bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Africa: a new potential of growth for Danone through multiple acquisitions
Authors: Bouchet Christelle
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the new opportunities that offers Africa to companies. Groups working in the bank, telecommunication and petroleum sectors know Africa’s attractiveness for a long time. However, food companies are now more and more interested in this continent too, especially thanks to key factors: a high growing gross domestic product, an emerging middle-class, a high birth rate […] Danone is an interesting case of this phenomenon. The company which is one of the main worldwide player in the food market decided to go into mergers and acquisitions in Africa since the 2000s; its strategy and its results will be analyzed.

Design/methodology/approach

General review.

Findings

It is shown that Africa brings new markets and revenue sources to companies. As a first mover, companies can take a competitive advantage over competitors in developing their activities in a new growing market. However, before entering Africa, companies must collect relevant information and have a strong strategy. In fact, some countries of this continent are still instable; that is why, companies have to be careful before investing in one of them. Additionally, the paper reveals that the first key to success in Africa in the food industry is to adapt products to local needs, culture and way of life.

Originality/value

Africa is still a relatively untapped market, and mergers and acquisitions in Africa represent a promising opportunity for companies that want to expand their activities, and the current trends predict a great development of investments in Africa.
c‐Met inhibition enhances chemosensitivity of human ovarian cancer cells
Authors: Wang Jing , Cheng Jian‐Xin
Published: September 2016

In clinical practice, human ovarian cancer shows considerable resistance to chemotherapy. This study aimed to investigate the role of c‐Met in the chemoresistance of ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 and OVCAR‐3 were pretreated with c‐Met inhibitor INCB28060, and then treated with paclitaxel. Cell survival, cell cycle and apoptosis were analyzed by MTT assay, flow cytometry analysis and TUNEL assay, respectively. The activation of c‐Met signalling was detected by western blot analysis. INCB28060 inhibited the survival of SKOV3 and OVCAR‐3 cells and enhanced the chemosensitivity of SKOV3 and OVCAR‐3 cells to paclitaxel. INCB28060 inhibited c‐Met signalling, caused mitochondrial membrane depolarization and DNA repair, and induced the apoptosis of SKOV3 and OVCAR‐3 cells. c‐Met plays an important role in mediating the chemoresistance of ovarian cancer. The combination of c‐Met inhibitor and chemotherapy is a promising strategy to human ovarian cancer.
Bone metabolism markers: Indicators of loading dose intravenous ibandronate treatment for bone metastases from breast cancer
Authors: Wang Ruliang , Zhang Shaohua , Jiang Zefei , Tian Jizheng , Wang Tao , Song Santai
Published: September 2016

To investigate the changes in bone metabolism markers after second‐line treatment with loading dose intravenous (i.v.) ibandronate in patients with bone metastases (BM) from breast cancer, 80 patients were enrolled in this study during January 2010 to April 2014. All the patients were treated with a second‐line loading dose ibandronate for advanced breast cancer with BM and moderate‐to‐severe bone pain. Ibandronate (6 mg) was intravenously administered on three consecutive days followed by maintenance treatment every 3‐4 weeks. Clinical data, including pain score, Karnofsky performance status (KPS) score, and changes in bone metabolism markers, were analyzed. Sixty‐two patients were included in the final analysis. Compared with their pre‐treatment scores, patients exhibited significantly increased KPS scores (P < .01) and a reduced dose of analgesic medication (oxycodone) (P < .01) after 3 and 6 weeks’ post‐treatment. The levels of serum bone alkaline phosphatase (BAP), tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase (TRACP‐5b), and cross‐linked carboxy‐terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP) were significantly reduced after 3 and 6 weeks’ post‐treatment (P < .001). Aside from a few adverse events, no liver or renal toxicity was observed. Bone metabolism markers decreased by varying degrees after treatment with a loading dose of ibandronate in patients with BM from breast cancer. It might be convenient using bone metabolism markers to potentially evaluate the efficacy of bisphosphonates treatment for bone metastasis.
Duelling Ecclesiologies: 1640s Religious Independency in Katherine Chidley's Separatism vs. Thomas Edwards's Presbyterianism
Authors: Elliott Peter
Published: September 2016

The broader clash between Charles I and Parliament that became the English Civil Wars was reflected in the narrower battlefront of ecclesiology. With the collapse of censorship, Katherine Chidley's separatism, already formed by the 1620s, achieved an audience in 1641 with her first publication which, ironically, championed the less radical position (and newly coined term) of Independency. Her publication was in response to Thomas Edwards who was striving to ensure Presbyterianism became the new established church. The tension between the two demonstrates the continuity between Elizabethan Brownism and mid‐seventeenth‐century English separatism, the complexity of the relationship between Independency and separatism, and the rivalry between Presbyterians and Independents/separatists for legitimacy and predominance. The Chidley–Edwards duel sheds light on the multiple conflicts of the day when the magnitude of the stakes involved were captured succinctly in the previous monarch's maxim: “No bishop, no king, no nobility.” The new position of Independency emerges more clearly through their debate.
Vertical Integration, Firms’ Entry, Exit, Strategic Shifts, Age, and The Productivity Growth in Korea's Core Growth‐Leading Industries
Authors: Pai Mi Kyung
Published: September 2016

This study attempts to measure the impact of firms’ entry, exit, strategic shifts, and age on the productivity growth of Korea's three core growth‐leading industries and their vertical integration with capital share (VI) firms and non‐VI (NVI) firms in view of the 2008 global financial crisis and the institutional push by the Korean Government. A stochastic frontier production model was applied to firm‐level panel data from 2006 to 2011 for Korea's automobile, electronics and general machinery industries. The results show that exogenous shocks to the market triggered large‐scale resource reallocations from firms with declining productivity to firms with less declining or rising productivity, and market share reallocation between VI firms and NVI firms. The Korean Government's institutional push led the productivity growth of NVI firms to reach their highest levels in 2010. In a VI structure, a structure comprising VI firms only, the agency problem dominated the synergies of secure supply chains and saving on transaction costs, while NVI firms endeavoured to raise their productivity to step into a VI structure to secure stable supply chains, only to find their R&D initiatives stagnated once they took on the VI structure. Therefore, efficient resource reallocation is hindered by the agency problem within the bounds of vertically integrated industrial structures.
BJOG Editor's Choice
Authors: Chien Patrick
Published: September 2016

Deputy Editor‐in‐Chief, Dr. Patrick Chien, discusses his top articles from this issue in an audio podcast available at: https://soundcloud.com/bjog/october-editors-choice-2016.
Comparing Homicide‐Suicides in the United States and Sweden
Authors: Regoeczi Wendy C. , Granath Sven , Issa Rania , Gilson Thomas , Sturup Joakim
Published: September 2016

Research on homicides followed by suicides has largely relied on very localized samples and relatively short time spans of data. As a result, little is known about the extent to which patterns within cases of homicide‐suicides are geographically specific. The current study seeks to help fill this gap by comparing twenty years of homicide‐suicide data for Sweden and a large U.S. county. Although some of the underlying patterns in the two countries are similar (e.g., decreasing rates), a number of important differences emerge, particularly with respect to incidence, weapons used, perpetrator age, and relationship of the perpetrator to the victim.
Institutional Constraints on Cost‐Effective Water Management: Selenium Contamination in Colorado's Lower Arkansas River Valley
Authors: Sharp Misti D. , Hoag Dana L.K. , Bailey Ryan T. , Romero Erica C. , Gates Timothy K.
Published: September 2016

Ground and surface water selenium (Se) contamination is problematic throughout the world, leading to harmful impacts on aquatic life, wildlife, livestock, and humans. A groundwater reactive transport model was applied to a regional‐scale irrigated groundwater system in the Lower Arkansas River Basin in southeastern Colorado to identify management practices that remediate Se contamination. The system has levels of surface water and groundwater Se concentrations exceeding the respective chronic standard and guidelines. We evaluate potential solutions by combining the transport model with an assessment of the cost to employ those practices. We use a framework common in economics and engineering fields alike, the Pareto frontier, to show the impact of four different best management practices on the tradeoffs between Se and cost objectives. We then extend that analysis to include institutional constraints that affect the economic feasibility associated with each practice. Results indicate that although water‐reducing strategies have the greatest impact on Se, they are the hardest for farmers to implement given constraints common to western water rights institutions. Therefore, our analysis shows that estimating economic and environmental tradeoffs, as is typically done with a Pareto frontier, will not provide an accurate picture of choices available to farmers where institutional constraints should also be considered.
Standard dosing of piperacillin and meropenem fail to achieve adequate plasma concentrations in ICU patients
Authors: Petersson J. , Giske C. G. , Eliasson E.
Published: September 2016

Background

Controversies remain regarding optimal dosing and the need for plasma concentration measurements when treating intensive care patients with beta‐lactam antibiotics.

Methods

We studied ICU patients treated with either antibiotic, excluding patients on renal replacement therapy. Antibiotic concentrations were measured at the mid and end of the dosing interval, and repeated after 2–3 days when feasible. Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated from plasma creatinine and cystatin C, GFR calculated from cystatin C (eGFR) and measured creatinine clearance (CrCl). Measured concentrations were compared to the clinical susceptible breakpoints for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 16 and 2 mg/l for piperacillin and meropenem respectively.

Results

We analysed 33 and 31 paired samples from 20 and 19 patients treated with piperacillin–tazobactam and meropenem respectively. Antibiotic concentrations at the mid and end of the dosing interval were for piperacillin, 27.0 (14.7–52.9) and 8.6 (2.7–30.3); and for meropenem, 7.5 (4.7–10.2) and 2.4 (1.0–3.5). All values median (interquartile range) and concentrations in mg/l. The percentage of measured concentrations below the breakpoint at the mid and end of the dosing interval were for piperacillin, 27% and 61%; and for meropenem, 6% and 48%. Lower estimates of GFR were associated with higher concentrations but concentrations varied greatly between patients with similar GFR. The correlation with terminal concentration half‐life was similar for eGFR and CrCl.

Conclusions

With standard doses of meropenem and piperacillin–tazobactam, plasma concentrations in ICU patients vary > 10‐fold and are suboptimal in a significant percentage of patients. The variation is large also between patients with similar renal function.
Opposing impacts on healthspan and longevity by limiting dietary selenium in telomere dysfunctional mice
Authors: Wu Ryan T. , Cao Lei , Mattson Elliot , Witwer Kenneth W. , Cao Jay , Zeng Huawei , He Xin , Combs Gerald F. , Cheng Wen‐Hsing
Published: September 2016

Selenium (Se) is a trace metalloid essential for life, but its nutritional and physiological roles during the aging process remain elusive. While telomere attrition contributes to replicative senescence mainly through persistent DNA damage response, such an aging process is mitigated in mice with inherently long telomeres. Here, weanling third generation telomerase RNA component knockout mice carrying short telomeres were fed a Se‐deficient basal diet or the diet supplemented with 0.15 ppm Se as sodium selenate to be nutritionally sufficient throughout their life. Dietary Se deprivation delayed wound healing and accelerated incidence of osteoporosis, gray hair, alopecia, and cataract, but surprisingly promoted longevity. Plasma microRNA profiling revealed a circulating signature of Se deprivation, and subsequent ontological analyses predicted dominant changes in metabolism. Consistent with this observation, dietary Se deprivation accelerated age‐dependent declines in glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, and glucose‐stimulated insulin production in the mice. Moreover, DNA damage and senescence responses were enhanced and Pdx1 and MafA mRNA expression were reduced in pancreas of the Se‐deficient mice. Altogether, these results suggest a novel model of aging with conceptual advances, whereby Se at low levels may be considered a hormetic chemical and decouple healthspan and longevity.
Emergency Department Utilization in Children <36 Months Is Not an Independent Risk Factor for Maltreatment
Authors: MacNeill Emily C. , Cabey Whitney , Kluge Robert , Norton James , Mitchell Alice M.
Published: September 2016

Background and Objectives

Early childhood high‐frequency use (HFU) of the emergency department (ED) has been endorsed as a marker for increased risk of child maltreatment. In a prior analysis of pediatric ED (PED) visits by 16,664 children, 0–36 months old, we defined early childhood HFU (the 90th percentile) as five or more visits. The purpose of this study was to follow HFU patients to determine if they had a higher likelihood of reported maltreatment.

Methods

This is a single‐center, cross‐sectional, observational study of the association between PED use in early life and subsequent intervention by child protective services (CPS). CPS data were obtained from a Department of Social Services database for subjects meeting criteria for PED HFU as well as sex, race, and ethnicity‐matched controls. Multivariable analyses were performed to assess if HFU was independently associated with child maltreatment.

Results

While CPS involvement was more highly represented in the group with PED HFU, so were many confounding variables such as African American race, history of hospital admissions, and social work consultations in the PED for any reason. HFU, by itself, is not a risk factor for a major intervention by CPS.

Conclusions

In efforts to identify children at risk for maltreatment, objective assessments such as PED utilization are potential markers to utilize to aid in recognition. Unfortunately, there are many risk factors for increased PED utilization that act as confounders for this marker. Future work is necessary to identify children at risk for maltreatment in the ED.
Alcohol Use and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infection: Current Knowledge, Implications, and Future Directions
Authors: Williams Emily C. , Hahn Judith A. , Saitz Richard , Bryant Kendall , Lira Marlene C. , Samet Jeffrey H.
Published: September 2016

Alcohol use is common among people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In this narrative review, we describe literature regarding alcohol's impact on transmission, care, coinfections, and comorbidities that are common among people living with HIV (PLWH), as well as literature regarding interventions to address alcohol use and its influences among PLWH. This narrative review identifies alcohol use as a risk factor for HIV transmission, as well as a factor impacting the clinical manifestations and management of HIV. Alcohol use appears to have additive and potentially synergistic effects on common HIV‐related comorbidities. We find that interventions to modify drinking and improve HIV‐related risks and outcomes have had limited success to date, and we recommend research in several areas. Consistent with Office of AIDS Research/National Institutes of Health priorities, we suggest research to better understand how and at what levels alcohol influences comorbid conditions among PLWH, to elucidate the mechanisms by which alcohol use is impacting comorbidities, and to understand whether decreases in alcohol use improve HIV‐relevant outcomes. This should include studies regarding whether state‐of‐the‐art medications used to treat common coinfections are safe for PLWH who drink alcohol. We recommend that future research among PLWH include validated self‐report measures of alcohol use and/or biological measurements, ideally both. Additionally, subgroup variation in associations should be identified to ensure that the risks of particularly vulnerable populations are understood. This body of research should serve as a foundation for a next generation of intervention studies to address alcohol use from transmission to treatment of HIV. Intervention studies should inform implementation efforts to improve provision of alcohol‐related interventions and treatments for PLWH in healthcare settings. By making further progress on understanding how alcohol use affects PLWH in the era of HIV as a chronic condition, this research should inform how we can mitigate transmission, achieve viral suppression, and avoid exacerbating common comorbidities of HIV and alcohol use and make progress toward the 90‐90‐90 goals for engagement in the HIV treatment cascade.
Parameters of Context‐Induced Ethanol (EtOH)‐Seeking in Alcohol‐Preferring (P) Rats: Temporal Analysis, Effects of Repeated Deprivation, and EtOH Priming Injections
Authors: Hauser Sheketha R. , Deehan Gerald A. , Knight Christopher P. , Toalston Jamie E. , McBride William J. , Rodd Zachary A.
Published: September 2016

Background

Drug‐paired environments can act as stimuli that elicit drug craving. In humans, drug craving is influenced by the amount of time abstinent, number of past periods of abstinence, and inadvertent exposure to the previously abused drug. The current experiments were designed to determine the effects of (i) the duration of abstinence on expression of ethanol (EtOH)‐seeking; (ii) EtOH priming following a short and long abstinence period; and (iii) repeated deprivation cycles on relapse drinking and EtOH‐seeking.

Methods

Rats were allowed to self‐administer 15% EtOH, processed through extinction training, maintained in a home cage for a designated EtOH‐free period, and then reintroduced to the operant context in the absence of EtOH. The experiments examined the effects of: (i) various home‐cage duration periods (1 to 8 weeks), (ii) priming injections of EtOH in the Pavlovian spontaneous recovery (PSR; 14 days after extinction) and reinstatement of responding (RoR; 1 day after extinction) models, and (iii) exposure to repeated cycles of EtOH access‐deprivation on relapse drinking and EtOH‐seeking behavior.

Results

Highest expression of EtOH‐seeking was observed following 6 weeks of home‐cage maintenance. Priming injections of EtOH were more efficacious at stimulating/enhancing EtOH‐seeking in the PSR than RoR model. Exposure to repeated cycles of EtOH deprivation and access enhanced and prolonged relapse drinking and the expression of EtOH‐seeking (318 ± 22 responses), which was not observed in rats given equivalent consistent exposure to EtOH (66 ± 11 responses).

Conclusions

Overall, the data indicated that the PSR model has ecological validity; factors that enhance EtOH craving in humans enhance the expression of EtOH‐seeking in the PSR test. The data also detail factors that need to be examined to determine the biological basis of EtOH‐seeking (e.g., neuroadaptations that occur during the incubation period and following repeated cycles of EtOH drinking and abstinence).
Immediate Neural Plasticity Involving Reaction Time in a Saccadic Eye Movement Task is Intact in Children With Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Paolozza Angelina , Munoz Douglas P. , Brien Donald , Reynolds James N.
Published: September 2016

Background

Saccades are rapid eye movements that bring an image of interest onto the retina. Previous research has found that in healthy individuals performing eye movement tasks, the location of a previous visual target can influence performance of the saccade on the next trial. This rapid behavioral adaptation represents a form of immediate neural plasticity within the saccadic circuitry. Our studies have shown that children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) are impaired on multiple saccade measures. We therefore investigated these previous trial effects in typically developing children and children with FASD to measure sensory neural plasticity and how these effects vary with age and pathology.

Methods

Both typically developing control children (n = 102; mean age = 10.54 ± 3.25; 48 males) and children with FASD (n = 66; mean age = 11.85 ± 3.42; 35 males) were recruited from 5 sites across Canada. Each child performed a visually guided saccade task. Reaction time and saccade amplitude were analyzed and then assessed based on the previous trial.

Results

There was a robust previous trial effect for both reaction time and amplitude, with both the control and FASD groups displaying faster reaction times and smaller saccades during alternation trials (visual target presented on the opposite side to the previous trial). Children with FASD exhibited smaller overall mean amplitude and smaller amplitude selectively on alternation trials compared with controls. The effect of the previous trial on reaction time and amplitude did not differ across childhood and adolescent development.

Conclusions

Children with FASD did not display any significant reaction time differences, despite exhibiting numerous deficits in motor and higher level cognitive control over saccades in other studies. These results suggest that this form of immediate neural plasticity in response to sensory information before saccade initiation remains intact in children with FASD. In contrast, the previous trial effect on amplitude suggests that the motor component of saccades may be affected, signifying differential vulnerability to prenatal alcohol exposure.
Legacy effects of top–down disturbances on woody plant species composition in semi‐arid systems
Authors: Scholtz R. , Smit I. P. J. , Coetsee C. , Kiker G. A. , Venter F. J.
Published: September 2016

Savanna vegetation is controlled by bottom‐up (e.g. soil and rainfall) and top–down (e.g. fire and herbivory) factors, all of which have an effect on biodiversity. Little is known about the relative contribution of these factors to biodiversity, particularly the long‐term effects of top–down disturbance on patterns of woody plant composition. The aim of this study was to identify if various degrees of disturbance regimes create distinct woody species community assemblages. Data were collected over 1820 plots across Kruger National Park, South Africa. Woody species were identified and categorized into one of three height classes: shrub (0.75–2.5 m), brush (2.5–5.5 m), and tree (>5.5 m). Species richness and composition were calculated for each site and height class. A combination of long‐term fire and elephant density data were used to delineate areas with varying degrees of top–down disturbance (i.e. low, medium and high). Using these degrees of disturbance, species composition was identified and community assemblages constructed according to each disturbance regime. Our results suggest that areas with similar disturbance regimes have similar species composition. Shrub composition was mainly responsive to the number of fires between the years 1941–1990, while tree composition was more responsive to elephant disturbance. A few dominant species were found equally under all degrees of disturbance at all height classes, while others were more regularly found under specific disturbance regimes at particular height classes. This study highlights that while species richness does not appear to be influenced by long‐term, top–down disturbance regimes, species community composition may be responsive to these disturbances. Most species and structural classes persisted across all disturbance regimes, but the long‐term effects of top–down disturbances can influence compositional and structural biodiversity. This information provides context for management policies related to artificial water provision, elephants and fire.
Differences in life‐cycle stage components between native and introduced ranges of five woody Fabaceae species
Authors: Harris Carla J. , Manea Anthony , Moles Angela T. , Murray Brad R. , Leishman Michelle R.
Published: September 2016

Understanding differences in the components of life‐cycle stages of species between their native and introduced ranges can provide insights into the process of species transitioning from introduction to naturalization and invasion. We examined reproductive variables of the germination (seed predation, seed viability, time to germination), seed output (crown projection, seed production, seed weight) and dispersal (seed weight, dispersal investment) stages of five woody Fabaceae species, comparing native and introduced ranges. We predicted that each species would differ in reproductive variables of at least one life‐cycle stage between their native and introduced ranges, thus allowing us to determine the life‐cycle stage most associated with invasion success in the introduced range. Acacia melanoxylon and Paraserianthes lophantha had reduced seed predation in their introduced ranges while P. lophantha also had higher seed viability indicating that the germination life‐cycle stage is most strongly associated with their invasion success in the introduced range. Only Acacia longifolia varied between ranges for the seed output stage due to larger plant size, greater seed production and smaller seed size in its introduced range. Similar to A. longifolia, Acacia cyclops had smaller seed size in its introduced range but did not have any other variable differences between ranges suggesting that the dispersal stage is best associated with its invasion success in the introduced range. Surprisingly, Acacia saligna was the only species without a clear life‐cycle stage difference between ranges despite it being one of the more invasive acacia species in Australia. Although we found clear differences in reproductive variables associated with life‐cycle stages between native and introduced ranges of these five species, these differences were largely species‐specific. This suggests that a species invasion strategy into a novel environment is complex and varies among species depending on the environmental context, phenotypic plasticity and genotypic variation in particular traits.
A Study of Normothermic Hemoperfusion of the Porcine Pancreas and Kidney
Authors: Kuan Kean Guan , Wee Mau Nam , Chung Wen Yuan , Kumar Rohan , Mees Soeren Torge , Dennison Ashley , Maddern Guy , Trochsler Markus
Published: September 2016

Normothermic machine perfusion has enormous potential to improve organ preservation and expand the organ donor pool. It is well established in other organs but not the pancreas, which has especially strict organ acceptance criteria. We established a model of normothermic hemoperfusion of the porcine pancreas with and without addition of the kidney as a dialysis organ.

Four pancreases were harvested and perfused for 120 min with autologous whole blood at body temperature, two with parallel perfusion of the kidney and two without. The organs and perfusion circuit were evaluated for gross appearance, pH, histology and perfusion parameters.

The organs maintained steadily increasing flow rate and perfusion pressure. Gross appearance of the organs was stable but appeared grossly ischemic toward the end of the perfusion period. Histology demonstrated necrosis centered in acinar tissue but islet cells were preserved. pH was significantly alkalotic toward the end of the perfusion, likely due to pancreatic tissue damage. Addition of the kidney did not result in significant improvement of the acid–base environment in this small series.

In conclusion, normothermic perfusion of the pancreas is still in the experimental stages but holds great potential. Further studies to optimize perfusion parameters will significantly improve results. Parallel perfusion of the kidney may facilitate improvement in the acid–base environment.
Deairing Techniques for Double‐Ended Centrifugal Total Artificial Heart Implantation
Authors: Karimov Jamshid H. , Horvath David J. , Byram Nicole , Sunagawa Gengo , Grady Patrick , Sinkewich Martin , Moazami Nader , Sale Shiva , Golding Leonard A.R. , Fukamachi Kiyotaka
Published: September 2016

The unique device architecture of the Cleveland Clinic continuous‐flow total artificial heart (CFTAH) requires dedicated and specific air‐removal techniques during device implantation in vivo. These procedures comprise special surgical techniques and intraoperative manipulations, as well as engineering design changes and optimizations to the device itself. The current study evaluated the optimal air‐removal techniques during the Cleveland Clinic double‐ended centrifugal CFTAH in vivo implants (n = 17). Techniques and pump design iterations consisted of developing a priming method for the device and the use of built‐in deairing ports in the early cases (n = 5). In the remaining cases (n = 12), deairing ports were not used. Dedicated air‐removal ports were not considered an essential design requirement, and such ports may represent an additional risk for pump thrombosis. Careful passive deairing was found to be an effective measure with a centrifugal pump of this design. In this report, the techniques and design changes that were made during this CFTAH development program to enable effective residual air removal and prevention of air embolism during in vivo device implantation are explained.
Short‐term efficacy and safety of ranibizumab for macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion in Japanese patients
Authors: Kamei Motohiro , Terasaki Hiroko , Yoshimura Nagahisa , Shiraga Fumio , Ogura Yuichiro , Grotzfeld Andrea Suhner , Pilz Stefan , Ishibashi Tatsuro
Published: September 2016

Purpose

To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ranibizumab 0.5 mg in Japanese patients with visual impairment due to macular oedema secondary to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) or central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) and to support the applicability of the phase III results from Caucasian to Japanese populations.

Methods

This is a 3‐month, open‐label, single‐arm, multicentre, phase III study. Thirty‐one patients (15 BRVO and 16 CRVO) aged ≥18 years with a best‐corrected visual acuity (BCVA) letter score of 19–73 (BRVO) or 24–73 (CRVO) were included. The primary end‐point was the mean average change in BCVA from baseline to month 1 through month 3 after three consecutive monthly intravitreal injections of ranibizumab 0.5 mg. Secondary end‐points were mean change in BCVA and central subfield thickness (CSFT), categorized BCVA, and safety over 3 months.

Results

At month 3, the mean average change in BCVA improved substantially from baseline for BRVO (11.3 letters, p = 0.001) and CRVO (6.7 letters, p = 0.019). The mean BCVA improved (12.8 and 9.1 letters) and the mean CSFT decreased (212.5 and 442.1 μm) from baseline to month 3. At month 3, 26.7% (BRVO) and 31.3% (CRVO) of the patients had a gain of ≥15 letters from baseline. Safety findings in this study were similar to those reported in the previous clinical trials.

Conclusion

Ranibizumab was effective in improving BCVA and was well tolerated in Japanese patients with BRVO and CRVO. The findings from this study were consistent with those reported in the Caucasian population.
Migration decision‐making: a geographical imaginations approach
Authors: Thompson Maddy
Published: September 2016

Within the past two decades, scholars of migration are beginning to understand the importance of incorporating cultural dimensions into research concerning migration decision‐making practices. While it is recognised that economic, social and political factors are central in the formation of the desire to migrate, these factors alone are unable to explain the migratory decisions of many. However, although cultures of migration has emerged as the dominant approach for incorporating cultural facets of migration decision‐making, I suggest this approach does not offer a holistic exploration into the impacts of ‘culture’ due to its reluctance to fully engage with the importance of place. This paper outlines a geographical imaginations approach that is able to account for the complexities of culture and place on migration decision‐making, based on insights developed from interviews undertaken with Filipino nurses in the UK and in the Philippines. The approach is able to account for the impacts of culture and place on migration decision‐making in four main, interlinking ways. It is sensitive to the influence of geographical scales, to ideas of culture and place, to understandings of both home and away, and is able to account for non‐migration.
Neither Shoreditch nor Manhattan: Post‐politics, “soft austerity urbanism” and real abstraction in Glasgow North
Authors: Gray Neil
Published: September 2016

Speirs Locks is being re‐constructed as a new cultural quarter in Glasgow North, with urban boosters envisioning the unlikely, rundown and de‐populated light industrial estate as a key site in the city's ongoing cultural regeneration strategy. Yet this creative place‐making initiative, I argue, masks a post‐political conjuncture based on urban speculation, displacement and the foreclosure of dissent. Post‐politics at Speirs Locks is characterised by what I term “soft austerity urbanism”: seemingly progressive, instrumental small‐scale urban catalyst initiatives that in reality complement rather than counter punitive hard austerity urbanism. Relating such processes of soft austerity urbanism to a wider context of state‐led gentrification, this study contributes to post‐political debates in several ways. Firstly, it questions demands for participation as a proper politics when it has become practically compulsory in contemporary biopolitical capitalism. Secondly, it demonstrates how an extreme economy of austerity urbanism remains the hard underside of post‐political, soft austerity urbanism approaches. Thirdly, it illustrates how these approaches relate to wider processes of “real abstraction” – which is no mere flattery of the mind, but instead is rooted in actually existing processes of commodity exchange. Such abstraction, epitomised in the financialisation and privatisation of land and housing, buttresses the same ongoing property dynamics that were so integral to the global financial crisis and ensuing austerity policies in the first place. If we aim to generate a proper politics that creates a genuine rupture with the destructive play of capital in the built environment, the secret of real abstraction must be critically addressed.
Considering the needs of indigenous and local populations in conservation programs
Authors: Kohler Florent , Brondizio Eduardo S.
Published: September 2016

Local rural and indigenous communities have assumed increasing responsibility for conservation within and between areas buffering the impacts of agricultural or resource‐extraction zones and protected areas. Empowering local communities as central partners in conservation and climate‐change mitigation has allowed many people to gain access to land and citizenship rights but has provided limited improvements in access to social services and economic opportunities even as expectation about their role as environmental stewards grows. These expectations, however, are inconsistent with reality. We conducted multiple field studies in Brazil since the mid‐1980s to illustrate the discrepancies between conservation programs and local conditions and expectations. We suggest that public policies and conservation programs should not delegate responsibility for managing protected areas to local and indigenous communities without considering local needs and expectations and locals’ attitudes toward conservation. In other words, behavior that maintains or improves the environment should not be treated as traditional based on the expectations of outsiders. Framing local populations as traditional environmentalists creates contradictions and frustrations for local populations and for conservation professionals and policy makers.
EBUS may arise as an initial time saving procedure in patients who are suspected to have small cell lung cancer
Authors: Ozturk Ayperi , Demirci Nilgun Yilmaz , Aktas Zafer , Demirag Funda , Alagoz Ali , Alici İbrahim Onur , Yilmaz Aydın
Published: September 2016

Background

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) commonly presents as hilar/mediastinal masses. In some occasions, conventional flexible bronchoscopy fails and a substantial amount of time is lost until establishing the diagnosis.

Objective

The aim of the study was to demonstrate the superiority of endobronchial ultrasound‐guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS‐TBNA) compared to conventional methods in establishing the diagnosis as an initial modality as well as to point out the saved time until the diagnosis.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the patients who were diagnosed as SCLC by EBUS‐TBNA between April 2010 and January 2016. The demographics of the patients, smoking history were all recorded. We also compared the time between the first computed tomography (1stCT) and first diagnostic procedure (1stDP), 1stDP and final diagnosis (FDx), 1stCT and FDx, and 1stDP and EBUS procedure were also compared.

Results

One hundred and thirty‐three patients were included in the study. The diagnostic yield of EBUS‐TBNA was 98.5%. The mean time between the 1stCT and 1stDP; 1stDP and FDx; 1stCT and FDx; 1stDP and EBUS procedure were 7.0 ± 9.0; 11.8 ± 16.1; 18.8 ± 17.9; and 10.8 ± 16.0 days, respectively. The time between 1stCT to 1stDP was not significantly different in patients with or without previous diagnostic procedures. However, the time between 1stDP to FDx and 1stCT to FDx were significantly higher in the patients with previous procedures (P < .001). The difference in time between 1stDP to FDx and 1stCT to FDx was also similar in patients with only hilar and/or mediastinal lesions (P = .001, P = .006, respectively).

Conclusion

EBUS‐TBNA may be an initial diagnostic procedure in SCLC. Patients with only hilar/mediastinal masses without any endobronchial lesion could be directed to centers with the capability for performing EBUS‐TBNA to have a rapid diagnosis without any time loss.
Assessing non‐metro recovery across two continents: issues and limitations
Authors: Blakely Edward J. , Fisher Peter M.J.
Published: September 2016

Rural and remote areas of countries such as Australia and the United States are less well‐resourced and often poorer than their city counterparts. When a disaster strikes, therefore, their long‐term recovery can be impeded by being situated ‘over the horizon'. Nonetheless, they are likely to enjoy higher social capital, with ‘locals’ banding together to help restore economic and social life in the wake of a calamitous incident. At the same time, a repeat of extreme events, springing in part from alteration to the landscape through intense human occupation, threatens to derail sustainable recovery processes everywhere, suggesting that renewed emphasis needs to be placed on preparedness. Improved metrics are also required, spanning both pre‐ and post‐disaster phases, to determine effectiveness. Moreover, a focus on the ‘hardening’ of towns offers a better return in limiting damage and potentially hastens the speed of recovery should these places later fall victim to extreme events.
A worldwide perspective on the management and control of Dothistroma needle blight
Authors: Bulman L. S. , Bradshaw R. E. , Fraser S. , Martín‐García J. , Barnes I. , Musolin D. L. , La Porta N. , Woods A. J. , Diez J. J. , Koltay A. , Drenkhan R. , Ahumada R. , Poljakovic‐Pajnik L. , Queloz V. , Piškur B. , Doğmuş‐Lehtijärvi H. T. , Chira D. , Tomešová‐Haataja V. , Georgieva M. , Jankovský L. , Anselmi N. , Markovskaja S. , Papazova‐Anakieva I. , Sotirovski K. , Lazarević J. , Adamčíková K. , Boroń P. , Bragança H. , Vettraino A. M. , Selikhovkin A. V. , Bulgakov T. S. , Tubby K.
Published: September 2016

Dothistroma needle blight (DNB) caused by Dothistroma septosporum and Dothistroma pini is a damaging disease of pine in many countries. The disease led to the abandonment of planting susceptible Pinus species in parts of Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe and North America. Although the disease can be effectively controlled using copper fungicides, this chemical is only routinely applied in forests in New Zealand and Australia. Other management tactics aimed at making conditions less favourable for disease development, such as thinning or pruning, may be effective on some, but not all, sites. Disease avoidance, by planting non‐susceptible species, is the most common form of management in Europe, along with deployment of hosts with strong disease resistance. Although D. septosporum is present almost everywhere Pinus is grown, it is important that an effort is maintained to exclude introductions of new haplotypes that could increase virulence or enable host resistance to be overcome. A global strategy to exclude new introductions of Dothistroma and other damaging forest pathogens, facilitated by collaborative programmes and legislation, is needed.
Optogenetic activation of melanin‐concentrating hormone neurons increases non‐rapid eye movement and rapid eye movement sleep during the night in rats
Authors: Blanco‐Centurion Carlos , Liu Meng , Konadhode Roda P. , Zhang Xiaobing , Pelluru Dheeraj , van den Pol Anthony N. , Shiromani Priyattam J.
Published: September 2016

Neurons containing melanin‐concentrating hormone (MCH) are located in the hypothalamus. In mice, optogenetic activation of the MCH neurons induces both non‐rapid eye movement (NREM) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep at night, the normal wake‐active period for nocturnal rodents [R. R. Konadhode et al. (2013) J. Neurosci., 33, 10257–10263]. Here we selectively activate these neurons in rats to test the validity of the sleep network hypothesis in another species. Channelrhodopsin‐2 (ChR2) driven by the MCH promoter was selectively expressed by MCH neurons after injection of rAAV‐MCHp‐ChR2‐EYFP into the hypothalamus of Long–Evans rats. An in vitro study confirmed that the optogenetic activation of MCH neurons faithfully triggered action potentials. In the second study, in Long–Evans rats, rAAV‐MCH‐ChR2, or the control vector, rAAV‐MCH‐EYFP, were delivered into the hypothalamus. Three weeks later, baseline sleep was recorded for 48 h without optogenetic stimulation (0 Hz). Subsequently, at the start of the lights‐off cycle, the MCH neurons were stimulated at 5, 10, or 30 Hz (1 mW at tip; 1 min on – 4 min off) for 24 h. Sleep was recorded during the 24‐h stimulation period. Optogenetic activation of MCH neurons increased both REM and NREM sleep at night, whereas during the day cycle, only REM sleep was increased. Delta power, an indicator of sleep intensity, was also increased. In control rats without ChR2, optogenetic stimulation did not increase sleep or delta power. These results lend further support to the view that sleep‐active MCH neurons contribute to drive sleep in mammals.
The effect of increased nitrogen load on phytoplankton in a phosphorus‐limited lake
Authors: Poxleitner Monika , Trommer Gabriele , Lorenz Patrick , Stibor Herwig
Published: September 2016

Widespread use of artificial fertilisers and the burning of fossil fuels and/or biomass release a large amount of reactive nitrogen into the atmosphere. So far, the effects of increasing nitrogen deposition from the atmosphere have mainly been studied in nitrogen‐limited limnic and marine systems. Interestingly, in phosphorus‐limited lakes, additional nitrogen input might not affect phytoplankton biomass, but rather increase mainly the degree of phosphorus limitation. The resulting effects on plankton communities are difficult to predict and quantify.

To estimate the effects of increasing nitrogen load on a spring phytoplankton community in a primarily phosphorus‐limited system, a mesocosm experiment was performed in an oligotrophic lake, in which a gradient of six increasing nitrogen enrichment levels was applied.

During the initial phytoplankton growth phase (spring bloom), molar, seston nitrogen:phosphorus ratios increased from 43 to 72 and carbon:phosphorus ratios from 328 to 542 with increasing nitrogen enrichment, indicating increased phosphorus limitation. Three commonly used phytoplankton biomass proxies (phytoplankton biovolume, chlorophyll a and particulate organic carbon) showed only minor responses to nitrogen enrichment. Different groups and species of phytoplankton varied in their responses to the nitrogen enrichment in both the growth phase (spring bloom) and the descending phase (clear water phase).

Overall, we detected an effect of nitrogen enrichment on phytoplankton stoichiometry and community composition. The observed changes in the phytoplankton community combined with changes in abundances of heterotrophic nanoflagellates and ciliates indicate bottom‐up driven alterations of the basal food web due to increased nitrogen loads.
5HT2A receptor blockade in dorsomedial striatum reduces repetitive behaviors in BTBR mice
Authors: Amodeo D. A. , Rivera E. , Cook E. H. , Sweeney J. A. , Ragozzino M. E.
Published: September 2016

Restricted and repetitive behaviors are a defining feature of autism, which can be expressed as a cognitive flexibility deficit or stereotyped, motor behaviors. There is limited knowledge about the underlying neuropathophysiology contributing to these behaviors. Previous findings suggest that central 5HT2A receptor activity is altered in autism, while recent work indicates that systemic 5HT2A receptor antagonist treatment reduces repetitive behaviors in an idiopathic model of autism. 5HT2A receptors are expressed in the orbitofrontal cortex and striatum. These two regions have been shown to be altered in autism. The present study investigated whether 5HT2A receptor blockade in the dorsomedial striatum or orbitofrontal cortex in the BTBR mouse strain, an idiopathic model of autism, affects the phenotype related to restricted and repetitive behaviors. Microinfusion of the 5HT2A receptor antagonist, M100907 into the dorsomedial striatum alleviated a reversal learning impairment and attenuated grooming behavior. M100907 infusion into the orbitofrontal cortex increased perseveration during reversal learning and potentiated grooming. These findings suggest that increased 5HT2A receptor activity in the dorsomedial striatum may contribute to behavioral inflexibility and stereotyped behaviors in the BTBR mouse. 5HT2A receptor signaling in the orbitofrontal cortex may be critical for inhibiting a previously learned response during reversal learning and expression of stereotyped behavior. The present results suggest which brain areas exhibit abnormalities underlying repetitive behaviors in an idiopathic mouse model of autism, as well as which brain areas systemic treatment with M100907 may principally act on in BTBR mice to attenuate repetitive behaviors.