bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Who Is in the Stepfamily? Change in Stepparents' Family Boundaries Between 1992 and 2009
Authors: Suanet Bianca , van der Pas Suzan , van Tilburg Theo G.
Published: June 2014

Guided by trends of increased prevalence and social acceptance of stepfamilies, the authors argue that stepparents are more likely to include stepchildren in their personal network in recent times. Data are from observations by 2 studies: (a) the Living Arrangements and Social Networks of Older Adults Study and (b) the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam in 1992–2009 of 247 Dutch stepparents age 54–91 years. The results revealed that in 1992, 63% of the stepparents had stepchildren in their personal network, and this percentage increased to 85% in 2009. The network membership of stepchildren was less likely for stepparents from living‐apart‐together partnerships. Stepmothers less often included stepchildren in their personal network than stepfathers. Both effects may be understood in terms of family commitment. Stepfamily boundaries have become more permeable over time, suggesting that there is an increased potential for support exchange and caregiving within stepfamilies.
Adult Children's Relationships With Married Parents, Divorced Parents, and Stepparents: Biology, Marriage, or Residence?
Authors: Kalmijn Matthijs
Published: June 2014

The author compared the strength of the relationships that adult children have with different types of parents: biological parents who remained married, stepparents, and biological parents who divorced. He analyzed Dutch life history data containing detailed measures of living arrangements and used multilevel models to make comparisons both between and within children (N = 4,454). The results revealed large differences in the strength of ties across parent types, but these were strongly reduced when differences in the length of shared residence during childhood were taken into account. Nonetheless, even after differences in investment opportunities were considered, there were negative effects of divorce and positive effects of biological relatedness. The “marriage protection” effect was stronger, especially for fathers, than the biological relatedness effect, pointing to the primacy of marriage over biology for parent–child relations in adulthood.
Dementia Caregiving in the Context of Late‐Life Remarriage: Support Networks, Relationship Quality, and Well‐being
Authors: Sherman Carey Wexler , Webster Noah J. , Antonucci Toni C.
Published: June 2014

Caregiving research has not accounted for increasingly diverse and complex marital and family histories of older Americans. The authors examined social relations and care‐specific positive and negative support networks among late‐life remarried wife dementia caregivers (N = 61) to determine associations among network structure, relationship quality with and support received from network members, and global assessments of family and stepfamily disagreement on caregiver well‐being. Own family and friends predominated in the social relations and positive networks. Although over half (54%) of respondents included a stepfamily member in their positive networks, stepchildren comprised the largest group (35%) in the negative networks. Larger negative networks and actively negative interactions were related to greater caregiver burden, and more global disagreement with stepfamily was associated with greater depression and burden. The findings illustrate the complex nature of support and the value of targeted examinations of caregiving support dynamics among late‐life remarried older adults and stepfamilies facing health demands.
Family Structure and Parent–Child Contact: A Comparison of Native and Migrant Families
Authors: Steinbach Anja
Published: June 2014

This article is an investigation of the frequency of contact between parents and adult children in Germany. It compares Turkish immigrants and native Germans and includes both biological and step‐relations. After the United States and Russia, Germany reports the third highest proportion of immigrants internationally, but the extent to which results regarding natives are applicable to immigrant families remains unknown. Data are from the first wave of the German Generations and Gender Surveys (2005) and the supplemental survey of Turkish citizens living in Germany (2006). A total of 7,035 parent–child relations are analyzed. The frequency of parent–adult child contact is significantly higher for biological parents living with the child's other biological parent than for parents without a partner, parents with a new partner, or stepparents. Contact is more frequent for all Turkish families, but the pattern of variation by family structure is similar for both Germans and Turks.
Parents' Partnership Decision Making After Divorce or Widowhood: The Role of (Step)Children
Authors: de Jong Gierveld Jenny , Merz Eva‐Maria
Published: June 2014

Using data from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Surveys, this study investigated divorced and widowed parents' (N = 350) decision making about living arrangements after repartnering: Twenty‐eight percent lived apart together (LAT) and others lived together (remarried or cohabiting). The focus was on determinants of LAT: Women, older respondents, residents of larger cities, and parents of 2 or more children are more apt to LAT. On the basis of additional qualitative interviews with LAT respondents (n = 25), the reasons for LAT were investigated. Data showed that many children are involved in pure boundary work in an effort to guarantee the continuation of their family. Other (step)children use the sabotage or refusal types of boundary work, not accepting the new partner or excluding a parent from contact, especially with grandchildren. Many of these efforts are successful. To preserve the ties with their children, parents often adapt their decision making about the living arrangements with a new partner accordingly.
Dating Relationships in Older Adulthood: A National Portrait
Authors: Brown Susan L. , Shinohara Sayaka K.
Published: June 2014

Dating in later life is likely common, especially as the proportion of older adults who are single continues to rise. Yet there are no recent national estimates of either the prevalence or factors associated with dating during older adulthood. Using data from the 2005–2006 National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, a nationally representative sample of 3,005 individuals ages 57–85, the authors constructed a national portrait of older adult daters. Roughly 14% of singles were in a dating relationship. Dating was more common among men than women and declined with age. Compared to non‐daters, daters were more socially advantaged. Daters were more likely to be college educated and had more assets, were in better health, and reported more social connectedness. This study underscores the importance of new research on partnering in later life, particularly with the aging of the U.S. population and the swelling ranks of older singles.
Continuity and Change in Mothers' Favoritism Toward Offspring in Adulthood
Authors: Jill Suitor J. , Gilligan Megan , Pillemer Karl
Published: June 2014

The importance of parental favoritism in childhood and adulthood has been well documented; little is known, however, about changes over time in such within‐family differentiation. Drawing on theories of life course processes and developmental psychology, the authors used 7‐year panel data collected from 406 older mothers about their relationships with 1,514 adult children to explore patterns of favoritism regarding caregiving and emotional closeness. The findings demonstrated continuity in patterns of mothers' favoritism. Mothers tended to prefer the same children across time, particularly regarding preferred caregivers. It was anticipated that children's social‐structural characteristics, similarity to their mothers, structural position in the family, and support provision to mothers would predict favored child status across time; however, only similarity and support processes were strong and consistent predictors of change and continuity in patterns of mothers' favoritism.
“Where Have All the Good Men Gone?” Gendered Interactions in Online Dating
Authors: Kreager Derek A. , Cavanagh Shannon E. , Yen John , Yu Mo
Published: June 2014

This article explores gendered patterns of online dating and their implications for heterosexual union formation. Using 6 months of online dating data from a midsized Southwestern city (N = 8,259 men, 6,274 women), the authors found that men and women tend to send messages to the most socially desirable alters in the dating market regardless of their own desirability levels. They also found that male initiators connect with more desirable partners than men who wait to be contacted, but female initiators connect with equally desirable partners as women who wait to be contacted. Female‐initiated contacts are also more than twice as likely as male‐initiated contacts to result in a connection, but women send 4 times fewer messages than men. Finally, the authors compared partner desirability levels over repeated exchanges and concluded that couple similarities are more likely to result from relationship termination (i.e., nonreciprocity) than initial homophilous preferences.
Immigration and the Family Circumstances of Mexican‐Origin Children: A Binational Longitudinal Analysis
Authors: Landale Nancy S. , Oropesa R. S. , Noah Aggie J.
Published: June 2014

Using data from the birth cohort of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (n = 1,200) and the Mexican Family Life Survey (n = 1,013), this study investigated the living arrangements of Mexican‐origin preschool children. The analysis examined children's family circumstances in both sending and receiving countries, used longitudinal data to capture family transitions, and considered the intersection between nuclear and extended family structures. Between ages 0–1 and 4–5, Mexican children of immigrants experienced significantly more family instability than children in Mexico. They were more likely to transition from 2‐parent to single‐parent families and from extended family households to simple households. There were fewer differences between U.S. children with immigrant versus native parents, but the higher level of single parenthood among children of natives at ages 0–1 and the greater share making transitions from a 2‐parent to a single‐parent family suggest ongoing erosion of children's family support across generations in the United States.
Identity Versus Identification: How LGBTQ Parents Identify Their Children on Census Surveys
Authors: Baumle Amanda K. , Compton D'Lane R.
Published: June 2014

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals often rely on conceptions of family that fall outside of heteronormative definitions regarding blood or legal ties. As a consequence, there is a greater potential for conflict between family identities and identification options on survey instruments. Drawing on interviews with 100 LGBTQ parents, the authors examined conflicts between identity and identification faced by LGBTQ parents who must describe their parent–child relationships on census surveys. They found that in cases where parents lack biological or legal ties or where the legal relationship is established after the parent–child relationship (e.g., with second‐parent adoption), parents often rely on alternative definitions of family when completing surveys. When navigating identification options, participants consider the survey intent and structure, heteronormative legal and biological frameworks of family, and emotional kinship ties. The findings suggest the need for researchers to consider the heterogeneity within each category of parent–child relationship captured on surveys.
Historical Trends in the Marital Intentions of One‐Time and Serial Cohabitors
Authors: Vespa Jonathan
Published: June 2014

This study explored whether cohabitors' marital intentions have changed over time and whether they are sensitive to a person's cohabitation history, that is, the number of cohabitations individuals have experienced. Using a sample of ever‐cohabited women, 16–28 years old, from the 2002 and 2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth (N = 6,023), the author found that the prevalence of serial cohabitation continues to increase among younger birth cohorts. Furthermore, the share of female cohabitors with plans to marry has been declining across time, net of demographic controls and cohabitation history. Serial cohabitation has strong negative associations with marital intentions, a pattern that was not present among the oldest birth cohort but has emerged among more recent cohorts. These findings extend prior work by showing that the downward trend in cohabitors' marital intentions is continuing among the youngest cohort of women and, importantly, is not explained by serial cohabitation.
Assortative Mating Among Dutch Married and Cohabiting Same‐Sex and Different‐Sex Couples
Authors: Verbakel Ellen , Kalmijn Matthijs
Published: June 2014

The authors compared male and female same‐sex and different‐sex couples in the Netherlands with respect to age and educational homogamy. Because many same‐sex couples in the Netherlands are married, differences between married and cohabiting couples were analyzed for all 3 groups. Analyses of data from the Dutch Labor Force Surveys 2001–2007 (N = 184,999 couples) showed that male same‐sex couples are less homogamous in terms of age and education than different‐sex couples. Female same‐sex couples are less homogamous in terms of age, but not in terms of education. No meaningful differences were found between married couples and cohabiting couples. Partnership status appeared less important than the sex composition of the couple. Given the relatively tolerant climate toward homosexuals in the Netherlands, the similarity of the results with those yielded by studies conducted in the United States may be considered striking.
Who Is the Residential Parent? Understanding Discrepancies in Unmarried Parents' Reports
Authors: Waller Maureen R. , Jones Maggie R.
Published: June 2014

Research examining parental reports of children's living arrangements has often relied on information about legally ordered custody agreements following divorce. This analysis used data from matched pairs of parents (N = 1,156) in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study who live apart to compare mother and father reports of their child's residence 5 years after a nonmarital birth. The authors found that over one third of unmarried parents disagreed about who their child lived with and that conflicting reports were much more likely when fathers spent nights with the mother (an indicator of part‐time cohabitation) and had overnights with the child on their own. The results further suggest that discrepancies in unmarried parents' reports were more closely associated with the complexity and ambiguity of their living situations than with the quality of their relationships with each other. Implications for measuring children's living arrangements in families formed outside of marriage are discussed.
Intergenerational Exchange and Expected Support Among the Young‐Old
Authors: Lin I‐Fen , Wu Hsueh‐Sheng
Published: June 2014

The authors used data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (N = 5,023) to determine how 3 attributes of intergenerational exchange (content, direction, and recency) are associated with older adults' expected sick care and comfort from their adult children. They found more like–kind associations (expecting same types of support that had been exchanged before) than spillover associations (expecting different types of support than that had been exchanged before). Same patterns of like–kind associations were found for expected sick care and comfort regardless of the direction and recency of exchange, but expected sick care and comfort had different patterns of spillover associations. Specifically, recent emotional transfer, upward or downward, was related to expected sick care, but only recent upward instrumental transfer was related to expected comfort. This study advances the gerontological literature by elucidating the complex relations between each of the 3 attributes of intergenerational exchange and expected support among older adults.
Parenthood and Life Satisfaction: Why Don't Children Make People Happy?
Authors: Pollmann‐Schult Matthias
Published: June 2014

Previous research on the association between parenthood and life satisfaction has shown that parents of minor children are not more satisfied with their lives than childless people. This study addressed the question of why children do not enhance their parents' life satisfaction. A major objective of this study was to determine whether and to what extent the costs of raising children act as suppressors of life satisfaction. The empirical analysis applied fixed‐effects models and used data from the German Socio‐Economic Panel (1994–2010, N = 16,021). The 3 primary findings of this study were that (a) parenthood by itself has substantial and enduring positive effects on life satisfaction; (b) these positive effects are offset by financial and time costs of parenthood; and (c) the impact of these costs varies considerably with family factors, such as the age and number of children, marital status, and the parents' employment arrangements.
Does Grandparenting Pay Off? The Effect of Child Care on Grandparents' Cognitive Functioning
Authors: Arpino Bruno , Bordone Valeria
Published: June 2014

The authors examined whether the provision of child care helps older adults maintain better cognitive functioning. Descriptive evidence from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (n = 5,610 women and n = 4,760 men, ages 50–80) shows that intensively engaged grandparents have lower cognitive scores than the others. The authors show that this result is attributable to background characteristics and not to child care per se. Using an instrumental variable approach, they found that providing child care has a positive effect on 1 of the 4 cognitive tests considered: verbal fluency. For the other cognitive tests, no statistically significant effect was found. Given the same level of engagement, they found very similar results for grandmothers and grandfathers. These findings point to the inclusion of grandparenting among other cognitively stimulating social activities and the need to consider such benefits when discussing the implications of this important type of nonmonetary intergenerational transfer.
Family Policy and Fertility Intentions in 21 European Countries
Authors: Billingsley Sunnee , Ferrarini Tommy
Published: June 2014

European countries show substantial variation in family policy and in the extent to which policies support more traditional male‐breadwinner or more gender egalitarian earner–carer family arrangements. Using data from the European Social Survey, the authors implemented multilevel models to analyze variation in fertility intentions of 16,000 men and women according to individual‐level characteristics and family policy across 21 European countries. Both traditional and earner–carer family support generosity were positively related to first‐birth intentions for men and women. In contrast, only earner–carer support maintains its positive relationship with second birth intentions. Family policy is not in general related to third and higher order parity intentions.
Perceptions of Equity, Balance of Support Exchange, and Mother–Adult Child Relations
Authors: Sechrist Jori , Jill Suitor J. , Howard Abigail R. , Pillemer Karl
Published: June 2014

Equity theory suggests that relationships are more harmonious when both members of a dyad believe that their exchanges are fair. However, the level and frequency of exchange, rather than perceptions of equity, have been the focus of most research on support and the quality of intergenerational relations. Using data from 1,426 mother–child dyads nested within 413 families collected as part of the Within‐Family Differences Study, the authors explored whether mothers' perceptions of equity are better predictors of closeness and tension than are mothers' reports of balanced exchanges of support. Mixed‐model analyses revealed that mothers' perceptions of equity were more consistent predictors of relationship quality than were the balanced exchanges of support, though the results varied somewhat by gender of adult child. These findings contribute to a growing body of research demonstrating that the psychological processes that shape intergenerational relationships mirror those of other ties.
Exploratory factor analysis of the Oral Health Impact Profile
Authors: John M. T. , Reissmann D. R. , Feuerstahler L. , Waller N. , Baba K. , Larsson P. , Čelebić A. , Szabo G. , Rener‐Sitar K.
Published: June 2014

Although oral health‐related quality of life (OHRQoL) as measured by the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) is thought to be multidimensional, the nature of these dimensions is not known. The aim of this report was to explore the dimensionality of the OHIP using the Dimensions of OHRQoL (DOQ) Project, an international study of general population subjects and prosthodontic patients. Using the project's Learning Sample (n = 5173), we conducted an exploratory factor analysis on the 46 OHIP items not specifically referring to dentures for 5146 subjects with sufficiently complete data. The first eigenvalue (27·0) of the polychoric correlation matrix was more than ten times larger than the second eigenvalue (2·6), suggesting the presence of a dominant, higher‐order general factor. Follow‐up analyses with Horn's parallel analysis revealed a viable second‐order, four‐factor solution. An oblique rotation of this solution revealed four highly correlated factors that we named Oral Function, Oro‐facial Pain, Oro‐facial Appearance and Psychosocial Impact. These four dimensions and the strong general factor are two viable hypotheses for the factor structure of the OHIP.
Association between leukaemia and X‐ray in children: A nationwide study
Authors: Shih Tian‐Yu , Wu Jay , Muo Chin‐Shin , Kao Chia‐Hung
Published: June 2014

Aim

The frequency of employing radiography is increasing. Long‐term risks of performing X‐ray procedures on children and adolescents for medical diagnosis have raised significant concerns.

Methods

In this study, we adopt the case‐control methodology to evaluate the relationship between the incidence rate of acute leukaemia and exposure to radiation during diagnostic X‐ray examinations for children. Based on 1998–2010 data obtained from the Taiwan Bureau of National Health Insurance database, we selected 58 children with leukaemia and randomly selected an additional 232 children as the control group.

Results

The mean age of children with leukaemia is 8.92 ± 5.24 years. The risk of leukaemia in children who underwent X‐ray examinations increased 2.14‐fold (95% CI, 1.18–3.87). In this study, we identified that, when undergoing X‐ray examinations, the risk of leukaemia in children increased for both sex and age groups. Specifically, the relationship between leukaemia and X‐ray in boys (OR = 3.28, 95%CI, 1.33–8.07) and in ages of 6 to 11 years (OR = 2.58, 95%CI, 1.09–6.10) was significant. Overall, the risk of leukaemia in children who underwent X‐ray examinations progressively increased from a ratio of 1.65 to 3.14. Moreover, an identical trend was observed for boys (1.85 to 6.42).

Conclusion

Exposure to X‐ray increased the risk of leukaemia in children.
Montreal Archive of Sleep Studies: an open‐access resource for instrument benchmarking and exploratory research
Authors: O'Reilly Christian , Gosselin Nadia , Carrier Julie , Nielsen Tore
Published: June 2014

Manual processing of sleep recordings is extremely time‐consuming. Efforts to automate this process have shown promising results, but automatic systems are generally evaluated on private databases, not allowing accurate cross‐validation with other systems. In lacking a common benchmark, the relative performances of different systems are not compared easily and advances are compromised. To address this fundamental methodological impediment to sleep study, we propose an open‐access database of polysomnographic biosignals. To build this database, whole‐night recordings from 200 participants [97 males (aged 42.9 ± 19.8 years) and 103 females (aged 38.3 ± 18.9 years); age range: 18–76 years] were pooled from eight different research protocols performed in three different hospital‐based sleep laboratories. All recordings feature a sampling frequency of 256 Hz and an electroencephalography (EEG) montage of 4–20 channels plus standard electro‐oculography (EOG), electromyography (EMG), electrocardiography (ECG) and respiratory signals. Access to the database can be obtained through the Montreal Archive of Sleep Studies (MASS) website (http://www.ceams-carsm.ca/en/MASS), and requires only affiliation with a research institution and prior approval by the applicant's local ethical review board. Providing the research community with access to this free and open sleep database is expected to facilitate the development and cross‐validation of sleep analysis automation systems. It is also expected that such a shared resource will be a catalyst for cross‐centre collaborations on difficult topics such as improving inter‐rater agreement on sleep stage scoring.
PCDH20 functions as a tumour‐suppressor gene through antagonizing the Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma
Authors: Lv J. , Zhu P. , Yang Z. , Li M. , Zhang X. , Cheng J. , Chen X. , Lu F.
Published: June 2014

Several members of protocadherins have been found involved in human carcinogenesis, but little is known about PCDH20 in HCC. Here in this study, using quantitative real‐time RT‐PCR assay, we demonstrated the downregulation of PCDH20 expression in 6 of 7 HCC cell lines tested. Similarly, PCDH20 expression in primary HCC tissues was also significantly downregulated in comparison with that in either disease‐free normal liver tissues or the adjacent nontumour liver tissues (P < 0.001, respectively). Among HCC tumour tissues studied, about 48% (51/107) of them showed reduced PCDH20 mRNA level. Further statistic analysis revealed that the reduced PCDH20 mRNA level in tumour tissues was much more common in younger patients group (aged <50 years) than that in older group (≥50 years) (60% vs 33%, P = 0.0303). Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and promoter hypermethylation analysis revealed that deletion and/or aberrant epigenetic modulation of PCDH20 gene account for its downregulation, at least in a fraction of tumour specimens. Moreover, ectopic expression of PCDH20 in HCC cells significantly suppressed cell proliferation, clonogenicity, migration and tumour formation. Notably, we proved for the first time that, via activating GSK‐3β, PCDH20 could inhibit Wnt/β‐catenin signalling pathway. Furthermore, our data suggest that PCDH20 may conduct its Wnt/β‐catenin signalling antagonizing function through suppressing Akt and Erk activities and promoting GSK‐3β signalling activities. However, the detailed mechanism remained undiscovered. In conclusion, our data here strongly suggested that PCDH20 may act as a candidate tumour suppressor in HCC.
Sensitivity and specificity of the Eating Assessment Tool and the Volume‐Viscosity Swallow Test for clinical evaluation of oropharyngeal dysphagia
Authors: Rofes L. , Arreola V. , Mukherjee R. , Clavé P.
Published: June 2014

Background

Oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) is an underdiagnosed digestive disorder that causes severe nutritional and respiratory complications. Our aim was to determine the accuracy of the Eating Assessment Tool (EAT‐10) and the Volume‐Viscosity Swallow Test (V‐VST) for clinical evaluation of OD.

Methods

We studied 120 patients with swallowing difficulties and 14 healthy subjects. OD was evaluated by the 10‐item screening questionnaire EAT‐10 and the bedside method V‐VST, videofluoroscopy (VFS) being the reference standard. The V‐VST is an effort test that uses boluses of different volumes and viscosities to identify clinical signs of impaired efficacy (impaired labial seal, piecemeal deglutition, and residue) and impaired safety of swallow (cough, voice changes, and oxygen desaturation ≥3%). Discriminating ability was assessed by the AUC of the ROC curve and sensitivity and specificity values.

Key Results

According to VFS, prevalence of OD was 87%, 75.6% with impaired efficacy and 80.9% with impaired safety of swallow including 17.6% aspirations. The EAT‐10 showed a ROC AUC of 0.89 for OD with an optimal cut‐off at 2 (0.89 sensitivity and 0.82 specificity). The V‐VST showed 0.94 sensitivity and 0.88 specificity for OD, 0.79 sensitivity and 0.75 specificity for impaired efficacy, 0.87 sensitivity and 0.81 specificity for impaired safety, and 0.91 sensitivity and 0.28 specificity for aspirations.

Conclusions & Inferences

Clinical methods for screening (EAT‐10) and assessment (V‐VST) of OD offer excellent psychometric proprieties that allow adequate management of OD. Their universal application among at‐risk populations will improve the identification of patients with OD at risk for malnutrition and aspiration pneumonia.
Oxygen isotope signatures of transpired water vapor: the role of isotopic non‐steady‐state transpiration under natural conditions
Authors: Dubbert Maren , Cuntz Matthias , Piayda Arndt , Werner Christiane
Published: June 2014

The oxygen isotope signature of water is a powerful tracer of water movement from plants to the global scale. However, little is known about the short‐term variability of oxygen isotopes leaving the ecosystem via transpiration, as high‐frequency measurements are lacking.

A laser spectrometer was coupled to a gas‐exchange chamber directly estimating branch‐level fluxes in order to evaluate the short‐term variability of the isotopic composition of transpiration (δE) and to investigate the role of isotopic non‐steady‐state transpiration under natural conditions in cork‐oak trees (Quercus suber) during distinct Mediterranean seasons.

The measured δ18O of transpiration (δE) deviated from isotopic steady state throughout most of the day even when leaf water at the evaporating sites was near isotopic steady state. High agreement was found between estimated and modeled δE values assuming non‐steady‐state enrichment of leaf water.

Isoforcing, that is, the influence of the transpirational δ18O flux on atmospheric values, deviated from steady‐state calculations but daily means were similar between steady state and non‐steady state. However, strong daytime isoforcing on the atmosphere implies that short‐term variations in δE are likely to have consequences for large‐scale applications, for example, partitioning of ecosystem fluxes or satellite‐based applications.
Fortification of rice: technologies and nutrients
Authors: Steiger Georg , Müller‐Fischer Nadina , Cori Hector , Conde‐Petit Béatrice
Published: June 2014

This article provides a comprehensive review of the currently available technologies for vitamin and mineral rice fortification. It covers currently used technologies, such as coating, dusting, and the various extrusion technologies, with the main focus being on cold, warm, and hot extrusion technologies, including process flow, required facilities, and sizes of operation. The advantages and disadvantages of the various processing methods are covered, including a discussion on micronutrients with respect to their technical feasibility during processing, storage, washing, and various cooking methods and their physiological importance. The microstructure of fortified rice kernels and their properties, such as visual appearance, sensory perception, and the impact of different micronutrient formulations, are discussed. Finally, the article covers recommendations for quality control and provides a summary of clinical trials.
Stacking of a stearoyl‐ACP thioesterase with a dual‐silenced palmitoyl‐ACP thioesterase and ∆12 fatty acid desaturase in transgenic soybean
Authors: Park Hyunwoo , Graef George , Xu Yixiang , Tenopir Patrick , Clemente Tom E.
Published: June 2014

Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr) is valued for both its protein and oil, whose seed is composed of 40% and 20% of each component, respectively. Given its high percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids, linoleic acid and linolenic acid, soybean oil oxidative stability is relatively poor. Historically food processors have employed a partial hydrogenation process to soybean oil as a means to improve both the oxidative stability and functionality in end‐use applications. However, the hydrogenation process leads to the formation of trans‐fats, which are associated with negative cardiovascular health. As a means to circumvent the need for the hydrogenation process, genetic approaches are being pursued to improve oil quality in oilseeds. In this regard, we report here on the introduction of the mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana) stearoyl‐ACP thioesterase into soybean and the subsequent stacking with an event that is dual‐silenced in palmitoyl‐ACP thioesterase and ∆12 fatty acid desaturase expression in a seed‐specific fashion. Phenotypic analyses on transgenic soybean expressing the mangosteen stearoyl‐ACP thioesterase revealed increases in seed stearic acid levels up to 17%. The subsequent stacked with a soybean event silenced in both palmitoyl‐ACP thioesterase and ∆12 fatty acid desaturase activity, resulted in a seed lipid phenotype of approximately 11%–19% stearate and approximately 70% oleate. The oil profile created by the stack was maintained for four generations under greenhouse conditions and a fifth generation under a field environment. However, in generation six and seven under field conditions, the oleate levels decreased to 30%–40%, while the stearic level remained elevated.
Synergistic effect of cyclodextrins and methyl jasmonate on taxane production in Taxus x media cell cultures
Authors: Sabater‐Jara Ana‐Belén , Onrubia Miriam , Moyano Elisabeth , Bonfill Mercedes , Palazón Javier , Pedreño María A. , Cusidó Rosa M.
Published: June 2014

Methyl jasmonate and cyclodextrins are proven effective inducers of secondary metabolism in plant cell cultures. Cyclodextrins, which are cyclic oligosaccharides, can form inclusion complexes with nonhydrophilic secondary products, thus increasing their excretion from the producer cells to the culture medium. In the present work, using a selected Taxus x media cell line cultured in a two‐stage system, the relationship between taxane production and the transcript profiles of several genes involved in taxol metabolism was studied to gain more insight into the mechanism by which these two elicitors regulate the biosynthesis and excretion of taxol and related taxanes. Gene expression was not clearly enhanced by the presence of cyclodextrins in the culture medium and variably induced by methyl jasmonate, but when the culture was supplemented with both elicitors, a synergistic effect on transcript accumulation was observed. The BAPT and DBTNBT genes, which encode the last two transferases involved in the taxol pathway, appeared to control limiting biosynthetic steps. In the cell cultures treated with both elicitors, the produced taxanes were found mainly in the culture medium, which limited retroinhibition processes and taxane toxicity for the producer cells. The expression level of a putative ABC gene was found to have increased, suggesting it played a role in the taxane excretion. Taxol biosynthesis was clearly increased by the joint action of methyl jasmonate and cyclodextrins, reaching production levels 55 times higher than in nonelicited cultures.
The Light‐Induced FOS Response in Melanopsin Expressing HEK‐293 Cells is Correlated with Melanopsin Quantity and Dependent on Light Duration and Irradiance
Authors: Georg Birgitte , Rask Lene , Hannibal Jens , Fahrenkrug Jan
Published: June 2014

We established a cell line (HEK‐hMel) expressing melanopsin in a tetracycline dependent manner to elucidate new aspects of melanopsin's light response. Different light stimuli were evaluated using FOS expression as response parameter. Immunoblotting was used to evaluate expression of melanopsin and FOS and qPCR to quantify FOS mRNA responses. The magnitude of the FOS response was found to correlate with the amount of melanopsin expressed by the cells, and a transient FOS mRNA induction followed by FOS protein still elevated after 24 h of illumination was revealed. Exposing the cells to darkness after light resulted in reduction of the response compared to exposure to light solely showing dependency on continuous light. Increasing irradiances of blue light (480 nm) up to 1011 quanta cm−2 s−1 elicited steep increases in FOS mRNA, while increases between 1012 and 5 × 1013 quanta  cm−2 s−1 resulted in equally high FOS expression. The HEK‐hMel cells were used to characterize facets of melanopsin's light‐induced FOS response not approachable in vivo. Novel information such as dependency of the FOS response on both melanopsin amount and light intensity in addition to a detailed time‐course of both FOS mRNA and protein were revealed.
Speech‐perception training for older adults with hearing loss impacts word recognition and effort
Authors: Kuchinsky Stefanie E. , Ahlstrom Jayne B. , Cute Stephanie L. , Humes Larry E. , Dubno Judy R. , Eckert Mark A.
Published: June 2014

The current pupillometry study examined the impact of speech‐perception training on word recognition and cognitive effort in older adults with hearing loss. Trainees identified more words at the follow‐up than at the baseline session. Training also resulted in an overall larger and faster peaking pupillary response, even when controlling for performance and reaction time. Perceptual and cognitive capacities affected the peak amplitude of the pupil response across participants but did not diminish the impact of training on the other pupil metrics. Thus, we demonstrated that pupillometry can be used to characterize training‐related and individual differences in effort during a challenging listening task. Importantly, the results indicate that speech‐perception training not only affects overall word recognition, but also a physiological metric of cognitive effort, which has the potential to be a biomarker of hearing loss intervention outcome.
Comparative study of ex vivo probe‐based confocal laser endomicroscopy and light microscopy in lung cancer diagnostics
Authors: Sorokina Anastasia , Danilevskaya Olesya , Averyanov Alexander , Zabozlaev Fedor , Sazonov Dmitry , Yarmus Lonny , Lee Hans J.
Published: June 2014

Background and objective

Probe‐based confocal laser endoscopy (pCLE) allows for real‐time non‐invasive histological imaging via bronchoscopy. Interpreting CLE images and correlating with traditional histopathology remains challenging. We performed an ex vivo study to evaluate the correlation between light microscopy findings and pCLE imaging of primary lung carcinoma.

Methods

Post‐lobectomy specimens for lung cancer nodules were examined ex vivo by pCLE. The examined areas were marked with brilliant green dye, and the surrounding tissues were stained by methylene blue dye. Lung tissue segments were resected and histopathological specimens were generated with 50‐μm thickness from the marked areas and stained with haematoxylin and eosin. Pathologists and pulmonologists reviewed the images for correlating features.

Results

Eighteen lobectomy specimens from 18 different patients were collected. Three primary features were observed in all samples using pCLE in the cancer surroundings: alveolar dystelectasis with thickening of alveolar walls, alveolar edema and a large amount of macrophages. The stromal and parenchymal components of the studied subtypes of non‐small‐cell lung cancer differed from each other. The stromal component for all nine adenocarcinoma specimens had a highly fluorescent field penetrated by dark hollows. All six squamous cell carcinoma specimens had the stromal component appeared as ‘biparously’ branching, highly fluorescent fibres. No stromal component was observed in any small‐cell carcinoma specimen, and at low power field, the cellular component was dominant with an observed light scattering pattern.

Conclusions

pCLE can identify lung carcinoma in ex vivo samples. Certain light microscopy features of lung carcinoma can be visualized with pCLE.
Offenders’ Risk‐Taking Attitude Inside and Outside the Prison Walls
Authors: Gummerum Michaela , Hanoch Yaniv , Rolison Jonathan J.
Published: June 2014

It has long been assumed that risk taking is closely associated with criminal behavior. One reason for placing criminals behind bars—aside from punishment and protecting the public—is to prevent them from engaging in further risky criminal activities. Limited attention has been paid to whether being inside or outside prison affects offenders’ risk‐taking behaviors and attitudes. We compared risk‐taking behaviors and attitudes in five risk domains (ethical, financial, health/safety, recreational, social) among 75 incarcerated offenders (i.e., offenders who are currently in prison) and 45 ex‐offenders (i.e., offenders who have just been released from prison). Ex‐offenders reported higher likelihood of engaging in risky behavior, driven largely by a willingness to take more risks in the recreational and ethical domains. Benefits attributed to risk taking as well as risk perception did not differ between incarcerated and ex‐offenders, indicating that the opportunity to take risks might underlie behavioral risk intentions. Our results also indicate that risk‐taking activities are better predicted by the expected benefits rather than by risk perception, aside from the health/safety domain. These results highlight the importance of studying the person and the environment and examining risk taking in a number of content domains.
CD3G Gene Defects in Familial Autoimmune Thyroiditis
Authors: Gokturk B. , Keles S. , Kirac M. , Artac H. , Tokgoz H. , Guner S. N. , Caliskan U. , Caliskaner Z. , van der Burg M. , van Dongen J. , Morgan N. V. , Reisli I.
Published: June 2014

The patients with CD3γ deficiency can present with different clinical findings despite having the same homozygous mutation. We report three new CD3gamma‐deficient siblings from a consanguineous family with a combined T−B+NK+ immunodeficiency and their variable clinical and cellular phenotypes despite the same homozygous mutation of the CD3G gene (c.80‐1G>C). We also re‐evaluate a previously reported non‐consanguineous family with two CD3gamma‐deficient siblings with the same mutation. The median age at diagnosis was 11 years (14 months–20 years). We found all five patients to display autoimmunity: autoimmune thyroiditis (n = 5), autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (n = 2), immune thrombocytopenia (n = 1), autoimmune hepatitis (n = 1), minimal change nephrotic syndrome (n = 1), vitiligo (n = 1) and positive antinuclear antibodies (n = 3) as well as high IgE (n = 2) and atopic eczema (n = 2). While CD3+TCRαβ+T cell percentages were low in all patients, only one had lymphopenia and 3 had CD3+T cell lymphopenia. Strikingly, we report frequent and multiple autoimmunity in tested heterozygous carriers in both families (n = 6; in 67%), and frequent autoimmunity in family members not available for testing (n = 5, in 80%). The results suggest that CD3G should be studied as a candidate gene for autoimmunity and that CD3gamma deficiency should be considered among other primary immunodeficiencies with predominantly autoimmune manifestations.
Mitigated Tregs and Augmented Th17 Cells and Cytokines are Associated with Severity of Experimental Autoimmune Neuritis
Authors: Wang X. , Zheng X.‐Y. , Ma C. , Wang X.‐K. , Wu J. , Adem A. , Zhu J. , Zhang H.‐L.
Published: June 2014

Experimental autoimmune neuritis (EAN), an animal model of human Guillain–Barré syndrome, has long been considered as a T helper (Th) 1 cell–mediated autoimmune disorder. However, deficiency of IFN‐γ, a signature Th1 cytokine, aggravated EAN, with features of elevated production of IL‐17A, despite an alleviated systemic Th1 immune response. We hypothesized that Th17 cells and their cytokines might play a pathogenic role in EAN. To further clarify the roles of these Th and regulatory T cell (Treg) cytokines in the pathogenesis of EAN and their interrelationship, we investigated the expression of Th1/Th2/Th17/Treg cytokines in EAN in this study. We found that the levels of Th17 cells and IL‐17A in cauda equina (CE)‐infiltrating cells and splenic mononuclear cells (MNCs) as well as in serum paralleled the disease evolution, which increased progressively during the initiation stage and reached higher value at the peak of EAN. The same pattern was also noticed for the expression of IL‐22. The diverse expression profiles of FoxP3, IL‐17 receptors A and C were seen in CE‐infiltrating cells and splenic MNCs in EAN. These findings indicate a major pro‐inflammatory role of Th17 cells and IL‐17A in the pathogenesis of EAN. Therapeutic interventions may be focused upon inhibiting Th17 cells and their cytokines in the early phase of EAN, so as to delay and suppress clinical signs of the disease, which has relevance for future studies on pathogenesis and treatment of GBS in humans.
Accepting and Negotiating Service Users' Choices in Mental Health Transition Meetings
Authors: Juhila Kirsi , Hall Christopher , Günther Kirsi , Raitakari Suvi , Saario Sirpa
Published: June 2014

Across Western welfare regimes, policies emphasize that service users should have more choices regarding their services. This article examines how service choices are presented, responded to and decided in interactions between service users and professionals in mental health transition meetings. Choice is often associated with consumerist user involvement ideas, but in mental health choice also relates to the democratic user involvement approach and to shared decision making between professionals and service users. The results of the study show that professionals construct service users as consumers by offering service options in choice making sequences, expecting users to make appropriate choices. Service users mostly act like consumers by responding to these choice options. However, the study also demonstrates that the professionals do not always accept the user's first choice but respond to them as non‐preferred. Sometimes, they also suggest choices on behalf of the users. In these ‘non‐accepting’ sequences, choices are negotiated in interaction between the parties, rather than users acting as autonomous choice makers. The sequences are based on two kinds of professional reasoning: first, the professional‐led needs assessment and, second, the structure of the service package that the user is being offered. This negotiation has elements of shared decision making and the ‘logic of care’. But it also has elements of paternalist control which challenge both consumerist and democratic service user involvement and suggests consideration of more collectively oriented service user actions.