bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Clinical, nociceptive and psychological profiling to predict acute pain after total knee arthroplasty
Authors: Luna I. E. , Kehlet H. , Petersen M. A. , Aasvang E. K.
Published: May 2017

Background

Pre‐operative identification of high‐pain responders for acute pain after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) could lead to targeted analgesic trials and individualized analgesic strategies to improve recovery and potentially reduce the risk of persistent post‐surgical pain. The aim of this study was to use simple clinical tests and questionnaires to identify predictive nociceptive and psychological factors for acute post‐TKA pain.

Methods

Sixty consecutive TKA patients were included in a prospective descriptive study of pain during a 5‐m walk‐test 24 h post‐operatively as the primary outcome. Predictive variables collected prior to surgery included demographics, nociceptive testing (pressure pain threshold (PPT), cold pressor tolerance, electrical pain threshold and tolerance) and psychological profile (pain catastrophizing scale (PCS) and hospital anxiety and depression scale). The prediction of acute post‐TKA pain was assessed by univariate analysis, logistic regressions and ROC curves.

Results

Reduced PPT on the arm and increased PCS were predictive variables for moderate/severe post‐TKA pain 24 h after surgery (P = 0.007 and P = 0.026, respectively, R‐squared 0.21) in the logistic regression model. Odds ratios were 0.67 for a 50 kPa increased PPT and 1.36 for a 5 point increase in PCS. A predictive model with cut‐off values of PPT ≤ 245 kPa and PCS≥ 8 point had a sensitivity of 71.4 and a specificity of 62.5.

Conclusion

Pre‐operative widespread pressure pain hypersensitivity and pain catastrophizing are predictive of moderate severe post‐TKA pain. If validated in a larger population, the clinically applicable tests should be considered in future interventions aiming to minimize post‐operative pain in high‐risk patients.
A different inhibitor is required for overcoming entecavir resistance: a comparison of four rescue therapies in a retrospective study
Authors: Yuan Guosheng , Hu Chengguang , Zhou Yuchen , Liu Junwei , Huang Huaping , Li Yuan , Yang Dinghua , Zhou Fuyuan , Zhang Yong‐Yuan , Zhou Yuanping
Published: May 2017

Aims

Little clinical data are available regarding re‐establishing the effective inhibition of entecavir (ETV)‐resistant mutants. In this retrospective study, we aimed to compare the efficacies of four treatment regimens as rescue therapy for those chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with ETV resistance.

Methods

A total of 65 patients with ETV resistance were assigned either with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) monotherapy (n = 21), ETV (0.5 mg) plus adefovir (ADV) combination therapy (n = 19), ETV (1.0 mg) monotherapy (n = 11) or ETV (0.5 mg) plus TDF combination therapy (n = 14). The efficacy and safety of four treatment regimens were compared.

Results

There were no significant differences among the four study groups in baseline characteristics, including HBV DNA levels (χ2 = 0.749, P = 0.862) and hepatitis B e antigen‐positivity (χ2 = 0.099, P = 0.992). The median reduction in serum HBV DNA level from baseline at week 48 was −2.37 ± 1.07 log10 IU ml−1, −2.16 ± 0.81 log10 IU ml−1, −1.17 ± 1.23 log10 IU ml−1 and −2.49 ± 1.10 log10 IU ml−1, respectively (F = 4.078, P = 0.011). The TDF group and ETV (0.5 mg) + TDF group have the highest undetectable HBV DNA rate (76.19% vs. 78.57%) compared to the ETV (0.5 mg) + ADV group and the ETV (1.0 mg) group (63.16% vs. 18.18%, respectively). Two patients in the ETV (1.0 mg) group experienced virological breakthrough at week 48 and was attributed to poor drug adherence.

Conclusions

TDF monotherapy appeared to deliver the highest undetectable HBV DNA rate in patients with ETV resistance, and ADV plus ETV combination therapy could be another choice for patients with financial restraint.
A novel multi‐epitope vaccine from MMSA‐1 and DKK1 for multiple myeloma immunotherapy
Authors: Lu Chenyang , Meng Shan , Jin Yanxia , Zhang Wanggang , Li Zongfang , Wang Fang , Wang‐Johanning Feng , Wei Yongchang , Liu Hailing , Tu Honglei , Su Dan , He Aili , Cao Xingmei , Zhou Fuling
Published: May 2017

The identification of novel tumour‐associated antigens is urgently needed to improve the efficacy of immunotherapy for multiple myeloma (MM). In this study, we identified a membrane protein MMSA‐1 (multiple myeloma special antigen‐1) that was specifically expressed in MM and exhibited significantly positive correlation with MM. We then identified HLA‐A*0201‐restricted MMSA‐1 epitopes and tested their cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response. The MMSA‐1 epitope SLSLLTIYV vaccine was shown to induce an obvious CTL response in vitro. To improve the immunotherapy, we constructed a multi‐epitope peptide vaccine by combining epitopes derived from MMSA‐1 and Dickkopf‐1 (DKK1). The effector T cells induced by multi‐epitope peptide vaccine‐loaded dendritic cells lysed U266 cells more effectively than MMSA‐1/DKK1 single‐epitope vaccine. In myeloma‐bearing severe combined immunodeficient mice, the multi‐epitope vaccine improved the survival rate significantly compared with single‐epitope vaccine. Consistently, multi‐epitope vaccine decreased the tumour volume greatly and alleviated bone destruction. The frequencies of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was significantly increased in mouse blood induced by the multi‐epitope vaccine, indicating that it inhibits myeloma growth by changing T cell subsets and alleviating immune paralysis. This study identified a novel peptide from MMSA‐1 and the multi‐epitope vaccine will be used to establish appropriate individualized therapy for MM.
Superorganismality and caste differentiation as points of no return: how the major evolutionary transitions were lost in translation
Authors: Boomsma Jacobus J. , Gawne Richard
Published: May 2017

More than a century ago, William Morton Wheeler proposed that social insect colonies can be regarded as superorganisms when they have morphologically differentiated reproductive and nursing castes that are analogous to the metazoan germ‐line and soma. Following the rise of sociobiology in the 1970s, Wheeler's insights were largely neglected, and we were left with multiple new superorganism concepts that are mutually inconsistent and uninformative on how superorganismality originated. These difficulties can be traced to the broadened sociobiological concept of eusociality, which denies that physical queen–worker caste differentiation is a universal hallmark of superorganismal colonies. Unlike early evolutionary naturalists and geneticists such as Weismann, Huxley, Fisher and Haldane, who set out to explain the acquisition of an unmated worker caste, the goal of sociobiology was to understand the evolution of eusociality, a broad‐brush convenience category that covers most forms of cooperative breeding. By lumping a diverse spectrum of social systems into a single category, and drawing attention away from the evolution of distinct quantifiable traits, the sociobiological tradition has impeded straightforward connections between inclusive fitness theory and the major evolutionary transitions paradigm for understanding irreversible shifts to higher organizational complexity. We evaluate the history by which these inconsistencies accumulated, develop a common‐cause approach for understanding the origins of all major transitions in eukaryote hierarchical complexity, and use Hamilton's rule to argue that they are directly comparable. We show that only Wheeler's original definition of superorganismality can be unambiguously linked to irreversible evolutionary transitions from context‐dependent reproductive altruism to unconditional differentiation of permanently unmated castes in the ants, corbiculate bees, vespine wasps and higher termites. We argue that strictly monogamous parents were a necessary, albeit not sufficient condition for all transitions to superorganismality, analogous to single‐zygote bottlenecking being a necessary but not sufficient condition for the convergent origins of complex soma across multicellular eukaryotes. We infer that conflict reduction was not a necessary condition for the origin of any of these major transitions, and conclude that controversies over the status of inclusive fitness theory primarily emanate from the arbitrarily defined sociobiological concepts of superorganismality and eusociality, not from the theory itself.
Mutual Gaze During Early Mother–Infant Interactions Promotes Attention Control Development
Authors: Niedźwiecka Alicja , Ramotowska Sonia , Tomalski Przemysław
Published: May 2017

Efficient attention control is fundamental for infant cognitive development, but its early precursors are not well understood. This study investigated whether dyadic visual attention during parent–infant interactions at 5 months of age predicts the ability to control attention at 11 months of age (N = 55). Total duration of mutual gaze (MG) was assessed during free play at 5 months, while infant attention control was measured in a gap‐and‐overlap task at 5 and 11 months. MG predicted attention disengagement at 11 months. Infants who spent more time in MG at 5 months showed better attention control at 11 months. These results provide important insights into developmental pathways linking visual behavior in dyadic interactions with infants’ subsequent attention skills.
Diclofenac for pain associated with intravitreal injections: a prospective, randomized, placebo‐controlled study
Authors: Makri Olga E , Tsapardoni Foteini N , Pagoulatos Dionisios D , Pharmakakis Nikolaos , Georgakopoulos Constantine D
Published: May 2017

Importance

Intravitreal injections (IVI) are often painful.

Background

To evaluate the analgesic effect of diclofenac in patients undergoing IVI.

Design

Single‐centre, prospective, randomized, triple‐arm, placebo‐controlled, interventional study in the University Hospital of Patras.

Participants

Seventy‐four patients.

Methods

Group 1 (n = 25) received topical diclofenac 45 min before IVI, Group 2 (n = 25) received oral diclofenac 4 h before IVI and topical diclofenac while Group 3 (n = 24) received placebo before IVI. Using the short form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF‐MPQ), pain intensity was assessed with the visual analogue scale (VAS), the main component of the SF‐MPQ and the Present Pain Intensity (PPI) scores immediately and 6 h post‐IVI.

Main Outcome Measures

The VAS pain score immediately post‐IVI.

Results

Immediately post‐IVI, patients in Group 2 reported significantly lower VAS pain scores compared to placebo while no statistically significant difference was found between patients that received topical diclofenac and placebo. Six hours post‐IVI, patients in both treatment groups reported significant lower VAS pain scores compared to placebo. The scores of the main component of the SF‐MPQ were significantly lower in patients of treatment groups compared to placebo at both time‐points. Finally, while no statistically significant difference was found between the 3 Groups in PPI scores immediately post‐IVI, 6 h later, patients of both treatment groups reported significantly lower PPI scores compared to placebo.

Conclusions and Relevance

The combination of topical and oral diclofenac demonstrated better analgesic effect than topical diclofenac administration in patients undergoing IVI immediately and up to 6 h post‐IVI.
Childhood obesity treatment: telephone coaching is as good as usual care in maintaining weight loss – a randomized controlled trial
Authors: Bohlin A. , Hagman E. , Klaesson S. , Danielsson P.
Published: May 2017

There is a need for more flexible treatment strategies to help patients reach relevant treatment outcomes and adhere better to treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long‐term efficacy, in terms of patients' weight status, of replacing usual care (UC) physical visits with more frequent but shorter telephone coaching (TC) sessions as part of a structured childhood obesity treatment.

In this controlled study, patients aged 5–14 years from the Södertälje outpatient clinic, Sweden were randomized to either UC or TC over an 18‐month period after participating in an initial standard obesity treatment programme. The patients were followed for a mean of 3.7 years.

In total, 37 children (UC, n = 18 and TC, n = 19) were included, with a mean (standard deviation, SD) age of 9.5 (2.6) years and a body mass index standard deviation score (BMI SDS) of 2.9 (0.7). The change in BMI SDS did not differ between the groups during the study (P = 0.8). Both groups had similar changes in BMI SDS 3.7 years after the first visit to the clinic, TC = − 0.42 and UC = 0.52 BMI SDS units (P = 0.6 between groups). There were no gender differences. Furthermore, the average time clinicians spent with each patient during the study did not differ between the groups (P = 0.5). No patients were lost to follow‐up during the study.

In conclusion, the use of TC may offer greater flexibility in the treatment of paediatric obesity as it was non‐inferior for both treatment efficacy and the time spent on treatment by healthcare personnel.
Combining landscape suitability and habitat connectivity to conserve the last surviving population of cheetah in Asia
Authors: Ahmadi Mohsen , Nezami Balouchi Bagher , Jowkar Houman , Hemami Mahmoud‐Reza , Fadakar Davoud , Malakouti‐Khah Shima , Ostrowski Stéphane
Published: May 2017

Aim

The Asiatic cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus venaticus, a critically endangered large felid, has disappeared from vast tracks of its historical range across south‐western Asia. It is currently confined to the arid ecosystems of central Iran for which little is known about its distribution and habitat linkages. We proposed the first evaluation of Asiatic cheetah's distribution and developed models of landscape suitability and connectivity to inform future conservation planning.

Location

Central Iran.

Methods

We analysed presence data of a 14‐year‐long cheetah monitoring programme according to environmental and anthropogenic factors, and generated an ensemble model of habitat suitability based on seven species distribution models (SDMs). We then used the concept of circuit theory and landscape connectivity prioritization (LCP) on resultant core habitats and landscape suitability to evaluate potential linkages between core areas.

Results

Core habitats, that is, the areas hosting the largest continuous suitable habitats for Asiatic cheetahs, covered approximately 49,144 km2 (c. 6.3% of the study area). Availability of prey species, avoidance of human‐dominated areas and their infrastructures, and rough landscapes covered with sparse vegetation were the most predictive factors of the core habitats for the last cheetah population in Asia. Although relatively vast, the area of potential core habitats available to cheetahs appeared to be fragmented with limited connectivity between the northern and southern parts of this distribution.

Main conclusions

Our approach highlights the importance of distribution models to recognize, at a coarse‐scale level, a spatial population structure and habitat suitability characteristics for a large carnivore surviving at very low density. We have identified specific areas of suitable habitat where developing new landscape protection and adaptive conservation management; and improving the safety of important linkages between core habitats are likely to promote the conservation of the last surviving population of cheetah in Asia.
Age‐related inequalities in health and healthcare: the life stages approach
Authors: Jecker Nancy S.
Published: May 2017

How should healthcare systems prepare to care for growing numbers and proportions of older people? Older people generally suffer worse health than younger people do. Should societies take steps to reduce age‐related health inequalities? Some express concern that doing so would increase age‐related inequalities in healthcare. This paper addresses this debate by (1) presenting an argument in support of three principles for distributing scarce resources between age groups; (2) framing these principles of age group justice in terms of life stages; and (3) indicating policy implications that merit further attention in light of rapidly aging societies.
Descending pathways to the spinal cord in teleosts in comparison with mammals, with special attention to rubrospinal pathways
Authors: Yamamoto Naoyuki , Nakayama Tomoya , Hagio Hanako
Published: May 2017

In this article we review descending neural pathways to the spinal cord in teleosts, compared with mammals. Descending pathways to the spinal cord are crucial in controlling various behaviors in vertebrates. The major difference between teleosts and mammals is the lack of corticospinal (or palliospinal) tracts. Other descending pathways, which originate from the brain stem, are basically identical in teleosts and mammals. This suggests the presence of common systems in the spinal motor control by higher order centers. The homologue of nucleus ruber remained unclear in teleosts until recently, and this review pays special attention to the rubrospinal tract.
Variations in Duchenne muscular dystrophy course in a multi‐ethnic UK population: potential influence of socio‐economic factors
Authors: Hufton Margaret , Roper Helen
Published: May 2017

Aim

To explore variation in clinical course and steroid treatment in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) by ethnic origin and socio‐economic status.

Method

In this longitudinal cohort study, clinical outcome was defined as age at loss of ambulation (LOA). Ages are presented as months for accurate calculation. Steroid use was reviewed against national guidelines. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was used to determine probabilities over time of LOA. Log‐rank test was used to evaluate comparisons between ethnic and socio‐economic groups.

Results

From 2005 to 2014, 71 children were newly diagnosed with DMD. Complete data were available on 69, including 33 of white British heritage and 23 of South Asian heritage. Mean age at diagnosis (without known family history) was 45.7 months; white British ethnicity 42.1 months (range 14–86mo), South Asian ethnicity 50.2 months (range 5–98mo). Twenty‐four males lost ambulation. Those of South Asian heritage lost ambulation earlier (mean LOA 105.8mo [8y 10mo]) than those of white British heritage (mean LOA 117.8mo [9y 10mo]): log‐rank test score 0.012 (p<0.05). Those most deprived did worse: mean age at LOA 130.0 months (10y 10mo) for the top 20 per cent and 102.5 months (8y 6mo) in the lower 20 per cent: log‐rank test score 0.035 (p<0.05). The most socially deprived were diagnosed earlier and started steroids earlier. Of those of South Asian heritage, 18 per cent declined steroids, compared with 9 per cent of white British heritage. Also, 44 per cent of those of South Asian heritage stopped steroids compared with 17 per cent of those of white British heritage.

Interpretation

Patients from South Asian and deprived backgrounds had earlier LOA. Genetic disease modifiers are likely to be implicated, but social and cultural factors influence access to treatment.
The midbrain‐to‐pons ratio distinguishes progressive supranuclear palsy from non‐fluent primary progressive aphasias
Authors: Silsby M. , Tweedie‐Cullen R. Y. , Murray C. R. , Halliday G. M. , Hodges J. R. , Burrell J. R.
Published: May 2017

Background and purpose

To determine the clinical utility of the midbrain‐to‐pons (M/P) ratio as a clinical biomarker of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) in patients with non‐fluent primary progressive aphasia syndromes.

Methods

Patients with PSP, progressive non‐fluent aphasia (PNFA) and logopenic progressive aphasia (LPA) were recruited. Patients were diagnosed clinically, but pathological confirmation was available in a proportion of patients. Midbrain and pons areas were measured using Osirix Lite, a free DICOM viewer. The M/P ratio and Magnetic Resonance Parkinsonism Index were calculated and their diagnostic utility compared.

Results

A total of 72 participants were included (16 PSP, 18 PNFA, 16 LPA and 22 controls). Patients with PSP had motor features typical of the syndrome. Both the M/P ratio and Magnetic Resonance Parkinsonism Index differed significantly in PSP compared with controls. The M/P ratio was disproportionately reduced in PSP compared with PNFA and LPA (PSP, 0.182 ± 0.043; PNFA, 0.255 ± 0.034; LPA, 0.258 ± 0.033; controls, 0.292 ± 0.031; P < 0.001). An M/P ratio of ≤0.215 produced a positive predictive value of 77.8% for the diagnosis of PSP syndrome. Pathological examination revealed Alzheimer's disease in three cases (all LPA), pathological PSP in two cases (one clinical PSP and one PNFA) and corticobasal degeneration in one case (PNFA). The M/P ratio was ≤0.215 in both pathological cases of PSP.

Conclusions

The M/P ratio was disproportionately reduced in PSP, suggesting its potential as a clinical marker of the PSP syndrome. Larger studies of pathologically confirmed cases are needed to establish the M/P ratio as a biomarker of PSP pathology.
A Feminist Analysis of Campus Sexual Assault Policies: Results from a National Sample
Authors: Richards Tara N. , Branch Kathryn A. , Fleury‐Steiner Ruth E. , Kafonek Katherine
Published: May 2017

Institutions of higher education (IHEs) in the United States are obligated to address sexual assault on campus under the Clery Act and Title IX, and a recent surge in societal interest in sexual assault among college students has prompted many IHEs to bolster their response. Little systematic information exists about IHEs' sexual assault policies and services and whether they align with feminist‐based models of advocacy. This study examined annual security reports and student handbooks and codes of conduct for a nationally representative sample of 4‐year IHEs (N = 387) and assessed IHEs' responses to sexual assault on college campuses through the lens of a feminist‐based organizational model. Findings indicate that policies for the sampled IHEs include a mean of 12 of 17 policy components' aligned with feminist models, and 4% of sampled IHEs include all 17 components. Implications for improving IHEs' responses to sexual assault in ways consistent with feminist models are discussed.
The Abuse Litmus Test: A Classroom Tool to Assess Power and Control in On‐Screen Relationships
Authors: Bonomi Amy E. , Eaton Asia A. , Nemeth Julianna M. , Gillum Tameka L.
Published: May 2017

Despite university efforts and recent evidence‐based interventions to reduce campus sexual assault, few systematic approaches have addressed how media depictions of sex and romance that inundate young adults via popular culture help to develop and sustain attitudes and behaviors that tolerate sexual abuse and intimate partner violence as normative. We introduce a feminist‐informed pedagogical tool—drawing from the Duluth Power and Control Wheel and the Women's Experience with Battering Framework—to facilitate college students' decoding of relationship power, control, and harm in popular film, including dynamics relevant to sexual assault. We include step‐by‐step instructions for implementing the tool in classroom settings, including estimated duration, script, sample films, discussion questions, and debriefing procedures (including linking to campus assault dynamics).
Intersectionality and Perceptions About Sexual Assault Education and Reporting on College Campuses
Authors: Worthen Meredith G. F. , Wallace Samantha A.
Published: May 2017

A mixed‐methods design with an intersectional feminist framework was used with 1,899 students at a large Southern university to critically examine (a) how students view the issue of sexual assault on their own campus, (b) how they perceive the status of reporting sexual assault to campus officials, and (c) how they are responding overall to a campus‐wide sexual assault education program. Some privileged groups, especially heterosexual men, were less informed than others about sexual assault and less supportive of campus sexual assault education. In contrast, some marginalized groups, including lesbian, gay, and bisexual students, perceived campus sexual assault to be a more serious issue than did other groups, but they were also most critical of heteronormative biases in most campus programing. Non‐White students were most supportive of sexual assault education. Empirically driven implications for campus sexual assault programs are provided.
Chronic kidney disease: A likely underestimated component of multimorbidity in older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Authors: Corsonello Andrea , Aucella Filippo , Pedone Claudio , Antonelli‐Incalzi Raffaele
Published: May 2017

The coexistence of chronic kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, two age‐related conditions, has important clinical and prognostic implications. Respiratory failure is associated with important changes in glomerular and tubulointerstitial function. In contrast, renal failure can affect lung function, mainly by adding a restrictive component or causing complications, such as uremic pulmonary edema and pleural effusion. The effect of age on renal and pulmonary function adds to the complexity of the interplay between the kidney and the lung in these patients. Chronic kidney disease also represents an important risk factor for adverse drug reactions in older chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients in which multimorbidity and polypharmacy are highly prevalent. Finally, an additive effect of chronic kidney disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease might also contribute to the pathophysiology of sarcopenia. Nevertheless, several gaps in our knowledge of the lung–kidney interplay still exist, thus suggesting further basic and clinical research on this topic. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1770–1788.
In between leaving and being left behind: mediating the mobilities and immobilities of Indonesian non‐migrants
Authors: CHAN CAROL
Published: May 2017

In this article, I consider how and why some non‐migrants partially inhabit migrant subjectivities. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Central Java, Indonesia, I describe the experiences of those who embarked on pre‐departure migration processes, but failed to leave the country. Men were often victims of fraud; women typically ran away from the confines of training centres. When redirected away from the border spaces of airports and recruitment centres, they typically identify themselves and are perceived by kin and neighbours as ‘former’ transnational migrants. I analyse how migration infrastructure – intersecting institutions, agents and technologies – produces such subjectivities in‐between conventional migrant and non‐migrant categories. These positions in between leaving and staying illuminate the infrastructural conditions that enable, constrain and mediate transnational mobilities. These cases of non‐departure show the expansive social and spatial effects of migration infrastructure beyond the facilitation of transnational movement. Such less considered (im)mobilities of non‐migrants point to the diverse ways in which migration institutions and agents mediate the circulation of persons between and within national borders.
Dephosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chain modulates actin–myosin interaction adverse to meat tenderness
Authors: Gao Xing , Li Xin , Li Zheng , Du Manting , Zhang Dequan
Published: May 2017

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between the dephosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chain and actin–myosin interaction after muscle homogenate was treated with alkaline phosphatase and phosphatase inhibitor. The myosin regulatory light chain was significantly dephosphorylated by alkaline phosphatase after incubation. Among different groups, dephosphorylated myosin regulatory light chain to a much greater extent leads to a lower actomyosin dissociation degree, thereby raising the actomyosin ATPase activity, whereas it exhibits a higher actomyosin dissociation degree and a lower actomyosin ATPase activity when the myosin regulatory light chain was in a low dephosphorylated state. The data suggest that the dephosphorylation of myosin regulatory light chain modulates actomyosin dissociation (the number of myosin interact with actin) negatively and has a positive influence on actomyosin ATPase activity (the interacting force between myosin and actin).
Characterisation of microemulsion nanofilms based on Tilapia fish skin gelatine and ZnO nanoparticles incorporated with ginger essential oil: meat packaging application
Authors: Zhang Le , Liu Anjun , Wang Wenhang , Ye Ran , Liu Yaowei , Xiao Jindong , Wang Kun
Published: May 2017

Microemulsion nanofilms based on fish skin gelatine (FSG) and 3% (w/w, gelatine) ZnO nanoparticles (ZnONP) incorporated with ginger essential oil (GEO) at different concentration (10%, 20%, 40%, 80%, w/w, gelatine) were developed and characterised. Film thickness and elongation increased, while film tensile strength and gel strength decreased as GEO level increased (P < 0.05). The water vapour permeability was reduced (P < 0.05) by GEO. Microstructural study revealed a dispersion system with GEO lipid droplet embedded into FSG matrix and some aggregation. The developed films showed strong antibacterial activity against food spoilage bacterial of psychrotrophs, mesophiles and lactobacillus spp. (LAB) in situ, and food pathogenic bacteria of Escherichia coli and Listeria monocytogenes in vitro. Together with the antioxidant activity towards lipid oxidation, the release of total volatile bases nitrogen (TVB‐N) was subsequently reduced during fresh meat storage. In conclusion, the incorporation of GEO provided the potential to make FSG‐ZnONP films more available for meat storage.
Father's Labour Migration and Children's School Discontinuation in Rural Mozambique
Authors: Yabiku Scott T. , Agadjanian Victor
Published: May 2017

We examine how the discontinuation of schooling among left‐behind children is related to multiple dimensions of male labour migration: the accumulation of migration experience, the timing of these migration experiences in the child's life course, and the economic success of the migration. Our setting is rural southern Mozambique, an impoverished area with massive male labour out‐migration. Results show that fathers’ economically successful labour migration is more beneficial for children's schooling than unsuccessful migration or non‐migration. There are large differences, however, by gender: compared with sons of non‐migrants, sons of migrant fathers (regardless of migration success) have lower rates of school discontinuation, while daughters of migrant fathers have rates of school discontinuation like those of daughters of non‐migrants. Furthermore, accumulated labour migration across the child's life course is beneficial for boys’ schooling, but not girls’. Remittances sent in the past year reduce the rate of discontinuation for sons, but not daughters.
The effect of yield rate in a general price‐setting newsvendor model with a yield‐dependent secondary market
Authors: Yu Li , Pei Jun , Liu Xinbao , Fan Wenjuan , Pardalos Panos M.
Published: May 2017

We considered a general price‐setting newsvendor model in which the firm needs to make joint inventory and pricing decisions for short life‐cycle products before the selling season. The firm's production is subject to random yield and the retailer faces uncertain demand. There exists a secondary market for the firm to acquire or dispose of products. We study the effects of yield randomness on optimal decisions and the expected profit in the cost structure, on the condition that the unit prices of the secondary emergency purchase and sale are random functions of the yield. Using the theory of stochastic comparisons, our key findings are as follows. (a) When the unit price of secondary emergency purchase is nonincreasing with the yield realization, a stochastically larger yield rate leads to a higher expected profit for both supply cases. Moreover, for the multiplicative supply case, a stochastically larger yield rate results in a lower optimal sale price, but this is not true in the additive supply case. Numerical examples show that the effect of the yield rate on the optimal order quantity is uncertain for two supply cases. (b) When the unit price of secondary emergency purchase is nonincreasing convexly with the yield realization, a less variable yield rate leads to a higher expected profit for both supply cases. Numerical examples illustrate that the effects of the yield rate on the optimal sale price and the optimal order quantity are also uncertain. (c) Based on graphical comparisons, we find that the effect of yield randomness has a more significant impact on supply chain performance with a yield‐dependent secondary market price than that with a constant secondary market price.
Assessing the efficiency of the accounting industry using multiactivity network DEA: evidence from Taiwan
Authors: Hsiao Bo , Shu LihChyun , Chou Fang‐Yu
Published: May 2017

Accounting firms are highly specialized and subject to government recognition through professional licenses. Accordingly, in assessing an accounting firm's performance, the performance measurement system should be generic enough to provide an integrated view of important factors from different perspectives. However, traditional performance measurements are based on several predefined factors that provide a partial view of the system or are limited to a single activity, thereby ignoring their interactions. This study proposes a modified data envelopment analysis model with multiactivity and network techniques on accounting firms. It creates a realistic approach to adequately measure the efficiency of the accounting industry and to suggest possible improvements for accounting firms. To verify the effectiveness of the model, we assessed the performance of 298 Taiwanese accounting firms in 2010 with three parallel‐connected activities and two series‐connected performance management processes. The results show that Taiwanese accounting firms greatly benefit from service processes and taxation activities.
Pedigree‐based estimation of covariance between dominance deviations and additive genetic effects in closed rabbit lines considering inbreeding and using a computationally simpler equivalent model
Authors: Fernández E.N. , Legarra A. , Martínez R. , Sánchez J.P. , Baselga M.
Published: May 2017

Inbreeding generates covariances between additive and dominance effects (breeding values and dominance deviations). In this work, we developed and applied models for estimation of dominance and additive genetic variances and their covariance, a model that we call “full dominance,” from pedigree and phenotypic data. Estimates with this model such as presented here are very scarce both in livestock and in wild genetics. First, we estimated pedigree‐based condensed probabilities of identity using recursion. Second, we developed an equivalent linear model in which variance components can be estimated using closed‐form algorithms such as REML or Gibbs sampling and existing software. Third, we present a new method to refer the estimated variance components to meaningful parameters in a particular population, i.e., final partially inbred generations as opposed to outbred base populations. We applied these developments to three closed rabbit lines (A, V and H) selected for number of weaned at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. Pedigree and phenotypes are complete and span 43, 39 and 14 generations, respectively. Estimates of broad‐sense heritability are 0.07, 0.07 and 0.05 at the base versus 0.07, 0.07 and 0.09 in the final generations. Narrow‐sense heritability estimates are 0.06, 0.06 and 0.02 at the base versus 0.04, 0.04 and 0.01 at the final generations. There is also a reduction in the genotypic variance due to the negative additive–dominance correlation. Thus, the contribution of dominance variation is fairly large and increases with inbreeding and (over)compensates for the loss in additive variation. In addition, estimates of the additive–dominance correlation are −0.37, −0.31 and 0.00, in agreement with the few published estimates and theoretical considerations.
Genomic variance estimates: With or without disequilibrium covariances?
Authors: Lehermeier C. , de los Campos G. , Wimmer V. , Schön C.‐C.
Published: May 2017

Whole‐genome regression methods are often used for estimating genomic heritability: the proportion of phenotypic variance that can be explained by regression on marker genotypes. Recently, there has been an intensive debate on whether and how to account for the contribution of linkage disequilibrium (LD) to genomic variance. Here, we investigate two different methods for genomic variance estimation that differ in their ability to account for LD. By analysing flowering time in a data set on 1,057 fully sequenced Arabidopsis lines with strong evidence for diversifying selection, we observed a large contribution of covariances between quantitative trait loci (QTL) to the genomic variance. The classical estimate of genomic variance that ignores covariances underestimated the genomic variance in the data. The second method accounts for LD explicitly and leads to genomic variance estimates that when added to error variance estimates match the sample variance of phenotypes. This method also allows estimating the covariance between sets of markers when partitioning the genome into subunits. Large covariance estimates between the five Arabidopsis chromosomes indicated that the population structure in the data led to strong LD also between physically unlinked QTL. By consecutively removing population structure from the phenotypic variance using principal component analysis, we show how population structure affects the magnitude of LD contribution and the genomic variance estimates obtained with the two methods.
Accuracy of genomic breeding values revisited: Assessment of two established approaches and a novel one to determine the accuracy in two‐step genomic prediction
Authors: Ni G. , Kipp S. , Simianer H. , Erbe M.
Published: May 2017

Selection decisions in genomic selection schemes are made based on genomic breeding values (GBV) of candidates. Thus, the accuracy of GBV is a relevant parameter, as it reflects the stability of prediction and the possibility that the GBV might change when more information becomes available. Accuracy of genomic prediction defined as the correlation between GBV and true breeding values (TBV), however, is difficult to assess, considering TBV of the candidates are not available in reality. In previous studies, several methods were proposed to assess the accuracy of GBV including methods using population parameters or parameters inferred from mixed‐model equations. In practice, most approaches tended to overestimate the accuracy of genomic prediction. We thus tested approaches used in previous studies in order to assess the magnitude of bias. Analyses were performed based on simulated data under a variety of scenarios mimicking different livestock breeding programmes. Furthermore, we proposed a novel method and tested it both with simulated data and in a real Holstein data set. The new method provided a better prediction for the accuracy of GBV in the simulated scenarios.
Costs and benefits of interlarval cannibalism in Harmonia axyridis
Authors: Reznik S. Y. , Ovchinnikov A. N. , Ovchinnikova A. A. , Belyakova N. A.
Published: May 2017

Cannibalism, which is rather common in ladybirds, has been usually studied at the individual level: benefits of cannibalism for cannibals were estimated. Our study was conducted at the group level: we evaluated the overall effect of interlarval cannibalism on a group of Harmonia axyridis larvae of the fourth instar deprived of food, including both cannibals and their victims. Experiments showed that the probability of pupation in larvae which were kept individually was significantly higher than in larvae kept in groups of five, other conditions being the same. The proportion of samples in which at least one of five individuals pupated among the larvae kept individually was also higher than among those kept in groups suggesting that the eventual benefit of cannibalism was outweighed by the negative impact of aggressive interlarval interactions. The mean and minimum survival time in samples where none of five larvae pupated were longer when larvae were kept individually than when larvae were kept in groups. However, the maximum survival time (the survival time of the last larva in a sample) increased when larvae were kept in groups, which was the only one benefit of cannibalism found in our study. Under natural conditions, the possible adaptive value of this effect is that in the absence of natural prey, longer larval survival time proportionally increases the possibility of finding a new prey patch thereby ensuring survival of the population.
Has evidence‐based medicine ever been modern? A Latour‐inspired understanding of a changingEBM
Authors: Wieringa Sietse , Engebretsen Eivind , Heggen Kristin , Greenhalgh Trish
Published: May 2017

Evidence‐based health care (EBHC), previously evidence‐based medicine (EBM), is considered by many to have modernized health care and brought it from an authority‐based past to a more rationalist, scientific grounding. But recent concerns and criticisms pose serious challenges and urge us to look at the fundamentals of a changing EBHC.

In this paper, we present French philosopher Bruno Latour's vision on modernity as a framework to discuss current changes in the discourse on EBHC/EBM. Drawing on Latour's work, we argue that the early EBM movement had a strong modernist agenda with an aim to “purify” clinical reality into a dichotomy of objective “evidence” from nature and subjective “preferences” from human society and culture.

However, we argue that this shift has proved impossible to achieve in reality. Several recent developments appear to point to a demise of purified evidence in the EBHC discourse and a growing recognition—albeit implicit and undertheorized—that evidence in clinical decision making is relentlessly situated and contextual. The unique, individual patient, not abstracted truths from distant research studies, must be the starting point for clinical practice. It follows that the EBHC community needs to reconsider the assumption that science should be abstracted from culture and acknowledge that knowledge from human culture and nature both need translation and interpretation. The implications for clinical reasoning are far reaching. We offer some preliminary principles for conceptualizing EBHC as a “situated practice” rather than as a sequence of research‐driven abstract decisions.
When the Kids Live at Home: Coresidence, Parental Assets, and Economic Insecurity
Authors: Maroto Michelle
Published: May 2017

This study uses National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 cohort data from 1994 through 2012 (N = 16,108 person‐years, 4,671 individuals) to investigate how coresidence with adult children influences asset levels among parents. It applies hybrid mixed effects regression models that partition between‐ and within‐person variation to estimate parental savings and financial assets over time and across different households. The results suggest that coresidence with adult children led to decreases in parental assets and savings. In the years in which their children lived at home, parents held 24% less in financial assets and 23% less in savings when compared with the years when adult children were not present. By expanding previous research that shows a relationship between increasing economic insecurity, limited wealth, and the rise in coresidence among young adults, this study also offers broader implications for the interconnectivity of financial hardship across generations.
Parental Modeling and Deidentification in Romantic Relationships Among Mexican‐Origin Youth
Authors: Kuo Sally I‐Chun , Wheeler Lorey A. , Updegraff Kimberly A. , McHale Susan M. , Umaña‐Taylor Adriana J. , Perez‐Brena Norma J.
Published: May 2017

This study investigated youth's modeling of and deidentification from parents in romantic relationships using two phases of data from adolescent siblings, mothers, and fathers in 246 Mexican‐origin families. Each parent reported his and her marital satisfaction and conflict, and youth reported on parent–adolescent warmth and conflict at Time 1. Youth's reports of modeling of and deidentification from their mothers and fathers and three romantic relationship outcomes were assessed at Time 2. Findings revealed that higher parental marital satisfaction, lower marital conflict, and higher warmth and lower conflict in parent–adolescent relationships were associated with more modeling and less deidentification from parents. Moreover, higher deidentification was linked to a greater likelihood of youth being involved in a romantic relationship and cohabitation, whereas more modeling was linked to a lower likelihood of cohabitation and older age of first sex. Discussion underscores the importance of assessing parental modeling and deidentification and understanding correlates of these processes.
Arab‐Levantine personality structure: A psycholexical study of modern standard Arabic in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and the West Bank
Authors: Zeinoun Pia , Daouk‐Öyry Lina , Choueiri Lina , van de Vijver Fons J. R.
Published: May 2017

Objective

The debate of whether personality traits are universal or culture‐specific has been informed by psycholexical (or lexical) studies conducted in tens of languages and cultures. We contribute to this debate through a series of studies in which we investigated personality descriptors in Modern Standard Arabic, the variety of Arabic that is presumably common to about 26 countries and native to more than 200 million people.

Method

We identified an appropriate source of personality descriptors, extracted them, and systematically reduced them to 167 personality traits that are common, are not redundant with each other, and are familiar and commonly understood in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and the West Bank (Palestinian territories).

Results

We then analyzed self‐ and peer ratings (N = 806) and identified a six‐factor solution comprising Morality (I), Conscientiousness (II), Positive Emotionality (III), Dominance (IV), Agreeableness/Righteousness (V), and Emotional Stability (VI) without replicating an Openness factor.

Conclusions

The factors were narrower or broader variants of factors found in the Big Five and HEXACO models. Conceptual and methodological considerations may have impacted the factor structure.
Ratings of affective and interpersonal tendencies differ for grandiose and vulnerable narcissism: A replication and extension of Gore and Widiger (2016)
Authors: Hyatt Courtland S. , Sleep Chelsea E. , Lynam Donald R. , Widiger Thomas A. , Campbell W. Keith , Miller Joshua D.
Published: May 2017

Objective

Theoretical conceptions of narcissism have long been characterized by two seemingly opposing poles: grandiosity and vulnerability. The goal of the current study was to investigate the extent to which traits associated with one profile are perceived to co‐occur with the other within an individual.

Method

Lay raters (N = 862; 56% female; 80% Caucasian; Mage = 37) recruited from Amazon's MTurk were assigned to one of four conditions in which they rated how often a series of narcissistic traits were displayed by a prototypical grandiose narcissist, a vulnerable narcissist, a close friend, or themselves. Vulnerable narcissism items were specifically worded to assess internalizing‐ versus externalizing‐based emotional responses.

Results

Results suggest that grandiosely narcissistic individuals are seen as responding angrily to ego‐threatening situations, whereas vulnerably narcissistic individuals are seen as responding with a broader array of negative emotions, including anger, sadness, and shame. In contrast, vulnerably narcissistic individuals were not rated as consistently demonstrating behaviors, attitudes, or cognitions associated with grandiose narcissism.

Conclusions

Grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic individuals both exhibit anger in response to ego threat, but sadness/shame responses are more characteristic of vulnerable narcissism.