bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cultural differences in the understanding of modelling and feedback as sources of self‐efficacy information
Authors: Ahn Hyun Seon , Usher Ellen L. , Butz Amanda , Bong Mimi
Published: September 2015

Background

The potential role of culture in the development and operation of self‐efficacy has been acknowledged by researchers. Clearer understanding of this cultural impact will benefit from research that shows how the same efficacy information is evaluated across cultures.

Aims

We tested whether two sources of self‐efficacy information delivered by multiple social agents (i.e., vicarious experience and social persuasion) were weighed differently by adolescents in different cultures.

Sample

Of 2,893 middle school students in Korea (n = 416), the Philippines (n = 522), and the United States (n = 1,955) who completed the survey, 400 students were randomly pooled from each country.

Methods

Invariance of the measurement and of the latent means for self‐efficacy and self‐efficacy sources across the groups was tested by multigroup confirmatory factor analysis. Predictive utility of the self‐efficacy sources was compared by multigroup structural equation modelling.

Results

Compared to the students in the two collectivistic countries, the US students reported significantly higher mathematics self‐efficacy. Whereas the efficacy beliefs of the Korean and the US students were predicted equally well by the vicarious experience from their teachers and the social persuasion by their family and peers, those of the Filipino adolescents were best predicted by the social persuasion from their peers.

Conclusions

This study provided empirical evidence that socially conveyed sources of self‐efficacy information are construed and evaluated differently across cultures, depending on who delivered the efficacy‐relevant information.
Peruvian Infotainment: From Fujimori's Media Dictatorship to Democracy's Satire
Authors: ALONSO PAUL
Published: September 2015

This article explores how Peruvian sensational and spectacular media served the authoritarian discourse of Alberto Fujimori's government (1990–2000), and howTVinfotainment evolved under democracy after 2000. Through interviews with producers and hosts of theTVshows and by reviewing specific episodes and media events, this article analyses five of the most representative Peruvian infotainmentTVshows of the last two decades in Peru. Building upon a theory on media spectacle, infotainment and tabloidisation, this research shows how an increasing process of media hybridity–the blending of journalism, entertainment, politics, and popular culture–has challenged traditional notions of journalism and has become a prevalent strategy of new political communication forms in Peru, connecting with the global trend towards political infotainment in the media.
Pseudohypoparathyroidism – epidemiology, mortality and risk of complications
Authors: Underbjerg Line , Sikjaer Tanja , Mosekilde Leif , Rejnmark Lars
Published: September 2015

Objective

Pseudohypoparathyroidism (PHP) is caused by a mutation within the GNAS gene or upstream of the GNAS complex locus. It is characterized by target organ resistance to PTH, resulting in hypocalcaemia and hyperphosphataemia. Studies in patients with PHP are limited. We sought to identify all patients in Denmark with PHP and access their mortality data and risk of complications.

Design

Patients were identified through the Danish National Patient Registry and a prescription database, with subsequent validation by investigation of patient charts.

Methods

For each case, three age‐ (±2 years) and gender‐matched controls were randomly selected from the general background population. We identified a total of 60 cases, equal to a prevalence of 1·1/100 000 inhabitants. The average age at diagnosis was 13 years (range 1–62 years), and 42 were women. Only 14 patients had an identified mutation in the GNAS1 gene.

Results

Compared with controls, patients with PHP had an increased risk of neuropsychiatric disorders (P < 0·01), infections (P < 0·01), seizures (P < 0·01) and cataract (P < 0·01), whereas their risk of renal, cardiovascular, malignant disorders and fractures was compatible with the general background population. The same tendencies were found in a subgroup analysis in cases with genetically verified PHP.

Conclusion

Patients with PHP have an increased risk of neuropsychiatric disorders, infections, cataract and seizures, whereas mortality among PHP patients is compatible with that in the background population.
Serum vascular endothelial growth factor B is elevated in women with polycystic ovary syndrome and can be decreased with metformin treatment
Authors: Cheng Feifei , Zhao Lu , Wu Yuanyuan , Huang Tiantian , Yang Gangyi , Zhang Zhanyu , Wu Yijia , Jia Fang , Wu Jinlin , Chen Chen , Liu Dongfang
Published: September 2015

Objective

To determine serum vascular endothelial growth factor B (VEGF‐B) levels in polycystic ovary syndrome, their association with insulin resistance and β‐cell dysfunction, and the effect of metformin on serum VEGF‐B levels.

Design

A cross‐sectional, interventional study.

Patients

We recruited 103 women with polycystic ovary syndrome and 96 age‐matched healthy controls. Serum VEGF‐B levels were determined in all participants, and 44 polycystic ovary syndrome patients randomly received metformin.

Measurements

We measured VEGF‐B levels in healthy controls and women with polycystic ovary syndrome before and after metformin treatment.

Results

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome had higher serum VEGF‐B levels, which decreased with metformin treatment. In the lean and overweight/obese groups, patients with polycystic ovary syndrome had higher plasma VEGF‐B levels than did healthy controls (P < 0·05). VEGF‐B levels were correlated with body mass index, body fat percentage, M values, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance and β‐cell function indices. A multiple linear regression analysis showed that VEGF‐B level was associated with M values after adjusting for age, body mass index, serum sex hormones and serum lipids in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Conclusions

Serum VEGF‐B is significantly higher in women with polycystic ovary syndrome and is closely and positively related to insulin resistance. Metformin treatment reduces VEGF‐B levels and ameliorates insulin resistance.
How Can China Avoid the Middle Income Trap?
Authors: Yao Zhizhong
Published: September 2015

Many middle income economies have been unable to advance to become high income economies over a period of 50 years or longer, not due to the existence of middle income traps, but because of the overly broad income range in the definition of middle income economies. The middle income trap is, in essence, a growth trap, and refers to the situation in which a middle income economy experiences growth stagnation or a growth rate that is lower than that of high income economies. Nonetheless, it is hard to fully comprehend the formation of the trap solely based on growth theories. Historical data indicate that the middle income economies do not lack growth potential, and the real problem is that although their long‐term average growth rates are higher than those of the high income economies, their average growth rates over a business cycle or an even longer period of time often fall below those of the high income economies. The cause of this phenomenon is neither short‐term macroeconomic fluctuations nor long‐term growth potential, but the frequent occurrence of financial crises in middle income economies. As a middle income economy, China is also facing the risk of a financial crisis, and the key to avoiding the middle income trap is to guard against future financial crises, preventing unsound financial liberalization and mismanagement of the corporate debt ratio.
Inflammatory focal bone destruction in femoral heads with end‐stage haemophilic arthropathy: a study on clinic samples with micro‐CT and histological analyses
Authors: Zhang S. , Lu C. , Ying J. , Wang P. , Xu T. , Chen D. , Jin H. , Tong P.
Published: September 2015

Introduction

Focal bone destruction has a high prevalence in haemophilic arthropathy (HA) affected joints, but the mechanism remains unclear.

Aim

We undertook this study on clinic samples to explore the focal bone destruction in femoral heads suffered with end‐stage HA.

Methods

Twenty‐one femoral heads from HA patients and 19 femoral heads from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients were scanned by micro‐CT. Histological analysis, including TRAP staining of subchondral bone were performed to evaluate the bone destruction and osteoclasts activity. RANKL, OPG as well as pro‐inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF‐α and IL‐1β in subchondral bone were detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC) method.

Results

Severe focal lesion was observed in all the HA and RA femoral heads by micro‐CT imaging and histological analysis. The mean percentage of lesion volume to total volume of the femoral heads from HA patients was significantly higher than those from RA patients. There was no significant difference in osteoclasts numbers in subchondral bone between HA and RA groups. By IHC analysis, high expression of RANKL, TNF‐α, IL‐1β and low expression of OPG and RANK were observed in subchondral bone, and there were no significant differences in the expression of RANKL, OPG, RANK, TNF‐α and IL‐1β in femoral heads derived from HA and RA patients.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrated the focal bone destruction coupled with inflammatory osteoclastogenesis at subchondral bone in femoral heads from patients with end‐stage HA, and that was similar to the changes in the femoral heads of RA patients.
Cuba's Cold War Foreign Policy in the Middle East: From Agitator to Mediator
Authors: Grantham David
Published: September 2015

Cuba's Cold War policy in the Middle East embodies the Third World undercurrents that played an important role in shaping the international order beyond the U.S.–Soviet binary. Castro believed that his revolution would inspire a coalition of developing nations from among the Arab World bound together by past experiences of imperialism. The experiment, however, was far less glorious. Contradiction and complication plagued Cuba's Cold War policies in the Middle East. Castro, inspired by the ideals of nationalism yet handicapped by Soviet dependency, enacted rather convoluted, seemingly hypocritical foreign policies in the Middle East. Broader still, Castro's inability to secure cooperation with the Arab World during the Cold War exemplified the fractionalization that plagued Third World relations. The failures in Cuba's Middle East relations reflected the failure of unity that contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Empire and ultimately the Cold War.
Soul Mates and Collaborators: Spiritual Direction in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe
Authors: Hillman Jennifer
Published: September 2015

The 15th century is often regarded by scholars as a turning point in the history of spiritual direction, marking the beginning of a “Golden Age,” which lasted well into the 18th century. The “confessor‐spiritual director” emerged as one who fulfilled the role of spiritual counsellor as well as granting the forgiveness of sins after confession. Over the past two decades, historians have become increasingly interested in the dynamics of the relationships between confessors and their penitents, both inside and outside of the cloister. Scholars of both late medieval and early modern Europe have traced the ties that these spiritual relationships could create between the sexes, particularly where male clerics directed the souls of holy women (lay and religious). Within the scholarship, a new attentiveness to the complexities of these encounters has challenged the traditional conception of male–female, confessor‐penitent relationships as repressive and controlling. This article seeks to explore this recent shift in the historiography, before offering some new perspectives on future directions the field may take.
Political Violence in Colombia: Dirty Wars Since 1977
Authors: Sherman John W.
Published: September 2015

Infamous for its political violence, Colombia has weathered a distinctive period of turmoil from roughly 1977 to 2005. This wave of political violence, defined by guerrilla and paramilitary strife, is already being studied by a range of interdisciplinary scholars and non‐academics, especially within Colombia. Their work provides a welcoming base for an increased engagement by historians. This article introduces the topic of political violence in Colombia in the late 20th century, along with the broad nature of publications already in place, while providing a narrative framework that makes the topic accessible to undergraduate students and relative newcomers.
New Paths of the History of Justice and Security Institutions in Latin America
Authors: Barreneche Osvaldo , Casagrande Agustín
Published: September 2015

In the research carried out in Latin America, the history of justice, on the one hand, and the history of security or law enforcement institutions, on the other, often failed to find common grounds in terms of focus, approach, problems, methodologies and even historical periods around which they mostly centered. After several years each current's searching and making contributions on its own, today, a new coincidence takes place within the sphere of Latin American political history, as renewed in turn by recent contributions, which finds in the 19th century the right spot for thematic crossovers. This article focuses around this specific aspect of the field: surveying the thematic contributions and convergence which, within the historiography, signalize a new meeting point. We would like to argue that it is precisely from here that thematic and research lines are developed and that we will witness the next contributions arise from them.
Design and Implementation of Continuous Monitoring and Auditing in SAP Enterprise Resource Planning
Authors: Singh Kishore , Best Peter J.
Published: September 2015

The need for continuous monitoring (CM) is increasing. Collapses of multinational organizations have imposed strict regulatory and legislative requirements on organizations. This study develops an automated system and uses a large sample of accounts payable transaction data to simulate an implementation of continuous monitoring. The value of the system lies in its ability to translate business rules into configurable controls that evaluate transactions against expected results. The study demonstrates an application of continuous monitoring and the use of contextual meta‐data to perform rich audit analyses. Several anomalies reported by the CM system were not detected by the organization's internal auditors when they conducted their examination of the same data using conventional procedures. Such a system may potentially bring greater insights and transparency for continuous monitoring, assurance and organizational performance.
A medication review and deprescribing method for hospitalised older patients receiving multiple medications
Authors: McKean M. , Pillans P. , Scott I. A.
Published: September 2015

Background

Prescribing of multiple medications in older patients poses risk of adverse drug events.

Aim

To determine whether a structured approach to deprescribing – identifying and discontinuing unnecessary medications – in the inpatient setting is feasible and reduces medication burden.

Methods

Prospective pilot study of a convenience sample of patients aged ≥65 years admitted acutely to general medicine units in a tertiary hospital and receiving eight or more regular medications on presentation. The intervention comprised an education programme and a paper‐based or computerised proforma listing clinical and medication data linked with a five‐step decision support tool for selecting drugs eligible for discontinuation, which were then ceased or were being weaned by the time of discharge.

Results

Among 50 patients of median age 82.5 years and six co‐morbidities, 186 of 542 (34.3%) regular medications were discontinued, representing a significant decrease in the median (interquartile range) number of medications per patient at discharge compared with presentation (7 (5–9) vs 10 (9–12), P < 0.001). Medication lists were reduced by at least two medications in 84% of patients, and by four or more in 50%. Statins, gastric acid suppressive agents, angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor antagonists and inhaled bronchodilators were the most frequently ceased medications. Of 39 patients in whom follow‐up status at a median of 78 days was ascertained, only 5 of 413 (1.2%) ceased medications were recommenced among three patients because of symptom relapse.

Conclusion

A standardised method of medication review and deprescribing may significantly reduce medication burden in a cohort of older hospitalised patients.
Phytogeography of New Guinean orchids: patterns of species richness and turnover
Authors: Vollering Julien , Schuiteman André , de Vogel Ed , van Vugt Rogier , Raes Niels
Published: September 2015

Aim

The aims of this study were (1) to assess the spatial distribution of orchid species richness in New Guinea, and (2) to examine patterns of species turnover in the orchid community through phytogeographical regionalization. We aimed to achieve these goals using botanical collection records, species distribution models (SDMs) and partitioning around medoids (PAM) clustering.

Location

New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and surrounding islands.

Methods

We combined 6760 collection records of 532 orchid species with 16 uncorrelated environmental predictor variables, to model species distributions at 5 arc‐min resolution, using the presence‐only modelling algorithm, Maxent. All SDMs were tested for significant deviation from random expectation using bias‐corrected null models. The results from significant SDMs were stacked to create a map of orchid species richness. The same significant SDMs were used to derive phytogeographical regions through a PAM cluster analysis.

Results

Of the 532 modelled species distributions, 283 showed significantly stronger correlation with environmental conditions than expected by chance alone. It is inferred that the central mountain ranges of eastern New Guinea, including part of the Papuan Peninsula, harbour the highest levels of orchid species richness. The study area was divided into eight phytogeographical regions that maximized internal community similarity among orchids. Two of these regions are found almost exclusively in western New Guinea, while the remainder are more evenly distributed.

Main conclusions

Our study provides an objective assessment of the distribution of relative orchid species richness in New Guinea. The eight derived phytogeographical regions are largely consistent with existing knowledge of the island's internal biogeography. These findings give insight into one of the global hotspots of orchid diversity, and improve our understanding of the phytogeography of New Guinea.
Formulation and Evaluation of Coating Content and Their Distribution on Chips Products by Automated Inspection Using Fuzzy‐Based Image Processing
Authors: Abu‐Ghoush M. , Samhouri M. , Al‐Holy M. , Abashir A. , Abdelhafez E.
Published: September 2015

This study proposed a method to develop an intelligent system using an adaptive neuro‐fuzzy inference system (ANFIS)‐based image processing which predicts the flavor distribution of the chips ring. This study was divided into three stages and different variables in each stage to obtain the best combination. These variables were the number of nozzles employed (one, two and three nozzles), flavor solution temperature (4, 50 and 60C) and the flavor spraying air flow rate (2.5, 3.0 and 3.5 psi). The results showed that the chips rings produced by the combinations of the three nozzles, 50C and with different air flowing rates exhibited significantly higher color distribution, flavor and overall acceptance compared with all other treatments (P < 0.05). These results were supported by the flavor distribution images that were taken for each combination. The ANFIS predicted the experimental results with 100% accuracy. ANFIS processing indicated that the best treatment was the one that was produced by using three nozzles for spraying the flavor under 50C with 2.5 psi air flow rate.

Practical Applications

This system was developed by using an adaptive neuro‐fuzzy inference system (ANFIS)‐ based image processing to rapidly predict the flavor distribution of the chips ring for accepting or rejecting defects.
Flow Characterization of Ambiently and Cryogenically Ground Black Pepper (Piper nigrum) Powder as a Function of Varying Moisture Content
Authors: Meghwal Murlidhar , Goswami Tridib Kumar
Published: September 2015

The knowledge about flow properties of powders is important in case of developing powder processes and handling procedures, packaging practices and transporting the processed powders. Major flow‐characterizing parameters such as angle of slide, apparent and tapped volume, poured and compacted densities, Hausner ratio, Carr index, compressibility index, different angle of repose and particle size distribution for black pepper powder (BPP) under ambient and cryogenic grinding conditions for different moisture contents (MC) were studied. Angle of slide was found to increase from 39° to 51° with increasing MC. Bulk density of porous and compacted BPP was found to decrease with increasing MC. The powder porosity was found to increase with increasing MC (25.9–27.4% for ambient grinding and 23.2–25.8% for cryogenic grinding). Hausner ratio and Carr index were higher in case of ambiently ground BPP as compared with cryogenically ground BPP. Static angle of repose was found to be higher for ambiently ground powder than for cryogenically ground powder, and showed an increasing trend in both the cases of ambient (65.85–70.25°) and cryogenic grinding (62.78–69.34°) with increasing MC. The flow characteristics of BPP as a function of MC may aid in better selection/design of appropriate handling, transportation, packaging and processing practices for BPP.

Practical Applications

The flow properties of ambiently and cryogenically ground black pepper powder will be useful to have control over processing parameters and will lead to improved quality and output of the black pepper powder. The study on flow properties of black pepper powder facilitates the reliable information for design of equipments for handling, processing, packaging and transportation of ground powder spices, which will in turn be economically helpful for powder‐processing industries. Powder sticking on the surface of processing equipments and agglomeration of powder particles creates problem in processing and also leads to loss of economy. Such type of difficulties can be handled with the help of present studies.
Examining the psychometric properties of the brief ‘Menopausal Symptoms Distress Affecting Sleep Quality Scale’
Authors: Hsu Hsiu‐Chin , Lin Mei‐Hsiang , Shih Whei‐Mei , Tsao Lee‐Ing
Published: September 2015

Aims and objectives

To examine the psychometric properties of the Menopausal Symptoms Distress Affecting Sleep Quality Scale.

Background

Sleep disturbances are an extensive and common problem among menopausal women. However, no unique and specific scale has yet been developed to detect the inductive symptoms distresses that cause poor sleep quality for menopausal women.

Design

A cross‐sectional design.

Methods

The Menopausal Symptoms Distress Affecting Sleep Quality Scale was based on in‐depth interviews with menopausal women and literature review. Convenience sampling was employed. One hundred and fifty three women participated in this study. Exploratory factor analysis, concurrent validity and contrasting group validity were used to examine the validity of the Menopausal Symptoms Distress Affecting Sleep Quality Scale. Cronbach's α was conducted to test the reliability. The accuracy of the scale was analysed with the receiver operating characteristic from med calc version 10.4.8.0 software. The scale's sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value were analysed to locate the best cut‐off point.

Results

One factor was generated by Exploratory factor analysis, and this factor explained 49·07% of total variance. In addition, the Menopausal Symptoms Distress Affecting Sleep Quality Scale had significant positive correlations with the Greene Climacteric Scale and the self‐evaluation of menopausal symptoms scale. Cronbach's α of the Menopausal Symptoms Distress Affecting Sleep Quality Scale was 0·89. Moreover, the diagnostic accuracy probability of the scale's receiver operating characteristic curve was 0·85. The best cut‐off point was three with a sensitivity of 76% and a specificity of 87%.

Conclusions

The Menopausal Symptoms Distress Affecting Sleep Quality Scale had good reliability and validity, as well as refined indicators for assessing the tool's accuracy.

Relevance to clinical Practice

The Menopausal Symptoms Distress Affecting Sleep Quality Scale is easy to use, can quickly detect the sleep conditions of menopausal women who suffer from menopausal symptom distress, and provide efficient nursing interventions to relieve menopausal symptom distresses, and then improve sleep quality.
Strategic Investment under Open Access: Theory and Evidence
Authors: Klumpp Tilman , Su Xuejuan
Published: September 2015

We examine the incentives of access‐regulated firms to invest in infrastructure facilities they must share with competitors. We show that investment incentives can be decomposed into a non‐strategic and a strategic part. The non‐strategic part implies that investment depends positively on market size. The strategic incentives imply that investment also depends on market composition, namely, the market shares of the facility owner and its competitors. Using a dataset of regulated electric utilities in the United States, we find evidence that transmission investments are indeed made strategically. Ceteris paribus, utilities are less likely to invest, and investment levels are lower, when competitors occupy a larger share of the market.
THE NATURE AND ORIGIN OF AUTHIGENIC CHLORITE AND RELATED CEMENTS IN OLIGO–MIOCENE RESERVOIR SANDSTONES, TAPTI GAS FIELDS, SURAT DEPRESSION, OFFSHORE WESTERN INDIA
Authors: Huggett J. M. , Burley S.D. , Longstaffe F. J. , Saha S. , Oates M. J.
Published: September 2015

Reservoir sandstones in the Mid‐ and South Tapti gas fields in the Surat Depression (Mumbai Offshore Basin, western India) have been investigated using a range of petrographic techniques, isotope geochemistry and basin modelling. Authigenic chlorite is abundant in the shallow‐marine sandstones of the Miocene Mahim Formation, a major reservoir rock in the Mid‐ and South Tapti fields, which are described here in terms of their quality and diagenetic characteristics. The sandstones are currently at burial depths of between ∼1500 and 2800m. The authigenic chlorite has had a significant impact on the resulting reservoir quality of the sandstones and is interpreted to have originated as odinite clay of the verdine facies that replaced faecal or pseudo‐faecal pellets, together with volumetrically small but abundant grain coatings and grain rims, and formed at the site of major riverine iron influx onto the shallow‐marine shelf during periods of relatively low sea level. Pellets have been variably compacted to form pseudomatrix. Reservoir sandstones from similar depositional settings on the west coast of India or other sub‐tropical settings are likely to exhibit comparable diagenetic effects on reservoir quality.

Compositionally, the chlorite is the iron‐rich form known as chamosite. The chemistry of all the chlorite morphologies is the same in all studied samples. Oxygen isotope analyses of carbonate cements in the Mahim Formation sandstones have provided an approximate temperature framework for diagenesis of the non‐carbonate cements. Oxygen isotope results for the chlorite, however, suggest much higher temperatures than its position in the paragenetic sequence would warrant. These results suggest that the clay formed first as 1:1 layer clays, in this case odinite, which were then transformed to Fe‐chlorite as burial depths and temperatures increased.

Reservoirs in the Mahim, Daman and Mahuva Formation sandstones are thus greatly influenced by the diagenesis of authigenic chlorite and locally by the precipitation of carbonate cements. Reservoir quality is good where thick, continuous chlorite rim cements are present and where chlorite pellets are sufficiently indurated for them not to be compacted. Chlorite rim cements have reduced the extent of quartz overgrowth cementation in the sandstones.
PETROLEUM GEOLOGY AND HYDROCARBON POTENTIAL OF THE GUBAN BASIN, NORTHERN SOMALILAND
Authors: Ali M. Y.
Published: September 2015

The Guban Basin is a NW‐SE trending Mesozoic‐Tertiary rift basin located in northern Somaliland (NW Somalia) at the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden. Only seven exploration wells have been drilled in the basin, making it one of the least explored basins in the Horn of Africa – southern Arabia region. Most of these wells encountered source, reservoir and seal rocks. However, the wells were based on poorly understood subsurface geology and were located in complex structural areas.

The Guban Basin is composed of a series of on‐ and offshore sub‐basins which cover areas of 100s to 1000s of sq. km and which contain more than 3000 m of sedimentary section. Seismic, gravity, well, outcrop and geochemical data are used in this study to investigate the petroleum systems in the basin. The basin contains mature source rocks with adequate levels of organic carbon together with a variety of reservoir rocks. The principal exploration play is the Mesozoic petroleum system with mature source rocks (Upper Jurassic Gahodleh and Daghani shales) and reservoirs of Upper Jurassic to Miocene age. Maturity data suggest that maximum maturity was achieved prior to Oligocene rift‐associated uplift and unroofing. Renewed charge may have commenced during post‐ Oligocene‐Miocene rifting as a result of the increased heat flows and the increased depth of burial of the Upper Jurassic source rocks in localised depocentres. The syn‐rift Oligocene‐Miocene acts as a secondary objective owing to its low maturity except possibly in localised offshore sub‐basins. Seals include various shale intervals some of which are also source rocks, and the Lower Eocene evaporites of the Taleh Anhydrite constitute an effective regional seal. Traps are provided by drag and rollover anticlines associated with tilted fault blocks. However, basaltic volcanism and trap breaching as a consequence of the Afar plume and Oligocene‐Miocene rifting of the Gulf of Aden cause considerable exploration risk in the Guban Basin.
Why mean indicator values are not biased
Authors: Wildi Otto
Published: September 2015

Questions

Zelený & Schaffers (Journal of Vegetation Science 2012, 23: 419–431)) blame mean Ellenberg indicator values for producing ‘highly biased results’ that are ‘too good to be true’, statements causing considerable confusion among plant ecologists. I ask if (1) the detrimental phenomena they observed can be reproduced in yet another real‐world data set using the recently revised indicator values of Landolt et al. (Flora indicativa. Ecological indicator values and biological attributes of the flora of Switzerland and the Alps, 2010, Haupt, Bern, CH), (2) the issue of supposed bias also applies to species‐based functional traits, and (3) the assumed ‘bias’ also concerns principal components analysis.

Methods

In a first step, I probe the effect of randomizing indicator values by verification of classifications through ANOVA and CCA using published data. Then, I repeat the same procedure replacing the matrix of indicator values with a species by traits matrix. In a third step I apply testing with ANOVA to an ordination of principal components. Finally, patterns of alternative vegetation descriptors (species, mean indicator values, traits frequency, site factors) are compared using Mantel correlation.

Results

The results at first glance confirm the failings of tests as found by Zelený & Schaffers. However, when using traits data instead of mean indicator values, precisely the same happens, raising the possibility that mean species‐based traits are also ‘biased’. The effect prevails when applied to PCA scores. I conclude that Zelený & Schaffers overlooked that unrealistic significances in ANOVA emerge from statistical dependence; they are artefacts of a non‐valid null model.

Conclusions

Restrictions in the use of mean indicator values and species‐based traits concern statistical tests only that assume statistical independence from species scores when there is none. I conclude that mean indicator values deserve rehabilitation as there is no bias involved in their use.
SHORT HYPOCOTYL UNDER BLUE1 or HAIKU2 mixepression alters canola and Arabidopsis seed development
Authors: Xiao Yu‐Guo , Sun Qing‐Bin , Kang Xiao‐Jun , Chen Chang‐Bin , Ni Min
Published: September 2015

Canola (Brassica napus) is a widely cultivated species and provides important resources of edible vegetable oil, biodiesel production and animal feed. Seed development in Arabidopsis and canola shares a similar path: an early proliferation of endosperm to form a large seed cavity, followed by a second phase in which the embryo grows to replace the endosperm. In Arabidopsis, the seed reaches almost its final volume before the enlargement of the embryo. SHORT HYPOCOTYL UNDER BLUE1 (SHB1) is a key regulatory gene of seed development with a broad expression beyond endosperm development. By contrast, its two target genes, MINISEED3 (MINI3) and HAIKU2 (IKU2), are narrowly expressed in early developing endosperm and early embryo.

We overexpressed SHB1 in canola to explore the possibility of altering seed development. As an alternative strategy, we expressed the canola IKU2 ortholog in Arabidopsis endosperm under the control of a stronger MINI3 promoter.

SHB1 targeted canola orthologs of Arabidopsis MINI3 and IKU2 and caused a significantly increased seed mass. Overaccumulation of IKU2 in the early stage of Arabidopsis seed development also significantly increased the final seed mass.

Our studies provide a strong case for increasing the final seed mass by manipulating endosperm proliferation at a rather early developmental stage in crops.
The legume NOOT‐BOP‐COCH‐LIKE genes are conserved regulators of abscission, a major agronomical trait in cultivated crops
Authors: Couzigou Jean‐Malo , Magne Kevin , Mondy Samuel , Cosson Viviane , Clements Jonathan , Ratet Pascal
Published: September 2015

Plants are able to lose organs selectively through a process called abscission. This process relies on the differentiation of specialized territories at the junction between organs and the plant body that are called abscission zones (AZ). Several genes control the formation or functioning of these AZ.

We have characterized BLADE‐ON‐PETIOLE (BOP) orthologues from several legume plants and studied their roles in the abscission process using a mutant approach.

Here, we show that the Medicago truncatula NODULE ROOT (NOOT), the Pisum sativum COCHLEATA (COCH) and their orthologue in Lotus japonicus are strictly necessary for the abscission of not only petals, but also leaflets, leaves and fruits. We also showed that the expression pattern of the M. truncatula pNOOT::GUS fusion is associated with functional and vestigial AZs when expressed in Arabidopsis. In addition, we show that the stip mutant from Lupinus angustifolius, defective in stipule formation and leaf abscission, is mutated in a BOP orthologue.

In conclusion, this study shows that this clade of proteins plays an important conserved role in promoting abscission of all aerial organs studied so far.
The hidden season: growing season is 50% longer below than above ground along an arctic elevation gradient
Authors: Blume‐Werry Gesche , Wilson Scott D. , Kreyling Juergen , Milbau Ann
Published: September 2015

There is compelling evidence from experiments and observations that climate warming prolongs the growing season in arctic regions. Until now, the start, peak, and end of the growing season, which are used to model influences of vegetation on biogeochemical cycles, were commonly quantified using above‐ground phenological data. Yet, over 80% of the plant biomass in arctic regions can be below ground, and the timing of root growth affects biogeochemical processes by influencing plant water and nutrient uptake, soil carbon input and microbial activity.

We measured timing of above‐ and below‐ground production in three plant communities along an arctic elevation gradient over two growing seasons.

Below‐ground production peaked later in the season and was more temporally uniform than above‐ground production. Most importantly, the growing season continued c. 50% longer below than above ground.

Our results strongly suggest that traditional above‐ground estimates of phenology in arctic regions, including remotely sensed information, are not as complete a representation of whole‐plant production intensity or duration, as studies that include root phenology. We therefore argue for explicit consideration of root phenology in studies of carbon and nutrient cycling, in terrestrial biosphere models, and scenarios of how arctic ecosystems will respond to climate warming.
Neglect‐induced pseudo‐thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura due to vitamin B12 deficiency
Authors: Asano Takeshi , Narazaki Hidehiko , Kaizu Kiyohiko , Matsukawa Shouhei , Takema‐Tochikubo Yuki , Fujii Shuichi , Saitoh Nobuyuki , Mashiko Kunihiko , Fujino Osamu
Published: September 2015

Although thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) is rare, early diagnosis and treatment are important for decreasing the mortality rate. Acquired vitamin B12 deficiency is frequently overlooked because of its rarity in developed countries, particularly in children and adolescents. The hematological changes in vitamin B12 deficiency present as megaloblastic anemia, increased lactate dehydrogenase, vasoconstriction, increased platelet aggregation, and abnormal activation of the coagulation followed by microangiopathy as well as neutropenia and thrombocytopenia. We report herein the case of a 15‐year‐old girl who had been neglected, which might have caused pseudo‐TTP through malnutrition, particularly vitamin B12 deficiency. When we encounter cases of TTP in children, clinicians must be aware of the possibility of malnutrition, particularly with vitamin B12 deficiency, even in developed countries, and investigate the cause of malnutrition including neglect.
Embedding Employees Early On: The Importance of Workplace Respect
Authors: NG THOMAS W. H.
Published: September 2015

This study examines workplace respect as an important condition that promotes increases in perceived organizational embeddedness (POE). I especially focus on young, educated employees’ perceptions of organizational embeddedness, as these employees strongly desire being respected and valued. Guided by social exchange theory, I propose that increases in perceived respect promote increases in gratitude toward the organization, which in turn promote increases in POE over time. Increases in POE are in turn related to lower turnover. Data collected from a young, college‐graduate sample (average age = 25) at five points over an 18‐month period demonstrated that (a) within‐person increases in perceived respect were associated with within‐person increases in gratitude over 12 months, (b) within‐person increases in gratitude were associated with within‐person increases in POE over 12 months, and (c) employees who reported greater increases in POE over 12 months were less likely to leave their organizations 6 months afterward. In summary, this study illustrates that even workers in the early stages of their careers can feel increasingly embedded in their organizations when they feel increasingly respected by their colleagues.
Use of Pediatric Health Information System database to study the trends in the incidence, management, etiology, and outcomes due to pediatric acute liver failure in the United States from 2008 to 2013
Authors: Kulkarni Sakil , Perez Carla , Pichardo Caren , Castillo Lina , Gagnon Michael , Beck‐Sague Consuelo , Gereige Rani , Hernandez Erick
Published: September 2015

Data were collected of children admitted with ALF to 16 US pediatric liver transplant centers from 2008 to 2013 using the PHIS for a retrospective analysis of PALF trends. Patient data linked to the principal diagnosis code for acute necrosis of the liver (570.00) were analyzed for the following: demographics, regional differences, changes over time, pharmaceutical trends, procedural trends, associated diagnoses, and patient outcomes. In 52.5% of 583 patients who met the selection criteria for PALF, the etiology remained undetermined. Acetaminophen toxicity (18.7%) was the most common identifiable etiology, and hepatic encephalopathy (38.6%) was the most common complication. Mortality was lower than previously reported; 95.4% survived and 73.2% survived without a liver transplant. Acute respiratory failure (OR = 3.4, p = 0.035), acute kidney injury (OR = 3.6, p = 0.003), and cerebral edema (OR = 3.6, p = 0.02) were independently associated with increased risk of mortality. The use of N‐acetylcysteine in non‐acetaminophen‐related ALF, the use of intracranial pressure monitoring, and the proportion of sepsis decreased significantly during the study period. The PHIS database can be a useful tool to study the future trends of PALF patients.
The Conflict of Evidence and Coherence
Authors: Worsnip Alex
Published: September 2015

For many epistemologists, and for many philosophers more broadly, it is axiomatic that rationality requires you to take the doxastic attitudes that your evidence supports. Yet there is also another current in our talk about rationality. On this usage, rationality is a matter of the right kind of coherence between one's mental attitudes. Surprisingly little work in epistemology is explicitly devoted to answering the question of how these two currents of talk are related. But many implicitly assume that evidence‐responsiveness guarantees coherence, so that the rational impermissibility of incoherence will just fall out of the putative requirement to take the attitudes that one's evidence supports, and so that coherence requirements do not need to be theorized in their own right, apart from evidential reasons. In this paper, I argue that this is a mistake, since coherence and evidence‐responsiveness can in fact come into conflict. More specifically, I argue that in cases of misleading higher‐order evidence, there can be a conflict between believing what one's evidence supports and satisfying a requirement that I call “inter‐level coherence”. This illustrates why coherence requirements and evidential reasons must be separated and theorized separately.
Post‐illumination transient O2‐uptake is driven by photorespiration in tobacco leaves
Authors: Sejima Takehiro , Hanawa Hitomi , Shimakawa Ginga , Takagi Daisuke , Suzuki Yuji , Fukayama Hiroshi , Makino Amane , Miyake Chikahiro
Published: September 2015

This study aims to elucidate the molecular mechanism for the transient increase in the O2‐uptake rate in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv Xanthi) leaves after turning off actinic lights (ALs). The photosynthetic O2 evolution rate reaches a maximum shortly after the onset of illumination with ALs and then decreases to zero in atmospheric CO2/O2 conditions. After turning off the ALs, tobacco leaves show a transient increase in the O2‐uptake rate, the post‐illumination transient O2‐uptake, and thereafter, the O2‐uptake rate decreases to the level of the dark‐respiration rate. Photosynthetic linear electron flow, evaluated as the quantum yield of photosystem II [Y(II)], maintained a steady‐state value distinct from the photosynthetic O2‐evolution rate. In high‐[CO2] conditions, the photosynthetic O2‐evolution rate and Y(II) showed a parallel behavior, and the post‐illumination transient O2‐uptake was suppressed. On the other hand, in maize leaves (a C4 plant), even in atmospheric CO2/O2 conditions, Y(II) paralleled the photosynthetic O2‐evolution rate and the post‐illumination transient O2‐uptake was suppressed. Hypothesizing that the post‐illumination transient O2‐uptake is driven by C3 plant photorespiration in tobacco leaves, we calculated both the ribulose 1,5‐bisphosphate carboxylase‐ and oxygenase‐rates (Vc and Vo) from photosynthetic O2‐evolution and the post‐illumination transient O2‐uptake rates. These values corresponded to those estimated from simultaneous chlorophyll fluorescence/O2‐exchange analysis. Furthermore, the H+‐consumption rate for ATP synthesis in both photosynthesis and photorespiration, calculated from both Vc and Vo that were estimated from chlorophyll fluorescence/CO2‐exchange analysis, showed a positive linear relationship with the dissipation rate of the electrochromic shift signal. Thus, these findings support our hypothesis.
Effectiveness of electric toothbrushing in patients with neuromuscular disability: A randomized observer‐blind crossover trial
Authors: Ikeda Tokuhei , Yoshizawa Kunio , Takahashi Kazuya , Ishida Chiho , Komai Kiyonobu , Kobayashi Kazuhiko , Sugiura Shirou
Published: September 2015

Objective

To evaluate the effectiveness of an electric toothbrush for oral care in patients with neuromuscular disability.

Methods

In this randomized observer‐blind crossover trial, 30 patients with neuromuscular disease performed either electric or manual toothbrushing each for 4 weeks. Plaque status (plaque control record), periodontal pocket depth, oral status (oral assessment guide), salivary bacterial count, and toothbrushing time were assessed after each period and compared between the two groups by Wilcoxon signed‐rank test.

Results

Twenty‐eight patients completed the study, including 18 communicative patients. Periodontal pockets were significantly shallower and toothbrushing time was significantly shorter with electric toothbrush use than with manual toothbrush use. No significant differences in oral status and salivary bacterial counts were noted between the approaches, but plaque status significantly improved after electric toothbrushing in communicative patients.

Conclusions

Electric toothbrushing is beneficial for maintaining oral health in patients with neuromuscular disability and reducing the caregivers’ oral care burden.
Analysis of non‐coding transcriptome in rice and maize uncovers roles of conserved lncRNAs associated with agriculture traits
Authors: Wang Huan , Niu Qi‐Wen , Wu Hui‐Wen , Liu Jun , Ye Jian , Yu Niu , Chua Nam‐Hai
Published: September 2015

Long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have recently been found to widely exist in eukaryotes and play important roles in key biological processes. To extend our knowledge of lncRNAs in crop plants we performed both non‐directional and strand‐specific RNA‐sequencing experiments to profile non‐coding transcriptomes of various rice and maize organs at different developmental stages. Analysis of more than 3 billion reads identified 22 334 long intergenic non‐coding RNAs (lincRNAs) and 6673 pairs of sense and natural antisense transcript (NAT). Many lincRNA genes were associated with epigenetic marks. Expression of rice lincRNA genes was significantly correlated with that of nearby protein‐coding genes. A set of NAT genes also showed expression correlation with their sense genes. More than 200 rice lincRNA genes had homologous non‐coding sequences in the maize genome. Much more lincRNA and NAT genes were derived from conserved genomic regions between the two cereals presenting positional conservation. Protein‐coding genes flanking or having a sense‐antisense relationship to these conserved lncRNA genes were mainly involved in development and stress responses, suggesting that the associated lncRNAs might have similar functions. Integrating previous genome‐wide association studies (GWAS), we found that hundreds of lincRNAs contain trait‐associated SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]) suggesting their putative contributions to developmental and agriculture traits.