bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Projecting regional climate and cropland changes using a linked biogeophysical‐socioeconomic modeling framework: 2. Transient dynamics
Authors: Ahmed Kazi Farzan , Wang Guiling , You Liangzhi , Anyah Richard , Zhang Chuanrong , Burnicki Amy 
Published: January 2017

AbstractUnderstanding climate‐cropland interactions and their impact on future projections in West Africa motivated the recent development of a modeling framework that asynchronously couples four models for regional climate, crop growth, socioeconomics, and cropland allocation. This modeling framework can be applied to a future time slice using an equilibrium approach or to a continuous projection using a transient approach. This paper compares the differences between these two approaches, examines the transient dynamics of the system, and evaluates its impact on future projections. During the course of projection up to mid‐century, food demand is projected to increase monotonically, while the projected crop yield shows a high degree of temporal dynamics due to strong climate variability. Such temporal dynamics are not accounted for by the equilibrium approach. As a result, the transient approach projects a generally faster future expansion of cropland, with the largest differences over Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal, and Togo. Despite the relative large differences between the two approaches in projecting land cover changes associated with cropland expansion, the projected future climate changes are fairly similar. While the additional cropland expansion in the transient approach favors a wet signal, both the transient and equilibrium approaches project a future decrease of rainfall in the western part of West Africa and an increase in the eastern part. For quantifying climate changes, the equilibrium application of the modeling framework is likely to be sufficient; for assessing climate impact on agricultural sectors and devising mitigation and adaptation strategies, transient dynamics is important.
A new method for determining the optimal lagged ensemble
Authors: Trenary L. , DelSole T. , Tippett M. K. , Pegion K. 
Published: January 2017

AbstractWe propose a general methodology for determining the lagged ensemble that minimizes the mean square forecast error. The MSE of a lagged ensemble is shown to depend only on a quantity called the cross‐lead error covariance matrix, which can be estimated from a short hindcast data set and parameterized in terms of analytic functions of time. The resulting parameterization allows the skill of forecasts to be evaluated for an arbitrary ensemble size and initialization frequency. Remarkably, the parameterization also can estimate the MSE of a burst ensemble simply by taking the limit of an infinitely small interval between initialization times. This methodology is applied to forecasts of the Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) from version 2 of the Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2). For leads greater than a week, little improvement is found in the MJO forecast skill when ensembles larger than 5 days are used or initializations greater than 4 times per day. We find that if the initialization frequency is too infrequent, important structures of the lagged error covariance matrix are lost. Lastly, we demonstrate that the forecast error at leads
10 days can be reduced by optimally weighting the lagged ensemble members. The weights are shown to depend only on the cross‐lead error covariance matrix. While the methodology developed here is applied to CFSv2, the technique can be easily adapted to other forecast systems.
Effects of multilayer snow scheme on the simulation of snow: Offline Noah and coupled with NCEPCFSv2
Authors: Saha Subodh Kumar , Sujith K. , Pokhrel Samir , Chaudhari Hemantkumar S. , Hazra Anupam 
Published: January 2017

AbstractThe Noah version 2.7.1 is a moderately complex land surface model (LSM), with a single layer snowpack, combined with vegetation and underlying soil layer. Many previous studies have pointed out biases in the simulation of snow, which may hinder the skill of a forecasting system coupled with the Noah. In order to improve the simulation of snow by the Noah, a multilayer snow scheme (up to a maximum of six layers) is introduced. As Noah is the land surface component of the Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2) of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), the modified Noah is also coupled with the CFSv2. The offline LSM shows large improvements in the simulation of snow depth, snow water equivalent (SWE), and snow cover area during snow season (October to June). CFSv2 with the modified Noah reveals a dramatic improvements in the simulation of snow depth and 2 m air temperature and moderate improvements in SWE. As suggested in the previous diagnostic and sensitivity study, improvements in the simulation of snow by CFSv2 have lead to the reduction in dry bias over the Indian subcontinent (by a maximum of 2 mm d−1). The multilayer snow scheme shows promising results in the simulation of snow as well as Indian summer monsoon rainfall and hence this development may be the part of the future version of the CFS.
Hadza sleep biology: Evidence for flexible sleep‐wake patterns in hunter‐gatherers
Authors: Samson David R. , Crittenden Alyssa N. , Mabulla Ibrahim A. , Mabulla Audax Z.P. , Nunn Charles L. 
Published: January 2017

AbstractObjectivesCross‐cultural sleep research is critical to deciphering whether modern sleep expression is the product of recent selective pressures, or an example of evolutionary mismatch to ancestral sleep ecology. We worked with the Hadza, an equatorial, hunter‐gatherer community in Tanzania, to better understand ancestral sleep patterns and to test hypotheses related to sleep segmentation.MethodsWe used actigraphy to analyze sleep‐wake patterns in thirty‐three volunteers for a total of 393 days. Linear mixed effects modeling was performed to assess ecological predictors of sleep duration and quality. Additionally, functional linear modeling (FLM) was used to characterize 24‐hr time averaged circadian patterns.ResultsCompared with post‐industrialized western populations, the Hadza were characterized by shorter (6.25 hr), poorer quality sleep (sleep efficiency = 68.9%), yet had stronger circadian rhythms. Sleep duration time was negatively influenced by greater activity, age, light (lux) exposure, and moon phase, and positively influenced by increased day length and mean nighttime temperature. The average daily nap ratio (i.e., the proportion of days where a nap was present) was 0.54 (SE = 0.05), with an average nap duration of 47.5 min (SE = 2.71; n = 139).DiscussionThis study showed that circadian rhythms in small‐scale foraging populations are more entrained to their ecological environments than Western populations. Additionally, Hadza sleep is characterized as flexible, with a consistent early morning sleep period yet reliance upon opportunistic daytime napping. We propose that plasticity in sleep‐wake patterns has been a target of natural selection in human evolution.
Assembly studies of six intestinal intermediate filament (IF) proteins B2, C1, C2, D1, D2, and E1 in the nematode C. elegans
Authors: Karabinos Anton , Schünemann Jürgen , Parry David A. D. 
Published: January 2017

AbstractThe dimerisation properties of six intestine‐expressed intermediate filament (IF) proteins (B2, C1, C2, D1, D2, E1) were analysed in blot overlay assay on membranes containing all of the eleven recombinant C. elegans IF proteins (A1, A2, A3, A4, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1, D2, and E1). The interactions detected in the blot assays exclusively comprise intestine‐expressed IF proteins and the protein A4, which is found in the dauer larva intestine. About 86% of these interactions are heterotypic, while the remaining interactions relate to C1, C2, and D2 homodimers. These multiple modes of interaction were also supported by calculations of the numbers of possible interchain ionic interactions derived from the individual rod sequences. The results predict that the six B2, C1, C2, D1, D2, and E1 IF proteins are able to form as many as eleven different heteropolymeric and three homopolymeric IFs in the C. elegans intestine. This simple model of the intestinal IF meshwork enables us to speculate that our previously reported triple RNAi worms arrested or decreased their growth because of feeding reduction due to morphological defects of the mechanically compromised intestine.
Diabetes is associated with risk of postoperative cognitive dysfunction: A meta‐analysis
Authors: Feinkohl I. , Winterer G. , Pischon T. 
Published: January 2017

AbstractBackgroundPostoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) occurs frequently after surgery, particularly among older people. Diabetes, chronic hyperglycemia, and a history of hypoglycemia are related to cognitive impairment, but little is known about their roles in POCD. Here, we estimated their associations with risk of POCD on the basis of published epidemiological research.MethodsThe PubMed and Cochrane databases were searched for longitudinal studies of adults undergoing surgery with reporting of associations of diabetes status, glycemic levels, and/or a history of hypoglycemia with risk of POCD as relative risks or odds ratios. Meta‐analysis Of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (MOOSE) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed.ResultsThe search identified 246 publications of which 14 met inclusion criteria, reporting on a total of 2642 patients (mean age 64 y). Follow‐up periods spanned 1 day to 5 years. Overall, patients with diabetes had a 1.26‐fold higher risk of POCD compared with diabetes‐free patients (95% CI, 1.12–1.42). A single study assessed glycemic control in patients with diabetes and identified a higher hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level as associated with higher POCD risk (relative risk per percent higher HbA1c, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.4–2.6). We did not find studies on glycemic levels in the nondiabetic range or on hypoglycemia as potential predictors of POCD.ConclusionPatients with diabetes appear to have a higher risk of POCD compared with diabetes‐free persons. Among patients with diabetes, POCD risk may further increase with poorer glycemic control as indexed by higher HbA1c. The roles of HbA1c levels among nondiabetic persons in POCD risk warrant further research.
Identification and analytical characterization of six synthetic cannabinoids NNL‐3, 5F–NPB‐22‐7N, 5F–AKB‐48‐7N, 5F–EDMB‐PINACA, EMB‐FUBINACA, and EG‐018
Authors: Liu Cuimei , Jia Wei , Hua Zhendong , Qian Zhenhua 
Published: January 2017

Clinical and forensic toxicology laboratories are continuously confronted by analytical challenges when dealing with the new psychoactive substances phenomenon. The number of synthetic cannabinoids, the chemical diversity, and the speed of emergence make this group of compounds particularly challenging in terms of detection, monitoring, and responding. Three indazole 7N positional isomer synthetic cannabinoids, two ethyl 2‐amino‐3‐methylbutanoate‐type synthetic cannabinoids, and one 9H–carbazole substituted synthetic cannabinoid were identified in seized materials. These six synthetic cannabinoid derivatives included: 1H–benzo[d] [1,2,3]triazol‐1‐yl 1‐(5‐fluoropentyl)‐1H–pyrrolo[2,3‐b]pyridine‐3‐carboxylate (NNL‐3, 1), quinolin‐8‐yl 1‐(5‐fluoropentyl)‐1H–pyrrolo[2,3‐b]pyridine‐3‐carboxylate (5F–NPB‐22‐7N, 2), N‐((1 s,3 s)‐adamantan‐1‐yl)‐1‐(5‐fluoropentyl)‐1H–pyrrolo[2,3‐b]pyridine‐3‐carboxamide (5F–AKB‐48‐7N, 3), ethyl 2‐(1‐(5‐fluoropentyl)‐1H–indazole‐3‐carboxamido)‐3,3‐dimethylbutanoate (5F–EDMB‐PINACA, 4), ethyl 2‐(1‐(4‐fluorobenzyl)‐1H–indazole‐3‐carboxamido)‐3‐methylbutanoate (EMB‐FUBINACA, 5), and naphthalen‐1‐yl(9‐pentyl‐9H‐carbazol‐3‐yl)methanone (EG‐018, 6). The identification was based on ultra‐high‐performance liquid chromatography‐quadrupole time‐of‐flight‐mass spectrometry (UHPLC‐QTOF‐MS), gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). The analytical characterization of these six synthetic cannabinoids was described, so as to assist forensic laboratories in identifying these compounds or other substances with similar structure in their case work. To our knowledge, no analytical data about the compounds 1–5 have appeared until now, making this the first report on these compounds. The GC–MS data of 6 has been reported, but this study added the LC–MS, NMR, and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), data to render the analytical data collection process more complete. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Nanoemulsions for food fortification with lipophilic vitamins: Production challenges, stability, and bioavailability
Authors: Öztürk Bengü 
Published: January 2017

Essential micronutrients, such as lipophilic vitamins are vital for human health and wellbeing. There is a growing demand on consuming vitamin‐fortified foods due to the increasing awareness of consumers to common life‐treating diseases. People may not take the required daily intake (RDI) amount of these vitamins due to the limited natural sources, malnutrition facts, and loss of their chemical stability during food production, storage, and transportation. Protective encapsulation technologies are required during food fortification to prevent vitamins from degradation and enhance their bioavailability in human gastrointestinal system. Oil‐in‐water nanoemulsions are described as promising delivery systems by the researchers to encapsulate and stabilize lipophilic vitamins and thus enhance their bioavailability. This review covers the challenges in production methods and factors affecting the stability of lipophilic vitamins and nanoemulsion delivery systems as well and the most recent studies on bioavailability evaluation of vitamins A, D, E encapsulated in oil‐in‐water nanoemulsions.Practical applications: Food fortification with essential micronutrients, such as vitamins A, D, and E contributes to human health by providing the intake of sufficient amounts to prevent diseases (e.g., osteoporosis, osteomalacia, suppressed immune system, cancer, loss of vision, cardiovascular diseases) treating the quality of the life and the survival. Lipid‐based nanoemulsion delivery systems can be used to encapsulate these lipophilic vitamins to increase their solubility, stability, and bioavailability, and also they provide an advantage as to be fortified in aqueous‐based food/beverages rather than only lipid‐based formulations. Staple foods and beverages, such as orange juice, milk, cheese, and bread, could be fortified with stabilized vitamin enriched nanoemulsions, so that human can get greater benefit from these micronutrients.Oil‐in‐water nanoemulsions are consisted of a lipophilic core (oil phase) where lipophilic bioactive compound is entrapped and hydrophilic shell (aqueous phase), and an amphiphilic interfacial layer composed of the emulsifier/surfactant. Nanoemulsions produced by both low‐ and high‐energy methods are promising delivery systems to encapsulate and stabilize the lipophilic vitamins during food fortification and enhance their bioavailability. The challenges in production methods, factors affecting the stability, and the most recent studies on bioavailability evaluation of vitamins A, D, E encapsulated in oil‐in‐water nanoemulsions are covered in this review.
Depth‐averaged non‐hydrostatic extension for shallow water equations with quadratic vertical pressure profile: equivalence to Boussinesq‐type equations
Authors: Jeschke Anja , Pedersen Geir K. , Vater Stefan , Behrens Jörn 
Published: January 2017

SummaryWe reformulate the depth‐averaged non‐hydrostatic extension for shallow water equations to show equivalence with well‐known Boussinesq‐type equations. For this purpose, we introduce two scalars representing the vertical profile of the non‐hydrostatic pressure. A specific quadratic vertical profile yields equivalence to the Serre equations, for which only one scalar in the traditional equation system needs to be modified. Equivalence can also be demonstrated with other Boussinesq‐type equations from the literature when considering variable depth, but then the non‐hydrostatic extension involves mixed space–time derivatives. In case of constant bathymetries, the non‐hydrostatic extension is another way to circumvent mixed space–time derivatives arising in Boussinesq‐type equations. On the other hand, we show that there is no equivalence when using the traditionally assumed linear vertical pressure profile. Linear dispersion and asymptotic analysis as well as numerical test cases show the advantages of the quadratic compared with the linear vertical non‐hydrostatic pressure profile in the depth‐averaged non‐hydrostatic extension for shallow water equations. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Functional and structural studies on the Neisseria gonorrhoeae GmhA, the first enzyme in the glycero‐manno‐heptose biosynthesis pathways, demonstrate a critical role in lipooligosaccharide synthesis and gonococcal viability
Authors: Wierzbicki Igor H. , Zielke Ryszard A. , Korotkov Konstantin V. , Sikora Aleksandra E. 
Published: January 2017

AbstractSedoheptulose‐7‐phosphate isomerase, GmhA, is the first enzyme in the biosynthesis of nucleotide‐activated‐glycero‐manno‐heptoses and an attractive, yet underexploited, target for development of broad‐spectrum antibiotics. We demonstrated that GmhA homologs in Neisseria gonorrhoeae and N. meningitidis (hereafter called GmhAGC and GmhANM, respectively) were interchangeable proteins essential for lipooligosaccharide (LOS) synthesis, and their depletion had adverse effects on neisserial viability. In contrast, the Escherichia coli ortholog failed to complement GmhAGC depletion. Furthermore, we showed that GmhAGC is a cytoplasmic enzyme with induced expression at mid‐logarithmic phase, upon iron deprivation and anaerobiosis, and conserved in contemporary gonococcal clinical isolates including the 2016 WHO reference strains. The untagged GmhAGC crystallized as a tetramer in the closed conformation with four zinc ions in the active site, supporting that this is most likely the catalytically active conformation of the enzyme. Finally, site‐directed mutagenesis studies showed that the active site residues E65 and H183 were important for LOS synthesis but not for GmhAGC function in bacterial viability. Our studies bring insights into the importance and mechanism of action of GmhA and may ultimately facilitate targeting the enzyme with small molecule inhibitors.
Separation of scatter from small MV beams and its effect on detector response
Authors: Wegener Sonja , Sauer Otto A. 
Published: January 2017

PurposeSeparating the scatter from the primary component of a MV beam to study detector response separately in each case for a better understanding of the role of different effects influencing the response in nonstandard fields.MethodsDetector response in three different experimental setups was investigated for a variety of different types (diamond, shielded and unshielded diodes, ionization chamber and film): (a). Detectors positioned in water under a thin steel pole blocking the central part of the beam, yielding only the response to the scatter part of the beam. (b). Detectors positioned in air under a PMMA cap to approximate the contribution of the primary beam without scatter. (c). Detectors positioned in water in the standard open field configuration to obtain a superposition of both.ResultsDetector differences became more clearly observable when the primary beam was blocked and detector behavior heavily depended on the construction type. It was possible to calculate the response in the open fields from the values measured in the blocked configuration with 1% accuracy for all studied field sizes between 0.8 and 10 cm and for all detectors.ConclusionsThe limitations of clinically used detectors in nonstandard situations were illustrated in the extreme situation of just scattered radiation reaching the detector. By experimentally separating scatter from the primary beam, the roles of different effects on the detector response were observed.
Maternal acculturation and the growth of impoverished Mexican American infants
Authors: Luecken Linda J. , Jewell Shannon L. , MacKinnon David P. 
Published: January 2017

ObjectiveIdentification of early life risk factors that predispose low‐income Hispanic children to obesity is critical. For low‐income Mexican American mothers, the cultural context may influence maternal experience and behaviors relevant to infant weight and growth.MethodsIn a longitudinal study of 322 low‐income Mexican American mother‐infant dyads, linear growth modeling examined the relation of maternal acculturation to infant weight gain across the first year and evaluated birth outcomes, breastfeeding, and maternal BMI as mediators.ResultsThere was a high prevalence (36% >95th percentile) of infants with obesity at 1 year. Higher maternal acculturation was associated with lower birth weight, higher infant weight at 6 weeks, and a lower prevalence of breastfeeding. Mediation analyses supported formula‐feeding as a mediator of the relation between higher maternal acculturation and an increasing slope of infant weight gain across the first year.ConclusionsBreastfeeding may have measurable benefits for Mexican American child obesity status in this high‐risk population, particularly among those with more acculturated mothers.
Clinical, MRI and electrographic characteristics of three children with Hemiconvulsion-Hemiplegia/Hemiconvulsion-Hemiplegia-Epilepsy (HH/HHE) syndrome–A rare childhood epileptic encephalopathy
Authors: Singh Sudan Yeeshu , Vinayan K. , Roy Arun 
Published: January 2017

AbstractHemi convulsion-Hemiplegia-Epilepsy (HH/HHE) syndrome is a very rare catastrophic epileptic syndrome in childhood which follows a prolonged focal motor status epilepticus in infancy and early childhood. Here we are describing the clinical, MRI and electrographic characteristics along with long term outcome of three children with HH/HHE syndrome. A review of the current literature on HH/HHE syndrome is attempted stressing on the diagnostic features and the neurobiological relationship between prolonged focal motor status epilepticus and subsequent development of HH/HHE syndrome. Early identification of this syndrome may help the treating physician in providing families with a relatively accurate prognosis regarding the functional outcome and subsequent development of epilepsy.
3.125 Gbit/s CMOS transceiver for duobinary modulation over 50‐m SI‐POF channels
Authors: Aguirre J. , Sánchez‐Azqueta C. , Guerrero E. , Gimeno C. , Celma S. 
Published: January 2017

This Letter presents a novel CMOS transceiver for short‐reach multigigabit communication over step‐index plastic optical fibre (SI‐POF), a very interesting transmission medium for industrial and home‐end applications due to its low cost, ease of handling and inherent immunity to electromagnetic interference. The transceiver uses amplitude duobinary modulation, which is added to continuous‐time equalisation. For that purpose, a duobinary precoder and a duobinary decoder have been fabricated in a standard 0.18‐µm CMOS technology, consuming only 28.4 mW. The system enables a 50‐m SI‐POF channel bandlimited to 100 MHz to operate at a data bit rate of 3.125 Gbit/s.