bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Differential aphid toxicity to ladybeetles is not a function of host plant or facultative bacterial symbionts
Authors: White Jennifer A. , McCord Joshua S. , Jackson Kelly A. , Dehnel Allison C. , Lenhart Paul A.
Published: August 2016

Herbivores often defend themselves from predation by transmitting toxic plant‐produced chemicals to their enemies. Polyphagous herbivores sometimes exhibit differential toxicity when found on various host plant species, which is generally assumed to reflect variation in plant chemistry.

Here, however, we provide evidence that host‐associated herbivore lineages can intrinsically differ in their toxic properties. Lineages of Aphis craccivora originating from black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) are unsuitable food for the ladybeetle Harmonia axyridis, resulting in death of both larvae and adults, whereas aphid lineages originating from alfalfa (Medicago sativa) support larval development and adult reproduction. We show that locust‐origin aphids remain toxic and alfalfa‐origin aphids remain non‐toxic when reared on any of three legume plants (fava, alfalfa or locust).

Furthermore, toxicity is not a function of the facultative bacterial symbiont Arsenophonus, which is naturally present in locust‐origin aphid lineages and facilitates aphid use of locust. Experimentally cured locust‐origin lineages remain toxic, and an experimentally transinfected alfalfa‐origin lineage remains non‐toxic to H. axyridis.

Instead, Arsenophonus plays an indirect role in the distribution of toxic aphid lineages by facilitating aphid use of locust. It is the parthenogenetic coinheritance of Arsenophonus and the toxic trait that observationally correlates locust‐feeding with toxicity in A. craccivora, rather than host plant chemistry per se.

Our results clearly demonstrate that aphid lineages intrinsically vary in their toxic properties in a way that neither plant chemistry nor bacterial symbionts can explain. A more inclusive paradigm is needed for understanding variation in herbivore defence against predators.
Relationship between cladoceran (Crustacea) functional diversity and lake trophic gradients
Authors: Nevalainen Liisa , Luoto Tomi P.
Published: August 2016

Functional diversity (FD) as a biodiversity measure has an explicit role in ecosystem functioning because the effects of environmental changes in ecosystems are determined by biological functions, such as feeding type and trophic position, of particular species.

We evaluated the usability of functional characterization and FD of an aquatic keystone group (Crustacea: Cladocera) for enhancing the understanding of long‐term lake functional responses to environmental changes. The aims were to separate ecologically significant functional groups, investigate succession of such functional groups during nutrient enrichment process and determine the relationship between FD and lake productivity using a palaeolimnological approach.

We selected two eutrophicated study lakes from southern Finland for down‐core investigations, one with a centennial (past c. 350 years) and the other with a decadal (past c. 70 years) nutrient enrichment record. Cladoceran microfossils in the sediment cores were used to determine the taxonomic structure of the past communities. Ecologically relevant functional characteristics were determined to separate functional groups by utilizing a functional dendrogram and a weighted community‐based FD index together with a set of multidimensional FD indices. The indices were applied to the down‐core assemblages.

The functional dendrogram separated cladocerans into functional groups where habitat type principally separated open‐water filterers and predators from epibenthic scrapers and detritivores. Further separation in the pelagic branch was based on body size and feeding and among the benthic branch body shape.

Functional assemblages changed markedly during the nutrient enrichment process. In the early stage of eutrophication, the largest functional changes were caused by small planktonic filterers and predators. Small filterers and epibenthos responded strongest during the eutrophic–hypereutrophic succession. FD had a positive long‐term relationship with lake trophic status until eutrophic conditions that was likely caused by diversifying resources and versatile food webs. Under hypereutrophic conditions, and especially at a decadal temporal resolution, alternating predation regimes caused variance to FD.

In the current records, cladoceran FD was positively related to lake productivity and bottom‐up controls during the early stages of eutrophication in the long‐term record but top‐down controls apparently were more important at a decadal scale and under hypereutrophic conditions.
The infralimbic and prelimbic cortices contribute to the inhibitory control of cocaine‐seeking behavior during a discriminative stimulus task in rats
Authors: Gutman Andrea L. , Ewald Victoria A. , Cosme Caitlin V. , Worth Wensday R. , LaLumiere Ryan T.
Published: August 2016

The infralimbic and prelimbic (IL and PL, respectively) regions of the medial prefrontal cortex regulate the control of drug‐seeking behavior. However, their roles in cocaine seeking in a discriminative stimulus (DS)‐based self‐administration task are unclear. To address this issue, male Sprague Dawley rats were trained on a DS task in which, on a trial‐by‐trial basis, a DS+ indicated that a lever press would produce a cocaine infusion, whereas a distinct DS− indicated that a lever press would produce nothing. IL and PL inactivation via GABA receptor activation decreased performance accuracy and disinhibited behavioral responding on DS− trials, resulting in greater lever pressing during the DS− presentation. This was accompanied by a decrease in cocaine infusions obtained, a finding confirmed in a subsequent experiment using a standard FR1 cocaine self‐administration paradigm. We repeated the DS study using a food reward and found that inactivation of each region decreased performance accuracy but had no effect on the total number of food pellets earned. Additional experiments with the cocaine DS task found that dopamine receptor blockade in the IL, but not PL, reduced performance accuracy and disinhibited behavioral responding on DS− trials, whereas AMPA receptor blockade in the IL and PL had no effect on performance accuracy. These findings strongly suggest that, in a DS‐based self‐administration task in which rats must actively decide whether to engage in lever pressing (DS+) or withhold lever pressing (DS−) on a trial‐by‐trial basis, both the IL and PL contribute to the inhibitory control of drug‐seeking behavior.
Nicotine self‐administration remodels perineuronal nets in ventral tegmental area and orbitofrontal cortex in adult male rats
Authors: Vazquez‐Sanroman Dolores B. , Monje Reyna D. , Bardo Michael T.
Published: August 2016

Nicotine, a major psychoactive component of tobacco smoke, alters gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) modulation of dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Changes in structural neuroplasticity can occur in GABAergic parvalbumin (PRV) positive neurons, which are enveloped by structures of the extracellular matrix called perineuronal nets (PNNs). In the current study, rats were trained to self‐administer intravenous nicotine (0.03 mg/kg/infusion) for 21 days in 1‐hour daily sessions with an incrementing fixed ratio requirement; a control group received saline infusions. At either 45 minutes or 72 hours after the last session, immunofluorescence measurements for PNNs, PRV and c‐Fos were conducted. In VTA, nicotine self‐administration reduced the number of PRV+ cells surrounded by PNNs at 45 minutes, as well as reducing the intensity of PNNs, suggesting a remodeling of GABA interneurons in this region; the number of PRV+ cells surrounded by PNNs was also reduced at 72 hours. A similar reduction of PNNs occurred in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) but not in medial prefrontal cortex (prelimbic or infralimbic), 45 minutes after the last session; PNNs were not detected in nucleus accumbens (shell or core). The reduction of PNNs in VTA and OFC was unrelated to c‐Fos + cells, as the percent of wisteria floribunda agglutinin + cells co‐expressing c‐Fos was decreased in OFC but not in VTA. Thus, nicotine self‐administration remodeled PNNs surrounding GABA interneurons in VTA and its indirect connections to OFC, suggesting a new possible molecular target where nicotine‐induced neuroplasticity takes place. PNN manipulations may prevent or reverse the different stages of tobacco addiction.
Application of novel quantitative techniques for fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography in patients with non‐small‐cell lung cancer
Authors: Wang Duo , Koh Eng‐Siew , Descallar Joseph , Pramana Ariyanto , Vinod Shalini K , Ho Shon Ivan
Published: August 2016

Aim

Flurodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG‐PET/CT) is routinely used in non‐small‐cell lung cancer. This study aims to assess the prognostic value of quantitative FDG‐PET/CT parameters including standard uptake value (SUV), metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesional glycolysis (TLG) in non‐small‐cell lung cancer.

Methods

A retrospective review of 92 nonsurgical patients with pathologically confirmed stage I–III non‐small‐cell lung cancers treated with radical dose radiotherapy (≥50 Gy) was conducted. Metabolically active tumor regions on FDG‐PET/CT scans were contoured manually. SUV, MTV and TLG were calculated for primary, nodal and whole‐body disease. Univariate and multivariate (adjusting for age, sex, disease stage and primary tumor size in centimeters) Cox regression modeling were performed to assess the association between these parameters and both overall and progression‐free survival (PFS).

Results

On univariate analysis, overall survival (OS) was significantly associated with primary MTV (P = 0.03), whole‐body MTV (P = 0.02), whole‐body maximum SUV (P = 0.05) and whole‐body TLG (P = 0.03). PFS was significantly associated with primary MTV (P = 0.01), primary TLG (P = 0.04), whole‐body MTV (P < 0.01) and whole‐body TLG (P = 0.01). On multivariate analysis, OS was significantly associated with whole‐body MTV (P = 0.05). PFS was significantly associated with whole‐body MTV (P = 0.02) and whole‐body TLG (P = 0.05).

Conclusions

Whole‐body MTV was significantly associated with overall and PFS, and whole‐body TLG was significantly associated with PFS on multivariate analysis. These two parameters may be significant prognostic factors independent of other factors such as stage. SUV was not significantly associated with survival on multivariate analysis.
The postneoliberal fabulation of power: On statecraft, precarious infrastructures, and public mobilization in Brazil
Authors: BIEHL JOÃO
Published: August 2016

In Brazil's hybrid government of social protection and market expansion, there is under way afabulation of power, which ultimately serves to “de‐poor” people seeking care, working infrastructures, and justice while also shoring up state politics as usual. This process became evident through the failure of a collaborative research project that I coordinated on right‐to‐health litigation. In rethinking that failure as an experiment in public ethnography, I draw on core disagreements with public officials over the interpretation of our findings from a legal database. Analyzing these disagreements provides an entry point into the mechanisms of veridiction and falsification at work in Brazil, whose government sees itself as providing public goods beyond the minimum neoliberal state. Countering state mythology, public ethnography thus illuminates the improvised quality of postneoliberal democratic institutions and opens up new avenues for theorizing power and the political field. [public ethnography, judicialization of health, precarious infrastructures, postneoliberal statecraft, de‐pooring people, public mobilization, Brazil]

Está em andamento no governo brasileiro—espécie híbrida de proteção social e expansão de mercado—umafabulação do poder. Ela serve, em última análise, para “despauperizar” as pessoas que procuram por assistência à saúde, infraestruturas eficientes e justiça, enquanto que, simultaneamente, escora as políticas convencionais de Estado. Neste artigo, repenso um fracassado projeto de pesquisa colaborativa sobre a judicialização do direito à saúde como um experimento de etnografia pública. Para tanto, tomo as discordâncias interpretativas que tivemos com agentes públicos acerca de achados em um banco de dados de ações judiciais como uma janela para o entendimento dos mecanismos de veridicção e falsificação em atividade no Brasil, cujo governo se vê como provedor de bens e serviços públicos muito além do que um Estado neoliberal mínimo faria. Contrapondo mitologias estatais, essa etnografia pública ilumina o caráter improvisado das instituições democráticas pós‐neoliberais brasileiras, abrindo novos caminhos para teorizar o poder e o campo político. [etnografia pública, judicialização da saúde, infraestruturas precárias, estadismo pós‐neoliberal, despauperização, mobilização pública, Brasil]
Settler agnosia in the field: Indigenous action, functional ignorance, and the origins of ethnographic entrapment
Authors: ARNDT GRANT
Published: August 2016

In the late 1930s a novice fieldworker from the University of Chicago wrote in his field notes that his collaboration with a Ho‐Chunk interpreter had failed because of the interpreter's “aggressions” in the struggle for “white class status.” The notes exhibit a pattern of perceptual failure that I call “settler agnosia,” elements of which have been noted in research on the obstacles facing Indigenous activists. The case shows that the tendency of older anthropological accounts of contemporary American Indian life to obscure evidence of both colonial oppression and Indigenous action may have originated as consequences of a form of functional ignorance triggered by interpersonal struggles over position in the everyday relations of settler society. An ethnographic investigation of the links between settler agnosia and the practice of settlerness connects perception in everyday interactions to larger issues of knowledge production in and of settler societies. [settler colonialism, field theory, Bourdieu, race, ignorance, indigeneity, Native North America]
Immediate nipple reconstruction with a C‐V flap and areolar reconstruction with an autograft of the ipsilateral areola
Authors: Jung Younglae , Lee Jeeyeon , Lee Seokwon , Bae Youngtae
Published: August 2016

Background

The authors report a new nipple‐areolar complex (NAC) reconstruction technique using an autograft of the ipsilateral areola for breast cancer with nipple invasion.

Methods

A total of 43 patients with breast cancer involving nipple invasion underwent oncoplastic surgery with NAC reconstruction. The nipple was reconstructed with a C‐V flap, and the areola was autografted onto the new areola bed after the ipsilateral areola was confirmed to be tumour‐free. The cosmetic results were self‐evaluated by the patients after chemotherapy or radiotherapy according to a 4‐point scoring system.

Results

Overall satisfaction with the cosmetic result was assessed as follows: excellent (n = 14), good (n = 19), fair (n = 7) or poor (n = 3). Oncological evaluation revealed no cases of local recurrence and five cases of distant metastasis.

Conclusion

The immediate NAC reconstruction technique involving a C‐V flap and autografting of the ipsilateral areola is a feasible method for obtaining realistic areolar reconstruction.
Lost in transition: A review of the unmet need of patients with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder transitioning to adulthood
Authors: Treuer Tamás , Chan Kwok Ling Phyllis , Kim Bung Nyun , Kunjithapatham Ganesh , Wynchank Dora , Semerci Bengi , Montgomery William , Novick Diego , Dueñas Héctor
Published: August 2016

This review discusses the unmet needs of patients with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who are transitioning into adulthood. Although awareness and recognition of ADHD in children, adolescents, and adults have improved in recent years, there is often an interruption in management of the disorder when adolescent patients transition to adult health care services. This review has the following objectives: (1) to identify key issues patients with ADHD (with or without an early diagnosis) face during transition into adulthood; (2) to review the current clinical practice and country‐specific approaches to the management of the transition into adulthood for patients with ADHD; (3) to discuss challenges facing clinicians and their patients when drug treatment for ADHD is initiated; (4) to review current ADHD guidelines on transition management in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Turkey, and Africa; and (5) to examine economic consequences associated with ADHD. The review suggests that the transition period to adult ADHD may be an underresearched and underserved area. The transition period plays an important role regarding how ADHD symptoms may be perceived and acted upon by adult psychiatrists. Further studies are needed to explore the characteristics of the transition period. If only a fraction of adolescents go on to have mental disorders during adulthood, especially ADHD, it is crucial to identify their characteristics to target appropriate interventions at the beginning of the course of illness. There continues to be low recognition of adult ADHD and a severe lack of medical services equipped to diagnose and care for patients with ADHD transitioning from child to adult services.
The efficacy and safety of direct acting antiviral treatment and clinical significance of drug–drug interactions in elderly patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection
Authors: Vermehren J. , Peiffer K.‐H. , Welsch C. , Grammatikos G. , Welker M.‐W. , Weiler N. , Zeuzem S. , Welzel T. M. , Sarrazin C.
Published: August 2016

Background

Direct antiviral therapies for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection have expanded treatment options for neglected patient populations, including elderly patients who are ineligible/intolerant to receive interferon (IFN)‐based therapy.

Aim

To investigate the efficacy, tolerability and potential for drug–drug interactions (DDIs) of IFN‐free treatment in patients aged ≥65 years in a large real‐world cohort.

Methods

A total of 541 patients were treated with different combinations of direct antiviral agents (DAAs: ledipasvir/sofosbuvir ±ribavirin; daclatasvir/sofosbuvir ±ribavirin; paritaprevir/ombitasvir ±dasabuvir ±ribavirin or simeprevir/sofosbuvir ±ribavirin in genotype 1/4, and daclatasvir/sofosbuvir ±ribavirin or sofosbuvir/ribavirin in genotype 2/3). Efficacy, safety and potential DDIs were analysed and compared between patients aged <65 years (n = 404) and patients aged ≥65 years (n = 137) of whom 41 patients were ≥75 years.

Results

Sustained virological response rates were 98% and 91% in patients aged ≥65 years and <65 years, respectively. Elderly patients took significantly more concomitant medications (79% vs. 51%; P < 0.0001). The number of concomitant drugs per patient was highest in patients ≥65 years with cirrhosis (median, three per patient; range, 0–10). Based on the hep‐druginteractions database, the proportion of predicted clinically significant DDIs was significantly higher in elderly patients (54% vs. 28%; P < 0.0001). The number of patients who experienced treatment‐associated adverse events was similar between the two age groups (63% vs. 65%; P = n.s.).

Conclusions

Elderly patients are at increased risk for significant DDIs when treated with DAAs for chronic HCV infection. However, with careful pre‐treatment assessment of concomitant medications, on‐treatment monitoring or dose‐modifications, significant DDIs and associated adverse events can be avoided.
Diagnostic performance of FibroTest, SteatoTest and ActiTest in patients with NAFLD using the SAF score as histological reference
Authors: Munteanu M. , Tiniakos D. , Anstee Q. , Charlotte F. , Marchesini G. , Bugianesi E. , Trauner M. , Romero Gomez M. , Oliveira C. , Day C. , Dufour J.‐F. , Bellentani S. , Ngo Y. , Traussnig S. , Perazzo H. , Deckmyn O. , Bedossa P. , Ratziu V. , Poynard T. ,   the FLIP Consortium and the FibroFrance Group
Published: August 2016

Background

Blood tests of liver injury are less well validated in non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) than in patients with chronic viral hepatitis.

Aims

To improve the validation of three blood tests used in NAFLD patients, FibroTest for fibrosis staging, SteatoTest for steatosis grading and ActiTest for inflammation activity grading.

Methods

We pre‐included new NAFLD patients with biopsy and blood tests from a single‐centre cohort (FibroFrance) and from the multicentre FLIP consortium. Contemporaneous biopsies were blindly assessed using the new steatosis, activity and fibrosis (SAF) score, which provides a reliable and reproducible diagnosis and grading/staging of the three elementary features of NAFLD (steatosis, inflammatory activity) and fibrosis with reduced interobserver variability. We used nonbinary‐ROC (NonBinAUROC) as the main endpoint to prevent spectrum effect and multiple testing.

Results

A total of 600 patients with reliable tests and biopsies were included. The mean NonBinAUROCs (95% CI) of tests were all significant (P < 0.0001): 0.878 (0.864–0.892) for FibroTest and fibrosis stages, 0.846 (0.830–0.862) for ActiTest and activity grades, and 0.822 (0.804–0.840) for SteatoTest and steatosis grades. FibroTest had a higher NonBinAUROC than BARD (0.836; 0.820–0.852; P = 0.0001), FIB4 (0.845; 0.829–0.861; P = 0.007) but not significantly different than the NAFLD score (0.866; 0.850–0.882; P = 0.26). FibroTest had a significant difference in median values between adjacent stage F2 and stage F1 contrarily to BARD, FIB4 and NAFLD scores (Bonferroni test P < 0.05).

Conclusions

In patients with NAFLD, SteatoTest, ActiTest and FibroTest are non‐invasive tests that offer an alternative to biopsy, and they correlate with the simple grading/staging of the SAF scoring system across the three elementary features of NAFLD: steatosis, inflammatory activity and fibrosis.
Reduction of chronic hepatitis B‐related hepatocellular carcinoma with anti‐viral therapy, including low risk patients
Authors: Lin D. , Yang H.‐I. , Nguyen N. , Hoang J. , Kim Y. , Vu V. , Le A. , Chaung K. , Nguyen V. , Trinh H. , Li J. , Zhang J. , Hsing A. , Chen C.‐J. , Nguyen M. H.
Published: August 2016

Background

Anti‐viral therapy in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is associated with a reduced risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) primary described in patients with cirrhosis.

Aim

To examine the effects of treatment on HCC incidence in CHB with and without cirrhosis, after adjustment for background risks.

Methods

A total of 2255 CHB patients from a US cohort (973 received anti‐viral therapy) and 3653 patients from the community‐based Taiwanese REVEAL‐HBV study, none of whom received treatment. We used Cox proportional hazard models to calculate the risk of developing HCC after adjustment with the previously validated REACH‐B risk score.

Results

We found 273 incident cases of HCC. After adjustment, therapy lowered the risk of HCC development in the US treated cohort when compared to the US untreated cohort (HR 0.31; 95% CI: 0.15–0.66; P = 0.002). HCC risk reduction was also confirmed when compared to the REVEAL cohort (HR 0.22; 95% CI: 0.12–0.40; P < 0.001). Each REACH‐B point was associated with a 53% increased risk of HCC (HR 1.53; 95% CI 1.46–1.59; P < 0.001). We found a significant statistical reduction in HCC incidence with therapy regardless of gender, age, cirrhosis status, HBeAg serology, alanine aminotransferase level, REACH‐B score or treatment medication. Therapy was beneficial to those with mildly‐ to moderately elevated HBV DNA levels (>2000 IU/mL) and of even greater benefit to those with levels >200 000 IU/mL.

Conclusion

After adjustment for background risk, anti‐viral therapy was associated with a significant reduction in HCC incidence in both community and real‐life clinical cohorts, including in those patients previously thought to be at low risk.
Use of a cocktail probe to assess potential drug interactions with cytochrome P450 after administration of belatacept, a costimulatory immunomodulator
Authors: Williams Daphne , Tao Xiaolu , Zhu Lili , Stonier Michele , Lutz Justin D. , Masson Eric , Zhang Sean , Ganguly Bishu , Tzogas Zoe , Lubin Susan , Murthy Bindu
Published: August 2016

Aim

This open‐label study investigated the effect of belatacept on cytokine levels and on the pharmacokinetics of caffeine, losartan, omeprazole, dextromethorphan and midazolam, as CYP probe substrates after oral administration of the Inje cocktail in healthy volunteers.

Methods

Twenty‐two evaluable subjects received the Inje cocktail on Days 1, 4, 7 and 11 and belatacept infusion on Day 4.

Results

Since belatacept caused no major alterations to cytokine levels, there were no major effects on CYP‐substrate pharmacokinetics, except for a slight (16–30%) increase in omeprazole exposure, which was probably due to omeprazole‐mediated, time‐dependent CYP inhibition. Belatacept did not cause major alterations in the pharmacokinetics, as measured by the geometric mean ratios and associated 90% confidence interval for area under the plasma concentration ‐time curve from time zero to infinity on Day 7 comparing administration with and without belatacept for caffeine (1.002 [0.914, 1.098]), dextromethorphan (1.031 [0.885, 1.200]), losartan (1.016 [0.938, 1.101)], midazolam (0.968 [0.892, 1.049]) or their respective metabolites.

Conclusions

Therefore, no dose adjustments of CYP substrates are indicated with belatacept coadministration.
Supporting Women Planning a Vaginal Breech Birth: An International Survey
Authors: Petrovska Karolina , Watts Nicole P. , Catling Christine , Bisits Andrew , Homer Caroline S.E.
Published: August 2016

Objective

The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of women who planned a vaginal breech birth.

Method

An online survey was developed consisting of questions regarding women's experiences surrounding planned vaginal breech birth. The survey was distributed between April 2014 and January 2015 to closed membership Facebook groups that had a consumer focus on vaginal breech birth.

Results

In total, 204 unique responses to the survey were obtained from women who had sought the option of a vaginal breech birth in a previous pregnancy. Most women (80.8%) stated that they were happy with the birth choices they made, and a significant proportion (89.4%) would attempt a vaginal breech birth in subsequent pregnancies. Less than half of women were formally referred to a clinician skilled in vaginal breech birth when their baby was diagnosed breech (41.8%), while the remainder sourced a clinician themselves. Half of the women felt supported by their care provider (56.7%) and less than half (42.3%) felt supported by family and friends.

Conclusion

The women who responded to this international survey sought the option of a vaginal breech birth, were subsequently happy with this decision, and would attempt a vaginal breech birth in their next pregnancy. Access to vaginal breech birth is important for some women; however, this choice may be challenging to achieve. Consistent information and support from clinicians is important to assist decision‐making.
Clinicopathological and molecular study of primary cutaneous CD4+ small/medium‐sized pleomorphic T‐cell lymphoma
Authors: Alberti‐Violetti Silvia , Torres‐Cabala Carlos A , Talpur Rakhshandra , Corti Laura , Fanoni Daniele , Venegoni Luigia , Berti Emilio , Duvic Madeleine
Published: August 2016

Background

Primary cutaneous CD4+ small‐/medium‐sized pleomorphic T‐cell lymphoma (CD4+ PCSM‐TCL) is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder with a favorable prognosis. Distinguishing it from other cutaneous lymphomas is often a challenge.

Methods

We retrospectively collected CD4+PCSM‐TCL cases from two centers (MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA and University of Milan, Italy) and evaluated their clinicopathological features. Array‐comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) analysis was performed on 11 cases.

Results

A total of 62 patients were identified. Single lesions were the most common clinical presentations (79%). Five patients (8%) showed multiple MF‐like plaques. All patients' disease had an indolent course. The infiltrate was nodular and diffuse, multinodular or superficial but in all cases, it was characterized by small/medium pleomorphic CD4+/CD279(PD1+) lymphocytes grouped in clusters and ‘pseudorosettes’ around B‐cells. aCGH analysis showed no significant genomic abnormalities. Single lesions were mainly treated with surgical excision (91%) and/or radiotherapy (95%) with low rate of relapse (12%). For multiple lesions, topical steroids, nitrogen mustard and phototherapy were mainly used but the rate of relapse was high (69%).

Conclusions

CD4+PCSM‐TCL is characterized by heterogeneous clinical presentations. The arrangement of atypical cells in clusters or pseudorosettes is a useful criterion for diagnosis. The absence of significant genomic alterations is in agreement with its indolent behavior.
β‐cell differentiation status in type 2 diabetes
Authors: Jeffery Nicola , Harries Lorna W.
Published: August 2016

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) affects 415 million people worldwide and is characterized by chronic hyperglycaemia and insulin resistance, progressing to insufficient insulin production, as a result of β‐cell failure. Over time, chronic hyperglycaemia can ultimately lead to loss of β‐cell function, leaving patients insulin‐dependent. Until recently the loss of β‐cell mass seen in T2D was considered to be the result of increased rates of apoptosis; however, it has been proposed that apoptosis alone cannot account for the extent of β‐cell mass loss seen in the disease, and that a loss of function may also occur as a result of changes in β‐cell differentiation status. In the present review, we consider current knowledge of determinants of β‐cell fate in the context of understanding its relevance to disease process in T2D, and also the impact of a diabetogenic environment (hyperglycaemia, hypoxia, inflammation and dyslipidaemia) on the expression of genes involved in maintenance of β‐cell identity. We describe current knowledge of the impact of the diabetic microenvironment on gene regulatory processes such alternative splicing, the expression of disallowed genes and epigenetic modifications. Elucidating the molecular mechanisms that underpin changes to β‐cell differentiation status and the concomitant β‐cell failure offers potential treatment targets for the future management of patients with T2D.
Recovery from Work and the Productivity of Working Hours
Authors: Pencavel John
Published: August 2016

Observations on munitions workers are organized to examine the relationship between their output each week, their working hours and days each week, and their working hours and days in adjacent weeks. The hypothesis is that workers need to recover from work, and a long working week results in greater fatigue and stress, and yet provides insufficient time for recuperation before the next week's work opens. Workers require time off the job to restore their physical, mental and emotional capacities, and if a long working week provides inadequate time to repair, then their subsequent work performance suffers.
Global patterns in the effects of predator declines on sea urchins
Authors: Sheppard‐Brennand Hannah , Dworjanyn Symon A. , Poore Alistair G. B.
Published: August 2016

Latitudinal gradients in the strength of biotic interactions have long been proposed, but empirical evidence for the expectation of more intense predation, herbivory and competition at low latitudes has been mixed. Here, we use a meta‐analysis to test the prediction that predation pressure on sea urchins, a group of consumers with a particularly strong influence on community structure in the world's oceans, is strongest in the tropics. We then examine which biotic and abiotic factors best correlate with biogeographic and within habitat patterns in sea urchin responses to predation. Consistent with expectations, predator impacts on sea urchins were highest in tropical coral reefs and decreased towards the poles in rocky reef habitats (> 25° absolute latitude). However, latitude and temperature were weakly correlated with effect sizes, and the strongest predictor of predator impacts was sea urchin species. This suggests an important role of prey identity (i.e. traits including behaviour, physical, and chemical defences) rather than large scale abiotic factors in determining variation in interaction strengths. Ecosystem‐shaping sea urchins such as Tripneustes gratilla, Diadema savignyi and Centrostephanus rodgersii were strongly impacted by consumers, indicating a tight coupling between predators of these species and their boom and bust prey. Anthropogenic activities such as over‐fishing, climate change and habitat destruction are causing rapid environmental change, and understanding how predation pressure varies with temperature, across habitats and among prey species, will aid in predicting the likelihood of ecosystem wide effects (via trophic cascades).
Performance tradeoffs in target‐group bias correction for species distribution models
Authors: Ranc Nathan , Santini Luca , Rondinini Carlo , Boitani Luigi , Poitevin Françoise , Angerbjörn Anders , Maiorano Luigi
Published: August 2016

Species distribution models (SDMs) are often calibrated using presence‐only datasets plagued with environmental sampling bias, which leads to a decrease of model accuracy. In order to compensate for this bias, it has been suggested that background data (or pseudoabsences) should represent the area that has been sampled. However, spatially‐explicit knowledge of sampling effort is rarely available. In multi‐species studies, sampling effort has been inferred following the target‐group (TG) approach, where aggregated occurrence of TG species informs the selection of background data. However, little is known about the species‐ specific response to this type of bias correction.

The present study aims at evaluating the impacts of sampling bias and bias correction on SDM performance. To this end, we designed a realistic system of sampling bias and virtual species based on 92 terrestrial mammal species occurring in the Mediterranean basin. We manipulated presence and background data selection to calibrate four SDM types. Unbiased (unbiased presence data) and biased (biased presence data) SDMs were calibrated using randomly distributed background data. We used real and TG‐estimated sampling efforts in background selection to correct for sampling bias in presence data.

Overall, environmental sampling bias had a deleterious effect on SDM performance. In addition, bias correction improved model accuracy, and especially when based on spatially‐explicit knowledge of sampling effort. However, our results highlight important species‐specific variations in susceptibility to sampling bias, which were largely explained by range size: widely‐distributed species were most vulnerable to sampling bias and bias correction was even detrimental for narrow‐ranging species. Furthermore, spatial discrepancies in SDM predictions suggest that bias correction effectively replaces an underestimation bias with an overestimation bias, particularly in areas of low sampling intensity. Thus, our results call for a better estimation of sampling effort in multispecies system, and cautions the uninformed and automatic application of TG bias correction.
Agriculture rivals biomes in predicting global species richness
Authors: Kehoe Laura , Senf Cornelius , Meyer Carsten , Gerstner Katharina , Kreft Holger , Kuemmerle Tobias
Published: August 2016

Species–area relationships (SARs) provide an avenue to model patterns of species richness and have recently been shown to vary substantially across regions of different climate, vegetation, and land cover. Given that a large proportion of the globe has been converted to agriculture, and considering the large variety in agricultural management practices, a key question is whether global SARs vary across gradients of agricultural intensity.

We developed SARs for mammals that account for geographic variation in biomes, land cover and a range of land‐use intensity indicators representing inputs (e.g. fertilizer, irrigation), outputs (e.g. yields) and system‐level measures of intensity (e.g. human appropriation of net primary productivity – HANPP). We systematically compared the resulting SARs in terms of their predictive ability.

Our global SAR with a universal slope was significantly improved by the inclusion of any one of the three variable types: biomes, land cover, and land‐use intensity. The latter, in the form of human appropriation of net primary productivity (HANPP), performed as well as biomes and land‐cover in predicting species richness. Other land‐use intensity indicators had a lower predictive ability.

Our main finding that land‐use intensity performs as well as biomes and land cover in predicting species richness emphasizes that human factors are on a par with environmental factors in predicting global patterns of biodiversity. While our broad‐scale study cannot establish causality, human activity is known to drive species richness at a local scale, and our findings suggest that this may hold true at a global scale. The ability of land‐use intensity to explain variation in SARs at a global scale had not previously been assessed. Our study suggests that the inclusion of land‐use intensity in SAR models allows us to better predict and understand species richness patterns.
Undergraduate experience and self‐assessed confidence in paediatric dentistry at the University of Jordan Dental School
Authors: Sonbol H. N. , Abu‐Ghazaleh S. B. , Al‐Bitar Z. B.
Published: August 2016

Introduction

The aims of the study were to audit the number and types of clinical procedures completed by the undergraduate dental students in the paediatric dentistry course at the University of Jordan Dental School and to present data on self‐reported confidence in a variety of aspects of paediatric dentistry.

Materials and methods

A retrospective audit of clinical logbooks for the entire class of 120 dental students in their fifth clinical year was performed. Key clinical procedures performed in the paediatric clinics were recorded including treatment performed on both primary and permanent teeth. Students were requested to complete an anonymous questionnaire to assess confidence related to six activities using a visual analogue scale (VAS).

Results

All students performed restorations in primary teeth with the majority providing approximal restorations (91%), pit and fissure restorations (89%) followed by stainless steel crowns (81%). In addition, all students performed a pulpotomy for a primary tooth, extraction of a primary tooth and fissure sealants. Only a quarter of the students treated a traumatised incisor. Students considered themselves most confident (VAS ≥ 7) in performing operative dentistry, examination, diagnosis and treatment planning and providing preventive therapy. They were least confident in the management of dento‐alveolar trauma (VAS = 3.8).

Conclusion

Students at the University of Jordan Dental School were found to have good experience of clinical paediatric operative dentistry with the majority performing pulp therapy, preformed crowns and extractions. Deficiencies have been reported in student exposure to dental trauma, and these are being addressed.
Do wholes become more than the sum of their parts in the rodent (Rattus Norvegicus) visual system? A test case with the configural superiority effect
Authors: Talpos John C. , de‐Wit Lee , Olley Joseph , Riordan Jack , Steckler Thomas
Published: August 2016

The rodent has been used to model various aspects of the human visual system, but it is unclear to what extent human visual perception can be modelled in the rodent. Research suggests rodents can perform invariant object recognition tasks in a manner comparable to humans. There is further evidence that rodents also make use of certain grouping cues, but when performing a shape discrimination they have a tendency to rely much more on local image cues than human participants. In the current work, we exploit the fact that humans sometimes discriminate better between whole shapes, rather than the parts from which they are constructed, to ask whether rodents show a classic Configural Superiority Effect. Using touchscreen‐equipped operant boxes, rats were trained to discriminate ‘part’ or ‘whole’ images based off of those used by J. R. Pomerantz et al. () J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform, 3, 422–435. Here, we show that rats show no advantage for wholes and that they perform better when presented with simpler image parts, a pattern of effect opposite to what was seen in humans when highly comparable stimuli were used. These results add to our understanding of the similarities and differences between the human and rodent visual system, and suggest that the rodent visual system may not compute part whole relationships in a way comparable to humans. These results are significant from both a comparative anatomy perspective, and of particular relevance for those wishing to use rodents to model visuo‐perceptual deficits associated with human psychiatric disorders.
Complications of subdural and depth electrodes in 269 patients undergoing 317 procedures for invasive monitoring in epilepsy
Authors: Schmidt Richard F. , Wu Chengyuan , Lang Michael J. , Soni Pranay , Williams Kim A. , Boorman David W. , Evans James J. , Sperling Michael R. , Sharan Ashwini D.
Published: August 2016

Objective

Intracranial monitoring is fundamental to epilepsy surgery, with reported complication rates of 3–17%. We aimed to assess the differences in complication rates between subdural and depth electrodes.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective review of 317 electrode implantation procedures. All documented abnormal postoperative findings were recorded in our study. Those that resulted in a significant alteration of treatment course, including neurologic deficit, long‐term medication use, reoperation, or hospital readmission, were deemed clinically significant. When possible, findings were attributed to a particular electrode type based on relative location to each electrode.

Results

Postoperative abnormalities were associated with SDE placement in 152 (47.9%) procedures and 40 (25.2%) DE placements (p < 0.001). Twenty‐nine (9.1%) clinically significant complications were seen in the subdural electrode (SDE) group compared to 10 associated with DEs (6.3%, p = 0.37). SDEs were associated with increased rates of any postoperative hemorrhage (p < 0.001) or extraaxial collection (p = 0.007). Subdural grid placement was associated with an increased risk of any extraaxial collection (odds ratio [OR 2.42), as well as clinically significant collections (OR 9.47). Previous craniotomy was found to be associated with any abnormal postoperative finding (OR 1.71) as well as radiographic hemorrhage (OR 1.99). Concurrent resection is also associated with abnormal findings (OR 1.83) and extraaxial collections (OR 2.37). The overall complication rate was 9.1%, with 13 procedures (4.1%) resulting in neurologic deficit. However, only two patients (0.6%) had permanent neurologic sequelae resulting from lead placement.

Significance

Subdural electrodes appear to have an increased rate of abnormal postoperative findings, including hemorrhage and extraaxial collections; however, there was no difference in clinically significant findings. Subdural grids also appear to be associated with symptomatic extraaxial collections, and previous craniotomy increases the risk of hemorrhage. Overall, intracranial monitoring remains a safe and effective procedure for localization of operative seizure foci. Patient selection and risk education for various modalities is an essential aspect of preoperative evaluation.
Mutual Fund Liquidity Costs
Authors: Fulkerson Jon A. , Riley Timothy B.
Published: August 2016

One dollar in purchases or redemptions generates an average cost of $0.006 for US equity mutual funds during the period 1997‐2009, approximately 70% lower than prior estimates derived from older data. However, large cross‐sectional differences exist between funds. Many funds have costs near zero, but funds that hold relatively illiquid equities, have relatively concentrated portfolios, and manage relatively large amounts of assets have average liquidity costs significantly greater than the full sample average. Furthermore, despite a large difference in underlying asset liquidity, US bond funds and US equity funds have similar average liquidity costs.
Setting Evidence‐Based Language Goals
Authors: Goertler Senta , Kraemer Angelika , Schenker Theresa
Published: August 2016

The purpose of this project was to identify target language benchmarks for the German program at Michigan State University (MSU) based on national and international guidelines and previous research, to assess language skills across course levels and class sections in the entire German program, and to adjust the language benchmarks as needed based on the study results and make recommendations for the curriculum. The goal of the study was to identify cost‐ and time‐effective valid and reliable assessment tools for program‐wide language assessment. During the 2012 spring semester, all students enrolled in a German class at MSU (N = 320) participated in this study. At the beginning of the semester, students completed two different language tests both advertised as being aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). The research was guided by the following two research questions: (1) What are the mean and median language levels of students enrolled in German classes at MSU as determined by (a) a language learning software test, and (b) a language test adapted from Goethe‐Institut practice exams? and (2) Is there a correlation between the two tests and/or subsections of the tests? Benchmark levels were initially set as Novice High after the first year of language study, Intermediate Low after the second year, Intermediate High after the third year, and Advanced Low after the fourth year. Students mostly met the benchmark levels, though not equally at each program level and not equally across skills, with the higher scores in productive skills rather than receptive skills. While there was a correlation between the tests and course levels and also between many of the test portions, the tests did not yield the same CEFR ratings, which suggests that at least one of the instruments was not as valid and reliable as hoped. After reviewing the results, the benchmarks were revised to Intermediate Low after the first year, Intermediate Mid after the second year, Intermediate High after the third year, and Advanced Low after the fourth year with the recommendation to put more emphasis on receptive skills in the curriculum.