bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Aborted Kidnap
Authors: Schabas William A.
Published: November 2018

Led by a former Senator from Tennessee, Luke Lea, a handful of American soldiers take leave over the New Year’s holiday and drive up to the Netherlands with the aim of kidnapping Kaiser Wilhelm II. The Dutch envoy in Brussels gives them a laissez-passer and authorises them to enter his country in uniform. When they get to Amerongen Castle, they brandish the document but fail to convince Count Bentinck’s son to let them meet the Kaiser in person. The Dutch are suspicious, and surround the castle with troops, forcing the Americans to retreat, stealing a monogrammed ashtray on their way out. The US Army holds a disciplinary inquiry, but Lea and his cohorts get little more than a slap on the wrist. They return to civilian life at home and boast of their adventure.
Prosecuting Crimes against Peace
Authors: Schabas William A.
Published: November 2018

Within the Allied countries, there is near unanimous support for the view that Germany, led by the Kaiser, started the war. International law is at a turning point, with a growing willingness to consider that provoking a war of aggression is not only contrary to international law, but also a crime for which individuals can be punished. Sessions of the Commission on Responsibilities are the first forum for debates about this question. The British and the French insist upon progressive development of the law, evoking a ‘new justice’, while the Americans insist that new rules cannot be applied retroactively. Compromise is reached on this point with a recommendation by the Commission against prosecution of the Kaiser for starting the war, but at the same time a declaration condemning his conduct.
The Kaiser in Limbo
Authors: Schabas William A.
Published: November 2018

The Kaiser did not seem overly concerned about trial and there is no evidence he made any preparations for his defence. With Dutch Government approval, he bought a permanent residence in Doorn, near Utrecht, and proceeded to renovate the place.r The Pope took the initiative to campaign against trial of the Kaiser, and European royalty joined in a variety of initiatives to protect their ‘cousin’. Dutch public opinion appeared to harden in favour of refusing any surrender of the Kaiser. Then, at the end of the year, incriminating documents known as the Kautsky papers were published in Germany showing the Kaiser’s belligerence during the fateful weeks of July 1914.
The Cultural Commons
Authors: Rose David C.
Published: November 2018

This chapter begins with a review of a simple theory of cooperative behavior. Employing familiar arguments from Adam Smith, it explains why large-scale cooperation is the key to producing general prosperity. Large-scale cooperation invites forms of opportunism that our small-group trust genes are ill equipped to combat. Economic development therefore quickly stalls if another basis for large-group trust is not found. Certain kinds of moral beliefs can provide that basis (the precise nature of those beliefs is developed in the next chapter). The distinction between cultural beliefs and cultural practices is discussed and the role that storytelling plays in conveying moral beliefs is analyzed. Culturally transmitted moral beliefs that can sustain large-group trust are shown to constitute a commonly owned asset by members of society. Culture is therefore viewed as a kind of commons that, like commons generally, is subject to problems of abuse and neglect.
Culture as Instrument
Authors: Rose David C.
Published: November 2018

This chapter explains why an adequate understanding of culture requires that we consider how culture works in like fashion across all societies. There is more to culture than the peculiarities of the societies we live in, and it is by understanding what gives culture its power that we can better understand how to ensure that the kind of culture that can support mass flourishing can be sustained. A hallmark of most cultures is childhood instruction. This is crucial for encoding morally desirable behavior through tastes, but this mechanism can also produce the cultural lock-in of beliefs and practices that are inimical to the emergence of a free market democracy and mass flourishing.
Family, Religion, Government, and Civilization
Authors: Rose David C.
Published: November 2018

That chapter applies the framework to several topics of relevance to culture. It explains why the family is an especially important mechanism through which the transmission of trust-producing culture occurs. It also discusses how changes in technology have altered the returns parents expect to derive directly for themselves and indirectly for their children through the inculcation of trust-producing moral beliefs. It then explores the role played by organized religion, namely, how religion can speed the inculcation of trust-producing moral beliefs and therefore catalyze the emergence of mass flourishing or freeze a society at a low level of prosperity and freedom through cultural lock-in. The implications the framework has for good government and the rise of civilization generally are then discussed.
Introduction
Authors: Buhler James
Published: November 2018

From its beginnings in the later nineteenth century, film—“moving pictures”—posed problems for critics, philosophers, and others concerned with the nature of art. At one level it was an abstract question: could film, a product of mechanical reproduction, be an aesthetic object at all? At another level, it was a matter of mechanics and effects: what did film do, and how did it do it? At still another level, it was a matter of cultural hierarchy: how did film as a popular art form relate to the very well-established categories of the theater, painting, opera, and so forth? This chapter lays out central issues such as the distinction between representation and reproduction, the nature of the sound film, the proper sound accompaniment for a film, and the question of the audiovisual hybridity of the medium.
Language, Semiotics, and Deleuze
Authors: Buhler James
Published: November 2018

Chapter 4 opens with the issue of the “film language” and examines how the concept served to ground film semiotics. Both film and music have been called universal languages, and this languagelike quality meant that both areas were inviting objects to the emerging academic field of semiotics. After a general overview of “film language,” this chapter considers the contributions of Jean Mitry and Christian Metz to the field of film semiotics and what film semiotics contributes to the theory of the soundtrack. The chapter closes with a discussion of Gilles Deleuze, whose philosophy of cinema draws extensively from the semiotic tradition of Charles S. Peirce. Deleuze himself offers mostly cryptic comments about the soundtrack, and this chapter uses the typology Deleuze developed for the movement-image and seeks analogues in the treatment of the soundtrack.
Theories of the Digital Soundtrack
Authors: Buhler James
Published: November 2018

Chapter 9 considers the soundtrack in the age of digital media. It argues that the conception of digital and “new” media in terms of “convergence” has emphasized a shift in both aural and visual dimensions toward a general purpose rendering fixed on producing distinct feelings and sensations and away from a reproduction and screening of real events. This turn away from semiotic indexicality as a grounding for film has met considerable resistance, which has revealed the extent to which film theory remains bound to a conception of film as a recording of reality, however much film theory also understands film as a representation and so recognizes whatever reality it represents as inherently and necessarily constructed. This chapter concludes by sketching out some theoretical implications of the soundtrack in the context of digital media.
The Digital Street
Authors: Lane Jeffrey
Published: November 2018

This book delves into the street-level experience of a set of African American and Latino teenagers and adults worried about or after them. It argues that the risks and opportunities associated with a poor urban neighborhood get filtered through smartphones and popular social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. The book shows that street life in Harlem plays out on and across the physical street and the digital street among youth, neighborhood adults, and the authorities. Each chapter examines the parallels, differences, and crossovers between these two layers of social life that bear out the “effects” of a neighborhood. From roughly five years of firsthand research as an outreach worker and in other roles in the community, the author illustrates the online and offline experiences of girls and boys of color coming of age in the shadow of the Harlem Children’s Zone and sweeping gentrification when social media came to permeate all aspects of life. The Digital Street addresses the role of communication and technology in the transformation of an urban neighborhood.
Going to Jail Because of the Internet
Authors: Lane Jeffrey
Published: November 2018

Chapter 5 shows how the law works on the digital street. It reveals a new approach to gang suppression based on the editorial control of suspects’ online content. This chapter addresses a series of gang indictments in which police and prosecutors utilized social media to define and prosecute youth crews under conspiracy law, a practice that emerged as a stop-and-frisk method on the physical street lost legitimacy. The author shows how prosecutors learned to marshal social media as criminal evidence. This chapter explores also the pushback by teenagers whose code-switching strategies evolved to manage police suspicion. It considers gains in public safety and the collateral costs of the indictments.
Flamenquismo and Race
Authors: Llano Samuel
Published: November 2018

This chapter shows that the rise of opposition to flamenco and flamenquismo in the late nineteenth century led to verbal abuse of Gypsies in the press and in intellectual production. Journalism and the social sciences used the Gypsy as a scapegoat, blaming him for the ills of the nation and for the public scandals related to Madrid’s booming nightlife. Prominent criminologist Rafael Salillas articulated a bigoted and scathing portrayal of the Gypsy in his book Hampa (1898), in which he also construed flamenco as a criminal type of music. Early flamenco scholars such as Demófilo, Hugo Schuchardt, and Francisco Rodríguez Marín debated the role that Gypsies had played in the making of the flamenco tradition. They argued either that flamenco was a Gypsy creation later improved by Andalusians or that Gypsies had corrupted Andalusian song, turning it into flamenco.
The Circumstances of Justice
Authors: Vanderschraaf Peter
Published: November 2018

A new account of the Circumstances of Justice, the background conditions that are necessary and sufficient for justice to exist between the parties of a society, is developed in terms of convention. A standard account of the Circumstances of Justice widely attributed to Hume is criticized, partly on the grounds that Hobbes’ State of Nature and the Prisoner’s Dilemma are situations where the standard account conditions obtain and justice is impossible. These criticisms help to motivate the new game-theoretic account. Parties are in Generic Circumstances of Justice when (i) their underlying game has multiple optimal conventions they can achieve by all acting so as to contribute to a cooperative surplus, and (ii) each contributing party risks being let down if this party contributes and the others fail to contribute. These Generic Circumstances reflect Hume’s original account better than the standard account attributed to Hume.
The Foole, the Shepherd, and the Knave
Authors: Vanderschraaf Peter
Published: November 2018

The Reconciliation Project, the attempt to show that justice is compatible with rational prudence, is evaluated in light of the classic challenges of Hobbes’ Foole, Plato’s Lydian Shepherd, and Hume’s Sensible Knave. Hobbes’ response to the Foole is justice-reciprocalist, emphasizing social sanctions, and is naturally interpreted in terms of folk theorem interactions of repeated games. Plato’s justice-Platonist response to the Shepherd, who has identity-concealing power, emphasizes goods allegedly inseparable from justice. A new Invisible Foole challenge is considered where an agent like the Foole who takes seriously only social sanctions acquires identity-concealment technology, and folk theorem responses are proposed for this challenge. The Invisible Foole challenge is similar to the most serious challenge, that of the Sensible Knave. The most compelling response to the Knave’s challenge combines elements of justice-reciprocalism and justice-Platonism.
Justice as Mutual Advantage?
Authors: Vanderschraaf Peter
Published: November 2018

Necessary and sufficient conditions are proposed for characterizing the general theory of justice as mutual advantage. Justice as mutual advantage has a distinguished history, but is thought to be false because according to this theory vulnerable members of society are apparently owed no benefits of justice. A repeated Provider-Recipient game model shows by example that justice as mutual advantage systems can require that the vulnerable receive benefits, refuting the Vulnerability Objection. Conditions for defining the community of inclusion in justice as mutual advantage systems are proposed in terms of salience. A justice as mutual system is defined as a system of conventions for sharing the cooperative surplus generated from compliance with these conventions that is Baseline Consistent or stable with respect to possible renegotiation in case the community experiences certain changes in their circumstances.
Developmental Trajectories for the Early Clinical Assessment of Balance by Gross Motor Function Classification System Level for Children With Cerebral Palsy
Authors: LaForme Fiss Alyssa , McCoy Sarah Westcott , Bartlett Doreen , Avery Lisa , Hanna Steven E ,   On Track Study Team
Published: November 2018

Background

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) characteristically present with impairments in balance. Currently, the pattern and timing of the development of balance ability have not been described for children with CP of varying Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to document longitudinal developmental trajectories in a measure of balance, the Early Clinical Assessment of Balance (ECAB) scores, along with age-specific reference percentiles and the amount of change typical over a 1-year period for children within different GMFCS levels.

Design

The design was a longitudinal cohort study.

Methods

Participants included 708 children with CP, aged 18 months through their 12th birthday, and their families. Children participated in 2 to 5 assessments using the GMFCS and ECAB.

Results

Longitudinal trajectories describing the average change in the ECAB score with respect to age were created by fitting separate nonlinear mixed-effect models for children in each GMFCS level. Reference percentiles were constructed using quantile regression of ECAB data from the first visit (baseline) and 12-month and 24-month visits. Using these reference points, the amount of change in percentiles was calculated for all children by subtracting the baseline percentile score from the 12-month percentile score. Children whose percentile changes are within the 80% limits can usually be described as “developing as expected” for their age and GMFCS levels.

Limitations

Limitations of this study included use of a convenience sample, a ceiling effect of the ECAB for some children in GMFCS levels I and II, and the use of both a 12-month and 24-month study protocol that impacted the number of children available for each assessment session.

Conclusions

When used appropriately to monitor development and change over time for children with CP, the ECAB longitudinal trajectories, reference percentiles, and the associated change scores presented here should assist therapists and families in collaborative interaction to proactively plan services and interventions relative to balance ability.
Circulating CD24hiCD38hi regulatory B cells correlate inversely with the ThEM17 cell frequency in granulomatosis with polyangiitis patients
Authors: von Borstel Anouk , Lintermans Lucas L , Heeringa Peter , Rutgers Abraham , Stegeman Coen A , Sanders Jan Stephan , Abdulahad Wayel H
Published: November 2018

Objectives

To investigate whether there is a direct relation between expanded proportions of Th17 effector memory (ThEM17) cells and regulatory B cells (Bregs) in peripheral blood of granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) patients.

Methods

Frequencies of Bregs and ThEM17 cells, as well as ThEM1 cells, were determined by flow cytometry in blood samples from 42 GPA patients in remission and 18 matched healthy controls (HCs). The Breg frequency was defined as CD24hiCD38hiCD19+ cells. ThEM17 cells were defined as CCR6+CXCR3-CCR4+ cells and ThEM1 cells as CCR6-CXCR3+CCR4- cells within the CD3+CD4+CD45RO+CCR7- population. In addition, CD3+CD4+ Th cells from 9 GPA patients were co-cultured in vitro with either total B cells or a Breg-depleted B cell fraction. Cultured cells were stimulated with Staphylococcus Enterotoxin B (SEB) and CpG-oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODN). Th17- (IL-17+) and Th1 cell (IFNγ+) frequencies were determined at baseline and day 5 upon restimulation with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and Ca-I.

Results

A decreased Breg frequency was found in treated GPA patients, whereas an increased ThEM17 cell frequency was observed in treated and untreated GPA patients compared with HCs. Additionally, a decreased ThEM1 cell frequency was seen in untreated GPA patients compared with HCs. In untreated GPA patients circulating Breg frequencies correlated negatively with ThEM17 cells (r = −0.533; P = 0.007) and positively with ThEM1 cells (r = −0.473; P = 0.015). The co-culture experiments revealed a significant increase in the frequency of IL-17+ Th cells in Breg-depleted samples (median: 3%; range: 1–7.5%) compared with Breg-undepleted samples (P = 0.002; undepleted samples median: 2.1%; range: 0.9–6.4%), whereas no difference in the frequency of IFNγ+ Th cells in Breg-depleted cultures was observed (undepleted median: 11.8%; range: 2.8–21% vs Breg-depleted median: 12.2%; range: 2.6–17.6%).

Conclusion

Bregs modulate ThEM17 responses in GPA patients. Future studies should elaborate on clinical and therapeutical implications of the Breg-Th17 interaction in GPA patients.
Effects of rumen-protected carbohydrate supplementation on performance and blood metabolites in feedlot finishing steers during heat stress
Authors: Russi Juan P , DiLorenzo Nicolas , Relling Alejandro E
Published: November 2018

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the inclusion of a rumen-protected carbohydrate (RPC) on growth performance and blood metabolites of finishing steers during the summer. A 62-d feedlot study was conducted using 135 Angus crossbred steers (body weight = 287 ± 13 kg). All animals were fed a basal diet (BD), then treatments were top-dressed. The treatments were the same composition and only varied in ruminal degradability. Treatments were 1) a BD with 1 kg/d of a control supplement (0RPC), 2) the BD plus 0.5 kg/d of the control supplement and 0.5 kg/d of RPC (0.5RCP), and 3) the BD with 1 kg/d of RPC supplement (1RPC). Temperature humidity index and cattle panting scores (CPS) were measured daily during the experiment. Growth performance, back-fat over the 12th rib (BF), LM area, blood glucose and plasma insulin, urea, and nonesterified fatty acid concentrations were measured. Data were statistically analyzed (PROC Mixed, SAS) using treatment, time, and their interaction as a fixed variable and pen as a random variable. There were no differences (P > 0.10) between the three treatments on CPS, BF, and LM area on day 62. There was a trend (P = 0.06) for treatment effect for a greater body weight on the 0.5RPC, and a treatment effect for dry matter intake (P = 0.05). Treatment × day interactions were observed for average daily gain (ADG, P =0.04), suggesting a different response to treatments during the different sampling periods. There was a treatment effect for blood glucose concentration (P = 0.03), having the 0RPC the greatest concentration. Treatment × day interactions were found for plasma insulin concentration (P = 0.01). The results suggest that the response to RPC supplementation depends in part on environment. The use of 0.5 kg/d of RPC tends to improve overall body weight; however, the response to RPC on ADG and plasma insulin concentration depend on the time of sampling.
Finding a Peaceful Place
Authors: Kennedy Maureen Shawn
Published: November 2018

Year-end is a good time for reflection.
Do State Regulations on Nurse Staffing Make a Difference in ICU Outcomes?
Authors: Clarke Sean
Published: November 2018

A new study questions the effect on patient outcomes but is narrow in scope.
First Generic Epipen Approved
Authors: Aschenbrenner Diane S.
Published: November 2018

The Food and Drug Administration has granted Teva Pharmaceuticals approval to market the first generic version of the EpiPen.

Some of the controversies surrounding approval of this generic product are described below. Alternatives to the EpiPen are also highlighted.
Delegating as a New Nurse
Authors: Anderson Amanda
Published: November 2018

This column is designed to help new nurses in their first year at the bedside—a time of insecurity, growth, and constant challenges—and to offer advice as they learn what it means to be a nurse. This article offers strategies new nurses can use and specific steps they can take to help them succeed in delegating tasks to LPNs/LVNs and unlicensed assistive personnel.
Get on Board with Being on a Board
Authors: Marcus Blima
Published: November 2018

Why should nurses serve, what are the barriers, and how can they be overcome?
Breaking the Cycle of Human Trafficking
Authors: Ortelli Tracy A. , Burlingame Kathy L.
Published: November 2018

Resources to help nurses identify, assess, and care for victims.
Seeking Good Nurses with a Story to Tell
Authors: Mysko Madeleine
Published: November 2018

Updated several times a week with posts by a wide variety of authors, AJN's blog Off the Charts allows us to provide more timely—and often more personal—perspectives on professional, policy, and clinical issues. Best of the Blog will be a regular column to draw the attention of AJN readers to posts we think deserve a wider audience. To read more, please visit: www.ajnoffthecharts.com.
Perspective on cultural competency
Authors: Cannon Melodie , Tsang Clara
Published: November 2018

With an emphasis on Chinese seniors, this article raises awareness of the importance of cultural competency and how this can impact care delivery, as well as strategies healthcare professionals can use to improve cultural competency in their institution.
Further pharmacological comparison of d-methamphetamine and l-methamphetamine in rats: abuse-related behavioral and physiological indices
Authors: Xue Zhaoxia , Siemian Justin N. , Zhu Qing , Blough Bruce E. , Li Jun-Xu
Published: November 2018

Previous preclinical research suggests that l-methamphetamine (l
-MA) has potential therapeutic utility to treat psychostimulant abuse. This study examined potential abuse-related and adverse physiological effects of d
-MA and l
-MA alone and in combination in rats, as these effects had not been previously characterized. Potential abuse-related effects were examined in locomotor sensitization and conditioned place preference paradigms. Body temperature was monitored to assess the physiological effects of these drugs or drug combinations. In the locomotor study, d-MA induced locomotor sensitization to both d-MA and l
-MA. l
-MA induced locomotor sensitization only to d-MA. Responses to a combination of l-MA and d
-MA were not differentially affected by l-MA or d-MA conditioning. In the conditioned place preference study, d-MA and l
-MA each induced significant place preference. l
-MA did not attenuate d-MA-induced place preference. In the body temperature study, d-MA induced hyperthermia and l
-MA induced hypothermia. In combination, l
-MA did not affect d-MA-induced hyperthermia. These data suggest that l
-MA alone produces less abuse-related and adverse physiological effects than d-MA, but modulates and is modulated by concurrent and subsequent d-MA exposure, which may enhance the abuse liability of both drugs. These findings should be considered when l
-MA is proposed for replacement therapy.
Effects of exercise on HDL functionality
Authors: Ruiz-Ramie Jonathan J. , Barber Jacob L. , Sarzynski Mark A.
Published: November 2018

Purpose of review

Low HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) levels are a strong predictor of cardiovascular disease risk and can be improved with regular exercise. However, raising HDL-C levels pharmacologically has not shown convincing clinical benefits. Thus, research has recently focused on identifying therapies that improve HDL function, with exercise representing such a potential therapy. The purpose of this review is to summarize the effects of exercise interventions on HDL function.

Recent findings

The effects of exercise and lifestyle interventions on the primary atheroprotective functions of HDL are reviewed, namely, cholesterol efflux, antioxidative, and anti-inflammatory properties. Differences in study design, study population, and assays are discussed to aid in the interpretation of the reviewed studies.

There is mixed evidence that regular aerobic exercise improves cholesterol efflux capacity, with recent research suggesting an exercise dose threshold needs to be exceeded to produce beneficial effects. There is preliminary evidence that exercise improves the antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties of HDL. Although exercise represents a potential therapeutic approach to improve HDL function, the heterogeneity and/or lack of findings warrants more and larger studies to determine what HDL function(s) are most responsive to regular exercise and what dose of exercise elicits the greatest improvements in HDL functionality.
Blended Facilitation as an Effective Implementation Strategy for Quality Improvement and Research in Nursing Homes
Authors: Pimentel Camilla B. , Mills Whitney L. , Palmer Jennifer A. , Dillon Kristen , Sullivan Jennifer L. , Wewiorski Nancy J. , Snow Andrea Lynn , Allen Rebecca S. , Hopkins Susan D. , Hartmann Christine W.
Published: November 2018

Background:

Blended facilitation, which leverages the complementary skills and expertise of external and internal facilitators, is a powerful strategy that nursing stakeholders and researchers may use to improve implementation of quality improvement (QI) innovations and research performed in nursing homes.

Problem:

Nursing homes present myriad challenges (eg, time constraints, top-down flow of communication, high staff turnover) to QI implementation and research.

Approach:

This methods article describes the theory and practical application of blended facilitation and its components (external facilitation, internal facilitation, relationship building, and skill building), using examples from a mixed QI and research intervention in Veterans Health Administration nursing homes.

Conclusions:

Blended facilitation invites nursing home stakeholders to be equal partners in QI and research processes. Its intentional use may overcome many existing barriers to QI and research performed in nursing homes and, by strengthening relationships between researchers and stakeholders, may accelerate implementation of innovative care practices.
Production and Polyphenolic Composition of Tea
Authors: Ho Kacie K. H. Y. , Haufe Thomas C. , Ferruzzi Mario G. , Neilson Andrew P.
Published: November 2018

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is the second most commonly consumed beverage in the world, and its consumption has been associated with several important health benefits due in part to its high concentration of polyphenolic compounds. Tea varieties, including white, green, oolong, pu-erh, and black tea, are all produced from the same plant but differ in postharvest processing. The level of oxidative processing from white to black tea (low to high) drives changes in polyphenol profiles from monomeric polyphenols (catechins) to oxidative products (theaflavins and thearubigins) that convert the subtle yellow color of green tea to the distinctive red/copper color of oolong and black tea. Polyphenol compounds from green teas have been well studied; however, oxidative products are more difficult to characterize and may require a combination of analytical techniques for identification and quantification. This technical summary introduces the major polyphenols in tea and discusses the main steps of tea processing and instrumentation used for polyphenol analysis.
Certain Selected Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Metabolic Syndrome
Authors: Pienovi Lucía , Bustos Patricia , Amigo Hugo
Published: November 2018

The objective of this cross-sectional study of 735 adults 32 to 38 years old born in Limache Hospital in the Valparaiso region of Chile was to analyze the relationship between consumption of certain sugar-sweetened beverages (SBs) and metabolic syndrome (MS). The association with sweetened soft drinks (SDs) as part of SBs was also studied. No relationship was observed between total consumption of SBs and MS; 89% of the adults consumed SBs, with a daily median of 179 mL. However, consumption of greater than 400 mL SBs per day was associated with 1 component of MS: a high waist circumference (odds ratio [OR], 2.17; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16–2.51). The median consumption of SDs was 163 mL (p25–75 = 71.4–386). An association between SD consumption and MS was found. Consumption of less than 200 mL had an OR of 1.59 (95% CI, 1.01–2.51); between 200 and 400 mL, an OR of 2.06 (95% CI, 1.20–2.51); and greater than 400 mL, an OR of 2.07 (95% CI, 1.18–3.63), compared with those who did not consume them. Although there was no association between SB intake and MS, consuming SBs in high quantities (>400 mL/d) was associated with increased waist circumference. Greater consumption of SDs was associated with MS.
Changes That Matter to You
Authors: Saldanha Leila
Published: November 2018

The new labeling regulations announced by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2016 that go into effect in 2020 will impact on the label and labeling Daily Values (DVs) of almost all packaged food and beverage labels, and 52% of dietary supplement labels. The article summarizes the important implications of these revisions for health professionals, industry, and consumers. The revised DVs express the levels of nutrients in percentages on the label versus a Dietary Reference Intake standard, and these percentages differ from those on the older labels. The number of vitamin and minerals with DVs on the label has increased from 19 to 27. Recommended amounts and the units in which they are expressed reflect the Dietary Reference Intake recommendations given in recent National Academies reports.
NDRG2 Regulates Adherens Junction Integrity to Restrict Colitis and Tumorigenesis
Authors: Wei Mengying , Ma Yongzheng , Shen Liangliang , Xu Yuqiao , Liu Lijun , Bu Xin , Guo Zhihao , Qin Hongyan , Li Zengshan , Wang Zhe , Wu Kaichun , Yao Libo , Li Jipeng , Zhang Jian
Published: November 2018

Paracellular barriers play an important role in the pathogenesis of IBDs and maintain gut homeostasis. N-myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (NDRG2) has been reported to be a tumor suppressor gene and inhibits colorectal cancer metastasis. However, whether NDRG2 affects colitis initiation and colitis-associated colorectal cancer is unclear. Here, We found that intestine-specificNdrg2deficiency caused mild spontaneous colitis with ageing, aggravated DSS and TNBS induced colitis, increased AOM-DSS induced colitis-associated tumor.Ndrg2loss led to adherens junction (AJ) structure destructionviaE-cadherin expression attenuation, resulting in diminished epithelial barrier function and increased intestinal epithelial permeability. Mechanistically, NDRG2 enhancing the interaction of E3 ligase FBXO11 with Snail, the repressor of E-cadherin, to promote Snail degradation by ubiquitination, and maintained E-cadherin expression. In human ulcerative colitis patients, reduced NDRG2 expression is positively correlated with severe inflammation. These findings demonstrate that NDRG2 is an essential colonic epithelial barrier regulator and plays important role in gut homeostasis maintenance and colitis-associated tumor development.

Adherens junctoin (AJ) as the key part of intestinal epithelial barrier plays important role in the pathogenesis of IBDs. Intestinal specificNdrg2loss attenuates E-cadherin expression and disrupts the integrity of AJ structure which is feasible for colitis and tumor development.
Epigenetic regulation of PAR4-related platelet activation: mechanistic links between environmental exposure and cardiovascular disease
Authors: Corbin Laura J. , Taylor Amy E. , White Stephen J. , Williams Christopher M. , Taylor Kurt , den Bosch Marion T. van , Teasdale Jack E. , Jones Matthew , Bond Mark , Harper Matthew T. , Falk Louise , Groom Alix , Hazell Georgina G J , Paternoster Lavinia , Munafò Marcus R. , Nordestgaard Børge G. , Tybjaerg-Hansen Anne , Bojesen Stig E. , Relton Caroline , Min Josine L. ,   for the GoDMC Consortium, Smith George Davey , Mumford Andrew D. , Poole Alastair W. , Timpson Nicholas J.
Published: November 2018

Protease-activated receptor 4 (PAR4) is a potent thrombin receptor. Epigenetic control of theF2RL3locus (which encodes for PAR4) via DNA methylation is associated with both smoking and cardiovascular disease. We examined the association between DNA hypomethylation atF2RL3and risk of cardiovascular disease, focusing on acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (n=853 cases / 2,352 controls). We usedin vitrocell models to dissect the role of DNA methylation in regulating expression ofF2RL3.We investigated the interplay betweenF2RL3DNA methylation and platelet function in human (n=41). Lastly, we used Mendelian randomization to unify observational and functional work by assessing evidence for causal relationships using data from UK Biobank (n=407,141) and CARDIoGRAMplusC4D (n=184,305). Observationally, one standard deviation (SD) decrease in DNA methylation atF2RL3was associated with a 25% increase in the odds of AMI.In vitro, short-term exposure of cells to cigarette smoke reducedF2RL3DNA methylation and increased gene expression. Transcriptional assays flagged a role for a CEBP recognition sequence in modulating the enhancer activity ofF2RL3exon 2. Lower DNA methylation atF2RL3was associated with increased platelet reactivity in human. The estimated casual odds ratio of ischaemic heart disease was 1.03 (95% CI: 1.00, 1.07) per 1 SD decrease inF2RL3DNA. In conclusion, we show that DNA methylation-dependent platelet activation is part of a complex system of features contributing to cardiovascular health. Tailoring therapeutic intervention to new knowledge ofF2RL3/PAR4 function should be explored to ameliorate the detrimental effects of this risk factor on cardiovascular health.

One sentence summary

DNA methylation-dependent platelet activation is a likely causal contributor to cardiovascular health.
Shared striatal activity in decisions to satisfy curiosity and hunger at the risk of electric shocks
Authors: Lau Johnny King L , Ozono Hiroki , Kuratomi Kei , Komiya Asuka , Murayama Kou
Published: November 2018

Curiosity is often portrayed as a desirable feature of human faculty. However, curiosity may come at a cost that sometimes puts people in a harmful situation. Here, with a set of behavioural and neuroimaging experiments using stimuli that strongly trigger curiosity (e.g., magic tricks), we examined the psychological and neural mechanisms underlying the motivational effect of curiosity. We consistently demonstrated that across different samples, people were indeed willing to gamble, subjecting themselves to physical risks (i.e. electric shocks) in order to satisfy their curiosity for trivial knowledge that carries no apparent instrumental value. Also, this influence of curiosity shares common neural mechanisms with that of extrinsic incentives (i.e. hunger for food). In particular, we showed that acceptance (compared to rejection) of curiosity/incentive-driven gambles was accompanied by enhanced activity in the ventral striatum (when curiosity was elicited), which extended into the dorsal striatum (when participants made a decision).
Reconfigurable MRI coil technology can substantially reduce RF heating at the tips of bilateral deep brain stimulation implants
Authors: Golestanirad Laleh , Keil Boris , Downs Sean , Kirsch John , Elahi Behzad , Pilitsis Julie , Wald Lawrence L
Published: November 2018

Patients with deep brain stimulation (DBS) implants can significantly benefit from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination, however, access to MRI is restricted in this patients because of safety concerns due to RF heating of the leads. Recently we introduced a patient-adjustable reconfigurable MRI coil system to reduce the SAR at the tip of deep brain stimulation implants during MRI at 1.5T. A simulation study with realistic models of single (unilateral) DBS leads demonstrated a substantial reduction in the local SAR up to 500-fold could be achieved using the coil system compared to quadrature birdcage coils. Many patients however, have bilateral DBS implants and the question arises whether the rotating coil system can be used in for them. This work reports the results of phantom experiments measuring the temperature rise at the tips of bilateral DBS implants with realistic trajectories extracted from postoperative CT images of 10 patients (20 leads in total). A total of 200 measurements were performed to record temperature rise at the tips of the leads during 2 minutes of scanning with the coil rotated to cover all accessible rotation angles. In all patients, we were able to find an optimum coil rotation angle and reduced the heating of both left and right leads to a level below the heating produced by the body coil. An average heat reduction of 65% was achieved for bilateral leads. Reconfigurable coil technology introduces a promising approach for imaging of patients with DBS implants.
Modelling invasive pathogen load from non-destructive sampling data
Authors: Martínková Nátalia , Škrabánek Pavel , Pikula Jiri
Published: November 2018

Where microbes colonizing skin surface may help maintain organism homeostasis, those that invade living skin layers cause disease. In bats, white-nose syndrome is a fungal skin infection that affects animals during hibernation and may lead to mortality in severe cases. Here, we inferred the amount of fungus that had invaded skin tissue of diseased animals. We used simulations to estimate the unobserved disease severity in a non-lethal wing punch biopsy and to relate the simulated pathology to the measured fungal load in paired biopsies. We found that a single white-nose syndrome skin lesion packed with spores and hyphae of the causative agent, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, contains 48.93 pg of the pathogen DNA, which amounts to about 1560 P. destructans genomes in one skin lesion. Relating the information to the known UV fluorescence in Nearctic and Palearctic bats shows that Nearctic bats carry about 1.7 μg of fungal DNA per cm2, whereas Palearctic bats have 0.04 μg cm−2 of P. destructans DNA. With the information on the fungal load that had invaded the host skin, the researchers can now calculate disease severity as a function of invasive fungal growth using non-destructive UV light transillumination of each bat □s wing membranes. Our results will enable and promote thorough disease severity assessment in protected bat species without the need for extensive animal and laboratory labor sacrifices.
Front-end Weber-Fechner gain control enhances the fidelity of combinatorial odor coding
Authors: Kadakia Nirag , Emonet Thierry
Published: November 2018

Odor identity is encoded by spatiotemporal patterns of activity in olfactory receptor neurons (ORNs). In natural environments, the intensity and timescales of odor signals can span several orders of magnitude, and odors can mix with one another, potentially scrambling the combinatorial code mapping neural activity to odor identity. Recent studies have shown that inDrosophila melanogasterthe ORNs that express the olfactory co-receptor Orco scale their gain inversely with mean odor concentration according to the Weber-Fechner Law of psychophysics. Here we use a minimal biophysical model of signal transduction, ORN firing, and signal decoding to investigate the implications of this front-end scaling law for the neural representations of odor identity. We find that Weber-Fechner scaling enhances coding capacity and promotes the reconstruction of odor identity from dynamic odor signals, even in the presence of confounding background odors and rapid intensity fluctuations. We show that these enhancements are further aided by downstream transformations in the antennal lobe and mushroom body. Thus, despite the broad overlap between individual ORN tuning curves, a mechanism of front-end adaptation, when endowed with Weber-Fechner scaling, may play a vital role in preserving representations of odor identity in naturalistic odor landscapes.
Single cell transcriptomic analysis of the adult mouse pituitary reveals a novel multi-hormone cell cluster and physiologic demand-induced lineage plasticity
Authors: Ho Yugong , Hu Peng , Peel Michael T. , Chen Sixing , Camara Pablo G. , Epstein Douglas J. , Wu Hao , Liebhaber Stephen A.
Published: November 2018

The anterior pituitary gland drives a set of highly conserved physiologic processes in mammalian species. These hormonally-controlled processes are central to somatic growth, pubertal transformation, fertility, lactation, and metabolism. Current models, largely built upon candidate gene based immuno-histochemical and mRNA analyses, suggest that each of the seven hormones synthesized by the pituitary is produced by a specific and exclusive cell lineage. However, emerging evidence suggests more complex models of hormone specificity and cell plasticity. Here we have applied massively parallel single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), in conjunction with a set of orthogonal mRNA and protein imaging studies, to systematically map the cellular composition of adult male and female mouse pituitaries at single-cell resolution and in the setting of major physiologic demands. These analyses reveal sex-specific cellular diversity associated with normal pituitary homeostasis, and identify an array of cells with complex complements of hormone-enrichment as well as a series of non-hormone producing interstitial and supporting cell lineages. These scRNA-seq studies identify a major cell population that is characterized by a unique multi-hormone gene expression profile. The detection of dynamic shifts in cellular representations and transcriptome profiles in response to two well-defined physiologic stresses suggests corresponding roles of a number of these clusters in cellular plasticity within the adult pituitary. These studies point to an unanticipated complexity and plasticity in pituitary cellular composition that expands upon current models and concepts of pituitary gene expression and hormone production.
The long noncoding RNAHand2asorchestrates heart development through regulation of precise expression ofHAND2
Authors: Han Xue , Zhang Jiejie , Liu Yaxi , Fan Xiaoying , Ai Shanshan , Luo Yingjie , Li Xin , Luo Sai , Zheng Hui , Yue Yanzhu , Chang Zai , Yang Zhongzhou , Tang Fuchou , He Aibin , Shen Xiaohua
Published: November 2018

Rigorous exploration and dissection of potential actions and effects of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) in animals remain challenging. Here using multiple knockout mouse models and single- cell RNA sequencing, we demonstrate that the divergent lncRNAHand2ashas a key, complex modulatory effect on the expression of its neighboring geneHAND2and subsequently on heart development and function, largely independent ofHand2astranscription and transcripts. Full-length deletion ofHand2asin mouse causes moderate yet prevalent upregulation ofHAND2in hundreds of cardiac cells, resulting in profound biological consequences, including dysregulated cardiac gene programs, congenital heart defects and perinatal lethality. We propose acis-functional role for theHand2aslocus in dampeningHAND2expression to restrain cardiomyocyte proliferation, thereby orchestrating a balanced development of cardiac cell lineages. This study highlights the need for complementary genetic and single-cell approaches to delineate the function and primary molecular effects of an lncRNA in animals.

Impact statement

The long noncoding RNAHand2ascritically controls the precise expression of its neighboring geneHAND2, thereby balancing cardiac lineages and expression programs that are essential for heart development and function.
Numerical parameter space compression and its application to microtubule dynamic instability
Authors: Hsu Chieh-Ting (Jimmy) , Brouhard Gary J. , François Paul
Published: November 2018

Physical models of biological systems can become difficult to interpret when they have a large number of parameters. But the models themselves actually depend on (i.e. are sensitive to) only a subset of those parameters. Rigorously identifying this subset of “stiff” parameters has been made possible by the development of parameter space compression (PSC). However, PSC has only been applied to analytically-solvable physical models. We have generalized this powerful method by developing a numerical approach to PSC that can be applied to any computational model. We validated our method against analytically-solvable models of random walk with drift and protein production and degradation. We then applied our method to an active area of biophysics research, namely to a simple computational model of microtubule dynamic instability. Such models have become increasingly complex, perhaps unnecessarily. By adding two new parameters that account for prominent structural features of microtubules, we identify one that can be “compressed away” (the “seam” in the microtubule) and another that is essential to model performance (the “tapering” of microtubule ends). Furthermore, we show that the microtubule model has an underlying, low-dimensional structure that explains the vast majority of our experimental data. We argue that numerical PSC can identify the low-dimensional structure of any computational model in biophysics. The low-dimensional structure of a model is easier to interpret and identifies the mechanisms and experiments that best characterize the system.