bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Solar splitting day-lighting system “SolsDays”: the first beam splitting day-lighting system
Authors: Dar Jehangir
Published: September 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe the first and novel beam splitting day-lighting system possessing highest possible solar transmission efficiency to provide illumination to the core and underground areas of any structure/building.

Design/methodology/approach

In this system, by using a number of individually pointable thin and light optical elements mounted on a top of structure/building, the solar light is concentrated. The concentrated beam is focussed to a secondary reflecting element which directs it to a beam splitter while passing through a Fresnel lens and a horizontal solar pipe. The beam splitter located inside the structure/building splits the solar beam into a number of secondary beams using a special arrangement of a number of inbuilt light guiding optical elements inside the beam splitter. The beam splitter produces a desired number of beams which are then redirected to the beam diffusers with the help of the solar pipe and the solar pipe joint which deflects the light at the angle of 90°.

Findings

The system considers the use of highly sophisticated and the highly efficient optical elements so that to attain the highest possible end-to-end efficiency of the system. The system has the highest potential to transport the solar energy to larger distances than all the available day-lighting systems and possesses the potential to be used for underground human colonisation.

Research limitations/implications

The widespread adoption of such a system could substantially reduce energy consumption worldwide, which would contribute to bring down the increasing slope in the graph of greenhouse gases.

Originality/value

The paper presents the novel beam splitting day-lighting system.
Effectiveness of filter trading as an intraday trading rule
Authors: Xin Ling , Lam Kin , Yu Philip L.H.
Published: September 2019

Purpose

Filter trading is a technical trading rule that has been used extensively to test the efficient market hypothesis in the context of long-term trading. In this paper, the authors adopt the rule to analyze intraday trading, in which an open position is not left overnight. This paper aims to explore the relationship between intraday filter trading profitability and intraday realized volatilities. The bivariate thin plate spline (TPS) model is chosen to fit the predictor-response surface for high frequency data from the Hang Seng index futures (HSIF) market. The hypotheses follow the adaptive market hypothesis, arguing that intraday filter trading differs in profitability under different market conditions as measured by realized volatility, and furthermore, the optimal filter size for trading on each day is related to the realized volatility. The empirical results furnish new evidence that range-based realized volatilities (RaV) are more efficient in identifying trading profit than return-based volatilities (ReV). These results shed light on the efficiency of intraday high frequency trading in the HSIF market. Some trading suggestions are given based on the findings.

Design/methodology/approach

Among all the factors that affect the profit of filter trading, intraday realized volatility stands out as an important predictor. The authors explore several intraday volatilities measures using range-based or return-based methods of estimation. The authors then study how the filter trading profit will depend on realized volatility and how the optimal filter size is related to the realized volatility. The bivariate TPS model is used to model the predictor-response relationship.

Findings

The empirical results show that range-based realized volatility has a higher predictive power on filter rule trading profit than the return-based realized volatility.

Originality/value

First, the authors contribute to the literature by investigating the profitability of the filter trading rule on high frequency tick-by-tick data of HSIF market. Second, the authors test the assumption that the magnitude of the intraday momentum trading profit depends on the realized volatilities and aims to identify a relationship between them. Furthermore, the authors consider several intraday realized volatilities and find the RaV have the higher prediction power than ReV. Finally, the authors find some relationship between the optimal filter size and the realized volatilities. Based on the observations, the authors also give some trading suggestions to the intraday filter traders.
The public and private benefit of an impure public good determines the sensitivity of bacteria to population collapse in a snowdrift game
Authors: Smith Robert P. , Doiron Aimee , Muzquiz Rodrigo , Fortoul Marla C. , Haas Meghan , Abraham Tom , Quinn Rebecca J. , Barraza Ivana , Chowdhury Khadija , Nemzer Louis R.
Published: September 2019

When cooperation is critical for survival, cheating can lead to population collapse. One mechanism of cooperation that permits the coexistence of cooperators and cheaters is an impure public good, whose public benefits are shared, but with a private benefit retained by the cooperator. It has yet to be determined how the contributions of the public and private benefit affect population survival. Using simulations and experiments with β‐lactamase‐expressing bacteria, we found that for a given amount of public and private benefit, the population was most sensitive to collapse when initiated from an intermediate fraction of cooperators due to the near‐concurrent collapse of the cooperator and cheater populations. We found that increasing the ratio of public to private benefit increased sensitivity to collapse. A low ratio allowed cooperators to survive on their private benefit after the public benefit could not rescue the cheaters. A high ratio allowed the cheaters to survive to high concentrations of ampicillin due to the high public benefit. However, small increases in ampicillin caused a rapid decline in the entire population as the private benefit was insufficient to allow self‐rescue of the cooperators. Our findings have implications in the persistence of populations that rely on cooperation for survival.
Massive blood transfusion in relation to delivery: incidence, trends and risk factors: a population‐based cohort study
Authors: Thurn L , Wikman A , Westgren M , Lindqvist PG
Published: September 2019

Objective

To estimate incidence, trends over time, and risk factors for massive blood transfusions in obstetric patients. A secondary aim was to evaluate transfusion ratios in relation to massive transfusion.

Design

Population‐based cohort.

Setting

Five hospitals, in the Stockholm County, Sweden, from 1990 to 2011.

Population

All women that gave birth in Stockholm county, Sweden, and who received blood transfusions postpartum between 1990 and 2011.

Methods

Data on pregnancies and deliveries from the Swedish National Medical Birth Registry was cross‐linked to the Stockholm transfusion database. Massive blood transfusion was defined as the transfusion of ≥10 units of red blood cells from partus through the next day.

Main outcome measures

Main primary outcome was massive blood transfusion postpartum.

Results

Our cohort comprised 517 874 deliveries. Massive blood transfusion occurred in 277 women, for an incidence of 5.3 per 10 000 deliveries, and increased by 30% (P < 0.001) between the first and the second half of the study period. Major risk factors apparent before delivery were abnormal placentation (odds ratio [OR] 41; 95% CI 29.3–58.1), pre‐eclampsia/placental abruption (OR 4; 95% CI 2.8–5.6), and previous caesarean delivery (OR 4; 95% CI 3.1–6.0). Risk factors at time of delivery were uterine rupture, atonic uterus, and caesarean delivery (OR 38, 17, and 3, respectively).

Conclusion

We found an increasing trend in the postpartum rate of massive transfusion. Women with abnormal placentation were found to have the highest increased risk. Improved antenatal awareness of these women at risk might improve management and reduce the rate of massive transfusion.

Tweetable abstract

Risk of massive blood transfusion in obstetric patients increases with placental complications and prior caesarean section.
Incorporating phylogenetic metrics to microbial co‐occurrence networks based on amplicon sequences to discern community assembly processes
Authors: Goberna Marta , Montesinos‐Navarro Alicia , Valiente‐Banuet Alfonso , Colin Yannick , Gómez‐Fernández Alicia , Donat Santiago , Navarro‐Cano Jose A. , Verdú Miguel
Published: September 2019

Co‐occurrence network analysis based on amplicon sequences is increasingly used to study microbial communities. Patterns of co‐existence or mutual exclusion between pairs of taxa are often interpreted as reflecting positive or negative biological interactions. However, other assembly processes can underlie these patterns, including species failure to reach distant areas (dispersal limitation) and tolerate local environmental conditions (habitat filtering). We provide a tool to quantify the relative contribution of community assembly processes to microbial co‐occurrence patterns, which we applied to explore soil bacterial communities in two dry ecosystems. First, we sequenced a bacterial phylogenetic marker in soils collected across multiple plots. Second, we inferred co‐occurrence networks to identify pairs of significantly associated taxa, either co‐existing more (aggregated) or less often (segregated) than expected at random. Third, we assigned assembly processes to each pair: patterns explained based on spatial or environmental distance were ascribed to dispersal limitation (2%–4%) or habitat filtering (55%–77%), and the remaining to biological interactions. Finally, we calculated the phylogenetic distance between taxon pairs to test theoretical expectations on the linkages between phylogenetic patterns and assembly processes. Aggregated pairs were more closely related than segregated pairs. Furthermore, habitat‐filtered aggregated pairs were closer relatives than those assigned to positive interactions, consistent with phylogenetic niche conservatism and cooperativism among distantly related taxa. Negative interactions resulted in equivocal phylogenetic signatures, probably because different competitive processes leave opposing signals. We show that microbial co‐occurrence networks mainly reflect environmental tolerances and propose that incorporating measures of phylogenetic relatedness to networks might help elucidate ecologically meaningful patterns.
Genotyping‐in‐Thousands by sequencing (GT‐seq) panel development and application to minimally invasive DNA samples to support studies in molecular ecology
Authors: Schmidt Danielle A. , Campbell Nathan R. , Govindarajulu Purnima , Larsen Karl W. , Russello Michael A.
Published: September 2019

Minimally invasive sampling (MIS) is widespread in wildlife studies; however, its utility for massively parallel DNA sequencing (MPS) is limited. Poor sample quality and contamination by exogenous DNA can make MIS challenging to use with modern genotyping‐by‐sequencing approaches, which have been traditionally developed for high‐quality DNA sources. Given that MIS is often more appropriate in many contexts, there is a need to make such samples practical for harnessing MPS. Here, we test the ability for Genotyping‐in‐Thousands by sequencing (GT‐seq), a multiplex amplicon sequencing approach, to effectively genotype minimally invasive cloacal DNA samples collected from the Western Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus), a threatened species in British Columbia, Canada. As there was no previous genetic information for this species, an optimized panel of 362 SNPs was selected for use with GT‐seq from a de novo restriction site‐associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) assembly. Comparisons of genotypes generated within and among RADseq and GT‐seq for the same individuals found low rates of genotyping error (GT‐seq: 0.50%; RADseq: 0.80%) and discordance (2.57%), the latter likely due to the different genotype calling models employed. GT‐seq mean genotype discordance between blood and cloacal swab samples collected from the same individuals was also minimal (1.37%). Estimates of population diversity parameters were similar across GT‐seq and RADseq data sets, as were inferred patterns of population structure. Overall, GT‐seq can be effectively applied to low‐quality DNA samples, minimizing the inefficiencies presented by exogenous DNA typically found in minimally invasive samples and continuing the expansion of molecular ecology and conservation genetics in the genomics era.
The Party's Primary Preferences: Race, Gender, and Party Support of Congressional Primary Candidates
Authors: Hassell Hans J.G. , Visalvanich Neil
Published: September 2019

Party support has a strong influence on candidate success in the primary. What remains unexplored is whether party actions during the primary are biased along racial and gender lines. Using candidate demographic data at the congressional level and measures of party support for primary candidates, we test whether parties discriminate against women and minority candidates in congressional primaries and also whether parties are strategic in their support of minority candidates in certain primaries. Our findings show parties are not biased against minority candidates and also that white women candidates receive more support from the Democratic Party than do other types of candidates. Our findings also suggest that parties do not appear to strategically support minority candidates in districts with larger populations of minorities. Lastly, we also find no significant differences in the effects of party support on the likelihood of success in the primary by candidate race or gender.
Reciprocal Repossession: Property as Land in Urban Australia
Authors: Blatman‐Thomas Naama
Published: September 2019

Repossession of land by Indigenous people is commonly understood as a legal act that unfolds within the confines of state apparatuses. But for many Indigenous urbanites, legal repossession is both impossible and irrelevant due to their histories of dispossession and dislocation. Moreover, while land repossession in Australia is predominantly non‐urban, I demonstrate that land is also reclaimed within cities. Urban repossession of land, considered here as reciprocal rather than legal, challenges the model of private ownership by asserting a territorially transferable relationship to property as land. The order of property entrenches Indigenous people's dispossession by demanding immobility as precondition to ownership and rendering Indigenous urbanites all “too mobile”. Against this framing and the liquidation of their lands as capital, Indigenous people practice reciprocal forms of repossession that challenge both liberal and traditional meanings of ownership. This helps retrieve urban Indigenous subjectivities while compelling partial relinquishment of non‐Indigenous properties.
After Gentrification: Social Mix, Settler Colonialism, and Cruel Optimism in the Transformation of Neighbourhood Space
Authors: Addie Jean‐Paul D. , Fraser James C.
Published: September 2019

Social mix policies have emerged as a prominent mechanism to legitimate neighbourhood redevelopment efforts across the US. Despite integrationist rhetoric, results often disabuse marginalised communities of their claims to the city. This paper employs a hybrid spatio‐temporal analysis at the intersection of political‐economic theories of gentrification and post‐colonial and Black geographies literatures to examine underlying cultural logics and affective experiences animating such processes of neighbourhood transformation, contestation, and succession. Reflecting on 15 years of experience researching Over‐the‐Rhine (OTR), Cincinnati, we contribute a stylised distinction between the foundational, mature, and ongoing legacies of urban settler colonial relations. Our account discloses the power geometries shaping neighbourhood space by illustrating the impact of the discourses, tactics, and strategies employed by pro‐development actors and neighbourhood activists as OTR's socio‐political landscape shifted over time. In conclusion, we engage the thorny questions these dynamics raise surrounding how inner‐city neighbourhoods are theorised and struggled over after gentrification.
Frontiers of Urban Control: Lawlessness on the City Edge and Forms of Clientalist Statecraft in Zimbabwe
Authors: McGregor JoAnn , Chatiza Kudzai
Published: September 2019

This article develops the concept of “urban frontier” to explore conflicts over state regularisation of city edge informal settlements in Zimbabwe’s capital Harare. It conceptualises the presence of “lawless” urban frontiers and “illegal” territorial authorities in capital cities as expressions of a permissive form of central statecraft. In so doing, the article takes forward debates over the politics shaping the margins of Africa’s rapidly expanding cities, redressing scholars’ tendency to neglect central party‐state strategic calculations and party politics in their analyses of unregulated settlements. Dominant interpretations generally hinge on state absence or weakness and emphasise localised influences. The case of Harare’s highly politicised city‐edge informal settlements reveals the inadequacy of apolitical approaches particularly clearly, as all were controlled by the ruling ZANUPF party. The conflicts provoked by regularisation provide a lens on disputes within the ruling party, which we interpret as disputes over different forms of clientalist statecraft. Analyses of urban frontiers can thus help move away from generic one‐size‐fits‐all explanations of informality and patronage politics in Africa’s expanding cities.
Pilot study showed that poor feeding, especially with leucocyturia, increased the odds of non‐febrile urinary tract infections in children who were not toilet trained
Authors: Guarino Stefano , Capalbo Daniela , Scalzone Eleonora , Schiano Di Cola Roberta , Miraglia del Giudice Emanuele , La Manna Angela , Marzuillo Pierluigi
Published: September 2019

Aim

This study assessed the prevalence of wrongly diagnosed non‐febrile urinary tract infections in patients who had not been toilet trained and presented with poor feeding and, or, failure to thrive. The diagnostic value of these signs in predicting non‐febrile UTIs was also explored.

Methods

We focused on 59 outpatients (56.7% male) with these criteria, who had positive urine cultures and were referred to our Italian University hospital from January 2017 to January 2019. None were on antibiotics and all underwent urine cultures by bladder catheterisation. Wrongly diagnosed non‐febrile UTIs were defined by sterile urine cultures. The predictive value was evaluated using logistic regression.

Results

The mean age was 8.5 ± 5.7 months and 72.9% had wrongly diagnosed non‐febrile UTIs. Poor feeding was significantly higher among the 16 patients with true non‐febrile UTIs (P = .04). It was significantly predictive of non‐febrile UTIs (odds ratio 4.1, 95% confidence interval 1.1‐16.6), especially when leucocyturia was present (odds ratio 9.7, 95% confidence interval 2.3‐40.7).

Conclusion

Wrongly diagnosed non‐febrile UTIs were high in children with poor feeding and, or, failure to thrive. Only poor feeding and, in particular, the combination of poor feeding and leucocyturia, significantly increased the odds of non‐febrile UTI.
Subjective Well‐Being and Health Behaviors in 2.5 Million Americans
Authors: Kushlev Kostadin , Drummond Danielle M. , Diener Ed
Published: September 2019

Background

Happiness and health behavior are positively related, but most existing research does not distinguish between conceptually and empirically distinct components of subjective well‐being—satisfaction with life, positive affect, and negative affect.

Method

We assessed the associations of each component of subjective well‐being and health behavior, such as exercising and not smoking, in a broad, representative sample of nearly 2.5 million respondents from the USA in the Gallup Daily Poll.

Results

We found that both life satisfaction and positive affect, but not negative affect, are unique predictors of health behavior, even after controlling for a wide range of variables, including demographics, chronic illness, daily stress and pain, and other relevant factors. Positive affect was linearly related to health behavior, while life satisfaction showed an association only for individuals relatively satisfied with their lives (but not for those dissatisfied with their lives). These associations were not moderated by various factors, occurring across gender and age, personal resources like time and money, and environmental affordances such as access to fresh food and safe places to exercise.

Conclusions

The relationship between well‐being and health behavior is robust and generalisable in a large cross‐section of the US population.
Hospitalization as an opportunity to correct errors in anticoagulant treatment in patients with atrial fibrillation
Authors: Angel Yoel , Zeltser David , Berliner Shlomo , Ingbir Merav , Shapira Itzhak , Shenhar‐Tsarfaty Shani , Rogowski Ori
Published: September 2019

Aims

To assess whether hospitalization may assist in correcting errors in anticoagulant therapy among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods

Our cohort included patients admitted to our institution with a history of AF between 2016 and 2018. We categorized patient's treatment upon admission and discharge as lacking (no treatment despite indication), inadequate (according to individual characteristics) or adequate. We assessed adequacy of treatment upon discharge and determined factors associated with correcting admission errors.

Results

Of 4427 patients admitted with a history of AF, the categorization to lacking, inadequate and adequate treatment was 1746 (39.4%), 1237 (27.9%) and 1444 (32.6%) patients, respectively. Of those with inadequate treatment, the most common types of errors were direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) underdosing (n = 578; 46.7%), vitamin‐K antagonists when DOAC was indicated (n = 258; 20.9%), DOAC despite contraindication to DOAC (n = 166; 13.4%) and DOAC overdosing (n = 124; 10%). Upon discharge 688 (18.6%, out of n = 3694) corrections but also 316 (8.6%) new mistakes were found. On multivariate logistic regression, the factors associated with correction of an error on admission were hospitalization due to AF (odds ratio [OR] 2.94 [2.39–3.61]), hospitalization in the neurologic or geriatric wards (OR 2.79 [2.04–3.80]), female sex (OR 1.34 [1.10–1.63]) and a history of stroke (OR 1.47 [1.17–1.86]), while the presence of a contraindication to DOAC decreased the chance of correction (OR 0.10 [0.06–0.18]).

Conclusion

Hospitalization for any reason may contribute to correction of errors in AC treatment in patients with AF. Unfortunately, a significant portion of patients remains inadequately treated by both outpatient and inpatient providers.
HLA‐A*24:02 is associated with metronidazole‐induced cutaneous adverse drug reactions in Han Chinese individuals: A pilot case‐control study with both HLA gene and T cell receptor repertoire analysis
Authors: Yang Fanping , Jiang Menglin , Zhang Wen , Qiao Yimeng , Chen Sheng‐an , Wang Dan , Zhu Huizhong , Zhang Jin , Qin Shengying , Zhu Qinyuan , Lv Youbiao , Xing Qinghe , Luo Xiaoqun
Published: September 2019

Metronidazole, a widely used drug for the treatment of infections with anaerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria and protozoa, can frequently cause metronidazole‐induced cutaneous adverse reactions (McADRs). The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between human leucocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and McADRs in a Chinese Han population. The frequency of HLA‐B*24:02 carriers among the McADR patients was 73.3%, which was significantly higher than that of the population controls (32.16%, OR = 5.80, 95% CI = [1.80‐18.72], Pc = 0.004) and of the metronidazole‐tolerant patients (26.67%, OR = 7.56, 95% CI = [2.02‐28.35], Pc = 0.004). Molecular docking showed that metronidazole and one of its major metabolites had the potential to bind in the HLA groove and that there was a relatively stable binding state of the HLA‐B*24:02‐metronidazole/the metabolite complex. The CDR3 repertoires of both T cell receptor (TCR)Vα and Vβ of the patients showed a significantly skewed or an oligoclonal distribution. The TCRVβ CDR3 of the patients shared a similar motif, “CASSxxxxxxQxF.” The current study demonstrated that both the HLA‐A*24:02 allele and TCR are involved in the pathogenesis of McADRs.
Effect of trehalose on manganese‐induced mitochondrial dysfunction and neuronal cell damage in mice
Authors: Liu Kuan , Jing Meng‐Jiao , Liu Chang , Yan Dong‐Ying , Ma Zhuo , Wang Can , Deng Yu , Liu Wei , Xu Bin
Published: September 2019

Chronic overexposure to manganese (Mn) has been verified to induce mitochondrial dysfunction, which is related to oxidative damage. The autophagic‐lysosomal degradation pathway plays a vital role in the removal of impaired mitochondria through a specific quality control mechanism termed mitophagy. However, trehalose functions as an inducer of autophagy by an mTOR‐independent mechanism, and little data report its effect on Mn‐induced mitochondrial dysfunction. To explore the possibility that trehalose could be effective in interfering with the Mn‐induced mitochondrial dysfunction, we used trehalose (2% and 4% (g/vol (mL))) in a mouse model of manganism. Our data showed that mice developed weary motor and behavioural deficits after exposure to Mn for 6 weeks. Overexposure to Mn resulted in mitochondrial dysfunction and neuronal cell damage in the basal nuclei of mice, which could be ameliorated by trehalose pre‐treatment. Moreover, our results indicated that trehalose pre‐treatment significantly reduced the oxidative damage and enhanced the activation of mitophagy. The findings clearly demonstrated that trehalose could relieve Mn‐induced mitochondrial and neuronal cell damage through its antioxidative and mitophagy‐inducing effects.
Large scale maximum average power multiple inference on time‐course count data with application to RNA‐seq analysis
Authors: Cao Meng , Zhou Wen , Breidt F. Jay , Peers Graham
Published: September 2019

Experiments that longitudinally collect RNA sequencing (RNA‐seq) data can provide transformative insights in biology research by revealing the dynamic patterns of genes. Such experiments create a great demand for new analytic approaches to identify differentially expressed (DE) genes based on large‐scale time‐course count data. Existing methods, however, are suboptimal with respect to power and may lack theoretical justification. Furthermore, most existing tests are designed to distinguish among conditions based on overall differential patterns across time, though in practice, a variety of composite hypotheses are of more scientific interest. Finally, some current methods may fail to control the false discovery rate. In this paper, we propose a new model and testing procedure to address the above issues simultaneously. Specifically, conditional on a latent Gaussian mixture with evolving means, we model the data by negative binomial distributions. Motivated by Storey (2007) and Hwang and Liu (2010), we introduce a general testing framework based on the proposed model and show that the proposed test enjoys the optimality property of maximum average power. The test allows not only identification of traditional DE genes but also testing of a variety of composite hypotheses of biological interest. We establish the identifiability of the proposed model, implement the proposed method via efficient algorithms, and demonstrate its good performance via simulation studies. The procedure reveals interesting biological insights, when applied to data from an experiment that examines the effect of varying light environments on the fundamental physiology of the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum.
Tyrosine kinase Eph receptor A6 sensitizes glioma‐initiating cells towards bone morphogenetic protein‐induced apoptosis
Authors: Raja Erna , Morikawa Masato , Nishida Jun , Tanabe Ryo , Takahashi Kei , Seeherman Howard J. , Saito Nobuhito , Todo Tomoki , Miyazono Kohei
Published: September 2019

Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling plays important roles in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), a lethal form of brain tumor. BMP reduces GBM tumorigenicity through its differentiation‐ and apoptosis‐inducing effects on glioma‐initiating cells (GIC). However, some GIC do not respond to the tumor suppressive effects of BMP. Using a phosphoreceptor tyrosine kinase array, we found that EPHA6 (erythropoietin‐producing hepatocellular carcinoma receptor A6) phosphorylation was regulated by BMP‐2 signaling in some GIC. Analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas showed that EPHA6 expression was lower in patients with GBM than in the normal brain, and that high EPHA6 expression was correlated with better prognosis. EPHA6 receptor increased the susceptibility of both sensitive and resistant GIC to BMP‐2‐induced apoptosis. The cooperative effect on apoptosis induction depended on the kinase activity of BMP type I receptor but was independent of EPHA6 kinase function. Overexpression of the EPHA6 receptor in GIC resulted in the formation of a protein complex of EPHA6 receptor and the BMP type I receptor ALK‐2, which was associated with BMP‐induced apoptosis in GIC. Intracranial injection of GIC into nude mice showed that gain‐of‐function of EPHA6 together with BMP‐2 pretreatment slowed GBM tumor progression in the mouse brain and promoted mouse survival. In summary, EPHA6 together with BMP‐2 signaling led to apoptotic cell death in GIC, and thus is a putative tumor suppressor in GBM.
Synthesis, antiproliferative activity, and molecular docking studies of 4‐chlorothiocolchicine analogues
Authors: Klejborowska Greta , Moshari Mahshad , Maj Ewa , Majcher Urszula , Preto Jordane , Wietrzyk Joanna , Tuszynski Jack A. , Huczyński Adam
Published: September 2019

Colchicine is a therapeutic agent currently used in therapies of many diseases. It also shows antimitotic effects, and its high cytotoxic activity against different cancer cell lines has been demonstrated many times. To overcome the limitations of colchicine use in anticancer therapy, we synthesized a series of novel triple‐modified 4‐chloro‐7‐carbamatethiocolchicines. All the synthesized compounds have been tested in vitro to evaluate their cytotoxicity toward A549, MCF‐7, LoVo, LoVo/DX, and BALB/3T3 cell lines. Additionally, their mode of binding to β‐tubulin was evaluated in silico. The majority of triple‐modified colchicine derivatives exhibited significantly higher cytotoxicity than colchicine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin against tested cancerous cell lines with much higher selectivity index values for four of them.
Alterations in long noncoding RNAs in women with and without polycystic ovarian syndrome
Authors: Butler Alexandra E. , Hayat Shahina , Dargham Soha R. , Malek Joel A. , Abdulla Silvana A. , Mohamoud Yasmin A. , Suhre Karsten , Sathyapalan Thozhukat , Atkin Stephen L.
Published: September 2019

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are RNA transcripts over 200 nucleotides long that are not translated into protein; however, there is increasing evidence of their regulatory functions. To date, there are few studies measuring lncRNA in control women or women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Objective

To determine lncRNA differences between PCOS and control women.

Design

Cross sectional study.

Patients

Twenty four anovulatory women with all three diagnostic features of PCOS compared to 24 control women in the follicular phase of their menstrual cycle from a PCOS biobank.

Results

Women with PCOS were age and weight matched compared to the control women but were significantly insulin resistant and hyperandrogenemic (P < .01). Eight lncRNA (P < .05) were detected that differed between PCOS and control women, but only MIRLET7BHG correlated with body mass index (r = .66, P < .05). No lncRNA correlated with antimullerian hormone (AMH) levels, insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR) or the free androgen index (FAI). Ingenuity pathway assessment (IPA) did not identify any functional pathways for the lncRNAs.

Conclusion

LncRNAs differ between anovulatory PCOS and control women in the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. It is unclear if this is due to inherent differences between PCOS and control women or due to changes in lncRNA that are menstrual cycle dependent. However, their IPA did not identify linked pathways, likely because few functions are as yet assigned to these lncRNAs.
Farmland tenure and transaction costs: Public and collectively owned land vs conventional coordination mechanisms in France
Authors: Léger‐Bosch Christine
Published: September 2019

To preserve farmland in industrialized countries, public initiatives or initiatives from nongovernmental organizations increasingly rely on Long‐term and Full Rights Acquisitions of land (LFRAs). The objective of this article is to help assess whether those actions provide profitable access to land use for lessee farms. We compare the economic implications for farms of this mode of access to land use with the two other main modes: conventional lease arrangements and purchasing transactions. The analysis focuses on the transaction costs relative to the cost of exchange, that is, including purchase/rental price, and to the financial benefits of the transaction. We use original data on costs provided by a survey of farmers within a French region. Our results suggest that the ex ante transaction costs incurred by farmers involved in LFRAs, as a percentage of the exchange cost of accessing land use, are lower than those in purchasing transactions and higher than those in conventional lease arrangements. The difference between the two types of lease arrangements is due to negotiation costs, which are doubled in LFRAs. In conclusion, making the involvement of tenant farmers in the construction of LFRAs more effective would allow these initiatives to better achieve their goals.
Historical changes in fish communities in urban streams of the south‐eastern United States and the relative importance of water‐quality stressors
Authors: Meador Michael R.
Published: September 2019

A total of 71 stream sites representing a gradient of urban land use were sampled across the Piedmont of the south‐eastern United States in 2014. Fish data collected (observed) at each site were compared to an expected community based on georeferenced historical (~1950 ‐ ~1990) species occurrence records for stream segments (1:100,000 scale) containing the sampled stream sites. Loss of expected fish species (per cent of fish species expected to occur but not observed) and homogenization (difference in Jaccard's similarity of the fish community among sites observed and expected) were determined. On average, there was a 13.2% increase in the similarity of fish communities across sites, demonstrating evidence of community homogenization. Occurrence of Redbreast Sunfish (Lepomis auritus), Green Sunfish (L. cyanellus) and Bluegill (L. macrochirus) increased more than 50% over time (between observed and expected). Species loss increased significantly with urbanization, whereas homogenization was not related to urbanization. Random forest analysis indicated that herbicides, insecticides and centrarchid species richness were significant predictors of species loss. Of these, generalized additive model regression indicated that herbicides represented the most parsimonious model based on a single predictor. Stream base flow, elevation and total nitrogen were significant predictors of homogenization. Generalized additive model regression indicated that decreased stream base flow was the single most important factor associated with increased homogenization. Chemical contaminants and associated ecosystem alteration and changes in streamflow may represent important regional influences on changes in fish communities in urban streams in the south‐eastern United States.
Estimation of soil water content at permanent wilting point using hygroscopic water content
Authors: Chen Chong , Zhou Hu , Shang Jianying , Hu Kelin , Ren Tusheng
Published: September 2019

Traditional methods for determining soil water content at permanent wilting point (θPWP) are time consuming. The objectives of this study are to develop a model for predicting θPWP based on easily measured hygroscopic water content and to compare the performance of the proposed model with three previous models: the Aina & Periaswamy model (AP model), the van den Berg et al. model (vdB model) and the Seybold & Harms model (SH model), which estimate θPWP from particle size distribution and/or organic matter (OM) content. By assuming that the dry end of the soil water retention curve could be described with the linear Campbell & Shiozawa model, a simple linear model, θPWP = 3θRH50, was developed to predict θPWP using θRH50. The θRH50 of the soils ranged from 0.002 to 0.157 g g−1 and the θPWP ranged from 0.014 to 0.279 g g−1. The validation results on 48 soils showed that the root mean squared error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) of the proposed model were 0.007 g g−1 and 0.005 g g−1, respectively. Model comparison showed that the prediction accuracy of four models for θPWP was in the order of proposed model > AP model > SH model > vdB model. Thus, θRH50 is a viable predictor for θPWP, which eliminates the need for soil particle size distribution and OM content.

Highlights

Water content at permanent wilting point (θPWP) relates to hygroscopic water content.

A model was developed to predict θPWP using water content at relative humidity of 50%.

The proposed model performed better than existing models.
Recent introductions reveal differential susceptibility to parasitism across an evolutionary mosaic
Authors: Tepolt Carolyn K. , Darling John A. , Blakeslee April M. H. , Fowler Amy E. , Torchin Mark E. , Miller A. Whitman , Ruiz Gregory M.
Published: September 2019

Parasitism can represent a potent agent of selection, and introduced parasites have the potential to substantially alter their new hosts' ecology and evolution. While significant impacts have been reported for parasites that switch to new host species, the effects of macroparasite introduction into naïve populations of host species with which they have evolved remain poorly understood. Here, we investigate how the estuarine white‐fingered mud crab (Rhithropanopeus harrisii) has adapted to parasitism by an introduced rhizocephalan parasite (Loxothylacus panopaei) that castrates its host. While the host crab is native to much of the East and Gulf Coasts of North America, its parasite is native only to the southern end of this range. Fifty years ago, the parasite invaded the mid‐Atlantic, gradually expanding through previously naïve host populations. Thus, different populations of the same host species have experienced different degrees of historical interaction (and thus potential evolutionary response time) with the parasite: long term, short term, and naïve. In nine estuaries across this range, we examined whether and how parasite prevalence and host susceptibility to parasitism differs depending on the length of the host's history with the parasite. In field surveys, we found that the parasite was significantly more prevalent in its introduced range (i.e., short‐term interaction) than in its native range (long‐term interaction), a result that was also supported by a meta‐analysis of prevalence data covering the 50 years since its introduction. In controlled laboratory experiments, host susceptibility to parasitism was significantly higher in naïve hosts than in hosts from the parasite's native range, suggesting that host resistance to parasitism is under selection. These results suggest that differences in host–parasite historical interaction can alter the consequences of parasite introductions in host populations. As anthropogenically driven range shifts continue, disruptions of host–parasite evolutionary relationships may become an increasingly important driver of ecological and evolutionary change.
Pharmacokinetics of intravenous and oral administration of enrofloxacin to the late‐term pregnant and non‐pregnant mares
Authors: Ellerbrock R. E. , Curcio B. R. , Zhong L. , Honoroto J. , Wilkins P. , Lima F. S. , Giguere S. , Canisso I. F.
Published: September 2019

Background

Enrofloxacin may be an alternative antimicrobial for unresponsive cases of severe bacterial infections in pregnant mares. As pregnancy may affect drug bioavailability, distribution, metabolism and excretion, dose adjustment might be necessary.

Objectives

To determine the disposition of orally and intravenously administered enrofloxacin in pregnant and non‐pregnant mares.

Study design

Randomised cross‐over experiment.

Methods

Six light‐breed, healthy pregnant mares (260 days gestation) were given a single dose of either intravenous (5 mg/kg bwt) or oral compounded (7.5 mg/kg bwt) enrofloxacin, with the opposite dose administered after a 7‐day washout. The protocol was repeated 45–60 days post‐partum, 15–30 days after foals were weaned. Plasma samples were obtained via venepuncture at 0, 5, 10, 20, 30, 45, 60, 90 min, and 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 72 h after enrofloxacin administration. Enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin concentrations were measured by LC‐MS/MS. Concentration versus time data were analysed based on non‐compartmental pharmacokinetics.

Results

Enrofloxacin AUC0–∞was significantly higher in pregnant mares than non‐pregnant mares after PO administration and tended to be higher after i.v. administration. Ciprofloxacin maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) and concentration at 24 h (C24h) were higher, and half‐life of the terminal phase (t½λz) was longer in pregnant mares than non‐pregnant mares after oral administration. Similarly, ciprofloxacin C24hwas higher in pregnant mares with intravenous administration. Oral bioavailability did not differ based on pregnancy status.

Main limitations

Only six healthy light breed mares were assessed. Disease or horse breed may affect the endpoints evaluated. A lack of established enrofloxacin AUC/MIC targets for equine pathogens limits pharmacokinetic‐pharmacodynamic conclusions.

Conclusions

The oral form of enrofloxacin was well absorbed, and oral bioavailability was comparable to previous studies. While differences in enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin pharmacokinetics were seen between pregnant and non‐pregnant mares, the recommended drug dose and dose intervals are appropriate for MIC <0.25 µg/mL. Dosages may need to be adjusted for bacteria with a MIC >0.25 µg/mL.
Stream Temperature Modeling and Fiber Optic Temperature Sensing to Characterize Groundwater Discharge
Authors: Moridnejad Maryam , Cameron Stewart , Shamseldin Asaad Y. , Verhagen Floris , Moore Catherine , Melville Bruce W. , Ward Nick Dudley
Published: September 2019

The Ngongotaha Stream was used as a case study to assess the applicability of fiber optic distributed temperature sensing (FODTS) to identify the location of springs and quantify their discharge. Thirteen springs were identified, mostly located within a 115 m reach, five discharged from the right bank and eight from the left bank. To quantify groundwater discharge, a new approach was developed in which the one‐dimensional transient heat transport model was fitted to the FODTS measurements, where the main calibration parameters of interest were the unknown spring discharges. The spatial disposition of the groundwater discharge estimation problem was constrained by two sources of information; first, the stream gains ∼500 L/s as determined by streamflow gauging. Second, the temperature profiles of the left and right banks provide the spatial disposition of springs and their relative discharges. FODTS was used to measure stream temperature near the left and right banks, which created two temperature datasets. A weighted average of the two datasets was then calculated, where the weights reflected the degree of mixing between the right and left banks downstream of a spring. The new approach in this study marks a departure from previous studies, in which the general approach was to use the steady‐state thermal mixing model (Selker et al. 2006a; Westhoff et al. 2007; Briggs et al. 2012) to infer groundwater discharge, which is then used as an input into a transient model of the general form of equation to simulate stream temperature (Westhoff et al. 2007).
Politicisation or Professionalisation? Exploring Divergent Aims Within UK Voluntary Sector Peer Mentoring
Authors: BUCK GILLIAN
Published: September 2019

Meaningful ‘user involvement’ is an established aim of social work practice, and increasingly, an aspiration of criminal justice, yet there are unique challenges to participatory work within punitive contexts. Drawing upon a study of peer mentoring in the voluntary sector, this article unveils some core tensions related to (ex)service user involvement in criminal justice. Interviews with mentors, mentees, and key stakeholders, along with direct observations of practice, reveal that respondents often see their work as personal‐political, emphasising the value of lived expertise and of collective action to address limiting social conditions. Simultaneously, however, mentoring is framed nationally and shaped locally by more established aims to correct, improve, and manage, individual ‘offenders’. There is, therefore, a fundamental tension between processes of politicisation, or coming together to assert a user voice and affect social change; and professionalisation, wherein mentors are co‐opted into forms of practice they often critique.
From the Outside In: Narratives of Creative Arts Practitioners Working in the Criminal Justice System
Authors: SIMPSON ELLA , MORGAN CATHERINE , CAULFIELD LAURA S.
Published: September 2019

The penal voluntary sector is highly variegated in its roles, practices and functions, though research to date has largely excluded the experiences of frontline practitioners. We argue that engaging with the narratives of practitioners can provide fuller appreciation of the potential of the sector's work. Though life story and narrative have been recognised as important in offender desistance (Maruna 2001), the narrative identities of creative arts practitioners, who are important ‘change agents’ (Albertson 2015), are typically absent. This is despite evidence to suggest that a practitioner's life history can be a significant and positive influence in the rehabilitation of offenders (Harris 2017). Using narratological analysis (Bal 2009), this study examined the narratives of 19 creative practitioners in prisons in England and Wales. Of particular interest were the formative experiences of arts practitioners in their journey to prison work. The findings suggest that arts practitioners identify with an ‘outsider’ status and may be motivated by an ethic of mutual aid. In the current climate of third sector involvement in the delivery of criminal justice interventions, such a capacity may be both a strength and a weakness for arts organisations working in this field.
The Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector: Concepts and an Agenda for an Emerging Field
Authors: TOMCZAK PHILIPPA , BUCK GILLIAN
Published: September 2019

Volunteers and voluntary organisations play significant roles pervading criminal justice. They are key actors, with unrecognised potential to shore up criminal justice and/or collaboratively reshape social justice. Unlike public and for‐profit agents, criminal justice volunteers and voluntary organisations (CJVVOs) have been neglected by scholars. We call for analyses of diverse CJVVOs, in national and comparative contexts. We provide three categories to highlight distinctive organising auspices, which hold across criminal justice: statutory volunteers, quasi‐statutory volunteers, and voluntary organisations. The unknown implications of these different forms of non‐State, non‐profit justice involvement deserve far greater attention from academics, policymakers and practitioners.