bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
FLIP: an Internet protocol for flat labels
Authors: Bembo Giovanni
Published: January 2018

In recent years the increasingly frequent use of the Web service, the advent of the cloud computing, the exponential growing of mobile devices with the introduction of pervasive and ubiquitous computing and the emergence of extreme distributed systems have brought to light the problem of the no longer adequate distribution of data packets over Internet and the related IP protocol issues. This paper promotes flat labels as a real alternative to IP addresses for a future Internet architecture and proposes FLIP as first network layer protocol for flat labels. Among several features absolutely not existing in IP protocol, FLIP has a native support for crypto-currencies.
Double blind reviews in software engineering venues: Practicability, promises and perils
Authors: Beller Moritz , Bacchelli Alberto
Published: January 2018

The peer review process is central to the scientific method, the advancement and spread of research as well as crucial for individual careers. However, the single blind review process currently used in most Software Engineering (SE) venues is susceptible towards apparent and hidden biases, since reviewers know the identity of authors. In this paper, we perform a study on the benefits and costs that are associated with introducing double-blind reviews in SE venues. We surveyed the SE community’s opinion, interviewed experts on double-blind reviewing, and estimated the likelihood of reviewers being able to guess the authors. Our results indicate that double-blind reviewing could be introduced in large SE conferences at lower-than-generally believed costs and that the majority of the SE community is in favor of introducing it.
Double-blind review in software engineering venues
Authors: Beller Moritz , Bacchelli Alberto
Published: January 2018

The peer review process is central to the scientific method, the advancement and spread of research, as well as crucial for individual careers. However, the single-blind review mode currently used in most Software Engineering (SE) venues is susceptible to apparent and hidden biases, since reviewers know the identity of authors. We perform a study on the benefits and costs that are associated with introducing double- blind review in SE venues. We surveyed the SE community’s opinion and interviewed experts on double-blind reviewing. Our results indicate that the costs, mostly logistic challenges and side effects, outnumber its benefits and mostly regard difficulty for authors in blinding papers, for reviewers in understanding the increment with respect to previous work from the same authors, and for organizers to manage a complex transition. While the surveyed community largely consents on the costs of DBR, only less than one-third disagree with a switch to DBR for SE journals, all SE conferences, and, in particular, ICSE; the analysis of a survey with authors of submitted papers at ICSE 2016 run by the program chairs of that edition corroborates our result.
Comparison of organic material application methods at "Majuro Atoll"
Authors: Oda Masato
Published: January 2018

The climate of Majuro Atoll is stable, and the soil is coral sand which has low levels of organic matter and nutrients and high percolation rates. This relatively stress-free climate and simple soil environment provides ideal conditions for the study of organic material application methods. In this study, I examined the efficiency of organic material application methods in five experiments using sweet corn crops. I obtained the following results: 1) Biomass output was correlated with residue input; however, input/output ratios converged to 0.5 at 15 Mg ha-1 a year (3 Mg ha-1 per crop). 2) The most efficient residue application rate was 2–3 Mg dry matter ha-1 crop-1. 3) In terms of organic material application methods, scattering was the most effective, followed by incorporation. Cutting, short-term fermenting, mulching, and crop bed were not effective because of the areas humid climate and low levels of soil organic matter.
Models for biomass prediction of Cunninghamia lanceolata tree and stands in Southeastern China
Authors: Guangyi Mei , Yujun Sun
Published: January 2018

Large uncertainties still remain when using existing biomass equations to estimate total tree and forest stand scale. In this paper, we develop individual-tree biomass models for Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata （Lamb.）Hook.) stands in Fujian Province, southeast of China. For this, we used 74 previously established models that are most commonly used to estimate tree biomass, and selected the best fit models and modified it. The results showed the published model with ln(B) (biomass), ln(D) (diameter at breast height), (ln(H)) 2, (total height) (ln(H))3 and ln(WD) (wood density) to be the best fitting model for estimating the tree biomass of Chinese fir. Furthermore, we observed that variables D, H (height), WD significantly correlated with the total tree biomass estimation model, as a result of it portraying the natural logarithm structure to be the best tree biomass structure. Finally, when a multi-step improvement on tree biomass model was performed, the analytic model with TV (tree volume), WD and BECF (biomass wood density conversion factor), achieved the highest accuracy simulation. Therefore, when combined with TV, WD and BECF to tree biomass volume coefficient bi for Chinese fir, the optimal model is the forest stand biomass (SB) estimation model, model with variables of stand volume (SV) and coefficient bi.
Mitochondrial aerobic respiration is activated during hair follicle stem cells differentiation and its dysfunction retards hair regeneration
Authors: Tang Yan , Luo Binping , Deng Zhili , Wang Ben , Liu Fangfen L , Li Jinmao , Shi Wei , Xie Hongfu , Li Ji
Published: January 2018

Background. Emerging researches revealed the essential role of mitochondria in regulating stem/progenitor cell differentiation of neural progenitor cells, mesenchymal stem cells and other stem cells through reactive oxygen species (ROS), Notch or other signaling pathway. And inhibition of mitochondrial synthesis protein resulted in extension of hair loss upon injury. However, alteration of mitochondrial morphology and metabolic function during hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs) differentiation and how it affects hair regeneration has not been elaborated. Methods. We compared the difference between telogen bulge cells and anagen matrix cells in mitochondrial morphology and activity. Expression levels of mitochondrial ROS and superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) were measured for evaluating redox balance. Besides, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) and pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) were detected to present the change in energetic metabolism during differentiation. To explore the effect of the mitochondrial metabolism on regulating hair regeneration, hair growth was observed after application of a mitochondrial respiratory inhibitor upon hair plucking. Results. During HFSCs differentiation, mitochondria became elongated with more abundant organized cristae and showed higher activity in differentiated cells. SOD2 was enhanced for redox balance with relatively poised ROS expression levels in differentiated cells. PDK increased in HFSCs while differentiated cells showed enhanced PDH, indicating that respiration converted from glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation during differentiation. Inhibiting mitochondrial respiration in differentiated hair follicle cells upon hair plucking held back hair regeneration in vivo. Conclusions. Upon HFSCs differentiation, mitochondria was elongated with more abundant cristae and showed higher activity, accompanied with activated aerobic respiration in differentiated cells for higher energy supply. And dysfunction of mitochondrial respiration delays hair regeneration upon injury.
Chemoselective activation of amide carbonyls towards nucleophilic reagents
Authors: Furman Bartłomiej
Published: January 2018

Amides represent an important class of compounds in chemistry, chemical biology and pharmaceutical industry. Their broad utility in many fields is closely tied to the structure of the amide moiety which endows these compounds with unique features. The low reactivity of amide carbonyls towards nucleophiles is a major obstacle to their further functionalization. Selective activation of amides and lactams enables access to novel reactivity pathways and opens up intriguing perspectives in synthesis. Recently, we have demonstrated that upon treatment with Cp2Zr(H)Cl (Schwartz’s reagent), five- and six-membered lactams, including sugar- and hydroxy acid-derived lactams, can be easily converted into imines under mild conditions. In addition, as was also shown, in situ generated cyclic imines can be directly subjected to further reactions with nucleophilic reagents such as allyltributylstannane, Grignard reagents, enolates or Danishefsky’s diene to afford α-functionalized pyrrolidines, piperidines and polyhydroxylated pyrrolidine peptidomimetic scaffolds in a one-pot manner. The key advantage of the presented approach is the simplicity and convenience of generation of sugar-derived imines from readily available starting materials: sugar-derived lactams. The use of sugar-derived lactams as cyclic imine precursors is crucial to the efficiency of the described synthetic method. These compounds are more readily prepared, handled, and stored than the alternative precursors of cyclic imines such as nitrones, N-chloroamines or azido aldehydes. In the second part of the lecture a method for preparing 2,3-disubstituted indoles from commercially available isatins will be briefly presented.
Influence of sugar concentration on physicochemical properties and sensory attributes of sapodilla jam
Authors: Ahmed Aftab , Ali Shinawar Waseem , Rehman Khalil ur , Manzoor Shakir , Ayub Syed Rajab , Ilyas Mahrukh
Published: January 2018

Sapodilla has many uses from medicinal to dietary utilization. In recent years emphasis is focused on product diversification by development of value added sapodilla products to enhance its economic value. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of sugar concentration on the physiochemical properties like pH, moisture, ash, total acidity, viscosity, soluble solids, ascorbic acid and consumer acceptability of the product through sensory evaluation. Four samples S1, S2, S3 and S4 were formulated containing 550g, 600g, 650g and 700g sugar respectively. There was no significant difference observed in physiochemical properties of all sample due to sugar concentration. But among all samples S2 and S3 scored highest for color (7.7 and 7.9), flavor (7.6 and 7.7), taste (7.6 and 7.8), texture (7.2 and 7.9) and overall acceptance (7.5 and 7.7) which shows that jam with 550g and 600g sugar is best jam with good sensory attributes.
Comparison of functional connectivity between empirical and randomized structural brain networks
Authors: Bayrak Seyma , Hövel Philipp , Vuksanovic Vesna
Published: January 2018

This study combines experimental and modeling approaches in order to investigate the temporal dynamics of the human brain at rest. The dynamics of the neuronal activity is modeled with FitzHugh-Nagumo oscillators and the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) time series is inferred via the Balloon-Windkessel hemodynamic model. The simulations are based on structural connections that are derived from diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging measurements yielding anatomical probabilities between the considered brain regions of interest. In addition, the length of the fiber tracks allows for inference of coupling delays due to finite signal propagation velocities. We aim (i) to investigate the network topology of our neuroimaging data and (ii) how randomization of structural connections influence dynamics on top of it. The network characteristics of the structural connectivity data are compared to density-matched Erdős-Rényi random graphs. Furthermore, the neuronal and BOLD activity are modeled on both real and random (Erdős-Rényi type) graphs. The simulated temporal dynamics on both graphs are compared statistically to capture whether the spatial organization of these network affects the modeled time series. Results supported that key topological network properties such as small-worldness of our neuroimaging data are distinguishable from random networks. Moreover, the simulated BOLD activity on real and random graphs are observed to be dissimilar. The difference of the modeled temporal dynamics on the brain and random graphs suggests that anatomical connections in the human brain together with dynamical self-organization are crucial for the temporal evolution of the resting-state activity.
Embodiment as preparation: Pupillary responses to words that convey a sense of brightness or darkness
Authors: Mathôt Sebastiaan , Grainger Jonathan , Strijkers Kristof
Published: January 2018

A strongly embodied view of language holds that, to understand a word, you must simulate associated sensory input (e.g. simulate perception of brightness to understand 'lamp'), and prepare associated actions (e.g. prepare finger movements to understand 'typing'). To test this, we measured pupillary responses to single words that conveyed a sense of brightness (e.g. 'day') or darkness (e.g. 'night'), or were luminance-neutral (e.g. 'house'). Crucially, we found that the pupil was largest for darkness-conveying words, intermediate for neutral words, and smallest for brightness-conveying words; however, this semantic pupillary response peaked long after participants had already understood and responded to the words. These findings suggest that word comprehension activates sensory representations, and even triggers physiological (pupillary) responses, but that this occurs too late to be a necessary part of the comprehension process itself. Instead, we suggest that pupillary responses to darkness- and brightness-conveying words--and perhaps embodied language in general--may reflect preparation for the immediate future: When you read the word 'lamp', you automatically prepare to look at a lamp, and prepare to read more brightness-related words; this may cause your pupils to constrict in anticipation.
Monitoring approaches for supporting offshore aquaculture management and EU Directives at Sagres, Portugal
Authors: Fragoso Bruno Dias Duarte , Icely John David , Odour Nancy , Moore Gerald , Neto João Magalhães , Danchenko Sergei , Newton Alice
Published: January 2018

The increasing development of aquaculture activity in the coast of Sagres, area included in the Parque Natural do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina (PNSACV) SW Portugal, has to comply with regional and national regulations. The development also has to comply with EU directives including: Quality of Shellfish Waters Directive 2006/113/EC (QSWD); Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD); Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC (MSFD); Maritime Spatial Planning 2014/89/EU, (MSP). During 2014/2015, a monitoring routine was established to assess the potential impact of aquaculture in the region, as required by the Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente (APA). This involved a weekly sampling routine of water parameters at surface and bottom, including temperature (SST), salinity (Sal), Secchi depth, chlorophyll (Chl), suspended particulate matter (SPM), pH, oxygen (O2) and nutrients. Additional water samples were collected for phytoplankton counts to provide information on the species contributing to Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). Associated with the routine sampling, innovative approaches to understanding the impact of aquaculture have been undertaken including: use of remote sensing products to provide spatial and temporal data for SST, Sal, Chl, and SPM validated with in situ radiometric data (Satlantic and WISP-3); genomics for HABs and flow cytometry for nanoplankton; a survey of impact on the benthos; determination of nutrient condition in the region through nutrient stoichiometry; automisation of data collection with an oceanographic buoy. Preliminary data from both routine and innovative studies will be presented in relation to aquaculture management and to the requirements of the WFD and the MSFD.
Transcription factor organic cation transporter 1 (OCT-1) affects the expression of porcine Klotho (KL) gene
Authors: Li Yan , Wang Lei , Zhou Jiawei , Li Fenge
Published: January 2018

Klotho (KL), originally discovered as an aging suppressor, was a membrane protein that shared sequence similarity with the β-glucosidase enzymes. Recent reports showed Klotho might have a role in adipocyte maturation and systemic glucose metabolism. However, little is known about the transcription factors involved in regulating the expression of porcine KL gene. Deletion fragment analysis identified KL-D2 (-418 bp to -3 bp) as the porcine KL core promoter. MARC0022311 in KL intron 1 appeared a polymorphism (A or G) in Landrace × DIV pigs, and relative luciferase activity of pGL3-D2-G was significantly higher than pGL3-D2-A. This was possibly the result of a change in KL binding ability with transcription factor organic cation transporter 1 (OCT-1), which was confirmed using electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). Moreover, OCT-1 regulated endogenous KL expression by RNA interference. Our study indicates SNP MARC0022311 affects porcine KL expression by regulating its promoter activity via OCT-1.
Behaviour and beliefs related to male aggression: Evidence of intrasexual selection in humans?
Authors: Carter Tara-Lyn , Kushnick Geoff
Published: January 2018

Sexual selection favors traits that increase mating and, thus, reproductive success. Some scholars have suggested that intrasexual selection driven by contest competition has shaped human male aggression. If this is the case, one testable hypothesis is that beliefs and behavior related to male aggression should be more prevalent in societies where the intensity and strength of sexual selection is higher, as measured by factors such as the presence and scope of polygyny, the number of same-sex competitors relative to potential mates, and the amount of effort males have available to allocate to mating. Using mixed-effect linear regression models with data from 78 societies from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample, we found strong support for this hypothesis. We were able to rule out some potential alternative explanations by controlling for confounding variables such as political complexity, warfare and geographic clustering.
Attractor-based kinematic gait analysis - methodological & clinical considerations
Authors: Vieten Manfred M , Dettmers Christian
Published: January 2018

The attractor method and some of its applications are presented. We start with the original research question “How to diagnose fatigue (fatigability) in MS patients reliably”. So far a decisive method to discriminate between non-fatiguing and marginal fatiguing patients was not available. Traditional kinematic methods looking at step length, width, height, time, cadence, speed etc. and non-linear methods considering the Lyapunov exponent are able to describe groups of fatiguing populations but unable to diagnose fatigue of single individuals reliably. Therefore, this novel method based on attractor attributes was developed (Vieten, Sehle, & Jensen, 2013). The core idea behind the method is the description of a cyclic movement as a state vector described in terms of a limit cycle attractor and the variation of a well-defined magnitude around it. For the experimental setup of the gait analysis we use two three-axial sensors mounted on each foot to acquire acceleration data of subjects walking at a constant speed on a treadmill. Those data constitute a subset of the state vector describing walking, rich in information content and sensitive enough to quantify subtle changes in the movement pattern and in the variability. The low frequency information of the sensor data is used to calculate the attractor and the variation of the state vector around it. We established three parameters: δM the speed normalized mean distance between two attractors - a measure of movement pattern differences; δD the measure of variation changes between two measurements; δF = δM · δD the “Fatigue index Kliniken Schmieder (FKS)”, a measure describing fatigability. The accuracy of the method is shown and its ability to quantify subtle differences demonstrated. The presentation ends with some applications.
Copper(II) complexes of Schiff base ligands as promising anticancer agents
Authors: Hejchman Elżbieta , Sowirka Barbara , Tomczyk Magdalena , Maciejewska Dorota
Published: January 2018

Based on World Health Organization (WHO) report, it was estimated that one in five people before age 75 will suffer from cancer during their lifetime, and more than 13 million cancers death will happen in 2030. Chemotherapy is a basic approach for the treatment of cancer diseases. However, because of drug resistance and considerable side effects drug-induced toxicity, the discovery of new metal analogs with promising activity and high therapeutic index is an urgent need. The fundamental role of copper and the recognition of its complexes as important bioactive compounds in vitro and in vivo aroused an ever-increasing interest in these agents as potential drugs for therapeutic intervention in various diseases. Schiff bases are a critical class of compounds in medical chemistry that have demonstrated significant chemotherapeutic and antibacterial application. Schiff base Cu(II) complexes revealed great potential for antiproliferative, antibacterial, and gastroprotective activity. Coumarins are a wide class of natural and synthetic compounds that showed diverse pharmacological activities including anticancer activity. Among the wide variety of coumarins, 7-hydroxycoumarin derivatives have been shown to possess desirable antiproliferative activities. In particular, their antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer activities make the compounds attractive for further derivatization and screening as novel therapeutic agents. Taking these compounds as lead, we have designed and synthesized a series of new copper(II) complexes with coumarin-derived Schiff base ligands. Two series of Schiff bases were prepared by condensation of 8-formyl-7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin and 8-acetyl-7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin with p-substituted aniline derivatives. These compounds were used as ligands in the synthesis of copper(II) complexes. The obtained Schiff bases as well as copper complexes are mostly novel molecules. Only the products of condensation 8-formyl-7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin with p-toluidine and 8-acetyl-7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin with p-toluidine and its copper(II) complex were synthesized, but the anticancer activity of these compounds was not determined. The assay of their cytotoxic activity is in progress. Preliminary, we have identified two copper(II) coordination compounds of 7-hydroxy-8-[1-(4-methoxyphenyl imino)ethyl]-4-methyl-2H-chromen-2-one and 7-hydroxy-8-[1-(4-hydroxyphenyloimino)ethyl]-4-methyl-2H- chromen-2-one having dose-dependent antiproliferative activity on HeLa cancer cell line. Additionally, the Schiff bases – derivatives of substituted salicylaldehydes and 2-hydroxyacetophenones condensed with appropriate anilines were prepared. Such compounds have been reported in scientific papers, their copper complexes have not been assayed yet, and may serve as an useful tool in QSAR investigation.
Long-term bedrest study and astronaut training
Authors: Mulder Edwin , Noppe Alexandra , Limper Ulrich
Published: January 2018

In the context of space physiology, research is being conducted to understand the physiological effects from radiation, hypogravity, spaceflight and planetary environments. The goal is to identify new methods to address the unique challenges in medical treatment, human factors, and behavioral health support on future exploration missions. As crew size is small and time is limited during actual missions, space agencies resort to addressing the effects of space travel in analog environments that have features similar to those of spaceflight. Head-down tilt bed rest (HDBR), for instance, is one of the established terrestrial models used to simulate some of the physiological changes experienced during spaceflight under weightless conditions and is therefore considered a valuable testbed to prepare for future long-duration exploration missions. HDBR studies are performed in extremely-well controlled laboratory settings, offering the possibility to test the effects of – what is in essence - physical inactivity and fluid shift. However, HDBR studies have a dual purpose, as they are also invaluable for the development, testing and validation of countermeasures aimed at mitigating microgravity-induced changes to the human body. With respect to the latter, the consensus is that short-term bed rest studies (< 14 days) serve foremost as a first screening of potential promising countermeasures, particularly for the cardiovascular system. Screening of preventative procedures and protocols for the muscular system requires at least mid-term (14 -28 days), whereas studies aiming to validate countermeasures for bone require long-term HDBR studies, in the order of 60-90 days. Hitherto the preferred countermeasure during spaceflight has been physical exercise. The presentation will therefore provide a short overview of the current onboard exercise regimen and will, in light of this, outline the scientific background and aims of the ongoing 60-day HDBR study at the :envihab (from the words ‘Environment’ and ‘Habitat’), the DLR Institute of Aerospace Medicine’s state-of-the-art research facility.
Detecting heterogeneity in single-cell RNA-Seq data by non-negative matrix factorization
Authors: Zhu Xun , Ching Travers , Pan Xinghua , Weissman Sherman , Garmire Lana
Published: January 2018

Single-cell RNA-Sequencing (scRNA-Seq) is a cutting edge technology that enables the understanding of biological processes at an unprecedentedly high resolution. However, well suited bioinformatics tools to analyze the data generated from this new technology are still lacking. Here we have investigated the performance of non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) method to analyze a wide variety of scRNA-Seq data sets, ranging from mouse hematopoietic stem cells to human glioblastoma data. In comparison to other unsupervised clustering methods including K-means and hierarchical clustering, NMF has higher accuracy even when the clustering results of K-means and hierarchical clustering are enhanced by t-SNE. Moreover, NMF successfully detect the subpopulations, such as those in a single glioblastoma patient. Furthermore, in conjugation with the modularity detection method FEM, it reveals unique modules that are indicative of clinical subtypes. In summary, we propose that NMF is a desirable method to analyze heterogeneous single-cell RNA-Seq data, and the NMFEM pipeline is suitable for modularity detection among single-cell RNA-Seq data.
Medical device safety: Investigating contributions of human factors
Authors: Lange Kathrin
Published: January 2018

The core tasks of the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte [BfArM]) with respect to medical device safety include evaluating risks arising from the use or application of medical devices (based on incident reports), assessing and coordinating the counter-measures to be taken (i.e. corrective actions), and authorizing clinical trials of medical devices and evaluating the corresponding serious adverse events. Additionally, the BfArM also conducts research on medical device safety, specifically on the possibilities and challenges of data-driven approaches to detect and evaluate risk and on the contribution of human factors to device safety – i.e. factors that may have an impact on how users interact with a device. The present talk focuses on this latter issue. The significance of addressing human factors relating to the use of medical devices results from the contribution of human error to adverse events. For instance, an involvement of human error could be identified in a good 10% of the reports of suspected device-related incidents evaluated by the BfArM between 2005 and 2014. For several reasons, it may be assumed that the true value of device-related incidents involving human error is even larger and that the potential for human error is likely to increase in the future. To effectively reduce the risk for human error – or block its negative outcome - it is imperative to not only identify human error as a significant cause of adverse events, but rather understand the causation of the error, including the conditions under which errors are likely to occur. This requires the analysis of the perceptual, cognitive (e.g. attention, working memory, long term memory), motor or motivational processes involved and the identification of relevant factors at the various levels of the socio-technical system. In our research, we currently pursue two selected human factors issues, selected based on the incident-data collected at the BfArM and on the current literature: Insufficient device knowledge and the multi-faceted issue of device alarms, the latter including both the users’ interactions with alarming devices and their perceptual, cognitive, or motor responses to the devices’ alarms.
Influence of inter-individual distance on grooming interaction in captive chimpanzees and bonobos
Authors: Allanic Morgane , Hirata Satoshi , Hayashi Misato , Matsuzawa Tetsuro
Published: January 2018

The spatial organization of a set of individuals may reflect the underlying relationships between them. This study investigated whether inter-individual distance, or the proximity between a pair of individuals, predicts the patterns of grooming interactions. The subjects were twelve chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes; M = 2, F = 10; age: mean = 34.8, range = 25-45) and six bonobos (Pan paniscus; M = 2, F = 4; age: mean = 27.3, range = 13-44) studied since September 2015 and living at Kumamoto Sanctuary (Japan). Proximity, time in contact, and time at less than one meter of all group members were recorded using focal animal sampling. The full temporal organization of grooming patterns was analyzed after ad libitum video records of the interactions. A pair of individuals that spends more time in close proximity was predicted to (i) show a shorter latency to approach before the onset of grooming, (ii) groom sensitive body parts (e.g. face and genitals) more often, and (iii) take turns in grooming more frequently than two individuals that stay far from each other. The results may suggest species-specific or relationship-dependent social tolerance, reflected in both inter-individual distance and patterns of grooming.
Elaboration of near infrared spectroscopy model for determination of water content in freeze-dried immunological veterinary medicinal products
Authors: Bulenger Krzysztof , Krasucka Dorota Marta , Biernacki Bogumił , Szumiło Jakub , Cuvelier Beata
Published: January 2018

Residual water is a critical parameter in assessing the quality of immunological veterinary medicinal products (IVMPs). In majority of the laboratories the Karl Fischer titration (KFT) is used for the determination of water content in IVMPs. However, the transfer of IVMP into titration cell without affecting the baseline drift and repeatability seems to be the main problem when using this method. In turn, Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) allows measurement of closed vials, therefore eliminating the impact of atmospheric conditions on the sample. The aim of the study was to create a calibration model based on the reference method (Karl Fischer titration) and its optimization. Five different IVMPs designated for two animal species (dogs and rabbits) were used. The model was constructed on the basis of 49 samples tested, each in triplicate (n=147). The spectra were divided in two sets: calibration and validation. Proper selection of samples and their processing allowed to obtain a model of high quality (Q-value>0.6).
A simple, sufficient, and consistent method to score the status of threats and demography of imperiled species
Authors: Malcom Jacob W , Webber Whitney M , Li Ya-Wei
Published: January 2018

Managers of large, complex wildlife conservation programs need information on the conservation status of each of many species to help strategically allocate limited resources. Oversimplifying status data, however, runs the risk of missing information essential to strategic allocation. Conservation status consists of two components, the status of threats a species faces and the species’ demographic status. Neither component alone is sufficient to characterize conservation status. Here we present a simple key for scoring threat and demographic changes for species using detailed information provided in free-form textual descriptions of conservation status. This key is easy to use (simple), captures the two components of conservation status without the cost of more detailed measures (sufficient), and can be applied by different personnel to any taxon (consistent). To evaluate the key’s utility, we performed two analyses. First, we scored the threat and demographic status of 37 species recently recommended for reclassification under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and 15 control species, then compared our scores to two metrics used for decision-making and reports to Congress. Second, we scored the threat and demographic status of all non-plant ESA-listed species from Florida (54 spp.), and evaluated scoring repeatability for a subset of those. While the metrics reported by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) are often consistent with our scores in the first analysis, the results highlight two problems with the oversimplified metrics. First, we show that both metrics can mask underlying demographic declines or threat increases; for example, ~40% of species not recommended for reclassification had changes in threats or demography. Second, we show that neither metric is consistent with either threats or demography alone, but conflates the two. The second analysis illustrates how the scoring key can be applied to a substantial set of species to understand overall patterns of ESA implementation. The scoring repeatability analysis shows promise, but indicates thorough training will be needed to ensure consistency. We propose that large conservation programs adopt our simple scoring system for threats and demography. By doing so, program administrators will have better information to monitor program effectiveness and guide their decisions.
Possibility of using fullerene C240 as the carrier of steroid hormones
Authors: Grudzień Monika K , Wiśniewska Izabela , Suskiewicz Marcin , Pieńko Tomasz , Mazurek Aleksander P.
Published: January 2018

Fullerene molecules are created entirely of carbon and form orbicular or ellipsoidal cage shape similar to a hollow tube. The derivatives of fullerenes are classified into the following categories according to their functionalization: endohedral fullerenes with active molecules residing inside the carbon cage, exohedral with wide variety of both inorganic and organic groups existing outside and connected to the fullerenes’ exterior and heterofullerenes when one or more carbon atoms that form the fullerene carbon cage are replaced by a non-carbon atom, i.e. a heteroatom. Fullerene C240belongs to the family of giant fullerenes and is characterized by a greater stability than that of the well-known fullerene C60. This has been proved by observing an increased formation heat that accompanied the decreasing of the carbon cage size.In order to determine the fullerene C240 ability to transport the steroid hormones: estradiol, progesterone, androsterone and their basic structures: estrone, androstane and pregnane, the following parameters, inter alia, have been calculated: energies of stabilization, interaction and deformation of each endohedral complex. The calculations for all chosen structures were carried out with the use of the molecular modeling technique. Based on all available studies, it can be stated that fullerene C240 could be a solution for problems faced by medicine and pharmacy.
Altered ADAR1 in mice affected by social isolation stress-induced cognitive deficits
Authors: Chen Wei , An Dong , Xu Hong , Cheng Xiaoxin , Wang Shiwei , Yu Weizhi , Yu Deqin , Zhao Dan , Sun Yiping , Deng Wuguo , Tang Yiyuan , Yin Shengming
Published: January 2018

Adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR) activity increases in response to inflammation. Social isolation stress is related to neuroinflammation; however, it remains unclear whether ADAR1 is altered in response to social isolation stress-induced cognitive deficits. To investigate our hypothesis that ADAR1 displayed patterns of change in response to social isolation stress, we addressed this issue systemically by isolating Kunming mice for 2, 4 and 8 weeks individually since postnatal 21 days to set up isolation mouse model. Furthermore, we arranged re-socialization group to evaluate the alterations of ADAR1 in the cognitive deficits recovery. The results of behavior tests showed that social isolation stress resulted in cognitive dysfunction, which was recovered by re-socialization in re-gregarious rearing group. Furthermore, the immunohistochemistry and western blot results displayed that both the immunoreactivity and protein expression of ADAR1 in the hippocampus and frontal cortex increased obviously as compared to the same age mice without isolation. The above abnormal alterations of ADAR1 were recovered by re-socialization in re-gregarious rearing group. Our study supports the hypothesis that ADAR1 is altered in mice affected by social isolation stress-induced cognitive deficits.
Reef manta ray life history and demography: is it really all about survival?
Authors: Smallegange Isabel M , van der Ouderaa Isabelle BC , Tibiriçá Yara
Published: January 2018

Background. The trade in gill plates of devil and manta rays has increased greatly over the last two decades. The resulting increased mortality, in addition to mortality caused by by-catch, means that many ray populations are declining in size. The aim of this study was to ascertain the main demographic drivers of population change in reef manta rays (Manta alfredi) to increase our understanding of their demography and hence provide insight into potential conservation measures.

Methods. We developed a population projection model for reef manta rays and used published life history data to parameterise the model and also used these data as points of reference to compare our model output to. Because little is known about yearling and juvenile survival of reef manta rays, we conducted our analyses across a range of plausible survival rate values of yearlings, juveniles, and also adults.

Results. The model accurately captured observed patterns of variation in population growth rate, lifetime reproductive success and cohort generation time for different reef manta ray populations around the world. Varying the survival rates of the different life stages revealed that increasing adult annual survival rate always positively and additively affected population growth rate, lifetime reproductive success and cohort generation time. Variation in yearling and juvenile annual survival rate, however, had different and varying effects on the latter three population descriptors, highlighting the importance of obtaining accurate estimates of these survival rates from natural populations. Our elasticity analysis revealed that for both declining and stable populations, the population growth rate is most sensitive to changes in either juvenile or adult survival rate, depending on yearling and adult annual survival rate values.

Discussion. Many reef manta ray populations are declining, resulting in local extinction unless effective conservation measures are taken. Based on our detailed demographic analysis, we suggest that reef manta ray conservation would particularly benefit from focusing on increasing juvenile and adult survival.
Presbyopia in old wild bonobos (Pan paniscus)
Authors: Ryu Heungjin , Graham Kirsty E. , Sakamaki Tetsuya , Furuichi Takeshi
Published: January 2018

Presbyopia, or long-sightedness, is one of the signs of senescence in humans. Many people first recognize it when they approach 40-years-old, though presbyopia progresses gradually with age. Not surprisingly, presbyopia has been reported in old, wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) at Bossou (Guinea) and Mahale (Tanzania). Bonobos are one of our closest living relatives (98.7% identical in genome level) and like us have long development periods and long longevity. We therefore expected to find presbyopia in bonobos. Here we report evidence of presbyopia in wild bonobos at Wamba, Democratic Republic of Congo, during grooming interactions. We used an interchangeable-lens camera to make precise measurements of ear dimensions for each individual, which we then used to determine grooming distance. Age estimates for older individuals were taken when the group was first identified in the late 1970s to early 1980s. We found that grooming distance increases with age. All four bonobos that showed symptoms of presbyopia, i.e. long grooming distance, were estimated to be over 40 years old in 2015. We confirmed that when grooming others, the 4 older individuals kept significantly longer distance between their hands and eyes than did younger individuals. This result indicates that bonobos begin to experience presbyopia in their 40s as do human beings.
VESPA: Very large-scale Evolutionary and Selective Pressure Analyses
Authors: Webb Andrew E. , Walsh Thomas A. , O'Connell Mary J
Published: January 2018

Large-scale molecular evolutionary analyses of protein coding sequences requires a number of preparatory inter-related steps from finding gene families, to generating alignments and phylogenetic trees and assessing selective pressure variation. Each phase of these analyses can represent significant challenges particularly when working with the entire genome of large sets of species. We present VESPA, software capable of automating a selective pressure analysis using codeML in addition to the preparatory analyses and summary statistics. VESPA is written in python and is designed to run within a UNIX environment. Large-scale gene family identification, sequence alignment, and phylogeny reconstruction are all important aspects of large-scale molecular evolutionary analyses. VESPA provides flexible software for simplifying these processes along with downstream selective pressure variation analyses. The software automatically interprets results from codeML and produces simplified summary files to assist the user in better understanding the results. VESPA may be found at the following website: www.mol-evol.org/VESPA
A time-series analysis of relevant pollutants in Hamilton (Ontario) and induced mortality
Authors: Zeng Yu Fan , Khondker Adree
Published: January 2018

The relationship between air pollution and public health has gained increasing attention in the past decade. Many time-series analyses have been conducted worldwide, including in all the major cities of the United States, Europe, and Asia. However, the most current time-series analysis study of Ontario, Canada dates back to 2012 and includes only a single city, calling the need of a more recent study at a provincial scale. As a result, we propose to conduct time-series analyses of major Ontario cities and then use a hierarchical model to pool the results and construct a dose-response relationship and generate a predictive regression.
Longevity and personality in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
Authors: Altschul Drew M , King James E , Inoue-Murayama Miho , Ross Stephen R , Weiss Alexander
Published: January 2018

Over the past 20 years, the study of personality has blossomed within primatology. Rating inventories have been extensively used across species to identify personality factor structures for different species. Chimpanzees share a common six-factor structure, composed of Dominance, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness. Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Extraversion, have been tied to positive effects on overall health and longevity in humans, while Neuroticism is associated with shorter life span. In captive gorillas, Extraversion alone is associated with longevity. We undertook a study of all captive, personality questionnaire-rated chimpanzees; the Chimpanzee and Hominoid Personality Questionnaires have been used to assess almost 600 chimpanzees from Europe, Australia, Japan, and the United States. With these data we investigated which personality dimensions and other life history characteristics might predict all-cause mortality. In an accelerated failure survival analysis, we found a strong effect of Extraversion (b = -5.88, p<0.0001), as well as lesser but significant effects of Agreeableness (b = 2.19, p<0.05), Openness (b = 1.76, p<0.05), and Neuroticism (-1.79, p<0.05). Female and wild born chimpanzees appear to also live significantly longer (ps<0.01). The robustness of an animal's social network and the quality of its social interactions play a role in the health of social organisms. This is reflected in the importance of Extraversion for gorilla and chimpanzee health, and Agreeableness for chimpanzees. Yet, the effects of Neuroticism and Openness are more similar to what has been found in humans.
Osteology of the Late Triassic aetosaur Scutarx deltatylus (Archosauria: Pseudosuchia)
Authors: Parker William G
Published: January 2018

Aetosaurs are some of the most common fossils collected from the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation of Arizona, especially at the Petrified Forest National Park. Four partial skeletons collected from the park from 2002 through 2009 represent the holotype and referred specimens of Scutarx deltatylus. These specimens include much of the carapace, as well as the vertebral column, and shoulder and pelvic girldles. A partial skull represents the first aetosaur skull recovered from Arizona since the 1930s. Scutarx deltatylus can be distinguished from closely related forms Calyptosuchus wellesi and Adamanasuchus eisenhardtae not only morphologically, but also stratigraphically. Thus, Scutarx deltatylus is potentially an index taxon for the upper part of the Adamanian biozone.
Isolation and characterization of 7 microsatellite loci for the Florida Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia floridana)
Authors: Laxer Alison , Krause Maureen , Clark Ann Marie , Grigione Melissa M , Sarno Ronald
Published: January 2018

Despite long-term scientific interest in the Florida Burrowing Owl, little is known about key aspects of its ecology that likely influence population persistence. This is a cause of alarm considering that the Florida Burrowing Owl has been designated a “Species of Special Concern” since 1979. Therefore, seven microsatellite loci were developed and characterized for 48 Florida Burrowing Owls. All loci were polymorphic and six of them differed significantly from Hardy-Weinberg expectations. Although preliminary, the number of loci out of HW equilibrium may result from low population size and resultant non-random mating that could be caused by habitat fragmentation as development has ensued.