bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Nursing bedside clinical handover – an integrated review of issues and tools
Authors: Anderson Judith , Malone Linda , Shanahan Kerry , Manning Jennifer
Published: October 2014

Aims and objectives

This article reviews the available literature that supports implementing bedside clinical handover in nursing clinical practice and then seeks to identify key issues if any.

Background

Clinical handover practices are recognised as being an essential component in the effective transfer of clinical care between health practitioners. It is recognised that the point where a patient is ‘handed over’ from one clinician to another is significant in maintaining continuity of care and that doing this poorly can have significant safety issues for the patient.

Design

An integrated literature review.

Method

A literature review of 45 articles was undertaken to understand bedside clinical handover and the issues related to the implementation of this process.

Results

It was identified that there are a number of clinical handover mnemonics available that provide structure to the process and that areas such as confidentiality, inclusion of the patient/carer and involving the multidisciplinary team remain topical issues for practitioners in implementing good clinical handover practices.

Conclusions

This literature review identified a lack of literature available about the transfer of responsibility and accountability during clinical handover and auditing practices of the clinical handover process. The nurses were more concerned about confidentiality issues than were patients. The use of a structured tool was strongly supported; however, no one singular tool was considered suitable for all clinical areas.

Relevance to clinical practice

Nursing clinicians seeking to implement best practice within their professional speciality should consider some of the issues raised within this article and seek to address these issues by developing strategies to overcome them.
Diffuse and Focal Corticospinal Tract Disease and Its Impact on Patient Disability in Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Tovar‐Moll Fernanda , Evangelou Iordanis E. , Chiu Annie W. , Auh Sungyoung , Chen Christina , Ehrmantraut Mary , Ohayon Joan M. , Richert Nancy , Bagnato Francesca
Published: October 2014

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

We investigated the impact of focal and diffuse corticospinal tracts damage on sensory‐motor disability in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients.

METHODS

Twenty‐five MS patients underwent 3.0 Tesla (3T) magnetic resonance imaging with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and the Timed 25‐Foot Walk test (T25FW) quantified patient physical disability. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) of the corticospinal tracts, whole brain and corticospinal tracts lesion volume were also computed. Spearman rank correlation analyses measured the associations between DTI‐derived metrics and other measures of disease. Partial correlation analyses between DTI and disability measures were performed and corrected for lesion volumes as appropriate.

RESULTS

Significant associations were seen between FA of the corticospinal tracts and EDSS (r = −.500, P = .0011), motor‐EDSS (r = −.519, P = .008), and T25WF (r = −.637, P = .001) scores and MD of the corticospinal tracts and motor‐EDSS (r = .469, P = .018) and T25WF (r = .428, P = .033) scores. When correcting for lesion volumes, only the association between FA of the corticospinal tracts and EDSS (r ≤ −.516, p ≤ .01) or motor‐EDSS score (r ≤ −.516, p ≤ .01) persisted.

CONCLUSIONS

DTI at 3T shows that the impact of diffuse corticospinal tracts disease on sensory‐motor disability is greatly mediated by focal lesions in MS.
The Hearts and Guts of White People
Authors: Sullivan Shannon
Published: October 2014

Beginning with the experience of a white woman's stomach seizing up in fear of a black man, this essay examines some of the ethical and epistemological issues connected to white ignorance. In conversation with Charles Mills on the epistemology of ignorance, I argue that white ignorance primarily operates physiologically, not cognitively. Drawing critically from psychology, neurocardiology, and other medical sciences, I examine some of the biological effects of racism on white people's stomachs and hearts. I argue for a nonideal medical theory focused on improving wellness in a society that systematically has damaged the health of people of color. The essay concludes that to be fully successful, critical philosophy of race must examine not just the financial, legal, political, and other forms of racism, but also its biological and physiological operations.
Slaves, Fetuses, and Animals
Authors: Hart William David
Published: October 2014

This essay is an exploration in ethical rhetoric, specifically, the ethics of comparing the status of fetuses and animals to enslaved Africans. On the view of those who make such comparisons, the fetus is treated as a slave through abortion, reproductive technologies, and stem cell research, while animals are enslaved through factory farming, experimentation, and as laborers, circus performers, and the like. I explore how the apotheosis of the fetus and the humanization of animals represent the flipside of the subjugation and animalization of black people. At their ethical best, those who compare aborted fetuses and abused animals with enslaved black people have laudable ethical goals. The anti‐abortion right and the animal rights left, respectively, wish to abolish abortion (and associated reproductive technologies that harm prenatal life) and the unethical treatment of animals. They seek, respectively, to reimagine the ethical‐political status of the fetus and to criticize the animalization of animals, the practice of constructing them as beasts. While sympathetic to these goals, I worry about the comparative diminution of the historical, literal enslavement of black people. To what extent, I ask, does the comparative ethical rhetoric of fetal slaves and animal slaves affect historical constructions of black people as beastly and disposable?
Race, Religion, and Ethics in the Modern/Colonial World
Authors: Maldonado‐Torres Nelson
Published: October 2014

The concept of religion as an anthropological category and the idea of race as an organizing principle of human identification and social organization played a major role in the formation of modern/colonial systems of symbolic representation that acquired global significance with the expansion of Western modernity. The modern concepts of religion and race were mutually constituted and together became two of the most central categories in drawing maps of subjectivity, alterity, and sub‐alterity in the modern world. This makes the critical theory of religion highly relevant for the theory of race, and both of them crucial for ethics. It follows from this, not only that religion and race have been profoundly intertwined in modernity, but also that any ethics that seeks to take seriously the challenges created by modernity/coloniality has to be, at least to some extent, decolonial.
Response to Ranganathan
Authors: Hughes Glenn
Published: October 2014

This essay responds to Bharat Ranganathan's “Comment” on my essay, “The Concept of Dignity in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights” (2011). Addressing key criticisms in this “Comment,” I make the following points. First, neither the idea of inherent dignity being “imparted” to humans, nor the Universal Declaration's implication—through its use of terms such as “inherent” and “inalienable”—that humans participate in transcendent reality, necessarily presuppose a Christian metaphysics. Second, a concept such as “inherent dignity” must be affirmed to be intrinsically heuristic unless we are to assume that its meaning can be completely known within the conditions of existence; but this affirmation does not render such concepts “indeterminate of sense.” Finally, Ranganathan's distinction between“weak” and “strong” senses of transcendence is untenable. If human truths beyond all contingencies are knowable (“weak” transcendence), then there must be a real dimension of meaning that transcends all contingencies (“strong” transcendence).
Effect of dietary resveratrol in ameliorating aflatoxin B1‐induced changes in broiler birds
Authors: Sridhar M. , Suganthi R. U. , Thammiaha V.
Published: October 2014

Consumption of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) contaminated feed by poultry affects the health of broiler birds causing severe economic losses. The use of phytochemicals is a safe, effective, alternative and practical approach to combat the toxic effect of AF in broilers. Resveratrol, a polyphenol derived from red grapes, berries and peanuts, exerts anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant and immunomodulatory effects. Our study was aimed at evaluating the possible protective effects of resveratrol against the adverse effects of AFB1 in broiler birds. A feeding trial of 42 days of duration was undertaken in a completely randomized design with five dietary treatments: G1‐AFB1(1.0 ppm); G2‐CTR (basal diet alone); G3‐AFB1(1.0 ppm)+Resv 0.5%; G4‐AFB1(1.0 ppm)+Resv 1%; and G5‐Resv 1%. Gain in body weight (BWG) and feed intake (FI) was observed to be highest (p < 0.05) in the AFB1 birds followed by the control group. Feed conversion ratio was lowest in G2‐CTR birds and failed to record any significant variation (p > 0.05) between groups as well as within groups. Birds fed resveratrol at both 0.5% and 1.0% levels in combination with AFB1 as well as alone along with basal diet had lower BWG and FI between the fourth and fifth week and also at the fifth week (p < 0.05). No variation (p > 0.05) was obtained in the FCR of AFB1 and resveratrol group of broiler birds. AFB1 feeding significantly increased the activities of aspartate‐(AST) and alanine‐(ALT) amino transferase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities (p < 0.05) but lowered glucose, cholesterol and triglyceride levels in serum. Supplementation of resveratrol helped in increasing the activities of the oxidative enzymes and in improving the plasma total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) and total protein (TP) significantly (p < 0.05) and protein values. The livers of AFB1 group showed degeneration of hepatocytes, bile duct hyperplasia and microgranuloma formation. In resveratrol supplemented birds, the severity and degree of the liver lesions was far less. Apoptotic proteins failed to show any variation in expression between AFB1, control and resveratrol group of birds. The inclusion of resveratrol in broiler diets enhanced antioxidant status of birds indicating the protective effect of resveratrol against AFB1‐induced toxicity. So, we advice use of resveratrol as a feed additive to control aflatoxicosis in poultry farms.
Molecular insights into the mechanisms of liver‐associated diseases in early‐lactating dairy cows: hypothetical role of endoplasmic reticulum stress
Authors: Ringseis R. , Gessner D. K. , Eder K.
Published: October 2014

The transition period represents the most critical period in the productive life of high‐yielding dairy cows due to both metabolic and inflammatory stimuli, which challenge the liver and predispose dairy cows to develop liver‐associated diseases such as fatty liver and ketosis. Despite the fact that all high‐yielding dairy cows are affected by marked metabolic stress due to a severe negative energy balance (NEB) during early lactation, not all cows develop liver‐associated diseases. Although the reason for this is largely unknown, this indicates that the capacity of the liver to cope with metabolic and inflammatory challenges varies between individual high‐yielding dairy cows. Convincing evidence exists that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress plays a key role in the development of fatty liver, and it has been recently shown that ER stress occurs in the liver of high‐yielding dairy cows. This indicates that ER stress may be involved in the development of liver‐associated diseases in dairy cows. The present review shows that the liver of dairy cows during early lactation is exposed to several metabolic and inflammatory challenges, such as non‐esterified fatty acids, tumour necrosis factor α, interleukin‐1β, reactive oxygen species and lipopolysaccharides, which are known inducers of ER stress. Thus, ER stress may represent a molecular basis for fatty liver development and account for the frequent occurrence of fatty liver and ketosis in high‐yielding dairy cows. Interindividual differences between dairy cows in the activation of hepatic stress response pathways, such as nuclear factor E2‐related factor 2, which is activated during ER stress and reduces the sensitivity of tissues to oxidative and inflammatory damage, might provide an explanation at the molecular level for differences in the capacity to cope with pathological inflammatory challenges during early lactation and the susceptibility to develop liver‐associated diseases between early‐lactating dairy cows with similar NEB and milk yield.
Necrotising fasciitis in a domestic shorthair cat – negative pressure wound therapy assisted debridement and reconstruction
Authors: Nolff M. C. , Meyer‐Lindenberg A.
Published: October 2014

A 10‐year‐old, domestic shorthair cat was presented for acute lameness of the left forelimb accompanied by severe pain, swelling, skin necrosis, malodorous discharge and pyrexia. Following a presumptive diagnosis of necrotising fasciitis aggressive surgical debridement of the affected soft tissues of the antebrachium and negative pressure wound treatment of the open defect were performed. Surgical findings supported the tentative diagnosis of necrotising fasciitis and Streptococcus canis was isolated from the wound. A free skin graft was performed 29 days after admission, and augmented by 3 days of negative pressure wound therapy to facilitate graft incorporation. Healing was achieved without complications and no functional or aesthetic abnormalities remained.
Phenological transition dictates the seasonal dynamics of ecosystem carbon exchange in a desert steppe
Authors: Huang Gang , Li Yan
Published: October 2014

Question

There are large variations in ecosystem carbon (C) exchange in desert ecosystems; however, few studies have examined the effects of community phenological staging on seasonal variations of ecosystem C exchange. We asked whether factors that control temporal changes in net ecosystem C exchange (NEE) vary with an obvious community transition from spring annuals to summer annuals and perennials in a temperate desert steppe.

Location

South margin of the Gurbantunggute Desert, northwestern China.

Methods

Ecosystem C and water exchange were measured regularly using closed static chambers and analysed at daily and seasonal intervals. Soil moisture and temperature, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and plant biomass were also investigated.

Results

Soil temperature had a dominant influence on C release into the atmosphere from the ecosystem during the snowmelting phase (mid‐March to early April). In the spring annual dominant phase (mid‐April to early June), the diurnal pattern of NEE was consistent with the pattern of PAR. The ecosystem became a weak C resource (0.16 ± 0.03 μmol CO2 m−2·s−1) and NEE was positively correlated with community biomass during this phase. In the summer annual and perennial dominant phase (late June to late September), NEE showed relatively large C release (0.74 ± 0.03 μmol CO2 m−2·s−1) and was negatively correlated with soil temperature.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that the primary abiotic factor controlling NEE varies throughout the year, and NEE is determined by the interaction of a plant functional group with precipitation and temperature.
Better Surface Realization through Psycholinguistics
Authors: Rajkumar Rajakrishnan , White Michael
Published: October 2014

In this survey, we review recent progress on surface realization in natural language generation (NLG), highlighting how machine learning models have moved beyond n‐grams to successfully incorporate linguistic insights into increasingly rich models. We also advance the view that NLG still has much to gain by taking up insights from psycholinguistic studies – not only of human production but also of comprehension. We highlight how realization ranking models can be improved by modeling the role of memory in human language comprehension and discuss how surface realizers might transition to using grammars developed for incremental parsing in computational psycholinguistics, thereby making them more suitable for integration into real‐time incremental dialog systems. From a production standpoint, we suggest that the principle of uniform information density has the potential to enhance the theoretical basis for choice making in NLG and discuss two initial steps in this direction. Finally, we conclude our survey with a discussion of prospects for community‐based evaluation of surface realization systems.
The Orgueil meteorite: 150 years of history
Authors: Gounelle Matthieu , Zolensky Michael E.
Published: October 2014

The goal of this paper is to summarize 150 yr of history of a very special meteorite. The Orgueil meteorite fell near Montauban in southwestern France on May 14, 1864. The bolide, which was the size of the full Moon, was seen across Western France, and almost immediately made the news in local and Parisian newspapers. Within a few weeks of the fall, a great diversity of analyses were performed under the authority of Gabriel Auguste Daubrée, geology professor at the Paris Museum, and published in the Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences. The skilled scientists reported the presence of iron sulfides, hydrated silicates, and carbonates in Orgueil. They also characterized ammonium salts which are now gone, and observed sulfates being remobilized at the surface of the stone. They identified the high water and carbon contents, and noted similarities with the Alais meteorite, which had fallen in 1806, 300 km away. While Daubrée and his colleagues noted the similarity of the Orgueil organic matter with some terrestrial humus, they were cautious not to make a direct link with living organisms. One century later, Nagy and Claus were less prudent and announced the discovery of “organized” elements in some samples of Orgueil. Their observations were quickly discredited by Edward Anders and others who also discovered that some pollen grains were intentionally placed into the rock back in the 1860s. Orgueil is now one of the most studied meteorites, indeed one of the most studied rocks of any kind. Not only does it contain a large diversity of carbon‐rich compounds, which help address the question of organo‐synthesis in the early solar system but its chemical composition is also close to that of the Sun's photosphere and serves as a cosmic reference. Secondary minerals, which make up 99% of the volume of Orgueil, were probably formed during hydrothermal alteration on the parent‐body within the first few million years of the solar system; their study is essential to our understanding of fluid–rock interaction in asteroids and comets. Finally, the Orgueil meteorite probably originated from a volatile‐rich “cometary” outer solar system body as indicated by its orbit. Because it bears strong similarities to other carbonaceous chondrites that originated on dark asteroids, this cometary connection supports the idea of a continuum between dark asteroids and comets.
Olivine‐rich exposures at Bellicia and Arruntia craters on (4) Vesta from Dawn FC
Authors: Thangjam Guneshwar , Nathues Andreas , Mengel Kurt , Hoffmann Martin , Schäfer Michael , Reddy Vishnu , Cloutis Edward A. , Christensen Ulrich , Sierks Holger , Corre Lucille Le , Vincent Jean‐Baptiste , Russell Christopher T.
Published: October 2014

We present an analysis of olivine‐rich exposures at Bellicia and Arruntia craters using Dawn Framing Camera (FC) color data. Our results confirm the existence of olivine‐rich materials at these localities as described by Ammannito et al. () using Visual Infrared Spectrometer (VIR) data. Analyzing laboratory spectra of various howardite–eucrite–diogenite meteorites, high‐Ca pyroxenes, olivines, and olivine‐orthopyroxene mixtures, we derive three FC spectral band parameters that are indicators of olivine‐rich materials. Combining the three band parameters allows us, for the first time, to reliably identify sites showing modal olivine contents >40%. The olivine‐rich exposures at Bellicia and Arruntia are mapped using higher spatial resolution FC data. The exposures are located on the slopes of outer/inner crater walls, on the floor of Arruntia, in the ejecta, as well as in nearby fresh small impact craters. The spatial extent of the exposures ranges from a few hundred meters to few kilometers. The olivine‐rich exposures are in accordance with both the magma ocean and the serial magmatism model (e.g., Righter and Drake ; Yamaguchi et al. ). However, it remains unsolved why the olivine‐rich materials are mainly concentrated in the northern hemisphere (approximately 36–42°N, 46–74°E) and are almost absent in the Rheasilvia basin.
Micron‐scale hypervelocity impact craters: Dependence of crater ellipticity and rim morphology on impact trajectory, projectile size, velocity, and shape
Authors: Wozniakiewicz P. J. , Price M. C. , Armes S. P. , Burchell M. J. , Cole M. J. , Fielding L. A. , Hillier J. K. , Lovett J. R.
Published: October 2014

The interstellar collector on NASA's Stardust mission captured many particles from sources other than the interstellar dust stream. Impact trajectory may provide a means of discriminating between these different sources, and thus identifying/eliminating candidate interstellar particles. The collector's aerogel preserved a clear record of particle impact trajectory from the inclination and direction of the resultant tracks. However, the collector also contained aluminum foils and, although impact crater studies to date suggest only the most inclined impacts (>45° from normal) produce crater morphologies that indicate trajectory (i.e., distinctly elliptical), these studies have been restricted to much larger (mm and above) scales than are relevant for Stardust (μm). It is unknown how oblique impact crater morphology varies as a function of length scale, and therefore how well Stardust craters preserve details of impactor trajectory. Here, we present data from a series of impact experiments, together with complementary hydrocode modeling, that examine how crater morphology changes with impact angles for different‐sized projectiles. We find that, for our smallest spherical projectiles (2 μm diameter), the ellipticity and rim morphology provide evidence of their inclined trajectory from as little as 15° from normal incidence. This is most likely a result of strain rate hardening in the target metal. Further experiments and models find that variation in velocity and impactor shape complicate these trends, but that rim morphology remains useful in determining impact direction (where the angle of impact is >20° from normal) and may help identify candidate interstellar particle craters on the Stardust collector.
Composition and clues to the origin of refractory metal nuggets extracted from chondritic meteorites
Authors: Schwander D. , Berg T. , Harries D. , Schönhense G. , Ott U.
Published: October 2014

Refractory metal nuggets (RMNs) contain elements, such as Os, Ir, Mo, and Ru, which are predicted to condense from a cooling gas of solar composition simultaneously with CAI‐minerals. Berg et al. () identified a large number of RMNs in acid‐resistant residues of the Murchison meteorite and suggested that they are pristine condensates. In extending the work of these authors, we have improved the chemical extraction process to enrich the concentration of RMNs in the residue sample and prepared three additional RMN‐rich residues from the chondritic meteorites Murchison, Allende, and Leoville. The results show that, while their origin is clearly solar, the compositions in detail of RMNs from all three meteorites do not match well with a simple condensation model based on equilibrium thermodynamics and ideal solid solution of all metals. Thus, we find that a primary formation by direct condensation, as suggested previously, is unlikely for most of the studied grains and that alternative scenarios should be considered in future work. The results also show that several, but not all, alloys from Allende and Leoville have undergone processes, such as metamorphic oxidation and sulfidization in the meteoritic environment, in which they lost, e.g., W and Mo. For Murchison and several Leoville and Allende RMNs, we propose a pristine nature.
Si‐bearing metal and niningerite in Almahata Sitta fine‐grained ureilites and insights into the diversity of metal on the ureilite parent body
Authors: Horstmann Marian , Humayun Munir , Fischer‐Gödde Mario , Bischoff Addi , Weyrauch Mona
Published: October 2014

A detailed mineralogical and chemical study of Almahata Sitta fine‐grained ureilites (MS‐20, MS‐165, MS‐168) was performed to shed light on the origin of these lithologies and their sulfide and metal. The Almahata Sitta fine‐grained ureilites (silicates <30 μm grain size) show textural and chemical evidence for severe impact smelting as described for other fine‐grained ureilites. Highly reduced areas in Almahata Sitta fine‐grained ureilites show large (up to ∼1 mm) Si‐bearing metal grains (up to ∼4.5 wt% Si) and niningerite [Mg>0.5,(Mn,Fe)<0.5S] with some similarities to the mineralogy of enstatite (E) chondrites. Overall, metal grains show a large compositional variability in Ni and Si concentrations. Niningerite grains probably formed as a by‐product of smelting via sulfidation. The large Si‐Ni variation in fine‐grained ureilite metal could be the result of variable degrees of reduction during impact smelting, inherited from coarse‐grained ureilite precursors, or a combination of both. Large Si‐bearing metal grains probably formed via coalescence of existing and newly formed metal during impact smelting. Bulk and in situ siderophile trace element abundances indicate three distinct populations of (1) metal crystallized from partial melts in MS‐20, (2) metal resembling bulk chondritic compositions in MS‐165, and (3) residual metal in MS‐168. Almahata Sitta fine‐grained ureilites developed their distinctive mineralogy due to severe reduction during smelting. Despite the presence of E chondrite and ureilite stones in the Almahata Sitta fall, a mixing relation of E chondrites or their constituents and ureilite material in Almahata Sitta can be ruled out based on isotopic, textural, and mineral‐chemical reasons.
Association genetics, geography and ecophysiology link stomatal patterning in Populus trichocarpa with carbon gain and disease resistance trade‐offs
Authors: McKown Athena D. , Guy Robert D. , Quamme Linda , Klápště Jaroslav , La Mantia Jonathan , Constabel C. P. , El‐Kassaby Yousry A. , Hamelin Richard C. , Zifkin Michael , Azam M. S.
Published: October 2014

Stomata are essential for diffusive entry of gases to support photosynthesis, but may also expose internal leaf tissues to pathogens. To uncover trade‐offs in range‐wide adaptation relating to stomata, we investigated the underlying genetics of stomatal traits and linked variability in these traits with geoclimate, ecophysiology, condensed foliar tannins and pathogen susceptibility in black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa). Upper (adaxial) and lower (abaxial) leaf stomatal traits were measured from 454 accessions collected throughout much of the species range. We calculated broad‐sense heritability (H2) of stomatal traits and, using SNP data from a 34K Populus SNP array, performed a genome‐wide association studies (GWAS) to uncover genes underlying stomatal trait variation. H2 values for stomatal traits were moderate (average H2 = 0.33). GWAS identified genes associated primarily with adaxial stomata, including polarity genes (PHABULOSA), stomatal development genes (BRASSINOSTEROID‐INSENSITIVE 2) and disease/wound‐response genes (GLUTAMATE‐CYSTEINE LIGASE). Stomatal traits correlated with latitude, gas exchange, condensed tannins and leaf rust (Melampsora) infection. Latitudinal trends of greater adaxial stomata numbers and guard cell pore size corresponded with higher stomatal conductance (gs) and photosynthesis (Amax), faster shoot elongation, lower foliar tannins and greater Melampsora susceptibility. This suggests an evolutionary trade‐off related to differing selection pressures across the species range. In northern environments, more adaxial stomata and larger pore sizes reflect selection for rapid carbon gain and growth. By contrast, southern genotypes have fewer adaxial stomata, smaller pore sizes and higher levels of condensed tannins, possibly linked to greater pressure from natural leaf pathogens, which are less significant in northern ecosystems.
The CsoR‐like sulfurtransferase repressor (CstR) is a persulfide sensor in Staphylococcus aureus
Authors: Luebke Justin L. , Shen Jiangchuan , Bruce Kevin E. , Kehl‐Fie Thomas E. , Peng Hui , Skaar Eric P. , Giedroc David P.
Published: October 2014

How cells regulate the bioavailability of utilizable sulfur while mitigating the effects of hydrogen sulfide toxicity is poorly understood. CstR [Copper‐sensing operon repressor (CsoR)‐like sulfurtransferase repressor] represses the expression of the cst operon encoding a putative sulfide oxidation system in Staphylococcus aureus. Here, we show that the cst operon is strongly and transiently induced by cellular sulfide stress in an acute phase and specific response and that cst‐encoded genes are necessary to mitigate the effects of sulfide toxicity. Growth defects are most pronounced when S. aureus is cultured in chemically defined media with thiosulfate (TS) as a sole sulfur source, but are also apparent when cystine is used or in rich media. Under TS growth conditions, cells fail to grow as a result of either unregulated expression of the cst operon in a ΔcstR strain or transformation with a non‐inducible C31A/C60A CstR that blocks cst induction. This suggests that the cst operon contributes to cellular sulfide homeostasis. Tandem high‐resolution mass spectrometry reveals derivatization of CstR by both inorganic tetrasulfide and an organic persulfide, glutathione persulfide, to yield a mixture of Cys31–Cys60′ interprotomer cross‐links, including di‐, tri‐ and tetrasulfide bonds, which allosterically inhibit cst operator DNA binding by CstR.
A worldwide analysis of within‐canopy variations in leaf structural, chemical and physiological traits across plant functional types
Authors: Niinemets Ülo , Keenan Trevor F. , Hallik Lea
Published: October 2014

Extensive within‐canopy light gradients importantly affect the photosynthetic productivity of leaves in different canopy positions and lead to light‐dependent increases in foliage photosynthetic capacity per area (AA). However, the controls on AA variations by changes in underlying traits are poorly known. We constructed an unprecedented worldwide database including 831 within‐canopy gradients with standardized light estimates for 304 species belonging to major vascular plant functional types, and analyzed within‐canopy variations in 12 key foliage structural, chemical and physiological traits by quantitative separation of the contributions of different traits to photosynthetic acclimation. Although the light‐dependent increase in AA is surprisingly similar in different plant functional types, they differ fundamentally in the share of the controls on AA by constituent traits. Species with high rates of canopy development and leaf turnover, exhibiting highly dynamic light environments, actively change AA by nitrogen reallocation among and partitioning within leaves. By contrast, species with slow leaf turnover exhibit a passive AA acclimation response, primarily determined by the acclimation of leaf structure to growth light. This review emphasizes that different combinations of traits are responsible for within‐canopy photosynthetic acclimation in different plant functional types, and solves an old enigma of the role of mass‐ vs area‐based traits in vegetation acclimation.

Contents

Summary
973

I.
Introduction
973

II.
Defining the structural, chemical and partitioning controls on foliage photosynthetic potentials
974

III.
Construction of a global database on within‐canopy variation in leaf structural, chemical and photosynthetic characteristics
976

IV.
Methodology for analysis of within‐canopy leaf trait variation: concepts and standardizations
978

V.
Global variation in leaf characteristics through the canopies
981

VI.
Trait scaling with light, plasticity and quantitative limitations
982

VII.
Conclusions: the economics spectrum for the within‐canopy plasticity
989

Acknowledgements
989

References
990
Effects of insect attack to stems on plant survival, growth, reproduction and photosynthesis
Authors: Stephens Andrea E. A. , Westoby Mark
Published: October 2014

Studies of insect herbivory have mostly focused on leaf‐feeding even though most woody plant biomass is stem tissue. Attack to stems has the potential to be more detrimental to plant performance than attack to leaves. Here we asked how severe is the impact of insect stem herbivory on plant performance. We quantify the effect of insect stem herbivory via a meta‐analysis of 119 papers in 100 studies (papers by the same authors were treated as the same study). These studies involved 92 plant species and 70 species of insect herbivore (including simulated herbivory).

Attack to plant stems reduced plant performance by an average of approximately 22%. Stem herbivory had greatest impacts on plant and branch survival, which was reduced by 63%. Measures of plant reproduction and vegetative biomass were reduced by 33% and 16% respectively, while measurements of photosynthetic rate were not significantly different between plants with and without stem herbivore attack. Stem herbivory led to a decline in leader performance but an increase in performance of laterals, highlighting the importance of plant compensation. Juvenile plants were more severely affected by stem herbivory than adult plants, and studies conducted in greenhouses found more severe effects than studies conducted in the field. Stem herbivory did not have a significant effects on any of the non‐performance responses measured (defence compounds, SLA, root:shoot, phenology and plant carbon and nitrogen).

We compare our results with results from various meta‐analyses considering herbivory on other plant parts. The impact of insect herbivory to stems on plant performance appears at least as severe as insect herbivory to roots and leaves, if not more.
Identifying Populations at Risk: Interdisciplinary Environmental Climate Change Tracking
Authors: Anderko Laura , Davies‐Cole John , Strunk Andrew
Published: October 2014

Background

Climate change, experienced as extreme weather events such as heat waves can lead to poorer air quality and underscores the critical need to consider the consequences of these environmental changes on health. Changes are occurring at a rate that exceeds what the world has experienced over the last 650,000 years, yet little attention has been focused on the potentially catastrophic public health effects of climate change.

Methods

This study instituted a two‐phase approach. In building capacity for an Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, the District of Columbia Department of Health first examined the availability of climate change and health data. These data were then used to assess vulnerabilities and disease burden associated with heat, air quality, and hospitalizations for asthma (N = 5,921) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (N = 2,773) during 2007–2010. A Poisson regression analysis was applied to the time series of daily counts for hospitalizations for selected age, race, and gender groups.

Results

Although no significant associations were found for PM2.5, PM10, or ozone with asthma‐related or AMI‐related hospitalizations with seasonal changes, surveillance data found disparities in hospitalizations particularly in female, African American residents for both asthma and AMI.

Conclusions

Tracking Networks are critical for assessing community environmental health vulnerabilities.
Seed dormancy and germination in Jeffersonia dubia (Berberidaceae) as affected by temperature and gibberellic acid
Authors: Rhie Y. H. , Lee S. Y. , Kim K. S.
Published: October 2014

The genus Jeffersonia, which contains only two species, has a trans‐Atlantic disjunct distribution. The aims of this study were to determine the requirements for breaking dormancy and germination of J. dubia seeds and to compare its dormancy characteristics with those of the congener in eastern North America. Ripe seeds of J. dubia contain an underdeveloped embryo and were permeable to water. In nature, seeds were dispersed in May, while embryos began to grow in September, and were fully elongated by late November. Germination started in March of the next year, and seeds emerged as seedlings soon after germination. In laboratory experiments, incubation at high temperatures (25 °C, 25/15 °C) for at least 8 weeks was required to initiate embryo growth, while a transfer to moderate temperatures (20/10 °C, 15/6 °C) was needed for the completion of embryo growth. At least 8 weeks at 5 °C was effective in overcoming physiological dormancy and for germination in seeds after the embryos had fully elongated. Thus, both high and low temperatures were essential to break dormancy. Gibberellic acid (GA3) treatment could substitute for the high temperature requirement, but not for the low temperature requirement. Based on the dormancy‐breaking requirements, it is confirmed that the seeds have deep simple morphophysiological dormancy. This dormancy type is similar to that of seeds of the eastern North American species J. diphylla. Although seeds require 10–11 months from seed dispersal to germination in nature, under controlled conditions they required only 3 months after treatment with 1000 mg·l−1 GA3, followed by incubation at 15/6 °C. This represents practical knowledge for propagation of these plants from seed.
Sources of Law Are not Legal Norms
Authors: Shecaira Fábio Perin
Published: October 2014

Anglo‐American authors have paid little attention to a subtle distinction that has important jurisprudential implications. It is the distinction between sources of law (e.g., statutes, precedents, customs) and the legal norms which can be derived from sources by means of interpretation. The distinction might also be rendered as a threefold one, separating sources of law from legal norms and both of these from that which mediates their relation, namely, methods of legal interpretation. This paper intends to state the “source‐norm” distinction clearly and to give examples of jurisprudential insights that are missed, and mistakes that may be made if the distinction is not given its due.
Dietary Protein and Fiber in End Stage Renal Disease
Authors: Sirich Tammy L.
Published: October 2014

Prior to the availability of hemodialysis, dietary protein restriction played a large part in the treatment of uremia. This therapy was based on observations that uremic symptoms increased with high protein intake. Early investigators thus presumed that “uremic toxins” were derived from the breakdown of dietary protein; its restriction improved uremic symptoms but caused malnutrition. After the availability of hemodialysis, protein restriction was no longer recommended. Studies in healthy subjects have shown that an intake of 0.6–0.8 g/kg/day is adequate to prevent protein malnutrition. Guidelines for hemodialysis patients, however, currently recommend higher protein intakes of 1.2 g/kg/day. A downside to higher intake may be increased production of protein‐derived uremic solutes that caused the symptoms observed by early investigators. Some of these solutes are produced by colon microbes acting on protein which escapes digestion in the small intestine. Increasing dietary fiber may reduce the production of colon‐derived solutes in hemodialysis patients without adverse effects of protein restriction. Fiber comprises carbohydrates and related substances that are resistant to digestion in the small intestine. Upon delivery to the colon, fiber is broken down to short chain fatty acids, providing energy to both the microbes and the host. With an increased energy supply, the microbes can incorporate dietary protein for growth rather than breaking them down to uremic solutes. Increasing fiber intake in hemodialysis patients has been shown to reduce the plasma levels of selected colon‐derived solutes. Further studies are needed to test whether this provides clinical benefit.
Epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and outcome of invasive aspergillosis in renal transplant patients
Authors: Hoyo I. , Sanclemente G. , de la Bellacasa J. Puig , Cofán F. , Ricart M.J. , Cardona M. , Colmenero J. , Fernández J. , Escorsell A. , Navasa M. , Moreno A. , Cervera C.
Published: October 2014

Background

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) has been considered an infrequent complication after renal transplantation. We aimed to evaluate the differences in clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of IA between renal and other types of transplantation.

Methods

We reviewed all cases of solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients from Hospital Clinic at Barcelona, who had proven and probable IA, according to the EORTC/MSG criteria, between June 2003 and December 2010.

Results

A total of 1762 transplants were performed. From this cohort, 27 cases of IA were diagnosed (1.5%): in 56% (15/27) liver, 33% (9/27) kidney, and 11% (3/27) combined transplant. The median onset time from renal and non‐renal transplants to IA was 217 and 10 days, respectively (P < 0.001). There were 6 cases (22%) of late IA (>6 months), all in kidney recipients (P < 0.001). Renal transplant patients with IA more frequently had chronic lung disease (44% vs. 6%) and chronic heart failure (33% vs. 6%); they also had none of the classical risk factors for IA defined for liver transplantation (0% vs. 33%, P = 0.001), and therefore they did not receive antifungal prophylaxis (0% vs. 72%, P = 0.001). In 14/24 patients, serum galactomannan antigen was positive, and this related to higher mortality.

Conclusions

While classical risk factors described for IA in liver recipients are still valid, IA appears later in renal patients and is commonly associated with co‐morbid conditions.
Floral volatile alleles can contribute to pollinator‐mediated reproductive isolation in monkeyflowers (Mimulus)
Authors: Byers Kelsey J. R. P. , Vela James P. , Peng Foen , Riffell Jeffrey A. , Bradshaw Harvey D.
Published: October 2014

Pollinator‐mediated reproductive isolation is a major factor in driving the diversification of flowering plants. Studies of floral traits involved in reproductive isolation have focused nearly exclusively on visual signals, such as flower color. The role of less obvious signals, such as floral scent, has been studied only recently. In particular, the genetics of floral volatiles involved in mediating differential pollinator visitation remains unknown. The bumblebee‐pollinated Mimulus lewisii and hummingbird‐pollinated Mimulus cardinalis are a model system for studying reproductive isolation via pollinator preference. We have shown that these two species differ in three floral terpenoid volatiles – d‐limonene, β‐myrcene, and E‐β‐ocimene – that are attractive to bumblebee pollinators. By genetic mapping and in vitro analysis of enzyme activity we demonstrate that these interspecific differences are consistent with allelic variation at two loci, LIMONENE‐MYRCENE SYNTHASE (LMS) and OCIMENE SYNTHASE (OS). Mimulus lewisii LMS (MlLMS) and OS (MlOS) are expressed most strongly in floral tissue in the last stages of floral development. Mimulus cardinalis LMS (McLMS) is weakly expressed and has a nonsense mutation in exon 3. Mimulus cardinalis OS (McOS) is expressed similarly to MlOS, but the encoded McOS enzyme produces no E‐β‐ocimene. Recapitulating the M. cardinalis phenotype by reducing the expression of MlLMS by RNA interference in transgenic M. lewisii produces no behavioral difference in pollinating bumblebees; however, reducing MlOS expression produces a 6% decrease in visitation. Allelic variation at the OCIMENE SYNTHASE locus is likely to contribute to differential pollinator visitation, and thus promote reproductive isolation between M. lewisii and M. cardinalis. OCIMENE SYNTHASE joins a growing list of ‘speciation genes’ (‘barrier genes’) in flowering plants.
La conjecture de Tate entière pour les cubiques de dimension quatre
Authors: Charles François , Pirutka Alena
Published: October 2014

We prove the integral Tate conjecture for cycles of codimension$2$on smooth cubic fourfolds over an algebraic closure of a field finitely generated over its prime subfield and of characteristic different from$2$or$3$. The proof relies on the Tate conjecture with rational coefficients, proved in that setting by the first author, and on an argument of Voisin coming from complex geometry.
On Slip Inception and Static Friction for Smooth Dry Contact
Authors: Shi Xi
Published: October 2014

Slip inception mechanism is very important for modeling of static friction and understanding of some experimental observations of friction. In this work, slip inception was treated as a local competence of interfacial bonding failure and weaker material failure. At any contacting point, if bond shear strength is weaker than softer material shear strength, slip inception is governed by interfacial bonding failure. Otherwise, it is governed by softer material failure. Considering the possible co-existence of these two slip inception mechanisms during presliding, a hybrid static friction model for smooth dry contact was proposed, which indicates that the static friction consists of two components: one contributed by contact area where bonding failure is dominant and the other contributed by contact area where material failure is dominant. With the proposed static friction model, the effects of contact pressure, the material properties, and the contact geometry on static friction were discussed.
Statistical Surrogate Formulations for Simulation-Based Design Optimization
Authors: Talgorn Bastien , Le Digabel Sébastien , Kokkolaras Michael
Published: October 2014

Typical challenges of simulation-based design optimization include unavailable gradients and unreliable approximations thereof, expensive function evaluations, numerical noise, multiple local optima, and the failure of the analysis to return a value to the optimizer. One possible remedy to alleviate these issues is to use surrogate models in lieu of the computational models or simulations and derivative-free optimization algorithms. In this work, we use the R dynaTree package to build statistical surrogates of the blackboxes and the direct search method for derivative-free optimization. We present different formulations for the surrogate problem (SP) considered at each search step of the mesh adaptive direct search (MADS) algorithm using a surrogate management framework. The proposed formulations are tested on 20 analytical benchmark problems and two simulation-based multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) problems. Numerical results confirm that the use of statistical surrogates in MADS improves the efficiency of the optimization algorithm.