bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Antimicrobial effects of shin'iseihaito in vitro and clinical background factors of Staphylococcus aureus infection
Authors: Minami Masaaki , Konishi Toru , Sakakibara Ryoko , Imura Taichi , Watanabe Mika , Morita Hideo , Kanemaki Naoto , Makino Toshiaki
Published: May 2017

ABSTRACT

Aim

Staphylococcus aureus is a pathogenic bacterium that causes various serious diseases such as sinusitis and pneumonia. Recently, emergence of drug‐resistant bacteria, including methicillin‐resistant S. aureus (MRSA), has reduced therapeutic outcome. Shin'iseihaito (SSHT;
Xinyiqingfeitang in Chinese) is a formula of kampo medicine and traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of upper respiratory tract infectious diseases. To determine the point of differential diagnosis for choosing this formula for clinical applications, we examined the relationship between the clinical background factors of S. aureus infection and the antimicrobial effect of SSHT extract against S. aureus in vitro.

Methods

A total of 203 S. aureus samples were collected from patients, and the relationships between the clinical characteristics, antibiotic‐susceptibility patterns, and SSHT were investigated using disk diffusion and microdilution methods.

Results

The antimicrobial effect of SSHT extract against both methicillin‐sensitive and ‐resistant S. aureus was 57.1% and 67.2%, respectively (P = n.s.). Significant differences were found, however, in SSHT sensitivity with respect to patient background, including gender, age (<10 years and >10 years), specimen isolation site, and treatment department. Furthermore, significant differences in SSHT sensitivity were also noted between levofloxacin‐resistant and ‐susceptible
S. aureus.

Conclusion

SSHT is a possible anti‐infective agent against
S. aureus, and its effect was correlated with gender (women), age (elderly), specimen isolation sites (sputum), respiratory medicine department, and levofloxacin‐resistant bacteria.
Aerofoil trailing‐edge noise prediction models for wind turbine applications
Authors: Lau Alex Siu Hong , Kim Jae Wook , Hurault Jeremy , Vronsky Tomas , Joseph Phillip
Published: May 2017

This paper proposes a modified TNO model for the prediction of aerofoil trailing‐edge noise for wind turbine applications. The capabilities of the current modified model and four variants of the TNO model are analysed through a comprehensive study which includes 10 aerofoils and involves two different wind tunnels. The Reynolds numbers considered are between 1.13 and 3.41 million, and the effective angles of attack are between −2.20° and 13.58°. The merit of a model is assessed by comparing two aspects of the numerically predicted and the experimentally measured sound pressure level spectra: the sound pressure level difference between two different aerofoils at similar lift coefficients within a certain frequency range (referred to as the delta noise); and the closeness in terms of spectral magnitude and shape of the predicted and measured sound pressure level spectra. The current modified model is developed by deriving new formulations for the computation of the wall pressure fluctuation spectrum. This is achieved by using the approximate ratio of the normal Reynolds stress components for an anisotropic flow over a flat plate to estimate the vertical Reynolds stress component, and by introducing new stretching factors to take the effects of turbulent flow anisotropy into account. Compared with the four TNO model variants tested, the current modified model has strong delta noise prediction ability, and is able to predict sound pressure level spectra that are more consistent and closer to measurements for the vast majority of aerofoils and flow conditions tested in the two wind tunnels. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
mRNA decay: an adaptation tool for the environmental fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans
Authors: Bloom Amanda L. M. , Leipheimer Jay , Panepinto John C.
Published: May 2017

Fungi are ubiquitous in the environment and humans constantly encounter them in the soil, air, water, and food. The vast majority of these interactions are inconsequential. However, in the context of immunodeficiency precipitated by HIV infection, hematologic malignancy, or transplantation, a small subset of fungi can cause devastating, systemic infection. The most deadly of the opportunistic environmental fungi, Cryptococcus neoformans, is estimated to cause hundreds of thousands of deaths per year, mostly in the context of HIV co‐infection. The cellular processes that mediate adaptation to the host environment are of great interest as potential novel therapeutic targets. One such cellular process important for host adaptation is mRNA decay, which mediates the specific degradation of subsets of functionally related mRNAs in response to stressors relevant to pathogenesis, including human core body temperature, carbon limitation, and reactive oxygen stress. Thus, for C. neoformans, host adaptation requires mRNA decay to mediate rapid transcriptome remodeling in the face of stressors encountered in the host. Several nodes of stress‐responsive signaling that govern the stress‐responsive transcriptome also control the decay rate of mRNAs cleared from the ribosome during stress, suggesting an additional layer of coupling between mRNA synthesis and decay that allows C. neoformans to be a successful pathogen of humans. WIREs RNA 2017, 8:e1424. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1424

This article is categorized under:

RNA Turnover and Surveillance > Regulation of RNA Stability
Gender and Leadership: A Call to Action
Authors: Shea Heather D. , Renn Kristen A.
Published: May 2017

In the final chapter of this volume, the authors provide a call to action for changes in the way educators conceptualize gender, particularly within the context of leadership development and education.
Dehydration of Castor Oil over NaHSO4/MCM‐41 Catalyst Modified by n‐Dodecyltriethoxysilane
Authors: Yan Cui‐Xia , Ding Jian‐Fei , Ma Tian‐Lin , Shao Rong , Xu Wei , He Jie , Wang Peng‐Fei
Published: May 2017

n‐Dodecyltriethoxysilane (DTEOS) modified NaHSO4/MCM‐41 catalysts (silanized catalysts) were synthesized by different impregnation sequences and evaluated in the liquid‐phase dehydration of castor oil. The samples were evaluated by X‐ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption‐desorption, SEM, TEM, FT‐IR spectroscopy, XPS, 29Si MAS NMR spectroscopy, contact angle measurements, NH3‐TPD, and pyridine‐FT‐IR spectroscopy. The analyses demonstrated that silanization enhanced the hydrophobicity of the catalysts, and the impregnation sequence of silanized catalysts had a significant effect on the NaHSO4 dispersion, surface area, acid distribution, and hydrophobicity of the silanized catalysts. The catalytic activity of the silanized catalysts was much higher than that of NaHSO4/MCM‐41. Among the silanized catalysts, the catalyst prepared by simultaneous impregnation with DTEOS and NaHSO4 showed the highest iodine value of 141.8 [g(I2) per 100 g] and lowest hydroxyl value of 11.3 [mg(KOH)·g–1].
On Ternary Intermetallic Aurides: CaAu2Al2, SrAu2–xAl2+x and Ba3Au5+xAl6–x
Authors: Stegemann Frank , Benndorf Christopher , Zhang Yuemei , Bartsch Manfred , Zacharias Helmut , Fokwa Boniface P. T. , Eckert Hellmut , Janka Oliver
Published: May 2017

The intermetallic compound CaAu2Al2, and the members of the solid solutions SrAu2–xAl2+x (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.33) and Ba3Au5+xAl6–x (x = 0, 0.14, 0.49) were synthesized from the elements in sealed tantalum ampoules. The Ca compound crystallizes with the orthorhombic ThRu2P2 type structure, whereas the targeted SrAu2Al2 was found to form a solid solution according to SrAu2–xAl2+x. For the Ba system no “BaAu2Al2” was found, however, Ba3Au5+xAl6–x was discovered to crystallize in the monoclinic space group C2/c with its own structure type. The samples were investigated by powder X‐ray diffraction and their crystal structures were refined on the basis of single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction data. All compounds were characterized furthermore by susceptibility measurements. The crystallographic aluminum sites of CaAu2Al2 and Ba3Au5Al6 can be differentiated by 27Al solid state NMR spectra on the basis of their different electric field gradients, in agreement with theoretical calculations. The electron transfer from the alkaline earth metals and the aluminum atoms onto the gold atoms was investigated by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) classifying these intermetallics as aurides, in full agreement with the calculated Bader charges.
The forewing of the Aphis fabae (Scopoli 1763) (Hemiptera, Sternorrhyncha): a morphological and histological study
Authors: Franielczyk-Pietyra Barbara , Wegierek Piotr
Published: May 2017

Dorsal and ventral sides of the forewing of Aphis fabae (Scopoli 1763) (Sternorrhyncha, Hemiptera) were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Reinforcement elements on their surface as well as scale-like elements were described. Using histological methods, cross-sections of the material were done. They showed a two-layered membrane with a circular foramen inside. The course of veins and places of their bifurcation were followed. Common stem of radius (R), media (M), and cubitus anterior (CuA) veins were composed of separate tracheae, which ran separately at the beginning, then continued in a single tunnel, and finally disappeared. Nerves were not observed. Neither were tracheae visible on the further course of those veins. The presence of a devoid-of-trachea costal vein was confirmed. Under scanning electron microscope, convex reinforcements on dorsal side of the wing turned out to be more sclerotized parts of chitin, not giving a zigzag-like profile of the wing on sections. In this paper, we show for the first time a cross-section of a very delicate wing of an aphid representative.
Lumbar puncture in patients with neurologic conditions
Authors: Babapour Mofrad Rosha , Bouwman Femke H. , Slot Rosalinde E.R. , Timmers Tessa , van der Flier Wiesje M. , Scheltens Philip , Teunissen Charlotte E.
Published: May 2017

A lumbar puncture (LP) is performed to obtain cerebrospinal fluid. It is implemented in the clinic on a routine basis to aid the diagnosis of neurologic diseases. This paper accompanies an informative lumbar puncture video that shows the lumbar puncture procedure as routinely performed in the VUmc Alzheimer center based on the consensus guidelines by Engelborghs et al.
Treatment of Del17p and/or aberrant TP53 chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the era of novel therapies
Authors: Rafei Hind , A. Kharfan-Dabaja Mohamed
Published: May 2017

More effective therapies are emerging, with better toxicity profiles, and are being incorporated into modern treatment algorithms of chronic lymphocytic leukemia at various stages of the disease, including for patients harboring Del17p and/or aberrant TP53. Ibrutinib, an inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase, has demonstrated impressive response rates in the relapsed/refrac-tory setting, including in the setting of Del17p and/or TP53 mutations. Venetoclax, an inhibitor of BCL-2 known to play an important role in regulating cell death, has been approved recently for treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia with Del17p who have received at least one prior therapy. Unfortunately, a cure remains unattainable unless eligible patients are offered an allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant. However, hematopoietic cell allografting is limited by the availability of suitable donors and significant morbidity and mortality. Recent clinical practice recommendations by the American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation have relegated the role of transplantation to later stages of the disease. In patients with evidence of Richter syndrome, frontline consolidation allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation remains the most desirable approach owing to the limited activity of ibrutinib or other novel therapies. Further therapeutic advances would require enrolling these patients in large clinical trials that evaluate novel therapies alone or in combination with traditional chemotherapies or even in the setting of posttransplant consolidation/maintenance.
The globalmindedness of graduating seniors by gender and ethnicity in six North Florida public high schools
Authors: Kirkwood-Tucker Toni Fuss , Leierer Stephen , Turner Jeannine E. , Rawls Erik S. , Lyew Danielle , Bauer Kristina
Published: May 2017

In this study, we examined gender and ethnicity differences in globalmindedness among graduating seniors in six North Florida public high schools. Using a mixed method design, we administered 1096 globalmindedness surveys and conducted 59 one-on-one interviews measuring the five globalmindedness dimensions of responsibility, interconnectedness, globalcentrism, cultural pluralism, and efficacy. Females scored significantly higher on all five dimensions of globalmindedness than their male counterparts on the globalmindedness survey; however, the interview results revealed a higher level of globalmindedness among females only on the dimensions of responsibility and efficacy. African-American students possessed a higher level of globalmindedness in the dimensions of efficacy and interconnectedness than their European-American counterparts in both the survey and interview data. The interview results also revealed a higher level of globalmindedness among African-American students in the dimensions of responsibility and cultural pluralism, a difference not seen in the survey data. We discuss the need for further globalmindedness research with graduating high school students, with special attention to the dimensions of globalmindedness that did not align in the survey and interview data. The implications of the findings for educators seeking to teach from a global perspective are addressed.
A Chinese Porcelain Jar Associated with Marco Polo: A Discussion from an Archaeological Perspective
Authors: Meicun Lin , Zhang Ran
Published: May 2017

As the first European to claim that he travelled to China and back, Marco Polo is a celebrated traveller who described the multicultural society of Eurasia in the thirteenth to fourteenth centuriesad. However, his famed account, theTravels of Marco Polo, contains many unsolved mysteries which have generated discussion among historians, while an archaeological approach has been even less convincing because the material that may link to Marco Polo is very rare. A recent re-analysis of Chinese ceramics from a wide geographical area ranging from southern China to the Indian Ocean provides some archaeological support: it suggests that a Chinese porcelain jar housed in the Treasury of San Marco in Venice dates to the era of Marco Polo and is associated with his journey to China.
Sentences people speak and sentences linguists study
Authors: Gleason H. A.
Published: May 2017

In recent years the interests of linguists have turned more and more to the problems of generative grammars. A number of models have been proposed, and in debate sharply opposed to one another, but they all share a number of fundamental assumptions. I will frequently use transformationalists as examples of linguists, and transformational treatments as examples of generative grammar, and I will start from a definition worded in a characteristically transformational-generative way. I do this because they are the most generally familiar instances. But what I have to say will apply with only small adjustments to, say, stratificational generative linguists and linguistics as well.
Should we drop the notion of “subject”?
Authors: Martinet André
Published: May 2017

The title of this paper should by no means be interpreted as a recommendation diplomatically couched in the form of a question. As I write it, I am wondering whether or not we could achieve more clarity in our exchanges among linguists if we decided to judge on its own merits each one of the cases where we are used to operating, or tempted to operate, with the notion of subject, and if we tried to devise new and less ambiguous labelings for every specific complex of syntactic criteria. Yet, considering the difficulty of reaching agreement among all scholars concerned, would we not, thereby, increase the existing confusion rather than reduce it?
Reading knowledge testing
Authors: Joos Martin
Published: May 2017

This report covers one service of Linguistics to the University of Toronto School of Graduate Studies. Since July 1968 the SGS has routinely tested the French and the German reading abilities called for in each of the PhD supervising departments from Aerospace through Zoology, relieving the language departments of onerous burdens. Each department has chosen its own pass/fail standard; choices are alterable, especially downward without notice, four times a year; departments find raising them more troublesome but do it by internal political process as often as they see fit, actually as often as twice in three years.
Pied Piping, Feature Percolation and the Structure of the Noun Phrase
Authors: Cowper Elizabeth A.
Published: May 2017

Ross (1967) showed that in relative clauses, not only may the WH-phrase be fronted, but an NP or PP containing the WH-phrase may also be fronted, as shown in (1):

(1)

a.

This is the child [who]i I’ve been hearing stories about ti.

b.

This is the child [about whom]i I’ve been hearing stories ti.

c.

This is the child [stories about whom]i I’ve been hearing ti.

Ross called this phenomenon “pied piping”. His statement of the pied piping convention is given in (2).

(2)

Any transformation which is stated in such a way as to effect the reordering of some specified node NP, where this node is preceded and followed by variables in the structural index of the rule, may apply to this NP or to any non-coordinate NP which dominates it, as long as there are no occurrences of any coordinate node, nor of the node S, on the branch connecting the higher node and the specified node. (1967:114)

Notice that Ross’s statement applies to any transformation moving an element over a variable. Thus, the prediction is that WH-questions and relative clauses should behave similarly with respect to pied piping. This is not the case, as pointed out by Bresnan (1976:37). Questions seem to be much more limited in what can be pied piped than are relative clauses.
Studies on the Taqqanot of Yavneh
Authors: Neusner Jacob
Published: May 2017

Along with the analogical (homer) exegeses, the Yavneh ordinances constitute the earliest components of the normative tradition concerning Yoḥanan ben Zakkai. Conventional forms occur, which indicate that even the earliest strata of edited materials have already been given substantially permanent shape, perhaps after circulating for a brief time in various unofficial formulations. We shall first review and comment on individual traditions, in order of the redaction of the documents in which they occur, and then offer some synoptic remarks.
The action of calf rennet and other proteolytic enzymes on κ-casein
Authors: Lawrence R. C. , Creamer L. K.
Published: May 2017

The hydrolysis of κ-casein by a number of rennets and other proteolytic enzymes has been followed by measuring the increase in opacity due to the formation of insoluble aggregates of para-κ-caseins. The stability of these precipitates varied markedly, some being solubilized rapidly by the further action of the enzyme. The turbidity obtained with certain enzymes was dependent upon the calcium ion concentration, indicating that the para-κ-caseins produced were not identical for all enzymes.

For high concentrations of calf rennet, the rate of aggregation was linear with respect to time. With low concentrations of enzyme, increase in turbidity was preceded by a lag period which was lengthened by decreasing the enzyme concentration or increasing the κ-casein concentration. This increase in lag is favoured by a high κ-casein/para-κ-casein ratio, suggesting that the aggregation of newly formed para-κ-casein is prevented by the unchanged κ-casein. In addition, small amounts of αs1- or β-caseins present in the κ-casein also markedly affected the aggregation of para-κ-casein, indicating that all 3 major casein components can inhibit the aggregation of para-κ-casein in the absence of calcium ions. In the light of these observations the possible role of protein-protein interactions in casein coagulation by calf rennet is discussed.
The use of high-temperature short-time scalding in continuous curd-making
Authors: Berridge N. J. , Scurlock P. G.
Published: May 2017

Experiments with continuously made curd leading to the use of a 4-min scalding period at 48°C for Cheddar curd-making are described. The short time at 48°C had only a slightly adverse effect on the starter, and the moisture content of the drained curd was within the range usually found in conventionally made curd at the same stage. The starter was allowed to grow in the drained curd during cheddaring. After 3–6 h the pH and moisture content were the same as those of normal cheddared curd.
An inducible antibacterial agent produced by a strain ofStreptococcus cremoris
Authors: Keogh Barbara P. , Shimmin P. D.
Published: May 2017

An antibacterial agent is produced by ultraviolet (UV) irradiation ofStreptococcus cremorisstrain C11–56. Its production is accompanied by cell lysis and it attacks the strain C11–56 which produces it as well as a number of otherStr. cremorisstrains. A correlation between sensitivity to the antibacterial agent and sensitivity to trypsin has been demonstrated. Electron micrographs have shown the presence of particles resembling phage heads, most of which are empty, and of only very few intact phage-like particles in the lysate. The active agent in the lysate is associated with a particle ofM> 100000. The evidence suggests that the activity of the lysate may be due to the presence of a defective phage or of a lethal component of it.
The variation throughout a year in the fatty acid composition of milk fat from 2 dairy herds
Authors: Hutton K. , Seeley R. C. , Armstrong D. G.
Published: May 2017

Differences in milk-fat composition in summer and winter have been demonstrated and related to feeding for an autumn calving Friesian herd and an Ayrshire herd in which calving was equally divided between spring and autumn. The observations are in agreement with previous results obtained for milk fat in the Northern Hemisphere.

Summer milk fat contained more C18acids and less C4–C16acids than winter milk fat, the effect being particularly marked for the autumn calving herd.

Changes in the pattern of feeding altered the fatty acid composition of milk fat from both herds, and abrupt changes in feeding were clearly reflected even at times when stage of lactation effects were greatest.
Composition and enzymatic activity in bulk milk from dairy farms with conventional or robotic milking systems
Authors: Johansson Monika , Lundh Åse , de Vries Ruben , Sjaunja Kerstin Svennersten
Published: May 2017

The objective of the studies reported in this research communication was to investigate differences in composition and enzymatic activities in bulk milk samples provided from Swedish dairy farms with different management systems, i.e. automated (AMS) and conventional milking systems (CMS). A bulk milk sample was collected from each of 104 dairy farms, 51 using AMS and 53 using CMS, located in the same geographical region. Sampling took place within two consecutive days during the indoor period (October). Milk samples were analysed for contents of total fat and protein, free fatty acids (FFA), caseins and whey proteins, somatic cell count (SCC), pH, plasmin and plasminogen derived activities, and total proteolysis. Our results showed a lower protein content and higher SCC in bulk milk from AMS herds compared with milk from CMS herds. Plasmin, plasminogen and total plasmin/ plasminogen derived activities were lower in milk from AMS herds but despite this, total casein and the ß-casein fraction as % of total protein were lower in milk from AMS herds than in milk from herds using CMS. Total proteolysis was higher in milk from AMS herds, suggesting that other proteases than plasmin, e.g. cellular and bacterial proteases, contributed to the degradation of casein. This was supported by a positive correlation between SCC and total proteolysis (P < 0·01), as well as a negative correlation between total proteolysis and ß-casein fraction (P < 0·05). In conclusion, comparing the quality of bulk milk from commercial dairy herds using AMS and CMS, respectively, several differences were observed, suggesting a significant effect from management system.
Towards practical application of sensors for monitoring animal health: the effect of post-calving health problems on rumination duration, activity and milk yield
Authors: Steensels Machteld , Maltz Ephraim , Bahr Claudia , Berckmans Daniel , Antler Aharon , Halachmi Ilan
Published: May 2017

Three sources of sensory data: cow's individual rumination duration, activity and milk yield were evaluated as possible indicators for clinical diagnosis, focusing on post-calving health problems such as ketosis and metritis. Data were collected from a computerised dairy-management system on a commercial dairy farm with Israeli Holstein cows. In the analysis, 300 healthy and 403 sick multiparous cows were studied during the first 3 weeks after calving. A mixed model with repeated measurements was used to compare healthy cows with sick cows. In the period from 5 d before diagnosis and treatment to 2 d after it, rumination duration and activity were lower in the sick cows compared to healthy cows. The milk yield of sick cows was lower than that of the healthy cows during a period lasting from 5 d before until 5 d after the day of diagnosis and treatment. Differences in the milk yield of sick cows compared with healthy cows became greater from 5 to 1 d before diagnosis and treatment. The greatest significant differences occurred 3 d before diagnosis for rumination duration and 1 d before diagnosis for activity and milk yield. These results indicate that a model can be developed to automatically detect post-calving health problems including ketosis and metritis, based on rumination duration, activity and milk yield.
Usnea Elixii, A New Lichen Species From Australia
Authors: Stevens G. Nell
Published: May 2017

Usnea elixii sp. nov. is a restricted endemic of north Queensland. It is usually fertile, but produces a continuum of morphs, with the other extreme being a sterile isidiate morph with large pseudocyphellae. All morphs produce protocetraric acid.
A Successful Transplant Operation Involving Lobaria Amplissima
Authors: Gilbert O. L.
Published: May 2017

A technique for transplanting epiphytic lichens is described by reference to a rescue operation involving Lobaria amplissima at Lowther Park, Cumbria. Fourteen transplantswere monitored for 10 years after which period 70% survived. All failures occurred during the first 12 months.
Cognitive reserve as a moderator of the negative association between mood and cognition: evidence from a population-representative cohort
Authors: Opdebeeck C. , Matthews F. E. , Wu Y-T. , Woods R. T. , Brayne C. , Clare L.
Published: May 2017

Background

Cognitive reserve (CR) has been associated with better cognitive function and lower risk of depression in older people, yet it remains unclear whether CR moderates the association between mood and cognition. This study aimed to investigate whether a comprehensive indicator of CR, including education, occupation and engagement in cognitive and social activities, acts as a moderator of this association.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study utilising baseline data from the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study II (CFAS II), a large population-based cohort of people aged 65+ in England. Complete data on the measures of CR, mood and cognition were available for 6565 dementia-free individuals. Linear regression models were used to investigate the potential modifying effect of CR on the association between cognition and mood with adjustment for age, sex and missing data.

Results

Levels of CR did moderate the negative association between mood and cognition; the difference in cognition between those with and without a clinical level mood disorder was significantly smaller in the middle (−2.28; 95% confidence interval (CI) −3.65 to −0.90) and higher (−1.30; 95% CI −2.46 to −0.15) CR groups compared with the lower CR group (−4.01; 95% CI −5.53 to −2.49). The individual components of CR did not significantly moderate the negative association between mood and cognition.

Conclusion

These results demonstrate that CR, indexed by a composite score based on multiple indicators, can moderate the negative association between lowered mood and cognition, emphasising the importance of continuing to build CR across the lifespan in order to maintain cognitive health.
The Morality of Inclusion
Authors: Buchanan Allen
Published: May 2017

Today we are witnessing two dramatic processes: the fragmentation of old states and empires, followed by the emergence of new states and new forms of political association; and the construction of new economies out of the ruins of state socialism. These two processes—the redrawing of political boundaries and the creation of economies—are not independent of one another. In some cases, the desire for a new, more productive economy supplements other motives for state-breaking and state-making. In others, even if the fragmentation of political union results from other factors, such as ethnic divisions or the resurgence of nationalism against a weakened imperial center, the fragments may sort themselves out into new states, federations, or commonwealths, according to what they believe to be maximally productive economic units.
EXPOSURE FREQUENCY IN L2 READING
Authors: Mohamed Ayman A.
Published: May 2017

The present study brings together methods of extensive reading studies and eye-movement research to track the cognitive effects of exposure frequency on vocabulary processing and learning. Forty-two advanced second language learners of English read a stage 1 graded reader, Goodbye Mr. Hollywood, on a computer screen while their eye movements were recorded. The eye-tracking task was followed by comprehension questions and vocabulary posttests. Target vocabulary consisted of 20 pseudo words and 20 known words with a range of repetition from 1 to 30. Eye-movement data showed that readers spent more time on pseudo words than on familiar words and that fixation times decreased across encounters with more attention given to target words on early encounters. Repeated exposure supported form recognition but was not as significant for meaning recall and recognition. Total times spent on each encounter was positively associated with learning success in all vocabulary measures. The amount of attention, as reflected in total reading times on each pseudo word, positively predicted learning outcomes above and beyond the number of encounters. Results of the study add a cognitive dimension to the concept of engagement in lexical learning in the process of incidental learning from second language reading.
Reptile species persistence under climate change and direct human threats in north-western Argentina
Authors: NORI JAVIER , LEYNAUD GERARDO C. , VOLANTE JOSÉ , ABDALA CRISTIAN S. , SCROCCHI GUSTAVO J. , RODRÍGUEZ-SOTO CLARITA , PRESSEY ROBERT L. , LOYOLA RAFAEL
Published: May 2017

Protected areas have been established historically in residual places where the potential for extractive uses is low, implying that places at risk are usually under-protected. Argentina is no exception, with few protected areas established in productive regions that are prone to conversion. Here, using reptiles as a study group and considering the most important human threats in north-western Argentina, we estimated priority conservation areas where we expect species to persist in the face of climate change and land conversion. Protected areas cover no more than 9% of the study region, but represent less than 15% of reptile distributions. There are great opportunities for improving the conservation status in the region by protecting only 8% more of north-western Argentina, with the level of species protection inside the protected area network increasing almost four-fold, reaching 43% of species distributions on average and 59% of the distributions of threatened reptiles. Fortunately, the highest diversity of reptiles in the region does not match the places targeted for agriculture expansion. Our findings suggest that future prioritization schemes should embrace other groups that are especially diverse in the Chaco ecoregion, which overlaps with our study area.
Degradation of endosperm mRNAs during dry afterripening of cereal grains
Authors: Johnson Russell R. , Dyer William E.
Published: May 2017

The endosperm of dormant wild oat (Avena fatuaL.) grains contains a number of mRNAs, including low levels of transcripts encoding avenin (AV10), puroindoline-like (AV1) and serine proteinase inhibitor-like (Z1) proteins. During dry afterripening, a period of warm dry storage that relieves dormancy, the abundance of these intact transcripts gradually declined to undetectable levels in pooled grain samples. In contrast, the three mRNAs did not decline in grains stored for the same period at −20°C, and levels of mRNA decay products derived from these transcripts did not change during afterripening. Disappearance of the three intact mRNAs was not a general phenomenon, since abundance of more than 5000 other seed mRNAs did not change during this period. Additional experiments were conducted to test the idea that the presence of these transcripts was positively correlated with seed dormancy status. First, the rate of intactZ1mRNA decline was similar to the rate of dormancy relief during 9 months of afterripening. Second, cultivated oat (A. sativa) grains (which are not dormant at maturity) contained much lower levels of these mRNAs than did highly dormant wild oat grains. Third, levels of full-lengthAV1andZ1mRNAs remained constant in dormant grains during 6 d of imbibition. However, Northern analyses of individual grains from a partially afterripened seed lot showed that amounts of intactAV1orZ1mRNAs were highly variable in germinating and dormant grains and were not correlated with dormancy status. Even though loss of these transcripts occurred under the same environmental conditions that promote afterripening, a causal relationship between the two processes seems unlikely. The apparently specific mechanism(s) by which these mRNAs are degraded in endosperm tissue may represent a novel post-transcriptional process for regulating levels of certain transcripts in dry grains.
The Richards function and quantitative analysis of germination and dormancy in meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba)
Authors: Cheng Canhong , Gordon Ian L.
Published: May 2017

While investigating germinability in the new-crop meadowfoam (Limnanthes albaBenth.), it was desired to gain maximum information despite minimal seed material and prior knowledge. Extended use of the Richards function in a factorial germination experiment proved very powerful. The functions yielded estimates of four correlated coefficients, requiring multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to provide validF-tests among germination profiles. These germination functions provided more rigorous discrimination among treatments than the univariate final germination level. The functions for the imbibants KNO3and GA4+7, in darkness at 10/5°C, were best, being characterized by high mean absolute germination rate, relatively short duration, and high final germination (upper asymptote). The results provided insights into possible dormancy mechanisms.
Manipulation of desiccation-sensitive axes of wampee (Clausena lansium) to facilitate increased dehydration tolerance
Authors: Fu J.R. , Huang X.M. , Songa S.Q.
Published: May 2017

The plumules of newly-excised wampee embryos, which are more sensitive to dehydration than the roots, became more resistant to water loss when axes were allowed to sprout on woody plant medium [WPM; McCown and Lloyd (1981) Hortscience16, 453] before being dried. Pre-treatment of sprouting axes (seedlings) with sucrose incorporated in the WPM enhanced survival. Although the roots withered following further dehydration of seedlings cultured on WPM containing 60% sucrose, excised plumules were capable of generating adventitious roots when a combination of 10 mM α-napthaleneacetic acid and 10 mM indole-3-butyric acid was used during subsequent in vitro incubation.
Measures of suicidality in phase 3 clinical trials of levomilnacipran ER in adults with major depressive disorder
Authors: Thase Michael E. , Gommoll Carl , Chen Changzheng , Kramer Kenneth , Khan Arif , Durgam Suresh
Published: May 2017

Objective

To evaluate the effects of levomilnacipran extended-release (ER) on suicidal ideation and behavior in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods

Post hoc analyses were conducted in patients from 4 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials and a long-term, open-label extension study of levomilnacipran ER (40-120 mg/d) in adults with MDD. Analyses included incidence of suicide-related treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs); incidence of Columbia–Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) suicidal ideation (score=1–5) and behavior (score=6-10); percent of patients who shifted from no C-SSRS suicidal ideation/behavior at baseline to suicidal ideation during treatment (worsened from score=0 to score=1–5), or vice-versa (improved from score=1-5 to score=0).

Results

Suicide-related TEAEs occurred in<1% of patients in the levomilnacipran ER studies. The incidence of C-SSRS suicidal ideation was 22.2%, 23.9%, and 21.7% for placebo, short-term levomilnacipran ER, and long-term levomilnacipran ER, respectively; C-SSRS suicidal behavior was<1% in all of these groups. In the short-term studies, the percentage of patients with C-SSRS shifts were as follows: worsening from score=0 to score=1–5 (placebo, 8.6%; levomilnacipran ER, 11.0%); improvement from score=1–5 to score=0 (placebo, 24.0%; levomilnacipran ER, 27.7%).

Conclusion

In adult MDD patients, the incidence of suicidal ideation and behavior was similar between placebo and short-term levomilnacipran ER as indicated by TEAE reports and C-SSRS scores. Worsening in C-SSRS scores was also similar between placebo and levomilnacipran ER. There was no indication of increased suicidality during longer courses of continued therapy. Together, these findings suggest that this medication is not associated with increased risks of suicidal ideation or behavior.
Modelling and analysis of incomplete and short lactations
Authors: Jaffrézic F , Minini P
Published: May 2017

Advantages of the use of test-day records for genetic evaluation of dairy cattle are now widely accepted. In particular, longitudinal models such as random regression avoid using ad hoc extrapolation procedures to reconstruct complete lactations as they provide individual predictions even for incomplete data. However, these predictions and parameter estimates obtained in the model do not take into account the lactation length. This can be an important drawback for phenotypic and genetic analysis of milk production of cows with shorter lactations. The aim of this paper is to propose a methodology that would correct these predictions, weighting them by the probability at each point in time of each cow being dried off. The proposed procedure is easy to implement and calculations are fast to compute. A simulation study and an application on real data for daily milk records show that the proposed methodology provides a more accurate estimation for individual cumulative production as well as genetic values, and avoids predicting negative productions at the end of the lactation as is often the case with random regression models.
Estimates of genetic parameters for fertility traits of Australian Holstein-Friesian cattle
Authors: Haile-Mariam M. , Morton J.M. , Goddard M.E.
Published: May 2017

Fertility data collected on 17131 Holstein-Friesian cows from 158 dairy herds in Australia were used to estimate heritabilities for and correlations among several fertility traits using a sire model. Pregnancy rate (PR), survival (Surv), calving interval (CI), calving to first service interval (CFS), insemination rate (coded as 1 if a cow received a service or 0 otherwise) (InsemR) and first service non-return rate (FNRR) were the main traits analysed in a six-trait model. Among the traits, CFS had the highest h2 (0·13) and FNRR had the lowest h2 (0·01). Genetic correlations among the traits were higher than environmental correlations in all cases. The genetic correlations of PR with InsemR, FNRR, CFS, CI and Surv were 0·74, 0·79 and -0·84, -0·57, and 0·67, respectively. The genetic correlation between InsemR and CFS was high (-0·95) indicating that they almost measure the same trait. Analysis of data from cows that did not return to service after the first service despite not being pregnant (so-called ‘phantom’ cow syndrome) showed that the syndrome is not heritable. The relatively high genetic correlation of PR with traits such as CI and Surv that can be extracted from milk recording data and CFS, FNRR and InsemR that can be obtained from mating data suggests that routine genetic evaluation of sires for daughter fertility based on these traits can be implemented in national selection programs.
Effect of equi-molar dietary betaine and choline addition on performance, carcass quality and physiological parameters of pigs
Authors: Siljander-Rasi H , Peuranen S , Tiihonen K , Virtanen E , Kettunen H , Alaviuhkola T , Simmins P.H
Published: May 2017

Betaine and its precursor choline were compared in their efficiency in affecting the performance, carcass traits, and liver betaine concentration of growing-finishing pigs. Individually penned Finnish Landrace and Yorkshire pigs and their crosses (30 kg; no. = 70) were offered the basal diet with no added betaine or choline, or the basal diet supplemented with low to moderate doses (250, 500 or 1000 mg/kg) of betaine (Betafin® S1), or with a similar molar amount of choline (578, 1155 or 2310 mg/kg of choline chloride). The maize-soya-bean-meal basal diet was formulated to contain 12·3 MJ/kg digestible energy, 155 g/kg crude protein and 7·4, 4·4 and 4·3 g/kg digestible lysine, threonine and methionine + cystine, respectively. Oat hull meal (100 g/kg) was added to reduce the dietary energy concentration. The pigs were on a restricted feeding level, 1·5 to 3·0 kg food per day (proportionately 0·8 of ad libitum intake) for 75 days. Daily weight gain and food-to-gain ratio improved linearly (P < 0·01) with increasing dietary betaine. Carcass weight increased linearly (P < 0·01) but slaughter loss proportion, backfat and sidefat thicknesses and lean proportions in ham and carcass were unaffected by dietary betaine level. Liver betaine level increased linearly (by up to a proportion of 0·62 in comparison with the control) with dietary betaine addition (F < 0·05) and betaine tended to improve linearly the tensile strength of the proximal ileum (P = 0·07). The presence of choline had no effect on any of these parameters. These results indicate that low to moderate doses of dietary betaine improved the growth and the efficiency of food utilization of growing-finishing pigs. Pigs on betaine diets had heavier carcasses without a relative increase in carcass fat. Choline had no such effects in pigs offered the restricted amount of diet. Liver betaine concentration increased with level of betaine in the diet whereas the betaine precursor choline did not affect hepatic betaine.
Meat quality of Boer goat kids and Mutton Merino lambs 1. Commercial yields and chemical composition
Authors: Sheridan R. , Hoffman L.C. , Ferreira A.V.
Published: May 2017

Carcass measurements, commercial cuts and chemical composition of the meat of 32 Boer goat (BG) kids and 32 South African Mutton Merino (MM) lambs were investigated. Two pelleted diets (offered to 16 animals per species) with either a low (LE, 9·9 MJ/kg dry matter (DM)) or a high (HE, 121 MJ/kg DM) metabolizable energy level were offered, ad libitum, for either 28 or 56 days. Thereafter the animals were slaughtered and the carcasses dissected into South African commercial cuts. The 8-9-10-rib cut of each carcass was dissected and used for chemical analysis. MM had heavier carcasses (LE: 19·87w. 15·28 kg; HE: 2401 v 17·05 kg), and proportionally heavier ribs and buttocks than BG and therefore one can expect higher prices for sheep carcasses than for those of goats. BG had significantly more moisture and protein and lower fat and energy values than MM. DM, fat and energy values increased with an increase in slaughter age in both species. BG had significantly higher concentrations of 11 of the 18 measured essential amino acids in their 8-9-10-rib cuts than the MM. Goat carcasses had higher Ca, K, Mg, Na and P levels than sheep carcasses, regardless of the diet offered. BG had a lower carcass cholesterol content than lamb (66·77 v. 99·28 mg/100 g, respectively). Palmitic (C16: 0), stearic (C18: 0) and oleic (C18: 1n9) acids comprised the greatest proportions of the fatty acids in the 8-9-10-rib cut. On both diets there was a significantly higher saturated to unsaturated (SFA: UFA) fatty acid ratio in lamb than in goat meat (LE: 0·30 v 0·845; HE 1·407 v. 0·892). It can be concluded that chemically the meat from young feedlot goats is not inferior to that of lamb, and since it has a higher protein percentage and lower fat, cholesterol and SFA it can be considered as a healthy food commodity. Since diet had little or no significant influence on the carcass weight distribution or chemical composition of the goats, BGs can be finished on a LE-diet in the feedlot. This may decrease the food cost significantly.
Meat quality of Boer goat kids and Mutton Merino lambs 2. Sensory meat evaluation
Authors: Sheridan R. , Hoffman L.C. , Ferreira A.V.
Published: May 2017

The meat palatability, water-holding capacity, colour and shear force values of 32 Boer goat (BG) kids and 32 South African Mutton Merino (MM) lambs were investigated. Two pelleted diets (offered to 16 animals per species) with either a low (LE, 9·9 MJ/kg dry matter (DM)) or a high (HE, 12·1 MJ/kg DM) metabolizable energy level were given to the animals for either 28 or 56 days. Thereafter the animals were slaughtered, the meat cooked and presented to a trained sensory panel. Organoleptically, a difference between goat and lamb was noted. Each one had a specific species flavour, which was not influenced by energy level of the diet. BG meat was perceived to be stringier than that of the MM, but there was no significant difference in Warner-Bratzler shear force values. Tenderness declined with age in both species and there was also a tendency for goat meat to be less juicy than lamb. Chevon had a more pronounced after-taste than lamb. No objective difference could be distinguished between the colour of the cooked goat and lamb, but there was a tendency for fresh lamb to have a higher a*-value (redness) than goat. Although diet did not influence drip loss, drip loss increased with an increase in slaughter age. Only after 56 days did the m. semimembranosus of MM have a significantly higher drip loss than that of BG (LE: 4·84 v. 3·43%; HE: 4·72 v. 3·23%). In the m. semimembranosus of both species cooking loss increased with an increase in slaughter age. It can be concluded that goat meat compares favourably with lamb in terms of water-holding capacity, colour and shear force values. If goats are finished in the feedlot, it can be done on a LE diet, since diet does not influences any of the mentioned characteristics. This may render a direct economic advantage for BG feedlot finishing.