bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Application of stable isotope dilution techniques to assess body fat and comparison with WHO BMI-for-age classification as a measure of obesity among schoolchildren in Nairobi, Kenya
Authors: Kigaru Dorcus Mbithe D , Ndung’u Zipporah W , Macharia-Mutie Catherine W 
Published: July 2020

AbstractObjective:WHO BMI-for-agezscore (BAZ) is widely used in epidemiology, yet it does not distinguish body fat-free mass and fat mass which are better indicators of obesity and related risks. The stable isotope dilution techniques (SIDT) are gold standard methods of assessing body composition. Main objective was to assess significant differences in measurement and validity of WHO BMI-for-age classification for defining childhood obesity by comparing with body fatness using SIDT among schoolchildren.Design:A cross-sectional analytical study. A questionnaire, anthropometry and body composition data were used. SPSS was used to analyse data atP< 0·05 at 95 % CI.Setting:Primary schools in Nairobi City County, KenyaParticipants:One hundred seventy-nine schoolchildren aged 8–11 years were randomly sampled.Results:Prevalence of adiposity by reference SIDT (24·0 %) was significantly higher than that of obesity by BAZ > 2sd(2·8 %) (Wilcoxon test,P< 0·05). Concordance coefficient between SIDT and BAZ > 2sdin diagnosing obesity was poor (κ= 0·167). Only 11·6 % of children with excess body fat were correctly diagnosed as obese by BAZ > 2sd. The use of BAZ > 1sdfor overweight and obesity showed fair concordance coefficient (κ= 0·409,P< 0·001) with 32·5% of children with excess fat positively identified as overweight and obese.Conclusion:WHO BMI-for-age cut-off points severely underestimate the prevalence of overweight and obesity compared with body composition assessment by stable isotope dilution techniques. Evidence-informed interventions should be based on more accurate estimates of overweight and obesity than that can be provided by BAZ.
Evaluation of diverse germplasm of cowpea [Vigna unguiculata(L.) Walp.] against bruchid [Callosobruchus maculatus(Fab.)] and correlation with physical and biochemical parameters of seed
Authors: Tripathi Kuldeep , Prasad T. V. , Bhardwaj R. , Jha S. K. , Semwal D. P. , Gore P. G. , Sharma P. K. , Bhalla S. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractThe current study was undertaken to identify the sources of tolerance to bruchid in cowpea, by screening a set of germplasm accessions as a source for natural resistance. A total of 103 diverse accessions of cowpea were evaluated for resistance toCallosobruchus maculatusFab. under no-choice artificial infestation conditions. Significant differences among the cowpea accessions were observed for oviposition, adult emergence, exit holes and per cent seed weight loss (PSWL) caused by the bruchid infestation. The accessions showed variation in physical seed parameters viz., colour, shape, testa texture, length, width and seed hardness. Among the seed biochemical parameters studied, per cent sugar content ranged from 0.322 (IC330950) to 1.493 (IC249137), and per cent phenol content ranged from 0.0326 (EC390261) to 1.081 (EC528423). Correlation studies indicated that PSWL had significant positive correlation (r= 0.335) with exit holes, oviposition (r= 0.219), adult emergence (r= 0.534) and seed roundness (r= 0.219). Adult emergence had a significant negative correlation with seed hardness (r= −0.332). Correlation with biochemical parameters indicated that PSWL had a significant positive correlation (r= 0.231) with sugar content and a significant negative correlation with phenol content (r= −0.219). None of the accessions were found to be immune to bruchid infestation. However, out of studied accessions, EC528425 and EC528387 were identified as resistant based on PSWL and moderately resistant based on adult emergence. These resistance sources of cowpea germplasm can be used as potential donors for development of bruchid tolerant/resistant cultivars.
Criminalizing Violence against Women in Politics: Innovation, Diffusion, and Transformation
Authors: Restrepo Sanín Juliana 
Published: July 2020

AbstractViolence against women politicians is increasingly recognized as an issue that undermines women's presence in politics. Latin America has been at the vanguard of this global discussion. In 2012, Bolivia became the only country in the world to criminalize “political violence and harassment against women.” Several other countries have similar legislation in the works. What explains the emergence of these bill proposals? This article argues that the creation of these bills is the result of three processes: activism at the local level used international norms to propose an innovative solution to a problem; women politicians and “femocrats” worked within the state apparatus to overcome resistance; and international actors worked to foster connections among activists and politicians across the region. In this process, international norms have been transformed, with important implications for women's political representation.
On unbalanced data and common shock models in stochastic loss reserving
Authors: Avanzi Benjamin , Taylor Greg , Vu Phuong Anh , Wong Bernard 
Published: July 2020

AbstractIntroducing common shocks is a popular dependence modelling approach, with some recent applications in loss reserving. The main advantage of this approach is the ability to capture structural dependence coming from known relationships. In addition, it helps with the parsimonious construction of correlation matrices of large dimensions. However, complications arise in the presence of “unbalanced data”, that is, when (expected) magnitude of observations over a single triangle, or between triangles, can vary substantially. Specifically, if a single common shock is applied to all of these cells, it can contribute insignificantly to the larger values and/or swamp the smaller ones, unless careful adjustments are made. This problem is further complicated in applications involving negative claim amounts. In this paper, we address this problem in the loss reserving context using a common shock Tweedie approach for unbalanced data. We show that the solution not only provides a much better balance of the common shock proportions relative to the unbalanced data, but it is also parsimonious. Finally, the common shock Tweedie model also provides distributional tractability.
Aerosol Forcing: Still Uncertain, Still Relevant
Authors: Bender Frida A.‐M. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractUnder the auspices of WCRP Grand challenge on Clouds, circulation and climate sensitivity, a selection of experts have made an unprecedented effort to bound the global radiative forcing by atmospheric aerosol, presented in Bellouin et al. (2019, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019RG000660). In addition to an updated interval, confirming the progress made in the field, a main strength of the assessment is the conceptual framework, that with clarity invites to further range refinement. The sense of conflict between process understanding and large‐scale effects, between bottom‐up and top‐down approaches, becomes evident and the review shows that both approaches are necessary, but neither is sufficient.
Scale Invariance of Albedo‐Based Wind Friction Velocity
Authors: Ziegler Nancy P. , Webb Nicholas P. , Chappell Adrian , LeGrand Sandra L. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractObtaining reliable estimates of aerodynamic roughness is necessary to interpret and accurately predict aeolian sediment transport dynamics. However, inherent uncertainties in field measurements and models of surface aerodynamic properties continue to undermine aeolian research, monitoring, and dust modeling. A new relation between aerodynamic shelter and land surface shadow has been established at the wind tunnel scale, enabling the potential for estimates of wind erosion and dust emission to be obtained across scales from albedo data. Here, we compare estimates of wind friction velocity (u*) derived from traditional methods (wind speed profiles) with those derived from the albedo model at two separate scales using bare soil patch (via net radiometers) and landscape (via Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer [MODIS] 500 m) data sets. Results show that profile‐derived estimates of u* are highly variable in anisotropic surface roughness due to changes in wind direction and fetch. Wind speed profiles poorly estimate soil surface (bed) wind friction velocities necessary for aeolian sediment transport research and modeling. Albedo‐based estimates of u* at both scales have small variability because the estimate is integrated over a defined, fixed area and resolves the partition of wind momentum between roughness elements and the soil surface. We demonstrate that the wind tunnel‐based calibration of albedo for predicting wind friction velocities at the soil surface (us*) is applicable across scales. The albedo‐based approach enables consistent and reliable drag partition correction across scales for model and field estimates of us* necessary for wind erosion and dust emission modeling.
India‐Sunda Plate Motion, Crustal Deformation, and Seismic Hazard in the Indo‐Burmese Arc
Authors: Panda Dibyashakti , Kundu Bhaskar , Gahalaut Vineet K. , Rangin Claude 
Published: July 2020

AbstractPlate motion along the Indo‐Burmese Arc (IBA), strain accommodation in the Indo‐Burmese wedge, status of active convergence and seismic vulnerability in the outer wedge, is a matter of concern due to the large population density in northeast India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. In the present study, we have constrained the India‐Sunda plate motion by estimating the Euler pole using updated GPS observations from the region. Our estimated India‐Sunda relative plate motion at a point on the blind megathrust (24°N and 90°E) in Bangladesh constrains India‐Sunda relative motion at ~37 mm/year oriented along N11°E. This motion is partitioned among three major active units, namely, the Sagaing Fault (~18 mm/year), Churachandpur‐Mao Fault (~17 mm/year), and the blind megathrust (~7 mm/year), from west to east of the IBA, respectively. Our estimate of convergence across the blind megathrust is significantly lower than that estimated earlier. Due to large scatter in the data close to the updip edge of the blind megathrust, it is not certain whether it is accommodated through shallow creep or in stick‐slip manner, thus leading to uncertainty in the seismic hazard in this densely populated region.
The Indian Ocean Dipole and its Impact on East African Short Rains in Two CMIP5 Historical Scenarios With and Without Anthropogenic Influence
Authors: Blau M. T. , Ha K.‐J. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractThe Indian Ocean dipole mode impacts the atmosphere and hydroclimate in areas surrounding the Indian Ocean. The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5 output was used in this study to reveal new aspects of the relationship between the dipole mode and East African “short rains” (occurring from September to November). Furthermore, the impact of human activity on the ocean‐atmosphere system was investigated using two scenarios, one with and one without human forcings from 1960 to 1999. The Indian Ocean dipole and its teleconnection were simulated, and the impact of the dipole mode on the atmosphere displayed a similar pattern and strength under both scenarios. However, the dipole peak was slightly delayed from September to October under the scenario with anthropogenic warming. Further, increased moisture convergence over East Africa was found to enhance the local monsoon system during boreal autumn in the scenario considering anthropogenic forcing. More intense Walker and Hadley circulations were found with the presence of anthropogenic influences and the dipole mode had a significant impact on both. Positive Indian Ocean dipole events were found to temporarily weaken Walker circulation and strengthen Hadley circulation.
Sediment Delivery to a Tidal Marsh Platform Is Minimized by Source Decoupling and Flux Convergence
Authors: Coleman Daniel J. , Ganju Neil K. , Kirwan Matthew L. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractSediment supply is a primary factor in determining marsh response to sea level rise and is typically approximated through high‐resolution measurements of suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) from adjacent tidal channels. However, understanding sediment transport across the marsh itself remains limited by discontinuous measurements of SSC over individual tidal cycles. Here, we use an array of optical turbidity sensors to build a long‐term, continuous record of SSC across a marsh platform and adjacent tidal channel. We find that channel and marsh concentrations are correlated (i.e., coupled) within tidal cycles but are largely decoupled over longer time scales. We also find that net sediment fluxes decline to near zero within 10 m of the marsh edge. Together, these results suggest that large sections of the marsh platform receive minimal sediment independent of flooding frequency or channel sediment supply. Marsh‐centric, as opposed to channel‐centric, measures of sediment supply may better characterize marsh platform vulnerability.
A Systematic Approach to Hydrogeological Conceptual Model Testing, Combining Remote Sensing and Geophysical Data
Authors: Enemark Trine , Peeters Luk , Mallants Dirk , Flinchum Brady , Batelaan Okke 
Published: July 2020

AbstractConceptual uncertainty is considered one of the major sources of uncertainty in groundwater flow modeling. Hypothesis testing is essential to increase system understanding by analyzing and refuting alternative conceptual models. We present a systematic approach to conceptual model testing aimed at finding an ensemble of conceptual understandings consistent with prior knowledge and observational data. This differs from the traditional approach of tuning the parameters of a single conceptual model to conform with the data through inversion. We apply this approach to a simplified hydrogeological characterization of the Wildman River area (Northern Territory, Australia) and evaluate the connectivity of sinkhole‐type depressions to groundwater. Alternative models are developed representing the process structure (i.e., different fluxes representing interactions between surface water and groundwater) and physical structure (i.e., different lithologies underlying the depressions) of the conceptual model of the depressions. Remote sensing data are used to test the process structure, while geophysical data are used to test the physical structure. Both data types are used to remove inconsistent models from an ensemble of 16 models and to update the probability of the remaining alternative conceptual models. Three out of five depressions that are used as a test case are conditionally confirmed to act as conduits for recharge, while for the last two depressions, the data are inconclusive. Although the framework is not directly prediction oriented, the testing of plausible conceptual models will ultimately lead to increased confidence of any groundwater model based on accepted posterior conceptualizations.
Splitting Dynamics of Liquid Slugs at a T‐Junction
Authors: Xue Song , Yang Zhibing , Hu Ran , Chen Yi‐Feng 
Published: July 2020

AbstractUnderstanding the mechanisms of liquid movement through fracture intersections is important for prediction of fluid flow and solute transport in unsaturated fractured media. Here we present a quasi‐static model to predict the dynamic splitting behavior of liquid slugs at a T‐junction, as a simplified representation of a fracture intersection and consisting of a main channel and a branch channel. The proposed model is validated against carefully controlled visualization experiments. We find that there exists a critical initial slug length at which the splitting behavior shifts from flow dominated by the main channel to that dominated by the branch. The influence of key parameters, including the inclination angle of the junction, the channel widths, and the dynamic contact angles, on the splitting dynamics is systematically investigated. We show that the splitting ratio depends nonmonotonically on the relative width of the branch channel to the main channel. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the dynamic contact angles have a profound impact on the splitting ratios and meniscus velocities. It is shown that taking velocity‐dependent contact angle into account is essential to predict the meniscus velocities and the dynamic flow process.
Mithramycin selectively attenuates DNA-damage-induced neuronal cell death
Authors: Makarevich Oleg , Sabirzhanov Boris , Aubrecht Taryn G. , Glaser Ethan P. , Polster Brian M. , Henry Rebecca J. , Faden Alan I. , Stoica Bogdan A. 
Published: July 2020

AbstractDNA damage triggers cell death mechanisms contributing to neuronal loss and cognitive decline in neurological disorders, including traumatic brain injury (TBI), and as a side effect of chemotherapy. Mithramycin, which competitively targets chromatin-binding sites of specificity protein 1 (Sp1), was used to examine previously unexplored neuronal cell death regulatory mechanisms via rat primary neurons in vitro and after TBI in mice (males). In primary neurons exposed to DNA-damage-inducing chemotherapy drugs in vitro we showed that DNA breaks sequentially initiate DNA-damage responses, including phosphorylation of ATM, H2AX and tumor protein 53 (p53), transcriptional activation of pro-apoptotic BH3-only proteins, and mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization (MOMP), activating caspase-dependent and caspase-independent intrinsic apoptosis. Mithramycin was highly neuroprotective in DNA-damage-dependent neuronal cell death, inhibiting chemotherapeutic-induced cell death cascades downstream of ATM and p53 phosphorylation/activation but upstream of p53-induced expression of pro-apoptotic molecules. Mithramycin reduced neuronal upregulation of BH3-only proteins and mitochondrial dysfunction, attenuated caspase-3/7 activation and caspase substrates’ cleavage, and limited c-Jun activation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation indicated that mithramycin attenuates Sp1 binding to pro-apoptotic gene promoters without altering p53 binding suggesting it acts by removing cofactors required for p53 transactivation. In contrast, the DNA-damage-independent neuronal death models displayed caspase initiation in the absence of p53/BH3 activation and were not protected even when mithramycin reduced caspase activation. Interestingly, experimental TBI triggers a multiplicity of neuronal death mechanisms. Although markers of DNA-damage/p53-dependent intrinsic apoptosis are detected acutely in the injured cortex and are attenuated by mithramycin, these processes may play a reduced role in early neuronal death after TBI, as caspase-dependent mechanisms are repressed in mature neurons while other, mithramycin-resistant mechanisms are active. Our data suggest that Sp1 is required for p53-mediated transactivation of neuronal pro-apoptotic molecules and that mithramycin may attenuate neuronal cell death in conditions predominantly involving DNA-damage-induced p53-dependent intrinsic apoptosis.
GADD45α drives brown adipose tissue formation through upregulating PPARγ in mice
Authors: You Wenjing , Xu Ziye , Sun Ye , Valencak Teresa G. , Wang Yizhen , Shan Tizhong 
Published: July 2020

AbstractStress can lead to obesity and metabolic dysfunction, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here we identify GADD45α, a stress-inducible histone folding protein, as a potential regulator for brown adipose tissue biogenesis. Unbiased transcriptomics data indicate a positive correlation between adipose Gadd45a mRNA level and obesity. At the cellular level, Gadd45a knockdown promoted proliferation and lipolysis of brown adipocytes, while Gadd45a overexpression had the opposite effects. Consistently, using a knockout (Gadd45a−/−) mouse line, we found that GADD45α deficiency inhibited lipid accumulation and promoted expression of thermogenic genes in brown adipocytes, leading to improvements in insulin sensitivity, glucose uptake, energy expenditure. At the molecular level, GADD45α deficiency increased proliferation through upregulating expression of cell cycle related genes. GADD45α promoted brown adipogenesis via interacting with PPARγ and upregulating its transcriptional activity. Our new data suggest that GADD45α may be targeted to promote non-shivering thermogenesis and metabolism while counteracting obesity.
Emerging role of FBXO22 in carcinogenesis
Authors: Cheng Jiangting , Lin Min , Chu Man , Gong Longyuan , Bi Yanli , Zhao Yongchao 
Published: July 2020

AbstractThe F-box protein 22 (FBXO22), one of F-box proteins, has been identified to be critically involved in carcinogenesis. FBXO22 promotes proliferation in breast cancer and lung cancer, but suppresses migration and metastasis. FBXO22 exerts oncogenetic functions via promoting the ubiquitination and degradation of its substrates, including KDM4A, KDM4B, methylated p53, p21, KLF4, LKB1, Snail, CD147, Bach1, PTEN, and HDM2. FBXO22 is also regulated by several regulatory factors such as p53, miR-155, SNHG14, and circ_0006282. In this review, we summarize the regulatory factors and downstream targets of FBXO22 in cancers, discuss its functions in tumorigenesis, and further highlight the alteration of FBXO22 expression in a variety of human malignancies. Finally, we provide novel insights for future perspectives on targeting FBXO22 as a promising strategy for cancer therapy.
Observation of topological transport quantization by dissipation in fast Thouless pumps
Authors: Fedorova Zlata , Qiu Haixin , Linden Stefan , Kroha Johann 
Published: July 2020

AbstractQuantized dynamics is essential for natural processes and technological applications alike. The work of Thouless on quantized particle transport in slowly varying potentials (Thouless pumping) has played a key role in understanding that such quantization may be caused not only by discrete eigenvalues of a quantum system, but also by invariants associated with the nontrivial topology of the Hamiltonian parameter space. Since its discovery, quantized Thouless pumping has been believed to be restricted to the limit of slow driving, a fundamental obstacle for experimental applications. Here, we introduce non-Hermitian Floquet engineering as a new concept to overcome this problem. We predict that a topological band structure and associated quantized transport can be restored at driving frequencies as large as the system’s band gap. The underlying mechanism is suppression of non-adiabatic transitions by tailored, time-periodic dissipation. We confirm the theoretical predictions by experiments on topological transport quantization in plasmonic waveguide arrays.