bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Satellite operators with distinct iterates in smooth concordance
Authors: Ray Arunima
Published: April 2015

Each pattern

P
P

in a solid torus gives a function

P
:

C

→

C

P:\mathcal {C} \rightarrow \mathcal {C}

on the smooth knot concordance group, taking any knot

K
K

to its satellite

P
(
K
)

P(K)

. We give examples of winding number one patterns

P
P

and a class of knots

K
K

, such that the iterated satellites

P
i

(
K
)

P^i(K)

are distinct in concordance, i.e. if

i
≠
j
≥
0

i \neq j \geq 0

,

P
i

(
K
)
≠

P
j

(
K
)

P^i(K) \neq P^j(K)

. This implies that the operators

P
i

P^i

give distinct functions on

C

\mathcal {C}

, providing further evidence for the (conjectured) fractal nature of

C

\mathcal {C}

. Our theorem also allows us to construct several sets of examples, such as infinite families of topologically slice knots that are distinct in smooth concordance, infinite families of 2–component links (with unknotted components and linking number one) which are not smoothly concordant to the positive Hopf link, and infinitely many prime knots which have the same Alexander polynomial as an

L
L

–space knot but are not themselves

L
L

–space knots.
Isovariant homotopy equivalences of manifolds with group actions
Authors: Schultz Reinhard
Published: April 2015

Let

f
f

be an equivariant homotopy equivalence

f
f

of connected closed manifolds with smooth semifree actions of a finite group

G
G

, and assume also that

f
f

is isovariant. The main result states that

f
f

is a homotopy equivalence in the category of isovariant mappings if the manifolds satisfy a Codimension

≥
3

\geq 3

Gap Hypothesis; this is done by showing directly that

f
f

satisfies the criteria in the Isovariant Whitehead Theorem of G. Dula and the author. Examples are given to show the need for the hypotheses in the main result.
Twist spinning knotted trivalent graphs
Authors: Carter J. , Yang Seung
Published: April 2015

In 1965, E. C. Zeeman proved that the

(
±
1
)

(\pm 1)

-twist spin of any knotted sphere in

(
n
−
1
)

(n-1)

-space is unknotted in the

n
n

-sphere. In 1991, Y. Marumoto and Y. Nakanishi gave an alternate proof of Zeeman’s theorem by using the moving picture method. In this paper, we define a knotted

2
2

-dimensional foam which is a generalization of a knotted sphere and prove that a

(
±
1
)

(\pm 1)

-twist spin of a knotted trivalent graph may be knotted. We then construct some families of knotted graphs for which the

(
±
1
)

(\pm 1)

-twist spins are always unknotted.
Prelude to the Storm
Authors: Engel Kathleen C. , McCoy Patricia A.
Published: April 2015

This chapter describes the events leading up to the subprime crisis. These include the bankruptcy of two large subprime lenders in December 2006: Ownit Mortgage Solutions in California, and Sebring Capital Partners LP in Texas; the collapse of the mortgage-backed securities market in spring 2007; the Federal Reserve's slow response to the volatile stock market; massive layoffs by Wall Street firms; the Fed and Bush administration's expansion of the federal role as financier of last resort; and continued decline of the US economy through the summer of 2008.
Meltdown
Authors: Engel Kathleen C. , McCoy Patricia A.
Published: April 2015

This chapter details events in 2008 as the subprime crisis unfolded. These include the placement of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into conservatorship; the collapse of Lehman Brothers, which sent worldwide markets into a panic; enactment of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA), which included the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) that allowed Treasury to buy toxic assets from banks; and efforts of world leaders to gird the world economy.
The Clinton Years
Authors: Engel Kathleen C. , McCoy Patricia A.
Published: April 2015

This chapter focuses on the 1990s when subprime lending took off. While Bill Clinton was president, many of the same problems that led to the credit crisis in 2007 and 2008 came to light, including high default rates, consumer abuses, bank failures from subprime loans, and the wholesale failure of subprime lenders in 1998 and 1999 due to illiquidity. The chapter discusses the Clinton era policy on subprime loans. It begins by describing the complex landscape of mortgage regulation, which encompasses Congress, a mix of federal agencies, and, to a limited extent, the states.
Discovery of Hidden Crime
Authors: Kivivuori Janne
Published: April 2015

This book presents a history of the self-report crime survey as a method of criminological inquiry, describing how it was born within a distinct moral framework by pioneers out to show that crime was very prevalent and, therefore, normal. It recounts how, during the 1930s and 1940s, a handful of U.S. criminologists discovered the method of the self-report delinquency survey — a method used to ask people directly about their crimes. Previously, criminologists had to rely on official statistics produced by the police and other control authorities; their studies were therefore constrained by the ‘official control barrier’, which perpetuated the notion that crime was linked to the lowest social strata and/or to psychological abnormality. By confronting the domination of psychiatrists and psychologists in the study of crime, criminologists began to challenge the punitive attitudes of society; thus, exposing the so-called white collar offenders and alerting people to see crime as something that could also be found among the middle and upper classes. Expounding both the history of that discovery and its implications for criminological work, past and present, this book offers a perspective on how criminology has developed, and how it continues to advance amid the twin pressures of facts and policy goals.
Discovery of Hidden Crime
Authors: Kivivuori Janne
Published: April 2015

This chapter examines Texan sociologist Austin L. Porterfield's discovery of hidden crime, including the broad cultural contexts of discovery and its immediate foreground. It also looks at the self-report delinquency survey as a modern method of discovering hidden crime and how it takes into account factors that are both internal and external to science. The chapter first considers the use of moral statistics in the discovery of hidden crime and the problems associated with the so-called official control barrier. It then discusses Magnus Hirschfeld's concept called per scientiam ad justitiam (‘justice through science’), along with the white-collar offender as a prototype of the hidden criminal, the work of Sophia Moses Robison, Edwin H. Sutherland's experiments in the 1930s, and Porterfield's groundbreaking survey that elicited anonymous confessions from college students about their delinquent behaviour. Furthermore, it explores other views on the discovery of hidden crime, especially the law-abiding law-breaker and normalisation of sex, along with the findings of the Cambridge-Somerville Youth Study. Finally, it describes the Americanisation of the hidden crime survey during the 1950s.
He Who is Without Sin Among You Let Him Cast the First Stone
Authors: Kivivuori Janne
Published: April 2015

This chapter focuses on the birth of the self-report delinquency research tradition in the Nordic countries and its rhetorical redescription of crime as prevalent and normal. It first considers the Nordics' ground-breaking effort, described as the ‘12-year hunt’ for the dark figure of crime, and their emerging research programme of self-reported delinquency within the context of criminal policy and criminal justice. It then examines the normality paradigm advocated by many Nordic criminologists, not only because of the hidden crime survey but also due to concepts derived from sociological theory, psychological theory, and religious influences. It also discusses later developments in Nordic hidden crime research and concludes by assessing the impact of the self-report delinquency survey on historical developments in the field.
Constitutionalism in Islamic Countries: Between Upheaval and Continuity
Authors: Rainer Grote , Tilmann Röder
Published: April 2015

This book examines the question of whether something similar to an “Islamic constitutionalism” has emerged out of the political and constitutional upheaval witnessed in many parts of North Africa, the Middle East, and Central and Southern Asia in order to identify its defining features and to assess the challenges it poses to established concepts of constitutionalism. This book offers an integrated analysis of the constitutional experience of Islamic countries, drawing on the methods and insights of comparative constitutional law, Islamic law, international law, and legal history. European and United States experiences are used as points of reference against which the peculiar challenges, and the specific answers given to those challenges in the countries surveyed, can be assessed. Whether these concepts can be applied successfully to the often grim political and social realities of their countries provides insights into whether such a fusion can be sustained.
Part 2 Interrelations between Constitutionalism and Sharī’ah: Antagonism or Complementarity?, 2.2 The Limited Applicability of Sharī‘ah under the Constitution of Nigeria
Authors: Kaniye S A Ebeku
Published: April 2015

This chapter discusses the limited application of Sharīʻah under the constitution of Nigeria. It explains the rationale behind the present status by tracing the history and nature of the Nigerian state as well as the applicability of Sharīʻah in colonial Nigeria. It then focuses on the application of Sharīʻah in the immediate post-independence Nigeria as well as the Great Debate on the constitutional status of Sharīʻah in Nigeria since the 1970s. The example of Nigeria shows that it is possible for Muslim states to separate religion from the state, respect constitutionally guaranteed human rights, and comply with international human rights conventions while practicing the Muslim religion.
Part 3 Institutional Control of Constitutionalism, 3.3 The Turkish Constitutional Court as Defender of the Raison d’Etat ?
Authors: Osman Can
Published: April 2015

This chapter examines the power relations creating the Turkish Constitution and the constitutional court, the structure of this court, and judicial precedents it has set. It addresses questions such as: Is it sufficient to base the constitution simply on “power relations,” or if it is also necessary to ensure its democratic legitimacy? Will the constitution and the structure of Turkey's constitutional judiciary, with its special place in the Islamic world regarding societal pluralism and democratic culture, be able to provide a positive comparative law paradigm for countries trying to democratize?
Part 3 Institutional Control of Constitutionalism, 3.4 A Different Approach to the Control of Constitutionalism: Iran’s Guardian Council
Authors: Foroud Shirvani
Published: April 2015

This chapter focuses on the role of the Guardian Council, an institution recognized as one of the main pillars of the Islamic government in Iran. Its religious-theoretical fundaments can be found in the doctrine of the Islamic state, the enforcement of the Islamic law, and the supervisory function of the clerical jurists. Under constitutional law, the task of the Guardian Council follows from the general rule in Art. 4 of the Iranian Constitution, which defines the Islamization of the legal system as a leading principle. In practice, the Council has often acted as an instance defending the status quo and has blocked the initiatives of a reform-minded parliament.
Part 3 Institutional Control of Constitutionalism, 3.5 The Last Defender of Constitutional Reason? Pakistan’s Embattled Supreme Court
Authors: Hamid Khan
Published: April 2015

This chapter begins with a brief overview of the constitutional and political history of Pakistan. It then discusses how the judiciary in general, and the Supreme Court in particular, had to function in a difficult and complex constitutional and political environment during the last sixty years. It details acts of judicial activism; efforts of lawyers throughout Pakistan to restore the status quo in the judiciary as it had existed on November 2, 2007; and the challenges faced by the restored Chief Justice and the Supreme Court.
Part 4 Constitutionalism and Separation of Powers, 4.1 The Separation of Powers in Muslim Countries: Historical and Comparative Perspectives
Authors: Tilmann J Röder
Published: April 2015

This chapter examines the separation of powers in the late Ottoman Empire—the largest and most powerful Islamic state in early modern history—and its neighbor, the Iranian Empire. Both empires' constitutional legacies presumably influenced the developments in many countries of the Islamic world. It addresses questions such as: Does the separation of powers have roots in the ancient world? And how far did the separation of powers develop in the Islamic empires at the dawn of the twentieth century? The historical observations are followed by a short discussion of the question of which models—historical or contemporary, domestic or foreign—have shaped the constitutional systems of the existing Islamic countries.
Part 4 Constitutionalism and Separation of Powers, 4.2 Strong Presidentialism: The Model of Mubārak’s Egypt
Authors: Nathalie Bernard-Maugiron
Published: April 2015

This chapter discusses the amendments to the Egyptian Constitution which provided the President with broad executive and legislative powers. It describes how the failure of the parliamentary checks and balances mechanisms further increased the presidential or one might even say authoritarian nature of the Egyptian regime. The revolution on January 25, 2011 deposed the president and destroyed the constitution. Egypt now faces the challenge of achieving constitutional reform and constructing the transition process from an authoritarian to a democratic rule.
Part 4 Constitutionalism and Separation of Powers, 4.3 The Separation of Powers in a Fragmented State: The Case of Lebanon
Authors: Cordelia Koch
Published: April 2015

This chapter analyzes the Lebanese Constitution in the light of consociational democracy. It begins with an overview on the political system to highlight the formal consensus requirements based on affiliation with one of the main religious groups in the country. It examines the evolution of confessional power-sharing, which is supplemented by the traditional family-based feudal lord system. It then explores the historical interplay of state-building, civil wars, and existing political frictions which still contribute to what the Lebanese Constitution is about today. Next, the chapter outlines the constitutional development regarding consociational democracy, emphasizing the different consensus-mechanisms now incorporated in the written constitution. This shows how the Lebanese political system diverges from the classical Montesquieu system and creates its own separation of powers through consensus mechanisms.
Part 4 Constitutionalism and Separation of Powers, 4.4 Yemen: A Burgeoning Democracy on the Arab Peninsula?
Authors: Iris Glosemeyer , Najib Abdul-Rehman Shamiri , Anna Würth
Published: April 2015

This chapter examines constitutional developments in Yemen. It covers Yemeni constitutional history before unification, the fate of the 1991 Constitution, and the Constitution of 2001. It argues that despite the relative political continuity (in the sense that there have not been successful military coups or significant elite changes in decades), constitutionalism in the country may be characterized as being two-fold. First, numerous constitutional articles are ambiguous and amenable to adverse interpretations because they leave too much of the constitutional rights to be defined by laws, thereby undermining the effectiveness of the said articles. The same applies to ordinary parliamentary laws, for they refer many important details to executive regulations, by-laws, ministerial resolutions, or Islamic jurisprudence. Second, while there has been a tradition of constitutionalist thinking at least since the 1940s, central elements of constitutionalism are missing. Checks and balances are weak, and the rule of law is far from being reality. Separation of powers is not even constitutionally fully guaranteed, much less applied in practice.
Part 4 Constitutionalism and Separation of Powers, 4.5 Post-Soviet Central Asia: The Limits of Islam
Authors: Shahram Akbarzadeh
Published: April 2015

This chapter examines the limited role of Islam in shaping the public space of post-Soviet Central Asia. It documents Soviet instruments of administrative control on Islam in Central Asia and then examines the behavior of the incumbent regimes which inherited this Soviet legacy. It shows that despite strong expectations of Central Asia's transition from authoritarian rule to democracy following the Soviet collapse, the incumbent elite managed to thwart that process and return to the familiar modes of centralized authoritarian rule. The chapter concludes by exploring the prospects of Islam's political role in Central Asia.
Part 5 Emerging Constitutions in Islamic Countries, 5.1 Constitution-Making in Islamic Countries—A Theoretical Framework
Authors: Ebrahim Afsah
Published: April 2015

This chapter analyzes the challenges of establishing legitimate governance in post-conflict societies. It highlights the fact that the establishment of a stable political community that is not inordinately dependent on repressive violence rests ultimately on the voluntary acceptance by the populace of the given institutional order as legitimate. Increasingly, legitimacy is becoming tied to norms of democratic participation. But the commitment to majoritarian decision-making that lies at the heart of democracy will in and of itself not necessarily yield a stable polity without a modicum of liberalism. This, in turn, depends on a functioning institutional structure and learned behavioral patterns of compromise and legality.
Part 5 Emerging Constitutions in Islamic Countries, 5.8 Constitutional Legitimacy in Iraq: What Role Local Context?
Authors: Zaid Al-Ali
Published: April 2015

This chapter explores how it can be that, despite the attention of international institutions and experts in a particular constitutional process, and despite the application of international norms relating to democratic processes and fundamental rights, a constitutional process can give rise to a text that is incapable of achieving acceptance within the relevant country's borders. It argues that local context is the most important factor that should be considered if a constitution is to have any chance of acquiring some form of internal legitimacy in the future. The chapter begins by defining constitutional legitimacy and by arguing that although the 2006 Constitution has been endorsed by the international community, it was essentially dead on arrival in Iraq. It presents two case studies, to explain how this situation was brought about. The first shows how the drafters' lack of understanding of Iraq's institutional context led to the collapse of its system of parliamentary oversight under the 2006 Constitution, while the second shows how the constitutional drafters (and the internationals who advised and guided the constitutional process) had misjudged the relative popularity of the parties that were allowed to control the drafting process and that dictated the final text's content. Finally, the chapter attempts define the meaning of “local context” and identify its different components, particularly with a view to encouraging greater attention and understanding of local considerations and interests by all parties involved in a constitutional process in the future.
Multi-Year Pathogen Survey of Biofuel Switchgrass Breeding Plots Reveals High Prevalence of Infections by Panicum mosaic virus and Its Satellite Virus
Authors: Stewart Catherine L. , Pyle Jesse D. , Jochum Charlene C. , Vogel Kenneth P. , Yuen Gary Y. , Scholthof Karen-Beth G.
Published: April 2015

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) cultivars are currently under development as lignocellulosic feedstock. Here we present a survey of three established switchgrass experimental nurseries in Nebraska in which we identified Panicum mosaic virus (PMV) as the most prevalent virus. In 2012, 72% of 139 symptomatic plants tested positive for PMV. Of the PMV-positive samples, 19% were coinfected with its satellite virus (SPMV). Less than 14% of all sampled plants in 2012 were positive for four additional viruses known to infect switchgrass. In 2013, randomized sampling of switchgrass individuals from the same 2012 breeding plots revealed that infection by PMV or PMV+SPMV was both more prevalent and associated with more severe symptoms in the cultivar Summer, and experimental lines with Summer parentage, than populations derived from the cultivar Kanlow. A 3-year analysis, from 2012 to 2014, showed that previously uninfected switchgrass plants acquire PMV or PMV+SPMV between harvest cycles. In contrast, some plants apparently did not maintain PMV infections at detectable levels from year-to-year. These findings suggest that PMV and SPMV should be considered important pathogens of switchgrass and serious potential threats to biofuel crop production efficiency.
Thermal-stress analysis and calculation of single and dual chip set double-sided circuit board based on three-dimensional finite element algorithm
Authors: Song Lan , Zhao Yang , Zhou Yaoming , Xiang Haifei
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyze and figure out the temperature field and thermal stress field with the calculation model of thermal insulation material and composite material.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper adopted the three-dimensional finite element algorithm.

Findings

– The simulated results showed great shearing strength between the chipset and the printed circuit board. The position of chip exerts great influence on the distribution of temperature field and thermal stress field of circuit board. The reasonable distribution of chip will effectively reduce the temperature extremum and stress extremum of circuit board.

Originality/value

– The paper analyzes and presents a discussion of the problems relating to the density of electronic packaging. The analysis process and the method of the paper provide essential help in resolving electronic device heat problems.
Investigation of chip formation and burr control in PCB fixture hole
Authors: Huang Lixin
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to analyze their generation mechanism and factors influencing burr generation. The final goal is to use appropriate drill design and drilling process to control the generation of burrs.

Design/methodology/approach

– The mechanism of burr generation was studied through finite element method (FEM) simulation and drilling experiments. High-speed photography technology and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used in this study.

Findings

– High-speed drilling burr is a printed circuit board (PCB) copper foil burr. Within a certain range, the feed speed and burr height is in positive correlation, and decrease in the feeding speed will favor the exit burr. Drill angle influences burr and chisel edge affect significantly, followed by the point angle, and helical angle has little effect. From the perspective of reducing the burr, a smaller chisel edge and smaller point angle should be chosen. Grinding chisel edge is another choice to decrease the burr but also ensures the blade strength.

Originality/value

– This paper investigates the mechanism of burr generation of PCB fixture hole drilling. The process of burr generation was captured by high-speed camera. The controlling methods of burr generation were illustrated at the end.
Six treatments of global ruling power/governance and prospects for the future: an overview*
Authors: Morgan Dennis R.
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The aim of this paper is to test and explore the hypothesis global ruling power, as well as review the six approaches featured in the special edition on global governance/ruling power.

Design/methodology/approach

– Anthropological and historical records are presented as support for the emergence of ruling power in society; moreover, evidence of global ruling governance/power is reviewed in the six papers featured in the special edition.

Findings

– Alternatives for global governance are reviewed in two papers, while four papers present evidence in support of the thesis of the emergence of a transnational ruling power/class.

Research limitations/implications

– Because global ruling power exists informally and surreptitiously, the exact mechanisms of control are difficult to delineate, especially due to the fact that the Powers that Be spend much effort to block research into this area; however, this special edition opens up a promising area for new research efforts into global ruling power and the potential for global democracy.

Practical implications

– Practical implications, although minimal in the short-term, increase as awareness grows, and policy alternatives are considered for the transition to a long-term, democratic global future.

Social implications

– Once social consciousness grows about the non-democratic, authoritarian nature of global ruling power/elite, the more the momentum will grow for reforms in the direction of global democracy – towards a more sustainable and equitable global system, politically, economically and ecologically.

Originality/value

– This paper represents a relatively new area for interdisciplinary research into global futures. Futurists, political scientists and sociologists should find it valuable.
Staying close to home: women’s life-choices and the superintendency
Authors: Sperandio Jill , Devdas Lavanya
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the importance of lifestyle factors including geographical relocation, accommodation for dual earner careers, and availability of family or non-family domestic help on the career choices of women assistant superintendents and superintendents in school districts in the USA. Women’s access to the superintendency continues to make slow progress, a trend traditionally attributed to gender bias. However, working women increasingly make career choices based on perceptions of lifestyle and domestic responsibilities that may self-limit their access to positions that would further their careers.

Design/methodology/approach

– The study is set in Pennsylvania, where women occupy 26 percent of superintendents’ positions. Women superintendents and assistant superintendents in 2011-2012 were surveyed regarding their perceptions of the compatibility of the requirements of the position of superintendent with their lifestyle priorities.

Findings

– The responses of 109 respondents suggest that the importance they attach to lifestyle factors limit the positions to which they apply. Most respondents would not consider family relocation or long commutes to access positions that would further their career goals. Consideration of partners/spouses work and career needs was rated as of high importance in making career decisions, and the respondents managed domestic household themselves with little expectation or recourse to extended family support or paid domestic help.

Originality/value

– The findings suggest that the current demands and characteristics of the superintendency are at odds with lifestyle preferences of women qualified to hold the position, further exacerbating the effects of gender bias that maintain the lack of gender balance in educational decision making at the local level in the USA.
Consumers’ intention to donate to two children’s charity brands: a comparison of Barnardo’s and BBC Children in Need
Authors: Michaelidou Nina , Micevski Milena , Siamagka Nikoletta Theofania
Published: April 2015

Purpose

– This paper aims to examine consumers’ non-profit brand image, brand typicality and past behaviour as determinants of intention to donate to two children charity brands.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data for this study were obtained from two separate studies via a questionnaire, both in the context of two children charities, one for Barnardo’s and the other for BBC Children in Need charity. A theoretical model is developed, tested and compared across the two charity brands.

Findings

– Findings highlight that different factors influence intentions to donate time and money according to the charity brand. Brand typicality is a key determinant of time donations, while the impact of non-profit brand image dimensions on time and money donations differs across the two charities. Past behaviour affects intentions to donate money in both charities but impacts time donations in only one of the two charities investigated.

Research limitations/implications

– The study examines specific dimensions of non-profit brand image across two different charity brands and offers theoretical insights about the value of brand image in a non-for profit context in shaping consumer outcomes (i.e. consumer intentions to donate).

Originality/value

– The study sheds further light into the notion of typicality put forward by Michel and Rieunier (2012) for two children’s charity brands that differ in terms of their strength and income levels and examined past behaviour as a determinant to donate to charity brands.
Contemporary evolution of an invasive plant is associated with climate but not with herbivory
Authors: Colomer‐Ventura Ferran , Martínez‐Vilalta Jordi , Zuccarini Paolo , Escolà Anna , Armengot Laura , Castells Eva
Published: April 2015

Divergence in plant traits and trait plasticity after invasion has been proposed as mechanisms favouring invasion success. Current hypotheses predict a rapid evolution in response to changes in the abiotic conditions in the area of introduction or to differences in the herbivore consumption pressure caused by a decrease in the enemies associated with the area of origin [e.g. evolution of increased competitive ability (EICA) hypothesis]. The importance of these factors in determining plant geographical divergence has not been yet simultaneously evaluated.

Senecio pterophorus (Asteraceae) is a perennial shrub native to eastern South Africa and a recent invader in western South Africa (since ˜100 years ago), Australia (>70–100 years) and Europe (>30 years). These areas differ in their summer drought stress [measured as the ratio of summer precipitation to potential evapotranspiration (P/PET)] and their interactions with herbivores.

We performed a common garden experiment with S. pterophorus sampled throughout its entire known distributional area to determine (i) whether native and non‐native populations diverge in their traits, as well as the plasticity of these traits in response to water availability and (ii) whether climate and herbivory play a role in the genetic differentiation across regions.

Plants from the non‐native regions were smaller and had a lower reproductive output than plants from the indigenous area. No geographical differences in phenotypic plasticity were found in response to water availability. Herbivory was not related to the plant geographical divergence. In contrast, our results are consistent with the role of climate as a driver for postinvasive evolution, as suggested by adaptation of plants to a drought cline in the native range, the analogous change in plant traits in independently invaded regions and the convergence of vegetative traits between non‐native plants and native plants under similar drought conditions.

Native and non‐native populations of S. pterophorus differed in plant traits, but not in trait plasticity, in response to their local climatic conditions. Our results are contrary to the role of herbivory as a selective factor after invasion and highlight the importance of climate driving rapid evolution of exotic plants.
Birth date predicts alternative life‐history pathways in a fish with sequential reproductive tactics
Authors: Fagundes Teresa , Simões Mariana G. , Saraiva João L. , Ros Albert F. H. , Gonçalves David , Oliveira Rui F.
Published: April 2015

In species with plastic expression of alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs), individuals of the same sex, usually males, can adopt different reproductive tactics depending on factors such as body size.

The ‘birth date hypothesis’ proposes that condition‐dependent expression of ARTs may ultimately depend on birth date, because individuals born at different times of the year may achieve different sizes and express different reproductive tactics accordingly. However, this has rarely been tested.

Here, we tested this hypothesis in a fish with ARTs, the peacock blenny (Salaria pavo). A long‐term (6 years) mark–recapture study demonstrated that ARTs in the peacock blenny were sequential and that males may follow at least two alternative life‐history pathways: a nest‐holder pathway, in which males express the nest‐holder tactic from their first breeding season onwards, and a parasitic pathway, where males reproduce on their first breeding season as sneaker males and subsequently as nest‐holders.

We have found evidence of a birth date effect on the expression of ARTs in the peacock blenny. Males following the nest‐holder pathway are born earlier and are larger at the first breeding season than males following the parasitic pathway, but they have similar growth curves.

The mechanisms underlying a birth date effect are far from clear and might be diverse. We have not found support for a mechanism of body size threshold triggering sexual maturation and subsequent ARTs. A mechanism of tactic determination that is strictly based on timing of first maturation is also unlikely.

A proxy of lifetime reproductive success shows crossing (body size associated) fitness curves for the two main life‐history pathways.
Peatland vascular plant functional types affect methane dynamics by altering microbial community structure
Authors: Robroek Bjorn J. M. , Jassey Vincent E. J. , Kox Martine A. R. , Berendsen Roeland L. , Mills Robert T. E. , Cécillon Lauric , Puissant Jérémy , Meima‐Franke Marion , Bakker Peter A. H. M. , Bodelier Paul L. E.
Published: April 2015

Peatlands are natural sources of atmospheric methane (CH4), an important greenhouse gas. It is established that peatland methane dynamics are controlled by both biotic and abiotic conditions, yet the interactive effect of these drivers is less studied and consequently poorly understood.

Climate change affects the distribution of vascular plant functional types (PFTs) in peatlands. By removing specific PFTs, we assessed their effects on peat organic matter chemistry, microbial community composition and on potential methane production (PMP) and oxidation (PMO) in two microhabitats (lawns and hummocks).

Whilst PFT removal only marginally altered the peat organic matter chemistry, we observed considerable changes in microbial community structure. This resulted in altered PMP and PMO. PMP was slightly lower when graminoids were removed, whilst PMO was highest in the absence of both vascular PFTs (graminoids and ericoids), but only in the hummocks.

Path analyses demonstrate that different plant–soil interactions drive PMP and PMO in peatlands and that changes in biotic and abiotic factors can have auto‐amplifying effects on current CH4 dynamics.

Synthesis. Changing environmental conditions will, both directly and indirectly, affect peatland processes, causing unforeseen changes in CH4 dynamics. The resilience of peatland CH4 dynamics to environmental change therefore depends on the interaction between plant community composition and microbial communities.
Authoritarianism, socioethnic diversity and political participation across countries
Authors: Singh Shane P. , Dunn Kris
Published: April 2015

It is argued in this article that threatening stimuli affect political participation levels among non‐authoritarians more than among authoritarians. Focusing on socioethnic diversity, which is known to be particularly threatening to authoritarians and to relate negatively to political participation in the general public, analyses of individual‐ and macro‐level data from 53 countries is presented which supports this thesis. Participation levels among authoritarians are largely static, regardless of a country's level of socioethnic heterogeneity, while non‐authoritarians participate considerably less in countries with relatively high levels of socioethnic heterogeneity. This suggests that authoritarians participate to a proportionately greater degree in the most diverse countries.
Understanding the New Current Population Survey Health Insurance Questions
Authors: Pascale Joanne , Boudreaux Michel , King Ryan
Published: April 2015

Objective

To compare estimates of health coverage from the pre‐ and post‐ redesign of the Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

Data Sources/Study Setting

The CPS 2013 Content Test.

Study Design

A test of the old and new CPS in which the control panel was a subset of the CPS production cases interviewed by phone and the test panel was conducted in parallel (also by phone) with a sample that had already completed the final rotation of the CPS. Outcome variables tested include uninsured and coverage type by subgroup and calendar year versus point‐in‐time estimates.

Data Collection/Extraction Methods

Census Bureau telephone interviewers.

Principal Findings

The odds of having coverage in the past calendar year were higher under the new than the old CPS. Within the new CPS, calendar year estimates of coverage were higher than and distinct from point‐in‐time estimates. There were few statistically significant differences in coverage across demographic subgroups.

Conclusions

The new method reduced presumed underreporting of past year coverage, and the integrated point‐in‐time/calendar‐year series effectively generated distinct measures of each within the same questionnaire.
The role of accounting in supporting adaptation to climate change
Authors: Linnenluecke Martina K. , Birt Jacqueline , Griffiths Andrew
Published: April 2015

The study is one of the first concerned with the topic of accounting and climate change adaptation. It proposes that the accounting role can support organisational climate change adaptation by performing the following functions: (i) a risk assessment function (assessing vulnerability and adaptive capacity), (ii) a valuation function (valuing adaptation costs and benefits) and (iii) a disclosure function (disclosure of risk associated with climate change impacts). This study synthesises and expands on existing research and practice in environmental accounting and sets the scene for future research and practice in the emerging area of accounting for climate risk.
Testing the effect of portfolio holdings disclosure in an environment absent of mandatory disclosure
Authors: Chen Zhe , Gallagher David R. , Lee Adrian D.
Published: April 2015

This study examines a number of portfolio disclosure regimes with respect to accuracy and susceptibility to copycat behaviour in an environment absent of mandatory disclosure. We find that periodic portfolio disclosure tends to underestimate true excess performance as well as idiosyncratic risk in top‐quartile fund managers, with longer inter‐reporting intervals tending to result in greater differences. ‘Copycat funds’ following the disclosed holdings of top‐tier managers significantly underperform the underlying fund, while copycats following bottom‐tier managers significantly outperform the underlying fund. Our findings suggest that periodic reporting at monthly intervals or longer would not affect fund alpha generation.
Effectiveness of a selective intervention program targeting personality risk factors for alcohol misuse among young adolescents: results of a cluster randomized controlled trial
Authors: Lammers Jeroen , Goossens Ferry , Conrod Patricia , Engels Rutger , Wiers Reinout W. , Kleinjan Marloes
Published: April 2015

Aim

The effectiveness of Preventure was tested on drinking behaviour of young adolescents in secondary education in the Netherlands.

Design

A cluster randomized controlled trial was carried out, with participants assigned randomly to a two‐session coping skills intervention or a control no‐intervention condition.

Setting

Fifteen secondary schools throughout the Netherlands; seven schools in the intervention and eight schools in the control condition.

Participants

A total of 699 adolescents aged 13–15 years participated, 343 allocated to the intervention and 356 to the control condition, with drinking experience and elevated scores in either negative thinking, anxiety sensitivity, impulsivity or sensation‐seeking.

Intervention and comparator

Preventure is a selective school‐based alcohol prevention programme targeting personality risk factors. The comparator was a no‐intervention control.

Measurements

The effects of the intervention on the primary outcome past‐month binge drinking, and the secondary outcomes binge drinking frequency, alcohol use, alcohol frequency and problem drinking, were examined. The primary analyses of interest were intervention main effects at 12 months post‐intervention. In addition, intervention effects on the linear development of binge drinking using a latent‐growth curve approach were examined.

Findings

Binge drinking rates were not significantly different between the intervention (42.9%) and control group (49.2%) at 12 months follow‐up [odds ratio (OR) = 1.05, confidence interval (CI) = 0.99, 1.11]. Intention‐to‐treat analyses revealed no significant intervention effects on alcohol use (53.9 versus 61.5%; OR = 0.99, CI = 0.86, 1.14) and problem drinking (37.0 versus 44.7%; OR = 1.03, CI = 0.92, 1.10) at 12 months follow‐up. The post‐hoc latent‐growth analyses revealed significant effects on the development of binge drinking (β = –0.16, P = 0.05), and binge drinking frequency (β = –0.14, P = 0.05).

Conclusion

The alcohol prevention programme, Preventure, appears to have little or no effect on overall prevalence of binge drinking in adolescents in the Netherlands but may reduce the development of binge drinking over time.
Curriculum development for a national cardiotocography education program: a Delphi survey to obtain consensus on learning objectives
Authors: Thellesen Line , Hedegaard Morten , Bergholt Thomas , Colov Nina P. , Hoegh Stinne , Sorensen Jette L.
Published: April 2015

Objective

To define learning objectives for a national cardiotocography (CTG) education program based on expert consensus.

Design

A three‐round Delphi survey.

Population and setting

One midwife and one obstetrician from each maternity unit in Denmark were appointed based on CTG teaching experience and clinical obstetric experience.

Methods

Following national and international guidelines, the research group determined six topics as important when using CTG: fetal physiology, equipment, indication, interpretation, clinical management, and communication/responsibility. In the first Delphi round, participants listed one to five learning objectives within the predefined topics. Responses were analyzed by a directed approach to content analysis. Phrasing was modified in accordance with Bloom's taxonomy. In the second and third Delphi rounds, participants rated each objective on a five‐point relevance scale. Consensus was predefined as objectives with a mean rating value of ≥3.

Main outcome measures

A prioritized list of CTG learning objectives.

Results

A total of 42 midwives and obstetricians from 21 maternity units were invited to participate, of whom 26 completed all three Delphi rounds, representing 18 maternity units. The final prioritized list included 40 objectives. The highest ranked objectives emphasized CTG interpretation and clinical management. The lowest ranked objectives emphasized fetal physiology. Mean ratings of relevance ranged from 3.15 to 5.00.

Conclusions

National consensus on CTG learning objectives was achieved using the Delphi methodology. This was an initial step in developing a valid CTG education program. A prioritized list of objectives will clarify which topics to emphasize in a CTG education program.
Prognostic Significance of 1‐Year Serum Albumin Levels Within the Normal Range After Kidney Transplantation
Authors: Oh Il Hwan , Park Joon‐Sung , Lee Chang Hwa , Kang Chong Myung , Kim Gheun‐Ho
Published: April 2015

Hypoalbuminemia is associated with poor outcomes in kidney transplantation (KT). However, what level is optimal in serum albumin is not clear for the long‐term prognosis. To determine whether the long‐term outcomes are different even between the normal ranges of serum albumin after KT, we analyzed data from 404 renal allograft recipients whose 1‐year post‐transplant serum albumin levels were within the normal limits (3.5–5.5 g/dL). During a follow‐up of 122 ± 56 months, 97 graft losses, 20 patient deaths, and 50 cardiovascular (CV) events occurred. Based on 1‐year serum albumin levels, the patients were divided into high normal (≥4.6 g/dL, n = 209) and low normal (<4.6 g/dL, n = 195) groups. Kaplan–Meier analyses revealed that the low normal group had poorer allograft survival (P = 0.01), patient survival (P < 0.001), and CV event‐free survival (P < 0.001) than the high normal group. Cox regression analysis confirmed that 1‐year serum albumin was inversely associated with the risk of graft loss (hazard ratio [HR] 0.414, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.200–0.856), patient death (HR 0.097, 95% CI 0.019–0.484), and CV events (HR 0.228, 95% CI 0.074–0.702). In conclusion, a relatively low 1‐year post‐transplant serum albumin level within the normal limits (<4.6 g/dL) significantly predicts poor long‐term outcomes.
Simulated Prosthetic Vision: The Benefits of Computer‐Based Object Recognition and Localization
Authors: Macé Marc J.‐M. , Guivarch Valérian , Denis Grégoire , Jouffrais Christophe
Published: April 2015

Clinical trials with blind patients implanted with a visual neuroprosthesis showed that even the simplest tasks were difficult to perform with the limited vision restored with current implants. Simulated prosthetic vision (SPV) is a powerful tool to investigate the putative functions of the upcoming generations of visual neuroprostheses. Recent studies based on SPV showed that several generations of implants will be required before usable vision is restored. However, none of these studies relied on advanced image processing. High‐level image processing could significantly reduce the amount of information required to perform visual tasks and help restore visuomotor behaviors, even with current low‐resolution implants. In this study, we simulated a prosthetic vision device based on object localization in the scene. We evaluated the usability of this device for object recognition, localization, and reaching. We showed that a very low number of electrodes (e.g., nine) are sufficient to restore visually guided reaching movements with fair timing (10 s) and high accuracy. In addition, performance, both in terms of accuracy and speed, was comparable with 9 and 100 electrodes. Extraction of high level information (object recognition and localization) from video images could drastically enhance the usability of current visual neuroprosthesis. We suggest that this method—that is, localization of targets of interest in the scene—may restore various visuomotor behaviors. This method could prove functional on current low‐resolution implants. The main limitation resides in the reliability of the vision algorithms, which are improving rapidly.