bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Biodiversity and environmental characteristics of the bycatch assemblages from the tropical tuna purse seine fisheries in the eastern Atlantic Ocean
Authors: Lezama‐Ochoa Nerea , Murua Hilario , Ruiz Jon , Chavance Pierre , Delgado de Molina Alicia , Caballero Ainhoa , Sancristobal Igor 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe impact of human activities such as fishing has been identified as a main factor in diversity loss in the open ocean. This paper studies the diversity patterns and environmental characteristics of the bycatch assemblages in Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) and Free School sets (sets made on schools of tuna) from the tropical tuna purse seine fishery in the eastern Atlantic Ocean (35°W–15°E and 20°N–15°S). Data were collected from scientific observer programmes carried out between 2003 and 2011 on board Spanish and French fleets. The results showed different structure and diversity patterns of the bycatch assemblages depending on the fishing mode, with higher number of species and diversity found in FAD sets than in Free School sets. Bycatch assemblages showed preferences for specific oceanographic characteristics of the Atlantic Ocean, such as the equatorial and seasonal coastal upwelling systems, the Cape Lopez front system and the Guinea dome. The type of set and sea surface temperature play an important role to describe the diversity patterns of these species. These results confirm the importance of integrating different methods to study the marine ecosystem towards the correct implementation of the Ecosystem Approach to Fishery Management (EAFM).
Conditional convergence in energy consumption per capita of OPEC member countries: evidence from non‐linearity tests
Authors: Solarin Sakiru Adebola , Lean Hooi Hooi 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThis paper examines the convergence of energy consumption in Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) countries. A new non‐linear unit root test is principally utilized in the convergence analysis. We support the convergence of energy consumption in the OPEC member countries. Convergence of energy consumption is associated with the call for energy conservation policies, in order to improve energy efficiency and reduce global greenhouse emissions.
An Arabidopsis E3 ligase HUB2 increases histone H2B monoubiquitination and enhances drought tolerance in transgenic cotton
Authors: Chen Hong , Feng Hao , Zhang Xueyan , Zhang Chaojun , Wang Tao , Dong Jiangli 
Published: August 2018

SummaryThe HUB2 gene encoding histone H2B monoubiquitination E3 ligase is involved in seed dormancy, flowering timing, defence response and salt stress regulation in Arabidopsis thaliana. In this study, we used the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter to drive AtHUB2 overexpression in cotton and found that it can significantly improve the agricultural traits of transgenic cotton plants under drought stress conditions, including increasing the fruit branch number, boll number, and boll‐setting rate and decreasing the boll abscission rate. In addition, survival and soluble sugar, proline and leaf relative water contents were increased in transgenic cotton plants after drought stress treatment. In contrast, RNAi knockdown of GhHUB2 genes reduced the drought resistance of transgenic cotton plants. AtHUB2 overexpression increased the global H2B monoubiquitination (H2Bub1) level through a direct interaction with GhH2B1 and up‐regulated the expression of drought‐related genes in transgenic cotton plants. Furthermore, we found a significant increase in H3K4me3 at the DREB locus in transgenic cotton, although no change in H3K4me3 was identified at the global level. These results demonstrated that AtHUB2 overexpression changed H2Bub1 and H3K4me3 levels at the GhDREB chromatin locus, leading the GhDREB gene to respond quickly to drought stress to improve transgenic cotton drought resistance, but had no influence on transgenic cotton development under normal growth conditions. Our findings also provide a useful route for breeding drought‐resistant transgenic plants.
Acidic mammalian chitinase tuning after enteric helminths eradication in inflammatory respiratory disease patients
Authors: Hasby Saad Marwa A. , Watany Mona , Tomoum Mohamed , El‐Mehy Dalia , Elsheikh May , Sharshar Ragia 
Published: August 2018

SummaryAimThis study aimed at investigating the presence of intestinal parasitic infections in inflammatory respiratory diseases patients during the disease attack, and measuring the acidic mammalian chitinase (AMCase) gene expression in blood before and after infection eradication.MethodologyThis case‐control study included 123 inflammatory respiratory diseases patients and 120 apparently healthy individuals. Repeated stool examination was done, while total and specific IgE were measured. AMCase gene expression was analysed by real time‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR).ResultsInfection was detected in 32.5% of the diseased and 23.25% of the healthy individuals. Higher rate of the helminthic infection was detected (23.57) in comparison to the protozoal (12.19%) in the patients. A significantly higher rate of infection with the chitin‐rich helminths “Enterobius vermicularis & Hymenolepis nana” and level of anti‐Dermatophagoide‐IgE were reported in the patients (14.63%, 6.5% and 23.57%, respectively). AMCase expression was significantly higher in helminths‐infected patients than the noninfected, or protozoa infected. After infection eradication, AMCase expression significantly declined in the previously helminth‐infected patients (mean ± SD = 13.9 ± 3.918 before and 4.515 ± 1.93 after), but insignificantly affected in the protozoa infected (mean ± SD = 2.095 ± .285 before and 2.675 ± 1.181 after).ConclusionChitin‐rich intestinal helminths are suspected to precipitate Th2‐immune response in remote tissues by enhancing systemic AMCase expression through intestinal mucosa and macrophages irritation.
NRand‐K: Minimizing the impact of location obfuscation in spatial analysis
Authors: Zurbarán Mayra , Wightman Pedro , Brovelli Maria , Oxoli Daniele , Iliffe Mark , Jimeno Miguel , Salazar Augusto 
Published: August 2018

AbstractLocation privacy, or geoprivacy, is critical to secure users’ privacy in context‐aware applications. Location‐based services pose privacy risks for users, due to the inferences that could be made about them from their location information and the potential misuse of this data by service providers or third‐party companies. A common solution is to apply masking or location obfuscation, which degrades location information quality while keeping a geographic coordinate structure. However, there is a trade‐off between privacy, quality of service, and quality of information, the last one being a valuable asset for companies. NRand is a location privacy mechanism with obfuscation capabilities and resistance against filtering attacks. In order to minimize the impact on location information quality, NRand‐K has been introduced. This algorithm is designed for use when releasing location information to third parties or as open data with privacy concerns. To assess the impact of location obfuscation on exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), a comparison is performed between obfuscated data with NRand, NRand‐K, and unaltered data. For the experiments, geolocated tweets collected during the Central Italy 2016 earthquake are used. Results show that NRand‐K reduces the impact on ESDA, where inferences were similar to those obtained with the unaltered data.
Tissue oxygen saturation in dogs with acute hemorrhage
Authors: Gray Sarah L. , Hall Kelly E. , Powell Lisa L. , Schildt Julie , Brearley Ann M. , Beilman Greg J. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate initial tissue hemoglobin oxygen saturation (StO2) in dogs presenting to an emergency room (ER) for acute hemorrhage.DesignProspective, observational study.SettingUniversity veterinary teaching hospital.AnimalsThirty‐eight dogs with acute hemorrhage were enrolled between July 2009 and October 2010. Seventy‐eight normal dogs from a previous observational study were included to represent healthy controls (“no shock”).InterventionsTissue oxygen saturation measurement was obtained at enrollment on dogs presented to the ER for acute hemorrhage. Baseline clinicopathologic (CBC, serum biochemical profile, prothrombin time, and activated partial thromboplastin time) and physiologic (plasma lactate concentration, venous blood gas, blood pressure, and hemoglobin oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry) data were recorded from all patients with hemorrhage. An ER clinician blinded to the StO2 value guided patient management. Patient survival to discharge from the hospital in the study group was recorded. Once data collection was complete, 3 emergency and critical care clinicians blinded to the StO2 data retrospectively classified patients into 1 of 4 shock categories (no shock, mild, moderate, or severe shock).Measurements and Main ResultsThe historical group of healthy dogs had higher StO2 concentrations compared to the dogs classified with shock at all 3 levels (mild, moderate, and severe, P = 0.0006, <0.0001, and 0.0018, respectively); however, there was no statistical difference in StO2 between the levels of shock. A cut‐off StO2 value of 87.6% identified a patient as having shock (area under the curve: 0.824, 95% confidence interval 0.749, 0.899).ConclusionsDogs with hemorrhagic shock have lower StO2 than a population of healthy dogs.
Therapeutic efficacy of early photobiomodulation therapy on the zones of stasis in burns: An experimental rat model study
Authors: Jin Jian , Zheng Xingfeng , He Fang , Zhang Yongcun , Zhou Hao , Luo Pengfei , Hu Xiaoyan , Xia Zhaofan 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThis study aimed to investigate the role of photobiomodulation therapy in preventing zones of stasis in burn wounds. We hypothesized that photobiomodulation therapy could promote tissue formation and release of nitric oxide (NO), and reduce inflammatory responses, thereby dilating local microvessels, reducing necrosis and apoptosis. Thirty rats were randomly divided into control group (CG) and laser group (LG). The zone of stasis was formed by applying a brass comb to the skin resulting in four rectangular burns separated by three unburned interspaces. The left side was laser wound (LW), while the right side was shielded wound (SW). The LW of LG was immediately subjected to photobiomodulation therapy, followed by once‐daily 30‐minutes photobiomodulation therapy sessions. Skin ultrasound and Doppler angiography analyses were used to evaluate the statuses of the zones of stasis at 1, 24, and 96 hours after injury. Harvested burn wound tissue was subjected to hematoxylin–eosin staining and HMGB1, caspase 3, and thrombomodulin immunohistochemistry, and the contents of NO and TNF‐α were measured in stasis tissue. Thrombomodulin, HMGB1, and caspase 3 immunohistochemistry revealed significantly lower positive staining rates in the LW of LG rats relative to the others at 96 hours (p < 0.05), as well as a significantly higher skin blood flow relative to the others (p < 0.05). The NO content was significantly higher in the LW of LG, compared with other wounds, at 24 and 96 hours after injury (p < 0.05). The TNF‐α level was significantly lower in the LW of LG than in other wounds at 96 hours (p < 0.05). Early, local photobiomodulation therapy can effectively ameliorate injury progression in the zone of stasis. However, these beneficial effects are limited to the directly irradiated sites.
Differences between patient‐ and proxy‐reported HRQoL using the Wound‐QoL
Authors: Sommer Rachel , Hampel‐Kalthoff Carsten , Kalthoff Brigitte , Neht Christopher , Scherfer Erwin , Winkler Manfred , Blome Christine 
Published: August 2018

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to examine the patient‐ and proxy‐report agreement on the Wound‐quality of life (QoL) questionnaire to assess health‐related QoL in patients with chronic wounds. Patients and their proxies (in this case, relatives) were recruited via different nursing services in Germany and asked to complete the Wound‐QoL. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated for each Wound‐QoL scale and the total score, and weighted Cohen's Kappa coefficients for individual items. Proxies tended to report lower health‐related QoL in the Wound‐QoL than their relatives with chronic wounds. Agreement between the two perspectives was moderate on single‐item level and excellent on scale level. Proxy‐reports can be helpful, if patients are unable to provide information, although caution remains when interpreting the results. However, the patient's own perspective remains preferable.
Patients’ prediction of their wound healing time
Authors: Borda Luis J. , Jaller Jose A. , Kallis Penelope J. , MacQuhae Flor E. , Herskovitz Ingrid , Fox Joshua D. , Baquerizo Katherine L. , Kirsner Robert S. 
Published: August 2018

AbstractUnderstanding and managing patients’ expectations can help improve their adherence to treatment for chronic wounds; however, little is known concerning about their expectations regarding healing time. Recruited subjects were asked to predict how long their wounds would take to heal and their charts were reviewed to retrieve real time of healing. We recruited 100 subjects from which 77% have healed. Fifty‐three subjects (68.8%) had a longer healing time than they predicted (underestimated), and 17 (22.1%) had a shorter healing time than they predicted (overestimated). Subjects with shorter wound duration history tended to predict shorter healing time than subjects with longer wound duration (p < 0.01). However, wound duration did not affect prediction accuracy (p = 0.65). Subjects with chronic wounds seem more often to underestimate their time of healing. Wound duration significantly influenced patients’ prediction time, although it did not make their prediction more accurate. Patient education about expectations may be important as patients often expect their wounds to heal faster than they actually do.
Chronic oral rapamycin decreases adiposity, hepatic triglycerides and insulin resistance in male mice fed a diet high in sucrose and saturated fat
Authors: den Hartigh Laura J. , Goodspeed Leela , Wang Shari A. , Kenerson Heidi L. , Omer Mohamed , O'Brien Kevin D. , Ladiges Warren , Yeung Raymond , Subramanian Savitha 
Published: August 2018

New Findings
What is the central question of this study?Whether chronic oral rapamycin promotes beneficial effects on glucose/lipid metabolism and energy balance when administered to mice with an obesogenic diet rich in saturated fat and sucrose has not been explored.
What is the main finding and its importance?Chronic oral rapamycin reduces body weight and fat gain, improves insulin sensitivity and reduces hepatic steatosis when administered to mice with a high‐fat, high‐sucrose diet. In addition, we make the new observation that there appear to be tissue‐specific effects of rapamycin. Although rapamycin appears to impart its effects mainly on visceral adipose tissue, its effects on insulin sensitivity are mediated by subcutaneous adipose tissue.
AbstractExcess adiposity is commonly associated with insulin resistance, which can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the exact molecular mechanisms by which obesity results in insulin resistance are yet to be understood clearly. The intracellular nutrient‐sensing protein, mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), is a crucial signalling component in the development of obesity‐associated insulin resistance. Given that increased tissue activation of mTOR complex‐1 (mTORC1) occurs in obesity, diabetes and ageing, we hypothesized that pharmacological inhibition of mTORC1 would improve metabolic dysregulation in diet‐induced obesity. We administered continuous rapamycin, a specific mTORC1 inhibitor, orally to C57BL/6J mice concurrently with a high‐fat, high‐sucrose (HFHS) diet for 20 weeks. The control group received placebo microcapsules. Rapamycin‐treated mice showed significantly reduced weight gain and adiposity (33.6 ± 4.9 versus 40.4 ± 3.0% body fat, P < 0.001, n = 8 mice per group), despite increased or equivalent food intake compared with the placebo group. The rapamycin‐fed mice also demonstrated reduced plasma glucose (252 ± 57 versus 297 ± 67 mg dl−1, P < 0.001) and improved insulin sensitivity during insulin and glucose tolerance testing. Rapamycin‐treated mice also had lower plasma triglycerides (48 ± 13 versus 67 ± 11 mg/dL, P < 0.01) and hepatic triglyceride content (89 ± 15 versus 110 ± 19 mg/g liver, P < 0.05) compared with the placebo group. A moderately low dose of rapamycin decreased adiposity and improved the metabolic profile in a model of diet‐induced obesity. These data suggest that low‐grade chronic mTORC1 inhibition might be a potential strategy for anti‐obesity therapies.
Directing Attention Externally and Self-Controlled Practice Have Similar Effects on Motor Skill Performance
Authors: Asadi Ayoub , Farsi Alireza , Abdoli Behrouz , Saemi Esmaeel , Porter Jared M. 
Published: August 2018

There were two aims to the present study. First, we sought to investigate how a form of self-controlled practice compared to a well-established strategy of explicitly directing a mover’s attention externally when performing the standing long jump. Those two forms of practice were also compared to conditions in which participants were instructed to focus their attention internally or neutrally (i.e., control condition). Second, we investigated if the skill level of the participants was a factor in the comparison of these two forms of training (i.e., directing attention externally and self-controlled practice). In the External condition, volunteers were told to focus on jumping toward a cone that was placed in front of them at a distance of 5-m. In the Internal condition, participants were told to focus on the extension of their knees. In the Self-control condition, volunteers were allowed to choose a distant target to focus their attention on while executing the jump. Participants also completed jumps in a Control condition in which no explicit instructions were provided. Results demonstrated that both skilled and low-skilled participants jumped significantly farther in the External and Self-control conditions compared to jumps completed in the Control and Internal conditions. The findings of this study demonstrate that providing instructions that direct attention externally, or allowing the participant to choose where to direct their attention, resulted in similar enhancements in jumping performance in both low- and high-skilled jumpers.
The Influence of Guided Practice on Overhand Throwing Competence in Preschool Children in a Mastery Motivational Climate
Authors: Johnson Jerraco L. , Rudisill Mary E. , Hastie Peter A. , Sassi Julia 
Published: August 2018

The aim of this study was to determine the extent to which guided throwing practice volume influenced gains in throwing competency in young children during exposure to a mastery motivational climate physical play program. Fifty-four preschool children attended 13 biweekly 30-minute motor skill sessions over 7 weeks. Pre- and post-test throwing competency was measured in three ways (Test of Gross and Motor Development–Third Edition [TGMD-3], developmental sequence for throwing, and throwing velocity). Throwing practice behaviors (visits, time, and trials) were then coded for each participant using video recordings. Paired-samples t-tests revealed significant gains in throwing proficiency by the children from pre- to post-test on all three measures. Results from multiple hierarchical linear regressions highlighted that pre-test scores and guided throwing practice volume (a principle component analysis of throwing visits, time, and trials) accounted for 19% (TGMD), 52% (developmental sequence), and 60% (velocity) of the explained variance of post-test throwing competency, respectively. Results also revealed that although boys spent more time practicing throwing than girls, gender only appeared to be a significant predictor in the TGMD regression model. These findings provide empirical evidence of the importance of guided practice during mastery climate programs.
Tax harmonisation and tobacco product prices in the European Union, 2004–2015
Authors: López-Nicolás Ángel , Stoklosa Michal 
Published: August 2018

ObjectivesThe European Commission has formally opened a process of revision of its tobacco tax directive. The purpose of this study is to analyse the evolution of cigarette and roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco prices in order to identify avenues for the improvement of public health goals.MethodsPooled cross-sectional data on prices and taxes on cigarettes and RYO tobacco in the Member States over 2004–2015 is used to track the distributions of the most popular price category and the weighted average price of these products and to relate them to the underlying tax structure.ResultsThe inflation-adjusted prices for the two products have increased over the period, but the dispersion of prices across Member States has remained constant. Throughout the period, there was a pervasive price gap between cigarettes and RYO tobacco within the Member States. Such features are explained by the underlying tax design.DiscussionThe current tax stance has been successful at increasing both cigarette and RYO tobacco prices. To further enhance the public health impact of the European Union tax directive, the revision should promote the convergence of prices across Member States and aim at closing the price gap between cigarettes and RYO tobacco. These objectives call for increasing the mandatory minimum levels of excise duty on the two products, preferably linking them to the evolution of a European weighted average price. The pace of increase should be faster for RYO tobacco in order to close the gap with respect to cigarette prices.
Can Allocation-Based Water Rates Promote Conservation and Increase Welfare? A California Case Study
Authors: Baerenklau Kenneth A. , Pérez-Urdiales María 
Published: August 2018

An allocation-based rate (ABR) is a special type of increasing block rate (IBR) price structure that is receiving increased attention from urban water suppliers in places like California where population growth and climate change continue to increase water scarcity. Previous work by Baerenklau et al. [Baerenklau, KA, KA Schwabe and A Dinar (2014a). Allocation-based water pricing promotes conservation while keeping user costs low. Agricultural and Resource Economics Update, 17(6), 1–14; Baerenklau, KA, KA Schwabe and A Dinar (2014b). The residential water demand effect of increasing block rate water budgets. Land Economics, 90(4), 683–699.] investigates the conservation potential of ABR and finds that consumption under ABR was 10–15% below that of a comparable uniform rate structure for a southern California case study. This paper extends that work by using the discrete–continuous choice framework to estimate household-level welfare effects of ABR for the same dataset. We find that despite the observed decrease in consumption, average household welfare actually increased under ABR due to its non-linear structure. We also find that similar results would have been achievable with a simpler standard IBR structure. While either of these block rate structures is welfare-preferred to uniform price and quantity instruments, neither clearly dominates the other.