bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A synthesis of oral morphine equivalents (OME) for opioid utilisation studies
Authors: Nielsen Suzanne , Degenhardt Louisa , Hoban Bianca , Gisev Natasa 
Published: December 2015

AbstractPurposeOral Morphine Equivalent (OME) doses are increasingly being used as a metric to represent opioid use. Driven by a growing need from pharmacoepidemiological studies, the objective of this study was to develop a comprehensive OME conversion table that can be used by researchers to calculate OMEs in a consistent and systematic way.MethodsClinical guidelines and literature sources were collated and synthesised to develop recommended OME conversion factors that can be used for research studies on opioids (including different formulations and routes of administration) currently available internationally including Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States and Canada.ResultsNo single resource includes all opioids that are currently available. Although there was some variation in conversion factors reported in different sources, overall, suggested conversion factors were mostly consistent across national and international sources.ConclusionsThe use of the OME metric appears optimal for opioid utilisation studies as it facilities both interpretation and comparison between opioids and geographical locations. We have presented a synthesis of published OME conversion factors that can be applied to pharmacoepidemiological studies of opioids, in addition to a discussion of the considerations and caveats in using OME as a metric for opioid use. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Rational design of crystal contact‐free space in protein crystals for analyzing spatial distribution of motions within protein molecules
Authors: Matsuoka Rei , Shimada Atsushi , Komuro Yasuaki , Sugita Yuji , Kohda Daisuke 
Published: December 2015

AbstractContacts with neighboring molecules in protein crystals inevitably restrict the internal motions of intrinsically flexible proteins. The resultant clear electron densities permit model building, as crystallographic snapshot structures. Although these still images are informative, they could provide biased pictures of the protein motions. If the mobile parts are located at a site lacking direct contacts in rationally designed crystals, then the amplitude of the movements can be experimentally analyzed. We propose a fusion protein method, to create crystal contact‐free space (CCFS) in protein crystals and to place the mobile parts in the CCFS. Conventional model building fails when large amplitude motions exist. In this study, the mobile parts appear as smeared electron densities in the CCFS, by suitable processing of the X‐ray diffraction data. We applied the CCFS method to a highly mobile presequence peptide bound to the mitochondrial import receptor, Tom20, and a catalytically relevant flexible segment in the oligosaccharyltransferase, AglB. These two examples demonstrated the general applicability of the CCFS method to the analysis of the spatial distribution of motions within protein molecules.
Structure of a putative ClpS N‐end rule adaptor protein from the malaria pathogen Plasmodium falciparum
Authors: AhYoung Andrew P. , Koehl Antoine , Vizcarra Christina L. , Cascio Duilio , Egea Pascal F. 
Published: December 2015

AbstractThe N‐end rule pathway uses an evolutionarily conserved mechanism in bacteria and eukaryotes that marks proteins for degradation by ATP‐dependent chaperones and proteases such as the Clp chaperones and proteases. Specific N‐terminal amino acids (N‐degrons) are sufficient to target substrates for degradation. In bacteria, the ClpS adaptor binds and delivers N‐end rule substrates for their degradation upon association with the ClpA/P chaperone/protease. Here, we report the first crystal structure, solved at 2.7 Å resolution, of a eukaryotic homolog of bacterial ClpS from the malaria apicomplexan parasite Plasmodium falciparum (Pfal). Despite limited sequence identity, Plasmodium ClpS is very similar to bacterial ClpS. Akin to its bacterial orthologs, plasmodial ClpS harbors a preformed hydrophobic pocket whose geometry and chemical properties are compatible with the binding of N‐degrons. However, while the N‐degron binding pocket in bacterial ClpS structures is open and accessible, the corresponding pocket in Plasmodium ClpS is occluded by a conserved surface loop that acts as a latch. Despite the closed conformation observed in the crystal, we show that, in solution, Pfal‐ClpS binds and discriminates peptides mimicking bona fide N‐end rule substrates. The presence of an apicoplast targeting peptide suggests that Pfal‐ClpS localizes to this plastid‐like organelle characteristic of all Apicomplexa and hosting most of its Clp machinery. By analogy with the related ClpS1 from plant chloroplasts and cyanobacteria, Plasmodium ClpS likely functions in association with ClpC in the apicoplast. Our findings open new venues for the design of novel anti‐malarial drugs aimed at disrupting parasite‐specific protein quality control pathways.
From biology to management of Savi's pine vole (Microtus savii)
Authors: Ranchelli Elisa , Barfknecht Ralf , Capizzi Dario , Riga Francesco , Mazza Valeria , Dell'Agnello Filippo , Zaccaroni Marco 
Published: December 2015

AbstractSavi's pine vole (Microtus savii) is a rodent species of the Cricetidae family, inhabiting southern European agroecosystems. It is considered to be the main cause of rodent‐attributed damage in Italy. To achieve an effective management, detailed knowledge of this species is needed. However, the available information about this species is fragmentary and incomplete. In this paper, the existing knowledge of Savi's pine vole taxonomy, reproduction, population dynamics, habitat and food preferences is reviewed in order to organise available information and identify priority areas of future research. Some of the changes in farming practices that have occurred in recent decades may have increased the impact of Savi's pine vole populations in crop fields. To manage this pest species effectively, an integrated strategy is recommended (involving habitat management, trapping and, when appropriate, the use of rodenticides). The apparent lack of cyclical population outbreaks and the relatively small litter size and long gestation and interpartum period of this species suggest that it could be more manageable than other vole species, while its strict herbivorous diet, stable population size in open habitats and wide distribution seem to indicate it as an ideal model species for risk assessment studies. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry
Thiamethoxam and imidacloprid drench applications on sweet orange nursery trees disrupt the feeding and settling behaviour of Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae)
Authors: Miranda Marcelo P , Yamamoto Pedro T , Garcia Rafael B , Lopes João PA , Lopes João RS 
Published: December 2015

AbstractBACKGROUNDChemical control is the method most used for management of Diaphorina citri, the vector of the phloem‐limited bacteria associated with citrus huanglongbing (HLB) disease. The objectives of this study were to determine the influence of soil‐drench applications of neonicotinoids (thiamethoxam and imidacloprid) on the probing behaviour of D. citri on citrus nursery trees, using the electrical penetration graph (EPG) technique, and to measure the D. citri settling behaviour after probing on citrus nursery trees that had received these neonicotinoid treatments.RESULTSThe drench applications of neonicotinoids on citrus nursery trees disrupt D. citri probing, mainly for EPG variables related to phloem sap ingestion, with a significant reduction (≈90%) in the duration of this activity compared with untreated plants in all assessment periods (15, 35 and 90 days after application). Moreover, both insecticides have a repellent effect on D. citri, resulting in significant dispersal of psyllids from treated plants.CONCLUSIONSThis study clearly demonstrates the interference of soil‐applied neonicotinoids on the feeding and settling behaviour of D. citri on citrus nursery trees, mainly during the phloem ingestion phase. These findings reinforce the recommendation of drench application of neonicotinoids before planting nursery trees as a useful strategy for HLB management. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry
Mechanisms producing different precipitation patterns over north‐eastern Italy: insights from HyMeX‐SOP1 and previous events
Authors: Davolio S. , Volonté A. , Manzato A. , Pucillo A. , Cicogna A. , Ferrario M. E. 
Published: December 2015

During the first HyMeX Special Observation Period (SOP1) field campaign, the target site of north‐eastern Italy (NEI) experienced a large amount of precipitation, locally exceeding the climatological values and distributed among several heavy‐rainfall episodes. In particular, two events that occurred during the last period of the campaign drew our attention. These events had common large‐scale patterns and a similar mesoscale setting, characterised by southerly low‐level flow interacting with the Alpine orography, but the precipitation distribution was very different. During Intensive Observing Period IOP18 (31 October–1 November 2012), convective systems were responsible for intense rainfall mainly located over a flat area of the eastern Po Valley, well upstream of the orography. Conversely, during IOP19 (4/5 November 2012), heavy precipitation affected only the Alpine area. In addition to IOP18 and IOP19, the present study analyses other heavy‐precipitation episodes that display similar characteristics and which occurred over NEI during the autumn of recent years. A high‐resolution (2 km grid spacing) non‐hydrostatic NWP model and available observations are used for this purpose.The two different observed precipitation patterns are explained in terms of interaction between the impinging flow and the Alps. Depending on the thermodynamic profile, convection can be triggered when the impinging flow is forced to rise over a pre‐existing cold‐air layer at the base of the orography. In this situation a persistent blocked‐flow condition and upstream convergence are responsible for heavy rain localized over the plain. Conversely, if convection does not develop, flow‐over conditions are established and heavy rain affects the Alps. Numerical parameters proposed in the literature are used to support the analysis.Finally, the role of evaporative cooling beneath the convective systems is evaluated. It turns out that the stationarity of the systems upstream of the Alps is mainly attributable to persistent blocked‐flow conditions, while convective outflow slightly modifies the location of precipitation.
Quantifying the Impact of Water Abstraction for Low Head ‘Run of the River’ Hydropower on Localized River Channel Hydraulics and Benthic Macroinvertebrates
Authors: Anderson D. , Moggridge H. , Shucksmith J. D. , Warren P. H. 
Published: December 2015

Abstract‘Run of the river’ (ROR) hydropower schemes have undergone a recent resurgence in Europe, and with legislation requiring the protection and enhancement of the physical and ecological condition of European rivers, there is a need to understand the impacts of these schemes. This paper presents an assessment of the eco‐hydraulic impact of a ROR hydropower scheme in the Peak District National Park, UK. Due to the ponded nature of the depleted stretch at the study site, this paper focuses on the characterization of the hydraulic impact of water abstraction for a ROR scheme at the hydropower outlet and samples microhabitats of benthic macroinvertebrates within the hydraulically affected zones. Measurement of hydraulic transects shows that the scheme's operation notably alters river channel hydraulics at 60% of water depth, whilst impacts are much less distinct in close proximity to the river bed. We identify eco‐hydraulic relationships between benthic macroinvertebrate communities and localized near‐bed velocity and turbulence conditions, thus indicating the potential for water abstraction by ROR schemes to impact lower trophic levels of riverine ecosystems. However, spatial patch‐scale (10–100 m2) meso‐habitat comparisons of invertebrate communities around the hydropower outlet showed only subtle differences, suggesting that in this case benthic communities are only minimally impacted by the ROR scheme. © 2015 The Authors.River Research and Applicationspublished by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Maximum type I error rate inflation from sample size reassessment when investigators are blind to treatment labels
Authors: Żebrowska Magdalena , Posch Martin , Magirr Dominic 
Published: December 2015

Consider a parallel group trial for the comparison of an experimental treatment to a control, where the second‐stage sample size may depend on the blinded primary endpoint data as well as on additional blinded data from a secondary endpoint. For the setting of normally distributed endpoints, we demonstrate that this may lead to an inflation of the type I error rate if the null hypothesis holds for the primary but not the secondary endpoint.We derive upper bounds for the inflation of the type I error rate, both for trials that employ random allocation and for those that use block randomization. We illustrate the worst‐case sample size reassessment rule in a case study. For both randomization strategies, the maximum type I error rate increases with the effect size in the secondary endpoint and the correlation between endpoints. The maximum inflation increases with smaller block sizes if information on the block size is used in the reassessment rule. Based on our findings, we do not question the well‐established use of blinded sample size reassessment methods with nuisance parameter estimates computed from the blinded interim data of the primary endpoint. However, we demonstrate that the type I error rate control of these methods relies on the application of specific, binding, pre‐planned and fully algorithmic sample size reassessment rules and does not extend to general or unplanned sample size adjustments based on blinded data. © 2015 The Authors. Statistics in Medicine Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Browserbite: cross‐browser testing via image processing
Authors: Saar Tõnis , Dumas Marlon , Kaljuve Marti , Semenenko Nataliia 
Published: December 2015

SummaryCross‐browser compatibility testing is concerned with identifying perceptible differences in the way a Web page is rendered across different browsers or configurations thereof. Existing automated cross‐browser compatibility testing methods are generally based on document object model (DOM) analysis, or in some cases, a combination of DOM analysis with screenshot capture and image processing. DOM analysis, however, may miss incompatibilities that arise not during DOM construction but rather during rendering. Conversely, DOM analysis produces false alarms because different DOMs may lead to identical or sufficiently similar renderings. This paper presents a novel method for cross‐browser testing based purely on image processing. The method relies on image segmentation to extract ‘regions’ from a Web page and computer vision techniques to extract a set of characteristic features from each region. Regions extracted from a screenshot taken on a baseline browser are compared against regions extracted from the browser under test based on characteristic features. A machine learning classifier is used to determine if differences between two matched regions should be classified as an incompatibility. An evaluation involving 140 pages shows that the proposed method achieves an F‐score exceeding 90%, outperforming a state‐of‐the‐art cross‐browser testing tool based on DOM analysis. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Rankl Impairs Lactogenic Differentiation Through Inhibition of the Prolactin/Stat5 Pathway at Midgestation
Authors: Cordero Alex , Pellegrini Pasquale , Sanz-Moreno Adrián , Trinidad Eva M. , Serra-Musach Jordi , Deshpande Chetan , Dougall William C. , Pujana Miguel Angel , González-Suárez Eva 
Published: December 2015

Abstract
Prolactin and progesterone both orchestrate the proliferation and differentiation of the mammary gland during gestation. Differentiation of milk secreting alveoli depends on the presence of prolactin receptor, the downstream Jak2-Stat5 pathway and the transcription factor Elf5. A strict regulation of Rank signaling is essential for the differentiation of the mammary gland and in particular for alveolar commitment. Impaired alveologenesis and lactation failure are observed in both, knockout and Rank overexpressing mice; however, the underlying molecular mechanism responsible for these phenotypes remains largely unknown. Using genome-wide expression analyses and functional studies, we show here that Rankl (RL) exposure leads to impaired secretory differentiation of alveolar cells not only in MMTV-RANK but also in wild-type (WT) mammary acini. Conversely, pharmacological blockage of Rank signaling at midgestation in WT mice leads to precocious and exacerbated lactogenesis. Mechanistically, RL negatively regulates Stat5 phosphorylation and Elf5 expression at the onset of lactogenesis. Continuous RL exposure leads to the expansion of basal and bipotent cells in WT and MMTV-RANK acini. Overall, we demonstrate that enhanced Rank signaling impairs secretory differentiation during pregnancy by inhibition of the prolactin/p-Stat5 pathway.
Long‐term perspectives on terrestrial and aquatic carbon cycling from palaeolimnology
Authors: McGowan Suzanne , Anderson N. John , Edwards Mary E. , Langdon Peter G. , Jones Vivienne J. , Turner Simon , van Hardenbroek Maarten , Whiteford Erika , Wiik Emma 
Published: December 2015

Lakes are active processors and collectors of carbon (C) and thus recognized as quantitatively important within the terrestrial C cycle. Better integration of palaeolimnology (lake sediment core analyses) with limnological C budgeting approaches has the potential to enhance understanding of lacustrine C processing and sequestration. Palaeolimnology simultaneously assimilates materials from across lake habitats, terrestrial watersheds, and airsheds to provide a uniquely broad overview of the terrestrial‐atmospheric‐aquatic linkages across different spatial scales. The examination of past changes over decadal–millennial timescales via palaeolimnology can inform understanding and prediction of future changes in C cycling. With a particular, but not exclusive, focus on northern latitudes we examine the methodological approaches of palaeolimnology, focusing on how relatively standard and well‐tested techniques might be applied to address questions of relevance to the C cycle. We consider how palaeolimnology, limnology, and sedimentation studies might be linked to provide more quantitative and holistic estimates of lake C cycling and budgets. Finally, we use palaeolimnological examples to consider how changes such as terrestrial vegetation shifts, permafrost thaw, the formation of new lakes and reservoirs, hydrological modification of inorganic C processing, land use change, soil erosion and disruption to global nitrogen and phosphorus cycles might influence lake C cycling. WIREs Water 2016, 3:211–234. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1130This article is categorized under:

Water and Life > Nature of Freshwater Ecosystems
Science of Water > Water and Environmental Change
Science of Water > Water Quality
Operations management and the resource based view: Another view
Authors: Bromiley Philip , Rau Devaki 
Published: December 2015

AbstractThis paper evaluates the usefulness of the resource‐based view (RBV) to the field of operations management. Based on the seminal RBV articles, we argue that using the RBV does not align with the objectives and activities of operations management researchers in several ways. First, the dependent variable in the RBV is sustained competitive advantage. Using sustained competitive advantage as a dependent variable implies that scholars focus on explaining the differences between the relatively few firms with sustained competitive advantage and all the other firms, ignoring performance variations within the great mass of firms. In addition, competitive advantage exists at the level of the business or the firm and does not directly translate into the normal level of operations management research. Measuring sustained competitive advantage also presents difficulties. Second, the explanatory variables in the RBV are resources that must be rare, valuable and hard or impossible to imitate. Measuring valuable resources or factors firms cannot imitate poses serious problems both in demonstrating value independent of the factor's impact on performance (i.e., avoiding tautology) and in measuring unique or nearly unique entities. Third, under the RBV, prescription is problematic; you cannot prescribe things that firms can readily implement because such things can be imitated. We present the practice‐based view (PBV) as a simpler and better alternative for operations management where scholars attempt to explain the entire range of firm and unit performance based on transferable practices.
Modifying effects of maternal Hb concentration on infant birth weight in women receiving prenatal iron-containing supplements: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Wang Linlin , Mei Zuguo , Li Hongtian , Zhang Yali , Liu Jianmeng , Serdula Mary K. 
Published: December 2015

AbstractConcerns have been raised about the benefits of Fe-containing supplements on infant birth weight among women with normal/high Hb levels at baseline. Thus far, no clinical trials have examined whether the effects of prenatal Fe-containing supplements on birth weight vary by maternal Hb levels. We compared the effects of Fe–folic acid (IFA) or multiple micronutrients (MMN) with folic acid (FA) supplements on birth weight among pregnant women with mild/no anaemia or high Hb levels. A double-blind randomised controlled trial was conducted in 2006–2009. In total, 18 775 pregnant women with mild/no anaemia (<100 g/l) were enrolled from five counties in north China. During the period from before 20 weeks of gestation to delivery, the women randomly received a daily supplement containing the following: (1) FA (400 μg); (2) IFA (FA, 400 μg; Fe, 30 mg); or (3) MMN (FA, Fe and thirteen additional vitamins and minerals). Birth weight was measured within the 1st hour of birth. Maternal Hb concentration was determined at enrolment. Among women with normal (≤132 g/l) or high (133–145 g/l) baseline Hb levels, IFA or MMN supplementation had no effect on birth weight. Among women with very high (>145 g/l) baseline Hb levels, IFA and MMN supplements increased birth weight by 91·44 (95 % CI 3·37, 179·51) g and 107·63 (95 % CI 21·98, 193·28) g (P<0·05), respectively, compared with the FA group. No differences were found between the IFA and the MMN group, regardless of maternal Hb concentration. In conclusion, the effects of Fe-containing supplements on birth weight depended on baseline Hb concentrations. The Fe-containing supplements improved birth weight in women with very high Hb levels before 20 weeks of gestation.