bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Long‐term safety and efficacy of tofogliflozin as add‐on to insulin in patients with type 2 diabetes: Results from a 52‐week, multicentre, randomized, double‐blind, open‐label extension, Phase 4 study in Japan (J‐STEP/INS)
Authors: Terauchi Yasuo , Tamura Masahiro , Senda Masayuki , Gunji Ryoji , Kaku Kohei 
Published: January 2018

AimsTo evaluate the long‐term safety and efficacy of tofogliflozin as an add‐on treatment to insulin over 52 weeks.Materials and methodsThis 52‐week, multicentre, Phase 4 study consisted of a 16‐week, randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled phase and a 36‐week open label extension phase (NCT02201004). Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, aged 20 to 75 years, with suboptimal glycaemic control (7.5%‐10.5%) receiving insulin monotherapy (basal‐bolus, bolus, premix [low and high] and basal) or receiving combination therapy with basal insulin and dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitor were eligible for participation. Patients who received tofogliflozin throughout the study (52 weeks) were referred to as the ‘tofo‐tofo group’ and patients who received placebo and tofogliflozin (36 weeks) were referred to as the ‘pla‐tofo group’.ResultsA total of 210 patients received treatment per randomization. Hypoglycaemia was the most common treatment‐emergent adverse event (AE) (42.9% in the tofo‐tofo group and 29.4% in the pla‐tofo group). Patients reported genital infection, urinary tract infection, excessive urination and AEs related to volume depletion (2.1%, 2.1%, 7.1% and 10.0% of patients in the tofo‐tofo group, and 0%, 1.5%, 2.9% and 7.4% of patients in the pla‐tofo group, respectively). Mean HbA1c and body weight at baseline (mean changes ± standard error from baseline to Week 52) in the tofo‐tofo and pla‐tofo groups were 8.53% (−0.76% ± 0.077) and 8.40% (−0.73% ± 0.102); 68.84 kg (−1.52 kg ± 0.207) and 72.24 kg (−2.13 kg ± 0.313), respectively.ConclusionsThis study demonstrates the safety and efficacy of tofogliflozin as add‐on to insulin therapy in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, offering a new therapeutic solution to diabetes management.
Generalist feeding strategies in Arctic freshwater fish: A mechanism for dealing with extreme environments
Authors: Laske Sarah M. , Rosenberger Amanda E. , Wipfli Mark S. , Zimmerman Christian E. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractGeneralist feeding strategies are favoured in stressful or variable environments where flexibility in ecological traits is beneficial. Species that feed across multiple habitat types and trophic levels may impart stability on food webs through the use of readily available, alternative energy pools. In lakes, generalist fish species may take advantage of spatially and temporally variable prey by consuming both benthic and pelagic prey to meet their energy demands. Using stomach content and stable isotope analyses, we examined the feeding habits of fish species in Alaska's Arctic Coastal Plain (ACP) lakes to determine the prevalence of generalist feeding strategies as a mechanism for persistence in extreme environments (e.g. low productivity, extreme cold and short growing season). Generalist and flexible feeding strategies were evident in five common fish species. Fish fed on benthic and pelagic (or nektonic) prey and across trophic levels. Three species were clearly omnivorous, feeding on fish and their shared invertebrate prey. Dietary differences based on stomach content analysis often exceeded 70%, and overlap in dietary niches based on shared isotopic space varied from zero to 40%. Metrics of community‐wide trophic structure varied with the number and identity of species involved and on the dietary overlap and niche size of individual fishes. Accumulation of energy from shared carbon sources by Arctic fishes creates redundancy in food webs, increasing likely resistance to perturbations or stochastic events. Therefore, the generalist and omnivorous feeding strategies employed by ACP fish may maintain energy flow and food web stability in extreme environments.
Continuous professional development and ECEC quality: Findings from a European systematic literature review
Authors: Peleman Brecht , Lazzari Arianna , Budginaitė Irma , Siarova Hanna , Hauari Hanan , Peeters Jan , Cameron Claire 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThis article presents the findings of an analysis of the effects of CPD initiatives on the quality of the pedagogical practices of ECEC practitioners. It is part of a larger study commissioned by Eurofound and jointly conducted by VBJK, IOE and PPMI (Eurofound, 2015). In order to draw policy‐relevant information that might support decision makers in designing effective ECEC policies in their countries, the study reviewed existing research evidence published on this topic not only in English, but also in all the languages currently in use in EU Member States. Therefore, it involved country experts from EU‐28 Member States. The research question was framed by the political priorities identified by the Council Conclusions on Early Childhood Education and Care (EU Council, 2011). The systematic literature review methodology elaborated by the EPPI‐Centre for informing evidence‐based policies in the field of education and social sciences was adopted to review the evidence drawn from primary research studies cross‐nationally. The study revealed that long‐term CPD interventions integrated into practice, such as pedagogical guidance and coaching in reflection groups, proved to be effective not only in countries with a well‐established system of ECEC provision and a high level of qualification requirements for the practitioners, but also in countries with poorly subsidised ECEC systems and low qualification requirements. CPD initiatives based on the active engagement of practitioners and on peer exchanges within a shared scientific framework, proved to be the most effective.
Fichte's Creuzer review and the transformation of the free will problem
Authors: Martin Wayne 
Published: January 2018

AbstractFichte's early review of C. A. L. Creuzer's neglected and idiosyncratic skeptical book on free will posed a serious challenge to what at the time was emerging as a consensus Kantian position on the role of free choice (Willkür) in the generation of imputable action. Fichte's review was directed as much against Reinhold's important (and only recently published) letter on freedom of the will as it was against Creuzer himself. In the course of his brief review, Fichte suggests an important recasting of the strategy of the Kantian postulates of rational faith; he poses a dilemma for the Reinholdian understanding of the relationship among an autonomous practical will, a free power of choice, and the actions of natural human organisms; and he hints at a radical reappropriation of the rationalist doctrine of pre‐established harmony in re‐orienting the search for a defensible reconstruction of a broadly Kantian position on the problem of free will.
On the prevalence and dynamics of inverted trophic pyramids and otherwise top‐heavy communities
Authors: McCauley Douglas J. , Gellner Gabriel , Martinez Neo D. , Williams Richard J. , Sandin Stuart A. , Micheli Fiorenza , Mumby Peter J. , McCann Kevin S. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractClassically, biomass partitioning across trophic levels was thought to add up to a pyramidal distribution. Numerous exceptions have, however, been noted including complete pyramidal inversions. Elevated levels of biomass top‐heaviness (i.e. high consumer/resource biomass ratios) have been reported from Arctic tundra communities to Brazilian phytotelmata, and in species assemblages as diverse as those dominated by sharks and ants. We highlight two major pathways for creating top‐heaviness, via: (1) endogenous channels that enhance energy transfer across trophic boundaries within a community and (2) exogenous pathways that transfer energy into communities from across spatial and temporal boundaries. Consumer–resource models and allometric trophic network models combined with niche models reveal the nature of core mechanisms for promoting top‐heaviness. Outputs from these models suggest that top‐heavy communities can be stable, but they also reveal sources of instability. Humans are both increasing and decreasing top‐heaviness in nature with ecological consequences. Current and future research on the drivers of top‐heaviness can help elucidate fundamental mechanisms that shape the architecture of ecological communities and govern energy flux within and between communities. Questions emerging from the study of top‐heaviness also usefully draw attention to the incompleteness and inconsistency by which ecologists often establish definitional boundaries for communities.
Persistent mucosal damage and risk of epilepsy in people with celiac disease
Authors: Kurien M. , Ludvigsson J. F. , Sanders D. S. , Zylberberg H. M. , Green P. H. , Sundelin H. E. K. , Lebwohl B. 
Published: January 2018

Background and purposeCeliac disease (CD) is associated with an increased risk of developing epilepsy, a risk that persists after CD diagnosis. A significant proportion of patients with CD have persistent villous atrophy (VA) on follow‐up biopsy. The objective of this study was to determine whether persistent VA on follow‐up biopsy affected long‐term epilepsy risk and epilepsy‐related hospital emergency admissions.MethodsThis was a nationwide cohort study. We identified all people in Sweden with histological evidence of CD who underwent a follow‐up small intestinal biopsy (1969–2008). We compared those with persistent VA with those who showed histological improvement, assessing the development of epilepsy and related emergency hospital admissions (defined according to relevant International Classification of Diseases codes in the Swedish Patient Register). Cox regression analysis was used to assess outcome measures.ResultsVillous atrophy was present in 43% of 7590 people with CD who had a follow‐up biopsy. The presence of persistent VA was significantly associated with a reduced risk of developing newly‐diagnosed epilepsy (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% confidence interval, 0.38–0.98). On stratified analysis, this effect was primarily amongst males (hazard ratio, 0.35; 95% confidence interval, 0.15–0.80). Among the 58 patients with CD with a prior diagnosis of epilepsy, those with persistent VA were less likely to visit an emergency department with epilepsy (hazard ratio, 0.37; 95% confidence interval, 0.09–1.09).ConclusionsIn a population‐based study of individuals with CD, persisting VA on follow‐up biopsy was associated with reduced future risk of developing epilepsy but did not influence emergency epilepsy‐related hospital admissions. The mechanism as to why persistent VA confers this benefit requires further exploration.
Global transcriptome profiling of mild relapsing‐remitting versus primary progressive multiple sclerosis
Authors: Koch M. W. , Ilnytskyy Y. , Golubov A. , Metz L. M. , Yong V. W. , Kovalchuk O. 
Published: January 2018

Background and purposeGenetic research in multiple sclerosis (MS) mostly compares patients with MS with healthy controls, but does not differentiate between MS disease courses. We compared peripheral blood gene expression patterns between extremes of MS phenotypes, i.e. patients with mild relapsing‐remitting MS (mRRMS) and primary progressive MS (PPMS).MethodsWe analyzed global gene expression profiles of peripheral blood samples of age‐ and gender‐matched patients with mRRMS and PPMS. Detailed bioinformatic and gene set enrichment analysis, pathway and principle component analyses were used to identify differentially expressed genes and pathways.ResultsA total of 84 genes were significantly deregulated between the groups. Of those, 19 had been previously reported to be deregulated in patients with MS as compared with healthy controls, including major histocompatibility complex, interferon receptor 2 and interleukin 6 receptor. Detailed molecular pathway analysis revealed significant up‐regulation of antigen processing and presentation, leukocyte transendothelial migration, nucleotide‐binding oligomerization domain‐like receptor signaling, chemokine signaling and down‐regulation of RNA transport, spliceosome and aminoacyl‐tRNA biosynthesis pathways in PPMS compared with mRRMS.ConclusionOur analyses show significant differences between mRRMS and PPMS gene expression. Surprisingly, the differentially expressed genes were mostly involved in immunological and inflammatory pathways, suggesting that the difference in MS phenotypes is caused primarily by a difference in immune responses. It should be kept in mind that our analyses were in peripheral blood only, and that the observed differences in inflammatory pathways may be a substrate of the analysed tissue. Further research into gene expression differences between disease courses including analyses in central nervous system tissue is warranted.
Evaluation of an aphid‐rearing method using excised leaves and agar medium
Authors: LI Yang , Akimoto Shin‐ichi 
Published: January 2018

AbstractThe present study evaluated the effectiveness of an aphid‐rearing method devised by Milner in 1981 using Acyrthosiphon pisum and its host plant Vicia faba. In the “agar‐leaf method,” excised leaves of V. faba were attached to the surface of 1% agar gel containing nutrient solution, and test aphids were transferred onto the leaves. Excised leaves grew in size and weight on the agar medium. Fecundity, longevity, body size and developmental time to adulthood were compared between aphids reared using the agar‐leaf method vs. those reared on V. faba seedlings under the same conditions. No significant difference was detected between the two treatments for any of the four parameters, suggesting that the aphids grew and reproduced on excised leaves as successfully as on V. faba seedlings. This method was also useful for inducing males and oviparous females at lower temperature and in short days. Therefore, the present study confirms the effectiveness of using excised leaves on agar and suggests that this method could be applied to the rearing of other aphids, phytophagous mites, leaf miners and leaf‐gall formers.
Characterizing larval swordfish habitat in the western tropical North Atlantic
Authors: Suca Justin J. , Rasmuson Leif K. , Malca Estrella , Gerard Trika , Lamkin John T. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractSwordfish Xiphias gladius (Linnaeus, 1758) are a circumglobal pelagic fish targeted by multiple lucrative fisheries. Determining the distribution of swordfish larvae is important for indicating reproductive activity and understanding the early life history of swordfish. We identify and characterize larval swordfish distributions during peak swordfish spawning throughout the Gulf of Mexico and western Caribbean Sea with generalized additive models (GAMs) using catches of swordfish larvae during ichthyoplankton surveys in April and May of 2010, 2011, and 2012. The best fit GAM, as determined by stepwise, backward Akaike Information Criterion selection, included both physiochemical (temperature at 5 m, sea surface height anomaly (SSHA), eddy kinetic energy (EKE)), temporal (lunar illumination, hour of sampling) and spatial (location) variables, while near surface chlorophyll a concentration residuals remained as a random effect. The highest probability of larval swordfish catch occurred at sub‐surface temperatures, SSHA, and EKE values indicative of boundary currents. Standard lengths of larvae were larger further downstream in the boundary currents, despite high variability in length with location due to multiple spawning locations of swordfish near these currents. Probability of larval swordfish catch also peaked during the crescent and gibbous moons, indicating a lunar periodicity to swordfish spawning. These results suggest that swordfish may spawn during select moon phases near boundary currents that transport their larvae to larval and juvenile habitat including the northern Gulf of Mexico and coastal waters of the southeast United States.
Interaction effects of zooplankton and CO2 on phytoplankton communities and the deep chlorophyll maximum
Authors: Paquette Cindy , Beisner Beatrix E. 
Published: January 2018

Abstract

Studies examining the consequences of increased partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) in freshwater ecosystems associated with climate change have focused on direct effects for phytoplankton, showing increases in primary productivity, biomass or altered composition. However, in lakes, phytoplankton dynamics are also regulated by zooplankton predation and thermal stratification which can lead to a concentration of phytoplankton biomass in a deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) layer, making the response to CO2 increase important to understand here.

Mesocosm experiments were conducted in a meso‐oligotrophic north temperate lake with a strong summer phytoplankton DCM, to estimate the independent and interaction effects of zooplankton grazing and elevated pCO2 on water column phytoplankton communities and on DCM characteristics.

Interaction of CO2 effects with zooplankton grazing occurred for three of four phytoplankton spectral groups, influencing water column phytoplankton biomass. Zooplankton selective grazing appeared as important as CO2 concentration in controlling phytoplankton population and biomass. Unexpectedly, CO2 had an overall negative effect on phytoplankton total biomass despite positive productivity responses.

Elevated CO2 led to more peaked (stronger vertical gradient) mid‐water column chlorophyll distribution, but to smaller DCM peaks overall. Zooplankton had unexpected effects, inducing clustering of more edible phytoplankton and greater temporal variation in the DCM.

Our experiment points to interactions in the microbial food web and stoichiometric considerations with nutrient addition that should be explored further in future work with realistic lake food webs to better understand these complex responses to CO2.
Determinant landscape‐scale factors on pond odonate assemblages
Authors: Le Gall Mickaël , Fournier Matthieu , Chaput‐Bardy Audrey , Husté Aurélie 
Published: January 2018

Abstract

Species assemblages are related to environmental factors acting at different landscape scales. Local habitat heterogeneity also contributes to maintain the regional species pool. Understanding factors determining species presence is therefore crucial for formulation of successful conservation and management strategies.

Odonates can reveal much about patterns of species assemblages since their presence at a site reflects both their dispersal ability and life cycle constraints. Odonate assemblages were studied at 31 ponds located in three different landscapes: forest, urban and field. The impact of pond geographical distribution and their local characteristics (i.e., vegetation, suspended matter, freshwater macroinvertebrates, pond area and temporariness) on odonate composition, species richness and larval presence were studied.

According to their intrinsic requirements, damselfly and dragonfly presence on ponds depended on local characteristics. Some species of the two orders were only detected in field or forest ponds. Moreover, some species were never detected in urban ponds. Differences in odonate assemblages were mainly related to vegetation, freshwater macroinvertebrates and pond area. Species richness was related to predator abundance and pond area, especially for dragonflies. The presence and abundance of odonate larvae were both related to aquatic vegetation, and to contrasted aquatic variables of ponds. Therefore, this study confirms that vegetation within and around ponds determines odonate presence. Interestingly, in a pond, species detected at the adult stage were not always detected at the larval stage, highlighting the need to really consider both parts of the lifecycle when studying odonate assemblages.

Diversity of local habitats within and around ponds depends strongly on the surrounding landscape and influences the assembly of odonates. Forest and field ponds presented particularly dissimilar species assemblages. Urban ponds had no specific environmental habitats compared to the other contexts. Species present on these ponds are rather generalist and able to support human disturbances. Overall, this study confirms that pond heterogeneity may be a key factor in maintaining the regional pool of odonate species.
Mineralisation of filamentous cyanobacteria in Lake Thetis stromatolites, Western Australia
Authors: Wacey D. , Urosevic L. , Saunders M. , George A. D. 
Published: January 2018

AbstractStromatolites are cited as some of the earliest evidence for life on Earth, but problems remain in reconciling the paucity of microfossils in ancient carbonate examples with the abundance of microbes that help construct modern analogues. Here, we trace the mineralisation pathway of filamentous cyanobacteria within stromatolites from Lake Thetis, Western Australia, providing new insights into microfossil preservation in carbonate stromatolites. Lake Thetis cyanobacteria exhibit a spectrum of mineralisation processes that include early precipitation of Mg‐silicates, largely controlled by the morphochemical features of the cyanobacteria, followed by aragonite formation that is inferred to be driven by heterotrophic activity. Fossilised cyanobacteria with high‐quality morphological preservation are characterised by a significant volume of authigenic Mg‐silicates, which have preferentially nucleated in/on extracellular organic material and on cell walls, and now replicate the region once occupied by the cyanobacterial sheath. In such specimens, aragonite is restricted to the outer sheath margin and parts of the cell interior. Cyanobacteria that display more significant degradation appear to possess a higher ratio of aragonite to Mg‐silicate. In these specimens, aragonite forms micronodules in the sheath zone and is spatially associated with the inferred remains of heterotrophic bacteria. Aragonite also occurs as an advancing front from the outer margin of the sheath where it is commonly intergrown with Mg‐silicates. Where there is no evidence of Mg‐silicates within filaments, the fidelity of microfossil preservation is poor. In these cases, individual filaments may no longer be visible under light microscopy, and little organic material remains, but filament traces remain detectable using electron microscopy due to variations in aragonite texture. These data provide further evidence that authigenic silicate minerals play a crucial role in the fossilisation of micro‐organisms; in their absence, carbonate crystal growth potentially mediated by heterotrophic microbial decay may largely obliterate morphological evidence for life within stromatolites, although mineralogical traces may still be detectable using electron microscopy.