bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Heterogeneous Consumer Preferences for Turfgrass Attributes in the United States and Canada
Authors: Yue Chengyan , Wang Jingjing , Watkins Eric , Bonos Stacy A. , Nelson Kristen C. , Murphy James A. , Meyer William A. , Horgan Brian P.
Published: November 2016

This study investigates U.S. and Canadian consumer preferences and willingness to pay for turfgrass attributes and potential consumer market segments. Most studies focus on consumers’ preferences for low‐input turfgrasses at a state or regional level, but none have examined consumer preferences at a national or international level. In addition, we explore possible consumer preference heterogeneity and market segments. We find that one of the most influential turfgrass attributes for both U.S. and Canadian consumers is the ability to withstand foot traffic. Consumers’ preferences are greatly affected by maintenance attributes. Low mowing frequency, followed by water usage and fertilizer requirements, are considered the most important attributes for consumers. Generally speaking, many consumers are willing to pay high premiums for turfgrasses with lower maintenance requirements. Three consumer segments are identified based on participants’ heterogeneity in their preferences for turfgrass attributes: Balanced Consumers, Low‐input Conscious Consumers, and Appearance Conscious Consumers. Our results imply that breeding and promotion of low‐input turfgrasses species, which could benefit consumers and the environment, should receive greater attention from the turfgrass seed industry.

Cette étude se penche sur les préférences des consommateurs américains et canadiens et leur volonté de payer pour des attributs du gazon, et les potentiels segments de marché grand public. La majorité des études se penche sur les préférences des consommateurs pour des gazons à faibles intrants au niveau de l′état ou régional. Aucune n'a encore examiné les préférences du consommateur au niveau national ou international. De plus, nous explorons l'hétérogénéité des préférences des consommateurs ainsi que les segments de marché. L'on constate que l'attribut du gazon ayant la plus grande influence sur les consommateurs américains et canadiens était la capacité de résister à la circulation piétonnière. Les préférences des consommateurs sont énormément influencées par les attributs d'entretien. La faible fréquence de tonte et les besoins en eau et en engrais représentent pour les consommateurs les plus importants attributs. En général, de nombreux consommateurs sont prêts à débourser plus pour des gazons qui nécessitent peu d'entretien. Trois groupes de consommateurs sont identifiés en fonction de l'hétérogénéité de leurs préférences pour les attributs du gazon: les consommateurs équilibrés, les consommateurs préoccupés par les faibles intrants et les consommateurs préoccupés par l'apparence. Les résultats suggèrent que la production et la promotion d'espèces de gazons à faibles intrants, bénéfiques pour le consommateur et l'environnement, devraient se trouver dans la mire de l'industrie semencière.
Does the Body Survive Death? Cultural Variation in Beliefs About Life Everlasting
Authors: Watson‐Jones Rachel E. , Busch Justin T. A. , Harris Paul L. , Legare Cristine H.
Published: November 2016

Mounting evidence suggests that endorsement of psychological continuity and the afterlife increases with age. This developmental change raises questions about the cognitive biases, social representations, and cultural input that may support afterlife beliefs. To what extent is there similarity versus diversity across cultures in how people reason about what happens after death? The objective of this study was to compare beliefs about the continuation of biological and psychological functions after death in Tanna, Vanuatu (a Melanesian archipelago), and the United States (Austin, Texas). Children, adolescents, and adults were primed with a story that contained either natural (non‐theistic) or supernatural (theistic) cues. Participants were then asked whether or not different biological and psychological processes continue to function after death. We predicted that across cultures individuals would be more likely to endorse the continuation of psychological processes over biological processes (dualism) and that a theistic prime would increase continuation responses regarding both types of process. Results largely supported predictions; U.S. participants provided more continuation responses for psychological than biological processes following both the theistic and non‐theistic primes. Participants in Vanuatu, however, provided more continuation responses for biological than psychological processes following the theistic prime. The data provide evidence for both cultural similarity and variability in afterlife beliefs and demonstrate that individuals use both natural and supernatural explanations to interpret the same events.
My Heart Made Me Do It: Children's Essentialist Beliefs About Heart Transplants
Authors: Meyer Meredith , Gelman Susan A. , Roberts Steven O. , Leslie Sarah‐Jane
Published: November 2016

Psychological essentialism is a folk theory characterized by the belief that a causal internal essence or force gives rise to the common outward behaviors or attributes of a category's members. In two studies, we investigated whether 4‐ to 7‐year‐old children evidenced essentialist reasoning about heart transplants by asking them to predict whether trading hearts with an individual would cause them to take on the donor's attributes. Control conditions asked children to consider the effects of trading money with an individual. Results indicated that children reasoned according to essentialism, predicting more transfer of attributes in the transplant condition versus the non‐bodily money control. Children also endorsed essentialist transfer of attributes even when they did not believe that a transplant would change the recipient's category membership (e.g., endorsing the idea that a recipient of a pig's heart would act pig‐like, but denying that the recipient would become a pig). This finding runs counter to predictions from a strong interpretation of the “minimalist” position, an alternative to essentialism.
Embodied Simulations Are Modulated by Sentential Perspective
Authors: van Dam Wessel O. , Desai Rutvik H.
Published: November 2016

There is considerable evidence that language comprehenders derive lexical‐semantic meaning by mentally simulating perceptual and motor attributes of described events. However, the nature of these simulations—including the level of detail that is incorporated and contexts under which simulations occur—is not well understood. Here, we examine the effects of first‐ versus third‐person perspective on mental simulations during sentence comprehension. First‐person sentences describing physical transfer towards or away from the body (e.g., “You threw the microphone,” “You caught the microphone”) modulated response latencies when responses were made along a front‐back axis, consistent with the action‐sentence compatibility effect (ACE). This effect was not observed for third‐person sentences (“He threw the microphone,” “He caught the microphone”). The ACE was observed when making responses along a left‐right axis for third‐person, but not first‐person sentences. Abstract sentences (e.g., “He heard the message”) did not show an ACE along either axis. These results show that perspective is a detail that is simulated during action sentence comprehension, and that motoric activations are flexible and affected by the pronominal perspective used in the sentence.
Generative Inferences Based on Learned Relations
Authors: Chen Dawn , Lu Hongjing , Holyoak Keith J.
Published: November 2016

A key property of relational representations is theirgenerativity: From partial descriptions of relations between entities, additional inferences can be drawn about other entities. A major theoretical challenge is to demonstrate how the capacity to make generative inferences could arise as a result of learning relations from non‐relational inputs. In the present paper, we show that a bottom‐up model of relation learning, initially developed to discriminate between positive and negative examples of comparative relations (e.g., deciding whether a sheep is larger than a rabbit), can be extended to make generative inferences. The model is able to make quasi‐deductive transitive inferences (e.g., “IfAis larger thanBandBis larger thanC, thenAis larger thanC”) and to qualitatively account for human responses to generative questions such as “What is an animal that is smaller than a dog?” These results provide evidence that relational models based on bottom‐up learning mechanisms are capable of supporting generative inferences.
Dual Character Concepts in Social Cognition: Commitments and the Normative Dimension of Conceptual Representation
Authors: Del Pinal Guillermo , Reuter Kevin
Published: November 2016

The concepts expressed by social role terms such as artist and scientist are unique in that they seem to allow two independent criteria for categorization, one of which is inherently normative (Knobe, Prasada, & Newman, 2013). This study presents and tests an account of the content and structure of the normative dimension of these “dual character concepts.” Experiment 1 suggests that the normative dimension of a social role concept represents the commitment to fulfill the idealized basic function associated with the role. Background information can affect which basic function is associated with each social role. However, Experiment 2 indicates that the normative dimension always represents the relevant commitment as an end in itself. We argue that social role concepts represent the commitments to basic functions because that information is crucial to predict the future social roles and role‐dependent behavior of others.
Does Environmental Experience Shape Spatial Cognition? Frames of Reference Among Ancash Quechua Speakers (Peru)
Authors: Shapero Joshua A.
Published: November 2016

Previous studies have shown that language contributes to humans' ability to orient using landmarks and shapes their use of frames of reference (FoRs) for memory. However, the role of environmental experience in shaping spatial cognition has not been investigated. This study addresses such a possibility by examining the use of FoRs in a nonverbal spatial memory task among residents of an Andean community in Peru. Participants consisted of 97 individuals from Ancash Quechua‐speaking households (8–77 years of age) who spoke Quechua and/or Spanish and varied considerably with respect to the extent of their experience in the surrounding landscape. The results demonstrated that environmental experience was the only factor significantly related to the preference for allocentric FoRs. The study thus shows that environmental experience can play a role alongside language in shaping habits of spatial representation, and it suggests a new direction of inquiry into the relationships among language, thought, and experience.
A Phase I Randomized Study of a Specifically Engineered, pH‐Sensitive PCSK9 Inhibitor RN317 (PF‐05335810) in Hypercholesterolemic Subjects on Statin Therapy
Authors: Levisetti M , Joh T , Wan H , Liang H , Forgues P , Gumbiner B , Garzone PD
Published: November 2016

This phase I study assessed the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of RN317 (PF‐05335810), a specifically engineered, pH‐sensitive, humanized proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 (PCSK9) monoclonal antibody, in hypercholesterolemic subjects (low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL‐C) ≥ 80 mg/dl) 18–70 years old receiving statin therapy. Subjects were randomized to: single‐dose placebo, RN317 (subcutaneous (s.c.) 0.3, 1, 3, 6, or intravenous (i.v.) 1, 3, 6 mg/kg), or bococizumab (s.c. 1, 3, or i.v. 1 mg/kg); or multiple‐dose RN317 (s.c. 300 mg every 28 days; three doses). Of 133 subjects randomized, 127 completed the study. RN317 demonstrated a longer half‐life, greater exposure, and increased bioavailability vs. bococizumab. RN317 was well tolerated, with no subjects discontinuing because of treatment‐related adverse events. RN317 lowered LDL‐C by up to 52.5% (day 15) following a single s.c. dose of 3.0 mg/kg vs. a maximum of 70% with single‐dose bococizumab s.c. 3.0 mg/kg. Multiple dosing of RN317 produced LDL‐C reductions of ∼50%, sustained over an 85‐day dosing interval.
Practical usefulness of atypical endometrial cell categories within the new classification of endometrial cytology when applied to conventional smears
Authors: Munakata S. , Sasaki S. , Takase M. , Okatake R. , Suzuki Y. , Yamamoto T. , Yanoh K.
Published: November 2016

Objective

Endometrial cytology has been widely used as a screening tool in Japan. Traditionally, a three‐tier reporting system, consisting of ‘negative’, ‘suspicious’ and ‘positive’ categories, has been used. However, a more descriptive system, the New Terminology in Endometrial Cytology (NTEMC), which is based on the Bethesda System for uterine cervical cytology, was introduced recently. The objective of this study was to validate the NTEMC criteria.

Methods

Endometrial cytology specimens that had been categorised as ‘suspicious’ were collected in our hospital between 2003 and 2013, and from these, 106 specimens with corresponding histological results, were re‐evaluated according to the NTEMC criteria. Diagnostic categories were assigned based on that chosen by the majority of the examining members.

Results

Negative, atypical endometrial cells, of undetermined significance (ATEC‐US), atypical endometrial cells for which atypical endometrial hyperplasia or worse cannot be excluded (ATEC‐A), endometrial hyperplasia, atypical endometrial hyperplasia and malignancy were selected as the diagnostic categories for 9 (8.5%), 34 (32.1%), 17 (16%), 34 (32.1%), 5 (4.7%) and 7 (6.6%) specimens, respectively. Corresponding histological categories of benign, endometrial hyperplasia, atypical endometrial hyperplasia and malignancy were established in 28 (82.4%), 1 (2.9%), 2 (5.9%) and 3 (8.8%) ATEC‐US specimens, respectively, and in 6 (35.3%), 3 (17.6%), 2 (11.8%) and 6 (35.3%) ATEC‐A specimens, respectively. The histological category distribution differed significantly (P = 0.001), and there was a significant correlation between corresponding cytological and histological categories (P = 0.005).

Conclusion

The ATEC category of NTEMC system works well in a practical setting and resembles the Bethesda reporting system ASC (atypical squamous cells) category for cervical cytology.
Analysis of the learning curve for peroral endoscopic myotomy for esophageal achalasia: Single‐center, two‐operator experience
Authors: Lv Houning , Zhao Ningning , Zheng Zhongqing , Wang Tao , Yang Fang , Jiang Xihui , Lin Lin , Sun Chao , Wang Bangmao
Published: November 2016

Background and Aim

Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) has emerged as an advanced technique for the treatment of achalasia, and defining the learning curve is mandatory.

Methods

From August 2011 to June 2014, two operators in our institution (A&B) carried out POEM on 35 and 33 consecutive patients, respectively. Moving average and cumulative sum (CUSUM) methods were used to analyze the POEM learning curve for corrected operative time (cOT), referring to duration of per centimeter myotomy. Additionally, perioperative outcomes were compared among distinct learning curve phases.

Results

Using the moving average method, cOT reached a plateau at the 29th case and at the 24th case for operators A and B, respectively. CUSUM analysis identified three phases: initial learning period (Phase 1), efficiency period (Phase 2) and mastery period (Phase 3). The relatively smooth state in the CUSUM graph occurred at the 26th case and at the 24th case for operators A and B, respectively. Mean cOT of distinct phases for operator A were 8.32, 5.20 and 3.97 min, whereas they were 5.99, 3.06 and 3.75 min for operator B, respectively. Eckardt score and lower esophageal sphincter pressure significantly decreased during the 1‐year follow‐up period. Data were comparable regarding patient characteristics and perioperative outcomes.

Conclusion

This single‐center study demonstrated that expert endoscopists with experience in esophageal endoscopic submucosal dissection reached a plateau in learning of POEM after approximately 25 cases.
Effect of one week of CPAP treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea on 24‐hour profiles of glucose, insulin and counter‐regulatory hormones in type 2 diabetes
Authors: Mokhlesi Babak , Grimaldi Daniela , Beccuti Guglielmo , Van Cauter Eve
Published: November 2016

Studies examining the impact of CPAP treatment on glycaemic control have yielded conflicting results, partly because of insufficient nightly CPAP use. We examined the 24‐hour profiles of glucose, insulin and counter‐regulatory hormones in 12 subjects with type 2 diabetes and OSA before and after 1 week of effective in‐laboratory CPAP therapy over an entire 8‐hour night thus ensuring optimal CPAP compliance. Blood samples were collected every 15 to 30 minutes for 24 hours under controlled conditions. The 24‐hour mean glucose decreased from 153.2 ± 33.0 to 139.7 ± 24.2 mg/dL with CPAP (−13.5 ± 13.5 mg/dL; P = .005) without change in insulin levels. Morning fasting glucose levels decreased by 14.6 ± 3 mg/dL (P = .001) and the dawn phenomenon decreased by 7.8 ± 9.8 mg/dL (P = .019). CPAP treatment decreased norepinephrine levels while the 24‐hour profiles of growth hormone and cortisol remained unchanged. In conclusion, 1 week of effective treatment of OSA over an entire 8‐hour night results in a clinically significant improvement in glycaemic control via an amelioration of evening fasting glucose metabolism and a reduction in the dawn phenomenon, a late‐night glucose increase that is not adequately treated by oral medications.

Clinical Trials Information: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01136785.
Conditional Cash Transfers and Financial Access: Increasing the Bang for Each Transferred Buck?
Authors: Chiapa Carlos , Prina Silvia
Published: November 2016

This article discusses the potential benefits and challenges that may arise if CCT programmes were to deposit transfers directly into recipients’ savings accounts. Over 33 countries around the world use CCT programmes as a strategy to fight poverty. Depositing the transfers into a savings account could give millions of households access to the formal financial system. Using the scarce evidence to date, we highlight opportunities that could help the combination of CCTs and formal savings accounts to bring financial inclusion to their recipients.
The perception of affective touch in Parkinson's disease and its relation to small fibre neuropathy
Authors: Kass‐Iliyya Lewis , Leung Matthew , Marshall Andrew , Trotter Paula , Kobylecki Christopher , Walker Susannah , Gosal David , Jeziorska Maria , Malik Rayaz A. , McGlone Francis , Silverdale Monty A.
Published: November 2016

Affective touch sensation is conducted by a sub‐class of C‐fibres in hairy skin known as C‐Tactile (CT) afferents. CT afferents respond maximally to gentle skin stroking at velocities between 1 and 10 cm/s. Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterised by markedly reduced cutaneous C‐fibres. It is not known if affective touch perception is influenced by C‐fibre density and if affective touch is impaired in PD compared to healthy controls. We predicted that perceived pleasantness to gentle stroking in PD would correlate with C‐afferent density and that affective touch perception would be impaired in PD compared to healthy controls. Twenty‐four PD patients and 27 control subjects rated the pleasantness of brush stroking at an optimum CT stimulation velocity (3 cm/s) and two sub‐optimal velocities (0.3 and 30 cm/s). PD patients underwent quantification of C‐fibre density using skin biopsies and corneal confocal microscopy. All participants rated a stroking velocity of 3 cm/s as the most pleasant with significantly lower ratings for 0.3 and 30 cm/s. There was a significant positive correlation between C‐fibre density and pleasantness ratings at 3 and 30 cm/s but not 0.3 cm/s. Mean pleasantness ratings were consistently higher in PD patients compared to control subjects across all three velocities. This study shows that perceived pleasantness to gentle touch correlates significantly with C‐fibre density in PD. The higher perceived pleasantness in PD patients compared to controls suggests central sensitisation to peripheral inputs, which may have been enhanced by dopamine therapy.
Oral administration of transgenic barley expressing a Culicoides allergen induces specific antibody response
Authors: Jonsdottir S. , Svansson V. , Stefansdottir S. B. , Mäntylä E. , Marti E. , Torsteinsdottir S.
Published: November 2016

Background

Insect bite hypersensitivity is an immunoglobulin (Ig)E‐mediated dermatitis of horses initiated by bites of midges of the genus Culicoides. Culicoides spp. are not indigenous to Iceland and the prevalence of insect bite hypersensitivity is much higher in horses born in Iceland and exported as compared to Icelandic horses born in a Culicoides rich environment. Immunotherapy is therefore needed.

Objectives

The aim of the study was to express an allergen from Culicoides in barley grain and investigate whether an immune response could be obtained in healthy Icelandic horses by oral treatment with transgenic barley expressing the allergen.

Study design

In vivo experiment.

Methods

The allergen was expressed in barley grain with the Orfeus technique. A device was developed to treat horses orally with barley flour. Four Icelandic horses were treated with transgenic barley and 3 with control barley, in total 500 g in 7 feedings. Serum and saliva samples were collected for measuring specific antibodies.

Results

The allergen Cul n 2, a hyaluronidase originating from the salivary gland of Culicoides nubeculosus, was expressed in barley. Horses treated with the transgenic barley mounted a Cul n 2 specific IgG1 and IgG4/7 response in serum and saliva. The serum response was significantly different between the transgenic and control barley treated horses for both subclasses and the saliva response for IgG1. The induced serum antibodies bound to the corresponding allergen from Culicoides obsoletus, rCul o 2 and were able to partially block binding of Cul n 2 as well as Cul o 2 specific IgE from insect bite hypersensitivity affected horses.

Main limitations

Small number of horses.

Conclusion

This study shows that specific antibody response can be induced in horses not exposed to Culicoides, using oral treatment with transgenic barley expressing an allergen. Further studies will determine whether this approach is a useful alternative for prevention and treatment of equine insect bite hypersensitivity.
A Randomized Controlled Trial of Coach Contact During a Brief Online Intervention for Distressed Couples
Authors: Roddy McKenzie K. , Nowlan Kathryn M. , Doss Brian D.
Published: November 2016

The negative impacts of relationship distress on the couple, the family, and the individual are well‐known. However, couples are often unable to access effective treatments to combat these effects—including many couples who might be at highest risk for relationship distress. Online self‐help interventions decrease the barriers to treatment and provide couples with high quality, research‐based programs they can do on their own. Using a combined multiple baseline and randomized design, the present study investigated the effectiveness of the Brief OurRelationship.com (Brief‐OR) program with and without staff support in improving relationship distress and individual functioning. Results indicated the program produced significant gains in several areas of relationship functioning; however, these gains were smaller in magnitude than those observed in Full‐OR. Furthermore, effects of Brief‐OR were not sustained over follow‐up. Comparisons between couples randomized to Brief‐OR with and without contact with a staff coach indicated that coach contact significantly reduced program noncompletion and improved program effects. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
Communication Structures of Supplemental Voluntary Kin Relationships
Authors: Braithwaite Dawn O. , Abetz Jenna Stephenson , Moore Julia , Brockhage Katie
Published: November 2016

Although scholars have constructed typologies of voluntary (fictive) kin, few have considered challenges and opportunities of interaction and relationships between biolegal and voluntary kin. This study focused on one type of voluntary kin, supplemental voluntary kin, relationships that often arise because of differing values, underperformed roles, or physical distance from the biolegal family, and wherein relationships are maintained with biolegal and voluntary kin. We examined how these family systems are constructed via interactions in relational triads of “linchpin” persons between biolegal family and voluntary kin. From in‐depth interviews with 36 supplemental voluntary kin, we examined themes in the linchpins' discourse surrounding the interaction, rituals, and ideal relationship between biolegal family and voluntary kin. We constructed a typology of four relational triads representing these relationships: intertwined, limited, separate, and hostile. We describe the structure and communication within each type, and implications for helping families with these triangulated voluntary kin relationships.
Daily Poverty‐Related Stress and Coping: Associations with Child Learned Helplessness
Authors: Brown Eleanor D. , Seyler Mariam D. , Knorr Andrea M. , Garnett Mallory L. , Laurenceau Jean‐Philippe
Published: November 2016

This study examined daily poverty‐related stress and parents' efforts to help children cope with stress in relation to learned helplessness for young children attending a Head Start preschool. A total of 750 telephone interviews were conducted with 75 parents concerning their daily stressors and strategies they used to help children cope. A behavioral protocol measured child learned helplessness. Multilevel modeling showed a positive within‐persons relationship between daily stress and coping, and a positive between‐persons relationship between daily stress and child learned helplessness. Implications include understanding the daily processes through which the poverty ecology transmits risk for negative child developmental outcomes and through which parents might offer protection. Specifically, the results suggest that daily poverty‐related stressors may undermine young children's developing sense of control and suggest the importance of further research on how parent coping might promote positive outcomes.
Cryo‐protective effect of an ice‐binding protein derived from Antarctic bacteria
Authors: Mangiagalli Marco , Bar‐Dolev Maya , Tedesco Pietro , Natalello Antonino , Kaleda Aleksei , Brocca Stefania , de Pascale Donatella , Pucciarelli Sandra , Miceli Cristina , Braslavsky Ido , Lotti Marina
Published: November 2016

Cold environments are populated by organisms able to contravene deleterious effects of low temperature by diverse adaptive strategies, including the production of ice binding proteins (IBPs) that inhibit the growth of ice crystals inside and outside cells. We describe the properties of such a protein (EfcIBP) identified in the metagenome of an Antarctic biological consortium composed of the ciliate Euplotes focardii and psychrophilic non‐cultured bacteria. Recombinant EfcIBP can resist freezing without any conformational damage and is moderately heat stable, with a midpoint temperature of 66.4 °C. Tested for its effects on ice, EfcIBP shows an unusual combination of properties not reported in other bacterial IBPs. First, it is one of the best‐performing IBPs described to date in the inhibition of ice recrystallization, with effective concentrations in the nanomolar range. Moreover, EfcIBP has thermal hysteresis activity (0.53 °C at 50 μm) and it can stop a crystal from growing when held at a constant temperature within the thermal hysteresis gap. EfcIBP protects purified proteins and bacterial cells from freezing damage when exposed to challenging temperatures. EfcIBP also possesses a potential N‐terminal signal sequence for protein transport and a DUF3494 domain that is common to secreted IBPs. These features lead us to hypothesize that the protein is either anchored at the outer cell surface or concentrated around cells to provide survival advantage to the whole cell consortium.
Growing Pains: International Instability and Equity Market Returns
Authors: Chen Zhuo , Lu Andrea Y. , Yang Zhuqing
Published: November 2016

We use the ratio of growth in global military expenditures to gross domestic product (GDP) to capture ex ante expectations of political instability and explore the relation between this measure and returns. In a standard global asset pricing framework with 44 countries, this measure helps to explain cross‐country return differences. Furthermore, emerging countries have greater exposure to international political instability risk than developed countries. This partially explains the higher returns observed in emerging countries.
Effects of three global change drivers on terrestrial C:N:P stoichiometry: a global synthesis
Authors: Yue Kai , Fornara Dario A. , Yang Wanqin , Peng Yan , Li Zhijie , Wu Fuzhong , Peng Changhui
Published: November 2016

Over the last few decades, there has been an increasing number of controlled‐manipulative experiments to investigate how plants and soils might respond to global change. These experiments typically examined the effects of each of three global change drivers [i.e., nitrogen (N) deposition, warming, and elevatedCO2] on primary productivity and on the biogeochemistry of carbon (C), N, and phosphorus (P) across different terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we capitalize on this large amount of information by performing a comprehensive meta‐analysis (>2000 case studies worldwide) to address how C:N:P stoichiometry of plants, soils, and soil microbial biomass might respond to individual vs. combined effects of the three global change drivers. Our results show that (i) individual effects of N addition and elevatedCO2on C:N:P stoichiometry are stronger than warming, (ii) combined effects of pairs of global change drivers (e.g., N addition + elevatedCO2, warming + elevatedCO2) on C:N:P stoichiometry were generally weaker than the individual effects of each of these drivers, (iii) additive interactions (i.e., when combined effects are equal to or not significantly different from the sum of individual effects) were more common than synergistic or antagonistic interactions, (iv) C:N:P stoichiometry of soil and soil microbial biomass shows high homeostasis under global change manipulations, and (v) C:N:P responses to global change are strongly affected by ecosystem type, local climate, and experimental conditions. Our study is one of the first to compare individual vs. combined effects of the three global change drivers on terrestrial C:N:P ratios using a large set of data. To further improve our understanding of how ecosystems might respond to future global change, long‐term ecosystem‐scale studies testing multifactor effects on plants and soils are urgently required across different world regions.
PReSaFe: A model of barriers and facilitators to patients providing feedback on experiences of safety
Authors: De Brún Aoife , Heavey Emily , Waring Justin , Dawson Pamela , Scott Jason
Published: November 2016

Objective

The importance of involving patients in reporting on safety is increasingly recognized. Whilst studies have identified barriers to clinician incident reporting, few have explored barriers and facilitators to patient reporting of safety experiences. This paper explores patient perspectives on providing feedback on safety experiences.

Design/Participants

Patients (n=28) were invited to take part in semi‐structured interviews when given a survey about their experiences of safety following hospital discharge. Transcripts were thematically analysed using NVivo10.

Setting

Patients were recruited from four hospitals in the UK.

Results

Three themes were identified as barriers and facilitators to patient involvement in providing feedback on their safety experiences. The first, cognitive‐cultural, found that whilst safety was a priority for most, some felt the term was not relevant to them because safety was the “default” position, and/or because safety could not be disentangled from the overall experience of care. The structural‐procedural theme indicated that reporting was facilitated when patients saw the process as straightforward, but that disinclination or perceived inability to provide feedback was a barrier. Finally, learning and change illustrated that perception of the impact of feedback could facilitate or inhibit reporting.

Conclusions

When collecting patient feedback on experiences of safety, it is important to consider what may help or hinder this process, beyond the process alone. We present a staged model of prerequisite barriers and facilitators and hypothesize that each stage needs to be achieved for patients to provide feedback on safety experiences. Implications for collecting meaningful data on patients' safety experiences are considered.
The Mamlukization of the Mamluk Sultanate? State Formation and the History of Fifteenth Century Egypt and Syria: Part II — Comparative Solutions and a New Research Agenda
Authors: Van Steenbergen Jo , Wing Patrick , D'hulster Kristof
Published: November 2016

This is the second of two connected articles that aim to offer a new perspective on the history of late medieval Egypt and Syria, on 15th‐century political history of the so‐called Mamluk Sultanate in particular. Informed by a comparative look at a selection of wider relevant scholarship, we propose to reconsider 15th‐century Syro‐Egyptian political action within the particular framework of a complex process of state formation. This perspective, defined as ‘Mamlukization’, may help to better account for change and for contemporary laments that “things aren't what they used to be.” Part I explained how Mamluk scholarship has only recently managed to overcome a traditional tendency to view the sultanate's political history as a long process of divergence from an idealized system based on military slavery, raising new difficulties. Part II endeavors to develop an alternative perspective, inspired by scholarship that connects ways of thinking about power and politics by authors as diverse as Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406) and Pierre Bourdieu (d. 2002). This perspective makes it possible to reconsider 15th‐century Syro‐Egyptian political changes within the particular analytical framework of state formation, of similar patterns of political and governmental growth in late medieval and early modern Europe, and of the appearance of a new Mamluk political order.
Clinical and immunological relevance of antibodies in solid organ transplantation
Authors: Mehra N. K. , Baranwal A. K.
Published: November 2016

The two important issues affecting recipients of solid organ transplants and of importance to immunologists are (i) sensitization of the recipient to HLA antigens and the resultant humoral immune response leading to the development of anti‐HLA antibodies; and ii) development of robust assays for early detection of humoral rejection post‐transplant. Evidence from several studies clearly indicates that presence of circulating anti‐HLA antibodies especially donor specific leads to early graft loss and high titres of DSA may even lead to hyperacute or accelerated acute rejection. Long‐term graft survival too is adversely affected by the presence of either pre‐ or post‐transplant DSA. HLA matching status of the recipient – donor pair – is an important factor in the modulation of humoral response following transplantation and in a way affects de novo development of DSA. Data collected over the past decade clearly indicate significantly lower level of DSAs in optimally matched donor‐recipient pairs. HLA mismatches especially those on HLA‐DR and HLA‐C loci have wider implications on post‐transplant graft survival. The presence of circulating anti‐HLA antibodies leads to endothelial damage in the newly grafted organ through complement dependent or independent pathways. Although detection of C4d deposition in renal biopsies serves as an important indicator of humoral rejection, its absence does not preclude the presence of DSAs and humoral rejection, and hence, it cannot be relied upon in every case. The emergence of epitope‐based screening for anti‐HLA antibodies on Luminex platform with high degree of sensitivity has revolutionized the screening for anti‐HLA antibodies and DSAs. Studies indicate that humoral response to non‐HLA antigens might also have a detrimental effect on allograft survival. High titres of such circulating antibodies may even lead to hyperacute rejection. Pre‐emptive testing of solid organ recipients, especially kidney transplant recipients for anti‐HLA and non‐HLA antibodies and aggressive post‐transplant monitoring of allograft function to detect DSAs using Luminex‐based tests, is highly recommended.
A panel of circulating miRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers for screening multiple myeloma: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Zhang L. , Cao D. , Tang L. , Sun C. , HU Y.
Published: November 2016

Circulating microRNAs (miRNAs) have been proved to be effective diagnostic markers for multiple myeloma (MM). The meta‐analysis was aimed to evaluate the diagnostic value of related miRNAs. Multiple databases (PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CBM, and CNKI) were systematically searched for available studies up to March 2016. All data were analyzed with the help of software revman 5.3 and metadisc 1.4. The eligible articles’ quality was estimated by QUADAS‐2, and pooled parameters were acquired with the bivariate random‐effects meta‐analysis model. Subgroup analysis and meta‐regression were conducted to explore the heterogeneity of studies included. After steps of screening, seven qualified literatures were selected. They consisted of 22 studies that included 486 newly diagnosed MM patients and 292 healthy controls. Summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) analyses of all miRNAs showed an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.86 (95%CI, 0.82–0.91). Together with the AUC, the positive likelihood ratio‐PLR 4.45 (95%CI, 3.28–6.04), negative likelihood ratio‐NLR 0.29 (95%CI, 0.24–0.35), and diagnostic odds ratio‐DOR 17.59 (95%CI, 11.26–27.4) confirmed that circulating miRNAs possessed relatively high diagnostic value in discriminating MM patients from healthy controls. For miRNAs combined together, miRNA‐1308/miRNA‐720 had the highest sensitivity 0.96 (95%CI, 0.79–1.00) and specificity 0.92 (95%CI 0.64–1.0). The subgroup and meta‐regression analyses also showed that miRNAs profiling was the sole source of heterogeneity, and the diagnostic accuracy of combined miRNAs was 6.02 times higher than single one. Combined circulating miRNAs in serum or plasma may be highly effective biomarker for diagnosis of MM.
High prevalence of sessile serrated adenomas in contemporary outpatient colonoscopy practice
Authors: Bettington Mark , Walker Neal , Rahman Tony , Vandeleur Ann , Whitehall Vicki , Leggett Barbara , Croese John
Published: November 2016

Background

Sessile serrated adenomas (SSA) are the polyp precursor of 15–20% of colorectal carcinomas. There is debate about their prevalence and increasing discussion about the need for a serrated polyp detection rate as a quality indicator for colonoscopy.

Aims

To assess the prevalence of SSA at an outpatient gastroenterology service.

Methods

This is a retrospective study of an unselected consecutive series of patients who had an outpatient colonoscopy between April 2013 and May 2014. The colonoscopy reports were reviewed to identify age, gender, indication for procedure, completion, withdrawal time, adequacy of bowel preparation, number, size and location of polyps. The pathology of all polyps was centrally reviewed by a gastrointestinal pathologist.

Results

A total of 707 patients underwent colonoscopy within the study period. The mean age of the cohort was 58 years, and 50.6% were female. Polyp(s) were identified in 66.5% of patients. The SSA detection rate was 20.1%, and the adenoma detection rate was 48.0%. SSA detection was associated with longer withdrawal times. Conventional adenoma detection was associated with older age, male gender, longer withdrawal time and a positive faecal occult blood test result.

Conclusion

SSA are highly prevalent in an unselected series of patients attending a gastroenterology outpatient department. Identifying and removing these polyps may help prevent interval colorectal carcinoma. This result may serve as a benchmark for a high‐quality colonoscopy service.
The not so innocent heart murmur: a 5‐year experience
Authors: Kueh Shaw‐Hua , Pasley Thomas , Wheeler Miriam , Pemberton James
Published: November 2016

Background

Auckland City Hospital (ACH) established a Heart Murmur Clinic (HMC) with the aim of providing prompt assessment of patients with asymptomatic systolic murmurs. This may lead to early intervention and improved outcomes if significant structural heart disease is detected and reassurance if no significant findings are found. Similar clinics for children have proven beneficial; the benefit of a HMC in an adult population has been difficult to determine.

Aim

To review the clinical demographics and echocardiographic information of patients presenting to our HMC, to assess what proportion of significance structural heart disease had and determine the common structural abnormalities in this population.

Methods

This is a retrospective review of patients aged ≥15 years presenting to our HMC between March 2010 and December 2015 with an asymptomatic systolic murmur. Patients with previous cardiac surgery or known congenital or valvular heart disease were excluded.

Results

A total of 1221 patients was reviewed over the 5‐year period; 980 underwent echocardiography. Significant cardiac disease was detected in 156 patients, with 23 patients requiring surgical intervention over the 5‐year period. Significant aortic stenosis (n = 43) and mitral regurgitation (n = 48) were the most common pathologies. Patients > 65 years were more likely to have structural heart disease (16% vs 11%, P < 0.05).

Conclusion

Establishing a HMC has allowed the screening of a large number of patients who would otherwise have low priority for assessment. We have identified a large proportion with significant structural disease, which has allowed for early surgical intervention when appropriate and may potentially result in improved patient outcomes.
Anterior sensory organs in Sabellariidae (Annelida)
Authors: Faroni‐Perez Larisse , Helm Conrad , Burghardt Ingo , Hutchings Pat , Capa María
Published: November 2016

Sensory organs in Annelida are very diverse and may be useful for assessments of morphological adaptation and character evolution. We used several methods to provide new insights into processes underlying the evolutionary radiation of anterior sensory organs in Sabellariidae. The presence and morphological diversity of the median organ (MO) found in the group was reviewed in order to test its phylogenetic significance and possible relationships to the distribution and ecological traits of the lineages. To test the intraspecific phenotypic plasticity of the MO, molecular analyses were conducted that focused on mitochondrial and nuclear genes from populations of Idanthyrsus australiensis exhibiting variation in the morphology of the MO. We used an integrative microscopical study of the ontogeny of Sabellaria alveolata to describe the anterior sensory structures present in the larvae and the morphological changes occurring before, during, and after settlement. In larval stages, the palps and the dorsal hump (DH) exhibit distinct innervation. The larval DH organ, which is likely to play a major role in chemoreception for settlement, is interpreted as being the incipient form of the adult MO. These results suggest that annelid sensory organs including the MO may be useful for phylogenetic and developmental investigations.
How does an increase in minimum daily temperatures during incubation influence reproduction in the great tit Parus major?
Authors: Vaugoyeau Marie , Meylan Sandrine , Biard Clotilde
Published: November 2016

Temperature variation affects all life stages of organisms, especially early development, and considering global warming, it is urgent to understand precisely its consequences. In egg‐laying species, incubation behaviour can buffer embryo developmental temperature variation and influence offspring development. We experimentally investigated the effect of an increase in minimum daily nest temperature during incubation in the great titParus major, by placing a hand warming pad under the nest in the evenings. As compared to controls, the experimental treatment increased nest temperature at night by an average of 4°C, and this increase carried over to the following day. We measured the consequences of this mainly nocturnal temperature increase during incubation on 1) parental behaviour (incubation and nestling feeding), 2) parental health (quantified by body condition, immune status, physiological and oxidative stress) and 3) reproductive success (nestling body condition, growth, i.e. mass gain, hatching and fledging success, and nestling immune status, physiological and oxidative stress). This study yielded three major results. First, we found that heating the nest did not change the duration of incubation as compared to controls. Second, increasing nest temperature during incubation decreased nestling feeding behaviour but did not affect parental health in terms of body condition, immune status, physiological and oxidative stress. Third, nestling mass at hatching was greater but nestling mass gain was slower in heated nests than in control nests, resulting in similar fledging mass. The present study demonstrates that increased environmental temperatures during incubation influenced nestling development in the great tit and especially hatchling mass, which might produce long‐term life history consequences.
The Predicates of Military Detention at Guantánamo: The Role of Individual Acts and Affiliations
Authors: Huq Aziz Z.
Published: November 2016

The military detentions at Guantánamo have provoked intense controversy. Judges, legislators, and military officials disagree sharply about the scope of detention authority. To date, little is known about the granular determinants of decisions to transfer detainees from custody at the Cuban base or to prolong their detention. This article exploits a novel data set of classified documents disclosed by the Wikileaks organization to explore two questions now dividing officials, legislators, and judges. First, what are the detainee actions and affiliations that predict longer detentions? Second, what is the relationship between a determination that a detainee committed certain acts and the further inference of affiliation with a proscribed terrorist organization? These inquiries isolate both continuities and divergences from the law “on the books.”