bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How exploitation impedes and impels exploration: Theory and evidence
Authors: Piao Ming , Zajac Edward J.
Published: May 2015

Research summary: This study suggests that strategy and organizational scholars seeking to analyze the impact of exploitation on exploration would benefit by moving away from the generally assumed unitary perspective on exploitation. Specifically, we propose a multifaceted perspective on exploitation by theoretically and empirically distinguishing between repetitive exploitation versus incremental exploitation. We argue that repetitive exploitation can impede exploration and delay firms' responses to environmental changes, while incremental exploitation can impel exploration and accelerate firms' responses to environmental changes. We test our arguments using extensive longitudinal data from the hard disk drive (HDD) industry, and our supportive empirical findings highlight the relevance of our distinction between the two types of exploitation and their very different effects on exploration.

Managerial summary: This study offers a solution to the puzzle of why many believe firms cannot excel at advancing existing practices and developing new initiatives, typically described as the trade‐off between exploitation and exploration. We introduce the distinction between repetitive and incremental exploitation and show that only the former type of innovation generates rigidity toward exploration, whereas the latter actually promotes exploration. More specifically, our evidence from the hard disk drive industry shows that those firms emphasizing incremental innovation (as opposed to repetition of their existing practices) were most likely to remain explorative over time, whereas firms emphasizing more repetitive innovation proved less open to changes. We discuss the implications of our findings as suggesting that firms seeking to optimize their innovativeness over the long term should strive to remain active in incrementally innovating their existing practices. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Quality evaluation of noodles prepared from blending of broken rice and wheat flour
Authors: Ahmed Ishfaq , Qazi Ihsan Mabood , Jamal Suraiya
Published: May 2015

The effect of blending wheat flour (WF) on broken rice flour (BRF) at various levels (0, 20 40, 60, 80 and 100 g/100 g) were assessed for their suitability in noodles making. Physicochemical and functional properties of prepared noodles from these blends were studied. The proximate composition of uncooked noodle samples varied significantly (p < 0.05). Water absorption and soluble loss of uncooked noodles ranged from 2.79 to 4.86 g/g and 0.167 to 0.467 g/g, respectively. The cooking parameters differed significantly (p < 0.05) among the noodle samples. The cooking time value ranged from 6.20 to 11.23 min and was high in noodle made from WF alone and low in pure rice flour noodles. Cooked weight, percent rehydration and cooking loss values ranged from 2.92 to 3.82 g/g, 170 to 282% and 0.09 to 0.62 g/g, respectively. The overall acceptability of native WF noodles (BRF:WF 00:100) were rated superior for their sensory characteristics. Among the blended flour noodles, BRF:WF (20:80) showed higher score for appearance and texture but lower score for aroma, still had a higher acceptance than the rest of the sample. Noodles with acceptable quality characteristics were made from BRF with the incorporation of WF at various levels.
Rice starch as a depressant in phosphate reverse flotation
Authors: El‐Midany Ayman A. , Arafat Yasir , El‐Faris Tariq F.
Published: May 2015

Depressants are essential additives, to increase the separation selectivity, in the reverse flotation of phosphate by fatty acid collectors. In the current study, the rice starch is used, as a phosphate depressant, in the reverse flotation of calcareous phosphate by oleic acid. The operating parameters affecting the starch depressing action such as: collector dosage, pH and starch dosage are studied using statistical design of experiments. The design analysis showed that the starch dose has the most significant effect on the concentrate grade. A concentrate containing 30.6% P2O5 with a recovery of 91.6% was achieved at the optimum values of studied parameters, i.e., 4, 4 kg/t, and 4 kg/t for pH, starch dosage, and collector dosage, respectively. The FTIR analysis was used to characterize the interaction between the collector and starch as well as the starch and phosphate ore. It was found that the oleic – ore interaction was chemical, whereas the starch interaction with either phosphate or oleic acid was physical.
Detection of fetal copy number variants by non‐invasive prenatal testing for common aneuploidies
Authors: Li R. , Wan J. , Zhang Y. , Fu F. , Ou Y. , Jing X. , Li J. , Li D. , Liao C.
Published: May 2015

Objective

To evaluate the clinical performance of non‐invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in detecting fetal copy number variants (CNVs).

Methods

NIPT of cell‐free fetal DNA was performed retrospectively, using stored maternal plasma, at an average gestational age of 21.1 weeks in 117 pregnant women who had previously undergone invasive prenatal testing for chromosome microarray analysis (CMA). Among the fetal samples tested by CMA, 18 had positive results (CNVs > 1 megabase (Mb)) and 99 had negative results (CNVs < 1 Mb or without CNVs detected). The results of NIPT and CMA were then compared.

Results

In the 11 CMA‐positive samples with CNVs > 5 Mb, the detection rate of CNVs was 90.9%; the one case missed by NIPT had a fetal fraction of 4.7%. For the other seven CMA‐positive samples with CNVs < 5 Mb, the detection rate was 14.3%; only one case with a 2.82‐Mb duplication was detected, with a fetal fraction of 26.7%. For 35.7% (5/14) of CNVs detected by both NIPT and CMA, the differences in fragment length were within ± 1 Mb. In this study, the overall sensitivity and specificity of NIPT for detecting CNVs > 1 Mb were 61.1% and 95.0%, respectively, with a false‐positive rate of 5.0%.

Conclusions

Our results demonstrate that NIPT for common aneuploidies can detect fetal CNVs > 5 Mb with high sensitivity, provided that fetal fraction is high enough, without increasing sequencing depth. The detection power of NIPT is determined mostly by fetal fraction and CNV size. A positive NIPT screening result for CNVs must be interpreted with caution and validated by additional diagnostic study. Copyright © 2015 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Does anemia–polycythemia complicating twin–twin transfusion syndrome affect outcome after fetoscopic laser surgery?
Authors: Donepudi R. , Papanna R. , Snowise S. , Johnson A. , Bebbington M. , Moise K. J.
Published: May 2015

Objective

Twin anemia–polycythemia sequence (TAPS) can occur as a unique disease or as a complication of twin–twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). Middle cerebral artery (MCA) Doppler studies are not currently part of the routine evaluation of monochorionic twins since they are not used in the Quintero staging system. As such, the true incidence of TAPS is unknown. We aimed to compare the characteristics and outcomes of twin pregnancies with TTTS complicated by spontaneous anemia–polycythemia vs those with TTTS alone.

Methods

This was a secondary analysis of data collected prospectively from a cohort of 156 consecutive patients undergoing fetoscopic laser surgery for TTTS, between October 2011 and August 2014. TAPS was defined as discordance in the preoperative MCA peak systolic velocity (PSV), with one twin fetus having MCA‐PSV ≤ 1.0 multiples of the median (MoM) and the other having MCA‐PSV ≥ 1.5 MoM. Maternal demographics as well as preoperative, operative and postoperative variables were analyzed.

Results

Included in the final analysis were 133 patients with complete records: 11 cases with TTTS with anemia–polycythemia and 122 cases with TTTS alone. There was no difference in maternal body mass index, gestational age (GA) at procedure, rate of preterm prelabor rupture of membranes or GA at delivery between the two groups. Patients with TTTS and anemia–polycythemia were more likely to be older (P = 0.03) and parous (P = 0.04) and had a significantly lower number of placental anastomoses (P = 0.01). The dual live‐birth rate was similar for both groups (P = 0.76).

Conclusion

Cases of TTTS with anemia–polycythemia were more likely to be found in parous and older women and were characterized by fewer vascular anastomoses. TTTS with anemia–polycythemia was not associated with worse perinatal outcome after laser therapy. Copyright © 2015 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Clinical pattern, mutations and in vitro residual activity in 33 patients with severe 5, 10 methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) deficiency
Authors: Huemer Martina , Mulder‐Bleile Regina , Burda Patricie , Froese D. Sean , Suormala Terttu , Zeev Bruria Ben , Chinnery Patrick F. , Dionisi‐Vici Carlo , Dobbelaere Dries , Gökcay Gülden , Demirkol Mübeccel , Häberle Johannes , Lossos Alexander , Mengel Eugen , Morris Andrew A. , Niezen‐Koning Klary E. , Plecko Barbara , Parini Rossella , Rokicki Dariusz , Schiff Manuel , Schimmel Mareike , Sewell Adrian C. , Sperl Wolfgang , Spiekerkoetter Ute , Steinmann Beat , Taddeucci Grazia , Trejo‐Gabriel‐Galán Jose M. , Trefz Friedrich , Tsuji Megumi , Vilaseca María Antònia , von Kleist‐Retzow Jürgen‐Christoph , Walker Valerie , Zeman Jiri , Baumgartner Matthias R. , Fowler Brian
Published: May 2015

Background

Severe methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) deficiency is a rare inborn defect disturbing the remethylation of homocysteine to methionine (<200 reported cases). This retrospective study evaluates clinical, biochemical genetic and in vitro enzymatic data in a cohort of 33 patients.

Methods

Clinical, biochemical and treatment data was obtained from physicians by using a questionnaire. MTHFR activity was measured in primary fibroblasts; genomic DNA was extracted from cultured fibroblasts.

Results

Thirty‐three patients (mean age at follow‐up 11.4 years; four deceased; median age at first presentation 5 weeks; 17 females) were included. Patients with very low (<1.5 %) mean control values of enzyme activity (n = 14) presented earlier and with a pattern of feeding problems, encephalopathy, muscular hypotonia, neurocognitive impairment, apnoea, hydrocephalus, microcephaly and epilepsy. Patients with higher (>1.7–34.8 %) residual enzyme activity had mainly psychiatric symptoms, mental retardation, myelopathy, ataxia and spasticity. Treatment with various combinations of betaine, methionine, folate and cobalamin improved the biochemical and clinical phenotype. During the disease course, patients with very low enzyme activity showed a progression of feeding problems, neurological symptoms, mental retardation, and psychiatric disease while in patients with higher residual enzyme activity, myelopathy, ataxia and spasticity increased. All other symptoms remained stable or improved in both groups upon treatment as did brain imaging in some cases. No clear genotype‐phenotype correlation was obvious.

Discussion

MTHFR deficiency is a severe disease primarily affecting the central nervous system. Age at presentation and clinical pattern are correlated with residual enzyme activity. Treatment alleviates biochemical abnormalities and clinical symptoms partially.
Redox signalling and mitochondrial stress responses; lessons from inborn errors of metabolism
Authors: Olsen Rikke K. J. , Cornelius Nanna , Gregersen Niels
Published: May 2015

Mitochondria play a key role in overall cell physiology and health by integrating cellular metabolism with cellular defense and repair mechanisms in response to physiological or environmental changes or stresses. In fact, dysregulation of mitochondrial stress responses and its consequences in the form of oxidative stress, has been linked to a wide variety of diseases including inborn errors of metabolism. In this review we will summarize how the functional state of mitochondria — and especially the concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS), produced in connection with the respiratory chain — regulates cellular stress responses by redox regulation of nuclear gene networks involved in repair systems to maintain cellular homeostasis and health. Based on our own and other's studies we re‐introduce the ROS triangle model and discuss how inborn errors of mitochondrial metabolism, by production of pathological amounts of ROS, may cause disturbed redox signalling and induce chronic cell stress with non‐resolving or compromised cell repair responses and increased susceptibility to cell stress induced cell death. We suggest that this model may have important implications for those inborn errors of metabolism, where mitochondrial dysfunction plays a major role, as it allows the explanation of oxidative stress, metabolic reprogramming and altered signalling growth pathways that have been reported in many of the diseases. It is our hope that the model may facilitate novel ideas and directions that can be tested experimentally and used in the design of future new approaches for pre‐symptomatic diagnosis and prognosis and perhaps more effective treatments of inborn errors of metabolism.
Identification of quantitative trait loci for yield and yield related traits in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) under different water regimes in Niger and Senegal
Authors: Faye Issa , Pandey Manish K. , Hamidou Falalou , Rathore Abhishek , Ndoye Ousmane , Vadez Vincent , Varshney Rajeev K.
Published: May 2015

Yield under drought stress is a highly complex trait with large influence to even a minor fluctuation in the environmental conditions. Genomics-assisted breeding holds great promise for improving such complex traits more efficiently in less time, but requires markers associated with the trait of interest. In this context, a recombinant inbred line mapping population (TAG 24 × ICGV 86031) was used to identify markers associated with quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for yield and yield related traits at two important locations of West Africa under well watered and water stress conditions. Among the traits analyzed under WS condition, the harvest index (HI) and the haulm yield (HYLD) were positively correlated with the pod yield (PYLD) and showed intermediate broad sense heritability. QTL analysis using phenotyping and genotyping data resulted in identification of 52 QTLs. These QTLs had low phenotypic variance (<12 %) for all the nine traits namely plant height, primary branching, SPAD chlorophyll meter reading, percentage of sound mature kernels, 100 kernel weight, shelling percentage, HI, HYLD and PYLD. Interestingly, few QTLs identified in this study were also overlapped with previously reported QTLs detected for drought tolerance related traits identified earlier in Indian environmental conditions using the same mapping population. Accumulating these many small-effect QTLs into a single genetic background is nearly impossible through marker-assisted backcrossing and even marker-assisted recurrent selection. Under such circumstances, the deployment of genomic selection is the most appropriate approach for improving such complex traits with more precision and in less time.
Cell surface engineering with polyelectrolyte-stabilized magnetic nanoparticles: A facile approach for fabrication of artificial multicellular tissue-mimicking clusters
Authors: Dzamukova Maria R. , Naumenko Ekaterina A. , Rozhina Elvira V. , Trifonov Alexander A. , Fakhrullin Rawil F.
Published: May 2015

Regenerative medicine requires new ways to assemble and manipulate cells for fabrication of tissue-like constructs. Here we report a novel approach for cell surface engineering of human cells using polymer-stabilized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). Cationic polyelectrolyte-coated MNPs are directly deposited onto cellular membranes, producing a mesoporous semi-permeable layer and rendering cells magnetically responsive. Deposition of MNPs can be completed within minutes, under cell-friendly conditions (room temperature and physiologic media). Microscopy (TEM, SEM, AFM, and enhanced dark-field imaging) revealed the intercalation of nanoparticles into the cellular microvilli network. A detailed viability investigation was performed and suggested that MNPs do not inhibit membrane integrity, enzymatic activity, adhesion, proliferation, or cytoskeleton formation, and do not induce apoptosis in either cancer or primary cells. Finally, magnetically functionalized cells were employed to fabricate viable layered planar (two-cell layers) cell sheets and 3D multicellular spheroids.
An Alternate Perspective on the Opening and Closing of the Intracratonic Purana Basins in Peninsular India
Authors: Basu Abhijit , Bickford M. E.
Published: May 2015

Purana basins in India are Proterozoic in age, filled with mostly marine, deltaic, and fluvial sediments, with some alluvial fan deposits in the basin margins. The basin fill is largely undeformed and unmetamorphosed, and the basins occur in many shallow (<5 km), large and small depressions in the Archean-Paleoproterozoic cratons in peninsular India. An understanding of the reasons for the opening and closing of these intracratonic basins is elusive, far more so than that of the better-studied Phanerozoic intracratonic basins in the world. On the basis of meager, but robust new data, published in this century on the Purana basins and their host cratons’ lithostratigraphy, paleomagnetism, seismic images, geochronology, and paleontology, we propose a scenario of their opening and closing related to the assembly and disassembly of the supercontinents Kenorland, Columbia, and Rodinia.

The Marwar and the Bundelkhand cratons occur in the western and northern Indian blocks, respectively. The southern Indian Block consists of the Singhbhum, Bastar, Eastern Dharwar, and Western Dharwar cratons; these had amalgamated by ca. 2.5 Ga, but split and re-amalgamated along the western margin of the Bastar craton ca. 1.6 Ga. These three blocks, and East Antarctica, were assembled ca. 1000 Ma along the Aravalli-Delhi Fold Belt, Central Indian Tectonic Zone, and the Eastern Ghats Mobile Belt, as part of Rodinia.

There are three sets of Purana basins. The oldest set (Papaghni-Chitravati; Kaladgi-Badami; Lower Vindhyan; Gwalior-Bijawar-Sonrai) opened diachronously after 2.0 Ga and closed by 1.55 Ga. Others (Chhattisgarh; Indravati; Khariar; Ampani; Albaka; Mallampalli; Kurnool; Bhima; etc.) opened after the 1.6 Ga amalgamation event in the southern Indian block, and closed shortly after the 1000 Ma collision of East Antarctica with India. In the northern Indian block, the upper Vindhyan basin likely opened after 1.4 Ga. Sedimentation lingered in some of these basins for some time after 1000 Ma but ceased at the latest by 900 Ma. The Marwar basin in the western Indian block opened ca. 750 Ma, after the emplacement of the Malani Igneous Suite, and sedimentation ceased by 520 Ma, before the Cambrian Explosion.

We propose that the three crustal blocks were largely separate between ca. 2.0 and 1.0 Ga but may have collided with and separated from each other from time to time. Minor fracturing in the cratons, entirely within the crust, caused them to have uneven topography. The resulting depressions were filled with sediments as sea level rose; they sagged under the sediment load and as a result of far-field effects of packing and unpacking of large landmasses (Kenorland, Columbia, and Rodinia). Ensuing dynamic topography and sea level fluctuations gave rise to the opening and closing of the Purana basins and their sediment fills.
Mineral Magnetic Characterization of the Godavari River and Western Bay of Bengal Sediments: Implications to Source to Sink Relations
Authors: Kulkarni Y. R. , Sangode S.J. , Bloemendal J. , Meshram D. C. , Suresh N.
Published: May 2015

Godavari Drainage Basin (GDB) represents the largest Peninsular source of sediment flux into the Bay of Bengal. Mineral magnetic measurements are carried out on the GDB sediments along with the surface sediment cores from the adjoining western Bay of Bengal to explore the relationship between the two. The sediments from Godavari river transact shows varied floodplain to bed load composition with the former dominated by unimodal soft ferrimagnetic, Deccan basalt source. Whereas, the bed load show polymodal composition of mixed nature dominated by silici-clastic sediments derived from the Precambrian granites and Proterozoic sequences. The surface sediment cores (~100-300 cm) from the Bengal fan region off the Godavari delta broadly display an increasing trend in ferrimagnetic mineralogy towards top. Based on mineral magnetism the ferri- and para-magnetic susceptibilities are assigned to the basaltic and siliciclastic sources, respectively which also represents the low and high rain fall zones. The increasing upwards trend of the ferrimagnetic minerals in the western Bay of Bengal sediments, therefore, can be related to the predominance of basaltic source over the siliciclastic/cratonic source from the GDB. These controls of magnetic susceptibility in the Bengal fan sediments are assigned to the fluctuation of the two sources as a result of differential weathering in response to monsoonal variability.
In response to ‘Medical Education Research: is participation fair?’
Authors: Van den Broek W. E. Sjoukje , Wouters Roel H. P. , Van Delden J. J. M. Hans
Published: May 2015

None
The N2‐Src neuronal splice variant of C‐Src has altered SH3 domain ligand specificity and a higher constitutive activity than N1‐Src
Authors: Keenan Sarah , Lewis Philip A. , Wetherill Sarah J. , Dunning Christopher J.R. , Evans Gareth J.O.
Published: May 2015

N2‐Src is a poorly understood neuronal splice variant of the ubiquitous C‐Src tyrosine kinase, containing a 17 amino acid insert in its Src homology 3 (SH3) domain. To characterise the properties of N2‐Src we directly compared its SH3 domain specificity and kinase activity with C‐ and N1‐Src in vitro. N2‐ and N1‐Src had a similar low affinity for the phosphorylation of substrates containing canonical C‐Src SH3 ligands and synaptophysin, an established neuronal substrate for C‐Src. N2‐Src also had a higher basal kinase activity than N1‐ and C‐Src in vitro and in cells, which could be explained by weakened intramolecular interactions. Therefore, N2‐Src is a highly active kinase that is likely to phosphorylate alternative substrates to C‐Src in the brain.
The Relationships Between Metacognition, Anticipatory Processing, and Social Anxiety
Authors: Vassilopoulos Stephanos P. , Brouzos Andreas , Moberly Nicholas J.
Published: May 2015

Anticipatory processing (AP) is a repetitive thinking style associated with social anxiety that has been understudied relative to other similar constructs (e.g., rumination, worry). The primary goal of this study was the development and evaluation of the Positive Beliefs about Anticipatory Processing Questionnaire (PB-APQ) with a sample of 301 undergraduate students. Further, it was predicted that anticipatory processing would mediate the relationship between positive beliefs about anticipatory processing and social interaction anxiety. The findings from this study suggest that PB-APQ is a valid and reliable construct. Anticipatory processing was shown to partially mediate the relationship between positive beliefs about anticipatory processing and social interaction anxiety. The results provide initial evidence for the suggestion that individuals who tend to hold positive beliefs about anticipatory processing tend to engage in anticipatory processing, which may increase social interaction anxiety.
A Preliminary Experimental Investigation of Emotion Dysregulation and Impulsivity in Risky Behaviours
Authors: Weiss Nicole H. , Tull Matthew T. , Davis Lindsey T. , Searcy Jasmin , Williams Iman , Gratz Kim L.
Published: May 2015

This prospective experimental study sought to examine the unique effects of emotion dysregulation and impulsivity on risky behaviours over time. To this end, 20 African American women enrolled in a historically Black university in the southern United States were randomly assigned to receive one of two brief empirically supported skills training modules (i.e., emotion modulation [EM] or impulsivity reduction [IR]). Participants completed measures of emotion dysregulation, impulsivity, and past-week risky behaviours before (pre-) and one week after (post-) the experimental manipulation. Participants assigned to the EM condition reported significant improvements from pre- to post-manipulation in overall emotion dysregulation (as well as all specific dimensions of emotion dysregulation other than lack of emotional awareness), as well as two dimensions of impulsivity: negative and positive urgency. Participants assigned to the IR condition reported a significant decrease in one dimension of impulsivity (lack of premeditation) from pre- to post-manipulation. Findings also revealed a significant effect of time on risky behaviours, with participants reporting significantly fewer past-week risky behaviours at the post- (vs. pre-) manipulation assessment. Finally, changes in emotion dysregulation from pre- to post-manipulation accounted for the observed reduction in risky behaviours over time (above and beyond changes in impulsivity dimensions). Results highlight the relevance of emotion dysregulation to risky behaviours and suggest that treatments targeting emotion dysregulation may be useful in reducing risky behaviours.
Designing and evaluating Brain Powered Games for cognitive training and rehabilitation in at-risk African children
Authors: Giordani B. , Novak B. , Sikorskii A. , Bangirana P. , Nakasujja N. , Winn B. M. , Boivin M. J.
Published: May 2015

Background.

Valid, reliable, accessible, and cost-effective computer-training approaches can be important components in scaling up educational support across resource-poor settings, such as sub-Saharan Africa. The goal of the current study was to develop a computer-based training platform, the Michigan State University Games for Entertainment and Learning laboratory's Brain Powered Games (BPG) package that would be suitable for use with at-risk children within a rural Ugandan context and then complete an initial field trial of that package.

Methods.

After game development was completed with the use of local stimuli and sounds to match the context of the games as closely as possible to the rural Ugandan setting, an initial field study was completed with 33 children (mean age = 8.55 ± 2.29 years, range 6–12 years of age) with HIV in rural Uganda. The Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA), CogState computer battery, and the Non-Verbal Index from the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, 2nd edition (KABC-II) were chosen as the outcome measures for pre- and post-intervention testing. The children received approximately 45 min of BPG training several days per week for 2 months (24 sessions).

Results.

Although some improvements in test scores were evident prior to BPG training, following training, children demonstrated clinically significant changes (significant repeated-measures outcomes with moderate to large effect sizes) on specific TOVA and CogState measures reflecting processing speed, attention, visual-motor coordination, maze learning, and problem solving.

Conclusions.

Results provide preliminary support for the acceptability, feasibility, and neurocognitive benefit of BPG and its utility as a model platform for computerized cognitive training in cross-cultural low-resource settings.
Hodgepodge Historiography: Documents, Itineraries, and the Absence of Archives
Authors: White Luise
Published: May 2015

African historians frequently argue that it is almost impossible to research postcolonial history because of the absence or haphazard nature of African archives. I argue that this is not so much an obstacle to writing the history of Africa after 1960s as it is a complement to it: incomplete and chaotic archives and documents scattered around the globe reveal some of the sloppiness of governmentality and how hit-and-miss statecraft has been in the recent past.
Experience as Evidence in Africanist Historiography
Authors: Mann Gregory
Published: May 2015

This paper observes that historians of Africa often rely on experience for evidence, and it asks whether we do so with adequate rigor.
Natural Language Processing for Real-Time Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection Surveillance: Results of a Pilot Implementation Trial
Authors: Branch-Elliman Westyn , Strymish Judith , Kudesia Valmeek , Rosen Amy K. , Gupta Kalpana
Published: May 2015

BACKGROUND

Incidence of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is a quality benchmark. To streamline conventional detection methods, an electronic surveillance system augmented with natural language processing (NLP), which gathers data recorded in clinical notes without manual review, was implemented for real-time surveillance.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the utility of this algorithm for identifying indwelling urinary catheter days and CAUTI.

SETTING

Large, urban tertiary care Veterans Affairs hospital.

METHODS

All patients admitted to the acute care units and the intensive care unit from March 1, 2013, through November 30, 2013, were included. Standard surveillance, which includes electronic and manual data extraction, was compared with the NLP-augmented algorithm.

RESULTS

The NLP-augmented algorithm identified 27% more indwelling urinary catheter days in the acute care units and 28% fewer indwelling urinary catheter days in the intensive care unit. The algorithm flagged 24 CAUTI versus 20 CAUTI by standard surveillance methods; the CAUTI identified were overlapping but not the same. The overall positive predictive value was 54.2%, and overall sensitivity was 65% (90.9% in the acute care units but 33% in the intensive care unit). Dissimilarities in the operating characteristics of the algorithm between types of unit were due to differences in documentation practice. Development and implementation of the algorithm required substantial upfront effort of clinicians and programmers to determine current language patterns.

CONCLUSIONS

The NLP algorithm was most useful for identifying simple clinical variables. Algorithm operating characteristics were specific to local documentation practices. The algorithm did not perform as well as standard surveillance methods.

Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 2015;36(9):1004–1010
Delirious mania intractable to treatment
Authors: O’Callaghan N. , McDonald C. , Hallahan B.
Published: May 2015

We present the case of a 68-year-old lady with a background diagnosis of bipolar disorder, who developed significant episodes of intractable delirium during each of her last three inpatient psychiatric admissions, where she was admitted with mania and psychosis. The case demonstrates diagnostic and management difficulties secondary to this delirium. We discuss the probable cause of this delirium and the various management strategies utilised in an effort to ameliorate her condition.
Simulating regional climate-adaptive field cropping with fuzzy logic management rules and genetic advance
Authors: PARKER P. , INGWERSEN J. , HÖGY P. , PRIESACK E. , AURBACHER J.
Published: May 2015

Agriculture is a largely technical endeavour involving complicated managerial decision-making that affects crop performance. Farm-level modelling integrates crop models with agent behaviour to account for farmer decision-making and complete the representation of agricultural systems. To replicate an important part of agriculture in Central Europe a crop model was calibrated for a unique region's predominant crops: winter wheat, winter and spring barley, silage maize and winter rapeseed. Their cultivation was then simulated over multiple decades at daily resolution to test validity and stability, while adding the dimension of agent behaviour in relation to environmental and economic conditions. After validation against regional statistics, simulated future weather scenarios were used to forecast crop management and performance under anticipated global change. Farm management and crop genetics were treated as adaptive variables in the milieu of shifting climatic conditions to allow projections of agriculture in the study region into the coming decades.
Aortic dilatation in patients with Turner’s syndrome without structural cardiac anomaly
Authors: Alami Laroussi Nassiba , Dahdah Nagib , Dallaire Frédéric , Thérien Johanne , Fournier Anne
Published: May 2015

Introduction

Dilatation of the ascending aorta is described in Turner’s syndrome with variable prevalence (6.8–32%). Reported series typically include patients with associated cardiac anomalies.

Objective

To characterise the prevalence, age of onset, and the progress of dilatation of the ascending aorta in Turner’s syndrome patients free of structural cardiac anomalies. Potential risk factors such as karyotype and growth hormone therapy were analysed for correlation with aortic dilatation.

Methods

We carried out a retrospective study with data collected from medical records and echocardiography studies. Patients with Tuner’s syndrome followed-up between 1992 and 2010 with at least two echocardiography studies were eligible. Patients with previous cardiac surgery or under anti-hypertensive medication were excluded. Ascending aorta diameter measurements were adjusted for body surface area, and dilatation was defined as Z-score>2.

Results

The study population consisted of 44 patients, aged 11.9±7.4 years at the first echocardiogram and 17.9±7.3 years at the last follow-up, with a follow-up duration of 6.0±3.7 years. A total of 13 (29.5%) patients exhibited aortic dilatation during follow-up, suggesting an actuarial estimate of the freedom from aortic dilatation dropping from 86 to 70% and then to 37% at 10, 20, and 30 years of age, respectively. There was no statistically significant impact of karyotype or growth hormone therapy on aortic Z-score progression.

Conclusion

The prevalence of dilatation of the ascending aorta in Turner’s syndrome patients free of structural aortic anomalies is comparable with published data with associated lesions. Growth hormone therapy and karyotype had no significant impact; however, longitudinal follow-up is warranted.
AESTHETIC DESIRE AND IMPERIALIST DISAPPOINTMENT IN TROLLOPE’STHE BERTRAMSAND THE MURRAYHANDBOOK FOR TRAVELLERS IN SYRIA AND PALESTINE
Authors: Kelly Kristine
Published: May 2015

In the preface to publisherJohn Murray's 1858 two-volumeHandbook for Travellers in Syria and Palestine, one of the first guidebooks specifically for British tourists to the Holy Land, author J. L. Porter claims that his objective is not just to provide a geographical summary or to outline travelers’ routes, but, more importantly, to link his descriptions with the “sacred dramas” of the Bible so that the tourist “may see with his ‘mind's eye’ each scene played over and over again” (xi). In such a spirit, this Murray guidebook tells both the well-known stories of the Bible and the more mundane particulars of finding interesting places and dealing with local middle-eastern people. TheHandbookweaves together traditions of pilgrimage, the journey to a spiritual center, with tourism. In other words, it seeks to balance the pilgrim's desire for divine revelation with the tourist's interest in physical comfort and gentle visual stimulation. It incongruously pairs a conviction of the value of Christian self-sacrifice and hardship with a desire for bourgeois leisure. With a sly humility, Porter notes in his Preface: “The Bible is the best Handbook for Palestine; the present work is only intended to be a companion to it” (xi). As second to the Bible, this travel guide aspired to bring the English traveler's spiritual journey to the Holy Land into harmony with the secular pleasure of sightseeing.
IMPERIAL, ANGLOPHONE, GEOPOLITICAL, WORLDLY: EVALUATING THE “GLOBAL” IN VICTORIAN STUDIES
Authors: Agathocleous Tanya
Published: May 2015

In the last decade or so, Victorian studies – the only major literary field identified with a British ruler – has begun a slow but inexorable shift away from its traditional nation-based parameters. A cursory glance through the book review section of prominent Victorianist journals reveals that approximately half of new books reviewed treat subjects that extend beyond Britain and British literature: Ireland, India, slavery, settler literature, Continental literature, and global technological and media networks are all examples. While this development reflects broader trends in the discipline, in the humanities, and in public discourse as a whole, arguments about the desirability of expanding the scope of Victorian studies have turned largely on the particular inaptness of the national frame for the Victorian period. Since the 1980s, postcolonial critics such as Edward Said, Gayatri Spivak, and Gauri Viswanathan have argued for the significance of Britain's vast empire to its literature and the very existence of a British literary canon, as well as to literature produced in the colonies. More recently, Victorianists such as Margaret Cohen and Carolyn Dever, Amanda Claybaugh, Caroline Levine, Sharon Marcus, and Julia Sun-Joo Lee have stressed other transnational contexts for Victorian literature, noting that Victorian writers themselves were polylingual and comparative in their understanding of both literature and culture and that “even in its heyday, print culture was international and the nation was a relative, hybrid, comparative category” (Marcus 682).
Trends in overweight and obesity prevalence in Tuscan schoolchildren (2002–2012)
Authors: Lazzeri Giacomo , Panatto Donatella , Pammolli Andrea , Azzolini Elena , Simi Rita , Meoni Veronica , Giacchi Mariano V , Amicizia Daniela , Gasparini Roberto
Published: May 2015

Objective

The aim of the present study was to examine the prevalence and time trends in childhood overweight including obesity and obesity among Tuscan children from 2002 to 2012.

Design

Cross-sectional study at five time points (Tuscan Nutritional Surveillance Surveys conducted in the years of 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012). Trained personnel directly measured the height and weight of the subjects. BMI was assessed by means of the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) and WHO cut-offs.

Setting

Representative sample of children in the Tuscany region (Italy).

Subjects

Children (n7183) aged between 7·5 and 9·5 years (3711 boys and 3472 girls).

Results

With respect to the estimation of the absolute prevalence level of childhood overweight, a discrepancy was observed between the two criteria. In all surveys, more boys than girls were overweight (including obesity). Trend analysis showed a significant decrease in the prevalence of overweight including obesity and obesity in Tuscan children from 2002 to 2012 (32·0 %v. 25·8 %,P<0·001 on using IOTF criteria and 37·7 %v. 34·3 %,P<0·001 on using WHO criteria for overweight including obesity; and 10·0 %v. 6·7 %,P<0·001 on using IOTF criteria and 12·5 %v. 11·3 %,P=0·035 on using WHO criteria for obesity).

Conclusions

The present study is the first report from an Italian region showing a significant decrease in childhood obesity and overweight in the last 10 years. This reduction is probably a result of regional and local actions that have taken place in many sectors of society. However, efforts should be made to lower the prevalence of childhood obesity and overweight further.
Lawyers, Gender, and Money: Consensus, Closure, and Conflict in the Global Financial Crisis
Authors: Widmaier Wesley
Published: May 2015

How did the interplay of intellectual overconfidence, gender, and professional socialization limit economic policy debate over the subprime boom and global financial crisis? In this article, I integrate historical institutionalist and feminist institutionalist insights to make sense of the interplay of gender and professional socialization in limiting the scope for precrisis regulation and postcrisis reform. First, drawing on historical institutionalist perspectives, I highlight the scope for inefficiency in the use of information, arguing that policy success over time can engender tendencies to misplace confidence and intellectual closure. Secondly, drawing on feminist institutionalist perspectives, I stress the role of professional and gender socialization in enabling agents to resist such inefficiencies and so limit the scope for intellectual closure. In empirical terms, I then advance three case studies addressing the roles of Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Brooksley Born, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chair Sheila Bair, and Troubled Asset Relief Program Congressional Oversight Panel Chair Elizabeth Warren in challenging the precrisis deregulatory consensus. In the conclusion, I address theoretical and policy implications, stressing the social dynamics that may spur women toward increased professional and intellectual risk taking.
Gender Quotas and Ethnic Minority Representation: Swedish Evidence from a Longitudinal Mixed Methods Study
Authors: Folke Olle , Freidenvall Lenita , Rickne Johanna
Published: May 2015

In this paper, we study the ways in which affirmative action for one political minority, gender quotas, impact on intersectional representation. In a quantitative analysis of detailed panel data from 285 Swedish municipal assemblies, the numerical impact of a zipper placement mandate in Sweden's largest political party, the Social Democratic Party, is analyzed. No evidence that this quota helped, or hindered, the intersectional representation of men or women is found in the short run, but it is found that a weak numerical impact may exist in the long run. A qualitative analysis of party records and interviews with key actors sheds further light on these results. Differences in the norms of representation for women and polyethnic minorities, coupled with weak organizational and practical constraints for formulating policies for the latter, appear to be likely explanations.
Meta-omics uncover temporal regulation of pathways across oral microbiome genera during in vitro sugar metabolism
Authors: Edlund Anna , Yang Youngik , Yooseph Shibu , Hall Adam P , Nguyen Don D , Dorrestein Pieter C , Nelson Karen E , He Xuesong , Lux Renate , Shi Wenyuan , McLean Jeffrey S
Published: May 2015

Dental caries, one of the most globally widespread infectious diseases, is intimately linked to pH dynamics. In supragingival plaque, after the addition of a carbohydrate source, bacterial metabolism decreases the pH which then subsequently recovers. Molecular mechanisms supporting this important homeostasis are poorly characterized in part due to the fact that there are hundreds of active species in dental plaque. Only a few mechanisms (for example, lactate fermentation, the arginine deiminase system) have been identified and studied in detail. Here, we conducted what is to our knowledge, the first full transcriptome and metabolome analysis of a diverse oral plaque community by using a functionally and taxonomically robust in vitro model system greater than 100 species. Differential gene expression analyses from the complete transcriptome of 14 key community members revealed highly varied regulation of both known and previously unassociated pH-neutralizing pathways as a response to the pH drop. Unique expression and metabolite signatures from 400 detected metabolites were found for each stage along the pH curve suggesting it may be possible to define healthy and diseased states of activity. Importantly, for the maintenance of healthy plaque pH, gene transcription activity of known and previously unrecognized pH-neutralizing pathways was associated with the genera Lactobacillus, Veillonella and Streptococcus during the pH recovery phase. Our in vitro study provides a baseline for defining healthy and disease-like states and highlights the power of moving beyond single and dual species applications to capture key players and their orchestrated metabolic activities within a complex human oral microbiome model.
Characterization of functional methylomes by next-generation capture sequencing identifies novel disease-associated variants
Authors: Allum Fiona , Shao Xiaojian , Guénard Frédéric , Simon Marie-Michelle , Busche Stephan , Caron Maxime , Lambourne John , Lessard Julie , Tandre Karolina , Hedman Åsa K. , Kwan Tony , Ge Bing ,   The Multiple Tissue Human Expression Resource Consortium, Ahmadi Kourosh R. , Ainali Chrysanthi , Barrett Amy , Bataille Veronique , Bell Jordana T. , Buil Alfonso , Dermitzakis Emmanouil T. , Dimas Antigone S. , Durbin Richard , Glass Daniel , Hassanali Neelam , Ingle Catherine , Knowles David , Krestyaninova Maria , Lindgren Cecilia M. , Lowe Christopher E. , Meduri Eshwar , di Meglio Paola , Min Josine L. , Montgomery Stephen B. , Nestle Frank O. , Nica Alexandra C. , Nisbet James , O'Rahilly Stephen , Parts Leopold , Potter Simon , Sandling Johanna , Sekowska Magdalena , Shin So-Youn , Small Kerrin S. , Soranzo Nicole , Surdulescu Gabriela , Travers Mary E. , Tsaprouni Loukia , Tsoka Sophia , Wilk Alicja , Yang Tsun-Po , Zondervan Krina T. , Rönnblom Lars , McCarthy Mark I. , Deloukas Panos , Richmond Todd , Burgess Daniel , Spector Timothy D. , Tchernof André , Marceau Simon , Lathrop Mark , Vohl Marie-Claude , Pastinen Tomi , Grundberg Elin
Published: May 2015

Most genome-wide methylation studies (EWAS) of multifactorial disease traits use targeted arrays or enrichment methodologies preferentially covering CpG-dense regions, to characterize sufficiently large samples. To overcome this limitation, we present here a new customizable, cost-effective approach, methylC-capture sequencing (MCC-Seq), for sequencing functional methylomes, while simultaneously providing genetic variation information. To illustrate MCC-Seq, we use whole-genome bisulfite sequencing on adipose tissue (AT) samples and public databases to design AT-specific panels. We establish its efficiency for high-density interrogation of methylome variability by systematic comparisons with other approaches and demonstrate its applicability by identifying novel methylation variation within enhancers strongly correlated to plasma triglyceride and HDL-cholesterol, including at CD36. Our more comprehensive AT panel assesses tissue methylation and genotypes in parallel at ∼4 and ∼3 M sites, respectively. Our study demonstrates that MCC-Seq provides comparable accuracy to alternative approaches but enables more efficient cataloguing of functional and disease-relevant epigenetic and genetic variants for large-scale EWAS.
Targeted mutagenesis in soybean using the CRISPR-Cas9 system
Authors: Sun Xianjun , Hu Zheng , Chen Rui , Jiang Qiyang , Song Guohua , Zhang Hui , Xi Yajun
Published: May 2015

Genome editing is a valuable technique for gene function analysis and crop improvement. Over the past two years, the CRISPR-Cas9 system has emerged as a powerful tool for precisely targeted gene editing. In this study, we predicted 11 U6 genes in soybean (Glycine max L.). We then constructed two vectors (pCas9-GmU6-sgRNA and pCas9-AtU6-sgRNA) using the soybean U6-10 and Arabidopsis U6-26 promoters, respectively, to produce synthetic guide RNAs (sgRNAs) for targeted gene mutagenesis. Three genes, Glyma06g14180, Glyma08g02290 and Glyma12g37050, were selected as targets. Mutations of these three genes were detected in soybean protoplasts. The vectors were then transformed into soybean hairy roots by Agrobacterium rhizogenes infection, resulting in efficient target gene editing. Mutation efficiencies ranged from 3.2–9.7% using the pCas9-AtU6-sgRNA vector and 14.7–20.2% with the pCas9-GmU6-sgRNA vector. Biallelic mutations in Glyma06g14180 and Glyma08g02290 were detected in transgenic hairy roots. Off-target activities associated with Glyma06g14180 and Glyma12g37050 were also detected. Off-target activity would improve mutation efficiency for the construction of a saturated gene mutation library in soybean. Targeted mutagenesis using the CRISPR-Cas9 system should advance soybean functional genomic research, especially that of genes involved in the roots and nodules.