bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Trawl ban in a heavily exploited marine environment: Responses in population dynamics of four stomatopod species
Authors: Tao Lily S. R. , Lui Karen K. Y. , Lau Edward T. C. , Ho Kevin K. Y. , Mak Yanny K. Y. , Sadovy de Mitcheson Yvonne , Leung Kenneth M. Y. 
Published: December 2018

AbstractIntensive trawling activities in Hong Kong waters have seriously depleted fishery resources and damaged marine benthic habitats over the last four decades. To minimize further destruction and rehabilitate fishery resources, the Hong Kong Government implemented a permanent territory-wide trawling closure on 31 December 2012. Such a trawl ban creates a unique opportunity to investigate recoveries in ecosystem structure and function following a major shift in disturbance regime by removing impacts from a major gear. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that dominant predatory mantis shrimps, including Harpiosquilla harpax, Miyakella nepa, Oratosquillina interrupta, and Oratosquilla oratoria would show signs of recovery following the trawl ban. Their population dynamics were investigated before and after the trawl ban. The results showed that their mean weight, mean carapace length and proportion of large-sized individuals increased significantly 3.5 years after the trawl ban, whilst their abundance, biomass and maximum length remained unchanged. This study suggests that the stomatopod assemblage in the human-dominated Hong Kong waters shows some initial signs of possible recovery following the trawl ban but also highlights the complexity of implementing fishery management and detecting changes resulted from management measures in a heavily urbanized seascape where many biotic and abiotic factors can influence their population dynamics.
Winged forelimbs of the small theropod dinosaur Caudipteryx could have generated small aerodynamic forces during rapid terrestrial locomotion
Authors: Talori Yaser Saffar , Liu Yun-Fei , Zhao Jing-Shan , Sullivan Corwin , O’Connor Jingmai K. , Li Zhi-Heng 
Published: December 2018

AbstractPennaceous feathers capable of forming aerodynamic surfaces are characteristic of Pennaraptora, the group comprising birds and their closest relatives among non-avian dinosaurs. However, members of the basal pennaraptoran lineage Oviraptorosauria were clearly flightless, and the function of pennaceous feathers on the forelimb in oviraptorosaurs is still uncertain. In the basal oviraptorosaur Caudipteryx both the skeleton and the plumage, which includes pennaceous feathers forming wing-like arrangements on the forelimbs, are well known. We used mathematical analyses, computer simulations and experiments on a robot Caudipteryx with realistic wing proportions to test whether the wings of Caudipteryx could have generated aerodynamic forces useful in rapid terrestrial locomotion. These various approaches show that, if both wings were held in a fixed and laterally extended position, they would have produced only small amounts of lift and drag. A partial simulation of flapping while running showed similarly limited aerodynamic force production. These results are consistent with the possibility that pennaceous feathers first evolved for a non-locomotor function such as display, but the effects of flapping and the possible contribution of the wings during manoeuvres such as braking and turning remain to be more fully investigated.
Gender-specific discrepancy in subjective global assessment for mortality in hemodialysis patients
Authors: Ko Ye Eun , Yun Taeyoung , Lee Hye Ah , Kim Seung-Jung , Kang Duk-Hee , Choi Kyu Bok , Kim Yon Su , Kim Yong-Lim , Oh Hyung Jung , Ryu Dong-Ryeol 
Published: December 2018

AbstractAlthough subjective global assessment (SGA) is a widely used representative tool for nutritional investigations even among dialysis patients, no studies have examined gender-specific differences in the ability of SGA to predict mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients. A total of 2,798 dialysis patients were enrolled from clinical research center for end-stage renal disease (CRC for ESRD) between 2009 and 2015. The cohort was divided into two groups based on nutritional status as evaluated by SGA: ‘good nutrition’ and ‘mild to severe malnutrition’. Multivariate Cox proportional regression analyses were performed to investigate gender-specific differences in SGA for mortality among incident and prevalent HD patients. ‘Mild to severe malnutrition’ was significantly correlated with increased mortality compared with ‘good nutrition’ for all HD, incident and prevalent HD patients. Compared with ‘good nutrition’, ‘mild to severe malnutrition’ was also more significantly associated with increased mortality in male patients in the incident and prevalent HD groups. However, no significant associations between nutritional status evaluated by SGA and mortality were observed for female patients. SGA of HD patients can be useful for predicting mortality, especially in male HD patients. However, SGA alone might not reflect adverse outcomes in female patients.
Sleep selectively stabilizes contextual aspects of negative memories
Authors: Cox Roy , van Bronkhorst Marthe L. V. , Bayda Mollie , Gomillion Herron , Cho Eileen , Parr Mittie E. , Manickas-Hill Olivia P. , Schapiro Anna C. , Stickgold Robert 
Published: December 2018

AbstractSleep and emotion are both powerful modulators of the long-term stability of episodic memories, but precisely how these factors interact remains unresolved. We assessed changes in item recognition, contextual memory, and affective tone for negative and neutral memories across a 12 h interval containing sleep or wakefulness in 71 human volunteers. Our data indicate a sleep-dependent stabilization of negative contextual memories, in a way not seen for neutral memories, item recognition, or across wakefulness. Furthermore, retention of contextual memories was positively associated with the proportion of time spent in non-rapid eye movement sleep in a valence-independent manner. Finally, while affective responses to previously seen negative stimuli and to both old and new neutral stimuli decreased across an interval of sleep, effects for memorized items did not differ reliably between sleep and wake. These results add to our understanding of the complex interrelations among sleep, memory, and emotion.
Temporal trend and spatial clustering of cholera epidemic in Kumasi-Ghana
Authors: Osei Frank Badu , Stein Alfred 
Published: December 2018

AbstractKnowledge of the temporal trends and spatial patterns will have significant implications for effective preparedness in future epidemics. Our objective was to investigate the temporal trends and the nature of the spatial interaction of cholera incidences, dwelling on an outbreak in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana. We developed generalized nonparametric and segmented regression models to describe the epidemic curve. We used the pair correlation function to describe the nature of spatial clustering parameters such as the maximum scale of interaction and the scale of maximal interaction. The epidemic rose suddenly to a peak with 40% daily increments of incidences. The decay, however, was slower with 5% daily reductions. Spatial interaction occurred within 1 km radius. Maximal interaction occurred within 0.3 km, suggesting a household level of interactions. Significant clustering during the first week suggests secondary transmissions sparked the outbreak. The nonparametric and segmented regression models, together with the pair correlation function, contribute to understanding the transmission dynamics. The issue of underreporting remains a challenge we seek to address in future. These findings, however, will have innovative implications for developing preventive measures during future epidemics.
Connectivity of the Superficial Muscles of the Human Perineum: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging-Based Global Tractography Study
Authors: Zifan Ali , Reisert Marco , Sinha Shantanu , Ledgerwood-Lee Melissa , Cory Esther , Sah Robert , Mittal Ravinder K. 
Published: December 2018

AbstractDespite the importance of pelvic floor muscles, significant controversy still exists about the true structural details of these muscles. We provide an objective analysis of the architecture and orientation of the superficial muscles of the perineum using a novel approach. Magnetic Resonance Diffusion Tensor Images (MR-DTI) were acquired in 10 healthy asymptomatic nulliparous women, and 4 healthy males. Global tractography was then used to generate the architecture of the muscles. Micro-CT imaging of a male cadaver was performed for validation of the fiber tracking results. Results show that muscles fibers of the external anal sphincter, from the right and left side, cross midline in the region of the perineal body to continue as transverse perinea and bulbospongiosus muscles of the opposite side. The morphology of the external anal sphincter resembles that of the number ‘8’ or a “purse string”. The crossing of muscle fascicles in the perineal body was supported by micro-CT imaging in the male subject. The superficial muscles of the perineum, and external anal sphincter are frequently damaged during child birth related injuries to the pelvic floor; we propose the use of MR-DTI based global tractography as a non-invasive imaging technique to assess damage to these muscles.
Novel Polyheteroarylene Membranes for Separation of Methanol‒Hexane Mixture by Pervaporation
Authors: Polotskaya G. , Pulyalina A. , Goikhman M. , Podeshvo I. , Rostovtseva V. , Shugurov S. , Gofman I. , Saprykina N. , Gulii N. , Loretsyan N. , Toikka A. 
Published: December 2018

AbstractPolymer membranes with improved transport properties are required for effective separation of organic mixtures (such as methanol‒hexane system) by combination of pervaporation and azeotropic distillation. The present work is devoted to comparative study of two types of membranes based on poly(amidoimide acid) with 2,2′-biquinoline-6,6′ units in the backbone; the objects were prepared (i) from the initial polymer and (ii) from the polymer-metal complex (with Cu(I)). Thermo-mechanical and mass spectrometric investigations demonstrated good operational properties of the samples. Density measurements and SEM analysis revealed that the structure formed in polymer-metal complex is more compact as compared to that of the pure polymer membrane. Mass transfer processes of methanol and hexane through both kinds of membranes were studied by sorption, desorption and pervaporation tests. The values of equilibrium sorption degree, the Flory–Huggins parameter, and diffusion coefficient were determined for the obtained membranes. The pervaporation data allowed calculating permeability and selectivity of membranes in addition to the flux and the separation factor. The membrane based on polymer-Cu(I) complex allowed separating the methanol‒hexane azeotropic mixture with a separation factor of 980 and pervaporation separation index equal to 66.6; therefore, this process is significantly more effective than separation procedures involving other known membranes.
Comparison of three variant callers for human whole genome sequencing
Authors: Supernat Anna , Vidarsson Oskar Valdimar , Steen Vidar M. , Stokowy Tomasz 
Published: December 2018

AbstractTesting of patients with genetics-related disorders is in progress of shifting from single gene assays to gene panel sequencing, whole-exome sequencing (WES) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Since WGS is unquestionably becoming a new foundation for molecular analyses, we decided to compare three currently used tools for variant calling of human whole genome sequencing data. We tested DeepVariant, a new TensorFlow machine learning-based variant caller, and compared this tool to GATK 4.0 and SpeedSeq, using 30×, 15× and 10× WGS data of the well-known NA12878 DNA reference sample. According to our comparison, the performance on SNV calling was almost similar in 30× data, with all three variant callers reaching F-Scores (i.e. harmonic mean of recall and precision) equal to 0.98. In contrast, DeepVariant was more precise in indel calling than GATK and SpeedSeq, as demonstrated by F-Scores of 0.94, 0.90 and 0.84, respectively. We conclude that the DeepVariant tool has great potential and usefulness for analysis of WGS data in medical genetics.
Selective overexpression of cytoglobin in stellate cells attenuates thioacetamide-induced liver fibrosis in mice
Authors: Thi Thanh Hai Nguyen , Thuy Le Thi Thanh , Shiota Akira , Kadono Chiho , Daikoku Atsuko , Hoang Dinh Viet , Dat Ninh Quoc , Sato-Matsubara Misako , Yoshizato Katsutoshi , Kawada Norifumi 
Published: December 2018

AbstractCytoglobin (CYGB), discovered in hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), is known to possess a radical scavenger function, but its pathophysiological roles remain unclear. Here, for the first time, we generated a new transgenic (TG) mouse line in which both Cygb and mCherry reporter gene expression were under the control of the native Cygb gene promoter. We demonstrated that the expression of Cygb-mCherry was related to endogenous Cygb in adult tissues by tracing mCherry fluorescence together with DNA, mRNA, and protein analyses. Administration of a single dose (50 mg/kg) of thioacetamide (TAA) in Cygb-TG mice resulted in lower levels of alanine transaminase and oxidative stress than those in WT mice. After 10 weeks of TAA administration, Cygb-TG livers exhibited reduced neutrophil accumulation, cytokine expression and fibrosis but high levels of quiescent HSCs. Primary HSCs isolated from Cygb-TG mice (HSCCygb-TG) exhibited significantly decreased mRNA levels of α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA), collagen 1α1, and transforming growth factor β-3 after 4 days in culture relative to WT cells. HSCsCygb-TG were resistant to H2O2-induced αSMA expression. Thus, cell-specific overexpression of Cygb attenuates HSC activation and protects mice against TAA-induced liver fibrosis presumably by maintaining HSC quiescence. Cygb is a potential new target for antifibrotic approaches.
Avian Toll-like receptor allelic diversity far exceeds human polymorphism: an insight from domestic chicken breeds
Authors: Świderská Zuzana , Šmídová Adéla , Buchtová Lucie , Bryjová Anna , Fabiánová Anežka , Munclinger Pavel , Vinkler Michal 
Published: December 2018

AbstractImmune genes show remarkable levels of adaptive variation shaped by pathogen-mediated selection. Compared to humans, however, population polymorphism in animals has been understudied. To provide an insight into immunogenetic diversity in birds, we sequenced complete protein-coding regions of all Toll-like receptor (TLR) genes with direct orthology between mammals and birds (TLR3, TLR4, TLR5 and TLR7) in 110 domestic chickens from 25 breeds and compared their variability with a corresponding human dataset. Chicken TLRs (chTLRs) exhibit on average nine-times higher nucleotide diversity than human TLRs (hTLRs). Increased potentially functional non-synonymous variability is found in chTLR ligand-binding ectodomains. While we identified seven sites in chTLRs under positive selection and found evidence for convergence between alleles, no selection or convergence was detected in hTLRs. Up to six-times more alleles were identified in fowl (70 chTLR4 alleles vs. 11 hTLR4 alleles). In chTLRs, high numbers of alleles are shared between the breeds and the allelic frequencies are more equal than in hTLRs. These differences may have an important impact on infectious disease resistance and host-parasite co-evolution. Though adaptation through high genetic variation is typical for acquired immunity (e.g. MHC), our results show striking levels of intraspecific polymorphism also in poultry innate immune receptors.
Retention, savings and interlimb transfer of reactive gait adaptations in humans following unexpected perturbations
Authors: McCrum Christopher , Karamanidis Kiros , Willems Paul , Zijlstra Wiebren , Meijer Kenneth 
Published: December 2018

AbstractReactive locomotor adaptations are crucial for safe mobility, but remain relatively unexplored. Here we assess reactive gait adaptations, and their retention, savings and interlimb transfer. Using new methods to normalise walking speed and perturbation magnitude, we expose eighteen healthy adults to ten unexpected treadmill belt accelerations during walking (the first and last perturbing the right leg, the others perturbing the left leg) on two days, one month apart. Analysis of the margins of stability using kinematic data reveals that humans reactively adapt gait, improving stability and taking fewer recovery steps, and fully retain these adaptations over time. On re-exposure, retention and savings lead to further improvements in stability. Currently, the role of interlimb transfer is unclear. Our findings show that humans utilise retention and savings in reactive gait adaptations to benefit stability, but that interlimb transfer may not be exclusively responsible for improvements following perturbations to the untrained limb.
The Effect of Memory Span and Manual Dexterity on Hearing Aid Handling Skills in New and Experienced Hearing Aid Users
Authors: Desjardins Jamie L. , Alicea Carly A. , Doherty Karen A. 
Published: December 2018

Purpose
The aim of the study was to determine the effect of memory function and manual dexterity on new and experienced hearing aid users' abilities to use and care for their hearing aids.

Method

New and experienced hearing aid users were administered the Practical Hearing Aid Skills Test–Revised (PHAST-R;
Doherty & Desjardins, 2012
), a measure of a hearing aid user's ability to use and care for their hearing aids. The test was administered during their 30-day hearing aid check or yearly hearing evaluation appointment. Participants were also administered the Digit Span Test of memory function (
Wechsler, 1997
) and the Nine-Hole Peg Test of manual dexterity (
Mathiowetz, Weber, Kashman, & Volland,1985
).

Results
Participants with poorer memory span function performed significantly poorer on the PHAST-R than participants with better memory span. However, no significant relationship between manual dexterity and PHAST-R performance was observed. Experienced hearing aid users who were recently reoriented on how to use and care for their hearing aids performed significantly better on the PHAST-R compared to new hearing aid users and experienced hearing aid users who had not received a hearing aid orientation within the last year. Cleaning the hearing aid and telephone use were the 2 PHAST-R tasks that all hearing aid clients needed the most recounseling on.

Conclusion
Memory span is significantly related to an individual's ability to correctly use and care for their hearing aids regardless of whether they are new or experienced hearing aid users.
Leucémies à mégacaryoblastes de l’enfant
Authors: Lopez Cécile K. , Mercher Thomas 
Published: December 2018

Les leucémies aiguës mégacaryoblastiques de l’enfant (ou LAM7) sont généralement associées à un mauvais pronostic et à l’expression d’oncogènes de fusion impliquant des régulateurs transcriptionnels. Des résultats récents indiquent que la fusion ETO2-GLIS2 altère l’activité de régions régulatrices de l’expression génique appelées « enhancers » et l’expression des facteurs GATA et ETS, essentiels au développement des cellules souches hématopoïétiques. Une dérégulation de l’équilibre GATA/ETS est également retrouvée dans d’autres sous-groupes de LAM7. Cette revue porte sur les bases transcriptionnelles de la transformation survenant dans les LAM7 de l’enfant et les perspectives thérapeutiques que cela ouvre.
Unsettling antibiosis: how might interdisciplinary researchers generate a feeling for the microbiome and to what effect?
Authors: Greenhough Beth , Dwyer Andrew , Grenyer Richard , Hodgetts Timothy , McLeod Carmen , Lorimer Jamie 
Published: December 2018

AbstractDecades of active public health messaging about the dangers of pathogenic microbes has led to a Western society dominated by an antibiotic worldview; however recent scientific and social interest in the microbiome suggests an emerging counter-current of more probiotic sentiments. Such stirrings are supported by cultural curiosity around the ‘hygiene hypothesis’, or the idea it is possible to be ‘too clean’ and a certain amount of microbial exposure is essential for health. These trends resonate with the ways in which scientists too have adopted a more ‘ecological’ perspective on the microbiome. Advances in sequencing technologies and decreasing costs have allowed researchers to more rapidly explore the abundance and diversity of microbial life. This paper seeks to expand on such probiotic tendencies by proposing an interdisciplinary methodology researchers might use to generate more-than-antibiotic relations between lay participants and their domestic microbiome. The paper draws on findings from an ESRC-funded study, Good Germs, Bad Germs: Mapping microbial life in the kitchen (grant number ES/N006968/1), which sought to: (i) explore human-microbe relations in the domestic kitchen; and (ii) make scientific techniques for visualising the domestic microbiome available to non-expert publics through a form of ‘participatory metagenomics’. We examine how scientific knowledge and techniques are enroled into lay practices of making microbes sensible; how these intersect with, reinforce or disrupt previous feelings for microorganisms; and how new ways of relating with microbial others emerge. In reflecting on these findings we draw on work in animal geographies, environmental humanities and the social science of the microbiome. We examine how cultural, emotional and embodied responses to nonhuman others—their ability to affect ‘us’ humans—have implications for the ways in which public health authorities, researchers and ‘lay’ publics alike seek to engage with and govern nonhuman life. We argue that understanding and potentially generating different modes of relating to microbes—a feeling for the microbiome—offers opportunities for reconfiguring microbiopolitics and intervening into the ways in which publics respond to perceived microbial opportunities and threats.
Processing strategies used by Basque-French bilingual and Basque monolingual children for the production of the subject-agent in Basque
Authors: Duguine Isabelle , Köpke Barbara 
Published: December 2018

AbstractWe sought to describe the strategies used by 2L1 and L2 Basque-French bilingual children and monolingual Basque children to express subject-agent function in a free elicitation context in Basque. Based on a three-year longitudinal study, the analysis focused on transitive constructions requiring a subject-agent noun marked for ergative case. The results showed that the children mastered production of the ergative case marker at different ages, and used different psycholinguistic strategies to refer to the subject-agent. The majority of the bilingual children favoured topological strategy (i.e., marking of the subject-agent in the first position through subject-verb-object word order). However, the children with L1 Basque seemed to engage more in morphological strategy, through the use of the nominal ergative suffix. These data allowed us to discuss variations in the performance of bilingual children in light of the cue cost and cue validity concepts elaborated by the Competition Model applied to language production.