bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Artificial kagome spin ice: dimensional reduction, avalanche control and emergent magnetic monopoles
Authors: Hügli R. V. , Duff G. , O'Conchuir B. , Mengotti E. , Rodríguez A. Fraile , Nolting F. , Heyderman L. J. , Braun H. B.
Published: November 2012

Artificial spin-ice systems consisting of nanolithographic arrays of isolated nanomagnets are model systems for the study of frustration-induced phenomena. We have recently demonstrated that monopoles and Dirac strings can be directly observed via synchrotron-based photoemission electron microscopy, where the magnetic state of individual nanoislands can be imaged in real space. These experimental results of Dirac string formation are in excellent agreement with Monte Carlo simulations of the hysteresis of an array of dipoles situated on a kagome lattice with randomized switching fields. This formation of one-dimensional avalanches in a two-dimensional system is in sharp contrast to disordered thin films, where avalanches associated with magnetization reversal are two-dimensional. The self-organized restriction of avalanches to one dimension provides an example of dimensional reduction due to frustration. We give simple explanations for the origin of this dimensional reduction and discuss the disorder dependence of these avalanches. We conclude with the explicit demonstration of how these avalanches can be controlled via locally modified anisotropies. Such a controlled start and stop of avalanches will have potential applications in data storage and information processing.
Quality of Life and Unmet Need in People with Psychosis in the London Borough of Haringey, UK
Authors: Lambri Maria , Chakraborty Apu , Leavey Gerard , King Michael
Published: November 2012

Objectives. Deinstitutionalization of long-term psychiatric patients produced various community-based residential care facilities. However, inner-city areas have many patients with severe mental illness (SMI) as well as deprivation, unemployment, and crime. This makes meeting their community needs complex. We undertook a needs assessment of service provision and consonance between service users’ evaluation of need and by care workers.Design. Cross-sectional study with random sample of SMI service users in four housing settings: rehabilitation units; high-supported; medium-supported; low-supported housing.Setting. London Borough of Haringey.Outcome Measures. 110 SMI service users and 110 keyworkers were interviewed, using Camberwell Assessment of Need; SF-36; Lancashire Quality-of-Life profile; demographic and clinical information.Results. People in “low-support” and “high-support” housing had similar symptom scores, though low support had significantly lower quality of life. Quality of life was positively predicted by self-reported mental-health score and negatively predicted by unmet-need score in whole sample and in medium-support residents. Residents’ and care-workers’ assessments of need differed considerably.Conclusions. Although patients’ housing needs were broadly met, those in low-supported housing fared least well. Attendance to self-reported mental health and unmet social needs to quality of life underpins planning of residential services for those with SMI. Social and personal needs of people in supported housing may be underestimated and overlooked; service providers need to prioritise these if concept of “recovery” is to advance.
Comparison of Oogenesis and Sex Steroid Profiles between Twice and Once Annually Spawning of Rainbow Trout Females (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
Authors: Estay Francisco , Colihueque Nelson , Araneda Cristian
Published: November 2012

This study compares the gonadosomatic index (GSI), oocyte growth (OG), gonadal histology, and plasma level concentrations of sex hormones (estradiol-17β(E2) and vitellogenin (V)) of twice-spawning (T-SP) and once-spawning (O-SP) females of rainbow trout throughout the additional and the normal reproductive cycle, respectively. In T-SP, the GSI values rapidly increase from May to November, in contrast to O-SP, which showed low and constant GSI values (1.19 to 14.5 and 1.19 to 0.63, resp.). T-SP exhibited a marked increase of OG in the same period, reaching a maximum diameter of 4,900 ± 141.42 μm, in contrast to O-SP, which presented a slow OG. The gonadal histology of T-SP agreed with the general pattern of ovogenesis observed for O-SP (vitellogenesis, ovulation, and recrudescence); however, this process was nonsynchronous between the two breeder groups. Plasma steroid levels showed significant variation during oogenesis, which agreed with the GSI, OG, and gonadal histology patterns. The level of E2 increased to a maximum value of 26.2 ng/mL and 36.0 ng/mL in O-SP and T-SP, respectively, one or two months before the spawning event where vitellogenesis was fully active. The V concentrations followed a pattern similar to those of E2.
Knowledge, skills and professional behaviours required by occupational therapist and physiotherapist beginning practitioners in work‐related practice: A systematic review
Authors: Adam Kerry , Peters Susan , Chipchase Lucy
Published: November 2012

Background/aim

Occupational therapists and physiotherapists have established roles in work‐related practice. However, there is limited information about the attributes required by these professions for competent practice in this field. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the research literature to determine the knowledge, skills and professional behaviours required by occupational therapists and physiotherapists, including new graduates, in work‐related practice.

Methods

A systematic search was conducted of standard databases using keywords and phrases. All types of studies and reports were included from empirical research to descriptive reports. Included literature was appraised by standard critical appraisal tools by two reviewers. Words, phrases or themes related to the attributes required for work practice were manually extracted and a meta‐synthesis conducted.

Results

Seven observational studies, six professional practice guidelines, one book chapter, one journal editorial and seven opinion pieces met the inclusion criteria. Observational studies and descriptive reports were low on the evidence hierarchy. Meta‐synthesis determined that key attributes required by occupational therapists and physiotherapists in work‐related practice were knowledge of injury prevention and management, skills in communication, and professional behaviours of self‐reflection and evaluation.

Conclusion

Findings from this systematic review provided credible evidence about attributes required by occupational therapists and physiotherapists but not including new graduates, in work‐related practice. However, due to low evidence levels findings will need to be applied with caution. More rigorous research is needed to evaluate occupational therapy and physiotherapy workplace interventions to guide practice and to assist occupational therapists and physiotherapists promote the effectiveness of their services.
Striking a pose: Transparency and position taking in the Council of the European Union
Authors: Cross James P.
Published: November 2012

In recent years, transparency (or the lack thereof) has become a central concern of the European Union and its attempts to increase the democratic legitimacy of the legislative decision‐making process. The claim regularly made is that increasing transparency increases the potential for holding decision makers to account. This study investigates the manner in which transparency in the decision‐making process affects the policy positions taken by negotiators at the outset of negotiations. The findings presented suggest that increasing transparency tends to lead to polarisation of negotiations, with negotiators taking more extreme positions when they know that their positions can be observed by outside parties. The implication of this result is that advocates of transparency should be aware that there is an inherent trade‐off between increasing transparency, on the one hand, and increasing the incentives to grandstand during negotiations, on the other.
Representing the acquisition and use of energy by individuals in agent‐based models of animal populations
Authors: Sibly Richard M. , Grimm Volker , Martin Benjamin T. , Johnston Alice S. A. , Kułakowska Katarzyna , Topping Christopher J. , Calow Peter , Nabe‐Nielsen Jacob , Thorbek Pernille , DeAngelis Donald L.
Published: November 2012

Agent‐based models (ABMs) are widely used to predict how populations respond to changing environments. As the availability of food varies in space and time, individuals should have their own energy budgets, but there is no consensus as to how these should be modelled. Here, we use knowledge of physiological ecology to identify major issues confronting the modeller and to make recommendations about how energy budgets for use inABMs should be constructed.

Our proposal is that modelled animals forage as necessary to supply their energy needs for maintenance, growth and reproduction. If there is sufficient energy intake, an animal allocates the energy obtained in the order: maintenance, growth, reproduction, energy storage, until its energy stores reach an optimal level. If there is a shortfall, the priorities for maintenance and growth/reproduction remain the same until reserves fall to a critical threshold below which all are allocated to maintenance. Rates of ingestion and allocation depend on body mass and temperature. We make suggestions for how each of these processes should be modelled mathematically.

Mortality rates vary with body mass and temperature according to known relationships, and these can be used to obtain estimates of background mortality rate.

If parameter values cannot be obtained directly, then values may provisionally be obtained by parameter borrowing, pattern‐oriented modelling, artificial evolution or from allometric equations.

The development ofABMs incorporating individual energy budgets is essential for realistic modelling of populations affected by food availability. SuchABMs are already being used to guide conservation planning of nature reserves and shell fisheries, to assess environmental impacts of building proposals including wind farms and highways and to assess the effects on nontarget organisms of chemicals for the control of agricultural pests.
The α5 Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Subunit Plays an Important Role in the Sedative Effects of Ethanol But Does Not Modulate Consumption in Mice
Authors: Santos Nathan , Chatterjee Susmita , Henry Andrea , Holgate Joan , Bartlett Selena E.
Published: November 2012

Background

Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are a major public health problem, and the few treatment options available to those seeking treatment offer only modest success rates. There remains a need to identify novel targets for the treatment of AUDs. The neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) represent a potential therapeutic target in the brain, as recent human genetic studies have implicated gene variants in the α5 nAChR subunit as high risk factors for developing alcohol dependence.

Methods

Here, we evaluate the role of the α5* nAChR for ethanol (EtOH)‐mediated behaviors using male α5+/+ and α5−/− transgenic mice. We characterized the effect of hypnotic doses of EtOH and investigated drinking behavior using an adapted drinking‐in‐the‐dark (DID) paradigm that has been shown to induce high EtOH consumption in mice.

Results

We found the α5 subunit to be important in mediating the sedative effects of EtOH. The α5−/− mice showed slower recovery from EtOH‐induced sleep, as measured by loss of righting reflex. Additionally, the α5−/− mice showed enhanced impairment to EtOH‐induced ataxia. We found the initial sensitivity to EtOH and EtOH metabolism to be similar in both α5+/+ and α5−/− mice. Hence, the enhanced sedation is likely due to a difference in the acute tolerance of EtOH in α5−/− mice. However, the α5 subunit did not play a role in EtOH consumption for EtOH concentrations ranging from 5 to 30% using the DID paradigm. Additionally, varenicline was effective in reducing EtOH intake in α5−/− mice.

Conclusions

Together, our data suggest that the α5 nAChR subunit is important for the sedative effects of EtOH but does not play a role in EtOH consumption in male mice. Varenicline can be a treatment option even when there is loss of function of the α5 nAChR subunit.
Stratified approaches to the treatment of asthma
Authors: Holgate Stephen T.
Published: November 2012

While asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder that is managed with inhaled controller and reliever drugs, there remains a large unmet need at the severe end of the disease spectrum. Here, a novel stratified approach to its treatment is reviewed, based upon identification of causal pathways, with a focus on biologics. A systematic search of the literature was made using Medline, and publications were selected on the basis of their relevance to the topic. Despite strong preclinical data for many of the more recently identified asthma targets, especially those relating to the T‐helper 2 allergic pathway, clinical trials with specific biologics in moderate to severe asthma as a group have been disappointing. However, subgroup analyses based upon pathway‐specific biomarkers suggest specific endotypes that are responsive. Application of hypothesis‐free analytical approaches (the ‘omics’) to well‐defined phenotypes is leading to the stratification of asthma along causal pathways. Refinement of this approach is likely to be the future for diagnosing and treating this group of diseases, as well as helping to define new causal pathways. The identification of responders and nonresponders to targeted asthma treatments provides a new way of looking at asthma diagnosis and management, especially with biologics that are costly. The identification of novel biomarkers linked to well‐phenotyped patients provides a stratified approach to disease management beyond simple disease severity and involving causal pathways. In order to achieve this effectively, a closer interaction will be required between industry (therapeutic and diagnostic), academia and health workers.
The tumour suppressor DiRas3 interacts with C‐RAF and downregulates MEK activity to restrict cell migration
Authors: Klingauf Mirko , Beck Matthias , Berge Ulrich , Turgay Yagmur , Heinzer Stephan , Horvath Peter , Kroschewski Ruth
Published: November 2012

Background information

The mitogenic pathway, composed of RAF kinases, mitogen‐activated protein kinase kinases (MEK) and extracellular signal‐regulated kinases (ERK), promotes cell proliferation and migration and is upregulated in many tumours. DiRas3 (ARHI, Noey2), a mainly GTP‐bound Ras‐like protein with an unusual N‐terminal extension, is predominantly lost in ovarian and breast cancers. Its re‐expression in these tissues impairs cell proliferation, autophagy, apoptosis and cell migration. Further, loss of DiRas3 correlates with an increase in growth factor‐induced ERK phosphorylation. Therefore, DIRAS3 proves to be a curious gene with remarkable tumour suppressing capabilities. However, how DiRas3 interferes with ERK phosphorylation, has remained unknown.

Results

We demonstrate that DiRas3 associates in vivo with C‐RAF and directly binds in vitro to C‐RAF, which is upstream of MEK and ERK. Direct binding of DiRas3 to C‐RAF is nucleotide independent, and DiRas3's N‐terminal extension alone is not sufficient for binding C‐RAF. DiRas3 expression inhibits the activating phosphorylations of MEK and ERK. Serum‐induced recruitment of DiRas3 to the plasma membrane depends mainly on its N‐terminal extension and less on its C‐terminus, bound nucleotide or the presence of Ras–GTP. Correspondingly, removal of the N‐terminal extension strongly decreases DiRas3's inhibition of MEK and ERK phosphorylations. Tyrosyl‐phosphatases do not contribute significantly to reduction of ERK‐phosphorylation byDiRas3. Consistently, downregulation of DiRas3 results in a small but significant and persistent increase in MEK and ERK phosphorylation, but does not increase phosphorylation of P38, AKT and c‐Jun NH2‐terminal kinase. Finally, downregulation of DiRas3 causes increased cell migration, through a mechanism that is MEK dependent.

Conclusions

These results support a model in which serum signals induce the recruitment of DiRas3 to the plasma membrane, where it is tethered via its N‐ and C‐termini. At the plasma membrane, DiRas3 interacts with C‐RAF to specifically suppress the activating phosphorylations on MEK and ERK, thus restricting migration of non‐cancer cells. This effect is relatively small, but it is also persistent, suggesting that it contributes to the maintenance of the non‐migratory phenotype of non‐cancerous tissues, in which DiRas3 is expressed.
Visual Narrative Structure
Authors: Cohn Neil
Published: November 2012

Narratives are an integral part of human expression. In the graphic form, they range from cave paintings to Egyptian hieroglyphics, from the Bayeux Tapestry to modern day comic books (Kunzle, 1973; McCloud, 1993). Yet not much research has addressed the structure and comprehension of narrative images, for example, how do people create meaning out of sequential images? This piece helps fill the gap by presenting a theory of Narrative Grammar. We describe the basic narrative categories and their relationship to a canonical narrative arc, followed by a discussion of complex structures that extend beyond the canonical schema. This demands that the canonical arc be reconsidered as a generative schema whereby any narrative category can be expanded into a node in a tree structure. Narrative “pacing” is interpreted as a reflection of various patterns of this embedding: conjunction, left‐branching trees, center‐embedded constituencies, and others. Following this, diagnostic methods are proposed for testing narrative categories and constituency. Finally, we outline the applicability of this theory beyond sequential images, such as to film and verbal discourse, and compare this theory with previous approaches to narrative and discourse.
Uric acid for diagnosis and risk stratification in suspected myocardial infarction
Authors: Wildi Karin , Haaf Philip , Reichlin Tobias , Acemoglu Resat , Schneider Jeannine , Balmelli Cathrin , Drexler Beatrice , Twerenbold Raphael , Mosimann Tamina , Reiter Miriam , Mueller Mira , Ernst Susanne , Ballarino Paola , Zellweger Christa , Moehring Berit , Vilaplana Carles , Freidank Heike , Mueller Christian
Published: November 2012

Background

Hypoxia precedes cardiomyocyte necrosis in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We therefore hypothesized that uric acid – as a marker of oxidative stress and hypoxia – might be useful in the early diagnosis and risk stratification of patients with suspected AMI.

Materials and methods

In this prospective observational study, uric acid was measured at presentation in 892 consecutive patients presenting to the emergency department with suspected AMI. The final diagnosis was adjudicated by two independent cardiologists. Patients were followed 24 months regarding mortality. Primary outcome was the diagnosis of AMI, secondary outcome was short‐ and long‐term mortality.

Results

Uric acid at presentation was higher in patients with AMI than in patients without (372 μM vs. 336 μM; P < 0·001). The diagnostic accuracy of uric acid for AMI as quantified by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0·60 (95%Cl 0·56–0·65). When added to cardiac troponin T (cTnT), uric acid significantly increased the AUC of cTnT from 0·89 (95%Cl 0·85–0·93) to 0·92 (95%Cl 0·89–0·95, P = 0·020 for comparison). Cumulative 24‐month mortality rates were 2·2% in the first, 5·4% in the second and the third and 15·6% in the fourth quartile of uric acid (P < 0·001 for log‐rank). Uric acid predicted 24‐month mortality independently. Adding uric acid to TIMI and GRACE risk score improved their prognostic accuracy as shown by an integrated discrimination improvement of 0·04 (P = 0·007) respective 0·02 (P = 0·021).

Conclusions

Uric acid, an inexpensive widely available biomarker, improves both the early diagnosis and risk stratification of patients with suspected AMI.
The Benefit of Educational Inclusiveness for Early School Leavers in the European Labour Market
Authors: van Alphen Stan
Published: November 2012

Previous research suggests that the ongoing educational expansion is a negative development for early school leavers (ESLrs) in the European labour market, since it increases the level and educational attainment of their competition, and in the worst case creates credential inflation. Findings from the 2005 cross‐sectional EU‐SILC data show, however, that the negative effect of early school leaving on income is reduced by educational inclusiveness at the country level. The explanation, it is said, is that educational expansion decreases the influence of a disadvantaged family background, which accounts for the net interacting effect of educational inclusiveness itself. Results from two‐level hierarchical analyses indicate that the influence of family background is indeed conditional upon the level of educational inclusiveness at country level. This is true for all but one of the indicators of family background included in this article.
The Education and Care Divide: the role of the early childhood workforce in 15 European countries
Authors: Van Laere Katrien , Peeters Jan , Vandenbroeck Michel
Published: November 2012

International reports on early childhood education and care tend to attach increasing importance to workforce profiles. Yet a study of 15 European countries reveals that large numbers of (assistant) staff remain invisible in most international reports. As part of the CoRe project (Competence Requirements in Early Childhood Education and Care) we conducted a cross‐national survey among experts in Belgium (Flemish‐ and French‐speaking communities), Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK (England and Wales). The survey explored professional and training profiles not only for formal ‘teaching’ staff, but also for the entire workforce, making visible the assistants who are often omitted from international reports. The proportion of assistant staff varies from a very small percentage in some European countries to half of the entire workforce in many others. Whereas job profiles for higher qualified staff often focus on ‘education’, profiles for assistants typically focus on ‘care’. Consequently a divide between care and education can be observed, both in split systems and in integrated systems. In these cases, the concept of ‘education’ may be narrowed down to schoolified learning and ‘care’ may be regarded as subordinate to education. In several cases, assistants also have less entitlement to ongoing professionalisation than educational staff. Consequences of the findings for practice as well as policy are discussed.
Optimizing treatment for Parkinson's disease
Authors: Schapira A. H. V. , Tan E. K.
Published: November 2012

Click here to view the accompanying paper in this issue.
Predator Generalization Decreases the Effect of Introduced Predators in the San Marcos Salamander, Eurycea nana
Authors: Davis Drew R. , Epp Kristen J. , Gabor Caitlin R.
Published: November 2012

The introduction of novel predators into an environment can have detrimental consequences on prey species, especially if these species lack the ability to recognize these predators. One such species that may be negatively affected by introduced predators is the federally threatened San Marcos salamander (Eurycea nana). Previous research found that predator‐naïve (captive‐hatched) salamanders showed decreased activity in response to the chemical cues of both a native fish predator (Micropterus salmoides) and an introduced fish predator (Lepomis auritus), but not to a non‐predatory fish (Gambusia geiseri). We tested the hypothesis that E. nana recognized the introduced Lepomis (and other non‐native Lepomis) because they share chemical cues with other native congeneric Lepomis predators in the San Marcos River. We examined the antipredator response of predator‐naïve E. nana to chemical cues from (1) a sympatric native sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus; Perciformes: Centrarchidae); (2) a sympatric introduced sunfish (L. auritus); (3) an allopatric sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus); (4) a sympatric non‐native, non‐centrarchid cichlid (Herichthys cyanoguttatum; Perciformes: Cichlidae); and (5) a blank water control to determine whether individuals make generalizations about novel predators within a genus and across a family. Exposure to chemical cues from all fish predator treatments caused a reduction in salamander activity (antipredator response). Additionally, there were no differences in the antipredator responses to each predatory fish treatment. The similar responses to all sunfish treatments indicate that E. nana shows predator generalization in response to novel predators that are similar to recognized predators. Additionally, the antipredator response to H. cyanoguttatum indicates that predator generalization can occur among perciform families.
A Quantitative Index of Sociality and Its Application to Group‐Living Spiders and Other Social Organisms
Authors: Avilés Leticia , Harwood Gyan
Published: November 2012

Species are often classified in discrete categories, such as solitary, subsocial, social and eusocial based on broad qualitative features of their social systems. Often, however, species fall between categories or species within a category may differ from one another in ways that beg for a quantitative measure of their sociality level. Here, we propose such a quantitative measure in the form of an index that is based on three fundamental features of a social system: (1) the fraction of the life cycle that individuals remain in their social group, (2) the proportion of nests in a population that contain multiple vs. solitary individuals and (3) the proportion of adult members of a group that do not reproduce, but contribute to communal activities. These are measures that should be quantifiable in most social systems, with the first two reflecting the tendencies of individuals to live in groups as a result of philopatry, grouping tendencies and intraspecific tolerance, and the third potentially reflecting the tendencies of individuals to exhibit reproductive altruism. We argue that this index can serve not only as a way of ranking species along a sociality scale, but also as a means of determining how level of sociality correlates with other aspects of the biology of a group of organisms. We illustrate the calculation of this index for the cooperative social spiders and theAfrican mole‐rats and use it to analyse how sex ratios and interfemale spacing correlate with level of sociality in spider species in the genusAnelosimus.
The pseudophosphatase MK‐STYX inhibits stress granule assembly independently of Ser149 phosphorylation of G3BP‐1
Authors: Barr Justinn E. , Munyikwa Michelle R. , Frazier Elizabeth A. , Hinton Shantá D.
Published: November 2012

The pseudophosphatase MK‐STYX (mitogen‐activated protein kinase phosphoserine/threonine/tyrosine‐binding protein) has been implicated in the stress response pathway. The expression of MK‐STYX inhibits the assembly of stress granules, which are cytoplasmic storage sites for mRNA that form as a protective mechanism against stressors such as heat shock, UV irradiation and hypoxia. Furthermore, MK‐STYX interacts with a key component of stress granules: G3BP‐1 (Ras‐GTPase activating protein SH3 domain binding protein‐1). Because G3BP‐1 dephosphorylation at Ser149 induces stress granule assembly, we initially hypothesized that the inhibition of stress granules by MK‐STYX was G3BP‐1 phosphorylation‐dependent. However, in the present study, using MK‐STYX constructs and G3BP‐1 phosphomimetic or nonphosphorylatable mutants, we show that MK‐STYX inhibits stress granule formation independently of G3BP‐1 phosphorylation at Ser149. The introduction of point mutations at the ‘active site’ of MK‐STYX that convert serine and phenylalanine to histidine and cysteine, respectively, is sufficient to generate an active enzyme. In separate experiments, we show that this active mutant, MK‐STYXactive, has opposite effects to wild‐type MK‐STYK. Not only does MK‐STYXactive induce stress granules, but also it has the capacity to dephosphorylate G3BP‐1. Taken together, these results provide evidence that the pseudophosphatase MK‐STYX plays a key role in the cellular response to stress.
Efficient Hedge Fund Strategy Allocations – Systematic Framework for Investors that Incorporates Higher Moments
Authors: Kaiser Dieter G. , Schweizer Denis , Wu Lue
Published: November 2012

In this paper, we provide a realistic framework that investors can use to optimize hedge fund portfolio strategy allocations. Our approach includes important aspects that investors need to address in the real world, such as how limited resources can restrict the ability to conduct multiple due diligences. Additionally, our approach is not based on a utility function, but on an easily quantifiable preference parameter, lambda. We need to account for higher moments of the return distribution within our optimization and approximate a best‐fit distribution. Thus we replace the empirical return distributions, which are often skewed or exhibit excess kurtosis, with two normal distributions. We then use the estimated return distributions in the strategy optimization. Our dataset comes from the Lipper TASS Hedge Fund Database and covers the June 1996‐December 2008 time period. Our results show in‐ and out‐of‐sample that our framework yields superior results to the Markowitz framework. It is also better able to manage regime switches, which tend to occur frequently during crises. Lastly, to test our results for stability, we use robustness tests, which allow for the time‐varying correlation structures of the strategies.
Healthcare burden of in‐hospital gout
Authors: Lee G. , Roberts L.
Published: November 2012

The disease burden of inpatient gout has not been reported. Using a discharge diagnosis database and individual case record review, 77 patients who developed acute gout complicating a hospital admission for another reason were identified between January 2001 and April 2010 at The Townsville Hospital. A control group of 28 301 cases with identical principal diagnoses were similarly ascertained, along with a subgroup of 231 cases matched for age, gender and ethnicity. Patients with an admission complicated by acute gout stayed 6 days longer in hospital than matched control patients (9 days vs 3 days, P = 0.0005) with the same principal diagnoses and demographics. Patients with an attack of gout were more likely to be older, male or indigenous. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment may help to reduce the healthcare costs of this overlooked disease.
Parties, Unions and Activation Strategies: The Context-Dependent Politics of Active Labour Market Policy Spending
Authors: Tepe Markus , Vanhuysse Pieter
Published: November 2012

This article explores the diverging roles of left-wing parties and trade unions in determining active labour market programme (ALMP) spending. We argue that unions today increasingly take into account the distinct re-employability worries of their members. Rather than as a labour market outsider programme, unions now consider ALMPs, especially those sub-programmes most directly useful to their members, as their second-best or first-best feasible priority. Specifically, in countries where high job protection levels (the first-best goal) have not been achieved, more powerful unions will promote ALMP spending as an alternative way to offer their members some measure of labour market security. We test these arguments on a sample of twenty OECD countries between 1986 and 2005. Using a new measure of leftness, we find that left-wing party power has no effect on ALMP spending generally and a negative effect on job creation spending. By contrast, larger and more strike-prone unions are associated with higher ALMP spending overall, and specifically on those programmes most benefiting their members: employment assistance and labour market training. Moreover, union strategies are context dependent. More powerful unions push for more activation spending, especially in labour markets where jobs are not yet well protected.
Losing the Issue, Losing the Vote: Issue Competition and the Reform of Unemployment Insurance in Germany and Sweden
Authors: Davidsson Johan Bo , Marx Paul
Published: November 2012

Welfare state research tends to assume strong and enduring public support for welfare state institutions. We challenge this assumption and show that in times of economic crisis, positive welfare state attitudes are confronted with conflicting preferences for improvement of labour market performance. We argue that such movements in public opinion have led to issue competition among major political parties and subsequent radical reform of unemployment insurance in two least-likely cases. In both Germany and Sweden, incumbent governments were losing voters' confidence as a result of high and persistent unemployment. In Germany, the social democratic government saw falling competence ratings at the same time as the issue of unemployment was highly salient among voters. In order to win back confidence, the party shifted its policy stance and introduced reforms which reshaped the unemployment insurance system. In Sweden, the situation was similar with falling ratings for the social democratic government and high levels of salience for the issue of unemployment among voters. When the government did not introduce reforms, the opposition moved in and won issue ownership, and subsequently the election, on an agenda of radical reform.
Designing Public Space for Mobility: Contestation, Negotiation and Experiment at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Authors: Nikolaeva Anna
Published: November 2012

The paper investigates airport design, using the example of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, from the point of view of managers, architects and designers. It is argued that existing accounts of the airport as a space of transit as well as a place for shopping and entertainment have underrated the complexity and interdependency of the interests at stake in the airport design, as well the value of an airport terminal as an urban design exercise. This is particularly relevant in the discussion of the transformation of spaces of mobility, such as airports or railway stations, into multifunctional public spaces and may also be valid for urban spaces where mobilities are becoming increasingly important. The paper analyses the challenges and opportunities that arise in such design situations, tracing the recent transformations of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol from the perspective of professionals who have played a key role in this process.
Do Mobile Lives Have a Future?
Authors: Urry John
Published: November 2012

This paper shows how oil has been central to the mobile civilisation that developed around the world during the twentieth century. Various aspects of this oil civilisation are examined, including the development of centres of high carbon living such asDubai. This paper explores the probable peaking of oil and its problematic consequences. It is shown how this has already had major economic and social consequences. New forms of indebtedness were directed to new kinds of property purchaser and the parcelling up of these debts into new financial packages. From the 1980s onwards many newAmerican suburbs were built distant from city centres but rising oil prices led to the collapse of the mortgages of those living in oil‐dependent suburbs and finance during 2007‐8 onwards. Some writers consider whether a more generalised ‘peaking’ is now occurring at least in the global north, of oil, gas, food and water.
Donating and Volunteering as Social Capital in Bogotá
Authors: TOCA TORRES CLAUDIA EUGENIA , RODRÍGUEZ JESÚS CARRILLO
Published: November 2012

While the term social capital has been in existence since 1835, it only became popular at the end of the twentieth century, with the emergence of the associational revolution and the appearance of the third sector. Since then, non‐governmental organisations (NGOs), volunteering, philanthropic financing and solidarity organisations have all shaped a common discourse. From a social capital perspective, and on the basis of a social survey, this article investigates the determinants of solidarity and participation in NGOs in Bogotá, Colombia. We conclude that the expression of social capital in Bogotá is made manifest through donations and volunteering, factors which should be considered in fundraising activities.
The ice/bed interface mosaic: deforming spots intervening with stable areas under the fringe of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet at Sampława, Poland
Authors: Tylmann Karol , Piotrowski Jan A. , Wysota Wojciech
Published: November 2012

The glacial sediment succession exposed close to the southern margin of the Late Weichselian Scandinavian Ice Sheet in Poland reveals a mosaic consisting of isolated patches of heavily deformed deposits separated by areas lacking any visible evidence of deformation. In the studied outcrop, the subglacial deforming spots composed of outwash deposits intercalated with till stringers are about 2–10 m wide and 20–60 cm thick. They rest on outwash sediments and are covered by a basal till. Based on structural and textural characteristics, the deforming spots are interpreted as previous R‐channels filled with meltwater deposits. Lack of deformation in outwash sediment immediately beneath the deforming spots and in the intervening areas between the channels suggests that the ice‐bed was frozen and the deformation of the channel infill was facilitated by high pore‐water pressure arising because water drainage into the bed was impeded by permafrost. Channel infill deposits and the till immediately above were coevally deformed to a strain of less than 9. This study documents the possible co‐existence of deforming and stable areas under an ice sheet, generated by spatially varying thermal and hydrological conditions affecting sediment rheology.
Fire Mosaics and Reptile Conservation in a Fire‐Prone Region
Authors: NIMMO D. G. , KELLY L. T. , SPENCE‐BAILEY L. M. , WATSON S. J. , TAYLOR R. S. , CLARKE M. F. , BENNETT A. F.
Published: November 2012

Fire influences the distribution of fauna in terrestrial biomes throughout the world. Use of fire to achieve a mosaic of vegetation in different stages of succession after burning (i.e., patch‐mosaic burning) is a dominant conservation practice in many regions. Despite this, knowledge of how the spatial attributes of vegetation mosaics created by fire affect fauna is extremely scarce, and it is unclear what kind of mosaic land managers should aim to achieve. We selected 28 landscapes (each 12.6 km2) that varied in the spatial extent and diversity of vegetation succession after fire in a 104,000 km2 area in the semiarid region of southeastern Australia. We surveyed for reptiles at 280 sites nested within the 28 landscapes. The landscape‐level occurrence of 9 of the 22 species modeled was associated with the spatial extent of vegetation age classes created by fire. Biogeographic context and the extent of a vegetation type influenced 7 and 4 species, respectively. No species were associated with the diversity of vegetation ages within a landscape. Negative relations between reptile occurrence and both extent of recently burned vegetation (≤10 years postfire, n = 6) and long unburned vegetation (>35 years postfire, n = 4) suggested that a coarse‐grained mosaic of areas (e.g. >1000 ha) of midsuccessional vegetation (11–35 years postfire) may support the fire‐sensitive reptile species we modeled. This age class coincides with a peak in spinifex cover, a keystone structure for reptiles in semiarid and arid Australia. Maintaining over the long term a coarse‐grained mosaic of large areas of midsuccessional vegetation in mallee ecosystems will need to be balanced against the short‐term negative effects of large fires on many reptile species and a documented preference by species from other taxonomic groups, particularly birds, for older vegetation.

Mosaicos de Fuego y la Conservación de Reptiles en una Región Propensa al Fuego
Poaching Risks in Community‐Based Natural Resource Management
Authors: KAHLER JESSICA S. , ROLOFF GARY J. , GORE MEREDITH L.
Published: November 2012

Poaching can disrupt wildlife‐management efforts in community‐based natural resource management systems. Monitoring, estimating, and acquiring data on poaching is difficult. We used local‐stakeholder knowledge and poaching records to rank and map the risk of poaching incidents in 2 areas where natural resources are managed by community members in Caprivi, Namibia. We mapped local stakeholder perceptions of the risk of poaching, risk of wildlife damage to livelihoods, and wildlife distribution and compared these maps with spatially explicit records of poaching events. Recorded poaching events and stakeholder perceptions of where poaching occurred were not spatially correlated. However, the locations of documented poaching events were spatially correlated with areas that stakeholders perceived wildlife as a threat to their livelihoods. This result suggests poaching occurred in response to wildlife damage occurred. Local stakeholders thought that wildlife populations were at high risk of being poached and that poaching occurred where there was abundant wildlife. These findings suggest stakeholders were concerned about wildlife resources in their community and indicate a need for integrated and continued monitoring of poaching activities and further interventions at the wildlife‐agricultural interface. Involving stakeholders in the assessment of poaching risks promotes their participation in local conservation efforts, a central tenet of community‐based management. We considered stakeholders poaching informants, rather than suspects, and our technique was spatially explicit. Different strategies to reduce poaching are likely needed in different areas. For example, interventions that reduce human‐wildlife conflict may be required in residential areas, and increased and targeted patrolling may be required in more remote areas. Stakeholder‐generated maps of human‐wildlife interactions may be a valuable enforcement and intervention support tool.

Riesgos de Cacería Furtiva en el Manejo de Recursos Naturales Basado en Comunidades
Disentangling Mathematics Target and Access Skills: Implications for Accommodation Assignment Practices
Authors: Ketterlin–Geller Leanne R. , Jamgochian Elisa M. , Nelson–Walker Nancy J. , Geller Joshua P.
Published: November 2012

Appropriate assignment of accommodations is predicated on a clear distinction between target skills and access skills. In this study, we examine the agreement between test developer/researchers’ and educators’ classification of target and access skills as a possible explanatory mechanism for assigning accommodations. Findings indicate that participants with expertise in mathematics education had the highest agreement when classifying target skills, as evidenced by a higher overall sensitivity value and the greatest number of items with the highest sensitivity value. Conversely, special education faculty members had the highest overall agreement when classifying access skills, as evidenced by a higher overall specificity value. Mathematicians, however, had the highest sensitivity values for the greatest number of items. Implications for accommodation assignment practices are discussed.
Asset Fire Sales and Purchases and the International Transmission of Funding Shocks
Authors: JOTIKASTHIRA CHOTIBHAK , LUNDBLAD CHRISTIAN , RAMADORAI TARUN
Published: November 2012

We identify a new channel for the transmission of shocks across international markets. Investor flows to funds domiciled in developed markets force significant changes in these funds' emerging market portfolio allocations. These forced trades or “fire sales” affect emerging market equity prices, correlations, and betas, and are related to but distinct from effects arising purely from fund holdings or from overlapping ownership of emerging markets in fund portfolios. A simple model and calibration exercise highlight the importance to these findings of “push” effects from funds' domicile countries and “co‐ownership spillover” between markets with overlapping fund ownership.
On the Life Cycle Dynamics of Venture‐Capital‐ and Non‐Venture‐Capital‐Financed Firms
Authors: PURI MANJU , ZARUTSKIE REBECCA
Published: November 2012

We use data over 25 years to understand the life cycle dynamics of VC‐ and non‐VC‐financed firms. We find successful and failed VC‐financed firms achieve larger scale but are not more profitable at exit than matched non‐VC‐financed firms. Cumulative failure rates of VC‐financed firms are lower, with the difference driven largely by lower failure rates in the initial years after receiving VC. Our results are not driven by VCs disguising failures as acquisitions or by certain types of VCs. The performance difference between VC‐ and non‐VC‐financed firms narrows in the post‐internet bubble years, but does not disappear.
Alternate Paths to Power? Women's Political Representation in Nicaragua
Authors: Hinojosa Magda , Gurdián Ana Vijil
Published: November 2012

Political alternate positions (otherwise known as substitutes) can have important effects on women's abilities to enter politics. Using the case of Nicaragua, this study assesses whether these alternate positions are being used to increase women's political representation or as a tool to undermine women's advancement into positions of power. By examining patterns of women's representation as candidates in the 1996, 2001, and 2006 elections for the National Assembly and as elected officeholders (as both alternates for those assembly members and titleholders), the article analyzes how various political parties are utilizing these alternate positions. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, this study finds no evidence that these alternate positions are used to undermine women's political progress.
Detection of Cerebral Hyperperfusion Syndrome after Carotid Endarterectomy with CT Perfusion
Authors: Schoknecht Karl , Gabi Szendro , Ifergane Gal , Friedman Alon , Shelef Ilan
Published: November 2012

We present the case of a 60‐year‐old female patient, who developed symptomatic internal carotid artery stenosis and subsequently underwent carotid endarterectomy. Four days after an uneventful surgery the patient developed confusion, seizures, and was admitted to the ICU. CT perfusion revealed reduced ispilateral time‐to‐peak and mean‐transient‐time and increased cerebral blood volume and cerebral blood flow, confirming the diagnosis of cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome. We thus propose CT perfusion as a diagnostic means for cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome, a syndrome that remains underdiagnosed.
Regulation of Toll‐like receptor signaling pathways in innate immune responses
Authors: Qian Cheng , Cao Xuetao
Published: November 2012

Toll‐like receptors (TLRs) are critical pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) that recognize pathogen‐associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), which are conserved and specific molecular “signatures” expressed by pathogens. TLR ligation triggers distinct but shared signaling pathways that lead to effector mechanisms in innate immune responses. TLR specificity and activation are strictly and finely tuned at multiple levels of various signal transduction pathways, resulting in complex signaling platforms. Many molecules, ranging from membrane and cytosol to nuclear, contribute to TLR ligand discrimination or receptor signaling and play different roles in the regulation of TLR responses via different mechanisms, such as cross‐regulation, protein modification, helper cofactors, and posttranscriptional and epigenetic regulation. Herein, we summarize the most recent literature that provides new insight into regulation of TLR signaling‐triggered innate immune responses. A greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying the control of TLR signaling may provide new targets for therapeutic intervention for infections and inflammatory diseases.