bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Structures of complexes formed by H5 influenza hemagglutinin with a potent broadly neutralizing human monoclonal antibody
Authors: Xiong Xiaoli , Corti Davide , Liu Junfeng , Pinna Debora , Foglierini Mathilde , Calder Lesley J. , Martin Stephen R. , Lin Yi Pu , Walker Philip A. , Collins Patrick J. , Monne Isabella , Suguitan Amorsolo L. , Santos Celia , Temperton Nigel J. , Subbarao Kanta , Lanzavecchia Antonio , Gamblin Steven J. , Skehel John J.
Published: July 2015

Significance

Monoclonal antibody FLD194 isolated from a Vietnamese H5N1 survivor neutralizes all three clades of H5N1 viruses that have so far caused human infections. It is, therefore, a candidate for use in antiviral immunotherapy. Structural analysis of the HA-Fab complex shows the antibody-binding site is adjacent to, but does not involve, the sialic acid-binding site. The antibody neutralizes infectivity by restricting the access of receptors to HA using its Fc region in a way that may also be used by numerous other antibodies that bind at a distance from the receptor-binding site. The HA-Fab complex contains an HA subunit which has some of the features of HA in the conformation that is required for membrane fusion activity.
Targeting of mTOR catalytic site inhibits multiple steps of the HIV-1 lifecycle and suppresses HIV-1 viremia in humanized mice
Authors: Heredia Alonso , Le Nhut , Gartenhaus Ronald B. , Sausville Edward , Medina-Moreno Sandra , Zapata Juan C. , Davis Charles , Gallo Robert C. , Redfield Robert R.
Published: July 2015

Significance

Most HIV antiretrovirals target viral proteins. Unfortunately, HIV mutates under drug pressure, which can lead to drug resistance. Targeting cellular proteins that HIV necessitates in its lifecycle may help overcome HIV drug resistance because cellular proteins have lower mutations rates than do HIV proteins. Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a cellular kinase that forms two complexes (mTORC-1 and -2), regulating protein translation and transduction signaling. We demonstrate that dual targeting of mTORC-1/2 with the catalytic inhibitor INK128 blocks HIV by interfering with entry and with transcription (basal and induced). Importantly, INK128 suppressed HIV in a preclinical animal model, suggesting that mTORC-1/2 catalytic inhibitors may help control HIV in patients, particularly in those with drug-resistant HIV.
Donor colonic CD103+ dendritic cells determine the severity of acute graft-versus-host disease
Authors: Koyama Motoko , Cheong Melody , Markey Kate A. , Gartlan Kate H. , Kuns Rachel D. , Locke Kelly R. , Lineburg Katie E. , Teal Bianca E. , Leveque-El mouttie Lucie , Bunting Mark D. , Vuckovic Slavica , Zhang Ping , Teng Michele W.L. , Varelias Antiopi , Tey Siok-Keen , Wockner Leesa F. , Engwerda Christian R. , Smyth Mark J. , Belz Gabrielle T. , McColl Shaun R. , MacDonald Kelli P.A. , Hill Geoffrey R.
Published: July 2015

The primacy of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract in dictating the outcome of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is broadly accepted; however, the mechanisms controlling this effect are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that GVHD markedly enhances alloantigen presentation within the mesenteric lymph nodes (mLNs), mediated by donor CD103+CD11b− dendritic cells (DCs) that migrate from the colon under the influence of CCR7. Expansion and differentiation of donor T cells specifically within the mLNs is driven by profound levels of alloantigen, IL-12, and IL-6 promoted by Toll-like receptor (TLR) and receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) signals. Critically, alloantigen presentation in the mLNs imprints gut-homing integrin signatures on donor T cells, leading to their emigration into the GI tract where they mediate fulminant disease. These data identify a critical, anatomically distinct, donor DC subset that amplifies GVHD. We thus highlight multiple therapeutic targets and the ability of GVHD, once initiated by recipient antigen-presenting cells, to generate a profound, localized, and lethal feed-forward cascade of donor DC–mediated indirect alloantigen presentation and cytokine secretion within the GI tract.
Lipschitz regular complex algebraic sets are smooth
Authors: Birbrair L. , Fernandes A. , Lê D. , Sampaio J.
Published: July 2015

A classical theorem of Mumford implies that a topologically regular complex algebraic surface in

C

3

\mathbb {C}^3

with an isolated singular point is smooth. We prove that any Lipschitz regular complex algebraic set is smooth. No restriction on the dimension and no restriction on the singularity to be isolated is needed.
Simple Lie groups without the Approximation Property II
Authors: Haagerup Uffe , de Laat Tim
Published: July 2015

We prove that the universal covering group

S
p

~

(
2
,

R

)

\widetilde {\mathrm {Sp}}(2,\mathbb {R})

of

S
p

(
2
,

R

)

\mathrm {Sp}(2,\mathbb {R})

does not have the Approximation Property (AP). Together with the fact that

S
L

(
3
,

R

)

\mathrm {SL}(3,\mathbb {R})

does not have the AP, which was proved by Lafforgue and de la Salle, and the fact that

S
p

(
2
,

R

)

\mathrm {Sp}(2,\mathbb {R})

does not have the AP, which was proved by the authors of this article, this finishes the description of the AP for connected simple Lie groups. Indeed, it follows that a connected simple Lie group has the AP if and only if its real rank is zero or one. By an adaptation of the methods we use to study the AP, we obtain results on approximation properties for noncommutative

L
p

L^p

-spaces associated with lattices in

S
p

~

(
2
,

R

)

\widetilde {\mathrm {Sp}}(2,\mathbb {R})

. Combining this with earlier results of Lafforgue and de la Salle and results of the second-named author of this article, this gives rise to results on approximation properties of noncommutative

L
p

L^p

-spaces associated with lattices in any connected simple Lie group.
Groups of Companies
Authors: Hopt Klaus J.
Published: July 2015

Groups of companies are common. The empirical data are heterogeneous. Agency problems arise between the controlling shareholder and the minority shareholders and between the shareholders and the creditors. Three regulatory models exist: regulation by general corporate and/or civil law (prototype: the UK); regulation by special group law (prototype: Germany); and regulation by areas of the law such as banking, competition, and tax. The main strategy is mandatory disclosure and group accounting. Related party transactions (including conflict of interest and tunneling) are dealt with by disclosure and consent requirements. In addition, appropriate standards for directors and controlling shareholders (corporate governance) have been developed. They become stricter, if insolvency is approaching. The concept of the shadow director extends liability to the controlling shareholder. Other mechanisms for creditor protection are indemnification, veil-piercing, subordination and substantive consolidation. A fair amount of international convergence exists as to shareholder protection, but not as to creditor protection.
Manuscript Matrix, Modern Canon
Authors: Symes Carol
Published: July 2015

This chapter argues that medieval processes of textual transmission have had less effect on the reception and interpretation of medieval “literature” than modern trends in preservation, proscription, and “recognition.” Due to post-medieval upheavals -- the dispersal of manuscripts due to religious reform and warfare, the advent of belligerent nationalism and the “Enlightenment,” the valorization of the author, the influence of evolutionary theory, and a host of other forces -- the components of medieval manuscripts have been further and further alienated from the original contexts of their composition, inscription, and reception. The chapter accordingly examines the relationship, both symbiotic and dysfunctional, between the medieval manuscript matrix and the modern canon by citing the case of Beowulf and juxtaposing the sole text of this poem with the Anglo-Saxon version of Judith preserved in the same manuscript, in order to highlight the unequal treatment accorded to these two poems and the degree to which iconic medieval texts like Beowulf were framed as such in a climate of intense competition over cultural patrimony in nineteenth-century Europe. It also discusses the chancy processes that dictated the survival, retrieval, and canonization of certain at the expense of others: including The Book of Margery Kempe, Chrétien de Troyes’s Arthurian romances, and the plays of Shakespeare.
Multilingualism on the Page
Authors: Baswell Christopher
Published: July 2015

In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, England inherited a very complex and shifting linguistic situation. While English continued its slow and uneven ascent to political and literary prominence, French retained its important presence. Numerous manuscripts of Walter de Bibbesworth’s Tretiz de langage (also called Femina) appeared throughout the fourteenth and the fifteenth centuries. Twenty copies of guides to French letter-writing, or collections of sample letters, were also produced during the same centuries. Such works illustrate the continuing practical uses of Anglo-French in the later Middle Ages in England. This article examines multilingualism on the page—occasions and usually specific written spaces where contextually unexpected languages suddenly, even dramatically, appear. It considers languages of authenticity, which shift considerably in varied settings from the twelfth to the fifteenth centuries, and the broad move from authenticating French to authenticating Latin.
Translation
Authors: Warren Michelle R.
Published: July 2015

Translation is an ubiquitous practice in both literary and non-literary writing during the medieval period. It underwrote cultural and ideological transfers from distant times and places, as well as the practical transaction of daily life in much of the Middle English period. This article explores what “Middle English literature” might look like if new approaches to and definitions of translation are adopted. More specifically, it considers what might happen to the literary tradition if translated texts constituted an aesthetic grouping independent from authorial and generic categories, or if this grouping were granted the same critical value as the most prestigious authors and genres. It also discusses the possibility of locating monolingual texts in a cultural environment saturated with translating activities. To address these issues, the article focuses on translation theory, cultural studies, analyses of translatio studii et imperii, and source studies that all contribute essential elements to the repositioning of translated literature.
Books
Authors: Gillespie Alexandra
Published: July 2015

The book is a source of information about the past, a material result of inevitably imperfect human labor. Because they are further disordered by time, books are unstable witnesses to that past. Book history is of growing significance to the study of culture and literature. The importance of the press, and the nature of the “print culture” associated with it, has been the subject of debate between scholars who argue that the press was “an agent of change,” and Adrian Johns and others who insist that while the advent of print resulted in “fixity,” possessive authorship, the invention of copyright, a proliferation of titles, and capitalist investment in book production, they were not its inevitable result. This article focuses on “books,” particularly medieval “books.” It considers the poem “Chaucers Wordes unto Adam, His Owne Scriveyn” and Linne R. Mooney’s identification of Adam Pinkhurst as the copyist of the Hengwrt and Ellesmere manuscripts of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.
Beauty
Authors: Nolan Maura
Published: July 2015

In On Beauty and Being Just, Elaine Scarry argues that error is part and parcel of the human understanding of beauty. Medieval writers regarded beauty with some suspicion; in the modern era, it is typically associated with “taste” and judgement. This article examines the notion of beauty as depicted in medieval literature by focusing on Geoffrey Chaucer’s poem “Miller’s Tale” and his description of the main actor, Alisoun. It considers how a new aesthetic enters the poem and with it an attempt to redefine both poetry and beauty.
Vernacular Theology
Authors: Gillespie Vincent
Published: July 2015

Vernacular theology was first used by Ian Doyle in relation to Middle English texts in 1953. Doyle comments that “there was little or no original thought in the vernacular.” While Doyle’s model of vernacular theology embraced both catechetic and contemplative texts, “vernacular theology” has recently been associated with attempts to explore complex ideas and articulate advanced spiritual experiences. This article examines the history of vernacular theology in England and its connection with religious literature. It considers the advanced and highly sophisticated vernacular theology of Julian of Norwich as well as Nicholas Watson’s influential discussions of the English instantiation of vernacular theology in the fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. Furthermore, it analyzes William Langland’s poem Piers Plowman and its progressive and sequential dramatization of the difficulties and rewards of vernacular theology. Finally, it discusses the Oxford debate on translation as an issue in pastoral theology, with reference to Thomas Arundel’s 1409 decrees against the use of the vernacular in religious speculation and against translation of religious texts into English.
Learning to Live
Authors: Trigg Stephanie
Published: July 2015

The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries witnessed the proliferation of conduct books, an indication of the growing instability of class boundaries as well as concern about maintaining or acquiring the manners and customs of “courtesy.” Such books, especially those dealing with table manners and social decorum, contain principles that are akin to those of modern social governance. Jonathan Nicholls argued that conduct texts must be read as a way to better understand medieval literature. A radically different approach has been proposed by Kathleen Ashley and Robert L. A. Clarke in their edited collection of essays, Medieval Conduct. Ashley and Clarke put equal emphasis on “texts, theories, and practices,” rather than using conduct and courtesy texts to illuminate “literature.” This article examines the representation of nurture and conduct in the medieval period and the reality of medieval behavior, thought, and feeling about the proper conduct of the self. It discusses recent theories of ritual practice and social behavior, particularly those outlined by Pierre Bourdieu, Michel de Certeau, Norbert Elias, and Michel Foucault.
Modality and Mood in First Language Acquisition
Authors: Hickmann Maya , Bassano Dominique
Published: July 2015

This chapter aims to provide a large overview of research focusing on the development of modality and mood during first language acquisition. This overview synthesizes results concerning both early and later phases of development, within and across a large number of languages, and including some more peripheral categories, such as evidentials and tense–aspect markings. Results recurrently show the earlier acquisition of agent-oriented modality as compared to epistemic modality. However, cross-linguistic variation has raised some questions about this acquisition sequence, suggesting that language-specific properties may partially impact timing during acquisition. In addition, findings about later phases show a long developmental process whereby children gradually come to master complex semantic and pragmatic modal distinctions. The discussion highlights the contribution of these conclusions to current theoretical debates, such as the role of input factors and the relation between language and cognition during ontogenesis.
Hume and Cognitive Science
Authors: Prinz Jesse
Published: July 2015

This contribution is concerned with the relevance of Hume’s empirical approach to the study of the mind for contemporary cognitive science. It is argued that Hume’s views, empirically founded as they were on observation and introspection and concerning ideas and concepts, passion and sympathy, and moral sentimentalism, find considerable support in the findings of contemporary research. To this extent, Hume may well be considered a precursor to many of today’s cognitive scientists, even though they do not generally draw directly from his work. The fundamental significance of Hume’s own work is that it shows that philosophy has always had an empirical dimension.
Essences, Ideas, and Truths in God’s Mind and in the Human Mind
Authors: Mugnai Massimo
Published: July 2015

This chapter discusses Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s philosophical reflections on essences, ideas, and truths in God’s mind and in the human mind. After examining Leibniz’s claim that the essences (essentiae) of things are like numbers, the chapter goes on to analyze his argument that ideas are the buildings blocks of truths and that the intimate nature of ideas is what determines the truth of a proposition. It then outlines Leibniz’s views about ideas and truths in relation to God’s understanding; language (in particular philosophical language); scholasticism and nominalism; and the relationship among words, signs, and ideas. Finally, it considers Leibniz’s account of the nature of ideas in the human mind in relation to the existence of God.
The Scientia Generalis and the Encyclopaedia
Authors: Pelletier Arnaud
Published: July 2015

This chapter discusses Leibniz’s plan for a new encyclopaedia. In addition to being a collection of all available knowledge, this encyclopaedia would be an instrument for demonstrating new knowledge and, thereby, for contributing to humankind’s wisdom or happiness. The central plank of this plan is the establishment of a Scientia Generalis that would serve as a preliminary tool. The texts dealing with the Scientia Generalis, however, raise two problems: first, the Scientia Generalis’s proper object seems to vary from one text to another; second, the project seems to disappear after the mid 1680’s. The chapter first considers the original function of the Scientia Generalis as a link between Characteristic and Wisdom. It then examines Leibniz’s distinction between the foundations and samples of the Scientia Generalis. The chapter concludes by analyzing the late identification of the Scientia Generalis with Metaphysics itself: the new demonstrative encyclopaedia eventually needs a reformed metaphysics.
Space and Time
Authors: Schepers Heinrich
Published: July 2015

This chapter discusses Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s theory of space and time as an essential part of his metaphysics. More specifically, it considers Leibniz’s question: “What, then, is time?” It begins by tracing the diachronic development of Leibniz’s revolutionary theory about space in its various stages before focusing on its rational construction. It then examines his thesis about things that are conceivable, the totality of possibilities, within the context of God’s intellect. It also analyzes Leibniz’s assertion that God thinks every possibility and that space differs from body just as time differs from an existent thing. Finally, the chapter reviews Leibniz’s theory of possible worlds on the basis of incompatibility or incompossibility.
Carl Schmitt and International Law
Authors: Koskenniemi Martti
Published: July 2015

Carl Schmitt always presented himself and was above all a jurist. His doctoral dissertation was based on an antiformal theory of law that was also in evidence in his acerbic critics of the League of Nations and the system of control over Germany established in the Treaty of Versailles. This chapter shows that the concrete-order thinking of his later years espoused a more conventional legal realism that has always constituted an important stream of international jurisprudence. Schmitt’s main postwar work, Nomos der Erde, puts forward an influential view of the history of international law as inextricably entangled with the imperial pretensions. This chapter argues that the much-cited book, together with Schmitt’s polemical concept of law and his critiques of the discriminatory concept of war, has proven a fruitful basis for much of today’s postcolonial jurisprudence.
Naucratis
Authors: Malouta Myrto
Published: July 2015

This chapter traces the history of Naucratis and highlights the city’s main characteristics, arranged thematically. Naucratis represents the first instance of organized Greek presence recorded in Egypt, dating to the seventh century BC. While another three poleis were founded later in Egypt, the uniqueness of Naucratis lies in its status as the first Greek settlement and only emporion in Egypt, and thus the main focus is on its position as the cultural crossroads between Egypt and the Greek world. Archaeological, literary, epigraphic, and papyrological evidence is critically appraised, as are the main current debates on the foundation and function of the city and formation of its citizens’ cultural identity in the pharaonic and Greco-Roman periods.
Scripture and Exegesis in Early Modern Reformed Theology
Authors: Trueman Carl R.
Published: July 2015

The theology of the Protestant Reformation placed great emphasis upon the Word of God, which led both to a reorientation of worship around the Word read and preached, and a focus upon the text of Scripture. This fueled the rise of linguistic studies and development of highly sophisticated approaches to biblical exegesis. In addition, polemical engagement with an increasingly sophisticated Catholicism led to further elaboration and refinement of the doctrine of scripture, particularly in relation to its perspicuity and sufficiency. Ironically, the overriding Protestant concern for scripture as the Word of God therefore put in place the technical tools and scholarly disciplines that served to undermine the classic Protestant position; and as the philosophical foundations of Reformed orthodoxy came under vigorous attack, the unity of its approach essentially collapsed towards the end of the seventeenth century, condemning the tradition as a whole to the intellectual margins in the eighteenth century.
Spinoza and Early Modern Theology
Authors: Israel Jonathan I.
Published: July 2015

This chapter argues first that there exists a close relationship between Spinoza’s Bible criticism and his radical naturalism, his conception of human knowledge and science, and second, that this particular conjoining of elements underpins an entire “Radical Enlightenment,” which over many centuries challenged the edifice of Judaeo-Christian-Muslim theology at every level. Spinoza reasons that nobody can demonstrate that Bible-based theology contains any truth at all, and why all men of good will must acquiesce in this whether they like it or not, urging that it is only by separating philosophy from theology and accepting that the theology proclaimed by revealed religion cannot provide universal truths that a more compelling basis for society’s moral and legal order can be found and promoted.
Reading Others as the Subject(s) of Biblical Narrative
Authors: Maldonado Robert D.
Published: July 2015

This chapter explores the concept of Otherness in the composition and hermeneutics of biblical narrative. It argues that throughout history human discourse has used otherness to construct identity. In the late twentieth century, Otherness was theorized as an explicit interpretive category drawing on feminist/gender, race/ethnic, and cultural studies. Practitioners foregrounded the presence of Others within the biblical narrative and assessed the politics and ethics of the use of the biblical text in othering Others. The Othered themselves became readers of Otherness within the texts. Homer’s Odyssey, the book of Esther, and the Gospel according to Mark illustrate these dynamics. All three betray ambivalence in the ethics of negotiating otherness: Homer in the construction of female identity; Esther in ethnic/religious identity under empire; and Mark in the ambiguity of power, silence, and voice, especially within the character of Jesus.
Reading the Landscape in Biblical Narrative
Authors: Habel Norman
Published: July 2015

The title of this chapter derives from Aboriginal elders, whose rich cultural tradition survives, not in written texts, such as the Bible, but in their remarkable ability to “read” the stories/Dreamings, songlines, spiritual presences, sacred sites, and laws “written” on the Australian landscape. Borrowing from this hermeneutical tradition, the chapter focuses on how the narrator of a biblical narrative “reads the landscape,” constructing, and relating characters to, the environment in the context of the plot and perspectives espoused in the plot. It explores the phenomenon of “place” as crucial for an appreciation of location in reading the environment and considers examples of “emplacement,” “displacement” and “re-placement” in key narratives of the Pentateuch. “Place” is ultimately where characters belong in the ecosystem of the narrative. By reading the landscape the chapter examines how the narrator constructs the environment in relation to the plot, characters, and the focus of the narrative.
Biblical Lamentations and Singing the Blues
Authors: Smith-Christopher Daniel L.
Published: July 2015

Scholars working on the connection of literature, narrative, and trauma have made important connections between an individual’s ability to maintain a coherent sense of self (a personal narrative) and their own psychological and social well-being. Some literary expressions from traumatic circumstances, therefore, can be read as individual attempts to repair personal narratives. The biblical book of Lamentations may well be such an exercise in narrative repair. Using these ideas to introduce ways of reading the biblical book of Lamentations, the chapter makes the connection with African American blues traditions as another form of narrative repair very much in the spirit of the biblical material. In fact, the comparison with the blues may well lead to new reading strategies for Lamentations as well.
Why you Can’t Find a Taxi in the Rain and Other Labor Supply Lessons from Cab Drivers*
Authors: Farber Henry S.
Published: July 2015

I replicate and extend the seminal work of Camerer et al. (“Labor Supply of New York City Cabdrivers: One Day at a Time,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112 [1997], 407–441), who find that the wage elasticity of daily hours of work for New York City taxi drivers is negative and conclude that their labor supply behavior is consistent with reference dependence. In contrast, my analysis of the complete record of all trips taken in NYC taxi cabs from 2009 to 2013 shows that drivers tend to respond positively to unanticipated as well as anticipated increases in earnings opportunities. Additionally, using a discrete choice stopping model, the probability of a shift ending is strongly positively related to hours worked but at best weakly related to income earned. I find substantial heterogeneity across drivers in their elasticities, but the estimated elasticities are generally positive and rarely substantially negative. I find that new drivers with smaller elasticities are more likely to exit the industry, whereas drivers who remain quickly learn to be better optimizers (have positive labor supply elasticities that grow with experience). These results are consistent with the neoclassical optimizing model of labor supply and suggest that consideration of gain-loss utility and income reference dependence is not an important factor in the daily labor supply decisions of taxi drivers.
Epidemiology of Pediatric Fractures Presenting to Emergency Departments in the United States
Authors: Naranje Sameer M. , Erali Richard A. , Warner William C. , Sawyer Jeffrey R. , Kelly Derek M.
Published: July 2015

Background:

Fractures in children are an important public health issue and a frequent cause of emergency room visits. The purpose of this descriptive epidemiological study was to identify the most frequent pediatric fractures per 1000 population at risk in the United States using the 2010 National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database and 2010 US Census information.

Methods:

The NEISS database was queried for all fractures in 2010 in children between the ages of 0 and 19 years. The NEISS national estimates were compared with the 2010 US Census data to extrapolate national occurrence rates.

Results:

The annual occurrence of fractures increased from ages 0 to 14, peaking in the 10 to 14 age range (15.23 per 1000 children). The annual occurrence rate for the entire pediatric population (0 to 19 y) was 9.47 per 1000 children. Fractures of the lower arm (forearm) were the most common among the entire study population, accounting for 17.8% of all fractures, whereas finger and wrist fractures were the second and third most common, respectively. Finger and hand fractures were most common for age groups 10 to 14 and 15 to 19 years, respectively. The overall risk of a fracture occurring throughout childhood and adolescence was 180 per 1000 children, or just under 1 in every 5 children.

Conclusions:

Pediatric fractures represent a significant proportion of pediatric emergency department visits in the United States. Children between 10 and 14 years of age have the highest risk of having fractures. Overall, forearm fractures were the most common pediatric fractures. Most pediatric fractures can be treated on outpatient basis, with only 1 of 18 fractures requiring hospitalization or observation.

Level of Evidence:

Level III–Retrospective comparative study.
Endoscopic Endonasal-Assisted Resection of Orbital Schwannoma
Authors: Sun Michelle T. , Wu Wencan , Yan Wentao , Tu Yunhai , Selva Dinesh
Published: July 2015

Orbital schwannomas are rare and despite a variety of external surgical approaches previously utilized, removal of tumors located in the deep orbital apex remains challenging. The endoscopic endonasal approach has been used increasingly for various apical tumours, but few describe this technique for orbital schwannomas. The authors describe 2 cases of orbital schwannoma removed via an endoscopic endonasal assisted approach. The first patient was a 31-year-old Cantonese female who was found to have an 11 × 8 × 8 mm right orbital apical schwannoma which was removed using an endoscopic endonasal sphenoethmoidal approach. The second patient was a 78-year-old white male who had a 28 × 17 × 18 mm orbital schwannoma removed via a transcaruncular and endoscopic endonasal-assisted approach. These findings suggest that the use of an endonasal approach may facilitate the safe removal of selected medially located orbital schwannomas whose posterior margins involve the orbital apex.
Poor Physician Performance in the Netherlands: Characteristics, Causes, and Prevalence
Authors: van den Goor Myra M.P.G. , Wagner Cordula C. , Lombarts Kiki M.J.M.H.
Published: July 2015

Introduction

Poor physician performance has a profound impact on patient safety and society's trust in the health care system. The attention that this topic has received in the media suggests that it is a large-scale issue. However, research about physician performance is still scant; there is little evidence regarding its prevalence. In terminology, characteristics and causes of poor performance seem to be used synonymously. The aim of this study was to describe (i) characteristics of poor performance, (ii) causes contributing to its onset and continuation, and (iii) prevalence of poor performance among physicians in the Netherlands.

Methods

This is a mixed-methods study involving literature review of 10 electronic databases, review of disciplinary law verdicts, and 12 expert interviews. Each of the 3 methods contributes to the aims of our study.

Results

Characteristics of poor performance are predominantly described by deficits in individual physician knowledge, skills, and behavior. Causes of poor performance include aspects such as poor collaboration, lack of criticism, insufficient leadership, and lack of professional development. A prevalence rate of 5% was judged by the experts to be realistic; evidence to underpin this number is lacking.

Conclusions

This study discriminates between characteristics and causes of poor performance. Characteristics of poor performance are related to individual physician aspects. Causes contributing to the onset and continuation of poor performance include not only individual components but also work environment and professional development. Our findings therefore underscore the importance of considering poor performance on a system level rather than as a pure individual physician issue.
The fitness consequences of kin-biased dispersal in a cooperatively breeding bird
Authors: Pollack Lea , Rubenstein Dustin R.
Published: July 2015

Cooperative alliances among kin may not only lead to indirect fitness benefits for group-living species, but can also provide direct benefits through access to mates or higher social rank. However, the immigrant sex in most species loses any potential benefits of living with kin unless immigrants disperse together or recruit relatives into the group in subsequent years. To look for evidence of small subgroups of related immigrants within social groups (kin substructure), we used microsatellites to assess relatedness between immigrant females of the cooperatively breeding superb starling,
Lamprotornis superbus.
We determined how timing of immigration led to kin subgroup formation and if being part of one influenced female fitness. Although mean relatedness in groups was higher for males than females, 26% of immigrant females were part of a kin subgroup with a sister. These immigrant sibships formed through kin recruitment across years more often than through coalitions immigrating together in the same year. Furthermore, females were more likely to breed when part of a kin subgroup than when alone, suggesting that female siblings form alliances that may positively influence their fitness. Ultimately, kin substructure should be considered when determining the role of relatedness in the evolution of animal societies.
The wake of hovering flight in bats
Authors: Håkansson Jonas , Hedenström Anders , Winter York , Johansson L. Christoffer
Published: July 2015

Hovering means stationary flight at zero net forward speed, which can be achieved by animals through muscle powered flapping flight. Small bats capable of hovering typically do so with a downstroke in an inclined stroke plane, and with an aerodynamically active outer wing during the upstroke. The magnitude and time history of aerodynamic forces should be reflected by vorticity shed into the wake. We thus expect hovering bats to generate a characteristic wake, but this has until now never been studied. Here we trained nectar-feeding bats,Leptonycteris yerbabuenae, to hover at a feeder and using time-resolved stereoscopic particle image velocimetry in conjunction with high-speed kinematic analysis we show that hovering nectar-feeding bats produce a series of bilateral stacked vortex loops. Vortex visualizations suggest that the downstroke produces the majority of the weight support, but that the upstroke contributes positively to the lift production. However, the relative contributions from downstroke and upstroke could not be determined on the basis of the wake, because wake elements from down- and upstroke mix and interact. We also use a modified actuator disc model to estimate lift force, power and flap efficiency. Based on our quantitative wake-induced velocities, the model accounts for weight support well (108%). Estimates of aerodynamic efficiency suggest hovering flight is less efficient than forward flapping flight, while the overall energy conversion efficiency (mechanical power output/metabolic power) was estimated at 13%.
Human diffusion and city influence
Authors: Lenormand Maxime , Gonçalves Bruno , Tugores Antònia , Ramasco José J.
Published: July 2015

Cities are characterized by concentrating population, economic activity and services. However, not all cities are equal and a natural hierarchy at local, regional or global scales spontaneously emerges. In this work, we introduce a method to quantify city influence using geolocated tweets to characterize human mobility. Rome and Paris appear consistently as the cities attracting most diverse visitors. The ratio between locals and non-local visitors turns out to be fundamental for a city to truly be global. Focusing only on urban residents' mobility flows, a city-to-city network can be constructed. This network allows us to analyse centrality measures at different scales. New York and London play a central role on the global scale, while urban rankings suffer substantial changes if the focus is set at a regional level.
Quantum optics with one or two photons
Authors: Milburn G. J. , Basiri-Esfahani S.
Published: July 2015

We discuss the concept of a single-photon state together with how they are generated, measured and interact with linear and nonlinear systems. In particular, we consider how a single-photon state interacts with an opto-mechanical system: an optical cavity with a moving mirror and how such states can be used as a measurement probe for the mechanical degrees of freedom. We conclude with a discussion of how single-photon states are modified in a gravitational field due to the red-shift.
Population-specific responses to an invasive species
Authors: Reichard Martin , Douda Karel , Przybyłski Mirosław , Popa Oana P. , Karbanová Eva , Matasová Klára , Rylková Kateřina , Polačik Matej , Blažek Radim , Smith Carl
Published: July 2015

Predicting the impacts of non-native species remains a challenge. As populations of a species are genetically and phenotypically variable, the impact of non-native species on local taxa could crucially depend on population-specific traits and adaptations of both native and non-native species. Bitterling fishes are brood parasites of unionid mussels and unionid mussels produce larvae that parasitize fishes. We used common garden experiments to measure three key elements in the bitterling–mussel association among two populations of an invasive mussel (
Anodonta woodiana
) and four populations of European bitterling (
Rhodeus amarus
). The impact of the invasive mussel varied between geographically distinct
R. amarus
lineages and between local populations within lineages. The capacity of parasitic larvae of the invasive mussel to exploit
R. amarus
was higher in a Danubian than in a Baltic
R. amarus
lineage and in allopatric than in sympatric
R. amarus
populations. Maladaptive oviposition by
R. amarus
into
A. woodiana
varied among populations, with significant population-specific consequences for
R. amarus
recruitment. We suggest that variation in coevolutionary states may predispose different populations to divergent responses. Given that coevolutionary relationships are ubiquitous, population-specific attributes of invasive and native populations may play a critical role in the outcome of invasion. We argue for a shift from a species-centred to population-centred perspective of the impacts of invasions.
The vulnerability of species to range expansions by predators can be predicted using historical species associations and body size
Authors: Alofs Karen M. , Jackson Donald A.
Published: July 2015

Climate change threatens species directly through environmental changes and indirectly through its effects on species interactions. We need tools to predict which species are most vulnerable to these threats. Pairwise species associations and body size are simple but promising predictors of the relative impact of species introduced outside of their historical ranges. We examined the vulnerability of 30 fish species to the impacts of three centrarchid predators that are being introduced to lakes north of their historical range boundaries. Species that were negatively associated with each centrarchid in their historical range were more likely to be lost from lakes with centrarchid introductions. Total body length was most important in predicting impact for the most gape-limited predator. At the regional scale, our method identifies those species most vulnerable to introductions facilitated by climate change and can easily be applied to a range of taxa undergoing range expansions.
Gctf: real-time CTF determination and correction
Authors: Zhang Kai
Published: July 2015

Accurate estimation of the contrast transfer function (CTF) is critical for a near-atomic resolution cryo electron microscopy (cryoEM) reconstruction. Here, I present a GPU-accelerated computer program, Gctf, for accurate and robust, real-time CTF determination. Similar to alternative programs, the main target of Gctf is to maximize the cross-correlation of a simulated CTF with the power spectra of observed micrographs after background reduction. However, novel approaches in Gctf improve both speed and accuracy. In addition to GPU acceleration, a fast ‘1-dimensional search plus 2-dimensional refinement (1S2R)’ procedure significantly speeds up Gctf. Based on the global CTF determination, the local defocus for each particle and for single frames of movies is accurately refined, which improves CTF parameters of all particles for subsequent image processing. Novel diagnosis method using equiphase averaging(EFA) and self-consistency verification procedures have also been implemented in the program for practical use, especially for aims of near-atomic reconstruction. Gctf is an independent program and the outputs can be easily imported into other cryoEM software such as Relion and Frealign. The results from several representative datasets are shown and discussed in this paper.
XAS analysis of iron and palladium bonded to a polysaccharide produced anaerobically by a strain ofKlebsiella oxytoca
Authors: Arčon Iztok , Paganelli Stefano , Piccolo Oreste , Gallo Michele , Vogel-Mikuš Katarina , Baldi Franco
Published: July 2015

Klebsiella oxytocaBAS-10 ferments citrate to acetic acid and CO2, and secretes a specific exopolysaccharide (EPS), which is able to bind different metallic species. These biomaterials may be used for different biotechnological purposes, including applications as innovative green biogenerated catalysts. In production of biogenerated Pd species, the Fe(III) as ferric citrate is added to anaerobic culture ofK. oxytocaBAS-10, in the presence of palladium species, to increase the EPS secretion and improve Pd-EPS yield. In this process, bi-metallic (FePd-EPS) biomaterials were produced for the first time. The morphology of bi-metallic EPS, and the chemical state of the two metals in the FePd-EPS, are investigated by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, micro-X-ray fluorescence, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy methods (XANES and EXAFS), and compared with mono-metallic Pd-EPS and Fe-EPS complexes. Iron in FePd-EPS is in the mineralized form of iron oxides/hydroxides, predominantly in the form of Fe3+, with a small amount of Fe2+in the structure, most probably a mixture of different nano-crystalline iron oxides and hydroxides, as in mono-metallic Fe-EPS. Palladium is found as Pd(0) in the form of metallic nanoparticles with face-centred cubic structure in both bi-metallic (FePd-EPS) and mono-metallic (Pd-EPS) species. In bi-metallic species, Pd and Fe nanoparticles agglomerate in larger clusters, but they remain spatially separated. The catalytic ability of bi-metallic species (FePd-EPS) in a hydrodechlorination reaction is improved in comparison with mono-metallic Pd-EPS.
Addressing Public Health informatics patient privacy concerns
Authors: Birnbaum David , Borycki Elizabeth , Karras Bryant Thomas , Denham Elizabeth , Lacroix Paulette
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to review stakeholder perspectives and provide a framework for improving governance in health data stewardship. Patients may wish to view their own lab results or clinical records, but others (notably academics, journalists and lawyers) tend to want scores of patient records in their search for patterns or trends. Public Health informatics capabilities are growing in scope and speed as clinical information systems, health information exchange networks and other potential database linkages enable more access to healthcare data. This change facilitates novel service improvements, but also raises new personal privacy protection issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper summarizes a panel session discussion from the 2015 Information Technology and Communication in Health biennial international conference. The perspectives of health service research, journalism, Public Health informatics and privacy protection were represented.

Findings

– In North America, an expectation of personal privacy exists as a quasi-constitutional right. Individuals should be allowed to control the amount of information shared about them, and in particular the public expects that details of their personal healthcare data are protected. This is supported by laws, regulations and administrative structures; however, there are fundamental differences between the approaches taken in Canada and in the USA. In both countries, population and Public Health has wide powers to collect data and share it appropriately in order to accomplish a social good. A recent report issued by the British Columbia Information and Privacy Commissioner, and a recent story issued by the Bloomberg News service, highlight ways in which laws and regulations have not kept pace with advances in technology. Changes are needed to enable population and Public Health agencies to protect confidential personal information while still being able to comply with legitimate requests for data by researchers, policy makers and the public at large.

Originality/value

– Similarities and differences in approach, gaps, current issues and recommendations of several countries were revealed in a conference session. Those concepts and the likelihood of ensuing legislative changes directly impact healthcare organizations’ patients and leadership.
Clinical Governance Review 20.2
Authors: MacVane Phipps Fiona
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the content of the current issue of CGIJ.

Design/methodology/approach

– The review is prepared by the review editor to highlight key points within each paper.

Findings

– Enables readers to scan content and select papers of most interest or relevance to their needs.

Originality/value

– CGIJ is the only Emerald health journal providing this service to its readers.
Organizational learning management systems: time to move learning to the cloud!
Authors: Lal Prerna
Published: July 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to understand the need for organizations to make a shift from traditional to cloud-based organizational learning management systems (LMSs).

Design/methodology/approach

– In-depth interviews with people responsible for managing learning management systems.

Findings

– This study identifies six reasons why organizations should select cloud-based learning systems as against traditional LMS.

Research limitations/implications

– The six identified reasons to move to the cloud can further be validated with empirical study.

Practical implications

– LMSs adopted and managed properly provide actionable insights on a timely basis to better manage people – the critical assets of an organization – for HR personnel and business managers.

Originality/value

– Adopting cloud-based organizational learning solutions can help in making the management of LMS very easy for administrators as well as managers.