bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Community Psychology and the Capabilities Approach
Authors: Shinn Marybeth
Published: March 2015

What makes for a good life? The capabilities approach to this question has much to offer community psychology, particularly with respect to marginalized groups. Capabilities are freedoms to engage in valued social activities and roles—what people can do and be given both their capacities, and environmental opportunities and constraints. Economist Amartya Sen’s focus on freedoms and agency resonates with psychological calls for empowerment, and philosopher Martha Nussbaum’s specification of requirements for a life that is fully human provides an important guide for social programs. Community psychology’s focus on mediating structures has much to offer the capabilities approach. Parallels between capabilities, as enumerated by Nussbaum, and settings that foster positive youth development, as described in a National Research Council Report (Eccles and Gootman (Eds) in Community programs to promote youth development. National Academy Press, Washington,2002) suggest extensions of the approach to children. Community psychologists can contribute to theory about ways to create and modify settings to enhance capabilities as well as empowerment and positive youth development. Finally, capabilities are difficult to measure, because they involve freedoms to choose but only choices actually made or enacted can be observed. The variation in activities or goals across members of a setting provides a measure of the capabilities that the setting fosters.
Sex, violence, & rock n' roll: Longitudinal effects of music on aggression, sex, and prosocial behavior during adolescence
Authors: Coyne Sarah M. , Padilla‐Walker Laura M.
Published: March 2015

The current study examined longitudinal associations between listening to aggression, sex, and prosocial behavior in music on a number of behavioral outcomes across a one‐year period during adolescence. Adolescents (N = 548, M age = 15.32, 52% female) completed a number of questionnaires on musical preferences, general media use, aggression, sexual outcomes, and prosocial behavior at two different time points separated by about one year. Using structural equation modeling to analyze the data, results revealed that listening to aggression in music was associated with increased aggression and decreased prosocial behavior over time, even when controlling for initial levels of these behaviors. Listening to sexual content in music was associated with earlier initiation of sexual intercourse and a trend for a higher number of sexual partners (reported at Time 2). Prosocial behavior in music was not associated with any behavioral outcome longitudinally. Collectively, these results suggest that listening to certain types of content in music can have a longitudinal effect on behavior during adolescence.
Impaired respiratory function in MELAS‐induced pluripotent stem cells with high heteroplasmy levels
Authors: Kodaira Masaki , Hatakeyama Hideyuki , Yuasa Shinsuke , Seki Tomohisa , Egashira Toru , Tohyama Shugo , Kuroda Yusuke , Tanaka Atsushi , Okata Shinichiro , Hashimoto Hisayuki , Kusumoto Dai , Kunitomi Akira , Takei Makoto , Kashimura Shin , Suzuki Tomoyuki , Yozu Gakuto , Shimojima Masaya , Motoda Chikaaki , Hayashiji Nozomi , Saito Yuki , Goto Yu-ichi , Fukuda Keiichi
Published: March 2015

Mitochondrial diseases are heterogeneous disorders, caused by mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondria are not regulated solely by nuclear genomic DNA but by mitochondrial DNA. It is difficult to develop effective therapies for mitochondrial disease because of the lack of mitochondrial disease models. Mitochondrial myopathy, encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke‐like episodes (MELAS) is one of the major mitochondrial diseases. The aim of this study was to generate MELAS‐specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and to demonstrate that MELAS‐iPSCs can be models for mitochondrial disease. We successfully established iPSCs from the primary MELAS‐fibroblasts carrying 77.7% of m.3243A>G heteroplasmy. MELAS‐iPSC lines ranged from 3.6% to 99.4% of m.3243A>G heteroplasmy levels. The enzymatic activities of mitochondrial respiratory complexes indicated that MELAS‐iPSC‐derived fibroblasts with high heteroplasmy levels showed a deficiency of complex I activity but MELAS‐iPSC‐derived fibroblasts with low heteroplasmy levels showed normal complex I activity. Our data indicate that MELAS‐iPSCs can be models for MELAS but we should carefully select MELAS‐iPSCs with appropriate heteroplasmy levels and respiratory functions for mitochondrial disease modeling.
On three-dimensional internal gravity wave beams and induced large-scale mean flows
Authors: Kataoka T. , Akylas T. R.
Published: March 2015

The three-dimensional propagation of internal gravity wave beams in a uniformly stratified Boussinesq fluid is discussed, assuming that variations in the along-beam and transverse directions are of long length scale relative to the beam width. This situation applies, for instance, to the far-field behaviour of a wave beam generated by a horizontal line source with weak transverse dependence. In contrast to the two-dimensional case of purely along-beam variations, where nonlinear effects are minor even for beams of finite amplitude, three-dimensional nonlinear interactions trigger the transfer of energy to a circulating horizontal time-mean flow. This resonant beam–mean-flow coupling is analysed, and a system of two evolution equations is derived for the propagation of a small-amplitude beam along with the induced mean flow. This model explains the salient features of the experimental observations of Bordes et al. (Phys. Fluids, vol. 24, 2012, 086602).
Micronutrient intakes and potential inadequacies of community-dwelling older adults: a systematic review
Authors: ter Borg Sovianne , Verlaan Sjors , Hemsworth Jaimie , Mijnarends Donja M. , Schols Jos M. G. A. , Luiking Yvette C. , de Groot Lisette C. P. G. M.
Published: March 2015

Micronutrient deficiencies and low dietary intakes among community-dwelling older adults are associated with functional decline, frailty and difficulties with independent living. As such, studies that seek to understand the types and magnitude of potential dietary inadequacies might be beneficial for guiding future interventions. We carried out a systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Observational cohort and longitudinal studies presenting the habitual dietary intakes of older adults ( ≥ 65 years) were included. Sex-specific mean (and standard deviation) habitual micronutrient intakes were extracted from each article to calculate the percentage of older people who were at risk for inadequate micronutrient intakes using the estimated average requirement (EAR) cut-point method. The percentage at risk for inadequate micronutrient intakes from habitual dietary intakes was calculated for twenty micronutrients. A total of thirty-seven articles were included in the pooled systematic analysis. Of the twenty nutrients analysed, six were considered a possible public health concern: vitamin D, thiamin, riboflavin, Ca, Mg and Se. The extent to which these apparent inadequacies are relevant depends on dynamic factors, including absorption and utilisation, vitamin and mineral supplement use, dietary assessment methods and the selection of the reference value. In light of these considerations, the present review provides insight into the type and magnitude of vitamin and mineral inadequacies.
TWO TEXTUAL PROBLEMS IN BOOK 7 OF VARRO'S DE LINGVA LATINA
Authors: De Melo Wolfgang D.C.
Published: April 2015

In this contribution I wish to tackle two corruptions in Book 7 of Varro's De lingua Latina that have hitherto gone unnoticed or been corrected inadequately.
INVITUS INVITAM: A WINDOW ALLUSION IN SUETONIUS' TITUS
Authors: Macrae Duncan E.
Published: April 2015

Berenicen statim ab urbe dimisit invitus invitam.

As for Berenice, he immediately dismissed her from the city against his will, against her will. (Suet. Tit. 7.2)

Suetonius' laconic description of Titus' dismissal of his consort, the Herodian Berenice, after his accession to the Principate has attracted the attention of readers across the centuries. The biographer's use of polyptoton, invitus invitam, to describe the mental states of the Roman princeps and Judaean princess has been read as particularly moving. Perhaps most notably, Racine turned the emperor's banishment of his lover into the central dilemma of his tragedy Bérénice. At the start of his preface to the text of the play, the dramatist amalgamates this sentence with another from earlier in the chapter, retaining the striking repetition, ‘Titus reginam Berenicen cui etiam nuptias pollicitus ferebatur, statim ab Urbe dimisit invitus invitam’. Racine claims that this account of the dismissal of Berenice provides appropriate subject matter for tragic poetry and, to support his case, he compares Virgil's treatment of the separation of Aeneas and Dido to the situation of Titus and Berenice. Suetonius is not normally read as a literarily sophisticated writer, but we should take a cue from Racine's response to this sentence. In this article, I argue that Suetonius himself chose to compare Titus and Berenice with Dido and Aeneas by an allusion in this sentence to Virgil's Aeneid and to Catullus' translation of the Coma Berenices. Within a rather matter-of-fact presentation of the relationship between the Flavian emperor and his Herodian consort, Suetonius evoked a more dramatic model.
ASHERAH AND APHRODITE: A COINCIDENCE?
Authors: Jacobson Howard
Published: April 2015

It has long been known that there is a significant connection between Aphrodite and Semitic goddesses. In Walter Burkert's recent words, ‘Behind the figure of Aphrodite there clearly stands the ancient Semitic goddess of love, Ishtar-Astarte.’ This was already recognized by Herodotus (1.105, 131) and Philo of Byblos (Eus.Prep. evang.1.812). I want here to note a curious and striking item of connection that has not been noticed.
A MUCH MISREAD PROPOSITION FROM PROCLUS'ELEMENTS OF THEOLOGY(PROP. 28)
Authors: Opsomer Jan
Published: April 2015

Proposition 28 from Proclus'Elements of Theologyis consistently cited as saying that every producing causefirstbrings about effects that are like it andtheneffects that are unlike it. This is a theorem to which Proclus is indeed committed, but I argue that it is not what Proclus is claiming here. At this stage of his general argument, he merely argues that every cause produces things that are like it, without saying anything about other products than the immediate ones. The standard interpretation of proposition 28 is therefore wrong. This becomes clear if one pays close attention to the argumentative structure of theElements of Theologyand to the proof given for proposition 28.
Sex and Death: Gender Differences in Aggression and Motivations for Violence
Authors: McDermott Rose
Published: March 2015

Greater theoretical consensus and cohesion could offer critical insights for the broader community of international relations scholars into the role that gender plays in spawning and sustaining processes of violence. This review essay examines the role of gender in generating and perpetuating violence and aggression, both in theory and practice. I make four central claims. First, in many studies involving the role of sex and gender in violence, specific causal models tend to remain underspecified. Second, a divergence in fundamental assumptions regarding the ontological basis of sex differences implicitly permeates and shatters this literature. Third, arguments that men and women are more or less likely to fight appear too simplistic; rather, it is worth considering that men and women may possess different motivations for fighting, and fight under different circumstances and for different reasons. Finally, systematic differences in the variant psychologies of men and women regarding the relative merit of offense and defense exert predictable consequences for public opinion surrounding the conduct of war in particular.
Between Dissolution and Blood: How Administrative Lines and Categories Shape Secessionist Outcomes
Authors: Griffiths Ryan D.
Published: March 2015

Common wisdom and current scholarship hold that governments need to stand firm in the face of secessionist demands, since permitting the secession of one region can set a precedent for others. For this reason governments will often choose blood rather than risk dissolution. I argue that administrative organization provides states with a third option. Those regions that represent a unique administrative type stand a much better chance of seceding peacefully. Moreover, large articulated states sometimes downsize by administrative category, which helps explain why governments will release one set of units without contest while preventing another set from doing the same. Finally, secessionist movements that do not cohere with any administrative region are the least likely to be granted independence. In sum, the administrative architecture of states provides governments with a means to discriminate between secessionist demands. I test this theory in a large-N study using original data on secessionist movements and administrative units between 1816 and 2011.
African Union Rising to the Need for Continental IP Protection? The Establishment of the Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization
Authors: Mupangavanhu Y
Published: March 2015

Intellectual property rights protection is at the forefront of some of the major controversies regarding the impact of globalization. African countries have in recent years participated to an unprecedented degree in both international and bilateral initiatives dealing with intellectual property. The negotiating positions have been varied and, from a regional perspective, have not been coherent at some levels, with different countries advancing different positions. African countries have adopted regional integration as a strategy to deal with the challenges of globalization. Regional integration is believed to increase negotiating capacities and competitiveness in global trade. It is also believed to improve access to foreign technology. The African Union is facilitating the establishment of a continental intellectual property body. Accordingly, the main aim of this article is to discuss the establishment of the Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization in line with the African Union's vision for regional integration.
How many Epley manoeuvres are required to treat benign paroxysmal positional vertigo?
Authors: Hughes D , Shakir A , Goggins S , Snow D
Published: March 2015

Objective:

To evaluate the total number of Epley manoeuvres required to provide symptomatic relief to patients newly diagnosed with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

Methods:

This retrospective audit assessed every patient referred to the audiology department for investigations of their symptoms over a period of one year. Only patients diagnosed with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo confirmed via a positive Dix–Hallpike test result, with no suggestion of dual pathology, were included.

Results:

Seventy patients with a positive Dix–Hallpike test result were identified. The total number of Epley manoeuvres required ranged from one to five. Thirty-three patients (47 per cent) were asymptomatic following one Epley manoeuvre. Eleven patients (16 per cent) needed 2 manoeuvres and 15 patients (21 per cent) required 3 manoeuvres for symptomatic control.

Conclusion:

Symptomatic control of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo was obtained following a single Epley manoeuvre for 47 per cent of patients. The majority of patients (84 per cent) experienced symptomatic improvement following three Epley manoeuvres.
Sphenopalatine foramen: endoscopic approach with bony landmarks
Authors: Nalavenkata S , Meller C , Novakovic D , Forer M , Patel N P
Published: March 2015

Objective:

To establish whether nasal bony landmarks on computed tomography could be utilised reliably in endoscopic approaches to the sphenopalatine foramen.

Methods:

A prospective analysis of 102 consecutive helical computed tomography scans of the paranasal sinuses was carried out by 2 senior ENT surgeons. Distances from the sphenopalatine foramen to endoscopically palpable bony landmarks were measured.

Results:

There were a total of 102 patients (45 females and 57 males), with a mean age of 62 years. The mean distance from the posterior fontanelle to the sphenopalatine foramen was 14.1 mm (standard deviation = 2.13). The average vertical distance of the sphenopalatine foramen opening from the bony attachment of the inferior turbinate was 14.13 mm. There were no statistically significant differences between any of these measurements (foramen widthp-value = 0.714, distance from fontanellep-value = 0.43 and distance from inferior turbinatep-value = 0.48).

Conclusion:

Determination of reliable bony landmarks is clinically useful in endoscopic surgery and can aid identification of the sphenopalatine foramen. The inferior turbinate concha and posterior fontanelle may be used as reliable computed tomography landmarks for endoscopic approaches to the sphenopalatine foramen.
Attractive interaction between ions inside a quantum plasma structure
Authors: Dvornikov Maxim
Published: March 2015

We construct the model of a quantum spherically symmetric plasma structure based on radial oscillations of ions. We suppose that ions are involved in ion-acoustic plasma oscillations. We find the exact solution of the Schrödinger equation for an ion moving in the self-consistent oscillatory potential of an ion-acoustic wave. The system of ions is secondly quantized and its ground state is constructed. Then, we consider the interaction between ions by the exchange of an acoustic wave. It is shown that this interaction can be attractive. We describe the formation of pairs of ions inside a plasma structure and demonstrate that such a plasmoid can exist in a dense astrophysical medium corresponding to the outer core of a neutron star (NS).
Phonetics of Tongan stress
Authors: Garellek Marc , White James
Published: March 2015

In this study, we determine the acoustic correlates of primary and secondary stress in Tongan. Vowels with primary stress show differences in f0, intensity, duration, F1, and spectral measures compared to unstressed vowels, but a linear discriminant analysis suggests f0 and duration are the best cues for discriminating vowels with primary stress from unstressed vowels. Vowels with secondary stress are mainly marked by differences in f0 relative to unstressed vowels. With regard to the effects of stress on the vowel space, we find that all five Tongan vowels are higher in the vowel space (have lower F1) when unstressed. Moreover, there is no reduction in the overall size of the vowel space. We interpret this pattern as evidence that unstressed vowels in Tongan are not prone to centralization, vowel reduction, or undershoot. The results, however, are consistent with a sonority expansion account (Beckman, Edwards & Fletcher 1992), whereby stressed vowels are lowered to enhance sonority.
IPA Student Awards granted in 2014
Authors: Keating Patricia A.
Published: March 2015

During 2014, the Association granted three IPA Student Awards to student members participating in phonetics conferences. The recipients of the Awards were Martin Kohlberger of Leiden University for participation in Sound Change in Interacting Human Systems (University of California, Berkeley, USA), Caroline Sigouin of Université Laval (Québec, Canada) for participation in 30es Journées d’études sur la parole (Le Mans, France), and Valerie Freeman of the University of Washington for participation in NWAV 43 (New Ways of Analyzing Variation) in Chicago. Congratulations to these student members.
Impacts of anthropogenic land-use change on populations of the Endangered Patagonian cypress Fitzroya cupressoides in southern Chile: implications for its conservation
Authors: Rodríguez-Echeverry James , Echeverría Cristian , Nahuelhual Laura
Published: March 2015

Land-use change can have negative effects on threatened species by modifying their habitat and population dynamics. The habitat of the Endangered Patagonian cypress Fitzroya cupressoides (Mol.) Johnst. (Cupressaceae), a conifer endemic to the temperate forests of southern Chile and Argentina, has been transformed by land-use change and overexploitation. The impact of land-use change on the spatial pattern of F. cupressoides habitat from 1999 to 2011 was evaluated at the landscape level, using satellite images. Additionally, eight 20 × 25 m plots were established in four populations to assess their status. In each plot the density of F. cupressoides and the species richness of the associated plant communities were recorded and analysed, together with spatial patterns at the population and community levels. The loss of potential F. cupressoides habitat was 46% from 1999 to 2011 (38–100% for the four populations). The density of F. cupressoides was lowest in smaller habitat patches, where the number of plant species was higher and the matrix dominated by anthropogenic land-use. Land-use change was associated with a loss of potential habitat for F. cupressoides, and differences in the spatial patterns of habitat influenced the composition of remaining populations and communities. A landscape approach is recommended as a conservation planning strategy for F. cupressoides.
THE GDPPER CAPITAOF THE MEXICAN REGIONS (1895-1930): NEW ESTIMATES
Authors: Aguilar-Retureta José
Published: March 2015

Apart from Appendini (1972) for 1900, there are, so far, no Mexican regional GDP estimates for the period before 1930. The aim of this paper is to fill this gap by presenting new Mexican regional GDPper capitaestimates for several benchmark years between 1895 and 1930. The paper presents the methodology and sources used to estimate the new series, compares them with the previous estimates and offers a first long-term picture of Mexican regionalper capitaGDPs (1895-2010).
IN SEARCH OF A REPLACEMENT FOR ECONOMIC JOURNALS: THE DIFFUSION OF POLITICAL ECONOMY IN CULTURAL REVIEWS IN THE LIBERAL AGE IN SPAIN, 1868-1914
Authors: San-Julian-Arrupe Javier
Published: March 2015

The foundation of specialised economic journals was one of the main traits in the process of institutionalisation of political economy in 19thcentury Western Europe. Spain joined this trend at an early stage and in the 1850s and 1860s some specialised, albeit ephemeral, journals sponsored by the liberal school of economic thought – the Economist School – emerged. However, when these reviews ceased publication, Spanish economists lacked specialised periodicals as an outlet for their contributions. Miscellaneous literary reviews addressing a wider audience represented an alternative for the diffusion of economic papers into educated society, sharing space with many other scientific and literary disciplines. This paper analyses the presence of texts on political economy in four of the most important of these reviews in the period 1868-1914, when Spain lacked economic publications. In spite of not being specialised reviews, these publications played a central role in the process of diffusion and popularisation of political economy as a valuable field of knowledge, acting as a good substitute for specifically economic journals.
HEALTH TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT AND EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY MAKING: QUEENSLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH EXPERIENCE
Authors: Ju Hong , Hewson Kaye
Published: March 2015

Background: Evidence-based policy making is increasingly used for better resource allocation. Queensland Department of Health has developed a new model to introduce innovative health technologies through a health technology assessment (HTA) program.

Structure: A state-wide committee and several sub-committees at health service district level were established to oversee the HTA program and to monitor the uptake of technologies. The committees are supported by a multidisciplinary secretariat comprising staff with key HTA skills.

Process: The process starts with HTA applications, which are then shortlisted according to prespecified criteria. A due diligence process adopting a rapid evidence assessment approach is used to evaluate the applications. Based on the assessment, recommendations are made using a deliberative decision-making process guided by well-recognized tools. With positive recommendation, a technology is piloted in constrained local setting before its system-wide diffusion.

Outcome: The HTA program has assisted health administrators in prioritizing their health technology agendas. It has gained trust and wide support from policy makers and is increasingly used to support funding allocations, indicating the increasing awareness of and confidence in the program.

Conclusions: The HTA program is a valuable process to assist evidence-based policy development and to guide better resource allocation.
ADVANCING PALLIATIVE CARE IN THE UGANDA HEALTH SYSTEM: AN EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY BRIEF
Authors: Nabudere Harriet , Obuku Ekwaro , Lamorde Mohammed
Published: March 2015

Objectives: This paper describes the development and findings for a policy brief on “Advancing the Integration of Palliative Care into the National Health System” and the subsequent use of this report.

Methods: Key stakeholders involved with palliative care helped identify the problem and potential policy solutions to scale up these services within the health system. A working group of national stakeholder representatives and external reviewers commented on and contributed to successive drafts of the report. Research describing the problem, policy options and implementation considerations was identified by reviewing government documents, routinely collected data, electronic literature searches, contact with key informants, and reviewing the reference lists of relevant documents that were retrieved.

Results: The palliative burden is not only high but increasing due to the rise in population and life expectancy. A few options for holistic, supportive care include: Home-based care increases chances of a peaceful death for the terminally ill surrounded by their loved ones; supporting informal caregivers improves their quality of life and discharge planning reduces unscheduled admissions and has the potential to free up capacity for acute care services. A combination of strategies is needed to effectively implement the proposed options as discussed further in this article.

Conclusions: The policy brief report was used as a background document for two stakeholder dialogues whose main outcome was that a comprehensive national palliative care policy should be instituted to include all the options, which need to be integrated within the public health system. A draft policy is now in process.
EXACT DISTRIBUTION OF INTERMITTENTLY CHANGING POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE COMPOUND POISSON PROCESS DRIVEN BY AN ALTERNATING RENEWAL PROCESS AND RELATED FUNCTIONS
Authors: Xu Yifan , De Shyamal K. , Zacks Shelemyahu
Published: March 2015

Alternating renewal processes have been widely used to model social and scientific phenomenal where independent “on” and “off” states alternate. In this paper, we study a model where the value of a process cumulates and declines according to two modes of compound Poisson processes with respect to an underlying alternating renewal process. The model discussed in the present paper can be used as a revenue management model applied to inventory or to finance. The exact distribution of the process is derived as well as the double Laplace transform with respect to the level and time of the process.
Strategic Voting and the Role of Polls: Evidence from an Embedded Web Survey
Authors: Rich Timothy S.
Published: April 2015

What motivates people to vote strategically? Although a broad literature addresses this question, few studies capture the point at which individuals shift from sincere to strategic voters. Furthermore, the influence of polling information remains debated. The analysis in this article tackles strategic voting with an original embedded experiment in a web survey. Empirical analysis finds that respondents who were told of the margin of error in preelection polls were more likely to vote strategically. This analysis also suggests the limits to strategic voting even in ideal settings.
The Dictatorship Game: Simulating a Transition to Democracy
Authors: Jiménez Luis F.
Published: April 2015

A central topic in the comparative-politics subdiscipline is the study of democratic transitions. Despite a growing role-playing literature, there are currently no simulations that illustrate the dynamics of democratic transitions. This article proposes a role-playing simulation that demonstrates to students why it is difficult for countries to transition to democracy and why protests are a necessary but not sufficient condition to topple a dictatorship. As surveys and teaching evaluations subsequently showed, this exercise succeeded in clarifying the more difficult theoretical concepts as well as in making a potentially dry subject more accessible.
Is the future of meat palatable? Perceptions ofin vitromeat as evidenced by online news comments
Authors: Laestadius Linnea I , Caldwell Mark A
Published: March 2015

Objective

To understand current public perceptions ofin vitromeat (IVM) in light of its potential to be a more environmentally sustainable alternative to conventional meat.

Design

A qualitative content analysis of the comments made on online news articles highlighting the development of IVM and the world’s first IVM hamburger in August 2013.

Setting

News article comment sections across seven US-based online news sources (The New York Times,The Los Angeles Times,The Washington Post,The Wall Street Journal,USA Today, Cable News Network and National Public Radio).

Subjects

Four hundred and sixty-two commenters who made eight hundred and fourteen publicly available online comments addressing IVM.

Results

Key themes in commenter perceptions of IVM included environmental and public health benefits, but also negative themes such as IVM’s status as an unnatural and unappealing food. Overall, the tone of comments was more negative than positive.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that while the environmental and public health motivations for developing and in turn consuming IVM resonate with some segments of the population, others find that reasoning both uncompelling and problematic. Concerns about IVM as an unnatural and risky product also appear to be a significant barrier to public acceptance of IVM. Supporters of IVM may wish to begin to develop a regulatory strategy for IVM to build public trust and explore messaging strategies that cast IVM as a new technology with benefits to individuals rather than primarily a solution to global challenges. Those in the public health nutrition field can make an important contribution to the emerging public discussion about IVM.
Nutrition labelling, marketing techniques, nutrition claims and health claims on chip and biscuit packages from sixteen countries
Authors: Mayhew Alexandra J , Lock Karen , Kelishadi Roya , Swaminathan Sumathi , Marcilio Claudia S , Iqbal Romaina , Dehghan Mahshid , Yusuf Salim , Chow Clara K
Published: March 2015

Objective

Food packages were objectively assessed to explore differences in nutrition labelling, selected promotional marketing techniques and health and nutrition claims between countries, in comparison to national regulations.

Design

Cross-sectional.

Setting

Chip and sweet biscuit packages were collected from sixteen countries at different levels of economic development in the EPOCH (Environmental Profile of a Community’s Health) study between 2008 and 2010.

Subjects

Seven hundred and thirty-seven food packages were systematically evaluated for nutrition labelling, selected promotional marketing techniques relevant to nutrition and health, and health and nutrition claims. We compared pack labelling in countries with labelling regulations, with voluntary regulations and no regulations.

Results

Overall 86 % of the packages had nutrition labels, 30 % had health or nutrition claims and 87 % displayed selected marketing techniques. On average, each package displayed two marketing techniques and one health or nutrition claim. In countries with mandatory nutrition labelling a greater proportion of packages displayed nutrition labels, had more of the seven required nutrients present, more total nutrients listed and higher readability compared with those with voluntary or no regulations. Countries with no health or nutrition claim regulations had fewer claims per package compared with countries with regulations.

Conclusions

Nutrition label regulations were associated with increased prevalence and quality of nutrition labels. Health and nutrition claim regulations were unexpectedly associated with increased use of claims, suggesting that current regulations may not have the desired effect of protecting consumers. Of concern, lack of regulation was associated with increased promotional marketing techniques directed at children and misleadingly promoting broad concepts of health.
Factors within the family environment such as parents’ dietary habits and fruit and vegetable availability have the greatest influence on fruit and vegetable consumption by Polish children
Authors: Wolnicka Katarzyna , Taraszewska Anna Małgorzata , Jaczewska-Schuetz Joanna , Jarosz Mirosław
Published: April 2015

Objective

To identify determinants of fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption among school-aged children.

Design

A survey study was conducted in October 2010. The questionnaire contained questions concerning social and demographic data, lifestyle and dietary habits, particularly the frequency of F&V consumption, availability of F&V and knowledge about recommended amounts of F&V intake.

Setting

Polish primary schools.

Subjects

Children (n1255) aged 9 years from randomly selected primary schools and their parents.

Results

The children’s consumption of fruit and of vegetables was influenced by the fruit consumption and vegetable consumption of their parents (r=0·333 andr=0·273, respectively;P=0·001), parents encouraging their children to eat F&V (r=0·259 andr=0·271,respectively;P=0·001), giving children F&V to take to school (r=0·338 andr=0·321,respectively;P=0·001) and the availability of F&V at home (r=0·200 andr=0·296, respectively;P=0·001). Parental education influenced only the frequency of fruit consumption (r=0·074;P=0·01). A correlation between parents’ knowledge of the recommended intakes and the frequency of vegetable and fruit consumption by children was noticed (r=0·258 andr=0·192, respectively,P=0·001).

Conclusions

Factors within the family environment such as parents’ dietary habits and F&V availability had the greatest influence on the F&V consumption by children. Educational activities aimed at parents are crucial to increase the consumption of F&V among children.
Ceci n'est pas une Tussentaal: Evoking Standard and Vernacular Language Through Mixed Dutch in Flemish Telecinematic Discourse
Authors: Jaspers Jürgen , Van Hoof Sarah
Published: March 2015

This paper argues that the use of mixed Dutch, the speech style that Flemish linguists have come to nametussentaal(literally ‘interlanguage’) and which is made up of dialect and standard features, can index meanings conventionally associated with dialect and Standard Dutch, depending on the linguistic ecology in which it occurs. Consequently, and in contrast with current explanations that attribute context-independent social meaning to tussentaal, we argue that its meaning needs to be identified relative to the unfolding interaction in particular contexts of use. Using a corpus of Flemish telecinematic discourse, we suggest that this finding calls for a renewed appreciation of tussentaal in relation to burgeoning hypotheses of destandardization.*
Palm tree structured wide band monopole antenna
Authors: Palaniswamy Sandeep K. , Malathi Kanagasabai , Shrivastav Arun K.
Published: March 2015

This paper presents design, fabrication, and testing of a palm tree structured monopole antenna for wideband applications. The proposed antenna has a wide impedance bandwidth (−10 dB bandwidth) from 4 to 10.4 GHz. Palm tree antenna of compact size 23 mm × 20 mm is designed and fabricated on an FR4 substrate of thickness 1.6 mm. To validate the design, a mathematical relationship between the parameters of the palm tree geometry and the lower cut-off frequency has been established. Parametric study has been carried out to obtain optimum wideband characteristics. The prototype is experimentally validated for the band 4–10.4 GHz within ultra-wideband operations. Transfer function, impulse response and Group delay has been plotted in order to address the time domain characteristics of the palm tree antenna with fidelity factor values. The possible applications cover 5.2–5.8 GHz WLAN, C-band operations, 5.5 GHz WiMAX, and Wireless USB.
Compact ACS-fed antenna with DGS and DMS for WiMAX/WLAN applications
Authors: Ansal Kalikuzhackal Abbas , Shanmuganantham Thangavelu
Published: March 2015

A novel compact asymmetric coplanar strip fed planar antenna with defected ground structure and defected microstrip structure for dual band application is presented. The proposed antenna is composed of defect in both ground plane and radiating strip. The antenna has an overall dimension of 21 × 15.35 × 1.6 mm3when printed on a substrate with dielectric constant of 4.4 and loss tangent of 0.02. The antenna resonating at two different frequencies of 3.5 and 5.5 GHz is coveringworldwide interoperability microwave access and wireless local area network bands. The planar design, simple feeding technique, and compactness make it easy for the integration of the antenna into the circuit board. Details of the antenna design, simulated, and experimental results are presented and discussed. Simulation tool, based on the method of moments (Mentor Graphics IE3D version 15.10) has been used to analyze and optimize the antenna.
In vitro evidence for senescent multinucleated melanocytes as a source for tumor-initiating cells
Authors: Leikam C , Hufnagel A L , Otto C , Murphy D J , Mühling B , Kneitz S , Nanda I , Schmid M , Wagner T U , Haferkamp S , Bröcker E-B , Schartl M , Meierjohann S
Published: April 2015

Oncogenic signaling in melanocytes results in oncogene-induced senescence (OIS), a stable cell-cycle arrest frequently characterized by a bi- or multinuclear phenotype that is considered as a barrier to cancer progression. However, the long-sustained conviction that senescence is a truly irreversible process has recently been challenged. Still, it is not known whether cells driven into OIS can progress to cancer and thereby pose a potential threat. Here, we show that prolonged expression of the melanoma oncogene N-RAS61K in pigment cells overcomes OIS by triggering the emergence of tumor-initiating mononucleated stem-like cells from senescent cells. This progeny is dedifferentiated, highly proliferative, anoikis-resistant and induces fast growing, metastatic tumors. Our data describe that differentiated cells, which are driven into senescence by an oncogene, use this senescence state as trigger for tumor transformation, giving rise to highly aggressive tumor-initiating cells. These observations provide the first experimental in vitro evidence for the evasion of OIS on the cellular level and ensuing transformation.
A photofunctional bottom-up bis(dipyrrinato)zinc(II) complex nanosheet
Authors: Sakamoto Ryota , Hoshiko Ken , Liu Qian , Yagi Toshiki , Nagayama Tatsuhiro , Kusaka Shinpei , Tsuchiya Mizuho , Kitagawa Yasutaka , Wong Wai-Yeung , Nishihara Hiroshi
Published: April 2015

Two-dimensional polymeric nanosheets have recently gained much attention, particularly top-down nanosheets such as graphene and metal chalcogenides originating from bulk-layered mother materials. Although molecule-based bottom-up nanosheets manufactured directly from molecular components can exhibit greater structural diversity than top-down nanosheets, the bottom-up nanosheets reported thus far lack useful functionalities. Here we show the design and synthesis of a bottom-up nanosheet featuring a photoactive bis(dipyrrinato)zinc(II) complex motif. A liquid/liquid interfacial synthesis between a three-way dipyrrin ligand and zinc(II) ions results in a multi-layer nanosheet, whereas an air/liquid interfacial reaction produces a single-layer or few-layer nanosheet with domain sizes of >10 μm on one side. The bis(dipyrrinato)zinc(II) metal complex nanosheet is easy to deposit on various substrates using the Langmuir–Schäfer process. The nanosheet deposited on a transparent SnO2 electrode functions as a photoanode in a photoelectric conversion system, and is thus the first photofunctional bottom-up nanosheet.
A comprehensive map of genome-wide gene regulation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis
Authors: Turkarslan Serdar , Peterson Eliza J R , Rustad Tige R , Minch Kyle J , Reiss David J , Morrison Robert , Ma Shuyi , Price Nathan D , Sherman David R , Baliga Nitin S
Published: March 2015

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) is a pathogenic bacterium responsible for 12 million active cases of tuberculosis (TB) worldwide. The complexity and critical regulatory components of MTB pathogenicity are still poorly understood despite extensive research efforts. In this study, we constructed the first systems-scale map of transcription factor (TF) binding sites and their regulatory target proteins in MTB. We constructed FLAG-tagged overexpression constructs for 206 TFs in MTB, used ChIP-seq to identify genome-wide binding events and surveyed global transcriptomic changes for each overexpressed TF. Here we present data for the most comprehensive map of MTB gene regulation to date. We also define elaborate quality control measures, extensive filtering steps, and the gene-level overlap between ChIP-seq and microarray datasets. Further, we describe the use of TF overexpression datasets to validate a global gene regulatory network model of MTB and describe an online source to explore the datasets.
A General Strategy for Nanohybrids Synthesis via Coupled Competitive Reactions Controlled in a Hybrid Process
Authors: Wang Rongming , Yang Wantai , Song Yuanjun , Shen Xiaomiao , Wang Junmei , Zhong Xiaodi , Li Shuai , Song Yujun
Published: March 2015

A new methodology based on core alloying and shell gradient-doping are developed for the synthesis of nanohybrids, realized by coupled competitive reactions, or sequenced reducing-nucleation and co-precipitation reaction of mixed metal salts in a microfluidic and batch-cooling process. The latent time of nucleation and the growth of nanohybrids can be well controlled due to the formation of controllable intermediates in the coupled competitive reactions. Thus, spatiotemporal-resolved synthesis can be realized by the hybrid process, which enables us to investigate nanohybrid formation at each stage through their solution color changes and TEM images. By adjusting the bi-channel solvents and kinetic parameters of each stage, the primary components of alloyed cores and the second components of transition metal doping ZnO or Al2O3 as surface coatings can be successively formed. The core alloying and shell gradient-doping strategy can efficiently eliminate the crystal lattice mismatch in different components. Consequently, varieties of gradient core-shell nanohybrids can be synthesized using CoM, FeM, AuM, AgM (M = Zn or Al) alloys as cores and transition metal gradient-doping ZnO or Al2O3 as shells, endowing these nanohybrids with unique magnetic and optical properties (e.g., high temperature ferromagnetic property and enhanced blue emission).
A large mimotonid from the Middle Eocene of China sheds light on the evolution of lagomorphs and their kin
Authors: Fostowicz-Frelik Łucja , Li Chuankui , Mao Fangyuan , Meng Jin , Wang Yuanqing
Published: March 2015

Mimotonids share their closest affinity with lagomorphs and were a rare and endemic faunal element of Paleogene mammal assemblages of central Asia. Here we describe a new species, Mimolagusaurorae from the Middle Eocene of Nei Mongol (China). This species belongs to one of the most enigmatic genera of fossil Glires, previously known only from the type and only specimen from the early Oligocene of Gansu (China). Our finding extends the earliest occurrence of the genus by at least 10 million years in the Paleogene of Asia, which closes the gap between Mimolagus and other mimotonids that are known thus far from middle Eocene or older deposits. The new species is one of the largest known pre-Oligocene Glires. As regards duplicidentates, Mimolagus is comparable with the largest Neogene continental leporids, namely hares of the genus Lepus. Our results suggest that ecomorphology of this species was convergent on that of small perissodactyls that dominated faunas of the Mongolian Plateau in the Eocene and probably a result of competitive pressure from other Glires, including a co-occurring mimotonid, Gomphos.
Aerosol-Assisted Extraction of Silicon Nanoparticles from Wafer Slicing Waste for Lithium Ion Batteries
Authors: Jang Hee Dong , Kim Hyekyoung , Chang Hankwon , Kim Jiwoong , Roh Kee Min , Choi Ji-Hyuk , Cho Bong-Gyoo , Park Eunjun , Kim Hansu , Luo Jiayan , Huang Jiaxing
Published: March 2015

A large amount of silicon debris particles are generated during the slicing of silicon ingots into thin wafers for the fabrication of integrated-circuit chips and solar cells. This results in a significant loss of valuable materials at about 40% of the mass of ingots. In addition, a hazardous silicon sludge waste is produced containing largely debris of silicon and silicon carbide, which is a common cutting material on the slicing saw. Efforts in material recovery from the sludge and recycling have been largely directed towards converting silicon or silicon carbide into other chemicals. Here, we report an aerosol-assisted method to extract silicon nanoparticles from such sludge wastes and their use in lithium ion battery applications. Using an ultrasonic spray-drying method, silicon nanoparticles can be directly recovered from the mixture with high efficiency and high purity for making lithium ion battery anode. The work here demonstrated a relatively low cost approach to turn wafer slicing wastes into much higher value-added materials for energy applications, which also helps to increase the sustainability of semiconductor material and device manufacturing.
Using brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity to screen for metabolic syndrome in community populations
Authors: Wang Guanghua , Zheng Liang , Li Xiankai , Wu Juanli , Zhang Lijuan , Zhang Jie , Zou Liling , Li Xin , Zhang Yi , Zhou Qian , Fan Huimin , Li Yang , Li Jue
Published: March 2015

The aim of this study is to investigate the viability of using brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) as a primary tool to screen metabolic syndrome (MetS) and to explore the risk factors of MetS in community populations. A total of 1914 subjects completed medical examination in Shanghai. BaPWV was significantly associated with the components of MetS. The area under curve (AUC) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) in total group were 62.50% and 60.00%–65.30% with the appropriate cut-off point being 1435 cm/sec. The AUC (95%CI) of three subgroups (40–50 yrs, 50–60 yrs and over 60 yrs group) were 75.30% (67.48%–83.35%), 63.35% (58.96%–67.60%), 55.37% (51.19%–60.01%), respectively. A clear pattern surfaced in the process of investigation: the younger were the subjects group, the better receiver operating characteristic (ROC) efficacy would emerge; and the higher sensitivity was, the better negative predictive value (NPV) would be. Male gender, high baPWV values, elevated uric acid (UA) and excess hypersensitive C reaction protein (hs-CRP) levels were stayed in the two regression models as the independent risk factors for MetS. We conclude that baPWV may serve as a potential screening tool for MetS at the cut-off point of 1435 cm/sec.