bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Incorporation and Pseudo-Incorporation in Syntax
Authors: Massam Diane
Published: February 2017

Noun incorporation (NI) is a grammatical construction where a nominal, usually bearing the semantic role of an object, has been incorporated into a verb to form a complex verb or predicate. Traditionally, incorporation was considered to be a word formation process, similar to compounding or cliticization. The fact that a syntactic entity (object) was entering into the lexical process of word formation was theoretically problematic, leading to many debates about the true nature of NI as a lexical or syntactic process. The analytic complexity of NI is compounded by the clear connections between NI and other processes such as possessor raising, applicatives, and classification systems and by its relation with case, agreement, and transitivity. In some cases, it was noted that no morpho-phonological incorporation is discernable beyond perhaps adjacency and a reduced left periphery for the noun. Such cases were termed pseudo noun incorporation, as they exhibit many properties of NI, minus any actual morpho-phonological incorporation. On the semantic side, it was noted that NI often correlates with a particular interpretation in which the noun is less referential and the predicate is more general. This led semanticists to group together all phenomena with similar semantics, whether or not they involve morpho-phonological incorporation. The role of cases of morpho-phonological NI that do not exhibit this characteristic semantics, i.e., where the incorporated nominal can be referential and the action is not general, remains a matter of debate. The interplay of phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics that is found in NI, as well as its lexical overtones, has resulted in a wide range of analyses at all levels of the grammar. What all NI constructions share is that according to various diagnostics, a thematic element, usually correlating with an internal argument, functions to a lesser extent as an independent argument and instead acts as part of a predicate. In addition to cases of incorporation between verbs and internal arguments, there are also some cases of incorporation of subjects and adverbs, which remain less well understood.
Prescriptive Attitudes to English Usage
Authors: Tieken-Boon van Ostade Ingrid , Ebner Carmen
Published: February 2017

Taking a sociolinguistic approach to prescriptivism in English usage, this article presents different methods by which highly frequent usage problems can be analyzed as to their current acceptability. These methods comprise different ways of studying a selected number of well-known items—try and/try to, the placement of only, the split infinitive and the dangling participle—focusing on their treatment in British and American usage guides from the beginning of the prescriptive tradition onward, combined with the application of special elicitation techniques to probe the views of informants. Such a multi-modal approach represents a distinct improvement from earlier attempts at presenting targeted groups of informants with attitude surveys only. By studying representative samples of British and American usage guides, the article shows that attitudes became more lenient across time (though not for all usage problems analyzed), with the sociolinguistic variable age playing an important role in the process, but also that instead of usage guides becoming more descriptive in the course of the history of the tradition, today in effect two trends can be distinguished in the type of usage advice given. While one trend indeed shows an increasingly descriptive approach to the items treated, a continuing proscriptive approach characterizes usage guides published down to the beginning of the 21st century.
Anaphora in Dravidian
Authors: Jayaseelan K. A.
Published: February 2017

The Dravidian languages have a long-distance reflexive anaphor taan. (It is taan in Tamil and Malayalam, taanu in Kannada and tanu in Telugu.) As is the case with other long-distance anaphors, it is subject-oriented; it is also [+human] and third person. Interestingly, it is infelicitous if bound within the minimal clause when it is an argument of the verb. (That is, it seems to obey Principle B of the binding theory.) Although it is subject-oriented in the normal case, it can be bound by a non-subject if the verb is a “psych predicate,” that is, a predicate that denotes a feeling; in this case, it can be bound by the experiencer of the feeling. Again, in a discourse that depicts the thoughts, feelings, or point of view of a protagonist—the so-called “logophoric contexts”—it can be coreferential with the protagonist even if the latter is mentioned only in the preceding discourse (not within the sentence). These latter facts suggest that the anaphor is in fact coindexed with the perspective of the clause (rather than with the subject per se). In cases where this anaphor needs to be coindexed with the minimal subject (to express a meaning like ‘John loves himself’), the Dravidian languages exhibit two strategies to circumvent the Principle B effect. Malayalam adds an emphasis marker tanne to the anaphor; taan tanne can corefer with the minimal subject. This strategy parallels the strategy of European languages and East Asian languages (cf. Scandinavian seg selv). The three other major Dravidian languages—Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada—use a verbal reflexive: they add a light verb koL- (lit. ‘take’) to the verbal complex, which has the effect of reflexivizing the transitive predicate. (It either makes the verb intransitive or gives it a self-benefactive meaning.)

The Dravidian languages also have reciprocal and distributive anaphors. These have bipartite structures. An example of a Malayalam reciprocal anaphor is oral … matte aaL (‘one person … other person’). The distributive anaphor in Malayalam has the form awar-awar (‘they-they’); it is a reduplicated pronoun. The reciprocals and distributives are strict anaphors in the sense that they apparently obey Principle A; they must be bound in the domain of the minimal subject. They are not subject-oriented.

A noteworthy fact about the pronominal system of Dravidian is that the third person pronouns come in proximal-distal pairs, the proximal pronoun being used to refer to something nearby and the distal pronoun being used elsewhere.
Lexical Acquisition and the Structure of the Mental Lexicon
Authors: Clark Eve V.
Published: February 2017

The words and word-parts children acquire at different stages offer insights into how the mental lexicon might be organized. Children first identify ‘words,’ recurring sequences of sounds, in the speech stream, attach some meaning to them, and, later, analyze such words further into parts, namely stems and affixes. These are the elements they store in memory in order to recognize them on subsequent occasions. They also serve as target models when children try to produce those words themselves. When they coin words, they make use of bare stems, combine certain stems with each other, and sometimes add affixes as well. The options they choose depend on how much they need to add to coin a new word, which familiar elements they can draw on, and how productive that option is in the language. Children’s uses of stems and affixes in coining new words also reveal that they must be relying on one representation in comprehension and a different representation in production. For comprehension, they need to store information about the acoustic properties of a word, taking into account different occasions, different speakers, and different dialects, not to mention second-language speakers. For production, they need to work out which articulatory plan to follow in order to reproduce the target word. And they take time to get their production of a word aligned with the representation they have stored for comprehension. In fact, there is a general asymmetry here, with comprehension being ahead of production for children, and also being far more extensive than production, for both children and adults. Finally, as children add more words to their repertoires, they organize and reorganize their vocabulary into semantic domains. In doing this, they make use of pragmatic directions from adults that help them link related words through a variety of semantic relations.
Mental Illness: Elders
Authors: Cox Carole B.
Published: February 2017

Mental illness is not in itself a normal part of aging but the transitions and changes that accompany the aging process place many older adults at risk. Depression and dementia are two of the most common mental illnesses impacting older people and may easily be confused. Diogenes syndrome (hoarding) was identified by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in 2013 as a psychiatric diagnosis mainly affecting older adults and requiring specific interventions. Each of these mental health problems requires proper assessments in order to diagnose and treat effectively. However, assessments are frequently compromised as many view their problems as a normal part of aging and thus do not seek treatment. In addition, people may somatize symptoms so that they are perceived and treated as more acceptable physical problems. Consequently, there is an increased risk that mental illnesses are not detected and appropriate interventions not offered. The appropriate treatment must begin with a thorough biopsychosocial assessment and history of the individual with particular attention given to the impact of diversity on his or life.
Ingmar Bergman
Authors: Hedling Erik
Published: February 2017

Swedish director Ingmar Bergman (b. 1918–d. 2007) was probably one of the most prominent filmmakers of the twentieth century. He started his career in film as a scriptwriter for Alf Sjöberg’s film Hets (released as Torment in the United States and as Frenzy in the United Kingdom) in 1944 and made his debut as a director with Kris (Crisis) in 1946. He continued making films through the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s and directed his last film for distribution in the cinemas in 1982: his grand finale, Fanny och Alexander (Fanny and Alexander). He did, however, go on as a scriptwriter and literary author. He also directed a few works for television until 2003, four years before his death at the age of eighty-nine. During all this time he was also active as a highly appreciated theater director, setting up plays primarily at the Royal Dramatic Theatre (Kungliga Dramatiska Teatern) in Stockholm. But it is mainly as the director of a series of highly influential films that his international reputation rests, films for which he usually wrote the manuscripts himself. Among his oeuvre, we find several of the masterpieces of postwar cinema: the dark vision of humanity in the classic Det sjunde inseglet (The Seventh Seal, 1957), the austere modernism in Persona (1966), the brilliantly staged marital conflict in his TV series Scener ur ett äktenskap (Scenes from a Marriage, 1973), and the somewhat unexpected celebration of bourgeois life in Fanny and Alexander. In film-historical terms, Bergman’s works were seminal to the development of the European art cinema, le cinéma d’auteur, in the 1950s. It was also in France that he became internationally famous after the screening of his light comedy Sommarnattens leende (Smiles of a Summer Night, 1955) at the Cannes Film Festival in 1956, where it received the highly coveted Special Jury Prize. After this great success, Bergman was canonized by the writers of influential French film journal Cahiers du Cinéma. Later, he would receive three Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film: for Jungfrukällan (The Virgin Spring, 1960) in 1961, Såsom i en spegel (Through a Glass Darkly, 1961) in 1962, and Fanny and Alexander in 1983. Bergman has often been quoted as a prime influence by leading film directors such as Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Woody Allen, Lars von Trier, and Ang Lee. He is also one of the most chronicled of all film directors, with an almost endless amount of monographs and scholarly articles written about his works; works on Bergman are still published every year, some of them major ones. His constant themes were the torments of the human soul, the absentness of God, and the humiliation that according to his vision forms the basis of the human condition. His cinematic forms, initially classical in style, grew gradually more toward aesthetic experimentation and modernism in the 1960s, with a return to popular narrative forms in the 1970s and 1980s.
Contralateral Anterior Interhemispheric Approach to Medial Frontal Arteriovenous Malformations: Surgical Technique and Results
Authors: Hafez Ahmad , Raygor Kunal P. , Lawton Michael T.
Published: February 2017

BACKGROUND: Medial frontal arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) require opening the interhemispheric fissure and are traditionally accessed through an ipsilateral anterior interhemispheric approach (IAIA). The contralateral anterior interhemispheric approach (CAIA) flips the positioning with the midline still positioned horizontally for gravity retraction, but with the AVM on the upside and the approach from the contralateral, dependent side.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the perpendicular angle of attack associated with the IAIA converts to a more favorable parallel angle of attack with the CAIA.

METHODS: The CAIA was used in 6 patients with medial frontal AVMs. Patients and AVM characteristics, as well as pre- and postoperative clinical and radiographic data, were reviewed retrospectively.

RESULTS: Four patients presented with unruptured AVMs, with 5 AVMs in the dominant, left hemisphere. The lateral margin was off-midline in all cases, and average nidus size was 2.3 cm. All AVMs were resected completely, as confirmed by postoperative catheter angiography. All patients had good neurological outcomes, with either stable or improved modified Rankin Scores at last follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that the CAIA is a safe alternative to the IAIA for medial frontal AVMs that extend 2 cm or more off-midline into the deep frontal white matter. The CAIA aligns the axis of the AVM nidus parallel to the exposure trajectory, brings its margins in view for circumferential dissection, allows gravity to deliver the nidus into the interhemispheric fissure, and facilitates exposure of the lateral margin for the final dissection, all without resecting or retracting adjacent normal cortex.
Methadone-Induced Hyperhidrosis Treated With Oxybutynin
Authors: Hong Joe , Lee Jooyeon , Totouom-Tangho Holly , Dunn Norma Ramos , Swift Ronnie Gorman
Published: February 2017

Objectives:

This case report aims to help healthcare providers and methadone clinic patients to recognize one of the less recognized adverse effects of methadone, hyperhidrosis, and to suggest oxybutynin as a possible solution.

Methods:

A 35-year-old man on methadone maintenance therapy presented with excessive sweating, which began promptly after methadone was introduced. Urine toxicology was conducted every 2 weeks to rule out other illicit substances that may have contributed to the sweating.

Results:

Oxybutynin (5 mg PO QID) resulted in cessation of the methadone-induced hyperhidrosis within 2 days of starting the medication.

Conclusions:

Methadone-induced excessive sweating is an adverse effect of the medication that reportedly affects up to 45% of those prescribed methadone, and oxybutynin is a potent treatment for methadone-induced excessive sweating.
Actinic Granuloma Annulare With Scarring and Open Comedones
Authors: Gavioli CFB , Valente NYS , Sangueza M , Nico MM
Published: February 2017

Actinic granuloma and annular elastolytic giant cell granuloma are variants of granuloma annulare affecting, respectively, sun-exposed and sun-covered skin sites on where, besides classical findings, abundant elastophagocytosis is observed. Here, we report a case of exuberant actinic granuloma annulare that, in addition to extensive scarring, showed multiple overlying open comedones. Markedly dilated follicular infundibula filled with compact masses of laminated keratinous material were observed in proximity to dermal inflammation composed of many histiocytes and multinucleated giant cells in close association with degenerated elastic fibers and abundant elastophagocytosis.
Stroke Associated With Varicella Zoster Vasculopathy
Authors: Maurya Pradeep K. , Kulshreshtha Dinkar , Singh Ajai K. , Thacker Anup K.
Published: February 2017

Introduction:

Varicella zoster (VZ) vasculopathy is a rare but well recognized cause of stroke. In the absence of zoster rash and infection in remote past, the disease can pose diagnostic challenge. We report 3 cases of anterior circulation stroke occurring in close temporal relation to VZ. Their clinical, radiologic, and angiographic features are discussed.

Case Report:

Of the 3 patients, 2 had stroke within a span of 4 to 6 weeks of herpes zoster ophthalmicus while the third patient had zoster of cervical dermatome. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed acute subcortical infarcts in 2, while 1 patient showed acute on chronic infarct in left middle cerebral artery territory. The magnetic resonance angiography was abnormal in 2 patients while it was normal in third. All the patients were treated with acyclovir and antiplatelets with good recovery in 2.

Conclusions:

VZ associated vasculopathy may have diverse clinical profile and neuroimaging features. It should be considered as an important and treatable cause of stroke in appropriate clinical settings.
Identifying tagging SNPs for African specific genetic variation from the African Diaspora Genome
Authors: Johnston Henry Richard , Hu Yi-Juan , Gao Jingjing , O’Connor Timoty D. , Abecasis Goncalo , Wojcik Genevieve L , Gignoux Christopher R. , Gourraud Pierre-Antoine , Lizee Antoine , Hansen Mark , Genuario Rob , Bullis Dave , Lawley Cindy , Kenny Eimear E. , Bustamante Carlos , Beaty Terri H. , Mathias Rasika A. , Barnes Kathleen C. , Qin Zhaohui Steve ,   CAAPA Consortium
Published: February 2017

A primary goal of The Consortium on Asthma among African-ancestry Populations in the Americas (CAAPA) is to develop an ‘African Diaspora Power Chip’ (ADPC), a genotyping array consisting of tagging SNPs, useful in comprehensively identifying African specific genetic variation. This array is designed based on the novel variation identified in 642 CAAPA samples of African ancestry with high coverage whole genome sequence data (~30x depth). This novel variation extends the pattern of variation catalogued in the 1000 Genomes and Exome Sequencing Projects to a spectrum of populations representing the wide range of West African genomic diversity. These individuals from CAAPA also comprise a large swath of the African Diaspora population and incorporate historical genetic diversity covering nearly the entire Atlantic coast of the Americas. Here we show the results of designing and producing such a microchip array. This novel array covers African specific variation far better than other commercially available arrays, and will enable better GWAS analyses for researchers with individuals of African descent in their study populations. A recent study1 cataloging variation in continental African populations suggests this type of African-specific genotyping array is both necessary and valuable for facilitating large-scale GWAS in populations of African ancestry.
Macroeconomic determinants of interest rate spreads in Ghana
Authors: Obeng Samuel Kwabena , Sakyi Daniel
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine macroeconomic determinants of interest rate spreads in Ghana for the period 1980-2013.

Design/methodology/approach

The autoregressive distributed lag bounds test approach to cointegration and the error correction model were used for the estimation.

Findings

The results indicate that exchange rate volatility, fiscal deficit, economic growth, and public sector borrowing from commercial banks, increase interest rate spreads in Ghana in both the long and short run. Institutional quality reduces interest rate spreads in the long run while lending interest rate volatility and monetary policy rate reduce interest rate spreads in the short run.

Research limitations/implications

The depreciation of the Ghana cedi must be controlled since its volatility increases spreads. There is a need for fiscal discipline since fiscal deficits increase interest rate spreads. Government must reduce its domestic borrowing because the associated crowding-out effect increases interest rate spreads. The central bank must improve its monitoring and regulation of the financial sector in order to reduce spreads.

Originality/value

The main novelty of the paper (compared to other studies on Ghana) lies on the one hand; analysing macroeconomic determinants of interest rate spreads and, on the other hand, controlling for the impact of institutional quality on interest rate spreads in Ghana.
Factors leading to early internationalization in emerging Central and Eastern European economies
Authors: Sekliuckiene Jurgita
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore factors leading to the early internationalization of international new ventures (INVs) in Lithuania – a transition economy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). The determinants of early internationalization were grouped into three categories: entrepreneurial, firm-related and contextual determinants, and their impact on high-tech INVs that operate in emerging economies was investigated.

Design/methodology/approach

The research design is a case study approach. Case studies are presented of six Lithuanian entrepreneurial firms that demonstrated successful internationalization and rapidly expanded into foreign markets during the preceding year.

Findings

Region-specific theoretical propositions are provided for new ventures in CEE emerging economies. The results reveal that essential factors leading to the early internationalization of INVs operating in Lithuania, a transition economy, are entrepreneurial factors. Internationalization of INVs from CEE emerging economies is driven by push factors related to domestic market specifics; however, institutional factors do not seem to have a significant impact on INVs’ internationalization.

Research limitations/implications

The results of the analysis of the case studies are not generalizable to the entire population of INVs in Lithuania. However, the results are substantial considering the success of high-tech Lithuanian firms that started their international activities shortly after their inception. Future research can contribute to the literature by seeking to apply international new venture theory in the context of emerging economies with larger samples and a focus on distinct patterns of internationalization.

Originality/value

The findings contribute to the literature on international entrepreneurship by exploring early internationalization of INVs in the context of transition economies in CEE. This study’s contribution is based on theory building, especially in understanding the driving factors related to the early internationalization of new ventures founded by Lithuanian entrepreneurs. International entrepreneurship studies in the CEE, as well as Baltic countries, are limited, and this research contributes to filling this gap.
A virtual tutor for children with autism
Authors: Herring Paul , Kear Karen , Sheehy Kieron , Jones Roger
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The picture exchange communication system (PECS) is an established communication intervention for non-verbal children with autism. The purpose of this paper is to present an evaluation of a computer-based PECS approach, in which young non-verbal children with autism respond to an on-screen “virtual tutor” through the manipulation of picture/symbol cards. The paper presents research to investigate how the virtual tutor’s voice influences the children’s participation and performance.

Design/methodology/approach

Eight non-verbal children between six and nine years old and with a diagnosis of autism were presented with a series of computer-based activities, using a virtual tutor with either a natural or synthetic voice, in two separate sessions. Data were gathered using a within-participants counterbalanced design to control against variations between individuals and effects of presentation order.

Findings

Analysis of the children’s responses suggest that they were able to use the system more effectively when the virtual tutor had a synthetic voice, rather than a human voice. The findings demonstrate that a computer-based virtual tutor can provide an engaging method of supporting symbol-based communication for non-verbal children with autism, and that a synthetic voice type was preferable for the sessions undertaken.

Originality/value

Investigations of voice type and its influence on non-verbal children’s participation and performance have so far provided inconclusive results (Ramdoss, 2013). This research suggests that the voice type is an important feature of the learning experience of non-verbal children with autism, and can have a significant influence on their participation and performance in virtual tutor-led learning.
Interdisciplinary perspectives on designing, understanding and evaluating digital technologies for autism
Authors: Parsons Sarah , Yuill Nicola , Brosnan Mark , Good Judith
Published: February 2017

Purpose

Interdisciplinary perspectives and collaboration in technology research are regarded as vital for producing effective and usable solutions that meet real needs. The purpose of this paper is to draw upon the fifth seminar in an Economic and Social Research Council funded series in the UK on “Innovative Technologies for Autism”. This seminar focused on the contributions that different disciplines can make to the field of autism and technology, and offers some interesting avenues for future research.

Design/methodology/approach

A synthesis of key messages from the speakers’ talks is presented, interspersed with comments and observations from delegates which were written on post-it notes during the day and shared amongst the group.

Findings

Interdisciplinarity can be conceptualised in many different ways and is not simply about academic contributions. Collaborative research involving genuine stakeholder participation can provide fertile grounds for respecting and exploring individual differences and needs. Investigating the uses of existing technologies as well as developing innovative ideas and prototypes through inclusive design are important avenues for future research.

Originality/value

This paper offers a rare glimpse into a range of perspectives within a broad field of research and draws out some important connections between these different viewpoints. There are valuable avenues for collaboration and further exploration that would extend research in productive ways.
Cash flow volatility-return relation and financial constraints: international evidence
Authors: Palkar Darshana D.
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether cash flow volatility (CFV) has a negative impact on future stock returns, and whether the CFV-return relation is different among financially constrained and unconstrained firms, by using a broad sample of 21 developed markets.

Design/methodology/approach

The study conducts portfolio analysis to test the CFV effect on returns. Risk-adjusted returns (alphas) are computed with respect to country-specific factors based on market, size, book-to-market, and momentum.

Findings

The strategy of buying stocks with low CFV while shorting stocks with high CFV delivers significant alphas in more than three-fourths of the markets. The alphas for the long-short portfolio based on CFV are positive and statistically significant in more than 70 percent of the countries among financially constrained firms, largely driven by the underperformance of high-CFV stocks. In comparison, the CFV effect is observed in less than 45 percent of the countries among financially unconstrained firms, and is largely driven by the outperformance of low-CFV stocks.

Originality/value

This study extends prior findings by providing evidence of a negative relation between CFV and stock returns in a majority of global equity markets. The evidence also suggests an important role of financial constraints in explaining this relation.
The Grammar of Politics: A Brief History of Legislative Language in Britain
Authors: Williams Matthew
Published: February 2017

Legislative language is a crucial, yet somewhat overlooked element of British politics. So how has the language of British legislation changed over the past century? For this study, all 191,080 pages of legislation enacted between 1900 and 2015 were assessed for changes in the quantity of legislation, and 5,878 sections of legislation from 1920 to 2015 were analysed for changes to the quality of language. Parts of speech that affect the subject, object and verb of sentences were recorded, giving a novel long‐term study of indeterminacy in legislative language. Findings show that interpreting legislation became increasingly dependent on circumstance and discretion after the war. Change further accelerated after 1975. This reflected a widening gap between public demands placed on government power and the difficulties faced in accommodating these demands.
Subordinate's proactivity in performance planning: implications for performance management systems
Authors: Presbitero Alfred , Teng‐Calleja Mendiola
Published: February 2017

Previous studies have called for the investigation of individual‐level factors that influence performance management systems. Drawing on self‐regulation theory, this study investigates subordinate's proactivity in performance planning. Self‐regulation theory suggests that individuals can actively participate in planning for the future by having standards and monitoring themselves through self‐regulatory processes. Given the integral role that subordinates play in the effectiveness of performance management systems, this study carefully examines their self‐regulation in the form of proactivity in relation to performance planning. Using matched data obtained from 225 subordinates and their respective supervisors in an organisation in Australia, results show that proactive personality or the tendency of an individual to be relatively unconstrained by situational factors is found to be positively and significantly related to proactive performance planning. In addition, results show that proactive feedback‐seeking behaviour or the active solicitation of feedback partially mediates the relationship between proactive personality and proactive performance planning.
Spatial and seasonal variation in abundance within an insular grey parrot population
Authors: Valle Simon , Collar Nigel J. , Harris W. Edwin , Marsden Stuart J.
Published: February 2017

Populations of Psittacidae are endangered by habitat loss and the international pet market. The grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) is among the most traded species, yet little is known about densities and their variability in time and space. The population of grey parrots on the island of Príncipe (Gulf of Guinea) was estimated with distance sampling, in both pre‐ and postbreeding seasons. Abundance was related to a range of habitat features using generalized additive models. Densities averaged 48 ± 3 (SE) individuals km−2 in the prebreeding and 59 ± 4 in the postbreeding season, both extremely high compared to elsewhere in Africa and to other parrot species. Despite a population of 6000–8000 individuals over only 139 km2, parrots were patchily distributed, being unrecorded in ~25% of surveyed areas. Abundance varied seasonally, with densities being significantly higher in secondary compared to primary forest in the post‐ but not in the prebreeding season. Abundance was most tied to the presence of nest‐tree species prior to breeding and to feeding‐tree species and lightly sloping ground after breeding. These results highlight the need to preserve a matrix of habitat types to provide resources for parrots across seasons and ensure that surveys recognize seasonality in habitat use as a potential bias.
Influence of environmental conditions on the distribution of Amphipoda, Talitridae, in the lagoon complex of Ghar El Melh (north‐east of Tunisia)
Authors: Jelassi Raja , Khemaissia Hajer , Zimmer Martin , Garbe‐Schönberg Dieter , Nasri‐Ammar Karima
Published: February 2017

The study of the spatiotemporal distribution of talitrid amphipods was carried out along a transect in three stations belonging to the lagoon complex of Ghar El Melh, namely the supralittoral zones of the old harbour of Ghar El Melh, the opposite to Boughaz and Sidi Ali Mekki lagoon. Four species belonging to Talitridae family with two different genera were identified at all stations. These species are Orchestia gammarellus, Orchestia mediterranea, Orchestia stephenseni and Platorchestia platensis. The first two species were collected during the four seasons. The study of the density showed that the most important global mean density in talitrid was found in the supralittoral zone of opposite to Boughaz. In addition, statistical analysis showed a significant difference in the seasonal distribution of amphipods based on plant associations. Furthermore, the highest diversity of talitrid was observed in the winter in the supralittoral zone of opposite to Boughaz and in summer in the supralittoral zones of Sidi Ali Mekki lagoon and the old harbour of Ghar El Melh. Results showed that at all stations, a highly significant correlation of amphipod community with Cymodocea banquette was observed. Moreover, principal component analysis showed that the distribution of the different species depends on climatic and edaphic factors.
Counting Carbon: Calculative Activism and Slippery Infrastructure
Authors: Beuret Nicholas
Published: February 2017

Abstract

The environmental movement in the global North is in a state of impasse. It appears that despite the renewed international focus on climate change, and the actions of innumerable social movements, a “solution” to the problem appears as one, without a viable solution. It is the contention of this paper that climate change has no clearly viable solution as it is a seemingly impossible problem. This paper investigates how the problem of climate change is constructed as a global object of political action and how it functions to render politics into a matter of calculative action, one that seeks—but fails—to take hold of a slippery carbon infrastructure. It concludes by suggesting one possible solution to this dilemma is to turn away from the global scalar logic of climate change and towards a situated focus on questions of infrastructure, or what Dimitris Papadopoulos calls “thick justice”.
Children's Agency: ‘Getting By, Getting Back, Getting Out and Getting Organised’ Under Welfare‐to‐Work in Australia
Authors: Podesta Jennifer
Published: February 2017

One in four children in lone‐parent households in Australia lives in poverty. Welfare‐to‐work policies designed to 'activate' lone‐parents into the labour market is one approach that successive governments have employed to address this issue. This article argues that activation policies that target parents risk overlooking the implications for the children in these families. It concludes that more understanding about how poor children employ agency within the constraints and conditions of their lives could inform policy that better supports their well‐being, values their contributions, and is more sensitive to the diverse and changing needs of families. It draws on child‐centred participatory research with twenty‐six children in Australia that found they were active agents across a range of areas that included strategies for getting by, aspiration for the future, and acts of resistance.
CCAT2: A novel oncogenic long non‐coding RNA in human cancers
Authors: Xin Yu , Li Zheng , Zheng Heyi , Chan Matthew T.V. , Ka Kei Wu William
Published: February 2017

Colon cancer‐associated transcript 2 (CCAT2) was originally identified as an oncogenic long non‐coding RNA in colorectal cancer. Since its discovery, the oncogenic role of CCAT2 has been increasingly demonstrated in human cancers. In this connection, CCAT2 upregulation is frequently reported and very often associated with tumour progression and poor clinical outcomes. Functionally, knockdown of CCAT2 could induce cancer cell apoptosis and suppress cell proliferation and invasiveness, suggesting that CCAT2 might be a therapeutic target. The present review summarized current literature concerning the expression and functional role of CCAT2 in human malignancies.
Self‐concept research in cerebral palsy: development of a population‐specific measure
Authors: Causgrove Dunn Janice
Published: February 2017

This commentary is on the original article by Cheong et al. on pages 655–660 of this issue.
Detection of inherited chromosomally integrated HHV‐6 (ciHHV‐6) in a marker chromosome
Authors: Campioni Diana , Gentili Valentina , Cavazzini Francesco , Bortolotti Daria , Nacheva Elisabeth P. , Cuneo Antonio , Di Luca Dario , Rizzo Roberta
Published: February 2017

Objectives

Inherited chromosomally integrated human herpesvirus‐6 (ciHHV‐6) is characterised by the complete HHV‐6 genome integration into the host germ line genome and is vertically transmitted with a Mendelian inheritance. By now, the only relationship between ciHHV‐6 and diseases seems to be with angina pectoris.

Methods

We report a case of an 82‐year‐old man diagnosed with diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) on October 2014. To substantiate the suspicion of ciHHV‐6, we analysed peripheral blood mononuclear cells, bone marrow biopsy and pleural effusion‐derived mesothelial cells with PCR, RT‐PCR and FISH.

Results

Virological routine screening by PCR showed the absence of HHV‐8 and EBV infections, while the presence of HHV‐6 DNA (ie, U22, U42 and U94 HHV‐6 genes), with a viral load of about 1.0 genome per cell, strongly suggests ciHHV‐6. The RT‐PCR showed the positivity only for the immediate‐early U94, at low levels of transcription (100±15 transcripts/1 μg RNA). FISH analysis reported a case of inherited ciHHV‐6 in 17p chromosome region and, for the first time, in a marker chromosome.

Conclusions

This is the first case of inherited ciHHV‐6 in a marker chromosome, possibly elucidating the role of this abnormality in the biology of DLBCL.
Synapsins regulate brain‐derived neurotrophic factor‐mediated synaptic potentiation and axon elongation by acting on membrane rafts
Authors: Kao Hung‐Teh , Ryoo Kanghyun , Lin Albert , Janoschka Stephen R. , Augustine George J. , Porton Barbara
Published: February 2017

In neurons, intracellular membrane rafts are essential for specific actions of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which include the regulation of axon outgrowth, growth cone turning and synaptic transmission. Virtually, all the actions of BDNF are mediated by binding to its receptor, TrkB. The association of TrkB with the tyrosine kinase, Fyn, is critical for its localization to intracellular membrane rafts. Here, we show that synapsins, a family of highly amphipathic neuronal phosphoproteins, regulate membrane raft lipid composition and consequently, the ability of BDNF to regulate axon/neurite development and potentiate synaptic transmission. In the brains of mice lacking all synapsins, the expression of both BDNF and TrkB were increased, suggesting that BDNF/TrkB‐mediated signaling is impaired. Consistent with this finding, synapsin‐depleted neurons exhibit altered raft lipid composition, deficient targeting of Fyn to rafts, attenuated TrkB activation, and abrogation of BDNF‐stimulated axon outgrowth and synaptic potentiation. Conversely, overexpression of synapsins in neuroblastoma cells results in corresponding reciprocal changes in raft lipid composition, increased localization of Fyn to rafts and promotion of BDNF‐stimulated neurite formation. In the presence of synapsins, the ratio of cholesterol to estimated total phospholipids converged to 1, suggesting that synapsins act by regulating the ratio of lipids in intracellular membranes, thereby promoting lipid raft formation. These studies reveal a mechanistic link between BDNF and synapsins, impacting early development and synaptic transmission.
Identifying patient‐centred recommendations for improving patient safety in General Practices in England: a qualitative content analysis of free‐text responses using the Patient Reported Experiences and Outcomes of Safety in Primary Care (PREOS‐PC) questionnaire
Authors: Ricci‐Cabello Ignacio , Saletti‐Cuesta Lorena , Slight Sarah P. , Valderas Jose M.
Published: February 2017

Background

There is a growing interest in identifying strategies to achieve safer primary health‐care provision. However, most of the research conducted so far in this area relies on information supplied by health‐care providers, and limited attention has been paid to patients’ perspectives.

Objective

To explore patients’ experiences and perceptions of patient safety in English general practices with the aim of eliciting patient‐centred recommendations for improving patient safety.

Methods

The Patient Reported Experiences and Outcomes of Safety in Primary Care questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 6736 primary care users registered in 45 English practices. We conducted a qualitative content analysis of responses to seven open‐ended items addressing patients’ experiences of safety problems, lessons learnt as a result of such experiences and recommendations for safer health care.

Results

A total of 1244 (18.4%) participants returned completed questionnaires. Of those, 678 (54.5%) responded to at least one open‐ended question. Two main themes emerged as follows: (i) experiences of safety problems and (ii) good practices and recommendations to improve patient safety in primary care. Most frequent experiences of safety problems were related to appointments, coordination between providers, tests, medication and diagnosis. Patients’ responses to these problems included increased patient activation (eg speaking up about concerns with their health care) and avoidance of unnecessary health care. Recommendations for safer health care included improvements in patient‐centred communication, continuity of care, timely appointments, technical quality of care, active monitoring, teamwork, health records and practice environment.

Conclusion

This study identified a number of patient‐centred recommendations for improving patient safety in English general practices.
Influence of sustained submaximal clenching fatigue test on electromyographic activity and maximum voluntary bite forces in healthy subjects and patients with temporomandibular disorders
Authors: Xu L. , Fan S. , Cai B. , Fang Z. , Jiang X.
Published: February 2017

This study aimed to investigate whether the fatigue induced by sustained motor task in the jaw elevator muscles differed between healthy subjects and patients with temporomandibular disorder (TMD). Fifteen patients with TMD and thirteen age‐ and sex‐matched healthy controls performed a fatigue test consisting of sustained clenching contractions at 30% maximal voluntary clenching intensity until test failure (the criterion for terminating the fatigue test was when the biting force decreased by 10% or more from the target force consecutively for >3 s). The pre‐ and post‐maximal bite forces (MBFs) were measured. Surface electromyographic signals were recorded from the superficial masseter muscles and anterior temporal muscles bilaterally, and the median frequency at the beginning, middle and end of the fatigue test was calculated. The duration of the fatigue test was also quantified. Both pre‐ and post‐MBFs were lower in patients with TMD than in controls (P < 0·01). No significant difference was found in the percentage change in MBF between groups. The duration of the fatigue test in TMD patients was significantly shorter than that of the controls (P < 0·05). Our results suggest that, compared to healthy subjects, patients with TMD become more easily fatigued, but the electromyographic activation process during the fatigue test is similar between healthy subjects and patients with TMD. However, the mechanisms involved in this process remain unclear, and further research is warranted.
Sociality of Enforced Waiting in Rwanda's Postgenocide Legal Architecture
Authors: Doughty Kristin C.
Published: February 2017

This article brings together recent anthropological scholarship on waiting as a social and political practice and on legal forums and social repair. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in Rwanda between 2004 and 2008 with gacaca (grassroots genocide courts) and comite y'abunzi (mediation committees), this article asks: What practices of sociality are produced through enforced waiting in legal forums, and what does waiting reveal about legal architectures and social reconstruction? I argue that the legal architecture of postgenocide Rwanda produced enforced waiting as an integral part of people's engagement with grassroots legal forums. This enforced waiting combined state surveillance and control with generative forms of social engagements, and thus was a practice central to how people reshaped relationships with one another and with the state. The simultaneously generative and oppressive dimensions of waiting could unsettle the temporal grounding of the legal architecture itself—characterized by linearity, rupture, and boundedness—which draws attention to the processual nature of social repair. Analytic attention to the sociality of waiting in legal architectures is particularly important as people increasingly interface with legal and quasi‐legal grassroots institutions around the world, whether in the name of transitional justice, alternative dispute resolution, or customary law.
Tax Evasion in Europe: An Analysis Based on Spatial Dependence
Authors: García Gloria Alarcón , Azorín José Daniel Buendía , de la Vega María del Mar Sánchez
Published: February 2017

Objective

This article attempts to analyze tax evasion as a fundamental element of tax morale in the European countries from the perspective of spatial dependence. This research focuses on the contextual differences using country‐level and cross‐sectional European Value Survey data for the year 2008 to estimate the factors that affect the rejection of tax evasion.

Method

The application of a generalized linear model using spatial filtering allowed us to observe robust results on the role of contextual variables in explaining different patterns of the rejection of tax evasion in the European countries.

Results

The results confirm the influence exerted by spatial dependence, economies of agglomeration, income inequality, economic imbalances, and perceived corruption on the variable “rejection of tax evasion.” A novel finding is the fact that income distribution is key in explaining the rejection of tax evasion.

Conclusion

This study indicate that there is interaction of the rejection of tax evasion between neighboring countries, so that low/high levels of rejection of tax evasion at home are associated with low/high levels of rejection in a neighboring country. Therefore, policymakers should establish coordinated tax awareness measures in the supranational policies (e.g., European Union), since the rejection of tax evasion depends on internal factors of the country in which one lives and those of neighboring countries. Fiscal behavior (social norm) of individuals from neighboring countries affects the behavior of individuals in the country.