bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
International survey of paediatric infectious diseases consultants on the management of community‐acquired pneumonia complicated by pleural empyema
Authors: Osowicki Joshua , Steer Andrew C 
Published: July 2018

AimCommunity‐acquired pneumonia (CAP) complicated by pleural empyema is an important paediatric problem. Antibiotic management decisions are made on the basis of little available data and without strong specific recommendations in guidelines.MethodsThis was an online survey of paediatric infectious diseases (PID) physicians disseminated by major international professional organisations, examining empiric and targeted antibiotic choice, switch to oral antibiotics and duration of treatment for two hypothetical cases of contrasting severity.ResultsThis study included 183 responses, mostly from North America, Western Europe and Australia/New Zealand. Increased disease severity was significantly associated with broader‐spectrum and combination empiric and targeted antibiotic treatment, empiric methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) coverage and both longer intravenous (IV) and total duration of antibiotic treatment. Empirical MRSA coverage was also associated with local prevalence. Clinical progress was most important for determining the timing of the switch from IV to oral antibiotics. Few respondents chose antibiotics with activity against organisms associated with atypical pneumonia (e.g. Mycoplasma, Chlamydia), and most did not choose agents that inhibit protein synthesis (e.g. clindamycin), even in the case of a severe invasive group A streptococcal infection. Some variation in targeted treatment choices reflected areas of uncertainty, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae susceptibility breakpoints, comparative effectiveness of anti‐staphylococcal penicillins and first‐generation cephalosporins for serious S. aureus infections and linezolid and vancomycin for MRSA pneumonia.ConclusionsThis international survey of PID physicians highlights the priority targets for clinical research to improve antibiotic treatment of CAP complicated by empyema. Interventions that might be studied include empirical antibiotic guidelines stratified by case severity, adjunctive empirical use of agents that inhibit protein synthesis (e.g. clindamycin) and approaches to encourage rapid IV‐to‐oral switch and shorter total antibiotic treatment.
Enabling Women Entrepreneurs: Exploring Factors That Mitigate the Negative Impact of Fertility Rates on Female Entrepreneurship
Authors: Dutta Nabamita , Mallick Sushanta 
Published: July 2018

SUMMARYIn the wake of the global financial crisis that resulted in many business closures and given the long‐term problem of population aging in advanced countries and poverty in low‐income countries, it has become important to investigate whether new business formation by women entrepreneurs is a path to prosperity even when countries experience low fertility rates. Existing country studies suggest that female entrepreneurship can have favorable development outcomes through the channels of employment, innovation and welfare, but this paper undertakes a holistic cross‐country analysis on the determinants of female entrepreneurship, exploring the role of fertility rates in affecting female entrepreneurial outcomes. We find that the impact of fertility rate is negative and significant in influencing entrepreneurship. But factors like greater tertiary enrollment of females and higher ratios of female to male labor force participation rates can offset the negative impact of fertility rate and in fact can make the impact positive. Additionally, greater access to informal finance makes female enrollment more effective in mitigating the negative impact of fertility rate.
Heritability of Time Preference: Evidence from German Twin Data
Authors: Hübler Philipp M.A. 
Published: July 2018

SUMMARYIn economics, time preferences are highly relevant for a person's intertemporal choices. Individual time discounting is associated with a number of lifetime outcomes and behavior patterns such as educational attainment, personal income, savings, smoking, alcohol consumption, and obesity. Regarding the intergenerational transmission of economic preferences, previous findings suggest a positive correlation between parental and offspring time preference. However, there is still limited empirical evidence about the role of genetics in the process of preference formation. The classical twin methodology is applied to estimate the genetic variation in individual time preference. Information on monozygotic and dizygotic twins allows us to disentangle the influences of genetic and environmental factors on time preference. Novel data on roughly 3,000 twins from the German TwinLife project are used. We rely on an experimentally validated survey measure of time discounting, namely, self‐assessed patience. According to our best‐fitting polygenic model, we find that differences in genetics explain about 23 percent of the total variation in patience across individuals. The results suggest that genes are a considerable source of individual variation in time preference.
A genome scan of diversifying selection in Ophiocordyceps zombie‐ant fungi suggests a role for enterotoxins in co‐evolution and host specificity
Authors: Kobmoo Noppol , Wichadakul Duangdao , Arnamnart Nuntanat , Rodríguez De La Vega Ricardo C. , Luangsa‐ard Janet J. , Giraud Tatiana 
Published: July 2018

AbstractIdentification of the genes underlying adaptation sheds light on the biological functions targeted by natural selection. Searches for footprints of positive selection, in the form of rapid amino acid substitutions, and the identification of species‐specific genes have proved to be powerful approaches to identifying the genes involved in host specialization in plant‐pathogenic fungi. We used an evolutionary comparative genomic approach to identify genes underlying host adaptation in the ant‐infecting genus Ophiocordyceps, which manipulates ant behaviour. A comparison of the predicted genes in the genomes of species from three species complexes—O. unilateralis, O. australis and O. subramanianii—revealed an enrichment in pathogenesis‐associated functions, including heat‐labile enterotoxins, among species‐specific genes. Furthermore, these genes were overrepresented among those displaying significant footprints of positive selection. Other categories of genes suspected to be important for virulence and pathogenicity in entomopathogenic fungi (e.g., chitinases, lipases, proteases, core secondary metabolism genes) were much less represented, although a few candidate genes were found to evolve under positive selection. An analysis including orthologs from other entomopathogenic fungi in a broader context showed that positive selection on enterotoxins was specific to the ant‐infecting genus Ophiocordyceps. Together with previous studies reporting the overexpression of an enterotoxin during behavioural manipulation in diseased ants, our findings suggest that heat‐labile enterotoxins are important effectors in host adaptation and co‐evolution in the Ophiocordyceps entomopathogenic fungi.
Royal Moral Influence: Configuring Christ's Kingship and Christian Morality through Mèngzǐ 孟子and Aquinas
Authors: Brown Joshua R. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractThis article develops a comparative account of Christ's kingship in order to articulate this doctrine's relevance for the contemporary context. Drawing upon the political philosophy of the early Confucian Mengzi and Aquinas' reading of Christ's headship, I suggest that Christ's kingship be understood in terms of royal moral influence, meaning that Christ the King is the unique ground of the Christian moral life.
Trivariate analysis of oil revenue, government spending and economic growth in Nigeria
Authors: Fasanya Ismail O. , Ogundare Abosede E. 
Published: July 2018

AbstractThis study examines the dynamic relationship between oil revenue, government spending and economic growth in Nigeria. Since the discovery of oil, oil proceeds have dominated the country's federation account and have improved public spending. In this paper, we analyse if the huge government spending has improved the rate of economic growth. To do this, the multivariate vector autoregression framework with special attention to Generalised Impulse Response Function is adopted in analysing the annual data of oil revenue, total government expenditure and real Gross Domestic Product from 1980 to 2015. We find evidence that oil receipts remain the major route which public spending is financed and the fundamental source for growth. Hence, there is need for the government to diversify the sources of foreign exchange inflow of the country. The diversification of the economy is required to insulate it from external shocks. It is recommended for Nigeria to explore ways of reviving its huge agricultural potential which has been neglected since the discovery of oil in addition to exploring its rich untapped solid minerals deposit in order to promote diversification of the economy away from a mono cultural product base.
Inheritance pattern of mungbean yellow mosaic disease resistance and gene action for different traits in mungbean (Vigna radiata (L.) Wilczek) under protected and unprotected field conditions
Authors: Akbar Waseem , Aslam Muhammad , Maqbool Muhammad Amir , Ali Muhammad , Arshad Muhammad 
Published: July 2018

AbstractUnderstanding of mungbean yellow mosaic disease resistance is crucial to develop resistant varieties to combat worldwide threat of the disease epidemics. This study was aimed to determine nature of disease resistance in terms of number of genes governing it and genetics of related traits. Experimental site was located on 31.43°N and 73.06°E with an elevation of 186 m, and evaluation trials were conducted during spring season due to high disease epidemics in this season. Two contrasting genotypes, that is, NM 6‐68‐2 (resistant) and NM 1‐32‐1 (highly susceptible), were crossed to raise six populations, that is, P1, P2, F1, F2, BC1 and BC2 for evaluation under protected and unprotected field conditions using chi‐square test and generation mean and variance analysis. It was discovered that disease resistance was governed by two major genes with additive effects. Disease resistance can easily be incorporated through backcrossing and direct selection following hybridization. Direct selection should be practised at earlier generation for plant height, chlorophyll contents and number of seeds per pod due to preponderance of additive effects whereas at later generations for seed yield per plant, 100 seed weight, harvest index, number of pods per plant and pod length due to involvement of duplicate epistasis.
Clinical features of the behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia that are useful for predicting underlying pathological subtypes of frontotemporal lobar degeneration
Authors: Kobayashi Zen , Arai Tetsuaki , Kawakami Ito , Yokota Osamu , Hosokawa Masato , Oshima Kenichi , Niizato Kazuhiro , Shiraishi Atsushi , Akiyama Haruhiko , Mizusawa Hidehiro 
Published: July 2018

BackgroundThe behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is the most common phenotype of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). FTLD is divided into three main pathological subtypes: tau‐positive FTLD (FTLD‐tau), FTLD‐TAR DNA–binding protein (TDP), and FTLD‐Fused in sarcoma (FUS). At present, it is difficult to predict the underlying pathological subtypes of sporadic bvFTD before a patient's death.MethodsWe retrospectively investigated the clinical features of 34 Japanese patients with sporadic bvFTD, with or without motor neuron disease (MND), who had been pathologically diagnosed with FTLD. We examined whether, and how, the clinical features differed among Pick's disease, FTLD‐TDP, and FTLD‐FUS patients.ResultsSix of the 34 patients developed MND during the course of bvFTD. These six bvFTD‐MND patients were all pathologically diagnosed with FTLD‐TDP. The other 28 patients were composed of 12 FTLD‐tau patients including 11 Pick's disease patients, 8 FTLD‐TDP patients, and 8 FTLD‐FUS patients. A comparison of the clinical features of the three pathological subtypes of the 33 patients demonstrated that the age at onset was significantly younger in FTLD‐FUS patients than in Pick's disease or FTLD‐TDP patients. Furthermore, while hyperorality and dietary changes in the early stage of the disease were present in approximately 40% of Pick's disease and FTLD‐FUS patients, they were absent in FTLD‐TDP patients.ConclusionThe comorbidity of MND, a younger age at onset, and hyperorality and dietary changes in the early stage may be useful clinical features for predicting underlying pathological subtypes of sporadic bvFTD. The results of our study should be confirmed by prospective studies employing a larger number of cases.
Differences in the prevalence of depression in older Spanish Romany and non‐Romany people and associated factors
Authors: Heredia‐Amador Ángel , Calvo‐Salguero Antonia , Salinas José M. , Gamella Juan F. 
Published: July 2018

AimDepression among older adults has serious implications, especially because suicide rates are higher in this group than in younger adults. Research has identified biological and social risk factors. However, studies addressing cultural and psychosocial factors associated with specific ethnic groups, such as Spanish Romani, are lacking. The objective of the present study was to establish the differential prevalence of depression among Romany and non‐Romany people older than 55 years of age. It also aimed to explore how cultural, sociodemographic, and psychosocial factors predispose individuals to depression.MethodsA total of 181 people were interviewed. The sample consisted of 95 self‐adscribed Romany individuals and 86 non‐Romany individuals over the age of 55; the latter group served as the control group. We performed bifactorial univariate anova, epidemiological analysis using Epi Info software, and analysis of correlations between Geriatric Depression Scale scores and the different factors analyzed.ResultsSignificant differences in Geriatric Depression Scale score related to ethnicity and sex were found. Probable depression or depression in Romany men was four times higher than in non‐Romany men. In Romany women, the risk was more than twice as high as in non‐Romany women. Among the factors analyzed, income level, activity at home, and perception of being valued by family members showed significant differences between the groups.ConclusionsIn short, we can state that Romany people develop symptoms of depression to a greater extent than non‐Romany people, and although Romany women have a higher risk of depression, the differential effect of ethnicity is greater among Romany men. Income level, activity at home, and perception of being valued by family members are unambiguously related to ethnicity.
Effect of sex differences in donor foetal fibroblast on the early development and DNA methylation status of buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) nuclear transfer embryos
Authors: Ruan Ziyun , Zhao Xin , Li Zhengda , Qin Xiling , Shao Qiming , Ruan Qiuyan , Deng Yanfei , Jiang Jianrong , Huang Ben , Lu Fenghua , Shi Deshun 
Published: July 2018

ContentsLow efficiency of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos is largely attributable to imperfect reprogramming of the donor nucleus. The differences in epigenetic reprogramming between female and male buffalo cloned embryos remain unclear. We explored the effects of donor cell sex differences on the development of SCNT embryos. We and then compared the expression of DNA methylation (5‐methylcytosine‐5mC and 5‐hydroxymethylcytosine‐5hmC) and the expression level of relevant genes, and histone methylation (H3K9me2 and H3K9me3) level in SCNT‐♀ and SCNT‐♂ preimplantation embryos with in vitro fertilization (IVF) counterparts. In the study, we showed that developmental potential of SCNT‐♀ embryos was greater than that of SCNT‐♂ embryos (p < 0.05). 5mC was mainly expressed in SCNT‐♀ embryos, whereas 5hmC was majorly expressed in SCNT‐♂ embryos (p < 0.05). The levels of DNA methylation (5mC and 5hmC), Dnmt3b, TET1 and TET3 in the SCNT‐♂ embryos were higher than those of SCNT‐♀ embryos (p < 0.05). In addition, there were no significant differences in the expression of H3K9me2 at eight‐stage of the IVF, SCNT‐♀ and SCNT‐♂embryos (p < 0.05). However, H3K9me3 was upregulated in SCNT‐♂ embryos at the eight‐cell stage (p < 0.05). Thus, KDM4B ectopic expression decreased the level of H3K9me3 and significantly improved the developmental rate of two‐cell, eight‐cell and blastocysts of SCNT‐♂ embryos (p < 0.05). Overall, the lower levels of DNA methylation (5mC and 5hmC) and H3K9me3 may introduce the greater developmental potential in buffalo SCNT‐♀ embryos than that of SCNT‐♂ embryos.
Does size matter? Implications of household size for economic growth and convergence
Authors: Kufenko Vadim , Geloso Vincent , Prettner Klaus 
Published: July 2018

AbstractWe assess the effects of changes in household size on the long‐run evolution of living standards and on cross‐country convergence. When the observed changes in average household size across countries are taken into consideration, growth in living standards is slower throughout the 20th century as compared to a measure based on per capita GDP. Furthermore, the speed of divergence between different countries before 1950 is faster and the speed of convergence after 1950 is slower after adjusting for the evolution in household size.
The face of personality: Adaptive inferences from facial cues are moderated by perceiver personality and motives
Authors: Sacco Donald F. , Brown Mitch 
Published: July 2018

AbstractHumans have historically been interested in understanding stable individual differences in behavioral tendencies, often referred to as personality traits. Recent work suggests that between‐person personality variability may be adaptive insofar as certain variations in personality constellations facilitate survival and reproduction across various types of groups and ecological niches. While past research has demonstrated that personality can be accurately inferred from self‐reports, other‐reports, and targets' past behavior, we discuss a more contemporary, yet understudied, means of personality inference: facial structure. We summarize research on personality traits that can be accurately inferred from facial structure, as well as how aspects of individuals' own personality, chronically accessible motives, and acutely activated goals lead to preferences for facially communicated personality that would aid in the satisfaction of these goals (e.g., higher need to belong predicts a stronger preference for faces whose structure communicates greater extraversion). We also discuss limitations of current approaches to understanding the relationship between perceiver personality and motives and their relation to perceptions of facially communicated personality as well as fruitful directions for future research.
Phylogenetic relationships and convergent evolution of ocean‐shore ground beetles (Coleoptera:Carabidae:Trechinae:Bembidionand relatives)
Authors: Maddison David R. , Maruyama Munetoshi 
Published: July 2018

AbstractThrough phylogenetic analysis of seven genes, we show that there have been at least six independent entries into intertidal habitats in the history of bembidiine carabids, in the ancestors of: (i)OrzolinaMachado, (ii)Bembidion(DesarmatocillenusNetolitzky), (iii)Bembidion laticeps(LeConte) + palosverdesKavanaugh & Erwin, (iv)Bembidion laterale(Samouelle), (v)Bembidion umiSasakawa andBembidion quadriimpressum(Motschulsky) (which may represent two separate entries), and (vi)B. nigropiceum(Marsham). The following lineages are widely separated within the subtribe Bembidiina:Orzolinais sister to the genusOcysStephens; subgenusDesarmatocillenusappears to be sister to allBembidionLatreille excluding subgenusPhylaMotschulsky;B. laticeps + B. palosverdesis a clade in theBembidionseries;B. lateraleis a member of thePrincidiumMotschulsky complex;B. umiandB. quadriimpressumare related to the Nearctic Clade of theOcydromusClairville complex;B. nigropiceumis sister toB. praeustumDejean among sampled species. There are three separate lineages of ocean‐shore bembidiines that are known to prey on amphipods, and adults of these lineages [Bembidion(Desarmatocillenus),B. laterale, andB. mandibulareSolier] have unusually wide heads with long mandibles. Also common among independent lineages restricted to ocean shores are prominent front angles of the prothorax, larger numbers of setae on the elytral disc, a notable sinuation in the margin of each elytron near its apex, and short, wide mesotarsi. The reasons for the repeated evolution of these features are not evident. Our results also suggest that inland species of the Nearctic Clade may have arisen from an ocean‐shore ancestor. The close genetic similarities between the gravel river shore dwellingB. praeustumand the intertidal specialistB. nigropiceumsuggest that the striking morphological adaptations ofB. nigropiceumto the intertidal zone arose rapidly. We make one nomenclatural change: we resurrect the subgenusLymneopsCasey to accommodateB. palosverdesandB. laticeps.
Plasma antimony determination during cutaneous leishmaniasis treatment with intralesional infiltration of meglumine antimoniate
Authors: de Aguiar Marta Gontijo , Gonçalves José Eduardo , Souza Mirna d'Auriol , de Silva Rosiana Estefáne , Silveira Josianne Nicacio , Cota Gláucia 
Published: July 2018

AbstractObjectivesTo evaluate the antimony (Sb) in plasma of patients who underwent a standardised meglumine antimoniate (MA) intralesional infiltration protocol for cutaneous leishmaniasis treatment.MethodsThe level of Sb in plasma was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy, before and 1, 2, 4 and 6 hours after the first intralesional infiltration of MA to determine the parameters peak concentrations (C1 h), area under curve of drug concentration in plasma from zero to 6 h (AUC0‐6 h) and elimination half‐life (t½) of Sb. Blood samples were also collected weekly during the treatment period, always before infiltration.ResultsFourteen patients underwent MA intralesional infiltration with doses ranging from 0.8 to 9 mg Sb/kg at the first infiltration. The C1 h ranged from 3850 to 47 095 mg × h/L and was the highest concentration obtained for 11 of 14 patients after the first intralesional infiltration of MA. A rapid initial phase of distribution lasting up to 4 h (2.6 ± 0.34 h) was followed by a slower elimination phase. Total skin lesion area, C1 h and AUC(0‐6 h) were related to the dose of Sb infiltered (P < 0.05). Plasma Sb in samples collected weekly before the infiltration revealed antimony concentrations below the quantification limit (15.0 μg Sb/l) during the treatment period.ConclusionsSb is quickly absorbed and eliminated after intralesional administration of MA, in a pattern similar to that reported with the Sb systemic administration. Using a therapeutic schedule limited to weekly intralesional infiltration of doses <10 mg Sb/kg does not result in plasma Sb accumulation.