bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Directly assessing interpersonal RSA influences in the frequency domain: An illustration with generalized partial directed coherence
Authors: Liu Siwei , Gates Kathleen M. , Blandon Alysia Y. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractDespite recent research indicating that interpersonal linkage in physiology is a common phenomenon during social interactions, and the well‐established role of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in socially facilitative physiological regulation, little research has directly examined interpersonal influences in RSA, perhaps due to methodological challenges in analyzing multivariate RSA data. In this article, we aim to bridge this methodological gap by introducing a new method for quantifying interpersonal RSA influences. Specifically, we show that a frequency‐domain statistic, generalized partial directed coherence (gPDC), can be used to capture lagged relations in RSA between social partners without first estimating RSA for each person. We illustrate its utility by examining the relation between gPDC and marital conflict in a sample of married couples. Finally, we discuss how gPDC complements existing methods in the time domain and provide guidelines for choosing among these different statistical techniques.
Remittances and financial development in Latin America and the Caribbean countries: A dynamic approach
Authors: Fromentin Vincent 
Published: January 2018

AbstractDespite the importance of remittances in total international flows, the conclusion of the studies on the relationship between remittances and financial development, is still not completely unanimous, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean. However, financial development matters for growth and poverty alleviation and financial inclusion have many beneficial effects for households. We examine the relationship between remittances and financial sector development with several dynamic panel data methods. We find a positive, significant, and robust bidirectional link between remittances and financial development for the panel of 32 countries.
Co‐opting Authority and Privatizing Force in Rural Africa: Ensuring Corporate Power over Land and People
Authors: Millar Gearoid 
Published: January 2018

AbstractLarge‐scale land investment projects in sub‐Saharan Africa have received substantial criticism for their negative local impacts, but few studies discuss specifically their application of corporate power on the ground. This article provides an examination of such application in rural Sierra Leone. The article describes how one corporation both directly and indirectly co‐opted authority and privatized force in order to wield power over the land and people. The data illustrate how local authorities and security actors were incentivized to defend the interests of the corporation as opposed to the local communities they supposedly represent and protect. Such processes ensured corporate power not only over the land but also over the local population. The findings, therefore, demand more robust and multidimensional accountability mechanisms to avoid the corporate acquisition of power in rural Africa. Such mechanisms would demand: (1) that investing corporations be more informed about local sociocultural, economic, and political dynamics on the ground; (2) that funders and local governments fund, report on, and enforce more regular, culturally sensitive, and independent assessments of project impacts; and (3) that funders, governments, corporations, and customary elites be held accountable for the negative impacts of such projects by international and national civil society organizations.
An Examination of Social Comparison and Suicide Ideation Through the Lens of the Integrated Motivational–Volitional Model of Suicidal Behavior
Authors: Wetherall Karen , Robb Kathryn A. , O'Connor Rory C. 
Published: January 2018

We aimed to investigate whether negative social comparisons are associated with key components of the integrated motivational‐volitional (IMV) model of suicidal behavior. Specifically, we investigated the relationship between negative social comparisons, suicide ideation, defeat, entrapment, socially prescribed perfectionism, and resilience. Adult participants (N = 422) completed an online survey comprised of a range of psychological measures. An initial regression analysis indicated that negative social comparisons were associated with suicide ideation. Three mediation models were tested based on the IMV model, all controlling for depressive symptoms. In the first, social comparison partially mediated the relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and defeat. In the second, defeat mediated the relationship between negative social comparisons and entrapment, and resilience moderated the relationship when defeat was high. In the final model, entrapment mediated the relationship between defeat and suicide ideation, with resilience moderating this relationship when entrapment was high. These findings are novel and lend support to the IMV model. The clinical implications include highlighting the importance of targeting resilience given its potential association with defeat and entrapment.
Change in knee flexor torque after fatiguing exercise identifies previous hamstring injury in football players
Authors: Lord C. , Ma'ayah F. , Blazevich A. J. 
Published: January 2018

Muscular fatigue and interlimb strength asymmetry are factors known to influence hamstring injury risk; however, limb‐specific exacerbation of knee flexor (hamstrings) torque production after fatiguing exercise has previously been ignored. To investigate changes in muscular force production before and after sport‐specific (repeated‐sprint) and non‐specific (knee extension‐flexion) fatiguing exercise, and explore the sensitivity and specificity of isokinetic endurance (ie, muscle‐specific) and single‐leg vertical jump (ie, whole limb) tests to identify previous hamstring injury. Twenty Western Australia State League footballers with previous unilateral hamstring injury and 20 players without participated. Peak concentric knee extensor and flexor (180°∙s−1) torques were assessed throughout an isokinetic endurance test, which was then repeated alongside a single‐leg vertical jump test before and after maximal repeated‐sprint exercise. Greater reductions in isokinetic knee flexor torque (−16%) and the concentric hamstring:quadriceps peak torque ratio (−15%) were observed after repeated‐sprint running only in the injured (kicking) leg and only in the previously injured subjects. Changes in (1) peak knee flexor torque after repeated‐sprint exercise, and (2) the decline in knee flexor torque during the isokinetic endurance test measured after repeated‐sprint exercise, correctly identified the injured legs (N = 20) within the cohort (N = 80) with 100% specificity and sensitivity. Decreases in peak knee flexor torque and the knee flexor torque during an isokinetic endurance test after repeated‐sprint exercise identified previous hamstring injury with 100% accuracy. Changes in knee flexor torque, but not SLVJ, should be tested to determine its prospective ability to predict hamstring injury in competitive football players.
Effects of fasted vs fed‐state exercise on performance and post‐exercise metabolism: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Aird T. P. , Davies R. W. , Carson B. P. 
Published: January 2018

The effects of nutrition on exercise metabolism and performance remain an important topic among sports scientists, clinical, and athletic populations. Recently, fasted exercise has garnered interest as a beneficial stimulus which induces superior metabolic adaptations to fed exercise in key peripheral tissues. Conversely, pre‐exercise feeding augments exercise performance compared with fasting conditions. Given these seemingly divergent effects on performance and metabolism, an appraisal of the literature is warranted. This review determined the effects of fasting vs pre‐exercise feeding on continuous aerobic and anaerobic or intermittent exercise performance, and post‐exercise metabolic adaptations. A search was performed using the MEDLINE and PubMed search engines. The literature search identified 46 studies meeting the relevant inclusion criteria. The Delphi list was used to assess study quality. A meta‐analysis and meta‐regression were performed where appropriate. Findings indicated that pre‐exercise feeding enhanced prolonged (P = .012), but not shorter duration aerobic exercise performance (P = .687). Fasted exercise increased post‐exercise circulating FFAs (P = .023) compared to fed exercise. It is evidenced that pre‐exercise feeding blunted signaling in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue implicated in regulating components of metabolism, including mitochondrial adaptation and substrate utilization. This review's findings support the hypothesis that the fasted and fed conditions can divergently influence exercise metabolism and performance. Pre‐exercise feeding bolsters prolonged aerobic performance, while seminal evidence highlights potential beneficial metabolic adaptations that fasted exercise may induce in peripheral tissues. However, further research is required to fully elucidate the acute and chronic physiological adaptations to fasted vs fed exercise.
Three‐year cross‐lagged relationships among adolescents’ antisocial behavior, personal values, and judgment of wrongness
Authors: Aquilar Serena , Bacchini Dario , Affuso Gaetana 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe current study examines reciprocal relations among adolescents’ values, antisocial behavior (ASB), and judgment of the wrongness of ASB over 3 years. Four hundred seven (Mage = 14.36 years; SD = .72; males = 56.8%) ninth grade students in Italy completed the Portrait Values Questionnaire, a self‐reported ASB scale, and a questionnaire aimed to evaluate how wrong they judged it to be to violate a set of moral and social rules. Responses were obtained again after 1 and 2 years. We analyzed separate cross‐lagged models for each of the higher‐order value dimensions according to Schwartz's model (conservation, openness to change, self‐enhancement, and self‐transcendence), using structural equation models. Self‐transcendence and conservation values fostered more negative judgments and less ASB over time whereas self‐enhancement and openness to change values had no effects. The mediating effect of judgment on the relationship between values and ASB was significant. Moreover, ASB mediated the effects of conservation on subsequent judgments. The results highlight the role of self‐transcendence and conservation values as protective factors against ASBs in adolescence.
A peroxisomal thioesterase plays auxiliary roles in plant β‐oxidative benzoic acid metabolism
Authors: Adebesin Funmilayo , Widhalm Joshua R. , Lynch Joseph H. , McCoy Rachel M. , Dudareva Natalia 
Published: January 2018

SummaryPeroxisomal β‐oxidative degradation of compounds is a common metabolic process in eukaryotes. Reported benzoyl‐coenzyme A (BA‐CoA) thioesterase activity in peroxisomes from petunia flowers suggests that, like mammals and fungi, plants contain auxiliary enzymes mediating β‐oxidation. Here we report the identification of Petunia hybrida thioesterase 1 (PhTE1), which catalyzes the hydrolysis of aromatic acyl‐CoAs to their corresponding acids in peroxisomes. PhTE1 expression is spatially, developmentally and temporally regulated and exhibits a similar pattern to known benzenoid metabolic genes. PhTE1 activity is inhibited by free coenzyme A (CoA), indicating that PhTE1 is regulated by the peroxisomal CoA pool. PhTE1 downregulation in petunia flowers led to accumulation of BA‐CoA with increased production of benzylbenzoate and phenylethylbenzoate, two compounds which rely on the presence of BA‐CoA precursor in the cytoplasm, suggesting that acyl‐CoAs can be exported from peroxisomes. Furthermore, PhTE1 downregulation resulted in increased pools of cytoplasmic phenylpropanoid pathway intermediates, volatile phenylpropenes, lignin and anthocyanins. These results indicate that PhTE1 influences (i) intraperoxisomal acyl‐CoA/CoA levels needed to carry out β‐oxidation, (ii) efflux of β‐oxidative products, acyl‐CoAs and free acids, from peroxisomes, and (iii) flux distribution within the benzenoid/phenylpropanoid metabolic network. Thus, this demonstrates that plant thioesterases play multiple auxiliary roles in peroxisomal β‐oxidative metabolism.
Biosynthesis of bioactive diterpenoids in the medicinal plant Vitex agnus‐castus
Authors: Heskes Allison M. , Sundram Tamil C.M. , Boughton Berin A. , Jensen Niels B. , Hansen Nikolaj L. , Crocoll Christoph , Cozzi Federico , Rasmussen Simon , Hamberger Britta , Hamberger Björn , Staerk Dan , Møller Birger L. , Pateraki Irini 
Published: January 2018

SummaryVitex agnus‐castus L. (Lamiaceae) is a medicinal plant historically used throughout the Mediterranean region to treat menstrual cycle disorders, and is still used today as a clinically effective treatment for premenstrual syndrome. The pharmaceutical activity of the plant extract is linked to its ability to lower prolactin levels. This feature has been attributed to the presence of dopaminergic diterpenoids that can bind to dopamine receptors in the pituitary gland. Phytochemical analyses of V. agnus‐castus show that it contains an enormous array of structurally related diterpenoids and, as such, holds potential as a rich source of new dopaminergic drugs. The present work investigated the localisation and biosynthesis of diterpenoids in V. agnus‐castus. With the assistance of matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionisation‐mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI‐MSI), diterpenoids were localised to trichomes on the surface of fruit and leaves. Analysis of a trichome‐specific transcriptome database, coupled with expression studies, identified seven candidate genes involved in diterpenoid biosynthesis: three class II diterpene synthases (diTPSs); three class I diTPSs; and a cytochrome P450 (CYP). Combinatorial assays of the diTPSs resulted in the formation of a range of different diterpenes that can account for several of the backbones of bioactive diterpenoids observed in V. agnus‐castus. The identified CYP, VacCYP76BK1, was found to catalyse 16‐hydroxylation of the diol‐diterpene, peregrinol, to labd‐13Z‐ene‐9,15,16‐triol when expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Notably, this product is a potential intermediate in the biosynthetic pathway towards bioactive furan‐ and lactone‐containing diterpenoids that are present in this species.
Inhibition of IRE1 results in decreased scar formation
Authors: Boyko Tatiana V. , Bam Rakesh , Jiang Dadi , Wang Zhen , Bhatia Namrata , Tran Misha C. , Longaker Michael T. , Koong Albert C. , Yang George P. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractWound healing is characterized by the production of large amounts of protein necessary to replace lost cellular mass and extracellular matrix. The unfolded protein response (UPR) is an important adaptive cellular response to increased protein synthesis. One of the main components of the UPR is IRE1, an endoplasmic reticulum transmembrane protein with endonuclease activity that produces the activated form of the transcription factor XBP1. Using luciferase reporter mice for Xbp1 splicing, we showed that IRE1 was up‐regulated during excisional wound healing at the time in wound healing consistent with that of the proliferative phase, when the majority of protein synthesis for cellular proliferation and matrix deposition occurs. Furthermore, using a small molecule inhibitor of IRE1 we demonstrated that inhibition of IRE1 led to decreased scar formation in treated mice. Results were recapitulated in a hypertrophic scar mouse model. These data help provide a cellular pathway to target in the treatment of hypertrophic scarring and keloid disorders.
Noninvasive measurement of reepithelialization and microvascularity of suction‐blister wounds with benchmarking to histology
Authors: Larsen Heidi F. , Ahlström Malin G. , Gjerdrum Lise M. R. , Mogensen Mette , Ghathian Khaled , Calum Henrik , Sørensen Anne L. , Forman Julie L. , Vandeven Mark , Holerca Marian N. , Du‐Thumm Laurence , Jorgensen Lars N. , Ågren Magnus S. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractWe explored use of the suction‐blister wound model in the assessment of not only epidermal regeneration but also pain, the microvascular response and bacteriology. The effects of topical zinc sulfate were studied to articulate the methodologies in this double‐blind trial. One epidermal suction blister (10 mm) was induced on each buttock in 30 healthy volunteers (15 females:15 males) and deroofed on day 0. The wounds were randomized to daily treatment with 1.4% zinc sulfate shower gel (n = 20), placebo (n = 20) or control (n = 20). Digital photography coupled with planimetry, transepidermal water loss (TEWL) measurement and optical coherence tomography (OCT) was benchmarked to the gold standard of histology of 60 full‐thickness wound biopsies on day 4. Pain increased after application of the shower gels. Microvessel density, determined from OCT images, increased from day 0 to day 2 in the three groups but increased more with the placebo than with the zinc shower gel (p = 0.003) or the control treatment (p = 0.002) and correlated (rS = 0.313, p = 0.015) with the inflammatory response on day 4, as determined by histology. Coagulase‐negative staphylococci were more common in wounds compared with skin (p = 0.002) and was reduced (p = 0.030) with zinc sulfate treatment. Planimetric analysis of digital wound images was not biased (p = 0.234) compared with histology, and TEWL measurements showed no correlation (rS = 0.052, p = 0.691) with epithelialization. Neoepidermal formation, determined by histology, did not differ (p = 0.290) among the groups. Zinc sulfate reduced (p = 0.031) the release of lactate dehydrogenase from cultured gel‐treated keratinocytes isolated from the blister roofs. Therefore, combination of the standardized suction‐blister wound model with noninvasive planimetry and OCT is a useful tool for assessing wound therapies. Zinc sulfate transiently dampened inflammation and reduced bacterial growth.
Global Research Engagement by Undergraduates and its Impact: Laser Metal Deposition Studies in US-South Africa Collaboration
Authors: Kumpaty Subha , Akinlabi Esther , Paoli Elizabeth , Ziemer Arianna , Pityana Sisa 
Published: January 2018

This paper presents the follow-up work of research conducted by Milwaukee School of Engineering senior undergraduate students in South Africa under the second year of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates grant EEC-1460183 sponsored by the National Science Foundation (Principal Investigator Dr. Kumpaty). Elizabeth Paoli and Arianna Ziemer conducted research in summer of 2016 under advisement of Dr. Kumpaty and his South African collaborators, Dr. Esther Akinlabi and Dr. Sisa Pityana. Arianna extended the work of Mueller (reported in IMECE2016-65094), with 10% Mo in the combination of Ti64-Mo deposited on Ti64 substrate at a laser power of 1700 W for five scan speeds ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 m/min. It was observed that lower scan speeds produced elongated grains. Hardness and corrosion tests were also completed in her study. Elizabeth worked on varying the percent of Mo from layer to layer deposited (5%, 10%, 15%) and characterized these functionally graded samples for biomedical applications. Laser metal deposition was completed at the CSIR – National Laser Center, in Pretoria, South Africa and the material characterization was performed at the University of Johannesburg as in the previous year.
An alumnus of MSOE, Peter Spyres was an important liaison for our international REU participants as he engaged them during the weekends in a cultural immersion which otherwise would not have been possible. While the research collaborators have generously provided support, it is the care taken by Peter’s remarkable household, which enhanced the beneficial value of this global research enterprise. The paper addresses yet another successful completion of the international Research Experiences for Undergraduates.
Bladelets-Winglets on Blades of Wind Turbines: A Multiobjective Design Optimization Study
Authors: Reddy Sohail R. , Dulikravich George S. , Sobieczky Helmut 
Published: January 2018

The work presented in this paper used rigorous 3D flow-field analysis combined with multi-objective constrained shape design optimization for the design of bladelet (winglet) configurations for a three-blade propeller type wind turbine. The fluid flow analysis in this work was performed using 3D, steady, incompressible, turbulent flow Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equations in the rotating frame of reference for each combination of a given wind turbine blade and a varying bladelet geometry. The free stream uniform wind speed in all cases was assumed to be 9 m s−1 and rotational speed was 12 rpm. These were off-design conditions for this rotor. The three simultaneous design optimization objectives were: a) maximize the coefficient of power, b) minimize the coefficient of thrust, and c) minimize twisting moment around the blade axis. The bladelet geometry was fully defined by using a small number of parameters. The optimization was carried out by creating a multi-dimensional response surface for each of the simultaneous objectives. The response surfaces were based on radial basis functions, where the support points were designs analyzed using the high fidelity CFD analysis of the full blade + bladelet geometry. The response surfaces were then coupled to a multi-objective optimization algorithm. The predicted values of the objective functions for the optimum designs were then again validated using the high fidelity computational fluid dynamics analysis code.
Results for a Pareto optimized bladelet on a given blade indicate that more than 4% increase in the coefficient of power at minimal thrust force penalty is possible compared to the same wind turbine rotor blade without a bladelet.
Designing Roof Structures for Real-World Rollovers
Authors: Herbst Brian , Meyer Steven , Bell Lauren , Bish Jack , Clarke Christopher , Rogers Chuck 
Published: January 2018

This paper presents a real world rollover accident involving a common make and model sport utility vehicle, or SUV, analyzed using a well-validated, publicly available finite element analysis, or FEA, model of the same vehicle. The FEA model was utilized to evaluate the loading conditions of a real-world rollover accident that had previously been reconstructed using standard engineering techniques. Iteration of the conditions of the finite element, or FE, simulation to match the damage observed in the subject vehicle provided a quantification of the rollover crash loading.
Once the damage pattern of the real world accident was achieved in the FE simulation, reinforcement techniques utilizing changes to the material properties and thicknesses of selected roof structure components were used to represent a re-designed roof. The re-designed roof improved intrusion resistance by more than 80% with a minimal weight penalty.