bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phosphate single mode large mode area all-solid photonic crystal fiber with multi-watt output power
Authors: Wang Longfei , Liu Hui , He Dongbing , Yu Chunlei , Hu Lili , Qiu Jianrong , Chen Danping
Published: April 2014

An index-depressed active core, single-mode phosphate all-solid large-mode-area photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is theoretically investigated using full-vectorial finite difference approach and experimentally realized. The PCF has a maximum output power of 5.4 W and 31% slope efficiency. Single-mode operation is realized through PCFs with core diameters of 30, 35, and 40 μm, respectively. The beam quality is not degraded even at maximum output power. Our simulations and experiments reveal that the laser performance is significantly affected by the center-to-center distance between the two nearest rods Λ, the rod diameter d, and their ratio d/Λ, implying that much attention should be given in employing optimal parameters to achieve excellent laser performance.
Effects of exogenous application of abscisic acid on membrane stability, osmotic adjustment, photosynthesis and hormonal status of two lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) genotypes under high temperature stress and drought stress
Authors: An Yuan , Zhou Peng , Liang Jinfeng
Published: April 2014

This study was designed to examine effects of high temperature, drought and exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) on membrane stability, osmotic adjustment, photosynthesis and the hormone status of two lucerne (alfalfa, Medicago sativa L.) genotypes contrasting in heat tolerance: Ameristand 801S (AS801) (heat-tolerant), and Aohan (heat-sensitive), The results showed that AS801 had lower electrolyte leakage, but higher chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, proline content, ABA content and zeatin riboside (ZR) content than Aohan during 72 h of heat stress under well-watered conditions. Under drought conditions, however, only proline content and ZR content in roots, electrolyte leakage in leaves and roots, net photosynthetic rate, and ABA content were significantly different between the two genotypes. A foliar application of ABA to heat-stressed plants significantly decreased electrolyte leakage and stomatal conductance, and increased recovery in growth and leaf water potential in the two genotypes under both watering conditions. The other physiological responses measured differed under drought or well-watered conditions, and appeared to be genotype-specific. These results suggest that the physiological responses of heat-sensitive and heat-tolerant lucerne to heat stress under different soil-water conditions varied. The heat-induced changes in proline accumulation in roots, electrolyte leakage in leaves and roots, and photosynthetic rate could serve as early instant stress indicators for evaluating the tolerance of lucerne genotypes to heat stress under different soil water conditions.
Wheat biomass and yield increased when populations of the root-lesion nematode (Pratylenchus thornei) were reduced through sequential rotation of partially resistant winter and summer crops
Authors: Owen K. J. , Clewett T. G. , Bell K. L. , Thompson J. P.
Published: April 2014

The root-lesion nematode, Pratylenchus thornei, can reduce wheat yields by >50%. Although this nematode has a broad host range, crop rotation can be an effective tool for its management if the host status of crops and cultivars is known. The summer crops grown in the northern grain region of Australia are poorly characterised for their resistance to P. thornei and their role in crop sequencing to improve wheat yields. In a 4-year field experiment, we prepared plots with high or low populations of P. thornei by growing susceptible wheat or partially resistant canaryseed (Phalaris canariensis); after an 11-month, weed-free fallow, several cultivars of eight summer crops were grown. Following another 15-month, weed-free fallow, P. thornei-intolerant wheat cv. Strzelecki was grown. Populations of P. thornei were determined to 150 cm soil depth throughout the experiment. When two partially resistant crops were grown in succession, e.g. canaryseed followed by panicum (Setaria italica), P. thornei populations were <739/kg soil and subsequent wheat yields were 3245 kg/ha. In contrast, after two susceptible crops, e.g. wheat followed by soybean, P. thornei populations were 10 850/kg soil and subsequent wheat yields were just 1383 kg/ha. Regression analysis showed a linear, negative response of wheat biomass and grain yield with increasing P. thornei populations and a predicted loss of 77% for biomass and 62% for grain yield. The best predictor of wheat yield loss was P. thornei populations at 0–90 cm soil depth. Crop rotation can be used to reduce P. thornei populations and increase wheat yield, with greatest gains being made following two partially resistant crops grown sequentially.
Population receptive field analysis of the primary visual cortex complements perimetry in patients with homonymous visual field defects
Authors: Papanikolaou Amalia , Keliris Georgios A. , Papageorgiou T. Dorina , Shao Yibin , Krapp Elke , Papageorgiou Eleni , Stingl Katarina , Bruckmann Anna , Schiefer Ulrich , Logothetis Nikos K. , Smirnakis Stelios M.
Published: April 2014

Significance

Partial damage of the primary visual cortex (V1), or damage to the white matter inputs to V1 (optic radiation), cause blindness in specific regions of the visual field. We use functional MRI to measure responses in individual patients with a localized, chronic V1 injury that resulted in blindness in a quarter of the visual field. The fMRI responses of patients and controls are generally similar, but in some patients differences from controls can be measured. Importantly, responses in spared early visual cortex are not always congruent with visual perception. Understanding how the properties of early visual areas respond to injury will lead to better strategies for visual rehabilitation.
Imatinib for the Treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension and Pulmonary Capillary Hemangiomatosis
Authors: Nayyar Dhruv , Muthiah Kavitha , Kumarasinghe Gayathri , Hettiarachchi Ravin , Celermajer David , Kotlyar Eugene , Keogh Anne
Published: April 2014

Despite currently available treatments, the prognoses of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis (PCH) remain poor. Platelet‐derived growth factor and its receptor (PDGFR) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension in PAH and PCH. Imatinib, a PDGFR antagonist, may be beneficial in the treatment of both conditions because of its potent antiproliferative effect. We report two cases that demonstrate the potential for safe and efficacious use of imatinib in PAH and PCH.
SVAMP: sequence variation analysis, maps and phylogeny
Authors: Naeem Raeece , Hidayah Lailatul , Preston Mark D. , Clark Taane G. , Pain Arnab
Published: April 2014

Summary: SVAMP is a stand-alone desktop application to visualize genomic variants (in variant call format) in the context of geographical metadata. Users of SVAMP are able to generate phylogenetic trees and perform principal coordinate analysis in real time from variant call format (VCF) and associated metadata files. Allele frequency map, geographical map of isolates, Tajima’s D metric, single nucleotide polymorphism density, GC and variation density are also available for visualization in real time. We demonstrate the utility of SVAMP in tracking a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus outbreak from published next-generation sequencing data across 15 countries. We also demonstrate the scalability and accuracy of our software on 245 Plasmodium falciparum malaria isolates from three continents.

Availability and implementation: The Qt/C++ software code, binaries, user manual and example datasets are available at http://cbrc.kaust.edu.sa/svamp

Contact:  arnab.pain@kaust.edu.sa or arnab.pain@cantab.net

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Spatial Orienting and Attentional Capture
Authors: Theeuwes Jan
Published: April 2014

The present review discusses basic findings and current controversies regarding spatial orienting and attentional capture. Endogenous and exogenous spatial orienting and their interaction are discussed in relation to recent debates regarding the role of orienting in the preparation of eye movements, in relation to subliminal cueing, and to the debate whether spatial attention is needed for the detection of basic features. The review also discusses whether it is possible to cue a distractor location in order to reduce its effect on target processing. Stimulus-driven attentional capture and contingent capture are discussed in relation to controversies regarding non-spatial filtering, the existence of assumed search modes, and the concept of the attentional window. The review concludes that contingent capture may be nothing other than endogenous orienting.
Orienting Attention
Authors: Spence Charles
Published: April 2014

The last 30 years or so have seen a rapid rise in research on attentional orienting from a crossmodal perspective. The majority of this research has tended to focus on the consequences of the covert orienting of attention (either to a sensory modality or spatial location) for both perception and neural information processing. The results of numerous studies have now highlighted the robust crossmodal links that exist in the case of both overt and covert, and both exogenous and endogenous spatial orienting. Neuroimaging studies have started to highlight the neural circuits underlying such crossmodal effects. Researchers are increasingly using transcranial magnetic stimulation in order to lesion temporarily putative areas within these networks; the aim of such research often being to determine whether attentional orienting is controlled by supramodal versus modality-specific neural systems that are somehow linked (this is known as the ‘separable-but-linked’ hypothesis). The available research demonstrates that crossmodal attentional orienting (and multisensory integration—from which it is sometimes hard to distinguish) can affect the very earliest stages of information processing in the human brain.
Neural Mechanisms for the Executive Control of Attention
Authors: Miller Earl K. , Buschman Timothy J.
Published: April 2014

The prefrontal cortex is a source of internal control of attention as it captures three important components of an executive controller. First, it provides top-down selection of neural representations through descending projections, This top-down input may act by increasing the synchrony of local neural populations, enhancing their connectivity, and boosting the transmission of information. Second, intelligent top-down control of behaviour requires integrating diverse information. Neural representations in prefrontal cortex capture this breadth of information: representing anything from the specific contents of working memory to abstract categories and rules. Third, through reciprocal connections with the basal ganglia, prefrontal cortex neurons are ideally situated to learn the ‘rules’ of behaviour that allow us to know what to attend to in a given situation. These connections may support an iterative, bootstrapping, process that allows for increasingly complex rules to be learned. The prefrontal cortex acts as a generalized executive controller, acting through mechanisms such as attention, to guide thoughts and behaviour.
Attention and Decision-Making
Authors: Summerfield Christopher , Egner Tobias
Published: April 2014

This chapter reviews formal models of the decision process in humans and other primates, and discusses divergent accounts of how attention might intervene to bias or facilitate judgements about sensory stimuli. The review covers established decision-theoretic models, such as signal detection theory and serial sampling models, and other computational accounts that draw upon psychophysical and neurobiological mechanisms of early vision. It considers whether such decisions are limited by attentional capacity, or by noise, as suggested by normative models of choice. The authors revisit a debate concerning whether attention acts to boost inputs, enhance activity, or reduce noise. Finally, the authors consider the relationship between attention and expectation in perceptual decision-making.
Rehabilitation of Attention Functions
Authors: Robertson Ian H. , O'Connell Redmond G.
Published: April 2014

The evidence for the effectiveness of rehabilitation of three types of attention—selectivity, sustained attention, and attentional switching—is reviewed. Limited but significant effects in all three domains are observed, though evidence for generalization to wider everyday life functions remains relatively sparse. In the case of sustained attention and also in the case of spatial selectivity, the modulating effects of arousal are shown to be important, and higher level executive deficits may at times be exacerbated or even caused by lowered levels of arousal. Conversely, methods of modulating arousal may be used to improve sustained attention and executive functions in a range of clinical conditions. Attentional functions are key to other cognitive domains such as attention and perception, and so the promising evidence for attentional rehabilitation may contribute to the rehabilitation of other cognitive domains also.
Neuronal Dynamics and the Mechanistic Bases of Selective Attention
Authors: Schroeder Charles E. , Herrero Jose L. , Haegens Saskia
Published: April 2014

Selective attention is a process by which the brain enhances its representation of task relevant, over irrelevant information. This ‘active control’ is essential to normal perception and cognition because it enables information processing to adapt to the immediate goals of the observer. This chapter places the focuses on recent conceptual/empirical developments in four areas that the authors think have significantly advanced the discussion and debate on the mechanistic underpinnings of selective attention: (1) the role of neuronal oscillations, (2) the distinctions between differing modes of dynamic operation, (3) potentially unique roles of specific oscillatory frequencies, (4) the neurochemistry of attention. The authors end by replacing attention within an ‘active sensing’ framework, and posing a set of prime questions for future study.
Dynamic Brain States for Preparatory Attention and Working Memory
Authors: Stokes Mark , Duncan John
Published: April 2014

This chapter considers how dynamic brain states continuously fine-tune processing to accommodate changes in behavioural context and task goals. First, the authors review the extant literature suggesting that content-specific patterns of preparatory activity bias competitive processing in visual cortex to favour behaviourally relevant input. Next, they consider how higher-level brain areas might provide a top-down attentional signal for modulating baseline visual activity. Extensive evidence suggests that working memory representations in prefrontal cortex are especially important for generating and maintaining biases in preparatory visual activity via modulatory feedback. Although it is often proposed that such working memory representations are maintained via persistent prefrontal activity, the authors review more recent evidence that rapid short-term synaptic plasticity provides a common substrate for maintaining the content of past experience and the rules for guiding future goal-directed processing.
Time for the Fourth Dimension in Attention
Authors: Nobre Anna C. (Kia) , Rohenkohl Gustavo
Published: April 2014

This chapter takes attention into the fourth dimension by considering research that explores how predictive information in the temporal structure of events can contribute to optimizing perception. The authors review behavioural and neural findings from three lines of investigation in which the temporal regularity and predictability of events are manipulated through rhythms, hazard functions, and cues. The findings highlight the fundamental role temporal expectations play in shaping several aspects of performance, from early perceptual analysis to motor preparation. They also reveal modulation of neural activity by temporal expectations all across the brain. General principles of how temporal expectations are generated and bias information processing are still emerging. The picture so far suggests that there may be multiple sources of temporal expectation, which can bias multiple stages of stimulus analysis depending on the stages of information processing that are critical for task performance. Neural oscillations are likely to provide an important medium through which the anticipated timing of events can regulate neuronal excitability.
Attention
Authors: Nobre Anna C. (Kia) , Kastner Sabine
Published: April 2014

‘Attention’ is a core and fundamental aspect of cognition. Accordingly it engages a sizeable and thriving research community. The field has precious theoretical and empirical seeds left by the pioneering investigators of mental functions in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries such as Franciscus Donders (1818–89), Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–94), Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920), and William James (1842–1910). It re-emerges in full strength in the 1950s with the cognitive revolution and Broadbent’s publication of Perception and Communication (1958). Since then, we have made tremendous progress in understanding the functional consequences of attention, its behavioural and neural mechanisms, its neural systems and dynamics, and its implications for neurological and psychiatric disorders. We are also making headway in understanding its interactions with other cognitive domains, and its applications to healthy cognition in the ‘real world’ more generally.
First Report of Tomato chlorosis virus Infecting Tomato Crops in Uruguay
Authors: Arruabarrena A. , Rubio L. , González-Arcos M. , Maeso D. , Fonseca M. E. N. , Boiteux L. S.
Published: April 2014

A survey of viral diseases was carried out during 2012 to 2013 in two major tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) producing regions in Uruguay (Salto and Canelones). Lower leaves of fruit-bearing plants were observed displaying yellowing and interveinal chlorosis under greenhouse conditions. The symptoms were similar to those associated with magnesium deficiency. However, the chlorosis displayed a tendency to move up affecting medial and apical leaves and prevailed even after supplementary magnesium applications to the soil, indicating potential infection by either Tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV) or Tomato infectious chlorosis virus (TICV) (3). Four leaf samples were collected from two sites in Canelones and 28 samples were collected from distinct commercial fields in Salto. Whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci biotype Q and Trialeurodes vaporariorum) were present in all sampling sites. Total RNA was extracted from symptomatic and healthy (control) plants and used for cDNA preparation with the HS-11/HS-12 primer pair followed by PCR amplification using the same primer pair. The 587-bp amplicon, corresponding to a highly conserved region of the heat shock protein (HSP-70) homolog gene reported in both TICV and ToCV genomes, was observed only in the symptomatic samples. These PCR products were then subjected to nested PCR using the ToCV specific primer pair (ToC-5/ToC-6) and TICV specific primer pair (TIC-3/TIC-4) (1). The expected 463-bp ToCV-specific amplicon was observed in all symptomatic plants but not in the healthy controls. The 223-bp amplicon corresponding to TICV was not observed in any sample, indicating the sole presence of ToCV. The amplicon of one Uruguayan ToCV isolate from Salto (named as CRS03) was purified and directly sequenced (GenBank KC626018). BLAST analysis revealed 99% identity of CRS03 with one Spanish isolate (AF233435.1) (2). Virus-free B. tabaci biotype Q adults were exposed to symptomatic plants infected with the CRS03 isolate for a 24-h period and then cage-confined with 10 healthy tomato plants (line ‘LT17’) for a 48-h period. Symptoms were reproduced in all tested plants after a 65-day period and ToCV infection was confirmed via PCR assays and by sequence analysis of the gel-purified amplicons. This is the first formal report of ToCV infecting tomatoes in Uruguay. Incidence of symptomatic plants in tomato crops varied from 30 to 100%, even under low whitefly pressure. Epidemiological information needs to be generated in order to evaluate the impact of ToCV in the fresh-market tomato yield and quality.

References: (1) C. I. Dovas et al. Plant Dis. 86:1345, 2002. (2) G. Lozano et al. Arch. Virol. 151:581, 2006. (3) G. C. Wisler et al. Arch. Virol. 151:409, 2006.
Aquisalimonas halophila sp. nov., a moderately halophilic bacterium isolated from a hypersaline mine
Authors: Zhang Yun-Jiao , Jia Man , Ma Yong-Chun , Lu Kai-Yang , Tian Fei , Klenk Hans-Peter , Zhou Yu , Tang Shu-Kun
Published: April 2014

A Gram-negative, moderately halophilic, strictly aerobic strain, designated YIM 95345T, was isolated from a soil sample of a hypersaline mine in Yunnan province, PR China, and subjected to a polyphasic taxonomic study. Strain YIM 95345T grew at 15–45 °C (optimum 30–35 °C), 3.0–23.0 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 10.0–11.0 %, w/v) and pH 6.0–9.0 (optimum pH 7.0–8.0). Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the organism belongs to the genus

Aquisalimonas

and exhibited sequence similarity of 96.6 % to the sole type strain

Aquisalimonas asiatica

CG12T. The predominant isoprenoid quinone was Q-8 and the major fatty acids were C16 : 0, C19 : 0 cyclo ω8c and C18 : 1ω7c. The polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylinositol, three aminolipids and three unidentified phospholipids. The G+C content of the genomic DNA was 59.4 mol%. Based on the results of our comparative phylogenetic, chemotaxonomic and physiological analyses, the new isolate is assigned to a novel species of the genus

Aquisalimonas

, for which the name Aquisalimonas halophila sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain YIM 95345T ( = DSM 25902T = CCTCC AB 2012043T).
Pseudomonas aeruginosa injects NDK into host cells through a type III secretion system
Authors: Neeld Dennis , Jin Yongxin , Bichsel Candace , Jia Jinghua , Guo Jianhui , Bai Fang , Wu Weihui , Ha Un-Hwan , Terada Naohiro , Jin Shouguang
Published: April 2014

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative opportunistic human pathogen possessing a type III secretion system (T3SS) which injects toxic effector proteins into mammalian host cells. In previous studies, P. aeruginosa strains lacking all of the known type III effectors were shown to cause cytotoxicity upon prolonged infection time. In this study, we report the identification of a new cytotoxin, nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDK), which is injected into eukaryotic cells in a T3SS-dependent manner. Injection of NDK is inhibited by the presence of previously known effectors of the T3SS, with an effectorless strain injecting the highest amount, suggesting active competition with the known T3SS effectors. NDK is shown to cause a cytotoxic response when expressed in eukaryotic cells, and P. aeruginosa strains harbouring NDK also show a greater toxicity than strains lacking it. Interestingly, the cytotoxic effect of intracellular NDK is independent of its kinase activity. In previous studies, NDK was shown to be secreted into culture supernatants via a type I secretion system and cause cytotoxicity in a kinase-dependent manner. Therefore, the current study highlights an alternative route of NDK secretion as well as two different cytotoxic mechanisms of NDK, depending on the extra- or intra-cellular location of the protein.
READemption - A tool for the computational analysis of deep-sequencing-based transcriptome data
Authors: Förstner Konrad Ulrich , Vogel Jörg , Sharma Cynthia Mira
Published: April 2014

Summary: RNA-Seq has become a potent and widely used method to qualitatively and quantitatively study transcriptomes. In order to draw biological conclusions based on RNA-Seq data, several steps some of which are computationally intensive, have to betaken. Our READemption pipeline takes care of these individual tasks and integrates them into an easy-to-use tool with a command line interface. To leverage the full power of modern computers, most subcommands of READemption offer parallel data processing. While READemption was mainly developed for the analysis of bacterial primary transcriptomes, we have successfully applied it to analyze RNA-Seq reads from other sample types, including whole transcriptomes, RNA immunoprecipitated with proteins, not only from bacteria, but also from eukaryotes and archaea. Availability and Implementation: READemption is implemented in Python and is published under the ISC open source license. The tool and documentation is hosted at http://pythonhosted.org/READemption (DOI:10.6084/m9.figshare.977849).
An experimentally informed evolutionary model improves phylogenetic fit to divergent lactamase homologs
Authors: Bloom Jesse D
Published: April 2014

Phylogenetic analyses of molecular data require a quantitative model for how sequences evolve. Traditionally, the details of the site-specific selection that governs sequence evolution are not knowna priori, making it challenging to create evolutionary models that adequately capture the heterogeneity of selection at different sites. However, recent advances in high-throughput experiments have made it possible to quantify the effects of all single mutations on gene function. I have previously shown that such high-throughput experiments can be combined with knowledge of underlying mutation rates to create a parameter-free evolutionary model that describes the phylogeny of influenza nucleoprotein far better than commonly used existing models. Here I extend this work by showing that published experimental data on TEM-1 beta-lactamase (Firnberg et al, 2014) can be combined with a few mutation rate parameters to create an evolutionary model that describes beta-lactamase phylogenies much than most common existing models. This experimentally informed evolutionary model is superior even for homologs that are substantially diverged (about 35% divergence at the protein level) from the TEM-1 parent that was the subject of the experimental study. These results suggest that experimental measurements can inform phylogenetic evolutionary models that are applicable to homologs that span a substantial range of sequence divergence.
1-{[(Z)-Cyclopentylidene]amino}-3-phenylthiourea
Authors: Mague Joel T. , Mohamed Shaaban K. , Akkurt Mehmet , Hassan Alaa A. , Albayati Mustafa R.
Published: April 2014

The sample of the title compound, C12H15N3S, chosen for study consisted of triclinic crystals twinned by a 180° rotation about theaaxis. The five-membered ring adopts a twisted conformation. The dihedral angle between the phenyl ring and the mean plane of the thiourea unit is 78.22 (8)°. In the crystal, molecules are linkedviapairs of N—H...S hydrogen bonds forming inversion dimers.
Piperazine-1,4-diium bis(hexahydroxidoheptaoxidohexaborato-κ3O,O′,O′′)cobaltate(II) hexahydrate
Authors: Jamai Nabil , Rzaigui Mohamed , Toumi Samah Akriche
Published: April 2014

In the title hydrate, (C4H12N2)[Co{B6O7(OH)6}2]·6H2O, both the dication and dianion are generated by crystallographic inversion symmetry. The Co2+ion in the dianion adopts a fairly regular CoO6octahedral coordination geometry arising from the twoO,O′,O′′-tridentate ligands. In the crystal, the dianions and water molecules are linked by O—H...O hydrogen bonds, generating a framework with large [100] channels, which are occupied by the organic dications. N—H...O and C—H...O hydrogen bonds consolidate the structure.
6-Chloro-4-oxo-4H-chromene-3-carbaldehyde
Authors: Ishikawa Yoshinobu
Published: April 2014

In the title compound, C10H5ClO3, a chlorinated 3-formylchromone derivative, the non-H atoms are essentially coplanar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.0456 Å) with the largest deviation from the least-squares plane [0.1136 (16) Å] being found for the ring-bound carbonyl O atom. In the crystal, molecules are linked through stacking interactions along thebaxis [shortest centroid–centroid distance between the pyran and benzene rings = 3.4959 (15) Å].
Poly[[tetra-μ-cyanido-κ8C:N-dodeca-cyanido-κ12C-tris(N,N-dimethylformamide-κO)tris(methanol-κO)tris(3,4,7,8-tetramethyl-1,10-phenanthroline-κ2N,N′)trimanganese(II)ditungstate(V)] dihydrate]
Authors: Yang Fei-Lin , Yang Dan
Published: April 2014

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, {[Mn3{W(CN)8}2(C16H16N2)3(C3H7NO)3(CH3OH)3]·2H2O}n, consists of three [Mn(N,N-dimethylformamide)(methanol)(3,4,7,8-tetramethyl-1,10-phenanthroline)]2+cations, two [W(CN)8]3−anions and two water molecules. Each water molecule is disordered over three sets of sites, with a refined occupancy ratio of 0.310 (9):0.275 (9):0.415 (9) for one molecule and 0.335 (9):0.288 (9):0.377 (9) for the other molecule. The MnIIatoms exhibit a distorted octahedral geometry, while the WVatoms adopt a distorted square-antiprismatic geometry. The MnIIand WVatoms are linked alternatively through cyanide groups, forming a tetranuclear 12-atom rhombic metallacycle. Adjacent metallacycles are further connected by μ2-bridging cyanide anions, generating a 3,2-chain structure running parallel to [101]. Interchain π–π interactions are observed [centroid–centroid distances = 3.763 (3) and 3.620 (2) Å].
Safety climate, safety behaviors and line-of-duty injuries in the fire service
Authors: D. Smith Todd , M. DeJoy David
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to test an initial model of safety climate for firefighting. Relationships between safety climate, safety behaviors and firefighter injuries were examined.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data were collected from 398 professional firefighters in the southeastern USA. Structural equation modeling, using a zero-inflated Poisson regression method, was used to complete the analyses.

Findings

– Safety climate, as a higher order factor, was comprised of four factors including management commitment to safety, supervisor support for safety, safety programs/policies and safety communication. Both safety compliance behaviors and safety participation behaviors were significantly, positively associated with safety climate. Both behaviors were deemed protective and were associated with reductions in injury. Safety climate relations to injury were interesting, but somewhat ambiguous. Safety climate significantly predicted membership in the “always zero” injury group. For those not in the “always zero” group, the relationship between safety climate and injury was positive, which was not completely surprising as direct relationships between safety climate and injury have been insignificant and opposite to predictions in studies using retrospective data and may be attributed to reverse causation.

Originality/value

– This novel study illustrates the importance of both organizational and work unit factors in helping shape safety climate perceptions among firefighters. The results also support the safety climate – behavior – injury model and show that a positive safety climate encourages safer behaviors among firefighters. Lastly, the findings confirm that both safety compliance behaviors and safety participation behaviors are important to reducing individual firefighter injury experience.
Can a spatial index of heat-related vulnerability predict emergency service demand in Australian capital cities?
Authors: Elizabeth Loughnan Margaret , J. Tapper Nigel , Phan Thu , A. McInnes Judith
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate a spatial model of population vulnerability (VI) capable of identifying areas of high emergency service demand (ESD) during extreme heat events (EHE).

Design/methodology/approach

– An index of population vulnerability to EHE was developed from a literature review. Threshold temperatures for EHE were defined using local temperatures, and indicators of increased morbidity. Spearman correlations determined the strength of the relationship between the VI and morbidity during EHE. The VI was mapped providing a visual guide of risk during EHE. Future changes in population vulnerability based on future population projections (2020-2030) were mapped.

Findings

– The VI can be used to explain the spatial distribution of ESD during EHE. Mapping future changes in population density/demography indicated several areas currently showing high risk will continue to show increased risk.

Research limitations/implications

– The limitations include using outdoor temperatures to determine health-related thresholds. Due to data restrictions three different measures of morbidity were used and aggregated to postal areas.

Practical implications

– Identifying areas of increased service demand during EHE allows the development of proactive as-well-as reactive responses to heat. The model uses readily available data, is replicable in larger urban areas.

Social implications

– The model allows emergency service providers to work with high risk communities to build resilience to heat exposure and subsequently save lives.

Originality/value

– To the authors’ knowledge this triangulated approach using heat thresholds, ESD and projected changes in risk in a spatial framework has not been presented to date.
Depreciation rules and small business longevity
Authors: Bruce Don , Deskins John , Gurley-Calvez Tami
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– When a small business purchases a capital asset, its cost for tax purposes is spread over the useful life of the asset through the process of depreciation. It has become common in the USA for policy makers to enhance depreciation rules in an effort to increase business investment in a less-costly manner than across-the-board marginal tax rate cuts. Indeed, short-term depreciation policies are often billed by policy makers as a way to save America's small businesses. However, little is known about the actual effects of depreciation policies on small business activity. This paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– In this initial attempt to test the political claims regarding the importance of depreciation rules, the paper uses a 12-year panel of tax returns for Schedule C sole proprietors to empirically examine whether more generous depreciation policies influence small business activity at the extensive margin. Specifically, the paper estimates a series of multivariate models to explain sole proprietors’ decisions to remain in business as functions of their financial, demographic, and tax situations, including measures of the present discounted value (PDV) of a stream of tax deductions for depreciated capital under various rule structures.

Findings

– Throughout the analysis, the authors are unable to find evidence that favorable depreciation rules lead to greater rates of entrepreneurial longevity among Schedule C sole proprietors.

Originality/value

– Discrete choice results suggest that increases in the PDV of tax reductions from depreciation (e.g. depreciating the value earlier in the recovery period) might actually lead to higher probabilities of small business exit, while survival analysis finds no clear influence of depreciation on spells of small business activity.
How does the estate tax affect the number of firms?
Authors: A. Yakovlev Pavel , Davies Antony
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to estimate the effect of the combined (Federal and state) estate, inheritance, and gift (EIG) tax burden per decedent on the number of firms in the USA.

Design/methodology/approach

– Estimates are based on a longitudinal panel of 50 American states from 1988 to 2006.

Findings

– The paper finds that the growth in the EIG tax burden per decedent significantly reduces the growth in the number of firms, especially small firms. The higher dissolution rate among small firms can be attributed to the asymmetric liquidity effect, which limits the ability of small business owners to raise the funds needed to pay the estate tax without liquidating their estates.

Practical implications

– The estimates suggest that the reductions in EIG taxes, brought about by the passage of 2001 EGTRRA, have lead to a higher growth in the number of firms, ceteris paribus.

Social implications

– As of this writing, the future of the Federal estate tax looks uncertain. Policymakers should note that the estate tax lowers competition and economic growth, which hurts both the poor and the rich.

Originality/value

– This study is the first to examine the impact of the combined (Federal and state) EIG tax burden on the number of firms using state-level panel data.
SEC issues guidance on Rule 144A and Rule 506 offerings regarding general solicitation and general advertising and other aspects of the amended rules
Authors: Gelfond Stuart , Coleman Joshua , Ross Kaihli
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– To explain the SEC's new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (“CDIs”) relating to the recently adopted amendments to Rule 144A and Rule 506, which permitted general solicitation and general advertising (“general solicitation”) in all Rule 144A offerings and select Regulation D offerings under Rule 506.

Design/methodology/approach

– The article summarizes amended rules and recently issued CDIs, while also explaining some of their implications.

Findings

– The new CDIs provide a number of helpful clarifications and confirmations on aspects of the amended rules relating to general solicitation, transitioning between different types of Rule 506 offerings and investor verification under Rule 506(c).

Originality/value

– Practical summary of recent SEC guidance with explanation from seasoned corporate securities attorneys.
SEC approves amendment to FINRA IPO allocation rule 5131, easing compliance for fund investors
Authors: S. Gittleman Charles , D. Sacks Russell , D. Morton Jennifer
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of the paper is to describe the recent amendments to FINRA's IPO Allocation Rule that were approved by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper provides a description of the IPO Allocation Rule and its operation, followed by a description of the IPO Allocation Rule amendments recently amended.

Findings

– On November 27, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved a change to FINRA's IPO allocation rule 5131 (the “amendment”). The amendment allows a fund of funds or other collective investment account that is investing in an IPO to rely on a written representation from an unaffiliated private fund investor that does not look through to its beneficial owners, provided that such unaffiliated private fund is managed by an investment adviser, has assets greater than $50 million, and meets certain other indicia of independence that are described.

Originality/value

– The paper provides practical guidance from experienced regulatory lawyers regarding an amendment to an important rule governing IPO sales and allocation practices.
SEC targets investment adviser community
Authors: P. Bramnik Robert , M. Wolfe Mauro
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– To draw attention to the US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) disciplinary focus on the investment adviser community

Design/methodology/approach

– Describes six recent enforcement cases for disclosure, custody, supervisory, procedural, and other rule violations and compliance failures; explains changes in registered investment adviser (RIA) exemptions following enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act; discusses recent SEC announcements concerning inspections and examinations of RIAs.

Findings

– The SEC's recent announcements and enforcement actions signal that all advisers (both registered investment advisers and exempt reporting advisers) may want to pay particular attention to their compliance programs and supervisory procedures.

Originality/value

– Practical advice from experienced financial services lawyers.
SEC changes course: some companies must now admit wrongdoing
Authors: G. Schwab Gregory
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– To educate the audience about a significant change in SEC enforcement policy

Design/methodology/approach

– Research was performed of SEC officials' recent public statements about the change in enforcement policy.

Findings

– The SEC has increased enforcement activity in recent years, and the commission will begin insisting on admissions of wrongdoing in future settlement negotiations.

Practical implications

– Private litigants will seize on any admissions exacted by the SEC from corporate defendants. This could result in huge damage awards in private civil litigation.

Originality/value

– Explanation of the SEC's recent change in enforcement policy, specifically, how the SEC will demand certain corporate defendants admit to wrongdoing as part of any settlement with the commission.
Recent SEC enforcement actions put spotlight on prohibited short selling
Authors: Wink Stephen , Clark Christopher , Paulovic Stefan , Whipple Kathleen
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– To highlight recent enforcement actions by the SEC demonstrating the agency's increased focus on violations of Rule 105 of Regulation M and to provide guidance on how to avoid becoming the target of such an SEC action.

Design/methodology/approach

– Describes the SEC's 23 recent enforcement actions against firms for violations of Rule 105, explains the conduct prohibited by Rule 105 as well as the exceptions to the Rule, and provides advice on how firms can avoid a Rule 105 related SEC enforcement action.

Findings

– In light of the SEC's recently announced zero-tolerance policy and the fact that Rule 105 does not require intent on the part of the short seller to engage in a prohibited transaction, firms should provide training to their employees regarding Rule 105, develop and implement policies and procedures to ensure compliance with Rule 105, and enforce those policies and procedures.

Originality/value

– Practical explanation and guidance by experienced financial services lawyers.
CFTC harmonization rules: CPOs of RICs benefit from “substituted compliance”
Authors: G. Frydman Daphne , A. Ramirez Raymond
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– To explain regulatory developments and changes to compliance obligations for asset managers registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) as commodity pool operators of registered investment companies.

Design/methodology/approach

– Provides a general overview of new CFTC rules (Harmonization Rules) that afford relief to commodity pool operators of commodity pools that are registered as investment companies under the Investment Company Act of 1940; describes the specific CFTC disclosure, reporting and recordkeeping requirements that remain applicable to commodity pool operators that are also subject to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulation by virtue of operating commodity pools that are registered investment companies; discusses reliance on substituted compliance with applicable SEC requirements; outlines the method for claiming relief under the Harmonization Rules; provides guidance for CPOs of RICs that use controlled foreign corporations (CFCs).

Findings

– CPOs of RICs benefit from “substituted compliance” under the CFTC Harmonization Rules.

Practical implications

– Explains to investment advisers that have registered as CPOs of RICs the disclosure, reporting and recordkeeping obligations that apply to them, how to take advantage of compliance with SEC requirements in lieu of CFTC requirements, and how to claim relief with respect to certain CFTC compliance obligations.

Originality/value

– Practical explanation by experienced derivatives and securities lawyers.
Mark Cuban defense verdict highlights difficulty of proving “misappropriation” theory of insider trading
Authors: Green Jonathan , Miner Aaron
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– To summarize and draw conclusions from the insider trading suit brought against well-known entrepreneur Mark Cuban in 2008.

Design/methodology/approach

– Summarizes the facts of the 2008 case, brought by the SEC against Cuban for allegedly misappropriating material, non-public information conveyed to him purportedly pursuant to a confidentiality agreement. Reviews the basics of the misappropriation theory of insider trading, and the basis of the jury verdict in Cuban's favor. Concludes by stressing that securities analysis and major investors should still remain cautious, and explains why.

Findings

– The Cuban verdict appears, at first glance, to be a substantial victory for securities analysts and major investors whose businesses depend on regular communications with corporate insiders or others who possess material non-public information. It demonstrates the challenges the SEC faces under existing law in establishing a relationship of trust and confidence between the recipient of alleged material, non-public information and the source of that information for purposes of proving misappropriation liability. Nevertheless, the Cuban judgment did not ultimately turn on the existence of such a relationship, and the contours of misappropriation liability remain unsettled. Accordingly, securities analysts, investors and any other entity or individual who receives information pursuant to a confidentiality agreement should remain cautious and refrain from acting on material, non-public information regardless of the circumstances.

Originality/value

– Practical explanation by experienced litigators.
The current state of library open source software research
Authors: Palmer Aaron , Choi Namjoo
Published: April 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this study is to assess the current state of research on open source software (OSS) in the library context.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study employs a descriptive literature review. It categorizes library OSS research according to a classification scheme developed for the study, and analyzes the research based on year published, publication outlet, type of software discussed, type of article, type of library, and article topic.

Findings

– The authors found significant research attention devoted to open source repository applications, online public access catalog (OPAC) software, and integrated library systems (ILS). The majority of article types employed were case studies and discussion pieces. When articles were focused on a specific library, it was dominantly an academic library. Article topics centered around OSS adoption, development, provision of foundational or introductory information, and OSS performance.

Originality/value

– The authors are not aware of any other study that surveys and synthesizes the literature on OSS in the library context. Not only does this study provide a reference source and classification scheme for those conducting future research in this area to utilize, but it also identifies areas in this field that have received the most research attention, as well as areas that could benefit from future studies. This study will prove helpful to scholars looking for directions to take their research.