bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Water requirements of canine athletes during multi‐day exercise
Authors: Stephens‐Brown Lara , Davis Michael
Published: March 2018

Background

Exercise increases water requirements, but there is little information regarding water loss in dogs performing multi‐day exercise

Objectives

Quantify the daily water turnover of working dogs during multi‐day exercise and establish the suitability of SC administration of tracer to determine water turnover.

Animals

Fifteen privately owned Labrador retrievers trained for explosive detection duties and 16 privately owned Alaskan Huskies conditioned for mid‐distance racing.

Methods

All dogs received 0.3 g D2O/kg body weight by IV infusion, gavage, or SC injection before the start of a multi‐day exercise challenge. Explosive detection dogs conducted 5 days of simulated off‐leash explosive detection activity. Alaskan sled dogs completed a mid‐distance stage race totaling 222 km in 2 days. Total body water (TBW) and daily water turnover were calculated using both indicator dilution and elimination regression techniques.

Results

Total body water (% of body weight) varied from 60% ± 8.6% in minimally conditioned Labrador retrievers to 74% ± 4.5% in highly conditioned Labrador retrievers. Daily water turnover was as high as 45% of TBW during exercise in cold conditions. There was no effect of sex or speed on daily water turnover. There was good agreement between results calculated using the indicator dilution approach and those calculated using a semilog linear regression approach when indicator isotope was administered IV or SC.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

Water requirements are influenced primarily by the amount of work done. SC administration of isotope‐labeled water offers a simple and accurate alternative method for metabolic studies.
Suitability of oral administration of monosodium phosphate, disodium phosphate, and magnesium phosphate for the rapid correction of hypophosphatemia in cattle
Authors: Cohrs Imke , Grünberg Walter
Published: March 2018

Background

Hypophosphatemia is commonly associated with disease and decreased productivity in dairy cows particularly in early lactation. Oral supplementation with phosphate salts is recognized as suitable for the rapid correction of hypophosphatemia. Little information is available about the differences in efficacy between salts used for oral phosphorus supplementation.

Objectives

Comparison of efficacy of oral administration of NaH2PO4, Na2HPO4, and MgHPO4 in treating hypophosphatemia in cattle.

Animals

12 healthy dairy cows in the fourth week of lactation in their second to fifth lactation.

Methods

Randomized clinical study. Phosphorus deficient, hypophosphatemic cows underwent a sham treatment and were afterwards assigned to 1 of 3 treatments—NaH2PO4, Na2HPO4, or MgHPO4 (each provided the equivalent of 60 g of phosphorus). Blood samples were obtained immediately before and repeatedly after treatment.

Results

Treatment with NaH2PO4 and Na2HPO4 resulted in rapid and sustained increases of plasma phosphate concentrations ([Pi]). Significant effects were apparent within 1 hour (NaH2PO4: P = .0044; Na2HPO4: P = .0077). Peak increments of plasma [Pi] of 5.33 mg/dL [5.26–5.36] and 4.30 mg/dL [3.59–4.68] (median and interquartile range) were reached after 7 and 6 hours in animals treated with NaPH2PO4 and Na2HPO4, respectively, whereas treatment with MgHPO4 led to peak increments 14 hours after treatment (3.19 mg/dL [2.11–4.04]).

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

NaH2PO4 and Na2HPO4 are suitable to rapidly correct hypophosphatemia in cattle. Because of the protracted and weaker effect, MgHPO4 cannot be recommended for this purpose. Despite important differences in solubility of NaH2PO4 and Na2HPO4 only small plasma [Pi] differences were observed after treatment.
Detection and seroprevalence of morbillivirus and other paramyxoviruses in geriatric cats with and without evidence of azotemic chronic kidney disease
Authors: McCallum Katie Elizabeth , Stubbs Sam , Hope Nicholas , Mickleburgh Ian , Dight Dave , Tiley Laurence , Williams Tim L.
Published: March 2018

Background

Feline morbillivirus (FeMV) is associated with the presence of tubulo‐interstitial nephritis (TIN) in cats, however the seroprevalence of FeMV in the UK and the association between the presence of FeMV and renal azotemia is unknown

Hypothesis/Objectives

To identify whether paramyxoviruses are present in urine samples of geriatric cats and to develop an assay to assess FeMV seroprevalence. To investigate the relationship between both urinary paramyxovirus (including FeMV) excretion and FeMV seroprevalence and azotemic chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Animals

Seventy‐nine cats (40 for FeMV detection; 72 for seroprevalence).

Methods

Retrospective cross‐sectional, case control study. Viral RNA was extracted from urine for RT‐PCR. PCR products were sequenced for virus identification and comparison. The FeMV N protein gene was cloned and partially purified for use as an antigen to screen cat sera for anti‐FeMV antibodies by Western Blot.

Results

Feline morbillivirus RNA from five distinct morbilliviruses were identified. Detection was not significantly different between azotemic CKD (1/16) and nonazotemic groups (4/24; P = .36). Three distinct, non‐FeMV paramyxoviruses were present in the nonazotemic group but their absence from the azotemic group was not statistically significant (P = .15). 6/14 (43%) azotemic cats and 40/55 (73%) nonazotemic cats were seropositive (P = .06).

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

Feline morbillivirus was detected in cats in the UK for the First time. However, there was no association between virus prevalence or seropositivity and azotemic CKD. These data do not support the hypothesis that FeMV infection is associated with the development of azotemic CKD in cats in the UK.
Sonographic features of peritoneal lymphomatosis in 4 cats
Authors: Morgan Keaton R. S. , North Courtney E. , Thompson Devon J.
Published: March 2018

Background

The metastatic spread of feline lymphoma to the peritoneum (“lymphomatosis”) has been rarely reported in the literature. The sonographic features specific to this rare disease manifestation have not been described and have important treatment and prognostic considerations prompting definitive diagnosis.

Objectives

To describe the ultrasonic features of feline peritoneal lymphomatosis.

Animals

Four cats with alimentary lymphoma and peritoneal metastasis confirmed using cytology, histology, or both.

Results

The sonographic features described include either a nonobstructive, focally diffuse, and circumferential intestinal mass, or an eccentric, focally diffuse, gastric mass. The intestinal and gastric lesions exhibited hypo‐to‐anechoic transmural wall thickening with loss of wall layering in association with discrete‐to‐coalescing plaques or sheets of thickened, hypoechoic tissue throughout the mesentery or omenta. All cases exhibited only small volumes of anechoic free peritoneal fluid. Three of the 4 cats also had multiple small hypoechoic nodular foci on the parietal and/or visceral peritoneal surfaces. Two cats had bilateral renomegaly because of lymphoma invasion (2/4) and 1 cat had local lymphadenopathy secondary to lymphoma invasion (1/4).

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

Peritoneal lymphomatosis is a rare manifestation of lymphoma metastasis and to date appears to be associated specifically with B‐cell alimentary lymphoma.
Pulmonary transit time derived from pulmonary angiography for the diagnosis of hepatopulmonary syndrome
Authors: Zhao He , Tsauo Jiaywei , Zhang Xiaowu , Ma Huaiyuan , Weng Ningna , Wang Luhua , Li Xiao
Published: March 2018

Background & Aims

Pulmonary transit time (PTT) is the transit time of blood from the right side of the heart to the left side of the heart. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of the PTT derived from pulmonary angiography in the diagnosis of hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS).

Methods

From December 2014 to September 2015, all patients with chronic liver disease and/or portal hypertension undergoing a venous interventional radiologic procedure at our institution were eligible for inclusion in this prospective study. Pulmonary angiography was performed in all patients, and the PTT, which was defined as the time between opacification of the pulmonary trunk and the right border of the left atrium, was determined.

Results

A total of 53 patients were included, 20 of whom had a positive contrast‐enhanced echocardiography result and an elevated alveolar‐arterial oxygen gradient were considered to have HPS. PTT was significantly shorter in patients with HPS than in those without [median, 3.34 (interquartile range, 3.01‐3.67) seconds vs 4.0 (interquartile range, 3.67‐4.17) seconds; P < .001]. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of PTT for diagnosing HPS was 0.83 (95% confidence interval, 0.70‐0.92). The optimal cut‐off value of PTT for diagnosing HPS, based on Youden's index, was 3.55 seconds. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of PTT < 3.55 seconds for diagnosing HPS were 70%, 85% and 79% respectively.

Conclusions

Pulmonary transit time derived from pulmonary angiography is useful for diagnosing HPS, especially for patients with intracardiac shunts and inadequate echocardiographic windows.
On the complementary distribution of plurals and classifiers in East Asian classifier languages
Authors: Kim Kyumin , Melchin Paul B.
Published: March 2018

It is widely recognized that plural morphemes and classifiers are in complementary distribution, being unable to co‐occur. Recent literature suggests a syntactic account for complementary distribution: A plural morpheme and a classifier realize the same functional head, and thus, they cannot co‐occur. The goal of this article is to examine whether this syntactic approach to the alleged complementary distribution is applicable to certain classifier languages. We review analyses for each of 3 classifier languages, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, where a plural and a classifier co‐occur. The reviewed analyses suggest that plural markers in these classifier languages do not realize the same head with classifiers (e.g., a plural instantiates Num/D in Chinese differently from a classifier), which accounts for its co‐occurrence with a classifier. This paper also discusses other approaches to the complementary distribution of plural morphemes and classifiers, for example, a typological view and a semantic view, and concludes that they may not account for the data in the languages under discussion.
A Genealogy of Animal Diseases and Social Anthropology (1870–2000)
Authors: Keck Frédéric
Published: March 2018

Culling, vaccinating, and monitoring animals are the three main techniques used in contemporary veterinary public health to manage animal diseases that can be transmitted to humans. Each technique is underpinned by different ontological understandings of how microbes figure in relations between humans and animals. Therefore, animal diseases are not only a question for an applied anthropology but also involve the theoretical core of the discipline: that is, understanding how social causality emerges out of physical causality. To defend this argument, the article describes what Herbert Spencer wrote about foot‐and‐mouth disease; what William Robertson Smith thought about sacrifice in the context of bovine tuberculosis; how Emile Durkheim took vaccination for smallpox as a metaphor for the pathologies of the social; and what Claude Lévi‐Strauss wrote about mad cow disease. The conceptions of the social in the writing of these four authors are analyzed through their understanding of the risk of transmission of animal diseases to humans, moving from prevention to precaution to preparedness.
The low‐molecular‐mass, penicillin‐binding proteins DacB and DacC combine to modify peptidoglycan cross‐linking and allow stable Type IV pilus expression in Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Authors: Obergfell Kyle P. , Schaub Ryan E. , Priniski Lauren L. , Dillard Joseph P. , Seifert H Steven
Published: March 2018

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the causative agent of the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhea and is adapted to survive in humans, its only host. The N. gonorrhoeae cell wall is critical for maintaining envelope integrity, resisting immune cell killing and production of cytotoxic peptidoglycan (PG) fragments. Deletion of the N. gonorrhoeae strain FA1090 genes encoding two predicted low‐molecular‐mass, penicillin‐binding proteins (LMM PBPs), DacB and DacC, substantially altered the PG cross‐linking. Loss of the DacB peptidase resulted in global alterations to the PG composition, while loss of the DacC protein affected a much narrower subset of PG peptide components. A double ΔdacB/ΔdacC mutant resembled the ΔdacB single mutant, but had an even greater level of cross‐linked PG. While single ΔdacB or ΔdacC mutants did not show any major phenotypes, the ΔdacB/ΔdacC mutant displayed an altered cellular morphology, decreased resistance to antibiotics and increased sensitivity to detergent‐mediated death. Loss of the two proteins also drastically reduced the number of Type IV pili (Tfp), a critical virulence factor. The decreased piliation reduced transformation efficiency and correlated with increased growth rate. While these two LMM PBPs differentially alter the PG composition, their overlapping effects are essential to proper envelope function and expression of factors critical for pathogenesis.
Engineering d‐limonene synthase down‐regulation in orange fruit induces resistance against the fungus Phyllosticta citricarpa through enhanced accumulation of monoterpene alcohols and activation of defence
Authors: Rodríguez Ana , Kava Vanessa , Latorre‐García Lorena , da Silva Geraldo J. , Pereira Rosana G. , Glienke Chirlei , Ferreira‐Maba Lisandra S. , Vicent Antonio , Shimada Takehiko , Peña Leandro
Published: March 2018

Terpene volatiles play an important role in the interactions between specialized pathogens and fruits. Citrus black spot (CBS), caused by the fungus Phyllosticta citricarpa, is associated with crop losses in different citrus‐growing areas worldwide. The pathogen may infect the fruit for 20–24 weeks after petal fall, but the typical hard spot symptoms appear when the fruit have almost reached maturity, caused by fungal colonization and the induction of cell lysis around essential oil cavities. d‐Limonene represents approximately 95% of the total oil gland content in mature orange fruit. Herein, we investigated whether orange fruit with reduced d‐limonene content in peel oil glands via an antisense (AS) approach may affect fruit interaction with P. citricarpa relative to empty vector (EV) controls. AS fruit showed enhanced resistance to the fungus relative to EV fruit. Because of the reduced d‐limonene content, an over‐accumulation of linalool and other monoterpene alcohols was found in AS relative to EV fruit. A global gene expression analysis at 2 h and 8 days after inoculation with P. citricarpa revealed the activation of defence responses in AS fruit via the up‐regulation of different pathogenesis‐related (PR) protein genes, probably as a result of enhanced constitutive accumulation of linalool and other alcohols. When assayed in vitro and in vivo, monoterpene alcohols at the concentrations present in AS fruit showed strong antifungal activity. We show here that terpene engineering in fruit peels could be a promising method for the development of new strategies to obtain resistance to fruit diseases.
Empirical Vindication of Moral Luck
Authors: Kumar Victor
Published: March 2018

In resultant moral luck, blame and punishment seem intuitively to depend on downstream effects of a person’s action that are beyond his or her control. Some skeptics argue that we should override our intuitions about moral luck and reform our practices. Other skeptics attempt to explain away apparent cases of moral luck as epistemic artifacts. I argue, to the contrary, that moral luck is real—that people are genuinely responsible for some things beyond their control. A partially consequentialist theory of responsibility justifies moral luck. But this justification is no mere rationalization of the status quo. Recent experimental and evolutionary work on punishment and learning suggests that the very same reasons that justify moral luck have also shaped the evolution of our luck‐sensitive moral practices.
Transgenerational phenotype aggravation in CAF‐1 mutants reveals parent‐of‐origin specific epigenetic inheritance
Authors: Mozgova Iva , Wildhaber Thomas , Trejo‐Arellano Minerva S. , Fajkus Jiri , Roszak Pawel , Köhler Claudia , Hennig Lars
Published: March 2018

Chromatin is assembled by histone chaperones such as chromatin assembly factor CAF‐1. We had noticed that vigor of Arabidopsis thaliana CAF‐1 mutants decreased over several generations. Because changes in mutant phenotype severity over generations are unusual, we asked how repeated selfing of Arabidopsis CAF‐1 mutants affects phenotype severity.

CAF‐1 mutant plants of various generations were grown, and developmental phenotypes, transcriptomes and DNA cytosine‐methylation profiles were compared quantitatively.

Shoot‐ and root‐related growth phenotypes were progressively more affected in successive generations of CAF‐1 mutants. Early and late generations of the fasciata (fas)2‐4 CAF‐1 mutant displayed only limited changes in gene expression, of which increasing upregulation of plant defense‐related genes reflects the transgenerational phenotype aggravation. Likewise, global DNA methylation in the sequence context CHG but not CG or CHH (where H = A, T or C) changed over generations in fas2‐4. Crossing early and late generation fas2‐4 plants established that the maternal contribution to the phenotype severity exceeds the paternal contribution.

Together, epigenetic rather than genetic mechanisms underlie the progressive developmental phenotype aggravation in the Arabidopsis CAF‐1 mutants and preferred maternal transmission reveals a more efficient reprogramming of epigenetic information in the male than the female germline.
Multiscale patterns and drivers of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in the roots and root‐associated soil of a wild perennial herb
Authors: Rasmussen Pil U. , Hugerth Luisa W. , Blanchet F. Guillaume , Andersson Anders F. , Lindahl Björn D. , Tack Ayco J. M.
Published: March 2018

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi form diverse communities and are known to influence above‐ground community dynamics and biodiversity. However, the multiscale patterns and drivers of AM fungal composition and diversity are still poorly understood.

We sequenced DNA markers from roots and root‐associated soil from Plantago lanceolata plants collected across multiple spatial scales to allow comparison of AM fungal communities among neighbouring plants, plant subpopulations, nearby plant populations, and regions. We also measured soil nutrients, temperature, humidity, and community composition of neighbouring plants and nonAM root‐associated fungi.

AM fungal communities were already highly dissimilar among neighbouring plants (c. 30 cm apart), albeit with a high variation in the degree of similarity at this small spatial scale. AM fungal communities were increasingly, and more consistently, dissimilar at larger spatial scales. Spatial structure and environmental drivers explained a similar percentage of the variation, from 7% to 25%. A large fraction of the variation remained unexplained, which may be a result of unmeasured environmental variables, species interactions and stochastic processes.

We conclude that AM fungal communities are highly variable among nearby plants. AM fungi may therefore play a major role in maintaining small‐scale variation in community dynamics and biodiversity.
Nursing history as philosophy—towards a critical history of nursing
Authors: Foth Thomas , Lange Jette , Smith Kylie
Published: March 2018

Mainstream nursing history often positions itself in opposition to philosophy and many nursing historians are reticent of theorizing. In the quest to illuminate the lives of nurses and women current historical approaches are driven by reformist aspirations but are based on the conception that nursing or caring is basically good and the timelessness of universal values. This has the effect of essentialising political categories of identity such as class, race and gender. This kind of history is about affirmation rather than friction and about the conservation of memory and musealization. In contrast, we will focus on how we imagine nursing history could be used as a philosophical, critical perspective to challenge the ongoing transformations of our societies. Existing reality must be confronted with strangeness and the historically different can assume the function of this counterpart, meaning present and past must continuously be set in relation to each other. Thus, critical history is always the history of the present but not merely the pre‐history of the present – critique must rather present different realities and different certainties. In this paper, we use this approach to discuss the implementation of the nursing process (NP) in Germany. The nursing process appears to be a technology that helped to set up an infrastructure ‐ or assemblage ‐ to transform nursing interventions into a commodity exchangable between consumers and nurses in a free market. In our theoretical perspective, we argue that NP was a step in the realization of the German ordoliberal program, a specific variety of neoliberalism. In order to implement market‐orientation in the healthcare system it was necessary to transform hospitals into calculable spaces and to make all performances in the hospital calculable. This radically transformed not just the systems, but the ways in which nurses and patients conveived of themselves.
Assessment of physical activity intensity and duration in the paediatric population: evidence to support an a priori hypothesis and sample size in the agreement between subjective and objective methods
Authors: Nascimento‐Ferreira M. V. , De Moraes A. C. F. , Toazza Oliveira P. V. , Rendo‐Urteaga T. , Gracia‐Marco L. , Forjaz C. L. M. , Moreno L. A. , Carvalho H. B.
Published: March 2018

We aimed to provide evidence for an a priori hypothesis and sample size for subjectively assessing physical activity intensity and duration in paediatric population, adopting objective methods as the reference. We searched electronic databases, reference lists and author databases. Correlation coefficients were pooled as an indicator of agreement estimates. We found 183 agreement analyses (94.5% based on correlation coefficients) from 89 studies that met our inclusion criteria. We identified four physical activity parameters addressing intensity and two parameters addressing duration. The physical activity parameters focusing on intensity were measured only by questionnaires, and the best correlation was achieved by moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity compared with a heart rate monitor. In addition, total physical activity duration had a stronger correlation with an accelerometer when measured by diaries or logs than when measured by questionnaires. In both cases, the correlation was moderate. Studies with sample sizes between 50 and 99 subjects showed measurements that were stable in both magnitude and interpretation. Our findings suggest that the agreement between subjective and objective methods for assessing physical activity intensity and duration is weak to moderate. Furthermore, sample sizes ranging from 50 to 99 subjects provide stable agreement estimates between methods.
‘Seeing ghosts’
Authors: Thakur Dipsikha
Published: March 2018

This paper argues for the presence of the Gothic in the conventions, motifs and images in Henrik Ibsen's plays, which exists without compromising the realist mode of the works. It further argues that, in writing through this estranged engagement with spectrality, Ibsen is drawing from a rationalist, secular tradition that eschews the supernatural even while assigning spectrality a great deal of psychological importance. Hedda Gabler,A Doll's House,GhostsandThe Master Builderare plays that deploy a narrative mode that provides a convergence of two parallel modes into the hybrid form of Gothic realism. The paper proposes an examination of the Gothic beyond the initial and most immediate criterion of the supernatural, and shall investigate the ways in which Ibsen's primarily realist plays are populated by Gothic narrative logic that manifests itself through the conventions ofunheimlich, violent deaths and dysfunctional, claustrophobic domestic space.
Walking on ashes: insect trace fossils from Laetoli indicate poor grass cover associated with early hominin environments
Authors: Genise Jorge F. , Harrison Terry
Published: March 2018

More than 4000 insect trace fossils collected in recent years from Pliocene deposits at Laetoli in northern Tanzania provide new insights on early hominin palaeoenvironments. These trace fossils include: Fictovichnus gobiensis, Coprinisphaera murguiai, C. kheprii, Coprinisphaera ispp., Quirogaichnus isp., Teisseirei linguatus isp. nov., Celliforma ritchiei isp. nov., C. spirifer, C. germanica, C. cfr. curvata, Celliforma ispp., Rosellichnus isp., Vondrichnus planoglobus, Laetolichnus kwekai igen. et isp. nov. and Krausichnidae indet. They reveal that at least one species of moth, three dung beetles and five other coleopterans, nine taxa of solitary bees, and an indeterminate number of taxa of termites inhabited the Lower Laetolil environments. The Upper Laetolil environments, which have yielded a rich diversity of vertebrate fossils, including the early hominin Australopithecus afarensis and its putative footprints, supported several taxa of termites, one dung beetle, five other coleopterans, and eleven taxa of bees. The Upper Ndolanya environments, which have yielded the hominin Paranthropus aethiopicus, record four taxa of dung beetles, four other coleopterans, and two taxa of bees. The record of larval mortality and lack of intruder activity, revealed by the absence of emergence and intruder traces, may be associated with the anoxic/hypoxic conditions caused by the instantaneous burial of soils under thick volcanic ashes. The record of the Celliforma Ichnofacies in the Upper Laetolil environments indicates the dominance of shrubland to woodland with limited grass cover. This is supported also by the absence of Coprinisphaera, which suggests a scarcity of fresh grasses and a low abundance of large mammal grazers.
Emergence of African species of dermatophytes in tinea capitis: A 17‐year experience in a Montreal pediatric hospital
Authors: Marcoux Danielle , Dang Julie , Auguste Hedwige , McCuaig Catherine , Powell Julie , Hatami Afshin , Maari Catherine , Le Meur Jean‐Baptiste
Published: March 2018

Background/Objectives

An increase in dermatophyte infections caused by African species is reported in countries receiving African immigrants. Our goal was to determine the epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of tinea capitis in children infected with African species of dermatophytes in Montreal, Canada.

Methods

Demographic and clinical data from medical records of children infected with African species of dermatophytes were retrieved retrospectively (2000‐2016) at Sainte‐Justine University Hospital Center.

Results

In Montreal, the number of tinea capitis cases caused by African species of dermatophytes increased sixfold over 17 years. African immigrant children (84%), men and boys (61%), and preschoolers (2‐5 years old) (51%) were the most frequently affected in our 315 cases. Family contamination was frequent (45%). Referring physicians prescribed systemic antifungal treatment in 39% of cases and pediatric dermatologist consultants in 90%. Treatment failure to oral terbinafine occurred in 39% of Microsporum audouinii infections.

Conclusion

In Montreal, there was a significant increase in tinea capitis caused by African species of dermatophytes. Microsporum audouinii is highly transmissible and often resistant to oral terbinafine. Recognizing tinea capitis trends in a given environment will improve patient care.
Patterns of topical corticosteroids prescriptions in children with asthma
Authors: Arabkhazaeli Ali , Vijverberg Susanne J. H. , van der Lee Maaike , van der Ent Cornelis K. , Bruijnzeel‐Koomen Carla A. , de Bruin‐Weller Marjolein S. , Raaijmakers Jan A. , Maitland‐van der Zee Anke H.
Published: March 2018

Objectives

To study topical corticosteroid use in Dutch asthmatic children using pharmacy dispensing data and to assess whether Dutch physicians prescribe topical corticosteroids in this population according to clinical guidelines.

Methods

Medication histories of children using asthma medication were extracted from the pharmacy dispensing system in 100 Dutch community pharmacies. The incidence rate and the potency of topical corticosteroid prescriptions per age were assessed. The topical corticosteroid incidence rates of the different age groups were compared using the Pearson chi‐square test. Generalized linear models were used to study the prescription behavior of general practitioners and atopic dermatitis‐related specialists regarding different classes of topical corticosteroids.

Results

Thirty percent of the infants received a topical corticosteroid prescription, compared with 15%‐18% of the children aged 4 and older. Similarly, the mean number of topical corticosteroid prescriptions in infants was 2.2 per year, compared with 1.6‐1.9 in children aged 4 and older. In concordance with the clinical guidelines, we observed that atopic dermatitis‐related specialists more often prescribed first prescriptions of potent and very potent topical corticosteroids than general practitioners (relative risk = 2.55, 95% confidence interval = 1.79‐3.63). Statistically significant differences (P < .01) were found between potencies of prescribed topical corticosteroids.

Conclusion

Younger children receive more topical corticosteroid prescriptions than children aged 4 and older, and there is a statistically significantly higher prescription rate of topical corticosteroid for infants. Sometimes general practitioners do not follow guidelines and prescribe more‐potent topical corticosteroids without a prior prescription of the same potency by a specialist.
Speckled lentiginous nevus: A rare presentation associated with motor neuropathy and muscular atrophy in a child
Authors: Greywal Tanya , Matiz Catalina
Published: March 2018

Speckled lentiginous nevus syndrome has been described in individuals with a speckled lentiginous nevus with rare associated neurologic deficits. Because speckled lentiginous nevus syndrome almost always affects adults, it is not typically considered when evaluating children. We present the first reported case of speckled lentiginous nevus syndrome presenting in a young child with muscle atrophy and motor deficits affecting muscles along the same distribution as the speckled lentiginous nevus.
Prevalence and risk factors of halitosis in Japanese school children
Authors: Ueno Masayuki , Ohnuki Mari , Zaitsu Takashi , Takehara Sachiko , Furukawa Sayaka , Kawaguchi Yoko
Published: March 2018

Background

Little data are available regarding halitosis in Japanese children. The aim of the current study was to investigate the prevalence and risk factors associated with halitosis in Japanese elementary and junior high school children.

Methods

The subjects consisted of 520 elementary (1st–6th grade: boys, n = 284; girls, n = 236) and 248 junior high (7th–9th grade: boys, n = 136; girls, n = 112) school children aged 6–15 years in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. A self‐administered questionnaire survey; halitosis measurement using an organoleptic assessment method; and clinical oral examination were conducted.

Results

Overall, 44.9% of subjects had halitosis. The proportion of boys with halitosis was 43.6% and that of girls was 46.6%. On logistic regression analysis, grade and tongue coating were significant predictors of halitosis. The 7th–9th graders were significantly more likely to have halitosis than 1st–3rd graders (OR, 1.83; P = 0.007). Subjects with area of tongue coating score 2 or 3 were 5.51‐fold more likely to present with halitosis (P < 0.001) than those with area of tongue coating score 0 or 1. Similarly, subjects with thickness of tongue coating score 2 or 3 were 3.28‐fold more likely to have halitosis than those with thickness of tongue coating score 0 or 1 (P < 0.001).

Conclusions

Halitosis in the school children is not a rare condition; instead, its occurrence is relatively high. Therefore, inclusion of a halitosis prevention and management component in school oral health programs would lead to the promotion of overall oral health.
Reading and Character: Weil and McDowell on Naïve Realism and Second Nature
Authors: Heiti Warren
Published: March 2018

Both Simone Weil and John McDowell analogize value or meaning to sensations such as colour or heat, and this analogy is a strategy for resisting anti‐realism. However, McDowell's analogy tacitly accepts the very dualism which he is criticizing, while Weil's analogy is both more naïve and more radical than his. Like McDowell, Weil argues that virtuous character is the actualization of a second nature, but she emphasizes the role of the body in this process. Fully trained, the agent's body is a transparent medium through which she reads circumstances – and through which the circumstances, clearly perceived, express themselves in action.
What do anti‐Toxoplasma gondii IgA and IgG subclasses in human saliva indicate?
Authors: Cañedo‐Solares I. , Gómez‐Chávez F. , Luna‐Pastén H. , Ortiz‐Alegría L. B. , Flores‐García Y. , Figueroa‐Damián R. , Macedo‐Romero C. A. , Correa D.
Published: March 2018

Diagnostic tests for toxoplasmosis are based on serological techniques due to their high sensitivity. Some IgG subclasses are related to clinical outcome in the congenital form. In this work, we determined the levels of IgG, IgA, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4 anti‐Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in paired saliva and serum samples from 91 women by indirect ELISA using a crude extract of the RH strain. The levels of IgA, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4 antibodies and, to a lesser extent, IgG1 did not correlate between saliva and serum, that is, most cases that were positive for one Ig class in a sample were negative or very low in the other, and vice versa. We also observed that most samples of saliva that were positive for one IgG subclass were also positive for at least 2 of the other 3; this contrasted with findings in serum, wherein each person was positive almost exclusively for one subclass, as demonstrated before by us and other researchers. Although these findings are disappointing for the use in diagnosis, the richer response in saliva might indicate local exposure to T. gondii antigens without systemic infection; thus, saliva might be reflecting a local (protective?) response against this protozoan.
Functional dimorphic enantiostyly in monomorphic enantiostylous species of the subtribe Cassiinae (Fabaceae‐Caesalpinioideae)
Authors: Almeida N. M. , Souza J. T. , Oliveira C. R. S. , Bezerra T. T. , Novo R. R. , Siqueira Filho J. A. , Oliveira P. E. , Castro C. C.
Published: March 2018

Monomorphic enantiostylous species produce flowers with a displacement of the style to the left (L) or right (R) on the same individual, and may exhibit different dynamics for the production of these floral types, which may influence levels of selfing.

We investigated the production dynamics of L and R floral types in seven species and a variety of monomorphic enantiostylous species of the genera Senna and Chamaecrista. Our hypothesis was that most species present similar proportions of floral morphs each day. Individuals were classified daily over a period of 7 days according to the functional status, i.e. the proportion of floral morphs as functionally L, R or reciprocal (REC, i.e. similar proportions of the two floral morphs), and also according to the number of consecutive days in which they exhibited the same functional status.

All species presented low daily flower production. Most species had individuals classified as functionally R, L and REC, and tend to repeat the same functional status over a few days, although they may change functional status during the flowering period. All species exhibited individuals that were classified as functionally reciprocal when both the daily and total number of flowers produced over 7 days was considered. The occurrence of different functional status has not yet been reported in the literature for enantiostylous species.

The distinct strategies observed in the dynamics of floral morph production seemed likely to minimise geitonogamy and to favour cross‐pollination between individuals (xenogamy).
Sensitivity cycling in physically dormant seeds of the Neotropical tree Senna multijuga (Fabaceae)
Authors: Rodrigues‐Junior A. G. , Baskin C. C. , Baskin J. M. , Garcia Q. S.
Published: March 2018

Cycling of sensitivity to physical dormancy (PY) break has been documented in herbaceous species. However, it has not been reported in tree seeds, nor has the effect of seed size on sensitivity to PY‐breaking been evaluated in any species. Thus, the aims of this study were to investigate how PY is broken in seeds of the tropical legume tree Senna multijuga, if seeds exhibit sensitivity cycling and if seed size affects induction into sensitivity.

Dormancy and germination were evaluated in intact and scarified seeds from two collections of S. multijuga. The effects of temperature, moisture and seed size on induction of sensitivity to dormancy‐breaking were assessed, and seasonal changes in germination and persistence of buried seeds were determined. Reversal of sensitivity was also investigated.

Fresh seeds were insensitive to dormancy break at wet–high temperatures, and an increase in sensitivity occurred in buried seeds after they experienced low temperatures during winter (dry season). Temperatures ≤20 °C increased sensitivity, whereas temperatures ≥30 °C decreased it regardless of moisture conditions. Dormancy was broken in sensitive seeds by incubating them at 35 °C. Sensitivity could be reversed, and large seeds were more sensitive than small seeds to sensitivity induction.

Seeds of S. multijuga exhibit sensitivity cycling to PY‐breaking. Seeds become sensitive during winter and can germinate with the onset of the spring–summer rainy season in Brazil. Small seeds are slower to become sensitive than large ones, and this may be a mechanism by which germination is spread over time. Sensitive seeds that fail to germinate become insensitive during exposure to drought during summer. This is the first report of sensitivity cycling in a tree species.
Joint Control of Emissions Permit Trading and Production Involving Fixed and Variable Transaction Costs
Authors: Yuan Quan , Chen Youhua (Frank) , Yang Jian , Zhou Yun
Published: March 2018

The use of permit markets to mitigate harmful emissions is on the rise. When participating in such a market, an emitting firm needs to acquire from it permits that cover emissions resulting from production. Thus, it has to simultaneously cope with fluctuating permit prices and random demand, and also juggle between the activities of permit trading and permit‐consuming production. We shed light on this complex dynamic control problem, while confronting difficulties brought on by fixed as well as variable transaction costs associated with permit trading. We exploit K‐convexity variants that are suitable for two‐dimensional control, and achieve the partial characterization of optimal control policies. When the selling of permits is prohibited, we prescribe an ( s,  S)‐type permit purchasing policy. For the more general case involving two‐way trading, we find it optimal to carry out trading in a three‐interval fashion. Heuristics, including one based on the uncoupling of trading and production activities, are introduced. Their effectiveness has been illustrated in computational studies.
Magnesium promotes root nodulation through facilitation of carbohydrate allocation in soybean
Authors: Peng Wen Ting , Zhang Lu Dan , Zhou Zhi , Fu Chen , Chen Zhi Chang , Liao Hong
Published: March 2018

Magnesium (Mg) is an essential element for the growth of both plants and bacteria. Low availability of Mg in agriculture can limit crop productivity and quality. In addition to direct effects on plant growth, limited Mg supply may also impact biological dinitrogen (N2) fixation in nodules formed from symbiotic interactions between legumes and rhizobial bacteria. To date, the physiological mechanisms involved in Mg‐dependent nodulation remain largely unknown. The objectives of this work were to assess how Mg supply affects nodule growth and development in symbiotic systems, and to test if any observed changes in nodule and soybean are correlated with Mg supply. Here, we found that external Mg supply enhanced nodule growth under nitrogen (N) limited conditions, and subsequently improved N2 fixation and soybean growth. Mg supply altered neither nodule structure nor Mg homeostasis, but remarkably promoted nodule enlargement, resulting in an increase in the number of big nodules. In addition, high Mg supply decreased starch and sucrose accumulation in leaves, and increased their concentrations in roots, which consequently enhanced carbohydrate import into the rhizobia infection zone of nodules. In this study, Mg was shown to promote nodule growth in soybean. This Mg‐promoted nodule growth is derived from Mg‐facilitated alteration of carbohydrate partitioning and transport into nodules.
The Future of Leadership in Public Universities: Is Shared Leadership the Answer?
Authors: Pearce Craig L. , Wood Bob G. , Wassenaar Christina L.
Published: March 2018

Leadership of public universities has come under fire—from scandals, from funding, from students, from every direction. Top‐down leadership of institutions of higher education has been described as a “disease.” Shared governance—a mechanism of faculty representation in the leadership and decision‐making processes—a seeming alternative, has been described as “a recipe for paralysis.” In this article, the authors proffer shared leadership as a potential elixir for leading public institutions of higher learning, unleashing creative potential, focusing on pressing strategic imperatives, and enabling sustainable systems that leverage true talent to maximum effect. It is time to move beyond the moribund myth of top‐down heroic leadership and beyond the bureaucratic, political quagmire of the current state of affairs in shared governance. Is shared leadership the answer?
Interannual variation in precipitation and other planting conditions impacts seedling establishment in sown plant communities
Authors: Groves Anna M. , Brudvig Lars A.
Published: March 2018

Ecological restoration can reverse biodiversity loss worldwide, yet restoration goals and outcomes vary widely, which limits this potential. Divergent restoration outcomes may stem from variation in conditions at the outset of restoration, but empirical evidence is lacking and typically confounded with site differences. Additionally, precipitation is usually cited as the source of this variation, although a wide range of conditions can vary annually. We tested for effects of planting year on seedling establishment by installing identical restorations in three different years. Within those years, we manipulated rainfall with rain‐out shelters to disentangle the effects of precipitation from other annually variable conditions. Additionally, we tested whether increasing seed mix richness buffers against adverse planting conditions. For the first growing season after planting, we followed emergence and survival of sown prairie species and nonsown weed species to determine how planting year conditions influence an establishing plant community, if at all. We found that seedling establishment differed across planting years and precipitation treatments, and that varying emergence patterns by species led to differences in the composition of the first‐year community. We also found significant variation in sown species establishment across years when precipitation was held constant, illustrating the previously overlooked role of nonprecipitation drivers on planting year effects. Higher seed mix richness did not consistently improve establishment of sown species under different planting conditions. This research provides important experimental evidence for effects of interannual variation in planting conditions on first‐year establishment. Future work will examine how these initial changes affect longer‐term assembly dynamics.
Sustainable development in new generation FTAs: Could arbitrators further the principle through ISDS?
Authors: Chochorelou Maria , Espaliu Berdud Carlos
Published: March 2018

Despite the strong linkage between sustainable development and investment, older international investment agreements (IIAs) have been criticized as threatening the sustainable development of the host State. In recent IIAs, a slight shift towards taking the principle into account can be observed. However, the adoption of a sustainable‐development‐oriented approach in investment law depends largely on the tribunals that are tasked with the interpretation of IIAs. This article examines the role of arbitrators in promoting sustainable development. Despite their current reluctance to engage in a sustainable development discussion, the situation may alter with the conclusion of so‐called new generation free trade agreements. These agreements make more references to the principle and place at the arbitrators’ disposal interpretative tools for the integration of sustainable development into their argumentation. Finally, the article reflects on changes that would render the investment regime more compatible with sustainable development.
Self-Exciting Point Processes with Spatial Covariates: Modelling the Dynamics of Crime
Authors: Reinhart Alex , Greenhouse Joel
Published: March 2018

Crime has both varying patterns in space, related to features of the environment, economy and policing, and patterns in time arising from criminal behaviour, such as retaliation. Serious crimes may also be presaged by minor crimes of disorder. We demonstrate that these spatial and temporal patterns are generally confounded, requiring analyses to take both into account, and propose a spatiotemporal self-exciting point process model that incorporates spatial features, near repeat and retaliation effects, and triggering. We develop inference methods and diagnostic tools, such as residual maps, for this model, and through extensive simulation and crime data obtained from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, demonstrate its properties and usefulness.
The Evolution of Problems Underlying the EU Agricultural Policy Regime
Authors: Kuhmonen Tuomas
Published: March 2018

This article conceptualises the common agricultural policy (CAP) of the European Union as a policy regime. Policy regimes are defined as meso‐level, problem‐related, dynamically stable, multidimensional governance arrangements consisting of substantive and institutional elements. Utilising the policy regime as the unit of analysis makes it possible to study the lifespan of a certain policy with many levels of abstraction (paradigm, dimensions, elements, topics). This meso‐level focus provides a meaningful way to explain or anticipate regime change and stability based on diverse sources. In this study, an empirical analysis of policy documents exposes the lifespan of the problems underlying the CAP regime. The analysis assesses the stability of the CAP state‐assisted agriculture paradigm, the smooth diversification of the CAP elements and the volatile ups and downs of the CAP topics. Policy design and delivery has become the most extensively considered problem of the CAP, whereas the other dimensions (farms, consumers, regions, markets and trade, environment, taxpayers and budget) have converged towards a more balanced setting. As problems precede policy solutions, the design and delivery of the CAP could be the next target of major reforms.