bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Views from many worlds: unsettling categories in interdisciplinary research on endemic zoonotic diseases
Authors: MacGregor Hayley , Waldman Linda 
Published: June 2017

Interdisciplinary research on zoonotic disease has tended to focus on ‘risk’ of disease transmission as a conceptual common denominator. With reference to endemic zoonoses at the livestock–human interface, we argue for considering a broader sweep of disciplinary insights from anthropology and other social sciences in interdisciplinary dialogue, in particular cross-cultural perspectives on human–animal engagement. We consider diverse worldviews where human–animal encounters are perceived of in terms of the kinds of social relations they generate, and the notion of culture is extended to the ‘natural’ world. This has implications for how animals are valued, treated and prioritized. Thinking differently with and about animals and about species' boundaries could enable ways of addressing zoonotic diseases which have closer integration with people's own cultural norms. If we can bring this kind of knowledge into One Health debates, we find ourselves with a multiplicity of worldviews, where bounded categories such as human:animal and nature:culture cannot be assumed. This might in turn influence our scientific ways of seeing our own disciplinary cultures, and generate novel ways of understanding zoonoses and constructing solutions.This article is part of the themed issue ‘One Health for a changing world: zoonoses, ecosystems and human well-being’.
Facility-based surveillance for emerging infectious diseases; diagnostic practices in rural West African hospital settings: observations from Ghana
Authors: Jephcott Freya L. , Wood James L. N. , Cunningham Andrew A. 
Published: June 2017

The aim of this study was to better understand the effectiveness of Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) facility-based surveillance in detecting newly emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) in rural West African settings. A six-month ethnographic study was undertaken in 2012 in the Techiman Municipality of the Brong-Ahafo Region of Ghana, aimed at documenting the trajectories of febrile illness cases of unknown origin occurring within four rural communities. Particular attention was paid to where these trajectories involved the use of formal healthcare facilities and the diagnostic practices that occurred there. Seventy-six participants were enrolled in the study, and 24 complete episodes of illness were documented. While participants routinely used hospital treatment when confronted with enduring or severe illness, the diagnostic process within clinical settings meant that an unusual diagnosis, such as an EID, was unlikely to be considered. Facility-based surveillance is unlikely to be effective in detecting EIDs due to a combination of clinical care practices and the time constraints associated with individual episodes of illness, particularly in the resource-limited settings of rural West Africa, where febrile illness due to malaria is common and specific diagnostic assays are largely unavailable. The success of the ‘One Health' approach to EIDs in West Africa is predicated on characterization of accurately diagnosed disease burdens. To this end, we must address inefficiencies in the dominant approaches to EID surveillance and the weaknesses of health systems in the region generally.
This article is part of the themed issue ‘One Health for a changing world: zoonoses, ecosystems and human well-being'.
The paradox of obligate sex: the roles of sexual conflict and mate scarcity in transitions to facultative and obligate asexuality
Authors: Burke Nathan W , Bonduriansky Russell 
Published: June 2017

ABSTRACTRecent theory suggests that male coercion could contribute to the maintenance of obligate sex. However, it is unclear how sexually antagonistic coevolution might interact with mate scarcity to influence the probability of invasions of obligately sexual populations by mutants capable of parthenogenetic reproduction. Furthermore, if invasion does occur, it is unclear which factors promote or prevent the complete loss of sex. Using individual-based models, we show that male coercion cannot prevent the invasion of a mutant allele that gives virgin females the ability to reproduce parthenogenetically because mutants always benefit by producing at least some offspring asexually prior to mating. Indeed, the likelihood of invasion generally increases as sexual conflict intensifies, and the effects of sexual conflict and mate scarcity can interact in complex ways to promote invasion. Nonetheless, we find that coercion prevents the complete loss of sex unless linkage disequilibrium can build up between the mutant allele and alleles for effective female resistance. Our findings clarify how costs and limitations of female resistance can promote the maintenance of sexual reproduction, turning sex into an evolutionary trap. At the same time, our results highlight the need to explain why facultative reproductive strategies so rarely evolve in nature.
The early modern origins of contemporary European tax outcomes
Authors: D'ARCY MICHELLE , NISTOTSKAYA MARINA 
Published: June 2017

AbstractWhat explains variation in tax outcomes between European states? Previous studies emphasise the role played by political institutions, but focus mostly on the input side of politics – how access to power and policy making is structured – and the institutions of relatively recent times. It is argued in this article that output‐side institutions related to the implementation of political decisions also matter and have deep institutional origins. As the classic literature has argued, the early modern period from 1450 to 1800 was formative for the development of fiscal capacity, but European states diverged in the stock of capacity they acquired. This article tests whether these differences still affect contemporary tax outcomes using a novel measure of fiscal capacity, based on the age, extent and quality of state‐administered cadastral records. The empirical analysis shows that, on average, countries with higher early modern fiscal capacity have higher tax revenue today, compared to countries with lower early modern fiscal capacity. This association is robust to different model specifications and alternative measurements. The findings have important policy implications as they indicate how deeply the current fiscal problems of the continent are entrenched, but also point to what needs to be prioritised within ongoing tax reforms.
Neutralization of Lipopolysaccharide by Heat Shock Protein in Pediococcus pentosaceus AK‐23
Authors: Asami Kyoko , Kondo Ayaka , Suda Yoshihito , Shimoyamada Makoto , Kanauchi Makoto 
Published: June 2017

AbstractAbout 1000 species of bacteria are present in the human intestine. Some Gram‐negative bacteria such as Escherichia coli or Salmonella spp. among intestinal bacteria have lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which might induce inflammation of human intestines. Actually, LPS, especially its lipid A constituent, is toxic. Small amounts of LPS in bacteria cause inflammation of mucosa and other tissues in humans. Such bacteria may be regulated by beneficial lactic acid bacteria to maintain human health. Many lactic acid bacteria show cancer prevention activity and anti‐inflammatory activity in intestines. Recently, Pediococcus pentosaceus AK‐23 was isolated from fermentative vegetable pickles for neutralization of LPS. For this study, a protein for LPS neutralization was purified partly from P. pentosaceus AK‐23. For this study, a protein for LPS neutralization was purified partly from P. pentosaceus AK‐23, by ultrafiltration using a 300 kDa membrane and a 100 kDa membrane after cell wall digestion by lysozyme. Gel running blue native electrophoresis revealed the existence of a 217 kDa protein. The band of the protein having the ability to bind LPS on the gel was analyzed for amino acid homology. As the result, it is revealed as part of a subunit of heat shock protein (HSP). Furthermore, it displayed LPS binding or hydrophobic motifs. The protein neutralized LPS to release fatty acid as myristic acid and glucose from polysaccharide. These findings suggest that HSP in P. pentosaceus AK‐23 neutralizes LPS to decompose it compising fatty acid and polysaccharide.
Immunological function of vitamin D during human pregnancy
Authors: Ji Jin‐Lu , Muyayalo Kahinho P. , Zhang Yong‐Hong , Hu Xiao‐Hui , Liao Ai‐Hua 
Published: June 2017

AbstractThe well‐established classic role of vitamin D is implicated in the regulation of the balance between calcium and phosphorus. Furthermore, vitamin D is also involved in many non‐classic physiological processes, mainly including the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and immune function, participation in the inflammatory response and maintenance of genome stability function. During pregnancy, vitamin D receptor and its metabolic enzymes are expressed at the placenta and decidua, indicating the potential role in the mechanism of immunomodulation at the maternal‐fetal interface. The insufficiency or deficiency of vitamin D may affect the mother directly and is related to specific pregnancy outcomes, such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and recurrent miscarriage. This article reviews the effects of vitamin D on immune regulation during pregnancy.
Detection of dendritic cells and related cytokines in follicular fluid of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome
Authors: Zhang Tao , Tian Fuying , Huo Ran , Tang Aifa , Zeng Yong , Duan Yong‐Gang 
Published: June 2017

ProblemThe presence of dendritic cells (DCs) and associated cytokines in follicular fluid (FF) from patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) remains unknown.Methods of studyFF was collected from PCOS patients and patients with severe male factor infertility (control) at the day of transvaginal oocyte retrieval. Phenotypes of DC were detected by flow cytometry, and TNF‐α, IL‐6, IL‐10, and IL‐23 were assessed by ELISA.ResultsA significant decrease in the percentage of DC was found in patients with PCOS (16.22±5.5%) compared with control (21.27±5.5%, P<.01). E2 on the day of hCG administration was correlated positively with the mean fluorescence intensity of HLA‐DR (r=.75, P<.01) and reversely correlated with the concentration of TNF‐α in FF (r=−.69, P<.01). The level of TNF‐α, IL‐6, and IL‐10 increased significantly but IL‐23 decreased in FF from patients with PCOS.ConclusionThe decrease of DC and disturbance of associated cytokines in FF from PCOS patients indicates a disorder of immunological microenvironment of the ovarian follicle, which might be involved in the dysfunction of folliculogenesis.
An analysis of the delivery of anaesthetic training sessions in the United Kingdom
Authors: Green A. , Tatham K. C. , Yentis S. M. , Wilson J. , Cox M. 
Published: June 2017

SummaryWe analysed data from the electronic rota system CLWRota, covering 2,689,962 anaesthetic sessions between 01/01/2014 and 31/12/2015, in 91 UK Trusts, in order to investigate trainees’ supervision. There were 8209 trainee attachments analysed, during which 618,695 sessions were undertaken by trainees. The number of supervised sessions per week that trainees worked varied considerably (median (IQR [range]) 2.6 (1.6–3.6 [0–10]) for all grades combined), with senior trainees more likely than junior trainees to be supervised for fewer than the three sessions per week mandated by the Royal College of Anaesthetists. The number of supervised sessions was unrelated to Trusts’ size, suggesting that trainees in smaller hospitals receive the same level of supervision as in larger teaching hospitals. Analysis of a dataset of this size should be a good reflection of the delivery of anaesthesia training in the UK.
Modeling tau pathology in human stem cell derived neurons
Authors: Wray Selina 
Published: June 2017

AbstractTau pathology is a defining characteristic of multiple neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) with tau pathology. There is strong evidence from genetics and experimental models to support a central role for tau dysfunction in neuronal death, suggesting tau is a promising therapeutic target for AD and FTD. However, the development of tau pathology can precede symptom onset by several years, so understanding the earliest molecular events in tauopathy is a priority area of research. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) derived from patients with genetic causes of tauopathy provide an opportunity to derive limitless numbers of human neurons with physiologically appropriate expression levels of mutated genes for in vitro studies into disease mechanisms. This review discusses the progress made to date using this approach and highlights some of the challenges and unanswered questions this technology has the potential to address.
Blockade of the 5‐HT transporter contributes to the behavioural, neuronal and molecular effects of cocaine
Authors: Simmler Linda D , Anacker Allison M J , Levin Michael H , Vaswani Nina M , Gresch Paul J , Nackenoff Alex G , Anastasio Noelle C , Stutz Sonja J , Cunningham Kathryn A , Wang Jing , Zhang Bing , Henry L Keith , Stewart Adele , Veenstra‐VanderWeele Jeremy , Blakely Randy D 
Published: June 2017

Background and PurposeThe psychostimulant cocaine induces complex molecular, cellular and behavioural responses as a consequence of inhibiting presynaptic dopamine, noradrenaline and 5‐HT transporters. To elucidate 5‐HT transporter (SERT)‐specific contributions to cocaine action, we evaluated cocaine effects in the SERT Met172 knock‐in mouse, which expresses a SERT coding substitution that eliminates high‐affinity cocaine recognition.Experimental ApproachWe measured the effects of SERT Met172 on cocaine antagonism of 5‐HT re‐uptake using ex vivo synaptosome preparations and in vivo microdialysis. We assessed SERT dependence of cocaine actions behaviourally through acute and chronic locomotor activation, sensitization, conditioned place preference (CPP) and oral cocaine consumption. We used c‐Fos, quantitative RT‐PCR and RNA sequencing methods for insights into cellular and molecular networks supporting SERT‐dependent cocaine actions.Key ResultsSERT Met172 mice demonstrated functional insensitivity for cocaine at SERT. Although they displayed wild‐type levels of acute cocaine‐induced hyperactivity or chronic sensitization, the pattern of acute motor activation was different, with a bias toward thigmotaxis. CPP was increased, and a time‐dependent elevation in oral cocaine consumption was observed. SERT Met172 mice displayed relatively higher levels of neuronal activation in the hippocampus, piriform cortex and prelimbic cortex (PrL), accompanied by region‐dependent changes in immediate early gene expression. Distinct SERT‐dependent gene expression networks triggered by acute and chronic cocaine administration were identified, including PrL Akt and nucleus accumbens ERK1/2 signalling.Conclusion and ImplicationsOur studies reveal distinct SERT contributions to cocaine action, reinforcing the possibility of targeting specific aspects of cocaine addiction by modulation of 5‐HT signalling.
Waiting for the Second Treat: Developing Culture‐Specific Modes of Self‐Regulation
Authors: Lamm Bettina , Keller Heidi , Teiser Johanna , Gudi Helene , Yovsi Relindis D. , Freitag Claudia , Poloczek Sonja , Fassbender Ina , Suhrke Janina , Teubert Manuel , Vöhringer Isabel , Knopf Monika , Schwarzer Gudrun , Lohaus Arnold 
Published: June 2017

The development of self‐regulation has been studied primarily in Western middle‐class contexts and has, therefore, neglected what is known about culturally varying self‐concepts and socialization strategies. The research reported here compared the self‐regulatory competencies of German middle‐class (N = 125) and rural Cameroonian Nso preschoolers (N = 76) using the Marshmallow test (Mischel, 2014). Study 1 revealed that 4‐year‐old Nso children showed better delay‐of‐gratification performance than their German peers. Study 2 revealed that culture‐specific maternal socialization goals and interaction behaviors were related to delay‐of‐gratification performance. Nso mothers’ focus on hierarchical relational socialization goals and responsive control seems to support children's delay‐of‐gratification performance more than German middle‐class mothers’ emphasis on psychological autonomous socialization goals and sensitive, child‐centered parenting.
Transient sex differences during adolescence on auditory perceptual tasks
Authors: Huyck Julia Jones , Wright Beverly A. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractMany perceptual abilities differ between the sexes. Because these sex differences have been documented almost exclusively in adults, they have been attributed to sex‐specific neural circuitry that emerges during development and is maintained in the mature perceptual system. To investigate whether behavioral sex differences in perception can also have other origins, we compared performance between males and females ranging in age from 8 to 30 years on auditory temporal‐interval discrimination and tone‐in‐noise detection tasks on which there are no sex differences in adults. If sex differences in perception arise only from the establishment and subsequent maintenance of sex‐specific neural circuitry, there should be no sex differences during development on these tasks. In contrast, sex differences emerged in adolescence but resolved by adulthood on two of the six conditions, with signs of a similar pattern on a third condition. In each case, males reached mature performance earlier than females, resulting in a sex difference in the interim. These results suggest that sex differences in perception may arise from differences in the maturational timing of common circuitry used by both sexes. They also imply that sex differences in perceptual abilities may be more prevalent than previously thought based on adult data alone.
Increase in the incidence of severe hypoglycaemia in people with Type 2 diabetes in spite of new drugs: analysis based on health insurance data from Germany
Authors: Müller N. , Lehmann T. , Gerste B. , Adler J.‐B. , Kloos C. , Hartmann M. , Kramer G. , Kuniss N. , Müller U. A. 
Published: June 2017

AbstractAimTo evaluate the use of new anti‐hyperglycaemic agents that offer effective glycaemic control while reducing risk of hypoglycaemia, by analysing the incidence rates of severe hypoglycaemia in 2006 vs 2011 in relation to the medication.MethodsThis cross‐sectional, population‐based study used German health insurance data. All adults diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (extrapolated to the German population: 6.35 million in 2006 and 7.52 million in 2011) were screened for severe hypoglycaemia. Anti‐hyperglycaemic agents were identified by their Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical code, and defined daily doses of each medication were calculated.ResultsThe severe hypoglycaemic event rate was 460 per 100,000 people/year in 2006 and 490 per 100,000 people/year in 2011. In 2006 and 2011, 10.9% and 7.3%, respectively, of all people with severe hypoglycaemia were on sulfonylureas, while 12.7% and 9.3%, respectively, were on a combination therapy of metformin and sulfonylureas. Among those with severe hypoglycaemia, there were no prescriptions of dipeptidyl peptidase‐4 inhibitors or glucagon‐like peptide‐1 receptor agonists in 2006, but in 2011, 1.55% and 0.17%, of those with severe hypoglycaemia were receiving the respective treatments. In 2006 vs 2011, human insulin was prescribed for 11.3% vs 10.3% of people with severe hypoglycaemia, while insulin analogues were prescribed for 5.4% vs 8.1%, and mixed human insulins for 19.7% vs 14.0% of patients with severe hypoglycaemia. People receiving insulin analogue therapy had a higher risk of severe hypoglycaemia than those receiving metformin, after adjusting for age, gender, nephropathy diagnosis and year of survey (odds ratio 14.6; CI 13.3–15.9).ConclusionThe incidence of severe hypoglycaemic events in Germany increased between 2006 and 2011, despite increased use of newer anti‐hyperglycaemic agents and decreased use of insulins.
A unified theory of forward‐ and backward‐looking M&As and divestitures
Authors: Ma Qing , Wang Susheng 
Published: June 2017

AbstractIn a unified theory of forward‐ and backward‐looking mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and divestitures, an M&A today may be a cause for a divestiture in the future; conversely a divestiture today may be a consequence of an M&A in the past. M&As and divestitures are not only two sides of the same coin, they are also causes and consequences of each other. In this paper, in a two‐period model, two firms consider integrating or separating in each period. We analyze forward‐ and backward‐looking M&As and divestitures, and compare them with static M&As and divestitures.
The association between question type and the outcomes of a Dermatology eConsult service
Authors: O'Toole Ashley , Joo Jiyeh , DesGroseilliers Jean‐Pierre , Liddy Clare , Glassman Steven , Afkham Amir , Keely Erin 
Published: June 2017

AbstractBackgroundeConsult is a web based service that facilitates communication between primary care providers (PCPs) and specialists, which can reduce the need for face‐to‐face consultations with specialists. One example is the Champlain BASE (Building Access to Specialist through eConsultation) service with dermatology being the largest specialty consulted.MethodsDermatology eConsults submitted from July 2011 to January 2015 were reviewed. Post eConsult surveys for PCPs were analyzed to determine the number of traditional consults avoided and perceived value of eConsults. The time it took the PCP to receive a reply and the amount of time reported by the specialist to answer eConsult were proactively recorded and analyzed. A subset of 154 most recent eConsults was categorized for dermatology content and question type (e.g. diagnosis or management) using a validated taxonomy.ResultsA total of 965 eConsults were directed to dermatology from 217 unique PCPs. The majority of eConsults (64%) took the specialist between 10 and 15 minutes to answer. The overall value of this service to the provider was rated as very good or excellent in 95% of cases. In 49%, traditional in‐person assessments were avoided. In the subset of the most recent cases, diagnosis was the most common question type asked (65.2%) followed by management (29%) and drug treatment (10.6%). The top five subject areas (40%) were: Dermatitis, Infections, Neoplasm, Nevi, and Pruritus.ConclusioneConsults was feasible and well received by PCPs, which improves access to dermatology care with a potential to reduce wait times for traditional consultation.