bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The energetic brain – A review from students to students
Authors: Bordone Melina Paula , Salman Mootaz M. , Titus Haley E. , Amini Elham , Andersen Jens V. , Chakraborti Barnali , Diuba Artem V. , Dubouskaya Tatsiana G. , Ehrke Eric , Espindola de Freitas Andiara , Braga de Freitas Guilherme , Gonçalves Rafaella A. , Gupta Deepali , Gupta Richa , Ha Sharon R. , Hemming Isabel A. , Jaggar Minal , Jakobsen Emil , Kumari Punita , Lakkappa Navya , Marsh Ashley P. L. , Mitlöhner Jessica , Ogawa Yuki , Paidi Ramesh Kumar , Ribeiro Felipe C. , Salamian Ahmad , Saleem Suraiya , Sharma Sorabh , Silva Joana M. , Singh Shripriya , Sulakhiya Kunjbihari , Tefera Tesfaye Wolde , Vafadari Behnam , Yadav Anuradha , Yamazaki Reiji , Seidenbecher Constanze I.
Published: July 2019

The past 20 years have resulted in unprecedented progress in understanding brain energy metabolism and its role in health and disease. In this review, which was initiated at the 14th International Society for Neurochemistry Advanced School, we address the basic concepts of brain energy metabolism and approach the question of why the brain has high energy expenditure. Our review illustrates that the vertebrate brain has a high need for energy because of the high number of neurons and the need to maintain a delicate interplay between energy metabolism, neurotransmission, and plasticity. Disturbances to the energetic balance, to mitochondria quality control or to glia–neuron metabolic interaction may lead to brain circuit malfunction or even severe disorders of the CNS. We cover neuronal energy consumption in neural transmission and basic (‘housekeeping’) cellular processes. Additionally, we describe the most common (glucose) and alternative sources of energy namely glutamate, lactate, ketone bodies, and medium chain fatty acids. We discuss the multifaceted role of non‐neuronal cells in the transport of energy substrates from circulation (pericytes and astrocytes) and in the supply (astrocytes and microglia) and usage of different energy fuels. Finally, we address pathological consequences of disrupted energy homeostasis in the CNS.

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Immunohistochemical assessment of chromatin licensing and DNA replication factor 1, geminin, and γ‐H2A.X in oral epithelial precursor lesions and squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Siril Yves Junior , Kouketsu Atsumu , Oikawa Mariko , Takahashi Tetsu , Kumamoto Hiroyuki
Published: July 2019

Background

Carcinogenesis occurs when the cell cycle is compromised. Chromatin licensing and DNA replication factor 1, geminin, and γ‐H2A histone family member X are expressed in cells in G1 phase, S/G2/M phases, and apoptosis, respectively, and these three markers may be useful for histological evaluation of malignant lesions. Here, we aimed to identify cell cycle phases and apoptosis using immunohistochemistry in oral epithelial precursor lesions and oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Methods

Chromatin licensing and DNA replication factor 1, geminin, and γ‐H2A histone family member X expression levels were immunohistochemically examined in tissue specimens from 55 patients with oral epithelial precursor lesions and 50 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma. Associations of clinicopathological variables with marker expression were assessed.

Results

Chromatin licensing and DNA replication factor 1 was expressed in the prickle cell layer of oral epithelial precursor lesions and many carcinoma cells of oral squamous cell carcinoma. Geminin reactivity was widely distributed in high‐grade dysplasia and oral squamous cell carcinoma rather than low‐grade or no dysplastic cases. γ‐H2A histone family member X was expressed in the superficial layer of oral epithelial precursor lesions and scattered carcinoma cells of oral squamous cell carcinoma. In oral squamous cell carcinoma, lower geminin expression was observed in recurrent cases. Geminin and γ‐H2A histone family member X were associated with the degree of differentiation and mode of invasion.

Conclusion

Chromatin licensing and DNA replication factor 1, geminin, and γ‐H2A histone family member X expression levels were correlated with oral carcinogenesis; these markers were associated with clinicopathological behaviors in oral squamous cell carcinoma.
Oral sucrose for analgesia in children aged between 3 months and 3 years undergoing transurethral bladder catheterisation: A randomised, double‐blinded, clinical trial
Authors: London Kevin , Watson Hamish , Kwok Samson , Nanan Ralph , Liu Anthony
Published: July 2019

Aim

Many children admitted to hospital undergo invasive, painful and stressful procedures, including children who are not toilet trained undergoing transurethral bladder catheterisation (TUBC). Oral sucrose is commonly given to children to reduce procedural pain. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of oral sucrose in reducing procedural pain in children aged between 3 months and 3 years undergoing TUBC.

Methods

This study was a randomised, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study conducted at Nepean Hospital, Sydney, Australia from June 2005 to June 2010. A total of 40 participants requiring TUBC for diagnostic evaluation were included. The participants were randomly assigned to receive 4 mL of 75% oral sucrose (n = 20) or a placebo (sterilised water) (n = 20). The primary outcomes were changes in two paediatric pain scale scores (the FLACC pain scale and the OUCHER pain scale), assessed by the parent/guardian(s), the doctor performing the TUBC and the nurse assisting. The secondary outcomes were physiological (changes in heart rate) and behavioural pain (crying) indicators.

Results

Of the outcome measures, 65% favoured the oral sucrose group, 31% favoured the placebo group, and 4% found no difference between the oral sucrose and placebo groups.

Conclusion

While the trends favouring the sucrose group in this study were encouraging, as the results were not statistically significant, there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of oral sucrose in reducing procedural pain in children aged between 3 months and 3 years undergoing TUBC.
Fatty Acid Content and Profile of the Novel Strain of Coccomyxa elongata (Trebouxiophyceae, Chlorophyta) Cultivated at Reduced Nitrogen and Phosphorus Concentrations
Authors: Maltsev Yevhen , Maltseva Irina , Maltseva Svetlana , Kociolek John Patrick , Kulikovskiy Maxim
Published: July 2019

A novel freshwater strain of Coccomyxa elongata (MZ–Ch64) was isolated from the Zaporizhia region, Ukraine. The identification was based on the phylogenetic analysis of SSU rDNA gene and ITS1–5.8S rDNA–ITS2 region and predicted secondary structure of the ITS2. Phylogenetic analysis placed this strain in the Coccomyxa group, within the class Trebouxiophyceae. The novel strain MZ–Ch64 formed a strongly supported lineage closest with C. elongata. The MZ–Ch64 strain differed from the morphological description of the species by the size of vegetative cells and absence of small mucilaginous caps at one end of the cell. A number of experiments with different concentrations of phosphate and nitrate were conducted to evaluate changes in the resulting fatty acid profiles and biomass productivity. The fatty acid profile and total fatty acids varied significantly under different nutrient deficiencies. The dominant fatty acid during cultivation on standard BBM medium, as well as in phosphorus‐depleted conditions, was oleic acid (to 48.0%–54.6% of total fatty acids). Absence of nitrogen alone, and absence of both nitrogen and phosphorus, led to an increase of palmitic acid (to 24.7%–25.6%), cis‐7‐hexadecenoic acid (to 14.8%) and α‐linolenic acid (to 9.1%–10.1%) in comparison with the control sample. The greatest variation was found for oleic acid (31.9%–54.6%). Thus, this strain can be considered as a potential producer of oleic acid or cis‐7‐hexadecenoic and α‐linolenic acids for biotechnological applications.
Invasive meningoencephalitis as the first manifestation of hepatitis A
Authors: Guillaume Maxime , Mouna Lina , Coustillères François , Lemée Véronique , Roque‐Afonso Anne‐Marie , Mourez Thomas , Lefaucheur Romain
Published: July 2019

Since mid‐2016, Europe has been facing a major hepatitis A epidemic, with more than 25 000 cases reported to the European CDC, in 2018. We describe herein a rare case of invasive HAV meningoencephalitis as a prodrome of the classic hepatitis, which largely explains a delay in diagnosis.
Effect of dietary phenylalanine level on growth performance, body composition, and biochemical parameters in plasma of juvenile hybrid tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus × Oreochromis aureus
Authors: Xiao Wei , Zou Zhiying , Li Dayu , Zhu Jinglin , Yue Yirong , Yang Hong
Published: July 2019

An 8‐week feeding trial with juvenile hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus × Oreochromis aureus) was conducted to assess the effects of dietary phenylalanine on growth, body composition, and biochemical parameters in plasma. Six diets were formulated with graded levels of l‐phenylalanine (0.43, 0.74, 1.01, 1.30, 1.60, and 1.91% of the diet). Each diet was randomly assigned to triplicate groups with 20 fish per replicate (5.63 ± 0.04 g). Weight gain, thermal growth coefficient (TGC), and protein retention efficiency (PRE) increased with the increasing levels of dietary phenylalanine, up to 1.30%, and declined slightly at higher levels. The ratio of whole‐body protein and lipid was significantly higher in fish fed 1.30% phenylalanine compared with those fed 0.43% phenylalanine (p < .05), whereas whole‐body moisture contents showed a decreasing trend. Plasma lysozyme and catalase activities and total protein were improved by the phenylalanine supplementation, while alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase activities showed a converse trend. Based on broken‐line regression analyses of TGC and PRE against different dietary phenylalanine levels, the value of optimal dietary phenylalanine requirement for juvenile hybrid tilapia might be estimated at 0.878%.
15 Years of Research on US Employment and the Minimum Wage
Authors: Wolfson Paul , Belman Dale
Published: July 2019

Statistical analysis of the minimum wage and employment has been very active for the last quarter century, including more than 37 studies of US data since the December 2000AERexchange involving Card, Krueger, Neumark and Wascher. In this meta‐analysis of the 37 that report results suitable for this technique, the most important finding is a considerable shift toward the origin in the ‘consensus range’: from the interval [−0.3, −0.1] to [−0.13, −0.07]. The minimum wage has negative employment effects, but these have become notably smaller and are largely localized to teenagers.
Maternal hepatitis B or C status and the long‐term risk of gastrointestinal morbidity for offspring: A population‐based cohort study
Authors: Yoles Israel , Sheiner Eyal , Abu‐Freha Naim , Wainstock Tamar
Published: July 2019

Background

More than 360 million people have chronic hepatitis B or C (HBV/HCV) infection worldwide, many of which are women at childbearing age. While the risk of perinatal HBV/HCV has been well established, the long‐term implications on offspring health, have been less studied. We aimed to evaluate the association between maternal HBV/HCV carrier status and long‐term gastrointestinal (GI) morbidities in offspring.

Aims & Methods

A population‐based cohort analysis compared the risk for long‐term childhood GI morbidities in children born to HBV/HCV carrier mothers vs the risk in those who were born to noncarriers. Childhood GI morbidities were predefined based on ICD‐9 codes, as recorded in hospital medical files. Children with congenital malformations and multiple gestations were excluded from the analysis. A Kaplan‐Meier survival curve was constructed to compare the cumulative GI morbidities over time, and a Cox proportional hazards model was used to control for confounders.

Results

During the study period (1991‐2014), 242 342 newborns met the inclusion criteria: 771 (0.3%) were born to HBV/HCV mothers and 241 571 (99.7%) were not. The median follow‐up was 10.51 years (0‐18 years). Offspring to HBV/HCV mothers had a higher incidence of GI diseases (9.3% vs 5.4%, OR = 1.82; 95% CI 1.43‐2.32; Kaplan‐Meier log‐rank = 0.001). The increased risk remained significant in the Cox proportional hazards models, which adjusted for gestational age, mode of delivery and pregnancy complications (adjusted HR = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.79‐2.85; P < .001).

Conclusion

Maternal HBV or HCV carrier status is an independent risk factor for long‐term the GI morbidity of offspring.
Early ALT response to corticosteroid treatment distinguishes idiosyncratic drug‐induced liver injury from autoimmune hepatitis
Authors: Weber Sabine , Benesic Andreas , Rotter Isabelle , Gerbes Alexander L.
Published: July 2019

Background

Drug‐induced liver injury (DILI) and idiopathic autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) are competing diagnoses in patients with acute liver injury (ALI) and drug intake. In absence of unequivocal markers, scores like RUCAM and AIH are used to distinguish both entities. However, in some cases the diagnosis remains ambiguous. Our aim was to identify a simple parameter to discriminate DILI and AIH shortly after starting corticosteroid treatment.

Methods

For the current analysis, 44 patients with ALI who took at least one drug and who received corticosteroids were included and comprised 22 DILI and 22 AIH cases. Scores of AIH and RUCAM were calculated at initial presentation, the final diagnosis was made from analysing the course of disease. Changes in the serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) concentrations after starting corticosteroid treatment were determined and compared between the DILI and AIH groups.

Results

Fifty‐nine per cent of patients (n = 26) were correctly classified at presentation by AIH score and RUCAM respectively. However, in one‐third (n = 13) of the 44 patients, results were inconclusive and five other patients were misclassified. The decrease in ALT levels 1 week after the initiation of steroid therapy was significantly more pronounced in patients with the final diagnosis of DILI than in AIH patients (accuracy 77%). This difference was also observed in the 18 initially misclassified or inconclusive cases (accuracy 83%).

Conclusion

Short‐term response of ALT to corticosteroid therapy helps to differentiate DILI and AIH. This finding may be helpful in treatment decision for patients with inconclusive diagnostic scores.
A unified convolutional neural network integrated with conditional random field for pipe defect segmentation
Authors: Wang Mingzhu , Cheng Jack C. P.
Published: July 2019

Semantic segmentation of closed‐circuit television (CCTV) images can facilitate automatic severity assessment of sewer pipe defects by assigning defect labels to each pixel on the image, from which defect types, locations, and geometric information can be obtained. In this study, a unified neural network, namely DilaSeg‐CRF, is proposed by fully integrating a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) with dense conditional random field (CRF) for improving the segmentation accuracy. First, DilaSeg is constructed with dilated convolution and multiscale techniques for producing feature maps with high resolution. The steps of the dense CRF inference algorithm are converted into CNN operations, which are then formulated as recurrent neural network (RNN) layers. The DilaSeg‐CRF is proposed by integrating DilaSeg with the RNN layers. Images containing three common types of sewer defects are collected from CCTV inspection videos and are annotated with ground truth labels, after which the proposed models are trained and evaluated. Experiments demonstrate that the end‐to‐end trainable DilaSeg‐CRF can improve the segmentation significantly, with an increase of 32% and 20% in mean intersection over union (mIoU) values compared with fully convolutional network (FCN‐8s) and DilaSeg, respectively. Our proposed DilaSeg‐CRF also achieves faster inference speed than FCN and eliminates the manual postprocessing for refining the segmentation results.
What influences nurses' decision to mobilise the critically ill patient?
Authors: Chaplin Tara , McLuskey John
Published: July 2019

Background

Despite the known benefits of mobilising critically ill patients, bed rest is still a common practice in intensive care units. The reasons for this are not fully understood. Early mobilisation can reduce the length of stay in the intensive care unit and in hospitals as well. However, the decision to mobilise a patient can be delayed while health professionals decide whose role it is to implement it.

Aim and objectives

The aim of this study was to explore the ways in which nurses make decisions to mobilise critically ill patients and what factors influence the decision‐making process.

Study design and method

This was a qualitative study involving semi‐structured interviews with 12 critical care nurses at a large urban district hospital. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to analyse verbatim transcripts of the interviews.

Results

The findings demonstrated inconsistencies in the nurses' knowledge of the benefits to mobilising patients and that mobilisation was deemed to be a low priority. Decision‐making was influenced by time constraints, staffing levels, and unit demands. A lack of communication and collaborative working was identified, along with uncertainty and role ambiguity, with regard to who decides to mobilise a patient. Mobilisation was found to be complicated by existing cultural influences and by previous experiences of complex mobilisation.

Conclusion

Re‐education strategies are needed to re‐enforce the benefits of mobilisation, along with multidisciplinary training sessions to clarify roles and overcome collaborative working issues.

Relevance to clinical practice

This study has provided a greater understanding of the influencing factors on nurses' decision‐making with regard to mobilising critical ill patients.
Pictographs of gastroparesis in Chinese characters
Authors: Yu Chaoran
Published: July 2019

This manuscript described gastroparesis using Chinese hieroglyphic characters in a pictograph form. It provided an insightful connection between western modern medicine and eastern cultures.
High‐resolution computed tomography reveals dynamics of desiccation and rehydration in fern petioles of a desiccation‐tolerant fern
Authors: Holmlund Helen I. , Pratt R. Brandon , Jacobsen Anna L. , Davis Stephen D. , Pittermann Jarmila
Published: July 2019

Desiccation‐tolerant (DT) plants can dry past −100 MPa and subsequently recover function upon rehydration. Vascular DT plants face the unique challenges of desiccating and rehydrating complex tissues without causing structural damage. However, these dynamics have not been studied in intact DT plants.

We used high resolution micro‐computed tomography (microCT), light microscopy, and fluorescence microscopy to characterize the dynamics of tissue desiccation and rehydration in petioles (stipes) of intact DT ferns.

During desiccation, xylem conduits in stipes embolized before cellular dehydration of living tissues within the vascular cylinder. During resurrection, the chlorenchyma and phloem within the stipe vascular cylinder rehydrated before xylem refilling. We identified unique stipe traits that may facilitate desiccation and resurrection of the vascular system, including xylem conduits containing pectin (which may confer flexibility and wettability); chloroplasts within the vascular cylinder; and an endodermal layer impregnated with hydrophobic substances that impede apoplastic leakage while facilitating the upward flow of water within the vascular cylinder.

Resurrection ferns are a novel system for studying extreme dehydration recovery and embolism repair in the petioles of intact plants. The unique anatomical traits identified here may contribute to the spatial and temporal dynamics of water movement observed during desiccation and resurrection.
Minimal auxin sensing levels in vegetative moss stem cells revealed by a ratiometric reporter
Authors: Thelander Mattias , Landberg Katarina , Sundberg Eva
Published: July 2019

Efforts to reveal ancestral functions of auxin, a key regulator of plant growth and development, and its importance for evolution have been hampered by a fragmented picture of auxin response domains in early‐diverging land plants. We report the mapping of auxin sensing and responses during vegetative moss development using novel reporters.

We established a moss‐specific ratiometric reporter (PpR2D2) for Auxin Response Element‐ and AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR‐independent auxin sensing in Physcomitrella patens, and its readout during vegetative development was compared with new promoter‐based GmGH3::GFPGUS and DR5revV2::GFPGUS auxin response reporters.

The ratiometric reporter responds rapidly to auxin in a time‐, dose‐ and TRANSPORT INHIBITOR RESISTANT1/AUXIN F‐BOX‐dependent manner and marks known, anticipated and novel auxin sensing domains. It reveals proximal auxin sensing maxima in filamentous tissues and sensing minima in all five vegetative gametophytic stem cell types as well as dividing cells.

PpR2D2 readout is compliant with an ancestral function of auxin as a positive regulator of differentiation vs proliferation in stem cell regions. The PpR2D2 reporter is a sensitive tool for high‐resolution mapping of auxin sensing, which can increase our knowledge of auxin function in early‐diverging land plants substantially, thereby advancing our understanding of its importance for plant evolution.
A systematic review of system dynamics and agent‐based obesity models: Evaluating obesity as part of the global syndemic
Authors: Morshed Alexandra B. , Kasman Matt , Heuberger Benjamin , Hammond Ross A. , Hovmand Peter S.
Published: July 2019

The problem of obesity has recently been reframed as part of the global syndemic—the co‐occurring, interacting pandemics of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change that are driven by common underlying societal drivers. System science modeling approaches may help clarify how these shared drivers operate and the best ways to address them. The objective of this paper was to determine to what extent existing agent‐based and system dynamics computational models of obesity provide insights into the shared drivers of the global syndemic. Peer‐reviewed studies published until July 2018 were identified from Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases. Thirty‐eight studies representing 30 computational models were included. They show a growing use of system dynamics and agent‐based modeling in the past decade. They most often examined mechanisms and interventions in the areas of social network‐based influences on obesity, physiology and disease state mechanics, and the role of food and physical activity environments. Usefulness for identifying common drivers of the global syndemic was mixed; most models represented Western settings and focused on obesity determinants close to the person (eg, social circles, school settings, and neighborhood environments), with a relative paucity in models at mesolevel and macrolevel and in developing country contexts.
The effect of fiscal transparency on corruption: A panel cross‐country analysis
Authors: Chen Can , Neshkova Milena I.
Published: July 2019

Both academicians and practitioners have advocated for increased fiscal transparency in government as a means of promoting budget discipline, improving functioning of the public sector, fostering greater accountability, and fighting the global menace of corruption. Despite worldwide calls for greater disclosure, empirical analyses of whether and how fiscal transparency actually affects governance outcomes are still limited. This study draws on public choice and principal–agent theories to demonstrate how public disclosure of budgetary information helps deter government corruption. The data from 95 countries over the period 2006–14 provide evidence that more fiscally transparent countries are perceived as less corrupt. We also find that fiscal transparency matters most at the final stages of the budget process when information disclosure reflects actual government spending. Data also confirm that a Citizens Budget can serve as a strong anti‐corruption tool.
A dedicated respiratory function monitor to improve tidal volume delivery during neonatal anesthesia
Authors: Atkins William K. , McDougall Rob , Perkins Elizabeth J. , Pereira‐Fantini Prue M. , Tingay David G.
Published: July 2019

Background

Tight control of tidal volume using accurate monitoring may improve neonatal outcomes. However, respiratory function monitors incorporated in current anesthetic workstations are generally inaccurate at tidal volumes used for infants.

Aims

To determine if a specific respiratory function monitor for neonatal infants improved expired tidal volume delivery during anesthesia.

Method

Infants <3 months old requiring intubation for surgery in the operating theater were studied. After intubation a Phillips NM3, Acutronic Florian, or Novametrix Ventcheck Respiratory Function Monitor was integrated into the circuit, and clinicians given access to the display for the duration of anesthesia. Breath‐to‐breath expired tidal volume delivery, leak, and delivered pressure were recorded, with cardiorespiratory parameters. These were compared with a matched control group with clinicians blinded to respiratory function monitor display.

Results

A total of 10 055 and 2569 inflations were measured in the respiratory function monitor visible (n = 32) and masked (n = 33) groups, respectively, with mean (standard deviation) delivered expired tidal volume 7.5 (2.4) mL/kg and 7.7 (3.0) mL/kg, respectively; mean difference (95% confidence interval) −0.2 (−1.1, 0.8) mL/kg (Welch's t test). In the visible group, 55.6% of expired tidal volumes were between 4 and 8 mL/kg compared to 51.7% in the masked group; relative benefit (95% confidence interval), 1.08 (1.03, 1.12). Expired tidal volume was less likely to be <4 mL/kg in the visible group compared to masked group; 6.4% vs 9.8%, 1.53 (1.33, 1.76). The use of a respiratory function monitor also reduced the number of inflations >10 mL/kg; 13.0% vs 22.0%, 1.11 (1.09, 1.14).

Conclusion

Tidal volumes <4 mL/kg and >10 mL/kg are frequently delivered during neonatal anesthesia. The inclusion of an accurate respiratory function monitor may reduce the risk of exposure to potentially harmful tidal volumes.
Glycosylation in lymphoma: Biology and glycotherapy
Authors: Suzuki Osamu
Published: July 2019

Research using mouse lymphoma cell lines has resulted in many reports of glycosylation being a key regulator for the distant metastasis of mouse lymphoma cells in animal models. In contrast, there are only a few reports of experiments examining human lymphoma cell metastasis. The glycosylation pattern in human lymphoma shows that loss of Phaseolus vulgaris leukoagglutinating lectin (L‐PHA) reactive oligosaccharides, and sialylation of L‐PHA reactive oligosaccharides, are closely associated with a worse prognosis for diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients. Sialic acid is related to cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix and metastasis of HBL‐8 Burkitt lymphoma cells in a severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mouse animal model. In HBL‐8 clones, differential cell surface sialylation was due to different expression levels of UDP‐GlcNAc 2‐epimerase (GNE). Knockdown of beta‐galactoside alpha‐2,6‐sialyltransferase (ST6Gal1) resulted in enhanced lymphoma cell adhesion to galectin‐1 in anaplastic large cell lymphoma cell line, H‐ALCL. A fluorinated sialic acid analogue was shown to be useful for inhibiting sialyltransferase and may provide a new glycoengineering strategy for desialylation, as well as inhibiting invasion and metastasis and inducing cell death in lymphoma cell lines. This paper discusses glycosylation and sialylation in human lymphoma, and several glycoengineering therapeutic strategies for lymphoma.
The Changing Ideological Politics of U.S. State Firearms Regulation
Authors: McLean Dylan S. , Sorens Jason
Published: July 2019

Are the components of policy ideology in the American states fixed, or do they change over time? We document a change in the ideological loading and internal consistency of state firearms laws. While state policy liberalism has long correlated positively with restrictive gun regulation, this relationship strengthened over the 1986‐2016 period. Moreover, states' gun policy regimes have become more internally consistent since 1986, and newly salient issues, such as concealed‐carry laws and assault weapons bans, have been enfolded into the existing dimension of regulatory restrictiveness. This process also corresponds to a shift in the geographic bases of the Republican and Democratic Parties toward nonurban and urban areas, respectively. The changes in gun policy patterns across states reflect dynamic representation of voter ideology. The results suggest that certain modeling assumptions used to generate cardinal state policy ideology scores in prior research ought to be revised.

Related Articles

Joslyn, Mark R., and Donald P. Haider‐Markel. 2018. “Motivated Innumeracy: Estimating the Size of the Gun Owner Population and Its Consequences for Opposition to Gun Restrictions.” Politics & Policy 46 (6): 827‐850. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12276

Smith‐Walter, Aaron, Holly L. Peterson, Michael D. Jones, and Ashley Nicole Reynolds Marshall. 2016. “Gun Stories: How Evidence Shapes Firearm Policy in the United States.” Politics & Policy 44 (6): 1053‐1088. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12187

Tucker, Justin A., James W. Stoutenborough, and R. Matthew Beverlin. 2012. “Geographic Proximity in the Diffusion of Concealed Weapons Permit Laws.” Politics & Policy 40 (6): 1081‐1105. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2012.00399.x
“No, You're Playing the Race Card”: Testing the Effects of Anti‐Black, Anti‐Latino, and Anti‐Immigrant Appeals in the Post‐Obama Era
Authors: Reny Tyler T. , Valenzuela Ali A. , Collingwood Loren
Published: July 2019

Despite a sizable literature on racial priming, scholars have failed to account for the shifting nature of racial appeals. First, theories of racial priming have not yet been widely applied to increasingly common anti‐immigrant and anti‐Latino political appeals. Second, theories of racial priming have not adequately accounted for both an increasingly racialized political climate and increased tolerance for explicit anti‐minority appeals. In two survey experiments fielded both before Trump's rise and after his presidential victory, we find the Implicit‐Explicit (IE) model always fails for anti‐black appeals, sometimes fails for anti‐immigrant appeals, but consistently holds for anti‐Latino appeals. While we find the null effects of implicit versus explicit anti‐black and anti‐immigrant appeals are partly driven by tolerance for the explicit appeals, we also find evidence that white Americans are adept at recognizing the racial content of appeals featuring widely used, congruent issue‐group pairs. Our findings shed light on conditions under which the IE model does and does not hold in the current political era.
The effects of phospholipase C on oestradiol and progesterone secretion in porcine granulosa cells cultured in vitro
Authors: Chen Huali , Yang Youfu , Wang Youlin , He Yamei , Duan Jiaxin , Cheng Jianyong , Li Qingwang
Published: July 2019

Granulosa cells play important roles in the regulation of ovarian functions. Phospholipase C is crucial in several signalling pathways and could participate in the molecular mechanisms of cell proliferation, differentiation and ageing. The objective of this study was to identify the effects of phospholipase C on the steroidogenesis of oestradiol and progesterone in porcine granulosa cells cultured in vitro. Inhibitor U73122 or activator m‐3M3FBS of phospholipase C was added to the in vitro medium of porcine granulosa cells, respectively. The secretion of oestradiol decreased after 2 hr, 8 hr, 12 hr, 24 hr and 48 hr of treatment with 500 nM U73122 (p < .05) and decreased after 2 hr of treatment in the 500 nM m‐3M3FBS addition group (p < .05). The secretion of progesterone increased after 4 hr of treatment with 500 nM U73122 (p < .05) and increased after 2 hr and 8 hr of treatment in the 500 nM m‐3M3FBS addition group (p < .05). The ratio of oestradiol to progesterone decreased at each time point, except 8 hr after the addition of 500 nM U73122 (p < .05). The ratio of oestradiol to progesterone decreased after 2 hr (p < .05) of treatment with 500 nM m‐3M3FBS. In genes that regulate the synthesis of oestradiol or progesterone, the mRNA expression of CYP11A1 was markedly increased (p < .05), and the mRNA expression of other genes did not change significantly in the U73122 treatment group, while the addition of m‐3M3FBS did not change those genes significantly despite the contrary trend. Our results demonstrated that phospholipase C can be a potential target to stimulate the secretion of oestradiol and suppress progesterone secretion in porcine granulosa cells cultured in vitro, which shed light on a novel biological function of phospholipase C in porcine granulosa cells.
A Probabilistic Model of the Economic Risk to Britain's Railway Network from Bridge Scour During Floods
Authors: Lamb Rob , Garside Paige , Pant Raghav , Hall Jim W.
Published: July 2019

Scour (localized erosion by water) is an important risk to bridges, and hence many infrastructure networks, around the world. In Britain, scour has caused the failure of railway bridges crossing rivers in more than 50 flood events. These events have been investigated in detail, providing a data set with which we develop and test a model to quantify scour risk. The risk analysis is formulated in terms of a generic, transferrable infrastructure network risk model. For some bridge failures, the severity of the causative flood was recorded or can be reconstructed. These data are combined with the background failure rate, and records of bridges that have not failed, to construct fragility curves that quantify the failure probability conditional on the severity of a flood event. The fragility curves generated are to some extent sensitive to the way in which these data are incorporated into the statistical analysis. The new fragility analysis is tested using flood events simulated from a spatial joint probability model for extreme river flows for all river gauging sites in Britain. The combined models appear robust in comparison with historical observations of the expected number of bridge failures in a flood event. The analysis is used to estimate the probability of single or multiple bridge failures in Britain's rail network. Combined with a model for passenger journey disruption in the event of bridge failure, we calculate a system‐wide estimate for the risk of scour failures in terms of passenger journey disruptions and associated economic costs.
Critical Time, Space, and Decision‐Making Agent Considerations in Human‐Centered Interdisciplinary Hurricane‐Related Research
Authors: Murray‐Tuite Pamela , Ge Y. Gurt , Zobel Christopher , Nateghi Roshanak , Wang Haizhong
Published: July 2019

In hazard and disaster contexts, human‐centered approaches are promising for interdisciplinary research since humans and communities feature prominently in many definitions of disaster and the built environment is designed and constructed by humans to serve their needs. With a human‐centered approach, the decision‐making agent becomes a critical consideration. This article discusses and illustrates the need for alignment of decision‐making agents, time, and space for interdisciplinary research on hurricanes, particularly evacuation and the immediate aftermath. We specifically consider the fields of sociobehavioral science, transportation engineering, power systems engineering, and decision support systems in this context. These disciplines have historically adopted different decision‐making agents, ranging from individuals to households to utilities and government agencies. The fields largely converged to the local level for studies’ spatial scales, with some extensions based on the physical construction and operation of some systems. Greater discrepancy across the fields is found in the frequency of data collection, which ranges from one time (e.g., surveys) to continuous monitoring systems (e.g., sensors). Resolving these differences is important for the success of interdisciplinary teams in protective‐action‐related disaster research.
Does Moderation Pay in a Consociational Democracy? The Marginalisation of the SDLP in the North of Ireland
Authors: McGlinchey Marisa
Published: July 2019

A central question in the debate between “centripetalists” and “consociationalists” concerns whether power‐sharing arrangements provide incentives for moderation. This article helps to formulate an empirical answer through an examination of the electoral decline of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) following the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) in the North of Ireland. Drawing on primary qualitative interviews with key players, this article argues that the SDLP were electoral losers under a system of ethnic out‐flanking. Sinn Féin has successfully presented itself as the “greener” and more robust representative of nationalist interests, whilst simultaneously moderating its message and operating the institutions of Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin has taken ownership of the GFA and has positioned itself as the party best able to ensure its delivery. Sinn Féin’s rights‐based agenda, and vibrant electoral machine, has resonated with the nationalist electorate who are less sure of what the contemporary SDLP stands for.
Recent colonization and expansion through the Lesser Sundas by seven amphibian and reptile species
Authors: Reilly Sean B. , Stubbs Alexander L. , Karin Benjamin R. , Arida Evy , Iskandar Djoko T. , McGuire Jimmy A.
Published: July 2019

The Lesser Sundas Archipelago is comprised of two parallel chains of islands that extend between the Asian continental shelf (Sundaland) and Australo‐Papuan continental shelf (Sahul). These islands have served as stepping stones for taxa dispersing between the Asian and Australo‐Papuan biogeographical realms. While the oceanic barriers have prevented many species from colonizing the archipelago, a number of terrestrial vertebrate species have colonized the islands either by rafting/swimming or by human introduction. Here, we examine phylogeographic structure within the Lesser Sundas for three snake, two lizard and two frog species that each has a Sunda Shelf origin. These species are suspected to have recently colonized the archipelago, though all have inhabited the Lesser Sundas for over 100 years. We sequenced mtDNA from 231 samples to test whether there is sufficiently deep genetic structure within any of these taxa to reject human‐mediated introduction. Additionally, we tested for genetic signatures of population expansion consistent with recent introduction and estimated the ages of Lesser Sundas clades, if any exist. Our results show little to no genetic structure between populations on different islands in five species and moderate structure in two species. Nucleotide diversity is low for all species, and the ages of the most recent common ancestor for species with monophyletic Lesser Sundas lineages date to the Holocene or late Pleistocene. These results support the hypothesis that these species entered the archipelago relatively recently and either naturally colonized or were introduced by humans to most of the larger islands in the archipelago within a short time span.
Fuel Cell Rail Technology Review: A Tool for an Autonomous Rail Electrifying Strategy
Authors: Barbosa Fábio C.
Published: July 2019

Rail (passenger and freight) industry has been under pressure to tackle climate change, local and noise emissions. The current available powertrain technologies to reach the reduced greenhouse (GHG) and zero local emissions demands are electric (fed from the power grid), battery and fuel cell.

However, the associated infrastructure costs (electrical equipments and the required overhead catenary infrastructure) have limited the electric option to heavy loaded corridors. Battery electric powered rail vehicles could be another potential option, but their system recharging requirements might significantly limit the system’s availability, thus, impacting the rail vehicle’s on-the-job performance.

The recent breakthrough of fuel cell technology in the heavy duty road industry (mainly transit buses), allied with its operational flexibility and environmental performance has opened the way for this groundbreaking technology in the rail industry.

Fuel cells generate electricity onboard, using hydrogen or hydrogen rich hydrocarbon fuels. Electricity is, then, stored in batteries or fed directly into a rail vehicle’s high voltage propulsion system.

From an operational perspective, fuel cell powered rail vehicles might replace diesel ones in a one-to-one relationship, with the same range and running times, and a more efficient and less noisy powertrain. Moreover, the on-site refilling station is the only additional infrastructure element required, compared to diesel rail vehicle baselines. In short, fuel cell technology might offer a long term local zero emission alternative, fast refuelling (like diesel), flexibility, with self-electrification, integration with a renewable energy source and a quiet operation.

Given their outstanding operational and environmental features, several rail market niches might be addressed by the fuel cell technology: i) light rail and trams in urban environments; ii) commuter and regional trains operating on non electrified tracks; iii) shunt or switch locomotives in rail yards (generally located on central portions of large cities or at the crossroads of major rail distribution hubs); iv) underground mining locomotives, and v) line haul locomotives.

Since 2002, there has been an intense activity in the global development of fuel cell technology for the rail industry for both passenger and freight markets.

This work is supposed to present, based on the compilation of information from a multitude of acknowledged sources, a review of fuel cell rail technology, followed by an overview of fuel cell rail experiences and feasibility studies, highlighting their main outcomes, as well as fuel cell technology potential to offer lower operational costs (fuel and maintenance) and improved performance for the rail industry.
Application of Software Tools to Implement a Systems Engineering Process for Specification Development in a Brownfield Train Control Project
Authors: Chy John , Diemunsch Kenneth , Banks Bradley
Published: July 2019

When a signaling system reaches its end of life, an overall replacement is necessary. The replacement may be in-kind but for many mass transit agencies, it is common that capacity needs will have grown significantly, and the transit agency is required to increase capacity while tackling obsolescence. Capacity and obsolescence are the primary reasons for deploying Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) technology to replace conventional trip stop and track circuit-based systems operated by New York City Transit (NYCT) or cab signaling systems operated by Baltimore Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) and the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART). Resignaling projects are often refereed as brownfield train control projects.

Due to the technical and commercial complexity, the quantity of stakeholders, the number of interfaces, the regulatory involvement via safety certification, the temporal and geographic scale of the project and the continual evolution of the existing system, a robust Systems Engineering (SE) process is necessary to achieve success in large signaling replacement projects.

This paper describes the software tools and processes that were deployed to meet the technical, legal and commercial needs of a large signaling replacement project during the specification development phase. The processes put in place were tailored to the size and location of the team members. The paper describes the software tools, such as IBM Rational DOORS, Microsoft SharePoint Online and Office 365 which were integrated and configured to allow for collaboration while accounting for the security, commercial and legal requirements of the agency. The selection, deployment and management of these processes and tools enabled the large, complex project to succeed.
Safety and Security Analysis for Movable Railroad Bridges
Authors: Wang Yongxin , Jablonski Matthew , Yavvari Chaitanya , Wang Zezhou , Liu Xiang , Holt Keith , Wijesekera Duminda
Published: July 2019

Movable railroad bridges, consisting of lift, bascule, or swing bridges have been used by American rail tracks that cross usable waterways for over a century. Although custom made, movable bridges share many common components and designs. Most of them use weight bearing towers for the movable span using electric or electro-hydraulic systems lift and/or rotate these movable spans. Automated locks hold the bridge in place as soon as the movement stops. The bridge operation, train and ship signaling systems work in synchrony for trains and waterway traffic to be granted safe passage with minimal delay. This synchrony is maintained by using custom-made control systems using Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) or Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Controllers located on the movable and the static parts of the bridge communicate using radio and/or wired underwater links sometimes involving marine cables.

The primary objective of this paper is to develop a framework to analyze the safety and security of the bridge operating systems and their synchronous operations with railway and waterway systems. We do so by modeling the movable physical components and their control system with the interconnected network system and determine the faults and attacks that may affect their operations. Given the prevalence of attacks against PLCs, FPGAs and controllers, we show a generic way to determine the effect of what if scenarios that may arise due to attacks combined with failures using a case study of a swing bridge.
On Numerical Analyses of Rail Steel Fatigue Crack Growth Data
Authors: Jeong David Y.
Published: July 2019

For a given material and set of test conditions, fatigue crack propagation behavior can be described by the relationship between cyclic crack-growth rate, da/dN and the fluctuation of stress intensity factor, △K. Such test data are usually displayed in a log-log plot. At intermediate values of △K, fatigue crack-growth data fall along a straight line such that a power-law equation may be used as a curve-fit to the data. Various numerical techniques are applied in order to (1) derive the crack-growth rate and (2) determine the parameters for the power-law equation.

Using data from laboratory tests conducted on rail steels, this paper explores the various numerical methods used to characterize fatigue crack-growth behavior. Tests were conducted using two different fracture-mechanics specimens (a standard compact tension specimen and a non-standard single edge notch specimen). Three different numerical techniques were applied to determine the fatigue crack-growth rate, da/dN from test data measuring crack length, a versus number of fatigue cycles, N: (1) secant method, (2) modified secant method, and (3) incremental polynomial method. Four different least squares regression analyses were then applied to determine the parameters for the power law. Moreover, the outcome of these analyses is to determine the combination of numerical techniques which yields the least amount of error when the crack-growth rate equation is integrated and compared to the original a versus N data. Fatigue life calculations performed by integrating the crack-growth rate equation demonstrate the sensitivity of predicted growth rates to the power-law parameters derived from the different regression analyses.

This paper explores the various numerical methods and techniques employed to analyze fatigue crack growth data using test data on rail steels.