bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Encapsulation of methylammonium lead bromide perovskite in nanoporous GaN
Authors: Lim Kevin T. P. , Deakin Callum , Ding Boning , Bai Xinyu , Griffin Peter , Zhu Tongtong , Oliver Rachel A. , Credgington Dan
Published: February 2019

Halide perovskites hold exceptional promise as cheap, low temperature solution-processed optoelectronic materials. Yet they are hindered by poor structural and chemical stability, rapidly degrading when exposed to moisture or air. We demonstrate a solution-phase method for infiltrating methylammonium lead bromide perovskite (CH3NH3PbBr3, or MAPbBr3) into nanoporous GaN which preserved the green photoluminescence of the perovskite after up to 1 year of storage under ambient conditions. Besides a protective effect, confinement within the porous GaN matrix also resulted in a blueshift of the perovskite emission with decreasing pore size, suggesting an additional templating effect of the pores on the size of the perovskite crystals within. We anticipate that our method may be generalised to related perovskite materials, offering a route to producing composites of interest for use in optoelectronic devices for various applications.
Existence and stability of standing waves for coupled nonlinear Hartree type equations
Authors: Bhattarai Santosh
Published: February 2019

We study existence and stability of standing waves for coupled nonlinear Hartree type equations −i∂∂tψj=Δψj+∑k=1mW⋆|ψk|p|ψj|p−2ψj, where ψj:RN×R→C for j = 1, …, m and W:R→[0,∞) satisfies certain assumptions. Our method relies on a variational characterization of standing waves based on minimization of the energy when L2 norms of component waves are prescribed. We obtain existence and stability results of standing waves for two and three-component coupled systems and for a certain range of p. In particular, our argument works in the case when W(x) = |x|−α for some α > 0.
Importance of anther dehiscence for low-temperature tolerance in rice at the young microspore and flowering stages
Authors: Susanti Zuziana , Snell Peter , Fukai Shu , Mitchell Jaquie H.
Published: February 2019

Low temperature, particularly during the reproductive stage in rice (Oryza sativa L.), leads to reduced fertility and yield and is a major constraint faced in temperate rice ecology. The floral trait anther dehiscence length has not been quantified in relation to low-temperature tolerance in rice. Two controlled-temperature glasshouse experiments evaluated 120 genotypes from BC1F6 recombinant inbred lines when exposed to low air temperature at the booting (young microspore) and flowering stages.
Genotypic differences existed for spikelet sterility (SS) after low-temperature exposure at booting and flowering stages, and a significant positive correlation (R2=0.22**) was found between SS of individual genotypes at booting and flowering stages. Number of dehisced anthers had the highest correlation with SS, and accounted for 58% and 44% of variation in SS with exposure to low temperature at booting and flowering, respectively. Anther dehiscence length and number of dehisced anthers were highly correlated (r=0.90**). After low-temperature exposure at booting, pollen number in the anther as well as the pollen’s capacity to germinate effectively further differentiated low-temperature-tolerant and -susceptible genotypes. Positive relationships (r=0.56** and 0.46*) between SS in the glasshouse and in field experiments in 2015 and 2016 seasons, respectively, provided validation of the phenotypic glasshouse screening methods utilised for low-temperature tolerance in relation to target production environments. This repeatable phenotyping system in combination with improved understanding of underlying floral traits will lead to increased efficiency in breeding for low-temperature tolerance in rice.
Effect of stubble-height management on crown temperature of perennial ryegrass, tall fescue and chicory
Authors: Langworthy Adam D. , Rawnsley Richard P. , Freeman Mark J. , Corkrey Ross , Harrison Matthew T. , Pembleton Keith G. , Lane Peter A. , Henry David A.
Published: February 2019

Defoliating pasture to shorter stubble heights (height above the soil surface) may increase temperature at the plant crown (plant–soil interface). This is especially relevant to summer C3 pasture production in parts of south-eastern Australia, where above-optimal ambient temperatures (≥30°C) are often recorded. A rainfed field experiment in north-west Tasmania, Australia, quantified the effect of stubble-height management on the upper distribution of crown temperatures (90th and 75th percentiles) experienced by three pasture species: perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.), tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.; syn. Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort.; syn. L. arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh.), and chicory (Cichorium intybus L.). Three stubble-height treatment levels were evaluated: 35, 55 and 115mm. Defoliation to shorter stubble heights (35 or 55mm cf. 115mm) increased the crown temperature of all species in the subsequent regrowth cycle (period between successive defoliation events). In the second summer, defoliating to shorter stubble heights increased the 90th percentile of crown temperature by an average of 4.2°C for perennial ryegrass, 3.6°C for tall fescue and 1.8°C for chicory. Chicory and second-year tall fescue swards experienced less-extreme crown temperatures than perennial ryegrass. This may partly explain why these two species often outyield perennial ryegrass in hotter summer environments than north-west Tasmania, and hence the increasing interest in their use.
Challenges for prescribed fire management in Australia’s fire-prone rangelands – the example of the Northern Territory
Authors: Russell-Smith Jeremy , Edwards Andrew C. , Sangha Kamaljit K. , Yates Cameron P. , Gardener Mark R.
Published: February 2019

Northern Australia comprises by far the most fire-prone-half of a fiery continent, where fire frequencies range from annual in the tropical savannas to periodic very-extensive fire events following above-rainfall conditions in the central Australian rangelands. As illustration of the challenges facing effective fire management in Australia’s 5.7×106km2 rangelands, we examine the status of contemporary prescribed burning activities in the Northern Territory, a 1.4×106km2, very sparsely settled (0.18 persons km−2) jurisdiction characterised by vast flammable landscapes, few barriers to fire-spread, predominantly anthropogenic ignitions, and limited institutional resources and capacity. Unsurprisingly, prescribed-fire management is shown to be restricted to specific locales. For more effective, landscape-scale fire management, potential solutions include engagement with dispersed remote communities and incorporation of Indigenous Ranger Groups into the fire-management network, and building on the success of savanna-burning greenhouse gas emission projects as an example for incentivising landscape fire and emergency management services generally. Recently, significant steps have been taken towards implementing formal regional fire-management planning processes involving inclusive community-stakeholder engagement, and the setting of clearly defined time-constrained objectives and targets.
Expert assessments of the cost and expected future performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells for vehicles
Authors: Whiston Michael M. , Azevedo Inês L. , Litster Shawn , Whitefoot Kate S. , Samaras Constantine , Whitacre Jay F.
Published: February 2019

Significance

We offer an assessment of the cost and performance of automotive proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Informed by expert opinion, our study characterizes the uncertainty associated with PEMFCs’ future trajectory, identifies barriers to improving cost and performance, and prioritizes research and development (R&D) areas. Our results could be used to inform technology roadmaps and future R&D funding. Experts suggested that PEMFCs would meet the ultimate cost and performance targets of the US Department of Energy (DOE) but would fall short of the DOE’s 2020 cost target. Furthermore, our results could serve as inputs into cost models. Fuel cell electric vehicles’ capital and life cycle costs could be calculated and compared with those of other vehicles.
Advantaged socioeconomic conditions in childhood are associated with higher cognitive functioning but stronger cognitive decline in older age
Authors: Aartsen Marja J. , Cheval Boris , Sieber Stefan , Van der Linden Bernadette W. , Gabriel Rainer , Courvoisier Delphine S. , Guessous Idris , Burton-Jeangros Claudine , Blane David , Ihle Andreas , Kliegel Matthias , Cullati Stéphane
Published: February 2019

Significance

There is increasing evidence that socioeconomic conditions early in life have an impact on cognitive functioning in later life. Based on the large longitudinal sample from SHARE we find a clear pattern in cognitive functioning in old age, related to childhood socioeconomic conditions: Those from more affluent households show higher levels of fluid intelligence in old age and experience stronger decline over time in executive functions. The latter phenomenon is not often documented. Although modifications in cognitive functioning with aging are inevitable, life course socioeconomic circumstances impact the timing of this process. We conclude that the etiology of cognitive aging is the result of multiple social processes, defined by the socioeconomic conditions in childhood and all along the life course.
Cryo-SOFI enabling low-dose super-resolution correlative light and electron cryo-microscopy
Authors: Moser Felipe , Pražák Vojtěch , Mordhorst Valerie , Andrade Débora M. , Baker Lindsay A. , Hagen Christoph , Grünewald Kay , Kaufmann Rainer
Published: February 2019

Correlative light and electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-CLEM) combines information from the specific labeling of fluorescence cryo-microscopy (cryo-FM) with the high resolution in environmental context of electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM). Exploiting super-resolution methods for cryo-FM is advantageous, as it enables the identification of rare events within the environmental background of cryo-EM at a sensitivity and resolution beyond that of conventional methods. However, due to the need for relatively high laser intensities, current super-resolution cryo-CLEM methods require cryo-protectants or support films which can severely reduce image quality in cryo-EM and are not compatible with many samples, such as mammalian cells. Here, we introduce cryogenic super-resolution optical fluctuation imaging (cryo-SOFI), a low-dose super-resolution imaging scheme based on the SOFI principle. As cryo-SOFI does not require special sample preparation, it is fully compatible with conventional cryo-EM specimens, and importantly, it does not affect the quality of cryo-EM imaging. By applying cryo-SOFI to a variety of biological application examples, we demonstrate resolutions up to ∼135 nm, an improvement of up to three times compared with conventional cryo-FM, while maintaining the specimen in a vitrified state for subsequent cryo-EM. Cryo-SOFI presents a general solution to the problem of specimen devitrification in super-resolution cryo-CLEM. It does not require a complex optical setup and can easily be implemented in any existing cryo-FM system.
Aligning research with policy and practice for sustainable agricultural land systems in Europe
Authors: Scown Murray W. , Winkler Klara J. , Nicholas Kimberly A.
Published: February 2019

Significance

Research, policy, and practice should be integrated to understand, guide, and implement the changes necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, from an analysis of research literature, policy indicators, and assessment tools for agriculture in Europe, we find that more than half of the 239 variables identified are currently used by only one of these perspectives. We identify a limited set of 32 variables that all three perspectives share and suggest these can be a starting point for designing future research to more comprehensively analyze trade-offs and identify opportunities for achieving the SDGs. Our method for assessing differences among perspectives in research, policy, and practice is a way to balance and implement sustainability goals for sectors and regions.
Simultaneous Bayesian inference of phylogeny and molecular coevolution
Authors: Meyer Xavier , Dib Linda , Silvestro Daniele , Salamin Nicolas
Published: February 2019

Patterns of molecular coevolution can reveal structural and functional constraints within or among organic molecules. These patterns are better understood when considering the underlying evolutionary process, which enables us to disentangle the signal of the dependent evolution of sites (coevolution) from the effects of shared ancestry of genes. Conversely, disregarding the dependent evolution of sites when studying the history of genes negatively impacts the accuracy of the inferred phylogenetic trees. Although molecular coevolution and phylogenetic history are interdependent, analyses of the two processes are conducted separately, a choice dictated by computational convenience, but at the expense of accuracy. We present a Bayesian method and associated software to infer how many and which sites of an alignment evolve according to an independent or a pairwise dependent evolutionary process, and to simultaneously estimate the phylogenetic relationships among sequences. We validate our method on synthetic datasets and challenge our predictions of coevolution on the 16S rRNA molecule by comparing them with its known molecular structure. Finally, we assess the accuracy of phylogenetic trees inferred under the assumption of independence among sites using synthetic datasets, the 16S rRNA molecule and 10 additional alignments of protein-coding genes of eukaryotes. Our results demonstrate that inferring phylogenetic trees while accounting for dependent site evolution significantly impacts the estimates of the phylogeny and the evolutionary process.
α-Difluoromethylornithine reduces gastric carcinogenesis by causing mutations in
Helicobacter pylori cagY
Authors: Sierra Johanna C. , Suarez Giovanni , Piazuelo M. Blanca , Luis Paula B. , Baker Dara R. , Romero-Gallo Judith , Barry Daniel P. , Schneider Claus , Morgan Douglas R. , Peek Richard M. , Gobert Alain P. , Wilson Keith T.
Published: February 2019

Significance

Gastric cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.
Helicobacter pylori
is a bacterium that infects the stomach of half of the human population, and 90% of gastric carcinoma cases are due to this infection. Antibiotic eradication has limited benefit in reducing cancer risk; new approaches are needed. We have implicated polyamines in gastric carcinogenesis. Until now, α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) is only known as a drug that inhibits polyamine synthesis. Here, we show that it has a direct effect on
H. pylori
. It induces DNA mutations, alters DNA repair, and causes loss of type 4 secretion system function, and thus, reduces cancer development. Targeting of
H. pylori
virulence by DFMO may represent a gastric cancer chemoprevention strategy.
Direct observation of individual tubulin dimers binding to growing microtubules
Authors: Mickolajczyk Keith J. , Geyer Elisabeth A. , Kim Tae , Rice Luke M. , Hancock William O.
Published: February 2019

Significance

Microtubule polymerization dynamics are fundamental to cell migration and cell division, where they are targets for chemotherapy drugs. Despite significant progress, the precise structural and biochemical events occurring at growing microtubule tips are not well defined, and better understanding is necessary for discriminating mechanisms of microtubule dynamics regulation in cells. Here, we visualize individual tubulin subunits reversibly and irreversibly interacting with dynamic microtubule tips, and thereby directly measure tubulin plus-tip kinetics. By analyzing plus-tip residence times of wild-type and mutant tubulin, we characterize the relative contributions of longitudinal (along protofilaments) and lateral (between protofilaments) bond energies to microtubule growth. This work provides insight into microtubule tip structure and potential modes of microtubule dynamics regulation.
Mechanism of glucocerebrosidase activation and dysfunction in Gaucher disease unraveled by molecular dynamics and deep learning
Authors: Romero Raquel , Ramanathan Arvind , Yuen Tony , Bhowmik Debsindhu , Mathew Mehr , Munshi Lubna Bashir , Javaid Seher , Bloch Madison , Lizneva Daria , Rahimova Alina , Khan Ayesha , Taneja Charit , Kim Se-Min , Sun Li , New Maria I. , Haider Shozeb , Zaidi Mone
Published: February 2019

Significance

Gaucher disease is a rare genetic disorder that has crippling health consequences. Mutations in the
GBA1
gene are known to disrupt the enzyme glucocerebrosidase-1, but it is not known, at atom-level detail, as to how enzyme function is lost. This study uses multiscale simulations and deep learning to define precisely the mechanism underlying the disruption of glucocerebrosidase-1 and, in particular, its interaction with the facilitator protein, saposin C.
SHARPIN at the nexus of integrin, immune, and inflammatory signaling in human platelets
Authors: Kasirer-Friede Ana , Tjahjono Winson , Eto Koji , Shattil Sanford J.
Published: February 2019

Significance

Platelets are professional hemostatic and immune cells. Integrin αIIbβ3 is required for fibrinogen-dependent platelet aggregation, but its role in immune/inflammatory responses is poorly understood. We identified interactions between αIIbβ3 and SHARPIN, a requisite member of the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex (LUBAC), which mediates Met1 ubiquitination of signaling proteins. Using human platelets and megakaryocyte-lineage cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells, we find that SHARPIN is expressed in platelets and associates either with αIIb to suppress αIIbβ3 activation or with LUBAC to promote Met1 ubiquitination and NF-κB activation. Knockdown of SHARPIN in the megakaryocyte/platelet lineage not only primes αIIbβ3 for fibrinogen binding, but also increases MHC class I presentation and proinflammatory sCD40L release. Thus, SHARPIN functions at the nexus of αIIbβ3 and immune/inflammatory signaling in platelets.
Morphology, pathology, and the vertebral posture of the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neandertal
Authors: Haeusler Martin , Trinkaus Erik , Fornai Cinzia , Müller Jonas , Bonneau Noémie , Boeni Thomas , Frater Nakita
Published: February 2019

Significance

Fully upright and balanced posture is one of the hallmarks of humanity, and it has long been seen as present among all members of the genus
Homo
. However, recent considerations of Neandertal vertebrae have concluded that these late archaic humans, who were both behaviorally and phylogenetically close to ourselves, lacked fully developed spinal curvatures and must therefore have had precarious postures. Reassessment and virtual reconstruction of the La Chapelle-aux-Saints 1 Neandertal skeletal remains provides direct anatomical evidence that he, and by extension other Neandertals, possessed the usual human lower back and neck curvature (lordosis). It is therefore time to move beyond making Neandertals less human and focus on the subtle shifts in Late Pleistocene human biology and behavior.
MicroRNA-186-5p controls GluA2 surface expression and synaptic scaling in hippocampal neurons
Authors: Silva Mariline M. , Rodrigues Beatriz , Fernandes Joana , Santos Sandra D. , Carreto Laura , Santos Manuel A. S. , Pinheiro Paulo , Carvalho Ana Luísa
Published: February 2019

Homeostatic synaptic scaling is a negative feedback response to fluctuations in synaptic strength induced by developmental or learning-related processes, which maintains neuronal activity stable. Although several components of the synaptic scaling apparatus have been characterized, the intrinsic regulatory mechanisms promoting scaling remain largely unknown. MicroRNAs may contribute to posttranscriptional control of mRNAs implicated in different stages of synaptic scaling, but their role in these mechanisms is still undervalued. Here, we report that chronic blockade of glutamate receptors of the AMPA and NMDA types in hippocampal neurons in culture induces changes in the neuronal mRNA and miRNA transcriptomes, leading to synaptic upscaling. Specifically, we show that synaptic activity blockade persistently down-regulates miR-186-5p. Moreover, we describe a conserved miR-186-5p-binding site within the 3′UTR of the mRNA encoding the AMPA receptor GluA2 subunit, and demonstrate that GluA2 is a direct target of miR-186-5p. Overexpression of miR-186 decreased GluA2 surface levels, increased synaptic expression of GluA2-lacking AMPA receptors, and blocked synaptic scaling, whereas inhibition of miR-186-5p increased GluA2 surface levels and the amplitude and frequency of AMPA receptor-mediated currents, and mimicked excitatory synaptic scaling induced by synaptic inactivity. Our findings elucidate an activity-dependent miRNA-mediated mechanism for regulation of AMPA receptor expression.
HTS-SQUID vector magnetometer with low crosstalk configuration
Authors: Tsukamoto Akira , Hato Tsunehiro , Adachi Seiji , Oshikubo Yasuo , Tanabe Keiichi , Motoori Masayuki , Ueda Satoshi , Watanabe Hidehisa , Ishikawa Hidehiro , Okada Chikara , Yamazaki Tomohiro
Published: February 2019

We propose an HTS-SQUID vector magnetometer with a new configuration reducing the crosstalk between a pickup coil of one SQUID and feedback coils of other SQUIDs. The new configuration is designed to mount three SQUIDs at symmetric positions where the crosstalk should be ideally zero while keeping minimal height of a probe head. In an actual HTS-SQUID magnetometer, however, either pickup coil or feedback coil is inevitably dislocated from the ideal symmetric positions. Numerical simulation of crosstalk revealed that the new configuration has smaller crosstalk than that of a conventional cubic configuration even if the positioning error from the ideal symmetric positions is as small as 1 mm. Three types of SQUID vector magnetometer were fabricated and their crosstalk was measured. The averaged crosstalk of a SQUID vector magnetometer using the new configuration was actually improved by about one order of magnitude as compared with the conventional cubic configuration.
Coarse-graining in retrodictive quantum state tomography
Authors: Scerri Dale , Gauger Erik M , Knee George C
Published: February 2019

Quantum state tomography (QST) is a combination of experimental and data-processing methods for complete characterisation of a quantum system. However, it often operates in the highly idealised scenario of assuming perfect measurements. The errors implied by such an approach are entwined with other imperfections relating to the information processing protocol or application of interest. We consider the problem of retrodicting the quantum state of a system, existing prior to the application of random but known phase errors, allowing those errors to be separated and removed. The continuously random nature of the errors implies that effective measurement operators are never repeated. This is a feature of many physical scenarios such as photonic cluster state generation and has a drastically adverse effect on data-processing times. Utilising state-of-the-art approaches to quantum state tomography, we describe a novel and effective method to account for these errors, resulting in improved reconstruction fidelities. Furthermore, we show how the use of ‘coarse-graining’ introduced in this work can substantially reduce the computation time in several maximum likelihood algorithms, for only modest sacrifices in fidelity.
Loa loa Microfilariae in Skin Snips: Consequences for Onchocerciasis Monitoring and Evaluation in L. loa–Endemic Areas
Authors: Nana-Djeunga Hugues C , Fossuo-Thotchum Floribert , Pion Sébastien D , Chesnais Cédric B , Kubofcik Joseph , Mackenzie Charles D , Klion Amy D , Boussinesq Michel , Nutman Thomas B , Kamgno Joseph
Published: February 2019

The specificity of skin snips for onchocerciasis diagnoses is considered to be almost 100%. Our molecular methods revealed that microfilariae emerging from skin snips collected from highly microfilaremic Loa loa–infected individuals were largely misidentified as Onchocerca volvulus. This has important implications for onchocerciasis diagnostic testing in Loa-endemic areas.
Catch per unit effort standardization using spatio-temporal models for Australia’s Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery
Authors: Zhou Shijie , Campbell Robert A , Hoyle Simon D
Published: February 2019

The majority of catch per unit effort (cpue) standardizations use generalized linear models (GLMs) or generalized additive models (GAMs). We develop geostatistical models that model catch locations as continuous Gaussian random fields (GRFs) and apply them to standardizing cpue in Australia’s Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery (ETBF). The results are compared with the traditional GLMs currently used in ETBF assessments as well as GAMs. Specifically, we compare seven models in three groups: two GLMs, two GAMs, and three GRF models. Within each group, one model treats spatial and temporal variables independently, while the other model(s) treats them together as an interaction term. The two spatio-temporal GRF models differ in treating the spatial–temporal interaction: either as a random process or as an autoregressive process. We simulate catch rate data for five pelagic species based on real fishery catch rates so that the simulated data reflect real fishery patterns while the “true” annual abundance levels are known. The results show that within each group, the model with a spatial–temporal interaction term significantly outperforms the other model treating spatial and temporal variables independently. For spatial–temporal models between the three groups, prediction accuracy tends to improve from GLM to GAM and to the GRF models. Overall, the spatio-temporal GRF autoregressive model reduces mean relative predictive error by 43.4% from the GLM, 33.9% from the GAM, and reduces mean absolute predictive error by 23.5% from the GLM and 3.3% from the GAM, respectively. The comparison suggests a promising direction for further developing the geostatistical models for the ETBF.
The epidemiological transition in Papua New Guinea: new evidence from verbal autopsy studies
Authors: Gouda Hebe N , Hazard Riley H , Maraga Seri , Flaxman Abraham D , Stewart Andrea , Joseph Jonathan C , Rarau Patricia , Wangnapi Regina , Poka Harry , Serina Peter , Phuanukoonnon Suparat , Pham Bang N , Vano Miriam , Lupiwa Sebeya , Sie Albert , Kave Helen , Lehmann Deborah , Siba Peter , Lopez Alan D , Riley Ian D
Published: February 2019

Background

Recent economic growth in Papua New Guinea (PNG) would suggest that the country may be experiencing an epidemiological transition, characterized by a reduction in infectious diseases and a growing burden from non-communicable diseases (NCDs). However, data on cause-specific mortality in PNG are very sparse, and the extent of the transition within the country is poorly understood.

Methods

Mortality surveillance was established in four small populations across PNG: West Hiri in Central Province, Asaro Valley in Eastern Highlands Province, Hides in Hela Province and Karkar Island in Madang Province. Verbal autopsies (VAs) were conducted on all deaths identified, and causes of death were assigned by SmartVA and classified into five broad disease categories: endemic NCDs; emerging NCDs; endemic infections; emerging infections; and injuries. Results from previous PNG VA studies, using different VA methods and spanning the years 1970 to 2001, are also presented here.

Results

A total of 868 deaths among adolescents and adults were identified and assigned a cause of death. NCDs made up the majority of all deaths (40.4%), with the endemic NCD of chronic respiratory disease responsible for the largest proportion of deaths (10.5%), followed by the emerging NCD of diabetes (6.2%). Emerging infectious diseases outnumbered endemic infectious diseases (11.9% versus 9.5%). The distribution of causes of death differed across the four sites, with emerging NCDs and emerging infections highest at the site that is most socioeconomically developed, West Hiri. Comparing the 1970–2001 VA series with the present study suggests a large decrease in endemic infections.

Conclusions

Our results indicate immediate priorities for health service planning and for strengthening of vital registration systems, to more usefully serve the needs of health priority setting.
Outcomes in Burn-Injured Patients Who Develop Sepsis
Authors: Rech Megan A , Mosier Michael J , McConkey Kevin , Zelisko Susan , Netzer Giora , Kovacs Elizabeth J , Afshar Majid
Published: February 2019

This study examines health outcomes in burn patients with sepsis. We hypothesized that burn patients with sepsis would have an increased odds risk for in-hospital death and longer intensive care unit (ICU) stays. This was a retrospective cohort of consecutive patients admitted to the burn ICU with total BSA (TBSA) ≥10% and/or inhalation injury between January 2008 and March 2015. Overall 407 burn patients were included; the case-rate for sepsis was 39.1% (n = 159); 20.1% (n = 82) patients were septic and 18.9% (n = 77) patients experienced septic shock. Patients with septic shock had the highest mortality rate (13.31% no sepsis vs 3.7% sepsis vs 49.4% septic shock, P < .01). Median 28-day ICU-free days was higher in patients without sepsis (23 days [Interquartile range (IQR) 14–27] no sepsis vs 0 days [IQR 0–10] sepsis vs 0 days [IQR 0–0] septic shock, P < .01). Sepsis (with or without shock) increased odds of in-hospital death (odds ratio 7.04, 95% confidence interval 1.93–25.7) in reference to the no sepsis group. With each incremental Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score or 10% TBSA increase, the odds risk for in-hospital death increased by 56 and 75%, respectively. Our study characterized outcomes in patients with sepsis after severe burn injury. The odds risk for in-hospital death was greater in patients with sepsis, increasing burn severity according to TBSA and SOFA score.
Behavioral Responses of Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and Tarnished Plant Bug (Hemiptera: Miridae) to a New Bt Toxin, Cry51Aa2.834_16 in Cotton
Authors: Graham Scott H , Musser Fred M , Jacobson Alana L , Chitturi Anitha , Catchot Beverly , Stewart Scott D
Published: February 2019

Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Hemiptera: Miridae), are among the most important insect pests of cotton, Gosssypium hirsutum, in the mid-southern United States. These pests are currently managed primarily by insecticides; however, a new Bt toxin, Cry51Aa2.834_16 is under evaluation for control of thrips and tarnished plant bug. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the behavioral response of thrips and tarnished plant bug to Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16. Adult thrips avoided Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 cotton in field choice tests and in separate field tests of Bt and non-Bt cotton not treated with insecticides. In a greenhouse choice test, approximately twice as many adult thrips and eggs were found on non-Bt compared with Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 cotton. Similarly, in a field test of nontreated Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 and non-Bt cotton, 68% of adult thrips collected were found on non-Bt cotton. In cotton that was not sprayed with insecticides, Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 did not affect the distribution of tarnished plant bug within the canopy, although more square and flower injury was caused by tarnished plant bug in non-Bt cotton. Adult tarnished plant bug exhibited a nonpreference for diet containing lyophilized Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 leaves and for excised Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 squares in choice tests with non-Bt squares. The behavioral responses of these pests when exposed to this new Bt toxin will play a key role in the efficacy and potential resistance management strategies if this new technology is incorporated in an overall cotton insect pest management system.
Twins
Authors: Clark Robin D. , Curry Cynthia J.
Published: February 2019

This chapter reviews the incidence, risk factors, and epidemiology of disorders associated with twinning. The timing of twinning and the types of twins are reviewed. The fetal and perinatal complications of twinning including twin to twin transfusion and its treatment are discussed, as well as the possible consequences of death of a monozygotic co-twin. These include severe disruptive brain abnormalities, and other vascular disruptive defects. The birth defects more common in twins are enumerated and specific patterns of birth defects such as hemifacial macrosomia and VACTERL are discussed. A clinical case presentation features monozygotic twins with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome and congenital heart disease.
Heterotaxy
Authors: Clark Robin D. , Curry Cynthia J.
Published: February 2019

This chapter reviews background information about the incidence, risk factors, genetics, family history, recurrence risk, and epidemiology of heterotaxy and disorders of situs, including polysplenia and asplenia. The relationship between heterotaxy and dysfunction of non-motile primary cilia is explained. The discussion on the differential diagnosis of heterotaxy summarizes its common causes, including teratogenic agents, chromosome anomalies (maternal diabetes mellitus), and Mendelian disorders in which heterotaxy occurs with various patterns (TAPVR) and in association with malformations in other organ systems (Agnathia-Otocephaly). The chapter gives recommendations for evaluation and management. A clinical case presentation features an infant with situs ambiguous and asplenia who had unexpected respiratory distress after surgery due to primary ciliary dyskinesia.
Ear Anomalies
Authors: Clark Robin D. , Curry Cynthia J.
Published: February 2019

This chapter reviews background information about the incidence, risk factors, genetics, recurrence risk, family history and epidemiology of isolated and syndromic ear anomalies. The discussion on the differential diagnosis of ear anomalies summarizes its common causes, including teratogenic agents (isotretinoin, maternal diabetes, mycophenylate), chromosome anomalies (aneuploidy, 22q11 deletion), common sporadic multiple congenital anomaly syndromes (Hemifacial microsomia/Goldenhar), and Mendelian disorders that are primarily craniofacial (Treacher-Collins and other mandibulofacial dysostoses) and others that include malformations in other organ systems (CHARGE). The chapter gives recommendations for evaluation and management. A clinical case presentation features a child with mycophenylate embryopathy, who had been incorrectly diagnosed with Treacher Collins syndrome.
Eye Anomalies
Authors: Clark Robin D. , Curry Cynthia J.
Published: February 2019

This chapter reviews background information about the incidence, risk factors, genetics, recurrence risk, and epidemiology of various isolated and syndromic congenital eye anomalies that are apparent in the newborn including anophthalmia, microphthalmia, aniridia, coloboma, cataracts, corneal opacities, and ptosis. The discussion on the differential diagnosis of ocular anomalies summarizes its common causes, including teratogenic agents (alcohol, retinoic acid, rubella, Vitamin A deficiency), chromosome anomalies (aneuploidy, copy number variants), and Mendelian disorders that include multiple congenital anomalies in other organ systems. The chapter provides recommendations for evaluation and management. A clinical case presentation features a dysmorphic male infant with bilateral microphthalmia and opaque corneas who has Lenz microphthalmia syndrome.
Craniosynostoses
Authors: Clark Robin D. , Curry Cynthia J.
Published: February 2019

This chapter reviews background information about the incidence, risk factors, genetics, recurrence risk, and epidemiology of single suture and multiple suture craniosynostosis including isolated and syndromic varieties. The discussion on the differential diagnosis of craniosynostosis summarizes its common causes, including teratogenic agents (fluconazole, maternal thyroid disorders, methotrexate, valproic acid), chromosome anomalies, and Mendelian disorders that involve extracranial malformations. The relationship between premature closure of cranial sutures of postnatal onset and positional plagiocephaly, prematurity, and microcephaly are examined. This chapter provides recommendations for testing, evaluation and management. A clinical case presentation features an infant with Saethre–Chotzen syndrome, whose mildly affected relatives had not been diagnosed.
Hypospadias
Authors: Clark Robin D. , Curry Cynthia J.
Published: February 2019

This chapter reviews background information about the incidence, risk factors, family history, genetics, recurrence risk, and epidemiology of isolated and syndromic hypospadias and some disorders of sex development (DSD)—6,XY DSD and 46,XX DSD. The associations with male factor infertility, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, low birth weight, and low anoscrotal distance are discussed. The differential diagnosis of genital anomalies summarizes common causes, including teratogenic agents, chromosome anomalies, including copy number variants, Mendelian disorders that also affect musculoskeletal, skeletal, and connective tissues, and it gives recommendations for evaluation and management. A clinical case presentation features an infant conceived by in vitro fertilization with severe early IUGR and hypospadias.
Syndactyly
Authors: Clark Robin D. , Curry Cynthia J.
Published: February 2019

This chapter reviews background information about the incidence, risk factors, genetics, recurrence risk, epidemiology, and some subtypes of syndactyly. Various unilateral and bilateral patterns of syndactyly, including common autosomal dominant isolated cutaneous syndactyly and rarer presentations of complex syndactyly with bony fusion, are reviewed. Associated malformations, such as small size, microcephaly, craniosynostois, facial dysmorphism, and other limb anomalies, that are often seen with syndactyly are presented. The discussion on the differential diagnosis of syndactyly summarizes its common causes, including teratogenic agents, chromosome anomalies, and Mendelian multiple congenital anomaly syndromes, and it gives recommendations for evaluation and management. A clinical case presentation features an infant with oculo-dento-digital dysplasia.
Skin
Authors: Clark Robin D. , Curry Cynthia J.
Published: February 2019

This chapter reviews the various types of congenital ectodermal dysplasias (ED). These present variably with involvement of skin, teeth, sweat glands, hair, and nails. In the newborn period ED can resemble ichthyosis with erythema and scaling. X-lLinked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia is the most common form and may affect girls as well as boys. This can cause infant overheating with serious sequelae. Long term dental management is needed for this disorder as well as for most of the other ED’s. Several ED syndromes involve immunodeficiency. Several allelic rare multiple anomaly ED syndromes are caused by pathogenic variants in TP63. The clinical case presentation features an infant with autosomal recessive hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia.
Skin
Authors: Clark Robin D. , Curry Cynthia J.
Published: February 2019

This chapter reviews the congenital blistering syndromes. These include the many forms of epidermolysis bullosa (EB) of which the simplex form is the most common. Junctional and dystrophic EB and Kindler syndrome are the other major types of EB. The differential also includes Peeling Skin syndrome and other common forms of neonatal blisters due to infection, maternal disease or other genetic disorders. Genetic sequencing panels are rapidly replacing dermatopathology in the diagnosis of these complex and overlapping conditions. Multidisciplinary care is necessary for severely affected infants and some disorders are lethal in the neonatal period. The clinical case presentation features an infant with autosomal recessive lethal acantholytic epidermolysis bullosa.
John Crowe Ransom
Authors: Quinlan Patrick Kieran
Published: February 2019

John Crowe Ransom (b. 30 April 1888–d. 3 July 1974) was an American poet, Southern Agrarian, literary critic, and editor of the Kenyon Review, arguably the most influential “little magazine” of the mid-20th century. Educated at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee and as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, Ransom began writing poetry as a member of the Fugitive group that included Allen Tate and Robert Penn Warren and had its own short-lived magazine in the early 1920s. Most of the poems on which his reputation rests—often on love or death, never long, sometimes quirky, and with intermittent archaic wording—are to be found in Chills and Fever (1924) and Two Gentlemen in Bonds (1927). Ransom won the Bollingen Prize for Poetry in 1951 and the National Book Award for his Selected Poems in 1964. Following their Fugitive period, Ransom and his associates moved on to become Agrarians, arguing in their 1930 I’ll Take My Stand: The South and the Agrarian Tradition that the South’s distinctive characteristic was its agrarian culture, separating it from both the capitalist industrial North and Soviet Communism. As an English professor at Vanderbilt where historical studies of literary texts took precedence, Ransom argued and eventually won the cause of the literary critic, a victory that over time changed the hierarchies in the profession at large. The text itself, its structures and images and their complex interrelationship, was what was most important. His 1941 volume of theoretical essays, The New Criticism, made Ransom the quasi founding father—there were many others—of a movement that would dominate the academy for the next three decades. Always fascinated by, but wary of, the sciences as their place within the university increased exponentially, Ransom sought over and over to define the kind of supplementary but equally essential knowledge that poetry offered. As founding editor of the Kenyon Review in 1939 and director of the Kenyon School of English, Ransom exercised enormous influence on both the teaching of literature at American colleges and universities, and on several emerging poets and novelists, most notably Robert Lowell. By the mid-1960s, however, many of Ransom’s critical and social positions had come under challenge, as has his status as a “major minor poet” in several recent critiques. Nevertheless, current studies are also finding overlooked fissures in his poems, and, in the age of digitized textuality, fresh inspiration in his Agrarian and New Critical forays.
Eratosthenes of Cyrene
Authors: Finglass P. J.
Published: February 2019

Eratosthenes was one of the great scholars of Antiquity. Born in Cyrene in c. 285, he studied in Athens before becoming the third librarian at the great research institute founded by King Ptolemy I at Alexandria in Egypt. Rather than specializing in any one field, he produced scholarship in philology, geography, mathematics, philosophy, and chronography, as well as composed poetry. This breadth of learning was (remarkably) the subject of criticism: he was called “Beta” and the “Pentathlete,” which referred to being the second-best in every field. But his versatility did not preclude considerable achievement: most notably, he calculated the circumference of the earth and made other great intellectual advances in geography (where his influence on the later geographer Strabo was considerable) and literary criticism (where, for instance, he refused to believe that the places of Homer’s Odyssey could be mapped onto the actual Mediterranean world), as well as receiving praise for his poetry (from pseudo-Longinus). His works have not survived in full; the process of gathering and assessing his fragments is still ongoing.
Aristophanes’ Lysistrata
Authors: Holzberg Niklas
Published: February 2019

Lysistrata was performed in the year 411 bce, either in winter at the Lenaia or in spring at the Dionysia. Athens, its position in the Peloponnesian War waged against Sparta since 428 now dangerously weakened by the catastrophic failure of the 413 Sicilian expedition, saw itself faced in early 411 with the prospect of having to submit to the enemy. Enter Lysistrata, who proposes a plan that, in its utopian character, is typical of Old Comedy: Athenian wives should declare a sex strike for as long as it takes their husbands to end the war. The storyline triggered by that begins in the first scene, but there very soon arises another line of action: the women of Athens occupy the Acropolis, the center of power over the polis, seize the treasury, and must now defend the citadel against the men. And when the old women who form one half of the chorus, prevent its other half, the old men, from setting the citadel alight, there ensues a fight between the two, and that develops into a third sequence of scenes which runs in counterpoint to the main action. All three, however, are integrated into a homogenous whole, and thus Lysistrata differs in its structure from Aristophanes’ earlier comedies: it does not merely consist in a series of loosely connected episodes. That, in turn, is reminiscent of the complex architecture created by the tragedians of the day, and as in one of those (Euripides), here too it is an exceptional woman who, probably for the first time in comedy and certainly for the first time as a citizen wife, stands center stage. Unity of action is also achieved by using the parabasis to have the chorus guide spectators from scene to scene rather than making it speak, as mostly in Aristophanes’ extant plays, with the voice of the poet; the traditional parabasis, in turn, appears in the (roughly comparable) form of Lysistrata’s speech 1112–1135 Again unlike the earlier comedies, Lysistrata contains but few verses in which public figures are ridiculed; that could be explained by Aristophanes’ intention to play his part in the necessary appeasement and conciliation, the above-mentioned crisis in Athens having had its effect on domestic politics. On the other hand, this comedy offers a conspicuous amount of obscenities, above all in scenes which show the men trying to persuade their wives to end the sex strike. But only when the former have declared themselves committed to negotiating a peace treaty are marriage and family restored in the oikos, the nucleus of the polis, and Lysistrata’s comic plan thus realized. Among all modern stage productions of Aristophanes’ comedies, it is Lysistrata that can claim the lion’s share.