bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
When does the influence of maturation on anthropometric and physical fitness characteristics increase and subside?
Authors: Towlson C. , Cobley S. , Parkin G. , Lovell R. 
Published: April 2018

The relationships between maturation and anthropometric and physical performance characteristics are dynamic and often asynchronous; confounding the capability to accurately evaluate performance during adolescence. This study aimed to (i) examine the influence of chronological age (CA) and somatic maturation (YPHV) upon anthropometric and physical performance parameters, and (ii) identify the transition/change time points in these relationships using segmental regression. N = 969 soccer players (8‐18 years of age) completed anthropometric and physical test assessments, including a countermovement jump (CMJ), agility T test, 10 and 20 m sprints, and multistage fitness test (MSFT). When modeled against CA and YPHV, results identified time point phases with increased rates of stature (CA‐7.5, YPHV‐8.6 cm/y at 10.7‐15.2 years or −3.2 to +0.8 YPHV) and body mass gain (CA‐7.1, YPHV‐7.5 kg/y at 11.9‐16.1 years or −1.6 to +4.0 YPHV), followed by gain reductions. Increased rates of sprint performance development (31%‐43% gains) occurred at 11.8‐15.8 CA or −1.8 to +1.2 YPHV, with gains subsiding thereafter. CMJ, T test, and MSFT gains appeared relatively linear with no change in developmental rate apparent. Developmental tempos did again, however, subside at circa (CMJ and T test) to post‐PHV (MSFT). Based on our sample and analysis, periods of increased developmental rates (stature, mass, sprint) were apparent alongside progressive gains for other physical measures, before all subsided at particular age and maturation time points. Findings highlight dynamic asynchronous development of players, physical attributes, and the need to account for the influence of maturation on athletic performance until post‐PHV.
Altered stress hormone response following acute exercise during prostate cancer treatment
Authors: Hanson E. D. , Sakkal S. , Evans W. S. , Violet J. A. , Battaglini C. L. , McConell G. K. , Hayes A. 
Published: April 2018

Exercise training reduces the side effects of cancer treatments; however, the stress hormone response to acute exercise during prostate cancer (PCa) treatment is unclear. The study purpose was to examine the effects of acute exercise on circulating cortisol, epinephrine (Epi), and norepinephrine (NE) concentrations during PCa treatment with and without androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Men with PCa (n = 11), with PCa on ADT (n = 11), and with non‐cancer controls (n = 8) had blood samples for stress hormones collected before and immediately (0 hour), 2 hours, and 24 hours after 45 minutes of intermittent cycling at 60% of peak wattage. NE increased by 385% (P < .001) at 0 hour and remained elevated at 2 hours (P < .05) with no group differences. Overall, cortisol significantly increased at 0 hour (36%, P < .012) and then significantly decreased below baseline at 2 hours (−24%, P < .001) before returning to resting levels at 24 hours. Cortisol levels during ADT were 32% lower than PCa (P = .006) with no differences vs controls. Epi increased immediately after exercise more in controls (817%, P < .001) than with ADT (700%) and PCa (333%) patients, and both cancer groups’ absolute levels were attenuated relative to controls (ADT: −54%, PCa: −52%, P = .004). Compared with age‐matched controls, PCa and ADT patients exhibited similar stress hormone responses with acute exercise for NE and cortisol but an attenuated EPI response that suggests altered adrenal function. Future studies should examine the physical stress of multiple exercise bouts to verify these findings and to explore the functional hormonal effects, such as immune and metabolic responses, during cancer treatment.
The economy. How do the media cover it and what are the effects? A literature review
Authors: Damstra Alyt , Boukes Mark , Vliegenthart Rens 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThis article provides an overview of key findings in the field of economic news research. The focus is on the relationship between the real economy and economic news, and the subsequent effects of economic news on people's economic perceptions. Additionally, we discuss research that looks into the construction of economic and financial news. Recommendations for future research relate to the application of mixed methods approaches and individual level studies, and a specific focus on new (social) media.
Impact of range‐parallel sediment transport on 2D thermo‐mechanical models of mountain belts: Application to the Kyrgyz Tien Shan
Authors: Jourdon Anthony , Le Pourhiet Laetitia , Petit Carole , Rolland Yann 
Published: April 2018

AbstractEvolving mountain belts dynamics is very sensitive to surface processes. The surface processes affect tectonics by enhancing crust exhumation and thermal weakening, and depositing soft yet cold sediments in surrounding basins. While 2D plane strain models approximate cylindrical tectonic structures well, simple 1D mass transfer cannot capture erosion–sedimentation complexity. The Eastern Kyrgyz Tien Shan, where structures, basins and exhumation rates are well constrained, is used here to illustrate this issue. Thermo‐mechanical models demonstrate that 1D transport cannot adjust both basin geometry and Apatite Fission Track exhumation ages. When out‐of‐plane sediment transfer is considered, the amount of evacuated sediment delays or accelerates the formation of new faults, affecting the relative timing of exhumation. For our case study, lateral drainage must evacuate 80% of the sediments to match the geological constraints, which is consistent with other source to sink analyses. This indicates that lateral drainage should not be neglected in regional 2D models.
The NUCLEAR FACTOR‐CONSTANS complex antagonizes Polycomb repression to de‐repress FLOWERING LOCUS T expression in response to inductive long days in Arabidopsis
Authors: Luo Xiao , Gao Zheng , Wang Yizhong , Chen Zhijuan , Zhang Wenju , Huang Jirong , Yu Hao , He Yuehui 
Published: April 2018

SummaryMany plants sense the seasonal cues, day length or photoperiod changes, to align the timing of the developmental transition to flowering with changing seasons for reproductive success. Inductive day lengths through the photoperiod pathway induce the expression of FLOWERING LOCUS T (FT) or FT relatives that encode a major mobile florigen to promote flowering. In Arabidopsis thaliana, under inductive long days the photoperiod pathway output CONSTANS (CO) accumulates toward the end of the day, and associates with the B and C subunits of Nuclear Factor Y (NF‐Y) to form the NF‐CO complex that acts to promote FT expression near dusk, whereas Polycomb group (PcG) proteins function to silence FT expression. How NF‐CO acts to antagonize the function of PcG proteins to regulate FT expression remains unclear. Here, we show that the NF‐CO complex bound to the proximal FT promoter, through chromatin looping, acts in concert with an NF‐Y complex bound to a distal enhancer to reduce the levels of PcG proteins, including both Polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1) and PRC2 at the FT promoter, leading to a relieving of Polycomb silencing and thus FT de‐repression near dusk. Thus, our study provides molecular insights on how the ‘active’ photoperiod pathway and the ‘repressive’ Polycomb silencing system interact to control temporal FT expression, conferring the long‐day induction of flowering in Arabidopsis.
Efficient in planta gene targeting in tomato using geminiviral replicons and the CRISPR/Cas9 system
Authors: Dahan‐Meir Tal , Filler‐Hayut Shdema , Melamed‐Bessudo Cathy , Bocobza Samuel , Czosnek Henryk , Aharoni Asaph , Levy Avraham A. 
Published: April 2018

SummaryCurrent breeding relies mostly on random mutagenesis and recombination to generate novel genetic variation. However, targeted genome editing is becoming an increasingly important tool for precise plant breeding. Using the CRISPR‐Cas system combined with the bean yellow dwarf virus rolling circle replicon, we optimized a method for targeted mutagenesis and gene replacement in tomato. The carotenoid isomerase (CRTISO) and phytoene synthase 1 (PSY1) genes from the carotenoid biosynthesis pathway were chosen as targets due to their easily detectable change of phenotype. We took advantage of the geminiviral replicon amplification as a means to provide a large amount of donor template for the repair of a CRISPR‐Cas‐induced DNA double‐strand break (DSB) in the target gene, via homologous recombination (HR). Mutagenesis experiments, performed in the Micro‐Tom variety, achieved precise modification of the CRTISO and PSY1 loci at an efficiency of up to 90%. In the gene targeting (GT) experiments, our target was a fast‐neutron‐induced crtiso allele that contained a 281‐bp deletion. This deletion was repaired with the wild‐type sequence through HR between the CRISPR‐Cas‐induced DSB in the crtiso target and the amplified donor in 25% of the plants transformed. This shows that efficient GT can be achieved in the absence of selection markers or reporters using a single and modular construct that is adaptable to other tomato targets and other crops.
Cardiac‐gated, phase contrast magnetic resonance angiography is a reliable and reproducible technique for quantifying blood flow in canine major cranial abdominal vessels
Authors: Del Chicca Francesca , Schwarz Andrea , Grest Paula , Willmitzer Florian , Dennler Matthias , Kircher Patrick R. 
Published: April 2018

AbstractBlood flow changes in cranial abdominal vessels are important contributing factors for canine hepatic disease. This prospective, experimental, pilot study aimed to evaluate cardiac‐gated, phase contrast magnetic resonance angiography (PCMRA) as a method for characterizing blood flow in canine major cranial abdominal vessels. Eleven, healthy, adult beagle dogs were sampled. Cardiac‐gated, phase contrast magnetic resonance angiography of the cranial abdomen was performed in each dog and blood flow was independently measured in each of the major cranial abdominal vessels by three observers, with two observers recording blood flow values once and one observer recording blood flow values three times. Each dog then underwent ultrasonographic examination of the liver with fine needle aspirations and biopsies submitted to cytologic and histologic examination. The mean absolute stroke volume and velocity were respectively 9.6 ± 1.9 ml and –11.1 ± 1.1 cm/s for the cranial abdominal aorta, 2.1 ± 0.6 ml and –6.6 ± 1.9 cm/s for the celiac artery, and 2.3 ± 1.0 ml and –7.9 ± 3.1 cm/s for the cranial mesenteric artery. The mean absolute stroke volume and velocity were respectively 6.7 ± 1.3 ml and 3.9 ± 0.9 cm/s for the caudal vena cava and 2.6 ± 0.9 ml and 3.2 ± 1.2 cm/s for the portal vein. Intraobserver reliability was excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient > 0.9). Interobserver reproducibility was also excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.89–0.99). Results of liver ultrasonography, cytology, and histopathology were unremarkable. Findings indicated that cardiac‐gated, phase contrast magnetic resonance angiography is a feasible technique for quantifying blood blow in canine major cranial abdominal vessels. Blood flow values from this sample of healthy beagles can be used as background for future studies on canine hepatic disease.
Second Language Acquisition and world Englishes: Dialogue and engagement
Authors: De Costa Peter I. , Crowther Dustin 
Published: April 2018

AbstractIn spite of the explosive growth in the global use of English, the subfields of Second Language Acquisition and world Englishes have failed to establish a synergistic relationship that can propel both areas of research forward well into the 21st century. In this pedagogically‐oriented article, we survey how previously established barriers between these vibrant disciplines have begun to erode, and illustrate how increased dialogue between both streams can address real world problems through a contemporary reconceptualization of person, place, process, and multilingualism and modality.
World Englishes, Second Language Acquisition, and the linguistic system conundrum
Authors: Wee Lionel 
Published: April 2018

AbstractDespite the good reasons why WE and SLA ought to be establishing a dialogue with one another, this has yet to be the case in any substantive manner. This paper argues that a fundamental issue that needs to be addressed if the gap between world Englishes (WE) and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is to be bridged is ‘the linguistic system conundrum’, or how references to distinct L1s and L2s (common in SLA) can be coherently related to sociolinguistic claims (increasingly common in WE) about the porosity of language categories. I suggest, by drawing on Deleuze's notion of an ‘assemblage’ (Deleuze & Guattari, 1987), how the conundrum can be resolved in a way that: (i) preserves the insights gleaned from SLA and WE; as well as (ii) opens up pathways for greater dialogue and common research.
Ontologies of language, Second Language Acquisition, and world Englishes
Authors: Ortega Lourdes 
Published: April 2018

AbstractWhat has strained the relations between the fields of world Englishes and Second Language Acquisition (SLA), denounced by Sridhar and Sridhar (1986; Sridhar, 1994) and felt by many others during these past 30 years? I first characterize a number of the differences in disciplinary goals and orientations that have contributed to the tensions. I then argue that it is ultimately differences in the ontologies of language that are the largest hurdle to establishing synergies between the two fields. I weigh what has been gained and lost in SLA by the unquestioned adoption of essentialist ontologies and argue that it has locked SLA research into a monolingual worldview that the field can no longer afford. I also call for the continuation of research that illuminates multilingual success but also addresses the phenomenological and emic reality of the ‘native’ and ‘nonnative’ dichotomy, as many multilinguals experience their ‘nonnativeness’ as oppression that they must constantly manage and negotiate under the hegemony of monolingual ideologies. I close with four recommendations for changes in SLA that might help a new future where WE and SLA mutually benefit from their disciplinary achievements.
Second Language Acquisition, WE, and language as a complex adaptive system (CAS)
Authors: Larsen‐Freeman Diane 
Published: April 2018

AbstractThe field of Second Language Acquisition/Development (SLA/D) has evolved to a point where the paradigm gap between SLA/D and world Englishes (WE), identified by Sridhar and Sridhar (1986), has narrowed. The closing of the gap is due in part to SLA/D and WE leaving behind their ontological inheritance of a static competence from linguistics and finding common ground in a view of language as a complex adaptive system. While differences between the two fields are real and will rightly prevail, there may now exist an opening for a dialogue that can lead to a closing of the gap.
Second Language Acquisition, world Englishes, and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF)
Authors: Mauranen Anna 
Published: April 2018

AbstractEnglish as a Lingua Franca (ELF) is a complex form of language contact, which is viewed from three key perspectives: the cognitive, the micro‐social /interactional, and the macro‐social. Each contributes crucially to the whole, and each frame has its own dynamics, while feeding into the other levels. Each operates in its particular time scale, resulting in multiple synchronous and asynchronous processes of change. As a contact language, ELF embodies second language use (SLU), which is distinct from Second Language Acquisition (SLA). We can expect ELF to have affinities with world Englishes (WE), and there are indications that ELF is closer to WE than to SLA. English as a Lingua Franca provides unique insights for understanding second languages, on account of its global diffusion and its multiplex contacts with other languages.
Listening Skills Development in Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language and The Usage of Metacognitive Strategies
Authors: Öztürk Başak Karakoç 
Published: April 2018

The aim of this study is to determine the state of using metacognitive strategies to develop listening skills in teaching Turkish as a foreign language to Syrian children. This research is a descriptive study designed with the survey method. In June 2017, the Certification Program for Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language was organized for Turkish educators who work in Adana, as a part of “The Project of Supporting Syrian Children’s Integration into the Turkish Education System”. In this context, all Turkish educators who work in Adana composed the population of this study while 108 Turkish educators constituted the sample of the study. In this study, the data were collected by the “Metacognitive Listening Strategies Opinion Form” developed by the researcher and analyzed with descriptive statistical techniques. The findings of the study showed that most of the metacognitive strategies that can be used before listening are rarely used and that the response rates as to “always” or “often” in the questionnaire are quite low. It was observed that Turkish educators usually “rarely” used strategies apart from the strategy of “underlining words the meaning of which they do not know” in the listening process.The findings further indicated that more strategies were used before and after listening than during listening and that the most frequently used strategies by learners were summarizing the listening text in their own words, expressing the theme and main idea of the text they were listening to, telling which section/s in the listening text they mostly focused on, and answering the listening comprehension questions.
Establishment of a radiotelemetric recording technique in mice to investigate gastric slow waves: Modulatory role of putative neurotransmitter systems
Authors: Wang Huichuan , Lu Zengbing , Liu Yuen Hang , Sun Yayi , Tu Longlong , Ngan Man P. , Yeung Chi‐Kong , Rudd John A. 
Published: April 2018

New Findings
What is the central question of this study?
Gastric slow waves originating from the interstitial cells of Cajal–smooth muscle syncytium are usually studied in culture or in tissue segments, but nobody has described recordings of slow waves from awake, freely moving mice. Can radiotelemetry be used to record slow waves, and do they respond predictably to drug treatment?

What is the main finding and its importance?
Radiotelemetry can be used to record slow waves from awake, freely moving mice, permitting an examination of drug actions in vivo, which is crucial to drug discovery projects for characterizing the effects of drugs and metabolites on gastrointestinal function.

AbstractThe mouse is the most commonly used species in preclinical research, and isolated tissues are used to study slow waves from the interstitial cells of Cajal–smooth muscle syncytium of the gastrointestinal tract. The aim of this study was to establish a radiotelemetric technique in awake mice to record gastric myoelectric activity from the antrum to gain insight into the effects of endogenous modulatory systems on slow waves. Under general anaesthesia, two biopotential wires from a telemetry transmitter were sutured into the antrum of male ICR (imprinting control region) mice. The animals were allowed 1 week to recover from surgery before the i.p. administration of drugs to stimulate or inhibit slow waves. The basal dominant frequency of slow waves was 6.96 ± 0.43 c.p.m., and the percentages of power in the bradygastric, normogastric and tachygastric ranges were 6.89 ± 0.98, 37.32 ± 1.72 and 34.38 ± 0.77%, respectively (n = 74). Nicotine at 1 mg kg−1 increased normogastric power, but at 3 mg kg−1 it increased bradygastric power (P < 0.05). Metoclopramide at 10 mg kg−1 increased normogastric power; sodium nitroprusside at 10 mg kg−1 had latent effects on tachygastric power (P < 0.05); and l‐NAME at 10 mg kg−1 had no effect (P > 0.05). Nicotine and bethanechol also caused varying degrees of hypothermia (>1°C reductions; P < 0.05). In conclusion, radiotelemetry can be used to record slow waves from awake, freely moving mice. In light of our findings, we recommend that studies assessing slow waves should also assess body temperature simultaneously.
Age‐related changes in late I‐waves influence motor cortex plasticity induction in older adults
Authors: Opie George M. , Cirillo John , Semmler John G. 
Published: April 2018

Key points
The response to neuroplasticity interventions using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is reduced in older adults, which may be due, in part, to age‐related alterations in interneuronal (I‐wave) circuitry.
The current study investigated age‐related changes in interneuronal characteristics and whether they influence motor cortical plasticity in older adults.
While I‐wave recruitment was unaffected by age, there was a shift in the temporal characteristics of the late, but not the early I‐waves.
Using I‐wave periodicity repetitive TMS (iTMS), we showed that these differences in I‐wave characteristics influence the induction of cortical plasticity in older adults.
AbstractPrevious research shows that neuroplasticity assessed using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is reduced in older adults. While this deficit is often assumed to represent altered synaptic modification processes, age‐related changes in the interneuronal circuits activated by TMS may also contribute. Here we assessed age‐related differences in the characteristics of the corticospinal indirect (I) waves and how they influence plasticity induction in primary motor cortex. Twenty young (23.7 ± 3.4 years) and 19 older adults (70.6 ± 6.0 years) participated in these studies. I‐wave recruitment was assessed by changing the direction of the current used to activate the motor cortex, whereas short‐interval intracortical facilitation (SICF) was recorded to assess facilitatory I‐wave interactions. In a separate study, I‐wave periodicity TMS (iTMS) was used to examine the effect of I‐wave latency on motor cortex plasticity. Data from the motor‐evoked potential (MEP) onset latency produced using different coil orientations suggested that there were no age‐related differences in preferential I‐wave recruitment (P = 0.6). However, older adults demonstrated significant reductions in MEP facilitation at all 3 SICF peaks (all P values < 0.05) and a delayed latency of the second and third SICF peaks (all P values < 0.05). Using I‐wave intervals that were optimal for young and older adults, these changes in the late I‐waves were shown to influence the plasticity response in older adults after iTMS. These findings suggest that temporal characteristics are delayed for the late I‐waves in older adults, and that optimising TMS interventions based on I‐wave characteristics may improve the plasticity response in older adults.