bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Health and Economic Growth
Authors: Bloom David E. , Kuhn Michael , Prettner Klaus
Published: February 2019

The strong observable correlation between health and economic growth is crucial for economic development and sustained well-being, but the underlying causality and mechanisms are difficult to conceptualize. Three issues are of central concern. First, assessing and disentangling causality between health and economic growth are empirically challenging. Second, the relation between health and economic growth changes over the process of economic development. In less developed countries, poor health often reduces labor force participation, particularly among women, and deters investments in education such that fertility stays high and the economy remains trapped in a stagnation equilibrium. By contrast, in more developed countries, health investments primarily lead to rising longevity, which may not significantly affect labor force participation and workforce productivity. Third, different dimensions of health (mortality vs. morbidity, children’s and women’s health, and health at older ages) relate to different economic effects. By changing the duration and riskiness of the life course, mortality affects individual investment choices, whereas morbidity relates more directly to work productivity and education. Children’s health affects their education and has long-lasting implications for labor force participation and productivity later in life. Women’s health is associated with substantial intergenerational spillover effects and influences women’s empowerment and fertility decisions. Finally, health at older ages has implications for retirement and care.
West Virginia Mine Wars
Authors: Martin Lou
Published: February 2019

In the early 20th century, West Virginia coal miners and mine operators fought a series of bloody battles that raged for two decades and prompted national debates over workers’ rights. Miners in the southern part of the state lived in towns wholly owned by coal companies and attempted to join the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) to negotiate better working conditions but most importantly to restore their civil liberties. Mine operators saw unionization as a threat to their businesses and rights and hired armed guards to patrol towns and prevent workers from organizing. The operators’ allies in local and state government used their authority to help break strikes by sending troops to strike districts, declaring martial law, and jailing union organizers in the name of law and order. Observers around the country were shocked at the levels of violence as well as the conditions that fueled the battles. The Mine Wars include the Paint Creek–Cabin Creek Strike of 1912–1913, the so-called 1920 Matewan Massacre, the 1920 Three Days Battle, and the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain. In this struggle over unionism, the coal operators prevailed, and West Virginia miners continued to work in nonunion mines and live in company towns through the 1920s.
NATO-US Relations
Authors: Colbourn Susan
Published: February 2019

On April 4, 1949, twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty: the United States, Canada, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Portugal, Italy, Norway, and Denmark. For the United States, the North Atlantic Treaty signaled a major shift in foreign policy. Gone was the traditional aversion to “entangling alliances,” dating back to George Washington’s farewell address. The United States had entered into a collective security arrangement designed to preserve peace in Europe.

With the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the United States took on a clear leadership role on the European continent. Allied defense depended on US military power, most notably the nuclear umbrella. Reliance on the United States unsurprisingly created problems. Doubts about the strength of the transatlantic partnership and rumors of a NATO in shambles were (and are) commonplace, as were anxieties about the West’s strength in comparison to NATO’s Eastern counterpart, the Warsaw Pact. NATO, it turned out, was more than a Cold War institution. After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Alliance remained vital to US foreign policy objectives. The only invocation of Article V, the North Atlantic Treaty’s collective defense clause, came in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Over the last seven decades, NATO has symbolized both US power and its challenges.
Children and Slavery
Authors: King Wilma
Published: February 2019

Boys and girls of European and African descent in Colonial America shared commonalities initially as unfree laborers, with promises of emancipation for all. However, as labor costs and demands changed, white servitude disappeared and slavery in perpetuity prevailed for the majority of blacks in the South following the American Revolution. Children were aware of differences in their legal status, social positions, life changing opportunities, and vulnerabilities within an environment where blackness signaled slavery or the absence of liberty, and whiteness garnered license or freedom.

Slavery and freedom existed concomitantly, and relationships among children, even black ones, in North America were affected by time and place. Slave societies and societies with slaves determined the nature of interactions among enslaved and emancipated children. To be sure, few, if any, freed or free-born blacks did not have a relative or friend who was not or had never been enslaved, especially in states when gradual emancipation laws liberated family members born after a specific date and left older relatives in thralldom. As a result, free blacks were never completely aloof from their enslaved contemporaries. And, freedom was more meaningful if and when enjoyed by all.

Just as interactions among enslaved and free black children varied, slaveholding children were sometimes benevolent and at other times brutal toward those they claimed as property. And, enslaved children did not always assume subservient positions under masters and mistresses in the making. Ultimately, fields of play rather than fields of labor fostered the most fair and enjoyable moments among slaveholding and enslaved children.

Play days for enslaved girls and boys ended when they were mature enough to work outside their own abodes. As enslaved children entered the workplace, white boys of means, often within slaveholding families, engaged in formal studies, while white girls across classes received less formal education but honed skills associated with domestic arts.

The paths of white and black children diverged as they reached adolescence, but there were instances when they shared facets of literacy, sometimes surreptitiously, and developed genuine friendships that mitigated the harshness of slavery. Even so, the majority of unfree children survived the furies of bondage by inculcating behavior that was acceptable for both a slave and a child.
Theodore Roosevelt and US Foreign Relations
Authors: Thompson John
Published: February 2019

Theodore Roosevelt played a seminal role in the rise of the United States to Great Power status at the turn of the 20th century and in debates about World War I and the League of Nations. Prior to entering the White House, TR was a leading proponent of a more ambitious foreign policy. As the 26th president he promoted US predominance in the Western Hemisphere, engaged in Great Power diplomacy, and oversaw expansion of the navy. He also laid the foundations for modern presidential statecraft with forceful advocacy of specific policy goals, a close relationship with the press, and an intense engagement with public opinion. After leaving Washington, he was among the most ardent critics of president Woodrow Wilson’s policies and helped to build support for the Allies and for preparing to enter what would become the “Great War,” or World War I. At the time of his death, he was a leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination.

Scholarly and public surveys frequently rank Roosevelt among the most successful presidents, especially in the realm of foreign policy. His influence can be observed in successors as diverse as Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama. Yet historians have also scrutinized his views on race, gender, imperialism, and violence, many of which appear outdated or problematic from an early-21st-century perspective. Also troubling was Roosevelt’s demonization of antiwar activists during World War I and his sometimes heavy-handed attempts to promote loyalty among citizens of German or Irish descent.
Buddhism and Media
Authors: Mitchell Scott A.
Published: February 2019

Many approaches to the study of Buddhism and media overlap with traditional Buddhist studies methods such as textual analysis, art theory, ethnography, and ritual studies, as well as studies of material culture. Media studies may concern itself with contemporary media messages and forms, but it need not be limited to the realms of mass media and popular culture. In foregrounding media and material cultural, scholars can trace the development and flow of Buddhism as a global religion and cultural phenomenon. Such studies also invariably draw attention to the lived aspects of the religion: How do Buddhists enact or perform Buddhism? How do Buddhists communicate ideas about Buddhism both to other Buddhists as well as to outsiders? And how do these communicative acts change one’s understanding of Buddhism? Such questions go beyond the merely textual, historical, or philosophical and call us to answer deeper questions about the nature of Buddhism in the contemporary, global age.
Capoeira: From Slave Combat Game to Global Martial Art
Authors: Assunção Matthias Röhrig
Published: February 2019

Capoeira is a martial art that developed from combat games enslaved Africans brought to Brazil. It is systematically documented since the beginning of the 19th century in Rio de Janeiro and later in other port cities. During the 19th century capoeira was increasingly practiced by the poor free people, black and of mixed ancestry, and also by white immigrants. Capoeira gangs controlled their territories against intruders and allied with political parties until the Republican purge of 1890. Capoeira survived best in Bahia, where it remained more associated with other forms of Afro-Brazilian culture and acquired many of its features still extant in present-day capoeira. From the 1930s onward, capoeira masters such as Bimba and Pastinha modernized capoeira, leading to the emergence of the Regional and Angola styles. Bahian capoeiristas migrated to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in search of better opportunities during the 1950–1970s. There they and their students developed what later became known as “Contemporary capoeira” (Capoeira Contemporânea) which is the most practiced style today. Capoeira was and is practiced in various ways: as a friendly game or as a fight, as a combat sport, or as an Afro-Brazilian cultural activity. Since the 1980s, capoeira has undergone a process of globalization and is now practiced in many countries around the world. Capoeira is the only martial art of the African Diaspora that is known and practiced worldwide. Writing on Capoeira has rapidly grown in a number of disciplines, leading to the constitution of its own interdisciplinary field of study.
Luís Carlos Prestes: A Revolutionary Between Two Worlds
Authors: Aarão Reis Daniel
Published: February 2019

Luís Carlos Prestes, from his birth in 1898 to his death in 1990, had a long, restless, and bustling life. His childhood and youth, as well as key events in his family life, are especially important in understanding the formation of his character. Trained as a soldier, Prestes would as an adult participate in the struggles of Brazilian army officers for the modernization and democratization of the nation (1920s), commanding, with Miguel Costa, a guerrilla column that traversed the country from 1924 to 1927. After that, Prestes became a communist and joined the Communist Party, leading a revolutionary putsch in November 1935, which was quickly put down. He then spent nine years in prison. By the time he was released, in 1945, he had become the undisputed leader of Brazil’s communists, and he was elected senator from the city of Rio de Janeiro in December. Between 1946 and 1964, through victories and defeats, he was one of the leading lights of the Brazilian Lefts. He was also an important player in the international communist movement, serving as an interlocutor in talks with the Communist parties of the USSR and China. After the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959 and the defeat of the Brazilian Left in 1964, when a long military dictatorship was established in Brazil, Prestes’s prestige at home and abroad declined sharply. However, in the context of redemocratization, a process initiated in 1979, he remained a frequent reference point for leftists, albeit on a secondary level, who lauded his integrity and determination. For the Right, he stalked the political scene like a menacing ghost. Upon his death in 1990, no one could deny his impact on the history of Brazil, and on the Brazilian Left in particular.
Digital Resources: FamilySearch
Authors: Horn Rebecca
Published: February 2019

FamilySearch, which constitutes the largest genealogical archival project and database in the world, offers rich online resources for research on the history of Latin America. FamilySearch constitutes an institutional arm of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the LDS Church, dedicated to genealogical research. It offers a wealth of resources with enormous potential for historical research on a broad range of topics and through diverse methods of investigation. The digital collection, which expands continuously, includes archival material from all the major regions of the world, including Latin America. For Latin America, the strength of the collection rests with parish and civil registers, censuses, and secondary sources on the genealogical and family history of the region.
Mexico’s Early Cookbooks
Authors: Gomez-Rejón Maite
Published: February 2019

During the Spanish conquest of Mexico (1519–1521), gastronomic literature was already prevalent in Europe, yet not so in Mexico. The use of the printing press in Mexico was limited to print and disseminate ecclesiastical and legal documents; it was not used for subjects as seemingly superfluous as recipes and food. This is not to say that food was not a source of fascination, or a means of social control.

Kitchen manuscripts written before Mexico became independent of Spain (between 1810 and 1821) show that there was an abundance of food writing before Independence, especially by nuns in colonial convent kitchens. However, the earliest printed cookbooks did not make their debut in Mexico until 1831, a decade after Independence.

Mexican cuisine can be examined beginning from the diaries of conquistadors and missionaries to colonial kitchen manuscripts to the cookbooks published after Independence through the Porfiriato (1876–1910) and Revolution (1910–1920). Reading between the lines of the recipes in these sources, one sees the shifting attitudes toward food, as it ceases to be a status marker and a divider of classes and becomes a tool for unifying the country.
African Englishes From a Sociolinguistic Perspective
Authors: Mesthrie Rajend
Published: February 2019

Four types of English exist in Africa, identifiable in terms of history, functions, and linguistic characteristics. West African Pidgin English has a history going back to the 15th century, 400 years before formal colonization. Creole varieties of English have a history going back to repatriation of slaves from the Caribbean and the United States in the 19th century. Second language varieties, which are the most widespread on the continent, are prototypically associated with British colonization and its education systems. L1 (First language) English occurred mostly in Southern and East Africa, and is best represented in South Africa. The latter shows significant similarities with the other major Southern Hemisphere varieties of English in Australia and New Zealand. All four subgroups of English are growing in numbers.
The Qanat System of Iran and the Maghreb
Authors: Abbasnejad Ahmad , Abbasnejad Behnam
Published: February 2019

A qanat is a kind of subterranean horizontal tunnel and usually excavated in soft sediments. It conducts groundwater to the surface at its emerging point. In addition to the tunnel, each qanat contains anywhere from several to hundreds of vertical wells for removal of dig materials and ventilation of the tunnel. These wells get increasingly deep until the deepest and last one, which is known as the mother well. According to the literature, qanat was first developed around 800 to 1000 bc in northwest of Iran and afterward was utilized in many other countries in Asia, Africa, southern Europe, and even (through independent invention) in the Americas. The areas utilizing the qanat have three characteristics in common: the shortage of surficial water (streams) indicating an arid or semiarid climate; suitable topographical slopes that help conduct groundwater to the surface for a distance by a gently sloping tunnel (qanat); and the presence of unconsolidated sediments (usually alluvial) that both act as subsurface reservoirs and as material that can be easily excavated using primitive tools. In another words, dry areas with mountain-plain topography, alluvial fans, and stream beds (wadis) are suitable for digging qanats. Major parts of Iran and some parts of the Maghreb have such conditions. This is why these two regions have been somewhat dependent on qanats for their water supply. Although the invention of qanats helped human settlement and welfare in drier countries, it had some negative impacts. The presence of humans due to qanats directly impacted the wildlife and vegetation cover of those areas. And in some cases, changes in the groundwater regime caused wilting and drying because of limited water resources for plants and wildlife.

The history of qanat development may be viewed as undergoing three major stages in the dry zones of Iran and the Maghreb, as well as in many other countries where they are present. During the first stage, from 1,000 to 2,000 years after their introduction (depending upon the region) qanats rapidly proliferated as technology spread to new areas. During the second stage, new qanat construction halted, as they had been developed in almost all suitable areas. In the third stage, beginning in some places in the early 20th century, such factors as increasing demand for groundwater, technical developments in water well drilling, and problems with qanat maintenance and urban sprawl caused many qanats to dry out; their numbers in operation have dropped. This decline will continue with varying rates in different countries. Unfortunately, the rate of decline in Iran, the home country of qanats, is more than many other places. This is mainly due to mismanagement.
Agricultural Origins and Their Consequences in Southwestern Asia
Authors: Simmons Alan H.
Published: February 2019

Despite millennia of success as hunters and gatherers, some human groups made a monumental transition to agricultural economies and more sedentary lifeways, broadly referred to as the “Neolithic.” This major tipping point in human history first occurred around 12,000 years ago in Southwest Asia and the eastern Mediterranean, where it is also the best documented. Much research has focused on the origins of agriculture, asking questions about why this event occurred after so much success at hunting and gathering. While early investigations concentrated on the economic significance of the Neolithic, studies in the late 20th century and continuing into the early 21st century also address what are perhaps more significant issues related to social, ritual, political, and ecological aspects of the Neolithic. Equally important is a focus on not only why the Neolithic first occurred, but also its consequences. These often are addressed in relation to the subsequent development of so-called civilizations and the environmental and social impacts that these had, but increasingly there are investigations of the consequences of the Neolithic within itself.

These consequences refer to Neolithic societies on both the Near Eastern mainlands and adjacent Mediterranean islands. These include not only economic consequences but also ones related to social organization and complexity, trade, and health and disease. What is apparent is that consequential events during the Neolithic were not linear, following a predictable path. For example, there is strong evidence for substantial environmental deterioration during the Neolithic at sites such as ‘Ain Ghazal in Jordan, where adaptive responses may have included divisions of domestic animal and plant resources. However, in Cyprus, where the Neolithic is now known to be as early as it was on the mainlands, evidence is limited for severe ecological degradation throughout the period. Thus, Neolithic consequences must be examined from a broad perspective, considering both successes and failures.
Unaccompanied Refugee Minors and Migrant Youth: Policy and Practices in the United States
Authors: Hasson III Robert G. , Cardoso Jodi Berger , Crea Thomas M.
Published: February 2019

Children and adolescents fleeing war, hardship, or natural disasters sometimes migrate to the United States without a parent or caregiver present. These children, classified by the U.S. Government as unaccompanied alien children (UAC), present unique needs based on previous exposure to trauma, including family separation. UAC who are not able to be reunited with family members are typically placed in the federally sponsored Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) foster care program. However, a majority of unaccompanied migrant youth are not served by the URM foster care program. An overview of the defining characteristics of unaccompanied refugee minors and unaccompanied migrant youth (UMY) is given along with the history of legislation and policies related to URM and UMY, the pathways in the U.S. immigration system URM and UMY encounter upon their arrival, mental health, legal, and education implications, and challenges with family reunification. Implications for the social work field are presented.
Adoption: Transracial and Intercountry
Authors: Fong Rowena , McRoy Ruth G. , Griffin Amy , LaBrenz Catherine
Published: February 2019

A history of transracial and intercountry adoptions in the United States is briefly provided as well as highlights trends, demographics, practices, and policies that have evolved as families have become more diverse. The current prevalence of intercountry and transracial adoptions in the United States is examined as well as the impact of policy changes in the United States and abroad on rates of intercountry adoption. Additionally, the challenges that have emerged for children adopted transracially and from abroad, as well as for their adoptive families, are reviewed. These include navigating ethnic and racial identity formation, cultural sensitivity, and challenging behaviors. Finally, future directions for social work practice, research, and policy are explored, and implications are provided for social workers intervening with families who have adopted children transracially or internationally. Specifically, adoption-competent professionals should also integrate cultural humility and competence into their therapeutic work with adoptive children and families. Implications for research in the conclusion focus on expanding prior studies on intercountry and transracial adoptions to incorporate racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in the literature. Policy implications include increasing access and funding for post-adoption services for all adoptive families.
Optimal selection of genetic variants for adjustment of population stratification in European association studies
Authors: Brinster Regina , Scherer Dominique , Lorenzo Bermejo Justo
Published: February 2019

Population stratification is usually corrected relying on principal component analysis (PCA) of genome-wide genotype data, even in populations considered genetically homogeneous, such as Europeans. The need to genotype only a small number of genetic variants that show large differences in allele frequency among subpopulations—so-called ancestry-informative markers (AIMs)—instead of the whole genome for stratification adjustment could represent an advantage for replication studies and candidate gene/pathway studies. Here we compare the correction performance of classical and robust principal components (PCs) with the use of AIMs selected according to four different methods: the informativeness for assignment measure ($IN$-AIMs), the combination of PCA and F-statistics, PCA-correlated measurement and the PCA weighted loadings for each genetic variant. We used real genotype data from the Population Reference Sample and The Cancer Genome Atlas to simulate European genetic association studies and to quantify type I error rate and statistical power in different case–control settings.

In studies with the same numbers of cases and controls per country and control-to-case ratios reflecting actual rates of disease prevalence, no adjustment for population stratification was required. The unnecessary inclusion of the country of origin, PCs or AIMs as covariates in the regression models translated into increasing type I error rates. In studies with cases and controls from separate countries, no investigated method was able to adequately correct for population stratification. The first classical and the first two robust PCs achieved the lowest (although inflated) type I error, followed at some distance by the first eight $IN$-AIMs.
Destin: toolkit for single-cell analysis of chromatin accessibility
Authors: Urrutia Eugene , Chen Li , Zhou Haibo , Jiang Yuchao
Published: February 2019

Single-cell assay of transposase-accessible chromatin followed by sequencing (scATAC-seq) is an emerging new technology for the study of gene regulation with single-cell resolution. The data from scATAC-seq are unique—sparse, binary and highly variable even within the same cell type. As such, neither methods developed for bulk ATAC-seq nor single-cell RNA-seq data are appropriate. Here, we present Destin, a bioinformatic and statistical framework for comprehensive scATAC-seq data analysis. Destin performs cell-type clustering via weighted principle component analysis, weighting accessible chromatin regions by existing genomic annotations and publicly available regulomic datasets. The weights and additional tuning parameters are determined via model-based likelihood. We evaluated the performance of Destin using downsampled bulk ATAC-seq data of purified samples and scATAC-seq data from seven diverse experiments. Compared to existing methods, Destin was shown to outperform across all datasets and platforms. For demonstration, we further applied Destin to 2088 adult mouse forebrain cells and identified cell-type-specific association of previously reported schizophrenia GWAS loci.

Availability and implementation

Destin toolkit is freely available as an R package at https://github.com/urrutiag/destin.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Functional geometry of protein interactomes
Authors: Malod-Dognin Noël , Pržulj Nataša
Published: February 2019

Motivation

Protein–protein interactions (PPIs) are usually modeled as networks. These networks have extensively been studied using graphlets, small induced subgraphs capturing the local wiring patterns around nodes in networks. They revealed that proteins involved in similar functions tend to be similarly wired. However, such simple models can only represent pairwise relationships and cannot fully capture the higher-order organization of protein interactomes, including protein complexes.

Results

To model the multi-scale organization of these complex biological systems, we utilize simplicial complexes from computational geometry. The question is how to mine these new representations of protein interactomes to reveal additional biological information. To address this, we define simplets, a generalization of graphlets to simplicial complexes. By using simplets, we define a sensitive measure of similarity between simplicial complex representations that allows for clustering them according to their data types better than clustering them by using other state-of-the-art measures, e.g. spectral distance, or facet distribution distance. We model human and baker’s yeast protein interactomes as simplicial complexes that capture PPIs and protein complexes as simplices. On these models, we show that our newly introduced simplet-based methods cluster proteins by function better than the clustering methods that use the standard PPI networks, uncovering the new underlying functional organization of the cell. We demonstrate the existence of the functional geometry in the protein interactome data and the superiority of our simplet-based methods to effectively mine for new biological information hidden in the complexity of the higher-order organization of protein interactomes.

Availability and implementation

Codes and datasets are freely available at http://www0.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/natasa/Simplets/.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
The Invisible Flood: The Chemistry, Ecology, and Social Implications of Coastal Saltwater Intrusion
Authors: Tully Kate , Gedan Keryn , Epanchin-Niell Rebecca , Strong Aaron , Bernhardt Emily S , BenDor Todd , Mitchell Molly , Kominoski John , Jordan Thomas E , Neubauer Scott C , Weston Nathaniel B
Published: February 2019

Saltwater intrusion is the leading edge of sea-level rise, preceding tidal inundation, but leaving its salty signature far inland. With climate change, saltwater is shifting landward into regions that previously have not experienced or adapted to salinity, leading to novel transitions in biogeochemistry, ecology, and human land uses. We explore these changes and their implications for climate adaptation in coastal ecosystems. Biogeochemical changes, including increases in ionic strength, sulfidation, and alkalinization, have cascading ecological consequences such as upland forest retreat, conversion of freshwater wetlands, nutrient mobilization, and declines in agricultural productivity. We explore the trade-offs among land management decisions in response to these changes and how public policy should shape socioecological transitions in the coastal zone. Understanding transitions resulting from saltwater intrusion—and how to manage them—is vital for promoting coastal resilience.
Clinical, pathophysiological and genetic features of motor symptoms in autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Vöglein Jonathan , Paumier Katrina , Jucker Mathias , Preische Oliver , McDade Eric , Hassenstab Jason , Benzinger Tammie L , Noble James M , Berman Sarah B , Graff-Radford Neill R , Ghetti Bernardino , Farlow Martin R , Chhatwal Jasmeer , Salloway Stephen , Xiong Chengjie , Karch Celeste M , Cairns Nigel , Mori Hiroshi , Schofield Peter R , Masters Colin L , Goate Alison , Buckles Virginia , Fox Nick , Rossor Martin , Chrem Patricio , Allegri Ricardo , Ringman John M , Höglinger Günter , Steiner Harald , Dieterich Marianne , Haass Christian , Laske Christoph , Morris John C , Bateman Randall J , Danek Adrian , Levin Johannes ,   Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network
Published: February 2019

Aβ deposition in the basal ganglia is common in autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease. Vöglein et al. report an increased severity of motor symptoms in autosomal dominant versus sporadic disease in advanced disease stages. Motor symptoms are more severe in post-codon 200 presenilin 1 mutation carriers and correlate with basal ganglia Aβ.
Structural Associations of Cortical Contrast and Thickness in First Episode Psychosis
Authors: Makowski Carolina , Lewis John D , Lepage Claude , Malla Ashok K , Joober Ridha , Lepage Martin , Evans Alan C
Published: February 2019

There is growing evidence that psychosis is characterized by brain network abnormalities. Analyzing morphological abnormalities with T1-weighted structural MRI may be limited in discovering the extent of deviations in cortical associations. We assess whether structural associations of either cortical white–gray contrast (WGC) or cortical thickness (CT) allow for a better understanding of brain structural relationships in first episode of psychosis (FEP) patients. Principal component and structural covariance analyses were applied to WGC and CT derived from T1-weighted MRI for 116 patients and 88 controls, to explore sets of brain regions that showed group differences, and associations with symptom severity and cognitive ability in patients. We focused on 2 principal components: one encompassed primary somatomotor regions, which showed trend-like group differences in WGC, and the second included heteromodal cortices. Patients’ component scores were related to general psychopathology for WGC, but not CT. Structural covariance analyses with WGC revealed group differences in pairwise correlations across widespread brain regions, mirroring areas derived from PCA. More group differences were uncovered with WGC compared with CT. WGC holds potential as a proxy measure of myelin from commonly acquired T1-weighted MRI and may be sensitive in detecting systems-level aberrations in early psychosis, and relationships with clinical/cognitive profiles.
Do International Rules and Norms Apply to Nonstate Actors?
Authors: Lemke Douglas
Published: February 2019

The nonstate actors of interest in this article are territorial contenders: political entities that control populated territory, function like sovereign states but are not recognized as sovereign states by other members of the international system. Sometimes they are de facto states, sometimes they are rebel groups, sometimes they are neither of these, instead existing in control of territory with neither conflict against the sovereign state within whose borders they exist nor claims to a state of their own. New data about territorial contenders permit me to evaluate arguments about changing rules and norms in the international system. I find support for claims about the consequences of changing rules about which actors are recognized as sovereign states but not for claims about a norm against conquest after World War II. In the discussion section, I consider implications of these findings for future research.
Recognizing and Overcoming Burnout in Breast Imaging
Authors: Mainiero Martha B , Parikh Jay R
Published: February 2019

Burnout is a psychological syndrome created by chronic job stress, and it is typified by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and feelings of decreased personal accomplishment. In physicians, burnout occurs at alarming rates, and it is on the rise. High burnout rates are ubiquitous in radiology across multiple subspecialties. We know of no study specifically examining burnout among breast imaging radiologists, but given the rates across multiple specialties in radiology, we must assume that a significant portion of breast imaging radiologists also experience burnout. As breast imaging increases in volume and complexity, we must find new ways of practicing that help achieve a healthy work environment.
Are Retaliatory Trade Measures Justified under the WTO Agreement on Safeguards?
Authors: Lee Yong-Shik
Published: February 2019

In March 2018, the USA adopted measures to increase tariffs on a range of imported steel and aluminum products, claiming that the measures are justified for its national security concerns. Several World Trade Organization Members, including the European Union, India, Russia, Turkey, and China, have argued that the US measures are in violation of WTO rules on safeguard measures and adopted retaliatory measures invoking Article 12.5 of the Agreement on Safeguards. The USA argues that its measures do not constitute safeguard measures under WTO rules, and, therefore, the retaliatory measures are not justified under the SA. This article reviews relevant cases and examines whether the US measures are safeguard measures under the SA and whether the retaliatory measures are also justified under the SA. The article also discusses the need for regulatory reform to address the issues with unilateral trade measures and retaliation.
Diagnostic-driven management of invasive fungal disease in hematology in the era of prophylaxis and resistance emergence: Dutch courage?
Authors: de Kort E A , Maertens J , Verweij P E , Rijnders B J A , Blijlevens N M A
Published: February 2019

Patients receiving intensive anti-leukemic treatment or recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) are prone to develop invasive fungal disease caused by both Aspergillus and non-Aspergillus moulds. Overall mortality following invasive mould disease (IMD) is high; adequate and timely antifungal treatment seems to ameliorate the outcome, yet early diagnosis in the haematological patient remains a challenge for most clinicians. Prophylaxis and the empiric addition of antifungal therapy to neutropaenic patients with fever persisting or recurring during broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment is therefore standard of care in many institutions. However, aside from the potential for overtreatment and important side effects, the emergence of resistance to medical triazoles in Aspergillus fumigatus poses a risk for inadequate initial treatment. Initial voriconazole therapy in patients with azole-resistant invasive aspergillosis was recently shown to be associated with a 23% increased mortality rate compared to the patients with azole-susceptible infection, despite changing to appropriate antifungal therapy once resistance was detected. Moreover, fever is not always present with IMD; therefore, cases may be missed when relying solely on this symptom for starting diagnostic procedures and antifungal treatment. At our institution, a diagnostic-driven treatment approach for IMD was implemented relying on clinical but also laboratory markers to start antifungal treatment. We describe the basis and clinical implementation of our diagnostic-driven approach in this review.
Investigating state transition luminosities of Galactic black hole transients in the outburst decay
Authors: Vahdat Motlagh A , Kalemci E , Maccarone T J
Published: February 2019

We have performed a comprehensive spectral and timing analyses of Galactic black hole transients (GBHTs) during outburst decay in order to obtain the distribution of state transition luminosities. Using the archival data of the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE), we have calculated the weighted mean for state transition luminosities of 11 BH sources in 19 different outbursts and for disc and power law luminosities separately. We also produced histograms of these luminosities in terms of Eddington luminosity fraction (ELF) and fitted them with a Gaussian. Our results show the tightest clustering in bolometric power law luminosity with a mean logarithmic ELF of −1.70 ± 0.21 during the index transition (as the photon index starts to decrease towards the hard state). We obtained mean logarithmic ELF of −1.80 ± 0.25 during the transition to the hard state (as the photon index reaches the lowest value) and −1.50 ± 0.32 for disc-blackbody luminosity (DBB) during the transition to the hard-intermediate state (HIMS). We discussed the reasons for clustering and possible explanations for sources that show a transition luminosity significantly below or above the general trends.
Repeated Phenotypic Evolution by Different Genetic Routes in Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25
Authors: Gallie Jenna , Bertels Frederic , Remigi Philippe , Ferguson Gayle C , Nestmann Sylke , Rainey Paul B
Published: February 2019

Repeated evolution of functionally similar phenotypes is observed throughout the tree of life. The extent to which the underlying genetics are conserved remains an area of considerable interest. Previously, we reported the evolution of colony switching in two independent lineages of Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25. The phenotypic and genotypic bases of colony switching in the first lineage (Line 1) have been described elsewhere. Here, we deconstruct the evolution of colony switching in the second lineage (Line 6). We show that, as for Line 1, Line 6 colony switching results from an increase in the expression of a colanic acid-like polymer (CAP). At the genetic level, nine mutations occur in Line 6. Only one of these—a nonsynonymous point mutation in the housekeeping sigma factor rpoD—is required for colony switching. In contrast, the genetic basis of colony switching in Line 1 is a mutation in the metabolic gene carB. A molecular model has recently been proposed whereby the carB mutation increases capsulation by redressing the intracellular balance of positive (ribosomes) and negative (RsmAE/CsrA) regulators of a positive feedback loop in capsule expression. We show that Line 6 colony switching is consistent with this model; the rpoD mutation generates an increase in ribosomal gene expression, and ultimately an increase in CAP expression.
An Eye-Tracking Method for Directly Assessing Children's Visual-Motor Integration
Authors: Fears Nicholas E , Bailey Brooke C , Youmans Blair , Lockman Jeffrey J
Published: February 2019

Background

Visual-motor integration is an integral component of many adaptive behaviors and has been linked to school readiness. In young school-age children, visual-motor integration is typically assessed with the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration (Beery VMI), a standardized instrument that measures children's ability to copy 2-dimensional forms. The Beery VMI is scored according to children's final written product, but does not directly measure the process of visual-motor integration that underlies children's form copying.

Objective

We describe a new way of directly assessing visual-motor integration in real time. We demonstrate how head-mounted eye-tracking technology for young children can be used to describe the dynamics of visual-motor integration when children copy forms.

Design

This study used a cross-sectional design.

Methods

Typically developing kindergarten children (N = 20) were tested as they wore an eye-tracker while performing the Beery VMI.

Results

Participants’ success (b = −0.66; SE = 0.08; Cohen f2 = 1.11) and their efficiency in visual (b = 0.29; SE = 0.02; Cohen f2 = 0.55) and motor (b = 0.12; SE = 0.01; Cohen f2 = 0.90) processes during form copying decreased as the stimulus complexity increased.

Limitations

A small convenience sample was used to determine proof of concept. A larger, more representative sample is necessary to provide generalizable results.

Conclusions

The new methods used here offer the possibility of more fine-grained assessments of eye-hand coordination in typically developing children and children with such clinical conditions as dysgraphia and developmental coordination disorder.
Bayesian Estimation of Species Divergence Times Using Correlated Quantitative Characters
Authors: Álvarez-Carretero Sandra , Goswami Anjali , Yang Ziheng , Dos Reis Mario
Published: February 2019

Discrete morphological data have been widely used to study species evolution, but the use of quantitative (or continuous) morphological characters is less common. Here, we implement a Bayesian method to estimate species divergence times using quantitative characters. Quantitative character evolution is modeled using Brownian diffusion with character correlation and character variation within populations. Through simulations, we demonstrate that ignoring the population variation (or population “noise”) and the correlation among characters leads to biased estimates of divergence times and rate, especially if the correlation and population noise are high. We apply our new method to the analysis of quantitative characters (cranium landmarks) and molecular data from carnivoran mammals. Our results show that time estimates are affected by whether the correlations and population noise are accounted for or ignored in the analysis. The estimates are also affected by the type of data analyzed, with analyses of morphological characters only, molecular data only, or a combination of both; showing noticeable differences among the time estimates. Rate variation of morphological characters among the carnivoran species appears to be very high, with Bayesian model selection indicating that the independent-rates model fits the morphological data better than the autocorrelated-rates model. We suggest that using morphological continuous characters, together with molecular data, can bring a new perspective to the study of species evolution. Our new model is implemented in the MCMCtree computer program for Bayesian inference of divergence times.
Development of a tablet app designed to improve African Americans’ screening colonoscopy rates
Authors: Miller Sarah J , Sly Jamilia R , Gaffney Kemi B , Jiang Zhiye , Henry Brittney , Jandorf Lina
Published: February 2019

Compared with other racial/ethnic groups, African Americans have the highest colorectal cancer (CRC) morbidity and mortality rates. It is critical to help improve African Americans’ CRC prevention efforts in order to reduce the burden of CRC in this community. The aim of this study was to develop and field test a tablet app, called e-Motivate, designed to improve African Americans’ screening colonoscopy rates. The e-Motivate app was field tested, using an iterative approach. The first version of the app, e-Motivate 1.0, was field tested on 20 African Americans over the age of 50. Participants engaged in a think aloud exercise and provided feedback regarding the app’s usability and acceptability. The results of the first field test were used to modify the app and develop e-Motivate 2.0. The field test procedures were repeated on a new group of participants (N = 18). The results from the second field test were used to make final modifications to the app. Overall, participants responded positively to the app. Qualitative analyses showed that participants found the app to be easy to use and helpful. Furthermore, descriptive statistics revealed that participants found the app to be highly usable and acceptable, exceeding recommended benchmarks for usability and acceptability. Critiques of the app were used to modify and finalize the intervention. The results from the proposed study suggest that the e-Motivate app is highly feasible and acceptable. The next step in this line of research is to conduct a randomized clinical trial to formally test the efficacy of the e-Motivate app for improving screening colonoscopy rates among African Americans.
Baltic amber Staphylinini (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Staphylininae): a rove beetle fauna on the eve of our modern climate
Authors: Brunke Adam James , Żyła Dagmara , Yamamoto Shûhei , Solodovnikov Alexey
Published: February 2019

Cenozoic climate cooling, particularly during the Eocene, has drastically shaped modern biological assemblages through a shift from an equable greenhouse to a polarized icehouse. Present-day Europe lies in a highly seasonal and temperate area that strongly embodies this modern icehouse climate. Baltic amber provides a Middle Eocene snapshot of the European fauna before this large-scale change. Here, we focused on the rove beetle tribe Staphylinini and conducted a comprehensive phylogenetic study of all known Baltic amber fossils in a total-evidence phylogenetic framework that integrates morphology with molecular data from six gene fragments. Based on our well-resolved topology, we propose the following: †Baltognathina subtrib. nov., Afroquediina subtrib. nov., Antimerina subtrib. nov., †Baltognathus aenigmaticus gen. et sp. nov., †Eolophorus gen. nov., †Laevisaurus robustus and †Laevisaurus gracilis gen. et spp. nov., †Hemiquedius europaeus sp. nov. and †Bolitogyrus fragmentus sp. nov. †Quedius cretaceus is placed as junior synonym of †Cretoquedius infractus. The earliest definitive fossils of Quediina are reported herein from the Eocene. The Staphylinini fauna of Middle Eocene Europe combined thermophilic, freeze-intolerant lineages with freeze-tolerant, temperate lineages and, unlike most other staphylinid or beetle lineages, all have since become extinct in the Palaearctic region.