bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Waist:height ratio, waist circumference and metabolic syndrome abnormalities in Colombian schooled adolescents: a multivariate analysis considering located adiposity
Authors: Agredo-Zúñiga Ricardo Antonio , Aguilar-de Plata Cecilia , Suárez-Ortegón Milton Fabian
Published: July 2015

Very few large studies in Latin America have evaluated the association between waist:height ratio (W-HtR) and cardiometabolic risk in children and adolescents. Further, multivariable analyses verifying the independence of located subcutaneous fat have not been conducted so far. The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations of W-HtR and waist circumference (WC) with metabolic syndrome abnormalities and high LDL-cholesterol levels in schooled adolescents before and after adjusting for trunk skinfolds and BMI. The sample consisted of 831 boys and 841 girls aged 10–17 years. Biochemical, blood pressure and anthropometrical variables were measured. Age- and sex-specific quartiles of W-HtR and WC were used in Poisson regression models to evaluate the associations. High WC values (highest quartilev. quartiles 1–3) were associated with high TAG levels in both sexes (prevalence ratio, boys: 2·57 (95 % CI 1·91, 3·44); girls: 1·92 (95 % CI 1·49, 2·47);P<0·05), and with high blood pressure specifically in female adolescents (3·07 (95 % CI 1·58, 5·98);P<0·05), independently of trunk skinfolds or BMI (P<0·05). Associations of high WC with high fasting glucose (boys), low HDL-cholesterol and having at least two abnormalities did not remain significant in most of the adjustments for trunk skinfolds or BMI (P>0·05). High W-HtR (highest quartilev. quartiles 1–3) was only independently associated with high TAG in female adolescents (1·99 (95 % CI 1·55, 2·56);P<0·05). In conclusion, WC showed better association with cardiometabolic risk than W-HtR in the children of this study. This observation does not support W-HtR as a relevant adiposity marker for cardiovascular and metabolic risk in adolescence.
Tree holes as larval habitats forAedes aegyptiin urban, suburban and forest habitats in a dengue affected area
Authors: Mangudo C. , Aparicio J.P. , Gleiser R.M.
Published: July 2015

Aedes aegypti(L.) (Diptera: Culicidae), the main vector of dengue and urban yellow fever in the world, is highly adapted to the human environment. Artificial containers are the most common larval habitat for the species, but it may develop in tree holes and other phytotelmata. This study assessed whether tree holes in San Ramón de la Nueva Orán, a city located in subtropical montane moist forest where dengue outbreaks occur, are relevant as larval habitat forAe. aegyptiand if the species may be found in natural areas far from human habitations. Water holding tree holes were sampled during 3 years once a month along the rainy season using a siphon bottle, in urban and suburban sites within the city and in adjacent forested areas. Larvae and pupae were collected and the presence and volume of water in each tree hole were recorded. FindingAe. aegyptiin forested areas was an isolated event; however, the species was frequently collected from tree holes throughout the city and along the sampling period. Moreover, larvae were collected in considerably high numbers, stressing the importance of taking into account these natural cavities as potential reinfestation foci within dengue control framework.
Local Government Structure and the Co-ordination of Economic Development Policy
Authors: Lyons Joseph
Published: July 2015

This paper explores how local government structure affects policy co-ordination. It compares the delivery of economic development services in two Ontario cities. In London, a specialized agency is the lead, but lacks full functional control, while in Hamilton policy control is consolidated in a single municipal department. The findings support the hypothesis of those who argue in favour of general-purpose governments, as the municipal hierarchy in Hamilton was instrumental in achieving policy co-ordination. Proponents of specialization argue that it limits the need for co-ordination between governments but, as the London case demonstrates, this logic breaks down when there are too many players with too few responsibilities.
Zeta Functions and the Log Behaviour of Combinatorial Sequences
Authors: Chen William Y. C. , Guo Jeremy J. F. , Wang Larry X. W.
Published: July 2015

In this paper, we use the Riemann zeta functionζ(x) and the Bessel zeta functionζμ(x) to study the log behaviour of combinatorial sequences. We prove thatζ(x) is log-convex forx> 1. As a consequence, we deduce that the sequence {|B2n|/(2n)!}n≥ 1 is log-convex, whereBnis thenth Bernoulli number. We introduce the functionθ(x) = (2ζ(x)Γ(x + 1))1/x, whereΓ(x)is the gamma function, and we show that logθ(x) is strictly increasing forx≥ 6. This confirms a conjecture of Sun stating that the sequenceis strictly increasing. Amdeberhanet al. defined the numbersan(μ)= 22n+1(n+ 1)!(μ+ 1)nζμ(2n) and conjectured that the sequence{an(μ)}n≥1is log-convex forμ= 0 andμ= 1. By proving thatζμ(x)is log-convex forx >1 andμ >-1, we show that the sequence{an(≥)}n>1 is log-convex for anyμ >- 1. We introduce another functionθμ,(x)involvingζμ(x)and the gamma functionΓ(x)and we show that logθμ(x)is strictly increasing forx >8e(μ+ 2)2. This implies that

Based on Dobinski’s formula, we prove that

whereBnis thenth Bell number. This confirms another conjecture of Sun. We also establish a connection between the increasing property ofand Holder’s inequality in probability theory.
A LOCALISABLE CLASS OF PRIMITIVE IDEALS OF UNIFORM NILPOTENT IWASAWA ALGEBRAS
Authors: NELSON JONATHAN
Published: July 2015

We study the injective hulls of faithful characteristic zero finite dimensional irreducible representations of uniform nilpotent pro-pgroups, seen as modules over their corresponding Iwasawa algebras. Using this we prove that the kernels of these representations are classically localisable.
CLASSIFICATION OF POLARIZED SYMPLECTIC AUTOMORPHISMS OF FANO VARIETIES OF CUBIC FOURFOLDS
Authors: FU LIE
Published: July 2015

We classify the polarized symplectic automorphisms of Fano varieties of smooth cubic fourfolds (equipped with the Plücker polarization) and study the fixed loci.
TRACES ON SEMIGROUP RINGS AND LEAVITT PATH ALGEBRAS
Authors: MESYAN ZACHARY , VAŠ LIA
Published: July 2015

The trace on matrix rings, along with the augmentation map and Kaplansky trace on group rings, are some of the many examples of linear functions on algebras that vanish on all commutators. We generalize and unify these examples by studying traces on (contracted) semigroup rings over commutative rings. We show that every such ring admits a minimal trace (i.e., one that vanishes only on sums of commutators), classify all minimal traces on these rings, and give applications to various classes of semigroup rings and quotients thereof. We then study traces on Leavitt path algebras (which are quotients of contracted semigroup rings), where we describe all linear traces in terms of central maps on graph inverse semigroups and, under mild assumptions, those Leavitt path algebras that admit faithful traces.
NONUNIFORM EXPONENTIAL BEHAVIOUR AND TOPOLOGICAL EQUIVALENCE
Authors: BARREIRA LUIS , POPESCU LIVIU HORIA , VALLS CLAUDIA
Published: July 2015

We show that any evolution family with a strong nonuniform exponential dichotomy can always be transformed by a topological equivalence to a canonical form that contracts and/or expands the same in all directions. We emphasize that strong nonuniform exponential dichotomies are ubiquitous in the context of ergodic theory. The main novelty of our work is that we are able to control the asymptotic behaviour of the topological conjugacies at the origin and at infinity.
GENERALISED ARMENDARIZ PROPERTIES OF CROSSED PRODUCT TYPE
Authors: ZHAO LIANG , ZHOU YIQIANG
Published: July 2015

Let R be a ring and M a monoid with twisting f:M × M → U(R) and action ω: M→ Aut(R). We introduce and study the concepts of CM-Armendariz and CM-quasi-Armendariz rings to generalise various Armendariz and quasi-Armendariz properties of rings by working on the context of the crossed product R*M over R. The following results are proved: (1) If M is a u.p.-monoid, then any M-rigid ring R is CM-Armendariz; (2) if I is a reduced ideal of an M-compatible ring R with M a strictly totally ordered monoid, then R/I being CM-Armendariz implies that R is CM-Armendariz; (3) if M is a u.p.-monoid and R is a semiprime ring, then R is CM-quasi-Armendariz. These results generalise and unify many known results on this subject.
PARTIALLY AMPLE LINE BUNDLES ON TORIC VARIETIES
Authors: BROOMHEAD NATHAN , OTTEM JOHN CHRISTIAN , PRENDERGAST-SMITH ARTIE
Published: July 2015

In this note we study properties of partially ample line bundles on simplicial projective toric varieties. We prove that the cone ofq-ample line bundles is a union of rational polyhedral cones, and calculate these cones in examples. We prove a restriction theorem for bigq-ample line bundles, and deduce thatq-ampleness of the anticanonical bundle is not invariant under flips. Finally we prove a Kodaira-type vanishing theorem forq-ample line bundles.
ARBITRARY WITHHOLDING OF CONSENT TO HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE IN SITUATIONS OF DISASTER
Authors: Sivakumaran Sandesh
Published: July 2015

Following a large-scale disaster, such as a major earthquake, tsunami or cyclone, tens of thousands of persons are often displaced, suffer from food shortages and in need of medical assistance. In situations in which the State affected by the disaster does not meet the needs of the affected persons itself, humanitarian assistance from outside the State might be required. This article considers the role of consent to external humanitarian assistance on the part of the affected State. As there is no single overarching treaty in the area of humanitarian assistance in situations of disaster, the article explores the role of consent in the various disaster-specific, subject-specific and region-specific treaties as well as in the soft law instruments in the area. Although the instruments take seemingly different approaches to the subject, a common standard is identified, namely that consent on the part of the affected State is required before external assistance can be provided but that consent cannot be arbitrarily withheld. The article then goes on to give content to the arbitrary withholding standard, breaking it down into its substantive and procedural elements. These include the meaning of the term ‘arbitrary’; the requirement to provide a reason for the withholding of consent; legitimate grounds for withholding consent; and the actor that assesses the justification. Regard is had for State practice in the context of disasters as well as other areas of the law in which similar tests are used.
THE ARMS TRADE TREATY: ACHIEVEMENTS, FAILINGS, FUTURE
Authors: Lustgarten Laurence
Published: July 2015

This article looks at the origins, purposes and conflicts of national interests and policies that were the primary influences in shaping the substance of the Arms Trade Treaty, which came into force at the end of 2014. It then proceeds to a more legally focussed analysis and, having identified several important issues which have had to remain undiscussed, concentrates on detailed examination and evaluation of the most important provisions of substance. These are firstly the scope of the Treaty—defining the equipment or materiel covered (Article 2). There follows analysis of the provisions which contain the obligations on exporting States, ranging from absolute prohibitions (Article 6) to ‘export assessments’ (Article 7), which in practice will be the most frequently applicable. The paper concludes by identifying several valuable provisions in the Treaty whilst also highlighting several significant weaknesses and omissions. It contends that evaluation of the Treaty's likely contribution to controlling the recognized evils of the arms trade is premature at this stage and, further, that efforts towards that end must focus on the practice and law of domestic administrative implementation, rather than international law.
IQ AND SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACROSS REGIONS OF THE UK
Authors: Carl Noah
Published: July 2015

Cross-regional correlations between average IQ and socioeconomic development have been documented in many different countries. This paper presents new IQ estimates for the twelve regions of the UK. These are weakly correlated (r=0.24) with the regional IQs assembled by Lynn (1979). Assuming the two sets of estimates are accurate and comparable, this finding suggests that the relative IQs of different UK regions have changed since the 1950s, most likely due to differentials in the magnitude of the Flynn effect, the selectivity of external migration, the selectivity of internal migration or the strength of the relationship between IQ and fertility. The paper provides evidence for the validity of the regional IQs by showing that IQ estimates for UK nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) derived from the same data are strongly correlated with national PISA scores (r=0.99). It finds that regional IQ is positively related to income, longevity and technological accomplishment; and is negatively related to poverty, deprivation and unemployment. A general factor of socioeconomic development is correlated with regional IQ atr=0.72.
Endoscopic transnasal approach to medial orbital lesions
Authors: Tan S H , Prepageran N
Published: July 2015

Objective:

This case report presents our experience of endoscopic transnasal management of medial intra- and extraconal lesions.

Case report:

An endoscopic transnasal approach to intra-orbital lesions was used for nine patients. Four patients had intraconal lesions and five had lesions in the extraconal space. Post-operatively, seven patients reported an improvement in visual acuity and two reported stable vision. There were no complications of cerebrospinal leakage or diplopia.

Conclusion:

This case series demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of an endoscopic transnasal approach to managing intraconal and extraconal lesions. This minimally invasive technique should be considered a valid alternative for accessing orbital tumours, particularly those located in the medial compartment.
On a hexactinellid sponge aggregation at the Great Meteor seamount (North-east Atlantic)
Authors: Xavier Joana R. , Tojeira Inês , Van Soest Rob W.M.
Published: July 2015

Hexactinellids or glass sponges constitute a predominantly deep-sea sponge group typically occurring at bathyal and abyssal depths. Some species form dense populations along the European and African continental slope but the distribution and extent of these populations remains ill known and the driving factors behind their occurrence poorly understood. Here we report an aggregation of the hexactinellid sponge Poliopogon amadou Thomson, 1878 at ~2700 m depth on the Great Meteor seamount, a large seamount located southern of the Azores archipelago. A description of the species, along with scanning electron microscopy of its spicules, is provided.
Implicit and explicit knowledge of inflectional morphology
Authors: ROGERS JOHN , RÉVÉSZ ANDREA , REBUSCHAT PATRICK
Published: July 2015

This study set out to test the degree to which second language inflectional morphology can be acquired as a result of incidental exposure and whether the resulting knowledge is implicit (unconscious) or explicit (conscious) in nature. Participants were exposed to an artificial language system based on Czech morphology under incidental learning conditions. In the testing phase, a grammaticality judgment test was utilized to assess learning. In addition, subjective measures of awareness and retrospective verbal reports were used to measure whether the acquired knowledge was conscious or not. The results of the experiment indicate that participants can rapidly develop knowledge of second language inflectional morphology under incidental learning conditions in the absence of verbalizable rule knowledge.
Developing second language oral ability in foreign language classrooms: The role of the length and focus of instruction and individual differences
Authors: SAITO KAZUYA , HANZAWA KEIKO
Published: July 2015

The current study aimed to examine how instruction can impact the global, segmental, prosodic, and temporal qualities of second language (L2) oral ability in foreign language (FL) settings (i.e., a few hours of target language input per week). Spontaneous speech was elicited via a timed picture description task from 56 Japanese freshman college students who had studied English through FL instruction from Grades 7 to 12 without any experience abroad. The tokens were rated for global accentedness and then submitted to segmental, prosodic, and temporal analyses. According to statistical analyses, (a) the participants' oral performance widely varied in relation to the length and focus of FL instruction, the frequency of their conversations in the L2, and aptitude; and (b) their diverse proficiency levels were predicted in particular by the amount of extra FL activities inside (i.e., pronunciation training) and outside (i.e., cram school) of high school (but not junior high) classrooms. The results in turn suggest that whereas extensive FL instruction (>875 hr) itself does make some difference in L2 oral ability development, its pedagogical potential can be increased by how students optimize their most immediate FL experience beyond the regular syllabus.
The stability of basic income: a constitutional solution for a political problem?
Authors: De Wispelaere Jurgen , Morales Leticia
Published: July 2015

Although basic income has surged in policy interest in recent years, political research has not kept up with the debate in the trenches. In this article, we tackle a political problem any enacting coalition must face: how to ensure the political stability of a basic income over time. We first demonstrate how basic income schemes are particularly vulnerable to processes of policy change discussed in the recent policy feedback literature. We then analyse whether constitutionalising basic income in a Bill of Rights protected by strong judicial review would offer a valuable route for boosting basic income’s stability. A careful examination of the decision-making process within judicial review suggests that, caught up in a dilemma between judicial restraint and judicial activism, an enacting coalition would do well not to rely on constitutional mechanisms as the sole avenue for ensuring the political stability of basic income.
The Abject Condition of Labor in Pakistan
Authors: Munir Kamal A. , Naqvi Natalya , Usmani Adaner
Published: July 2015

The strength of the trade union movement in Pakistan has ebbed and flowed over the course of the country's history, but today, after roughly twenty-five years of liberalization, deregulation, and privatization, the movement is arguably at its weakest point in recent memory.
Globalization and Ambivalence: Rural Outsourcing in Southern Bengal
Authors: Chattaraj Durba
Published: July 2015

Studies of globalization in India have focused on high-tech industries, such as call centers in urban areas. But a widespread effect of the globalization of India's economy is the growth of “rural outsourcing”—the expansion of urban-based industries into the countryside. Rural outsourcing links to longer histories of decentralized manufacturing in India. This ethnography of the decentralized industry of sari embroidery in Southern Bengal shows that workers are ambivalent toward it. Among villagers who participate in the embroidery industry, I found three scales of ambivalence: ambivalence toward the product; toward the production process; and finally, toward the politics of this form of decentralized production. Ambivalence is not a transient or uncertain position of confusion or ambiguity. Rather, it is a widely-held expression of the dual and contradictory positions that workers and contractors hold in relation to the industry. I argue that the “frictions” of globalization find expression not just in resistance or contestation, but also in articulated positions of ambivalence toward globalization processes.
With the Declining Significance of Labor, Who Is Producing our Global Cities?
Authors: Goldman Michael
Published: July 2015

This article engages the question of what happens to labor as Indian cities become transformed into “global cities.” It does so by focusing on the convergence of three interrelated trends over the past few decades: the informalization of labor, the making of global cities, and the financialization of the economy. The article explains the effect on labor, capital, and urban space of this concatenation of trends. It challenges the conclusion of urbanization scholars who emphasize how labor has been largely excluded and bypassed by the growing urban economy. Instead, the article demonstrates, by using nationwide data as well as examples from Bangalore, that as labor is being displaced from formal employment and as wages become compressed, the urban commons is becoming a more valued terrain. On the one hand, displaced urban and rural workers must increasingly rely on subsistence practices and depend more upon the city's public spaces and goods to survive. On the other hand, these spaces, vital to city life, are becoming attractive to indebted municipal governments and aggressive financial investors for their speculative land values, and hence have led to greater insecurity and dispossession. The global city, therefore, is being built in large part with workers' wageless labor. Consequently, the struggle between capital and labor has reached far “beyond the factory” and farm, to the urban commons, sites simultaneously key to the majority's survival and integral to the urban speculative project of financialization.
Design and simulation of an underactuated finger mechanism for LARM Hand
Authors: Ceccarelli M. , Zottola M.
Published: July 2015

An underactuated mechanism is presented as a new finger design for improving grasp adaptability of LARM Hand fingers. Underactuation is discussed as a feasible solution through several design structures for finger adaptability to shape and size of objects to be grasped. The proposed underactuated solution for a new LARM finger is characterized through simulation results in ADAMS environment for operation feasibility and performance.
Risk factors for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus skin and soft tissue infection in MRSA-colonized patients discharged from a Veterans Affairs hospital
Authors: CADENA J. , RICHARDSON A. M. , FREI C. R.
Published: July 2015

Currently, limited studies have quantified the risk of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) for MRSA-colonized patients on discharge from hospital. Our retrospective, case-control study identified independent risk factors for the development of MRSA SSTIs among such patients detected by active MRSA nasal screening in an acute care hospital by PCR on admission, and bacteriological cultures on discharge. Cases were MRSA-colonized patients aged ⩾18 years who developed a MRSA SSTI post-discharge and controls were those who did not develop a MRSA SSTI post-discharge. Controls were matched to cases by length of follow-up (±10 days) for up to 18 months. Potential demographic and clinical risk factors for MRSA infection were identified using electronic queries and manual chart abstraction; data were compared by standard statistical tests and variables with P values ⩽0·05 in bivariable analysis were entered into a logistic regression model. Multivariable analysis demonstrated prior hospital admission within 12 months (P = 0·02), prior MRSA infection (P = 0·05), and previous myocardial infarction (P = 0·01) were independently predictive of a MRSA SSTI post-discharge. Identification of MRSA colonization upon admission and recognition of risk factors could help identify a high-risk population that could benefit from MRSA SSTI prevention strategies.
Description of two waterborne disease outbreaks in France: a comparative study with data from cohort studies and from health administrative databases
Authors: MOULY D. , VAN CAUTEREN D. , VINCENT N. , VAISSIERE E. , BEAUDEAU P. , DUCROT C. , GALLAY A.
Published: July 2015

Waterborne disease outbreaks (WBDO) of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) are a public health concern in France. Their occurrence is probably underestimated due to the lack of a specific surveillance system. The French health insurance database provides an interesting opportunity to improve the detection of these events. A specific algorithm to identify AGI cases from drug payment reimbursement data in the health insurance database has been previously developed. The purpose of our comparative study was to retrospectively assess the ability of the health insurance data to describe WBDO. Data from the health insurance database was compared with the data from cohort studies conducted in two WBDO in 2010 and 2012. The temporal distribution of cases, the day of the peak and the duration of the epidemic, as measured using the health insurance data, were similar to the data from one of the two cohort studies. However, health insurance data accounted for 54 cases compared to the estimated 252 cases accounted for in the cohort study. The accuracy of using health insurance data to describe WBDO depends on the medical consultation rate in the impacted population. As this is never the case, data analysis underestimates the total number of AGI cases. However this data source can be considered for the development of a detection system of a WBDO in France, given its ability to describe an epidemic signal.
Molecular epidemiology and genetic diversity of Blastocystis infection in humans in Italy
Authors: MATTIUCCI S. , CRISAFI B. , GABRIELLI S. , PAOLETTI M. , CANCRINI G.
Published: July 2015

In order to describe the molecular epidemiology of Blastocystis infection in Italy, 189 isolates, which had been collected during the years 2012–2014 from mildly symptomatic patients, or those affected by inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or chronic diarrhoea, or otherwise immunosuppressed, were subtyped by sequence analysis of the SSU rRNA gene (536 bp). Six subtypes (STs) were detected: ST1 (15·3%), ST2 (13·8%), ST3 (46·0%), ST4 (21·7%), ST6 (3·2%) and ST8 (0·5%). They clustered in distinct clades, as inferred from Bayesian inference phylogenetic and median joining network analyses. A high genetic differentiation was found at the inter-subtype level; it ranged from Jukes–Cantor (JC) distance = 0·02 (between ST1 and ST4) to JC = 0·11 (between ST6 and ST2). At the intra-ST level, a high genetic homogeneity was registered in ST4, whereas higher genetic variation was found in isolates corresponding to ST1 and ST2. Accordingly, high values of haplotype and nucleotide diversity were observed in ST1, ST2 and ST3. No association was found between patient gender and ST, whereas ST3 and ST1 were significantly more prevalent in patients aged 15–50 years. A significant occurrence of Blastocystis ST4 in patients suffering from IBS, IBD or chronic diarrhoea was observed; in addition, a slight significant association between ST1 and ST3 and IBS patients was found. Multiple correspondence analysis showed some significant contribution of different variables (subtypes, haplotypes, age) in the observed pattern of ordination of the 189 patients in the symptom categories.
Longitudinal investigation of anxiety sensitivity growth trajectories and relations with anxiety and depression symptoms in adolescence
Authors: Allan Nicholas P. , Felton Julia W. , Lejuez Carl W. , MacPherson Laura , Schmidt Norman B.
Published: July 2015

Anxiety sensitivity (AS), the belief that anxious arousal is harmful, is a malleable risk factor that has been implicated in anxiety and depression symptoms in adolescents. Although there is some evidence that adolescents possess distinct developmental trajectories, few studies have explored this topic. This study examined the developmental trajectory of AS in 248 adolescents (Mage = 11.0 years,SD= 0.82; 56% male) across 6 years, beginning when children were age 11. This study also examined the influence of AS trajectories on anxiety and depression at age 16. Finally, this study examined the utility of AS classes in identifying anxiety and depression growth. Three AS classes were found, described by normative-stable, high-stable, and high-unstable trajectories. Adolescents in the high-stable and the high-unstable AS classes had higher levels of anxiety and depression at age 16 than did adolescents in the normative-stable AS class. In addition, the anxiety and depression trajectories fit by AS class mirrored the AS class trajectories. These findings suggest three AS trajectories can be identified in adolescents. These trajectories are discussed in relation to a developmental perspective of AS.
Chemically inducible gene expression in seeds before testa rupture
Authors: Nonogaki Mariko , Sekine Taira , Nonogaki Hiroyuki
Published: July 2015

Impermeability of the testa hinders efficient penetration of some small chemicals, such as transcriptional inhibitors, through the endosperm and the embryo during seed experiments. InArabidopsisseeds, 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl β-d-glucuronic acid, a substrate for β-glucuronidase, did not permeate through the endosperm and embryo efficiently at the stages before testa rupture. TheArabidopsistesta also limited efficient entry of methoxyfenozide, a chemical ligand that was used for inducible gene expression experiments, into seeds. While the detection of a reporter gene at the early imbibitional stages could be replaced by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), the interference of entry of the chemical ligand into seeds by the testa was still problematic to gene induction experiments. To develop an efficient inducible expression system for gene function analysis in seeds, an inducible expression system with nitrate, which is a testa-permeable ligand, was examined. The vector containing the 2.1-kb upstream sequence ofNITRITE REDUCTASE 1was able to cause expression of a test gene (long non-coding RNA) in imbibed seeds at the stage before testa rupture in a nitrate-dependent manner. This system can be used not only for characterization of genes associated with seed dormancy and germination in basic research, but also for the development of germination recovery or enhancement technologies for agricultural applications.
Evaluation of the left ventricle longitudinal deformity using myocardial-tracking signals in severely obese adolescents
Authors: Balderrábano Norma , Del Rio Blanca , Navarrete Elsy , Berber Arturo , Méndez Nancy
Published: July 2015

Background

The global prevalence of obesity in school-age children and adolescents has increased in recent decades. Obesity modifies some aspects of the cardiovascular system in order to preserve the body homoeostasis. Echocardiography to study ventricular function plays an important role in the evaluation of pathological re-modelling associated with left ventricular dysfunction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the left ventricle function and structure with conventional echocardiography and to analyse the longitudinal deformity of the left ventricle using myocardial-tracking signals in a group of severely obese adolescents.

Methods and results

We carried out a descriptive cross-sectional study. We describe the evaluation of the left ventricle using conventional bi-dimensional echocardiography and the myocardial-tracking signals in severely obese adolescents. There were 34 severely obese adolescents included in our study; 52% had a left ventricular ejection fraction<55%, the left ventricular end-diastolic diameter was increased in 70.5% of patients, and 32.3% had an increase in left ventricular mass. On average, 78.9% had abnormal values of left ventricle longitudinal deformations. The number of segments affected per patient was, on average, 5.8, with the anterior apical segment being the most commonly affected. There was a decrease in global longitudinal deformity in 79.4% of the cases.

Conclusion

More than half of this group of asymptomatic severely obese adolescents showed abnormalities in left ventricular structure and function evaluated using traditional echocardiographic methods, but 100% of the cases showed abnormalities in longitudinal deformation in at least one of the 17 left ventricle segments evaluated using myocardial-tracking signals.
Smuggling India: Deconstructing Western India's Illicit Export Trade, 1818–1870
Authors: BOEHME KATE
Published: July 2015

In the 1800s it was not only merchants from British India who participated in the expanding trade with China, but also those from the princely states who sought to profit from the increased demand for cash crops. Smuggling—just as most commercial activities unsanctioned by the Bombay Government were labelled—was a source of great anxiety for the colonial authorities in India, especially in the western territories. This article looks at smuggling activity in and around the Bombay Presidency during the first half of the nineteenth century. It will assert that local ‘smuggling’ was, in many cases, the continuation of pre-colonial trade relations, labelled as illegal as a result of ill-defined boundaries and ambiguous legal restrictions. In fact, the success of these activities was less a reflection of widespread criminality than structural weaknesses in the colonial administration. Evidence suggests that British anxieties over smuggling had a greater effect on the political economy of western India than the actual financial damage caused by the illicit trade. The coordinated subversive smuggling network, ultimately, did not exist, and held power largely as a figment of the imperial imagination.
SOME PROPERTIES OF ANALYTIC DIFFERENCE VALUED FIELDS
Authors: Rideau Silvain
Published: July 2015

We prove field quantifier elimination for valued fields endowed with both an analytic structure that is $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E}$-Henselian and an automorphism that is $\unicode[STIX]{x1D70E}$-Henselian. From this result we can deduce various Ax–Kochen–Eršov type results with respect to completeness and the independence property. The main example we are interested in is the field of Witt vectors on the algebraic closure of $\mathbb{F}_{p}$ endowed with its natural analytic structure and the lifting of the Frobenius. It turns out we can give a (reasonable) axiomatization of its first-order theory and that this theory does not have the independence property.
First record of albinism in a tropical anguillid eel Anguilla bengalensis bengalensis from Malaysia
Authors: Abdul Kadir Siti Raudah , Abdul Rasid Mohamad Hafiz Farhan , Wong Li Lian , Kwong Kok Onn , Arai Takaomi
Published: July 2015

This study reports the first occurrence of partial albinism in a tropical anguillid eelAnguilla bengalensis bengalensisfrom Malaysia. This paper also describes the first record of albinism in the genusAnguilla. The occurrence of albinism in our specimen ofAnguillamight have been caused by three factors: (1) contamination effects; (2) random genetic alterations; or (3) genetic alteration due to small population size. The present results suggest that the albinism inA. bengalensis bengalensisis probably caused by random genetic alteration. Partial albinism may not be a handicap in the life of the present specimen because the eel could still potentially grow to more than 1 m in total length, just like a normal adult eel.
Evidence that the rab5 effector APPL1 mediates APP-βCTF-induced dysfunction of endosomes in Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease
Authors: Kim S , Sato Y , Mohan P S , Peterhoff C , Pensalfini A , Rigoglioso A , Jiang Y , Nixon R A
Published: July 2015

β-Amyloid precursor protein (APP) and its cleaved products are strongly implicated in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Endosomes are highly active APP processing sites, and endosome anomalies associated with upregulated expression of early endosomal regulator, rab5, are the earliest known disease-specific neuronal response in AD. Here, we show that the rab5 effector APPL1 (adaptor protein containing pleckstrin homology domain, phosphotyrosine binding domain and leucine zipper motif) mediates rab5 overactivation in Down syndrome (DS) and AD, which is caused by elevated levels of the β-cleaved carboxy-terminal fragment of APP (βCTF). βCTF recruits APPL1 to rab5 endosomes, where it stabilizes active GTP-rab5, leading to pathologically accelerated endocytosis, endosome swelling and selectively impaired axonal transport of rab5 endosomes. In DS fibroblasts, APPL1 knockdown corrects these endosomal anomalies. βCTF levels are also elevated in AD brain, which is accompanied by abnormally high recruitment of APPL1 to rab5 endosomes as seen in DS fibroblasts. These studies indicate that persistent rab5 overactivation through βCTF–APPL1 interactions constitutes a novel APP-dependent pathogenic pathway in AD.
Towards a mechanistic understanding of carbon stabilization in manganese oxides
Authors: Johnson Karen , Purvis Graham , Lopez-Capel Elisa , Peacock Caroline , Gray Neil , Wagner Thomas , März Christian , Bowen Leon , Ojeda Jesus , Finlay Nina , Robertson Steve , Worrall Fred , Greenwell Chris
Published: July 2015

Minerals stabilize organic carbon (OC) in sediments, thereby directly affecting global climate at multiple scales, but how they do it is far from understood. Here we show that manganese oxide (Mn oxide) in a water treatment works filter bed traps dissolved OC as coatings build up in layers around clean sand grains at 3%w/wC. Using spectroscopic and thermogravimetric methods, we identify two main OC fractions. One is thermally refractory (>550 °C) and the other is thermally more labile (<550 °C). We postulate that the thermal stability of the trapped OC is due to carboxylate groups within it bonding to Mn oxide surfaces coupled with physical entrapment within the layers. We identify a significant difference in the nature of the surface-bound OC and bulk OC . We speculate that polymerization reactions may be occurring at depth within the layers. We also propose that these processes must be considered in future studies of OC in natural systems.
Residue-specific structures and membrane locations of pH-low insertion peptide by solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance
Authors: Shu Nicolas S. , Chung Michael S. , Yao Lan , An Ming , Qiang Wei
Published: July 2015

The pH-low insertion peptide (pHLIP) binds to a membrane at pH 7.4 unstructured but folds across the bilayer as a transmembrane helix at pH∼6. Despite their promising applications as imaging probes and drug carriers that target cancer cells for cytoplasmic cargo delivery, the mechanism of pH modulation on pHLIP-membrane interactions has not been completely understood. Here, we show the first study on membrane-associated pHLIP using solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Data on residue-specific conformation and membrane location describe pHLIP in various surface-bound and membrane-inserted states at pH 7.4, 6.4 and 5.3. The critical membrane-adsorbed state is more complex than previously envisioned. At pH 6.4, for the major unstructured population, the peptide sinks deeper into the membrane in a state II′ that is distinct from the adsorbed state II observed at pH 7.4, which may enable pHLIP to sense slight change in acidity even before insertion.
Intestinal CD169+ macrophages initiate mucosal inflammation by secreting CCL8 that recruits inflammatory monocytes
Authors: Asano Kenichi , Takahashi Naomichi , Ushiki Mikiko , Monya Misa , Aihara Fumiaki , Kuboki Erika , Moriyama Shigetaka , Iida Mayumi , Kitamura Hiroshi , Qiu Chun-Hong , Watanabe Takashi , Tanaka Masato
Published: July 2015

Lamina propria (LP) macrophages are constantly exposed to commensal bacteria, and are refractory to those antigens in an interleukin (IL)-10-dependent fashion. However, the mechanisms that discriminate hazardous invasion by bacteria from peaceful co-existence with them remain elusive. Here we show that CD169+ macrophages reside not at the villus tip, but at the bottom-end of the LP microenvironment. Following mucosal injury, the CD169+ macrophages recruit inflammatory monocytes by secreting CCL8. Selective depletion of CD169+ macrophages or administration of neutralizing anti-CCL8 antibody ameliorates the symptoms of experimentally induced colitis in mice. Collectively, we identify an LP-resident macrophage subset that links mucosal damage and inflammatory monocyte recruitment. Our results suggest that CD169+ macrophage-derived CCL8 serves as an emergency alert for the collapse of barrier defence, and is a promising target for the suppression of mucosal injury.
Breast cancer survivors are at an increased risk for osteoporotic fractures not explained by lower BMD: a retrospective analysis
Authors: Fraenkel Merav , Geffen David B , Novack Victor , Shafat Tali , Mizrakli Yuval , Ariad Samuell , Koretz Michael , Norton Larry , Siris Ethel
Published: July 2015

Background:

An association between higher bone mineral density (BMD) and the diagnosis of breast cancer (BC) has been reported. Data on the risk of osteoporotic fractures in women with BC are conflicting.

Aims:

The objective of this study was to assess fracture risk adjusted for BMD in women with and without BC, and to assess whether fracture risk in BC patients is attributed to BMD or BC characteristics.

Methods:

Using electronic medical records of patients who underwent dual energy X-ray absorptiometry BMD studies at Soroka University Medical Center between February 2003 and March 2011, we identified women with subsequent diagnosis of osteoporotic fractures. BC status, demographic, health characteristics, BMD, and other laboratory findings were assessed. In BC patients data on grade, stage, and treatment were collected. Primary outcome was osteoporotic fracture, analyzed by Cox proportional hazards regression models.

Results:

During a median follow-up of 4.9 years in 17,110 women with BMD testing (658 BC patients), 1,193 women experienced an osteoporotic fracture (62 in BC and 1,131 in no-BC groups). In multivariate analysis adjusted for age, body mass index (BMI) and BMD, hazard ratio (HR) for any osteoporotic fracture in women with BC was 1.34 (P=0.026). BMD was similar among women with and without BC who fractured. BC patients who experienced an osteoporotic fracture had a trend for less-advanced BC, lower rates of chemotherapy treatment, and higher rates of tamoxifen treatment.

Conclusions:

BC survivors are at increased risk of an osteoporotic fracture, which is not explained by worse BMD. Chemotherapy or aromatase inhibitors did not contribute substantially to fracture risk among our BC survivors.
All-carbon based graphene field effect transistor with graphitic electrodes fabricated by e-beam direct writing on PMMA
Authors: Chen Wei , Yu Yayun , Zheng Xiaoming , Qin Shiqiao , Wang Fei , Fang Jingyue , Wang Guang , Wang Chaocheng , Wang Li , Peng Gang , Zhang Xue-Ao
Published: July 2015

A so called all-carbon based graphene field effect transistor (GFET) in which the electrodes are composed of graphite-like nano-sheets instead of metals in the traditional devices is fabricated by one-step e-beam direct writing (EBDW). It is also found that the graphite-like nano-sheets in electrodes are perpendicular to the channel graphene, which is confirmed by the transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The one-step fabrication of the carbonaceous electrodes is more convenient and lower-cost comparing to the preparation of traditional metal electrodes and can be applied to many other nano-electronic devices.
Unveiling hidden ferrimagnetism and giant magnetoelectricity in polar magnet Fe2Mo3O8
Authors: Wang Yazhong , Pascut Gheorghe L. , Gao Bin , Tyson Trevor A. , Haule Kristjan , Kiryukhin Valery , Cheong Sang-Wook
Published: July 2015

Magnetoelectric (ME) effect is recognized for its utility for low-power electronic devices. Largest ME coefficients are often associated with phase transitions in which ferroelectricity is induced by magnetic order. Unfortunately, in these systems, large ME response is revealed only upon elaborate poling procedures. These procedures may become unnecessary in single-polar-domain crystals of polar magnets. Here we report giant ME effects in a polar magnet Fe2Mo3O8 at temperatures as high as 60 K. Polarization jumps of 0.3 μC/cm2 and repeated mutual control of ferroelectric and magnetic moments with differential ME coefficients on the order of 104 ps/m are achieved. Importantly, no electric or magnetic poling is needed, as necessary for applications. The sign of the ME coefficients can be switched by changing the applied “bias” magnetic field. The observed effects are associated with a hidden ferrimagnetic order unveiled by application of a magnetic field.
Low threshold optical bistability at terahertz frequencies with graphene surface plasmons
Authors: Dai Xiaoyu , Jiang Leyong , Xiang Yuanjiang
Published: July 2015

We propose a modified Kretschmann-Raether configuration to realize the low threshold optical bistable devices at the terahertz frequencies. The metal layer is replaced by the dielectric sandwich structure with the insertion of graphene and this configuration can support TM-polarization surface electromagnetic wave. The surface plasmon resonance is strongly dependent on the Fermi-level of graphene and the thickness of the sandwich structure. It is found that the switching-up and switching-down intensities required to observe the optical bistable behavior are lowered markedly due to the excitation of the graphene surface plasmons, thus making this configuration a prime candidate for experimental investigation at the terahertz range. And the switching threshold value can be further reduced by decreasing the Fermi-level or increasing the thickness of sandwich structure, hence providing a new way for realizing tunable optical bistable devices. Finally, the optical bistability at higher terahertz frequency and the influence of relaxation time under the actual experimental condition on Fermi-level are discussed.
The pain receptor TRPV1 displays agonist-dependent activation stoichiometry
Authors: Hazan Adina , Kumar Rakesh , Matzner Henry , Priel Avi
Published: July 2015

The receptor channel TRPV1 (Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid 1) is expressed by primary afferent sensory neurons of the pain pathway, where it functions as a sensor of noxious heat and various chemicals, including eicosanoids, capsaicin, protons and peptide toxins. Comprised of four identical subunits that organize into a non-selective cationic permeable channel, this receptor has a variety of binding sites responsible for detecting their respective agonists. Although its physiological role as a chemosensor has been described in detail, the stoichiometry of TRPV1 activation by its different ligands remains unknown. Here, we combined the use of concatemeric constructs harboring mutated binding sites with patch-clamp recordings in order to determine the stoichiometry for TRPV1 activation through the vanilloid binding site and the outer-pore domain by capsaicin and protons, respectively. We show that, while a single capsaicin-bound subunit was sufficient to achieve a maximal open-channel lifetime, all four proton-binding sites were required. Thus, our results demonstrate a distinct stoichiometry of TRPV1 activation through two of its different agonist-binding domains.