bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Chapter 8. Listening performance and onset level  in formal instruction and study abroad
Authors: Beattie John , Valls-Ferrer Margalida , Pérez-Vidal Carmen
Published: June 2014

The present chapter seeks to throw light onto the main research question in SALA, to measure the short and long-term effects on listening abilities of a three-month Study Abroad (SA) period, in the case of seventy-five Catalan/Spanish advanced EFL participants within the SALA Project. They are examined in the light of the gains accrued during a preceding and a subsequent Formal Instruction (FI) context at home (AH) and in relation to onset proficiency level. Progress was found to be significant over time, the SA context was more beneficial than the FI context and the benefits were maintained 15 months later. In particular, low level listeners benefited most from the combination of FI and SA contexts, although remaining significantly different from native speakers of English.
Chapter 10. English L2 learners’ lexico-grammatical and motivational development at home and abroad
Authors: Juan-Garau Maria , Salazar-Noguera Juana , Prieto-Arranz José Igor
Published: June 2014

This chapter explores the effects of a three-month study abroad (SA) period on fifty-seven advanced learners of L3 English. More specifically, the study focuses on effects on the participants’ lexico-grammatical competence (measured through cloze and sentence rephrasing tests) and their interface with possible motivational changes. The analysis considers the preceding and subsequent formal instruction (FI) periods experienced in the at-home (AH) university. Thus, this chapter addresses the first two main objectives of the SALA Project, namely to compare the impact of two different learning contexts (SA and FI) (1) on the learner’s overall (in this case, lexico-grammatical) competence in English; and (2) on the learner’s affective variables (in this case, motivation – encompassing attitudes – and beliefs), also exploring the possible interaction between language achievement and motivational development. Results point to visible lexico-grammatical gains, with learners gradually approaching – although never quite reaching – native-speaker performance levels after both FI and SA, whilst evidence is also found for positive long-term effects of the latter. Lastly, integrative orientations towards the target-language community are seen to rise in both contexts.
Chapter 11. A longitudinal study of learners’ motivation and beliefs in at home and study abroad contexts
Authors: Trenchs-Parera Mireia , Juan-Garau Maria
Published: June 2014

SLA research has foregrounded the role of motivation and beliefs in successful language learning. However, little is known about how they are affected by short stays abroad (SA). This chapter breaks new ground by examining context-sensitive changes in these affective factors in advanced-level English learners. To explore the short-, long-term and longitudinal effects of SA and at-home Formal Instruction (FI), data were collected through a questionnaire upon university entry, after FI, after a three-month SA, and 15 months later. FI triggered positive changes in self-confidence and intended effort, while SA heightened the development of positive motivational stands, including the reduction of anxiety and the attribution of importance to listening abilities, hence providing evidence of the dynamic and context-sensitive nature of these affective factors.
Dutch and English literacy and language outcomes of dyslexic students in regular and bilingual secondary education
Authors: de Bree Elise , Unsworth Sharon
Published: June 2014

An increasing number of schools in the Netherlands offer bilingual (secondary) education, usually combining Dutch with English. As yet, it remains unclear whether students with dyslexia are able to cope in this type of educational setting. To address this question, the oral language and literacy skills of dyslexic and non-dyslexic students attending regular and bilingual VWO (pre-university) secondary education were compared. Results confirmed the benefits to English proficiency offered by this type of education as found in earlier studies (Van der Leij et al., 2010; Verspoor et al., 2010). In addition, dyslexic students at bilingual schools scored significantly higher on English literacy and language tasks than their dyslexic peers in regular programmes, suggesting that bilingual secondary education is not too difficult for students with dyslexia and may in fact be just as beneficial for this group as for non-dyslexics.
Raters’ social considerations in the essay rating process
Authors: Chen Jianlin , Sercu Lies
Published: June 2014

The social cognitive view on essay rating process argues that human essay rating is constrained by a series of the measures issued by the test institution. However, studies of the institutional constraints all focused on text quality relevant factors interfering into the rating process. Text quality irrelevant social factors remain uninvestigated. Taking the TEM8 (a test for English majors in China) as an example, the present study explores into those factors. Raters’ think aloud protocols when rating essays and the follow up interviews identified a number of text quality irrelevant social factors raters bring into consideration when scoring essays, such as institutional awareness, test knowledge, test taker expectation, knowledge of rating system, ethical consideration and physical condition. The way those factors influence the rating process is further discussed. The results are meaningful both for the understanding of the essay rating construct and human essay rating practice.
De verhalen van kinderen met een verstandelijke beperking
Authors: van den Heuij Kirsten
Published: June 2014

Eightteen intellectually disabled children (IQ ≤ 70) between ten and twelve years old were compared with 18 typically developing children between four and six years old on their lexical productivity and their use and variety of seven word classes: verbs, conjunctions, pronouns, articles, adverbs, adjectives and prepositions. There were no significant differences between the intellectually disabled children and the typically developing children in terms of lexical productivity and vocabulary. Only the Dutch article het was used less by the intellectually disabled children. Explanations of the limited use of the article het and suggestions for language education for intellectually disabled children are discussed.
Second person verb forms in Tibeto-Burman
Authors: DeLancey Scott
Published: June 2014

Since the beginning of research on the PTB verb agreement, 2nd person marking has posed a persistent problem. Every scholar who has dealt with the problem reconstructs a set of person/number suffixes including 2sg #-n(a). But there is also strong evidence for a #t‑prefix which also indexes 2nd person. My purpose in this paper is to summarize the results of a number of descriptions and analyses which have appeared over the last decade or so, which provide new evidence concerning the #t‑prefix, and resolve some of the problems which had previously impeded our understanding of this form. I will show that there were two distinct verb forms used for 2nd person reference in PTB. In the final section of the paper I will speculate about the implications of this fact.
The Duoxu Language and the Ersu-Lizu-Duoxu relationship
Authors: Chirkova Katia
Published: June 2014

Duoxu is a terminally endangered and virtually undescribed Tibeto-Burman language, spoken in the historically multi-ethnic and multi-lingual Miǎnníng county of Sìchuān province in the People’s Republic of China. Until recently, Duoxu was known only through a 740-word vocabulary list in the Sino-Tibetan vocabulariesXīfān Yìyǔ[Tibetan-Chinese bilingual glossary], recorded in Chinese and Tibetan transcriptions in the 18th century, and a grammatical sketch (Huáng & Yǐn 2012). Researchers who have worked on the language (Nishida 1973, Sūn 1982, Huáng & Yǐn 2012) have expressed different views about the features and the genetic position of Duoxu, variously viewing it as (1) closely related to Lolo-Burmese languages (Nishida 1973), (2) closely related to Ersu and Lizu, two neighboring languages that are currently classified as members of the Qiangic subgroup of the Tibeto-Burman language family (Sūn 1982), or (3) distantly related to those two languages and to Qiangic languages at large (Huáng & Yǐn 2012).

The Duoxu language is critically endangered and urgently requires documentation. It is of great value for our understanding of the linguistic diversity of the region, and of its linguistic history. It is also of great value as a modern reflection of a language that was recorded in the 18th century. This paper makes a significant contribution in all these areas. Based on new fieldwork with all remaining elderly Duoxu speakers, this study provides newly collected data and a new analysis. It compares the newly collected data with the 18th-century attestations of Duoxu as well as with its two putative sister languages Ersu and Lizu. The conclusion of the study is that Duoxu is closely related to Ersu and Lizu, with superficial differences attributed to long-standing and on-going contact influence from Southwestern Mandarin.
Production of Bacillus subtilis-fermented red alga Porphyra dentata suspension with fibrinolytic and immune-enhancing activities
Authors: Lin Hong-Ting Victor , Hwang Pai-An , Lin Tzu-Chun , Tsai Guo-Jane
Published: June 2014

The fermented marine alga Porphyra dentata suspension was tested for its fibrinolytic and immune-enhancing activities. An isolated Bacillus subtilis N2 strain was selected for its fibrinolytic activity on fibrin plates. After investigating the effects of biomass amounts of P. dentata powder in water, various additives including sugars, nitrogen-containing substances, lipids and minerals, and cultural conditions of temperature and agitation in flask, the highest fibrinolytic activity in the cultural filtrate was obtained by cultivating N2 strain in 3% (w/v) P. dentata powder suspension containing 1% peanut oil at 37 °C, 150 rpm for 48 h. A fermentor system was further established using the same medium with controlled pH value of 7.0 at 37 °C, 150 rpm, 2.0 vvm for 48 h for the best fibrinolytic activity. The fermented product also showed its immune-enhancing activity by increasing cell proliferation and stimulating the secretion of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in J774.1 cells.
Reduction of the chronic stress response by inhalation of hiba (Thujopsis dolabrata) essential oil in rats
Authors: Matsuura Tetsuya , Yamaguchi Takuya , Zaike Youhei , Yanagihara Kousei , Ichinose Mitsuyuki
Published: June 2014

To verify the effects of hiba essential oil in restrained stressed rats, we analyzed physiological variables and psychophysiological behavior. Stressed-HEO rats inhaled hiba essential oil aroma after restraint period. The quantities of food and water intake and the excretion amount of stressed rats were smaller than those of non-stressed control rats. Body weights of stressed rats decreased compared with those of control rats. These physiological variables of stress-HEO rats significantly recovered compared with those of stressed rats (P < 0.001). Stress-related anxiety was assessed using the elevated plus-maze test. Entry times into the open arms of stressed rats were less than those of control rats (P < 0.05). In contrast, the suppression of entry times into the open arms of stressed rats was restored by the inhalation of hiba oil. The results suggest that hiba essential oil inhalation reduced stress-induced growth inhibition and stress-related anxiety.
Unequal Educational Transitions in Estonia
Authors: Saar Ellu , Aimre Kristel-Amelie
Published: June 2014

The aim of this paper is to analyse the impact of social origin on the transition from basic to secondary education and from secondary to tertiary education, comparing four cohorts born between 1935 and 1984. The analysis focuses on testing four hypotheses, which are mainly derived from the theses of maximally maintained inequality, effectively maintained inequality and the changes in the Estonian education system. The analysis is based on data from the Estonian Social Survey, 2004–2005, which gathered retrospective information about the educational transitions of respondents and their social origins. The findings showed the persistent inequality in the transition to secondary education during the socialist period, despite the expansion of secondary education in the 1960s and 1970s. However, as a result of declining enrolments in the 1990s, social inequality in the transition probabilities to secondary education increased significantly. We found that social origin had a strong impact on the transition to higher education, but surprisingly this effect did not change when comparing cohorts. We can also point out that the distribution of educational opportunity is related more to the rules that govern educational selection than to the expansion of the educational system per se.
SIVA1 directs the E3 ubiquitin ligase RAD18 for PCNA monoubiquitination
Authors: Han Jinhua , Liu Ting , Huen Michael S.Y. , Hu Lin , Chen Zhiqiu , Huang Jun
Published: June 2014

Translesion DNA synthesis (TLS) is a universal DNA damage tolerance mechanism conserved from yeast to mammals. A key event in the regulation of TLS is the monoubiquitination of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Extensive evidence indicates that the RAD6–RAD18 ubiquitin-conjugating/ligase complex specifically monoubiquitinates PCNA and regulates TLS repair. However, the mechanism by which the RAD6–RAD18 complex is targeted to PCNA has remained elusive. In this study, we used an affinity purification approach to isolate the PCNA-containing complex and have identified SIVA1 as a critical regulator of PCNA monoubiquitination. We show that SIVA1 constitutively interacts with PCNA via a highly conserved PCNA-interacting peptide motif. Knockdown of SIVA1 compromised RAD18-dependent PCNA monoubiquitination and Polη focus formation, leading to elevated ultraviolet sensitivity and mutation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that SIVA1 interacts with RAD18 and serves as a molecular bridge between RAD18 and PCNA, thus targeting the E3 ligase activity of RAD18 onto PCNA. Collectively, our results provide evidence that the RAD18 E3 ligase requires an accessory protein for binding to its substrate PCNA.
SLK-dependent activation of ERMs controls LGN–NuMA localization and spindle orientation
Authors: Machicoane Mickael , de Frutos Cristina A. , Fink Jenny , Rocancourt Murielle , Lombardi Yannis , Garel Sonia , Piel Matthieu , Echard Arnaud
Published: June 2014

Mitotic spindle orientation relies on a complex dialog between the spindle microtubules and the cell cortex, in which F-actin has been recently implicated. Here, we report that the membrane–actin linkers ezrin/radixin/moesin (ERMs) are strongly and directly activated by the Ste20-like kinase at mitotic entry in mammalian cells. Using microfabricated adhesive substrates to control the axis of cell division, we found that the activation of ERMs plays a key role in guiding the orientation of the mitotic spindle. Accordingly, impairing ERM activation in apical progenitors of the mouse embryonic neocortex severely disturbed spindle orientation in vivo. At the molecular level, ERM activation promotes the polarized association at the mitotic cortex of leucine-glycine-asparagine repeat protein (LGN) and nuclear mitotic apparatus (NuMA) protein, two essential factors for spindle orientation. We propose that activated ERMs, together with Gαi, are critical for the correct localization of LGN–NuMA force generator complexes and hence for proper spindle orientation.
Bridging the gap: Membrane contact sites in signaling, metabolism, and organelle dynamics
Authors: Prinz William A.
Published: June 2014

Regions of close apposition between two organelles, often referred to as membrane contact sites (MCSs), mostly form between the endoplasmic reticulum and a second organelle, although contacts between mitochondria and other organelles have also begun to be characterized. Although these contact sites have been noted since cells first began to be visualized with electron microscopy, the functions of most of these domains long remained unclear. The last few years have witnessed a dramatic increase in our understanding of MCSs, revealing the critical roles they play in intracellular signaling, metabolism, the trafficking of metabolites, and organelle inheritance, division, and transport.
A different angle on cell division
Authors: Leslie Mitch
Published: June 2014

Study shows how actin-binding proteins help tilt the mitotic spindle.
Monotonicity of entropy for real multimodal maps
Authors: Bruin Henk , van Strien Sebastian
Published: June 2014

In 1992, Milnor posed the Monotonicity Conjecture that within a family of real multimodal polynomial interval maps with only real critical points, the isentropes, i.e., the sets of parameters for which the topological entropy is constant, are connected. This conjecture was already proved in the mid-1980s for quadratic maps by a number of different methods, see A. Douady (1993, 1995), A. Douady and J.H. Hubbard (1984, 1985), W. de Melo and S. van Strein (1993), J. Milnor and W. Thurston (1986, 1988), and M. Tsujii (2000). In 2000, Milnor and Tresser, provided a proof for the case of cubic maps. In this paper we will prove the general case of this 20 year old conjecture.
Non-coding RNAs: a new RNA world
Authors: Wang Ling
Published: June 2014

These days, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) including small RNAs and long ncRNAs (lncRNAs) are among the hottest topics in biology. Various types of ncRNAs and their functions have been discovered: from the well-understood tRNAs, rRNAs and miRNAs to the relatively less known piRNAs and lncRNAs. As more and more mysteries about ncRNAs are resolved, scientists look toward new methodologies and technologies to further explore the ncRNA wonderland. Haifan Lin and Yijun Qi, two renowned biologists based in the USA and China, respectively, recently spoke with NSR about their research and views on ncRNAs.
The battle against PM2.5 is on
Authors: Wang Ling
Published: June 2014

On 21 February 2014, almost 15% of China (mostly in the east) was enveloped by haze with hazardous PM2.5 pollutants (particulate matter with size smaller than 2.5 μm). This is a problem that had also frequently occurred in 2013. During the subsequent meeting of the Chinese parliament in mid-March 2014, a national battle against air pollution in future years is proposed ‘in order to accelerate the overall environmental initiatives and improve people's quality of life’. Zhongli Ding, Vice President of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and a climatologist with extensive experience in research and policy making, stated clearly that only the most stringent environment standard implementation could curb the present problem. Never before has a country faced such complex conditions as China. ‘We have London fog and San Francisco's smog combined, and moreover, 10 provinces and cities in eastern China, including Beijing and Tianjin, accounting for only 0.6% of the world land area, but the highest per unit area emission in the world; the entire Hebei province is one big smokestack.’ In an interview with NSR and a meteorologist Huijun Wang, Ding talked about how China is currently combating with air pollution.
Land management trumps the effects of climate change and elevated CO2 on grassland functioning
Authors: Thébault Aurélie , Mariotte Pierre , Lortie Christopher J. , MacDougall Andrew S.
Published: June 2014

Grasslands cover ˜30% of the Earth's terrestrial surface and provide many ecosystem services. Many grasslands are heavily managed to maximize these services for human benefit, but the outcome of management is anticipated to be increasingly influenced by various aspects of climate change and elevated atmospheric CO2. The relative importance of global change vs. land management on grasslands is largely unknown.

A meta‐analysis is used here to examine drivers at both scales primarily targeting services provided by grasslands relating to plant productivity (above‐ and below‐ground biomass) and soil processes (nutrients and soil respiration) in 38 manipulative experiments published in the last decade. We specifically target effects of (i) single and combined land management practices (LMs), (ii) single and combined factors relating to broad‐scale climate change and elevated CO2, and (iii) combined management practices and changes to climate and CO2. Collectively, this examines the general efficacy of global change models in predicting changes to grassland functioning.

We found that combinations of management practices had approximately double the explanatory power for variation in grassland services compared with individual or interactive effects of factors associated with climate change and CO2. These interacting management practices such as nutrient additions and defoliation predominantly influenced functions associated with productivity or biomass both below and above ground. The effects of interacting factors of climate and CO2 influenced a wider range of ecosystem functions, but the magnitude of these effects was relatively smaller.

Interactions between management practices or between climate change/CO2 factors always had higher explanatory power than any factor in isolation indicating that multivariate synergistic models of environmental change can better describe impacts on ecosystem function in plant communities (e.g. relative to univariate climate‐based models). Given that the magnitude and direction (positive or negative) of the interactions varied widely, this also implies that the outcomes of these multivariate interactions can vary spatially, temporally or by immediate context (e.g. management prescriptions).

Synthesis. Although our work confirms how climate change and CO2 can affect many ecosystem‐based functional attributes, it suggests that combinations of LMs remain the dominant set of factors in determining the performance of grassland plant communities. Land management may thus be critical for influencing projected responses to future climate change and elevated CO2 in models of grassland function at least for factors relating to primary production.
Relationships between adaptive and neutral genetic diversity and ecological structure and functioning: a meta‐analysis
Authors: Whitlock Raj
Published: June 2014

Understanding the effects of intraspecific genetic diversity on the structure and functioning of ecological communities is a fundamentally important part of evolutionary ecology and may also have conservation relevance in identifying the situations in which genetic diversity coincides with species‐level diversity.

Early studies within this field documented positive relationships between genetic diversity and ecological structure, but recent studies have challenged these findings. Conceptual synthesis has been hampered because studies have used different measures of intraspecific variation (phenotypically adaptive vs. neutral) and have considered different measures of ecological structure in different ecological and spatial contexts. The aim of this study is to strengthen conceptual understanding by providing an empirical synthesis quantifying the relationship between genetic diversity and ecological structure.

Here, I present a meta‐analysis of the relationship between genetic diversity within plant populations and the structure and functioning of associated ecological communities (including 423 effect sizes from 70 studies). I usedBayesian meta‐analyses to examine (i) the strength and direction of this relationship, (ii) the extent to which phenotypically adaptive and neutral (molecular) measures of diversity differ in their association with ecological structure and (iii) variation in outcomes among different measures of ecological structure and in different ecological contexts.

Effect sizes measuring the relationship between adaptive diversity (genotypic richness) and both community‐ and ecosystem‐level ecological responses were small, but significantly positive. These associations were supported by genetic effects on species richness and productivity, respectively.

There was no overall association between neutral genetic diversity and measures of ecological structure, but a positive correlation was observed under a limited set of demographic conditions. These results suggest that adaptive and neutral genetic diversity should not be treated as ecologically equivalent measures of intraspecific variation.

Synthesis. This study advances the debate over whether relationships between genetic diversity and ecological structure are either simply positive or negative, by showing how the strength and direction of these relationships changes with different measures of diversity and in different ecological contexts. The results provide a solid foundation for assessing when and where an expanded synthesis between ecology and genetics will be most fruitful.
Advancing plant ecology through meta‐analyses
Authors: Gómez‐Aparicio Lorena , Lortie Christopher J.
Published: June 2014

The inherent complexity of nature produces a diverse and varied set of outcomes for any given ecological process. However, the advance of ecology requires making generalizations that synthesize current knowledge and guide new basic research and practical applications. Among the synthesis tools available for this specific purpose, meta‐analysis is one of the most accurate and powerful methods.

This Special Feature examines the use that meta‐analysis has received in plant ecology over the last two decades and provides examples of synthesis applied to contemporary topics in different areas of plant ecology from populations to ecosystems.

The number of meta‐analyses in plant ecology has been increasing rapidly in the last two decades. However, this increase has not been accompanied by a parallel increase in quality. The opening review paper in this Special Feature provides a checklist of quality criteria specific to ecological meta‐analysis that will largely contribute to improvement of the methodological and reporting standards of meta‐analyses.

The following five papers in the Special Feature demonstrate the advantages of application of meta‐analysis compared with other techniques of research synthesis. Meta‐analysis is applied here to demonstrate the consistency of ecological hypotheses across large spatial scales (e.g. Janzen‐Connell hypothesis), understand sources of variation in the magnitude of ecological processes (e.g. herbivory effects on leaf life span, effects of intraspecific genetic diversity on communities and ecosystems), measure synergistic impacts of environmental change drivers (e.g. CO2, drought, land use) or assess research gaps within a certain sub‐discipline of plant ecology (e.g. landscape fragmentation).

Synthesis. Meta‐analysis can contribute to the advance of ecological theory by synthesizing the available evidence on specific topics and informing the scope of generalizations. However, plant ecologists can only take full advantage of this capacity if we improve our knowledge on how and when to conduct a proper meta‐analysis, and by avoiding the frequent misuses that have characterized the use of this statistical tool in the ecological literature thus far.
The Boomerang Effect: A Case Study of the Murray‐Darling Basin Plan
Authors: Gale Melanie , Edwards Merinda , Wilson Lou , Greig Alastair
Published: June 2014

In the period from 1997 to 2009 Australia experienced a severe drought, which significantly affected the Murray‐Darling Basin. The drought has broken but state governments are still in conflict over water allocations. The establishment of the Murray‐Darling Basin Authority (MDBA) in 2007 was intended to address these issues but the management of the Basin remains complicated by constitutional ambiguity. This paper addresses the question of whether it is possible to implement effective policies for the health of the Murray‐Darling Basin without the present danger of a drought. We suggest that the MDBA has encountered what Beck refers to as the ‘boomerang effect’. The MDBA's plans seem to have produced new challenges and the Authority might find the Basin is exposed to risks it has created.
From Accountability to Assurance – Stakeholder Perspectives in Local Government
Authors: Quinlivan Dale , Nowak Margaret , Klass Des
Published: June 2014

This article reports on research which sought to explore the understanding of accountability for performance amongst constituents of local government in Western Australia. Recent trends to increase the public accountability and financial reporting requirements for local governments underline the need to understand the value and use made of this performance information by local government constituents.
Trainee perspectives on usefulness of the Trainee Research Requirement
Authors: Mitra Biswadev , Jones Peter , Fatovich Daniel , Thom Ogilvie ,   Trainee Research Committee, Australasian College for Emergency Medicine
Published: June 2014

Objective

To determine trainee perspectives of the utility of a trainee research project (TRP) or the coursework pathway (CP) in completing the Trainee Research Requirement of the ACEM.

Methods

A survey based on the ACEM learning objectives for research was sent to all trainees and Fellows who had completed or intending to complete the Trainee Research Requirement between 2010 and 2012. Participants were asked to rate the value of the TRP or CP on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = ‘not useful’ and 10 = ‘invaluable’). In addition, open‐ended questions were asked for qualitative assessment.

Results

Survey response was 142/621 (23%). Most participants had undertaken the CP (113/142, 79%). Median scores were better for the CP compared with the TRP, and when results were dichotomised to scores of 1–5 as being not useful and 6–10 as being useful, a significantly higher proportion of participants rated the CP as being useful across all learning objectives (P ≤ 0.01). There was a bimodal distribution of scores for TRPs, with a minority of trainees reporting a very poor TRP experience. Cost was the most commonly cited negative aspect of the CP, whereas the TRP was perceived as time consuming and being difficult to attain.

Conclusions

More ACEM trainees are undertaking the CP compared with a TRP. The CP was associated with better self‐reported fulfilment of the ACEM learning objectives for research. There is scope for the ACEM to improve the experience of trainees wishing to undertake their own research projects.
Effects of Change in the Formulation of Lanthanum Carbonate on Laboratory Parameters
Authors: Takita Takako , Furuhashi Mitsuyoshi , Fujimoto Taiki , Suzuki Hiroo , Harada Masaki , Maruyama Satoshi , Tamiya Rika , Kamiya Eri , Okamoto Mari , Tukada Atsuyo , Furuhashi Mikako , Kato Akihiko
Published: June 2014

Lanthanum carbonate (LC) is available in the two formulations of chewable tablets and granules. In this study, we changed the formulation of LC from chewable tablet to granules, and compared the laboratory parameters for 3 months before and after changing formulation in 58 hemodialysis (HD) patients. We also surveyed patients about their preferences for the two formulations. The mean serum phosphorus (P) levels decreased significantly (P < 0.01) from 6.7 mg/dL to 6.4 mg/dL after the change. The levels for serum albumin and geriatric nutritional risk index increased significantly (P < 0.01). Serum calcium levels also increased significantly (P < 0.01), while serum intact parathyroid hormone levels decreased significantly (P < 0.01). In the survey, approximately half of the patients responded that the granules were easier to take than the chewable tablets. These findings suggest that changing the formulation of LC to granules may reduce serum P levels of the HD patients in clinical practices.
Multicenter Study on the Long‐Term (3‐Year) Efficacy of Lanthanum Carbonate in Dialysis Patients
Authors: Ando Ryoichi , Yama Satomi , Ohnishi Tsuyoshi , Iwamoto Shunsuke , Kimura Hitoshi , Chida Yoshiko , Ishida Yuji , Yamada Kouei , Inagaki Yuichiro , Takayama Masanobu , Tachibana Ken , Kikuchi Kan , Inoue Atsushi , Ohtsuka Masakazu
Published: June 2014

We previously conducted a multicenter study enrolling 101 dialysis patients with hyperphosphatemia in which lanthanum carbonate (LC) was administered for 2 years. In this study, the administration has been continued for an additional year, and we have evaluated the long‐term (a total of 3 years) effects of LC. The average serum phosphorus (P) level was 6.05 mg/dL at the start and decreased to 5.84 mg/dL after 3 years, but no significant differences were observed at both points. The average serum corrected calcium (Ca) level significantly reduced after 3 years (P < 0.001). As results of evaluating the achievement rates with the management target values of serum P, Ca and intact parathyroid hormone (PTH) stated in the Japanese guideline, the achievement rates increased after 3 years. From these results, LC is considered to be a useful P binder that can be used for long‐term treatment of hyperphosphatemia, without causing a Ca load.
LABELING EFFECTS OF FIRST JUVENILE ARRESTS: SECONDARY DEVIANCE AND SECONDARY SANCTIONING
Authors: LIBERMAN AKIVA M. , KIRK DAVID S. , KIM KIDEUK
Published: June 2014

A growing literature suggests that juvenile arrests perpetuate offending and increase the likelihood of future arrests. The effect on subsequent arrests is generally regarded as a product of the perpetuation of criminal offending. However, increased rearrest also may reflect differential law enforcement behavior. Using longitudinal data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN) together with official arrest records, the current study estimates the effects of first arrests on both reoffending and rearrest. Propensity score methods were used to control differences between arrestees and nonarrestees and to minimize selection bias. Among 1,249 PHDCN youths, 58 individuals were first arrested during the study period; 43 of these arrestees were successfully matched to 126 control cases that were equivalent on a broad set of individual, family, peer, and neighborhood factors. We find that first arrests increased the likelihood of both subsequent offending and subsequent arrest, through separate processes. The effects on rearrest are substantially greater and are largely independent of the effects on reoffending, which suggests that labels trigger “secondary sanctioning” processes distinct from secondary deviance processes. Attempts to ameliorate deleterious labeling effects should include efforts to dampen their escalating punitive effects on societal responses.
Assessment of cone beam CT registration for prostate radiation therapy: Fiducial marker and soft tissue methods
Authors: Deegan Timothy , Owen Rebecca , Holt Tanya , Fielding Andrew , Biggs Jennifer , Parfitt Matthew , Coates Alicia , Roberts Lisa
Published: June 2014

Introduction

This investigation aimed to assess the consistency and accuracy of radiation therapists (RTs) performing cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) alignment to fiducial markers (FMs) (CBCTFM) and the soft tissue prostate (CBCTST).

Methods

Six patients receiving prostate radiation therapy underwent daily CBCTs. Manual alignment of CBCTFM and CBCTST was performed by three RTs. Inter‐observer agreement was assessed using a modified Bland–Altman analysis for each alignment method. Clinically acceptable 95% limits of agreement with the mean (LoAmean) were defined as ±2.0 mm for CBCTFM and ±3.0 mm for CBCTST. Differences between CBCTST alignment and the observer‐averaged CBCTFM (AvCBCTFM) alignment were analysed. Clinically acceptable 95% LoA were defined as ±3.0 mm for the comparison of CBCTST and AvCBCTFM.

Results

CBCTFM and CBCTST alignments were performed for 185 images. The CBCTFM 95% LoAmean were within ±2.0 mm in all planes. CBCTST 95% LoAmean were within ±3.0 mm in all planes. Comparison of CBCTST with AvCBCTFM resulted in 95% LoA of −4.9 to 2.6, −1.6 to 2.5 and −4.7 to 1.9 mm in the superior–inferior, left–right and anterior–posterior planes, respectively.

Conclusions

Significant differences were found between soft tissue alignment and the predicted FM position. FMs are useful in reducing inter‐observer variability compared with soft tissue alignment. Consideration needs to be given to margin design when using soft tissue matching due to increased inter‐observer variability. This study highlights some of the complexities of soft tissue guidance for prostate radiation therapy.
Sold Futures? The Global Availability of Metals and Economic Growth at the Peripheries: Distribution and Regulation in a Degrowth Perspective
Authors: Exner Andreas , Lauk Christian , Zittel Werner
Published: June 2014

In recent years, the strategic role certain metals play is seen as central to the geopolitics promulgated by state agents in the North. While a switch to renewable energy and an increase in energy efficiency might be instrumental to reducing dependence on fossil energy, it increases dependence on metals. This paper starts from an analysis of the likely availability of metals in the near future and then proceeds to investigate political concerns raised by considering the geological fundamentals of social development at the peripheries of the capitalist world‐system. The inequality of metal stocks, future metal requirements and the ensuing political challenges are investigated, taking copper as an example. The final section is dedicated to the discussion of regulatory challenges in view of multiple constraints on metal extraction. This section also highlights the preconditions of a socially legitimate transition to a renewable energy system in the coming period of socio‐ecological transformation.
The reciprocal internal/external frame of reference model using grades and test scores
Authors: Möller Jens , Zimmermann Friederike , Köller Olaf
Published: June 2014

Background

The reciprocal I/E model (RI/EM) combines the internal/external frame of reference model (I/EM) with the reciprocal effects model (REM). The RI/EM extends the I/EM longitudinally and the REM across domains. The model predicts that, within domains, mathematics and verbal achievement (VACH) and academic self‐concept have positive effects on subsequent mathematics and VACH and academic self‐concept within domains but have negative effects across domains.

Aims

The main purpose is to validate the RI/EM and extend it using objective achievement indicators and grades.

Sample

Two waves of data collection from grade 5 to grade 9 with N = 1,045 secondary school students were used.

Methods

Test scores, grades, and self‐concept data were obtained. The main analyses were conducted using hierarchical linear modelling.

Results

The positive longitudinal effects of grades and test scores on subsequent grades, test scores and academic self‐concept within domains and the negative effects of grades and test scores on subsequent academic self‐concept across domains supported the RI/EM. The effects of academic self‐concept on subsequent grades and test scores across domains were near zero when prior achievement indicators were controlled for. Overall, the results using school grades as achievement measures were replicated using standardized achievement test scores.

Conclusions

The results serve to highlight the importance of the combination of common theories, which are mostly investigated individually, to enhance our understanding of the complexity of within‐ and across‐domain relations between academic self‐concepts and achievement using grades as well as test scores.
Serum free thyroxine levels are positively associated with arterial stiffness in the SardiNIA study
Authors: Delitala Alessandro P. , Orrù Marco , Filigheddu Fabiana , Pilia Maria Grazia , Delitala Giuseppe , Ganau Antonello , Saba Pier Sergio , Decandia Federica , Scuteri Angelo , Marongiu Michele , Lakatta Edward G. , Strait James , Cucca Francesco
Published: June 2014

Objective

Thyroid dysfunction may accelerate atherosclerosis. Aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) is an early index of arterial stiffness and an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and might therefore be linked to changes in thyroid activity. We investigated the relationship between thyroid function and carotid‐femoral PWV, as an index of arterial stiffness.

Design

Cross‐sectional cohort study.

Patients

Participants from the SardiNIA study. Those being treated for thyroid diseases were excluded, yielding a sample of 5875 aged 14–102.

Measurements

Clinical parameters, blood tests including serum TSH and serum FT4, and carotid‐femoral PWV were measured.

Results

After adjusting for confounders, a direct and linear association between FT4 and PWV was shown (multiple regression analysis). The model containing age, mean blood pressure, body mass index, heart rate, FT4, hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidaemia accounted for 55% of the variation in PWV.

Conclusions

Like several other known risk factors, serum FT4 levels are associated with carotid‐femoral PWV, suggesting that high FT4 levels have a detrimental effect on aortic stiffness and may contribute to ageing process of the vascular system. This finding may help to understand the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease and contribute to improve prevention therapy.
Anticoagulation Therapy is Harmful to Large‐Sized Cerebellar Infarction
Authors: Zhang She‐Qing , Wang Wei , Ma Xiao‐Long , Xia Yu‐Ye , Liu Ai‐Jun
Published: June 2014

Aim

Anticoagulants are commonly used to treat ischemic stroke. Its impact on cerebellar infarction has not been fully understood.

Methods

In the clinical study, we reviewed a consecutive series of patients with large‐sized cerebellar infarction (diameter > 3 cm, n = 30) treated with or without anticoagulation. In animal study, cerebellar infarction operation was performed in 12 Cynomolgus monkeys. Then the animals were administrated with low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) or vehicle for 14 days.

Results

Six patients died during the following treatment. All the subjects that died received anticoagulation therapy, while nobody in the survival group received such a therapy. Compared with sham‐operated animals, all monkeys with cerebellar infarction have obvious neurological deficits. The number and size of the Purkinje cells in the cerebellar area were also reduced. Two animals in the LMWH group (33%) died, while all animals in the vehicle control group survived. Compared with the vehicle group, the neurological score in the LMWH group was significantly increased (P < 0.05). The water content in the cerebella was also significantly higher (P < 0.05). Edema, hemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage occurred in the cerebella as well as brainstem of all the LMWH treated animals.

Conclusions

These results indicated the harmful effects of anticoagulation therapy on large‐sized cerebellar infarction.
New molecular targets in the pathophysiology of obesity and available treatment options under investigation
Authors: Valsamakis G. , Lois K. , Kumar S. , Mastorakos G.
Published: June 2014

The pharmacotherapy of obesity has historically recorded an overall poor safety and efficacy profile largely because of the complex mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of obesity. It is hoped that a better understanding of the regulation of body weight will lead us to the development of effective and safer drugs. Recent advances in our understanding of the regulation of energy homeostasis has allowed the design of novel anti‐obesity drugs targeting specific molecules crucial for the modulation of energy balance, including drugs that induce satiety, modulate nutrient absorption or influence metabolism or lipogenesis. Almost a decade after the Food and Drug Administration approved the first weight loss medication, it recently approved two novel anti‐obesity drugs Belviq (lorcaserin) and Qsymia (topiramate and phentermine), thus signalling the beginning of a new era in the pharmacotherapy of obesity. It is believed that the next generation of weight‐loss drugs will be based on combination treatments with gut hormones in a manner that mimics the changes underlying surgically induced weight loss thus introducing the so called ‘bariatric pharmacotherapy’. An in‐depth understanding of the interrelated physiological and behavioural effects of these new molecules together with the development of new treatment paradigms is needed so that future disappointments in the field of obesity pharmacotherapy may be avoided.
Association between parents' trust in mental health professionals and disengagement from psychiatric service within the first 6 months of initial treatment of schizophrenia
Authors: Ishikura Shigeko , Yamasaki Syudo , Ando Shuntaro , Nishida Atsushi , Tanoue Michika , Niimura Junko , Asukai Nozomu , Okazaki Yuji
Published: June 2014

Aim

To investigate the association between parents' encounter with reliable mental health professionals and disengagement from initial treatment among patients with schizophrenia.

Methods

This study was a part of the Reaching People Early Tokyo Survey. Participants were recruited from groups for family members of people with mental ill‐health around Tokyo. Self‐report questionnaires completed by 467 parents were analysed.

Results

Disengagement rate was 16.2% among patients whose parents met reliable mental health professionals within the initial 6 months, but 33.7% among patients whose parents did not report meeting such professionals. The odds of disengagement was less than half in the first group than in the second group (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.21–0.67).

Conclusions

Establishing trust with family members might prevent disengagement from initial treatment among patients with schizophrenia. Mental health professionals should spend time to build a trusting relationship with families within the initial period of treatment.
Involvement of calpain‐7 in epidermal growth factor receptor degradation via the endosomal sorting pathway
Authors: Maemoto Yuki , Ono Yasuko , Kiso Satomi , Shibata Hideki , Takahara Terunao , Sorimachi Hiroyuki , Maki Masatoshi
Published: June 2014

Calpain‐7 (CAPN7) is a unique intracellular cysteine protease that has a tandem repeat of microtubule interacting and trafficking (MIT) domains and lacks a penta‐EF‐hand domain. Although the MIT domains of CAPN7 were previously shown to interact with a subset of endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT)‐III and ESCRT‐III‐related proteins, including charged multivesicular body protein 1 and increased sodium tolerance (IST)1, knowledge of the involvement of the protease in membrane trafficking has been limited. In the present study, compared with control cells, we found that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) degradation was mildly delayed in CAPN7‐knockdown HeLa cells and mouse embryonic fibroblast cells established from CAPN7 knockout (Capn7−/−) mice. Re‐expression of wild‐type CAPN7 but not a protease‐inactive mutant of CAPN7 (CAPN7C290S) resulted in a recovery of the rate of EGFR degradation. We found, by immunofluorescence microscopic analysis, that monomeric GFP fused with the protease‐inactive mutant of CAPN7 [monomeric green fluorescent protein (mGFP)‐CAPN7C290S] was mobilized to EGFR‐positive endosomes upon epidermal growth factor stimulation in HeLa cells. Although mGFP‐CAPN7C290S exhibited dominant‐negative effects on EGFR degradation, a deletion mutant of MIT domains in mGFP‐CAPN7C290S did not have such properties, suggesting that the interaction between the MIT domains and ESCRT proteins is important for the function of CAPN7. Moreover, we found that epidermal growth factor stimulation induces translocation of IST1 from the cytosol to endosomes positive in both EGFR and mGFP‐CAPN7C290S. When IST1 was knocked down, mGFP‐CAPN7C290S lost its co‐localization with EGFR. These results demonstrate for the first time that the proteolytic activity of CAPN7 is important for the acceleration of EGFR degradation via the endosomal sorting pathway utilizing a part of the ESCRT system.

Structured digital abstract

EGFR and CAPN7 colocalize by fluorescence microscopy (View interaction)

EGFR, CAPN7 and IST1 colocalize by fluorescence microscopy (View interaction)

EEA1 and CAPN7 colocalize by fluorescence microscopy (View interaction)

CAPN7 and LAMP1 colocalize by fluorescence microscopy (View interaction)