bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Role of stakeholders in Nigeria’s tobacco control journey after the FCTC: lessons for tobacco control advocacy in low-income and middle-income countries
Authors: Egbe Catherine O , Bialous Stella A , Glantz Stanton 
Published: July 2018

IntroductionNigeria ratified the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2005. Tobacco control advocates in Nigeria achieved some success in countering tobacco industry interference to implement the FCTC.MethodsWe triangulated interviews with key informants from local and international organisations who worked in Nigeria with documentation of the legislative process and Nigerian newspaper articles. Data were analysed and interpreted using the Policy Dystopia Model and WHO categories of tobacco industry interference that had been developed mostly based on experience in high-income countries.ResultsAs in high-income countries, the tobacco industry continued to oppose tobacco control policies after Nigeria ratified the FCTC, including weakening Nigeria’s 2015 National Tobacco Control Act. Both tobacco control advocates and industry used discursive (argument-based) and instrumental (activity-based) strategies. The industry argued self-regulation and the economic importance of tobacco. They exploited legislative procedures, used front groups and third parties to push for pro-industry changes. Advocates, with help from international organisations, mobilised prominent Nigerians and the public. Advocates pre-empted and countered the industry through traditional and social media, monitoring and exposing tobacco industry activities, and by actively engaging lawmakers and citizens during the legislative process.ConclusionThe Policy Dystopia Model and WHO categories of industry interference provide a helpful framework for understanding tobacco control debates in low/middle-income countries (LMICs) as in high-income countries. One difference in LMIC is the important role of international tobacco control advocates in supporting national tobacco control advocates. This partnership is important in pushing for FCTC-compliant legislation and countering industry activities in LMIC.
Motoneuron output regulated by ionic channels: a modeling study of motoneuron frequency-current relationships during fictive locomotion
Authors: Dai Yue , Cheng Yi , Fedirchuk Brent , Jordan Larry M. , Chu Junhao 
Published: July 2018

Cat lumbar motoneurons display changes in membrane properties during fictive locomotion. These changes include reduction of input resistance and afterhyperpolarization, hyperpolarization of voltage threshold, and voltage-dependent excitation of the motoneurons. The state-dependent alteration of membrane properties leads to dramatic changes in frequency-current (F-I) relationship. The mechanism underlying these changes remains unknown. Using a motoneuron model combined with electrophysiological data, we investigated the channel mechanisms underlying the regulation of motoneuronal excitability and motor output. Simulation results showed that upregulation of transient sodium, persistent sodium, or Cav1.3 calcium conductances or downregulation of calcium-activated potassium or KCNQ/Kv7 potassium conductances could increase motoneuronal excitability and motor output through hyperpolarizing (left shifting) the F-I relationships or increasing the F-I slopes, whereas downregulation of input resistance or upregulation of potassium-mediated leak conductance produced the opposite effects. The excitatory phase of locomotor drive potentials (LDPs) also substantially hyperpolarized the F-I relationships and increased the F-I slopes, whereas the inhibitory phase of the LDPs had opposite effects to a similar extent. The simulation results also showed that none of the individual channel modulations could produce all the changes in the F-I relationships. The effects of modulation of Cav1.3 and KCNQ/Kv7 on F-I relationships were supported by slice experiments with the Cav1.3 agonist Bay K8644 and the KCNQ/Kv7 antagonist XE-991. The conclusion is that the varying changes in F-I relationships during fictive locomotion could be regulated by multichannel modulations. This study provides insight into the ionic basis for control of motor output in walking. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Mammalian spinal motoneurons have their excitability adapted to facilitate recruitment and firing during locomotion. Cat lumbar motoneurons display dramatic changes in membrane properties during fictive locomotion. These changes lead to a varying alteration of frequency-current relationship. The mechanisms underlying the changes remain unknown. In particular, little is known about the ionic basis for regulation of motoneuronal excitability and thus control of the motor output for walking by the spinal motor system.
M current regulates firing mode and spike reliability in a collision-detecting neuron
Authors: Dewell Richard B. , Gabbiani Fabrizio 
Published: July 2018

All animals must detect impending collisions to escape and reliably discriminate them from nonthreatening stimuli, thus preventing false alarms. Therefore, it is no surprise that animals have evolved highly selective and sensitive neurons dedicated to such tasks. We examined a well-studied collision-detection neuron in the grasshopper ( Schistocerca americana) using in vivo electrophysiology, pharmacology, and computational modeling. This lobula giant movement detector (LGMD) neuron is excitable by inputs originating from each ommatidia of the compound eye. It possesses many intrinsic properties that increase its selectivity to objects approaching on a collision course, including switching between burst and nonburst firing. In this study, we demonstrate that the LGMD neuron exhibits a large M current, generated by noninactivating K+channels, that shortens the temporal window of dendritic integration, regulates a firing mode switch between burst and isolated spiking, increases the precision of spike timing, and increases the reliability of spike propagation to downstream motor centers. By revealing how the M current increases the LGMD’s ability to detect impending collisions, our results suggest that similar channels may play an analogous role in other collision detection circuits.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The ability to reliably detect impending collisions is a critical survival skill. The nervous systems of many animals have developed dedicated neurons for accomplishing this task. We used a mix of in vivo electrophysiology and computational modeling to investigate the role of M potassium channels within one such collision-detecting neuron and show that through regulation of burst firing and enhancement of spiking reliability, the M current increases the ability to detect impending collisions.
Contrast gain control in mouse auditory cortex
Authors: Cooke James E. , King Andrew J. , Willmore Ben D. B. , Schnupp Jan W. H. 
Published: July 2018

The neocortex is thought to employ a number of canonical computations, but little is known about whether these computations rely on shared mechanisms across different neural populations. In recent years, the mouse has emerged as a powerful model organism for the dissection of the circuits and mechanisms underlying various aspects of neural processing and therefore provides an important avenue for research into putative canonical computations. One such computation is contrast gain control, the systematic adjustment of neural gain in accordance with the contrast of sensory input, which helps to construct neural representations that are robust to the presence of background stimuli. Here, we characterized contrast gain control in the mouse auditory cortex. We performed laminar extracellular recordings in the auditory cortex of the anesthetized mouse while varying the contrast of the sensory input. We observed that an increase in stimulus contrast resulted in a compensatory reduction in the gain of neural responses, leading to representations in the mouse auditory cortex that are largely contrast invariant. Contrast gain control was present in all cortical layers but was found to be strongest in deep layers, indicating that intracortical mechanisms may contribute to these gain changes. These results lay a foundation for investigations into the mechanisms underlying contrast adaptation in the mouse auditory cortex. NEW & NOTEWORTHY We investigated whether contrast gain control, the systematic reduction in neural gain in response to an increase in sensory contrast, exists in the mouse auditory cortex. We performed extracellular recordings in the mouse auditory cortex while presenting sensory stimuli with varying contrasts and found this form of processing was widespread. This finding provides evidence that contrast gain control may represent a canonical cortical computation and lays a foundation for investigations into the underlying mechanisms.
Tumor Mutation Burden and Efficacy of EGFR-Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Patients with EGFR-Mutant Lung Cancers
Authors: Offin Michael , Rizvi Hira , Tenet Megan , Ni Andy , Sanchez-Vega Francisco , Li Bob T. , Drilon Alexander , Kris Mark G. , Rudin Charles M. , Schultz Nikolaus , Arcila Maria E. , Ladanyi Marc , Riely Gregory J. , Yu Helena , Hellmann Matthew D. 
Published: July 2018

Abstract

Purpose:
Tumor mutation burden (TMB) is a biomarker of response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB). The impact of TMB on outcomes with targeted therapies has not been explored.

Experimental Design:
We identified all patients with metastatic EGFR exon19del or L858R-mutant lung cancers treated with first/second-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) with pretreatment next-generation sequencing data (MSK-IMPACT assay). The effect of TMB on time-to-treatment discontinuation (TTD) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated in univariate and multivariate analyses. EGFR wild-type lung adenocarcinoma samples were used for comparison.

Results:
Among 153 patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancer, TMB was lower compared with EGFR wild-type (n = 1,849; median 3.77 vs. 6.12 mutations/Mb; P &lt; 0.0001) with a broad range (0.82–17.9 mutations/Mb). Patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancer whose tumors had TMB in the high tertile had shorter TTD (HR, 0.46; P = 0.0008) and OS (HR, 0.40; P = 0.006) compared with patients with low/intermediate TMB. Evaluating by median TMB, there was significantly shorter TTD and OS for patients with higher TMB (TTD, P = 0.006; OS, P = 0.03). In multivariate analysis, TTD and OS remained significantly longer in the low/intermediate tertile compared with high TMB (HR = 0.57, P = 0.01; HR = 0.50, P = 0.02, respectively). In paired pretreatment and postprogression samples, TMB was increased at resistance (median 3.42 vs. 6.56 mutations/Mb; P = 0.008).

Conclusions:
TMB is negatively associated with clinical outcomes in metastatic patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancer treated with EGFR-TKI. This relationship contrasts with that seen in lung cancers treated with immunotherapy.
See related commentary by Cheng and Oxnard, p. 899
Effect of temperature and salinity on mtDNA copy number of the ridgetail white prawn, Palaemon carinicauda Holthuis, 1950 (Decapoda, Palaemonidae)
Authors: Li Zhi H. , Zhang Pei , Ma Hang K. , Xu Wan Y. , Sun Jin Q. , Yan Bin L. , Zhang Qing Q. , Gao Huang 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
To explore the effect of temperature and salinity on the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number of Palaemon carinicauda Holthuis, 1950, 5 temperature groups (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30°C) and 6 salinity groups (10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35) were set up, respectively. Subsequently, the numbers of copies of mtDNA of samples from all groups were detected by the TaqMan probe method. The results showed that the mtDNA copy number in the temperature samples was 2388, 2366, 4158, 4805 and 6027 at the above-mentioned temperature values, respectively. Obviously, the number of mtDNA copies in the cell tends to increase as temperatures rise. In addition, the mtDNA copy numbers of the salinity samples was 2609, 2593, 3215, 3478, 2618 and 2709, respectively, at the experimental salinities as listed above. This indicates, that the copy numbers of mtDNA tend to increase at first, and then again to decrease as the salinity values rise and pass beyond a threshold.
Making Statesmen, Writing Culture: Ethnography, Observation, and Diplomatic Travel in Early Modern Venice
Authors: Taylor Kathryn 
Published: July 2018

AbstractNumerous scholars have sought to locate the origins of social scientific research in the late-sixteenth-century ars apodemica, the northern European body of literature dedicated to methodizing educational travel. Little attention has been paid, however, to the earlier model of educational travel that emerged from sixteenth-century Venetian diplomatic culture. For many Venetian citizens and patricians, accompanying an ambassador on a foreign mission served as a cornerstone of their political education. Diplomatic travelers were encouraged to keep written accounts of their voyage. Numerous examples of these journals survive from the sixteenth century, largely following a standard formula and marked by an emphasis on the description of customs. This article examines the educational function of diplomatic travel in Venice and the practices of cultural description that emerged from diplomatic travel, arguing that Venetian diplomatic travel offers an earlier model for the methodization of travel—one with its own distinctive norms of observation.
Wind Shear Effects on Radiatively and Evaporatively Driven Stratocumulus Tops
Authors: Schulz Bernhard , Mellado Juan Pedro 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
Direct numerical simulations resolving meter and submeter scales in the cloud-top region of stratocumulus are used to investigate the interactions between a mean vertical wind shear and in-cloud turbulence driven by evaporative and radiative cooling. There are three major results. First, a critical velocity jump exists, above which shear significantly broadens the entrainment interfacial layer (EIL), enhances cloud-top cooling, and increases the mean entrainment velocity; shear effects are negligible when the velocity jump is below . Second, a depletion velocity jump exists, above which shear-enhanced mixing reduces cloud-top radiative cooling, thereby weakening the large convective motions; shear effects remain localized within the EIL when the velocity jump is below . The critical velocity jump and depletion velocity jump are provided as a function of in-cloud and free-tropospheric conditions, and one finds and for typical subtropical conditions. Third, the individual contributions to the mean entrainment velocity from mixing, radiative cooling, and evaporative cooling strongly depend on the choice of the reference height where the entrainment velocity is calculated. This result implies that the individual contributions to the mean entrainment velocity should be estimated at a comparable height while deriving entrainment-rate parameterizations. A strong shear alters substantially the magnitude and the height where these individual contributions reach their maxima, which further demonstrates the importance of shear on the dynamics of stratocumulus clouds.
Effects of Impact-Based Warnings and Behavioral Recommendations for Extreme Weather Events
Authors: Weyrich Philippe , Scolobig Anna , Bresch David N. , Patt Anthony 
Published: July 2018

Abstract
Bad weather continues not only to inflict damage on property but also to kill and injure people, despite significant advances in the predictive power of meteorological warnings. There is evidence that people tend to underreact to weather warning information, to a large extent because of insufficient understanding of the impacts that severe weather events can have, as well as to demonstrate the appropriate response behavior. A growing number of experts are suggesting that standard warning information should be augmented with additional information about these factors, but this has so far largely failed to take place. Past research studies have shown possible advantages of including impact-based warnings (IBWs) and behavioral recommendations (BRs) into the warning information, but the results are in part ambiguous, due to a failure to have tested for effects of the two kinds of information separately and in combination. Based on quantitative results from a survey experiment in Switzerland, this knowledge gap is addressed. Results of the research reported here indicate significant benefits from providing both sets of information together, in terms of improving both perception and understanding of warning and intended behavioral responses. When only one piece of information is given, BRs have a significant effect on both perception and intended response, whereas IBWs have a significant effect only on intended response. These findings offer empirical justification for the added expense and time associated with the more detailed hazard warnings.
Assessment of Ocular and Physiological Metrics to Discriminate Flight Phases in Real Light Aircraft
Authors: Scannella Sébastien , Peysakhovich Vsevolod , Ehrig Florian , Lepron Evelyne , Dehais Frédéric 
Published: July 2018

Objective: The purpose of the present study was to find psychophysiological proxies that are straightforward to use and could be implemented in actual flight conditions to accurately discriminate pilots’ workload levels. Background: Piloting an aircraft is a complex activity where cognitive limitations may jeopardize flight safety. There is a need to implement solutions to monitor pilots’ workload level to improve flight safety. There has been recent interest in combining psychophysiological measurements. Most of these studies were conducted in flight simulators at the group level, limiting the interpretation of the results. Methods: We conducted an experiment with 11 pilots performing two standard traffic patterns in a light aircraft. Five metrics were derived from their ocular and cardiac activities and were evaluated through three flight phases: takeoff, downwind, and landing. Results: Statistical analyses showed that the saccadic rate was the most efficient metric to distinguish between the three flight phases. In addition, a classifier trained on the ocular data collected from the first run predicted the flight phase within a second run with an accuracy of 75%. No gain in the classifier accuracy has been found by combining cardiac and ocular metrics. Conclusions: Ocular-based metrics may be more suitable than cardiac ones to provide relevant information on pilots’ flying activity in operational settings. Applications: Electrocardiographic and eye-tracking devices could be implemented in future cockpits as additional flight data for accident analysis, an objective pilot’s state evaluation for training, and proxies for human-machine interactions to improve flight safety.
The Poverty Reduction of Social Security and Means-Tested Transfers
Authors: Meyer Bruce D. , Wu Derek 
Published: July 2018

This article is the fourth in a series to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the ILR Review. The series features articles that analyze the state of research and future directions for important themes this journal has featured over many years of publication. Starting with Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) data from 2008 to 2013, the authors link administrative data from Social Security and five large means-tested transfers—Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), public assistance (PA), the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), and housing assistance—to minimize errors within the SIPP data. Social Security cuts the poverty rate by a third—more than twice the combined effect of the five means-tested transfers. Among means-tested transfers, the EITC and SNAP have the largest effects. All programs except for the EITC sharply reduce deep poverty. The relative importance of these programs differs by family subgroup. SSI, PA, and housing assistance have the highest share of benefits going to the pre-transfer poor, whereas the EITC has the lowest. Finally, the SIPP survey data alone provide fairly accurate estimates for the overall population at the poverty line, though they understate the effects of Social Security, SNAP, and PA. Differences in effects are striking, however, at other income cutoffs and for specific family types.
The integration of solid-solid phase change material with micro-channel flat plate heat pipe-based BIPV/T
Authors: Wang Zhangyuan , Huang Zicong , Chen Fucheng , Zhao Xudong , Guo Peng 
Published: July 2018

In this paper, the influence of the solid-solid phase change material on the novel micro-channel flat-plate heat-pipe–based building integrated photovoltaic/thermal system has been investigated, which has been expected to store the excess heat, enhance the overall efficiency of the system and maintain the stable photovoltaic temperatures. The proposed system was divided into two parts, i.e. the outdoor part formed by flat-plate glass, photovoltaic panel, micro-channel flat-plate heat pipes, solid-solid phase change material layer and insulated material, and indoor part including the storage tank, water pump and storage batter. The experiments were conducted at the Guangdong University of Technology, China, to investigate the thermal and electrical performance of the proposed system. When the simulated radiation was at 300 W/m2 and water flow rate was at 600 L/h, the maximum average thermal, electrical and overall efficiency were found at 52.9%, 7.9% and 60.8%, respectively, when the xenon lamps were turned on, and the maximum average efficiency of 86.6% were found when the xenon lamps were turned off, indicating the most appropriate working condition of the proposed system due to the thermal storage and release of the solid-solid phase change material during the system operation. Compared with the previous studies of the conventional building integrated photovoltaic/thermal systems, it was found that the overall efficiency of the system averagely increased 5–30% and the daily water temperature difference of the system averagely increased 1.8–10.5℃, indicating that the solid-solid phase change material can significantly increase the thermal efficiency of the system. Practical application The proposed micro-channel-flat-plate-heat pipe based BIPV/T (MCFPHP-BIPV/T) system with SS-PCM will be potentially used in buildings to provide amount of electricity and thermal energy. The generated electricity will be used by the residential electrical devices or connected to the grid, and the thermal energy can be used for hot water, even for space heating and cooling. The proposed building-integrated system can be assisted in realising the targets of energy saving and carbon-emission-reduction in buildings.