bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Relationship Between Article 101(1) and Article 101(3) TFEU
Authors: Jones Alison , Sufrin Brenda
Published: September 2016

This chapter examines the relationship between Article 101(1) and Article 101(3). It looks at the central question of which agreements, decisions and concerted practices have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition for the purposes of Article 101(1) and at the issue of which agreements are held to infringe Article 101(1) but meet the critera for exemption from the prohibition set out in Article 101(3). The chapter looks at the way in which the interpretation of ‘object or effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition’ has changed since the early days of EEC competition law and at the problems of classifying which agreements are restrictive by object and which restrictive by effect. It examines the recent and controversial case law on this matter and the difficulties which remain including the doctrine of ancillary restraints. It then focuses on the analysis of the effect of agreements which are not restrictive by object, including the concept of appreciability and the new de minimis notice. The chapter then considers the matter of which restrictive agreements may neverthess escape the prohibition in Article 101(1) because they meet the criteria in Article 101(3) in that they improve the production or distribution of goods or the promotion of technical or economic progress, how this criterion is distinguished from the agreement not having restrictive effects that bring it within Article 101(1) in the first place, and whether the Article 101(3) criteria can encompass socio-political or public policy matters. The chapter considers the application of the Article 101(3) criteria, the shifting of the burden of proof between Article 101(1) and 101(3), and the existence and importance of block exemptions.
Competition, The State, and Public Undertakings
Authors: Jones Alison , Sufrin Brenda
Published: September 2016

This chapter examines how competition law applies to the actions of the State when it intervenes in the market through undertakings that it controls or owns or which it places in a privileged position. The discussion includes the principle of Union loyalty in Article 4(3) TEU; Article 106(1); Article 106(2); and the Commission’s supervisory and policing powers in Article 106(3). Article 106(1) is a prohibition addressed to Member States against enacting or maintaining in force any measure in relation to public undertakings or undertakings to which they have granted special or exclusive rights which are contrary to the Treaty rules. The chapter discusses what is meant by ‘public undertakings’ and ‘special or exclusive rights’ and examines in the light of the case law what measures are forbidden by Article 106(1), including those involving the cumulation of rights, the extension of a dominant position from one market to another, and the creation of situations of inequality of opportunity. Article 106(2) gives a limited derogation from Article 106(2) to undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest (SGEIs). The chapter discusses the concept of ‘services of general economic interest’ and examines the cases in which the derogation has been applied or not applied. The chapter also considers Article 106(3) and the question of the direct effect of Article 106(1) and (2).
Mergers
Authors: Jones Alison , Sufrin Brenda
Published: September 2016

This chapter discusses the regime for controlling mergers which have an ‘EU dimension’ under the European Union Merger Regulation (EUMR). The chapter examines: the purposes of merger control; the history of the EUMR; the scheme of the EUMR and the concept of the ‘one-stop shop’; jurisdiction under the EUMR, including the definition of a ‘concentration’ and what amounts to an ‘EU dimension’; procedure, including Phase I and Phase II proceedings; the substantive appraisal of horizontal,and non-horizontal mergers under the EUMR and the test of significantly impeding effective competition (SIEC); EUMR statistics; appeals; and international issues.
Retrospective Causal Inference with Machine Learning Ensembles: An Application to Anti-recidivism Policies in Colombia
Authors: Samii Cyrus , Paler Laura , Daly Sarah Zukerman
Published: September 2016

We present new methods to estimate causal effects retrospectively from micro data with the assistance of a machine learning ensemble. This approach overcomes two important limitations in conventional methods like regression modeling or matching: (i) ambiguity about the pertinent retrospective counterfactuals and (ii) potential misspecification, overfitting, and otherwise bias-prone or inefficient use of a large identifying covariate set in the estimation of causal effects. Our method targets the analysis toward a well-defined “retrospective intervention effect” based on hypothetical population interventions and applies a machine learning ensemble that allows data to guide us, in a controlled fashion, on how to use a large identifying covariate set. We illustrate with an analysis of policy options for reducing ex-combatant recidivism in Colombia.
The Influence of Emotion on Trust
Authors: Myers C. Daniel , Tingley Dustin
Published: September 2016

Political scientists frequently wish to test hypotheses about the effects of specific emotions on political behavior. However, commonly used experimental manipulations tend to have collateral effects on emotions other than the targeted emotion, making it difficult to ascribe outcomes to any single emotion. In this letter, we propose to address this problem using causal mediation analysis. We illustrate this approach using an experiment examining the effect of emotion on dyadic trust, as measured by the trust game. Our findings suggest that negative emotions can decrease trust, but only if those negative emotions make people feel less certain about their current situation. Our results suggest that only anxiety, a low-certainty emotion, has a negative impact on trust, whereas anger and guilt, two emotions that differ in their control appraisals but induce the same high level of certainty, appear to have no effect on trusting behavior. Importantly, we find that failing to use causal mediation analysis would ascribe apositiveeffect of anxiety on trust, demonstrating the value of this approach.
Cassava HapMap: Masking deleterious mutations in a clonal crop species
Authors: Ramu Punna , Esuma Williams , Kawuki Robert , Rabbi Ismail Y , Egesi Chiedozie , Bredeson Jessen V , Bart Rebecca S , Verma Janu , Buckler Edward S , Lu Fei
Published: September 2016

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is an important staple food crop in Africa and South America, however, ubiquitous deleterious mutations may severely reduce its fitness. To evaluate these deleterious mutations in the cassava genome, we constructed a cassava haplotype map using deep sequencing from 241 diverse accessions and identified over 28 million segregating variants. We found that, 1) while domestication modified starch and ketone metabolism pathways for human consumption, the concomitant bottleneck and clonal propagation resulted in a large proportion of fixed deleterious amino acid changes, raised the number of deleterious mutations by 26%, and shifted the mutational burden towards common variants; 2) deleterious mutations are ineffectively purged due to limited recombination in cassava genome; 3) recent breeding efforts maintained the yield by masking the most damaging recessive mutations in the heterozygous state, but unable to purge the mutation burden, which should be a key target for future cassava breeding.
Flow environment and matrix structure interact to determine spatial competition inPseudomonas aeruginosabiofilms
Authors: Nadell Carey D. , Ricaurte Deirdre , Yan Jing , Drescher Knut , Bassler Bonnie L.
Published: September 2016

Bacteria often live in biofilms, which are microbial communities surrounded by a secreted extracellular matrix. Here, we demonstrate that hydrodynamic flow and matrix organization interact to shape competitive dynamics inPseudomonas aeruginosabiofilms. Irrespective of initial frequency, in competition with matrix mutants, wild type cells always increase in relative abundance in straight-tunnel microfluidic devices under simple flow regimes. By contrast, in microenvironments with complex, irregular flow profiles - which are common in natural environments - wild type matrix-producing and isogenic non-producing strains can coexist. This result stems from local obstruction of flow by wild-type matrix producers, which generates regions of near-zero flow speed that allow matrix mutants to locally accumulate. Our findings connect the evolutionary stability of matrix production with the hydrodynamics and spatial structure of the surrounding environment, providing a potential explanation for the variation in biofilm matrix secretion observed among bacteria in natural environments.

Impact Statement

The feedback between hydrodynamic flow conditions and biofilm spatial architecture drives competition inP. aeruginosabiofilms, and can explain the variation in biofilm production observed among bacteria in natural environments.
Analysis of different parameterisations of waveform inversion of compressional body waves in an elastic transverse isotropic Earth with a vertical axis of symmetry
Authors: He Weiguang , Plessix René‐Édouard
Published: September 2016

In a multi‐parameter waveform inversion, the choice of the parameterisation influences the results and their interpretations because leakages and the tradeoff between parameters can cause artefacts. We review the parameterisation selection when the inversion focuses on the recovery of the intermediate‐to‐long wavenumbers of the compressional velocities from the compressional body (P) waves. Assuming a transverse isotropic medium with a vertical axis of symmetry and weak anisotropy, analytical formulas for the radiation patterns are developed to quantify the tradeoff between the shear velocity and the anisotropic parameters and the effects of setting to zero the shear velocity in the acoustic approach. Because, in an anisotropic medium, the radiation patterns depend on the angle of the incident wave with respect to the vertical axis, two particular patterns are discussed: a transmission pattern when the ingoing and outgoing slowness vectors are parallel and a reflection pattern when the ingoing and outgoing slowness vectors satisfy Snell's law. When the inversion aims at recovering the long‐to‐intermediate wavenumbers of the compressional velocities from the P‐waves, we propose to base the parameterisation choice on the transmission patterns. Since the P‐wave events in surface seismic data do not constrain the background (smooth) vertical velocity due to the velocity/depth ambiguity, the preferred parameterisation contains a parameter that has a transmission pattern concentrated along the vertical axis. This parameter can be fixed during the inversion which reduces the size of the model space. The review of several parameterisations shows that the vertical velocity, the Thomsen parameter δ, or the Thomsen parameter ε have a transmission pattern along the vertical axis depending on the parameterisation choice. The review of the reflection patterns of those selected parameterisations should be done in the elastic context. Indeed, when reflection data are also inverted, there are potential leakages of the shear parameter at intermediate angles when we carry out acoustic inversion.
Effects of Ethanol on Cellular Composition and Network Excitability of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell‐Derived Neurons
Authors: Larsen Zoe H. , Chander Praveen , Joyner Jason A. , Floruta Crina M. , Demeter Tess L. , Weick Jason P.
Published: September 2016

Background

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) in animal models results in excitatory–inhibitory (E/I) imbalance in neocortex due to alterations in the GABAergic interneuron (IN) differentiation and migration. Thus, E/I imbalance is a potential cause for intellectual disability in individuals with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), but whether ethanol (EtOH) changes glutamatergic and GABAergic IN specification during human development remains unknown. Here, we created a human cellular model of PAE/FASD and tested the hypothesis that EtOH exposure during differentiation of human pluripotent stem cell‐derived neurons (hPSNs) would cause the aberrant production of glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons, resulting in E/I imbalance.

Methods

We applied 50 mM EtOH daily to differentiating hPSNs for 50 days to model chronic first‐trimester exposure. We used quantitative polymerase chain reaction, immunocytochemical, and electrophysiological analysis to examine the effects of EtOH on hPSN specification and functional E/I balance.

Results

We found that EtOH did not alter neural induction nor general forebrain patterning and had no effect on the expression of markers of excitatory cortical pyramidal neurons. In contrast, our data revealed highly significant changes to levels of transcripts involved with IN precursor development (e.g., GSX2, DLX1/2/5/6, NR2F2) as well as mature IN specification (e.g., SST, NPY). Interestingly, EtOH did not affect the number of GABAergic neurons generated nor the frequency or amplitude of miniature excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic currents.

Conclusions

Similar to in vivo rodent studies, EtOH significantly and specifically altered the expression of genes involved with IN specification from hPSNs, but did not cause imbalances of synaptic excitation–inhibition. Thus, our findings corroborate previous studies pointing to aberrant neuronal differentiation as an underlying mechanism of intellectual disability in FASD. However, in contrast to rodent binge models, our chronic exposure model suggests possible compensatory mechanisms that may cause more subtle defects of network processing rather than gross alterations in total E/I balance.
Atmospheric change causes declines in woodland arthropods and impacts specific trophic groups
Authors: Facey Sarah L. , Fidler David B. , Rowe Rhiannon C. , Bromfield Lisa M. , Nooten Sabine S. , Staley Joanna T. , Ellsworth David S. , Johnson Scott N.
Published: September 2016

Arthropod assemblages form a fundamental part of terrestrial ecosystems, underpinning ecosystem processes and services. Yet, little is known about how invertebrate communities, as a whole, respond to climatic and atmospheric changes, including predicted increases in carbon dioxide concentrations (CO2).

To date, woodland Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) studies have focused entirely on northern hemisphere managed plantations. We manipulated atmospheric CO2 in a mature, native Eucalyptus woodland (0.15 ha, >32 000 m3) in Australia, using the Eucalyptus FACE (‘EucFACE’) facility. We used three complementary sampling methods (vacuum sampling, pitfall and sticky trapping) to record invertebrate abundances under ambient and elevated levels of CO2 (400 versus 550 ppm).

Based on the collection of over 83 000 invertebrates, we found significant declines in the overall abundance of ground‐dwelling (14.7%) and aerial (12.9%) arthropods under elevated CO2, with significant decreases in herbivore, omnivore, scavenger and parasitoid functional groups. Even though several groups showed varying declines in abundance, elevated CO2 did not measurably affect community composition.

The results of the present study indicate that atmospheric CO2 levels predicted within the next 35 years may cause declines in arthropod abundances in Eucalyptus woodland. Declines found in several functional groups suggest that elevated atmospheric CO2 has the potential to affect ecosystem processes, possibly including nutrient cycling by herbivores and omnivores, as well as biocontrol by parasitoids.
Biomedical Enhancement and Social Development: A Conservative Techno‐Fix
Authors: Sanyal Sagar
Published: September 2016

Allen Buchanan has argued for a linking of the ethics of human enhancement to the ethics of development more generally. The promise of the ‘enhancement enterprise' is that it may help develop society, just as other technological advances have in the past. He proposes a framework of intellectual property rights, government action to ensure the poor can access the enhancements, an international organization to administer the diffusion of new enhancement technologies from the West to poor countries, and the diffusion within countries to the poorer populations. I take seriously his proposal of discussing biomedical enhancement in terms of the ethics of development. On these grounds of assessment, I argue that his proposal is politically conservative. To make the case, I distinguish conservatism in ethics from conservatism in politics; and I contextualize the proposal against the background of development economics and the neoliberal approach to development.
Two Kinds of Suicide
Authors: den Hartogh Govert
Published: September 2016

In suicidology, the common view is that ‘rational’ suicides occur only rarely, because the competence of people who want to end their lives is compromised by mental illness. In the Netherlands and Flanders, however, patients’ requests for euthanasia or assistance in suicide are granted in 5300 and 1400 cases a year respectively, and in all these cases at least two doctors have confirmed the patient's competence. The combination of these two findings is puzzling. In other countries one would expect at least some of these people to end their own lives. The article argues that we can distinguish between two types of suicide with clustering characteristics. In cases of the first type, the agent doesn't carefully plan his action, doesn't communicate his plans to relatives or others, and uses violent means. In such cases it is reasonable to presume lack of competence. The other type has the opposite characteristics. The most plausible explanation of our problem is that suicides of the second kind are invisible to suicidology, because they tend not to be registered as suicides at all.
Functional pharmacological characterization of SER100 in cardiovascular health and disease
Authors: Villar Inmaculada C , Bubb Kristen J , Moyes Amie J , Steiness Eva , Gulbrandsen Trygve , Levy Finn Olav , Hobbs Adrian J
Published: September 2016

Background and Purpose

SER100 is a selective nociceptin (NOP) receptor agonist with sodium‐potassium‐sparing aquaretic and anti‐natriuretic activity. This study was designed to characterize the functional cardiovascular pharmacology of SER100 in vitro and in vivo, including experimental models of cardiovascular disease.

Experimental Approach

Haemodynamic, ECG parameters and heart rate variability (HRV) were determined using radiotelemetry in healthy, conscious mice. The haemodynamic and vascular effects of SER100 were also evaluated in two models of cardiovascular disease, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and murine hypoxia‐induced pulmonary hypertension (PH). To elucidate mechanisms underlying the pharmacology of SER100, acute blood pressure recordings were performed in anaesthetized mice, and the reactivity of rodent aorta and mesenteric arteries in response to electrical‐ and agonist‐stimulation assessed.

Key Results

SER100 caused NOP receptor‐dependent reductions in mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate that were independent of NO. The hypotensive and vasorelaxant actions of SER100 were potentiated in SHR compared with Wistar Kyoto. Moreover, SER100 reduced several indices of disease severity in experimental PH. Analysis of HRV indicated that SER100 decreased the low/high frequency ratio, an indicator of sympatho‐vagal balance, and in electrically stimulated mouse mesenteric arteries SER100 inhibited sympathetic‐induced contractions.

Conclusions and Implications

SER100 exerts a chronic hypotensive and bradycardic effects in rodents, including models of systemic and pulmonary hypertension. SER100 produces its cardiovascular effects, at least in part, by inhibition of cardiac and vascular sympathetic activity. SER100 may represent a novel therapeutic candidate in systemic and pulmonary hypertension.
Attenuated nicotine‐like effects of varenicline but not other nicotinic ACh receptor agonists in monkeys receiving nicotine daily
Authors: Cunningham Colin S , Moerke Megan J , Javors Martin A , Carroll F Ivy , McMahon Lance R
Published: September 2016

Background and Purpose

Chronic treatment can differentially impact the effects of pharmacologically related drugs that differ in receptor selectivity and efficacy.

Experimental Approach

The impact of daily nicotine treatment on the effects of nicotinic ACh receptor (nAChR) agonists was examined in two groups of rhesus monkeys discriminating nicotine (1.78 mg·kg−1 base weight) from saline. One group received additional nicotine treatment post‐session (1.78 mg·kg−1 administered five times daily, each dose 2 h apart; i.e. Daily group), and the second group did not (Intermittent group).

Key Results

Daily repeated nicotine treatment produced a time‐related increase in saliva cotinine. There was no significant difference in the ED50 values of the nicotine discriminative stimulus between the Daily and Intermittent group. Mecamylamine antagonized the effects of nicotine, whereas dihydro‐β‐erythroidine did not. Midazolam produced 0% nicotine‐lever responding. The nAChR agonists epibatidine, RTI‐36, cytisine and varenicline produced >96% nicotine‐lever responding in the Intermittent group. The respective maximum effects in the Daily group were 100, 72, 59 and 28%, which shows that the ability of varenicline to produce nicotine‐like responding was selectively decreased in the Daily as compared with the Intermittent group. When combined with nicotine, both varenicline and cytisine increased the potency of nicotine to produce discriminative stimulus effects.

Conclusion and Implications

Nicotine treatment has a greater impact on the sensitivity to the effects of varenicline as compared with some other nAChR agonists. Collectively, these results strongly suggest that varenicline differs from nicotine in its selectivity for multiple nAChR subtypes.
Design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of novel tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives as potential antitumor candidate
Authors: Zhu Panhu , Ye Wenfeng , Li Jiaming , Zhang Yanchun , Huang Weijun , Cheng Mohan , Wang Yujun , Zhang Yang , Liu Huicai , Zuo Jian
Published: September 2016

A novel class of tetrahydroisoquinoline derivatives was designed and synthesized as antitumor agents and evaluated for their in vitro and in vivo biological activities. The antiproliferative activities of all the target compounds on HUVEC, MCF‐7, and HT‐29 were evaluated. Compared with colchicine (1.04 × 10−2 μm), 17d and 17e exhibited outstanding activity on MCF‐7 with IC50 values 0.26 × 10−2 μm and 0.89 × 10−3μm in cell cytotoxicity assay. The tubulin polymerization assay demonstrated that 17d and 17e exhibited better inhibition rate. In the MCF‐7‐xenograft mouse model that was treated with 17d and 17e by intraperitoneal injection, the tumor weight was decreased at same rate with tamoxifen, and relative tumor proliferation rates were 59.48% and 41.33%, while tamoxifen was 45.08% with a daily dose of 20 mg/kg, which were demonstrated potent in vivo efficacy.
Diverse Effects, Complex Causes: Children Use Information About Machines' Functional Diversity to Infer Internal Complexity
Authors: Ahl Richard E. , Keil Frank C.
Published: September 2016

Four studies explored the abilities of 80 adults and 180 children (4–9 years), from predominantly middle‐class families in the Northeastern United States, to use information about machines' observable functional capacities to infer their internal, “hidden” mechanistic complexity. Children as young as 4 and 5 years old used machines' numbers of functions as indications of complexity and matched machines performing more functions with more complex “insides” (Study 1). However, only older children (6 and older) and adults used machines' functional diversity alone as an indication of complexity (Studies 2–4). The ability to use functional diversity as a complexity cue therefore emerges during the early school years, well before the use of diversity in most categorical induction tasks.
Impaired virus replication and decreased innate immune responses to viral infections in nasal epithelial cells from patients with allergic rhinitis
Authors: Głobińska A , Pawełczyk M , Piechota-Polańczyk A , Olszewska-Ziąber A , Moskwa S , Mikołajczyk A , Jabłońska A , Zakrzewski P K , Brauncajs M , Jarzębska M , Taka S , Papadopoulos N G , Kowalski M L
Published: September 2016

The aim of this study was to assess the immune response to parainfluenza virus type 3 (PIV3), rhinovirus 1B (RV1B) and intracellular Toll-like receptors (TLR) agonists in nasal epithelial cells (NECs) from patients with allergic rhinitis and healthy controls. NECs were obtained from eight patients with allergic rhinitis (AR) and 11 non-atopic healthy controls (HC) by nasal scraping, grown to confluence and exposed to PIV3, RV1B infection or TLR-3 and TLR-7/8 agonists. Interferon (IFN)-λ1, IFN-α, IFN-β and regulated on activation, normal T expressed and secreted (RANTES) release into the cell culture supernatants was assessed at 8, 24 and 48 h upon infection or 8 and 24 h after stimulation with poly(I:C) and R848. mRNA levels of IFNs, RANTES, interferon regulatory transcription factor (IRF)3, IRF7 and viral gene copy number were determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). PIV3 but not RV1B replication 48 h after infection was significantly lower (P < 0·01) in NECs from AR patients compared to HC. PIV3 infection induced significantly less IFN-λ1 (both protein and mRNA) in NECs from AR compared to HC. IFN-β mRNA expression and RANTES protein release and mRNA expression tended to be smaller in AR compared HC cells in response to both viruses. Stimulation with TLR-3 agonist [poly (I:C)] induced similar IFN-λ1 and RANTES generation in AR and HC subjects. Viral infections in NECs induced IRF7 expression, which correlated with IFN and RANTES expression. These data suggest that virus proliferation rates and the immune response profile are different in nasal epithelial cells from patients with allergic rhinitis compared to healthy individuals.
Real‐Time Oil Painting on Mobile Hardware
Authors: Stuyck Tuur , Da Fang , Hadap Sunil , Dutré Philip
Published: September 2016

This paper presents a realistic digital oil painting system, specifically targeted at the real‐time performance on highly resource‐constrained portable hardware such as tablets and iPads. To effectively use the limited computing power, we develop an efficient adaptation of the shallow water equations that models all the characteristic properties of oil paint. The pigments are stored in a multi‐layered structure to model the peculiar nature of pigment mixing in oil paint. The user experience ranges from thick shape‐retaining strokes to runny diluted paint that reacts naturally to the gravity set by tablet orientation. Finally, the paint is rendered in real time using a combination of carefully chosen efficient rendering techniques. The virtual lighting adapts to the tablet orientation, or alternatively, the front‐facing camera captures the lighting environment, which leads to a truly immersive user experience. Our proposed features are evaluated via a user study. In our experience, our system enables artists to quickly try out ideas and compositions anywhere when inspiration strikes, in a truly ubiquitous way. They do not need to carry expensive and messy oil paint supplies.
Assessing the Economic Implications of Reduced Water Availability and Better Management Practices on Representative Farms in Southern Alberta
Authors: Grant Jason , Peterson Everett , Klein K. K.
Published: September 2016

Water for irrigated crops in Southern Alberta is under pressure. Consecutive years of drought at the turn of the century led to a rationing of the province's water supply and has raised concerns about the sustainability of the current water use system. In this paper, we develop a representative farm model for six irrigation districts in the South Saskatchewan River Basin to evaluate water use and improved water application efficiency for a scenario that reduces irrigation water availability by 10%. Irrigation districts with relatively greater area of sugar beets and potatoes, that have the most inelastic water demand, will be most affected by a reduction in water availability with relatively large adjustments in irrigation water applied to all other crops. A reduction in water availability also will lead to changes in the relative returns per hectare for irrigated crops, with producers having economic incentives to increase their areas devoted to canola production while reducing that devoted to wheat and barley production. Further, we find that representative farms can largely circumvent reduced water availability by relatively small increases in the efficiency with which water is applied in the field. The results have important policy implications for both producers and water policy makers in Canada.

L'eau destinée aux cultures irriguées du sud de l'Alberta se trouve sous pression. Les années successives de sécheresse au début du siècle ont mené au rationnement de l'approvisionnement provincial de l'eau et soulèvent des inquiétudes au sujet de la durabilité du système actuel d'utilisation de l'eau. Ce document propose un modèle agricole représentatif pour six districts d'irrigation du bassin de la rivière Saskatchewan Sud (BRSS) pour évaluer l'utilisation de l'eau et l'amélioration de l'efficacité de l'application d'eau selon un scénario réduisant la disponibilité de l'eau irriguée de 10 pour cent. Les districts d'irrigation avec des zones relativement plus grandes de betteraves à sucre et de pommes de terre ayant la plus inélastique demande en eau seront le plus affectés par une réduction de la disponibilité de l'eau nécessitant des ajustements relativement importants à l'application d'eau irriguée aux autres cultures. Une réduction de la disponibilité de l'eau mènera aussi à une modification du rendement par hectare pour les cultures irriguées, les producteurs ayant des incitatifs économiques pour l'augmentation des terres vouées à la production de canola et la diminution de celles destinées au blé et à l'orge. De plus, nous observons qu'il est possible pour les fermes représentantes de contourner, en grande partie, la réduction de la disponibilité de l'eau en augmentation relativement minimalement l'efficacité avec laquelle l'eau est appliquée aux cultures. Les résultats ont des répercussions politiques importantes à la fois pour les producteurs et pour les décideurs politiques en matière d'eau au Canada.
Can temperament and character features of patients predict alcohol use after laryngectomy?
Authors: Batıoğlu‐Karaaltın A. , Binbay Z. , Yiğit Ö. , Dönmez Z. , Yollu U.
Published: September 2016

Aim

Patients with larynx cancer usually use alcohol besides tobacco. It has been reported earlier that nearly half of the patients who have undergone laryngectomy after larynx cancer diagnosis still continue to consume alcohol after the operation. The aim of this study was to compare the mood and character features of patients who do or do not consume alcohol during the postoperative period and thus to be able to predict the patients who will continue their alcohol use at the postoperative period.

Materials and methods

The patients who have undergone partial or total laryngectomy operation were included in this study. To avoid early period treatment stress, it was required that the patients have completed their 6 months of postoperative period. The interviews made with the patients included filling out of the sociodemographic data form, TCI (temperament and character inventory), BDI (Beck depression inventory), BAI (Beck anxiety inventory), AUDIT (alcohol use disorders identification test) and CAGE (cut‐down, annoyed, guilty, eye‐opener) inquiry forms.

Results

80 patients who admitted alcohol consumption at the time of larynx cancer diagnosis were divided in to two groups and, 40% (n = 32) of this patients continued alcohol consumption after laryngectomy (Group 1) and 60% (n = 48) cut down on their alcohol use (Group 2). A statistically significant difference was observed between Group 1 and Group 2 at AUDIT and CAGE score averages (P < 0.001, P < 0.001, respectively). When TCI data were compared between Group 1 and Group 2, patients who continued their alcohol use at the postoperative period had significantly higher novelty seeking scores compared to others (P = 0.03).

Conclusion

Our data suggest that it may be possible in the preoperative period to predict the patients who will continue their alcohol use in the postoperative period and take precautions.
Dimension‐Based Statistical Learning Affects Both Speech Perception and Production
Authors: Lehet Matthew , Holt Lori L.
Published: September 2016

Multiple acoustic dimensions signal speech categories. However, dimensions vary in their informativeness; some are more diagnostic of category membership than others. Speech categorization reflects these dimensional regularities such that diagnostic dimensions carry more “perceptual weight” and more effectively signal category membership to native listeners. Yet perceptual weights are malleable. When short‐term experience deviates from long‐term language norms, such as in a foreign accent, the perceptual weight of acoustic dimensions in signaling speech category membership rapidly adjusts. The present study investigated whether rapid adjustments in listeners’ perceptual weights in response to speech that deviates from the norms also affects listeners’ own speech productions. In a word recognition task, the correlation between two acoustic dimensions signaling consonant categories, fundamental frequency (F0) and voice onset time (VOT), matched the correlation typical of English, and then shifted to an “artificial accent” that reversed the relationship, and then shifted back. Brief, incidental exposure to the artificial accent caused participants to down‐weight perceptual reliance on F0, consistent with previous research. Throughout the task, participants were intermittently prompted with pictures to produce these same words. In the block in which listeners heard the artificial accent with a reversed F0 × VOT correlation, F0 was a less robust cue to voicing in listeners’ own speech productions. The statistical regularities of short‐term speech input affect both speech perception and production, as evidenced via shifts in how acoustic dimensions are weighted.
Bethesda classification is a valuable guide for fine needle aspiration reports and highly predictive especially for diagnosing aggressive variants of papillary thyroid carcinoma
Authors: Evranos B. , Polat S. B. , Baser H. , Ozdemir D. , Kilicarslan A. , Yalcin A. , Ersoy R. , Cakir B.
Published: September 2016

Background

A fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is the most valuable diagnostic procedure for pre‐operative discrimination of benign and malignant nodules. The Bethesda System for Reporting Thyroid Cytopathology provides standardised reporting and cytomorphological criteria in aspiration smears. The aim of the present study was to determine malignancy rates in nodules with different cytology results and evaluate the diagnostic value of Bethesda for variants of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).

Materials and methods

A retrospective analysis of 2534 cases with 5784 thyroid nodules, who underwent FNAB followed by surgery, were included in this study. FNAB was performed with ultrasonography guidance. Cytological diagnoses were classified as: non‐diagnostic (ND), benign, atypia of undetermined significance/follicular lesions of undetermined significance (AUS/FLUS), follicular neoplasm/suspicious for follicular neoplasm (FN/SFN), suspicious for malignancy (SUS) and malignant. Histopathological diagnoses were classified into four groups: benign, PTC, follicular thyroid cancer and other types of thyroid cancer (including medullary thyroid cancer, undifferentiated thyroid cancer and thyroid tumours of uncertain malignant potential). Cases with PTC were further divided into four categories: conventional variant, follicular variant, aggressive variants (tall cell, diffuse sclerosing and columnar variant) and other variants (oncocytic, solid/trabecular and warthin‐like variants). FNAB results were compared with histopathological results.

Results

Malignancy rates were 6.3%, 3.2%, 20.7%, 33.3%, 74.2% and 95.6% in the nodules with ND, benign, AUS/FLUS, FN/SFN, SUS and malignant cytology results, respectively. Pre‐operative cytology was malignant or SUS in 56.6% of conventional, 24.3% of follicular, 92% of aggressive and 41.7% of other variants of histopathologically confirmed PTC. The difference between the groups was significant (P < 0.001).

Conclusion

The Bethesda classification is a reliable indicator of malignancy in nodules with different cytology results and seems to be very effective in predicting the malignancy for the nodules diagnosed with aggressive variant PTC on the final histological examination.
Effect of vitamin D supplementation on oral glucose tolerance in individuals with low vitamin D status and increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes (EVIDENCE): A double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled clinical trial
Authors: Moreira‐Lucas Tracy S. , Duncan Alison M. , Rabasa‐Lhoret Rémi , Vieth Reinhold , Gibbs Alison L. , Badawi Alaa , Wolever Thomas M. S.
Published: September 2016

Aims

Low serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin‐D (25(OH)D) concentrations are associated with insulin resistance, β‐cell dysfunction and type 2 diabetes. We conducted a 24‐week double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled trial to examine the effect of 28 000 IU of vitamin D3
once weekly on plasma glucose after a 2 hour‐75 g oral glucose tolerance test (2hrPC glucose), insulin sensitivity and β‐cell function.

Study Design and Methods

A total of 71 participants with serum 25(OH)D ≤65 nmol/L, impaired fasting glucose and elevated glycated hemoglobin were randomly assigned to receive 28 000 IU of vitamin D3
(VitD; n = 35) or placebo (n = 36) in cheese once weekly for 24 weeks. The primary outcome was the change in 2hPC glucose. Secondary outcomes were fasting glucose, fasting and postprandial insulin, indices of insulin sensitivity and β–cell function, glycated hemoglobin and lipid profile. Participants underwent an oral glucose tolerance test to determine 2hPC glucose.

Results

Mean baseline serum 25(OH)D was 48.1 and 47.6 nmol/L in the VitD and placebo groups, respectively. Serum 25(OH)D significantly increased to 98.7 nmol/L (51 nmol/L increase;
P
< .0001) in the VitD group. No significant differences in fasting (
P
= .42) or 2hPC glucose (
P
= .55) or other indices of glucose metabolism, including β‐cell function and insulin sensitivity, were observed between groups. A subgroup analysis of individuals with 25(OH)D < 50 nmol/L and prediabetes did not change these results. The VitD group exhibited a significant reduction in LDL cholesterol (−0.27 vs 0.01 mmol/L,
P
= .03).

Conclusion

Weekly doses of vitamin D3
in individuals with suboptimal vitamin D levels who were at risk for type 2 diabetes did not improve oral glucose tolerance or markers of glycaemic status.
Near‐normalization of glycaemic control with glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonist treatment combined with exercise in patients with type 2 diabetes
Authors: Mensberg P. , Nyby S. , Jørgensen P. G. , Storgaard H. , Jensen M. T. , Sivertsen J. , Holst J. J. , Kiens B. , Richter E. A. , Knop F. K. , Vilsbøll T.
Published: September 2016

Aims

To investigate the effects of exercise in combination with a glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonist (GLP‐1RA), liraglutide, or placebo for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Methods

Thirty‐three overweight, dysregulated and sedentary patients with type 2 diabetes were randomly allocated to 16 weeks of either exercise and liraglutide or exercise and placebo. Both groups had three supervised 60‐minute training sessions per week including spinning and resistance training.

Results

Glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels dropped by a mean ± standard deviation of 2.0% ± 1.2% (from 8.2% ± 1.4%) in the exercise plus liraglutide group vs 0.3% ± 0.9% (from 8.0% ± 1.2%) in the exercise plus placebo group (
P
< .001), and body weight was reduced more with liraglutide (−3.4 ± 2.9 kg vs −1.6 ± 2.3 kg;
P
< .001). Compared with baseline, similar reductions were seen in body fat (exercise plus liraglutide: −2.5% ± 1.4% [
P
< .001]; exercise plus placebo: −2.2% ± 1.9% [
P
< .001]) and similar increases were observed in maximum oxygen uptake (exercise plus liraglutide: 0.5 ± 0.5 L O2
/min [
P
< .001]; exercise plus placebo: 0.4 ± 0.4 L O2
/min [
P
= .002]). Greater reductions in fasting plasma glucose (−3.4 ± 2.3 mM vs −0.3 ± 2.6 mM,
P
< .001) and systolic blood pressure (−5.4 ± 7.4 mm Hg vs −0.6 ± 11.1 mm Hg,
P
< .01) were seen with exercise plus liraglutide vs exercise plus placebo. The two groups experienced similar increases in quality of life during the intervention.

Conclusions

In obese patients with type 2 diabetes, exercise combined with GLP‐1RA treatment near‐normalized HbA1c levels and caused a robust weight loss when compared with placebo. These results suggest that a combination of exercise and GLP‐1RA treatment is effective in type 2 diabetes.
Habitat preference of wormlions and their behavioural repeatability under illumination/shade conditions
Authors: KATZ NOA , SUBACH AZIZ , PRUITT JONATHAN N. , SCHARF INON
Published: September 2016

1. Animal personality is defined as the repeatable between‐individual differences in behaviour over time and contexts. Some personality traits, such as activity or aggression, have received much attention while other behaviours, such as habitat preference or learning, have been neglected.

2. Wormlion larvae are sit‐and‐wait dipteran predators that inhabit shaded microhabitats in the field and also prefer shade in the laboratory. The aim of the present study was to examine wormlion larvae behavioural repeatability in general and specifically in the context of habitat preference. In order to achieve this, three experiments were conducted to determine whether, to what extent and under which conditions wormlion preference for shaded microhabitats is repeatable.

3. Individual tendency to relocate when the environment conditions deteriorate was also assessed, by switching between shaded and illuminated conditions, either with or without pit destruction.

4. Larvae showed a highly repeatable preference for shade. Repeatability was detected in additional behavioural traits: pit construction, pit area and tendency to relocate.

5. This behavioural repeatability was demonstrated under constant microhabitat conditions, with distinct behaviours in each setting. Under constant illumination, wormlions constructed smaller pits, moved over longer distances and were found at the tray edges more frequently than under constant shade conditions, suggesting that illuminated environments are perceived as risky or unsuitable.

6. Switching between the two microhabitat conditions without pit destruction induced fewer relocations than switching with pit destruction, suggesting that wormlions do not tend to abandon their pits, even if their microhabitat conditions deteriorate.
Acute myeloid leukemia in the elderly (age 70 yr or older): long‐term survivors
Authors: Heiblig Maël , Elhamri Mohamed , Le Jeune Caroline , Laude Marie‐Charlotte , Deloire Alexandre , Wattel Eric , Salles Gilles , Thomas Xavier
Published: September 2016

Objective

Little data exist regarding long‐term survival in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Methods

In view of the fact that most deaths occurred during the first 3 yr, this study examined long‐term survival in this patient population, defined as overall survival for at least 3 yr with the aim to determine the number of long‐term survivors and to identify factors that might impact on longer survival.

Results

The criterion for entry into this cohort was fulfilled by 57 patients among 302 seen over a 14‐yr period (19%): 12 patients who never achieved complete remission (CR), 21 patients who relapsed after CR achievement, and 24 patients who achieved CR and did not relapse, including three patients who died while in CR and 21 patients still alive in first CR at the time of analysis. The pretreatment prognostic importance of cytogenetics was still apparent. However, some patients with secondary AML and/or unfavorable‐risk markers belonged to long survivors. The cohort involved mainly patients treated by intensive chemotherapy, but also some patients receiving low‐intensity therapies.

Conclusion

Improved results should come from a better selection of patients to a more ‘personalized’ therapeutic approach combined with better supportive care assessment.
Coupling of D2R Short but not D2R Long receptor isoform to the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway renders striatal neurons vulnerable to mutant huntingtin
Authors: Galan‐Rodriguez Beatriz , Martin Elodie , Brouillet Emmanuel , Déglon Nicole , Betuing Sandrine , Caboche Jocelyne
Published: September 2016

Huntington's disease, an inherited neurodegenerative disorder, results from abnormal polyglutamine extension in the N‐terminal region of the huntingtin protein. This mutation causes preferential degeneration of striatal projection neurons. We previously demonstrated, in vitro, that dopaminergic D2 receptor stimulation acted in synergy with expanded huntingtin to increase aggregates formation and striatal death through activation of the Rho/ROCK signaling pathway. In vivo, in a lentiviral‐mediated model of expanded huntingtin expression in the rat striatum, we found that the D2 antagonist haloperidol protects striatal neurons against expanded huntingtin‐mediated toxicity. Two variant transcripts are generated by alternative splicing of the of D2 receptor gene, the D2R‐Long and the D2R‐Short, which are thought to play different functional roles. We show herein that overexpression of D2R‐Short, but not D2R‐Long in cell lines is associated with activation of the RhoA/ROCK signaling pathway. In striatal neurons in culture, the selective D2 agonist Quinpirole triggers phosphorylation of cofilin, a downstream effector of ROCK, which is abrogated by siRNAs that knockdown both D2R‐Long and D2R‐Short, but not by siRNAs targeting D2R‐Long alone. Aggregate formation and neuronal death induced by expanded huntingtin, were potentiated by Quinpirole. This D2 agonist‐mediated effect was selectively inhibited by the siRNA targeting both D2R‐Long and D2R‐Short but not D2R‐Long alone. Our data provide evidence for a specific coupling of D2R‐Short to the RhoA/ROCK/cofilin pathway, and its involvement in striatal vulnerability to expanded huntingtin. A new route for targeting Rho‐ROCK signaling in Huntington's disease is unraveled with our findings.