bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Eye-position error influence over “open-loop” smooth pursuit initiation
Authors: Buonocore Antimo , Skinner Julianne , Hafed Ziad M. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThe oculomotor system integrates a variety of visual signals into appropriate motor plans, but such integration can have widely varying time scales. For example, smooth pursuit eye movements to follow a moving target are slower and longer-lasting than saccadic eye movements, and it has been suggested that initiating a smooth pursuit eye movement involves an obligatory open-loop interval, in which new visual motion signals presumably cannot influence the ensuing motor plan for up to 100 ms after movement initiation. However, this view runs directly contrary to the idea that the oculomotor periphery has privileged access to short-latency visual signals. Here we show that smooth pursuit initiation is sensitive to visual inputs, even in “open-loop” intervals. We instructed male rhesus macaque monkeys to initiate saccade-free smooth pursuit eye movements, and we injected a transient, instantaneous eye position error signal at different times relative to movement initiation. We found robust short-latency modulations in eye velocity and acceleration, starting only ∼50 ms after transient signal occurrence, and even during “open-loop” pursuit initiation. Critically, the spatial direction of the injected position error signal had predictable effects on smooth pursuit initiation, with forward errors increasing eye acceleration and backwards errors reducing it. Catch-up saccade frequencies and amplitudes were also similarly altered ∼50 ms after transient signals, much like well-known effects on microsaccades during fixation. Our results demonstrate that smooth pursuit initiation is highly sensitive to visual signals, and that catch-up saccade generation is reset after a visual transient.
Active sampling in visual search is coupled to the cardiac cycle
Authors: Galvez-Pol Alejandro , McConnell Ruth , Kilner James M. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractRecent research has demonstrated that perception and reasoning vary according to the phase of internal bodily signals such as heartbeat. This has been shown by locking the presentation of sensory events to distinct phases of the cardiac cycle. However, task-relevant information is not usually encountered in such a phase-locked manner nor passively accessed, but rather actively sampled at one’s own pace. Moreover, if the phase of the cardiac cycle is an important modulator of perception and cognition, as previously proposed, then the way in which we actively sample the world should be similarly modulated by the phase of the cardiac cycle. Here we tested this by coregistration of eye movements and heartbeat signals while participants freely compared differences between two visual arrays. Across three different analyses, we found a significant coupling of saccades, subsequent fixations, and blinks with the cardiac cycle. More eye movements were generated during the systolic phase of the cardiac cycle, which has been reported as the period of maximal effect of the baroreceptors’ activity upon cognition. Conversely, more fixations were found during the diastole phase (quiescent baroreceptors). Lastly, more blinks were generated in the later period of the cardiac cycle. These results suggest that interoceptive and exteroceptive processing do adjust to each other; in our case, by sampling the outer environment during quiescent periods of the inner organism.
Live-cell single-molecule analysis of β2-adrenergic receptor diffusion dynamics and confinement
Authors: Schwenzer Niko , Bussmann Hendrik , Franken Sebastian , Häberlein Hanns 
Published: September 2018

AbstractSignal transduction mechanisms and successive regulatory processes alter the lateral mobility of β2-adrenergic receptors (β2AR). In this work we combined modern single particle tracking methods in order to analyze the diffusion dynamics of SNAP-tagged β2AR in HEK wild-type cells and HEK β-arrestin knockout cells before and after agonist stimulation. For analysis of trajectories we first used mean squared displacement (MSD) analysis. Secondly, we applied an advanced variational Bayesian treatment of hidden Markov models (vbSPT) in combination with the recently introduced packing coefficient (Pc), which together provided a detailed model of three discrete diffusive states, state transitioning and spatial confinement. Interesting to note, state switching between S3 (fast-diffusing) and S1 (slow-diffusing) occurred sequentially over an intermediate state S2. After ligand stimulation more SNAP-tagged β2AR in HEK wild-type cells switched occupancy into the slow-diffusing state, whereas less receptors were found in the fast diffusive state. Unexpectedly, all three states showed a fraction of confined receptor mobility that increased under stimulation, but confinement sizes were unaffected. Receptor diffusion characteristics were comparable in HEK β-arrestin knockout cells under basal conditions and only minor but non-significant changes occurred upon stimulation, as expected from the depletion of β-arrestin, an important regulatory protein. The data presented here on the occurrence of different diffusion states, their transitioning and variable spatial confinements clearly indicate that lateral mobility of β2AR is much more complex than previously thought.
Alterations in swimming behavior of Daphnia exposed to polymer and mineral particles: towards understanding effects of microplastics on planktonic filtrators
Authors: Gorokhova E. , Könnecke O. , Ogonowski M. , Gerdes Z. , Eriksson Wiklund AK 
Published: September 2018

AbstractConcerns have been raised that microplastics (MP) can impact aquatic organisms by compromising their nutrition. However, little is understood about the mechanisms of the adverse effects of MP in suspension-feeders that routinely ingest particles of low nutritional value, such as mineral particles. We compared effects of non-edible particles (MP and kaolin) mixed with microalgae on the swimming and filtering behavior of a planktonic filtrator Daphnia magna; incubations with only algae served as controls. The following questions were addressed: (1) Are there differences in swimming movements between the daphnids exposed to MP and those exposed to kaolin? and (2) Whether occurrence of biofilm on the particle surface affects daphnid swimming and how these effects differ between the kaolin- and MP-exposed animals? We found that both kaolin and MP altered swimming, yet in opposite way, with a decrease of filtration-related movements in kaolin and their increase in MP. The difference was amplified in biofilm coated particles, indicating that daphnids spend more energy when swimming in suspension with MP, and even more when the MP have biofilm. The increased swimming activity of filtrators exposed to plastic litter decaying to microparticles may translate into changes in energy balance and growth.
EEG-based age-prediction models as stable and heritable indicators of brain maturational level in children and adolescents
Authors: Vandenbosch Marjolein M.L.J.Z. , van’t Ent Dennis , Boomsma Dorret I. , Anokhin Andrey P. , Smit Dirk J.A. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractThe human brain shows remarkable development of functional brain activity from childhood to adolescence. Here, we investigated whether electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings are suitable for predicting the age of children and adolescents. Moreover, we investigated whether over-or underestimation of age was stable over longer time periods, as stable prediction error can be interpreted as reflecting individual brain maturational level. Finally, we established whether the age-prediction error was genetically determined. Three minutes eyes-closed resting state EEG data from the longitudinal EEG studies of Netherlands Twin Register (n=836) and Washington University in St. Louis (n = 702) were used at ages 5, 7, 12, 14, 16 and 18. Longitudinal data were available within childhood and adolescence. We calculated power in 1 Hz wide bins (1 to 24 Hz). Random Forest regression and Relevance Vector Machine with 6-fold cross-validation were applied. The best mean absolute prediction error was obtained with Random Forest (1.22 years). Classification of childhood vs. adolescence reached over 94% accuracy. Prediction errors were moderately to highly stable over periods of 1.5 to 2.1 years (0.53 < r < 0.74) and signifcantly affected by genetic factors (heritability between 42% and 79%). Our results show that age prediction from low-cost EEG recordings is comparable in accuracy to those obtained with MRI. Children and adolescents showed stable over- or underestimation of their age, which means that some participants have stable brain activity patterns that reflect those of an older or younger age, and could therefore reflect individual brain maturational level. This prediction error is heritable, suggesting that genes underlie maturational level of functional brain activity. We propose that age prediction based on EEG recordings can be used for tracking neurodevelopment in typically developing children, in preterm children, and in children with neurodevelopmental disorders.
The effects of in-vitro pH decrease on the gametogenesis of the red tree coral, Primnoa pacifica
Authors: Rossin Ashley M , Waller Rhian G , Stone Robert P 
Published: September 2018

AbstractPrimnoa pacifica is the most ecologically important coral species in the North Pacific Ocean where it provides important habitat for commercially important fish and invertebrates. Ocean acidification (OA) is more rapidly increasing in high-latitude seas because anthropogenic CO2 uptake is greater in these regions. This is due to the solubility of CO2 in cold water and the reduced buffering capacity due to low alkalinity of colder waters. Primnoa pacifica colonies were cultured for six to nine months in either pH 7.55 (predicted 2100 pH levels) or pH 7.75 (control). Oocyte development and fecundity in females, and spermatocyst stages in males were measured to assess the effects of pH on gametogenesis. Oocyte diameters were 13.6% smaller and fecundities were 30.9% lower in the Year 2100 samples, indicating that OA may limit oocyte formation, potentially through lipid limitation. A higher proportion of vitellogenic oocytes (65%) were also reabsorbed (oosorption) in the Year 2100 treatment. Lowered pH appeared to advance the process of spermatogenesis with a higher percentage of later stage sperm compared to control controls. There was a laboratory effect observed in all measurement types, however these only significantly affected the analyses of spermatogenesis. These results indicate that reproduction may not be possible in an acidified ocean, or that if spawning could occur, spawned oocytes would not be sufficiently equipped to support the normal development of larvae.
Staphylococcus aureuslipase: purification, kinetic characterization, crystallization and crystallographic study
Authors: Tanaka Mutsumi , Kamitani Shigeki , Kitadokoro Kengo 
Published: September 2018

Staphylococcus aureuslipase (SAL), a triacylglycerol esterase, is an important virulence factor inS. aureusand may be a therapeutic target for infectious diseases caused byS. aureus. For the purposes of anti-SAL drug development using structure-based drug design, X-ray crystallographic analysis of SAL overexpressed inEscherichia coliwas performed. The recombinant protein was purified using a three-step protocol involving immobilized metal-affinity chromatography, cation-exchange chromatography and anion-exchange chromatography flowthrough methods, yielding 40 mg of protein per litre of bacterial culture. Crystals were obtained using the sitting-drop vapor-diffusion technique. Diffraction data to 3.0 Å resolution were collected on the BL44XU beamline at SPring-8 at the zinc peak of 1.2842 Å for SAD phasing. The crystals belonged to space groupP4122 orP4322, with unit-cell parametersa= 131.0,b = 131.0,c = 250.6 Å, and are likely to contain four SAL molecules (408 residues) per asymmetric unit.
Impacts of DNA extraction and PCR on DNA metabarcoding estimates of soil biodiversity
Authors: Dopheide Andrew , Xie Dong , Buckley Thomas R. , Drummond Alexei J. , Newcomb Richard D. 
Published: September 2018

Abstract

Soils are ubiquitous and important components of terrestrial ecosystems, richly populated with diverse organisms with important ecological roles. DNA metabarcoding is a promising tool for efficient and taxonomically comprehensive analyses of soil biodiversity, but the outcomes of these analyses are likely affected by basic methodological factors such as sampling and laboratory protocols.

We investigated the impacts of DNA extraction methodology and multiple PCRs on DNA metabarcoding biodiversity estimates for multiple taxonomic groups in soil. We applied four DNA extraction methods with different size constraints in parallel to fixed volumes of soil from a pair of forest sites, followed by sets of ten individually indexed PCRs and Illumina sequencing of prokaryote (16S) and eukaryote (18S, fungal 26S, and metazoan cytochrome c oxidase subunit I) barcodes.

Methods utilizing larger soil volumes resulted in higher biodiversity estimates for arthropods but not for prokaryotes or microeukaryotes, and improved spatial discrimination of metazoan communities but not prokaryotes. Each DNA extraction method resulted in a biased community composition, and these biases were consistent across sites and amplicons. Some 36%–41% of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were shared between all four DNA extraction methods and OTUs from many phyla had contrasting abundances from different methods. From 0.2% to 19% of OTUs, accounting for 9.4% to 97% of sequence reads, were amplified in all 10 PCRs from each DNA extraction method and sample. OTUs detected in only a single PCR accounted for 26% to 41% of OTUs but only 0.3% to 2.8% of the sequence reads from each extraction method and sample. The inferred species richness increased strongly with the number of PCRs carried out.

We conclude that a consistent DNA extraction method should be used for comparisons between samples, confirm that larger samples of soil (≥15 g) should be used for analyses of metazoan biodiversity than for microbes, and that the number of PCR replicates undertaken strongly affects species richness estimates.
Does per‐act HIV‐1 transmission risk through anal sex vary by gender? An updated systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Baggaley Rebecca F. , Owen Branwen N. , Silhol Romain , Elmes Jocelyn , Anton Peter , McGowan Ian , van der Straten Ariane , Shacklett Barbara , Dang Que , Swann Edith M. , Bolton Diane L. , Boily Marie‐Claude 
Published: September 2018

Quantifying HIV‐1 transmission risk per‐act of anal intercourse (AI) is important for HIV‐1 prevention. We updated previous reviews by searching Medline and Embase to 02/2018. We derived pooled estimates of receptive AI (URAI) and insertive AI (UIAI) risk unprotected by condoms using random‐effects models. Subgroup analyses were conducted by gender, study design, and whether antiretroviral treatment (ART) had been introduced by the time of the study. Two new relevant studies were identified, one of which met inclusion criteria, adding three new cohorts and increasing number of individuals/partnerships included from 1869 to 14 277. Four studies, all from high‐income countries, were included. Pooled HIV‐1 risk was higher for URAI (1.25%, 95% CI 0.55%‐2.23%, N = 5, I2 = 87%) than UIAI (0.17%, 95 % CI 0.09%‐0.26%, N = 3, I2 = 0%). The sole heterosexual URAI estimate (3.38%, 95% CI 1.85%‐4.91%), from a study of 72 women published in a peer‐reviewed journal, was significantly higher than the men‐who‐have‐sex‐with‐men (MSM) pooled estimate (0.75%, 95% CI 0.56%‐0.98%, N = 4, P < 0.0001) and higher than the only other heterosexual estimate identified (0.4%, 95% CI 0.08%‐2.0%, based on 59 women, excluded for being a pre‐2013 abstract). Pooled per‐act URAI risk varied by study design (retrospective‐partner studies: 2.56%, 95% CI 1.20%‐4.42%, N = 2 (one MSM, one heterosexual); prospective studies: 0.71%, 95% CI 0.51%‐0.93%, N = 3 MSM, P < 0.0001). URAI risk was lower for studies conducted in the ART era (0.75%, 95% CI 0.52%‐1.03%) than pre‐ART (1.67%, 95% CI 0.44%‐3.67%) but not significantly so (P = 0.537). Prevention messages must emphasize that HIV‐1 infectiousness through AI remains high, even in the ART era. Further studies, particularly among heterosexual populations and in resource‐limited settings, are required to elucidate whether AI risk differs by gender, region and following population‐level ART scale‐up.
Mitigating the urban–rural educational gap in developing countries through mobile technology‐supported learning
Authors: Khan Sharifullah , Hwang Gwo‐Jen , Azeem Abbas Muhammad , Rehman Arshia 
Published: September 2018

AbstractOne form of educational inequality is the disparity that exists between urban and rural settings. Equal distribution of quality education is a challenge for developing countries due to the unavailability of resources. Various approaches to equal distribution are distance learning, telecast learning and e‐learning; however, these approaches cannot achieve the desired objectives due to their limitations. This research aimed to investigate the interesting question of whether mobile technology can bring urban and rural settings closer together. A mobile application for learning Urdu grammar was designed to measure the learning gains of fourth‐grade students at two different schools from urban and rural settings. A quantitative technique, the quasi‐experimental pre‐test and post‐test method, was used to measure the effectiveness of the mobile application. The comparison of the students’ performances at the urban and rural schools illustrated the role of mobile technology in mitigating the educational gap. The present study provides evidence that children from different social backgrounds may benefit equally from mobile technology.
Sexual freedoms
Authors: Stjerna Kirsi 
Published: September 2018

AbstractWomen—still—experience different forms of sexism in their daily lives. After the sixteenth‐century Protestant proclamation of the blessings of motherhood and women's bodies, and the women's sexual liberation movement of the 1960s, women's real freedoms and rights with their bodies, including sexual relations and procreation, are still being negotiated. Violence against women's bodies, including sex trafficking, relates to both the lack of appropriate education and fundamentally distorted views of humanity. Considering Luther's teaching on women as imago Dei, and attending theologically to the issues pertaining to misogyny—such as reforming the traditionally male‐centered God‐language and challenging the culture's implicit permission for ongoing violence against women—are some of the concrete steps that can be taken. Given the revelations with the #MeToo movement, the ELCA's 2018 draft on the Social Statement on Gender and Justice is timely.
Responses to the ELCA “Draft social statement on women and justice”
Authors: Streufert Mary J. , Blasi Marcia , Crist Jessica , Graybill Rhiannon , Yip Man‐Hei 
Published: September 2018

AbstractSocial statements are social teaching and policy documents in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Created by task forces composed of ELCA members and supported by ELCA churchwide staff members, social statements are developed through a series of participatory steps. Contributors in this work share their feedback on the “Draft Social Statement on Women and Justice” with the task force as part of the process to create a proposed social statement for an assembly vote.
Prevalence and predictors of delayed clinical diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes: a longitudinal cohort study
Authors: Gopalan A. , Mishra P. , Alexeeff S. E. , Blatchins M. A. , Kim E. , Man A. H. , Grant R. W. 
Published: September 2018

AbstractAimsTo examine the prevalence and person‐level predictors of undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes among adults with elevated HbA1c values.MethodsWe identified adults without diabetes who had a first elevated HbA1c (index HbA1c ≥ 48 mmol/mol; ≥ 6.5%) between January 2014 and December 2015, and classified them by Type 2 diabetes diagnosis status at 1 year following this result. Multilevel modelling techniques were used to examine the association of individual demographic, clinical, and utilization characteristics with remaining undiagnosed. We quantified differences in early Type 2 diabetes care between diagnosed and undiagnosed individuals.ResultsOf the 18 356 adults with a first elevated index HbA1c, 30.2% remained undiagnosed with Type 2 diabetes 1 year later. Individuals with lower index HbA1c values [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 5.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) 5.21–6.78 for 48 to <53 mmol/mol (6.5% to 7.0%); referent 53 to <64 mmol/mol (7.0% to <8.0%)], who were ≥ 70 years old (aOR 1.40, 95% CI 1.24–1.59; referent 50–59 years), and who had a prior prediabetes diagnosis (aOR 1.35, 95% CI 1.24–1.47; referent no prediabetes) had increased odds of remaining undiagnosed. After adjusting for age, race, and index HbA1c, remaining undiagnosed was associated with lower odds of initiating metformin (aOR 0.06, 95% CI 0.05–0.07).ConclusionsAlmost one‐third of adults with an elevated HbA1c value were not diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes within 1 year. Undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes, in turn, was associated with differences in early care. Strategies that leverage the electronic health record to facilitate earlier diagnosis may help reduce delays and allow for early intervention towards the goal of improved outcomes.
Prospective memory in individuals with first‐episode schizophrenia: A two‐year longitudinal study
Authors: Cheung Eric F. C. , Lui Simon S. Y. , Wang Ya , Liu Amy C. Y. , Chui William W. H. , Yeung Hera K. H. , Yang Tian‐Xiao , Shum David H. K. , Chan Raymond C. K. 
Published: September 2018

AimThe present study aimed to explore the two‐year naturalistic trajectory of time‐ and event‐based prospective memory (PM) in patients with first‐episode schizophrenia.MethodsWe administered a computer‐based dual‐task PM paradigm to 57 individuals with first‐episode schizophrenia at baseline and after 6 months, 12 months and 24 months. Forty‐eight healthy controls were also recruited and completed all the measures at baseline. We compared the trajectories between time‐based and event‐based PM in first‐episode schizophrenia patients using repeated measures ANOVAs, and examined the relationship between PM and clinical symptoms using Spearman's correlation.ResultsPM impairments improved significantly after 24 months of follow‐up. However, time‐based and event‐based PM appeared to run different trajectories. After 24 months, first‐episode schizophrenia patient performed poorer than healthy controls in time‐based but not event‐based PM. PM did not appear to be correlated with clinical symptoms, both cross‐sectionally and longitudinally.ConclusionsThis is one of the longest follow‐up studies investigating PM in first‐episode schizophrenia. Our results provide evidence to support that time‐based PM is more temporally stable than event‐based PM.