bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Anthropogenic effects on bacterial diversity and function along a river‐to‐estuary gradient in Northwest Greece revealed by metagenomics
Authors: Meziti Alexandra , Tsementzi Despina , Ar. Kormas Konstantinos , Karayanni Hera , Konstantinidis Konstantinos T.
Published: March 2016

Studies assessing the effects of anthropogenic inputs on the taxonomic and functional diversity of bacterioplankton communities in lotic ecosystems are limited. Here, we applied 16S rRNA gene amplicon and whole‐genome shotgun sequencing to examine the microbial diversity in samples from the Kalamas River (Northwest Greece), a mid‐size river that runs through agricultural and NATURA‐protected areas, but also receives urban sewage from a large city through a manmade ditch. Samples from three different locations between the exit of the ditch and the estuary, during three different months showed that temporal differences of taxonomic and functional diversity were more pronounced than spatial ones, and <1% of total taxa were shared among all samples, revealing a highly dynamic ecosystem. Comparisons of gene diversity with other aquatic habitats showed that only the high flow winter samples resembled more to freshwater environments while samples during the decreased water flow months were dominated by sewage inputs and soil‐related organisms. Notably, microbial human gut signals were detectable over background freshwater and soil/runoff related signals, even at tens of kilometers downstream the city. These findings revealed the significance of allochthonous inputs on the composition and dynamics of river bacterial communities, and highlighted the potential of metagenomics for source tracking purposes.
Handywomen and Birthing in Rural Ireland, 1851–1955
Authors: Breathnach Ciara
Published: March 2016

It is largely agreed among scholars of social history and history of medicine that the medicalisation of maternity was slow to evolve in Ireland as it was beleaguered by competing professional, denominational and political agendas. Such discourses have dominated Irish history of medicine and hindered the progress of the medicalisation debate. A notable feature of the birthing process in Ireland is that for centuries handywomen, or untrained midwives, played a crucial role yet they have not been subject to the attention of historians. This article traces references to them in Irish Folklore Commission (1935–71) manuscripts and places them in wider social contexts to contend that their slight representation was a result of medico‐legal awareness and a desire to protect the identity of women who, after 1918, were operating outside the law.
Achilles or Adonis: Controversies Surrounding the Male Body as National Symbol in Georgian England
Authors: de Smaele Henk
Published: March 2016

This paper analyses the controversy that arose when a monumental bronze nude statue of Achilles was unveiled at Hyde Park Corner (London) in 1822 as a monument to the Duke of Wellington and his army. The neoclassical statue (made by Richard Westmacott) perfectly embodied the ‘modern male stereotype’. According to historian George Mosse, this masculine image was a powerful and stable symbol of nineteenth‐ and twentieth‐century bourgeois societies. Intended by the commanders and artist as just such a symbol, the statue in practice was unable to express these high ideals. Ever since its unveiling, the statue has elicited laughter and ridicule. The uneasiness created by male public nudity is an aspect that Mosse missed in his history of masculine imaginary, in which he focused on certain moments of ‘spectacular’ masculinity in modern Western history. Ultimately, the failure of Westmacott's Achilles can best be understood from the well‐known feminist framework on the gendered ‘economy of the gaze’, a framework that is all too often absent in the historiography on masculinities.
An Archive of Difference: Syrian Women, the Peddling Economy and US Social Welfare, 1880–1935
Authors: Karem Albrecht Charlotte
Published: March 2016

Historians have scrutinised the racial classifications of Arab immigrants in the census, in immigration documents and in early‐twentieth‐century naturalisation cases. However, recent scholarship has shown that other archives – ones that do not focus on interactions with the law – reveal a different process of Arab‐American racialisation. This article contends that looking in other archival spaces, specifically the US social welfare archive, shows how ideas about gender, sexual and class difference constituted early Arab‐American racialisation. Social welfare reformers in institutional settings, including the International Institute of Boston, the National Conference of Social Work and the pages of the social work periodical The Survey, systematically linked Syrian labouring practices with notions of dependency, sexual and gender deviance, and Orientalist difference. Syrian women were racialised through their participation in the peddling economy – a network of peddlers, suppliers and domestic labourers that sustained a widespread profession of the early Syrian American community. Syrian women's labouring practices conflicted with white middle‐class femininity and posed a threat to Syrian claims of whiteness. This analysis demonstrates the centrality of gender, sexuality and class to studies of early Arab America and demonstrates how Arab migrant women's labouring practices affected their communities’ standing in the American context.
Standing in the gap: ref lections on translating the Jung‐Neumann correspondence
Authors: McCartney Heather
Published: March 2016

This paper considers the experience of translating the correspondence between C.G. Jung and Erich Neumann as part of the Philemon series. The translator explores the similarities between analytical work and the task of translation by means of the concepts of the dialectical third and the interactional field. The history and politics of the translation of analytic writing and their consequences for thelingua francaof analysis are discussed. Key themes within the correspondence are outlined, including Jung and Neumann's pre‐war exploration of Judaism and the unconscious, the post‐war difficulties around the publication of Neumann'sDepth Psychology and a New Ethicset against the early years of the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich, and the development of the correspondents’ relationship over time.
Stimulating Participation and Learning in Microbiology: Presence and Identification of Bacteria from Student's Hands
Authors: Antunes Patrícia
Published: March 2016

We proposed in the Basic Microbiology Subject for food science and nutrition students, a “hands‐on” activity consisting on sampling student's hands for bacterial presence and identification. This is a project to be implemented in multiple laboratory classes throughout the semester, allowing students to learn, and apply general microbiology techniques in mixed or isolated cultures obtained from their own samples in parallel with those from the laboratory collection proposed in the microbiology syllabus (as aseptic technique, hands sampling, streaking for single‐colony isolation, culture medium analysis, bacterial morphology, and biochemical study, employ of dichotomous keys) This activity will allow them to understand the association between humans and microorganisms, to recognize the importance of personal hygiene (for example, hand‐washing), and to know how hands can be an important vehicle for bacterial spreading in surrounding environments (for example, kitchen, health‐care setting). The fact that the isolates for practical work were not only from laboratory collections, but also from the personal student's hands, keeps them interested in discover and study their own bacteria to know their main characteristics and the potential importance to human health, through spread of hazardous isolates. This project also potentially contributed for student's development of other skills such as autonomy and teamwork, planning and write, communication, and debate.
Evaluation of Mastoid Process as Sex Indicator in Modern White Americans using Geometric Morphometrics
Authors: Jung Hyunwoo , Woo Eun Jin
Published: March 2016

Conventional methods for evaluating the mastoid as a sex indicator cannot determine whether mastoid shape is an independent and reliable sex indicator. Here, shape differences between the mastoids of 100 male and 100 female modern white Americans were statistically analyzed and visualized using the geometric morphometric method. Discriminant analysis was performed on mastoid size and shape. The relation between size and shape was analyzed to examine the effect of size on shape. In the results, mastoid size and shape were statistically significant sex indicators, while size factor explained 87.3% of the total variance of the shape variables. Nevertheless, females had relatively broader and shorter mastoid shape than males regardless of size, reflecting 12.7% of the total variance of the shape variables. In conclusion, mastoid size and shape were statistically significant sex indicators, while size may matter more in the mastoid than in other cranial parts in terms of sexual dimorphism.
A high‐fat diet combined with food deprivation increases food seeking and the expression of candidate biomarkers of addiction
Authors: Pérez‐Ortiz José Manuel , Galiana‐Simal Adrian , Salas Elisabet , González‐Martín Carmen , García‐Rojo Marcial , Alguacil Luis F.
Published: March 2016

A mouse model has been developed to study the effect of dietary fat combined with food deprivation periods on palatable food seeking and on the expression of three potential addiction biomarkers in the nucleus accumbens: fumarate hydratase (FH), ATP synthase subunit alpha (ATP5a1) and transketolase (TKT). Forty C57BL/6 J male mice, four‐week old, were fed either with a high‐fat (HF) diet or standard diet along the experiment. After 3 weeks of differential feeding, animals underwent a two‐week training period of two daily sessions where visual cues were paired either to palatable food (chocolate cereals) or no food at all. This training was prolonged one more week with similar, one daily sessions preceded by 12 hours of food deprivation. A behavioural test was finally conducted where mice were confined for 30 minutes either in food unpaired compartments or in compartments previously paired with cereals, but now with empty food trays. Total activity during this behavioural test and serum corticosterone levels right after it were similar in all experimental groups. Mice tested in food‐paired compartments showed a marked preference for the empty food tray that gradually disappeared in standard diet‐fed individuals but persisted in HF‐fed mice. HF‐fed mice also overexpressed FH, ATP5a1 and TKT, which positively correlated with the persistence of preference for the empty food tray. It is suggested that HF diets combined with food deprivation may enhance food seeking behaviours while upregulating FH/ATP5a1/TKT, which are further envisaged as biomarkers of addiction.
Trail‐following behaviour and biological aspects of the gregarious caterpillar Brassolis sophorae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)
Authors: Ambrogi Bianca G , Pinto‐Zevallos Delia M , Leite Jessica C , Sousa‐Souto Leandro , Queiroz Abel F O , Moreira Sinara Maria
Published: March 2016

Brassolis sophorae (Linnaeus), the coconut palm caterpillar, is a pest in the Northeast region of Brazil. Despite its great importance, information about the biology and behaviour of this insect is scarce. B. sophorae caterpillars are gregarious, and they remain in a nest during the daytime and only come out at dusk to feed. When caterpillars leave the nest to forage, they lay down a trail of silk that leads the group to the feeding site. In spite of this, there is no scientific evidence showing whether trail‐following behaviour in B. sophorae caterpillars is mediated by silk‐associated chemical cues. This gregarious behaviour has probably hampered biological studies of this species. We determined biological parameters (number of instars and development time of each instar) of the larvae and conducted behavioural assays to assess whether trail‐following behaviour of B. sophorae is mediated by chemical (silk extract) or physical (solvent‐washed silk) cues, or a combination of both. Measurements of the head capsule width showed that B. sophorae larvae pass through six instars in an average period of 12 days per instar. Dual‐choice tests in a Y‐shaped arena showed that the larvae significantly preferred to walk on a silk‐covered surface over a clean one and on a silk extract over hexane alone. When caterpillars were given the choice of walking on silk or on solvent‐washed silk, they did not show a preference for either treatment. These results demonstrate the presence of pheromonal compounds in the silk of B. sophorae although the communication between caterpillars of B. sophorae is also mediated by physical cues. The results of this study broaden knowledge on the trail‐following behaviour of immature larvae as well as the biology, morphology and behaviour of this insect.
Acceptability and suitability of Tuta absoluta eggs from irradiated parents to parasitism by Trichogramma nerudai and Trichogramma pretiosum (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae)
Authors: Cagnotti Cynthia L. , Hernández Carmen M. , Andormo Andrea V. , Viscarret Mariana , Riquelme María , Botto Eduardo N. , López Silvia N.
Published: March 2016

Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is one of the most devastating pests of tomato crops. We studied the acceptability and suitability of eggs laid by irradiated T. absoluta pairs to parasitism by the parasitoids Trichogramma nerudai and Trichogramma pretiosum.

Trichogramma absoluta pupae were irradiated with X‐radiation (20834 R) and the emerged adults were separated into couples according to the crosses: ♂U × ♀U, ♂I × ♀U, ♂U × ♀I (where ‘U’ is untreated and ‘I’ is irradiated). In a no‐choice experiment, 40 eggs from each cross were exposed to a female parasitoid for 24 h.

All T. absoluta eggs were accepted for oviposition by T. nerudai and were suitable for its development. However, eggs from irradiated females were significantly less parasitized than those from untreated females. Trichogramma pretiosum showed low parasitism on eggs from all crosses. In a choice experiment, both T. nerudai and T. pretiosum showed no differences in the parasitism of eggs from irradiated (n = 40) and non‐irradiated female moths (n = 40).

These results indicate that eggs laid by irradiated parents were acceptable for oviposition and suitable for the development of these parasitoids, and also support the idea that the inherited sterility technique could be used in an integrated approach with egg parasitoids to control T. absoluta.
Opioid overdose and naloxone education in a substance use disorder treatment program
Authors: Lott David C. , Rhodes Jonathan
Published: March 2016

Background and Objectives

Opioid users in treatment are at high risk of relapse and overdose, making them an important target for efforts to reduce opioid overdose mortality. Overdose Education (OE) is one such intervention, and this study tests the effectiveness of OE in a community substance use disorder treatment program.

Methods

Opioid users were recruited from a community treatment center for the study. The Opioid Overdose Knowledge Scale (OOKS) was administered before and after an educational intervention (small group lecture, slideshow, and handout based on previously published content) to assess knowledge of the risks, signs, and actions associated with opioid overdose, including use of naloxone. Additional survey questions assessed naloxone access, naloxone education, and overdose experiences at treatment and 3‐month follow‐up. Subjects (n = 43) were 28% female and had a mean age of 31 years. OOKS scores were compared at pre‐intervention, post‐intervention, and follow‐up, and results were also compared with a historical non‐intervention control group (n = 14).

Results

Total score on the OOKS increased significantly from pre‐ to post‐education, and improvement was maintained at follow‐up (p < .0001). OOKS subdomains of actions and naloxone use also had significant increases (p < .0001). Four subjects reported possessing naloxone in the past, and only one subject who did not already have naloxone at the time of treatment had obtained it at follow‐up.

Conclusions and Scientific Significance

Education about opioid overdose and naloxone use in a community treatment program increases overdose knowledge, providing support for the idea of making OE a routine part of substance use disorder treatment. However, the rate of follow through on accessing naloxone was low with this education‐only intervention. (Am J Addict 2016;25:221–226)
Tea tree oil gel for mild to moderate acne; a 12 week uncontrolled, open‐label phase II pilot study
Authors: Malhi Harsimran Kaur , Tu Jenny , Riley Thomas V , Kumarasinghe Sujith Prasad , Hammer Katherine A
Published: March 2016

Background

The efficacy, tolerability and acceptability of a tea tree oil gel (200 mg/g) and face wash (7 mg/g) were evaluated for the treatment of mild to moderate facial acne.

Methods

In this open‐label, uncontrolled phase II pilot study, participants applied tea tree oil products to the face twice daily for 12 weeks and were assessed after 4, 8 and 12 weeks. Efficacy was determined from total numbers of facial acne lesions and the investigator global assessment (IGA) score. Tolerability was evaluated by the frequency of adverse events and the mean tolerability score determined at each visit. Product acceptability was assessed via a questionnaire at the end of the study period.

Results

Altogether 18 participants were enrolled, of whom 14 completed the study. Mean total lesion counts were 23.7 at baseline, 17.2 at 4, 15.1 at 8 and 10.7 at 12 weeks. Total lesion counts differed significantly over time by repeated measures anova (P < 0.0001). The mean IGA score was 2.4 at baseline, 2.2 at 4, 2.0 at 8 and 1.9 at 12 weeks, which also differed significantly over time (P = 0.0094). No serious adverse events occurred and minor local tolerability events were limited to peeling, dryness and scaling, all of which resolved without intervention.

Conclusion

This study shows that the use of the tea tree oil products significantly improved mild to moderate acne and that the products were well tolerated.
“English Institutions and the Irish Race”: Race and Politics in Late Nineteenth‐Century Australia
Authors: Hall Dianne , Malcolm Elizabeth
Published: March 2016

During the 1880s there was fierce debate in colonial Australia and throughout the English‐speaking world about the functioning of increasingly democratic societies and especially who, in terms of race, class and gender, was qualified to participate in the political process. In this formative period of what later became known as the “White Australia policy”, minorities were under intense scrutiny and, within the settler population, the Catholic Irish were the most numerous minority. This paper discusses two controversial and widely‐reported 1881 articles by Melbourne writer, A.M. Topp. He argued strongly that the Celtic Irish were actually an “alien” race, fundamentally antithetical to English governance and morality. Mass Irish migration, in Topp's view, constituted a threat to the political stability and racial superiority of the whole English‐speaking world. Topp drew upon contemporary racial science and the works of leading intellectuals, but he was also influenced by political crises then occurring in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. Topp's articles, and the responses they elicited, highlight the complexities of race in colonial Australia by demonstrating that major racial differences were perceived by some to exist within what has often been portrayed as a largely homogenous “white” settler society.
State vs Federal Government in the “Barmaids” Case: Regulating Australia's Second World War Home Front
Authors: Fort Carol
Published: March 2016

Australia's National Security Act of 1939 authorised the federal government to make emergency regulations “for securing the public safety and defence of the Commonwealth [of Australia]”. Further, it instructed the government to decide for itself what might be “necessary or convenient” for the “more effectual prosecution of the present war”. This article examines the authorisation of the civilian leadership through one set of emergency regulations, the National Security (Women's Employment) Regulations, and analyses their functioning through one operational decision, the decision to permit women to serve in South Australian hotel bars with the intention of releasing male bar workers for essential industrial or military employment. Managing the home front proved complex. Sectional interests continued to jockey for positions of influence, even in war conditions. In this case, the state of South Australia sought to protect its “rights” against federal control of employment: a contest fuelled by an ideological squabble about what were then known as “barmaids”. I argue that Australia's centrally‐determined national war goals were undermined by its federal sovereignty‐distribution mechanism, which allowed sub‐national elements such as South Australia to impede national policy, and conclude that even with extensive defence powers to draw on, the federal government's war goals were obstructed by non‐war interests.
The Transformation of Australian Electoral Analysis: The Two‐Party Preferred Vote — Origins, Impacts, and Critics
Authors: Goot Murray
Published: March 2016

Measuring party support in Australia by constructing a “two‐party preferred” vote has had a profound effect, not only on the way political scientists, journalists, and politicians understand electoral “swing” and predict electoral outcomes, but also on their understanding of the party system, their thinking about electoral fairness, and their views about which party or parties can legitimately claim government. This article traces the origins — the maternity as well as the paternity – of the “two‐party preferred”. It documents its spread from federal to state elections, even as voting systems in some states have switched from exhaustive preferential to optional preferential. It discusses its wide‐ranging impact, and its implications for notions of electoral fairness and the legitimacy of election outcomes. It evaluates various criticisms of the concept — technical, pragmatic, and conceptual. And it notes the implications for marginal seat campaigning of the commonly observed “uniform swing”— implications completely at odds with the idea that marginal seats matter.
The Failures of Neo‐Liberal State Building in Iraq: Assessing Australia's Post‐Conflict Reconstruction and Development Initiatives
Authors: Hassin Ahmed , Isakhan Benjamin
Published: March 2016

This article examines Australia's post‐conflict reconstruction and development initiatives in Iraq following the intervention of 2003. Overall, it finds that Australia privileged the neo‐liberal model of post‐conflict state building by investing in projects that would enhance the capacity of the new Iraqi state, its key institutions and the private sector towards the imposition of a liberal democracy and a free‐market economy. To demonstrate, this article documents the failures of the Australian government's stated aims to “support agriculture” and “support vulnerable populations” via interviews conducted in Iraq with rural farmers and tribal members and those working in, or the beneficiaries of, Iraq's disability sector. It concludes by noting that such failures are not only indicative of the inadequacy of the neo‐liberal state building model, but also that these failures point the way forward for future post‐conflict reconstruction and development projects which ought to be premised on a genuine and sustained commitment to addressing the needs of those made most vulnerable by war and regime change.
Making Change Happen: Black and White Activists talk to Kevin Cook about Aboriginal, Union and Liberation Politics
Authors: Bongiorno Frank
Published: March 2016

Making Change Happen: Black and White Activists talk to Kevin Cook about Aboriginal, Union and Liberation Politics. By Kevin Cook and Heather Goodall (Canberra: Australian National University E Press, 2013), pp.viii + 437, AU$40.00 (pb).
The Making of a Party System: Minor Parties in the Australian Senate: Professionals or Part‐Timers? Major Party Senators in Australia
Authors: Clune David
Published: March 2016

Professionals or Part‐Timers? Major Party Senators in Australia. By Peter Van Onselen (Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Press, 2015), pp.154, $59.99 (pb).
Winning the Peace: Australia's Campaign to Change the Asia‐Pacific
Authors: Hawksley Charles
Published: March 2016

Winning the Peace: Australia's Campaign to Change the Asia‐Pacific. By Andrew Carr (Carlton: Melbourne University Press, 2015), pp.viii + 336, AU$59.99 (pb).
New Perceptions of the Vietnam War: Essays on the War, the South Vietnamese Experience, the Diaspora and the Continuing Impact
Authors: Mclean David
Published: March 2016

New Perceptions of the Vietnam War: Essays on the War, the South Vietnamese Experience, the Diaspora and the Continuing Impact. Edited by Nathalie Huynh Chau Nguyen (Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, 2015), pp.vi + 262. £27.69 (pb).
When Britain Saved the West: The Story of 1940
Authors: Waters Christopher
Published: March 2016

When Britain Saved the West: The Story of 1940. By Robin Prior (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2015), pp.xxi + 335. AU$55.00 (cloth), distributed in Australia by Footprint Books.
Citizens of London: The Americans who Stood with Britain in its Darkest, Finest Hour
Authors: Waters Christopher
Published: March 2016

Citizens of London: The Americans who Stood with Britain in its Darkest, Finest Hour. By Lynne Olson (Melbourne: Scribe, 2015), pp. xxi + 419. AU$27.99 (pb).
Wilhelm II: Into the Abyss of War and Exile, 1900–1941
Authors: Fitzpatrick Matthew P
Published: March 2016

Wilhelm II: Into the Abyss of War and Exile, 1900–1941. By John C.G. Röhl (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014), pp.1562, AU$97.95 (cloth).
When the Party's Over. The Politics of Fiscal Squeeze in Perspective
Authors: Goldfinch Shaun
Published: March 2016

When the Party's Over. The Politics of Fiscal Squeeze in Perspective. Edited by Christopher Hood, David Heald, Rozana Himaz (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014), £60.00 (cloth).
White Magic. The Age of Paper
Authors: Bonnell Andrew G.
Published: March 2016

White Magic. The Age of Paper. By Lothar Müller, trans. Jessica Spengler (Cambridge, UK and Malden MA: Polity Press, 2014), pp.xiv + 311, b/w illustrations. £20.00 (cloth), £14.99 (pbk).
Using telemedicine in the care of newborn infants after discharge from a neonatal intensive care unit reduced the need of hospital visits
Authors: Robinson Charlotta , Gund Anna , Sjöqvist Bengt‐Arne , Bry Kristina
Published: March 2016

Aim

This study examined the use of telemedicine as a means to follow up infants discharged from a Swedish neonatal intensive care unit to home health care.

Methods

Families were randomised to either a control group receiving standard home health care (n = 42 families) or a telemedicine group receiving home health care with telemedicine support (n = 47 families) after discharge from the hospital. Both groups had follow‐up hospital appointments with the neonatal nurse. In the telemedicine group, appointments were supplemented by the use of a specially designed web page and video calls.

Results

The use of the web page and video calls decreased the number of emergency visits to the hospital (p = 0.047). In the telemedicine group, 26% of the families felt they had more scheduled appointments than necessary, whereas only 6% of the families in the control group thought so (p = 0.037). The parents were highly satisfied with the use of telemedicine. Although the nurses were favourable to using telemedicine, the rigid organisation of the home healthcare programme and the nurses’ schedules and work routines prevented its optimal use.

Conclusion

The use of telemedicine decreased the need of hospital visits. Organisational adaptations would be necessary to make the best use of telemedicine.
Independent risk factors of 30‐day outcomes in 1264 patients with peptic ulcer bleeding in the USA: large ulcers do worse
Authors: Camus M. , Jensen D. M. , Kovacs T. O. , Jensen M. E. , Markovic D. , Gornbein J.
Published: March 2016

Background

Predictors of worse outcomes (rebleeding, surgery and death) of peptic ulcer bleeds (PUBs) are essential indicators because of significant morbidity and mortality rates of PUBs. However those have been infrequently reported since changes in medical therapy (PPI, proton pump inhibitors) and application of newer endoscopic haemostatic technique.

Aims

To determine: (i) independent risk factors for 30‐day rebleeding, surgery, and death and (ii) whether ulcer size is an independent predictor of major outcomes in patients with severe PUB after successful endoscopic haemostasis and treatment with optimal medical (high dose IV PPI) vs. prior treatment (high dose IV histamine 2 antagonists – H2RAs).

Methods

A large prospectively followed population of patients hospitalised with severe PUBs between 1993 and 2011 at two US tertiary care academic medical centres, stratified by stigmata of recent haemorrhage (SRH) was studied. Using multivariable logistic regression analyses, independent risk factors for each outcome (rebleeding, surgery and death) up to 30 days were analysed. Effects for medical treatment (H2RA patients 1993–2005 vs. PPIs 2006–2011) were also analysed.

Results

A total of 1264 patients were included. For ulcers ≥10 mm, the odds of 30‐day rebleeding increased 6% per each 10% increase in ulcer size (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.02–1.10, P = 0.0053). Other risk factors for 30‐day rebleeding were major SRH, in‐patient start of bleeding, and prior GI bleeding. Major SRH and ulcer size≥10 mm were predictors of 30‐day surgery. Risk factors for 30‐day death were major SRH, in‐patient bleeding, and any initial platelet transfusion or fresh frozen plasma transfusion ≥2 units. Among patients with major SRH and out‐patient start of bleeding, larger ulcer size was also a risk factor for death (OR 1.08 per 10% increase in ulcer size, 95% CI 1.02–1.14, P = 0.0095). Ulcer size was a significant independent variable for both time periods.

Conclusions

Ulcer size is a risk factor for worse outcomes after PUB and should be carefully recorded at initial endoscopy to improve patient triage and management.
Business Continuity in the Face of Fraud and Organisational Change
Authors: Margret Julie , Hoque Zahirul
Published: March 2016

We examine business continuity in the context of fraud and accounting for an organisation as a going concern. The issues addressed are timely and focus on two points. First, fraudulent activities in business are increasing worldwide with related costs reaching trillions of US dollars. Second, the conventional accounting concept of a going concern that typically signifies business continuity is arguably formed on a static view of business. As such, this view does not help mitigate opportunities for fraudulent statements of account. We contribute to the accounting literature by emphasising the dynamic nature of business and in doing so extend the discussion on Type 1 and Type 2 going concern errors. In that context we provide evidence of a possible Type 3 going concern error in an organisation's financial reporting. Drawing on an international fraud case involving an Indian company, Satyam, we illustrate the adaptive behaviour of resilient business organisations. The findings of our study show that even in the face of fraud dynamic, adaptive organisations can achieve business continuity.
Overlapping Membership on Audit and Compensation Committees and Financial Reporting Quality
Authors: Habib Ahsan , Bhuiyan Md. Borhan Uddin
Published: March 2016

This paper examines whether the audit committee members of a board improve financial reporting quality if they are also on their organisation's compensation committee. Audit committees are responsible for overseeing the financial reporting process of organisations and have been urged to broaden their understanding of business risk and of the incentives provided by their firms’ executive compensation structures. Acknowledging the interrelationships among executive compensation, risk‐taking and financial reporting quality, members of audit and compensation committees have been advocating more information sharing between the two committees. Using archival data from a sample of Australian Stock Exchange listed companies, and discretionary accruals as a proxy for financial reporting quality, this study finds that firms with overlapping committees have better quality financial reporting than those without such an overlap. Our evidence for this is stronger in cases where managers tend to manage earnings upwards in order to meet or beat earnings benchmarks. We also find that the beneficial effect of the existence of overlapping committees is adversely affected by the equity holdings of directors with overlapping memberships.
Carnosic Acid‐combined Arsenic Trioxide Antileukaemia Cells in the Establishment of NB4/SCID Mouse Model
Authors: Hao Li , Ran Wang , Xiang‐xin Li , Lu‐Qun Wang , Xiao‐ning Yu
Published: March 2016

Despite great improvement in the treatment outcome of APL, treatment failure still sometimes occurs due to the toxicity of arsenic trioxide (ATO). Damage to the heart and liver often occurs even when the dose is lower than the therapeutic dose. Based on the results of cell experiments in vitro in this study, we investigated the synergistic activity of carnosic acid (CA) combined with ATO in the SCID mouse model of human promyelocytic leukaemia in vivo. A NB4/SCID mouse model was established in this study. The NB4/SCID mice were randomly divided into three treatment groups (CA alone, ATO alone and CA combined with ATO) and a control group based on factorial design. The evaluation indicators of the curative effect of the drugs included expressions of cleaved caspase‐3, PTEN, p27 gene mRNA and proteins by immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry and Western blot analysis. The survival time was compared between the four groups. The results indicated that verification of the NB4/SCID mouse model was confirmed by histopathological examination. Compared with mice treated by CA or ATO alone, the mice in the combination of CA and ATO group had a higher rate of apoptosis, which was linked with expressions of cleaved caspase‐3, PTEN, p27 gene mRNA and proteins. Also, the mice with the longest survival time were those treated with the combination of CA and ATO. In conclusion, the results of the present study indicated that CA and ATO in combination have strong synergistic antileukaemic effects on cell activity.
Beyond the tip of the iceberg: the role of phosphoinositide 3-kinase/AKT in acne inversa/hidradenitis suppurativa
Authors: Frew J.W.
Published: March 2016

Linked Article:  Xiao et al. Br J Dermatol 2016; 174:522–532.
Plasma will…
Authors: Lunov O.
Published: March 2016

Linked Article:  Zhong et al. Br J Dermatol 2016; 174:542–552.
Y‐632 inhibits heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) function by disrupting the interaction between Hsp90 and Hsp70/Hsp90 organizing protein, and exerts antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo
Authors: Wang Wenqian , Liu Yang , Zhao Zhixin , Xie Chengying , Xu Yongping , Hu Youhong , Quan Haitian , Lou Liguang
Published: March 2016

Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) stabilizes a variety of proteins required for cancer cell survival and has been identified as a promising drug target for cancer treatment. To date, several Hsp90 inhibitors have entered into clinical trials, but none has been approved for cancer therapy yet. Thus, exploring new Hsp90 inhibitors with novel mechanisms of action is urgent. In the present study, we show that Y‐632, a novel pyrimidine derivative, inhibited Hsp90 in a different way from the conventional Hsp90 inhibitor geldanamycin. Y‐632 induced degradation of diverse Hsp90 client proteins through the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway, as geldanamycin did; however, it neither directly bound to Hsp90 nor inhibited Hsp90 ATPase activity. Y‐632 inhibited Hsp90 function mainly through inducing intracellular thiol oxidation, which led to disruption of the Hsp90–Hsp70/Hsp90 organizing protein complex and further induced cell adhesion inhibition, G0/G1 cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis. Moreover, Y‐632 efficiently overcame imatinib resistance mediated by Bcr‐Abl point mutations both in vitro and in vivo. We believe that Y‐632, acting as a novel small‐molecule inhibitor of the Hsp90–Hsp70/Hsp90 organizing protein complex, has great potential to be a promising Hsp90 inhibitor for cancer therapy, such as for imatinib‐resistant leukemia.
HESX1 mutations in patients with congenital hypopituitarism: variable phenotypes with the same genotype
Authors: Fang Qing , Benedetti Anna Flavia Figueredo , Ma Qianyi , Gregory Louise , Li Jun Z. , Dattani Mehul , Sadeghi‐Nejad Abdollah , Arnhold Ivo J.P. , Mendonca Berenice Bilharinho , Camper Sally A. , Carvalho Luciani R.
Published: March 2016

Introduction

Mutations in the transcription factor HESX1 can cause isolated growth hormone deficiency (IGHD) or combined pituitary hormone deficiency (CPHD) with or without septo‐optic dysplasia (SOD). So far there is no clear genotype–phenotype correlation.

Patients and Results

We report four different recessive loss‐of‐function mutations in three unrelated families with CPHD and no midline defects or SOD. A homozygous p.R160C mutation was found by Sanger sequencing in two siblings from a consanguineous family. These patients presented with ACTH, TSH and GH deficiencies, severe anterior pituitary hypoplasia (APH) or pituitary aplasia (PA) and normal posterior pituitary. The p.R160C mutation was previously reported in a case with SOD, CPHD and ectopic posterior pituitary (EPP). Using exome sequencing, a homozygous p.I26T mutation was found in a Brazilian patient born to consanguineous parents. This patient had evolving CPHD, normal ACTH, APH and normal posterior pituitary (NPP). A previously reported patient homozygous for p.I26T had evolving CPHD and EPP. Finally, we identified compound heterozygous mutations in HESX1, p.[R159W];[R160H], in a patient with PA and CPHD. We showed that both of these mutations abrogate the ability of HESX1 to repress PROP1‐mediated transcriptional activation. A patient homozygous for p.R160H was previously reported in a patient with CPHD, EPP, APH.

Conclusion

These three examples demonstrate that HESX1 mutations cause variable clinical features in patients, which suggests an influence of modifier genes or environmental factors on the phenotype.
The type of loose seton for complex anal fistula is essential to improve perianal comfort and quality of life
Authors: Kristo I. , Stift A. , Staud C. , Kainz A. , Bachleitner‐Hofmann T. , Chitsabesan P. , Riss S.
Published: March 2016

Aim

The use of a loose seton for complex anal fistulae can cause perianal discomfort and reduced quality of life. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the novel knot‐free Comfort Drain on quality of life, perianal comfort and faecal continence compared to conventional loose setons.

Method

Forty‐four patients treated for complex anal fistula at a single institution between July 2013 and September 2014 were included in the study. A matched‐pair analysis was performed to compare patients with a knot‐free Comfort Drain and controls who were managed by conventional knotted setons. The 12‐item Short Form survey (SF‐12) questionnaire was used to assess quality of life. Additionally, patients reported perianal comfort and faecal incontinence using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and the St Mark's Incontinence Score.

Results

The Comfort Drain was associated with improved quality of life with significant higher median physical (P = 0.001) and mental (P = 0.04) health scores compared with a conventional loose seton. According to the VAS, patients with a Comfort Drain in situ reported greater perianal comfort with significantly less burning sensation (P < 0.001) and pruritus (P < 0.001). Faecal continence was similar in each group.

Conclusion

The Comfort Drain offers improved perianal comfort and better quality of life compared with a conventional loose seton and therefore facilitates long‐term therapy in patients with complex fistula‐in‐ano.
Analysis on CO2 Emissions Transferred from Developed Economies to China through Trade
Authors: Zhang Wencheng , Peng Shuijun
Published: March 2016

Based on a global input–output model, this paper investigates the CO2 emission transfer between China and developed economies through trade. The results show that approximately 15–23 percent of China's production‐based emissions during 1995–2009 were induced by the production of goods and services satisfying final demand in developed economies. Decomposition of emission transfers shows that trade of intermediate products played a significant role in emission transfer from developed economies to China. Most developed economies have consumption‐based emission responsibilities that are higher than their production‐based responsibilities, whereas China's consumption‐based responsibility is significantly lower than its production‐based responsibility. We argue that a fair and efficient carbon accounting approach should take CO emission transfers from developed economies to developing economies into consideration. It is important that China and its developed trade partners cooperate in reducing emission transfers.
Does Foreign Venture Capital Provide More Value‐added Services to Initial Public Offering Companies in China?
Authors: He Yin , Li Bin , Tian Yunhua , Wang Lijun
Published: March 2016

This paper uses all 1404 initial public offerings (IPO) undertaken between 2002 and 2012 in China to analyze whether venture capital (VC) investment, especially foreign VC investment, brings more or less value‐added services to the invested companies during the 3 years following the IPO. The results show that venture capitalists choose to invest in companies with higher value potential, and, in turn, the value of the companies increases after the IPO is undertaken; foreign VC adds more value to companies than domestic venture capital. However, the profitability of VC‐backed and non VC‐backed companies after IPO does not differ significantly. Nevertheless, it is shown that VC plays an active role in China.
Asymmetric Fluctuating Behavior of China's Housing Prices
Authors: Lin Wen‐Yuan , Tsai I‐Chun
Published: March 2016

The present study explains the reasons for the imbalanced development of the Chinese housing market. Using the quantile autoregression unit‐root test, we examine housing prices in China's five major cities. The results show that the rising and falling of housing prices in these cities exhibits asymmetric reversion. When housing prices fall, market capital is highly sensitive to housing prices, and housing prices resist the pressure to fall further. However, when housing prices rise, the housing market becomes imbalanced, with housing prices tending to overreact in an upturn. The results of this study indicate that when housing prices rise irrationally, the government should intervene in the housing market promptly to prevent housing bubbles.
Exposure to multiple languages enhances communication skills in infancy
Authors: Liberman Zoe , Woodward Amanda L. , Keysar Boaz , Kinzler Katherine D.
Published: March 2016

Early exposure to multiple languages can enhance children's communication skills, even when children are effectively monolingual (Fan, Liberman, Keysar & Kinzler, ). Here we report evidence that the social benefits of multilingual exposure emerge in infancy. Sixteen‐month‐old infants participated in a communication task that required taking a speaker's perspective to understand her intended meaning. Infants were presented with two identical toys, such as two cars. One toy was mutually visible to both the infant and the speaker, but the other was visible only to the infant and was blocked from the speaker's view by an opaque barrier. The speaker requested the mutually visible toy and we evaluated whether infants understood the speaker's request. Whereas monolingual infants were at chance in choosing between the two toys, infants with multilingual exposure reliably chose the toy the speaker requested. Successful performance was not related to the degree of exposure to other languages, suggesting that even minimal multilingual exposure may enhance communication skills.
Lifestyle and clinical determinants of skin autofluorescence in a population‐based cohort study
Authors: van Waateringe Robert P. , Slagter Sandra N. , van der Klauw Melanie M. , van Vliet‐Ostaptchouk Jana V. , Graaff Reindert , Paterson Andrew D. , Lutgers Helen L. , Wolffenbuttel Bruce H. R.
Published: March 2016

Background

Skin autofluorescence (SAF) is a noninvasive marker of advanced glycation end products (AGEs). In diabetes, higher SAF levels have been positively associated with long‐term complications, cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Because little is known about the factors that influence SAF in nondiabetic individuals, we assessed the association of clinical and lifestyle parameters with SAF as well as their interactions in a large‐scale, nondiabetic population and performed the same analysis in a type 2 diabetic subgroup.

Methods

In a cross‐sectional study in participants from the LifeLines Cohort Study, extensive clinical and biochemical phenotyping, including SAF measurement, was assessed in 9009 subjects of whom 314 (3·5%) subjects with type 2 diabetes.

Results

Mean SAF was 2·04 ± 0·44 arbitrary units (AU) in nondiabetic individuals and 2·44 ± 0·55 AU in type 2 diabetic subjects (P < 0·0001). Multivariate backward regression analysis showed that in the nondiabetic population, SAF was significantly and independently associated with age, BMI, HbA1c, creatinine clearance, genetic polymorphism in NAT2 (rs4921914), current smoking, pack‐years of smoking and coffee consumption. In the type 2 diabetic group, a similar set of factors was associated with SAF, except for coffee consumption.

Conclusions

In addition to the established literature on type 2 diabetes, we have demonstrated that SAF levels are associated with several clinical and lifestyle factors in the nondiabetic population. These parameters should be taken into consideration when using SAF as a screening or prediction tool for populations at risk for cardiovascular disease and diabetes.