bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Manipulating two olfactory cues causes a biological control beetle to shift to non‐target plant species
Authors: Li Na , Li Shuang , Ge Jin , Schuman Meredith C. , Wei Jia‐Ning , Ma Rui‐Yan 
Published: March 2017

Summary

Olfactory cues can determine the host preferences of herbivorous insects, but their role in host shifting is unclear. Host specificity and the potential for host shifts are important criteria for screening and post‐release evaluation of biological control agents for invasive plants. However, the role of olfactory cues in mediating host shifts in biological control agents is not well understood.

To investigate the role of olfactory cues in host selection of a reportedly monophagous flea beetle (Agasicles hygrophila), an important biocontrol agent for invasive alligator weed (Alternanthera philoxeroides), we extracted and analysed the volatiles produced by the host‐plant A. philoxeroides and the non‐host plants Alternanthera sessilis, Beta vulgaris and Amaranthus mangostanus. Moreover, we used electrophysiological techniques, behavioural bioassays and field trials to test the antennal responses and behavioural preferences of A. hygrophila to combinations of different plant volatiles and treatments, and pure compounds in different dosages and combinations.

We show that A. hygrophila female beetles indeed use olfactory cues to select plants for feeding and oviposition and that the survivorship of larvae on the second preferred non‐host plant A. sessilis, a close relative of the first preferred host plant A. philoxeroides, was over 75% in a field trail. Although female beetles responded to many volatile compounds from host and non‐host plants, (E)‐4,8‐dimethyl‐1,3,7‐nonatriene (DMNT) positively encouraged the beetle's feeding and oviposition preferences, whereas (Z)‐3‐hexenol displayed repellent effect. Remarkably, complementation assays with (Z)‐3‐hexenol on host plant or DMNT on non‐host plants significantly shifted A. hygrophila host preferences to non‐host plants and resulted in oviposition and egg hatching on the non‐host plant A. sessilis in field trials.

Synthesis. We demonstrate an olfactory mechanism by which a specialized herbivorous beetle uses the ratio of two common plant volatiles, (E)‐4,8‐dimethyl‐1,3,7‐nonatriene and (Z)‐3‐hexenol, to discriminate between its host and non‐host plants in nature. This study highlights an important mechanism by which olfactory cues could lead to undesired host range expansion in biocontrol agent, thus representing an important warning of the potential for a host shift and development of invasiveness in a common biocontrol agent, the flea beetle.
The evolutionary development of plant‐feeding insects and their nutritional endosymbionts
Authors: Skidmore Isabel H. , Hansen Allison K. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractHerbivorous insects have evolved diverse mechanisms enabling them to feed on plants with suboptimal nutrient availability. Low nutrient availability negatively impacts insect herbivore development and fitness. To overcome this obstacle numerous insect lineages have evolved intimate associations with nutritional endosymbionts. This is especially true for insects that specialize on nitrogen‐poor substrates, as these insects are highly dependent on intracellular symbionts to provide nitrogen lacking in their insect host's diet. Emerging evidence in these systems suggest that the symbiont's and/or the insect's biosynthetic pathways are dynamically regulated throughout the insect's development to potentially cope with the insect's changing nutritional demands. In this review, we evaluate the evolutionary development of symbiotic insect cells (bacteriocytes) by comparing and contrasting genes and mechanisms involved in maintaining and regulating the nutritional symbiosis throughout insect development in a diversity of insect herbivore‐endosymbiont associations. With new advances in genome sequencing and functional genomics, we evaluate to what extent nutritional symbioses are shaped by (i) the regulation of symbiont titer, (ii) the regulation of insect symbiosis genes, and (iii) the regulation of symbiont genes. We discuss how important these mechanisms are for the biosynthesis of essential amino acids and vitamins across insect life stages in divergent insect–symbiont systems. We conclude by suggesting future directions of research to further elucidate the evolutionary development of bacteriocytes and the impact of these nutritional symbioses on insect–plant interactions.
Determination of the Free Amino Acid, Organic Acid, and Nucleotide in Commercial Vinegars
Authors: Kong Yan , Zhang Li‐Li , Sun Ying , Zhang Yu‐Yu , Sun Bao‐Guo , Chen Hai‐Tao 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThe selected taste‐active compounds in several kinds of commercial vinegar including amino acids, organic acids, and nucleotides were determined by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The results showed that glutamine and alanine, which contribute the umami and sweet taste to the flavor of vinegar, are high in Taste Activity Value (TAV). Acetic acid is the major organic acid in vinegar, making up as much as 91.4% of the total organic acid composition. Nucleotides, which were only detected in 5 brands of commercial vinegar and are both low in TAV, contribute less taste in vinegar. Our research provides a multiple chemical compositional characterization of vinegar and proposes a possibility of classification of different kinds of vinegar.
Do children with grapheme‐colour synaesthesia show cognitive benefits?
Authors: Simner Julia , Bain Angela E. 
Published: March 2017

Grapheme‐colour synaesthesia is characterized by conscious and consistent associations between letters and colours, or between numbers and colours (e.g., synaesthetes might see A as red, 7 as green). Our study explored the development of this condition in a group of randomly sampled child synaesthetes. Two previous studies (Simner & Bain, 2013, Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 603; Simner, Harrold, Creed, Monro, & Foulkes, 2009, Brain, 132, 57) had screened over 600 primary school children to find the first randomly sampled cohort of child synaesthetes. In this study, we evaluate this cohort to ask whether their synaesthesia is associated with a particular cognitive profile of strengths and/or weaknesses. We tested our child synaesthetes at age 10–11 years in a series of cognitive tests, in comparison with matched controls and baseline norms. One previous study (Green & Goswami, 2008, Cognition, 106, 463) had suggested that child synaesthetes might perform differently to non‐synaesthetes in such tasks, although those participants may have been a special type of population independent of their synaesthesia. In our own study of randomly sampled child synaesthetes, we found no significant advantages or disadvantages in a receptive vocabulary test and a memory matrix task. However, we found that synaesthetes demonstrated above‐average performance in a processing‐speed task and a near‐significant advantage in a letter‐span task (i.e., memory/recall task of letters). Our findings point to advantages for synaesthetes that go beyond those expected from enhanced coding accounts and we present the first picture of the broader cognitive profile of a randomly sampled population of child synaesthetes.
Long‐term third‐party assessment of results after continent cutaneous diversion with Lundiana pouch
Authors: Liedberg Fredrik , Gudjonsson Sigurdur , Xu Abai , Bendahl Pär‐Ola , Davidsson Thomas , Månsson Wiking 
Published: March 2017

ObjectivesTo investigate the long‐term functional outcomes and complications after continent cutaneous diversion with the Lundiana pouch.Patients and MethodsComplications, re‐operations, renal function, and continence were ascertained from patient charts. Outcome variables were validated by a second and independent review of the patient files.ResultsA complication of Clavien–Dindo grade ≥III, including unscheduled re‐admissions, occurred in 45/193 patients (23%) at ≤90 days of surgery. At a median follow‐up of 13 years, 105/193 patients (54%) had undergone at least one re‐operation, with uretero‐intestinal stricture being the most prevalent cause [28 patients (15%)]. Re‐operations were more prevalent in patients operated during the first half of the study period than during the second half (2000–2007; 62% vs 47%; P = 0.03), and they were also more frequent in patients who underwent surgery for benign causes than in patients who underwent surgery for malignancy (60% vs 51%; P = 0.04). Continence was achieved in 172/188 patients (91%). In all, 16% of all patients required revisional surgery of the outlet to remain continent with an easily catheterisable pouch or to address stomal stenosis. The mean decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate was more pronounced in patients with benign indications for urinary diversion than in those with malignancies, even after adjusting for younger age at surgery and longer follow‐up in the former group (22 vs 11 mL/min/1.73 m2; P < 0.006). A disinterested third‐party assessment revealed 10 postoperative complications, 17 re‐operations during follow‐up, and seven occasions of hospitalisation due to pyelonephritis (included in data above) not recorded at the primary data review.ConclusionsThe Lundiana pouch is associated with a high risk of re‐operation, although the functional results are good. Independent review by a third party increased the validity of the outcome data.
Short‐term outcome of percutaneous tibial nerve stimulation for low anterior resection syndrome: results of a pilot study
Authors: Altomare D. F. , Picciariello A. , Ferrara C. , Digennaro R. , Ribas Y. , De Fazio M. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractAimPercutaneous tibial nerve stimulation (PTNS) is a minimally invasive procedure which has been demonstrated to be effective in faecal/urinary incontinence but has never been tested in low anterior resection syndrome (LARS). The severity of LARS may be evaluated by the LARS score, but rectal cancer treatments may also affect urinary and sexual function, which are not explored by the LARS score. The Three Axial Perineal Evaluation (TAPE) score is a new validated index addressing the overall pelvic floor functions. This study aims to assess the efficacy of PTNS in LARS patients and to evaluate the results by the LARS and TAPE scores.MethodsTwenty‐one patients operated on for rectal cancer between 2009 and 2014 complaining of LARS underwent PTNS (12 sessions of 30 min each). Six patients reported urinary incontinence and all except two (men) were sexually inactive. The LARS score and the TAPE score questionnaires were administered at baseline and after 6 months of follow‐up.ResultsAt 6 months’ follow‐up, nine patients reported a significant improvement of faecal incontinence and 3/6 an improvement of urinary incontinence after PTNS. Median LARS score significantly decreased from 32 to 27 (P = 0.009), while the median TAPE score improved significantly from 55 to 58 (P = 0.004).ConclusionsPTNS may be a further option in the treatment of selected patients with LARS and in addition may improve associated urinary incontinence. The severity of LARS can be detected by the LARS score; however, the adoption of the TAPE score is preferred in the case of concomitant urinary and/or sexual problems not explored by the LARS score.
PISA in Spain: Expectations, impact and debate
Authors: Tiana Ferrer Alejandro 
Published: March 2017

AbstractPISA, which was launched by OECD, is one of the most significant and successful initiatives on which education systems have recently collectively embarked. However, although it is a well‐coordinated international programme, its reception differs according to country. There is therefore a need to analyse specific national circumstances in order to gain a deeper understanding of the undertaking as a whole. This article specifically considers Spain's participation in PISA and focuses on a number of aspects: a) the expectations created when it joined the programme, in parallel to the implementation of its own national education evaluation system; b) the impact PISA has had, both in the media and in political and discursive spheres; and c) the technical and scientific debates generated in Spanish academic media. Finally, it is argued that, in the last few years, PISA has met with a certain disenchantment among specialists and the public opinion because of its limitations as a ranking tool, the difficulty in explaining its findings, and its inability to prescribe education policies that are suitable for very different contexts.
Architectonics Matter: Some Advantages of Treating the Unicity of God in Advance of the Trinity of Persons, in Dialogue with Thomas Aquinas
Authors: Holmes Christopher R.J. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractAquinas's distinction between what is essential and personal in God has been widely criticized in Protestant and Catholic modernity because of its supposed isolation of God from the economy of salvation. Based upon consideration of the divine goodness, I defend Aquinas's arrangement in Summa Theologiae I, qq. 1–49, advancing metaphysical inquiry along four lines. I discuss, first, the fittingness of ascribing conceptual priority to the common in advance of the particular; second, how Aquinas's ‘double perspective’ illuminates the New Testament language of ‘participation’ in the divine nature; third, the manner in which God's attributes structure God's works, illustrating the concordance of nature and works; fourth, and last, how Aquinas’s architectonic clarifies the relationship between God's essential names and transcendentality.
Path and correlation analysis of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) seed yield components
Authors: Abel S. , Gislum R. , Boelt B. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractMaximum perennial ryegrass seed production potential is substantially greater than harvested yields with harvested yields representing only 20% of calculated potential. Similar to wheat, maize and other agriculturally important crops, seed yield is highly dependent on a number of interacting seed yield components. This research was performed to apply and describe path analysis of perennial ryegrass seed yield components in relation to harvested seed yields. Utilising extensive yield components which included subdividing reproductive inflorescences into five size categories, path analysis was undertaken assuming a unidirectional causal‐admissible relationship between seed yield components and harvested seed yield in six commercial seed production fields. Both spikelets per inflorescence and florets per spikelet had a significant (p < .05) direct effect on the overall seed yield; however, total path correlation coefficients showed that inflorescence size had the largest positive influence on seed yield via its indirect effects on other seed yield components. Our results will allow seed producers, seed production researchers and plant breeders alike to more efficiently increase harvested seed yield.
Synthesis of TiB2 from a carbon‐coated precursors method
Authors: Fu Zhezhen , Koc Rasit 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThis article deals with the synthesis of TiB2 from carbon‐coated TiO2 precursors with the addition of B4C. The carbon‐coated precursors method alters the reaction process, compared with the conventional mixing of reactants, to produce high‐quality TiB2 powders. The produced powders have a single phase, a submicron particle size (~0.3 to 0.8 μm), regular shape, loose agglomeration, and low level of contaminations (less than 0.5 wt% carbon and 0.6 wt% oxygen). The formation mechanism proposed is based on experimental results and thermodynamic evaluations. For comparison, the powders obtained from the mixture of reactants show higher agglomeration, a large particle size (>1 μm), high level of contaminations (0.7 wt% carbon and 1.1 wt% oxygen), and difficulty to control the reaction process (formation of TiBO3 and Ti2O3 as the intermediate phases). The synthesized powders from the precursors method can be hot pressed to a relative density of ~94.5% with the formation of platelike grains at 1800°C under a pressure of 35 MPa without additives.
A phylogeny of open‐habitat lizards (Squamata: Lacertidae: Ophisops) supports the antiquity of Indian grassy biomes
Authors: Agarwal Ishan , Ramakrishnan Uma 
Published: March 2017

AbstractAimIndia is dominated by tropical grassy biomes (TGBs), traditionally considered seres or degraded forest, with low diversity relative to the restricted, ancestral wet zone. It is unclear if Indian grasslands and other open habitats are anthropogenically derived or native, old‐growth habitats; without a clear timescale of grassland evolution. One way to understand grassland evolution is to study the diversification in taxa restricted to open habitats. We use a dated phylogeny of Ophisops to address questions related to the origin, diversification and inter‐relationships of Indian and Saharo‐Arabian Ophisops, and ultimately the origin of Indian grasslands and open habitats.LocationThe Indian subcontinent; the Saharo‐Arabian Realm.MethodsWe generated up to 2736 base pairs of aligned sequence data (one mitochondrial, two nuclear genes) for Indian lacertids and reconstructed phylogenetic relationships using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference. We use a fossil‐calibrated timetree, diversification analyses and ancestral area reconstructions to test the hypotheses of origin and relationships with Saharo‐Arabian Ophisops.ResultsOphisops is strongly supported as monophyletic, with a basal split into a large‐bodied (LBC) and small‐bodied clade (SBC). The Saharo‐Arabian species are nested within the Indian species in the LBC. Species diversity in Indian Ophisops is grossly underestimated, with 26–47 candidate species. Ophisops began diversifying in the late Oligocene with significant rate shifts in the late Miocene‐Pliocene and Pleistocene within the SBC.Main conclusionsOur results are consistent with an ancient origin of grassland taxa and TGBs in India. Ophisops is a dramatic example of overlooked cryptic diversity outside forests, with ~30 species where five were known. Ophisops dispersed into India from the Saharo‐Arabian Realm in the Oligocene with a back dispersal in the Middle Miocene, a novel biogeographical pattern. Diversification in the SBC of Ophisops increased 8‐fold during the global C4 grassland expansion. Indian TGBs are old‐growth ecosystems that need urgent conservation attention.
Use of Medications of Questionable Benefit at the End of Life in Nursing Home Residents with Advanced Dementia
Authors: Matlow Jeremy N. , Bronskill Susan E. , Gruneir Andrea , Bell Chaim M. , Stall Nathan M. , Herrmann Nathan , Seitz Dallas P. , Gill Sudeep S. , Austin Peter C. , Fischer Hadas D. , Fung Kinwah , Wu Wei , Rochon Paula A. 
Published: March 2017

ObjectivesTo determine the prevalence of and resident characteristics associated with the prescription of medications of questionable benefit (MQBs) near the end of life in older adults with advanced dementia in nursing homes.DesignPopulation‐based, cross‐sectional study using Resident Assessment Instrument Minimum Data Set 2.0 linked to health administrative data.SettingOntario, Canada.ParticipantsAll 9,298 nursing home residents with advanced dementia who died between June 1, 2010, and March 31, 2013; were aged 66 and older at time of death; and received at least one MQB in their last year of life.MeasurementsPrevalence of eight classes of MQBs (e.g., lipid‐lowering agents, antidementia drugs) used in the last 120 days and last week of life.ResultsOf older nursing home residents with advanced dementia who received at least one MQB in the last year of life, 8,027 (86.3%) received them in the last 120 days and 4,180 (45.0%) in the last week of life. The most commonly prescribed MQB were antidementia (63.6%) and lipid‐lowering agents (47.8%). Severe cognitive impairment (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.19, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07–1.33, P = .002) and fewer signs and symptoms of health instability (aOR = 1.58, 95% CI = 1.44–1.74, P < .001) were associated with MQB use into the last week of life. Seeing a neurologist or psychiatrist was associated with less likelihood of MQB use in the last week of life.ConclusionMany nursing home residents with advanced dementia are dispensed MQBs in the last week of life. Given that MQBs may cause more harm than benefit in this vulnerable population, it is important for physicians to actively reassess the role of all medications toward the end of life.
Cerebral Gray Matter Atrophy Is Associated with the CSF IgG index in African American with Multiple Sclerosis
Authors: Seraji‐Bozorgzad Navid , Khan Omar , Cree Bruce A.C. , Bao Fen , Caon Christina , Zak Imad , Razmjou Sara , Tselis Alexandros , Millis Scott , Bernitsas Evanthia 
Published: March 2017

ABSTRACTBACKGROUND AND PURPOSEAfrican American (AA) patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) have been reported to have a more aggressive disease course compared to their white counterparts. We explored the relation of gray matter (GM) volume, a marker of tissue injury, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) IgG index in both AA and white MS patients.METHODSThis was a cross‐sectional study of 150 self‐identified AA and 150 white patients with MS who underwent magnetic resonance imaging scan of brain and CSF sampling. Intrathecal IgG synthesis was quantified as IgG index. The Spearman test was used for univariate correlation analysis, followed by generalized linear model (GLM) to assess the effect of race on the correlation between IgG index and GM volume.RESULTSThe GM volume was inversely related to the IgG index for the entire group (rho = –.57, P < .0004). The AA group showed a stronger correlation (rho = –.893, P < .00004), as compared to whites (rho = –.019, P = .85), between GM and IgG index. Furthermore, GLM analysis showed a significant effect of race on the relation between IgG index and GM volume (P < .0005).CONCLUSIONSAA patients with MS have lower GM volume and a stronger inverse correlation between GM volume and CSF IgG index, compared to the whites. These findings suggest a potentially prominent role of humoral immunity in mediating tissue injury in AA patients with MS.
Angiopoietin‐2 is expressed in oral Kaposi's sarcoma
Authors: Rossi Antonio , Ferreira Leticia , Cuevas‐Nunez Maria , Wright John M. , De‐Paula Alfredo M. B. , Basile John R. , Jham Bruno C. 
Published: March 2017

BackgroundKaposi's sarcoma (KS) persists today as a highly prevalent vascular cancer, often found in HIV patients. Studies have shown that angiopoietin 2 (Ang2), a pro‐angiogenic protein, is involved in the pathogenesis of this tumor. However, expression of this protein has not been investigated in oral KS lesions. Thus, we aimed to investigate the expression of Ang2 in samples of oral KS.MethodsImmunohistochemistry was used to evaluate Ang2 expression in 14 oral KS cases, with degrees of expression being analyzed in a semi‐quantitative manner. In addition, clinical information such as age, gender, race, tumor location, size, color, and appearance, as well as HIV status, was collected and included in the analysis.ResultsAll patients were white males, mostly HIV‐positive, with a mean age of 40 years. Clinically, the lesions were dark red/blue/purple masses, ranging from 1 to 2.5 cm in diameter, found in various locations such as the tongue, palate, and gingiva. Expression of Ang2 was noted in 72% (10/14) of the samples. Of these, 10% showed weak expression, 60% moderate, and 30% strong expression.ConclusionsOur results indicate that Ang2 is expressed in oral KS and, consistent with results from previous studies, show that Ang2 may contribute to the pathogenesis of this lesion.