bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of aging on taste thresholds: A case of Asian people
Authors: Wiriyawattana Porntip , Suwonsichon Suntaree , Suwonsichon Thongchai
Published: May 2018

This research investigated the effects of aging on taste thresholds of Asian people. Ninety subjects were recruited to form three age groups: young (20–39 years), middle‐aged (40–59 years), and elderly (60–85 years). Detection and recognition thresholds of sweet (sucrose, aspartame, acesulfame‐K, sucralose), salty (sodium chloride, potassium chloride), sour (citric acid, acetic acids), bitter (caffeine), and umami (monosodium glutamate, inosine 5ʹ‐monophosphate) taste compounds were measured using the 3‐alternative forced choice ascending concentration series method of limits. Significant (p ≤ .05) increases in both threshold values with age were found for all of the salty, sour, bitter, and umami taste compounds, indicating a decline in sensitivity toward these tastes. To detect or recognize the taste compound dissolved in water the elderly needed 2.1–4.5 (salty), 1.7 (sour), 2.3–3.4 (umami), and 2.5–2.7 (bitter) folds higher concentration than young subjects. Threshold values of most sweet compounds were not significantly (p > .05) affected by aging except sucralose.

Practical applications

Understanding changes in taste sensitivity of the elderly is necessary for product developers and manufacturers in designing foods for aging populations. Information on the extent of the decline in sensitivity toward various taste compounds revealed in this study could be useful for formulating food recipes for the elderly.
Characterization and genetic diversity of Pseudomonas syringae isolates from stone fruits in north‐western Iran
Authors: Nosratnezhad Fardin , Rouhrazi Kiomars , Khezrinezhad Nabi
Published: May 2018

From 33 Iranian fluorescent Pseudomonas isolates originating from symptomatic tissues of peach (Prunus persica), plum (Prunus domestica), sweet (Prunus avium) and sour cherry (Prunus cerasus), 27 were identified as Pseudomonas syringae using LOPAT tests. Further characterization of those isolates by GATTa and L‐lactate utilization tests and the detection of syringomycin and coronatine and yersiniabactin coding genes showed that five of them belonged to race 1 and four to race 2 of P. syringae pv. morsprunorum (Psm) and eighteen other isolates were identified as P. syringae pv. syringae (Pss). Based on the analysis of the fingerprint patterns generated by REP, ERIC and BOX‐PCR, the strains were differentiated into three main groups at the 67% similarity level. Strains of the groups 1, 2 and 3 belong to Psm race 1, Psm race 2 and Pss, respectively. Rep‐PCR analysis showed high intra‐pathovar variation within the Pss isolates, which grouped into four distinct clusters. Using the REP primers, the percentage of polymorphic loci was 74.61%, whereas with BOX and ERIC primers, it was 60.5 and 55.21%, respectively. Finally, this study is the first report of the isolation of P. syringae pv. morsprunorum race 1 and 2 strains from stone fruit trees in Iran.
Copy number variations of MTHFSD gene across pig breeds and its association with litter size traits in Chinese indigenous Xiang pig
Authors: Ran Xue‐Qin , Pan Hua , Huang Shi‐Hui , Liu Chang , Niu Xi , Li Sheng , Wang Jia‐Fu
Published: May 2018

Copy number variation (CNV) is a major proportion of genetic variation, which changes the gene structure and dosage and affects gene expression and function. To validate the presence and the function of CNV in pig, we used real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) method to validate a 496 kb CNV region comprising MTHFSD gene on chromosome 6 of Xiang pig detected by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. Then we investigated the distribution of the MTHFSD CNV in a total of 545 pigs in four breeds. About 46.2% and 32.7% individuals in the four pig breeds were detected to be types of loss and gain of MTHFSD locus. The relative copy numbers of MTHFSD gene showed the largest variation range (0–55 copies) in the Xiang pig population. The copy numbers of MTHFSD gene presented the positive correlations with the transcript level of MTHFSD gene in adult ovaries. Statistical analysis indicated that CNVs of MTHFSD gene was significantly changed the litter size traits of Xiang pigs, and the individuals with CNV gain showed more litter size than the CNV loss pigs. We have reasons to believe that the MTHFSD as RNA‐binding protein play an important role in pig reproduction as a result of regulating MTHFS mRNA metabolism.
Evaluation of β‐carotene assimilation in leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius)
Authors: Cojean Ophélie , Lair Stéphane , Vergneau‐Grosset Claire
Published: May 2018

Although leopard geckos (Eublepharis macularius) are commonly kept under human care, their vitamin requirements are largely unknown. Many invertebrate preys display a low vitamin A concentration; thus, gut‐loading insects with vitamin A or carotenoids is a common practice. The objective of this prospective experimental study was to investigate whether dietary supplementation with β‐carotene, including prey gut‐loading, leads to sufficient vitamin A hepatic storage and prevents epithelial squamous metaplasia development in leopard geckos. Ten clinically healthy female leopard geckos were randomly divided in two groups with various supplementations: a group receiving vitamin A supplementation and a group receiving β‐carotene. Insects were gut‐loaded continuously with a supplement containing vitamin A or β‐carotene, depending on the group. Oral supplementation with cod liver oil or carrot juice was administered weekly to each lizard from “vitamin A group” and “carotenoid group” respectively. After 10 weeks of supplementation, surgical hepatic biopsies were obtained in three geckos of each group while the two remaining geckos were euthanized to undergo complete necropsy. Hepatic vitamin A concentration was determined for each lizard (n = 10) by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography. Histopathology revealed hepatocellular vacuolization and vitellogenic follicles in five females. Epithelial squamous metaplasia was not observed in any of the geckos. Hepatic vitamin A concentration was significantly higher in the carotenoid‐supplemented group than in the vitamin A‐supplemented group (p = 0.03). Our results suggest that in leopard geckos, dietary supplementation with β‐carotene allows sufficient vitamin A hepatic storage.
Understanding the geographical burden of stunting in India: A regression‐decomposition analysis of district‐level data from 2015–16
Authors: Menon Purnima , Headey Derek , Avula Rasmi , Nguyen Phuong Hong
Published: May 2018

India accounts for approximately one third of the world's total population of stunted preschoolers. Addressing global undernutrition, therefore, requires an understanding of the determinants of stunting across India's diverse states and districts. We created a district‐level aggregate data set from the recently released 2015–2016 National and Family Health Survey, which covered 601,509 households in 640 districts. We used mapping and descriptive analyses to understand spatial differences in distribution of stunting. We then used population‐weighted regressions to identify stunting determinants and regression‐based decompositions to explain differences between high‐ and low‐stunting districts across India. Stunting prevalence is high (38.4%) and varies considerably across districts (range: 12.4% to 65.1%), with 239 of the 640 districts have stunting levels above 40% and 202 have prevalence of 30–40%. High‐stunting districts are heavily clustered in the north and centre of the country. Differences in stunting prevalence between low and high burden districts were explained by differences in women's low body mass index (19% of the difference), education (12%), children's adequate diet (9%), assets (7%), open defecation (7%), age at marriage (7%), antenatal care (6%), and household size (5%). The decomposition models explained 71% of the observed difference in stunting prevalence. Our findings emphasize the variability in stunting across India, reinforce the multifactorial determinants of stunting, and highlight that interdistrict differences in stunting are strongly explained by a multitude of economic, health, hygiene, and demographic factors. A nationwide focus for stunting prevention is required, while addressing critical determinants district‐by‐district to reduce inequalities and prevalence of childhood stunting.
Prospective associations of breastfeeding and smoking cessation among low‐income pregnant women
Authors: Carswell April L. , Ward Kenneth D. , Vander Weg Mark W. , Scarinci Isabel C. , Girsch Laura , Read Mary , Relyea George , Chen Weiyu
Published: May 2018

Although low‐income pregnant women have high rates of smoking and low rates of breastfeeding, few studies have examined prospective associations between these risk factors in community samples. Doing so may help improve breast‐feeding support programs in this population. We used a secondary analysis of 247 low‐income pregnant smokers in Memphis, Tennessee, who were interviewed up to 4 times (twice during pregnancy and twice through 6 months postpartum). Smoking cessation during prepartum and postpartum was defined as a self‐report of not smoking for ≥1 week and an expired carbon monoxide level of <10 ppm. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to determine whether intent to breastfeed was associated with smoking cessation and whether smoking cessation was associated with actual breastfeeding. Models were adjusted for sociodemographic, pregnancy‐related, and smoking‐related confounders. Thirty‐nine percent of participants intended to breastfeed, and 38% did so. Women who intended to breastfeed were 2 times more likely to quit smoking prepartum (adjusted OR = 1.99, 95% CI [1.06, 3.74]), but not postpartum (adjusted OR = 1.27, 95% CI [0.57, 2.84]). Quitting smoking at baseline and during pregnancy was associated with subsequent breastfeeding (adjusted OR 2.27, 95% CI [1.05, 4.94] and adjusted OR = 2.49, 95% CI [1.21, 5.11]). Low‐income women who intended to breastfeed were more likely to quit smoking during pregnancy and those who quit smoking at baseline and prepartum were more likely to breastfeed. Simultaneously supporting breastfeeding and smoking cessation may be very useful to change these important health behaviours among this high‐risk population.
The critical importance of pharyngeal contractile forces on the validity of intrabolus pressure as a predictor of impaired pharyngo‐esophageal junction compliance
Authors: Szczesniak M. M. , Wu P. I. , Maclean J. , Omari T. I. , Cook I. J.
Published: May 2018

Introduction

Restrictive defects of the pharyngo‐esophageal junction (PEJ) are common in both structural and neurological disorders and are amenable to therapies aiming to reduce outflow resistance. Intrabolus pressure (IBP) acquired with high‐resolution manometry and impedance (HRMI) is an indicator of resistance and a marker of reducedPEJcompliance. Constraints and limitations ofIBPas well as the optimalIBPparameter remain undefined.

Aims

To determine: (i) the impact of peak pharyngeal pressure (PeakP) on the diagnostic accuracy ofIBPfor the detection of a restrictive defect at thePEJand (ii) the optimalIBPparameter for this purpose.

Methods

In 52 dysphagic patients previously treated for head and neck cancer. Five candidateIBPmeasures and PeakP were obtained withHRMI, as well as a presence of a stricture determined by a mucosal tear after endoscopic dilatation. Predictive values ofIBPmeasures were evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis for all patients and reiterated as patients with lowest PeakP were progressively removed from the cohort.

Results

AllIBPparameters had fair to good accuracy at predicting strictures. Intrabolus pressure measured at a discrete point of maximum admittance 1 cm above the maximal excursion of the upper esophageal sphincter had highest sensitivity (0.76) and specificity (0.78). When PeakP was at least 57 mm Hg both sensitivity and specificity improved to 0.9.

Conclusions

Pharyngeal propulsive force has substantial impact on the accuracy ofIBPas a predictor of aPEJstricture. When PeakP is ≥57 mm Hg, an elevatedIBPis highly predictive of a restrictive defect at thePEJ.
Vagus nerve stimulation promotes gastric emptying by increasing pyloric opening measured with magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Lu K.‐H. , Cao J. , Oleson S. , Ward M. P. , Phillips R. J. , Powley T. L. , Liu Z.
Published: May 2018

Background

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an emerging electroceutical therapy for remedying gastric disorders that are poorly managed by pharmacological treatments and/or dietary changes. Such therapy seems promising as the vagovagal neurocircuitry modulates the enteric nervous system to influence gastric functions.

Methods

Here, the modulatory effects of left cervical VNS on gastric emptying in rats were quantified using a (i) feeding protocol in which the animal voluntarily consumed a postfast, gadolinium‐labeled meal and (ii) a non‐invasive imaging method to measure antral motility, pyloric activity and gastric emptying based on contrast‐enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computer‐assisted image processing pipelines.

Key Results

Vagus nerve stimulation significantly accelerated gastric emptying (sham vs VNS: 29.1% ± 1.5% vs 40.7% ± 3.9% of meal emptied per 4 hours), caused a greater relaxation of the pyloric sphincter (sham vs VNS: 1.5 ± 0.1 vs 2.6 ± 0.4 mm2 cross‐sectional area of lumen), and increased antral contraction amplitude (sham vs VNS: 23.3% ± 3.0% vs 32.5% ± 3.0% occlusion), peristaltic velocity (sham vs VNS: 0.50 ± 0.02 vs 0.67 ± 0.03 mm s−1), but not its contraction frequency (sham vs VNS: 6.1 ± 0.2 vs 6.4 ± 0.2 contractions per minute, P = .22). The degree to which VNS relaxed the pylorus was positively correlated with gastric emptying rate (r = .5887, P < .001).

Conclusions & Inferences

The MRI protocol employed in this study is expected to enable advanced preclinical studies to understand stomach pathophysiology and its therapeutics. Results from this study suggest an electroceutical treatment approach for gastric emptying disorders using cervical VNS to control the degree of pyloric sphincter relaxation.
The power of meaning: the quest for an existential roadmap
Authors: Paulson Steve , Lombard Jay , Pigliucci Massimo , Ruse Michael , Smith Emily Esfahani
Published: May 2018

Where can we turn to find the story of our lives—an existential roadmap that explains where we have come from, why we are here, and where we are headed? Must each of us discover meaning within the context of our individual lives, or are there universal sources of meaning that we can all access? Is there any relationship between living a meaningful life and the quality of our health and well‐being? And how can we find meaning in the face of adversity and suffering? Neurologist Jay Lombard, philosophers Massimo Pigliucci and Michael Ruse, and author Emily Esfahani Smith shed light on these perennial questions in conversation with Steve Paulson, executive producer and host of To the Best of Our Knowledge.
The effects of music‐supported therapy on motor, cognitive, and psychosocial functions in chronic stroke
Authors: Fujioka Takako , Dawson Deirdre R. , Wright Rebecca , Honjo Kie , Chen Joyce L. , Chen J. Jean , Black Sandra E. , Stuss Donald T. , Ross Bernhard
Published: May 2018

Neuroplasticity accompanying learning is a key mediator of stroke rehabilitation. Training in playing music in healthy populations and patients with movement disorders requires resources within motor, sensory, cognitive, and affective systems, and coordination among these systems. We investigated effects of music‐supported therapy (MST) in chronic stroke on motor, cognitive, and psychosocial functions compared to conventional physical training (GRASP). Twenty‐eight adults with unilateral arm and hand impairment were randomly assigned to MST (n = 14) and GRASP (n = 14) and received 30 h of training over a 10‐week period. The assessment was conducted at four time points: before intervention, after 5 weeks, after 10 weeks, and 3 months after training completion. As for two of our three primary outcome measures concerning motor function, all patients slightly improved in Chedoke–McMaster Stroke Assessment hand score, while the time to complete Action Research Arm Test became shorter in the MST group. The third primary outcome measure for well‐being, Stroke Impact Scale, was improved for emotion and social communication earlier in MST and coincided with the improved executive function for task switching and music rhythm perception. The results confirmed previous findings and expanded the potential usage of MST for enhancing quality of life in community‐dwelling chronic‐stage survivors.
Milling‐Induced Synthesis of BiOCl1‐xBrx Solid Solution and Their Adsorptive and Photocatalytic Performance
Authors: Jia Xuemei , Han Qiaofeng , Wang Xin , Zhu Junwu
Published: May 2018

CH3COO(BiO) (denoted as BiOAc) is one of the most easily obtained bismuth compounds and was for the first time proposed by our group as an effective UV light photocatalyst. Herein, BiOCl1‐xBrx (x refers to the feeding atomic ratio) were obtained using a facile solid state milling and subsequent water washing. More importantly, all of the as‐prepared BiOCl1‐xBrx possessed better visible light photocatalytic activity to the corresponding ones obtained by previously reported solution route. Especially at an optimal x value of 0.5, the solid solution showed the highest photodegradation efficiency (~100%) for rhodamine B (RhB) with a concentration of 30 mg L−1, whereas the degradation efficiency was only 63% over that obtained by solution route. Furthermore, the as‐prepared BiOCl0.5Br0.5 also exhibited excellent photodegradation activity for malachite green (MG). The superior photocatalytic performance of the as‐prepared BiOCl0.5Br0.5 could be attributed to its thinner sheetlike structures and highly exposed (001) facets, which enable effective separation of the photogenerated electrons and holes along the [001] direction. In addition, the as‐prepared BiOCl0.5Br0.5 revealed dramatic adsorption capacity for cationic dyes like MG, RhB and methylene violet (MV), as well as anion (Cr2O7)2− owing to electrostatic interaction between cationic dyes and negatively charged surface of BiOCl0.5Br0.5, and positively charged surface in K2Cr2O7 solution (pH ≈ 3).
Low genetic diversity of Rhynchosporium commune in Iran, a secondary centre of barley origin
Authors: Seifollahi E. , Sharifnabi B. , Javan‐Nikkhah M. , Linde C. C.
Published: May 2018

Rhynchosporium commune is a destructive pathogen of barley, causing leaf scald. Previous microsatellite studies used Syria as a representative of cultivated barley's centre of origin, the Fertile Crescent. These suggested that R. commune and Hordeum vulgare (cultivated barley) did not co‐evolve in the host's centre of origin. The present study compares R. commune populations from Syria with those from Iran, which represents a secondary centre of origin for barley at the eastern edge of the Iranian Plateau. Results from this study also suggest that R. commune and barley did not co‐evolve in the centre of origin of cultivated barley. This was evidenced by the low pathogen genetic diversity in Iran, which was even lower than in Syria, indicating that the pathogen may have been introduced recently into Iran, perhaps through infected barley seed. Hierarchical analyses of molecular variance revealed that most genetic diversity in Iran and Syria is distributed within populations, with only 14% among populations. Analyses of multilocus association, genotype diversity and mating type frequency suggest that Iranian populations reproduce predominantly asexually. The presence of both mating types on barley and uncultivated grasses suggest a potential for sexual reproduction. Rhynchosporium commune was also found on Hordeum murinum subsp. glaucum, H. vulgare subsp. spontaneum, Lolium multiflorum and, for the first time, on Avena sativa. The variety of wild grasses that can be infected with R. commune in Iran raises concerns of these grasses acting as evolutionary breeding grounds and sources of inoculum.
Origin of facies zonation in microbial carbonate platform slopes: Clues from trace element and stable isotope geochemistry (Middle Triassic, Dolomites, Italy)
Authors: Preto Nereo , Klügel Andreas , Himmler Tobias , Franceschi Marco
Published: May 2018

Limestones containing radiaxial fibrous cements were sampled along the southern slope of the late Anisian (Middle Triassic) Latemar carbonate platform in the Dolomites, northern Italy. The Latemar upper slopes comprise massive microbial boundstone, whereas lower slopes are made of clinostratified grainstone, rudstone and breccia. Samples are representative of a seawater column from near sea‐level to an aphotic zone at about 500 m water depth. Radiaxial fibrous cements were analyzed for carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) stable isotopic composition, as well as major and trace element content, to shed light on the origin of the slope facies zonation. The δ13C vary between 1·7‰ and 2·3‰ (Vienna Pee‐Dee Belemnite), with lowest values at palaeo‐water depths between 70 m and 300 m. Radiaxial fibrous cements yielded seawater‐like rare earth element patterns with light rare earth element depletion (NdSN/YbSN ≈ 0·4), superchondritic yttrium/holmium ratios (≈55) and negative cerium anomalies. Cadmium reaches maximum values of ca 0·5 to 0·7 μg/g at palaeo‐water depths between 70 m and 300 m; barium contents (0·8 to 1·8 μg/g) increase linearly with depth. The downslope patterns of δ13C and cadmium suggest increased nutrient and organic matter contents at depths between ca 70 m and 300 m and point to an active biological pump. The peak in cadmium and the minimum of δ13C mark a zone of maximum organic matter respiration and high nutrient and organic matter availability. The base of this zone at ca 300 m depth corresponds with the transition from massive microbial boundstone to clinostratified grainstone, rudstone and breccia. The microbial boundstone facies apparently formed only in seawater enriched in organic matter, possibly because this organic matter sustained benthic microbial communities at Latemar. The base of slope microbialites on high‐relief microbial carbonate platforms may be a proxy for the depth to maximum respiration zones of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic periplatform basins.
A novel HLA‐C variant, HLA‐C*04:01:85, detected by next generation sequencing
Authors: Pruszak J. , Bernheiden M. , Emmerich F.
Published: May 2018

HLA‐C*04:01:85 differs in exon 1 from C*04:01:01 by a single nucleotide substitution in codon 3.
Comparison of intravenous or intravesical cidofovir in the treatment of BK polyomavirus‐associated hemorrhagic cystitis following adult allogeneic stem cell transplantation—A systematic review
Authors: Schneidewind Laila , Neumann Thomas , Schmidt Christian Andreas , Krüger William
Published: May 2018

Introduction

BK polyomavirus can lead to hemorrhagic cystitis (BKPyV‐HC) in allogeneic stem cell transplantation and therefore to increased morbidity. No causal therapy has been established yet. Cidofovir (CDV) is a nucleotide analog of cytosine that is active against various DNA viruses and it has been described for therapy of BKPyV‐HC using 2 admission routes: intravenous and intravesical.

Methods

We performed a systematic review regarding the comparison of intravenous or intravesical cidofovir in the treatment of BKPyV‐HC following adult allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Since there is a lack of randomized controlled trials, we considered all kinds of studies for this review. Due to heterogeneity of the data, we were not able to perform a meta‐analysis, so the results are shown descriptively.

Results

The literature search for primary studies yielded 232 results. Finally, 9 studies where considered which included a total of 189 adult patients with BKPyV‐HC after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. We could only identify retrospective studies for this review. A total of 172 patients received intravenous CDV, 17 patients received intravesical CDV, and 2 patients received CDV in both admission routes. In 68.0% of the cases, a complete response for intravenous CDV was documented and in 88.2% for intravesical CDV. Interestingly, no kidney toxicity was mentioned in intravesical CDV. 9.3% of the intravenously treated patients had renal failure.

Conclusion

There is only weak evidence for the use of CDV. The intravesical admission route should be further investigated because of a good toxicity profile.
The burden of sinus disease in cystic fibrosis lung transplant recipients
Authors: Morlacchi Letizia Corinna , Greer Mark , Tudorache Igor , Blasi Francesco , Welte Tobias , Haverich Axel , Mainz Jochen G. , Gottlieb Jens
Published: May 2018

Introduction

Sinus disease (SD) in cystic fibrosis (CF) is a known risk factor for disease progression, the upper airways (UAW) being a site of primary colonization with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. UAW may function as reservoir for graft colonization after lung transplantation (LuTx), increasing risk of rejection. Aims of this study were to assess the burden of sinus disease in CF LuTx recipients, considering patient‐reported symptoms, endoscopically documented signs and microbiological isolates, comparing colonization between upper and lower airways.

Methods

A prospective, observational study was performed on consecutive CF LuTx recipients, recording history, symptoms, and management of SD. Nasal lavage (NL) was evaluated for UAW colonization, with nasal inspection during bronchoscopy and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) used to assess lower airways if clinically indicated.

Results

Hundred and fifty‐four patients were included. Symptoms of SD were reported in 96 (62%) individuals; 87 (56%) had prior sinus surgery. Only 8 (13%) of 60 individuals undergoing bronchoscopy presented completely normal findings of the nasal cavity. Thirty‐six (60%) patients presented the same isolates on both NL and BAL. Polyps and mucosal alterations were significantly less frequently seen endoscopically in patients with normal flora in NL microbiology (respectively, 26% vs 70%, P = .003, and 35% vs 68%, P = .013).

Conclusions

Symptoms of SD affected more than 60% of CF LuTx recipients. Nasal endoscopic inspection identified alterations in 55%. The majority of patients presented the same isolates both on NL and BAL performed on the same visit. These results strongly support a role of paranasal sinuses as “reservoir” for descending re‐colonization of the lung graft.
A novel tomato F‐box protein, SlEBF3, is involved in tuning ethylene signaling during plant development and climacteric fruit ripening
Authors: Deng Heng , Pirrello Julien , Chen Yao , Li Nan , Zhu Sihua , Chirinos Ximena , Bouzayen Mondher , Liu Yongsheng , Liu Mingchun
Published: May 2018

Ethylene is instrumental to climacteric fruit ripening and EIN3 BINDING F‐BOX (EBF) proteins have been assigned a central role in mediating ethylene responses by regulating EIN3/EIL degradation in Arabidopsis. However, the role and mode of action of tomato EBFs in ethylene‐dependent processes like fruit ripening remains unclear. Two novel EBF genes, SlEBF3 and SlEBF4, were identified in the tomato genome, and SlEBF3 displayed a ripening‐associated expression pattern suggesting its potential involvement in controlling ethylene response during fruit ripening. SlEBF3 downregulated tomato lines failed to show obvious ripening‐related phenotypes likely due to functional redundancy among SlEBF family members. By contrast, SlEBF3 overexpression lines exhibited pleiotropic ethylene‐related alterations, including inhibition of fruit ripening, attenuated triple‐response and delayed petal abscission. Yeast‐two‐hybrid system and bimolecular fluorescence complementation approaches indicated that SlEBF3 interacts with all known tomato SlEIL proteins and, consistently, total SlEIL protein levels were decreased in SlEBF3 overexpression fruits, supporting the idea that the reduced ethylene sensitivity and defects in fruit ripening are due to the SlEBF3‐mediated degradation of EIL proteins. Moreover, SlEBF3 expression is regulated by EIL1 via a feedback loop, which supposes its role in tuning ethylene signaling and responses. Overall, the study reveals the role of a novel EBF tomato gene in climacteric ripening, thus providing a new target for modulating fleshy fruit ripening.
Nucleotide‐binding resistance gene signatures in sugar beet, insights from a new reference genome
Authors: Funk Andrew , Galewski Paul , McGrath J. Mitchell
Published: May 2018

Nucleotide‐binding (NB‐ARC), leucine‐rich‐repeat genes (NLRs) account for 60.8% of resistance (R) genes molecularly characterized from plants. NLRs exist as large gene families prone to tandem duplication and transposition, with high sequence diversity among crops and their wild relatives. This diversity can be a source of new disease resistance, but difficulty in distinguishing specific sequences from homologous gene family members hinders characterization of resistance for improving crop varieties. Current genome sequencing and assembly technologies, especially those using long‐read sequencing, are improving resolution of repeat‐rich genomic regions and clarifying locations of duplicated genes, such as NLRs. Using the conserved NB‐ARC domain as a model, 231 tentative NB‐ARC loci were identified in a highly contiguous genome assembly of sugar beet, revealing diverged and truncated NB‐ARC signatures as well as full‐length sequences. The NB‐ARC‐associated proteins contained NLR resistance gene domains, including TIR, CC and LRR, as well as other integrated domains. Phylogenetic relationships of partial and complete domains were determined, and patterns of physical clustering in the genome were evaluated. Comparison of sugar beet NB‐ARC domains to validated R‐genes from monocots and eudicots suggested extensive Beta vulgaris‐specific subfamily expansions. The NLR landscape in the rhizomania resistance conferring Rz region of Chromosome 3 was characterized, identifying 26 NLR‐like sequences spanning 20 MB. This work presents the first detailed view of NLR family composition in a member of the Caryophyllales, builds a foundation for additional disease resistance work in B. vulgaris, and demonstrates an additional nucleic‐acid‐based method for NLR prediction in non‐model plant species.
Histone lysine methyltransferases BnaSDG8.A and BnaSDG8.C are involved in the floral transition in Brassica napus
Authors: Jiang Ling , Li Donghao , Jin Lu , Ruan Ying , Shen Wen‐Hui , Liu Chunlin
Published: May 2018

Although increasing experimental evidence demonstrates that histone methylations play important roles in Arabidopsis plant growth and development, little information is available regarding Brassica napus. In this study, we characterized two genes encoding homologues of the Arabidopsis histone 3 lysine 36 (H3K36) methyltransferase SDG8, namely, BnaSDG8.A and BnaSDG8.C. Although no duplication of SDG8 homologous genes had been previously reported to occur during the evolution of any sequenced species, a domain‐duplication was uncovered in BnaSDG8.C. This duplication led to the identification of a previously unknown NNH domain in the SDG8 homologues, providing a useful reference for future studies and revealing the finer mechanism of SDG8 function. One NNH domain is present in BnaSDG8.A, while two adjacent NNH domains are present in BnaSDG8.C. Reverse transcriptase‐quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed similar patterns but with varied levels of expression of BnaSDG8.A/C in different plant organs/tissues. To directly investigate their function, BnaSDG8.A/C cDNA was ectopically expressed to complement the Arabidopsis mutant. We observed that the expression of either BnaSDG8.A or BnaSDG8.C could rescue the Arabidopsis sdg8 mutant to the wild‐type phenotype. Using RNAi and CRISPR/Cas9‐mediated gene editing, we obtained BnaSDG8.A/C knockdown and knockout mutants with the early flowering phenotype as compared with the control. Further analysis of two types of the mutants revealed that BnaSDG8.A/C are required for H3K36 m2/3 deposition and prevent the floral transition of B. napus by directly enhancing the H3K36 m2/3 levels at the BnaFLC chromatin loci. This observation on the floral transition by epigenetic modification in B. napus provides useful information for breeding early‐flowering varieties.
Radiography and ultrasonography of pneumatosis intestinalis in a cat
Authors: Walczak Raelyn , Paek Matthew , Suran Jantra , Amory Joseph T. , Specchi Swan , Sanchez Melissa
Published: May 2018

An adult cat was presented for acute history of vomiting and collapse. Radiographs showed the presence of air within small intestinal walls and arborizing gas patterns within the liver, compatible with pneumatosis intestinalis and presumed portal venous gas, respectively. An abdominal ultrasound the following day was suggestive of gas within the intestinal wall, however, gas within the hepatic vasculature, parenchyma, or biliary tree was not evident. Due to progressive clinical deterioration of the patient, the owners elected humane euthanasia. Necropsy revealed severe necrotizing hemorrhagic enterotyphlocolitis secondary to Clostridium difficile toxin.
Introduction
Authors: Keel Terence
Published: May 2018

The Introduction lays out the theoretical stakes of the work as a whole. It opens with a critical evaluation of the work of acclaimed geneticist Spencer Wells, whose 2002 publication The Journey of Man has helped frame the now-standard interpretation of human evolution and migration from a single set of ancestors out of Africa. Wells’s account of human evolution reveals the epistemic authority that modern genetics has obtained on the question of race and human beginnings. It is argued that contemporary biologists inherited this authority, however, from their Christian intellectual ancestors, who provided modern scientists with a cache of interpretive tools and assumptions that proved useful for narrating the development of human life and constructing theories of racial difference believed to supersede all previous accounts of human origins. After laying out the theoretical ground to be covered, this introductory chapter provides an overview of the chapters that follow.
Beyond the Religious Pursuit of Race
Authors: Keel Terence
Published: May 2018

Chapter 5 provides a summary of the major claims of the book. It also explains how the conflict thesis for representing the relationship between science and religion fails to capture how Christian intellectual history has been key to the formation of the race concept in modern science. Citing recent data from a 2015 Pew Research Survey, this chapter argues that the conflict thesis remains a fixture in the minds of Americans, which has consequences for shifting public perceptions about the assumed secularity of the scientific study of race. It closes with a call for recognizing that the scientific study of race is involved in providing a solution to the existential dilemma of defining what it means to be human. This solution is neither value-free nor detached from the cultural and religious inheritance that has fastened itself to the work of Euro-American scientists who study race.
Self-Regulation and Human Progress
Authors: Osborne Evan
Published: May 2018

Does humanity progress primarily through leaders organizing and directing followers, or through trial and error by individuals free to chart their own path? For most of human history ruling classes had the capacity and the desire to tightly regiment society, to the general detriment of progress. But beginning in the 1500s, Europeans developed a series of arguments for simply leaving well enough alone. First in the form of the scientific method, then in the form of free expression, and finally in the form of the continuously, spontaneously reordered free market, people began to accept that progress is hard, and requires that an immense number of mistakes be tolerated so that we may learn from them. This book tells the story of the development of these three ideas, and for the first time tells of the mutual influence among them. It outlines the rise, and dramatic triumph, of each of these self-regulating systems, followed by a surprising rise in skepticism, especially in the economic context. Such skepticism in the 20th century was frequently costly and sometimes catastrophic. Under the right conditions, which are more frequent than generally believed, self-regulating systems in which participants organize themselves are superior. We should accept their turbulence in exchange for the immense progress they generate.
Wrongs Make Rights
Authors: Osborne Evan
Published: May 2018

Beginning in the 1600s, primarily in Britain, the Dutch Territories, and France, people not only tried to think about how the world worked (a pattern of thought as old as human civilization); they also agreed that there was much that was yet unknown and collectively built procedures for how to know more. The construction of the system for defining such knowledge and evaluating claims to be adding to it has been a gradual evolution that continues to this day. Among the landmark events discussed are the development of the ideas of hypotheses, the experimental method, free competition among scientific ideas, the use of the (growing number of) mathematical tools to arbitrate scientific claims, the development of modern research universities, the establishment and improvement of the peer review system, and the more recent addition of techniques beyond traditional scientific experiments as ways of supporting or falsifying scientific claims.
Integrity and Trust
Authors: Alexandra Christina Countess of Frederiksborg , Fort Timothy L.
Published: May 2018

This chapter sets out a model for trust building and integrity in business. It argues that one builds trust in three ways. Hard Trust is about complying with the law. Real Trust occurs when strategic objections and operational rewards are in alignment, so that corporate social performance (or good ethics) leads to corporate financial performance (or good business). The third kind of trust is Good Trust. One can trust because one realizes that the other person values good ethics as having its own independent value and pursues that value as a result. While Good Trust has much to do with issues of sincerity, it is also important to see that each dimension of trust is more reliable when there is a commitment obeying the law and to treating stakeholders fairly.
Inspirational Stories of Integrity and Trust
Authors: Alexandra Christina Countess of Frederiksborg , Fort Timothy L.
Published: May 2018

This chapter uses the foundational perspectives to examine new and inspirational and kinds of business behavior. It considers this behavior from the perspective of the preceding foundational perspectives, drawing heavily from interviews with leading CEOs. Integrity and trust building are shown to be critical elements of successful approaches. The chapter concludes with a list of practical recommendations for inspiring one's own business.
An Unbounded Nation?
Authors: Bryce Benjamin
Published: May 2018

This chapter argues that German-speaking educators in Buenos Aires took advantage of transatlantic support from Germany while navigating among their own interests in community, ethnicity, and belonging in Argentina. Focusing on the circulation of teachers, the flow of financial support from Germany, and a system that offered both Argentine and German diplomas, it offers new perspectives on how constructions of European ethnicity and Argentine belonging developed in a transnational context. For those in Germany, supporting schools and maintaining ethnic Germans within a territorially unbounded German nation reflected the nationalist aspiration to compete with other European empires on the global stage. For those in Buenos Aires, however, the same transatlantic relationship was oriented toward another set of expectations about the future. They instead believed that European support of German-Spanish bilingual schools would help educators and families succeed in their goal of pushing for a pluralist, multilingual society.
Literary Primitivism
Authors: Etherington Ben
Published: May 2018

This book comprehensively redefines literary primitivism, arguing that it was an aesthetic project formed in reaction to the high point of imperialist expansion at the start of the twentieth century. As those spaces in which “primitive” forms of existence were imagined to be possible were either directly colonized or otherwise forcibly integrated into a geographically totalized capitalist world-system, so dissenting writers responded by trying to reawaken primitive experience by means of literary practice. This thesis breaks with the orthodox understanding of primitivism as a transhistorical tendency according to which the “civilized” idealize the “primitive,” something that is usually thought to correspond to a binary of the “West” and its “Others.” Adopting the “point of view of totality,” Literary Primitivism argues that it was artists from peripheral societies who most energetically pursued primitivism’s project of immediacy as it was they who most keenly felt the loss of unalienated social worlds. The major debates are reviewed concerning primitivism and the thinkers, artists, and concept--including expressionism, modernism, surrealism, Rousseau, Darwin, Marx, Nietzsche, Luxemburg, the writers of négritude, Carl Einstein, the Frankfurt School, and Alain Locke. In close studies of the work of Aimé Césaire, Frantz Fanon, D. H. Lawrence, and Claude McKay the book identifies a morphology of literary primitivism that centers on the literary activation of the primitive remnant. Along the way, the book reassesses the politics of primitivism, especially with regard to its decolonial horizon, and the prospects for understanding literary primitivism as an event of world literature.
Piracy and Law in the Ottoman Mediterranean
Authors: White Joshua M.
Published: May 2018

This book offers a comprehensive examination of the shape and impact of piracy in the eastern half of the Mediterranean and the Ottoman Empire’s administrative, legal, and diplomatic response. In the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, piracy had a tremendous effect on the formation of international law, the conduct of diplomacy, the articulation of Ottoman imperial and Islamic law, and their application in Ottoman courts. Piracy and Law draws on research in archives and libraries in Istanbul, Venice, Crete, London, and Paris to bring the Ottoman state and Ottoman victims into the story for the first time. It explains why piracy exploded after the 1570s and why the Ottoman state was largely unable to marshal an effective military solution even as it responded dynamically in the spheres of law and diplomacy. By focusing on the Ottoman victims, jurists, and officials who had to contend most with the consequences of piracy, Piracy and Law reveals a broader range of piratical practitioners than the Muslim and Catholic corsairs who have typically been the focus of study and considers their consequences for the Ottoman state and those who traveled through Ottoman waters. This book argues that what made the eastern half of the Mediterranean basin the Ottoman Mediterranean, more than sovereignty or naval supremacy—which was ephemeral—was that it was a legal space. The challenge of piracy helped to define its contours.
The “Cognitive Prior” and the European Challenge
Authors: Rüland Jürgen
Published: May 2018

This chapter seeks to establish what Acharya has termed the “cognitive prior.” It explores extant Indonesian ideas on foreign policymaking and ASEAN cooperation. Europeanizing changes were triggered by the Asian Financial Crisis (1997–1998), which discredited the ASEAN Way as ASEAN’s established repository of cooperation norms. The chapter shows how the worldviews of Indonesian foreign policy elites have been shaped by adverse historical experiences, which have evoked on the one hand strong sentiments of insecurity and vulnerability, on the other, a strong sense of entitlement to regional leadership. At the regional level, the cognitive prior is strongly influenced by Westphalian sovereignty norms. In the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis the ASEAN Way was challenged by external and domestic critics, climaxing with the ASEAN Charter debate. The chapter ends with an analysis of the institutional changes the Charter inaugurated and the ideas and norms it seemingly appropriated from the EU.
Conclusion
Authors: Rüland Jürgen
Published: May 2018

The chapter recapitulates the norm appropriation by the Indonesian foreign policy community. Most stakeholders localized external ideas and norms. In the process, the government was exposed to localization pressures by nonstate actors from below. Legislators and business representatives mainly drew from extant beliefs, while in their majority NGOs, academics, and the press vocally propagated the European ideas of regional integration. By charting additional pathways of norm diffusion and distinguishing defensive and offensive localization, the study nuanced existing norm diffusion theory. Indonesian foreign policy stakeholders also imported ideas from Africa and Latin America, making norm diffusion an omnidirectional process. The study provides strong evidence that ASEAN’s cooperation norms continue to differ from the EU. Highlighting the normative agency of Indonesian foreign policy stakeholders, the study contributes to the project of a Global IR, which more than hitherto takes into account events and processes in the Global South.
To Educate and Evangelize
Authors: Leavitt-Alcántara Brianna
Published: May 2018

Chapter 4 examines the case studies of three new primary schools for non-elite girls in and around late-colonial Guatemala City, as locals called the recently relocated capital. These educational initiatives illustrate both change and continuity, blurring the perceived battle lines between baroque and enlightened pieties. Enlightened feminine ideals based on the social utility of educated mothers and Bourbon reform efforts operated in conjunction with on-going alliances between laywomen and clergy and an attachment to monastic models of feminine piety. These schools also show how laywomen acted as pioneers and innovators, shaping educational reform through creative engagement with Bourbon reforms, Enlightenment ideas, and progressive Catholicism. The formation of Guatemala City’s “Teacher’s College” for native women in the Beaterio de Indias also challenged entrenched racial ideologies and illustrates a critical shift toward acknowledging native laywomen’s capacity to serve as teachers and spiritual leaders.
Zouping in Historical Perspective
Authors: Alitto Guy
Published: May 2018

The chapter discusses the complicated historical background of Zouping County, Shandong Province, China. It shows how historical factors influenced subsequent social, economic and political events and trends. Among them the rural reform efforts lead by Liang Shuming are highlighted, as well as rural prototypes.
Creativity and Flexibility in County and Township Economic Governance
Authors: Shimizu Kay
Published: May 2018

This chapter seeks to improve our understanding of how China’s county level governments manage the diverse economic trajectories of the townships and villages they govern in three ways: First, by looking at the county, township and village levels, the chapter examines variations in development paths at the sub-county levels. Second, the chapter looks at the fiscal relationships between the county and its townships and their change over time as an indicator of the relative changes in the economic dynamics of a single locality. Lastly, in-depth interviews reveal details about the development and the politics that shaped and managed it. Selected case studies illustrate the diverse paths taken at the sub-county level. The chapter also shows how the key to Zouping’s overall success has been the county government’s ability to be creative and flexible even within the confines of a nationally scripted rural development policy.