducci Silvia , Rubechini Alessandro
Published: August 2017

Ancient parchments are commonly attacked by microbes, producing purple spots and detachment of the superficial layer. Neither standard cultivation nor molecular methods (DGGE) solved the issue: causative agents and colonization model are still unknown. To identify the putative causal agents, we describe the 16 S rRNA gene analysis (454-pyrosequencing) of the microbial communities colonizing a damaged parchment roll dated 1244 A.D. (A.A. Arm. I-XVIII 3328, Vatican Secret Archives). The taxa in damaged or undamaged areas of the same document were different. In the purple spots, marine halotolerant Gammaproteobacteria, mainly Vibrio, were found; these microorganisms are rare or absent in the undamaged areas. Ubiquitous and environmental microorganisms were observed in samples from both damaged and undamaged areas. Pseudonocardiales were the most common, representing the main colonizers of undamaged areas. We hypothesize a successional model of biodeterioration, based on metagenomic data and spectroscopic analysis of pigments, which help to relate the damage to a microbial agent. Furthermore, a new method (Light Transmitted Analysis) was utilized to evaluate the kind and entity of the damage to native collagen. These data give a significant advance to the knowledge in the field and open new perspectives to remediation activity on a huge amount of ancient document.
Evolution of risk preference is determined by reproduction dynamics, life history, and population size
Authors: Kolodny Oren , Stern Caitlin
Published: August 2017

Alternative behavioral strategies typically differ in their associated risks, meaning that a different variance in fitness-related outcomes characterizes each behavior. Understanding how selection acts on risk preference is crucial to interpreting and predicting behavior. Despite much research, most theoretical frameworks have been laid out as optimization problems from the individual’s perspective, and the influence of population dynamics has been underappreciated. We use agent-based simulations that implement competition between two simple behavioral strategies to illuminate effects of population dynamics on risk-taking. We explore the effects of inter-generational reproduction dynamics, population size, the number of decisions throughout an individual’s life, and simple alternate distributions of risk. We find that these factors, very often ignored in empirical and theoretical studies of behavior, can have significant and non-intuitive impacts on the selection of alternative behavioral strategies. Our results demonstrate that simple rules regarding predicted risk preference do not hold across the complete range of each of the factors we studied; we propose intuitive interpretations for the dynamics within each regime. We suggest that studies of behavioral strategies should explicitly take into account the species’ life history and the ecological context in which selection acted on the risk-related behavior of the organism of interest.
Loss of function of Arabidopsis microRNA-machinery genes impairs fertility, and has effects on homologous recombination and meiotic chromatin dynamics
Authors: Oliver Cecilia , Pradillo Mónica , Jover-Gil Sara , Cuñado Nieves , Ponce María Rosa , Santos Juan Luis
Published: August 2017

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ~22-nt single-stranded noncoding RNAs with regulatory roles in a wide range of cellular functions by repressing eukaryotic gene expression at a post-transcriptional level. Here, we analyzed the effects on meiosis and fertility of hypomorphic or null alleles of the HYL1, HEN1, DCL1, HST and AGO1 genes, which encode miRNA-machinery components in Arabidopsis. Reduced pollen and megaspore mother cell number and fertility were shown by the mutants analyzed. These mutants also exhibited a relaxed chromatin conformation in male meiocytes at the first meiotic division, and increased chiasma frequency, which is likely to be due to increased levels of mRNAs from key genes involved in homologous recombination. The hen1-13 mutant was found to be hypersensitive to gamma irradiation, which mainly causes double-strand breaks susceptible to be repaired by homologous recombination. Our findings uncover a role for miRNA-machinery components in Arabidopsis meiosis, as well as in the repression of key genes required for homologous recombination. These genes seem to be indirect miRNA targets.
Microstructure-based constitutive model of coronary artery with active smooth muscle contraction
Authors: Chen H. , Kassab G. S.
Published: August 2017

Currently, there is no full three-dimensional (3D) microstructural mechanical model of coronary artery based on measured microstructure including elastin, collagen and smooth muscle cells. Many structural models employ mean values of vessel microstructure, rather than continuous distributions of microstructure, to predict the mechanical properties of blood vessels. Although some models show good agreements on macroscopic vessel responses, they result in a lower elastin stiffness and earlier collagen recruitment. Hence, a full microstructural constitutive model is required for better understanding vascular biomechanics in health and disease. Here, a 3D microstructural model that accounts for all constituent microstructure is proposed to predict macroscopic and microscopic responses of coronary arteries. Coronary artery microstructural parameters were determined based on previous statistical measurements while mechanical testing of arteries (n = 5) were performed in this study to validate the computational predictions. The proposed model not only provides predictions of active and passive stress distributions of vessel wall, but also enables reliable estimations of material parameters of individual fibers and cells and thus predicts microstructural stresses. The validated microstructural model of coronary artery sheds light on vascular biomechanics and can be extend to diseased vessels for better understanding of initiation, progression and clinical treatment of vascular disease.
Social support helps protect against perinatal bonding failure and depression among mothers: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Ohara Masako , Okada Takashi , Aleksic Branko , Morikawa Mako , Kubota Chika , Nakamura Yukako , Shiino Tomoko , Yamauchi Aya , Uno Yota , Murase Satomi , Goto Setsuko , Kanai Atsuko , Masuda Tomoko , Nakatochi Masahiro , Ando Masahiko , Ozaki Norio
Published: August 2017

Causal relationships between perinatal bonding failure, depression, and social support among mothers remain unclear. A total of 494 women (mean age 32.4 ± 4.5 years) completed the Mother-Infant Bonding Questionnaire (MIBQ), the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), and the Japanese version of the Social Support Questionnaire in early pregnancy before week 25 (T1) and 1 month after delivery (T2). Our model of recursive structured equation modeling (SEM) showed acceptable fit (CMIN/df = 2.2, CFI = 0.97, and RMSEA = 0.05). It was revealed that: (1) a lower number of supportive persons at T1 significantly predicted both MIBQ and EPDS scores at T1 and T2; (2) at T1, poorer satisfaction with the social support received significantly predicted EPDS scores; (3) both MIBQ and EPDS scores at T1 significantly predicted their respective scores at T2. Out cohort study indicates that the number of individuals who are available to provide social support and the degree of satisfaction with the level of social support received during pregnancy have a great influence on bonding failure and depression in the postpartum period. These findings suggest that psychosocial interventions that focus on these two aspects of social support during pregnancy are effective in preventing bonding failure and depression in the postpartum period.
An aldo-keto reductase is responsible for Fusarium toxin-degrading activity in a soil Sphingomonas strain
Authors: He Wei-Jie , Zhang Limin , Yi Shu-Yuan , Tang Xue-Ling , Yuan Qing-Song , Guo Mao-Wei , Wu Ai-Bo , Qu Bo , Li He-Ping , Liao Yu-Cai
Published: August 2017

Degradation of toxins by microorganisms is a promising approach for detoxification of agricultural products. Here, a bacterial strain, Sphingomonas S3-4, that has the ability to degrade the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) was isolated from wheat fields. Incubation of Fusarium-infected wheat grains with S3-4 completely eliminated DON. In S3-4 DON is catabolized into compounds with no detectable phytotoxicity, 3-oxo-DON and 3-epi-DON, via two sequential reactions. Comparative analysis of genome sequences from two DON-degrading strains, S3-4 and Devosia D17, and one non-DON-degrading strain, Sphingobium S26, combined with functional screening of a S3-4 genomic BAC library led to the discovery that a novel aldo/keto reductase superfamily member, AKR18A1, is responsible for oxidation of DON into 3-oxo-DON. DON-degrading activity is completely abolished in a mutant S3-4 strain where the AKR18A1 gene is disrupted. Recombinant AKR18A1 protein expressed in Escherichia coli catalyzed the reversible oxidation/reduction of DON at a wide range of pH values (7.5 to 11) and temperatures (10 to 50 °C). The S3-4 strain and recombinant AKR18A1 also catabolized zearalenone and the aldehydes glyoxal and methyglyoxal. The S3-4 strain and the AKR18A1 gene are promising agents for the control of Fusarium pathogens and detoxification of mycotoxins in plants and in food/feed products.
mHealth Intervention is Effective in Creating Smoke-Free Homes for Newborns: A Randomized Controlled Trial Study in China
Authors: Yu Shaohua , Duan Zongshuan , Redmon Pamela B. , Eriksen Michael P. , Koplan Jeffrey P. , Huang Cheng
Published: August 2017

Mobile-phone-based smoking cessation intervention has been shown to increase quitting among smokers. However, such intervention has not yet been applied to secondhand smoke (SHS) reduction programs that target smoking parents of newborns. This randomized controlled trial, undertaken in Changchun, China, assessed whether interventions that incorporate traditional and mobile-phone-based education will help create smoke-free homes for infants and increase quitting among fathers. The results showed that the abstinence rates of the fathers at 6 months (adjusted OR: 3.60, 95% CI: 1.41–9.25; p = 0.008) and 12 months (adjusted OR: 2.93, 95% CI: 1.24–6.94; p = 0.014) were both significantly increased in the intervention group compared to the control. Mothers of the newborns in the intervention group also reported reduced exposure to SHS at 12 months (adjusted OR: 0.53, 95% CI: 0.29–0.99; p = 0.046). The findings suggest that adding mHealth interventions to traditional face-to-face health counseling may be an effective way to increase male smoking cessation and reduce mother and newborn SHS exposure in the home.
Genome-wide association study of bronchopulmonary dysplasia: a potential role for variants near the CRP gene
Authors: Mahlman Mari , Karjalainen Minna K. , Huusko Johanna M. , Andersson Sture , Kari M. Anneli , Tammela Outi K. T. , Sankilampi Ulla , Lehtonen Liisa , Marttila Riitta H. , Bassler Dirk , Poets Christian F. , Lacaze-Masmonteil Thierry , Danan Claude , Delacourt Christophe , Palotie Aarno , Muglia Louis J. , Lavoie Pascal M. , Hadchouel Alice , Rämet Mika , Hallman Mikko
Published: August 2017

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), the main consequence of prematurity, has a significant heritability, but little is known about predisposing genes. The aim of this study was to identify gene loci predisposing infants to BPD. The initial genome-wide association study (GWAS) included 174 Finnish preterm infants of gestational age 24–30 weeks. Thereafter, the most promising single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with BPD were genotyped in both Finnish (n = 555) and non-Finnish (n = 388) replication cohorts. Finally, plasma CRP levels from the first week of life and the risk of BPD were assessed. SNP rs11265269, flanking theCRPgene, showed the strongest signal in GWAS (odds ratio [OR] 3.2,p = 3.4 × 10−6). This association was nominally replicated in Finnish and French African populations. A number of other SNPs in theCRPregion, including rs3093059, had nominal associations with BPD. During the first week of life the elevated plasma levels of CRP predicted the risk of BPD (OR 3.4,p = 2.9 × 10–4) and the SNP rs3093059 associated nominally with plasma CRP levels. Finally, SNP rs11265269 was identified as a risk factor of BPD (OR 1.8,p = 5.3 × 10−5), independently of the robust antenatal risk factors. As such, in BPD, a potential role for variants nearCRPgene is proposed.
Odours of Plasmodium falciparum-infected participants influence mosquito-host interactions
Authors: de Boer Jetske G. , Robinson Ailie , Powers Stephen J. , Burgers Saskia L. G. E. , Caulfield John C. , Birkett Michael A. , Smallegange Renate C. , van Genderen Perry J. J. , Bousema Teun , Sauerwein Robert W. , Pickett John A. , Takken Willem , Logan James G.
Published: August 2017

Malaria parasites are thought to influence mosquito attraction to human hosts, a phenomenon that may enhance parasite transmission. This is likely mediated by alterations in host odour because of its importance in mosquito host-searching behaviour. Here, we report that the human skin odour profile is affected by malaria infection. We compared the chemical composition and attractiveness toAnopheles coluzziimosquitoes of skin odours from participants that were infected by Controlled Human Malaria Infection withPlasmodium falciparum. Skin odour composition differed between parasitologically negative and positive samples, with positive samples collected on average two days after parasites emerged from the liver into the blood, being associated with low densities of asexual parasites and the absence of gametocytes. We found a significant reduction in mosquito attraction to skin odour during infection for one experiment, but not in a second experiment, possibly due to differences in parasite strain. However, it does raise the possibility that infection can affect mosquito behaviour. Indeed, several volatile compounds were identified that can influence mosquito behaviour, including 2- and 3-methylbutanal, 3-hydroxy-2-butanone, and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one. To better understand the impact of our findings onPlasmodiumtransmission, controlled studies are needed in participants with gametocytes and higher parasite densities.
Macroevolutionary diversification of glands for chemical communication in squamate reptiles
Authors: García-Roa Roberto , Jara Manuel , Baeckens Simon , López Pilar , Van Damme Raoul , Martín José , Pincheira-Donoso Daniel
Published: August 2017

Chemical communication plays a central role in social, sexual and ecological interactions among animals. However, the macroevolutionary diversification of traits responsible for chemical signaling remains fundamentally unknown. Most research investigating evolutionary diversification of glands responsible for the production of chemical signals has focused on arthropods, while its study among vertebrates remains neglected. Using a global-scale dataset covering > 80% (7,904 species) of the living diversity of lizards and snakes (squamates), we investigate rates, trajectories and phylogenetic patterns of diversification of their follicular glands for chemical communication. We observed these glands in 13.66% of species, that their expression has varying phylogenetic signal among lineages, and that the crown squamate ancestor lacked follicular glands, which therefore originated and diversified subsequently during their evolutionary history. Additionally, our findings challenge the longstanding view that within squamates the Iguania are visually oriented while Scleroglossa are chemically-oriented, given that Iguania doubles Scleroglossa in the frequency of glands. Our phylogenetic analyses identified stabilizing selection as the best model describing follicular gland diversification, and revealed high rates of disparity. We provide the first global-scale analysis investigating the diversification of one of the main forms of communication among reptiles, presenting a macroevolutionary angle to questions traditionally explored at microevolutionary scale.