bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phenethyl isothiocyanate stimulates glucose uptake through the Akt pathway in C2C12 myotubes
Authors: Chiba Maiko , Ito Yoshiaki , Nagasawa Takashi
Published: March 2019

Phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) is an aromatic isothiocyanate present in cruciferous vegetables. Several studies have shown that isothiocyanates regulate various intracellular signaling pathways, and thereby show anti-inflammatory and detoxifying activities. However, little is known about the effects of PEITC on glucose metabolism. In this study, we examined whether PEITC promotes glucose utilization in mouse skeletal muscle cells, C2C12 myotubes. PEITC induced glucose uptake, glucose transporter 4 (Glut4) translocation to the plasma membrane, and activation of Akt and ERK in C2C12 cells. Inhibition of Akt suppressed PEITC-induced Glut4 translocation and glucose uptake, whereas ERK inhibition did not. Furthermore, PEITC increased phosphorylation of ErbB2 and ErbB3. Treatment with a pan-ErbB inhibitor reduced Akt activation and the subsequent glucose uptake induced by PEITC. These results indicate that PEITC promotes glucose utilization through the ErbB/Akt pathway in C2C12 myotubes. PEITC may therefore serve as a dietary constituent with beneficial effects on the carbohydrate metabolism.

Abbreviations: PEITC: phenethyl isothiocyanate; Glut4: glucose transporter 4; PI3K: phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase; Nrf2: erythroid−2-related factor; ARE: antioxidant response element; HO−1: heme oxygenase−1; NRG: neuregulin
Flagellum-mediated motility in Pelotomaculum thermopropionicum SI
Authors: Kosaka Tomoyuki , Goda Mutsumi , Inoue Manami , Yakushi Toshiharu , Yamada Mamoru
Published: March 2019

The basic functions of a propionate-oxidizing bacterium Pelotomaculum thermopropionicum flagellum, such as motility and chemotaxis, have not been studied. To investigate its motility, we compared with that of Syntrophobacter fumaroxidans, an aflagellar propionate-oxidizing bacterium, in soft agar medium. P. thermopropionicum cells spread, while S. fumaroxidans cells moved downward slightly, indicating flagellum-dependent motility in P. thermopropionicum SI. The motility of P. thermopropionicum was inhibited by the addition of carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone, a proton uncoupler, which is consistent with the fact that stator protein, MotB of P. thermopropionicum, shared sequence homology with proton-type stators. In addition, 5-N-ethyl-N-isopropyl amiloride, an Na+ channel blocker, showed no inhibitory effect on the motility. Furthermore, motAB of P. thermopropionicum complemented the defective swimming ability of Escherichia coli ∆motAB. These results suggest that the motility of P. thermopropionicum SI depends on the proton-type flagellar motor.
CD4+ resident memory T cells dominate immunosurveillance and orchestrate local recall responses
Authors: Beura Lalit K. , Fares-Frederickson Nancy J. , Steinert Elizabeth M. , Scott Milcah C. , Thompson Emily A. , Fraser Kathryn A. , Schenkel Jason M. , Vezys Vaiva , Masopust David
Published: March 2019

This study examines the extent to which memory CD4+ T cells share immunosurveillance strategies with CD8+ resident memory T cells (TRM). After acute viral infection, memory CD4+ T cells predominantly used residence to survey nonlymphoid tissues, albeit not as stringently as observed for CD8+ T cells. In contrast, memory CD4+ T cells were more likely to be resident within lymphoid organs than CD8+ T cells. Migration properties of memory-phenotype CD4+ T cells in non-SPF parabionts were similar, generalizing these results to diverse infections and conditions. CD4+ and CD8+ TRM shared overlapping transcriptional signatures and location-specific features, such as granzyme B expression in the small intestine, revealing tissue-specific and migration property–specific, in addition to lineage-specific, differentiation programs. Functionally, mucosal CD4+ TRM reactivation locally triggered both chemokine expression and broad immune cell activation. Thus, residence provides a dominant mechanism for regionalizing CD4+ T cell immunity, and location enforces shared transcriptional, phenotypic, and functional properties with CD8+ T cells.
Aire-expressing ILC3-like cells in the lymph node display potent APC features
Authors: Yamano Tomoyoshi , Dobeš Jan , Vobořil Matouš , Steinert Madlen , Brabec Tomáš , Ziętara Natalia , Dobešová Martina , Ohnmacht Caspar , Laan Martti , Peterson Part , Benes Vladimir , Sedláček Radislav , Hanayama Rikinari , Kolář Michal , Klein Ludger , Filipp Dominik
Published: March 2019

The autoimmune regulator (Aire) serves an essential function for T cell tolerance by promoting the “promiscuous” expression of tissue antigens in thymic epithelial cells. Aire is also detected in rare cells in peripheral lymphoid organs, but the identity of these cells is poorly understood. Here, we report that Aire protein–expressing cells in lymph nodes exhibit typical group 3 innate lymphoid cell (ILC3) characteristics such as lymphoid morphology, absence of “classical” hematopoietic lineage markers, and dependence on RORγt. Aire+ cells are more frequent among lineage-negative RORγt+ cells of peripheral lymph nodes as compared with mucosa-draining lymph nodes, display a unique Aire-dependent transcriptional signature, express high surface levels of MHCII and costimulatory molecules, and efficiently present an endogenously expressed model antigen to CD4+ T cells. These findings define a novel type of ILC3-like cells with potent APC features, suggesting that these cells serve a function in the control of T cell responses.
Ultrafast dynamic evolution of multilevel systems in medium-strength laser fields
Authors: Wang Zhenhao , Shi Guoqiang , He Yu , Wang Quanjun , Ding Jingjie , Sun Shaohua , Liu Zuoye , Hu Bitao
Published: March 2019

The ultrafast dynamic evolution of an atomic system under medium-strength laser fields is studied by performing transient absorption measurement. An analytical model developed from perturbation theory with a modified transition dipole moment is presented to explain the spectral features of the multilevel system. By fitting the measured absorption spectra to the model, the system’s dynamic evolution is quantified by different amplitude and phase modulation factors in the pump-probe and probe-pump scenarios. This study provides a way to understand laser-matter interaction in the transition area between the strong-field and weak-field regimes.
Magnetic Field Concentrator Based on the Superconducting Films with Nanosize Cuts
Authors: Ichkitidze L P , Belodedov M V , Selishchev S V , Telishev D V
Published: March 2019

Optimal active strip nanostructuring of a magnetic field concentrator based on superconducting films allows to further increase the concentration ratio of the device. The magnetically sensitive element was placed between two concentrator rings lying in the same plane without crossing. Calculated concentration coefficients F and F
0 of a planar concentrator with an active strip with nanosize cuts and without them. Different position of the cuts in the active strip of the concentrator were invastigated, as well as different values of the magnetically sensitive element width w
0 and the London penetration depth λ. In the calculations it was assumed that the width of the cut w
p coincides with the distance w
a between the ends of the near concentrator and magnetically sensitive element. The active strip width w
s and width of the superconducting branch were multiples of w
a . It turned out that as w
0 decreases, F
0 increases and F decreases but the total concentration coefficient F* = F
0
F increases. F* value for a concentrator based on the niobium film (λ ∼ 50nm ) is higher than for the concentrator based on films Y-123 or Bi-2223 (λ ≥ 250nm). The considered concentrator with nanosize cuts will increase the efficiency of combined magnetic field sensors, SQUIDs, and other sensors with a resolution of ≤ 1 pT.
Efficiency and sustainability of land-resource use on a small island
Authors: Noda Keigo , Iida Akiko , Watanabe Satoshi , Osawa Kazutoshi
Published: March 2019

Land resources are essential for humans to survive, and different methods of land- resource use depend largely on the local natural context and society. Here we propose a method to assess land-resource use in terms of efficiency and sustainability for three historical types of land-resource use in the Babeldaob Island, Republic of Palau: self-supply, resource development and nature conservation. Our proposed index of land-use efficiency makes comparisons possible among the types of land-resource use, considering both the natural and social conditions; land-use efficiency increased in the order of self-supply, nature conservation and resource development. At the same time, sustainability of land-resource use corresponded to population growth; when the population density was less or more than 15 capita km−2, self-supply and nature conservation were the most sustainable, respectively.
2. The big three (or maybe four)
Authors: Neiberg Michael S.
Published: March 2019

In the early months of 1919, David Lloyd George, Woodrow Wilson, and Georges Clemenceau together held as much influence over world affairs as any three men in history. They had the power to redraw borders, determine forms of government for foreign countries, and influence the destinies of people around the world. “The big three (or maybe four)” describes the views of these three men, the challenges ahead of them, and how they influenced the peace conference. It also explains the role of Italy’s prime minister, Vittorio Orlando, who also wanted a place at the negotiating table, and the input of Japan, which was keen to increase its influence in the Pacific Rim.
4. Drafting the treaty
Authors: Neiberg Michael S.
Published: March 2019

Although primarily a diplomatic document, the Treaty of Versailles covered a wide range of subjects. Many of the articles of the treaty had little to do with Germany. The point was to reestablish a new world order based on a shared understanding of global ideals. However, “Drafting the treaty” explains that the core of the treaty dealt with ways to reduce the power of the new Germany—reducing its territory and its military power. The treaty’s first part dealt with Wilson’s prized League of Nations, with the remainder of Part 1 and some of Part 2 of the treaty fixing Germany’s new borders. An important part involved the setting of Germany’s reparations payments.
5. To bed, sick of life
Authors: Neiberg Michael S.
Published: March 2019

What would happen if the Germans refused to sign the treaty? The Allies were not prepared to resume the war or to handle the possibility of a German government collapse. “To bed, sick of life” describes the doubts and fears of the Allies and the German response to the proposed Treaty of Versailles. The request of German foreign minister Ulrich von Brockdorff-Rantzau for amendments was rejected and he returned to Berlin without any agreement. The German cabinet resigned on June 20, 1919 rather than vote in favor of accepting the treaty, but Provisional president Friedrich Ebert persuaded the National Assembly to approve it, despite the unfavorable terms, and the treaty was officially signed in Paris on June 28.
6. War to end war?
Authors: Neiberg Michael S.
Published: March 2019

The world that the Treaty of Versailles left behind looked anything but peaceful. Even as the ceremonies at Versailles were taking place, the Russian Civil War was threatening to engulf Europe in a war of ideologies. “War to end war?” considers the place of the Treaty of Versailles in the history of peacemaking, the numerous problems of enforcing the terms of the treaty, and the many repercussions of the document, including the war between the Soviet Union and Poland, the failure of Germany to make reparation payments, and the American Senate’s rejection of the League of Nations. Ultimately, the treaty failed to reflect or take into account the massive changes that the war had unleashed.
Concentration Camps: A Very Short Introduction
Authors: Stone Dan
Published: March 2019

Concentration Camps: A Very Short Introduction provides a global history of concentration camps, showing the differences and similarities between the various camp systems that have been used in the 20th century. Setting concentration camps, such as those under the Third Reich, against the longer history of incarceration, it explains how the ability of the modern state to control populations led to the creation of this extreme institution. Looking at their emergence and spread around the world, this VSI argues that concentration camps serve the purpose, from the point of view of the state in crisis, of removing a section of the population that is perceived to be threatening, traitorous, or diseased.
4. The Gulag
Authors: Stone Dan
Published: March 2019

‘The Gulag’ examines the Stalinist system of camps and ‘special settlements’ that developed through different phases of deportation from 1929–30 through to the late 1950s, although the camp system prevailed until the end of the USSR. Many of these camps were remote, where workers were needed for large mining or factory operations. Throughout the Gulag, the phenomenon of ‘de-convoyed’ prisoners permitted interaction between inmates and those ‘outside the zone’ to a surprisingly large extent. Prisoners in the Gulag could survive for many years and there was a constant stream of prisoners being released. However, in terms of numbers, far more people suffered in the Gulag than in the Nazi camps.
6. ‘An Auschwitz every three months’
Authors: Stone Dan
Published: March 2019

‘ “An Auschwitz every three months”: to society as camp?’ examines the meaning and significance of the concentration camp. There is no single type of concentration camp and no clear dividing line between a concentration camp and other sites of incarceration. Are concentration camps ‘states of exception’ divorced from society and the rule of law, and, if so, do they therefore function as windows onto the deeper desires of modern states’ leaders or are they aberrant sites? Can a meaningful comparison be made between concentration camps such as those under the Nazi regime and refugee camps or detention centres? What about contemporary settings such as favelas, shanty-towns, and sweatshops in the global south?
1. What is matter?
Authors: Cottrell Geoff
Published: March 2019

Matter is the stuff from which everything in the world is made. ‘What is matter?’ explains that all things are made of atoms. Inside every atom is a tiny nucleus, and, surrounding the nucleus, a cloud of electrons. The nucleus is made out of protons and neutrons, and, inside, there are smaller particles, quarks. As far as we know, electrons and quarks are not made from anything smaller and so they are fundamental particles. Matter exists in forms of immense variety and complexity; there are ninety-two naturally occurring chemical elements, which can form billions of different molecules. The scale of matter is also described.
2. Atoms
Authors: Cottrell Geoff
Published: March 2019

‘Atoms’ describes how humans discovered that the world is composed of atoms, even though they are invisible to the unaided eye. Starting with the prescient ideas of the Ancient Greeks 2,500 years ago there were, by the time of the Enlightenment, three ideas for a definition of matter: all matter is made of atoms, atoms take up space, and atoms have mass. The concept of atoms became more firmly rooted with the chemical experiments of the 19th century, but it was not until Albert Einstein’s interpretation of Brownian motion (the random jiggling of tiny dust particles) in 1905, that any last objections to the atomic hypothesis were finally quashed.
7. Fundamental particles
Authors: Cottrell Geoff
Published: March 2019

‘Fundamental particles’ introduces the ultimate building blocks of matter, which include antimatter, and describes how the world can be understood in terms of around twenty different quantum fields. Most of the mass of normal matter can be explained by the energy in these quantum fields. Only a handful of elementary particles make up the world: quarks, leptons, and the force particles, which appear in the Standard Model of Particle Physics. The elementary particles get their masses by interacting with the all-pervasive Higgs field, but the dominant source of the mass of ordinary matter comes from the energy of the quark and gluon fields inside nucleons. The Standard Model is a towering achievement of science, but it is not complete.
8. Where do the elements come from?
Authors: Cottrell Geoff
Published: March 2019

To understand where the chemical elements came from, we look at the earliest moments of the universe. ‘Where do the elements come from?’ traces the evolution of all the matter and energy in the universe, starting from a fraction of a second after its birth in the ‘Big Bang’, 13.8 billion years ago. The light elements, for example the hydrogen atoms in your body, were made in the Big Bang. The middleweight elements, such as carbon and oxygen, were (and still are being) forged deep inside stars, while the heavyweight elements, like gold and platinum, were produced in violent stellar explosions. The life cycles of stars, including supernovae, neutron stars, and pulsars is outlined.
9. Dark matter and dark energy
Authors: Cottrell Geoff
Published: March 2019

‘Dark matter and dark energy’ reveals that the familiar everyday matter that we experience around us—the atoms and molecules—constitutes only 5% of all the matter that is ‘out there’ in the universe. The remainder appears to consist of two mysterious invisible substances: dark energy (70%), and dark matter (25%). We know almost nothing about what these substances are. Dark matter is needed to prevent the galaxies from flying apart, and dark energy has a strange ‘antigravity’ effect, pushing space and the galaxies apart. The evidence for the existence of these dark substances is outlined, and the possibilities for what they might be are described.
Introduction
Authors: Graziosi Barbara
Published: March 2019

The Introduction outlines the two main aims of this Very Short Introduction. The first is to facilitate an understanding of the Iliad and the Odyssey, by providing a succinct and up-to-date guide to the main literary, historical, cultural, and archaeological issues at the heart of Homeric studies. The second is to show how readers of Homer join a vast and diverse community of other readers and, indeed, non-readers. The Homeric poems have been the object of study for over two and a half millennia, but many people who never studied, or even read, the Iliad or the Odyssey have also contributed to ensuring the survival and success of these two poems through the centuries.
3. Material clues
Authors: Graziosi Barbara
Published: March 2019

‘Material clues’ considers the archaeological evidence for when the Iliad and Odyssey were composed, including Heinrich Schliemann’s quest to find Troy on the basis of clues in the texts. The Iliad and the Odyssey refer to material circumstances not found before the later eighth or early seventh century BCE. They describe a distant, mythical past, but are set in a real and recognisable landscape. No interpretation leads to a single original audience, historical context, or specific political agenda, but earliest quotations from, and references to, Homer in other poets’ work prove that by the late sixth century BCE, the poems were well known throughout the Greek world.
5. The wrath of Achilles
Authors: Graziosi Barbara
Published: March 2019

‘The wrath of Achilles’ outlines the story of the Iliad. Right at the start, the reader is promised a grand poem about a very specific issue: the wrath of Achilles, which brought countless agonies upon the Achaeans. We are told the cause of this wrath—an apparently petty quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon, ‘leader of men’—and are confronted with its devastating consequences. The Iliad stages a conflict between the best and the most powerful of men: it is also because of this clash between merit and might that that it resonates, at least in part, with the experiences of people of different times and places.
CP*Trends: An Online Tool for Comparing Cohort and Period Trends Across Cancer Sites
Authors: Holford Theodore R , Chen Huann-Sheng , Annett David , Krapcho Martin , Dorogaeva Asya , Feuer Eric J
Published: March 2019

Cohort or period components of trends can provide a rationale for new research or point to clues on the effectiveness of control strategies. Graphical display of trends guides models that quantify the experience of a population. In this paper, a method for smoothing rates by single year of age and year is developed and displayed to show the contributions of period and cohort to trends. The magnitude of the contribution of period and/or cohort in a model for trends may be assessed by the percentage of deviance explained and the relative contributions of cohort (C) and period (P) individually, known as the C-P score. The method is illustrated using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data (1975–2014) on lung and bronchial cancer mortality in females and prostate and colorectal cancer incidence in males. Smoothed age-period and age-cohort rates provide a useful first step in studies of etiology and the impact of disease control without imposing a restrictive model. We found that, in this data set, cohort predominates for female lung and bronchial cancer and period predominates for male prostate cancer. However, the effects change with age for male colorectal cancer incidence, indicating an age shift in relevant exposures. These methods are applied on an interactive website for both incidence and mortality at over 20 cancer sites in the United States.
Prognostic value of ratio of transmitral early filling velocity to early diastolic strain rate in patients with Type 2 diabetes
Authors: Lassen Mats Christian Højbjerg , Jensen Magnus T , Biering-Sørensen Tor , Møgelvang Rasmus , Fritz-Hansen Thomas , Vilsbøll Tina , Rossing Peter , Jørgensen Peter Godsk
Published: March 2019

Aims

The ratio of early mitral inflow velocity to global diastolic strain rate (E/e′sr) has recently emerged as a novel measure of left ventricular filling pressure. E/e′sr has in previous studies demonstrated to have good prognostic value in various patient populations. The aim of this study is to investigate the prognostic value of E/e′sr in a large cohort of patients with Type 2 diabetes in relation to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

Methods and results

In this prospective study, 848 Type 2 diabetic patients (mean age 63.6 ± 10.3 years, 64.7% male) underwent comprehensive echocardiographic examination including 2D speckle tracking in which E/e′sr along with novel and conventional echocardiographic variables were obtained. During follow-up (median: 4.8 years, interquartile range: 4.0–5.3), 122 (14.1%) met the composite outcome of cardiovascular disease, hospitalization, and mortality. Both E/e′sr and E/e′ were significantly associated with the outcome [E/e′sr: hazard ratio (HR) 1.07, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05–1.10; P < 0.001, per 0.10 m increase] and (E/e′: HR 1.07, 95% CI: 1.05–1.10; P = 0.001, per 1 unit increase). E/e′sr remained an independent predictor after multivariable adjustment for demographical, clinical, and echocardiographic parameters (HR 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01–1.12; P = 0.032, per 10 cm increase). The same was true for E/e′ (HR 1.09, 95% CI: 1.04–1.14; P < 0.001, per 1 unit increase). Additionally, E/e′sr provided incremental prognostic information beyond the UK ‘Prospective Diabetes Study risk engine’ 0.72 (0.68–0.77) vs. 0.74 (0.70–79), P = 0.040.

Conclusion

In patients with Type 2 diabetes, E/e′sr provides independent and incremental prognostic information regarding cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
A case report: unmasking a singular culprit for cardiogenic shock: looking beyond the coronary tree
Authors: Almeida-Morais Luís , Portugal Guilherme , Cruz-Ferreira Rui
Published: March 2019

Background

Cardiogenic shock remains challenging in its therapy and aetiology.

Case summary

A 74-year-old woman admitted for cardiogenic shock requiring mechanical ventilation and high-dose inotropics and vasopressors with an electrocardiogram showing left ventricular (LV) lateral wall ischaemia had diffuse coronary artery disease but TIMI III flow in the coronary tree. An echocardiogram showed a suspicious mass invading the left ventricle and computed tomography scan revealed an advanced lung cancer with LV wall and pulmonary artery invasion as the cardiogenic shock cause.

Discussion

When managing cardiogenic shock, it is important to consider different and not obvious diagnosis. A high level of clinical suspicion and multimodality imaging assessment was very important in the present case to attain the diagnosis.
Trends across 20 years in multiple indicators of functioning among older adults in the Netherlands
Authors: Timmermans Erik J , Hoogendijk Emiel O , Broese van Groenou Marjolein I , Comijs Hannie C , van Schoor Natasja M , Thomése Fleur C F , Visser Marjolein , Deeg Dorly J H , Huisman Martijn
Published: March 2019

Background

Monitoring of trends in functioning of older adults provides indispensable information for health care policy. This study examined trends in multiple indicators of functioning among Dutch older adults across a period of 20 years.

Methods

Data from the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam were used. We included 10 870 observations of 3803 respondents aged 64–84 years across seven waves (1992–12) and 931 observations of 603 respondents aged 85–94 years across four waves (2001–12). At each wave, 8 indicators of functioning were measured: multimorbidity, severe functional limitations, depression, anxiety, cognitive impairment, physical inactivity, loneliness and social isolation. In addition, a sum score (range: 0–8) of these indicators was calculated, with a score of ≥5 indicating ‘multiple problems.’ Trends in functioning over time were assessed using Generalized Estimating Equation analyses.

Results

In the 64-84-years-olds, the prevalence of multimorbidity increased over time [OR(year) = 1.06, 95% CI = 1.05–1.06], whereas the prevalence of the other indicators decreased [i.e. cognitive impairment, physical inactivity (in women) and loneliness (in women)] or remained stable [i.e. severe functional limitations, depression, anxiety, physical inactivity (in men), loneliness (in men) and social isolation]. In the 85-94-year-olds, the prevalence of severe functional limitations increased over time [OR(year) = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.02–1.13], whereas the prevalence of the other indicators remained stable. In both age groups, the prevalence of ‘multiple problems’ remained stable.

Conclusion

Unfavorable trends were observed in multimorbidity among 64-84-years-olds and in severe functional limitations among 85-94-year-olds. Favorable trends were found in cognitive impairment, physical inactivity (in women) and loneliness (in women) among 64–84-years-olds.
Personality and Falls Among Older Adults: Evidence From a Longitudinal Cohort
Authors: Canada Brice , Stephan Yannick , Sutin Angelina R , Terracciano Antonio
Published: March 2019

Objectives

Falls can have catastrophic consequences, especially for older adults. This study examined whether personality traits predict the incidence of falls in older age.

Method

Participants were older adults aged from 65 to 99 years (N = 4,759) drawn from the Health and Retirement Study. Personality traits and demographic factors were assessed at baseline. Falls were tracked for up to 11 years.

Results

Over the follow-up period, 2,811 individuals reported falls. Cox regression analyses that included demographic covariates indicated that lower conscientiousness and higher neuroticism increased the risk of falling. Disease burden, depressive symptoms, and physical inactivity mediated the associations between both traits and falls incidence, whereas smoking status and handgrip strength mediated the neuroticism–falls incidence association.

Discussion

This study provides new prospective evidence that personality predicts the incidence of falls in older adults and suggest that personality assessment may help identifying individuals at higher risk of falling.
Disrupting data sharing for a healthier ocean
Authors: Pendleton Linwood H , Beyer Hawthorne , Estradivari  , Grose Susan O , Hoegh-Guldberg Ove , Karcher Denis B , Kennedy Emma , Llewellyn Lyndon , Nys Cecile , Shapiro Aurélie , Jain Rahul , Kuc Katarzyna , Leatherland Terry , O’Hainnin Kira , Olmedo Guillermo , Seow Lynette , Tarsel Mick
Published: March 2019

Ocean ecosystems are in decline, yet we also have more ocean data, and more data portals, than ever before. To make effective decisions regarding ocean management, especially in the face of global environmental change, we need to make the best use possible of these data. Yet many data are not shared, are hard to find, and cannot be effectively accessed. We identify three classes of challenges to data sharing and use: uploading, aggregating, and navigating. While tremendous advances have occurred to improve ocean data operability and transparency, the effect has been largely incremental. We propose a suite of both technical and cultural solutions to overcome these challenges including the use of natural language processing, automatic data translation, ledger-based data identifiers, digital community currencies, data impact factors, and social networks as ways of breaking through these barriers. One way to harness these solutions could be a combinatorial machine that embodies both technological and social networking solutions to aggregate ocean data and to allow researchers to discover, navigate, and download data as well as to connect researchers and data users while providing an open-sourced backend for new data tools.
The Effect of Types of Dictionary Presentation on the Retention of Metaphorical Collocations: Involvement Load Hypothesis vs. Cognitive Load Theory
Authors: Dai Yuanjun , Wu Zhiwei , Xu Hai
Published: March 2019

Although conceptual metaphor boxes were introduced in Macmillan English Dictionary over a decade ago, the effect of this innovative presentation on the retention of metaphorical collocations remains unclear. To fill this gap, this paper reports on a study involving 70 Chinese EFL learners, who were randomly assigned into three groups. They were exposed to three types of collocation presentation, varying in terms of availability and salience of conceptual metaphor information. The results show that the learners who were exposed to the accessible and salient presentation of metaphor information had the best retention of metaphorical collocations and the shortest lookup time. Two competing theoretical accounts, Involvement Load Hypothesis (ILH) and Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), were compared. It was found that CLT had greater explanatory power in predicting the research results, accounting for why conceptually grouping collocations facilitated the retention of metaphorical collocations.
Unclassified drug overdose deaths in the opioid crisis: emerging patterns of inequity
Authors: Boslett Andrew J , Denham Alina , Hill Elaine L , Adams Meredith C B
Published: March 2019

Objective

Examine whether individual, geographic, and economic phenotypes predict missing data on specific drug involvement in overdose deaths, manifesting inequities in overdose mortality data, which is a key data source used in measuring the opioid epidemic.

Materials and Methods

We combined national data sources (mortality, demographic, economic, and geographic) from 2014–2016 in a multi-method analysis of missing drug classification in the overdose mortality records (as defined by the use of ICD-10 T50.9 on death certificates). We examined individual disparities in decedent-level multivariate logistic regression models, geographic disparities in spatial analysis (heat maps), and economic disparities in a combination of temporal trend analyses (descriptive statistics) and both decedent- and county-level multivariate logistic regression models.

Results

Our analyses consistently found higher rates of unclassified overdoses in decedents of female gender, White race, non-Hispanic ethnicity, with college education, aged 30–59 and those from poorer counties. Despite the fact that unclassified drug overdose death rates have reduced over time, gaps persist between the richest and poorest counties. There are also striking geographic differences both across and within states.

Discussion

Given the essential role of mortality data in measuring the scale of the opioid epidemic, it is important to understand the individual and community inequities underlying the missing data on specific drug involvements. Knowledge of these inequities could enhance our understanding of the opioid crisis and inform data-driven interventions and policies with more equitable resource allocations.

Conclusion

Multiple individual, geographic, and economic disparities underlie unclassified overdose deaths, with important implications for public health informatics and addressing the opioid crisis.
Borders and Nominal Exchange Rates in Risk-Sharing
Authors: Devereux Michael B , Hnatkovska Viktoria V
Published: March 2019

Models of risk-sharing predict that relative consumption growth rates are positively related to changes in real exchange rates. We investigate this hypothesis using a new multicountry and multiregional data set. Within countries, we find evidence for risk-sharing: episodes of high relative regional consumption growth are associated with regional real exchange rate depreciation. Across countries, however, the association is reversed: relative consumption and real exchange rates are negatively correlated. We define this reversal as a “border” effect. We find the border effect and show that it accounts for over half of the deviations from full risk-sharing. Since cross–border real exchange rates involve different currencies, it is natural to ask how much of the border effect is accounted for by movements in exchange rates. Our measures indicate that a large part of the border effect comes from nominal exchange rate fluctuations. We develop a simple open economy model that is consistent with the importance of nominal exchange rate variability in accounting for deviations from cross–country risk-sharing.
TOP: Time-to-Event Bayesian Optimal Phase II Trial Design for Cancer Immunotherapy
Authors: Lin Ruitao , Coleman Robert L , Yuan Ying
Published: March 2019

Background

Immunotherapies have revolutionized cancer treatment. Unlike chemotherapies, immune agents often take longer to show benefit, and the complex and unique mechanism of action of these agents renders the use of multiple endpoints more appropriate in some trials. These new features of immunotherapy make conventional phase II trial designs, which assume a single binary endpoint that is quickly ascertainable, inefficient and dysfunctional.

Methods

We propose a flexible and efficient time-to-event Bayesian optimal phase II (TOP) design. The TOP design is efficient in that it allows real-time “go/no-go” interim decision making in the presence of late-onset responses by using all available data and maximizes statistical power for detecting effective treatments. TOP is flexible in the number of interim looks and capable of handling simple and complicated endpoints under a unified framework. We conduct simulation studies to evaluate the operating characteristics of the TOP design.

Results

In the considered trial settings, compared to some existing Bayesian designs, the TOP design shortens the trial duration by 4–10 months and improves the power to detect effective treatment up to 90%, with well-controlled type I errors.

Conclusions

The TOP design is transparent and easy to implement, as its decision rules can be tabulated and included in the protocol prior to the conduct of the trial. The TOP design provides a flexible, efficient, and easy-to-implement method to accelerate and improve the development of immunotherapies.
K2 Ultracool Dwarfs Survey – V. High superflare rates on rapidly rotating late-M dwarfs
Authors: Paudel R R , Gizis J E , Mullan D J , Schmidt S J , Burgasser A J , Williams P K G , Youngblood A , Stassun K G
Published: March 2019

We observed strong superflares (defined as flares with energy in excess of 1033 erg) on three late-M dwarfs: 2MASS J08315742+2042213 (hereafter 2M0831+2042; M7 V), 2MASS J08371832+2050349 (hereafter 2M0837+2050; M8 V), and 2MASS J08312608+2244586 (hereafter 2M0831+2244; M9 V). 2M0831+2042 and 2M0837+2050 are members of the young (∼700 Myr) open cluster Praesepe. The strong superflare on 2M0831+2042 has an equivalent duration (ED) of 13.7 h and an estimated energy of 1.3 × 1035 erg. We observed five superflares on 2M0837+2050, on which the strongest superflare has an ED of 46.4 h and an estimated energy of 3.5 × 1035 erg. This energy is larger by 2.7 orders of magnitude than the largest flare observed on the older (7.6 Gyr) planet-hosting M8 dwarf TRAPPIST-1. Furthermore, we also observed five superflares on 2M0831+2244 which is probably a field star. The estimated energy of the strongest superflare on 2M0831+2244 is 6.1 × 1034 erg. 2M0831+2042, 2M0837+2050, and 2M0831+2244 have rotation periods of 0.556 ± 0.002, 0.193 ± 0.000, and 0.292 ± 0.001 d, respectively, which we measured by using K2 light curves. We compare the flares of younger targets with those of TRAPPIST-1 and discuss the possible impacts of such flares on planets in the habitable zone of late-M dwarfs.
Detection of a double-peaked H α component from the accretion disc of NGC 4958
Authors: Ricci T V , Steiner J E
Published: March 2019

Active Galactic Nuclei are objects associated with the presence of an accretion disc around supermassive black holes found in the very central region of galaxies with a well-defined bulge. In the optical range of the spectrum, a possible signature of the accretion disc is the presence of a broad double-peaked component that is mostly seen in H α. In this paper, we report the detection of a double-peaked feature in the H α line in the nucleus of the galaxy NGC 4958. The narrow-line region of this object has an emission that is typical of a low-ionization nuclear emission-line region galaxy, which is the usual classification for double-peaked emitters. A central broad component, related to the broad-line region of this object, is seen in H α and also in H β. We concluded that the double-peaked emission is emitted by a circular relativistic Keplerian disc with an inner radius ξi  = 570 ± 83, an outer radius ξo  = 860 ± 170 (both in units of GMSMBH/c2), an inclination to the line of sight i = 27.2 ± 0.7° and a local broadening parameter σ  = 1310 ± 70 km s−1.
Cisplatin- and cyclophosphamide-induced primordial follicle depletion is caused by direct damage to oocytes
Authors: Nguyen Q N , Zerafa N , Liew S H , Findlay J K , Hickey M , Hutt K J
Published: March 2019

It is well established that DNA-damaging chemotherapies can cause infertility and ovarian endocrine failure by depleting the ovarian reserve of primordial follicles. Currently, no effective pharmacological therapies exist for the preservation of long-term fertility and ovarian function in female cancer patients, due to a limited understanding of the mechanisms of chemotherapy-induced follicle depletion. This study investigated the cellular targets, molecular mechanisms, and temporal course of ovarian reserve depletion following treatment with commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs. Adult female C57BL/6 mice were injected i.p. with saline, cisplatin (5mg/kg), or cyclophosphamide (300mg/kg); ovaries were harvested after 8 or 24 hours. Follicle counts showed depletion of all follicular stages 24 hours after administration of cisplatin or cyclophosphamide. Eight hours post-treatment, H2A histone family member X (γH2AX) immunofluorescence showed DNA double-stranded breaks at all follicular stages, including within primordial follicle oocytes. This staining was resolving by 24 hours, indicating that primordial follicle oocytes begin to undergo either apoptosis or repair in this timeframe. γH2AX-positive follicles were further examined to identify the specific cell types damaged. In primordial, transitional, and primary follicles, only oocytes sustained DNA damage, whereas in secondary and antral follicles, only somatic cells were affected. TUNEL staining confirmed that apoptosis occurs in these targeted cell types. Whilst multi-drug and multi-dose regimens were not examined, this study conclusively shows that cyclophosphamide and cisplatin cause direct damage to primordial follicle oocytes, which then undergo apoptosis. Therefore, future pharmacological strategies to prevent chemotherapy-induced infertility in females must specifically prevent primordial follicle oocyte death.
African Americans in Los Angeles
Authors: Norris Keenan
Published: March 2019

The word “California” derives from Spanish novelist Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo’s bastardization of the Arabic “khalifa.” Montalvo’s use is probably a relic of the Moorish occupation of Spain. Calafia, the black warrior queen of Montalvo’s 1510 novel Las sergas de Esplandián, ruled the mythic island of California. The mythos of an island populated solely by black Amazons persisted among the conquistadors, who brought with them a contingent of actual Africans, enslaved persons whose free mestizo descendants would one day help to found El Pueblo de Los Angeles, the settlement that would become Los Angeles, California. While African-descended people today make up less than 10 percent of Los Angeles’s population and have, in the city’s iteration as American territory, never comprised more than 20 percent of Los Angeles citizens, Black Angelenos have played a remarkably centrifugal role in the city’s history. In 1931, while a University of Southern California graduate student, Jessie Elizabeth Bromilow published a thesis on a man little recognized in American annals, the black mestizo Pio Pico, the last governor of the Mexican state of Alta California. Based in Los Angeles, heir to a leading family un Mexican California, Pico nevertheless died forgotten. The scholarship of historians concerned with California’s black history has recovered his story and the stories of other black mestizos of Mexican California. In the 20th century, large-scale African-American migration from Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas to work in the Second World War defense industries reshaped the city. Scholarship that has focused on post–Second World War Black Los Angeles’s music, jazz and hip-hop, and its gang violence has garnered great attention. Yet, equally important is the record of the civil rights struggles in the city, which spurred changes in local and national law. Emerging from an era of widespread protest, Tom Bradley attracted a multiracial constituency and became the city’s most impactful mayor, maneuvering Los Angeles to the center of the Pacific Rim’s economic network, bringing the Olympics and an international airport to the global mega-city. But Bradley’s tenure has long come under criticism from scholars and cultural commentators on multiple fronts, not least for the disenfranchisement of the black working class and the concurrent rise of Los Angeles’s black gang culture that it witnessed. The record of Black Los Angeles is, thus, a record of its manifold complexities, racial, spatial, political, cultural.
Euripides’ Bacchae
Authors: McHardy Fiona
Published: March 2019

Produced posthumously along with Iphigenia at Aulis and Alcmaeon in Corinth and awarded first prize at the City Dionysia in 405 bce, Euripides’ Bacchae is one of his most well-known and influential tragedies. One of the most significant aspects of the play, attracting religious, gendered, psychological, philosophical, and metatheatrical readings, is the appearance as a major character of the god Dionysus seeking to establish his cult in the city of Thebes. Dionysus is simultaneously an outsider, setting off from Lydia with his band of Asiatic maenads, and a son of the city, conceived by Semele, a member of the Theban royal family, and born out of his father Zeus’ thigh after the death of his mother. Worshipping Dionysus brings ecstasy and joy, experienced through revels, music, and dancing, yet there is also a vengeful and destructive side to the god. He seeks to punish his maternal aunts for their lack of belief in his divine parentage and drives them from the palace onto the mountains along with the other Theban women. At the same time, the Theban elder Cadmus, Dionysus’ maternal grandfather, and the prophet Tiresias attire themselves in Bacchic garb and head for the mountains in a show of respect for the god. But Cadmus’s grandson Pentheus, the ruler of the city, is hostile to the establishment of Dionysus’ cult and refuses to accept the outsider. In the course of the play, Pentheus confronts Dionysus and attempts to constrain him by force to reassert his control over the city. Yet it is impossible for a mortal to defeat a god. Intrigued by news of the women’s Bacchic revels on the mountains, Pentheus is persuaded by Dionysus to disguise himself as a maenad and visit the mountains to observe the women. A messenger reports the terrible news of Pentheus’s death, torn apart as if he were an animal in a Bacchic ritual, by his mother and her two sisters. The play culminates with a powerful scene in which Agave returns to the palace carrying the head of her own son, believing it to be the head of a mountain lion they have killed. During the scene her father Cadmus gradually helps her to see that she has in fact dismembered her own son. The play concludes with the exile of the remaining members of the royal family.
Family Letters in 15th Century England
Authors: Rosenthal Joel
Published: March 2019

In the 15th century a number of English families began to write (and preserve) letters about family business and even some personal matters. This was very much a new departure in terms of family communication and lay literacy, and all these family letters are in English. For various reasons, the letters were collected and preserved, often for their use in legal matters and litigation. While we do not know if the collections we have are only the tip of the iceberg, there are no other references to comparable family collections that might have once existed. Many of the letters show considerable sophistication and it seems unlikely they came out of nowhere in terms of vocabulary, style, and organization. But in one swoop, in terms of lay literacy and as a window into family life and affairs, we go from a society with almost no intrafamily communications to one that offers some large collections of such items. There are almost one thousand letters written by or received by the Pastons, and though the other family collections are smaller, they too are impressive in their scope: in their scholarly editions, there are 247 letters and miscellaneous documents in the Cely collection, 333 for the Stonors, and 349 for the Plumptons. Moreover, except for the Celys, all the letter collections reflect multigenerational letter-writing. The Paston Letters mostly run from 1425 to 1492; the Plumptons, 1433–1552, and the Stonors, 1290–1483 (though mostly from the 15th century). Also of interest, a fair number of the letters were by women, though these were usually dictated rather than actually penned by the nominal writer. As both writers and recipients the women may figure as active agents in family business; more frequently they play the role of stay-at-home coordinator, the center point for communication while the men traveled. In some cases, especially for several of the Paston women, they emerge from the shadows and are “real” people whom we can follow over the years. The many editions of the letters—especially those of the Pastons—and the impressive body of writing about them indicates that the light they shed on late medieval family life continues to be of interest. All of the letter collections are now available in editions that meet current scholarly standards.