bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Interference of Steroidogenesis by Gold Nanorod Core/Silver Shell Nanostructures: Implications for Reproductive Toxicity of Silver Nanomaterials
Authors: Jiang Xiumei , Wang Liming , Ji Yinglu , Tang Jinglong , Tian Xin , Cao Mingjing , Li Jingxuan , Bi Shuying , Wu Xiaochun , Chen Chunying , Yin Jun‐Jie
Published: December 2016

As a widely used nanomaterial in daily life, silver nanomaterials may cause great concern to female reproductive system as they are found to penetrate the blood–placental barrier and gain access to the ovary. However, it is largely unknown about how silver nanomaterials influence ovarian physiology and functions such as hormone production. This study performs in vitro toxicology study of silver nanomaterials, focusing especially on cytotoxicity and steroidogenesis and explores their underlying mechanisms. This study exposes primary rat granulosa cells to gold nanorod core/silver shell nanostructures (Au@Ag NRs), and compares outcomes with cells exposed to gold nanorods. The Au@Ag NRs generate more reactive oxygen species and reduce mitochondrial membrane potential and less production of adenosine triphosphate. Au@Ag NRs promote steroidogenesis, including progesterone and estradiol, in a time‐ and dose‐dependent manner. Chemical reactivity and transformation of Au@Ag NRs are then studied by electron spin resonance spectroscopy and X‐ray absorption near edge structure, which analyze the generation of free radical and intracellular silver species. Results suggest that both particle‐specific activity and intracellular silver ion release of Au@Ag NR contribute to the toxic response of granulosa cells.
Calorimetric, rheological, and structural properties of potato protein and potato starch composites and gels
Authors: Zhang Duqin , Mu Taihua , Sun Hongnan
Published: December 2016

Composites of potato protein (PP) to potato starch (PS) weight ratios of 1:0.5, 1:1, 1:3, and 1:7, and their thermally induced (90°C for 20 min) gels were prepared, and the calorimetric, rheological, and structural properties were investigated. Data of ΔH (heat of phase transition) were close to ΔHPP–PS composite indicating that PP and PS underwent phase transitions independently during thermal treatment of the PP–PS composites. The onset of gelation (Tgel) increased from 57.9 to 61.9°C, and it became hard to identify as the PP content increased, indicating that PS formed a gel more easily than PP. The decrease of the degree of dependence of G′ on frequency sweep (z′) from 0.20 to 0.08 with the increase of the strength of molecular interactions (K) from 1.49 to 2.22 indicated that the physical interactions in PP–PS gels decreased but the covalent interactions and the strengths of the gels increased as the PP content increased. Potato starch prevented the thermally induced secondary structural changes of PP, and a more uniform network structure was formed in the PP–PS gels as the PS content increased. Thus, by adjusting the ratios of PP and PS, the quality of PP–PS gels could be enhanced.
Concise Review: Amniotic Fluid Stem Cells: The Known, the Unknown, and Potential Regenerative Medicine Applications
Authors: Loukogeorgakis Stavros P. , De Coppi Paolo
Published: December 2016

The amniotic fluid has been identified as an untapped source of cells with broad potential, which possess immunomodulatory properties and do not have the ethical and legal limitations of embryonic stem cells. CD117(c-Kit)+ cells selected from amniotic fluid have been shown to differentiate into cell lineages representing all three embryonic germ layers without generating tumors, making them ideal candidates for regenerative medicine applications. Moreover, their ability to engraft in injured organs and modulate immune and repair responses of host tissues, suggest that transplantation of such cells may be useful for the treatment of various degenerative and inflammatory diseases. Although significant questions remain regarding the origin, heterogeneous phenotype, and expansion potential of amniotic fluid stem cells, evidence to date supports their potential role as a valuable stem cell source for the field of regenerative medicine.
New Monoclonal Antibodies to Defined Cell Surface Proteins on Human Pluripotent Stem Cells
Authors: O'Brien Carmel M. , Chy Hun S. , Zhou Qi , Blumenfeld Shiri , Lambshead Jack W. , Liu Xiaodong , Kie Joshua , Capaldo Bianca D. , Chung Tung-Liang , Adams Timothy E. , Phan Tram , Bentley John D. , McKinstry William J. , Oliva Karen , McMurrick Paul J. , Wang Yu-Chieh , Rossello Fernando J. , Lindeman Geoffrey J. , Chen Di , Jarde Thierry , Clark Amander T. , Abud Helen E. , Visvader Jane E. , Nefzger Christian M. , Polo Jose M. , Loring Jeanne F. , Laslett Andrew L.
Published: December 2016

The study and application of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) will be enhanced by the availability of well-characterized monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) detecting cell-surface epitopes. Here, we report generation of seven new mAbs that detect cell surface proteins present on live and fixed human ES cells (hESCs) and human iPS cells (hiPSCs), confirming our previous prediction that these proteins were present on the cell surface of hPSCs. The mAbs all show a high correlation with POU5F1 (OCT4) expression and other hPSC surface markers (TRA-160 and SSEA-4) in hPSC cultures and detect rare OCT4 positive cells in differentiated cell cultures. These mAbs are immunoreactive to cell surface protein epitopes on both primed and naive state hPSCs, providing useful research tools to investigate the cellular mechanisms underlying human pluripotency and states of cellular reprogramming. In addition, we report that subsets of the seven new mAbs are also immunoreactive to human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), normal human breast subsets and both normal and tumorigenic colorectal cell populations. The mAbs reported here should accelerate the investigation of the nature of pluripotency, and enable development of robust cell separation and tracing technologies to enrich or deplete for hPSCs and other human stem and somatic cell types.
Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase PRL2 Mediates Notch and Kit Signals in Early T Cell Progenitors
Authors: Kobayashi Michihiro , Nabinger Sarah C. , Bai Yunpeng , Yoshimoto Momoko , Gao Rui , Chen Sisi , Yao Chonghua , Dong Yuanshu , Zhang Lujuan , Rodriguez Sonia , Yashiro-Ohtani Yumi , Pear Warren S. , Carlesso Nadia , Yoder Mervin C. , Kapur Reuben , Kaplan Mark H. , Daniel Lacorazza Hugo , Zhang Zhong-Yin , Liu Yan
Published: December 2016

The molecular pathways regulating lymphoid priming, fate, and development of multipotent bone marrow hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) that continuously feed thymic progenitors remain largely unknown. While Notch signal is indispensable for T cell specification and differentiation, the downstream effectors are not well understood. PRL2, a protein tyrosine phosphatase that regulates hematopoietic stem cell proliferation and self-renewal, is highly expressed in murine thymocyte progenitors. Here we demonstrate that protein tyrosine phosphatase PRL2 and receptor tyrosine kinase c-Kit are critical downstream targets and effectors of the canonical Notch/RBPJ pathway in early T cell progenitors. While PRL2 deficiency resulted in moderate defects of thymopoiesis in the steady state, de novo generation of T cells from Prl2 null hematopoietic stem cells was significantly reduced following transplantation. Prl2 null HSPCs also showed impaired T cell differentiation in vitro. We found that Notch/RBPJ signaling upregulated PRL2 as well as c-Kit expression in T cell progenitors. Further, PRL2 sustains Notch-mediated c-Kit expression and enhances stem cell factor/c-Kit signaling in T cell progenitors, promoting effective DN1-DN2 transition. Thus, we have identified a critical role for PRL2 phosphatase in mediating Notch and c-Kit signals in early T cell progenitors.
Effect of gamma radiation on the physicomechanical characters of EPDM rubber/modified additives nanocomposites
Authors: Abdel‐Aziz Mohamed M. , Amer Hany A. , Atia Mona K. , Rabie Abdelgwade M.
Published: December 2016

Ethylene propylene diene terpolymer (EPDM) rubber nanocomposites have been prepared by incorporating 10 phr of organically modified montmorillonite (OMMT) nanoclay and various percentages of fumed silica (10, 20, and 30 phr) onto EPDM rubber composite using two roll mill and crosslinked by gamma radiation. The effect of radiation dose on the mechanical properties namely tensile strength and elongation at break and the physical properties namely solubility and swelling were investigated. Thermogravimetric analysis was carried out to analyses the thermal stability of the nanocomposites. Volume resistivity of the nanocomposites was also measured. The results showed that the mechanical, volume resistivity, and thermal properties of the irradiated EPDM rubber containing OMMT were increased by adding of the fumed silica. The effect of N,N‐m‐phenylenedimaleimide coagent on the mentioned properties of the EPDM rubber nanocomposites was studied. The results showed that the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of the irradiated EPDM rubber nanocomposites improved with the addition of the coagent due to the increase of the crosslinking density. The inclusion of both the 30 phr fumed silica and the coagent in the nanocomposite irradiated to 50 kGy leads to a synergistic effect. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 23:E188–E200, 2017. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers
Local control: authority, resistance, and knowledge production in fracking
Authors: Valencia Cristobal , Carrillo Martinet Maceo
Published: December 2016

In this article, we review recent scholarship on fracking vis‐à‐vis the crosscutting problems of authority, resistance, and knowledge production. A focus on the sociocultural context within which hydraulic fracturing occurs and is made sense of in the United States provides us an opportunity to show gaps in understandings and propose further research to address them. Additionally, our focus on the US context demonstrates the importance of the historically particular and place‐specific nature of resource extraction for understanding fracking as a social process. We argue that factors such as race, history, and colonialism are mobilized or obscured differently by scholars and local actors in order to establish and contest power as well as produce knowledge about fracking. Finally, we are interested in how to make better conceptual use of the future and emerging local debates amongst frontline actors. WIREs Water 2017, 4:e1197. doi: 10.1002/wat2.1197

This article is categorized under:

Human Water > Rights to Water

Engineering Water > Sustainable Engineering of Water

Human Water > Water Governance
Inside Cover Image, Volume 9, Issue 1
Authors: Fontana Flavia , Liu Dongfei , Hirvonen Jouni , Santos Hélder A.
Published: December 2016

image

The inside cover image, by Hélder Santos et al., is based on the Overview Delivery of therapeutics with nanoparticles: what's new in cancer immunotherapy?, DOI: 10.1002/wnan.1421.
Fungal variegatic acid and extracellular polysaccharides promote the site-specific generation of reactive oxygen species
Authors: Zhu Yuan , Mahaney James , Jellison Jody , Cao Jinzhen , Gressler Julia , Hoffmeister Dirk , Goodell Barry
Published: December 2016

This study aims to clarify the role of variegatic acid (VA) in fungal attack by Serpula lacrymans, and also the generation and scavenging of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by the fungus. VA promotes a mediated Fenton reaction to generated ROS after oxalate solubilizes oxidized forms of iron. The fungal extracellular matrix (ECM) β-glucan scavenged ROS, and we propose this as a mechanism to protect the fungal hyphae while ROS generation is promoted to deconstruct the lignocellulose cell wall. A relatively high pH (4.4) also favored Fe(III) transfer from oxalate to VA as opposed to a lower pH (2.2) conditions, suggesting a pH-dependent Fe(III) transfer to VA employed by S. lacrymans. This permits ROS generation within the higher pH of the cell wall, while limiting ROS production near the fungal hyphae, while β-glucan from the fungal ECM scavenges ROS in the more acidic environments surrounding the fungal hyphae.
A comparative study of glycerol and sorbitol as co-substrates in methanol-induced cultures of Pichia pastoris: temperature effect and scale-up simulation
Authors: Berrios Julio , Flores María-Olga , Díaz-Barrera Alvaro , Altamirano Claudia , Martínez Irene , Cabrera Zaida
Published: December 2016

The production of recombinant proteins by Pichia pastoris under AOX1 promoter is usually performed using methanol together with either glycerol or sorbitol as co-substrate. Although both co-substrates have been widely used, comparative studies are scarce. In addition, these comparisons have been performed at different specific growth rate (µ) that it is well known that has an important effect on productivity. Thus, the effect of using these co-substrates on the production of Rhyzopus oryzae lipase (ROL) by P. pastoris was compared in continuous cultures growing at the same µ at either 22 or 30 °C. Results show that using glycerol as co-substrate led to higher volumetric productivities, and lower specific and volumetric methanol consumption rates. Scale-up simulation with 10–10,000 L bioreactor sizes indicated that glycerol produced the highest volumetric productivity of ROL with lower aeration requirements. Therefore, glycerol rises as a better option than sorbitol in ROL production.
A Qualitative Study of Factors Influencing Decision‐Making after Prenatal Diagnosis of down Syndrome
Authors: Reed Amy R. , Berrier Kathryn L.
Published: December 2016

Previous research has identified twenty‐six factors that may affect pregnancy management decisions following prenatal diagnosis of DS; however, there is no consensus about the relative importance or effects of these factors. In order to better understand patient decision‐making, we conducted expansive cognitive interviews with nine former patients who received a prenatal diagnosis of DS. Our results suggest that patients attached unique meanings to factors influencing decision‐making regardless of the pregnancy outcome. Nineteen of the twenty‐six factors previously studied and four novel factors (rationale for testing, information quality, pregnancy experience, and perception of parenting abilities and goals) were found to be important to decision‐making. We argue that qualitative studies can help characterize the complexity of decision‐making following prenatal diagnosis of DS.
Prevalence and Associated Factors of Premature Ejaculation in the Anhui Male Population in China: Evidence-Based Unified Definition of Lifelong and Acquired Premature Ejaculation
Authors: Gao Jingjing , Peng Dangwei , Zhang Xiansheng , Hao Zongyao , Zhou Jun , Fan Song , Zhang Yao , Mao Jun , Dou Xianming , Liang Chaozhao
Published: December 2016

Introduction

In 2014, new evidence-based definitions of lifelong premature ejaculation (LPE) and acquired premature ejaculation (APE) were proposed by the International Society for Sexual Medicine. Based on the new PE definitions, the prevalence of and factors associated with LPE and APE have not been investigated in China.

Aim

To evaluate the prevalence of and factors associated with LPE and APE in men with the complaint of PE in China.

Methods

From December 2011 to December 2015, a cross-sectional field survey was conducted in five cities in the Anhui province of China. Questionnaire data of 3,579 men were collected in our database. The questionnaire included subjects' demographic information and medical and sexual histories. Men who were not satisfied with their time to ejaculate were accepted as having the complaint of PE. Men with the complaint of PE who met the new definition of PE were diagnosed as having LPE or APE.

Main Outcome Measures

New definition of LPE and APE.

Results

Of 3,579 men who completed the questionnaire, 34.62% complained of PE. Mean age, body mass index, and self-estimated intravaginal ejaculatory latency time for all subjects were 34.97 ± 9.02 years, 23.33 ± 3.56 kg/m2, and 3.09 ± 1.36 minutes, respectively. The prevalences of LPE and APE in men with the complaint of PE were 10.98% and 21.39%, respectively. LPE and APE were associated with age, body mass index, and smoking and exercise rates (P < .001 for all comparisons). Men with APE reported more comorbidities than men with LPE, especially in the presence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and heart disease (P < .001 for all comparisons).

Conclusion

In this study, the prevalences of LPE and APE in men with the complaint of PE were 10.98% and 21.39%, respectively. Patients with APE were older and more likely to smoke, had more comorbidities, and had a higher body mass index than patients with LPE.
Factors Influencing Rehospitalisation of Patients with Schizophrenia in Japan: A 1-year Longitudinal Study
Authors: Shimada Takeshi , Nishi Ai , Yoshida Tomotaka , Tanaka Sachie , Kobayashi Masayoshi
Published: December 2016

Objective/Background

This longitudinal study explored factors influencing the rehospitalisation of patients with schizophrenia in Japan.

Methods

Participants comprised patients with schizophrenia who were discharged from a psychiatric hospital in Japan. The investigations were conducted at the time of discharge and one year later. Demographics and clinical characteristics included the following: the type of occupational therapy (OT) interventions (group and individualized or group only); the assessment scales’ scores on hospitalisation; the community living conditions after discharge; and the contents of outpatient treatment (outpatient OT, day-care treatment, home-visit nursing, and adherence to outpatient treatment and medication). All variables were examined in a binomial logistic regression analysis to identify the factors for rehospitalisation.

Results

The rehospitalisation rate was 31.8%, as 14 of 44 participants were rehospitalised within one year after discharge. The type of OT interventions (OR = 7.05, 95% CI = 1.36 −36.69, p = .020) and the adherence to outpatient treatment and medication (OR = 9.48, 95% CI = 1.82–49.33, p = .008) were significant contributing factors to rehospitalisation.

Conclusion

This study provided preliminary support for the finding that individualized occupational therapy and proper adherence to outpatient treatment and medication are associated with reducing the rehospitalisation of patients with schizophrenia in Japan.
THE COMPETITIVENESS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT AND INPUT MARKETS: A REVIEW AND SYNTHESIS OF RECENT RESEARCH
Authors: SHELDON IAN M.
Published: December 2016

This article reviews literature on competitiveness of agricultural product and input markets. Although researchers in the United States and Europe emphasize different stages of the agricultural and food marketing system, their focus is similar: extent of buyer power, although both have largely ignored the sector supplying inputs to agriculture. The key conclusion is that there is little robust empirical evidence for food processing firms exerting buyer power, and there are limited data concerning vertical contracts between food processing and agriculture, but there is a small body of evidence concerning food retailer behavior and vertical coordination between food retailing and processing.
A consult service to support and promote community-based research: Tracking and evaluating a community-based research consult service
Authors: Pelfrey C. M. , Cain K. D. , Lawless M. E. , Pike E. , Sehgal A. R.
Published: December 2016

Purpose

This study describes the design, operation, and evaluation of a community-based research (CBR) consult service within the setting of a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) institution. To our knowledge, there are no published evaluations of a CBR consult service at a CTSA hub.

Methods

A CBR consult service was created to support faculty, health-care providers/research coordinators, trainees, community-based organizations, and community members. A framework was developed to assess the stages of client engagement and to foster clear articulation of client needs and challenges. A developmental evaluation system was integrated with the framework to track progress, store documents, continuously improve the consult service, and assess research outcomes.

Results

This framework provides information on client numbers, types, services used, and successful outreach methods. Tracking progress reveals reasons that prevent clients from completing projects and facilitates learning outcomes relevant to clients and funding agencies. Clients benefit from the expert knowledge, community connections, and project guidance provided by the consult service team, increasing the likelihood of study completion and achieving research outcomes.

Conclusion

This study offers a framework by which CTSA institutions can expand their capacity to conduct and evaluate CBR while addressing challenges that inhibit community engagement.
Deployment of Medical Relief Teams of the Indian Army in the Aftermath of the Nepal Earthquake: Lessons Learned
Authors: Chauhan Ashutosh , Chopra Bhushan Kumar
Published: December 2016

In April 2015 a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal. As part of relief operations named Operation Maitri, the Indian Armed Forces deployed 3 field hospitals in the disaster zone. Rapid deployment of mobile surgical teams to far-flung, inaccessible areas was done by helicopters. In an operational deployment spanning 1 month, a total of 7532 patients were treated and 105 surgeries were carried out on 83 patients. One-fifth of the patients were less than 18 years of age. One-third of the patients had traumatic injuries directly attributable to the earthquake, whereas the remaining patients were treated for diseases of poor sanitation and hygiene as well as chronic illness that had been neglected owing to the collapse of the local health infrastructure. Cases of traumatic injuries directly related to the earthquake were seen maximally on the 5th day after the index event but tapered off rapidly by the 10th day. Nontraumatic illness required more attention thereafter and a need was felt for separate child health and reproductive health services later in the mission. Although immediate management of injuries and surgical intervention in selected cases was possible, ensuring long-term care and rehabilitation of cases proved problematic. This was especially so for spinal injury cases. Data capturing by a paper-based system was found to be inadequate. The lessons learned from this mission have led to a reimagining of the composition of future relief operations. Apart from mobile surgical teams, on which conventional field hospitals are generally centered, a separate section for preventive medicine and child and maternal services is needed. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:394–398)
Preparedness in Long-Term Care: A Novel Approach to Address Gaps in Evacuation Tracking
Authors: Prot Emilie Y , Clements Bruce
Published: December 2016

With an aging population, the number of elderly individuals residing in long-term care (LTC) facilities will continue to grow and pose unique challenges to disaster preparedness and response. With this rapidly growing vulnerable population, it becomes imperative to identify enhanced and novel preparedness strategies and measures. LTC residents not only have complicated medical needs, including the timing of dispensing multiple medications, but frequently have cognitive and mobility deficits as well. In nearly every major disaster, elderly populations have suffered disproportionate morbidity and mortality. This is often due to elderly evacuees getting overlooked in the chaos of an initial response. Instituting measures to rapidly recognize this population in a crowd during an evacuation will reduce their risk. This commentary reviews the LTC facility evacuation challenges of the 2013 explosion of the West Fertilizer Company plant in West, Texas, and offers a novel solution of mandating the wearing of pink vests by all nursing home residents in case of an evacuation. The pink vests quickly alert disaster rescue and response workers of LTC residents with special needs. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:28–30)
Which Comorbid Conditions Should We Be Analyzing as Risk Factors for Healthcare-Associated Infections?
Authors: Harris Anthony D. , Pineles Lisa , Anderson Deverick , Woeltje Keith F. , Trick William E. , Kaye Keith S. , Yokoe Deborah S. , Nyquist Ann-Christine , Calfee David P. , Leekha Surbhi
Published: December 2016

OBJECTIVE

To determine which comorbid conditions are considered causally related to central-line associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) and surgical-site infection (SSI) based on expert consensus.

DESIGN

Using the Delphi method, we administered an iterative, 2-round survey to 9 infectious disease and infection control experts from the United States.

METHODS

Based on our selection of components from the Charlson and Elixhauser comorbidity indices, 35 different comorbid conditions were rated from 1 (not at all related) to 5 (strongly related) by each expert separately for CLABSI and SSI, based on perceived relatedness to the outcome. To assign expert consensus on causal relatedness for each comorbid condition, all 3 of the following criteria had to be met at the end of the second round: (1) a majority (>50%) of experts rating the condition at 3 (somewhat related) or higher, (2) interquartile range (IQR)≤1, and (3) standard deviation (SD)≤1.

RESULTS

From round 1 to round 2, the IQR and SD, respectively, decreased for ratings of 21 of 35 (60%) and 33 of 35 (94%) comorbid conditions for CLABSI, and for 17 of 35 (49%) and 32 of 35 (91%) comorbid conditions for SSI, suggesting improvement in consensus among this group of experts. At the end of round 2, 13 of 35 (37%) and 17 of 35 (49%) comorbid conditions were perceived as causally related to CLABSI and SSI, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results have produced a list of comorbid conditions that should be analyzed as risk factors for and further explored for risk adjustment of CLABSI and SSI.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2017;38:449–454
I-O Practice in Action: Solving the Leadership Potential Identification Challenge in Organizations
Authors: Silzer Rob , Church Allan H. , Rotolo Christopher T. , Scott John C.
Published: December 2016

In 2008, we saw an emerging business need to accurately identify and develop individuals early in their careers who have the potential to be effective leaders in later organizational positions. We decided early on to take a comprehensive and systematic approach to the challenge in order to build effective solutions with real organizational impact that are sustainable over time. We knew that this was a complex problem and that there was little agreement in industrial–organizational (I-O) psychology on how to approach this critical business need and what approaches would be most effective. Since then, we moved through the following process stages to arrive at effective solutions that are now being used in numerous organizations.
From the Editor
Authors: Scott John C. , Poteet Mark
Published: December 2016

The goal of focal articles in Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice is to present new ideas or different takes on existing ideas and stimulate a conversation in the form of comment articles that extend the arguments in the focal article or that present new ideas stimulated by those articles. The two focal articles in this issue stimulated a wide range of reactions and a good deal of constructive input.
It's Like Doing a Job Analysis: You Know More About Qualitative Methods Than You May Think
Authors: Brawley Alice M. , Pury Cynthia L. S.
Published: December 2016

Through learning about and doing job analysis, industrial–organizational (I-O) psychologists likely already possess skills and knowledge relevant to doing and understanding qualitative research. We'll illustrate this by showing similarities between common job analysis practices and one particular qualitative research approach likely to be relevant to organizational research: grounded theory. Grounded theory was “discovered” in 1967 by Barney Glaser and Anselm Strauss (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Though Glaser and Strauss later split in their methodologies (an occurrence not unlike the varied approaches to job analysis), the core idea of grounded theory is to develop a new theory of some process or phenomenon from the “ground” up. In the grounded theory approach, researchers typically collect mostly qualitative data—often including interviews (Creswell, 2007)—and simultaneously develop increasingly abstract codes, concepts, and categories from the data. In the final step of analysis, researchers develop a theory that subsumes all categories from the data. If researchers follow the Straussian tradition, categories can be fit into a theoretical framework that details a central phenomenon underlying the process of interest and the conditions that precede it, result from it, and shape the resulting categories (Creswell, 2007). We illustrate this framework in Figure 1. Grounded theory is particularly useful for developing an accurate understanding of many organizational processes and phenomena that I-O psychologists study.
Flavonoids: an overview
Authors: Panche A. N. , Diwan A. D. , Chandra S. R.
Published: December 2016

Flavonoids, a group of natural substances with variable phenolic structures, are found in fruits, vegetables, grains, bark, roots, stems, flowers, tea and wine. These natural products are well known for their beneficial effects on health and efforts are being made to isolate the ingredients so called flavonoids. Flavonoids are now considered as an indispensable component in a variety of nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, medicinal and cosmetic applications. This is attributed to their anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-mutagenic and anti-carcinogenic properties coupled with their capacity to modulate key cellular enzyme function. Research on flavonoids received an added impulse with the discovery of the low cardiovascular mortality rate and also prevention of CHD. Information on the working mechanisms of flavonoids is still not understood properly. However, it has widely been known for centuries that derivatives of plant origin possess a broad spectrum of biological activity. Current trends of research and development activities on flavonoids relate to isolation, identification, characterisation and functions of flavonoids and finally their applications on health benefits. Molecular docking and knowledge of bioinformatics are also being used to predict potential applications and manufacturing by industry. In the present review, attempts have been made to discuss the current trends of research and development on flavonoids, working mechanisms of flavonoids, flavonoid functions and applications, prediction of flavonoids as potential drugs in preventing chronic diseases and future research directions.
The Affordable Care Act and abortion
Authors: McFarlane Deborah R.
Published: December 2016

The 2010 Affordable Health Care Act (ACA) treats abortion differently than any other health service, precluding public funding for abortion and imposing other restrictions on American states. To determine whether the ACA’s abortion restrictions are uniquely American or have counterparts in other national health systems, this study employs a cross-sectional design comparing abortion restrictions in the ACA with those in 17 Western European countries. Using a six-item scale, the intensity of abortion restrictions is compared across Western European nations. A similar scale is employed for a five-state sample of state-level abortion restrictions. Although the United States is not alone in having abortion restrictions, how abortion is proscribed in the ACA has no counterpart in Western Europe. Unlike many Western European countries, the ACA’s restrictions focus on abortion funding, not the length of gestation or the health of the pregnant woman.
The Affordable Care Act and assisted reproductive technology use
Authors: Stapleton Patricia , Skinner Daniel
Published: December 2016

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has prompted numerous gender and sexuality controversies. We describe and analyze those involving assisted reproductive technologies (ART). ART in the United States has been regulated in piecemeal fashion, with oversight primarily by individual states. While leaving state authority largely intact, the ACA federalized key practices by establishing essential health benefits (EHBs) that regulate insurance markets and prohibit insurance-coverage denials based on pre-existing conditions. Whatever their intentions, the ACA’s drafters thus put infertility in a subtly provocative new light clinically, financially, normatively, politically, and culturally. With particular attention to normative and political dynamics embedded in plausible regulatory trajectories, we review—and attempt topreview—the ACA’s effects on infertility-related delivery of health services, on ART utilization, and on reproductive medicine as a factor in American society.
Partisan politics or public-health need?
Authors: Mayer Martin , Kenter Robert , Morris John C.
Published: December 2016

States’ policy decisions regarding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 have often been explained as predominantly, if not solely, partisan. Might rival explanations also apply? Using a cross-sectional 50-state regression model, we studied standard political variables coupled with public-health indicators. This work differs from existing research by employing a dependent variable of five additive measures of ACA support, examining the impact of both political and socioeconomic indicators on state policy decisions. Expanding on recent empirical studies with our more nuanced additive index of support measures, we found that same-party control of a state’s executive and legislative branches was indeed by far the single best predictor of policy decisions. Public-health indicators, overwhelmed by partisan effect, did not sufficiently explain state policy choice. This result does not allay the concerns that health policy has become synonymous with health politics and that health politics now has little to do with health itself.
In sickness and in health
Authors: Söderlund Peter , Rapeli Lauri
Published: December 2016

In search of a better understanding of inequalities in citizen political engagement, scholars have begun addressing the relationship between personal health and patterns of political behavior. This study focuses on the impact of personal health on various forms of political participation. The analysis contributes to existing knowledge by examining a number of different participation forms beyond just voting. Using European Social Survey data from 2012/2013 for Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden ($N=8\text{,}060$), self-reported turnout and six alternative modes of political engagement were modeled as dependent variables. Contrary to expectations, poor health did not depress participation across all forms. As assumed by the increased activism hypothesis, all else equal, people with poor health were more active than their healthy counterparts in direct contacts with power holders and demonstrations. The results reveal a “reversed health gap” by showing that people with health problems are in fact more politically active than what previous research, which has focused on voting, has suggested. Although the magnitude of the gap should not be overdramatized, our results stress the importance of distinguishing between different forms of participation when analyzing the impact of health on political engagement. Nevertheless, the findings show that poor health can stimulate people into political engagement rather than depressing activity. This finding holds when the effects of several sociodemographic and motivational factors are controlled for.
Security implications and governance of cognitive neuroscience
Authors: Kosal Margaret E. , Huang Jonathan Y.
Published: December 2016

In recent years, significant efforts have been made toward elucidating the potential of the human brain. Spanning fields as disparate as psychology, biomedicine, computer science, mathematics, electrical engineering, and chemistry, research venturing into the growing domains of cognitive neuroscience and brain research has become fundamentally interdisciplinary. Among the most interesting and consequential applications to international security are the military and defense community’s interests in the potential of cognitive neuroscience findings and technologies. In the United States, multiple governmental agencies are actively pursuing such endeavors, including the Department of Defense, which has invested over $3 billion in the last decade to conduct research on defense-related innovations. This study explores governance and security issues surrounding cognitive neuroscience research with regard to potential security-related applications and reports scientists’ views on the role of researchers in these areas through a survey of over 200 active cognitive neuroscientists.
The political implications of epigenetics
Authors: Robison Shea K.
Published: December 2016

Background. Epigenetics, which is just beginning to attract public attention and policy discussion, challenges conventional understanding of gene-environment interaction and intergenerational inheritance and perhaps much more besides.

Question. Does epigenetics challenge modern political ideologies?

Methods.I analyzed the narratives of obesity and epigenetics recently published in the more liberalNew York Timesand the more conservativeWall Street Journal. For the years 2010 through 2014, 50 articles on obesity and 29 articles on epigenetics were identified, and elements in their causal narratives were quantitatively analyzed using a well described narrative policy framework.

Findings.The narratives on obesity aligned with the two newspapers’ reputed ideologies. However, the narratives on epigenetics aligned with neither ideology but freely mixed liberal and conservative elements.

Discussion.This small study may serve as a starting point for broader studies of epigenetics as it comes to affect political ideologies and, in turn, public policies. The narrative mix reported here could yet prove vulnerable to ideological capture, or, more optimistically, could portend the emergence of a “third-way” narrative using epigenetics to question atomistic individualism and allowing for less divisiveness in public-health domains such as obesity.
The evolution of offensive realism
Authors: Johnson Dominic D. P. , Thayer Bradley A.
Published: December 2016

Offensive realism, a theory of international relations, holds that states are disposed to competition and conflict because they are self-interested, power maximizing, and fearful of other states. Moreover, it argues that states are obliged to behave this way because doing so favors survival in the international system. Debate continues as to whether modern states actually do, or should, behave in this way, but we are struck by a different question. In this article, we ask whether the three core assumptions about behavior in offensive realism—self-help, power maximization, and outgroup fear—have any basis in scientific knowledge about human behavioral evolution. We find that these precise traits are not only evolutionarily adaptive but also empirically common across the animal kingdom, especially in primate and human societies. Based on these findings, we hypothesize that states behave as offensive realists predict not just because of anarchy in the modern international system but also because of the legacy of our evolution. In short, offensive realism may really be describing the nature of the human species more than the nature of the international system. If our hypothesis is correct, then evolutionary theory offers the following: (1) a novel ultimate cause of offensive realist behavior; (2) an extension of offensive realism to any domain in which humans compete for power; and (3) an explanation for why individual leaders themselves, and not just states, seek power. However, a key insight from evolution is that the primacy of self-help, power maximization, and outgroup fear does not necessarily condemn individuals or groups to competition and conflict; rather, these traits can in themselves give rise to cooperation and alliances.
An Online Application for ΔR Calculation
Authors: Reimer Ron W , Reimer Paula J
Published: December 2016

A regional offset (ΔR) from the marine radiocarbon calibration curve is widely used in calibration software (e.g. CALIB, OxCal) but often is not calculated correctly. While relatively straightforward for known-age samples, such as mollusks from museum collections or annually banded corals, it is more difficult to calculate ΔR and the uncertainty in ΔR for 14C dates on paired marine and terrestrial samples. Previous researchers have often utilized classical intercept methods that do not account for the full calibrated probability distribution function (pdf). Recently, Soulet (2015) provided R code for calculating reservoir ages using the pdfs, but did not address ΔR and the uncertainty in ΔR. We have developed an online application for performing these calculations for known-age, paired marine and terrestrial 14C dates and U-Th dated corals. This article briefly discusses methods that have been used for calculating ΔR and the uncertainty and describes the online program deltar, which is available free of charge.
Time-Varying Liquidity and Momentum Profits
Authors: Avramov Doron , Cheng Si , Hameed Allaudeen
Published: December 2016

A basic intuition is that arbitrage is easier when markets are most liquid. Surprisingly, we find that momentum profits are markedly larger in liquid market states. This finding is not explained by variation in liquidity risk, time-varying exposure to risk factors, or changes in macroeconomic condition, cross-sectional return dispersion, and investor sentiment. The predictive performance of aggregate market illiquidity for momentum profits uniformly exceeds that of market return and market volatility states. While momentum strategies have been unconditionally unprofitable in the United States, in Japan, and in the Eurozone countries in the last decade, they are substantial following liquid market states.
Sentiment and the Effectiveness of Technical Analysis: Evidence from the Hedge Fund Industry
Authors: Smith David M. , Wang Na , Wang Ying , Zychowicz Edward J.
Published: December 2016

This article presents a unique test of the effectiveness of technical analysis in different sentiment environments by focusing on its usage by perhaps the most sophisticated and astute investors, namely, hedge fund managers. We document that during high-sentiment periods, hedge funds using technical analysis exhibit higher performance, lower risk, and superior market-timing ability than nonusers. The advantages of using technical analysis disappear or even reverse in low-sentiment periods. Our findings are consistent with the view that technical analysis is relatively more useful in high-sentiment periods with larger mispricing, which cannot be fully exploited by arbitrage activities because of short-sale impediments.
How Do Frictions Affect Corporate Investment? A Structural Approach
Authors: Bustamante M. Cecilia
Published: December 2016

This paper provides a structural approach to testing investment equations based on the log-likelihood function of a nonlinear investment rule. The analysis integrates the predictions of theq-theory for the commonly studied active region of investment and provides new inferences on how real and financing frictions affect the probability that a firm invests. The empirical findings are consistent with the macro-finance literature suggesting thatq-theory models with nonconvex investment frictions better explain the data. I also find that both real and financing costs of investment are related to the capital intensity of the industry in which firms operate.
Evidence of a relationship between weight and total length of marine fish in the North-eastern Atlantic Ocean: physiological, spatial and temporal variations
Authors: Mahé Kélig , Bellamy Elise , Delpech Jean Paul , Lazard Coline , Salaun Michèle , Vérin Yves , Coppin Franck , Travers-Trolet Morgane
Published: December 2016

Weight–Body Length relationships (WLR) of 45 fish species (37 Actinopterygii and eight Elasmobranchii) were investigated. A total of 31,167 individuals were caught and their biological parameters measured during the four quarters from 2013 to 2015, on five scientific surveys sampling the North-eastern Atlantic Ocean from the North Sea to the Bay of Biscay (ICES Divisions IVb, IVc, VIId, VIIe, VIIg, VIIh, VIIj, VIIIa and VIIIb). Among 45 tested species, all showed a significant correlation between total length (L) and total weight (W). The influence of sex on WLR was estimated for 39 species and presented a significant sexual dimorphism for 18 species. Condition factor (K) of females was always higher than for males. Moreover, a spatial effect on the WLR according to five ecoregions (the Bay of Biscay, the Celtic Sea, the Western English Channel, the Eastern English Channel and the North Sea), was significant for 18 species among 38 tested species. The temporal effect was tested according to components (year and quarter/season). The seasonality effect on WLR is more frequently significant than the year especially for the Elasmobranchii species, and can be related to the spawning season. Finally, depressiform species (skates, sharks and flatfish) are characterized by positive allometric growth, whereas there is no such clear pattern regarding roundfishes growth, whatever their body shape is.
‘We treat them all the same’: the attitudes, knowledge and practices of staff concerning old/er lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans residents in care homes
Authors: SIMPSON PAUL , ALMACK KATHRYN , WALTHERY PIERRE
Published: December 2016

The distinct needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) residents in care homes accommodating older people have been neglected in scholarship. On the basis of a survey of 187 individuals, including service managers and direct care staff, we propose three related arguments. First, whilst employees’ attitudes generally indicate a positive disposition towards LGBT residents, this appears unmatched by the ability to recognise such individuals and knowledge of the issues and policies affecting LGBT people. Statements such as, ‘We don't have any [LGBT residents] at the moment’ and ‘I/we treat them all the same’ were common refrains in responses to open-ended questions. They suggest the working of heteronormativity which could deny sexual and identity difference. Second, failure to recognise the distinct health and social care needs of LGBT residents means that they could be subject to a uniform service, which presumes a heterosexual past and cisgender status (compliance with ascribed gender), which risks compounding inequality and invisibility. Third, LGBT residents could be obliged to depend largely on the goodwill, knowledge and reflexivity of individual staff (including people of faith) to meet care and personal needs, though such qualities were necessary but not sufficient conditions for inclusion and no substitute for collective practices (involving commitment to learn about LGBT issues) that become integral to care homes’ everyday functioning. A collective approach is key to advancing inclusion, implementation of legal rights to self-expression and securing equality through differentiated provision.