bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Immune responses to malaria pre‐erythrocytic stages: Implications for vaccine development
Authors: Abuga Kelvin Mokaya , Jones‐Warner William , Hafalla Julius Clemence R. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractRadiation‐attenuated sporozoites induce sterilizing immunity and remain the 'gold standard' for malaria vaccine development. Despite practical challenges in translating these whole sporozoite vaccines to large‐scale intervention programmes, they have provided an excellent platform to dissect the immune responses to malaria pre‐erythrocytic (PE) stages, comprising both sporozoites and exoerythrocytic forms. Investigations in rodent models have provided insights that led to the clinical translation of various vaccine candidates—including RTS,S/AS01, the most advanced candidate currently in a trial implementation programme in three African countries. With advances in immunology, transcriptomics and proteomics, and application of lessons from past failures, an effective, long‐lasting and wide‐scale malaria PE vaccine remains feasible. This review underscores the progress in PE vaccine development, focusing on our understanding of host‐parasite immunological crosstalk in the tissue environments of the skin and the liver. We highlight possible gaps in the current knowledge of PE immunity that can impact future malaria vaccine development efforts.
Policy without Partisanship: The Direct Appeals of First Ladies
Authors: Fu Shu , Savel Meg 
Published: September 2020

AbstractPresidents make public appeals on behalf of their policy priorities, but they are not the only members of presidential administrations who address the public. First ladies are highly visible presidential surrogates. We argue that first ladies make direct appeals to selectively advance presidents’ policy initiatives, and do so without being overly partisan. To support these claims, we present evidence from the public remarks of the last three first ladies whose husbands have completed their terms: Hillary Clinton, Laura Bush, and Michelle Obama. We use topic models to show that the remarks of first ladies are primarily concerned with policy, rather than ceremonial topics. We measure the partisanship of public remarks using a dictionary‐based approach with Bayesian shrinkage and regularization to illustrate how the remarks of first ladies are not overly partisan. Our findings on the strategic communication of first ladies advance our understanding of the first ladyship and of the presidency.
Cynical hostility relates to a lack of habituation of the cardiovascular response to repeated acute stress
Authors: Tyra Alexandra T. , Brindle Ryan C. , Hughes Brian M. , Ginty Annie T. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractHostility is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Heightened cardiovascular reactivity to psychological stress has been proposed as a potential mechanism. Recent work has emphasized a need to measure cardiovascular reactivity across multiple stress exposures to assess potential habituation over time. The aims of the current study were (a) to examine the relationship between each of the three main components of hostility (i.e., emotional, cognitive, and behavioral) and cardiovascular reactivity at two separate stress testing visits and (b) to examine the relationship between hostility components and cardiovascular reactivity habituation. This study utilized previously collected data from the Pittsburgh Cold Study 3. One hundred and ninety‐six participants (Mean (SD)[range] age = 29.9 (10.8)[18–55] years, 42.9% female, 67.3% Caucasian) completed 2 separate, identical laboratory sessions, consisting of a 20‐min baseline and 15‐min stress (Trier Social Stress Test). Heart rate and systolic/diastolic blood pressure were recorded throughout. Reactivity was calculated separately for heart rate, systolic, and diastolic blood pressure (stress—baseline). Participants also completed a modified version of the Cook‐Medley Hostility Scale. Results indicated that greater cognitive hostility (i.e., cynicism) was associated with blunted cardiovascular reactivity at Visit 1 and less cardiovascular reactivity habituation between visits, even when controlling for confounding variables. No significant relationships to cardiovascular reactivity or habituation were found for emotional (i.e., hostile affect) or behavioral (i.e., aggressive responding) components. Outcomes for total hostility did not survive adjustment for confounders. These results identify a potential pathway through which hostility, particularly cynicism, contributes to disease risk.
Tools of Control? Comparing Congressional and Presidential Performance Management Reforms
Authors: Kroll Alexander , Moynihan Donald P. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractPresidents are claimed to have a stronger interest in an effective bureaucracy than Congress because they must be responsive to the public as a whole rather than narrow interests. We examine this claim in the context of multiple waves of U.S. performance management reforms: the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993, the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART ) (2002–2008), and the GPRA Modernization Act (GPRAMA) of 2010. Using four waves of federal employee surveys spanning 17 years, we measure reform success as employees’ purposeful use of performance data as a result of being exposed to routines embedded in the reforms. We find that the legislative‐led GPRAMA is associated with more purposeful data use on aggregate while the PART executive reform succumbed to a partisan pattern of implementation. Statutory reforms are less likely to be experienced as ideological tools than executive branch reforms used by the president to impose control over agencies.
Challenges and prospects of Viral Envelope protein VP28‐based control strategies to combat white spot syndrome virus in penaeid shrimps: a review
Authors: Krishnankutty Chandrika Sivakumar , Thavarool Puthiyedathu Sajeevan 
Published: September 2020

AbstractVP28 is an essential WSSV envelope protein used to develop innate immune recognition in shrimp against WSSV, owing to its remarkable capability to localize on the surface of shrimp epithelial cells. Transgenically engineered viral VP28 protein from several expression systems was used to increase the survival chances of shrimp against WSSV pathogen, and their efficacy was found to last for 2–3 weeks following therapy. Though few reports have shown that DNA vaccination using the VP28 DNA construct is capable of protecting shrimp from WSSV, the exact mechanism behind the immunity is still unknown. Several research groups have provided insights into VP28‐driven dsRNA vaccination to protect shrimp against WSSV infection, but the stability attained by many of these vaccines turned out to be short‐lived. RNAi treatment with VP28dsRNA, shrimp showed better resistance to the WSSV challenge, although multiple doses of dsRNA are required to provide extended protection for up to 28 days. However, no foolproof protection was currently offered by VP28‐based recombinant protein or DNA vaccination against WSSV. In recent years, attention has been directed towards identifying small molecule inhibitors of VP28 through molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation studies and is an emerging approach in drug development and design against WSSV. This review highlights the opportunities, limits and challenges of VP28‐based control strategies of White Spot Syndrome Virus, by emphasizing the status quo of current methodological approaches and suggesting future research directions of using it as a potential drug discovery target.
Multifaceted applications of probiotic Bacillus species in aquaculture with special reference to Bacillus subtilis
Authors: Nayak Sukanta K. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractMicroorganisms play an important role in water quality maintenance, waste management, productivity enhancement, nutrient cycling, functional feed development, protection against infectious diseases, delivery of antigens and several other health benefits in aquaculture. The most significant use of microbes in aquaculture to minimize the antibiotics and drugs is through probiotics. The scope of probiotics in modern aquaculture has been enormous due to the detrimental consequences of routinely used antibiotics and chemotherapeutic agents and demand for safe aquatic products for human consumption. Since past few decades, both scientific and commercial interests are burgeoning in this field, and over the years, several probiotics are successfully used in aquaculture. Among various probiotics that are being used, Bacillus species are the common probiotics that are used in different aquatic animals. Several probiotics species belonging to Bacillus genus are currently been used, and Bacillus subtilis is one of such probiotics that is very well‐researched and most widely used probiotics in aquaculture. While its probiotic use has already been an important component in diverse aquaculture practices, its application in water quality improvement, utility in bioflocs/bioremediation and vehicle to express and delivery of heterologous antigen are noteworthy. It exerts innumerable beneficial effects such as improvement of growth, nutrition, immunity and disease resistance in aquatic species. This bacterium adopts a variety of disparate and overlapping mechanisms such as synergistic, antagonistic, competitive exclusion and immune‐stimulating effects. This review summarizes various applications of this bacterium as probiotics, bioremediating agent, bioflocing agent and possible live vaccine vehicle in aquaculture.
The short pulse equation: Bäcklund transformations and applications
Authors: Mao Hui , Liu Q. P. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractA Bäcklund transformation (BT), which involves both independent and dependent variables, is established and studied for the short pulse (SP) equation. Based it, the nonlinear superposition formulae for 2‐, 3‐, and 4‐BT are presented. The general result for the composition of ‐BTs is achieved and given in terms of determinants. As applications, various solutions including loop solitons, breather solutions, and their interaction solutions are worked out.
Multiple organic–inorganic interactions and influences on heterogeneous carbonate‐cementation patterns: Example from Silurian deeply buried sandstones, central Tarim Basin, north‐western China
Authors: Ma Benben , Lu Yongchao , Eriksson Kenneth A. , Peng Li , Xing Fengcun , Li Xiangquan 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThis study investigates the importance of multiple organic–inorganic interactions on heterogeneous carbonate cementation patterns in Silurian deeply buried sandstones, central Tarim Basin, north‐western China, to evaluate their effects on reservoir quality. Petrographic observations and mineral geochemistry identify two stages of carbonate cementation: (i) eogenetic, poikilotopic blocky calcite precipitated at 20 to 50°C (δ13CVPDB from −0.3‰ to +6.8‰; δ18OVPDB between −6.6‰ and −2.9‰) and dolomite precipitated at 40 to 62°C (δ13CVPDB from +1.9‰ to +5.3‰; δ18OVPDB between −6.2‰ and −2.1‰); and (ii) mesogenetic, isolated pore‐filling ankerite formed at 70 to 120°C (δ13CVPDB from −14.4‰ to −6.6‰; δ18OVPDB between −11.6‰ and −7.8‰). The eogenetic carbonates are predominantly distributed as carbonate‐cemented beds or concretions along sandstone–mudstone contacts and were derived mainly from microbial methanogenesis of organic matter and dissolution of carbonate minerals in adjacent calcareous mudstones. The mesogenetic ankerite cements occur predominantly as carbonate‐cemented beds, concretions and patches, and are more concentrated in the central sections of sandstone bodies. It is inferred that ankerite cements were sourced from dissolution of eogenetic calcite and dolomite via in situ generation of organic CO2 related to thermal decarboxylation of organic acids within sandstones. Kinetic modelling results coupled with petrographic observations illustrate that mesogenetic dissolution of eogenetic calcite and dolomite cements did not enhance total reservoir porosity due to re‐precipitation of ankerite cements on a very local scale within sandstone bodies. The development of extensively carbonate‐cemented geometries (beds, concretions and patches) created by different generations of carbonate cements derived from external sources, led to reservoir heterogeneity and significant destruction of sandstone reservoir quality especially during diagenesis. The results of this study demonstrate the importance of multi‐stage, intra‐formational mass transfer induced by concentration gradients during organic–inorganic interactions in mediating a variety of spatial patterns of carbonate cementation under different diagenetic regimes. Better insights of these organic–inorganic interactions in a coupled sandstone–mudstone system could improve predictive models of heterogeneous diagenetic alterations in deeply buried sandstones of similar origin.
On the origin and significance of composite particles in mudstones: Examples from the Cenomanian Dunvegan Formation
Authors: Li Zhiyang , Schieber Juergen , Pedersen Per Kent 
Published: September 2020

AbstractDespite the fact that mud‐dominated composite particles have increasingly been recognized as important components of marine mudstones, the characteristics, types and origins of these composite particles remain poorly understood. This incomplete understanding of critical mudstone parameters (for example, depositional grain size, composition at the particle scale and provenance) severely limits the ability to accurately interpret the conditions (for example, depositional environment and climate) under which these rocks were deposited. Herein, detailed petrographic analysis was conducted in core samples from a transect of contemporaneous proximal to distal deposits from the Cenomanian Dunvegan Formation, a fluvial‐dominated delta system in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. Within the well‐developed depositional framework, mud‐dominated composite particles can be tracked along the depositional profile of the Dunvegan Formation from the fluvial to the marine realm (from incised valley to distal prodelta). By following these particles from source (hinterland erosion) to sink (offshore deposition), the origin and dispersal of various types of mud‐dominated composite particles in marine mudstones can be unequivocally determined. Mud‐dominated composite particles derived from a wide range of origins are differentiated. Allochthonous mud‐dominated composite particles, supplied by rivers draining the hinterland, comprise volcanic rock fragments (vitric or felsic in composition), chert fragments, shale lithics (clay‐mineral‐rich or quartz‐rich in composition), metamorphic rock fragments and chlorite/siderite clasts. Autochthonous mud‐dominated composite particles include rip‐up clasts (argillaceous, sideritic or siliceous in composition) formed from intra‐basinal erosion and contemporaneous floccules. The recognition of mud‐dominated composite particles shows that the Dunvegan prodelta ‘mudstones’ are much coarser grained and more heterogeneous in terms of their petrographic composition than the grain size of their component minerals would suggest. Results of this study call for a critical reappraisal of the composition and actual grain size of mudstones in general. Recognition of mud‐dominated composite particles can provide valuable insights to unravel their provenance, transport history and depositional setting, and will greatly enhance their utility as palaeoenvironmental archives.
Naturally occurring language as a source of evidence in suicide prevention
Authors: Resnik Philip , Foreman April , Kuchuk Michelle , Musacchio Schafer Katherine , Pinkham Beau 
Published: September 2020

AbstractWe discuss computational language analysis as it pertains to suicide prevention research, with an emphasis on providing non‐technologists with an understanding of key issues and, equally important, considering its relation to the broader enterprise of suicide prevention. Our emphasis here is on naturally occurring language in social media, motivated by its non‐intrusive ability to yield high‐value information that in the past has been largely unavailable to clinicians.
Shy and still struggling: Examining the relations between subtypes of social withdrawal and well‐being in the 30s
Authors: Nelson Larry J. , Jorgensen Nathan A. , Clifford Brandon N. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThere is growing evidence that motivations reflecting social withdrawal are linked to various correlates and outcomes in childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood. However, little work has examined the subtypes of withdrawn motivations in early adulthood. Hence, the purpose of this study was to compare shy, avoidant, unsocial, mixed‐withdrawn, and non‐withdrawn men and women in early adulthood on indices of well‐being. This study drew on a large, representative U.S. sample of 5,000 participants (2,930 female) ages 30–35 (Mage = 32.50, SD = 1.70). Findings reveal that shy, avoidant, and mixed‐withdrawal individuals experience more negative outcomes (e.g., receiving less education) and lower well‐being (e.g., lower life satisfaction, more internalizing problems, and regret) in early adulthood.
Quine's Scientific Realism Revisited
Authors: Pils Raimund 
Published: September 2020

AbstractIn order to reconnect Quine's views to the current debate on scientific realism, I reframe Quine's scientific realism into a semantic, a metaphysical, and an epistemological dimension. With this conceptual background, I review the historical development of Quine's scientific realism from the late 1940s until his death in 2000. I challenge Soames's view that Quine is a phenomenalist at the time of “Two Dogmas of Empiricism” (1951) and show that he remains agnostic between a realist and an anti‐realist conceptual scheme instead. I also argue that Quine's early views on regimentation are incompatible with a strong formulation of semantic realism. I proceed in reconstructing how he becomes a metaphysical and epistemological realist in the mid‐1950s and argue against the view of Keskinen and Fogelin that interprets Quine as being a metaphysical anti‐realist. Contrary to Davidson, I defend the view that he never gave up normative epistemology and really is a proper epistemological realist. Finally, I discuss how he tries to reconcile his realism with his thesis of ontological relativity and how this necessitates the switch to a stronger form of semantic realism.
Association of four‐factor prothrombin complex concentrate with subsequent plasma transfusion: A retrospective cohort study
Authors: Roberts Sammie J. , Pokrandt Paul , Jewell Elizabeth , Engoren Milo , Berg Mary P. , Maile Michael D. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractObjectiveTo assess whether patients prescribed four‐factor prothrombin complex concentrate (4FPC) received less plasma during the following 24‐hour period than those treated for the same indications who received only plasma.IntroductionIt is unclear whether 4FPC is associated with a reduction in subsequent plasma transfusion. This is important for minimising transfusion‐associated risks and for inventory management.Materials and MethodsWe retrospectively studied patients treated for bleeding or coagulopathy. Individuals receiving 4FPC were matched by indication to patients treated with only plasma. Blood products received during 24‐hour follow up were compared between 4FPC and plasma‐only patients.ResultsThere was no difference in the number of patients receiving additional plasma (19 (21%) 4FPC patients vs 31 (34%) plasma‐only patients, P = .07) nor in the median number of additional plasma units received (0 units for both groups, interquartile range [0, 0] for 4FPC patients vs [0, 1] for plasma‐only patients, P = .09). Subgroup analysis comparing patients who received 4FPC for on‐label vs off‐label indications found no difference in the number of patients receiving plasma nor in the median number of plasma units received.Conclusion4FPC was prescribed to a diverse set of patients, and administration was not associated with reduced plasma transfusion at our institution.
National tuberculosis prevalence surveys in Africa, 2008–2016: an overview of results and lessons learned
Authors: Law Irwin , Floyd Katherine ,   the African TB Prevalence Survey Group
Published: September 2020

AbstractObjective and methodsWorldwide, tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death from a single infectious agent. In many countries, national TB prevalence surveys are the only way to reliably measure the burden of TB disease and can also provide other evidence to inform national efforts to improve TB detection and treatment. Our objective was to synthesise the results and lessons learned from national surveys completed in Africa between 2008 and 2016, to complement a previous review for Asia.ResultsTwelve surveys completed in Africa were identified: Ethiopia (2010–2011), Gambia (2011–2013), Ghana (2013), Kenya (2015–2016), Malawi (2013–2014), Nigeria (2012), Rwanda (2012), Sudan (2013–2014), Tanzania (2011–2012), Uganda (2014–2015), Zambia (2013–2014) and Zimbabwe (2014). The eligible population in all surveys was people aged ≥15 years who met residency criteria. In total 588 105 individuals participated, equivalent to 82% (range 57–96%) of those eligible. The prevalence of bacteriologically confirmed pulmonary TB disease in those ≥15 years varied from 119 (95% CI 79–160) per 100 000 population in Rwanda and 638 (95% CI 502–774) per 100 000 population in Zambia. The male:female ratio was 2.0 overall, ranging from 1.2 (Ethiopia) to 4.1 (Uganda). Prevalence per 100 000 population generally increased with age, but the absolute number of cases was usually highest among those aged 35–44 years. Of identified TB cases, 44% (95% CI 40–49) did not report TB symptoms during screening and were only identified as eligible for diagnostic testing due to an abnormal chest X‐ray. The overall ratio of prevalence to case notifications was 2.5 (95% CI 1.8–3.2) and was consistently higher for men than women. Many participants who did report TB symptoms had not sought care; those that had were more likely to seek care in a public health facility. HIV prevalence was systematically lower among prevalent cases than officially notified TB patients with an overall ratio of 0.5 (95% CI 0.3–0.7). The two main study limitations were that none of the surveys included people <15 years, and 5 of 12 surveys did not have data on HIV status.ConclusionsNational TB prevalence surveys implemented in Africa between 2010 and 2016 have contributed substantial new evidence about the burden of TB disease, its distribution by age and sex, and gaps in TB detection and treatment. Policies and practices to improve access to health services and reduce under‐reporting of detected TB cases are needed, especially among men. All surveys provide a valuable baseline for future assessment of trends in TB disease burden.