bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
International Knowledge Flows and the Role of Proximity
Authors: Gui Qinchang , Liu Chengliang , Du Debin
Published: April 2018

International knowledge flows have become increasingly common and more frequent and are a key driving force promoting the development of global science. However, little attention has been paid to the determinants of international scientific collaboration. Using co‐publication data from the Web of Science database in the period 2000–2014, this paper illustrates spatial patterns of international knowledge flows and estimates the impact of geographical, technological, social, and cultural proximity on the variation of inter‐country collaboration in science. Our findings demonstrate that the coefficients of the four dimensions of proximity are positive and significant in panel estimates and cross‐section estimates—international knowledge flows are facilitated by geographical, technological, social, and cultural proximity. We also find that the effect of geographical and cultural proximity have waned over time, while the impact of social and technological proximity have strengthened.
Estimated number of off‐target candidate sites for antisense oligonucleotides in human mRNA sequences
Authors: Yoshida Tokuyuki , Naito Yuki , Sasaki Kiyomi , Uchida Eriko , Sato Yoji , Naito Mikihiko , Kawanishi Toru , Obika Satoshi , Inoue Takao
Published: April 2018

Antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) therapeutics are single‐stranded oligonucleotides which bind to RNA through sequence‐specific Watson–Crick base pairings. A unique mechanism of toxicity for ASOs is hybridization‐dependent off‐target effects that can potentially occur due to the binding of ASOs to complementary regions of unintended RNAs. To reduce the off‐target effects of ASOs, it would be useful to know the approximate number of complementary regions of ASOs, or off‐target candidate sites of ASOs, of a given oligonucleotide length and complementarity with their target RNAs. However, the theoretical number of complementary regions with mismatches has not been reported to date. In this study, we estimated the general number of complementary regions of ASOs with mismatches in human mRNA sequences by mathematical calculation and in silico analysis using several thousand hypothetical ASOs. By comparing the theoretical number of complementary regions estimated by mathematical calculation to the actual number obtained by in silico analysis, we found that the number of complementary regions of ASOs could be broadly estimated by the theoretical number calculated mathematically. Our analysis showed that the number of complementary regions increases dramatically as the number of tolerated mismatches increases, highlighting the need for expression analysis of such genes to assess the safety of ASOs.
Judicial Independence and Cash Flow: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in China
Authors: Qian Xianhang
Published: April 2018

This paper supplements studies on the economic consequences of judicial independence from the perspective of cash flow. It explores the rotation of local judges as an exogenous shock that increases local judicial independence in China and analyses the impact of rotation on provincial cash inflow using data from China's high‐value payment system. The difference‐in‐difference estimates indicate that the rotation of the judges can attract more outside cash inflow, including amount and average size. This effect persists even after controlling for the endogeneity concern and the effect of disaster. The results of the dynamic effects show that the impact of the rotation of the judges on cash inflow mostly originates in the second and third years after the rotation. We further find that judicial independence can promote more foreign direct investment, venture capital's investment, and bank loans and clarify the impacting mechanisms of judicial independence on cash inflow.
Influence of chemical composition on mechanical properties of spark plasma sintered boron carbide monoliths
Authors: Réjasse Florian , Georges Mathias , Pradeilles Nicolas , Antou Guy , Maître Alexandre
Published: April 2018

Fully dense boron carbide monoliths exhibiting fine microstructure (i.e., submicrometric grain size) are sintered by Spark Plasma Sintering. Two different commercial powder batches, exhibiting different stoichiometries (i.e., B/C ratio and oxygen content) and various amounts of secondary phases (i.e., boric acid and free carbon), are used. Their chemical composition is well‐defined by coupling different methods (Transmission Electron Microscopy associated with XRD analyses, and Instrumental Gas Analysis), and are correlated with their mechanical properties, characterized from meso‐ to macro‐scopic scales by nano‐indentation and ultrasonic pulse echography. The presence of secondary phases (graphite and boric acid) is evidenced in various proportions in each powder batch. If the boric acid disappears during sintering, the graphite remains. However, for the considered amounts of graphite (lower than 1 wt%), the low variations in graphite content have no significant effect on hardness and elasticity values. At the opposite, the presence of oxygen in boron carbide lattice, leading to a boron oxycarbide phase, induces a decrease in both hardness and elasticity properties.
High hardness cubic boron nitride with nanograin microstructure produced by high‐energy milling
Authors: Semenic Tadej , Hu Jerry , Kraemer Stephan , Housley Robert , Sudre Olivier
Published: April 2018

High‐energy shaker milling of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) powders was used to produce powders rich in sp3 bonding. The powders contained up to 68% sp3 bonding and were found to nucleate nanosize cBN grains during consolidation at 5.5 GPa and 1400°C. The effect of hBN starting particle size, milling time, and powder‐to‐milling ball ratio were studied. The amount of sp3 bonding for milled hBN powders was determined, using 11B solid‐state NMR. The milled material was also analyzed by XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and HRTEM. The results indicate that the material has a nanosized microstructure comprised of a disordered hBN matrix and cBN nuclei in the form of sp3‐rich domains. Eight different milled powders were produced and consolidated at pressures of either 5.5 or 6.5 GPa and temperatures of either 1400°C or 1450°C into 12 mm diameter and 5 mm thick pellets. Consolidated pellets formed from milled hBN with 68% sp3 bonding had Vickers hardness of 42 ± 1 GPa and fracture toughness 3.8 ± 0.1 MPa.m1/2. Vickers hardness of 49 ± 1 GPa and fracture toughness of 4.6 ± 0.1 MPa.m1/2 was achieved with a precursor that contained milled hBN and 50 vol. % of 0.5 μm diameter cBN crystals.
The roles of dispersal and mass extinction in shaping palm diversity across the Caribbean
Authors: Cano Ángela , Bacon Christine D. , Stauffer Fred W. , Antonelli Alexandre , Serrano‐Serrano Martha L. , Perret Mathieu
Published: April 2018

Aim

The rich flora of the Caribbean islands and surrounding mainland evolved in a context of isolation alternated with phases of terrestrial connectivity between landmasses, climatic fluctuations and episodes of mass extinctions during the Cenozoic. We explored how these events affected the evolution of the sister palm tribes Cryosophileae and Sabaleae, and how continent‐island exchanges, endemic radiations and mass extinction shaped their extant diversity.

Location

The American continent including the Caribbean region.

Methods

We reconstructed a time‐calibrated phylogeny of the palm tribes Cryosophileae and Sabaleae using 84% of the known species. We inferred ancestral distribution and tested the effect of island colonization and mass extinction on extant diversity.

Results

Our results indicate that Cryosophileae and Sabaleae originated c. 77 Ma most probably in Laurasia, and their extant species started to diversify between 56–35 Ma and 19–10 Ma respectively. Biogeographical state reconstruction estimated that Cryosophileae dispersed to South America between 56–35 Ma, then dispersed to North‐Central America between 39–25 Ma and the Caribbean islands between 34–21 Ma. We detected a possible signature of a mass extinction event at the end of the Eocene, affecting the diversification of Cryosophileae and Sabaleae and we did not detect a diversification rate shift related to the colonization of the Caribbean islands.

Main conclusions

Species of Cryosophileae in the Caribbean islands are probably derived from a single Oligocene dispersal event that likely occurred overwater from North‐Central America rather than through the hypothesized GAARlandia land bridge. Contrastingly, three independent Miocene dispersal events from North‐Central America explain the occurrence of Sabaleae in the Caribbean islands. Contrary to our expectations, island colonization did not trigger increased diversification. Instead, we find that diversification patterns in this clade, and its disappearance from northernmost latitudes, could be the signature of a mass extinction triggered by the global temperature decline at the end of the Eocene.
SUZ12 is a novel putative oncogene promoting tumorigenesis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
Authors: Wu Yaping , Hu Huijun , Zhang Wei , Li Zhongwu , Diao Pengfei , Wang Dongmiao , Zhang Wei , Wang Yanling , Yang Jianrong , Cheng Jie
Published: April 2018

The suppressor of zest 12 (SUZ12), one of the core polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) components, has increasingly appreciated as a key mediator during human tumorigenesis. However, its expression pattern and oncogenic roles in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) remain largely unexplored yet. Here, we sought to determine its expression pattern, clinicopathological significance and biological roles in HNSCC. Through data mining and interrogation from multiple publicly available databases, our bioinformatics analyses revealed that SUZ12 mRNA was significantly overexpressed in multiple HNSCC patient cohorts. Moreover, SUZ12 protein was markedly up‐regulated in primary HNSCC samples from our patient cohort as assessed by immunohistochemical staining and its overexpression significantly associated with cervical node metastasis and reduced overall and disease‐free survival. In the 4‐nitroquinoline 1‐oxide (4NQO)‐induced HNSCC mouse model, increased SUZ12 immunostaining was observed along with disease progression from epithelial hyperplasia to squamous cell carcinoma in tongue. Furthermore, shRNA‐mediated SUZ12 knock‐down significantly inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion in HNSCC cells, and resulted in compromised tumour growth in vivo. Collectively, our data reveal that SUZ12 might serve as a putative oncogene by promoting cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and also a novel biomarker with diagnostic and prognostic significance for HNSCC.
PHAP1 promotes glioma cell proliferation by regulating the Akt/p27/stathmin pathway
Authors: Xie Manyi , Ji Zhe , Bao Yaxing , Zhu Yufu , Xu Yang , Wang Lei , Gao Shangfeng , Liu Zhiyi , Tian Zilu , Meng Qingming , Shi Hengliang , Yu Rutong
Published: April 2018

PHAP1 (Putative HLA‐DR‐associated protein 1), also termed acidic leucine‐rich nuclear phosphoprotein 32A (ANP32A), Phosphoprotein 32 (pp32) or protein phosphatase 2A inhibitor (I1PP2A), is a multifunctional protein aberrantly expressed in multiple types of human cancers. However, its expression pattern and clinical relevance in human glioma remain unknown. In this study, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry analysis demonstrated PHAP1 protein was highly expressed in glioma patients, especially in those with high‐grade disease. Publicly available data also revealed high levels of PHAP1 were associated with poor prognosis in glioma patients. The functional studies showed that knock‐down of PHAP1 suppressed the proliferation of glioma cells, while overexpression of PHAP1 facilitated it. The iTRAQ proteomic analysis suggested that stathmin might be a potential downstream target of PHAP1. Consistently, PHAP1 knock‐down significantly decreased the expression of stathmin, while overexpression of PHAP1 increased it. Also, the upstream negative regulator, p27, expression levels increased upon PHAP1 knock‐down and decreased when PHAP1 was overexpressed. As a result, the phosphorylated Akt (S473), an upstream regulator of p27, expression levels decreased upon silencing of PHAP1, but elevated after PHAP1 overexpression. Importantly, we demonstrate the p27 down‐regulation, stathmin up‐regulation and cell proliferation acceleration induced by PHAP1 overexpression were dependent on Akt activation. In conclusion, the above results suggest that PHAP1 expression is elevated in glioma patients, which may accelerate the proliferation of glioma cells by regulating the Akt/p27/stathmin pathway.
Trajectories of psychopathology in extremely low birth weight survivors from early adolescence to adulthood: a 20‐year longitudinal study
Authors: Van Lieshout Ryan J. , Ferro Mark A. , Schmidt Louis A. , Boyle Michael H. , Saigal Saroj , Morrison Katherine M. , Mathewson Karen J.
Published: April 2018

Background

Individuals born extremely preterm are exposed to significant perinatal stresses that are associated with an increased risk of psychopathology. However, a paucity of longitudinal studies has prevented the empirical examination of long‐term, dynamic effects of perinatal adversity on mental health. Here, internalizing and externalizing problems from adolescence through adulthood were compared in individuals born at extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1,000 g) and normal birth weight (NBW; >2,500 g).

Methods

Internalizing and externalizing data were collected over 20 years in three waves, during adolescence, young adulthood, and adulthood. Growth models were used to compare longitudinal trajectories in a geographically based sample of 151 ELBW survivors and 137 NBW control participants born between 1977 and 1982 matched for age, sex, and socioeconomic status at age 8.

Results

After adjusting for sex, socioeconomic and immigrant status, and family functioning, ELBW survivors failed to show the normative, age‐related decline in internalizing problems over time relative to their NBW peers (β = .21; p < .01). Both groups exhibited small declines in externalizing problems over the same period. Self‐esteem (but not physical health, IQ, or maternal mood) partially mediated the association between ELBW status and internalizing problems.

Conclusions

Extremely low birth weight survivors experienced a blunting of the expected improvement in depression and anxiety from adolescence to adulthood. These findings suggest that altered physiological regulatory systems supporting emotional and cognitive processing may contribute to the maintenance of internalizing problems in this population.
One size does not fit all: addressing the challenges of intervention for complex developmental issues
Authors: Norbury Courtenay Frazier
Published: April 2018

The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry is committed to publishing implementational research, or turning therapeutic research discoveries into practical benefit for human health and well‐being. This editorial showcases three such papers in this issue from diverse fields in developmental science. The papers highlight the challenges of implementing intervention under real‐world constraints, and highlight key issues that clinicians and researchers will need to address in future work. Despite these challenges, each approach shows promise and innovation in delivering high‐quality interventions to vulnerable children and families.
Economic influence activities
Authors: Raiha Davin
Published: April 2018

Firms frequently make operational and strategy decisions to gain political influence. They locate plants, expand workforces, or choose suppliers, with the aim of affecting the economy and the electoral success of politicians. This behavior constitutes a nontraditional form of influence, which I refer to as economic influence activities (EIA). In this paper, I show how such activities influence policymaking and why firms may prefer it to more traditional influence activities such as campaign contributions. What distinguishes EIA is that a firm's strategy choices affects the state of a local economy and, in turn, the evaluations that voters make of the performance of an officeholder. I show how firms can use this capability to extract subsidies and policy favors from incumbent officeholders.
Impairments in Hemodynamic Responses to Orthostasis Associated with Frailty: Results from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)
Authors: O'Connell Matthew DL , Savva George M , Finucane Ciarán , Romero‐Ortuno Roman , Fan Chie Wei , Kenny Rose Anne
Published: April 2018

Objectives

To characterize the relationships between orthostatic blood pressure (BP) and heart rate recovery and frailty in an older population.

Design

Cross‐sectional study.

Setting

Two health centers in the Republic of Ireland.

Participants

The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing participants aged 50 and older (N=4,334).

Measurements

Continuous noninvasive BP responses during active standing were captured using digital photoplethysmography. Frailty was assessed using the Cardiovascular Health Study criteria. Linear mixed models (random intercept) with piecewise splines were used to model differences in rate of BP and heart rate recovery.

Results

Ninety‐three (2.2%) participants were frail, and 1,366 (31.5%) were prefrail. Adjusting for age and sex, frailty was associated with a slower rate of systolic BP recovery 10 to 20 seconds after standing (frailty by time = –4.12, 95% confidence interval=–5.53 to –2.72) and with subsequent deficits in BP 20 to 50 seconds after standing. Similar results were seen for diastolic BP and heart rate. Further adjustment for health behaviors, morbidities, and medications reduced, but did not attenuate, these associations. Of the 5 frailty criteria, only slow gait speed was consistently related to impaired BP and heart rate responses in the full model.

Conclusion

Frailty, particularly slow gait speed, was associated with slower rate of BP and heart rate recovery after active standing. Impaired BP recovery may be a marker of physiological frailty.
The political ecology of rice intensification in south India: Putting SRI in its places
Authors: Taylor Marcus , Bhasme Suhas
Published: April 2018

The system of rice intensification (SRI) has been promoted across Asia as a means to improve rice yields while decreasing water use and external inputs. It is argued to be a generalisable means by which to revalidate smallholder livelihoods and improve food security across the region. Current debates about SRI, however, remain predominantly technical in scope, focusing on field‐level outcomes. To more adequately understand the potential of SRI for smallholder farmers, we argue that it is necessary to situate SRI within a political ecology framework that addresses how the adoption and practice of SRI is shaped by uneven access to key assets including labour, water, and extension networks. Fieldwork conducted in Mahabubnagar district in Telangana, south India—where SRI had been widely disadopted despite the achievement of higher yields—is used to illustrate why agronomic analysis must engage directly with the complex social contexts in which farmers operate.
Design for Sight: A Typology System for Low–Vision Design Factors
Authors: Schambureck Erin M. , Parkinson Sharran F.
Published: April 2018

The functional experience of low vision is impacted by the designed environment. Due to the many permutations of vision loss, there can be no single solution to meet the needs of users in an environment. To identify a course of action when designing for the visually impaired, it is pertinent to first identify and describe the many types of low–vision design. The primary method is a review of expert testimony, medical references, and existing prescriptive standards and guidelines. The purpose is to provide an interpretation of how persons with a variety of vision impairments experience their environment. A typological model is used to organize the findings of this qualitative study. A situational typology of low–vision design is divided into subtypes identified from primary and secondary sources. Four major categories are determined by the overarching design features that created barriers to visual accessibility. These categories are Luminance Contrast, Value Contrast, Luminance Placement, and Object Placement. Within these categories, a total of 14 individual types are further identified that describe the slight variations between design problems within the typology system. These categories and types are defined and supplemented with photographs, luminance analysis, and design recommendations that are not specific to a building type or task. This paper uses typology theory to create a visual rhetoric of low–vision design needs and provides a set of design guidelines for improving interior spaces for the visually impaired.
Neopterin for prediction of in‐hospital atrial fibrillation – the ‘forgotten biomarker’ strikes again
Authors: Kaski J. C.
Published: April 2018

Click here to view the Original Article by H. Zuo et al.
Empowering leadership and employee creativity: A dual‐mechanism perspective
Authors: Zhang Shuxia , Ke Xudong , Frank Wang Xiao‐Hua , Liu Jun
Published: April 2018

Integrating empowerment and creativity theories, this study simultaneously explores the context‐specific (i.e., access to resources [AR] and access to information [AI]) and actor‐related (i.e., organization‐based self‐esteem [OBSE]) mechanisms in the relationship between empowering leadership and employee creativity. Furthermore, drawing on the interactionist perspective of creativity, it examines how AR and AI may interact with OBSE to influence creativity. Multisource data were collected from 217 employees and their supervisors using a three‐wave, time‐lagged research design. The results reveal that OBSE and AR mediate the relationship between empowering leadership and creativity. Moreover, AR moderates the relationship between OBSE and creativity, such that this relationship is significant only when AR is high. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Practitioner points

Empowering leaders may stimulate creativity by impacting their employees' OBSE and access to resources.

A possible way for leaders to facilitate creativity is to simultaneously promote employees' OBSE and provide them with the necessary resources
Dynamics and evolution of Turgay‐type vegetation in Western Siberia throughout the early Oligocene to earliest Miocene—a study based on diversity of plant functional types in the carpological record
Authors: Popova Svetlana , Utescher Torsten , Gromyko Dmitry , Mosbrugger Volker , François Louis
Published: April 2018

Based on ecospectra of 66 published carpofloras we study dynamics and evolution of Turgay vegetation in Western Siberia during the early Oligocene to earliest Miocene. The ecospectra are obtained using a Plant Functional Type (PFT) classification system comprising 26 herbaceous to arboreal PFTs. The carpofloras originate from seven floristic levels covering the time‐span from the Rupelian to early Aquitanian. Key elements of these levels are documented based on original collection materials. Although impacted by local edaphic conditions, the ecospectra can be interpreted in terms of changing vegetation. Our data show that warm temperate mesophytic, mixed conifer‐broad‐leaved deciduous forest assemblages persisted throughout the Oligocene and earliest Miocene in this core area of Turgai type vegetation. This is in line with comparatively stable climate conditions persisting in the studied time‐span, showing a minor temperature decline and coeval moderate increase in seasonality and precipitation. Concurrently, the reconstructed ecospectra contradict significant continental drying throughout the Oligocene and earliest Miocene. Spatial variability of the proportions of PFTs within the single floristic horizons primarily reflects local edaphic conditions. High diversities of PFTs characteristic for swamp vegetation are mainly confined to the early Oligocene and have a regional focus. Our results indicate that taxonomical diversity, particularly concerning mesic herbs and deciduous shrubs and trees, increased towards the end of the Oligocene. This increase in biodiversity probably can be attributed to an increase in rainfall and extension of terrestrial habitats after the final retreat of the Paratethys.
Blending genomes: distributive conjugal transfer in mycobacteria, a sexier form of HGT
Authors: Gray Todd A. , Derbyshire Keith M.
Published: April 2018

This review discusses a novel form of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) found in mycobacteria called Distributive Conjugal Transfer (DCT). While satisfying the criteria for conjugation, DCT occurs by a mechanism so distinct from oriT‐mediated conjugation that it could be considered a fourth category of HGT. DCT involves the transfer of chromosomal DNA between mycobacteria and, most significantly, generates transconjugants with mosaic genomes of the parental strains. Multiple segments of donor chromosomal DNA can be co‐transferred regardless of their location or the genetic selection and, as a result, the transconjugant genome contains many donor‐derived segments; hence the name DCT. This distinguishing feature of DCT separates it from the other known mechanisms of HGT, which generally result in the introduction of a single, defined segment of DNA into the recipient chromosome (Fig. ). Moreover, these mosaic progeny are generated from a single conjugal event, which provides enormous capacity for rapid adaptation and evolution, again distinguishing it from the three classical modes of HGT. Unsurprisingly, the unusual mosaic products of DCT are generated by a conjugal mechanism that is also unusual. Here, we will describe the unique features of DCT and contrast those to other mechanisms of HGT, both from a mechanistic and an evolutionary perspective. Our focus will be on transfer of chromosomal DNA, as opposed to plasmid mobilization, because DCT mediates transfer of chromosomal DNA and is a chromosomally encoded process.
I. INTRODUCTION: UNDERSTANDING MEDICINES AND MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS
Authors: Lockhart Kristi L. , Keil Frank C.
Published: April 2018

We live in an increasingly pharmacological and medical world, where children and adults frequently encounter alleged treatments for an enormous range of illnesses. How do we come to understand what heals and why? Here, 15 studies explore how 1,414 children (ages 5–11) and 882 adults construe the efficacies of different kinds of cures. Developmental patterns in folk physics, psychology, and biology lead to predictions about which expectations about cures will remain relatively constant across development and which will change. With respect to stability, we find that even young school children (ages 5–7) distinguish between physical and psychological disorders and the treatments most effective for each. In contrast, young children reason differently about temporal properties associated with cures. They often judge that dramatic departures from prescribed schedules will continue to be effective. Young children are also less likely than older ages to differentiate between the treatment needs of acute versus chronic disorders. Young children see medicines as agent‐like entities that migrate only to afflicted regions while having “cure‐all” properties, views that help explain their difficulties grasping side effects. They also differ from older children and adults by judging pain and effort as reducing, instead of enhancing, a treatment's power. Finally, across all studies, optimism about treatment efficacy declines with age. Taken together, these studies show major developmental changes in how children envision the ways medicines work in the body. Moreover, these findings link to broader patterns in cognitive development and have implications for how medicines should be explained to children.
COMMENTARY: WHAT HEALS AND WHY? CHILDREN'S UNDERSTANDING OF MEDICAL TREATMENTS
Authors: Rosengren Karl S. , Jiang Matthew J. , Kalish Charles W. , Menendez David , Hernandez Iseli G.
Published: April 2018

Lockhart and Keil have written an interesting monograph focusing on the development of reasoning about medicine, a relatively underexplored area of research with potentially broad implications with respect to the design of more‐effective medical interventions. In a set of 15 studies with well over 2,200 participants, they examine how children and adults combine aspects of biological and psychological reasoning to create working models of medicine. Lockhart and Keil explore developmental changes in reasoning about illness and its treatment using medicines in terms of dualism (e.g., psychological vs. physical), spatial proximity, differential timing of effects, potential side effects, and treatment tradeoffs. This commentary highlights the novel contributions of this monograph, examines issues that need additional considerations, and makes suggestions for future research.
Response of ants to human‐altered habitats with reference to seed dispersal of the myrmecochore Corydalis giraldii Fedde (Papaveraceae)
Authors: Zhu Yan , Wang Dong
Published: April 2018

Anthropogenic habitat disturbance has potential consequences for ant communities. However, there is limited information on the effects of ant responses on associated ecological processes such as seed dispersal. We investigated the effect of disturbance on the abundance, richness, and composition of ant communities and the resulting seed‐dispersal services for a herbaceous myrmecochore, Corydalis giraldii (Papaveraceae), in an undisturbed habitat (forest understory), moderately disturbed habitat (abandoned arable field), and highly disturbed habitat (road verge) on Qinling Mountains, China. In total, we recorded 13 ant species, and five out of these were observed to transport seeds. The community composition of dispersers was significantly different amongst habitats. The richness of the dispersers did not differ among the habitats, but their total abundance varied significantly across habitats and was 21% lower in the road verge than in the abandoned arable fields. The major seed‐dispersing ant species in both the forest understory and the abandoned arable field were large‐bodied (Myrmica sp. and Formica fusca, respectively), whereas the major seed‐dispersing ants found in the road verge were the small‐bodied Lasius alienus. This difference resulted in lower seed removal rates and dispersal distances in the road verge than in the other two habitats. The different dispersal patterns were attributed primarily to differences in dispersing ant abundance and identity, most likely in response to habitats with different degree of anthropogenic disturbance. The possible influence of disturbance on the ecological specialization of ant‐seed dispersal interaction is also discussed.
Control of the ethylene signaling pathway prevents plant defenses during intracellular accommodation of the rhizobia
Authors: Berrabah Fathi , Balliau Thierry , Aït‐Salem El Hosseyn , George Jeoffrey , Zivy Michel , Ratet Pascal , Gourion Benjamin
Published: April 2018

Massive intracellular populations of symbiotic bacteria, referred to as rhizobia, are housed in legume root nodules. Little is known about the mechanisms preventing the development of defense in these organs although genes such as SymCRK and DNF2 of the model legume Medicago truncatula are required for this control after rhizobial internalization in host nodule cells. Here we investigated the molecular basis of the symbiotic control of immunity.

Proteomic analysis was performed to compare functional (wild‐type) and defending nodules (symCRK). Based on the results, the control of plant immunity during the functional step of the symbiosis was further investigated by biochemical and pharmacological approaches as well as by transcript and histology analysis.

Ethylene was identified as a potential signal inducing plant defenses in symCRK nodules. Involvement of this phytohormone in symCRK and dnf2‐developed defenses and in the death of intracellular rhizobia was confirmed. This negative effect of ethylene depended on the M. truncatula sickle gene and was also observed in the legume Lotus japonicus.

Together, these data indicate that prevention of ethylene‐triggered defenses is crucial for the persistence of endosymbiosis and that the DNF2 and SymCRK genes are required for this process.
Impact of farnesol and Corsodyl® on Candida albicans forming dual biofilm with Streptococcus mutans
Authors: Černáková L , Jordao L , Bujdáková H
Published: April 2018

Objective

This work studied the biofilm formed by Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans on a hydroxyapatite surface after exposure to the quorum‐sensing molecule farnesol (200 μM) in comparison with the diluted mouthwash Corsodyl® (0.0001% chlorhexidine digluconate).

Materials and Methods

The cytotoxicity of farnesol was evaluated by Galleria mellonella surviving assay. The viability of biofilm cells after exposure to farnesol and Corsodyl® was determined by colony‐forming units. The morphology and structure of a dual‐species biofilm was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy.

Results

Farnesol did not exhibit a toxic effect on larval survival. While 200 μM farnesol effectively reduced the yeast‐to‐hyphae transition in the dual biofilm, it did not affect the growth of S. mutans. Additionally, despite the presence of farnesol, many blastospores were observed. Corsodyl® reduced S. mutans in the dual biofilm, but did not influence C. albicans.

Conclusion

This study showed that 200 μM farnesol modulated C. albicans in a dual‐species biofilm with S. mutans, but did not exhibit antimicrobial activity against S. mutans. Moreover, it seems that S. mutans provides conditions that support the growth of the yeast form of C. albicans. The mouthwash Corsodyl® reduces S. mutans, but was not effective against C. albicans.
Phylogeny contributes more than site characteristics and traits to the spatial distribution pattern of tropical tree populations
Authors: Martins Valéria Forni , Seger Guilherme Dubal dos Santos , Wiegand Thorsten , Santos Flavio Antonio Maës dos
Published: April 2018

Dispersal mechanism, species height, sexual system, and wood density are potential drivers of the spatial distribution pattern of tropical tree populations. These traits are usually conserved among closely related species, thus populations of these species should have more similar spatial distribution patterns than populations of phylogenetically distant species. Additionally, variation in the abiotic and biotic environment might result in distinct spatial distribution patterns of local populations of the same species. We employed variation partitioning to determine the degree to which traits, shared evolutionary history, site characteristics, and their joint effects govern the degree of overdispersion or aggregation of tree populations at different spatial scales within fourteen 1‐ha plots of the Atlantic Rainforest in southeastern Brazil. We quantified the degree of overdispersion or aggregation with a new standardized index err(r) based on standardized effect sizes of the pair correlation function. Variation in err(r) was mostly explained by phylogenetic relationships among species (70–95%, depending on spatial scale), indicating that traits not included in our analysis are important drivers of the spatial distribution pattern. Site characteristics explained a smaller part of the variation, indicating context‐dependence. Finally, the traits studied here provided the smallest explanation of the variation, suggesting a minor role of seed dispersal. Residual variation in err(r) ranged from 5–29%, indicating that stochasticity and/or variables not included in the models (e.g. direct measures of post‐dispersal processes) also influence the spatial distribution pattern of the populations. Our results suggest that many ecological processes act in concert at the study site and that their importance changes with spatial scale. Additionally, the relative importance of these processes differs from that previously described for other tropical forests. Determining why a given ecological process is more important in some tropical tree communities than in others are promising venues for further research.
Breathlessness amplifies amygdala responses during affective processing
Authors: Stoeckel M. Cornelia , Esser Roland W. , Gamer Matthias , von Leupoldt Andreas
Published: April 2018

Breathlessness is an aversive symptom in many prevalent somatic and psychiatric diseases and is usually experienced as highly threatening. It is strongly associated with negative affect, but the underlying neural processes remain poorly understood. Therefore, using fMRI, the present study examined the effects of breathlessness on the neural processing of affective visual stimuli within candidate brain areas including the amygdala, insula, and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). During scanning, 42 healthy volunteers, mean (SD) age: 29.0 (6.0) years, 14 female, were presented with affective picture series of negative, neutral, and positive valence while experiencing either no breathlessness (baseline conditions) or resistive‐load induced breathlessness (breathlessness conditions). Respiratory measures and self‐reports suggested successful induction of breathlessness and affective experiences. Self‐reports of breathlessness intensity and unpleasantness were significantly higher during breathlessness conditions, mean (SD): 45.0 (16.6) and 32.3 (19.8), as compared to baseline conditions, mean (SD): 1.9 (3.0) and 2.9 (5.5). Compared to baseline conditions, stronger amygdala activations were observed during breathlessness conditions for both negative and positive affective picture series relative to neutral picture series, while no such effects were observed in insula and ACC. The present findings demonstrate that breathlessness amplifies amygdala responses during affective processing, suggesting an important role of the amygdala for mediating the interactions between breathlessness and affective states.
Conflicting goals and mixed rationales: A closer look at the objectives of EU environmental law in light of the Anthropocene
Authors: Alblas Edwin
Published: April 2018

Environmental policymaking has conventionally aimed at preserving the integrity of the environment. To protect ourselves from the consequences of (man‐caused) environmental degradation and climatic change, however, intentional manipulation of the environment through means of technology appears more and more necessary. In this context, this research introduces the core objectives of EU environmental law – ‘preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment’ and ‘protecting human health’ – as increasingly conflictive. Taking an environmental ethics perspective, this research explains that both the letter of the law as well as the case law of the Court provide a mixed picture of environmental rationales captured in these two objectives. In the absence of clear legal and ethical direction, it becomes all the more necessary to closely re‐examine what goals ought to be pursued through EU environmental law in the Anthropocene.
Peptide Refinement by Using a Stochastic Search
Authors: Lewis Nicole H. , Hitchcock David B. , Dryden Ian L. , Rose John R.
Published: April 2018

Identifying a peptide on the basis of a scan from a mass spectrometer is an important yet highly challenging problem. To identify peptides, we present a Bayesian approach which uses prior information about the average relative abundances of bond cleavages and the prior probability of any particular amino acid sequence. The scoring function proposed is composed of two overall distance measures, which measure how close an observed spectrum is to a theoretical scan for a peptide. Our use of our scoring function, which approximates a likelihood, has connections to the generalization presented by Bissiri and co-workers of the Bayesian framework. A Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm is employed to simulate candidate choices from the posterior distribution of the peptide sequence. The true peptide is estimated as the peptide with the largest posterior density.
Understanding Local Environmental Concern: The Importance of Place
Authors: Armstrong Andrea , Stedman Richard C.
Published: April 2018

Urban‐rural differences in environmental concern are the primary way that place has been conceptualized within the social bases of environmental concern framework, yet there has been little convergence in empirical findings to support such differences. We assess the influence of place of permanent residence and other sociodemographic measures of the social bases of environmental concern approach alongside two social‐psychological constructs: place attachment and place outlook. Our work focuses on second homeowners in three rural, natural amenity communities of the northeastern United States (n = 405). Second homeowners who permanently reside in rural places exhibited lower levels of local environmental concern about their second home area than suburban and urban residents, when “rural” was defined at the county scale. We did not observe differences in local environmental concern based upon urban‐suburban‐rural permanent residence when place of permanent residence was defined at the tract, block group, or zip code levels. Place attachment and place outlook explain more variance in local environmental concern than all sociodemographic indicators combined. Our findings suggest that second homeowners' local environmental concern is not strongly or consistently shaped by the urbanity or rurality of their permanent residence, but that place‐based, social‐psychological constructs may offer mechanisms through which social‐structural forces shape environmental concern.
Aiming to keep poor Mexican families at the breadline (but no higher): The effects of minimum wage, tax, and social policy changes between 1994 and 2012
Authors: Velázquez Leyer Ricardo
Published: April 2018

Welfare policy in Mexico has been transformed in recent decades. During the years of the import‐substitution industrialization economic strategy and the hegemonic party political regime, social policy was based on social insurance programs of limited coverage to urban formal sector workers and their families. In the mid‐1990s, an unprecedented expansion of social protection through social assistance programs was triggered, along with social insurance reform. This article assesses the effects at the household level of social policy changes, in combination with changes in taxes and the minimum wage, which also impact the welfare of the population. The research applies “model families” to establish effects of social, tax, and minimum wage policy changes across population groups, and their combined potential to combat poverty. Findings show that although taxation and social policy changes increased redistribution towards poor families, their capacity to lift and keep them above poverty thresholds was limited by the drop in the real value of the minimum wage and by strict targeting mechanisms, which exclude families that do not meet eligibility criteria but still fall below poverty lines. Social policy expansion merely subsidized the drop in real minimum wage, and poor families at best remained at similar income levels. Hence, the logic of the design of welfare policy changes can be characterized as aiming to keep poor families on the breadline, but no higher.
JC and BK virus DNA detection in archival slides of urine cytospin from renal transplant patients
Authors: Assis Patricia , Carvalho Carlos Eduardo , Silva Marcelo Soares , Ribeiro Bruna , Carvalho Maria da Gloria
Published: April 2018

Background

Although identifying cytological viral inclusions (decoy cells) in the urine is relatively easy, distinguishing between Polyomaviruses BKV and JCV is not possible. Few studies have been published regarding JCV detection in kidney transplant recipients.

Objective

To evaluate the incidence of BKV and JCV DNA in archival slides of urine cytospin material from renal transplant patients.

Methods

A total of 44 urine specimens were evaluated cytologically for the presence of viral inclusions (decoy cells) and by nested polymerase chain reaction to differentiate between JCV and BKV in DNA isolated from archival slides of urine cytospin material.

Results

Of the 44 urine specimen donors, 9 (20.5%) patients had at least 1 sample with alterations suggestive of or compatible with viral infection (decoy cells), and 3 had urine samples with cellular atypias/neoplasias. Additionally, 24/44 (54.5%) patients had PCR‐positive DNA for Polyomavirus in at least 1 sample, including 11/44 who were positive for BKV (25%) and 16/44 who were positive for JCV (36.36%), with 3 (6.8%) patients showing viral coinfection. Regarding transplantation time, only JCV was statistically significant (P = .019) for periods longer than 10 years.

Conclusions

The results highlight the potential use of archival slides of urine cytospin material to differentiate BKV and JCV and demonstrate the importance of improved JCV detection for later kidney transplant recipients.
Adherence and immune response to revaccination following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation at a pediatric onco‐hematology reference center
Authors: Gouveia‐Alves Fernanda , Gouveia Roseane , Ginani Valéria C. , Seber Adriana , Kuramoto Danielle A. , Murad Gabriel F.A. , Spina Fernanda G. , Petrilli Antonio S. , Zecchin Victor G. , Granato Celso , Carlesse Fabianne , de Moraes‐Pinto Maria Isabel
Published: April 2018

Background

Revaccination after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is necessary to compensate for the loss of immunological memory. The aims of this study were to evaluate the adherence to revaccination schedule and the humoral immune response to different vaccine antigens in HSCT pediatric and young adult patients.

Methods

Patients submitted to HSCT for over 3 years were recruited. After written informed consent, a questionnaire was filled in, the vaccination card was analyzed, a blood sample was collected and tested by ELISA for diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, tetanus, measles, rubella, and varicella antibodies.

Results

Sixty‐three patients (mean age at HSCT, 10.7 years) were evaluated. Forty‐one (65%) were male; 34 (54%) had allogeneic and 29 (46%), autologous HSCT. Complete adherence to diphtheria revaccination was found in 79.4% patients and seropositivity was found in 92% of those who completed the revaccination schedule; for Hib, 68.3% adherence and 95.3% seropositivity were observed; for hepatitis A, 63.5% adherence and 92.5% seropositivity; for 3 doses of hepatitis B, 86.8% adherence and 79.2% seropositivity; for tetanus, 79.4% adherence and 100% seropositivity; for measles and rubella, 17.5% adherence and 100% seropositivity; for varicella, 7.9% adherence and 100% seropositivity. The existence of a Vaccination Center for Special Immunobiologicals in patients' municipality was positively associated with completed vaccine schedule; on the other hand, chronic GVHD was negatively associated with revaccination adherence.

Conclusion

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients showed good seropositivity rates after complete vaccination schedule. However, a low coverage rate was observed for live attenuated antigens.