bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effect Size Measures for Differential Item Functioning in a Multidimensional IRT Model
Authors: Suh Youngsuk
Published: December 2016

This study adapted an effect size measure used for studying differential item functioning (DIF) in unidimensional tests and extended the measure to multidimensional tests. Two effect size measures were considered in a multidimensional item response theory model: signed weighted P‐difference and unsigned weighted P‐difference. The performance of the effect size measures was investigated under various simulation conditions including different sample sizes and DIF magnitudes. As another way of studying DIF, the χ2 difference test was included to compare the result of statistical significance (statistical tests) with that of practical significance (effect size measures). The adequacy of existing effect size criteria used in unidimensional tests was also evaluated. Both effect size measures worked well in estimating true effect sizes, identifying DIF types, and classifying effect size categories. Finally, a real data analysis was conducted to support the simulation results.
A Short Note on the Relationship Between Pass Rate and Multiple Attempts
Authors: Cheng Ying , Liu Cheng
Published: December 2016

For a certification, licensure, or placement exam, allowing examinees to take multiple attempts at the test could effectively change the pass rate. Change in the pass rate can occur without any change in the underlying latent trait, and can be an artifact of multiple attempts and imperfect reliability of the test. By deriving formulae to compute the pass rate under two definitions, this article provides tools for testing practitioners to compute and evaluate the change in the expected pass rate when a certain (maximum) number of attempts are allowed without any change in the latent trait. This article also includes a simulation study that considers change in ability and differential motivation of examinees to retake the test. Results indicate that the general trend shown by the analytical results is maintained—that is, the marginal expected pass rate increases with more attempts when the testing volume is defined as the total number of test takers, and decreases with more attempts when the testing volume is defined as the total number of test attempts.
Autoscoring Essays Based on Complex Networks
Authors: Ke Xiaohua , Zeng Yongqiang , Luo Haijiao
Published: December 2016

This article presents a novel method, the Complex Dynamics Essay Scorer (CDES), for automated essay scoring using complex network features. Texts produced by college students in China were represented as scale‐free networks (e.g., a word adjacency model) from which typical network features, such as the in‐/out‐degrees, clustering coefficient (CC), and dynamic networks, were obtained. The CDES integrates the classical concepts of network feature representation and essay score series variation. Several experiments indicated that the network measures different essay qualities and can be clearly demonstrated to develop complex networks for autoscoring tasks. The average agreement of the CDES and human rater scores was 86.5%, and the average Pearson correlation was .77. The results indicate that the CDES produced functional complex systems and autoscored Chinese essays in a method consistent with human raters. Our research suggests potential applications in other areas of educational assessment.
Optimal Loyalty‐Based Management
Authors: Shin Dongsoo
Published: December 2016

We study an agency model in which an entrepreneur selects a manager from a candidate set. The selected manager's effort improves the project's potential environment, and is a hidden action. The realized project environment is the entrepreneur's private information. A manager's utility has two components—(i) loyalty, with which the manager values the organization's profit, and (ii) selfishness, with which the manager values the monetary transfer he receives from the entrepreneur. We find that if the manager's task is easy enough, it is optimal to use a purely loyal manager. Otherwise, it can be optimal to use a manager with mixture of loyalty and selfishness—the manager's mixed motivation alleviates the entrepreneur's misrepresenting incentive, and as a result, the output distortion in the optimal contract can be reduced. In addition, when it is optimal to use a manager with mixed motivations, the entrepreneur selects someone who is more selfish than loyal.
The therapeutic potential of targeting chemokine signalling in the treatment of chronic pain
Authors: Montague Karli , Malcangio Marzia
Published: December 2016

Chronic pain is a distressing condition, which is experienced even when the painful stimulus, whether surgery or disease related, has subsided. Current treatments for chronic pain show limited efficacy and come with a host of undesirable side‐effects, and thus there is a need for new, more effective therapies to be developed. The mechanisms underlying chronic pain are not fully understood at present, although pre‐clinical models have facilitated the progress of this understanding considerably in the last decade. The mechanisms underlying chronic pain were initially thought to be neurocentric. However, we now appreciate that non‐neuronal cells play a significant role in nociceptive signalling through their communication with neurons. One of the major signalling pathways, which mediates neuron/non‐neuronal communication, is chemokine signalling. In this review, we discuss selected chemokines that have been reported to play a pivotal role in the mechanisms underlying chronic pain in a variety of pre‐clinical models. Approaches that target each of the chemokines discussed in this review come with their advantages and disadvantages; however, the inhibition of chemokine actions is emerging as an innovative therapeutic strategy, which is now reaching the clinic, with the chemokine Fractalkine and its CX3CR1 receptor leading the way.

This article is part of the special article series “Pain”.

image
Clinical features and factors associated with non‐carious cervical lesions and dentin hypersensitivity
Authors: Yoshizaki K. T. , Francisconi‐dos‐Rios L. F. , Sobral M. A. P. , Aranha A. C. C. , Mendes F. M. , Scaramucci T.
Published: December 2016

Determining the factors associated with NCCLs and DH in populations could guide the implementation of specific preventive measures. This study evaluated the clinical features and factors associated with non‐carious cervical lesions (NCCLs) and dentin hypersensitivity (DH) in a Brazilian population. The participants were 118 patients at the Dentistry Clinic of our dental school. They completed an interview to obtain personal information and determine the possible factors associated with NCCLs and DH. Clinical examination was undertaken to record the NCCLs, shape of the lesion and certain occlusal factors. DH was diagnosed by air and probe tests. Data were analysed with the multilevel Poisson regression and prevalence ratios, and the respective 95% confidence intervals were calculated. The prevalence of NCCLs and DH among patients was 67·8% and 51·7%, respectively. Of a total number of 2902 teeth examined, 9·65% had NCCLs and 5·82% were sensitive to air. The most affected teeth for both conditions were the premolars. Most of the NCCLs were wedge‐shaped and located in the maxilla. The factors associated with NCCLs and DH were age and presence of premature occlusal contacts. NCCLs were also significantly associated with consumption of wine and alcoholic beverages, and DH with consumption of acidic fruits and juices. NCCLs were a common finding, with higher frequency in more advanced age groups, the maxilla and premolars. A significant association occurred between NCCLs, premature contacts and consumption of wine and alcoholic beverages. DH was associated with NCCLs, premature contacts and with the consumption of acidic fruits and juices.
Elevated iron status and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Fernández‐Cao José C. , Aranda Núria , Ribot Blanca , Tous Mònica , Arija Victoria
Published: December 2016

The aim of this systematic review and meta‐analysis of observational studies was to assess the relationship between elevated iron status, measured as hemoglobin and ferritin levels, and the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The present study was recorded in PROSPERO (2013:CRD42013005717). The selected studies were identified through a systematic review of scientific literature published in The Cochrane Library and PubMed/MEDLINE databases from their inception until March 10, 2016, in addition to citation tracking and hand‐searches. The search strategy of original articles combined several terms for hemoglobin, ferritin, pregnancy, and GDM. OR and 95% CI of the selected studies were used to identify associations between hemoglobin and/or ferritin levels with the risk of GDM. Summary estimates were calculated by combining inverse‐variance using fixed‐effects model. 2468 abstracts were initially found during the search. Of these, 11 with hemoglobin and/or ferritin data were selected for the meta‐analyses. We observed that high hemoglobin (OR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.23–1.88), as well as ferritin (OR = 2.09; 95% CI: 1.48–2.96) levels were linked to an increased risk of GDM. Low heterogeneity was observed in hemoglobin (I2 = 33.3%, P = 0.151) and ferritin (I2 = 0.7%, P = 0.418) meta‐analyses, respectively. Publication bias was not appreciated. High hemoglobin or ferritin levels increase the risk of GDM by more than 50% and more than double, respectively, in the first and third trimester. Therefore, determining of hemoglobin or ferritin concentration in early pregnancy might be a useful tool for recognizing pregnant women at risk of GDM.
Phenotype and genotype analyses in seven families with dentinogenesis imperfecta or dentin dysplasia
Authors: Li F , Liu Y , Liu H , Yang J , Zhang F , Feng H
Published: December 2016

Objective

Hereditary dentin defects can be categorised into two classes according to their clinical manifestations: dentinogenesis imperfecta (DGI), which includes three types (DGI‐I, DGI‐II and DGI‐III), and dentin dysplasia (DD), which includes two types (DD‐I and DD‐II). This study investigated the phenotypic characteristics and genetic causes of hereditary dentin defects in seven Chinese families.

Materials and methods

Seven families affected with DGI‐II, DGI‐III or DD‐II were enrolled. Clinical examinations were performed to determine the phenotypic characteristics, and DNA samples were collected for Sanger sequencing.

Results

Clinical diagnoses revealed DGI‐II in five families, DGI‐III in one family and DD‐II in one family. Variants of the dentin sialophosphoprotein (DSPP) gene were found in six of the seven families. Of these, c.52G>T was identified in two families. Each of the remaining four families had a different variant: c.2684delG, c.52‐2A>G, c.1874‐1877delACAG and c.3509‐3521del13bp; the last three variants were novel.

Conclusions

This is the first study to analyse all three important types of hereditary dentin defect and include comprehensive genetic analyses of both dentin sialoprotein and dentin phosphoprotein in Chinese families. This study expands the spectrum of DSPP variants, highlighting their associated phenotypic continuum.
Regulation of bone remodeling by vitamin K2
Authors: Myneni VD , Mezey E
Published: December 2016

All living tissues require essential nutrients such as amino acids, fatty acids, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, and water. The skeleton requires nutrients for development, maintaining bone mass and density. If the skeletal nutritional requirements are not met, the consequences can be quite severe. In recent years, there has been growing interest in promotion of bone health and inhibition of vascular calcification by vitamin K2. This vitamin regulates bone remodeling, an important process necessary to maintain adult bone. Bone remodeling involves removal of old or damaged bone by osteoclasts and its replacement by new bone formed by osteoblasts. The remodeling process is tightly regulated, when the balance between bone resorption and bone formation shifts to a net bone loss results in the development of osteoporosis in both men and women. In this review, we focus on our current understanding of the effects of vitamin K2 on bone cells and its role in prevention and treatment of osteoporosis.
Acute intoxication due to Wisteria floribunda seed in seven young children
Authors: Kim Dongwan , Park Jihyoung , Kim Yun Mi , Tchah Hann
Published: December 2016

Background

Wisteria floribunda is a vine commonly found in Korea, Japan, and the USA. The objective of this observational study was to assess the toxicity of W. floribunda seeds in young children.

Methods

Of 28 children in a kindergarten who participated in a field trip, seven ingested W. floribunda seeds: six half of the seed and one a whole seed. These seven children were admitted to the Gachon University Gil Medical Center in Incheon, Korea.

Results

All of the children had vomiting within 4 h of ingesting the W. floribunda seed; the child who ingested a whole seed began to vomit 2 h after ingestion. By 5 h after ingestion, they all complained of abdominal pain and one child was lethargic. Leukocytosis was observed in all of the children. Abdominal pain and vomiting subsided in all of the children within 2 days after admission. The average duration of hospitalization was 3.1 days.

Conclusions

W. floribunda seed ingestion induced gastrointestinal and neurologic symptoms in these young children. Given that the onset of vomiting was earlier in the child who ingested a whole seed than in the children who had ingested only a half, the amount of ingested seeds may be associated with the severity of the symptoms. Ingestion of half a raw W. floribunda seed can cause gastrointestinal symptoms in young children and even result in hospitalization.
The onset of puberty in Cameroon Dwarf goats kept as pets in northwestern Croatia
Authors: Đuričić D , Vince S , Valpotić H , Žura Žaja I , Turk R , Lojkić M , Getz I , Berta V , Samardžija M
Published: December 2016

Contents

The aim of this study was to determine onset of puberty in Cameroon Dwarf goats (CDGs) kept as pets in northwestern Croatia by determining progesterone (PGS) and insulin‐like growth factor‐I (IGF‐I) levels in the blood by RIA methods. The first cyclic ovarian activity was estimated according to hormone profiles as determined in CDG in a moderate climate environment. Sixteen female CDG kids were kept in stables with access to pasture which provided space for exercise. The goat kids born in winter (December–January–February), spring (March–April–May), summer (June–July–August) and autumn (September–October–November) were assigned into four groups according to the season of the year of birth (n = 4 in each group). At 75 days of age at the initiation of the study, they weighed between 3.2 and 5.1 kg (4.24 ± 0.53 kg). The onset of ovulatory activity was determined by PGS and IGF‐I serum concentrations every 10 days starting from 75 days to 155 days of age. The onset of puberty in CDG kids occurred on average at 141.15 ± 2.66 days of age, but varied depending on the season of birth. All CDG kids born during summer were in heat by 155 days of age. In the other groups (kids born in autumn, winter or spring), one goat in each group was not in heat. Changes in blood serum PGS and IGF‐I concentrations during prepubertal and pubertal periods could aid in the evaluation of reproductive status and determination of the onset of puberty in CDG during all seasons of the year in a moderate climate region.
Reclamation and habitat‐disturbance effects on landbird abundance and productivity indices in the oil sands region of northeastern Alberta, Canada
Authors: Foster Kenneth R. , Godwin Christine M. , Pyle Peter , Saracco James F.
Published: December 2016

The pace and scale of reclamation in Alberta's oil sands region are increasing, and techniques to measure and validate the ecological function of developing habitats are needed. In Alberta, achievement of equivalent land capability to that present before disturbance is a regulatory requirement of reclamation certification. We compared landbird abundance and productivity indices from mist‐netting data collected in 2011–2013 using the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) protocol with local habitat covariates at 35 monitoring stations in natural, reclaimed, and disturbed habitats. Principal component analysis of habitat covariates explained 83% of the variation in 20 habitat‐structure variables. We found significant relationships between habitat covariates and captures of adult birds, young birds, and/or the probability of capturing a young bird (productivity) for 12 landbird species; in some cases, capture responses contrasted with productivity responses to habitat variables. Responses to reclamation age were as expected, given habitat preferences of our target species. Positive responses to reclamation age from obligate forest‐dwelling species take more years to become evident than those for species preferring successional‐stage habitats, while one species that prefers open, grassland habitats appeared to decline with reclamation age, presumably due to habitat succession. Application of the MAPS protocol as a tool to evaluate and track the performance of reclaimed and disturbed habitats is demonstrated, with landbird abundance and productivity indices in natural habitats being useful indicators of equivalent land capability.
Torture, Dignity, and Humiliation
Authors: van der Rijt Jan‐Willem
Published: December 2016

Several recent analyses of torture focus on the humiliation torture inflicts on the victim as the principal evil inherent in torture. This paper challenges this focus by arguing that the connection between torture and humiliation is not a necessary one. Though it is true that most contemporary usages of torture humiliate, it is shown that this is dependent on both the context of the torture and the specific means of torture applied. It is demonstrated that, in certain circumstances, torture is feasible without inflicting the humiliation contemporary accounts of torture identify. At a theoretical level, it may even be possible to use torture as a way of explicitly expressing respect. The paper, therefore, warns against hinging the entire case against torture on humiliation and argues that we should scrutinize other ways in which torture may violate dignity, too.
Measurement of high‐temperature strains in superalloy and carbon/carbon composites using chemical composition gratings
Authors: Xie Weihua , Meng Songhe , Jin Hua , Du Chong , Huo Shiyu , Wang Libin , Peng Tao , Scarpa Fabrizio , Xu Chenghai
Published: December 2016

This paper describes an experimental and signal processing technique to perform high temperature tests on superalloy (INCONEL) and carbon/carbon structures using silica‐based chemical composition gratings (CCGs). The results obtained from applying this technique at 940°C in superalloys and 950°C for carbon/carbon (C/C) composites are benchmarked against data obtained from four different methods. The results show that the wavelength responses of the CCGs bonded on the superalloy and on the C/C plate increase nonlinearly with increasing temperatures. The temperature‐dependent strain transfer coefficients recorded during the superalloy tests show quite stable results below 600 °C and tend to slightly decrease thereafter. The values of the strain transfer coefficients below 1000 °C are significantly affected by the thermal expansion coefficient of the substrate material and the interface. We demonstrate that the strain transfer coefficient calculation method used in this paper is not suitable for low and/or negative expansion material. The results of the relative errors show that the CCGs‐F method based on the quadratic dependence of the wavelength shift versus the temperature appears to be the best to estimate the mechanical strains within the interval of temperatures considered and the measurement accuracy. The relative errors measured between 200 °C and 1000 °C are less than 5%.
Prevention of transfusion‐transmitted Zika virus in French Polynesia, nucleic acid testing versus pathogen inactivation
Authors: Musso D. , Broult J. , Bierlaire D. , Lanteri M. C. , Aubry M.
Published: December 2016

Background and Objectives

French Polynesia (FP) experienced a large Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in 2013–2014. Flavivirus transfusion‐transmission infections (TTIs) had been previously reported. We evaluated several mitigating strategies to prevent ZIKV TTIs in FP.

Material and Methods

Mitigation strategies consisted of pre/postdonation symptom reporting, donor deferral, importation of plasma units from non‐endemic areas, quarantine of blood components, blood screening using a laboratory‐developed nucleic acid testing (NAT) assay and platelet pathogen inactivation (PI) using the INTERCEPT Blood Systems. The pros and cons of NAT versus PI to prevent ZIKV TTIs were determined.

Results

Donor interview, deferral and component quarantine strategies were not sensitive enough to prevent subsequent detection of ZIKV RNA NAT‐positive donations. A 12‐week delay between the onset of outbreak and NAT implementation allowed for 30 blood products collected from 30 asymptomatic blood donors who retrospectively tested positive for ZIKV RNA by NAT to be transfused while platelet PI which was in routine use since 2010 in FP potentially prevented several cases of ZIKV TTIs.

Conclusion

Nucleic acid testing and PI were used in FP to prevent ZIKV TTIs. NAT was an effective measure once implemented but is not a proactive solution. PI is a proactive solution but with only systems approved for platelets and plasma. Based on the FP experience, there is an urgent need for approved whole blood and/or red blood cell PI systems and to develop multiplex NAT to maintain the availability of the blood supply in remote areas during arbovirus epidemics.
Methodological challenges in observational transfusion research: lessons learned from the Scandinavian Donations and Transfusions (SCANDAT) database
Authors: Edgren G. , Rostgaard K. , Hjalgrim H.
Published: December 2016

Background and Objectives

An increasing number of investigations into different aspects of transfusion therapy are being conducted using data extracted from a wide range of electronic data sources. Results of such observational studies, however, have in some instances been conflicting, possibly as an effect of variable attention to methodological and statistical detail. In this review, we will introduce and discuss some recent examples of important methodological problems.

Materials and Methods

We reviewed the recent literature of observational studies of possible deleterious effects of aspects of transfusion therapy, including donor factors, donation factors and component factors. From this literature, we identified a number of potential methodological problems and assessed these using data from the Scandinavian donations and transfusions (SCANDAT2) database.

Results

The main finding of our review relates to the importance of maintaining sufficient attention to epidemiological and statistical methods. The most important factor to consider is perhaps the number of transfusions which is often found to be an important confounding factor in this field. We also review recently applied methods for studying disease transmission through blood transfusion.

Conclusion

While observational research in the transfusion medicine field has great potential for improving transfusion safety, pitfalls are plentiful and easy to overlook. In this review, we have gone over some methodological issues that we feel are especially important to consider for researchers who are involved in this type of research.
Examination of Pre-service Teacher’s Training through Tutoring Approach
Authors: Wu Hsiao-ping , Guerra Myriam Jimena
Published: December 2016

Pre-service teacher preparation in the United States is becoming progressively more challenging with respect to the demands on teachers. This study examined the impact of tutoring approach on pre-service teachers’ skills to work with English language learners through a qualitative research design. Content analysis was used at the thematic level on student journals written to accompany the semester-long experience of tutoring. Thirty pre-service teachers participated and data was collected from 300 written journal reflections for two semesters. Overall, the pre-service teachers gained an understanding of challenges of working ELLs and other positive impacts through tutoring. The findings suggest that pre-service teachers have perceived value of the use of tutoring approach in the teacher preparation program, use of strategies during field-based experiences, instructional realizations, cultural sensitivity, and professionalism. This paper concluded by discussing the need for teacher education program to assist pre-service teachers to assimilate pedagogies and apply through a tutoring approach.
Antisense rescues babies from killer disease
Authors: Wadman Meredith
Published: December 2016

Spinal muscular atrophy drug may herald treatments for other genetic brain illnesses.
New bird flu strain brings death and questions
Authors: Kupferschmidt Kai
Published: December 2016

H5N8 is killing birds around Europe and the Middle East but appears harmless to humans.
After the vanishing
Authors: Wade Lizzie
Published: December 2016

Savvy anthropologists mix science and legal skills to help the families of Mexico's disappeared.
A global map of roadless areas and their conservation status
Authors: Ibisch Pierre L. , Hoffmann Monika T. , Kreft Stefan , Pe’er Guy , Kati Vassiliki , Biber-Freudenberger Lisa , DellaSala Dominick A. , Vale Mariana M. , Hobson Peter R. , Selva Nuria
Published: December 2016

Too many roads

Roads have done much to help humanity spread across the planet and maintain global movement and trade. However, roads also damage wild areas and rapidly contribute to habitat degradation and species loss. Ibisch
et al.
cataloged the world's roads. Though most of the world is not covered by roads, it is fragmented by them, with only 7% of land patches created by roads being greater than 100 km
2
. Furthermore, environmental protection of roadless areas is insufficient, which could lead to further degradation of the world's remaining wildernesses.

Science
, this issue p.
1423
The cryo-EM structure of a ribosome–Ski2-Ski3-Ski8 helicase complex
Authors: Schmidt Christian , Kowalinski Eva , Shanmuganathan Vivekanandan , Defenouillère Quentin , Braunger Katharina , Heuer André , Pech Markus , Namane Abdelkader , Berninghausen Otto , Fromont-Racine Micheline , Jacquier Alain , Conti Elena , Becker Thomas , Beckmann Roland
Published: December 2016

Getting rid of faulty mRNA

The cell monitors the health of its mRNAs, destroying those that are faulty or damaged. Destruction by the exosome complex prevents them from being used to synthesize deranged and potentially dangerous proteins. Schmidt
et al.
determined the structure of the Ski helicase complex, which guides RNAs to the exosome complex destruction machinery in association with a mRNAbound ribosome. The end of the mRNA is threaded from the ribosome into the heart of the helicase, whence the message would be channeled into the maw of the exosome complex.

Science
, this issue p.
1431
Inflation-predictable behavior and co-eruption deformation at Axial Seamount
Authors: Nooner Scott L. , Chadwick William W.
Published: December 2016

Volcano monitoring goes into the deep

Axial Seamount is a large and active submarine volcano along the Juan de Fuca midocean ridge off the coast of the western United States. Eruptions in 1998 and 2011 were followed by periods of magma recharge, making it an ideal location to include in the Ocean Observatories Initiative Cabled Array. Wilcock
et al.
present real-time seismic data from the most recent eruption in April 2015 that allow the tracking of magma before and during eruption. Nooner and Chadwick show that eruptions are predictable on the basis of deformation data. As magma pools underneath it, Axial Seamount inflates and erupts when the inflation hits a threshold. Both studies elucidate the dynamics of submarine volcanoes, which vastly outnumber their aboveground counterparts.

Science
, this issue p.
1395
, p.
1399
How high will the seas rise?
Authors: Oppenheimer Michael , Alley Richard B.
Published: December 2016

Coastal defense measures must be flexible in the face of rising sea level estimates
Starving the enemy
Authors: Dodds Peter N. , Lagudah Evans S.
Published: December 2016

Plants respond to pathogen infection by relocalizing sugar from bacterial colonization sites
A Phylogeny-Based Global Nomenclature System and Automated Annotation Tool for H1 Hemagglutinin Genes from Swine Influenza A Viruses
Authors: Anderson Tavis K. , Macken Catherine A. , Lewis Nicola S. , Scheuermann Richard H. , Van Reeth Kristien , Brown Ian H. , Swenson Sabrina L. , Simon Gaëlle , Saito Takehiko , Berhane Yohannes , Ciacci-Zanella Janice , Pereda Ariel , Davis C. Todd , Donis Ruben O. , Webby Richard J. , Vincent Amy L.
Published: December 2016

A fundamental goal in the biological sciences is the definition of groups of organisms based on evolutionary history and the naming of those groups. For influenza A viruses (IAVs) in swine, understanding the hemagglutinin (HA) genetic lineage of a circulating strain aids in vaccine antigen selection and allows for inferences about vaccine efficacy. Previous reporting of H1 virus HA in swine relied on colloquial names, frequently with incriminating and stigmatizing geographic toponyms, making comparisons between studies challenging. To overcome this, we developed an adaptable nomenclature using measurable criteria for historical and contemporary evolutionary patterns of H1 global swine IAVs. We also developed a web-accessible tool that classifies viruses according to this nomenclature. This classification system will aid agricultural production and pandemic preparedness through the identification of important changes in swine IAVs and provides terminology enabling discussion of swine IAVs in a common context among animal and human health initiatives.
New Insights into Autoinducer-2 Signaling as a Virulence Regulator in a Mouse Model of Pneumonic Plague
Authors: Fitts Eric C. , Andersson Jourdan A. , Kirtley Michelle L. , Sha Jian , Erova Tatiana E. , Chauhan Sadhana , Motin Vladimir L. , Chopra Ashok K.
Published: December 2016

Yersinia pestis
is the bacterial agent that causes the highly fatal disease plague. The organism represents a significant concern because of its potential use as a bioterror agent, beyond the several thousand naturally occurring human infection cases occurring globally each year. While there has been development of effective antibiotics, the narrow therapeutic window and challenges posed by the existence of antibiotic-resistant strains represent serious concerns. We sought to identify novel virulence factors that could potentially be incorporated into an attenuated vaccine platform or be targeted by novel therapeutics. We show here that a highly conserved quorum-sensing system, autoinducer-2, significantly affected the virulence of
Y. pestis
in a mouse model of pneumonic plague. We also identified steps in autoinducer-2 signaling which had confounded previous studies and demonstrated the potential for intervention in the virulence mechanism(s) of autoinducer-2. Our findings may have an impact on bacterial pathogenesis research in many other organisms and could result in identifying potential broad-spectrum therapeutic targets to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which represent a global crisis of the 21st century.
My working week: Hannah Jordan
Authors: Jordan Hannah
Published: December 2016

Hannah Jordan is a BVA policy officer, having previously been parliamentary intern to Lord Trees. She is also a triathlete
The effects of block training on pacing during 20-km cycling time trial
Authors: Costa Vitor Pereira , Guglielmo Luiz Guilherme Antonacci , Paton Carl David
Published: December 2016

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of block training (BL) on pacing during a 20-km hilly cycling time trial (TT) in trained cyclists. Twenty male cyclists were separated into 2 groups: control and BL. The training of each cyclist was monitored during a period of 3 weeks. In the first week cyclists performed an overload period of 7 consecutive days of high-intensity interval training followed by 2 weeks of normal training. Cyclists performed 1 TT before intervention and 2 TT after 7 and 14 days at the end of training. Each training session consisted of 10 sets of 3 repeated maximal-effort sprints (15, 30, and 45 s) with an effort/recovery duration ratio of 1:5. The main finding of this study was that the power output displayed a significantly higher start from the start until the halfway point of the TT (p < 0.05). Additionally, power output was characterized by a significant higher end spurt in the final 2 km in the BL after 2 weeks at the end of training (p < 0.05). In addition, after 2 weeks at the end of the overload period the distribution of cadence was significantly lower throughout the TT (p < 0.01). Therefore, a short period of consecutive days of intense training enhances cycling performance and changes the power output in the beginning and final part of the TT in trained cyclists.
Modified uncertainty principle from the free expansion of a Bose–Einstein condensate
Authors: Castellanos Elías , Escamilla-Rivera Celia
Published: December 2016

In this paper, we present a theoretical and numerical analysis of the free expansion of a Bose–Einstein condensate, where we assume that the single particle energy spectrum is deformed due to a possible quantum structure of spacetime. Also, we consider the presence of interparticle interactions in order to study more realistic and specific scenarios. The modified free velocity expansion of the condensate leads in a natural way to a modification of the uncertainty principle, which allows us to investigate some possible features of the Planck scale regime in low-energy earth-based experiments.
Elastic and electronic properties of oxygen plasma-treated graphene sheets from first principles
Authors: Nasehnia F. , Seifi M.
Published: December 2016

Mechanical and electronic properties of oxygen plasma-treated graphene sheets are investigated using density functional theory (DFT). Oxygen plasma-treated graphene is modeled using a graphene sheet with adsorbed epoxide functional groups (C–O–C) on its one side. The most stable configurations of such oxidized graphene sheets with different O/C ratios ranging from 12.5% to 50% are then calculated. In the special case of O/C = 50% (fully oxidized surface), both single- and double-sided oxidation cases are considered. The elastic and electronic properties of the energetically most favorable configurations are evaluated under the tensile and compressive loads in harmonic range. For structures with high O/C ratios (O/C [Formula: see text] 25%), the elastic constants (modulus of elasticity and bulk modulus) are significantly smaller than those of graphene while for low O/C ratios (O/C [Formula: see text] 12.5%), these quantities are almost equal to the elastic constants of pristine graphene. We also found that the electronic bandgap of the oxidized sheets is increased under tensile loading.
Time-Aware Click Model
Authors: Liu Yiqun , Xie Xiaohui , Wang Chao , Nie Jian-Yun , Zhang Min , Ma Shaoping
Published: December 2016

Click-through information is considered as a valuable source of users’ implicit relevance feedback for commercial search engines. As existing studies have shown that the search result position in a search engine result page (SERP) has a very strong influence on users’ examination behavior, most existing click models are position based, assuming that users examine results from top to bottom in a linear fashion. Although these click models have been successful, most do not take temporal information into account. As many existing studies have shown, click dwell time and click sequence information are strongly correlated with users’ perceived relevance and search satisfaction. Incorporating temporal information may be important to improve performance of user click models for Web searches. In this article, we investigate the problem of properly incorporating temporal information into click models. We first carry out a laboratory eye-tracking study to analyze users’ examination behavior in different click sequences and find that the user common examination path among adjacent clicks is linear. Next, we analyze the user dwell time distribution in different search logs and find that we cannot simply use a click dwell time threshold (e.g., 30 seconds) to distinguish relevant/irrelevant results. Finally, we propose a novel time-aware click model (TACM), which captures the temporal information of user behavior. We compare the TACM to several existing click models using two real-world search engine logs. Experimental results show that the TACM outperforms other click models in terms of both predicting click behavior (perplexity) and estimating result relevance (NDCG).
From Footprint to Evidence
Authors: Guo Guangming , Zhu Feida , Chen Enhong , Liu Qi , Wu Le , Guan Chu
Published: December 2016

With the booming popularity of online social networks like Twitter and Weibo, online user footprints are accumulating rapidly on the social web. Simultaneously, the question of how to leverage the large-scale user-generated social media data for personal credit scoring comes into the sight of both researchers and practitioners. It has also become a topic of great importance and growing interest in the P2P lending industry. However, compared with traditional financial data, heterogeneous social data presents both opportunities and challenges for personal credit scoring. In this article, we seek a deep understanding of how to learn users’ credit labels from social data in a comprehensive and efficient way. Particularly, we explore the social-data-based credit scoring problem under the micro-blogging setting for its open, simple, and real-time nature. To identify credit-related evidence hidden in social data, we choose to conduct an analytical and empirical study on a large-scale dataset from Weibo, the largest and most popular tweet-style website in China. Summarizing results from existing credit scoring literature, we first propose three social-data-based credit scoring principles as guidelines for in-depth exploration. In addition, we glean six credit-related insights arising from empirical observations of the testbed dataset. Based on the proposed principles and insights, we extract prediction features mainly from three categories of users’ social data, including demographics, tweets, and networks. To harness this broad range of features, we put forward a two-tier stacking and boosting enhanced ensemble learning framework. Quantitative investigation of the extracted features shows that online social media data does have good potential in discriminating good credit users from bad. Furthermore, we perform experiments on the real-world Weibo dataset consisting of more than 7.3 million tweets and 200,000 users whose credit labels are known through our third-party partner. Experimental results show that (i) our approach achieves a roughly 0.625 AUC value with all the proposed social features as input, and (ii) our learning algorithm can outperform traditional credit scoring methods by as much as 17% for social-data-based personal credit scoring.
Cost-Effective Online Trending Topic Detection and Popularity Prediction in Microblogging
Authors: Miao Zhongchen , Chen Kai , Fang Yi , He Jianhua , Zhou Yi , Zhang Wenjun , Zha Hongyuan
Published: December 2016

Identifying topic trends on microblogging services such as Twitter and estimating those topics’ future popularity have great academic and business value, especially when the operations can be done in real time. For any third party, however, capturing and processing such huge volumes of real-time data in microblogs are almost infeasible tasks, as there always exist API (Application Program Interface) request limits, monitoring and computing budgets, as well as timeliness requirements. To deal with these challenges, we propose a cost-effective system framework with algorithms that can automatically select a subset of representative users in microblogging networks in offline, under given cost constraints. Then the proposed system can online monitor and utilize only these selected users’ real-time microposts to detect the overall trending topics and predict their future popularity among the whole microblogging network. Therefore, our proposed system framework is practical for real-time usage as it avoids the high cost in capturing and processing full real-time data, while not compromising detection and prediction performance under given cost constraints. Experiments with real microblogs dataset show that by tracking only 500 users out of 0.6 million users and processing no more than 30,000 microposts daily, about 92% trending topics could be detected and predicted by the proposed system and, on average, more than 10 hours earlier than they appear in official trends lists.
miR-34a promotes fibrosis in aged lungs by inducing alveolarepithelial dysfunctions
Authors: Cui Huachun , Ge Jing , Xie Na , Banerjee Sami , Zhou Yong , Liu Rui-Ming , Thannickal Victor J. , Liu Gang
Published: December 2016

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a well-known age-related disease. However, much less recognized has been the aging associated pathogenesis of this disorder. As we and others previously showed that dysregulation of micro-RNAs (miRNAs) was an important mechanism involved in pulmonary fibrosis, the role of these molecules in this pathology in the aged population has not been investigated (Cushing L, Kuang PP, Qian J, Shao F, Wu J, Little F, Thannickal VJ, Cardoso WV, Lü J. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 45: 287–294, 2011; Liu G, Friggeri A, Yang Y, Milosevic J, Ding Q, Thannickal VJ, Kaminski N, Abraham E. J Exp Med 207: 1589–1597, 2010; Pandit KV, Corcoran D, Yousef H, Yarlagadda M, Tzouvelekis A, Gibson KF, Konishi K, Yousem SA, Singh M, Handley D, Richards T, Selman M, Watkins SC, Pardo A, Ben-Yehudah A, Bouros D, Eickelberg O, Ray P, Benos PV, Kaminski N. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 182: 220–229, 2010). In this study, by using a lung fibrosis model established in old mice, we found that ablation of miR-34a protected aged animals from developing experimental lung fibrosis. miR-34a was upregulated in lung epithelial cells, but not in lung fibroblasts of aged mice, and miR-34a expression was further increased in epithelial cells of the fibrotic lungs of these old animals. We found that miR-34a induced dysfunctions in alveolar epithelial cells (AECs), as evidenced by increased cellular senescence and apoptosis and mitochondrial aberrations. More importantly, these abnormalities were attenuated in AECs of the fibrotic lungs of aged miR-34a−/− mice. We found that miR-34a targeted Sirt1, a master anti-aging regulator, and two key cell cycle modulators, E2F3 and cyclin E2, in lung epithelial cells, and the repression of these targets was relieved in miR-34a-deficient AECs. In summary, our data suggest that elevated AEC miR-34a plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary fibrosis in the aged population. Our study also indicates miR-34a to be a more precise miRNA target for treating this disease that overwhelmingly affects people of advanced age.
Muscle afferent excitability testing in spinal root-intact rats: dissociating peripheral afferent and efferent volleys generated by intraspinal microstimulation
Authors: Tomatsu Saeka , Kim Geehee , Confais Joachim , Seki Kazuhiko
Published: December 2016

Presynaptic inhibition of the sensory input from the periphery to the spinal cord can be evaluated directly by intra-axonal recording of primary afferent depolarization (PAD) or indirectly by intraspinal microstimulation (excitability testing). Excitability testing is superior for use in normal behaving animals, because this methodology bypasses the technically challenging intra-axonal recording. However, use of excitability testing on the muscle or joint afferent in intact animals presents its own technical challenges. Because these afferents, in many cases, are mixed with motor axons in the peripheral nervous system, it is crucial to dissociate antidromic volleys in the primary afferents from orthodromic volleys in the motor axon, both of which are evoked by intraspinal microstimulation. We have demonstrated in rats that application of a paired stimulation protocol with a short interstimulus interval (ISI) successfully dissociated the antidromic volley in the nerve innervating the medial gastrocnemius muscle. By using a 2-ms ISI, the amplitude of the volleys evoked by the second stimulation was decreased in dorsal root-sectioned rats, but the amplitude did not change or was slightly increased in ventral root-sectioned rats. Excitability testing in rats with intact spinal roots indicated that the putative antidromic volleys exhibited dominant primary afferent depolarization, which was reasonably induced from the more dorsal side of the spinal cord. We concluded that excitability testing with a paired-pulse protocol can be used for studying presynaptic inhibition of somatosensory afferents in animals with intact spinal roots.

NEW & NOTEWORTHY Excitability testing of primary afferents has been used to evaluate presynaptic modulation of synaptic transmission in experiments conducted in vivo. However, to apply this method to muscle afferents of animals with intact spinal roots, it is crucial to dissociate antidromic and orthodromic volleys induced by spinal microstimulation. We propose a new method to make this dissociation possible without cutting spinal roots and demonstrate that it facilitates excitability testing of muscle afferents.
Synthesis and Characterization of Carbon Nanofibers Grown on Powdered Activated Carbon
Authors: Ahmed Yehya M. , Al-Mamun Abdullah , Jameel Ahmad T. , AlKhatib Ma’an Fahmi R. , Amosa Mutiu K. , AlSaadi Mohammed A.
Published: December 2016

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were synthesized through nickel ion (Ni2+) impregnation of powdered activated carbon (PAC). Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) using acetylene gas, in the presence of hydrogen gas, was employed for the synthesis process. Various percentages (1, 3, 5, and 7 wt. %) of Ni2+catalysts were used in the impregnation of Ni2+into PAC. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy, Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analyzer (EDX), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA), zeta potential, and Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) were utilized for the characterization of the novel composite, which possessed micro and nanodimensions. FESEM and TEM images revealed that the carbonaceous structure of the nanomaterials was fibrous instead of tubular with average width varying from 100 to 200 nanometers. The PAC surface area increased from 101 m2/g to 837 m2/g after the growth of CNF. TGA combustion temperature range was within 400°C and 570°C, while the average zeta potential of the nanocomposite materials was −24.9 mV, indicating its moderate dispersive nature in water.