bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mitotic regulators TPX2 and Aurora A protect DNA forks during replication stress by counteracting 53BP1 function
Authors: Byrum Andrea K. , Carvajal-Maldonado Denisse , Mudge Miranda C. , Valle-Garcia David , Majid Mona C. , Patel Romil , Sowa Mathew E. , Gygi Steven P. , Harper J. Wade , Shi Yang , Vindigni Alessandro , Mosammaparast Nima
Published: January 2019

53BP1 is a chromatin-associated protein that regulates the DNA damage response. In this study, we identify the TPX2/Aurora A heterodimer, nominally considered a mitotic kinase complex, as a novel binding partner of 53BP1. We find that TPX2/Aurora A plays a previously unrecognized role in DNA damage repair and replication fork stability by counteracting 53BP1 function. Loss of TPX2 or Aurora A compromises DNA end resection, BRCA1 and Rad51 recruitment, and homologous recombination. Furthermore, loss of TPX2 or Aurora A causes deprotection of stalled replication forks upon replication stress induction. This fork protection pathway counteracts MRE11 nuclease activity but functions in parallel to BRCA1. Strikingly, concurrent loss of 53BP1 rescues not only BRCA1/Rad51 recruitment but also the fork instability induced upon TPX2 loss. Our work suggests the presence of a feedback mechanism by which 53BP1 is regulated by a novel binding partner and uncovers a unique role for 53BP1 in replication fork stability.
Brian Massumi and Communication Studies
Authors: Ritchie Marnie
Published: January 2019

Brian Massumi (1956–) is a contemporary political theorist of communication, critical and cultural studies, philosophy, political theory, science, and aesthetics. One of the foremost thinkers of “radical empiricism,” he is responsible for enabling the widespread use of Deleuzean philosophy in communication and inaugurating the so-called “affective turn” in the theoretical humanities. Massumi is Professor of Communication at the Université de Montréal and a collaborator with the experimental art and activism lab SenseLab, founded by Erin Manning. His most well-known translation is Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari’s A Thousand Plateaus (1987), and he is the author of ten books, including the widely influential Parables for the Virtual: Movement, Affect, Sensation (2002).

Massumi’s radical empiricist approaches concern the aesthetics of communication and power in the context of global capitalism. He opens the field of communication to the study of relationality, what he calls “being-in-becoming,” which he describes in terms of Gilles Deleuze’s “the actual” and “the virtual.” His critical embrace of becoming reframes the concept of “the event” as a processual unfolding of forces of expression, or experience. Instead of remaining wedded to communication models that limit language to designation, manifestation, and signification, Massumi’s focus on becoming calls for accounts of the extra-linguistic. Three key concepts include expression, affect, and perception. Through creative and experimental dispositions, Massumi position the fields of communication, critical and cultural studies, philosophy, political theory, science, and aesthetics toward vibrant scenes of relations-already-underway, or how feeling, thinking, and being begin, again, in the middle of something already underway—a “happening doing.”
Fredric Jameson and Cultural Studies
Authors: Tally, Jr. Robert T.
Published: January 2019

Fredric Jameson (b. 1934) was the leading Marxist literary and cultural critic in the United States and, arguably, in the English-speaking world in the late 20th century and remains so in the early 21st. In a career that spans more than 60 years, Jameson has produced some 25 books and hundreds of essays in which he has demonstrated the versatility and power of Marxist criticism in analyzing and evaluating an enormous range of cultural phenomena, from literary texts to architecture, art history, cinema, economic formations, psychology, social theory, urban studies, and utopianism, to mention but a few. In his early work, Jameson introduced a number of important 20th-century European Marxist theorists to American audiences, beginning with his study of Jean-Paul Sartre’s style and continuing with his Marxism and Form (1971) and The Prison-House of Language (1972), which offered critical analyses of such theorists as Georg Lukacs, Ernst Bloch, Walter Benjamin, and Herbert Marcuse, along with the Frankfurt School, Russian formalism, and French structuralism. With The Political Unconscious (1981) and other works, Jameson deftly articulated such topics as the linguistic turn in literature and philosophy, the concepts of desire and national allegory, and the problems of interpretation and transcoding in a decade when continental theory was beginning to transform literary studies in the English-speaking world. Jameson then became the leading theorist and critic of postmodernism, and his Postmodernism, or, the Cultural Logic of Late Capitalism (1991) demonstrated the power of Marxist theoretical practice to make sense of the system underlying the discrete and seemingly unrelated phenomena in the arts, architecture, media, economics, and so on. Jameson’s concept of cognitive mapping has been especially influential on cultural theories of postmodernity and globalization. Jameson’s lifelong commitment to utopian thought and dialectical criticism have found more systematic expression in such books as Archaeologies of the Future (2005) and Valences of the Dialectic (2009), and he has continued to develop a major, six-volume project titled “The Poetics of Social Forms” (the final two volumes of which remain forthcoming as of 2018), whose trajectory ultimately covers myth, allegory, romance, realism, modernism, postmodernism, and beyond. Jameson’s expansive, eclectic, and ultimately holistic approach to cultural critique demonstrates the power of Marxist critical theory both to interpret, and to help change, the world.
Gambling in Sport and Performance Psychology
Authors: Marchica Loredana A. , Derevensky Jeffrey L.
Published: January 2019

With the gambling market continuously shifting and evolving, one form of gambling has uninterruptedly remained a staple in most cultures. Sports wagering has been and remains one of the most popular forms of gambling, especially among males. With the increase in the gambling market, sports wagering has also grown into the online gambling and fantasy sports wagering markets. These escalations in popularity have brought substantial revenue to sports wagering operators and have influenced government officials, policymakers, legislation researchers, the media, and the general public. There are two major groups of issues that surround sports wagering: sports wagering as an economic and tax-generating entity and the integrity of the game. More recently, a concern over problem gambling from a public health perspective has evolved. It is equally important that these issues be considered when creating or changing legislation around sports wagering.
Theoretical Approaches to Physical Activity Promotion
Authors: Ntoumanis Nikos , Thørgersen-Ntoumani Cecile , Quested Eleanor , Chatzisarantis Nikos
Published: January 2019

Compelling evidence worldwide suggests that the number of physically inactive individuals is high, and it is increasing. Given that lack of physical activity has been linked to a number of physical and mental health problems, identifying sustainable, cost-effective, and scalable initiatives to increase physical activity has become a priority for researchers, health practitioners, and policymakers. One way to identify such initiatives is to use knowledge derived from psychological theories of motivation and behavior change. There is a plethora of such theories and models that describe a variety of cognitive, affective, and behavioral mechanisms that can target behavior at a conscious or an unconscious level. Such theories have been applied, with varying degrees of success, to inform exercise and physical activity interventions in different life settings (e.g., schools, hospitals, and workplaces) using both traditional (e.g., face-to-face counseling and printed material) and digital technology platforms (e.g., smartphone applications and customized websites). This work has offered important insights into how to create optimal motivational conditions, both within individuals and in the social environments in which they operate, to facilitate long-term engagement in exercise and physical activity. However, we need to identify overlap and synergies across different theoretical frameworks in an effort to develop more comprehensive, and at the same time more distinct, theoretical accounts of behavior change with reference to physical activity promotion. It is also important that researchers and practitioners utilize such theories in interdisciplinary research endeavors that take into account the enabling or restrictive role of cultural norms, the built environment, and national policies on physical activity.
Episodic Future Thinking and Cognitive Aging
Authors: Schacter Daniel L. , Devitt Aleea L. , Addis Donna Rose
Published: January 2019

Episodic future thinking refers to the ability to imagine or simulate experiences that might occur in an individual’s personal future. It has been known for decades that cognitive aging is associated with declines in episodic memory, and recent research has documented correlated age-related declines in episodic future thinking. Previous research has considered both cognitive and neural mechanisms that are responsible for age-related changes in episodic future thinking, as well as effects of aging on the functions served by episodic future thinking. Studies concerned with mechanism indicate that multiple cognitive mechanisms contribute to changes in episodic future thinking during aging, including episodic memory retrieval, narrative style, and executive processes. Recent studies using an episodic specificity induction—brief training in recollecting episodic details of a recent experience—have proven useful in separating the contributions of episodic retrieval from other non-episodic processes during future thinking tasks in both old and young adults. Neuroimaging studies provide preliminary evidence of a role for age-related changes in default and executive brain networks in episodic future thinking and autobiographical planning. Studies concerned with function have examined age-related effects on the link between episodic future thinking and a variety of processes, including everyday problem-solving, prospective memory, prosocial intentions, and intertemporal choice/delay discounting. The general finding in these studies is for age-related reductions, consistent with the work on mechanisms that consistently reveals reduced episodic detail in older adults when they imagine future events. However, several studies have revealed that episodic simulation nonetheless confers some benefits for tasks tapping adaptive functions in older adults, such as problem-solving, prospective memory, and prosocial intentions, even though age-related deficits on these tasks are not eliminated or reduced by episodic future thinking.
Neurocognitive Aging and Functional Connectivity Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Authors: Burianová Hana
Published: January 2019

Determining the mechanisms that underlie neurocognitive aging, such as compensation or dedifferentiation, and facilitating the development of effective strategies for cognitive improvement is essential due to the steadily rising aging population. One approach to study the characteristics of healthy aging comprises the assessment of functional connectivity, delineating markers of age-related neurocognitive plasticity. Functional connectivity paradigms characterize complex one-to-many (or many-to-many) structure–function relations, as higher-level cognitive processes are mediated by the interaction among a number of functionally related neural areas rather than localized to discrete brain regions. Task-related or resting-state interregional correlations of brain activity have been used as reliable indices of functional connectivity, delineating age-related alterations in a number of large-scale brain networks, which subserve attention, working memory, episodic retrieval, and task-switching. Together with behavioral and regional activation studies, connectivity studies and modeling approaches have contributed to our understanding of the mechanisms of age-related reorganization of distributed functional networks; specifically, reduced neural specificity (dedifferentiation) and associated impairment in inhibitory control and compensatory neural recruitment.
HIV/AIDS in Later Life
Authors: Sayegh Philip , Moore David J. , Fazeli Wheeler Pariya
Published: January 2019

Since the first cluster of people with HIV was identified in 1981, significant biomedical advances, most notably the development of antiretroviral therapy (ART), have led to considerably increased life expectancy as well as a reduction in the morbidity and mortality associated with HIV/AIDS. As a result, HIV/AIDS is no longer considered a terminal illness, but rather a chronic illness, and many persons living with HIV/AIDS are beginning to enter or have already reached later life. In fact, Americans ages 50 years and older comprise approximately half of all individuals with HIV/AIDS and represent the most rapidly growing subpopulation of persons living with HIV/AIDS in the United States.

Despite significant advances in HIV/AIDS treatment and prognosis, older adults living with HIV (OALH) face a number of unique challenges and circumstances that can lead to exacerbated symptoms and poorer outcomes, despite demonstrating generally better ART adherence than their younger counterparts. These detrimental outcomes are due to both chronological aging and cohort effects as well as social and behavioral factors and long-term ART use. For instance, neurocognitive deficits and neuropsychiatric symptoms, including depression, anxiety, apathy, and fatigue, are often observed among OALH, which can result in feelings of loneliness, social isolation, and reduced social support. Taken together, these factors can lead to elevated levels of problems with everyday functioning (e.g., activities of daily living) among OALH. In addition, sociocultural factors such as race/ethnicity, ageism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, geographic region, socioeconomic status and financial well-being, systemic barriers and disparities, and cultural values and beliefs play an influential role in determining outcomes.

Notwithstanding the challenges associated with living with HIV/AIDS in later life, many persons living with HIV/AIDS are aging successfully. HIV/AIDS survivor and community mobilization efforts, as well as integrated care models, have resulted in some significant improvements in overall HIV/AIDS patient care. In addition, interventions aimed at improving successful aging outcomes among OALH are being developed in an attempt to effectively reduce the psychological and physical morbidity associated with HIV disease.
Archaeobotany: Methods
Authors: Champion Louis , Fuller Dorian Q.
Published: January 2019

Archaeobotany’s goals are to investigate the interactions between human societies and the plant world in the past from the botanical remains preserved in archaeological sites, including the environment people exploited and the foods they extracted from it. Archaeobotanical research in Africa has tended to be less widely practiced than in many other parts of the world, and systematic archaeobotanical sampling is still only incorporated into a minority of archaeological field projects in Africa. Nevertheless, there is potential for archaeobotany to contribute to a holistic understanding of Africa’s past. The general scope of archaeobotany is outlined before focusing on how typical archaeobotanical remains relate to agriculture and food production. A short overview on the practical side of collecting archaeobotanical samples is provided. Archaeobotany’s two general themes are discussed: hunter-gatherer subsistence and the origins of agriculture.
Community-Based Approaches to African History
Authors: Schmidt Peter R. , Arthur Kathryn Weedman
Published: January 2019

Several trends in the historical scholarship of Africa require recognition and remediation. The first is a quickly shrinking interest in African history of the past two millennia, with a shift in emphasis to early hominins and to the modern period. The precolonial history of Africa, once a subject of considerable excitement for historians, historical linguists, and archaeologists, is fading from interest. The high cost of interdisciplinary research is one reason, but a deeper, more alarming cause is the rapid erasure of oral traditions by globalization, disease, and demographic changes. Archaeologists and heritage experts are faced with a need to find innovative means to investigate and recover historical information. One proven path is partnerships with communities that want to initiate research to document, recuperate, and preserve their histories. Community approaches in other world regions have shown important research results. Adapting some of the philosophy and methods of other experiments as well as innovating their own approaches, archaeologists and heritage managers in Africa are increasingly involved in community projects that hold out significant hope that the quickly disappearing oral and material history of Africa can be preserved and studied into the future. Two case studies—one from the Haya people of Tanzania and the other from the Boreda Gamo of Ethiopia—illustrate that long-term and trusting partnerships with local groups lead to important historical observations and interpretations. Such collaborations also lead to thorough documentation and preservation of historical sites and information that otherwise would be lost to posterity. Moreover, they account for the ability of local groups to initiate and to conduct their own research while recognizing local control over heritage and history.
Quantum Characterization, Verification, and Validation
Authors: Wallman Joel , Flammia Steven , Hincks Ian
Published: January 2019

This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Physics. Please check back later for the full article.

Quantum systems may outperform current digital technologies at various information processing tasks, such as simulating the dynamics of quantum systems and integer factorization. Quantum Characterization, Verification, and Validation (QCVV) is the procedure for estimating the quality of physical quantum systems for use as information processors. QCVV consists of three components.

Characterization means determining the effect of control operations on a quantum system, and the nature of external noise acting on the quantum system. The first characterization experiments (Rabi, Ramsey, and Hahn-echo) were developed in the context of nuclear magnetic resonance. As other effective two-level systems with varying noise models have been identified and couplings become more complex, additional techniques such as tomography and randomized benchmarking have been developed specifically for quantum information processing.

Verification involves verifying that a control operation implements a desired ideal operation to within a specified precision. Often, these targets are set by the requirements for quantum error correction and fault-tolerant quantum computation in specific architectures.

Validation is demonstrating that a quantum information processor can solve specific problems. For problems whose solution can be efficiently verified (e.g., prime factorization), validation may involve running a corresponding quantum algorithm (e.g., Shor’s algorithm) and analyzing the time taken to produce the correct solution. For problems whose solution cannot be efficiently verified, for example, quantum simulation, developing adequate techniques is an active area of research.

The essential features that make a device useful as a quantum information processor also create difficulties for QCVV, and specialized techniques have been developed to surmount these difficulties. The field is now entering a mature phase where a broad range of techniques can address all three tasks. As quantum information processors continue to scale up and improve, these three tasks look to become increasingly relevant, and many challenges remain.
The Black Freedom Struggle in the Urban North
Authors: Sugrue Thomas J.
Published: January 2019

Racism in the United States has long been a national problem, not a regional phenomenon. The long and well-documented history of slavery, Jim Crow laws, and racial violence in the South overshadows the persistent reality of racial discrimination, systemic segregation, and entrenched inequality north of the Mason-Dixon line. From the mid-19th century forward, African Americans and their allies mounted a series of challenges to racially separate schools, segregated public accommodations, racially divided workplaces, endemic housing segregation, and discriminatory policing. The northern civil rights movement expanded dramatically in the aftermath of the Great Migration of blacks northward and the intensification of segregation in northern hotels, restaurants, and theaters, workplaces, housing markets, and schools in the early 20th century. During the Great Depression and World War II, emboldened civil rights organizations engaged in protest, litigation, and lobbying efforts to undermine persistent racial discrimination and segregation. Their efforts resulted in legal and legislative victories against racially separate and unequal institutions, particularly workplaces and stores. But segregated housing and schools remained more impervious to change. By the 1960s, many black activists in the North grew frustrated with the pace of change, even as they succeeded in increasing black representation in elected office, in higher education, and in certain sectors of the economy. In the late 20th century, civil rights activists launched efforts to fight the ongoing problem of police brutality and the rise of the prison-industrial complex. And they pushed, mostly through the courts, for the protection of the fragile gains of the civil rights era. The black freedom struggle in the North remained incomplete in the face of ongoing segregation, persistent racism, and ongoing racial inequality in employment, education, income, and wealth.
CBL-INTERACTING PROTEIN KINASE 9 regulates ammonium-dependent root growth downstream of IDD10 in rice (Oryza sativa)
Authors: Xuan Yuan Hu , Kumar Vikranth , Han Xiao , Kim Sung Hoon , Jeong Jin Hee , Kim Chul Min , Gao Yue , Han Chang-deok
Published: January 2019

Background and Aims

INDETERMINATE DOMAIN 10 (IDD10) is a key transcription factor gene that activates the expression of a large number of NH4+-responsive genes including AMMONIUM TRANSPORTER 1;2 (AMT1;2). Primary root growth of rice (Oryza sativa) idd10 mutants is hypersensitive to NH4+. The involvement of CALCINEURIN B-LIKE INTERACTING PROTEIN KINASE (CIPK) genes in the action of IDD10 on NH4+-mediated root growth was investigated.

Methods

Quantitative reverse transcription–PCR was used to analyse NH4+- and IDD10-dependent expression of CIPK genes. IDD10-regulated CIPK target genes were identified using electrophoretic mobility shift assays, chromatin immunoprecipitation and transient transcription assays. Root growth rate, ammonium content and 15N uptake of cipk mutants were measured to determine their sensitivity to NH4+ and to compare these phenotypes with those of idd10. The genetic relationship between CIPK9 OX and idd10 was investigated by crosses between the CIPK9 and IDD10 lines.

Key Results

AMT1;2 was overexpressed in idd10 to determine whether NH4+-hypersensitive root growth of idd10 resulted from limitations in NH4+ uptake or from low cellular levels of NH4+. High NH4+ levels in idd10/AMT1;2 OX did not rescue the root growth defect. Next, the involvement of CIPK genes in NH4+-dependent root growth and interactions between IDD10 and CIPK genes was investigated. Molecular analysis revealed that IDD10 directly activated transcription of CIPK9 and CIPK14. Expression of CIPK8, 9, 14/15 and 23 was sensitive to exogenous NH4+. Further studies revealed that cipk9 and idd10 had almost identical NH4+-sensitive root phenotypes, including low efficiency of 15NH4+ uptake. Analysis of plants containing both idd10 and CIPK9 OX showed that CIPK9 OX could rescue the NH4+-dependent root growth defects of idd10.

Conclusions

CIPK9 was involved in NH4+-dependent root growth and appeared to act downstream of IDD10. This information will be useful in future explorations of NH4+ signalling in plants.
7. Defences to Divorce and Dissolution
Authors: Sendall Jane
Published: January 2019

This chapter discusses the limited defences available in divorce proceedings. It covers Section 5 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973; Section 10 Matrimonial Causes Act 1973; and Section 10A Matrimonial Causes Act 1973.
9. Procedure for a Matrimonial Order
Authors: Sendall Jane
Published: January 2019

This chapter discusses the procedure for obtaining a divorce or dissolving a civil partnership, which is governed by the Family Procedure Rules 2010. It outlines the steps a solicitor should take before issuing divorce proceedings and explores the complete procedure for obtaining an undefended divorce.
12. Financial Orders
Authors: Sendall Jane
Published: January 2019

This chapter discusses the principal forms of financial orders under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, their scope, and how they are used. These include lump sum orders, property adjustment orders, orders concerning the family home, periodical payments orders, and interim orders.
24. Introduction to the Children Act 1989
Authors: Sendall Jane
Published: January 2019

This chapter examines the Children Act 1989 (CA 1989) and the main principles upon which Children Act proceedings are conducted. It discusses the content of the ‘welfare principle’ and the ‘welfare checklist’ under CA 1989, and explains the principles of ‘no order’ and ‘no delay’.
26. Private Children Law
Authors: Sendall Jane
Published: January 2019

Private children law concerns disputes between family members about children. It deals with whom a child shall live, with whom they should have contact, and what steps a parent can take in their exercise of parental responsibility. The Children Act 1989 has orders that the court can make to help to resolve these disputes. This chapter examines the orders available in private children proceedings, who can apply for them, and the individual considerations of each order. These include residence orders, contact orders, specific issuer orders, prohibited steps orders, and special guardianship orders.
30. Emergency Protection of Children
Authors: Sendall Jane
Published: January 2019

When a child is in imminent need of protection, the order used to protect the child is an emergency protection order under s44 of the Children Act 1989. This chapter examines the factors a court will consider when asked to make an emergency order. It also looks at the powers available to the police when faced with a child in need of protection.
36. Protection under the Family Law Act 1996: Procedure
Authors: Sendall Jane
Published: January 2019

This chapter discusses the procedure for obtaining orders under the Family Law Act 1996 without notice, on notice, and when enforcing orders. Proceedings are commenced using a Form FL401 and a statement in support. Proceedings can be commenced in either the county court or family proceedings court. Funding is available for those eligible for CLS funding. The respondent should be personally served with the FL401 and the statement in support unless the application is to be made without notice. Police should be contacted if a non-molestation order is breached and if an occupation order has a power of arrest attached to it.
News about non-secretory exocytosis: mechanisms, properties, and functions
Authors: D’Alessandro Rosalba , Meldolesi Jacopo
Published: January 2019

The fusion by exocytosis of many vesicles to the plasma membrane induces the discharge to the extracellular space of their abundant luminal cargoes. Other exocytic vesicles, however, do not contain cargoes, and thus, their fusion is not followed by secretion. Therefore, two distinct processes of exocytosis exist, one secretory and the other non-secretory. The present review deals with the knowledge of non-secretory exocytosis developed during recent years. Among such developments are the dual generation of the exocytic vesicles, initially released either from the trans-Golgi network or by endocytosis; their traffic with activation of receptors, channels, pumps, and transporters; the identification of their tethering and soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor complexes that govern membrane fusions; the growth of axons and the membrane repair. Examples of potential relevance of these processes for pathology and medicine are also reported. The developments presented here offer interesting chances for future progress in the field.
Urinary Phthalate Biomarker Concentrations and Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risk
Authors: Reeves Katherine W , Díaz Santana Mary , Manson JoAnn E , Hankinson Susan E , Zoeller R Thomas , Bigelow Carol , Sturgeon Susan R , Spiegelman Donna , Tinker Lesley , Luo Juhua , Chen Bertha , Meliker Jaymie , Bonner Matthew R , Cote Michele L , Cheng Ting-Yuan David , Calafat Antonia M
Published: January 2019

Background

Growing laboratory and animal model evidence supports the potentially carcinogenic effects of some phthalates, chemicals used as plasticizers in a wide variety of consumer products, including cosmetics, medications, and vinyl flooring. However, prospective data on whether phthalates are associated with human breast cancer risk are lacking.

Methods

We conducted a nested case-control study within the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) prospective cohort (n = 419 invasive case subjects and 838 control subjects). Control subjects were matched 2:1 to case subjects on age, enrollment date, follow-up time, and WHI study group. We quantified 13 phthalate metabolites and creatinine in two or three urine samples per participant over one to three years. Multivariable conditional logistic regression analysis was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for breast cancer risk associated with each phthalate biomarker up to 19 years of follow-up.

Results

Overall, we did not observe statistically significant positive associations between phthalate biomarkers and breast cancer risk in multivariable analyses (eg, 4th vs 1st quartile of diethylhexyl phthalate, OR = 1.03, 95% CI = 0.91 to 1.17). Results were generally similar in analyses restricted to disease subtypes, to nonusers of postmenopausal hormone therapy, stratified by body mass index, or to case subjects diagnosed within three, five, or ten years.

Conclusions

In the first prospective analysis of phthalates and postmenopausal breast cancer, phthalate biomarker concentrations did not result in an increased risk of developing invasive breast cancer.
Chikungunya and O’nyong-nyong Viruses in Uganda: Implications for Diagnostics
Authors: Clements Tamara L , Rossi Cynthia A , Irish Amanda K , Kibuuka Hannah , Eller Leigh Anne , Robb Merlin L , Kataaha Peter , Michael Nelson L , Hensley Lisa E , Schoepp Randal J
Published: January 2019

Background

A serosurvey of healthy blood donors provided evidence of hemorrhagic fever and arthropod-borne virus infections in Uganda.

Methods

Antibody prevalence to arthropod-borne and hemorrhagic fever viruses in human sera was determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT).

Results

The greatest antibody prevalence determined by ELISA was to chikungunya virus (CHIKV) followed in descending order by West Nile virus (WNV), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), Ebola virus (EBOV), dengue virus (DEN), yellow fever virus (YFV), Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), Marburg virus (MARV), and Lassa virus (LASV). Further investigation of CHIKV-positive sera demonstrated that the majority of antibody responses may likely be the result of exposure to the closely related alphavirus o’nyong-nyong virus (ONNV).

Conclusions

As the use of highly specific and sensitive polymerase chain reaction–based assays becomes the diagnostic standard without the corresponding use of the less sensitive but more broadly reactive immunological-based assays, emerging and re-emerging outbreaks will be initially missed, illustrating the need for an orthogonal system for the detection and identification of viruses causing disease.
Genome-wide Association Studies and Candidate Gene Identification for Leaf Scald and Net Blotch in Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.)
Authors: Daba Sintayehu D , Horsley Richard , Brueggeman Robert , Chao Shiaoman , Mohammadi Mohsen
Published: January 2019

We report genomic regions that significantly control resistance to scald, net form (NFNB) and spot form net blotch (SFNB) in barley. Barley genotypes from Ethiopia, ICARDA, and the United States were evaluated in Ethiopia and North Dakota State University (NDSU). Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were conducted using 23,549 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers for disease resistance in five environments in Ethiopia. For NFNB and SFNB, we assessed seedling resistance in a glasshouse at NDSU. A large proportion of the Ethiopian landraces and breeding genotypes were resistant to scald and NFNB. Most of genotypes resistant to SFNB were from NDSU. We identified 17, 26, 7, and 1 marker-trait associations (MTAs) for field-scored scald, field-scored net blotch, greenhouse-scored NFNB, and greenhouse-scored SFNB diseases, respectively. Using the genome sequence and the existing literature, we compared the MTAs with previously reported loci and genes for these diseases. For leaf scald, only a few of our MTAs overlap with previous reports. However, the MTAs found for field-scored net blotch as well as NFNB and SFNB mostly overlap with previous reports. We scanned the barley genome for identification of candidate genes within 250 kb of the MTAs, resulting in the identification of 307 barley genes for the 51 MTAs. Some of these genes are related to plant defense responses such as subtilisin-like protease, chalcone synthase, lipoxygenase, and defensin-like proteins.
Monitoring Methyl Benzimidazole Carbamate-Resistant Isolates of the Cucurbit Powdery Mildew Pathogen, Podosphaera xanthii, Using Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification
Authors: Vielba-Fernández Alejandra , de Vicente Antonio , Pérez-García Alejandro , Fernández-Ortuño Dolores
Published: January 2019

Powdery mildew, caused by the fungus Podosphaera xanthii, is one of the most economically important diseases affecting cucurbit crops in Spain. Currently, chemical control offers the most efficient management of the disease; however, P. xanthii isolates resistant to multiple classes of site-specific fungicides have been reported in the Spanish cucurbit powdery mildew population. In previous studies, resistance to the fungicides known as methyl benzimidazole carbamates (MBCs) was found to be caused by the amino acid substitution E198A on β-tubulin. To detect MBC-resistant isolates in a faster, more efficient, and more specific way than the traditional methods used to date, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) system was developed. In this study, three sets of LAMP primers were designed. One set was designed for the detection of the wild-type allele and two sets were designed for the E198A amino acid change. Positive results were only obtained with both mutant sets; however, LAMP reaction conditions were only optimized with primer set 2, which was selected for optimal detection of the E198A amino acid change in P. xanthii-resistant isolates, along with the optimal temperature and duration parameters of 65°C for 75 min, respectively. The hydroxynaphthol blue (HNB) metal indicator was used for quick visualization of results through the color change from violet to sky blue when the amplification was positive. HNB was added before the amplification to avoid opening the lids, thus decreasing the probability of contamination. To confirm that the amplified product corresponded to the β-tubulin gene, the LAMP product was digested with the enzyme LweI and sequenced. Our results show that the LAMP technique is a specific and reproducible method that could be used for monitoring MBC resistance of P. xanthii directly in the field.
Superb autorotator: rapid decelerations in impulsively launched samaras
Authors: Ortega-Jimenez Victor Manuel , Kim Noah Suk-Won , Dudley Robert
Published: January 2019

Autorotation of botanical samaras, with a consequent reduction in their rate of descent, increases dispersal range in the presence of horizontal winds. Samaras in initial free fall from rest pass through a brief transitional phase prior to reaching their minimum rate of descent and stable autorotation. By contrast, intense wind gusts and elastic recoil of tree branches can produce impulsive samara detachment and accelerate them rapidly through the air. Here, we investigate the autorotation of maple samaras when launched with a high initial impulse. Norway maple seeds catapulted either vertically or horizontally at approximately 9 m s−1exhibited remarkably high and rapid decelerations (10–15g) and reached a near-zero translational speed in less than 150 ms. The initial rotational frequency of catapulted seeds was up to four times greater than that ultimately reached during steady-state autorotation. These helicopter seeds thus transiently produce very high lift forces (at Reynolds numbers near approximately 104) that act to enhance aerial transport. These findings are relevant to the modelling of long-distance seed dispersal in unsteady flows, as well as to the design of deceleration mechanisms based on lift generation, rather than drag-based devices such as parachutes.
Hydrodynamics of the leucon sponge pump
Authors: Asadzadeh Seyed Saeed , Larsen Poul S. , Riisgård Hans Ulrik , Walther Jens H.
Published: January 2019

Leuconoid sponges are filter-feeders with a complex system of branching inhalant and exhalant canals leading to and from the close-packed choanocyte chambers. Each of these choanocyte chambers holds many choanocytes that act as pumping units delivering the relatively high pressure rise needed to overcome the system pressure losses in canals and constrictions. Here, we test the hypothesis that, in order to deliver the high pressures observed, each choanocyte operates as a leaky, positive displacement-type pump owing to the interaction between its beating flagellar vane and the collar, open at the base for inflow but sealed above. The leaking backflow is caused by small gaps between the vaned flagellum and the collar. The choanocyte pumps act in parallel, each delivering the same high pressure, because low-pressure and high-pressure zones in the choanocyte chamber are separated by a seal (secondary reticulum). A simple analytical model is derived for the pump characteristic, and by imposing an estimated system characteristic we obtain the back-pressure characteristic that shows good agreement with available experimental data. Computational fluid dynamics is used to verify a simple model for the dependence of leak flow through gaps in a conceptual collar–vane–flagellum system and then applied to models of a choanocyte tailored to the parameters of the freshwater demospongeSpongilla lacustristo study its flows in detail. It is found that both the impermeable glycocalyx mesh covering the upper part of the collar and the secondary reticulum are indispensable features for the choanocyte pump to deliver the observed high pressures. Finally, the mechanical pump power expended by the beating flagellum is compared with the useful (reversible) pumping power received by the water flow to arrive at a typical mechanical pump efficiency of about 70%.
Analysis of productivity and stability of synthetic microbial communities
Authors: Di Sihao , Yang Aidong
Published: January 2019

Bioreactors that employ a synthetic microbial community hold potential to overcome limitations of those based on a single species, which embrace a higher level of complexity due to the inter-species interactions. In this work, a number of generic system structures involving two cross-feeding species and various types of inhibition have been studied, together with two three-species cases where a third species is introduced to fulfil a specific function. These cases are represented by mathematical models and inspected through bifurcation analysis and numerical simulation to reveal how the system structure and parametrization affect stability and productivity of the bioreactor. The results show that inhibitions generally lead to reduction in both productivity and stability, and that the presence of a negative feedback loop and a positive feedback loop may give rise to oscillation and bi-stability, respectively, depending on the strength of the inhibitions involved. The intended gains by the introduction of a third species may be achieved when its negative side-effect is sufficiently moderate, and at the cost of reduced stability. As observed in several cases, the changes in stability and productivity do not always follow the same trend, implying trade-off between the two objectives in the engineering of such bioreactors.
Mrakia hoshinonis sp. nov., a novel psychrophilic yeast isolated from a retreating glacier on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic
Authors: Tsuji Masaharu , Tanabe Yukiko , Vincent Warwick F. , Uchida Masaki
Published: January 2019

Four strains isolated from sediment sampled at the front of a retreating glacier on northern Ellesmere Island in the Canadian high Arctic, namely JCM 32575T, JCM 32576, JCM 32577 and JCM 32578, belong to a novel psychrophilic basidiomycetous yeast species in the genus Mrakia. Molecular phylogenetic analysis indicated that these strains are most closely related to the type strains of Mrakia aquatica and Mrakianic combsii, but with 8–9 and 7–12 nt substitutions in ITS and in the D1/D2 domain of the LSU rRNA gene, respectively. The strains grew at sub-zero temperatures and in vitamin-free media, with lipase and cellulase highly active even at −3 °C. These characteristics likely allow this yeast species to grow and survive in extremely cold, oligotrophic environments, such as the fronts of retreating glaciers in the high Arctic. The name Mrakia hoshinonis sp. nov. is proposed, with type strain JCM 32575T (UAMH 11969) and MycoBank number MB 825484.
Effects of partial, combined and total replacement of sodium chloride in beef sausage on microbial load, sensory acceptability and physical properties
Authors: Oshibanjo Olusegun D. , Ikhimiukor Odion O.
Published: January 2019

This study evaluates the effects of partial, combined or total replacement of NaCl on microbial load, sensory evaluation and physical properties of beef sausage. Beef sausage was prepared (g/100g: beef 65.0, corn flour 10.0, oil 10.0, soya bean, wet and dry spice 15.0). Sodium chloride (SC) was replaced with potassium chloride (PC), potassium lactate (PL) or calcium ascorbate (CA) at 25%, 50% and 100%, and then stored for 15 days in a factorial arrangement in complete randomized design. Sausages were subjected to microbial load, sensory evaluation and pH, cooking yield and cooking loss using standard procedure. Data were analysed using descriptive statistic and ANOVA at α0.05. The microbial load was generally lower. The pH increased with storage time. The cooking yield was significantly higher in salt combination of 50% SC and CA each at storage day 5 with least cooking loss at same storage day. The most preferred sausage colour was obtained with a salt combination of 50% SC and CA each with least colour in a salt combination of 50% SC, 25% PL and). In tenderness, a salt combination of 50% of both SC and CA was significantly tender with least tenderness in 100% PL total replacement. The panelists rated salt combination of 50% SC and CA as the most overall accepted salt combination than others salt combination. Sodium chloride replacement with Calcium Ascorbate at 50% enhanced the most preferred sausage for overall acceptability and aerobic bacteria count lower than the international standard limit.

Summary statement

High intake of sodium chloride had been seen as one of the main contributing factors in the development of specific, non-transmittable diseases, such as, high blood pressure and related secondary such as cardiovascular disease. The use of other derivative of salt is therefore needed. This study evaluates the effects of partial, combined or total replacement of NaCl on microbial load, sensory evaluation and physical properties of beef sausage.
Pleiotropic effects for Parkin and LRRK2 in leprosy type-1 reactions and Parkinson’s disease
Authors: Fava Vinicius M. , Xu Yong Zhong , Lettre Guillaume , Van Thuc Nguyen , Orlova Marianna , Thai Vu Hong , Cambri Geison , Tao Shao , Lahiri Ramanuj , Adams Linda , Cobat Aurélie , Alcaïs Alexandre , Abel Laurent , Schurr Erwin
Published: January 2019

Type-1 reactions (T1Rs) are pathological inflammatory episodes and main contributors to nerve damage in leprosy. Here, we evaluate the gene-wise enrichment of rare protein altering variants in seven genes where common variants were previously associated with T1R. We selected 474 Vietnamese leprosy-patients of which 237 were T1R-affected and 237 were T1R-free matched controls. Gene-wise enrichment of nonsynonymous variants was tested with both kernel based (SKAT) and burden methods. Of the seven genes tested two showed statistical evidence of association with T1R. For theLRRK2gene an enrichment of nonsynonymous variants was observed in T1R-free controls (pSKAT-O= 1.6×10−4). This gene-wise association was driven almost entirely by the gain of function variant R1628P (p= 0.004; OR = 0.29). The second gene-wise association was found for the Parkin coding genePRKN(formerlyPARK2) where seven rare variants were enriched in T1R-affected cases (pSKAT-O= 7.4×10−5). Mutations in bothPRKNandLRRK2are known causes of Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Hence, we evaluated to what extent such rare amino acid changes observed in T1R are shared with PD. We observed that nonsynonymous T1R-risk mutations in Parkin were enriched for amino acid mutations implicated in PD (p= 1.5×10−4). Hence, neuro-inflammation in PD and peripheral nerve damage due to inflammation in T1R share overlapping mechanisms of pathogenicity.