bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Absorbing states in a catalysis model with anti-Arrhenius behavior
Authors: de Andrade M. F. , Figueiredo W.
Published: April 2012

We study a model of heterogeneous catalysis with competitive reactions between two monomers A and B. We assume that reactions are dependent on temperature and follow an anti-Arrhenius mechanism. In this model, a monomer A can react with a nearest neighbor monomer A or B, however, reactions between monomers of type B are not allowed. We assume attractive interactions between nearest neighbor monomers as well as between monomers and the catalyst. Through mean-field calculations, at the level of site and pair approximations, and extensive Monte Carlo simulations, we determine the phase diagram of the model in the plane yA versus temperature, where yA is the probability that a monomer A reaches the catalyst. The model exhibits absorbing and active phases separated by lines of continuous phase transitions. We calculate the static, dynamic, and spreading exponents of the model, and despite the absorbing state be represented by many different microscopic configurations, the model belongs to the directed percolation universality class in two dimensions. Both reaction mechanisms, Arrhenius and anti-Arrhenius, give the same set of critical exponents and do not change the nature of the universality class of the catalytic models.
Effect of the doping level on the radiative life time in ZnO nanowires
Authors: Robin Ivan-Christophe
Published: April 2012

The emission properties of ZnO nanowires grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy on sapphire and p-type GaN are compared using temperature dependent time resolved photoluminescence. The temperature dependence of the radiative decay time of nanowires grown on sapphire is well understood considering an exciton thermalization in a 3D density of states. In the case of growth on GaN, a great increase of the radiative decay time is observed compared to nanowires grown on sapphire. This increase of the radiative decay time could be due to a band bending effect that separates the electron and the hole. This band bending effect depends on the residual doping level and is not seen in the case of nanowires grown on sapphire probably because of a very high residual doping level that can be estimated from the radiative decay time temperature dependence.
Identification of visible emission from ZnO quantum dots: Excitation-dependence and size-dependence
Authors: Xu Xiaoyong , Xu Chunxiang , Shi Zengliang , Yang Chi , Yu Bin , Hu Jingguo
Published: April 2012

ZnO quantum dots (QDs) with uniform shape and different sizes were synthesized by a simple sol-gel method. The visible emission of the ZnO QDs displays highly both excitation-dependent and size-dependent behaviors. The results indicate that the green emission should be attributed to the transition of electrons from the conduction band to a certain deep trap related mainly to defects on the surface, while the violet emission may correspond to the transition of electrons from the shallow donor levels to the valence band. This work is favor to clarify the transition mechanism of visible emission and to extend optical and electronic applications. Particularly, the importance of combining the excitation effect with quantum size effect for investigating photoluminescence of QDs is first highlighted.
Improved lasing characteristics of ZnO/organic-dye random laser
Authors: Firdaus Kurniawan , Nakamura Toshihiro , Adachi Sadao
Published: April 2012

We investigate the random lasing characteristics of ZnO nanopowder suspended in methanol with the addition of organic-dye molecules. At a certain dye concentration, the random lasing intensity is enhanced, and the excitation threshold power is reduced. These improvements are explained by Förster-type resonant energy transfer from the dye-molecule donor to the ZnO-nanopowder acceptor.
The Spectacular and the Mundane: Racialised State Violence, Filipino Migrant Workers, and Their Families
Authors: Lee Elizabeth , Pratt Geraldine
Published: April 2012

We consider two case studies—a US soldier and a domestic worker—with the objective of elaborating spectacular and mundane instances of state violence as they emerge through projects of citizenship. Focused as they are on two very different mechanisms through which the state grants citizenship—military and immigration law—the two figures diversify and proliferate our understandings of the ambiguities of inclusion and exclusion through citizenship. We consider the family as both a regulatory ideal and as a site of the lived experience of racialised citizenship. And although the family is, as Foucault noted, one of the key ‘anchoring points’ for knowledge and power in modern societies, we want to consider what is excessive to the categories of citizen or worker within the intimacy of the family to suggest that this excess offers profound challenges to existing citizenship regimes.
Governing through the Family: Struggles over US Noncitizen Family Detention Policy
Authors: Martin Lauren L
Published: April 2012

This paper offers a conceptual framework in which ‘the family’ is situated as an object of governmental intervention, on the one hand, and a site of discursive proliferation, on the other hand. Reading across the works of Michel Foucault and Jacques Donzelot, I argue that the family served an important, but often overlooked, role in Foucauldian conceptualizations of sovereign, disciplinary, and biopolitical modalities of power. In particular, the elaboration of disciplinary institutions and biopolitical governance converged in the family household; as a central point in these governmental strategies, the family's relationship to sexuality, child-rearing, and kinship provoked anxieties over race, nation building, sexuality, and gender. After reviewing how these concerns overlapped in US immigration policies, I analyze the debates concerning noncitizen family detention policy in the United States. I show how a series of proposals for family detention and release congealed around competing discourses of childhood innocence and criminality, prison and home, and parental authority and security. On the basis of this analysis, I argue that state and nonstate actors produce multiple normative family subjects through strategic spatializations of state and familial power.
Fear and the focus of attention
Authors: Faucher Luc , Tappolet Christine
Published: April 2012

Philosophers have not been very preoccupied by the link between emotions and attention. The few that did (de Sousa, 1987) never really specified the relation between the two phenomena. Using empirical data from the study of the emotion of fear, we provide a description (and an explanation) of the links between emotion and attention. We also discuss the nature (empirical or conceptual) of these links.
Phenomenal, access and reflexive consciousness
Authors: Faw Bill
Published: April 2012

This paper adds five “blocks” (cells) to Ned Block’s 2-by-2 P- and A-Consciousness typology, by converting “phenomenal” and “access” into two orthogonal dimensions of Primary Conscious, and by introducing gradations along each dimension, with P0 (no phenomenal experience), P1 (attenuated phenomenal experience), and P2 (full phenomenal experience); and A0 (no access of mental content to either involuntary or voluntary cognitive/behavioral responses), A1 (access of mental content to involuntary responses), and A2 (access of mental content also to voluntary responses). This leads to a 3x3, 9-block grid, with Phenomenality on the X-axis and Access on the Y-axis. Each combination of P and A is examined for known conscious states. It is concluded that there are no known phenomenal states without at least A1 or A2 access. Neither are there states with A2 access without P2 phenomenality. At the end of the paper, Block’s concept of Reflexive Consciousness is introduced tantalizingly as a third (Z) dimension for consciousness in humans.
The veil and veracity of passion in Chinese poetics
Authors: Sundararajan Louise
Published: April 2012

The ideal poetry is speech that capitalizes on indirection, avers the literary critic Yang Tsai (1271–1323): “Sorrow and grief are held in reserve and no pain is expressed; praise and attack are indirect and not obvious.” To spell out this vision of the Confucian poetics, a reformulation of the IND-COL (Individualism-Collectivism) hypothesis is proposed to anchor cross-cultural differences in terms of Novelty-focus versus Authenticity-focus, with the former being privileged in individualistic cultures, and the latter, collectivistic cultures. The Authenticity-focus hypothesis sheds light on two major functions of indirect expression of emotions: (a) As anti-exploitation device, with the sender’s skills consisting primarily of suppression of emotions; and the receiver’s skills, mind-reading and attunement. (b) As means to achieve inter- and intra-personal harmony, with poetry in particular functioning as a “ritual dance with words” to shape and mold emotions. Data that support the “Authenticity-focus” hypothesis challenge the conventional dichotomy of expression versus inhibition in emotion research, by showing that indirect expression of emotion functions like a veil that reveals and conceals at once the truth of the emoter.
Intersubjectification and clause periphery
Authors: Traugott Elizabeth Closs
Published: April 2012

Ways of identifying subjectification and especially intersubjectification are discussed using data from the history of English no doubt and surely. These adverbs arose out of non-modal expressions and were recruited for use as epistemic adverbs and metadiscursive markers. The data are shown not to support the hypothesis that expressions at left periphery are likely to be subjective (oriented toward turn-taking and discourse coherence), those at right periphery intersubjective (oriented toward turn-giving or elicitation of response, and toward the Addressee’s stance and participation in the communicative situation.). While no doubt is subjective at both left and right periphery, surely is intersubjective at both peripheries
Beyond intersubjectification
Authors: Narrog Heiko
Published: April 2012

This paper discusses textual uses of modality and mood forms in English and Japanese and claims that they all represent a shift from subjective through intersubjective to the textual. As the shift towards textual function is difficult to define in terms of either subjectification or intersubjectification, it is suggested that shift towards the textual needs to be acknowledged as equal to the shift towards the subjective and the intersubjective. These three kinds of shifts are understood as together forming the larger tendency of change labeled as ‘speech-act orientation’. Furthermore, the cases discussed in this paper provide evidence for the fact that textual functions, which have often been conceived as an intermediate stage in change towards subjective and intersubjective elements, are in fact sometimes the endpoints of grammatical change, beyond subjective and intersubjective functions.
Notions of (inter)subjectivity
Authors: Nuyts Jan
Published: April 2012

This paper compares a few notions of ‘subjectivity’ (vs. ‘objectivity’ or ‘intersubjectivity’) circulating in the current functional and cognitive linguistic literature. It aims to demonstrate that, in spite of some points of contact in the analysis of certain linguistic issues, e.g. in the sphere of the modal categories, these notions actually refer to substantially different phenomena and should therefore not be confused.
Replacement of Menhaden Fish Meal Protein by Solvent-Extracted Soybean Meal Protein in the Diet of Juvenile Black Sea Bass Supplemented with or without Squid Meal, Krill Meal, Methionine, and Lysine
Authors: Alam Md Shah , Watanabe Wade O , Sullivan Katherine B , Rezek Troy C , Seaton Pamela J
Published: April 2012

Three experiments were conducted to determine the extent to which menhaden fish meal protein (FMP) can be replaced by solvent-extracted soybean meal protein (SBP) in the diet of juvenile black sea bass Centropristis striata. Diets were formulated replacing FMP by SBP at 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60% (experiment 1) and 0, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100% (experiment 2), with supplementation with squid meal, krill meal, and attractants in both experiments. Experiment 3 was designed to replace FMP by SBP at 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80% without supplemental squid and krill meal and at 60% and 70% with supplemental methionine and lysine. Diets were fed twice daily to triplicate groups of fish (N = 15 per group) in 75-L tanks containing recirculating seawater. Fish were fed for 6, 10, and 8 weeks in experiments 1, 2, and 3, respectively. No significant differences in body weight gain, feed efficiency, and survival were observed among treatments in experiment 1. In experiment 2, no significant differences in percent weight gain were observed among fish fed diets replacing FMP at 0, 60, and 70%. In experiment 3, body weight gain was not significantly different for fish fed supplemental methionine and lysine in 70% SBP diets compared with fish fed 0% SBP diets. No significant differences were observed in whole-body n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids among treatments in experiment 2. Broken-line regression of the specific growth rate data suggested that the maximum level of FMP replacement with SBP in black sea bass diets was 67.6–68.4% with 75 g/kg squid meal and 50 g/kg krill meal in the diet and 57.2–58.0% without squid and krill meal supplementation.
Knowledge, risk perception and behaviours in swimming pool users of Palermo city, Sicily
Authors: Amodio Emanuele , Costantino Claudio , Asciutto Rosario , Dino Claudia , Bianco Antonino , Maringhini Guido , Mammina Caterina , Calamusa Giuseppe
Published: April 2012

To assess knowledge, risk perception and behaviours of a sample of swimming pool users in Palermo. A total of 498 subjects were interviewed by self‐administered anonymous questionnaire including socio‐demographic questions, knowledge/risk perception and behaviours. Overall, 289 subjects (58%) had a mean of 1.9±1.2 healthy behaviours. Age older than 30 years (OR=0.46; 95% CI=0.26–0.81), female sex (OR=0.52; 95% CI=0.35–0.76) and a high knowledge score (OR=0.15; 95% CI=0.03–0.69) were significantly associated with having healthy behaviours in both univariate and multivariate analysis. Unhealthy behaviours can be frequently found in swimming pool bathers and, particularly, in some target groups. Public health prevention strategies should be implemented to improve public awareness and information on a safe use of recreational water environments.
Ageing and Secondary-Distinctiveness-Based Effects: The Orthographic Distinctiveness Effect is More Robust than the Bizarreness Effect
Authors: Gounden Yannick , Nicolas Serge
Published: April 2012

Differences related to ageing were investigated in two cases of secondary-distinctiveness-based effects: the bizarreness effect and the orthographic distinctiveness effect. A secondary distinctiveness effect means that items that are unusual compared to one's general knowledge stored in permanent memory are better remembered than common items. Experiment 1 confirmed that ageing diminishes the facilitative effects of bizarreness in a mixed list design with equal numbers of bizarre and common images. We suggest that the impaired bizarreness effect in older adults (above age 70) may be due to reduced attentional resources, since no bizarreness effect was observed for younger adults in the divided attention condition. Experiment 2 studied the orthographic distinctiveness effect in ageing for the first time. Contrary to our expectations, an orthographic distinctiveness effect was observed for all participants including older adults and younger adults in a divided attention condition. Because reduced attentional resources due to normal ageing or to experimental manipulation did not impact the facilitative effects of orthographic distinctiveness, our findings suggest that the orthographic distinctiveness effect may be mediated by more automatic processing.
Heisenberg algebras and rational double affine Hecke algebras
Authors: Shan P. , Vasserot E.
Published: April 2012

We relate the filtration by the support on the Grothendieck group[O][\mathcal {O}]of the categoryO\mathcal {O}of cyclotomic rational double affine Hecke algebras to a representation-theoretic grading on[O][\mathcal {O}], defined using the action of an affine Lie algebra and of a Heisenberg algebra on the Fock space. This implies a recent conjecture of Etingof. The proof uses a categorification of the Heisenberg action, which is new, and a categorification of the affine Lie algebra action, which was introduced by the first author in an earlier paper.
Dissecting the effects of nitrate, sucrose and osmotic potential on
Arabidopsis
root and shoot system growth in laboratory assays
Authors: Roycewicz Peter , Malamy Jocelyn E.
Published: April 2012

Studying the specific effects of water and nutrients on plant development is difficult because changes in a single component can often trigger multiple response pathways. Such confounding issues are prevalent in commonly used laboratory assays. For example, increasing the nitrate concentration in growth media alters both nitrate availability and osmotic potential. In addition, it was recently shown that a change in the osmotic potential of media alters the plant's ability to take up other nutrients such as sucrose. It can also be difficult to identify the initial target tissue of a particular environmental cue because there are correlated changes in development of many organs. These growth changes may be coordinately regulated, or changes in development of one organ may trigger changes in development of another organ as a secondary effect. All these complexities make analyses of plant responses to environmental factors difficult to interpret. Here, we review the literature on the effects of nitrate, sucrose and water availability on root system growth and discuss the mechanisms underlying these effects. We then present experiments that examine the impact of nitrate, sucrose and water on root and shoot system growth in culture using an approach that holds all variables constant except the one under analysis. We found that while all three factors also alter root system size, changes in sucrose and osmotic potential also altered shoot system size. In contrast, we found that, when osmotic effects are controlled, nitrate specifically inhibits root system growth while having no effect on shoot system growth. This effectively decreases the root : shoot ratio. Alterations in root : shoot ratio have been widely observed in response to nitrogen starvation, where root growth is selectively increased, but the present results suggest that alterations in this ratio can be triggered across a wide spectrum of nitrate concentrations.
Multiple AUX/IAA–ARF modules regulate lateral root formation: the role ofArabidopsisSHY2/IAA3-mediated auxin signalling
Authors: Goh Tatsuaki , Kasahara Hiroyuki , Mimura Tetsuro , Kamiya Yuji , Fukaki Hidehiro
Published: April 2012

InArabidopsis thaliana, lateral root (LR) formation is regulated by multiple auxin/indole-3-acetic acid (Aux/IAA)–AUXIN RESPONSE FACTOR (ARF) modules: (i) the IAA28–ARFs module regulates LR founder cell specification; (ii) the SOLITARY-ROOT (SLR)/IAA14–ARF7–ARF19 module regulates nuclear migration and asymmetric cell divisions of the LR founder cells for LR initiation; and (iii) the BODENLOS/IAA12–MONOPTEROS/ARF5 module also regulates LR initiation and organogenesis. The number of Aux/IAA–ARF modules involved in LR formation remains unknown. In this study, we isolated theshy2-101mutant, a gain-of-function allele ofshort hypocotyl2/suppressor of hy2(shy2)/iaa3in the Columbia accession. We demonstrated that theshy2-101mutation not only strongly inhibits LR primordium development and emergence but also significantly increases the number of LR initiation sites with the activation ofLATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES-DOMAIN16/ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2-LIKE18, a target gene of the SLR/IAA14–ARF7–ARF19 module. Genetic analysis revealed that enhanced LR initiation inshy2-101depended on the SLR/IAA14–ARF7–ARF19 module. We also showed that theshy2roots contain higher levels of endogenous IAA. These observations indicate that the SHY2/IAA3–ARF-signalling module regulates not only LR primordium development and emergence after SLR/IAA14–ARF7–ARF19 module-dependent LR initiation but also inhibits LR initiation by affecting auxin homeostasis, suggesting that multiple Aux/IAA–ARF modules cooperatively regulate the developmental steps during LR formation.
Molecular interactions of ROOTLESS CONCERNING CROWN AND SEMINAL ROOTS, a LOB domain protein regulating shoot-borne root initiation in maize (Zea maysL.)
Authors: Majer Christine , Xu Changzheng , Berendzen Kenneth W. , Hochholdinger Frank
Published: April 2012

Rootless concerning crown and seminal roots(Rtcs) encodes a LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES domain (LBD) protein that regulates shoot-borne root initiation in maize (Zea maysL.). GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN (GFP)-fusions revealed RTCS localization in the nucleus while its paralogue RTCS-LIKE (RTCL) was detected in the nucleus and cytoplasm probably owing to an amino acid exchange in a nuclear localization signal. Moreover, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) experiments demonstrated that RTCS primarily binds toLBDDNA motifs. RTCS binding to anLBDmotif in the promoter of the auxin response factor (ARF)ZmArf34and reciprocally, reciprocal ZmARF34 binding to an auxin responsive element motif in the promoter ofRtcswas shown by electrophoretic mobility shift assay experiments. In addition, comparative qRT-PCR of wild-type versusrtcscoleoptilar nodes suggested RTCS-dependent activation ofZmArf34expression. Consistently, luciferase reporter assays illustrated the capacity of RTCS, RTCL and ZmARF34 to activate downstream gene expression. Finally, RTCL homo- and RTCS/RTCL hetero-interaction were demonstrated in yeast-two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation experiments, suggesting a role of these complexes in downstream gene regulation. In summary, the data provide novel insights into the molecular interactions resulting in crown root initiation in maize.
A pilot study of the Incredible Years BASIC parenting programme with bereaved families
Authors: Braiden Hannah‐Jane , McDaniel Benny , Duffy Joseph , McCann Monica
Published: April 2012

Purpose

Bereaved parents often face the complex situation of managing their own grief while parenting bereaved children who are at increased risk of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The current evaluation was a pilot study aimed at determining the feasibility of the Incredible Years (IY) BASIC parenting programme as an intervention for bereaved families.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of seven parents of children (aged four to 12) participated in a 12‐week IY BASIC parenting programme. Participants completed a range of pre‐intervention, post‐intervention, six month follow‐up measures and semi‐structured interviews.

Findings

The results showed statistically significant reductions in parental stress, parental wellbeing, child behaviour problems, and grief.

Originality/value

There is strong evidence for the effectiveness of IY with diverse parenting populations but this is the first known study of the programme with bereaved families. The findings support its use with such families where child behaviour is a concern.
Paediatric use of mycophenolate mofetil
Authors: Downing Heather J. , Pirmohamed Munir , Beresford Michael W. , Smyth Rosalind L.
Published: April 2012

A number of medications do not have a licence, or label, for use in the paediatric age group nor for the specific indication for which they are being used in children. Over recent years, mycophenolate mofetil has increasingly been used off‐label (i.e. off‐licence) in adults for a number of indications, including autoimmune conditions; progressively, this wider use has been extended to children. This review summarizes current use of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) in children, looking at how MMF works, the pharmacokinetics, the clinical conditions for which it is used, the advantages it has when compared with other immunosuppressants and the unresolved issues remaining with use in children. The review aims to focus on off‐label use in children so as to identify areas that require further research and investigation. The overall commercial value of MMF is limited because it has now come off patent in adults. Given the increasing knowledge of the pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and pharmacogenomics demonstrating the clinical benefits of MMF, new, formal, investigator‐led studies, including trials focusing on the use of MMF in children, would be of immense value.
The relationship between anogenital distance and azoospermia in adult men
Authors: Eisenberg Michael L. , Shy Michael , Chanc Walters R. , Lipshultz Larry I.
Published: April 2012

Anogenital distance (AGD) is a marker for endocrine disruption in animal studies in which decreased male AGD has been associated with testicular dysfunction. The objective of the study was to investigate whether anogenital distance could distinguish men with obstructive azoospermia (OA) from those with nonobstructive azoospermia (NOA). To accomplish this, azoospermic men were recruited and evaluated at a men’s reproductive health clinic in Houston, TX. Anogenital distance (the distance from the posterior aspect of the scrotum to the anal verge) and penile length (PL) were measured using digital calipers. Testis size was estimated by physical examination. Logistic regression was used to compare AGD lengths in men with OA and men with NOA. A total of 69 OA men (mean age: 44.2 ± 9.2) and 29 NOA men (mean age: 32.8 ± 4.8) were recruited. The NOA men possessed significantly shorter mean AGD than the men with OA (AGD: 36.3 vs. 41.9 mm, p = 0.01). An AGD of less than 30 mm, had a 91% specificity in accurately classifying NOA. Moreover, after adjustment for age, race, and BMI, an AGD of less than 30 mm yielded a significantly increased odds of NOA compared to OA (OR 5.6, 95% CI 1.0, 30.7). In summary, AGD may provide a novel metric for assessing testicular function in men and in distinguishing OA from NOA.
Exploratory chemometric analysis for the characterisation of Tunisian olive cultivars according to their lipid and sterolic profiles
Authors: Kammoun Naziha G. , Zarrouk Wissem
Published: April 2012

This study aims to evaluate some Tunisian olive genetic resources using fatty acid, triacyglycerol and sterolic compositions and to classify the cultivars according to their fruit genotype and to their respective geographical origin (North, Centre and South). manova results showed that the studied cultivars presented highly significant differences regarding all the variables (P < 0.01). The most discriminant variables of fatty acids are C17:1 (F = 98.468), C16:0 (F = 92.994), C18:1 (F = 60.865), C18:1/C18:2 (F = 44.632) and C18:2 (F = 40.167); those of triacylglycerols are POP (F = 123.34), LLL (F = 122.944), LnLO (F = 98.363), POO (F = 93.357) and LOO (F = 90.42), while sitostanol (F = 289.171), campestanol (F = 192.792) and campesterol (F = 160.724) have the higher discriminant power among sterol compounds. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on the data of each chemical parameter to explore their usefulness for the discrimination of eleven monovarietal olive oils. Best differentiations among cultivars were obtained with triacyglycerol and sterolic compositions. The spatial distribution of the different oil samples using all the collected data showed a good discrimination among olive cultivars. A strong resolution between the samples according to the geographical origin was obtained by means of factorial discriminant analysis (FDA) (λ = 0.002). Comparisons of the distances between classes were statistically significant (Fisher tests; P < 0.0001), and 90.91% of cross‐validated grouped cases are correctly classified. The obtained results could become an important tool for sorting out oils to a single cultivar or to a specific geographical area.
Utilisation of modified atmosphere packaging to extend the shelf life of Khalas fresh dates
Authors: Al‐Eid Salah M. , Barber Andrew R. , Rettke Michael , Leo Annunziata , Alsenaien Waleed A. , Sallam Abdulkader A.
Published: April 2012

Completely matured tamr stage dates are widely available and consumed throughout the year. However, for some date varieties, the earlier khalal stage crunchy fruit is considered a premium product. This work examines the use of modified atmosphere packaging to extend the shelf life of khalal dates under refrigerated conditions. Modified atmosphere packaging with 10% or 20% CO2 in air was successful in reducing the rate of the ripening processes while control‐packaged dates showed signs of ripening development such as significant weight loss and darkening in date colour (identified visually and as low lactic acid bacteria measurements at 18 and 27 days after packaging), similar to that observed in tamr stage fruit.
Phenological associations of within‐ and among‐plant variation in gender with floral morphology and integration in protandrous Delphinium glaucum
Authors: Ishii Hiroshi S. , Harder Lawrence D.
Published: April 2012

1. Flowering‐time differences within and among protandrous, hermaphroditic plants shift the floral sex ratio from male‐ to female‐dominated during a population’s flowering season. This dynamic should induce negative frequency‐dependent selection favouring relatively greater investment of resources and time in female function by early flowers and early‐flowering plants than by late flowers and late‐flowering individuals. In contrast, selection for floral integration to facilitate pollen export and import should limit floral variation.

2. We assessed these contrasting expectations for the protandrous Delphinium glaucum by considering the relation of variation and covariation in the lengths of perianth segments, anther and ovule number, and male‐ and female‐phase duration for flowers at three positions within inflorescences to the first flowering date, mean gender and size of 34 plants.

3. Reproductive phenotypes varied among and within plants in association with a shift in population floral sex ratio from male‐ to female‐biased, but not with plant size. Early‐flowering plants had female‐biased phenotypic gender and smaller flowers with fewer anthers per ovule and shorter male phases than late‐flowering plants. Within individuals, earlier (lower) flowers were larger with higher female effort, in terms of both the relative production of ovules and anthers and the relative durations of female and male phases, than later (upper) flowers. Overall, these results are more consistent with the expectations of negative frequency‐dependent selection than with proximate resource allocation.

4. Correlations among floral traits indicated significant floral integration. However, these correlations weakened from lower to upper flowers, suggesting that the patterns of intra‐individual variation limit the extent of integration.

5. Synthesis. Reproductive phenotypes that incorporate systematic among‐flower variation and vary consistently among individuals with flowering time, such as those exhibited by D. glaucum, may be typical of dichogamous species with multi‐flowered inflorescences. Such diversity within and among plants should result from a combination of density‐dependent selection against simultaneous flowering of individuals and frequency‐dependent selection favouring emphasis on the least common sex role during specific stages of the flowering season, both facilitated by the positive assortative mating that accompanies asynchronous flowering among individuals.
Understanding the value of the arts in the education of mental health professionals: Georg Lukács, Samuel Beckett and the aesthetic category of specific particularity
Authors: ROBERTS M.
Published: April 2012

Accessible summary

The manner in which the arts can contribute and enhance the practical, therapeutic concerns of mental health professionals is becoming well established in the health care literature.

The aesthetic theory of the Hungarian philosopher Georg Lukács and, in particular, his concept of specific particularity presents the possibility of understanding how the arts can be employed as a rich educational resource.

As an educational resource, the arts can be understood as providing mental health professionals with a valuable opportunity to reflect upon, consider and develop their ‘emotional capabilities’, such as the ability to move towards empathic understanding of those receiving mental health care.

The manner in which the arts can enhance the practical, therapeutic concerns of mental health professionals is becoming well established in the health care literature. What gets discussed less frequently, however, are those aesthetic frameworks that propose to give an account of the possible ‘meaning’ and ‘purpose’ of art. In response, this paper will elucidate the aesthetic theory of the Hungarian philosopher Georg Lukács and will suggest that his concept of specific particularity enables an understanding of how art, and literature, poetry and drama in particular, can be employed as an educational resource that can contribute to the development of the ‘emotional capabilities’ of practitioners. However, insofar as Lukács' works are philosophically complex and challenging, his concept of specific particularity will be discussed within the context of Samuel Beckett's dramatic work Ohio Impromptu. In doing so, it will be suggested that Ohio Impromptu is not only productive for the elucidation of Lukács' aesthetics, but also illustrates how the arts provides practitioners with a valuable educative opportunity to engage with, and critically reflect upon, a multiplicity of affective dimensions, thereby enhancing the practitioner's ability to move towards achieving an empathic understanding of, and ‘emotional resonance’ with, those receiving mental health care.
Consent to transfusion: patients' and healthcare professionals' attitudes towards the provision of blood transfusion information
Authors: Davis R. , Vincent C. , Sud A. , Noel S. , Moss R. , Asgheddi M. , Abdur‐Rahman I. , Murphy M.
Published: April 2012

Background: Patients should be informed about the risks and benefits of blood transfusion and their consent should be documented. However, this is not routinely practised in the UK, and there have been few studies to investigate patients' and healthcare professionals' attitudes towards this process.

Objectives: To investigate patients' and healthcare professionals' attitudes towards the information patients are provided with about transfusion and obtaining consent for transfusion.

Measures: A cross‐sectional qualitative survey design was employed. Attitudes towards transfusion‐related information and consenting to transfusion were assessed using a patient survey and healthcare professional survey.

Participants: One hundred and ten patients who had received a transfusion aged between 18 and 93 (60 males and 50 females) and 123 healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses and midwives) involved in administering transfusions.

Results: Sixty‐one patients recalled consenting transfusion. The majority said they were just told they needed a transfusion (N = 67) and only 1 patient said a full discussion about the risks and the benefits of the transfusion took place. However, although 82 patients said they were satisfied with the information, 22 patients reported they would have liked to have been given more details. The majority of healthcare professionals (N = 83) felt that patients were often not given sufficient information about transfusion.

Conclusion: Greater efforts should be made to provide information to patients about the risks and benefits of blood transfusions. Future research should explore the most effective ways of delivering this information to patients in an appropriate and timely manner.
Patient involvement in blood transfusion safety: patients' and healthcare professionals' perspective
Authors: Davis R. , Murphy M. F. , Sud A. , Noel S. , Moss R. , Asgheddi M. , Abdur‐Rahman I. , Vincent C.
Published: April 2012

Background: Blood transfusion is one of the major areas where serious clinical consequences, even death, related to patient misidentification can occur. In the UK, healthcare professional compliance with pre‐transfusion checking procedures which help to prevent misidentification errors is poor. Involving patients at a number of stages in the transfusion pathway could help prevent the occurrence of these incidents.

Objectives: To investigate patients' willingness to be involved and healthcare professionals' willingness to support patient involvement in pre‐transfusion checking behaviours.

Measures: A cross‐sectional design was employed assessing willingness to participate in pre‐transfusion checking behaviours (patient survey) and willingness to support patient involvement (healthcare professional survey) on a scale of 1–7.

Participants: One hundred and ten patients who had received a transfusion aged between 18 and 93 (60 male) and 123 healthcare professionals (doctors, nurses and midwives) involved in giving blood transfusions to patients.

Results: Mean scores for patients' willingness to participate in safety‐relevant transfusion behaviours and healthcare professionals' willingness to support patient involvement ranged from 4·96–6·27 to 4·53–6·66, respectively. Both groups perceived it most acceptable for patients to help prevent errors or omissions relating to their hospital identification wristband. Neither prior experience of receiving a blood transfusion nor professional role of healthcare staff had an effect on attitudes towards patient participation.

Conclusion: Overall, both patients and healthcare professionals view patient involvement in transfusion‐related behaviours quite favourably and appear in agreement regarding the behaviours patients should adopt an active role in. Further work is needed to determine the effectiveness of this approach to improve transfusion safety.
Undernotification of anaphylaxis deaths in Brazil due to difficult coding under the ICD‐10
Authors: Tanno L. K. , Ganem F. , Demoly P. , Toscano C. M. , Bierrenbach A. L.
Published: April 2012

Background

Undernotification is well recognized as a key challenge to the study of anaphylaxis mortality, but it is seldom mentioned that one of its reasons is the difficult coding of the condition under the tenth revision of the international classification of diseases (ICD‐10), given that there are no anaphylaxis‐specific ICD‐10, which are considered valid for coding underlying causes‐of‐death, and that official mortality statistics consider exclusively the underlying and disregard the contributing causes‐of‐death data recorded on death certificates. Brazilian mortality data were used as a case study to call attention to the inadequacy of the ICD‐10 for the measurement of anaphylaxis deaths.

Methods

Underlying and contributing causes‐of‐death data were used to estimate the rates of anaphylaxis deaths in the country over the years 2008–2010.

Results

Of 498 anaphylaxis deaths were found, of which 75% were classified as ‘definite’ and 25% as ‘possible anaphylaxis deaths’. The average national rate for these years was 0.87 per million per year. None of these deaths would have been found had we exclusively considered information from the underlying cause‐of‐death field.

Conclusion/Recommendations

The study of anaphylaxis mortality using secondary data requires the use of information derived from the underlying as well as from the contributing causes‐of‐death fields. Coding definitions should be standardized with a view of enabling trend analyses and international comparisons. The ICD‐11 revision is a unique opportunity to improve the coding system so as to facilitate epidemiological studies of anaphylaxis mortality. Educational interventions targeted at improving the quality of death certificate completion are urgently needed.
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for curing children with severe autoimmune diseases: Is this a valid option?
Authors: Pession Andrea , Zama Daniele , Masetti Riccardo , Gasperini Pietro , Prete Arcangelo
Published: April 2012

Pession A, Zama D, Masetti R, Gasperini P, Prete A. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for curing children with severe autoimmune diseases: Is this a valid option?

Abstract:  The cure of children with severe AD, especially patients with severe, progressive, and therapy‐resistant autoimmunity, represents a challenge for current medical practice. The idea of HSCT as a promising therapeutic opportunity was borne accidentally from finding patients who, after undergoing HSCT for a hematological indication, were cured of a concomitant AD. Thus, over the last two decades, HSCT has been extensively investigated, and it has become an appealing therapy for rheumatological (juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis) and hematological diseases (immune cytopenias). Recently, interesting results have been also described in type 1 diabetes mellitus and Crohn’s disease. Although the use of HSCT has been steadily rising in the last few years, many questions are still open, especially after the discoveries of many new biological agents. Given the low incidence of ADs in children, most of the data about the use of the HSCT for these diseases are taken from a mixed cohort of adults and children. The aim of this review is to summarize the published studies and to try to answer the question as to whether this procedure can be considered a promising approach.
Marine–freshwater transitions are associated with the evolution of dietary diversification in terapontid grunters (Teleostei: Terapontidae)
Authors: DAVIS A. M. , UNMACK P. J. , PUSEY B. J. , JOHNSON J. B. , PEARSON R. G.
Published: April 2012

The ecological opportunities associated with transitions across the marine–freshwater interface are regarded as an important catalyst of diversification in a range of aquatic taxa. Here, we examined the role of these major habitat transitions and trophic diversification in a radiation of Australasian fishes using a new molecular phylogeny incorporating 37 Terapontidae species. A combined mitochondrial and nuclear gene analysis yielded a well‐supported tree with most nodes resolved. Ancestral terapontids appear to have been euryhaline in habitat affiliation, with a single transition to freshwater environments producing all Australasian freshwater species. Mapping of terapontid feeding modes onto the molecular phylogeny–predicted carnivorous dietary habits was displayed by ancestral terapontids, which subsequently diversified into a range of additional carnivorous, omnivorous, herbivorous and detritivorous dietary modes upon transition to freshwater habitats. Comparative analyses suggested that following the freshwater invasion, the single freshwater clade has exhibited an increased rate of diversification at almost three times the background rate evident across the rest of the family. The marine–freshwater transition within Terapontidae appears to have resulted in substantial dietary radiation in freshwater environments, as well as increased lineage diversification rates relative to euryhaline–marine habitats.
Selection in a fluctuating environment leads to decreased genetic variation and facilitates the evolution of phenotypic plasticity
Authors: HALLSSON L. R. , BJÖRKLUND M.
Published: April 2012

Changes in the environment are expected to induce changes in the quantitative genetic variation, which influences the ability of a population to adapt to environmental change. Furthermore, environmental changes are not constant in time, but fluctuate. Here, we investigate the effect of rapid, continuous and/or fluctuating temperature changes in the seed beetleCallosobruchus maculatus, using an evolution experiment followed by a split‐brood experiment. In line with expectations, individuals responded in a plastic way and had an overall higher potential to respond to selection after a rapid change in the environment. After selection in an environment with increasing temperature, plasticity remained unchanged (or decreased) and environmental variation decreased, especially when fluctuations were added; these results were unexpected. As expected, the genetic variation decreased after fluctuating selection. Our results suggest that fluctuations in the environment have major impact on the response of a population to environmental change; in a highly variable environment with low predictability, a plastic response might not be beneficial and the response is genetically and environmentally canalized resulting in a low potential to respond to selection and low environmental sensitivity. Interestingly, we found greater variation for phenotypic plasticity after selection, suggesting that the potential for plasticity to evolve is facilitated after exposure to environmental fluctuations. Our study highlights that environmental fluctuations should be considered when investigating the response of a population to environmental change.
Preferences by Rhagoletis indifferens (Diptera, Tephritidae) for rectangles of various yellow colours and fluorescence
Authors: Yee W. L.
Published: April 2012

Sticky rectangle traps of various yellow colours and fluorescence made of cardboard were field tested against western cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis indifferens Curran, in paired trap preference experiments in Washington state. In a first experiment that involved comparisons of Alpha Scents (proprietary paint), Fluorescent Yellow (aerosol paint), Saffron Thread and Neon Light (semi‐gloss enamel paints) traps at two sites, the best performing trap was the Saffron Thread trap. In a second experiment comparing Citrus Splash (semi‐gloss enamel paint) with Alpha Scents and with Macaw and Lemon Zest (both semi‐gloss enamel paints) traps at a third site, the Citrus Splash trap outperformed the Alpha Scents trap. The Citrus Splash trap did not differ statistically from Saffron Thread and Lemon Zest traps, even though it caught 51% more flies than the Lemon Zest trap. The Alpha Scents trap caught significantly more non‐target Diptera than Fluorescent Yellow, Neon Light and Citrus Splash traps at two of three trap sites where non‐target Diptera populations were relatively high and overall it appeared less selective than the Citrus Splash trap. Results suggest that sticky rectangle traps painted semi‐gloss enamel Saffron Thread or Citrus Splash with low fluorescence could be highly useful for detecting R. indifferens.
Matrix metalloproteinase inhibition affects adipose tissue mass in obese mice
Authors: Van Hul Matthias , Lupu Florea , Dresselaers Tom , Buyse Johan , Lijnen H Roger
Published: April 2012

Because the development of adipose tissue involves remodelling of the extracellular matrix (ECM), which requires matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity, we examined whether MMP inhibitors may have the potential to affect adipose tissue mass in obese mice.

Administration of the relatively gelatinase‐specific MMP inhibitor tolylsam ((R)‐3‐methyl‐2‐[4‐(3‐p‐tolyl‐[1,2,4]oxadiazol‐5‐yl)‐benzenesulphonylamino]‐butyric acid; 100 mg/kg per day) for 7 weeks to obese wild‐type mice on a high‐fat diet resulted in significantly lower bodyweight (P < 0.05), lower subcutaneous (SC) and gonadal (GON) adipose tissue mass (both P < 0.05) and smaller adipocytes in both SC (P < 0.005) and GON (P < 0.0005) adipose tissues.

Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed a lower total body fat content in tolylsam‐treated mice (P < 0.0005). In addition, tolylsam treatment of wild‐type mice was associated with a marked enhancement in metabolic rate.

Electron microscopy analysis of tissue sections at the end of the 7 week feeding period revealed significantly higher collagen accumulation in the ECM of SC adipose tissues of tolylsam‐treated mice (P < 0.001).

Thus, the relatively gelatinase‐specific MMP inhibitor tolylsam has the potential to affect fat tissue growth in obese mice.