Forest edges influence more than half of the world's forests and contribute to worldwide declines in biodiversity and ecosystem functions. However, predicting these declines is challenging in ...heterogeneous fragmented landscapes. Here we assembled a global dataset on species responses to fragmentation and developed a statistical approach for quantifying edge impacts in heterogeneous landscapes to quantify edge-determined changes in abundance of 1,673 vertebrate species. We show that the abundances of 85% of species are affected, either positively or negatively, by forest edges. Species that live in the centre of the forest (forest core), that were more likely to be listed as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), reached peak abundances only at sites farther than 200-400 m from sharp high-contrast forest edges. Smaller-bodied amphibians, larger reptiles and medium-sized non-volant mammals experienced a larger reduction in suitable habitat than other forest-core species. Our results highlight the pervasive ability of forest edges to restructure ecological communities on a global scale.
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•Health issues and lifestyle choice for reducing cow's milk intake.•Plant-based milk substitute is a water-soluble extract of plant material.•Technological aspects on the production ...of plant-based milk were reviewed.•Procedures to improve the quality of the final product have been described.
A growing number of consumers opt for plant-based milk substitutes for medical reasons, like cow’s milk protein allergy (CMPA), lactose intolerance (LI), or as a lifestyle choice. Plant-based milk substitutes, or plant extracts, are water-soluble extracts of legumes, oilseeds, cereals or pseudocereals that resemble bovine milk in appearance. It is produced by reducing the size of the raw material, extracted in water and subsequently homogenized, being an alternative to cow's milk. They are considered cow's milk replacers due to similar chemical composition and can also be used as a substitute for direct use or in some animal milk-based preparations. On the other hand, these substitutes exhibit different sensory characteristics, stability and nutritional composition from cow's milk. They are manufactured by extracting the raw material in water, separating the liquid, and formulating the final product. Others process like homogenization and thermal treatments are indispensable to improve the suspension and microbiological stabilities of the final product so that can be consumed. However new and advanced non-thermal processing technologies such as ultra-high pressure homogenization and pulsed electric field processing are being researched for tackling the problems related to increase of shelf life, emulsion stability, nutritional completeness and sensory acceptability without the use of high temperatures. Some pre-treatments such as peeling, bleaching or soaking can be performed on the raw material in order to improve the final product. The nutritional properties are influenced by the plant source, processing, and fortification. The addition of other ingredients as sugar, oil and flavorings is done to the plant-based milk substitute to make them more palatable and be more acceptable to consumers. Thus, the aim is to review the main reasons for the consumption of plant-based milk substitute as well as the raw materials used and the technological aspects of its production.
•Dynamic displacement measurement system for railway bridges based on video technology.•The system has good versatility, high precision and a wide range of acquisition rates.•The system’s performance ...was evaluated based on laboratory and field testing.•Measurement’s precision is influenced by lighting and camera stand’s movements.•The validation of the video system based on a LVDT showed very good results.
This article describes the development of a non-contact dynamic displacement measurement system for railway bridges based on video technology. The system, consisting of a high speed video camera, an optical lens, lighting lamps and a precision target, can perform measurements with acquisition frame rates ranging from 64fps to 500fps, and be articulated with other measurement systems, which promotes its integration in structural health monitoring (SHM) systems. Preliminary tests of the system have shown that the measurements’ precision can be affected by: (i) movements of the camera stand and, therefore, rigid supports should be used and the camera should be protected from air flows; (ii) the distortion of the field of view, caused by the flow of heat waves generated by IR incandescent lighting and, therefore, the operating time of the lamps should be limited. The system was used to measure the displacement of a railway bridge’s deck, induced by the passage of trains at speeds between 120km/h and 180km/h, yielding a very good agreement between the results of displacement measurement obtained with the video system and with a LVDT. The achieved precision was below 0.1mm for distances from the camera to the target up to 15m, and in the order of 0.25mm for a distance of 25m. The application of an image processing technique at subpixel level resulted in real precisions generally inferior to the theoretical precisions.
A history of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) is consistently cited as one of the strongest predictors of future suicidal behavior. However, stark discrepancies in the literature raise ...questions about the true magnitude of these associations. The objective of this study is to examine the magnitude and clinical utility of the associations between SITBs and subsequent suicide ideation, attempts, and death.
We searched PubMed, PsycInfo, and Google Scholar for papers published through December 2014. Inclusion required that studies include at least one longitudinal analysis predicting suicide ideation, attempts, or death using any SITB variable. We identified 2179 longitudinal studies; 172 met inclusion criteria.
The most common outcome was suicide attempt (47.80%), followed by death (40.50%) and ideation (11.60%). Median follow-up was 52 months (mean = 82.52, s.d. = 102.29). Overall prediction was weak, with weighted mean odds ratios (ORs) of 2.07 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.76-2.43 for ideation, 2.14 (95% CI 2.00-2.30) for attempts, and 1.54 (95% CI 1.39-1.71) for death. Adjusting for publication bias further reduced estimates. Diagnostic accuracy analyses indicated acceptable specificity (86-87%) and poor sensitivity (10-26%), with areas under the curve marginally above chance (0.60-0.62). Most risk factors generated OR estimates of <2.0 and no risk factor exceeded 4.5. Effects were consistent regardless of sample severity, sample age groups, or follow-up length.
Prior SITBs confer risk for later suicidal thoughts and behaviors. However, they only provide a marginal improvement in diagnostic accuracy above chance. Addressing gaps in study design, assessment, and underlying mechanisms may prove useful in improving prediction and prevention of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
Suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs) are major public health problems that have not declined appreciably in several decades. One of the first steps to improving the prevention and treatment of STBs ...is to establish risk factors (i.e., longitudinal predictors). To provide a summary of current knowledge about risk factors, we conducted a meta-analysis of studies that have attempted to longitudinally predict a specific STB-related outcome. This included 365 studies (3,428 total risk factor effect sizes) from the past 50 years. The present random-effects meta-analysis produced several unexpected findings: across odds ratio, hazard ratio, and diagnostic accuracy analyses, prediction was only slightly better than chance for all outcomes; no broad category or subcategory accurately predicted far above chance levels; predictive ability has not improved across 50 years of research; studies rarely examined the combined effect of multiple risk factors; risk factors have been homogenous over time, with 5 broad categories accounting for nearly 80% of all risk factor tests; and the average study was nearly 10 years long, but longer studies did not produce better prediction. The homogeneity of existing research means that the present meta-analysis could only speak to STB risk factor associations within very narrow methodological limits-limits that have not allowed for tests that approximate most STB theories. The present meta-analysis accordingly highlights several fundamental changes needed in future studies. In particular, these findings suggest the need for a shift in focus from risk factors to machine learning-based risk algorithms.
Self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) are major public health concerns impacting a wide range of individuals and communities. Despite major efforts to develop and refine treatments to reduce ...SITBs, the efficacy of SITB interventions remains unclear. To provide a comprehensive summary of SITB treatment efficacy, we conducted a meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that have attempted to reduce SITBs. A total of 591 published articles from 1,125 unique RCTs with 3,458 effect sizes from the past 50 years were included. The random-effects meta-analysis yielded surprising findings: The overall intervention effects were small across all SITB outcomes; despite a near-exponential increase in the number of RCTs across five decades, intervention efficacy has not improved; all SITB interventions produced similarly small effects, and no intervention appeared significantly and consistently stronger than others; the overall small intervention effects were largely maintained at follow-up assessments; efficacy was similar across age groups, though effects were slightly weaker for child/adolescent populations and few studies focused on older adults; and major sample and study characteristics (e.g., control group type, treatment target, sample size, intervention length) did not consistently moderate treatment efficacy. This meta-analysis suggests that fundamental changes are needed to facilitate progress in SITB intervention efficacy. In particular, powerful interventions target the necessary causes of pathology, but little is known about SITB causes (vs. SITB correlates and risk factors). The field would accordingly benefit from the prioritization of research that aims to identify and target common necessary causes of SITBs.
Public Significance Statement
This meta-analysis found that many interventions produce small reductions in SITBs and that these effects endure across a range of sample and study characteristics. No interventions consistently produce large or moderate SITB reductions, and intervention efficacy has not improved across 50 years of research.
The present article focuses on the current status of research and development concerning corrosion resistance of Fe-Cr-based amorphous alloys and gives suggestions for further investigations aimed at ...improving the performance of these alloys and recommendations of possible new applications. These materials, which are usually obtained either as glassy bulk material or in coating and ribbon form, show high corrosion resistance and high wear resistance and are also relatively inexpensive compared to other amorphous metallic alloys. These characteristics can lead to promising applications of these alloys in which corrosion resistance and erosion-corrosion resistance are important. This review presents the results obtained in recent years, including the effect of amorphous structure, partial crystallization and composition on corrosion resistance, as well as applications of these alloys. Although advances have been made in studies concerning Fe-Cr-based amorphous alloys, there is an important limitation in terms of using them, which is the issue related to the high Mo content needed to achieve sufficient glass-forming ability and high corrosion resistance, which significantly increases the cost of these alloys. Therefore, the cost/benefit relation of these alloys needs to be improved by studying the effect of composition and structure on corrosion resistance and finding new applications of these alloys. Based on this literature review, possible applications and further investigations of these alloys are suggested.
•The current status of research and development on the corrosion resistance of Fe-Cr-based amorphous alloys is presented•Suggestions for further investigations aimed at improving the performance of these alloys are presented•Indications of possible new applications are discussed and results obtained in recent years are presented•Applications of these alloys are suggested.
Suicidal thoughts and behaviors are highly prevalent public health problems with devastating consequences. There is an urgent need to improve our understanding of risk factors for suicide to identify ...effective intervention targets. The aim of this meta-analysis was to examine the magnitude and clinical utility of anxiety and its disorders as risk factors for suicide ideation, attempts, and deaths. We conducted a literature search through December 2014; of the 65 articles meeting our inclusion criteria, we extracted 180 cases in which an anxiety-specific variable was used to longitudinally predict a suicide-related outcome. Results indicated that anxiety is a statistically significant, yet weak, predictor of suicide ideation (OR=1.49, 95% CI: 1.18, 1.88) and attempts (OR=1.64, 95% CI: 1.47, 1.83), but not deaths (OR=1.01, 95% CI: 0.87, 1.18). The strongest associations were observed for PTSD. Estimates were reduced after accounting for publication bias, and diagnostic accuracy analyses indicated acceptable specificity but poor sensitivity. Overall, the extant literature suggests that anxiety and its disorders, at least when these constructs are measured in isolation and as trait-like constructs, are relatively weak predictors of suicidal thoughts and behaviors over long follow-up periods. Implications for future research priorities are discussed.
•We conducted a meta-analysis of anxiety predicting suicidal thoughts and behaviors.•Anxiety was a significant risk factor for suicide ideation and attempts.•As it has traditional been studied, anxiety is a weak predictor of suicidality.•Future research must approximate current theories about risk factors for suicide.
Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is caused by ∼1,900 mutations in the CF transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene encoding for a cAMP-regulated chloride (Cl(-)) channel expressed in several epithelia. ...Clinical features are dominated by respiratory symptoms, but there is variable organ involvement thus causing diagnostic dilemmas, especially for non-classic cases.
To further establish measurement of CFTR function as a sensitive and robust biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of CF, we herein assessed cholinergic and cAMP-CFTR-mediated Cl(-) secretion in 524 freshly excised rectal biopsies from 118 individuals, including patients with confirmed CF clinical diagnosis (n=51), individuals with clinical CF suspicion (n=49) and age-matched non-CF controls (n=18). Conclusive measurements were obtained for 96% of cases. Patients with "Classic CF", presenting earlier onset of symptoms, pancreatic insufficiency, severe lung disease and low Shwachman-Kulczycki scores were found to lack CFTR-mediated Cl(-) secretion (<5%). Individuals with milder CF disease presented residual CFTR-mediated Cl(-) secretion (10-57%) and non-CF controls show CFTR-mediated Cl(-) secretion ≥ 30-35% and data evidenced good correlations with various clinical parameters. Finally, comparison of these values with those in "CF suspicion" individuals allowed to confirm CF in 16/49 individuals (33%) and exclude it in 28/49 (57%). Statistical discriminant analyses showed that colonic measurements of CFTR-mediated Cl(-) secretion are the best discriminator among Classic/Non-Classic CF and non-CF groups.
Determination of CFTR-mediated Cl(-) secretion in rectal biopsies is demonstrated here to be a sensitive, reproducible and robust predictive biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of CF. The method also has very high potential for (pre-)clinical trials of CFTR-modulator therapies.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Suicide accounts for nearly 800,000 deaths per year worldwide with rates of both deaths and attempts rising. Family studies have estimated substantial heritability of suicidal behavior; however, ...collecting the sample sizes necessary for successful genetic studies has remained a challenge. We utilized two different approaches in independent datasets to characterize the contribution of common genetic variation to suicide attempt. The first is a patient reported suicide attempt phenotype asked as part of an online mental health survey taken by a subset of participants (n = 157,366) in the UK Biobank. After quality control, we leveraged a genotyped set of unrelated, white British ancestry participants including 2433 cases and 334,766 controls that included those that did not participate in the survey or were not explicitly asked about attempting suicide. The second leveraged electronic health record (EHR) data from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC, 2.8 million patients, 3250 cases) and machine learning to derive probabilities of attempting suicide in 24,546 genotyped patients. We identified significant and comparable heritability estimates of suicide attempt from both the patient reported phenotype in the UK Biobank (h
= 0.035, p = 7.12 × 10
) and the clinically predicted phenotype from VUMC (h
= 0.046, p = 1.51 × 10
). A significant genetic overlap was demonstrated between the two measures of suicide attempt in these independent samples through polygenic risk score analysis (t = 4.02, p = 5.75 × 10
) and genetic correlation (rg = 1.073, SE = 0.36, p = 0.003). Finally, we show significant but incomplete genetic correlation of suicide attempt with insomnia (rg = 0.34-0.81) as well as several psychiatric disorders (rg = 0.26-0.79). This work demonstrates the contribution of common genetic variation to suicide attempt. It points to a genetic underpinning to clinically predicted risk of attempting suicide that is similar to the genetic profile from a patient reported outcome. Lastly, it presents an approach for using EHR data and clinical prediction to generate quantitative measures from binary phenotypes that can improve power for genetic studies.
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