bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predictability of Biometry in Patients Undergoing Cataract Surgery
Authors: Sorkin Nir , Rosenblatt Amir , Barequet Irina S.
Published: October 2016

Purpose

To compare measurements of axial length (AL), anterior chamber depth (ACD), keratometry (K), and the refractive predictability of the Aladdin and IOLMaster biometry devices in cataract surgery patients.

Methods

A retrospective observational study of eyes undergoing cataract surgery. Data were retrieved on AL, ACD, and K measurements obtained by the Aladdin and the IOLMaster. Furthermore, the postoperative refractive prediction errors were compared between the devices.

Results

The study included 127 consecutive eyes of 127 patients undergoing cataract surgery. Mean measurements of AL were not significantly different between the Aladdin (24.18 ± 1.89 mm) and IOLMaster (24.18 ± 1.89 mm) (p = 0.792). Mean K measurements were different between Aladdin (43.84 ± 1.56 D) and IOLMaster (43.97 ± 1.61 D) (p < 0.001). For AL, Aladdin measurements correlated strongly with IOLMaster measurements (r = 0.9997). For K, Aladdin measurements correlated strongly with IOLMaster measurements (r = 0.9912). Fifty-eight of the 127 eyes underwent cataract surgery with a monofocal intraocular lens. For these, mean absolute error (MAE) in predicting refraction relative to the measured postoperative refraction differed between Aladdin (MAE = 0.54 ± 0.40D) and IOLMaster (MAE = 0.49 ± 0.41D) (p = 0.001). After adjustment for the systematic difference in K measurements, the difference in MAE was no longer significant (p = 0.601). The ACD measurements did not differ significantly (p = 0.873) and were well correlated (r = 0.8327).

Conclusions

A very good correlation was found in AL, K, and ACD measurements between the Aladdin biometer and the IOLMaster. Minimal adjustment for the constant difference in keratometry measurements matched the refractive predictability of both devices.
Vision Recovery Despite Retinal Ganglion Cell Loss in Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy
Authors: Webber Ann L.
Published: October 2016

Purpose

To report vision recovery in a single case of Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) (mtDNA14484/ND6 mutation) with longitudinal documentation of retinal ganglion cell layer by ocular coherence tomography (OCT) that includes the pre-onset, acute, and chronic stages of vision loss.

Case Report

We report LHON in a 16-year-old male patient with Type 1 diabetes and known and documented family history of LHON. The patient presented with best-corrected visual acuities of right eye 20/150 and left eye 20/25−. His retinal nerve fiber layer had thickened compared with baseline measures obtained 19 months before the onset of vision loss. Vision rapidly reduced to “hand movements” vision in each eye over the following 2 months. Despite OCT-documented significant recalcitrant loss of ganglion cell layer, visual acuity remarkably recovered to right eye 20/40+ left eye 20/50+ 16 months after onset of neuropathy.

Conclusions

A selective loss of ganglion cells and nerve fiber layer can be documented in LHON. Significant recovery of visual acuity can occur without apparent structural recovery.
The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program and Pathology
Authors: Duggan Máire A. , Anderson William F. , Altekruse Sean , Penberthy Lynne , Sherman Mark E.
Published: October 2016

The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program of the National Cancer Institute collects data on cancer diagnoses, treatment, and survival for approximately 30% of the United States (US) population. To reflect advances in research and oncology practice, approaches to cancer control are evolving from simply enumerating the development of cancers by organ site in populations to including monitoring of cancer occurrence by histopathologic and molecular subtype, as defined by driver mutations and other alterations. SEER is an important population-based resource for understanding the implications of pathology diagnoses across demographic groups, geographic regions, and time and provides unique insights into the practice of oncology in the US that are not attainable from other sources. It provides incidence, survival, and mortality data for histopathologic cancer subtypes, and data by molecular subtyping are expanding. The program is developing systems to capture additional biomarker data, results from special populations, and expand biospecimen banking to enable cutting-edge cancer research and oncology practice. Pathology has always been central and critical to the effectiveness of SEER, and strengthening this relationship in this modern era of cancer diagnosis could be mutually beneficial. Achieving this goal requires close interactions between pathologists and the SEER program. This review provides a brief overview of SEER, focuses on facets relevant to pathology practice and research, and highlights the opportunities and challenges for pathologists to benefit from and enhance the value of SEER data.
A Novel Method for Anti-HLA Antibody Detection Using Personalized Peptide Arrays
Authors: Liu Pan , Souma Tomokazu , Wei Andrew Zu-Sern , Xie Xueying , Luo Xunrong , Jin Jing
Published: October 2016

Background

HLA mismatches are the primary cause of alloantibody-mediated rejection (AMR) in organ transplantation. To delineate antigenic and immunogenic potentials among individual HLA mismatches, information regarding antibody specificity at the epitope level, instead of the allelic level, is needed.

Methods

This study explores a direct screening method for HLA linear epitopes in kidney transplant patients. We custom synthesized a large panel of 15-residue HLA peptides in an array format and measured alloantibody reactivity to these peptides from the sera of post and/or pretransplant patients. Two design concepts for the arrays were followed: a standard array of a fixed panel of peptides or personalized arrays. The standard array contains 420 peptides derived from a predetermined set of HLA-DQ allelic antigens based on templates also used in the single-antigen beads assay.

Results

The array detected distinct antiserum patterns among transplant subjects and revealed epitope levels of specificity largely in accordance with the single-antigen results. Two personalized arrays that each included donor-derived peptides of HLA-A, -B, -C, -DQ, and -DR sequences were separately designed for 2 transplant subjects. The personalized arrays detected de novo antibodies following transplantation. The new method also showed superior sensitivity to a single-antigen assay in one of the cases whose pathological diagnosis of AMR occurred before single-antigen assay could detect antibodies.

Conclusions

This pilot study proved the feasibility of using personalized peptide arrays to achieve detection of alloantibodies for linear HLA epitopes associated with distinct donor-recipient mismatches. Single or multiple reactive epitopes may occur on an individual HLA molecule, and donor-specific HLA-DQ-reactivity among 5 kidney transplant subjects revealed patterns of shared epitopes.
Dynamics and biases of online attention: the case of aircraft crashes
Authors: García-Gavilanes Ruth , Tsvetkova Milena , Yasseri Taha
Published: October 2016

The Internet not only has changed the dynamics of our collective attention but also through the transactional log of online activities, provides us with the opportunity to study attention dynamics at scale. In this paper, we particularly study attention to aircraft incidents and accidents using Wikipedia transactional data in two different language editions, English and Spanish. We study both the editorial activities on and the viewership of the articles about airline crashes. We analyse how the level of attention is influenced by different parameters such as number of deaths, airline region, and event locale and date. We find evidence that the attention given by Wikipedia editors to pre-Wikipedia aircraft incidents and accidents depends on the region of the airline for both English and Spanish editions. North American airline companies receive more prompt coverage in English Wikipedia. We also observe that the attention given by Wikipedia visitors is influenced by the airline region but only for events with a high number of deaths. Finally we show that the rate and time span of the decay of attention is independent of the number of deaths and a fast decay within about a week seems to be universal. We discuss the implications of these findings in the context of attention bias.
Single Cell Phenotyping Reveals Heterogeneity among Haematopoietic Stem Cells Following Infection
Authors: MacLean Adam L , Smith Maia A , Liepe Juliane , Sim Aaron , Khorshed Reema , Rashidi Narges M , Scherf Nico , Krinner Axel , Roeder Ingo , Celso Cristina Lo , Stumpf Michael PH
Published: October 2016

The haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche provides essential micro-environmental cues for the production and maintenance of HSCs within the bone marrow. During inflammation, haematopoietic dynamics are perturbed, but it is not known whether changes to the HSC-niche interaction occur as a result. We visualise HSCs directly in vivo, enabling detailed analysis of the 3D niche dynamics and migration patterns in murine bone marrow followingTrichinella spiralisinfection. Spatial statistical analysis of these HSC trajectories reveals two distinct modes of HSC behaviour: (i) a pattern of revisiting previously explored space, and (ii) a pattern of exploring new space. Whereas HSCs from control donors predominantly follow pattern (i), those from infected mice adopt both strategies. Using detailed computational analyses of cell migration tracks and life-history theory, we show that the increased motility of HSCs following infection can, perhaps counterintuitively, enable mice to cope better in deteriorating HSC-niche micro-environments following infection.

Author Summary

Haematopoietic stem cells reside in the bone marrow where they are crucially maintained by an incompletely-determined set of niche factors. Recently it has been shown that chronic infection profoundly affects haematopoiesis by exhausting stem cell function, but these changes have not yet been resolved at the single cell level. Here we show that the stem cell–niche interactions triggered by infection are heterogeneous whereby cells exhibit different behavioural patterns: for some, movement is highly restricted, while others explore much larger regions of space over time. Overall, cells from infected mice display higher levels of persistence. This can be thought of as a search strategy: during infection the signals passed between stem cells and the niche may be blocked or inhibited. Resultantly, stem cells must choose to either ‘cling on’, or to leave in search of a better environment. The heterogeneity that these cells display has immediate consequences for translational therapies involving bone marrow transplant, and the effects that infection might have on these procedures.
Environmental turbulence: impact on UK SMEs’ manufacturing priorities
Authors: Sainidis Eustathios , Robson Andrew
Published: October 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to assess the impact of 2008 recession (Great Recession)-led environmental turbulence on the manufacturing small and medium enterprise (SME) sector and its related competitive priorities.

Design/methodology/approach

A mixed methods research strategy, consisting of a survey of 104 manufacturing SMEs located in the UK, complemented by 17 in-depth interviews with senior management representatives from this survey group.

Findings

Senior managers have prompted a realignment of competitive manufacturing priorities accounting for external financial and market conditions. Differing competitive priorities post-recession are given to various areas of manufacturing decision-making, the greatest impact being on manufacturing costs. Manufacturing flexibility, performance in meeting customer deliveries and enhancing supplier selection are merited to increase priority with relatively little change for process technology, quality and environmental practices.

Research limitations/implications

The sample of survey participants was relatively small, therefore prohibiting an assessment of differences in competitive priorities by sub-sectors of manufacturing SMEs. This was offset by a healthy number of informative, in-depth interviews that provided a richness of examples and insight into the shifting priorities for the sector.

Practical implications

Clear priorities have emerged around reducing manufacturing costs, being more flexible in manufacturing and improving outward performance relating to customers and suppliers.

Originality/value

This builds on established manufacturing strategy constructs and points to necessary competitive priority realignment focused on the performance areas listed above.
The effects of logic replacement in coal-mining disaster: the case of Soma
Authors: Kaya Cigdem , Kartaltepe Behram Nihal , Ataman Göksel
Published: October 2016

Purpose

Drawing from the institutional logics and organizational disaster literature, this paper aims to illustrate that the replacement of logics can be problematic in a high-risk industry such as coal mining by adding an institutional perspective to the understanding of disasters.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper investigated the field of coal mining in Turkey historically from archival data resources. A comprehensive, qualitative inquiry of a single-case study was then conducted.

Findings

The findings suggest that a shift from social welfare logic to business logic in the coal-mining industry can lead to coal-mining disasters, resulting from changing practices through an increase in the number of private enterprises through royalty contracts, the use of an increased labor force instead of mechanical methods and systems and the maximization of profit by underestimating the effects of taking almost no occupational safety measures.

Practical implications

The connection between institutional logics and organizational disasters could lead institutional actors to question their understanding of institutional logics.

Originality/value

This paper provides original research evidence for the relationship between industrial disasters and institutional logics.
Our love/hate relationship with meetings
Authors: Lehmann-Willenbrock Nale , Allen Joseph A. , Belyeu Dain
Published: October 2016

Purpose

Employees at all organizational levels spend large portions of their work lives in meetings, many of which are not effective. Previous process-analytical research has identified counterproductive communication patterns to help explain why many meetings go wrong. This study aims to illustrate the ways in which counterproductive – and productive – meeting behaviors are related to individual work engagement and emotional exhaustion.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors built a new research-based survey tool for measuring counterproductive meeting behaviors. An online sample of working adults (N= 440) was recruited to test the factor structure of this new survey and to examine the relationships between both good and bad meeting behaviors and employee attitudes beyond the meeting context.

Findings

Using structural equation modeling, this study found that counterproductive meeting behaviors were linked to decreased employee engagement and increased emotional exhaustion, whereas good meeting behaviors were linked to increased engagement and decreased emotional exhaustion. These relationships were mediated via individual meeting satisfaction and perceived meeting effectiveness.

Research limitations/implications

The study findings provide a nuanced view of meeting outcomes by showing that the behaviors that people observe in their meetings connect not only to meeting satisfaction and effectiveness but also to important workplace attitudes (i.e. employee engagement and emotional exhaustion). In other words, managers and meeting leaders need to be mindful of behavior in meetings, seek ways to mitigate poor behavior and seek opportunities to reward and encourage citizenship behavior.

Originality/value

This study shows how good and bad meeting behaviors relate to employee perceptions of meeting effectiveness and individual job attitudes. The authors develop a science-based, practitioner-friendly new survey tool for observing counterproductive meeting behavior and offer a juxtaposition of good and bad meeting behaviors in a single model.
Ecological intensification and arbuscular mycorrhizas: a meta‐analysis of tillage and cover crop effects
Authors: Bowles Timothy M. , Jackson Louise E. , Loeher Malina , Cavagnaro Timothy R.
Published: October 2016

Reliance on ecosystem services instead of synthetic, non‐renewable inputs is increasingly seen as key to achieving food security in an environmentally sustainable way. This process, known as ecological intensification, will depend in large part on enhancing below‐ground biological interactions that facilitate resource use efficiency. Arbuscular mycorrhizas (AM), associations formed between the roots of most terrestrial plant species and a specialized group of soil fungi, provide valuable ecosystem services, but the full magnitude of these services may not be fully realized under conventional intensively managed annual agricultural systems.

Here, we use meta‐analysis to assess how reducing soil disturbance and periods without roots in agricultural systems affect the formation of AM and the diversity and community composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). We compiled data from 54 field studies across five continents that measured effects of tillage and/or cover cropping on AMF colonization and/or communities and assessed effects of management and environmental factors on these responses.

Less intensive tillage and winter cover cropping similarly increased AMF colonization of summer annual cash crop roots by ∼30%. The key variables influencing the change in AMF colonization were the type of cover crop or the type of alternative tillage, suggesting that farmers can optimize combinations of tillage and cover crops that most enhance AM formation, particularly with no‐till systems and legume cover crops.

Richness of AMF taxa increased by 11% in low‐intensity vs. conventional tillage regimes. Several studies showed changes in diversity and community composition of AMF with cover cropping, but these responses were not consistent.

Synthesis and applications. This meta‐analysis indicates that less intensive tillage and cover cropping are both viable strategies for enhancing root colonization from indigenous arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) across a wide range of soil types and cash crop species, and possibly also shifting AMF community structure, which could in turn increase biologically based resource use in agricultural systems.
Pulmonary vascular inflammation: effect of TLR signalling on angiopoietin/TIE regulation
Authors: Hilbert Tobias , Dornbusch Kathrin , Baumgarten Georg , Hoeft Andreas , Frede Stilla , Klaschik Sven
Published: October 2016

Increased pulmonary vascular resistance is a critical complication in sepsis. Toll‐like receptor (TLR) as well as angiopoietin (ANG) signalling both contribute to the emergence of pulmonary arterial hypertension. We hypothesized that TLR stimulation by bacterial ligands directly affects expression and secretion of ligands and receptors of the angiopoietin/TIE axis. Microvascular endothelial (HPMEC) and smooth muscle cells (SMC) of pulmonary origin were incubated with thrombin and with ligands for TLR2, ‐4, ‐5, and ‐9. Expression and secretion of ANG1, ‐2, TIE2 and IL‐8 were determined using quantitative real‐time PCR and ELISA. TLR stimulation had no impact either on the expression of ANG2 and TIE2 in HPMEC or on that of ANG1 in SMC. However, overall levels of both released ANG1 and ‐2 were halved upon stimulation with the TLR9 ligand CpG, and ANG2 release was significantly enhanced by TLR4 activation when initially provoked by sequentially performed stimulation. Furthermore, enhanced ANG2 activity increased endothelial permeability, as demonstrated in an in vitro transwell assay. We conclude that sole TLR stimulation by bacterial ligands plays no significant role for altered expression and secretion of ANG1, ‐2 and TIE2 in human pulmonary vascular cells. The interplay between various stimuli is required to induce imbalances between ANG1 and ‐2.
A 12‐week, randomized, parallel‐group, proof‐of‐concept study of tulobuterol patch and salmeterol inhaler as add‐on therapy in adult‐onset mild‐to‐moderate asthma
Authors: Inoue Hideki , Niimi Akio , Matsumoto Hisako , Ito Isao , Oguma Tsuyoshi , Otsuka Kojiro , Takeda Tomoshi , Nakaji Hitoshi , Tajiri Tomoko , Iwata Toshiyuki , Nagasaki Tadao , Mishima Michiaki
Published: October 2016

Patch formulation of tulobuterol has been used in asthma treatment as a long‐acting β2‐agonist (LABA) through sustained skin absorption. Its treatment efficacy, especially in small airways, remains poorly understood. The study aim was to investigate LABA add‐on effects of tulobuterol patch (TP) and salmeterol inhaler (SA) on pulmonary function, asthma control and health status. Patients who had adult‐onset under‐control asthma, despite taking inhaled corticosteroids, were enrolled in a randomized, open‐label, parallel‐group, proof‐of‐concept study of 12‐week add‐on treatment with TP (n=16) or SA (n=17). Spirometry, impulse oscillometry (IOS), exhaled nitric oxide levels, and clinical questionnaires of asthma control, health status (St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire: SGRQ), and symptoms were evaluated every 4 weeks. Add‐on treatment of SA significantly improved the spirometric indices of small airway obstruction (forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of FVC: FEF25‐75, and maximum expiratory flow at 25% of FVC: MEF25) and IOS indices of whole respiratory resistance (resistance at 5 Hz) as compared to TP. In intra‐group comparisons, add‐on treatment of TP improved the scores of the asthma control test and the total SGRQ, as well as the symptom and impact components of the SGRQ. SA add‐on treatment improved FEV1 and IOS parameters of resistance at 20 Hz and reactance at 5 Hz. Neither of the treatments improved exhaled nitric oxide levels. In conclusion, add‐on treatment of TP improved asthma control and health status, whereas SA improved pulmonary function measures associated with large and small airway involvement among patients with adult‐onset mild‐to‐moderate asthma.
Isolation and molecular identification of yeasts in Greek kefir
Authors: Kalamaki Mary S , Angelidis Apostolos S
Published: October 2016

The aim of this study was to enumerate and identify yeasts present in Greek kefir. Total yeast counts in kefir grains were 7.7 ± 0.5 log cfu/g, whereas in kefir drinks counts ranged from <0.4 to 6.7 log cfu/mL. Molecular identification tests revealed 14 different yeast species belonging to 10 genera (Candida spp., Debaryomyces spp., Galactomyces spp., Issatchenkia spp., Kazachstania spp., Kluyveromyces spp., Pichia spp., Saccharomyces spp., Wickerhamomyces spp., Yarrowia spp.). This study is the first to identify yeast species present in Greek kefirs and to isolate Pichia membranifaciens and Candida zeylanoides as part of the kefir microbiota.
Simulation‐based team training for multi‐professional obstetric care teams to improve patient outcome: a multicentre, cluster randomised controlled trial
Authors: Fransen AF , van de Ven J , Schuit E , van Tetering AAC , Mol BW , Oei SG
Published: October 2016

Objective

To investigate whether simulation‐based obstetric team training in a simulation centre improves patient outcome.

Design

Multicentre, open, cluster randomised controlled trial.

Setting

Obstetric units in the Netherlands.

Population

Women with a singleton pregnancy beyond 24 weeks of gestation.

Methods

Random allocation of obstetric units to a 1‐day, multi‐professional, simulation‐based team training focusing on crew resource management (CRM) in a simulation centre or to no such team training. Intention‐to‐treat analyses were performed at the cluster level, including a measurement 1 year prior to the intervention.

Main outcome measures

Primary outcome was a composite outcome of obstetric complications during the first year post‐intervention, including low Apgar score, severe postpartum haemorrhage, trauma due to shoulder dystocia, eclampsia and hypoxic‐ischaemic encephalopathy. Maternal and perinatal mortality were also registered.

Results

Each study group included 12 units with a median unit size of 1224 women, combining for a total of 28 657 women. In total, 471 medical professionals received the training course. The composite outcome of obstetric complications did not differ between study groups [odds ratio (OR) 1.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.80–1.3]. Team training reduced trauma due to shoulder dystocia (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.25–0.99) and increased invasive treatment for severe postpartum haemorrhage (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.2–3.9) compared with no intervention. Other outcomes did not differ between study groups.

Conclusion

A 1‐day, off‐site, simulation‐based team training, focusing on teamwork skills, did not reduce a composite of obstetric complications.

Tweetable abstract

1‐day, off‐site, simulation‐based team training did not reduce a composite of obstetric complications.
THE IMPLICATIONS OF ARREST FOR COLLEGE ENROLLMENT: AN ANALYSIS OF LONG‐TERM EFFECTS AND MEDIATING MECHANISMS*
Authors: WIDDOWSON ALEX O. , SIENNICK SONJA E. , HAY CARTER
Published: October 2016

This study draws on labeling theory and education research on the steps to college enrollment to examine 1) whether and for how long arrest reduces the likelihood that high‐school graduates will enroll in postsecondary education and 2) whether any observed relationships are mediated by key steps in the college enrollment process. With 17 years of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) and propensity score matching, we derived matched samples of arrested and nonarrested but equivalent youth (N = 1,761) and conducted logistic regression and survival analyses among the matched samples to examine the short‐ and long‐term postsecondary consequences of arrest. The results revealed that arrest reduced the odds of 4‐year college enrollment directly after high school, as well as that high‐school grade point average and advanced coursework accounted for 58 percent of this relationship. The results also revealed that arrest had an enduring impact on 4‐year college attendance that extended into and beyond emerging adulthood. Two‐year college prospects were largely unaffected by arrest. These findings imply that being arrested during high school represents a negative turning point in youths’ educational trajectory that is, in part, a result of having a less competitive college application. Implications are discussed.
Do low‐income Cypriots experience food stress? The cost of a healthy food basket relative to guaranteed minimum income in Nicosia, Cyprus
Authors: Chrysostomou Stavri , Andreou Sofia
Published: October 2016

Aim

The aim of the present study was to assess the cost, acceptability and affordability of the healthy food basket (HFB) among low‐income families in Cyprus.

Methods

HFBs were constructed based on the National Guidelines for Nutrition and Exercise for six different types of households. Acceptability was tested through focus groups. Affordability was defined as the cost of the HFB as a percentage of the guaranteed minimum income (GMI). The value of the GMI is set to be equal to €480 for a single individual and increases with the size of the recipient unit in accordance with the Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development equivalence scales. The Ministry of Labour estimates that, on average, nearly 50% of the GMI is required for food.

Results

The total monthly budget for HFB is 0.80, 1.11, 1.27, 1.28, 1.44 and 1.48 times higher than the GMI budget for food among different types of households in Cyprus (a single woman, a single man, a couple, a single woman with two children, a single man with two children and a couple with two children, respectively). In particular, a family with two children on GMI would need to spend a large proportion of their income on the HFB (71.68%).

Conclusions

The GMI scheme appears not to consider the cost of healthy food, and thus, families on welfare payments in Cyprus are at a high risk of experiencing food stress. Therefore, additional research is required to measure the cost of the six HFBs in various settings.
Identification and sequence analysis of two thaumatin‐like protein (TmTLP) genes from Tenebrio molitor
Authors: Noh Mi Young , Jo Yong Hun
Published: October 2016

Thaumatin‐like proteins (TLPs) share structural similarity with the sweet‐tasting thaumatin protein but exhibit antifungal activity by inhibiting growth of fungal pathogens. In a Tenebrio model, two TLP genes were identified by RNA‐sequencing analysis and genome sequencing. Both TmTLP1 and TmTLP2 genes contain 729 nucleotide sequences encoding 242 amino acid residues, including an initiation codon (ATG) and a termination codon (TAA). Interestingly, TmTLPs are proteins with 14 central cysteine residues that may have an important role in structure formation. These data will be used to characterize the innate immune functions of TmTLPs in Tenebrio molitor.
Reconstructing the Debates of the Protectorate Parliaments: The Pitfalls of J.T. Rutt's Edition of ‘Thomas Burton's’ Diary
Authors: Fitzgibbons Jonathan R.
Published: October 2016

Although John Towill Rutt's 1828 edition of the Diary of Thomas Burton remains a key source for the parliamentary history of the Cromwellian Protectorate, remarkably few historians – past or present – have paused to consider its limitations. This article offers the first thorough examination of Rutt's editorial practices to highlight a number of reasons why modern scholars should treat his edition with extreme caution. While touching upon those familiar debates concerning the appropriate use of parliamentary diaries in the early modern period, this article suggests that Rutt's editorial practices add further layers of complexity to how historians should approach his edition of Thomas Burton's diary. By focusing upon the debates of Richard Cromwell's parliament the second half of this article demonstrates how the over‐reliance of scholars upon Rutt's edition has helped to propagate a number of misconceptions about both the membership and nature of that parliament as a whole. The article concludes by recommending that historians approach Rutt's edition with far more care. In particular, it would be far better to return to Burton's manuscript diary and, where possible, to collate it with other surviving parliamentary diaries from this period.
Before and after the Grenville Act: The House of Commons and the Morpeth Elections of 1768 and 1774
Authors: Fewster J.M.
Published: October 2016

The Grenville Act of 1770 was designed to prevent justice being ‘sacrificed to numbers’ when election petitions came before the Commons. The fate of the petition following the Morpeth election of 1768 illustrates how ministerial and other powerful influences, as well as prejudice, could determine the result, the votes of freemen who had gained their rights by peremptory writs of mandamus from the court of king's bench being declared invalid because they had not been admitted to their freedom in the customary manner. At the 1774 election, the partisan returning officers rejected many votes, but a riot forced them to return the candidates having a majority with these votes. When petitions complaining of a forced return and counter petitions alleging bribery and corruption came to the Commons, a party succeeded in postponing to a distant date a hearing on the merits of the election, and in restricting the remit to the committee chosen under the Grenville Act. One of the sitting members was unseated but allowed to petition on the merits, but parliament was prorogued before his petition was heard. On renewing it in the next session, he made substantial alterations which were challenged and a committee was appointed to investigate. All who came to the committee were to have voices, and, realising that his cause was thereby rendered hopeless, the petitioner withdrew his petition. Thus a party in the House was still able to exert influence and, on this occasion, to bypass the Grenville Act, which, however, in other cases evidently proved satisfactory.
A Lingering Diminuendo? The Conference on Devolution, 1919–20
Authors: Evans Adam
Published: October 2016

This article looks at one of the more obscure moments in British constitutional history, the rise of federal devolution in the United Kingdom in the early 20th century and, in particular, the context to the Conference on Devolution that sat between October 1919 and April 1920. The conference, as this article will briefly discuss, has been relegated to footnote status in the historiography on federal devolution and British politics. However, while the conference has not been the subject of detailed academic attention, the claim that devolution and constitutional reform in this period was a by‐product of the crisis in Ireland pre‐partition has gathered considerable traction among political historians. This article will redress both the paltry analysis of the Conference on Devolution within the academic literature and the Irish‐centric historiography on federal devolution in the early 20th century. On the latter front, this article will demonstrate that the conference was the product of forces that extended beyond the Irish crisis, in particular parliamentary congestion. As for the conference itself, this article will use a wide range of archival sources to examine critically the conference's deliberations and in doing so will challenge prevailing assumptions regarding the supposedly one firm source of agreement during the conference: the powers that the devolved bodies should enjoy.
Parliament and the People in Medieval England
Authors: Maddicott J.R.
Published: October 2016

This article traces the relationship between parliament and the ordinary people of medieval England, mainly peasants but including townsmen, between about 1270 and 1450. In charting the early history of representation prior to 1270, it outlines the transition from representation of the people by the country's magnates, to the socially broader system of representation through the election of shire knights and town burgesses. Two themes emerge: the growth of the electorate, from the probable presence of freeholders among the electors in the county court under Edward I, to the enfranchisement of the 40s. freeholders by the famous statute of 1430; and the changing nature of petitions to parliament, from the complaints of individuals to those presented by the Commons on behalf of the nation. In the history of both these themes, the Black Death and subsequent plagues marked a turning point. In drastically reducing the population, the plagues brought prosperity to many of the peasant survivors – men who sought a place among the electorate in the early 15th century. And in threatening the income of the gentry through higher labour costs, the plagues fundamentally changed the attitude of the Commons in parliament towards the people. Until about 1350, the Commons had spoken up for their interests, in the face of Edward III's oppressive wartime demands; but from that time onwards, the Commons set their collective face against the rising claims of a potentially more prosperous people. The article pays special attention to the position of the villeins, whose relationship with parliament differed considerably from that of the freeholders.
Quantitative Analysis of 10 Mycotoxins in Wheat Flour by Ultrahigh Performance Liquid Chromatography‐Tandem Mass Spectrometry with a Modified QuEChERS Strategy
Authors: Zhou Qingxin , Li Fenghua , Chen Leilei , Jiang Dafeng
Published: October 2016

A simple and sensitive analytical method for quantitative analysis of 10 mycotoxins was developed and validated by a combination of modified QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) procedure with ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐MS/MS). Sample preparation involved QuEChERS with dispersive solid phase extraction for clean‐up, and analysis was performed by reversed‐phase UHPLC‐MS/MS using electrospray negative ionization and multiple reaction monitoring. Under optimized conditions, the calibration curves displayed good linear relationships with all coefficients of determinations (r2) higher than 0.998. The limits of quantification for all target mycotoxins were lower than 7 μg/kg. Trueness and precision for the analytes were 70% to 116% average recoveries and 2% to 13% relative standard deviations (RSDs). The validated method was used to analyze 46 wheat flour samples for the targeted mycotoxins. The method can be used as a rapid and robust tool for screening mycotoxin in cereal products.
Serelaxin in acute heart failure: Most recent update on clinical and preclinical evidence
Authors: Ghosh Raktim Kumar , Banerjee Kinjal , Tummala Ramyashree , Ball Somedeb , Ravakhah Keyvan , Gupta Anjan
Published: October 2016

Heart failure continues to be a widely prevalent disease across the world, affecting millions of Americans annually. Acute heart failure (AHF) has a substantial effect on rising healthcare costs and is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality. The search for new drugs for symptom relief and to improve long‐term outcomes in heart failure has led to development of serelaxin, a recombinant human relaxin‐2 hormone. Relaxin was discovered in pregnancy, but eventually found to have a number of other physiological actions, not only in pregnancy, but also in nonpregnant women and men. The actions of serelaxin are primarily via nitric oxide, leading to the observed vasodilatory effects, and increase in renal plasma flow. It has also been found to increase expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐2 and MMP‐9. The antifibrotic and antiinflammatory effects of the drug also play a role in heart failure. In Phase II studies, serelaxin has shown reduction in pulmonary arterial pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, and NT‐proBNP. The recently published results of the RELAX‐AHF, a phase III clinical trial on serelaxin, has opened new avenues into our understanding of its effects in heart failure. The trial showed improvement in short‐term dyspnea scores and 180‐day mortality, but, interestingly, failed to show any improvement of the secondary endpoints of death or readmission at 60 days. Ongoing Phase III trials like RELAX‐AHF‐2 and RELAX‐AHF‐ASIA would explain these data better and improve understanding of the use of serelaxin in clinical practice. This article summarizes the most updated published preclinical and clinical study data on serelaxin, including pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, safety studies in hepatic, renal impaired patients, Phase II and Phase III trials.
Comparative genomics and physiology of the butyrate‐producing bacterium Intestinimonas butyriciproducens
Authors: Bui Thi Phuong Nam , Shetty Sudarshan Anand , Lagkouvardos Ilias , Ritari Jarmo , Chamlagain Bhawani , Douillard François P. , Paulin Lars , Piironen Vieno , Clavel Thomas , Plugge Caroline M. , de Vos Willem M.
Published: October 2016

Intestinimonas is a newly described bacterial genus with representative strains present in the intestinal tract of human and other animals. Despite unique metabolic features including the production of butyrate from both sugars and amino acids, there is to date no data on their diversity, ecology, and physiology. Using a comprehensive phylogenetic approach, Intestinimomas was found to include at least three species that colonize primarily the human and mouse intestine. We focused on the most common and cultivable species of the genus, Intestinimonas butyriciproducens, and performed detailed genomic and physiological comparison of strains SRB521T and AF211, isolated from the mouse and human gut respectively. The complete 3.3‐Mb genomic sequences of both strains were highly similar with 98.8% average nucleotide identity, testifying to their assignment to one single species. However, thorough analysis revealed significant genomic rearrangements, variations in phage‐derived sequences, and the presence of new CRISPR sequences in both strains. Moreover, strain AF211 appeared to be more efficient than strain SRB521T in the conversion of the sugars arabinose and galactose. In conclusion, this study provides genomic and physiological insight into Intestinimonas butyriciproducens, a prevalent butyrate‐producing species, differentiating strains that originate from the mouse and human gut.
The Three Hurdles of Tax Planning: How Business Context, Aims of Tax Planning, and Tax Manager Power Affect Tax Expense
Authors: Feller Anna , Schanz Deborah
Published: October 2016

The question of why some companies pay fewer taxes than others is a widely investigated topic of interest. One of the well‐known explanations is a phenomenon called tax avoidance. We develop a grounded theory model of influences on corporate tax planning through a series of 19 in‐depth German tax expert interviews. Our research identifies three independent hurdles in the tax planning process, which can help to explain different levels of tax expense across companies. Those three hurdles sequentially address which tax planning methods are available (defined by business characteristics), desirable (given via aims of tax planning), and implementable (determined by tax manager power). A large part of previous research has estimated the influence of firm characteristics, which we incorporate in the broader term business characteristics, on tax expense, while the other influences that we identify have largely been left “out of the equation.” In the light of the current public debates on tax avoidance, we reveal two important findings: First, we find that companies vary widely in the aggressiveness of their aims of tax planning, which contrasts sharply with the picture often drawn by undifferentiated media reports. Second, tax managers can assume very different levels of power in their organization. The implementation of desirable tax planning methods varies depending on this level of tax manager power. In conclusion, our three‐hurdle grounded theory provides generalizable insights into important influences on corporate tax planning which help to explain the observed variation in tax expenses across firms.
Terrestrial photogrammetry: a non‐destructive method for modelling irregularly shaped tropical tree trunks
Authors: Bauwens Sébastien , Fayolle Adeline , Gourlet‐Fleury Sylvie , Ndjele Leopold Mianda , Mengal Coralie , Lejeune Philippe
Published: October 2016

Irregularly shaped trees including trees with buttresses, flutes or stilt roots are frequent in tropical forests. The lack of an international standard to measure the diameter of such trees leads to high uncertainties in biomass estimation, tree growth and carbon budget monitoring.

In this study, we developed a new method based on terrestrial close‐range photogrammetry for measuring and modelling irregular stems. This approach is cheap and easy to implement in the field as it only requires a camera and a graduated rod. We validated the approach with destructive cross‐section measurements along the stem of three buttressed trees. To demonstrate the broader utility of this method, we extended the validated approach to 43 additional trees belonging to two species: Celtis mildbraedii (Ulmaceae) and Entandophragma cylindricum (Meliaceae). Based on the three dimensional models, we computed shape indices for each tree, and we analysed the stem morphology of the two species. Finally, we analysed some standardized predictors for the estimation of above‐ground biomass.

We found a high concordance between diameters derived from the photogrammetric process and destructive diameter measurements along the stem for the three calibration trees. We found that C. mildbraedii develop much stronger irregularities than E. cylindricum. We also identified a large intraspecific variation in trunk morphology for E. cylindricum. The basal area at 1·3 m height (Darea130) seems to be a more robust predictor for biomass estimates (lowest Akaike information criterion and relative squared error) than diameter measured above buttresses (DAB) or diameter at breast height estimated from available taper model. Finally, Darea130 might be estimated with a good precision [root mean square error (RMSE) < 5%] with linear model based on the field measurements DAB and the perimeter of the convex hull of the buttresses at 1·3 m height (Dconvhull130).

In this study, we showed the high potential of the photogrammetry for measuring and modelling irregular stems. Photogrammetry could then be used as a non‐destructive measurement tool to produce correction factors for standardizing the diameter of irregular stems at a reference height which is a key issue in tree growth monitoring and biomass change estimation.
A new paradigm for biomonitoring: an example building on the Danish Stream Plant Index
Authors: Baattrup‐Pedersen Annette , Göthe Emma , Riis Tenna , Andersen Dagmar K. , Larsen Søren E.
Published: October 2016

Despite intensive efforts for more than a decade to develop Water Framework‐compliant assessment systems, shortcomings continue to appear. In particular, the lack of reference conditions has hindered the development of assessment systems capturing the heart of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) – that ecological status should be set as the deviation from the natural, undisturbed condition. Recently, the Danish Stream Plant Index (DSPI) was developed. This system contrasts existing systems in that it builds on an expert interpretation of the normative definitions of ecological status classes in the WFD without taking pressure–impact relationships into account.

Here, we substantiate the approach taken in the development of DSPI and examine whether the DSPI class decreases with increasing level of anthropogenic stress and, additionally, whether the deviation from the natural undisturbed condition increases with decreasing DSPI class sensu WFD using trait composition of plant assemblages from Danish streams around year 1900 as a reference. We furthermore examine the trait composition of the vegetation in sites classified into different DSPI status classes to explore whether predictable patterns exist that can be used to identify the ultimate cause(s) of failure to meet ecological goals and help guide the selection of appropriate mitigation measures.

We observed that DSPI declined with several parameters indicative of environmental stress in Danish streams and, furthermore, that the deviation from the natural undisturbed condition regarding the trait composition of plant communities declined with increasing DSPI, implying that the trait composition of plant communities in the high DSPI status class was most similar to those occurring in Danish streams around year 1900. We also found that trait characteristics capable of disentangling important stressors in Danish streams varied consistently among sites classified into different DSPI classes.

Based on our findings, we call for new thinking. We suggest that more effort should be directed at describing reference conditions and interpreting the normative definitions of good, moderate, poor and bad instead of focusing solely on developing assessment systems using pressure–impact frameworks. We find this particularly important with respect to streams as these are seldom impacted by only a single stressor.