bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Drone photogrammetry and KMeans point cloud filtering to create high resolution topographic and inundation models of coastal sediment archives
Authors: Callow J.N. , May S.M. , Leopold M. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractCoastal areas are vulnerable to the impacts of tropical cyclones (TC), tsunamis and other water super‐elevation events, but the frequency of these events is often poorly represented by conventional records. Coastal overwash deposits (including washover fans) can provide a longer‐term archive of event frequency. Because of their low‐gradient geomorphic form, washover fans require high accuracy (centimetre‐resolution) topographic models to understand patterns of connectivity and dynamics that control archive formation. Using images collected by a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS, or ‘drone’) and Structure‐from‐Motion (SfM) photogrammetry techniques, we apply a novel point‐cloud filtering technique based on KMeans classification of the R‐G‐B colour of each X‐Y‐Z point to remove vegetation and create a centimetre‐resolution and accuracy bare‐earth digital terrain model (DTM) of a washover fan in Exmouth Gulf (Western Australia).Using the RPAS‐SfM orphophoto and DEM data, supported by ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) and field stratigraphic analysis, we show how this approach can be applied to understand dynamics controlling low‐gradient geomorphic landforms, using an example of a washover fan sedimentary archive in northwestern Australia created by extreme overwash events. Our approach reveals the likely role of backflooding and terrestrial runoff in creating backwater environment for sub‐aqueous deposition and good sediment preservation and identifies key areas to target for detailed dating and stratigraphic analysis of a potentially decadal to sub‐millennial resolution sediment archive of TC activity. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Do IMF fiscal forecasts add value?
Authors: An Zidong , Jalles João Tovar , Loungani Prakash , Sousa Ricardo M. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractWe used a panel of 29 advanced and emerging market countries to investigate whether the IMF's World Economic Outlook (WEO) fiscal forecasts add value in terms of forecast accuracy and information content, relative to private sector forecasts (from Consensus Economics). We find that: (i) WEO forecasts are not significantly less accurate than Consensus forecasts; (ii) WEO and Consensus forecasts tend to mutually encompass one another; and (iii) each source of forecasts appears to contain some information that is not embedded in the other source.
Proximate composition, functional, and pasting properties of wheat and groundnut protein concentrate flour blends
Authors: Ocheme Ocheme Boniface , Adedeji Olajide Emmanuel , Chinma Chiemela Enyinnaya , Yakubu Caleb Maina , Ajibo Ugochukwu Happiness 
Published: May 2018

AbstractThis study investigated the effect of groundnut protein concentrate inclusion on the quality of wheat flour. Wheat and groundnut concentrate flours were blended (%, w/w) at ratios 100:0, 95:5, 90:10, 85:15, and 80:20, with 100% wheat flour serving as the control sample. Subsequently, proximate composition, functional, and pasting properties of blends were determined using established methods. Protein content of the concentrate was 72.80%. Significant (p < .05) increase in protein content of the flour blends was recorded with increasing concentration of groundnut protein concentrate and decreasing concentration of wheat flour. Highest protein content of 28.87% was recorded in blend with 20% groundnut protein concentrate. Fat, ash, and crude fiber contents ranged from 1.93% to 8.84%, 0.70% to 1.13%, and 0.84% to 1.23%, respectively. Carbohydrate decreased significantly (p < .05) with increasing concentration of groundnut protein concentrate. Bulk density and swelling capacity of the flour blends reduced significantly (p < .05) with increasing level of groundnut protein concentrate flour while solubility index, water absorption, emulsion, and foaming capacities increased. Peak time, peak, trough, breakdown, final, and setback viscosities of the flour blends reduced with groundnut protein concentrate inclusion while the pasting temperature reduced. Overall, wheat/groundnut protein concentrate flour blends showed good functional and pasting properties.
An exploration of the non‐iterative time trade‐off method to value health states
Authors: Feng Yan , Hole Arne Risa , Karimi Milad , Tsuchiya Aki , van Hout Ben 
Published: May 2018

AbstractTime Trade‐Off (TTO) usually relies on “iteration,” which is susceptible to bias. Discrete Choice Experiment with duration (or DCETTO) is free of such bias, but respondents find this cognitively more challenging. This paper explores non‐iterative TTO with or without lead time: NI(LT)TTO. In NI(LT)TTO, respondents see a series of independent pairwise choices without iteration (similar to DCETTO), but one of the two scenarios always involves full health for a shorter duration (similar to TTO). We compare three different “types” of NI(LT)TTO relative to DCETTO. Each type is presented in two “modes”: (a) verbally tabulated (as in a DCE) and (b) with visual aids (as in a TTO). The study has 8 survey variants, each with 12 experimental choice tasks and a 13th task with a logically determined answer. Data on the 12 experimental choices from an online survey of 6,618 respondents are modelled, by variant, using conditional logistic regressions. The results indicate that NI(LT)TTO is feasible, but some relatively mild states appear to have implausibly low predicted values, and the range of predicted values is much narrower than in DCETTO. The presentation of NI(LT)TTO tasks needs further improvement.
High preoperative plasma vasohibin‐1 concentration predicts better prognosis in patients with non–small cell lung carcinoma
Authors: Watanabe Tatsuaki , Hosaka Tomoko , Ohmori‐Matsuda Kaori , Suzuki Yasuhiro , Suzuki Hirotoshi , Yabuki Hiroshi , Matsuda Yasushi , Noda Masafumi , Sakurada Akira , Okada Yoshinori , Sato Yasufumi 
Published: May 2018

AbstractBackground and AimVasohibin‐1 (VASH1) is an angiogenesis inhibitor synthesized and secreted by endothelial cells, whose expression is induced by angiogenic stimuli such as vascular endothelial growth factor. We have previously demonstrated that VASH1 is immunohistochemically evident in endothelial cells in the tumor microenvironment of patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and is positively correlated with that of vascular endothelial growth factor in cancer cells. Here, we determined the preoperative plasma concentration of VASH1 in patients with NSCLC and evaluated the association between the preoperative VASH1 levels and certain outcomes.MethodsWe analyzed presurgical plasma VASH1 concentrations in a total of 79 lung cancer patients (51 males and 28 females; 34‐83 y of age; 46 adenocarcinomas, 27 squamous cell carcinomas, and 6 other types) who underwent lung resection. The impact of preoperative VASH1 level was analyzed using clinical characteristics and prognosis.ResultsPlasma VASH1 concentration ranged from 34.1 to 1190.4 fmol/mL. We divided the patients into 3 groups according to plasma VASH1 level for this assessment: low VASH1 group (n = 26), medium VASH1 group (n = 27), and high VASH1 group (n = 26). The death and recurrence rates of the high, medium, and low VASH1 groups were 5.5, 16.2, and 12.7 per 100 person‐years, respectively. Multivariate adjusted hazard ratio of death and recurrence of the high VASH1 group was lower than that of the low VASH1 group (hazard ratio 0.42; 95% CI 0.17‐0.99).ConclusionThe present analysis suggests that high preoperative plasma VASH1 concentration is associated with better prognosis in patients with NSCLC. We propose preoperative VASH1 level as a biomarker for the prognosis of patients with non–small cell lung carcinoma.
Circular RNAs are differentially expressed in liver ischemia/reperfusion injury model
Authors: Ye Zhiqiang , Kong Qinglei , Han Jianhua , Deng Jingyi , Wu Miaolue , Deng Hong 
Published: May 2018

AbstractLiver ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury has high mortality due to the intense inflammatory process occurs in the liver. However, the pathological mechanism underlying I/R injury is still not clear. Recent works showed that circular RNAs play critical roles in many human diseases. In this study, the occurrence of liver I/R injury was validated by an analysis of the blood samples and hematoxylin‐eosin (HE) staining of liver tissues. Total RNA was purified and followed by RNA‐seq in the purpose of screening the circRNAs in significant differentially expression, which were validated by quantitative PCR. GO and KEGG analysis were performed to determine the function of these differentially expressed circular RNAs. The circular structure of the circRNA was validated with gel electrophoresis and RNase R treatment. We found that some circular RNAs were differentially expressed in Liver I/R mouse models through bioinformatics analysis. These circular RNAs play roles in biological process, cellular component, and molecular function through GO analysis. Meanwhile, Hippo signaling pathway was found to be correlated with circular RNAs function in I/R models by KEGG analysis. To further validate bioinformatics data, two up‐regulated and three down‐regulated circular RNAs were confirmed in I/R models. The circularity of these differentially expressed circular RNAs was validated through gel electrophoresis and RNase R treatment. In summary, this work provides new insights into the mechanism underlying pathogenesis of liver I/R injury, providing new and potentially efficient targets against I/R injury.
DNA methylation and FoxO3a regulate PHLPP1 expression in chondrocytes
Authors: Castillejo Becerra Clara M. , Mattson Anna M. , Molstad David H. H. , Lorang Ian M. , Westendorf Jennifer J. , Bradley Elizabeth W. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractThe protein phosphatase Phlpp1 is an essential enzyme for proper chondrocyte function. Altered Phlpp1 levels are associated with cancer and degenerative diseases such as osteoarthritis. While much is known about the post‐transcriptional mechanisms controlling Phlpp1 levels, transcriptional regulation of the Phlpp1 gene locus is underexplored. We previously showed that CpG methylation of the PHLPP1 promoter is lower in osteoarthritic cartilage than in normal cartilage, and indirectly correlates with gene expression. Here we further defined the effects of DNA methylation on PHLPP1 promoter activity in chondrocytes. We cloned a 1791 bp fragment of the PHLPP1 promoter (−1589:+202) and found that the first 500 bp were required for maximal promoter activity. General methylation of CpG sites within this fragment significantly blunts transcriptional activity, whereas site‐specific methyltransferases HhaI or HpaII decrease transcriptional activation by approximately 50%. We located putative FoxO consensus sites within the PHLPP1 promoter region. Inhibition of DNA methylation by incorporation of 5‐azacytidine increases Phlpp1 mRNA levels, but FoxO inhibition abolishes this induction. To determine which FoxO transcription factor mediates Phlpp1 expression, we performed overexpression and siRNA‐mediated knock down experiments. Overexpression of FoxO3a, but not FoxO1, increases Phlpp1 levels. Likewise, siRNAs targeting FoxO3a, but not FoxO1, diminished Phlpp1 levels. Last, FoxO inhibition increases glycosaminoglycan staining of cultured chondrocytes and leads to concomitant increases in FGF18 and HAS2 expression. Together, these data demonstrate that CpG methylation and FoxO3a regulate PHLPP1 expression.
Different types of multiple‐synapse boutons in the cerebellar cortex between physically enriched and ataxic mutant mice
Authors: Kim Hyun‐Wook , Oh Seunghak , Lee Seung Hwan , Lee Sanghoon , Na Ji‐Eun , Lee Kea Joo , Rhyu Im Joo 
Published: May 2018

AbstractExperience‐dependent synapse remodeling is associated with information storage in the nervous system. Neuronal synapses show alteration in various neurological and cognitive disorders in their structure and function. At the ultrastructural level, parallel fiber boutons contacting multiple spines of Purkinje cells in the cerebellar cortex are commonly observed in physiologically enriched animals as well as pathological ataxic mutants. However, the dendritic origin of those spines on parallel fiber multiple‐synapse boutons (MSBs) has been poorly understood. Here, we investigated this issue by 3‐dimensional ultrastructural analysis to determine synaptic connectivity of MSBs in both mice housed in physically enriched environment and cerebellar ataxic mutants. Our results demonstrated that environmental enrichment selectively induced MSBs to contact spines from the same parent dendrite, indicating focal strengthening of synapse through the simultaneous activation of two adjacent spines. In contrast, ataxic mutants displaying impaired motor coordination had significantly more MSBs involving spines originating from different neighboring dendrites compared to both wild‐type and environmentally enriched animals, suggesting that compromising multiple synapse formation may lead to abnormal motor behavior in the mutant mice. These findings propose that environmental stimulation in normal animals mainly involves the refinement of preexisting synaptic networks, whereas pathological ataxic conditions may results from less‐selective but compromising multiple synaptic formation. This study underscores that different types of multiple synapse boutons may have disparate effects on cerebellar synaptic transmission.
Critical shoulder angle: Acromial coverage is more relevant than glenoid inclination
Authors: Beeler Silvan , Hasler Anita , Götschi Tobias , Meyer Dominik C. , Gerber Christian 
Published: May 2018

ABSTRACTIt is still unknown whether glenoid inclination or lateral acromial roof extension is a more important determinant for development of rotator cuff tears (RCT) or osteoarthritis (OA) of the shoulder. It was the purpose of this study, to evaluate whether there is a potential predominance of one of these factors in pathogenesis of RCT or concentric OA. We analyzed 70 shoulders with advanced degenerative RCT and 54 shoulders with concentric OA undergoing primary shoulder arthroplasty (anatomical or reverse) using antero‐posterior radiography and multiplanar computed tomography. The two groups were compared in relation to glenoid inclination, lateral acromion roof extension, acromial height, and critical shoulder angle (CSA). All measured parameters were highly significantly different between RCT and concentric OA (p < 0.001). Based on Cohen's d effect size, group differences were most distinct in lateral acromial roof extension (1.36x‐ray, 0.92ct) compared with acromial height (1.06x‐ray, 0.73ct) and glenoid inclination (0.60x‐ray, 0.61ct). However, no single factor showed an effect size which was as high as that of the CSA (1.63x‐ray). Interestingly, a ratio of lateral acromion roof extension and acromial height could enhance the effect size (1.60x‐ray, 1.16ct) near to values of the CSA (1.63x‐ray). In summary, lateral acromial roof extension has a greater influence in pathogenesis of degenerative RCT and concentric OA than acromial height or glenoid inclination. © 2018 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res
Classifying the migration behaviors of pronghorn on their northern range
Authors: Jakes Andrew F. , Gates C. Cormack , DeCesare Nicholas J. , Jones Paul F. , Goldberg Joshua F. , Kunkel Kyran E. , Hebblewhite Mark 
Published: May 2018

ABSTRACTMigration functions as an adaptive strategy to improve fitness by allowing individuals to exploit spatiotemporal gradients of resources. Yet migration, especially among large ungulates, is increasingly threatened by human activities, making it necessary to understand variation in migratory behavior. We identified different movement strategies for pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) at the northern limit of the species’ range, and tested hypotheses for variation between migratory behaviors. From 2003–2010, we captured 185 female pronghorn across Alberta and Saskatchewan, Canada, and Montana, USA. We identified discrete migratory behaviors, including seasonal migration, facultative winter migration, potential post‐fawning migration, and the use of stopover sites. Fifty‐five percent of individuals undertook seasonal migrations, and we recorded the longest reported round‐trip migration for the species at 888 km. Some (22%) seasonal migrations included ≥1 stopover sites, with significantly greater use of stopovers during spring than fall. Migrants (34%) and residents (20%) undertook facultative winter migrations, with the majority (68%) undertaken by migrants. Additionally, 12% of individuals exhibited potential post‐fawning migrations. For each season, we estimated a suite of movement metrics and used multivariate statistics to compare movement similarities across migration behaviors. Correspondence analyses revealed 3 groupings of migration behavior. Spring migration was its own grouping, characterized by more sinuous and slower movements, consistent with the forage maturation hypothesis. Fall migration, facultative winter migration, and potential post‐fawning migration clustered in a single group that displayed linear, fast movements, consistent with being influenced by ecologically limited resources such as severe winters or predation avoidance. Lastly, spring and fall stopover sites were grouped together as a means to use high‐quality forage during migration, also consistent with the forage maturation hypothesis. At the northern periphery of pronghorn range, differences between migratory behaviors are influenced by various ecological factors, merit increased attention, and contribute to overall persistence. © 2018 The Wildlife Society.
Assessment of coastal development policy based on simulating a sustainable land‐use scenario for Liaoning Coastal Zone in China
Authors: Fan Jie , Wang Qiang , Wang Yafei , Chen Dong , Zhou Kan 
Published: May 2018

AbstractUnsustainable land development policy can result in serious eco‐environmental issues, leading to unsustainable development in coastal zones, the phenomenon of which is particularly prominent in developing countries. How to assess the impact of policy on the sustainable development of land resource in the future is a challenge that is well worth exploring. With the coastal zone of Liaoning Province in China as an example, this paper proposes a new framework for assessing coastal development policy based on simulating the sustainable land‐use scenario (S). The results show that under Scenario D that driven by government's development policies, the proportions of highly exploited construction land and shoreline would be 11 and 18 percentage points higher, respectively, than those under Scenario S, whereas the potential losses of agricultural land and natural land in Scenario S would increase by 14.5% and 12.6%, respectively, the natural shoreline would decrease by 25.1% in comparison with Scenario S. Policy‐led deviation indexes in industrial, urban, and port land use are 12.98, 7.15, and 2.02, respectively, on the contrary in natural land use, it even reaches a high level of −15.07. This indicates that, being driven by the government development policies, the development scales of industrial, urban, and port land/shoreline use significantly will exceed the corresponding sustainably healthy ranges, leading to a massive diversion of natural land/shoreline, which thereby becomes the type most remarkably impacted by policy errors. The findings can provide case‐study analysis and reference for assessing the impact of development policy on resource‐environment sustainability.
Overcome the Conflict between Strength and Toughness in Poly(lactide) Nanocomposites through Tailoring Matrix–Filler Interface
Authors: Sun Yang , Fan Xiaoshan , Lu Xuehong , He Chaobin 
Published: May 2018

AbstractStrength and toughness are the two most important prerequisites for structural applications. Unfortunately, these two properties are often in conflict in materials. Here, an effective and yet practical strategy is proposed to simultaneously strengthen and toughen poly(l‐lactide) (PLLA) using a simple rigid‐rubber “reinforcing element.” This element consists of a rigid graphene oxide (GO) sheet covalently coupled with poly(caprolactone‐co‐lactide) (PCLLA) rubbery layers, which can be easily synthesized and incorporated into PLLA matrix to develop composites with well‐tailored GO/PLLA interfaces. It is demonstrated that by adding the “reinforcing element,” i.e., GO‐graft‐rubber‐graft‐polyd‐lactide), PLLA exhibits higher strength and higher toughness, which could be attributed to the synergy of rigid GO and rubbery PCLLA working in tandem during deformation. It is further demonstrated that this strategy can also be applied to other filler systems, such as clay and particulate polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane, and other polymer systems, such as poly(methyl methacrylate). The strategy could be considered as a general design principle for reinforcing materials where both strength and toughness are the key concerns.
In Situ Nanoreactors: Controllable Photoluminescent Carbon‐Rich Polymer Nanodots Derived from Fatty Acid under Photoirradiation
Authors: Dai Qin , Zhao He , Fan Zhuangjun , Zhao Wentao , Wang Guangwei , Zhang Jimei , Hou Rong , Du Penghui , Cao Hongbin 
Published: May 2018

AbstractAmphiphilic nanoreactors have been recently used to fabricate photoluminescent carbon‐rich polymer nanodots (PCPNs). However, the applications of PCPNs have been limited by their requirements for high temperature and toxic organic solvents or catalysts and the difficult control of their luminescent properties. Herein, a novel and facile strategy is reported for the synthesis of controllable PCPNs. This strategy involves the use of in situ vesicular nanoreactors under mild photoirradiation with fatty acid as the precursor. The conjugation degree of the uniformly sized PCPNs can be increased by extending photoreaction time, thus enabling the tuning of the optical properties of PCPNs. The PCPNs, which feature controllable and outstanding luminescent properties, low cytotoxicity, and biocompatibility, are successfully applied in bioimaging and as fluorescent ink. The present strategy is an attractive and facile platform for the preparation of carbon‐rich nanomaterials with controllable photoluminescence.
Dependence of Propagation Rate Coefficients in Radical Polymerization on Solution Properties: A Quantitative Thermodynamic Interpretation
Authors: Deglmann Peter , Hungenberg Klaus‐Dieter , Vale Hugo M. 
Published: May 2018

AbstractThe thermodynamic formulation of the transition state theory is applied to quantitatively explain the effect of the medium (solvent type and concentration) on the propagation rate coefficient kp in radical polymerization. The magnitude of the medium effect is shown to be linked to the degree of thermodynamic nonideality of the system and, more specifically, to the value of the activity coefficients of the species involved in the transition state quasi‐equilibrium (monomer, propagating radical, and propagation transition state). To illustrate and validate this approach, the quantum chemistry–based method COSMO‐RS (Conductor‐like Screening MOdel for Real Solvents) is used to estimate the relevant activity coefficients for a wide variety of monomer–solvent combinations for which kp measurements are published. Overall, satisfactory agreement between observed and predicted kp variations is found. It is also shown that the medium effect may be split into a sum of combinatorial and residual contributions, which provides further insight into the origin of kp variations. Last but not least, for particular cases, simplified methods are proposed to estimate the magnitude of the medium influence upon kp without the need to carry out quantum‐chemical calculations.