bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Valuable habitat and low deforestation can reduce biodiversity gains from development rights markets
Authors: Helmstedt Kate J. , Potts Matthew D.
Published: January 2018

Illegal private land deforestation threatens global biodiversity, even in areas with native habitat requirements stipulated by law. Compliance can be improved by allowing landholders to meet legal reserve requirements by buying and selling the rights to have deforested land through a Tradeable Development Rights system (TDR). While this policy mechanism may prevent native habitat area loss, the spatial pattern of reserved areas will shift, creating novel landscape patterns. The resulting altered fragmentation and connectivity of habitat will impact biodiversity. TDR may also allow landholders to earn rent on land they never intended on converting, resulting in additional deforestation elsewhere and net habitat loss.

We construct a simulation model to explore the potential implications for biodiversity when development rights can be traded, compared with the landscape resulting from enforced individual compliance with deforestation laws.

We find that where future deforestation is very likely, a TDR market can provide better outcomes for both biodiversity and agriculture, resulting in more connected habitat networks with larger fragments and fewer edge effects. However, the TDR market can be harmful if future deforestation is unlikely, or if one habitat type is tightly spatially correlated with high economic returns from agriculture.

Policy implications. Allowing landholders to buy and sell the rights to keep more cleared land than legally stipulated will result in transformed multiuse landscapes. Losses of native habitat in some areas will be offset in others. We conclude that trading forest development rights has the potential to improve habitat configurations, but that careful consideration should be given to current species distributions and likely future deforestation scenarios.
Social Strategy to Gain Knowledge for Innovation
Authors: Candi Marina , Roberts Deborah L. , Marion Tucker , Barczak Gloria
Published: January 2018

Taking the knowledge‐based view of the firm as its starting point, and acknowledging that knowledge can lie outside the firm, this research extends our understanding of how the growing social media trend can contribute to open innovation. It focuses specifically on small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), which tend to be resource constrained and might benefit particularly from leveraging social media platforms. The authors bring forward the notion that people flock to social media because they are motivated by a desire for social interaction. Indeed, the findings suggest that SMEs that put effort into connecting customers on social media – which the authors refer to as having a ‘social strategy’ – are likely to reap both customers’ involvement in innovation on social media and new knowledge of value for innovation. Examining differences between social media platforms used primarily for personal purposes and those used primarily for professional purposes, the authors find that a social strategy is more effective in the first category than in the second. This probably reflects differences in the social identities that people adopt on these two types of social media platforms.
Missed Opportunities and New Risks: Penal Policy in England and Wales in the Past Twenty‐Five Years
Authors: Jacobson Jessica , Hough Mike
Published: January 2018

This paper discusses trends in criminal justice and penal policy over the past twenty‐five years. This period has been characterised as a time of penal populism, which originated in the failure of the 1991 Criminal Justice Act, and the competition between the main political parties to be ‘tough on crime’. However, this is not the only trend to be found in penal policy. There has continued to be a strong undertow of support for rehabilitation and community penalties, including restorative justice. There has been pressure from the left as much as the right to take domestic violence, sexual offences against women and children, and hate crimes more seriously. There have been pressures to meet performance targets—which gradually transformed into calls to build the legitimacy of the justice system. Finally, there have been pressures to privatise criminal justice agencies. These various impulses have sometimes amplified and sometimes counteracted the pressures towards tough penal policy. If the period of intense penal populism ran from 1993 to 2007, inertia in the system has ensured that there have been no significant attempts to row back from tough policies, and to reassert the values of penal parsimony. Given that money has been tight since 2007 and crime has continued to fall, this must amount to a lost opportunity of significant proportions.
Bourdieu Comes to Town: Pertinence, Principles, Applications
Authors: Wacquant Loïc
Published: January 2018

This article frames the themes of the two‐part Interventions section ‘Bourdieu Comes to Town’. I first establish the pertinence of Bourdieu's sociology for students of the city by revisiting his youthful work on power, space, and the diffusion of urban forms in provincial Béarn and colonial Algeria. In both cases, urbanization is the key vector of transformation, and the city, town, or camp the site anchoring the forces dissolving the social fabric of the French countryside and overturning French imperialism in North Africa. These early studies establish that all social and mental structures have spatial correlates and conditions of possibility; that social distance and power relations are both expressed in and reinforced by spatial distance; and that propinquity to the center of accumulation of capital (economic, military, or cultural) is a key determinant of the force and velocity of social change. Next, I discuss four principles that undergird Bourdieu's investigations and can profitably drive urban inquiry: the Bachelardian moment of epistemological rupture, the Weberian invitation to historicize the agent (habitus), the world (social space) and the categories of the analyst (epistemic reflexivity); the Leibnizian‐Durkheimian imperative to deploy the topological mode of reasoning; and Cassirer's command to heed the constitutive efficacy of symbolic structures. The plasticity and productivity of his concepts suggest that Bourdieu can not only energize urban inquiry but also merge it into a broader analytic of the trialectic of symbolic division, social space, and the built environment. This paves a pathway for reconceptualizing the urban as the domain of accumulation, differentiation and contestation of manifold forms of capital, which makes the city a central ground, product, and prize of historical struggles.
Corporate Scandals and Regulation
Authors: HAIL LUZI , TAHOUN AHMED , WANG CLARE
Published: January 2018

Are regulatory interventions delayed reactions to market failures or can regulators proactively pre‐empt corporate misbehavior? From a public interest view, we would expect “effective” regulation to ex ante mitigate agency conflicts between corporate insiders and outsiders, and prevent corporate misbehavior from occurring or quickly rectify transgressions. However, regulators are also self‐interested and may be captured, uninformed, or ideological, and become less effective as a result. In this registered report, we develop a historical time series of corporate (accounting) scandals and (accounting) regulations for a panel of 26 countries from 1800 to 2015. An analysis of the lead‐lag relations at both the global and individual country level yields the following insights: (1) Corporate scandals are an antecedent to regulation over long stretches of time, suggesting that regulators are typically less flexible and informed than firms. (2) Regulation is positively related to the incidence of future scandals, suggesting that regulators are not fully effective, that explicit rules are required to identify scandalous corporate actions, or that new regulations have unintended consequences. (3) There exist systematic differences in these lead‐lag relations across countries and over time, suggesting that the effectiveness of regulation is shaped by fundamental country characteristics like market development and legal tradition.
Stage of obesity epidemic model: Learning from tobacco control and advocacy for a framework convention on obesity control
Authors: Xu Lin , Lam Tai Hing
Published: January 2018

The 2011 United Nations political declaration against non‐communicable diseases (NCDs) targeted four major risk factors: tobacco use, harmful use of alcohol, an unhealthy diet, and a lack of physical activity. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), MPOWER strategies, and the four‐stage model of the tobacco epidemic are useful references for the prevention and control of other risk factors and NCDs. Obesity control is a more complex challenge. Herein we propose a stage of obesity epidemic model (SOEM). Obesity is in the early stages in most countries with increasing prevalence, but its effects on mortality will increase rapidly, even if its prevalence may have reached a peak and be declining. Based on current relative risk, obesity kills one in three obese people. Like tobacco, epidemiological studies of obesity in the early stages would underestimate the risks and disease burden. Further research will reveal more harm, especially from long‐term obesity since childhood. The prevalence of obesity will likely overtake smoking prevalence, but commitments to obesity control are too weak. The SOEM is needed and should be useful to forewarn against the expanding public health problems attributable to obesity, and challenges in epidemiology and interventions. Learning from tobacco control, we advocate for a framework convention on obesity control. Framing obesity control initiatives in the spirit of MPOWER strategies against tobacco should be considered to prevent and control obesity and obesity‐induced diseases. Healthcare professionals should take leading roles in these initiatives and obese individuals should reduce their weight and “quit” obesity.
Efficacy of management strategies for aromatase inhibitor‐induced arthralgia in breast cancer patients: a systematic review
Authors: Nahm Nicole , Mee Susie , Marx Gavin
Published: January 2018

Aromatase inhibitors are the gold standard in the treatment of hormone receptor‐positive breast cancer, but lead to an arthralgia syndrome which is implicated in 13–22% of noncompliance. This is the first systematic review of the efficacy of existing management strategies for this side effect. Eligible studies were retrieved from computer searches of Medline, Cochrane and Embase and the significant intervention groups were identified. The risk of bias of selected studies was evaluated and the relevant data items were extracted, summarized and analyzed. A total of 21 studies were discussed in this review representing 12 different interventions. While several trials had positive findings, the major methodological limitations of the studies meant that no definitive evidence could be found supporting any of the interventions. Future trials are needed which address the methodological problems identified in this review. Exercise holds promise for future research based on its proven benefit in breast cancer.
Differential expression profiles of conserved Snail transcription factors in the mouse testis
Authors: Micati D. J. , Hime G. R. , McLaughlin E. A. , Abud H. E. , Loveland K. L.
Published: January 2018

Snail transcription factors are key regulators of cellular transitions during embryonic development and tumorigenesis. The closely related SNAI1 and SNAI2 proteins induce epithelial–mesenchymal transitions (EMTs), acting predominantly as transcriptional repressors, while the functions of SNAI3 are unknown. An initial examination of Snai2‐deficient mice provided evidence of deficient spermatogenesis. To address the hypothesis that Snail proteins are important for male fertility, this study provides the first comprehensive cellular expression profiles of all three mammalian Snail genes in the post‐natal mouse testis. To evaluate Snail transcript expression profiles, droplet digital (dd) PCR and in situ hybridization were employed. Snai1, 2 and 3 transcripts are readily detected at 7, 14, 28 days post‐partum (dpp) and 7 weeks (adult). Unique cellular expression was demonstrated for each by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry using Western blot‐validated antibodies. SNAI1 and SNAI2 are in the nucleus of the most mature germ cell types at post‐natal ages 10, 15 and 26. SNAI3 is only detected from 15 dpp onwards and is localized in the Sertoli cell cytoplasm. In the adult testis, Snai1 and Snai2 transcripts are detected in spermatogonia and spermatocytes, while Snai3 is in both germ and Sertoli cells. SNAI1 protein is evident in nuclei of spermatogonia, spermatocytes, round spermatids and elongated spermatids (Stages IX–XII). SNAI2 is present in the nuclei of spermatogonia and spermatocytes, with a faint signal detected in round spermatids. SNAI3 was detected only in Sertoli cell cytoplasm, as in juvenile testes. Additionally, colocalization of SNAI1 and SNAI2 with previously identified key binding partners, LSD1 and PRC2 complex components, provides strong evidence that these important functional interactions are conserved during spermatogenesis to control gene activity. These distinct expression profiles suggest that each Snail family member has unique functions during spermatogenesis.
Noninvasive diagnostic tools for pelvic congestion syndrome: a systematic review
Authors: Steenbeek Miranda P. , van der Vleuten Carine J.M. , Schultze Kool Leo J. , Nieboer Theodoor E.
Published: January 2018

Introduction

In the work‐up of patients with suspected pelvic congestion syndrome, venography is currently the gold standard. Yet if non‐invasive diagnostic tools are found to be accurate, invasive venography might no longer be indicated as necessary.

Material and methods

A literature search in Pubmed and EMBASE was performed from inception until 6 May 2017. Studies comparing non‐invasive diagnostic tools to a reference standard in the work‐up of patients with (suspected) pelvic congestion syndrome were included. Relevant data were extracted and methodological quality of individual included studies was assessed by the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS‐2) tool.

Results

Nine studies matched our inclusion criteria. Six studies compared ultrasonography to venography and three studies described a magnetic resonance imaging technique. In using transvaginal ultrasonography, the occurrence of a vein greater than five mm crossing the uterine body had a specificity of 91% (95% CI; 77–98%) and occurrence of pelvic varicoceles a sensitivity and specificity of 100% (95% CI; 89–100%) and 83–100% (95% CI; 66–93%), respectively. In transabdominal ultrasonography, reversed caudal flow in the ovarian vein accounted for a sensitivity of 100% (95% CI; 84–100%). Detection of pelvic congestion syndrome with magnetic resonance imaging techniques resulted in a sensitivity varying from 88 to 100%.

Conclusions

The sensitivity of ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging seem to be adequate, which indicates a role for both tests in an early stage of the diagnostic workup. However, due to methodological flaws and diversity in outcome parameters, more high standard research is necessary to establish a clear advice for clinical practice.
Brainstem auditory abnormality in extremely premature babies and the impact of neonatal bronchopulmonary dysplasia
Authors: Wang Cui , Jiang Ze D.
Published: January 2018

Introduction

Extremely premature babies, particularly those who have neonatal bronchopulmonary dysplasia, are at risk of brain damage and neurodevelopmental impairment. This study aimed to examine functional status of the brainstem auditory pathway in extremely premature babies and assess the impact of bronchopulmonary dysplasia on function.

Material and methods

Brainstem auditory evoked response was studied at term in babies born at ≤27 weeks of gestation with or without neonatal bronchopulmonary dysplasia. The normal controls were term babies without perinatal problems.

Results

Compared with the normal controls, the extremely premature babies showed an elevated response threshold, increased latencies of waves I, III and particularly V. They also showed significantly increased I–V and III–V intervals. The amplitudes of waves I and V were moderately reduced. These abnormalities were clearly more significant in those with bronchopulmonary dysplasia than those without bronchopulmonary dysplasia. A direct comparison between the two groups of extremely premature babies revealed that wave V latency, and I–V and particularly III–V intervals were significantly longer in the babies with bronchopulmonary dysplasia than those without bronchopulmonary dysplasia.

Conclusions

Extremely premature babies have functional impairment of the brainstem auditory pathway. The impairment is clearly more significant in those with bronchopulmonary dysplasia than those without bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Neonatal bronchopulmonary dysplasia and associated unfavorable conditions are major contributors to brainstem auditory impairment in extremely premature babies.
A genome‐wide association study for fat‐related traits computed by image analysis in Japanese Black cattle
Authors: Nakajima Ayaka , Kawaguchi Fuki , Uemoto Yoshinobu , Fukushima Moriyuki , Yoshida Emi , Iwamoto Eiji , Akiyama Takayuki , Kohama Namiko , Kobayashi Eiji , Honda Takeshi , Oyama Kenji , Mannen Hideyuki , Sasazaki Shinji
Published: January 2018

The objective of this study was to identify genomic regions associated with fat‐related traits using a Japanese Black cattle population in Hyogo. From 1836 animals, those with high or low values were selected on the basis of corrected phenotype and then pooled into high and low groups (n = 100 each), respectively. DNA pool‐based genome‐wide association study (GWAS) was performed using Illumina BovineSNP50 BeadChip v2 with three replicate assays for each pooled sample. GWAS detected that two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on BTA7 (ARS‐BFGL‐NGS‐35463 and Hapmap23838‐BTA‐163815) and one SNP on BTA12 (ARS‐BFGL‐NGS‐2915) significantly affected fat percentage (FAR). The significance of ARS‐BFGL‐NGS‐35463 on BTA7 was confirmed by individual genotyping in all pooled samples. Moreover, association analysis between SNP and FAR in 803 Japanese Black cattle revealed a significant effect of SNP on FAR. Thus, further investigation of these regions is required to identify FAR‐associated genes and mutations, which can lead to the development of DNA markers for marker‐assisted selection for the genetic improvement of beef quality.
Implications of intercorrelation between hepatic CYP3A4‐CYP2C8 enzymes for the evaluation of drug–drug interactions: a case study with repaglinide
Authors: Doki Kosuke , Darwich Adam S. , Achour Brahim , Tornio Aleksi , Backman Janne T. , Rostami‐Hodjegan Amin
Published: January 2018

Aims

Statistically significant positive correlations are reported for the abundance of hepatic drug‐metabolizing enzymes. We investigate, as an example, the impact of CYP3A4–CYP2C8 intercorrelation on the predicted interindividual variabilities of clearance and drug–drug interactions (DDIs) for repaglinide using physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modelling.

Methods

PBPK modelling and simulation were employed using Simcyp Simulator (v15.1). Virtual populations were generated assuming intercorrelations between hepatic CYP3A4–CYP2C8 abundances derived from observed values in 24 human livers. A repaglinide PBPK model was used to predict PK parameters in the presence and absence of gemfibrozil in virtual populations, and the results were compared with a clinical DDI study.

Results

Coefficient of variation (CV) of oral clearance was 52.5% in the absence of intercorrelation between CYP3A4–CYP2C8 abundances, which increased to 54.2% when incorporating intercorrelation. In contrast, CV for predicted DDI (as measured by AUC ratio before and after inhibition) was reduced from 46.0% in the absence of intercorrelation between enzymes to 43.8% when incorporating intercorrelation: these CVs were associated with 5th/95th percentiles (2.48–11.29 vs. 2.49–9.69). The range of predicted DDI was larger in the absence of intercorrelation (1.55–77.06) than when incorporating intercorrelation (1.79–25.15), which was closer to clinical observations (2.6–12).

Conclusions

The present study demonstrates via a systematic investigation that population‐based PBPK modelling incorporating intercorrelation led to more consistent estimation of extreme values than those observed in interindividual variabilities of clearance and DDI. As the intercorrelations more realistically reflect enzyme abundances, virtual population studies involving PBPK and DDI should avoid using Monte Carlo assignment of enzyme abundance.
Multiple signaling in a variable environment: expression of song and color traits as a function of ambient sound and light
Authors: Simpson Richard K. , McGraw Kevin J.
Published: January 2018

Many animals communicate using more than one signal, and several hypotheses exist to explain the evolution of multiple signals. However, these hypotheses typically assume static selection pressures, and previous work has not addressed how spatial and temporal environmental variation can shape variation in signaling systems. In particular, environmental variability, such as ambient lighting or noise, may affect efficacy (e.g., detectability/perception by receivers) of signals. To examine how signal expression varies intraspecifically as a function of habitat characteristics, we evaluated relationships between spatial environmental variation and song and plumage color expression in a tropical songbird, the Red‐throated Ant‐tanager (Habia fuscicauda) in Panama. We recorded male ant‐tanager song, plucked feathers to measure coloration, and quantified the acoustic and light environments from each male's territory. In addition, we took several morphological measurements from each male to assess the potential information content of song and plumage color. We found that males with redder and more saturated crown plumage occurred on darker territories, and males that sang shorter and lower frequency songs occurred on noisier territories. We also found that more colorful males tended to sing longer and lower frequency songs. Finally, we found that song and color correlated similarly with male morphology (e.g., tarsus length, body mass). Altogether, these results indicate that spatial variation in the environment is related to male coloration and song, and that males might be optimizing color and song expression for their particular territorial environment.
Dorsomedial Prefrontal Activity to Sadness Predicts Later Emotion Suppression and Depression Severity in Adolescent Girls
Authors: Vilgis Veronika , Gelardi Kristina L. , Helm Jonathan L. , Forbes Erika E. , Hipwell Alison E. , Keenan Kate , Guyer Amanda E.
Published: January 2018

The present study used cross‐lagged panel analyses to test longitudinal associations among emotion regulation, prefrontal cortex (PFC) function, and depression severity in adolescent girls. The ventromedial and dorsomedial PFC (vmPFC and dmPFC) were regions of interest given their roles in depression pathophysiology, self‐referential processing, and emotion regulation. At ages 16 and 17, seventy‐eight girls completed a neuroimaging scan to assess changes in vmPFC and dmPFC activation to sad faces, and measures of depressive symptom severity and emotion regulation. The 1‐year cross‐lagged effects of dmPFC activity at age 16 on expressive suppression at age 17 and depressive symptomatology at age 17 were significant, demonstrating a predictive relation between dmPFC activity and both suppression and depressive severity.
A Study of the Effect of Doughnut Chart Parameters on Proportion Estimation Accuracy
Authors: Cai X. , Efstathiou K. , Xie X. , Wu Y. , Shi Y. , Yu L.
Published: January 2018

Pie and doughnut charts nicely convey the part–whole relationship and they have become the most recognizable chart types for representing proportions in business and data statistics. Many experiments have been carried out to study human perception of the pie chart, while the corresponding aspects of the doughnut chart have seldom been tested, even though the doughnut chart and the pie chart share several similarities. In this paper, we report on a series of experiments in which we explored the effect of a few fundamental design parameters of doughnut charts, and additional visual cues, on the accuracy of such charts for proportion estimates. Since mobile devices are becoming the primary devices for casual reading, we performed all our experiments on such device. Moreover, the screen size of mobile devices is limited and it is therefore important to know how such size constraint affects the proportion accuracy. For this reason, in our first experiment we tested the chart size and we found that it has no significant effect on proportion accuracy. In our second experiment, we focused on the effect of the doughnut chart inner radius and we found that the proportion accuracy is insensitive to the inner radius, except the case of the thinnest doughnut chart. In the third experiment, we studied the effect of visual cues and found that marking the centre of the doughnut chart or adding tick marks at 25% intervals improves the proportion accuracy. Based on the results of the three experiments, we discuss the design of doughnut charts and offer suggestions for improving the accuracy of proportion estimates.
Quasi‐static strength and fractography analysis of two dental implants manufactured by direct metal laser sintering
Authors: Gehrke Sergio Alexandre , Pérez‐Díaz Leticia , Dedavid Berenice Anina
Published: January 2018

Background

New manufacturing methods was developed to improve the tissues integration with the titanium alloy pieces.

Objective

The present in vitro study was to assess the resistance and fracture mode after applied a quasi‐static compressive force on the two dental implants manufactured by direct metal laser sintering.

Materials and Methods

Twenty dental implants manufactured by direct metal laser sintering, using titanium alloy (Ti‐6Al‐4V) granules in two designs (n = 10 per group): Conventional dental implant (group Imp1) two‐piece implant design, where the surgical implant and prosthetic abutment are two separate components and, the one‐piece implant (group Imp2), where the surgical implant and prosthetic abutment are one integral piece. All samples were subjected to quasi‐static loading at a 30° angle to the implant axis in a universal testing machine.

Results

The mean fracture strengths were 1269.2 ± 128.8 N for the group Imp1 and, 1259.5 ± 115.1 N for the group Imp2, without statistical differences (P = .8722). In both groups, the fracture surface does not present crack between the compact core and the superficial (less dense and porous) part of the implants.

Conclusions

Based on the measured resistance data for the two implant models manufactured by direct metal laser sintering tested in the present study, we can suggest that they have adequate capacity to withstand the masticatory loads.
Toward an integrative molecular approach to wildlife disease
Authors: DeCandia Alexandra L. , Dobson Andrew P. , vonHoldt Bridgett M.
Published: January 2018

Pathogens pose serious threats to human health, agricultural investment, and biodiversity conservation through the emergence of zoonoses, spillover to domestic livestock, and epizootic outbreaks. As such, wildlife managers are often tasked with mitigating the negative effects of disease. Yet, parasites form a major component of biodiversity that often persist. This is due to logistical challenges of implementing management strategies and to insufficient understanding of host–parasite dynamics. We advocate for an inclusive understanding of molecular diversity in driving parasite infection and variable host disease states in wildlife systems. More specifically, we examine the roles of genetic, epigenetic, and commensal microbial variation in disease pathogenesis. These include mechanisms underlying parasite virulence and host resistance and tolerance, and the development, regulation, and parasite subversion of immune pathways, among other processes. Case studies of devil facial tumor disease in Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) and chytridiomycosis in globally distributed amphibians exemplify the broad range of questions that can be addressed by examining different facets of molecular diversity. For particularly complex systems, integrative molecular analyses present a promising frontier that can provide critical insights necessary to elucidate disease dynamics operating across scales. These insights enable more accurate risk assessment, reconstruction of transmission pathways, discernment of optimal intervention strategies, and development of more effective and ecologically sound treatments that minimize damage to the host population and environment. Such measures are crucial when mitigating threats posed by wildlife disease to humans, domestic animals, and species of conservation concern.
Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block in laparoscopic colorectal surgery improves postoperative pain management: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Hain E. , Maggiori L. , Prost à la Denise J. , Panis Y.
Published: January 2018

Aim

Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block is a locoregional anaesthesia technique of growing interest in abdominal surgery. However, its efficacy following laparoscopic colorectal surgery is still debated. This meta‐analysis aimed to assess the efficacy of TAP block after laparoscopic colorectal surgery.

Method

All comparative studies focusing on TAP block after laparoscopic colorectal surgery have been systematically identified through the MEDLINE database, reviewed and included. Meta‐analysis was performed according to the Mantel–Haenszel method for random effects. End‐points included postoperative opioid consumption, morbidity, time to first bowel movement and length of hospital stay.

Results

A total of 13 studies, including 7 randomized controlled trials, were included, comprising a total of 600 patients who underwent laparoscopic colorectal surgery with TAP block, compared with 762 patients without TAP block. Meta‐analysis of these studies showed that TAP block was associated with a significantly reduced postoperative opioid consumption on the first day after surgery [weighted mean difference (WMD) −14.54 (−25.14; −3.94); P = 0.007] and a significantly shorter time to first bowel movement [WMD −0.53 (−0.61; −0.44); P < 0.001] but failed to show any impact on length of hospital stay [WMD −0.32 (−0.83; 0.20); P = 0.23] although no study considered length of stay as its primary outcome. Finally, TAP block was not associated with a significant increase in the postoperative overall complication rate [OR = 0.84 (0.62–1.14); P = 0.27].

Conclusion

Transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block in laparoscopic colorectal surgery improves postoperative opioid consumption and recovery of postoperative digestive function without any significant drawback.
Perspectives on diabetes mortality as the result of residual confounding and reverse causality by common disease
Authors: Thuesen Anne Cathrine B. , Vaag Allan
Published: January 2018

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is associated with major global health burdens, including 2 to 4 times increased rates of morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease. However, T2D remains an exclusion diagnosis in individuals with arbitrarily elevated blood‐glucose levels. While it is well‐established that diabetes is associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, it has recently been shown that heart failure and cancer may precede, and even contribute to, the development of T2D. In the present review, we have summarized these findings and discuss their potential implications for our understanding of the T2D disease entity, including its treatment and associated increased mortality. We suggest that the existence of a hitherto unrecognized distinct T2D subtype, secondary to heart failure and/or cancer, may substantially contribute to the excess mortality reported in T2D patients with mild disease. Treatment and clinical care of this subtype needs to be defined separately from the general T2D phenotype.
THE EFFECT OF LEGALIZING RETAIL MARIJUANA ON HOUSING VALUES: EVIDENCE FROM COLORADO
Authors: Cheng Cheng , Mayer Walter J. , Mayer Yanling
Published: January 2018

Does legalizing retail marijuana generate more benefits than costs? This paper provides a first step toward addressing that question by measuring the benefits and costs that are capitalized into housing values. We exploit the time‐series and cross‐sectional variations in the adoption of Colorado's municipality retail marijuana laws (RMLs) and examine the effect on housing values with a difference‐in‐differences strategy. Our estimates show that the legalization leads to an average 6% increase in housing values, indicating that the capitalized benefits outweigh the costs. In addition, we find suggestive evidence that this relatively large housing value appreciation is likely due to RMLs inducing strong housing demand while having no discernible effect on housing supply. Finally, we show that the effect of RMLs is heterogeneous across locations and property types. (JEL K20, R28)
First detection of Neoscytalidium dimidiatum associated with canker disease in Egyptian Ficus trees
Authors: Al‐Bedak O. A. , Mohamed R. A. , Seddek Nermien H.
Published: January 2018

In September 2013, a canker disease of Ficus nitida and F. benjamina was reported for the first time in Assiut governorate, Egypt. Infected samples were collected from various locations. Pure cultures of a fungus were isolated on potato dextrose agar at 25°C from diseased plants. Morphological investigation and DNA sequencing showed that the causal agent was Neoscytalidium dimidiatum. A pathogenicity test conducted using 2‐year‐old plants of each host gave 70%–80% infection, and the pathogen was reisolated from the inoculated plants. A pure culture of N. dimidiatum was deposited in the culture collection of the Assiut University Mycological Centre (AUMC) under the code AUMC 9293 and the ITS sequence was placed in NCBI under accession number KX985929.
miRNA‐15a, miRNA‐16, miRNA‐126, miRNA‐146a, and miRNA‐223 expressions in autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and their impact on engraftment
Authors: Nowicki Mateusz , Szemraj Janusz , Wierzbowska Agnieszka , Misiewicz Małgorzata , Małachowski Roman , Pluta Agnieszka , Grzybowska–Izydorczyk Olga , Robak Tadeusz , Szmigielska‐Kapłon Anna
Published: January 2018

Objective

MicroRNAs engaged in angiogenesis and hematopoiesis can influence hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) homing after transplantation by targeting bone marrow niche microenvironment. This study aimed to examine the kinetics of miRNA‐15a, miRNA‐16, miRNA‐126, miRNA‐146a, and miRNA‐223 in autologous HSC transplantation settings.

Methods

The study comprised of 51 patients with hematological malignancies (42 multiple myeloma, 9 lymphoma). Samples were taken at four time points: before conditioning, after chemotherapy but prior to autologous HSC transplantation (day 0), on day +7, and +14 days after HSCT. The miRNA levels were evaluated by the real‐time PCR method.

Results

A significant, steady decline of all tested microRNAs in the course of transplantation, as compared to the baseline, was found. The study revealed that higher levels of miRNA‐15a, miRNA‐16, miRNA‐126, and miRNA‐146a on day 0 correlated with longer time to engraftment. Additionally, a positive correlation between the levels of miRNA‐15a, miRNA‐146a, and miRNA‐223 assessed on day +7 and the time to engraftment was observed.

Conclusions

In conclusion, all investigated microRNAs changed significantly in the course of transplantation. Our results suggest that the miRNAs may participate in hematopoietic recovery in the early post‐transplant period and influence engraftment efficiency after HSCT.
When neuroscience met clinical pathology: partitioning experimental variation to aid data interpretation in neuroscience
Authors: Jeffery Nick D. , Bate Simon T. , Safayi Sina , Howard Matthew A. , Moon Lawrence , Jeffery Unity
Published: January 2018

In animal experiments, neuroscientists typically assess the effectiveness of interventions by comparing the average response of groups of treated and untreated animals. While providing useful insights, focusing only on group effects risks overemphasis of small, statistically significant but physiologically unimportant, differences. Such differences can be created by analytical variability or physiological within‐individual variation, especially if the number of animals in each group is small enough that one or two outlier values can have considerable impact on the summary measures for the group. Physicians face a similar dilemma when comparing two results from the same patient. To determine whether the change between two values reflects disease progression or known analytical and physiological variation, the magnitude of the difference between two results is compared to the reference change value. These values are generated by quantifying analytical and within‐individual variation, and differences between two results from the same patient are considered clinically meaningful only if they exceed the combined effect of these two sources of ‘noise’. In this article, we describe how the reference change interval can be applied within neuroscience. This form of analysis provides a measure of outcome at an individual level that complements traditional group‐level comparisons, and therefore, introduction of this technique into neuroscience can enrich interpretation of experimental data. It can also safeguard against some of the possible misinterpretations that may occur during analysis of the small experimental groups that are common in neuroscience and, by illuminating analytical error, may aid in design of more efficient experimental methods.
A topical treatment containing heat‐treated Lactobacillus johnsonii NCC 533 reduces Staphylococcus aureus adhesion and induces antimicrobial peptide expression in an in vitro reconstructed human epidermis model
Authors: Rosignoli Carine , Thibaut de Ménonville Séverine , Orfila Danielle , Béal Méline , Bertino Béatrice , Aubert Jérôme , Mercenier Annick , Piwnica David
Published: January 2018

Staphylococcus aureus colonization is thought to contribute to the pathophysiology of atopic dermatitis (AD). AD patients exhibit reduced levels of cutaneous antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which may explain their increased susceptibility to infections. Using an in vitro reconstructed human epidermis (RHE) model, we sought to determine whether topical application of a non‐replicating probiotic, heat‐treated Lactobacillus johnsonii NCC 533 (HT La1), could inhibit S. aureus adhesion to skin and boost cutaneous innate immunity. We found that application of HT La1 suspension to RHE samples reduced the binding of radiolabelled S. aureus by up to 74%. To investigate a potential effect of HT La1 on innate immunity, we analysed the expression of nine AMP genes, including those encoding beta defensins and S100 proteins, following topical application of HT La1 in suspension or in a daily moisturizer lotion. Analysed genes were induced by up to fourfold in a dose‐dependent manner by HT La1 in suspension and by up to 2.4‐fold by HT La1 in the moisturizer lotion. Finally, using ELISA and immunohistochemical detection, we evaluated the expression and secretion of the AMPs hBD‐2 and psoriasin and determined that both proteins were induced by topical HT La1, particularly in the stratum corneum of the RHE. These findings demonstrate that a topically applied, non‐replicating probiotic can modulate endogenous AMP expression and inhibit binding of S. aureus to an RHE model in vitro. Moreover, they suggest that a topical formulation containing HT La1 could benefit atopic skin by enhancing cutaneous innate immunity and reducing S. aureus colonization.
Community biomass and life history benchmarks for coral reef fisheries
Authors: McClanahan Timothy R
Published: January 2018

The status of fisheries requires establishing and evaluating benchmarks derived from unfished ecosystems. Habitats, environmental conditions, properties of the fish communities and management systems could potentially influence the variability surrounding benchmarks. Consequently, eighteen variables including habitat, number of species, life histories, thermal and productivity environments were tested for influences on reef fish biomass in 62 reefs within old high compliance closures along the east African coastline. Biomass and weighted life history characteristics were classified and described for total, fishable, target and non‐target groups. Benchmark biomass fell within a 95% confidence interval of ~1,030–1,250 kg/ha and equally distributed among target and non‐target groups. While some relationships were statistically significant, most were weak, poorly sampled (ocean exposed reefs), had uncertain relationships with biomass (number of species), or the explained variation was bounded within the above confidence intervals (habitat and environment). Therefore, a regional unfished biomass benchmark (B0) of 1,150 and 560 kg/ha is recommended for total and target biomasses, respectively. Weighted life history metrics indicate that the target had slower life histories than the non‐target fish communities. Consequently, they will be fished unsustainably if yield recommendations are derived from the total, resilient or non‐target fish life history metrics. The intrinsic rates of increase (r) and target categorization of biomass were the most influential metrics in estimating yields.
The Views of Psychologists, Lawyers, and Judges on Key Components and the Quality of Child Custody Evaluations in Australia
Authors: O'Neill Alison T. , Bussey Kay , Lennings Christopher J. , Seidler Katie M.
Published: January 2018

This study aimed to understand the expectations of and the agreement between professional groups regarding the quality of single‐expert reports written by psychologists (known as child custody evaluations in the United States). 13 psychologists, 18 family lawyers, 26 children's lawyers, and 8 judges (N = 65) in New South Wales, Australia, rated the overall quality of reports and the quality of various components of them. Interprofessional congruence on importance ratings allowed key components to be derived. The results revealed that the overall quality of reports was rated positively, however, significant discrepancies were found between importance and quality ratings on the various components, indicating that reports fall short of expectations in many areas.
“She's Nobody's Child/the Law Can't Touch Her at All”: Seeking to Bring Dignity to Legal Proceedings Involving Juveniles
Authors: Perlin Michael L. , Lynch Alison J.
Published: January 2018

Inquiries into a range of issues involving juveniles in the psychiatric hospitalization and criminal trial process reveal that, regularly, juveniles are subject to shame and humiliation in all aspects of the legal system that relate to arrest, trial, conviction, and institutionalization, shame and humiliation that are often exacerbated in cases involving racial minorities and those who are economically impoverished. We contextualize them into the juvenile justice system, and look specifically at how this is reflected in the case law. We then consider these findings through the filters of therapeutic jurisprudence and international human rights laws, concluding that these approaches best remediate the current state of affairs and infuse this system with badly‐needed dignity.
Pat‐Downs But No Hugs: Why Prison Visitation Protocol Should be Changed to Help Keep Familial Structures Intact
Authors: Fasah Safia
Published: January 2018

In the United States there are almost three million children who have one or both parents incarcerated. Parental incarceration negatively impacts children in several ways. Visitation protocol varies across facilities nationwide with no modification in protocol for minors. Parental rights are disrupted by visitation protocol because of cost‐prohibitive access and extreme security measures. This Note proposes a model statute that would change visitation protocol to facilitate a clear‐cut set of visitation processes that are tailored to ensure prison safety while also fostering and maintaining a positive relationship between a minor child and his/her incarcerated parent.
Improvement in recruitment of Japanese sardine with delays of the spring phytoplankton bloom in the Sea of Japan
Authors: Kodama Taketoshi , Wagawa Taku , Ohshimo Seiji , Morimoto Haruyuki , Iguchi Naoki , Fukudome Ken‐Ichi , Goto Tsuneo , Takahashi Motomitsu , Yasuda Tohya
Published: January 2018

To evaluate the impact of temporal variation of primary productivity on the recruitment of Japanese sardine (Sardinops melanostictus) in the Sea of Japan, the phenology of sea surface phytoplankton abundance was estimated from 8 day multiple satellite (SeaWiFS, MODIS‐Aqua, MERIS, and VIIRS) derived sea surface chlorophyll (SSChl) a concentrations from January 1998 to December 2015. Because relationships between SSChl a and in situ chlorophyll a concentrations were significantly different among periods based on the satellite combinations used, maximum and minimum SSChl a concentrations of 1 year were relativized as 1 and 0, respectively. Spatio‐temporal variation of relativized SSChl a concentrations was determined by using empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. Scores in the first EOF mode denoted the basin‐scale variations of SSChl a concentrations in the Sea of Japan, and the major peak from the end of February to the end of May displayed the spring bloom. The logarithm of recruitment per spawner (LNRPS) for sardine was positively affected by delays in the start and end dates of the spring phytoplankton bloom. The delay of the date of the lowest sea surface temperature contributed to the delay of the end of the spring bloom during the period 1998–2015 and elevated the LNRPS during the period 1982–2015. Sardine spawns in the southern Sea of Japan from April to May, hence, delays of the spring bloom prolonged its overlap with sardine larval periods, and thus improved the recruitment of Japanese sardine in the Sea of Japan.