bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Triggered dynamics in a model of different fault creep regimes
Authors: Kostić Srđan , Franović Igor , Perc Matjaž , Vasović Nebojša , Todorović Kristina 
Published: June 2014

AbstractThe study is focused on the effect of transient external force induced by a passing seismic wave on fault motion in different creep regimes. Displacement along the fault is represented by the movement of a spring-block model, whereby the uniform and oscillatory motion correspond to the fault dynamics in post-seismic and inter-seismic creep regime, respectively. The effect of the external force is introduced as a change of block acceleration in the form of a sine wave scaled by an exponential pulse. Model dynamics is examined for variable parameters of the induced acceleration changes in reference to periodic oscillations of the unperturbed system above the supercritical Hopf bifurcation curve. The analysis indicates the occurrence of weak irregular oscillations if external force acts in the post-seismic creep regime. When fault motion is exposed to external force in the inter-seismic creep regime, one finds the transition to quasiperiodic- or chaos-like motion, which we attribute to the precursory creep regime and seismic motion, respectively. If the triggered acceleration changes are of longer duration, a reverse transition from inter-seismic to post-seismic creep regime is detected on a larger time scale.
Generation of the SCN1A epilepsy mutation in hiPS cells using the TALEN technique
Authors: Chen Wanjuan , Liu Jingxin , Zhang Longmei , Xu Huijuan , Guo Xiaogang , Deng Sihao , Liu Lipeng , Yu Daiguan , Chen Yonglong , Li Zhiyuan 
Published: June 2014

AbstractHuman induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) can be used to understand the pathological mechanisms of human disease. These cells are a promising source for cell-replacement therapy. However, such studies require genetically defined conditions. Such genetic manipulations can be performed using the novel Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases (TALENs), which generate site-specific double-strand DNA breaks (DSBs) with high efficiency and precision. Combining the TALEN and iPSC methods, we developed two iPS cell lines by generating the point mutation A5768G in the SCN1A gene, which encodes the voltage-gated sodium channel Nav1.1 α subunit. The engineered iPSC maintained pluripotency and successfully differentiated into neurons with normal functional characteristics. The two cell lines differ exclusively at the epilepsy-susceptibility variant. The ability to robustly introduce disease-causing point mutations in normal hiPS cell lines can be used to generate a human cell model for studying epileptic mechanisms and for drug screening.
Regulation of PKA activity by an autophosphorylation mechanism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Solari Clara Andrea , Tudisca Vanesa , Pugliessi Marcelo , Nadra Alejandro Daniel , Moreno Silvia , Portela Paula 
Published: June 2014

PKA (cAMP-dependent protein kinase) activity, as well as that of other AGC members, is regulated by multiple phosphorylations of its catalytic subunits. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the PKA regulatory subunit is encoded by the gene BCY1, and the catalytic subunits are encoded by three genes: TPK1, TPK2 and TPK3. Previously, we have reported that, following cAMP/PKA pathway activation, Tpk1 increases its phosphorylation status. Now, in vivo genetic and in vitro experiments indicate an autophosphorylation mechanism for Tpk1. Using array peptides derived from Tpk1, we identified Ser179 as a target residue. Tpk1 is phosphorylated on Ser179in vivo during glucose stimulus. Reduction of the activation loop Thr241 phosphorylation increases Ser179 autophosphorylation. To evaluate the role of phosphorylation on Ser179, we made strains expressing tpk1S179A or tpk1S179D as the sole PKA kinase source. Our results suggest that Ser179 phosphorylation increases the reactivity towards the substrate without affecting the formation of the holoenzyme. Phenotypic readout analysis showed that Ser179 phosphorylation increases in vivo PKA activity, reducing cell survival, stress and lifespan. Ser179 phosphorylation increases Tpk1 cytoplasmic accumulation in glucose-grown cells. These results describe for the first time that an autophosphorylation mechanism on Tpk1 controls PKA activity in response to glucose availability.
Prevention of age-related endothelial dysfunction by habitual aerobic exercise in healthy humans: possible role of nuclear factor κB
Authors: Walker Ashley E. , Kaplon Rachelle E. , Pierce Gary L. , Nowlan Molly J. , Seals Douglas R. 
Published: June 2014

Habitual aerobic exercise prevents age-related impairments in endothelium-dependent dilation (EDD). We have hypothesized that the pro-inflammatory transcription factor nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) impairs EDD with sedentary aging, and habitual aerobic exercise prevents this age-related suppression of EDD by NF-κB. To test this hypothesis, we have inhibited NF-κB signalling via oral salsalate administration in healthy older aerobic exercise-trained adults (OT, n=14, 58±2 years), older non-exercising adults (ON, n=16, 61±1 years) and young non-exercising controls (YN, n=8, 23±1 years). Salsalate reduced endothelial cell expression of NF-κB p65 by ~25% in ON (P&lt;0.05) but did not significantly change expression in OT or YN (P&gt;0.05). EDD, assessed by brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMD), was improved by salsalate in ON (4.0±0.7% compared with 6.8±0.7%, placebo compared with salsalate, P&lt;0.001) but did not change with salsalate in OT or YN (OT: 7.2±0.7% compared with 7.7±0.6%; YN: 7.6±0.9% compared with 8.1±0.8%; placebo compared with salsalate, P&gt;0.05). Endothelium-independent dilation was not affected by salsalate in any group (P&gt;0.05). In ON, vitamin C infusion improved FMD by ~30% during placebo (P&lt;0.001) but had no affect during salsalate (P&gt;0.05). In OT and YN, vitamin C infusion did not affect FMD during either placebo or salsalate (P&gt;0.05). Salsalate reduced endothelial cell nitrotyrosine content by ~25% and NADPH oxidase p47phox expression by ~30% in ON (P&lt;0.05) but had no effect in OT or YN (P&gt;0.05). Our results suggest that endothelial NF-κB signalling is associated with oxidative stress-related impairment of EDD in healthy non-exercising but not aerobically exercising older adults. This may be a key mechanism by which regular aerobic exercise preserves endothelial function and reduces cardiovascular risk with aging.
The Duoxu Language and the Ersu-Lizu-Duoxu relationship
Authors: Chirkova Katia 
Published: June 2014

Duoxu is a terminally endangered and virtually undescribed Tibeto-Burman language, spoken in the historically multi-ethnic and multi-lingual Miǎnníng county of Sìchuān province in the People’s Republic of China. Until recently, Duoxu was known only through a 740-word vocabulary list in the Sino-Tibetan vocabulariesXīfān Yìyǔ[Tibetan-Chinese bilingual glossary], recorded in Chinese and Tibetan transcriptions in the 18th century, and a grammatical sketch (Huáng & Yǐn 2012). Researchers who have worked on the language (Nishida 1973, Sūn 1982, Huáng & Yǐn 2012) have expressed different views about the features and the genetic position of Duoxu, variously viewing it as (1) closely related to Lolo-Burmese languages (Nishida 1973), (2) closely related to Ersu and Lizu, two neighboring languages that are currently classified as members of the Qiangic subgroup of the Tibeto-Burman language family (Sūn 1982), or (3) distantly related to those two languages and to Qiangic languages at large (Huáng & Yǐn 2012).The Duoxu language is critically endangered and urgently requires documentation. It is of great value for our understanding of the linguistic diversity of the region, and of its linguistic history. It is also of great value as a modern reflection of a language that was recorded in the 18th century. This paper makes a significant contribution in all these areas. Based on new fieldwork with all remaining elderly Duoxu speakers, this study provides newly collected data and a new analysis. It compares the newly collected data with the 18th-century attestations of Duoxu as well as with its two putative sister languages Ersu and Lizu. The conclusion of the study is that Duoxu is closely related to Ersu and Lizu, with superficial differences attributed to long-standing and on-going contact influence from Southwestern Mandarin.
Production of Bacillus subtilis-fermented red alga Porphyra dentata suspension with fibrinolytic and immune-enhancing activities
Authors: Lin Hong-Ting Victor , Hwang Pai-An , Lin Tzu-Chun , Tsai Guo-Jane 
Published: June 2014

Abstract
The fermented marine alga Porphyra dentata suspension was tested for its fibrinolytic and immune-enhancing activities. An isolated Bacillus subtilis N2 strain was selected for its fibrinolytic activity on fibrin plates. After investigating the effects of biomass amounts of P. dentata powder in water, various additives including sugars, nitrogen-containing substances, lipids and minerals, and cultural conditions of temperature and agitation in flask, the highest fibrinolytic activity in the cultural filtrate was obtained by cultivating N2 strain in 3% (w/v) P. dentata powder suspension containing 1% peanut oil at 37 °C, 150 rpm for 48 h. A fermentor system was further established using the same medium with controlled pH value of 7.0 at 37 °C, 150 rpm, 2.0 vvm for 48 h for the best fibrinolytic activity. The fermented product also showed its immune-enhancing activity by increasing cell proliferation and stimulating the secretion of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in J774.1 cells.
Reduction of the chronic stress response by inhalation of hiba (Thujopsis dolabrata) essential oil in rats
Authors: Matsuura Tetsuya , Yamaguchi Takuya , Zaike Youhei , Yanagihara Kousei , Ichinose Mitsuyuki 
Published: June 2014

Abstract
To verify the effects of hiba essential oil in restrained stressed rats, we analyzed physiological variables and psychophysiological behavior. Stressed-HEO rats inhaled hiba essential oil aroma after restraint period. The quantities of food and water intake and the excretion amount of stressed rats were smaller than those of non-stressed control rats. Body weights of stressed rats decreased compared with those of control rats. These physiological variables of stress-HEO rats significantly recovered compared with those of stressed rats (P &lt; 0.001). Stress-related anxiety was assessed using the elevated plus-maze test. Entry times into the open arms of stressed rats were less than those of control rats (P &lt; 0.05). In contrast, the suppression of entry times into the open arms of stressed rats was restored by the inhalation of hiba oil. The results suggest that hiba essential oil inhalation reduced stress-induced growth inhibition and stress-related anxiety.
Unequal Educational Transitions in Estonia
Authors: Saar Ellu , Aimre Kristel-Amelie 
Published: June 2014

ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact of social origin on the transition from basic to secondary education and from secondary to tertiary education, comparing four cohorts born between 1935 and 1984. The analysis focuses on testing four hypotheses, which are mainly derived from the theses of maximally maintained inequality, effectively maintained inequality and the changes in the Estonian education system. The analysis is based on data from the Estonian Social Survey, 2004–2005, which gathered retrospective information about the educational transitions of respondents and their social origins. The findings showed the persistent inequality in the transition to secondary education during the socialist period, despite the expansion of secondary education in the 1960s and 1970s. However, as a result of declining enrolments in the 1990s, social inequality in the transition probabilities to secondary education increased significantly. We found that social origin had a strong impact on the transition to higher education, but surprisingly this effect did not change when comparing cohorts. We can also point out that the distribution of educational opportunity is related more to the rules that govern educational selection than to the expansion of the educational system per se.
Non-coding RNAs: a new RNA world
Authors: Wang Ling 
Published: June 2014

Abstract
These days, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) including small RNAs and long ncRNAs (lncRNAs) are among the hottest topics in biology. Various types of ncRNAs and their functions have been discovered: from the well-understood tRNAs, rRNAs and miRNAs to the relatively less known piRNAs and lncRNAs. As more and more mysteries about ncRNAs are resolved, scientists look toward new methodologies and technologies to further explore the ncRNA wonderland. Haifan Lin and Yijun Qi, two renowned biologists based in the USA and China, respectively, recently spoke with NSR about their research and views on ncRNAs.
The battle against PM2.5 is on
Authors: Wang Ling 
Published: June 2014

Abstract
On 21 February 2014, almost 15% of China (mostly in the east) was enveloped by haze with hazardous PM2.5 pollutants (particulate matter with size smaller than 2.5 μm). This is a problem that had also frequently occurred in 2013. During the subsequent meeting of the Chinese parliament in mid-March 2014, a national battle against air pollution in future years is proposed ‘in order to accelerate the overall environmental initiatives and improve people's quality of life’. Zhongli Ding, Vice President of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and a climatologist with extensive experience in research and policy making, stated clearly that only the most stringent environment standard implementation could curb the present problem. Never before has a country faced such complex conditions as China. ‘We have London fog and San Francisco's smog combined, and moreover, 10 provinces and cities in eastern China, including Beijing and Tianjin, accounting for only 0.6% of the world land area, but the highest per unit area emission in the world; the entire Hebei province is one big smokestack.’ In an interview with NSR and a meteorologist Huijun Wang, Ding talked about how China is currently combating with air pollution.
Land management trumps the effects of climate change and elevated CO2 on grassland functioning
Authors: Thébault Aurélie , Mariotte Pierre , Lortie Christopher J. , MacDougall Andrew S. 
Published: June 2014

Summary

Grasslands cover ˜30% of the Earth's terrestrial surface and provide many ecosystem services. Many grasslands are heavily managed to maximize these services for human benefit, but the outcome of management is anticipated to be increasingly influenced by various aspects of climate change and elevated atmospheric CO2. The relative importance of global change vs. land management on grasslands is largely unknown.

A meta‐analysis is used here to examine drivers at both scales primarily targeting services provided by grasslands relating to plant productivity (above‐ and below‐ground biomass) and soil processes (nutrients and soil respiration) in 38 manipulative experiments published in the last decade. We specifically target effects of (i) single and combined land management practices (LMs), (ii) single and combined factors relating to broad‐scale climate change and elevated CO2, and (iii) combined management practices and changes to climate and CO2. Collectively, this examines the general efficacy of global change models in predicting changes to grassland functioning.

We found that combinations of management practices had approximately double the explanatory power for variation in grassland services compared with individual or interactive effects of factors associated with climate change and CO2. These interacting management practices such as nutrient additions and defoliation predominantly influenced functions associated with productivity or biomass both below and above ground. The effects of interacting factors of climate and CO2 influenced a wider range of ecosystem functions, but the magnitude of these effects was relatively smaller.

Interactions between management practices or between climate change/CO2 factors always had higher explanatory power than any factor in isolation indicating that multivariate synergistic models of environmental change can better describe impacts on ecosystem function in plant communities (e.g. relative to univariate climate‐based models). Given that the magnitude and direction (positive or negative) of the interactions varied widely, this also implies that the outcomes of these multivariate interactions can vary spatially, temporally or by immediate context (e.g. management prescriptions).

Synthesis. Although our work confirms how climate change and CO2 can affect many ecosystem‐based functional attributes, it suggests that combinations of LMs remain the dominant set of factors in determining the performance of grassland plant communities. Land management may thus be critical for influencing projected responses to future climate change and elevated CO2 in models of grassland function at least for factors relating to primary production.
Relationships between adaptive and neutral genetic diversity and ecological structure and functioning: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Whitlock Raj 
Published: June 2014

SummaryUnderstanding the effects of intraspecific genetic diversity on the structure and functioning of ecological communities is a fundamentally important part of evolutionary ecology and may also have conservation relevance in identifying the situations in which genetic diversity coincides with species‐level diversity.Early studies within this field documented positive relationships between genetic diversity and ecological structure, but recent studies have challenged these findings. Conceptual synthesis has been hampered because studies have used different measures of intraspecific variation (phenotypically adaptive vs. neutral) and have considered different measures of ecological structure in different ecological and spatial contexts. The aim of this study is to strengthen conceptual understanding by providing an empirical synthesis quantifying the relationship between genetic diversity and ecological structure.Here, I present a meta‐analysis of the relationship between genetic diversity within plant populations and the structure and functioning of associated ecological communities (including 423 effect sizes from 70 studies). I usedBayesian meta‐analyses to examine (i) the strength and direction of this relationship, (ii) the extent to which phenotypically adaptive and neutral (molecular) measures of diversity differ in their association with ecological structure and (iii) variation in outcomes among different measures of ecological structure and in different ecological contexts.Effect sizes measuring the relationship between adaptive diversity (genotypic richness) and both community‐ and ecosystem‐level ecological responses were small, but significantly positive. These associations were supported by genetic effects on species richness and productivity, respectively.There was no overall association between neutral genetic diversity and measures of ecological structure, but a positive correlation was observed under a limited set of demographic conditions. These results suggest that adaptive and neutral genetic diversity should not be treated as ecologically equivalent measures of intraspecific variation.Synthesis. This study advances the debate over whether relationships between genetic diversity and ecological structure are either simply positive or negative, by showing how the strength and direction of these relationships changes with different measures of diversity and in different ecological contexts. The results provide a solid foundation for assessing when and where an expanded synthesis between ecology and genetics will be most fruitful.
Advancing plant ecology through meta‐analyses
Authors: Gómez‐Aparicio Lorena , Lortie Christopher J. 
Published: June 2014

Summary

The inherent complexity of nature produces a diverse and varied set of outcomes for any given ecological process. However, the advance of ecology requires making generalizations that synthesize current knowledge and guide new basic research and practical applications. Among the synthesis tools available for this specific purpose, meta‐analysis is one of the most accurate and powerful methods.

This Special Feature examines the use that meta‐analysis has received in plant ecology over the last two decades and provides examples of synthesis applied to contemporary topics in different areas of plant ecology from populations to ecosystems.

The number of meta‐analyses in plant ecology has been increasing rapidly in the last two decades. However, this increase has not been accompanied by a parallel increase in quality. The opening review paper in this Special Feature provides a checklist of quality criteria specific to ecological meta‐analysis that will largely contribute to improvement of the methodological and reporting standards of meta‐analyses.

The following five papers in the Special Feature demonstrate the advantages of application of meta‐analysis compared with other techniques of research synthesis. Meta‐analysis is applied here to demonstrate the consistency of ecological hypotheses across large spatial scales (e.g. Janzen‐Connell hypothesis), understand sources of variation in the magnitude of ecological processes (e.g. herbivory effects on leaf life span, effects of intraspecific genetic diversity on communities and ecosystems), measure synergistic impacts of environmental change drivers (e.g. CO2, drought, land use) or assess research gaps within a certain sub‐discipline of plant ecology (e.g. landscape fragmentation).

Synthesis. Meta‐analysis can contribute to the advance of ecological theory by synthesizing the available evidence on specific topics and informing the scope of generalizations. However, plant ecologists can only take full advantage of this capacity if we improve our knowledge on how and when to conduct a proper meta‐analysis, and by avoiding the frequent misuses that have characterized the use of this statistical tool in the ecological literature thus far.
Trainee perspectives on usefulness of the Trainee Research Requirement
Authors: Mitra Biswadev , Jones Peter , Fatovich Daniel , Thom Ogilvie ,   Trainee Research Committee, Australasian College for Emergency Medicine
Published: June 2014

AbstractObjectiveTo determine trainee perspectives of the utility of a trainee research project (TRP) or the coursework pathway (CP) in completing the Trainee Research Requirement of the ACEM.MethodsA survey based on the ACEM learning objectives for research was sent to all trainees and Fellows who had completed or intending to complete the Trainee Research Requirement between 2010 and 2012. Participants were asked to rate the value of the TRP or CP on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = ‘not useful’ and 10 = ‘invaluable’). In addition, open‐ended questions were asked for qualitative assessment.ResultsSurvey response was 142/621 (23%). Most participants had undertaken the CP (113/142, 79%). Median scores were better for the CP compared with the TRP, and when results were dichotomised to scores of 1–5 as being not useful and 6–10 as being useful, a significantly higher proportion of participants rated the CP as being useful across all learning objectives (P ≤ 0.01). There was a bimodal distribution of scores for TRPs, with a minority of trainees reporting a very poor TRP experience. Cost was the most commonly cited negative aspect of the CP, whereas the TRP was perceived as time consuming and being difficult to attain.ConclusionsMore ACEM trainees are undertaking the CP compared with a TRP. The CP was associated with better self‐reported fulfilment of the ACEM learning objectives for research. There is scope for the ACEM to improve the experience of trainees wishing to undertake their own research projects.