bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Implementation of a structured hospital-wide morbidity and mortality rounds model
Authors: Kwok Edmund S H , Calder Lisa A , Barlow-Krelina Emily , Mackie Craig , Seely Andrew J E , Cwinn A Adam , Worthington James R , Frank Jason R
Published: June 2016

Importance

There is a paucity of literature on the quality and effectiveness of institutional morbidity & mortality (M&M) rounds processes.

Objective

We sought to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a hospital-wide structured M&M rounds model at improving the quality of M&M rounds across multiple specialties.

Design, setting, participants

We conducted a prospective interventional study involving 24 clinical groups (1584 physicians) at a tertiary care teaching hospital from January 2013 to June 2015.

Intervention

We implemented the published Ottowa M&M Model (OM3): appropriate case selection, cognitive/system issues analyses, interprofessional participation, dissemination of lessons and effector mechanisms.

Main outcomes and measures

We created an OM3 scoring index reflecting these elements to measure the quality of M&M rounds. Secondary outcomes include explicit discussions of cognitive/system issues and resultant action items.

Results

OM3 scores for all participating groups improved significantly from a median of 12.0/24 (95% CI 10 to 14) to 20.0/24 (95% CI 18 to 21). An increased frequency of in-rounds discussion around cognitive biases (pre 154/417 (37%), post 256/466 (55%); p<0.05) and system issues (pre 175/417 (42%), post 259/466 (62%); p<0.05) were reported by participants via online surveys postintervention, while in-person surveys throughout the intervention period demonstrated even higher frequencies (cognitive biases 1222/1437 (85%); system issues 1250/1437 (87%)). We found 45 action items resulting directly from M&M rounds postintervention, compared with none preintervention.

Conclusions and relevance

Implementation of a structured model enhanced the quality of M&M rounds with demonstrable policy improvements hospital wide. The OM3 can be feasibly implemented at other hospitals to effectively improve quality of M&M rounds across different specialties.
Clinical outcomes after rescue extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest
Authors: Ha Tae Sun , Yang Jeong Hoon , Cho Yang Hyun , Chung Chi Ryang , Park Chi-Min , Jeon Kyeongman , Suh Gee Young
Published: June 2016

Aim

Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) has been shown to have survival benefit in patients who had in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA). However, limited data are available on the role of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Therefore, we aimed to investigate clinical outcomes and predictors of in-hospital mortality in patients who had OHCA and who underwent ECPR.

Methods

From January 2004 to December 2013, 235 patients who received ECPR were enrolled in a retrospective, single-centre, observational registry. Among those, we studied 35 adult patients who had OHCA. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality.

Results

Among 35 patients with a median age of 55 years (IQR 45–64), 29 (82.9%) of whom were male, ECMO implantation was successful in all and 10 patients (28.6%) lived to be discharged from the hospital. In 18 cases (51.4%), first monitored rhythms were identified as ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation, that is, shockable rhythm. There were no differences between in-hospital survivors and non-survivors regarding median time of arrest to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) (survivors: 23.5 min (IQR 18.8–27.3) vs non-survivors: 20.0 min (IQR 15.0–24.5); p=0.41) and median time of CPR to ECMO pump-on (survivors: 61.0 min (IQR 39.8–77.8) vs non-survivors 50.0 min (IQR 44.0–72.5); p=0.50). In 23 cases (65.7%), ischaemic heart disease was diagnosed and successful revascularisation was achieved in a significantly higher proportion of the survivor group (8/10 (80.0%)) than the non-survivor group (8/25 (32.0%)) (p=0.02). Witnessed arrest (HR=3.96; 95% CI 1.38 to 11.41; p=0.01), bystander CPR (HR=4.05; 95% CI 1.56 to 10.42; p=0.004) and successful revascularisation (HR=2.90; 95% CI 1.23 to 6.86; p=0.02) were independent predictors of survival-to-discharge in patients who had OHCA in univariate Cox regression analysis.

Conclusion

Survival rate for ECPR in the setting of OHCA remains poor. Our findings suggest that ECMO implantation should be very carefully considered in highly selected patients who had OHCA with little no-flow time and a reversible cause.
Antibiotics for tonsillitis: should the emergency department emulate general practice?
Authors: Kanji Kamil , Saatci Defne , Rao Gopal G , Khanna Priya , Bassett Paul , Williams Bhanu , Khan Murtuza
Published: June 2016

Objectives

To determine whether antibiotics are prescribed appropriately for acute tonsillitis in an emergency department (ED).

Methods

Cross-sectional observational study in large district general hospital in London. Patients diagnosed and coded with ‘acute tonsillitis’ in the ED over a 3-month period in 2015. Medical records were reviewed for Centor criteria, which is a clinical scoring system to guide antibiotic prescribing in UK general practice. Drug charts were reviewed for the specific antibiotic(s) prescribed, and throat swab (TS) cultures were recorded.

Results

273/389 patients with tonsillitis were analysed—186 children, 87 adults. Exclusions were missing patient records (86), patients had/awaiting tonsillectomy (22), receiving antibiotics (6) and immunocompromised (2). Centor score (CS) was not recorded for any patient. Based on derived CS from documented signs/symptoms, antibiotics were prescribed inappropriately to 196/273 patients (80%; 95% CI 74% to 85%) including broad-spectrum antibiotics to 25%. These included co-amoxiclav (18%), amoxicillin (6%), azithromycin (0.5%) and ceftriaxone (0.5%). TSs were taken in 66/273(24%) patients; 10/66 were positive for group A streptococcus (GAS). However, 48/56 GAS negative patients were prescribed antibiotics.

Conclusions

CS was not being used in the ED to guide antibiotic prescribing for acute tonsillitis. Antibiotic prescribing was based on clinical judgement. Based on derived CS (<3), 80% of patients were inappropriately prescribed antibiotics, particularly broad-spectrum antibiotics. Further studies need to assess use of CS to guide antibiotic prescription in ED. TSs were commonly performed in the ED but did not either improve diagnosis or guide antibiotic prescription.
What is included with your online e-cigarette order? An analysis of e-cigarette shipping, product and packaging features
Authors: Kong Amanda Y , Derrick Jason C , Abrantes Anthony S , Williams Rebecca S
Published: June 2016

Background

The electronic cigarette industry is growing, with youth using e-cigarettes at higher rates than they are using cigarettes, and retail and online sales projected to reach $10 billion in 2017. Minimal regulation of the production and marketing of e-cigarettes exists to date, which has allowed companies to promote unsupported claims. We assessed the shipping, product features and packaging of a wide variety of e-cigarettes purchased online by adults and youth.

Methods

The most popular internet e-cigarette vendors were identified from a larger study of internet tobacco vendors. Between August 2013 and June 2014, adults made 56 purchase attempts from online vendors, and youth made 98 attempts. Packages received were assessed for exterior and internal packaging features, including product information, health warnings and additional materials.

Results

We analysed a total of 125 orders featuring 86 unique brands of e-cigarettes. The contents were rarely indicated on package exteriors. Product information came with just 60% of orders and just 38.4% included an instruction manual. Only 44.6% of products included a health warning, and some had unsupported claims, such as lack of secondhand smoke exposure. Additionally, some products were leaking e-liquid and battery fluid on arrival.

Conclusions

A large variety of e-cigarette products are manufactured and marketed to consumers. Many products do not include instructions for use, and unsupported claims are being presented to consumers. Effective federal regulation of the manufacturing, packaging, product information and health claims surrounding e-cigarettes is necessary to ensure consumers are presented with accurate e-cigarette use information.
Ecotype-correlated variations in germination and seedling growth of Zataria multiflora
Authors: Sadeghi Hossein , Robati Zahra
Published: June 2016

Zataria multiflora Boiss. is a rare aromatic species endemic to the southern and southwestern regions of Iran. It is a species that is not under cultivation anywhere else in the world and is only gathered from the wild by amateur collectors. Its cultivation and domestication is very limited. Hence, we investigated the seed germination behaviour and seedling growth of different ecotypes of Z. multiflora collected from 6 sites in Iran (Jam, Ab-garm, Layzangan, Dashte-khak, Kooh-namak, and Chehel-cheshmeh) in late spring. The experiment was carried out at College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran, in 2012. The statistical differences among the ecotypes were determined through variance analysis (ANOVA). The results of the pot experiment showed that ecotype had a significant difference for the total germination percentage, number of leaves per plant, plant height, fresh mass, dry mass, relative water content, and antioxidant enzyme activity. Differences in growth performance were also noted in relation to the altitude of the six test populations: ecotypes at a higher altitude exhibited lower germination rates and plant height. This study is significant for land managers and conservation agencies with an interest in optimizing the germination of arid-zone seeds for rehabilitation of this threatened species.
Causes of mortality in depleted populations of Atlantic cod estimated from multi-event modelling of mark–recapture and recovery data
Authors: Fernández-Chacón Albert , Moland Even , Espeland Sigurd Heiberg , Kleiven Alf Ring , Olsen Esben Moland
Published: June 2016

Knowledge on mortality causes is key for an effective management of animal populations and can help to restore depleted fish stocks. Here we investigated the mortality dynamics of coastal Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in Skagerrak, southern Norway, by analyzing local mark–recapture and recovery data collected from 2005 to 2013 (N = 9360 fish, mean length = 41 cm, range = 16–93 cm). By applying multi-event models to the data, we could link field observations to multiple “dead states” and estimate the proportion of deaths associated with different fishing gears while controlling for unobserved mortality and detection errors. Deaths due to hand lines and fixed gear types were dominant compared with other causes, especially in legal-sized cod (≥40 cm). Gear-specific mortality changed over time and between size classes, but annual survival remained low and stable (∼0.3). Assuming fully additive mortality, we predicted annual survival of cod to be above 0.5 if only one or both of the dominant gear types were removed, providing insights on the relative impact of diverse harvesting practices on local population dynamics.
Study of black hole as dissipative structure using negentropy
Authors: Mahulikar Shripad P. , Rastogi Pallavi
Published: June 2016

The area of the event horizon of a black hole (Aeh) is so far linked only with its entropy (SBH). In this theoretical investigation, it is shown that relating Aeh only to SBH is inadequate, because Aeh is linked to the black hole’s negentropy, which encompasses its entropy. Increasing Aeh of black holes that grow now follows from the negentropy theorem (NET) and also from the well-known area theorem. The decreasing Aeh of black holes that decay follows from the converse to NET and is not a violation of the area theorem. The corollary to NET is proved for the case when two dissipative structures merge, which is the basis for the coalescence of black holes. The converse of corollary to NET explains negentropy loss due to splitting of a dissipative structure. When applied to black hole explosion (i.e., splitting into an infinite number of parts), converse of corollary to NET reduces to converse of NET. The entropy/energy ratio of the exported Hawking radiance from black holes contributes to the entropy increase of the universe. These aspects justify the consideration of black holes as thermodynamic dissipative structures.
Physics potential and motivations for a muon collider
Authors: Greco Mario
Published: June 2016

The discovery of the Higgs particle is demanding a detailed knowledge of the properties of this fundamental component of the Standard Model. From the available data however, it cannot be concluded yet that we have found the SM Higgs boson and not one of the scalars postulated within the possible extensions of the SM. It is shown that a Higgs factory through a muon collider is particularly appropriate for precision studies of the properties of this particle. However sizable QED radiative effects — of order of 50% — must be carefully taken into account for a precise measurement of the leptonic and total widths of the Higgs particle. The results presented here are mainly based on a recent work in collaboration of Tao Han and Zhen Liu.
Critical behavior of cross sections at LHC
Authors: Dremin I. M.
Published: June 2016

Recent experimental data on elastic scattering of high energy protons show that the critical regime has been reached at LHC energies. The approach to criticality is demonstrated by increase of the ratio of elastic to total cross sections from ISR to LHC energies. At LHC it reaches the value which can result in principal change of the character of proton interactions. The treatment of new physics of hollowed toroid-like hadrons requires usage of another branch of the unitarity condition. Its further fate is speculated and interpreted with the help of the unitarity condition in combination with present experimental data. The gedanken experiments to distinguish between different possibilities are proposed.
Radiative transitions in charm-strange meson from Nf = 2 twisted mass lattice QCD
Authors: Li Ning , Wu Ya-Jie
Published: June 2016

We present an exploratory study on the radiative transition for the charm-strange meson: [Formula: see text] using [Formula: see text] twisted mass lattice quantum chromodynamics gauge configurations. The form factor for [Formula: see text] meson is also determined. The simulation is performed on lattices with lattice spacings [Formula: see text] fm and lattice size [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] fm and lattice size [Formula: see text], respectively. Our numerical results for radiative decay width and the experimental data overlap within the margin of error.
Error Probability Model for IEEE 802.15.4 Wireless Communication
Authors: Pešović Uroš , Planinšič Peter
Published: June 2016

Wireless transmission compliant to IEEE 802.15.4 standard can be significantly affected by background noise, multipath fading and interference from other radio sources. The influence of such disturbances is most commonly expressed in a form of error probability statistics. Accurate analytical error probability model is hard to acquire, since IEEE 802.15.4 standard uses imperfect spreading sequences. Some prior works in this field tend to idealize these imperfect spreading sequences in order to simplify calculations for error probability parameters. This paper presents an analytical error probability model for IEEE 802.15.4 communication in Rician fading channel, which uses original imperfect spreading sequences without their idealization. Proposed error probability model consists of mutually dependent chip, symbol, bit and packet error probability models. Presented theoretical results are confirmed by independent numerical simulation of IEEE 802.15.4 transmission through Rician fading channel according to the Monte Carlo method.
Hadron physics from lattice QCD
Authors: Bietenholz Wolfgang
Published: June 2016

We sketch the basic ideas of the lattice regularization in Quantum Field Theory, the corresponding Monte Carlo simulations, and applications to Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD). This approach enables the numerical measurement of observables at the non-perturbative level. We comment on selected results, with a focus on hadron masses and the link to Chiral Perturbation Theory. At last, we address two outstanding issues: topological freezing and the sign problem.
Bilaterals, Trilaterals and G2: Pragmatic Hedging Between Great Powers and the Role of the Middle Powers and Small States in Northeast Asia
Authors: LIM Tai Wei
Published: June 2016

Trilateral diplomacy offers an opportunity for Northeast Asian leaders to meet and talk in a business-like manner, rather than having the region risk skirmishes between maritime coastguards and fishermen, helicopter landings by politicians on disputed islands and icy-cold poses during leadership summits. In such conversations, the United States remains the most acceptable common denominator for other large states and middle powers in the international community.
Xi Jinping Overhauls the People’s Liberation Army
Authors: GORE Lance L P
Published: June 2016

The overhaul of the People’s Liberation Army will move it away from its Soviet-style command and control structures towards the American model, which is believed to be more adapted to the new security environment and facilitates long distance power projection to protect China’s far-flung national interest abroad. The Communist Party’s organisational presence is reaffirmed to ensure the loyalty of the military as the Party considers it the ultimate source of its power and final defence of its rule.
China’s “Two Centenary Goals”: Progress and Challenge
Authors: LU Ding
Published: June 2016

The Chinese Communist Party’s has openly committed itself to fulfil the “Liang Ge Yibai Nian (Two Centenary) Goals” by years 2021 and 2049. To achieve these ambitious goals, China has to sustain sufficiently high annual growth rates of its economy in the coming years and decades. This endeavour faces serious challenges as China’s economic growth is being pinned down by demographic and structural changes.
China’s Ethnic Policy Since 2009
Authors: LIANG Yongjia
Published: June 2016

After the 2009 Ürümqi Riot, heavy measures to maintain stability have dominated China’s ethnic policy; the authority has also provided wide-range social welfare for acquiring loyalty. In September 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping laid out his ethnic policy, including insistence on the Ethnic Regional Autonomy, a multi-culturalist outlook, equal access to public services, stronger local governance, rule of law and nurturing of new ethnic elites. Many follow-up policies have been publicised, but challenges remain.
The CBDR Principle in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Authors: Ye Jiang
Published: June 2016

This article analyzes the origin of the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR)” and its role in formulating the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It then explores the potential influence of the principle on the implementation of the goals set forth in the new agenda. Widely known as a principle to address environmental and climate-related challenges, CBDR actually stems from an important concept in international law on the protection of “common heritage of mankind.” For a long time, it seemed unnecessary for the United Nations to specify the CBDR principle in development-related UN official documents due to the separation between North-South cooperation and South-South cooperation. The CBDR principle was finally incorporated into the new UN 2030 Agenda mainly because the agenda managed to merge the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and it became universally applicable to all UN member states, notwithstanding their divergent capabilities to implement these goals. The linkage between policy coherence for sustainable development (PCSD) and CBDR in the implementation of the new agenda is a very good example illustrating why the international community has to uphold the CBDR principle in implementing the UN 2030 Agenda.
The Paris Climate Agreement and China’s Role in Global Climate Governance
Authors: Yu Hongyuan
Published: June 2016

Since the first global summit on climate change was held in 1992, the international community has managed to adopt a series of agreements and action plans to coordinate efforts of all countries to tackle the existing and potential challenges caused by climate change. Yet due to a lack of legally binding mechanisms and the huge discrepancy between developed and developing countries in their respective responsibilities, little progress has been made in international climate negotiation over the past decade. With the joint endeavor of major greenhouse gas emitters, especially emerging economies like China, the first-ever universal, legally binding global climate deal, the Paris Climate Agreement, was adopted in December 2015, setting up the legal framework of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and relevant international institutions to combat climate change on a reinterpreted principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR).” Conducive as it is to the institutions and working model of global climate governance, the agreement will attach more responsibilities to developing countries including China. Having developed a strong resolution and given many open international commitments to assume more responsibilities in combating climate change, China should develop a green-growth approach while providing more public goods for the international community, so as to make its best contributions to future global climate governance.
The Messinian salinity crisis: open problems and possible implications for Mediterranean petroleum systems
Authors: Roveri Marco , Gennari Rocco , Lugli Stefano , Manzi Vinicio , Minelli Nicola , Reghizzi Matteo , Riva Angelo , Rossi Massimo E. , Schreiber B. Charlotte
Published: June 2016

A general agreement on what actually happened during the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC) has been reached in the minds of most geologists but, in the deepest settings of the Mediterranean Basin, the picture is still far from being finalized and several different scenarios for the crisis have been proposed, with different significant implications for hydrocarbon exploration. The currently accepted MSC paradigm of the ‘shallow-water deep-basin’ model, which implies high-amplitude sea-level oscillations (> 1500 m) of the Mediterranean up to its desiccation, is usually considered as fact. As a consequence, it is on this model that the implications of the MSC events on the Mediterranean petroleum systems are commonly based.

In fact, an alternative, deep-water, non-desiccated scenario of the MSC is possible: it (i) implies the permanence of a large water body in the Mediterranean throughout the entire Messinian salinity crisis, but with strongly reduced Atlantic connections; and (ii) envisages a genetic link between Messinian erosion of the Mediterranean margins and deep brine development.

In this work, we focus on the strong implications of an assessment of the petroleum systems of the Mediterranean and adjoining areas (e.g. the Black Sea Basin) that can be based on such a non-desiccated MSC scenario. In particular, the near-full basin model delivers a more realistic definition of Messinian source-rock generation and distribution, as well as of the magnitude of water-unloading processes and their effects on hydrocarbon accumulation.
Social functions of historical studies of Chinese geology
Authors: Zhang Jiuchen
Published: June 2016

The beginnings of Chinese research on the history of geology coincided with the founding of the institutions for geological research in the country. Research on the history of geology in China can be divided into three phases, each of which served a different purpose. This article analyses the methodology used and the subjects investigated in this field of research. The defects in the approaches used in the work of some scholars are indicated and strategic directions for future studies are suggested.
Life and geological studies of Joaquín Frenguelli
Authors: Riccardi Alberto C.
Published: June 2016

Joaquín Frenguelli was born in Rome, Italy in 1883 and died in Santa Fe, Argentina in 1958. After receiving his PhD in medicine from Rome University, he moved to Argentina in 1911 and worked as a medical doctor in the cities of Santa Fe and Córdoba until 1929. From 1920 until 1933 he was a professor of geology at the Littoral National University. In 1934 he moved to La Plata, where he was director of the Museum of Natural Sciences (1935–46). The scientific work of Frenguelli is characterized by its scope and excellence and its main focus was on the Late Cenozoic. Frenguelli modified the chronology of the stratigraphic scheme of the Pampas region, proposed a relationship with climatic episodes and then expanded it, directly or indirectly, to the whole record of the Late Cenozoic in Argentina. His contributions on diatoms and other microscopic organic remains, as well as on fossil vertebrates and invertebrates, were related to the environmental setting of the Late Cenozoic. In the 1940s, Frenguelli also worked on the fossil plants of the continental Upper Palaeozoic and Early Mesozoic rocks of Argentina. As a result, he characterized the Triassic successions, introducing new stratigraphic units and discussing their relationships and chronology.
Reaching the Point of No Return: The Computational Revolution in Archaeology
Authors: Grosman Leore
Published: June 2016

Archaeologists generally agree that high-power computer technology constitutes the most efficient venue for addressing many issues in archaeological research. Digital techniques have become indispensable components of archaeological surveys, fieldwork, lab work, and communication between researchers. One of the greatest advantages of the digital approach is its ability to examine large assemblages of items using advanced statistical methods. Digital documentation has reached the point of no return in archaeological research, and reverting to traditional methods is highly improbable. However, digital data may also contain additional information that has yet to be extracted by computer analysis. In this arena, new computer algorithms can be triggered by research questions that cannot be addressed without digital models.
The Remnant of Supernova 1987A
Authors: McCray Richard , Fransson Claes
Published: June 2016

Although it has faded by a factor of ∼107, SN 1987A is still bright enough to be observed in almost every band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Today, the bolometric luminosity of the debris is dominated by a far-infrared (∼200μm) continuum from ∼0.5 M⊙ of dust grains in the interior debris. The dust is heated by UV, optical, and near-infrared (NIR) emission resulting from radioactive energy deposition by 44Ti.

The optical light of the supernova debris is now dominated by illumination of the debris by X-rays resulting from the impact of the outer supernova envelope with an equatorial ring (ER) of gas that was expelled some 20,000 years before the supernova explosion. X-ray and optical observations trace a complex system of shocks resulting from this impact, whereas radio observations trace synchrotron radiation from relativistic electrons accelerated by these shocks. The luminosity of the remnant is dominated by an NIR (∼20μm) continuum from dust grains in the ER heated by collisions with ions in the X-ray emitting gas.

With the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), we can observe the interior debris at millimeter/submillimeter wavelengths, which are not absorbed by the interior dust. The ALMA observations reveal bright emission lines from rotational transitions of CO and SiO lines that provide a new window into the interior structure of the supernova debris. Optical, NIR, and ALMA observations all indicate strongly asymmetric ejecta.

Intensive searches have failed to yield any evidence for the compact object expected to reside at the center of the remnant. The current upper limit to the luminosity of such an object is a few tens of solar luminosities.
The Climate of Early Mars
Authors: Wordsworth Robin D.
Published: June 2016

The nature of the early martian climate is one of the major unanswered questions of planetary science. Key challenges remain, but a new wave of orbital and in situ observations and improvements in climate modeling have led to significant advances over the past decade. Multiple lines of geologic evidence now point to an episodically warm surface during the late Noachian and early Hesperian periods 3–4 Ga. The low solar flux received by Mars in its first billion years and inefficiency of plausible greenhouse gases such as CO2mean that the steady-state early martian climate was likely cold. A denser CO2atmosphere would have caused adiabatic cooling of the surface and hence migration of water ice to the higher-altitude equatorial and southern regions of the planet. Transient warming caused melting of snow and ice deposits and a temporarily active hydrological cycle, leading to erosion of the valley networks and other fluvial features. Precise details of the warming mechanisms remain unclear, but impacts, volcanism, and orbital forcing all likely played an important role. The lack of evidence for glaciation across much of Mars's ancient terrain suggests the late Noachian surface water inventory was not sufficient to sustain a northern ocean. Though mainly inhospitable on the surface, early Mars may nonetheless have presented significant opportunities for the development of microbial life.
The Life Insurance Industry and Systemic Risk: A Bond Market Perspective
Authors: Paulson Anna , Rosen Richard
Published: June 2016

The 2008 financial crisis brought a focus on the potential for a large insurance firm to contribute to systemic risk. Among the concerns raised was that a negative shock to insurers could lead to a fire sale of corporate bonds, a market where insurers are among the largest participants. This manuscript discusses the existing evidence on life insurance firms and systemic risk, with a focus on the investment-grade corporate bond market. We provide some tentative evidence that life insurers tend to absorb liquidity risk by purchasing bonds when the bonds are less liquid than average. However, we do not find evidence that insurers increased bond purchases specifically during the financial crisis, leaving open the question of whether insurers would play a stabilizing role in a future crisis.
Cloud-Top Entrainment in Stratocumulus Clouds
Authors: Mellado Juan Pedro
Published: June 2016

Cloud entrainment, the mixing between cloudy and clear air at the boundary of clouds, constitutes one paradigm for the relevance of small scales in the Earth system: By regulating cloud lifetimes, meter- and submeter-scale processes at cloud boundaries can influence planetary-scale properties. Understanding cloud entrainment is difficult given the complexity and diversity of the associated phenomena, which include turbulence entrainment within a stratified medium, convective instabilities driven by radiative and evaporative cooling, shear instabilities, and cloud microphysics. Obtaining accurate data at the required small scales is also challenging, for both simulations and measurements. During the past few decades, however, high-resolution simulations and measurements have greatly advanced our understanding of the main mechanisms controlling cloud entrainment. This article reviews some of these advances, focusing on stratocumulus clouds, and indicates remaining challenges.
Advancements in Next-Generation Sequencing
Authors: Levy Shawn E. , Myers Richard M.
Published: June 2016

The term next-generation sequencing is almost a decade old, but it remains the colloquial way to describe highly parallel or high-output sequencing methods that produce data at or beyond the genome scale. Since the introduction of these technologies, the number of applications and methods that leverage the power of genome-scale sequencing has increased at an exponential pace. This review highlights recent concepts, technologies, and methods from next-generation sequencing to illustrate the breadth and depth of the applications and research areas that are driving progress in genomics.
Legal Discrimination: Empirical Sociolegal and Critical Race Perspectives on Antidiscrimination Law
Authors: Edelman Lauren B. , Smyth Aaron C. , Rahim Asad
Published: June 2016

The topic of workplace discrimination has received considerable attention in both empirical sociolegal scholarship and critical race theory. This article reviews the insights of both bodies of literature and draws on those insights to highlight a critical mismatch between the assumptions of antidiscrimination jurisprudence and extant knowledge about discrimination in the workplace. Antidiscrimination jurisprudence assumes that most discrimination is intentional, that legal rights provide an effective mechanism for redress of discrimination, and that employers respond rationally to legal sanctions. In contrast, the empirical sociolegal and critical race literatures show that racism and sexism tend to be hidden within social structures, that there are many obstacles to the successful mobilization of legal rights, and that organizational response to law is characterized by symbolic compliance that is often ineffective. We conclude that because law fails to grasp the reality of workplace discrimination, it condones racial and gender inequality and creates legal discrimination.
Overlooked and Undervalued: Women in Private Law Practice
Authors: Sterling Joyce S. , Reichman Nancy
Published: June 2016

This article examines the durability of gender inequality in private law practice since Kay & Gorman published their comprehensive review in the Annual Review of Law and Social Science in 2008. We begin with some of the changes in legal practice that intensified during the Great Recession and help to contextualize women's lack of progress. We turn next to a contemporary profile of women in private practice that demonstrates empirically where women stand. We look at some of the organizational mechanisms that seem to perpetuate inequality. The challenges of integrating work and family dominated the discussion of women's lack of progress in earlier reviews of women in the legal profession and continue to matter greatly. We assume the persistence of these challenges and instead focus on ways that the mechanisms or strategies for determining compensation systematically overlook and undervalue women's contributions. We consider the different social science frameworks that explain women as overlooked and undervalued for their contributions. We conclude with proposed suggestions for changes aimed at remedying the problems discussed here.
Fukushima Daiichi–Derived Radionuclides in the Ocean: Transport, Fate, and Impacts
Authors: Buesseler Ken , Dai Minhan , Aoyama Michio , Benitez-Nelson Claudia , Charmasson Sabine , Higley Kathryn , Maderich Vladimir , Masqué Pere , Morris Paul J. , Oughton Deborah , Smith John N.
Published: June 2016

The events that followed the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, included the loss of power and overheating at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants, which led to extensive releases of radioactive gases, volatiles, and liquids, particularly to the coastal ocean. The fate of these radionuclides depends in large part on their oceanic geochemistry, physical processes, and biological uptake. Whereas radioactivity on land can be resampled and its distribution mapped, releases to the marine environment are harder to characterize owing to variability in ocean currents and the general challenges of sampling at sea. Five years later, it is appropriate to review what happened in terms of the sources, transport, and fate of these radionuclides in the ocean. In addition to the oceanic behavior of these contaminants, this review considers the potential health effects and societal impacts.
Genetic Mapping of Pathogenesis Determinants inToxoplasma gondii
Authors: Behnke Michael S. , Dubey J.P. , Sibley L. David
Published: June 2016

Toxoplasma gondii is a widespread parasite of warm-blooded vertebrates that also causes opportunistic infections in humans. Rodents are a natural host for asexually replicating forms, whereas cats serve as the definitive host for sexual development. The laboratory mouse provides a model to study pathogenesis. Strains of T. gondii are globally diverse, with more than 16 distinct haplogroups clustered into 6 major clades. Forward genetic analysis of genetic crosses between different lineages has been used to define the molecular basis of acute virulence in the mouse. These studies have identified a family of secretory serine/threonine rhoptry kinases that target innate immune pathways to protect intracellular parasites from destruction. Rhoptry kinases target immunity-related GTPases, a family of immune effectors that is expanded in rodents. Similar forward genetic studies may be useful to define the basis of pathogenesis in other hosts, including humans, where infections of different strains present with variable clinical severity.
Dark Energy Versus Modified Gravity
Authors: Joyce Austin , Lombriser Lucas , Schmidt Fabian
Published: June 2016

Understanding the reason for the observed accelerated expansion of the Universe represents one of the fundamental open questions in physics. In cosmology, a classification has emerged among physical models for this acceleration, distinguishing between dark energy and modified gravity. In this review, we provide a brief overview of models in both categories as well as their phenomenology and characteristic observable signatures in cosmology. We also introduce a rigorous distinction between dark energy and modified gravity based on the strong and weak equivalence principles.
Phytophthora infestans: New Tools (and Old Ones) Lead to New Understanding and Precision Management
Authors: Fry William E.
Published: June 2016

New tools have revealed that migrations of Phytophthora infestans have been a dominant feature of the population biology of this pathogen for the past 50 years, and maybe for the past 170 years. We now have accurate information on the composition of many P. infestans populations. However, migration followed by selection can lead and has led to dramatically rapid changes in populations over large regions. Except for the highlands of central Mexico, many populations of P. infestans have probably been in flux over the past several decades. There is some evidence that this pathogen has different characteristics in the field than it does in the lab, and early field phenotypic analyses of hypotheses concerning fitness and pathogenicity would be beneficial. The newly available capacity to acquire and process vast amounts of weather and weather forecast data in combination with advancements in molecular diagnostics enables much greater precision in late blight management to produce recommendations that are site, host, and pathogen specific.
Plant-Pathogen Effectors: Cellular Probes Interfering with Plant Defenses in Spatial and Temporal Manners
Authors: Toruño Tania Y. , Stergiopoulos Ioannis , Coaker Gitta
Published: June 2016

Plants possess large arsenals of immune receptors capable of recognizing all pathogen classes. To cause disease, pathogenic organisms must be able to overcome physical barriers, suppress or evade immune perception, and derive nutrients from host tissues. Consequently, to facilitate some of these processes, pathogens secrete effector proteins that promote colonization. This review covers recent advances in the field of effector biology, focusing on conserved cellular processes targeted by effectors from diverse pathogens. The ability of effectors to facilitate pathogen entry into the host interior, suppress plant immune perception, and alter host physiology for pathogen benefit is discussed. Pathogens also deploy effectors in a spatial and temporal manner, depending on infection stage. Recent advances have also enhanced our understanding of effectors acting in specific plant organs and tissues. Effectors are excellent cellular probes that facilitate insight into biological processes as well as key points of vulnerability in plant immune signaling networks.
Plant-Mediated Systemic Interactions Between Pathogens, Parasitic Nematodes, and Herbivores Above- and Belowground
Authors: Biere Arjen , Goverse Aska
Published: June 2016

Plants are important mediators of interactions between aboveground (AG) and belowground (BG) pathogens, arthropod herbivores, and nematodes (phytophages). We highlight recent progress in our understanding of within- and cross-compartment plant responses to these groups of phytophages in terms of altered resource dynamics and defense signaling and activation. We review studies documenting the outcome of cross-compartment interactions between these phytophage groups and show patterns of cross-compartment facilitation as well as cross-compartment induced resistance. Studies involving soilborne pathogens and foliar nematodes are scant. We further highlight the important role of defense signaling loops between shoots and roots to activate a full resistance complement. Moreover, manipulation of such loops by phytophages affects systemic interactions with other plant feeders. Finally, cross-compartment–induced changes in root defenses and root exudates extend systemic defense loops into the rhizosphere, enhancing or reducing recruitment of microbes that induce systemic resistance but also affecting interactions with root-feeding phytophages.
Social Motivation: Costs and Benefits of Selfishness and Otherishness
Authors: Crocker Jennifer , Canevello Amy , Brown Ashley A.
Published: June 2016

We examine recent evidence on the consequences of selfishness and otherishness for psychological well-being, physical health, and relationships. In the first sections, we consider recent evidence regarding the costs and benefits of giving time, money, and support to others and the costs and benefits of taking or receiving those things from others. Then, because the behaviors of giving and taking can be motivated either by selfish or otherish concerns, we next consider the costs and benefits of the motivation underlying giving and taking. We also examine why and for whom selfishness and otherishness have consequences for psychological well-being, physical health, and relationships. We focus on mechanisms identified in research, including intrapsychic mechanisms such as positive and negative affect, self-esteem and self-efficacy, a sense of meaning and purpose in life, and a sense of connectedness to or isolation from others, as well as interpersonal processes such as reciprocation of support and responsiveness.
HMGB1/TLR4 signaling induces an inflammatory response following high-pressure renal pelvic perfusion in a porcine model
Authors: Shao Yi , Sha Minglei , Chen Lei , Li Deng , Lu Jun , Xia Shujie
Published: June 2016

Percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) causes a rapid increase in renal pelvic pressure in the kidney, which induces an inflammatory response. High-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) is known to trigger the recruitment of inflammatory cells and the release of proinflammatory cytokines following ischemia reperfusion injury in the kidney, but the contribution of HMGB1 to the inflammatory response following high-pressure renal pelvic perfusion has not been investigated. In this study, high-pressure renal pelvic perfusion was induced in anesthetized pigs to examine the effect of HMGB1 on the inflammatory response. HMGB1 levels in the kidney increased following high-pressure renal pelvic perfusion, together with elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines in the plasma and kidney and an accumulation of neutrophils and macrophages. Inhibition of HMGB1 alleviated this inflammatory response while perfusion with recombinant HMGB1 had an augmentative effect, confirming the involvement of HMGB1 in the inflammatory response to high-pressure renal pelvic perfusion. HMGB1 regulated the inflammatory response by activating Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that HMGB1/TLR4 signaling contributes to the inflammatory response following high-pressure renal pelvic perfusion in a porcine model and has implications for the management of inflammation after PCNL.
Effect of 23-day muscle disuse on sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ properties and contractility in human type I and type II skeletal muscle fibers
Authors: Lamboley C. R. , Wyckelsma V. L. , Perry B. D. , McKenna M. J. , Lamb G. D.
Published: June 2016

Inactivity negatively impacts on skeletal muscle function mainly through muscle atrophy. However, recent evidence suggests that the quality of individual muscle fibers is also altered. This study examined the effects of 23 days of unilateral lower limb suspension (ULLS) on specific force and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ content in individual skinned muscle fibers. Muscle biopsies of the vastus lateralis were taken from six young healthy adults prior to and following ULLS. After disuse, the endogenous SR Ca2+ content was ∼8% lower in type I fibers and maximal SR Ca2+ capacity was lower in both type I and type II fibers (−11 and −5%, respectively). The specific force, measured in single skinned fibers from three subjects, decreased significantly after ULLS in type II fibers (−23%) but not in type I fibers (−9%). Western blot analyses showed no significant change in the amounts of myosin heavy chain (MHC) I and MHC IIa following the disuse, whereas the amounts of sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase 1 (SERCA1) and calsequestrin increased by ∼120 and ∼20%, respectively, and the amount of troponin I decreased by ∼21%. These findings suggest that the decline in force and power occurring with muscle disuse is likely to be exacerbated in part by reductions in maximum specific force in type II fibers, and in the amount of releasable SR Ca2+ in both fiber types, the latter not being attributable to a reduced calsequestrin level. Furthermore, the ∼3-wk disuse in human elicits change in SR properties, in particular a more than twofold upregulation in SERCA1 density, before any fiber-type shift.
Transient Simulations in Hydropower Stations Based on a Novel Turbine Boundary
Authors: Liu Yanna , Yang Jiandong , Yang Jiebin , Wang Chao , Zeng Wei
Published: June 2016

Most accidents in hydropower stations happened during transient processes; thus, simulation of these processes is important for station design and safety operation. This study establishes a mathematical model of the transient process in hydropower stations and presents a new method to calculate the hydraulic turbine boundary based on an error function of the rotational speed. The mathematical derivation shows that the error function along the equal-opening characteristic curve is monotonic and has opposite signs at the two sides, which means that a unique solution exists to make the error function null. Thus, iteration of the transient simulation is unique and monotonous, which avoids iterative convergence or false solution and improves the solution efficiency compared with traditional methods. Simulation of an engineering case illustrates that the results obtained by the error function are reasonable. Then, the accuracy and feasibility of the mathematical model using the proposed solution are verified by comparison with model and field tests.