bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
An Interdisciplinary Perspective on Carbon Capture and Storage Assessment Methods
Authors: Choptiany John Michael Humphries , Pelot Ron , Sherren Kate
Published: April 2014

Climate change is one of the most serious threats facing humankind. Mitigating climate change will require a suite of actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a new technology aimed at mitigating climate change by capturing and storing carbon dioxide, typically in deep geological reservoirs. CCS has risks characteristic of new technologies, as well as risks unique to this technology and its application. Large‐scale CCS decision making is complex, encompassing environmental, social, and economic considerations and requiring the risks to be taken into consideration. CCS projects have been cancelled as a result of inadequate assessments of risks. To date, studies assessing CCS have been limited mostly to environmental, social, and economic fields in isolation from each other, predominantly using life cycle assessments (LCAs), cost benefit analyses (CBAs), or surveys of public perception. LCAs, CBAs, and surveys of public perception all have limitations for assessing difficult multifaceted problems. Incompatibilities across CCS assessment methods have hindered the comparison of the results across these single‐discipline studies and limited the possibility of drawing broader conclusions about CCS development. More standardization across assessment methods, study assumptions, functional units, and assessment criteria for CCS could be beneficial to the integration of multiple study results. We propose a set of criteria, which decision analysts could use to develop CCS‐project–specific criteria lists in order to comprehensively assess a CCS project's viability. This list was created by determining the frequency of use of each criterion in recent studies, with a focus on their use across disciplines.
Time Horizon and Dominance in Dynamic Life Cycle Assessment
Authors: Dyckhoff Harald , Kasah Tarek
Published: April 2014

Temporal aspects have traditionally not been recognized adequately in life cycle assessment (LCA). The dynamic LCA model recently proposed offers a significant step forward in the dynamic assessment of global warming impacts. The results obtained with dynamic LCA are highly sensitive to the choice of a time horizon. Therefore, decision making between alternative systems can be critical because conclusions are dependent on the specific time horizon. In this article, we develop a decision‐making methodology based on the concept of time dominance. We introduce instantaneous and cumulative time dominance criteria to the dynamic LCA context and argue why the dominance of an alternative should also imply preference. Our approach allows for the rejection of certain alternatives without the determination of a specific time horizon. The number of decision‐relevant alternatives can thereby be reduced and the decision problem facilitated. We demonstrate our methodology by means of a case study of end‐of‐life alternatives for a wooden chair derived from the original authors of dynamic LCA and discuss the implications and limitations of the approach. The methodology based on time dominance criteria is supplementary to the dynamic LCA model, but does not substitute it. The overall value of this article stretches beyond LCA onto more general assessments of global warming, for example, in policy where the choice of a time horizon is equally significant.
The Effect of Country‐Level Investor Protection on the Voluntary Assurance of Sustainability Reports
Authors: Herda David N. , Taylor Martin E. , Winterbotham Glyn
Published: April 2014

Over the last several years, sustainable (or socially responsible) investing has experienced rapid growth around the world reflecting an increasing awareness by investors of social, environmental, ethical, and corporate governance issues. This heightened awareness among investors has resulted in a demand for sustainability reporting and a corresponding increase in demand for assurance of sustainability information to enhance its credibility. Using an investor‐based view, we examine the impact of country‐level investor protection on reporting companies’ voluntary sustainability assurance decisions. We find that both the decision to obtain voluntary sustainability report assurance and the decision to obtain higher quality assurance are more likely for firms domiciled in countries that have weaker investor protection. Our results indicate that managers in low investor protection countries use voluntary sustainability assurance as a substitute monitoring mechanism.
Novel Aspects of Glucocorticoid Actions
Authors: Uchoa E. T. , Aguilera G. , Herman J. P. , Fiedler J. L. , Deak T. , de Sousa M. B. C.
Published: April 2014

Normal hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis activity leading to the rhythmic and episodic release of adrenal glucocorticoids (GCs) is essential for body homeostasis and survival during stress. Acting through specific intracellular receptors in the brain and periphery, GCs regulate behaviour, as well as metabolic, cardiovascular, immune and neuroendocrine activities. By contrast to chronic elevated levels, circadian and acute stress‐induced increases in GCs are necessary for hippocampal neuronal survival and memory acquisition and consolidation, as a result of the inhibition of apoptosis, the facilitation of glutamatergic neurotransmission and the formation of excitatory synapses, and the induction of immediate early genes and dendritic spine formation. In addition to metabolic actions leading to increased energy availability, GCs have profound effects on feeding behaviour, mainly via the modulation of orexigenic and anorixegenic neuropeptides. Evidence is also emerging that, in addition to the recognised immune suppressive actions of GCs by counteracting adrenergic pro‐inflammatory actions, circadian elevations have priming effects in the immune system, potentiating acute defensive responses. In addition, negative‐feedback by GCs involves multiple mechanisms leading to limited HPA axis activation and prevention of the deleterious effects of excessive GC production. Adequate GC secretion to meet body demands is tightly regulated by a complex neural circuitry controlling hypothalamic corticotrophin‐releasing hormone (CRH) and vasopressin secretion, which are the main regulators of pituitary adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH). Rapid feedback mechanisms, likely involving nongenomic actions of GCs, mediate the immediate inhibition of hypothalamic CRH and ACTH secretion, whereas intermediate and delayed mechanisms mediated by genomic actions involve the modulation of limbic circuitry and peripheral metabolic messengers. Consistent with their key adaptive roles, HPA axis components are evolutionarily conserved, being present in the earliest vertebrates. An understanding of these basic mechanisms may lead to novel approaches for the development of diagnostic and therapeutic tools for disorders related to stress and alterations of GC secretion.
Competition might produce pair‐wise negative correlations of genetic richness, not of abundance
Authors: Prinzing Andreas
Published: April 2014

The co‐existence of closely related species can be explained by lack of competition. But it can also be explained by competition that affects not abundance of but the genetic diversity within the competing species. He & Lamont in this issue show results consistent with this latter explanation. This reminds community ecologists that competition is not a simple process producing simple patterns.
Inaccessible ledges as refuges for the natural vegetation of the high Andes
Authors: Sylvester Steven P. , Sylvester Mitsy D.P.V. , Kessler Michael
Published: April 2014

Questions

Have millennia of human land use fundamentally altered the vegetation of a large proportion of the high Andean puna biome, with natural vegetation now restricted to inaccessible areas? Can inaccessible ledges be used as surrogates to infer the potential natural vegetation (PNV) in heavily impacted areas of the puna ecosystem of the high Andes? Is there a difference in plant community composition and diversity between the potential natural puna vegetation, represented by areas inaccessible to grazing and burning, and the anthropogenically disturbed vegetation found on nearby, but accessible, slopes?

Location

Abra Málaga Private Conservation Area, Cusco, southern Peruvian Andes.

Methods

Four study habitats were chosen that comprised ledges and slopes from within and outside of the conservation area. For each habitat, vegetation composition was recorded using eight to twelve 2 × 2‐m2 plots studied for species cover and abiotic variables.

Results

Analysis of species richness using two‐way ANOVAs with Tukey test found that plots from the three habitats inaccessible to anthropogenic disturbance exhibited similar richness levels, whereas plots accessible to grazing and anthropogenic burning had significantly higher species richness. Likewise, CCA separated out plots of the three habitats inaccessible to anthropogenic disturbance from the unconserved slope plots. Species indicator analyses found the three inaccessible habitats to share the largest number of indicator species, with none being shared by the accessible, unconserved slope habitat. The PNV, inferred from the inaccessible vegetation, comprises a mosaic of Polylepis pepei woodland and tussock grassland, dominated by Festuca aff. procera, Luzula gigantea, Valeriana mandoniana and Carex pichinchensis.

Conclusions

As both the conserved and unconserved ledge habitats contain a vegetation that approaches that of the conserved slope, ledges can be taken as a surrogate to infer the PNV in heavily impacted areas where no conserved slopes are available. From preliminary data, the presumed PNV of the study area corresponds to a distinct vegetation assemblage including species previously unknown to science. Adjacent disturbed, accessible land contained a higher species diversity, with a flora that may have originated from localized, disturbed natural habitats.
Determinants of fern and angiosperm herb community structure in lower montane rainforest in Indonesia
Authors: Jones Mirkka M. , Cicuzza Daniele , van Straaten Oliver , Veldkamp Edzo , Kessler Michael
Published: April 2014

Questions

Do ferns, which are physiologically less well adapted to conserve water than angiosperms but have more efficient propagule dispersal, show different vegetation–environment relationships than co‐occurring angiosperm herbs? We hypothesized that ferns should show closer relationships to local environmental conditions and might be more closely associated with humid and shady microhabitats.

Location

Pono and Bariri, two sites in lower montane primary tropical forest, Lore Lindu National Park, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Methods

At each site, all terrestrial herbaceous plants were sampled in 200 plots of 5 m × 5 m. Sixteen environmental factors describing soils, topography and canopy openness were recorded. Correlations were calculated to test the degree of similarity in the species richness and turnover of ferns and angiosperms, and their relationships with environmental factors. Species optima were calculated on each environmental axis and compared between plant groups via randomization tests.

Results

In total, 184 herb morphospecies were encountered at Pono and 135 at Bariri, of which almost 60% at each site were ferns. At both sites, fern species turnover showed closer correlations with soil variables than did angiosperm turnover. At the more topographically heterogeneous site (Bariri) fern species turnover was also more closely associated with topographic differences than was angiosperm turnover. Habitat preferences of ferns and angiosperms appeared more similar at Bariri than Pono, with both tending towards lower topographic positions and richer soils, but steeper slopes, than expected at random. At Bariri, neither plant group tended towards shady microsites, whereas at Pono ferns were better represented than angiosperms in microhabitats with open canopies.

Conclusions

As expected, ferns showed closer correlations with environmental factors than angiosperm herbs. Ferns did not, however, consistently favour humid microhabitats at both sites, and were not significantly associated with shady microhabitats at either site. Furthermore, it appears that physiological differences in water use do not lead to marked divergence in fern and angiosperm herb distributions in the humid understorey of this lower montane rainforest.
Competition between Judaism and Christianity: Paul's Galatians as Entry Deterrence
Authors: Ferrero Mario
Published: April 2014

This paper sets forth a theory of competition between exclusive religions as an entry deterrence game, in which the incumbent may find it profitable not to accommodate but to deter the competitor's entry by precommitting to sufficient capacity expansion in the event of entry. If entry costs are high enough, deterrence is optimal and the incumbent remains a monopolist, although the entry threat distorts its effort upward. The model is then used to explain the Jews' withdrawal from proselytism in the face of Christian competition in the first century CE. We review the historical evidence on conversion to Judaism before and after the first century and argue that the demise of Jewish proselytism was due not to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE but to the apostle Paul's strategic decision, in his letter to the Galatians, that Gentiles need not convert to Judaism to become Christians.
European Identity and Support for European Integration: A Matter of Perceived Economic Benefits?
Authors: Verhaegen Soetkin , Hooghe Marc , Quintelier Ellen
Published: April 2014

Economic utilitarian theory assumes a relationship between economic benefits, support for European integration and European identity. While the relationship between economic benefits and support for European integration has already been empirically investigated, this is not the case for European identity. Therefore, we test the association between economic indicators and European identity, while performing the same analysis for support for European integration. Eight different objective and perceived economic parameters are tested, covering the whole spectrum of sociotropic, egocentric, objective and perceived benefits. The multilevel analyses on Eurobarometer data show that economic considerations are positively associated with support and European identity. This is especially the case for perceived benefits, indicating that earlier findings about perception of benefits in the study of support for European integration are valid for European identity as well.
How the Party Can Win in Personal Vote Systems: The “Selectoral Connection” and Legislative Voting in Lithuania
Authors: Preece Jessica Robinson
Published: April 2014

Electoral rules can motivate politicians to cultivate a “personal vote” through their legislative voting records. However, I argue that candidate‐selection procedures have the ability to overpower these electoral incentives. This study—the first systematic study of how candidate selection and electoral rules interact—takes advantage of Lithuania's unique mixed electoral rules and fortuitous candidate‐selection procedures. Regardless of electoral rules, MPs whose future careers depend on getting renominated by central party leaders vote against the party less than those whose careers do not. This evidence of a “selectoral connection” suggests candidate‐selection procedures must be studied much more seriously.
Chamber Size Effects on the Collaborative Structure of Legislatures
Authors: Kirkland Justin H.
Published: April 2014

The collective nature of legislating forces legislators to rely on one another for information and support. This collaborative activity requires a choice about partnerships in an environment of uncertainty. The basic size and organization of a legislature amplifies this uncertainty in relational choices. Analysis of collaborative patterns between all the U.S. state legislators in 2007 corroborates this expectation, indicating that large legislatures have highly partisan collaborative networks with generally low density, while larger legislative committees mitigate these effects. Thus, even when the attributes of legislators do not change, the organizational size of the legislature can shape how those legislators interact.
Immediate or early skin‐to‐skin contact after a Caesarean section: a review of the literature
Authors: Stevens Jeni , Schmied Virginia , Burns Elaine , Dahlen Hannah
Published: April 2014

The World Health Organization and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund recommends that mothers and newborns have skin‐to‐skin contact immediately after a vaginal birth, and as soon as the mother is alert and responsive after a Caesarean section. Skin‐to‐skin contact can be defined as placing a naked infant onto the bare chest of the mother. Caesarean birth is known to reduce initiation of breastfeeding, increase the length of time before the first breastfeed, reduce the incidence of exclusive breastfeeding, significantly delay the onset of lactation and increase the likelihood of supplementation. The aim of this review is to evaluate evidence on the facilitation of immediate (within minutes) or early (within 1 h) skin‐to‐skin contact following Caesarean section for healthy mothers and their healthy term newborns, and identify facilitators, barriers and associated maternal and newborn outcomes. A range of electronic databases were searched for papers reporting research findings published in English between January 2003 and October 2013. Seven papers met the criteria. This review has provided some evidence that with appropriate collaboration skin‐to‐skin contact during Caesarean surgery can be implemented. Further evidence was provided, albeit limited, that immediate or early skin‐to‐skin contact after a Caesarean section may increase breastfeeding initiation, decrease time to the first breastfeed, reduce formula supplementation in hospital, increase bonding and maternal satisfaction, maintain the temperature of newborns and reduce newborn stress.
Fathers' experiences of supporting breastfeeding: challenges for breastfeeding promotion and education
Authors: Brown Amy , Davies Ruth
Published: April 2014

Increasing breastfeeding rates is a strategic priority in the UK and understanding the factors that promote and encourage breastfeeding is critical to achieving this. It is established that women who have strong social support from their partner are more likely to initiate and continue breastfeeding. However, little research has explored the fathers' role in breastfeeding support and more importantly, the information and guidance he may need. In the current study, 117 men whose partner had given birth in the previous 2 years and initiated breastfeeding at birth completed an open‐ended questionnaire exploring their experiences of breastfeeding, the information and support they received and their ideas for future breastfeeding education and promotion aimed at fathers and families. Overall, the findings showed that fathers were encouraging of breastfeeding and wanted to be able to support their partner. However, they often felt left out of the breastfeeding relationships and helpless to support their partner at this time. Many reported being excluded from antenatal breastfeeding education or being considered unimportant in post‐natal support. Men wanted more information about breastfeeding to be directed towards them alongside ideas about how they could practically support their partner. The importance of support mechanisms for themselves during this time was also raised. The results highlight the need for health professionals to direct support and information towards fathers as well as the mother–infant dyad and to recognise their importance in promoting and enabling breastfeeding.
Theoretical models of the influence of genomic architecture on the dynamics of speciation
Authors: Flaxman Samuel M. , Wacholder Aaron C. , Feder Jeffrey L. , Nosil Patrik
Published: April 2014

A long‐standing problem in evolutionary biology has been determining whether and how gradual, incremental changes at the gene level can account for rapid speciation and bursts of adaptive radiation. Using genome‐scale computer simulations, we extend previous theory showing how gradual adaptive change can generate nonlinear population transitions, resulting in the rapid formation of new, reproductively isolated species. We show that these transitions occur via a mechanism rooted in a basic property of biological heredity: the organization of genes in genomes. Genomic organization of genes facilitates two processes: (i) the build‐up of statistical associations among large numbers of genes and (ii) the action of divergent selection on persistent combinations of alleles. When a population has accumulated a critical amount of standing, divergently selected variation, the combination of these two processes allows many mutations of small effect to act synergistically and precipitously split one population into two discontinuous, reproductively isolated groups. Periods of allopatry, chromosomal linkage among loci, and large‐effect alleles can facilitate this process under some conditions, but are not required for it. Our results complement and extend existing theory on alternative stable states during population divergence, distinct phases of speciation and the rapid emergence of multilocus barriers to gene flow. The results are thus a step towards aligning population genomic theory with modern empirical studies.
Axial cervical vertebrae‐based multivariate regression model for the estimation of skeletal‐maturation status
Authors: Yang Y.‐M. , Lee J. , Kim Y.‐I. , Cho B.‐H. , Park S.‐B.
Published: April 2014

Structured Abstract

Objectives

This study aimed to determine the viability of using axial cervical vertebrae (ACV) as biological indicators of skeletal maturation and to build models that estimate ossification level with improved explanatory power over models based only on chronological age.

Materials and Methods

The study population comprised 74 female and 47 male patients with available hand‐wrist radiographs and cone‐beam computed tomography images. Generalized Procrustes analysis was used to analyze the shape, size, and form of the ACV regions of interest. The variabilities of these factors were analyzed by principal component analysis. Skeletal maturation was then estimated using a multiple regression model.

Results

Separate models were developed for male and female participants. For the female estimation model, the adjusted R2 explained 84.8% of the variability of the Sempé maturation level (SML), representing a 7.9% increase in SML explanatory power over that using chronological age alone (76.9%). For the male estimation model, the adjusted R2 was over 90%, representing a 1.7% increase relative to the reference model.

Conclusions

The simplest possible ACV morphometric information provided a statistically significant explanation of the portion of skeletal‐maturation variability not dependent on chronological age. These results verify that ACV is a strong biological indicator of ossification status.
Translation, Tradition and Intertextuality
Authors: Komalesha H. S.
Published: April 2014

Behind the making of a great work, in any language, there is a significant contribution from intertextual elements. Textual dialectics – a result of the interplay of multiple texts within a text – plays a major role in converting an otherwise ordinary work into a canonical work. It is in this sense that Eliot wrote that appreciation of any art is invariably an appreciation of the entire artistic tradition in which the new art is situated. When a translator chooses to translate such works in which there is a rich interplay of intertextual elements, he is invariably left with no better option than to bring in these elements, lest he should run the risk of reducing classics to works of mediocrity. In this process of translating intertextual elements, what problems does a translator encounter and what strategies does he adopt to overcome them? This paper attempts to explore the intricate and organic relationship that exists between translation, tradition and intertextuality against the backdrop of my English translation of Sankranti, a classic Kannada play written by P. Lankesh, one of the gifted writers of the Kannada world.
Infant wheeze, comorbidities and school age asthma
Authors: Neuman Åsa , Bergström Anna , Gustafsson Per , Thunqvist Per , Andersson Niklas , Nordvall Lennart , Kull Inger , Wickman Magnus
Published: April 2014

Background

Factors associated with early onset of wheeze have been described, but there is limited knowledge on which of these infant wheezers who will have developed asthma in school age. The aim was to identify clinical risk factors for asthma in the 8‐yr‐old children that wheezed during infancy in a population‐based setting.

Methods

Three thousand two hundred and fifty‐one children from a population‐based birth cohort followed prospectively from infancy until age 8 yr were included in the study. Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results

Parents reported any wheeze episode before age 2 yr in 823 subjects (25%). Infant wheezers had an almost fourfold risk of asthma at age 8 [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 3.68, 95% CI 2.74–4.96], equivalent to an asthma prevalence of 14% compared with 4% among non‐wheezers (p < 0.001). After adjustments for sex, exposure to tobacco smoke and indoor dampness/mould, allergic heredity (aOR 1.53, 95% CI 1.02–2.30), increased frequency of wheeze (aOR 3.41, 95% CI 2.09–5.56 for children with ≥3 episodes compared with ≤2 episodes during the first 2 yr of life), infant eczema (aOR 2.31, 95% CI 1.52–3.49), and recurrent abdominal pain (aOR 2.33, 95% CI 1.30–4.16) remained risk factors for school age asthma in the infant wheezing group.

Conclusions

Among infant wheezers, allergic heredity, increased severity of wheeze, infant eczema, and recurrent abdominal pain were independent risk factors for asthma at age 8 yr. Among children with three or four of these risk factors, 38% had asthma at school age.
Attraction to attachment insecurity: Flattery, appearance, and status's role in mate preferences
Authors: BRUMBAUGH CLAUDIA CHLOE , BAREN ALISON , AGISHTEIN PERYL
Published: April 2014

Research has shown that people select securely attached individuals as their first choice when asked to choose among secure or insecure partner prototypes. Despite this pattern, not everyone chooses a secure partner in real life. The goal of the reported studies was to examine factors that lead people to select insecure mates. Specifically, the roles of flattery, appearance, and status were assessed. In the first study, we found that flattery increased attraction to insecure partners. Study 2 showed that men preferred physical beauty over security. In Study 3, anxious women were attracted to high‐status insecure men. These findings help explain why people may sometimes end up with insecure partners despite their professed preference for secure companions.
Hypothesis‐Based Weight of Evidence: An Approach to Assessing Causation and its Application to Regulatory Toxicology
Authors: Rhomberg Lorenz
Published: April 2014

Other papers in this symposium focus on combining direct observations or measurements of a phenomenon of interest. Here, I consider the distinct problem of integrating diverse kinds of data to address the scientific case for toxicological causation in view of information that usually contains gaps and outright contradictions. Existing weight‐of‐evidence approaches have been criticized as either too formulaic or too vague, simply calling for professional judgment that is hard to trace to its scientific basis. I discuss an approach—hypothesis‐based weight of evidence—that emphasizes articulation of the hypothesized generalizations, their basis, and span of applicability. Hypothesized common processes should be expected to act elsewhere as well—in different species or different tissues—and so outcomes that ought to be affected become part of the evidence evaluation. A compelling hypothesis is one that provides a common unified explanation for observed results. Any apparent exceptions and failures to account for some data must be plausibly explained. Ad hoc additions to the explanations introduced to “save” hypotheses from apparent contradiction weaken the degree to which available data test causal propositions. In the end, we need an “account” of all the results at hand, specifying what is ascribed to hypothesized common causal processes and what to special exceptions, chance, or other factors. Evidence is weighed by considering comparative plausibility of an account including the proposed causal effect versus an alternative that explains all of the results at hand otherwise.
Changing Patterns of Nation‐Building: Educational Reform Narratives in Post‐Socialist Romania
Authors: Szakács Simona
Published: April 2014

Through an investigation of policy documents and reports from post‐1989 Romanian education reform, this article argues that what came to be known in the early 1990s as a ‘post‐socialist condition’, characterized by exuberant nationalism, needs to be rethought. Rather than an exceptional path, Romanian education displays conspicuous synchronization with wider world trends, while some peculiar national narratives in explaining reform failures persist. Instead of becoming more nation‐focused (as predicted by prevalent conceptualizations of ‘Eastern’ types of nationalism), discourses of educational reform opened up to the world, most notably through the mediation of Europe. Since the end of the nationalizing decade of the 1990s, educational texts have consistently invoked global themes of adaptation. Narratives about the mission of mass education and reform priorities encapsulating officially‐sanctioned projections of the nation became outward‐looking, in contrast to the self‐referential rhetoric of socialist times. The changing patterns of Romanian nation‐building are reflective of trends across the world, pointing to a reconsideration of the exceptionalism often associated with Eastern Europe.
Semiparametric Regression Analysis of Longitudinal Skewed Data
Authors: Lin Huazhen , Zhou Ling , Zhou Xiaohua
Published: April 2014

In this paper, we develop a semiparametric regression model for longitudinal skewed data. In the new model, we allow the transformation function and the baseline function to be unknown. The proposed model can provide a much broader class of models than the existing additive and multiplicative models. Our estimators for regression parameters, transformation function and baseline function are asymptotically normal. Particularly, the estimator for the transformation function converges to its true value at the raten − 1 ∕ 2, the convergence rate that one could expect for a parametric model. In simulation studies, we demonstrate that the proposed semiparametric method is robust with little loss of efficiency. Finally, we apply the new method to a study on longitudinal health care costs.
Stock‐outs of essential health products in Mozambique – longitudinal analyses from 2011 to 2013
Authors: Wagenaar Bradley H. , Gimbel Sarah , Hoek Roxanne , Pfeiffer James , Michel Cathy , Manuel João Luis , Cuembelo Fatima , Quembo Titos , Afonso Pires , Gloyd Stephen , Sherr Kenneth
Published: April 2014

Objectives

To assess the relationship between health system factors and facility‐level EHP stock‐outs in Mozambique.

Methods

Service provisions were assessed in 26 health facilities and 13 district warehouses in Sofala Province, Mozambique, from July to August in 2011–2013. Generalised estimating equations were used to model factors associated with facility‐level availability of essential drugs, supplies and equipment.

Results

Stock‐out rates for drugs ranged from 1.3% for oral rehydration solution to 20.5% for Depo‐Provera and condoms, with a mean stock‐out rate of 9.1%; mean stock‐out rates were 15.4% for supplies and 4.1% for equipment. Stock‐outs at the district level accounted for 27.1% (29/107) of facility‐level drug stock‐outs and 44.0% (37/84) of supply stock‐outs. Each 10‐km increase in the distance from district distribution warehouses was associated with a 31% (CI: 22–42%), 28% (CI: 17–40%) or 27% (CI: 7–50%) increase in rates of drug, supply or equipment stock‐outs, respectively. The number of heath facility staff was consistently negatively associated with the occurrence of stock‐outs.

Conclusions

Facility‐level stock‐outs of EHPs in Mozambique are common and appear to disproportionately affect those living far from district capitals and near facilities with few health staff. The majority of facility‐level EHP stock‐outs in Mozambique occur when stock exists at the district distribution centre. Innovative methods are urgently needed to improve EHP supply chains, requesting and ordering of drugs, facility and district communication, and forecasting of future EHP needs in Mozambique. Increased investments in public‐sector human resources for health could potentially decrease the occurrence of EHP stock‐outs.
HIV status, breastfeeding modality at 5 months and postpartum maternal weight changes over 24 months in rural South Africa
Authors: Chetty Terusha , Carter Rosalind J. , Bland Ruth M. , Newell Marie‐Louise
Published: April 2014

Objective

To determine the effect of infant feeding practices on postpartum weight change among HIV‐infected and ‐uninfected women in South Africa.

Methods

In a non‐randomised intervention cohort study of antiretroviral therapy‐naïve women in South Africa, infants were classified as exclusive (EBF), mixed (MF) or non‐breastfed (NBF) at each visit. We analysed infant feeding cumulatively from birth to 5 months using 24‐hour feeding history (collected weekly for each of the preceding 7 days). Using generalised estimating equation mixed models, allowing for repeated measures, we compared postpartum weight change (kg) from the first maternal postpartum weight within the first 6 weeks (baseline weight) to each subsequent visit through 24 months among 2340 HIV‐infected and ‐uninfected women with live births and at least two postpartum weight measurements.

Results

HIV‐infected (−0.2 kg CI: −1.7 to 1.3 kg; P = 0.81) and ‐uninfected women (−0.5 kg; 95% CI: −2.1 to 1.2 kg; P = 0.58) had marginal non‐significant weight loss from baseline to 24 months postpartum. Adjusting for HIV status, socio‐demographic, pregnancy‐related and infant factors, 5‐month feeding modality was not significantly associated with postpartum weight change: weight change by 24 months postpartum, compared to the change in the reference EBF group, was 0.03 kg in NBF (95% CI: −2.5 to +2.5 kg; P = 0.90) and 0.1 kg in MF (95% CI: −3.0 to +3.2 kg; P = 0.78).

Conclusion

HIV‐infected and ‐uninfected women experienced similar weight loss over 24 months. Weight change postpartum was not associated with 5‐month breastfeeding modality among HIV‐infected and ‐uninfected women.
Localized demodicosis due to Demodex cati on the muzzle of two cats treated with inhalant glucocorticoids
Authors: Bizikova Petra
Published: April 2014

Background

Feline demodicosis due to Demodex cati is a rare skin disease often associated with concurrent disease and generalized immunosuppression. Local immunosuppression due to the application of topical immunomodulatory drugs, such as glucocorticoids and tacrolimus, or by tumour cells has been suggested as a potential trigger for development of localized demodicosis in humans and animals.

Objectives

The goal was to describe two cats with asthma that developed localized demodicosis on the muzzle as a result of chronic therapy with a glucocorticoid administered via dispensing inhaler mask.

Results

In both cats, the muzzle area exposed to the fluticasone‐dispensing chamber exhibited patchy alopecia, mild erythema, crusting and scaling. Deep skin scraping revealed D. cati. Discontinuation or reduction of fluticasone and administration of milbemycin resulted in resolution of clinical signs within 2 months in both cats. A negative skin scrape was obtained after 7 months of milbemycin in one of the cats.

Conclusions and clinical importance

Demodicosis should be considered as a possible differential diagnosis in cats with primary alopecia or other skin lesions on the face exposed to inhalant glucocorticoids. Minimization of contact between the inhalant glucocorticoid and the skin can be achieved by wiping residual powder from the face and by keeping the mask tightly pressed to the skin to avoid contact with the surrounding area.
Observation of dynamic water microadsorption on Au surface
Authors: Huang Xiaokang , Gupta Gaurav , Gao Weixiang , Tran Van , Nguyen Bang , McCormick Eric , Cui Yongjie , Yang Yinbao , Hall Craig , Isom Harold
Published: April 2014

Experimental and theoretical research on water wettability, adsorption, and condensation on solid surfaces has been ongoing for many decades because of the availability of new materials, new detection and measurement techniques, novel applications, and different scales of dimensions. Au is a metal of special interest because it is chemically inert, has a high surface energy, is highly conductive, and has a relatively high melting point. It has wide applications in semiconductor integrated circuitry, microelectromechanical systems, microfluidics, biochips, jewelry, coinage, and even dental restoration. Therefore, its surface condition, wettability, wear resistance, lubrication, and friction attract a lot of attention from both scientists and engineers. In this paper, the authors experimentally investigated Au2O3 growth, wettability, roughness, and adsorption utilizing atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, reflectance spectrometry, and contact angle measurement. Samples were made using a GaAs substrate. Utilizing a super-hydrophilic Au surface and the proper surface conditions of the surrounding GaAs, dynamic microadsorption of water on the Au surface was observed in a clean room environment. The Au surface area can be as small as 12 μm2. The adsorbed water was collected by the GaAs groove structure and then redistributed around the structure. A model was developed to qualitatively describe the dynamic microadsorption process. The effective adsorption rate was estimated by modeling and experimental data. Devices for moisture collection and a liquid channel can be made by properly arranging the wettabilities or contact angles of different materials. These novel devices will be very useful in microfluid applications or biochips.
Argon–oxygen dc magnetron discharge plasma probed with ion acoustic waves
Authors: Saikia Partha , Saikia Bipul Kumar , Goswami Kalyan Sindhu , Phukan Arindam
Published: April 2014

The precise determination of the relative concentration of negative ions is very important for the optimization of magnetron sputtering processes, especially for those undertaken in a multicomponent background produced by adding electronegative gases, such as oxygen, to the discharge. The temporal behavior of an ion acoustic wave excited from a stainless steel grid inside the plasma chamber is used to determine the relative negative ion concentration in the magnetron discharge plasma. The phase velocity of the ion acoustic wave in the presence of negative ions is found to be faster than in a pure argon plasma, and the phase velocity increases with the oxygen partial pressure. Optical emission spectroscopy further confirms the increase in the oxygen negative ion density, along with a decrease in the argon positive ion density under the same discharge conditions. The relative negative ion concentration values measured by ion acoustic waves are compared with those measured by a single Langmuir probe, and a similarity in the results obtained by both techniques is observed.
Neural Mechanisms of Object-Based Attention
Authors: Baldauf Daniel , Desimone Robert
Published: April 2014

House or Face?

The neural mechanisms of spatial attention are well known, unlike nonspatial attention.
Baldauf and Desimone
(p.
424
, published online 10 April) combined several technologies to identify a fronto-temporal network in humans that mediates nonspatial object-based attention. There is a clear top-down directionality of these oscillatory interactions, establishing the inferior-frontal cortex as a key source of nonspatial attentional inputs to the inferior-temporal cortex. Surprisingly, the mechanisms for nonspatial attention are strikingly parallel to the mechanisms of spatial attention.
A Chloroplast Retrograde Signal Regulates Nuclear Alternative Splicing
Authors: Petrillo Ezequiel , Godoy Herz Micaela A. , Fuchs Armin , Reifer Dominik , Fuller John , Yanovsky Marcelo J. , Simpson Craig , Brown John W. S. , Barta Andrea , Kalyna Maria , Kornblihtt Alberto R.
Published: April 2014

No Light Control

Light is the main source of energy for plants and is also used as a signal for growth and development: Indeed, it can modulate up to a fifth of the entire transcriptome in both
Arabidopsis thaliana
and rice.

Petrillo
et al.

(p.
427
, published online 10 April) show that light can affect gene expression through alternative splicing of the serine-arginine rich protein
At-RS31
, required for proper plant growth. But photoreceptors are not involved; rather, a mobile retrograde signal from the chloroplast controls the alternative splicing of
At-RS31.
Manipulation of Discrete Nanostructures by Selective Modulation of Noncovalent Forces
Authors: Fukino Takahiro , Joo Hyunho , Hisada Yuki , Obana Maiko , Yamagishi Hiroshi , Hikima Takaaki , Takata Masaki , Fujita Norifumi , Aida Takuzo
Published: April 2014

Nanotube Engineering

In general, the reversible self-assembly of nanotubes through noncovalent bonding either gives fully assembled or fully disassembled products.

Fukino
et al.

(p.
499
, published online 10 April; see the Perspective by

Hudson and Manners

) developed a system with an intermediate possibility. Hollow nanotube structures were assembled from ferrocene-based tetratopic pyridyl ligands mixed with AgBF
4
. Through oxidation of the ferrocene groups, the tubes could be cut into stable, large rings and then reversibly reassembled into nanotubes by reduction of the ferrocene groups.
Identification of LRRC8 Heteromers as an Essential Component of the Volume-Regulated Anion Channel VRAC
Authors: Voss Felizia K. , Ullrich Florian , Münch Jonas , Lazarow Katina , Lutter Darius , Mah Nancy , Andrade-Navarro Miguel A. , von Kries Jens P. , Stauber Tobias , Jentsch Thomas J.
Published: April 2014

One Swell Ion Channel

When mammalian cells are faced with osmotic challenges, they need to swell or shrink. The molecular characterization of the volume-regulated anion channel (VRAC) remains unknown, although many candidate proteins have been proposed.

Voss
et al.

(p.
634
, published online 10 April; see the Perspective by

Mindell

) used a genome-wide screen to identify a group of leucine-rich repeat–containing (LRRC) proteins necessary for forming VRAC. Suppression of LRRC8A nearly eliminated the presence of VRAC in mammalian cells. A heterooligomer of LRRC proteins appears to form VRAC. Identification of VRAC components is an essential step forward in the understanding of swelling-activated ion channels and provides opportunities for understanding both the mechanism of the channel and its role in physiology.
Draft Genome Sequence of
Phaeomoniella chlamydospora
Strain RR-HG1, a Grapevine Trunk Disease (Esca)-Related Member of the Ascomycota
Authors: Antonielli Livio , Compant Stéphane , Strauss Joseph , Sessitsch Angela , Berger Harald
Published: April 2014

The Ascomycota species
Phaeomoniella chlamydospora
, in concert with other fungi, is a causal agent for grapevine trunk diseases. Here, we present the first draft of the
P. chlamydospora
genome sequence, which comprises 355 scaffolds, with a total length of 26.59 Mb and 7,279 predicted protein-coding genes.
Complete Genome Sequence of Staphylococcus aureus Phage GRCS
Authors: Swift Steven M. , Nelson Daniel C.
Published: April 2014

The
Staphylococcus aureus
phage GRCS was isolated from a sewage treatment facility in India and has shown potential for phage therapy in a mouse model of bacteremia. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of this bacteriophage.
Draft Genome Sequence of
Magnetospirillum
sp. Strain SO-1, a Freshwater Magnetotactic Bacterium Isolated from the Ol'khovka River, Russia
Authors: Grouzdev Denis S. , Dziuba Marina V. , Sukhacheva Marina S. , Mardanov Andrey V. , Beletskiy Aleksey V. , Kuznetsov Boris B. , Skryabin Konstantin G.
Published: April 2014

Here, we present the draft genome sequence of
Magnetospirillum
sp. strain SO-1, a freshwater magnetotactic spirillum isolated from the sediments of the Ol'khovka River, Russia.
Genome Sequence of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Strain B2C
Authors: Vipin Madhavan T. P. , Steen Jason A. , Hugenholtz Philip , Sakellaris Harry
Published: April 2014

Enterotoxigenic
Escherichia coli
(ETEC) is a major cause of diarrheal disease around the globe, causing an estimated 380,000 deaths annually. The disease is caused by a wide variety of strains. Here, we report the genome sequence of ETEC strain B2C, which was isolated from an American soldier in Vietnam.
Complete Genome Sequences of a Cytopathic/Noncytopathic Pair of Border Disease Viruses
Authors: Neill John D. , Ridpath Julia F.
Published: April 2014

The complete genome sequences of a cytopathic/noncytopathic pair of border disease viruses (BDV) that were isolated from a sheep with mucosal disease-like lesions were determined. The cytopathic virus possessed an insert of 288 nucleotides that was derived from the Jiv cellular transcript and had 37 nucleotide differences from the noncytopathic virus.
Genome Sequence of the Aerobic Arsenate-Reducing Bacterium
Pantoea
sp. Strain IMH
Authors: Tian Haixia , Jing Chuanyong
Published: April 2014

We here report the draft assembly for the genome of
Pantoea
sp. strain IMH, isolated from arsenic-contaminated soil in Inner Mongolia, China, with the ability to aerobically reduce arsenate to arsenite. The genome sequence will allow for the characterization of the molecular mechanisms of arsenate reduction.
Whole-Genome Sequence of “
Candidatus
Liberibacter asiaticus” from Guangdong, China
Authors: Zheng Z. , Deng X. , Chen J.
Published: April 2014

The draft genome sequence of “
Candidatus
Liberibacter asiaticus” strain A4, isolated from a mandarin citrus in Guangdong, People's Republic of China, is reported. The A4 strain has a genome size of 1,208,625 bp, G+C content of 36.4%, 1,107 predicted open reading frames, and 53 RNA genes.
Full-Length Genome Sequence of Porcine Deltacoronavirus Strain USA/IA/2014/8734
Authors: Li Ganwu , Chen Qi , Harmon Karen M. , Yoon Kyoung-Jin , Schwartz Kent J. , Hoogland Marlin J. , Gauger Phillip C. , Main Rodger G. , Zhang Jianqiang
Published: April 2014

Porcine deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) was detected in feces from diarrheic sows during an epidemic of acute and transmissible diarrhea. No transmissible gastroenteritis virus or porcine epidemic diarrhea virus was detected. The PDCoV USA/IA/2014/8734 from the herd was sequenced for full-length genomic RNA to further characterize PDCoV in U.S. swine.
Scurvy in an alcoholic patient treated with intravenous vitamins
Authors: Ong John , Randhawa Rabinder
Published: April 2014

Vitamin C deficiency is rare in developed countries but there is an increased prevalence in chronic alcohol abusers. In the UK, it is common practice to treat patients with chronic alcoholism who are admitted to hospital with intravenous vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6and C for 2–3 days, followed by oral thiamine and vitamin B-compound tablets. This is a case of a 57-year-old man with a history of chronic alcoholism and chronic obstructive lung disease who was admitted to the intensive care unit for pneumonia requiring ventilatory support. He was given high doses of intravenous vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6and C for 3 days then oral thiamine and vitamin B compound tablets but developed scurvy 4 days later. He was restarted on oral vitamin C supplementation and showed signs of improvement within 3 days of treatment.