bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Detection of Stress Induced by Soybean Aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae) Using Multispectral Imagery from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Authors: Marston Zachary P D , Cira Theresa M , Hodgson Erin W , Knight Joseph F , Macrae Ian V , Koch Robert L
Published: October 2019

Soybean aphid, Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is a common pest of soybean, Glycine max (L.) Merrill (Fabales: Fabaceae), in North America requiring frequent scouting as part of an integrated pest management plan. Current scouting methods are time consuming and provide incomplete coverage of soybean. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are capable of collecting high-resolution imagery that offer more detailed coverage in agricultural fields than traditional scouting methods. Recently, it was documented that changes to the spectral reflectance of soybean canopies caused by aphid-induced stress could be detected from ground-based sensors; however, it remained unknown whether these changes could also be detected from UAV-based sensors. Small-plot trials were conducted in 2017 and 2018 where cages were used to manipulate aphid populations. Additional open-field trials were conducted in 2018 where insecticides were used to create a gradient of aphid pressure. Whole-plant soybean aphid densities were recorded along with UAV-based multispectral imagery. Simple linear regressions were used to determine whether UAV-based multispectral reflectance was associated with aphid populations. Our findings indicate that near-infrared reflectance decreased with increasing soybean aphid populations in caged trials when cumulative aphid days surpassed the economic injury level, and in open-field trials when soybean aphid populations were above the economic threshold. These findings provide the first documentation of soybean aphid-induced stress being detected from UAV-based multispectral imagery and advance the use of UAVs for remote scouting of soybean aphid and other field crop pests.
Presidential Address: Aspirations, Social Norms, and Development
Authors: La Ferrara Eliana
Published: October 2019

I study the role of aspirations in economic development drawing on the existing theoretical and empirical literature and provide some new empirical findings using individual level data on aspirations across countries. After discussing the relationship between aspirations and individual investments, I present estimates on the correlates and determinants of students’ aspirations in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment data. I focus in particular on socioeconomic status, inequality, and institutional features that lead to horizontal segregation of education systems. I then address the question of whether and how aspirations can be changed, covering recent policy interventions that leverage psychological factors, stereotypes and norms, and material endowments.
Astrocytes in the Pathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis: An In Situ MicroRNA Study
Authors: Rao Vijayaraghava T S , Fuh Shih-Chieh , Karamchandani Jason R , Woulfe John M J , Munoz David G , Ellezam Benjamin , Blain Manon , Ho Ming-Kai , Bedell Barry J , Antel Jack P , Ludwin Samuel K
Published: October 2019

Astrocytes are increasingly recognized as active contributors to the disease process in multiple sclerosis (MS), rather than being merely reactive. We investigated the expression of a selected microRNA (miRNA) panel that could contribute both to the injury and to the recovery phases of the disease. Individual astrocytes were laser microdissected from brain sections. We then compared the miRNAs’ expressions in MS and control brain samples at different lesional stages in white versus grey matter regions. In active MS lesions, we found upregulation of ischemia-related miRNAs in white but not grey matter, often with reversion to the normal state in inactive lesions. In contrast to our previous findings on MS macrophages, expression of 2 classical inflammatory-related miRNAs, miRNA-155 and miRNA-146a, was reduced in astrocytes from active and chronic active MS lesions in white and grey matter, suggesting a lesser direct pathogenetic role for these miRNAs in astrocytes. miRNAs within the categories regulating aquaporin4 (-100, -145, -320) and glutamate transport/apoptosis/neuroprotection (-124a, -181a, and -29a) showed some contrasting responses. The regional and lesion-stage differences of expression of these miRNAs indicate the remarkable ability of astrocytes to show a wide range of selective responses in the face of differing insults and phases of resolution.
Wrist Injury in Deployed U.S. Marine—How to Maintain the Mission
Authors: Franssen Nathan T , Carpenter Robert J , Stuart Sean M
Published: October 2019

Wrist pain commonly affects military members and while most instances are benign, some require urgent orthopedic attention to prevent permanent loss of function. A 27-year-old male Marine while deployed presented with wrist pain after a seemingly benign fall during recreation. Radiographs were initially read as unremarkable and treated as a sprain. Though when reviewed by the Shock Trauma Platoon physicians, a perilunate dislocation was noted. After unsuccessful closed attempts to reduce injury, the Marine was sent to orthopedic surgery and underwent open reduction internal fixation and required a subsequent closed reduction and percutaneous pinning. Perilunate dislocations are uncommon but are among the most severe types of wrist injuries. This case is a reminder that proper evaluation of all injuries is critical. Proper evaluation of wrist injuries includes an attentive physical exam and careful examination of the radiographs; paying close attention to Gilula arcs and collinearity of the radius, lunate, and capitate. Prompt recognition and referral to specialty care for definitive treatment are important to maximize functional outcomes.
Protein Structural Information and Evolutionary Landscape by In Vitro Evolution
Authors: Fantini Marco , Lisi Simonetta , De Los Rios Paolo , Cattaneo Antonino , Pastore Annalisa
Published: October 2019

Protein structure is tightly intertwined with function according to the laws of evolution. Understanding how structure determines function has been the aim of structural biology for decades. Here, we have wondered instead whether it is possible to exploit the function for which a protein was evolutionary selected to gain information on protein structure and on the landscape explored during the early stages of molecular and natural evolution. To answer to this question, we developed a new methodology, which we named CAMELS (Coupling Analysis by Molecular Evolution Library Sequencing), that is able to obtain the in vitro evolution of a protein from an artificial selection based on function. We were able to observe with CAMELS many features of the TEM-1 beta-lactamase local fold exclusively by generating and sequencing large libraries of mutational variants. We demonstrated that we can, whenever a functional phenotypic selection of a protein is available, sketch the structural and evolutionary landscape of a protein without utilizing purified proteins, collecting physical measurements, or relying on the pool of natural protein variants.
Environmental Ethics
Authors: Lee Wendy Lynne
Published: October 2019

While many disciplines have begun to take the environment, its inhabitants, ecosystems, biotic diversity, and future stability more seriously, it falls to philosophy to flesh out the organizing concepts and principles of a viable environmental ethic. An ethic is a defensible way of life grounded in the wherewithal to address the anthropogenic causes of environmental crises like climate change. However true is Socrates’ claim that the unexamined life is not worth living, what counts as “worth living” must now recalibrate in light of a future characterized by catastrophic weather events, dwindling resources, accelerated disease vectors, human and nonhuman migration, and the geopolitical upheaval either caused or accelerated by a warming atmosphere. Can the appeal to traditional moral theories intended to adjudicate human conflicts be retooled to address contemporary environmental crises? This is not obvious. Moral principles made to solve human moral dilemmas have not prevented the pollution and exhaustion of limited planetary and atmospheric resources, and we no longer take it for granted that human welfare is the sole focus of moral concern. Notions like inherent worth, biotic integrity, and sustainability have become integral to environmental ethics discourse along with serious exploration of the moral considerability of nonhuman animals. Can a human-centered—anthropocentric—environmental ethic provide sufficient incentive to address environmental crises? Does sentience have moral weight beyond human consciousness? Whose suffering matters? Do we have any moral duty to care about the future? Some argue that the fact of climate change reveals our traditional moral principles to be inadequate. They argue we need an ethic that aims to reach beyond human beings. Others argue that, suitably modified, long-standing moral ideals aimed at maximizing happiness or minimizing suffering can help us draft a more sustainable ethical charter, or that rights can be extended to the protection of nonhuman entities. Still others argue for an ecological version of the precautionary principle: wherever an action, practice, policy, law, or (de)regulation poses a well-supported likelihood of causing harm to the planet’s regenerative capacities or to its atmosphere, the burden to demonstrate that harm will not occur as a consequence of that action falls on the actor(s) or agencies responsible for it. The precautionary principle is anthropocentric, but it includes the active recognition of interdependency as prerequisite for survival. A number of feminist, antiracist, and social justice theorists show how the intersection of ecology, economics, ethnicity, gender, and species status informs the ways in which we conceive environmental issues as matters of justice.
Lucretius Renaissance Thought
Authors: Palmer Ada
Published: October 2019

Even before its celebrated rediscovery by Poggio Bracciolini in 1417, Lucretius’s didactic Epicurean epic De rerum natura was famous as a Roman masterpiece celebrated by Virgil and Ovid, and infamous as a capsule of dangerous, irreligious paganism ferociously denounced by Arnobius and other Christian apologists. The manuscript remained in the sole possession of Niccolò Niccoli until his death in 1437 when his library was acquired by Cosimo de Medici and numerous copies began to circulate in Florence and, soon thereafter, in Venice and the Veneto region, then Rome, Naples, and Iberia. A total of fifty-four manuscripts survive from the Renaissance, and thirty editions of the poem were printed by 1600, including commentaries by Albertus Pius (1512), Denys Lambin (1563), and Hubert van Giffen (Gifanius, 1565–1566). The diversity of subjects treated in the De rerum natura has invited a broad range of scholarly approaches. Philological study of the text’s transmission has been extensive, and for many years work on the stemma of Lucretius manuscripts served as a model for transmission studies in general. Historians of science frequently examine Lucretius’s influence on atomism, materialism, corpuscular theory, and ideas of generation, especially from the 17th century on. Scholarship on his influence on poetry, literature, language, and art has concentrated on Italian and English contexts, though his influence in France and Iberia is also extensive. Others have concentrated on Lucretius’s influence on ethics and political thought; his Epicurean celebration of pleasure and his account of how human society and government developed gradually out of a less complicated primitive state greatly influenced Machiavelli, Montaigne, and Thomas Hobbes. Lucretius is also a lynchpin in current debates over the modernity of the Renaissance and is often invoked in narratives that portray Renaissance humanism as a modernizing, secularizing force, characterized by a turn toward rationalism and away from Christian orthodoxy—such narratives are common but also controversial, and much scholarship has been devoted to advancing and to refuting such readings of the Renaissance Lucretius. Other figures often examined in a Lucretian context include Pomponio Leto, Marsilio Ficino, Poliziano, Bartolomeo Scala, Botticelli, Pierre Gassendi, Edmund Spenser, Lucy Hutchinson, Margaret Cavendish, John Dryden, and Girolamo Fracastoro.
Philosophy and Childhood
Authors: Kohan Walter
Published: October 2019

Philosophy of childhood is an academic field born at least with Heraclitus and his connection between aion (time), pais (child), and basileie (kingdom). There are many ways of understanding the nature, scope, and interlocutors of a philosophy of childhood, depending basically on the way two questions are answered, explicitly or implicitly: “what is philosophy?” and “what is childhood?” Even more, a philosophy of childhood can begin by a consideration of the word “childhood.” In the ancient Greek language there were many words for “child” but no word for an abstract substantive (childhood). In Latin, infantia is a rather late word, meaning literally “lack of voice” but used in fact in court to refer to those who were not allowed to give testimony in their benefit. So, the lack designated by in-fantia is legal, political, and not linguistic. In romance languages all words designating childhood come from that one: enfance (French); infancia (Spanish); infanzia (Italian); infância (Português), etc. So that in English, infancy would be more literal but because of the common use, in this entry we’ll use childhood. Is childhood a stage of human life? Does childhood need to be associated with (aged) children? An affirmative answer to these questions is the “obvious” and normal response, but not the only one. When childhood is understood as a stage of life, the concept of childhood is intimately related to the concept of adulthood and child-adult is an intrinsic, contrastive pair, so that every conceptualization of childhood implies a conceptualization of adulthood as well. A concept of childhood, then, is closely associated to a concept of time. While the concept of childhood as a stage of life presupposes a chronological concept of time (numbered movements composed by the past and the future, being the present a limit between both), with alternative concepts of time, other concepts of childhood emerge. Examples of these hetero-chronological concepts of childhood in the so called Western tradition are: Nietzsche (In “The Three Metamorphoses,” the child is the last non-lineal but circular transformation of the Spirit; it is not at the beginning but at the end of life); G. Deleuze, who invented the concept of “becoming-child” which does not refer to any personal child but to an impersonal force, a space for the transformation of subjectivity; J.-F. Lyotard, according to whom childhood is a state that is present the whole life as a testimony of a debt taken by the being with the non-being before each human being is being born; G. Agamben, who proposed childhood as a condition for language, history, and experience; and Paulo Freire, who understood childhood as curiosity and as a possibility though the whole life of any human being regardless of her age. At the same time, philosophy of childhood in contemporary philosophy is closely connected to philosophical inquiry and practice with children, a field that received great support in the contemporary period from figures like Matthew Lipman, Ann Margaret Sharp, and Gareth Matthews.
Improving State-Level Influenza Surveillance by Incorporating Real-Time Smartphone-Connected Thermometer Readings Across Different Geographic Domains
Authors: Miller Aaron C , Peterson Ryan A , Singh Inder , Pilewski Sarah , Polgreen Philip M
Published: October 2019

Background

Timely estimates of influenza activity are important for clinical and public health practice. However, traditional surveillance sources may be associated with reporting delays. Smartphone-connected thermometers can capture real-time illness symptoms, and these geo-located readings may help improve state-level forecast accuracy.

Methods

Temperature recordings were collected from smart thermometers and an associated mobile phone application. Using temperature recordings, we developed forecasting models of real-time state-reported influenza-like illness (ILI) 2 weeks before the availability of published reports. We compared time-series models that incorporated thermometer readings at various levels of spatial aggregation and evaluated out-of-sample model performance in an adaptive manner comparing each model to baseline models without thermometer information.

Results

More than 12 million temperature readings were recorded from over 500,000 devices from August 30, 2015 to April 15, 2018. Readings were voluntarily reported from anonymous device users, with potentially multiple users for a single device. We developed forecasting models of real-time outpatient ILI for 46 states with sufficient state-reported ILI data. Forecast accuracy improved considerably when information from thermometers was incorporated. On average, thermometer readings reduced the squared error of state-level forecasting by 43% during influenza season and more than 50% in many states. In general, best-performing models tended to result from incorporating thermometer information at multiple levels of spatial aggregation.

Conclusion

Local forecasts of current influenza activity, measured by outpatient ILI, can be improved by incorporating real-time information from mobile-devices. Information aggregated across neighboring states, regions, and the nation can lead to more reliable forecasts, benefiting local surveillance efforts.
Moral Error Theory Without Epistemic Error Theory: Scepticism About Second-Personal Reasons
Authors: Cosker-Rowland Rach
Published: October 2019

Proponents of the epistemic companions in guilt argument argue that we should reject the moral error theory because it entails that there are no epistemic reasons. In this paper, I investigate whether a plausible version of the moral error theory can be constructed that does not entail an error theory about epistemic reasons. I argue that there are no irreducibly normative second-personal reasons even if there are irreducibly normative reasons. And epistemic reasons are not second-personal reasons. In this case, a plausible version of the moral error theory can be constructed that does not entail an error theory about epistemic reasons if facts and claims about morality entail facts and claims about irreducibly normative second-personal reasons. And, as I explain, there is a good case that facts and claims about morality do entail facts and claims about irreducibly normative second-personal reasons.
Voluntary folic acid fortification levels of food staples in Ireland continue to decline: further implications for passive folic acid intakes?
Authors: Egan Elizabeth , Kelly Frances , Sweeney Mary Rose
Published: October 2019

Background

Ireland previously had widespread voluntary fortification but research at Dublin City University carried out in 2014 by our research group demonstrated a major decline in the number of food staples fortified with folic acid in Irish supermarkets over the previous 10 years. The aim of the study was to repeat the audit conducted 3 years ago to compare the levels of folic acid fortification of foodstuffs over this time-frame.

Methods

Over a period of 8-weeks between June and August 2017, the nutrition labels of all foodstuffs that might typically be fortified with micronutrients for sale in the supermarkets with the majority of market share in Ireland were examined. The amount of added folic acid detailed on the label was compared with those captured in 2014.

Results

In total, 1081 products with added micronutrients were examined. In percentage terms, there has been a decline of Folic Acid (FA) fortified products within the food groups—spreads, breads, cereals, cereal snacks, milks, fruit juices, yogurts/yogurt drinks and energy drinks since 2014.

Discussion

The number of food staples fortified with FA continues to decline demonstrating that voluntary fortification in Ireland is no longer an effective measure for passively augmenting the folic acid levels of consumers.
In vitro and in situ techniques yield different estimates of ruminal disappearance of barley
Authors: DeFeo Mary E , Shampoe Kelsey V , Carvalho Pedro H V , Silva Flavia A S , Felix Tara L
Published: October 2019

Objectives were to compare in vitro and in situ disappearance of dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and starch of traditional (unprocessed and rolled) and hulless (unprocessed) barley. Experiment 1: three barley sources were compared using in vitro techniques. The sources were: 1) traditional barley that was not processed, 2) traditional barley processed through a roller mill, and 3) hulless barley that was not processed. For in vitro incubation, each barley source was ground through a 1-mm screen. Ground barley sources were weighed into bags (25 micron porosity) and incubated in ruminal fluid from two steers fed 80% rolled corn for 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, or 72 h. Intact bags were assayed for NDF; remaining bags were opened and the residual was removed and analyzed to determine disappearance of DM and starch. Experiment 2: the barley sources used in Exp. 1 were compared using in situ techniques. For in situ analysis, each barley source was ground in a Wiley mill with no screen to mimic mastication. Artificially masticated samples were weighed into Dacron bags (50 ± 10 micron porosity) and incubated in eight ruminally fistulated steers (n = 8) for 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h. Residual contents were analyzed to determine in situ disappearance of DM, NDF, and starch. Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedures of SAS (9.4 SAS Institute, Cary, NC) with repeated measures. DM disappearance was greatest (P < 0.05) for hulless barley in vitro and for rolled barley in situ, regardless of time postincubation. For both trials, NDF disappearance was greatest (P < 0.05) for hulless barley, regardless of time postincubation. Starch disappearance at all time points was greatest (P < 0.05) for rolled barley in situ. Starch disappearance was greater (P < 0.05) for hulless barley at 6 h of in vitro incubation compared to rolled and unprocessed barley, whereas starch disappearance in vitro was comparable (P = 0.60) between barley sources. When the grains were compared in vitro, minor differences were noted, presumably because barley sources were finely ground prior to incubation. Compared to in vitro estimates, in situ techniques had greater variation in ruminal degradation estimates. Differences observed between in situ and in vitro techniques are driven largely by differences between the procedures. Although laboratory methods are widely used to estimate ruminal degradation, these techniques did not provide comparable estimates of ruminal degradation of barley.
Association between water and sanitation service levels and soil-transmitted helminth infection risk factors: a cross-sectional study in rural Rwanda
Authors: Mather William , Hutchings Paul , Budge Sophie , Jeffrey Paul
Published: October 2019

Background

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections are one of the most prevalent neglected tropical diseases in the world. Drug treatment is the preferred method for infection control yet reinfection occurs rapidly, so water and sanitation represent important complementary barriers to transmission.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted to observe STH risk factors in rural Rwandan households in relation to the Sustainable Development Goal for water and sanitation service levels. Survey and observation data were collected from 270 households and 67 water sources in rural Rwanda and were processed in relation to broader risk factors identified from the literature for the role of water and sanitation in STH infection pathways.

Results

A significant association between higher water and sanitation service levels and lower STH infection risk profiles was found for both water and sanitation. However, variability existed within service level classifications.

Conclusions

Greater granularity within service level assessments is required to more precisely assess the efficacy of water and sanitation interventions in reducing STH infection risks.
Estimating Treatment Effects with Big Data When Take-up is Low: An Application to Financial Education
Authors: Lara Ibarra Gabriel , McKenzie David , Ruiz-Ortega Claudia
Published: October 2019

Low take-up of interventions is a common problem faced by evaluations of development programs. A leading case is financial education programs, which are increasingly offered by governments, nonprofits, and financial institutions, but which often have very low voluntary participation rates. This poses a severe challenge for randomized experiments attempting to measure their impact. This study uses a large experiment on more than 100,000 credit card clients in Mexico. The study shows how the richness of financial data allows combining matching and difference-in-difference methods with the experiment to yield credible measures of impact, even with take-up rates below 1 percent. The findings show that a financial education workshop and personalized coaching result in a higher likelihood of paying credit cards on time, and of making more than the minimum payment, but do not reduce spending, resulting in higher profitability for the bank.
Growth and Yield Performance of Solanum tuberosum Grown from Seed Potatoes Infected with ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ Haplotypes A and B
Authors: Swisher Grimm Kylie D. , Mustafa Tariq , Cooper W. Rodney , Munyaneza Joseph E.
Published: October 2019

Zebra chip (ZC) disease of potato (Solanum tuberosum) is associated with infection by ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ (Lso). Two haplotypes of Lso—A and B—occur in the United States. Lso haplotype B is more virulent than haplotype A, causing greater disease incidence in tubers, more severe symptoms, and greater loss in tuber yield. This study assessed whether tubers from infected plants generate new infected plants the following year. The effects of both Lso haplotypes A and B on tuber resprout were examined on five potato cultivars. When compared with noninfected tubers, overall plant emergence rate from Lso A- or B-infected tubers was lower, plants emerged slower, and plants generated lower daughter tuber yields in weight and quantity. Plants generally emerged poorly from Lso B-infected tubers and produced lower daughter tuber yields than Lso A-infected tubers. Regardless of Lso treatment, all daughter tubers were asymptomatic, and only 0.3% tested positive for Lso in experiments conducted over 2 years. This suggests that plants generated from Lso A- and Lso B-infected seed potatoes with severe ZC symptoms are likely not a significant source of Lso in potato fields.
Fine-Mapping of the Powdery Mildew Resistance Gene mlxbd in the Common Wheat Landrace Xiaobaidong
Authors: Jin Yanlong , Xue Fei , Zhou Yilin , Duan Xiayu , Hu Jinghuang , Li Yanjun , Zhu Huaguo , Sun Jie
Published: October 2019

Powdery mildew, which is caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), is a disease of wheat worldwide. Xiaobaidong is a Chinese wheat landrace, which still maintains good resistance against powdery mildew. To obtain more genetic markers closely linked to the powdery mildew resistance gene mlxbd and narrow the candidate region for its isolation, new simple sequence repeats and cross intron-spanning markers were designed based on the genome sequence of Triticum aestivum cultivar Chinese Spring chromosome 7BL. The flanking markers 7BLSSR49 and WGGC5746 were found to be tightly linked to mlxbd at genetic distances of 0.4 cM and 0.3 cM, respectively. The resistance locus was mapped to a 63.40 kb and 0.29 Mb region of the Chinese Spring genome and Zavitan genome, respectively. The linked markers of mlxbd could be used as diagnostic markers for mlxbd. The linked molecular markers and delineated genomic region in the sequenced Chinese Spring genome will assist the future map-based cloning of mlxbd.
Genetic Structure of Ralstonia solanacearum and Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum in Brazil
Authors: Santiago Thaís Ribeiro , Lopes Carlos Alberto , Caetano-Anollés Gustavo , Mizubuti Eduardo S. G.
Published: October 2019

Bacterial wilt-causing Ralstonia threaten numerous crops throughout the world. We studied the population structure of 196 isolates of Ralstonia solanacearum and 39 isolates of Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum, which were collected from potato- and tomato-growing areas in 19 states of Brazil. Regardless of the species, three groups of isolates were identified. One group encompassed R. pseudosolanacearum isolates. The other two groups comprise isolates of R. solanacearum (phylotype II) split according to geographic regions, one made of isolates from the North and Northeast and the other made of isolates from the Central, Southeast, and South regions (CSS). Among the isolates collected in CSS, those from tomato were genetically distinct from the potato isolates. The genetic variability in the population of R. pseudosolanacearum was lower than that of R. solanacearum, suggesting that the former was introduced in Brazil. Conversely, the high genetic variability of R. solanacearum in all regions, hosts, and times supports the hypothesis that this species is autochthonous in South America, more precisely in Brazil and Peru. For R. solanacearum, higher variability and lower migration rates were observed when tomato isolates were analyzed, indicating that the variability is caused mainly by the differences of the local, native soil population. The North subpopulation was distinct from all others, possibly because of differences in environmental features of this region. The proximity of some geographic regions and the movement of potato tubers could have facilitated migration and therefore low genetic differentiation between geographic regions. Finally, geography, which also influences host distribution, affects the structure of the population of R. solanacearum in Brazil. Despite quarantine procedures in Brazil, increasing levels of trade are a threat to biosecurity, and these results emphasize the need for improving our regional efforts to prevent the dispersal of pathogens.
Development and evaluation of an early menopause question prompt list
Authors: Yeganeh Ladan , Khan Nadia N. , Boyle Jacqueline A. , Gibson-Helm Melanie , Teede Helena , Vincent Amanda J.
Published: October 2019

Objective:

A question prompt list (QPL)—a structured list of questions—assists women in acquiring relevant information and facilitates communication with healthcare providers (HPs). This study aims to co-develop an early menopause (EM) QPL and assess its acceptability and feasibility.

Methods:

This three-phase study consisted of a survey to inform QPL development, interviews to explore acceptability, and clinical pilot-testing to assess feasibility. Participants included: 263 survey respondents with EM, 18 women interviewed, and 11 women and 6 HPs in pilot-testing. Main outcome measures were: survey—perceptions regarding communication with HPs, likeliness to use a QPL and QPL topics; interviews—QPL user-friendliness and acceptability; pilot study—women's QPL use, perceived helpfulness and future use, and HPs’ perceived acceptability. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, logistic regression, and thematic analysis.

Results:

Women's perceived communication difficulties most commonly related to sexual function (50.6%), vaginal/urinary symptoms (43%), and psychological effects (41.1%). Most women (67.3%) indicated they were very likely to use an EM QPL. EM symptoms, effects, and management were considered very important/essential QPL topics (>80%). Interviewed women perceived the QPL as comprehensive, user-friendly, informative, and empowering. Most pilot study women asked 1 to 2 questions (73%), perceived the QPL as helpful (100%), and would use it again (81.8%). HPs reported that the QPL helped patients to ask questions and initiate discussion about important and sensitive issues.

Conclusions:

Women with EM have unmet information and communication needs, and are supportive of a comprehensive EM QPL. The EM QPL was perceived as an acceptable and feasible resource for women to use during medical consultations.

Video Summary:

http://links.lww.com/MENO/A484.
The Role of Sex on Early Cochlear Implant Outcomes
Authors: Raymond Mallory J. , Ballestas Samir A. , Wise Justin C. , Vivas Esther X.
Published: October 2019

Objective:

To determine the presence of sex differences in cochlear implant outcomes.

Study Design:

Retrospective chart review.

Setting:

Tertiary referral center.

Patients:

Adult patients having undergone cochlear implantation from 2009 to 2017.

Intervention(s):

Standard electrode length cochlear implantation.

Main Outcome Measure(s):

AzBio scores in quiet of the implanted ear at the 1 to 3 months and 6 to 9 months postoperative time points.

Results:

Of 55 patients with complete demographic and speech recognition testing, 36.4% (n = 20) were men. The mean age at time of surgery was 59.81 ± 16.54 years and the mean duration of hearing loss was 26.33 ± 18.54 years; there was no significant difference between men and women. The mean preoperative AzBio score was 11 ± 15.86% and there was no difference between men and women. Through 2 (sex) × 3 (time point) analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), there was no main effect of sex (F[1, 48] = 0.74, p = 0.39, η
2 = 0.02) on postoperative AzBio scores, but there was a significant sex by time point interaction, (F[1.77, 85.03] = 4.23, p = 0.02, η
2 = 0.08). At the 1 to 3 months postoperative time point, women exhibited higher relative improvement in AzBio scores than men (67 ± 27% versus 55 ± 31%). Further, this relative improvement increased and remained significant at the 6 to 9 months postoperative time point (women: 71 ± 22% versus 58 ± 30%).

Conclusions:

Sex may play a role in early speech recognition outcomes after adult cochlear implantation.
Age-related Hearing Loss Is Strongly Associated With Cognitive Decline Regardless of the APOE4 Polymorphism
Authors: Morita Yuka , Sasaki Takanobu , Takahashi Kuniyuki , Kitazawa Meiko , Nonomura Yoriko , Yagi Chihiro , Yamagishi Tatsuya , Ohshima Shinsuke , Izumi Shuji , Wakasugi Minako , Yokoseki Akio , Narita Ichiei , Endo Naoto , Horii Arata
Published: October 2019

Objective:

To examine the association between hearing impairment and cognitive decline and to identify possible risk factors for presbycusis.

Study Design:

Cross-sectional survey in prospective cohort study.

Setting:

University hospital.

Patients:

A total of 322 participants aged >60 years, for whom all the below data were available, were enrolled in the study. There were 168 females and 154 males with a median age of 71 years (range: 60–89 yrs).

Interventions:

PROST (Project in Sado for Total Health), a medical database in Sado island Japan, was analyzed.

Main Outcome Measures:

Data on pure-tone audiometry, mini-mental state examination (MMSE), polymorphism of apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4), diabetes mellitus, hypertension, smoking, and alcohol consumption were extracted. Hearing impairment was defined as an average frequency between 0.25 and 8 kHz that exceeded 30 dB. Multivariate analysis was used to identify which of the above factors could predict the hearing impairment. Hearing threshold of each Hz was compared between the ApoE4 (+/+), (+/−), and (−/−) groups.

Results:

Among various factors, only low MMSE scores (<24) showed significant association with hearing impairment. There were no differences in the hearing threshold of all frequencies between ApoE status groups.

Conclusions:

Hearing impairment was associated with low MMSE sores, regardless of the ApoE4 status. If ApoE4 status would be a common upstream predictor for both the hearing and cognitive impairment, hearing threshold would be related to ApoE4 status. However, these results may suggest that hearing impairment may be causally related to the cognitive dysfunction, perhaps via the cognitive load mechanisms.
The Effects of Hemianopia on Perception of Mutual Gaze
Authors: Bowers Alex R. , Sheldon Sarah , Hecht Heiko
Published: October 2019

SIGNIFICANCE

Individuals with left hemianopic field loss (HFL), especially with neglect history, may have greater difficulties than individuals with right HFL in judging the direction of another person's gaze.

PURPOSE

Individuals with HFL often show a spatial bias in laboratory-based perceptual tasks. We investigated whether such biases also manifest in a more real-world task, perception of mutual gaze direction, an important, nonverbal communication cue in social interactions.

METHODS

Participants adjusted the eye position of a life-size virtual head on a monitor at a 1-m distance until (1) the eyes appeared to be looking straight at them, or (2) the eyes were perceived to be no longer looking at them (to the right and left).

RESULTS

Participants with right HFL (n = 8) demonstrated a rightward error in line bisection but made gaze judgments within the range of normally sighted controls (n = 17). Participants with left HFL without neglect history (n = 6) made leftward errors in line bisection and had more variable gaze judgments; three had estimates of gaze direction outside the reference range. Four participants with left HFL and neglect history made estimates of gaze direction that were to the right of the reference range.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results suggest that individuals with left HFL, especially with neglect history, may have greater difficulties than individuals with right HFL in compensating for low-level spatial biases (as manifested in line bisection) when performing the more complex, higher-level task of judging gaze direction.
Interventions to Mitigate Cognitive Biases in the Decision Making of Eye Care Professionals: A Systematic Review
Authors: Shlonsky Aron , Featherston Rebecca , Galvin Karyn L. , Vogel Adam P. , Granger Catherine L. , Lewis Courtney , Luong My-Linh , Downie Laura E.
Published: October 2019

SIGNIFICANCE

Cognitive biases, systematic errors in thinking that impact a person's choices and judgments, can influence decision making at various points during patient care provision. These biases can potentially result in misdiagnoses, delayed clinical care, and/or patient mismanagement. A range of interventions exists to mitigate cognitive biases. There is a need to understand the relative efficacy of these interventions within the context of eye care practice.

PURPOSE

The aim of this systematic review was to synthesize the evidence relating to interventions for mitigating cognitive biases associated with clinical decision making by eye care professionals.

DATA SOURCES

Electronic databases (including Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, PsycINFO) were searched from inception to October 2017 for studies investigating interventions intended to mitigate cognitive biases in the clinical decision making of eye care professionals. This review was undertaken in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses reporting guidelines.

STUDY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

To ensure inclusion of all relevant literature, a wide range of study designs was eligible for inclusion, such as randomized controlled trials, nonrandomized trials, interrupted time series and repeated measures, controlled before-after studies, and qualitative studies that were a component of any of these quantitative study designs.

STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS

Two review authors independently screened titles, abstracts, and full-text articles in duplicate, applying a priori eligibility criteria.

RESULTS

After screening 2759 nonduplicate records, including full-text screening of 201 articles, no relevant studies were identified.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS OF FINDINGS

Given that cognitive biases can significantly impact the accuracy of clinical decision making and thus can have major effects on clinical care and patient health outcomes, the lack of studies identified in this systematic review indicates a critical need for research within the area of cognitive bias mitigation for decision making within eye care practice.
Explaining illness with evil: pathogen prevalence fosters moral vitalism
Authors: Bastian Brock , Vauclair Christin-Melanie , Loughnan Steve , Bain Paul , Ashokkumar Ashwini , Becker Maja , Bilewicz Michał , Collier-Baker Emma , Crespo Carla , Eastwick Paul W. , Fischer Ronald , Friese Malte , Gómez Ángel , Guerra Valeschka M. , Guevara José Luis Castellanos , Hanke Katja , Hooper Nic , Huang Li-Li , Junqi Shi , Karasawa Minoru , Kuppens Peter , Leknes Siri , Peker Müjde , Pelay Cesar , Pina Afroditi , Sachkova Marianna , Saguy Tamar , Silfver-Kuhalampi Mia , Sortheix Florencia , Tong Jennifer , Yeung Victoria Wai-lan , Duffy Jacob , Swann William B.
Published: October 2019

Pathogens represent a significant threat to human health leading to the emergence of strategies designed to help manage their negative impact. We examined how spiritual beliefs developed to explain and predict the devastating effects of pathogens and spread of infectious disease. Analysis of existing data in studies 1 and 2 suggests that moral vitalism (beliefs about spiritual forces of evil) is higher in geographical regions characterized by historical higher levels of pathogens. Furthermore, drawing on a sample of 3140 participants from 28 countries in study 3, we found that historical higher levels of pathogens were associated with stronger endorsement of moral vitalistic beliefs. Furthermore, endorsement of moral vitalistic beliefs statistically mediated the previously reported relationship between pathogen prevalence and conservative ideologies, suggesting these beliefs reinforce behavioural strategies which function to prevent infection. We conclude that moral vitalism may be adaptive: by emphasizing concerns over contagion, it provided an explanatory model that enabled human groups to reduce rates of contagious disease.
Virus evolution in
Wolbachia-
infected
Drosophila
Authors: Martinez Julien , Bruner-Montero Gaspar , Arunkumar Ramesh , Smith Sophia C. L. , Day Jonathan P. , Longdon Ben , Jiggins Francis M.
Published: October 2019

Wolbachia
, a common vertically transmitted symbiont, can protect insects against viral infection and prevent mosquitoes from transmitting viral pathogens. For this reason,
Wolbachia-
infected mosquitoes are being released to prevent the transmission of dengue and other arboviruses. An important question for the long-term success of these programmes is whether viruses can evolve to escape the antiviral effects of
Wolbachia.
We have found that
Wolbachia
altered the outcome of competition between strains of the DCV virus in
Drosophila.
However,
Wolbachia
still effectively blocked the virus genotypes that were favoured in the presence of the symbiont. We conclude that
Wolbachia
did cause an evolutionary response in viruses, but this has little or no impact on the effectiveness of virus blocking.
Mechanism and site of action of big dynorphin on ASIC1a
Authors: Borg C.B. , Braun N. , Heusser S.A. , Bay Y. , Weis D. , Galleano I. , Lund C. , Tian W. , Haugaard-Kedström L.M. , Bennett E.P. , Lynagh T. , Strømgaard K. , Andersen J. , Pless S.A.
Published: October 2019

Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are proton-gated cation channels that contribute to neurotransmission, as well as initiation of pain and neuronal death following ischemic stroke. As such, there is a great interest in understanding the in vivo regulation of ASICs, especially by endogenous neuropeptides that potently modulate ASICs. The most potent endogenous ASIC modulator known to date is the opioid neuropeptide big dynorphin (BigDyn). BigDyn is upregulated in chronic pain and increases ASIC-mediated neuronal death during acidosis. Understanding the mechanism and site of action of BigDyn on ASICs could thus enable the rational design of compounds potentially useful in the treatment of pain and ischemic stroke. To this end, we employ a combination of electrophysiology, voltage-clamp fluorometry, synthetic BigDyn analogs and non-canonical amino acid-mediated photocrosslinking. We demonstrate that BigDyn binding results in an ASIC1a closed resting conformation that is distinct from open and desensitized states induced by protons. Using alanine-substituted BigDyn analogs, we find that the BigDyn modulation of ASIC1a is mediated through electrostatic interactions of basic amino acids in the BigDyn N-terminus. Furthermore, neutralizing acidic amino acids in the ASIC1a extracellular domain reduces BigDyn effects, suggesting a binding site at the acidic pocket. This is confirmed by photocrosslinking using the non-canonical amino acid azido-phenylalanine. Overall, our data define the mechanism of how BigDyn modulates ASIC1a, identify the acidic pocket as the binding site for BigDyn and thus highlight this cavity as an important site for the development of ASIC-targeting therapeutics.

Significance Statement

Neuropeptides such as big dynorphin (BigDyn) play important roles in the slow modulation of fast neurotransmission, which is mediated by membrane-embedded receptors. In fact, BigDyn is the most potent known endogenous modulator of one such receptor, the acid-sensing ion channel (ASIC), but the mode of action remains unknown. In this work, we employ a broad array of technologies to unravel the details of where big dynorphin binds to ASIC and how it modulates its activity. As both BigDyn and ASIC are implicated in pain pathways, this work might pave the way towards future analgesics.
Insect galls thrive on salt stressed big sagebrush host
Authors: Wu Cindy T
Published: October 2019

The sagebrush steppe is estimated to occupy 4.4 percent of the total land area in the United States. In this ecosystem, the most common sagebrush species in most areas is big sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata. Big sagebrush provide a common host for galling insects. We observed that even in salt stressed environments big sagebrush grow and galling insects use them as hosts. In this study we test the hypothesis that there is a significant difference in insect gall density on salt stressed big sagebrush compared to unstressed big sagebrush. To test this, we collected data from four salt stressed sage plots and four unstressed plots at Columbia National Wildlife Refuge in Othello, Washington during 2010. We report significantly greater average gall density on plants in salt stressed plots. We collected four types of galls (artichoke, white fuzzy, black fuzzy, smooth, and other) and observed no significant difference in the diversity of galls on sage in salt stressed plots compared to the control. Further studies are needed to understand why salt stressed sage show greater density of galls, why insect galls seem to thrive on salt stressed sage.