bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Efficacy and safety of secukinumab in patients with generalized pustular psoriasis: A 52‐week analysis from phase III open‐label multicenter Japanese study
Authors: Imafuku Shinichi , Honma Masaru , Okubo Yukari , Komine Mayumi , Ohtsuki Mamitaro , Morita Akimichi , Seko Noriko , Kawashima Naoko , Ito Saori , Shima Tomohiro , Nakagawa Hidemi 
Published: February 2016

AbstractGeneralized pustular psoriasis (GPP) is a severe inflammatory skin disease characterized by the presence of sterile pustules covering almost the entire body and systemic symptoms such as fever. Secukinumab, a fully human‐recombinant anti‐interleukin‐17A monoclonal antibody was indicated for psoriasis vulgaris and psoriatic arthritis in Japan but is not yet investigated for GPP. In this phase III, open‐label multicenter single arm study, the efficacy and safety of secukinumab as monotherapy or with co‐medication was evaluated in 12 Japanese patients with GPP. All the patients received secukinumab 150 mg s.c. at baseline, week 1, 2, 3 and 4, and then every 4 weeks. Two non‐responders were up‐titrated to 300 mg. Change in GPP severity from baseline was evaluated by clinical global impression (CGI) categorized as “worsened”, “no change”, “minimally improved”, “much improved” or “very much improved”. Treatment success was achieved by 83.3% (n = 10) of patients at week 16 (primary end‐point) with CGI evaluated as “very much improved” (n = 9) and “much improved” (n = 1). Moreover, the area of erythema with pustules improved as early as week 1 and resolved by week 16 in most of the patients. The improvements were sustained throughout 52 weeks. Over the 52‐week treatment period, secukinumab was well tolerated with no unexpected safety signals. Nasopharyngitis, urticaria, diabetes mellitus and arthralgia were the frequent adverse events reported. The data from this study shows that secukinumab can become one of the potent treatment options for GPP.
Root traits are multidimensional: specific root length is independent from root tissue density and the plant economic spectrum
Authors: Kramer‐Walter Kris R. , Bellingham Peter J. , Millar Timothy R. , Smissen Rob D. , Richardson Sarah J. , Laughlin Daniel C. 
Published: February 2016

Summary

Root, stem and leaf traits are thought to be functionally coordinated to maximize the efficiency of acquiring and using limited resources. However, evidence is mixed for consistent whole‐plant trait coordination among woody plants, and we lack a clear understanding of the adaptive value of root traits along soil resource gradients. If fine roots are the below‐ground analogue to leaves, then low specific root length (SRL) and high tissue density should be common on infertile soil. Here, we test the prediction that root, stem and leaf traits and relative growth rate respond in unison with soil fertility gradients.

We measured fine root, stem and leaf traits and relative growth rate on individual seedlings of 66 tree species grown in controlled conditions. Our objectives were (i) to determine whether multiple root traits align with growth rate, leaf and stem traits and with each other and (ii) to quantify the relationships between community‐weighted mean root traits and two strong soil fertility gradients that differed in spatial extent and community composition.

At the species level, fast growth rates were associated with low root and stem tissue density and high specific leaf area. SRL and root diameter were not clearly related to growth rate and loaded on a separate principal component from the plant economic spectrum.

At the community level, growth rate was positively related to soil fertility, and root tissue density (RTD) and branching were negatively related to soil fertility. SRL was negatively related and root diameter was positively related to soil fertility on the large‐scale gradient that included ectomycorrhizal angiosperms.

Synthesis. Root, stem and leaf tissue traits of tree seedlings are coordinated and influence fitness along soil fertility gradients. RTD responds in unison with above‐ground traits to soil fertility gradients; however, root traits are multidimensional because SRL is orthogonal to the plant economic spectrum. In contrast to leaves, trees are not constrained in the way they construct fine roots: plants can construct high or low SRL roots of any tissue density. High RTD is the most consistent below‐ground trait that reflects adaptation to infertile soil.
Resilience of peatland ecosystem services over millennial timescales: evidence from a degraded British bog
Authors: Swindles Graeme T. , Morris Paul J. , Wheeler Jane , Smith Mark W. , Bacon Karen L. , Edward Turner T. , Headley Alistair , Galloway Jennifer M. 
Published: February 2016

Summary

Many peatland ecosystems in Europe have become degraded in the last century owing to the effects of drainage, burning, pollution and climate change. There is a need to understand the drivers of peatland degradation because management and restoration interventions are expensive and can affect the natural ecohydrological dynamics of such sensitive environments. However, if given enough time, peatlands may have the ability to recover spontaneously without deliberate action.

We use a detailed multiproxy palaeoecological data set from a degraded raised bog in Northern England to examine its ecosystem stability and long‐term dynamics in response to anthropogenic disturbance over a variety of timescales. One feature of many degraded peatlands (including our study site) is the local dominance of Molinia caerulea (purple moor‐grass), which has expanded at the expense of characteristic peatland plants, including sedges and Sphagnum mosses.

Our data show that there has been a long history of human impacts at the site which have culminated in its current unfavourable condition. Several distinct episodes of past peat cutting are evident as hiatuses in peat accumulation; however, peat accumulation and plant community structure have subsequently recovered spontaneously. The appearance of M. caerulea occurs coevally with an unprecedented variety of recent anthropogenic impacts, all of which have contributed to providing a suitable environment for its rise to dominance. We have dated the appearance of M. caerulea to the latter half of the twentieth century which corresponds to a number of anthropogenic press disturbances, including the following: dust loading from post‐war expansion of the adjacent quarry; burning; drainage; airborne pollution; and contamination from soil dust and agrochemicals.

[Synthesis] Our study demonstrates the importance of palaeoecology for understanding the trajectories of peatland development and ecosystem dynamics, including their resilience and resistance to pulse and press disturbances. We show that peatlands have the capability to recover spontaneously from severe disturbances such as peat cutting, albeit on timescales much longer than those applied to contemporary monitoring of restoration efforts. The implications are relevant for determining whether it is preferable to manage and restore peatlands, or to allow them to recover naturally without human intervention.
‘Candidatus Adiutrix intracellularis’, an endosymbiont of termite gut flagellates, is the first representative of a deep‐branching clade of Deltaproteobacteria and a putative homoacetogen
Authors: Ikeda‐Ohtsubo Wakako , Strassert Jürgen F. H. , Köhler Tim , Mikaelyan Aram , Gregor Ivan , McHardy Alice C. , Tringe Susannah Green , Hugenholtz Phil , Radek Renate , Brune Andreas 
Published: February 2016

SummaryTermite gut flagellates are typically colonized by specific bacterial symbionts. Here we describe the phylogeny, ultrastructure and subcellular location of ‘Candidatus Adiutrix intracellularis’, an intracellular symbiont of Trichonympha collaris in the termite Zootermopsis nevadensis. It represents a novel, deep‐branching clade of uncultured Deltaproteobacteria widely distributed in intestinal tracts of termites and cockroaches. Fluorescence in situ hybridization and transmission electron microscopy localized the endosymbiont near hydrogenosomes in the posterior part and near the ectosymbiont ‘Candidatus Desulfovibrio trichonymphae’ in the anterior part of the host cell. The draft genome of ‘Ca. Adiutrix intracellularis’ obtained from a metagenomic library revealed the presence of a complete gene set encoding the Wood–Ljungdahl pathway, including two homologs of fdhF encoding hydrogenase‐linked formate dehydrogenases (FDHH) and all other components of the recently described hydrogen‐dependent carbon dioxide reductase (HDCR) complex, which substantiates previous claims that the symbiont is capable of reductive acetogenesis from CO2 and H2. The close phylogenetic relationship between the HDCR components and their homologs in homoacetogenic Firmicutes and Spirochaetes suggests that the deltaproteobacterium acquired the capacity for homoacetogenesis via lateral gene transfer. The presence of genes for nitrogen fixation and the biosynthesis of amino acids and cofactors indicate the nutritional nature of the symbiosis.
Bacterial community dissimilarity between the surface and subsurface soils equals horizontal differences over several kilometers in the western Tibetan Plateau
Authors: Chu Haiyan , Sun Huaibo , Tripathi Binu M. , Adams Jonathan M. , Huang Rong , Zhang Yangjian , Shi Yu 
Published: February 2016

SummaryMany studies have investigated patterns in the near‐surface soil microbial community over large spatial scales. However, less is known about variation in subsurface (15–30 cm of depth) microbial communities. Here we studied depth profiles of microbial communities in high‐elevation soils from Tibet. The relative abundance of Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi and Alphaproteobacteria was higher in near‐surface layers, while the relative abundance of Actinobacteria, Gemmatimonadetes and Betaproteobacteria was higher in the subsurface samples. The microbial community structure was distinct between the surface and subsurface soil layers, strongly correlating with variation in total carbon (TC) and carbon to nitrogen ratio (C/N). The differences in the microbial community between the layers were about the same as the horizontal differences between sites separated by many kilometers. Overall, we found that TC and C/N were the best predictors for both surface and subsurface microbial community distribution. Exploration of the relative contribution of distance and environmental variables to community composition suggests that the contemporary environment is the primary driver of microbial distribution in this region. Reflecting niche conservatism in evolution, the microbial communities in each soil site and layer tended to be more phylogenetically clustered than expected by chance, and surface soil layer samples were more likely to be clustered than subsurface samples.
Modularity of nitrogen‐oxide reducing soil bacteria: linking phenotype to genotype
Authors: Roco Constance A. , Bergaust Linda L. , Bakken Lars R. , Yavitt Joseph B. , Shapleigh James P. 
Published: February 2016

SummaryModel denitrifiers convert to N2, but it appears that a significant fraction of natural populations are truncated, conducting only one or two steps of the pathway. To better understand the diversity of partial denitrifiers in soil and whether discrepancies arise between the presence of known N‐oxide reductase genes and phenotypic features, bacteria able to reduce
to
were isolated from soil, N‐oxide gas products were measured for eight isolates, and six were genome sequenced. Gas phase analyses revealed that two were complete denitrifiers, which genome sequencing corroborated. The remaining six accumulated NO and N2O to varying degrees and genome sequencing of four indicated that two isolates held genes encoding nitrate reductase as the only dissimilatory N‐oxide reductase, one contained genes for both nitrate and nitric oxide reductase, and one had nitrate and nitrite reductase. The results demonstrated that N‐oxide production was not always predicted by the genetic potential and suggested that partial denitrifiers could be readily isolated among soil bacteria. This supported the hypothesis that each N‐oxide reductase could provide a selectable benefit on its own, and therefore, reduction of nitrate to dinitrogen may not be obligatorily linked to complete denitrifiers but instead a consequence of a functionally diverse community.
Prevalence and antibiotic resistance pattern of Salmonella serovars in integrated crop‐livestock farms and their products sold in local markets
Authors: Peng Mengfei , Salaheen Serajus , Almario Jose Alejandro , Tesfaye Bezait , Buchanan Robert , Biswas Debabrata 
Published: February 2016

SummaryMajor concern in the Mixed Crop‐Livestock (MCL) farms, in which livestock and vegetables grown closely in the same facility, is cross‐contamination of zoonotic bacterial pathogens especially Salmonella. To investigate the distribution of Salmonella serovars in MCL and their products, a total of 1287 pre‐harvest samples from various farms and 1377 post‐harvest samples from retail supermarkets in Maryland and Washington D.C. areas were collected and analysed. A total of 315 Salmonella isolates were recovered, with 17.44% and 5.88%, from MCL and conventional farms samples (P < 0.001). At post‐harvest level, the prevalence of Salmonella was 30.95%, 19.83%, and 8.38% in chicken meat (P < 0.001) from farmers, organic, and conventional retail markets respectively, and 16.81% and 6.06% in produce products (P < 0.001) from farmers and organic retail markets, but none from conventional retail markets. From the isolated Salmonella, 34.50% was confirmed S. Typhimurium, followed by S. Heidelberg (10.86%) and S. Enteritidis (9.90%). The overall multi‐antibiotic resistance in recovered Salmonella was 23.81% versus 4.55% in conventional and MCL farms (P = 0.004) and 66.67% versus 7.76% in conventional and farmers markets (P < 0.001). Overall the data reveals higher Salmonella risks in MCL farms' environment and their products sold in farmers markets and warrants taking necessary measures to limit Salmonella transmission.
Dealing with salinity extremes and nitrogen limitation – an unexpected strategy of the marine bacterium Dinoroseobacter shibae
Authors: Kleist Sarah , Ulbrich Marcus , Bill Nelli , Schmidt‐Hohagen Kerstin , Geffers Robert , Schomburg Dietmar 
Published: February 2016

SummaryHaving the right coping strategy for changes in osmolarity or desiccation is essential for the survival of every cell. So far, nothing is known about compatible solutes and the salt adaptation of the marine Rhodobacteraceae. The family member Dinoroseobacter shibae DFL12T is shown here to form the compatible solutes α‐glucosylglycerol (GG) and α‐glucosylglycerate (GGA). To our knowledge, this is the first experimental evidence for GGA formation within the α‐proteobacteria. Together with glutamate and putrescine, these substances enable good growth in salinity ranging from 0.3% to 5%. A salinity of 5% leads to a biomass share of 7.6% of compatible solutes and the very low salt level of 0.3% results in an 18‐fold increased putrescine concentration compared with environmental conditions. Additionally, the substitution of glutamate by GGA has been shown during exposure to nitrogen limitation and in the stationary growth phase of the organism. Salt shock transcriptome analysis of D. shibae has revealed the essential role of its 153 kb chromid, which carries the genes for GG biosynthesis and several transport and exchange systems. Within the family of Rhodobacteraceae, the genomic capability of forming GG and GGA is strictly restricted to marine family members.
Electrolyzed Water as a Novel Sanitizer in the Food Industry: Current Trends and Future Perspectives
Authors: Rahman SME , Khan Imran , Oh Deog‐Hwan 
Published: February 2016

AbstractElectrolyzed water (EW) has gained immense popularity over the last few decades as a novel broad‐spectrum sanitizer. EW can be produced using tap water with table salt as the singular chemical additive. The application of EW is a sustainable and green concept and has several advantages over traditional cleaning systems including cost effectiveness, ease of application, effective disinfection, on‐the‐spot production, and safety for human beings and the environment. These features make it an appropriate sanitizing and cleaning system for use in high‐risk settings such as in hospitals and other healthcare facilities as well as in food processing environments. EW also has the potential for use in educational building, offices, and entertainment venues. However, there have been a number of issues related to the use of EW in various sectors including limited knowledge on the sanitizing mechanism. AEW, in particular, has shown limited efficacy on utensils, food products, and surfaces owing to various factors, the most important of which include the type of surface, presence of organic matter, and type of tape water used. The present review article highlights recent developments and offers new perspectives related to the use of EW in various areas, with particular focus on the food industry.
Pig Organ Energy Loss Comparison Experiments Using BBs
Authors: Maiden Nicholas R. , Musgrave Ian , Fisk Wesley , Byard Roger W. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractTorso models for ballistics research require that the mechanical properties of simulant materials must match the heterogeneous nature of tissues/organs within the human thorax/abdomen. A series of energy loss experiments were conducted on fresh porcine organs/tissues at room temperature and 37°C, using steel 4.5 mm BBs fired from a Daisy® brand air rifle. They were compared to FBI and NATO specification ordnance gelatin and a candidate surrogate material called Simulant “A”. Two CED M2 chronographs measured BB velocity. The resulting energy loss was established using KE = 1/2 mv² before and after target perforation. The combined results at room temperature and 37°C were as follows: FBI specification gelatin was similar (p > 0.05) to heart and lung, spleen was similar to NATO specification gelatin, Simulant “A” was similar to hindquarter muscle, and hindquarter muscle, kidney, and spleen were similar to each other regarding energy retardation. These results can be used as a basis for the development of simulant materials to create an anatomically correct heterogeneous model.
Persistence and Microbial Source Tracking of Escherichia coli at a Swimming Beach at Lake of the Ozarks State Park, Missouri
Authors: Wilson Jordan L. , Schumacher John G. , Burken Joel G. 
Published: February 2016

AbstractThe Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) has closed or posted advisories at public beaches at Lake of the Ozarks State Park in Missouri because of Escherichia coli (E. coli) concentration exceedances in recent years. Spatial and temporal patterns of E. coli concentrations, microbial source tracking, novel sampling techniques, and beach‐use patterns were studied during the 2012 recreational season to identify possible sources, origins, and occurrence of E. coli contamination at Grand Glaize Beach (GGB). Results indicate an important source of E. coli contamination at GGB was E. coli released into the water column by bathers resuspending avian‐contaminated sediments, especially during high‐use days early in the recreational season. Escherichia coli concentrations in water, sediment, and resuspended sediment samples all decreased throughout the recreational season likely because of decreasing lake levels resulting in sampling locations receding away from the initial spring shoreline as well as natural decay and physical transport out of the cove. Weekly MDNR beach monitoring, based solely on E. coli concentrations, at GGB during this study inaccurately predicted E. coli exceedances, especially on weekends and holidays. Interestingly, E. coli of human origin were measured at concentrations indicative of raw sewage in runoff from an excavation of a nearby abandoned septic tank that had not been used for nearly two years.
Wired yet Disconnected: The Governance of International Cyber Relations
Authors: Slack Chelsey 
Published: February 2016

AbstractShaping an international consensus for the digital age is the current challenge. The nature of cyberspace complicates efforts to govern it, notably due to its asymmetrical, anonymous and dual‐use characteristics. Such intricacies are compounded by the fact that the global cyber landscape varies significantly in terms of technologies, capabilities and strategies. Despite the complex nature of cyberspace, existing international legal regimes are adequate. International law is applicable to cyberspace; it is rather a question of sorting out the specificities of how it is to be applied. Based on a normative approach, the focus should be placed on further constructing and connecting those existing political and strategic frameworks for the effective governance of international ‘cyber’ relations.
Why is liana abundance low in semiarid climates?
Authors: Carvalho Ellen Cristina Dantas , Martins Fernando Roberto , Oliveira Rafael Silva , Soares Arlete Aparecida , Araújo Francisca Soares 
Published: February 2016

AbstractLianas are abundant in seasonal tropical forests, where they avoid seasonal water stress presumably by accessing deep‐soil water reserves. Although lianas are favoured in seasonal environments, their occurrence and abundance are low in semiarid environments. We hypothesized that lianas do not tolerate the great water shortage in the soil and air characteristic of semiarid environments, which would increase the risk of embolism. We compared the rooting depth of coarse roots, leaf dynamics, leaf water potential (ψleaf), embolism resistance (P50) and lethal levels of embolism (P88) between congeneric lianas that occur with different abundances in two semiarid sites differing in soil characteristics and vapour pressure deficit in the air (VPDair). Regardless of soil texture and depth, water availability was restricted to the rainy season. All liana species were drought deciduous and had superficial coarse roots (not deeper than 35 cm). P50 varied from −1.8 to −2.49 MPa, and all species operated under narrow safety margins against catastrophic (P50) and irreversible hydraulic failure (P88), even during the rainy season. In short, lianas that occur in semiarid environments have lower resistance to cavitation and limit carbon fixation to the rainy season because of leaf fall in the early dry season. We suggest that leaf shedding and shallow roots impairing carbon gain and growth in the dry season may explain why liana abundance is lower in semiarid than in other seasonally dry environments.
Boom, Bugs, Bust: Egypt's Ecology of Interest, 1882–1914
Authors: Jakes Aaron 
Published: February 2016

AbstractA century ago, Egypt's British‐run government conscripted thousands of peasant children annually to pick caterpillars from cotton plants. Amidst a double crisis of agro‐ecological degradation and financial collapse, the nationalist movement simultaneously critiqued the exploitation of peasant labor by unproductive foreign finance and endorsed these cotton‐worm campaigns as a national obligation. This article builds upon recent efforts to re‐theorize capitalism as world‐ecology in order to explain this apparently paradoxical position. Rather than frame such confrontations between “society” and “nature” as instances of an elite regime of “techno‐politics”, it argues that both the nationalist critique of foreign capital and the widely felt imperative to wage “war against insects” were features of an “ecology of interest” that multiple waves of financial investment had produced. Egypt's crises provided fodder for anti‐colonial mobilizations. But they also inaugurated a new predicament of developing national capital in a landscape already pillaged as a commodity frontier for empire.