bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of Reoxidation in Tundish on Inclusion for Ca‐Treated Al‐Killed Steel
Authors: Yang Guangwei , Wang Xinhua , Huang Fuxiang , Wang Wanjun , Yin Yuqun , Tang Chunxia
Published: November 2013

Reoxidation usually happens during steelmaking, especially in tundish. Severe reoxidation contaminates the steel cleanliness, and detrimentally affects the steel quality and performance. The purpose of this study is to highlight the adverse effect of reoxidation in tundish on non‐metallic inclusion in liquid steel and the end product for Ca‐treated Al‐killed steel. Inclusions of RH refining, tundish, slab, and plate were investigated on API‐X70 pipeline steel. To get a more reliable result, automatic scanning electron microscopy ASPEX PSEM EXPLORER was employed to analyze the inclusion with a much larger scan area. It was found that reoxidation in tundish converted the well‐modified liquid calcium aluminates into solid Al2O3‐rich inclusions, which are more likely to cause nozzle clogging than pure Al2O3, and the inclusion number dramatically increased form 2.8 µm−2 after RH treatment to 13.5 µm−2 in tundish, further decreased to about 6.0 µm−2 in slab and plate. It indicated that reoxidation in tundish put the calcium treatment and strong capacity of inclusion removal during RH treatment in vain. The ratio of liquid inclusions was proportional to average CaO/Al2O3 in inclusions. Big aggregates and stringer shaped inclusions with CaO/Al2O3 locating between 0.08 and 0.13 were found at the 1/2 and 1/4 slab and plate thickness. The stringer shaped inclusions in the plate were the product of big aggregates in the slab after rolling, and made the plate fail to pass ultrasonic testing.
Design criteria for diagrid tall buildings: Stiffness versus strength
Authors: Montuori Giovanni Maria , Mele Elena , Brandonisio Giuseppe , De Luca Antonello
Published: November 2013

The procedures and formulations suggested in literature for the design of diagrid structures start from the assumption that diagonal sizing process is governed by the stiffness requirements, as usually occurs for other, less efficient, structural types, and that member strength demand is automatically satisfied by the cross section resulting from the stiffness requirements. However, thanks to the high rigidity of the diagonalized façade, strength requirements can be of paramount importance and even be the governing design criterion. In this paper, stiffness and strength design criteria for diagrid structures are examined and translated in simplified formulae for quick member sizing. The application of the two approaches for the design of a 100‐storey building model, carried out for different diagrid geometrical patterns, gives the opportunity of discussing the relative influence of stiffness and strength on the design outcomes, in terms of resulting diagonal cross sections and steel weight, as well as on the structural performance. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Communication strategies for earning trust in climate change debates
Authors: Goodwin Jean , Dahlstrom Michael F.
Published: November 2013

Climate scientists need the trust of lay audiences if they are to share their knowledge. But significant audience segments—those doubtful or dismissive of climate change—distrust climate scientists. In response, climate scientists can undertake one of two general communication strategies for enhancing trust, each appealing to one of two broad types of cognitive processing mechanisms. In the first, the communicator displays traits like humor, attractiveness, vigorous delivery, and likeability that audiences use as heuristics in determining whom to trust. But this strategy is unlikely to be successful with the very audiences who are its main targets, since those audiences will be primed to employ a more analytic and critical approach to assessing trustworthiness. In the second communicative strategy, the communicator earns trust by undertaking burdens and commitments and making herself vulnerable in ways her audience can enforce. This vulnerability signals her trustworthiness, since the audience can reason that she would not undertake such risks unless she was confident in what she was saying. Climate scientists have a variety of ways of making themselves vulnerable, including committing themselves to engaging with doubtful and dismissive audiences, undertaking burdens of proof to argue with them, empowering audiences to assess the science themselves, admitting error, and focusing on small issues. Overall, when adopting the second strategy, climate scientists must extend trust in order to earn trust, committing themselves to an on‐going relationship within which their true trustworthiness will become apparent. WIREs Clim Change 2014, 5:151–160. doi: 10.1002/wcc.262

This article is categorized under:

Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change > Communication

Social Status of Climate Change Knowledge > Knowledge and Practice
YB‐1 protein: functions and regulation
Authors: Lyabin Dmitry N. , Eliseeva Irina A. , Ovchinnikov Lev P.
Published: November 2013

The Y‐box binding protein 1 (YB‐1, YBX1) is a member of the family of DNA‐ and RNA‐binding proteins with an evolutionarily ancient and conserved cold shock domain. It falls into a group of intrinsically disordered proteins that do not follow the classical rule ‘one protein–one function’ but introduce a novel principle stating that a disordered structure suggests many functions. YB‐1 participates in a wide variety of DNA/RNA‐dependent events, including DNA reparation, pre‐mRNA transcription and splicing, mRNA packaging, and regulation of mRNA stability and translation. At the cell level, the multiple activities of YB‐1 are manifested as its involvement in cell proliferation and differentiation, stress response, and malignant cell transformation. WIREs RNA 2014, 5:95–110. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1200

This article is categorized under:

RNA Interactions with Proteins and Other Molecules > RNA–Protein Complexes

RNA Interactions with Proteins and Other Molecules > Protein–RNA Interactions: Functional Implications

Translation > Translation Regulation
Synthesis and Crystal Structures of Manganese(II) and ­Cobalt(II) Complexes with 2, 6‐Dimethoxybenzoic Acid and Additional N‐Donor Ligands
Authors: Filippova Irina G. , Malaestean Iurie L. , Baca Svetlana G.
Published: November 2013

Three coordination compounds [Mn3(dmb)6(H2O)4(4, 4′‐bpy)3(EtOH)]n (1) and [M(dmb)2(pyz)2 (H2O)2] [MII = Co (2), Mn (3)] (Hdmb = 2, 6‐dimethoxybenzoic acid, 4, 4′‐bpy = 4, 4′‐bipyridine, pyz = pyrazine) were synthesized and characterized by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction analysis. Compound 1 consists of infinite 1D polymeric chains, in which the metal entities are bridged by 4, 4′‐bpy ligands. There are four crystallographically independent MnII atoms in the linear chain with different coordination modes, which is only scarcely reported for linear polymers. The isostructural crystals of 2 and 3 are composed of neutral mononuclear complexes. In crystal the complexes are combined into chains by intermolecular O–H···N hydrogen bonds and π–π interactions between antiparallel pyrazine molecules.
Shortage of Doctors, Shortage of Data: A Review of the Global Surgery, Obstetrics, and Anesthesia Workforce Literature
Authors: Hoyler Marguerite , Finlayson Samuel R. G. , McClain Craig D. , Meara John G. , Hagander Lars
Published: November 2013

Introduction

The global surgery workforce is in crisis in many low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). The shortage of surgery, obstetrics, and anesthesia providers is an important cause of the unmet need for surgical care in LMICs. The goal of this paper is to summarize the available literature about surgical physicians in LMICs and to describe ongoing initiatives to supplement the existing surgical workforce data.

Methods

We performed a systematic search and literature review of the English‐language literature regarding the number of surgeons, obstetrician–gynecologists, and anesthesiologists practicing in LMICs.

Results

Literature describing the number of surgeons, obstetricians, and anesthesiologists practicing in LMICs represents a small minority of LMICs, and indicates consistently low levels of surgical physicians. Our literature search yielded comprehensive data for only six countries. No national data were found for 23 of the 57 countries considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be in health workforce ‘crisis.’ Across LMICs, general surgeon density ranged from 0.13 to 1.57 per 100,000 population, obstetrician density ranged from 0.042 to 12.5 per 100,000, and anesthesiologist density ranged from 0 to 4.9 per 100,000. Total anesthesiologist, obstetrician, and surgeon density was significantly correlated with gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (r2 = 0.097, p = 0.0002).

Conclusion

The global surgery workforce is in crisis, yet is poorly characterized by the current English‐language literature. There is a critical need for systematically collected, national‐level data regarding surgery providers in LMICs to guide improvements in surgery access and care. The Harvard Global Surgery Workforce Initiative and the WHO global surgical workforce database are working to address this need by surveying Ministries of Health and surgical professional organizations around the world.
Spatial mobility and social outcomes
Authors: Clark William A. V. , van Ham Maarten , Coulter Rory
Published: November 2013

This paper examines the nature and extent of socio-spatial mobility in Great Britain. In contrast with previous studies, we investigate the entire spectrum of moves within and across the hierarchical structure of neighbourhoods. We use data from the British Household Panel Survey to trace moves between neighbourhoods defined using the Indices of Multiple Deprivation. We define upward socio-spatial mobility as moving to neighbourhoods with greater levels of advantage (lower levels of deprivation), and downward socio-spatial mobility as the shift to less advantaged neighbourhoods. As expected, the results show that there are strong associations between origin and destination neighbourhood types. We find that education and income play critical roles in the ability of individuals to make neighbourhood gains when they move. An important finding of the research is the way in which the housing market structurally conditions socio-spatial mobility. In the UK and probably more broadly, the opportunity to move to socially advantaged places is highly stratified by housing tenure.
Mechanisms of genetic epilepsies
Authors: Hedrich U. , Maljevic S. , Lerche H.
Published: November 2013

Epilepsy is one of the most common neuro­logical disorders. As early as the time of Hip­pocrates (460-370 BC), it was reported on as the “holy disease”. Today it is known that an epileptic seizure is a consequence of synchro­nous discharges of neuronal populations in the brain, which abruptly and usually without an observable cause evoke involuntary be­havioural dysfunction or impaired conscious­ness. Epilepsies can have various causes and lead to extensive implications for the every­day life of affected patients. Up to 50% of all epilepsies are caused by genetic defects, in particular the so-called idiopathic epilep­sies, which occur without easily observable structural alterations in the brain. Genetical­ly caused dysfunctions of neuronal ion chan­nels play a central role in the formation of such epilepsies. The ion channels control the ion flux over the cell membrane of neurons and thus present the basis for the excitabili­ty of these neurons. Therefore, medications used in epilepsy treatment affect predomi­nantly ion channels. However, common an­ticonvulsants have limited success, not only because one third of epilepsy patients exhibit pharmacoresistance, but also because of the secondary effects which can dramatically af­fect their quality of life. Furthermore, current therapeutic approaches are mainly symp­tomatic and do not act on the epileptogenic mechanisms, which are still largely unknown. In this review article we will highlight the cur­rent main topics of our research on genetical­ly caused epilepsies, their pathomechanisms and therapeutic options.
Neuronal networks in the spotlight
Authors: Helmchen F. , Hübener M.
Published: November 2013

The brain’s astounding achievements regard­ing movement control and sensory process­ing are based on complex spatiotemporal ac­tivity patterns in the relevant neuronal net­works. Our understanding of neuronal net­work activity is, however, still poor, not least because of the experimental difficulties in di­rectly observing neural circuits at work in the living brain (in vivo). Over the last decade, new opportunities have emerged-especial­ly utilizing two-photon microscopy-to in­vestigate neuronal networks in action. Cen­tral to this progress was the development of fluorescent proteins that change their emis­sion depending on cell activity, enabling the visualization of dynamic activity patterns in local neuronal populations. Currently, genet­ically encoded calcium indicators, proteins that indicate neuronal activity based on ac­tion potential-evoked calcium influx, are be­ing increasingly used. Long-term expression of these indicators allows repeated moni­toring of the same neurons over weeks and months, such that the stability and plastici­ty of their functional properties can be char­acterized. Furthermore, permanent indicator expression facilitates the correlation of cel­lular activity patterns and behavior in awake animals. Using examples from recent studies of information processing in the mouse neo­cortex, we review in this article these fasci­nating new possibilities and discuss the great potential of the fluorescent proteins to eluci­date the mysteries of neural circuits.
Beyond indices: The potential of fuzzy set ideal type analysis for cross-national analysis of policy outcomes
Authors: Hudson John , Kühner Stefan
Published: November 2013

League tables ranking performance outcomes within or between countries have become commonplace in most policy sectors in recent decades and there are numerous examples to be found in practice. UNICEF's 2007 Overview of Child Well-Being in Rich Countries offered a comprehensive and widely cited comparative analysis of children's well being in 21 of the richest countries of the world. Utilising an additive index the authors distilled a large amount of quantitative data relating to children's well being and were able to provide the most comprehensive snapshot of outcomes to date. Whilst an advantage of the method — and certainly a key factor in generating media coverage — was the way it allowed for a ranking of nations, recent debates in the comparative policy analysis literature have pointed to the advantages of methods that aim to classify nations into qualitatively distinct types rather than ranking them in league tables. These debates have particular force when multiple components of analysis are conceptually distinct or cases have widely varying contexts. Fuzzy set ideal type analysis (FSITA) has become an increasingly popular alternative approach to the additive index, precisely because it addresses these concerns. In this paper we explore the potential for using FSITA for the comparative analysis of children's well-being. Drawing on the same data and conceptual foundations as the 2007 UNICEF study we explore the potential advantages of utilising a diversity oriented method such as FSITA as tool for policy evaluation that eschews ranking in favour of classifying.
Roast Beef, the New Poor Law, and the British Nation, 1834–63
Authors: Durbach Nadja
Published: November 2013

In the early years of the New Poor Law, workhouses were explicitly prohibited from serving roast beef and plum pudding to inmates. Historians have recently begun to focus increased attention on the cultural meanings invested in specific food products and the politics of their production, distribution, and consumption. Unpacking the contentious disputes between local and central Poor Law authorities over the provision of roast beef to workhouse inmates similarly reorients the discussion of the pauper diet to address, not the amount or quality of food provided, but rather the cultural politics of what exactly a pauper was allowed to eat. A study of when and why paupers were and were not furnished with a festive meal of what was often termed “Old English Fare” provides a way of rethinking the place of the poor within local and national communities at a moment when attitudes toward poverty were undergoing profound changes.
Feeding in the Workhouse: The Institutional and Ideological Functions of Food in Britain, ca. 1834–70
Authors: Miller Ian
Published: November 2013

How adequate was the mid-Victorian workhouse diet? Basing their arguments on modern nutritional analyses of dietary tables, some historians have concluded that the workhouse diet fulfilled the basic nutritional needs of inmates and that the idea that workhouse dietary regimes were inadequate is the result of a “mythology” created by contemporaries—including Charles Dickens. In these accounts, Dickens's infamous scene where Oliver Twist becomes so overwhelmed with hunger that he asks for more food is construed as an exaggerated rendering of workhouse life. This article argues that efforts to impose modern nutritional techniques onto past configurations can produce misleading results and generate simplistic historical interpretations. The cultural categories historically surrounding food demand thorough attention and must be reconciled with modern scientific approaches if the boundaries between workhouse realities and mythologies are to be rendered less obscure.
Long-chain n-3 DHA reduces the extent of skeletal muscle fatigue in the rat in vivo hindlimb model
Authors: Peoples Gregory E. , McLennan Peter L.
Published: November 2013

Dietary fish oil modifies skeletal muscle membrane fatty acid composition and oxygen efficiency similar to changes in the myocardium. Oxygen efficiency is a key determinant of sustained force in mammalian skeletal muscle. Therefore, in the present study, we tested the effects of a fish-oil diet on skeletal muscle fatigue under the stress of contraction using the rat in vivo autologous perfused hindlimb model. For 8 weeks, male Wistar rats were fed a diet rich in saturated fat (SF), a diet rich in n-6 PUFA or a diet rich in long-chain (LC) n-3 PUFA DHA derived from fish oil. In anaesthetised, mechanically ventilated rats, with their hindlimbs perfused with arterial blood at a constant flow, the gastrocnemius–plantaris–soleus muscle bundle was stimulated via sciatic nerve (2 Hz, 6–12 V, 0·05 ms) to contract repetitively for 30 min. Rats fed the n-3 PUFA diet developed higher maximum twitch tension than those fed the SF and n-6 PUFA diets (P< 0·05) and sustained twitch tension through more repetitions before the tension declined to 50 % of the maximum twitch tension (P< 0·05). The n-3 PUFA group used less oxygen for tension developed and produced higher venous lactate concentrations with no difference in glycogen utilisation compared with the SF and n-6 PUFA groups. These results further support that incorporation of DHA into skeletal muscle membranes increases the efficiency of oxygen use over a range of contractile force and this is expressed as a higher sustained force and prolonged time to fatigue.
An audit of ‘dead ear’ after ear surgery
Authors: Prinsley P
Published: November 2013

Introduction:

‘Dead ear’ is a rare and serious complication of ear surgery. This paper presents an audit of this complication.

Method:

Over 6 years, data for all 617 middle-ear operations performed under the care of a single consultant were recorded for the International Otology Audit. All cases of dead ear were identified and assessed.

Results:

A post-operative dead ear occurred in 6 cases (approximately 1 per cent). No cases of post-operative dead ear occurred following the 83 otosclerosis operations and the 62 children's procedures. Amongst 187 adult patients undergoing mastoid surgery for cholesteatoma, there were 5 cases of post-operative dead ear (2.7 per cent of cases).

Conclusion:

The occurrence of dead ear after cholesteatoma surgery in adults is less rare than previously thought. This has implications for the surgical consenting process. The current series suggests that, whilst dead ear is often avoidable, it is sometimes inevitable.
Evolution of parasitism along convergent lines: from ecology to genomics
Authors: POULIN ROBERT , RANDHAWA HASEEB S.
Published: November 2013

From hundreds of independent transitions from a free-living existence to a parasitic mode of life, separate parasite lineages have converged over evolutionary time to share traits and exploit their hosts in similar ways. Here, we first summarize the evidence that, at a phenotypic level, eukaryotic parasite lineages have all converged toward only six general parasitic strategies: parasitoid, parasitic castrator, directly transmitted parasite, trophically transmitted parasite, vector-transmitted parasite or micropredator. We argue that these strategies represent adaptive peaks, with the similarities among unrelated taxa within any strategy extending to all basic aspects of host exploitation and transmission among hosts and transcending phylogenetic boundaries. Then, we extend our examination of convergent patterns by looking at the evolution of parasite genomes. Despite the limited taxonomic coverage of sequenced parasite genomes currently available, we find some evidence of parallel evolution among unrelated parasite taxa with respect to genome reduction or compaction, and gene losses or gains. Matching such changes in parasite genomes with the broad phenotypic traits that define the convergence of parasites toward only six strategies of host exploitation is not possible at present. Nevertheless, as more parasite genomes become available, we may be able to detect clear trends in the evolution of parasitic genome architectures representing true convergent adaptive peaks, the genomic equivalents of the phenotypic strategies used by all parasites.
Distribution of gymnosomatous pteropods in western Antarctic Peninsula shelf waters: influences of Southern Ocean water masses
Authors: Suprenand P.M. , Jones D.L. , Torres J.J.
Published: November 2013

Distributions of gymnosomatous pteropods,Spongiobranchaea australisandClione antarctica, were determined at six sites along a latitudinal gradient in western Antarctica Peninsula shelf waters using vertically stratified trawls. Hydrographic data were collected at the same sites with conductivity-temperature-depth casts, and correlations of explanatory variables to gymnosome distributions were determined using statistical analyses performed in Matlab, a high level programming software to conduct numerical computation and visualisation. Explanatory variables included sampling site, latitude, longitude and depth, seawater temperature, salinity and density, Southern Ocean Antarctic Surface Water, Winter Water, Upper Circumpolar Deep Water and warm transitional waters, as well as oceanographic remote sensing data for coloured dissolved organic matter, chlorophyllaconcentration, normalised fluorescence line height, nighttime sea surface temperature, photosynthetically active radiation, particulate inorganic carbon, particulate organic carbon, daytime sea surface temperature and daily sea ice concentration. Hydrographic data revealed that warmer water masses were prevalent along the western Antarctic Peninsula, and the distributions of both gymnosome species were primarily influenced by water masses, temperature, sampling site and latitude. As a consequence, distributional shifts of gymnosomes are predicted in response to the current warming trends.
Capacity building with older people through local authority and third-sector partnerships
Authors: DALZIEL ROBERT , WILLIS MARTIN
Published: November 2013

In May 2010 a Conservative and Liberal Democrat Coalition Government was elected in the United Kingdom, which immediately started to plan a programme of wide-ranging cuts in public spending. However, in the face of severe economic problems the new government retained the outgoing government's emphasis on active ageing. This paper examines capacity-building partnerships between local authorities and third-sector organisations in LinkAge Plus (LAP) pilot areas in England, which were set up to find better ways to meet the needs of older people and empower them to become active citizens. The study on which this paper reports used theory on partnerships and collaboration to interrogate LAP pilot evaluation reports, along with current thinking on capacity building and work designed to improve services and outcomes for older people. The main findings are that capacity building in partnerships stimulated joined up working, which resulted in improved knowledge and skills in providing existing services. At the same time, new services emerged that meant older people were more involved in networking activities and social capital was created through their engagement in policy making, identifying needs, service design and finding solutions to problems. However, there were few instances of ideological activity that challenged established values and ways of working to go beyond traditional health and social care approaches in the delivery of services for older people. The potential impact of ongoing cuts in public spending are also considered.
Can fruit pulp meet the calcium needs of tropical frugivorous passerines during reproduction?
Authors: Foster Mercedes S.
Published: November 2013

Calcium is an important nutrient for birds, especially for eggshell production and the mineralization of the skeleton of developing young. In temperate regions insects and seeds that form the bulk of the diet of breeding passerines do not contain sufficient calcium to meet the needs of breeding females and young; these birds obtain their calcium by eating snails, woodlice and millipedes. Little is known about the way tropical frugivorous passerines meet their calcium needs. The calcium contents of fruits of 34 species eaten by birds during the breeding season in mature floodplain forest in south-eastern Peru were determined. The suitability of these fruits as calcium sources for hypothetical 10-g and 25-g birds and for 26 species of frugivore that breed at the study site was evaluated based on bird body weight and on the rictal width of the bill, which influences feeding. Fruits of five species in the study area appear to be suitable sources of calcium for birds ≤25 g, although those ofFicus killipii(Moraceae) are likely optimal. The latter contain a lot of calcium (2.48% dry weight of pulp orc. 4.15 mg per pulp per fruit) and are small enough (mean diam. = 9 mm) for most birds to swallow whole, and trees produce large crops. Snails, woodlice and millipedes are common in the area and also contain sufficient calcium to meet birds’ needs. In addition, birds could likely meet their calcium needs through geophagy at natural mineral licks.
The omnivorous collared peccary negates an insectivore-generated trophic cascade in Costa Rican wet tropical forest understorey
Authors: Michel Nicole L. , Sherry Thomas W. , Carson Walter P.
Published: November 2013

Insectivorous birds and bats often protect plants through density- and trait-mediated cascades, but the degree to which insectivores reduce herbivorous arthropods and leaf damage varies among systems. Top-down interaction strength may be influenced by the biotic and abiotic context, including the presence of vegetation-disturbing animals. We tested two hypotheses: (1) insectivorous birds and bats initiate trophic cascades in tropical rain-forest understorey; and (2) the native, omnivorous collared peccary (Pecari tajacu) negates these cascades via non-trophic effects. We studied the top-down effects of birds and bats on understorey plants in north-eastern Costa Rica using 60 netted exclosures within and outside existing peccary exclosures. Excluding birds and bats increased total arthropod densities by half, both with and without peccaries. Bird/bat exclosures increased Diptera density by 28% and leaf damage by 24% without peccaries, consistent with a trophic cascade. However, bird/bat exclosures decreased Diptera density by 32% and leaf damage by 34% with peccaries, a negation of the trophic cascade. Excluding peccaries increased leaf damage by 43% on plants without birds and bats. This is the first study, to our knowledge, to demonstrate that the non-trophic activity of an omnivorous ungulate can reverse a trophic cascade.
Hospitals' Responses to Administrative Cost-containment Policy in Urban China: The Case of Fujian Province
Authors: Jingwei He Alex , Qian Jiwei
Published: November 2013

The patterns of hospitals' behavioural changes in response to different insurance systems and payment arrangements have been well documented in the literature on health economics and policy. To understand these changes, it is necessary to look at the shifts in fundamental economic incentives. Meanwhile, hospital practices are also subject to adjustment when administrative tools are realigned. This article examines the dynamics of a health policy campaign started in 2005 by a Chinese provincial health administration that was committed to containing health expenditures using administrative measures. Through a combination of qualitative in-depth interviews and quantitative panel data analysis comprising 30 public hospitals in the sample, this article finds that by revising the structure of administrative measures on the supply side, the Chinese health bureaucracy is able to curb rapid cost inflation in the short term. However, while having to meet the cost control mandate imposed by the health administration, Chinese public hospitals still managed to defend their economic interests by engaging in various unintended opportunistic behaviour. This article analyses a panel database from Fujian province and reveals the strategies adopted by public hospitals and considers their implications for China's ongoing national healthcare reform.
Influenza in hospitalized children in Ireland in the pandemic period and the 2010/2011 season: risk factors for paediatric intensive-care-unit admission
Authors: REBOLLEDO J. , IGOE D. , O'DONNELL J. , DOMEGAN L. , BOLAND M. , FREYNE B. , McNAMARA A. , MOLLOY E. , CALLAGHAN M. , RYAN A. , O'FLANAGAN D.
Published: November 2013

Influenza causes significant morbidity and mortality in children. This study's objectives were to describe influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 during the pandemic, to compare it with circulating influenza in 2010/2011, and to identify risk factors for severe influenza defined as requiring admission to a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Children hospitalized with influenza during the pandemic were older, and more likely to have received antiviral therapy than children hospitalized during the 2010/2011 season. In 2010/2011, only one child admitted to a PICU with underlying medical conditions had been vaccinated. The risk of severe illness in the pandemic was higher in females and those with underlying conditions. In 2010/2011, infection with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 compared to other influenza viruses was a significant risk factor for severe disease. An incremental relationship was found between the number of underlying conditions and PICU admission. These findings highlight the importance of improving low vaccination uptake and increasing the use of antivirals in vulnerable children.
Comparative expression analysis of embryonic development-related genes at different stages of parthenogenetic andin vitrofertilized embryos in caprine
Authors: Singh Renu , Kumar Kuldeep , Ranjan R. , Kumar Manish , Yasotha T. , Singh R.K. , Das B.C. , Sarkar M. , Bag Sadhan
Published: November 2013

Aberrant gene expression occurs in parthenogenetic embryos due to abnormal epigenetic modifications in the genome that probably diminish viability and enhance developmental abnormalities in these embryos. In the present study, five developmentally important genes (HPRT1,Cx43,Sox2,MestandIGF2R) were analysed at different stages in parthenotes (haploid and diploid) and compared with similar stages inin vitrofertilized (IVF) embryos. The results indicated that in haploid parthenotes expression ofHPRT1was upregulated (P< 0.05) only at the 2–4-cell stage whereasCx43expression was significantly (P< 0.05) downregulated in all stages as compared with the control. However, expression of this gene was upregulated (P< 0.05) in 2–4-cell and morula stages of diploid parthenotes. Expression ofSox2was significantly (P< 0.05) downregulated in morula stage haploid parthenotes, whereas it was upregulated (P< 0.05) in 8–16-cell stage diploid embryos. The expression ofMestwas upregulated (P< 0.05) at the 2–4-cell stage of both haploid and diploid parthenotes, whereas it was downregulated in 8–16-cell stage diploid embryos as compared with control.IGF2Rexpression was upregulated (P< 0.05) only in morula stage haploid and diploid parthenote as compared with control. These results indicate that parthenogenetic embryos showed aberrant gene expression of developmentally important genes such asHPRT1,Cx43,Sox2,MestandIGF2Rin comparison with IVF embryos, this finding may be one of the major reasons for the poor developmental competence of parthenogenetic embryos.
Motivational Interviewing and Decisional Balance: Contrasting Responses to Client Ambivalence
Authors: Miller William R. , Rose Gary S.
Published: November 2013

Background: A recommendation in original descriptions of motivational interviewing (MI) was to “explore ambivalence”. Contrasting procedures for doing so have been clarified through the evolution of MI. Aims: This article describes two conceptually distinct methods for responding to ambivalence: decisional balance (DB) and MI's evocation of change talk, and reviews empirical evidence to recommend when each procedure is appropriate (and inappropriate) in clinical practice. Method: The authors summarize findings of clinical outcome research to examine how these two interventions impact the resolution of client ambivalence. Results: With ambivalent people, a DB intervention tends to decrease commitment to change, whereas evocation (a key element of MI) promotes change. When a person has already made the decision to change, evocation is unnecessary and may deter change, whereas DB may further strengthen commitment. Conclusions: DB is an appropriate procedure when the clinician wishes to maintain neutrality and not favor the resolution of ambivalence in any particular direction. Evocation is appropriate when the clinician intends to help clients resolve ambivalence in the direction of change.
Leaf Anatomy and Histochemistry of Three Species ofFicussect.AmericanaeSupported by Light and Electron Microscopy
Authors: Araújo Nathalia Diniz , Coelho Victor Peçanha M. , Ventrella Marília Contin , Agra Maria de Fátima
Published: November 2013

In this work the leaf anatomy of three species ofFicussectionAmericanae(Miq.) Miq. from Brazil, whose leaves and latex are used in folk medicine is reported. The work was carried out using light and scanning electron microscopy in order to characterize these species and to evaluate their taxonomic significance, and also contribute to the quality control of their ethnodrugs. The three species (Ficus cyclophylla,Ficus elliotiana, andFicus caatingae) showed hypostomatic leaves, anomocytic stomata, straight epidermal cell outlines, and a dorsiventral mesophyll. Some micro-morphological characters such as density and distribution of epicuticular waxes, glandular trichomes, the length and width of stomata, as well as the palisade of mesophyll and petiole outlines proved to be the most useful and distinctive characters for the separation of species. These may contribute as additional support for the taxonomy of the section and for the quality control of their ethnodrugs.
Structure and Bonding at Ni–ZrO2 (Cubic) Interfaces Formed by the Reduction of a NiO–ZrO2 (Cubic) Composite
Authors: Dickey E.C. , Dravid V.P. , Nellist P.D. , Wallis D.J. , Pennycook S.J. , Revcolevschi A.
Published: November 2013

Structure and Bonding at NiFATAL ERROR -- Missing abstract.ndash;ZrO2 (Cubic) Interfaces Formed by the Reduction of a NiOFATAL ERROR -- Missing abstract.ndash;ZrO2 (Cubic) Composite
II. The Anti-Monastic Reaction in the Reign of Edward the Martyr
Authors: Fisher D. J. V.
Published: November 2013

It is unfortunate for our understanding of the history of the tenth century that, for several critical periods for which the historian would most appreciate a full and reliable account of events, contemporary sources of information fail him at vital points. Until quite recently it was difficult to feel certain about the date of King Edward the Elder's death and the circumstances in which Aethelstan ascended the throne of England. The years between the death of King Eadred in 955 and the succession of Edgar to the reunited kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex in 959 are still obscure. Of the character of the reign of Edward the Martyr, ‘Little can be gathered…beyond a vague impression of disorder, and the knowledge that a period was abruptly set to the endowment of monasteries which Edgar had encouraged’. For this reign the historian's complaint is less of the dearth of evidence than that it is nearly all of the same kind.
All by themselves? Legislative regions and the use of unmediated access to the European level
Authors: Högenauer Anna-Lena
Published: November 2013

Since the 1980s, the level of activism of regions in European Union policy-making has greatly increased, leading to the emergence of claims that regional governments can and do bypass national government in European negotiations. However, two decades after the emergence of the concept, the debate about the ability of regions to engage successfully in this process of continuous negotiation and to represent their interests on the European stage is ongoing. Due to the scarcity of research looking at regional interest representation in concrete cases of policy-making, it has been difficult to establish to what extent and under which circumstances regions do rely on unmediated channels of interest representation on the European level. This article examines these questions through the activities of seven legislative regions during two negotiations of European Directives, as legislative regions have a wider choice of channels of interest representation. Overall, extensive use of unmediated access in regulatory policy-making is rare and can best be explained with reference to domestic conflict and the level of influence of a region in domestic European policy-making. Differences in the size of a region also influence the ability of a region to represent its interests in the coordination of the national position and at the European level.
A highly selective, Hg2+ triggered hydrogelation: modulation of morphology by chemical stimuli
Authors: Ghosh Biswa Nath , Bhowmik Sandip , Mal Prasenjit , Rissanen Kari
Published: November 2013

The morphology of a supramolecular hydrogel based on 4′-[4-(4-aminophenyl)phenyl]-2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine, exclusively with Hg2+, can be tuned by external chemical stimuli.
Direct detection of ultralow trace amounts of isocyanates in air using a fluorescent conjugated polymer
Authors: Ghosh Khama Rani , Saha Sukanta Kumar , Gao Jian Ping , Wang Zhi Yuan
Published: November 2013

Direct detection of aliphatic and aromatic isocyanates in air at the ppb level is realized by the fluorescence turn-off method using a conjugated polymer containing the pentiptycene and tetraphenylethylene units linked by acetylene.
Exploring coral biomineralization in gelling environments by means of a counter diffusion system
Authors: Sancho-Tomás M. , Fermani S. , Goffredo S. , Dubinsky Z. , García-Ruiz J. M. , Gómez-Morales J. , Falini G.
Published: November 2013

Coral biomineralization is explored through calcium carbonate precipitation experiments, by counter-diffusion, using highly viscous agarose sol or gel entrapping soluble organic matrices extracted fromBalanophyllia europaeaandLeptopsammia pruvotispecies, as well as diffusing Mg2+.
A review on hybrid nanolaminate materials synthesized by deposition techniques for energy storage applications
Authors: Azadmanjiri Jalal , Berndt Christopher C. , Wang James , Kapoor Ajay , Srivastava Vijay K. , Wen Cuie
Published: November 2013

Nanostructured materials such as nanocomposites and nanolaminates are currently of intense interest in modern materials research.
A novel protein, Pho92, has a conserved YTH domain and regulates phosphate metabolism by decreasing the mRNA stability of PHO4 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Authors: Kang Hyun-Jun , Jeong Sook-Jin , Kim Kyung-Nam , Baek In-Joon , Chang Miwha , Kang Chang-Min , Park Yong-Sung , Yun Cheol-Won
Published: November 2013

The homologue of human YTHDF2, Ydr374c (Pho92), is the only protein that has a YTH (YT521-B homology) domain in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Based on microarray analysis, genes involved in the phosphate signal transduction (PHO) pathway were up-regulated in the Δpho92 strain, as were genes regulated by Pho4, which is an important transcription factor in the PHO pathway. To identify the exact mechanism of Pho92 action with respect to phosphate metabolism, we investigated the effect of Pho92 on PHO4 expression. The half-life of PHO4 mRNA was increased in the Δpho92 strain; this phenotype was also observed in the deletion mutants UPF1 and POP2, which are components of the NMD (nonsense-mediated decay) pathway and the Pop2–Ccr4–Not deadenylase complex respectively. Pho92 interacts physically with Pop2 of the Pop2–Ccr4–Not deadenylase complex. Furthermore, Pho92 binding to the 3′-UTR of PHO4 was dependent on the phosphate concentration. Deletion of the PHO4 3′-UTR resulted in PHO4 mRNA resistance to Pho92-dependent degradation. The results of the present study indicate that Pho92 regulates Pho4 expression at the post-transcriptional level via the regulation of mRNA stability. Taken together, Pho92 participates in cellular phosphate metabolism, specifically via the regulation of PHO4 mRNA stability by binding to the 3′-UTR in a phosphate-dependent manner.
C-reactive protein promotes acute kidney injury by impairing G1/S-dependent tubular epithelium cell regeneration
Authors: Tang Ying , Huang Xiao Ru , Lv Jun , Chung Arthur Chi-Kong , Zhang Yang , Chen Jun-Zhe , Szalai Alexander J. , Xu Anping , Lan Hui Y.
Published: November 2013

CRP (C-reactive protein) is regarded as an inflammatory biomarker in AKI (acute kidney injury), but its exact role in AKI remains unclear. Thus we sought to investigate the role of CRP in AKI. Clinically, elevated serum CRP levels were found to associate closely with increased serum creatinine and urea levels (P<0.01) in patients with AKI, which then fell after recovery from AKI. To determine the role of CRP in AKI, an ischaemia/reperfusion mouse model of AKI was developed using Tg (transgenic) mice that express human CRP. Compared with the WT (wild-type) mice, CRP Tg mice developed more severe renal injury at 24 h after ischaemia as determined by significantly increased serum creatinine and tubular necrosis. This was associated with an impaired TEC (tubular epithelium cell) regeneration as shown by an over 60% reduction in PCNA+ (proliferating-cell nuclear antigen) and BrdU+ (bromodeoxyuridine) TECs in CRP Tg mice with AKI. In vitro, the addition of CRP to a human TEC line (HK-2) also largely suppressed the proliferation of TECs. The functional role of CRP in AKI was demonstrated further by the blocking of CRP binding to the FcγRII (Fcγ receptor II) with a neutralizing anti-CD32 antibody, which restored TEC proliferation and prevented AKI in CRP Tg mice. Moreover, we found that impaired G1/S transition by suppression of the phosphorylation of CDK2 (cyclin-dependent kinase 2) and expression of cyclin E may be a key mechanism by which CRP inhibits TEC regeneration during the AKI repair process. In conclusion, CRP plays a pathogenic role in AKI by inhibiting G1/S-dependent TEC regeneration. The results of the present study suggest that targeting CRP signalling may offer a new therapeutic potential for AKI.
‘The Revolution will be Led by a 12-Year-Old Girl’: Girl Power and Global Biopolitics
Authors: Koffman Ofra , Gill Rosalind
Published: November 2013

This paper presents a poststructuralist, postcolonial and feminist interrogation of the ‘Girl Effect’. First coined by Nike inc, the ‘Girl Effect’ has become a key development discourse taken up by a wide range of governmental organisations, charities and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs). At its heart is the idea that ‘girl power’ is the best way to lift the developing world out of poverty. As well as a policy discourse, the Girl Effect entails an address to Western girls. Through a range of online and offline publicity campaigns, Western girls are invited to take up the cause of girls in the developing world and to lend their support through their use of social media, through fundraising and consumption. Drawing on a wide range of policy documents, media outputs and offline events, this paper explores the way in which the Girl Effect discourse articulates notions of girlhood, empowerment, development and the Global North/South divide.
Feminist Disavowal or Return to Immanence? The Problem of Poststructuralism and the Naked Female Form in Nic Green's Trilogy and Ursula Martinez’ My Stories, Your Emails
Authors: Gorman Sarah
Published: November 2013

This essay discusses the work of two female theatre-makers, and their strategic use of nudity on stage. The author appropriates signs of indignation in this work in order to re-visit the ‘problem’ of the female form being traditionally associated with bodily immanence rather than transcendence. Both Nic Green's Trilogy (2009–2010) and Ursula Martinez’ My Stories, Your Emails (2010) use the naked female form to proffer statements about the experience of being a woman in the 2000s. Their use of nudity breaks with feminist theories popular in the 1990s, which argued that because the female form could never escape the symbolic logic of phallocentrism, it could never escape sexual objectification, and thus should operate on the margins of mainstream culture, cultivate agency by appropriating the means of production and be removed from view (radical negativity). By identifying as ‘artists’ and by insisting on their right to put their experience centre stage, Green and Martinez break with the anti-humanist theories of the 1990s and proffer a more individualistic strain of feminist performance. The author celebrates this work as a break away from the deadlock offered by theories of radical negativity.
What Became of ‘Frontline Feminism’? A Retro-perspective on Post-conflict Belfast
Authors: Cockburn Cynthia
Published: November 2013

A feminist stock-taking on ‘post-conflict’, this paper revisits a study made by the author in 1996–1997, when the women's community sector was a lively actor in the processes leading to the Good Friday Peace Agreement of 1998. Refusing to observe sectarian conflict lines, women's centres were re-writing official ‘community development’ policy as community empowerment and political challenge. The author draws on new interviews conducted in 2012 with feminist community activists of that earlier period of ‘frontline feminism’, associated with the Belfast Women's Support Network. The women reveal how continuing poverty, discrimination, violence and unhealed trauma still characterise working-class life in the post-conflict period, and impede the integration of Protestant and Catholic communities. Official provisions for gender equality have been interpreted in gender-neutral ways, and in some cases turned against women. The demilitarisation of masculinity has been painfully slow. The women's community sector has experienced a loss of political drive as women's centres have become service providers, dependent on state funding. Feminism is renewing itself, but in fresh forms with different priorities. Will it recover a voice that ‘speaks truth to power’?