bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dominant stakeholders, activity and accountability discharge in the CSO sector
Authors: Cordery Carolyn J. , Sim Dalice
Published: October 2017

Civil society organisations (CSOs) comprise a diverse range of associations, including non‐governmental organisations (NGOs), community groups, political parties and social networks. Nevertheless, despite heterogeneity, regulators, funders and donors often treat CSOs as homogeneous when demanding accountability. This paper highlights differences in to whom CSOs across different categories (or types) perceive themselves to be accountable, what for and the different practices they undertake to discharge accountability. It calls for stakeholders to acknowledge diversity in accountability across different CSO types. This survey‐based research finds CSOs weight upwards and downwards stakeholders equally, and undertake voluminous reporting. They would benefit from negotiating multiple‐use mechanisms, especially with dominant stakeholders. In combining stakeholder and accountability theory, the research highlights specific CSO types needing further study.
Polyphenol composition and antioxidant capacity in pulp and peel of apricot fruits of various varieties and maturity stages at harvest
Authors: Fan Xinguang , Jiao Wenxiao , Wang Xiaomei , Cao Jiankang , Jiang Weibo
Published: October 2017

Polyphenol composition and antioxidant capacities of peel and pulp tissues of six apricot varieties were determined. Variations in polyphenol and antioxidant capacity based on variety (early‐maturing varieties and late‐maturing varieties) and harvest maturity (green mature and full mature) were assessed. The results of principal component analysis revealed that (+)‐catechin made the most important contributions to the antioxidant capacities of the pulp. As the (+)‐catechin content in ‘Dajie’ apricot decreased by 36.8% from green mature to full mature, the antioxidant capacities determined by ABTS free radical scavenging assay, DPPH free radical scavenging assay and cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity assay decreased by 50.0%, 45.2% and 45.8%, respectively. Levels of phenolic compounds in the apricot peels were approximately 2–4 times higher than those of the pulps. Quercetin‐3‐rutinoside may be substantially responsible for the antioxidant capacities of the peels. The late‐maturing varieties tended to have higher levels of phenolic compounds and higher antioxidant capacities than the early‐maturing varieties. The antioxidant capacities in green mature apricots were much higher than those of full mature apricots.
Migration Disruption: Crisis and Continuity in the Cambodian Mass Returns1
Authors: Bylander Maryann
Published: October 2017

In 2014, Thailand experienced the mass exodus of 220,000 Cambodian migrant workers, an event precipitated by a military coup and rumors of an impending migrant crackdown. This movement was reportedly the largest in South‐East Asia since the 1970s. Yet while the mass returns were outwardly articulated as a “crisis” moment, migrants largely understood the exodus as a more extreme version of the everyday. The most significant features of the exodus—financial loss, indebtedness, involuntary immobility, and fear of violence and deportation—have been and continue to be regular features of the Cambodian–Thai migration system. In light of these findings, I suggest that taking migration disruptions seriously requires (1) decentering the language and logic of “crisis” and (2) considering what migration disruptions reveal about ordinary times.
Co‐responding police–mental health programmes: Service user experiences and outcomes in a large urban centre
Authors: Lamanna Denise , Shapiro Gilla K. , Kirst Maritt , Matheson Flora I. , Nakhost Arash , Stergiopoulos Vicky
Published: October 2017

As police officers are often the first responders to mental health crises, a number of approaches have emerged to support skilled police crisis responses. One such approach is the police–mental health co‐responding team model, whereby mental health nurses and police officers jointly respond to mental health crises in the community. In the present mixed‐method study, we evaluated outcomes of co‐responding team interactions at a large Canadian urban centre by analysing administrative data for 2743 such interactions, and where comparison data were available, compared them to 16 226 police‐only team responses. To understand service user experiences, we recruited 15 service users for in‐depth qualitative interviews, and completed inductive thematic analysis. Co‐responding team interactions had low rates of injury and arrest, and compared to police‐only teams, co‐responding teams had higher overall rates of escorts to hospital, but lower rates of involuntary escorts. Co‐responding teams also spent less time on hospital handovers than police‐only teams. Service users valued responders with mental health knowledge and verbal de‐escalation skills, as well as a compassionate, empowering, and non‐criminalizing approach. Current findings suggest that co‐responding teams could be a useful component of existing crisis‐response systems.
Varieties of workplace dualisation: a study of agency work in the German automotive industry
Authors: Benassi Chiara
Published: October 2017

This article investigates the variation in workplace arrangements on agency work across four German automotive plants. The plants differ in terms of the proportion of agency workers, the length of their assignment, their function and their wage level compared with the permanent workforce. The article explores how the interaction between national‐level deregulation, workplace power resources and the local political and economic context affects the bargaining outcomes achieved by works councils. Findings rely on interviews with human resource managers and labour representatives at workplace and sectoral level.
Assessing the Effects of European Union Funding of Civil Society Organizations: Money for Nothing?
Authors: Persson Thomas , Edholm Kajsa
Published: October 2017

This study investigates whether the European Union's funding of civil society organizations (CSOs) can foster equal access to existing channels of participation. This is analyzed by using data from 7,889 CSOs that are registered in the EU Transparency Register. Two criteria should be met for funding to combat inequalities among CSOs: the funding must support underrepresented interests, and it must increase their participation in the policy process. The results of a logistic regression analysis show that the Commission's funding scheme does support underrepresented interests but makes participation more unequal by also supporting already overrepresented groups. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the probability of a CSO having access to formal channels of participation significantly increases if it has received funding. The conclusion is that funding could be used more efficiently if the Commission were to consistently support underrepresented interests.
Heritability and social brood effects on personality in juvenile and adult life‐history stages in a wild passerine
Authors: Winney I. S. , Schroeder J. , Nakagawa S. , Hsu Y.‐H. , Simons M. J. P. , Sánchez‐Tójar A. , Mannarelli M.‐E. , Burke T.
Published: October 2017

How has evolution led to the variation in behavioural phenotypes (personalities) in a population? Knowledge of whether personality is heritable, and to what degree it is influenced by the social environment, is crucial to understanding its evolutionary significance, yet few estimates are available from natural populations. We tracked three behavioural traits during different life‐history stages in a pedigreed population of wild house sparrows. Using a quantitative genetic approach, we demonstrated heritability in adult exploration, and in nestling activity after accounting for fixed effects, but not in adult boldness. We did not detect maternal effects on any traits, but we did detect a social brood effect on nestling activity. Boldness, exploration and nestling activity in this population did not form a behavioural syndrome, suggesting that selection could act independently on these behavioural traits in this species, although we found no consistent support for phenotypic selection on these traits. Our work shows that repeatable behaviours can vary in their heritability and that social context influences personality traits. Future efforts could separate whether personality traits differ in heritability because they have served specific functional roles in the evolution of the phenotype or because our concept of personality and the stability of behaviour needs to be revised.
Secondary Prevention Medication Use After Myocardial Infarction in U.S. Nursing Home Residents
Authors: Zullo Andrew R. , Sharmin Sadia , Lee Yoojin , Daiello Lori A. , Shah Nishant R. , John Boscardin W. , Dore David D. , Lee Sei J. , Steinman Michael A.
Published: October 2017

Background/Objectives

Secondary prevention medications are recommended for older adults after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but little is known about whether nursing home (NH) residents receive these medications. The objective was to evaluate new use of secondary prevention medications after AMI in NH residents who were previously nonusers and to evaluate what factors were associated with use.

Design

Retrospective cohort using linked national Minimum Data Set assessments; Online Survey, Certification and Reporting records; and Medicare claims.

Setting

U.S. NHs.

Participants

National cohort of 11,192 NH residents aged 65 and older who were hospitalized for an AMI between May 2007 and March 2010, had no beta‐blocker or statin use for 4 months or longer before the hospitalization, and survived 14 days or more after NH readmission.

Measurements

The outcome was the number of secondary prevention medications initiated within 30 days of NH readmission.

Results

Thirty‐seven percent of residents had no secondary prevention medications initiated after AMI, 41% had 1 initiated, and 22% had 2 initiated. After covariate adjustment, fewer secondary prevention medications were used in older residents (proportional odds ratio (POR) = 0.48, 95% confidence interval (CI)  = 0.40–0.57 for ≥95 vs 65–74); women (POR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.80–0.96);and those with a do‐not‐resuscitate (DNR) order (POR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.83–0.98), functional impairment (dependent or totally dependent vs independent to limited assistance, POR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.69–0.86), and cognitive impairment (moderate to severe vs no impairment, POR = 0.79, 95% CI = 0.70–0.89).

Conclusion

More than one‐third of older NH residents in the United States do not have any secondary prevention medications initiated after AMI, with fewer medications initiated in older residents; women; and those with, DNR orders, poor physical function, and cognitive impairment. A lack of evidence about the safety and effectiveness of secondary preventions medications in the NH population and unmeasured person‐centered goals of care are plausible explanations for these findings.
Differential physiological responses to central leptin overexpression in male and female rats
Authors: Côté I. , Green S. M. , Toklu H. Z. , Morgan D. , Carter C. S. , Tümer N. , Scarpace P. J.
Published: October 2017

Brains of females are more sensitive to the acute catabolic actions of leptin. However, sex differences in the long‐term physiological responses to central leptin receptor modulation are unknown. Accordingly, we centrally delivered a viral vector to overexpress leptin (Leptin), a neutral leptin receptor antagonist (Leptin‐Antagonist) or a green fluorescence protein (GFP) (Control). We examined chronic changes in body weight and composition in male and female rats. Females displayed greater and sustained responses to Leptin, whereas males rapidly lost physiological effects and developed leptin resistance as confirmed by lower acute leptin‐mediated phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (P‐STAT3). Surprisingly, despite persistent physiological responses, Leptin‐females also exhibited reduced acute leptin‐mediated P‐STAT3, suggesting an onset of leptin resistance near time of death. In line with this interpretation, Leptin‐females and Control‐females consumed the same amount of food on the last day of the experiment. Both Leptin‐Antagonist groups gained similar percentages of their initial body weight and fat mass, whereas only Leptin‐Antagonist‐females gained lean body mass. Consequently, the lean/fat mass ratio with Leptin‐Antagonist was preserved in females and decreased in males, suggesting a deterioration of body composition in males. In summary, the present study establishes that females are more responsive to long‐term central leptin overexpression than males and that leptin antagonism has a greater physiological impact in males. The hormone environment may have played a role in these processes; however, future studies are needed to establish whether such physiological responses are mediated by female or male sex hormones.
Acute appendicitis
Authors: Stringer Mark D
Published: October 2017

Acute appendicitis is the most common reason for abdominal surgery in children. Luminal obstruction of the appendix progresses to suppurative inflammation and perforation, which causes generalised peritonitis or an appendix mass/abscess. Classical features include periumbilical pain that migrates to the right iliac fossa, anorexia, fever, and tenderness and guarding in the right iliac fossa. Atypical presentations are particularly common in preschool children. A clinical diagnosis is possible in most cases, after a period of active observation if necessary; inflammatory markers and an ultrasound scan are useful investigations when the diagnosis is uncertain. Treatment is by appendicectomy after appropriate fluid resuscitation, analgesia and intravenous antibiotics. Laparoscopic appendicectomy is better than open appendicectomy in most cases because it is associated with less postoperative pain and a shorter hospital stay, but recovery after acute appendicitis is mostly dictated by whether the appendix was perforated or not. Management of the appendix mass remains controversial and not all affected children need an interval appendicectomy. This article discusses tips and pitfalls in diagnosis and addresses many of the controversies that surround the management of this condition.
Investigation of the effect of astaxanthin on alveolar bone loss in experimental periodontitis
Authors: Balci Yuce H. , Lektemur Alpan A. , Gevrek F. , Toker H.
Published: October 2017

Background and Objective

Astaxanthin is a keto‐carotenoid that has a strong antioxidant effect. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of astaxanthin on alveolar bone loss and histopathological changes in ligature‐induced periodontitis in rats.

Material and methods

Wistar rats were divided into four experimental groups: non‐ligated (C, n = 6); ligature only (L, n = 6); ligature and astaxanthin (1 mg/kg/day astaxanthin, AS1 group, n = 8); ligature and astaxanthin (5 mg/kg/day astaxanthin, AS5 group, n = 8). Silk ligatures were placed at the gingival margin of lower first molars of the mandibular quadrant. The study duration was 11 days and the animals were killed at the end of this period. Changes in alveolar bone levels were clinically measured and tissues were immunohistochemically examined, osteocalcin, bone morphogenic protein‐2, inducible nitric oxide synthase, Bax and bcl‐2 levels in alveolar bone and tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase‐positive osteoclast cells, osteoblast and inflammatory cell counts were determined.

Results

Alveolar bone loss was highest in the L group and the differences among the L, AS1 and AS5 groups were also significant (P < .05). Both doses of astaxanthin decreased tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase‐positive+ osteoclast cell and increased osteoblast cell counts (P < .05). The inflammation in the L group was also higher than those of the C and AS1 groups were (P < .05) indicating the anti‐inflammatory effect of astaxanthin. Although inducible nitric oxide synthase, osteocalcin, bone morphogenic protein‐2 and bax staining percentages were all highest in the AS5 group and bcl‐2 staining percentage was highest in the AS1 group, values were close to each other (P > .05).

Conclusion

Within the limits of this study, it can be suggested that astaxanthin administration may reduce alveolar bone loss by increasing osteoblastic activity and decrease osteoclastic activity in experimental periodontitis model.
Asymptotic Distributions of Some Scale Estimators in Nonlinear Models With Long Memory Errors Having Infinite Variance
Authors: Koul Hira L. , Surgailis Donatas
Published: October 2017

To have scale‐invariant M estimators of regression parameters in regression models, there is a need for a robust, scale‐invariant estimator of a scale parameter. Two such estimators are the median of the absolute residuals, s1, and the median of the absolute differences of pairwise residuals, s2. The asymptotic distributions of these estimators in regression models when errors have finite variances are known in case the errors are either i.i.d. or form a long‐memory stationary process. Since M estimators are robust against heavy‐tailed error distributions, it is natural to know whether these scale estimators are consistent under heavy‐tailed error distribution assumptions. This article derives their limiting distributions when errors form a linear, long‐memory, stationary process with α‐stable (1 < α < 2) innovations and moving average coefficients decaying as jd−1,0 < d < 1−1/α. We prove that s2 has an α∗‐stable limit distribution with α∗ = α(1−d) < α, while the convergence rate of s1 is generally worse than that of s2. The proof is based on the second‐order asymptotic expansion of the empirical process of the stated infinite‐variance stationary sequence derived in this article.
Innovations in Doing Conflict Research: The Legacy of Daniel Druckman
Authors: Beriker Nimet , Allen Susan , Larson Mary Jo , Wagner Lynn
Published: October 2017

This article celebrates Daniel (Dan) Druckman, the recipient of the 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award of the International Association for Conflict Management (IACM), and provides glimpses of his career through the lens of his former graduate students and current colleagues. Our accounts illustrate Dan's teaching philosophy as teaching by doing, his long‐lasting passion for pragmatic, evidence‐based analysis; his innovative application of research methods; and his international outreach. Each narrated experience demonstrates how Dan's holistic understanding of scholarship and his creative teaching, science, and practice have influenced the next generations of scholars. These accounts are integrated with a systematic analysis of Dan's publications to display his persistence in pushing the boundaries of the field by synthesizing variables, building theories, and bridging micro‐level interactions to the broader political environment. The article concludes with remarks by Daniel Druckman.
Non‐recruitment to and selection bias in studies using echocardiography in haemodialysis patients
Authors: Chiu Diana YY , Green Darren , Abidin Nik , Hughes John , Odudu Aghogho , Sinha Smeeta , Kalra Philip A
Published: October 2017

Background

It is unknown whether patients recruited to renal cardiac imaging studies are fully representative of the investigated population and whether there are differences in characteristics and survival between participants and non‐participants (excluded or declined consent).

Subjects and Methods

Four hundred thirty‐five maintenance haemodialysis patients were screened in an observational, prospective study. Baseline demographics, laboratory results, social deprivation scores and survival data were collected from patient records. All patients were followed‐up until death, renal transplantation or 16 November 2015.

Results

Forty‐four patients were excluded (16 language barrier, 10 mental incapacity, 9 severe co‐morbid illness and 9 because of immobility), 172 patients declined consent (84% due to reluctance to attend for an extra visit) and 219 patients were recruited. Excluded patients had a lower mean haemoglobin (10.2 g/dL vs 10.7 g/dL), phosphate (4.15 mg/dL vs 4.74 mg/dL), albumin (3.6 g/dL vs 3.8 g/dL) and higher C‐reactive protein (3.2 mg/dL vs 1.6 mg/dL) compared with recruited patients. No difference was identified between groups for Charleston comorbidity index (P = 0.115) or social deprivation scores. After a median follow‐up of 29.7 (25th–75th percentile, 21.1–34.3) months, there were 141 deaths. In a multivariable Cox regression model adjusting for BMI, age, Charleston comorbidity index, haemoglobin, albumin, smoking status and diabetes mellitus, patients who declined consent had an adjusted HR of 1.70, 95% CI 1.10–2.52, and excluded patients had an adjusted HR of 1.30, 95% CI 0.75–2.25, for all‐cause mortality compared with recruited patients.

Conclusions

Patients recruited to the study had longer survival compared with non‐participants. Research studies should document phenotypes of non‐participants to aid interpretation and generalizability of results.
Adolescent pregnancy and nutrition: a subgroup analysis from the Mamachiponde study in Malawi
Authors: Friebert Alyssa , Callaghan‐Gillespie Meghan , Papathakis Peggy C. , Manary Mark J.
Published: October 2017

Young age at childbearing (≤19 years) is common and associated with poor birth outcomes. A trial among Malawian pregnant women with moderate malnutrition was used to determine outcomes of young adolescents (≤18 years), older adolescents (18–20 years), and adults (>20 years). Women received one of three supplementary foods that provided ∼900 kcal/day and 33–36 g protein/day and returned every 2 weeks. Newborn/maternal measurements were taken at delivery and after 6 and 12 weeks. Upon enrollment, adolescents had greater body mass index than adults (19.9 ± 1.3 versus 19.5 ± 1.4 kg/m2, P < 0.001). Young adolescents received more rations of food and enrolled and delivered with a lower fundal height than adults (21.7 ± 5.2 versus 23.0 ± 5.6, P = 0.00 enrollment; 30.2 ± 3.1 versus 31.0 ± 2.8, P < 0.001 delivery). Among newborns, length for age was lowest in young adolescents, greater in older adolescents, and greatest in adults (Z‐scores –1.7 ± 1.2, –1.4 ± 1.2, and –1.1 ± 1.1, respectively; P < 0.001). These differences persisted in length for age at 6 and 12 weeks of age for infants. Adolescents enrolled earlier in pregnancy and appeared more nutritionally adequate than adults; adolescent outcomes were inferior to those of adults, suggesting that they were subject to more physiologic stressors and/or different nutritional needs.
On formation‐based sampling proxies and why they should not be used to correct the fossil record
Authors: Dunhill Alexander M. , Hannisdal Bjarte , Brocklehurst Neil , Benton Michael J.
Published: October 2017

The fossil record is a unique resource on the history of life, but it is well known to be incomplete. In a series of high‐profile papers, a residual modelling technique has been applied to correct the raw palaeodiversity signal for this bias and incompleteness, and the claim is made that the processed time series are more accurate than the raw data. We apply empirical and simulation approaches to test for correlation and directionality of any relationships between rock and fossil data. The empirical data comprise samples of the global fossil record through the Phanerozoic, and we use simulations to assess whether randomly sampled subsets of modelled data can be improved by application of the residual modelling technique. Our results show that using formation counts as a sampling proxy to correct the fossil record via residual modelling is ill founded. The supposedly independent model of sampling is information‐redundant with respect to the raw palaeodiversity data it seeks to correct, and so the outputs are generally likely to be further from the truth than the raw data. We recommend that students of palaeodiversity cease to use residual modelling estimates based on formation counts, and suggest that results from a substantial number of papers published in the past ten years require re‐evaluation.
Optimal management of apparatus dead space in the anesthetized infant
Authors: King Michael R. , Feldman Jeffrey M.
Published: October 2017

Mechanical ventilation of the anesthetized infant requires careful attention to equipment and ventilator settings to assure optimal gas exchange and minimize the potential for lung injury. Apparatus dead space, defined as dead space resulting from devices placed between the endotracheal tube and the Y‐piece of the breathing circuit, is the primary source of dead space controlled by the clinician. Due to the small tidal volumes required by infants and neonates, it is easy to create excessive apparatus dead space resulting in unintended hypercarbia or increased minute ventilation in an effort to achieve a desirable PCO2. The goal of this review was to evaluate the apparatus that are commonly added to the breathing circuit during anesthesia care, and develop recommendations to guide the clinician in selecting apparatus that are best matched to the clinical goals and the patient's size. We include specific recommendations for apparatus that are best suited for different size pediatric patients, with a particular focus on patients <5 kg.
Determination of the optimal depth of a left internal jugular venous catheter in infants: A prospective observational study
Authors: Lee Ji‐Hyun , Byon Hyo‐Jin , Choi Yoon‐Hyeong , Song In‐Kyung , Kim Jin‐Tae , Kim Hee‐Soo
Published: October 2017

Background

Few reports exist regarding the optimal depth of a left‐sided central venous catheter in pediatric patients. We aimed to provide a guideline for the optimal depth of central venous catheters at the left internal jugular vein in infants, using anatomical landmarks, age, height, and weight.

Methods

A two‐stage study was conducted. In the first observational study, infants aged ≤1 year and scheduled for elective surgery requiring a central venous catheter were enrolled. The tip of the central venous catheter was confirmed using transthoracic echocardiography. Linear regression modeling was performed to determine the association between the insertion depth of the central venous catheter and the I‐A‐B distance (I, the insertion point; A, the sternal head of the left clavicle; B, the midpoint of the perpendicular line drawn between the sternal head of the right clavicle and an imaginary line between the nipples), based on age, height, and weight. In the second study, the results of the first study were validated in another group of consecutive infants.

Results

In the first study, the data of 67 patients were analyzed. The infant's height and I‐A‐B distance were highly correlated with the level of the central venous catheter tip (R2=0.763 and 0.772, respectively; all P < .01), using the regression equations 0.11 ×  height (cm) + 0.19 and 1.02 ×  I‐A‐B (cm) + 1.55, respectively. In the second study, height was also highly correlated with the insertion depth of the central venous catheter in another 42 infants (r = .938, P = <.001). In a Bland‐Altman's analysis, the mean bias and precision of the actual insertion depth and predicted depth using height were 0.09 and 0.15 cm, respectively. The limits of agreement were −0.19 and 0.38 cm, respectively.

Conclusion

In infants, the optimal depth of a central venous catheter at the left internal jugular vein can be determined with a simple formula using height.
Hermansky‐Pudlak syndrome: Report of two patients with updated genetic classification and management recommendations
Authors: Loredana Asztalos Manuela , Schafernak Kristian T. , Gray Jayla , Berry Adam , Paller Amy S. , Mancini Anthony J.
Published: October 2017

Hermansky‐Pudlak syndrome (HPS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in one of nine genes involved in the packaging and formation of specialized lysosomes, including melanosomes and platelet‐dense granules. The cardinal features are pigmentary dilution, bleeding diathesis, and accumulation of ceroid‐like material in reticuloendothelial cells. Pulmonary fibrosis induced by tissue damage is seen in the most severe forms, and one subtype is characterized by immunodeficiency. We describe two patients with HPS type 1 and review the updated gene‐based classification, clinical features, and recommendations for evaluation and follow‐up.
Multivariate Fay–Herriot Bayesian Estimation of Small Area Means Under Functional Measurement Error
Authors: Arima Serena , Bell William R. , Datta Gauri S. , Franco Carolina , Liseo Brunero
Published: October 2017

Area level models, such as the Fay–Herriot model, aim to improve direct survey estimates for small areas by borrowing strength from related covariates and from direct estimates across all areas. In their multivariate form, where related population characteristics are jointly modelled, area level models allow for inference about functions of two or more characteristics and may exploit dependence between the response variables to improve small area predictions. When model covariates are observed with random error, such as those drawn from another survey, it is important to account for this error in the modelling. We present a Bayesian analysis of a multivariate Fay–Herriot model with functional measurement error, allowing for both joint modelling of related characteristics and accounting for random observation error in some of the covariates. We apply it to modelling 2010 and 2011 poverty rates of school-aged children for US counties, for predicting 2011 poverty rates and the 2010–2011 changes. For this application, the measurement error model results in great improvements in prediction when compared with the direct estimates, and ignoring the measurement error results in uncertainty estimates that are misleading. We propose a computational approach to implementing this model via an independence chain Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm and prove the propriety of the posterior distribution under a class of non-informative priors.
Developments in land information systems: examples demonstrating land resource management capabilities and options
Authors: Hallett S. H. , Sakrabani R. , Keay C. A. , Hannam J. A.
Published: October 2017

Land Information Systems (LIS) provide a foundation for supporting decision‐making across a broad spectrum of natural resource applications: agronomic, environmental, engineering and public good. Typically, LIS constitute a computerized database repository holding geospatial components, ‘mapping unit’ geometry and related georeferenced materials such as satellite imagery, meteorological observations and predictions and scanned legacy mapping. Coupled with the geospatial data are associated property, semantic and metadata, representing a range of thematic properties and characteristics of the land and environment. This paper provides examples of recent developments of national and regional LIS, presenting applications for land resource capabilities and management. These focus on the ‘Land Information System’ (LandIS) for England and Wales, and the ‘World Soil Survey Archive and Catalogue’ (WOSSAC) and consider Agricultural Land Classification in Wales, an Irish land and soil information system, and a scheme to optimize land suitability for application of palm oil biofertilizers in Malaysia. Land Information Systems support purposeful environmental interpretations, drawing on soil and related thematic data, offering insight into land properties, capabilities and characteristics. The examples highlight the practical transferability and extensibility of technical and methodological approaches across geographical contexts. This assessment identifies the value of legacy‐based natural resource inventories that can be interoperated with other contemporary sources of information, such as satellite imagery.
Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the West‐Palaearctic Velia (Heteroptera: Gerromorpha: Veliidae)
Authors: BERCHI GAVRIL MARIUS , COPILAŞ‐CIOCIANU DENIS , KMENT PETR , BUZZETTI FILIPPO MARIA , PETRUSEK ADAM , RÁKOSY LÁSZLÓ , CIANFERONI FABIO , DAMGAARD JAKOB
Published: October 2017

We investigated the systematics and biogeography of the West‐Palaearctic water cricket genus Velia Latreille based on a phylogenetic analysis of five molecular markers obtained from 79% of all known taxa of the subgenera Velia (s.s.) and Velia (Plesiovelia) Tamanini. The results revealed a sister‐group relationship between Velia (Plesiovelia) and the monotypic subgenus Velia (s.s.), and showed that the former is divided into three major clades. All taxa of Velia (Plesiovelia) were recovered as monophyletic, except for V. (P.) serbica Tamanini, which was paraphyletic with respect to V. (P.) mancinii mancinii Tamanini. Our results also indicate the existence of several unrecognized species. Molecular dating based on fossil data and COI rates indicates that the split between Velia (s.s.) and Velia (Plesiovelia) occurred between 40 and 22 Ma. An ancestral area reconstruction suggests that the latter originated in southeastern Europe, from where it radiated to the west and east, along the Neogene archipelagos of Europe and Asia Minor. Northwestern Africa served as the second most important diversification centre of the subgenus. The low genetic variability in the widespread V. (P.) caprai caprai Tamanini and V. (P.) saulii Tamanini implies a rapid postglacial colonization of Europe, whereas high diversity within the lineages of V. (P.) serbica indicates survival of Pleistocene glaciations in microrefugia throughout southeastern Europe. These results serve as a useful framework for future studies ranging from the systematics of the group to historical biogeography, ecology and biodiversity conservation.
The Keisarhjelmen detachment records Silurian–Devonian extensional collapse in Northern Svalbard
Authors: Braathen Alvar , Osmundsen Per Terje , Maher Harmon , Ganerød Morgan
Published: October 2017

At the junction of the Atlantic and Arctic margins, the crustal‐scale Keisarhjelmen detachment of north‐west Svalbard records previously unrecognised magnitudes of extension. The detachment separates a corrugated metamorphic core complex in the footwall from a mantling Devonian supradetachment basin in the hangingwall. The detachment has a top‐N displacement of more than 50 km, which is aligned with the map‐scale corrugations, and an upwards ductile to brittle transition with shear related footwall retrogression. This configuration has striking similarities to extensional collapse detachments in the paired Scandinavian–Greenland Caledonides, but orientation and position link the detachment with the Ellesmerian orogen.
Evidence of multiple evaporite recycling processes in a salt‐tectonic context, Sivas Basin, Turkey
Authors: Pichat Alexandre , Hoareau Guilhem , Callot Jean‐Paul , Legeay Etienne , Kavak Kaan Sevki , Révillon Sidonie , Parat Corinne , Ringenbach Jean‐Claude
Published: October 2017

The isotopic composition of evaporites can shed light on their environment of precipitation and their subsequent recycling processes. In this study, we performed Sr, O and S isotopic analyses on evaporitic sulphates in the halokinetic Sivas Basin. The main objectives were to decipher the age and origin of the evaporites responsible for the salt tectonics, and to test whether diapir dissolution acts as the source of younger evaporitic layers in continental mini‐basins. The Sr isotopes demonstrate that the first evaporites precipitated from seawater during the Middle–Late Eocene. The similar isotopic values measured in the halokinetic domain confirm that the Eocene evaporites triggered the salt tectonics and were continuously recycled in Oligo‐Miocene mini‐basins as lacustrine to sabkha evaporites. Modern halite precipitates suggest that the dissolution and recycling of diapiric halite is ongoing. This study demonstrates the efficiency of isotopic analyses in constraining evaporite recycling processes in continental halokinetic domains.
Identification of a target‐site mutation conferring resistance to triazine herbicides in oriental mustard (Sisymbrium orientale L.) from Australia
Authors: Dang Hue T. , Malone Jenna M. , Boutsalis Peter , Gill Gurjeet , Preston Christopher
Published: October 2017

In southern Australia, oriental mustard (Sisymbrium orientale) has been controlled successfully by triazine herbicides for several decades. The screening of 40 populations that were collected from the southern grain belt of Australia during 2010 and 2013 for resistance to six different herbicides (glyphosate, diflufenican, imazamox, chlorsulfuron, atrazine and 2,4‐dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) identified two oriental mustard populations as highly resistant to atrazine. Compared to the known oriental mustard‐susceptible populations (S1 and S2), these two resistant populations (P17 and P18) from near Horsham, Victoria, Australia, were 311‐ and 315‐fold resistant to atrazine, as determined by a comparison of the LD50 values. However, there was no resistance to diuron detected in these populations. Sequencing of the chloroplast psbA gene identified a missense mutation of serine 264 to glycine in both herbicide‐resistant oriental mustard populations, which is known to confer high‐level atrazine resistance in other species.
Lifestyle, habitat and farmers' risk of exposure to tick bites in an endemic area of tick‐borne diseases in Hungary
Authors: Li S. , Juhász‐Horváth L. , Trájer A. , Pintér L. , Rounsevell M. D. A. , Harrison P. A.
Published: October 2017

Controlling tick bites on farmers is important to the management of tick‐borne diseases and occupational health risks in agriculture. Based on an extensive household survey conducted between June and August 2015 with 219 farmers from western Hungary where tick‐borne diseases are endemic, we analysed the pattern of farmers' self‐reported contacts with ticks and investigated the potential interactions between farmers, landscape and the risk of exposure to tick bites. We developed a lifestyle typology based on farmers' socioeconomic profiles, farming objectives and time use patterns, and a habitat typology describing different configurations of tick habitats and agricultural areas in place of farming. We found no relationship between tick exposure risk and self‐prevention. The lifestyle typology could be used to classify the risk of tick bites and the adoption of prevention measures into different levels, the difference between which could further be modified by the habitat typology. Our results suggest that (i) farmers who are frequently engaged in outdoor recreations and (ii) part‐time and inexperienced farmers who have lower rate of preventive actions are likely to experience greater exposure to tick bites either in less cultivated, semi‐natural habitats or in agricultural landscape with highly diverse land uses. Future disease prevention practices should take into consideration the interaction of lifestyle and habitat and the need to associate different farmer groups with different landscape configurations.
Endomorphins potentiate acid‐sensing ion channel currents and enhance the lactic acid‐mediated increase in arterial blood pressure: effects amplified in hindlimb ischaemia
Authors: Farrag Mohamed , Drobish Julie K. , Puhl Henry L. , Kim Joyce S. , Herold Paul B. , Kaufman Marc P. , Ruiz‐Velasco Victor
Published: October 2017

Key points

Chronic limb ischaemia, characterized by inflammatory mediator release and a low extracellular pH, leads to acid‐sensing ion channel (ASIC) activation and reflexively increases mean arterial pressure; endomorphin release is also increased under inflammatory conditions.

We examined the modulation of ASIC currents by endomorphins in sensory neurons from rats with freely perfused and ligated femoral arteries: peripheral artery disease (PAD) model.

Endomorphins potentiated sustained ASIC currents in both groups of dorsal root ganglion neurons, independent of mu opioid receptor stimulation or G protein activation.

Intra‐arterial administration of lactic acid (to simulate exercising muscle and evoke a pressor reflex), endomorphin‐2 and naloxone resulted in a significantly greater pressor response than lactic acid alone, while administration of APETx2 inhibited endomorphin's enhancing effect in both groups.

These results suggest a novel role for endomorphins in modulating ASIC function to effect lactic acid‐mediated reflex increase in arterial pressure in patients with PAD.

Chronic muscle ischaemia leads to accumulation of lactic acid and other inflammatory mediators with a subsequent drop in interstitial pH. Acid‐sensing ion channels (ASICs), expressed in thin muscle afferents, sense the decrease in pH and evoke a pressor reflex known to increase mean arterial pressure. The naturally occurring endomorphins are also released by primary afferents under ischaemic conditions. We examined whether high affinity mu opioid receptor (MOR) agonists, endomorphin‐1 (E‐1) and ‐2 (E‐2), modulate ASIC currents and the lactic acid‐mediated pressor reflex. In rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, exposure to E‐2 in acidic solutions significantly potentiated ASIC currents when compared to acidic solutions alone. The potentiation was significantly greater in DRG neurons isolated from rats whose femoral arteries were ligated for 72 h. Sustained ASIC current potentiation was also observed in neurons pretreated with pertussis toxin, an uncoupler of G proteins and MOR. The endomorphin‐mediated potentiation was a result of a leftward shift of the activation curve to higher pH values and a slight shift of the inactivation curve to lower pH values. Intra‐arterial co‐administration of lactic acid and E‐2 led to a significantly greater pressor reflex than lactic acid alone in the presence of naloxone. Finally, E‐2 effects were inhibited by pretreatment with the ASIC3 blocker APETx2 and enhanced by pretreatment with the ASIC1a blocker psalmotoxin‐1. These findings have uncovered a novel role of endomorphins by which the opioids can enhance the lactic acid‐mediated reflex increase in arterial pressure that is MOR stimulation‐independent and APETx2‐sensitive.
Fabrication of prebent MoS2 biosensors on flexible substrates
Authors: Ryu Byunghoon , Yang Erika , Park Younggeun , Kurabayashi Katsuo , Liang Xiaogan
Published: October 2017

Flexible biosensors are needed for many in vivo biosensing applications. In such applications, the flexible biosensors need to be conformally attached to curved surfaces of living organisms and operated under various strain conditions. Emerging layered semiconductors (e.g., MoS2 and WSe2) are attractive materials for making ultrasensitive flexible nanoelectronic biosensors. However, such biosensors are also sensitive to external strain/stress and can easily give false readings or be damaged. To address this challenge, the authors have fabricated prebent MoS2 structures on flexible substrates using a sacrificial-structure-assisted nanofabrication method. This method allows the ability to precisely control the bending curvatures and the locations of the prebent MoS2 structures. The finite element analysis results indicate that the strain transferred from the substrate to such prebent MoS2 structures is ∼1000 times less than that transferred to flat MoS2 structures, given that the strain conditions for the substrates are the same. Our conductance measurement results for the prebent MoS2 resistor biosensors are also consistent with the simulation results. Specifically, when the prebent biosensors were subjected to substrate curvatures up to 0.1/mm, the relative change in conductance was within ∼10%, whereas the control (flat) MoS2 biosensors exhibited a much greater conductance change and were even permanently damaged at a curvature of 0.08/mm. The authors were able to achieve prebent MoS2 biosensors with detection limits as low as ∼10 femtomolar (fM) and high sensitivity (−1.3%/fM) at femtomolar-level interleukin 1-beta (IL-1β) concentrations and demonstrate their use for IL-1β detection/quantification. In combination with a cyclewise detection method, these biosensors can be used for rapid femtomolar-level IL-1β quantification with a total incubation time <20 min. They also enable time-dependent monitoring of binding kinetics. This work leverages existing technical and scientific applications for making flexible, wearable biosensing devices based on emerging layered semiconductors.
Cosmic ray topography
Authors: Bressler Matthew , Goodwin Lydia , Kryemadhi Abaz
Published: October 2017

Cosmic ray muons are produced when high energy particles interact with nuclei in Earth's atmosphere. Muons make up the majority of charged particles that reach sea level and are the only particles (apart from neutrinos) that can penetrate to significant depths underground. The muon flux underground decreases approximately exponentially as a function of depth. We use a cosmic ray detector developed by the QuarkNet Program at Fermi National Laboratory to map the topography of the mountain above an abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike tunnel by analyzing muon flux at different rock overburdens. Cosmic ray muons have been used in this capacity before to search for hidden chambers in pyramids and for mapping volcanoes. This study provides a unique field experience to learn about particle physics and particle detectors, which could be of interest to students and teachers in physics.
A compact grism spectrometer for small optical telescopes
Authors: Ludovici Dominic A. , Mutel Robert L.
Published: October 2017

We describe a low-cost compact grism spectrometer for use with small astronomical telescopes. The system can be used with existing charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras and filter wheels. The optical design consists of two prisms, a transmission grating, a collimating lens, and a focusing lens, all enclosed in a 3D-printed housing. The system can be placed inline, typically in an unused filter wheel slot. Unlike conventional spectrometers, it does not require the target to be precisely positioned on a narrow slit. The mean resolving power (R≈ 300) is sufficient to resolve the spectral lines of many astronomical objects discussed in undergraduate astronomy labs, such as stellar absorption lines along the main-sequence, emission lines of early type hot stars and galactic novae, and redshifts of bright quasars and supernovae.
Dielectric media considered as vacuum with sources
Authors: Hågenvik Hans Olaf , Bløtekjær Kjell , Skaar Johannes
Published: October 2017

Conventional textbook treatments on electromagnetic wave propagation consider the induced charge and current densities as “bound” and therefore absorb them into a refractive index. In principle, it must also be possible to treat the medium as vacuum but with explicit charge and current densities, thus giving a more direct, physical description. However, since the induced waves propagate in vacuum in this picture, it is not straightforward to reconcile that the wavelength becomes different compared to that in vacuum. We provide an explanation for this phenomenon, including associated time-domain simulations. As an extra bonus, the results turn out to illuminate the behavior of metamaterials.
Confining rigid balls by mimicking quadrupole ion trapping
Authors: Fan Wenkai , Du Li , Wang Sihui , Zhou Huijun
Published: October 2017

The rotating saddle not only is an interesting system that is able to trap a ball near its saddle point, but can also intuitively illustrate the operating principles of quadrupole ion traps in modern physics. Unlike the conventional models based on the mass-point approximation, we study the stability of a ball in a rotating-saddle trap using rigid-body dynamics. The stabilization condition of the system is theoretically derived and subsequently verified by experiments. The results are compared with the previous mass-point model, giving large discrepancy as the curvature of the ball is comparable to that of the saddle. We also point out that the spin angular velocity of the ball is analogous to the cyclotron frequency of ions in an external magnetic field utilized in many prevailing ion-trapping schemes.