bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Effects of Chinese herbal medicine and cold exposure on plasma glucose, leucine and energy metabolism in sheep
Authors: Liang X. , Jin J. , Bi X. , Kamruzzaman M. , Kudo T. , Sano H.
Published: October 2017

An experiment was carried out to assess the feeding effect of Chinese herbal medicine on N balance, ruminal fermentation characteristics, kinetics of plasma glucose, leucine and energy metabolism in sheep kept at thermoneutral environment (23°C) or exposed to cold (2–4°C). Four sheep were subjected to either mixed hay (MH‐diet) or hay supplemented with 2% of a traditional nourishing Chinese herbal medicine mixture (Astragalus root, Angelica root and Atractylodes rhizome; CHM‐diet) over two 23‐day periods using a crossover design. Cold exposure was conducted for 5 days. The isotope dilution of [U‐13C]glucose with open circuit calorimetry was used to determine the turnover and oxidation rates of plasma glucose and metabolic heat production. The rate of plasma leucine turnover was measured with an isotope dilution method using [1‐13C]leucine. N intake was higher, N excretion through faeces was lower and N digestibility was higher for the CHM‐diet than the MH‐diet. Rumen pH was lower, concentration of rumen NH3 was higher, concentrations of rumen total VFA and acetate tended to be higher and propionate was higher for the CHM‐diet compared with the MH‐diet. Turnover rate of plasma glucose was higher for the CHM‐diet than the MH‐diet and increased during cold exposure. Oxidation rate of plasma glucose did not differ between diets and also between environments. Turnover rate of plasma leucine was higher for the CHM‐diet compared with the MH‐diet but remained similar between environments. Heat production was greater for the CHM‐diet than the MH‐diet and increased during cold exposure. No significant diet × environment interaction was detected. The present results demonstrated that plasma glucose and energy metabolism were enhanced by both Chinese herbal medicine and cold exposure; plasma leucine metabolism was enhanced by Chinese herbal medicine but with lack of change in response to cold exposure in sheep under the conditions of the current experiment.
In ovo feeding of creatine pyruvate modulates growth performance, energy reserves and mRNA expression levels of gluconeogenesis and glycogenesis enzymes in liver of embryos and neonatal broilers
Authors: Zhao M. M. , Gong D. Q. , Gao T. , Zhang L. , Li J. L. , Lv P. A. , Yu L. L. , Gao F. , Zhou G. H.
Published: October 2017

The effects of in ovo feeding (IOF) of creatine pyruvate (CrPyr) on the growth performance, energy reserves and mRNA expression levels of gluconeogenesis and glycogenesis enzymes in liver of late‐term embryos and neonatal broilers were investigated. After candling on 16 day of incubation, a total of 960 eggs were randomly assigned to three treatments: (i) non‐injected control, (ii) saline group injected with 0.6 ml of 0.75% physiological saline and (iii) Creatine pyruvate group injected with 0.6 ml of physiological saline containing 12 mg CrPyr/egg. After hatching, 120 male chicks with average body weight (BW) were randomly allocated into each treatment group for a 7‐day feeding trial. The results showed that broilers subjected to CrPyr treatment had higher BW than those of the control and saline groups on 1, 3 and 7 day post‐hatch, as well as the yolk sac weight on 19 day of incubation (19 E), the day of hatch and 3 day post‐hatch (p < .05). Compared with the control and saline groups, IOF of CrPyr increased the plasma creatine concentration on the day of hatch, and the plasma pyruvate concentration on the day of hatch and 3 day post‐hatch (p < .05). Moreover, IOF of CrPyr increased the liver pyruvate and glucose concentrations on 19 E and the day of hatch, and the liver glycogen concentration during the experiment (p < .05). Broilers in the CrPyr group showed increased mRNA expression levels of pyruvate carboxylase (PC), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) and glycogen synthase 2 (GYS2) on 19 E and the day of hatch (p < .05). These results indicated that IOF of CrPyr increased energy reserves in liver of embryos and neonatal broilers possibly through upregulating the mRNA expression levels of PC, PEPCK and GYS2, which could benefit the increase of BW in broilers on 7 day post‐hatch.
Daily cannabis and reduced risk of steatosis in human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus‐co‐infected patients (ANRS CO13‐HEPAVIH)
Authors: Nordmann S. , Vilotitch A. , Roux P. , Esterle L. , Spire B. , Marcellin F. , Salmon‐Ceron D. , Dabis F. , Chas J. , Rey D. , Wittkop L. , Sogni P. , Carrieri P. ,   ANRS CO13 HEPAVIH Study Group
Published: October 2017

Liver steatosis is common in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)‐hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐co‐infected patients. Some recent studies have found that cannabis use is negatively associated with insulin resistance in the general population and in HIV‐HCV‐co‐infected patients. Given the causal link between insulin resistance and steatosis, we hypothesized that cannabis use has a positive impact on steatosis. Therefore, we aimed to study whether cannabis use in this population was associated with a reduced risk of steatosis, measured by ultrasound examination. ANRS CO13‐HEPAVIH is a French nationwide multicentre cohort of HIV‐HCV‐co‐infected patients. Medical and socio‐behavioural data from clinical follow‐up visits and annual self‐administered questionnaires were prospectively collected. A cross‐sectional analysis was conducted using data from the first visit where both ultrasound examination data for steatosis (positive or negative diagnosis) and data on cannabis use were available. A logistic regression model was used to evaluate the association between cannabis use and steatosis. Among study sample patients (n = 838), 40.1% had steatosis. Fourteen per cent reported daily cannabis use, 11.7% regular use and 74.7% no use or occasional use (“never or sometimes”). Daily cannabis use was independently associated with a reduced prevalence of steatosis (adjusted odds ratio [95% CI] = 0.64 [0.42;0.99]; P = .046), after adjusting for body mass index, hazardous alcohol consumption and current or lifetime use of lamivudine/zidovudine. Daily cannabis use may be a protective factor against steatosis in HIV‐HCV‐co‐infected patients. These findings confirm the need for a clinical evaluation of cannabis‐based pharmacotherapies in this population. Eudract.ema.europa.eu number, DGS050367.
Shift from facilitative to neutral interactions by the cushion plant Silene acaulis along a primary succession gradient
Authors: Kjær Ulrikke , Olsen Siri Lie , Klanderud Kari
Published: October 2017

Background

The stress‐gradient hypothesis predicts a shift from facilitative to competitive plant interactions with decreasing abiotic stress. This has been supported by studies along elevation and temperature gradients, but also challenged by the hypothesis of a facilitation collapse at extremely harsh sites. Although facilitation is known to be important in primary succession, few studies have examined these hypotheses along primary succession gradients.

Aim

To examine whether there is a relationship between the presence of the circumpolar cushion plant Silene acaulis and other species, and if so, whether there is a shift between positive and negative interactions along a primary succession gradient in a glacier foreland.

Location

Finse, southern Norway.

Methods

We examined the performance of the common alpine forb Bistorta vivipara, species richness of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens, and the number of seedlings and fertile vascular plants in S. acaulis cushions, and control plots without S. acaulis, along a succession gradient with increasing distance from a glacier front, and thus decreasing abiotic stress. To examine if S. acaulis cushions modify the abiotic environment, we recorded soil temperature, moisture, organic content and pH in cushions and control plots.

Results

Bistorta vivipara performed better, as shown by bigger leaves in S. acaulis cushions compared to control plots in the harshest part of the gradient close to the glacier. There were few differences in B. vivipara performance between cushion and control plots in the more benign environment further away from the glacier. This suggests a shift from facilitative to mainly neutral interactions by S. acaulis on the performance of B. vivipara with decreasing abiotic stress. A trend, although not significant, of higher vascular species richness and fertility inside S. acaulis cushions along the whole gradient, suggests that S. acaulis also facilitates community‐level species richness. The causal mechanism of this facilitation is likely that the cushions buffer extreme temperatures.

Conclusions

Our results support the stress‐gradient hypothesis for the relationship between the cushion plant S. acaulis and the performance of a single species along a primary succession gradient in a glacier foreland. S. acaulis also tended to increase vascular plant species richness and fertility regardless of stress level along the gradient, suggesting facilitation at the community level. We found no collapse of facilitation at the most stressful end of the gradient in this alpine glacier foreland.
Shaping the Structure of Legal Opportunities: Environmental NGOs Bringing International Environmental Procedural Rights Back Home
Authors: Vanhala Lisa
Published: October 2017

Research on legal opportunity structures has focused on how existing law, standing rules, and the costs of litigation shape the likelihood that social movement groups will mobilize the law. Yet there has been relatively little research on how and why legal opportunity structures change over time. This article focuses on a case study of the mobilization of procedural environmental rights contained within the Aarhus Convention. It addresses the following empirical puzzle: how did rights that were designed to help Eastern Europeans achieve environmental democracy eventually contribute to a reshaping of the structure of legal opportunities in Britain? Through a two‐step historical process‐tracing analysis that relies on a social constructivist theoretical approach, this research shows that environmental groups mobilized Aarhus rights in a number of ways and across different judicial venues, resulting in an evolution over time of the meaning of access to justice so that it included being “not prohibitively expensive.” This research builds on previous work to show that civil society agents are not passive agents situated within legal opportunity structures but instead are strategic actors who can develop and shape access to justice through policy entrepreneurialism and litigation.
Predicting post‐hepatectomy liver failure by combined volumetric, functional MR image and laboratory analysis
Authors: Chuang Yi‐Hsuan , Ou Hsin‐You , Lazo Marirose Z. , Chen Chao‐Long , Chen Meng‐Hsiang , Weng Ching‐Chun , Cheng Yu‐Fan
Published: October 2017

Background & Aims

To assess the efficacy of functional MR image with volumetric, liver function test and indocyanine green clearance (ICG) in identifying the patients who are at risk of post‐hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF).

Methods

We retrospectively included 115 patients undergoing gadoxetic acid‐enhanced MR imaging before hepatectomy at one medical centre from January 2013 to December 2015. Contrast enhancement ratio (CER) between transitional and hepatobiliary phases (3 and 30 minutes post‐contrast) was calculated. Total liver volume (TLV) and spleen volume (Sp) were measured. Post‐operatively, the histological Ishak fibrosis score was collected. Potential risk factors for liver failure were analysed, and the performance was examined by receiver operating characteristic curve.

Results

Post‐hepatectomy liver failure (PHLF) occurred in 16 patients (13.9%). TLV/SLV, ADC value, CERHBP/TP and total liver contrast enhancement ratio (tCER) were associated with PHLF (P < .05). Between PHLF and non‐PHLF groups, remnant liver volume (RLV), RLV/SLV, Sp/RLV, remnant liver contrast enhancement ratio (rCER) and Ishak fibrosis score showed statistical difference. rCER showed superiority in diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.78) with the optimal cut‐off value of 1.23.

Conclusions

Gadoxetic acid‐enhanced MR imaging with volumetric is a reliable method for evaluating functional liver volume and determining the risk of PHLF.
Urban landscapes can change virus gene flow and evolution in a fragmentation‐sensitive carnivore
Authors: Fountain‐Jones Nicholas M. , Craft Meggan E. , Funk W. Chris , Kozakiewicz Chris , Trumbo Daryl R. , Boydston Erin E. , Lyren Lisa M. , Crooks Kevin , Lee Justin S. , VandeWoude Sue , Carver Scott
Published: October 2017

Urban expansion has widespread impacts on wildlife species globally, including the transmission and emergence of infectious diseases. However, there is almost no information about how urban landscapes shape transmission dynamics in wildlife. Using an innovative phylodynamic approach combining host and pathogen molecular data with landscape characteristics and host traits, we untangle the complex factors that drive transmission networks of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) in bobcats (Lynx rufus). We found that the urban landscape played a significant role in shaping FIV transmission. Even though bobcats were often trapped within the urban matrix, FIV transmission events were more likely to occur in areas with more natural habitat elements. Urban fragmentation also resulted in lower rates of pathogen evolution, possibly owing to a narrower range of host genotypes in the fragmented area. Combined, our findings show that urban landscapes can have impacts on a pathogen and its evolution in a carnivore living in one of the most fragmented and urban systems in North America. The analytical approach used here can be broadly applied to other host–pathogen systems, including humans.
Effects of assortative mate choice on the genomic and morphological structure of a hybrid zone between two bird subspecies
Authors: Semenov Georgy A. , Scordato Elizabeth S. C. , Khaydarov David R. , Smith Chris C. R. , Kane Nolan C. , Safran Rebecca J.
Published: October 2017

Phenotypic differentiation plays an important role in the formation and maintenance of reproductive barriers. In some cases, variation in a few key aspects of phenotype can promote and maintain divergence; hence, the identification of these traits and their associations with patterns of genomic divergence is crucial for understanding the patterns and processes of population differentiation. We studied hybridization between thealbaandpersonatasubspecies of the white wagtail (Motacilla alba), and quantified divergence and introgression of multiple morphological traits and 19,437SNPloci on a 3,000 km transect. Our goal was to identify traits that may contribute to reproductive barriers and to assess how variation in these traits corresponds to patterns of genome‐wide divergence. Variation in only one trait—head plumage patterning—was consistent with reproductive isolation. Transitions in head plumage were steep and occurred over otherwise morphologically and genetically homogeneous populations, whereas cline centres for other traits and genomic ancestry were displaced over 100 km from the head cline. Field observational data show that social pairs mated assortatively by head plumage, suggesting that these phenotypes are maintained by divergent mating preferences. In contrast, variation in all other traits and genetic markers could be explained by neutral diffusion, although weak ecological selection cannot be ruled out. Our results emphasize that assortative mating may maintain phenotypic differences independent of other processes shaping genome‐wide variation, consistent with other recent findings that raise questions about the relative importance of mate choice, ecological selection and selectively neutral processes for divergent evolution.
Hybrid asexuality as a primary postzygotic barrier between nascent species: On the interconnection between asexuality, hybridization and speciation
Authors: Janko Karel , Pačes Jan , Wilkinson‐Herbots Hilde , Costa Rui J. , Roslein Jan , Drozd Pavel , Iakovenko Nataliia , Rídl Jakub , Hroudová Miluše , Kočí Jan , Reifová Radka , Šlechtová Věra , Choleva Lukáš
Published: October 2017

Although sexual reproduction is ubiquitous throughout nature, the molecular machinery behind it has been repeatedly disrupted during evolution, leading to the emergence of asexual lineages in all eukaryotic phyla. Despite intensive research, little is known about what causes the switch from sexual reproduction to asexuality. Interspecific hybridization is one of the candidate explanations, but the reasons for the apparent association between hybridization and asexuality remain unclear. In this study, we combined cross‐breeding experiments with population genetic and phylogenomic approaches to reveal the history of speciation and asexuality evolution in European spined loaches (Cobitis). Contemporary species readily hybridize in hybrid zones, but produce infertile males and fertile but clonally reproducing females that cannot mediate introgressions. However, our analysis of exome data indicates that intensive gene flow between species has occurred in the past. Crossings among species with various genetic distances showed that, while distantly related species produced asexual females and sterile males, closely related species produce sexually reproducing hybrids of both sexes. Our results suggest that hybridization leads to sexual hybrids at the initial stages of speciation, but as the species diverge further, the gradual accumulation of reproductive incompatibilities between species could distort their gametogenesis towards asexuality. Interestingly, comparative analysis of published data revealed that hybrid asexuality generally evolves at lower genetic divergences than hybrid sterility or inviability. Given that hybrid asexuality effectively restricts gene flow, it may establish a primary reproductive barrier earlier during diversification than other “classical” forms of postzygotic incompatibilities. Hybrid asexuality may thus indirectly contribute to the speciation process.
Hemiboea pterocaulis comb. et stat. nov. (Gesneriaceae), a new critically endangered species segregated from H. subcapitata
Authors: Huang Jie , Xiang Xiaoguo , Lu Yongbin , Pan Bo , Zhang Qiang
Published: October 2017

Hemiboea subcapitata C. B. Clarke is a widespread and morphologically variable species in the family Gesneriaceae. Hemiboea subcapitata C. B. Clarke var. pterocaulis Z. Y. Li was first published from Guangxi, China. Extensive observations of morphology and phenology, as well as reconsideration of the original description, have, however, revealed that H. subcapitata var. pterocaulis and H. subcapitata var. subcapitata are consistently differentiated. Furthermore, the present phylogenetic analyses using the nuclear ITS and plastid trnL‐F DNA sequences also revealed that the sampled individuals identified as H. subcapitata var. pterocaulis grouped together and were clearly separated from typical H. subcapitata. Based on these analyses, we elevate the variety to the status of species, as Hemiboea pterocaulis (Z. Y. Li) J. Huang, X. G. Xiang & Q. Zhang.
Angelica oncosepala and Heracleum yunnanense are synonyms and refer to a species of Tetrataenium (Apiaceae)
Authors: Xiao Qun‐Ying , Yu Yan , Xie Deng-Feng , Guo Xian-Lin , He Xing-Jin
Published: October 2017

Heracleum yunnanense Franchet is a poorly known taxon known only from the type collection. Angelica oncosepala Handel‐Mazzetti was originally described as a member of Angelica and later placed in Heracleum as Heracleum oncosepalum (Handel‐Mazzetti) Pimenov & Kljuykov. The generic taxonomy of Apiaceae has been largely based on the morphology and anatomy of the fruit. In this study, various characters of A. oncosepala are found to be identical with H. yunnanense. In addition, we discovered that H. yunnanense and A. oncosepala have well developed narrowly keeled dorsal and intermediate ribs, broadly winged marginal ribs, 1 vittae in dorsal valleculae, 2 in lateral valleculae, 4 on commissure and linear vittae, as do members of Tetrataenium, but not congruent with species of Heracleum. Phylogenetic analyses using concatenated nuclear ITS and ETS sequences also suggested that A. oncosepala and H. yunnanense should be merged and placed in Tetrataenium. The species name H. yunnanense is the oldest available and Tetrataenium yunnanense (Franch.) Manden is only invalidly published, so we propose the new combination Tetrataenium yunnanense (Franch.) Manden. ex Q. Y. Xiao & X. J. He, and treat A. oncosepala, H. oncosepalum and H. yunnanense as its synonyms.
Differential importance of consecutive dispersal phases in two ant‐dispersed Corydalis species (Papaveraceae)
Authors: Zhu Yan , Wang Dong , Zhang Lingyu , Liu Muxing
Published: October 2017

Seed dispersal in myrmecochorous plants, in which a sequence of two or more steps is often involved, has profound effects on plant benefits. First, seeds mature or fall onto to the ground (primary dispersal), then ants transport them into nests (ant dispersal), and sometimes ants subsequently discard seeds out of nests (re‐dispersal). By neglecting one or the other of these phases, we might misjudge the benefits of myrmecochory to plants. Here, we investigated the difference between two common Chinese myrmecochorous plants, Corydalis incisa and C. wilfordii, in the importance of each dispersal step by examining 1) primary dispersal distance, 2) seed removal rates and dispersal distance by ants, and 3) frequency of seeds discarded out of nests and the re‐dispersal distance. We found that the mean primary dispersal distance of C. incisa was about eight times longer than that of C. wilfordii. The presence of an elaiosome increase the attractiveness of seeds to ants, and both the removal rate and dispersal distance were greater in C. wilfordii than in C. incisa. Two ant species, Pheidole noda and Pristomyrmex pungens are the major dispersers. Pheidole noda, the larger‐bodied ant species, discarded most seeds of both species out of nests, whereas Pr. pungens discarded only C. wilfordii seeds. The mean re‐dispersal distances of the two plant species were similar, but that of C. incisa and C. wilfordii were about threefold and fivefold shorter than the distances in the step of ant dispersal, respectively. In the field, no predators were found to interact with the discarded seeds in 72 h. Our results indicate that the importance of each dispersal phase differ between the two Corydalis species, and this difference is largely attributable to the differential role of ant identity and seed characteristics. It is concluded that re‐dispersal also needs to be considered in studies of myrmecochory.
Angelica muliensis sp. nov. (Apiaceae) from Sichuan, southwest China
Authors: Liao Chenyang , Zhang Jiazhen , Tan Jinbo , Chen Yi , Ma Xiangguang
Published: October 2017

Angelica muliensis (Apiaceae), a new species from Sichuan Province, southwest China, is described and illustrated. The new species resembles A. biserrata, but differs in the shapes of the leaflets and sheaths, umbel number and size and especially mericarp features. The diagnostic characters of these two species are presented and compared.
Rediscovery of Ardisia gigantifolia and the reinstatement of A. kteniophylla (Primulaceae) – finding the correct name for the Chinese medicinal plant ’Zou Ma Tai’
Authors: Huang Ge‐Han , Hu Chi‐Ming , Hao Gang
Published: October 2017

With the rediscovery of Ardisia gigantifolia, the long‐standing confusion with A. pseudoverticillata, A. kteniophylla and A. dasyrhizomatica owing to the misinterpretation of the type of A. gigantifolia is clarified. It is shown that A. dasyrhizomatica is a later synonym of A. gigantifolia, while A. kteniophylla and A. pseudoverticillata are conspecific and represent another species for which A. kteniophylla is the earliest name available. Ardisia kteniophylla is the correct scientific name for the Chinese medicinal plant ’Zou Ma Tai’.
A unique subphenotype of myasthenia gravis
Authors: Heckmann Jeannine M. , Nel Melissa
Published: October 2017

While extraocular muscles (EOMs) are affected early in generalized myasthenia gravis (MG), and their treatment responsiveness is similar to nonocular muscles, we have identified an ophthalmoplegic (OP) subphenotype that remains resistant to treatment. This subphenotype of ophthalmoplegic MG (OP‐MG) most commonly affects acetylcholine receptor antibody‐positive cases with juvenile‐onset MG and African genetic ancestry. However, a few OP‐MG cases have been found with MuSK antibodies and triple‐seronegative MG. In a proportion of OP‐MG cases, the EOM treatment resistance manifests from treatment initiation, while in others the EOMs may initially respond until a critical trigger, such as treatment interruption or crisis. The management of OP‐MG is an unmet need. Managing the visual disability may require a surgical or nonsurgical solution. The ideal case selection for surgery and the timing of surgery should be carefully considered. The pathogenesis of OP‐MG remains unknown. A genetic study, using extended whole‐exome sequencing and an “extreme” phenotype sample of OP‐MG versus control MG cases differing only by their EOM responsivity to therapy, discovered several potentially functional OP‐MG risk variants. These variants implicate myogenesis and gangliosphingolipid biosynthesis pathways at the EOM endplates in OP‐MG.
Long‐term nutrient addition alters arthropod community composition but does not increase total biomass or abundance
Authors: Asmus Ashley , Koltz Amanda , McLaren Jennie , Shaver Gaius R. , Gough Laura
Published: October 2017

A simple bottom–up hypothesis predicts that plant responses to nutrient addition should determine the response of consumers: more productive and less diverse plant communities, the usual result of long‐term nutrient addition, should support greater consumer abundances and biomass and less consumer diversity. We tested this hypothesis for the response of an aboveground arthropod community to an uncommonly long‐term (24‐year) nutrient addition experiment in moist acidic tundra in arctic Alaska. This experiment altered plant community composition, decreased plant diversity and increased plant production and biomass as a deciduous shrub, Betula nana, became dominant. Consistent with strong effects on the plant community, nutrient addition altered arthropod community composition, primarily through changes to herbivore taxa in the canopy‐dwelling arthropod assemblage and detritivore taxa in the ground assemblage. Surprisingly, however, the loss of more than half of plant species was accompanied by negligible changes to diversity (rarefied richness) of arthropod taxa (which were primarily identified to family). Similarly, although long‐term nutrient addition in this system roughly doubles plant production and biomass, arthropod abundance was either unchanged or decreased by nutrient addition, and total arthropod biomass was unaffected. Our findings differ markedly from the handful of terrestrial studies that have found bottom‐up diversity cascades and productivity responses by consumers to nutrient addition. This is probably because unlike grasslands and salt marshes (where such studies have historically been conducted), this arctic tundra community becomes less palatable, rather than more so, after many years of nutrient addition due to increased dominance of B. nana. Additionally, by displacing insulating mosses and increasing the cover of shrubs that cool and shade the canopy microenvironment, fertilization may displace arthropods keenly attuned to microclimate. These results indicate that terrestrial arthropod assemblages may be more constrained by producer traits (i.e. palatability, structure) than they are by total primary production or producer diversity.
Integrating correlation between traits improves spatial predictions of plant functional composition
Authors: Wüest Rafael O. , Münkemüller Tamara , Lavergne Sébastien , Pollock Laura J. , Thuiller Wilfried
Published: October 2017

Functional trait composition is increasingly recognized as key to better understand and predict community responses to environmental gradients. Predictive approaches traditionally model the weighted mean trait values of communities (CWMs) as a function of environmental gradients. However, most approaches treat traits as independent regardless of known tradeoffs between them, which could lead to spurious predictions. To address this issue, we suggest jointly modeling a suit of functional traits along environmental gradients while accounting for relationships between traits. We use generalized additive mixed effect models to predict the functional composition of alpine grasslands in the Guisane Valley (France). We demonstrate that, compared to traditional approaches, joint trait models explain considerable amounts of variation in CWMs, yield less uncertainty in trait CWM predictions and provide more realistic spatial projections when extrapolating to novel environmental conditions. Modeling traits and their co‐variation jointly is an alternative and superior approach to predicting traits independently. Additionally, compared to a ‘predict first, assemble later’ approach that estimates trait CWMs post hoc based on stacked species distribution models, our ‘assemble first, predict later’ approach directly models trait‐responses along environmental gradients, and does not require data and models on species’ distributions, but only mean functional trait values per community plot. This highlights the great potential of joint trait modeling approaches in large‐scale mapping applications, such as spatial projections of the functional composition of vegetation and associated ecosystem services as a response to contemporary global change.
Facultative paedomorphosis as a mechanism promoting intraspecific niche differentiation
Authors: Lejeune Benjamin , Sturaro Nicolas , Lepoint Gilles , Denoël Mathieu
Published: October 2017

Organisms with complex life cycles are characterized by a metamorphosis that allows for a major habitat shift and the exploitation of alternative resources. However, metamorphosis can be bypassed in some species through a process called paedomorphosis, resulting in the retention of larval traits at the adult stage and is considered important at both micro‐ and macroevolutionary scales. In facultatively paedomorphic populations of newts, some individuals retain gills and a fully aquatic life at the adult stage (paedomorphs), while others undergo complete metamorphosis (metamorphs), allowing for a terrestrial life‐stage. Because facultative paedomorphosis affects trophic structures and feeding mechanism of newts, one hypothesis is that it may be maintained as a trophic polymorphism, with the advantage to lessen intraspecific competition during the shared aquatic life‐stage. Here, we tested this hypothesis combining stomach content data with stable isotope techniques, using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, in facultatively paedomorphic alpine newtsIchthyosaura alpestris. Both stomach content and stable isotope analyses showed that paedomorphs had smaller trophic niches and were more reliant on pelagic resources, while metamorphs relied more on littoral resources, corresponding to a polyphenism along the littoral–pelagic axis and the extension of the population's trophic niche to otherwise ‘underused’ pelagic resources by paedomorphs. Interestingly, stable isotopes revealed that the trophic polyphenism was less marked in males than in females and potentially linked to sexual activity. Although paedomorphosis and metamorphosis are primarily seen as results of tradeoffs between the advantages of using aquatic versus terrestrial habitats, this study provides evidence that additional forces, such as intraspecific trophic niche differences between morphs and trophic niche expansion, may play an important role in the persistence of this dimorphism in heterogeneous environments. Moreover, the different patterns found in males and females show the importance of considering sex to understand the evolutionary ecology of trophic polymorphisms.
Density‐dependent habitat selection predicts fitness and abundance in a small lizard
Authors: Paterson James E. , Blouin‐Demers Gabriel
Published: October 2017

Density‐dependent habitat selection has been used to predict and explain patterns of abundance of species between habitats. Thermal quality, a density‐independent component of habitat suitability, is often the most important factor for habitat selection in ectotherms which comprise the vast majority of animal species. Ectotherms may reach high densities such that individual fitness is reduced in a habitat due to increased competition for finite resources. Therefore, density and thermal quality may present conflicting information about which habitat will provide the highest fitness reward and ectotherm habitat selection may be density‐independent. Using ornate tree lizards Urosaurus ornatus at 10 sites each straddling two adjacent habitats (wash and upland), we tested the hypothesis that habitat selection is density‐dependent even when thermal quality differs between habitats. We first tested that fitness proxies decline with density in each habitat, indicating density‐dependent effects on habitat suitability. We also confirmed that the two habitats vary in suitability (quantified by food abundance and thermal quality). Next, we tested the predictions that habitat selection depends on density with isodar analyses and that fitness proxies are equal in the two habitats within a site. We found that monthly survival rates decreased with density, and that the wash habitat had more prey and higher thermal quality than the upland habitat. Lizards preferred the habitat with more food and higher thermal quality, lizard densities in the two habitats were positively correlated, and fitness proxies of lizards did not differ between habitats. These patterns are consistent with density‐dependent habitat selection, despite differences in thermal quality between habitats. We expect that density‐dependent habitat selection is widespread in terrestrial ectotherms when densities are high and temperatures are close to their optimal performance range. In areas where thermal quality is low, however, we expect that depletable resources, such as food, become less limiting because assimilating resources is more difficult.
Tradeoff between physical and chemical defense in plant seeds is mediated by seed mass
Authors: Wang Bo , Phillips Joseph S. , Tomlinson Kyle W.
Published: October 2017

Plants have evolved both physical and chemical defenses to make the nutrients of attacked organs difficult to access or more toxic to resist animal consumption or/and pathogen attack. Although it is intuitive that a tradeoff could exist between physical and chemical defenses because of finite defense resources, many studies have failed to detect this tradeoff. We hypothesized that tradeoff between physical and chemical defenses in individual organs was mediated by the total resource allocation to those organs. In this study, we tested whether a tradeoff between physical (i.e. fiber content, which has proved to be a good indicator of investment into seed coat) and chemical defenses (i.e. total phenolics, which are abundant chemical defenses in plant seeds) existed in plant seeds by using 163 common species collected from Xishuangbanna tropical forest, southwest China. Then we tested whether this tradeoff was mediated by seed mass which could be a potential proxy of total resource investment per seed. Among the 163 species, there was large interspecific variation in both total phenolics (from 0.01 to 20.52%) and fiber content (from 4.47 to 81.49%). Our results supported our hypothesis: negative relationships between physical and chemical defenses were much stronger among small seeds than among large seeds. Our study suggests that total resource acquisition must be considered when evaluating defense tradeoffs. However, it is usually extremely difficult to measure this resource acquisition variation, thus we suggest utilizing easily measured proxies of acquisition variation to quantify tradeoffs.
Mepolizumab—a novel option for the treatment of hypereosinophilic syndrome in childhood
Authors: Schwarz Carsten , Müller Thilo , Lau Susanne , Parasher Kirn , Staab Doris , Wahn Ulrich
Published: October 2017

Background

Mepolizumab was originally intended as a therapeutic agent for atopic asthma in adults, and consequently, little is known about its use in children. Up to now, corticosteroids have formed the basis of the initial treatment of hypereosinophilic syndromes and are shown to be effective in most patients. To analyze the effect of mepolizumab in children is the aim of this study.

Methods

We are reporting the experience of the effect of mepolizumab in 2 pediatric patients with hypereosinophilic syndrome that was not sufficiently controlled by other drugs. In addition, the literature regarding the treatment with mepolizumab in pediatric and adult patients is reviewed for the most important studies regarding safety and efficacy.

Results

Mepolizumab therapy showed in 2 pediatric patients with severe hypereosinophilic syndrome a safe and efficient therapeutic approach. No significant intolerances appeared. Furthermore, treatment with systemic corticosteroids was terminated, and therefore, severe side effects were avoided in our pediatric cases.

Conclusions

Anti‐IL‐5 antibodies, which can be applied without substantial drug intolerances, are a new, safe, and effective treatment option for pediatric patients with hypereosinophilic syndrome.
Physician's appraisal vs documented signs and symptoms in the interpretation of food challenge tests: The EuroPrevall birth cohort
Authors: Grabenhenrich Linus B. , Reich Andreas , McBride Doreen , Sprikkelman Aline , Roberts Graham , Grimshaw Kate E. C. , Fiocchi Alessandro G. , Saxoni‐Papageorgiou Photini , Papadopoulos Nikolaos G. , Fiandor Ana , Quirce Santiago , Kowalski Marek L. , Sigurdardottir Sigurveig T. , Dubakiene Ruta , Hourihane Jonathan O. B. , Rosenfeld Leonard , Niggemann Bodo , Keil Thomas , Beyer Kirsten
Published: October 2017

Background

Blinded food challenges are considered the current gold standard for the diagnosis of food allergies. We used data from a pan‐European multicenter project to assess differences between study centers, aiming to identify the impact of subjective aspects for the interpretation of oral food challenges.

Methods

Nine study centers of the EuroPrevall birth cohort study about food allergy recruited 12 049 newborns and followed them for up to 30 months in regular intervals. Intensive training was conducted and every center visited to ensure similar handling of the protocols. Suspected food allergy was clinically evaluated by double‐blind, placebo‐controlled food challenges using a nine dose escalation protocol. The primary challenge outcomes based on physician's appraisal were compared to documented signs and symptoms.

Results

Of 839 challenges conducted, study centers confirmed food allergy in 15.6% to 53.6% of locally conducted challenges. Centers reported 0 to 16 positive placebo challenges. Worsening of eczema was the most common sign when challenged with placebo. Agreement between documented objective signs and the challenge outcome assigned by the physician was heterogeneous, with Cohen's kappa spanning from 0.42 to 0.84.

Conclusions

These differences suggest that the comparison of food challenge outcomes between centers is difficult despite common protocols and training. We recommend detailed symptom assessment and documentation as well as objective sign‐based challenge outcome algorithms to assure accuracy and comparability of blinded food challenges. Training and supervision of staff conducting food challenges is a mandatory component of reliable outcome data.
Beyond rescue: Implementation and evaluation of revised naloxone training for law enforcement officers
Authors: Dahlem Chin Hwa (Gina) , King Lisa , Anderson Glynis , Marr Ashton , Waddell Jonathon Eric , Scalera Marci
Published: October 2017

Objective

This study describes the implementation and evaluation of revised opioid overdose prevention and education of naloxone training for law enforcement officers (LEOs) that added: (1) a recovery testimony and (2) the process for deputy‐initiated referrals postnaloxone administration.

Design and Sample

Evaluation regarding the naloxone training included a pre‐ and postopioid overdose knowledge surveys (N = 114) and subsequent 1‐year postnaloxone training outcomes.

Results

Pre‐ and posttest scores for all knowledge outcome measures were statistically significant (p < .001) with favorable comments pertaining to the recovery testimony. Out of 31 individuals who received naloxone, 6 individuals (19.4%) continue to be in treatment or received some treatment services. The most common symptoms reported were unconsciousness/unresponsiveness (40.5%), abnormal breathing patterns (24.3%), and blue lips (16.2%). The majority of the calls (65.6%) were to a residential area, and the time for naloxone revival ranged <1–10 min (M = 3.48; SD = 2.27).

Conclusion

As nearly 20% of individuals sought treatment after a LEO‐initiated referral, it is recommended that other agencies consider the referral process into the training. Future research will investigate the impact of the recovery testimony in reducing the stigma of addiction.
Basic‐Know And Super‐Know
Authors: Mahtani Anna
Published: October 2017

Sometimes a proposition is ‘opaque’ to an agent: (s)he doesn't know it, but (s)he does know something about how coming to know it should affect his or her credence function. It is tempting to assume that a rational agent's credence function coheres in a certain way with his or her knowledge of these opaque propositions, and I call this the ‘Opaque Proposition Principle’. The principle is compelling but demonstrably false. I explain this incongruity by showing that the principle is ambiguous: the term ‘know’ as it appears in the principle can be interpreted in two different ways, as either basic‐know or super‐know. I use this distinction to construct a plausible version of the principle, and then to similarly construct plausible versions of the Reflection Principle and the Sure‐Thing Principle.
Maternal Multivitamin Intake, Plasma Folate and Vitamin B12Levels and Autism Spectrum Disorder Risk in Offspring
Authors: Raghavan Ramkripa , Riley Anne W. , Volk Heather , Caruso Deanna , Hironaka Lynn , Sices Laura , Hong Xiumei , Wang Guoying , Ji Yuelong , Brucato Martha , Wahl Anastacia , Stivers Tom , Pearson Colleen , Zuckerman Barry , Stuart Elizabeth A. , Landa Rebecca , Fallin M. Daniele , Wang Xiaobin
Published: October 2017

Background

To examine the prospective association between multivitamin supplementation during pregnancy and biomarker measures of maternal plasma folate and vitamin B12levels at birth and child's Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) risk.

Methods

This report included 1257 mother–child pairs, who were recruited at birth and prospectively followed through childhood at the Boston Medical Center.ASDwas defined from diagnostic codes in electronic medical records. Maternal multivitamin supplementation was assessed via questionnaire interview; maternal plasma folate and B12were measured from samples taken 2–3 days after birth.

Results

Moderate (3–5 times/week) self‐reported supplementation during pregnancy was associated with decreased risk ofASD, consistent with previous findings. Using this as the reference group, low (≤2 times/week) and high (>5 times/week) supplementation was associated with increased risk ofASD. Very high levels of maternal plasma folate at birth (≥60.3 nmol/L) had 2.5 times increased risk ofASD[95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3, 4.6] compared to folate levels in the middle 80th percentile, after adjusting for covariates includingMTHFRgenotype. Similarly, very high B12(≥536.8 pmol/L) showed 2.5 times increased risk (95%CI1.4, 4.5).

Conclusion

There was a ‘U shaped’ relationship between maternal multivitamin supplementation frequency andASDrisk. Extremely high maternal plasma folate and B12levels at birth were associated withASDrisk. This hypothesis‐generating study does not question the importance of consuming adequate folic acid and vitamin B12during pregnancy; rather, raises new questions about the impact of extremely elevated levels of plasma folate and B12exposure in‐utero on early brain development.
Editor's Introduction
Authors: Balfour Danny L.
Published: October 2017

Related Content: Nickels (PAR November/December 2017)

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Effect of Forced Displacement on Health
Authors: Zilic Ivan
Published: October 2017

The paper analyses health consequences of forced civilian displacement that occurred during the war in Croatia 1991–1995 which accompanied the demise of Yugoslavia. During the Serbo-Croatian conflict a quarter of Croatian territory was ceded, 22000 people were killed and more than 500000 individuals were displaced. Using the Croatian Adult Health Survey 2003 we identify the causal effect of forced migration on various dimensions of measured and self-assessed health. To circumvent the self-selection into displacement, we adopt an instrumental variable approach where civilian casualties per county are used as an instrument for displacement. We find robust adverse effects on probability of suffering hypertension and tachycardia as well as on self-assessed health and ‘Short form health survey’ health dimensions. Comparing ordinary least squares with instrumental variable estimates yields a conclusion of a positive selection into displacement with respect to latent health. Given the likely violation of the exclusion restriction, we use a method which allows the instrument to affect health outcomes directly and conclude that, even with substantial departures from the exclusion restriction, displacement still adversely affects health.
Everyday Consumption of Russian Youth in Small Towns and Villages
Authors: Omelchenko Elena , Poliakov Sviatoslav
Published: October 2017

This article analyses the everyday consumption of young people who live in villages and small towns in modern‐day Russia. Based on 59 semi‐structured interviews conducted in three districts of the Leningrad region, the authors try to answer the following questions: How does everyday consumption fit in the biographical experience of rural youth? What consumption styles are implemented in small towns and villages? The conceptual framework of the analysis is the perspective of ‘the lifestyle’, which connects everyday consumption practices with the construction of youth identities. The authors come to the conclusion that the differentiation of the consumption styles of modern rural residents can be explained in the context of life strategies, construed on the basis of family capital, education, employment and orientation towards success. The article describes four basic styles that characterise the consumption of young rural residents, namely ‘family’, ‘status‐oriented’, ‘individualistic’ and ‘conformist’ styles.