bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Integration of talent and mobility function: strategy for HR to manage business
Authors: Mishra Sovanjeet
Published: October 2017

Purpose

In near future, population change and shift, aged workforce and retirement of baby boomer generations are going to bring huge shortage of talent and skilled labor across globe, especially in developed and emerging nations. Hence, this paper aims to link talent management and international mobility function in a strategic way to overcome the challenge that business world will be facing in terms of scarcity of talent.

Design/methodology/approach

In this paper viewpoint is expressed considering international texts and organizational research reports.

Findings

Changing demographics and skill gap economies across nations and compliance risk or regulatory challenge might have a direct impact on talent mobility. Further, talent mobility might have a reverse effect on assignee and family. No single stakeholder alone would tackle this problem. So, the educational institutions, business, government and non-governmental institutions need to collaborate and form a framework to deal with it.

Research limitations/implications

Viewpoint can be further refined through academic conceptualization and empirical validation.

Practical implications

Managers can incorporate framework suggested for managing talent during mobility.

Originality/value

A call for integrating talent and mobility function would encourage researcher for further refinement of the idea, through theoretical and empirical validation. Talent mobility has been discussed as a win − win situation for companies and nations across the globe.
Selective inhibition of M5 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors attenuates cocaine self‐administration in rats
Authors: Gunter Barak W. , Gould Robert W. , Bubser Michael , McGowan Kevin M. , Lindsley Craig W. , Jones Carrie K.
Published: October 2017

Cocaine use disorder (CUD) remains a debilitating health problem in the United States for which there are no Food and Drug Administration‐approved treatment options. Accumulating anatomical and electrophysiological evidence indicates that the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) subtype 5 (M5) plays a critical role in the regulation of the mesolimbic dopaminergic reward circuitry, a major site of action for cocaine and other psychostimulants. In addition, M5 knockout mice exhibit reduced cocaine self‐administration behaviors with no differences in sugar pellet‐maintained responding relative to wild‐type mice. These findings suggest that selective inhibition of M5 mAChR may provide a novel pharmacological approach for targeting CUD. Recently, we reported the synthesis and characterization of ML375, a selective negative allosteric modulator (NAM) for the rat and human M5 mAChR with optimized pharmacokinetic properties for systemic dosing in rodents. In the present study, male Sprague–Dawley rats were trained to self‐administer intravenous cocaine (0.1–0.75 mg/kg/infusion) under a 10‐response fixed ratio or a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement. Under both schedules of reinforcement, ML375 produced dose‐related reductions in cocaine self‐administration. ML375 also modestly reduced sugar pellet‐maintained responding on the 10‐response, fixed ratio schedule but had no effect under a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement. Further, ML375 did not affect general motor output as assessed by a rotarod test. Collectively, these results provide the first demonstration that selective inhibition of M5 using the M5 NAM ML375 can attenuate both the reinforcing effects and the relative strength of cocaine and suggest that M5 NAMs may represent a promising, novel treatment approach for CUD.
Clinical significance of changes in systemic inflammatory markers and carcinoembryonic antigen levels in predicting metastatic colorectal cancer prognosis and chemotherapy response
Authors: Kim In‐Ho , Lee Ji Eun , Yang Ji Hyun , Jeong Joon Won , Ro Sangmi , Lee Myung Ah
Published: October 2017

Aim

Metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) is associated with poor prognosis, and biomarkers are required for predicting survival and chemotherapy response. This study aimed to evaluate the significance of changes in systemic inflammatory markers and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels in predicting mCRC prognosis and chemotherapy response.

Methods

In this retrospective study, 503 patients who received first‐line palliative chemotherapy for mCRC between 2008 and 2014 at a tertiary hospital in Korea were evaluated. Changes in neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS) were divided into low‐to‐low, high‐to‐low, low‐to‐high and high‐to‐high groups. The CEA response was defined as CEA‐complete response (CEA normalization), CEA‐partial response (≥50% decrease in CEA levels), CEA‐progressive disease (≥50% increase in CEA levels) and CEA‐stable disease. Overall survival (OS) and progression‐free survival (PFS) were evaluated according to NLR, mGPS and CEA levels.

Results

High prechemotherapy NLR, mGPS and CEA levels independently predicted poor survival and chemotherapy response. Continuously high NLR or change to high NLR was also associated with poor OS and PFS; however, continuously low NLR or reduced NLR showed good prognosis. CEA response was also an independent prognostic marker for OS and PFS. High NLR and mGPS were correlated with elevated CEA levels.

Conclusion

Inflammatory marker levels were significantly associated with CEA levels. The prechemotherapy levels of systemic inflammatory markers and CEA were associated with OS or PFS. The change patterns in NLR and CEA levels can be utilized as prognostic and predictive markers for chemotherapy response.
Firework‐related injury in the Top End: a 16‐year review
Authors: Read David J. , Bradbury Richard , Yeboah Edward
Published: October 2017

Background

On July 1st on ‘Territory Day’, the public in the Northern Territory are permitted to purchase and operate consumer fireworks without a licence. Serious permanent injuries from fireworks are well described, leading to their banning in many other jurisdictions. This study describes those seriously injured by fireworks in the Top End of the Northern Territory, with the aim of identifying opportunities for prevention and harm minimization.

Methods

This is a retrospective audit of all admitted patients with an injury from fireworks at the Royal Darwin Hospital between 2000 and 2015. The variables collected included demographic data and the circumstances around injury (operator versus bystander, alcohol involvement and day of device operation). The consequences such as injuries, operating theatre visits, length of stay and outpatient visits are described.

Results

Fifty‐five patients (including 17 children) suffered 67 injuries over the study period, resulting in 68 operating theatre visits, 322 hospital days and 380 outpatient appointments. Burns, hand and eye injuries predominate. Females (P = 0.000) and children (P = 0.029) were more likely to be injured as bystanders. Injuries on a day other than Territory Day were more likely to have alcohol involvement (P = 0.01), and occur in the operator (P = 0.017).

Conclusion

Consumer firework usage results in a small number of life altering injuries annually. Previous prevention campaigns focusing on device user safety should be expanded to include the safety of bystanders and children and reduce firework usage outside of the Territory Day.
Corals in Healthy Populations Produce More Larvae Per Unit Cover
Authors: Hartmann Aaron C. , Marhaver Kristen L. , Vermeij Mark J. A.
Published: October 2017

In coral reef conservation and management, the prevailing metric of reef health is percent coral cover, a measurement commonly used with the assumption that each unit of live coral tissue has equivalent ecological value. Here we show that the reproductive output of a coral population is not proportional to the cover of coral present. Instead, when compared to declining populations nearby, high cover coral populations produced up to four times more larvae per square centimeter of tissue, resulting in up to 200 times higher larval production per square meter of reef. Importantly, corals that produced more larvae did not produce smaller larvae, as predicted by resource allocation theory. Instead, higher fecundity corresponded to higher energetic lipid reserves in higher cover coral populations. In the wake of unprecedented global coral bleaching, our findings suggest that the largest reductions in coral reproduction may occur when corals are lost from previously healthy populations.
‘There Was A Third Man…’: Tales from a Global Policy Consultation on Indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals
Authors: Desai Deval , Schomerus Mareike
Published: October 2017

This article reflects on the experience of the two authors as ‘experts’ during consultations on justice and security indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals. The authors examine how the tension between the indeterminacy of the concepts to be measured — justice and security — and the concreteness of indicators shaped the politics of the consultations. Participants used this tension strategically to destabilize notions of time, space and identity on which knowledge production rests. In doing so, they blurred the distinction between academics, advocates and policy makers. They did this to lay claim to some aspects of implementation while distancing themselves from others. The authors then juxtapose this with personal experience of researching South Sudanese citizens, who challenged and deconstructed that distinction. At the same time, experts at the consultations incorporated an image of these citizens as an ethical justification for the discussion. The authors argue that a more complex sociology of knowledge is required to understand how these global knowledge practices work from the global to the local. Such a sociology of knowledge acknowledges fluidity and grapples with how knowledge practices defer and delimit moments of decision; it requires an ethico‐political — rather than just a political — critique.
Mutual Fund Stock‐Picking Skill: New Evidence from Valuation‐ versus Liquidity‐Motivated Trading
Authors: Rohleder Martin , Schulte Dominik , Syryca Janik , Wilkens Marco
Published: October 2017

We propose a novel Trade Motivation Matrix that allows differentiating funds’ valuation‐motivated (VM) and liquidity‐motivated (LM) trades on single trade level. It thus enables analyses of stock‐picking skill on three levels: trade, stock, and fund. On trade level, we find significant outperformance of VM buys and significant underperformance of VM sells, indicating manager stock‐picking skills, especially during illiquid market periods. VM trades outperform LM trades, confirming negative performance effects due to flow risk, especially when market liquidity is low. On stock level, collective VM buying explains high future stock returns while collective VM selling is related to future losses, indicating wisdom of the crowd. On fund level, higher trading discretion, measured by a higher degree of VM trading, is observed for smaller, older funds holding higher cash buffers. Finally, higher trading discretion is related to higher future fund alpha, especially during illiquid times.
An assessment of carcass counting surveys with increasing time lapse following a simulated fish kill on a small upland stream
Authors: Kennedy R. J. , Allen M. , Rosell R. , Reid A.
Published: October 2017

A simulated fish kill was conducted on a small upland stream in Northern Ireland by planting out hatchery‐produced brown trout Salmo trutta L. carcasses of various size categories. Standard, post‐fish kill, assessment walkover surveys were conducted over time intervals to determine the number of carcasses visible. The sample variance between individual surveyors was generally low, with good agreement between the observed counts for the three, discrete, size fractions of fish up to 72 hr after the simulated fish kill. Despite low discharge rates, shallow water and good accessibility to the experimental stream, only 52% of the small category fish (<8 cm LF) were recorded 4 hr after the start of the simulated fish kill. Larger carcasses (>17 cm LF) were more visible, and >90% were detected 48 hr after the start of the simulated fish kill. After 96 hr, all size fractions of carcasses had reduced significantly, and the variability between replicate surveys increased markedly.
Effect of incident nocturnal home hemodialysis versus incident continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis on employment rate, clinical, and laboratory outcomes: A 1‐year retrospective observation study
Authors: Li John Wing , Wong Joseph Ho Sing , Chak Wai Leung , Chau Ka Foon
Published: October 2017

Introduction: While studies demonstrated favorable outcomes of nocturnal home hemodialysis (NHHD), direct comparison on employment rate, clinical and laboratory outcomes between the NHHD and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) had not been previously performed.

Methods: A 1‐year retrospective observation study was performed in 20 incidents alternate night NHHD and 81 incident CAPD patients of Chinese ethnicity, who were sex, diabetic status, and Charlson comorbidity index matched, but not age due to our center's age limit for NHHD enrollment. The primary outcome was the difference in employment rate at 1 year. Secondary outcomes included differences in clinical parameters (weight, blood pressure, number of antihypertensive medication, dosage of phosphate binders, and erythropoietin stimulating agent) and laboratory parameters (residual renal function, mineral metabolic markers, hemoglobin).

Findings: NHHD subjects were 5 years younger than CAPD patients, and they had higher employment rate (80% vs. 33.3%, P < 0.01) at 1 year, with age‐adjusted odds ratio for employment was 6.10 (95% confidence interval 1.77–20.99, P = 0.04). They consumed less aluminum‐based phosphate binder (0 vs. 1800 mg, P < 0.01), but showed no significant disparities in other clinical parameters. Residual renal function in both groups declined comparably, nonetheless NHHD group had lower serum phosphate (1.37 vs. 1.71 mmol/L, P = 0.01) and calcium phosphate product (3.13 vs. 4.12 mmol2/L2, P < 0.01), with similar hemoglobin levels.

Discussion: NHHD appeared to offer higher employment rate, lower dosage of aluminum‐based phosphate binder and mineral metabolic markers at 1 year compared with CAPD in Hong Kong.
Emotional Integration across Immigrant Generations in Baden‐Württemberg, Germany: the Role of Discrimination
Authors: Hochman Oshrat , Stein Anna , Lewin‐Epstein Noah , Wöhler Thomas
Published: October 2017

Immigrants’ integration is a multi‐faceted process, involving structural, cultural, social, and emotional dimensions. This study focuses on the emotional dimension of integration, investigating immigrants’ emotional attachments to their national origin and their host country. Specifically, we ask what role perceived discrimination plays in shaping identification preferences among immigrants and immigrant descendants in Germany. The contribution of this study is twofold: First, we present results for three generations of post‐WWII labour migrants of Turkish and Italian descent. Second, we estimate the consequences of perceived individual discrimination for national and ethnic identification separately. The findings indicate that while discrimination is not related to ethnic identification, it is negatively correlated with national identification. Regarding future challenges, we believe that our findings suggest that the German society can come closer to achieving integration of migrants by reducing perceptions of rejection by the immigrant population, or better yet, fighting off discrimination against immigrant minorities.
Changing labour migration politics in Germany: an organizational perspective
Authors: Maletzky Martina
Published: October 2017

Migration research has mainly focused on micro and macro level actors. Less research has focused on the meso‐level of organizations as actors influencing migration related processes. However, since modern societies are organizational societies and organizations are omnipresent in all spheres of daily life, their importance for migration issues should not be underestimated.

Addressing this gap within migration research, the purpose of the following article is to apply a perspective of organization sociology to changes in migration politics. Referring to the German case with recent fundamental changes in migration politics, this article traces which roles organizations played in that process. It is assumed that they do institutional work (Lawrence & Suddaby, ), which means that they disrupt and change existing (migration related) institutions and politics. First, it gives insights into how existing institutions and thought patterns have been disrupted and reconstructed by (economic) organizations. Several strategies are observable. These include creating coalitions, advocacy, and social persuasion by introducing narratives which are alarming, morally compelling and convincing.
Environmental variation is a major predictor of global trait turnover in mammals
Authors: Holt Ben G. , Costa Gabriel C. , Penone Caterina , Lessard Jean‐Philippe , Brooks Thomas M. , Davidson Ana D. , Blair Hedges S. , Radeloff Volker C. , Rahbek Carsten , Rondinini Carlo , Graham Catherine H.
Published: October 2017

Aim

To evaluate how environment and evolutionary history interact to influence global patterns of mammal trait diversity (a combination of 14 morphological and life‐history traits).

Location

The global terrestrial environment.

Taxon

Terrestrial mammals.

Methods

We calculated patterns of spatial turnover for mammalian traits and phylogenetic lineages using the mean nearest taxon distance. We then used a variance partitioning approach to establish the relative contribution of trait conservatism, ecological adaptation and clade specific ecological preferences on global trait turnover.

Results

We provide a global scale analysis of trait turnover across mammalian terrestrial assemblages, which demonstrates that phylogenetic turnover by itself does not predict trait turnover better than random expectations. Conversely, trait turnover is consistently more strongly associated with environmental variation than predicted by our null models. The influence of clade‐specific ecological preferences, reflected by the shared component of phylogenetic turnover and environmental variation, was considerably higher than expectations. Although global patterns of trait turnover are dependent on the trait under consideration, there is a consistent association between trait turnover and environmental predictive variables, regardless of the trait considered.

Main conclusions

Our results suggest that changes in phylogenetic composition are not always coupled with changes in trait composition on a global scale and that environmental conditions are strongly associated with patterns of trait composition across species assemblages, both within and across phylogenetic clades.
Riding the Kuroshio Current: Stepping stone dispersal of the Okinawa tree lizard across the East Asian Island Arc
Authors: Yang Shang‐Fang , Komaki Shohei , Brown Rafe M. , Lin Si‐Min
Published: October 2017

Aim

Located hundreds of kilometres offshore of continental mainland Asia, the extremely high level of land vertebrate endemism in the East Asian Island Arc provides an excellent opportunity to test hypotheses regarding biogeographic processes and speciation. In this study, we aim to test alternative explanations for lineage diversification (vicariance versus dispersal models), and further develop a temporal framework for diversification in our focal taxon, which is consistent with the known age of these islands. We achieve these tests by investigating the historical biogeography of the Okinawa tree lizard (Japalura polygonata), one of the few widely‐distributed reptiles across this archipelago.

Location

The East Asian Island Arc: (1) Central Ryukyu (Amami and Okinawa groups); (2) Southern Ryukyu (Miyako and Yaeyama groups); (3) Taiwan and adjacent islands.

Methods

A total of 246 tissues were sampled from 10 localities in the Ryukyu archipelago and 17 localities in Taiwan, covering the entire distributional range of this species, including all subspecies. DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b, 16S ribosomal RNA, nuclear BACH‐1 and RAG‐1 genes (total: 4,684 bp) were obtained from these samples. We used maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods to infer phylogeny and divergence time, and used a model‐fitting method of biogeographical inference to estimate ancestral range evolution.

Results

Multiple lines of evidence combine to identify a general pattern of dispersal‐mediated diversification northward through the archipelago, following initial dispersal from Taiwan. These included (1) a phylogenetic estimate, revealing a sequential, south‐to‐north branching pattern; (2) ancestral range estimation, inferring multiple overseas dispersals and subsequent colonization of new landmasses; and (3) a reduction in genetic variation observed in successively‐diverging lineages, decreasing from Taiwan northward, towards more remote islands. These results provide strong statistical support for an interpretation of successive bouts of dispersal via the powerful, well‐documented, south‐to‐north Kuroshio Current. Estimation of divergence times suggests that most clades in southern Ryukyu and Taiwan diverged early, giving rise to lineages that have remained isolated, and that more recently‐diverged lineages then colonized northward to subsequently occupy the landmasses of the Central Ryukyu archipelago.

Main conclusions

Our general inference of biogeographic history in Japalura polygonata suggested that this species originated on Taiwan and the Yaeyama group, and arrived at its current distribution in Miyako, Okinawa, Toku and Amami islands by a series of stepping‐stone dispersals, which we report for the first time for a terrestrial vertebrate endemic to this region.
Recursive Computation for Block‐Nested Covariance Matrices
Authors: McElroy Tucker
Published: October 2017

Covariance matrices corresponding to samples of multivariate time series or spatial random fields have a block‐Toeplitz structure that has a nested pattern. Also, non‐lattice data samples yield nested covariance matrices, although they are no longer block‐Toeplitz. The nested structure of such matrices facilitates the computation of their inverses, among other related quantities. Recursive algorithms, based upon this nested structure, are presented, yielding applications such as the simulation of vector time series, the evaluation of Gaussian likelihoods and Whittle likelihoods, the computation of spectral factorization, and the calculation of projections. Both multivariate time series applications and two‐dimensional random fields applications are discussed, as well as applications to non‐lattice data.
What is an ‘extant’ type specimen? Problems arising from naming mammalian species‐group taxa without preserved types
Authors: Pine Ronald H. , Gutiérrez Eliécer E.
Published: October 2017

The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature allows the naming of new species without a type specimen ever having been preserved. This practice causes problems and is undesirable because if related, cryptic, sibling species are encountered later, it may not be possible either to allocate them with certainty to the earlier named species, or to determine them to be something different.

We hypothesised that examination of the instances in which mammalian species were named without preserved types would reveal certain problems that are not unique to them, but are encountered more frequently than when types are preserved. We also thought the Code's stipulation that preserved types are not required in the case of specimens that are no longer ‘extant’ would present special problems hitherto unremarked upon in the literature.

We conducted a review of cases involving putative new species of mammal named since 1900. These were analysed to see what special problems they present and the frequency of such problems.

We found that the Code's waiver of the requirement that a type specimen be deposited in a collection if the specimen is no longer extant presents numerous problems—in particular, that a living‐at‐large type specimen can still be ‘extant’ even if its whereabouts are unknown at certain times and/or it may no longer be alive. Illustrations alone being used to designate type specimens is especially problematic, owing to mammals’ lack of meristic and other obvious distinguishing external characters. Hoaxes, the difficulty in determining that they are hoaxes, and various errors of taxonomic allocation appear to be especially common with names without preserved types. The Code should be revised to require preserved specimens as types for new names. Tissue samples alone for DNA analysis are not ideal for serving this purpose, but should be allowed to meet the requirement.
Option Contracts in a Vertical Industry
Authors: Antelo Manel , Bru Lluís
Published: October 2017

We examine the strategic role of horizontal subcontracting through option contracts by a downstream dominant firm competing with a fringe. Downstream production requires an input from imperfectly competitive suppliers. We show that the dominant firm outsources downstream production from fringe firms to gain bargaining clout in the input market. Option contracts are preferred to forwards, because leverage against suppliers is gained at lower contract prices. With no market uncertainty, option contracts do not alter final prices beyond changes caused by unavoidable market power. Whenever demand is uncertain, however, option contracts increase final prices and are therefore harmful for consumers.
On the Perception of Structure
Authors: Green E. J.
Published: October 2017

Many of the objects that we perceive have an important characteristic: When they move, they change shape. For instance, when you watch a person walk across a room, her body constantly deforms. I suggest that we exercise a type of perceptual constancy in response to changes of this sort, which I call structure constancy. In this paper I offer an account of structure constancy. I introduce the notion of compositional structure, and propose that structure constancy involves perceptually representing an object as retaining its compositional structure over time. I argue that compositional structure is represented in visual phenomenology, and I also assemble empirical evidence in support of the claim that compositional structure is recovered by the visual system. Finally, I draw out consequences of this account. I argue that structure constancy has implications for the predictive capacities of perception, and that the phenomenon places important constraints on viable accounts of both the format and reference frame of visual experience.
The effect of blue‐light blocking spectacle lenses on visual performance, macular health and the sleep‐wake cycle: a systematic review of the literature
Authors: Lawrenson John G , Hull Christopher C , Downie Laura E
Published: October 2017

Purpose

Blue‐blocking (BB) spectacle lenses, which attenuate short‐wavelength light, are being marketed to alleviate eyestrain and discomfort when using digital devices, improve sleep quality and potentially confer protection from retinal phototoxicity. The aim of this review was to investigate the relative benefits and potential harms of these lenses.

Methods

We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs), recruiting adults from the general population, which investigated the effect of BB spectacle lenses on visual performance, symptoms of eyestrain or eye fatigue, changes to macular integrity and subjective sleep quality. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and clinical trial registers, until 30 April 2017. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane tool.

Results

Three studies (with 136 participants) met our inclusion criteria; these had limitations in study design and/or implementation. One study compared the effect of BB lenses with clear lenses on contrast sensitivity (CS) and colour vision (CV) using a pseudo‐RCT crossover design; there was no observed difference between lens types (log CS; Mean Difference (MD) = −0.01 [−0.03, 0.01], CV total error score on 100‐hue; MD = 1.30 [−7.84, 10.44]). Another study measured critical fusion frequency (CFF), as a proxy for eye fatigue, on wearers of low and high BB lenses, pre‐ and post‐ a two‐hour computer task. There was no observed difference between low BB and standard lens groups, but there was a less negative change in CFF between the high and low BB groups (MD = 1.81 [0.57, 3.05]). Both studies compared eyestrain symptoms with Likert scales. There was no evidence of inter‐group differences for either low BB (MD = 0.00 [−0.22, 0.22]) or high BB lenses (MD = −0.05 [−0.31, 0.21]), nor evidence of a difference in the proportion of participants showing an improvement in symptoms of eyestrain or eye fatigue. One study reported a small improvement in sleep quality in people with self‐reported insomnia after wearing high compared to low‐BB lenses (MD = 0.80 [0.17, 1.43]) using a 10‐point Likert scale. A study involving normal participants found no observed difference in sleep quality. We found no studies investigating effects on macular structure or function.

Conclusions

We find a lack of high quality evidence to support using BB spectacle lenses for the general population to improve visual performance or sleep quality, alleviate eye fatigue or conserve macular health.
The advantages of intermediate‐tier, inter‐optometric referral of low risk pigmented lesions
Authors: Ly Angelica , Nivison‐Smith Lisa , Hennessy Michael , Kalloniatis Michael
Published: October 2017

Purpose

Pigmented ocular lesions are commonly encountered by eye‐care professionals, and range from benign to sight or life‐threatening. After identifying a lesion, the primary care professional must establish the likely diagnosis and decide either to reassure, to monitor or to refer. The increasing use of ocular imaging technologies has contributed to an increase in the detection rate of pigmented lesions and a higher number of referrals, which may challenge existing pathways of health‐care delivery. Specialist services may be over‐burdened by referring all patients with pigmented lesions for an opinion, while inter‐optometric referrals are underutilised. The aim of this study was to describe the referral patterns of pigmented lesions to an optometry led intermediate‐tier collaborative care clinic.

Methods

We performed a retrospective review of patient records using the list of patients examined at Centre for Eye Health (CFEH) for an initial or follow up pigmented lesion assessment between the 1/7/2013 and the 30/6/2016. Analysis was performed on: patient demographic characteristics, the referrer's tentative diagnosis, CFEH diagnosis and recommended management plan.

Results

Across 182 patient records, the primary lesion prompting referral was usually located in the posterior segment: choroidal naevus (105/182, 58%), congenital hypertrophy of the retinal pigment epithelium (CHRPE; 11/182, 6%), chorioretinal scarring (10/182, 5%) or not specified (52/182, 29%). Referrals described a specific request for ocular imaging in 25 instances (14%). The number of cases with a non‐specific diagnosis was reduced after intermediate‐tier care assessment (from 29% to 10%), while the number of diagnoses with less common conditions rose (from 2% to 21%). There was a 2% false positive referral rate to intermediate‐tier care and a first visit discharge rate of 35%. A minority required on‐referral to an ophthalmologist (22/182, 12%), either for unrelated incidental ocular findings, or suspicious choroidal naevi. Conditions most amenable to optometric follow up included: 1) chorioretinal scarring, 2) choroidal naevus, and 3) CHRPE.

Conclusions

Intermediate‐tier optometric eye‐care in pigmented lesions (following opportunistic primary care screening) has the potential to reduce the number of cases with non‐specific diagnoses and to increase those with less common diagnoses. The majority of cases seen under this intermediate‐tier model required only ongoing optometric surveillance.
Rice phytoglobins regulate responses under low mineral nutrients and abiotic stresses in Arabidopsis thaliana
Authors: Shankar Alka , Fernandes Joel Lars , Kaur Kanwaljeet , Sharma Manisha , Kundu Suman , Pandey Girdhar K.
Published: October 2017

Just like animals, plants also contain haemoglobins (known as phytoglobins in plants). Plant phytoglobins (Pgbs) have been categorized into 6 different classes, namely, Phytogb0 (Pgb0), Phytogb1 (Pgb1), Phytogb2 (Pgb2), SymPhytogb (sPgb), Leghaemoglobin (Lb), and Phytogb3 (Pgb3). Among the 6 Phytogbs, sPgb and Lb have been functionally characterized, whereas understanding of the roles of other Pgbs is still evolving. In our present study, we have explored the function of 2 rice Pgbs (OsPgb1.1 and OsPgb1.2). OsPgb1.1, OsPgb1.2, OsPgb1.3, and OsPgb1.4 displayed increased level of transcript upon salt, drought, cold, and ABA treatment. The overexpression (OX) lines of OsPgb1.2 in Arabidopsis showed a tolerant phenotype in terms of better root growth in low potassium (K+) conditions. The expression of the known K+ gene markers such as LOX2, HAK5, and CAX3 was much higher in the OsPgb1.2 OX as compared to wild type. Furthermore, the OsPgb1.2 OX lines showed a decrease in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and conversely an increase in the K+ content, both in root and shoot, as compared to wild type in K+ limiting condition. Our results indicated the potential involvement of OsPgb1.2 in signalling networks triggered by the nutrient deficiency stresses.
AtRAE1 is involved in degradation of ABA receptor RCAR1 and negatively regulates ABA signalling in Arabidopsis
Authors: Li Dekuan , Zhang Liang , Li Xiaoyi , Kong Xiangge , Wang Xiaoyu , Li Ying , Liu Zhibin , Wang Jianmei , Li Xufeng , Yang Yi
Published: October 2017

The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) plays an important role in regulating plant growth, development, and adaption to various environmental stresses. Regulatory components of ABA receptors (RCARs, also known as PYR/PYLs) sense ABA and initiate ABA signalling through inhibiting the activities of protein phosphatase 2C in Arabidopsis. However, the way in which ABA receptors are regulated is not well known. A DWD protein AtRAE1 (for RNA export factor 1 in Arabidopsis), which may act as a substrate receptor of CUL4–DDB1 E3 ligase, is an interacting partner of RCAR1/PYL9. The physical interaction between RCAR1 and AtRAE1 is confirmed in vitro and in vivo. Overexpression of AtRAE1 in Arabidopsis causes reduced sensitivity of plants to ABA, whereas suppression of AtRAE1 causes increased sensitivity to ABA. Analysis of protein stability demonstrates that RCAR1 is ubiquitinated and degraded in plant cells and AtRAE1 regulates the degradation speed of RCAR1. Our findings indicate that AtRAE1 likely participates in ABA signalling through regulating the degradation of ABA receptor RCAR1.
Sensitivity of sorghum pollen and pistil to high‐temperature stress
Authors: Djanaguiraman M. , Perumal R. , Jagadish S.V.K. , Ciampitti I.A. , Welti R. , Prasad P.V.V.
Published: October 2017

High temperature (HT) decreases seed set percentage in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.] Moench). The relative sensitivity of pollen and particularly pistil and the mechanistic response that induces tolerance or susceptibility to HT are not well known and hence are the major objectives of this research. The male sterile (ATx399) and fertile (RTx430) lines were exposed to 30/20 °C (optimum temperature), 36/26 °C (HT1), and 39/29 °C (HT2) from the start of booting to seed set in a controlled environment. Similarly, in the field, HT stress was imposed using heat tents. HT stress decreased pollen germination. Relatively high levels of reactive oxygen species and decreased antioxidant enzyme activity and phospholipid unsaturation were observed in pollen compared to pistil under HT. The severe cell organelle damage was observed in pollen and pistil at 36/26 and 39/29 °C, respectively. The seed set percentage was higher in HT‐stressed pistil pollinated with optimum‐temperature pollen. Direct and reciprocal crosses indicate that pollen was more sensitive with larger decreases in seed set percentage than pistil under HT stress. The negative impact was greater in pollen than pistil at lower temperatures. Overall, pollen was more sensitive than pistil to HT stress because it is more susceptible to oxidative damage than pistil.
Tomato CRY1a plays a critical role in the regulation of phytohormone homeostasis, plant development, and carotenoid metabolism in fruits
Authors: Liu Chao‐Chao , Ahammed Golam Jalal , Wang Guo‐Ting , Xu Chang‐Jie , Chen Kun‐Song , Zhou Yan‐Hong , Yu Jing‐Quan
Published: October 2017

Blue light photoreceptors, cryptochromes (CRYs), regulate multiple aspects of plant growth and development. However, our knowledge of CRYs is predominantly based on model plant Arabidopsis at early growth stage. In this study, we elucidated functions of CRY1a gene in mature tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants by using cry1a mutants and CRY1a‐overexpressing lines (OE‐CRY1a‐1 and OE‐CRY1a‐2). In comparison with wild‐type plants, cry1a mutants are relatively tall, accumulate low biomass, and bear more fruits, whereas OE‐CRY1a plants are short stature, and they not only flower lately but also bear less fruits. RNA‐seq, qRT‐PCR, and LC‐MS/MS analysis revealed that biosynthesis of gibberellin, cytokinin, and jasmonic acid was down‐regulated by CRY1a. Furthermore, DNA replication was drastically inhibited in leaves of OE‐CRY1a lines, but promoted in cry1a mutants with concomitant changes in the expression of cell cycle genes. However, CRY1a positively regulated levels of soluble sugars, phytofluene, phytoene, lycopene, and ß‐carotene in the fruits. The results indicate the important role of CRY1a in plant growth and have implications for molecular interventions of CRY1a aimed at improving agronomic traits.
Fluctuation in on‐again/off‐again romantic relationships: Foreboding or functional?
Authors: DAILEY RENÉ M. , CROOK BRITTANI , BRODY NICHOLAS , LEFEBVRE LEAH
Published: October 2017

This study explored how fluctuations in satisfaction and perceived partner commitment were associated with stability measures (e.g., commitment, perceived stability, relational uncertainty, turbulence) in both on‐again/off‐again and noncyclical relationships. Participants completed an initial survey, 8 weekly surveys, and a final survey. Results suggest fluctuation in perceived partner commitment across the weekly surveys was associated with all measures of stability when moderated by relationship type; fluctuation was negatively associated with the stability measures for noncyclical relationships but positively for on–off relationships. For fluctuation in satisfaction, this same pattern was found for commitment only. Overall, fluctuation, particularly in perceived partner commitment, was not viewed as disruptive for on–off partners; rather, fluctuation appeared to foster more steady and viable views of the relationship.
Authoritarian but responsive:Local regulation of industrial energy efficiency inJiangsu,China
Authors: Zhu Junming , Chertow Marian R.
Published: October 2017

Regulatory behavior and effectiveness in authoritarian settings are subject to alternative characterizations. By tracing enforcement processes through a variety of case studies, this article proposes and refines a new model, at least with respect to energy efficiency regulations in China:authoritarian but responsive.Local rulemaking and operationalization is authoritarian, with strong and coordinative bodies of regulation, strategic plans, and active involvement of local authorities. Local authorities, however, often find themselves facing a welter of laws imposed on companies that create competing priorities for these local officials who then must struggle to find pragmatic solutions. On numerous occasions, such satisficing behavior by local officials makes them responsive to the performance and demands of regulated firms. Embedded in the decentralized authoritarian context, theauthoritarian but responsiveapproach is found to be a rational choice of local governments and different from previous conceptualizations. It helps local governments coordinate across a diverse array of regulatory issues. Drawing on environmental enforcement in China, the model provides consistent explanations for the seemingly changing and discretionary enforcement incidents.
Experimentalism in transnational forest governance: Implementing European Union Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreements in Indonesia and Ghana
Authors: Overdevest Christine , Zeitlin Jonathan
Published: October 2017

Over the past decade, the European Union (EU) has created a novel experimentalist architecture for transnational forest governance: the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) initiative. This innovative architecture comprises extensive participation by civil society stakeholders in establishing and revising open‐ended framework goals (Voluntary Partnership Agreements [VPAs] with developing countries aimed at promoting sustainable forest governance and preventing illegal logging) and metrics for assessing progress toward them (legality standards and indicators) through monitoring and review of local implementation, underpinned by a penalty default mechanism to sanction non‐cooperation (the EU Timber Regulation that prohibits operators from placing illegally harvested wood on the European market). This paper analyzes the implementation of VPAs in Indonesia and Ghana, the two countries furthest advanced toward issuing FLEGT export licences. A central finding is the reciprocal relationship between the experimentalist architecture of the FLEGT initiative and transnational civil society activism, whereby the VPAs’ insistence on stakeholder participation, independent monitoring, and joint implementation review, underwritten by the EU, empowers domestic non‐governmental organizations with local knowledge to expose problems on the ground, hold public authorities accountable for addressing them, and contribute to developing provisional solutions.
DoWTO+ commitments in services trade agreements reflect a quest for optimal regulatory convergence? Evidence from Asia
Authors: Shingal Anirudh , Roy Martin , Sauvé Pierre
Published: October 2017

Literature examiningWTO+ commitments in services trade agreements (STAs) has not considered the role of services regulation. We bridge this gap using a sample of 15 South/South‐East Asian countries, given the burgeoning trend of Asian economies towards services preferentialism and the largelyWTO+ nature of their preferential services commitments. Our empirical findings suggest that Asian trading dyads with regulatory frameworks that are more similar and more trade restrictive tend to undertake higher levels ofWTO+ commitments in theirSTAs. There is also evidence in our results, including by modes of supply, forWTO+ commitments in AsianSTAs being driven by goods trade complementarities, alluding to supply chain dynamics in the region. Such results support the hypothesis that the heightened “servicification” of production generates a demand to lower services input costs arising from regulatory incidence and heterogeneity.
Analysis of rubella disease model with non-local and non-singular fractional derivatives
Authors: Koca Ilknur
Published: October 2017

In this paper we investigate a possible applicability of the newly established fractional differentiation in the field of epidemiology. To do this we extend the model describing the Rubella spread by replacing the time derivative with the time fractional derivative for the inclusion of memory. Detailed analysis of existence and uniqueness of exact solution is presented using the Banach fixed point theorem. Finally some numerical simulations are showed to underpin the effectiveness of the used derivative.
Aristolochic acids and their derivatives are widely implicated in liver cancers in Taiwan and throughout Asia
Authors: Ng Alvin W. T. , Poon Song Ling , Huang Mi Ni , Lim Jing Quan , Boot Arnoud , Yu Willie , Suzuki Yuka , Thangaraju Saranya , Ng Cedric C. Y. , Tan Patrick , Pang See-Tong , Huang Hao-Yi , Yu Ming-Chin , Lee Po-Huang , Hsieh Sen-Yung , Chang Alex Y. , Teh Bin T. , Rozen Steven G.
Published: October 2017

Mutational signatures reveal high burdens of aristolochic acid–related mutations in Asian liver cancers, with Taiwan most intensely affected.
Going live with a live Ebola assay
Authors: Dupnik Kathryn
Published: October 2017

A new reporter cell line can be used to detect live, infectious Ebola virus.
Where, oh where has my lipid drop gone?
Authors: Morris Jill K.
Published: October 2017

Stress-mediated lipid droplet formation requires neuronal lactate and is impaired by APOE4.
Growing good bugs with mom’s milk
Authors: Scharschmidt Tiffany C.
Published: October 2017

A strain of
Propionibacterium
found in the gut of breast milk–fed infants confers immune protective effects that may mitigate risk of necrotizing enterocolitis.
Capsids and Genomes of Jumbo-Sized Bacteriophages Reveal the Evolutionary Reach of the HK97 Fold
Authors: Hua Jianfei , Huet Alexis , Lopez Carlos A. , Toropova Katerina , Pope Welkin H. , Duda Robert L. , Hendrix Roger W. , Conway James F.
Published: October 2017

Large icosahedral viruses that infect bacteria represent an extreme of the coevolution of capsids and the genomes they accommodate. One subset of these large viruses is the jumbophages, tailed phages with double-stranded DNA genomes of at least 200,000 bp. We explored the mechanism leading to increased capsid and genome sizes by characterizing structures of several jumbophage capsids and the DNA packaged within them. Capsid structures determined for six jumbophages were consistent with the canonical phage HK97 fold, and three had capsid geometries with novel triangulation numbers (T=25, T=28, and T=52). Packaged DNA (chromosome) sizes were larger than the genome sizes, indicating that all jumbophages use a head-full DNA packaging mechanism. For two phages (PAU and G), the sizes appeared very much larger than their genome length. We used two-dimensional DNA gel electrophoresis to show that these two DNAs migrated abnormally due to base modifications and to allow us to calculate their actual chromosome sizes. Our results support a ratchet model of capsid and genome coevolution whereby mutations lead to increased capsid volume and allow the acquisition of additional genes. Once the added genes and larger capsid are established, mutations that restore the smaller size are disfavored.

IMPORTANCE
A large family of viruses share the same fold of the capsid protein as bacteriophage HK97, a virus that infects bacteria. Members of this family use different numbers of the capsid protein to build capsids of different sizes. Here, we examined the structures of extremely large capsids and measured their DNA content relative to the sequenced genome lengths, aiming to understand the process that increases size. We concluded that mutational changes leading to larger capsids become locked in by subsequent changes to the genome organization.