bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Microbial communities from Arctic marine sediments respond slowly to methane addition during ex situ enrichments
Authors: Klasek Scott , Torres Marta E. , Bartlett Douglas H. , Tyler Madeline , Hong Wei‐Li , Colwell Frederick 
Published: December 2019

SummaryAnaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME) consume methane in marine sediments, limiting its release to the water column, but their responses to changes in methane and sulfate supplies remain poorly constrained. To address how methane exposure may affect microbial communities and methane‐ and sulfur‐cycling gene abundances in Arctic marine sediments, we collected sediments from offshore Svalbard that represent geochemical horizons where anaerobic methanotrophy is expected to be active, previously active, and long‐inactive based on reaction‐transport biogeochemical modelling of porewater sulfate profiles. Sediment slurries were incubated at in situ temperature and pressure with different added methane concentrations. Sediments from an active area of seepage began to reduce sulfate in a methane‐dependent manner within months, preceding increased relative abundances of anaerobic methanotrophs ANME‐1 within communities. In previously active and long‐inactive sediments, sulfur‐cycling Deltaproteobacteria became more dominant after 30 days, though these communities showed no evidence of methanotrophy after nearly 8 months of enrichment. Overall, enrichment conditions, but not methane, broadly altered microbial community structure across different enrichment times and sediment types. These results suggest that active ANME populations may require years to develop, and consequently microbial community composition may affect methanotrophic responses to potential large‐scale seafloor methane releases in ways that provide insight for future modelling studies.
Patterns and prevalence of lethal mass violence
Authors: Duwe Grant 
Published: December 2019

Research SummaryMass shootings have been identified as a novel American crime problem. The term is merely a new name, however, for an older crime problem—mass murder. The social construction of the mass shooting and mass murder problems have both been driven by “mass public shootings”—incidents that occur in the absence of other criminal activity (e.g., robberies, drug deals, and gang “turf wars”) in which a gun was used to kill four or more victims at a public location within a 24‐hour period. Using data on 845 mass shootings, including 158 mass public shootings, which occurred in the United States between 1976 and 2018, in this study, I analyze trends in their prevalence and severity (i.e., number of victims killed and wounded). After controlling for growth in the U.S. population, the results show the late 1980s and early 1990s had the highest incidence of mass shootings. Both the incidence and severity of mass public shootings, on the other hand, have increased over the last decade. I also describe the patterns of mass public shootings by reporting incident and offender characteristics.Policy ImplicationsDespite the recent growth in mass public shootings, the infrequency with which they occur makes it very challenging to develop broad measures that will reduce their incidence or severity. It may therefore be more effective to focus on strategies that that have shown promise in decreasing violence in general.
Investigating the applicability of situational crime prevention to the public mass violence context
Authors: Freilich Joshua D. , Chermak Steven M. , Klein Brent R. 
Published: December 2019

Research SummaryIn this article, we argue that situational crime prevention (SCP) strategies can be used to prevent public mass violence, as well as to mitigate the harms caused from those attacks that still occur. We draw from the SCP perspective generally, and its application to terrorism particularly, as well as from the public mass violence literature. We focus on the pillars of opportunity that include target selection, weapon selection, tools used, and conditions that facilitate public mass violence attacks.Policy ImplicationsWe conclude that SCP's EVIL DONE risk assessment template could be refined for the public mass violence context. We argue that the exposed, occupied, nearer, and easy dimensions, along with a newly created personal grievance dimension, could be used to identify more at‐risk settings that should receive more situational interventions to prevent these attacks. We similarly conclude that SCP's other pillars could be used to prevent these attacks. We outline specific hard and soft interventions that could thwart these attacks. Importantly, we use examples to illustrate that SCP's strategies could effectively mitigate the harms caused by public mass violence attacks that do occur. We also set forth research strategies to test our claims.
When the Client Is a Former Auditor: Auditees' Expert Knowledge and Social Capital as Threats to Staff Auditors' Operational Independence
Authors: Daoust Laurence , Malsch Bertrand 
Published: December 2019

ABSTRACTAuditees can play an active role in influencing staff auditors' professional judgment and skepticism. Yet, although it constitutes one of the main threats to auditor independence, very little is known about the means and extent of auditees' power during the audit engagement. To address this knowledge gap, our study focuses on a specific category of auditees, namely, auditees who have worked as auditors in large accounting firms. We interviewed 36 of these auditees and triangulated our findings with 11 interviews conducted with auditors. At the theoretical level, we conceptualize auditees' influence over auditors as intentional and active through the notion of “social power.” Overall, our analysis shows that the efficacy of auditees' power during the engagement materializes through the mobilization of two main power resources developed during their time at the firms: (i) expert knowledge of auditing techniques and (ii) social capital. On the one hand, relying on their cognitive authority, auditees' employ three different power strategies to constrain staff auditors' operational independence: stage‐setting, teaching, and questioning. On the other hand, auditees' social capital can support the use of two additional strategies: attracting and monitoring. Our triangulation analysis confirms our findings and suggests that auditors may be aware of the threats to independence that auditee expertise and social capital pose. By focusing on auditees' agentic capabilities—that is, individuals' capabilities to consciously exert influence over the course of events—we reinterpret the pressures exerted by clients on auditors as the product of strategic actions and discuss substantive consequences for independence risk.
The Forewarning Effect of Critical Audit Matter Disclosures Involving Measurement Uncertainty*
Authors: Kachelmeier Steven J. , Rimkus Dan , Schmidt Jaime J. , Valentine Kristen 
Published: December 2019

ABSTRACTWe present experimental evidence suggesting that critical audit matter (CAM) disclosures in the auditor's report involving areas of high measurement uncertainty forewarn users of misstatement risk. Specifically, in our first study with MBA students, financial analysts, and attorneys, we find that CAMs (i) lower premisstatement assessments of confidence in the financial statement area disclosed as a CAM, and (ii) lower assessments of auditor responsibility for a subsequently revealed misstatement in a CAM‐related area. In our second study with student participants proxying as mock jurors, we find that the responsibility‐mitigating effect of CAM disclosure is driven by CAM disclosures involving measurement uncertainty, as opposed to CAM disclosures involving categorical determinations. Combined, our findings help reconcile mixed evidence from prior research, supporting the view that the forewarning effect of CAM disclosures involving measurement uncertainty could mitigate perceived auditor responsibility for CAM‐related material misstatements.
RNA Sequencing Reveals a Comprehensive Circular RNA Expression Profile in a Mouse Model of Alcoholic Liver Disease
Authors: Dou Xiaobing , Feng Luyan , Ying Na , Ding Qinchao , Song Qing , Jiang Fusheng , Wang Cui , Li Songtao 
Published: December 2019

Background and AimsAlcoholic liver disease (ALD) is the most common liver disease and a severe mortality burden in the world. However, ALD is rarely detected at its early stages. Thus, exploration of an early event for ALD may help the prognosis and further therapy of ALD. Several circRNAs were proven as novel molecular biomarkers for the progression of chronic nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Whether circRNAs are involved explicitly in ALD remains unknown.MethodsThe expression profile of circRNAs in an ALD mouse model was depicted by circRNA sequencing. The dysregulated circRNAs were verified by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT‐PCR). Bioinformatics and circRNA/microRNA (miRNA) crosstalk analyses were applied to predict the potential functions of circRNAs. Finally, the miRNA expression was confirmed by miRNA sequencing.ResultsCompared with the control group, 6 members of circRNAs were up‐regulated, and 4 were down‐regulated in the ALD model. GO enrichment analyses revealed these circRNAs were predominantly enriched in the endoplasmic reticulum, arachidonic acid metabolism, and cytochrome P450 metabolism pathway. Among these circRNAs, the differential expression of 5 circRNAs was validated and consistent with qRT‐PCR, and only the up‐regulated mou_circ_1657 is included in the circBase. Further, the crosstalk analysis of circRNA–miRNA revealed 7 miRNAs were targeted by mou_circ_1657, of which miR‐19‐5b was the only miRNA that was down‐regulated in the ALD mice according to the miRNA sequencing data, suggesting it needs further attention in ALD.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that a cluster of circRNAs is aberrantly expressed in the livers of ALD mice. mou_circ_1657/miR‐19‐5b may play a critical role in the development of ALD. Our study provides new insight into the future investigation and therapy on ALD.
Three‐year longitudinal cognitive functioning in patients recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder
Authors: Torres I. J. , Qian H. , Basivireddy J. , Chakrabarty T. , Wong H. , Lam R. W. , Yatham L. N. 
Published: December 2019

ObjectiveThe longitudinal course of neuropsychological functioning after the first manic episode in bipolar disorder is unknown. The present study evaluated cognitive change in bipolar disorder in the first 3 years after the initial manic episode.MethodsNinety‐one newly diagnosed patients with bipolar disorder and 61 demographically similar healthy participants received a neuropsychological evaluation assessing multiple cognitive domains at baseline, 1‐year, and 3‐year time points. Patients also received clinical assessments including mood ratings at all time points.ResultsPatients showed deficits in all domains at baseline, but similar longitudinal trajectories across time relative to healthy participants in most cognitive domains. For processing speed, patients showed more gains than controls from baseline to 1 year, but these gains stabilized thereafter. Patients with alcohol/substance abuse showed an initial delay but subsequent recovery in executive functioning. Patients who discontinued antipsychotic treatment showed better cognitive outcomes in verbal memory.ConclusionAppropriately treated patients with bipolar disorder showed favorable cognitive outcome in the first 3 years after experiencing an initial manic episode, arguing against cognitive neuroprogression at this stage of the illness. Discontinuation of antipsychotic treatment may be associated with better cognitive outcomes, but clarification of the role of antipsychotics on cognitive functioning requires further investigation.
Comparison of Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Appendicitis and modified Alvarado scoring systems in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis
Authors: Damburacı Nurullah , Sevinç Barış , Güner Murat , Karahan Ömer 
Published: December 2019

AbstractBackgroundThe diagnosis of acute appendicitis (AA) is mainly dependent on clinical evaluation. There are several scoring systems developed for an accurate and early diagnosis of AA. Modified Alvarado score is one of the most common systems. The Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Appendicitis (RIPASA) scoring system was developed in 2010. The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the accuracy of modified Alvarado and RIPASA scoring systems for the diagnosis of AA.MethodsA total of 100 cases with the clinical diagnosis of AA were included in the study. All the cases were treated surgically. For all cases, modified Alvarado and RIPASA scores were calculated and recorded. According to the calculated cut‐off values, sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values and total accuracy were calculated for each scoring systems.ResultsAccording to the receiver operating characteristic curve. the optimal score of modified Alvarado score for AA was found to be 5.5 with a sensitivity of 88% and specificity of 69%. According to the receiver operating characteristic curve, the optimal score of RIPASA score for AA was found to be 8.75 with a sensitivity of 94% and specificity of 88%. With the cut‐off value of 8.75, total accuracy of RIPASA scoring was found to be 85.2%. Although there is no significant difference in negative appendicectomy rate, both sensitivity and the specificity of the RIPASA were found to be significantly higher than the modified Alvarado.ConclusionAccording to the current study, RIPASA scoring system was found to be superior to modified Alvarado in the prediction of cases with AA.
Muscle unloading: A comparison between spaceflight and ground‐based models
Authors: Qaisar Rizwan , Karim Asima , Elmoselhi Adel B. 
Published: December 2019

AbstractProlonged unloading of skeletal muscle, a common outcome of events such as spaceflight, bed rest and hindlimb unloading, can result in extensive metabolic, structural and functional changes in muscle fibres. With advancement in investigations of cellular and molecular mechanisms, understanding of disuse muscle atrophy has significantly increased. However, substantial gaps exist in our understanding of the processes dictating muscle plasticity during unloading, which prevent us from developing effective interventions to combat muscle loss. This review aims to update the status of knowledge and underlying mechanisms leading to cellular and molecular changes in skeletal muscle during unloading. We have also discussed advances in the understanding of contractile dysfunction during spaceflights and in ground‐based models of muscle unloading. Additionally, we have elaborated on potential therapeutic interventions that show promising results in boosting muscle mass and strength during mechanical unloading. Finally, we have identified key gaps in our knowledge as well as possible research direction for the future.
Review article: clinical pharmacology of current and investigational hepatitis B virus therapies
Authors: Smolders Elise J. , Burger David M. , Feld Jordan J. , Kiser Jennifer J. 
Published: December 2019

SummaryBackgroundTreatment of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection with current therapy suppresses HBV DNA, but loss of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg; functional cure), is rare. Multiple compounds are under investigation.AimsTo describe the pharmacology, including drug interactions, efficacy, safety and mechanisms of action of investigational compounds for HBV infection.MethodsDescriptive review using PubMed and Google to identify literature/conference papers on investigational compounds (≥Phase 2) with data on efficacy and safety in HBV‐infected patients.ResultsBulevirtide, JNJ‐56136379, ABI‐H0731, REP‐2139, and inarigivir decrease HBV DNA/RNA, with greater potency than current nucleos(t)ide analogues. REP‐2139 (25%‐75% of patients, 20‐48 weeks treatment) and inarigivir (26% of patients, 12‐24 weeks treatment) induce HBsAg loss. ARO‐HBV reduced (>1.5 log10 UI/mL) HBsAg in 85% of patients (12 weeks treatment). There are some safety concerns with investigational agents (e.g., increased bile acids with bulevirtide, and liver enzyme flares with REP‐2139) which will require a risk benefit assessment compared with current therapies. Single and multidose pharmacokinetic data are available for bulevirtide, JNJ‐56136379, ABI‐H0731; no such data are available for REP‐2139, ARO‐HBV, inarigivir. Initial drug interaction assessments have been performed with bulevirtide and inarigivir (only in vitro).ConclusionsThere are promising investigational therapies for HBV infection. Increasing the potential for HBsAg loss may result in more patients achieving functional cure. However, many knowledge gaps remain such as pharmacokinetics in those with HBV, cirrhosis and renal impairment but also the interaction potential between investigational therapies, risk‐benefit profiles, and potential for drug interactions with medications used to treat comorbidities associated with aging.
Litter dynamics recover faster than arthropod biodiversity during tropical forest succession
Authors: Cole Rebecca J. , Selmants Paul , Khan Shafkat , Chazdon Robin 
Published: December 2019

AbstractLitterfall and litter decomposition are key elements of nutrient cycling in tropical forests, a process in which decomposer communities such as macro‐arthropods play a critical role. Understanding the rate and extent to which ecosystem function and biodiversity recover during succession is useful to managing the growing area of tropical successional forest globally. Using a replicated chronosequence of forest succession (5–15, 15–30, 30–45 years, and primary forest) on abandoned pastures in lowland tropical wet forest, we examined litterfall, litter chemistry, and effects of macro‐arthropod exclusion on decomposition of two litter types (primary and 5‐ to 15‐years‐old secondary forest). Further, we assessed macro‐arthropod diversity and community composition across the chronosequence. Overstory cover, litterfall, and litter nutrients reached levels similar to primary forest within 15–30 years. Young secondary forest litter (5–15 years) had lower initial N and P content, higher C:N, and decayed 60 percent faster than primary forest litter. The presence of macro‐arthropods strongly mediated decomposition and nutrient release rates, increasing litter mass loss by 35–44 percent, N released by 53 percent, and P release by 84 percent. Forest age had no effect on soil nutrients, rates of litter decomposition, nutrient release, or macro‐arthropod influence. In contrast, abundance and community composition of macro‐arthropods remained significantly lower and distinct in all ages of secondary compared with primary forest. Order richness was lower in 5–15 years of secondary compared with primary forest. Our results suggest that in highly productive tropical wet forest, functional recovery of litter dynamics precedes recovery of decomposer community structure and biodiversity.Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.
Numerically dominant species drive patterns in resource use along a vertical gradient in tropical ant assemblages
Authors: Law Stephanie J. , Parr Catherine 
Published: December 2019

AbstractResource availability can influence the foraging strategy adopted by different ant species as they endeavor to meet nutrient demands of the colony. In tropical rain forests, environmental conditions including resource availability vary over a vertical gradient. Consequently, nitrogen is predicted to become more limiting than carbohydrates toward the canopy as food webs shift to become more reliant on plant‐based resources. We used a “bait‐choice” experiment in a tropical rain forest to examine differences in protein and carbohydrate use with height and determined whether there were differences in response between common (numerically dominant) and rare species. Additionally, we investigated the nutrient use at the species level. Using species co‐occurrence analysis, we examined interspecific competition by testing the co‐occurrence of ant species at the tree level. Over the 12 trees investigated, 124 morphospecies were identified with eight species comprising 90% of total ant abundance. Species richness and protein use increased with height of bait for all species pooled and for common species but not rare species. Correspondingly, relative carbohydrate use decreased with height. We found greater species richness of rare species on carbohydrate baits compared with protein baits. Ant species were randomly distributed among trees when all species were included in co‐occurrence analysis. However, when only common species were considered, segregation between species was evident among trees providing evidence for the presence of ant mosaics. Our results suggest that nitrogen limitation in the canopy may not be true for the whole ant assemblage but rather for the few common species.
ATP6L promotes metastasis of colorectal cancer by inducing epithelial‐mesenchymal transition
Authors: Wang Jingyi , Chen Dandan , Song Wangzhao , Liu Zhiyong , Ma Wenjuan , Li Xiaofeng , Zhang Chao , Wang Xin , Wang Yalei , Yang Ye , Cao Wenfeng , Qi Lisha 
Published: December 2019

AbstractATP6L, the C subunit of the V‐ATPase V0 domain, is involved in regulating the acidic tumor micro‐environment and may promote tumor progression. However, the expression and functional role of ATP6L in tumors have not yet been well explored. In this study, we found that ATP6L protein overexpression was related to colorectal cancer histological differentiation (P < 0.001), presence of metastasis (P < 0.001) and recurrence (P = 0.02). ATP6L expression in the liver metastatic foci was higher than in the primary foci (P = 0.04). ATP6L expression was notably concomitant with epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) immunohistochemical features, such as reduced expression of the epithelial marker E‐cadherin (P = 0.021) and increased expression of the mesenchymal marker vimentin (P = 0.004). Results of in vitro and in vivo experiments showed that ATP6L expression could alter cell morphology, regulate EMT‐associated protein expression, and enhance migration and invasion. The effect of ATP6L on metastasis was further demonstrated in a tail vein injection mice model. In addition, the mouse xenograft model showed that ATP6L‐overexpressing HCT116 cells grew into larger tumor masses, showed less necrosis and formed more micro‐vessels than the control cells. Taken together, our results suggest that ATP6L promotes metastasis of colorectal cancer by inducing EMT and angiogenesis, and is a potential target for tumor therapy.
Beware of the LASP! A structure with thrombogenic potential
Authors: Ohanyan Anush , Cuminetti Giovanni , Morissens Marielle 
Published: December 2019

AbstractThe left atrial septal pouch (LASP) is a recently identified anatomical variant of the interatrial septum. It is the result of the incomplete fusion of septum primum and septum secundum and defined as a recessus communicating with the left atrium without interatrial shunt. Such anatomical feature has been suspected representing a potential thrombogenic source, but its actual role as risk factor for cryptogenic stroke still remains unclear. In this case report, we show two distinct thrombotic masses emerging from the LASP and its related areas.