bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Additional supporting evidence for significant iLUC emissions of oilseed rape biodiesel production in the EU based on causal descriptive modeling approach
Authors: Baral Anil , Malins Chris
Published: February 2015

Agro‐economic modeling studies have shown that indirect land‐use change (iLUC) emissions of first‐generation biofuels can be significant, reducing or eliminating the climate change mitigating potential of these fuels. Recognizing this, proposed amendments to the European Union's Renewable Energy Directive (RED) would require reporting iLUC emissions of biofuels. The objective of this paper was to provide additional evidence of the iLUC emissions of oilseed rape (OSR) biodiesel using a noneconomic modeling approach called the causal descriptive (CD) model. The CD model originally developed by E4tech (A Causal Descriptive Approach to Modelling the GHG Emissions Associated with the Indirect Land Use Impacts of Biofuels, 2010, E4tech, London, UK) is one of the first noneconomic modeling approaches used for estimating indirect land‐use change (iLUC). Using the E4tech CD modeling framework, we refine assumptions for key parameters such as yields in marginal land, displacement of OSR oil by palm oil, land availability for OSR expansion in the EU, imports of OSR from Canada and Ukraine, and palm oil expansion on peatland and thereby estimate iLUC GHG emissions for a likely scenario (Central Scenario). We find GHG emissions of OSR biodiesel to be 57 g CO2 eq./MJ for the Central Scenario. To capture the possible range of iLUC GHG emissions, we calculate iLUC GHG emissions by changing assumptions for the Central Scenario and land‐use emission factors. We find that GHG emissions of OSR biodiesel may vary from 18 to 101 CO2 eq./MJ. The results provide additional evidence supporting the previous conclusions derived from agro‐economic modeling studies that iLUC emissions of food‐based biofuels can be expected to be significant compared to potential savings. Hence, to achieve meaningful GHG reductions from biofuel use and avoid policy failure, it is important that the EU should take concrete policy action to target support for biofuels toward those with the lowest expected iLUC emissions.
Prodromal dementia with Lewy bodies
Authors: Fujishiro Hiroshige , Nakamura Shinichiro , Sato Kiyoshi , Iseki Eizo
Published: February 2015

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the second most common neurodegenerative dementing disorder after Alzheimer's disease (AD), but there is limited information regarding the prodromal DLB state compared with that of AD. Parkinson's disease (PD) and DLB share common prodromal symptoms with Lewy body disease (LBD), allowing us to use a common strategy for identifying the individuals with an underlying pathophysiology of LBD. Dysautonomia, olfactory dysfunction, rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and psychiatric symptoms antedate the onset of dementia by years or even decades in patients with DLB. Although RBD is the most potentially accurate prodromal predictor of DLB, disease progression before the onset of dementia could differ between the prodromal DLB state with and without RBD. Experts who specialize in idiopathic RBD and DLB might need communication in order to clarify the clinical relevance of RBD with the disease progression of DLB. The presence of prodromal LBD symptoms or findings of occipital hypoperfusion/hypometabolism helps us to predict the possible pathophysiological process of LBD in non‐demented patients. This approach might provide the opportunity for additional neuroimaging, including cardiac 123I‐metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy and dopamine transporter imaging. Although limited radiological findings in patients with prodromal DLB states have been reported, there is now a need for larger clinical multisite studies with pathological verification. The long prodromal phase of DLB provides a critical opportunity for potential intervention with disease‐modifying therapy, but only if we are able to clearly identify the diversity in the clinical courses of DLB. In the present article, we reviewed the limited literature regarding the clinical profiles of prodromal DLB. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2015; 15: 817–826.
Effect of self‐reported quality of sleep on mobility in older adults
Authors: Malinowska Katarzyna B , Okura Mika , Ogita Mihoko , Yamamoto Miki , Nakai Toshimi , Numata Tomoko , Tsuboyama Tadao , Arai Hidenori
Published: February 2015

Aim

Quality of sleep (QOS) has been shown to have an affect on mental and physical well‐being, and quality of life. However, few studies have investigated how sleep affects mobility in older adults. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship betweenQOSand mobility disorder (MD) in community‐dwelling older adults.

Methods

Data collected through self‐administered questionnaires was analyzed for 4564 Japanese older adults. Sleep outcomes included two self‐reported questions regardingQOS. Logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the association between sleep andMDboth by theQOSquestions independently and grouped together by the twoQOSquestions into three groups: often sleeps well and good awakening (GG), does not often sleep well and bad awakening (BB) and a group with one of each (GB/BG).

Results

After adjustment for age, sex and depression, both those who did not often sleep well and those with poor awakening were more likely to showMD(OR1.45, 95%CI1.29–1.75), (OR1.77, 95%CI1.50–2.08), respectively.

When grouped by both questions, those in theBBgroup had the least favorable outcome with increased odds ratio for possessing aMD(OR1.95, 95%CI1.61–2.37), compared withGBgroup (OR1.40, 95%CI1.18–1.67).

Conclusions

Often sleeping well and good morning awakening were both associated withMD, suggesting that self reportedQOSis associated withMD. Further research is required to investigate whether improving sleep quality could be a possible means of preventing and reversingMDin older adults.Geriatr Gerontol Int 2016; 16: 266–271.
Brain‐bladder control network: The unsolved 21st century urological mystery
Authors: Kitta Takeya , Mitsui Takahiko , Kanno Yukiko , Chiba Hiroki , Moriya Kimihiko , Shinohara Nobuo
Published: February 2015

A review of functional brain imaging studies of bladder control in participants with normal control and pathological conditions. In the normal condition, bladder and urethral afferents received in the periaqueductal gray relay the information to the insula, the anterior cingulate cortex and the prefrontal cortex. During the storage phase, these superior regions control the pontine micturition center to inhibit voiding. In overactive bladder patients, brain responses are different. Cortical responses become exaggerated, especially in the anterior cingulate cortex and the supplementary motor area. That is what presumably evokes the “urgency”. The supplementary motor area is activated during contraction of the pelvic floor muscles, and provides protection against incontinence. We believe that functional brain imaging studies are promising not only for the understanding of bladder dysfunction, but also as an aid to the development of therapeutic options for chronic disorders.
Development and Evaluation of Bankfull Hydraulic Geometry Relationships for the Physiographic Regions of the United States
Authors: Bieger Katrin , Rathjens Hendrik , Allen Peter M. , Arnold Jeffrey G.
Published: February 2015

Bankfull hydraulic geometry relationships are used to estimate channel dimensions for streamflow simulation models, which require channel geometry data as input parameters. Often, one nationwide curve is used across the entire United States (U.S.) (e.g., in Soil and Water Assessment Tool), even though studies have shown that the use of regional curves can improve the reliability of predictions considerably. In this study, regional regression equations predicting bankfull width, depth, and cross‐sectional area as a function of drainage area are developed for the Physiographic Divisions and Provinces of the U.S. and compared to a nationwide equation. Results show that the regional curves at division level are more reliable than the nationwide curve. Reliability of the curves depends largely on the number of observations per region and how well the sample represents the population. Regional regression equations at province level yield even better results than the division‐level models, but because of small sample sizes, the development of meaningful regression models is not possible in some provinces. Results also show that drainage area is a less reliable predictor of bankfull channel dimensions than bankfull discharge. It is likely that the regional curves can be improved using multiple regression models to incorporate additional explanatory variables.
Analyses of the mitochondrial genome of Leiopelma hochstetteri argues against the full drowning of New Zealand
Authors: Carr Louise M. , (Trish) McLenachan P. A. , Waddell Peter J. , Gemmell Neil J. , Penny David
Published: February 2015

Aim

We used endemic frogs to test the hypothesis that New Zealand was fully submerged during the Oligocene marine transgression (c. 25–35 Ma, the Oligocene drowning) and that all the land biota subsequently arrived by dispersal – including the poorly dispersing frogs.

Location

New Zealand.

Methods

The complete mitochondrial genome of the New Zealand native frog Leiopelma hochstetteri was sequenced, assembled and analysed, and compared with that of L. archeyi.

Results

Using many phylogenetic analyses we examined the evolutionary relationships of the two species of Leiopelma, both for the deepest divergence within New Zealand and relative to other frogs. Our results give estimates of well over 65 Ma for the first divergence of leiopelmatid frogs within New Zealand, and over 150 Ma for the divergence of Leiopelma from its closest relative, the North American tailed frog Ascaphus truei.

Main conclusions

The identification of such a deep divergence among the extant Leiopelma species provides some of the strongest support yet for a mixed‐age model for the origin of New Zealand's terrestrial biota, where some elements are of vicariant origin and others have arisen by long‐distance dispersal. This contradicts a full drowning model and supports the view that there must have been some continuous land through the Oligocene.
Increased mortality for pregnancy‐associated melanoma: systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Byrom L. , Olsen C. , Knight L. , Khosrotehrani K. , Green A.C.
Published: February 2015

Among women, pregnancy‐associated melanomas may have a poorer prognosis than other melanomas, but evidence is inconsistent. We conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis to assess the effect on melanoma outcome of a coinciding pregnancy. The objective of the study was to conduct a systematic review and meta‐analysis of risk of death from, or recurrence of, pregnancy‐associated melanomas compared with other melanomas in women of reproductive age. Cochrane (1996–2013), MEDLINE (1950–2013), EMBASE (1966–2013), CINAHL (1982–2013), and PUBMED (1951–2013) databases were searched for studies assessing the risk of death and recurrence in pregnancy‐associated melanomas. Eligible studies investigated melanoma outcomes in women with pregnancy‐associated melanomas (diagnosed during pregnancy or in 12 months following pregnancy), included a comparison group and reported measures of risk of melanoma death or disease‐free survival. Eligible study designs were cohort studies of women of childbearing age with confirmed diagnoses of cutaneous melanoma. Individual study effect estimates were pooled using the weighted average method. Studies that did not report a quantitative estimate were summarized narratively. Of 304 citations identified, 14 studies met the inclusion criteria, with assessed outcomes being melanoma death (7), recurrence (3), or both (4). Pooled estimates of mortality risk from four studies showed increased risk of melanoma death after adjustment for patient age and stage of melanoma (pHR 1.56, 95% CI 1.23–1.99) for pregnancy‐associated melanoma compared with other melanomas. Based on limited quantitative evidence, pregnancy‐associated melanomas appear to have poorer outcomes than other melanomas.
Maternal–foetal genomic conflict and speciation: no evidence for hybrid placental dysplasia in crosses between two house mouse subspecies
Authors: Kropáčková L. , Piálek J. , Gergelits V. , Forejt J. , Reifová R.
Published: February 2015

Interspecific hybridization between closely related mammalian species, including various species of the genus Mus, is commonly associated with abnormal growth of the placenta and hybrid foetuses, a phenomenon known as hybrid placental dysplasia (HPD). The role of HPD in speciation is anticipated but still poorly understood. Here, we studied placental and foetal growth in F1 crosses between four inbred mouse strains derived from two house mouse subspecies, Mus musculus musculus and Mus musculus domesticus. These subspecies are in the early stage of speciation and still hybridize in nature. In accordance with the maternal–foetal genomic conflict hypothesis, we found different parental influences on placental and foetal development, with placental weight most affected by the father's body weight and foetal weight by the mother's body weight. After removing the effects of parents’ body weight, we did not find any significant differences in foetal or placental weights between intra‐subspecific and inter‐subspecific F1 crosses. Nevertheless, we found that the variability in placental weight in inter‐subspecific crosses is linked to the X chromosome, similarly as for HPD in interspecific mouse crosses. Our results suggest that maternal–foetal genomic conflict occurs in the house mouse system, but has not yet diverged sufficiently to cause abnormalities in placental and foetal growth in inter‐subspecific crosses. HPD is thus unlikely to contribute to speciation in the house mouse system. However, we cannot rule out that it might have contributed to other speciation events in the genus Mus, where differences in the levels of polyandry exist between the species.
Bird predation selects for wing shape and coloration in a damselfly
Authors: Outomuro D. , Johansson F.
Published: February 2015

Wing shape is related to flight performance, which is expected to be under selection for improving flight behaviours such as predator avoidance. Moreover, wing conspicuousness, usually involved in sexual selection processes, is also relevant in terms of predation risk. In this study, we examined how predation by a passerine bird, the white wagtail Motacilla alba, selects wing shape and wing colour patch size in males of the banded demoiselle Calopteryx splendens. The wing colour patch is intra‐ and intersexually selected in the study species. In a field study, we compared wings of live damselflies to wings of predated damselflies which are always discarded after predation. Based on aerodynamic theory and a previous study on wing shape of territorial tactics in damselflies, we predicted an overall short and broad wing, with a concave front margin shape to be selected by predation. This shape would be expected to improve escaping ability. Moreover, we predicted that wing patch size should be negatively selected by predation. We found that selection operated differently on fore‐ and hindwings. In contrast to our predictions, predation favoured a slender general forewing shape. However, the predicted wing shape was favoured in hindwings. We also found selection favouring a narrower wing colour patch. Our results suggest different roles of fore‐ and hindwings in flight, as previously suggested for Calopteryx damselflies and shown for butterflies and moths. Forewings would be more involved in sustained flight and hindwings in flight manoeuvrability. Our results differ somehow from a recently published work in the same study system, but using another population, suggesting that selection can fluctuate across space, despite the simplicity of this predator–prey system.
Damages Versus Specific Performance: Lessons from Commercial Contracts
Authors: Eisenberg Theodore , Miller Geoffrey P.
Published: February 2015

Specific performance is a central contractual remedy but, in Anglo‐American law, generally is subordinate to damages. Despite rich theoretical discussions of specific performance, little is known about parties' treatment of the remedy in their contracts. We study 2,347 contracts of public corporations to quantify the presence or absence of specific performance clauses in several types of contracts. Although a majority of contracts do not refer to specific performance, substantial variation exists in the rates of including specific performance clauses. High rates of specific performance use in the area of corporate combinations through merger (53.4 percent) or assets sales (45.1 percent), inclusion of specific performance in some contracts of every type, and much lower use of it in loan agreements suggest that treatment of specific performance in sophisticated corporate contracts is more complex than existing theories of contractual remedies allow. Theories should expressly account for contract type variation. We also present results on the associations among contractual acceptance of five default dispute resolution rules: specific performance clauses, arbitration clauses, jury trial waiver clauses, litigation forum clauses, and attorney fee clauses. Rejecting the default damages rule in favor of specific performance is associated with rejecting each of the four other dispute resolution clauses.
Privacy Regulation and Market Structure
Authors: Campbell James , Goldfarb Avi , Tucker Catherine
Published: February 2015

This paper models how regulatory attempts to protect the privacy of consumers' data affect the competitive structure of data‐intensive industries. Our results suggest that the commonly used consent‐based approach may disproportionately benefit firms that offer a larger scope of services. Therefore, though privacy regulation imposes costs on all firms, it is small firms and new firms that are most adversely affected. We then show that this negative effect will be particularly severe for goods where the price mechanism does not mediate the effect, such as the advertising‐supported Internet.
Protection from cyanide‐induced brain injury by the Nrf2 transcriptional activator carnosic acid
Authors: Zhang Dongxian , Lee Brian , Nutter Anthony , Song Paul , Dolatabadi Nima , Parker James , Sanz‐Blasco Sara , Newmeyer Traci , Ambasudhan Rajesh , McKercher Scott R. , Masliah Eliezer , Lipton Stuart A.
Published: February 2015

Cyanide is a life‐threatening, bioterrorist agent, preventing cellular respiration by inhibiting cytochrome c oxidase, resulting in cardiopulmonary failure, hypoxic brain injury, and death within minutes. However, even after treatment with various antidotes to protect cytochrome oxidase, cyanide intoxication in humans can induce a delayed‐onset neurological syndrome that includes symptoms of Parkinsonism. Additional mechanisms are thought to underlie cyanide‐induced neuronal damage, including generation of reactive oxygen species. This may account for the fact that antioxidants prevent some aspects of cyanide‐induced neuronal damage. Here, as a potential preemptive countermeasure against a bioterrorist attack with cyanide, we tested the CNS protective effect of carnosic acid (CA), a pro‐electrophilic compound found in the herb rosemary. CA crosses the blood–brain barrier to up‐regulate endogenous antioxidant enzymes via activation of the Nrf2 transcriptional pathway. We demonstrate that CA exerts neuroprotective effects on cyanide‐induced brain damage in cultured rodent and human‐induced pluripotent stem cell‐derived neurons in vitro, and in vivo in various brain areas of a non‐Swiss albino mouse model of cyanide poisoning that simulates damage observed in the human brain.

image

Cyanide, a potential bioterrorist agent, can produce a chronic delayed‐onset neurological syndrome that includes symptoms of Parkinsonism. Here, cyanide poisoning treated with the proelectrophillic compound carnosic acid, results in reduced neuronal cell death in both in vitro and in vivo models through activation of the Nrf2/ARE transcriptional pathway. Carnosic acid is therefore a potential treatment for the toxic central nervous system (CNS) effects of cyanide poisoning. ARE, antioxidant responsive element; Nrf2 (NFE2L2, Nuclear factor (erythroid‐derived 2)‐like 2).
Dysregulation of inter‐photoreceptor retinoid‐binding protein (IRBP) after induced Müller cell disruption
Authors: Zhu Ling , Shen Weiyong , Lyons Brian , Wang Ying , Zhou Fanfan , Gillies Mark C.
Published: February 2015

Reduced expression of a ~150 kDa protein was unexpectedly observed while investigating Norrin protein in a transgenic murine model in which Müller cells can be selectively and inducibly disrupted. Isolation of this unknown protein via ion exchange and hydrophobic interaction chromatography followed by Tandem mass spectrometry identified it as Inter‐photoreceptor retinoid‐binding protein (IRBP). Significantly reduced IRBP mRNA expression was observed at the early and late stages after Müller cell disruption. IRBP protein expression was also consistently reduced to 5.7% of the control level as early as 1 week after Müller cell disruption. This down‐regulation of IRBP was accompanied by focal hyperfluorescent dots and cytotoxic N‐retinylidene‐N‐retinylethanolamine (A2E) accumulation. In vitro treatment of cone photoreceptor cell lines with conditioned medium collected from stressed Müller cells suggested that Müller cells regulated photoreceptors expression of IRBP via secreted factor(s). In vivo studies suggested that one of these secreted factors was tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα). These findings suggest that dysregulation of IRBP expression caused by Müller cell dysfunction may be an important early event in photoreceptor degeneration in some retinal diseases.

image

This study reports down‐regulation of inter‐photoreceptor retinoid‐binding protein (IRBP) in photoreceptors and retinoid cycle derangement after Müller cell disruption in a transgenic mouse model. The findings indicate that Müller cells communicate with photoreceptors in response to stress by secreting soluble protein factor(s). We propose that down‐regulation of IRBP may represent an early and novel pathogenic mechanism in degenerative retinal diseases.
Time management in elite sports: How do elite athletes manage time under fatigue and stress conditions?
Authors: Macquet Anne‐Claire , Skalej Vincent
Published: February 2015

In many countries, elite athletes are required to undertake education alongside their sports training. Time management has important implications for the development of elite athletes. From a Naturalistic Decision‐Making perspective, it is argued that athletes’ decision‐making strategies in relation to time management need to be better understood. Interviews were conducted with a number of athletes training for the first and third year in a sports and academic training centre. Interviews revealed that athletes made sense of situations to decide what strategy to use to manage their time under conditions of stress and fatigue. Athletes changed strategy when they noticed conflicts in the time‐frames imposed by the centre. Results also showed that first‐ and third‐year athletes displayed some common ground but also revealed some differences. In comparison with third‐year athletes, first‐year athletes reported more emotion‐focused strategies. Third‐year athletes reported more problem‐focused strategies. Results led to the adaptation of the Recognition‐Primed Decision‐making model to time management in elite sports.

Practitioner points

The study shows how elite athletes used their experience to manage time under fatigue and stress conditions.

It shows the strategies used by elite athletes to manage their time in a context in which their use of time is imposed on them.

Time management was partly flexible and partly beyond the control of the athlete.
Decision inertia: Deciding between least worst outcomes in emergency responses to disasters
Authors: Alison Laurence , Power Nicola , van den Heuvel Claudia , Humann Michael , Palasinksi Marek , Crego Jonathan
Published: February 2015

This study demonstrates how naturalistic decision‐making (NDM) can be usefully applied to study ‘decision inertia’ – Namely the cognitive process associated with failures to execute action when a decision‐maker struggles to choose between equally perceived aversive outcomes. Data assessed the response and recovery from a sudden impact disaster during a 2‐day immersive simulated emergency response. Fourteen agencies (including police, fire, ambulance, and military) and 194 participants were involved in the exercise. By assessing the frequency, type, audience, and content of communications, and by reference to five subject matter experts’ slow time analyses of critical turning points during the incident, three barriers were identified as reducing multiagency information sharing and the macrocognitive understanding of the incident. When the decision problem was non‐time‐bounded, involved multiple agencies, and identification of superordinate goals was lacking, the communication between agencies decreased and agencies focused on within‐agency information sharing. These barriers distracted teams from timely and efficient discussions on decisions and action execution with seeking redundant information, which resulted in decision inertia. Our study illustrates how naturalistic environments are conducive to examining relatively understudied concepts of decision inertia, failures to act, and shared situational macrocognition in situations involving large distributed teams.

Practitioner points

Researchers can use NDM to explore the cognitive processing associated with failures to act/decision inertia.

Complexities in the decision‐making environment of a multiteam system (e.g., non‐time‐bounded choice, large team size, and lack of strategic goals) are associated with decision‐making failures.

Barriers cause decision inertia as teams focus on redundant intra‐agency information seeking rather than cooperative interagency communications.

Strategic direction is especially important for shifting multiteam system communication towards interagency discussions on action execution.
Sources and Implications of Maternal Accuracy About Young Adolescents’ Vulnerability to Friendship Jealousy
Authors: Parker Jeffrey G. , Nielsen Blake L. , McDonald Kristina L.
Published: February 2015

To assist effectively with social difficulties, parents must accurately understand the peer situations that are difficult for their child. Mothers’ insight into their young adolescent's vulnerability to friendship jealousy was assessed by posing identical vignettes to 72 young adolescents and their mothers and matching their responses. Mothers and children also completed questionnaires on their relationship and the child's adjustment. Mothers as a group were poor judges of their child's jealousy, but considerable variability existed. Accuracy was greater when mother–child pairs were closer. Polynomial regression and response surface analyses indicated that maternal accuracy could dampen the friendship and aggression risks otherwise associated with being vulnerable to jealousy.
Chemical and mineralogical compositions of two grains recovered from asteroid Itokawa
Authors: Ebihara M. , Shirai N. , Sekimoto S. , Nakamura T. , Tsuchiyama A. , Matsuno J. , Matsumoto T. , Tanaka M. , Abe M. , Fujimura A. , Ishibashi Y. , Karouji Y. , Mukai T. , Okada T. , Uesugi M. , Yada T.
Published: February 2015

Two silicate grains (RB‐QD04‐0049 and RA‐QD02‐0064, whose estimated masses are 0.050 μg and 0.048 μg, respectively) recovered from the asteroid Itokawa by the Hayabusa spacecraft were studied for their mineralogical characteristics by synchrotron X‐ray diffraction and synchrotron X‐ray microtomography and further analyzed for their bulk chemical compositions by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA). According to X‐ray tomography, RB‐QD004‐0049 is composed of olivine, high‐Ca pyroxene, plagioclase, Ca‐phosphate, and troilite, whereas RA‐QD002‐0064 entirely consists of olivine. INAA data are consistent with these mineral compositions except for rare earth elements (REEs). Although the grain RB‐QD004‐0049 contains measurable REEs, which seems to be consistent with the presence of Ca‐phosphate, their abundances are anomalously high. Very low abundance of Co implies less than 0.1 mass% of metals in these two grains by calculation, which is in contrast to the result for the previously analyzed grain RA‐QD02‐0049 (Ebihara et al., 2011). FeO/Sc ratios of the grains fall within the range of those for ordinary chondrite olivines, implying that these grains are extraterrestrial in origin. FeO/MnO ratios also confirm this conclusion and further suggest that the Hayabusa grains analyzed in this study are similar to material found in LL chondrites rather than CK chondrites although olivines from LL and CK chondrites have similar Fa# (molar% of Fe relative to [Fe+Mg] in olivine) (~30) to those of the Hayabusa grains including the two grains analyzed in this study.
Mental Rotation With Tangible Three‐Dimensional Objects: A New Measure Sensitive to Developmental Differences in 4‐ to 8‐Year‐Old Children
Authors: Hawes Zachary , LeFevre Jo‐Anne , Xu Chang , Bruce Catherine D.
Published: February 2015

There is an emerging consensus that spatial thinking is fundamental to later success in math and science. The goals of this study were to design and evaluate a novel test of three‐dimensional (3D) mental rotation for 4‐ to 8‐year‐old children (N = 165) that uses tangible 3D objects. Results revealed that the measure was both valid and reliable and indicated steady growth in 3D mental rotation between the ages of 4 and 8. Performance on the measure was highly related to success on a measure of two‐dimensional (2D) mental rotation, even after controlling for executive functioning. Although children as young as 5 years old performed above chance, 3D mental rotation appears to be a difficult skill for most children under the age of 7, as indicated by frequent guessing and difficulty with mirror objects. The test is a useful new tool for studying the development of 3D mental rotation in young children.
Investigating the Educational Implications of Embodied Cognition: A Model Interdisciplinary Inquiry in Mind, Brain, and Education Curricula
Authors: Osgood‐Campbell Elisabeth
Published: February 2015

Much educational neuroscience research investigates connections between cognition, neuroscience, and educational theory and practice without reference to the body. In contrast, proponents of embodied cognition posit that the bodily action and perception play a central role in cognitive development. Some researchers within the field of Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) explore this theory by researching the impact of sensorimotor activity on academic competencies such as language comprehension, mathematics, and scientific thinking. In this article, I call for this work to be highlighted more centrally in MBE training programs. Toward this end, I model an investigation of the concept of embodied cognition that can be used in MBE curricula with a dual purpose: to train future practitioners in the seminal metaphor of mind as an embodied system, and to demonstrate effective interdisciplinary research, which is critical to advancing the field of Mind, Brain, and Education.
Electroencephalogram Recordings Indicate That More Abstract Diagrams Need More Mental Resources to Process
Authors: van Leeuwen Theo H. , Manalo Emmanuel , van der Meij Jan
Published: February 2015

There is considerable interest in the cultivation of student graphic literacy among educators and researchers, especially in the sciences. Previous research, however, has shown that many students manifest difficulties in using diagrammatic representations. One explanation that has been proposed to account for these difficulties is that certain forms of diagrams may be more demanding of mental effort to use. Although there had been behavioral evidence to support this explanation, neurophysiological evidence had not confirmed it. Here, we provide evidence, from electroencephalogram recordings of brain activity focusing on the P3b component, that more abstract diagrams (such as graphs) demand greater mental resources to process compared to pictures and text—even when amount of detail has been accounted for. Our results provide initial neurophysiological evidence for the impact of cognitive cost on student learning behaviors and outcomes. Consideration of this finding is important in pedagogical design and, more broadly, in media communication.
The Effect of a Numerical Domino Game on Numerical Magnitude Processing in Children With Mild Intellectual Disabilities
Authors: Brankaer Carmen , Ghesquière Pol , De Smedt Bert
Published: February 2015

Children with mild intellectual disabilities (MID) appear to have particular problems in understanding the numerical meaning of Arabic digits. Therefore, we developed and evaluated a numerical domino game that specifically targeted the association between these digits and the numerical magnitudes they represent. Participants were 30 children with MID (M = 8.36 years), randomly assigned to either the numerical domino game or to a control color domino game. Findings revealed that both groups of children improved on a nonsymbolic comparison and arithmetic task. Most importantly, only children who played the numerical domino game became significantly faster from pretest to posttest on a symbolic comparison task. These findings suggest that numerical magnitude processing can be successfully trained in children with MID.
Nursing patients with chronic critical illness and their families: a qualitative study
Authors: Leung Doris , Blastorah Margaret , Nusdorfer Linda , Jeffs Angie , Jung Judy , Howell Doris , Fillion Lise , Rose Louise
Published: February 2015

Background

chronic critical illness (CCI) is a complex syndrome with a high risk of dying in hospital. Intensive care unit nurses are well‐positioned to lead conversations integrating palliative and end‐of‐life care, yet have reported limited involvement.

Aim

To generate further understanding of nurses' experiences of patients with CCI and their families.

Design and methods

This qualitative study followed Thorne's interpretive description methods. In 2012, 16 intensive care unit nurses from one academic hospital participated in interviews.

Results

Our primary theme was that of internal tension generated through participants' knowledge of patients' anticipated and protracted dying, while wanting to shield families from suffering. This internal tension resulted from responsibilities to preserve hope for patients and families, while at the same time wanting to provide them prognostic information. Participants experienced challenges of: (i) preserving family trust, (ii) determining when and how to engage families in discussions and (iii) providing possibilities of a ‘good’ death. A secondary theme described constraints to acting on their insights because of interprofessional team dynamics or limited communication, within the team and with the family.

Conclusion and relevance to clinical practice

Internal tension, as experienced by participants reflects the challenges of transition from acute to palliation and end‐of‐life care, made more complex in CCI, because of its poorly defined terminal stage. Nurses' ability to manage the complex process of supporting hope while gradually providing information to build family understanding of CCI highlights their central role in facilitating what and how prognostic information is given, while managing the emotional implications and family response. To better support nurses do this, we advocate for formal structures enabling nurses to participate in decision‐making regarding timing of transitions using palliation and end‐of‐life care.
Follow‐up visit in an ICU: receiving a sense of coherence
Authors: Engström Åsa , Rogmalm Katarina , Marklund Lisa , Wälivaara Britt‐Marie
Published: February 2015

Aim

To describe patients' experiences of a follow‐up visit to an intensive care unit (ICU) after being critically ill and nursed there.

Background

Knowledge about the follow‐up visit needs to be developed, with the previously critically ill patient in focus.

Design

Qualitative descriptive.

Method

Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with nine patients and analysed using qualitative content analysis. The data collection occurred during spring 2014.

Findings

During the follow‐up visits in ICU, the relatives, the patient diary, and those who took part in the care contribute to fill memory gaps to create a picture and an explanation of the care period.

Conclusion

The follow‐up visit is an important tool in the patients' struggle to create a context and coherence from a missing or unreal time. The patient diary is essential to subsequently be able to relate to the period of care.

Relevance to clinical practice

The follow‐up visit, together with a personal diary, after an ICU stay could be seen as significant for strengthening the patients' feeling of coherence and better health.
Activation of μ opioid receptors modulates inflammation in acute experimental colitis
Authors: Anselmi L. , Huynh J. , Duraffourd C. , Jaramillo I. , Vegezzi G. , Saccani F. , Boschetti E. , Brecha N. C. , De Giorgio R. , Sternini C.
Published: February 2015

Background

μ opioid receptors (μORs) are expressed by neurons and inflammatory cells, and mediate immune response. We tested whether activation of peripheral μORs ameliorates the acute and delayed phase of colitis.

Methods

C57BL/6J mice were treated with 3% dextran sodium sulfate (DSS) in water, 5 days with or without the peripherally acting μOR agonist, [D‐Ala2, N‐Me‐Phe4, Gly5‐ol]‐Enkephalin (DAMGO) or with DAMGO+μOR antagonist at day 2–5, then euthanized. Other mice received DSS followed by water for 4 weeks, or DSS with DAMGO starting at day 2 of DSS for 2 or 3 weeks followed by water, then euthanized at 4 weeks. Disease activity index (DAI), histological damage, and myeloperoxidase assay (MPO), as index of neutrophil infiltration, were evaluated. Cytokines and μOR mRNAs were measured with RT‐PCR, and nuclear factor‐kB (NF‐kB), the antiapoptotic factor Bcl‐xL, and caspase 3 and 7 with Western blot.

Key Results

DSS induced acute colitis with elevated DAI, tissue damage, apoptosis and increased MPO, cytokines, μOR mRNA, and NF‐kB. DAMGO significantly reduced DAI, inflammatory indexes, cytokines, caspases, and NF‐kB, and upregulated Bcl‐xL, effects prevented by μOR antagonist. In DSS mice plus 4 weeks of water, DAI, NF‐kB, and μOR were normal, whereas MPO, histological damage, and cytokines were still elevated; DAMGO did not reduce inflammation, and did not upregulate Bcl‐xL.

Conclusions & Inferences

μOR activation ameliorated the acute but not the delayed phase of DSS colitis by reducing cytokines, likely through activation of the antiapoptotic factor, Bcl‐xL, and suppression of NF‐kB, a potentiator of inflammation.
The innate and adaptive response to mosquito saliva and Plasmodium sporozoites in the skin
Authors: Hopp Christine S. , Sinnis Photini
Published: February 2015

A malaria infection begins when an infected mosquito takes a blood meal and inoculates parasites into the skin of its mammalian host. The parasite then has to exit the skin and escape the immune cells that protect the body from infection and alert the system to intruding pathogens. It has become apparent that this earliest stage of infection is amenable to vaccine interventions. Here, we discuss how the innate and adaptive host response to both mosquito saliva and the parasite may interfere with the infection, as well as possible mechanisms the parasite might use to circumvent the host defense.
Visual working memory modulates within‐object metrics of saccade landing position
Authors: Hollingworth Andrew
Published: February 2015

In two experiments, we examined the influence of visual working memory (VWM) on oculomotor selection, testing whether the landing positions of rapidly generated saccades are biased toward the region of an object that matches a feature held in VWM. Participants executed a saccade to the center of a single saccade target, divided into two colored regions and presented on the horizontal midline. Concurrently, participants maintained a color in VWM for an unrelated memory task. This color either matched one of the two regions or neither of the regions. Relative to the no‐match baseline, the landing positions of rapidly generated saccades (mean latency < 150 ms) were biased toward the region that matched the remembered color. The results support the hypothesis that VWM modulates early, spatially organized sensory representations to bias selection toward locations with features that match VWM content. In addition, the results demonstrate that saccades to spatially extended objects are sensitive to within‐object differences in salience.
Food consumption and risk of childhood asthma
Authors: Lumia Mirka , Takkinen Hanna‐Mari , Luukkainen Päivi , Kaila Minna , Lehtinen‐Jacks Susanna , Nwaru Bright I. , Tuokkola Jetta , Niemelä Onni , Haapala Anna‐Maija , Ilonen Jorma , Simell Olli , Knip Mikael , Veijola Riitta , Virtanen Suvi M.
Published: February 2015

Background

The consumption of foods rich in n‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids has been proposed to protect against childhood asthma. This study explores the association of food consumption (including cow's milk (CM)‐free diet) in early life and the risk of atopic and non‐atopic asthma.

Methods

Food intake of 182 children with asthma and 728 matched controls was measured using 3‐day food records, within the Finnish Type 1 Diabetes Prediction and Prevention (DIPP) Nutrition Study cohort. The diagnoses of food allergies came both from the written questionnaire and from the registers of the Social Insurance Institution. Conditional logistic regression with generalized estimating equations framework was used in the analyses.

Results

The diagnosis of cow's milk allergy (CMA) led to multiple dietary restrictions still evident at 4 yr of age. Even after adjusting for CMA, higher consumption of CM products was inversely associated with the risk of atopic asthma and higher consumption of breast milk and oats inversely with the risk of non‐atopic asthma. Early consumption of fish was associated with a decreased risk of all asthma.

Conclusions

Dietary intake in early life combined with atopy history has a clear impact on the risk of developing asthma. Our results indicate that CM restriction due to CMA significantly increases and mediates the association between food consumption and childhood asthma risk.
Colored Pencil‐Core Granuloma on the Forehead
Authors: Shido Hirokazu , Tamada Ikkei
Published: February 2015

We often encounter injuries caused by pencils or colored pencils in toddlers and young children, but subsequent segmental tumor formation is rare. Here we report the case of a 4‐year‐old boy who had been stabbed under his left eyebrow with a red pencil. Colored pencil‐core granuloma, a foreign body granuloma arising from an injury with a colored pencil, was diagnosed on the basis of intraoperative and histopathologic findings. Because of the severe tissue damage that the colorant causes, this type of tumor grows rapidly within a few days and may be accompanied by resorption of the skull if it occurs on the head or face.
Blue Scalp Discoloration in Infants Caused by Exogenous Source
Authors: Catalano Sarah , Roberts Vicki , Boos Markus , Norris Robin , Treat James R
Published: February 2015

A blue patch on the vertex scalp of an infant has a broad differential diagnosis, including vascular malformations, melanocytic lesions, trauma, and exogenous or endogenous pigmentation. We present two cases of infants who developed blue patches on the scalp. Extensive examination including MRI and biopsy was recommended for one of the patients to further characterize the lesion and its possible medical implications. In both, the blue discoloration had been due to repetitive contact with the sticker on a tub of baby wipes that had rubbed off onto the scalp. We present these infants to highlight this exogenous and benign cause of blue pigmentation and help practitioners avoid unnecessary examination.
Pediatric Teledermatology: A Survey of Usage, Perspectives, and Practice
Authors: Fogel Alexander L. , Teng Joyce M. C.
Published: February 2015

Pediatric dermatology is one of the smallest subspecialties, and expanding the availability of care is of great interest. Teledermatology has been proposed as a way to expand access and improve care delivery, but no current assessment of pediatric teledermatology exists. The objective of the current study was to assess usage and perspectives on pediatric teledermatology. Surveys were distributed electronically to all 226 board‐certified U.S. pediatric dermatologists; 44% (100/226) responded. Nearly all respondents (89%) have experience with teledermatology. Formal teledermatology reimbursement success rates have increased to 35%. Respondents were positive about teledermatology's present and future prospects, and 41% want to use teledermatology more often, although they viewed teledermatology as somewhat inferior to in‐person care regarding accuracy of diagnosis and appropriation of management plans. Significant differences were found between formal teledermatology users and nonusers in salary structure, practice environment, sex, and region. Substantial increases in pediatric teledermatology have occurred in the last 5 to 10 years, and there remains cause for optimism for teledermatology's future. Concerns about diagnostic confidence and care quality indicate that teledermatology may be best for care of patients with characteristic clinical presentations or management of patients with established diagnoses.
When Does Supervisor Support Encourage Innovative Behavior? Opposite Moderating Effects of General Self‐efficacy and Internal Locus of Control
Authors: Chen Tingting , Li Fuli , Leung Kwok
Published: February 2015

Previous research is inconclusive about whether supervisor support always increases employee innovative behavior. To address this inconsistency, this research explores how and when supervisor support promotes innovative behavior by examining intrinsic motivation as a mediator and employee general self‐efficacy and internal locus of control as boundary conditions. Although these 2 positive self‐view variables are similar in terms of their positive effects on a variety of desirable work outcomes, we draw on self‐verification theory, which posits that self‐confirming information draws more attention, to reason that they exhibit opposite moderating effects on the influence of supervisor support. Based on 2 samples of employees in different industries and locations in China, this moderated mediated model was supported. General self‐efficacy showed an enhancement moderating effect, such that it amplified the mediated relationship between supervisor support and employee innovative behavior via intrinsic motivation. In contrast, internal locus of control showed a substitutional moderating effect, such that it weakened this mediated relationship. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.