bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Retention and Physiological Effects of Surgically Implanted Telemetry Transmitters in Blue Catfish
Authors: Holbrook S. Chad , Byars William D. , Lamprecht Scott D. , Leitner Jean K.
Published: April 2012

The study of movement in catfish via telemetry can be problematic because of transmitter expulsion. Information regarding transmitter retention in blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus is limited. We examined transmitter retention and physical condition after implantation in adult blue catfish (≥600 mm) for two surgical implantation methods. Fifteen fish were implanted with Vemco V16 transmitters that were left free floating in the abdominal cavity (traditional method). Another fifteen fish were implanted with capsules constructed to duplicate externally mounted Vemco V16 transmitters. These capsules were implanted in the abdominal cavity and then anchored to the pectoral girdle using sterile pseudo-monofilament suture (modified method). Fish were held in a flow-through circular tank for 244 d following surgery. Sixteen fish expelled their capsules, 10 from the traditional procedure and 6 from the modified procedure. Expulsions were observed between 23 and 243 d post surgery. The condition of fish with retained transmitters after 244 d, as measured by relative weight, was significantly higher for fish in the traditional treatment group. Gross necropsy revealed that retained traditionally implanted transmitters were free floating in the abdominal cavity with no visible interaction with internal organ structures. In the modified surgery group, retained transmitters remained tethered to the pectoral girdle but were located in various positions within the abdominal cavity, including encased in the intestine or stomach, and pushed through the body wall. Our study demonstrated unacceptable health effects associated with the modified procedure. We do not recommend it as a transmitter attachment method for telemetry studies of catfish movement. Further study is suggested to better determine the rates of retention associated with the traditional procedure that was tested.

Received August 2, 2011; accepted January 4, 2012
Gear-Type Influences on Fish Catch and a Wetland Fish Index in Georgian Bay Wetlands
Authors: Cvetkovic Maja , Kostuk Kristina , Chow-Fraser Patricia
Published: April 2012

The Laurentian Great Lakes are managed by many jurisdictions that use a variety of survey methods and gear types to monitor fish assemblages in coastal marshes. Lack of standardization in these methods makes it difficult for organizations to compare data because of inherent biases in gear types. Of equal concern is the uncertainty of the effect of gear bias on fish-related index scores for ecosystem health. Our first objective was to investigate whether there were differences in catch data between two commonly used sampling gears: fyke nets (FN) and boat electrofishing (EF). Secondly, we investigated whether catch differences in data associated with gear biases can lead to significant differences when these data are used to generate scores for biotic indices such as the published Wetland Fish Index (WFI). We sampled 26 coastal wetlands in Georgian Bay (Lake Huron) in the summers of 2004 and 2005. A majority (73%) of the more than 10,000 fish were caught by FN; this gear also captured a greater number of species and functional taxa and selected for larger piscivores. By comparison, EF captured larger invertivores. Fyke nets were more selective for individuals from the Centrarchidae, Cyprinidae, and Ictaluridae families, while EF was more effective for darters (e.g., the Iowa darter Etheostoma exile and johnny darter E. nigrum) and white suckers Catostomus commersonii. Despite these biases in catch data, we obtained statistically similar WFI scores with both gear types. Therefore, although the fish abundance and species composition information collected from FN and EF are not directly comparable, when necessary they can be used interchangeably to generate a fish-based index of ecosystem health.

Received May 16, 2011; accepted December 8, 2011
Trolling May Intensify Exploitation in Crappie Fisheries
Authors: Meals K. O. , Dunn A. W. , Miranda L. E.
Published: April 2012

In some parts of the USA, anglers targeting crappies Pomoxis spp. are transitioning from mostly stationary angling with a single pole around submerged structures to using multiple poles while drifting with the wind or under power. This shift in fishing methods could result in a change in catch efficiency, possibly increasing exploitation rates to levels that would be of concern to managers. We studied the catch statistics of anglers fishing while trolling with multiple poles (trollers) and those fishing with single poles (polers) in Mississippi reservoirs. Specifically, we tested whether (1) various catch statistics differed between trollers and polers, (2) catch rates of trollers were related to the number of poles fished, and (3) trollers could raise exploitation rates to potentially unsustainable levels. Results showed that participation in the crappie fisheries was about equally split between polers and trollers. In spring, 90% of crappie anglers were polers; in summer, 85% of crappie anglers were trollers. The size of harvested crappies was similar for the two angler groups, but the catch per hour was almost three times higher for trollers than for polers. Catch rates by trollers were directly correlated to the number of poles fished, although the relationship flattened as the number of poles increased. The average harvest rate for one troller fishing with three poles was similar to the harvest rate obtained by one poler. Simulations predicted that at the existing mix of about 50% polers and 50% trollers and with no restrictions on the number of poles used by trollers, exploitation of crappies is about 1.3 times higher than that in a polers-only fishery; under a scenario in which 100% of crappie anglers were trollers, exploitation was forecasted to increase to about 1.7 times the polers-only rate. The efficiency of trolling for crappies should be of concern to fishery managers because crappie fisheries are mostly consumptive and may increase exploitation rates to unsustainable levels.

Received August 24, 2011; accepted January 11, 2012
Local Capacities for Peace Meets Conflict Resolution Practice
Authors: Ruth-Heffelbower Duane
Published: April 2012

Relief and development workers have not seen themselves as doing peacebuilding until recently, and have noted the negative impact of aid in many cases. This article suggests how the Local Capacities for Peace Project (LCPP) model can be informed by conflict resolution practice to create relief and development interventions leading to peace.
PCIA: A Tool to Move from Conflict-Ignorance to Conflict Sensitivity within Development, Humanitarian Aid and Peacebuilding Work
Authors: De la Haye Jos , Denayer Koenraad
Published: April 2012

This article looks into one way of assessing the conflict impact of a development, humanitarian or peacebuilding activity or intervention in a conflict area. Following an explanation of the origins and purpose of Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment, the practical consequences are examined with reference to examples and experiences in Angola. This article illustrates the importance of being sensitive to the conflict environment in which one is operating. The ‘conflict sensitive’ concept was triggered by the authors' observation – from field missions and evaluation methodologies – that there is a high level of conflict ignorance among many development, humanitarian and peacebuilding workers.
The Role of the Church in International Peacebuilding: Lessons from the US-Central America Solidarity Movement
Authors: Nepstad Sharon Erickson
Published: April 2012

Oppressed groups struggling for peace, justice and economic reform are increasingly appealing to the international community for support and assistance. Yet these groups face numerous challenges as they try to capture the attention and commitment of potentially sympathetic audiences. Given the success of the United States-Central America peace movement of the 1980s, this article focuses on the methods used by solidarity organisers to persuade members of US faith communities to participate in various transnational citizen peacemaking campaigns. These initiatives were designed to end the region's civil wars and to promote opportunities for the poor of Central America to reconstruct their socioeconomic and political systems without foreign interference. Based on archival research and in-depth interviews with solidarity activists and organisers, this article examines how the church – as an established, respected transnational institution – played a critical part in this movement. Additional attention is given to the role of missionaries, who served as a link between faith communities in the United States and Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. The article concludes with several lessons that international peace and justice movements can learn from the successes and failures of this case.
Land, Blood and Capital Accumulation: Latin America's Eternal War on the Poor
Authors: Hristov Jasmin
Published: April 2012

This article examines economic and political processes and their implications for development, peace and democracy throughout various Latin American countries between 1960 and the present. It illustrates the continuous coexistence of neoliberalism and various forms of repression, which provides foundation for the argument that authoritarianism is the political counterpart of neoliberalism. A critique of the assumption that poverty can be alleviated through neoliberalism's promise – the ‘trickle-down’ effect – is offered. Findings recognise the relevance of more inclusive and humane economic policies in creating conditions for peace and democracy in Latin America.
Local Governance after Conflict: Community Empowerment in East Timor
Authors: Hohe Tanja
Published: April 2012

A necessary ingredient for peacebuilding and development after conflict is stable and participatory local governance. Yet peacekeeping and state-building operations conducted by the international community still focus on the establishment of national institutions and do not ensure local participation. The World Bank's Community Empowerment and Local Governance Project (CEP) was supposed to create sub-national governance to supplement the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). The programme was an innovative attempt to combine development with state building in an emergency phase of a post-conflict setting. The results pose questions about the timing of establishing local governance and the degree of social engineering that can be conducted in a post-conflict environment. They show the relevance of sufficient ‘local knowledge’ in project design and the need for improved inter-organisational cooperation.1
The Resolution of Violent Conflicts in Nigeria: A Public Opinion Perspective
Authors: Bratton Michael
Published: April 2012

An Afrobarometer survey conducted in August 2001 finds that Nigerians perceive pervasive social conflicts – especially along inter-communal lines – that arise from mixed cultural and economic sources. They give the current, elected Nigerian government relatively high marks for managing such conflicts but, paradoxically, insist that they prefer informal, community-based modes of solving disputes. Even though Nigeria is one of the most fractious societies on the African continent, a clear majority of its citizens insist that the nation remain intact.
Reviving Agriculture in the Aftermath of Violent Conflict: A Review of Experience
Authors: Muscat Robert J.
Published: April 2012

Promoting post-conflict recovery of agriculture differs significantly from promoting development of an agriculture sector in ‘normal’ circumstances. The large body of literature on post-conflict recovery has yet to cover systematically the experience of efforts to revive the production sectors of an economy. Based on a selected review of project and programme materials, this article draws together evaluations and lessons learned from many countries' post-conflict experiences in agriculture.1 It gives attention to the important links between this experience and resumption of long-term development, and with constraints imposed by the need to sustain peace. It is more difficult to rehabilitate agriculture in a post-conflict setting than it is to promote agricultural development under ‘normal’ conditions, that is, conditions of peace and security where violence is limited to ‘ordinary’ crime and banditry. This article explains why this is the case and shares some lessons learned from aid agency experience. Although a substantial body of literature focuses on post-conflict recovery, it does not differentiate between diverse experiences at the sectoral level.
Towards Better Policy and Programme Work in Conflict Zones: Introducing the ‘Aid for Peace’ Approach
Authors: Paffenholz Thania , Reychler Luc
Published: April 2012

This article presents the newly developed ‘Aid for Peace’ approach. This approach facilitates the planning and evaluation of peacebuilding, development and humanitarian policies and programmes, in latent or manifest violent conflict or in the aftermath of a violent conflict or war. The ‘Aid for Peace’ framework consists of four parts that focus on the needs for peacebuilding in a given country or area. It tailors the intervention's objectives and activities towards these needs through identifying its peacebuilding relevance, and develops or evaluates peace and conflict results chains and indicators for understanding its effects on conflict and peacebuilding. Based on the same methodological framework, the approach provides separate guides for planning and evaluating peace and aid policies and programmes.
Envisioning Success: Building Blocks for Strategic and Comprehensive Peacebuilding Impact Evaluation
Authors: Fast Larissa A. , Neufeldt Reina C.
Published: April 2012

Linking peacebuilding and development is an emerging area of specialisation. Changes in the political, social, and economic contexts, the intangible dimensions of attitudinal and relational change, and the need to take a long-term perspective in order to capture the effects of programming all pose substantial challenges to peacebuilding programming for development agencies. This article provides a series of guiding questions for evaluation which can also be used in the planning and monitoring stages of a peacebuilding or conflictsensitive development programming. 1 Drawing upon the work of scholars and practitioners working in the fields of development and peacebuilding, the article presents a process to generate strategic building blocks for a comprehensive approach to evaluating peacebuilding programming.
The Privatisation of Violence and Security Sector Reform in Africa: Nigeria and South Africa Examined
Authors: Isima Jeffrey O.
Published: April 2012

The creation of stronger states in Africa is central to the success of conceiving, designing and implementing agendas that seek to enhance peace and human security. Most states in Africa exhibit chronic privatisation of violence by informal security actors, and this is symptomatic of the difficulties of state building more generally. Security sector reform (SSR) as a tool for peacebuilding and human security on the continent must therefore be part of a wider effort to address the problem of state weakness as well as respond to the crucial (in)security that is presented by informal actors such as militias and vigilante groups. This has become crucial in the light of the human security predicaments that informal security actors represent. This article uses the cases of Nigeria and South Africa to show how the current institutional approach to SSR ignores the critical importance of the nature of the state and the structural conditions that undermine the state-making process in Africa in both analysis and practice. It argues that the governance of privatised violence is central to the need for SSR in Africa and that the enhancement of state capacity is the key to the success of that governance.
The Process of Peace: A Critical Reflection on the Community Peace and Restoration Fund in the Solomon Islands
Authors: Spence Rebecca , Wielders Iris
Published: April 2012

The Community Peace and Restoration Fund was established to provide a peace dividend to alienated Solomon Islands communities. This article reflects critically on how the Fund engaged with these communities and its relative success in meeting key peacebuilding indicators. The Fund increased equitable and equal access to resources and contributed to the rebuilding of associational life, utilising peacebuilding methodologies to enhance its community engagement processes. However, the Fund was less successful on a number of fronts, particularly in its interaction with government structures at meso and macro levels. The article analyses why the Fund was so successful at local-level community peacebuilding but failed to capitalise on opportunities at the macro level.
Towards Sustainable Peace and Development in Sierra Leone: Civil Society and the Peacebuilding Commission
Authors: Lambourne Wendy
Published: April 2012

The Sierra Leone civil war that ended in January 2002 was particularly brutal and left the country economically devastated. Four-and-a-half years later, Sierra Leone was selected as one of two countries to receive focussed attention from the newly created United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (PBC). The PBC is mandated to support post-conflict recovery and sustainable development with the participation of all relevant stakeholders, including civil society. Drawing on field research and theories of sustainable peacebuilding and the role of civil society, this paper assesses the PBC's performance in Sierra Leone in its first year of operation. The article concludes that the PBC needs to clarify its priorities in relation to civil society participation in order to fulfil its potential to assist governments in promoting sustainable peace and development.
Development Paradigms and Peacebuilding Theories of Change: Analysing Embedded Assumptions in Development and Peacebuilding
Authors: Jantzi Terrence L. , Jantzi Vernon E.
Published: April 2012

Peacebuilding and development professionals typically draw on different theoretical frameworks for developing their programmes. Development professionals reference the paradigms of development whereas peacebuilding professionals reference theories of change. These two different frameworks make it difficult for these professionals to communicate across their disciplines, even though they are increasingly engaging in very similar forms of intervention. This article develops a framework for correlating the respective development paradigms with peacebuilding theories of change. It concludes by examining the implications for three practitioner-level issues: assimilative versus transformative models, the conundrum of practitioner imperialism, and the normative question of which model is correct.
Strategic Policy Frameworks as Peacebuilding Tools: A Comparative Study
Authors: Ponzio Richard J.
Published: April 2012

This article provides a brief introduction to selected policy and cooperation frameworks that were adopted by the international community to bring a more strategic and coherent approach to peacebuilding in the last decade.1 It begins by highlighting some core general characteristics of the various tools (e.g. integrated peacebuilding strategies, compacts, country assistance frameworks and standards implementation plans) in terms of their institutional origins, objectives, scope and thematic focus. The article then describes how these instruments differ in terms of policy emphasis and how they are applied in practice. Based on the shared yet sometimes divergent goals, design elements and practice with these different strategic policy frameworks, some general lessons are extracted about their varied utility in terms of contributing to the advancement of strategic approaches to peacebuilding.
Poverty Reduction Strategy in Collapsed States: The Case of Sierra Leone
Authors: Doe Samuel Gbaydee
Published: April 2012

This article assesses the seven-year application of the poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) in post-conflict Sierra Leone. While recognising its modest achievements, the article argues that the PRSP has had limited impact in Sierra Leone for three main reasons: 1) it has been increasingly argued that it is a tool for peacebuilding while the participatory poverty assessment that informed the priority setting leaned heavily towards poverty and were weak on conflict and peace analysis; 2) participation – the core theory of change for PRSPs – was not problematised within the Sierra Leone context; and 3) PRSP implementation was based on false assumptions about the required capacity for its implementation. These findings have direct implications for Sierra Leone's new PRSP, the ‘Agenda for Change’, as well as the role of PRSPs in other post-conflict contexts. The article calls on PRSP architects to make capacity development and participation part of the central objectives to ensure sustainable peacebuilding and pro-poor development in Sierra Leone.
Legislating Gender-based Violence in Post-conflict Africa
Authors: Tripp Aili Mari
Published: April 2012

Much of the literature on post-conflict Africa has focused either on the backlash against women's rights or referred very generally to new openings for gender-related policy in particular countries. A closer look at developments across the continent shows that the steady demise of a significant number of major conflicts in Africa since the mid-1980s and especially after 2000 has been accompanied by a new focus on women's representation and woman-friendly legislation and policy. This article focuses on the adoption of gender-based violence legislation, which has not to date been examined cross-nationally. It argues that post-conflict countries have adopted legislation pertaining to gender-based violence at significantly higher rates than in other countries. The article shows how this is related to the legacy of conflict. The pressures to address GBV have come from 1) women's movements, 2) changing international norms and practices reflected in programmatic shifts within international bodies like the United Nations and among foreign donors, and 3) changing opportunity structures such as the holding of peace talks or rewriting of constitutions, which allowed women to push their agenda.
Peace through Economic Opportunity, Cross-Cultural Understanding and Public-Private Partnership: A Case Study of the Irish Peace Process Cultural Training Programme
Authors: Carstaphen Nike , Avruch Kevin , Collins Laurel
Published: April 2012

In support of the Irish Peace Process, the Walsh Visa Programme provided job and training opportunities in the United States for unemployed youths from Northern Ireland and designated border counties of the Republic of Ireland. The premise was that unemployed youth from all sides of the sectarian divide could benefit from the experience of peaceful coexistence through living and working in a multicultural society and return home better able to contribute to their economy and sustainable peace. More than a thousand participants were involved in the programme over 10 years. This article summarises the programme's challenges, achievements and lessons learned through the lens of economic development and justice, reconciliation, and public-private partnerships.
Introduction: Peacebuilding and Reconstruction in Haiti
Authors: Baranyi Stephen
Published: April 2012

The idea of ‘peacebuilding’ has been widely discredited in Haiti due to the application of an orthodox liberal approach in the 1990s and the limits of stabilisation since 2004. Revitalising ‘ refondation’, the transformative dimension of post-earthquake reconstruction, could connect that project to a more context-relevant concept of peacebuilding and especially to endogenous struggles for social justice. Drawing on critical constructivist theory and on the other contributions to this special issue, this introductory article suggests that there are possibilities to build the social basis for such changes, despite the alignment of forces in Haiti today.
Three Attempts at Peace in Sri Lanka: A Critical Muslim Perspective
Authors: Haniffa Farzana
Published: April 2012

This paper examines three instances of attempted rapprochement between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government in 1987, 2002 and 2005, and the inadequate response to the security and economic concerns of the Muslim minority community. The state's indifference to Muslim concerns has been due to the fact that minorities continue to be considered less than worthy citizens, and the conflict has been understood to concern only the state and the LTTE. Muslims' chosen methods of engagement in politics, and recent community choices regarding self-representation, through the ‘piety movement’, for instance, have also contributed to their exclusion. This paper argues that Muslims will need to find new ways of engagement with different levels of Sri Lankan civil and political society if they are to have their concerns addressed under the new political regime and changing social conditions within the country.
Statebuilding, Peacebuilding, Police and Policing in Solomon Islands
Authors: Greener B.K.
Published: April 2012

This article investigates the relationship between the statebuilding efforts currently emphasised as necessary for development and security in post-conflict settings, and the possibilities for broader peacebuilding efforts to be prioritised. It does this through an analysis of the push to form a centralised formal police force in the Solomon Islands where more informal sites of policing authority already exist. The paper suggests that the narrower emphasis on statebuilding as represented by a focus on the institutional rebuilding of police needs to be reoriented towards a focus on peacebuilding as represented by a more flexible approach to supporting sustainable broader forms of policing.
Pro-poor Economic Development Aid to Haiti: Unintended Effects Arising from the ConflictDevelopment Nexus
Authors: Shamsie Yasmine
Published: April 2012

Poverty reduction has been a prominent and critical goal of Haiti's main international donors, yet they have directed little economic aid to rural areas where a large segment of Haiti's poor live and work. Instead, donors have focused on re-establishing a vibrant urban-based manufacturing sector. While sidestepping agriculture is not a new trend, this paper argues that the policy set employed by donors since 2004 – a conflict and development approach that stresses vulnerability to crime and political instability – has served to reinforce the country's historical bias against rural development. While the 2010 earthquake has provided the impetus to decentralise economic activity, it is too soon to know if and how the rural poor will benefit, particularly given continued security-related concerns associated with the capital region.
Goodbye to ‘Pixie Dust’? A New U.S. Development Strategy in Haiti
Authors: Maguire Robert
Published: April 2012

Given the less-than-desired results in sustained poverty alleviation and economic growth in Haiti despite the past allocation of significant foreign aid dollars, the Obama administration launched a review of the United States government's approach toward development assistance in there well before the January 2010 devastating earthquake. Findings and recommendations, fine-tuned after the catastrophic disaster, thrust Haiti into the forefront of a wider U.S. overhaul of foreign aid policy and practice that incorporates not only core principles for aid effectiveness set forth in the Paris Declaration of 2005, but also findings and recommendations included in the 2006 peer review undertaken by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. As the administration endeavours to enact strategies for greater aid effectiveness in a country challenged not only by a devastating natural disaster, but also by the scars of poverty and conflict, Haiti offers important insights into issues critical for achieving and sustaining more effective development and peacebuilding policies and practices worldwide.
Socially Constructing Democracy and Peace: Nigeria's National Dialogue on the Niger Delta Conflict
Authors: Edozie Rita Kiki
Published: April 2012

When he was Vice-President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan pledged that his democratic regime would bring an end to conflict in the embattled Niger Delta region. This article examines the processes by which Jonathan's pledge is being realised. Using Amartya Sen's constructivist democracy theoretical framework, the article looks at the way that Nigeria's decade-old democracy is fostering peace and development in the Niger Delta through dialogue. It assesses the relationship between diverse regime actors – such as Jonathan and the former president, the late Umaru Yar'Adua, and their constituents, who are politically organised into a myriad of civil society groups and community activists – contending that their engagement is a foundation for deepening Nigeria's democracy. It argues that this process – albeit prone to constant fissures and tensions – is facilitating a resolution to the country's most challenging conflict since the civil war, one that will support sustained peace and development.
Aerobic exercise does not change C‐reactive protein levels in non‐obese patients with obstructive sleep apnoea
Authors: Cavagnolli Daniel A , Esteves Andrea Maculano , Ackel‐D'Elia Carolina , Maeda Marilia Y , de Faria Alexandre Paulino , Tufik Sérgio , de Mello Marco Tulio
Published: April 2012

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of a 2‐month aerobic exercise training programme on C‐reactive protein (CRP) levels in non‐obese patients with obstructive sleep apnoea. Twenty non‐obese and sedentary adult male volunteers underwent polysomnography (PSG) to assess their sleep parameters. After the PSG analysis, the subjects were divided into two groups (CTRL, control and OSA, obstructive sleep apnoea). Twenty‐four sessions of aerobic exercise were performed, and PSG was repeated on the night that followed the last physical training session (24th). Blood samples were collected for CRP analysis before the first exercise session and after the last session. The OSA group demonstrated a reduction in sleep latency (SL) after 2 months of physical exercise, and 80% of them showed a lower apnoea‐hypopnoea index (AHI), although this difference was not statistically significant. The differences between the CRP values for the CTRL and OSA groups were also not statistically significant at baseline or after 2 months of physical exercise. Furthermore, there was no correlation between the CRP levels and body mass index (BMI) in the two groups assessed. Our results suggest that in non‐obese patients with OSA, CRP levels were normal and did not change after 2 months of aerobic exercise training.
From early to adult sport success: Analysing athletes' progression in national squads
Authors: Barreiros André , Côté Jean , Fonseca António Manuel
Published: April 2012

Although some prospective studies have shown that many successful young athletes do not maintain the same level of success when they reach adulthood, there is still a lack of information regarding athletes who started their international involvement at early ages. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the international pathway of male and female athletes in different sports from the moment of their competitive debut, in order to determine how many international athletes at early ages competed or did not compete internationally as juniors and/or seniors. The sample included 395 athletes (soccer, volleyball, swimming and judo), born between 1974 and 1981, who could have competed in their national squads between 1988 and 2008. Results showed that only a third of international pre‐junior athletes reappeared as senior athletes, confirming the difficulties of predicting late success based on early identification and selection.
Variations in relative age effects in individual sports: Skiing, figure skating and gymnastics
Authors: Baker Joseph , Janning Christina , Wong Harmonie , Cobley Stephen , Schorer Jörg
Published: April 2012

In many sports, policy‐makers and administrators employ annual cohorts to reduce differences between athletes during childhood and youth. Although well‐intended, unintended relative age effects (RAEs) usually occur. RAEs refer to the specific selection, participation and attainment disadvantages associated with participants’ birthdates relative to an arbitrary ‘cutoff’ date used to group participants within annual age groups. To date, we have little understanding of RAEs in individual sports. In this article, Study 1 considered the presence of RAEs in 1474 ski jumping, 7501 cross‐country skiing, 15,565 alpine skiing, 4179 snowboarders and 713 Nordic combined athletes. Chi‐square analyses revealed significant RAEs for most of these contexts across sexes. In Study 2, RAEs in the aesthetic sports of figure skating (n=502) and female gymnastics (n=612) were considered. There was no effect for the figure skaters and an atypical effect for the gymnasts. The significant effects across most ski sports coupled with the null effects in figure skating and atypical effect in gymnastics suggest that sport‐specific contextual factors are important elements in understanding the mechanisms of RAEs, although further work is necessary to validate these findings.
In silicoanalyses of pericycle cell populations reinforce their relation with associated vasculature inArabidopsis
Authors: Parizot Boris , Roberts Ianto , Raes Jeroen , Beeckman Tom , De Smet Ive
Published: April 2012

InArabidopsis, lateral root initiation occurs in a subset of pericycle cells at the xylem pole that will divide asymmetrically to give rise to a new lateral root organ. While lateral roots never develop at the phloem pole, it is unclear how the interaction with xylem and phloem poles determines the distinct pericycle identities with different competences. Nevertheless, pericycle cells at these poles are marked by differences in size, by ultrastructural features and by specific proteins and gene expression. Here, we provide transcriptional evidence that pericycle cells are intimately associated with their vascular tissue instead of being a separate concentric layer. This has implications for the identification of cell- and tissue-specific promoters that are necessary to drive and/or alter gene expression locally, avoiding pleiotropic effects. We were able to identify a small set of genes that display specific expression in the phloem or xylem pole pericycle cells, and we were able to identify motifs that are likely to drive expression in either one of those tissues.
Peptides and receptors controlling root development
Authors: Stahl Yvonne , Simon Rüdiger
Published: April 2012

The growth of a plant's root system depends on the continued activity of the root meristem, and the generation of new meristems when lateral roots are initiated. Plants have developed intricate signalling systems that employ secreted peptides and plasma membrane-localized receptor kinases for short- and long-range communication. Studies on growth of the vascular system, the generation of lateral roots, the control of cell differentiation in the root meristem and the interaction with invading pathogens or symbionts has unravelled a network of peptides and receptor systems with occasionally shared functions. A common theme is the employment of conserved modules, consisting of a short signalling peptide, a receptor-like kinase and a target transcription factor, that control the fate and proliferation of stem cells during root development. This review intends to give an overview of the recent advances in receptor and peptide ligand-mediated signalling involved in root development.
High-throughput imaging and analysis of root system architecture inBrachypodium distachyonunder differential nutrient availability
Authors: Ingram Paul A. , Zhu Jinming , Shariff Aabid , Davis Ian W. , Benfey Philip N. , Elich Tedd
Published: April 2012

Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) deficiency are primary constraints for plant productivity, and root system architecture (RSA) plays a vital role in the acquisition of these nutrients. The genetic determinants of RSA are poorly understood, primarily owing to the complexity of crop genomes and the lack of sufficient RSA phenotyping methods. The objective of this study was to characterize the RSA of twoBrachypodium distachyonaccessions under different nutrient availability. To do so, we used a high-throughput plant growth and imaging platform, and developed software that quantified 19 different RSA traits. We found significant differences in RSA between twoBrachypodiumaccessions grown on nutrient-rich, low-N and low-P conditions. More specifically, one accession maintained axile root growth under low N, while the other accession maintained lateral root growth under low P. These traits resemble the RSA of crops adapted to low-N and -P conditions, respectively. Furthermore, we found that a number of these traits were highly heritable. This work lays the foundation for future identification of important genetic components of RSA traits under nutrient limitation using a mapping population derived from these two accessions.
Can we improve heterosis for root growth of maize by selecting parental inbred lines with different temperature behaviour?
Authors: Hund Andreas , Reimer Regina , Stamp Peter , Walter Achim
Published: April 2012

Tolerance to high and low temperature is an important breeding aim for Central and Northern Europe, where temperature fluctuations are predicted to increase. However, the extent to which genotypes differ in their response to the whole range of possible temperatures is not well understood. We tested the hypothesis that the combination of maize (
Zea mays
L.) inbred lines with differing temperature optima for root growth would lead to superior hybrids. This hypothesis is based on the concept of ‘marginal overdominance’ in which the hybrid expresses higher relative fitness than its parents, summed over all situations. The elongation rates of axile and lateral roots of the reciprocal cross between two flint and two dent inbred lines were assessed at temperatures between 15°C and 40°C. Indeed, the cross between UH005 and UH250 with lateral root growth temperature optima at 34°C and 28°C, respectively, resulted in intermediate hybrids. At temperatures below and above 31°C, the hybrids' root growth was comparable to the better parent, respectively, thereby increasing temperature tolerance of the hybrid compared with its parents. The implications of and reasons for this heterosis effect are discussed in the context of breeding for abiotic stress tolerance and of putatively underlying molecular mechanisms. This finding paves the way for more detailed investigations of this phenomenon in future studies.
Autoimmune gastritis: histology phenotype and OLGA staging
Authors: Rugge M. , Fassan M. , Pizzi M. , Zorzetto V. , Maddalo G. , Realdon S. , De Bernard M. , Betterle C. , Cappellesso R. , Pennelli G. , de Boni M. , Farinati F.
Published: April 2012

Background

Among Western populations, the declining incidence of Helicobacter pylori infection coincides with a growing clinical impact of autoimmune gastritis.

Aims

To describe the histological phenotype of autoimmune gastritis, also to test the prognostic impact of OLGA staging in the autoimmune setting.

Methods

A single‐institutional series (spanning the years 2003–2011) of 562 consecutive patients (M:F ratio: 1:3.7; mean age = 57.6 ± 14.4 years) with serologically confirmed autoimmune gastritis underwent histology review and OLGA staging.

Results

Helicobacter pylori infection was ascertained histologically in 44/562 cases (7.8%). Forty six biopsy sets (8.2%) featured OLGA stages III–IV; they included all four cases of incidental epithelial neoplasia (three intraepithelial and one invasive; three of these four cases had concomitant H. pylori infection). There were 230 (40.9%) and 139 (24.7%) cases, respectively, of linear and micro‐nodular enterochromaffin‐like cell hyperplasia; 19 (3.4%) type I carcinoids were detected. The series included 116 patients who underwent repeated endoscopy/biopsy sampling (mean time elapsing between the two procedures = 54 months; range 24–108). Paired histology showed a significant (P = 0.009) trend towards a stage progression [the stage increased in 25/116 cases (22%); it remained unchanged in 87/116 cases (75%)].

Conclusions

In autoimmune gastritis, the cancer risk is restricted to high‐risk gastritis stages (III–IV), and is associated mainly with concomitant H. pylori infection. OLGA staging consistently depicts the time‐dependent organic progression of the autoimmune disease and provides key information for secondary gastric cancer prevention strategies.
Closed and open breathing circuit function in healthy volunteers during exercise at Mount Everest base camp (5300 m)
Authors: McMorrow R. C. N. , Windsor J. S. , Hart N. D. , Richards P. , Rodway G. W. , Ahuja V. Y. , O’Dwyer M. J. , Mythen M. G. , Grocott M. P. W. ,   the Caudwell Xtreme Everest Research Group
Published: April 2012

We present a randomised, controlled, crossover trial of the Caudwell Xtreme Everest (CXE) closed circuit breathing system vs an open circuit and ambient air control in six healthy, hypoxic volunteers at rest and exercise at Everest Base Camp, at 5300 m. Compared with control, arterial oxygen saturations were improved at rest with both circuits. There was no difference in the magnitude of this improvement as both circuits restored median (IQR [range]) saturation from 75%, (69.5–78.9 [68–80]%) to > 99.8% (p = 0.028). During exercise, the CXE closed circuit improved median (IQR [range]) saturation from a baseline of 70.8% (63.8–74.5 [57–76]%) to 98.8% (96.5–100 [95–100]%) vs the open circuit improvement to 87.5%, (84.1–88.6 [82–89]%; p = 0.028). These data demonstrate the inverse relationship between supply and demand with open circuits and suggest that ambulatory closed circuits may offer twin advantages of supplying higher inspired oxygen concentrations and/or economy of gas use for exercising hypoxic adults.
The impacts of accessible service delivery on front‐line helping relationships in child welfare
Authors: Cameron Gary , DeGeer Ian , Hazineh Lirondel , Frensch Karen , Smit Quosai Trudy , Freymond Nancy
Published: April 2012

This paper presents the results of a study comparing the impacts on helping relationships of locating front‐line child protection service providers in central locations or in accessible school and neighbourhood service delivery sites. Creating easier access to front‐line child protection service providers, fostering more positive community perceptions of child welfare services, improving client and service provider satisfaction with helping relationships and services, and increasing families' willingness to ask for help were core objectives at the accessible sites. Using a quasi‐experimental outcome design, file reviews and qualitative interviews with service providers and parents, this study presents evidence that accessible sites had substantial success in achieving these objectives when compared with central service delivery locations.
Parenting style, competence, social network and attachment in mothers with mental illness
Authors: Gelkopf Marc , Jabotaro Suzy Ella
Published: April 2012

Severe mental illnesses (SMIs) can affect parents' ability to provide an adequate environment for their children. Little has been written about the different factors that affect these abilities in individuals with SMI. In this study, we explored a number of relationships that have been found in the literature to be related to parenting styles. Our main hypotheses were that the participants' secure attachment with their parents is positively correlated with high levels of social support; social support is positively correlated with the experience of having good parental competency; lack of parental competency is negatively correlated with problematic parenting styles. This correlational and cross‐sectional study was conducted with 60 mothers with SMI. Results suggest a strong relationship between parental style, sense of parental competency, social support and attachment style of the parent. Negative parental styles were found to be negatively correlated with parental competence. Overactive and hostile parenting styles were found to be correlated with the interviewees' parental overprotecting attachment style. Positive correlations were found between parental competence and high social support. The results of the study may help in developing future multidimensional interventions for parents with SMI, to improve their parenting skills and reduce any negative influence on their offspring.
Subclinical endothelial dysfunction and low‐grade inflammation play roles in the development of erectile dysfunction in young men with low risk of coronary heart disease
Authors: Yao F. , Huang Y. , Zhang Y. , Dong Y. , Ma H. , Deng C. , Lin H. , Liu D. , Lu K.
Published: April 2012

The purpose of this study is to investigate the possible underlying pathogenesis of erectile dysfunction(ED) in young men with low risk of coronary heart disease and no well‐known aetiology. To conduct this study, 122 patients with ED under the age of 40 were enrolled, along with 33 age‐matched normal control subjects. The patients with ED had significantly higher levels of systolic blood pressure (SBP), total cholesterol and triglyceride, high sensitivity C‐reactive protein (hs‐CRP), greater carotid intima‐media thickness (CIMT) and Framingham risk score (FRS) than the control group, though all of these values were within the respective normal range. Further, the brachial artery flow‐ mediated vasodilation (FMD) values were significantly lower in ED patients and correlated positively with the severity of ED (r = 0.714, p < 0.001). When these significant factors were studied in the multivariate logistic regression model, FMD, SBP, hs‐CRP and FRS remained the statistical significance. The receiver‐operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated that FMD had a high ability to predict ED in young male with low FRS [area under the curve (AUC) 0.921, p < 0.001]. The cutoff value of FMD <10.25% had sensitivity of 82.8% and specificity of 100% for diagnosis of ED. FRS and hs‐ CRP were also proven to be predictors of ED (AUC 0.812, p < 0.001; AUC 0.645, p = 0.011, respectively). The results of this study validated that subclinical endothelial dysfunction and low‐grade inflammation may be the underlying pathogenesis of ED with no well‐known aetiology. Young patients complaining of ED should be screened for cardiovascular risk factors and possible subclinical atherosclerosis. Measurement of FMD, hs‐CRP and FRS can improve our ability to predict and treat ED, as well as subclinical cardiovascular disease early for young male.