bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Location of infantile hemangioma is a predictor of volumetric sequelae after involution
Authors: Chang Shih‐Jen , Yu Wenxin , Gu Yifei , Han Yue , Shang Ying , Chang Lei , Jin Yunbo , Ma Gang , Qiu Yajing , Lin Xiaoxi 
Published: March 2019

AbstractAlthough infantile hemangiomas (IH) spontaneously involute, some leave more volumetric sequelae than others. Identifying predictors of such sequelae would provide a management reference for IH lesions and help achieve favorable outcomes. Our objective is to explore the correlation between volumetric residue remaining after IH involution and its location and to identify other potential outcome predictors. All IH patients examined at our hospital from 2008 to 2011 were reviewed, and both the degree of volumetric residue after involution and the quantified degree of sequelae were obtained by comparing follow‐up photographs with photographs of lesions at their maximum size. We discovered that for children with a defined age at the initial visit, lesions of the perifacial area achieved significantly more volumetric regression than lesions of the central facial (P < 0.0001) and chest areas (P = 0.0002). Perifacial lesions had a significantly higher aesthetic score than those on the central facial area (P < 0.0001), chest (P < 0.0001) and trunk/extremities (P = 0.0226) when the age at initial visit and lesion type were consistent. Our study reveals that lesion location and age at initial visit are contributing factors to volumetric sequelae and the aesthetics of the lesion after involution. The results of this study provide a reference to guide treatment decisions with the aim of achieving a favorable outcome.
Why does noise reduce response to alarm calls? Experimental assessment of masking, distraction and greater vigilance in wild birds
Authors: Zhou You , Radford Andrew N. , Magrath Robert D. 
Published: March 2019

Abstract

Environmental noise from anthropogenic and other sources affects many aspects of animal ecology and behaviour, including acoustic communication. Acoustic masking is often assumed in field studies to be the cause of compromised communication in noise, but other mechanisms could have similar effects.

We tested experimentally how background noise disrupted the response to conspecific alarm calls in wild superb fairy‐wrens, Malurus cyaneus, assessing the effects of acoustic masking, distraction and changes in vigilance. We first examined the birds' response to alarm‐call playbacks accompanied by different amplitudes of background noise that overlapped the calls in acoustic frequency. We then scored and videoed their response to alarm calls in two types of background noise, that did or did not overlap call frequency, but were broadcast at a constant amplitude.

Birds were less likely to flee to alarm calls in higher amplitudes of overlapping noise, demonstrating that noise itself compromised communication independently of environmental correlates. Background noise affected the response only if it overlapped in frequency with the alarm calls, implying that the effect was not due to distraction. Further, birds were equally vigilant during background noise of overlapping or non‐overlapping frequency, indicating that the lack of response to alarm calls in overlapping noise was not due to enhanced vigilance and awareness that there was no predator.

We conclude that alarm‐call reception was compromised by masking, a mechanism that is often assumed but rarely tested in an ecological context. Masking compromised reception of high‐frequency “aerial” alarm calls and so could reduce survival in background noise of similar frequency. While anthropogenic noise, which is often of lower frequency, is unlikely to affect communication with these calls, it could affect reception of acoustic cues of danger, or other conspecific or heterospecific alarm calls.

A plain language summary is available for this article.
Natural selection favours a larger eye in response to increased competition in natural populations of a vertebrate
Authors: Beston Shannon M. , Walsh Matthew R. 
Published: March 2019

Abstract

Eye size varies notably across taxa. Much work suggests that this variation is driven by contrasting ecological selective pressures. However, evaluations of the relationship between ecological factors and shifts in eye size have largely occurred at the macroevolutionary scale. Experimental tests in nature are conspicuously absent.

Trinidadian killifish, Rivulus hartii, are found across fish communities that differ in predation intensity. We recently showed that increased predation is associated with the evolution of a smaller eye. Here, we test how divergent predatory regimes alter the trajectory of eye size evolution using comparative mark–recapture experiments in multiple streams.

We found that increases in eye size are associated with enhanced survival, irrespective of predation intensity. More importantly, eye size is associated with enhanced growth in communities that lack predators, while this trend is absent when predators are present.

Such results argue that increased competition for food in sites that lack predators is the key driver of eye size evolution.

A plain language summary is available for this article.
Industrial rice farming supports fewer waterbirds than traditional farming on Chongming Island, China
Authors: Xie Hanbin , Zhang Wei , Li Ben , Ma Qiang , Wang Tianhou 
Published: March 2019

AbstractNatural wetlands in coastal areas have been reclaimed in China and other regions of Asia. The reclaimed lands have been used for large‐scale industrial farming, replacing traditional farming methods, especially in rice fields. To understand the impact of land‐use conversion on biodiversity, particularly of coastal migratory waterbirds, we selected two study sites in Chongming Island, China, representing traditional rice fields versus industrial rice farms. At each site, we carried out waterbird population surveys, measured the environmental factors hypothesized to be important in determining waterbird abundance, and analyzed the effects of the different farming patterns on waterbird populations. Over two annual cycles (from August 2013 to May 2015), 39 waterbird species were observed, with a mean density of 29.3 ± 5.4/ha, on traditional rice fields, compared with 16 species with a mean density of 2.8 ± 0.4/ha on large‐scale industrial rice farms. Our results demonstrated that waterbird diversity was higher on traditional rice fields than on industrial rice farms. Analyses of habitat characteristics and waterbird populations showed that traditional rice fields had more preferred habitats for waterbirds, such as more open‐water cover areas, lower bare mud cover areas, lower rice plant density, no concrete‐covered areas and flooding in the winter. The results suggested that the replacement of traditional rice fields with large‐scale industrial rice farms has had a significantly negative impact on migratory waterbirds using the East Asian–Australasian Flyway; such a change could also have detrimental effects on waterbird conservation efforts in China and other countries along this important migration route.
Emerging from the ice‐fungal communities are diverse and dynamic in earliest soil developmental stages of a receding glacier
Authors: Dresch Philipp , Falbesoner Johannes , Ennemoser Chiara , Hittorf Michaela , Kuhnert Regina , Peintner Ursula 
Published: March 2019

SummaryWe used amplicon sequencing and isolation of fungi from in‐growth mesh bags to identify active fungi in three earliest stages of soil development (SSD) at a glacier forefield (0–3, 9–14, 18–25 years after retreat of glacial ice). Soil organic matter and nutrient concentrations were extremely low, but the fungal diversity was high [220 operational taxonomic units (OTUs)/138 cultivated OTUs]. A clear successional trend was observed along SSDs, and species richness increased with time. Distinct changes in fungal community composition occurred with the advent of vascular plants. Fungal communities of recently deglaciated soil are most distinctive and rather similar to communities typical for cryoconite or ice. This indicates melting water as an important inoculum for native soil. Moreover, distinct seasonal differences were detected in fungal communities. Some fungal taxa, especially of the class Microbotryomycetes, showed a clear preference for winter and early SSD. Our results provide insight into new facets regarding the ecology of fungal taxa, for example, by showing that many fungal taxa might have an alternative, saprobial lifestyle in snow‐covered, as supposed for a few biotrophic plant pathogens of class Pucciniomycetes. The isolated fungi include a high proportion of unknown species, which can be formally described and used for experimental approaches.
PTSD Symptoms Experienced and Coping Tactics Used by Crime Scene Investigators in the United States
Authors: Rosansky Joseph A. , Cook Jeffery , Rosenberg Harold , Sprague Jon E. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractFew investigations have assessed the prevalence of posttraumatic stress experiences among Crime Scene Investigators (CSIs). We recruited a nationwide sample of 225 CSIs to complete online questionnaires assessing PTSD symptoms, use of specific coping tactics, perceived social support, trait resilience, and demographics. Seven symptoms had been experienced by at least 50% of participants during the previous month, and 9.3% had total checklist scores suggestive of PTSD. A significant regression analysis revealed that higher PTSD scores were associated with drinking alcohol more frequently to deal with stress, admitting more frequently one could not deal with stress and not trying to do so, lower social support, getting angry and letting emotions out more frequently, lower resilience, and finding comfort in one's religious beliefs. Given the proportions of CSIs that experience exposure‐related stress, more should be done to mitigate the prevalence and severity of these symptoms.
Dealing with high uncertainty in qualitative network models using Boolean analysis
Authors: Kristensen Nadiah P. , Chisholm Ryan A. , McDonald‐Madden Eve 
Published: March 2019

Abstract

Models for predicting ecological behaviour typically require large volumes of data for parameterisation, which is a problem because data are scarce. Qualitative modelling (QM) provides an alternative by exploring the entire range of possible parameter values. When a parameter value is completely unknown, QM typically invokes the Principle of Indifference (PoI), for example by sampling the parameter from a uniform prior distribution. However, if PoI is invoked in this probabilistic way, there may be multiple possible methods for defining a parameter space and sampling values from it, and, worryingly, two different but equally defensible methods can lead to different predictions about ecosystem responses.

We investigated how probabilistic PoI can give rise to problems in QM, and developed an alternative method based on Boolean PoI that does not suffer the same limitations. We used a case study that involved predicting the responses of multiple species to the suppression of a pest. The unknown model parameters were interaction strengths between species. For the standard probabilistic method, we drew the parameters randomly from uniform (PoI) and other distributions. For our new Boolean PoI method, we instead simply specified the ranges of “possible” parameter values, and developed a Boolean analysis technique to summarise model predictions.

As expected, invoking probabilistic QM yielded different predictions (species‐response probabilities) for different but equally defensible parameterisation and sampling schemes. Sometimes differences were large enough to impact decision‐making. In contrast, our new Boolean PoI approach simply classifies outcomes (species responses) as certain, possible, or impossible. Encouragingly, some species responses that were not consistently resolved under probabilistic PoI were shown by our method to be in fact governed by simple rules. Our method can also identify key species whose responses determine whole‐system outcomes.

Our non‐probabilistic representation of uncertainty circumvents the philosophical problems in standard implementations of PoI for QM. Our Boolean analysis method summarises results in a way that is interpretable and potentially useful to conservation decision makers. A priority for future research is to increase the efficiency of our Boolean approach to allow it to deal with problems of higher complexity (more interactions).
Moral hazard: the effect of insurance on risk and efficiency
Authors: Roll Kristin H. 
Published: March 2019

AbstractWhile there is a large body of literature investigating the effect of crop and livestock insurance on input and yield, limited attention has been paid to the effect of insurance on efficiency. This article investigates how insurance affects technical efficiency and whether insurance alters the utilized input quantity to a riskier bundle using the Norwegian salmon farming industry as a case. The results illustrate that insurance has an enhancing effect on production and efficiency and changes the utilized input mix—a well‐insured farmer uses more feed and less capital and labor than a less‐insured farmer. When linking this to each input's risk profile, the results indicate that insurance will induce the use of the risk‐increasing factor (feed) and reduce the use of the risk‐decreasing factors (labor and capital)—thereby increasing production risk and indicating moral hazard.
The Disclosure Dilemma: Nuclear Intelligence and International Organizations
Authors: Carnegie Allison , Carson Austin 
Published: March 2019

AbstractScholars have long argued that international organizations solve information problems through increased transparency. This article introduces a distinct problem that instead requires such institutions to keep information secret. We argue that states often seek to reveal intelligence about other states' violations of international rules and laws but are deterred by concerns about revealing the sources and methods used to collect it. Properly equipped international organizations, however, can mitigate these dilemmas by analyzing and acting on sensitive information while protecting it from wide dissemination. Using new data on intelligence disclosures to the International Atomic Energy Agency and an analysis of the full universe of nuclear proliferation cases, we demonstrate that strengthening the agency's intelligence protection capabilities led to greater intelligence sharing and fewer suspected nuclear facilities. However, our theory suggests that this solution gives informed states a subtle form of influence and is in tension with the normative goal of international transparency.
Protease/antiprotease network in allergy: The role of Staphylococcus aureus protease‐like proteins
Authors: Krysko Olga , Teufelberger Andrea , Van Nevel Sharon , Krysko Dmitri V. , Bachert Claus 
Published: March 2019

AbstractStaphylococcus aureus is being recognized as a major cofactor in atopic diseases such as atopic dermatitis, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, and asthma. The understanding of the relationship between S aureus virulence factors and the immune system is continuously improving. Although the precise mechanism of the host's immune response adaptation to the variable secretion profile of S aureus strains continues to be a matter of debate, an increasing number of studies have reported on central effects of S aureus secretome in allergy. In this review, we discuss how colonization of S aureus modulates the innate and adaptive immune response, thereby predisposing the organism to allergic sensitization and disrupting immune tolerance in the airways of patients with asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps. Next, we provide a critical overview of novel concepts dealing with S aureus in the initiation and persistence of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps and asthma. The role of the S aureus serine protease‐like proteins in the initiation of a type 2 response and the contribution of the IL‐33/ST2 signaling axis in allergic responses induced by bacterial allergens are discussed.
Allergens in dog extracts: Implication for diagnosis and treatment
Authors: Wintersand Anna , Asplund Klara , Binnmyr Jonas , Holmgren Erik , Nilsson Ola B. , Gafvelin Guro , Grönlund Hans 
Published: March 2019

AbstractBackgroundFive to ten percent of the population in affluent countries are allergic to dog. Diagnosis and treatment is based on allergen extracts from natural sources where composition and concentration are poorly defined.ObjectiveWe aimed to quantify six dog allergens (Can f 1‐6) in commercial skin prick test (SPT) solutions and to determine individual allergen profiles in dogs.MethodThe allergen content of SPT solutions from five vendors and allergen source material from three anatomical sites were analyzed. Fur and saliva samples were collected from a mixed population of 120 dogs. Can f 1‐6 were quantified by inhibition ELISA using purified recombinant or natural allergens and polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies. Allergenicity was analyzed by basophil activation test.ResultsExtensive variation in allergen composition was observed in commercial SPT vials resulting in a patient‐dependent ability to activate basophils. Extract heterogeneity depended on collection site and allergen composition in individual dogs and source materials. Can f 2 and Can f 6 exhibited low levels in fur and SPT solutions, whereas Can f 4, which was the dominating allergen in fur samples, did not display similar high proportions in SPT solutions. Can f 3 varied most among SPT solutions.ConclusionThere is a great variation of dog allergens in natural extracts raising questions of source, sampling, processing and ultimately of standardization and minimum allergen levels for accurate diagnosis and treatment.
A 2:1 atrioventricular block presenting paradoxical ventriculophasic response
Authors: Nakashima Takashi , Suzuki Keita , Ido Takahisa , Yamaura Makoto , Takahashi Shigekiyo , Aoyama Takuma 
Published: March 2019

AbstractVentriculophasic response (VR) is defined as the shortening of the sinus cycle length in the setting of greater than second‐degree atrioventricular (AV) block. Typically, the PP intervals interposing a QRS complex are shorter than those without a QRS complex. Paradoxical VR is a rare clinical entity. We report about an 80‐year‐old man presenting with a 2:1 AV block, in whom typical and paradoxical VRs were observed.
Inside Checkpoint 300: Checkpoint Regimes as Spatial Political Technologies in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Authors: Rijke Alexandra , Minca Claudio 
Published: March 2019

AbstractAs a part of the architecture of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories, the Israeli government introduced in 2005 a series of so‐called terminal checkpoints as “neutral border crossings”, to minimise the impact of these barriers on Palestinian lives through a different design and the use of several machines, such as turnstiles and metal detectors. In this article, we analyse terminal Checkpoint 300 in Bethlehem, framing it as a spatial political technology aimed at controlling the movement of Palestinians. More specifically, we investigate the interactions between Palestinian commuters, Israeli soldiers/security guards and the machines operating inside Checkpoint 300. We conclude by suggesting that Checkpoint 300 is a porous barrier whose regime is produced, reproduced but also challenged by such interactions, and that, despite the new “neutral design”, Checkpoint 300 is a place still filled with tension and violence, often exercised by the machines and their “decisions”.
Early combined immunosuppression may be effective and safe in older patients with Crohn’s disease: post hoc analysis of REACT
Authors: Singh Siddharth , Stitt Larry W. , Zou Guangyong , Khanna Reena , Dulai Parambir S. , Sandborn William J. , Feagan Brian G. , Jairath Vipul 
Published: March 2019

SummaryBackgroundPhysicians may be reluctant to prescribe combined immunosuppression in older patients with Crohn's disease due to perceived risk of treatment‐related complications.AimTo evaluate the impact of age on risk of Crohn's disease‐related complications in patients treated with early combined immunosuppression vs conventional management in a post hoc analysis of the randomised evaluation of an algorithm for Crohn's treatment (REACT), a cluster‐randomised trial.MethodsWe compared efficacy (time to major adverse outcome of Crohn's disease‐related surgery, hospitalisation or serious complications; corticosteroid‐free clinical remission) and safety outcomes at 24 months, between patients aged <60 vs ≥60 years randomised to early combined immunosuppression or conventional management, using Cox proportional hazard analysis or modified Poisson model. In the early combined immunosuppression arm, patients with failure to achieve clinical remission within 4‐12 weeks of corticosteroids were treated with a combination of tumour necrosis factor‐α antagonist plus anti‐metabolite and sequentially escalated in a stepwise algorithm.ResultsOf 1981 patients, 311 were ≥60 years (15.7%; 173 randomised to early combined immunosuppression and 138 to conventional management). Over 24 months, 10% of older patients developed Crohn's disease‐related complications (early combined immunosuppression vs conventional management: 6.4% vs 14.5%) and 14 patients died (3.5% vs 5.8%). There was no difference between younger and older patients in risk of achieving corticosteroid‐free clinical remission (<60 years, early combined immunosuppression (72.6%) vs conventional management (64.4%): relative risk [RR], 1.06 [95% CI, 0.98‐1.15] vs ≥60 years, early combined immunosuppression (74.8%) vs conventional management (63.0%): RR, 1.09 [0.90‐1.33], P‐interaction = 0.78) or time to major adverse outcome (<60 years: hazard ratio [HR], 0.71 [0.53‐0.96] vs ≥60 years: HR, 0.69 [0.31‐1.51], P‐interaction = 0.92) with early combined immunosuppression vs conventional management.ConclusionsWe observed no difference in efficacy and safety of early combined immunosuppression compared to conventional management in older and younger patients. Early combined immunosuppression may be considered as a treatment option in selected older patients with Crohn's disease with suboptimal disease control. Clinical Trial Identifier: NCT01030809.