bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Identification of Animal Behavioral Strategies by Inverse Reinforcement Learning
Authors: Yamaguchi Shoichiro , Naoki Honda , Ikeda Muneki , Tsukada Yuki , Nakano Shunji , Mori Ikue , Ishii Shin
Published: April 2017

Animals are able to reach a desired state in an environment by controlling various behavioral patterns. Identification of the behavioral strategy used for this control is important for understanding animals’ decision-making and is fundamental to dissect information processing done by the nervous system. However, methods for quantifying such behavioral strategies have not been fully established. In this study, we developed an inverse reinforcement-learning (IRL) framework to identify an animal’s behavioral strategy from behavioral time-series data. As a particular target, we applied this framework toC. elegansthermotactic behavior; after cultivation at a constant temperature with or without food, the fed and starved worms prefer and avoid from the cultivation temperature on a thermal gradient, respectively. Our IRL approach revealed that the fed worms used both absolute and temporal derivative of temperature and that their strategy comprised mixture of two strategies: directed migration (DM) and isothermal migration (IM). The DM is a strategy that the worms efficiently reach to specific temperature, which explained thermotactic behaviors of the fed worms. The IM is a strategy that the worms track along a constant temperature, which reflects isothermal tracking well observed in previous studies. We also showed the neural basis underlying the strategies, by applying our method to thermosensory neuron-deficient worms. In contrast to fed animals, the strategy of starved animals indicated that they escaped the cultivation temperature using only absolute, but not temporal derivative of temperature. Thus, our IRL-based approach is capable of identifying animal strategies from behavioral time-series data and will be applicable to wide range of behavioral studies, including decision-making of other organisms.

Author Summary

Understanding animal decision-making has been a fundamental problem in neuroscience and behavioral ecology. Many studies analyze actions that represent decision-making in behavioral tasks, in which rewards are artificially designed with specific objectives. However, it is impossible to extend this artificially designed experiment to a natural environment, because in a natural environment, the rewards for freely-behaving animals cannot be clearly defined. To this end, we must reverse the current paradigm so that rewards are identified from behavioral data. Here, we propose a new reverse-engineering approach (inverse reinforcement learning) that can estimate a behavioral strategy from time-series data of freely-behaving animals. By applying this technique with thermotaxis inC. elegans, we successfully identified the reward-based behavioral strategy.
Auxin Response Factors — output control in auxin biology
Authors: Roosjen Mark , Paque Sébastien , Weijers Dolf
Published: April 2017

The phytohormone auxin is involved in almost all developmental processes in land plants. Most, if not all, of these processes are mediated by changes in gene expression. Auxin acts on gene expression through a short nuclear pathway that converges upon the activation of a family of DNA-binding transcription factors. These AUXIN RESPONSE FACTORS (ARFs) are thus the effector of auxin response and translate the chemical signal to the regulation of a defined set of genes. Given the limited number of dedicated components in auxin signaling, distinct properties among the ARF family likely contributes to the establishment of multiple unique auxin responses in plant development. In the two decades following the identification of the first ARF inArabidopsismuch has been learnt about how these transcription factors act, and how they generate unique auxin responses. Progress in genetics, biochemistry, genomics and structural biology have helped to develop mechanistic models for ARF action. However, despite intensive efforts, many central questions are yet to be addressed. In this review we highlight what has been learnt about ARF transcription factors, and identify outstanding questions and challenges for the near future.
Identification of Genes under Purifying Selection in Human Cancers
Authors: Mathis Robert A. , Sokol Ethan S. , Gupta Piyush B.
Published: April 2017

There is widespread interest in finding therapeutic vulnerabilities by analyzing the somatic mutations in cancers. Most analyses have focused on identifying driver oncogenes mutated in patient tumors, but this approach is incapable of discovering genes essential for tumor growth yet not activated through mutation. We show that such genes can be systematically discovered by mining cancer sequencing data for evidence of purifying selection. We show that purifying selection reduces substitution rates in coding regions of cancer genomes, depleting up to 90% of mutations for some genes. Moreover, mutations resulting in non-conservative amino acid substitutions are under strong negative selection in tumors, whereas conservative substitutions are more tolerated. Genes under purifying selection include members of the EGFR and FGFR pathways in lung adenocarcinomas, and DNA repair pathways in melanomas. A systematic assessment of purifying selection in tumors would identify hundreds of tumor-specific enablers and thus novel targets for therapy.
8-Hydroxy-3,4-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-1H-isochromen-1-one
Authors: Mayakrishnan Sivakalai , Arun Y. , Maheswari Narayanan Uma
Published: April 2017

In the title compound, C23H18O5, the two methoxy-substituted benzene rings are inclined to one another by 67.0 (2)° and to the mean plane of the 1H-isochromene ring system by 67.21 (16) and 27.61 (17)°. There is an intramolecular C—H...π interaction present involving the two 4-methoxyphenyl rings. In the crystal, molecules are linked by O—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming chains propagating along the [301] direction. The chains are linked by a number of C—H...π interactions, forming a three-dimensional structure.
4-Chloro-2-nitro-1-(2-phenylethyl)benzene
Authors: Manjunath N. K. , Nabil Najib A. A. , Nagendra P. , Siddaraju B. P , Swamy M. T. , Byrappa K. , Madan Kumar S.
Published: April 2017

In the title compound, C14H12ClNO2, the dihedral angle between the aromatic rings is 6.09 (17)° and the Car—C—C—Cartorsion angle is −179.4 (3)°. The nitro group is close to coplanar with its attached ring [dihedral angle = 7.9 (2)°] and the Cl atom is disordered over two adjacent sites in a 0.54 (4):0.46 (4) ratio. In the crystal, C—H...O hydrogen bonds link the molecules intoC(6) [001] chains.
4,6-Di-tert-butyl-2-({[4-(diethylamino)phenyl]imino}methyl)phenol
Authors: Rani C. Vidya , Mitu L. , Chakkaravarthi G. , Rajagopal G.
Published: April 2017

The title compound, C25H36N2O, adopts anEconformation about the C=N bond. The dihedral angle between the aromatic rings is 35.6 (6)°. The molecular structure is stabilized by an O—H...N hydrogen bond, which forms anS(6) loop, and weak C—H...O contacts. Weak intermolecular C—H...π interactions are observed in the crystal packing. The diethylamino group has rotational disorder with site occupancies of 0.85 (2) and 0.15 (2) for the major and minor components, respectively. The structure was refined as a three-component twin.
New corrosion inhibitors based on epoxidized natural rubber for coating protection of metals under UV irradiation
Authors: Mousaa Issa , Radi Hamdi
Published: April 2017

Purpose

In the present work, under severe conditions of an inert atmosphere and high temperature, epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) with 25 per cent epoxidation level reacts with different aliphatic amine compounds such as ethyl amine (EA), propyl amine (PA) and butyl amine (BA) to prepare ENR/EA, ENR/PA, ENR/BA compounds as, respectively. The produced compounds were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and oxirane oxygen content determination. Different concentrations of the produced compounds were added to epoxy and urethane acrylate coating formulations to evaluate them as corrosion inhibitors for mild steel under UV irradiation. Corrosion resistance tests and weight loss measurements of the coated steel panels were made. It was found that coating formulations containing the prepared ENR/EA compound could protect metal surface from corrosion, and corrosion inhibitors efficiency of the prepared compounds were arranged as follows: ENR/EA > ENR/PA > ENR/BA. The optimum concentrations for all inhibitors which give the best inhibition efficiency for corrosion are 0.4-0.6 phr.

Design/methodology/approach

Corrosion scratch tests were carried out according to ASTM D 1,654-92 (2000). The weight loss of coated steel was measured according to ASTM D 2,688-94 (1999). The measurement of film hardness was carried out with a Wolff–Wilborn pencil hardness tester according to ASTM D 3,363 (2000).

Findings

It was found that coating formulations containing the prepared ENR/EA compound could protect metal surface from corrosion and corrosion inhibitors efficiency of the prepared compounds were arranged as follows: ENR/EA > ENR/PA > ENR/BA. The optimum concentrations for all inhibitors are 0.4-0.6 g/100g coating.

Originality/value

A highly efficient and economically corrosion inhibitors for mild steel were prepared from ENR and series of aliphatic amines.
Corrosion inhibition of organic amine on Q235 steel in ammonium sulfate slurry of ammonia flue gas desulfurization system
Authors: Lian Zhouyang , Luo Zhengwei , Yuan Lirui , Guo Mulin , Wei Wuji , Liu Kuo
Published: April 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to evaluate diethylenetriamine (DETA) as an inhibitor on Q235 (Gr. D) steel in ammonia flue gas desulfurization (AFGD) system.

Design/methodology/approach

This research was carried out by weight loss, electrochemical measurements, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry. The effects of DETA on crystallization of ammonium sulfate and its co-crystallization were also investigated by X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy.

Findings

The inhibition efficiency of DETA reached a maximum value of 98.96 per cent. DETA is postulated to adsorb on Q235 steel surface, resulting in the formation of a protective film by the accumulation of many flat particles, and the thickness of protective film is 8 μm. DETA had no effect on the crystallization of ammonium sulfate product.

Originality/value

DETA can be used in AFGD system as an inhibitor to protect the equipment well.
Electrochemical property analysis of SiO2-Al2O3-coated steel by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
Authors: Kirtay Sebahattin
Published: April 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the corrosion resistance of SiO2-Al2O3coating on mild steel.

Design/methodology/approach

SiO2-Al2O3was coated using sol-gel method, and electrochemical measurements were applied to assess the performance of the coated steel.

Findings

The main conclusion is that SiO2-Al2O3-coated specimens acquired a higher corrosion resistance than that of uncoated specimen. icorrvalues of the coated specimens were between 12 and 14 times smaller than those of uncoated specimen. The coated specimens exhibited a higher Rcorvalue at electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis. The high values of Rcorand low values of CPEdlobserved within the SiO2-Al2O3-coated samples imply an improved anti-corrosion capability.

Originality/value

In this work, there are three points of originality. First, steel specimens were coated with ormosil-based solution by applying sol-gel dip coating method. Second, both SiO2and Al2O3coatings were applied simultaneously at a considerably low temperature, i.e. 200 Â°C. Finally, the performance of the coated materials against wet corrosion was improved significantly.
Microwave-assisted one-pot synthesis and performance test of novel thiadiazole derivatives as an inhibitor of oil transportation pipelines
Authors: Shouqing Xue , Zhaomin Xue
Published: April 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to improve the anti-corrosion of oil transportation pipelines.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors provide a simple, efficient and inexpensive one-pot method for the novel thiadiazole derivatives synthesized using 2-substituted [1, 3, 4] thiadiazole, P2O5 and chloroacetic acid as materials by using XH-200A computer microwave solid-liquid phase synthesizer. The results showed that microwave heating can finish the reaction sufficiently in 20 min, and the optimal addition reaction conditions were n([1, 3, 4] thiadiazole):n(chloroacetic acid):P2O5 = 1:1.2:1.3. Under such conditions, the yield of the title products was 54 per cent.

Findings

The structure of the title compounds were all confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Water-based inhibitors corrosion behaviors on the stainless steel (SS) surface in 1 mol/L HCl solution at room temperature were also studied by weight loss methods and polarization curves. The results of the curves showed that an appropriate amount of 2a (40 ppm) can improve the anti-corrosion efficiency, whereas an excessive amount of 2a (e.g. 50 ppm) may not significantly increase the anti-corrosion efficiency.

Originality/value

In view of continuation of our studies, this paper presents microwave-assisted one-pot synthesis of 2-substitued [1, 3, 4] thiadiazole derivatives, and its anti-corrosion performance was tested by weight loss methods and polarization curves.
Data-driven modeling of fireside corrosion rate
Authors: Kumari Amrita , Das S.K. , Srivastava P.K.
Published: April 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to propose an efficient artificial neural network (ANN) model using multi-layer perceptron philosophy to predict the fireside corrosion rate of superheater tubes in coal fire boiler assembly using operational data of an Indian typical thermal power plant.

Design/methodology/approach

An efficient gradient-based network training algorithm has been used to minimize the network training errors. The input parameters comprise of coal chemistry, namely, coal ash and sulfur contents, flue gas temperature, SOX concentrations in flue gas, fly ash chemistry (Wt.% Na2O and K2O).

Findings

Effects of coal ash and sulfur contents, Wt.% of Na2O and K2O in fly ash and operating variables such as flue gas temperature and percentage excess air intake for coal combustion on the fireside corrosion behavior of superheater boiler tubes have been computationally investigated and parametric sensitivity analysis has been undertaken.

Originality/value

Quite good agreement between ANN model predictions and the measured values of fireside corrosion rate has been observed which is corroborated by the regression fit between these values.
Assessment of psychosis in ASD/ID: a case study
Authors: Kildahl Arvid Nikolai , Bakken Trine Lise , Holm Olaf Kristian , Helverschou Sissel Berge
Published: April 2017

Purpose

Assessment of psychiatric disorders in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disabilities (ID) is challenging. The purpose of this paper is to explore the diagnostic decision making and strategies employed in the assessment of a young man with ASD and ID who eventually got the additional diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Design/methodology/approach

To describe and explore a process not easily converted into quantitative measures, it was chosen to perform a case study of a single case.

Findings

The combined knowledge of ASD, ID and psychiatric disorder was important in the current assessment. General assessment tools were of some value, but their results had to be interpreted with care. The same was true of a more ASD/ID-specific tool. Using multiple informers may strengthen data from such tools in this population, but does not make it interchangeable with self-report. The case presented demonstrates the possibility of negative symptoms and functional decline overshadowing positive psychotic symptoms in people with ASD/ID, as well as the expression of ASD changing with a functional decline.

Originality/value

The present study adds to the few previous reports on identification of psychosis in this population, and in addition, may assist clinicians in making more accurate psychiatric assessments of people with ASD/ID.
Greening the campus intentions: a study of the University of the Aegean non-academic staff
Authors: Bellou Chrysanthi , Petreniti Vassiliki , Skanavis Constantina
Published: April 2017

Purpose

This study aims to focus on the University of Aegean’s non-academic staff’s environmental sustainability attitudes and behavior both at work and at home, their perceptions for sustainability enforcement and their active participation skills.

Design/methodology/approach

The research participants were the 101 non-academic staff working at the Xenia Hill campus in Lesvos island. The instrument used in this study was a questionnaire consisting of 45 questions, which was sent via e-mail during the summer of 2014.

Findings

The analysis of the results brings light on the environmental profile of the University’s non-academic staff on their intentions for greening their campus and the barriers that obstruct their attempts to promote sustainability at the University.

Originality/value

The paper provides useful insights which allow a better understanding of the role of non-academic staff’s environmental sustainability attitudes and behavior both at work and at home, their perceptions for sustainability enforcement and their active participation skills.
A comparative study of the efficacy of intervention strategies on student electricity use in campus residence halls
Authors: Wisecup Allison K. , Grady Dennis , Roth Richard A. , Stephens Julio
Published: April 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to determine whether, and how, electricity consumption by students in university residence halls were impacted through three intervention strategies.

Design/methodology/approach

The current investigation uses a quasi-experimental design by exposing freshman students in four matched residence halls and the use of three different interventions designed to encourage energy conservation, specifically electricity conservation. A control residence hall received no intervention. One residence hall had an energy dashboard prominently displayed. Another received various communications and programming designed to raise awareness of the need for energy conservation. A fourth residence hall had an energy dashboard and received programming. Electricity consumption among the residence halls was compared using multivariate analysis.

Findings

Students in all residence halls receiving interventions demonstrated significantly lower electricity consumption compared to the control residence hall. Across two years with different student populations, results were consistent: the residence hall receiving only the communications and programming, but not the dashboard, had the lowest electricity use. The residence hall with only the dashboard also demonstrated a significant but smaller decline in electricity use. Curiously, the residence hall wherein both interventions were used demonstrated the smallest decline in electricity use.

Practical implications

While total costs for the communications and programming are difficult to accurately assess, the results suggest that this approach is cost-effective when compared to the avoided cost of electricity and is superior in terms of electricity cost savings to both the dashboards and to the combined intervention. Results also suggest that any intervention is likely to induce a large enough electricity reduction to be cost-effective and there may be non-economic benefits as well.

Originality/value

This study takes advantage of the availability of four “matched” residence halls to approximate the rigor of a controlled quasi-experimental design to compare different strategies for inducing electricity consumption among freshman residents.
Ideology at work: reconsidering ideology, the labour process and workplace resistance
Authors: Lloyd Anthony
Published: April 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to consider existing debates within the sociology of work, particularly the re-emergence of labour process theory (LPT) and the “collective worker”, in relation to resistance at work. Through presentation of primary data and a dialectical discussion about the nature of ideology, the paper offers alternative interpretations on long-standing debates and raises questions about the efficacy of workplace resistance.

Design/methodology/approach

The design of this methodology is an ethnographic study of a call centre in the North-East of England, a covert participant observation at “Call Direct” supplemented by semi-structured interviews with call centre employees.

Findings

The findings in this paper suggest that resistance in the call centre mirrors forms of resistance outlined elsewhere in both the call centre literature and classical workplace studies from the industrial era. However, in presenting an alternative interpretation of ideology, as working at the level of action rather than thought, the paper reinterprets the data and characterises workplace resistance as lacking the political potential for change often emphasised in LPT and other workplace studies.

Originality/value

The original contribution of this paper is in applying an alternative interpretation of ideology to a long-standing debate. In asking sociology of work scholars to consider the “reversal of ideology”, it presents an alternative perspective on resistance in the workplace and raises questions about the efficacy of workplace disobedience.
Exploring the approaches to care of faith-based and secular NGOs in Cambodia that serve victims of trafficking, exploitation, and those involved in sex work
Authors: Frame John
Published: April 2017

Purpose

Faith-based organisations (FBOs) and secular NGOs provide important services to victims of trafficking, exploitation, and those involved in sex work, yet comparative analysis of their approaches to care has lacked attention in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to examine these two types of organisations, exploring the extent to which faith influences the ways FBOs work with their clients.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 41 interviews were conducted with leaders of 13 Christian FBOs and 12 secular NGOs in Cambodia, and organisational mission statements were reviewed. An input-output conceptual model was used as a framework to gather and analyse data.

Findings

While all FBOs maintained a high regard for their clients’ spiritual needs and operated with a faith-related approach to care, secular NGOs also, at times, included culturally embedded religious elements into their programming. The nature of FBOs’ faith-related programming, however, clearly distinguished these organisations from their secular counterparts. Despite such distinctions, similarities were maintained among both types of organisations in the behavioural or recovery outcomes they sought in their clients.

Research limitations/implications

Limitations include the study’s focus on organisations that serve a specific clientele in one development context. Research implications include the study pointing to the necessity of acknowledging the development context as critical to the ways in which religion may or may not influence the approaches to care of both FBOs and secular NGOs. The paper also contributes insight into the relationship between the non-resource input of faith, and services provided by FBOs.

Practical implications

Given that both types of organisations sought change in their clients, practitioners should ensure that their organisational approaches to care are conducive to the outcomes they seek. Though organisational policy may stipulate that clients are free to choose whether or not to participate in faith-related programming, FBOs should always ensure a care environment in which clients feel free not to participate in such programming.

Originality/value

Though FBOs and secular NGOs sought many similar behavioural or recovery outcomes from their clients, the development context in which these organisations worked – unlike some other contexts – and the role of faith “infusing” FBOs, led to clear, observable differences in their approaches to care. The study highlights the importance of taking into account these factors when seeking to decipher differences that may or may not exist between faith-based and secular non-state social policy actors.
“Machinery” or “spirit” of the welfare state: institutional change as institutional inertia
Authors: Frericks Patricia
Published: April 2017

Purpose

Much has been said about institutional change and the forms it can take, whether it is abrupt or incremental, path breaking or path dependent. This strand of research is highly relevant in times of welfare institutional reforms and changes. A puzzle, however, remains, and it concerns the empirical phenomena that there might be institutional inertia despite seeming change. One reason for this remaining puzzle is, as argued here, that the ongoing theoretical reflections have a certain blind spot: “institutional constellations” and their characteristics. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to analyse the “layering” of a welfare institution which results in an institutional constellation.

Design/methodology/approach

Such newly established institutional constellations, though they look roughly similar and are formed of comparable ingredients, can differ profoundly between themselves. This could be due to the fact that the characteristics of institutions depend on the regulating principles (the “spirit”) implemented in them. To validate this hypothesis, the author analyses in depth the institutional layering in two traditionally different social protection systems: the Dutch and the German pension systems.

Findings

In both cases, as the author shows, the traditional regulating principles are also implemented in the newly established institutional constellation, so that in the end pension systems do not change but differ as they did before.

Originality/value

The empirical phenomenon of institutional inertia despite seeming change has not yet been explicitly addressed. This is the case since the ongoing theoretical reflections have a certain blind spot: “institutional constellations” and their characteristics which are the focus of this paper.
Income generation, informality and poverty in urban Turkey
Authors: Eroğlu Şebnem
Published: April 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the key sources of poor urban households’ relative success (or failure) in reducing poverty by income generation activities. It specifically investigates the conditions of informal employment in order to understand how and to what extent they affect households’ chances of success.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were drawn from interviews with 17 low-income households randomly selected from an informalgecekondusettlement based in the capital city of Turkey.

Findings

The research challenges the dominant viewpoint, which attributes success to having fewer dependants or more resources. It shows that success depends more on the benefit delivery capacity of resources and this depends largely on wider structural factors. Informal employment is found to constitute one key structural factor, which limits households’ chances of success to a greater extent than formal employment not only through condemning them to low pay but also through imposing more restrictions upon their access to state welfare.

Research limitations/implications

The case study has significant implications for poverty research and measurement since it reinforces the idea that an improved understanding of poverty and its causes requires a multi-dimensional approach that takes into account the conditions of work extending beyond pay.

Practical implications

The study shows that substantial improvement upon the lives of poor households requires changes at the macro-level, and the adoption of an employment-centred approach where the priority is given to the creation of jobs with decent working conditions, tighter labour market regulation and effective enforcement of these regulations.

Originality/value

Through a qualitative as well as quantitative exploration of low-income households living in the periphery of the Turkish capital, the study empirically challenges the conventional wisdom about urban survival which overemphasises the resilience of poor people. It also contributes to the less developed parts of the research literature on informal employment through demonstrating its poverty-inducing effects. Furthermore, the study makes a theoretical contribution by developing a new conceptual framework that places informal employment within the wider context of household resources, livelihoods and poverty.
Immune responses to highly conserved influenza A virus matrix 1 peptides
Authors: Lohia Neha , Baranwal Manoj
Published: April 2017

Influenza vaccine development is considered to be complicated and challenging. Constantly evolving influenza viruses require continuous global monitoring and reformulation of the vaccine strains. Peptides that are conserved among different strains and subtypes of influenza A virus are strongly considered to be attractive targets for development of cross protective influenza vaccines that stimulate cellular responses. In this study, three highly conserved (>90%) matrix 1 peptides that contain multiple T cell epitopes, ILGFVFTLTVPSERGLQRRRF (PM1), LIRHENRMVLASTTAKA (PM2) and LQAYQKRMGVQMQR (PM3), were assessed for their immunogenic potential in vitro by subjecting peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy volunteers to repetitive stimulation with these chemically synthesised peptides and measuring their IFN‐γ concentrations, proliferation by ELISA, and 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, respectively. Seven samples were screened for immunogenicity of PM1 and PM2, and six for that of PM3. All six samples had positive responses (IFN‐γ secretion) to PM3 stimulation, as did five and three for PM2 and PM1 respectively. In contrast, seven (PM1 and PM2) and four (PM3) samples showed proliferative response as compared with unstimulated cells. The encouraging immunogenic response generated by these highly conserved matrix 1 peptides indicates they are prospective candidates for development of broadly reactive influenza vaccines.
Influence of enrofloxacin on the coagulation time and the quality parameters of goat's milk yoghurt
Authors: Beltrán Maria Carmen , Morari‐Pirlog Alisa , Quintanilla Paloma , Escriche Isabel , Molina Maria Pilar
Published: April 2017

Three batches of yoghurts were made from goat's milk with different enrofloxacin concentrations (0, 50, 100 and 150 μg/kg). Quality parameters were analysed at 1, 7, 14 and 28 days at 5 °C. Drug residues were also quantified by HPLC. Coagulation time and most yoghurt properties remained unaffected by the presence of enrofloxacin in goat's milk. However, quality parameters were affected by the storage period. 74.9–99.2% of enrofloxacin initially added to goat's milk remained in the yoghurt throughout its entire shelf life, potentially posing a risk to consumer health. Therefore, an enrofloxacin maximum residue limit in yoghurt should be established.
Identification and molecular characterisation of lactobacilli isolated from traditional Koopeh cheese
Authors: Hassanzadazar Hassan , Mardani Karim , Yousefi Mohammad , Ehsani Ali
Published: April 2017

This study was undertaken in order to phenotype and genotype wild‐type lactic acid bacteria isolated from Koopeh cheese of West Azerbaijan. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolates were identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and confirmed by phylogenetic analysis. Genotyping based on phylogenetic analysis of 16s rDNA gene revealed that LAB isolated from Koopeh cheese were mostly Lactobacillus plantarum as well as other species including Lactobacillus brevis, Entrococcus faecium and Enterococcus durans. It was concluded that a combined phenotypic and genotypic method could be used as a reliable technique for the identification and differentiation of LAB from dairy products.
Low‐fat Cheddar cheese made using microparticulated whey proteins: Effect on yield and cheese quality
Authors: Stankey Jessica A , Lu Yanjie , Abdalla Abdelmoneim , Govindasamy‐Lucey Selvarani , Jaeggi John J , Ø Mikkelsen Bente , Pedersen Kenneth T , Andersen Claus B
Published: April 2017

Influence of different levels (0, 0.15, 0.35 or 0.50%) of microparticulated whey protein (MWP) on yield and quality of low‐fat (~7.3 g/100 g) Cheddar cheese was investigated. MWP improved cheese yield due to the water‐binding ability of denatured whey protein. MWP addition decreased meltability but improved the textural properties beneficial for shredding and slicing, by decreasing sensory firmness. The results emphasise the role of MWP as an inert filler within cheese matrix, in improving cheese yield and creating a softer texture without compromising the sensory or overall quality of cheese, even with moisture increases in 0.35 or 0.50% MWP cheeses.
The Dynamics of Informal Care Provision in an Australian Household Panel Survey: Previous Work Characteristics and Future Care Provision
Authors: Nguyen Ha Trong , Connelly Luke B.
Published: April 2017

This study contributes to a small literature on the dynamics of informal care by examining the informal care provision choices of working‐age Australians. We focus on the impact of previous work characteristics (including work security and flexibility) on subsequent care provision decisions and distinguish between care that is provided to people who cohabit and people who reside elsewhere, as well as between the provision of care as the primary caregiver and provision in a secondary caring role. Our dynamic framework of informal care provision accounts for state dependence, unobserved heterogeneity and initial conditions. For both males and females, we find the existence of positive state dependence in all care states in both the short and medium term. Furthermore, the inertia in care provision appears to be stronger for more intensive care. We also find previous employment status has a significant deterrent effect on current care provision decisions. The effects on employment, however, differ according to the type of previous work, the type of care currently provided, and the gender of the caregiver. We also find that workers with perceptions of greater job security are nevertheless less likely to provide subsequent care. Our results suggest that workers’ perceptions about work flexibility and their stated overall satisfaction with work actually have no impact on their subsequent decisions to provide care in any capacity.
A multinomial network method for the analysis of mate choice and assortative mating in spatially structured populations
Authors: Muniz Danilo G. , Santos Eduardo S. A. , Guimarães Paulo R. , Nakagawa Shinichi , Machado Glauco
Published: April 2017

Mate sampling, whereby individuals cannot access all potential mating partners in a population, is a ubiquitous yet poorly explored process. Ignoring mate sampling may underestimate female choice because the smaller the sample taken by individuals of the choosing sex, the weaker the correlation between sexually selected traits and the mating success among individuals of the chosen sex. A main factor promoting mate sampling is the spatial distribution of individuals. Thus, including distances in models of mate choice should improve estimates of mate choosiness. However, spatial distances between individuals are pairwise variables and cannot be readily included in the models commonly used to investigate mate choice.

We address this limitation by proposing a multinomial network (MN) model of mate choice, and comparing its performance with a previously published binomial generalized linear mixed model. Both models allow the inclusion of pairwise predictors, accommodating spatial distances between individuals in analyses of mate choice. We evaluated the performance of these models in detecting directional and assortative mate choice using different simulated datasets: with and without spatial information, and with and without spatial autocorrelation of male and female traits. We also took samples of different sizes from the simulated datasets to evaluate the models’ performance when data are incomplete.

Using both models, the exclusion of spatial information underestimated mate choice. Small sample sizes from the simulated populations led to underestimated directional mate choice, whereas assortative choice estimates were unbiased. Taking larger samples increased statistical power, and confidence interval coverage of both models. Spatial autocorrelation decreased the power of both models, but the MN model was less affected by it.

We conclude that including space in analyses of mate choice increases our ability to detect and accurately estimate mate choice using observational data. The MN model is a powerful and flexible tool that should be used in studies of mate choice in spatially structured populations. Moreover, the model can be used to investigate choice in other contexts, such as floral constancy by pollinators and host plant selection by phytophagous insects.
Levodopa prevents the reinstatement of cocaine self‐administration in rats via potentiation of dopamine release in the medial prefrontal cortex
Authors: Antinori Silvia , Fattore Liana , Saba Pierluigi , Fratta Walter , Gessa Gian Luigi , Devoto Paola
Published: April 2017

Dopamine agonists have been proposed as therapeutic tools for cocaine addiction. We have recently demonstrated that indirect dopamine agonists, including levodopa (L‐DOPA), markedly increase cocaine‐induced dopamine release in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of rats leading to the suppression of cocaine‐seeking behavior. This study was aimed to understand the behavioral and neurochemical effects of L‐DOPA on cocaine‐taking and cocaine‐seeking in rats. After reaching a stable pattern of intravenous cocaine self‐administration under a continuous fixed ratio (FR‐1) schedule of reinforcement, male rats were treated with L‐DOPA at different steps of the self‐administration protocol. We found that L‐DOPA reduced cocaine self‐administration under FR‐1 schedule of reinforcement and decreased the breaking points and the amount of cocaine self‐administered under the progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement. Levodopa also decreased cocaine‐seeking behavior both in a saline substitution test and in the cue priming‐induced reinstatement test, without affecting general motor activity. Importantly, L‐DOPA greatly potentiated cocaine‐induced dopamine release in the mPFC of self‐administering rats while reducing their cocaine intake. In the same brain area, L‐DOPA also increased dopamine levels during cue priming‐induced reinstatement of cocaine‐seeking behavior. The potentiating effect was also evident in the mPFC but not nucleus accumbens core of drug‐naïve rats passively administered with cocaine. Altogether, these findings demonstrate that L‐DOPA efficaciously reduces the reinforcing and motivational effects of cocaine likely potentiating dopamine transmission in the mPFC. Its ability to prevent cue priming‐induced reinstatement of cocaine‐seeking suggests that it might be effective in reducing the risk to relapse to cocaine in abstinent patients.
Substance and behavioral addictions may share a similar underlying process of dysregulation
Authors: Sussman Steve , Rozgonjuk Dmitri , van den Eijnden Regina J. J. M.
Published: April 2017

Commentary to: How can we conceptualize behavioural addiction without pathologizing common behaviours?
Surgical treatment and outcome of early invasive adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix (FIGO stage IA1)
Authors: Yahata Hideaki , Sonoda Kenzo , Yasunaga Masafumi , Ohgami Tatsuhiro , Kawano Yoshiaki , Kaneki Eisuke , Okugawa Kaoru , Kaku Tsunehisa , Kato Kiyoko
Published: April 2017

Aim

To investigate the surgical outcome of FIGO stage IA1 cervical adenocarcinoma.

Methods

Between 2005 and 2011, 12 patients from Kyushu University Hospital had cervical adenocarcinoma, with a tumor depth of less than 3 mm and a horizontal width of less than 7 mm (FIGO stage IA1), diagnosed by cervical conization. All patients underwent simple hysterectomy or simple trachelectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy.

Results

The mean patient age was 34 years (range, 26–70 years). The median follow‐up period was 70.5 months (range, 26–99 months). No pelvic lymph‐node metastasis was seen, and no patient experienced disease recurrence.

Conclusion

Early invasive cervical adenocarcinoma with a depth of invasion of 3 mm or less and a horizontal spread of 7 mm or less has little potential for nodal metastasis or recurrence. Therefore, simple hysterectomy or trachelectomy, without lymphadenectomy, might be an alternative treatment option for stage IA1 cervical adenocarcinoma.
Paths of Recruitment: Rational Social Prospecting in Petition Canvassing
Authors: Nall Clayton , Schneer Benjamin , Carpenter Daniel
Published: April 2017

Petition canvassers are political recruiters. Building upon the rational prospector model, we theorize that rational recruiting strategies are dynamic (Bayesian and time‐conscious), spatial (constrained by geography), and social (conditioned on relations between canvasser and prospect). Our theory predicts that canvassers will exhibit homophily in their canvassing preferences and will alternate between “door‐to‐door” and “attractor” (working in a central location) strategies based upon systematic geographical variation. They will adjust their strategies midstream (mid‐petition) based upon experience. Introducing methods to analyze canvassing data, we test these hypotheses on geocoded signatory lists from two petition drives—a 2005–6 anti–Iraq War initiative in Wisconsin and an 1839 antislavery campaign in New York City. Canvassers in these campaigns exhibited homophily to the point of following geographically and politically “inefficient” paths. In the aggregate, these patterns may exacerbate political inequality, limiting political involvement of the poorer and less educated.
Electrocardiographic appearance of aortic stenosis before and after aortic valve replacement
Authors: Vranic Ivana I.
Published: April 2017

Background

So far, the specific appearance of QRS complex, ST‐segment, and T wave was observed in aortic stenosis (AS). S‐wave dynamic change in leads V1–V3 was not reported in AS.

Methods

In a single‐center, prospective study, we included a total number of 1.175 patients who underwent surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR). We conducted 3‐year gathering of patients with symptomatic and asymptomatic severe AS, and separated them by hemodynamic stability into groups A and B, through EFLV (of more or less than 50%), AVA (of more or less than 0.9 cm2), PG (between 55 and 75 mm Hg or over 75 mm Hg), and end‐diastolic LV dimension (of more or less than 56 mm). We evaluated the impact of S‐wave magnitude in right precordial leads before and after AVR in all patients. We followed S‐wave changes in electrocardiogram altogether with hemodynamic measurements derived from echocardiography.

Results

Analysis of echocardiographic parameters, measured in patients before surgery, did not show statistical significance between asymptomatic and symptomatic group. The statistical significance was observed in the change in S‐wave magnitude in the right precordial leads in both subsets of patients before AVR. We found statistically significant predictive value of S‐wave magnitude in leads V2–V3 for dependent variables PG and end‐diastolic LV dimension.

Conclusions

S‐wave changes in right precordial leads can predict increase in PG and critical narrowing of AVA, suggestive of timely referral for AVR.
Violent Inaction: The Necropolitical Experience of Refugees in Europe
Authors: Davies Thom , Isakjee Arshad , Dhesi Surindar
Published: April 2017

A significant outcome of the global crisis for refugees has been the abandonment of forced migrants to live in makeshift camps inside the EU. This paper details how state authorities have prevented refugees from surviving with formal provision, leading directly to thousands having to live in hazardous spaces such as the informal camp in Calais, the site of this study. We then explore the violent consequences of this abandonment. By bringing together thus far poorly integrated literatures on bio/necropolitics (Michel Foucault; Achille Mbembe) and structural violence (Johan Galtung), we retheorize the connections between deliberate political indifference towards refugees and the physiological violence they suffer. In framing the management of refugees as a series of violent inactions, we demonstrate how the biopolitics of migrant control has given way to necropolitical brutality. Advancing geographies of violence and migration, the paper argues that political inaction, as well as action, can be used as a means of control.
A “Supertanker” Against Bureaucracy in the Wake of a Housing Crisis: Neoliberalizing Planning in Netanyahu's Israel
Authors: Charney Igal
Published: April 2017

This paper critically questions the state's hostile takeover of planning regulation followed by experimentation initiated by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has been seeking to subordinate the planning apparatus to market calculus and to short‐term political ends. To substantiate this argument, I have examined a large corpus of documents (official government documents, planning records, and court appeals and rulings, and NGO reports) and analyzed the media coverage between 2011 and 2016. By introducing fast‐track planning that is firmly controlled by the central state and focusing on the fictitious delivery of housing units, the structure of the planning regulation has dramatically changed. Further, two already‐dominant government ministries (Finance and Defense) have been significantly empowered, becoming the supervisors of the reformed planning system. In a state captivated by neoliberal fixation and embroiled in a housing crisis, the restructuring of planning governance has been a means to an end.
TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY: THE INNOVATION PATHS OF SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
Authors: PICCIOTTI Antonio
Published: April 2017

The concepts of sustainable development and social economy are currently undergoing a process of convergence, determined by the extension of the concept of sustainability and the role of social enterprise. In a context in which the primary focus of management literature, especially of North American origin, concerns the concept and practices of social entrepreneurship, this paper explores the experiences of European social enterprises and in particular of Italian social cooperatives. Social cooperatives are experimenting with initiatives capable of responding to the emergence of new needs and changes in society in a sustainable way. Based on an analysis of the experience of various social cooperatives operating in the field of renewable energy sources, tourism, and the use of assets confiscated from the Mafia, this paper aims to highlight how social enterprise manages to create contexts of sustainable development, thereby building interorganizational and intersectoral collaborative networks aimed at the activation of new paths for local development. This represents evidence of the specific nature of the social enterprise, which is able to establish a number of coordination mechanisms. It creates new businesses with public and private, and profit and non‐profit partners, with the aim of achieving a stated goal, or enters into contractual arrangements, in order to establish business partnerships and build entire local manufacturing supply chains. In this way social enterprise promotes interaction between resources of a public, market and community nature.