bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Feeding location affects demographic performance of cabbage aphids on winter canola
Authors: Cibils‐Stewart Ximena , Sandercock Brett K. , McCornack Brian P. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractThe cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae L. (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is a perennial pest that specializes on plants of the Brassicaceae family, attacking winter canola (Brassica napus L.) mainly during and after flowering. Under field conditions, cabbage aphid colonizes the upper flowering canopy. Population dynamics of aphids in the flowering canopy could be regulated by differences in either plant quality (bottom‐up) or predatory (top‐down) forces. The goal of our study was to determine the effect of feeding location on cabbage aphid demography. A stage‐structured matrix population model was constructed for aphids restricted to reproductive or vegetative plant tissues of canola. We found that feeding location had a large impact on demography of cabbage aphid; the finite rate of increase (λ ± SEM) was higher when aphids were restricted to reproductive tissues, compared to aphids feeding on vegetative tissues: 1.25 ± 0.01 vs. 1.17 ± 0.01 (leaves). Aphids confined to reproductive tissues with higher λ exhibited shorter generation times (T = 14.2 ± 0.2 days) and 53–75% higher net reproductive rates (R0 = 23.3 ± 1.7) than aphids feeding on vegetative tissues. Prospective analyses showed that there was a nymph‐skewed stable stage distribution, and elasticity values revealed that λ is most sensitive to changes in stasis of adults staying in the adult stage and to adult survival. Retrospective analyses indicated that variation in adult fecundity (value of 0.05) had the largest effect on population dynamics but collectively, growth of nymphal stage 2–3, 3–4, and 4 to adult accounted for most of the difference in λ between the treatments. Monitoring programs should target adults and penultimate instars colonizing reproductive tissues of canola plants in the field as aphids on these plant structures contribute most to population growth.
Early herbivore alert matters: plant‐mediated effects of egg deposition on higher trophic levels benefit plant fitness
Authors: Pashalidou Foteini G. , Frago Enric , Griese Eddie , Poelman Erik H. , van Loon Joop J. A. , Dicke Marcel , Fatouros Nina E. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractInduction of plant defences, specifically in response to herbivore attack, can save costs that would otherwise be needed to maintain defences even in the absence of herbivores. However, plants may suffer considerable damage during the time required to mount these defences against an attacker. This could be resolved if plants could respond to early cues, such as egg deposition, that reliably indicate future herbivory. We tested this hypothesis in a field experiment and found that egg deposition by the butterfly Pieris brassicae on black mustard (Brassica nigra) induced a plant response that negatively affected feeding caterpillars. The effect cascaded up to the third and fourth trophic levels (larval parasitoids and hyperparasitoids) by affecting the parasitisation rate and parasitoid performance. Overall, the defences induced by egg deposition had a positive effect on plant seed production and may therefore play an important role in the evolution of plant resistance to herbivores.
Genetic programming for the minimum time swing up and balance control acrobot problem
Authors: Dracopoulos Dimitris C. , Nichols Barry D. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractThis work describes how genetic programming is applied to evolving controllers for the minimum time swing up and inverted balance tasks of the continuous state and action: limited torque acrobot. The best swing‐up controller is able to swing the acrobot up to a position very close to the inverted ‘handstand’ position in a very short time, shorter than that of Coulom (2004), who applied the same constraints on the applied torque values, and to take only slightly longer than the approach by Lai et al. (2009) where far larger torque values were allowed. The best balance controller is able to balance the acrobot in the inverted position when starting from the balance position for the length of time used in the fitness function in all runs; furthermore, 47 out of 50 of the runs evolve controllers able to maintain the balance position for an extended period, an improvement on the balance controllers generated by Dracopoulos and Nichols (2012), which this paper is extended from. The most successful balance controller is also able to balance the acrobot when starting from a small offset from the balance position for this extended period.
Very Short Paroxysms Account for More Than Half of the Cases of Atrial Fibrillation Detected after Stroke and TIA: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Authors: Sposato Luciano A. , Cipriano Lauren E. , Riccio Patricia M. , Hachinski Vladimir , Saposnik Gustavo 
Published: July 2015

Background Guidelines suggest that only poststroke atrial fibrillation episodes lasting 30 s or longer should be considered for anticoagulation. However, little evidence supports this recommendation. Aims We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the frequency of poststroke atrial fibrillation lasting less than 30 s in stroke and transient ischemic attack patients. Methods We searched PubMed, Embase, and Scopus from 1980 to June 30, 2014 for studies reporting the detection of poststroke atrial fibrillation of less than 30 s and of 30 s or longer. The primary endpoint was the proportion of screened patients diagnosed with poststroke atrial fibrillation lasting less than 30 s. The secondary endpoint was the proportion of patients diagnosed with poststroke atrial fibrillation shorter than 30 s among the overall number of patients in whom a poststroke atrial fibrillation was detected after stroke or transient ischemic attack. Results From 28 290 titles, we included nine studies in the random-effects meta-analysis. Among stroke and transient ischemic attack patients without a history of atrial fibrillation, 9·0% (95% confidence interval: 4·9–14·3) experienced episodes of poststroke atrial fibrillation shorter than 30 s. An additional 6·5% (95% confidence interval: 3·2–10·9) experienced episodes of poststroke atrial fibrillation longer than 30 s. Among all patients with poststroke atrial fibrillation, 56·3% (95% confidence interval: 37·7–74·0) had poststroke atrial fibrillation episodes shorter than 30 s during diagnostic evaluation. Conclusions The clinical and prognostic significance of poststroke atrial fibrillation episodes shorter than 30 s is unknown. The high frequency of poststroke atrial fibrillation episodes shorter than 30 s justify further investigation into the risk of stroke recurrence and the risk–benefit profile of anticoagulation for this patient population.
Organizational impact of nurse supply and workload on nurses continuing professional development opportunities: an integrative review
Authors: Coventry Tracey H. , Maslin‐Prothero Sian E. , Smith Gilly 
Published: July 2015

AbstractAimTo identify the best evidence on the impact of healthcare organizations' supply of nurses and nursing workload on the continuing professional development opportunities of Registered Nurses in the acute care hospital.BackgroundTo maintain registration and professional competence nurses are expected to participate in continuing professional development. One challenge of recruitment and retention is the Registered Nurse's ability to participate in continuing professional development opportunities.DesignThe integrative review method was used to present Registered Nurses perspectives on this area of professional concern.Data sourcesThe review was conducted for the period of 2001–February 2015. Keywords were: nurs*, continuing professional development, continuing education, professional development, supply, shortage, staffing, workload, nurse: patient ratio, barrier and deterrent.Review methodsThe integrative review used a structured approach for literature search and data evaluation, analysis and presentation. Eleven international studies met the inclusion criteria.ResultsNurses are reluctant or prevented from leaving clinical settings to attend continuing professional development due to lack of relief cover, obtaining paid or unpaid study leave, use of personal time to undertake mandatory training and organizational culture and leadership issues constraining the implementation of learning to benefit patients.ConclusionCulture, leadership and workload issues impact nurses' ability to attend continuing professional development. The consequences affect competence to practice, the provision of safe, quality patient care, maintenance of professional registration, job satisfaction, recruitment and retention. Organizational leadership plays an important role in supporting attendance at continuing professional development as an investment for the future.
Seasonal probabilistic forecasting of tropical cyclone activity in the North Indian Ocean
Authors: Espejo A. , Mendez F.J. , Diez J. , Medina R. , AL‐Yahyai S. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractCoastal flooding due to tropical cyclones (TCs) is a major concern in low‐lying areas of the North Indian Ocean. In the past few years, there have been devastating TCs (e.g. Nargis and Layla in the Bay of Bengal and Gonu in the Arabian Sea) that have galvanised efforts to better understand and forecast such events. Here, we focus on the role of sea‐surface temperature (SST) as a predictor of TC intensification. We develop a statistical downscaling model that identifies patterns of large‐scale SST associated with TC activity in terms of occurrence rate and expected tracks. Finally, we use the Climate Forecast System v2 to construct a probabilistic forecast of TC activity for the coming months/season. We demonstrate that this approach is an integral component of a very early TC warning system.
Up‐regulation of c‐Jun NH2‐terminal kinase‐interacting protein 3 (JIP3) contributes to BDNF‐enhanced neurotransmitter release
Authors: Chen Bing , Ma Xin‐Liang , Geng Zhao , Huang Shu‐Hong , Zhai Lu‐Kai , Guo Yun‐Yun , Chen Zhe‐Yu 
Published: July 2015

AbstractBrain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been implicated in the potent modulation of synaptic plasticity at both pre‐synaptic and post‐synaptic sites. However, the molecular mechanism underlying BDNF‐mediated pre‐synaptic modulation remains incompletely understood. Here, we report that BDNF treatment for over 4 h could significantly enhance the expression of c‐Jun NH2‐terminal kinase‐interacting protein 3 (JIP3) in cultured hippocampal neurons. This enhancement could be blocked by the Trk inhibitor K252a or by a cAMP response element‐binding protein (CREB) inhibitor. In addition, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays revealed that CREB could bind with the JIP3 promoter region and the BDNF treatment could increase this binding. Using dual‐luciferase assays we further characterized the cAMP response element (CRE) site in the JIP3 promoter. Finally, we found that BDNF‐increased JIP3 expression contributes to the BDNF‐induced modulation of neurotransmitter release. Together, our studies reveal that in hippocampal neurons BDNF up‐regulates JIP3 expression via CREB activation, which contributes to the enhancement of neurotransmitter release; thus, we have identified a novel mechanism that BDNF modulates pre‐synaptic transmission.
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We demonstrated that in hippocampal neurons BDNF/TrkB signaling mediates transcriptional up‐regulation of c‐Jun NH2‐terminal kinase‐interacting protein 3 (JIP3) via CREB activation. The up‐regulation of JIP3 further contributes to BDNF‐enhanced neurotransmitter release. These findings provide insight into the mechanistic link between BDNF‐mediated gene expression and its more sustained pre‐synaptic modulation, which may help us to further understand the roles of BDNF in neuronal plasticity.
Interactions between histamine H1 receptor and its antagonists by using cell membrane chromatography method
Authors: Ma Weina , Zhang Dongdong , Li Jing , Che Delu , Liu Rui , Zhang Jie , Zhang Yanmin 
Published: July 2015

Abstract

Objectives
A high histamine H1 receptor (H1R) expression cell membrane chromatography (CMC) method was developed to investigate the affinity of ligands for H1R.

Methods
The affinity of ligands for H1R was evaluated by frontal analysis. Competition studies and molecular docking study were utilized to study the interactions that occurred at specific binding sites on H1R.

Key findings
The KD values measured by frontal analysis were (8.72 ± 0.21) × 10−7 M for azelastine, (9.12 ± 0.26) × 10−7 M for cyproheptadine, (9.90 ± 0.18) × 10−7 M for doxepin, (1.42 ± 0.13) × 10−6 M for astemizole, (2.25 ± 0.36) × 10−6 M for chlorpheniramine and (3.10 ± 0.27) × 10−6 M for diphenhydramine. The results had a positive correlation with those from radioligand binding assay. The ability of displacement order measured on the binding sites occupied by doxepin was doxepin (KD, (2.95 ± 0.21) × 10−8 M) &gt; astemizole (KD, (5.03 ± 0.18) × 10−7 M) &gt; chlorpheniramine (KD, (1.27 ± 0.16) × 10−6 M) &gt; cyproheptadine (KD, (1.61 ± 0.27) × 10−6 M), whose order met with the scores by molecular docking study.

Conclusions
The studies showed CMC could be applied to investigate drug–receptor interactions.
Serum HBsAg kinetics and usefulness of interferon‐inducible protein 10 serum in HBeAg‐negative chronic hepatitis B patients treated with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate
Authors: Papatheodoridis G. , Triantos C. , Hadziyannis E. , Zisimopoulos K. , Georgiou A. , Voulgaris T. , Vlachogiannakos I. , Nikolopoulou V. , Manolakopoulos S. 
Published: July 2015

SummaryThe kinetics of serum HBsAg and interferon‐inducible protein 10 (IP10) levels in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection treated with tenofovir are unclear. We evaluated the changes of HBsAg levels and the predictability of IP10 for HBsAg decline in 160 HBeAg‐negative patients receiving tenofovir for ≥12 months. Serum samples taken before and at 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 months after tenofovir were tested for HBsAg levels. In 104 patients, serum samples before tenofovir were tested for IP10 levels. Compared to before tenofovir, HBsAg levels decreased by a median of 0.08, 0.11, 0.24, 0.33 and 0.38 log10 IU/mL at 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 months, respectively (P < 0.001). HBsAg kinetics did not differ between nucleos(t)ide analogue(s) naive and experienced patients. The 12‐, 24‐, 36‐ and 48‐month cumulative rates of ≥0.5 log10 HBsAg decline were 8%, 16%, 24% and 41% and of HBsAg ≤100 IU/mL were 9%, 12%, 14% and 18%, respectively. The only factor associated with HBsAg ≤100 IU/mL was lower HBsAg levels before tenofovir (P < 0.001), while HBsAg decline ≥0.5 log10 was associated with higher IP10 levels (P = 0.002) and particularly with IP10 > 350 pg/mL (P < 0.001). In conclusion, tenofovir decreases serum HBsAg levels in both nucleos(t)ide analogue(s) naive and experienced patients with HBeAg‐negative chronic hepatitis B infection. After 4 years of therapy, HBsAg ≤100 IU/mL can be achieved in approximately 20% of patients, particularly in those with low baseline HBsAg levels. HBsAg decline is slow (≥0.5 log10 in 40% of patients after 4 years) and is associated only with higher baseline serum IP10 levels.
Intervention of Naraj Barrage: Its effects on sediment inflows into Chilika Lake, India
Authors: Mishra Siba P. , Jena Joygopal 
Published: July 2015

AbstractChilika Lake, Asia's largest brackish water lagoon, is located in the state of Odisha on the east coast of India. It was designated as a Ramsar site in 1981, being the first Indian wetland of international importance under the Ramsar convention. Siltation of the lake is become a major concern, because it is leading to various geomorphic changes that are affecting the shape and size of the lagoon, which receives a major silt load through the Daya and Bhargovi rivers (both being branches of the Mahanadi river) via the Kathajodi and Kuakhai rivers. The Naraj barrage was constructed at the mouth of the Kathajodi river to regulate its inflow, and also its silt load, into the lagoon. Two observatories are established in the Daya and Bhargovi rivers to determine the quantity of silt entering Chilika Lake through the rivers, with the bed load and suspended (total solids) being measured. Various effects of siltation in the lagoon because of the barrage are analysed in this study, to include the pre‐ and postconstruction situation. By considering different flood situations in the Mahanadi river, various alternate strategies for operation of the Naraj barrage were studied, with the goal of minimizing the siltation in Chilika Lake. These alternate operation strategies, and their potential effects on the inflow into the lagoon, are analysed and discussed in this report.
Echoes of a distant time: effects of historical processes on contemporary genetic patterns in Galaxias platei in Patagonia
Authors: Vera‐Escalona Iván , Habit Evelyn , Ruzzante Daniel E. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractInterpreting the genetic structure of a metapopulation as the outcome of gene flow over a variety of timescales is essential for the proper understanding of how changes in landscape affect biological connectivity. Here we contrast historical and contemporary connectivity in two metapopulations of the freshwater fish Galaxias platei in northern and southernmost Patagonia where paleolakes existed during the Holocene and Pleistocene, respectively. Contemporary gene flow was mostly high and asymmetrical in the northern system while extremely reduced in the southernmost system. Historical migration patterns were high and symmetric in the northern system and high and largely asymmetric in the southern system. Both systems showed a moderate structure with a clear pattern of isolation by distance (IBD). Effective population sizes were smaller in populations with low contemporary gene flow. An approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) approach suggests a late Holocene colonization of the lakes in the northern system and recent divergence of the populations from refugial populations from east and west of the Andes. For the southern system, the ABC approach reveals that some of the extant G. platei populations most likely derive from an ancestral population inhabiting a large Pleistocene paleolake while the rest derive from a higher‐altitude lake. Our results suggest that neither historical nor contemporary processes individually fully explain the observed structure and geneflow patterns and both are necessary for a proper understanding of the factors that affect diversity and its distribution. Our study highlights the importance of a temporal perspective on connectivity to analyse the diversity of spatially complex metapopulations.
Brucella infection in a child with progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis type 2 who had undergone liver transplantation
Authors: Sutcu Murat , Gokceer Damla , Akturk Hacer , Somer Ayper , Torun Selda Hancerli , Cantez Mustafa Serdar , Durmaz Ozlem , Salman Nuran 
Published: July 2015

AbstractBrucellosis is considered the most widespread zoonosis in the world. In endemic regions of brucellosis, childhood brucellosis includes up to one‐third of all cases of human brucellosis. Brucellosis constitutes a public health problem in Turkey. A boy aged 12 yr who had PFIC2 had undergone deceased‐donor liver transplantation in 2008 at the age of seven. The boy presented with fatigue, fever, and pain in the right leg and hip and was admitted to the hospital. Brucella melitensis grew in the blood culture, and the SAT was positive at a titer of 1:640. The patient was treated with oral doxycycline and rifampicin for eight wk. After treatment, the patient recovered and his blood cultures became negative. The patient's mother also had a high Brucella agglutination titer of 1:320 positive and was treated in the internal medicine department with spiramycin and doxycycline. Brucella infection should be suspected in liver transplant recipients with fever of unknown origin, especially in recipients who live in an endemic area.
Joint Estimation of Multiple Graphical Models from High Dimensional Time Series
Authors: Qiu Huitong , Han Fang , Liu Han , Caffo Brian 
Published: July 2015

SummaryWe consider the problem of jointly estimating multiple graphical models in high dimensions. We assume that the data are collected from n subjects, each of which consists of T possibly dependent observations. The graphical models of subjects vary, but are assumed to change smoothly corresponding to a measure of closeness between subjects. We propose a kernel-based method for jointly estimating all graphical models. Theoretically, under a double asymptotic framework, where both (T, n) and the dimension d can increase, we provide an explicit rate of convergence in parameter estimation. It characterizes the strength that one can borrow across different individuals and the effect of data dependence on parameter estimation. Empirically, experiments on both synthetic and real resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging data illustrate the effectiveness of the method proposed.
Evaluating soil reinforcement by plant roots using artificial neural networks
Authors: Zhang C. , Jiang J. , Ma J. , Zhang X. , Yang Q. , Ouyang Q. , Lei X. 
Published: July 2015

AbstractSoil reinforcement by plant roots and its response to influencing factors are very important for bank stability evaluation and control. Models with improved accuracy are urgently needed for evaluating soil reinforcement. Using a back‐propagation (BP) learning algorithm, an artificial neural network (ANN) model with five input variables, including the number of roots, root area ratio, root tensile strength, soil shear strength, and soil moisture content, was developed to simulate the response of soil reinforcement to these factors. A connection weight approach was used to understand the relative importance of each factor. Using a data set published in 2003 and collected in Australia, soil reinforcement of four trees, Casuarina glauca, Eucalyptus amplifolia, Eucalyptus elata and Acacia floribunda, was simulated using three models: BP‐ANN, one described by Wu et al. in 1979 and the 2005 fibre bundle model (FBM) of Pollen and Simon. Comparisons of results from these models showed that the BP‐ANN model most accurately estimated the soil reinforcement. The simulated results indicated that only the effect of soil moisture content on soil reinforcement was negative. The influence of the other four factors was positive, and the relative importance was in the order: root area ratio > root tensile strength > the number of roots > soil shear strength. This study provides a new approach to soil reinforcement estimation and improves our understanding of soil resistance and bank stability.
African Englishes and creative writing
Authors: BOKAMBA EYAMBA G. 
Published: July 2015

ABSTRACTThis study considers a number of questions regarding the structural characteristics of African Englishes exemplified in African creative writing, with a focus on such leading novelists as Achebe, Ngugi, Nwapa, and Okara. It explores the degree to which these writers reconstruct the English language in their writings to convey the African cultures represented in their works. A related issue is whether these texts demonstrate ‘trans‐creations’ that still adhere to the standard varieties of English with appropriately encoded and limited Africanisms to capture African cultures. Another crucially important issue is whether the extensive use of English is detrimental to the vitality and creativity of African languages.
Creative writing pedagogy for world Englishes students
Authors: GEOK‐LIN LIM SHIRLEY 
Published: July 2015

ABSTRACTNoting the contradiction between the goals in English language teaching and creative writing pedagogy in teaching ESL/EFL/world Englishes students, the paper argues for a greater emphasis on parole instead of langue to generate increased innovative writing. It begins with a critique of a major creative writing dogma, ‘Show, don't tell,' and discusses a range of models, prompts and strategies in which ‘show and tell' assignments that also encourage and incorporate students' world Englishes registers in their crafting of poems.