bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Time Trends and Variations in Electroconvulsive Treatment in Denmark 2008 to 2014
Authors: Hundrup Eva , Osler Merete , Jørgensen Martin Balslev 
Published: December 2016

Objective
The aim of this study was to determine status and variations in the practice of electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) in Denmark in patient characteristics, indications, treatment patterns, and hospital region.

Method
All 140,627 ECTs registered in the Danish National Patient Registry between 2008 and 2014 were retrieved together with information on patient characteristics. Annual treated person rates were calculated for sex, age, admission diagnosis, and region.

Results
The overall ECT treatment rate was 36 (95% confidence interval, 34–38) per 100,000 resident population during the study period. The rate was highest in women and increased with age. There were modest, however, stable regional differences in rates (extremal quotient = 1.4). Electroconvulsive treatment was most commonly used in patients with depression with (19.4%) or without (54.9%) psychotic symptoms. The median number of ECTs administered per patient was 10 and highest in patients with schizophrenia, schizoaffective, or bipolar disorders. A total of 51%, 14%, and 33% of ECTs were administered with bilateral, unilateral, and unspecified electrode placement, respectively. There were regional differences in electrode placement specification and use.

Conclusions
Although some variation was seen across hospital regions and electrode placement, ECT in Denmark was provided with relative stability over time and indications compared with most other countries in Europe and North America.
Two loci contribute epistastically to heterospecific pollen rejection, a postmating isolating barrier between species
Authors: Hamlin Jennafer A. P. , Sherman Natasha A. , Moyle Leonie C. 
Published: December 2016

ABSTRACTRecognition and rejection of heterospecific male gametes occurs in a broad range of taxa, although the complexity and redundancy of mechanisms underlying this postmating cryptic female choice is poorly understood. In plants, the arena for these interactions is the female reproductive tract (pistil), within which heterospecific pollen tube growth can be arrested via active molecular recognition. Unilateral incompatibility (UI) is one such pistil-mediated barrier in which pollen rejection occurs in only one direction of an interspecific cross. We investigated the genetic basis of pistil-side UI betweenSolanumspecies, with the specific goal of understanding the role and magnitude of epistasis between UI QTL. Using heterospecific introgression lines (ILs) betweenSolanum pennelliiandS. lycopersicum,we assessed the individual and pairwise effects of three chromosomal regions (ui1.1, ui3.1,andui12.1) previously associated with interspecific UI amongSolanumspecies. Specifically, we pyramidedui12.1with each ofui1.1andui3.1, and assessed the strength of UI pollen rejection in pyramided (double introgression) lines, compared to single introgression genotypes. We found that none of the three QTL individually showed UI rejection phenotypes, but lines combiningui3.1andui12.1showed significant pistil-side pollen rejection. Furthermore, double introgression lines that combined different chromosomal regions overlappingui3.1differed significantly in their rate of UI, consistent with at least two genetic factors on chromosome three contributing quantitatively to interspecific pollen rejection. Together, our data indicate that loci on both chromosomes 3 and 12 are jointly required for the expression of UI betweenS. pennelliiandS. lycopersicumsuggesting that coordinated molecular interactions among a relatively few loci underlying the expression of this postmating prezygotic barrier. In addition, in conjunction with previous data, at least one of these loci appears to also contribute to conspecific self-incompatibility, consistent with a partially shared genetic basis between inter- and intraspecific mechanisms of postmating prezygotic female choice.
Flexible statistical methods for estimating and testing effects in genomic studies with multiple conditions
Authors: Urbut Sarah M. , Wang Gao , Carbonetto Peter , Stephens Matthew 
Published: December 2016

AbstractWe introduce new statistical methods for analyzing genomic datasets that measure many effects in many conditions (e.g., gene expression changes under many treatments). These new methods improve on existing methods by allowing for arbitrary correlations in effect sizes among conditions. This flexible approach increases power, improves effect estimates, and allows for more quantitative assessments of effect-size heterogeneity compared to simple “shared/condition-specific” assessments. We illustrate these features through an analysis of locally-acting variants associated with gene expression (“cis eQTLs”) in 44 human tissues. Our analysis identifies more eQTLs than existing approaches, consistent with improved power. We show that while genetic effects on expression are extensively shared among tissues, effect sizes can still vary greatly among tissues. Some shared eQTLs show stronger effects in subsets of biologically related tissues (e.g., brain-related tissues), or in only one tissue (e.g., testis). Our methods are widely applicable, computationally tractable for many conditions, and available online.
A network theory of the origin of life
Authors: Hoffmann Geoffrey W. 
Published: December 2016

AbstractThe origin of life may have been a low probability event that involved both RNA and polypeptides. While such an event would occur with low probability, the probability is not too low in the context of the number of nucleation opportunities on the primitive Earth. The probability for the nucleation event is too small if needed components occur as frequently as disruptive components do, without specific interactions between the two classes. However, if many of the needed components contribute by inhibiting otherwise disruptive components, a high probability for a complex nucleation as the beginning of life event emerges. RNA interference and long non-coding RNAs are ascribed roles in inhibiting components that would otherwise be disruptive in the context of a nucleation event. The theory likewise provides an inhibitory role for the large fraction of proteins (35% to 40%) that have no known function in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. It is suggested that volcanic ash could provide the large number of random shapes needed as the basis for the nucleation event. Experiments based on that hypothesis are proposed.
Vitamin D3 derivatives, alone or in combination with glucocorticoids, suppress streptococcal pyrogenic enterotoxin A‐stimulated proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in patients with psoriasis
Authors: Usui Kae , Okubo Yukari , Hirano Toshihiko , Tsuboi Ryoji 
Published: December 2016

AbstractBacterial colonization on skin or tonsil may influence the clinical response of patients with psoriasis to immunosuppressive drugs. However, few studies have investigated the effects of bacterial superantigens on therapy in these patients. Recently, combination therapy with topical glucocorticoids (GC) and vitamin D3 (VD3) appears to be more effective than GC or VD3 monotherapy for psoriasis. We evaluated the suppressive effects of betamethasone butyrate propionate (BBP), three VD3 derivatives (calcipotriol, maxacalcitol and tacalcitol), cyclosporin and BBP plus VD3, on concanavalin A (ConA)‐ or streptococcal pyrogenic enterotoxin A (SPEA)‐stimulated proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) obtained from 35 psoriasis patients. Drug concentrations effecting 50% inhibition concentration of ConA‐ or SPEA‐stimulated PBMC proliferation were estimated. Cytokine levels of tumor necrosis factor‐α, γ‐interferon, interleukin‐1b, ‐2, ‐4, ‐5, ‐6, ‐8 ‐10 and ‐12p70 in PBMC culture supernatants were measured with bead‐array procedures. Suppression of PBMC proliferation by BBP was significantly lower when PBMC were stimulated by SPEA than when stimulated by ConA. In contrast, the suppressive effects of calcipotriol and tacalcitol increased significantly when PBMC were stimulated by SPEA than when stimulated by ConA. The suppressive effect of BBP on SPEA‐stimulated PBMC proliferation was improved significantly by adding 1–1000 ng/mL calcipotriol, compared with BBP alone. Cytokine levels in PBMC culture supernatants were not significantly different between ConA‐ and SPEA‐stimulated PBMC. Calcipotriol and BBP in combination markedly suppressed SPEA‐stimulated PBMC proliferation. SPEA produced by colonization of hemolytic streptococci may reduce the efficacy of BBP but not VD3 derivatives in the treatment of psoriasis.
Enclosed nests may provide greater thermal than nest predation benefits compared with open nests across latitudes
Authors: Martin Thomas E. , Boyce Andy J. , Fierro‐Calderón Karolina , Mitchell Adam E. , Armstad Connor E. , Mouton James C. , Bin Soudi Evertius E. 
Published: December 2016

Summary

Nest structure is thought to provide benefits that have fitness consequences for several taxa. Traditionally, reduced nest predation has been considered the primary benefit underlying evolution of nest structure, whereas thermal benefits have been considered a secondary or even non‐existent factor. Yet, the relative roles of these factors on nest structures remain largely unexplored.

Enclosed nests have a constructed or natural roof connected to sides that allow a restricted opening or tube entrance that provides cover in all directions except the entrance, whereas open nests are cups or platforms that are open above. We show that construction of enclosed nests is more common among songbirds (Passeriformes) in tropical and southern hemisphere regions than in north temperate regions. This geographic pattern may reflect selection from predation risk, under long‐standing assumptions that nest predation rates are higher in southern regions and that enclosed nests reduce predation risk compared with open cup nests. We therefore compared nest predation rates between enclosed vs. open nests in 114 songbird species that do not nest in tree holes among five communities of coexisting birds, and for 205 non‐hole‐nesting species from the literature, across northern temperate, tropical, and southern hemisphere regions.

Among coexisting species, enclosed nests had lower nest predation rates than open nests in two south temperate sites, but not in either of two tropical sites or a north temperate site. Nest predation did not differ between nest types at any latitude based on literature data. Among 319 species from both our field studies and the literature, enclosed nests did not show consistent benefits of reduced predation and, in fact, predation was not consistently higher in the tropics, contrary to long‐standing perspectives.

Thermal benefits of enclosed nests were indicated based on three indirect results. First, species that built enclosed nests were smaller than species using open nests both among coexisting species and among species from the literature. Smaller species lose heat fastest and thereby may gain important thermal benefits from reduced convective cooling. Second, eggs were warmed by parents for less time in species with enclosed nests, as can be expected if egg cooling rates are slower. Finally, species using enclosed nests exhibited enhanced growth of mass and wings compared with species using open nests, suggesting reduced thermoregulatory costs allowed increased energy for growth.

Enclosed nests may therefore provide more consistent thermal than nest predation benefits, counter to long‐standing perspectives.

A lay summary is available for this article.
A phylogenetic comparative analysis reveals correlations between body feather structure and habitat
Authors: Pap Péter L. , Vincze Orsolya , Wekerle Beatrix , Daubner Timea , Vágási Csongor I. , Nudds Robert L. , Dyke Gareth J. , Osváth Gergely 
Published: December 2016

SummaryBody feathers ensure both waterproofing and insulation in waterbirds, but how natural variation in the morphological properties of these appendages relates to environmental constraints remains largely unexplored. Here, we test how habitat and thermal condition affect the morphology of body feathers, using a phylogenetic comparative analysis of five structural traits [i.e., total feather length, the lengths of the pennaceous (distal) and plumulaceous (proximal) sections, barb density, and pennaceous barbule density] from a sample of 194 European bird species.Body feather total length is shorter in aquatic than in terrestrial birds, and this difference between groups is due to the shorter plumulaceous feather section in aquatic birds. Indeed, a reduced plumulaceous section in feather length probably reflects the need to limit air trapped in the plumage to adjust the buoyancy of aquatic birds. In contrast, the high pennaceous barbule density of aquatic birds compared to their terrestrial counterparts reflects water resistance of the plumage in contact with water.Our results show that birds living in environments with low ambient temperature have long plumulaceous feather lengths, low barb density, and low pennaceous barbule density. Data also suggest that plumage probably has limited function in reducing the heat absorption of species living in hot environments.Our results have broad implications for understanding the suite of selection pressures driving the evolution of body feather functional morphology. It remains to be tested, however, how other feather traits, such as the density of plumage (feathers per unit area) and the relative number of different feather types, for example downy feathers, are distributed amongst birds with different water resistance and thermoinsulative needs.Alay summaryis available for this article.
Grape moth density in Bordeaux vineyards depends on local habitat management despite effects of landscape heterogeneity on their biological control
Authors: Rusch Adrien , Delbac Lionel , Thiéry Denis 
Published: December 2016

Summary

Biological control of crop pests is a major ecosystem service affected by several variables acting at multiple spatial scales. Among these variables, heterogeneity at the habitat and landscape scales are known key drivers of trophic interactions and pest density in agroecosystems. However, studies that try to disentangle their relative effects in perennial cropping systems are scarce and nothing is known about their impacts on insect pest density and pesticide applications.

We examined the effect of heterogeneity at these two scales on grape moths, one of the most damaging insect pests in European vineyards, and their biological control in 20 vineyards during three consecutive years. We used local vegetation management and the proportion of semi‐natural habitats in the surrounding landscape as proxies of heterogeneity at the habitat and landscape scales. Grape moth density was measured over time, as well as biological control services provided by different groups: birds, invertebrate predators, parasitoids and entomopathogenic fungi.

Over the 3 years, grape moth density was mainly determined by local heterogeneity, with significantly fewer larvae of the first generation established in vineyards with full compared to partial grass cover.

Despite these effects, biological control of grape moths was not primarily affected by local vegetation management but by landscape heterogeneity, and the direction of this effect varied over time. Notably, predation by birds increased with landscape heterogeneity in spring, depending on local vegetation management, while attacks by pathogenic fungi decreased with landscape heterogeneity during winter.

Synthesis and applications. Our results suggest that bottom‐up processes related to habitat heterogeneity drive grape moth occurrence much more than top‐down processes. These results have important implications for the ecological intensification of vineyard landscapes. We found that maintaining full grass cover within vineyards reduced grape moth density to a level below common intervention thresholds. Landscape heterogeneity in the close vicinity of vineyards contributed to improved biological pest control by birds, but depended on local vegetation management. Moreover, opposing effects of landscape management on biological pest control services over time revealed that strategies based only on manipulating landscape heterogeneity might not be the optimal option to limit grape moth density in vineyards.
Impact of cane toads on a community of Australian native frogs, determined by 10 years of automated identification and logging of calling behaviour
Authors: Taylor Andrew , McCallum Hamish I. , Watson Graeme , Grigg Gordon C. 
Published: December 2016

Summary

Invasive species may have devastating impacts on native biota. Cane toads Rhinella marina continue to invade northern Australia and the consequences for the endemic frogs are unclear. Monitoring frogs in such remote areas is difficult because their activity depends heavily on unpredictable rainfall events.

We developed an autonomous acoustic monitoring system which used machine learning techniques to identify up to 22 calling species in real time. Ten of these systems, capable of operating for at least a year without attention, were deployed over a 10‐year period along the Roper River valley in the Northern Territory, logging more than 4 million records pre‐ and post‐toad invasion.

Within 5 years of their arrival, cane toads became one of the most prominent members of the anuran community. We detected an overall impact, with six frog species declining in calling activity and one apparently increasing. However, almost all species detected initially were detected at the end of the monitoring period, and again on a follow‐up survey after a further 10 years.

Synthesis and applications. The overall impact of cane toads on endemic frogs has been largely one of rarefaction rather than elimination. Rather than having a devastating impact on the endemic frogs, cane toads have become a component of the amphibian community. Autonomous recording and identification systems such as ours have great potential for long term monitoring of vocalising species in remote and variable environments.
Intraspecific variability in growth response to environmental fluctuations modulates the stabilizing effect of species diversity on forest growth
Authors: Aussenac Raphaël , Bergeron Yves , Ghotsa Mekontchou Claudele , Gravel Dominique , Pilch Kamil , Drobyshev Igor 
Published: December 2016

SummaryDifferences between species in their response to environmental fluctuations cause asynchronized growth series, suggesting that species diversity may help communities buffer the effects of environmental fluctuations. However, within‐species variability of responses may impact the stabilizing effect of growth asynchrony.We used tree ring data to investigate the diversity–stability relationship and its underlying mechanisms within the temperate and boreal mixed woods of Eastern Canada. We worked at the individual tree level to take into account the intraspecific variability of responses to environmental fluctuations.We found that species diversity stabilized growth in forest ecosystems. The asynchrony of species’ response to climatic fluctuations and to insect outbreaks explained this effect. We also found that the intraspecific variability of responses to environmental fluctuations was high, making the stabilizing effect of diversity highly variable.Synthesis. Our results are consistent with previous studies suggesting that the asynchrony of species’ response to environmental fluctuations drives the stabilizing effect of diversity. The intraspecific variability of these responses modulates the stabilizing effect of species diversity. Interactions between individuals, variation in tree size and spatial heterogeneity of environmental conditions could play a critical role in the stabilizing effect of diversity.
Ion channels, long QT syndrome and arrhythmogenesis in ageing
Authors: Jeevaratnam Kamalan , Chadda Karan R , Salvage Samantha C , Valli Haseeb , Ahmad Shiraz , Grace Andrew A , Huang Christopher L‐H 
Published: December 2016

SummaryAgeing is associated with increased prevalences of both atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, reflecting disruption of the normal sequence of ion channel activation and inactivation generating the propagated cardiac action potential. Experimental models with specific ion channel genetic modifications have helped clarify the interacting functional roles of ion channels and how their dysregulation contributes to arrhythmogenic processes at the cellular and systems level. They have also investigated interactions between these ion channel abnormalities and age‐related processes in producing arrhythmic tendency. Previous reviews have explored the relationships between age and loss‐of‐function Nav1.5 mutations in producing arrhythmogenicity. The present review now explores complementary relationships arising from gain‐of‐function Nav1.5 mutations associated with long QT3 (LQTS3). LQTS3 patients show increased risks of life‐threatening ventricular arrhythmias, particularly after 40 years of age, consistent with such interactions between the ion channel abnormailities and ageing. In turn clinical evidence suggests that ageing is accompanied by structural, particularly fibrotic, as well as electrophysiological change. These abnormalities may result from biochemical changes producing low‐grade inflammation resulting from increased production of reactive oxygen species and superoxide. Experimental studies offer further insights into the underlying mechanisms underlying these phenotypes. Thus, studies in genetically modified murine models for LQTS implicated action potential recovery processes in arrhythmogenesis resulting from functional ion channel abnormalities. In addition, ageing wild type (WT) murine models demonstrated both ion channel alterations and fibrotic changes with ageing. Murine models then suggested evidence for interactions between ageing and ion channel mutations and provided insights into potential arrhythmic mechanisms inviting future exploration.
Obesity, bodily change and health identities: a qualitative study of Canadian women
Authors: Bombak Andrea E. , Monaghan Lee F. 
Published: December 2016

AbstractMedicalised concerns about an obesity crisis persist yet more needs to be learnt about everyday orientations to weight (loss). This article reports and analyses data generated using qualitative methods, including repeated interviews and fieldwork conducted over one year in Canada with women (n = 13) identifying as (formerly) obese. Three ideal types are explored using empirical data: (1) hopeful narratives; (2) disordered eating distress; and (3) weight‐cycling or stagnation. Core themes include women's desire to embody a thin(ner) future and the good life, the harms of intentional weight‐loss, and resignation to living as a fat woman whilst nonetheless challenging stigma. The article contributes to critical studies of weight/fatness, the sociology of bodily change and the embodiment of health identities. In concluding, we call for reflexive change in bodies of health knowledge, policy and practice.