bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Behavioural benefits of multisensory processing in ferrets
Authors: Hammond‐Kenny Amy , Bajo Victoria M. , King Andrew J. , Nodal Fernando R.
Published: October 2016

Enhanced detection and discrimination, along with faster reaction times, are the most typical behavioural manifestations of the brain's capacity to integrate multisensory signals arising from the same object. In this study, we examined whether multisensory behavioural gains are observable across different components of the localization response that are potentially under the command of distinct brain regions. We measured the ability of ferrets to localize unisensory (auditory or visual) and spatiotemporally coincident auditory–visual stimuli of different durations that were presented from one of seven locations spanning the frontal hemifield. During the localization task, we recorded the head movements made following stimulus presentation, as a metric for assessing the initial orienting response of the ferrets, as well as the subsequent choice of which target location to approach to receive a reward. Head‐orienting responses to auditory–visual stimuli were more accurate and faster than those made to visual but not auditory targets, suggesting that these movements were guided principally by sound alone. In contrast, approach‐to‐target localization responses were more accurate and faster to spatially congruent auditory–visual stimuli throughout the frontal hemifield than to either visual or auditory stimuli alone. Race model inequality analysis of head‐orienting reaction times and approach‐to‐target response times indicates that different processes, probability summation and neural integration, respectively, are likely to be responsible for the effects of multisensory stimulation on these two measures of localization behaviour.
Low ratios of silica to dissolved nitrogen supplied to rivers arise from agriculture not reservoirs
Authors: Downing John A. , Cherrier Christine T. , Fulweiler Robinson W.
Published: October 2016

Coastal marine systems are greatly altered by toxic marine algae, eutrophication and hypoxia. These problems have been linked to decreased ratios of dissolved silica to inorganic nitrogen (Si : DIN) delivered from land. Two mechanisms for this decline under consideration are enhanced nitrogen (N) fertiliser losses from agricultural lands or Si sequestration in reservoirs. Here we examine these mechanisms via nutrient concentrations in impoundments receiving water from 130 watersheds in a landscape representative of the agriculture that often dominates coastal nutrient inputs. Decreased Si : DIN was correlated with agriculture, not impoundment. Watersheds with > 60% agricultural land yielded highest DIN, whereas Si was uncorrelated with agricultural intensity. Furthermore, eutrophic lakes were dominated by Cyanobacteria that use little Si, so reservoirs did not diminish Si : DIN. Instead, Si : DIN increased slightly as reservoir residence time increased. These data suggest that impoundments in agricultural watersheds may enhance the water quality of coastal ecosystems, whereas fertiliser losses are detrimental.
Exchangeable copper: a reflection of the neurological severity in Wilson's disease
Authors: Poujois A. , Trocello J.‐M. , Djebrani‐Oussedik N. , Poupon J. , Collet C. , Girardot‐Tinant N. , Sobesky R. , Habès D. , Debray D. , Vanlemmens C. , Fluchère F. , Ory‐Magne F. , Labreuche J. , Preda C. , Woimant F.
Published: October 2016

Background and purpose

The severity of Wilson's disease (WD) is linked to free copper accumulating in the liver and brain. Exchangeable copper (CuEXC) is a new technique to determine plasmatic copper and is useful in the diagnosis of WD. It is hypothesized that it may also enable a good evaluation of extra‐hepatic involvement and its severity.

Methods

Forty‐eight newly diagnosed WD patients were prospectively evaluated using hepatic, neurological, ophthalmological and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scores. Three phenotypic presentations were distinguished: pre‐symptomatic, hepatic and extra‐hepatic. CuEXC was determined in addition to standard copper assays before decoppering therapy. Correlations between biological parameters and the different scores were determined and compared in the hepatic and extra‐hepatic groups.

Results

Extra‐hepatic patients had significantly higher CuEXC values than those with the hepatic form (P < 0.0001). The overall ability of CuEXC to separate the two forms was satisfactory, with an area under the curve of 0.883 (95% confidence interval 0.771–0.996) and an optimal threshold for extra‐hepatic diagnosis of 2.08 μmol/l (sensitivity 85.7%; specificity 94.1%). In extra‐hepatic patients, CuEXC was the only biological marker to be positively correlated with the Unified Wilson Disease Rating Score (r = 0.45, P = 0.016), the Kayser−Fleischer ring score (r = 0.46, P = 0.014) and the brain MRI score (r = 0.38, P = 0.048), but it was not correlated with the hepatic score.

Conclusions

Exchangeable copper determination is useful when diagnosing WD as a value >2.08 μmol/l is indicative of the severity of the extra‐hepatic involvement. In the case of purely hepatic presentation, atypical or mild neurological signs, it should encourage physicians to search for lesions in the brain and eyes.
Identification of risk for severe psychiatric comorbidity in pediatric epilepsy
Authors: Jones Jana E. , Siddarth Prabha , Almane Dace , Gurbani Suresh , Hermann Bruce P. , Caplan Rochelle
Published: October 2016

Objective

This study identified items on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) that predict those children and adolescents with epilepsy at highest risk for multiple psychiatric diagnoses.

Methods

Three hundred twenty‐eight children, ages 5–18 years, and their parents participated in separate structured psychiatric interviews about the children, which yielded Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition Text Revision (DSM‐IV‐TR) diagnoses. Parents completed theCBCL. The sample was divided into a younger (≤12 years, n = 214) group and an older (>12–18 years, n = 114) group. This study identified a reduced set of parent‐reportedCBCLitems associated with Multiple Diagnoses versus Single Diagnosis versus No Diagnosis using chi‐square tests and stepwise logistic regression. We then performed a generalized logistic regression with Multiple Diagnoses versus Single Diagnosis versus No Diagnosis as the dependent variable and the reducedCBCLset of items as predictors. We calculated the area under the ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve (AUC) as a measure of diagnostic accuracy for pairwise comparisons.

Results

For the younger group, seven items (clingy, cruelty/bullying, perfectionist, nervous, poor school work, inattentive, and sulks) had high diagnostic accuracy (AUC= 0.88), and for the older group, three items (disobedient at school, loner, and lies/cheats) had high accuracy (AUC= 0.91) when comparing children with multiple psychiatric diagnoses to children with no diagnosis. For both age groups, there was less diagnostic accuracy in identifying children with a single versus no diagnosis (AUC= 0.75 [young]; 0.70 [older]).

Significance

These findings suggest that responses to these two subsets of parent‐reportedCBCLitems should alert clinicians to children and adolescents with epilepsy at risk for multiple psychiatric diagnoses and in need of a psychiatric referral.
Acute treatment with minocycline, but not valproic acid, improves long‐term behavioral outcomes in the Theiler's virus model of temporal lobe epilepsy
Authors: Barker‐Haliski Melissa L. , Heck Taylor D. , Dahle E. Jill , Vanegas Fabiola , Pruess Timothy H. , Wilcox Karen S. , White H. Steve
Published: October 2016

Objective

Infection with Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) in C57Bl/6J mice induces acute seizures and development of spontaneous recurrent seizures and behavioral comorbidities weeks later. The present studies sought to determine whether acute therapeutic intervention with an anti‐inflammatory–based approach could prevent or modify development of TMEV‐induced long‐term behavioral comorbidities. Valproic acid (VPA), in addition to its prototypical anticonvulsant properties, inhibits histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity, which may alter expression of the inflammasome. Minocycline (MIN) has previously demonstrated an antiseizure effect in the TMEV model via direct anti‐inflammatory mechanisms, but the long‐term effect of MIN treatment on the development of chronic behavioral comorbidities is unknown.

Methods

Mice infected with TMEV were acutely administered MIN (50 mg/kg, b.i.d. and q.d.) or VPA (100 mg/kg, q.d.) during the 7‐day viral infection period. Animals were evaluated for acute seizure severity and subsequent development of chronic behavioral comorbidities and seizure threshold.

Results

Administration of VPA reduced the proportion of mice with seizures, delayed onset of symptomatic seizures, and reduced seizure burden during the acute infection. This was in contrast to the effects of administration of once‐daily MIN, which did not affect the proportion of mice with seizures or delay onset of acute symptomatic seizures. However, VPA‐treated mice were no different from vehicle (VEH)–treated mice in long‐term behavioral outcomes, including open field activity and seizure threshold. Once‐daily MIN treatment, despite no effect on the maximum observed Racine stage seizure severity, was associated with improved long‐term behavioral outcomes and normalized seizure threshold.

Significance

Acute seizure control alone is insufficient to modify chronic disease comorbidities in the TMEV model. This work further supports the role of an inflammatory response in the development of chronic behavioral comorbidities and further highlights the utility of this platform for the development of mechanistically novel pharmacotherapies for epilepsy.
Friends in Low Places: Responses of a Benthic Stream Fish to Intra‐Prey‐Guild Alarm Cues
Authors: Anderson Kelsey A. , Mathis Alicia
Published: October 2016

Many aquatic species produce chemical alarm cues that serve as a warning to nearby conspecifics. In mixed‐species aggregations, individuals may also benefit by ‘eavesdropping’ on the chemical alarm cues of other species that are in the same prey guild. Rainbow Darters (Etheostoma caeruleum) are benthic fish that co‐occur with native Ozark Minnows (Notropis nubilus), recently introduced Western Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), and native Oklahoma Salamanders (Eurycea tyrnerensis), all of whom are vulnerable to the same predators. We tested the responses of darters to the damage‐released alarm cues of conspecifics (positive control), minnows, and mosquitofish; alarm cues from Bumblebee Gobies (Brachygobius doriae) served as a negative (allopatric) control. We also tested the response of sympatric and allopatric darters to the damage‐released alarm cues of Oklahoma Salamander. Darters exhibited a fright response to conspecific and minnow alarm cues, but not to cues from mosquitofish or gobies. Lack of response to mosquitofish cues could be because they are introduced or because they typically occur higher in the water column than darters. Darters that were sympatric with the salamander exhibited a fright response to the alarm cues of the salamander, while allopatric darters did not. Rainbow Darters can develop responses to the alarm cues of syntopic species (minnows and Oklahoma Salamander) within their prey guild.
A Potential Cost of Long Genitalia in Male Guppies: the Effects of Current Speed on Reproductive Behaviour
Authors: Kwan Lucia , Dobkin Adam N. , Rodd F. Helen , Rowe Locke
Published: October 2016

In the fish family Poeciliidae, male genitalia, the gonopodia, are remarkably diverse across species; however, we still do not have a good understanding of the evolutionary processes promoting this diversity. For one trait, gonopodium length, several studies support a role for sexual conflict in selection for longer gonopodia. However, genital elongation may come at a cost of reduced locomotor abilities (e.g. resulting from greater drag and resistance). In this study, we were interested in the potential role of natural selection on the evolution of gonopodium length in poeciliids. Specifically, we asked whether a greater genital length impedes male reproductive behaviours at higher flow rates in the Trinidadian guppy, Poecilia reticulata. Using a flow chamber, males were placed with females in low‐ and high‐flow regimes and reproductive behaviours were measured. We did not find evidence for a cost of bearing a longer gonopodium at high flow. However, males did alter their mating tactics in response to current flow. We discuss the implications of our findings, in the light of habitat selection, on the forms of selection operating on gonopodium length and the mating interactions between the sexes in poeciliids.
How Pronghorn Females Avoid Inbreeding Depression
Authors: Dunn Stacey J. , Byers John A.
Published: October 2016

After a bottleneck in a closed population of pronghorn (Antilocapra americana), some inbred matings occurred, and we detected significant inbreeding depression. But inbred matings occurred less frequently than would be expected by chance. Pronghorn females chose mates after a sampling period and had complete control of the mating decision. Therefore, to discover the behavioral mechanism by which females avoided mating with close kin, we studied female movements and courtship sequences. When females moved from one harem to another in the sampling process, they did not shift to harem males of lower coancestry as they approached estrus. Rather, females progressed more slowly through the later courtship stages when the harem male was related vs. unrelated. Also, the rates of male courtship acts were higher within unrelated vs. related pairs. Some females appeared to use multiple mating as an inbreeding avoidance strategy. Our results suggested that inbreeding avoidance by female pronghorn occurred primarily by reactions to the late stages of male courtship, rather than by spatial avoidance of related males.
Lysyl oxidase‐like 2 (LOXL2) oxidizes trimethylated lysine 4 in histone H3
Authors: Herranz Nicolás , Dave Natàlia , Millanes‐Romero Alba , Pascual‐Reguant Laura , Morey Lluis , Díaz Víctor M. , Lórenz‐Fonfría Víctor , Gutierrez‐Gallego Ricardo , Jerónimo Celia , Iturbide Ane , Di Croce Luciano , García de Herreros Antonio , Peiró Sandra
Published: October 2016

Methylation of histone H3 lysine 4 is linked to active transcription and can be removed by LSD1 or the JmjC domain‐containing proteins by amino‐oxidation or hydroxylation, respectively. Here we describe that its deamination can be catalyzed by lysyl oxidase‐like 2 protein (LOXL2), presenting an unconventional chemical mechanism for H3K4 modification. Infrared spectroscopy and mass spectrometry analyses demonstrated that recombinant LOXL2 specifically deaminates trimethylated H3K4. Moreover, by regulating H3K4me3 deamination, LOXL2 activity is linked with the transcriptional control of the CDH1 gene. These results reveal the existence of further H3 modification as well as a novel mechanism for H3K4me3 demethylation.

Database

The GEO accession number for the data referred to this paper is GSE35600.
A bacterial acyl aminoacyl peptidase couples flexibility and stability as a result of cold adaptation
Authors: Brocca Stefania , Ferrari Cristian , Barbiroli Alberto , Pesce Alessandra , Lotti Marina , Nardini Marco
Published: October 2016

Life in cold environments requires an overall increase in the flexibility of macromolecular and supramolecular structures to allow biological processes to take place at low temperature. Conformational flexibility supports high catalytic rates of enzymes in the cold but in several cases is also a cause of instability. The three‐dimensional structure of the psychrophilic acyl aminoacyl peptidase from Sporosarcina psychrophila (SpAAP) reported in this paper highlights adaptive molecular changes resulting in a fine‐tuned trade‐off between flexibility and stability. In its functional form SpAAP is a dimer, and an increase in flexibility is achieved through loosening of intersubunit hydrophobic interactions. The release of subunits from the quaternary structure is hindered by an ‘arm exchange’ mechanism, in which a tiny structural element at the N terminus of one subunit inserts into the other subunit. Mutants lacking the ‘arm’ are monomeric, inactive and highly prone to aggregation. Another feature of SpAAP cold adaptation is the enlargement of the tunnel connecting the exterior of the protein with the active site. Such a wide channel might compensate for the reduced molecular motions occurring in the cold and allow easy and direct access of substrates to the catalytic site, rendering transient movements between domains unnecessary. Thus, cold‐adapted SpAAP has developed a molecular strategy unique within this group of proteins: it is able to enhance the flexibility of each functional unit while still preserving sufficient stability.

Database

Structural data are available in the Protein Data Bank under the accession number 5L8S.
The Association between Board Composition and Corporate Pension Policies
Authors: Vafeas Nikos , Vlittis Adamos
Published: October 2016

This study examines the role of board composition in the determination of pension policies. The results suggest that the proportion of outside directors serving on the board is positively related with pension plan funding levels. In addition, the proportion of outside directors mitigates the relation between financial distress risk and plan underfunding. Last, as firms approach distress, boards with a greater proportion of outside directors tend to allocate a lower fraction of plan assets to riskier securities. Together, our findings suggest that outside directors are mindful of their obligations toward pension plan beneficiaries.
Colonialism and Other Afflictions: Rethinking Native American Health History
Authors: Archer Seth
Published: October 2016

Scholarly debate persists about the role of disease in the European colonization of the Americas. Were human pathogens the shock troops of conquest or a by‐product of colonial incursions? Biological warfare or an accident of ecology? Historians and other scholars have recently raised the stakes on this 500‐year‐old debate by questioning the received narrative of Native American disease and depopulation after 1492 – in particular, the notion of “virgin soil” epidemics. This article reviews that new literature and makes a case for understanding the Native health past in all its complexity. Departing from a growing consensus about the contingent role of disease in the colonial process, the article suggests ways to develop the broader history of Native American health.
Building Burma: Constructing Rangoon's Urban Influence on Citizenship and Nationhood
Authors: Sugarman Michael
Published: October 2016

While Burma has often been discussed at the margins of South and Southeast Asian historiography, contemporary scholarship has begun to construct Burma as central to wider regional and inter‐Asian histories. This essay considers how notions of nationhood and citizenship relating to Rangoon's urban environment can begin to be understood in light of recent historical work on other Asian port cities. Looking at published work on Asian cities like Bombay, Hong Kong, and Singapore, this article constructs a contextual framework from which Rangoon's role in building a Burmese identity can be analysed. Nikhil Rao'sHouse, But No Gardenon Bombay offers a productive means through which a middle‐class and commercial Burmese identity could be constructed in Rangoon's pre‐war ‘suburbs’, while Alan Smart'sThe Shek Kip Mei Mython Hong Kong and Loh Kah Seng'sSquatters into Citizenson Singapore provide a way of understanding the role that disaster and crisis play on forming identities of belonging and citizenship among the poorest sections of Rangoon's war torn post‐war society. These cities, along with others across the Indian Ocean world – each with a long, continuous and often separate tradition of historical inquiry – can then help begin to build an understanding of citizenship and nationhood in Burma as it relates to the construction of Rangoon's urban environment.
Long‐term changes in autumn migration dates at the Strait of Gibraltar reflect population trends of soaring birds
Authors: Panuccio Michele , Martín Beatriz , Morganti Michelangelo , Onrubia Alejandro , Ferrer Miguel
Published: October 2016

A growing body of work shows that climate change is the cause of a number of directional shifts in the spring phenology of migratory birds. However, changes in autumn phenology are well studied and their consistency across species, as well as their link with population trends, remains uncertain. We investigate changes in the autumn migration dates of 11 species of soaring birds over the Strait of Gibraltar over a 16‐year period. Using models corrected for phylogeny, we assessed whether ecological and morphological characteristics, as well as population trends, account for interspecific shifts in migration times. We recorded different phenological changes in different periods of the migration season and suggest that these differences are due to age‐dependent responses. The variable best predicting advances in migration dates was population trend: species that did not advance their autumn migration dates were those showing a decline in their European breeding populations. We repeated our tests on a dataset representing the migration date of soaring birds across the Pyrenees Mountains and found that population trends at this site also predicted phenological shifts. Our results suggest that flexibility in migratory strategy and population trends may be related, such that different adaptive capacity in migration timing may be more relevant than other ecological traits in determining the conservation status of migratory birds in Europe and perhaps other regions.
Stability in prey abundance may buffer Black Sparrowhawks Accipiter melanoleucus from health impacts of urbanization
Authors: Suri Jessleena , Sumasgutner Petra , Hellard Éléonore , Koeslag Ann , Amar Arjun
Published: October 2016

As the global trend towards urbanization continues, the need to understand its impact on wildlife grows. Species may have different levels of tolerance to urban disturbance; some even appear to thrive in urban areas and use human‐subsidized resources. However, the physiological costs and trade‐offs faced by urban‐dwelling species are still poorly understood. We assess the evidence for a negative impact of urbanization on the Black Sparrowhawk Accipiter melanoleucus, a raptor that recently colonized Cape Town, South Africa, and explore the potential mechanisms behind any such effect. We predicted that birds in more urbanized areas may be in poorer health and that this may be partially driven by differences in prey quantity and quality along an urban habitat gradient. The health of Black Sparrowhawk nestlings was evaluated through measures of their physiological stress (heterophil/lymphocyte ratio), body condition and blood parasite infection (infection risk and intensity of Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon). Diet composition was determined through an analysis of prey remains collected around nests, and prey abundance was determined through point counts in different habitat types. We could find no negative effects of urbanization on nestling health, with no significant relationships with heterophil/lymphocyte ratio, body condition, risk and intensity of infection by Haemoproteus or intensity of infection by Leucocytozoon. Risk of infection by Leucocytozoon did, however, decline with increasing urban cover, perhaps because urbanized areas contain less habitat for blackflies, the vectors of this parasite, which require moving fresh water. We found no change in diet breadth or composition with increasing urban cover. Although some prey species were abundant or less abundant in certain habitat types, all habitat types contained ample prey for Black Sparrowhawks. The widespread abundance of food resources and resulting lack of nutritional stress may explain why Black Sparrowhawks are seemingly free of the negative health impacts expected to arise from urbanization. These findings may explain the success of the species in Cape Town and suggest that for urban‐dwelling, bird‐eating raptors the abundance of prey in cities may override any potential negative impacts of urbanization on health due to disturbance or other sources of stress.
Seasonal migration strategies of Common Ringed Plovers Charadrius hiaticula
Authors: Lislevand Terje , Briedis Martins , Heggøy Oddvar , Hahn Steffen
Published: October 2016

How individual birds schedule their movements and use different sites during the non‐breeding season are fundamental issues in avian migration ecology, and studies have often revealed strong seasonal variation in such strategies. Using geolocators we tracked Common Ringed Plovers Charadrius hiaticula from northern Norway to West Africa and back to assess whether there were differences in migratory speed, duration and stopover use between autumn and spring migration and whether birds used multiple sites during the non‐breeding season. Although the pace of migration was similar between autumn and spring, the length of flight bouts and duration of the preceding stopovers were positively correlated only in autumn. Four of five birds showed a marked southward movement in mid‐winter.
Active Learning Methods and Technology: Strategies for Design Education
Authors: Coorey Jillian
Published: October 2016

The demands in higher education are on the rise. Charged with teaching more content, increased class sizes and engaging students, educators face numerous challenges. In design education, educators are often torn between the teaching of technology and the teaching of theory. Learning the formal concepts of hierarchy, contrast and space provide the critical foundation of a design education. However, without learning the tools (technology) a student will struggle to bring their concept to fruition. This article proposes using active learning techniques, specifically peer learning, as an engaging method to augment teaching technology. Students participated in peer‐based exercises throughout the course of a semester, including technology teams, technology checklists and group software challenges. Observations and survey data conclude students comprehension of technology improved and the instructor was afforded time to spend on the teaching of theory and process. Peer learning fosters a collaborative learning community, increases leadership skills and creates lifelong learners. Although these methods were used in a design course, this study can serve as a model for other disciplines that integrate technology in the classroom or for educators seeking active learning methods.
Beneath Our Eyes: An Exploration of the Relationship between Technology Enhanced Learning and Socio‐Ecological Sustainability in Art and Design Higher Education
Authors: Sclater Madeleine
Published: October 2016

This article uses published research to explore how Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) can help to sustain learning communities to engage in creative exploration and open investigation. It then draws on this research to ask: how could we use TEL to support pedagogies of socio‐ecological sustainability in the Art and Design education community? Three interrelated themes are explored: learning communities – in developing shared values and supporting investigations around issues of concern; learning spaces – in supporting these communities and their dialogue; and theory – to illustrate and provide language to understand the values, activities and goals of participants. Theory may help us to link the impact of these community activities, supported by TEL, to global issues. This article attempts to initiate an exploration of the fundamental elements required to create pedagogies of socio‐ecological sustainability within Art and Design higher education.
Distinguishing migration events of different timing for wild boar in the Balkans
Authors: Alexandri Panoraia , Megens Hendrik‐Jan , Crooijmans Richard P. M. A. , Groenen Martien A. M. , Goedbloed Daniel J. , Herrero‐Medrano Juan M. , Rund Lauretta A. , Schook Laurence B. , Chatzinikos Evangelos , Triantaphyllidis Costas , Triantafyllidis Alexander
Published: October 2016

Aim

We compared the power of different nuclear markers to investigate genetic structure of southern Balkan wild boar. We distinguished between historic events, such as isolation in different refugia during glacial periods, from recent demographic processes, such as naturally occurring expansions.

Location

Southern Balkans/Greece.

Methods

We sampled 555 wild boars from 20 different locations in southern Balkans/Greece. All individuals were analysed with 10 microsatellites and a subgroup of 91 with 49,508 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Patterns of genetic structure and demographic processes were assessed with Bayesian clustering, linkage disequilibrium and past effective population size estimation analysis.

Results

Both microsatellite and SNP data analyses detected genetic structure caused by historic events and support the existence of three groups in the studied area. A hybrid zone between two of the groups was also detected. We also showed that genome‐wide SNP data analysis can identify recent events in bottlenecked populations.

Main conclusions

We inferred the three groups diverged ~50,000–10,000 yr bp when populations contracted to different refugia. Our findings strengthened the evidence that the southern Balkan area was a glacial refugium including further local smaller refugia. Genome‐wide genotyping inferred a recent population expansion that can mimic a ‘refugium within refugium’ scenario. It seems that microsatellite data tend to overestimate genetic structure when genetic drift happens in bottlenecked populations over a short distance. Therefore, genome‐wide SNPs are more powerful at inferring phylogeography in natural populations, resolving inconsistencies from mitochondrial and microsatellite data sets.
Applying dynamic species distribution modelling to lek‐mating species
Authors: Sadoti Giancarlo , Albright Thomas P. , Johnson Kristine
Published: October 2016

Aim

Lek‐mating species, in which males congregate to display and copulate with females, are of long‐standing behavioural, economic and conservation interest. Monitoring programs often target areas in which these species aggregate for mating (lek arenas) because of the often cryptic behaviours of these species when away from lek arenas. Due to survey methodologies and the ecology of many lek‐mating species, the building of species distribution models (SDMs) requires researchers to consider issues that are generally absent when modelling distributions of non‐lek‐mating species. We describe these considerations and illustrate the advantages of employing dynamic SDMs to address non‐equilibrium between a lek‐mating species (Lesser Prairie‐Chicken Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) and its environment.

Location

New Mexico, U.S.A.

Methods

We employed a 27‐year data set of 2771 lek surveys from a T. pallidicinctus metapopulation to build dynamic SDMs using multi‐season occupancy modelling. We considered covariates (1) indexing past abundance and distribution patterns expected to influence dispersal and local persistence, (2) describing landscape and weather dynamics expected to influence local recruitment, and (3) describing survey‐level conditions expected to influence lek attendance.

Results

The most supported dynamic SDM indicated an overall decline in occurrence and an ending distribution more restricted to the northern part of the 1222 km2 study area. Local colonization was best predicted by weather and landscape dynamics, while local extinction was best predicted by population processes and weather.

Main conclusions

Conservation of T. pallidicinctus will likely face challenges from (1) the reduced likelihood of colonization in areas of historical shrub‐targeting herbicide application and (2) projected patterns of seasonal temperature and precipitation under climate change. In considering lek‐mating species in general, we recommend the use of dynamic SDMs for an improved understanding of factors influencing distributions through time. Our approach and related efforts represent an important step in forecasting distributions under projected scenarios of environmental change to assist the conservation of these species.
Periodontal regeneration compared with access flap surgery in human intra‐bony defects 20‐year follow‐up of a randomized clinical trial: tooth retention, periodontitis recurrence and costs
Authors: Cortellini Pierpaolo , Buti Jacopo , Pini Prato Giovanpaolo , Tonetti Maurizio S.
Published: October 2016

Aim

Compare the long‐term outcomes and costs of three treatment modalities in intra‐bony defects.

Materials and Methods

Forty‐five intra‐bony defects in 45 patients had been randomly allocated to receive: modified papilla preservation technique with titanium‐reinforced expanded‐polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) membranes (MPPT Tit, N = 15); access flap with expanded‐PTFE membranes (Flap‐ePTFE, N = 15) and access flap alone (Flap, N = 15). Supportive periodontal care (SPC) was provided monthly for 1 year, then every 3 months for 20 years. Periodontal therapy was delivered to sites showing recurrences.

Results

Forty‐one patients complied with SPC. Four subjects were lost to follow‐up. Clinical attachment‐level differences between 1 and 20 years were −0.1 ± 0.3 mm (p = 0.58) in the MPPT Tit; −0.5 ± 0.1 mm (p = 0.003) in the Flap‐ePTFE and −1.7 ± 0.4 mm (p < 0.001) in the Flap. At 20 years, sites treated with Flap showed greater attachment loss compared to MPPT Tit (1.4 ± 0.4 mm; p = 0.008) and to Flap‐ePTFE (1.1 ± 0.4 mm; p = 0.03). Flap group lost two treated teeth. Five episodes of recurrences occurred in the MPPT Tit, six in the Flap‐ePTFE and fifteen in the Flap group. Residual pocket depth at 1‐year was significantly correlated with the number of recurrences (p = 0.002). Sites treated with flap had greater OR for recurrences and higher costs of re‐intervention than regenerated sites over a 20‐year follow‐up period with SPC.

Conclusions

Regeneration provided better long‐term benefits than Flap: no tooth loss, less periodontitis progression and less expense from re‐intervention over a 20‐year period. These benefits need to be interpreted in the context of higher immediate costs associated with regenerative treatment. These initial observations need to be extended to larger groups and broader clinical settings.
Four‐year sequential nerve conduction changes since first visit in Japanese patients with early type 2 diabetes
Authors: Kobori Mariko , Yagihashi Soroku , Shiina Norie , Shiozawa Nana , Haginoya Akiko , Ojima Misato , Douguchi Satako , Tamasawa Atsuko , Saitou Miyoko , Baba Masayuki , Osonoi Takeshi
Published: October 2016

Aims/Introduction

Despite being the most common complication of diabetes, the pattern of clinical development of diabetic neuropathy is not well‐known. In the present study, we retrospectively examined sequential changes in nerve conduction studies (NCS) for 4 years to characterize the way neuropathic changes develop in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Materials and Methods

We randomly selected 158 patients with type 2 diabetes who newly visited Naka Memorial Clinic, Ibaraki, Japan, and underwent serial 4‐year NCS. Records of clinical profile, signs and symptoms of neuropathy, and NCS data from median and tibial nerves were extracted to determine the progression of neuropathy. NCS data were represented by motor nerve conduction velocities, amplitudes of compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs) and minimal latencies of F‐wave.

Results

The prevalence of clinical neuropathy in 158 cases was 30% at baseline and 29% at the end of the study, with improvement of glycated hemoglobin (8.6–6.9%). Over 4 years, there were no changes of the signs and symptoms of neuropathy. Motor nerve conduction velocities were slightly improved or consistent at the fourth year compared with those at the beginning (+1.5% in median nerve, P < 0.05; +0.8%, not significant in the tibial nerve). The extent of the glycated hemoglobin correction correlated with the improvement of motor nerve conduction velocity. In contrast, CMAPs of both median and tibial nerves were decreased (−11.6%, P < 0.01; −3.7%, P < 0.05, respectively). For the decrease in CMAPs, no specific risk factors were identified by logistic regression analysis.

Conclusions

The present study showed progressive decline of CMAPs despite improved glycemic controls or the lack of NCV slowing in patients with early type 2 diabetes.
Analysis of the association between glucose profiles and β‐cell function for diabetic cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy in China
Authors: Fang Ping , Dong Jingcheng , Zeng Fangfang , Tang Zihui
Published: October 2016

Aims/Introduction

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the severity of glucose profiles and β‐cell function associated with diabetic cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (DCAN) in a Chinese sample.

Materials and Methods

A community‐based, cross‐sectional study to analyze the risk factors of DCAN was carried out with 455 individuals recruited from a Chinese population. The glucose profile risk score was calculated to identify the association between the severity of the glucose profiles and DCAN. The associations of the severity of the glucose profiles and β‐cell function with DCAN were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression.

Results

Univariate analysis showed that the glucose profiles and homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance were significantly associated with the DCAN outcome, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression showed that significant associations exist between glucose profile indices and DCAN, after controlling for potential confounding factors (P < 0.01 for all) in both models. Multivariable logistic regression also showed that parameters of β‐cell function were associated with the DCAN outcome in the category model (P < 0.1 for all). The glucose profile risk score was independently and significantly associated with the DCAN outcome after controlling for confounding factors (P < 0.001 and P for a trend <0.001).

Conclusions

Our observations suggest that parameters of glucose profile indices and β‐cell function are significantly and independently associated with DCAN, respectively. There was a tendency toward increased glucose profile risk score with increasing prevalence of DCAN.
Integrating Depression Care Management into Medicare Home Health Reduces Risk of 30‐ and 60‐Day Hospitalization: The Depression Care for Patients at Home Cluster‐Randomized Trial
Authors: Bruce Martha L. , Lohman Matthew C. , Greenberg Rebecca L. , Bao Yuhua , Raue Patrick J.
Published: October 2016

Objectives

To determine whether a depression care management intervention in Medicare home health recipients decreases risk of hospitalization.

Design

Cluster‐randomized trial. Nurse teams were randomized to intervention (12 teams) or enhanced usual care (EUC; 9 teams).

Setting

Six home health agencies from distinct geographic regions. Home health recipients were interviewed at home and over the telephone.

Participants

Individuals aged 65 and older who screened positive for depression on nurse assessments (N = 755) and a subset who consented to interviews (n = 306).

Intervention

The Depression CARE for PATients at Home (CAREPATH) guides nurses in managing depression during routine home visits. Clinical functions include weekly symptom assessment, medication management, care coordination, patient education, and goal setting. Researchers conducted telephone conferences with team supervisors every 2 weeks.

Measurements

Hospitalization while receiving home health services was assessed using data from the home health record. Hospitalization within 30 days of starting home health, regardless of how long recipients received home health services, was assessed using data from the home care record and research assessments.

Results

The relative hazard of being admitted to the hospital directly from home health was 35% lower within 30 days of starting home health care (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.65, P = .01) and 28% lower within 60 days (HR = 0.72, P = .03) for CAREPATH participants than for participants receiving EUC. In participants referred to home health directly from the hospital, the relative hazard of being rehospitalized was approximately 55% lower (HR = 0.45, P = .001) for CAREPATH participants.

Conclusion

Integrating CAREPATH depression care management into routine nursing practice reduces hospitalization and rehospitalization risk in older adults receiving Medicare home health nursing services.
Spaces of Resistance, Everyday Activism, and Belonging: Youth Reimagining and Reconfiguring the City in Oaxaca, Mexico
Authors: Magaña Maurice Rafael
Published: October 2016

Los procesos relacionados con la urbanización, las reformas neoliberales y la militarización, ponen cada vez más en conflicto los intereses del estado, los de los capitalistas, y de la sociedad civil en cuanto a ideas encontradas sobre el uso, significado y naturaleza de los espacios públicos. Este artículo está arraigado en un trabajo etnográfico conducido en Oaxaca, México, y se enfoca en cómo una red de jóvenes activistas—inspirados por su previa participación en un movimiento social que tomó control de la ciudad capitalina por seis meses, durante el 2006—construye redes que combinan espacios físicos y simbólicos con más espacios territorializados tales como lo son los centros culturales dirigido por jóvenes. A través de un análisis de los eventos, este artículo sostiene que al enfocarse en la constitución material y social del poder y del espacio, se nos brinda la oportunidad de entender mejor las complejidades de cómo se producen, impugnan y negocian el poder y la resistencia de modo que podamos imaginar nuevas maneras de comprender y auscultar los movimientos sociales.
Broken Promises and Lost Dreams: Navigating Asylum in the United States
Authors: Utržan Damir S. , Northwood Andrea K.
Published: October 2016

Nearly 65 million people around the world have been displaced by war, conflict, and persecution since 2014 (UNHCR; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2015). This yields an average of 42,000 people refugees, asylum seekers, or internally displaced every day. Displacement has adverse and disruptive consequences, including mental health problems (e.g., anxiety, depression), impaired interpersonal relationships, and heightened conflict. These consequences are compounded by profound ambiguity associated with navigating asylum in the United States. In this article, we describe the treatment of a couple from Syria who is seeking asylum in the United States. Informed by personal and professional experience, this case illustrates how ambiguous loss theory and awareness of relevant legal processes enhance our understanding of working with asylum seekers.
The importance of heating duration for Raman CM thermometry: evidence from contact metamorphism around the Great Whin Sill intrusion, UK
Authors: Mori H. , Mori N. , Wallis S. , Westaway R. , Annen C.
Published: October 2016

The degree of crystallinity of amorphous carbonaceous material (CM) increases with heating. Previous studies have shown good correlations between maximum temperature and the structural state of CM as measured by Raman spectroscopy. Changes in CM are also expected to depend on the time‐scale of heating, but there are very few data that can be used to define this relationship. Thermal modelling of contact metamorphism developed around the 66 m thick Great Whin Sill in County Durham, England, shows that the time‐scale of heating was on the order of ~40–270 years with a temperature range of ~300–680 °C within ~110 m from the sill contact. Raman spectroscopy reveals a significant increase in the crystallinity of the CM (from a less crystallized D1‐band width of ~110 cm−1 up to a well crystallized R2 peak area ratio of ~0.43) within ~50 m from the sill contact—corresponding to an apparent increase in temperature of up to ~200 °C when estimated using conventional Raman CM geothermometry. Over this distance, the temperatures derived from thermal modelling exceed ~400 °C and heating occurred over a time‐scale of c. 100 years. Combining the results of this study with the results of previous work shows both the maximum attained temperature and the duration of heating have a significant effect on the resulting Raman spectra and demonstrates the utility of this method to derive quantitative descriptions of the kinetics of CM crystallization in rocks.
3‐Hydroxybutyrate regulates energy metabolism and induces BDNF expression in cerebral cortical neurons
Authors: Marosi Krisztina , Kim Sang Woo , Moehl Keelin , Scheibye‐Knudsen Morten , Cheng Aiwu , Cutler Roy , Camandola Simonetta , Mattson Mark P.
Published: October 2016

During fasting and vigorous exercise, a shift of brain cell energy substrate utilization from glucose to the ketone 3‐hydroxybutyrate (3OHB) occurs. Studies have shown that 3OHB can protect neurons against excitotoxicity and oxidative stress, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Neurons maintained in the presence of 3OHB exhibited increased oxygen consumption and ATP production, and an elevated NAD+/NADH ratio. We found that 3OHB metabolism increases mitochondrial respiration which drives changes in expression of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in cultured cerebral cortical neurons. The mechanism by which 3OHB induces Bdnf gene expression involves generation of reactive oxygen species, activation of the transcription factor NF‐κB, and activity of the histone acetyltransferase p300/EP300. Because BDNF plays important roles in synaptic plasticity and neuronal stress resistance, our findings suggest cellular signaling mechanisms by which 3OHB may mediate adaptive responses of neurons to fasting, exercise, and ketogenic diets.

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Influence of Gender and Care Strategy in Family Caregivers´ Strain: A Cross‐Sectional Study
Authors: Casado‐Mejía Rosa , Ruiz‐Arias Esperanza
Published: October 2016

Purpose

To analyze the factors that influence the strain on family caregivers of elderly dependent people, relating it to the strategy of care, with a gender perspective.

Design

Cross‐sectional study.

Methods

We interviewed 328 Spanish family caregivers in 2012. Main variable: Caregiver Strain Index (CSI). Independent variables: relationship, sex, age, marital status, education level, employment status, socioeconomic status, family and/or institutional supports, time they devote to care, and how long they have been giving care. Data were analyzed using bivariate procedures and multiple linear regression.

Findings

Caregiver profile: women around 60 years old, housewives, with primary education. CSI average: 6.63 ± 3.36. Female sex, kinship being a son or daughter, housewife employment status, service of home care, and the care recipient being female were significantly associated with the subjective strain.

Conclusions

Caregivers´ strain has a strong gender component: women are more tired, primarily those that practice a partial care strategy.

Clinical Relevance

Knowing the factors that predict burden, nurses may help caregivers to provide better care. A risk profile for strain and burden: women who practice a partial care strategy; they are adult women and daughters who do not want to give up their professional role and combine it with their duty of caregiving.
Calcium signalling and ER stress in insulin resistance and atherosclerosis
Authors: Ozcan L. , Tabas I.
Published: October 2016

The burden of type 2 diabetes and its major complication cardiovascular disease is rapidly increasing worldwide. Understanding the underlying pathogenic mechanisms of these diseases is crucial to develop novel therapeutics. Recent work using genetic and biochemical methods in mouse models and human samples have identified disturbed calcium signalling and endoplasmic reticulum stress as emerging factors involved in the pathogenesis of many metabolic diseases. In this review, we will highlight the specific roles of calcium signalling and endoplasmic reticulum stress response in the development of insulin resistance and atherosclerosis.