bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Faster Transport Status and Mortality in Anuric Patients Undergoing Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis
Authors: Xiong Liping , Fan Li , Xu Qingdong , Zhou Qian , Li Huiyan , Peng Xuan , Yang Yan , Wang Yating , Yu Xueqing , Mao Haiping
Published: August 2015

Background: There are limited data regarding the relationship between transport status and mortality in anuric continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients. Methods: According to the dialysate to plasma creatinine ratio (D/P Cr), 292 anuric CAPD patients were stratified to faster (D/P Cr ≥0.65) and slower transport groups (D/P Cr <0.65). The Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the association of transport status with mortality. Results: During a median follow-up of 22.1 months, 24% patients died, 61.4% of them due to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Anuric patients with faster transport were associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR (95% CI) = 2.16 (1.09-4.26)), but not cardiovascular mortality, after adjustment for confounders. Faster transporters with pre-existing CVD had a greater risk for death compared to those without any history of CVD. Conclusion: Faster transporters were independently associated with high all-cause mortality in anuric CAPD patients. This association was strengthened in patients with pre-existing CVD.
Prenatal Exposure to Continuous Constant Light Alters Endochondral Ossification of the Tibiae of Rat Pups
Authors: Fontanetti Pablo A. , Nervegna Milton T. , Vermouth Nelia T. , Mandalunis Patricia M.
Published: August 2015

Clinical and experimental studies suggest that prenatal exposure to stress can impact the growth and development of offspring. The effect of prenatal exposure to constant light, applied as a chronic stressor, on endochondral ossification of the tibiae of 3-day-old and 15-day-old pups was histomorphometrically evaluated. Pregnant rats were divided into 2 groups: mothers chronically exposed to a 12:12-hour light/light cycle (LL) and control mothers maintained on a 12:12-hour light/dark cycle on days 10-20 of pregnancy. On postnatal days 3 and 15, the pups were weighed and euthanized. The tibiae were resected and histologically processed to obtain sections for hematoxylin and eosin staining (HE) and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) histochemistry, in order to perform histomorphometric determinations. The data were statistically analyzed. A significant decrease in hypertrophic cartilage thickness was observed in the tibiae of the 3-day-old (LL: 0.134 ± 0.02 vs. controls: 0.209 ± 0.023 mm; p < 0.01) and 15-day-old (LL: 23.32 ± 3.98 vs. controls: 22.96 ± 1.93 mm; p < 0.05) prenatally stressed pups. The subchondral bone volume was significantly lower in the tibiae of the 3-day-old LL pups (38.83 ± 6.14%) than in the controls (62.83 ± 10.67%; p < 0.01). The decrease in subchondral bone volume and hypertrophic cartilage thickness shows that the normal growth process of the tibia is impaired in prenatally stressed pups.
A 10-Year Follow-Up Study of Subjects Recruited in a Health Campaign for the Early Diagnosis of Cutaneous Melanoma: Suggestions for the Screening Timetable
Authors: Cristofolini Mario , Boi Sebastiana , Cattoni Daniela , Sicher Maria Cristina , Decarli Adriano , Micciolo Rocco
Published: August 2015

Background: Cutaneous melanoma affects people at a relatively young age. The possibility of making a screening at the population level is strongly limited because of the high costs and the shortage of well-trained operators. Objective: To evaluate the possibility of a sustainable timetable of screening examinations for cutaneous melanoma. Methods: Subjects who contacted the Lega Italiana per la Lotta contro i Tumori (Italian League against Cancer) between January 2001 and December 2004 were followed up to December 2013 through linkage with the Trento Skin Cancer Registry. The cumulative incidence of cutaneous melanoma was calculated and compared with that observed in the general population. Results: Fifteen newly diagnosed cutaneous melanomas were observed in 3,635 subjects during the screening phase, while 14 new cases were diagnosed within December 2013, in the period of follow-up after the screening. The 95% confidence interval for the cumulative incidence of screened subjects included the cumulative incidence of the general population. No new cutaneous melanomas were detected in a 2-year period, after the first examination, 2 cases within 3 years. Conclusions: Based on our study, we think that in a selected population a screening programme can be performed every 2-3 years. This could help make a screening possible/sustainable for the early diagnosis of cutaneous melanoma in a public health context.
Serum REG3alpha and C-Reactive Protein Levels in Crohn's Disease Patients Undergoing Immunoablation and Autologous Hemopoetic Stem Cell Transplantation in the ASTIC Trial
Authors: Greuter Thomas , Lang Silvia , Holler Ernst , Hawkey Christopher J. , Rogler Gerhard , Biedermann Luc ,   ASTIC trial group
Published: August 2015

Background: REG3α has been recently shown to be a highly accurate biomarker for graft-versus-host-disease (GvHD). Given the unmet need of such biomarkers in Crohn's disease (CD) and the similarities between CD and GvHD, we aimed at investigating the role of serum REG3α as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in CD patients undergoing autologous hemopoetic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in the multicenter Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation International Crohn's Disease (ASTIC) trial and to compare it to C-reactive protein (CRP). Methods: Stored serum samples from the ASTIC trial were analyzed using a commercially available human PAP1 ELISA-kit to measure REG3α levels. CRP was available from prior analysis in the ASTIC trial. These levels were correlated with clinical and endoscopic disease activity as well as overall clinical and endoscopic outcome 1 year after autologous HSCT. Results: One hundred thirty two serum samples were available for analysis. The mean concentration of REG3α was 101.8 ng/ml (95% CI 22.6-258.3). No significant elevation of REG3α was found among patients with active disease compared to those in remission (106.3 vs. 91.4). Patients with moderate to severe endoscopic disease activity showed substantially, although not significantly elevated REG3α levels compared to those in remission (95.4 vs. 52.4, p = 0.052). Baseline serum REG3α levels of patients without clinical or endoscopic remission 1 year after HSCT were not elevated compared to those in remission (63.1 vs. 66.9, and 68.4 vs. 59.2, respectively). In contrast, CRP was significantly elevated in patients with active disease compared to patients in remission (14.1 vs. 6.0 mg/dl, p = 0.032). In addition, CRP was elevated, although not significantly, in patients with severe endoscopic disease compared to those in endoscopic remission (18.7 vs. 4.1, p = 0.062). Furthermore, baseline CRP was reduced in patients with clinical and endoscopic remission after HSCT compared to those without remission, although not significantly (8.8 vs. 21.4, n.s. and 8.1 vs. 12.4, n.s.). Conclusion: Given the divergent findings compared to GvHD, we conclude that serum REG3α is not an accurate diagnostic and predictive biomarker in CD patients undergoing HSCT. In contrast, CRP is a valuable biomarker in order to differentiate active disease from remission. However, CRP does not seem to be of prognostic value for HSCT outcome.
Dose-Dependent Bidirectional Effect of Angiotensin IV on Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm via Variable Angiotensin Receptor Stimulation
Authors: Kong Jing , Zhang Kai , Meng Xiao , Zhang Yun , Zhang Cheng
Published: August 2015

Angiotensin IV (Ang IV), as an effector peptide of the rennin–angiotensin system, possesses many biological properties yet not completely known. In this study, we aimed to investigate the role of Ang IV in the development of Ang II–induced abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in apolipoprotein E-knockout mice. We used Ang II infusion to induce AAA, and animals were treated with Ang II (1.44 mg/kg per day) plus no treatment, Ang II (1.44 mg/kg per day) plus low-, medium-, and high-dose Ang IV (0.72, 1.44, and 2.88 mg/kg per day, respectively). The incidence of AAA was 87.5%, 66.7%, 37.5%, and 83.3% in the no treatment, the low-, medium-, or high-dose Ang IV group, respectively. Compared with the no treatment group, medium-dose Ang IV treatment markedly reduced macrophage infiltration; levels of proinflammatory cytokines, including monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, interleukin 6, and intercellular adhesion molecule 1; the expression and activity of metalloproteinases 2 and 9; but increased smooth muscle cells, and collagen content in AAA. However, high-dose Ang IV treatment did not have obvious protective effect. The beneficial effect of medium-dose Ang IV may be contributed to the stimulation of type 4 angiotensin receptor (AT
4
R) and AT
2
R with suppression of AT
1
R, activation of Akt, and inhibition of nuclear factor-κB, as these beneficial effects were largely reversed by cotreatment with the AT
4
R antagonist divalinal-Ang IV in Ang II–infused mice or with the Akt inhibitor A6730 in Ang II–stimulated human smooth muscle cells. Therefore, medium dose of Ang IV may provide a novel and promising approach to the treatment of AAA.
Galectin-3 Blockade Inhibits Cardiac Inflammation and Fibrosis in Experimental Hyperaldosteronism and Hypertension
Authors: Martínez-Martínez Ernesto , Calvier Laurent , Fernández-Celis Amaya , Rousseau Elodie , Jurado-López Raquel , Rossoni Luciana V. , Jaisser Frederic , Zannad Faiez , Rossignol Patrick , Cachofeiro Victoria , López-Andrés Natalia
Published: August 2015

Hypertensive cardiac remodeling is accompanied by molecular inflammation and fibrosis, 2 mechanisms that finally affect cardiac function. At cardiac level, aldosterone promotes inflammation and fibrosis, although the precise mechanisms are still unclear. Galectin-3 (Gal-3), a β-galactoside–binding lectin, is associated with inflammation and fibrosis in the cardiovascular system. We herein investigated whether Gal-3 inhibition could block aldosterone-induced cardiac inflammation and fibrosis and its potential role in cardiac damage associated with hypertension. Aldosterone-salt–treated rats presented hypertension, cardiac inflammation, and fibrosis that were prevented by the pharmacological inhibition of Gal-3 with modified citrus pectin. Cardiac inflammation and fibrosis presented in spontaneously hypertensive rats were prevented by modified citrus pectin treatment, whereas Gal-3 blockade did not modify blood pressure levels. In the absence of blood pressure modifications, Gal-3 knockout mice were resistant to aldosterone-induced cardiac inflammation. In human cardiac fibroblasts, aldosterone increased Gal-3 expression via its mineralocorticoid receptor. Gal-3 and aldosterone enhanced proinflammatory and profibrotic markers, as well as metalloproteinase activities in human cardiac fibroblasts, effects that were not observed in Gal-3–silenced cells treated with aldosterone. In experimental hyperaldosteronism, the increase in Gal-3 expression was associated with cardiac inflammation and fibrosis, alterations that were prevented by Gal-3 blockade independently of blood pressure levels. These data suggest that Gal-3 could be a new molecular mechanism linking cardiac inflammation and fibrosis in situations with high-aldosterone levels, such as hypertension.
Bryophytes of Alarachi Natural Reserve, Department of Tarija, Bolivia

Authors: Churchill Steven P.
Published: August 2015

A bryophyte inventory of Alarachi Natural Reserve in the Province of Acre, Department of Tarija, Bolivia, recorded 154 species distributed among l01 genera and 51 families; for hepatics 35 species, 19 genera, 13 families, and mosses 119 species, 82 genera, 38 families. This study represents the first bryological inventory for southern Bolivia, and provides the first representative subset of bryophytes for the Tucuman-Bolivian montane forest.
Type analysis of Cymbella schubartii and two new Encyonopsis species (Bacillariophyceae) from southeastern Brazil
Authors: Wengrat Simone , Marquardt Gisele Carolina , Bicudo Denise De Campos , Bicudo Carlos Eduardo de Mattos , Wetzel Carlos Eduardo , Ector Luc
Published: August 2015

The type material of Cymbella schubartii was studied in order to clarify the differences and similarities within the complex of Encyonopsis species observed in southeastern Brazilian water bodies. Detailed examination using light and scanning electron microscopy of modern populations led us to propose two new Encyonopsis species, which are here described in details. Morphometric analysis of the valve shape supported the separation of four species: Encyonopsis schubartii, E. difficilis, E. sanctipaulensis, sp. nov. and E. linensis, sp. nov. Additionally, Cymbella perpusilla var. moreirae is formally transferred to the genus Encyonopsis. Regarding their ecological preferences, these species were found in rivers and reservoirs, especially in oligotrophic and oligo-mesotrophic environments.
Typification of names published by Joseph Franz Freyn from eastern Turkey

Authors: Sutory Karel
Published: August 2015

In total 25 names were published by Joseph Franz Freyn based on collections by Anton Kronenburg originating from the surroundings of Lake Van (eastern Turkey). Only two of them are in current use, all the other ones are considered synonyms. For 19 names lectotypes are selected, three were already designated elsewhere, for two names possible holotypes are indicated.
New taxonomic and distributional information on hermit crabs (Crustacea: Anomura: Paguroidea) from the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and Atlantic coast of South America
Authors: LEMAITRE RAFAEL , TAVARES MARCOS
Published: August 2015

A collection of Paguroidea recently obtained during deep-water expeditions along the coast of Brazil, forms the basis of this report. Of the 14 species reported from Brazil, 11 represent range extensions to the south, and one, Michelopagurus atlanticus (Bouvier, 1922), is a first record for the western Atlantic. The specimens were compared with types and western Atlantic materials deposited in various major museums. A diagnosis and illustrations are presented for each of seven species found to be poorly or insufficiently known. New material and information is reported for two additional species that occur in Brazil but not found in the recent deep-water collections: Clibanarius symmetricus (Randall, 1840) and Mixtopagurus paradoxus A. Milne-Edwards, 1880. Remarkable and unique color photographs of live or fresh specimens of Allodardanus bredini Haig & Provenzano, 1965, Bathynarius anomalus (A. Milne-Edwards & Bouvier, 1893), Pylopagurus discoidalis (A. Milne-Edwards, 1880), Paguristes spinipes A. Milne-Edwards, 1880, Parapagurus pilosimanus Smith, 1876, and P. alaminos Lemaitre, 1986, are presented. A review of published records and museum collections of the terrestrial Coenobita clypeatus (Fabricius, 1787), has shown that the southern range limit of this species does not extend beyond the southern Caribbean and Trinidad and Tobago, and thus does not occur on the Brazilian coast as previously believed. A distribution map of C. clypeatus is provided based on specimens in the collections of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. New distribution records in the Gulf of Mexico and southern Caribbean, and morphological information, are included for Pagurus rotundimanus Wass, 1963, a species originally described from the Florida Keys but rarely reported since. Relevant remarks on the taxonomy, morphology, and distribution of all these species are included. The revised list of Paguroidea known from Brazil is updated, and now includes a total of 62 species in the families Pylochelidae (1), Diogenidae (27), Paguridae (28), and Parapaguridae (6). A synopsis of primary taxonomic works on western Atlantic Paguroidea is also presented.
New species records of Suwallia Ricker, 1943 (Plecoptera: Chloroperlidae) from China, with description of the nymph of S. decolorata Zhiltzova & Levanidova, 1978
Authors: LI WEIHAI , MURÁNYI DÁVID , SHI Li
Published: August 2015

Two species of the chloroperlid genus Suwallia, S. decolorata Zhiltzova & Levanidova, 1978 and S. talalajensis Zhiltzova, 1976 are reported for the first time from the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China. The habitus and diagnostic features of these two species including aedeagal structures are illustrated with color images. Additional descriptions and taxonomic notes are provided. The nymph of S. decolorata is described.
A new species of Synagapetus from Spain with a key for the identification of the Iberian and Pyrenean species (Trichoptera: Glossosomatidae)
Authors: MARTÍNEZ J. , MARTÍN L. , GONZÁLEZ M.A.
Published: August 2015

A new species of the caddisfly genus Synagapetus from central Spain is described and figured: Synagapetus vettonicus sp. n. Males of the new species are close to S. placidus and S. marlierorum, but the new species is well characterized by a combination of genitalic characteristics, especially those concerning the shape of the superior and inferior appendages. Additionally we provide a taxonomic key to the Iberian and Pyrenean species, in order to make the identification of this complex group of species easier.
Leksykalne wykładniki hipotetyczności w litewskiej gwarze puńskiej z odniesieniami do języków polskiego i litewskiego
Authors: Roszko Danuta
Published: August 2015

Lexical indicators of the hypothetical modality in the Lithuanian local dialect of Puńsk with references to Polish and Lithuanian.The dissertation discusses the problem of lexical indicators of the hypothetical modality in the Lithuanian local dialect of Puńsk. The Lithuanian local dialect of Puńsk is used by the Lithuanians living in the north-east regions of Poland. In these very regions there run important ethnic borders between Slavs and Balts, and between the Eastern and the Western groups of Slavs. The author has applied the method of theoretical contrastive studies to characterize the local dialect of Puńsk. To begin with, the author forms the definition of the hypothetical modality along with its paraphrase. She analyzes the gradation of the hypothetical modality phenomenon. Therefore, she has distinguished 6 groups, each of which is characterized by a different degree of probability. Furthermore, she gives examples of all possible indicators of the hypothetical modality in the local dialect: lexical, morphological and syntactic, where lexical indicators are more precisely described. She has distinguished the differences and resemblances between the local dialect and the literary languages of Lithuanian and Polish. In the research area, she applies the experimental corpus of the local dialect of Puńsk. Лексические средства гипотетичности в литовском говоре окрестностей Пунска в сопоставлении с польским и литовским языкамиВ статье описывается проблема лексических показателей гипотетической модальности в литовском говоре окрес тностей Пунска. На литовском говоре окрестностей Пунска говорят литовцы проживающие на северо-востоке Польши. Именно там, на этой территории, многие столетия пересекаются этнические границы между славянами и балтами, между западными и восточными славянами. В статье используется метод теоретического сопоставления естественных языков с использованием так называемого языка-посредника (tertium comparationis). В самом начале представлено содержание категории гипотетической модальности и ее парафраза. Затем описывается изменение по степеням возможности и в связи с тем выделяются шесть групп, которые постепенно отражают повышение возможности, уверенности говорящего к высказываемому им самим содержанию. В описании гипотетической модальности упоминаются лексические, морфологические и синтаксические средства выражения гипотетических значений. Более точно описываются лексические средства. Обращается внимание на сходства и различия между говором и польским и литовским языками. В исследованиях используются данные экспериментального корпуса говора окрестностей Пунска.
Ад паганскай настальгіі да неапаганскай рэвалюцыі: беларуская і польская культура першай паловы XX стагоддзя ў пошуках нацыянальнай ідэнтычнасці
Authors: Міхеева [Mikheeva] Iрына [Iryna]
Published: August 2015

From pagan nostalgia for neo-pagan revolution: Belarusian and Polish culture of the first half of the XX century in search of national identityThe article deals with a comparative analysis of philosophical and political projects of Belarusian (Vatslav Lastovsky) and Poland (Jan Stahnyuk) national renascence. Carried out a number of philosophical-methodological and political-ideological parallels in the positions of V. Lastovovsky and J. Stahnyuk within two content and thematic blocks: models of national history and projects of national revival. The author of this article draws attention to finding the both projects in the paradigm of the conservative-traditional searches of ethnic and national identity, their obviously nationalistic character and an internal inconsistency in the views of philosophers, romanticization of the national history, calling for the risky socio-political experiments. On the basis of a theoretical reconstruction of the meaningful problem-field of both the concepts – “Krivich Renascence” and “Slavish Pan-Humanism” – the article reveals the similarities and differences in the authors’ interpretations of the essence of national culture, the specifics of its development stages, the prospects for the realization of the historic mission of the Belarusian and Polish peoples. От языческой ностальгии к неоязыческой революции: белорусская и польская культуры первой половины ХХ века в поисках национальной идентичностиСтатья посвящена сравнительному анализу философско-политических проектов белорусского (Вацлав Ластовский) и польского (Ян Стахнюк) национального возрождения. Проводится ряд философско-методологических и политико-идеологических параллелей в позициях В. Ластовского и Я. Стахнюка в рамках двух концептуальных проблемно-тематических блоков: модели национальной истории и проекты национального возрождения. Подчеркивается нахождение рассматриваемых проектов в парадигме консервативно-традиционалистских поисков этнонациональной идентичности, их национально заостренный характер, а также внутренняя противоречивость взглядов философов, романтизация ими национальной истории, призывы к рискованным социополитическим экспериментам. На основе теоретической реконструкции проблемно-содержательного поля обеих концепций – «кривичского возрождения» и «славянского пангуманизма» – делаются выводы о схожести и различиях в авторских интерпретациях сущности национальной культуры, специфике этапов ее развития, перспективах реализации исторической миссии белорусского и польского народов.
A New Estimation of Urbanization’s Contribution to the Warming Trend in China
Authors: Wang Fang , Ge Quansheng , Wang Shaowu , Li Qingxiang , Jones Philip D.
Published: August 2015

The extent to which an urbanization effect has contributed to climate warming is under debate in China. Some previous studies have shown that the urban heat island (UHI) contribution to national warming was substantial (10%–40%). However, by considering the spatial scale of urbanization effects, this study indicates that the UHI contribution is negligible (less than 1%). Urban areas constitute only 0.7% of the whole of China. According to the proportions of urban and rural areas used in this study, the weighted urban and rural temperature averages reduced the estimated total warming trend and also reduced the estimated urban effects. Conversely, if all stations were arithmetically averaged, that is, without weighting, the total warming trend and urban effects will be overestimated as in previous studies because there are more urban stations than rural stations in China. Moreover, the urban station proportion (68%) is much higher than the urban area proportion (0.7%).
High-Resolution Future Projections of Temperature and Precipitation in the Canary Islands
Authors: Expósito Francisco J. , González Albano , Pérez Juan C. , Díaz Juan P. , Taima David
Published: August 2015

The complex orography of the Canary Islands favors the creation of microclimates, which cannot be studied using global climate models or regional models with moderate resolution. In this work, WRF is used to perform a dynamic climate regionalization in the archipelago, using the pseudo–global warming technique to compute the initial and boundary conditions from a reanalysis dataset and from results of 14 global climate models. The simulations were performed for three decades, one at present (1995–2004) and two in the future (2045–54 and 2090–99), and for two different greenhouse gas scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5), defined in phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. The obtained results, at a 5-km horizontal resolution, show a clear dependence of temperature increase with height and a positive change in diurnal temperature range, which is mainly due to a reduction in soil moisture and a slight decrease in cloud cover. This negative change in soil moisture is mainly a consequence of a decrease in precipitation, although the evaluation of simulated reduction in precipitation does not show statistical significance in most of the Canary Islands for the analyzed periods and scenarios.
Biases in Thorpe-Scale Estimates of Turbulence Dissipation. Part II: Energetics Arguments and Turbulence Simulations
Authors: Scotti Alberto
Published: August 2015

This paper uses the energetics framework developed by Scotti and White to provide a critical assessment of the widely used Thorpe-scale method, which is used to estimate dissipation and mixing rates in stratified turbulent flows from density measurements along vertical profiles. This study shows that the relevant displacement scale in general is not the rms value of the Thorpe displacement. Rather, the displacement field must be Reynolds decomposed to separate the mean from the turbulent component, and it is the turbulent component that ought to be used to diagnose mixing and dissipation. In general, the energetics of mixing in an overall stably stratified flow involves potentially complex exchanges among the available potential energy and kinetic energy associated with the mean and turbulent components of the flow. The author considers two limiting cases: shear-driven mixing, where mixing comes at the expense of the mean kinetic energy of the flow, and convective-driven mixing, which taps the available potential energy of the mean flow to drive mixing. In shear-driven flows, the rms of the Thorpe displacement, known as the Thorpe scale is shown to be equivalent to the turbulent component of the displacement. In this case, the Thorpe scale approximates the Ozmidov scale, or, which is the same, the Thorpe scale is the appropriate scale to diagnose mixing and dissipation. However, when mixing is driven by the available potential energy of the mean flow (convective-driven mixing), this study shows that the Thorpe scale is (much) larger than the Ozmidov scale. Using the rms of the Thorpe displacement overestimates dissipation and mixing, since the amount of turbulent available potential energy (measured by the turbulent displacement) is only a fraction of the total available potential energy (measured by the Thorpe scale). Corrective measures are discussed that can be used to diagnose mixing from knowledge of the Thorpe displacement. In a companion paper, Mater et al. analyze field data and show that the Thorpe scale can indeed be much larger than the Ozmidov scale.
The Evolution of Lake-Effect Convection during Landfall and Orographic Uplift as Observed by Profiling Radars
Authors: Minder Justin R. , Letcher Theodore W. , Campbell Leah S. , Veals Peter G. , Steenburgh W. James
Published: August 2015

A pronounced snowfall maximum occurs about 30 km downwind of Lake Ontario over the 600-m-high Tug Hill Plateau (hereafter Tug Hill), a region where lake-effect convection is affected by mesoscale forcing associated with landfall and orographic uplift. Profiling radar data from the Ontario Winter Lake-effect Systems field campaign are used to characterize the inland evolution of lake-effect convection that produces the Tug Hill snowfall maximum. Four K-band profiling Micro Rain Radars (MRRs) were aligned in a transect from the Ontario coast onto Tug Hill. Additional observations were provided by an X-band profiling radar (XPR). Analysis is presented of a major lake-effect storm that produced 6.4-cm liquid precipitation equivalent (LPE) snowfall over Tug Hill. This event exhibited strong inland enhancement, with LPE increasing by a factor of 1.9 over 15-km horizontal distance. MRR profiles reveal that this enhancement was not due to increases in the depth or intensity of lake-effect convection. With increasing inland distance, echoes transitioned from a convective toward a stratiform morphology, becoming less intense, more uniform, more frequent, and less turbulent. An inland increase in echo frequency (possibly orographically forced) contributes somewhat to snowfall enhancement. The XPR observations reproduce the basic vertical structure seen by the MRRs while also revealing a suppression of snowfall below 600 m AGL upwind of Tug Hill, possibly associated with subcloud sublimation or hydrometeor advection. Statistics from 29 events demonstrate that the above-described inland evolution of convection is common for lake-effect storms east of Lake Ontario.
Preoperative Lumbar Drain Use During Acoustic Neuroma Surgery and Effect on CSF Leak Incidence
Authors: Crowson Matthew G. , Cunningham Calhoun D. , Moses Helen , Zomorodi Ali R. , Kaylie David M.
Published: August 2015

Objective:

To determine if preoperative lumbar drain (LD) use reduces the incidence of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak in patients undergoing acoustic neuroma resection.

Methods:

Retrospective review of 282 patients presenting for acoustic neuroma resection between 2005 and 2014.

Results:

Two hundred and eighty-two patients had a mean tumor size of 19.1 mm ± 10.2 mm. Twenty-nine (10.3%) patients developed a postoperative CSF leak. Two hundred and twenty patients (78.0%) received a preoperative LD, and 20 (9.1%) developed a CSF leak. Sixty-two (22.0%) patients did not receive a preoperative LD, and 9 (14.5%) developed a CSF leak. No significant difference in CSF leak frequency was observed with use versus no use of a LD ( P = .23). Fifteen (5.3%) patients with an LD placed had a complication related to the LD. No significant difference in CSF leak frequency was observed with patient age, neurofibromatosis type-2 diagnosis, tumor size, or sidedness.

Conclusions:

Postoperative CSF leaks are among the most common complications of acoustic neuroma microsurgery. No formal guidelines exist for elective placement of a preoperative LD to lower the incidence of CSF leaks. Our reported CSF leak incidence with preoperative LD placement is not significantly lower than without LD use, and there is a complication rate associated with LD use.
The new emergence of iodine deficiency in the UK: consequences for child neurodevelopment
Authors: Rayman Margaret P , Bath Sarah C
Published: August 2015

Adequate iodine intake is important during pregnancy as it is a component of the thyroid hormones that are crucial for fetal brain and neurological development. While randomized controlled trials in severe iodine deficiency have shown that iodine deficiency in pregnancy causes impaired offspring cognition, less is known of the effects in regions of mild/mild-to-moderate deficiency. The United Kingdom is now classified as mildly iodine deficient by the World Health Organization, based on a 2011 national study of 14–15-year-old schoolgirls. As pregnancy is the most critical time for brain development, we evaluated iodine status in pregnant women in Surrey ( n = 100) and Oxford ( n = 230). The median urinary iodine concentration was 85.3 μg/L in Surrey women, considerably lower than the WHO/United Nations Children’s Fund/International Council for the Control of Iodine Deficiency Disorders cut-off of 150 μg/L. Oxford women had similarly low status. We investigated whether that level of iodine deficiency was associated with adverse child cognitive effects using stored samples and data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children cohort. In adjusted analyses, we found a significant association between low maternal iodine status in early pregnancy (urinary iodine-to-creatinine ratio <150 μg/g) such that children had an approximately 60% greater risk of being in the bottom quartile of scores for verbal intelligence quotient, reading accuracy and comprehension. UK women who might become pregnant should ensure they have adequate iodine status to avoid compromising their children’s brain development.
Using Structural Equations to Model Akers’ Social Learning Theory With Data on Intimate Partner Violence
Authors: Cochran John K. , Maskaly Jon , Jones Shayne , Sellers Christine S.
Published: August 2015

Akers’ social learning theory (SLT) is one of the predominate theories of criminal behavior; moreover, its empirical validity has been consistently supported by the extant research literature. However, a number of limitations plague this literature: Rarely is the full social learning model tested such that all four social learning constructs are operationalized and, where complete tests are found, they have either focused near exclusively on substance use/abuse or have examined only the direct, independent effects of its key theoretical constructs. The present study employs structural equations to test a more complete SLT model against self-reported data on intimate partner violence. Doing so permits an examination of both the direct and indirect effects of differential association, imitation, definitions, and differential reinforcement as well as the reciprocal/feedback effects of intimate partner violence back onto these social learning constructs as explicated by Akers.
“Certainly forbidden” subjects: Race, migration, and the vanishing points of post-imperial British security
Authors: Townsend Sarah L.
Published: August 2015

This article examines the post-imperial migration and racial anxieties that underwrite fantasies of national security in postwar British fiction. Focusing on the autocratic educational institutions featured in Muriel Spark’s The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961) and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go (2005), the article identifies the school as a fraught ideological site wherein conceptions of national insularity collide with the complex pressures of British globalization. Spark’s Marcia Blaine School and Ishiguro’s Hailsham masquerade as microcosms of a homogeneous British nation only through a rigorous process of racial redaction. By adapting Joseph Slaughter’s concept of the “vanishing point”, the article traces two nonwhite immigrant characters whose brief, silent appearances unsettle the novels’ optics of power, thereby intimating a vast history of racial violence disavowed in the name of bodily, cultural, and political security. Connecting the novels’ vanishing acts to the discursive lacunae perpetuated in the war on terror, the article also considers the imperial residues that continue to shape the contemporary security state.
Reconciliation and the “self-in-community” in post-transitional South African fiction
Authors: Propst Lisa
Published: August 2015

Since the end of apartheid and South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994, efforts at reconciliation have been dramatic, most notably in the form of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), as well as deeply incomplete. In response, a great deal of post-transitional South African literature and criticism has taken up the question of how to effect reconciliation, particularly outside institutional forums like the TRC. A prominent strand of South African literary studies insists that reconciliation rests on a form of ethical responsibility in which the individual is displaced from him- or herself in order to enact hospitality toward others. This view draws on a Levinasian conception of ethics whereby responsibility entails radical vulnerability with no assurance of reciprocation. Yet a growing corpus of fiction complicates this vision of reconciliation, recognizing that for many South Africans, the violations of apartheid gave rise to what Annie Coombes refers to as a “dissolution of [the] self”, and any effort at building a more inclusive society must redress that dissolution. This article argues that Jo-Anne Richards’ My Brother’s Book (2008) and Achmat Dangor’s Bitter Fruit (2001) present reconciliation as a product of two opposing endeavours. On the one hand, it involves the willingness to give up a sense of self in taking on responsibilities for others. On the other hand, it requires reclaiming a sense of self by asserting one’s right to make affiliative choices and actively construct new spaces of belonging.
Responding to Catastrophe
Authors: Wood Reed M. , Wright Thorin M.
Published: August 2015

Natural disasters often cause significant human suffering. They may also provide incentives for states to escalate repression against their citizens. We argue that state authorities escalate repression in the wake of natural disasters because the combination of increased grievances and declining state control produced by disasters creates windows of opportunity for dissident mobilization and challenges to state authority. We also investigate the impact of the post-disaster humanitarian aid on this relationship. Specifically, we argue that inflows of aid in the immediate aftermath of disasters are likely to dampen the impact of disasters on repression. However, we expect that this effect is greater when aid flows to more democratic states. We examine these interrelated hypotheses using cross-national data on immediate-onset natural disasters and state violations of physical integrity rights between 1977 and 2009 as well as newly collected foreign aid data disaggregated by sector. The results provide support for both our general argument and the corollary hypotheses.
Formula Pinochet: Chilean Lessons for Russian Liberal Reformers during the Soviet Collapse, 1970–2000
Authors: Rupprecht Tobias
Published: August 2015

Numerous references to the Chilean military dictator Augusto Pinochet run through Soviet and Russian political discourse from the 1970s to the late 1990s. Official representations of Pinochet, a carefully constructed bogeyman of Soviet domestic and foreign propaganda, helped drive a wedge between Soviet dissidents and Western leftist intellectuals. Citizens of the late Soviet Union, however, creatively adapted and inverted the image of Pinochet to express their cynical contempt for their state’s ideology. From the late 1980s, a veritable cult of the Communist-slayer developed among some of Russia’s new political, cultural and economic elites. His combination of authoritarian rule and a free market economy seemed to many the most viable means to overcome, once and for all, what they perceived as the remnants of a totalitarian system with an abysmal economic performance. Following the traces of Pinochet’s perception in Russia opens up a number of lines of inquiry into its contemporary history as it recalls both the constantly failing attempts at economic reforms in the late Soviet Union and the tragic history of Russian liberalism. The Chilean lessons for Russian reformers also challenge a Westernization paradigm that has long dominated transformation studies of Russia and Eastern Europe in the 1980s and 1990s.
The unintended consequence of English votes for English laws
Authors: Armstrong Angus , Ebell Monique
Published: August 2015

The Scotland Bill 2015–16 would make the Scottish government one of the most powerful sub-central governments in the OECD in terms of its control over spending and taxation. The UK government has also announced plans to introduce ‘English Votes for English Laws’ (EVEL), where the support of a majority of English MPs would be necessary to pass legislation deemed to impact on England only. The objective of this paper is to examine the potential for spillovers to arise in monetary unions of asymmetric nations where fiscal policy choices are taken locally. We extend a model of Chari and Kehoe (2008) to show the sub-optimal consequences of devolved fiscal policy in a moneteary union with a dominant member state. Because England is so much larger than the other constituent nations of the UK, its fiscal policy choices will have a commensurately stronger impact on UK monetary policy. As a result, UK monetary policy might be inappropriate for the smaller nations, calling into question the economic efficiency of EVEL. This is a general result which arises from the asymmetry of nations rather than specific UK funding arrangements or behavioural responses.
Anthropometric portraiture and Victorian anthropology: Situating Francis Galton’s photographic work in the late 1870s
Authors: Sera–Shriar Efram
Published: August 2015

This paper examines the complex observational techniques of British anthropologists during the nineteenth century. In particular, using Galton’s initial work with anthropometric and composite photography in the late 1870s as a case study, it argues that nineteenth-century anthropological armchair studies were extremely sophisticated and that researchers were highly attuned to the problems associated with their methodologies. These nineteenth-century practitioners were not simply anthologising the materials of others; rather they were developing specialised methods for producing their own evidence and drawing conclusions. Moreover, Galton’s use of photographic processes is instructive because it highlights one of the ways in which researchers interested in human diversity attempted to add further scientific credibility to their arguments by utilising the most cutting-edge technologies available during the period.
Can Self-Enhancement Values Predict Retirement Behavior? An Analysis Combining Survey and Register Data From Norway
Authors: Blekesaune Morten
Published: August 2015

This analysis investigates to what extent the self-enhancement values in the Schwartz taxonomy—achievement, power, and hedonism—can predict retirement behavior. Self-enhancement values were measured using the Norwegian Life Course, Generations and Gender Study beginning in 2007. Register data were merged with the survey data to identify those collecting a pension by the end of 2010; these persons were defined as being retired. Statistical analysis was performed using discrete time proportional odds (logistic regression) duration models for each birthday. The results show that two self-enhancement values, achievement and hedonism, discourage disability retirement but do not affect nondisability retirement. These results are largely consistent across statistical models controlling or not controlling for other known predictors of retirement behavior, including education and income, occupational group (class), and health. The hedonism effect is partially associated with the fact that individuals holding hedonistic values are in good health.
Integrating the Relational Turbulence Model and a Multiple Goals Approach to Understand Topic Avoidance During the Transition to Extended Family
Authors: Mikucki-Enyart Sylvia L. , Caughlin John P.
Published: August 2015

This study focuses on the transition to extended family that occurs as marriage creates in-law relationships along with the spousal unit. Specifically, it utilizes both the relational turbulence model and the multiple goals perspective to examine variations in communication avoidance and satisfaction with one’s in-law relationship. Our model proposes that key mechanisms of relational turbulence (i.e., relational uncertainty and interference from partners) are associated with in-law’s communicative goals (such as managing uncertainty, fostering a positive in-law identity, and maintaining family relationships), which in turn are associated with topic avoidance. In addition, we hypothesized that relational uncertainty, interference from partners, and the use of topic avoidance would be associated with dissatisfaction in nascent in-law bonds. A cross-sectional analysis of data from 203 children-in-law revealed that in addition to direct associations among relational uncertainty, interference from partners, topic avoidance, and satisfaction, children-in-law’s uncertainty management goals mediated a portion of the association between the mechanisms of turbulence and topic avoidance. These findings are consistent with our proposed model, suggesting important implications for our understanding of the transition to extended family, as well as our understanding of relational turbulence and multiple goals in in-law relationships.
Surprise! An Investigation of Orienting Responses to Test Assumptions of Narrative Processing
Authors: Sukalla Freya , Shoenberger Heather , Bolls Paul D.
Published: August 2015

This study tests theoretical assumptions about how the level of narrative engagement during exposure to a television series storyline influences how viewers process scenes within the storyline. An embodied cognition approach to information processing was applied to record and interpret psychophysiological data reflecting how viewers mentally process television program narratives. Specifically, we recorded physiological data indicating the orienting response (OR) to examine viewers’ processing of narrative surprise structures. In a 4 (storyline) × 4 (order) mixed repeated measures experiment, 59 participants watched four stimulus clips including a surprising plot development while psychophysiological measures were being recorded. After about 4 to 5 minutes into the clip but before the surprising event, they were asked to indicate their level of narrative engagement. Results confirm that surprise structures do elicit ORs in viewers, and they occur regardless of the level of narrative engagement. This study highlights the potential of combining an embodied cognition approach with existing approaches to understanding how viewers process narratives and provides inspiration for future research about narrative processing and persuasion.
The Bright Future of Value Pluralism in Public Administration
Authors: de Graaf Gjalt
Published: August 2015

In their critique of Spicer’s and Wagenaar’s account of value pluralism (VP), Talisse, Overeem, and Verhoef seem to suggest either that VP does not exist or that it is irrelevant for public administration (PA). My argument is that in public governance, there are many conflicting intrinsic values. This means we can speak of incommensurability, the key feature of VP, and there is much potential for PA in this realization. I propose additional research questions on the nature of value conflict in late modern governance: which intrinsic values conflict in public governance, how often do they conflict, and how is this dealt with by both individuals and institutions? Answers to these questions will have a great deal of practical relevance and might possibly lead to what Beck Jørgensen and Rutgers call a new “Public Values Perspective (PVP)” in PA.