bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A front-to-back guide to writing a qualitative research article
Authors: Gopaldas Ahir
Published: January 2016

Purpose

– This paper aims to offer junior scholars a front-to-back guide to writing an academic, theoretically positioned, qualitative research article in the social sciences.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper draws on formal (published) advice from books and articles as well as informal (word-of-mouth) advice from senior scholars.

Findings

– Most qualitative research articles can be divided into four major parts: the frontend, the methods, the findings, and the backend. This paper offers step-by-step instructions for writing each of these four parts.

Originality/value

– Much of the advice in this paper is taken-for-granted wisdom among senior scholars. This paper makes such wisdom available to junior scholars in a concise guide.
Building franchisee trust in their franchisor: insights from the franchise sector
Authors: Grace Anthony Richard , Frazer Lorelle , Weaven Scott K. , Dant Rajiv P
Published: January 2016

Purpose

– The purpose of this research is to identify the critical determinants of a franchisee’s trust in their franchisor.

Design/methodology/approach

– A qualitative approach was used, and 30 interviews were conducted with franchising participants. The first phase of the research consisted of exploratory interviews with franchising experts (franchise lawyers, accountants, consultants, mediators and bankers), and the second phase consisted of semi-structured interviews with franchisees and franchisors across two franchise systems.

Findings

– The research revealed five critical determinants of a franchisee’s trust in their franchisor: franchisee’s engagement in the system, franchisee’s confidence in the system, franchisee’s perception of a strong team culture, franchisee’s perception of franchisor competence and franchisee’s perception of franchisor character.

Practical implications

– The research provides insight into how the aforementioned components can be developed within a franchise system to build franchisee trust. The paper also concludes with four practical recommendations that can be integrated within a franchise system to increase levels of franchisee trust.

Originality/value

– This research builds on prior research into franchisee trust, providing an original contribution to the literature through the development of a practical model, showcasing critical determinants of a franchisee’s trust in their franchisor.
Molecular genetic and physical analysis of gas vesicles in buoyant enterobacteria
Authors: Tashiro Yosuke , Monson Rita E. , Ramsay Joshua P. , Salmond George P. C.
Published: January 2016

Different modes of bacterial taxis play important roles in environmental adaptation, survival, colonization and dissemination of disease. One mode of taxis is flotation due to the production of gas vesicles. Gas vesicles are proteinaceous intracellular organelles, permeable only to gas, that enable flotation in aquatic niches. Gene clusters for gas vesicle biosynthesis are partially conserved in various archaea, cyanobacteria, and some proteobacteria, such as the enterobacterium, Serratia sp. ATCC 39006 (S39006). Here we present the first systematic analysis of the genes required to produce gas vesicles in S39006, identifying how this differs from the archaeon Halobacterium salinarum. We define 11 proteins essential for gas vesicle production. Mutation of gvpN or gvpV produced small bicone gas vesicles, suggesting that the cognate proteins are involved in the morphogenetic assembly pathway from bicones to mature cylindrical forms. Using volumetric compression, gas vesicles were shown to comprise 17% of S39006 cells, whereas in Escherichia coli heterologously expressing the gas vesicle cluster in a deregulated environment, gas vesicles can occupy around half of cellular volume. Gas vesicle production in S39006 and E. coli was exploited to calculate the instantaneous turgor pressure within cultured bacterial cells; the first time this has been performed in either strain.
Oxygen‐dependent regulation of c‐di‐GMP synthesis by SadC controls alginate production in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Authors: Schmidt Annika , Hammerbacher Anna Silke , Bastian Mike , Nieken Karen Jule , Klockgether Jens , Merighi Massimo , Lapouge Karine , Poschgan Claudia , Kölle Julia , Acharya K. Ravi , Ulrich Martina , Tümmler Burkhard , Unden Gottfried , Kaever Volkhard , Lory Stephen , Haas Dieter , Schwarz Sandra , Döring Gerd
Published: January 2016

Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces increased levels of alginate in response to oxygen‐deprived conditions. The regulatory pathway(s) that links oxygen limitation to increased synthesis of alginate has remained elusive. In the present study, using immunofluorescence microscopy, we show that anaerobiosis‐induced alginate production by planktonic PAO1 requires the diguanylate cyclase (DGC) SadC, previously identified as a regulator of surface‐associated lifestyles. Furthermore, we found that the gene products of PA4330 and PA4331, located in a predicted operon with sadC, have a major impact on alginate production: deletion of PA4330 (odaA, for oxygen‐dependent alginate synthesis activator) caused an alginate production defect under anaerobic conditions, whereas a PA4331 (odaI, for oxygen‐dependent alginate synthesis inhibitor) deletion mutant produced alginate also in the presence of oxygen, which would normally inhibit alginate synthesis. Based on their sequence, OdaA and OdaI have predicted hydratase and dioxygenase reductase activities, respectively. Enzymatic assays using purified protein showed that unlike OdaA, which did not significantly affect DGC activity of SadC, OdaI inhibited c‐di‐GMP production by SadC. Our data indicate that SadC, OdaA and OdaI are components of a novel response pathway of P. aeruginosa that regulates alginate synthesis in an oxygen‐dependent manner.
Informal employment in China: recent development and human resource implications
Authors: Wang Jue , Cooke Fang Lee , Lin Zhaohong
Published: January 2016

A key feature contributing to the rapid economic development of China is the deregulation of the labour market and the dramatic growth in the use of informal employment. This paper reviews recent developments of informal employment in China and the role of institutional actors. It also examines the role of government policy and regulation in improving or worsening, directly and indirectly, the terms and conditions of those engaged in informal employment. The study contributes to the understanding of the situation of informal employment in China as one of the countries that contains the largest number and proportion, in relation to formal employment, of informal workers, not only in the semi‐ and manual skilled segment, but also increasingly extended to include highly educated workers, notably university graduates. It has implications for employment relations and social policy for foreign firms wishing to enter or already operating in China in terms of their human resource acquisition and management. The paper concludes that strong state intervention is necessary to uplift the employment prospect of workers in informal employment, particular in labour markets where workers hold weak bargaining power and are largely unorganised.
Adaptive Water Resource Planning in the South Saskatchewan River Basin: Use of Scenarios of Hydroclimatic Variability and Extremes
Authors: Sauchyn David J. , St‐Jacques Jeannine‐Marie , Barrow Elaine , Nemeth Michael W. , MacDonald Ryan J. , Sheer A. Michael S. , Sheer Daniel P.
Published: January 2016

The South Saskatchewan River Basin is one of Canada's most threatened watersheds, with water supplies in most subbasins over‐allocated. In 2013, stakeholders representing irrigation districts, the environment, and municipalities collaborated with researchers and consultants to explore opportunities to improve the resiliency of the management of the Oldman and South Saskatchewan River subbasins. Streamflow scenarios for 2025‐2054 were constructed by the novel approach of regressing historical river flows against indices of large‐scale ocean‐atmosphere climate oscillations to derive statistical streamflow models, which were then run using projected climate indices from global climate models. The impacts of some of the most extreme scenarios were simulated using the hydrologic mass‐balance model Operational Analysis and Simulation of Integrated Systems (OASIS). Based on stakeholder observations, the project participants proposed and evaluated potential risk management and adaption strategies, e.g., modifying existing infrastructure, building new infrastructure, changing operations to supplement environmental flows, reducing demand, and sharing supply. The OASIS model was applied interactively at live modeling sessions with stakeholders to explore practical adaptation strategies. Our results, which serve as recommendations for policy makers, showed that forecast‐based rationing together with new expanded storage could dramatically reduce water shortages.
Long‐Term Trends in Streamflow and Precipitation in Northwest California and Southwest Oregon, 1953‐2012
Authors: Asarian J. Eli , Walker Jeffrey D.
Published: January 2016

Using nonparametric Mann‐Kendall tests, we assessed long‐term (1953‐2012) trends in streamflow and precipitation in Northern California and Southern Oregon at 26 sites regulated by dams and 41 “unregulated” sites. Few (9%) sites had significant decreasing trends in annual precipitation, but September precipitation declined at 70% of sites. Site characteristics such as runoff type (groundwater, snow, or rain) and dam regulation influenced streamflow trends. Decreasing streamflow trends outnumbered increasing trends for most months except at regulated sites for May‐September. Summer (July‐September) streamflow declined at many sites, including 73% of unregulated sites in September. Applying a LOESS regression model of antecedent precipitation vs. average monthly streamflow, we evaluated the underlying streamflow trend caused by factors other than precipitation. Decreasing trends in precipitation‐adjusted streamflow substantially outnumbered increasing trends for most months. As with streamflow, groundwater‐dominated sites had a greater percent of declining trends in precipitation‐adjusted streamflow than other runoff types. The most pristine surface‐runoff‐dominated watersheds within the study area showed no decreases in precipitation‐adjusted streamflow during the summer months. These results suggest that streamflow decreases at other sites were likely due to more increased human withdrawals and vegetation changes than to climate factors other than precipitation quantity.
Low viral predation pressure in cold hypersaline Arctic sediments and limits on lytic replication
Authors: Colangelo‐Lillis Jesse , Wing Boswell A. , Whyte Lyle G.
Published: January 2016

Viruses are ubiquitous drivers of microbial ecology and evolution and contribute to biogeochemical cycling. Attention to these attributes has been more substantial for marine viruses than viruses of other environments. Microscopy‐based investigation of the viral communities from two cold, hypersaline Arctic springs was undertaken to explore the effects of these conditions on microbe–viral ecology. Sediments and water samples were collected along transects from each spring, from anoxic spring outlets through oxygenated downstream channels. Viral abundance, virus–microbe ratios and modelled virus–microbe contact rates were lower than comparable aqueous and sedimentary environments and most similar to deep subsurface sediments. No individual cell from either spring was visibly infected. Viruses in these springs appear to play a smaller role in controlling microbial populations through lytic activity than in marine water column or surface sedimentary environments. Relief from viral predation indicates the microbial communities are primarily controlled by nutrient limitation. The similarity of these springs to deep subsurface sediments suggests a biogeographic divide in viral replication strategy in marine sediments.
Effects of carbazole‐degradative plasmid pCAR1 on biofilm morphology in Pseudomonas putida KT2440
Authors: Lee Seunguk , Takahashi Yurika , Oura Hiromu , Suzuki‐Minakuchi Chiho , Okada Kazunori , Yamane Hisakazu , Nomura Nobuhiko , Nojiri Hideaki
Published: January 2016

Bacteria typically form biofilms under natural conditions. To elucidate the effect of the carriage of carbazole‐degradative plasmid pCAR1 on biofilm formation by host bacteria, we compared the biofilm morphology, using confocal laser scanning microscopy, of three pCAR1‐free and pCAR1‐carrying Pseudomonas hosts: P. putida KT2440, P. aeruginosa PAO1 and P. fluorescens Pf0–1. Although pCAR1 did not significantly affect biofilm formation by PAO1 or Pf0–1, pCAR1‐carrying KT2440 became filamentous and formed flat biofilms, whereas pCAR1‐free KT2440 formed mushroom‐like biofilms. pCAR1 contains three genes encoding nucleoid‐associated proteins (NAPs), namely, Pmr, Pnd and Phu. The enhanced filamentous morphology was observed in two double mutants [KT2440(pCAR1ΔpmrΔpnd) and KT2440(pCAR1ΔpmrΔphu)], suggesting that these NAPs are involved in modulating the filamentous phenotype. Transcriptome analyses of the double mutants identified 32 candidate genes that may be involved in filamentation of KT2440. Overexpression of PP_2193 in KT2440 induced filamentation and overexpression of PP_0308 or PP_0309 in KT2440(pCAR1) enhanced filamentation of cells over time. This suggests that pCAR1 induces development of an abnormal filamentous morphology by KT2440 via a process involving overexpression of several genes, such as PP_2193. In addition, pCAR1‐encoded NAPs partly suppress too much filamentation of KT2440(pCAR1) by repressing transcription of some genes, such as PP_0308 and PP_0309.
Muscle Oxygen Saturation Improves Diagnostic Association Between Initial Vital Signs and Major Hemorrhage: A Prospective Observational Study
Authors: Reisner Andrew T. , Edla Shwetha , Liu Jianbo , Rubin John T. , Thorsen Jill E. , Kittell Erin , Smith Jason B. , Yeh Daniel D. , Reifman Jaques
Published: January 2016

Objectives

During initial assessment of trauma patients, vital signs do not identify all patients with life‐threatening hemorrhage. We hypothesized that a novel vital sign, muscle oxygen saturation (SmO2), could provide independent diagnostic information beyond routine vital signs for identification of hemorrhaging patients who require packed red blood cell (RBC) transfusion.

Methods

This was an observational study of adult trauma patients treated at a Level I trauma center. Study staff placed the CareGuide 1100 tissue oximeter (Reflectance Medical Inc., Westborough, MA), and we analyzed average values of SmO2, systolic blood pressure (sBP), pulse pressure (PP), and heart rate (HR) during 10 minutes of early emergency department evaluation. We excluded subjects without a full set of vital signs during the observation interval. The study outcome was hemorrhagic injury and RBC transfusion ≥ 3 units in 24 hours (24‐hr RBC ≥ 3). To test the hypothesis that SmO2 added independent information beyond routine vital signs, we developed one logistic regression model with HR, sBP, and PP and one with SmO2 in addition to HR, sBP, and PP and compared their areas under receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC AUCs) using DeLong's test.

Results

We enrolled 487 subjects; 23 received 24‐hr RBC ≥ 3. Compared to the model without SmO2, the regression model with SmO2 had a significantly increased ROC AUC for the prediction of ≥ 3 units of 24‐hr RBC volume, 0.85 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.75–0.91) versus 0.77 (95% CI, 0.66–0.86; p < 0.05 per DeLong's test). Results were similar for ROC AUCs predicting patients (n = 11) receiving 24‐hr RBC ≥ 9.

Conclusions

SmO2 significantly improved the diagnostic association between initial vital signs and hemorrhagic injury with blood transfusion. This parameter may enhance the early identification of patients who require blood products for life‐threatening hemorrhage.
Potentiation of amygdala AMPA receptor activity selectively promotes escalated alcohol self‐administration in a CaMKII‐dependent manner
Authors: Cannady Reginald , Fisher Kristen R. , Graham Caitlin , Crayle Jesse , Besheer Joyce , Hodge Clyde W.
Published: January 2016

Growing evidence indicates that drugs of abuse gain control over the individual by usurping glutamate‐linked mechanisms of neuroplasticity in reward‐related brain regions. Accordingly, we have shown that glutamate α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPAR) activity in the amygdala is required for the positive reinforcing effects of alcohol, which underlie the initial stages of addiction. It is unknown, however, if enhanced AMPAR activity in the amygdala facilitates alcohol self‐administration, which is a kernel premise of glutamate hypotheses of addiction. Here, we show that low‐dose alcohol (0.6 g/kg/30 minutes) self‐administration increases phosphorylation (activation) of AMPAR subtype GluA1 S831 (pGluA1 S831) in the central amygdala (CeA), basolateral amygdala and nucleus accumbens core (AcbC) of selectively bred alcohol‐preferring P‐rats as compared with behavior‐matched (non‐drug) sucrose controls. The functional role of enhanced AMPAR activity was assessed via site‐specific infusion of the AMPAR positive modulator, aniracetam, in the CeA and AcbC prior to alcohol self‐administration. Intra‐CeA aniracetam increased alcohol‐reinforced but not sucrose‐reinforced responding and was ineffective following intra‐AcbC infusion. Because GluA1 S831 is a Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) substrate, we sought to determine if AMPAR regulation of enhanced alcohol self‐administration is dependent on CaMKII activity. Intra‐CeA infusion of the cell‐permeable CaMKII peptide inhibitor myristolated autocamtide‐2‐related inhibitory peptide (m‐AIP) dose‐dependently reduced alcohol self‐administration. A subthreshold dose of m‐AIP also blocked the aniracetam‐induced escalation of alcohol self‐administration, demonstrating that AMPAR‐mediated potentiation of alcohol reinforcement requires CaMKII activity in the amygdala. Enhanced activity of plasticity‐linked AMPAR‐CaMKII signaling in the amygdala may promote escalated alcohol use via increased positive reinforcement during the initial stages of addiction.
University licensing of patents for varietal innovations in agriculture
Authors: Rickard Bradley J. , Richards Timothy J. , Yan Jubo
Published: January 2016

There has been a sharp increase in the number of patented agricultural varieties from public universities in the United States. We develop an experiment to examine the revenue stream to universities from licensing plant‐based innovations. In the experiment we asked subjects to bid for access for a patented input that would be used to produce a differentiated product; treatments were employed to solicit bids that were financed by fees, royalties, and a combination of the two mechanisms under exclusive and nonexclusive contracts. The literature studying the economics of downstream duopoly competition in quantity suggests that revenues for the innovator would be greatest under a nonexclusive contract that uses fees and royalties. In our experiment we allow more than two firms to obtain access to the patent in the nonexclusive treatments, and our empirical results suggest that innovator revenues are greatest when royalties are used alone in a nonexclusive contract.
Chinese consumers’ willingness to pay for pork traceability information—the case of Wuxi
Authors: Wu Linhai , Wang Hongsha , Zhu Dian , Hu Wuyang , Wang Shuxian
Published: January 2016

In this study, consumers’ willingness to pay for farming, slaughter and processing, distribution and marketing, and government certification information was investigated in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China using an experimental auction and real choice experiment based on incentive compatibility of the nonhypothetical elicitation method. No significant differences in consumers’ willingness to pay were revealed by the experimental auction and real choice experiment on the whole, and results from both nonhypothetical experimental methods demonstrated that consumers were willing to pay certain premiums for all four types of traceability information and had the highest willingness to pay for government certification information. These results indicate that consumers trust in pork safety protection under governmental supervision. Moreover, it was found that government certification information played a significant role in improving consumer utility, demonstrating that consumers paid close attention to safety risks in farming. Therefore, this study predicts that the introduction of governmental supervision into the pork traceability system and establishment of a system for collecting traceability information starting from the stage of pig farming will play important roles in meeting consumer demands for pork quality and safety, as well as promoting the development of traceable food policies.
Consumer sorting and hedonic valuation of wine attributes: exploiting data from a field experiment
Authors: Gustafson Christopher R. , Lybbert Travis J. , Sumner Daniel A.
Published: January 2016

This article uses a novel experimental approach to measure consumer willingness to pay (WTP) for wine attributes. We invited customers of a local supermarket who had selected a bottle of wine to purchase to participate in a valuation experiment. Integrating their original wine choice into the experiment, each participant evaluated six alternative wines, generating a rich set of data on willingness to pay and consumer characteristics. The data from the experiment allow us to compare standard shelf price‐based wine attribute valuation estimates with estimates using WTP data and an increasing amount of information about individual consumers. The full model employs individual fixed effects to estimate WTP parameters without bias from consumer sorting or supply side influences. Our WTP estimates for wine attributes differ markedly from previous attribute value estimates. Consumers in our sample display clear and stable preferences for wine varieties, but less clear preferences for appellations. Our results suggest caution is needed in using market prices to estimate parameters of the consumer valuation function for product attributes.
The role of common pool problems in irrigation inefficiency: a case study in groundwater pumping in Mexico
Authors: Sun Shanxia , Sesmero Juan P. , Schoengold Karina
Published: January 2016

Groundwater depletion is a serious problem in Mexico. Several policy alternatives are currently being considered in order to improve the efficiency of irrigation water use so that extraction of groundwater is diminished. An understanding and quantification of different sources of inefficiency in groundwater extraction is critical for policy design. Survey data from a geographically extensive sample of irrigators is used to gauge the importance of common pool problems on input‐specific irrigation inefficiency. Results show that mechanisms of electricity cost sharing implemented in many wells have a sizable impact on inefficiency of irrigation application. Moreover, irrigation is very inelastic to its own unitary cost. Therefore, results suggest that policies aimed at eliminating electricity cost‐sharing mechanisms would be significantly more effective than electricity price‐based policies in reducing irrigation application. Results also show that well sharing does not affect groundwater pumping significantly, suggesting either a limited effect of individual pumping on water level or absence of strategic pumping by farmers sharing the wells.
Submergence: Precarious Politics in Colombia's Future Port‐City
Authors: Zeiderman Austin
Published: January 2016

This article examines popular politics under precarious conditions in the rapidly expanding port‐city of Buenaventura on Colombia's Pacific coast. It begins by identifying the intersecting economic, ecological, and political forces contributing to the precarity of life in Buenaventura's intertidal zone. Focusing on conflicts over land in the waterfront settlements of Bajamar (meaning “low‐tide”), it then describes the efforts of Afro‐Colombian settlers and activists to defend their territories against threats of violence and displacement. In doing so, they must navigate historical legacies of ethno‐racial politics as well as formations of liberal governance and their multicultural and biopolitical logics of vulnerability and protection. The socio‐material conditions of the intertidal zone, and in particular the figure of submergence, are used to illuminate forms of political life in Colombia's future port‐city. The struggles of Afro‐Colombians to contest violent dispossession in Buenaventura reflect the racialized politics of precarity under late liberalism.
Beaches under pressure – effects of human access on vegetation at Baltic Sea beaches
Authors: Seer Franziska K. , Irmler Ulrich , Schrautzer Joachim
Published: January 2016

Questions

How do cover, richness and composition of plant species vary according to different levels of beach access? What shifts in plant traits occur along gradients of tourism intensity? What recommendations regarding the sustainable management of Baltic Sea beaches can be proposed?

Location

Southern Baltic Sea beaches in Germany.

Methods

In this study, the species composition of vascular plants on beaches with differing accessibility to tourists was analysed at the southwest Baltic Sea coast. In total, 894 vegetation plots were evaluated in order to determine vegetation changes along the sea–inland gradient due to different levels of human accessibility at beaches. Relevés were conducted as repeated transects from the beach ridge to the shore. Shifts in vegetation characteristics due to different levels of tourism access were analysed at the level of plant communities and plant species traits.

Results

Species richness did not differ significantly between the levels of accessibility. Vegetation cover significantly increased with distance to the shore and was highest in the upper shore area of closed beaches (52.0 ± 2.7%). Corresponding to the increase in beach access, we observed an increase in ruderal species and a decrease in typical beach species of the vegetation class Honckenyo‐Elymetea. Tourism access and distance to the shoreline had a decisive influence on the distribution of plants with selected plant traits. In particular, at accessible sites, a loss of plants with leaves having high scleromorphy was recorded.

Conclusions

Increased beach access results in a loss of typical beach plant species. Changes in vegetation characteristics are considered to alter the function of the beach ecosystem. Based on these results, we derived spatially differentiated management measures for excluding the most sensitive beach areas from tourism.
The invasion of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) in sandy old‐fields – is it a threat to the native flora?
Authors: Kelemen András , Valkó Orsolya , Kröel‐Dulay György , Deák Balázs , Török Péter , Tóth Katalin , Miglécz Tamás , Tóthmérész Béla
Published: January 2016

Questions

Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.) is an invasive ‘super species’ that has invaded extensive areas in Europe, forming novel ecosystems. One study has reported neutral effects of common milkweed on the native flora of sand dune grasslands in Hungary after the removal of invasive pine plantation. However, the effects of common milkweed on native flora more generally are unknown. Focusing on the potential effect of milkweed, we tested the following hypotheses: (1) the cover of native grassland species decreases with increasing cover of common milkweed; and (2) native species with low specific leaf area (SLA), height, seed mass and clonal spreading ability (i.e. low competitive ability) are more likely suppressed by milkweed compared with natives with high competitive ability.

Location

Late successional sandy old‐fields invaded by milkweed in the Great Hungarian Plain (Kiskunság, central Hungary).

Methods

We recorded the cover of vascular plants in seven old‐fields; in each old‐field we sampled 12 plots including plots with different milkweed cover and control plots without milkweed. We used linear mixed effect models for exploring the effects of milkweed on the species richness and cover of native grassland species. To identify the common traits of the most affected native species, we used trait‐based analyses; we studied leaf–height–seed traits and clonal spreading ability.

Results

We detected no effect of common milkweed on total species richness, but it had a negative effect on the cover of grassland species. The negative effect of common milkweed was most pronounced on the cover of species with low SLA, low seed mass and low clonal spreading ability.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that native, late successional sandy grasslands invaded by common milkweed form undesirable novel ecosystems because of significant negative impacts on the cover of native grassland species, especially those species with low competitive ability. For these species, management of milkweed might be needed to ensure their persistence in sandy grasslands in this landscape.
Young Children's Knowledge of the Symbolic Nature of Writing
Authors: Treiman Rebecca , Hompluem Lana , Gordon Jessica , Decker Kristina , Markson Lori
Published: January 2016

Two experiments with one hundred and fourteen 3‐ to 5‐year‐old children examined whether children understand that a printed word represents a specific spoken word and that it differs in this way from a drawing. When an experimenter read a word to children and then a puppet used a different but related label for it, such as “dog” for the word ‹puppy›, children often stated the puppet's label was incorrect. In an analogous task with drawings, children were more likely to state that the puppet was correct in using an alternative label. The results suggest that even young children who cannot yet read have some understanding that a written word stands for a specific linguistic unit in a way that a drawing does not.
The word is not enough: on morphemes, characters and ontological concepts
Authors: Göpel Torben , Richter Stefan
Published: January 2016

The field of morphology has recently seen the arrival of computer‐aided ontologies, tools which permit the semantic organization of defined concepts and which therefore promise to be extremely useful in computer‐mediated approaches involving morphological data, for example in cladistics. The theoretical relationship between ontologies and cladistics, however, has hardly been explored. Here we examine the ontological status of the main terms in morphological cladistics, i.e. morpheme, character, character state and ontological concept. Morphemes are units of the descriptional perspective, whereas character states are units of the evolutionary perspective and refer to identical stages of transformation. Both morphemes and character states represent things, i.e. real entities. However, character state and morpheme denote different perspectives on these entities (description vs. evolution). Characters (transformation series; Hennig's ideographic character concept) and ontological concepts are both classes, but not of the same nature. Ontological concepts which are used to classify morphemes are constructs, i.e. totally man‐made classes that serve only as a way of classifying real entities for human recognition. Characters, however, are classes that encompass all character states of common descent and which therefore have objective, human‐independent properties. Characters, then, are natural kinds, classes which exhibit a natural identity in the same way as monophyla do, for example, which also have common descent as an objective property. Against this background, ontology‐based morphology can be a valuable addition to phylogenetic systematics. Formalized, machine‐parsable descriptions permit the generalization of morphemes in large datasets and can facilitate the recognition of identical character states. However, the expertise of the researcher is indispensable, and full automation of the transfer from the descriptive level to the evolutionary level thus appears impossible.
An open, prospective, non‐randomized, controlled, multicentre study to evaluate the clinical outcome of implant treatment in women over 60 years of age with osteoporosis/osteopenia: 1‐year results
Authors: Temmerman Andy , Rasmusson Lars , Kübler Alexander , Thor Andreas , Quirynen Marc
Published: January 2016

Background

Osteoporosis has been called a potential risk factor for bone healing around implants.

Aim

The aim of this multicentre study was to verify the clinical performance of fluoridated implants in the maxilla of subjects with diagnosed systemic primary osteoporosis/osteopenia.

Material and Methods

Postmenopausal women in need of 2–8 splinted implants in maxilla underwent bone mineral density measurements in the hip and spine, using dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometry scans. Based on their T‐scores, they were divided into two study groups: Group O (osteoporosis/osteopenia group) subjects had a T‐score ≤−2, Group C (control group) had a T‐score of ≥−1, and subjects with a T‐score <−1 but >−2 were excluded. Implants were placed with a two‐stage procedure and loaded 4–8 weeks after abutment surgery. At 6 months and 1 year after functional loading, clinical parameters (including peri‐apical radiographs) were assessed.

Results

One hundred and forty‐eight implants were placed in 48 subjects (mean age: 67 years (range [59–83]). Sixty‐three implants were placed in 20 osteoporosis subjects (Group O, mean age: 69 years; range [59–83]), and 85 were placed in control subjects (Group C, mean age: 65 years; range [60–74]). The cumulative survival rate, on an implant level, was 99.3% (Group O: 98.4%; Group C: 100.0%). The cumulative survival rate, on a subject level, was 97.9% (Group O: 94.7%; Group C: 100.0%). Marginal bone level (MBL) alterations from functional loading to the 1‐year follow‐up visit were measured on an implant level and a subject level. The overall MBL alteration on an implant level was −0.01 ± 0.51 mm (Group O: −0.11 ± 0.49 mm; Group C: 0.05 ± 0.52 mm). The overall MBL alteration on a subject level was −0.04 ± 0.27 mm (Group O: −0.17 ± 0.30 mm; Group C: 0.04 ± 0.23 mm).

Conclusion

Within the limitations of this prospective, non‐randomized, controlled, multicentre study, it can be concluded that oral implant therapy in patients suffering from osteoporosis/osteopenia is a reliable treatment option with comparable integration rates as in healthy patients. Long‐term follow of the study groups is necessary to compare marginal bone alterations and treatment outcomes.
The role of early visual input in the development of contour interpolation: the case of subjective contours
Authors: Hadad Bat‐Sheva , Maurer Daphne , Lewis Terri L.
Published: January 2016

We tested the effect of early monocular and binocular deprivation of normal visual input on the development of contour interpolation. Patients deprived from birth by dense central cataracts in one or both eyes, and age‐matched controls, discriminated between fat and thin shapes formed by either illusory or luminance‐defined contours. Thresholds indicated the minimum amount of curvature (the fatness or thinness) required for discrimination of the illusory shape, providing a measure of the precision of interpolation. The results show that individuals deprived of visual input in one eye, but not those deprived in both eyes, later show deficits in perceptual interpolation. The deficits were shown mostly for weakly supported contours in which interpolation of contours between the inducers was over a large distance relative to the size of the inducers. Deficits shown for the unilateral but not for the bilateral patients point to the detrimental effect of unequal competition between the eyes for cortical connections on the later development of the mechanisms underlying contour interpolation.
Effects of subcutaneous, low‐dose glucagon on insulin‐induced mild hypoglycaemia in patients with insulin pump treated type 1 diabetes
Authors: Ranjan A. , Schmidt S. , Madsbad S. , Holst J. J. , Nørgaard K.
Published: January 2016

Aim

To investigate the dose–response relationship of subcutaneous (s.c.) glucagon administration on plasma glucose and on counter‐regulatory hormone responses during s.c. insulin‐induced mild hypoglycaemia in patients with type 1 diabetes treated with insulin pumps.

Methods

Eight insulin pump‐treated patients completed a blinded, randomized, placebo‐controlled study. Hypoglycaemia was induced in the fasting state by an s.c. insulin bolus and, when plasma glucose reached 3.4 mmol/l [95% confidence interval (CI) 3.2–3.5], an s.c. bolus of either 100, 200, 300 µg glucagon or saline was administered. Plasma glucose, counter‐regulatory hormones, haemodynamic variables and side effects were measured throughout each study day. Peak plasma glucose level was the primary endpoint.

Results

Plasma glucose level increased significantly by a mean (95% CI) of 2.3 (1.7–3.0), 4.2 (3.5–4.8) and 5.0 (4.3–5.6) mmol/l to 6.1 (4.9–7.4), 7.9 (6.4–9.3) and 8.7 (7.8–9.5) vs 3.6 (3.4–3.9) mmol/l (p < 0.001) after the three different glucagon doses as compared with saline, and the increase was neither correlated with weight nor insulin levels. Area under the plasma glucose curve, peak plasma glucose, time to peak plasma glucose and duration of plasma glucose level above baseline were significantly enhanced with increasing glucagon doses; however, these were not significantly different between 200 and 300 µg glucagon. Free fatty acids and heart rates were significantly lower initially after glucagon than after saline injection. Other haemodynamic variables, counter‐regulatory hormones and side effects did not differ between interventions.

Conclusions

An s.c. low‐dose glucagon bolus effectively restores plasma glucose after insulin overdosing. Further research is needed to investigate whether low‐dose glucagon may be an alternative treatment to oral carbohydrate intake for mild hypoglycaemia in patients with type 1 diabetes.
Influence of climate and abundance on migration timing of adult Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) among rivers in Newfoundland and Labrador
Authors: Dempson Brian , Schwarz Carl J. , Bradbury Ian R. , Robertson Martha J. , Veinott Geoffrey , Poole Rebecca , Colbourne Eugene
Published: January 2016

Evidence mounts for the influence of climate variability on temporal trends in the phenology of many organisms including various species of fish. Accordingly, we examined variation in adult Atlantic salmon Salmo salar run timing in thirteen Newfoundland and Labrador rivers where returns were monitored at fishways or fish‐counting fences. Run timing varied significantly among rivers with the median date of return differing by up to 5 weeks. Duration of runs was generally short with most adults returning over a period of three to 5 weeks. A mixed model analysis incorporating a first‐order autoregressive error structure was used to generalise changes in run timing among all monitored rivers. Results indicated that the median date of return has advanced by almost 12 days over a 35‐year interval from 1978 to 2012, while several individual rivers have advanced by almost 21 days. The influence of climate on median timing was evident when the simultaneous effects of both climate and salmon abundance were controlled. We found earlier runs associated with overall warmer climate conditions on the Newfoundland and Labrador Shelf. Results contrast with those from the north‐east Atlantic where Atlantic salmon are returning later in some rivers coincident with warming climate conditions.
The pseudorabies virus vhs protein cleaves RNA containing an IRES sequence
Authors: Liu Ya‐Fen , Tsai Pei‐Yun , Chulakasian Songkhla , Lin Fong‐Yuan , Hsu Wei‐Li
Published: January 2016

The virion host shutoff protein (vhs), encoded by the gene UL41, has RNase activity and is the key regulator of the early host shutoff response induced by type 1 herpes simplex virus. Despite low amino acid similarity, the vhs protein of the swine herpesvirus, pseudorabies virus (PrV), also exhibits RNase activity. However, the mechanism underlying the action of vhs remains undefined. Here, we report that the RNA degradation profile of PrV vhs is similar, but not identical, to that of type 1 herpes simplex virus vhs. Notably, the presence of a cap structure enhances both the degradation rate and the preferential targeting of the vhs protein towards the 3′‐end of the encephalomyocarditis virus internal ribosome entry site (IRES). Furthermore, type 1 herpes simplex virus vhs produces a simple degradation pattern, but PrV vhs gives rise to multiple intermediates. The results of northern blotting using probes recognizing various regions of the RNA substrate found that PrV vhs also cleaves downstream of the IRES region and this vhs protein overall shows 5′ to 3′ RNase activity. Moreover, addition of the translation initiation factors eIF4H and eIF4B significantly increased the RNase activity of recombinant PrV vhs against capped RNA. Nonetheless, these proteins did not fully reconstitute the IRES‐directed targeting pattern observed for vhs translated in a rabbit reticular lysate system. The interaction between PrV vhs and eIF4H/eIF4B implies that the translation initiation machinery within the cell is able to stimulate the nuclease activity of PrV vhs. However, this process remains inefficient in terms of the IRES‐targeting pattern.
‘A FRIEND TO RATIONAL PIETY’: THE EARLY RECEPTION OF HERDER BY PROTESTANT DISSENTERS IN BRITAIN
Authors: Angerson Catherine
Published: January 2016

Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803) already had an attentive British readership in 1800, when the first translation of his Ideen zur Philosophie der Geschichte der Menschheit (1784–91) was published in London. This curious episode in Anglo‐German literary relations and the reasons why there was a market for this German philosophical book at the turn of the nineteenth century have not been analysed in detail before. The article examines how Herder was first received in Britain as an intellectual ally of liberal Presbyterians and ‘rational’ Dissenters and later attacked and rejected on political grounds by the conservative Anglican establishment. An overview of the earliest reviews of Herder's Abhandlung über den Ursprung der Sprache (1772) in the Monthly Review in 1775 and 1784 is followed by an analysis of how Herder's theology, Biblical studies and philosophy of history were first received in journal reviews, usually in small fragments and often prior to the availability of English translations. By the time Thomas Churchill's translation of the Ideen appeared in 1800, Herder and some of his ideas were already the subject of intense discussion in intellectual Presbyterian and Unitarian circles in the politically heated aftermath of the French Revolution.

Ein Kuriosum der englisch‐deutschen Literaturbeziehungen ist, dass Johann Gottfried Herder (1744–1803) schon um 1800 – als die erste englische Übersetzung seiner Ideen zur Philosophie der Geschichte der Menschheit (1784–91) in London erschien – eine sehr aufmerksame englische Leserschaft hatte. Die spezifischen Gründe, weshalb es einen Markt für diese deutsche philosophische Abhandlung gab, wurden noch nicht hinreichend analysiert. Der Aufsatz untersucht, wie Herder erst als intellektueller Verbündeter liberaler Presbyterianer und ‘rationaler’ Nonkonformisten positiv aufgenommen und später vom entgegengesetzten Lager des konservativen, anglikanischen Establishments politisch abgelehnt und heftig bekämpft wurde. Nach einem Überblick über die von der Forschung vernachlässigten frühesten Rezensionen von der Abhandlung über den Ursprung der Sprache (1772) im Monthly Review (1775 und 1784) wird die Rezeption von Herders Theologie, Bibelauslegung und Philosophie der Geschichte in den 1790er Jahren in Zeitschriftenartikeln analysiert: gewöhnlich handelte es sich um kleine Fragmente, die oft vor den englischen Übersetzungen erschienen. Herder und einige seiner Ideen waren schon vor der Erscheinung von Thomas Churchills Übersetzung der Ideen in intellektuellen presbyterianischen und unitarischen Kreisen in der aufgeheizten politischen Atmosphäre nach der Französischen Revolution Gegenstand heftiger Diskussionen.
ON THE GENESIS OF COLONIAL GEOGRAPHY: CHINA IN PETERMANNS GEOGRAPHISCHE MITTEILUNGEN 1855–1914
Authors: Lü Yixu
Published: January 2016

This essay examines representations of China in Germany's most influential geographical journal in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with a view to establishing whether first‐hand accounts by explorers revealed a fundamentally different China from the abstract generalisations of the eighteenth century and in Hegel's philosophy of history. It charts the transition from one mythicising view of China as existing in a state of stagnation and senility to another that sees China as immature but full of potential for industrial development. This latter ‘chronotype’ accords with a generally European colonialist view of a subject country. The writings of Ferdinand von Richthofen play a major role in effecting this change – some decades before Germany was to establish a colony in China. The essay offers the first textual analyses of travel narratives published in Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen to demonstrate how one mythical template replaces another – at the expense of detailed accounts of a foreign culture.

Gegenstand dieser Untersuchung sind die Darstellungen Chinas in der einflussreichsten geographischen Zeitschrift Deutschlands im späten 19. und frühen 20. Jahrhundert. Gefragt wird, ob in Reiseberichten aus erster Hand ein grundlegend anderes China zum Vorschein kommt, als in den abstrakten Verallgemeinerungen des 18. Jahrhunderts und der Geschichtsphilosophie Hegels zur Schau gestellt wird. In diesem Aufsatz wird der Übergang von der einen mythisierenden Auffassung Chinas als stagnierend und senil zu einer anderen gezeigt, in der dieses Land zwar als unreif erscheint, dafür aber großes Potential für eine künftige industrielle Entwicklung besitzt. Letztere ‘Chronotypie’ entspricht einer allgemein europäischen kolonialistischen Einstellung zu einem subalternen Volk. Die Schriften Ferdinand von Richthofens üben einen maßgeblichen Einfluss auf diesen Perspektivenwandel aus, der einige Jahrzehnte vor der Gründung einer deutschen Kolonie auf chinesischem Boden stattfindet. Der Aufsatz bietet die ersten Textanalysen von Reiseberichten, die in Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen gedruckt wurden, und zeigt, wie das eine mythisierende Denkmuster das andere ersetzt, wobei die Gelegenheit, eingehende Beschreibungen einer fremden Kultur zu präsentieren, versäumt wird.