bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
CREDIBLE COMMITMENTS AND MARRIAGE: WHEN THE HOMEMAKER GETS HER SHARE AT DIVORCE
Authors: Wong Ho-Po Crystal
Published: September 2016

A variety of states in the United States have adopted the “homemaking provision” in their divorce laws since the 1980s. The provision requires judges to recognize homemakers’ contribution to their marriages in dividing marital properties at divorce. I model the marital decisions of couples as a sequential game, in which the potential wife’s decision in whether to marry and specialize in home production depends on whether she is legally protected by the homemaking provision, as the law would reinforce her post-divorce property rights and therefore increase her bargaining power within the marriage. I use the variation in the timing of the passage of the homemaking provision to identify its effect on marriage. I find that the provision substantially increases marriages using both state- and individual-level data.
Assessment of the Overall and Multidrug-Resistant Organism Bioburden on Environmental Surfaces in Healthcare Facilities
Authors: Shams Alicia M. , Rose Laura J. , Edwards Jonathan R. , Cali Salvatore , Harris Anthony D. , Jacob Jesse T. , LaFae Anna , Pineles Lisa L. , Thom Kerri A. , McDonald L. Clifford , Arduino Matthew J. , Noble-Wang Judith A.
Published: September 2016

OBJECTIVE

To determine the typical microbial bioburden (overall bacterial and multidrug-resistant organisms [MDROs]) on high-touch healthcare environmental surfaces after routine or terminal cleaning.

DESIGN

Prospective 2.5-year microbiological survey of large surface areas (>1,000 cm2).

SETTING

MDRO contact-precaution rooms from 9 acute-care hospitals and 2 long-term care facilities in 4 states.

PARTICIPANTS

Samples from 166 rooms (113 routine cleaned and 53 terminal cleaned rooms).

METHODS

Using a standard sponge-wipe sampling protocol, 2 composite samples were collected from each room; a third sample was collected from eachClostridium difficileroom. Composite 1 included the TV remote, telephone, call button, and bed rails. Composite 2 included the room door handle, IV pole, and overbed table. Composite 3 included toileting surfaces. Total bacteria and MDROs (ie, methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant enterococci [VRE],Acinetobacter baumannii,Klebsiella pneumoniae, andC. difficile) were quantified, confirmed, and tested for drug resistance.

RESULTS

The mean microbial bioburden and range from routine cleaned room composites were higher (2,700 colony-forming units [CFU]/100 cm2; ≤1–130,000 CFU/100 cm2) than from terminal cleaned room composites (353 CFU/100 cm2; ≤1–4,300 CFU/100 cm2). MDROs were recovered from 34% of routine cleaned room composites (range ≤1–13,000 CFU/100 cm2) and 17% of terminal cleaned room composites (≤1–524 CFU/100 cm2). MDROs were recovered from 40% of rooms; VRE was the most common (19%).

CONCLUSIONS

This multicenter bioburden summary provides a first step to determining microbial bioburden on healthcare surfaces, which may help provide a basis for developing standards to evaluate cleaning and disinfection as well as a framework for studies using an evidentiary hierarchy for environmental infection control.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol2016;1426–1432
Direct numerical simulation of turbulent heat transfer across a sheared wind-driven gas–liquid interface
Authors: Kurose Ryoichi , Takagaki Naohisa , Kimura Atsushi , Komori Satoru
Published: September 2016

Turbulent heat transfer across a sheared wind-driven gas–liquid interface is investigated by means of a direct numerical simulation of gas–liquid two-phase turbulent flows under non-breaking wave conditions. The wind-driven wavy gas–liquid interface is captured using the arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian method with boundary-fitted coordinates on moving grids, and the temperature fields on both the gas and liquid sides, and the humidity field on the gas side are solved. The results show that although the distributions of the total, latent, sensible and radiative heat fluxes at the gas–liquid interface exhibit streak features such that low-heat-flux regions correspond to both low-streamwise-velocity regions on the gas side and high-streamwise-velocity regions on the liquid side, the similarity between the heat-flux streak and velocity streak on the gas side is more significant than that on the liquid side. This means that, under the condition of a fully developed wind-driven turbulent field on both the gas and liquid sides, the heat transfer across the sheared wind-driven gas–liquid interface is strongly affected by the turbulent eddies on the gas side, rather than by the turbulent eddies and Langmuir circulations on the liquid side. This trend is quite different from that of the mass transfer (i.e. $\text{CO}_{2}$ gas). This is because the resistance to heat transfer is normally lower than the resistance to mass transfer on the liquid side, and therefore the heat transfer is controlled by the turbulent eddies on the gas side. It is also verified that the predicted total heat, latent heat, sensible heat and enthalpy transfer coefficients agree well with previously measured values in both laboratory and field experiments. To estimate the heat transfer coefficients on both the gas and liquid sides, the surface divergence could be a useful parameter, even when Langmuir circulations exist.
Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Reactions Effects in Flow with Joule Heating and Viscous Dissipation
Authors: Hayat T. , Hussain Z. , Farooq M. , Alsaedi A.
Published: September 2016

This work examines the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow of second grade fluid due to a stretching cylinder with viscous dissipation. Advance heat transfer technique namely the Newtonian heating is employed to explore the characteristics of heat transfer phenomenon in the presence of Joule heating. Mass transfer is discussed with the combination of both homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions. Diffusion coefficients of species A and B are considered of the same size. Heat production due to chemical reaction is assumed negligible. Appropriate transformations are employed to convert the nonlinear partial differential equations to the nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Convergent solutions of momentum, energy and concentration equations are developed. Characteristics of different involved parameters on the velocity and temperature fields are shown graphically. Numerical values of skin friction coefficient and Nusselt number are computed and analyzed. Higher values of homogeneous reaction parameter results in the reduction of concentration profile while opposite behavior is observed for heterogeneous reaction parameter.
Control of Flow Field, Mass Transfer and Mixing Enhancement in T-Shaped Microchannels
Authors: Bazargan-Lari Y. , Movahed S. , Mashhoodi M.
Published: September 2016

A T-shaped microfluidic micro-mixer was designed to mix desired concentrations of two fluid streams and to prepare their homogenous mixture solution. A hydrostatic pressure gradient was induced in one of the branches of the system (mixing channel) by applying external electric field and generating electroosmotic flow in the two other branches of the system. The flow field and transferred mass into the mixing channel can be regulated by controlling the applied voltage of the system. In order to prepare more homogenous mixture solution, some obstacles were added to the mixing channel to induce perturbation in the flow field and enhance the mixing efficiency of the system. Numerical simulations were performed to show the correctness of the proposed mixing strategy and to investigate the influences of the applied voltage on the mixing efficiency and induced pressure flow in the mixing channel. A proposed design can be used as a guideline to control and enhance mixing efficiency, and consequently functionality, of different microfluidic devices.
Dynamic Analysis of Composite Laminated Circular Plate with Circular Delamination
Authors: Chen D.-L.
Published: September 2016

In this paper, the effect of delamination on free vibration and primary resonance behaviors of composite circular plate with circular delamination is investigated. Through Reissner Variational Principle, the nonlinear dynamic equilibrium equations, the generalized displacements continuity conditions and the generalized forces equilibrium conditions across delamination front and consistent boundary conditions of delaminated circular plate are obtained. In the work, by introducing Bessel Function and Modified Bessel Function and using Galerkin discretization method, the nonlinear dynamic partial differential equations of delaminated circular plate are transferred into a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations. Then by using semi-analytic method and multiple scales method, the effects of delamination radius and delamination depth in the thickness-wise on the natural frequency and primary resonance behaviors of delaminated circular plate are presented. The Results show that delamination has considerable effects on the natural frequency and its primary resonance behaviors of delaminated plate.
Chaos Control of Atomic Force Microscope System Using Nonlinear Model Predictive Control
Authors: Keighobadi J. , Faraji J. , Rafatnia S.
Published: September 2016

Owing to robust and optimal specification, model predictive control method has received wide attentions over recent years. Since in certain operational conditions, an Atomic/scanning Force Microscope (AFM) shows chaos behavior, the chaos feedback control of the AFM system is considered. According to the nonlinear model of forces interacting between the tip of micro cantilever and the substrate of AFM; the nonlinear control methods are proposed. In the paper, the chaos control of a micro cantilever AFM based on the nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) technique is presented. Through software simulation results, the effectiveness of the designed NMPC of the AFM is assessed. The simulation results together with analytical stability proofs indicate that the proposed method is effective in keeping the system in a stable range.
Structural Stress Analysis and Reliability Evaluation for a New Speed Reducer
Authors: Tsai Y.-T. , Lin K.-H.
Published: September 2016

Reducers are extensively used in many machines for reducing the speeds of mechanism. This paper proposed a new design of speed reducers to meet the performance requirements in high rigidness and large speed-reduction ratios. The movements of the reducer are designed based on the principles of differential displacements of the deceleration gear rings. The geometric models of the related components were designed using CAD software. The motions of mechanism were simulated for identifying the feasibility of designing including acquiring the kinematic properties. The mathematical models of structural stresses analysis were proposed so that the bending and contact stresses of the gear rings could be evaluated, accordingly. Finite element methods (FEM) were also used to analyze the structural stresses of the reducer. The studied results showed that the bending fracture of the gear rings would prior to its contacting fracture. The allowable loading of the reducer was then established according to the analyzed results of the maximum stresses on various transmitted torques. The methods of reliability evaluation were reported for considering the strength variation and calculating the reliabilities of the reducer at various loadings. The studied results are useful in structural design, stress analysis and reliability evaluation for developing high speed-reduction mechanisms.
Relationship between symptom dimensions and white matter alterations in obsessive-compulsive disorder
Authors: Yagi Michiyo , Hirano Yoshiyuki , Nakazato Michiko , Nemoto Kiyotaka , Ishikawa Kazuhiro , Sutoh Chihiro , Miyata Haruko , Matsumoto Junko , Matsumoto Koji , Masuda Yoshitada , Obata Takayuki , Iyo Masaomi , Shimizu Eiji , Nakagawa Akiko
Published: September 2016

Objective

To investigate the relationship between the severities of symptom dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and white matter alterations.

Methods

We applied tract-based spatial statistics for diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) acquired by 3T magnetic resonance imaging. First, we compared fractional anisotropy (FA) between 20 OCD patients and 30 healthy controls (HC). Then, applying whole brain analysis, we searched the brain regions showing correlations between the severities of symptom dimensions assessed by Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory-Revised and FA in all participants. Finally, we calculated the correlations between the six symptom dimensions and multiple DTI measures [FA, axial diffusivity (AD), radial diffusivity (RD), mean diffusivity (MD)] in a region-of-interest (ROI) analysis and explored the differences between OCD patients and HC.

Results

There were no between-group differences in FA or brain region correlations between the severities of symptom dimensions and FA in any of the participants. ROI analysis revealed negative correlations between checking severity and left inferior frontal gyrus white matter and left middle temporal gyrus white matter and a positive correlation between ordering severity and right precuneus in FA in OCD compared with HC. We also found negative correlations between ordering severity and right precuneus in RD, between obsessing severities and right supramarginal gyrus in AD and MD, and between hoarding severity and right insular gyrus in AD.

Conclusion

Our study supported the hypothesis that the severities of respective symptom dimensions are associated with different patterns of white matter alterations.
n-3 Fatty acids preserve muscle mass and insulin sensitivity in a rat model of energy restriction
Authors: Galmiche Guillaume , Huneau Jean-François , Mathé Véronique , Mourot Jacques , Simon Noémie , Le Guillou Céline , Hermier Dominique
Published: September 2016

In obese subjects, the loss of fat mass during energy restriction is often accompanied by a loss of muscle mass. The hypothesis thatn-3 PUFA, which modulate protein homoeostasis via effects on insulin sensitivity, could contribute to maintain muscle mass during energy restriction was tested in rats fed a high-fat diet (4 weeks) rich in 18 : 1n-9 (oleic acid, OLE-R), 18 : 3n-3 (α-linolenic acid, ALA-R) orn-3 long-chain (LC-R) fatty acid and then energy restricted (8 weeks). A control group (OLE-ad libitum(AL)) was maintained with AL diet throughout the study. Rats were killed 10 min after an i.v. insulin injection. All energy-restricted rats lost weight and fat mass, but only the OLE-R group showed a significant muscle loss. TheGastrocnemiusmuscle was enriched with ALA in the ALA-R group and with LC-PUFA in the ALA-R and LC-R groups. The proteolytic ubiquitin–proteasome system was differentially affected by energy restriction, with MAFbx and muscle ring finger-1 mRNA levels being decreased in the LC-R group (−30 and −20 %, respectively). RAC-αserine/threonine-protein kinase and insulin receptor substrate 1 phosphorylation levels increased in the LC-R group (+70 %), together with insulin receptor mRNA (+50 %). The ALA-R group showed the same overall activation pattern as the LC-R group, although to a lesser extent. In conclusion, dietaryn-3 PUFA prevent the loss of muscle mass associated with energy restriction, probably by an improvement in the insulin-signalling pathway activation, in relation to enrichment of plasma membranes inn-3 LC-PUFA.
Inverse association linking serum levels of potential antioxidant vitamins with C-reactive protein levels using a novel analytical approach
Authors: Cheng Hui G. , Alshaarawy Omayma , Cantave Marven D. , Anthony James C.
Published: September 2016

Exposures to antioxidants (AO) are associated with levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), but the pattern of evidence is mixed, due in part to studying each potential AO, one at a time, when multiple AO exposures might affect CRP levels. By studying multiple AO via a composite indicator approach, we estimate the degree to which serum CRP level is associated with serum AO level. Standardised field survey protocols for the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2006 yielded nationally representative cross-sectional samples of adults aged 20 years and older (n8841). NHANES latex-enhanced nephelometry quantified serum CRP levels. Liquid chromatography quantified serum concentrations of vitamins A, E and C and carotenoids. Using structural equations, we regressed CRP level on AO levels, and derived a summary estimate for a composite of these potential antioxidants (CPA), with covariates held constant. The association linking CPA with CRP was inverse, stronger for slightly elevated CRP (1·8≤CRP<10 mg/l; slope= −1·08; 95 % CI −1·39, −0·77) and weaker for highly elevated CRP (≥10 mg/l; slope= −0·52; 95 % CI −0·68, −0·35), with little change when covariates were added. Vitamins A and C, as well as lutein+zeaxanthin, were prominent contributors to the composite. In these cross-sectional data studied via a composite indicator approach, the CPA level and the CRP level were inversely related. The stage is set for more confirmatory longitudinal or intervention research on multiple vitamins. The composite indicator approach might be most useful in epidemiology when several exposure constructs are too weakly inter-correlated to be studied via formal measurement models for underlying latent dimensions.
TWO INTERPRETATIONS OF “LIVING TOGETHER” IN EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS LAW
Authors: Trispiotis Ilias
Published: September 2016

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Council of Europe have recently recognised “living together” as a legitimate dimension of the rights of others that could justify limitations on various European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) rights, including the rights to freedom of religion and respect for private life. This article argues that the important, yet still unexplored in human rights law, idea of “living together” stems from the republican ideal of fraternity and supplements the distinctive links between democratic principles and rigorous human rights protection. Even so, its justifiability as a limitation ground depends on which conception of the idea is compatible with core values and functions served by human rights under the Convention. This article distinguishes between two main interpretations of “living together”, grounded on responsibility and conformity. It is argued that, in cases touching on our expressive conduct in public, including cases on the wearing of full-face veils, a conformity conception of “living together” sits uneasily both with firmly established case law of the ECtHR and with certain key functions of rights, such as the exclusion of moralistic majoritarian preferences as grounds for coercive prohibitions.
Avicenna on the Nature of Mathematical Objects
Authors: ZAREPOUR MOHAMMAD SALEH
Published: September 2016

Some authors have proposed that Avicenna considers mathematical objects, i.e., geometric shapes and numbers, to be mental existents completely separated from matter. In this paper, I will show that this description, though not completely wrong, is misleading. Avicenna endorses, I will argue, some sort of literalism, potentialism, and finitism.
OXFORD HOUSE HEADS AND THEIR PERFORMANCE OF RELIGIOUS FAITH IN EAST LONDON, 1884–1900
Authors: MATTHEWS-JONES LUCINDA
Published: September 2016

This article considers how lecturing in Victoria Park in the East End of London allowed three early heads of the university settlement Oxford House to engage local communities in a discussion about the place of religion in the modern world. It demonstrates how park lecturing enabled James Adderley, Hebert Hensley Henson, and Arthur Winnington-Ingram, all of whom also held positions in the Church of England, to perform and test out their religious identities. Open-air lecturing was a performance of religious faith for these settlement leaders. It allowed them to move beyond the institutional spaces of the church and the settlement house in order to mediate their faith in the context of open discussion and debate about religion and modern life. The narratives they constructed in and about their park sermons reveal a good deal about how these early settlement leaders imagined themselves as well as their relationship with the working-class men they hoped to reach through settlement work. A vivid picture of Victorian religious and philanthropic life emerges in their accounts of lecturing in Victoria Park.
The genome ofStrongyloidesspp. gives insights into protein families with a putative role in nematode parasitism
Authors: HUNT VICKY L. , TSAI ISHENG J. , SELKIRK MURRAY E. , VINEY MARK
Published: September 2016

Parasitic nematodes are important and abundant parasites adapted to live a parasitic lifestyle, with these adaptations all aimed at facilitating their survival and reproduction in their hosts. The recently sequenced genomes of fourStrongyloidesspecies, gastrointestinal parasites of humans and other animals, alongside transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of free-living and parasitic stages of their life cycles have revealed a number of protein families with a putative role in their parasitism. Many of these protein families have also been associated with parasitism in other parasitic nematode species, suggesting that these proteins may play a fundamental role in nematode parasitism more generally. Here, we review key protein families that have a putative role inStrongyloides’ parasitism – acetylcholinesterases, astacins, aspartic proteases, prolyl oligopeptidases, proteinase inhibitors (trypsin inhibitors and cystatins), SCP/TAPS and transthyretin-like proteins – and the evidence for their key, yet diverse, roles in the parasitic lifestyle.
Puzzling and ambivalent roles of malarial infections in cancer development and progression
Authors: FAURE ERIC
Published: September 2016

Scientific evidence strongly suggests that parasites are directly or indirectly associated with carcinogenesis in humans. However, studies have also indicated that parasites or their products might confer resistance to tumour growth.Plasmodiumprotozoa, the causative agents of malaria, exemplify the ambivalent link between parasites and cancer. Positive relationships between malaria and virus-associated cancers are relatively well-documented; for example, malaria can reactivate the Epstein-Barr Virus, which is the known cause of endemic Burkitt lymphoma. Nevertheless, possible anti-tumour properties of malaria have also been reported and, interestingly, this disease has long been thought to be beneficial to patients suffering from cancers. Current knowledge of the potential pro- and anti-cancer roles of malaria suggests that, contrary to other eukaryotic parasites affecting humans,Plasmodium-related cancers are principally lymphoproliferative disorders and attributable to virus reactivation, whereas, similar to other eukaryotic parasites, the anti-tumour effects of malaria are primarily associated with carcinomas and certain sarcomas. Moreover, malarial infection significantly suppresses murine cancer growth by inducing both innate and specific adaptive anti-tumour responses. This review aims to present an update regarding the ambivalent association between malaria and cancer, and further studies may open future pathways to develop novel strategies for anti-cancer therapies.
The DSM revision process: needing to keep an eye on the empirical ball
Authors: First M. B.
Published: September 2016

From DSM-III onward, successive DSM editions have strived to ground the diagnostic definitions in empirical evidence. DSM-IV established a three-stage process of empirical review, consisting of comprehensive and systematic literature reviews, secondary analyses of datasets, and field trials to provide reliability and validity data for the most substantial or controversial proposals. DSM-IV Work Group members were required to review the empirical literature to document explicitly the evidence supporting the text and criteria published in DSM-IV. As noted by Kendler and Solomon (2016), in contrast to the emphasis on systematic reviews in medicine which is a manifestation of the evidence-based medicine movement, such systematic evidence-based reviews have not been consistently integrated into the development of DSM-5, raising questions about empirical rigor underlying the DSM-5 revision. It is likely that this regression in terms of anchoring the revision process in a comprehensive review of empirical data stemmed from the emphasis during the DSM-5 revision process on trying to move DSM-5 from its categorical descriptive approach towards a more etiological dimensional approach. Although such a shift ultimately did not occur, the effort spent on trying to achieve a paradigm shift likely came at the expense of the hard work of conducting systematic empirical reviews. For the DSM to continue to remain credible in the current era of evidence-based medicine, it is essential that the developers of future editions of the DSM avoid taking their eye off the empirical ball and insure that the manual remains grounded in solid empirical evidence.
Bastards, brothers, and unjust warriors: Enmity and ethics in Just War Cinema
Authors: Finlay Christopher J.
Published: September 2016

How do members of the general public come to regard some uses of violence as legitimate and others as illegitimate? And how do they learn to use widely recognised normative principles in doing so such as those encapsulated in the laws of war and debated by just war theorists? This article argues that popular cinema is likely to be a major source of influence especially through a subgenre that I call ‘Just War Cinema’. Since the 1950s, many films have addressed the moral drama at the centre of contemporary Just War Theory through the figure of the enemy in the Second World War, offering often explicit and sophisticated treatments of the relationship between thejus ad bellumand thejus in bellothat anticipate or echo the arguments of philosophers. But whereas Cold War-era films may have supported Just War Theory’s ambitions to shape public understanding, a strongly revisionary tendency in Just War Cinema since the late 1990s is just as likely to thwart them. The potential of Just War Cinema to vitiate efforts to shape wider attitudes is a matter that both moral philosophers and those concerned with disseminating the law of war ought to pay close attention to.
KERNEL ESTIMATION WHEN DENSITY MAY NOT EXIST: A CORRIGENDUM
Authors: Zinde-Walsh Victoria
Published: September 2016

The paper “Kernel estimation when density may not exist” (Zinde-Walsh, 2008) considered density as a generalized function given by a functional on a space of smooth functions; this made it possible to establish the limit properties of the kernel estimator without assuming the existence of the density function. This note corrects an error in that paper in the derivation of the variance of the kernel estimator. The corrected result is that in the space of generalized functions the parametric rate of convergence of the kernel density estimator to the limit Gaussian process is achievable.
ANALYTICAL VALUATION OF VULNERABLE OPTIONS IN A DISCRETE-TIME FRAMEWORK
Authors: Wang Xingchun
Published: September 2016

In this paper, we present a pricing model for vulnerable options in discrete time. A Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity process is used to describe the variance of the underlying asset, which is correlated with the returns of the asset. As for counterparty default risk, we study it in a reduced form model and the proposed model allows for the correlation between the intensity of default and the variance of the underlying asset. In this framework, we derive a closed-form solution for vulnerable options and investigate quantitative impacts of counterparty default risk on option prices.
Occurrence of co-infection with dengue viruses during 2014 in New Delhi, India
Authors: TAZEEN A. , AFREEN N. , ABDULLAH M. , DEEBA F. , HAIDER S. H. , KAZIM S. N. , ALI S. , NAQVI I. H. , BROOR S. , AHMED A. , PARVEEN S.
Published: September 2016

Dengue fever is an arthropod-borne viral infection that has become endemic in several parts of India including Delhi. We studied occurrence of co-infection with dengue viruses during an outbreak in New Delhi, India in 2014. For the present study, blood samples collected from symptomatic patients were analysed by RT–PCR. Eighty percent of the samples were positive for dengue virus. The result showed that DENV-1 (77%) was the predominant serotype followed by DENV-2 (60%). Concurrent infection with more than one serotype was identified in 43% of the positive samples. Phylogenetic analysis clustered DENV-1 strains with the American African and DENV-2 strains in Cosmopolitan genotypes. Four common amino-acid mutations were identified in the envelope gene of DENV-1 sequences (F337I, A369T, V380I and L402F) and one common mutation (N390S) in the DENV-2 sequences. Further analysis revealed purifying selection in both the serotypes. A significant number of patients were co-infected with DENV-1 and DENV-2 serotypes. Although we do not have direct evidence to demonstrate co-evolution of these two stereotypes, nonetheless their simultaneous occurrence does indicate that they are favoured by evolutionary forces. An ongoing surveillance and careful analysis of future outbreaks will strengthen the concept of co-evolution or otherwise. Whether the concurrent dengue viral infection is correlated with disease severity in a given population is another aspect to be pursued. This study is envisaged to be useful for future reference in the context of overall epidemiology.
Predictors of Post-concussive Symptoms in Young Children: InjuryversusNon-injury Related Factors
Authors: Bernard Coco O. , Ponsford Jennie A. , McKinlay Audrey , McKenzie Dean , Krieser David
Published: September 2016

Objectives:A notable minority of children will experience persistent post-concussive symptoms (PCS) following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), likely maintained by a combination of injury and non-injury related factors. Adopting a prospective longitudinal design, this study aimed to investigate the relative influence of child, family, and injury factors on both acute and persistent PCS in young children.Methods:Participants were 101 children aged 2–12 who presented to an Emergency Department, with either mTBI or minor bodily trauma (control). PCS were assessed at time of injury, 1 week, and 1, 2, and 3 months post-injury. Predictors included injury and demographic variables, premorbid child behavior, sleep hygiene, and parental stress. Random effects ordinal logistic regression models were used to analyze the relative influence of these predictors on PCS at early (acute – 1 week) and late (1–3 month) post-injury phases.Results:Presence of mTBI was a stronger predictor of PCS in the early [odds ratio (OR)=18.2] compared with late (OR=7.3) post-injury phase. Older age at injury and pre-existing learning difficulties were significant predictors of PCS beyond 1 month post-injury. Family factors, including higher levels of parental stress, higher socio-economic status, and being of Anglo-Saxon descent, consistently predicted greater PCS.Conclusions:Injury characteristics were significantly associated with PCS for 3 months following mTBI but the association weakened over time. On the other hand, pre-existing child and family factors displayed an increasingly strong association with PCS over time. Follow-up for these “at-risk” children which also addresses family stress may minimize longer-term complications. (JINS, 2016,22, 793–803)
Perception of American English vowels by sequential Spanish–English bilinguals
Authors: GARCÍA PAULA B. , FROUD KAREN
Published: September 2016

Research on American-English (AE) vowel perception by Spanish–English bilinguals has focused on the vowels /i/-/ɪ/ (e.g., in sheep/ship). Other AE vowel contrasts may present perceptual challenges for this population, especially those requiring both spectral and durational discrimination. We used Event-Related Potentials (ERPs), MMN (Mismatch Negativity) and P300, to index discrimination of AE vowels /ɑ/-/ʌ/ by sequential adult Spanish–English bilingual listeners compared to AE monolinguals. Listening tasks were non-attended and attended, and vowels were presented with natural and neutralized durations. Regardless of vowel duration, bilingual listeners showed no MMN to unattended sounds, and P300 responses were elicited to /ɑ/ but not /ʌ/ in the attended condition. Monolingual listeners showed pre-attentive discrimination (MMN) for /ɑ/ only; while both vowels elicited P300 responses when attended. Findings suggest that Spanish–English bilinguals recruit attentional and cognitive resources enabling native-like use of both spectral and durational cues to discriminate between AE vowels /ɑ/ and /ʌ/.
Level of implementation of best practice policies for creating healthy food environments: assessment by state and non-state actors in Thailand
Authors: Phulkerd Sirinya , Vandevijvere Stefanie , Lawrence Mark , Tangcharoensathien Viroj , Sacks Gary
Published: September 2016

Objective

To determine and compare the level of implementation of policies for healthy food environments in Thailand with reference to international best practice by state and non-state actors.

Design

Data on the current level of implementation of food environment policies were assessed independently using the adapted Healthy Food Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) by two groups of actors. Concrete actions were proposed for Thai Government. A joint meeting between both groups was subsequently held to reach consensus on priority actions.

Setting

Thailand.

Subjects

Thirty state actors and twenty-seven non-state actors.

Results

Level of policy implementation varied across different domains and actor groups. State actors rated implementation levels higher than non-state actors. Both state and non-state actors rated level of implementation of monitoring of BMI highest. Level of implementation of policies promoting in-store availability of healthy foods and policies increasing tax on unhealthy foods were rated lowest by state and non-state actors, respectively. Both groups reached consensus on eleven priority actions for implementation, focusing on food provision in public-sector settings, food composition, food promotion, leadership, monitoring and intelligence, and food trade.

Conclusions

Although the implementation gaps identified and priority actions proposed varied between state and non-state actors, both groups achieved consensus on a comprehensive food policy package to be implemented by the Thai Government to improve the healthiness of food environments. This consensus is a platform for continued policy dialogue towards cross-sectoral policy coherence and effective actions to address the growing burden of non-communicable diseases and obesity in Thailand.
Ultrastructure Features and Three-Dimensional Transmission Electron Tomography of Dhub Lizard (Uromastyx Aegyptia) Cornea and Its Adaptation to a Desert Environment
Authors: Akhtar Saeed , Alkhalaf Mousa , Khan Adnan A. , Almubrad Turki M.
Published: September 2016

We report ultrastructural features and transmission electron tomography of the dhub lizard (Uromastyx aegyptia) cornea and its adaptation to hot and dry environments. Six corneas of dhub lizards were fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde and processed for electron microscopy and tomography. The ultrathin sections were observed with a JEOL 1400 transmission electron microscope. The cornea of the dhub lizard is very thin (~28–30 µm). The epithelium constitutes ~14% of the cornea, whereas the stroma constitutes 80% of the cornea. The middle stromal lamellae are significantly thicker than anterior and posterior stromal lamellae. Collagen fibril (CF) diameters in the anterior stroma are variable in size (25–75 nm). Proteoglycans (PGs) are very large in the middle and posterior stroma, whereas they are small in the anterior stroma. Three-dimensional electron tomography was carried out to understand the structure and arrangement of the PG and CFs. The presence of large PGs in the posterior and middle stroma might help the animal retain a large amount of water to protect it from dryness. The dhub corneal structure is equipped to adapt to the dry and hot desert environment.
Psychophysiological Assessment of Social Stress in Natural and	Laboratory Situations
Authors: Loeffler Simone N. , Hennig Juergen , Peper Martin
Published: September 2016

Abstract. Experience sampling and psychophysiological ambulant assessment methods were employed to compare reactions to social stress using a laboratory stressor (The Trier Social Stress Test [TSST]) or a corresponding real-life condition (seminar presentation). Stress reactions were assessed by self-report as well as additional heart rate (AHR, i.e., heart rate increases corrected for physical activity and initial values) and were compared to a control condition in each group. Twenty-five participants gave a talk in a university seminar course and twenty-two participants took part in the TSST. The TSST elicited a greater overall physiological stress reaction as compared to the seminar presentation. However, analyses of dynamic AHR levels revealed that the groups of speakers showed different response profiles during the time course of the stress situations. AHR levels of both groups were similar at the beginning of the free speech. During the course of their presentation, seminar speakers downregulated their arousal level. The arousal level of TSST participants showed a further increase in the later portion of the TSST during the mental arithmetic task. Thus, the more prominent overall physiological stress reaction during the TSST as compared to the seminar presentation appeared to depend on different demand characteristics rather than on differences of laboratory versus real-life situations per se. The experience of emotional strain was greater in response to the social stressors than in response to control situations in both the TSST and seminar speaker group with no differential effects of the experimental setting (laboratory vs. real life). During the TSST procedure, salivary cortisol concentrations were also assessed. Significant correlations of AHR with cortisol level and subjective experience indicate that AHR measurement provides a valid psychophysiological indicator of social stress. These findings suggest that ambulatory assessment techniques successfully contribute to the validation of a common social stress task.
The Allocation of Attention in Change Detection and Change	Blindness
Authors: Schankin Andrea , Bergmann Katharina , Schubert Anna-Lena , Hagemann Dirk
Published: September 2016

Abstract. Visual change detection often fails when observers’ attention is distracted by some other visual disruptions in the environment that occur simultaneously with the change. This phenomenon is called change blindness. It has been claimed that selective attention is necessary for successful change detection. In the current experiment, two mechanisms of attention allocation in such a task were investigated. First, the number of distracting stimuli was varied to distract observers’ attention and, second, possible change positions were highlighted to allow observers to better focus on potential change locations. The N2pc component of the event-related potential was measured as an indicator of attentional selection. The results show that the sensitivity for changes increased either when observers were less distracted or when they were able to better focus their attention. However, these two mechanisms were reflected differently by the N2pc component. When observers’ attention was less distracted by a lower number of mudsplashes, the N2pc component occurred earlier. In contrast, when observers were able to better focus their attention on potential change locations, the N2pc component not only occurred earlier but also showed an additional enhancement in amplitude. That is, successful change detection depends on both, the properties of distracting and of changing objects. They determine the speed and intensity of the allocation of attention toward a change.
Agreeableness, Conflict Resolution Tactics, and School Behavior in	Second Graders
Authors: Gadke Daniel L. , Tobin Renée M. , Schneider W. Joel
Published: September 2016

Abstract. This study examined the association between Agreeableness and children’s selection of conflict resolution tactics and their overt behaviors at school. A total of 157 second graders responded to a series of conflict resolution vignettes and were observed three times during physical education classes at school. We hypothesized that Agreeableness would be inversely related to the endorsement of power assertion tactics and to displays of problem behaviors, and positively related to the endorsement of negotiation tactics and to displays of adaptive behaviors. Consistent with hypotheses, Agreeableness was inversely related to power assertion tactics and to displays of off-task, disruptive, and verbally aggressive behaviors. There was no evidence that Agreeableness was related to more socially sophisticated responses to conflict, such as negotiation, with our sample of second grade students; however, it was related to displays of adaptive behaviors, specifically on-task behaviors. Limitations, including potential reactivity effects and the restriction of observational data collection to one school-based setting, are discussed. Future researchers are encouraged to collect data from multiple sources in more than one setting over time.
No Benefit in Seeing a Dark Future?
Authors: Christensen Björn , Christensen Sören
Published: September 2016

Abstract. In their article, Lang, Weiss, Gerstorf, & Wagner, (2013) use the adult life span sample of the national German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) to explore functional outcomes of life satisfaction with regard to hazards of mortality. Their findings suggest that “being overly optimistic [in] predicting a better future than actually observed was associated with […] a great risk of mortality within the following decade.” In this short paper, we analyze the same data set using the same model, but, in addition to the self-rated health status in the starting year included in the model by Lang et al. (2013) , we furthermore control for the self-rated health at the target year. With this modification, it turns out that the accuracy of anticipated future life satisfaction has no significant effect on mortality. Two additional analyses underpin this finding.
Age and Sex Differences in Temperament and Character Dimensions in a	French Nonclinical Population
Authors: Calvet Benjamin , Péricaud Marion , Parneix Matthieu , Jouette Adrien , Bricaud Magali , Clément Jean-Pierre
Published: September 2016

Abstract. The authors examined age and sex trends on the seven dimensions and 25 facets assessed by the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) collected between 2006 and 2014. This cross-sectional study sought to better understand personality differences according to age and sex cohorts in a French nonclinical community sample (1,181 participants). Our results show significant differences in age groups in Novelty Seeking, Reward Dependence, Harm Avoidance, and Self-Transcendence. Women scored higher than men in Harm Avoidance, Reward Dependence, and Cooperativeness. Men between 18 and 29 years old reported higher Novelty Seeking whereas older women had higher Harm Avoidance. Among all the dimensions of the TCI, only Self-Directedness presents a consistent Gender × Age interaction. Our study confirmed that there were personality-specific features in men and women. In addition, there were personality changes with age in both temperament and character dimensions. Our research highlighted the need to take into account both age and gender of subjects in the future analyses and interpretations of findings from the temperament and character inventories.
Spatial Visualization Ability Mediates the Male Advantage in Spatial	and Visual Episodic Memory
Authors: Siedlecki Karen L.
Published: September 2016

Abstract. Individuals between the ages of 18 and 94 (N = 326) completed a battery of episodic memory tasks, as well as several measures of spatial visualization. A female advantage in verbal episodic memory and a male advantage in spatial and visual episodic memory were observed. Mediation analyses provided evidence that performance on spatial visualization tasks greatly influences the magnitude of the effect for sex differences among the different episodic memory constructs. In particular, the spatial visualization construct fully mediated the relationship between sex and episodic spatial memory performance. Further, when spatial visualization was included as a mediator in the model the relationship between sex and episodic verbal memory increased, and the relationship between sex and episodic visual memory reversed, such that women scored higher than men.
Ubiquitous marine bacterium inhibits diatom cell division
Authors: van Tol Helena M , Amin Shady A , Armbrust E Virginia
Published: September 2016

Intricate relationships between microorganisms structure the exchange of molecules between taxa, driving their physiology and evolution. On a global scale, this molecular trade is an integral component of biogeochemical cycling. As important microorganisms in the world’s oceans, diatoms and bacteria have a large impact on marine biogeochemistry. Here, we describe antagonistic effects of the globally distributed flavobacterium Croceibacter atlanticus on a phylogenetically diverse group of diatoms. We used the model diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana to study the antagonistic impact in more detail. In co-culture, C. atlanticus attaches to T. pseudonana and inhibits cell division, inducing diatom cells to become larger and increase in chlorophyll a fluorescence. These changes could be explained by an absence of cytokinesis that causes individual T. pseudonana cells to elongate, accumulate more plastids and become polyploid. These morphological changes could benefit C. atlanticus by augmenting the colonizable surface area of the diatom, its photosynthetic capabilities and possibly its metabolic secretions.
Mice produced by mitotic reprogramming of sperm injected into haploid parthenogenotes
Authors: Suzuki Toru , Asami Maki , Hoffmann Martin , Lu Xin , Gužvić Miodrag , Klein Christoph A. , Perry Anthony C. F.
Published: September 2016

Sperm are highly differentiated and the activities that reprogram them for embryonic development during fertilization have historically been considered unique to the oocyte. We here challenge this view and demonstrate that mouse embryos in the mitotic cell cycle can also directly reprogram sperm for full-term development. Developmentally incompetent haploid embryos (parthenogenotes) injected with sperm developed to produce healthy offspring at up to 24% of control rates, depending when in the embryonic cell cycle injection took place. This implies that most of the first embryonic cell cycle can be bypassed in sperm genome reprogramming for full development. Remodelling of histones and genomic 5′-methylcytosine and 5′-hydroxymethylcytosine following embryo injection were distinct from remodelling in fertilization and the resulting 2-cell embryos consistently possessed abnormal transcriptomes. These studies demonstrate plasticity in the reprogramming of terminally differentiated sperm nuclei and suggest that different epigenetic pathways or kinetics can establish totipotency.