bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neuropsychological Outcomes of Exposure to Hurricane Katrina and Relocation
Authors: Walling Erin , Tucker Phebe , Pfefferbaum Betty , Nguyen Christopher , Mistry Amit
Published: November 2019

Objective:

Survivors of natural disasters are at risk for mental health sequela, including deficits in neurocognitive functioning. This study explores links between hurricane exposure and resulting psychiatric symptoms and deficits in cognitive processing, attention, learning, and memory.

Methods:

Relocated Katrina survivors and demographically matched controls completed neurocognitive tests assessing processing speed (Trail Making Test, Part A), mental flexibility (Trail Making Test, Part B), sustained attention (Conner’s Continuous Performance Test), and learning and memory (Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test). PTSD (Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale) and depressive symptoms (BDI- II) were also measured.

Results:

Survivors had more PTSD and depression symptoms and weaker performance in cognitive processing, mental flexibility, and sustained attention, but not memory and learning compared to controls. When controlling for depression and PTSD symptoms (analysis of covariances), only CPT-II response time remained significantly different for survivors, so that sustained attention deficits were independent of emotional symptoms.

Conclusion:

Survivors had more psychiatric symptoms and neurocognitive dysfunctions than controls in most assessed measures. Our study had mixed results in identifying cognitive deficits related to psychopathology. Results suggest that disaster survivors, even those without psychopathology, should be assessed for cognitive issues that may affect their ability to process post-disaster instructions and access assistance in recovery efforts.
The role of DNA damage as a therapeutic target in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease
Authors: Zhang Jennifer Q. J. , Saravanabavan Sayanthooran , Munt Alexandra , Wong Annette T. Y. , Harris David C. , Harris Peter C. , Wang Yiping , Rangan Gopala K.
Published: November 2019

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common monogenic kidney disease and is caused by heterozygous germ-line mutations in eitherPKD1(85%) orPKD2(15%). It is characterised by the formation of numerous fluid-filled renal cysts and leads to adult-onset kidney failure in ~50% of patients by 60 years. Kidney cysts in ADPKD are focal and sporadic, arising from the clonal proliferation of collecting-duct principal cells, but in only 1–2% of nephrons for reasons that are not clear. Previous studies have demonstrated that further postnatal reductions inPKD1(orPKD2) dose are required for kidney cyst formation, but the exact triggering factors are not clear. A growing body of evidence suggests that DNA damage, and activation of the DNA damage response pathway, are altered in ciliopathies. The aims of this review are to: (i) analyse the evidence linking DNA damage and renal cyst formation in ADPKD; (ii) evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of biomarkers to assess DNA damage in ADPKD and finally, (iii) evaluate the potential effects of current clinical treatments on modifying DNA damage in ADPKD. These studies will address the significance of DNA damage and may lead to a new therapeutic approach in ADPKD.
A nearshore Hirnantian brachiopod fauna from South China and its ecological significance
Authors: Huang Bing , Rong Jiayu , Harper David A.T. , Zhou Hanghang
Published: November 2019

The brachiopods collected from the Kuanyinchiao Beds (Hirnantian, uppermost Ordovician) in Meitan and Zunyi counties, northern Guizhou, include 13 species and one undetermined taxon, dominated by Hirnantia sagittifera (M'Coy, 1851) (which accounts for over one-third of the specimens), together with common Eostropheodonta hirnantensis (M'Coy, 1851). They are assigned to the Hirnantia–Eostropheodonta Community, which probably inhabited a shallow-water, nearshore Benthic Assemblage (BA) 2 to upper BA 3 environment. Population analysis shows that the community was well adapted to this environment after the first phase of the end-Ordovician mass extinction. Representative specimens of all the species are illustrated, and a new species, Minutomena missa, is described herein. The variation in Hirnantia sagittifera was noted in many of previous studies but was not statistically evidenced. Here we have measured representative specimens of that famous species from the major paleoplates and terranes in the world, along with other species assigned to the genus from South China. Having used principal component analysis (PCA), significant variations in the species are documented statistically and revised, and three nominal species, one subspecies, and two morphotypes are now reassigned to Hirnantia sagittifera sensu stricto.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/references/3f83fb1e-a6dd-4585-9f9f-9586dad28244
Examining the link between religiousness and fitness in a behavioural ecological framework
Authors: Međedović Janko
Published: November 2019

In recent years there have been attempts to explain religiousness from an evolutionary viewpoint. However, empirical data on this topic are still lacking. In the present study, the behavioural ecological theoretical framework was used to explore the relations between religiousness, harsh environment, fitness (reproductive success and parental investment) and fitness-related outcomes (age at first birth, desired number of children and the romantic relationship duration). The data were collected from 461 individuals from a community sample who were near the end of their reproductive phase (54% females,Mage= 51.75; SD = 6.56). Positive links between religiousness, harsh environment, fitness and fitness-related outcomes were expected, with the exception of age at first birth, for which a negative association was hypothesized. Hence, the main assumption of the study was that religiousness has some attributes of fast life-history phenotypes – that it emerges from a harsh environment and enables earlier reproduction. The study findings partially confirmed these hypotheses. Religiousness was positively related to environmental harshness but only on a zero-order level. Religious individuals had higher reproductive success (this association was especially pronounced in males) but religiousness did not show associations with parental investment. Religiousness was positively associated with desired number of children and negatively associated with age at first birth, although the latter association was only marginally significant in the multivariate analyses. Finally, path analysis showed that desired number of children and age at first birth completely mediated the relation between religiousness and reproductive success. The data confirmed the biologically adaptive function of religiousness in contemporary populations and found the mediating processes that facilitate fitness in religious individuals. Furthermore, the findings initiate a more complex view of religiousness in a life-history context which could be fruitful for future research: a proposal labelled as ‘ontogeny-dependent life-history theory of religiousness’.
“Strict injunctions that the dogs should not be risked”: A revised hypothesis for this anecdote and others in narratives of Scott’s last expedition
Authors: May Karen , Lewis George
Published: November 2019

This article updates Karen May’s earlier 2012 hypothesis (Could Captain Scott have been saved? Revisiting Scott’s last expedition). In this revised hypothesis, Cecil Meares, not Surgeon E. L. Atkinson, originated the unsubstantiated statement that “Strict injunctions had been given by Scott that the dogs should not be risked in any way.” This hypothesis incorporates new information uncovered since 2012, specifically Meares’ misrepresentations during the Terra Nova expedition; Atkinson’s 1911 journal entries; Atkinson’s 1919 allegation that Meares had “disobeyed orders”; and Tryggve Gran’s “The Race for the South Pole between Scott and Amundsen”, a 1945/post-1945 document that appears to have been Roland Huntford’s source for anecdotes in Huntford’s 1979 Scott–Amundsen biography. The article gives a proposed chronology for how Meares’ early misrepresentations and Gran’s later misunderstandings influenced the decisions, and later presentations, of the Terra Nova expedition.
Characteristics and outcomes of children with congenital heart disease needing diaphragm plication
Authors: Foster Cortney B. , Cabrera Antonio G. , Bagdure Dayanand , Blackwelder William , Moffett Brady S , Holloway Adrian , Mishcherkin Vladimir , Bhutta Adnan
Published: November 2019

Background:

Diaphragm dysfunction following surgery for congenital heart disease is a known complication leading to delays in recovery and increased post-operative morbidity and mortality. We aimed to determine the incidence of and risk factors associated with diaphragm plication in children undergoing cardiac surgery and evaluate timing to repair and effects on hospital cost and length of stay.

Methods:

We conducted a multi-institutional retrospective observational cohort study. Forty-three hospitals from the Pediatric Health Information System database were included, and a total of 112,110 patients admitted between January 2004 and December 2014 were analysed.

Results:

Patients less than 18 years of age who underwent cardiac surgery were included. Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery was utilized to determine procedure complexity. The overall incidence of diaphragm dysfunction was 2.2% (n = 2513 out of 112,110). Of these, 24.0% (603 patients) underwent diaphragm plication. Higher complexity cardiac surgery (Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery 5–6) and age less than 4 weeks were associated with a higher likelihood of diaphragm plication (p-value < 0.01). Diaphragmatic plication was associated with increased hospital length of stay (p-value < 0.01) and increased medical cost.

Conclusions:

Diaphragm plication after surgery for congenital heart disease is associated with longer hospital length of stay and increased cost. There is a strong correlation of prolonged time to plication with increased length of stay and medical cost. The likelihood of plication increases with younger age and higher procedure complexity. Methods to improve early recognition and treatment of diaphragm dysfunction should be developed.
Associations among eating behaviour traits, diet quality and food labelling: a mediation model
Authors: Jacob Raphaëlle , Drapeau Vicky , Lamarche Benoît , Doucet Éric , Pomerleau Sonia , Provencher Véronique
Published: November 2019

Objective:

To assess the associations among eating behaviour traits, food label use and diet quality and to evaluate if the association between eating behaviour traits and diet quality is mediated by food label use.

Design:

Eating behaviour traits were assessed using the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), the Restraint Scale and the Intuitive Eating Scale, whereas food label use was measured with the Label Reading Survey. Diet quality (Canadian Healthy Eating Index) was assessed with an FFQ.

Setting:

Cross-sectional study.

Participants:

Adults (n 385; mean (sd): BMI = 26·0 (4·9) kg/m2, age = 41·1 (15·0) years) involved in two previous experimental studies.

Results:

When controlling for potential covariates, general food label use (β = 1·18 (se 0·26), P < 0·0001) was the main determinant of diet quality, explaining 6·7 % of its variance. General food label use partly mediated the association between TFEQ-cognitive restraint and diet quality; the indirect effect (βindirect (se); 95 % CI) was stronger in men (0·32 (0·10); 0·15, 0·55) than women (0·16 (0·05); 0·08, 0·27). General food label use also partly mediated the negative association between unconditional permission to eat and diet quality; the indirect effect (βindirect (se); 95 % CI) was also stronger in men (−1·88 (0·55); −3·11, −0·96) than women (−1·03 (0·33); −1·81, −0·49).

Conclusions:

General food label use was the main determinant of diet quality and partly mediated the association between eating behaviour traits and diet quality. The stronger mediating effect observed in men suggests they rely more on food labelling when attempting to restrained themselves, which translates into better diet quality.
Compact bandpass filter with wide-stopband using substrate integrated waveguide cavities and short-circuited coplanar line
Authors: Azad Amit Ranjan , Mohan Akhilesh
Published: November 2019

This article presented a compact bandpass filter with wide-stopband performance. Two substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) cavities and a short-circuited coplanar line introduced between the two cavities are used to realize a compact third-order bandpass filter. The passband is generated by combining the resonant frequency of TE101 mode of the SIW cavities and the fundamental resonant frequency of the short-circuited coplanar line. The size of the proposed filter reduces significantly in comparison with conventional third-order SIW filters. Moreover, the center frequency (CF) and the bandwidth of the filter can be controlled by adjusting the structural parameters of the filter. In addition, the first higher-order mode TE102 of the SIW cavity is suppressed by minimizing the coupling of TE102 mode in order to obtain wide-stopband performance. The proposed filter is designed, fabricated, and measured, and the simulation and measurement results show a good agreement. The filter exhibits compact size, low loss, and a rejection higher than 20 dB up to 1.94f0.
Category Learning in Schoolchildren. Its Relation to Age, Academic Marks and Resolution Patterns
Authors: Casadevante Cristina , Romero Miriam , Fernández-Marcos Tatiana , Hernández José Manuel
Published: November 2019

The aim of this research was to study the learning process using an objective and computerized task. The performance of 466 schoolchildren aged between 6 and 11 in a category learning task, the Category Learning Test (CLT), was examined. The results showed evidence of category learning throughout the trials for the whole sample, F(7, 469) = 29.979, p <.001. In addition, categorization performance improved with age, H(2) = 48.475, p <.001. However, there were old children that struggled with the task and young children that performed very well. The ability to learn the categories was related to the children’s behavior when trying to solve the task: the response speed (r = –.217, p <.01) and the organization index (r = .247, p <.01). Nevertheless, performance in the task and academic marks were not related. We discuss the impact of these findings on the promotion and improvement of learning in schools: an intervention to promote slowness and organization might help some children to learn.
Intelligence and Personality
Authors: Bédard Marc-André , Le Corff Yann
Published: November 2019

Abstract. This replication and extension of DeYoung, Quilty, Peterson, and Gray’s (2014) study aimed to assess the unique variance of each of the 10 aspects of the Big Five personality traits ( DeYoung, Quilty, & Peterson, 2007 ) associated with intelligence and its dimensions. Personality aspects and intelligence were assessed in a sample of French-Canadian adults from real-life assessment settings ( n = 213). Results showed that the Intellect aspect was independently associated with g, verbal, and nonverbal intelligence while its counterpart Openness was independently related to verbal intelligence only, thus replicating the results of the original study. Independent associations were also found between Withdrawal, Industriousness and Assertiveness aspects and verbal intelligence, as well as between Withdrawal and Politeness aspects and nonverbal intelligence. Possible explanations for these associations are discussed.
The Modifying Influence of Family Social Background on the Association Between IQ and Unsuccessful Educational and Occupational Achievement
Authors: Hegelund Emilie Rune , Flensborg-Madsen Trine , Dammeyer Jesper , Mortensen Erik Lykke
Published: November 2019

Abstract. The present register-based study investigated whether family social background modified the association between intelligence and unsuccessful educational and occupational achievement among young men in Denmark. The study population comprised all men born during the period from 1981 to 1991 who had appeared before a draft board until 2015 ( N = 277,938). Family social background was measured by parental educational attainment at the birth of the study population. Intelligence was assessed by IQ scores on Børge Priens Prøve at age 18. Unsuccessful educational and occupational achievement were measured by no completed youth education at age 25, by no completed education leading to vocational qualifications at age 30, by not being in employment, education, or training (NEET) at age 30, and by gross income at age 30. Binary logistic regression and median regression were used to estimate the combined influence of family social background and IQ on unsuccessful educational and occupational achievement. The results showed that family social background modified the associations of IQ with risk of no youth education at age 25 and gross income at age 30, but the modifying influence seemed to depend on both the IQ level and the outcome indicator. Family social background was not found to modify the associations of IQ with risk of no vocational qualification at age 30 and risk of being NEET at age 30. In conclusion, the study findings suggest that several mechanisms might be at work in the complex and intertwined influences of family social background and intelligence on the risk of unsuccessful educational and occupational achievement.
Fractures and Subsidiary Faults Developed in the Active Strike‐Slip Nojima Fault Zone, Japan, and Tectonic Implications
Authors: Nishiwaki Takafumi , Lin Aiming
Published: November 2019

The Nojima Fault Zone, on which the 1995 Mw 6.9 Kobe (Japan) earthquake occurred, is characterized by pulverized cataclastic rocks with numerous fractures and subsidiary faults. The fractures and subsidiary faults were observed in trench walls and using borehole televiewer (BHTV) images from boreholes NFD‐1 (~1,000‐m depth) and AFD‐1 (~700‐m depth), which were drilled through the Nojima Fault and its branch, the Asano Fault, respectively. Measurements show that the orientations of fractures and subsidiary faults in the two boreholes are concentrated at N10–70°E, averaging N40°E. In contrast, the orientations of fractures and subsidiary faults in the walls of a trench across the main surface trace of the Asano Fault are constrained to N0–40°E, averaging N20°E, parallel to the general trend of the Asano Fault but different with that observed in the deep holes at the Ogura site. Structural analysis shows that the fractures and subsidiary faults are mainly concentrated in Riedel Y and R shears of the right‐lateral strike‐slip Nojima Fault and its branch Asano Fault. Our findings demonstrate that the fractures and subsidiary faults within the Nojima Fault Zone were formed by dextral strike‐slip shearing under the current ENE‐WSW to E‐W compressive regional tectonic stress field, related to ongoing subduction of the Pacific and Philippine Sea plates beneath the Japanese Islands.
Inequal Responses of Drylands to Radiative Forcing Geoengineering Methods
Authors: Park Chang‐Eui , Jeong Su‐Jong , Fan Yuanchao , Tjiputra Jerry , Muri Helene , Zheng Chunmiao
Published: November 2019

Climate geoengineering has the potential to reduce global warming. However, the nonlinear responses of Earth's large‐scale circulation to climate geoengineering can exacerbate regional climate change, with potential inequality risks. We show noticeable inequality in the responses of drylands when three radiative forcing geoengineering (RFG) methodologies—cirrus cloud thinning (CCT), marine sky brightening (MSB), and stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI)—individually reduce the radiative forcing of the representative concentration pathway 8.5 scenario using a set of the Norwegian Earth system model (NorESM1‐ME) experiments. In North America, CCT and SAI alleviate drylands expansion, whereas drylands expand further under MSB. CCT induces significantly wetter conditions over the western Sahel. Wetting over Australia is enhanced and prevented by MSB and SAI, respectively. Our results suggest spatially inequal distributions of benefits and harms of individual RFGs on the projected distribution of drylands, which should be considered before any real‐world application of such RFGs.
Constraining the Magnitude of Climate Extremes From Time‐Varying Instellation on a Circumbinary Terrestrial Planet
Authors: Haqq‐Misra Jacob , Wolf Eric T. , Welsh William F. , Kopparapu Ravi Kumar , Kostov Veselin , Kane Stephen R.
Published: November 2019

Planets that revolve around a binary pair of stars are known as circumbinary planets. The orbital motion of the stars around their center of mass causes a periodic variation in the total instellation incident upon a circumbinary planet. This study uses both an analytic and numerical energy balance model to calculate the extent to which this effect can drive changes in surface temperature on circumbinary terrestrial planets. We show that the amplitude of the temperature variation is largely constrained by the effective heat capacity, which corresponds to the ocean‐to‐land ratio on the planet. Planets with large ocean fractions should experience only modest warming and cooling of only a few degrees, which suggests that habitability cannot be precluded for such circumbinary planets. Planets with large land fractions that experience extreme periodic forcing could be prone to changes in temperature of tens of degrees or more, which could drive more extreme climate changes that inhibit continuously habitable conditions.
Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene Variability of the REE and Nd Isotope Composition of Caribbean Bottom Water: A Record of Changes in Sea Level and Terrestrial Inputs During the Final Stages of Central American Seaway Closure
Authors: Osborne Anne H. , Hathorne Ed C. , Böning Philipp , Groeneveld Jeroen , Pahnke Katharina , Frank Martin
Published: November 2019

The isotopic composition of neodymium dissolved in seawater consists of a distal, advected component that reflects water mass mixing and circulation but near land can also contain a large local component originating from terrestrial sources such as aeolian or fluvial material. In order to use Nd isotopes to reconstruct paleocirculation, it is important to detect any local influences on the seawater signal recorded in deep sea sediments. Here we present rare earth element (REE) and Nd isotope (εNd) records from the deep Caribbean for two well‐studied time intervals in the Late Pliocene and Early Pleistocene. We measured trace element and REE compositions of weakly cleaned foraminifera to investigate if the Nd isotope signal from the same samples contained a local component. We find distinct changes in REE compositions across glaciations that are consistent with increases in the supply of local terrestrial material to the basin likely the results of glacially driven changes in sea level. Despite these larger terrestrial inputs, the Ce anomaly (Ce/Ce*) became more pronounced during glaciations indicating a better deep Caribbean ventilation. Short negative Nd isotope excursions occurred during three of the four studied glaciations, independently of any other proxy indicators for changes in ocean circulation suggesting that inputs from local terrigenous sources of Nd controlled the signal. We recommend that studies that aim to use εNd as a paleocirculation tracer routinely measure REE compositions of the authigenic phase to identify any possible terrestrial influence on the signal.
Loss of work-related income impoverishes people with SCI and their families in Bangladesh
Authors:   on behalf of the CIVIC Trial Collaboration, Hossain Mohammad Sohrab , Harvey Lisa A. , Islam Md. Shofiqul , Rahman Md. Akhlasur , Liu Hueiming , Herbert Robert D.
Published: November 2019

Study design

Cross-sectional study.

Objectives

To determine the degree of impoverishment of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and their families in Bangladesh caused by loss of work-related income following injury.

Setting

Spinal cord injury centre, Bangladesh.

Methods

A total of 410 wheelchair-dependent people with recent SCI about to be discharged from a hospital in Bangladesh were interviewed to determine the size of their families, their incomes from paid work prior to injury and the incomes of their family members. These data were used to calculate income per family unit and per family member prior to and immediately after injury.

Results

Ninety percent of the participants were men, 98% were from rural areas of Bangladesh and 58% were manual labours prior to injury. Median (interquartile range, IQR) family size was 5 (4–6) people. Prior to injury, 74% of participants were the main income earners for their families and 50% provided the only source of income for their families. Participants’ median (IQR) monthly income prior to injury was US$106 (US$60–US$180) per person and family members’ income was US$30 (US$19–US$48) per person. After injury, the median income (IQR) of each family member dropped to US$0 (US$0–US$18) placing 91% of families below the extreme poverty line of US$37.50 per person per month (equivalent to US$1.25 per day).

Conclusion

In Bangladesh, SCI have profound financial implications for individuals and their families and causes extreme poverty. This is because those most often injured are young and the main income earners for their families.
Long-term monitoring data from a naturally ventilated office building
Authors: Schweiker Marcel , Kleber Michael , Wagner Andreas
Published: November 2019

Data was collected in the field, from an office building located in Frankfurt, Germany, over the period of 4 years. The building was designed as a low-energy building and featured natural ventilation for individual control of air quality as well as buoyancy-driven night ventilation in combination with a central atrium as a passive cooling strategy. The monitored data include in total 116 data points related to outdoor and indoor environmental data, energy related data, and data related to occupancy and occupant behaviour. Data points representing a state were logged with the real timestamp of the event taking place, all other data points were recorded in 10 minute intervals. Data were collected in 17 cell offices with a size of ~20 m2, facing either east or west). Each office has one fixed and two operable windows, internal top light windows between office and corridor (to allow for night ventilation into the atrium) and sun protection elements (operated both manually and automatically). Each office is occupied by one or two persons.
Short echo-time Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in ALS, simultaneous quantification of glutamate and GABA at 3 T
Authors: Blicher J. U. , Eskildsen S. F. , Stærmose T. G. , Møller A. T. , Figlewski K. , Near J.
Published: November 2019

Cortical hyperexcitability has been found in early Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and is hypothesized to be a key factor in pathogenesis. The current pilot study aimed to investigate cortical inhibitory/excitatory balance in ALS using short-echo Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS). Patients suffering from ALS were scanned on a 3 T Trio Siemens MR scanner using Spin Echo Full Intensity Acquired Localized (SPECIAL) Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in primary motor cortex and the occipital lobe. Data was compared to a group of healthy subjects. Nine patients completed the scan. MRS data was of an excellent quality allowing for quantification of a range of metabolites of interest in ALS. In motor cortex, patients had Glutamate/GABA and GABA/Cr- ratios comparable to healthy subjects. However, Glutamate/Cr (p = 0.002) and the neuronal marker N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA/Cr) (p = 0.034) were low, possibly due to grey-matter atrophy, whereas Glutathione/Cr (p = 0.04) was elevated. In patients, NAA levels correlated significantly with both hand strength (p = 0.027) and disease severity (p = 0.016). In summary SPECIAL MRS at 3 T allows of reliable quantification of a range of metabolites of interest in ALS, including both excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters. The method is a promising new technique as a biomarker for future studies on ALS pathophysiology and monitoring of disease progression.
Porosity Measurement of Low Permeable Materials Using Gas Expansion Induced Water Intrusion Porosimetry (GEIWIP)
Authors: Jarrahi Miad , Ruth Douglas W. , Bassuoni Mohamed T. , Holländer Hartmut M.
Published: November 2019

Porosity measurement is a key factor to identify the hydraulic performance of low permeable porous materials (e.g. rock or concrete). Porosimetry tests such as Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), or Gas Expansion (GE) are cost-prohibitive, use hazardous materials, or are incapable of accessing all inter-connected pores. An alternative Gas Expansion Induced Water Intrusion Porosimetry (GEIWIP) method was developed to measure the porosity of a low permeable porous medium using a gas/water intrusion apparatus. This method overcomes the previously mentioned porosimetry drawbacks by using distilled de-aired water (DDW) as a hazard-free liquid which is a wetting fluid to intrude the porous structure and fill the pores. As the DDW has the tendency to fill all inter-connected pores, no back-up pressure is required. This method has lower cost and needs less preparation time comparing to MIP test. Additionally, the GEIWIP set-up, the gas/water intrusion apparatus, can be moved to the field site and provide mobile measurement feasibility. The reliability of the test results was obtained by a repetitive testing process. The porosity of concrete samples with different mixtures was obtained and compared to those of MIP and NMR tests.
Wolves and dogs recruit human partners in the cooperative string-pulling task
Authors: Range Friederike , Kassis Alexandra , Taborsky Michael , Boada Mónica , Marshall-Pescini Sarah
Published: November 2019

In comparison to non-human animals, humans are highly flexible in cooperative tasks, which may be a result of their ability to understand a partner’s role in such interactions. Here, we tested if wolves and dogs could flexibly adjust their behaviour according to whether they needed a partner to solve a cooperative loose string-pulling paradigm. First, we presented animals with a delay condition where a human partner was released after the subject so that the animal had to delay pulling the string to enable coordinated pulling with the human partner. Subsequently, we investigated whether subjects would recruit a partner depending on whether they could operate the apparatus alone, or help from a partner was required. Both wolves and dogs successfully waited in the delay condition in 88% of the trials. Experimental subjects were also successful in recruiting a partner, which occurred significantly more often in the cooperation trials than in the solo pulling condition. No species differences were found in either experiment. These results suggest that both wolves and dogs have some understanding of whether a social partner is needed to accomplish a task, which enables behavioural coordination and cooperation.
DeNTNet: Deep Neural Transfer Network for the detection of periodontal bone loss using panoramic dental radiographs
Authors: Kim Jaeyoung , Lee Hong-Seok , Song In-Seok , Jung Kyu-Hwan
Published: November 2019

In this study, a deep learning-based method for developing an automated diagnostic support system that detects periodontal bone loss in the panoramic dental radiographs is proposed. The presented method called DeNTNet not only detects lesions but also provides the corresponding teeth numbers of the lesion according to dental federation notation. DeNTNet applies deep convolutional neural networks(CNNs) using transfer learning and clinical prior knowledge to overcome the morphological variation of the lesions and imbalanced training dataset. With 12,179 panoramic dental radiographs annotated by experienced dental clinicians, DeNTNet was trained, validated, and tested using 11,189, 190, and 800 panoramic dental radiographs, respectively. Each experimental model was subjected to comparative study to demonstrate the validity of each phase of the proposed method. When compared to the dental clinicians, DeNTNet achieved the F1 score of 0.75 on the test set, whereas the average performance of dental clinicians was 0.69.
Caesarean section, but not induction of labour, is associated with major changes in cord blood metabolome
Authors: Marchioro Linda , Shokry Engy , Geraghty Aisling A. , O’Brien Eileen C. , Uhl Olaf , Koletzko Berthold , McAuliffe Fionnuala M.
Published: November 2019

The physiology of how prelabour caesarean section (PCS) and induction of labour (IOL) in comparison to spontaneous vaginal delivery (SVD) has not been fully clarified yet. We measured 201 cord blood (CB) phospholipids and energy metabolites via LC/MS-MS in 109 newborns from the ROLO Kids study; metabolites were compared across the three parturition groups via linear mixed models with correction for multiple testing. In comparison to SVD, PCS babies had lower non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), including sum of NEFA (p < 0.001), and trends for lower acylcarnitines. The lack of hormonal stimuli, especially catecholamines and cortisol, may underlie the metabolic changes involving gluconeogenesis from fatty acid oxidation (FAO) in PCS born infants. IOL and SVD infants showed no significant differences in metabolites, but ratios estimating carnitine palmitoyltrasferase 1 activity (precursor for FAO) were slightly higher in IOL than in SVD. Thus, IOL does not induce metabolic disadvantage when compared to SVD, though post-natal gluconeogenesis might start earlier due to the artificial solicitation in IOL. These data shed light on the physiology of parturition and may contribute to understand how mode of delivery might modulate future metabolic risks.
Effective reconstruction of functional organotypic kidney spheroid for in vitro nephrotoxicity studies
Authors: Kang Hyun Mi , Lim Jung Hwa , Noh Kyung Hee , Park Dongmin , Cho Hyun-Soo , Susztak Katalin , Jung Cho-Rok
Published: November 2019

Stable and reproducible kidney cellular models could accelerate our understanding of diseases, help therapeutics development, and improve nephrotoxicity screenings. Generation of a reproducible in vitro kidney models has been challenging owing to the cellular heterogeneity and structural complexity of the kidney. We generated mixed immortalized cell lines that stably maintained their characteristic expression of renal epithelial progenitor markers for the different lineages of kidney cellular compartments via the BMP7 signaling pathway from a mouse and a human whole kidney. These cells were used to generate functional and matured kidney spheroids containing multiple renal lineages, such as the proximal tubule, loop of Henle, distal tubules, and podocytes, using extracellular matrix and physiological force, named spheroid-forming unit (SFU). They expressed all apical and basolateral transporters that are important for drug metabolism and displayed key functional aspects of the proximal tubule, including protein endocytosis and increased gamma-glutamyltransferase activity, and cyclic AMP responded to external cues, such as parathyroid hormone. Following exposure, cells fluxed and took up drugs via proximal tubule-specific apical or basolateral transporters, and displayed increased cell death and expression of renal injury marker. Here, we developed a new differentiation method to generate kidney spheroids that structurally recapitulate important features of the kidney effectively and reproducibly using mixed immortalized renal cells, and showed their application for renal toxicity studies.
Deconvolution of light sheet microscopy recordings
Authors: Becker Klaus , Saghafi Saiedeh , Pende Marko , Sabdyusheva-Litschauer Inna , Hahn Christian M. , Foroughipour Massih , Jährling Nina , Dodt Hans-Ulrich
Published: November 2019

We developed a deconvolution software for light sheet microscopy that uses a theoretical point spread function, which we derived from a model of image formation in a light sheet microscope. We show that this approach provides excellent blur reduction and enhancement of fine image details for image stacks recorded with low magnification objectives of relatively high NA and high field numbers as e.g. 2x NA 0.14 FN 22, or 4x NA 0.28 FN 22. For these objectives, which are widely used in light sheet microscopy, sufficiently resolved point spread functions that are suitable for deconvolution are difficult to measure and the results obtained by common deconvolution software developed for confocal microscopy are usually poor. We demonstrate that the deconvolutions computed using our point spread function model are equivalent to those obtained using a measured point spread function for a 10x objective with NA 0.3 and for a 20x objective with NA 0.45.
Floquet-state cooling
Authors: Diermann Onno R. , Holthaus Martin
Published: November 2019

We demonstrate that a periodically driven quantum system can adopt a quasistationary state which is effectively much colder than a thermal reservoir it is coupled to, in the sense that certain Floquet states of the driven-dissipative system can carry much higher population than the ground state of the corresponding undriven system in thermal equilibrium. This is made possible by a rich Fourier spectrum of the system’s Floquet transition matrix elements, the components of which are addressed individually by a suitably peaked reservoir density of states. The effect is expected to be important for driven solid-state systems interacting with a phonon bath predominantly at well-defined frequencies.
Discriminative biogeochemical signatures of methanotrophs in different chemosynthetic habitats at an active mud volcano in the Canadian Beaufort Sea
Authors: Lee Dong-Hun , Lee Yung Mi , Kim Jung-Hyun , Jin Young Keun , Paull Charles , Niemann Helge , Kim Ji-Hoon , Shin Kyung-Hoon
Published: November 2019

Several mud volcanoes are active in the Canadian Beaufort Sea. In this study, we investigated vertical variations in methanotrophic communities in sediments of the mud volcano MV420 (420 m water depth) by analyzing geochemical properties, microbial lipids, and nucleic acid signatures. Three push cores were collected with a remotely operated vehicle from visually discriminative habitats that were devoid of megafauna and/microbial mats (DM) to the naked eye, covered with bacterial mats (BM), or colonized by siboglinid tubeworms (ST). All MV420 sites showed the presence of aerobic methane oxidation (MOx)- and anaerobic methane oxidation (AOM)-related lipid biomarkers (4α-methyl sterols and sn-2-hydroxyarchaeol, respectively), which were distinctly different in comparison with a reference site at which these compounds were not detected. Lipid biomarker results were in close agreement with 16S rRNA analyses, which revealed the presence of MOx-related bacteria (Methylococcales) and AOM-related archaea (ANME-2 and ANME-3) at the MV420 sites. 4α-methyl sterols derived from Methylococcales predominated in the surface layer at the BM site, which showed a moderate methane flux (0.04 mmol cm−2 y−1), while their occurrence was limited at the DM (0.06 mmol cm−2 y−1) and ST (0.01 mmol cm−2 y−1) sites. On the other hand, 13C-depleted sn-2-hydroxyarchaeol potentially derived from ANME-2 and/or ANME-3 was abundant in down-core sediments at the ST site. Our study indicates that a niche diversification within this mud volcano system has shaped distinct methanotrophic communities due to availability of electron acceptors in association with varying degrees of methane flux and bioirrigation activity.
Differences in high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation over the motor hotspot versus the premotor cortex on motor network excitability
Authors: Lefebvre Stephanie , Jann Kay , Schmiesing Allie , Ito Kaori , Jog Mayank , Schweighofer Nicolas , Wang Danny J. J. , Liew Sook-Lei
Published: November 2019

The effectiveness of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) placed over the motor hotspot (thought to represent the primary motor cortex (M1)) to modulate motor network excitability is highly variable. The premotor cortex—particularly the dorsal premotor cortex (PMd)—may be a promising alternative target to reliably modulate motor excitability, as it influences motor control across multiple pathways, one independent of M1 and one with direct connections to M1. This double-blind, placebo-controlled preliminary study aimed to differentially excite motor and premotor regions using high-definition tDCS (HD-tDCS) with concurrent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). HD-tDCS applied over either the motor hotspot or the premotor cortex demonstrated high inter-individual variability in changes on cortical motor excitability. However, HD-tDCS over the premotor cortex led to a higher number of responders and greater changes in local fMRI-based complexity than HD-tDCS over the motor hotspot. Furthermore, an analysis of individual motor hotspot anatomical locations revealed that, in more than half of the participants, the motor hotspot is not located over anatomical M1 boundaries, despite using a canonical definition of the motor hotspot. This heterogeneity in stimulation site may contribute to the variability of tDCS results. Altogether, these preliminary findings provide new considerations to enhance tDCS reliability.
First-principles investigation of the ferroelectric, piezoelectric and nonlinear optical properties of LiNbO3-type ZnTiO3
Authors: Zhang Jing , Xu Bin , Wang Yu-Sheng , Qin Zhen , Ke San-Huang
Published: November 2019

The newly synthesized LN-type ZnTiO3 (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 2748) contains cations with the electronic configurations nd10 (Zn2+: 3d10) along with second-order Jahn-Teller (SOJT) nd0 (Ti4+: 3d0) cations. This is different from traditional ferroelectrics with the electric configurations of d0 transition metal ions or/and lone pair electrons of ns2. Using a first-principles approach based on density functional theory, we investigate the electronic structure, zone-center phonon modes, piezoelectric and nonlinear optical properties of the LiNbO3-type ZnTiO3. The electronic structure indicates that this compound is a wide direct-band-gap insulator. The results reveal that this compound is a good ferroelectric material with a large spontaneous polarization of 90.43μC/cm2. The Raman scattering peaks of A1 and E modes are assigned to their zone-center optical modes. Additionally, the large piezoelectric and nonlinear optical susceptibilities reveal that LiNbO3-type ZnTiO3 is a high-performance lead-free piezoelectric and nonlinear optical crystal.
A Barrierless Pathway Accessing the C9H9 and C9H8 Potential Energy Surfaces via the Elementary Reaction of Benzene with 1-Propynyl
Authors: Thomas Aaron M. , Doddipatla Srinivas , Kaiser Ralf I. , Galimova Galiya R. , Mebel Alexander M.
Published: November 2019

The crossed molecular beams reactions of the 1-propynyl radical (CH3CC; X2A1) with benzene (C6H6; X1A1g) and D6-benzene (C6D6; X1A1g) were conducted to explore the formation of C9H8 isomers under single-collision conditions. The underlying reaction mechanisms were unravelled through the combination of the experimental data with electronic structure and statistical RRKM calculations. These data suggest the formation of 1-phenyl-1-propyne (C6H5CCCH3) via the barrierless addition of 1-propynyl to benzene forming a low-lying doublet C9H9 intermediate that dissociates by hydrogen atom emission via a tight transition state. In accordance with our experiments, RRKM calculations predict that the thermodynamically most stable isomer – the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) indene – is not formed via this reaction. With all barriers lying below the energy of the reactants, this reaction is viable in the cold interstellar medium where several methyl-substituted molecules have been detected. Its underlying mechanism therefore advances our understanding of how methyl-substituted hydrocarbons can be formed under extreme conditions such as those found in the molecular cloud TMC-1. Implications for the chemistry of the 1-propynyl radical in astrophysical environments are also discussed.
Functional annotation of serine hydrolases in the asexual erythrocytic stage of Plasmodium falciparum
Authors: Elahi Rubayet , Ray W. Keith , Dapper Christie , Dalal Seema , Helm Richard F. , Klemba Michael
Published: November 2019

Enzymes of the serine hydrolase superfamily are ubiquitous, highly versatile catalysts that mediate a wide variety of metabolic reactions in eukaryotic cells, while also being amenable to selective inhibition. We have employed a fluorophosphonate-based affinity capture probe and mass spectrometry to explore the expression profile and metabolic roles of the 56-member P. falciparum serine hydrolase superfamily in the asexual erythrocytic stage of P. falciparum. This approach provided a detailed census of active serine hydrolases in the asexual parasite, with identification of 21 active serine hydrolases from α/β hydrolase, patatin, and rhomboid protease families. To gain insight into their functional roles and substrates, the pan-lipase inhibitor isopropyl dodecylfluorophosphonate was employed for competitive activity-based protein profiling, leading to the identification of seven serine hydrolases with potential lipolytic activity. We demonstrated how a chemoproteomic approach can provide clues to the specificity of serine hydrolases by using a panel of neutral lipase inhibitors to identify an enzyme that reacts potently with a covalent monoacylglycerol lipase inhibitor. In combination with existing phenotypic data, our studies define a set of serine hydrolases that likely mediate critical metabolic reactions in asexual parasites and enable rational prioritization of future functional characterization and inhibitor development efforts.
Genome analyses of a placozoan rickettsial endosymbiont show a combination of mutualistic and parasitic traits
Authors: Kamm Kai , Osigus Hans-Jürgen , Stadler Peter F. , DeSalle Rob , Schierwater Bernd
Published: November 2019

Symbiotic relationships between eukaryotic hosts and bacteria range from parasitism to mutualism and may deeply influence both partners’ fitness. The presence of intracellular bacteria in the metazoan phylum Placozoa has been reported several times, but without any knowledge about the nature of this relationship and possible implications for the placozoan holobiont. This information may be of crucial significance since little is known about placozoan ecology and how different species adapt to different environmental conditions, despite being almost invariable at the morphological level. We here report on the novel genome of the rickettsial endosymbiont of Trichoplax sp. H2 (strain “Panama”). The combination of eliminated and retained metabolic pathways of the bacterium indicates a potential for a mutualistic as well as for a parasitic relationship, whose outcome could depend on the environmental context. In particular we show that the endosymbiont is dependent on the host for growth and reproduction and that the latter could benefit from a supply with essential amino acids and important cofactors. These findings call for further studies to clarify the actual benefit for the placozoan host and to investigate a possible role of the endosymbiont for ecological separation between placozoan species.