bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Long‐term variability and rainfall control of savanna fire regimes in equatorial East Africa
Authors: Nelson David M. , Verschuren Dirk , Urban Michael A. , Hu Feng Sheng
Published: June 2012

Fires burning the vast grasslands and savannas of Africa significantly influence the global carbon cycle. Projecting the impacts of future climate change on fire‐mediated biogeochemical processes in these dry tropical ecosystems requires understanding of how various climate factors influence regional fire regimes. To examine climate–vegetation–fire linkages in dry savanna, we conducted macroscopic and microscopic charcoal analysis on the sediments of the past 25 000 years from Lake Challa, a deep crater lake in equatorial East Africa. The charcoal‐inferred shifts in local and regional fire regimes were compared with previously published reconstructions of temperature, rainfall, seasonal drought severity, and vegetation dynamics to evaluate millennial‐scale drivers of fire occurrence. Our charcoal data indicate that fire in the dry lowland savanna of southeastern Kenya was not fuel‐limited during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and Late Glacial, in contrast to many other regions throughout the world. Fire activity remained high at Lake Challa probably because the relatively high mean‐annual temperature (~22 °C) allowed productive C4 grasses with high water‐use efficiency to dominate the landscape. From the LGM through the middle Holocene, the relative importance of savanna burning in the region varied primarily in response to changes in rainfall and dry‐season length, which were controlled by orbital insolation forcing of tropical monsoon dynamics. The fuel limitation that characterizes the region's fire regime today appears to have begun around 5000–6000 years ago, when warmer interglacial conditions coincided with prolonged seasonal drought. Thus, insolation‐driven variation in the amount and seasonality of rainfall during the past 25 000 years altered the immediate controls on fire occurrence in the grass‐dominated savannas of eastern equatorial Africa. These results show that climatic impacts on dry‐savanna burning are heterogeneous through time, with important implications for efforts to anticipate future shifts in fire‐mediated ecosystem processes.
Reproduction and seedling establishment of Picea glauca across the northernmost forest‐tundra region in Canada
Authors: Walker Xanthe , Henry Gregory H.R. , McLeod Katherine , Hofgaard Annika
Published: June 2012

The northern boundary of boreal forest and the ranges of tree species are expected to shift northward in response to climate warming, which will result in a decrease in the albedo of areas currently covered by tundra vegetation, an increase in terrestrial carbon sequestration, and an alteration of biodiversity in the current Low Arctic. Central to the prediction of forest expansion is an increase in the reproductive capacity and establishment of individual trees. We assessed cone production, seed viability, and transplanted seedling success of Picea glauca (Moench.) Voss. (white spruce) in the early 1990s and again in the late 2000s at four forest stand sites and eight tree island sites (clonal populations beyond present treeline) in the Mackenzie Delta region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. Over the past 20 years, average temperatures in this region have increased by 0.9 °C. This area has the northernmost forest‐tundra ecotone in North America and is one of the few circumpolar regions where the northern limit of conifer trees reaches the Arctic Ocean. We found that cone production and seed viability did not change between the two periods of examination and that both variables decreased northward across the forest‐tundra ecotone. Nevertheless, white spruce individuals at the northern limit of the forest‐tundra ecotone produced viable seeds. Furthermore, transplanted seedlings were able to survive in the northernmost sites for 15 years, but there were no signs of natural regeneration. These results indicate that if climatic conditions continue to ameliorate, reproductive output will likely increase, but seedling establishment and forest expansion within the forest‐tundra of this region is unlikely to occur without the availability of suitable recruitment sites. Processes that affect the availability of recruitment sites are likely to be important elsewhere in the circumpolar ecotone, and should be incorporated into models and predictions of climate change and its effects on the northern forest‐tundra ecotone.
High arctic heath soil respiration and biogeochemical dynamics during summer and autumn freeze‐in – effects of long‐term enhanced water and nutrient supply
Authors: Christiansen Casper T. , Svendsen Sarah H. , Schmidt Niels M. , Michelsen Anders
Published: June 2012

In High Arctic NE Greenland, temperature and precipitation are predicted to increase during this century, however, relatively little information is available on the role of increased water supply on soil CO
2 efflux in dry, high arctic ecosystems. We measured soil respiration (Rsoil) in summer and autumn of 2009 in combination with microbial biomass and nutrient availability during autumn freeze‐in at a dry, open heath in Zackenberg, NE Greenland. This tundra site has been subject to fully factorial manipulation consisting of increased soil water supply for 14 years, and occasional nitrogen (N) addition in pulses. Summer watering enhanced Rsoil during summer, but decreased Rsoil in the following autumn. We speculate that this is due to intensified depletion of recently fixed plant carbon by soil organisms. Hence, autumn soil microbial activity seems tightly linked to growing season plant production through plant‐associated carbon pools. Nitrogen addition alone consistently increased Rsoil, but when water and nitrogen were added in combination, autumn Rsoil declined similarly to when water was added alone. Despite several freeze‐thaw events, the microbial biomass carbon (C) remained constant until finally being reduced by ~60% in late September. In spite of significantly reduced microbial biomass C and phosphorus (P), microbial N did not change. This suggests N released from dead microbes was quickly assimilated by surviving microbes. We observed no change in soil organic matter content after 14 years of environmental manipulations, suggesting high ecosystem resistance to environmental changes.
Tumour budding and the expression of cancer stem cell marker aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma
Authors: Luo Wei‐Ren , Gao Fei , Li Si‐Yi , Yao Kai‐Tai
Published: June 2012

Luo W‐R, Gao F, Li S‐Y & Yao K‐T  (2012) Histopathology Tumour budding and the expression of cancer stem cell marker aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Aims:  To detect the prognostic significance of tumour budding and its expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 (ALDH1) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Methods and results:  Tumour budding was investigated in 105 patients with NPC by immunohistochemistry for pan‐cytokeratin (AE1/AE3). The intensity of budding correlated strongly with T classification (P = 0.008), lymphatic invasion (P < 0.001), vascular invasion (P = 0.029), lymph node metastasis (P < 0.001), and clinical stage (P = 0.010). Univariate analysis revealed that patients with high budding grade had poorer survival than those with low grade (P = 0.002). Multivariate analysis showed that tumour budding was an independent predictor of survival (P = 0.001). Furthermore, budding cells showed high‐level expression of the cancer stem cell (CSC) marker ALDH1. Budding cells with high‐level ALDH1 expression contributed to several aggressive behaviours and poor survival (P = 0.000).

Conclusions:  We describe, for the first time, the presence of tumour budding and its correlation with aggressive tumour behaviour and poor patient survival in NPC. The degree of tumour budding could be a valuable predictive factor in NPC. In addition, we show, also for the first time, that budding cells in NPC might possess the invasive and metastatic properties of CSCs.
Ecological effects on gut bacterial communities in wild bumblebee colonies
Authors: Koch Hauke , Cisarovsky Gabriel , Schmid‐Hempel Paul
Published: June 2012

1. Animal hosts harbour diverse and often specific bacterial communities (microbiota) in their gut. These microbiota can provide crucial services to the host such as aiding in digestion of food and immune defence. However, the ecological factors correlating with and eventually shaping these microbiota under natural conditions are poorly understood.

2. Bumblebees have recently been shown to possess simple and highly specific microbiota. We here examine the dynamics of these microbiota in field colonies of the bumblebee Bombus terrestris over one season. The gut bacteria were assessed with culture‐independent methods, that is, with terminal restriction fragment length profiles of the 16S rRNA gene.

3. To further understand the factors that affect the microbiota, we experimentally manipulated field‐placed colonies in a fully factorial experiment by providing additional food or by priming the workers’ immune system by injecting heat‐killed bacteria. We furthermore looked at possible correlates of diversity and composition of the microbiota for (i) natural infections with the microbial parasites Crithidia bombi and Nosema bombi, (ii) bumblebee worker size, (iii) colony identity, and (iv) colony age.

4. We found an increase in diversity of the microbiota in individuals naturally infected with either C. bombi or N. bombi. Crithidia bombi infections, however, appear to be only indirectly linked with higher microbial diversity when comparing colonies. The treatments of priming the immune system with heat‐killed bacteria and additional food supply, as well as host body size, had no effect on the diversity or composition of the microbiota. Host colony identity had only a weak effect on the composition of the microbiota at the level of resolution of our method. We found both significant increases and decreases in the relative abundance of selected bacterial taxa over the season.

5. We present the first study on the ecological dynamics of gut microbiota in bumblebees and identify parasite infections, colony identity and colony age as important factors influencing the diversity and composition of the bacterial communities. The absence of an effect of our otherwise effective experimental treatments suggests a remarkable ability of the host to maintain a homoeostasis in this community under widely different environments.
Arabidopsis Fused kinase and the Kinesin‐12 subfamily constitute a signalling module required for phragmoplast expansion
Authors: Oh Sung Aeong , Allen Trudie , Kim Gyun Jang , Sidorova Anna , Borg Michael , Park Soon Ki , Twell David
Published: June 2012

The conserved Fused kinase plays vital but divergent roles in many organisms from Hedgehog signalling in Drosophila to polarization and chemotaxis in Dictyostelium. Previously we have shown that Arabidopsis Fused kinase termed TWO‐IN‐ONE (TIO) is essential for cytokinesis in both sporophytic and gametophytic cell types. Here using in vivo imaging of GFP‐tagged microtubules in dividing microspores we show that TIO is required for expansion of the phragmoplast. We identify the phragmoplast‐associated kinesins, PAKRP1/Kinesin‐12A and PAKRP1L/Kinesin‐12B, as TIO‐interacting proteins and determine TIO‐Kinesin‐12 interaction domains and their requirement in male gametophytic cytokinesis. Our results support the role of TIO as a functional protein kinase that interacts with Kinesin‐12 subfamily members mainly through the C‐terminal ARM repeat domain, but with a contribution from the N‐terminal kinase domain. The interaction of TIO with Kinesin proteins and the functional requirement of their interaction domains support the operation of a Fused kinase signalling module in phragmoplast expansion that depends upon conserved structural features in diverse Fused kinases.
The pentatricopeptide repeat‐SMR protein ATP4 promotes translation of the chloroplast atpB/E mRNA
Authors: Zoschke Reimo , Kroeger Tiffany , Belcher Susan , Schöttler Mark Aurel , Barkan Alice , Schmitz‐Linneweber Christian
Published: June 2012

The regulation of chloroplast translation by nuclear gene products makes a major contribution to the control of chloroplast gene expression, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. We describe a pentatricopeptide repeat (PPR) protein in maize, ATP4, that is necessary for translation of the chloroplast atpB open reading frame. We demonstrate that ATP4 associates in vivo with sequences near the 5′ end of the unusually long 5′ UTR of the atpB/E mRNA, that it facilitates ribosome association with this mRNA, and that it is required for accumulation and activity of the chloroplast ATP synthase. ATP4 is multifunctional, in that it also enhances atpA translation and is required for accumulation of specific processed atpF and psaJ transcripts. ATP4 belongs to a sub‐class of PPR proteins that include a small MutS‐related (SMR) domain. SMR domains had previously been associated primarily with DNA‐related functions, but our findings imply that at least some PPR‐SMR proteins can act on RNA. ATP4 is orthologous to the Arabidopsis protein SVR7, but the phenotypes of atp4 and svr7 mutants suggest that the functions of these orthologs have not been strictly conserved.
The morphology and variability of the caudal rami of the superior temporal sulcus
Authors: Segal Emily , Petrides Michael
Published: June 2012

The caudal branches of the superior temporal sulcus (cSTS) have been difficult to characterize because of the considerable degree of morphological variability across individuals. Leading atlases of the human brain are inconsistent with each other in terms of the number of branches identified and the nomenclature used to refer to them. Examination of the magnetic resonance images (MRIs) of 45 human brains (90 hemispheres) demonstrates three branches of the cSTS that ascend into the inferior parietal lobule: an anterior branch (cSTS1), a central branch (cSTS2) and a posterior branch (cSTS3). The cSTS1 is found immediately posterior to the ascending limb of the Sylvian fissure, followed by the cSTS2, and then the last branch, cSTS3, at the parieto‐occipital junction. The temporal part of the STS joins most frequently with the cSTS2 (approximately 60% of cases), the cSTS1 (approximately 30% of cases) and least frequently with the cSTS3 (approximately 10% of cases). At the temporo‐occipital junction, there is another sulcus that is related to the STS, the ventral anterior occipital sulcus (AOCS‐v), a sulcus that has been functionally linked to area MT/v5 in the human brain. While the STS may appear to join AOCS‐v from the surface of the brain, it can be established from examination of the depth of the sulci that they are not continuous. The variability in location of each one of the cSTS branches is expressed quantitatively in the MNI standard proportional stereotaxic space.
Circulation, Internationalization, Globalization of the Question of Memory
Authors: LAVABRE MARIE‐CLAIRE
Published: June 2012

The connotations linked to the notion of memory – when it is defined as collective or social– have only recently emerged. “Memory” is a mostly polysemic concept in social sciences. It also represents a social phenomenon. If the discourse surrounding memory seems to be largely internationalised, it has come at the cost of discrepancies in temporalities, theoretical traditions and objects of history. A general synthesis would be improbable. Today it appears that three big problematical concepts co‐exist, from French literature but largely exported: the “realms of memory” (Pierre Nora), the “work of recollection” (Paul Ricoeur), the “frameworks of memory” (Maurice Halbwachs).
China's Social Memory in a Digitalized World‐Assessing the Country's Narratives in Blogs
Authors: ZHANG JUNHUA
Published: June 2012

This paper will study the role that new media plays in shaping social memory by exploring China's grass‐root narratives existing in blogs. By conducting a content analysis, the main features of China's storytellers are illuminated. While emphasizing the role of narratives in shaping a nation's social memory in China, explanations for the source of a new social memory are being searched. In doing so, the linear‐model of cause and effect between technology and social change, including McLuhan's term “digital village” are being questioned. The author predicts that, under today's circumstances, China's memory policy including an internalized self‐censorship will still have its effectiveness.
Language input and acquisition in a Mayan village: how important is directed speech?
Authors: Shneidman Laura A. , Goldin‐Meadow Susan
Published: June 2012

Theories of language acquisition have highlighted the importance of adult speakers as active participants in children’s language learning. However, in many communities children are reported to be directly engaged by their caregivers only rarely (Lieven, 1994). This observation raises the possibility that these children learn language from observing, rather than participating in, communicative exchanges. In this paper, we quantify naturally occurring language input in one community where directed interaction with children has been reported to be rare (Yucatec Mayan). We compare this input to the input heard by children growing up in large families in the United States, and we consider how directed and overheard input relate to Mayan children’s later vocabulary. In Study 1, we demonstrate that 1‐year‐old Mayan children do indeed hear a smaller proportion of total input in directed speech than children from the US. In Study 2, we show that for Mayan (but not US) children, there are great increases in the proportion of directed input that children receive between 13 and 35 months. In Study 3, we explore the validity of using videotaped data in a Mayan village. In Study 4, we demonstrate that word types directed to Mayan children from adults at 24 months (but not word types overheard by children or word types directed from other children) predict later vocabulary. These findings suggest that adult talk directed to children is important for early word learning, even in communities where much of children’s early language input comes from overheard speech. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgA4CxmBTNk&feature=youtu.be
Governing through Crime Internationally? Bosnia and Herzegovina
Authors: Aitchison Andy
Published: June 2012

The article adapts and applies the governing through crime framework to analyse the EU and Office of the High Representative (OHR) as international governing actors in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Limited, ambiguous and opportunistic use of techniques associated with governing through crime are most evident in relation to OHR, but only as one of a wider range of governing logics, and are linked to specific challenges of legitimation. The outward spread of criminal justice models and metaphors proposed by Simon is shown to be problematic in light of the breadth of activities that such a stance might admit to the framework.
The internal significance of codes of conduct in retail companies
Authors: Frostenson Magnus , Helin Sven , Sandström Johan
Published: June 2012

This paper focuses on the significance of codes of conduct (CoCs) in the internal work context of two retail companies. A stepwise approach is used. First, the paper identifies in what way employees use and refer to CoCs internally. Second, the function and relevance of CoCs inside the two companies are identified. Third, the paper explains why CoCs tend to function in the identified ways. In both cases, the CoCs are clearly decoupled in the sense that they do not concern the immediate work context of the employees. Counter‐intuitively, this facilitates the process of establishing the CoCs. Even though the CoCs are not directly relevant for the employees, they are accepted and embraced with regard to contents, focus and function. Above all, the CoCs seem to confirm and even strengthen employee identity. On the basis of these observations, it is suggested that CoCs should not only be valued in light of their direct organisational consequences or lack of such consequences. The issue is not just whether CoCs are decoupled or not. Rather, it is argued that researchers should consider more closely a two‐level analysis that takes into account not only the concrete application of CoCs but also their function and meaning. An implication of this is that what might appear as a decoupled code cannot be dismissed as irrelevant to the ‘core’ business processes of the organisation.
Trends in the literature on socially responsible investment: looking for the keys under the lamppost
Authors: Capelle‐Blancard Gunther , Monjon Stéphanie
Published: June 2012

In this paper, we use online search engines and archive collections to examine the popularity of socially responsible investing (SRI) in newspapers and academic journals. A simple content analysis suggests that most of the papers on SRI focus on financial performance. This profusion of research is somewhat puzzling as most of the studies used roughly the same methodology and obtained very similar results. So, why are there so many studies on SRI financial performance? We argue that the academic literature on SRI is mostly data driven: the famous ‘looking for the keys under the lamppost’ syndrome. The question of the financial performance of the SRI funds is certainly relevant but maybe too much attention has been paid to this issue, whereas more research is needed on a conceptual and theoretical ground, in particular the aspirations of SRI investors, the relationship between regulation and SRI as well as the assessment of extra‐financial performances.
Social Trust: Fairness Matters More Than Homogeneity
Authors: You Jong‐sung
Published: June 2012

This article explores whether homogeneity or fairness better explains generalized interpersonal trust across countries. Although some research suggests that ethnic diversity and income heterogeneity have a negative impact on social trust, I argue that cross‐national variations in social trust are better explained by fairness: fair procedural rules (democracy), fair administration of rules (freedom from corruption), and fair income distribution (relatively equal but also unskewed). This expectation is confirmed by a multilevel analysis of data from the World Values Surveys and European Values Study covering 170,000 individuals in 80 countries.
Health and Illness in a Connected World: How Might Sharing Experiences on the Internet Affect People's Health?
Authors: ZIEBLAND SUE , WYKE SALLY
Published: June 2012

Context: The use of the Internet for peer‐to‐peer connection has been one of its most dramatic and transformational features. Yet this is a new field with no agreement on a theoretical and methodological basis. The scientific base underpinning this activity needs strengthening, especially given the explosion of web resources that feature experiences posted by patients themselves. This review informs a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (UK) research program on the impact of online patients’ accounts of their experiences with health and health care, which includes the development and validation of a new e‐health impact questionnaire.

Methods: We drew on realist review methods to conduct a conceptual review of literature in the social and health sciences. We developed a matrix to summarize the results, which we then distilled from a wide and diverse reading of the literature. We continued reading until we reached data saturation and then further refined the results after testing them with expert colleagues and a public user panel.

Findings: We identified seven domains through which online patients’ experiences could affect health. Each has the potential for positive and negative impacts. Five of the identified domains (finding information, feeling supported, maintaining relationships with others, affecting behavior, and experiencing health services) are relatively well rehearsed, while two (learning to tell the story and visualizing disease) are less acknowledged but important features of online resources.

Conclusions: The value of first‐person accounts, the appeal and memorability of stories, and the need to make contact with peers all strongly suggest that reading and hearing others’ accounts of their own experiences of health and illnesss will remain a key feature of e‐health. The act of participating in the creation of health information (e.g., through blogging and contributing to social networking on health topics) also influences patients’ experiences and has implications for our understanding of their role in their own health care management and information.
The Rise and Fall of the Lyme Disease Vaccines: A Cautionary Tale for Risk Interventions in American Medicine and Public Health
Authors: ARONOWITZ ROBERT A.
Published: June 2012

Context:Two vaccines to prevent Lyme disease (LD) were developed and tested in the 1990s. Despite evidence of their safety and efficacy in clinical trials and initial postmarketing surveillance, one vaccine was withdrawn before the regulatory review and the other after only three years on the market. An investigation of their history can illuminate (1) the challenges faced by many new risk‐reducing products and practices and (2) the important role played by their social and psychological, as distinct from their biomedical or scientific, efficacy in how they are used, and their ultimate market success or failure.

Methods:This article reviewed medical and popular literature on LD vaccines, analyzed the regulatory hearings, and conducted interviews with key participants.

Findings:Even if proved safe and effective, LD vaccines faced regulatory and market challenges because the disease was geographically limited, treatable, and preventable by other means. Pharmaceutical companies nevertheless hoped to appeal to consumers’ desire for protection and control and to their widespread fear of the disease. The LD advocacy community initially supported the vaccines but soon became critical opponents. The vaccines’ success was seen as threatening their central position that LD was chronic, protean, and difficult to treat. The activists’ opposition flipped the vaccines’ social and psychological efficacy. Instead of the vaccines restoring control and reducing fear, demand was undermined by beliefs that the vaccinescausedan LD‐like syndrome.

Conclusions:The social and psychological efficacy of many risk‐reducing practices and products, such as new “personalized vaccines,” is to provide insurance and reduce fear. Yet the actions of self‐interested actors can easily undermine this appeal. In addition to evaluating the scientific efficacy and safety of these practices and products, policymakers and others need to understand, anticipate, and perhaps shape the potential social and psychological work they might do.
Silos and Social Identity: The Social Identity Approach as a Framework for Understanding and Overcoming Divisions in Health Care
Authors: KREINDLER SARA A. , DOWD DAMIEN A. , DANA STAR NOAH , GOTTSCHALK TANIA
Published: June 2012

Context: One of health care's foremost challenges is the achievement of integration and collaboration among the groups providing care. Yet this fundamentally group‐related issue is typically discussed in terms of interpersonal relations or operational issues, not group processes.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search for literature offering a group‐based analysis and examined it through the lens of the social identity approach (SIA). Founded in the insight that group memberships form an important part of the self‐concept, the SIA encompasses five dimensions: social identity, social structure, identity content, strength of identification, and context.

Findings: Our search yielded 348 reports, 114 of which cited social identity. However, SIA‐citing reports varied in both compatibility with the SIA's metatheoretical paradigm and applied relevance to health care; conversely, some non‐SIA‐citers offered SIA‐congruent analyses. We analyzed the various combinations and interpretations of the five SIA dimensions, identifying ten major conceptual currents. Examining these in the light of the SIA yielded a cohesive, multifaceted picture of (inter)group relations in health care.

Conclusions: The SIA offers a coherent framework for integrating a diverse, far‐flung literature on health care groups. Further research should take advantage of the full depth and complexity of the approach, remain sensitive to the unique features of the health care context, and devote particular attention to identity mobilization and context change as key drivers of system transformation. Our article concludes with a set of “guiding questions” to help health care leaders recognize the group dimension of organizational problems, identify mechanisms for change, and move forward by working with and through social identities, not against them.
Sexual dimorphism in multiple aspects of 3D facial symmetry and asymmetry defined by spatially dense geometric morphometrics
Authors: Claes Peter , Walters Mark , Shriver Mark D. , Puts David , Gibson Greg , Clement John , Baynam Gareth , Verbeke Geert , Vandermeulen Dirk , Suetens Paul
Published: June 2012

Accurate measurement of facial sexual dimorphism is useful to understanding facial anatomy and specifically how faces influence, and have been influenced by, sexual selection. An important facial aspect is the display of bilateral symmetry, invoking the need to investigate aspects of symmetry and asymmetry separately when examining facial shape. Previous studies typically employed landmarks that provided only a sparse facial representation, where different landmark choices could lead to contrasting outcomes. Furthermore, sexual dimorphism is only tested as a difference of sample means, which is statistically the same as a difference in population location only. Within the framework of geometric morphometrics, we partition facial shape, represented in a spatially dense way, into patterns of symmetry and asymmetry, following a two‐factoranovadesign. Subsequently, we investigate sexual dimorphism in symmetry and asymmetry patterns separately, and on multiple aspects, by examining (i) population location differences as well as differences in population variance‐covariance; (ii) scale; and (iii) orientation. One important challenge in this approach is the proportionally high number of variables to observations necessitating the implementation of permutational and computationally feasible statistics. In a sample of gender‐matched young adults (18–25 years) with self‐reported European ancestry, we found greater variation in male faces than in women for all measurements. Statistically significant sexual dimorphism was found for the aspect of location in both symmetry and asymmetry (directional asymmetry), for the aspect of scale only in asymmetry (magnitude of fluctuating asymmetry) and, in contrast, for the aspect of orientation only in symmetry. Interesting interplays with hypotheses in evolutionary and developmental biology were observed, such as the selective nature of the force underpinning sexual dimorphism and the genetic independence of the structural patterns of fluctuating asymmetry. Additionally, insights into growth patterns of the soft tissue envelope of the face and underlying skull structure can also be obtained from the results.
The effects of low to moderate alcohol consumption and binge drinking in early pregnancy on selective and sustained attention in 5‐year‐old children
Authors: Underbjerg M , Kesmodel US , Landrø NI , Bakketeig L , Grove J , Wimberley T , Kilburn TR , Sværke C , Thorsen P , Mortensen EL
Published: June 2012

Please cite this paper as: Underbjerg M, Kesmodel U, Landrø N, Bakketeig L, Grove J, Wimberley T, Kilburn T, Sværke C, Thorsen P, Mortensen E. The effects of low to moderate alcohol consumption and binge drinking in early pregnancy on selective and sustained attention in 5‐year‐old children. BJOG 2012;119:1211–1221.

Objective  The aim was to examine the effects of low to moderate maternal alcohol consumption and binge drinking in early pregnancy on children’s attention at 5 years of age.

Design  Prospective follow‐up study.

Setting  Neuropsychological testing in four Danish cities 2003–2008.

Population  A cohort of 1628 women and their children sampled from the Danish National Birth Cohort.

Methods  Participants were sampled based on maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy. At 5 years of age, the children were tested with the recently developed Test of Everyday Attention for Children at Five (TEACh‐5). Parental education, maternal IQ, maternal smoking in pregnancy, the child’s age at testing, gender, and tester were considered core confounding factors, whereas the full model also controlled the following potential confounding factors: maternal binge drinking or low to moderate alcohol consumption, age, body mass index (BMI), parity, home environment, postnatal smoking in the home, child’s health status, and indicators for hearing and vision impairments.

Main outcome measures  TEACh‐5 attention scores.

Results  There were no significant effects on test performance in children of mothers drinking up to 8 drinks per week compared with children of mothers who abstained, but there was a significant association between maternal consumption of 9 or more drinks per week and risk of a low overall attention score (OR 3.50, 95% CI 1.15–10.68). No consistent or significant associations were observed between binge drinking and attention test scores.

Conclusions  The findings suggest an effect of maternal consumption of 9 or more drinks per week on attention functions in children, but the study detected no effects of lower levels of maternal consumption and no consistent effects of maternal binge drinking.
Should cervical favourability play a role in the decision for labour induction in gestational hypertension or mild pre‐eclampsia at term? An exploratory analysis of the HYPITAT trial
Authors: Tajik P , van der Tuuk K , Koopmans CM , Groen H , van Pampus MG , van der Berg PP , van der Post JA , van Loon AJ , de Groot CJM , Kwee A , Huisjes AJM , van Beek E , Papatsonis DNM , Bloemenkamp KW , van Unnik GA , Porath M , Rijnders RJ , Stigter RH , de Boer K , Scheepers HC , Zwinderman AH , Bossuyt PM , Mol BW
Published: June 2012

Please cite this paper as: Tajik P, van der Tuuk K, Koopmans C, Groen H, van Pampus M, van der Berg P, van der Post J, van Loon A, de Groot C, Kwee A, Huisjes A, van Beek E, Papatsonis D, Bloemenkamp K, van Unnik G, Porath M, Rijnders R, Stigter R, de Boer K, Scheepers H, Zwinderman A, Bossuyt P, Mol B. Should cervical favourability play a role in the decision for labour induction in gestational hypertension or mild pre‐eclampsia at term? An exploratory analysis of the HYPITAT trial. BJOG 2012;119:1123–1130.

Objective  To examine whether cervical favourability (measured by cervical length and the Bishop score) should inform obstetricians’ decision regarding labour induction for women with gestational hypertension or mild pre‐eclampsia at term.

Design  A post hoc analysis of the Hypertension and Pre‐eclampsia Intervention Trial At Term (HYPITAT).

Setting  Obstetric departments of six university and 32 teaching and district hospitals in the Netherlands.

Population  A total of 756 women diagnosed with gestational hypertension or pre‐eclampsia between 36 + 0 and 41 + 0 weeks of gestation randomly allocated to induction of labour or expectant management.

Methods  Data were analysed using logistic regression modelling.

Main outcome measures  The occurrence of a high‐risk maternal situation defined as either maternal complications or progression to severe disease. Secondary outcomes were caesarean delivery and adverse neonatal outcomes.

Results  The superiority of labour induction in preventing high‐risk situations in women with gestational hypertension or mild pre‐eclampsia at term varied significantly according to cervical favourability. In women who were managed expectantly, the longer the cervix the higher the risk of developing maternal high‐risk situations, whereas in women in whom labour was induced, cervical length was not associated with a higher probability of maternal high‐risk situations (test of interaction P = 0.03). Similarly, the beneficial effect of labour induction on reducing the caesarean section rate was stronger in women with an unfavourable cervix.

Conclusion  Against widely held opinion, our exploratory analysis showed that women with gestational hypertension or mild pre‐eclampsia at term who have an unfavourable cervix benefited more from labour induction than other women.

Trial registration  The trial has been registered in the clinical trial register as ISRCTN08132825.
Long‐term cerebral imaging after pre‐eclampsia
Authors: Aukes AM , De Groot JC , Wiegman MJ , Aarnoudse JG , Sanwikarja GS , Zeeman GG
Published: June 2012

Please cite this paper as: Aukes A, De Groot J, Wiegman M, Aarnoudse J, Sanwikarja G, Zeeman G. Long‐term cerebral imaging after pre‐eclampsia. BJOG 2012;119:1117–1122.

Objective  Formerly eclamptic women demonstrate cerebral white matter lesions (WMLs) several years following the index pregnancy. The pathophysiology is unclear and may be related to the predisposition for cerebrovascular/cardiovascular disease in such women and/or the occurrence of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome whilst pregnant. The aim of this study was to assess the presence and severity of WMLs and their relationship with the severity of the neurological symptoms during the index pregnancy and several current cardiovascular risk factors in formerly pre‐eclamptic women.

Design  This was a retrospective cohort study.

Setting  The Neuroimaging Centre at the School for Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences, Groningen, the Netherlands.

Population  Seventy‐three formerly pre‐eclamptic women were matched for age (37 ± 6 years) and elapsed time since index pregnancy (5.1 ± 3.7 years) with parous control women.

Methods  Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging scans were performed on cases and controls. Scans were rated by a neuroradiologist blind to the patient category.

Main outcome measures  The presence and severity of cerebral WMLs.

Results  Formerly pre‐eclamptic women had WMLs significantly more often (37%) and more severely (mean, 0.11; median, 0.00; range, 0–2.34 ml) than controls (21%, P = 0.04; mean, 0.015; median, 0.00; range, 0–0.13 ml; P = 0.02). Current hypertension and a history of early‐onset pre‐eclampsia (<37 weeks) were independently associated with the presence of WMLs (β = 1.34, P = 0.02 and β = 1.73, P = 0.01, respectively).

Conclusions  Our findings indicate that pre‐eclampsia might be a risk marker for early cerebrovascular damage. The predisposition of formerly pre‐eclamptic women to later cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease may be an important factor for the development of cerebral WMLs. Whether a history of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome may be an additive risk factor for the development of these lesions remains unknown.
Associations between advanced maternal age and psychological distress in primiparous women, from early pregnancy to 18 months postpartum
Authors: Aasheim V , Waldenström U , Hjelmstedt A , Rasmussen S , Pettersson H , Schytt E
Published: June 2012

Please cite this paper as:Aasheim V, Waldenström U, Hjelmstedt A, Rasmussen S, Pettersson H, Schytt E. Associations between advanced maternal age and psychological distress in primiparous women, from early pregnancy to 18 months postpartum. BJOG 2012;119:1108–1116.

Objective To investigate if advanced maternal age at first birth increases the risk of psychological distress during pregnancy at 17 and 30 weeks of gestation and at 6 and 18 months after birth.

Design National cohort study.

Setting Norway.

Sample A total of 19 291 nulliparous women recruited between 1999 and 2008 from hospitals and maternity units.

Methods Questionnaire data were obtained from the longitudinal Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study, and register data from the national Medical Birth Register. Advanced maternal age was defined as ≥32 years and a reference group of women aged 25–31 years was used for comparisons. The distribution of psychological distress from 20 to ≥40 years was investigated, and the prevalence of psychological distress at the four time‐points was estimated. Logistic regression analyses based on generalised estimation equations were used to investigate associations between advanced maternal age and psychological distress.

Main outcome measures Psychological distress measured by SCL‐5.

Results Women of advanced age had slightly higher scores of psychological distress over the period than the reference group, also after controlling for obstetric and infant variables. The youngest women had the highest scores. A history of depression increased the risk of distress in all women. With no history of depression, women of advanced age were not at higher risk. Changes over time were similar between groups and lowest at 6 months.

Conclusion Women of 32 years and beyond had slightly increased risk of psychological distress during pregnancy and the first 18 months of motherhood compared with women aged 25–31 years.
Alterations in bioenergetic function induced by Parkinson’s disease mimetic compounds: lack of correlation with superoxide generation
Authors: Dranka Brian P. , Zielonka Jacek , Kanthasamy Anumantha G. , Kalyanaraman Balaraman
Published: June 2012

J. Neurochem. (2012) 122, 941–951.

In vitro and in vivo models of Parkinson’s disease (PD) suggest that increased oxidant production leads to mitochondrial dysfunction in dopaminergic neurons and subsequent cell death. However, it remains unclear if cell death in these models is caused by inhibition of mitochondrial function or oxidant production. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidant production in response to multiple PD neurotoxicant mimetics. MPP+ caused a dose‐dependent decrease in the basal oxygen consumption rate in dopaminergic N27 cells, indicating a loss of mitochondrial function. In parallel, we found that MPP+ only modestly increased oxidation of hydroethidine as a diagnostic marker of superoxide production in these cells. Similar results were found using rotenone as a mitochondrial inhibitor, or 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA) as a mechanistically distinct PD neurotoxicant, but not with exposure to paraquat. In addition, the extracellular acidification rate, used as a marker of glycolysis, was stimulated to compensate for oxygen consumption rate inhibition after exposure to MPP+, rotenone, or 6‐OHDA, but not paraquat. Together these data indicate that MPP+, rotenone, and 6‐OHDA dramatically shift bioenergetic function away from the mitochondria and towards glycolysis in N27 cells.
Aging of the dopaminergic system and motor behavior in mice intoxicated with the parkinsonian toxin 1‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine
Authors: Schumm Sophie , Sebban Claude , Cohen‐Salmon Charles , Callebert Jacques , Launay Jean‐Marie , Golmard Jean‐Louis , Boussicault Lydie , Petropoulos Isabelle , Hild Audrey , Rousselet Estelle , Prigent Annick , Friguet Bertrand , Mariani Jean , Hirsch Etienne C.
Published: June 2012

J. Neurochem. (2012) 122, 1032–1046.

1‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1,2,3,6‐tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) intoxication of mice is a standard model of Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, it does not reproduce functionally PD. Given the occurrence of PD during aging, symptoms might only be detected in MPTP‐intoxicated mice after aging. To address this, mice injected with MPTP at 2.5 months were followed up to a maximum age of 21 months. There was no loss of dopamine cells with aging in control mice; moreover, the initial post‐MPTP intoxication decrease in dopamine cell was no longer significant at 21 months. With aging, striatal dopamine level remained constant, but concentrations of the dopamine metabolites dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) were markedly reduced in both groups. There was also a late impairment of fine motor skills. After MPTP intoxication, hyperactivity was immediately detected and it became greater than in control mice from 14 months of age; fine motor skills were also more impaired; both these symptoms were correlated with striatal dopamine, DOPAC and HVA concentrations. In bothgroups, neither motor symptoms nor dopamine changes worsened with age. These findings do not support the notion that PD develops with age in mice after MPTP intoxication and that the motor deficits seen are because of an aging process.
RESEARCH ETHICS CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT IN AFRICA: EXPLORING A MODEL FOR INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS
Authors: ALI JOSEPH , HYDER ADNAN A. , KASS NANCY E.
Published: June 2012

The Johns Hopkins‐Fogarty African Bioethics Training Program (FABTP) has offered a fully‐funded, one‐year, non‐degree training opportunity in research ethics to health professionals, ethics committee members, scholars, journalists and scientists from countries across sub‐Saharan Africa. In the first 9 years of operation, 28 trainees from 13 African countries have trained with FABTP. Any capacity building investment requires periodic critical evaluation of the impact that training dollars produce. In this paper we describe and evaluate FABTP and the efforts of its trainees.

Our data show that since 2001, the 28 former FABTP trainees have authored or co‐authored 105 new bioethics‐related publications; were awarded 33 bioethics‐related grants; played key roles on 78 bioethics‐related research studies; and participated in 198 bioethics workshops or conferences. Over the past nine years, trainees have collectively taught 48 separate courses related to bioethics and have given 170 presentations on various topics in the field. Many former trainees have pursued and completed doctoral degrees in bioethics; some have become editorial board members for bioethics journals. Female trainees were, on average, less experienced at matriculation and produced fewer post‐training outputs than their male counterparts. More comprehensive studies are needed to determine the relationships between age, sex, previous experience and training program outputs.
Off‐Shoring Clinical Research: Exploitation and the Reciprocity Constraint
Authors: Mitra Agomoni Ganguli
Published: June 2012

The last 20 years have seen a staggering growth in the practice of off‐shoring clinical research to low‐and middle‐income countries (LICs and MICs), a growth that has been matched by the neoliberal policies adopted by host countries towards attracting trials to their shores. A recurring concern in this context is the charge of exploitation, linked to various aspects of off‐shoring. In this paper, I examine Alan Wertheimer's approach and offer an alternative view of understanding exploitation in this context. I will suggest that the justification for the enterprise of research is largely dependent on its integration within a health system from which participants regularly benefit and I argue that an attention to a principle of reciprocity will enable us to better recognize and address exploitation in international research.
N‐Acetylcysteine Use for Amelioration of Aminoglycoside‐Induced Ototoxicity in Dialysis Patients
Authors: Feldman Leonid , Sherman Richard A. , Weissgarten Joshua
Published: June 2012

Use of aminoglycoside antibiotics is associated with significant ototoxicity, especially on patients with decreased renal function. The risk of aminoglycoside ototoxicity may approach 60%. Oxidative stress has been suggested as a general mechanism of aminoglycoside ototoxicity and is prevalent in dialysis population. N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) is an effective antioxidant and has been safely used in dialysis patients. New experimental and clinical data, explored in this review, provide a good case to recommend NAC administration to all dialysis patients, receiving aminoglycosides.