bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Beyond social capital: a capability approach to understanding Refugee Community Organisations and other providers for “hard to reach” groups
Authors: Clarke Jennifer
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to explore the value of the “capability approach” as an alternative framework for understanding and conceptualising the role of Refugee Community Organisations (RCOs) and other providers for groups conventionally considered “hard to reach”.

Design/methodology/approach

– A study of the education services of RCOs, drawing primarily on semi-structured interviews with 71 users, is put forward as a case study for how the capability approach can be operationalised.

Findings

– The capability approach is found to offer various valuable insights, relating to its appreciation of the multi-dimensional nature of human wellbeing, the significance of individual diversity, and the importance of human agency.

Research limitations/implications

– The case study is based on a relatively small purposive sample, and may have limited external validity. As the research design proved strong for exploring how RCOs develop their users’ capabilities but weak for exploring if and how they may also constrict them, further research in this area is required.

Practical implications

– A number of valuable attributes of the capability approach are highlighted for broadening the understanding, the role of RCOs and other service providers.

Social implications

– The paper outlines the potential of the capability approach to contribute to policymaking related to RCOs and other providers, and to debates relating to social exclusion, cohesion and integration.

Originality/value

– The paper draws attention to the value of the capability approach within the field of migration research.
Prevalence of psychiatric disorders among juvenile offenders in Malaysian prisons and association with socio-demographic and personal factors
Authors: Aida S.A. , Aili H.H. , Manveen K.S. , Salwina W.I.W. , Subash K.P. , Ng C.G. , Muhsin A.Z.M.
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The number of juvenile offenders admitted to Malaysian prisons is alarming. The purpose of this paper is to determine the presence of any psychiatric disorders and their association with personal characteristics of juvenile detainees in prisons across Peninsular Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach

– Detainees were recruited from five different prisons in Peninsular Malaysia and interviewed by a psychiatrist using the MINI-Kid and FACES-IV, relevant personal and family information was also collected.

Findings

– A total of 105 detainees participated in the study. Almost all of the offenders (93.3 per cent) had at least one diagnosable psychiatric disorder and more than half (76.2 per cent) had two or more psychiatric diagnoses. Conduct disorder (CD) was the commonest disorder (59.0 per cent), while substance use disorders (SUD) was the commonest co-morbidity. A significant correlation was found between presence of CD, education level and SUD. Almost all (61/62, 98.4 per cent) of the detainees with CD, had not completed schooling (OR 8.03, 95 per cent CI 1.01-71.35), and detainees with this disorder were more likely to use substances than detainees without CD (OR 4.35, 95 per cent CI 1.90-9.99). Detainees with any psychiatric diagnosis were more likely to have four or more siblings in their families (OR 5.5, 95 per cent CI 1.1-26.9).

Originality/value

– There is a high prevalence of psychiatric disorders among juvenile offenders in Malaysian prisons, detection and intervention would be important.
Public sector managers and work stress
Authors: Løkke Ann-Kristina , Madsen Henning
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants of perceived work-related stress among public sector managers.

Design/methodology/approach

– A general questionnaire-based survey of managers at all managerial levels in Danish organizations concerning the content of their job and the way it is practiced (n=1,500, response rate 72 per cent) are applied. For the purpose of this paper only specific information related to the perception of work stress among public sector managers is analyzed (n=400).

Findings

– The perception of stress are influenced by factors like gender, managerial level, work load, the influence on own job situation, if they have children living at home as well as the percentage of work-at-home.

Research limitations/implications

– In a general survey work stress is one among a larger number of issues. This fact may influence the validity of the information – in a positive as well as a negative way. However, the findings point to issues which call for more in-depth analyses.

Practical implications

– The identified significant determinants influencing the perception of stress point to issues where preventive initiatives can be taken.

Social implications

– Since work-related stress may cause absence from work it may influence production and the health system. If preventive measures can be taken a positive impact on the economy may be the result.

Originality/value

– Work-related stress has been studied before. But little focus has been given to the public sector and especially managers. Furthermore, including a variety of potential explanatory determinants such a work-life balance, psycho-social work characteristics, gender and managerial level – as well as the potential interaction between them – give a detailed platform for the analyses.
Complexity as contingency in sales and operations planning
Authors: M.T. Thomé Antônio , Soucasaux Sousa Rui , F.R.R.S. do Carmo Luiz
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to test whether complexity interacts with Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) practices by positively moderating the impact of S&OP practices on manufacturing operational performance dimensions of quality, flexibility and delivery.

Design/methodology/approach

– Three hypotheses are developed on the relationships between S&OP practices, task complexity and process complexity and manufacturing operational performance. Scales are validated with structural equation modelling. The hypotheses are tested through a hierarchical regression analysis using data from a sample of 725 manufacturing plants from 21 countries.

Findings

– S&OP practices of organizational management, technological integration, measurement systems and integration of plans impact positively on manufacturing operational dimensions of quality, delivery and flexibility. Process complexity moderates the effect of S&OP practices, amplifying its impact upon all three performance dimensions. Product complexity moderates the effect on quality, but not on delivery and flexibility.

Practical implications

– S&OP practices of organizational and technological coordination of manufacturing and new product design; information technology to measure information sharing and planning; dedicated information systems do impact upon manufacturing operational performance. Results are amplified by process complexity. The more complex are the manufacturing processes the larger the gains of S&OP.

Originality/value

– This research applies contingency theory to S&OP and empirically demonstrates its impact on manufacturing operational performance and the moderator role of complexity.
See ColOr: an extended sensory substitution device for the visually impaired
Authors: D. Gomez Juan , Bologna Guido , Pun Thierry
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to overcome the limitations of sensory substitution methods (SSDs) to represent high-level or conceptual information involved in vision, which are mainly produced by the biological sensory mismatch between sight and substituting senses. Thus, provide the visually impaired with a more practical and functional SSD.

Design/methodology/approach

– Unlike any other approach, the SSD extends beyond a sensing prototype, by integrating computer vision methods to produce reliable knowledge about the physical world (at the lowest cost to the user). Importantly though, the authors do not abandon the typical encoding of low-level features into sound. The paper simply argues that any visual perception can be achieved through hearing needs to be reinforced or enhanced by techniques that lie beyond mere visual-to-audio mapping (e.g. computer vision, image processing).

Findings

– Experiments reported in this paper reveal that the See ColOr is learnable and functional, and provides easy interaction. In moderate time, participants were enabled to grasp visual information of the world out of which they could derive: spatial awareness, ability to find someone, location of daily objects and skill to walk safely avoiding obstacles. The encouraging results open a door toward autonomous mobility of the blind.

Originality/value

– The paper uses the “extended” approach to introduce and justify that the system is brand new, as well as the experimental studies on computer-vision extension of SSDs that are presented. Also, this is the first paper reporting on a terminated, integrated and functional system.
Ambicultural ambassador between East and West
Authors: Ke Jie
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this article is to report the first part of a recent interview with Dr Ming-Jer Chen. He shares his values, beliefs and philosophies on life, business and scholarship, how these philosophies have shaped his approach to teaching, research and service and his strategies for making important career and professional decisions.

Design/methodology/approach

– This article is based on a recent interview with Dr Ming-Jer Chen.

Findings

– Dr Ming-Jer Chen's firm belief in the oneness (Fixed graphic 1) is reflected in his constant pursuit of “making the world smaller” by closing divides of various kinds. During his career journey, Dr Chen has applied the philosophy of “keeping a balanced and integrated view” to tackle professional and career challenges with the wisdom of an ambicultural perspective. Practices influenced by his East–West background include management education and decision-making, as well as teaching, research and professional services.

Research limitations/implications

– Dr Chen's unique life and career experiences make him a role model for those who intend to pursue a career in management research. His ambicultural insight and the “balanced and integrated view” he applies may help junior scholars in dealing with challenges in their professional lives.

Originality/value

– The interview profiles a thought leader and strategist in management research and education, whose experience and wisdom may enlighten junior scholars along their career paths.
Local government policies and pharmaceutical clusters in China
Authors: Yu Yuanyuan , Ma Zhiqiao , Hu Hao , Wang Yitao
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study how local government policy influences the structure of Chinese pharmaceutical clusters during their industrial catch-up.

Design/methodology/approach

– This paper applies a case study method by targeting pharmaceutical clusters in Tonghua, Taizhou, and Tianjin.

Findings

– The varied structures of pharmaceutical clusters in China demonstrate local governments' efforts to utilize local resources accordingly. While the local governments in China introduce different policies to firms with different ownership in the process of constructing different cluster composition, all the local governments emphasize motivating the development of small- and middle-sized enterprises for cluster dynamics.

Practical implications

– The local governments should try to reach a balance between short-term foundation and long-term competitiveness for industrial cluster development.

Originality/value

– This paper provides the detailed analysis of local governments' influences on the formation of pharmaceutical clusters in China and helps to enrich the knowledge about how local government promotes industrial clusters to realize industrial catch-up through sectoral innovation system.
Heat transfer of convective MHD viscoelastic fluid along a moving inclined plate with power law surface temperature using finite element method
Authors: Poonia Minakshi , Bhargava R.
Published: June 2014

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to deal with the study of free convection magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) boundary layer flow of an incompressible viscoelastic fluid along an inclined moving plate and heat transfer characteristics with prescribed quadratic power-law surface temperature.

Design/methodology/approach

– The governing partial differential equations are transformed into non-dimensional, non-linear coupled ordinary differential equations which are solved numerically by robust Galerkin finite element method.

Findings

– Numerical results for the dimensionless velocity and temperature profiles are displayed graphically for various physical parameters such as viscoelasticity, Prandtl number, angle of inclination parameter, magnetic and buoyancy parameter. The local Nusselt number is found to be the decreasing function of magnetic field parameter whereas it increases with increasing values of Prandtl number, viscoelastic parameter and buoyancy parameter.

Practical implications

– The present problem finds significant applications in MHD power generators, cooling of nuclear reactors, thin film solar energy collector devices.

Originality/value

– The objective of this work is to analyze the heat transfer of convective MHD viscoelastic fluid along a moving inclined plate with quadratic power law surface temperature. An extensively validated, highly efficient, variation finite element code is used to study this problem. The results are validated and demonstrated graphically.
Accounting for false‐positive acoustic detections of bats using occupancy models
Authors: Clement Matthew J. , Rodhouse Thomas J. , Ormsbee Patricia C. , Szewczak Joseph M. , Nichols James D.
Published: June 2014

Acoustic surveys have become a common survey method for bats and other vocal taxa. Previous work shows that bat echolocation may be misidentified, but common analytic methods, such as occupancy models, assume that misidentifications do not occur. Unless rare, such misidentifications could lead to incorrect inferences with significant management implications.

We fit a false‐positive occupancy model to data from paired bat detector and mist‐net surveys to estimate probability of presence when survey data may include false positives. We compared estimated occupancy and detection rates to those obtained from a standard occupancy model. We also derived a formula to estimate the probability that bats were present at a site given its detection history. As an example, we analysed survey data for little brown bats Myotis lucifugus from 135 sites in Washington and Oregon, USA.

We estimated that at an unoccupied site, acoustic surveys had a 14% chance per night of producing spurious M. lucifugus detections. Estimated detection rates were higher and occupancy rates were lower under the false‐positive model, relative to a standard occupancy model. Un‐modelled false positives also affected inferences about occupancy at individual sites. For example, probability of occupancy at individual sites with acoustic detections but no captures ranged from 2% to 100% under the false‐positive occupancy model, but was always 100% under a standard occupancy model.

Synthesis and applications. Our results suggest that false positives sufficient to affect inferences may be common in acoustic surveys for bats. We demonstrate an approach that can estimate occupancy, regardless of the false‐positive rate, when acoustic surveys are paired with capture surveys. Applications of this approach include monitoring the spread of White‐Nose Syndrome, estimating the impact of climate change and informing conservation listing decisions. We calculate a site‐specific probability of occupancy, conditional on survey results, which could inform local permitting decisions, such as for wind energy projects. More generally, the magnitude of false positives suggests that false‐positive occupancy models can improve accuracy in research and monitoring of bats and provide wildlife managers with more reliable information.
Demographic responses of rare forest plants to multiple stressors: the role of deer, invasive species and nutrients
Authors: Dávalos Andrea , Nuzzo Victoria , Blossey Bernd
Published: June 2014

Forest ecosystems in eastern North America face multiple threats or stressors including plant and animal invasions and increased white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) herbivory. While each stressor may have independent detrimental effects on native biota, stressors often co‐occur and are likely to have interactive effects. Despite recognition that concurrent processes drive plant demographic responses, few studies evaluate independent and combined effect of stressors.

Using a network of 12 sites that varied in non‐native plant cover and introduced earthworm density and biomass, we experimentally assessed effects of deer exclusion (30 × 30 m paired plots), slug exclusion and nutrient addition on survival, growth and fecundity of four rare forest understorey plant species (Aristolochia serpentaria L., Agrimonia rostellata Wallr., Carex retroflexa Muhl. ex Willd and Trillium erectum L).

We found that single and combined effects of stressors were species‐specific and varied according to plant stage and demographic parameter. Interactions were prevalent among all studied stressors and, for most cases, did not follow predicted responses.

We found detrimental deer herbivory effects on reproductive A. rostellata and non‐consumptive effects on A. serpentaria and T. erectum. Negative deer effects follow underlying predictions, and override effects of other stressors, even when other concurrent processes are at play.

Contrary to expectations, we did not find negative effects of non‐native plants. Earthworms had positive effects on A. rostellata and C. retroflexa (especially when deer were excluded), but negative effects on T. erectum. Slug effects were dependent on other stressors, especially on interactions with non‐native plants and earthworms. Nutrient addition had a negative effect on survival of A. serpentaria and T. erectum, but positive effects on C. retroflexa and T. erectum growth.

Synthesis. We found prevalent but unpredictable interactions among all study factors and plant species. Negative direct and indirect deer effects overrode impacts of all other stressors we investigated. A multifactor approach is critical to predict plant responses to concurrent environmental forces. Assessment of combined effects should form an essential component of subsequent research on plant demography and management of declining species.
Plant species richness promotes soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in grasslands without legumes
Authors: Cong Wen‐Feng , van Ruijven Jasper , Mommer Liesje , De Deyn Gerlinde B. , Berendse Frank , Hoffland Ellis
Published: June 2014

The storage of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) in soil is important ecosystem functions. Grassland biodiversity experiments have shown a positive effect of plant diversity on soil C and N storage. However, these experiments all included legumes, which constitute an important N input through N2‐fixation. Indeed, the results of these experiments suggest that N2 fixation by legumes is a major driver of soil C and N storage.

We studied whether plant diversity affects soil C and N storage in the absence of legumes. In an 11‐year grassland biodiversity experiment without legumes, we measured soil C and N stocks. We further determined above‐ground biomass productivity, standing root biomass, soil organic matter decomposition and N mineralization rates to understand the mechanisms underlying the change in soil C and N stocks in relation to plant diversity and their feedbacks to plant productivity.

We found that soil C and N stocks increased by 18% and 16% in eight‐species mixtures compared to the average of monocultures of the same species, respectively. Increased soil C and N stocks were mainly driven by increased C input and N retention, resulting from enhanced plant productivity, which surpassed enhanced C loss from decomposition. Importantly, higher soil C and N stocks were associated with enhanced soil N mineralization rates, which can explain the strengthening of the positive diversity–productivity relationship observed in the last years of the experiment.

Synthesis. We demonstrated that also in the absence of legumes, plant species richness promotes soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks via increased plant productivity. In turn, enhanced soil C and N stocks showed a positive feedback to plant productivity via enhanced N mineralization, which could further accelerate soil C and N storage in the long term.
Reconceptualizing practice with multilingual children with speech sound disorders: people, practicalities and policy
Authors: Verdon Sarah , McLeod Sharynne , Wong Sandie
Published: June 2014

Background

The speech and language therapy profession is required to provide services to increasingly multilingual caseloads. Much international research has focused on the challenges of speech and language therapists’ (SLTs) practice with multilingual children.

Aims

To draw on the experience and knowledge of experts in the field to: (1) identify aspirations for practice, (2) propose recommendations for working effectively with multilingual children with speech sound disorders, and (3) reconceptualize understandings of and approaches to practice.

Methods & Procedures

Fourteen members of the International Expert Panel on Multilingual Children's Speech met in Cork, Ireland, to discuss SLTs’ practice with multilingual children with speech sound disorders. Panel members had worked in 18 countries and spoke nine languages. Transcripts of the 6‐h discussion were analysed using Cultural–Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) as a heuristic framework to make visible the reality and complexities of SLTs’ practice with multilingual children.

Outcomes & Results

Aspirations and recommendations for reconceptualizing approaches to practice with multilingual children with speech sound disorders included: (1) increased training for working with multilingual children, their families, and interpreters, (2) increased training for transcribing speech in many languages, (3) increased time and resources for SLTs working with multilingual children and (4) use of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF‐CY).

Conclusions & Implications

The reality and complexities of practice identified in this paper highlight that it is not possible to formulate and implement one ‘gold standard’ method of assessment and intervention for all multilingual children with speech sound disorders. It is possible, however, to underpin practice with a framework that ensures comprehensive assessment, accurate diagnosis and effective intervention. This paper proposes that by working towards the aspirations of the Expert Panel, SLTs can be empowered to facilitate appropriate services for multilingual children regardless of the context in which they live and the languages they speak.
‘Active play may be lots of fun, but it's certainly not frivolous’: the emergence of active play as a health practice in Canadian public health
Authors: Alexander Stephanie A. , Frohlich Katherine L. , Fusco Caroline
Published: June 2014

In the context of what has been termed a childhood obesity epidemic, public health institutions have recently begun to promote active play as a means of addressing childhood obesity, thus advancing play for health. Drawing on Foucault, this article problematises the way that children's play is being taken up as a health practice and further considers some of the effects this may have for children. Six Canadian public health websites were examined, from which 150 documents addressing children's health, physical activity, obesity, leisure activities and play were selected and coded deductively (theoretical themes) and inductively (emerging themes). Bacchi's () question‐posing approach to critical discourse analysis deepened our analysis of dominant narratives. Our findings suggest that several taken‐for‐granted assumptions and practices underlie this discourse: (i) play is viewed as a productive activity legitimises it as a health practice; (ii) tropes of ‘fun’ and ‘pleasure’ are drawn on to promote physical activity; (iii) children are encouraged to self‐govern their leisure time to promote health. We underscore the need to recognise this discourse as contingent and as only one of many ways of conceptualising children's leisure activities and their health and social lives more generally.
International Transmissions to Australia: The Roles of the USA and Euro Area
Authors: Dungey Mardi , Osborn Denise , Raghavan Mala
Published: June 2014

This paper examines the influences of the world's two largest developed economies, namely the USA and the Euro area, on Australia as an exemplar of a small open economy. To do so, we specify and estimate a structural VAR with bilateral linkages between the two large economies, and allow shocks originating in either to affect the Australian economy. More specifically, we show the role of foreign output shocks, the differential effects of USA‐ or Euro‐area‐sourced inflation and interest rate shocks on the Australian economy, and the relative unimportance of these foreign shocks to variations in the value of the Australian currency.
Vision and photoentrainment in fishes: The effects of natural and anthropogenic perturbation
Authors: COLLIN Shaun P. , HART Nathan S.
Published: June 2014

Vision and photoentrainment in fishes are vital for feeding, avoiding predation, spatial orientation, navigation, social communication and the synchronization of many homeostatic functions such as activity patterns and sleep. The camera‐like (image‐forming) eyes of fishes are optimized to provide a clear view of their preferred ecological niche, while non‐visual photoreceptors provide irradiance detection that mediates circadian photoentrainment, an endogenous time‐keeping mechanism (biological clock) to respond to predictable changes in environmental conditions. Fish and fisheries are under pressure from both natural and anthropogenic perturbation, which in many cases alters the intensity and spectral composition of the light environment on which they depend for their survival. This review examines the effects of a changing light environment and turbidity on the health of fishes within a developmental and ecological context. Understanding the sensory environment of fishes is vital to predicting their responses and, ultimately, their resilience to environmental change and the potential for maintaining sustainable levels of biodiversity.
Effects of noise on fishes: What we can learn from humans and birds
Authors: DOOLING Robert J. , LEEK Marjorie R. , POPPER Arthur N.
Published: June 2014

In this paper we describe the masking of pure tones in humans and birds by manmade noises and show that similar ideas can be applied when considering the potential effects of noise on fishes, as well as other aquatic vertebrates. Results from many studies on humans and birds, both in the field and in the laboratory, show that published critical ratios can be used to predict the masked thresholds for pure tones when maskers consist of complex manmade and natural noises. We argue from these data that a single, simple measure, the species critical ratio, can be used to estimate the effect of manmade environmental noises on the perception of communication and other biologically relevant sounds. We also reason that if this principle holds for species as diverse as humans and birds, it probably also applies for all other vertebrates, including fishes.
Human impact on fish sensory systems in the long term: An evolutionary perspective
Authors: ZAKON Harold H.
Published: June 2014

Humans have severely impacted global ecosystems and this shows few signs of abating. Many aspects of an animal's biology, including its sensory systems, may be adversely influenced by pollutants and environmental noise. This review focuses on whether and/or how various environmental disturbances disrupt the sensory systems of fishes. As critical as it is to document and understand the current effects of the human footprint, it is also important to consider how organisms might adapt to these impacts over the long term. The present paper outlines the sources of genetic and genomic variation upon which natural selection can act and then reviews examples of known genetic contributions of variation in fish chemosensory, visual and acoustico‐lateralis systems.
Frequent and prolonged nocturnal occupation of port areas by Yangtze finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis): Forced choice for feeding?
Authors: WANG Zhitao , AKAMATSU Tomonari , MEI Zhigang , DONG Lijun , IMAIZUMI Tomohito , WANG Kexiong , WANG Ding
Published: June 2014

During the Yangtze Freshwater Dolphin Expedition 2012, Yangtze finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis) were acoustically monitored in 9 port areas at night. During 6566 min of nocturnal monitoring, porpoise sonar was detected for 488 min (7.43% of the total time). Of all 81 encounters, the longest echolocation span obtained was 102.9 min, suggesting frequent and prolonged porpoise occupation of the port areas. A combined total of 2091 click trains were recorded, with 129 (6.2%) containing minimum inter‐click intervals (ICIs) below 10 ms (termed a buzz). Buzzes with a decrease in ICIs and search and approach phases that resembled feeding echolocation signals accounted for 44.2% (N= 52) of all buzzes. Buzzes with an increase in ICIs, suggesting a mirrored prey capture phase, accounted for 20.2% (N= 26) and could reflect attempts to locate escaped prey because they were followed by approach‐phase feeding buzzes. Anecdotal evidence of porpoises fleeing the proximity of vessels was observed. The recordings indicating clusters of porpoises feeding near the port areas suggest a forced choice for feeding due to the relatively higher prey availability in the port areas compared to other areas in the Yangtze River that are probably overfished.
Sound production in marbled rockfish (Sebastiscus marmoratus) and implications for fisheries
Authors: ZHANG Xuguang , GUO Hongyi , ZHANG Shouyu , SONG Jiakun
Published: June 2014

Recently, several rockfish species (genus Sebastes) have been reported to be soniferous. To determine whether an additional rockfish species produces sounds, passive acoustic recordings were analyzed from captive marbled rockfish (Sebastiscus marmoratus) during the non‐spawning season. Three distinct sounds were identified based on frequency features. The common characteristics among all sounds were low frequency (below 300 Hz) and rapidly dampened pulses consisting of 3–5 acoustic energy cycles. During free‐swimming conditions in the canvas tank, the fish produced voluntary sounds with lower frequencies than the disturbance sounds produced by individuals during prodding. Two types of sounds were identified in the disturbance context: one type consists of single or double pulses with two peak frequencies, and another type consists of a series of pulses with a single peak frequency. These results suggest that specific‐species and behavior‐associated sounds are potentially useful in passive acoustical surveys to monitor rockfish populations and distributions remotely.
RETRACTED: Bmi‐1 plays a critical role in protection from renal tubulointerstitial injury by maintaining redox balance
Authors: Jin Jianliang , Lv Xianhui , Chen Lulu , Zhang Wei , Li Jinbo , Wang Qian , Wang Rong , Lu Xiang , Miao Dengshun
Published: June 2014

To determine whether Bmi‐1 deficiency could lead to renal tubulointerstitial injury by mitochondrial dysfunction and increased oxidative stress in the kidney, 3‐week‐old Bmi‐1‐/‐ mice were treated with the antioxidant N‐acetylcysteine (NAC, 1 mg mL−1) in their drinking water, or pyrro‐quinoline quinone (PQQ, 4 mg kg−1 diet) in their diet for 2 weeks, and their renal phenotypes were compared with vehicle‐treated Bmi1‐/‐ and wild‐type mice. Bmi‐1 was knocked down in human renal proximal tubular epithelial (HK2) cells which were treated with 1 mm NAC for 72 or 96 h, and their phenotypes were compared with control cells. Five‐week‐old vehicle‐treated Bmi‐1‐/‐ mice displayed renal interstitial fibrosis, tubular atrophy, and severe renal function impairment with decreased renal cell proliferation, increased renal cell apoptosis and senescence, and inflammatory cell infiltration. Impaired mitochondrial structure, decreased mitochondrial numbers, and increased oxidative stress occurred in Bmi‐1‐/‐ mice; subsequently, this caused DNA damage, the activation of TGF‐β1/Smad signaling, and the imbalance between extracellular matrix synthesis and degradation. Oxidative stress‐induced epithelial‐to‐mesenchymal transition of renal tubular epithelial cells was enhanced in Bmi‐1 knocked down HK2 cells. All phenotypic alterations caused by Bmi‐1 deficiency were ameliorated by antioxidant treatment. These findings indicate that Bmi‐1 plays a critical role in protection from renal tubulointerstitial injury by maintaining redox balance and will be a novel therapeutic target for preventing renal tubulointerstitial injury.
Identification of novel mutations in the VPS33B gene involved in arthrogryposis, renal dysfunction, and cholestasis syndrome
Authors: Seo S. H. , Hwang S. M. , Ko J. M. , Ko J. S. , Hyun Y. J. , Cho S. I. , Park H. , Kim S. Y. , Seong M.‐W. , Park S. S.
Published: June 2014

Arthrogryposis, renal dysfunction, and cholestasis (ARC) syndrome is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutations in the VPS33B and VIPAS39. Here, we report novel mutations identified in four patients with ARC syndrome. We analyzed the entire coding regions of the VPS33B and VIPAS39 genes by direct sequencing. To detect novel splice site mutations, mRNA transcripts were analyzed by reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) and sequencing. All four patients had compound heterozygous variants in the VPS33B gene. One patient had a previously reported splice site variant with unknown significance, c.239+5G>A, and a novel nonsense mutation, c.621G>A. The other three patients had the c.403+2T>A mutation, and each of them carried one of the splice site variants, c.239+5G>A or c.499−11G>A. c.239+5G>A and c.499−11G>A created novel splice sites which resulted in abnormal transcripts. No significant VIPAS39 mutation was detected in all patients. In patients suspected with ARC syndrome, mutation analysis of the VPS33B gene should be employed as a primary diagnostic test before performing invasive testing procedures such as organ biopsies. Performing mRNA analysis can be useful in predicting the pathogenic phenotype when the mutation seems to affect a normal splicing mechanism.
Diagnosing unexplained fever: can quick diagnosis units replace inpatient hospitalization?
Authors: Brito‐Zerón Pilar , Nicolás‐Ocejo David , Jordán Anna , Retamozo Soledad , López‐Soto Alfonso , Bosch Xavier
Published: June 2014

Background

Outpatient quick diagnosis units (QDUs) have become an increasingly recognized alternative to hospitalization for the diagnosis of a number of potentially serious diseases. No study has prospectively evaluated the usefulness ofQDUfor the diagnosis of unexplained fever.

Materials and methods

We prospectively assessed patients referred toQDUdue to fever of uncertain nature (FUN), defined as a temperature > 38 °C during at least 1 week and no diagnosis after a previous evaluation. We also evaluated consecutive patients withFUNwho were hospitalized during the same period.QDUand hospital costs were analysed by micro‐costing techniques.

Results

We evaluated 176QDUpatients and 168 controls.QDUpatients were younger and required fewer investigations than controls.QDUpatients had higher prevalence of viral infections (36% vs. 8%,P < 0·001) and lower prevalence of bacterial infections (6% vs. 46%,P < 0·001) and malignancies (2% vs. 14%,P < 0·001). While time‐to‐diagnosis ofQDUpatients was longer than length‐of‐stay of controls (25·82 vs.12·89 days,P < 0·001), 56% ofQDUpatients only required up to two visits. Cost perQDUpatient was €644·59, while it was €4404·64 per hospitalized patient.

Conclusions

QDUpatients withFUNwere younger and had less serious diseases than controls including more viral and less bacterial infections and fewer malignancies. Mainly owing to untimely diagnostic reports, time‐to‐diagnosis was longer inQDUpatients. Cost‐savings inQDUwere substantial. Using objective tools to evaluate the condition severity and general health status ofFUNpatients could help decide the most appropriate setting for their diagnostic study.
Wicksell, Keynes, and the New Neoclassical Synthesis: What Can We Learn for Monetary Policy?
Authors: Tamborini Roberto , Trautwein Hans‐Michael , Mazzocchi Ronny
Published: June 2014

The New Neoclassical Synthesis (NNS) provides the established macroeconomic foundation for monetary policy. The Great Recession has, however, unveiled a number of unresolved issues. Prominent scholars have stressed the connections of the NNS with the founders of macroeconomic thought, Wicksell and Keynes. Our main contention is that the NNS fails to consider, and learn from, the hallmark of Wicksell's and Keynes's approaches to business cycles, namely investment–saving imbalances (ISI). Systematic studies of macroeconomic instability, and notably the Great Recession, give prominence to this phenomenon. Drawing on Wicksell's and Keynes's insights, this paper provides a framework to deal with ISI and monetary policy according to modern theoretical standards and techniques (e.g. agents seek to optimize intertemporally and markets clear). Section 2 of the paper clarifies some basic theoretical issues underlying the NNS vis‐à‐vis Wicksell and Keynes. Section 3 presents a dynamic model whereby it is possible to assess some basic issues concerning the macroeconomics of ISI that are at variance with the NNS. Section 4 shows how system stabilization can be achieved by means of a ‘Wicksellian’ interest‐rate rule, which, however, displays dynamic features and conditions that differ from the current NNS consensus. Central banks may thus learn that ISI deserve careful symptom monitoring, and that they require greater attention to the dynamic stability of choices of policy reaction functions.
Art as Alterity in Education
Authors: Zhao Guoping
Published: June 2014

In education, art has often been perceived as entertainment and decoration and is the first subject to go when there are budget cuts or test‐score pressures. Drawing on Emmanuel Lévinas's idea of the primacy of radical alterity that breaks the totality of our being, enables self‐transformation and ethics, and ensures community as a totality of singularities, and on Maurice Blanchot's expansion of radical alterity to art, Guoping Zhao argues that the role of art in education must be reconsidered and greatly expanded. Art as alterity takes students beyond where they are and what they have, and teaches them to appreciate and respect difference and diversity. If art as alterity is so essential to human subjectivity and society, and if education is conceived as a process of human growth and formation, art as alterity is essential to education and needs to be more seriously engaged and more fully integrated into the whole educational process instead of being isolated in arts education. Zhao concludes the essay by pondering the pedagogical implications of such a reconsideration of art as alterity in education.
The Future of the Humanities in Today's Financial Markets
Authors: Lea David
Published: June 2014

In this essay David Lea approaches the decline in the study and teaching of the humanities within the university context from a financial perspective. As humanities departments are either closed down or have their curriculum attenuated, it is obvious that the revenue previously available to support such programs has not been forthcoming. This change is often explained as the result of cost cutting necessary during periods of financial crisis, but this justification is belied by the fact that while the humanities have suffered during recent “financial crises,” other areas within the university have grown. Resources that could have supported the humanities have instead been applied elsewhere: first, to increasing the administration and ancillary support staff; and second, in support of subjects oriented toward technology and the market. Ultimately, Lea links the decline of the humanities to the growing financialization of the economy, the ideology of managerialism, and a contemporary tradition that accords with the “procedures of the realms of the market and of liberal individualist politics.”
Phosphorus fractions in bulk subsoil and its biopore systems
Authors: Barej J. A. M. , Pätzold S. , Perkons U. , Amelung W.
Published: June 2014

Improving phosphorus (P) accessibility in subsoils could be a key factor for sustainable crop management. This study aims to explain the quantity of different P fractions in subsoil and its biopore systems, and to test the hypothesis that crops with either fibrous (fescue) or tap‐root systems (lucerne and chicory) leave behind a characteristic P pattern in bulk subsoil, biopore linings and the rhizosphere. The crops were cultivated for up to 3 years in a randomized field experiment on a Haplic Luvisol developed from loess. Aqua regia‐extractable P (referred to as total P) and calcium acetate lactate‐extractable P (PCAL) were assessed at 0–30 (Ap horizon), 30–45 (E/B horizon), 45–75 and 75–105 cm subsoil depths. In addition, sequential P fractionation was performed on different soil compartments between 45 and 75 cm depths. The results showed that total P stocks below the Ap horizon (30–105 cm) amounted to 5.6 t ha−1, which was twice as large as in the Ap, although the Ap contained larger portions of PCAL. Both PCAL and sequential P extractions showed that biopore linings and the rhizosphere at the 45–75 cm depth were enriched, rather than depleted, in P. The content of inorganic P (81–90% of total P) increased in the following order: bulk soil = biopores <2 mm ≤ rhizosphere ≤ biopores >2 mm. Biopores >2 mm and rhizosphere soil were clearly enriched in resin‐ and NaHCO3‐extractable Pi and Po fractions. However, we failed to attribute these P distribution patterns to different crops, suggesting that major properties of biopore P originated from relict biopores, rather than being influenced by recent root systems. The stocks of the sum of these P fractions in the bulk subsoil (182 kg ha−1 at 45–75 cm depth) far exceeded those in the biopores (3.7 kg ha−1 in biopores >2 mm and 0.2 kg ha−1 in biopores <2 mm). Hence, these biopores may form attractive locations for root growth into the subsoil but are unlikely to sustain overall plant nutrition.
Nitrogen deposition impacts on the amount and stability of soil organic matter in an alpine meadow ecosystem depend on the form and rate of applied nitrogen
Authors: Fang H. J. , Cheng S. L. , Yu G. R. , Yang X. M. , Xu M. J. , Wang Y. S. , Li L. S. , Dang X. S. , Wang L. , Li Y. N.
Published: June 2014

The effects of atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition on carbon (C) sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems are controversial. Therefore, it is important to evaluate accurately the effects of applied N levels and forms on the amount and stability of soil organic carbon (SOC) in terrestrial ecosystems. In this study, a multi‐form, small‐input N addition experiment was conducted at the Haibei Alpine Meadow Ecosystem Research Station from 2007 to 2011. Three N fertilizers, NH4Cl, (NH4)2SO4 and KNO3, were applied at four rates: 0, 10, 20 and 40 kg N ha−1 year−1. One hundred and eight soil samples were collected at 10‐cm intervals to a depth of 30 cm in 2011. Contents and δ13C values of bulk SOC were measured, as well as three particle‐size fractions: macroparticulate organic C (MacroPOC, > 250 µm), microparticulate organic C (MicroPOC, 53–250 µm) and mineral‐associated organic C (MAOC, < 53 µm). The results show that 5 years of N addition changed SOC contents, δ13C values of the bulk soils and various particle‐size fractions in the surface 10‐cm layer, and that they were dependent on the amounts and forms of N application. Ammonium‐N addition had more significant effects on SOC content than nitrate‐N addition. For the entire soil profile, small additions of N increased SOC stock by 4.5% (0.43 kg C m−2), while medium and large inputs of N decreased SOC stock by 5.4% (0.52 kg C m−2) and 8.8% (0.85 kg C m−2), respectively. The critical load of N deposition appears to be about 20 kg N ha−1 year−1. The newly formed C in the small‐input N treatment remained mostly in the > 250 µm soil MacroPOC, and the C lost in the medium or large N treatments was from the > 53 µm POC fraction. Five years of ammonium‐N addition increased significantly the surface soil POC:MAOC ratio and increased the instability of soil organic matter (SOM). These results suggest that exogenous N input within the critical load level will benefit C sequestration in the alpine meadow soils on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau over the short term.
Comparison of the effects of clonidine, loperamide and metoclopramide in two models of gastric emptying in the rat
Authors: Goineau Sonia , Guillaume Philippe , Castagné Vincent
Published: June 2014

Several methods are used to evaluate gastric emptying (GE) in rats, which is an important endpoint in preclinical drug development. Although phenol red model or monitoring of plasma acetaminophen levels are well‐established procedures for GE assessment, their capacity to detect the effects of pharmacological agents has rarely been compared. This study was therefore designed to evaluate clonidine with loperamide and metoclopramide in the two test models. Rats were administered phenol red or acetaminophen test meals. The remaining amount of phenol red in the stomach or the time course of plasma acetaminophen levels was then measured. In the phenol red test, loperamide (8 mg/kg, p.o.) and clonidine (100 μg/kg, s.c.) decreased GE (−88 and −42%, P < 0.001 and P < 0.01, respectively). Metoclopramide (10 mg/kg, s.c.) accelerated GE (+42%, P < 0.01). Loperamide reduced acetaminophen plasma levels (−45% at T15 min, P < 0.05), suggesting a delayed GE. Clonidine and metoclopramide increased acetaminophen plasma levels (+115 and +152% at T15 min, P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively), suggesting an accelerated GE. The three substances did not affect plasma acetaminophen levels when acetaminophen was subcutaneously injected, thereby suggesting that acetaminophen metabolism/excretion was not modified. Whereas the phenol red test allows the evaluation of GE at a single time point, the measurement of plasma acetaminophen levels over the time would appear more informative. Nevertheless, the fact that clonidine, in contrast to expectation, increased plasma acetaminophen levels, suggests that data obtained with the acetaminophen method should be interpreted with caution for new chemical entities susceptible to modify absorption of acetaminophen from the small intestine.