bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inflection versus derivation
Authors: Bauer Laurie , Lieber Rochelle , Plag Ingo
Published: December 2015

This chapter reviews the notion of conversion and its correlates, concentrating on two points. First, it is concerned with which of the various types of systematic homonymy or polysemy that can be found in English are instances of conversion. This discussion includes canonical cases like noun-to-verb conversion and less canonical cases such as type coercion or adverb formation. This is approached by considering the extent to which they match the canonical pattern of English conversion. Second, the chapter also considers and evaluates the various theoretical approaches to conversion (zero-derivation, relisting, underspecification, etc.) which can be found in the literature.
The nature of stratification
Authors: Bauer Laurie , Lieber Rochelle , Plag Ingo
Published: December 2015

The chapter is concerned with the question of where English stands with respect to the types of morphology displayed in the languages of the world. It begins with a consideration of the traditional way of characterizing morphology as isolating, agglutinating, fusional, or polysynthetic that goes back to the work of Humboldt and Sapir. It also looks at more modern attempts at large-scale classification, concluding that such schemas do not tell us much that is interesting or useful. It is argued, however, that typological comparisons on a more local level have the potential to be more illuminating. This is illustrated with a comparison of English with Germanic and Romance morphology.
Continuity equation and wavefunction properties
Authors: Manousakis Efstratios
Published: December 2015

This chapter discusses the continuity equation and continuity properties of the wavefunction and its spatial derivatives. In addition, it discusses other theorems which are useful for calculations, such as the variational theorem.
WKB approximation
Authors: Manousakis Efstratios
Published: December 2015

This chapter presents a simple way to derive the semiclassical approximation of Wenzel, Kramers, and Brillouin (WKB). This approximation is valid in the limit where the external potential varies smoothly over a length scale much larger than the particle local de Broglie wavelength. The chapter discusses the concept of asymptotic matching the WKB solution with the exact solution very close to the classical turning points.
Identical particles
Authors: Manousakis Efstratios
Published: December 2015

This chapter discusses the case of a many-body system of identical particles. It considers the consequencies of the symmetry of the Hamiltonian under particle permutations in this case. It discusses how to build many-body Boson and Fermion states. It then introduces the formalism of so-called second quantization, which is usefu, in the case of identical particles. It also expresses the many-body Hamiltonian in terms of creation and annihilation operators.
Elementary atomic physics
Authors: Manousakis Efstratios
Published: December 2015

This chapter applies quantum mechanics and its approximations to some elementary atomic physics questions. It also applies the so-called Hartree–Fock approximation and discuss how one can go beyond it. It also discusses spin–orbit coupling and how to fully characterize the atomic states.
Basic grammatical concepts
Authors: Pinkster Harm
Published: December 2015

One part of the chapter is devoted to the various components that together constitute a sentence. The terms involved, like sentence and clause, are not used in a uniform way in the older literature and vary also from one (national or theoretical) linguistic community to the other. The items discussed are ‘sentence’, ‘clause’, ‘phrase’, ‘word’, ‘clitic’, and ‘constituent’. A second part is devoted to the structure of the clause and the importance of the concept of valency in describing the structure of clauses. Some constituents of a clause are determined by the valency of the verb (so-called arguments), other are not (so-called satellites). A third part is devoted to the notions of syntactic, semantic, and pragmatic functions. A final part deals with linguistic entities of a higher level than the sentence: discourse and text type.
Agreement
Authors: Pinkster Harm
Published: December 2015

A distinction is made between grammatical and notional agreement. Agreement exists at the clause level and at the noun phrase level. At the clause level grammatical agreement concerns the relationship between the subject and the finite verb form and between the subject and various nominal forms, both the nominal components of finite and infinite verb forms, and subject and object complements. The formal properties of the subject are copied onto the constituents showing agreement. There are a number of well-defined deviations from the general rule, which itself is more complicated if the subject is compound, i.e. if it exists of more than one noun or comparable expression. Notional agreement ignores formal properties of subjects but takes semantic properties into account. At the noun phrase level the head may determine the form of its attribute(s) notably of determiners, adjectives, and quantifiers. Here, too, the rules are more complicated with compound heads.
Oblation, Non-conception, and Body
Authors: Sugiki Tsunehiko
Published: December 2015

The chapter examines several important early Buddhist tantric texts in this study. The chapter focuses on what it calls the “psychosomatic fire-oblation,” which is an internalized means of performing the ritual within the practitioner’s body. This employs the system of esoteric physiology (cakras, winds, and channels) that provided a basis for much of tantric and yogic practice. As a consequence of this close study of several early medieval Buddhist tantras, the chapter is able to establish a chronological sequence of the texts. This sequence corresponds to a trajectory from the actual performance of sexual rites to symbolized forms. The latter, internalized practices involve a psychophysiological symbolism of fire burning up the obscurations (kleśas).
Fire Rituals by the Queen of Siddhas
Authors: Halkias Georgios T.
Published: December 2015

This chapter discusses how Buddhist practitioners adapted the Brahmanic homa for their own use. As adopted by the Tibetans, homa rites were employed both for the accomplishment of worldly goals, such as safety, prosperity, and power, but also for the accomplishment of the highest goals of liberation from the rounds of saṃsara. Focusing on a little known buddha, Aparimitāyus, the chapter shows that this buddha is also part of the broader Pure Land tradition. Like the much better known Pure Land buddha, Amitāyus, Aparimitāyus has the attribute of granting longevity. The manual, attributed to the Queen of Siddhas, a dākini, includes discussions of the four different kinds of rites. Like most tantric rituals it includes ritual identification, in this case at the beginning of the ritual. The chapter closes with a discussion of the rationales employed in the adoption of Brahmanic rites into the context of Buddhist practice.
TheNavarātra Homa
Authors: Chaulagain Nawaraj
Published: December 2015

The navarātra is a nine-day festival held in the autumn. At the start of this festival, a yantra is consecrated in the same way that images are for the installation of a deity in them. This involves the first of the three kinds of homa included in the festival. This first wakes up the goddess residing within the yantra. The second involves the offering of a goat’s liver into the fire, and the last is used to empower weapons and other royal insignia. While the first opens the festival, the second takes place during the nights of the eighth and ninth days of the festival. This involves the sacrifice of a goat and feeding the goddess by offering the liver into the fire. The third homa is performed daily up to the eighth day of the festival.
Computational identification of piRNA targets on mouse mRNAs
Authors: Yuan Jiao , Zhang Peng , Cui Ya , Wang Jiajia , Skogerbø Geir , Huang Da-Wei , Chen Runsheng , He Shunmin
Published: December 2015

Motivation: PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs that are highly abundant in the germline. One important role of piRNAs is to defend genome integrity by guiding PIWI proteins to silence transposable elements (TEs), which have a high potential to cause deleterious effects on their host. The mechanism of piRNA-mediated post-transcriptional silencing was also observed to affect mRNAs, suggesting that piRNAs might play a broad role in gene expression regulation. However, there has been no systematic report with regard to how many protein-coding genes might be targeted and regulated by piRNAs.

Results: We trained a support vector machine classifier based on a combination of Miwi CLIP-Seq-derived features and position-derived features to predict the potential targets of piRNAs on mRNAs in the mouse. Reanalysis of a published microarray dataset suggested that the expression level of the 2587 protein-coding genes predicted as piRNA targets showed significant upregulation as a whole after abolishing the slicer activity of Miwi, supporting the conclusion that they are subject to piRNA-mediated regulation.

Availability and implementation: A web version of the method called pirnaPre as well as our results for browse is available at http://www.regulatoryrna.org/software/piRNA/piRNA_target_mRNA/index.php.

Contact:  crs@sun5.ibp.ac.cn or heshunmin@gmail.com

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
DeNovo: virus-host sequence-based protein–protein interaction prediction
Authors: Eid Fatma-Elzahraa , ElHefnawi Mahmoud , Heath Lenwood S.
Published: December 2015

Motivation Can we predict protein–protein interactions (PPIs) of a novel virus with its host? Three major problems arise: the lack of known PPIs for that virus to learn from, the cost of learning about its proteins and the sequence dissimilarity among viral families that makes most methods inapplicable or inefficient. We develop DeNovo, a sequence-based negative sampling and machine learning framework that learns from PPIs of different viruses to predict for a novel one, exploiting the shared host proteins. We tested DeNovo on PPIs from different domains to assess generalization.

Results: By solving the challenge of generating less noisy negative interactions, DeNovo achieved accuracy up to 81 and 86% when predicting PPIs of viral proteins that have no and distant sequence similarity to the ones used for training, receptively. This result is comparable to the best achieved in single virus-host and intra-species PPI prediction cases. Thus, we can now predict PPIs for virtually any virus infecting human. DeNovo generalizes well; it achieved near optimal accuracy when tested on bacteria–human interactions.

Availability and implementation: Code, data and additional supplementary materials needed to reproduce this study are available at: https://bioinformatics.cs.vt.edu/~alzahraa/denovo.

Contact:  alzahraa@vt.edu

Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Uncertainties in projecting climate-change impacts in marine ecosystems
Authors: Payne Mark R. , Barange Manuel , Cheung William W. L. , MacKenzie Brian R. , Batchelder Harold P. , Cormon Xochitl , Eddy Tyler D. , Fernandes Jose A. , Hollowed Anne B. , Jones Miranda C. , Link Jason S. , Neubauer Philipp , Ortiz Ivonne , Queirós Ana M. , Paula José Ricardo
Published: December 2015

Projections of the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems are a key prerequisite for the planning of adaptation strategies, yet they are inevitably associated with uncertainty. Identifying, quantifying, and communicating this uncertainty is key to both evaluating the risk associated with a projection and building confidence in its robustness. We review how uncertainties in such projections are handled in marine science. We employ an approach developed in climate modelling by breaking uncertainty down into (i) structural (model) uncertainty, (ii) initialization and internal variability uncertainty, (iii) parametric uncertainty, and (iv) scenario uncertainty. For each uncertainty type, we then examine the current state-of-the-art in assessing and quantifying its relative importance. We consider whether the marine scientific community has addressed these types of uncertainty sufficiently and highlight the opportunities and challenges associated with doing a better job. We find that even within a relatively small field such as marine science, there are substantial differences between subdisciplines in the degree of attention given to each type of uncertainty. We find that initialization uncertainty is rarely treated explicitly and reducing this type of uncertainty may deliver gains on the seasonal-to-decadal time-scale. We conclude that all parts of marine science could benefit from a greater exchange of ideas, particularly concerning such a universal problem such as the treatment of uncertainty. Finally, marine science should strive to reach the point where scenario uncertainty is the dominant uncertainty in our projections.
How big can a black hole grow?
Authors: King Andrew
Published: December 2015

I show that there is a physical limit to the mass of a black hole, above which it cannot grow through luminous accretion of gas, and so cannot appear as a quasar or active galactic nucleus (AGN). The limit is Mmax ≃ 5 × 1010 M⊙ for typical parameters, but can reach Mmax ≃ 2.7 × 1011 M⊙ in extreme cases (e.g. maximal prograde spin). The largest black hole masses so far found are close to but below the limit. The Eddington luminosity ≃6.5 × 1048 erg s−1 corresponding to Mmax is remarkably close to the largest AGN bolometric luminosity so far observed. The mass and luminosity limits both rely on a reasonable but currently untestable hypothesis about AGN disc formation, so future observations of extreme supermassive black hole masses can therefore probe fundamental disc physics. Black holes can in principle grow their masses above Mmax by non-luminous means such as mergers with other holes, but cannot become luminous accretors again. They might nevertheless be detectable in other ways, for example through gravitational lensing. I show further that black holes with masses ∼Mmax can probably grow above the values specified by the black-hole–host-galaxy scaling relations, in agreement with observation.
Mycobacterium marinum Infection After Exposure to Coal Mine Water
Authors: Huaman Moises A. , Ribes Julie A. , Lohr Kristine M. , Evans Martin E.
Published: December 2015

Mycobacterium marinum infection has been historically associated with exposure to aquariums, swimming pools, fish, or other marine fauna. We present a case of M marinum left wrist tenosynovitis and elbow bursitis associated with a puncture injury and exposure to coal mine water in Illinois.
Anchoring of the 1-2 Interspace and Medial Capsule in Hallux Valgus Surgery
Authors: VanderGriend Robert
Published: December 2015

The goal in the surgical treatment of hallux valgus deformities is to correct the alignment of the first metatarsophalangeal joint and the 1-2 intermetatarsal angle (IMA). Anchoring techniques between the first and second metatarsals have been used to facilitate the correction of the IMA. These techniques have been modified to provide support to the IMA correction (that can be done by whatever technique the surgeon prefers to use) and also facilitate anchoring of the repaired medial capsule to the bone. This technique is used with a distal soft tissue realignment procedure. Sutures are passed using the existing incisions around the second metatarsal shaft and through drill holes in the first metatarsal head. These sutures are then passed through the medial capsule resulting in anchoring of the 1-2 interspace and the medial capsule.

Level of Evidence: Diagnostic Level V. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Acute respiratory failure after drowning: a retrospective multicenter survey
Authors: Michelet Pierre , Bouzana Fouad , Charmensat Olivia , Tiger Fabrice , Durand-Gasselin Jacques , Hraiech Sami , Jaber Samir , Dellamonica Jean , Ichai Carole
Published: December 2015

Objectives

Despite the extensive literature on drowning, clinical data are still lacking on the best medical strategy to use. Acute respiratory failure (ARF) is the main component of drowning pathophysiology. The objectives of this multicenter study were to analyze the clinical course of drowning-related ARF patients and to describe the efficacy of the ventilatory strategies used.

Methods

Medical records of drowned adult patients admitted in seven ICUs after prehospital emergency medical care during three consecutive summer periods were retrospectively analyzed.

Results

Among the 126 patients (58±21 years) admitted, 38 patients with cardiac arrest at the scene were not analyzed, 26 received mechanical ventilation (MV), and 48 patients received noninvasive ventilation (NIV). Compared with patients placed under MV, the NIV patients presented a better initial neurological (Glasgow Coma Scale of 7±4 vs. 12±3, P<0.05) and hemodynamic status from the prehospital stage (mean arterial pressure of 77±18 vs. 96±18, P<0.001). With comparable ARF-related hypoxemia to MV, the NIV was maintained with success in 92% (44/48). Both MV and NIV were associated with rapid improvement of oxygenation and short ICU length of stay [3 (1–14) and 2 (1–7), respectively].

Conclusion

Despite the absence of recommendation for NIV use in case of drowning-related ARF, this technique was often used with safety and efficacy. The decision for NIV use was mainly based on the preserved or improved neurological status.
Advancing multiscale structural mapping of the brain through fluorescence imaging and analysis across length scales
Authors: Hogstrom L. J. , Guo S. M. , Murugadoss K. , Bathe M.
Published: December 2015

Brain function emerges from hierarchical neuronal structure that spans orders of magnitude in length scale, from the nanometre-scale organization of synaptic proteins to the macroscopic wiring of neuronal circuits. Because the synaptic electrochemical signal transmission that drives brain function ultimately relies on the organization of neuronal circuits, understanding brain function requires an understanding of the principles that determine hierarchical neuronal structure in living or intact organisms. Recent advances in fluorescence imaging now enable quantitative characterization of neuronal structure across length scales, ranging from single-molecule localization using super-resolution imaging to whole-brain imaging using light-sheet microscopy on cleared samples. These tools, together with correlative electron microscopy and magnetic resonance imaging at the nanoscopic and macroscopic scales, respectively, now facilitate our ability to probe brain structure across its full range of length scales with cellular and molecular specificity. As these imaging datasets become increasingly accessible to researchers, novel statistical and computational frameworks will play an increasing role in efforts to relate hierarchical brain structure to its function. In this perspective, we discuss several prominent experimental advances that are ushering in a new era of quantitative fluorescence-based imaging in neuroscience along with novel computational and statistical strategies that are helping to distil our understanding of complex brain structure.
Cognitive Endophenotypes of Modern and Extinct Hominins Associated withNTNGGene Paralogs
Authors: Prosselkov Pavel , Hashimoto Ryota , Polygalov Denis , Ohi Kazutaka , Zhang Qi , McHugh Thomas J. , Takeda Masatoshi , Itohara Shigeyoshi
Published: December 2015

A pair of vertebrate-specific and brain-expressed pre-synaptic genes,NTNG1andNTNG2,contributes to the Intellectual Quotient (IQ) test scores in a complementary manner. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) ofNTNG1are associated with attenuated verbal comprehension (VC) or processing speed (PS) whileNTNG2SNPs affect working memory (WM) and perceptual organization (PO), forming cognitive endophenotypes in healthy and schizophrenia (SCZ)-affected human subjects. Regions of interest (ROIs), defined as 21 nucleotide (nu) longNTNGgene loci symmetrically embedding the IQ-affecting mutation alleles (VC/PS and WM/PO), underwent dramatic evolutionary changes from mice through primates to hominins, at the accelerated rates. Mutation alleles associated with the higher VC and WM IQ scores are found in the genomes of extinct hominins of Neolithic times, however, lower WM scores associated allele is also detectable in Mesolithic hunters genomes. Protein sequence ofNTNG1is 100% conserved among the primates, archaic and modern extinct hominins whileNTNG2underwent a recent selection sweep encoding a primate-specific S371A/V (~50,000 yrs BC), and a modern human (5,300 yrs BC) T346A substitutions. We show that a 500 mln yrs old genomic duplication of a synapse primordial gene provided a substrate for further synapse elaborations and its ultimate capacitive expansion of what evolved into a vertebrate cognitive superior complexity – intelligence.
Cognitive Domains Function Complementation by NTNG Gene Paralogs
Authors: Prosselkov Pavel , Polygalov Denis , Zhang Qi , McHugh Thomas J. , Itohara Shigeyoshi
Published: December 2015

Gene duplication was proposed by S.Ohno (1) as a key mechanism of a novel gene function evolution. A pair of gene paralogs, NTNG1 and NTNG2, sharing identical gene and protein structures and encoding similar proteins, forms a functional complement subfunctionalising (SF) within cognitive domains and forming cognitive endophenotypes, as detected by Intellectual Quotient (IQ) tests (2). Both NTNG paralogs are associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia (SCZ), with unique nonoverlapping segregation among the other 15 cognitive disorders (CD), emphasizing an evolutionary gain-dependent link between advanced cognitive functions and concomitant neurocognitive pathologies. Complementary expression and human brain transcriptome composition of the paralogs explains the observed phenomena of their functional complementarity. The lowest identity among NTNGs is found in a middle of encoded by them proteins designated as uknown (Ukd) domain. NTNG1 contains anthropoid-specific constrained regions, and both genes contain non-coding conserved sequences underwent accelerated evolution in human. NTNG paralogs SF perturbates “structure drives function” concept at protein and gene levels. The paralogs function diversification forms a so-called “Cognitive Complement (CC)”, a product of gene duplication and subsequent cognitive subfunction bifurcation among the NTNG gene duplicates.
BMI1 induces an invasive signature in melanoma that promotes metastasis and chemoresistance
Authors: Ferretti Roberta , Bhutkar Arjun , McNamara Molly C. , Lees Jacqueline A.
Published: December 2015

Melanoma can switch between proliferative and invasive states, which have identifying gene expression signatures that correlate with good and poor prognosis, respectively. However, the mechanisms controlling these signatures are poorly understood. In this study, we identify BMI1 as a key determinant of melanoma metastasis by which its overexpression enhanced and its deletion impaired dissemination. Remarkably, in this tumor type, BMI1 had no effect on proliferation or primary tumor growth but enhanced every step of the metastatic cascade. Consistent with the broad spectrum of effects, BMI1 activated widespread gene expression changes, which are characteristic of melanoma progression and also chemoresistance. Accordingly, we showed that up-regulation or down-regulation of BMI1 induced resistance or sensitivity to BRAF inhibitor treatment and that induction of noncanonical Wnt by BMI1 is required for this resistance. Finally, we showed that our BMI1-induced gene signature encompasses all of the hallmarks of the previously described melanoma invasive signature. Moreover, our signature is predictive of poor prognosis in human melanoma and is able to identify primary tumors that are likely to become metastatic. These data yield key insights into melanoma biology and establish BMI1 as a compelling drug target whose inhibition would suppress both metastasis and chemoresistance of melanoma.
Triclinic and monoclinic polymorphs ofmeso-(E,E)-1,1′-[1,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane-1,2-diyl]bis(phenyldiazene): the high-yield synthesis of an unexpected product, concomitant polymorphism and configurational disorder
Authors: Mohamed Shaaban K. , Younes Sabry H. H. , Abdel-Raheem Eman M. M. , Horton Peter N. , Akkurt Mehmet , Glidewell Christopher
Published: December 2015

Pyrazolidine-3,5-diones and their derivatives exhibit a wide range of biological activities. Seeking to explore the effect of combining a hydrocarbyl ring substituent, as present in sulfinpyrazone (used to treat gout), with a chlorinated aryl ring, as present in muzolimine (a diuretic), we explored the reaction between 1-phenylpyrazolidine-3,5-dione and 4-chlorobenzaldehyde under mildly basic conditions in the expectation of producing the simple condensation product 4-(4-chlorobenzylidene)-1-phenylpyrazolidine-3,5-dione. However, the reaction product proved to bemeso-(E,E)-1,1′-[1,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane-1,2-diyl]bis(phenyldiazene), C26H20Cl2N4, and a tentative mechanism is proposed. Crystallization from ethanol produces two concomitant polymorphs,i.e.a triclinic form, (I), in the space groupP\overline{1}, and a monoclinic form, (II), in the space groupC2/c. In both polymorphs, the molecules lie across centres of inversion, but in (II), the molecules are subject to whole-molecule disorder equivalent to configurational disorder with occupancies of 0.6021 (19) and 0.3979 (19). There are no hydrogen bonds in the crystal structure of polymorph (I), but the molecules of polymorph (II) are linked by C—H...π(arene) hydrogen bonds into complex chains, which are further linked into sheets by C—H...N interactions.
Mask-based approach to phasing of single-particle diffraction data
Authors: Lunin Vladimir Y. , Lunina Natalia L. , Petrova Tatiana E. , Baumstark Manfred W. , Urzhumtsev Alexandre G.
Published: December 2015

A Monte Carlo-type approach for low- and medium-resolution phasing of single-particle diffraction data is suggested. Firstly, the single-particle phase problem is substituted with the phase problem for an imaginary crystal. A unit cell of this crystal contains a single isolated particle surrounded by a large volume of bulk solvent. The developed phasing procedure then generates a large number of connected and finite molecular masks, calculates their Fourier coefficients, selects the sets with magnitudes that are highly correlated with the experimental values and finally aligns the selected phase sets and calculates the averaged phase values. A test with the known structure of monomeric photosystem II resulted in phases that have 97% correlation with the exact phases in the full 25 Å resolution shell (1054 structure factors) and correlations of 99, 94, 81 and 79% for the resolution shells ∞–60, 60–40, 40–30 and 30–25 Å, respectively. The same procedure may be used for crystallographicab initiophasing.
Adapting to the changing needs of managing innovative projects
Authors: Rekonen Satu , Björklund Tua A.
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the changes in managerial activities and challenges at different phases of innovative projects.

Design/methodology/approach

– Six NPD project managers were interviewed in three different project phases in a qualitative, longitudinal design. The resulting 18 semi-structured face-to-face interviews were content analyzed and categorized according to thematic similarity.

Findings

– Altogether 19 categories describing managerial concerns in managing innovative projects were recognized. Task-oriented, rather than people-oriented, approaches were dominant throughout the projects, although the reported concerns clearly varied at each phase. The early development phase emerged as a transition point, where managers had to transform their roles, reported activities decreased, and reported challenges increased.

Research limitations/implications

– Although based on a small number of participants in a single setting, the results highlight the need for longitudinal studies and differentiating between the various phases of the innovation process, as there was great variance in the concerns of each phase. Furthermore, domain expertise seemed to have a large impact on how the managers reformulated their role in transitioning from the front-end to the development phases.

Practical implications

– The present study emphasizes the need to support managers in transitioning between different innovation phases and to recognize the need to adjust managerial roles. Further, it seemed crucial to establish the practices supporting successful teamwork in the front-end phase before the first phase transition.

Originality/value

– The study is a rare example of a longitudinal research design examining the implications and transition between different phases of the innovation process within the same projects for project managers.
Internet Use and Ethnic Heterogeneity in a Cross‐Section of Countries
Authors: Awaworyi Churchill Sefa , Okai Davidson , Posso Alberto
Published: December 2015

This paper investigates the association between ethnic heterogeneity and information technology related outcomes such as Internet access and Internet use. We argue that the global digital divide, as measured by cross‐country differences in Internet access and use, could be explained by cross‐country differences in ethnic heterogeneity. We use indices of ethnic and linguistic fractionalisation as measures of ethnic heterogeneity. Using data on a cross‐section of eighty‐five countries, we find evidence of a negative association between ethnic heterogeneity and the use and access of Internet. Thus, cross‐country differences in the global digital divide can be explained by the levels of ethnic fractionalisation. Other determinants of the digital divide include income, infrastructure, literacy level, level of urbanisation and inequality.
The utility of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment as a mental capacity assessment tool for patients with a learning disability
Authors: Edge Daniel , Oyefeso Adenekan , Evans Carys , Evans Amber
Published: December 2015

Accessible summary

Accurate assessment of a patient's mental capacity is important, yet out of the clinical assessments currently available, there does not appear to be sufficient accessible tools suitable for people with a learning disability.

Incorrect assumptions are often made regarding the capacity of patients who have learning disabilities to make decisions about important aspects of their life.

This preliminary study investigated whether or not it was possible to adapt a well‐known assessment of cognitive impairment (The Montreal Cognitive Assessment) and use this as a tool to determine capacity in patients with a learning disability.

Objective: To determine the psychometric properties of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in patients with a learning disability and examine it's utility for conducting mental capacity assessment.

Method: This study was a cross‐sectional, instrument validation study in an inpatient hospital setting, located in the East of England. The sample consisted of two groups: (i) 31 consecutively admitted hospital patients and (ii) 10 multidisciplinary team members who served as a comparison group. The MoCA, a 12‐item screen for mild cognitive impairment and the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX), were used in this study. Item analysis was conducted by comparing item endorsement for all participants that had a learning disability utilising Difficulty and Discrimination Indices for each item on the MoCA. We examined the internal consistency of a revised scale derived from item analysis and used a one‐way ANOVA to determine concurrent validity by comparing scores between two patient subgroups and the comparison group.

Results: A 7‐item scale, ‘MoCA‐LD’ (alpha coefficient = 0.82) emerged from item analysis. A statistically significant negative correlation was observed between MoCA‐LD and DEX (Pearson correlation = −0.66, P < 0.01). As expected, participants in the borderline category scored higher on MoCA‐LD than those with mild learning disability, as did those with no learning disability (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: The MoCA‐LD has the potential to be a useful tool for mental capacity assessment in patients with a learning disability.
Impact of diabetes duration on achieved reductions in glycated haemoglobin, fasting plasma glucose and body weight with liraglutide treatment for up to 28 weeks: a meta‐analysis of seven phase III trials
Authors: Seufert J. , Bailey T. , Barkholt Christensen S. , Nauck M. A.
Published: December 2015

This meta‐analysis of seven randomized, placebo‐controlled studies (total 3222 patients) evaluated whether type 2 diabetes (T2D) duration affects the changes in blood glucose control and body weight that can be achieved with liraglutide and placebo. With liraglutide 1.2 mg, shorter diabetes duration was associated with a significantly greater, but clinically non‐relevant, difference in glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) reduction (p < 0.05), i.e. a 0.18% (1.96 mmol/mol) reduction in HbA1c per 10 years shorter diabetes duration. With liraglutide 1.8 mg, shorter diabetes duration was associated with a small but statistically significant trend for greater fasting plasma glucose (FPG) reduction (p < 0.05), i.e. a 0.38 mmol/l reduction in FPG per 10 years shorter diabetes duration. Neither the liraglutide 1.8 mg nor placebo results showed a significant association between HbA1c and diabetes duration and neither the liraglutide 1.2 mg nor placebo results showed a significant association between FPG and diabetes duration. Likewise, neither liraglutide nor placebo showed a significant association between change in weight and diabetes duration. These results suggest diabetes duration has a clinically negligible effect on achievable blood glucose control and weight outcomes with liraglutide and placebo in patients with T2D.
Peripheral loss of CD8+CD161++TCRVα7·2+ mucosal‐associated invariant T cells in chronic hepatitis C virus‐infected patients
Authors: Barathan Muttiah , Mohamed Rosmawati , Vadivelu Jamuna , Chang Li Y. , Saeidi Alireza , Yong Yean K. , Ravishankar Ram M. , Gopal Kaliappan , Velu Vijayakumar , Larsson Marie , Shankar Esaki M.
Published: December 2015

Background

Mucosal‐associated invariant T (MAIT) cells play an important role in innate host defence. MAIT cells appear to undergo exhaustion and are functionally weakened in chronic viral infections. However, their role in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains unclear.

Materials and methods

We investigated the frequency of CD8+CD161++TCR Vα7.2+ MAIT cells in a cross‐sectional cohort of chronic HCV‐infected patients (n = 25) and healthy controls (n = 25). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were investigated for circulating MAIT cell frequency, liver‐homing (CCR5 and CD103), biomarkers of immune exhaustion (PD‐1, TIM‐3 and CTLA‐4), chronic immune activation (CD38 and HLA‐DR), and immunosenescence (CD57) by flow cytometry.

Results

The frequency of MAIT cells was significantly decreased, and increased signs of immune exhaustion and chronic immune activation were clearly evident on MAIT cells of HCV‐infected patients. Decrease of CCR5 on circulating MAIT cells is suggestive of their peripheral loss in chronic HCV‐infected patients. MAIT cells also showed significantly increased levels of HLA‐DR, CD38, PD‐1, TIM‐3 and CTLA‐4, besides CD57 in chronic HCV disease.

Conclusions

Immune exhaustion and senescence of CD8+CD161++TCR Vα7.2+ MAIT cells could contribute to diminished innate defence attributes likely facilitating viral persistence and HCV disease progression.
Plasma protein thiols: an early marker of oxidative stress in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Zinellu Angelo , Fois Alessandro Giuseppe , Sotgia Salvatore , Zinellu Elisabetta , Bifulco Fabiana , Pintus Gianfranco , Mangoni Arduino A. , Carru Ciriaco , Pirina Pietro
Published: December 2015

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma are both characterized by heterogeneous chronic airway inflammation and obstruction as well as oxidative stress (OS). However, it is unknown whether OS occurs in early disease and how to best assess its presence. Plasma OS markers (TBARS, PSH, taurine, GSH, ergothioneine and paraoxonase 1 activity) and lung function tests were measured in patients with mild stable asthma (n = 24) and mild stable COPD (n = 29) and in age‐ and sex‐matched controls. Forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) was associated with age both in patients and control groups. By contrast, FEV1 was positively correlated with PSH only in COPD (ρ = 0·49, P = 0·007). In multiple logistic regression analysis, lower PSH was the only OS marker independently associated with increased odds of both asthma (OR = 0·32, 95% CI 0·13–0·78, P = 0·01) and COPD (OR = 0·50, 95% CI 0·26–0·95, P = 0·03). These findings suggest that proteins ‐SH are a sensitive OS marker in early COPD and asthma.
The TyG index may predict the development of cardiovascular events
Authors: Sánchez‐Íñigo Laura , Navarro‐González David , Fernández‐Montero Alejandro , Pastrana‐Delgado Juan , Martínez Jose Alfredo
Published: December 2015

Background

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the worldwide leading cause of morbidity and mortality. An early risk detection of apparently healthy people before CVD onset has clinical relevance in the prevention of cardiovascular events. We evaluated the association between the product of fasting plasma glucose and triglycerides (TyG index) and CVD.

Material and methods

A total of 5014 patients of the Vascular Metabolic CUN cohort (VMCUN cohort) were followed up during a median period of 10 years. We used a Cox proportional‐hazard ratio with repeated measures to estimate the risk of incidence of CVD across quintiles of the TyG index, calculated as ln[fasting triglycerides (mg/dL) × fasting plasma glucose (mg(dL)/2], and plotted a receiver‐operating characteristics (ROC) curve to compare a prediction model fitted on the variables used in the Framingham risk score, a new model containing the Framingham variables with the TyG index, and the risk of coronary heart disease.

Results

A higher level of TyG index was significantly associated with an increased risk of developing CVD independent of confounding factors with a value of 2·32 (95% CI: 1·65–3·26) for those in the highest quintile and 1·52 (95% CI: 1·07–2·16) for those in the fourth quintile. The areas under the curve (AUC) of the ROC plots were 0·708 (0·68–0·73) for the Framingham model and 0·719 (0·70–0·74) for the Framingham + TyG index model (P = 0·014).

Conclusions

The TyG index, a simple measure reflecting insulin resistance, might be useful to early identify individuals at a high risk of developing a cardiovascular event.
Correlation of somatic mutations with outcome after FLAMSA‐busulfan sequential conditioning and allogeneic stem cell transplantation in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes
Authors: Christopeit Maximilian , Badbaran Anita , Alawi Malik , Zabelina Tatjana , Zeck Gaby , Wolschke Christine , Ayuk Francis , Kröger Nicolaus
Published: December 2015

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo‐HSCT) is a curative treatment option for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Little is known about the prognostic impact of mutations, for example, inTP53specifically after allo‐HSCT. We here describe the prognostic impact of mutations in a panel of 19 genes analyzed by amplicon‐based next‐generation‐sequencing in a uniformly treated patient cohort. Sixty‐two patients with a median age of 61 yr suffered fromMDSwith 0–20% bone marrow blasts. International Prognostic Score was intermediate 1 (15%) and higher (79%). Conditioning uniformly was performed using a sequential approach in whichFLAMSAchemotherapy was followed by Busulfan‐based conditioning. Patients mostly were transplanted from an unrelated donor (77%), and 36% of patients received a graft from a mismatched donor. Median number of mutations was 2 (range 0–6).RUNX1,GATA2,TET2, andCEBPAwere the genes most frequently found mutated.TP53, a factor previously reported to confer adverse prognostic impact after allogeneic stem cell transplantation, was mutated in samples from eight patients, one of which showed a silent mutation. With an estimated 5‐yr overall/disease‐free survival of 48 ± 7%/41 ± 7%, none of the mutations analyzed showed a prognostic impact in this analysis of the largest uniformly treated cohort thus far. This especially holds true for patients with a mutation inTP53.
Community‐wide changes in intertaxonomic temporal co‐occurrence resulting from phenological shifts
Authors: Hua Fangyuan , Hu Junhua , Liu Yang , Giam Xingli , Lee Tien Ming , Luo Hao , Wu Jia , Liang Qiaoyi , Zhao Jian , Long Xiaoyan , Pang Hong , Wang Biao , Liang Wei , Zhang Zhengwang , Gao Xuejie , Zhu Jiang
Published: December 2015

Global climate change is known to affect the assembly of ecological communities by altering species' spatial distribution patterns, but little is known about how climate change may affect community assembly by changing species' temporal co‐occurrence patterns, which is highly likely given the widely observed phenological shifts associated with climate change. Here, we analyzed a 29‐year phenological data set comprising community‐level information on the timing and span of temporal occurrence in 11 seasonally occurring animal taxon groups from 329 local meteorological observatories across China. We show that widespread shifts in phenology have resulted in community‐wide changes in the temporal overlap between taxa that are dominated by extensions, and that these changes are largely due to taxa's altered span of temporal occurrence rather than the degree of synchrony in phenological shifts. Importantly, our findings also suggest that climate change may have led to less phenological mismatch than generally presumed, and that the context under which to discuss the ecological consequences of phenological shifts should be expanded beyond asynchronous shifts.
Modification of Calcium Hydride as Solid Hydrogen Source for Fuel Cell System
Authors: Nagashima Kohji , Visbal Heidy , Hirao Kazuyuki , Ishizaka Hitoshi , Kamisawa Akira
Published: December 2015

The on‐site type hydrogen generator was developed. Among the various hydride materials, calcium hydride (CaH2) was selected as hydrogen source because of less reactivity with moisture compared to other alkaline hydride compounds. By mixing CaH2 with the thermosetting resin, inorganic–organic hybrid material was prepared. Pure CaH2 reacts vigorously with water to form hydrogen gas and Ca(OH)2, while this hybrid material moderately produces hydrogen by reacting with water keeping high reaction rate.
Simultaneous detection of four different neuraminidase types of avian influenza A H5 viruses by multiplex reverse transcription PCR using a GeXP analyser
Authors: Li Meng , Xie Zhixun , Xie Zhiqin , Liu Jiabo , Xie Liji , Deng Xianwen , Luo Sisi , Fan Qing , Huang Li , Huang Jiaoling , Zhang Yanfang , Zeng Tingting , Feng Jiaxun
Published: December 2015

Objectives

In order to develop a multiplex RT‐PCR assay using the GeXP analyser for the simultaneous detection of four different NA serotypes of H5‐subtype AIVs, effective to control and reduce H5 subtype of avian influenza outbreak.

Design

Six pairs of primers were designed using conserved and specific sequences of the AIV subtypes H5, N1, N2, N6 and N8 in GenBank. Each gene‐specific primer was fused at the 5′ end to a universal sequence to generate six pairs of chimeric primers, and one pair of universal primers was used for RT‐PCR, and PCR product separation and detection were performed by capillary electrophoresis using the GenomeLab GeXP genetic analysis system.

Setting

Single and mixed avian pathogen cDNA/DNA templates were employed to evaluate the specificity of a multiplex assay with a GeXP analyser. Corresponding specific DNA products were amplified for each gene, revealing amplification peaks for M, H5, N1, N2, N6 and N8 genes from four different NA subtypes of influenza A H5 virus.

Sample

A total of 180 cloacal swabs were collected from poultry at live bird markets.

Main outcome measures

The multiplex PCR assay demonstrated excellent specificity, with each pair of specific primers generating only products corresponding to the target genes and without cross‐amplification with other NA‐subtype influenza viruses or other avian pathogens. Using various premixed ssRNAs containing known AIV target genes, the detection limit for the multiplex assay was determined to be 102 copies/μl. The GeXP assay was further evaluated using 180 clinical specimens and compared with RRT‐PCR (real‐time reverse transcriptase PCR) and virus isolation.

Conclusions

This GeXP analyser‐based multiplex assay for four different NA subtypes of H5 HPAI viruses is both highly specific and sensitive and can be used as a rapid and direct diagnostic assay for testing clinical samples.
Cardiac Troponins in Dogs and Cats
Authors: Langhorn R. , Willesen J.L.
Published: December 2015

Cardiac troponins are sensitive and specific markers of myocardial injury. The troponin concentration can be thought of as a quantitative measure of the degree of injury sustained by the heart, however, it provides no information on the cause of injury or the mechanism of troponin release. Conventionally, the cardiac troponins have been used for diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction in humans and have become the gold standard biomarkers for this indication. They have become increasingly recognized as an objective measure of cardiomyocyte status in both cardiac and noncardiac disease, supplying additional information to that provided by echocardiography and ECG. Injury to cardiomyocytes can occur through a variety of mechanisms with subsequent release of troponins. Independent of the underlying disease or the mechanism of troponin release, the presence of myocardial injury is associated with an increased risk of death. As increasingly sensitive assays are introduced, the frequent occurrence of myocardial injury is becoming apparent, and our understanding of its causes and importance is constantly evolving. Presently troponins are valuable for detecting a subgroup of patients with higher risk of death. Future research is needed to clarify whether troponins can serve as monitoring tools guiding treatment, whether administering more aggressive treatment to patients with evidence of myocardial injury is beneficial, and whether normalizing of troponin concentrations in patients presenting with evidence of myocardial injury is associated with reduced risk of death.