bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Victims’ Response to Snakebite and Socio-epidemiological Factors of 1018 Snakebites in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Sri Lanka
Authors: Kularatne Abeysinghe M. , Silva Anjana , Maduwage Kalana , Ratnayake Ishani , Walathara Chmara , Ratnayake Chanka , Mendis Suresh , Parangama Ranjith
Published: January 2014

Background

Although snake bite remains a major health problem in Sri Lanka, there is a dearth of baseline information that would be useful in education about and prevention of snakebite.

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to describe the socio-demographic characteristics, behavioral responses, treatment seeking, and prehospital interventions of snakebite victims in an area with high snakebite burden.

Methods

This prospective study was based on a cohort of snakebite victims presented to the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital over a 1-year period from January 2010.

Results

Of the total of 1018 snakebite admissions, 69% were male and 65.8% were aged 21 to 50 years. Most of the victims were farmers (40%). The offending snakes were seen by 549 victims (54%); of these, only 46% (255) presented with a dead snake specimen. Only 38 of 1018 (4%) had first sought some form of indigenous treatment such as locally applied medications, herbal decoctions, nasal insufflations (“Nasna”), or applying snake stone over the bitten site. Some form of first aid had been adopted by 681 victims (67%), of whom all had washed the bitten site, and 18 victims (2%) and 4 (0.4%) had applied a dressing or incised the bitten site, respectively. A tourniquet had been applied by 353 victims (35%) for mean duration of 26 minutes (range, 5 to 120 minutes). None of the patients had immobilized the bitten limb by splinting. Oral medications had been used for pain relief in 74 cases (7%), paracetamol by all.

Conclusions

A proportion of patients still seek native remedies and use inappropriate first aid after snakebite in Sri Lanka.
Violence against Prisoners of War in the First World War
Authors: Jones Heather
Published: January 2014

In this groundbreaking study, Heather Jones provides the first in-depth and comparative examination of violence against First World War prisoners. She shows how the war radicalised captivity treatment in Britain, France and Germany, dramatically undermined international law protecting prisoners of war and led to new forms of forced prisoner labour and reprisals, which fuelled wartime propaganda that was often based on accurate prisoner testimony. This book reveals how, during the conflict, increasing numbers of captives were not sent to home front camps but retained in western front working units to labour directly for the British, French and German armies - in the German case, by 1918, prisoners working for the German army endured widespread malnutrition and constant beatings. Dr Jones examines the significance of these new, violent trends and their later legacy, arguing that the Great War marked a key turning-point in the twentieth-century evolution of the prison camp.
A Primer on the Dirichlet Space
Authors: El-Fallah Omar , Kellay Karim , Mashreghi Javad , Ransford Thomas
Published: January 2014

The Dirichlet space is one of the three fundamental Hilbert spaces of holomorphic functions on the unit disk. It boasts a rich and beautiful theory, yet at the same time remains a source of challenging open problems and a subject of active mathematical research. This book is the first systematic account of the Dirichlet space, assembling results previously only found in scattered research articles, and improving upon many of the proofs. Topics treated include: the Douglas and Carleson formulas for the Dirichlet integral, reproducing kernels, boundary behaviour and capacity, zero sets and uniqueness sets, multipliers, interpolation, Carleson measures, composition operators, local Dirichlet spaces, shift-invariant subspaces, and cyclicity. Special features include a self-contained treatment of capacity, including the strong-type inequality. The book will be valuable to researchers in function theory, and with over 100 exercises it is also suitable for self-study by graduate students.
Introduction to Modern Digital Holography
Authors: Poon Ting-Chung , Liu Jung-Ping
Published: January 2014

Get up to speed with digital holography with this concise and straightforward introduction to modern techniques and conventions. Building up from the basic principles of optics, this book describes key techniques in digital holography, such as phase-shifting holography, low-coherence holography, diffraction tomographic holography and optical scanning holography, discussing their practical applications, and accompanied by all the theory necessary to understand the underlying principles at work. A further chapter covers advanced techniques for producing computer-generated holograms. Extensive Matlab code is integrated with the text throughout and available for download online, illustrating both theoretical results and practical considerations such as aliasing, zero padding and sampling. Accompanied by end-of-chapter problems and an online solutions manual for instructors, this is an indispensable resource for students, researchers and engineers in the fields of optical image processing and digital holography.
An Account of the Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians
Authors: Lane Edward William
Published: January 2014

Edward William Lane (1801–76) published this work in two volumes in 1836. Resident in the country for many years, and fluent in Arabic, he devoted his life's study to Egypt. A fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and the Institut de France, Lane translated One Thousand and One Nights and selections from the Koran. His major work was an Arabic–English lexicon; a monumental undertaking, he was working on the sixth volume when he died. Volume 1 of Modern Egyptians offers detailed accounts of climate, housing, education and domestic life. It also looks at the country's systems of religion, law and government, and examines language, literature, sciences and magic. A bestseller in its own day, this well-illustrated work remains a key text for students of nineteenth-century Egypt and the Arab world.
Rigorous pointwise approximations for invariant densities of non-uniformly expanding maps
Authors: BAHSOUN WAEL , BOSE CHRISTOPHER , DUAN YUEJIAO
Published: January 2014

We use an Ulam-type discretization scheme to provide pointwise approximations for invariant densities of interval maps with a neutral fixed point. We prove that the approximate invariant density converges pointwise to the true density at a rate ${C}^{\ast } \cdot (\ln m)/ m$, where ${C}^{\ast } $ is a computable fixed constant and ${m}^{- 1} $ is the mesh size of the discretization.
Pinch-off of non-axisymmetric vortex rings
Authors: O’Farrell Clara , Dabiri John O.
Published: January 2014

The formation and pinch-off of non-axisymmetric vortex rings is considered experimentally. Vortex rings are generated using a non-circular piston–cylinder arrangement, and the resulting velocity fields are measured using digital particle image velocimetry. Three different nozzle geometries are considered: an elliptical nozzle with an aspect ratio of two, an elliptical nozzle with an aspect ratio of four and an oval nozzle constructed from tangent circular arcs. The formation of vortices from the three nozzles is analysed by means of the vorticity and circulation, as well as by investigation of the Lagrangian coherent structures in the flow. The results indicate that, in all three nozzles, the maximum circulation the vortex can attain is determined by the equivalent diameter of the nozzle: the diameter of a circular nozzle of identical cross-sectional area. In addition, the time at which the vortex rings pinch off is found to be constant along the nozzle contours, and independent of relative variations in the local curvature. A formation number for this class of vortex rings is defined based on the equivalent diameter of the nozzle, and the formation number for vortex rings of the three geometries considered is found to lie in the range of 3–4. The implications of the relative shape and local curvature independence of the formation number on the study and modelling of naturally occurring vortex rings such as those that appear in biological flows is discussed.
Unilateral blindness: a unique complication of choanal atresia surgery
Authors: D'Ascanio L , Rebuffini E
Published: January 2014

Objective:

To report a unique case of unilateral blindness secondary to transnasal endoscopic surgery and stenting for right choanal atresia.

Case report:

A 24-year-old man was referred with right eye blindness and acute headache, occurring immediately after transnasal endoscopic surgical repair of unilateral right choanal atresia with placement of an endonasal stent. Maxillo-facial computed tomography with three-dimensional reconstruction showed the endonasal stent entering the right nostril, passing through the lamina papyracea into the orbit and running anterior to the optic foramen towards the superior orbital fissure. Despite stent removal and medical treatment (ceftriaxone and dexamethasone), permanent right eye blindness secondary to an irreversible lesion of the optic nerve was diagnosed. At three-month follow up, an uncommon, complete fibrous obliteration of the right nasal fossa was noticed.

Conclusion:

To the best of our knowledge, this is the only published report of unilateral blindness following transnasal endoscopic stenting for right choanal atresia. Causes of this complication, and ways of avoiding it, are discussed.
Re-visioning Buddhist art in Thailand
Authors: Krairiksh Piriya
Published: January 2014

The Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, is to be congratulated for organising a splendid exhibition of Thai Buddhist art entitled ‘Enlightened ways: The many streams of Buddhist art in Thailand’, which ran from 30 November 2012 to 17 April 2013, and for publishing the exhibition catalogue as well as a separate monograph, Buddhist storytelling in Thailand and Laos, which elucidates the long cloth scroll depicting the story of Prince Vessantara on display at the exhibition.
Molecular examination of kalyptorhynch diversity (Platyhelminthes: Rhabdocoela), including descriptions of five meiofaunal species from the north-eastern Pacific Ocean
Authors: Rundell Rebecca J. , Leander Brian S.
Published: January 2014

The spaces between sand grains are home to a myriad of microscopic marine eukaryotes, including kalyptorhynch rhabdocoels equipped with an eversible proboscis that enables them to capture microscopic prey living in these environments. The structure of the kalyptorhynch proboscis separates the two major subclades within the group: the Schizorhynchia (bifurcated proboscis) and the Eukalyptorhynchia (unbranched proboscis). A survey of meiofaunal metazoans in the Pacific north-west led to the discovery of three new schizorhynch species (Undicola tofinoensisgen. nov., sp. nov.,Schizorhinos vancouverensisgen. nov., sp. nov. andLinguabana tulaigen. nov., sp. nov.) and two new eukalyptorhynch species (Thinodactylaina tlaoquiahtensisgen. nov., sp. nov. andRostracilla nuuchahnulthensisgen. nov., sp. nov.). This survey also recovered the putative cosmopolitan eukalyptorhynch (Polycystididae)Gyratrix hermaphroditusEhrenberg, 1831. We performed molecular phylogenetic analyses on 18S rDNA sequences from all five novel isolates and from all available kalyptorhynch species in GenBank. The molecular data supported the monophyly of the Eukalyptorhynchia and Schizorhynchia and helped demonstrate the boundaries between different species within the Kalyptorhynchia.
Molecular data on the genusOkenia(Nudibranchia: Goniodorididae) reveal a new cryptic species from New South Wales (Australia)
Authors: Pola Marta , Roldán Pablo , Padilla Sandra
Published: January 2014

Preliminary molecular data obtained from one mitochondrial (COI) and one nuclear marker (H3) from the available species of the genusOkeniahave revealed a new cryptic species of this genus. The new species(Okenia harastiisp. nov.), from New South Wales (NSW) eastern Australia, has a light brown body with scattered dark brown and white spots of different sizes, and six pairs of translucent mantle processes.Okenia harastiisp. nov. is compared with otherOkeniaspecies from NSW and with other morphologically similar species.
Dietary restriction and the pursuit of effective mimetics
Authors: Selman Colin
Published: January 2014

Dietary restriction (DR) has been shown to extend both median and maximum lifespan in a range of animals, although recent findings suggest that these effects are not universally enjoyed across all animals. In particular, the lifespan effect following DR in mice is highly strain-specific and there is little current evidence that DR induces a positive effect on all-cause mortality in non-human primates. However, the positive effects of DR on health appear to be highly conserved across the vast majority of species, including human subjects. Despite these effects on health, it is highly unlikely that DR will become a realistic or popular life choice for most human subjects given the level of restraint required. Consequently significant research is focusing on identifying compounds that will bestow the benefits of DR without the obligation to adhere to stringent reductions in daily food intake. Several such compounds, including rapamycin, metformin and resveratrol, have been identified as potential DR mimetics. Although these compounds show significant promise, there is a need to properly understand the mechanisms through which these drugs act. This review will discuss the importance in understanding the role that genetic background and heterogeneity play in mediating the lifespan and healthspan effects of DR. It will also provide an overview of the most promising current DR mimetics and their effects on healthy lifespan.
Return of the Great Pumpkin
Authors: SCOTT KYLE
Published: January 2014

According to Alvin Plantinga there is no good reason to think that there is anything unacceptable about religious belief even if the believer cannot present evidence or arguments in support of her beliefs. One important challenge to this claim is the ‘Great Pumpkin’ objection. This objection is that Plantinga's arguments could be used to defend very strange beliefs such as belief in the Great Pumpkin. I describe this objection in more detail and then offer a solution to the problem by considering how the historical and social environment might provide favouring evidence for Christian beliefs.
Difficulty matters: Unspecific attentional demands as a major determinant of performance highlighted by clinical studies
Authors: Bonato Mario , Zorzi Marco , Umiltà Carlo
Published: January 2014

The cognitive impairments shown by brain-damaged patients emphasize the role of task difficulty as a major determinant for performance. We discuss the proposal of Kurzban et al. in light of our findings on right-hemisphere–damaged patients, who show increasing awareness deficits for the contralesional hemispace when engaged with resource-consuming dual tasks. This phenomenon is readily explained by the assumption of unspecific depletable resources.
Persisting through subjective effort: A key role for the anterior cingulate cortex?
Authors: Hillman Kristin L. , Bilkey David K.
Published: January 2014

One shortcoming of Kurzban et al.'s model is that it is not clear how animals persist through subjectively effortful tasks, particularly over a long time course. We suggest that the anterior cingulate cortex plays a critical role by encoding the utility of an action, and signalling where efforts should be best directed based on previous and prospected experience.
Let's talk about class: towards an institutionalist typology of class relations in the cities of pre-modern Europe (c. 1200 –c. 1800)
Authors: FYNN-PAUL JEFF
Published: January 2014

For a quarter century, the term ‘class’ has been anathema for most writers of premodern urban history. The term's associations with discredited forms of analysis – forms often dubiously but persistently associated with Marxism – continue to hamper its reintroduction. In the absence of ‘class’, or a term like it, however, meaningful discussion of ‘horizontal’ divisions in urban society has dwindled. The present article suggests that ‘class’ can and should be reintroduced into our analysis, but that this should be done in an informed way, which takes into account the principal possible meanings of the term. To this end, we analyse the ways in which urban historians have employed the term ‘class’ and find four principal usages. Two of these are ‘material’ and two are ‘institutional’. It is further suggested that certain institutions, such as the nobility and town governments in Europe, can be ‘class determining’, insofar as they channel economic and productive differences into effective political, legal and ideological ‘classes’. This insight, and the typology it is based upon, open the possibility for integrating ‘class’ analysis with recent work in both European and Global contexts.
On the -invariant of the cyclotomic derivative of a Katzp-adic -function
Authors: Burungale Ashay A.
Published: January 2014

When the branch character has root number$- 1$, the corresponding anticyclotomic Katz$p$-adic$L$-function vanishes identically. For this case, we determine the$\mu $-invariant of the cyclotomic derivative of the Katz$p$-adic$L$-function. The result proves, as an application, the non-vanishing of the anticyclotomic regulator of a self-dual CM modular form with root number$- 1$. The result also plays a crucial role in the recent work of Hsieh on the Eisenstein ideal approach to a one-sided divisibility of the CM main conjecture.
Slot antenna for mobile base station using AMC
Authors: El-Gendy Mohamed S. , Abdullah Haythem H. , Abdallah Esmat A.
Published: January 2014

In this paper, a new configuration of dual-band, dual-polarized microstrip antenna applicable to mobile base stations is proposed. The concept behind the new design is the use of an artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) structure that operates in the required two bands beneath a radiating diamond shaped slot. The choice of the diamond-shaped slot is due to its support of an infinite number of resonant modes where the dimensions of the diamond shape have more degree of freedom that controls the excited modes when compared to the rectangular slot. The proposed antenna works over the 870–960 MHz (GSM850/GSM900) band and the 1710–2170 MHz (DCS1800/PCS1900/UMTS2100) bands for mobile communication systems. The antenna is suitable for transmitting and receiving mobile signals since it has two ports of orthogonal polarization. The antenna is fabricated on a combination of FR4 dielectric substrate and foam layers in order to achieve low cost. The proposed antenna yields high isolation between its two ports not exceeding −30 dB and a front-to-back ratio exceeding 15 dB. The average antenna gains are about 6.6 dBi at the GSM850/GSM900, 7.1 dBi at the DCS1800/PCS1900, and 6.8 dBi at the UMTS2100 bands. The theory of radiation is proved analytically and verified by comparing its results with some simulated results. Finally, a good agreement between the simulated and measured results is noticed.
Der Fragebogen zur Selbstwirksamkeit in der Erziehung (FSW)
Authors: Kliem Sören , Kessemeier Yvonne , Heinrichs Nina , Döpfner Manfred , Hahlweg Kurt
Published: January 2014

Der 9 Items umfassende Fragebogen zur Selbstwirksamkeit in der Erziehung (FSW) wurde in Anlehnung an verschiedene international verbreitete Fragebögen entwickelt. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, den Fragebogen hinsichtlich seiner psychometrischen Güte sowie Validitätsaspekten zu überprüfen. Der FSW wurde anhand einer Stichprobe von N = 271 Müttern und N = 198 Vätern von Kindern zwischen 2.5 und 6.5 Jahren evaluiert. Für den Gesamtwert des FSW wurden gute interne Konsistenzen (Mütter: α = .78; Väter: α = .79) ermittelt. Die Zusammenhänge mit anderen Fragebögen fielen weitestgehend erwartungsgemäß aus. Der Fragebogen kann zukünftig in der Praxis und Forschung eingesetzt werden.
Diagnostik von ICT-Literacy
Authors: Goldhammer Frank , Kröhne Ulf , Keßel Yvonne , Senkbeil Martin , Ihme Jan Marten
Published: January 2014

ICT-Literacy legt eine performanzbasierte Erfassung nahe, also mithilfe von Testaufgaben, die interaktive (simulierte) Computerumgebungen präsentieren und eine Reaktion mittels Maus und/oder Tastatur erfordern. Dennoch kommen häufig Verfahren wie Selbstbeurteilungen oder papierbasierte Leistungstests zum Einsatz. Ziel der vorliegenden Studie war es, die psychometrischen Eigenschaften simulationsbasierter (SIM) Aufgaben mit den Eigenschaften inhaltlich paralleler Multiple-Choice (MC)-Aufgaben zu vergleichen, bei denen Screenshots als Stimulus verwendet werden. Die MC-Aufgaben, die im Rahmen der National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) entwickelt wurden, erfassen die Fähigkeit, digitale Informationen auszuwählen und abzurufen sowie grundlegende Operationen durchzuführen (Access). In einem Zufallsgruppendesign bearbeiteten 405 Jugendliche der Klassenstufe 9 die computerbasierten Access-Testitems entweder als MC-Aufgabe oder als SIM-Aufgabe sowie den simulationsbasierten Basic Computer Skills (BCS)-Test. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sich die meisten MC-Aufgaben und SIM-Aufgaben hinsichtlich Schwierigkeit und Ladung unterscheiden. Übereinstimmende konvergente Validität wird durch vergleichbar hohe Korrelationen der beiden Testformen mit BCS angezeigt.
Invariant natural killer T‐cell neutralization is a possible novel therapy for human eosinophilic esophagitis
Authors: Rayapudi Madhavi , Rajavelu Priya , Zhu Xiang , Kaul Ajay , Niranjan Rituraj , Dynda Scott , Mishra Akanksha , Mattner Jochen , Zaidi Asifa , Dutt Parmesh , Mishra Anil
Published: January 2014

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a recently recognized inflammatory disorder that needs a potential therapeutic strategy. We earlier showed that iNKT cell‐deficient mice are protected from allergen‐induced EoE. Therefore, we now tested the hypothesis that iNKT cells are induced in the human EoE and is a novel possible target for the treatment of human EoE. Accordingly, we examine number of iNKT cells and eosinophils and expression of iNKT‐associated cell surface receptors and chemokines by performing immunofluorescence, qPCR and ELISA in the esophageal biopsies and blood samples of normal subjects (comparison control) and EoE patients. Herein, we show that iNKT cell number, their receptor subcomponents Vα24 and Vβ11 expression, and associated chemokine CXCL16 levels (or expression) are induced significantly in EoE patients compared with normal individuals. In addition, we show that CXCL16 levels (or expression) correlate with the mRNA levels of Vα24 receptor but not well with esophageal eosinophilia in human EoE. Of note, we show that in vivo activation of iNKT cells is sufficient to induce EoE in mice. Furthermore, we show that anti‐mCD1d‐ and anti‐hVα24Jα18‐neutralizing antibody treatment protects allergen‐induced experimental EoE. Taken together, we have shown first time that iNKT cells have a critical pathogenic role in human and experimental EoE. iNKT cell neutralization by humanized anti‐CD1d and anti‐Vα24Jα18 antibodies might be a novel and potential therapy for human EoE.
A highly selective fluorescent probe for cadmium ions in aqueous solution and living cells
Authors: Liu Qiaoling , Feng Lixia , Yuan Caixia , Zhang Lin , Shuang Shaomin , Dong Chuan , Hu Qin , Choi Martin M. F.
Published: January 2014

A bifluorophoric probe displays high selectivity for Cd2+ and a low detection limit of 20 nM Cd2+ in aqueous solution.
Auslander-Reiten theory of small half quantum groups
Authors: Külshammer Julian
Published: January 2014

For the small half quantum groups

u
ζ

(

b

)

u_\zeta (\mathfrak {b})

and

u
ζ

(

n

)

u_\zeta (\mathfrak {n})

we show that the components of the stable Auslander-Reiten quiver containing gradable modules are of the form

Z

[

A

∞

]

\mathbb {Z}[\mathbb {A}_\infty ]

.
Portfolio Speculation and Commodity Price Volatility in a Stochastic Storage Model
Authors: Vercammen James , Doroudian Ali
Published: January 2014

Simulated prices from a stochastic storage model are used to examine the price impacts of speculation by rational investors who diversify their financial portfolios by holding agricultural commodity futures. The main result is that rather than destabilizing commodity prices, as is commonly believed, portfolio speculation actually reduces price volatility. Portfolio speculation can potentially destabilize a commodity's price because the additional demand for long futures by speculators is expected to drive up the cash price during both periods of low net demand, when the cash price is below average, and periods of high net demand, when the cash price is above average. Our theoretical analysis demonstrates that the higher level of inventory that is associated with portfolio speculation results in a larger release of stocks during periods of high net demand. The price simulations reveal that this stock adjustment effect is strong since overall price volatility is smaller rather than larger with portfolio speculation.
Hedging and Speculative Trading in Agricultural Futures Markets
Authors: Fishe Raymond P. H. , Janzen Joseph P. , Smith Aaron
Published: January 2014

Regulators and industry participants have expressed concern that excessive speculation harms agricultural futures markets. Such harm may arise if speculators cause prices to systematically differ from the price sequence that would arise in markets populated by equally informed traders with rational expectations (RE). We show theoretically that, when traders exhibit differences of opinion (DO) about the expected value of the commodity, futures prices may diverge from the RE equilibrium. Moreover, we develop a testable prediction, namely that positions held by different trader groups are correlated with prices in a DO equilibrium but not correlated in a RE equilibrium. We find strong empirical support for the DO‐type environment; changes in positions held by managed money traders are positively correlated with prices, and changes in positions held by producers are negatively correlated. In the context of our DO model, this finding implies that prices change by more on average than producers think they should and by less than managed money thinks they should. However, the evidence suggests that neither group is systematically more prescient than the other.
Characterization of the SOS meta-regulon in the human gut microbiome
Authors: Cornish Joseph P. , Sanchez-Alberola Neus , O’Neill Patrick K. , O'Keefe Ronald , Gheba Jameel , Erill Ivan
Published: January 2014

Motivation: Data from metagenomics projects remain largely untapped for the analysis of transcriptional regulatory networks. Here, we provide proof-of-concept that metagenomic data can be effectively leveraged to analyze regulatory networks by characterizing the SOS meta-regulon in the human gut microbiome.

Results: We combine well-established in silico and in vitro techniques to mine the human gut microbiome data and determine the relative composition of the SOS network in a natural setting. Our analysis highlights the importance of translesion synthesis as a primary function of the SOS response. We predict the association of this network with three novel protein clusters involved in cell wall biogenesis, chromosome partitioning and restriction modification, and we confirm binding of the SOS response transcriptional repressor to sites in the promoter of a cell wall biogenesis enzyme, a phage integrase and a death-on-curing protein. We discuss the implications of these findings and the potential for this approach for metagenome analysis.

Contact:  erill@umbc.edu

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
The effect of targeted stocking on behaviour and space utilization of a released finfish
Authors: Pursche Alexander R. , Suthers Iain M. , Taylor Matthew D.
Published: January 2014

Targeted stocking involves the release of fish directly into high-quality habitat, however this is often time-consuming, expensive and difficult. Acoustically tagged hatchery-reared juvenile mulloway Argyrosomus japonicus were released in groups directly into deep-hole habitat preferred by wild conspecifics (targeted stocking), or in a non-targeted fashion near easily accessible sites that lacked high-quality habitats in the direct vicinity. Fish were tracked continuously, 24 h d−1, for 5 d following release. Fish released in a targeted fashion showed lower mean activity rates (50% less movement) and occupied higher quality habitats than fish released in a non-targeted fashion. Fish released in a non-targeted fashion also used a greater number of smaller habitat patches. The implications for improvements in behaviour and habitat usage patterns for fish released in a targeted fashion, such as improved growth and survival, are discussed. Identifying and releasing fish directly into the species' high-quality habitat may ultimately improve the success of stocking programs.
The early life history of fish—there is still a lot of work to do!
Authors: Browman Howard I. , Skiftesvik Anne Berit
Published: January 2014

The themed set of articles that follows this introduction contains a selection of the papers that were presented at the 36th Annual Larval Fish Conference (ALFC), convened in Osøyro, Norway, 2–6 July 2012. The conference was organized around four theme sessions, three of which are represented with articles in this collection: “Assessing the relative contribution of different sources of mortality in the early life stages of fishes”; “The contribution of mechanistic,behavioural, and physiological studies on fish larvae to ecosystem models”; “Effects of oil and natural gas surveys, extraction activity and spills on fish early life stages”. Looking back at the main themes of earlier conferences about the early life history of fish reveals that they were not very different from those of ALFC2012. Clearly, we still have a lot of work to do on these and other topics related to the biology and ecology of fish early life stages.
Could the planktonic stages of polar cod and Pacific sand lance compete for food in the warming Beaufort Sea?
Authors: Falardeau Marianne , Robert Dominique , Fortier Louis
Published: January 2014

The boreal Pacific sand lance (Ammodytes hexapterus) was recently detected in southeastern Beaufort Sea (Canadian Arctic), numbering as the second most abundant ichthyoplankton species after the polar cod (Boreogadus saida) in 2011. We contrast the hatching periods, growth, prey selectivity, and feeding success of the planktonic stages of the two species. Polar cod hatched from January to mid-July and sand lance from mid-July to early September, precluding any competition among the larval stages. By weight, sand lance larvae grew 3.7 times faster than polar cod larvae. The co-occurring juveniles of both species fed primarily on copepods and to a lesser extent on bivalve larvae, shifting to larger prey with growth. The feeding success of both species appeared limited by the availability of their preferred prey. A significant diet overlap in juveniles >25 mm suggested potential competition for Pseudocalanus spp., Calanus spp., and bivalve larvae. However, sand lance strongly selected for nauplii while the more diversified diet of polar cod comprised mainly the copepodites of these species. Interspecific competition for food is unlikely at this time but is predicted to amplify with a climate-related reduction in the size of zooplankton prey and an increase in the abundance of sand lance.
Divestment laws, fiduciary duty, and pension fund management: an empirical examination
Authors: Ghahramani Salar
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to conduct an empirical analysis of subnational laws of the USA that require public pension funds to divest from companies that are in business with Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Sudan and explores whether public fund officials may be in violation of their fiduciary duty responsibilities toward pension system beneficiaries as they execute state-mandated divestment schemes.

Design/methodology/approach

– A database search was conducted for specific federal laws, presidential executive orders, and departments, offices, and terminology relevant to the topic of the research to explore the extent by which states employ public pension divestment regimes inspired by the federal governments designation of the four countries labeled as state sponsors of terrorism. Quantitative and financial calculations were used to conduct the cost analysis of divestment laws.

Findings

– Divestment laws are costly for the beneficiaries. In the majority of the states that have divestment laws, the public funds, rather than the states, must cover the losses associated with divestment, resulting in pension fund trustees and managers having to take action that are in violation of their fiduciary duty responsibilities.

Research limitations/implications

– The study recommends a major overhaul of the current divestment laws.

Practical implications

– Divestment legislations must be revised as they cause a divergence of interests between state-driven political gestures, the fiduciary responsibilities of pension system trustees, and the financial interests of the beneficiaries.

Originality/value

– This is the first study that recommends specific legislative action that would resolve the divergence of interests between state-driven political gestures, the fiduciary responsibilities of pension system trustees, and the financial interests of the beneficiaries.
UK Bribery Act 2010: implications for business in Africa
Authors: Lagu Yanga Martina
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– This article aims to examine some of the implications of the UK Bribery Act (UKBA) 2010 for business in Africa and reviews the effectiveness of strategies African governments have adopted to prevent bribery. The author proposes the development of a bespoke anti-bribery management system (ABMS) based on empirical research. This would help African institutions overcome some of the challenges associated with enforcing regulatory measures formulated in developed countries.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper takes the form of a literature review and commentary.

Findings

– The UKBA has extra-territorial jurisdiction which empowers UK courts to prosecute cases of bribery committed abroad by UK companies and their associates. The risk of prosecution is likely to affect foreign direct investment and official development aid flows to Africa. However, companies can escape prosecution if they can prove that they have adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery. This raises the question as to whether the legislation shifts the responsibility of fighting bribery to under-resourced overseas business partners and supply chains. While most African governments have adopted robust anti-bribery laws, their enforcement is hampered by weak institutions.

Research limitations/implications

– Empirical research is required to assess the impact of the legislation over the next five years.

Practical implications

– African organisations must be sensitised about the consequences of violating the UKBA to ensure they adopt appropriate anti-bribery strategies.

Originality/value

– This article contributes to literature by exploring the development of evidence based ABMS for African organisations which is currently lacking.
How publics react to crisis communication efforts
Authors: Timothy Coombs W. , Jean Holladay Sherry
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a rationale and framework for examining stakeholder reactions to crisis communication messages in various social media channels. Stakeholders can become crisis communications by entering various sub-arenas of the larger rhetorical arena. The concept of sub-arena is presented and a case analysis used to illustrate the application and value of examining stakeholder crisis communicators during a crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

– Content analysis was used to evaluate publicly available social media messages posted on the Livestrong blog and theHuffington Postonline news site.

Findings

– The paper demonstrates that monitoring reactions of stakeholders can reveal how individuals can act as crisis communications in social media messages can serve as barometers the effectiveness of an organization's crisis response. The importance of examining multiple sub-arenas is considered due to the influence of supportive stakeholders in organizational social media.

Research limitations/implications

– Only two sub-arenas were analyzed using one crisis response during a crisis that extended over a number of months.

Practical implications

– The paper includes implications for the examination of social media messages from supportive stakeholder and neutral sub-arenas. The results provide indicators of the effectiveness of an organization's crisis response and how stakeholder messages in social media may contribute to or undermine the crisis response.

Originality/value

– This paper demonstrates the value of monitoring social media comments to gauge reactions to organizational crisis responses and demonstrates how stakeholders can function as informal crisis managers. It also begins the discussion of the value and conceptualization of sub-arenas.
Multiple-period market risk prediction under long memory: when VaR is higher than expected
Authors: Kinateder Harald , Wagner Niklas
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– The paper aims to model multiple-period market risk forecasts under long memory persistence in market volatility.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper proposes volatility forecasts based on a combination of the GARCH(1,1)-model with potentially fat-tailed and skewed innovations and a long memory specification of the slowly declining influence of past volatility shocks. As the square-root-of-time rule is known to be mis-specified, the GARCH setting of Drost and Nijman is used as benchmark model. The empirical study of equity market risk is based on daily returns during the period January 1975 to December 2010. The out-of-sample accuracy of VaR predictions is studied for 5, 10, 20 and 60 trading days.

Findings

– The long memory scaling approach remarkably improves VaR forecasts for the longer horizons. This result is only in part due to higher predicted risk levels. Ex post calibration to equal unconditional VaR levels illustrates that the approach also enhances efficiency in allocating VaR capital through time.

Practical implications

– The improved VaR forecasts show that one should account for long memory when calibrating risk models.

Originality/value

– The paper models single-period returns rather than choosing the simpler approach of modeling lower-frequency multiple-period returns for long-run volatility forecasting. The approach considers long memory in volatility and has two main advantages: it yields a consistent set of volatility predictions for various horizons and VaR forecasting accuracy is improved.
It takes (more than) two to tango: informal tango market dynamics in Barcelona
Authors: Khlif Wafa , Pousset Joanna
Published: January 2014

Purpose

– This paper aims to address the tango market as a social institution by building on the notion of “globalization from below” as well as social capital theory to understand the market's dynamics as a part of the Barcelona grey economy and as one that supports immigration settlement and integration.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors began with participant observation that helped the authors to capture the essence of the market, to observe the behaviours of the participants and then to interview different actors. For more than a year (October 2011-December 2012), the authors frequented various tango dancing floors and also attended different tango classes. The authors concentrated the interviews during the first quarter of 2013 (January-March). The authors conducted 15 recorded interviews with distinct categories of supplier to the tango market.

Findings

– The authors demonstrate how the resulting social exclusion is theraison d'êtreof globalization from below, through a cross-cultural symbiotic relationship. Moreover, the authors examine the causes of informal market relations and their impact on the nature of interactions among market participants.

Originality/value

– The tango in Barcelona is made up of a series of individual exchanges and transactions that create a functioning and ordered system. Economically speaking, it can be assumed as an emergent market. But this market is deeply embedded in a social and political context making it a social institution constructed in culturally specific ways. The local socio-political context opens the door to corruption, although not necessarily to breaking the law, allowing the market agents to remain within the system and “dance” with it. Their disobedience to the rule creates disorder but allows them to recreate a specific order.
Trust, religion, and cooperation in western agriculture, 1880–1930
Authors: Fernández Eva
Published: January 2014

This article explores the role of culture in encouraging the diffusion of cooperation for the production and marketing of agricultural products, an organizational innovation that can be related to technical progress in the rural sector and higher living standards for farmers. The results of the zero‐inflated negative binomial (ZINB) pooled regressions show that trust and religion were significant determinants of the diffusion of cooperatives among farmers in western countries. Results of the logit portion of these regressions suggest that the density of production was positively related to cooperation and that cooperation decreased where higher inequality in land distribution predominated.
How Windfall Income Increases Gambling at Poker Machines
Authors: Buddelmeyer Hielke , Peyton Kyle
Published: January 2014

In December 2008 and March–April 2009, the Australian Government used fiscal stimulus as a short‐run economic stabilisation tool for the first time since the 1990s. In May–June 2012, households received lump‐sum cheques as compensation for the introduction of the Carbon Tax scheduled for 1 July 2012. This article examines the relationship between these financial windfalls and spending at electronic gaming machines (EGMs) using data from 62 local government areas in Victoria, Australia. The results show large increases in spending at EGMs during the periods when Australian households received economic stimulus cheques. We estimate increased spending at EGMs in December 2008, for example, amounted to 1 per cent of the total stimulus for that period. These findings are consistent with behavioural models of consumption and demonstrate the relative power of framing windfall income as a bonus rather than rebate, especially when targeted at particular sociodemographic subpopulations. Our analysis also calls into question the conventional wisdom that large portions of government payments end up in poker machines.
Implementation and Assessment of Food Safety Educational Materials for Secondary and Postsecondary Education
Authors: Shearer Adrienne E.H. , Snider O. Sue , Kniel Kalmia E.
Published: January 2014

Previous studies have reported on the inadequacy of youth knowledge and practice of food safety principles. The formal high school science classroom environment presents an opportunity to stimulate interest and increase knowledge in food safety with potential benefits to students in improved science literacy, development of life skills, and greater awareness of career opportunities. Previously developed educational materials, Foodborne Illness Outbreak Investigations for Food Safety Education, were evaluated for instruction by high school and community college science educators of various subject matters including foods, microbiology, disease, and chemistry courses. Educator feedback was favorable on measures of quality, implementation ease, and student engagement, with ratings greater than 3 on a 5‐point scale corresponding to “good” to “excellent.” A positive change in familiarity with food safety concepts for 4 groups of students, representing approximately 77% of the participants, was demonstrated by an overall increase, ranging from 4% to 14%, in correct responses to a test administered before and after exposure to the materials. There was variation in degree of change and the topics positively impacted for student groups by subject matter.
Properties of Cassava Starch‐Based Edible Coating Containing Essential Oils
Authors: Oriani Vivian Boesso , Molina Gustavo , Chiumarelli Marcela , Pastore Gláucia Maria , Hubinger Miriam Dupas
Published: January 2014

Edible coatings were produced using cassava starch (2% and 3% w/v) containing cinnamon bark (0.05% to 0.30% v/v) or fennel (0.05% to 0.30% v/v) essential oils. Edible cassava starch coating at 2% and 3% (w/v) containing or not containing 0.30% (v/v) of each essential oils conferred increased in water vapor resistance and decreased in the respiration rates of coated apple slices when compared with uncoated fruit. Cassava starch coatings (2% w/v) added 0.10% or 0.30% (v/v) fennel or cinnamon bark essential oils showed antioxidant capacity, and the addition of 0.30% (v/v) of each essential oil demonstrated antimicrobial properties. The coating containing cinnamon bark essential oil showed a significant antioxidant capacity, comparing to fennel essential oil. Antimicrobial tests showed that the addition of 0.30% (v/v) cinnamon bark essential oil to the edible coating inhibited the growth of Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella choleraesuis, and 0.30% fennel essential oil inhibited just S. aureus. Treatment with 2% (w/v) of cassava starch containing 0.30% (v/v) of the cinnamon bark essential oil showed barrier properties, an antioxidant capacity and microbial inhibition.
Fabrication of Low‐Cost, Cementless Femoral Stem 316L Stainless Steel Using Investment Casting Technique
Authors: Baharuddin Mohd Yusof , Salleh Sh‐Hussain , Suhasril Andril Arafat , Zulkifly Ahmad Hafiz , Lee Muhammad Hisyam , Omar Mohd Afian , Abd Kader Ab Saman , Mohd Noor Alias , A. Harris Arief Ruhullah , Abdul Majid Norazman
Published: January 2014

Total hip arthroplasty is a flourishing orthopedic surgery, generating billions of dollars of revenue. The cost associated with the fabrication of implants has been increasing year by year, and this phenomenon has burdened the patient with extra charges. Consequently, this study will focus on designing an accurate implant via implementing the reverse engineering of three‐dimensional morphological study based on a particular population. By using finite element analysis, this study will assist to predict the outcome and could become a useful tool for preclinical testing of newly designed implants. A prototype is then fabricated using 316L stainless steel by applying investment casting techniques that reduce manufacturing cost without jeopardizing implant quality. The finite element analysis showed that the maximum von Mises stress was 66.88 MPa proximally with a safety factor of 2.39 against endosteal fracture, and micromotion was 4.73 μm, which promotes osseointegration. This method offers a fabrication process of cementless femoral stems with lower cost, subsequently helping patients, particularly those from nondeveloped countries.