bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Mean precipitation change from a deepening troposphere
Authors: Jeevanjee Nadir , Romps David M.
Published: October 2018

Significance

Global climate models robustly predict that global mean precipitation should increase at roughly 2–3%

K

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1

, but the origin of these values is not well understood. Here we develop a simple theory to help explain these values. This theory suggests that global mean precipitation is closely tied to the depth of the troposphere, when measured in temperature coordinates. When surface temperatures increase, this “temperature depth” of the troposphere also increases, causing an increase in global mean precipitation.
Transcription initiation defines kinetoplast RNA boundaries
Authors: Sement François M. , Suematsu Takuma , Zhang Liye , Yu Tian , Huang Lan , Aphasizheva Inna , Aphasizhev Ruslan
Published: October 2018

Significance

It is held that in trypanosomes both mitochondrial DNA strands are transcribed into polycistronic precursors. An unknown endonuclease presumably cleaves primary transcripts to liberate monocistronic mRNAs. However, this model is incongruent with an established event of mRNA processing by 3′–5′ exonucleolytic degradation. Our work suggests that each gene is transcribed individually and the pre-mRNA undergoes 5′-end modification and controlled 3′-end trimming. We identified the pyrophosphohydrolase protein complex as responsible for pyrophosphate removal from the 5′ nucleoside and mRNA stabilization. We characterized antisense noncoding RNAs originating near mRNA 3′ termini and investigated their potential role in 3′-end demarcation. It is conceivable that transcription, in addition to mRNA editing and decay, plays a significant role in regulation of mitochondrial gene expression.
Forensic Inpatients with Low IQ and Psychiatric Comorbidities: Specificity and Heterogeneity of Psychiatric and Social Profiles
Authors: Vicenzutto Audrey , Saloppé Xavier , Ducro Claire , Milazzo Vanessa , Lindekens Murielle , Pham Thierry H.
Published: October 2018

While the prevalence of mental disorders in people with intellectual disabilities (ID) is well documented, there is less specific literature in the forensic domain. This study sought to clarify the psychiatric and criminological characteristics among Belgian French-speaker forensic inpatients with low IQ and mental health illnesses. To this end, we compared a low IQ group with mental health illnesses ( n = 69), low IQ group ( n = 56), and control group ( n = 165). Compared with controls, proportionally more inpatients low IQ with Mental Health Illnesses presented a psychiatric illness, particularly a mood disorder, and proportionally fewer presented a cluster C personality disorder. The findings highlight the specificity and heterogeneity of the psychiatric profile of this subgroup of patients. He also demonstrated that forensic patients with ID are not a homogeneous group. This emphasizes the importance of considering in the management of forensic ID patients the specific needs with regard to their psychopathological profile.
Nitrogen regulation by natural systems in “unnatural” landscapes: denitrification in ultra-urban coastal ecosystems
Authors: Rosenzweig Bernice R. , Groffman Peter M. , Zarnoch Chester B. , Branco Brett F. , Hartig Ellen K. , Fitzpatrick James , Forgione Helen M. , Parris Adam
Published: October 2018

Dense cities represent biogeochemical hot spots along the shoreline, concentrating fixed nitrogen that is subsequently discharged into adjacent coastal receiving waters. Thus, the ecosystem services provided by natural systems in highly urban environments can play a particularly important role in the global nitrogen cycle. In this paper, we review the recent literature on nitrogen regulation by temperate coastal ecosystems, with a focus on how the distinct physical and biogeochemical features of the urban landscape can affect the provision of this ecosystem service. We use Jamaica Bay, an ultra-urbanized coastal lagoon in the United States of America, as a demonstrative case study. Based on simple areal and tidal-based calculations, the natural systems of Jamaica Bay remove ~ 24% of the reactive nitrogen discharged by wastewater treatment plants. However, this estimate does not represent the dynamic nature of urban nitrogen cycling represented in the recent literature and highlights key research needs and opportunities. Our review reveals that ecosystem-facilitated denitrification may be significant in even the most densely urbanized coastal landscapes, but critical uncertainties currently limit incorporation of this ecosystem service in environmental management.
Impact of climate change on biodiversity and associated key ecosystem services in Africa: a systematic review
Authors: Sintayehu Dejene W.
Published: October 2018

Introduction:
 Biodiversity and biodiversity-based ecosystems services are intrinsically dependent on the climate. During the twentieth century, climate change has posed major threats to biodiversity in Africa, and impacts are expected to increase as climate change continues and perhaps even accelerates.
Outcomes:
Our review shows that the multiple components of climate change are projected to affect all levels of biodiversity, from genes over species to biome level. Loss of biodiversity as a result of climate change can alter the structures and functions of African ecological systems. As a result, the provision of biodiversity-based ecosystem services and the well-being of people that rely on these services are being modified. Of particular concerns are “tipping points” where the exceedance of ecosystem thresholds will possibly lead to irreversible shifts of the structure of ecosystems and their services. In recent years, climate prediction models have portended continued warming and more frequent extreme weather events across the region. Such weather-related disturbances such as El Niño will place a premium on biodiversity and biodiversity-based ecosystem services that people rely on.
Conclusion:
As biodiversity underlies all goods and services provided by ecosystems that are crucial for human survival and well-being, this paper synthesizes and discusses observed and anticipated impacts of climate change on biodiversity and biodiversity-based ecosystem service provision and livelihoods, and what strategies might be employed to decrease current and future risks on the well-being of human in Africa.
Linkage analysis reveals allosteric coupling in Kir2.1 channels
Authors: Sigg Daniel M. , Chang Hsueh-Kai , Shieh Ru-Chi
Published: October 2018

Potassium-selective inward rectifier (Kir) channels are a class of membrane proteins necessary for maintaining stable resting membrane potentials, controlling excitability, and shaping the final repolarization of action potentials in excitable cells. In addition to the strong inward rectification of the ionic current caused by intracellular blockers, Kir2.1 channels possess “weak” inward rectification observed in inside-out patches after prolonged washout of intracellular blockers. The mechanisms underlying strong inward rectification have been attributed to voltage-dependent block by intracellular Mg2+ and polyamines; however, the mechanism responsible for weak rectification remains elusive. Hypotheses include weak voltage-dependent block and intrinsic voltage-dependent gating. Here, we performed a conductance Hill analysis of currents recorded with a double-ramp protocol to evaluate different mechanisms proposed for weak inward rectification of Kir2.1 channels. Linkage analysis in the form of a Hill plot revealed that the ramp currents could be best explained by allosteric coupling between a mildly voltage-dependent pore gate (gating charge ∼0.18 eo) and a voltage sensor (gating charge ∼1.7 eo). The proposed voltage sensor stabilized the closing of the pore gate (coupling factor ∼31). We anticipate that the use of linkage analysis will broaden understanding of functional coupling in ion channels and proteins in general.
Adsorption and diffusion of F2 molecules on pristine graphene*
Authors: Yang Yong , Liu Fu-Chi , Kawazoe Yoshiyuki
Published: October 2018

The adsorption and diffusion of F2 molecules on pristine graphene are studied by using first-principles calculations. For the diffusion of F2 from molecular state in gas phase to the dissociative adsorption state on graphene surface, a kinetic barrier is identified, which explains the inertness of graphene in molecular F2 at room temperature, and its reactivity with F2 at higher temperatures. Study of the diffusion of F2 molecules on graphene surface determines the energy barrier along the optimal diffusion pathway, which conduces to the understanding of the high stability of fluorographene.
The Role of Peer Effects in Natural Resource Appropriation – The Case of Groundwater
Authors: Sampson Gabriel S. , Perry Edward D.
Published: October 2018

Spatially mediated peer effects are increasingly recognized as an important driver of technology adoption. In this paper, we isolate the role of peer effects from environmental factors in the acquisition of groundwater rights for agricultural irrigation in Kansas. We find strong evidence of peer effects influencing farmers’ decisions to adopt groundwater irrigation. Using a rich dataset on groundwater rights for the period 1943–2014 and a nearest neighbor peer group definition, we find that one additional neighbor adopting groundwater for irrigation increases groundwater adoption by an average of 0.25 percentage points. We also find that the average marginal effect of one additional peer is reduced by distance and diminishes as the total number of neighbors adopting groundwater increases. Using our model estimates to simulate a counterfactual without peer effects, we find that water rights appropriation stemming from peer effects accounted for about 11 million acre‐feet of extraction from the Kansas High Plains Aquifer. This amounts to about three years of typical annual extraction. Our results provide evidence that peer effects can “speed up” resource extraction and can help inform policy makers in designing exploitation control rules.
General Relative Rate Models for the Analysis of Studies Using Case-Cohort Designs
Authors: Richardson David B , Langholz Bryan , Kelly-Reif Kaitlin
Published: October 2018

A standard approach to analysis of case-cohort data involves fitting log-linear models. In this paper, we describe how standard statistical software can be used to fit a broad class of general relative rate models to case-cohort data and derive confidence intervals. We focus on a case-cohort design in which a roster has been assembled and events ascertained but additional information needs to be collected on explanatory variables. The additional information is ascertained just for persons who experience the event of interest and for a sample of the cohort members enumerated at study entry. One appeal of such a case-cohort design is that this sample of the cohort may be used to support analyses of several outcomes. The ability to fit general relative rate models to case-cohort data may allow an investigator to reduce model misspecification in exposure-response analyses, fit models in which some factors have effects that are additive and others multiplicative, and facilitate estimation of relative excess risk due to interaction. We address model fitting for simple random sampling study designs as well as stratified designs. Data on lung cancer among radon-exposed men (Colorado Plateau uranium miners, 1950–1990) are used to illustrate these methods.
The Public’s Perception on Breast and Nipple Reconstruction: A Crowdsourcing-Based Assessment
Authors: Azadgoli Beina , Gould Daniel J , Vartanian Emma , Patel Ketan M
Published: October 2018

Background

Breast reconstruction outcomes have traditionally been measured by evaluating the opinions of patients and surgeons.

Objectives

Our goal was to assess the views of the general public.

Methods

A survey was designed and distributed through a crowdsourcing website called Amazon Mechanical Turk. Questions assessed participant demographics, personal experience with breast reconstruction, perceptions on breast reconstruction, and opinions regarding aesthetics results. Responses were analyzed using chi-square test.

Results

A total of 992 responses were collected. Most participants were female (56.1%), white (32.1%), aged 30 to 39 years (40.4%), and had a bachelor’s degree (42.0%). A total of 44.2% had personal experience with breast reconstruction and 25.8% with nipple reconstruction. Several aesthetic and reconstructive factors were significantly favored over others across sex, ethnicity, age group, education level, and personal experience with breast reconstruction. For instance, women were more likely to prefer reconstructed nipples (P < 0.0001), view a breast without a nipple as complete (P = 0.024) and place less importance on nipple shape (P = 0.002). Additionally, those who personally experienced nipple reconstruction were willing to undergo more procedures for a complete nipple-areola complex (P < 0.0001), to increase aesthetic results (P = 0.018), and to increase chances of nipple survival (P = 0.002).

Conclusions

Crowdsourcing can be useful in plastic surgery and has helped identify several key findings. The importance of the nipple in reconstruction has been validated; almost three-quarters of respondents did not view a breast without a nipple as complete. The aesthetic preferences seem to support bilateral nipple-sparing reconstruction when possible. Most importantly, the respondents helped elucidate key differences in perception of aesthetic outcomes.
Dating admixture events is unsolved problem in multi-way admixed populations
Authors: Chimusa Emile R , Defo Joel , Thami Prisca K , Awany Denis , Mulisa Delesa D , Allali Imane , Ghazal Hassan , Moussa Ahmed , Mazandu Gaston K
Published: October 2018

Advances in human sequencing technologies, coupled with statistical and computational tools, have fostered the development of methods for dating admixture events. These methods have merits and drawbacks in estimating admixture events in multi-way admixed populations. Here, we first provide a comprehensive review and comparison of current methods pertinent to dating admixture events. Second, we assess various admixture dating tools. We do so by performing various simulations. Third, we apply the top two assessed methods to real data of a uniquely admixed population from South Africa. Results reveal that current dating admixture models are not sufficiently equipped to estimate ancient admixtures events and to identify multi-faceted admixture events in complex multi-way admixed populations. We conclude with a discussion of research areas where further work on dating admixture-based methods is needed.
Focused ultrasound thalamotomy location determines clinical benefits in patients with essential tremor
Authors: Boutet Alexandre , Ranjan Manish , Zhong Jidan , Germann Jurgen , Xu David , Schwartz Michael L , Lipsman Nir , Hynynen Kullervo , Devenyi Gabriel A , Chakravarty Mallar , Hlasny Eugen , Llinas Maheleth , Lozano Christopher S , Elias Gavin J B , Chan Jason , Coblentz Ailish , Fasano Alfonso , Kucharczyk Walter , Hodaie Mojgan , Lozano Andres M
Published: October 2018

Magnetic resonance guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thalamotomy is a novel and minimally invasive ablative treatment for essential tremor. The size and location of therapeutic lesions producing the optimal clinical benefits while minimizing adverse effects are not known. We examined these relationships in patients with essential tremor undergoing MRgFUS. We studied 66 patients with essential tremor who underwent MRgFUS between 2012 and 2017. We assessed the Clinical Rating Scale for Tremor (CRST) scores at 3 months after the procedure and tracked the adverse effects (sensory, motor, speech, gait, and dysmetria) 1 day (acute) and 3 months after the procedure. Clinical data associated with the postoperative Day 1 lesions were used to correlate the size and location of lesions with tremor benefit and acute adverse effects. Diffusion-weighted imaging was used to assess whether acute adverse effects were related to lesions encroaching on nearby major white matter tracts (medial lemniscus, pyramidal, and dentato-rubro-thalamic). The area of optimal tremor response at 3 months after the procedure was identified at the posterior portion of the ventral intermediate nucleus. Lesions extending beyond the posterior region of the ventral intermediate nucleus and lateral to the lateral thalamic border were associated with increased risk of acute adverse sensory and motor effects, respectively. Acute adverse effects on gait and dysmetria occurred with lesions inferolateral to the thalamus. Lesions inferolateral to the thalamus or medial to the ventral intermediate nucleus were also associated with acute adverse speech effects. Diffusion-weighted imaging revealed that lesions associated with adverse sensory and gait/dysmetria effects compromised the medial lemniscus and dentato-rubro-thalamic tracts, respectively. Lesions associated with adverse motor and speech effects encroached on the pyramidal tract. Lesions larger than 170 mm3 were associated with an increased risk of acute adverse effects. Tremor improvement and acute adverse effects of MRgFUS for essential tremor are highly dependent on the location and size of lesions. These novel findings could refine current MRgFUS treatment planning and targeting, thereby improving clinical outcomes in patients.
Chronic exposure to cadmium is associated with a marked reduction in glomerular filtration rate
Authors: Satarug Soisungwan , Boonprasert Kanyarat , Gobe Glenda C , Ruenweerayut Ronnatrai , Johnson David W , Na-Bangchang Kesara , Vesey David A
Published: October 2018

Background

Urinary 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) has been associated with hypertension in women with elevated urinary cadmium (Cd) excretion rates. The present study investigates the urinary Cd and 20-HETE levels in relation to the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and albumin excretion in men and women.

Methods

A population-based, cross-sectional study, which included 225 women and 84 men aged 33–55 years, was conducted in a rural area known to be polluted with Cd.

Results

In all subjects, lower eGFR values were associated with higher urinary Cd excretion (P = 0.030), and tubulopathy markers N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase (P < 0.001) and β2-microglobulin (β2-MG) (P < 0.001). On average, the hypertensive subjects with the highest quartile of urinary Cd had eGFR values of 12 and 17 mL/min/1.73 m2 lower than that in the hypertensive (P = 0.009) and normotensive subjects (P < 0.001) with the lowest quartile of urinary Cd, respectively. In men, urinary albumin was inversely associated with 20-HETE (β = −0.384, P < 0.001), while showing a moderately positive association with systolic blood pressure (SBP) (β = 0.302, P = 0.037). In women, urinary albumin was not associated with 20-HETE (P = 0.776), but was associated with tubulopathy, reflected by elevated urinary excretion of β2-MG (β = 0.231, P = 0.002).

Conclusions

Tubulopathy is a determinant of albumin excretion in women, while 20-HETE and SBP are determinants of urinary albumin excretion in men. Associations of chronic exposure to Cd with marked eGFR decline and renal tubular injury seen in both Cd-exposed men and women add to mounting research data that links Cd to the risk of developing chronic kidney disease.
Soluble Factors Released From Activated T Lymphocytes Regulate C2C12 Myoblast Proliferation and Cellular Signaling, but Effects Are Blunted in the Elderly
Authors: Al-Dabbagh Sarah , McPhee Jamie S , Piasecki Mathew , Stewart Claire E , Al-Shanti Nasser
Published: October 2018

The key objective of this work was to investigate the impact of young and old human lymphocyte secretomes on C2C12 myoblasts regeneration. Conditioned media were harvested from isolated young and older lymphocytes treated with (activated [AC]) or without (nonactivated [NA]), anti-CD3/CD28 activators for 4 days. AC conditioned media from older lymphocytes had decreased levels of amphiregulin (367 ± 208 pg/mL vs 904 ± 323 pg/mL; p = .018) and IGF-I (845 ± 88 ng/mL vs 1100 ± 48 ng/mL; p = .032) compared with younger AC lymphocytes. AC older versus younger lymphocytes had reduced expression of CD25 (24.6 ± 5.5%; p = .0003) and increased expression of FoxP3 (35 ± 15.7%; p = .032). Treatment of C2C12 myoblasts with young AC lymphocytes resulted in decreased expression of MyoD (0.46 ± 0.12; p =.004) and Myogenin (0.34 ± 0.05; p = .010) mRNA, increased activation of MEk1 (724 ± 140 mean fluorescent intensity [MFI]; p =.001) and ERK1/2 (3768 ± 314 MFI; p =.001), and a decreased activation of Akt (74.5 ± 4 MFI; p = .009) and mTOR (61.8 ± 7 MFI; p = .001) compared with old AC lymphocytes. By contrast, C2C12 myoblasts treated with older AC lymphocytes displayed increased expression of MyoD (0.7 ± 0.08; p =.004) and Myogenin (0.68 ± 0.05; p =.010) mRNA, decreased phosphorylation of MEk1 and ERK1/2 (528 ± 80 MFI; p = .008, and 1141 ± 668 MFI; p = .001, respectively), and increased Akt/mTOR activation (171 ± 35 MFI; p = .009, and 184 ± 33 MFI; p = .001, respectively). These data provide new evidence that differences between older and younger lymphocyte secretomes contribute to differential responses of C2C12 myoblasts in culture.
Clarifying mandates for marine ecosystem-based management
Authors: Link Jason S , Dickey-Collas Mark , Rudd Murray , McLaughlin Richard , Macdonald Nicol M , Thiele Torsten , Ferretti Johanna , Johannesen Ellen , Rae Margaret
Published: October 2018

Mandates to execute ecosystem-based management exist but are not implemented sufficiently enough to reap the benefits of a growing blue economy.
A priori and a posteriori error estimates for a virtual element spectral analysis for the elasticity equations
Authors: Mora David , Rivera Gonzalo
Published: October 2018

We present a priori and a posteriori error analyses of a virtual element method (VEM) to approximate the vibration frequencies and modes of an elastic solid. We analyse a variational formulation relying only on the solid displacement and propose an $H^{1}(\Omega )$-conforming discretization by means of the VEM. Under standard assumptions on the computational domain, we show that the resulting scheme provides a correct approximation of the spectrum and prove an optimal–order error estimate for the eigenfunctions and a double order for the eigenvalues. Since the VEM has the advantage of using general polygonal meshes, which allows efficient implementation of mesh refinement strategies, we also introduce a residual-type a posteriori error estimator and prove its reliability and efficiency. We use the corresponding error estimator to drive an adaptive scheme. Finally, we report the results of a couple of numerical tests that allow us to assess the performance of this approach.
Society semantics for four-valued Łukasiewicz logic
Authors: Bezerra Edson Vinícius
Published: October 2018

We argue that many-valued logics (MVLs) can be useful in analysing informational conflicts by using society semantics (SSs). This work concentrates on four-valued Łukasiewicz logic. SSs were proposed by Carnielli and Lima-Marques (1999, Advances in Contemporary Logic and Computer Science, 235, 33–52) to deal with conflicts of information involving rational agents that make judgements about propositions according to a given logic within a society, where a society is understood as a collection $\mathcal{A}$ of agents. The interesting point of such semantics is that a new logic can be obtained by combining the logic of the agents under some appropriate rules. Carnielli and Lima-Marques (1999, Advances in Contemporary Logic and Computer Science, 235, 33–52) defined SSs for the three-valued logics $I^{1}$ and $P^{1}$. In this kind of semantics, all the agents reason according to classical logic (CL) and the molecular formulas behave in the same way as in CL (the non-classical character of these logics only appears at the propositional level). Marcos (unpublished data) provided SSs with classical agents for the three-valued Łukasiewicz logic Ł$_{3}$, but in this case, the molecular formulas do not behave classically. We prove here that one can characterize Ł$_{4}^{\prime}$, a conservative extension of Ł$_{4}$ obtained by adding a connective $\blacktriangledown$, by means of a closed society where the agents reason according to Ł$_{3}$. We shall emphasize the importance of recovery operators in the construction of this class of societies. Moreover, we shall relate this semantics to Suszko’s view on the ‘two-valuedness’ of logic.
Non-involutive twist-structures
Authors: Rivieccio Umberto , Maia Paulo , Jung Achim
Published: October 2018

A recent paper by Jakl, Jung and Pultr (2016, Electron. Notes Theor. Comput. Sci., 325, 201–219) succeeded for the first time in establishing a very natural link between bilattice logic and the duality theory of d-frames and bitopological spaces. In this paper we further exploit, extend and investigate this link from an algebraic and a logical point of view. In particular, we introduce classes of algebras that extend bilattices, d-frames and N4-lattices (the algebraic counterpart of Nelson’s paraconsistent logic) to a setting in which the negation is not necessarily involutive, and we study corresponding logics. We provide product representation theorems for these algebras, as well as completeness, algebraizability (and some non-algebraizability) results for the corresponding logics.
Fraïssé’s theorem for logics of formal inconsistency
Authors: Mendonça Bruno R , Carnielli Walter A
Published: October 2018

We prove that the minimal Logic of Formal Inconsistency (LFI) $\mathsf{QmbC}$ (basic quantified logic of formal inconsistency) validates a weaker version of Fraïssé’s theorem (FT). LFIs are paraconsistent logics that relativize the Principle of Explosion only to consistent formulas. Now, despite the recent interest in LFIs, their model-theoretic properties are still not fully understood. Our aim in this paper is to investigate the situation. Our interest in FT has to do with its fruitfulness; the preservation of FT indicates that a number of other classical semantic properties can be also salvaged in LFIs. Further, given that FT depends on truth-functionality (a property that, in general, fails in LFIs), whether full FT holds for $\mathsf{QmbC}$ becomes a challenging question.
PLSDB: a resource of complete bacterial plasmids
Authors: Galata Valentina , Fehlmann Tobias , Backes Christina , Keller Andreas
Published: October 2018

The study of bacterial isolates or communities requires the analysis of the therein included plasmids in order to provide an extensive characterization of the organisms. Plasmids harboring resistance and virulence factors are of especial interest as they contribute to the dissemination of antibiotic resistance. As the number of newly sequenced bacterial genomes is growing a comprehensive resource is required which will allow to browse and filter the available plasmids, and to perform sequence analyses. Here, we present PLSDB, a resource containing 13 789 plasmid records collected from the NCBI nucleotide database. The web server provides an interactive view of all obtained plasmids with additional meta information such as sequence characteristics, sample-related information and taxonomy. Moreover, nucleotide sequence data can be uploaded to search for short nucleotide sequences (e.g. specific genes) in the plasmids, to compare a given plasmid to the records in the collection or to determine whether a sample contains one or multiple of the known plasmids (containment analysis). The resource is freely accessible under https://ccb-microbe.cs.uni-saarland.de/plsdb/.
Ultra-Early (<12 Hours) Surgery Correlates With Higher Rate of American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale Conversion After Cervical Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Burke John F , Yue John K , Ngwenya Laura B , Winkler Ethan A , Talbott Jason F , Pan Jonathan Z , Ferguson Adam R , Beattie Michael S , Bresnahan Jacqueline C , Haefeli Jenny , Whetstone William D , Suen Catherine G , Huang Michael C , Manley Geoffrey T , Tarapore Phiroz E , Dhall Sanjay S
Published: October 2018

BACKGROUND

Cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition with very few treatment options. It remains unclear if early surgery correlated with conversion of American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) grade A injuries to higher grades.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the optimal time to surgery after cervical SCI through retrospective analysis.

METHODS

We collected data from 48 patients with cervical SCI. Based on the time from Emergency Department (ED) presentation to surgical decompression, we grouped patients into ultra-early (decompression within 12 h of presentation), early (within 12-24 h), and late groups (>24 h). We compared the improvement in AIS grade from admission to discharge, controlling for confounding factors such as AIS grade on admission, injury severity, and age. The mean time from injury to ED for this group of patients was 17 min.

RESULTS

Patients who received surgery within 12 h after presentation had a relative improvement in AIS grade from admission to discharge: the ultra-early group improved on average 1.3. AIS grades compared to 0.5 in the early group (P = .02). In addition, 88.8% of patients with an AIS grade A converted to a higher grade (AIS B or better) in the ultra-early group, compared to 38.4% in the early and late groups (P = .054).

CONCLUSION

These data suggest that surgical decompression after SCI that takes place within 12 h may lead to a relative improved neurological recovery compared to surgery that takes place after 12 h.
Hildegard of Bingen, O Ierusalem aurea civitas (ca. 1150–1170)
Authors: Bain Jennifer
Published: October 2018

This chapter contextualizes Hildegard of Bingen’s monumental sequence for her monastic community’s patron St. Rupert, O Ierusalem aurea civitas, both within Hildegard’s own output of sequences, and within the sequence repertory at large. Considering her deep sensitivity to the relationship between text and music, including close attention to grammatical structure, word stress, and word and syllable parsing, the essay proposes that Hildegard uses a varied repetition technique, adapting the standard sequence form. Instead of strict repetition, she varies many elements of the melodic surface through expansion or contraction, preserving an audible sense of repetition while responding directly to new text structures. The essay provides a textual and musical analysis of the entire sequence, demonstrating the composer’s large-scale control of musical structure.
Maddalena Casulana, “Per lei pos’ in oblio” from Cinta di fior (1570)
Authors: Schubert Peter
Published: October 2018

The chapter examines the madrigals of Maddalena Casulana, a sixteenth-century Venetian composer, teacher, and singer who was the first female composer in western music history to have her music published. When she was only twenty, four of her madrigals appeared in a volume with those of Orlando di Lasso and Cipriano de Rore, but later published collections were devoted exclusively to her compositions. Her madrigals exhibit not only what she must have learned singing poetry to the lute, but mastery of sophisticated compositional craft as well. This skill is particularly evident in her handling of chordal music, a basic feature of the mid-sixteenth-century madrigal arioso. This chapter explores her compositional techniques in general and looks closely at the form of “Per lei pos’ in oblio.”
Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre, Sarabandes from the Suites in A minor (1687) and D minor (1707)
Authors: McClary Susan
Published: October 2018

Born into a family of musicians and instrument makers, Élisabeth-Claude Jacquet de La Guerre made her mark early by performing for Louis XIV when she was five years old. By the age of twelve, she was composing as well. Her compositions require the analyst to attend to far more than sight and sound. Like other musicians of her era, she requires us to consider touch, kinetic movement, taste, temporality, color, timbre, space, and even fragrance as we work to bring her notated scores to the ear. This chapter seeks to tease out the ways these parameters intersect to produce their effects in two sarabandes for keyboard.
Josephine Lang, “An einer Quelle” (1840/1853) and “Am Morgen” (1840)
Authors: Krebs Harald
Published: October 2018

Among the approximately 300 songs of Josephine Lang (1815–1880), there are several instances of setting the same text to strikingly different music. This chapter discusses Lang’s contrasting settings of two poems by Reinhold Köstlin. Her three settings of “Wenn das Herz dir ist beklommen” (two composed in 1840, the third in 1853) exhibit similarities in vocal rhythm and in motivic structure, but differ in key, in accompaniment pattern, and, most obviously, in mood. The two settings of “Am Morgen” (composed three days apart in 1840) are in the same key and share certain patterns of line repetition, but diverge in tempo, accompaniment pattern, and mood. Documentary evidence provides some possible explanations for Lang’s changes in her approach to the poems.
Clara Schumann, “Liebst du um Schönheit” (1841)
Authors: Baker Michael
Published: October 2018

Schenker’s concept of interruption represents a vital link between tonal structure and thematic design. A close reading of Schenker’s presentation of the concept in Free Composition reveals that interruption may take many outward musical configurations that differ from the type mentioned in most textbooks, especially at levels closer to the foreground, proposing a flexible approach to interruption in the description of myriad foreground musical events. Clara Schumann’s “Liebst du um Schönheit,” op. 12, no. 4, features a multiply interrupted structure, where the general notion of interruption occurs in multiple configurations and at differing structural levels. The numerous incomplete linear progressions and striking harmonic events in this song emanate from the generic concept of interruption, and are closely related to the overall form and message of Rückert’s poem.
Amy Beach, “Phantoms,” Op. 15, No. 2 (1892)
Authors: Latham Edward D.
Published: October 2018

With “Phantoms,” the second solo piano piece from her Four Sketches op. 15 (1892), American composer Amy Beach adopts a “strategic” approach to tonality that manipulates formal, harmonic, and linear closure. The analysis presented in this chapter demonstrates, through a close reading of the phrase structure, harmonic vocabulary, textures, motivic design, and voice leading of the piece, Beach’s aptitude for tonal obfuscation, which she employs to convey a sense of the epigraph she borrowed from Victor Hugo: “Toutes fragiles fleurs, sitôt que nées” (“Such fragile flowers, as soon as they are born”). The melody she constructs is indeed fragile, floating as it does over various “misharmonizations,” and including not one but two gaps in its descent from ‸5 to the tonic. By avoiding explicit melodic reference to ‸4 and ‸2 and making abundant use of registral coupling, Beach compellingly captures the ethereal quality of the flowers described by Hugo.
History and Development of the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Authors: Lichtenstein Alice H , Karpyn Allison
Published: October 2018

Serving as a cornerstone of dietary policy in the United States, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs) provide an important foundation for understanding the programs and policies that influence public health practice. In this chapter, we review the emergence and development of the guidelines beginning with their evolution from the Dietary Goals for Americans and moving through various iterations from 1980 until the current era in 2015. Topics include concrete reporting on recommendations, evolving principles of a healthy diet, and a discussion of controversies borne by industry lobbying groups and government mandates.
Food Insecurity and Public Health
Authors: Knowles Molly , Simmons Joanna , Chilton Mariana
Published: October 2018

Food insecurity—lack of access to enough food for an active and healthy life—is a major public health issue, affecting the health and well-being of one in seven people in the United States. Food insecurity is related to economic, social, and political conditions, and is beyond the control of a single household. Structural inequalities and discrimination against people of color, LGBTQ people, immigrants, people with disabilities, and women drives disparities in food insecurity. Major policy interventions include raising wages, improving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, various programs of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization, and the Elder Nutrition Program, but these programs are not sufficient to address food insecurity fully. A human rights approach, which recognizes the right to food and promotes increasing civic participation among people from all sectors, offers new possibilities in addressing food insecurity in the United States.
The Obesity Pandemic and Food Insecurity in Developing Countries
Authors: Lowitt Kristen , Gray-Donald Katherine , Hickey Gordon M. , Ville Arlette Saint , Francis-Granderson Isabella , Madramootoo Chandra A. , Phillip Leroy E.
Published: October 2018

Overweight and obesity affect over half a billion people globally and represent major public health concerns because excess weight gain is a key risk factor for non-communicable diseases. This chapter presents an overview of global trends in obesity, considering both developed and developing country contexts. It describes how this pandemic is rooted in the “nutrition transition” taking place around the world as a result of a globalized agri-food system that is changing the quantity, types, and desirability of foods available for consumption. In some countries, this is contributing to a “double burden of malnutrition,” as the problem of undernutrition now coexists alongside an increasing prevalence of over-nutrition. An overview of key policy responses and policy instruments that governments can utilize to address obesity is provided, recognizing that a holistic food systems response is needed to address the global challenge of obesity. The remainder of the chapter focuses on the food security and obesity challenges facing the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and profiles a “farm to fork” school feeding project in the island nation of St. Kitts-Nevis that was designed to reduce obesity and improve food security among children. Implementation and key results of this integrated project are presented, including the core components of agricultural production, procurement of local produce, and children’s consumption of nutritious foods. The chapter concludes by identifying lessons for supporting “farm to school”-type projects as a possible food systems response to addressing obesity and food insecurity.
A Scientific Search for Altruism
Authors: Batson C. Daniel
Published: October 2018

This book provides an example of how the scientific method can be used to address a fundamental question about human nature. For centuries—indeed for millennia—the egoism–altruism debate has echoed through Western thought. Egoism says that the motivation for everything we do, including all of our seemingly selfless acts of care for others, is to gain one or another self-benefit. Altruism, while not denying the force of self-benefit, says that under certain circumstances we can care for others for their sakes, not our own. Over the past half-century, social psychologists have turned to laboratory experiments to provide a scientific resolution of this human nature debate. The experiments focused on the possibility that empathic concern—other-oriented emotion elicited by and congruent with the perceived welfare of someone in need—produces altruistic motivation to remove that need. With carefully constructed experimental designs, these psychologists have tested the nature of the motivation produced by empathic concern, determining whether it is egoistic or altruistic. This series of experiments has provided an answer to a fundamental question about what makes us tick. Framed as a detective story, the book traces this scientific search for altruism through the numerous twists and turns that led to the conclusion that empathy-induced altruism is indeed part of our nature. It then examines the implications of this conclusion—negative implications as well as positive—both for our understanding of who we are as humans and for how we might create a more humane society.
An Unsettling Surprise
Authors: Batson C. Daniel
Published: October 2018

Do we ever care about others for their sakes or only for our own? Can science be used to answer this question about human nature? When I began researching why we help others, I assumed that the motivation for everything we do—including seemingly selfless acts of compassion—is always exclusively egoistic, that is, self-interested. But, an experiment Jay Coke and I did raised doubts. In that experiment, participants induced to feel empathic concern for a young woman in need seemed motivated to help her for her sake, not their own. These doubts led to a long line of experimental research designed to determine whether the motivation to help produced by empathic concern is egoistic or altruistic. This book is about that search.
How to Find It
Authors: Batson C. Daniel
Published: October 2018

When we help someone in need, we also benefit. If benefiting the person in need is an instrumental goal on the way to the ultimate goal of getting some self-benefit, our motivation is egoistic. If benefiting the person in need is the ultimate goal and the resultant self-benefits are unintended consequences, our motivation is altruistic. To search for such altruism, a four-step research strategy is proposed: The first step is to identify a possible source of altruistic motivation. The most likely source is empathic concern. The second, to identify the plausible egoistic ultimate goal or goals from this source. The prime egoistic suspect is removing our empathic concern. The third is to vary the situation so that either the altruistic goal or the egoistic goal, but not both, can be better reached without having to help. Experiments make this possible. The fourth, to see whether this variation reduces helping.
The Prime Suspect
Authors: Batson C. Daniel
Published: October 2018

In Chapter 3, we found that the empathy–altruism hypothesis and the remove-empathy hypothesis (the prime egoistic suspect) make distinct predictions in an Ease-of-Escape (easy, difficult) × Empathic-Concern (low, high) 2 × 2 experimental design. This chapter describes four different experiments that employed this design. Results of none patterned as predicted by the remove-empathy hypothesis. Instead, the results consistently patterned as predicted by the empathy–altruism hypothesis. Apparently, the motivation produced by empathic concern is not directed toward the ultimate goal of removing the empathic concern itself. Some other self-benefit must be the ultimate goal of the increased helping produced by feeling empathy for a person in need.
Avoiding Shame and Guilt
Authors: Batson C. Daniel
Published: October 2018

After rejecting the remove–empathy hypothesis (Chapter 4), attention turned to the other two classic egoistic explanations for the motivation to help produced by empathic concern: empathy-specific punishment and empathy-specific reward. This chapter considers two kinds of empathy-specific punishment, shame and guilt. The shame hypothesis claims that we help more when we feel empathic concern because we’re motivated to avoid disapproval and censure from others. The guilt hypothesis says that we’re motivated to avoid self-condemnation for failing to do what we should. Contradicting the shame hypothesis, experiments revealed that even when no one else will know if participants fail to help, empathy still increased helping. Contradicting the guilt hypothesis, participants induced to feel empathy helped more even when provided a good excuse for not helping. Given that neither form of empathy-specific punishment could account for the empathy–helping relationship, our search shifted to the third classic egoistic explanation: pursuing pride.
One Way to Feel Better
Authors: Batson C. Daniel
Published: October 2018

Bob Cialdini and several colleagues claimed that heightened empathy brings with it increased sadness, and that it is the egoistic desire to relieve this sadness by getting a mood boost that motivates empathy-induced helping. This new egoistic explanation was tested against the empathy–altruism hypothesis in four ways: (a) whether receiving an unrelated mood-enhancing experience reduces helping by individuals feeling high empathy; (b) whether learning that their mood can’t be improved reduces their helping; (c) whether expecting to have an unrelated mood-enhancing experience reduces their helping; and (d) whether they are as likely to help to relieve a need other than the one for which empathy was induced. Although results of initial experiments provided some support for the sadness-relief hypothesis, clearer tests supported the empathy–altruism hypothesis instead. Apparently, the empathy–helping relationship isn’t simply a product of an egoistic desire to get a mood boost and relieve empathy-associated sadness.
How Can It Be?
Authors: Batson C. Daniel
Published: October 2018

To conclude—even tentatively—that empathy-induced altruism is within our motivational repertoire poses a puzzle: How is it possible? This question demands an answer at two levels. We need to know (a) the conditions necessary to produce empathic concern and altruistic motivation in our lives today and (b) how altruism could have become part of our nature. The direct antecedents of empathy-induced altruism seem to be perceiving another as in need and valuing the other’s welfare. The most plausible distal (evolutionary) antecedent is generalized parental care. This care is different from the evolutionary biologists’ idea of inclusive fitness (care proportional to degree of kinship). An experiment that tested for generalized parental care is described. Finally, three limits to empathy-induced altruism are considered: the scope of empathic concern, empathy avoidance, and the strength to competing concerns.
After the Fall
Authors: Batson C. Daniel
Published: October 2018

Like Milton’s couple at the end of Paradise Lost, we find ourselves banished from the Eden of Egoism and needing to reassess what it means to be human. Evidence for empathy-induced altruism, including two prisoner’s dilemma experiments described here, challenges the parsimonious assumption that we only want to maximize self-interest (egoism). And, the world outside Eden is even more challenging because, in addition to egoism and altruism, two more motives must be considered: collectivism (concern for the welfare of a group) and principlism (concern to uphold some moral principle, standard, or ideal). These four types of motivation sometimes conflict, sometimes cooperate. One way to promote a more just and caring society may be to orchestrate motives of different types so that the strengths of one type can overcome the weaknesses of another. Combining an appeal to empathy-induced altruism with an appeal to principle seems especially promising. Examples of such orchestration are provided.