bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Revolutionary Diplomacy
Authors: Sharp Paul
Published: February 2020

Revolutionary diplomacy presents an uneasy coupling of two slippery terms. Revolutions are said to disrupt, replace, and transform particular social orders, but the term revolution can be applied more broadly to almost any sort of change and the changes are carried out. Diplomacy is said to maintain the separateness of different social orders peacefully, while keeping them in touch with one another, but it can be used to describe a way of conducting all kinds of human relations. Spokespersons for both, in their narrower uses, have declared the other to be its enemy—diplomacy as a servant of the status quo, revolution as the servant of international disorder. This estrangement is reflected in the research and literature on revolutionary diplomacy in three ways. First, there is not much of it. Second, in the pairing between the two themes, researchers, following practitioners, are typically more interested in one side or the other, in revolution or diplomacy, and the junior partner receives little attention. Third, even in the literature that considers revolutionary diplomacy directly, the focus often shifts to other things: for example, the foreign policy problems posed by rogue states; the techniques of public diplomacy; or how to deal with terrorists and hostage-takers. Nonetheless, revolutionaries and established powers talk to each other and, in doing so, find themselves engaging in revolutionary diplomacy. The literature identifies several patterns in revolutionary diplomacy by tracking the practice, scope, and trajectory of revolutions themselves: for example, national revolutionary diplomacy directed at creating a place for a new actor in the established order of things; international revolutionary diplomacy directed at subverting and overturning the established order of things; and counter-revolutionary diplomacy directed at responding to and managing both types of challenges. In addition, however, the literature has developed its own themes, for example, identifying how revolutionary states are socialized into conformity with established state practices; and identifying how even subsumed revolutions leave markers and traces that change the way international relations are conducted. In so doing, the literature has become increasingly drawn into broader discussions of revolution, stability, and change rooted in historiography and philosophy but accelerated by sociological and linguistic inquiry into the relationship between communication and technology. Its focus is less on the diplomatic consequences of revolutions, seen as discrete, bounded historical events, with beginnings and ends, and more on the idea of the diplomacy of permanent revolution—the management of international and human relations in an era of constant and accelerating change—and the idea of the revolution of permanent diplomacy, which suggests that the legal, political, economic, cultural, and other dimensions of the way human beings relate to one another are increasingly governed by diplomatic assumptions about how the world works, what is to be valued in it, and how to succeed in such a world.
Quantum Error Correction
Authors: Brun Todd A.
Published: February 2020

Quantum error correction is a set of methods to protect quantum information—that is, quantum states—from unwanted environmental interactions (decoherence) and other forms of noise. The information is stored in a quantum error-correcting code, which is a subspace in a larger Hilbert space. This code is designed so that the most common errors move the state into an error space orthogonal to the original code space while preserving the information in the state. It is possible to determine whether an error has occurred by a suitable measurement and to apply a unitary correction that returns the state to the code space without measuring (and hence disturbing) the protected state itself. In general, codewords of a quantum code are entangled states. No code that stores information can protect against all possible errors; instead, codes are designed to correct a specific error set, which should be chosen to match the most likely types of noise. An error set is represented by a set of operators that can multiply the codeword state.

Most work on quantum error correction has focused on systems of quantum bits, or qubits, which are two-level quantum systems. These can be physically realized by the states of a spin-1/2 particle, the polarization of a single photon, two distinguished levels of a trapped atom or ion, the current states of a microscopic superconducting loop, or many other physical systems. The most widely used codes are the stabilizer codes, which are closely related to classical linear codes. The code space is the joint +1 eigenspace of a set of commuting Pauli operators on n qubits, called stabilizer generators; the error syndrome is determined by measuring these operators, which allows errors to be diagnosed and corrected. A stabilizer code is characterized by three parameters [[n,k,d]], where n is the number of physical qubits, k is the number of encoded logical qubits, and d is the minimum distance of the code (the smallest number of simultaneous qubit errors that can transform one valid codeword into another). Every useful code has n>k; this physical redundancy is necessary to detect and correct errors without disturbing the logical state.

Quantum error correction is used to protect information in quantum communication (where quantum states pass through noisy channels) and quantum computation (where quantum states are transformed through a sequence of imperfect computational steps in the presence of environmental decoherence to solve a computational problem). In quantum computation, error correction is just one component of fault-tolerant design. Other approaches to error mitigation in quantum systems include decoherence-free subspaces, noiseless subsystems, and dynamical decoupling.
Magnetohydrodynamic Reconnection
Authors: Pontin D. I.
Published: February 2020

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental process that is important for the dynamical evolution of highly conducting plasmas throughout the Universe. In such highly conducting plasmas the magnetic topology is preserved as the plasma evolves, an idea encapsulated by Alfvén’s frozen flux theorem. In this context, “magnetic topology” is defined by the connectivity and linkage of magnetic field lines (streamlines of the magnetic induction) within the domain of interest, together with the connectivity of field lines between points on the domain boundary. The conservation of magnetic topology therefore implies that magnetic field lines cannot break or merge, but evolve only according to smooth deformations. In any real plasma the conductivity is finite, so that the magnetic topology is not preserved everywhere: magnetic reconnection is the process by which the field lines break and recombine, permitting a reconfiguration of the magnetic field. Due to the high conductivity, reconnection may occur only in small dissipation regions where the electric current density reaches extreme values. In many applications of interest, the change of magnetic topology facilitates a rapid conversion of stored magnetic energy into plasma thermal energy, bulk-kinetic energy, and energy of non-thermally accelerated particles. This energy conversion is associated with dynamic phenomena in plasmas throughout the Universe. Examples include flares and other energetic phenomena in the atmosphere of stars including the Sun, substorms in planetary magnetospheres, and disruptions that limit the magnetic confinement time of plasma in nuclear fusion devices. One of the major challenges in understanding reconnection is the extreme separation between the global system scale and the scale of the dissipation region within which the reconnection process itself takes place. Current understanding of reconnection has developed through mathematical and computational modeling as well as dedicated experiments in both the laboratory and space. Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) reconnection is studied in the framework of magnetohydrodynamics, which is used to study plasmas (and liquid metals) in the continuum approximation.
Millennialism
Authors: Gallagher Eugene
Published: February 2020

As the expectation of imminent, total, collective salvation from a world in dire need of repair, millennialism has long inspired individuals and groups to take dramatic actions in anticipation of the establishment of “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1). The term “millennialism” is derived from the prospect of a thousand-year reign of Christ (mille = one thousand in Latin) expressed in Revelation 20. As that suggests, the origins of millennialism go back to the ancient Mediterranean world in the period roughly between Alexander the Great (356–323 bce) and Constantine (272–337 ce) when Alexander’s world kingdom and its successors deprived local populations of political, and often religious, autonomy. One response to that situation, which appears in Jewish, Christian, and other Greco-Roman sources, was the claim that humanity had reached a crisis point and that divine intervention would soon accomplish renovation of the world in which those suffering unjustly under foreign domination would be saved.

Although millennialist movements have been fairly common in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, and various indigenous traditions have produced their own millennialist movements. In addition, many millennialist movements have drawn on eclectic ideological sources. Some political movements, such as Marxism, German National Socialism, and Maoism have had pronounced millennialist emphases, sometimes with the admixture of religious or occult elements. In the 21st century, millennialism in many different forms can be found throughout the world.

Many millennialist movements are founded by individuals claiming charismatic authority. They can claim the ability to see the signs of impending transformation and will frequently strive to interpret cultural wisdom traditions as shedding light on their current predicaments. But such leaders, and their followers, inevitably have to come to grips with the disappointing reality that their fondest hopes have not come true. Responses to the disconfirmation of millennialist prophecies, however, run the gamut from abandonment to reaffirmation. Millennialist hopes persist because viewing the imperfections and evils of the world as in dire need of dramatic rectification, generally with the aid of divine or superhuman figures, continues to exert an attraction to those who are deeply disappointed with the status quo.
Coffee and the Formation of Modern Brazil, 1860–1914
Authors: Marquese Rafael de Bivar
Published: February 2020

The coffee economy was decisive for the construction of independent Brazil. By the middle of the 19th century, the country was responsible for about half of the coffee global supply; in 1900, that number had increased to about three-quarters of the world’s production. In the Brazilian monarchical period (1822–1889) the center of the activity was located in the valley of the Paraiba do Sul river. Brazilian coffee production from its very beginnings demonstrated an inherent spatial mobility and a great demand for workers. Before 1850, labor supply was guaranteed by the transatlantic slave trade; after that, by an internal slave trade. The two basic characteristics of the coffee economy created during the era of slavery (the intensive exploitation of workers through the extensive exploitation of natural resources) were maintained after the crisis and the abolition of the institution (1888), when the center of the coffee economy moved to the West of São Paulo. Now counting on a new arrangement of free labor (the colonato) and on the subsidized immigration of European peasants, the São Paulo coffee economy in the new republican regime (founded in 1889) underwent a huge productive leap. Overproduction and falling prices became the new problem. The coffee valorization policy adopted by the State of São Paulo after 1906 and then the federal government indicates the reconfiguration of the class relations experienced in the new republican era, which nevertheless kept many of the historical structures of the slave legacy intact.
ekphrasis in Latin literature
Authors: Dufallo Basil
Published: February 2020

The imperial-age Greek Progymnasmata in which the term ekphrasis first appears show that the rhetoricians of the Greco-Roman world identified “descriptive speech” as an important component of rhetorical narrative and other elements of an oration insofar as it created “vividness” (ἐνάργεια) and “clarity” (ͅσαφήνεια) so as to bring persons, places, events, objects, etc. “before the eyes” (ὑπ’ ὅψιν) of listeners. The Roman rhetoricians draw upon Greek concepts and terminology to express the value in oratory of vividness (evidentia, illustratio, repraesentatio) imparted through description (descriptio, sub oculos subiectio, etc.). Many examples of such techniques can be found in Roman oratory as well as the Roman historians, who, like most Roman authors, share with the orators a strong familiarity with rhetoric. But if, in general, neither oratory nor historiography exhibits a high degree of self-consciousness about differences between ekphraseis/descriptiones in Greek and Latin, one type of ekphrasis—that of art objects in Roman poetry and the Roman novel—does. This constitutes one reason why it merits separate attention, in spite of the fact that the Progymnasmata suggest that in Antiquity it was viewed as a subcategory of the larger phenomenon. Many of the ways the Latin authors use ekphrasis of art (real or imagined) are, again, drawn directly from Greek practice. For example, these ekphrases often represent in metaliterary fashion the larger text in which they appear (a technique known in modern discussions as mise en abyme) or, in a related gesture, allude through analepsis and prolepsis (flashback and “flash-forward”) to other parts of the main text. They often interrupt the course of the larger text’s narrative by encouraging its audience to concentrate on a visual narrative within the art object and yet demand to be integrated into the larger narrative, however problematically or imperfectly, by an interpreting audience. Whether implicitly or explicitly, moreover, they often affirm verbal art’s capability to express things that a silent art object cannot and thus seem to assert the primacy of the text over the image. All of these are inherited Greek techniques; but the Latin authors extend the self-referential quality of ekphrasis’ conventional functions to encompass focused scrutiny of the relationship between Greek and Roman culture. We can sometimes discern, moreover, ways in which allusions to Greek elements of actual painting, sculpture, architecture, etc. enhance this dimension of Roman ekphrasis. Latin authors’ uses of these interrelated techniques develop and change over time.
Head/Dependent Marking
Authors: Lander Yury , Nichols Johanna
Published: February 2020

Head/dependent marking (or locus of marking) is a typological parameter based on whether syntactic relations, or dependencies, are marked on the head of the relation, on the non-head, on both, on neither, or elsewhere in the constituent. It has been visible in description and comparison for some 30 years, during which time advances in analysis of phrase structure and descriptions of previously unnoticed patterns have revealed some imprecisions and gaps in the typology. The approach has figured in descriptive and theoretical work of various kinds and has proven quite useful as far as it goes, but expansion of descriptive and theoretical work on morphosyntax in the subsequent decades has revealed some gaps and inconsistencies in the original formulation. These can be removed by allowing markers to be assigned not to words but to entire phrases, a move that also allows detached and neutral marking to be more comfortably accommodated in locus theory.
Polysemy Versus Homonymy
Authors: Valera Salvador
Published: February 2020

Polysemy and homonymy are traditionally described in the context of paradigmatic lexical relations. Unlike monosemy, in which one meaning is associated with one form, and unlike synonymy, in which one meaning is associated with several forms, in polysemy and homonymy several meanings are associated with one form.

The classical view of polysemy and homonymy is as a binary opposition whereby the various meanings of one form are described either as within one word (polysemy) or as within as many words as meanings (homonymy). In this approach, the decision is made according to whether the meanings can be related to one or two different sources. This classical view does not prevail in the literature as it did in the past. The most extreme revisions have questioned the descriptive synchronic difference between polysemy and homonymy or have subsumed the separation as under a general use of one term (homophony) and then established distinctions within, according to meaning and distribution. A more widespread reinterpretation of the classical opposition is in terms of a gradient where polysemy and homonymy arrange themselves along a continuum. Such a gradient arranges formally identical units at different points according to their degree of semantic proximity and degree of entrenchment (the latter understood as the degree to which a form recalls a semantic content and is activated in a speaker’s mind). The granularity of this type of gradient varies according to specific proposals, but, in the essential, the representation ranges from most and clearest proximity as well as highest degree of entrenchment in polysemy to least and most obscure proximity and lowest degree of entrenchment in homonymy.
Morphology in Typology: Historical Retrospect, State of the Art, and Prospects
Authors: Arkadiev Peter M.
Published: February 2020

Morphology, understood as internal structure of words, has always figured prominently in linguistic typology, and it is with the morphological classification of languages into “fusional,” “agglutinating,” and “isolating” proposed by the linguists and philosophers of the early 19th century that the advent of typology is often associated. However, since then typology has shifted its interests toward mapping the individual parameters of cross-linguistic diversity and looking for correlations between them rather than classifying languages into idealized “types” and to syntactically and semantically centered inquiries. Since the second half of the 20th century, morphology has been viewed as just one possible type of expression of meaning or syntactic function, often too idiosyncratic to yield to any interesting cross-linguistic let alone universal generalizations. Such notions as “flexive” or “agglutinating” have proven to be ill-defined and requiring revision in terms of more primitive logically independent and empirically uncorrelated parameters. Moreover, well-founded doubts have been cast upon such basic notions as “word,” “affix,” and the like, which have notoriously resisted adequate cross-linguistically applicable definitions, and the same has been the fate of still popular concepts like “inflection” and “derivation.” On the other hand, most theoretically oriented work on morphology, concerned with both individual languages and cross-linguistic comparison, has largely abandoned the traditional morpheme-based approaches of the American structuralists of the first half of the 20th century, shifting its attention to paradigmatic relations between morphologically relevant units, which themselves can be larger than traditional words. These developments suggest a reassessment of the basic notions and analytic approaches of morphological typology. Instead of sticking to crude and possibly misleading notions such as “word” or “derivation,” it is necessary to carefully define more primitive and empirically better-grounded notions and parameters of cross-linguistic variation in the domains of both syntagmatics and paradigmatics, to plot the space of possibilities defined by these parameters, and to seek possible correlations between them as well as explanations of these correlations or of the lack thereof.
Natural Hazards Governance in Algeria
Authors: Benouar Djillali
Published: February 2020

Natural hazard governance has become complicated. This is because many recent disasters had the biggest impact in urban areas with a large concentration of people heavily dependent on infrastructure and services. The rapid urbanization, population increase, development of critical engineering works, industrialization of cities with modern types of buildings, and the concentration of population living in hazardous areas are matter of growing concern, as they are likely to contribute to heavier loss of life and increasing economic losses in future disaster damage. The El-Asnam (formerly Orléansville) earthquake of October 10, 1980 (Ms 7.4) raised the awareness of both the Algerian government and the civil society of the need for disaster risk reduction policy. Since then, disaster risk reduction has been on the agenda of the government programs, and concrete measures have been undertaken in organization, legislation, institutions, training, education, communication, and information. The government has made significant efforts to improve the natural hazard governance. It has made a substantial impact on academic research and higher education in some disciplines of engineering and natural science in the country’s largest universities. Risk governance for natural hazard in Algeria will be seen here in light of the implementation mechanisms, the main achievements and progress, the new legal and regulatory tools and mechanisms, and cooperation aspects. In conclusion there will be a discussion about global evaluation and perspectives.
Tsunami Preparedness and Mitigation Strategies
Authors: Goltz James D. , Yamori Katsuya
Published: February 2020

Tsunamis are natural hazards that have caused massive destruction and loss of life in coastal areas worldwide for centuries. Major programs promoting tsunami safety, however, date from the early 20th century and have received far greater emphasis following two major events in the opening decade of the 21st century: the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 26, 2004, and the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of March 11, 2011. In the aftermath of these catastrophic disasters, warning systems and the technologies associated with them have expanded from a concentration in the Pacific Ocean to other regions with significant tsunami vulnerability. Preparedness and hazard mitigation programs, once the province of wealthier nations, are now being shared with developing countries. While warning systems and tsunami mapping and modeling are basic tools in promoting tsunami safety, there are a number of strategies that are essential in protecting lives and property in major tsunami events. Preparedness strategies consist of tsunami awareness and education and actions that promote response readiness. These strategies should provide an understanding of how tsunamis occur, where they occur, how to respond to warnings or natural signs that a tsunami may occur, and what locations are safe for evacuation. Hazard mitigation strategies are designed to reduce the likelihood that coastal populations will be impacted by a tsunami, typically through engineered structures or removing communities from known tsunami inundation zones. They include natural or constructed high ground for evacuation, structures for vertical evacuation (either single purpose structures specifically for tsunami evacuation or existing buildings that are resistant to tsunami forces), seawalls, breakwaters, forest barriers, and tsunami river gates. Coastal jurisdictions may also use land-use planning ordinances or coastal zoning to restrict development in areas of significant risk of tsunami inundation. The relative efficacy of these strategies and locations where they have been implemented will be addressed, as will the issues and challenges regarding their implementation.
Mechanisms behind species-specific water economy responses to water level drawdown in peat mosses
Authors: Bengtsson Fia , Granath Gustaf , Cronberg Nils , Rydin Håkan
Published: February 2020

Background and Aims

The ecosystem engineers Sphagnum (peat mosses) are responsible for sequestering a large proportion of carbon in northern peatlands. Species may respond differently to hydrological changes, and water level changes may lead to vegetation shifts in peatlands, causing them to revert from sinks to sources of carbon. We aimed to compare species-specific responses to water level drawdown within Sphagnum, and investigate which traits affect water economy in this genus.

Methods

In a mesocosm experiment, we investigated how water level drawdown affected water content (WC) in the photosynthetically active apex of the moss and maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (i.e. Fv/Fm) of 13 Sphagnum species. Structural traits were measured, and eight anatomical traits were quantified from scanning electron microscopy micrographs.

Key Results

Mixed-effects models indicated that at high water level, large leaves were the most influential predictor of high WC, and at low water level WC was higher in species growing drier in the field, with larger hyaline cell pore sizes and total pore areas associated with higher WC. Higher stem and peat bulk density increased WC, while capitulum mass per area and numerical shoot density did not. We observed a clear positive relationship between Fv/Fm and WC in wet-growing species.

Conclusions

While we found that most hummock species had a relatively high water loss resistance, we propose that some species are able to maintain a high WC at drawdown by storing large amounts of water at a high water level. Our result showing that leaf traits are important warrants further research using advanced morphometric methods. As climate change may lead to more frequent droughts and thereby water level drawdowns in peatlands, a mechanistic understanding of species-specific traits and responses is crucial for predicting future changes in these systems.
Prediction of Adverse Outcomes in Pediatric Acute Hematogenous Osteomyelitis
Authors: Alhinai Zaid , Elahi Morvarid , Park Sangshin , Foo Bill , Lee Brian , Chapin Kimberle , Koster Michael , Sánchez Pablo J , Michelow Ian C
Published: February 2020

Background

Clinicians cannot reliably predict complications of acute hematogenous osteomyelitis (AHO).

Methods

Consecutive cases of AHO from 2 pediatric centers in the United States were analyzed retrospectively to develop clinical tools from data obtained within 96 hours of hospitalization to predict acute and chronic complications of AHO. Two novel composite prediction scores derived from multivariable logistic regression modeling were compared with a previously published severity of illness (SOI) score, C-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve analyses.

Results

The causative organisms were identified in 73% of 261 cases. Bacteremia (45%), abscesses (38%), and associated suppurative arthritis (23%) were relatively common. Acute or chronic complications occurred in 24% and 11% of patients, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression identified bone abscess (odds ratio [OR], 2.3 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.0–5.2]), fever > 48 hours (OR, 2.7 [95% CI, 1.2–6.0]), suppurative arthritis (OR, 3.2 [95% CI, 1.3–7.5]), disseminated disease (OR, 4.6 [95% CI, 1.5–14.3]), and delayed source control (OR, 5.1 [95% CI, 1.4–19.0]) as strong predictors of acute complications. In a separate model, CRP ≥ 100 mg/L at 2–4 days after antibiotics (OR, 2.7 [95% CI, 1.0–7.3]), disseminated disease (OR, 3.3 [95% CI, 1.1–10.0]), and requirement for bone debridement (OR, 6.7 [95% CI, 2.1–21.0]) strongly predicted chronic morbidity. These variables were combined to create weighted composite prediction scores for acute (A-SCORE) and chronic (C-SCORE) osteomyelitis, which were superior to SOI, CRP, and ESR and had negative predictive values > 90%.

Conclusions

Two novel composite clinical scores were superior to existing tools to predict complications of pediatric AHO.
Credit and the Labour Share: Evidence from US States
Authors: Leblebicioğlu Aslı , Weinberger Ariel
Published: February 2020

We investigate the role of credit markets as a cause for changes in the US labour share. Causal evidence is provided that the labour share declined between 0.8 and 1.2 percentage points following the interstate banking deregulation, explaining more than half of the overall reduction during that period. The lower costs of credit and greater bank competition in each state are mechanisms that led to the decline. To quantify the relationship between credit and factor payments, we calibrate a model with financial frictions and highlight financial development as a potential channel for the reduction in labour share observed globally.
Long-lasting effects of antibiotics on bacterial communities of adult flies
Authors: Ourry Morgane , Lopez Valérie , Hervé Maxime , Lebreton Lionel , Mougel Christophe , Outreman Yannick , Poinsot Denis , Cortesero Anne Marie
Published: February 2020

Insect symbionts benefit their host and their study requires large spectrum antibiotic use like tetracycline to weaken or suppress symbiotic communities. While antibiotics have a negative impact on insect fitness, little is known about antibiotic effects on insect microbial communities and how long they last. We characterized the bacterial communities of adult cabbage root fly Delia radicum in a Wolbachia-free population and evaluated the effect of tetracycline treatment on these communities over several generations. Three D. radicum generations were used: the first- and second-generation flies either ingested tetracycline or not, while the third-generation flies were untreated but differed with their parents and/or grandparents that had or had not been treated. Fly bacterial communities were sequenced using a 16S rRNA gene. Tetracycline decreased fly bacterial diversity and induced modifications in both bacterial abundance and relative frequencies, still visible on untreated offspring whose parents and/or grandparents had been treated, therefore demonstrating long-lasting transgenerational effects on animal microbiomes after antibiotic treatment. Flies with an antibiotic history shared bacterial genera, potentially tetracycline resistant and heritable. Next, the transmission should be investigated by comparing several insect development stages and plant compartments to assess vertical and horizontal transmissions of D. radicum bacterial communities.
Recent progress of the effect of environmental factors on Aspergillus flavus growth and aflatoxins production on foods
Authors: Tai Bowen , Chang Jinghua , Liu Yang , Xing Fuguo
Published: February 2020

The contamination of Aspergillus flavus and subsequent aflatoxins (AFs) has been considered as one of the most serious food safety problems due to their acute and chronic adverse effects on humans and animals. This review collects the available information from recent years on the effect of the major environmental factors such as water activity (aw), temperature, CO2, and pH on the fungal growth, the expression of AFs-related genes, and AFs production by A. flavus on foods. In particular, the relationship between the relative expression of key regulatory (aflR and aflS) and structural genes (aflD, aflO, aflQ, etc.) and AFs production under different environmental conditions are collected and discussed. The information collected in this review can be used to design control strategies of A. flavus and AFs contamination in practical applications, primarily during storage and processing. These data suggest that integrating various post-harvest methods with synergistic functions may be more efficient for the control of A. flavus growth and AFs production, although the individual environmental factors alone have an impact.
Transition Readiness Not Associated With Measures of Health in Youth With IBD
Authors: Arvanitis Marina , Hart Laura C , DeWalt Darren A , Díaz-González de Ferris Maria E , Sawicki Gregory S , Long Millie D , Martin Christopher F , Kappelman Michael D
Published: February 2020

Background

It remains unclear how transition readiness is associated with various domains of health in children and young adults. Our objective was to describe the transition readiness of children and young adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and examine its associations with demographic factors, IBD activity, and measures of physical, psychological, and social health.

Methods

We recruited children ages 12 to 17 and young adults ages 18 to 20 from 2 internet-based cohorts sponsored by the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. Participants self-reported demographics, IBD activity, transition readiness, health-related quality of life, and Patient-Reported Outcomes Information Systems domains of physical, psychological, and social health.

Results

Among 361 pediatric and 119 adult participants, age and female sex were associated with transition readiness. The association was greater in the pediatric cohort. Having IBD in remission was associated with worse transition readiness in the pediatric cohort only (beta = 0.3; P = 0.003). Health-related quality of life and Patient-Reported Outcomes Information Systems measures of fatigue, pain interference, and sleep disturbance were not associated with transition readiness in either children or adults. We observed few small associations between psychological or social health and transition readiness. Better transition readiness was associated with greater anxiety in adults (beta = –0.02; P = 0.02) and greater peer relationships among children (beta = 0.01; P = 0.009).

Conclusions

In children and young adults with IBD, transition readiness was associated with older age and female sex. Associations between transition readiness and physical, psychological, and social health were either small, inconsistent across age groups, or nonexistent.
Area-level deprivation, childhood dental ambulatory sensitive hospitalizations and community water fluoridation: evidence from New Zealand
Authors: Hobbs Matthew , Wade Alicia , Jones Peter , Marek Lukas , Tomintz Melanie , Sharma Kanchan , McCarthy John , Mattingley Barry , Campbell Malcolm , Kingham Simon
Published: February 2020

Background

We examined the association between area-level deprivation and dental ambulatory sensitive hospitalizations (ASH) and considered the moderating effect of community water fluoridation (CWF). The hypothesis was that higher levels of deprivation are associated with higher dental ASH rates and that CWF will moderate this association such that children living in the most deprived areas have greater health gain from CWF.

Methods

Dental ASH conditions (dental caries and diseases of pulp/periapical tissues), age, gender and home address identifier (meshblock) were extracted from pooled cross-sectional data (Q3, 2011 to Q2, 2017) on children aged 0–4 and 5–12 years from the National Minimum Dataset, New Zealand (NZ) Ministry of Health. CWF was obtained for 2011 and 2016 from the NZ Institute of Environmental Science and Research. Dental ASH rates for children aged 0–4 and 5–12 years (/1000) were calculated for census area units (CAUs). Multilevel negative binomial models investigated associations between area-level deprivation, dental ASH rate and moderation by CWF status.

Results

Relative to CWF (2011 and 2016), no CWF (2011 and 2016) was associated with increased dental ASH rates in children aged 0–4 [incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 1.171 (95% confidence interval 1.064, 1.288)] and aged 5–12 years [IRR = 1.181 (1.084, 1.286)]. An interaction between area-level deprivation and CWF showed that the association between CWF and dental ASH rates was greatest within the most deprived quintile of children aged 0–4 years [IRR = 1.316 (1.052, 1.645)].

Conclusions

CWF was associated with a reduced dental ASH rate for children aged 0–4 and 5–12 years. Children living in the most deprived areas showed the greatest effect of CWF on dental ASH rates, indicating that the greater health gain from CWF occurred for those with the highest socio-economic disadvantage. Variation in CWF contributes to structural inequities in oral-health outcomes for children.
Effect of Emodin on Coxsackievirus B3m-Mediated Encephalitis in Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease by Inhibiting Toll-Like Receptor 3 Pathway In Vitro and In Vivo
Authors: Ding Yan , Xu Jie , Cheng Liang-bin , Huang Yong-qian , Wang You-qin , Li Hui , Li Yu , Ji Jing-yu , Zhang Ji-hong , Zhao Lei
Published: February 2020

Background

Encephalitis in hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a serious threat to children’s health and life. Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) is an innate immune-recognition receptor that can recognize virus and initiate innate immune responses. Emodin has the effects of anti-inflammatory and regulating immune function, but the mechanism is not very clear.

Methods

Cells and mice were pretreated with coxsackievirus B3m (CVB3) and treated with emodin. The messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and protein levels of TLR3 and downstream molecules were detected by quantitative real-time polymearse chain reaction and western blotting analysis, respectively. TLR3 expression was also downregulated by anti-TLR3 antibody (TLR3Ab) or small interfering RNA (siRNA). Pathological changes were assessed with hematoxylin and eosin staining. Immunohistochemistry was used to examine the expression of TLR3 in brain tissues. The expression of interleukin (IL)-6, nuclear factor (NF)-κB, and interferon (IFN)-β in serum were tested with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results

Emodin decreased the mRNA and protein levels of TLR3 and downstream molecules in vitro and in vivo. After downregulating TLR3 using anti-TLR3Ab or siRNA, emodin could still decrease the mRNA and protein levels of TLR3 and downstream molecules. Emodin also displayed notable effects on pathology, TLR3 protein in brain tissues, and expression of IL-6, NF-κB, IFN-β, in serum.

Conclusions

Emodin exerts a protective effect in CVB3-mediated encephalitis in HFMD by inhibiting the TLR3 pathway.
Urban Scatopsidae (Diptera) of Los Angeles, California, United States
Authors: Amorim Dalton de Souza , Brown Brian V
Published: February 2020

A total of 2,545 specimens of scatopsids were collected by the BioSCAN project in Los Angeles, California, United States—an urban biodiversity project that worked with citizen scientists managing Malaise traps during 108 wk between September 2013 and October 2016. This is one of the largest collections of minute scavenger flies (Diptera: Scatopsidae) ever reported from a single project. Eleven species were identified: in the Ectaetiinae, Ectaetia betzi sp.nov.; in the Psectrosciarinae, Psectrosciara gonzalezae sp.nov.; in the Scatopsinae–Scatopsini, Scatopse notata (Linnaeus); in the Scatopsinae Colobostematini, Holoplagia guamensis (Johannsen); in the Scatopsinae Swammerdamellini, Aztecatopse huertai sp.nov., Swammerdamella marginata (Cook), Coboldia fuscipes (Meigen), Quateiella quatei (Cook), Abrhexosa grossa (Cook), Abrhexosa ryckmani (Cook), and Cooka melanderi (Cook). The three new species are described and illustrated. Phenology of the species collected is discussed. Of the species collected, Scatopse notata, Holoplagia guamensis and Coboldia fuscipes are widespread, cosmopolitan species. Previous records from southern California suggest that eight other species may exist in the area and were not collected—two of Psectrosciara Enderlein, two of Rhegmoclemina Enderlein, and at least one species of Parascatopse Cook, Apiloscatopse Cook, Colobostema Enderlein, and Akorhexoza Cook. This article documents for the first time the genus Aztecatopse Haenni and Huerta in United States and Holoplagia guamensis in continental United States. Overall, the Los Angeles conurbation has been able to keep over 55% of the expected diversity of the family in the area, and some actions in urban planning could possibly extend considerably this percentage. This study emphasizes the value not only of sampling for insect biodiversity in urban environments but of the role of community (=citizen) science in expanding the breadth of such sampling efforts.
Voriconazole: an audit of hospital-based dosing and monitoring and evaluation of the predictive performance of a dose-prediction software package
Authors: Chaudhri Kanika , Stocker Sophie L , Williams Kenneth M , McLeay Robert C , Marriott Deborah J E , Di Tanna Gian Luca , Day Richard O , Carland Jane E
Published: February 2020

Background

Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is recommended to guide voriconazole therapy.

Objectives

To determine compliance of hospital-based voriconazole dosing and TDM with the Australian national guidelines and evaluate the predictive performance of a one-compartment population pharmacokinetic voriconazole model available in a commercial dose-prediction software package.

Methods

A retrospective audit of voriconazole therapy at an Australian public hospital (1 January to 31 December 2016) was undertaken. Data collected included patient demographics, dosing history and plasma concentrations. Concordance of dosing and TDM with Australian guidelines was assessed. Observed concentrations were compared with those predicted by dose-prediction software. Measures of bias (mean prediction error) and precision (mean squared prediction error) were calculated.

Results

Adherence to dosing guidelines for 110 courses of therapy (41% for prophylaxis and 59% for invasive fungal infections) was poor, unless oral formulation guidelines recommended a 200 mg dose, the most commonly prescribed dose (56% of prescriptions). Plasma voriconazole concentrations were obtained for 82% (90/110) of courses [median of 3 (range: 1–27) obtained per course]. A minority (27%) of plasma concentrations were trough concentrations [median concentration: 1.5 mg/L (range: <0.1 to >5.0 mg/L)]. Of trough concentrations, 57% (58/101) were therapeutic, 37% (37/101) were subtherapeutic and 6% (6/101) were supratherapeutic. The dose-prediction software performed well, with acceptable bias and precision of 0.09 mg/L (95% CI −0.08 to 0.27) and 1.32 (mg/L)2 (95% CI 0.96–1.67), respectively.

Conclusions

Voriconazole dosing was suboptimal based on published guidelines and TDM results. Dose-prediction software could enhance TDM-guided therapy.
A multicentre study to optimize echinocandin susceptibility testing of Aspergillus species with the EUCAST methodology and a broth microdilution colorimetric method
Authors: Meletiadis Joseph , Siopi Maria , Kanioura Lamprini , Jørgensen Karin Meinike , Perlin David S , Mouton Johan W , Arendrup Maiken Cavling
Published: February 2020

Background

The determination of the minimal effective concentration (MEC) of echinocandins against Aspergillus species is subjective, time consuming and has been associated with very major errors.

Methods

The MECs/MICs of 40 WT [10 each of Aspergillus fumigatus species complex (SC), Aspergillus flavus SC, Aspergillus terreus SC and Aspergillus niger SC] and 4 non-WT A. fumigatus isolates were determined with EUCAST E.Def 9.3.1 read microscopically, macroscopically, spectrophotometrically and colorimetrically in three centres. The optimal conditions for spectrophotometric (single- versus multi-point readings) and colorimetric (XTT/menadione concentration and stability, incubation time) methods were evaluated in preliminary studies using different cut-offs for the determination of macroscopic, spectrophotometric and colorimetric MIC endpoints compared with the microscopically determined MEC. Inter-centre and inter-method essential (within one 2-fold dilution) agreement (EA) and categorical agreement (CA) were determined.

Results

Both macroscopic and spectrophotometric endpoint readings showed poor inter-centre EA (53%–66%) and low CA (41%–88%) in distinguishing WT from non-WT A. fumigatus SC isolates, while significant differences compared with the microscopic MECs were observed for all echinocandins (EA 6%–54%). For the colorimetric method, the optimal conditions were 400 mg/L XTT/6.25 μΜ menadione, incubation for 1–2 h until the drug-free control reached an absorbance at 450/630 nm of >0.8 and use of 50% inhibition of XTT conversion as a cut-off for all species and echinocandins. All non-WT isolates had high XTT MICs >1 mg/L, whereas the overall inter-centre EA and CA were 72%–89% and 100%, respectively.

Conclusions

The XTT colorimetric assay improved the antifungal susceptibility testing of echinocandins against Aspergillus spp., reliably detecting non-WT isolates.
Obesity Paradox: Laboratory Findings in Uncomplicated Obesity. Is Bias a Plausible Explanation?
Authors: Nwogbo Okechukwu V , Ullah Asad , Singh Gurmukh
Published: February 2020

Objectives

Obesity predisposes to multiple diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, arthritis, and malignancy. However, obese patients have better outcomes than normal-weight patients with some of these disorders, including those admitted to critical care units. We compared the results for common laboratory tests in patients with uncomplicated obesity against the findings in normal-weight patients.

Methods

Patients who had a comprehensive metabolic profile test were identified. Patients with acute and/or chronic debilitating disorders were excluded, and the laboratory parameters were compared among 4 groups based on body mass index.

Results

With the exception of elevated triglycerides and lower high-density lipoprotein in obese and morbidly obese patients, laboratory findings were not meaningfully different from those in normal-weight patients.

Conclusions

The obesity paradox of better outcomes in obese patients admitted to critical care units could not be explained on the basis of lower additional disease burden necessitating critical care admission due to abnormal laboratory values at the baseline. It is conceivable that unconscious bias against obese patients, with lower disease burden than normal-weight patients, triggers their admission to critical care, thus creating the appearance of better outcomes.
Associations of Novel Dietary and Lifestyle Inflammation Scores With Incident Colorectal Cancer in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study
Authors: Byrd Doratha A , Judd Suzanne E , Flanders W Dana , Hartman Terryl J , Fedirko Veronika , Agurs-Collins Tanya , Bostick Roberd M
Published: February 2020

Background

Chronically higher inflammation, likely contributed to by dietary and lifestyle exposures, may increase risk for colorectal cancer (CRC). To address this, we investigated associations of novel dietary (DIS) and lifestyle (LIS) inflammation scores with incident CRC in the prospective National Institutes of Health–American Association of Retired Persons Diet and Health Study (N = 453 465).

Methods

The components of our previously developed and externally validated 19-component DIS and 4-component LIS were weighted based on their strengths of associations with a panel of circulating inflammation biomarker concentrations in a diverse subset (N = 639) of participants in the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke Study cohort. We calculated the components and applied their weights in the National Institutes of Health-American Association of Retired Persons cohort at baseline, summed the weighted components (higher scores reflect a higher balance of proinflammatory exposures), and investigated associations of the scores with incident CRC using Cox proportional hazards regression. All statistical tests were two-sided.

Results

Over a mean 13.5 years of follow-up, 10 336 participants were diagnosed with CRC. Among those in the highest relative to the lowest DIS and LIS quintiles, the multivariable-adjusted hazards ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were HR = 1.27 (95% CI = 1.19 to 1.35; Ptrend < .001) and 1.38 (95% CI = 1.30 to 1.48; Ptrend < .001), respectively. The associations were stronger among men and for colon cancers. The hazards ratio for those in the highest relative to the lowest joint DIS and LIS quintile was HR = 1.83 (95% CI = 1.68 to 1.99; Pinteraction < .001).

Conclusions

Aggregates of proinflammatory dietary and lifestyle exposures may be associated with higher risk for CRC.