bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Severe infectious diseases of childhood as monogenic inborn errors of immunity
Authors: Casanova Jean-Laurent
Published: December 2015

Significance

The key problem concerning pediatric infectious diseases, and more generally clinical diseases during primary infection, is their pathogenesis. A plausible and testable human genetic theory of primary infectious diseases has recently emerged, building on elegant studies in plants and animals. Three examples of monogenic resistance to common infections have been discovered. Moreover, a growing range of monogenic single-gene inborn errors of immunity, rarely Mendelian (with complete clinical penetrance) but more commonly non-Mendelian (with incomplete penetrance), have been found to underlie severe infectious diseases striking otherwise healthy children during primary infection. These findings provide a synthetic framework for inherited and infectious diseases and, more generally, for inborn and environmental conditions.
Dramatherapy with Women Survivors of Domestic Abuse: A Small Scale Research Study
Authors: Campbell Kirk Jennifer
Published: December 2015

The aim of this inquiry was to ascertain the efficacy of a multi-modal model of short-term dramatherapy with women who had suffered domestic abuse. A small-scale study was carried out to compare women who received individual dramatherapy with women who received individual key worker intervention. The 15 women were assigned to either the experimental or the control group. The experimental group received up to 12 weekly dramatherapy sessions with a qualified dramatherapist and the control group received 12 weekly key worker sessions with an experienced domestic violence substance misuse worker. The CORE system was used for both groups to provide pre- and post-intervention scores to assess change. The findings from this study revealed that the women who received dramatherapy presented significant improvements in their CORE Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) scores compared to women who attended key worker sessions. Women in the control group also showed improvements but not to the same extent.
Structure–activity relationship of crustacean peptide hormones
Authors: Katayama Hidekazu
Published: December 2015

In crustaceans, various physiological events, such as molting, vitellogenesis, and sex differentiation, are regulated by peptide hormones. To understanding the functional sites of these hormones, many structure–activity relationship (SAR) studies have been published. In this review, the author focuses the SAR of crustacean hyperglycemic hormone-family peptides and androgenic gland hormone and describes the detailed results of our and other research groups. The future perspectives will be also discussed.
Enhanced encoding of the co-actor's target stimuli during a shared non-motor task
Authors: Elekes Fruzsina , Bródy Gábor , Halász Erna , Király Ildikó
Published: December 2015

Task co-representation has been proposed to rely on the motor brain areas’ capacity to represent others’ action plans similarly to one's own. The joint memory (JM) effect suggests that working in parallel with others influences the depth of incidental encoding: Other-relevant items are better encoded than non-task-relevant items. Using this paradigm, we investigated whether task co-representation could also emerge for non-motor tasks. In Experiment 1, we found enhanced recall performance to stimuli relevant to the co-actor also when the participants’ task required non-motor responses (counting the target words) instead of key-presses. This suggests that the JM effect did not depend on simulating the co-actor's motor responses. In Experiment 2, direct visual access to the co-actor and his actions was found to be unnecessary to evoke the JM effect in case of the non-motor, but not in case of the motor task. Prior knowledge of the co-actor's target category is sufficient to evoke deeper incidental encoding. Overall, these findings indicate that the capacity of task co-representation extends beyond the realm of motor tasks: Simulating the other's motor actions is not necessary in this process.
Peroxisomes, lipid droplets, and endoplasmic reticulum “hitchhike” on motile early endosomes
Authors: Guimaraes Sofia C. , Schuster Martin , Bielska Ewa , Dagdas Gulay , Kilaru Sreedhar , Meadows Ben R.A. , Schrader Michael , Steinberg Gero
Published: December 2015

Intracellular transport is mediated by molecular motors that bind cargo to be transported along the cytoskeleton. Here, we report, for the first time, that peroxisomes (POs), lipid droplets (LDs), and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) rely on early endosomes (EEs) for intracellular movement in a fungal model system. We show that POs undergo kinesin-3– and dynein-dependent transport along microtubules. Surprisingly, kinesin-3 does not colocalize with POs. Instead, the motor moves EEs that drag the POs through the cell. PO motility is abolished when EE motility is blocked in various mutants. Most LD and ER motility also depends on EE motility, whereas mitochondria move independently of EEs. Covisualization studies show that EE-mediated ER motility is not required for PO or LD movement, suggesting that the organelles interact with EEs independently. In the absence of EE motility, POs and LDs cluster at the growing tip, whereas ER is partially retracted to subapical regions. Collectively, our results show that moving EEs interact transiently with other organelles, thereby mediating their directed transport and distribution in the cell.
IKKβ in intestinal mesenchymal cells promotes initiation of colitis-associated cancer
Authors: Koliaraki Vasiliki , Pasparakis Manolis , Kollias George
Published: December 2015

The importance of mesenchymal cells in inflammation and/or neoplastic transformation is well recognized, but their role in the initiation of these processes, particularly in the intestine, remains elusive. Using mouse models of colorectal cancer, we show that IKKβ in intestinal mesenchymal cells (IMCs) is critically involved in colitis-associated, but not spontaneous tumorigenesis. We further demonstrate that IMC-specific IKKβ is involved in the initiation of colitis-associated cancer (CAC), as in its absence mice develop reduced immune cell infiltration, epithelial cell proliferation, and dysplasia at the early stages of the disease. At the molecular level, these effects are associated with decreased early production of proinflammatory and protumorigenic mediators, including IL-6, and reduced STAT3 activation. Ex vivo IKKβ-deficient IMCs show defective responses to innate immune stimuli such as LPS, as shown by decreased NF-κB signaling and reduced expression of important NF-κB target genes. Collectively, our results reveal a hitherto unknown role of mesenchymal IKKβ in driving inflammation and enabling carcinogenesis in the intestine.
Selective interleukin-1 receptor–associated kinase 4 inhibitors for the treatment of autoimmune disorders and lymphoid malignancy
Authors: Kelly Priscilla N. , Romero Donna L. , Yang Yibin , Shaffer Arthur L. , Chaudhary Divya , Robinson Shaughnessy , Miao Wenyan , Rui Lixin , Westlin William F. , Kapeller Rosana , Staudt Louis M.
Published: December 2015

Pathological activation of the Toll-like receptor signaling adaptor protein MYD88 underlies many autoimmune and inflammatory disease states. In the activated B cell–like (ABC) subtype of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the oncogenic MYD88 L265P mutation occurs in 29% of cases, making it the most prevalent activating mutation in this malignancy. IRAK4 kinase accounts for almost all of the biological functions of MYD88, highlighting IRAK4 as a therapeutic target for diseases driven by aberrant MYD88 signaling. Using innovative structure-based drug design methodologies, we report the development of highly selective and bioavailable small molecule IRAK4 inhibitors, ND-2158 and ND-2110. These small molecules suppressed LPS-induced TNF production, alleviated collagen-induced arthritis, and blocked gout formation in mouse models. IRAK4 inhibition promoted killing of ABC DLBCL lines harboring MYD88 L265P, by down-modulating survival signals, including NF-κB and autocrine IL-6/IL-10 engagement of the JAK–STAT3 pathway. In ABC DLBCL xenograft models, IRAK4 inhibition suppressed tumor growth as a single agent, and in combination with the Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor ibrutinib or the Bcl-2 inhibitor ABT-199. Our findings support pharmacological inhibition of IRAK4 as a therapeutic strategy in autoimmune disorders, in a genetically defined population of ABC DLBCL, and possibly other malignancies dependent on aberrant MYD88 signaling.
Melanocyte antigen triggers autoimmunity in human psoriasis
Authors: Arakawa Akiko , Siewert Katherina , Stöhr Julia , Besgen Petra , Kim Song-Min , Rühl Geraldine , Nickel Jens , Vollmer Sigrid , Thomas Peter , Krebs Stefan , Pinkert Stefan , Spannagl Michael , Held Kathrin , Kammerbauer Claudia , Besch Robert , Dornmair Klaus , Prinz Jörg C.
Published: December 2015

Psoriasis vulgaris is a common T cell–mediated inflammatory skin disease with a suspected autoimmune pathogenesis. The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I allele, HLA-C*06:02, is the main psoriasis risk gene. Epidermal CD8+ T cells are essential for psoriasis development. Functional implications of HLA-C*06:02 and mechanisms of lesional T cell activation in psoriasis, however, remained elusive. Here we identify melanocytes as skin-specific target cells of an HLA-C*06:02–restricted psoriatic T cell response. We found that a Vα3S1/Vβ13S1 T cell receptor (TCR), which we had reconstituted from an epidermal CD8+ T cell clone of an HLA-C*06:02–positive psoriasis patient specifically recognizes HLA-C*06:02–positive melanocytes. Through peptide library screening, we identified ADAMTS-like protein 5 (ADAMTSL5) as an HLA-C*06:02–presented melanocytic autoantigen of the Vα3S1/Vβ13S1 TCR. Consistent with the Vα3S1/Vβ13S1-TCR reactivity, we observed numerous CD8+ T cells in psoriasis lesions attacking melanocytes, the only epidermal cells expressing ADAMTSL5. Furthermore, ADAMTSL5 stimulation induced the psoriasis signature cytokine, IL-17A, in CD8+ T cells from psoriasis patients only, supporting a role as psoriatic autoantigen. This unbiased analysis of a TCR obtained directly from tissue-infiltrating CD8+ T cells reveals that in psoriasis HLA-C*06:02 directs an autoimmune response against melanocytes through autoantigen presentation. We propose that HLA-C*06:02 may predispose to psoriasis via this newly identified autoimmune pathway.
Effects of simulated cosmological magnetic fields on the galaxy population
Authors: Marinacci Federico , Vogelsberger Mark
Published: December 2015

We investigate the effects of varying the intensity of the primordial magnetic seed field on the global properties of the galaxy population in ideal magnetohydrodynamic cosmological simulations performed with the moving-mesh code arepo. We vary the seed field in our calculations in a range of values still compatible with the current cosmological upper limits. We show that above a critical intensity of ≃10−9 G, the additional pressure arising from the field strongly affects the evolution of gaseous structures, leading to a suppression of the cosmic star formation history, which is stronger for larger seed fields. This directly reflects into a lower total galaxy count above a fixed stellar mass threshold at all redshifts, and a lower galaxy number density at fixed stellar mass and a less massive stellar component at fixed virial mass at all mass scales. These signatures may be used, in addition to the existing methods, to derive tighter constraints on primordial magnetic seed field intensities.
New fundamental evidence of non-classical structure in the combination of natural concepts
Authors: Aerts D. , Sozzo S. , Veloz T.
Published: December 2015

We recently performed cognitive experiments on conjunctions and negations of two concepts with the aim of investigating the combination problem of concepts. Our experiments confirmed the deviations (conceptual vagueness, underextension, overextension etc.) from the rules of classical (fuzzy) logic and probability theory observed by several scholars in concept theory, while our data were successfully modelled in a quantum-theoretic framework developed by ourselves. In this paper, we isolate a new, very stable and systematic pattern of violation of classicality that occurs in concept combinations. In addition, the strength and regularity of this non-classical effect leads us to believe that it occurs at a more fundamental level than the deviations observed up to now. It is our opinion that we have identified a deep non-classical mechanism determining not only how concepts are combined but, rather, how they are formed. We show that this effect can be faithfully modelled in a two-sector Fock space structure, and that it can be exactly explained by assuming that human thought is the superposition of two processes, a ‘logical reasoning’, guided by ‘logic’, and a ‘conceptual reasoning’, guided by ‘emergence’, and that the latter generally prevails over the former. All these findings provide new fundamental support to our quantum-theoretic approach to human cognition.
Is there contextuality in behavioural and social systems?
Authors: Dzhafarov E. N. , Zhang Ru , Kujala Janne
Published: December 2015

Most behavioural and social experiments aimed at revealing contextuality are confined to cyclic systems with binary outcomes. In quantum physics, this broad class of systems includes as special cases Klyachko–Can–Binicioglu–Shumovsky-type, Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen–Bell-type and Suppes–Zanotti–Leggett–Garg-type systems. The theory of contextuality known as contextuality-by-default allows one to define and measure contextuality in all such systems, even if there are context-dependent errors in measurements, or if something in the contexts directly interacts with the measurements. This makes the theory especially suitable for behavioural and social systems, where direct interactions of ‘everything with everything’ are ubiquitous. For cyclic systems with binary outcomes, the theory provides necessary and sufficient conditions for non-contextuality, and these conditions are known to be breached in certain quantum systems. We review several behavioural and social datasets (from polls of public opinion to visual illusions to conjoint choices to word combinations to psychophysical matching), and none of these data provides any evidence for contextuality. Our working hypothesis is that this may be a broadly applicable rule: behavioural and social systems are non-contextual, i.e. all ‘contextual effects’ in them result from the ubiquitous dependence of response distributions on the elements of contexts other than the ones to which the response is presumably or normatively directed.
The visualizable, the representable and the inconceivable: realist and non-realist mathematical models in physics and beyond
Authors: Plotnitsky Arkady
Published: December 2015

The project of this article is twofold. First, it aims to offer a new perspective on, and a new argument concerning, realist and non-realist mathematical models, and differences and affinities between them, using physics as a paradigmatic field of mathematical modelling in science. Most of the article is devoted to this topic. Second, the article aims to explore the implications of this argument for mathematical modelling in other fields, in particular in cognitive psychology and economics.
Statistical microeconomics and commodity prices: theory and empirical results
Authors: Baaquie Belal E.
Published: December 2015

A review is made of the statistical generalization of microeconomics by Baaquie (Baaquie 2013
Phys. A
392, 4400–4416. (
doi:10.1016/j.physa.2013.05.008
)), where the market price of every traded commodity, at each instant of time, is considered to be an
independent random variable
. The dynamics of commodity market prices is given by the unequal time correlation function and is modelled by the Feynman path integral based on an
action functional
. The correlation functions of the model are defined using the path integral. The existence of the action functional for commodity prices that was
postulated
to exist in Baaquie (Baaquie 2013
Phys. A
392, 4400–4416. (
doi:10.1016/j.physa.2013.05.008
)) has been
empirically
ascertained in Baaquie
et al.
(Baaquie
et al.
2015
Phys. A
428, 19–37. (
doi:10.1016/j.physa.2015.02.030
)). The model's action functionals for different commodities has been empirically determined and calibrated using the unequal time correlation functions of the market commodity prices using a perturbation expansion (Baaquie
et al.
2015
Phys. A
428, 19–37. (
doi:10.1016/j.physa.2015.02.030
)). Nine commodities drawn from the energy, metal and grain sectors are empirically studied and their auto-correlation for up to 300 days is described by the model to an accuracy of
R
2
>0.90—using only six parameters.
An investigation of a quantum probability model for the constructive effect of affective evaluation
Authors: White Lee C. , Barqué-Duran Albert , Pothos Emmanuel M.
Published: December 2015

The idea that choices can have a constructive effect has received a great deal of empirical support. The act of choosing appears to influence subsequent preferences for the options available. Recent research has proposed a cognitive model based on quantum probability (QP), which suggests that whether or not a participant provides an affective evaluation for a positively or negatively valenced stimulus can also be constructive and so, for example, influence the affective evaluation of a second oppositely valenced stimulus. However, there are some outstanding methodological questions in relation to this previous research. This paper reports the results of three experiments designed to resolve these questions. Experiment 1, using a binary response format, provides partial support for the interaction predicted by the QP model; and Experiment 2, which controls for the length of time participants have to respond, fully supports the QP model. Finally, Experiment 3 sought to determine whether the key effect can generalize beyond affective judgements about visual stimuli. Using judgements about the trustworthiness of well-known people, the predictions of the QP model were confirmed. Together, these three experiments provide further support for the QP model of the constructive effect of simple evaluations.
Hypothesis-free identification of modulators of genetic risk factors
Authors: Zhernakova Daria , Deelen Patrick , Vermaat Martijn , van Iterson Maarten , van Galen Michiel , Arindrarto Wibowo , van t Hof Peter , Mei Hailiang , van Dijk Freerk , Westra Harm-Jan , Bonder Marc Jan , van Rooij Jeroen , Verkerk Marijn , Jhamai P. Mila , Moed Matthijs , Kielbasa Szymon M. , Bot Jan , Nooren Irene , Pool René , van Dongen Jenny , Hottenga Jouke J. , Stehouwer Coen D.A. , van der Kallen Carla J.H. , Schalkwijk Casper G. , Zhernakova Alexandra , Li Yang , Tigchelaar Ettje F. , Beekman Marian , Deelen Joris , van Heemst Diana , van den Berg Leonard H. , Hofman Albert , Uitterlinden André G. , van Greevenbroek Marleen M.J. , Veldink Jan H. , Boomsma Dorret I. , van Duijn Cornelia M. , Wijmenga Cisca , Slagboom P. Eline , Swertz Morris A. , Isaacs Aaron , van Meurs Joyce B.J. , Jansen Rick , Heijmans Bastiaan T. , t Hoen Peter A.C. , Franke Lude
Published: December 2015

Genetic risk factors often localize in non-coding regions of the genome with unknown effects on disease etiology. Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) help to explain the regulatory mechanisms underlying the association of genetic risk factors with disease. More mechanistic insights can be derived from knowledge of the context, such as cell type or the activity of signaling pathways, influencing the nature and strength of eQTLs. Here, we generated peripheral blood RNA-seq data from 2,116 unrelated Dutch individuals and systematically identified these context-dependent eQTLs using a hypothesis-free strategy that does not require prior knowledge on the identity of the modifiers. Out of the 23,060 significant cis-regulated genes (false discovery rate ≤ 0.05), 2,743 genes (12%) show context-dependent eQTL effects. The majority of those were influenced by cell type composition, revealing eQTLs that are particularly strong in cell types such as CD4+ T-cells, erythrocytes, and even lowly abundant eosinophils. A set of 145 cis-eQTLs were influenced by the activity of the type I interferon signaling pathway and we identified several cis-eQTLs that are modulated by specific transcription factors that bind to the eQTL SNPs. This demonstrates that large-scale eQTL studies in unchallenged individuals can complement perturbation experiments to gain better insight in regulatory networks and their stimuli.
Immigration rates during population density reduction in a coral reef fish
Authors: Turgeon Katrine , Kramer Donald L.
Published: December 2015

Although the importance of density-dependent dispersal has been recognized in theory, few empirical studies have examined how immigration changes over a wide range of densities. In a replicated experiment using a novel approach allowing within-site comparison, we examined changes in immigration rate following the gradual removal of territorial damselfish from a limited area within a much larger patch of continuous habitat. In all sites, immigration occurred at intermediate densities but did not occur before the start of removals and only rarely as density approached zero. In the combined data and in 5 of 7 sites, the number of immigrants was a hump-shaped function of density. This is the first experimental evidence for hump-shaped, density-dependent immigration. This pattern may be more widespread than previously recognized because studies over more limited density ranges have identified positive density dependence at low densities and negative density dependence at high densities. Positive density dependence at low density can arise from limits to the number of potential immigrants and from behavioral preferences for settling near conspecifics. Negative density dependence at high density can arise from competition for resources, especially high quality territories. The potential for non-linear effects of local density on immigration needs to be recognized for robust predictions of conservation reserve function, harvest impacts, pest control, and the dynamics of fragmented populations.
An Improved Genome Assembly ofAzadirachta indicaA. Juss
Authors: Krishnan Neeraja M. , Jain Prachi , Gupta Saurabh , Hariharan Arun K. , Panda Binay
Published: December 2015

Neem (Azadirachta indicaA. Juss.), an evergreen tree of theMeliaceaefamily, is known for its medicinal, cosmetic, pesticidal and insecticidal properties. We had previously sequenced and published the draft genome of the plant, using mainly short read sequencing data. In this report, we present an improved genome assembly generated using additional short reads from Illumina and long reads from Pacific Biosciences SMRT sequencer. We assembled short reads and error-corrected long reads using Platanus, an assembler designed to perform well for heterozygous genomes. The updated genome assembly (v2.0) yielded 3- and 3.5-fold increase in N50 and N75, respectively; 2.6-fold decrease in the total number of scaffolds; 1.25-fold increase in the number of valid transcriptome alignments; 13.4-fold less mis-assembly and 1.85-fold increase in the percentage repeat, over the earlier assembly (v1.0). The current assembly also maps better to the genes known to be involved in the terpenoid biosynthesis pathway. Together, the data represents an improved assembly of theA. indicagenome.

The raw data described in this manuscript are submitted to the NCBI Short Read Archive under the accession numbers SRX1074131, SRX1074132, SRX1074133, and SRX1074134 (SRP013453).
CAGE profiling of ncRNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma reveals widespread activation of retroviral LTR promoters in virus-induced tumors
Authors: Hashimoto Kosuke , Suzuki Ana Maria , Dos Santos Alexandre , Desterke Christophe , Collino Agnese , Ghisletti Serena , Braun Emilie , Bonetti Alessandro , Fort Alexandre , Qin Xian-Yang , Radaelli Enrico , Kaczkowski Bogumil , Forrest Alistair R.R. , Kojima Soichi , Samuel Didier , Natoli Gioacchino , Buendia Marie Annick , Faivre Jamila , Carninci Piero
Published: December 2015

An increasing number of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been implicated in various human diseases including cancer; however, the ncRNA transcriptome of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is largely unexplored. We used CAGE to map transcription start sites across various types of human and mouse HCCs with emphasis on ncRNAs distant from protein-coding genes. Here, we report that retroviral LTR promoters, expressed in healthy tissues such as testis and placenta but not liver, are widely activated in liver tumors. Despite HCC heterogeneity, a subset of LTR-derived ncRNAs were more than 10-fold up-regulated in the vast majority of samples. HCCs with a high LTR activity mostly had a viral etiology, were less differentiated, and showed higher risk of recurrence. ChIP-seq data show that MYC and MAX are associated with ncRNA deregulation. Globally, CAGE enabled us to build a mammalian promoter map for HCC, which uncovers a new layer of complexity in HCC genomics.
A Monte Carlo study of high-energy photon transport in matter: application for multiple scattering investigation in Compton spectroscopy
Authors: Brancewicz Marek , Itou Masayoshi , Sakurai Yoshiharu
Published: December 2015

The first results of multiple scattering simulations of polarized high-energy X-rays for Compton experiments using a new Monte Carlo program,MUSCAT, are presented. The program is developed to follow the restrictions of real experimental geometries. The new simulation algorithm uses not only well known photon splitting and interaction forcing methods but it is also upgraded with the new propagation separation method and highly vectorized. In this paper, a detailed description of the new simulation algorithm is given. The code is verified by comparison with the previous experimental and simulation results by the ESRF group and new restricted geometry experiments carried out at SPring-8.
Measurement of synchrotron-radiation-excited Kossel patterns
Authors: Bortel G. , Faigel G. , Tegze M. , Chumakov A.
Published: December 2015

Kossel line patterns contain information on the crystalline structure, such as the magnitude and the phase of Bragg reflections. For technical reasons, most of these patterns are obtained using electron beam excitation, which leads to surface sensitivity that limits the spatial extent of the structural information. To obtain the atomic structure in bulk volumes, X-rays should be used as the excitation radiation. However, there are technical problems, such as the need for high resolution, low noise, large dynamic range, photon counting, two-dimensional pixel detectors and the small spot size of the exciting beam, which have prevented the widespread use of Kossel pattern analysis. Here, an experimental setup is described, which can be used for the measurement of Kossel patterns in a reasonable time and with high resolution to recover structural information.
Alan Turing: Artificial intelligence as human self‐knowledge
Authors: Guo Ting
Published: December 2015

This article explores the life and ideas of Alan Turing (1912–1954), commonly known as the father of artificial intelligence (AI), and highlights the process whereby the human self is reconceptualized in the development of Turing's ideas of machine intelligence. I will further illustrate how this process of self‐reconceptualization – composed of the pursuit, adaptation and transformation of self‐knowledge – is closely related to contemporary digital life. In doing so, I wish to reveal the ways in which Turing's underlying self‐transforming agenda of AI can contribute to our understanding of the human self, for AI, as I will argue, leads to questions of existence and existential anxieties.
A Lego snowmobile and the elements of miniaturization
Authors: Davy Jack
Published: December 2015

Miniature objects are part of our everyday lives, but it is rare that we interrogate them effectively. This article uses a toy Lego snowmobile as an example with which to explore the three technical elements which comprise miniaturization and the ways they can obscure the toy's relationship with the serious contemporary issue of Arctic mineral exploitation.
Hospitality and dispossession in Madagascar
Authors: Picard David , Moreira Catarina Nascimento
Published: December 2015

Drawing on ethnographic data collected among a group of coastal villagers in Southwest Madagascar between 2006 and 2011, this article looks at the relationship between hospitality towards strangers and land dispossession, a major issue of concern in Madagascar, especially given the comparatively recent mineral, energy resource, and stone mining rush in the country. Belief in spirits plays a role in this.
CYCLONE PAM FROM THE FIELD: Adapting to climate change?
Authors: Hazelgrove‐Planel Lucie
Published: December 2015

This narrative highlights the possible unintended consequences of relief programmes by considering local responses to aid following Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu.
POST‐COLONIAL RUINS: Archaeologies of political violence and IS
Authors: De Cesari Chiara
Published: December 2015

The carefully staged and hyper‐mediated destructions at a number of world‐famous archaeological sites in the area controlled by the Islamic State across Syria and Iraq have often made the headlines in recent months; and these spectacles can be counted among IS' visual markers of identity. In the mainstream media, they have largely been interpreted either as ‘cultural cleansing’ or as an expression of IS' inhumanity, of its barbaric iconoclasm and its criminal fight against idolatry. In this paper, I propose to interpret them as overdetermined acts or rather spectacles of destruction that must be situated within a specific political genealogy. I highlight the long‐standing, deep entanglement between archaeology and (empire and) state building in the Levant.
Occult Spheres, Planes, and Dimensions: Geometric Terminology and Analogy in Modern Esoteric Discourse
Authors: Plaisance Christopher A.
Published: December 2015

This is an article on the history of religion and mathematics, which explores the origins and uses of geometric terminology in late‐nineteenth‐ and early‐twentieth‐century esoteric discourses, and inquires as to whether or not such adaptions are instances of the discursive strategy identified by Olav Hammer as terminological scientism. For the situation regarding spheric terminology, I argue that the context is not scientistic, being rather an example of the decontextualised modern appropriation of antique terminologies. In the case of planar terminology, I conclude that while its origin with Emanuel Swedenborg as an adaption of anatomical vocabulary does indeed fit Hammer's definition of scientism, modern usage stripped the term of Swedenborg's scientistic rationale — making the scientistic designation something of a vestigial atavism. In dealing with dimensional terminology, my conclusion is that from Johann Zöllner's initial formulation to the broader Spiritualistic and Theosophical applications, it exemplifies terminological scientism through and through.
Does Fair Value Accounting Exacerbate the Procyclicality of Bank Lending?
Authors: XIE BIQIN
Published: December 2015

This study investigates whether fair value accounting contributes to the procyclicality of bank lending. Using banks’ approval/denial decisions on residential mortgage applications to capture banks’ supply of credit, I find no evidence that fair value accounting has procyclical effects on bank lending over the past two business cycles. I further identify two reasons for this result. First, the main accounting item distinguishing fair value accounting from historical cost accounting—unrealized gains and losses on available‐for‐sale securities—does not affect lending decisions. Second, unrealized gains and losses on available‐for‐sale securities are not procyclical, as the risk‐free interest rate rises during some expansionary periods, resulting in unrealized losses, while the risk‐free interest rate (and sometimes the default spread) falls during some recessionary periods, resulting in unrealized gains.
People, the Weak Link in Cyber‐security: Can Ethnography Bridge the Gap?
Authors: SQUIRES SUSAN , SHADE MOLLY
Published: December 2015

Information Technology (IT) professionals are racing to keep up with cyber‐security threats in the workplace. But, as any cyber‐security expert will tell you, security technology is only as good as the people who use it. And, people are a mystery to most cyber‐security professionals making them the weak link for security interventions in organizations. To broadly impact current cyber‐security awareness, interventions and education, it is crucial to understand how security is understood and applied by the users of technology. Thus, it is no surprise that more and more cyber‐security studies are focusing on the individual employee to understand computer‐user risk mediation. However, users and their actions do not exist in a vacuum, and their perceptions and subsequent behaviors regarding security risk are shaped by a vast array of beliefs, social relations and workplace practices. This paper reports on a fresh theoretical approach to cyber‐security as a group phenomenon that is well suited to ethnography. Results to date have demonstrated that communication between IT security professionals and users is not effective. Rather, this ethnographic study found that communication is breaking down between user communities and IT security departments because of mismatched understandings of the other. Each of the groups studied maintain myths and misconceptions about cyber‐security that must be addressed and dispelled within their respective communities to secure the link between people and their technology.
Operationalizing Design Fiction with Anticipatory Ethnography
Authors: LINDLEY JOSEPH , SHARMA DHRUV , POTTS ROBERT
Published: December 2015

Transmuting the entanglement of situations, contexts, artifacts and people, designers mediate the relationship between ‘what could be’ and ‘what is’. All design, then, has an implicit relationship with the future. Latency will always exist as part of this relationship, between the inception of a design concept, development and delivery of that concept, and the manifestation of that concept's potential impact on the world. As we move further into the heart of the Digital Revolution these periods of latency decrease, whilst the breadth and depth of potential impacts increase. Always an arm's length away, but with a velocity and mass greater than at any point in history, the momentum of the future today is greater than ever before. This paper describes the practicalities of operationalizing design fiction, using anticipatory ethnography, in order to illuminate and explore the implications of plausible near futures and in doing so allowing designers and their designs to match the velocity of the future before critical impacts occur. By harnessing designers' speculation can we make the future's ‘what is’ better than simply ‘what could be’?
From UI to UX: Building Ethnographic Praxis in a Usability Engineering Culture
Authors: BANDYOPADHYAY KIRSTEN , BUCK REBECCA
Published: December 2015

In this never before shared case study, we explain how our UX research team increased its scope of work from surface‐level UI issues to a full portfolio of user‐centered research. We use organizational ethnography and organizational change literature to develop a three phase model of research team growth. We then discuss the implications of our model for strengthening ethnographic praxis in cultures dominated by usability engineering. We conclude with a reflection on building internal bridges to facilitate change. Keywords: organizational change, UI, UX, research, ethnography, usability, lean.
Marketing the Anthropology of Ice Hockey
Authors: HITCH EMILIE
Published: December 2015

In multiple cities and countries, ethnographic research unfolded in local ice rinks, Subway sandwich shops, high‐school parking lots, and family homes. The objective was for a major hockey equipment company to learn more about their customers “off the ice” – challenging assumptions about consumption patterns, media choices and concepts such as authority, legacy, brotherhood and even the game of hockey itself. The researcher became an agent of transformation for the very way that the brand understood its place in the culture of ice hockey. Corporate marketers engaged this project in the middle of a yearly planning cycle – disrupting the allocation of resources for media spend and creative content and setting the company on a path to re‐design their approach to customer communication. Returning from the ethnographic practice, the research team made recommendations for how to shift hundreds of thousands of dollars from celebrity, magazine and television contracts to locally executed communication. They led creative teams to change the marketing messages, to reimagine hockey players themselves as media and brand agents, and to build a digital experience that revolutionized the way that one of the largest marketing machines in the industry of consumer packaged goods mobilized its core customers.
The Incas and Mayans Did It, Now We Do It
Authors: JOCHAMOWITZ JOANIE
Published: December 2015

Icons have grown in popularity in recent years thanks to the brink of technology and interface design after. Today we have over 800 emoticons to use from when we comunicates with others and sometimes even adopting our own meaning of them. Our current use of icons and emoticons as a form of communication is very similiar to pre‐incan peruvian cultures. Their use of icons where based on their cultural and spiritual believes, making iconographic images that represented religion and lasting over 1,000 years. How do we use iconography in our cultures and social groups?
Cyberurbans and Intermediatics: The New Individuals in Focus
Authors: TERCEIRO LUCIANA HAMAMOTO
Published: December 2015

People that live in cities. Urban human beings that live in places that are far from being a flat space, but are places formed by multiple layers of intersected information. These layers affect each other and affect all people that are browsing them. Some time ago, we were guided by signs, outdoors, letterings, newsstands. Quickly, a new form of information source starts to shape our urban circulation. In our hands, people start to have access to all kind of data. Data as opinions and content from our friends (or not) starts to influence our decisions, in a larger scale. Between the physical and digital world, how are the relations? At the same time, people are having relations with others that are so close and others that are really distant. In this scenario, how will ethnography help us to understand the individual? Observing physically isn't enough. How can we observe what happens in both worlds, the real and the virtual? What process and methodologies can we use to look for this whole comprehension? We can't separate our physical and virtual existence, and the challenge here is to know this hybrid person.
An Ethnographer Goes to Career Day
Authors: YURY CARRIE
Published: December 2015

As a working mother it's important to me that my 5 year old knows what I do. This isn't just so that she understands where mommy goes all day. It's also because I feel that it is critical that I provide her as many examples as possible of women who are taking leadership roles and making an impact in the world. And I know that, as her primary role model, it's important to both of us that I include myself among those impactful women. So without any hesitation when the form came home from my daughter's elementary school asking for volunteers for career day, I filled it out. In the field for occupation I wrote “Ethnographer.” A few weeks later I received a formal invitation telling me that I would be giving a half hour presentation to two classes about what I do for a living.

That is when panic struck. Everyone in this room knows how difficult ethnographic praxis can be to explain. In fact, sometimes I feel like I've spent my entire professional career as a researcher trying to explain–mostly unsuccessfully—what I do for a living. And I'm not only an ethnographer, I'm also head of experience research at an innovation agency. I have a hard time explaining what that means to educated 45 year olds. So here I had set myself up to do this impossible thing in front of five‐year‐olds and fifth graders. What was I thinking? And how was I going to compete with the police officer who was bringing his real live squad car?
The Carbon Footprint of Academic Conferences: Evidence from the 14thEAAE Congress in Slovenia
Authors: Desiere Sam
Published: December 2015

Agricultural economists recognise that climate change is one of the key challenges of our time. Yet, the carbon footprint of research activities has received little attention to date. Air travel from and to academic conferences is a major contributor to the carbon footprint of researchers. This article calculates the carbon emissions due to air travel of the 14th Congress of the European Association of Agricultural Economists (EAAE) in Ljubljana, Slovenia in 2014 and proposes strategies to reduce them. Total CO2 emissions are estimated at around 300 tonnes or 0.5 tonne per participant. There are, however, large differences between participants, with 10 per cent of the participants accounting for 50 per cent of the emissions. Strategies to reduce the carbon footprint of the Congress are considered. Reducing the number of participants from non‐European countries that attend the conference could significantly reduce emissions. Organising the Congress at a more central location in Europe in combination with promoting travelling by train could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by another 20 per cent. It is argued that researchers, including agricultural economists, should lead by example and undertake actions to reduce the carbon footprint of their profession.
Ten Years of EU Membership: How Agricultural Performance Differs in the New Member States
Authors: Csaki Csaba , Jambor Attila
Published: December 2015

Ten years have passed since the 2004 accession round to the EU. The 10th anniversary provides a good opportunity for stocktaking and assessing the agricultural development of the New Member States (NMS). Using mainly Eurostat, FAO and World Bank data we constructed 15 indices to assess agricultural performances of the NMS for the period 1999–2013. Using these performance measures we identify the winners of accession and those who have performed less well. By ranking individual country performances, our results suggest that Poland and the Baltic countries can be considered the winners of EU accession in agriculture, while Romania, Slovenia and Bulgaria proved to have used their potentials to least effect. It seems that a large number of drivers influenced post‐accession performance including, pre‐accession fund management, differences in initial agricultural conditions, the nature consistency and transparency of agricultural policies, and the extent of privatisation and foreign ownership. On the whole, all countries gained from EU membership, though individual NMS used their possibilities to different extents. Future research might change the indices and periods analysed to test the validity of our results as well as quantify the factors which had the biggest impact on different country performances.
A randomized clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of sitagliptin added to the combination of sulfonylurea and metformin in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and inadequate glycemic control
Authors: Moses Robert G. , Round Elizabeth , Shentu Yue , Golm Gregory T. , O'neill Edward A. , Gantz Ira , Engel Samuel S. , Kaufman Keith D. , Goldstein Barry J.
Published: December 2015

Background

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) treatment generally requires multiple antihyperglycemic agents. When diet, exercise, and treatment with sulfonylurea and metformin do not achieve glycemic goals, several options are available. The present study evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of sitagliptin 100 mg/day added to therapy with sulfonylurea and metformin.

Methods

Patients with HbA1c ≥7.5% and ≤10.5% while on a sulfonylurea and metformin were randomized 1: 1 to sitagliptin 100 mg/day or placebo for 24 weeks. At Week 24, patients in the placebo group switched to pioglitazone 30 mg/day and both groups continued treatment for another 30 weeks.

Results

Of 427 patients randomized, 339 (79.4%) completed the study. At Week 24, significantly greater (P < 0.001) mean reductions from baseline were seen in the sitagliptin versus placebo group for HbA1c (−0.84% vs −0.16%, respectively), 2‐h post‐meal glucose (−2.0 vs −0.2 mmol/L, respectively) and fasting plasma glucose (−0.7 vs 0.3 mmol/L, respectively). At Week 54, improvements in glycemic control continued. At Week 24, the incidence of adverse events (AEs) was numerically greater with sitagliptin than placebo, primarily because of a higher incidence of hypoglycemia. At Week 54, the incidence of AEs was similar in both groups, primarily because of a higher incidence of hypoglycemia and edema in the placebo/pioglitazone group after Week 24. The only meaningful change in body weight was an increase in the placebo/pioglitazone group at Week 54.

Conclusions

In this study, sitagliptin 100 mg/day was generally well tolerated and provided improvement in glycemic control when added to the combination of sulfonylurea and metformin in patients with T2DM.
Relationship between prevalence and severity of restless legs syndrome and anemia in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Kucuk Adem , Uslu Ali Ugur , Yilmaz Ramazan , Salbas Ender , Solak Yalcin , Tunc Recep
Published: December 2015

Aim

Our aim was to evaluate the relationship between the prevalence and severity of restless legs syndrome (RLS) and the anemia in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Methods

This was a case‐control study which was conducted at the rheumatology clinic of a university affiliated hospital, including 62 patients with SLE and 62 age‐ and sex‐matched healthy controls. The patients were divided into two groups in terms of their hemoglobin levels. The criterion for anemia was hemoglobin level lower than 12 g/dL in females and 13 g/dL in males.

Results

Nineteen patients (30.6%) in the patient group were diagnosed with RLS, and International RLS Study Group Rating Scale (IRLSSG‐RS) score was 10.7 ± 9.5 (median:10.0 [range:0.0–30.0]). Three subjects (4.8%) in the control group had RLS, and the IRLSSG‐RS score was 0.7 ± 3.3 (median:0.0 [range:0.0–18.0]). The prevalence of RLS and the IRLSSG‐RS score were higher in the patient group than those in the control group (P < 0.001). Ten SLE patients (50%) with anemia had RLS, and their IRLSSG‐RS score was 14.5 ± 9.9 (median:21.0 [range:11.0–30.0]). Nine SLE patients (21.4%) without anemia had RLS and their IRLSSG‐RS was 9.0 ± 8.9 (median:21.0 [range:11.0–24.0]). Significant differences were present in the prevalence of RLS and the IRLSSG‐RS score between SLE patients with and without anemia (P = 0.024, P = 0.044, respectively).

Conclusion

The present study demonstrated that the prevalence of RLS was higher in patients with SLE than that of the normal population. Results of this study also suggested that anemia was associated with higher frequency of and more severe RLS in patients with lupus.