bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Household Expenditures on Vegetables in Malaysia
Authors: Tan Andrew K.G. , Yen Steven T. , Hasan Abdul Rahman , Muhamed Kamarudin
Published: April 2019

Factors associated with purchase likelihoods and amounts spent on fresh and preserved vegetables in Malaysia are investigated. A sample selection system is applied to data from a national survey in Malaysia. Statistical test supports separate analyses for urban and rural households. Income and sociodemographic characteristics such as ethnicity, location of residence, household size, and education are closely associated with household expenditure patterns of fresh and preserved vegetables. Urban-rural differences are also uncovered in these effects. Several observations are noted vis-à-vis the expenditure patterns for fresh and preserved vegetables in Malaysia.
Apple Export Competition between the United States and China in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Authors: Luckstead Jeff , Devadoss Stephen , Mittelhammer Ron C.
Published: April 2019

We developed a trade model under imperfect competition to analyze the market power of U.S. and Chinese apple producers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) market and their domestic markets and the elimination of ASEAN tariffs on U.S. and Chinese apples. We also formulated welfare functions for the United States, China, and ASEAN. Comparative static results are derived to analyze the effect of tariff changes on exports, domestic sales, and welfare. Based on the theoretical model, we derived an econometric specification and used the new empirical industrial organization literature to estimate the market power of U.S. and Chinese apple producers. The econometric model is simulated to quantify the effect of tariff removal on exports and domestic sales.
Innovative Teaching Methods: Evolutions Spanning a 25-Year Career
Authors: Marchant Mary A.
Published: April 2019

I begin my presentation at today’s “Southern Agricultural Economics Association’s (SAEA) Lifetime Achievement Award Winners’ Symposium” by thanking those who made this award possible. Thank you to members of the selection committee and to my nominator, Dr. Michael Wetzstein, and recommenders, Drs. Steve Blank, Eduardo Seggara, and GailCramer. These individuals have seen me “grow up” in the agricultural economics profession and I am grateful for their guidance, wisdom,and friendship. I am also grateful to the members of the SAEA and the manyopportunities the Association has provided, including serving as an officer for six years and coeditor of the Association’s Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics with Virginia Tech (VT) colleague, Darrell Bosch, for the past three years.
Block-chain Reaction: Why Development of Blockchain is at the Heart of the Legal Technology of Tomorrow
Authors: Rust Kimberley
Published: April 2019

Blockchain, arguably the most discussed and promising of FinTech trends, has incredible potential to transform legal technology. Infamous as the technology behind cryptocurrencies, distributed ledger technology (DLT) has developed far beyond these origins and may prove far more valuable than the currency it supports. As a form of DLT, blockchain allows for secure decentralisation of peer-to-peer, irreversible exchanges, providing a transparent and irrevocable record as these occur. The technology is already used across the legal industry and a plethora of opportunities to extend its application bubble beneath the surface, under development, waiting to break into the current market.
Tectonic Inheritance Following Failed Continental Subduction: A Model for Core Complex Formation in Cold, Strong Lithosphere
Authors: Biemiller James , Ellis Susan , Mizera Marcel , Little Timothy , Wallace Laura , Lavier Luc
Published: April 2019

Inherited structural, compositional, thermal, and mechanical properties from previous tectonic phases can affect the deformation style of lithosphere entering a new stage of the Wilson cycle. When continental crust jams a subduction zone, the transition from subduction to extension can occur rapidly, as is the case following slab breakoff of the leading subducted oceanic slab. This study explores the extent to which geometric and physical properties of the subduction phase affect the subsequent deformation style and surface morphology of post subduction extensional systems. We focus on regions that transition rapidly from subduction to extension, retaining lithospheric heterogeneities and cold thermal structure inherited from subduction. We present numerical models suggesting that following failed subduction of continental crust (with or without slab breakoff), the extensional deformation style depends on the strength and dip of the preexisting subduction thrust. Our models predict three distinct extensional modes based on these inherited properties: (1) reactivation of the subduction thrust and development of a rolling‐hinge detachment that exhumes deep crustal material in a domal structure prior to onset of an asymmetric rift; (2) partial reactivation of a low‐angle subduction thrust, which is eventually abandoned as high‐angle, “domino”‐style normal faults cut and extend the crust above the inherited thrust; and (3) no reactivation of the subduction fault but instead localized rifting above the previous subduction margin as new rift‐bounding, high‐angle normal faults form. We propose that the first mode is well exemplified by the young, rapidly exhumed Dayman‐Suckling metamorphic core complex that is exhuming today in Papua New Guinea.
Ion beam etching redeposition for 3D multimaterial nanostructure manufacturing
Authors: Desbiolles B. X. E. , Bertsch A. , Renaud P.
Published: April 2019

A novel fabrication method based on the local sputtering of photoresist sidewalls during ion beam etching is presented. This method allows for the manufacture of three-dimensional multimaterial nanostructures at the wafer scale in only four process steps. Features of various shapes and profiles can be fabricated at sub-100-nm dimensions with unprecedented freedom in material choice. Complex nanostructures such as nanochannels, multimaterial nanowalls, and suspended networks were successfully fabricated using only standard microprocessing tools. This provides an alternative to traditional nanofabrication techniques, as well as new opportunities for biosensing, nanofluidics, nanophotonics, and nanoelectronics.
Correction to: A microfluidic platform for continuous monitoring of dopamine homeostasis in dopaminergic cells
Authors: Yu Yue , de Campos Richard P. S. , Hong Seolim , Krastev Dimitar L. , Sadanand Siddharth , Leung Yen , Wheeler Aaron R.
Published: April 2019

The legend in Figure 4a in the previously published version of this article contained erroneous units. The correct units are given in the caption–that is, 1 µM (black), 500 nM (red), 100 nM (blue), 50 nM (cyan), 10 nM (pink), and 0 nM (1× PBS solution, brown).
Epigenetic drug library screening identified an LSD1 inhibitor to target UTX-deficient cells for differentiation therapy
Authors: Wu Baohong , Pan Xiangyu , Chen Xuelan , Chen Mei , Shi Kaidou , Xu Jing , Zheng Jianan , Niu Ting , Chen Chong , Shuai Xiao , Liu Yu
Published: April 2019

UTX (also known as KDM6A), a histone 3 lysine 27 demethylase, is among the most frequently mutated epigenetic regulators in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Recent studies have suggested that UTX mutations promote MDS and AML by blocking the differentiation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Here, we performed an epigenetic drug library screening for small molecules able to release the differentiation block on HSPCs induced by UTX deficiency. We found that SP2509, a selective inhibitor of LSD1, specifically promoted the differentiation of Utx-null HSPCs while sparing wild-type HSPCs. Transcriptome profiling showed that Utx loss reduced the expression of differentiation-related and tumor suppressor genes, correlating with their potential roles in HSPC self-renewal and leukemogenesis. In contrast, SP2509 treatment reversed these changes in gene expression in Utx-null HSPCs. Accordingly, Utx loss decreased H3K4 methylation level probably through the COMPASS-like complex, while LSD1 inhibition by SP2509 partially reversed the reduction of H3K4 methylation in Utx-deficient HSPCs. Further, SP2509 promoted the differentiation of Utx-null AML cells in vitro and in vivo and, therefore, extended the survival of these leukemic mice. Thus, our study identified a novel strategy to specifically target both premalignant and malignant cells with Utx deficiency for differentiation therapy and provided insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of Utx in regulating HSPCs and related diseases.
DMP1 prevents osteocyte alterations, FGF23 elevation and left ventricular hypertrophy in mice with chronic kidney disease
Authors: Dussold Corey , Gerber Claire , White Samantha , Wang Xueyan , Qi Lixin , Francis Connor , Capella Maralee , Courbon Guillaume , Wang Jingya , Li Chaoyuan , Feng Jian Q. , Isakova Tamara , Wolf Myles , David Valentin , Martin Aline
Published: April 2019

During chronic kidney disease (CKD), alterations in bone and mineral metabolism include increased production of the hormone fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) that may contribute to cardiovascular mortality. The osteocyte protein dentin matrix protein 1 (DMP1) reduces FGF23 and enhances bone mineralization, but its effects in CKD are unknown. We tested the hypothesis that DMP1 supplementation in CKD would improve bone health, prevent FGF23 elevations and minimize consequent adverse cardiovascular outcomes. We investigated DMP1 regulation and effects in wild-type (WT) mice and the Col4a3−/− mouse model of CKD. Col4a3−/− mice demonstrated impaired kidney function, reduced bone DMP1 expression, reduced bone mass, altered osteocyte morphology and connectivity, increased osteocyte apoptosis, increased serum FGF23, hyperphosphatemia, left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), and reduced survival. Genetic or pharmacological supplementation of DMP1 in Col4a3−/− mice prevented osteocyte apoptosis, preserved osteocyte networks, corrected bone mass, partially lowered FGF23 levels by attenuating NFAT-induced FGF23 transcription, and further increased serum phosphate. Despite impaired kidney function and worsened hyperphosphatemia, DMP1 prevented development of LVH and improved Col4a3−/− survival. Our data suggest that CKD reduces DMP1 expression, whereas its restoration represents a potential therapeutic approach to lower FGF23 and improve bone and cardiac health in CKD.
Anisotropic tough multilayer hydrogels with programmable orientation
Authors: Mredha Md. Tariful Islam , Le Hong Hieu , Tran Van Tron , Trtik Pavel , Cui Jiaxi , Jeon Insu
Published: April 2019

This study presents a novel self-welding-based interfacial reconfiguration strategy for preparing anisotropic tough hydrogels with user-programmed hierarchical orientation.
Highly enhanced thermoelectric properties of nanostructured Bi2S3 bulk materials via carrier modification and multi-scale phonon scattering
Authors: Wu Yi , Lou Qing , Qiu Yang , Guo Jun , Mei Zhi-Yuan , Xu Xiao , Feng Jing , He Jiaqing , Ge Zhen-Hua
Published: April 2019

Low lattice thermal conductivity for LaCl3-doped samples is obtained via a multiscale structure and strong scattering by point defects, dislocations and grain boundaries.
The Role of the Brainstem in Generating and Modulating Tinnitus
Authors: Theodoroff Sarah M. , Kaltenbach James A.
Published: April 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this work is to present a perspective article summarizing ideas pertaining to the brainstem's role in generating and modulating tinnitus. It is organized in 4 sections: Part 1, the role of the brainstem as a tinnitus generator; Part 2, the role of the brainstem in modulating tinnitus; Part 3, the role of the brainstem in nonauditory comorbid conditions associated with tinnitus; and Part 4, clinical implications. In Part 1, well-established neurophysiological models are discussed providing the framework of evidence that auditory brainstem nuclei play a role in generating tinnitus. In Part 2, ideas are presented explaining modulatory effects on tinnitus related to underlying pathways originating from or projecting to brainstem auditory and nonauditory nuclei. This section addresses multiple phenomena including somatic-related, attention-mediated, and emotion-mediated changes in the tinnitus percept. In Part 3, the role of the brainstem in common nonauditory comorbidities that occur in patients with tinnitus is discussed. Part 4 presents clinical implications of these new ideas related to the brainstem's involvement in generating and modulating tinnitus.

Impact

Knowledge of the brainstem's involvement in generating and modulating tinnitus provides a context for health care professionals to understand the temporal relationship between tinnitus and common nonauditory comorbid conditions.
Inhalatoren bei asthmatischen Erkrankungen –
Kostenreduktion und höhere Lebensqualität durch Vermeidung von
Anwendungsfehlern
Authors: Potempa Christoph
Published: April 2019

Forster et al. Cost–utility analysis of an intervention designed to reduce the
critical handling error of insufficient inspiratory effort. Eur J Health Econ
2018; 19(9): 1303–1318

Eine aktuelle gesundheitsökonomische Analyse von Forster et al. untersucht die
wirtschaftlichen und gesellschaftlichen Kosten einer fehlerhaften
Einatmungstechnik im Rahmen der Inhalatoren-Nutzung von Asthma-Patienten und
evaluiert darüber hinaus den Einfluss einer wirksamen Maßnahme zur
Verringerung bzw. Beseitigung dieses Anwendungsfehlers.
The Interplay of Knowledge Representation with Various Fields of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
Authors: Balkanyi Laszlo , Cornet Ronald
Published: April 2019

Introduction: Artificial intelligence (AI) is widespread in many areas, including medicine. However, it is unclear what exactly AI encompasses. This paper aims to provide an improved understanding of medical AI and its constituent fields, and their interplay with knowledge representation (KR).

Methods: We followed a Wittgensteinian approach (“meaning by usage”) applied to content metadata labels, using the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) thesaurus to classify the field. To understand and characterize medical AI and the role of KR, we analyzed: (1) the proportion of papers in MEDLINE related to KR and various AI fields; (2) the interplay among KR and AI fields and overlaps among the AI fields; (3) interconnectedness of fields; and (4) phrase frequency and collocation based on a corpus of abstracts.

Results: Data from over eighty thousand papers showed a steep, six-fold surge in the last 30 years. This growth happened in an escalating and cascading way. A corpus of 246,308 total words containing 21,842 unique words showed several hundred occurrences of notions such as robotics, fuzzy logic, neural networks, machine learning and expert systems in the phrase frequency analysis. Collocation analysis shows that fuzzy logic seems to be the most often collocated notion. Neural networks and machine learning are also used in the conceptual neighborhood of KR. Robotics is more isolated.

Conclusions: Authors note an escalation of published AI studies in medicine. Knowledge representation is one of the smaller areas, but also the most interconnected, and provides a common cognitive layer for other areas.
Adaptation of field pea varieties to organic farming across different environments of Italy
Authors: Pecetti Luciano , Marcotrigiano Angelo R. , Russi Luigi , Romani Massimo , Annicchiarico Paolo
Published: April 2019

This study aimed to support field pea (Pisum sativum L.) breeding strategies for organic systems of southern European environments, by assessing the size of genotype × environment interaction (GEI) due to spatial and temporal factors across climatically contrasting regions and identifying plant characters associated with genotype adaptive responses. Twelve recent varieties were evaluated for grain yield and other traits in six organically managed environments (three sites × two cropping years) of northern, central and southern Italy. GEI for grain yield was large, with the variety × site × year interaction greatly exceeding the variety × site interaction. This finding, and the similar magnitude of the mean genetic correlations for variety yields across pairs of sites (rg = 0.56) and pairs of years (rg = 0.51), indicated the difficulty of exploiting variety × site interaction effects by breeding for specific climatic regions. Pattern analysis highlighted the large inconsistency across years for GEI pattern of the sites from central and southern Italy. GEI also complicated the targeting of varieties, owing to inconsistent top-performing material across years according to additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI)-modelled yields. Higher genotype mean yield was strictly associated (P < 0.01) with lower weed proportion (hence, greater competitiveness against weeds: r = –0.96), taller plants (r = 0.89) and larger seeds (r = 0.78), with looser associations with lower susceptibility to lodging and ascochyta blight. These traits, which also contributed to preferential adaptation to the moisture-favourable environments of northern Italy, could be selected in breeding widely adapted varieties.
Genotypic differences in phosphorus acquisition efficiency and root performance of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) under low-phosphorus stress
Authors: Chen Bolang , Wang Qinghui , Bücking Heike , Sheng Jiandong , Luo Jia , Chai Zhongping , Kafle Arjun , Hou Yinying , Feng Gu
Published: April 2019

Low availability of phosphorus (P) is a major constraint to production of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). The extent to which genotypic variation in root traits exists or contributes to P-acquisition efficiency (PAE) in cotton is unknown. To assess genetic variation in PAE, the biomass and P-acquisition characteristics of 32 cotton genotypes were evaluated in a hydroponic experiment. Significant genotypic variation in biomass and P content was detected among the cotton genotypes in two seasons. We then conducted a 2-year pot experiment to compare P-efficiency traits between three P-efficient and two P-inefficient genotypes under P-deficient and P-sufficient conditions (0 and 75 mg P2O5 kg–1 soil, respectively). We detected significant differences in biomass accumulation and allocation, P accumulation and allocation, root traits and PAE among the five cotton genotypes under P-sufficient and P-deficient conditions. Compared with P-inefficient genotypes, P-efficient genotypes had longer surface fine roots, and greater total root surface area, total root length, surface root length, and P concentration (partitioning index) in bolls. Root morphology, especially surface fine root length and middle root length, played an important role in P uptake under P-deficient conditions.
Physiological characteristics and forage accumulation of grazed Marandu palisade grass (Brachiaria brizantha) growing in monoculture and in silvopasture with Eucalyptus urograndis
Authors: do Nascimento H. L. B. , Pedreira B. C. , Sollenberger L. E. , Pereira D. H. , Magalhães C. A. de S. , Chizzotti F. H. M.
Published: April 2019

Adoption of silvopasture is increasing, but proper design and management of pasture–tree associations is required to sustain pasture productivity. Our objective was to compare agronomic and physiological characteristics of Brachiaria brizantha (Hochst. Ex A.Rich.) Stapf. (palisade grass) cv. Marandu growing in monoculture, or in silvopasture with Eucalyptus urograndis, in the Brazilian Amazon biome. Trees were planted in triple rows (intra-row spacing 3 m, inter-row spacing 3.5 m), referred to as a grove, with three groves per 2-ha silvopasture experimental unit. Space between groves was 30 m, and tree density was 270 ha–1. From October 2015 to September 2016, all experimental units were stocked continuously with cattle by using a variable stocking rate to maintain a Marandu canopy height of 30 cm. In the silvopasture, sampling occurred at 4, 7.5 and 15 m into the non-treed area from the outer tree row in a grove. Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) reaching the Marandu canopy averaged 21% less for silvopasture than for grass monoculture; however, forage accumulation was not different between systems, nor were Marandu stomatal conductance, water-use efficiency (WUE), transpiration rate, transpiration ratio and leaf temperature. In silvopasture, PAR and forage accumulation were 33% and 29% less, respectively, at the 4-m distance than the 15-m distance from the edge row of trees, associated with lower transpiration rate and transpiration rate and greater WUE. We conclude that Marandu palisade grass can tolerate PAR reduction in silvopasture up to ~20% without reduction in forage accumulation, supporting its potential use in agroforestry systems for cattle production in the Brazilian Amazon Biome.
Organic matter input influences incidence of root rot caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG8 and microorganisms associated with plant root disease suppression in three Australian agricultural soils
Authors: Davey Rowena S. , McNeill Ann M. , Barnett Stephen J. , Gupta Vadakattu V. S. R.
Published: April 2019

Soil-borne plant root disease caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG8 is prevalent in cereal farming systems worldwide, particularly in semiarid agricultural regions. A controlled environment study was undertaken using three Australian soils to test the hypothesis that OM input from crop roots and residues decreases infection by Rhizoctonia root rot via biologically mediated disease suppression. The specific aim was to determine the relative effect of two different OM inputs (wheat stubble or roots) on (a) abundance (DNA) of the pathogen R. solani AG8 and soil organisms putatively associated with disease suppression, and (b) incidence of Rhizoctonia root rot infection of wheat seedlings (% root infected). An increase in microbial biomass carbon (C) following OM amendment indicated a potential for enhanced general biological disease suppression in all soils. OM inputs also increased the population size (DNA) of certain bacteria and fungi putatively associated with specific suppression for Rhizoctonia root rot, suggesting a C resource-mediated change in microbial functions related to disease suppression. There were no significant changes to measured pathogens with stubble addition. However, OM inputs via root residues and rhizodeposits from living roots increased the populations of R. solani AG8 and Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici so that in subsequently planted wheat there was greater incidence of root disease infection and reduced plant shoot and root DM compared with that following OM input as stubble. Differences between soils in terms of plant and soil organism responses to each OM input suggest that abiotic factors modify the development of biological disease suppression and the expression of the disease.
Tai Dam orthographies
Authors: Vitrano-Wilson Seth
Published: April 2019

Tai Dam [blt] is a Southwestern Tai (< Kra-Dai) language spoken in Vietnam, Laos, China, and Thailand with approximately 750,000 speakers (Simons & Fennig 2017). The Tai Viet script has been used for centuries to write Tai Dam and other Tai languages. Because the Tai Viet script is not taught in schools, however, some Tai Dam readers prefer to use adaptations of the Vietnamese and Lao orthographies for writing Tai Dam. This paper describes Tai Dam orthographies in the Tai Viet, Lao, and Roman scripts. Particular focus is given to the way writers have faced the challenge of tonal mismatch between Tai Dam and Vietnamese or Lao by borrowing tone marking devices from one script to another, and to the sociolinguistic implications of these tone marking systems.
scMatch: a single-cell gene expression profile annotation tool using reference datasets
Authors: Hou Rui , Denisenko Elena , Forrest Alistair R R
Published: April 2019

Motivation

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) measures gene expression at the resolution of individual cells. Massively multiplexed single-cell profiling has enabled large-scale transcriptional analyses of thousands of cells in complex tissues. In most cases, the true identity of individual cells is unknown and needs to be inferred from the transcriptomic data. Existing methods typically cluster (group) cells based on similarities of their gene expression profiles and assign the same identity to all cells within each cluster using the averaged expression levels. However, scRNA-seq experiments typically produce low-coverage sequencing data for each cell, which hinders the clustering process.

Results

We introduce scMatch, which directly annotates single cells by identifying their closest match in large reference datasets. We used this strategy to annotate various single-cell datasets and evaluated the impacts of sequencing depth, similarity metric and reference datasets. We found that scMatch can rapidly and robustly annotate single cells with comparable accuracy to another recent cell annotation tool (SingleR), but that it is quicker and can handle larger reference datasets. We demonstrate how scMatch can handle large customized reference gene expression profiles that combine data from multiple sources, thus empowering researchers to identify cell populations in any complex tissue with the desired precision.

Availability and implementation

scMatch (Python code) and the FANTOM5 reference dataset are freely available to the research community here https://github.com/forrest-lab/scMatch.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
A Novel Aspect-based Sentiment Analysis Network Model Based on Multilingual Hierarchy in Online Social Network
Authors: Liu Guangfeng , Huang Xianying , Liu Xiaoyang , Yang Anzhi
Published: April 2019

In recent years, sentiment analysis based on aspects has become one of the research hotspots in the field of natural language processing. Aiming at the fact that the existing network model cannot fully obtain the interrelationship between sentences in the same comment and the long-distance dependence of specific aspects in the whole comment, a multilingual deep hierarchical model combining regional convolutional neural network and bidirectional LSTM network is proposed. The model obtains the time series relationship of different sentences in the comments through the regional CNN, and obtains the local features of the specific aspects in the sentence and the long-distance dependence in the whole comment through the hierarchical attention network. In addition, the model improves the word vector representation based on the gate mechanism to make the model completely independent of the language. Experimental results for different domain datasets in multi-language show that the proposed model achieves better classification results than the traditional deep network model, the network model combining with the attention mechanism and considering the relationship between sentences.
Discriminative Correlation Filter for Long-Time Tracking
Authors: Gong Faming , Yue Hanbing , Yuan Xiangbing , Gong Wenjuan , Song Tao
Published: April 2019

Object tracking is a very important step in building an intelligent video monitoring system that can protect people’s lives and property. In recent years, although visual tracking has made great progress in terms of speed and accuracy, there are still few real-time high-precision tracking algorithms. Although discriminative correlation filters have excellent performance in tracking speed, there are deficiencies in handling fast motion. This leads to the inability to achieve long-term stable tracking results. The long-time tracking with discriminative correlation filter (LT-DCF) was proposed to solve these deficiencies. We use larger size detection image blocks and smaller size filters to increase the proportion of real samples to solve the boundary effects of fast motion. And we combine the histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) feature detection and scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) key point detection to solve the obstacles caused by scale variations. The detector with deep feature flow is then incorporated into the tracker to detect key frames to improve tracking accuracy. This method has achieved more than 75% of the distance accuracy and 70% of the overlapping success rate on the VOT2015 and VOT2016 datasets, and the stable tracking video length can reach 6895 frames.
Surgical outcome of isolated congenital supravalvular pulmonary stenosis: a case series
Authors: Kumar Vikas , Mahajan Sachin , Jaswal Vivek , Thingnam Shyam Kumar Singh
Published: April 2019

Background

Supravalvular stenosis of main pulmonary artery is a rare anomaly characterized by the presence of constriction band just above the pulmonary valve. It is mostly acquired after intervention on the pulmonary trunk or less commonly is congenital in origin associated with complex congenital cardiac malformations and very rarely can present as an isolated native congenital supravalvular pulmonary stenosis (SPS).

Case summary

We present a series of four cases of isolated congenital SPS who underwent surgical correction at our tertiary care institute over 8 years. Mean age of the patients was 2.25 ± 0.96 years with all of them being males. Mean peak systolic gradient across the stenosis was 82 ± 21.48 mmHg ranging from 60 mmHg to 110 mmHg. There was no early and medium-term mortality with 100% survival at mean follow-up of 31 months (range 7–85 months).

Discussion

Surgical correction of congenital SPS carries excellent early and mid-term results with almost no mortality and very low risk of re-intervention for restenosis.
Eclipsed mitral regurgitation successfully treated with a combination of surgical and pharmacological therapies: a case report
Authors: Ichikawa Keishi , Watanabe Atsuyuki , Ito Hiroshi
Published: April 2019

Background

Eclipsed mitral regurgitation (MR), which is characterized by a transient and reversible massive functional MR, usually causes recurrent episodes of acute pulmonary oedema in patients with a preserved left ventricular ejection fraction. The pathophysiological mechanism and optimal treatment of eclipsed MR are not yet fully understood.

Case summary

A 72-year-old woman was hospitalized with cardiogenic shock and takotsubo cardiomyopathy. After hospitalization worsening dyspnoea again appeared, and urgent transthoracic echocardiography revealed severe MR, which spontaneously resolved in a few minutes. At this point, eclipsed MR was detected for the first time. Diagnostic examination revealed that the eclipsed MR was caused by a left ventricular afterload increase. Ultimately, the patient began medical therapy and underwent mitral valve replacement. The subsequent clinical course was favourable.

Discussion

This case illustrates the importance of early intervention for eclipsed MR. A combination of surgical and pharmacological therapies can serve as one treatment option for an eclipsed MR.
Minimally invasive aortic valve replacement with a catheter-based cerebral protection system: transferring percutaneous technologies into a surgical intervention
Authors: Di Eusanio Marco , Cefarelli Mariano , Berretta Paolo , Capestro Filippo
Published: April 2019

Patients with severe aortic valve stenosis are currently treated with 2 different interventional techniques: surgical aortic valve replacement or transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). Both have strengths and limitations. On the one hand, TAVI represents a valuable option in high- and intermediate-risk patients and is commonly preferred over surgical aortic valve replacement in subjects with porcelain or severely calcified aorta, on the other, the lack of data on valve durability raises concerns on its use in young, low-risk patients. We present herein the case of a low-risk 71-year-old patient with a severely calcified ascending aorta. We successfully combined our minimally invasive surgical approach with the use of a percutaneous cerebral protection system commonly employed during TAVI procedures. We believe that cardiac surgeons could adopt transcatheter technology to improve operative results.
Pichia pastoris-expressed Zika virus envelope domain III on a virus-like particle platform: design, production and immunological evaluation
Authors: Shanmugam Rajgokul K , Ramasamy Viswanathan , Shukla Rahul , Arora Upasana , Swaminathan Sathyamangalam , Khanna Navin
Published: April 2019

Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arbovirus which shares antigenic similarity and the mosquito vector with dengue viruses (DENVs). ZIKV is a neurotropic virus capable of causing congenital neurodevelopmental birth defects. As ZIKV antibodies (Abs) can potentially enhance infection by DENVs, a preventive ZIKV vaccine must be designed to eliminate antibody dependent enhancement of infection. We developed a Zika Subunit Vaccine (ZSV) consisting of two proteins, ZS and S, in a genetically pre-determined ratio of 1:4, using the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris. ZS is an in-frame fusion of ZIKV envelope domain III with the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antigen, and S is the un-fused HBV surface antigen. Using specific monoclonal Abs we showed the presence of ZS and S in the co-purified material which were found to co-assemble into virus-like particles (VLPs), based on dynamic light scattering and electron microscopic analyses. These VLPs were immunogenic in BALB/c mice, eliciting Abs capable of neutralizing ZIKV reporter virus particles. Further, the VLP-induced Abs did not enhance a sub-lethal DENV-2 challenge in AG129 mice. This important safety feature, coupled to the well-documented advantage of P. pastoris expression system, warrants further exploration of ZSV VLP as a possible vaccine candidate.
Social Relationships and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Among Postmenopausal Women
Authors: Hendryx Michael , Nicholson Wanda , Manson JoAnn E , Kroenke Candyce H , Lee Jennifer , Weitlauf Julie C , Garcia Lorena , Jonasson Junmei M , Wactawski-Wende Jean , Luo Juhua
Published: April 2019

Objectives

We examined whether social relationship variables (social support, social strain, social network size, and stressful life events) were associated with risk of developing type 2 diabetes among postmenopausal women.

Method

139,924 postmenopausal women aged 50–79 years without prevalent diabetes at baseline were followed for a mean of 14 years. 19,240 women developed diabetes. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models tested associations between social relationship variables and diabetes incidence after consideration of demographics, depressive symptoms, and lifestyle behaviors. We also examined moderating effects of obesity and race/ethnicity, and we tested whether social variable associations were mediated by lifestyle or depressive symptoms.

Results

Compared with the lowest quartile, women in the highest social support quartile had lower risk of diabetes after adjusting for demographic factors, health behaviors, and depressive symptoms (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.93, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.89–0.97). Social strain (HR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.04–1.13) and stressful life events (HR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.05–1.15) were associated with higher diabetes risks. The association between diabetes and social strain was stronger among African American women. Social relationship variables had direct relationships to diabetes, as well as indirect effects partially mediated by lifestyle and depressive symptoms.

Discussion

Social support, social strain, and stressful life events were associated with diabetes risk among postmenopausal women independently of demographic factors and health behaviors. In addition to healthy behaviors such as diet and physical activity, healthy social relationships among older women may be important in the prevention of diabetes.
Credit Constraints and the Composition of Housing Sales. Farewell to First-Time Buyers?
Authors: Carozzi Felipe
Published: April 2019

During the housing bust of 2008–2009, housing prices and transaction volumes fell across the United Kingdom. Although the drop in prices was similar across housing types, transaction volumes fell more for units at the lower end of the market. I document this fact and provide panel and instrumental variable estimates showing its link with tightening credit conditions in England and Wales during 2008. I then use an overlapping-generation framework to relate the change in the composition of sales with the reduction in loan-to-value ratios by British banks and to derive additional predictions. As down-payment requirements increase, young households with scarce financial resources are priced out by older owners who retain their previous houses as rental properties when trading up. Recent changes in aggregate housing tenure, disaggregated changes in renting, and sales in areas with different age compositions, are consistent with these predictions. The results presented here show how the composition of sales changes over the housing cycle and may inform ongoing policy discussions about reduced access to home-ownership by the young.
ANCHOR surgeon views of patient selection and expectations for periacetabular osteotomy
Authors: Edelstein Adam I , Kaiser Tegel Karen , Shaunfield Sara ,   ANCHOR Group, Beaulé Paul E , Clohisy John C , Millis Michael , Novais Eduardo , Peters Christopher L , Sankar Wudbhav N , Sierra Rafael J , Sink Ernest L , Stover Michael D , Zaltz Ira , Clohisy John C , Stover Michael D
Published: April 2019

Preoperative expectations impact shared decision making and patient satisfaction. Surgeon views of patient selection, expected outcomes and patient expectations after periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) for treatment of acetabular dysplasia have not been defined. We assessed surgeon views of patient selection and expected outcomes after PAO. A sample of experienced PAO surgeons participated in semi-structured phone interviews assessing: (i) factors that determine patient candidacy for PAO; (ii) surgeon expectations for PAO outcomes; (iii) surgeon perceptions of patient expectations for PAO outcomes and (iv) surgeon perceptions of discrepancies in surgeon and patient expectations and approaches for reconciling these discrepancies. Twelve surgeons (77% of PAO-performing ANCHOR surgeons) participated. The factors most commonly mentioned in determining patient candidacy for PAO were: symptoms, radiographic findings, absence of arthritis and age. Only one-quarter of the sample mentioned patient expectations as a factor in determining patient candidacy for PAO. The most common surgeon expectations were: pain reduction, joint preservation, function with activities of daily living and return to desired activities. 58% of surgeons felt that surgeon and patient expectations align most of the time. Common expectation discrepancies included return to unrestricted activities and complete pain relief. Detailed discussion was the most commonly employed strategy to resolve expectation discrepancies. PAO surgeons felt that patient expectations of complete pain relief and return to unrestricted activities were misaligned with their own expectations. Development of an expectations survey may facilitate shared decision making.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder
Authors: Heard Heidi L. , Linehan Marsha M.
Published: April 2019

This chapter elaborates on the multiple integrative aspects of dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), an evidenced-based treatment for individuals who meet criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD). It discusses how behavioral theory, Zen, and dialectics provide the primary principles and describes how the dialectical principles perform various integrating roles throughout the therapy. It also clarifies the construct of traumatic invalidation, a component of the treatment’s biosocial theory. The section on methods describes key therapeutic strategies, including problem-solving and validation. A case example illustrates the dialectical and integrative nature of the treatment. The chapter also reviews the results of randomized controlled trials examining the efficacy of DBT for BPD and identifies the settings, ages, and other clinical disorders for which the treatment also has empirical support.
Integrative Psychotherapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Authors: Westra Henny A. , Constantino Michael J.
Published: April 2019

This chapter describes an integrative therapy for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) that responsively assimilates motivational interviewing (MI) into cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). MI is a person-centered method that helps clients increase their intrinsic drive to change by identifying and working through their intrapsychic ambivalence about or interpersonal resistance to change, which are common negative process markers for clients with GAD. The MI spirit can also facilitate CBT outside of these markers by forestalling such processes that, even in small doses, correlate with poor outcomes. The authors also present assessment methods (especially for the markers of change ambivalence and resistance); summarize the application and structure of MI interventions; describe the processes of change, therapeutic relationship, and core techniques in MI + CBT; consider diversity elements; and provide a case example. The chapter concludes by reviewing the outcome research for this integrative therapy and by highlighting future practice, research, and training directions.
Trauma and Child Custody Disputes
Authors: Drozd Leslie , Saini Michael A. , Vellucci-Cook Kristina
Published: April 2019

This chapter addresses the special considerations that must be applied when therapeutic interventions occur in the context of unresolved allegations of trauma or abuse. Evidence-informed techniques that address functional deficits being exhibited by the child, without compromising external investigation of the allegations, are discussed. Methods for maintaining or strengthening the healthy aspect of parent–child relationships, as consistent with child safety, are also discussed. This chapter considers evidence-informed techniques for addressing functional deficits exhibited by children as a result of unresolved trauma. Attention is placed on methods for resolving histories of trauma within the family law and child dependency context. This may include resolving traumatic memories with parents, dealing with situations in which more than one party is traumatized or memories do not align, and reaching child-supportive resolutions when parent–child contact requires a trauma-supportive lens.
The Special Needs Child After Separation or Divorce
Authors: Pickar Daniel B. , Kaufman Robert L.
Published: April 2019

Separated and divorced families in which there is a special needs child (SNC) pose unique challenges for parents and the family law professionals who are attempting to assist them. Special needs is an umbrella term that includes a variety of at least moderate to severe neurodevelopmental, medical, and psychiatric disorders. In these families, parents frequently need assistance developing specialized skills to implement intervention plans and support healthy growth of the SNC. Keeping both parents involved with the child as well as timely delivery of services can be especially difficult. Family law professionals, in particular, need to understand that commonly recommended developmentally based parenting plans may be inappropriate for many SNCs. This chapter discusses application of the risk assessment model developed by the authors to inform parenting and intervention plans that benefit SNCs and improve coparenting relationship and effective family decision-making.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Facilitate Positive Body Image and Embodiment
Authors: Webb Jennifer B.
Published: April 2019

Contemporary scholarship seeks to give increased attention to identifying and evaluating treatment modalities that may be useful in enhancing more positive forms of embodiment. In this context, acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) offers a promising approach to shift disrupted embodiment into a more embodied connection and engaged living via strengthening a range of interrelated embodied flexibility processes. This chapter is designed to address the following aims: (a) to propose a heuristic model integrating the conceptual foundations of ACT and embodiment; (b) to provide a clinical case illustrating the potential benefits of applying ACT strategies in the context of embodiment; (c) to offer a brief overview of select empirical studies applying ACT in the domains of body image, weight-related acceptance and stigmatization, eating, and physical activity; and (d) to briefly consider the strengths and limitations of this emerging evidence base to serve as a springboard for future research to pursue.
Mass loss via solar wind and coronal mass ejections during solar cycles 23 and 24
Authors: Mishra Wageesh , Srivastava Nandita , Wang Yuming , Mirtoshev Zavkiddin , Zhang Jie , Liu Rui
Published: April 2019

Similar to the Sun, other stars shed mass and magnetic flux via ubiquitous quasi-steady wind and episodic stellar coronal mass ejections (CMEs). We investigate the mass loss rate via solar wind and CMEs as a function of solar magnetic variability represented in terms of sunspot number and solar X-ray background luminosity. We estimate the contribution of CMEs to the total solar wind mass flux in the ecliptic and beyond, and its variation over different phases of the solar activity cycles. The study exploits the number of sunspots observed, coronagraphic observations of CMEs near the Sun by SOHO/LASCO, in situ observations of the solar wind at 1 AU by WIND, and GOES X-ray flux during solar cycles 23 and 24. We note that the X-ray background luminosity, occurrence rate of CMEs and ICMEs, solar wind mass flux, and associated mass loss rates from the Sun do not decrease as strongly as the sunspot number from the maximum of solar cycle 23 to the next maximum. Our study confirms a true physical increase in CME activity relative to the sunspot number in cycle 24. We show that the CME occurrence rate and associated mass loss rate can be better predicted by X-ray background luminosity than the sunspot number. The solar wind mass loss rate which is an order of magnitude more than the CME mass loss rate shows no obvious dependency on cyclic variation in sunspot number and solar X-ray background luminosity. These results have implications for the study of solar-type stars.
Aggrescan3D (A3D) 2.0: prediction and engineering of protein solubility
Authors: Kuriata Aleksander , Iglesias Valentin , Pujols Jordi , Kurcinski Mateusz , Kmiecik Sebastian , Ventura Salvador
Published: April 2019

Protein aggregation is a hallmark of a growing number of human disorders and constitutes a major bottleneck in the manufacturing of therapeutic proteins. Therefore, there is a strong need of in-silico methods that can anticipate the aggregative properties of protein variants linked to disease and assist the engineering of soluble protein-based drugs. A few years ago, we developed a method for structure-based prediction of aggregation properties that takes into account the dynamic fluctuations of proteins. The method has been made available as the Aggrescan3D (A3D) web server and applied in numerous studies of protein structure-aggregation relationship. Here, we present a major update of the A3D web server to version 2.0. The new features include: extension of dynamic calculations to significantly larger and multimeric proteins, simultaneous prediction of changes in protein solubility and stability upon mutation, rapid screening for functional protein variants with improved solubility, a REST-ful service to incorporate A3D calculations in automatic pipelines, and a new, enhanced web server interface. A3D 2.0 is freely available at: http://biocomp.chem.uw.edu.pl/A3D2/