bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Epistemic uses of the verb decir in La Paz Spanish
Authors: Quartararo Geraldine
Published: October 2017

This paper explores semantic extensions and pragmatic functions of two evidential forms found in La Paz Spanish, digamos ‘let’s say’ and dice ‘s/he says’. Both forms are inflected forms of the verb decir ‘to say’. The form dice ‘s/he says’ has the function of a reported evidential form, conforming to results from previous studies (Babel 2009; Olbertz 2007; Travis 2006; Laprade 1981), while the form digamos is used according to a previously unnoticed function of an inferential evidential.
Structural approaches to code-switching
Authors: Toribio Almeida Jacqueline
Published: October 2017

The present contribution reflects on the competing disciplinary, ideological, and methodological tensions in the study of bilingual code-switching and advocates for a data-driven structural approach to the patterns of language mixing attested across language pairings and Speech communities. More specifically, the chapter argues for the benefits of corpus and computational techniques in yielding reliable and replicable findings with which to confront long-standing questions and established theoretical constructs and in advancing our understanding of this bilingual phenomenon.
What are the “phonemes” in phoneme-grapheme mappings?
Authors: Cahill Lynne
Published: October 2017

The CELEX lexical database (Baayen, Piepenbrock & van Rijn 1995) was developed in the 1990s,
providing a database of the syntactic, morphological, phonological and orthographic forms of between 50,000 and 125,000 words of Dutch,
English and German. This database was used as the basis for the development of the PolyLex lexicons, which included syntactic, morphological
and phonological information for around 3,000 words of Dutch, English and German. Orthographic information was subsequently added in the
PolyOrth project. The PolyOrth project was based on the assumption that the underlying, lexical phonological forms could be used to derive
the surface orthographic forms by means of a combination of phoneme-grapheme mappings and sets of autonomous spelling rules for each
language. One of the complications encountered during the project was the fact that the phonological forms in CELEX were not always
genuinely underlying forms which made deriving the orthographic forms tricky. This paper discusses the nature and status of underlying
phonological forms, their relation to orthography and the issues of finding this information in databases.
Self as political possibility: subversive neighbor love and transcendental agency amidst collective blindness
Authors: Brooks Robin McCoy
Published: October 2017

The author investigates a notion of self as political possibility from a multi-displinary perspective that engages the psychoanalytic and philosophical thought of Jung, Žižek, Badiou and Heidegger. The political subject is one who has encountered the real of a particular societal void through the neighbor's unbidden appeal and is thus violently wrenched out of the indifference of banal **existence into a possibility of political action in a world gone mad. To illuminate her theoretical arguments, the author includes her own auto-ethnographic study into the conditions from which an egalitarian-based clinic of care emerged amidst the horror of the AIDS plague when there was no societal support in place. Lastly, the author engages Heidegger's (secondarily Jung and Badiou's) secular reading of the apostle Paul's Christian revolution as a means of elaborating on the transcendental dimension of thought and the conditions for its collective and co-experienced political possibility in today's moment in history.
Development of progressive hearing loss and tinnitus in a patient with myasthenia gravis
Authors: Ralli Massimo , di Stadio Arianna , Greco Antonio , Altissimi Giancarlo , Mazzei Filippo , Turchetta Rosaria , de Vincentiis Marco , Cianfrone Giancarlo
Published: October 2017

Purpose:

There is evidence of progressive antibody-mediated loss of acetylcholine receptors on outer hair cells in the inner ear that underlies hearing dysfunction in myasthenia gravis patients. In this paper, we present the case of a 35-year-old patient with adult-onset myasthenia gravis and thymoma who experienced progressive hearing loss and bilateral high-pitched tone tinnitus worsening over time.

Materials and methods:

Patient underwent pure tone audiometry, acoustic immittance test, decay test, transient-evoked and distortion product otoacustic emissions with and without contralateral acoustic stimulation, somatosensory tinnitus screening maneuvers and self-assessment questionnaires for tinnitus, hearing loss and hyperacusis, in addition to anamnestic interview and complete ENT visit. Questionnaires for psychiatric comorbidities (SCL90R – Symptom Checklist 90 Revisited) were also administered to the patient. The patient was studied in baseline conditions and 1 h after administration of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor pyridostigmine bromide, a drug that has been reported to have a temporary effect on outer hair cell electromotility in myasthenia gravis patients.

Results:

Pure-tone audiometry showed a progressive hearing loss for high frequencies. Consistently, transient-evoked and distortion product otoacoustic emission amplitudes were significantly reduced for mid and, especially, high frequencies; after drug administration, a significant otoacoustic emission amplitude increase was recorded.

Conclusions:

Our findings documented a chronic dysfunction of outer hair cells consistent with acetylcholine receptor loss; these alterations could represent a basis for development of hearing loss and tinnitus.
Feasibility of virtual reality-based balance rehabilitation in adults with spinocerebellar ataxia
Authors: Santos Geslaine , Zeigelboim Dra Bianca Simone , Severiano Maria , Teive Hélio , Liberalesso Paulo , Marques Jair , Cordeiro Mara
Published: October 2017

Objective:

To test the effects of a virtual reality (VR) balance rehabilitation program in patients diagnosed with SCAs.

Materials and methods:

A prospective observational study was carried out with a cohort of 28 patients diagnosed with SCAs, including eight females and 20 males, 15–70 years of age (mean, 41.5 ± 16.9 years). Patients were submitted to otorhinolaryngological assessment to exclude any kind of middle ear impairments that may hinder exam results, and vestibular evaluation to verify the existence of vestibular disorders, kind and site of the lesion. The Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), and 36-item Short-form Health Survey (SF-36) questionnaires were applied before and after VR rehabilitation. The criterion for significance in before versus after VR training comparisons was p < .05.

Results:

Regarding to baseline, the participants showed significant improvements posttraining in their DHI and BBS scores. These improvements were accompanied by improvements in perceived quality of life (QoL) as measured by the SF-36. There were significant improvements in balance and gait, fall frequency, and patients’ self-confidence.

Conclusions:

Showed consistent improvement postrehabilitation in their ability to play VR games (i.e. Soccer Heading, Tightrope, Table Tilt, and Ski Slalom). VR rehabilitation may be an effective SCA therapy. The breadth of improvements evidenced here should promote physical and psychological recovery, while fostering a better QoL.
Attentional focus and anticipated emotions in the face of future environmental risks: should I take the train or drive my car? / Foco atencional y emociones anticipadas en vista de riesgos ambientales futuros: ¿debería ir en tren o en mi coche?
Authors: Böhm Gisela , Pfister Hans-Rüdiger
Published: October 2017

This study presents an experiment investigating the effects of attentional focus and valence of experience on anticipated emotions and on intentions to drive by car or to use public transportation. Car driving is associated with being detrimental for the environment, whereas using public transportation is assumed to be environmentally beneficial. We regard environmentally friendly behaviour as an instantiation of a problem-focused coping strategy that is triggered by anticipated threat from an environmental stressor and aims at reducing the environmental problem. A discrepancy, however, may exist between the immediate experience of driving a car or using public transport, and the long-term experience of the consequences, that is, a polluted versus a healthy environment. Employing multimedia scenarios, we manipulated participants’ attention to focus either on behaviour (car or public transport) or on the environmental consequences, and induced either a positively or a negatively valenced experience. We measured anticipated emotions and intentions to use the car or public transport, and repeated the measurements two weeks later. Most important, a focus on consequences turns out to have stronger effects on emotions than a focus on behaviour. Also, intentions to use a car or public transport change when focusing on the future consequences, but not when focusing on the positive or negative circumstances accompanying the behaviours. A mediation analysis shows that while focusing on the consequences influences both anticipated emotions and behavioural intentions, the effect of focus on behavioural intentions is not mediated by anticipated emotions. Results suggest that emphasizing the long-term consequences of one’s behaviour is a better means of fostering pro-environmental behaviour than emphasizing the experience of the behaviours per se.
Coping with ambient stress: factorial structure and stressor-specificity of a general scale / Afrontamiento del estrés ambiental: estructura factorial y especificidad de estresores en una escala general
Authors: Honold Jasmin , Leandro Mauricio , van der Meer Elke
Published: October 2017

The aim of this study was (a) to examine the factorial structure of coping with ambient stress and (b) to examine the stressor-specificity of coping strategies. A German questionnaire was compiled and tested in an online survey ( N = 703). Most of the final 23 items referred to environmental burdens and pollution in general. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified three subscales with a common second-order factor: environmental concern/activism, optimism and self-protection (Cronbach’s α: .71 to .88). A paper-and-pencil study ( N = 109) confirmed the three-factor structure. In addition, coping items were reformulated to relate to five specific ambient stressors. Results showed positive correlations between responses to stressor-specific items and general items, but their degree and significance varied between stressors and subscales. Thus, the general scale on coping with ambient stress may be applied in multiple-stressor research. For research on stressor-specificity of coping strategies, stressor-specific instruments should be used.
A diagnostic Environmental Knowledge Scale for Latin America / Escala diagnóstica de conocimientos ambientales para Latinoamérica
Authors: Geiger Sonja M. , Otto Siegmar , Diaz-Marin Johann S.
Published: October 2017

In this paper we present a new scale for the assessment of environmental knowledge in the Latin American Region (EKLA) based on the Rasch model. The scale was validated within two Latin American samples (Argentina, N = 168 and Colombia, N = 130). Comparing the level of environmental knowledge in both countries, the general prevalence of environmental knowledge was higher in the Argentinean sample. Nevertheless, some specific items were easier for the Colombian sample. As the EKLA scale considers the different item difficulties in the respective countries, it gives indications for cultural and geographical factors that have an influence on environmental knowledge. The scale can further be used to inform practitioners and policymakers about relevant environmental knowledge gaps. For the samples in both countries a relationship of environmental knowledge with ecological behaviour was found.
Responsible consumption with a gender perspective: Consumption discourse and practices surrounding gender equality and sustainability in Madrid / Consumo responsable con perspectiva de género. Discursos y prácticas de consumo en torno a la equidad de género y sostenibilidad en Madrid
Authors: Piñeiro Concepción , Díaz María-José , Palavecinos Mireya , Alonso Luis-Enrique , Benayas Javier
Published: October 2017

This study aims to examine the role that gender plays in sustainable consumption (SC) initiatives and environmental communication that encourages sustainable consumption and pro-environmental behaviour in Madrid. To do so, this project uses a qualitative methodology to perform a text analysis of 10 sustainable consumption guides and to hold personal interviews (eight experts in environmental communication and training on SC in Spain or/and Madrid) and four group interviews (different people involved in SC initiatives and projects in Madrid). The results describe the consumption-gender relationship in the practice and discourse of the initiatives studied and the people interviewed. We observe that the interviewees encounter several difficulties when applying a gender perspective on sustainable consumption initiatives. This perspective is not very visible in the discourse. The interviewees agree that applying the gender perspective is a chance to transform consumption discourses and practices in order to contribute to greater social justice as part of sustainability. Among the findings, we can highlight the presence of reflections on gender in the discourses, but they are a minority in regular communication on SC and still insufficient in SC practices.
Frugality and psychological wellbeing. The role of voluntary restriction and the resourceful use of resources / Frugalidad y bienestar psicológico. El papel de la restricción voluntaria y el uso ingenioso de recursos
Authors: Muiños Gabriel , Suárez Ernesto , Hess Stephany , Hernández Bernardo
Published: October 2017

This paper analyses the relationship between psychological wellbeing and frugality, evaluated as behaviour geared towards the voluntary restriction of consumption and the resourceful use of available resources. An analysis of structural equations was carried out using a model with moderated mediation on a sample of 1113 people. The main finding was the predictive capacity of frugal behaviour, in its two factors, to explain the level of wellbeing. A mediation effect was observed where the restriction of consumption drives the resourceful use of resources, which in turn significantly predicts the level of wellbeing. The moderating role played by the level of economic income on these relationships was analysed, conceptualized as an indicator of a person’s capacity to determine the restriction of their consumption. It is concluded that frugality is a positive element of sustainable behaviour that offers an alternative from the perspective of downscaling in contrast to models centred on efficiency.
Design and application of an environmental attitudes scale in primary education / Diseño y aplicación de una escala de actitudes hacia el medio ambiente en educación primaria
Authors: Moreno Ildefonso , Amérigo María , García Juan A.
Published: October 2017

This research designs and applies an environmental attitudes scale for primary education. The pilot study, developed initially, describes the process used when designing a scale comprising 20 items applied to a sample of 49 children aged 10 to 12. In a second study, this instrument is then applied to a sample of 225 pupils from different locations around Spain. The definitive scale was made up of a total of 14 items, displaying acceptable reliability and pointing to the existence of a two-dimensional structure, labelling these two dimensions eco-affinity and eco-knowledge, respectively. An inverse significant correlation was observed between age and the dimension of eco-knowledge. No significant differences were found in the pro-environmental profile of the pupils with regard to residential environment, although such differences were noted in the dimension of eco-affinity with regard to gender, and for eco-knowledge with regard to reported behaviour of separating out waste for recycling. This paper discusses some of the implications for environmental education.
Sustainable entrepreneurship in universities and environmental values / Emprendimiento sostenible en la universidad y valores ambientales
Authors: Ruiz-Ruano Ana-María , Puga Jorge L.
Published: October 2017

The study of sustainable entrepreneurship is still in the very early stages, and many questions have been raised. The aim of this study is to shed light on the characteristics associated with entrepreneurs, and potential entrepreneurs, among university teaching and research staff, whose entrepreneurship is grounded in sustainability. A sample of 2,671 university faculty members (55.9% men and 35.6% women) aged between 24 and 77 ( M = 44.45, SD = 9.60) responded to an electronic questionnaire about business start-ups that contained items designed to evaluate ecocentric and anthropocentric values and attitudes. The results support the hypothesis that ecocentrism is chiefly associated with the desire to set up a sustainable company. The findings of this study are useful from a theoretical (to elucidate the characteristics of the sustainable entrepreneur) and practical standpoint (to guide the implementation of curricular innovations in university) with a view to optimizing the presence of sustainability within the university sphere.
Current developments in environmental psychology: topics and researchers / Desarrollos actuales en psicología ambiental: temas e investigadores
Authors: van der Werff Ellen , Perlaviciute Goda , Muiños Gabriel
Published: October 2017

The aim of this special issue is to bring the work of early-career researchers in environmental psychology to the spotlight. These young researchers come from different countries and cultures, have their own theoretical approaches and employ different research methods to increase knowledge on the relationships between humans and their environments. The papers included in this special issue address key questions for environmental psychology, such as which important factors influence (pro-environmental) behaviour and under which conditions, how these key factors can be addressed in interventions aimed at increasing environmental quality and individual well-being, and under which conditions such interventions are effective or may even backfire. The selected papers represent a variety of (new) methods to address these questions. By presenting this work of early-career researchers, this special issue is expected to inspire and encourage future innovative and diverse contributions to the field of environmental psychology.
Plk4 and Aurora A cooperate in the initiation of acentriolar spindle assembly in mammalian oocytes
Authors: Bury Leah , Coelho Paula A. , Simeone Angela , Ferries Samantha , Eyers Claire E. , Eyers Patrick A. , Zernicka-Goetz Magdalena , Glover David M.
Published: October 2017

Establishing the bipolar spindle in mammalian oocytes after their prolonged arrest is crucial for meiotic fidelity and subsequent development. In contrast to somatic cells, the first meiotic spindle assembles in the absence of centriole-containing centrosomes. Ran-GTP can promote microtubule nucleation near chromatin, but additional unidentified factors are postulated for the activity of multiple acentriolar microtubule organizing centers in the oocyte. We now demonstrate that partially overlapping, nonredundant functions of Aurora A and Plk4 kinases contribute to initiate acentriolar meiosis I spindle formation. Loss of microtubule nucleation after simultaneous chemical inhibition of both kinases can be significantly rescued by drug-resistant Aurora A alone. Drug-resistant Plk4 can enhance Aurora A–mediated rescue, and, accordingly, Plk4 can phosphorylate and potentiate the activity of Aurora A in vitro. Both kinases function distinctly from Ran, which amplifies microtubule growth. We conclude that Aurora A and Plk4 are rate-limiting factors contributing to microtubule growth as the acentriolar oocyte resumes meiosis.
The fission yeast nucleoporin Alm1 is required for proteasomal degradation of kinetochore components
Authors: Salas-Pino Silvia , Gallardo Paola , Barrales Ramón R. , Braun Sigurd , Daga Rafael R.
Published: October 2017

Kinetochores (KTs) are large multiprotein complexes that constitute the interface between centromeric chromatin and the mitotic spindle during chromosome segregation. In spite of their essential role, little is known about how centromeres and KTs are assembled and how their precise stoichiometry is regulated. In this study, we show that the nuclear pore basket component Alm1 is required to maintain both the proteasome and its anchor, Cut8, at the nuclear envelope, which in turn regulates proteostasis of certain inner KT components. Consistently, alm1-deleted cells show increased levels of KT proteins, including CENP-CCnp3, spindle assembly checkpoint activation, and chromosome segregation defects. Our data demonstrate a novel function of the nucleoporin Alm1 in proteasome localization required for KT homeostasis.
Postsynaptic adhesion GPCR latrophilin-2 mediates target recognition in entorhinal-hippocampal synapse assembly
Authors: Anderson Garret R. , Maxeiner Stephan , Sando Richard , Tsetsenis Theodoros , Malenka Robert C. , Südhof Thomas C.
Published: October 2017

Synapse assembly likely requires postsynaptic target recognition by incoming presynaptic afferents. Using newly generated conditional knock-in and knockout mice, we show in this study that latrophilin-2 (Lphn2), a cell-adhesion G protein–coupled receptor and presumptive α-latrotoxin receptor, controls the numbers of a specific subset of synapses in CA1-region hippocampal neurons, suggesting that Lphn2 acts as a synaptic target-recognition molecule. In cultured hippocampal neurons, Lphn2 maintained synapse numbers via a postsynaptic instead of a presynaptic mechanism, which was surprising given its presumptive role as an α-latrotoxin receptor. In CA1-region neurons in vivo, Lphn2 was specifically targeted to dendritic spines in the stratum lacunosum-moleculare, which form synapses with presynaptic entorhinal cortex afferents. In this study, postsynaptic deletion of Lphn2 selectively decreased spine numbers and impaired synaptic inputs from entorhinal but not Schaffer-collateral afferents. Behaviorally, loss of Lphn2 from the CA1 region increased spatial memory retention but decreased learning of sequential spatial memory tasks. Thus, Lphn2 appears to control synapse numbers in the entorhinal cortex/CA1 region circuit by acting as a domain-specific postsynaptic target-recognition molecule.
Affective Imagery, Risk Perceptions, and Climate Change Communication
Authors: Leiserowitz Anthony , Smith Nicholas
Published: October 2017

Affective imagery, or connotative meanings, play an important role in shaping public risk perceptions, policy support, and broader responses to climate change. These simple “top-of-mind” associations and their related affect help reveal how diverse audiences understand and interpret global warming. And as a relatively simple set of measures, they are easily incorporated into representative surveys, making it possible to identify, measure, and monitor how connotative meanings are distributed throughout a population and how they change over time. Affective image analysis can help identify distinct interpretive communities of like-minded individuals who share their own set of common meanings and interpretations. The images also provide a highly sensitive measure of changes in public discourse. As scientists, political elites, advocates, and the media change the frames, images, icons, and emotions they use to communicate climate change, they can influence the interpretations of the larger public. Likewise, as members of the public directly or vicariously experience specific events or learn more about climate risks, they construct their own connotative meanings, which can in turn influence larger currents of public discourse. This article traces the development of affective imagery analysis, reviews the studies that have implemented it, examines how affective images influence climate change risk perceptions and policy support, and charts several future directions of research.
Green Criminology, Culture, and Cinema
Authors: McClanahan Bill , Brisman Avi , South Nigel
Published: October 2017

Since first proposed by Brisman and South, green cultural criminology has sought to interrogate human-environment interactions in order to locate meaning. Within the broad framework of green cultural criminology, work has emerged that follows visual criminology in looking to the visual cultural register for insights into the intersections of crime, harm, justice, culture and the natural environment. This article turns the green cultural criminological gaze towards motion pictures, by considering how cinema can serve as a central and essential site of the cultural production and communication of knowledge and meaning(s) that inform human interactions with the natural environment. Indeed, environmental crimes, harms, and disasters are constructed and imagined and represented in cinema, and the films discussed in this article illustrate the ways in which the environment-culture connection in the contemporary cinematic mediascape has influenced public discourses concerning environmental change and harm. This article begins by examining the capacity of documentary film to raise public awareness and generate shifts in public consciousness about environmental harms. From here, it explores cinematic science fiction representations of apocalyptic climate disaster, noting the power of the medium in communicating contemporary anxieties surrounding climate change. Finally, filmic communications of a central category of interest for green cultural criminology—resistance to environmental harm—are described, in addition to the various ways that resistance by environmentalists has recently been represented in popular cinema. The films discussed throughout—including An Inconvenient Truth, Cowspiracy, The East, If A Tree Falls, Night Moves, and Snowpiercer—are not an exhaustive sampling of contemporary representations of environmental issues in cinema. Rather, they represent the most salient—and are among the most popular—moments of contemporary cinematic engagement with the nexus of environmental harm and culture. This article concludes by contending that a green cultural criminology should continue to look to the visual register because sites of cultural production often overlooked by criminology (e.g., cinema, literature) can reveal significant and essential information about the moments in which environmental harm, justice, and culture intersect and collide.
Network Perspectives on Crime
Authors: Gravel Jason , Tita George E.
Published: October 2017

Though often not mentioned by name, the importance of social networks in explaining criminal behavior, delinquency, and patterns has long been recognized in the study of crime. Theories that explain criminal behavior at the individual level being learned through the impacts of peer influences presume that the transmission of ideas and influences flow among social ties (networks) that link individuals. Cultural theories of crime work in the same way. At the community level, delinquency and criminal behavior are born among members of a community or group that adhere to a particular cultural set of norms or beliefs. The concentration of crime in particular geographic areas results when there are insufficient ties among local residents to affect informal social control in the area. Impacted neighborhoods are often described as socially isolated, lacking social ties to institutions of power that provide the investment and services needed in a healthy community. The history of the formation and activities of street gangs is a clear example of how understanding the ties among individuals, and between groups of these individuals, matter in our understanding these phenomena. Comprehending social ties among gangs and gang members and employment of social network analysis (SNA) have become mainstays of local law enforcement efforts to address the issue of gang violence.

Much of the early criminological work that implicated social networks but did not explicitly acknowledge a network by name, or did not employ SNA on formal network data, did so because collecting such data is difficult at best and sometimes impossible. Though criminology has been a “late adopter” of SNA, the field is making great strides in this area. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) research program has provided a rich set of network data to explore issues of peer influence. Researchers are using carefully collected social network data at the individual and organizational level to better understand the ability of communities to self-regulate delinquency and crime in an area. Arrest data and field identification stops are being used to generate large networks in an effort to understand how one’s position in a larger social structure might be related to an actor’s involvement in future offending or victimization.

As the field of criminology continues to adopt a network perspective in the study of crime, it is important to understand the development of social networks within the field. Critically examining the strengths and weaknesses of network data, especially in terms of the process by which data are generated, can lead to better applications of network analysis in the future.
Core Reflection Approach in Teacher Education
Authors: Korthagen Fred A.J. , Nuijten Ellen E.
Published: October 2017

The core reflection approach aims to deepen teacher reflection and development. The approach takes teachers’ core qualities and ideals as the starting point for reflection, and links the professional and the personal in teacher development. Core reflection can also be applied to other professional groups, and to students in primary and secondary education. It is based on a model of levels of reflection, briefly named the onion model, which includes the following levels: environment, behavior, competencies, beliefs, identity, mission, and “the core,” which refers to personal strengths. The onion model helps to differentiate between behavior-oriented reflection and a deeper kind of reflection, in which attention is given to three goals: (1) building on strengths and ideals (called “the inner potential”) of the person, (2) helping the person deal with inner obstacles limiting the actualization of the inner potential, and (3) preparing the person for using their potential and dealing with obstacles autonomously. In order to reach these goals, people can be coached using specific principles, which are partly based on positive psychology:

1. Focusing on personal strengths;

2. Giving balanced attention to cognition, emotion, and motivation (thinking, feeling, and wanting); and

3. Giving attention to inner obstacles.

These principles are brought together in a phase model for core reflection, with five phases: (1) describing a concrete situation; (2) reflection on the ideal, and on a core quality or qualities; (3) reflection on an obstacle; (4) using the inner potential; and (5) trying a new approach.

Core reflection is being used around the world, both in teacher education programs and in schools. Several research studies into the processes and outcomes of core reflection have shown that it leads to in-depth professional development and improved behavior, in both the short and the long term. However, more research is needed, for example research in which long-term outcomes of the core reflection approach are compared to those of other approaches.
Permafrost-Related Geohazards and Infrastructure Construction in Mountainous Environments
Authors: Arenson Lukas U. , Jakob Matthias
Published: October 2017

Mountain environments, home to about 12% of the global population and covering nearly a quarter of the global land surface, create hazardous conditions for various infrastructures. The economic and ecologic importance of these environments for tourism, transportation, hydropower generation, or natural resource extraction requires that direct and indirect interactions between infrastructures and geohazards be evaluated. Construction of infrastructure in mountain permafrost environments can change the ground thermal regime, affect gravity-driven processes, impact the strength of ice-rich foundations, or result in permafrost aggradation via natural convection. The severity of impact, and whether permafrost will degrade or aggrade in response to the construction, is a function of numerous parameters including climate change, which needs to be considered when evaluating the changes in existing or formation of new geohazards. The main challenge relates to the uncertainties associated with the projections of medium- (decadal) and long-term (century-scale) climate change. A fundamental understanding of the various processes at play and a good knowledge of the foundation conditions is required to ascertain that infrastructure in permafrost environment functions as intended. Many of the tools required for identifying geohazards in the periglacial and appropriate risk management strategies are already available.
Correlations of Sums of Two Squares and Other Arithmetic Functions in Function Fields
Authors: Bary-Soroker Lior , Fehm Arno
Published: October 2017

We investigate a function field analogue of a recent conjecture on autocorrelations of sums of two squares by Freiberg, Kurlberg, and Rosenzweig, which generalizes an older conjecture by Connors and Keating. In particular, we provide extensive numerical evidence and prove it in the large finite field limit. Our method can also handle correlations of other arithmetic functions and we give applications to (function field analogues of) the average of sums of two squares on shifted primes, and to autocorrelations of higher divisor functions twisted by a quadratic character.
Differential Contribution of Plant-Beneficial Functions from Pseudomonas kilonensis F113 to Root System Architecture Alterations in Arabidopsis thaliana and Zea mays
Authors: Vacheron Jordan , Desbrosses Guilhem , Renoud Sébastien , Padilla Rosa , Walker Vincent , Muller Daniel , Prigent-Combaret Claire
Published: October 2017

Fluorescent pseudomonads are playing key roles in plant-bacteria symbiotic interactions due to the multiple plant-beneficial functions (PBFs) they are harboring. The relative contributions of PBFs to plant-stimulatory effects of the well-known plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria Pseudomonas kilonensis F113 (formerly P. fluorescens F113) were investigated using a genetic approach. To this end, several deletion mutants were constructed, simple mutants ΔphlD (impaired in the biosynthesis of 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol [DAPG]), ΔacdS (deficient in 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate deaminase activity), Δgcd (glucose dehydrogenase deficient, impaired in phosphate solubilization), and ΔnirS (nitrite reductase deficient), and a quadruple mutant (deficient in the four PBFs mentioned above). Every PBF activity was quantified in the wild-type strain and the five deletion mutants. This approach revealed few functional interactions between PBFs in vitro. In particular, biosynthesis of glucose dehydrogenase severely reduced the production of DAPG. Contrariwise, the DAPG production impacted positively, but to a lesser extent, phosphate solubilization. Inoculation of the F113 wild-type strain on Arabidopsis thaliana Col-0 and maize seedlings modified the root architecture of both plants. Mutant strain inoculations revealed that the relative contribution of each PBF differed according to the measured plant traits and that F113 plant-stimulatory effects did not correspond to the sum of each PBF relative contribution. Indeed, two PBF genes (ΔacdS and ΔnirS) had a significant impact on root-system architecture from both model plants, in in vitro and in vivo conditions. The current work underscored that few F113 PBFs seem to interact between each other in the free-living bacterial cells, whereas they control in concert Arabidopsis thaliana and maize growth and development.
Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Mutations Conferring QoI and SDHI Resistance in Alternaria solani Across the United States
Authors: Bauske Mitchell J. , Mallik Ipsita , Yellareddygari S. K. R. , Gudmestad Neil C.
Published: October 2017

The application of succinate dehydrogenase inhibiting (SDHI) and quinone outside inhibiting (QoI) fungicide chemistries is a primary tactic in the management of early blight of potato, caused by Alternaria solani. Resistance to QoIs in A. solani has been attributed to the F129L mutation, while resistance to SDHIs is conferred by five different known point mutations on three AsSdh genes. In total, 1,323 isolates were collected from 2013 through 2015 across 11 states to determine spatial and temporal frequency distribution of these mutations. A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the presence of the F129L mutation. Molecular detection of SDHI-resistant isolates was performed using SDH multiplex PCR specific for point mutations in AsSdhB, AsSdhC, or AsSdhD genes and mismatch amplification analysis PCR detecting the point mutations in AsSdhB. Previous work in our research group determined that substitutions of histidine for tyrosine (H278Y) or arginine (H278R) at codon 278 on the AsSdhB gene were the most prevalent mutations, detected in 46 and 21% of A. solani isolates, respectively, collected in 2011 to 2012, and uniformly distributed among six sampled states. In contrast, the substitution of histidine for arginine (H134R) at codon 134 in the AsSdhC gene was the most prevalent mutation in 2013 through 2015, identified in 36% of isolates, compared with 7.5% of isolates recovered in 2011 to 2012. Substitutions of histidine for arginine (H133R) at codon 133 and aspartic acid for glutamic acid (D123E) at codon 123 in the AsSdhD gene were detected in 16 and 12%, respectively, in the A. solani population by 2015 and were recovered across a wide range of states, compared with 15 and 1.5% of isolates collected in 2011 to 2012, respectively. Overall, SDHI- and QoI-resistant isolates were detected at high frequencies across all years, with evidence of significant spatial variability. Future research will investigate whether these results are due to differences in parasitic fitness.
Medical School Factors That Prepare Students to Become Leaders in Medicine
Authors: Arnold Louise , Cuddy Paul G. , Hathaway Susan B. , Quaintance Jennifer L. , Kanter Steven L.
Published: October 2017

Purpose

To identify medical school factors graduates in major leadership positions perceive as contributing to their leadership development.

Method

Using a phenomenological, qualitative approach, in August–November 2015 the authors conducted semistructured interviews with 48 medical leaders who were 1976–1999 baccalaureate–MD graduates of the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine (UMKC). At UMKC, they participated in longitudinal learning communities, the centerpiece for learning professional values and behaviors plus clinical skills, knowledge, and judgment, but received no formal leadership instruction. The authors subjected interview comments to directed, largely qualitative content analysis with iterative coding cycles.

Results

Most graduates said their experiences and the people at UMKC positively influenced their leadership growth. Medical school factors that emerged as contributing to that growth were the longitudinal learning communities including docents, junior–senior partners, and team experiences; expectations set for students to achieve; a clinically oriented but integrated curriculum; admission policies seeking students with academic and nonacademic qualifications; supportive student–student and student–faculty relationships; and a positive overall learning environment. Graduates viewed a combination of factors as best preparing them for leadership and excellence in clinical medicine; together these factors enabled them to assume leadership opportunities after graduation.

Conclusions

This study adds medical leaders’ perspective to the leadership development literature and offers guidance from theory and practice for medical schools to consider in shaping leadership education: Namely, informal leadership preparation coupled with extensive longitudinal clinical education in a nurturing, authentic environment can develop students effectively for leadership in medicine.
Criterion-Based Assessment in a Norm-Based World: How Can We Move Past Grades?
Authors: Pereira Anne G. , Woods Majka , Olson Andrew P.J. , van den Hoogenhof Suzanne , Duffy Briar L. , Englander Robert
Published: October 2017

In the United States, the medical education community has begun a shift from the Flexnerian time-based model to a competency-based medical education model. The graduate medical education (GME) community is substantially farther along in this transition than is the undergraduate medical education (UME) community.

GME has largely adopted the use of competencies and their attendant milestones and increasingly is employing the framework of entrustable professional activities (EPAs) to assess trainee competence. The UME community faces several challenges to successfully navigating a similar transition. First is the reliance on norm-based reference standards in the UME–GME transition, comparing students’ performance versus their peers’ with grades, United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 and Step 2 score interpretation, and the structured Medical School Performance Evaluation, or dean’s letter. Second is the reliance on proxy assessments rather than direct observation of learners. Third is the emphasis on summative rather than formative assessments.

Educators have overcome a major barrier to change by establishing UME outcomes assessment criteria with the advent and general acceptance of the physician competency reference set and the Core EPAs for Entering Residency in UME. Now is the time for the hard work of developing assessments steeped in direct observation that can be accepted by learners and faculty across the educational continuum and can be shown to predict clinical performance in a much more meaningful way than the current measures of grades and examinations. The acceptance of such assessments will facilitate the UME transition toward competency-based medical education.
Anxiety, Depression, and Pain Symptoms: Associations With the Course of Marijuana Use and Drug Use Consequences Among Urban Primary Care Patients
Authors: Bertholet Nicolas , Cheng Debbie M. , Palfai Tibor P. , Lloyd-Travaglini Christine , Samet Jeffrey H. , Saitz Richard
Published: October 2017

Objectives:

This exploratory study aims to investigate whether anxiety, depression, and pain are associated with changes in marijuana use and drug use consequences among primary care patients.

Methods:

In all, 331 adult primary care patients with marijuana as the only drug used were followed prospectively to investigate associations between anxiety/depression symptoms (no/minimal symptoms; anxiety or depression symptoms; symptoms of both) and pain (1–10 scale: none [0]; low [1–3]; medium [4–6]; high [7–10]) (independent variables) and substance use outcomes in regression models. These outcomes were changes (over 6 months) in primary outcomes: marijuana use days (past 30); and drug use consequences (Short Inventory of Problems—Drugs [SIP-D]); secondary outcomes—drug use risk (Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test [ASSIST] score for drugs).

Results:

At baseline, 67% reported no/minimal anxiety/depression symptoms, 16% anxiety or depression symptoms, 17% both; 14% reported no pain, 16% low, 23% medium, 47% high pain level. Mean (SD) number of marijuana use days was 16.4 (11.6), mean SIP-D 5.9 (9.0), mean ASSIST 12.5 (7.8); no significant association was found between anxiety/depression and marijuana use changes. Given the same baseline status for SIP-D and ASSIST, respectively, those with anxiety or depression had greater increases in SIP-D (adjusted mean difference [95% confidence interval] +3.26 [1.20; 5.32], P = 0.004) and borderline significant increases in ASSIST (+3.27 [−0.12; 6.65], P = 0.06) compared with those without anxiety or depression; those with both anxiety and depression had greater increases in ASSIST (+5.42 [2.05; 8.79], P = 0.003), but not SIP-D (+1.80 [−0.46; 4.06], P = 0.12). There was no significant association between pain and marijuana use and SIP-D changes. Given the same baseline ASSIST level, those with high pain level had greater increases in ASSIST (+4.89 [1.05; 8.72], P = 0.04) compared with those with no pain.

Conclusion:

In these exploratory analyses, anxiety, depression, and high pain level appear to be associated with increases in drug-related harm among primary care patients using marijuana.
Variability in Assessing Spinopelvic Parameters With Lumbosacral Transitional Vertebrae
Authors: Khalsa Amrit S. , Mundis Gregory M. , Yagi Mitsuru , Fessler Richard G. , Bess Shay , Hosogane Naobumi , Park Paul , Than Khoi D. , Daniels Alan , Iorio Justin , Ledesma Justin B. , Tran Stacie , Eastlack Robert K.
Published: October 2017

Study Design.

Prospectively collected survey study

Objective.

The aim of this study was to determine the consistency with which spinopelvic parameters (SPP) are determined in patients with lumbosacral transitional vertebrae (LSTV).

Summary of Background Data.

The incidence of LSTV in the general population is as high as 35.6%. The often fixed nature of LSTV relative to the pelvis, but lumbar-type appearance, may lead to differential use of the S1 endplate when performing SPP assessment. This could have significant impact on SPP derived from these landmarks, resulting in considerable variation in surgical planning and decision-making.

Methods.

Twenty patients demonstrating LSTV on standing lateral 36-inch spinal radiographs were randomly arranged and independently analyzed by 16 experienced spine surgeons using the same computer software. Pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT), lumbar lordosis (LL), and T1 pelvic angle (TPA) were captured. Two weeks after the first assessment, surgeons repeated the measurements after image sequence re-randomization. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated to evaluate interobserver reliability (IOR) for each SPP. Intraobserver reliability (IAOR) was assessed through an average Pearson correlation coefficient for each parameter for each surgeon.

Results.

Sixteen surgeons completed initial measurements. IOR was poor for TPA (0.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.20, 0.58) and PI (0.42, 95% CI 0.26, 0.65) and fair for LL (0.67, 95% CI 0.51, 0.82), and PT (0.63, 95% CI 0.47, 0.81). Fourteen surgeons completed phase-2 measurements to assess IAOR. Average parameter PPC showed excellent IAOR (LL 0.86, TPA 0.77, PI 0.78, PT 0.86). Kappa coefficient showed fair agreement for raters choosing the same endplate for measurement (Phase 1: 0.38, Phase 2: 0.32). By patient, the percentage of raters that chose the S1 endplate for measurement varied from 6.3% to 85.7%.

Conclusion.

Significant variability exists when surgeons measure SPP in patients with LSTV. These parameters are critical in determining the goals of surgical reconstruction and such variability may have considerable implications for radiographic goals and outcomes of surgical reconstruction.

Level of Evidence: 4