bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Theological Developments in the Non-European World, 1500–1800
Authors: Hsia Ronnie Po-chia
Published: October 2015

Theological developments in the non-European early modern world, including Mesoamerica, India, China, and Japan, are examined in four sections. First, this paper analyzes the theme of overseas missions in the confessional polemics between Protestants and Catholics, and the disagreements between Pietists and orthodox within the Lutheran Church on the sending of missionaries. It then examines the problem of language and conversion, including the Chinese Rites controversy, and surveys the ways in which theological terms and the Bible were translated in different missionary territories. Finally, it focuses on the impact of non-European missions on developments in sacramental theology and ecclesiology, which would eventually challenge the Eurocentric and sacerdotal visions of global Catholicism.
Noncombatant Immunity and War-Profiteering
Authors: Bazargan Saba
Published: October 2015

The principle of noncombatant immunity prohibits warring parties from intentionally targeting noncombatants. I explicate the moral version of this view and its criticisms by reductive individualists; they argue that certain civilians on the unjust side are morally liable to be lethally targeted to forestall substantial contributions to that war. I then argue that reductivists are mistaken in thinking that causally contributing to an unjust war is a necessary condition for moral liability. Certain noncontributing civilians—notably, war-profiteers—can be morally liable to be lethally targeted. Thus, the principle of noncombatant immunity is mistaken as a moral (though not necessarily as a legal) doctrine, not just because some civilians contribute substantially, but because some unjustly enriched civilians culpably fail to discharge their restitutionary duties to those whose victimization made the unjust enrichment possible. Consequently, the moral criterion for lethal liability in war is even broader than reductive individualists have argued.
Small Intestinal Angioectasias Are Not Randomly Distributed in the Small Bowel and Most May Be Reached by Push Enteroscopy
Authors: Plotkin Eileen , Imaeda Avlin
Published: October 2015

Goals:

The goal was to describe the location of angioectasias within small bowel on capsule endoscopy and the utility of push enteroscopy versus deep enteroscopy in treatment of overt bleeding from these.

Background:

Overt bleeding from small bowel angioectasias is a clinical challenge. Thalidomide and octreotide can be difficult to prescribe and may not be effective. Endoscopy remains a mainstay of treatment for overt bleeding from angioectasias but data regarding the long-term efficacy of endoscopic therapy are limited. We sought to define the location of small bowel angioectasias using capsule endoscopy and review our outcomes for push and double-balloon enteroscopy.

Methods:

We retrospectively reviewed all 428 capsule endoscopy studies from the Veterans Administration Hospital in West Haven, CT from 2005 to 2012. Location of angioectasias was evaluated using lead mapping and small bowel transit time.

Results:

We identified 69 patients with small bowel angioectasia. At least 66.8% of lesions were in duodenum or ligament of Treitz, with 78.3% within the first 25% of small bowel transit. Twenty-four patients underwent endoscopic treatment of overt bleeding from small bowel angioectasias. Thirty-three percent rebled requiring multiple procedures. Eight patients had 10 anterograde double-balloon examinations. Only 2 patients had both cessation of bleeding with double balloon and lesions outside the reach of push enteroscopy.

Conclusions:

Push enteroscopy for bleeding angioectasias is effective in many patients. Deep enteroscopy may not benefit most patients as most angioectasias are proximal. Patients with deeper lesions tended to have multiple lesions and rebleeding despite deep enteroscopy.
Iron and Vitamin D Deficiency in Healthy Young Children in Western Europe Despite Current Nutritional Recommendations
Authors: Akkermans Marjolijn D. , van der Horst‐Graat Judith M. , Eussen Simone R.B.M. , van Goudoever Johannes B. , Brus Frank
Published: October 2015

Background and aim:

Iron deficiency (ID) and vitamin D deficiency (VDD) are the 2 most common micronutrient deficiencies in young children worldwide and may lead to impaired neurodevelopment and rickets, respectively. Risk factors for ID and VDD differ between populations. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for ID and VDD in 12‐ to 36‐month‐old children in Western Europe.

Methods:

This study took place in Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom from 2012 to 2014. A venous blood sample was taken to establish iron and vitamin D status. ID was defined as serum ferritin <12 μg/L in the absence of infection (high sensitivity C‐reactive protein <10 mg/L). VDD was defined as serum 25‐hydroxyvitamin D <50 nmol/L (20 ng/mL). Furthermore, parents were asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding their child's demographic‐ and socioeconomic characteristics, food intake, sun exposure, and medical history.

Results:

In 325 children (white race 95%, boys 56%, mean age 20.7 months) the overall prevalence of ID and VDD was 11.8% and 22.8%, respectively. The use of primarily cow's milk as major type of milk was associated with ID (odds ratio [OR] 3.20, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.12–8.53) and VDD (OR 7.17, 95% CI 3.10–16.57). The use of vitamin D supplements (OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.07–0.56) was associated with a lower prevalence of VDD.

Conclusion:

Despite current nutritional recommendations, ID and VDD are common in healthy young white children. Health programs focusing on adequate iron and vitamin D intake at an early age should be implemented to prevent deficiencies.
Resolution of Hepatic Artery Thrombosis in 2 Pediatric Liver Transplant Patients
Authors: Banc‐Husu Anna M. , Anupindi Sudha A. , Lin Henry C.
Published: October 2015

Hepatic artery thrombosis (HAT) is a serious complication after liver transplantation. This is the first report of spontaneous resolution of HAT in pediatric liver transplant patients on low molecular weight heparin therapy. A total of 2 patients, a 26‐month‐old boy who presented with acute liver failure and required emergent liver transplantation and a 15‐year‐old boy with ulcerative colitis and autoimmune hepatitis‐primary sclerosing cholangitis overlap underwent liver transplantation for progressive cirrhosis; both developed HAT during the postoperative period. They were both treated with low molecular weight heparin. Follow‐up imaging for both patients showed resolution of HAT without evidence of collateral flow.
Hierarchical Compression ofC. elegansLocomotion Reveals Phenotypic Differences in the Organisation of Behaviour
Authors: Gomez-Marin Alex , Stephens Greg J. , Brown André E.X.
Published: October 2015

Regularities in animal behaviour offer insight into the underlying organisational and functional principles of nervous systems and automated tracking provides the opportunity to extract features of behaviour directly from large-scale video data. Yet how to effectively analyse such behavioural data remains an open question. Here we explore whether a minimum description length principle can be exploited to identify meaningful behaviours and phenotypes. We apply a dictionary compression algorithm to behavioural sequences from the nematode wormCaenorhabditis elegansfreely crawling on an agar plate both with and without food and during chemotaxis. We find that the motifs identified by the compression algorithm are rare but relevant for comparisons between worms in different environments, suggesting that hierarchical compression can be a useful step in behaviour analysis. We also use compressibility as a new quantitative phenotype and find that the behaviour of wild-isolated strains ofC. elegansis more compressible than that of the laboratory strain N2 as well as the majority of mutant strains examined. Importantly, in distinction to more conventional phenotypes such as overall motor activity or aggregation behaviour, the increased compressibility of wild isolates is not explained by the loss of function of the genenpr-1, which suggests that erratic locomotion is a laboratory-derived trait with a novel genetic basis. Because hierarchical compression can be applied to any sequence, we anticipate that compressibility can offer insight into the organisation of behaviour in other animals including humans.
Tailored multivariate analysis for modulated enhanced diffraction
Authors: Caliandro Rocco , Guccione Pietro , Nico Giovanni , Tutuncu Goknur , Hanson Jonathan C.
Published: October 2015

Modulated enhanced diffraction (MED) is a technique allowing the dynamic structural characterization of crystalline materials subjected to an external stimulus, which is particularly suited forin situandoperandostructural investigations at synchrotron sources. Contributions from the (active) part of the crystal system that varies synchronously with the stimulus can be extracted by an offline analysis, which can only be applied in the case of periodic stimuli and linear system responses. In this paper a new decomposition approach based on multivariate analysis is proposed. The standard principal component analysis (PCA) is adapted to treat MED data: specific figures of merit based on their scores and loadings are found, and the directions of the principal components obtained by PCA are modified to maximize such figures of merit. As a result, a general method to decompose MED data, called optimum constrained components rotation (OCCR), is developed, which produces very precise results on simulated data, even in the case of nonperiodic stimuli and/or nonlinear responses. The multivariate analysis approach is able to supply in one shot both the diffraction pattern related to the active atoms (through the OCCR loadings) and the time dependence of the system response (through the OCCR scores). When applied to real data, OCCR was able to supply only the latter information, as the former was hindered by changes in abundances of different crystal phases, which occurred besides structural variations in the specific case considered. To develop a decomposition procedure able to cope with this combined effect represents the next challenge in MED analysis.
X-ray total scattering investigation of Al0.57Sn0.43O1.71nanoparticles
Authors: Yavuz Murat , Knapp Michael , Indris Sylvio , Hinterstein Manuel , Donner Wolfgang , Ehrenberg Helmut
Published: October 2015

X-ray pair distribution function (PDF) analysis of Al0.57Sn0.43O1.71, a promising candidate as anode material for Li ion batteries, has been carried out using synchrotron radiation at 60 keV. The average and short-range ordering of nanocrystalline Al0.57Sn0.43O1.71was investigated both with the traditional Rietveld refinement method and with X-ray PDF analysis. The instrumental parameters of the high-resolution powder diffraction beamline P02.1, Petra III, have been characterized. Reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) refinements based on PDF data indicate that Al substitution induces local distortions around the Al/Sn atoms and that oxygen vacancies, induced by the Al substitution, are mostly located on an anion site around the Al atoms. Additionally, RMC refinements hint at a clustering of Al atoms.
Crystallographic Tool Box(CrysTBox): automated tools for transmission electron microscopists and crystallographers
Authors: Klinger Miloslav , Jäger Aleš
Published: October 2015

Three tools for an automated analysis of electron diffraction pattern and crystallographic visualization are presented. Firstly,diffractGUIdetermines the zone axis from selected area diffraction, convergent beam diffraction or nanodiffraction patterns and allows for indexing of individual reflections. Secondly,ringGUIidentifies crystallographic planes corresponding to the depicted rings in the ring diffraction pattern and can select the sample material from a list of candidates. BothdiffractGUIandringGUIemploy methods of computer vision for a fast, robust and accurate analysis. Thirdly,cellVieweris an intuitive visualization tool which is also helpful for crystallographic calculations or educational purposes.diffractGUIandcellViewercan be used together during a transmission electron microscopy session to determine the sample holder tilts required to reach a desired zone axis. All the tools offer a graphical user interface. The toolbox is distributed as a standalone application, so it can be installed on the microscope computer and launched directly fromDigitalMicrograph(Gatan Inc.).
The status of entrepreneurship education in Australian universities
Authors: Maritz Alex , Jones Colin , Shwetzer Claudia
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide an analytical overview of the current state of entrepreneurship education (EE) in Australia; placing emphasis on programs, curricula and entrepreneurship ecosystems.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors performed a contextual review of the literature by delineating entrepreneurship education programs, the entrepreneurial ecosystem and EE learning and teaching. The review was enhanced by a systematic collection of data from higher education institutions web sites, depicting the prevailing situation of entrepreneurship programs, courses, subjects and their ecosystems.

Findings

– A number of interesting findings emerged from this study. From a curricular perspective, Australian universities offer 584 subjects related to entrepreneurship. This includes dominance at undergraduate level, representing 24 minors/majors and specializations in entrepreneurship. In total, 135 entrepreneurship ecosystems were identified.

Research limitations/implications

– This paper presents findings from university web sites and as such requires introspection to validate individual university offerings.

Practical implications

– The study provides the status of EE in Australia, and may guide academic and policy decision makers to further develop entrepreneurship initiatives.

Originality/value

– This paper provides the first analytical overview of EE in Australia and paves the way for further evaluation.
DesUni: university entrepreneurship education through design thinking
Authors: Nielsen Suna Løwe , Stovang Pia
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– In recent years there has been growing focus on the innovative and profit generating value of design thinking in a businesses. This attention is also reflected in business education. The basic thesis is that design thinking is particular relavant to entrepreneurship education. The purpose of this paper is to propose a teaching model, named the DesUni model. The model suggests a novel design-oriented approach to entrepreneurship education.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper relies on the interfaces between the literatures on entrepreneurship education and design thinking. From reviewing and synthesizing these literatures new insights are offered into how to develop entrepreneurship education through design thinking.

Findings

– The DesUni teaching model offers a significant shift in paradigm changing the traditional didactic assumptions of entrepreneurship education. It involves a change in curriculum, teaching methods, use of knowledge, teaching style, teacher-student relations, culture, habitat and assessment.

Originality/value

– The DesUni teaching model offers a unique way to form an entrepreneurship curriculum. This curriculum bridges the discovering of the present with what might be in the future along with that students are collaborating with different stakeholders.
Firm self-service technology readiness
Authors: Ramaseshan B. , Kingshott Russel Philip , Stein Alisha
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– Technological advances and new business models have contributed to the usage of self-service technology (SST) by firms. As SST continues to create organizational efficiencies, firms have jumped on the bandwagon without considering their own readiness to use SST. To date, there has been no systematic attempt to develop a valid scale of firm SST readiness and assess its influence on firm performance. The purpose of this paper is to present and validate a multidimensional firm SST readiness scale.

Design/methodology/approach

– A series of studies was conducted for the development and validation of the firm SST readiness scale. Study 1 included generating items from semi-structured interviews with managers and an extensive literature review. Study 2 comprised item reduction and identifying the dimensionality of the scale through exploratory factor analysis (n=177 participants from service organizations). The reliability and validity of the scale were tested in Study 3 by performing confirmatory factor analysis using data obtained from managers of service organizations in the USA (n=257). Study 4 measured the predictive validity of the firm SST readiness instrument using several structural models.

Findings

– This paper proposes a new multidimensional construct labelled “firm SST readiness”, consisting of four dimensions: managerial acquiescence, customer alignment, employee engagement, and channel integration. The predictive validity of the new scale on two key firm outcome variables: customer value and firm performance is also demonstrated.

Originality/value

– This is the first study to provide a comprehensive, psychometrically sound, and operationally valid measure of firm SST readiness.
Fog as a source of nitrogen for redwood trees: evidence from fluxes and stable isotopes
Authors: Templer Pamela H. , Weathers Kathleen C. , Ewing Holly A. , Dawson Todd E. , Mambelli Stefania , Lindsey Amanda M. , Webb Jeramy , Boukili Vanessa K. , Firestone Mary K.
Published: October 2015

A defining feature of the redwood forest in coastal California is the presence of fog in the summer months, a time when there is typically little rainfall. Our goal was to determine the role of summer fog in canopy transformation of nitrogen, nitrogen uptake by trees and photosynthesis within a coastal redwood forest ecosystem.

We measured horizontal and vertical inputs of nitrogen, the isotopic composition of nitrogen in a variety of atmospheric sources (summer fog, winter rain and throughfall throughout the year), nitrogen pools (soil solution) and plant tissue (roots and foliage), as well as rates of photosynthesis and nitrogen uptake by trees.

Throughfall nitrogen fluxes were greater at the forest edge compared to the interior both within the canopy (sampled 10 m above‐ground) and onto the forest floor (sampled 1 m above‐ground; P < 0.05). Similarly, soil solution and total inorganic nitrogen were greater at the forest edge compared to the interior (P = 0.0014 and 0.009, respectively). Whereas natural abundance δ15NO3 values were not significantly different between winter rain (measured as bulk precipitation) and summer fog water (average δ15N = −1.2 ± 0.680/00), δ15NH4 values were significantly greater in fog water (11.4 ± 2.70/00) compared to rain (1.2 ± 0.90/00). We found no difference in δ15N in roots from forest edge trees compared to interior trees. In contrast, nitrogen concentrations and δ15N in foliage from forest edge trees were significantly greater compared to interior trees (P < 0.0001), suggesting that the leaves of forest edge trees may be obtaining a greater proportion of their nitrogen from fog compared to those of the interior trees. Natural abundance 13C of leaf sugars and rates of photosynthesis were significantly higher at the forest edge compared to the interior during the fog season (P < 0.05), but not different between locations in the rain season (P > 0.05). Nitrification in the forest floor, rather than the canopy, is the primary source of in these soils throughout the year.

Synthesis. Summer fog provides nitrogen directly and indirectly to redwood trees, especially those at the forest edge, and affects the physiologic function of redwood trees.
A deteriorating state of affairs: How endogenous and exogenous factors determine plant decay rates
Authors: Zanne Amy E. , Oberle Brad , Dunham Kevin M. , Milo Amy M. , Walton Maranda L. , Young Darcy F.
Published: October 2015

Woody plants store large quantities of carbon (C) and nutrients. As plants senesce and decay, these stores transfer to the soil or other organisms or are released to the atmosphere.

Exogenous factors such as topographic position and microclimatic and edaphic conditions tied to locations affect decay rates; however, we know less about how exogenous relative to endogenous factors such as morphological, anatomical and chemical construction tied to plant species affect these rates, especially across different tissue types.

We monitored stem, fine branch and leaf decay over 1 year in ‘rot plots’ distributed across four watersheds in ridge top and valley bottom habitats in a temperate deciduous oak‐hickory forest at Tyson Research Center, MO, USA, in the Ozark Highlands for 21 species of woody plants that vary in their constructions.

We found poor coordination across tissues in construction and decay, which likely reflects how functional constraints on living tissues influence recalcitrance to decay. Additionally, for all three tissues, species membership and construction were better predictors of decay than was location. Of the construction traits, chemical composition including total fibre, lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose and concentrations of multiple microelements were the best predictors of decay, although the strength of these relationships differed among tissues.

Synthesis. We have long known that rates of biogeochemical cycling are influenced by exogenous factors, such as climatic and edaphic factors. Here, we show across plant tissues that endogenous factors, including species identity and tissue construction, can have stronger controls on rates of decay within our study system than do exogenous factors. However, it is likely that the relative strengths of these different controls change through time and among tissues. We predict that anatomical and morphological controls may be more important at early stages and exogenous factors may be more important at later stages of decay.
EARLY LIFE RISKS, ANTISOCIAL TENDENCIES, AND PRETEEN DELINQUENCY
Authors: STAFF JEREMY , WHICHARD COREY , SIENNICK SONJA E. , MAGGS JENNIFER
Published: October 2015

Early age‐of‐onset delinquency and substance use confer a major risk for continued criminality, alcohol and drug abuse, and other serious difficulties throughout the life course. Our objective is to examine the developmental roots of preteen delinquency and substance use. By using nationally representative longitudinal data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study (N= 13,221), we examine the influence of early childhood developmental and family risks on latent pathways of antisocial tendencies from 3 to 7 years of age, and the influence of those pathways on property crime and substance use by 11 years of age. We identified a normative, nonantisocial pathway; a pathway marked by oppositional behavior and fighting; a pathway marked by impulsivity and inattention; and a rare pathway characterized by a wide range of antisocial tendencies. Children with developmental and family risks that emerged by 3 years of age—specifically difficult infant temperament, low cognitive ability, weak parental closeness, and disadvantaged family background—face increased odds of antisocial tendencies. Minimal overlap is found between the risk factors for early antisocial tendencies and those for preteen delinquency. Children on an antisocial pathway are more likely to engage in preteen delinquency and substance use by 11 years of age even after accounting for early life risk factors.
Pulmonary vascular dysfunction in refractory acute respiratory distress syndrome before veno‐venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
Authors: Lazzeri C. , Cianchi G. , Bonizzoli M. , Batacchi S. , Terenzi P. , Bernardo P. , Valente S. , Gensini G. F. , Peris A.
Published: October 2015

Background

Pulmonary vascular dysfunction has been described in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Veno‐venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV‐ECMO) is a well‐established treatment for these patients. We hypothesized that severe pulmonary vascular dysfunction and cor pulmonale identified by echocardiography before cannulation in these patients were associated with worse survival.

Methods

Echocardiography was used to identify pulmonary hypertension in 21 patients with refractory ARDS just before ECMO implantation. Survival was compared for those with and without cor pulmonale.

Results

In our series, the overall mortality rate was 57.1% (12/21). Echocardiographic exams were transthoracic in 5 patients (23.8%), transesophageal in 4 patients (19%), and both (transthoracic and transesophageal) in the remaining 12 patients (57.1%). In our series, six patients (28.5%) showed LV dysfunction. Acute cor pulmonale was detectable in 2 patients (9.5%), while the remaining 19 patients showed moderate pulmonary dysfunction. Survivors had a higher pre‐cannulation LV ejection fraction (EF) (P = 0.02) and tricuspid annular plane excursion (P = 0.04), and lower peak systolic pulmonary artery pressures (P = 0.02).

Conclusions

In patients with refractory ARDS immediately before ECMO implantation, the prevalence of acute cor pulmonale is low (9.5%). Survival is associated with higher LVEF and lower systolic pulmonary arterial pressure. These findings support the idea that echocardiographic assessment of pulmonary artery pressure in patients with refractory ARDS before VV‐ECMO implantation may have value for risk‐stratification.
Corporate governance and private placement issuance in Australia
Authors: Xu Suichen , How Janice , Verhoeven Peter
Published: October 2015

In this study, we examine the effectiveness of corporate governance in mitigating dilution in the economic and voting interests of existing nonparticipating (retail) shareholders in private placements. Based on a sample of 2420 private placements in Australia from 2001 to 2012, we find support for this proposition through the influence of corporate governance on pricing negotiation and firms’ choice of issuing method in private placements. Specifically, firms with better corporate governance offer private placements with a smaller discount, and are more likely to include a share purchase plan, which protects nonparticipating shareholders from ownership dilution in the placement.
The lack of loan aversion among Canadian high school students
Authors: Johnson Cathleen , Montmarquette Claude
Published: October 2015

Evidence is presented on the factors that influence take‐up for postsecondary education financing (loans or grants) for high school students. Results show several factors influence the students' decisions about taking loans or grants but the most prominent influence was the price of educational subsidy. A total of 1,248 high school students across Canada participated. Prices for the grants and loans overlapped substantially in order to more clearly distinguish the impact of loan aversion on the decision to take up financial assistance to pursue PSE. The study featured paid experimental decisions (ranging from $25 to $700 in cash and from $500 to $4,000 in education financing), a numeracy assessment, a student survey and a parental telephone survey. The targeted sample included at‐risk high school students: low SES levels, First Nations and first generation students. Participants were marginally sensitive to the form of financing (grant or loan), with no evidence of systematic loan aversion being detected.
Reducing Lateral Visual Biases in Displays
Authors: Huberman Inbar , Fattal Raanan
Published: October 2015

The human visual system is composed of multiple physiological components that apply multiple mechanisms in order to cope with the rich visual content it encounters. The complexity of this system leads to non‐trivial relations between what we see and what we perceive, and in particular, between the raw intensities of an image that we display and the ones we perceive where various visual biases and illusions are introduced. In this paper, we describe a method for reducing a large class of biases related to the lateral inhibition mechanism in the human retina where neurons suppress the activity of neighbouring receptors. Among these biases are the well‐known Mach bands and halos that appear around smooth and sharp image gradients as well as the appearance of false contrasts between identical regions. The new method removes these visual biases by computing an image that contains counter biases such that when this laterally compensated image is viewed on a display, the inserted biases cancel the ones created in the retina. User study results confirm the usefulness of the new approach for displaying various classes of images, visualizing physical data more faithfully and improving the ability to perceive constancy in brightness.
Performance of three glomerular filtration rate estimation equations in a population of sub‐Saharan Africans with Type 2 diabetes
Authors: Agoons D. D. , Balti E. V. , Kaze F. F. , Azabji‐Kenfack M. , Ashuntantang G. , Kengne A. P. , Sobngwi E. , Mbanya J. C.
Published: October 2015

Aim

We evaluated the performance of the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD), Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD‐EPI) and Cockcroft–Gault (CG) equations against creatinine clearance (CrCl) to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in 51 patients with Type 2 diabetes.

Methods

The CrCl value was obtained from the average of two consecutive 24‐h urine samples. Results were adjusted for body surface area using the Dubois formula. Serum creatinine was measured using the kinetic Jaffe method and was calibrated to standardized levels. Bland–Altman analysis and kappa statistic were used to examine agreement between measured and estimated GFR.

Results

Estimates of GFR from the CrCl, MDRD, CKD‐EPI and CG equations were similar (overall P = 0.298), and MDRD (r = 0.58; 95% CI: 0.36–0.74), CKD‐EPI (r = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.33–0.72) and CG (r = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.39–0.75) showed modest correlation with CrCl (all P < 0.001). Bias was −0.3 for MDRD, 1.7 for CKD‐EPI and −5.4 for CG. All three equations showed fair‐to‐moderate agreement with CrCl (kappa: 0.38–0.51). The c‐statistic for all three equations ranged between 0.75 and 0.77 with no significant difference (P = 0.639 for c‐statistic comparison).

Conclusions

The MDRD equation seems to have a modest advantage over CKD‐EPI and CG in estimating GFR and detecting impaired renal function in sub‐Saharan African patients with Type 2 diabetes. The overall relatively modest correlation with CrCl, however, suggests the need for context‐specific estimators of GFR or context adaptation of existing estimators.
A Genealogy of Grit: Education in the New Gilded Age
Authors: Stokas Ariana Gonzalez
Published: October 2015

Recently, due in part to the research of Angela Duckworth, the cultivation of dispositions in education, grit in particular, has gained the attention of educational policymakers and the educational research community. While much of the research has focused on how to detect grit, there has been little discussion regarding how grit came to be valued as a noncognitive disposition and what its recent prominence might tell us about current social conditions. In this essay, Ariana Gonzalez Stokas attempts to illuminate grit as a concept that has undergone a number of conceptual transformations in American culture. She seeks to show how grit developed as a way to justify social and economic inequality and how this history is bound up in its conceptual structure. Through conducting a genealogical excavation, Stokas reveals the relationship of grit to a cluster of cultural events that occurred at the turn of the twentieth century in the confluence of boxing, cowboys, and Theodore Roosevelt, and aims to illuminate how grit has served as a tool for convincing society that achievement occurs through heroic individual effort despite inadequate social supports. This historical understanding of grit, Stokas concludes, may help us to recognize that the energy and resources currently spent on cultivating grit in children would be better spent on ameliorating the problems of social and economic inequality.
Alcohol consumption induces global gene expression changes in VTA dopaminergic neurons
Authors: Marballi K. , Genabai N. K. , Blednov Y. A. , Harris R. A. , Ponomarev I.
Published: October 2015

Alcoholism is associated with dysregulation in the neural circuitry that mediates motivated and goal‐directed behaviors. The dopaminergic (DA) connection between the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens is viewed as a critical component of the neurocircuitry mediating alcohol's rewarding and behavioral effects. We sought to determine the effects of binge alcohol drinking on global gene expression in VTA DA neurons. Alcohol‐preferring C57BL/6J × FVB/NJ F1 hybrid female mice were exposed to a modified drinking in the dark (DID) procedure for 3 weeks, while control animals had access to water only. Global gene expression of laser‐captured tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)‐positive VTA DA neurons was measured using microarrays. A total of 644 transcripts were differentially expressed between the drinking and nondrinking mice, and 930 transcripts correlated with alcohol intake during the last 2 days of drinking in the alcohol group. Bioinformatics analysis of alcohol‐responsive genes identified molecular pathways and networks perturbed in DA neurons by alcohol consumption, which included neuroimmune and epigenetic functions, alcohol metabolism and brain disorders. The majority of genes with high and specific expression in DA neurons were downregulated by or negatively correlated with alcohol consumption, suggesting a decreased activity of DA neurons in high drinking animals. These changes in the DA transcriptome provide a foundation for alcohol‐induced neuroadaptations that may play a crucial role in the transition to addiction.
Climate‐driven changes to the spatio‐temporal distribution of the parasitic nematode, Haemonchus contortus, in sheep in Europe
Authors: Rose Hannah , Caminade Cyril , Bolajoko Muhammad Bashir , Phelan Paul , van Dijk Jan , Baylis Matthew , Williams Diana , Morgan Eric R.
Published: October 2015

Recent climate change has resulted in changes to the phenology and distribution of invertebrates worldwide. Where invertebrates are associated with disease, climate variability and changes in climate may also affect the spatio‐temporal dynamics of disease. Due to its significant impact on sheep production and welfare, the recent increase in diagnoses of ovine haemonchosis caused by the nematode Haemonchus contortus in some temperate regions is particularly concerning. This study is the first to evaluate the impact of climate change on H. contortus at a continental scale. A model of the basic reproductive quotient of macroparasites, Q0, adapted to H. contortus and extended to incorporate environmental stochasticity and parasite behaviour, was used to simulate Pan‐European spatio‐temporal changes in H. contortus infection pressure under scenarios of climate change. Baseline Q0 simulations, using historic climate observations, reflected the current distribution of H. contortus in Europe. In northern Europe, the distribution of H. contortus is currently limited by temperatures falling below the development threshold during the winter months and within‐host arrested development is necessary for population persistence over winter. In southern Europe, H. contortus infection pressure is limited during the summer months by increased temperature and decreased moisture. Compared with this baseline, Q0 simulations driven by a climate model ensemble predicted an increase in H. contortus infection pressure by the 2080s. In northern Europe, a temporal range expansion was predicted as the mean period of transmission increased by 2–3 months. A bimodal seasonal pattern of infection pressure, similar to that currently observed in southern Europe, emerges in northern Europe due to increasing summer temperatures and decreasing moisture. The predicted patterns of change could alter the epidemiology of H. contortus in Europe, affect the future sustainability of contemporary control strategies, and potentially drive local adaptation to climate change in parasite populations.
Interpreting genotype‐by‐environment interaction for biomass production in hybrid poplars under short‐rotation coppice in Mediterranean environments
Authors: Sixto Hortensia , Gil Paula M. , Ciria Pilar , Camps Francesc , Cañellas Isabel , Voltas Jordi
Published: October 2015

Understanding genotype × environment interaction (GEI) is crucial to optimize the deployment of clonal material to field conditions in short‐rotation coppice poplar plantations. Hybrid poplars are grown for biomass production under a wide range of climatic and edaphic conditions, but their adaptive performance in Mediterranean areas remains poorly characterized. In this work, site regression (SREG) and factorial regression mixed models are combined to gain insight into the nature and causes underlying GEI for biomass production of hybrid poplar clones. SREG addresses the issue of clonal recommendation in multi‐environment trials through a biplot representation that visually identifies superior genotypes. Factorial regression, alternatively, involves a description of clonal reaction to the environment in terms of physical variables that directly affect productivity. Initially, SREG aided in identifying cross‐over interactions that often involved hybrids of different taxonomic background. Factorial regression then selected latitude, mean temperature of the vegetative period (MTVP) and soil sand content as main site factors responsible for differential clonal adaptation. Genotypic responses depended strongly on taxonomic background: P. deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh. × P. nigra L. clones showed an overall positive sensitivity to increased MTVP and negative sensitivity to increased sand content, whereas the opposite occurred for P. trichocarpa Torr. & Gray × P. deltoides clones; the three‐cross hybrid [(P. deltoides × P. trichocarpa) × P. nigra] often displayed an intermediate performance. This information can contribute toward the identification and biological understanding of adaptive characteristics relevant for poplar breeding in Mediterranean conditions and facilitate clonal recommendation at eco‐regional level.
Allogeneic hand transplantation and rehabilitation of hand function: a 10‐year follow‐up study
Authors: Zhang Zhen‐Yu , Li Fu‐chun , Shao Ming , Yang Cao , Shang Jian , Bi Zheng‐Gang
Published: October 2015

The purpose of this study is to present the long‐term outcomes of allogenic hand transplantations performed at our centre. Between January 2001 and October 2002, five allogeneic limb transplantations were performed in three patients (two bilateral forearm and one left hand transplantation). Donors and recipients were matched for blood types (ABO/Rh) and had at least two human leukocyte antigen (HLA) matches. A comprehensive rehabilitation plan integrating preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative management was developed for each patient. After 10 years, all transplantations were performed successfully without complications. As of 2014, all grafts were viable. The transplanted hands showed palmate morphology, perceived superficial pain and tactile sensations, and the static two‐point discrimination ranged from 2·5 to 4·0 mm. Chronic rejection at 4 years after surgery reduced hand function in case 2. Grip strength ranged from 3 kg (case 2) to 16–18 kg (case 1) to 41–43 kg for case 3. Lifting strength ranged from 3 kg (case 2) to 21–23 kg (case 1) to 47–51 kg for case 3. They lead a completely independent life. In summary, hand function following allogeneic limb transplantation allows the ability to perform tasks of daily living.
What Determines Foreign Policy in Latin America? Systemic versus Domestic Factors in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, 1946–2008
Authors: Neto Octavio Amorim , Malamud Andrés
Published: October 2015

Is it domestic politics or the international system that more decisively influences foreign policy? This article focuses on Latin America's three largest powers to identify patterns and compare outcomes in their relations with the regional hegemon, the United States. Through a statistical analysis of voting behavior in the UN General Assembly, we examine systemic variables (both realist and liberal) and domestic variables (institutional, ideological, and bureaucratic) to determine their relative weights between 1946 and 2008. The study includes 4,900 votes, the tabulation of 1,500 ministers according to their ideological persuasion, all annual trade entries, and an assessment of the political strength of presidents, cabinets, and parties per year. The findings show that while Argentina's voting behavior has been determined mostly by domestic factors and Mexico's by realist systemic ones, Brazil's has a more complex blend of determinants, but also with a prevalence of realist systemic variables.
Resisting Removal: The Impact of Community Mobilization in Rio de Janeiro
Authors: Donaghy Maureen
Published: October 2015

The experiences of communities in Rio de Janeiro under threat of removal through gentrification or mega-event construction present an opportunity to review the process and impact of urban community mobilization. This article assesses the determinants of community strategies, the challenges to implementation, and the impact of mobilization on outcomes for such communities. It reviews the case of Vila Autódromo, detailing the dynamic influence of both rational expectations and the “right to the city” ideology in developing resistance strategies and providing evidence to confirm the importance of social capital and civic capacity for community efficacy. The analysis updates theorizing beyond the politics of clientelism and contributes to understanding how the urban regime approach may apply to the Latin American context, while demonstrating the continued relevance of the political opportunity structure for determining policy outcomes.
Allopatric speciation with little niche divergence is common among alpine Primulaceae
Authors: Boucher Florian C. , Zimmermann Niklaus E. , Conti Elena
Published: October 2015

Aim

Despite the accumulation of cases describing fast radiations of alpine plants, we still have limited understanding of the drivers of speciation in alpine floras and of the precise the timing of their diversification. Here, we investigated spatial and temporal patterns of speciation in three groups of alpine Primulaceae.

Location

Mountains of the European Alpine System.

Methods

We built a new phylogeny of Primulaceae including all species in three focal groups: Androsace sect. Aretia, Primula sect. Auricula and Soldanella. Combining phylogenetic information with a detailed climatic data set, we investigated patterns of range and ecological overlap between sister‐species using an approach that takes phylogenetic uncertainty into account. Finally, we investigated temporal trajectories of diversification in the three focal groups.

Results

We found that a large majority of sister‐species pairs in the three groups are strictly allopatric and show little differences in substrate and climatic preferences, a result that was robust to phylogenetic uncertainty. While rates of diversification have remained constant in Soldanella, both Androsace sect. Aretia and Primula sect. Auricula showed decreased diversification rates in the Pleistocene compared to previous geological epochs.

Main conclusions

Allopatric speciation with little niche divergence appears to have been by far the most common mode of speciation across the three groups studied. A few examples, however, suggest that ecological and polyploid speciation might also have played a role in the diversification of these three groups. Finally, extensive diversification likely occurred in the late Miocene and Pliocene coinciding with the later phases of the Alpine uplift, while diversification slowed down during subsequent glacial cycles of the Pleistocene.
Optimal cut‐off levels of obesity indices by different definitions of metabolic syndrome in a southeast rural Chinese population
Authors: Pan Jin , Wang Meng , Ye Zhen , Yu Min , Shen Yuhua , He Qinfang , Cao Naxin , Ning Guang , Bi Yufang , Gong Weiwei , Hu Ruying
Published: October 2015

Aims/Introduction

The aim of the present study was to compare the cut‐off values and prediction effect of different obesity indices by different definitions of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in Zhejiang Province of China.

Materials and Methods

We carried out a cross‐sectional survey of 10,100 individuals (age 40 years and older) in Jiashan, Zhejiang Province. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to examine discrimination and find optimal cut off values of waist circumference (WC), body mass index (BMI), waist‐to‐hip ratio (WHR) and waist‐to‐height ratio (WHtR) to predict two or more non‐adipose components of MetS by The National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, And Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol In Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III) definition modified by the Asia–Pacific region criteria, International Diabetes Federation definition for the Chinese population and Chinese Diabetes Society definitions of MetS.

Results

The age‐standardized prevalence of MetS was 23.78% vs 28.76% vs 19.37% by The National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, And Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol In Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III), International Diabetes Federation and Chinese Diabetes Society definitions, respectively. Cut‐off values of BMI were approximately 24 kg/m2 both in men and women by three definitions; the average cut‐off values of WC, WHR and WHtR were 83 cm in men vs 81 cm in women, 0.89 in men vs 0.86 in women and 0.50 in men vs 0.51 in women, respectively. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve of BMI was larger than WC both in men and women (P < 0.05); in women, the area under receiver operating characteristic curve of WHtR was larger than WC, and WHR was smaller.

Conclusions

MetS is prevalent in Zhejiang Province of China, especially in the female population. BMI and WHtR might be more useful than WC and WHR for predicting two or more non‐adipose components of MetS.
Evolution, plasticity and evolving plasticity of phenology in the tree species Alnus glutinosa
Authors: De Kort H. , Vander Mijnsbrugge K. , Vandepitte K. , Mergeay J. , Ovaskainen O. , Honnay O.
Published: October 2015

Both traits and the plasticity of these traits are subject to evolutionary change and therefore affect the long‐term persistence of populations and their role in local communities. We subjected clones from 12 different populations of Alnus glutinosa, located along a latitudinal gradient, to two different temperature treatments, to disentangle the distribution of genetic variation in timing of bud burst and bud burst plasticity within and among genotypes, populations, and regions. We calculated heritability and evolvability estimates for bud burst and bud burst plasticity and assessed the influence of divergent selection relative to neutral drift. We observed higher levels of heritability and evolvability for bud burst than for its plasticity, whereas the total phenological heritability and evolvability (i.e. combining timing of bud burst and bud burst plasticity) suggest substantial evolutionary potential with respect to phenology. Earlier bud burst was observed for the low‐latitudinal populations than for the populations from higher latitudes, whereas the high‐latitudinal populations did not show the expected delayed bud burst. This countergradient variation can be due to evolution towards increased phenological plasticity at higher latitudes. However, because we found little evidence for adaptive differences in phenological plasticity across the latitudinal gradient, we suggest differential frost tolerance as the most likely explanation for the observed phenological patterns in A. glutinosa.