bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Partnership agreements less likely among young gay and bisexual men in Australia – data from a national online survey of gay and bisexual men’s relationships
Authors: Kolstee Johann , Philpot Steven , Grierson Jeffrey , Bavinton Benjamin R. , Duncan Duane , Prestage Garrett
Published: May 2017

Background: How gay and bisexual men (GBM) establish partnership agreements may be affected by several factors, including age. The ability to communicate with a partner about sexual agreements has important sexual health implications for GBM. Objective: To assess differences in partnership agreements among GBM. Methods: We surveyed GBM about their partnerships using a national, anonymous online survey in 2013–14. We compared men who had monogamous partnerships with men who had non-monogamous partnerships, according to age and other factors. Results: Regarding the nature of their partnership with their primary regular partner (PRP), younger men were less likely to have an agreement of any sort and were less likely to have discussed it. Younger men were more likely to report having a monogamous partnership, but they were also less likely to report condomless anal intercourse with their PRP. In multivariate analysis of partnership arrangements, having a non-monogamous partnership with their PRP was associated with being older (adjusted odds ratio = 1.03; 95% confidence interval = 1.02–1.04; P < 0.001). Nearly two-thirds (62.9%) of men with monogamous partnerships had a clear spoken agreement with their PRP about whether they could have sex with other men, largely regardless of age. Although slightly fewer than half the men with self-described open partnerships (46.0%) actually described it as a ‘relationship’, younger men were particularly less likely to do so. Conclusions: Due to less communication with partners about sexual agreements, when young GBM engage in sexual risk behaviour they may be at an increased risk of HIV and other sexually transmissible infections.
Testing the potential for supplementary water to support the recovery and reintroduction of the black-footed rock-wallaby
Authors: West Rebecca , Ward Matthew J. , Foster Wendy K. , Taggart David A.
Published: May 2017

Context Supplementary resource provision is increasingly used by conservation managers to manipulate habitat conditions that limit population growth of threatened species. These methods are popular in reintroduction programs because they can assist released individuals to adapt to novel environments. In situ management and reintroductions are being used to recover warru (black-footed rock-wallaby, Petrogale lateralis MacDonnell Ranges race) on the arid Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands of South Australia. Direct predation by introduced predators is thought to be the main cause of population decline, but indirect predation effects reducing access to water resources has also been proposed as a limiting factor. Aims To determine whether warru would use supplementary water and so provide a tool to alleviate resource pressure for in situ (wild) and reintroduced warru populations. Methods We provided supplementary water to a wild and reintroduced warru population across 12 months. Drinking rates were calculated by monitoring water points with camera traps and modelled against plant moisture content and total rainfall. We also examined whether number of visits to water points by warru predators and competitors was significantly different to control points (no water present). Key results Wild and reintroduced warru used water points within 0–10 days of installation. No significant increase in visits by predators or competitors was observed at water points. Drinking rates were significantly higher during dry winter months (March–October) for both wild and re-introduced populations. Conclusions Supplementary water is readily utilised by warru. Water could be provided in this manner to warru populations where predators are present, particularly during drier months (generally March–October on the APY Lands), periods of drought or after fire, when food resources will have a lower water content and/or be less abundant. This may increase breeding rates and recruitment of young, and improve the probability of persistence for populations of this threatened species, and should be further investigated. Implications Supplementary water provision may be a useful tool to increase population growth rates for threatened mammalian herbivores in arid habitats. Experimental trials of the uptake of supplementary water and effects on population dynamics will provide important data for implementing adaptive management frameworks for conservation.
Overview of learner individual differences and their mediating effects on the process and outcome of L2 interaction
Authors: Pawlak Miroslaw
Published: May 2017

Even though numerous factors are likely to contribute to the outcomes of both naturalistic and instructed second language acquisition, such as the amount of exposure to the target language (TL), the beliefs, dedication, experience, involvement and qualifications of the instructor, or the teaching methods and materials employed, individual learner differences appear to play a significant role in second or foreign language (L2) learning. While specific classifications vary, such individual difference (ID) variables can be sociocultural (e.g., beliefs, attitudes, experience), cognitive (e.g., age, aptitude, working memory, cognitive styles, learning strategies), and affective (e.g., anxiety, personality, motivation, willingness to communicate) in nature, with some IDs cutting across clear-cut categories, themselves being affected by each other and a host of other variables (Dörnyei & Ryan, 2015; Gregersen & MacIntyre, 2014; Pawlak, 2012a). This paper provides a brief overview of selected factors in these areas, with particular emphasis being placed on the influence that they are likely to exert on interactions that take place between learners, and between learners and instructors in the language classroom, as well as the ways in which such interactions can contribute to L2 learning. With this in mind, some key assumptions will first be spelled out, which will be followed by the discussion of the latest research findings in each area, subsequently focusing on research undertaken in the interactionist approach. Finally, future research directions will be outlined, methodological issues will be touched upon, and implications for classroom practice will be considered.
The role of language analytic ability in the effectiveness of different feedback timing conditions
Authors: Arroyo Diana C. , Yilmaz Yucel
Published: May 2017

This chapter describes an empirical study that investigated the role of language analytic ability (LAA) in the effectiveness of feedback under two timing conditions, and whether the timing conditions were differentially effective after controlling for LAA. Forty-five Spanish learners were randomly assigned to three groups: immediate feedback, delayed feedback, and control. All learners completed an information-gap task with a native speaker of Spanish through synchronous computer-mediated communication. Learners’ errors on Spanish noun-adjective gender agreement were treated according to their group assignment. Learners’ knowledge of the linguistic target was assessed by means of oral production and grammaticality judgment tests. Language analytic ability was measured with LLAMA F, a subtest of the LLAMA Language Aptitude Tests (Meara, 2005). Results revealed that LAA did not play any role in the effectiveness of either feedback timing condition, and immediate feedback was more effective than delayed feedback after controlling for LAA.
Investigating the relationship between instructor research training and pronunciation-related instruction and oral corrective feedback
Authors: Long Avizia Y.
Published: May 2017

Although the role of the instructor in classroom-based L2 pronunciation development has begun to receive attention in the empirical literature (e.g., Baker, 2011a, 2011b, 2014; Baldwin & Long, 2013; Buss, 2016; Couper, 2016; A. Y. Long, 2013), the extent to which the quantity and quality of classroom-based pronunciation-related instruction and oral corrective feedback vary across instructors remains unknown. Based on Baldwin and Long’s (2013) finding that L2 Spanish instructors’ stated beliefs about pronunciation instruction and feedback differed according to graduate-level training (in literature or linguistics), the present study explored the relationship between instructor research training – operationalized as training in phonetics/phonology – and provision of pronunciation-related instruction and oral corrective feedback in the classroom. Specifically, the pronunciation-related instruction and oral corrective feedback practices of eight graduate student instructors of intermediate-level L2 Spanish were examined. All instructors were native speakers of English, and half had received training in phonetics/phonology as part of their graduate coursework. Observations of classroom lessons (over the course of an academic semester) and an analysis of pronunciation-related oral corrective feedback provided by the instructor demonstrated that pronunciation-related instruction, though limited and inconsistent, was marginally linked to instructor research training; however, research training was not related to observed feedback patterns.
On silent markedness
Authors: Cavirani Edoardo , van Oostendorp Marc
Published: May 2017

Empty categories – positions in phonological representations that have no direct phonetic counterpart – are (still) controversial in phonological theory. In this paper we give the main arguments for assuming such positions and we furthermore establish a markedness hierarchy for empty positions: some of them are stronger (‘more marked’) than others, and we can derive this from a combination of Element Theory and Turbidity Theory. We illustrate our point with Italian and Dutch dialects, and point out that the phonological hierarchy of empty positions may correspond to a hierarchy of syntactic positions.
The phonetic salience of phonological head-dependent structure in a modulated-carrier model of speech
Authors: Nasukawa Kuniya
Published: May 2017

In terms of the roles of heads and dependents, there is a mismatch between phonology and syntax. In phonology, heads are important in both structural and informational terms. In syntax, on the other hand, heads have a different function: syntactic heads, like phonological heads, have an important structural role because they license dependent structure, but unlike phonological heads their informational role is relatively unimportant because they usually bear less linguistic (e.g. lexical) information than dependents. In order to achieve a greater degree of uniformity between phonology and syntax, this chapter proposes a reassessment of the roles of heads and dependents in phonology. Contrary to the widespread view, it is argued that heads in phonology, like those in syntax, are structurally important but lexically unimportant whereas dependents are structurally unimportant but lexically important. This view is supported not only by segmental distribution patterns but also by the size of the modulated carrier signal (rather than by the more standard phonetic measure, the sonority scale).
Properties of Romanian adverbs and adjectives from a categorial status perspective
Authors: Mîrzea Vasile Carmen , Croitor Blanca
Published: May 2017

In this article we discuss some properties of Romanian adverbs and adjectives from the perspective of their categorial status and, as part of this issue, the distinction between inflection and derivation within the subclass of derived adverbs. In Romanian the majority of adverbs are homonymous to their adjectival counterparts, a possible argument in favour of the single category claim. Romanian adjectives display agreement with the nouns, while adverbs remain invariable (with some exceptions, considered incorrect by normative grammars). However, it is possible to use non-agreeing adjectives in postverbal positions (usually described as adverbial configurations). We examine the distributional properties of adverbs, non-agreeing adjectives and variable (agreeing) adjectives and also the inflectional vs. derivational nature of the adverbial suffix -ește.
The pervasiveness of coordination in Arabic, with reference to Arabic>English translation
Authors: Dickins James
Published: May 2017

This article analyses aspects of the greater use of coordination in Modern Standard Arabic as compared to English, illustrating this through Arabic>English translation. It argues that Arabic ‘favours’ coordination linguistically, textually and rhetorically, as follows: 1. The linguistic resources of Arabic favour coordination while those of English favour subordination – whether these are lexical (Arabic و wa- and ف fa- vs. English ‘and’), or semantic (the possibility of backgrounding coordinated clauses in Arabic compared to the marginality of backgrounded coordinated clauses in English); 2. Accompanying Arabic textual norms, e.g. (near-)synonym repetition and chained coordination, favour coordination while those of English favour subordination; 3. Further associated ‘rhetorical semantic’ uses of coordination are found in Arabic, e.g. hyperonym-hyponym repetition and associative repetition, which do not exist in English; 4. These extended usages further entrench coordination as a norm in Arabic as compared to English.
Mood choice in complements of Spanishcomprenderand Portuguesecompreender(‘understand’) – distribution and meaning
Authors: Vesterinen Rainer
Published: May 2017

The present paper analyzes the occurrence of indicative and subjunctive complements of the verbscomprender(Spanish) andcompreender(Portuguese) in European Spanish and European Portuguese. A quantitative analysis based on 400 occurrences of the complements randomly selected from the newspaper genre shows that the indicative mood occurs more frequently than the subjunctive mood in both languages, although the subjunctive mood is more frequent in the Portuguese corpus than in the Spanish one. The analysis also shows that the occurrence of the subjunctive complement is highly restricted to contexts in which the subject of the main clause verb is either 1st person or 3rd person singular. From the theoretical perspective of Cognitive Grammar, the mood alternation is explained by the concept ofdominion, i.e. the indicative complement designates an event that is located within the conceptualizer’s epistemic dominion, whereas the subjunctive complement designates an event that is located outside the conceptualizer’s dominion of effective control.
On the origin of treaties
Authors: Arnull Anthony
Published: May 2017

EU Treaties are international agreements signed and ratified by sovereign states. The EU is, therefore, a creation of international law. However, it is increasingly treated by scholars as distinct from international law and is starting to resemble a national system in its scope and complexity. ‘On the origin of treaties’ explains how the EU treaties may be amended, which is more difficult than amending secondary EU law, and the processes of joining and leaving the EU. Finally, it considers the general principles of law and fundamental rights that bind the EU’s institutions and member states.
Examining the health status of homeless adults entering permanent supportive housing
Authors: Henwood Benjamin F , Lahey John , Rhoades Harmony , Winetrobe Hailey , Wenzel Suzanne L
Published: May 2017

Background

Permanent supportive housing (PSH) has been recognized as an effective intervention and the national policy for addressing chronic homelessness in the United States. Due to an aging cohort of homeless adults and prioritizing those who are most vulnerable for housing, the health status of those entering PSH is likely worse than those previously reported in the literature.

Methods

This report examined the self-reported health and health conditions of a sample of 421 homeless adults entering PSH between 2014 and 2016. The average age of our sample was 54 years old.

Results

Overall, 90% reported two or more chronic conditions (either physical or mental), 68% reported at least two chronic physical health conditions and 56% indicated at least two chronic mental health conditions. Describing their health status, 57% reported fair, poor or very poor health.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that access to housing will not easily remedy the well-documented premature mortality among chronically homeless adults.
Cometary dust: the diversity of primitive refractory grains
Authors: Wooden D. H. , Ishii H. A. , Zolensky M. E.
Published: May 2017

Comet dust is primitive and shows significant diversity. Our knowledge of the properties of primitive cometary particles has expanded significantly through microscale investigations of cosmic dust samples (anhydrous interplanetary dust particles (IDPs), chondritic porous (CP) IDPs and UltraCarbonaceous Antarctic micrometeorites,StardustandRosetta), as well as through remote sensing (SpitzerIR spectroscopy). Comet dust are aggregate particles of materials unequilibrated at submicrometre scales. We discuss the properties and processes experienced by primitive matter in comets. Primitive particles exhibit a diverse range of: structure and typology; distribution of constituents; concentration and form of carbonaceous and refractory organic matter; Mg- and Fe-contents of the silicate minerals; sulfides; existence/abundance of type II chondrule fragments; high-temperature calcium–aluminium inclusions and ameboid-olivine aggregates; and rarely occurring Mg-carbonates and magnetite, whose explanation requires aqueous alteration on parent bodies. The properties of refractory materials imply there were disc processes that resulted in different comets having particular selections of primitive materials. The diversity of primitive particles has implications for the diversity of materials in the protoplanetary disc present at the time and in the region where the comets formed.

This article is part of the themed issue ‘Cometary science after Rosetta’.
Microbial network, phylogenetic diversity and community membership in the active layer across a permafrost thaw gradient
Authors: Mondav Rhiannon , McCalley Carmody K , Hodgkins Suzanne B , Frolking Steve , Saleska Scott R , Rich Virginia I , Chanton Jeff P , Crill Patrick M
Published: May 2017

Biogenic production and release of methane (CH4) from thawing permafrost has the potential to be a strong source of radiative forcing. We investigated changes in the active layer microbial community of three sites representative of distinct permafrost thaw stages at a palsa mire in northern Sweden. The palsa sites with intact permafrost, and low radiative forcing signature had a phylogenetically clustered community dominated byAcidobacteriaandProteobacteria.The bog with thawing permafrost and low radiative forcing signature was dominated by hydrogenotrophic methanogens andAcidobacteria, had lower alpha diversity, and midrange phylogenetic clustering, characteristic of ecosystem disturbance affecting habitat filtering, shifting from palsa-like to fen-like at the waterline. The fen had no underlying permafrost, and the highest alpha, beta and phylogenetic diversity, was dominated byProteobacteriaandEuryarchaeota,and was significantly enriched in methanogens. The mire microbial network was modular with module cores consisting of clusters ofAcidobacteria, Euryarchaeota,orXanthomonodales.Loss of underlying permafrost with associated hydrological shifts correlated to changes in microbial composition, alpha, beta, and phylogenetic diversity associated with a higher radiative forcing signature. These results support the complex role of microbial interactions in mediating carbon budget changes and climate feedback in response to climate forcing.
A comprehensive review of vertical tail design
Authors: Nicolosi Fabrizio , Ciliberti Danilo , Della Vecchia Pierluigi , Corcione Salvatore , Cusati Vincenzo
Published: May 2017

Purpose

This work aims to deal with a comprehensive review of design methods for aircraft directional stability and vertical tail sizing. The focus on aircraft directional stability is due to the significant discrepancies that classical semi-empirical methods, as USAF DATCOM and ESDU, provide for some configurations because they are based on NACA wind tunnel (WT) tests about models not representative of an actual transport airplane.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors performed viscous numerical simulations to calculate the aerodynamic interference among aircraft parts on hundreds configurations of a generic regional turboprop aircraft, providing useful results that have been collected in a new vertical tail preliminary design method, named VeDSC.

Findings

The reviewed methods have been applied on a regional turboprop aircraft. The VeDSC method shows the closest agreement with numerical results. A WT test campaign involving more than 180 configurations has validated the numerical approach.

Practical implications

The investigation has covered both the linear and the non-linear range of the aerodynamic coefficients, including the mutual aerodynamic interference between the fuselage and the vertical stabilizer. Also, a preliminary investigation about rudder effectiveness, related to aircraft directional control, is presented.

Originality/value

In the final part of the paper, critical issues in vertical tail design are reviewed, highlighting the significance of a good estimation of aircraft directional stability and control derivatives.
Enterprise education
Authors: Turner Jason , Mulholland Gary
Published: May 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine young learners’ attitudes towards enterprise education within the context of a university led initiative to construct a sustainable framework which benefits identified stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

The research used self-completed questionnaires with 117 business studies students in Stages S4-S6 from secondary schools across Dundee and business students from Years 1-4 at one university in Dundee, Scotland.

Findings

The research reveals that respondents positively engage with enterprise education and felt that their project management, creative thinking, communication skills and confidence were enhanced by the activity of real-world business challenges. The findings support the notion that an enterprising spine embedded in the academic curriculum better equip the learner with the necessary hard and soft skills required for the employment market but not necessarily to be entrepreneurial.

Research limitations/implications

A limitation of this research was the sample size, which although representative of the pupil and student cohorts associated with the various stages of education being studied at the particular time of data collection, and is suitable for an exploratory study, the research would have benefited from being both larger and complimented by more of a qualitative component beyond the inclusion of open-ended questions.

Practical implications

As an exploratory study which informs a wider comparative study into enterprise education, the research examines learner’s perspectives and the measures they feel are required for effective engagement with enterprise education activities in schools and universities. The findings should assist education providers to deliver a better learning experience and the learners with improved enterprising and social skills, particularly the building of confidence.

Social implications

As an exploratory study which informs a wider comparative study into enterprise education, the research examines learner’s perspectives and the measures they feel are required for effective engagement with enterprise education activities in schools and universities. The findings should assist education providers to deliver a better learning experience and the learners with improved enterprising and social skills, particularly the building of confidence.

Originality/value

The research should prove useful to educational establishments who are considering the implementation of, or further engagement with, enterprise education and involvement with the business community and how such activities impact on their learners.
Investigating the use of tie‐over dressing after skin grafting
Authors: Yuki Akihiko , Takenouchi Tatsuya , Takatsuka Sumiko , Fujikawa Hiroki , Abe Riichiro
Published: May 2017

Tie‐over bolster dressing after skin grafting can prolong operative time, and cause hematoma and seroma formation because of uneven pressure application. To describe the possibility of discontinuing the use of tie‐over dressing, we carried out a retrospective comparative study of patients who underwent skin grafting at an institution between January 2009 and December 2014. We investigated and compared the take rate, healing period, wound infection rate and hematoma formation rate for the tie‐over dressing group and the non‐tie‐over dressing group. Among 266 patients, 148 and 118 patients were included in the tie‐over dressing group and non‐tie‐over dressing group, respectively. There were no significant differences between the take rate, healing period, wound infection rate and hematoma formation rate for the two groups. Multivariate analysis showed that the complete graft take rate was not significantly influenced by tie‐over dressing, age, sex, graft site, graft procedure and skin graft diameter. Although the use of tie‐over dressing might remain necessary on sites with a free margin, including the eyelids, lips or nostrils, because of the difficulty in using tape fixation, the present study showed that alternative dressing with polyurethane foam is also useful in most cases of skin grafting.
Spinal SET7/9 may contribute to the maintenance of cancer‐induced bone pain in mice
Authors: Hang Li‐Hua , Xu Zhen‐Kai , Wei Shi‐You , Shu Wei‐Wei , Luo Hong , Chen Jian
Published: May 2017

Cancer‐induced bone pain (CIBP) profoundly influences patients' quality of life. Exploring the mechanisms by which CIBP occurs is essential for developing efficacious therapies. Various studies have shown that proinflammatory factors were involved in CIBP. SET domain containing lysine methyltransferase 7/9 (SET7/9) may modulate the expression of NF‐κB‐dependent proinflammatory genes in vitro. However, whether SET7/9 may participate in the maintenance of CIBP remains unknown. In this study, NCTC 2472 cells were inoculated into the intramedullary space of the femur to establish a mouse model of CIBP. Upregulation of spinal SET7/9 expression was related to pain behaviours in tumour‐inoculated mice. Intrathecal cyproheptadine (10 or 20 nmol) attenuated response to painful stimuli in a dose‐dependent manner. Moreover, there was a concomitant decrease in spinal SET7/9 and RANTES expression. The antinociceptive effects of cyproheptadine were abolished by pre‐intrathecal administration of SET 7/9 (0.2 μg) for 30 minutes before intrathecal cyproheptadine (20 nmol) administration. These results indicated that spinal SET7/9 may contribute to the maintenance of CIBP in mice. Hence, targeting of spinal SET7/9 might be a useful alternative therapy for the treatment of CIBP.
Results of the Jyväskylä research project on couple therapy for intimate partner violence: topics and strategies in successful therapy processes
Authors: Vall Berta , Päivinen Helena , Holma Juha
Published: May 2017

Despite controversy over the indications of couple therapy for IPV, current research has indicated some benefits. This article examines some crucial aspects when dealing with couple therapy for IPV, such as how dominance and power abuse are present, and which important issues should be taken into account during the therapeutic process and be brought up in therapeutic conversations. It also proposes strategies for therapists conducting couple therapy for IPV. Ten studies conducted within the Jyväskylä research project on couple therapy for IPV were reviewed. Findings highlighted the importance of the therapists’ awareness of the presence of violence, dominance and power during the sessions, and of how cultural issues could prevent their recognition. Responsibility and couple agreement on the violent behaviour seemed especially relevant at the beginning of the treatment. Potentially useful therapeutic strategies are directedness, use of reflective dialogue, and continuous assessment.

Practitioner points

In couple treatment for IPV therapists should (a) actively bring up violence, responsibility and parenting, and (b) reflect on the culturally dominant understandings of IPV

To regulate the presence of dominance, therapists’ directivity might promote equal distribution of talk, and increase the therapeutic alliance

Therapist strategies such as multivoiced addresses, reflective dialogue and a directive approach may promote clients’ responsibility and reflexivity
Estimating shadow price for symbiotic nitrogen and technical efficiency for legume‐based conservation agriculture in Malawi
Authors: Khataza Robertson R. B. , Hailu Atakelty , Kragt Marit E. , Doole Graeme J.
Published: May 2017

Determining the value of legumes as soil fertility amendments can be challenging, yet this information is required to guide public policy and to incentivise prescribed land‐management practices such as conservation agriculture. We use a directional input distance function (DIDF) to estimate shadow prices for symbiotic nitrogen and the technical efficiency for mixed maize‐legume production systems in Malawi. The shadow prices reflect the trade‐off between fertiliser nitrogen and symbiotic nitrogen required to achieve a given quantity of output. Our results reveal considerable technical inefficiency in the production system. The estimated shadow prices vary across farms and are, on average, higher than the reference price for commercial nitrogen. The results suggest that it would be beneficial to redesign the current price‐support programs that subsidise chemical fertilisers and indirectly crowd‐out organic soil amendments such as legumes.
Effects of yoghurt butter oils on rat plasma lipids, haematology and liver histology parameters in a 150‐day study
Authors: Hassanzadeh‐Taheri Mohammadmehdi , Hassanzadeh‐Taheri Mahsa , Jahani Farnaz , Hosseini Mehran
Published: May 2017

Although yoghurt butter oil as a fermented dairy product is widely consumed in several countries, its metabolic effects have not been fully elucidated. In this study, male Wistar rats were treated with standard diet, standard diet enriched with 10% or 20% (W/W) of either cow yoghurt butter oil (CYBO), sheep yoghurt butter oil (SYBO) or cottonseed oil (COT) for 20 weeks. Treatment of rats with CYBO or SYBO (at both concentrations) did not significantly influence haematological parameters, plasma lipids and liver histological structure. However, in contrast to popular belief, COT treatment at the higher dose induced leukocytosis, dyslipidaemia and liver steatosis.
Suppression of a methionine synthase by calmodulin under environmental stress in the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana
Authors: Kim Jiyoung , Oh Junsang , Yoon Deok‐Hyo , Sung Gi‐Ho
Published: May 2017

Methionine synthase (MetE, EC 2.1.1.14) catalyses the final step in the methionine biosynthetic pathway. Methionine biosynthesis plays a major role in protein biogenesis and is the source of S‐adenosyl methionine (SAM), the universal donor of methyl groups. In this study, we demonstrated that BbMetE acts as a typical MetE enzyme in the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. In addition, we found that BbMetE binds to calmodulin (CaM) in vitro and in vivo. The functional role of CaM binding to BbMetE was to negatively regulate BbMetE activity in B. bassiana. Our proton‐nuclear magnetic resonance data revealed that CaM inhibitor W‐7 increases methionine content in B. bassiana, suggesting that CaM negatively regulates the BbMetE activity. Environmental stress stimuli such as salt, H2O2 and heat suppressed BbMetE activity in B. bassiana. W‐7 reversed this effect, suggesting that the inhibitory mechanism is mediated through stimulation of CaM activity. Therefore, this work suggests that BbMetE plays an important role in methionine biosynthesis, which is mediated by environmental stress stimuli via the CaM signalling pathway.
Monitoring Workers’ Rights: The Limits of Voluntary Social Compliance Initiatives in Labor Repressive Regimes
Authors: Anner Mark
Published: May 2017

Since the early 1990s, a range of corporate monitoring and multi‐stakeholder initiatives have sought to address the violation of workers’ rights by monitoring suppliers in global supply chain and attempting to remediate violations. However, their effectiveness in the area of freedom of association rights has been limited, particularly in labor‐repressive regimes. This is because these initiatives have pursued inadequate strategies and lack either traditional forms of state power, notably the ability to sanction violators, or the leverage provided by activist campaigns. Recent social compliance program approaches, such as forming of worker‐management committees, are largely of limited effectiveness in regimes in which workers face employer or state controlled unions. And most production in light industry supply chains such as apparel takes place in labor repressive regimes.
Reduced right ventricular diameter during cardiac arrest caused by tension pneumothorax – a porcine ultrasound study
Authors: Caap P. , Aagaard R. , Sloth E. , Løfgren B. , Granfeldt A.
Published: May 2017

Introduction

Advanced life support (ALS) guidelines recommend ultrasound to identify reversible causes of cardiac arrest. Right ventricular (RV) dilatation during cardiac arrest is commonly interpreted as a sign of pulmonary embolism. The RV is thus a focus of clinical ultrasound examination. Importantly, in animal studies ventricular fibrillation and hypoxia results in RV dilatation. Tension pneumothorax (tPTX) is another reversible cause of cardiac arrest, however, the impact on RV diameter remains unknown.

Aim

To investigate RV diameter evaluated by ultrasound in cardiac arrest caused by tPTX or hypoxia.

Methods

Pigs were randomized to cardiac arrest by either tPTX (n = 9) or hypoxia (n = 9) and subsequently resuscitated. Tension pneumothorax was induced by injection of air into the pleural cavity. Hypoxia was induced by reducing tidal volume. Ultrasound images of the RV were obtained throughout the study. Tension pneumothorax was decompressed after the seventh rhythm analysis. The primary endpoint was RV diameter after the third rhythm analysis.

Results

At cardiac arrest the RV diameter was 17 mm (95% CI: 13; 21) in the tPTX group and 36 mm (95% CI: 33; 40) in the hypoxia group (P < 0.01, n = 9 for both). At third rhythm analysis RV diameter was smaller in the tPTX group: 12 mm (95% CI: 7; 16) vs. hypoxia group: 28 mm (25; 32) (P < 0.01). After decompression no difference existed between groups: tPTX 29 mm (95% CI: 23; 34) vs. hypoxia 29 mm (95% CI: 20; 38).

Conclusion

The RV diameter is smaller during cardiopulmonary resuscitation in cardiac arrest caused by tPTX when compared with hypoxia. The difference disappears after tPTX decompression.
COMT Val158Met and MTHFR C677T moderate risk of schizophrenia in response to childhood adversity
Authors: Debost J.‐C. , Debost M. , Grove J. , Mors O. , Hougaard D. M. , Børglum A. D. , Mortensen P. B. , Petersen L.
Published: May 2017

Objective

Mesolimbic dopamine sensitization has been hypothesized to be a mediating factor of childhood adversity (CA) on schizophrenia risk. Activity of catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met increases mesolimbic dopamine signaling and may be further regulated by methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T. This study investigates the three‐way interaction between CA, COMT, and MTHFR.

Methods

We conducted a nested case–control study on individuals born after 1981, linking population‐based registers to study the three‐way interaction. We included 1699 schizophrenia cases and 1681 controls, and used conditional logistic regression to report incidence rate ratios (IRRs).

Results

Childhood adversity was robustly associated with schizophrenia. No main genetic effects were observed. MTHFR C677T increased schizophrenia risk in a dose‐dependent manner per MTHFR T allele (P = 0.005) consequent upon CA exposure. After inclusion of the significant (P = 0.03) COMT × MTHFR × CA interaction, the risk was further increased per high‐activity COMT Val allele. Hence, exposed COMT Val/Val and MTHFR T/T carriers had an IRR of 2.76 (95% CI, 1.66–4.61). Additional adjustments for ancestry and parental history of mental illness attenuated the results with the interaction being only marginally significant.

Conclusion

MTHFR C677T and COMT Val158Met interact with CA to increase risk of schizophrenia.
Effect of N‐acetylcysteine on motivation, seeking and relapse to ethanol self‐administration
Authors: Lebourgeois Sophie , González‐Marín María Carmen , Jeanblanc Jerome , Naassila Mickael , Vilpoux Catherine
Published: May 2017

Alcohol use disorder is a chronic and highly relapsing disorder, characterized by a loss of control over alcohol consumption and craving. Several studies suggest a key role of glutamate in this disorder. In recent years, the modulation of cystine/glutamate exchange via the xc− system has emerged as a new therapeutic alternative for reducing the excitatory glutamatergic transmission observed after ethanol self‐administration in both rats and humans. The objective of this study was to determine whether a treatment with N‐acetylcysteine (NAC), a cystine prodrug, could reduce ethanol self‐administration, ethanol‐seeking behavior and reacquisition of ethanol self‐administration. Male Long Evans rats were trained to self‐administer 20 percent ethanol in operant cages for several weeks. Once the consumption surpassed 1 g of ethanol/kg body weight/15 minutes, the effect of an acute intraperitoneal injection of NAC (0, 25, 50 or 100 mg/kg) 1 hour before the beginning of each test was evaluated on different aspects of the operant self‐administration behavior. We demonstrated antimotivational properties of NAC (100 mg/kg), as ethanol‐reinforced responding was reduced in a fixed ratio (−35 percent) and in a progressive ratio schedule (−81 percent). NAC also reduced ethanol‐seeking behavior (−77 percent) evaluated as extinction responding in a single extinction session. NAC was able to reduce reacquisition in rats that were abstinent for 17 days, while NAC had no effect on ethanol relapse in rats previously exposed to six extinction sessions. Overall, our results demonstrate that NAC limits motivation, seeking behavior and reacquisition in rats, making it a potential new treatment for the maintenance of abstinence.
Laparoscopic excision of neurogenic retrorectal tumors
Authors: Manabe Tatsuya , Koba Ryo , Nagayoshi Kinuko , Sadakari Yoshihiko , Fujita Hayato , Nagai Shuntaro , Ueki Takashi , Nagai Eishi , Nakamura Masafumi
Published: May 2017

Retrorectal tumors (RT) are uncommon and usually managed by open surgical excision. Laparoscopic excision for RT has been reported in only a small number of papers. We aimed to assess the laparoscopic approach for RT and to discuss the factors that made this procedure difficult. We performed laparoscopic excision using a five‐trocar technique for neurogenic RT in three patients. Tumors were successfully excised laparoscopically in two patients. However, the third patient required open conversion because the tumor was strongly adhered to the sacrum and could not be mobilized by dissection, resulting in poor visualization of the dissected site. Laparoscopic excision for RT provides excellent intraoperative visualization and good cosmesis in selected patients, but firm adherence to the sacrum may cause difficulty with this procedure.
A dissimilar biosimilar? Lichenoid drug eruption induced by an infliximab biosimilar
Authors: Gonzalez N. , Patel P. , Han G.
Published: May 2017

The advent of therapeutic antibodies, or biological medications, has transformed the treatment of many inflammatory diseases in dermatology. Recently, the development of biosimilars, biological drugs that are highly similar in quality, safety and efficacy to approved biologics, has changed this landscape. Although biosimilars are not identical to their reference product, they are required to have the same mechanism of action, route of administration, dosage form and strength as the reference product. This also leads to the possibility that subtle differences in the activity of these biosimilars can lead to differing clinical responses. We report the first case of a lichenoid eruption induced by a biosimilar to infliximab after switching from infliximab. Several days after initial infusion of the biosimilar, the patient developed a pruritic papulosquamous eruption that was biopsied to reveal a lichenoid drug eruption. Possible mechanisms for lichenoid drug eruptions as a result of tumour necrosis factor-α inhibitor administration are discussed, along with reasons why such a reaction may occur with a biosimilar but not the original, reference product. This case report calls attention to the unique differences between biosimilars and biological medications that a clinician should consider prior to prescribing these medications.
Study of the inhibitory effects on TNF‐α‐induced NF‐κB activation of IMD0354 analogs
Authors: Li Yi‐Rong , Lin Chi‐Chen , Huang Chih‐Yuan , Wong Yung‐Hao , Hsieh Cheng‐Hung , Wu Han‐Wei , Chen Jeremy J. W. , Wu Yu‐Shan
Published: May 2017

Nuclear factor–κB (NF–κB) is an important nuclear transcription factor which regulates pro‐inflammatory cytokines such as TNF‐α, IL‐6. Its role as immunoregulatory mediator makes it an attractive target in the development of treatments for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. In this study, we synthesized derivatives of IMD0354, a known inhibitor for NF‐κB, in attempt to understand the effect of benzanilide substitutions on its activity. The inhibition of these analogs on NF‐κB activation was analyzed by luciferase assay. The inhibition of IKKβ phosphorylation and pro‐inflammatory cytokines was determined by Western blot and real‐time PCR. The structure activity relationships showed that the hydroxyl group on IMD0354 is a critical moiety that resulting in the inhibition of NF‐κB. Derivatives 1m, 2b, and 2c were shown to inhibit pro‐inflammatory cytokine production at low concentration. These newly synthesized compounds may be useful for the treatment of chronic inflammatory disorders or for cancer prevention.
Costs and savings of parenting interventions: results of a systematic review
Authors: Duncan K. M. , MacGillivray S. , Renfrew M. J.
Published: May 2017

Background

This systematic review of economic evaluations of universal preventative or targeted treatment parenting interventions that aim to enhance parent–infant interaction is primarily intended to inform decision makers who have to make difficult spending decisions, especially at a time of reduced spending allocations. A synthesis of available costs and savings about parenting interventions that set out to enhance parent–infant interaction is presented. This topic is important specifically in view of the UK Governments' emphasis on the equalities agenda and the early years. The benefits of positive early life experiences, which include good parent–infant interaction, are far reaching and may be positively correlated with improved educational, health and well‐being outcomes and reduced criminality.

Methods

A literature search was undertaken using on‐line indexing databases between 2004 and 2014 that included the search terms ‘parent’, ‘infant’, ‘interaction’, ‘cost benefit analysis’ and their synonyms.

Results

Despite existing economic studies generally focusing upon targeted short‐run outcomes, significant savings were observed in the included studies. Parenting interventions could save the health service around £2.5k per family over 25 years and could save the criminal justice system over £145k per person over the life course. In light of the escalating costs of remedial services, these potential savings may provide the UK and other governments with a robust incentive to invest in early years parenting interventions.

Conclusions

Parenting interventions can be economically efficient and return savings on investment. Moreover, and one might argue as a moral imperative of democratic societies, population health can be improved and health inequalities reduced. An important debate is needed about early years policy, to include acknowledgement of the differences between UK and international healthcare systems and the potential savings from the synergistic and spin‐off effects of early years interventions to inform decision‐making to fund and implement appropriate action.
Bilingual Infants Demonstrate Advantages in Learning Words in a Third Language
Authors: Singh Leher
Published: May 2017

Prior research suggests that bilingualism may endow infants with greater phonological flexibility. This study investigated whether this flexibility facilitates word learning in additional languages (n = 96). Experiment 1 compared 18‐ to 20‐month‐old monolingual (English) and bilingual (English/Mandarin) infants on their ability to learn words distinguished by click consonants from a Southern African language, Ndebele. English–Mandarin bilingual infants were sensitive to Ndebele click contrasts, but monolingual English infants were not. In Experiments 2a and 2b, we investigated whether enhanced bilingual sensitivity extended to analogous nonlinguistic labels: hand claps and finger snaps. Although discriminated by infants, neither group distinguished words labeled by hand claps and finger snaps. Results suggest that bilingual infants' sustained openness to non native contrast may facilitate the uptake of words in distant languages.
ARAPLBS: Robust and Efficient Elasticity‐Based Optimization of Weights and Skeleton Joints for Linear Blend Skinning with Parametrized Bones
Authors: Thiery J.‐M. , Eisemann E.
Published: May 2017

We present a fast, robust and high‐quality technique to skin a mesh with reference to a skeleton. We consider the space of possible skeleton deformations (based on skeletal constraints, or skeletal animations), and compute skinning weights based on an optimization scheme to obtain as‐rigid‐as‐possible (ARAP) corresponding mesh deformations. We support stretchable‐and‐twistable bones (STBs) and spines by generalizing the ARAP deformations to stretchable deformers. In addition, our approach can optimize joint placements. If wanted, a user can guide and interact with the results, which is facilitated by an interactive feedback, reached via an efficient sparsification scheme. We demonstrate our technique on challenging inputs (STBs and spines, triangle and tetrahedral meshes featuring missing elements, boundaries, self‐intersections or wire edges).