bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A predictive model of avian natal dispersal distance provides prior information for investigating response to landscape change
Authors: Garrard Georgia E. , McCarthy Michael A. , Vesk Peter A. , Radford James Q. , Bennett Andrew F.
Published: August 2011

1. Informative Bayesian priors can improve the precision of estimates in ecological studies or estimate parameters for which little or no information is available. While Bayesian analyses are becoming more popular in ecology, the use of strongly informative priors remains rare, perhaps because examples of informative priors are not readily available in the published literature.

2. Dispersal distance is an important ecological parameter, but is difficult to measure and estimates are scarce. General models that provide informative prior estimates of dispersal distances will therefore be valuable.

3. Using a world‐wide data set on birds, we develop a predictive model of median natal dispersal distance that includes body mass, wingspan, sex and feeding guild. This model predicts median dispersal distance well when using the fitted data and an independent test data set, explaining up to 53% of the variation.

4. Using this model, we predict a priori estimates of median dispersal distance for 57 woodland‐dependent bird species in northern Victoria, Australia. These estimates are then used to investigate the relationship between dispersal ability and vulnerability to landscape‐scale changes in habitat cover and fragmentation.

5. We find evidence that woodland bird species with poor predicted dispersal ability are more vulnerable to habitat fragmentation than those species with longer predicted dispersal distances, thus improving the understanding of this important phenomenon.

6. The value of constructing informative priors from existing information is also demonstrated. When used as informative priors for four example species, predicted dispersal distances reduced the 95% credible intervals of posterior estimates of dispersal distance by 8–19%. Further, should we have wished to collect information on avian dispersal distances and relate it to species’ responses to habitat loss and fragmentation, data from 221 individuals across 57 species would have been required to obtain estimates with the same precision as those provided by the general model.
No evidence of senescence in a 300‐year‐old mountain herb
Authors: Garcia Maria B. , Dahlgren Johan P. , Ehrlén Johan
Published: August 2011

1. Understanding how vital rates and reproductive value change with age is fundamental to demography, life history evolution and population genetics. The universality of organism senescence has been questioned on both theoretical and empirical grounds, and the prevalence and strength of senescence remain a controversial issue. Plants are particularly interesting for studies of senescence since individuals of many species have been reported to reach very high ages.

2. In this study, we examined whether the herb Borderea pyrenaica, known to reach ages of more than 300 years, experiences senescence. We collected detailed demographic information from male and female individuals in two populations over 5 years. An unusual morphological feature in this species enabled us to obtain exact age estimates for each of the individuals at the end of the demographic study.

3. We used restricted cubic regression splines and generalized linear models to determine nonlinear effects of age and size on vital rates. We then incorporated the effects of age and size in integral projection models of demography for determining the relationship between age and reproductive value. As the species is dioecious, we performed analyses separately for males and females and examined also the hypothesis that a larger reproductive effort in females comes at a senescence cost.

4. We found no evidence for senescence. Recorded individuals reached 260 years, but growth and fecundity of female and male individuals did not decrease at high ages, and survival and reproductive value increased with age. The results were qualitatively similar also when accounting for size and among‐individual vital rate heterogeneity, with the exception that male flowering probability decreased with age when accounting for size increases.

5.
Synthesis. Overall, our results show that performance of both male and female plants of B. pyrenaica may increase rather than decrease at ages up to several centuries, and they support the notion that senescence may be negligible in long‐lived modular organisms. This highlights the need to explore mechanisms that enable some species to maintain high reproductive values also at very high ages and to identify the evolutionary reasons why some organisms appear to experience no or negligible senescence.
Tropical tree species assemblages in topographical habitats change in time and with life stage
Authors: Kanagaraj Rajapandian , Wiegand Thorsten , Comita Liza S. , Huth Andreas
Published: August 2011

1.Recent studies have documented shifts in habitat associations of single tropical tree species from one life stage to the next. However, the community‐level consequences of such shifts have not been investigated, and it is not clear whether they would amplify, neutralize or completely alter habitat structuring during the transitions to the adult community.

2.We compared habitat‐driven species assemblages at three life stages (i.e. recruitment, juvenile and reproductive stages) and six censuses for tree and shrub species in a fully censused 50‐ha plot of Panamanian lowland forest. Habitat types were determined using multivariate regression trees that group areas with similar species composition (i.e. species assemblages) according to their topographical characteristics.

3.Three topographical variables (a topographical wetness index, slope and elevation) were major determinants of species assemblages. When analysing individuals of all life stages together, we found a distinct and temporally consistent structuring of the plot into four dominant habitat types (low and high plateaus, slope and swamp) which was consistent with previous classifications. Basically, the same habitat structuring emerged for the juvenile communities of individual censuses. However, recruits showed a weak and temporally inconsistent habitat structuring.

4.A notable homogenization in species assemblages occurred during the transition from juvenile to reproductive, through both a reduction in the number of species assemblages (in 3 censuses, one large reproductive assemblage covered 93% of the plot, and in others, an additional slope habitat emerged) and a reduction in the classification error. Overall, habitat structuring became noisier and weaker over the 25 years of the study.

5.Synthesis.Our results suggest that mortality processes during the transition from recruits to juveniles must enhance the signal of habitat structuring. However, during the transition to the reproductive stage, species may have lost the advantage of being in the habitat with which they had become associated, or the quality of habitat changed during their life span because of larger climatic changes. The homogeneous assemblages of the reproductive stage could be interpreted as support for neutral theories, but further research is required to unravel the mechanisms behind these intriguing observations.
Evidence‐based medicine and epistemological imperialism: narrowing the divide between evidence and illness
Authors: Crowther Helen , Lipworth Wendy , Kerridge Ian
Published: August 2011

Evidence‐based medicine (EBM) has been rapidly and widely adopted because it claims to provide a method for determining the safety and efficacy of medical therapies and public health interventions more generally. However, as others have noted, EBM may be riven through with cultural bias, both in the generation of evidence and in its translation. We suggest that technological and scientific advances in medicine accentuate and entrench these cultural biases, to the extent that they may invalidate the evidence we have about disease and its treatment. This creates a significant ethical, epistemological and ontological challenge for medicine.
Mere anecdote: evidence and stories in medicine
Authors: Nunn Robin
Published: August 2011

In evidence‐based medicine, randomized controlled trials are said to be the highest evidence of what works, while anecdotes have low value or are not even considered to be medical evidence. Similar hierarchical views of evidence have infected other disciplines, including evidence‐based education and evidence‐based government. Here, I explore the artificial divisions of acceptable from unacceptable evidence, numbers from narrative and sciences from humanities. I challenge the deprecation of stories in medicine. Some stories are based on experiments while others are based on more or less plausible theories. Some stories offer vast and impressive statistics gathered from many observations while others present one noteworthy event. Published reports are themselves stories of what experimenters did. Systematic reviewers generate their own observations of collected stories of experiments. Reviewers of systematic reviews in turn report their observations of systematic reviews. All of these stories become evidence of what works in medicine.
RNA processing in Bacillus subtilis: identification of targets of the essential RNase Y
Authors: Lehnik‐Habrink Martin , Schaffer Marc , Mäder Ulrike , Diethmaier Christine , Herzberg Christina , Stülke Jörg
Published: August 2011

RNA processing and degradation is initiated by endonucleolytic cleavage of the target RNAs. In many bacteria, this activity is performed by RNase E which is not present in Bacillus subtilis and other Gram‐positive bacteria. Recently, the essential endoribonuclease RNase Y has been discovered in B. subtilis. This RNase is involved in the degradation of bulk mRNA suggesting a major role in RNA metabolism. However, only a few targets of RNase Y have been identified so far. In order to assess the global impact of RNase Y, we compared the transcriptomes in response to the expression level of RNase Y. Our results demonstrate that processing by RNase Y results in accumulation of about 550 mRNAs. Some of these targets were substantially stabilized by RNase Y depletion, resulting in half‐lives in the range of an hour. Moreover, about 350 mRNAs were less abundant when RNase Y was depleted among them the mRNAs of the operons required for biofilm formation. Interestingly, overexpression of RNase Y was sufficient to induce biofilm formation. The results presented in this work emphasize the importance of RNase Y as the global acting endoribonuclease for B. subtilis.
Different routes to the same ending: comparing the N‐glycosylation processes of Haloferax volcanii and Haloarcula marismortui, two halophilic archaea from the Dead Sea
Authors: Calo Doron , Guan Ziqiang , Naparstek Shai , Eichler Jerry
Published: August 2011

Recent insight into the N‐glycosylation pathway of the haloarchaeon, Haloferax volcanii, is helping to bridge the gap between our limited understanding of the archaeal version of this universal post‐translational modification and the better‐described eukaryal and bacterial processes. To delineate as yet undefined steps of the Hfx. volcanii N‐glycosylation pathway, a comparative approach was taken with the initial characterization of N‐glycosylation in Haloarcula marismortui, a second haloarchaeon also originating from the Dead Sea. While both species decorate the reporter glycoprotein, the S‐layer glycoprotein, with the same N‐linked pentasaccharide and employ dolichol phosphate as lipid glycan carrier, species‐specific differences in the two N‐glycosylation pathways exist. Specifically, Har. marismortui first assembles the complete pentasaccharide on dolichol phosphate and only then transfers the glycan to the target protein, as in the bacterial N‐glycosylation pathway. In contrast, Hfx. volcanii initially transfers the first four pentasaccharide subunits from a common dolichol phosphate carrier to the target protein and only then delivers the final pentasaccharide subunit from a distinct dolichol phosphate to the N‐linked tetrasaccharide, reminiscent of what occurs in eukaryal N‐glycosylation. This study further indicates the extraordinary diversity of N‐glycosylation pathways in Archaea, as compared with the relatively conserved parallel processes in Eukarya and Bacteria.
Changes in leaf optical properties associated with light‐dependent chloroplast movements
Authors: DAVIS PHILLIP A. , CAYLOR STEVEN , WHIPPO CRAIG W. , HANGARTER ROGER P.
Published: August 2011

We surveyed 24 plant species to examine how leaf anatomy influenced chloroplast movement and how the optical properties of leaves change with chloroplast position. All species examined exhibited light‐dependent chloroplast movements but the associated changes in leaf absorptance varied considerably in magnitude. Chloroplast movement‐dependent changes in leaf absorptance were greatest in shade species, in which absorptance changes of >10% were observed between high‐ and low‐light treatments. Using the Kubelka–Munk theory, we found that changes in the absorption (k) and chlorophyll a absorption efficiency (k*) associated with chloroplast movement correlated with cell diameter, such that the narrower, more columnar cells found in sun leaves restricted the ability of chloroplasts to move. The broader, more spherical cells of shade leaves allowed greater chloroplast rearrangements and in low‐light conditions allowed efficient light capture. Across the species tested, light‐dependent chloroplast movements modulated leaf optical properties and light absorption efficiency by manipulating the package (sieve or flattening) effect but not the detour (path lengthening) effect.
Physiological characterization of cadmium‐exposed Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Authors: BRÄUTIGAM ANJA , SCHAUMLÖFFEL DIRK , PREUD'HOMME HUGUES , THONDORF IRIS , WESENBERG DIRK
Published: August 2011

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a common model organism for investigation of metal stress. This green alga produces phytochelatins in the presence of metal ions. The influence of cadmium is of main interest, because it is a strong activator of phytochelatin synthase. Cell wall bound and intracellular cadmium content was determined after exposition to 70 µm CdCl2, showing the main portion of the metal outside the cell. Nevertheless, imported cadmium was sufficient to cause significant changes in thiolpeptide metabolism and its transcriptional regulation. Modern analytical approaches enable new insights into phytochelatin (PC) distribution. A new rapid and precise UPLC‐MS method allowed high‐throughput PC quantification in algal samples after 1, 4, 24 and 48 h cadmium stress. Initially, canonic PCs were synthesized in C. reinhardtii during cadmium exposition, but afterwards CysPCs became the major thiolpeptides. Thus, after 48 h the concentration of the PC‐isoforms CysPC2‐3 and CysGSH attained between 105 and 199 nmol g−1 fresh weight (FW), whereas the PC2‐3 concentrations were only 15 nmol g−1 FW. The relative quantification of γ‐glutamyl transpeptidase (γ‐GT) mRNA suggests the generation of CysPCs by glutamate cleavage from canonic PCs by γ‐GT. Furthermore, a homology model of C. reinhardtii phytochelatin synthase was constructed to verify the use of crystal structures from Anabaena sp. phytochelatin synthase (PCS) for docking studies with canonical PCs and CysPCs. From the difference in energy scores, we hypothesize that CysPC may prevent the synthesis of canonical PCs by blocking the binding pocket. Finally, possible physiological reasons for the high abundance of CysPC compared with their canonic precursors are discussed.
Leaf gas films of Spartina anglica enhance rhizome and root oxygen during tidal submergence
Authors: WINKEL ANDERS , COLMER TIMOTHY DAVID , PEDERSEN OLE
Published: August 2011

Gas films on hydrophobic surfaces of leaves of some wetland plants can improve O2 and CO2 exchange when completely submerged during floods. Here we investigated the in situ aeration of rhizomes of cordgrass (Spartina anglica) during natural tidal submergence, with focus on the role of leaf gas films on underwater gas exchange. Underwater net photosynthesis was also studied in controlled laboratory experiments. In field experiments, O2 microelectrodes were inserted into rhizomes and pO2 measured throughout two tidal submergence events; one during daylight and one during night‐time. Plants had leaf gas films intact or removed. Rhizome pO2 dropped significantly during complete submergence and most severely during night. Leaf gas films: (1) enhanced underwater photosynthesis and pO2 in rhizomes remained above 10 kPa during submergence in light; and (2) facilitated O2 entry from the water into leaves so that rhizome pO2 was about 5 kPa during darkness. This study is the first in situ demonstration of the beneficial effects of leaf gas films on internal aeration in a submerged wetland plant. Leaf gas films likely contribute to submergence tolerance of S. anglica and this feature is expected to also benefit other wetland plant species when submerged.
Potassium channel‐oxidative phosphorylation relationship in durum wheat mitochondria from control and hyperosmotic‐stressed seedlings
Authors: TRONO DANIELA , SOCCIO MARIO , LAUS MAURA N. , PASTORE DONATO
Published: August 2011

Durum wheat mitochondria (DWM) possess an ATP‐inhibited K+ channel, the plant mitoKATP (PmitoKATP), which is activated under environmental stress to control mitochondrial ROS production. To do this, PmitoKATP collapses membrane potential (ΔΨ), thus suggesting mitochondrial uncoupling. We tested this point by studying oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) in DWM purified from control seedlings and from seedlings subjected both to severe mannitol and NaCl stress. In severely‐stressed DWM, the ATP synthesis via OXPHOS, continuously monitored by a spectrophotometric assay, was about 90% inhibited when the PmitoKATP was activated by KCl. Contrarily, in control DWM, although PmitoKATP collapsed ΔΨ, ATP synthesis, as well as coupling [respiratory control (RC) ratio and ratio between phosphorylated ADP and reduced oxygen (ADP/O)] checked by oxygen uptake experiments, were unaffected. We suggest that PmitoKATP may play an important defensive role at the onset of the environmental/oxidative stress by preserving energy in a crucial moment for cell and mitochondrial bioenergetics. Consistently, under moderate mannitol stress, miming an early stress condition, the channel may efficiently control reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation (about 35‐fold from fully open to closed state) without impairing ATP synthesis. Anyway, if the stress significantly proceeds, the PmitoKATP becomes fully activated by decrease of ATP concentration (25–40%) and increase of activators [free fatty acids (FFAs) and superoxide anion], thus impairing ATP synthesis.
Gene–vitamin D interactions on food sensitization: a prospective birth cohort study
Authors: Liu X. , Wang G. , Hong X. , Wang D. , Tsai H.‐J. , Zhang S. , Arguelles L. , Kumar R. , Wang H. , Liu R. , Zhou Y. , Pearson C. , Ortiz K. , Schleimer R. , Holt P. G. , Pongracic J. , Price H. E. , Langman C. , Wang X.
Published: August 2011

To cite this article: Liu X, Wang G, Hong X, Wang D, Tsai H‐J, Zhang S, Arguelles L, Kumar R, Wang H, Liu R, Zhou Y, Pearson C, Ortiz K, Schleimer R, Holt P, Pongracic J, Price HE, Langman C, Wang X. Gene–vitamin D interactions on food sensitization: a prospective birth cohort study. Allergy 2011; 66: 1442–1448.

Background:  It has been hypothesized that vitamin D deficiency (VDD) contributes to the development of food sensitization (FS) and then food allergy. However, the epidemiological evidence is conflicting. We aim to examine whether cord blood VDD is associated with FS and whether such association can be modified by genetic variants in a prospective birth cohort.

Methods:  This study included 649 children who were enrolled at birth and followed from birth onward at the Boston Medical Center. We defined VDD as cord blood 25(OH)D < 11 ng/ml, and FS as specific IgE ≥ 0.35 kUA/l to any of eight common food allergens in early childhood. We genotyped potentially functional single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 11 genes known to be involved in regulating IgE and 25(OH)D concentrations. Logistic regressions were used to test the effects of VDD on FS individually and jointly with SNPs.

Results:  Among the 649 children, 44% had VDD and 37% had FS. When examined alone, VDD was not associated with FS. When examined jointly with SNPs, a significant interaction between IL4 gene polymorphism (rs2243250) and VDD (pinteraction = 0.003, pFDR = 0.10) was found: VDD increased the risk of FS among children carrying CC/CT genotypes (OR = 1.79, 95%CI: 1.15–2.77). Similar but weaker interactions were observed for SNPs in MS4A2 (rs512555), FCER1G (rs2070901), and CYP24A1 (rs2762934). When all four SNPs were simultaneously considered, a strong gene–VDD interaction was evident (pinteraction = 9 × 10−6).

Conclusions:  Our data demonstrate that VDD may increase the risk of FS among individuals with certain genotypes, providing evidence of gene–vitamin D interaction on FS.
Phytophthora ramorum in England and Wales: which environmental variables predict county disease incidence?
Authors: Chadfield V. , Pautasso M.
Published: August 2011

Phytophthora ramorum is the oomycete pathogen responsible for Sudden Oak Death on the West Coast of the USA and Sudden Larch Death in the British Isles. It also causes twig dieback and leaf blight on a series of ornamental hosts (e.g. Rhododendron, Viburnum, Pieris and Camellia) commonly grown in plant nurseries, traded by garden centres and cultivated in public and private gardens. The role of the plant trade in the dispersal of P. ramorum has been well documented, but there is a need for regional analyses of which environmental variables can predict disease expression in the trade and in the wild, so as to be able to better predict the further development of this worldwide plant health issue. In this study, we analyse data on the incidence of P. ramorum (2002–2009, thus before the reports in Japanese larch plantations) in counties in England and Wales as a function of environmental variables such as temperature and rainfall, controlling for confounding factors such as county area, human population and spatial autocorrelation. While P. ramorum county incidence in nurseries and retail centres was positively related to county area and human population density, county incidence in gardens and the wild did not show such correlations, declined significantly towards the East and was positively correlated with disease incidence in the trade. The latter finding, although not conclusively proving causation, suggests a role of the trade in the dispersal of this pathogen across English and Welsh landscapes. Combined together, P. ramorum county incidence in the trade and in the semi‐natural environment increased with increasing precipitation and with declining latitude. This study shows the importance of environmental variables in shaping regional plant epidemics, but also yields results that are suggestive of a role of people in spreading plant diseases across entire countries.
Evidence that whales (Balaenoptera borealis) visit drifting fish aggregating devices: do their presence affect the processes underlying fish aggregation?
Authors: Brehmer Patrice , Josse Erwan , Nøttestad Leif
Published: August 2011

Evidence of the presence of a group of sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis) detected around drifting fish aggregating devices (FADs) was provided by omnidirectional multi‐beam sonar during a survey off the Seychelles (Indian Ocean). The short visit by the sei whales produced a significant change in the behaviour of the fish assemblage associated with the FAD. There was first a significant increase in fish density when the whales approached the FAD, then a marked decrease after the whales had moved away from the FAD. Furthermore, the fish density was still low, 3 h after the whales had left the FAD. We assume that the presence and behaviour of the sei whales led some of the fish initially associated with the FAD to move away from it. There has been a considerable increase in the use of drifting artificial FADs in the Indian Ocean in recent decades. The frequency of cetacean visits to drifting FADs in the Indian Ocean is unknown, but they may have a major impact on assemblages of pelagic fish species around FADs. The effect of marine mammals on FAD‐associated fish could be relevant to the ecological trap theory (FAD acting as a trap for their associated fish) because of their impact on the dynamics of fish aggregation processes, through commensalism and/or predator–prey interactions.
What can we learn from genomics approaches in marine ecology? From sequences to eco‐systems biology!
Authors: Mock Thomas , Kirkham Amy
Published: August 2011

The application of genomic approaches to marine biota has profoundly altered our understanding of life in the oceans, especially regarding concepts of adaptation, speciation and evolution. The avalanche of genomic data has provided an unbiased view of marine biology that has never been seen before. In particular, comparative and metagenomic approaches with microbes from different biogeochemical marine provinces provided the first insights into how they acquire and discard genes as needed, even across kingdom boundaries, in response to their environment. These data clearly reveal that marine microbes have remarkable abilities to change their genomes according to both environmental stresses and biotic interactions. Thus, it is most likely that the flux of energy and matter in the marine system is reflected by the presence or absence of genes and proteins in marine organisms, which could provide novel tools to understand biogeochemical processes of global significance. However, the challenge is to put the reductionistic knowledge gained by genomics and metagenomics into the larger contexts of cellular systems and ecosystems to identify emergent properties that could not have been predicted by breaking down the whole into its individual parts.
Cryptococcus gattii serotype‐C strains isolated in Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Authors: Cogliati Massimo , Chandrashekar Nagarathna , Esposto Maria Carmela , Chandramuki Akepati , Petrini Björn , Viviani Maria Anna
Published: August 2011

During a retrospective study on cryptococcosis carried out in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, four Cryptococcus gattii strains were isolated from one HIV‐positive and three HIV‐negative patients, two of which had unknown predisposing conditions. Serotyping and genotyping showed that the isolates were C. gattii serotype C, mating‐type α and genotype VGIV. All the isolates were identical by multilocus sequence typing, but presented a low similarity compared with a set of 17 C. gattii global control strains. The comparison with a larger number of previously reported C. gattii strains, including African isolates, revealed a close relationship between Indian and African serotype‐C isolates.
Decompressive surgery in combination with preoperative transcatheter arterial embolization: Successful improvement of ambulatory function in renal cell carcinoma patients with metastatic extradural spinal cord compression
Authors: Suzuki Hiroko , Kondo Tsunenori , Kuwatsuru Ryohei , Wada Keiji , Kubota Motoya , Kobayashi Hirohito , Iizuka Junpei , Ikezawa Eri , Takagi Toshio , Tanabe Kazunari
Published: August 2011

We analyzed the results of direct decompressive surgery plus stabilization of the vertebrae involved (DDSS) in six non‐ambulatory patients with metastatic extradural spinal cord compression (MESCC) due to renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) was performed prior to surgery to reduce intraoperative blood loss. Radiotherapy and systemic therapy, including cytokine or targeted therapy and zoledronic acid, were added to the surgery. The DDSS procedure was performed successfully in all patients, with an estimated mean blood loss of 1726 mL. After surgery, all patients regained ambulatory function within 2 months. Patients were ambulatory with the use of assisting apparatus for 4–29 months (median 10.5 months). Median overall survival time after surgery was 15 months (range 4–38 months). In conclusion, DDSS with preoperative TAE can be performed safely and significantly improves the ambulatory function of non‐ambulatory RCC patients with MESCC.
Long‐term results of surgery plus fibrin sealant for anal fistula
Authors: de Oca J. , Millán M. , Jiménez A. , Golda T. , Biondo S.
Published: August 2011

Aim  The long‐term recurrence rate of fibrin glue treatment was analysed in patients with trans‐sphincteric cryptoglandular fistula operated by a two‐phase procedure: (i) fistulectomy with seton placement; (ii) fibrin sealant (Tissucol Duo®, Baxter) insertion in the track.

Method  Clinical data were collected prospectively for all patients operated between 2004 and 2010. The statistical association of clinical variables and recurrence was analysed and a disease‐free curve was constructed using the Kaplan–Meier method.

Results  Twenty‐eight consecutive patients (mean age 48.3 ± 13.3 years; 22 men) were enrolled in the study. Middle and high trans‐sphincteric fistulae were diagnosed in 20 (71.4%) and eight (28.6%) patients. Seven (25%) had secondary track formation. The mean interval between the first operation and the fibrin sealant treatment was 12.5 ± 7.6 months. There were no complications related to the procedure. Nine (32.1%, 95% CI 17.9–50.7%) patients developed recurrence between 3 and 27 months after fibrin sealant treatment. Disease‐free curves showed that the highest probability of recurrence occurred in the first 2 years. No incontinence was found at a mean follow‐up of 20.6 (3–60) months among the 67.8% patients with no evidence of recurrence.

Conclusion  Fibrin sealant is safe and simple. The healing rate is satisfactory without the risk of incontinence.
The historical equity risk premium in Australia: post‐GFC and 128 years of data
Authors: Brailsford Tim , Handley John C. , Maheswaran Krishnan
Published: August 2011

We present an updated set of estimates of the historical equity risk premium in Australia covering the 128 calendar years from January 1883 to December 2010. Relative to bonds (bills), the observed equity premium has averaged 6.1 per cent (6.5 per cent) p.a. over this period, and we report a similar number for later periods of relatively good quality data. We also provide estimates that incorporate an adjustment for distributed imputation credits and include the annual time series of data relating to each of the underlying components – stock, bill and bond returns and inflation.
The Effects of Economic Crises on Families Caring for Children: Understanding and Reducing Long‐term Consequences
Authors: Sigurdsen Parama , Berger Samantha , Heymann Jody
Published: August 2011

This article examines case examples of some of the consequences for children and families of average and severe economic and social disruptions, including the economic losses and failure of social supports during the transition after perestroika in Russia, the experience of poor families during economic retrenchment in Mexico, the massive asset loss in the capital of Honduras after a natural disaster, the dramatic economic contraction in Vietnam after the war, and the impact of the AIDS pandemic on both economic and social institutions in Botswana. It then considers social supports which have made a difference in acting as a buffer against the effect of economic downturns, drawing on primary data from in‐depth interviews with 2,000 families around the world, survey data on 55,000 households, and analysis of policies in all 192 members of the United Nations.
A ‘Lost Generation’? Impacts of Complex Compound Crises on Children and Young People
Authors: Hossain Naomi , McGregor J. Allister
Published: August 2011

How has the well‐being of children and young people been affected by the global food, fuel and financial crises that have struck since 2007? This article reports empirical findings from qualitative research in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Yemen and Zambia in 2009 and 2010. Intended to complement the wider body of mainly quantitative evidence, it explores how the subjective and relational dimensions of human well‐being have been affected as children and families have sought to survive and thrive amidst complex, compound crises, and concludes that monitoring their impacts affords important insights into how these foundational experiences could have enduring consequences in the longer term.
Financing Social Protection for Children in Crisis Contexts
Authors: Barrientos Armando , Niño‐Zarazúa Miguel
Published: August 2011

The global financial crisis has emphasised the fundamental role of social protection institutions in developing countries. There is also growing evidence that countries with programmes focused on children have a greater chance of minimising the longer‐term effects of the crisis. However, financing remains a major challenge: the effects of a slowdown in growth are likely to reduce the fiscal space in low‐income countries. Focusing on sub‐Saharan Africa and Latin America in particular, this article shows that improved fiscal balances, debt relief, aid and revenues from natural resources could provide a window of opportunity in many countries. Raising the ratio of tax revenues to GDP is, however, the main challenge in the medium term.
DOES PERCEPTION OUTSTRIP OUR CONCEPTS IN FINENESS OF GRAIN?
Authors: Connolly Kevin
Published: August 2011

We seem perfectly able to perceive fine‐grained shades of colour even without possessing precise concepts for them. The same might be said of shapes. I argue that this is in fact not the case. A subject can perceive a colour or shape only if she possesses a concept of that type of colour or shape. I provide new justification for this thesis, and do not rely on demonstrative concepts such as THIS SHADE or THAT SHAPE, a move first suggested by John McDowell, but rejected by Christopher Peacocke and Richard Heck among others.
IMAGINATION AND THE EXPRESSION OF EMOTION
Authors: Lennon Kathleen
Published: August 2011

Many writers offer accounts of our grasp of the expressive gestures of others, or of the expressive content of works of art, in terms of our imagining the experiences of another, or ourselves having certain experiences, or, in the case of works of art, a persona to have experiences. This invocation of what Kant would term, the reproductive imagination, in the perception of expressive content, is contested in this paper. In its place it is suggested that the detection of expressive content is a form of direct, but reason constituting perception. In such perception it is the Kantian productive, rather than the reproductive, imagination which plays a central role.
MAXIMALITY, DUPLICATION, AND INTRINSIC VALUE
Authors: Walsh Sean Drysdale
Published: August 2011

In this paper, I develop an argument for the thesis that ‘maximality is extrinsic’, on which a whole physical object is not a whole of its kind in virtue of its intrinsic properties. Theodore Sider has a number of arguments that depend on his own simple argument that maximality is extrinsic. However, Peter van Inwagen has an argument in defence of his Duplication Principle that, I will argue, can be extended to show that Sider's simple argument fails. However, van Inwagen's argument fails against a more complex, sophisticated argument that maximality is extrinsic. I use van Inwagen's own commitments to various forms of causation and metaphysical possibility to argue that maximality is indeed extrinsic, although not for the mundane reasons that Sider suggests. I then argue that moral properties are extrinsic properties. Two physically identical things can have different moral properties in a physical world. This argument is a counterexample to a classical ethical supervenience idea (often attributed to G.E. Moore) that if there is identity of physical properties in a physical world, then there is identity in moral properties as well. I argue moral value is ‘border sensitive’ and extrinsic for Kantians, utilitarians, and Aristotelians.
MATTERING AND MECHANISM: MUST A MECHANISTIC UNIVERSE BE DEPRESSING?
Authors: White Heath
Published: August 2011

There is an intuition to the effect that, if human actions are explicable in scientific terms – that is, if mechanism holds – then our lives and actions do not matter. “Mattering” depends on successful intentional explanations of human actions. The intuition springs from an intuitive analogy between manipulation and mechanism: just as a manipulated agent's actions are not successfully explained in intentional terms, neither are the actions of a mechanistic agent. I explore ways to avoid the conclusion of this argument. Some of these ways are more promising than others, but all have non‐trivial philosophical consequences.
Neo-Durkheimian Analyses of Economic Life and Strife: From Durkheim to the Social Contract
Authors: Gilbert Michael
Published: August 2011

“The task of the most advanced societies, is, then, a work of justice… Just as the ideal of lower societies was to create or maintain as intense a common life as possible, in which the individual was absorbed, so our ideal is to make social relations always more equitable… The harmony of functions and, accordingly, of existence, is at stake. Just as ancient peoples needed, above all, a common faith to live by, so we need justice…”
Economic Growth and Female Labour: The Case of Israel
Authors: Bernstein Deborah
Published: August 2011

This article aims to demonstrate the relation between the participation and location of women in the Israeli labour force and economic-structural processes central to the development of the Israeli economy. It begins with a discussion of the main features of the economic growth of Israeli society, indicating the implications of these features for female labour. The overall pattern of female participation in the labour force is then discussed, noting the main shifts in this pattern and their significance, followed by a more detailed presentation of the position of women in a number of economic branches—the textile and clothing industries, education and welfare services, finance and trade. The sexual division of labour is further examined according to the difference between Ashkenazi and Oriental women of first and second generations. Finally, a concluding discussion assesses the significance of women to the economy and the implications of their position within the economy to their future prospects.
Theories of Skill and Class Structure
Authors: Penn R. D.
Published: August 2011

This paper notes an increased interest in issues of skill and class structure evident amongst both Marxist and non-Marxist sociologists. It examines three questions in this area. Firstly, what theories are available to sociologists? How adequate are they, particularly for an understanding of trends in manual work in Britain? Finally, what improvements can be suggested?

Two dominant grand-theoretical approaches, post-industrialism and Marxism, are analysed Post-industrialist theories of ‘skilling’ are rejected as empirically implausible and Marxist versions of ‘deskilling’ rejected on theoretical and empirical grounds. None the less, a secular decline in levels of training as measured by length of apprenticeships is noted, but the question of deskilling requires further research. A model of the relationships of skilled trades unions and capitalist employers under different local labour market conditions is suggested which, despite its simplicity, incorporates marked improvements upon the Marxist models that have been popular recently. In particular, it is strongly argued that an image of an asymmetric balance of forces adds considerably to an understanding of the variable relations between capital and skilled labour in Britain.
‘In the Beginning was the Work’ Reflections on the Genesis of Occupations
Authors: Dingwall Robert
Published: August 2011

One of the most curious omissions in the sociology of work and occupations is what would seem to be one of the most basic questions: When is an occupation an occupation? While there have been recent attempts to explore the issue by examining the history of census categories,1 these represent the end-point of the process at which new occupations receive official recognition and legitimation. My purpose in this paper is to discuss how occupations form and come to be recognized as such. The creation of health visiting between 1850 and 1919 will be taken as a case study.
TEST OF THE CONVERGENCE HYPOTHESIS ALLOWING FOR CROSS‐SECTIONAL DEPENDENCE
Authors: OH KEUN‐YEOB , EVANS PAUL
Published: August 2011

A large empirical literature has investigated whether per capita output converges around a common trend across national and regional economies. The methods used in this literature assume no cross‐sectional dependence even though it is likely to be present and might be important in practice. Chang has devised a promising method of testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels with cross‐sectional dependence. We apply her method to test whether convergence takes place across three samples of economies: 15 advanced industrial countries; a broader group of 57 countries; and the 48 contiguous US states. We find evidence of convergence for the 15 advanced industrial economies but no evidence of convergence across either the broad group of countries or the US states.
WELFARE COST OF INFALTION IN A NEW KEYNESIAN MODEL
Authors: TEO WING LEONG , YANG PO CHIEH
Published: August 2011

We study the welfare cost of inflation in a new Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model. Nominal prices and wages are subjected to Taylor‐style adjustments in the benchmark model. We find that the welfare cost of inflation in a new Keynesian dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model is much higher than its counterpart in a real business cycle model. We also find that the welfare cost of inflation increases linearly with the inflation rate with the introduction of monopolistic competition but rises faster as the inflation rate increases with the introduction of nominal rigidity. Alternative price and wage setting schemes, such as Rotemberg and Calvo‐style adjustments would yield welfare costs of moderate inflation that are 2–10 times higher.
EFFECT OF INCOME DISTRIBUTION ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL KUZNETS CURVE
Authors: QU BAOZHI , ZHANG YIFAN
Published: August 2011

This paper augments the model of Andreoni and Levinson by analyzing the effect of income distribution on the inverted U‐shaped relationship between some forms of pollution and income, the so‐called ‘environmental Kuznets curve’. In a context in which pollution abatement technology shows increasing returns to scale and an inverse U‐shaped pollution–income path is present, this study demonstrates the existence of a majority voting equilibrium, and concludes that the inverted U‐shaped relationship is between median income and environmental degradation rather than between per capita income and environmental degradation. Our results suggest that an increase in equality in income distribution improves environmental quality and social efficiency. The implication of the model for the empirical estimation of environmental Kuznets curves is examined using a panel data set of 36 countries over a 20‐year period. Estimation results using different models show that income distribution might be an important factor in the empirical estimation of these curves.
POPULATION AGEING, CAPITAL INTENSITY AND LABOUR PRODUCTIVITY
Authors: GUEST ROSS
Published: August 2011

This paper analyses the implications of population ageing for the capital intensity of output and, therefore, labour productivity. Population ageing leads to sectoral shifts in demand for goods and services. If such shifts occur between goods that differ in their capital intensity, there will be a change in the average capital intensity of the economy and, therefore, in average labour productivity. In order to gauge the magnitudes of such effects, the present paper reports simulations of a calibrated model with two final goods and two intermediate goods, using data for two Pacific Rim countries for comparison: the United States and Australia. The data for these countries suggest that population ageing will, on average, shift expenditure towards goods with a relatively high capital intensity. The magnitude of the increase in labour productivity according to the simulations is likely to be small, but perhaps not trivial: in the order of 1–4% per annum by 2050. This might partially offset the negative effect of ageing on living standards.
Isolated lateral thalamic infarction: the role of posterior cerebral artery disease
Authors: Kwon J. Y. , Kwon S. U. , Kang D‐W. , Suh D. C. , Kim J. S.
Published: August 2011

Background and purpose:  Lateral thalamic infarction (LTI) is usually caused by small vessel disease (SVD), i.e., occlusion of the deep perforator. However, focal atherosclerotic posterior cerebral artery disease (PCAD) may produce LTI via thrombotic occlusion of the perforator. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of PCAD in LTI and differences in clinical and imaging findings between LTIs associated with PCAD and SVD.

Methods:  We retrospectively evaluated 58 consecutive patients with isolated LTI who underwent diffusion‐weighted imaging (DWI) and MR angiography (MRA) within 7 days after stroke onset. Patients were divided into two groups: those with PCAD and those with SVD. Clinical syndromes were divided into pure sensory stroke (PSS) and sensory stroke plus (SS‐plus), i.e., the concomitant presence of motor dysfunction or ataxia. Clinical and imaging findings were compared between these two groups.

Results:  Of the 58 patients, 13 (22.4%) had PCAD. PSS was more frequently associated with SVD than with PCAD (57.8% vs. 23.1%, P = 0.032). Initial DWI lesion volume (cm³) was significantly larger in PCAD than in patients with SVD (0.38 ± 0.13 vs. 0.33 ± 0.22, P = 0.025). Among the 23 patients (39.7%) who underwent follow‐up DWI, patients with PCAD showed a significantly greater increase in subacute lesion volume than those with SVD (P = 0.019). Although National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores did not differ at admission (P = 0.185), they were significantly higher at discharge in PCAD than in patients with SVD (P = 0.012).

Conclusions:  Our data suggest that PCAD is an important cause of LTI, being related to SS‐plus, larger lesion volume, and worse clinical outcomes.
Sleep disturbances in chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia
Authors: Smits B. W. , Westeneng H.J. , van Hal M. A. , van Engelen B. G. , Overeem S.
Published: August 2011

Background:  Chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO) is a relatively common mitochondrial disorder. In addition to extraocular muscle weakness, various other organs can typically be affected, including laryngeal and limb muscles, cerebrum, cerebellum, and peripheral nerves. Given this multi‐organ involvement, patients are likely to be prone to sleep disturbances. Here, we determined the nature, prevalence, and determinants of sleep disturbances in CPEO.

Methods:  We used validated questionnaires for various sleep disorders and possible determinants such as mood and anxiety, and we performed ambulant polysomnography (PSG) in 20 patients with genetically confirmed CPEO.

Results:  Three quarters of patients reported nocturnal sleep dysfunction. Thirty‐five percent of patients fulfilled the criteria for restless legs syndrome, 30% excessive daytime sleepiness, and 70% significant periodic limb movements. PSG recordings revealed several indicators of a disrupted sleep architecture. Obstructive sleep disordered breathing was present in only one patient. However, four patients had an increased central sleep apnea index, all of whom had a polymerase gamma‐1 mutation and a SANDO phenotype (sensoric atactic neuropathy, dysarthria, ophthalmoplegia). Physical examination and questionnaire outcomes were poor predictors of PSG results.

Conclusion:  Several specific sleep disturbances are part of the phenotype of CPEO. Given that the disease is otherwise incurable, symptomatic treatment of sleep disturbances may be an important tool to improve quality of life. Therefore, patients with CPEO should be actively screened for sleep disorders, with a low threshold to perform PSG.