bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
X-ray absorption near-edge structure anomalous behaviour in structures with buried layers containing silicon nanocrystals
Authors: Terekhov V. A. , Tetelbaum D. I. , Spirin D. E. , Pankov K. N. , Mikhailov A. N. , Belov A. I. , Ershov A. V. , Turishchev S. Yu.
Published: December 2013

Substructure and phase composition of silicon suboxide films containing silicon nanocrystals and implanted with carbon have been investigated by means of the X-ray absorption near-edge structure technique with the use of synchrotron radiation. It is shown that formation of silicon nanocrystals in the films' depth (more than 60 nm) and their following transformation into silicon carbide nanocrystals leads to abnormal behaviour of the X-ray absorption spectra in the elementary silicon absorption-edge energy region (100–104 eV) or in the silicon oxide absorption-edge energy region (104–110 eV). This abnormal behaviour is connected to X-ray elastic backscattering on silicon or silicon carbide nanocrystals located in the silicon oxide films depth.
Corporate social responsibility and environmental reporting in controversial industries
Authors: Kilian Thomas , Hennigs Nadine
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– Over the last few decades, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has received a large amount of attention in research and in practice. As a response to the growing awareness of and concern about social and environmental issues, an increasing number of companies are proactively publishing their CSR-related principles and activities. The overall research question of this study is derived from legitimacy theory and is aimed at elucidating the relationship between industry sector and CSR communication. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The empirical examination encompasses a sample that includes the annual reports of all German DAX-30 companies from 1998 to 2009. First, based on a content analysis, categories of CSR-related communication are defined. Second, these categories are used in a quantitative analysis with a longitudinal perspective to evaluate the hypothesis that companies in controversial industries communicate their CSR more intensely than companies in non-controversial industries.

Findings

– The qualitative study leads to a category system that accounts not only for CSR-related activities but also for CSR philosophies and motives as the normative basis of CSR communication. The quantitative results support the hypothesis that companies in controversial industries are more active in CSR communication than companies in non-controversial industries.

Originality/value

– Existing studies analysing CSR communication activity have been largely inconsistent and often use unsystematic approaches in choosing industries for comparison. Therefore, in this study, to overcome some of these deficiencies, a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches addresses the concept of controversial industries.
Impacts of the trilogy of emotion on future purchase intentions in products of high involvement under the mediating role of brand awareness
Authors: Shahin Sharifi Seyed
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study the influence of the trilogy of emotion – cognition, affection, and conation – on future purchase intentions in consumers of products of high involvement.

Design/methodology/approach

– The author employed two studies on two different products to test the influence of emotion on future purchase intentions in study one and to replicate the results of study one in study two, using structural equation modeling. In study two, brand awareness is regarded as a mediator.

Findings

– The results indicate that cognition can influence future purchase intentions, and that affection meaningfully influences future purchase intentions. Additionally, the researcher found that the impact of affection on future purchase intention is stronger than that of cognition on future purchase intentions. Moreover, brand awareness meaningfully influenced cognition, affection, and conation directly, and future purchase intentions indirectly.

Practical implications

– Encouraging conditions in which consumers have good thoughts and feelings about a prior purchase can bolster future purchase intentions, empowering the potent in future purchase for the brand involved.

Originality/value

– This research validates the impact of emotion – more specifically cognition and affection – on future purchase intentions under mediating role of brand awareness, in a country with growing markets. Hence, it adds to the literature of post-purchase important findings.
Behind closed doors! Homosocial desire and the academic boys club
Authors: Fisher Virginia , Kinsey Sue
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The aim of this paper is to explore the nature and power of the academic boys club. In many organisations, the political significance of the boys club goes largely unremarked and unacknowledged. Yet, the way that male colleagues intimately relate to each other, sometimes called homosocial desire, is crucial to their success at gaining and retaining power at work.

Design/methodology/approach

– Feminist, poststructuralist, ethnographic, qualitative, and longitudinal data were collected over a five-year period from male and female academics in a British university.

Findings

– The boys club is still a powerful feature of British universities. Their apparent invisibility shrouds the manner in which they can and do promote and maintain male interests in a myriad of ways, including selection and promotion. These findings have resonances for all organisations.

Research limitations/implications

– Researching the intimacies between male colleagues requires time-intensive field work and insider access to men interacting with each other.

Practical implications

– Meaningful gender equality will not be achieved unless and until the more sophisticated forms of female exclusion are revealed and deconstructed.

Originality/value

– This research makes an unusual and crucial contribution to the study of gender, men and masculinities by providing longitudinal, rich, detailed data, observing men at the closest of quarters and then analysed by a feminist and poststructuralist gaze.
Deputy-principals in Arab schools in Israel: an era of reform
Authors: Arar Khalid
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate Arab deputy-principals’ perceptions of their role in Arab schools in Israel, relating to their expectations regarding principal-deputy relations and their aspirations for promotion.

Design/methodology/approach

– A two-stage qualitative study included an open-ended questionnaire completed by 27 Arab deputy-principals, studying in a deputy-principals’ training program for the “New Horizons” reform. The questionnaire related to their perceptions of their professional role. Data from the open questionnaires were supplemented by data from in-depth semi-structured interviews conducted with eight of the deputy-principals.

Findings

– The deputy-principals perceived their role as arduous and complex, indicating that this was the result of vague role definitions. They mostly dealt with administration though they longed to devote themselves to pedagogy, shaping education policy and the school vision. Most did not aspire to attain principalship.

Practical implications

– A clearer role definition is required for the deputy-principal. Principal-deputy cooperation should be enhanced. Deputy-principals need better role-related training and supervision that considers the requirements of the school settings and culture.

Originality/value

– This is the first study to examine the role of deputy-principals in Arab society in Israel.
The antecedents of student loyalty in online programs
Authors: Dehghan Ali , Dugger John , Dobrzykowski David , Balazs Anne
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– In this paper, a model of student loyalty with graduate online programs utilizing relationship marketing theory elements was developed. The relationships between service quality, commitment and satisfaction, reputation and ultimately loyalty were explored. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between factors that may lead to customer loyalty in online educational organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

– Case study/quantitative methods were used.

Findings

– This research assessed customer loyalty intentions by examining the service quality, commitment, satisfaction, and reputation of online students in master's level online programs.

Originality value

– The relationship between service quality, commitment, satisfaction, reputation, and loyalty have not been adequately investigated in online master's programs.
Approaches for reducing medical errors and increasing patient safety
Authors: Zineldin Mosad , Zineldin Jonas , Vasicheva Valentina
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify the shortcoming of a health-care institution to reduce the medical errors (MEs) which lead to the increase of physicians and patients relationship.

Design/methodology/approach

– Total relationship management (TRM) emphasizes the totality and the holistic nature of a relationship. It includes five generic quality dimensions (5 Qs) and measurements. 5 Qs will be used in the paper to identify the shortcoming of a health-care institution, identify and reduce the MEs which lead to the increase of the patient safety and doctors and patients satisfaction.

Findings

– The paper shows that there is a need for a health-care system response to error that moves the system toward being as fail-Zero tolerant and failsafe as possible rather than one that blames the clinician who may have erred.

Research limitations/implications

– The proposed 5 Qs model consists of some generic integrated dimensions.

Practical implications

– Teamwork practice, holistic view and integration of different competences and recourses will allow the support of information systems, the collection of evidence about care, and efforts for continuous quality improvement.

Social implications

– This research attempts to contribute to the previous academic studies and knowledge in quality of medical and health care by reducing the MEs and increasing patient safety.

Originality/value

– The 5 Qs can be used as diagnostic instrument to identify and understanding of how MEs and AEs occur and suggest prevention strategies to reduce patient severity and dissatisfaction. The main goal of such prevention strategies is to reduce the probability of error occurrence and increase the probability that the error would be remedied before an inadvertent injury occurred.
Cascading effects of predator–detritivore interactions depend on environmental context in a Tibetan alpine meadow
Authors: Wu Xinwei , Griffin John N. , Sun Shucun
Published: December 2013

Studies of grazing food webs show that species traits can interact with environmental factors to determine the strength of trophic cascades, but analogous context dependencies in detrital food webs remain poorly understood.

In predator–detritivore–plant interaction chains, predators are expected to indirectly suppress plant biomass by reducing the density of plant‐facilitating detritivores. However, this outcome can be reversed where above‐ground predators drive burrowing detritivores to lower soil levels, strengthening their plant‐facilitating effects. Here, we show that these trait‐mediated indirect interactions further depend on environmental context in a Tibetan alpine meadow.

In our study system, undulating topography generates higher (dry soil) patches interspersed with lower (wet soil) patches. Because the ability of detritivores to form deep burrows is likely to be limited by oxygen availability in low patches (wet soil), we hypothesized that (i) burrowing detritivores would undergo a vertical habitat shift, allowing them to more effectively avoid predation, in high – but not low – patches, and (ii) this shift would transmit positive effects of predators to plants in high patches by improving conditions in the lower soil layer.

We tested these hypotheses using complementary field and glasshouse experiments examining whether the cascading effects of above‐ground predatory beetles (presence/absence) on the density and behaviour of tunnel‐forming detritivorous beetles, soil properties, and plant growth varied with patch type (low/high).

Results revealed that predatory beetles did not reduce the density of detritivores in either patch type but had context‐dependent trait‐mediated effects, increasing the tunnelling depth of detritivores, improving soil conditions and ultimately increasing plant biomass in the high but not low patches.

This study adds to an emerging predictive framework linking predators to plants in detritus food webs, demonstrating that these indirect interactions depend not just on the relative habitat domains of predators and prey, but also on environmental conditions that can predictably constrain the behavioural response of detritivores to predation risk.
DoesChina's demand boom curbAustralian iron ore mining depletion?
Authors: Allen Creina , Day Garth
Published: December 2013

Australia's resources boom is underpinned by increased demand from industrialising China and a rise in export prices. Current depletion rates will soon exhaust currently known reserves of iron ore and coal. This paper presents a dynamic optimisation model of a growing open economy where a social planner chooses the time path for depletion of a non‐renewable resource during a demand‐led resources boom. We find that for particular functional forms and in the absence of extraction and social costs, the optimal depletion rate equals the difference between the price elasticity of export demand times the world interest rate and growth in export demand. In contrast to the existing literature, we show that the optimal depletion rate is unaffected by a temporary increase in price, but reduced by growth in demand which is in turn sustained by offshore steel production and urbanisation. The main theoretical implication is that growth in export demand from China reduces the depletion rate. Australian iron ore exports, simulated using this theory, move together with actual volumes over the period 1995–2011, and the error between simulated and actual iron ore exports is lower for the model in this paper than it is for the model without growth in export demand.
A Dyadic Model of Customer Orientation: Mediation and Moderation Effects
Authors: Brach Simon , Walsh Gianfranco , Hennig‐Thurau Thorsten , Groth Markus
Published: December 2013

This research distinguishes between employees' customer orientation (ECO) and customer orientation as perceived by customers (COPC) to investigate the contingencies of the relationship between these two constructs. Drawing on emotional contagion theory and using a dyadic field study design, the authors examine whether ECO affects COPC, as well as whether the link between ECO and COPC might be mediated by employees' authentic emotional displays. They also examine service scripts and the accuracy with which customers detect employees' authentic emotional displays as moderators of this mediated link. The findings confirm the important role of ECO as an influence on COPC and provide evidence that employees' authentic emotional displays mediate the effects of ECO. In addition, service scripts and customers' detection accuracy have moderating effects.
The Holocene Activity Evidence of the Yema River‐Daxue Mountain Fault in Western Qilian Mountain
Authors: LUO Hao , HE Wengui , YUAN Daoyang , SHAO Yanxiu
Published: December 2013

Altyn Tagh fault controls the deformation characteristics of the northern margin of the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau. The sinistral slip rate of the eastern segment of the fault reduces gradually where the reduction transforms into the deformation within Qilian Mountain, forming a series of thrust faults and strike‐slip faults. Among them, the Yema River‐Daxue Mountain fault is one of the important structural transform faults in the study area. Based on the differences of the geometrical characteristics and activities, the fault is divided into four segments, the Yema River segment, the Shibandun segment, the Liushapo segment and the Baishitougou segment, among which the former three are Holocene active faults, and the Baishitougou segment belongs to late Pleistocene fault. The excavated trenches imply a total of 6 paleoearthquake events, and at least 4 events have occurred during Holocene, whose occurrence times are 8300±700 yr BP, 6605±140 yr BP, 4540±350 yr BP, 2098±47 yr BP, respectively. The recurrence interval is 2600±600 yr BP that is close to the lapsed time of the last one, 2098±47 yr BP, which suggests that the Yema River‐Daxue Mountain fault is in a high risk of major earthquakes in the future. The vertical coseismic displacements of the four Holocene paleoearthquake events are 100 cm, 42 cm, 40 cm and 50 cm, respectively, the horizontal coseismic displacements are 5 m, 4.5–5.5 m, 5–8 m and 4–5.5 m, separately, and then the reference magnitude of the paleoearthquake events is conjectured to be M7.6±0.1.
Geochronology of the Dong Tso Ophiolite and the Tectonic Environment
Authors: LI Jianfeng , XIA Bin , XIA Lianze , XU Lifeng , LIU Weiliang , CAI Zhourong , YANG Zhiqing
Published: December 2013

The wedge shaped Dong Tso ophiolitic block is distributed near the transition point from the western to the middle sub–belt of the Bangong–Nujiang suture zone. The ophiolite is characterized by well–developed cumulate rocks that are mainly composed of cumulate and massive gabbros. In the cumulate gabbros, the adcumulate amphiboles are distributed extensively around the plagioclase and residual pyroxene grains; hence, the rocks are named adcumulate amphibole–gabbro. In this study, the formation age of the ophiolite has been estimated to be 166 ± 4 million years (Ma) by the sensitive high–resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) II U–Pb isotopic analysis of the zircons from the adcumulate amphibole–gabbro; the 40Ar/39Ar plateau age was estimated to be 148.19 ± 1.53 Ma, which should represent the emplacement time of the ophiolite, by isotopic dating of the pure amphibole mineral from the amphibole–schist. Two different suits of volcanic lavas have been recognized in this work. The purple colored pillow basalts have high TiO2 and P2O5 contents, and are rich in light rare earth elements (LREEs), large–ion lithospheric elements (LILEs) and high–field–strength elements (HFSEs), the characteristics that are the typical of the oceanic island basalt (OIB). On the other hand, other massive basaltic andesites of celadon color are poor in MgO; rich in Fe2O3, LREEs, LILEs, and HFSEs; and especially characterized by negative Nb and Ta anomalies, the properties that establish the andesites as continental arc volcanic rocks. It is concluded that hotspots had developed in the old Dong Tso basin, the oceanic basin that had been developing from middle Jurassic (166 Ma) or even before and emplaced northward in late Jurassic (about 148 Ma).
First Evidence of Lamprophyric Magmatism from the Konya Region, Turkey: a Genetic Link to High‐K Volcanism
Authors: ASAN Kürşad , ERTÜRK M. Ali
Published: December 2013

In the vicinity of Konya (Turkey), mafic, micro‐porphyritic sub‐volcanic rocks intrude into the Mesozoic units, which represents the only example of such a rock type in the region. 40Ar/39Ar dating of two whole rock samples from the sub‐volcanics gave ages of 13.72±0.13 and 12.40±0.11 Ma, suggesting temporal association to the Late Miocene‐Pliocene high‐K calc‐alkaline volcanism in the region. The mineral chemistry and geochemical data permit us to classify the rocks as “minette” lamprophyres. They include diopside and phlogopite phenocrysts in a microcrystalline groundmass composed of sanidine, phlogopite, diopside and titano‐magnetite. Segregation and ocelli‐like globular structures occur commonly in the samples. In terms of major elements, the lamprophyres are calcalkaline, and potassic to ultrapotassic rocks. All the lamprophyres display strong enrichments in LILE (Rb, Ba, K, Sr), radiogenic elements (Th, U) and LREE (La, Ce) and prominent negative Nb, Ta, and Ti anomalies on primordial mantle‐normalized trace element diagrams. Geochemical data suggest that the lamprophyres and high‐K calc‐alkaline rocks in the region derived from a subduction‐modified lithospheric mantle source affected by different metasomatic events. Lamprophyric magmatism sourced phlogopite‐bearing veins generated by sediment‐related metasomatism via subduction, but high‐K calc‐alkaline magmas are possibly derived from a mantle source affected by fluid‐rich metasomatism.
Rb‐Sr Dating of Pyrite and Quartz Fluid Inclusions and Origin of Ore‐forming Materials of the Jinshan Gold Deposit, Northeast Jiangxi Province, South China
Authors: MAO Guangzhou , HUA Renmin , LONG Guangming , LU Huijuan
Published: December 2013

The Jinshan gold deposit is located in the Northeast Jiangxi province, South China, which related to the ductile shear zone. It contains two ore types, i.e. the alteration‐type ore and the gold‐bearing quartz vein ore. Rb‐Sr age dating is applied to both gold‐bearing pyrite in the alteration‐type ore and fluid inclusion in the gold‐bearing quartz vein to make clear the time of the gold mineralization of the Jinshan deposit. Analytical results of this study yielded that the age of the alteration‐type ore bodies is about 838±110Ma, with an initial 87Sr/86Sr value of 0.7045±0.0020. However, the age of the gold‐bearing quartz vein‐type ore is about 379±49Ma, and the initial 87Sr/86Sr is 0.7138±0.0011. Based on the age data from this work and many previous studies, the authors consider that the Jinshan gold deposit is a product of multi‐staged mineralization, which may include the Jinninian, Caledonian, Hercynian, and Yanshanian Periods. Among them, the Jinninian Period and the Hercynian Period might be the two most important ore‐forming periods for Jinshan deposit. The Jinninian Period is the main stage for the formation of alteration‐type ore bodies, while the Hercynian Period is the major time for ore bodies of gold‐bearing quartz vein type. The initial values of the 87Sr/86Sr from this study, as well as the previous isotope and trace element studies, indicate that the ore‐forming materials mainly derived from the metamorphic wall rocks, and the ore‐forming fluids mainly originated from the deep metamorphic water.
Geochemical Characters of Water Coproduced with Coalbed Gas and Shallow Groundwater in Liulin Coalfield of China
Authors: YANG Mei , JU Yiwen , LIU Guijian , TONG Li , KANG Yu , HOU Quanlin
Published: December 2013

To reveal the geochemical characters of water coproduced with coalbed gas and shallow groundwater, water samples were collected from 12 wells of coalbed methane and 7 wells of shallow groundwater. The pH, CODMn? fCO2, total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness, and concentrations of metasilicic acid, sodium and kalium, calcium ion, magnesium ion, ammonium iron, bicarbonate ion, carbonate, chloride, sulfate ion, nitrate ion, fluoride, lithium, zinc, nickel, manganese, iron, boron, barium, etc. of the samples were measured. Research results showed the following: (1) Concentrations of TDS, chloride, fluoride, sodium and kalium, ammonium, iron, and barium in the water coproduced with coalbed gas exceeded the national standards of China; however, physical, chemical, and biological properties of shallow groundwater could meet the national standard. (2) The water produced from coalbed contained mainly Na–Cl·HCO3, with average TDS of 4588.5 ppm, whereas shallow groundwater contained a mixture of chemicals including Na·Mg·Ca‐HCO3·SO4 and Na·Mg‐HCO3·SO4, with average TDS of 663.8 ppm. (3) In general, it was observed that bicarbonate and sodium accumulated in a reducing environment and deeper system, while depletion of hydrogen ions and dissolution of sulfate, calcium, and magnesium occurred in a redox environment and shallow system. (4) Sodium and kalium, ammonium, chloride, and bicarbonate ions were the main ions found in the study area.
Prehospital Research in Sub‐Saharan Africa: Establishing Research Tenets
Authors: Mould‐Millman Nee‐Kofi , Sasser Scott M. , Wallis Lee A.
Published: December 2013

Prehospital care constitutes an important link in the continuum of emergency care and confers a survival benefit to injured and ill persons. As development of acute and emergency care in sub‐Saharan Africa expands, there is a strong need to improve the delivery of prehospital care to help relieve the overwhelming regional morbidity and mortality attributable to time‐sensitive, life‐threatening conditions. Effective research is integral to prehospital care development, as it helps quantify the need for prehospital care and tests effective solutions. Unfortunately, there is limited consensus guiding such research in the low‐resource nations of sub‐Saharan Africa that face unique challenges. This article aims to assimilate the current pertinent literature to demonstrate research success stories and challenges, and ultimately to build on previous efforts to establish prehospital research priorities for sub‐Saharan Africa. Region‐specific obstacles hindering prehospital research include the lack of epidemiologic data on emergency conditions, the underdevelopment of in‐hospital emergency care, confusing prehospital terminology, poorly defined prehospital research priorities, the lack of qualified local prehospital researchers, and a poor understanding of local prehospital care systems. Solutions are offered to overcome each challenge by building on previous recommendations, by proposing new guiding principles, and by identifying areas where further consensus‐building is needed. These guiding principles and suggestions are designed to steer discussions and output from future global health meetings targeted at improving prehospital research and development in sub‐Saharan Africa.
Global Health and Emergency Care: A Resuscitation Research Agenda—Part 1
Authors: Aufderheide Tom P. , Nolan Jerry P. , Jacobs Ian G. , van Belle Gerald , Bobrow Bentley J. , Marshall John , Finn Judith , Becker Lance B. , Bottiger Bernd , Cameron Peter , Drajer Saul , Jung Julianna J. , Kloeck Walter , Koster Rudolph W. , Huei‐Ming Ma Matthew , Shin Sang Do , Sopko George , Taira Breena R. , Timerman Sergio , Eng Hock Ong Marcus
Published: December 2013

At the 2013 Academic Emergency Medicine global health consensus conference, a breakout session on a resuscitation research agenda was held. Two articles focusing on cardiac arrest and trauma resuscitation are the result of that discussion. This article describes the burden of disease and outcomes, issues in resuscitation research, and global trends in resuscitation research funding priorities. Globally, cardiovascular disease and trauma cause a high burden of disease that receives a disproportionately smaller research investment. International resuscitation research faces unique ethical challenges. It needs reliable baseline statistics regarding quality of care and outcomes; data linkages between providers; reliable and comparable national databases; and an effective, efficient, and sustainable resuscitation research infrastructure to advance the field. Research in resuscitation in low‐ and middle‐income countries is needed to understand the epidemiology, infrastructure and systems context, level of training needed, and potential for cost‐effective care to improve outcomes. Research is needed on low‐cost models of population‐based research, ways to disseminate information to the developing world, and finding the most cost‐effective strategies to improve outcomes.
Ethics in Acute Care Research: A Global Perspective and Research Agenda
Authors: Hirshon Jon Mark , Hansoti Bhakti , Hauswald Mark , Sethuraman Kinjal , Kerr Nancy Louise , Scordino David , Biros Michelle H.
Published: December 2013

The 2013Academic Emergency Medicineconsensus conference focused on global health and emergency care research. One conference breakout session discussed research ethics and developed a research agenda concerning global acute care research ethics. This article represents the proceedings from that session, particularly focusing on ethical issues related to protecting human subjects while conducting acute care research. Protecting human research subjects from unnecessary risk is an important component of conducting ethical research, regardless of the research site. There are widely accepted ethical principles related to human subjects research; however, the interpretation of these principles requires specific local knowledge and expertise to ensure that research is conducted ethically within the societal and cultural norms.

There is an obligation to conduct research ethically while recognizing the roles and responsibilities of all participants. This article discusses the complexities of determining and applying socially and culturally appropriate ethical principles during the conduct of global acute care research. Using case studies, it focuses both on the procedural components of ethical research conducted outside of “Western” culture and on basic ethical principles that are applicable to all human subjects research. This article also proposes specific research topics to stimulate future thought and the study of ethics in these complex circumstances.
Treating paediatric community‐acquired pneumonia in the era of antimicrobial resistance
Authors: Galli L , Montagnani C , Chiappini E , de Martino M
Published: December 2013

Increasing levels of paediatric community‐acquired pneumonia (CAP), caused by drug‐resistant bacteria and antimicrobial resistance, vary with age and countries and, in some cases, serotypes. When empirical first‐line treatment administration fails, paediatricians should consider second‐line treatments based on the prevalence of local resistance. A more judicious use of antimicrobial agents is also required.

Conclusion

Knowledge of local epidemiology and an appropriate use of antimicrobial drugs are necessary to treat CAP in this era of antimicrobial resistance.
Secondary succession in sandy old‐fields: a promising example of spontaneous grassland recovery
Authors: Albert Ágnes‐Júlia , Kelemen András , Valkó Orsolya , Miglécz Tamás , Csecserits Anikó , Rédei Tamás , Deák Balázs , Tóthmérész Béla , Török Péter
Published: December 2013

Question

Based on the spontaneous vegetation development of old‐fields in the Nyírség and Kiskunság sand regions (Hungary), we aimed to answer the following questions using the chronosequence method: (1) how do the proportions of different functional groups change during succession; (2) which target species establish successfully in the old‐fields during the course of succession; and (3) how successful is spontaneous succession in the recovery of target grasslands?

Location

Two sand regions of the Great Hungarian Plain: (1) the Nyírség sand region (East Hungary, acidic sand, moderately continental climate) and the Kiskunság (Central Hungary, calcareous sand, continental climate).

Methods

Altogether 24 old‐fields were classified into young (<10‐yr‐old), middle‐aged (10–20‐yr‐old) and late‐succession (20–40‐yr‐old) old‐fields; four fields in each age category. For baseline vegetation reference, three open and three closed sand grassland stands in both regions were sampled in the vicinity of the old‐fields. The percentage cover of vascular plants was recorded in five 2 × 2‐m plots in each field, in early May and late June 2012. We used life forms, clonal spreading traits and Ellenberg indicator values for nutrients in the analysis. Species of Festuco‐Brometea class were considered as target species.

Results

The cover of hemicryptophytes and geophytes increased, the cover of short‐lived species decreased with time. Cover of species without clonal spreading ability decreased, while cover of species with clonal spreading ability increased with increasing field age. The cover of invasive species decreased with increasing field age. The majority of target species had established already in the young and middle‐aged old‐fields, although their cover was significantly higher in the two older age groups.

Conclusion

Spontaneous succession can be a vital option in recovery of sand grassland vegetation in Central Europe; the majority of the species pool of sandy grasslands can be recovered in the first 10–20 yrs. However, the success of grassland recovery can be strongly influenced by the surrounding species pool and can be slow if seed dispersal is limited. Spontaneous succession is most promising when the target species of grasslands immigrate at the very beginning of the succession, within the first few years.
Problems with edges: tree lines as indicators of climate change (or not)
Authors: Woods Kerry D.
Published: December 2013

Elevational tree lines are commonly seen as particularly important ecological ‘ecotones’ that should, according to models, respond sensitively to climate change. In this issue, Mathisen et al. report empirical analyses of two tree lines that fail to show expected upward movement. This study points up both methodological and conceptual challenges in understanding ecological edges and in connecting general expectations to specific cases.
Clay nanoadsorbent as an environmentally friendly substitute for mordants in the natural dyeing of carpet piles
Authors: Parvinzadeh Gashti Mazeyar , Katozian Bashir , Shaver Mohammad , Kiumarsi Amir
Published: December 2013

The aim of this work was to assess the possibility of using a bentonite‐type clay as a promising substitute for mordants in the natural dyeing of wool with madder. Wool yarn was treated with nanoclay by using three conventional methods of pretreatment (before dyeing), simultaneous dyeing with madder in the presence of clay, and aftertreatment (after dyeing). Madder was used as a natural source of colorant. The scientific methods employed in this study included Fourier Transform‐infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet‐visible spectrophotometry, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, moisture regain measurement, tensile strength tests, reflectance spectrophotometry, and fastness evaluation. The intensity of the major peaks in the Fourier Transform‐infrared spectra of the nanoclay‐treated wool yarn indicated chemical changes in the polypeptide functional groups in the wool structure. Madder exhibited higher dyeing properties on clay‐pretreated samples compared with untreated wool. The results of colour measurements showed that the colour strength of the dyed samples improved with an increasing amount of clay in the pretreatment baths.
Ensemble distribution models in conservation prioritization: from consensus predictions to consensus reserve networks
Authors: Meller Laura , Cabeza Mar , Pironon Samuel , Barbet‐Massin Morgane , Maiorano Luigi , Georges Damien , Thuiller Wilfried
Published: December 2013

Aim

Conservation planning exercises increasingly rely on species distributions predicted either from one particular statistical model or, more recently, from an ensemble of models (i.e. ensemble forecasting). However, it has not yet been explored how different ways of summarizing ensemble predictions affect conservation planning outcomes. We evaluate these effects and compare commonplace consensus methods, applied before the conservation prioritization phase, to a novel method that applies consensus after reserve selection.

Location

Europe.

Methods

We used an ensemble of predicted distributions of 146 Western Palaearctic bird species in alternative ways: four different consensus methods, as well as distributions discounted with variability, were used to produce inputs for spatial conservation prioritization. In addition, we developed and tested a novel method, in which we built 100 datasets by sampling the ensemble of predicted distributions, ran a conservation prioritization analysis on each of them and averaged the resulting priority ranks. We evaluated the conservation outcome against three controls: (i) a null control, based on random ranking of cells; (2) the reference solution, based on an expert‐refined dataset; and (3) the independent solution, based on an independent dataset.

Results

Networks based on predicted distributions were more representative of rare species than randomly selected networks. Alternative methods to summarize ensemble predictions differed in representativeness of resulting reserve networks. Our novel method resulted in better representation of rare species than pre‐selection consensus methods.

Main conclusions

Retaining information about the variation in the predicted distributions throughout the conservation prioritization seems to provide better results than summarizing the predictions before conservation prioritization. Our results highlight the need to understand and consider model‐based uncertainty when using predicted distribution data in conservation prioritization.
Maternal outcomes and follow‐up after gestational diabetes mellitus
Authors: Kim C.
Published: December 2013

Gestational diabetes mellitus reflects impaired maternal insulin secretion relative to demand prior to pregnancy, as well as temporary metabolic stressors imposed by the placenta and fetus. Thus, after delivery, women with gestational diabetes have increased risk of diabetes and recurrent gestational diabetes because of their underlying impairment, which may be further exacerbated by fat accretion during pregnancy and post‐partum deterioration in lifestyle behaviours. This hypothetical model is discussed in greater detail, particularly the uncertainty regarding pregnancy as an accelerator of β‐cell decline and the role of gestational weight gain. This report also presents risk estimates for future glucose intolerance and diabetes and reviews modifiable risk factors, particularly body mass and lifestyle alterations, including weight loss and breastfeeding. Non‐modifiable risk factors such as race/ethnicity and insulin use during pregnancy are also discussed. The review concludes with current literature on lifestyle modification, recommendations for post‐partum glucose screening, and future directions for research to prevent maternal disease.
Real‐time continuous glucose monitoring as a tool to prevent severe hypoglycaemia in selected pregnant women with Type 1 diabetes – an observational study
Authors: Secher A. L. , Stage E. , Ringholm L. , Barfred C. , Damm P. , Mathiesen E. R.
Published: December 2013

What's new?

Among 12 women at estimated high risk of severe hypoglycaemia in pregnancy using real‐time continuous glucose monitoring from early pregnancy onwards, the incidence rates of severe hypoglycaemia were 2.8 events/patient‐year in the year before pregnancy, and 17.5 before and 0.3 after real‐time continuous glucose monitoring initiation in pregnancy.

Further evaluation is required as to whether real‐time continuous glucose monitoring from early to mid‐pregnancy in highly selected women with Type 1 diabetes may help reduce the risk of severe hypoglycaemia. Other elements of focused intervention against severe hypoglycaemia in a routine pregnancy care setting probably also contribute to the risk reduction.
Substrate selection by subyearling European river lampreys (Lampetra fluviatilis) and older larvae (Lampetra spp)
Authors: Aronsuu Kimmo , Virkkala Pasi
Published: December 2013

More information on the habitat requirements of lamprey is needed to improve measures aiming at rehabilitation of lamprey populations. Knowledge on habitat requirements of subyearling lampreys is especially scarce. We studied substrate selection by subyearling lamprey during the first three months after hatching using aquarium experiments. Differences in substrate selection by different‐sized larvae older than one year and the substrate depth selection by large larvae were also studied. Prolarvae of an average total length (TL) of 6.9 mm actively selected substrates with existing holes. When lampreys reached TL of over 8.0 mm, they started to select substrates which enabled them to construct a burrow. Lampreys of that size avoided coarse sand and gravel without fine material. Natural gravel with fine material was a frequently selected burrowing substrate during the 10‐week experiment suggesting its importance for subyearling lampreys. Substrates where very fine sand prevailed were the most selected soft sediments by subyearling larvae. Larvae older than one year did not select clay as a burrowing substrate. Medium (TL 70–98 mm) and large (TL 110–146 mm) larvae preferred coarse organic matter to fine sand. Larvae older than one year (TL 80–110 mm) preferred the thickest layer of soft substrate (10 cm) available to thinner layers.
Alterations in white matter microstructures and cognitive dysfunctions in benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes
Authors: Kim S. E. , Lee J. H. , Chung H. K. , Lim S. M. , Lee H. W.
Published: December 2013

Background and purpose

Although benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) is known to have good prognosis, patients often manifest neuropsychological impairments. This study aimed to investigate cognitive dysfunctions and their relationship with white matter microstructural changes inBECTSpatients.

Methods

NineteenBECTSand 25 normal subjects aged 7–16 years were included. Neuropsychological performances were assessed by the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for ChildrenIII, executive function tests, verbal and visuospatial memory tests, the verbal fluency and Boston naming tests. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was performed to measure the fractional anisotropy (FA), axial (AD), radial (RD), and mean diffusivities (MD). The voxel‐wise tract‐based spatial statistics and region of interest methods were used forDTI, and their correlations with cognitive variables were analyzed.

Results

Patients withBECTShad lower intelligence quotient (IQ) scores compared with those of the control group. HigherADandMDvalues were found in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus, the retrolenticular part of the internal capsule, posterior thalamic radiation, sagittal stratum and the body of the corpus callosum inBECTSpatients compared with controls. Lower performances in verbalIQ, freedom from distractibility and processing speed were correlated with higherADin the left superior fronto‐occipital fasciculus, and lower verbalIQscores were correlated with decreasedFAvalues in the splenium of the corpus callosum in these patients.

Conclusions

White matter microstructural changes predominantly in the left hemisphere might contribute to their cognitive abnormalities especially verbalIQinBECTSpatients.
Amyloid burden correlates with cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease presenting with aphasia
Authors: Jung Y. , Whitwell J. L. , Duffy J. R. , Strand E. A. , Machulda M. M. , Senjem M. L. , Lowe V. , Jack C. R. , Josephs K. A.
Published: December 2013

Background and purpose

A subset of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) present with early and prominent language deficits. It is unclear whether the burden of underlying β‐amyloid pathology is associated with language or general cognitive impairment in these subjects.

Methods

The relationship between cortical β‐amyloid burden on [11C]Pittsburgh compound B (PiB) positron emission tomography (PET) and performance on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the Wechsler Memory Scale − Third Edition (WMS‐III), the Boston Naming Test (BNT) and the Western Aphasia Battery (WAB) was assessed using regression and correlation analyses in subjects presenting with aphasia who showed β‐amyloid deposition on PiB PET.

Results

The global PiB ratio was inversely correlated with MoCA (P = 0.02) and the WMS‐III Visual Reproduction (VR) subtest (VR I, P = 0.02; VR II, P = 0.04). However, the correlations between PiB ratio, BNT (P = 0.13), WAB aphasia quotient (P = 0.11) and WAB repetition scores (P = 0.34) were not significant.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates that an increased cortical β‐amyloid burden is associated with cognitive impairment, but not language deficits, in AD subjects presenting with aphasia. The results suggest that β‐amyloid deposition could be partly contributing to impaired cognition in such patients whilst language dysfunction may be more influenced by other pathological mechanisms, perhaps downstream pathways of β‐amyloid deposition.
The distribution of cerebral microbleeds determines their association with arterial stiffness in non‐cardioembolic acute stroke patients
Authors: Song T.‐J. , Kim J. , Kim Y. D. , Nam H. S. , Lee H. S. , Nam C. M. , Heo J. H.
Published: December 2013

Background and purpose

Increased arterial stiffness causes vessel damage in the end‐organs. Therefore small vessels in the brain may be susceptible to increased arterial stiffness. Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are topographically or pathophysiologically categorized as deep or infratentorial type and strictly lobar type. Whether the presence and location of CMBs are associated with brachial‐ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) which represents a measure of arterial stiffness was investigated.

Methods

Between June 2006 and January 2012, 1137 consecutive patients diagnosed with non‐cardioembolic acute ischaemic stroke and who underwent baPWV measurement and brain gradient‐echo imaging were enrolled. CMBs were classified as deep or infratentorial or strictly lobar according to their location. Severity of leukoaraiosis was determined using the Fazekas scoring system.

Results

CMBs were found in 30.7% of the included patients. These patients were older than those without CMBs. Mean baPWV was higher in patients with CMBs than in those without (20 ± 5 m/s vs. 19 ± 5 m/s; P = 0.001). When comparing baPWV according to the location of the CMB, it was higher in the deep or infratentorial CMB group than in the strictly lobar CMB group (22 ± 5 m/s vs. 20 ± 5 m/s; P = 0.001). In univariate and multivariate multinomial logistic regression analyses, baPWV was found to be independently associated with deep or infratentorial CMBs.

Conclusions

Arterial stiffness was independently associated with deep or infratentorial CMBs but not lobar CMBs. These findings suggest a pathophysiological association between arterial stiffness and CMBs in the deep or infratentorial region.
Nonlinearities in Meerkat Alarm Calls Prevent Receivers from Habituating
Authors: Karp Denise , Manser Marta B. , Wiley Elizabeth M. , Townsend Simon W.
Published: December 2013

Despite the fact that nonlinearities are present in the calls of a number of different species, their adaptive function has received little empirical investigation. Previous studies have demonstrated that playbacks of nonlinear calls evoke a more extreme behavioural response and lead to an increase in responsiveness compared with control playbacks without nonlinearities. Consequently, it has been suggested that nonlinearities might prevent receivers from habituating, by increasing the unpredictability of the call (‘unpredictability hypothesis’). In this study, we tested the unpredictability hypothesis, specifically whether nonlinearities prevent receivers from habituating, by means of a playback experiment using meerkat (Suricata suricatta) alarm calls. We found that in meerkats, playbacks of naturally occurring nonlinear alarm calls take longer to habituate to than alarm calls without any nonlinear intrusions. These data provide important empirical support for the hypothesis that nonlinearities are not just an irrelevant by‐product of the vocal production system, but indeed function adaptively.