bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Globicatella sanguinis Osteomyelitis and Bacteremia: Review of an Emerging Human Pathogen with an Expanding Spectrum of Disease
Authors: Miller Andy O. , Buckwalter Seanne P. , Henry Michael W. , Wu Fann , Maloney Katherine F. , Abraham Bisrat K. , Hartman Barry J. , Brause Barry D. , Whittier Susan , Walsh Thomas J. , Schuetz Audrey N.
Published: February 2017

Background

Globicatella sanguinis is an uncommon pathogen that may be misdiagnosed as viridans group streptococci. We review the literature of Globicatella and report 2 clinical cases in which catalase-negative Gram-positive cocci resembling viridans group streptococci with elevated minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) to ceftriaxone were inconsistently identified phenotypically, with further molecular characterization and ultimate identification of G sanguinis.

Methods

Two clinical strains (from 2 obese women; 1 with a prosthetic hip infection and the other with bacteremia) were analyzed with standard identification methods, followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry, 16S recombinant ribonucleic acid (rRNA), and sodA polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The existing medical literature on Globicatella also was reviewed.

Results

Standard phenotypic methods failed to consistently identify the isolates. 16S PCR yielded sequences that confirmed Globicatella species. sodA sequencing provided species-level identification of G sanguinis. The review of literature reveals G sanguinis as an increasingly reported cause of infections of the urine, meninges, and blood. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of an orthopedic infection caused by Globicatella sanguinis. A review of the 37 known cases of G sanguinis infection revealed that 83% of patients are female, and 89% are at the extremes of age (<5 or >65 years).

Conclusions

Globicatella sanguinis, an uncommon pathogen with elevated minimum inhibitory concentrations to third-generation cephalosporins, is difficult to identify by phenotypic methods and typically causes infections in females at the extremes of age. It may colonize skin or mucosal surfaces. Advanced molecular techniques utilizing 16S rRNA with sodA PCR accurately identify G sanguinis.
“Neutral and niche dynamics in a synthetic microbial community”
Authors: Cira NJ , Pearce MT , Quake SR
Published: February 2017

Ecologists debate the relative importance of niche versus neutral processes in understanding biodiversity1,2. This debate is especially pertinent to microbial communities, which play crucial roles in biogeochemical cycling3,4, food production5, industrial processes6,7, and human health and disease8. Here we created a synthetic microbial community using heritable genetic barcodes and tracked community composition over time across a range of experimental conditions. We show that a transition exists between the neutral and niche regimes, and, consistent with theory, the crossover point depends on factors including immigration, fitness, and population size. We find that diversity declined most rapidly at intermediate population sizes, which can be explained by a tradeoff between replacement by migration and duration of growth. We then ran an experiment where the community underwent abrupt or gradual changes in size, the outcome of which highlights that selecting the correct model is essential to managing diversity. Taken together these results emphasize the importance of including niche effects to obtain realistic models across a wide range of parameters, even in simple systems.
Structure of a pentamanganese(II)–phenoxide cluster with a central five-coordinate oxide: MnII
5(μ-OPh)6(μ3-OPh)2(μ5-O)(Py)6·Py (Py is pyridine)
Authors: Hamilton Clifton R. , Zdilla Michael J.
Published: February 2017

Polynuclear metal clusters frequently feature geometric structural features not common in traditional coordination chemistry. These structures are of particular interest to bioinorganic chemists studying metallocluster enzymes, which frequently possess remarkably unusual inorganic structures. The structure of the manganese cluster μ5-oxido-di-μ3-phenoxido-hexa-μ-phenoxido-hexakis(pyridine-κN)hexamanganese(II) pyridine monosolvate, [Mn5(C6H5O)8O(C5H5N)6]·C5H5N or MnII
5(μ-OPh)6(μ3-OPh)2(μ5-O)(Py)6·Py, containing an unusual trigonal bipyramidal central oxide, is described. The compound was isolated from a reaction mixture containing bis(trimethylsilylamido)manganese(II) and phenol. The central O atom is presumed to have originated as adventitious water. The molecule crystalizes in a primitive monoclinic crystal system and is presented in the centrosymetric P2/n space group. The molecule possesses crystallographically imposed twofold symmetry, with the central O atom centred on the twofold axis and surrounded by a distorted trigonal bipyramidal arrangement of Mn atoms, which are further bridged by phenoxide ligands, and terminally ligated by pyridine. A pyridine solvent molecule resides nearby, also situated on a crystallographic twofold axis. The cluster is compared to three closely related previously reported structures.
Crystal structure of a fluorescent C-shaped molecule containing closely stacked bithiophene-substituted quinoxaline rings
Authors: Wickham Laura M. , Tanski Joseph M. , Nadeau Jocelyn M.
Published: February 2017

Molecules with well-defined structures that feature closely stacked aromatic rings are important for understanding π–π interactions. A previously reported C-shaped molecule with bithiophene-substituted quinoxaline rings suspended from an aliphatic bridge that holds the aromatic rings in close proximity exists as a pair of syn and anti diastereomers. The anti isomer, namely (1α,2β,4β,5α,16α,17β,19β,20α)-1,5,16,20-tetrachloro-31,31,32,32-tetramethoxy-11,26-bis[5-(thiophen-2-yl)thiophen-2-yl]-7,14,22,29-tetraazanonacyclo[18.10.1.15,16.02,19.04,17.06,15.08,13.021,30.023,28]dotriaconta-6(15),7,9,11,13,21(30),22,24,26,28-decaene chloroform monosolvate, C48H36Cl4N4O4S4·CHCl3, whose X-ray structure is described herein, has cofacial quinoxaline rings with bithiophene rings attached on opposite sides. The molecular structure is approximately C-shaped and consists of an aliphatic spacer with a boat-shaped cyclohexane ring in the middle. The centroid-to-centroid distance between the quinoxaline rings is 3.950 (1) Å, with ring-offset distances of 0.354 (3) and 0.816 (2) Å. The pendant bithiophene rings are oriented parallel to one another, which results from the thiophene rings connected to the quinoxaline rings being oriented such that their S atoms are rotated inward toward one another, but are not overlapped. Intermolecular packing is largely governed by van der Waals forces and a few weak C—H...X (X = N or O) interactions.
Improving the customer experience through consistency and effective service delivery in the United Kingdom public house sector
Authors: Andrews David , Turner Simon
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to ask if customer experiences in public houses (pubs) go wrong because of poor initial and subsequent training for front-line staff, while questioning if enough is being made of employee engagement and socialization as a means to improve consistency within the pub service encounter.

Design/methodology/approach

The study applies a critical review of the literature with a focus on the initial and subsequent training of front-line employees in the context of managed and entrepreneur-led pub-retailing operations.

Findings

The delivery and impact of a well-designed initial training programme may not only enhance long-term employee engagement and loyalty, but also provide competitive advantage for pub-retail operations through a more consistent service delivery. The paper questions the suitability of the approach currently being adopted within the sector and suggests that change is needed in order to ensure the longer-term survival of pub-retail businesses.

Practical implications

Can reliable and consistent customer experiences be delivered without a more progressive approach to the initial training and engagement of front-line employees?

Originality/value

While the importance of initial and subsequent training is widely accepted, the potential for its poor delivery has an almost predictable impact on many customer experiences. The paper recommends a review of the methods used by managed house and entrepreneurial (tenanted and leasehold) pub-retailing businesses to enhance employee socialization, engagement and loyalty to fuel the sector’s drive to generate greater competitive advantage.
All that glitters isn’t gold
Authors: Perrin Joy M. , Yang Le , Barba Shelley , Winkler Heidi
Published: February 2017

Purpose

Digital collection assessment has focused mainly on evaluating systems, metadata and usability. While use evaluation is discussed in the literature, there are no standard criteria and methods for how to perform assessment on use effectively. This paper asserts that use statistics have complexities that prohibit meaningful interpretation and assessment. The authors aim to discover the problems inherent in the assessment of digital collection use statistics and propose solutions to address such issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper identifies and demonstrates five inherent problems with use statistics that need to be addressed when doing assessment for digital collections using the statistics of assessment tools on local digital repositories. The authors then propose solutions to resolve the problems that present themselves upon such analysis.

Findings

The authors identified five problems with digital collection use statistics. Problem one is the difficulty of distinguishing different kinds of internet traffic. Problem two is the lack of direct correlation of a digital item to its multiple URLs, so statistics from external web analytics tools are not ideal. Problem three is the analytics tools’ inherent bias in statistics that are counted only in the positive way. Problem four is the different interaction between digital collections with search engine indexing. Problem five is the evaluator’s bias toward simple growing statistics over time for surmising a positive use assessment. Because of these problems, statistics on digital collections do not properly measure a digital library’s value.

Practical implications

Findings highlight problems with current use measures and offer improvements.

Originality/value

This paper identifies five problems that need to be addressed before a meaningful assessment of digital collection use statistics can take place. The paper ends with a call for evaluators to try to solve or mitigate the stated problems for their digital collections in their own evaluations.
Developmental factors and drug use in young offenders
Authors: Madden Adele , Ireland Carol A.
Published: February 2017

Purpose

Young offenders are known to have more chaotic experiences in childhood than non-offenders, and this impacts on their attachments, coping styles and early maladaptive schemas (EMS). The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between these factors and drug use.

Design/methodology/approach

This study used self-report questionnaires on a sample of 105 incarcerated young offenders.

Findings

Attachment styles did not differentiate drug users from non-drug users. Drug users were found to be no more likely than non-drug users to use avoidant coping styles. However, they were more likely to have emotional coping styles. Drug users had more EMS, and overall, those with insecure attachments had more EMS. Individuals with emotional coping styles scored higher than those with rational coping styles on several EMS. Those with emotional coping styles scored lower on the emotional inhibition EMS than those with rational coping styles.

Practical implications

The evidence presented has implications for the understanding of drug use in young offenders by: providing support to the model proposed by Young et al. (2003) regarding how insecure attachments can contribute to EMS; providing support for Crittenden’s (2008) model of attachment whereby problematic behaviours such as drug use can be a strategy the individual uses to protect themselves at times of threat or discomfort; highlighting the need for an integrated model of substance use in offenders which incorporates early experiences, attachments and EMS; and highlighting why substance use may become a coping strategy in young offenders and how to engage them to meet their needs in pro-social ways.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the understanding of attachment, coping and drug use in a young offender population. It sets foundations in the authors’ understanding of patterns of EMS in young drug users and highlights the need for an integrated model of substance use which incorporates early experiences, attachments and EMS.
Exploring the belief systems of domestic abuse victims: an exploratory study
Authors: Spruin Elizabeth , Baker Ria , Papadaki Ioanna , Franz Anke , Alleyne Emma
Published: February 2017

Purpose

Support service provisions for domestic abuse victims have typically focussed on the immediate risk and etiological factors associated with abuse. Consequently, there is limited research exploring more persistent and pervasive factors involved in this cycle of abuse, such as subjective experiences and beliefs held by victims of domestic abuse. The purpose of this paper is to preliminary explore individual experience of domestic abuse including the belief systems of participants. Increasing our understanding of key factors and beliefs in the experience of domestic abuse could enable support services to create more long-term sustainable support for victims.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 12 women with a history of domestic abuse participated in an exploratory interview about their general beliefs and thoughts surrounding their domestic abuse experience. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis.

Findings

The thematic analysis identified four belief themes: personal responsibility, antisocial attitudes, environmental factors and negative attitudes towards police.

Practical implications

The paper highlights the value of understanding subjective, personalized experiences and beliefs of domestic abuse victims; identifies the importance of belief systems as potential treatment targets for domestic abuse victims; and acknowledges an avenue for more effective support provision for victims of domestic abuse.

Originality/value

This preliminary study offers new insights into the role of belief systems amongst a sample of domestically abused women. Understanding the significance of personalized, subjective experiences of domestic abuse victims is a step towards designing and implementing effective interventions. The findings further emphasize the need for more empirical research and theory development within the area of beliefs and domestic abuse victims.
The entrepreneurial university: an exploration of “value-creation” in a non-management department
Authors: Madichie Nnamdi O. , Gbadamosi Ayantunji
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the strategies undertaken by “entrepreneurial” universities to leverage their bottom-line especially in response to withdrawals of public funding. Internationalisation has been the most prominent from setting-up overseas branch campuses to aggressive recruitment drives for international students, and more recently, the launch of new programmes to attract a wider market.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a documentary analysis, this study explores the future of curriculum development in entrepreneurial universities, using narratives around an “unconventional course” launch as a case illustration.

Findings

The findings reveal an interesting interaction of innovation, opportunity recognition, risk taking and pro-activeness at play within a university environment. The study also highlights how instructors have, in the past, based their syllabi on celebrities – from the Georgetown University to the University of South Carolina, University of Missouri and Rutgers University cutting across departments from English through sociology to Women’s and Gender Studies.

Practical implications

Overall this study captures the relationship between hip-hop artistry and poetry, as well as meeting the demands of society – societal impacts – not the least, bringing “street cred” into the classroom.

Social implications

The case illustration of a course launch at the University of Missouri linking hip-hop artists to curriculum development and pedagogy, opens up the discourse on the future trajectory of teaching and learning in higher education, with its attendant social implications – not the least for life after graduation.

Originality/value

This study provides fresh insights into the entrepreneurial potential of universities in co-branded/marketing activities with the hip-hop industry.
Researchers as enablers of commercialization at an entrepreneurial university
Authors: Berggren Eva
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore and visualize alternative ways – how and by whom – that academic research can come into commercial use.

Design/methodology/approach

This study in the Swedish context investigates one entrepreneurial university, Chalmers University of Technology. In total, 18 interviews were conducted about researchers’ views on commercialization and on how research comes into commercial use.

Findings

Five propositions are advocated in relation to researchers’ role as enablers of others’ commercialization. The concept of “need for utilization” is introduced as the critical explanation for researchers’ readiness to transfer knowledge mainly via alumni to established companies.

Practical implications

This study suggests that both universities and policy should acknowledge alternative ways of commercialization of academic research instead of putting all efforts on trying to transform unwilling academic researchers into entrepreneurs. One alternative is to foster ongoing contacts between researchers and alumni, who make commercial use of academic research in established firms.

Originality/value

This study furthers the knowledge about researchers’ individual motivation for commercialization, as driven by a “need for utilization.” By showing how researchers enable others commercialization, this study broadens the prevailing focus on researchers’ formation of university spin-offs as the essential output from entrepreneurial universities. The results also contribute to understanding the role of alumni in knowledge transfer to existing industry.
Expanding entrepreneurship education ecosystems
Authors: Belitski Maksim , Heron Keith
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The creation of start-ups using knowledge provided by universities has been identified as an important source of knowledge spillover and regional economic development. Entrepreneurship ecosystems in education have become the most important and efficient mechanism of business community engagement and knowledge transfer within university-industry-government framework creating value to society and regional economy. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This study undertakes in-depth synthesis of eclectic literature on entrepreneurship ecosystems and knowledge spillover of entrepreneurship, examining the critical success factors and enablers of entrepreneurship ecosystems in education.

Findings

This study proposes entrepreneurship education ecosystems as an alternative unit of analysis when it comes to considering the role of university-industry-government collaboration in knowledge commercialization. The authors recommend key entrepreneurship education ecosystem enablers for knowledge commercialization and engagement with entrepreneurial communities.

Originality/value

The authors propose a framework for the creation of an entrepreneurship education ecosystem as a unit of analysis when considering the role of university-industry-government collaboration. It requires different approaches to teaching, research and business outreach, some of which have not yet been discovered or yet need to be created.
Analyzing external environment factors affecting social enterprise development
Authors: Medina Munro Michelle , Belanger Charles
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how factors in the external environment affect social enterprise (SE) development in Canada. With the decline in government funding for non-profit organizations, SE development is gaining greater traction. SEs are businesses and can be analyzed with methods similar to those for traditional businesses. Just as the external environment is important for assessing the success of businesses, in this study, the authors examine the external environment related to SEs.

Design/methodology/approach

In this statistical analysis, the authors compared 62 factors across 33 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) in Canada while treating SE revenue as the dependent variable. Links between the dependent variable and the external environment were analyzed through correlation and regression tests. Publicly available revenue figures for non-profit SEs by CMAs were compared with a selection of external environment factors, including demographic information and health indicators, also organized by CMA, as published by Statistics Canada.

Findings

The analysis demonstrated that three of the factors displayed significant positive correlation and one resulted in a predictive value. Positive correlations were discovered between SE revenue per capita and three of the variables: university education, perceived health, very good or excellent and no religious affiliation. Only university education was found to have predictive value.

Originality/value

This study is the first to compare SE revenue and the external environment across Canada’s CMAs. The results show that factors in the external environment create conditions more conducive to SE development.
Tell me your financing and I tell you who you are
Authors: Margarian Anne
Published: February 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to identify criteria for the better targeting of public funding for private social activities and organizations. As a starting point, it proposes that financing strategies can characterize organizations which are positioned on a for-profit/non-profit continuum. The paper then analyses how far the effectiveness of public support systems depends on recipients’ general financing strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is based on data from a standardized small-scale survey. The analysis applies latent class analysis for the creation of a meaningful organizational dimension and applies them in an ordered logistic regression.

Findings

Despite their variety along a for-profit/non-profit continuum, organizations in the sample can be described by three meaningful dimensions, and the focal role of organizations’ financing strategies can be confirmed. Repeated project-based public support might create a harmful dependence on this kind of funds. To be effective, it needs to be targeted at nascent socially effective organizations with non-solvent clients.

Practical implications

Recognition of different financing strategies as meaningful characteristics of organizations with consequences for their long-term development is of direct practical relevance for a better design and targeting of financing systems in general and public support systems in particular.

Originality/value

Although the focal relevance of financing for the characterization of (social) organizations has been stressed before, the paper is able to operationalize the idea and to demonstrate its value in an application to the evaluation of project based support.
Functional and phylogenetic structure of island bird communities
Authors: Si Xingfeng , Cadotte Marc W. , Zeng Di , Baselga Andrés , Zhao Yuhao , Li Jiaqi , Wu Yiru , Wang Siyu , Ding Ping
Published: February 2017

Biodiversity change in anthropogenically transformed habitats is often nonrandom, yet the nature and importance of the different mechanisms shaping community structure are unclear. Here, we extend the classic Theory of Island Biogeography (TIB) to account for nonrandom processes by incorporating species traits and phylogenetic relationships into a study of faunal relaxation following habitat loss and fragmentation.

Two possible mechanisms can create nonrandom community patterns on fragment islands. First, small and isolated islands might consist of similar or closely related species because they are environmentally homogeneous or select for certain shared traits, such as dispersal ability. Alternatively, communities on small islands might contain more dissimilar or distantly related species than on large islands because limited space and resource availability result in greater competitive exclusion among species with high niche overlap.

Breeding birds were surveyed on 36 islands and two mainland sites annually from 2010 to 2014 in the Thousand Island Lake region, China. We assessed community structure of breeding birds on these subtropical land‐bridge islands by integrating species’ trait and evolutionary distances. We additionally analysed habitat heterogeneity and variance in size ratios to distinguish biotic and abiotic processes of community assembly.

Results showed that functional–phylogenetic diversity increased with island area, and decreased with isolation. Bird communities on the mainland were more diverse and generally less clustered than island bird communities and not different than randomly assembled communities. Bird communities on islands tend to be functionally similar and phylogenetically clustered, especially on small and isolated islands.

The nonrandom decline in species diversity and change in bird community structure with island area and isolation, along with the relatively homogeneous habitats on small islands, support the environmental filtering hypothesis. Our study demonstrates the importance of integrating multiple forms of diversity for understanding the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation, and further reveals that TIB could be extended to community measures by moving beyond assumptions of species equivalency in colonisation rates and extinction susceptibilities.
Suppressing competitive dominants and community restoration with native parasitic plants using the hemiparasitic Rhinanthus alectorolophus and the dominant grass Calamagrostis epigejos
Authors: Těšitel Jakub , Mládek Jan , Horník Jan , Těšitelová Tamara , Adamec Vojtěch , Tichý Lubomír
Published: February 2017

Dominance of native or alien competitive plants causes competitive exclusion of subordinate species and represents a major mechanism reducing biodiversity following land‐use changes. The successful competitive strategies may, however, be interfered with by parasitic plants, which withdraw resources from other plants' vasculature. Parasitism may strongly reduce the growth of the dominants, which may facilitate regeneration of other species and consequently trigger restoration of natural communities of high diversity.

Here, we aim to provide robust empirical evidence demonstrating this restoration potential of parasitic plants. We present a case study testing suppressive effects of hemiparasitic Rhinanthus alectorolophus on competitive grass Calamagrostis epigejos. In recent decades, C. epigejos has invaded many high‐nature‐value semi‐natural grasslands of Central Europe, which is one of the prominent factors causing their biodiversity decline.

We conducted three manipulative field experiments testing the effect of sowing of R. alectorolophus in different vegetation types infested by C. epigejos. Rhinanthus sowing was compared to different mowing treatments recommended as the ‘best practice’ management at respective sites.

Rhinanthus alectorolophus established itself in most C. epigejos‐dominated plots where sown. Calamagrostis epigejos was virtually exterminated in 2 years in two of the experiments (dry meadow and industrial area). In the wet‐meadow experiment, the suppressive effect was variable as a result of uneven establishment success of Rhinanthus. In this experiment increased mowing intensity had an additional suppressive effect on C. epigejos. Rhinanthus also increased regeneration potential of other species by a temporary reduction of vegetation density. Restoration of target vegetation composition was, however, dependent on community context.

Synthesis and applications. We demonstrated that hemiparasitic Rhinanthus alectorolophus is an accessible and efficient tool for targeted biological control of Calamagrostis epigejos, with a great potential to restore infested grassland vegetation. The strong effect of Rhinanthus is caused by interference with the underground storage and clonal growth strategy of Calamagrostis epigejos, which are both traits that underlie its competitive ability. The potential of native parasitic plants should be considered in restoration management of sites infested by competitive dominants, either alien or native.
Abiotic and biotic drivers of biomass change in a Neotropical forest
Authors: van der Sande Masha T. , Peña‐Claros Marielos , Ascarrunz Nataly , Arets Eric J. M. M. , Licona Juan Carlos , Toledo Marisol , Poorter Lourens
Published: February 2017

Tropical forests play an important role in the global carbon cycle, but the drivers of net forest biomass change (i.e. net carbon sequestration) are poorly understood. Here, we evaluate how abiotic factors (soil conditions and disturbance) and biotic factors (forest structure, diversity and community trait composition) shape three important demographic processes (biomass recruitment, growth and mortality) and how these underlie net biomass change.

To test this, we evaluated 9 years of biomass dynamics using 48 1‐ha plots in a Bolivian tropical moist forest, and measured for the most abundant species eight functional traits that are important for plant carbon gain and loss. Demographic processes were related to the abiotic and biotic factors using structural equation models.

Variation in net biomass change across plots was mostly due to stand‐level mortality, but mortality itself could not be predicted at this scale. Contrary to expectations, we found that species richness and trait composition – which is an indicator for the mass‐ratio theory – had little effect on the demographic processes. Biomass recruitment (i.e. the biomass growth by recruiting trees) increased with higher resource availability (i.e. water and light) and with high species richness, probably because of increased resource use efficiency. Biomass growth of larger, established trees increased with higher sand content, which may facilitate root growth of larger trees to deeper soil layers.

In sum, diversity and mass‐ratio are of limited importance for the productivity of this forest. Instead, in this moist tropical forest with a marked dry season, demographic processes are most strongly determined by soil texture, soil water availability and forest structure. Only by simultaneously evaluating multiple abiotic and biotic drivers of demographic processes, better insights can be gained into mechanisms playing a role in the carbon sequestration potential of tropical forests and natural systems in general.
Salmonella Inactivation During Extrusion of an Oat Flour Model Food
Authors: Anderson Nathan M. , Keller Susanne E. , Mishra Niharika , Pickens Shannon , Gradl Dana , Hartter Tim , Rokey Galen , Dohl Christopher , Plattner Brian , Chirtel Stuart , Grasso‐Kelley Elizabeth M.
Published: February 2017

Little research exists on Salmonella inactivation during extrusion processing, yet many outbreaks associated with low water activity foods since 2006 were linked to extruded foods. The aim of this research was to study Salmonella inactivation during extrusion of a model cereal product. Oat flour was inoculated with Salmonella enterica serovar Agona, an outbreak strain isolated from puffed cereals, and processed using a single‐screw extruder at a feed rate of 75 kg/h and a screw speed of 500 rpm. Extrudate samples were collected from the barrel outlet in sterile bags and immediately cooled in an ice–water bath. Populations were determined using standard plate count methods or a modified most probable number when populations were low. Reductions in population were determined and analyzed using a general linear model. The regression model obtained for the response surface tested was Log (NR/NO) = 20.50 + 0.82T − 141.16aw – 0.0039T2 + 87.91aw2 (R2 = 0.69). The model showed significant (p < 0.05) linear and quadratic effects of aw and temperature and enabled an assessment of critical control parameters. Reductions of 0.67 ± 0.14 to 7.34 ± 0.02 log CFU/g were observed over ranges of aw (0.72 to 0.96) and temperature (65 to 100 °C) tested. Processing conditions above 82 °C and 0.89 aw achieved on average greater than a 5‐log reduction of Salmonella. Results indicate that extrusion is an effective means for reducing Salmonella as most processes commonly employed to produce cereals and other low water activity foods exceed these parameters. Thus, contamination of an extruded food product would most likely occur postprocessing as a result of environmental contamination or through the addition of coatings and flavorings.
Mapping out p38MAPK
Authors: Bonney Elizabeth A.
Published: February 2017

To generate new hypotheses, sometimes a “systems” approach is needed. In this review, I focus on the mitogen‐activated kinase p38 because it has been recently shown to play an important role in the developmental programing and senescence of normal and stressed reproductive tissues. What follows is an overview of (i) pathways of p38 activation and their involvement in basic biological processes, (ii) evidence that p38 is involved in the homeostasis of reproductive tissues, (iii) how focus on p38 can be incorporated into investigation of normal and stressed pregnancies. Existence of excellent reviews will be mentioned as well as relevant animal models.
Formula for Uncertainty
Authors: Lee Tim
Published: February 2017

How LEAs are measuring and allocating resources for special educational needs varies widely. Yet their formulae for doing so are likely to make the difference between enabling pupils with special needs to progress in their learning and, conversely, reducing the support they may need. Tim Lee, research fellow, Centre for the Analysis of Social Policy, Bath University, reports on the latest surveys of LEAs' funding policies.
Research Supplement
Authors: Sheldon Diana
Published: February 2017

From 1972 to 1985 the author was the teacher‐in‐charge of a primary school unit for children with special educational needs. She undertook an investigation of ex‐pupils of the unit for her thesis towards an M.Phil. degree from Manchester University. Here she deals with secondary schooling; other topics treated in the thesis (Sheldon, 1989) include further education, employment, social life and leisure interests.
Putting Pupils’ Needs First
Authors: Cooper Paul , Upton Graham
Published: February 2017

Paul Cooper, Department of Educational Studies, Oxford University, and Professor Graham Upton, School of Education, Birmingham University, discuss recent developments in the education of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The aim is to draw attention to the value of consultative and cooperative approaches to these problems and the tension between these approaches and the contrary pressures created by educational policy in England and Wales. They argue that the needs of pupils who present emotional and behavioural difficulties are in danger of being neglected, as they are squeezed between confusions and compromises which abound as a result of recent policy changes and divergent attitudes towards their needs.
The Children Act: A Challenge for All
Authors: Russell Philippa
Published: February 2017

The Children Act 1989 comes into force next month. Earlier, in the March 1990 issue of the journal, Philippa Russell, director of the Voluntary Council for Handicapped Children, summarised sections of the Act most relevant to children with special educational needs. In this article she looks more closely at issues to do with assessment, independent residential schools and child protection in the light of the guidance which the Department of Health is issuing on the Act.
Post‐16: Proposals and Issues
Authors: Hutchinson David
Published: February 2017

The recently published White Paper, Education and Training for the 21st Century, is the prelude to new laws which are likely to change the course of post‐16 education and training. It is essential that all who work with young people who have special educational needs are aware of the proposals and the issues which arise so that they can respond to the draft legislation due later this autumn. David Hutchinson, a senior manager in a college of further education and also a founder member and vice chairman of Skill, the National Bureau for Students with Disabilities, summarises aspects of the White Paper, some reactions to it and recommendations which Skill wants the government to take into account when the Bill is being drafted.
UNION–FIRM BARGAINING AGENDA REVISITED: WHEN UNIONS HAVE DISTINCT PREFERENCES
Authors: Fanti Luciano , Buccella Domenico
Published: February 2017

In this paper we revisit the issue of the scope of bargaining between firms and unions by considering a more general union's utility function with distinct preferences and sequential negotiations. First, we compare exogenously given labour market institutions; i.e., right‐to‐manage (RTM) and sequential efficient bargaining (SEB). We show that the conventional wisdom, which states that firms always prefer RTM, no longer holds. In fact, when unions are adequately wage aggressive and have strong enough bargaining power, firms may prefer SEB negotiations; however, firms switch their preference to RTM when unions are very strong. Moreover, we show that a conflict of interest between the parties may emerge when unions are sufficiently employment oriented as well as sufficiently wage aggressive and not too strong or too weak in bargaining. Second, we analyse the endogenous choice of the bargaining agenda. We show that a rich plethora of equilibria may occur and new situations of conflict/agreement of interests between the bargaining parties arise in particular when unions are sufficiently wage‐aggressive.
Individual Differences in Prototypical Moral and Conventional Judgments and Children's Proactive and Reactive Aggression
Authors: Jambon Marc , Smetana Judith G.
Published: February 2017

This article examined links between 4‐ and 6‐year‐olds’ (n = 101; Mage = 5.12 years, SD = 0.67; 53% male) ability to distinguish moral and conventional transgressions along different criteria and teacher ratings of proactive and reactive aggression. Latent difference score modeling revealed that moral transgressions were judged more unacceptable and wrong independent of rules and authority than conventional violations, but significant variability in moral–conventional distinctions was also observed. Proactive aggression was associated with less—and reactive aggression was associated with greater—differentiation in moral and conventional concepts. Proactive aggression was not associated with deficits in moral knowledge when other common assessments of early moral understanding were employed, highlighting the importance of using theoretically informed measures of moral judgments and aggression.
Risk factors for hospitalization of children with congenital adrenal hyperplasia
Authors: Yang Ming , White Perrin C.
Published: February 2017

Background and objectives

Patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) owing to 21‐hydroxylase deficiency are prone to potentially life‐threatening adrenal crises. We tried to identify risk factors for postdiagnosis hospitalization for children with the salt‐wasting form of CAH.

Methods

We reviewed medical records of all children who presented to Children's Medical Center, Dallas, from 1999 to 2013 with CAH (ICD‐9 code 255·2).

Results

Five hundred and twenty‐two unique patients were coded for ICD‐9 code of 255·2 (CAH) from 1999 to 2013; 155 patients had salt‐wasting disease. Fifty‐five patients were hospitalized a total of 105 times. Patients who were hospitalized were more likely to have noncommercial insurance (RR = 1·8; 95% CI [1·1–2·8]; P = 0·02); this included five patients hospitalized a total of 37 times. Children younger than 2 years (RR = 3·3 [2·2–4·8]; P < 0·0001) were more likely to be hospitalized. In a nested case–control analysis, the risk of hospitalization was correlated with daily fludrocortisone dose (P ≤ 0·0001) but not hydrocortisone dose; no outpatient laboratory test predicted hospitalization. Gastroenteritis was the most frequent admitting diagnosis.

Conclusions

Younger children may be at greater risk of hospitalization owing to increased susceptibility to viral infections and decreased ability to withstand stress and dehydration. A minority of patients with noncommercial insurance may have higher risk owing to social barriers that interfere with treatment compliance. Those requiring higher daily fludrocortisone dosages likely have inherently more severe disease leading to higher rates of hospitalization.
Morphological characterization of infra‐generic lineages in Deparia (Athyriaceae: Polypodiales)
Authors: Kuo Li‐Yaung , Ebihara Atsushi , Kato Masahiro , Rouhan Germinal , Ranker Tom A. , Wang Chun‐Neng , Chiou Wen‐Liang
Published: February 2017

Deparia, including the previously recognized genera Lunathyrium, Dryoathyrium (=Parathyrium), Athyriopsis, Triblemma, and Dictyodroma, is a fern genus comprising about 70 species in Athyriaceae. In this study, we inferred a robust Deparia phylogeny based on a comprehensive taxon sampling (~81% of species) that captures the morphological diversity displayed in the genus. All Deparia species formed a highly supported monophyletic group. Within Deparia, seven major clades were identified, and most of them were characterized by inferring synapomorphies using 14 morphological characters including leaf architecture, petiole base, rhizome type, soral characters, spore perine, and leaf indument. These results provided the morphological basis for an infra‐generic taxonomic revision of Deparia.
SUICIDE AND THE SOCIAL SECURITY EARLY RETIREMENT AGE
Authors: DeSimone Jeffrey
Published: February 2017

Using a regression discontinuity framework, this paper documents a previously unnoticed drop of 7%–8% in the U.S. suicide rate upon reaching age 62 during 1990–2014. This decline is concentrated among men, nearly doubled in size over the most recent decade as the income gap between those just older and younger narrowed, and represents the only trend break among ages 45–79. These findings, along with the observed timing of retirement and benefit claims and research on how income affects suicide, suggest that the likely explanation is Social Security early retirement benefit eligibility rather than retirement per se. (JEL I12, H55)
Apical left ventricular myocardial dysfunction is an early feature of cardiac involvement in myotonic dystrophy type 1
Authors: Garcia Rodrigue , Labarre Quentin , Degand Bruno , Ingrand Pierre , Le Gal François , Bonnet Benjamin , Delaubier Anne , Guillou Claire , Gellen Barnabas , Coisne Damien , Bouleti Claire , Christiaens Luc
Published: February 2017

Introduction

Left ventricular (LV) dysfunction is a major prognostic determinant in myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1). Therefore, markers of early‐stage LV impairment may be useful. The aim of this study was to evaluate 2D echocardiographic LV strain in a cohort of DM1 patients with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and to compare the results with matched controls.

Methods

This prospective single‐center study included 33 consecutive DM1 patients between February 2014 and February 2015. Mean age was 38.2±12.9 years, and 17 (52%) were males. Exclusion criteria were LVEF <55%, QRS >120 milliseconds, history of atrial fibrillation, and presence of a pacemaker with ventricular pacing. DM1 patients were matched to healthy controls according to sex and age.

Results

DM1 patients showed significant impairment of global longitudinal strain (GLS) as compared to controls (−18.0±1.9 vs −19.1±2.4; P=.03), characterized by a marked alteration at the apex (−20.0±3.3 vs −22.7±3.1; P<.001). DM1 patients had also global radial strain impairment (20.0±9.8 vs 27.5±14.9; P=.024) compared to controls while global circumferential strain was not statistically different between groups (P=.94). Intra‐ and inter‐observer analysis showed good reproducibility of GLS.

Conclusion

Despite preserved LVEF, DM1 patients exhibited significantly altered LV GLS, particularly at the apex, as compared with controls. The detection of impaired myocardial deformation at early stages of the disease might help to screen high‐risk patients who need closer follow‐up.
Medial temporal lobe atrophy is the norm in cerebrovascular dementias
Authors: Kalaria R. N. , Ihara M.
Published: February 2017

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Detection of earthworm prey by RuffPhilomachus pugnax
Authors: Onrust Jeroen , Loonstra A. H. Jelle , Schmaltz Lucie E. , Verkuil Yvonne I. , Hooijmeijer Jos C. E. W. , Piersma Theunis
Published: February 2017

RuffPhilomachus pugnaxstaging in the Netherlands forage in agricultural grasslands, where they mainly eat earthworms (Lumbricidae). Food intake and the surface availability of earthworms were studied in dairy farmland of southwest Friesland in March–April 2011. Daily changes in earthworm availability were quantified by counting visible earthworms. No earthworms were seen on the surface during daytime, but their numbers sharply increased after sunset and remained high during the night. Nevertheless, intake rates of individual Ruff in different grasslands measured during daytime showed the typical Holling typeIIfunctional response relationship with the surfacing earthworm densities measured at night. Radiotagging of Ruff in spring 2007 revealed that most, if not all, feeding occurs during the day, with the Ruff assembling at shoreline roosts at night. This raises the question of why Ruff do not feed at night, if prey can be caught more easily than during daytime. In March–May 2013 we experimentally examined the visual and auditory sensory modalities used by Ruff to find and capture earthworms. Five males were kept in an indoor aviary and we recorded them individually foraging on trays with 10 earthworms mixed with soil under various standardized light and white noise conditions. The number of earthworms discovered and eaten by Ruff increased with light level, but only when white noise was played, suggesting that although they can detect earthworms by sight, Ruff also use auditory cues. We suggest that although surfacing numbers of earthworms are highest during the night, diurnal intake rates are probably sufficient to avoid nocturnal foraging on a resource that is more available but perhaps less detectable at that time.
Density of quaternary glasses in the MgO‐CaO‐Al2O3‐SiO2‐system—modeling vs measurement
Authors: Veit Ulrike , Rüssel Christian
Published: February 2017

The densities of quaternary glass‐forming systems within the CaO‐MgO‐Al2O3‐SiO2‐composition (CMAS) were evaluated. Their compositions differed not more than 5 mol% for each component from each other. After melting, the exact chemical compositions were measured using X‐ray fluorescence and the densities were determined by Archimedes method and pycnometry. This property and its dependency upon small variations in the composition is the main focus of this paper. The density values were between 2.617 and 2.700 g/cm³ and the packing density factors Vp of the oxide glasses using the ionic radii of Pauling ranged from 0.562 to 0.574. The experimentally determined data were compared to different model calculations. Calculations performed according to empirical formulae given in the literature showed relative deviations between −5 and 12% to the experimental values. The effect of MgO was also studied by comparing the glasses with similar compositions (Ceram Int, 2016;42:5810–5822 ) without any MgO.