bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Assessment of different strategies for scalable production and proliferation of human myoblasts
Authors: Chua Min‐Wen Jason , Yildirim Ege Deniz , Tan Jun‐Hao Elwin , Chua Yan‐Jiang Benjamin , Low Suet‐Mei Crystal , Ding Suet Lee Shirley , Li Chun‐wei , Jiang Zongmin , Teh Bin Tean , Yu Kang , Shyh‐Chang Ng 
Published: March 2019

AbstractObjectivesMyoblast transfer therapy (MTT) is a technique to replace muscle satellite cells with genetically repaired or healthy myoblasts, to treat muscular dystrophies. However, clinical trials with human myoblasts were ineffective, showing almost no benefit with MTT. One important obstacle is the rapid senescence of human myoblasts. The main purpose of our study was to compare the various methods for scalable generation of proliferative human myoblasts.MethodsWe compared the immortalization of primary myoblasts with hTERT, cyclin D1 and CDK4R24C, two chemically defined methods for deriving myoblasts from pluripotent human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), and introduction of viral MyoD into hESC‐myoblasts.ResultsOur results show that, while all the strategies above are suboptimal at generating bona fide human myoblasts that can both proliferate and differentiate robustly, chemically defined hESC‐monolayer‐myoblasts show the most promise in differentiation potential.ConclusionsFurther efforts to optimize the chemically defined differentiation of hESC‐monolayer‐myoblasts would be the most promising strategy for the scalable generation of human myoblasts, for applications in MTT and high‐throughput drug screening.
Immunohistochemical characterization of benign activation of junctional melanocytes and melanoma in situ of the nail unit
Authors: Chu Alex , André Josette , Rich Phoebe , Leachman Sancy , Thompson Curtis T. 
Published: March 2019

BackgroundImmunohistochemical (IHC) stains that distinguish benign, pigmented nail lesions from malignancy are needed. Candidate markers of malignant transformation include p16, HMB45, and Ki‐67, with p16 being of particular interest. There is limited knowledge about the spectrum of p16 expression in pigmented lesions, especially junctional melanocytic proliferations of the nail. The objective of this study was to determine if any of these markers demonstrate diagnostic utility in distinguishing between benign activation of junctional melanocytes (BAM) and melanoma in situ (MIS) of the nail unit.MethodsIn this retrospective study, ten cases of BAM and eight cases of MIS were identified. Archival slides available for review included H&E (hematoxylin and eosin), Fontana‐Masson, and MelanA (Mart1) IHC slides. IHC studies for p16, HMB45, and dual‐color Ki‐67/MelanA (Mart1) were then performed.ResultsNone of the tested IHC stains distinguished BAM from MIS. p16 IHC expression was uniformly negative with the exception of two cases of MIS. HMB45 was positive in all BAM and MIS cases. Ki‐67/MelanA showed positive Ki‐67 staining of MelanA‐positive melanocytes in two cases of MIS, and all other cases of MIS and BAM were negative for Ki‐67. The two positive p16 and two positive Ki‐67/MelanA cases were non‐overlapping.Conclusionp16, HMB45, and Ki‐67/MelanA IHC studies show no apparent utility in distinguishing BAM from MIS in the nail unit.
The concept of nail matrix onychodermis (onychomatricodermis) in the nail unit: Histology and elastin immunohistochemistry
Authors: Lee Dong‐Youn , Park Ji‐Hye , Li Mengxuan , Abudureyimu Gulimila , Oh Se Jin , Shin Hyun‐Tae , Jang Kee‐Taek , Kwon Ghee Young , Shim Jong Sup , Kwon Eun Ji 
Published: March 2019

BackgroundsWe previously demonstrated the presence of onychodermis below nail matrix and nail bed. Because nail matrix is a producer of nail plate, we hypothesized that onychodermis below nail matrix could be the nail counterpart of follicular dermal papilla. In this study, we sought to further characterize histologic, histochemical, and immunohistochemical features of nail matrix onychodermis.Methods and ResultsHematoxylin and eosin slides of 10 polydactyly nail units and 10 nail matrix biopsies from children and adults were reviewed. In polydactyly nail units, the onychodermis beneath nail matrix was characterized by onychofibroblasts showing abundant cytoplasm, and this area was slightly separated from the undersurface of the nail matrix. Nail matrix biopsy specimens also showed similar histology in the nail matrix onychodermis. Alcian blue stain demonstrated mucin deposition in onychofibroblasts within the nail matrix onychodermis. Immunohistochemically, elastin was rarely expressed in the nail matrix onychodermis while it was strongly expressed in the dermis of other areas of polydactyly nail units. Elastin was not expressed in follicular dermal papilla of terminal hair follicles of the scalp.ConclusionOur findings demonstrate the presence and localization of nail matrix onychodermis (onychomatricodermis). Our study also demonstrates similar elastin expression patterns in the onychomatricodermis and follicular dermal papilla.
Trade Barriers and Participation in the Global Value Chain: An Empirical Study Based on Anti‐dumping toward China
Authors: Wang Xiaosong , Liu Zhexi , Lv Yue , Zhao Chunming 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThis paper investigates the effects of trade barriers on China's participation in the global value chain (GVC) using a thorough decomposition approach for trade volume, total exports, final exports and intermediate exports. Our econometric results indicate that anti‐dumping (AD) measures initiated by trade partners have restrained the process of China's participation in the GVC. From 2000 to 2014, AD measures reduced the foreign value‐added rate of total, final and intermediate exports by 4.5 to 28.7 percent, 3.4 to 17 percent and 1.2 to 8.5 percent, respectively. In addition, suffering the effects of AD measures, China's GVC position index declined by 8.2 percent to 28.6 percent during this period. Moreover, AD measures have increased industries' upstream index by 3.2 to 13.7 percent over the same period. These results imply that both the petition and approval of AD cases has had a negative influence on the extent and position of China's GVC participation.
Aggression and risk‐taking as adaptive implementations of fast life history strategy
Authors: Lu Hui Jing , Chang Lei 
Published: March 2019

AbstractWithin the evolutionary life history (LH) framework, aggression and risk‐taking are adaptive implementations of a fast LH strategy to adapt to environmental unsafety and unpredictability. Based on a longitudinal sample of 198 Chinese adolescents living in rural areas, half of whom were separated from their parents, this study tested LH hypotheses about aggression and risk‐taking in relation to safety constraints in the childhood living environments. The results showed that proxies of environmental unpredictability, including parental separation, were positively associated with aggression and risk‐taking and negatively associated with slow LH strategy, which in turn was negatively associated with aggression and risk‐taking. Children separated from their parents scored lower on slow LH strategies and higher on aggression and risk‐taking. These findings support the evolutionary assumption that human development responds to safety cues through behavioral implementations of LH strategies.
Video‐recording complex health interactions in a diverse setting: Ethical dilemmas, reflections and recommendations
Authors: Scott Megan , Watermeyer Jennifer , Wessels Tina‐Marie 
Published: March 2019

AbstractVideo‐recording healthcare interactions provides important opportunities for research and service improvement. However, this method brings about tensions, especially when recording sensitive topics. Subsequent reflection may compel the researcher to engage in ethical and moral deliberations. This paper presents experiences from a South African genetic counselling study which made use of video‐recordings to understand communicative processes in routine practice. Video‐recording as a research method, as well as contextual and process considerations are discussed, such as researching one's own field, issues of trust and anonymity, the challenge of providing true informed consent and capturing details which may cause psychological harm. Several recommendations for research practice in diverse healthcare settings are made. This includes the value of reflective pieces, the importance of retrospective consent, disclosure of the limitations to anonymity, as well as the collective responsibility of those involved to produce ethical research. These recommendations have value for genetic counselling and other healthcare fields.
Media and Ideology in the Middle East: A Critical Discourse Analysis
Authors: Abdulmajid Adib 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThis study explores the ideologization of media discourse in the Middle East through investigating political influences over leading media corporations in the region. A critical discourse analysis was applied to news reports issued by prominent Middle Eastern media giants Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya. The research data included eight news articles from both media outlets. Thus, four articles from each corporation have been studied and analyzed in an effort to realize the objectives of the study at hand. Blass’s Manipulative Strategies… and van Dijk’s Ideological Square… constituted primary methodological instruments within the framework of this research. The findings indicate an explicit impact of local political agendas on the discourse and editorial policies of each of the studied media corporations, which emerge in violation with the claimed journalistic commitment to objectivity and impartiality in terms of news reporting.
Institutional choice in the governance of the early Atlantic sugar trade: diasporas, markets, and courts
Authors: Strum Daniel 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThe expanding sugar trade linking Portugal, Brazil, and the Netherlands in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries required enforcement mechanisms to guarantee that overseas agents would act honestly and diligently. While the recent literature emphasizes that multiple mechanisms were substitutes in addressing this problem, this article highlights that merchants chose different mechanisms to govern distinct types of transactions and explains why. A reputational mechanism relying on social and economic constraints within an ethnic diaspora governed more complex and higher‐value arrangements. A different mechanism linking economic incentives to professional reputations across the diasporas plying this trade route predominated in simpler and smaller transactions. Finally, long‐distance and transnational judicial enforcement supplemented these two reputational mechanisms. Capable of matching the value and complexity of transactions with the attributes of governing mechanisms, merchants were able to diversify their transactions, expand the market for agents, better allocate agents to tasks, and stimulate competition among them. The resulting decrease in agency costs was critical in such a significantly competitive market as the sugar trade. Evolving institutional choice thus reinforced the expansion of trade. These hypotheses are corroborated by data from a prosopography of merchants of Jewish origin, derived from notarial records from Oporto and Amsterdam, and from Inquisition files.
Exercise during abstinence normalizes ultrastructural synaptic plasticity associated with nicotine‐seeking following extended access self‐administration
Authors: Sanchez Victoria , Bakhti‐Suroosh Anousheh , Chen Andrew , Brunzell Darlene H. , Erisir Alev , Lynch Wendy J. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractNicotine‐craving progressively increases, or incubates, over abstinence following extended access self‐administration. While not yet examined for nicotine, the incubation of cocaine‐seeking is accompanied by changes in synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens. Here, we determined whether such changes also accompany enhanced nicotine‐seeking following extended access self‐administration and abstinence, and whether exercise, a potential intervention for nicotine addiction, may exert its efficacy by normalizing these changes. Given that in humans, tobacco/nicotine use begins during adolescence, we used an adolescent‐onset model. Nicotine‐seeking was assessed in male rats following extended access nicotine or saline self‐administration (23‐hr/day, 10 days) and 10 days of abstinence, conditions known to induce the incubation of nicotine‐seeking, using a within‐session extinction/cue‐induced reinstatement procedure. A subset of rats had 2‐hr/day access to a running wheel during abstinence. Ultrastructural alterations of synapses in the nucleus accumbens core and shell were examined using electron microscopy. Nicotine‐seeking was elevated following extended access self‐administration and abstinence (in sedentary group), and levels of seeking were associated with an increase in the density of asymmetric (excitatory) and symmetric (inhibitory) synapses onto dendrites in the core, as well as longer asymmetric synapses onto spines, a marker of synaptic potentiation, in both the core and shell. Exercise normalized each of these changes; however, in the shell, exercise and nicotine similarly increased the synapse length. Together, these findings indicate an association between nicotine‐seeking and synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens, particularly the core, and indicate that the efficacy of exercise to reduce nicotine‐seeking may be mediated by reversing these adaptations.
“Practical reason is not the will”: Kant and Reinhold's dilemma
Authors: Noller Jörg 
Published: March 2019

AbstractContrary to Karl Leonhard Reinhold's theoretical critique of Kant's philosophy, his practical critique has been almost unknown. In my paper, I shall reconstruct Reinhold's practical philosophy after Kant. I will concentrate on the so‐called Reinhold's dilemma, which concerns the problem of moral imputability in the case of immoral actions in Kant. Also, I shall explain how Reinhold tried to escape this dilemma by introducing a new action theory and by sharply distinguishing between reason and will. Finally, I shall evaluate Reinhold's practical significance by relating his conception of individual freedom to recent theories of volitional self‐determination.
Evaluating CENTURY and Yasso soil carbon models for CO2 emissions and organic carbon stocks of boreal forest soil with Bayesian multi‐model inference
Authors: Ťupek Boris , Launiainen Samuli , Peltoniemi Mikko , Sievänen Risto , Perttunen Jari , Kulmala Liisa , Penttilä Timo , Lindroos Antti‐Jussi , Hashimoto Shoji , Lehtonen Aleksi 
Published: March 2019

We can curb climate change by improved management decisions for the most important terrestrial carbon pool, soil organic carbon stock (SOC). However, we need to be confident we can obtain the correct representation of the simultanous effect of the input of plant litter, soil temperature and water (which could be altered by climate or management) on the decomposition of soil organic matter. In this research, we used regression and Bayesian statistics for testing process‐based models (Yasso07, Yasso15 and CENTURY) with soil heterotrophic respiration (Rh) and SOC, measured at four sites in Finland during 2015 and 2016. We extracted climate modifiers for calibration with Rh. The Rh values of Yasso07, Yasso15 and CENTURY models estimated with default parameterization correlated with measured monthly heterotrophic respiration. Despite a significant correlation, models on average underestimated measured soil respiration by 43%. After the Bayesian calibration, the fitted climate modifier of the Yasso07 model outperformed the Yasso15 and CENTURY models. The Yasso07 model had smaller residual mean square errors and temperature and water functions with fewer, thus more efficient, parameters than the other models. After calibration, there was a small overestimate of Rh by the models that used monotonic moisture functions and a small generic underestimate in autumn. The mismatch between measured and modelled Rh indicates that the Yasso and CENTURY models should be improved by adjusting climate modifiers of decomposition or by accounting for missing controls in, for example, microbial growth.Highlights

We tested soil carbon models against monthly soil Rh fluxes and amounts of SOC stock.
The models accurately reproduced most of the seasonal Rh trends and amounts of SOC.
Under autumn temperature and moisture, Rh was mismatched before and even after the parameterization.
The seasonality of the temperature and water functions should be adjusted in models.
Global patterns in fine root decomposition: climate, chemistry, mycorrhizal association and woodiness
Authors: See Craig R. , Luke McCormack Michael , Hobbie Sarah E. , Flores‐Moreno Habacuc , Silver Whendee L. , Kennedy Peter G. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractFine root decomposition constitutes a critical yet poorly understood flux of carbon and nutrients in terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we present the first large‐scale synthesis of species trait effects on the early stages of fine root decomposition at both global and local scales. Based on decomposition rates for 279 plant species across 105 studies and 176 sites, we found that mycorrhizal association and woodiness are the best categorical traits for predicting rates of fine root decomposition. Consistent positive effects of nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations and negative effects of lignin concentration emerged on decomposition rates within sites. Similar relationships were present across sites, along with positive effects of temperature and moisture. Calcium was not consistently related to decomposition rate at either scale. While the chemical drivers of fine root decomposition parallel those of leaf decomposition, our results indicate that the best plant functional groups for predicting fine root decomposition differ from those predicting leaf decomposition.
Concentrations of sulphated estrone, estradiol and dehydroepiandrosterone measured by mass spectrometry in pregnant mares
Authors: Legacki E. L. , Scholtz E. L. , Ball B. A. , Esteller‐Vico A. , Stanley S. D. , Conley A. J. 
Published: March 2019

SummaryBackgroundFew studies have provided a longitudinal analysis of systemic concentrations of conjugated oestrogens (and androgens) throughout pregnancy in mares, and those only using immunoassay. The use of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) will provide more accurate concentrations of circulating conjugated steroids.ObjectivesTo characterise circulating concentrations of individual conjugated steroids throughout equine gestation by using LC‐MS/MS.Study designLongitudinal study and comparison of pregnant mares treated with vehicle or letrozole in late gestation.MethodsSulphated oestrogens and androgens were measured in mares throughout gestation and mares in late gestation (8–11 months) treated with vehicle or letrozole to inhibit oestrogen synthesis in late gestation. An analytical method was developed using LC‐MS/MS to evaluate sulphated estrone, estradiol, testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEAS) during equine gestation.ResultsEstrone sulphate concentrations peaked by week 26 at almost 60 μg/mL, 50‐fold higher than have been reported in studies using immunoassays. An increase in DHEAS was detected from 7 to 9 weeks of gestation, but concentrations remained consistently low (if detected) for the remainder of gestation and testosterone sulphate was undetectable at any stage. Estradiol sulphate concentrations were highly correlated with estrone sulphate but were a fraction of their level. Concentrations of both oestrogen sulphates decreased from their peak to parturition. Letrozole inhibited estrone and estradiol sulphate concentrations at 9.25 and 10.5 months of gestation but, no increase in DHEAS was observed.Main limitationsLimited number of mares sampled and available for analysis, lack of analysis of 5α‐reduced and B‐ring unsaturated steroids due to lack of available standards.ConclusionsDependent on methods of extraction and chromatography, and the specificity of primary antisera, immunoassays may underestimate oestrogen conjugate concentrations in blood from pregnant mares and may detect androgen conjugates (neither testosterone sulphate nor DHEAS were detected here by LC‐MS/MS) that probably peak coincident with oestrogen conjugates between 6 and 7 months of equine gestation.
A fault detection system based on unsupervised techniques for industrial control loops
Authors: Jove Esteban , Casteleiro‐Roca José‐Luis , Quintián Héctor , Méndez‐Pérez Juan Albino , Calvo‐Rolle José Luis 
Published: March 2019

AbstractThis research describes a novel approach for fault detection in industrial processes, by means of unsupervised and projectionist techniques. The proposed method includes a visual tool for the detection of faults, its final aim is to optimize system performance and consequently obtaining increased economic savings, in terms of energy, material, and maintenance. To validate the new proposal, two datasets with different levels of complexity (in terms of quantity and quality of information) have been used to evaluate five well‐known unsupervised intelligent techniques. The obtained results show the effectiveness of the proposed method, especially when the complexity of the dataset is high.
Functional responses of aquatic macroinvertebrates to flow regulation are shaped by natural flow intermittence in Mediterranean streams
Authors: Belmar Oscar , Bruno Daniel , Guareschi Simone , Mellado‐Díaz Andrés , Millán Andrés , Velasco Josefa 
Published: March 2019

Abstract

Running waters in Mediterranean regions are strongly regulated by dams, which produce significant alterations to natural flow regimes. Climate change will reduce discharge and increase flow intermittence in Mediterranean streams, which will lead to an intensified flow regulation to meet water demands. Very little is known about how the functional features of aquatic communities vary along combined anthropogenic flow alteration and natural intermittence gradients.

As intermittent streams are subjected to natural stress (droughts and flash floods), the flow regime alteration effect may differ from that observed in perennial rivers. Consequently, studies that aim to determine the effects of flow regulation on the functioning of aquatic communities in a global change context are crucial.

By applying linear mixed‐effect models and null models to the macroinvertebrate communities from 65 stream sites in the Segura River Basin (south‐east Spain), we assessed the separate effects of natural flow intermittence and flow regulation, as well as their interaction, on biological traits and functional diversity indices.

Natural flow intermittence and flow regulation were mainly associated with loss of taxa with semivoltine or univoltine cycles and more sensitive aquatic stages (i.e. eggs), and with the replacement by taxa with multivoltine cycles and more resistant aquatic stages (i.e. adults). Flow regulation intensified the impact of natural flow intermittence on some biological traits, producing synergistic effects (i.e. decreasing interstitial taxa and tegument breathers and increasing taxa with aquatic adult stages). At the same time, antagonistic (life cycle) and opposing (shredders) interaction effects were also observed. Functional diversity, functional dispersion, and functional redundancy underwent a non‐random decrease as the flow regime alteration increased, and a significant antagonistic interaction was also found between both stressors for functional redundancy.

In general, flow regulation effects were stronger in perennial than in intermittent streams because natural intermittence imposes a previous eco‐evolutionary pressure on aquatic biota by selecting those resistant or recovery traits that confer resilience to anthropogenic flow regime alterations. Thus, the natural flow regime influences the functional sensibility of communities to anthropogenic flow alteration.