bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
ɑ‐Synuclein strains and the variable pathologies of synucleinopathies
Authors: Peelaerts Wouter , Baekelandt Veerle
Published: February 2016

Several decades ago, a mysterious transmissible agent was found responsible for a group of progressive and lethal encephalopathies affecting the nervous system of both animals and humans. This infectious agent showed a strain‐encoded manner of inheritance even though it lacked nucleic acids. The identification of infectious proteins resolved this apparent conundrum. Misfolded infectious protein particles, or prions, were found to exist as conformational isomers with a unique fingerprint that can be faithfully passaged to next generations. Protein‐based strain‐encoded inheritance is characterized by strain‐specific infectivity and symptomatology. It is found in diverse organisms, such as yeast, fungi, and mammals. Now, this concept is revisited to examine the pathological role of amyloid proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases where it might underlie certain types of dementia and motor‐related neurodegenerative disorders. Given the discovery of the SNCA gene and the identification of its gene product, ɑ‐synuclein (ɑ‐SYN), as the main histopathological component of Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy, the scientific community was left puzzled by the fact that a single protein appeared to be involved in different diseases with diverging clinical phenotypes. Recent studies are now indicating that ɑ‐SYN may act in a way similar to prions and that ɑ‐SYN misfolded structural variants may behave as strains with distinct biochemical and functional properties inducing specific phenotypic traits, which might finally provide an explanation for the clinical heterogeneity observed between Parkinson's disease, MSA, and dementia with Lewy bodies patients. These crucial new findings may pave the way for unexplored therapeutic avenues and identification of new potential biomarkers.

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Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies share ɑ‐synuclein deposits as a common histopathological hallmark. New and ongoing developments are now showing that variations in the aggregation process and the formation of ɑ‐synuclein strains may be paralleled by the development of distinct synucleinopathies. Here, we review the recent developments and the role of strains in synucleinopathies.

This article is part of a special issue on Parkinson disease.
Misspecified Recovery
Authors: BOROVIČKA JAROSLAV , HANSEN LARS PETER , SCHEINKMAN JOSÉ A.
Published: February 2016

Asset prices contain information about the probability distribution of future states and the stochastic discounting of those states as used by investors. To better understand the challenge in distinguishing investors' beliefs from risk‐adjusted discounting, we use Perron–Frobenius Theory to isolate a positive martingale component of the stochastic discount factor process. This component recovers a probability measure that absorbs long‐term risk adjustments. When the martingale is not degenerate, surmising that this recovered probability captures investors' beliefs distorts inference about risk‐return tradeoffs. Stochastic discount factors in many structural models of asset prices have empirically relevant martingale components.
Effects of early experience with low‐quality roughage on feed intake, digestibility and metabolism in lambs
Authors: Xu W. , Taki Y. , Iwasawa A. , Yayota M.
Published: February 2016

The objective of this study was to compare the feed intake, digestibility and metabolism in lambs fed low‐quality roughage with those of lambs fed normal roughage from an early stage of their life. The study consisted of two treatments [low‐quality roughage group (LR) and control group (C)] over three time periods (P1, P2 and P3; 2 months each). Four lambs (4 months old) were allocated to each treatment. In P1 and P2, LR was fed sudangrass hay (CP: 5.1% DM; NDF: 70.4% DM), whereas C was fed timothy hay (CP: 8.4% DM; NDF: 60.3% DM). In P3, all lambs were fed sudangrass hay. Although the feed intake was significantly greater (p < 0.05) in C in P1, there were no differences between the groups in P2. The digestibility, serum glucose (GLU), urea nitrogen (SUN) and insulin‐like growth factor 1 (IGF‐1) did not differ between the groups in P1 and P2. The average nitrogen retention, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) were significantly higher in C (p < 0.05) during P1 and P2. No interaction was observed between the treatment and periods. In P3, the feed intake was greater in C (p < 0.05), whereas digestibility and nitrogen retention tended to be greater in LR. The body weight did not differ between the treatments. T4 and T3 were numerically lower in LR, while the SUN was greater in LR (p < 0.05). These results suggest that the early experience with low‐quality roughage may have improved feed digestibility and nitrogen metabolism in lambs after 4 months of rearing. Furthermore, the experienced lambs became more efficient at utilizing the low‐quality roughage. The lower thyroid hormone concentrations observed in LR suggest an adaptive change occurred in experienced lambs that to a lower basal metabolic rate.
Hepatic biotransformation pathways and ruminal metabolic stability of the novel anthelmintic monepantel in sheep and cattle
Authors: Ballent M. , Virkel G. , Maté L. , Viviani P. , Lanusse C. , Lifschitz A.
Published: February 2016

Monepantel (MNP) is a new amino‐acetonitrile derivative anthelmintic drug used for the treatment of gastrointestinal (GI) nematodes in sheep. The present work investigated the main enzymatic pathways involved in the hepatic biotransformation of MNP in sheep and cattle. The metabolic stability in ruminal fluid of both the parent drug and its main metabolite (monepantel sulphone, MNPSO2) was characterized as well. Additionally, the relative distribution of both anthelmintic molecules between the fluid and particulate phases of the ruminal content was studied. Liver microsomal fractions from six (6) rams and five (5) steers were incubated with a 40 μm of MNP. Heat pretreatment (50 °C for 2 min) of liver microsomes was performed for inactivation of the flavin‐monooxygenase (FMO) system. Additionally, MNP was incubated in the presence of 4, 40, and 80 μm of methimazole (MTZ), a FMO inhibitor, or equimolar concentrations of piperonyl butoxide (PBx), a well‐known general cytochrome P450 (CYP) inhibitor. In both ruminant species, MNPSO2 was the main metabolite detected after MNP incubation with liver microsomes. The conversion rate of MNP into MNPSO2 was fivefold higher (P < 0.05) in sheep (0.15 ± 0.08 nmol/min·mg) compared to cattle. In sheep, the relative involvement of both FMO and CYP systems (FMO/CYP) was 36/64. Virtually, only the CYP system appeared to be involved in the production of MNPSO2 in cattle liver. Methimazole significantly reduced (41 to 79%) the rate of MNPSO2 production in sheep liver microsomes whereas it did not inhibit MNP oxidation in cattle liver microsomes. On the other hand, PBx inhibited the production of MNPSO2 in liver microsomes of both sheep (58 to 98%, in a dose‐dependent manner) and cattle (almost 100%, independently of the PBx concentration added). The incubation of MNP and MNPSO2 with ruminal contents of both species showed a high chemical stability without evident metabolism and/or degradation as well as an extensive degree of adsorption (83% to 90%) to the solid phase of the ruminal content. Overall, these results are a further contribution to the understanding of the metabolic fate of this anthelmintic drug in ruminants.
Association between maternal vitamin E status and alpha‐tocopherol levels in the newborn and colostrum
Authors: da Silva Ribeiro Karla Danielly , Lima Mayara Santa Rosa , Medeiros Jeane Franco Pires , de Sousa Rebouças Amanda , Dantas Raquel Costa Silva , Bezerra Danielle Soares , Osório Mônica Maria , Dimenstein Roberto
Published: February 2016

Vitamin E is important because of its antioxidant activity in situations of oxidative stress, especially postnatally. Hence, the objective was to verify whether maternal alpha‐tocopherol level is associated with the alpha‐tocopherol levels of the newborn and colostrum. This is a cross‐sectional study of 58 women and their term newborns from a public hospital. Blood and colostrum were collected to measure alpha‐tocopherol levels by high‐performance liquid chromatography. Mothers with serum alpha‐tocopherol levels <16.2 mmol L−1 and newborns <11.6 mmol L−1 were indicative of deficiency or low levels. Mothers were divided into two groups: <16.2 mmol L−1 and those with levels ≥16.2 mmol L−1. The mean (95% confidence interval) serum alpha‐tocopherol levels of mothers, umbilical cords and colostrum were 28 (24–32), 6 (5–8) and 39 mmol L−1 (32–45), respectively (P < 0.001); 19% of the women and 90% of the newborns had low alpha‐tocopherol levels. Maternal alpha‐tocopherol level was associated with that of the umbilical cord. Newborns from mothers at risk of deficiency had low alpha‐tocopherol levels (P < 0.001). Colostrum levels of vitamin E were not influenced by maternal serum. Maternal deficiency influenced the vitamin E level of the umbilical cord but does not in the colostrum, evidencing distinct transfer mechanisms via the mammary gland.
Genomic characterization of sex‐identification markers inSebastes carnatusandSebastes chrysomelasrockfishes
Authors: Fowler Benjamin L. S. , Buonaccorsi Vincent P.
Published: February 2016

Fish have evolved a variety of sex‐determining (SD) systems including male heterogamy (XY), female heterogamy (ZW) and environmental SD. Little is known about SD mechanisms ofSebastesrockfishes, a highly speciose genus of importance to evolutionary and conservation biology. Here, we characterize the sex determination system in the sympatrically distributed sister speciesSebastes chrysomelasandSebastes carnatus. To identify sex‐specific genotypic markers, double digest restriction site – associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD‐seq) of genomic DNA from 40 sexed individuals of both species was performed. Loci were filtered for presence in all of the individuals of one sex, absence in the other sex and no heterozygosity. Of the 74 965 loci present in all males, 33 male‐specific loci met the criteria in at least one species and 17 in both. Conversely, no female‐specific loci were detected, together providing evidence of an XY sex determination system in both species. When aligned to a draft reference genome fromSebastes aleutianus, 26 sex‐specific loci were interspersed among 1168 loci that were identical between sexes. The nascent Y chromosome averaged 5% divergence from the X chromosome and mapped to referenceSebastesgenome scaffolds totalling 6.9Mbp in length. These scaffolds aligned to a single chromosome in three model fish genomes. Read coverage differences were also detected between sex‐specific and autosomal loci. A PCR‐RFLP assay validated the bioinformatic results and correctly identified sex of five additional individuals of known sex. A sex‐determining gene in other teleostsgonadal soma‐derived factor(gsdf) was present in the model fish chromosomes that spanned our sex‐specific markers.
The role of Toll‐like receptors in periodontitis
Authors: Song B , Zhang YL , Chen LJ , Zhou T , Huang WK , Zhou X , Shao LQ
Published: February 2016

Periodontitis is a common infectious disease. Recent studies have indicated that the progression of periodontitis may be regulated by interactions between host immunity and periodontopathic bacteria. Although periodontopathic bacteria can destroy periodontal tissue, a dysfunctional host immune response triggered by the bacteria can lead to more severe and persistent destruction. Toll‐like receptors (TLRs), a type of pattern recognition receptor (PRR) that recognizes pathogens, have been implicated in host innate immune responses to periodontopathic bacteria and in the activation of adaptive immunity. TLR‐targeted drugs may hold promise to treat periodontal disease. This review summarizes recent studies on the role of TLRs in periodontitis and discusses areas needing further research. We believe TLRs may be an effective biomarker for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of periodontitis in the near future.
Signal transduction and regulation of IbpreproHypSys in sweet potato
Authors: Li Yu‐Chi , Wan Wei‐Lin , Lin Jeng‐Shane , Kuo Yun‐Wei , King Yu‐Chi , Chen Yu‐Chi , Jeng Shih‐Tong
Published: February 2016

Hydroxyproline‐rich glycopeptides (HypSys) are small signalling peptides containing 18–20 amino acids. The expression of IbpreproHypSys, encoding the precursor of IbHypSys, was induced in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas cv. Tainung 57) through wounding and IbHypSys treatments by using jasmonate and H2O2. Transgenic sweet potatoes overexpressing (OE) and silencing [RNA interference (RNAi)] IbpreproHypSys were created. The expression of the wound‐inducible gene for ipomoelin (IPO) in the local and systemic leaves of OE plants was stronger than the expression in wild‐type (WT) and RNAi plants after wounding. Furthermore, grafting experiments indicated that IPO expression was considerably higher in WT stocks receiving wounding signals from OE than from RNAi scions. However, wounding WT scions highly induced IPO expression in OE stocks. These results indicated that IbpreproHypSys expression contributed towards sending and receiving the systemic signals that induced IPO expression. Analysing the genes involved in the phenylpropanoid pathway demonstrated that lignin biosynthesis was activated after synthetic IbHypSys treatment. IbpreproHypSys expression in sweet potato suppressed Spodoptera litura growth. In conclusion, wounding induced the expression of IbpreproHypSys, whose protein product was processed into IbHypSys. IbHypSys stimulated IbpreproHypSys and IPO expression and enhanced lignin biosynthesis, thus protecting plants from insects.
Two Models for Public Health Nursing Clinical Education
Authors: Williams Jessica R. , Halstead Valerie , Mitchell Emma McKim
Published: February 2016

Objectives

To evaluate the impact of two baccalaureate public health nursing (PHN) clinical education models, that vary on level of engagement with community agencies, on student perceptions of PHN.

Design and Sample

Two group, pretest/posttest design. Two cohorts of baccalaureate nursing students (traditional n = 62, accelerated n = 64) were included. The traditional students worked with one agency over an 8‐week period. The accelerated students worked with several agencies over the same period. Eighty‐seven students provided complete data at both time points, and were included in analyses.

Measures

Students answered questions at the beginning and end of the Spring 2014 semester to assess knowledge, confidence, satisfaction, and career intention related to PHN.

Results

At baseline, traditional students reported significantly higher confidence working independently and less intention to choose PHN as a career. Both cohorts reported a significant increase in knowledge and independence from pretest to posttest. At posttest, the accelerated group showed a significant decline in likelihood of choosing a PHN career.

Conclusions

In developing PHN clinical curriculum, careful consideration should be given to the level of engagement with the community and faculty. Future work should continue exploring different PHN clinical education models to ensure students are effectively prepared in this area of nursing.
Presidential Appeals to Moral Foundations: How Modern Presidents Persuade Cross‐Ideologues
Authors: Miles Matthew R.
Published: February 2016

Many assume that modern presidents cannot persuade cross‐ideologues to support their policy proposals. The idea that a conservative would support a liberal policy advocated by a cross‐partisan president seems ludicrous. However, recent research suggests that conservatives will support liberal policies that are framed consistent with moral foundations. Using a national survey experiment that carefully manipulates the actual text of a speech given by President Obama, this article demonstrates that fairness frames in presidential speeches motivate liberal policy support among conservative, moderate, and liberal Americans who value fairness.
Psychophysiological responses to auditory change
Authors: Chuen Lorraine , Sears David , McAdams Stephen
Published: February 2016

A comprehensive characterization of autonomic and somatic responding within the auditory domain is currently lacking. We studied whether simple types of auditory change that occur frequently during music listening could elicit measurable changes in heart rate, skin conductance, respiration rate, and facial motor activity. Participants heard a rhythmically isochronous sequence consisting of a repeated standard tone, followed by a repeated target tone that changed in pitch, timbre, duration, intensity, or tempo, or that deviated momentarily from rhythmic isochrony. Changes in all parameters produced increases in heart rate. Skin conductance response magnitude was affected by changes in timbre, intensity, and tempo. Respiratory rate was sensitive to deviations from isochrony. Our findings suggest that music researchers interpreting physiological responses as emotional indices should consider acoustic factors that may influence physiology in the absence of induced emotions.
Influence of treadmill training on bone structure under osteometabolic alteration in rats subjected to high‐fat diet
Authors: Macedo A. P. , Shimano R. C. , Ferrari D. T. , Issa J. P. M. , Jordão A. A. , Shimano A. C.
Published: February 2016

Nutrition and physical training have important roles in the accumulation and maintenance of bone mass. The aim of this study was to evaluate, in ovariectomized rats (OVX), the effects of treadmill training (T) with high‐fat diet (F) on weight gain and bone tissue properties with eight groups (n = 10) for 12 weeks: OVX SC (OVX, sedentary lifestyle, diet control); OVX SF; OVX TC; OVX TF; SH SC (SHAM, sedentary lifestyle, diet control); SH SF; SH TC; and SH TF. Weekly weight gain and final body composition were assessed. After euthanasia, tibiae were analyzed. The trained animals had higher body weight (P = 0.001), bone mineral density (P < 0.001), and trabecular bone (P < 0.001). The animals with a high‐fat diet showed higher global fat (P < 0.001), percentage of global fat (P < 0.001) and deformation at impact (P = 0.031) and reduced tibial bone mineral content (P = 0.036). Physical training improves bone microarchitecture, without presenting an increase in impact resistance, and a high‐fat diet increases body fat and impairs bone mineralization.
Effects of perturbation or plyometric training on core control and knee joint loading in women during lateral movements
Authors: Weltin E. , Gollhofer A. , Mornieux G.
Published: February 2016

Deficits in trunk control are argued to increase the risk of knee injuries. However, no existing training program effectively addresses trunk control during lateral movements, such as cutting maneuvers. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a combination of perturbation and plyometric training (PPT) would reduce trunk excursions against the new movement direction and reduce knee joint moments during lateral movements. Twenty‐four active women participated in a RCT, where trunk and pelvis kinematics and knee joint moments were measured during lateral reactive jumps (LRJ) and unanticipated cutting maneuvers before and after a 4‐week PPT program and compared to a control group. During LRJ, trunk rotation away from the new movement direction was reduced (P < 0.001), while pelvis rotation toward the new direction was increased (P = 0.006) after PPT. Moreover, decreased knee extension moments (P = 0.028) and knee internal rotation moments (P < 0.001) were reported after both trainings. Additionally, PPT reduced trunk rotation by 7.2° during unanticipated cuttings. A 4‐week PPT improved core control by reducing trunk rotation and reduced knee joint moments during LRJ. During training, perturbations should be introduced to improve core control during dynamic athletic movements, possibly reducing the risk of ACL injuries.
Energy system contributions and determinants of performance in sprint cross‐country skiing
Authors: Andersson E. , Björklund G. , Holmberg H‐C. , Ørtenblad N.
Published: February 2016

To improve current understanding of energy contributions and determinants of sprint‐skiing performance, 11 well‐trained male cross‐country skiers were tested in the laboratory for VO2max, submaximal gross efficiency (GE), maximal roller skiing velocity, and sprint time‐trial (STT) performance. The STT was repeated four times on a 1300‐m simulated sprint course including three flat (1°) double poling (DP) sections interspersed with two uphill (7°) diagonal stride (DS) sections. Treadmill velocity and VO2 were monitored continuously during the four STTs and data were averaged. Supramaximal GE during the STT was predicted from the submaximal relationships for GE against velocity and incline, allowing computation of metabolic rate and O2 deficit. The skiers completed the STT in 232 ± 10 s (distributed as 55 ± 3% DP and 45 ± 3% DS) with a mean power output of 324 ± 26 W. The anaerobic energy contribution was 18 ± 5%, with an accumulated O2 deficit of 45 ± 13 mL/kg. Block‐wise multiple regression revealed that VO2, O2 deficit, and GE explained 30%, 15%, and 53% of the variance in STT time, respectively (all P < 0.05). This novel GE‐based method of estimating the O2 deficit in simulated sprint‐skiing has demonstrated an anaerobic energy contribution of 18%, with GE being the strongest predictor of performance.
Black Votes Count: The 2014 Republican Senate Nomination in Mississippi*
Authors: Hood M. V. , McKee Seth C.
Published: February 2016

Objective

This article examines the role of black votes in contributing to the renomination of 36‐year Republican Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi. In 2014, Senator Cochran faced a formidable primary challenge from State Senator Chris McDaniel, a notably more conservative politician. After narrowly losing the primary, Cochran prevailed in the runoff because enough black voters decided to support him.

Methods

We use precinct‐level racial data to derive ecological inference estimates of turnout and then employ a racially homogenous precinct analysis to determine the percentage of the black and white vote won by Cochran and McDaniel.

Results

Our empirical analysis provides convincing evidence that if not for the increase in black voters in the runoff and their overwhelming support for Senator Cochran, his opponent would have ended his lengthy political career.

Conclusions

Race has always been the centerpiece of politics in the Deep South state of Mississippi. This is an empirical account of an unlikely electoral event that speaks to the importance of the changing state of southern politics and how a marginalized minority population can still play a pivotal role in a region dominated by a white Republican majority.
Residential Racial Diversity: Are Transracial Adoptive Families More Like Multiracial or White Families?*
Authors: Kreider Rose M. , Raleigh Elizabeth
Published: February 2016

Objective

The purpose of this article is to examine whether and how the residential racial diversity of transracially adopted children (i.e., nonwhite children adopted by white parents) varies from those of biological children in white monoracial families and biological children in mixed‐race families.

Method

Using the restricted access 2009 American Community Survey, we take advantage of the large number of adoptive families not only to investigate differences among these families, but also to explore whether racial socialization within transracial adoptive families varies by the race and nativity of the child.

Results

We show that the context of racial socialization for transracially adopted children is more similar to that of white children in monoracial families than that of children in mixed race families.

Conclusion

This article adds a quantitative, nationally representative picture of the context of racial socialization for specific groups of transracially adopted children, complementing existing research published in this area.
Identification of two novel HLA‐A alleles, HLA‐A*03:181 and HLA‐A*03:229 in Chinese individuals
Authors: Tao S.‐D. , Chen N.‐Y. , Dong L.‐N. , He J. , Zhu F.‐M.
Published: February 2016

HLA‐A*03:181 and HLA‐A*03:229 differ from HLA‐A*03:01:01:01 by one and three nucleotide substitutions, respectively.
Discovery of HLA‐B*35:307, a novel HLA‐B*35 variant, in a Taiwanese hematopoietic stem cell donor
Authors: Yang K. L. , Hung J. H. , Lin P. Y.
Published: February 2016

One nucleotide substitution at residue 421 of HLA‐B*35:01:01:01 results in a novel allele, HLA‐B*35:307.
When mathematics and statistics collide in assessment tasks
Authors: Bargagliotti Anna , Groth Randall
Published: February 2016

Because the disciplines of mathematics and statistics are naturally intertwined, designing assessment questions that disentangle mathematical and statistical reasoning can be challenging. We explore the writing statistics assessment tasks that take into consideration potential mathematical reasoning they may inadvertently activate.
Increased coagulation and fibrinolytic potential of solvent–detergent plasma: a comparative study between Omniplasma and fresh frozen plasma
Authors: van Beers J. J. B. C. , van Egmond L. T. , Wetzels R. J. H. , Verhezen P. W. M. , Beckers E. A. M. , van Oerle R. , Spronk H. M. H. , Straat R. J. M. H. E. , Henskens Y. M. C.
Published: February 2016

Background and objectives

In this study, differences in levels of proteins involved in coagulation and fibrinolysis were compared between fresh frozen (quarantine plasma) and Omniplasma. Furthermore, thawing conditions and plasma stability after thawing were studied.

Materials and Methods

10 Omniplasma and 10 quarantine plasma units were used to study different procoagulation, anticoagulation and fibrinolytic parameters. Analysis took place at different time‐points during plasma storage at 2–6°C.

Results

At baseline, significant reduced levels of factor V, free protein S, α2‐antiplasmin and tPA‐induced ROTEM lysis time were observed in Omniplasma as compared to quarantine plasma. Moreover, thrombin generation, IXa‐AT complex levels and factor XIa were significantly increased in Omniplasma. The majority of the parameters studied remained stable in Omniplasma 48 h after thawing, with the exception of factor VIII (decrease) and IXa‐AT (increase).

Conclusion

Our results suggest an increased coagulation potential, presumingly as a result of contact activation during the production process and also, an increased fibrinolytic potential in Omniplasma.

The stability of Omniplasma, based upon the different parameters studied, is comparable to Q‐plasma. A maximum post‐thawing time of 48 hfor Omniplasma can be suggested.
Rare blood types in the Asia Pacific region
Authors: Tani Y.
Published: February 2016

Rare blood types are generally defined as those that occur at a frequency of 1 : 1000 or less. However, some rare blood types have much different frequencies in global regions or specific ethnic groups. This review explores rare blood types in the following categories: rare blood types that lack high‐frequency antigens and where to find them, rare blood types that express low‐frequency antigens, rare blood types with higher or lower frequencies in the Asia Pacific region and rare blood types that are difficult to find in the Asia Pacific region but are provided by the JRC. In addition, the study of rare blood types has revealed clinical correlations with disease states and resistance to infections.
A systematic review of red blood cell alloimmunization in pregnant women in Africa: time to do better
Authors: Ngoma A. M. , Mutombo P. B. , Ikeda K. , Nollet K. E. , Natukunda B. , Ohto H.
Published: February 2016

Background and objectives

The presence of red blood cell (RBC) alloantibodies in pregnant women has been linked to the significant perinatal morbidity and mortality. A limited number of African studies have assessed alloimmunization to RBC antigens in pregnant women, but this literature has not been systematically reviewed. Thus, the aim of this study was to synthetize, by systematic review, the current evidence on RBC alloantibodies among pregnant women in Africa.

Methods

We systematically searched MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Africa‐Wide Information database to identify relevant studies in any language. Case reports, comments, letters, conference abstracts, editorials and review articles were excluded.

Results

Of 269 potentially relevant articles, 12 studies representing 93 871 pregnant women fulfilled our selection criteria. Overall proportions of RBC alloimmunization exhibited a wide variation ranging from 1·1 (95% CI: 1·0, 1·2) to 12·1 (95% CI: 9·8, 14·7) per 100 pregnant women. Among clinically relevant antibodies, anti‐D ranked as the most common, followed by anti‐K and anti‐E.

Conclusion

The review of the available literature characterized the clinical challenge of RBC alloimmunization among pregnant women in Africa and revealed the insufficient volume and quality of research conducted in this topic. Improvement of quality of research should be a priority to gather stronger evidence that should drive policy decisions and strengthen practice in favour of RBC alloantibody screening in pregnant women as a standard of care throughout Africa.
INITIAL CONTOUR GENERATION APPROACH IN LEVEL SET METHODS FOR DENTAL IMAGE SEGMENTATION
Authors: Ehsani Rad Abdolvahab , Mohd Rahim Mohd Shafry , Safaian Golnaz , Mat Amin Ismail
Published: February 2016

Segmentation is challenging process in medical images especially on dental x-ray images. Level set methods have best result on medical and dental image segmentation. Initial Contour (IC) is the essential step in level set methods to initialize the efficient process. However, the main issue with IC is how to generate the automatic technique in order to reduce the human interaction and produce accurate result. In this paper a new region-based technique for IC generation, is proposed to generate the most suitable IC. We have utilized the statistical and morphological information inside and outside the contour to establish a region-based map function. This function is able to find the suitable IC on images to perform by level set methods. Experiments on dental x-ray images demonstrate the robustness of segmentation process using proposed method even on noisy images and with weak boundary. Furthermore, computational cost of segmentation process is reduced.
INTEGRATION OF CFEA-COMPRESSION TECHNIQUE INTO ASYMMETRIC KEY CRYPTOSYSTEMS
Authors: Mandangan Arif , Ee Hung Chang , Souk Yin Lee , Che Hussin Che Haziqah
Published: February 2016

In order to provide good level of security, modern cryptosystems need to implement large numbers and complicated mathematical operations. As a consequence, efficiency becomes a new major issue in cryptography. By using proper parameters, some of established asymmetric cryptosystems are believed to be able to provide a good level of security. Since that, aim to develop a mechanism to accelerate encryption and decryption processes of asymmetric cryptosystem without altering their original encryption and decryption algorithms become a big consideration. The aim of this paper is to propose the integration of a compression technique that named as CFEA-Compression technique into some established asymmetric key cryptosystem such as RSA, El-Gamal and Elliptic Curve cryptosystems. CFEA-technique is a combination of Continued Fraction and Euclidean Algorithm (CFEA) which is able to reduce the number of plaintext and ciphertext prior the encryption and decryption procedures.
DESIGNING A BDI AGENT REACTANT MODEL OF BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE INTERVENTION
Authors: Adegoke Ojeniyi , Ab Aziz Azizi , Yusof Yuhanis
Published: February 2016

Belief-Desire-Intention (BDI) model is well suited for describing agent’s mental state. The BDI of an agent represents its motivational stance and are the main determinant of agent’s actions. Therefore, explicit understanding of the representation and modelling of such motivational stance plays a central role in designing BDI agent with successful behavioural change interventions. Nevertheless, existing BDI agent models do not represent agent’s behavioural factors explicitly. This leads to a gap between design and implementation where psychological reactance has being identified as the cause of BDI agent behavioural change interventions failure. Hence, this paper presents a generic representation of BDI agent model based on behavioural change and psychological theories. Also, using mathematical analysis the model was evaluated. The objective of the proposed BDI agent model is to bridge the gap between agent design and implementation for successful agent-based interventions. The model will be realized in an agent-based application that motivates children towards oral hygiene. The study explicitly depicts how agent’s behavioural factors interact to enhance behaviour change which will assist agent-based intervention designers to be able to design intervention that will be void of reactance.
MAPPING 2D TO 3D FORENSIC FACIAL RECOGNITION VIA BIO- INSPIRED ACTIVE APPEARANCE MODEL
Authors: Abd. Rahman Siti Zaharah , Sheikh Abdullah Siti Norul Huda , Eng Hao Lim , Abdulameer Mohammed Hasan , Zamani Nazri Ahmad , A. Darus Mohammad Zaharudin
Published: February 2016

This research done is to solve the problems faced by digital forensic analysts in identifying a suspect captured on their CCTV. Identifying the suspect through the CCTV video footage is a very challenging task for them as it involves tedious rounds of processes to match the facial information in the video footage to a set of suspect’s images. The biggest problem faced by digital forensic analysis is modeling 2D model extracted from CCTV video as the model does not provide enough information to carry out the identification process. Problems occur when a suspect in the video is not facing the camera, the image extracted is the side image of the suspect and it is difficult to make a matching with portrait image in the database. There are also many factors that contribute to the process of extracting facial information from a video to be difficult, such as low-quality video. Through 2D to 3D image model mapping, any partial face information that is incomplete can be matched more efficiently with 3D data by rotating it to matched position. The first methodology in this research is data collection; any data obtained through video recorder. Then, the video will be converted into an image. Images are used to develop the Active Appearance Model (the 2D face model is AAM) 2D and AAM 3D. AAM is used as an input for learning and testing process involving three classifiers, which are Random Forest, Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Neural Networks classifier. The experimental results show that the 3D model is more suitable for use in face recognition as the percentage of the recognition is higher compared with the 2D model.
TIME ON TASK FOR COLLABORATIVE AUGMENTED REALITY IN SCIENCE EXPERIMENT
Authors: Matcha Wannisa , Awang Rambli Dayang Rohaya
Published: February 2016

This paper reports on a study findings on the time participants spend engaged doing task while interacting with Augmented Reality (AR) based system in collaborative learning environment. Engaged time is an important factor in any learning approaches as it is the actual time that participants pay attention and acquire knowledge. In the present study, time-on task and time off task were used to investigate the student level of engagement in learning activities. Data was collected from an observation study using video recording approach. Result showed that participants spend more than ninety percent concentrating on task related activities. Result from a survey questionnaire following the study revealed that participants enjoy group learning using AR as a tool. These findings further indicate that fun learning environment offered by augmented reality technology has the potential to grab learner’s attention and motivate them to stay focus on the learning activities.
Genetic variation in Silene acaulis increases with population age
Authors: Powolny Michaela , Poschlod Peter , Reisch Christoph
Published: February 2016

This study examined the relationship between genetic variation and the mean age of individuals within populations of the alpine cushion plant Silene acaulis (L.) Jacq. along a chronosequence on a glacier foreland in the Central European Alps. We studied 67 individuals of S. acaulis from four populations located at 2390, 2530, 2680, and 2820 m a.s.l. on the glacier foreland and applied a combined approach of growth-ring analysis and individual size measurements to determine the mean age of individuals within populations. Genetic variation was studied using amplified fragment length polymorphism analysis. The mean age of individuals within populations ranged from 11 to 20 years and increased with decreasing altitude toward the older stages of the chronosequence, reaching a maximum age of 50 years. According to regression analysis, genetic variation increased slightly from early to late successional stages and was associated with the mean age of individuals within populations. The results suggest that genetic variation in S. acaulis depends on the mean age of individuals within populations, and emphasize that both species diversity and genetic diversity in plant species can increase during succession on glacier forelands. Integration of age determination methods proves to be a promising approach in the analysis of genetic variation in plant species.
Response of conventional and imidazolinone-resistant chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars to imazamox and/or imazethapyr applied post-emergence
Authors: Jefferies M. Laura , Willenborg Christian J. , Tar'an Bunyamin
Published: February 2016

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) production in the Northern Great Plains is limited by very few broadleaf weed control options. Field experiments were conducted at two locations in 2012 and at three locations in 2013 in Saskatchewan, Canada, to examine the performance of the conventional and the imidazolinone (IMI) resistant chickpea cultivars to post-emergence application of imazamox or imazethapyr applied alone or in tank-mix. Treatments included imazamox (20 and 40 g a.i. ha−1), imazethapyr (50 and 100 g a.i. ha−1), and a tank-mixture of imazamox (35%) + imazethapyr (35%) (30 and 60 g a.i. ha−1). Conventional cultivars, CDC Luna and CDC Corinne, showed moderate to severe injury compared with resistant cultivars, CDC Alma and CDC Cory, which showed minimal to no injury. Plant height was arrested and node development slowed for conventional cultivars treated with IMI herbicides. This susceptibility to IMI herbicides was also noted with a delay in flowering and maturity. Despite a significant negative response, CDC Luna and CDC Corinne were able to recover throughout the growing season resulting in no yield loss from IMI treatments at all locations, except one. Resistant cultivars, CDC Alma and CDC Cory, demonstrated no significant injury from IMI herbicide compared with the untreated controls. These results show the potential to use IMI herbicides in the resistant chickpea cultivars, expanding the currently limited options for broadleaf weed control in chickpea cultivation.
On the correctness of cosmology from quantum potential
Authors: Lashin E. I.
Published: February 2016

We examine in detail the cosmology based on quantal (Bohmian) trajectories as suggested in a recent study [A. F. Ali and S. Das, Phys. Lett. B 741, 276 (2014)]. We disagree with the conclusions regarding predicting the value of the cosmological constant [Formula: see text] and evading the Big Bang singularity. Furthermore, we show that the approach of using a quantum corrected Raychaudhuri equation (QRE), as suggested in A. F. Ali and S. Das, Phys. Lett. B 741, 276 (2014), is unsatisfactory, because, essentially, it uses the Raychaudhuri equation (RE), which is a kinematical equation, in order to predict dynamics. In addition, even within this inconsistent framework, the authors have adopted unjustified assumptions and carried out incorrect steps leading to doubtful conclusions.
Entropy is in flux V3.4
Authors: Kadanoff Leo P.
Published: February 2016

This article has been retracted. The manuscript is for a book, but not for journals at present. There was miscommunication over this issue.
Shape evolution of a spherical particle growing in supersaturated solution affected by straining flows
Authors: Gao Jingjing , Chen Mingwen , Wang Zidong
Published: February 2016

The convection of ambient flow field has a significant influence on the pattern formation of growing particles. In this paper, we investigate the shape evolution of particles growing in supersaturated solution affected by straining flows. By using the multiple variable asymptotic expansion method, we obtain the asymptotic solution. The solution indicates that the interface microstructure is greatly affected by the straining flows. The flow results in a higher growth rate in the surface where it is incoming and a lower growth rate where it is outgoing. Besides, the flow also has effects on the concentration distribution.
Complete Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger state analyzer using hyper-entanglement
Authors: Wang Jia-Ming , Zhu Meng-Zheng , Ye Liu
Published: February 2016

In this paper, we design a scheme where a polarization Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger (GHZ) state can be completely and deterministically distinguished by adopting linear momentum degree of freedom as the ancillary qubits or change of roles between the momentum and polarization degrees of freedom. Two ways for distinguishing three-photon GHZ state can be achieved in just one quantum circuit.
White noise perturbation of locally stable dynamical systems
Authors: Sultanov Oskar
Published: February 2016

The influence of small random perturbations on a deterministic dynamical system with a locally stable equilibrium is considered. The perturbed system is described by the Itô stochastic differential equation. It is assumed that the noise does not vanish at the equilibrium. In this case the trajectories of the stochastic system may leave any bounded domain with probability one. We analyze the stochastic stability of the equilibrium under a persistent perturbation by white noise on an asymptotically long time interval [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is a perturbation parameter.
Superior supercapacitor electrode material from hydrazine hydrate modified porous polyacrylonitrile fiber
Authors: Li Ying , Lu Chunxiang , Wang Junzhong , Yan Hua , Zhang Shouchun
Published: February 2016

A hierarchical porous carbon fiber with high nitrogen doping was fabricated for high-performance supercapacitor. For the purpose of high nitrogen retention, the porous polyacrylonitrile fiber was treated by hydrazine hydrate, and then underwent pre-oxidation, carbonization, and activation in sequence. The resulted material exhibited high nitrogen content of 7.82 at.%, large specific surface area of 1963.3[Formula: see text]m2g[Formula: see text], total pore volume of 1.523[Formula: see text]cm3g[Formula: see text], and the pores with size range of 1–4[Formula: see text]nm were account for 49.1%. Due to these features, the high reversible capacitance of 415[Formula: see text]F g[Formula: see text] and the good performance in heavy load discharge were obtained. In addition, the amazing cyclability was observed after 10,000 circles without capacitance fading.
H∞ Control of Nonaffine Aerial Systems Using Off-policy Reinforcement Learning
Authors: Kiumarsi Bahare , Kang Wei , Lewis Frank L.
Published: February 2016

This paper presents a completely model-free [Formula: see text] optimal tracking solution to the control of a general class of nonlinear nonaffine systems in the presence of the input constraints. The proposed method is motivated by nonaffine unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system as a real application. First, a general class of nonlinear nonaffine system dynamics is presented as an affine system in terms of a nonlinear function of the control input. It is shown that the optimal control of nonaffine systems may not have an admissible solution if the utility function is not defined properly. Moreover, the boundness of the optimal control input cannot be guaranteed for standard performance functions. A new performance function is defined and used in the [Formula: see text]-gain condition for this class of nonaffine system. This performance function guarantees the existence of an admissible solution (if any exists) and boundness of the control input solution. An off-policy reinforcement learning (RL) is employed to iteratively solve the [Formula: see text] optimal tracking control online using the measured data along the system trajectories. The proposed off-policy RL does not require any knowledge of the system dynamics. Moreover, the disturbance input does not need to be adjustable in a specific manner.
China’s Low-Carbon Urbanization Progress and Pathway
Authors: LIANG Benfan , PAN Jiahua , ZHANG Ying , MENG Yanchun , ZHU Shouxian
Published: February 2016

Low-carbon urbanization is the integration of urbanization and low carbonization. It is the low-carbon transformation of current urban areas, the new trend of developing model of urban and rural areas, which includes the low-carbon transition in production, living style, and ecological spaces, the low-carbon reform in economy, society, structure, and the developing model, as well as changing urban areas from high-carbon style to low-carbon style. The urbanization rate of China is almost the same with global average level, and is expected to reach 80% in 2050. Currently, urbanization replaces industrialization, becoming an important force influencing socio-economic development, climate and ecological environment changes, international relations, and political patterns. With a 2[Formula: see text]C rise in temperature, human beings have to face a series of risks brought by climate change. China’s large-scale urbanization is of great influence on others. In this context, it is necessary to take a scientific cognition of China’s urbanization process, clarifying urbanization developing pathway, turning carbon constraints into carbon bonus, avoiding high-carbon lock, and then to take opportunities in promoting economic structure under “new normal” conditions, accelerating the upgrade from urban civilization to ecological civilization, and to reach both 100-year goal and low-carbon developing goal, leading sustainable development globally.
Paris, India, and China: Shaping the Global Agenda
Authors: SANWAL Mukul
Published: February 2016

The climate negotiations in Paris mark a geopolitical shift with China and India setting the global agenda as they have made climate change an integral part of their transformation. This shift opens up of possibilities for new forms of international cooperation that are not based on the 20-year old Climate Convention. The emerging global consensus is reflected in the movement away from the narrow focus on “environmental risk management” to “economic growth within ecological limits”. Incorporating in the new Agreement, elements of sharing prosperity, or innovative technology, and not only responsibility for emissions reduction will be the biggest leadership challenge.