bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Diagnostic performance of HbA1c for diabetes in Arab vs. European populations: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Bertran E. A. , Berlie H. D. , Taylor A. , Divine G. , Jaber L. A. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractAimTo examine differences in the performance of HbA1c for diagnosing diabetes in Arabs compared with Europeans.MethodsThe PubMed, Embase and Cochrane library databases were searched for records published between 1998 and 2015. Estimates of sensitivity, specificity and log diagnostic odds ratios for an HbA1c cut‐point of 48 mmol/mol (6.5%) were compared between Arabs and Europeans, using a bivariate linear mixed‐model approach. For studies reporting multiple cut‐points, population‐specific summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curves were constructed. In addition, sensitivity, specificity and Youden Index were estimated for strata defined by HbA1c cut‐point and population type. Database searches yielded 1912 unique records; 618 full‐text articles were reviewed. Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria; hand‐searching yielded three additional eligible studies. Three Arab (N = 2880) and 16 European populations (N = 49 127) were included in the analysis.ResultsSummary sensitivity and specificity for a HbA1c cut‐point of 48 mmol/mol (6.5%) in both populations were 42% (33–51%), and 97% (95–98%). There was no difference in area under SROC curves between Arab and European populations (0.844 vs. 0.847; P = 0.867), suggesting no difference in HbA1c diagnostic accuracy between populations. Multiple cut‐point summary estimates stratified by population suggest that Arabs have lower sensitivity and higher specificity at a HbA1c cut‐point of 44 mmol/mol (6.2%) compared with European populations. Estimates also suggest similar test performance at cut‐points of 44 mmol/mol (6.2%) and 48 mmol/mol (6.5%) for Arabs.ConclusionsGiven the low sensitivity of HbA1c in the high‐risk Arab American population, we recommend a combination of glucose‐based and HbA1c testing to ensure an accurate and timely diagnosis of diabetes.
Management effects on composition and dynamics of cutin and suberin in topsoil under agricultural use
Authors: Armas‐Herrera C. M. , Dignac M.‐F. , Rumpel C. , Arbelo C. D. , Chabbi A. 
Published: March 2016

SummaryWe identified and quantified specific biomarkers of shoots and roots (cutin and suberin‐derived compounds, respectively) of three grassland species (Dactylis glomerata L., Festuca arundinacea Schreb. and Lolium perenne L.) in soil under different land use (grass, crop and bare soil) of the SOERE‐ACBB experimental site in Lusignan (France). We also investigated the fate of these markers in soil after conversion from grassland (C3 plants) to Zea mays L. (maize) (C4 plant) with natural 13C isotope abundances. Our results indicated that 9‐hydroxy hexadecanedioic acid and 8(9)(10),16‐dihydroxy hexadecanoic acid may be used as biomarkers for above‐ground biomass, whereas 1,22‐docosandioic acid, 22‐hydroxy docosanoic acid and 24‐hydroxy tetracosanoic acid might be the best below‐ground biomarkers for the plants investigated under the experimental conditions studied. The presence, concentration and shoot–root allocation pattern of these markers were different from those described for other species, which demonstrates the importance of verifying biomarker specificity for each species. Concentrations of cutin and suberin were largest in soil under maize and smallest under bare soil; this corresponded to the biomass added to the two soils. Suberin decreased by 40–64% and cutin by 24–40% during a 6‐year bare fallow, which indicates that root markers were more sensitive than shoot markers to degradation. Changes in 13C isotopic signatures of specific biomarkers after 6 years of maize showed a faster turnover of root than shoot biomarkers, in spite of the much smaller root inputs from maize than from grasses. The sequestration of suberin in soil was more rapid but less durable than that of cutin.
Susceptibility of Faba Bean (Vicia faba L.) to Heat Stress During Floral Development and Anthesis
Authors: Bishop J. , Potts S. G. , Jones H. E. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractExperiments were conducted over 2 years to quantify the response of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) to heat stress. Potted winter faba bean plants (cv. Wizard) were exposed to temperature treatments (18/10; 22/14; 26/18; 30/22; 34/26 °C day/night) for 5 days during floral development and anthesis. Developmental stages of all flowers were scored prior to stress, plants were grown in exclusion from insect pollinators to prevent pollen movement between flowers, and yield was harvested at an individual pod scale, enabling effects of heat stress to be investigated at a high resolution. Susceptibility to stress differed between floral stages; flowers were most affected during initial green‐bud stages. Yield and pollen germination of flowers present before stress showed threshold relationships to stress, with lethal temperatures (t50) ˜28 °C and ~32 °C, while whole plant yield showed a linear negative relationship to stress with high plasticity in yield allocation, such that yield lost at lower nodes was partially compensated at higher nodal positions. Faba bean has many beneficial attributes for sustainable modern cropping systems but these results suggest that yield will be limited by projected climate change, necessitating the development of heat tolerant cultivars, or improved resilience by other mechanisms such as earlier flowering times.
Defining a breeding objective for Nile tilapia that takes into account the diversity of smallholder production systems
Authors: Omasaki S.K. , van Arendonk J.A.M , Kahi A.K. , Komen H. 
Published: March 2016

SummaryIn general, livestock and fish farming systems in developing countries tend to be highly diverse in terms of agro‐ecological conditions and market orientation. There are no studies that have investigated if and how this diversity translates to varying preferences for breeding objective traits. This is particularly important for breeding programmes that are organized on a national level (e.g. government‐supported nucleus breeding programmes). The aim of this study was to investigate whether Nile tilapia farmers with diverse production systems and economic constraints have different preferences for breeding objective traits. The second objective was to derive a consensus breeding goal, using weighted goal programming that could be used for a national breeding programme for Nile tilapia. A survey was conducted among 100 smallholder Nile tilapia farmers in Kenya to obtain preference values for traits of economic importance, by using multiple pairwise comparisons. Individual and group preference values were estimated using analytical hierarchy process. Low‐income farmers preferred harvest weight, while medium‐ and high‐income farmers preferred growth rate and survival. Grouping farmers according to market objective (fingerling production or fattening) showed that fingerling producers preferred growth rate and survival, while fattening farmers preferred harvest weight, height and thickness. Weighted goal programming was used to obtain consensus preference values, and these were used to derive desired gains for a breeding goal of a national breeding programme that takes into account the diversity of smallholder production systems.
Properties of Bunium Persicum Essential Oil and its Application in Iranian White Cheese Against Listeria Monocytogenes and Escherichia Coli O157:H7
Authors: Ehsani Ali , Hashemi Mohammad , Naghibi Seyedeh Samaneh , Mohammadi Shadieh , Khalili Sadaghiani Surur 
Published: March 2016

AbstractIn the present study Bunium persicum essential oil (BEO) was examined for its phytochemical properties, In vitro antioxidant activities, antibacterial properties against Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus and Listeria monocytogenes and antibacterial effects of the oil on survival of L. monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7 in Iranian white cheese. Results showed that Cuminaldehyde (11.4%) was the most abundant components of the oil. In vitro antibacterial analysis of the BEO indicated high sensitivity of gram‐positive bacteria and relative sensitivity of gram‐negative bacteria. DPPH and ABTS results revealed a notable radical scavenging ability of the BEO. The growth of inoculated E.coli O157:H7 and L. monocytogenes significantly decreased in experimentally manufactured white cheeses during 45‐day storage time. The sensory evaluation scores showed that the samples with BEO had significantly higher color, odor, flavor, texture as well as general acceptability scores than control.Practical ApplicationL. monocytogenes and E. coli O157:H7 are known pathogenic bacteria that can transfer through cheese. Therefore production Iranian white cheese should be free of these pathogens. Use of natural antimicrobial agents such as essential oils as preservative in dairy industries is a preferred alternative to increase safety and shelf life of the products.
‘From past to future’ – deciphering the molecular basis of Alzheimer's disease through the pages of the Journal of Neurochemistry
Authors: Cappai Roberto 
Published: March 2016

AbstractThe Journal of Neurochemistry has made significant contributions to unraveling the molecular basis for Alzheimer's disease during its 60‐year history. To mark its 60th anniversary, this review describes the association between the journal and Alzheimer's disease research – from the early years when Alzheimer's disease was a minor topic in the journal through to the molecular era in the mid‐1980s. This coincided with a number of the highly cited Alzheimer's disease studies which described fundamental aspects of the neurochemistry of Alzheimer's disease and encompassed the themes of oxidative stress and post‐translational modifications, cholinergic system, tau, purification of Aβ, defining the Aβ toxic species, mechanism of amyloid precursor protein processing, and the development of diagnostics and therapeutics.
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The Journal of Neurochemistry has made significant contributions toward unraveling the molecular, cellular and pathological basis of Alzheimer's disease through its 60 years.This article is part of the 60th Anniversary special issue.
Direct costs of interferon‐based and interferon‐free direct‐acting antiviral regimens for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C infection
Authors: Gray E. , O'Leary A. , Kieran J. A. , Fogarty E. , Dowling T. , Norris S. ,   the Irish Hepatitis C Outcomes and Research Network (ICORN)
Published: March 2016

SummaryGiven the increasing budget impact of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment, robust real‐world cost data are essential for healthcare decision‐makers to evaluate and understand the costs and benefits of these treatments. To determine the direct cost of treating HCV infection in a hospital‐based ambulatory care setting in Ireland based on available data from the Irish national hepatitis C treatment registry. A microcosting study of the direct costs of patients with hepatitis C treated with interferon‐based and interferon‐free direct‐acting antiviral regimens was conducted. Attendance at the outpatient clinic for clinical assessment, the quantity of resources used per patient, the medication prescribed and the identification and timing of staff involvement was measured and combined to establish a mean cost of treatment per patient and a cost per sustained virological response (SVR). One hundred and sixty‐eight patients were included in the analysis; 119 treated with interferon‐based direct‐acting antiviral regimens and 47 treated with interferon‐free regimens. The mean costs of treatment with the interferon‐based regimens per patient were €38 286 (95% CI €35 305–€41 061). The cost per SVR was €62 457. The mean cost of treatment with interferon‐free regimens per patient was €55 734 (95% CI €50 906–€60 880). The cost per SVR was €81 873. Real‐world cost data provide valuable information to enhance reimbursement decisions. While the direct costs associated with hepatitis C treatment in Ireland are substantial, it is reasonable to expect that the mean cost of treatment and the cost per SVR will reduce as patients with less advanced disease are treated with interferon‐free therapies.
Whole genome duplication in coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and its implications for explaining the rarity of polyploidy in conifers
Authors: Scott Alison Dawn , Stenz Noah W. M. , Ingvarsson Pär K. , Baum David A. 
Published: March 2016

Summary

Polyploidy is common and an important evolutionary factor in most land plant lineages, but it is rare in gymnosperms. Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is one of just two polyploid conifer species and the only hexaploid. Evidence from fossil guard cell size suggests that polyploidy in Sequoia dates to the Eocene. Numerous hypotheses about the mechanism of polyploidy and parental genome donors have been proposed, based primarily on morphological and cytological data, but it remains unclear how Sequoia became polyploid and why this lineage overcame an apparent gymnosperm barrier to whole‐genome duplication (WGD).

We sequenced transcriptomes and used phylogenetic inference, Bayesian concordance analysis and paralog age distributions to resolve relationships among gene copies in hexaploid coast redwood and close relatives.

Our data show that hexaploidy in coast redwood is best explained by autopolyploidy or, if there was allopolyploidy, it happened within the Californian redwood clade. We found that duplicate genes have more similar sequences than expected, given the age of the inferred polyploidization.

Conflict between molecular and fossil estimates of WGD can be explained if diploidization occurred very slowly following polyploidization. We extrapolate from this to suggest that the rarity of polyploidy in gymnosperms may be due to slow diploidization in this clade.
One‐year developmental stability and covariance among oddball, novelty, go/no‐go, and flanker event‐related potentials in adolescence: A monozygotic twin study
Authors: Burwell Scott J. , Malone Stephen M. , Iacono William G. 
Published: March 2016

AbstractERP measures may index genetic risk for psychopathology before disorder onset in adolescence, but little is known about their developmental rank‐order stability during this period of significant brain maturation. We studied ERP stability in 48 pairs of identical twins (age 14–16 years) tested 1 year apart. Trial‐averaged voltage waveforms were extracted from electroencephalographic recordings from oddball/novelty, go/no‐go, and flanker tasks, and 16 amplitude measures were examined. Members of twin pairs were highly similar, whether based on ERP amplitude measures (intraclass correlation [ICC] median = .64, range = .44–.86) or three factor scores (all ICCs ≥ .69) derived from them. Stability was high overall, with 69% of the 16 individual measures generating stability coefficients exceeding .70 and all factor scores showing stability above .75. Measures from 10 difference waveforms calculated from paired conditions within tasks were also examined, and were associated with lower twin similarity (ICC median = .52, .38–.64) and developmental stability (only 30% exceeding .70). In a supplemental analysis, we found significant developmental stability for error‐related negativity (range = .45–.55) and positivity (.56–.70) measures when average waveforms were based on one or more trials, and that these values were equivalent to those derived from averages using the current field recommendation, which requires six or more trials. Overall, we conclude that the studied brain measures are largely stable over 1 year of mid‐ to late adolescence, likely reflecting familial etiologic influences on brain functions pertaining to cognitive control and salience recognition.
Exercising Privilege: The Cyclical Reproduction of Capital through Swim Club Membership
Authors: DeLuca Jaime R. , Andrews David L. 
Published: March 2016

According to cultural theorist Pierre Bourdieu, social class is defined by the interplay and operation of various forms of capital, within the set of durable and objective relations in which the classed subject is located. Informed by Bourdieu's understanding of social class, this article details the empirical dimensions of upper‐middle‐class familial involvement at the Valley View Swim and Tennis Club. An institution prefigured on the practice and development of important physical skills, Valley View represents a site for the complex interplay of capitals (economic, social, cultural, and physical) complicit in the preservation and reproduction of members' upper‐middle‐class habitus, and corresponding elevated and privileged social status. Specifically, we discuss the findings of ethnographic fieldwork focused on the acquisition, transmission, and conversion of economic, social, cultural, and physical capital in and through member families' club involvement. We argue that Valley View operates as a distinctive cultural field, wherein embodied techniques and expressions of class‐based power and privilege contribute to the reproduction of social class differences, boundaries, and hierarchies, in such a way as to render them natural, and largely unacknowledged, effects of being.
Sweet potato NAC transcription factor, IbNAC1, upregulates sporamin gene expression by binding the SWRE motif against mechanical wounding and herbivore attack
Authors: Chen Shi‐Peng , Lin I Winnie , Chen Xuanyang , Huang Yin‐Hao , Chang Shiao‐Chi , Lo Hui‐Shan , Lu Hseuh‐Han , Yeh Kai‐Wun 
Published: March 2016

SummarySporamin is a tuberous storage protein with trypsin inhibitory activity in sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas Lam.), which accounts for 85% of the soluble protein in tubers. It is constitutively expressed in tuberous roots but is expressed in leaves only after wounding. Thus far, its wound‐inducible signal transduction mechanisms remain unclear. In the present work, a 53‐bp DNA region, sporamin wound‐response cis‐element (SWRE), was identified in the sporamin promoter and was determined to be responsible for the wounding response. Using yeast one‐hybrid screening, a NAC domain protein, IbNAC1, that specifically bound to the 5′‐TACAATATC‐3′ sequence in SWRE was isolated from a cDNA library from wounded leaves. IbNAC1 was constitutively expressed in root tissues and was induced earlier than sporamin following the wounding of leaves. Transgenic sweet potato plants overexpressing IbNAC1 had greatly increased sporamin expression, increased trypsin inhibitory activity, and elevated resistance against Spodoptera litura. We further demonstrated that IbNAC1 has multiple biological functions in the jasmonic acid (JA) response, including the inhibition of root formation, accumulation of anthocyanin, regulation of aging processes, reduction of abiotic tolerance, and overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Thus, IbNAC1 is a core transcription factor that reprograms the transcriptional response to wounding via the JA‐mediated pathway in sweet potato.
Movable Rigid Scatterer Model for Flexural Wave Scattering on Thin Plates
Authors: Cai Liang-Wu , Hambric Stephen A. 
Published: March 2016

Abstract
Rigid scatterers are fundamentally important in the study of scattering of many types of waves. However, in the recent literature on scattering of flexural waves on thin plates, a “rigid scatterer” has been used to represent a clamped boundary. Such a model physically resembles riveting the plate to a fixed structure. In this paper, a movable model for a rigid scatterer that allows rigid-body motion is established. It is shown that, when the mass density of the movable rigid scatterer is much greater than that of the host plate and at high frequencies, the movable rigid scatterer approaches the limiting case that is the riveted rigid scatterer. The single- and multiple-scattering by such scatterers are examined. Numerical examples show that, at the extreme end of lower frequencies, the scattering cross section for the movable model vanishes while that of the riveted models approaches infinity. An array of such movable rigid scatterers can form a broad and well-defined stop band for flexural wave transmission. With a volume fraction above 50%, the spectrum is rather clean: consisting of only an extremely broad stop band and two groups of higher frequency Perot–Fabry resonance peaks. Increasing either scatterer’s mass density or the lattice spacing can compress the spectral features toward lower frequencies.
Rapid Low-Cost Virtual Human Bootstrapping via the Crowd
Authors: Borish Michael , Lok Benjamin 
Published: March 2016

Virtual human interactions provide an important avenue for training as emergent opportunities arise. In response to a new training need, we propose a framework to rapidly create experiential learning opportunities in the form of a question--answer chat interaction with virtual humans. This framework takes quickly generated case documents and breaks down the case into small tasks that can be crowdsourced by nonexperts. This framework can serve as a first step to rapidly bootstrapping new virtual humans. We have applied our framework to the task of preparing health care students and professionals to infrequent, but high-stakes, situations such as infectious diseases, cranial nerve disorders, and stroke.
Our framework was utilized by medical professionals interested in providing new training experiences to students and colleagues. Over the course of two months, these professionals created seven scenarios on a diverse range of topics that included Ebola, cancer, and neurological disorders. These scenarios were developed for multiple target audiences such as medical students, residents, and fellows. As a first step, each scenario utilized our framework and crowdsourced workers to create an initial corpus over the course of two days.
From these seven cases, we selected two to evaluate the quality of the resulting virtual-human corpuses. The two scenarios were compared to preexisting reference scenarios that have been in curricular use for several years. We found a reduction in author time commitment of at least 92% while creating a character that was at least 75% as accurate as its reference counterparts. The commitment reduction and accuracy achieved by our framework represents a first step towards rapid development of a virtual human. Our framework can then be combined with other creation processes for further virtual-human development in order to create a mature virtual human. As part of a virtual-human development process, our framework can help to rapidly develop new scenarios in response to emergent training opportunities.