bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The effect of blue light on stomatal oscillations and leaf turgor pressure in banana leaves
Authors: Zait Yotam , Shapira Or , Schwartz Amnon
Published: January 2017

Stomatal oscillations are cyclic opening and closing of stomata, presumed to initiate from hydraulic mismatch between leaf water supply and transpiration rate. To test this assumption, mismatches between water supply and transpiration were induced using manipulations of vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and light spectrum in banana (Musa acuminata). Simultaneous measurements of gas exchange with changes in leaf turgor pressure were used to describe the hydraulic mismatches.

An increase of VPD above a certain threshold caused stomatal oscillations with variable amplitudes. Oscillations in leaf turgor pressure were synchronized with stomatal oscillations and balanced only when transpiration equaled water supply. Surprisingly, changing the light spectrum from red and blue to red alone at constant VPD also induced stomatal oscillations – while the addition of blue (10%) to red light only ended oscillations. Blue light is known to induce stomatal opening and thus should increase the hydraulic mismatch, reduce the VPD threshold for oscillations and increase the oscillation amplitude. Unexpectedly, blue light reduced oscillation amplitude, increased VPD threshold and reduced turgor pressure loss. These results suggest that additionally, to the known effect of blue light on the hydroactive opening response of stomata, it can also effect stomatal movement by increased xylem–epidermis water supply.
Evolutionary origin of phytochrome responses and signaling in land plants
Authors: Inoue Keisuke , Nishihama Ryuichi , Kohchi Takayuki
Published: January 2017

Phytochromes comprise one of the major photoreceptor families in plants, and they regulate many aspects of plant growth and development throughout the plant life cycle. A canonical land plant phytochrome originated in the common ancestor of streptophytes. Phytochromes have diversified in seed plants and some basal land plants because of lineage‐specific gene duplications that occurred during the course of land plant evolution. Molecular genetic analyses using Arabidopsis thaliana suggested that there are two types of phytochromes in angiosperms, light‐labile type I and light‐stable type II, which have different signaling mechanisms and which regulate distinct responses. In basal land plants, little is known about molecular mechanisms of phytochrome signaling, although red light/far‐red photoreversible physiological responses and the distribution of phytochrome genes are relatively well documented. Recent advances in molecular genetics using the moss Physcomitrella patens and the liverwort Marchantia polymorpha revealed that basal land plants show far‐red‐induced responses and that the establishment of phytochrome‐mediated transcriptional regulation dates back to at least the common ancestor of land plants. In this review, we summarize our knowledge concerning functions of land plant phytochromes, especially in basal land plants, and discuss subfunctionalization/neofunctionalization of phytochrome signaling during the course of land plant evolution.
Schoolyard Shade and Sun Exposure: Assessment of Personal Monitoring During Children's Physical Activity
Authors: Vanos Jennifer K. , McKercher Grant R. , Naughton Kylie , Lochbaum Marc
Published: January 2017

Childhood exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a major risk factor for the development of melanoma later in life. However, it is challenging to accurately determine personal outdoor exposure to UVR, specifically erythemally weighted UVR (UVEry), due to technological constraints, variable time–activity patterns, and the influence of outdoor environmental design. To address this challenge, this study utilized mobile and stationary techniques to examine the UVEry exposures of 14 children in a schoolyard in Lubbock, TX, in spring 2016. The aims of the study were to examine the influence of artificial shade on personal UVEry exposures and to assess full sun exposure ratios (ERs) within the same playground microenvironment. On average, personal wrist dosimeters worn during play in the sun measured 18% of the total onsite UVEry measured by a stationary UV pyranometer. Shade was found to significantly reduce the personal UVEry exposures by 55%, UVB280–315 nm exposures by 91%, and the overall solar radiation by 84%. Substantial benefits can be garnered through focused design of children's recreational space to utilize shade—both natural and artificial—to reduce UVR exposures during play, and to extend safe outdoor stays. Finally, although the wrist is a practical location for a dosimeter, it often underestimates full exposures, particularly during physical activity.
“Unpacking” the Identity‐to‐Politics Link: The Effects of Social Identification on Voting Among Muslim Immigrants in Western Europe
Authors: Kranendonk Maria , Vermeulen Floris , van Heelsum Anja
Published: January 2017

The identity‐to‐politics link assumes that individuals who share a certain demographic feature also share common political pursuits. This article critically examines that presumed relationship by analyzing how voting probability is affected by social identification in combination with other elements—namely, perception of shared grievances and group resources. Tallying responses from Muslim immigrants in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom via surveys conducted for the European research project EURISLAM, this study supports the assumption that social identification affects voting in specific circumstances. The results show that identifying with the origin country decreases voting probability among Muslim immigrants in Europe. Another finding was the context‐specific effect of social identification. That is, origin‐country identification's effect is contingent on an individual's perception of shared grievances and national identification; and origin country and religious identifications' effects are contingent on an individual's perception of shared grievances, national identification, and group differences.
Oilseed rape NAC56 transcription factor modulates reactive oxygen species accumulation and hypersensitive response‐like cell death
Authors: Chen Qinqin , Niu Fangfang , Yan Jingli , Chen Bisi , Wu Feifei , Guo Xiaohua , Yang Bo , Jiang Yuan‐Qing
Published: January 2017

The NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, CUC2) transcription factor gene family is plant‐specific and plays diverse roles in development and responses to abiotic stresses and pathogen challenge. Oilseed rape (Brassica napus) or canola is an important oil crop worldwide, however, the function of NAC genes in it remains largely elusive. In the present study, we identified and characterized the NAC56 gene isolated from oilseed rape. Expression of BnaNAC56 was induced by abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonic acid (JA), methyl viologen (MV) and a necrotrophic fungal pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, but repressed by cold. BnaNAC56 is a transcription activator and localized to nuclei. Overexpression of BnaNAC56 induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and hypersensitive response (HR)‐like cell death, with various physiological measurements supporting these. Furthermore, BnaNAC56 expression caused evident nuclear DNA fragmentation. Moreover, quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT‐PCR) analysis identified that the expression levels of multiple genes regulating ROS homeostasis, cell death and defense response were significantly induced. Using a dual luciferase reporter assay, we further confirmed that BnaNAC56 could activate the expression of a few ROS‐ and cell death‐related genes. In summary, our data demonstrate that BnaNAC56 functions as a stress‐responsive transcriptional activator and plays a role in modulating ROS accumulation and cell death.
HPV type 45‐positive condyloma acuminata of the bladder in a renal transplant recipient
Authors: Sarier Mehmet , Ozel Esin , Duman Ibrahim , Yuksel Yucel , Demirbas Alper
Published: January 2017

Condyloma acuminata (CA) are warty lesions caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) that generally affect the external genitalia and mucocutaneous junctions. Involvement of the urinary tract is rare, and involvement of the urinary bladder is thought to be due to immunosuppression. A 30‐year‐old woman was diagnosed with urethral CA 12 months after renal transplantation. She underwent transurethral resection (TUR) of the urethral lesions. During the operation, multiple sessile warty lesions were found incidentally inside the bladder and were also removed by TUR. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful. Pathological examination confirmed that the lesions were CA. Multiplex real‐time polymerase chain reaction was performed to confirm the HPV genotype and revealed type 45 HPV DNA. CA of the urethra are uncommon, and bladder involvement is extremely rare. This case is the first reported, to our knowledge, to involve HPV type 45 in bladder condyloma. TUR may be the preferred option for the management of CA in the urinary bladder.
Nonlinear Fowler-Nordheim behavior of a single SnO2 nanowire
Authors: Joshi Padmashree D. , Joag Dilip S. , Late Dattatray J. , Mulla Imtiaz S.
Published: January 2017

The present work deals with the field emission study on multiple SnO2 nanowires synthesized by a simple thermal evaporation method. The randomly oriented multiple nanowires grown by the vapor-liquid-solid mechanism exhibit low turn on field (0.8 V/μm defined for the current density of 1 μA/cm2) and linear Fowler-Nordheim nature (FN). However, for the understanding of the nature of the FN plot, field emission behavior of a single SnO2 nanowire is investigated. The FN plot is observed to be nonlinear in nature. A simple model explaining the field emission mechanism from the semiconducting single SnO2 nanowire is proposed.
The generalized scattering coefficient method for plane wave scattering in layered structures
Authors: Liu Yu , Li Chao , Wang Huai-Yu , Zhou Yun-Song
Published: January 2017

The generalized scattering coefficient (GSC) method is pedagogically derived and employed to study the scattering of plane waves in homogeneous and inhomogeneous layered structures. The numerical stabilities and accuracies of this method and other commonly used numerical methods are discussed and compared. For homogeneous layered structures, concise scattering formulas with clear physical interpretations and strong numerical stability are obtained by introducing the GSCs. For inhomogeneous layered structures, three numerical methods are employed: the staircase approximation method, the power series expansion method, and the differential equation based on the GSCs. We investigate the accuracies and convergence behaviors of these methods by comparing their predictions to the exact results. The conclusions are as follows. The staircase approximation method has a slow convergence in spite of its simple and intuitive implementation, and a fine stratification within the inhomogeneous layer is required for obtaining accurate results. The expansion method results are sensitive to the expansion order, and the treatment becomes very complicated for relatively complex configurations, which restricts its applicability. By contrast, the GSC-based differential equation possesses a simple implementation while providing fast and accurate results.
Thermodynamically reversible processes in statistical physics
Authors: Norton John D.
Published: January 2017

Equilibrium states are used as limit states to define thermodynamically reversible processes. When these processes are understood in terms of statistical physics, these limit states can change with time due to thermal fluctuations. For macroscopic systems, the changes are insignificant on ordinary time scales and what little change there is can be suppressed by macroscopically negligible, entropy-creating dissipation. For systems of molecular sizes, the changes are large on short time scales. They can only sometimes be suppressed with significant entropy-creating dissipation, and this entropy creation is unavoidable if any process is to proceed to completion. As a result, at molecular scales, thermodynamically reversible processes are impossible in principle. Unlike the macroscopic case, they cannot be realized even approximately when we account for all sources of dissipation, and argumentation invoking them on molecular scales can lead to spurious conclusions.
Resource Letter HCMP-1: History of Condensed Matter Physics
Authors: Martin Joseph D.
Published: January 2017

This Resource Letter provides a guide to the literature on the history of condensed matter physics, including discussions of the development of the field and strategies for approaching its complicated historical trajectory. Following the presentation of general resources, journal articles and books are cited for the following topics: conceptual development; institutional and community structure; social, cultural, and political history; and connections between condensed matter physics and technology.
Weight of an hourglass—Theory and experiment in quantitative
comparison
Authors: Sack Achim , Pöschel Thorsten
Published: January 2017

A flowing hourglass changes its weight in the course of time because of the of its center of mass. While this insight is not new, it is frequently said that the effect is tiny and hardly Here, we present a simple experiment that allows the monitoring of weight as a function of time, and that shows that there are different stages of the weight variation. The experimental result is in quantitative agreement with theory.
PER PhDs & bachelor's degrees
Authors: White Susan C.
Published: January 2017

Recently, the editor remarked to me that physics departments that offered a PhD with a specialization in Physics Education Research (PER) seemed to graduate more bachelor’s degree recipients than those physics PhD departments that did not have the specialization. I was not convinced. That led to quite a bit of discussion between us. He compiled a list of PhD departments that advertised a PhD specialization in PER in the 2004, 2005, 2009, and 2010 editions of GradSchoolShopper, a publication of the American Institute of Physics. Since not every department responded reliably every year, I combined the 2004 and 2005 data and the 2009 and 2010 data. I then compared the departments that advertised a PER specialization during both timeframes (2004 and/or 2005 and 2009 and/or 2010) with physics PhD-granting departments that did not indicate the specialization at all.
The Importance of High School Physics Teachers for Female Students’ Physics Identity and Persistence
Authors: Hazari Zahra , Brewe Eric , Goertzen Renee Michelle , Hodapp Theodore
Published: January 2017

Given the historic and continued underrepresentation of women in physics, it is important to understand the role that high school physics might play in attracting female students to physics careers. Drawing on data from over 900 female undergraduates in physics, we examine when these women became interested in physics careers and different sources of recognition (important for physics identity development) that may have affected their choices at certain time points. The results provide optimism since many of these female students, even those not previously intending science careers, began to intend physics careers in high school and recognition from high school physics teachers had a significant effect on predicting these intentions.
Reaching More Students Through Thinking in Physics
Authors: Coletta Vincent P.
Published: January 2017

Thinking in Physics (TIP) is a new curriculum that is more effective than commonly used interactive engagement methods for students who have the greatest difficulty learning physics. Research has shown a correlation between learning in physics and other factors, including scientific reasoning ability. The TIP curriculum addresses those factors. Features of the curriculum and evidence of its effectiveness are described. The most recent version of the TIP curriculum has greatly reduced a substantial gender gap that previously existed. More details and sample materials are provided in Thinking in Physics, a book intended for instructors of introductory physics, published in 2014 by Pearson as part of its Educational Innovation series. Additional materials, both for students and instructors, are provided on the website http://thinkinginphysics.com. Both the book and the website are free.
Detecting Forward-Scattered Radio Signals from Atmospheric Meteors Using Low-Cost Software Defined Radio
Authors: Snjegota Ana , Rattenbury Nicholas James
Published: January 2017

The forward scattering of radio signals from atmospheric meteors is a known technique used to detect meteor trails. This article outlines the project that used the forward-scattering technique to observe the 2015 August, September, and October meteor showers, as well as sporadic meteors, in the Southern Hemisphere. This project can easily be replicated in any part of the world and is a suitable, low-cost project designed for students who are interested in astronomy.
Acoustic scattering for 3D multi-directional periodic structures using the boundary element method
Authors: Karimi Mahmoud , Croaker Paul , Kessissoglou Nicole
Published: January 2017

An efficient boundary element formulation is proposed to solve three-dimensional exterior acoustic scattering problems with multi-directional periodicity. The multi-directional periodic acoustic problem is represented as a multilevel block Toeplitz matrix. By exploiting the Toeplitz structure, the computational time and storage requirements to construct and to solve the linear system of equations arising from the boundary element formulation are significantly reduced. The generalized minimal residual method is implemented to solve the linear system of equations. To efficiently calculate the matrix-vector product in the iterative algorithm, the original matrix is embedded into a multilevel block circulant matrix. A multi-dimensional discrete Fourier transform is then employed to accelerate the matrix-vector product. The proposed approach is applicable to a periodic acoustic problem for any arbitrary shape of the structure in both full space and half space. Two case studies involving sonic crystal barriers are presented. In the first case study, a sonic crystal barrier comprising rigid cylindrical scatterers is modeled. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique, periodicity in one, two, or three directions is examined. In the second case study, the acoustic performance of a sonic crystal barrier with locally resonant C-shaped scatterers is studied.
Role of Renal Drug Exposure in Polymyxin B-Induced Nephrotoxicity
Authors: Manchandani Pooja , Zhou Jian , Babic Jessica T. , Ledesma Kimberly R. , Truong Luan D. , Tam Vincent H.
Published: January 2017

Despite dose-limiting nephrotoxic potentials, polymyxin B has reemerged as the last line of therapy against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections. However, the handling of polymyxin B by the kidneys is still not thoroughly understood. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the impact of renal polymyxin B exposure on nephrotoxicity and to explore the role of megalin in renal drug accumulation. Sprague-Dawley rats (225 to 250 g) were divided into three dosing groups, and polymyxin B was administered (5 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, and 20 mg/kg) subcutaneously once daily. The onset of nephrotoxicity over 7 days and renal drug concentrations 24 h after the first dose were assessed. The effects of sodium maleate (400 mg/kg intraperitoneally) on megalin homeostasis were evaluated by determining the urinary megalin concentration and electron microscopic study of renal tissue. The serum/renal pharmacokinetics of polymyxin B were assessed in megalin-shedding rats. The onset of nephrotoxicity was correlated with the daily dose of polymyxin B. Renal polymyxin B concentrations were found to be 3.6 ± 0.4 μg/g, 9.9 ± 1.5 μg/g, and 21.7 ± 4.8 μg/g in the 5-mg/kg, 10-mg/kg, and 20-mg/kg dosing groups, respectively. In megalin-shedding rats, the serum pharmacokinetics of polymyxin B remained unchanged, but the renal exposure was attenuated by 40% compared to that of control rats. The onset of polymyxin B-induced nephrotoxicity is correlated with the renal drug exposure. In addition, megalin appears to play a pivotal role in the renal accumulation of polymyxin B, which might contribute to nephrotoxicity.
Inhibition of the β-Lactamase Bla
Mab
by Avibactam Improves the
In Vitro
and
In Vivo
Efficacy of Imipenem against Mycobacterium abscessus
Authors: Lefebvre Anne-Laure , Le Moigne Vincent , Bernut Audrey , Veckerlé Carole , Compain Fabrice , Herrmann Jean-Louis , Kremer Laurent , Arthur Michel , Mainardi Jean-Luc
Published: January 2017

Mycobacterium abscessus
pulmonary infections are treated with a macrolide (clarithromycin or azithromycin), an aminoglycoside (amikacin), and a β-lactam (cefoxitin or imipenem). The triple combination is used without any β-lactamase inhibitor, even though
M
.
abscessus
produces the broad-spectrum β-lactamase Bla
Mab
. We determine whether inhibition of Bla
Mab
by avibactam improves the activity of imipenem against
M. abscessus
. The bactericidal activity of drug combinations was assayed in broth and in human macrophages. The
in vivo
efficacy of the drugs was tested by monitoring the survival of infected zebrafish embryos. The level of Bla
Mab
production in broth and in macrophages was compared by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR and Western blotting. The triple combination of imipenem (8 or 32 μg/ml), amikacin (32 μg/ml), and avibactam (4 μg/ml) was bactericidal in broth (<0.1% survival), with 3.2- and 4.3-log
10
reductions in the number of CFU being achieved at 72 h when imipenem was used at 8 and 32 μg/ml, respectively. The triple combination achieved significant intracellular killing, with the bacterial survival rates being 54% and 7% with the low (8 μg/ml) and high (32 μg/ml) dosages of imipenem, respectively.
In vivo
inhibition of Bla
Mab
by avibactam improved the survival of zebrafish embryos treated with imipenem. Expression of the gene encoding Bla
Mab
was induced (20-fold) in the infected macrophages. Inhibition of Bla
Mab
by avibactam improved the efficacy of imipenem against
M. abscessus
in vitro
, in macrophages, and in zebrafish embryos, indicating that this β-lactamase inhibitor should be clinically evaluated. The
in vitro
evaluation of imipenem may underestimate the impact of Bla
Mab
, since the production of the β-lactamase is inducible in macrophages.
Peak Measurement for Vancomycin AUC Estimation in Obese Adults Improves Precision and Lowers Bias
Authors: Pai Manjunath P. , Hong Joseph , Krop Lynne
Published: January 2017

Vancomycin area under the curve (AUC) estimates may be skewed in obese adults due to weight-dependent pharmacokinetic parameters. We demonstrate that peak and trough measurements reduce bias and improve the precision of vancomycin AUC estimates in obese adults (
n
= 75) and validate this in an independent cohort (
n
= 31). The precision and mean percent bias of Bayesian vancomycin AUC estimates are comparable between covariate-dependent (
R
2
= 0.774, 3.55%) and covariate-independent (
R
2
= 0.804, 3.28%) models when peaks and troughs are measured but not when measurements are restricted to troughs only (
R
2
= 0.557, 15.5%).
A rare cause of constrictive pericarditis
Authors: Flood Shane Patrick , Ayah Omar , Furukawa Satoshi , Norris Robert B
Published: January 2017

A 67-year-old man presented with 3 months of exertional dyspnoea and 1 week of oedema. Examination revealed elevated neck veins, pulsus paradoxus, muffled heart sounds, decreased breath sounds and pedal oedema. Transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE) demonstrated cardiac tamponade, and chest X-ray showed pleural effusion. Pericardiocentesis, thoracocentesis, laboratory investigations and CT did not elucidate an underlying aetiology. Three weeks later, he presented with recurrent cardiac tamponade and pleural effusion. Pericardial window histology was benign. Pleural and pericardial fluids were again unrevealing. Three months later, he presented with worsening congestive heart failure. TTE, cardiac catheterisation and cardiac MRI were consistent with constrictive pericarditis. Preoperative workup did not identify an underlying cause. The patient underwent subtotal pericardiectomy. Intraoperative frozen section indicated malignancy. Pathology confirmed metastatic poorly differentiated signet ring adenocarcinoma of intestinal origin. He died 4 days postoperatively from multiorgan failure.
Mucormycosis pulmonary abscess, containment in a patient with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus
Authors: Jaffer Faraz , Beatty Norman , Ahmad Kareem
Published: January 2017

A 56-year-old Hispanic male with solo risk factor of uncontrolled diabetes mellitus presented with recurrent haemoptysis. Initial concern was for malignancy with postobstructive pneumonia; however, invasive testing and biopsy confirmed infectious mass of fungal aetiology requiring surgical resection followed by a prolonged course of anti-fungal therapy. Discussion centred on approach to, progression of and course of action in the management of pulmonary abscess due to mucormycosis.
Atrophic pityriasis versicolor occurring in a patient with Sjögren's syndrome
Authors: Marinello Elena , Piaserico Stefano , Alaibac Mauro
Published: January 2017

Pityriasis versicolor is one of the most frequent epidermal mycotic infections in the world, but its atrophic variant is rarely described. The aetiology of the atrophy is still unknown, and two main hypotheses have been formulated, one suggesting a correlation with long-term use of topical steroids and the other a delayed type hypersensitivity to epicutaneous antigens derived from components of the fungus. Atrophic pityriasis versicolor is a benign disease, but needs to be distinguished from other more severe skin diseases manifesting with cutaneous atrophy. The diagnosis can be easily confirmed by direct microscopic observation of the scales soaked in 15% potassium hydroxide, which reveals the typical ‘spaghetti and meatball’ appearance, or by a skin biopsy in doubtful cases. Here, we describe a case of extensive atrophic pityriasis versicolor occurring in a woman affected by Sjögren's syndrome which completely resolved after topical antifungal treatment.
Perioperative management of a large, late presenting phaeochromocytoma
Authors: Macrosson Duncan , Love Andrew
Published: January 2017

A 77-year-old man presenting to the emergency department with an acute coronary syndrome was later found to have a phaeochromocytoma. The lateness of this presentation was likely due to the protective α blocking effects of long-term terazosin therapy for his prostatism. α blockers such as terazosin are a well-recognised medical therapy in the perioperative optimisation of phaeochromocytoma because they treat the adrenergic effects of catecholamine release from the tumour such as hypertension. This patient was diagnosed with an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). A cardiac angiogram showed no evidence of vessel occlusion. A right adrenal mass of 9×8×9 cm was incidentally found and confirmed as a phaeochromocytoma with raised plasma metanephrines and normetanephrines. Following preoperative optimisation and multidisciplinary team involvement, an open right adrenalectomy was performed successfully some months later.
National multicentre audit of pregnancy status in general surgery admissions in Scotland
Authors: Wilson Michael S J , Powell-Bowns Matilda , Robertson Andrew G , Luhmann Andreas , Richards Colin H ,   Scottish Surgical Research Group, Hurley Rhona , El-Medany Ahmed , Inwood Claire-Louise , Mason Saskia , Gillan Angela S , Williams Susan , Thomas Rachel , Maybin Bryan , Barry Carol , Rutherford Fiona , Prentice Graham , McKay Alastair C , Crozier Joseph E , Shearer Rosalyn D , Sinclair Jenny , Brooke Eleanor , Coats Maria , Chong Terence , Yung Diana E , Heller Naomi , Bisset Carly , Arthur Laura , Anderson Robert , Knight Katrina , Kay Christopher , Gillespie Michael , Davidson Caroline J , Couves Adam , McGuire Carina , Alexander Peter , Inam Imran Z , Maloney Jay , Simpson Nick , Gill Nina , Sharmini Sivarajah , Semple Ewan , Wilson Esther , Ewing Anne S , Kent Frances , Young Adam , Dodds Naomi , Baggaley Alice , Ibrahim Bilial , Ibrahim Ibrahim
Published: January 2017

Background

Documentation of pregnancy status (PS) is an integral component of the assessment of women of reproductive age when admitted to hospital. Our aim was to determine how accurately PS was documented in a multicentre audit of female admissions to general surgery.

Methods

A prospective multicentre audit of elective and emergency admissions was performed in 18 Scottish centres between 08:00 on 11 May 2015 and 07:59 on 25 May 2015. The lower age limit was the minimum age for admission to the adult surgical ward and the upper age limit was 55 years.

Results

There were 2743 admissions, with 612 (22.3%) women of reproductive age. After 82 exclusions, the final total was 530: 169 (31.9%) elective and 361 (68.1%) emergency. Documentation of PS was achieved in 274 (51.7%) cases: 52 (30.8%) elective and 222 (61.5%) emergency. In 318 (88.1%) of the emergency admissions, the patient had abdominal pain. Of these, 211 (65.1%) had a documented PS. The possibility of pregnancy was established in 237 (44.7%) cases.

Discussion

Establishing the possibility of pregnancy before surgery is poor, particularly in the elective setting. Objective documentation of PS in the emergency setting in those with abdominal pain is also poor. Our study highlights an important safety issue in the management of female patients. We advocate electronic storage of pregnancy test results and new guidelines to cover both elective and emergency surgery. PS should form part of the pre-theatre safety brief and checklist.
Drug-specific risk and characteristics of lupus and vasculitis-like events in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with TNFi: results from BSRBR-RA
Authors: Jani Meghna , Dixon William G , Kersley-Fleet Lianne , Bruce Ian N , Chinoy Hector , Barton Anne , Lunt Mark , Watson Kath ,   BSRBR-RA*,   BSRBR-RA Control Centre Consortium*, Symmons Deborah P , Hyrich Kimme L
Published: January 2017

Objective

To compare the risk of lupus-like events (LLEs) and vasculitis-like events (VLEs) in tumour necrosis factor-α inhibitor (TNFi)-treated patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to those receiving non-biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (nbDMARDs).

Methods

Patients were recruited to the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register—RA, a national prospective cohort study. Two cohorts recruited between 2001 and 2015: (1) patients starting first TNFi (adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab and certolizumab) (n=12 937) and (2) biological-naïve comparison cohort receiving nbDMARDs (n=3673). The risk of an event was compared between the two cohorts using Cox proportional-hazard models, adjusted using propensity scores. Rates of LLE/VLE were compared between TNFi and nbDMARD patients.

Results

The crude incidence rates for LLEs were: TNFi 10/10 000 patient-years (pyrs) (95% CI 8 to 13) and nbDMARD 2/10 000 pyrs (95% CI 1 to 6); for VLEs: TNFi 15/10 000 pyrs (95% CI 12 to 19) and nbDMARD 7/10 000 pyrs (95% CI 4 to 12). The risk of both events was highest in the first year of TNFi treatment. After adjusting for differences in baseline characteristics, there was no difference in risk of LLEs (adjHR 1.86; 95% CI 0.52 to 6.58) or VLEs (adjHR 1.27; 95% CI 0.40 to 4.04) for TNFi compared to nbDMARD-treated patients. Infliximab conferred the highest overall risk, followed by etanercept, although 95% CIs overlapped following adjustment.

Conclusions

In one of the largest biological registers, the absolute risk of both events is low. The addition of TNFi to nbDMARD does not alter the risk of either event in patients with RA selected for TNFi. This is the first study to assess the risk of these outcomes in a prospective, observational cohort.
The effects of different human disturbance regimes on root fungal diversity ofRhododendron ovatumin subtropical forests of China
Authors: Zhang Yanhua , Ni Jian , Tang Fangping , Jiang Lifen , Guo Tianrong , Pei Kequan , Sun Lifu , Liang Yu
Published: January 2017

Ericoid mycorrhizal associations are a symbiotic relationship between soil fungi and ericaceous plants. Diversity of fungi associated with hair roots of ericaceous plants may vary as a result of frequent disturbances by human activities. The fungal diversity and communities associated with hair roots of Rhododendron ovatum were investigated along a human disturbance gradient in subtropical forests of China. Nine hundred fungal operational taxonomic units were determined by high-throughput sequencing, including different phyla such as Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Zygomycota, Chytridiomycota, and Glomeromycota. The dominant phylum in Cunninghamia lanceolata plantations and old-growth forest was Ascomycota, while Basidiomycota was the dominant phylum in secondary forests. The indicator species analyses showed that more pathogenic indicator fungi appeared in the disturbed forests, whereas more putative ericoid mycorrhizal fungi existed in the old-growth forests. Principal component analysis also showed that the fungal communities in the hair roots of R. ovatum were distinct between natural forests and plantations, suggesting that the fungal communities associated with hair roots of R. ovatum after logging were resilient and could recover to predisturbance status. The results of envfit analysis showed that performance of host plants rather than accompanying plant community and soil parameters of plots was the key determinant of the root-associated fungal community of R. ovatum.
Risk factors associated with soft-shelled lobsters (Homarus americanus) in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada
Authors: Thakur Krishna K. , Revie Crawford , Stryhn Henrik , Tibbetts Shannon Scott , Lavallée Jean , Vanderstichel Raphaël
Published: January 2017

Soft-shelled lobsters pose economic challenges to the lobster industry due to low meat yields and survivability during holding and transportation. Our objectives were to describe spatio-temporal patterns of soft-shelled lobsters in southwestern Nova Scotia, and identify environmental and lobster-related factors associated with shell quality. We analyzed data obtained from a broad-scale, intensive monitoring project and remotely sensed water temperatures. Mixed-effect logistic regression and linear regression methods analyzed more than 130 000 samples collected between 2004 and 2014. The annual overall prevalence of soft-shelled lobsters ranged from 9% to 38% and varied significantly among fishing areas. Shell quality was influenced by sex and size, and in the 2 months before the fishing season, lower water temperatures (4–6 weeks prior to sampling) were associated with reduced prevalence of soft-shells. High annual variability of soft-shell prevalence, that water temperature alone could not explain, suggests that adjusting fishing seasons, arbitrarily, in two fishing areas will not improve the overall shell quality of landed lobsters. Further research is needed to evaluate the effects of long-term temperature and ecosystem changes on lobster health in eastern Canada.
Lessons on doing science from my father, Gerry Brown
Authors: Brown C. Titus
Published: January 2017

My father Geny Brown practiced science in a certain way during his life, but much of his approach to work and research was not clearly articulated. In this article I convey some of the lessons I learned growing up with him.
Strangeness production in high-energy collisions and Hawking–Unruh radiation
Authors: Tawfik Abdel Nasser , Yassin Hayam , Abo Elyazeed Eman R.
Published: January 2017

The assumption that the production of quark–antiquark pairs and their sequential string-breaking takes place, likely as a tunneling process, through the event horizon of the color confinement determines the freezeout temperature and gives a plausible interpretation for the thermal pattern of elementary and nucleus–nucleus collisions. When relating the black-hole electric charges to the baryon-chemical potentials, it was found that the phenomenologically deduced parameters from the ratios of various particle species and the higher-order moments of net-proton multiplicity in the statistical thermal models and Polyakov linear-sigma model agree well with the ones determined from the thermal radiation from charged black hole. Accordingly, the resulting freezeout conditions, such as normalized entropy density [Formula: see text] and average energy per particle [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]GeV, are confirmed at finite chemical potentials as well. Furthermore, the problem of strangeness production in elementary collisions can be interpreted by thermal particle production from the Hawking–Unruh radiation. Consequently, the freezeout temperature depends on the quark masses. This leads to a deviation from full equilibrium and thus a suppression of the strangeness production in the elementary collisions. But in nucleus–nucleus collisions, an average temperature should be introduced in order to dilute the quark masses. This nearly removes the strangeness suppression. An extension to finite chemical potentials is introduced. The particle ratios of kaon-to-pion ([Formula: see text]), phi-to-kaon ([Formula: see text]) and antilambda-to-pion ([Formula: see text]) are determined from Hawking–Unruh radiation and compared with the thermal calculations and the measurements in different experiments. We conclude that these particle ratios can be reproduced, at least qualitatively, as Hawking–Unruh radiation at finite chemical potential. With increasing energy, both [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] keep their maximum values at low SPS energies. But the further energy decrease rapidly reduces both ratios. For [Formula: see text], there is an increase with increasing [Formula: see text], i.e., no saturation is to be observed.
Porcolation: An Invasion Percolation Model for Mercury Porosimetry
Authors: Bak Bendegúz Dezső , Kalmár-Nagy Tamás
Published: January 2017

Mercury porosimetry is utilized primarily in the oil industry to determine the pore size distribution of rock samples. During the process, mercury is forced into the sample with gradually increasing pressure and the volume of the injected mercury is measured vs. the applied pressure (the saturation curve). In practice, the saturation curve is assumed to be directly related the cumulative pore size distribution. However, this distribution does not coincide with the real one because of the “nonaccessibility” of pores at a given pressure. This motivates our goal to determine a more accurate cumulative pore size distribution. To achieve this, we treat the propagation of mercury as a percolation process (dubbed “porcolation” after PORosimetry perCOLATION). Porcolation is an external pressure-driven access-limited invasion percolation model where resistance values are assigned to sites/vertices. As pressure increases, the invading mercury occupies sites with smaller resistance values along paths that are connected to the “boundaries” of the network. Simulations are carried out on regular lattices, as well as on random graphs with prescribed degree distributions (representing the pore network of rock samples). An assumed pore size distribution is considered as an input/parameter of the simulations resulting in an output saturation curve. We determine the input–output mapping (homeomorphism) and utilize its inverse to correct the discrepancies between the assumed and actual pore size distributions. The results show nice agreement between experimental saturation curves and those obtained from our homeomorphism method.
Diverse Facets in Identities and Party Affiliations of Native Taiwanese Elders
Authors: CHU FENG-YI
Published: January 2017

There exists a conventional stereotype about native Taiwanese elders that were born in and lived through the Japanese rule before 1945. On the one hand, some politicians and political commentators derogatorily call them the “Kominka generation,” reinforcing the image of this group of having strong affection for and even intense loyalty to the previous Japanese regime. On the other hand, although many researchers have pointed out this cohorts’ strong cultural ties to Han ethnicity — some even possessed nostalgic feelings toward China — in the colonial period, the researchers also emphasized the emergence of their strong sense of being Taiwanese when they suffered various political and cultural discrimination from the new Chinese dominant class after 1945. Therefore, both perspectives falsely imagine this cohort to be definitely identifying themselves as Taiwanese, rejecting Chinese identity, opposing the Kuomintang (KMT), and supporting the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). This paper aims to challenge these stereotypes. By adopting the techniques of grounded theory, the paper shows rich diversity not only in this cohort’s perceptions toward the political parties but also in their identity patterns. Furthermore three themes are identified in these participants’ explanation for their political orientations: economic development, social stability and security, and the cultural hierarchy that gives the KMT elites higher symbolic values than native political elites.
Electrical Transport of Perpendicularly Magnetized L10-MnGa and MnAl Films
Authors: Zhu L. J. , Zhao J. H.
Published: January 2017

Ferromagnetic films of [Formula: see text]-ordered MnGa and MnAl that exhibit giant perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and great controllability in the magnetism and structural disorders show promising applications not only in magnetic recording, permanent magnets and spintronics, but also in controllable studies of disorder-relevant electrical transport phenomena. In this paper, we review the intriguing experimental observations of the orbital two-channel Kondo effect and anomalous Hall effect in [Formula: see text]-ordered MnGa and MnAl thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. We also give a perspective with regards to the future technological and fundamental applications of these perpendicularly magnetized Mn-based binary alloy films.
Morphometric analysis of scoria cones: the potential for inferring process from shape
Authors: Bemis Karen G. , Ferencz Margot
Published: January 2017

Geometric analysis was used to define seven morphometric parameters for the description of the shape of scoria cones, including volume, orientation and five shape parameters (flat-topped-ness, steep-sided-ness, relative crater depth, crater slope and elongation). The measurement and analysis of these shape factors for five distinct scoria cone populations facilitated an exploration of the overlapping effects of growth and erosion processes on shape. Flat-topped-ness seemed to be insensitive to either growth or erosion, suggesting a dependence on eruption energetics. Most of the variation in steep-sided-ness originated from eruptions ending during variable (early to mature) stages of development (growth) and from erosional processes, although steep-sided-ness was also sensitive to eruption energetics (through fragmentation and its impact on the angle of repose). Steep-sided-ness was therefore a poor indicator of geomorphic age. Distinct types of scoria cone shape (ideal, gully, horseshoe, tilted, crater row, parasitic and amorphous) captured a variety of deviations in shape from the purely conical, yet the conical shape parameters differed little in average value between the shape types. The conical shape parameters captured the growth and erosion processes (e.g. ballistic delivery, tephra redistribution via avalanching and erosional transport) common to all scoria cones rather than the particular processes that made the shape types unique (e.g. breaching, rafting and wind effects).

Supplementary material:
Locations of examples of the shape types are available at
https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3661907
Drift-Compensated Robust Watermarking Algorithm for H.265/HEVC Video Stream
Authors: Gaj Sibaji , Kanetkar Aditya , Sur Arijit , Bora Prabin Kumar
Published: January 2017

It has been observed in the recent literature that the drift error due to watermarking degrades the visual quality of the embedded video. The existing drift error handling strategies for recent video standards such as H.264 may not be directly applicable for upcoming high-definition video standards (such as High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC)) due to different compression architecture. In this article, a compressed domain watermarking scheme is proposed for H.265/HEVC bit stream that can handle drift error propagation both for intra- and interprediction process. Additionally, the proposed scheme shows adequate robustness against recompression attack as well as common image processing attacks while maintaining decent visual quality. A comprehensive set of experiments has been carried out to justify the efficacy of the proposed scheme over the existing literature.
The January 2017 issue
Authors: Bonaventure Olivier
Published: January 2017

These Editor's notes describe the contents of the January 2017 issue of CCR and summarise a survey on the reproducibility of networking research.
Exploring Domain Name Based Features on the Effectiveness of DNS Caching
Authors: Hao Shuai , Wang Haining
Published: January 2017

DNS cache plays a critical role in domain name resolution, providing (1) high scalability at Root and Top-level-domain (TLD) name servers with reduced workloads and (2) low response latency to clients when the resource records of the queried domains are cached. However, the pervasive misuses of domain names, e.g., the domains of ``one-time-use'' pattern, have negative impact on the effectiveness of DNS caching as the cache has been filled with those entries that are highly unlikely to be retrieved. In this paper, we investigate such misuse and identify domain name-based features to characterize those one-time domains. By leveraging the features that are explicitly available from the domain name itself, we build a classifier to combine these features, propose simple policy modifications on caching resolvers for improving DNS cache performance, and validate their efficacy using real traces.
Toward a Taxonomy and Attacker Model for Secure Routing Protocols
Authors: Hollick Matthias , Nita-Rotaru Cristina , Papadimitratos Panagiotis , Perrig Adrian , Schmid Stefan
Published: January 2017

A secure routing protocol represents a foundational building block of a dependable communication system. Unfortunately, currently no taxonomy exists to assist in the design and analysis of secure routing protocols. Based on the Dagstuhl Seminar 15102, this paper initiates the study of more structured approaches to describe secure routing protocols and the corresponding attacker models, in an effort to better understand existing secure routing protocols, and to provide a framework for designing new protocols. We decompose the routing system into its key components based on a functional model of routing. This allows us to classify possible attacks on secure routing protocols. Using our taxonomy, we observe that the most eective attacks target the information in the control plane. Accordingly, unlike classic attackers whose capabilities are often described in terms of computation complexity we propose to classify the power of an attacker with respect to the reach, that is, the extent to which the attacker can influence the routing information indirectly, beyond the locations under its direct control.