bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Family Responsibilities and Career Outcomes
Authors: Leslie Lisa , Dahm Patricia , Manchester Colleen Flaherty
Published: March 2016

This chapter advances the understanding of the impact of family responsibilities on career outcomes (e.g., hiring, promotion, and pay) by proposing an integrative model, spanning theories from economics, psychology, and sociology, that includes multiple mechanisms through which family responsibilities may affect career outcomes. The model serves as a guide for reviewing the literature on the effect of family responsibilities—including marital and breadwinner status, parental status, pregnancy, and use of family-friendly policies—on career outcomes. The chapter concludes that family responsibilities affect career outcomes, net of any productivity differences between employees with and without family responsibilities, suggesting discriminatory treatment. The effect is not uniformly negative; employees with family responsibilities have either less favorable or more favorable career outcomes than employees without. We find that whether family responsibilities positively or negatively affect career outcomes, and the mechanisms driving the effect, depends on the family responsibility type and, at times, employee gender.
Anticipating the Future of Research on Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders
Authors: Sher Kenneth J. , Vergés Alvaro
Published: March 2016

An increasing understanding of the etiology, course, prevention, and treatment of substance use disorders and their related harms continues apace, aided by multidisciplinary research efforts and new discoveries and technologies in a range of allied scientific disciplines. In this concluding chapter ofThe Oxford Handbook of Substance Use and Substance Use Disorders, the authors highlight a range of opportunities and challenges facing those interested in gaining a basic understanding of the nature of these phenomena and the novel approaches emerging to assess, prevent, and treat these conditions with the goal of reducing the enormous burden these problems place on individuals, families, communities, and our global society as a whole.
The Value of a Legally Astute Top Management Team
Authors: Bagley Constance E.
Published: March 2016

This article describes the construct of “legal astuteness” and explains why it is a valuable dynamic capability. It also examines the systems approach to law and strategy, which embeds the top management team within the firm’s “ecosystem.” The discussion begins with an overview of the dynamic capabilities approach to competitive advantage and proceeds by identifying the requirements of legal astuteness: a set of value-laden attitudes about the importance of law and ethical behavior to firm success; a proactive approach to management, regulation, and risk; context-specific knowledge of the law and the appropriate use of legal tools; and strategically astute counsel. The article then explains how legally astute top management teams can augment contracts with relational governance; practice strategic compliance management; enhance, combine, protect, and reconfigure tangible and intangible assets; and manage human resources more effectively. Finally, it outlines degrees of legal astuteness.
New Trends in Prehistoric North-eastern North American Agriculture Evidence
Authors: Hart John P.
Published: March 2016

A primary focus of research on plant use by Native Americans in temperate north-eastern North America has been on the adoption of agricultural crops domesticated elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere. The adoption of the triad maize, common bean, and squash, particularly, has been seen as transformative—changing mobile hunter-gatherers into sedentary or semi-sedentary agriculturists. Based on a decade and a half of research, focused on central New York, it is now established that the three crops have separate histories and that their respective adoptions did not lead to major changes in subsistence systems. Much of this shift is based on microbotanical research. Intensive sampling and analysis of macrobotanical remains have similarly extended our knowledge of wild plant use in the North-east. There is a distinct need to build multiple lines of evidence across the North-east in order to build more comprehensive understandings of crop histories.
Attachment as Moderator Variable in Counseling and Psychotherapy with Adults
Authors: Marmarosh Cheri L. , Wallace Michelle
Published: March 2016

This chapter reviews John Bowlby’s attachment theory and examines how client attachments influence individual, couple, and group therapy treatments. Bowlby (1988) specifically emphasized how the individual counseling relationship provides a new secure attachment experience for clients that offers them the opportunity to internalize more positive working models of themselves and others. Similarly, in couple counseling, therapy challenges automatic negative expectations that hinder intimacy, and it facilitates each partner in becoming a secure base for the other. Group therapy, like the other modalities, encourages members to examine their internal representations of themselves and others in the group, and the group becomes a secure base from which to examine automatic thoughts and emotions that often hinder intimacy. The chapter includes an extensive review of the empirical work applying attachment theory to these three therapeutic modalities, and it concludes by addressing future research and clinical implications.
Urban scaling in Europe
Authors: Bettencourt Luís M. A. , Lobo José
Published: March 2016

Over the last few decades, in disciplines as diverse as economics, geography and complex systems, a perspective has arisen proposing that many properties of cities are quantitatively predictable due to agglomeration or scaling effects. Using new harmonized definitions for functional urban areas, we examine to what extent these ideas apply to European cities. We show that while most large urban systems in Western Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK) approximately agree with theoretical expectations, the small number of cities in each nation and their natural variability preclude drawing strong conclusions. We demonstrate how this problem can be overcome so that cities from different urban systems can be pooled together to construct larger datasets. This leads to a simple statistical procedure to identify urban scaling relations, which then clearly emerge as a property of European cities. We compare the predictions of urban scaling to Zipf's law for the size distribution of cities and show that while the former holds well the latter is a poor descriptor of European cities. We conclude with scenarios for the size and properties of future pan-European megacities and their implications for the economic productivity, technological sophistication and regional inequalities of an integrated European urban system.
Impacts of dispersal on rapid adaptation and dynamic stability ofDaphniain fluctuating environments
Authors: Steiner Christopher F. , Stockwell Richard D. , Tadros Monica , Shaman Laith , Patel Komal , Khraizat Laila
Published: March 2016

Prior ecological research has shown that spatial processes can enhance the temporal stability of populations in fluctuating environments. Less explored is the effect of dispersal on rapid adaptation and its concomitant impact on population dynamics. For asexually reproducing populations, theory predicts that dispersal in fluctuating environments can facilitate asynchrony among clones and enhance stability by reducing temporal variability of total population abundance. This effect is predicted when clones exhibit heritable variation in environmental optima and when fluctuations occur asynchronously among patches. We tested this in the field using artificial ponds and metapopulations composed of a diverse assemblage ofDaphnia pulexclones. We directly manipulated dispersal presence/absence and environmental fluctuations in the form of nutrient pulses. Consistent with predictions, dispersal enhanced temporal asynchrony among clones in the presence of nutrient pulses; this in turn stabilized population dynamics. This effect only emerged when patches experienced spatially asynchronous nutrient pulses (dispersal had no effect when patches were synchronously pulsed). Clonal asynchrony was driven by strong positive selection for a single clone that exhibited a performance advantage under conditions of low resource availability. Our work highlights the importance of dispersal as a driver of eco-evolutionary dynamics and population stability in variable environments.
Returns from matching management resolution to ecological variation in a coral reef fishery
Authors: Bode Michael , Sanchirico James N. , Armsworth Paul R.
Published: March 2016

When managing heterogeneous socioecological systems, decision-makers must choose a spatial resolution at which to define management policies. Complex spatial policies allow managers to better reflect underlying ecological and economic heterogeneity, but incur higher compliance and enforcement costs. To choose the most appropriate management resolution, we need to characterize the relationship between management resolution and performance. We parameterize a model of the commercial coral trout fishery in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, which is currently managed by a single, spatially homogeneous management policy. We use this model to estimate how the spatial resolution of management policies affect the amount of revenue generated, and assess whether a more spatially complex policy can be justified. Our results suggest that economic variation is likely to be a more important source of heterogeneity than ecological differences, and that the majority of this variation can be captured by a relatively simple spatial management policy. Moreover, while an increase in policy resolution can improve performance, the location of policy changes also needs to align with ecological and socioeconomic variation. Interestingly, the highly complex process of larval dispersal, which plays a critical ecological role in coral reef ecosystem dynamics, may not demand equally complex management policies.
Stickleback embryos use ATP-binding cassette transporters as a buffer against exposure to maternally derived cortisol
Authors: Paitz Ryan T. , Bukhari Syed Abbas , Bell Alison M.
Published: March 2016

Offspring from females that experience stressful conditions during reproduction often exhibit altered phenotypes and many of these effects are thought to arise owing to increased exposure to maternal glucocorticoids. While embryos of placental vertebrates are known to regulate exposure to maternal glucocorticoids via placental steroid metabolism, much less is known about how and whether egg-laying vertebrates can control their steroid environment during embryonic development. We tested the hypothesis that threespine stickleback (
Gasterosteus aculeatus
) embryos can regulate exposure to maternal steroids via active efflux of maternal steroids from the egg. Embryos rapidly (within 72 h) cleared intact steroids, but blocking ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters inhibited cortisol clearance. Remarkably, this efflux of cortisol was sufficient to prevent a transcriptional response of embryos to exogenous cortisol. Taken together, these findings suggest that, much like their placental counterparts, developing fish embryos can actively regulate their exposure to maternal cortisol. These findings highlight the fact that even in egg-laying vertebrates, the realized exposure to maternal steroids is mediated by both maternal and embryonic processes and this has important implications for understanding how maternal stress influences offspring development.
REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF MERCURY LEVELS IN BLUE MARLIN (Makaira nigricans, Lacepède 1802) AND SWORDFISH (Xiphias gladius, Linnaeus 1758)
Authors: Rodrigues Tiago , Amorim Alberto F.
Published: March 2016

Mercury in the environment comes from natural processes and industrial activities. The inorganic form associates with the organic matter resulting on methylmercury (MeHg), the most toxic form to man. Mercury occurs in fishes mostly in organic form, the methylmercury. The billfishes appear to have high mercury levels because they are large predators that occupy top levels in the trophic chain. The mercury biomagnificates through the trophic chain and reaches high concentrations in top predators. The present study summarized the information about mercury levels in billfishes available in the literature, with emphasis on swordfish and blue marlin and made an analysis of data from several studies using the multivariate technique Agglomerative Hierarchical Cluster (AHC). The total mercury (THg) ranged from 0.7μg/g to 12.2μg/g in blue marlin and from 0.04μg/g to 5.1μg/g in swordfish, with data from 121 blue marlin specimens and 354 of swordfish. While a large part of the mercury content of the blue marlin was above 0.5μg/g allowed by WHO, the specimens of swordfish summarized on the present study showed generally lower values within or slightly above this limit, but the swordfish is still consumed nowadays, and large amounts consumed oftentimes may represent a risk to human health.
Pretrial functional connectivity differentiates behavioral outcomes during trace eyeblink conditioning in the rabbit
Authors: Schroeder Matthew P. , Weiss Craig , Procissi Daniel , Wang Lei , Disterhoft John F.
Published: March 2016

Fluctuations in neural activity can produce states that facilitate and accelerate task-related performance. Acquisition of trace eyeblink conditioning (tEBC) in the rabbit is enhanced when trials are contingent on optimal pretrial activity in the hippocampus. Other regions which are essential for whisker-signaled tEBC, such as the cerebellar interpositus nucleus (IPN), somatosensory and prelimbic cortices, may also show optimal connectivity prior to successful performance. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was acquired in nine rabbits during tEBC on the first and tenth days of initial training and once again after a 30-d, training-free hiatus. Data acquired during the intertrial interval was parsed depending on whether or not a conditioned response (CR) occurred on the upcoming trial and seed-based functional connectivity was calculated among the IPN, hippocampus, somatosensory, and prelimbic cortices. Functional connectivity between the left somatosensory cortex and right IPN, regions critical for establishing and producing CRs evoked by right vibrissae vibration and right corneal airpuff, was significantly negative prior to successful, CR trials as compared with unsuccessful, non-CR trials. Differences were not observed for any of the other possible combinations of connectivity. Our results demonstrate that specific pretrial functional connectivity exists within the rabbit brain and differentiates between upcoming behavioral response outcomes. Online analysis of network fluctuations has the potential to be used as the basis for therapeutic interventions to facilitate learning and memory.
Basal levels of AMPA receptor GluA1 subunit phosphorylation at threonine 840 and serine 845 in hippocampal neurons
Authors: Babiec Walter E. , Guglietta Ryan , O'Dell Thomas J.
Published: March 2016

Dephosphorylation of AMPA receptor (AMPAR) GluA1 subunits at two sites, serine 845 (S845) and threonine 840 (T840), is thought to be involved in NMDA receptor-dependent forms of long-term depression (LTD). Importantly, the notion that dephosphorylation of these sites contributes to LTD assumes that a significant fraction of GluA1 subunits are basally phosphorylated at these sites. To examine this question, we used immunoprecipitation/depletion assays to estimate the proportion of GluA1 subunits basally phosphorylated at S845 and T840. Although dephosphorylation of S845 is thought to have a key role in LTD, our results indicate that few GluA1 subunits in hippocampal neurons are phosphorylated at this site. In contrast, ∼50% of GluA1 subunits are basally phosphorylated at T840, suggesting that dephosphorylation of this site can contribute to the down-regulation of AMPAR-mediated synaptic transmission in LTD.
Ambiguity produces attention shifts in category learning
Authors: Vadillo Miguel A. , Orgaz Cristina , Luque David , Nelson James Byron
Published: March 2016

It has been suggested that people and nonhuman animals protect their knowledge from interference by shifting attention toward the context when presented with information that contradicts their previous beliefs. Despite that suggestion, no studies have directly measured changes in attention while participants are exposed to an interference treatment. In the present experiments, we adapted a dot-probe task to track participants’ attention to cues and contexts while they were completing a simple category learning task. The results support the hypothesis that interference produces a change in the allocation of attention to cues and contexts.
A two-dimensional zinc(II) coordination polymer based on mixed dimethyl succinate and bipyridine ligands: synthesis, structure, thermostability and luminescence properties
Authors: Liu Yang , Feng Yong-Lan , Fu Wei-Wei
Published: March 2016

From the viewpoint of crystal engineering, the construction of crystalline polymeric materials requires a rational choice of organic bridging ligands for the self-assembly process. Multicarboxylate ligands are of particular interest due to their strong coordination activity towards metal ions, as well as their various coordination modes and versatile conformations. The structural chemistry of dicarboxylate-based coordination polymers of transition metals has been developed through the grafting of N-containing organic linkers into carboxylate-bridged transition metal networks. A new luminescent two-dimensional zinc(II) coordination polymer containing bridging 2,2-dimethylsuccinate and 4,4′-bipyridine ligands, namely poly[[aqua(μ2-4,4′-bipyridine-κ2N:N′)bis(μ3-2,2-dimethylbutanedioato)-κ4O1,O1′:O4:O4′;κ5O1:O1,O4:O4,O4′-dizinc(II)] dihydrate], {[Zn2(C6H8O4)2(C10H8N2)(H2O)]·2H2O}n, has been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and elemental, IR and thermogravimetric analyses. In the structure, the 2,2-dimethylsuccinate ligands link linear tetranuclear ZnIIsubunits into one-dimensional chains along thecaxis. 4,4′-Bipyridine acts as a tethering ligand expanding these one-dimensional chains into a two-dimensional layered structure. Hydrogen-bonding interactions between the water molecules (both coordinated and free) and carboxylate O atoms strengthen the packing of the layers. Furthermore, the luminescence properties of the complex were investigated. The compound exhibits a blue photoluminescence in the solid state at room temperature and may be a good candidate for potential hybrid inorganic–organic photoactive materials.
Crystal structure of the substrate-recognition domain of theShigellaE3 ligase IpaH9.8
Authors: Takagi Kenji , Kim Minsoo , Sasakawa Chihiro , Mizushima Tsunehiro
Published: March 2016

Infectious diseases caused by bacteria have significant impacts on global public health. During infection, pathogenic bacteria deliver a variety of virulence factors, called effectors, into host cells. TheShigellaeffector IpaH9.8 functions as an ubiquitin ligase, ubiquitinating the NF-κB essential modulator (NEMO)/IKK-γ to inhibit host inflammatory responses. IpaH9.8 contains leucine-rich repeats (LRRs) involved in substrate recognition and an E3 ligase domain. To elucidate the structural basis of the function of IpaH9.8, the crystal structure of the LRR domain ofShigellaIpaH9.8 was determined and this structure was compared with the known structures of other IpaH family members. This model provides insights into the structural features involved in substrate specificity.
Negative emotions in Mexican, Puerto Rican and Spanish hospitals
Authors: Otero-Neira Carmen , Padin Carmen , Sosa Varela Juan Carlos , Santos Corrada Maria , Magana Irma , Svensson Goran
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– This paper aims to assess negative emotions in Mexican, Puerto Rican and Spanish service settings in the hospital industry. The paper also attempts to validate previous findings in existing theory and previous studies across three national samples and describes the similarities and differences in negative emotions between Mexican, Puerto Rican and Spanish service settings.

Design/methodology/approach

– The current study comprised Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Spaniards who experienced a service failure (i.e. critical incident) in hospital settings within the past year. A descriptive research design was followed, and a self-administered questionnaire was applied to gather the data from respondents.

Findings

– The three-dimensional construct of negative emotions commonly identified in existing theory and previous studies of negative emotions turned out to be four in the current multinational study.

Research limitations/implications

– The four-dimensional construct of negative emotions thus revealed is relevant and valuable to research. A number of research limitations are provided, all of which provide opportunities for further research in assessing negative emotions in service settings.

Practical implications

– Service providers need to manage and deal with the negative emotions in service failures in an appropriate manner. It is necessary that the front-line staff identify and understand the reasons behind service receiver’s negative emotions in service failures, and that they act accordingly to reduce the intensity of critical incidents and the overall negative consequences.

Originality/value

– The negative emotions assessed provide a fruitful contribution and do not only complement additional facets to existing theory and previous studies of negative emotions in service settings but also fortify the notion that further research is required to gain an enhanced understanding and additional insights into them across countries and cultures, just as it is crucial to manage the occurrence of negative emotions in critical incidents accurately.
Assessment of the telephone service provision
Authors: Jankalova Miriam
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– A system of fixed defined criteria and indicators that would provide a complex picture of the telephone service provision by a particular company does not exist. The purpose of this paper is to propose a telephone service index which represents one of the possibilities how to solve problems related to the decision-making of a customer regarding the selection of a telecommunication company.

Design/methodology/approach

– The author has performed a primary research on the sample of 402 respondents from various regions of Slovakia with the aim to determine the rate of importance of criteria and their individual indicators when assessing the telephone service provision. With regard to the nature of the proposal, mathematical-statistical methods and secondary research were applied.

Findings

– Although the decisive factor of assessment of the telephone service provision by the telecommunication company is the ability of such company to meet and satisfy requirements and needs of customers, indices of situation are indicators of criteria quality, price, availability and individual partial indices. On the grounds of achieved results, the discriminatory function is presented, i.e. the telephone service index, being most suitable for a quantitative assessment of the telephone service provision.

Practical/implications

– The telephone service index can be applied in the area of regulation; it contributes to the support of effective economic competition to the development of domestic market and to support and taking into account interests of citizens.

Social/implications

– The index represents a source of information for three subjects operating on the telephone service market (regulatory office, service provider and service user). It provides content, form and method for publishing of different information that provides the users with the access to complete comparable and user-friendly information.

Originality/value

– It concerns the quantitative assessment of the telephone service provision by means of numerical indicators with differentiated weight. The proposed telephone service index represents a discriminatory function enabling the differentiation of telecommunication companies with regard to quality, price and availability of this service for customers.
Tourism conversion and place branding: the case of the Olympic Park in Montreal
Authors: Roult Romain , Adjizian Jean-Marc , Auger Denis
Published: March 2016

Purpose

– Many Olympic cities are faced with the challenge of converting various remaining infrastructures after the Games have been held. These infrastructures, often imposing and highly specialized, require local actors to innovate and engage in an urban renewal process that can be very complex and expensive when trying to give them a second life as tourism sites. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Based on an online survey administered to international travellers (n=5,553) and 36 semi-structured interviews with local stakeholders, this study shows that the Olympic Park, mainly through the stadium, has international recognition.

Findings

– However, the sustainability and development of these attractions will need a major overhaul with its welcoming amenities and the integration of the surrounding neighbourhoods in the regeneration plan.

Originality/value

– Among these facilities, we have the Montreal Olympic Stadium, which is often identified as the architectural jewel of the games and is used as an urban flagship in tourism development strategies. This situation raises several questions not only in the field of tourism, but also the fields of urban studies, leisure and sociology. This paper will examine the case of the Olympic Park in Montreal and its urban regeneration concepts and place branding that have been integrated into the tourism strategies since the early 2000s.
Identification and Modeling of Contact Dynamics of Precise Direct Drive Stages
Authors: Feldman Michael , Zimmerman Yaron , Gissin Michael , Bucher Izhak
Published: March 2016

The aim of this paper is to develop identification that is capable of capturing the characteristics of nonlinear tangential elastic and friction forces arising in submicron motions. Using novel Hilbert transform based signal processing and making use of the intimate relations between internal elastic and friction forces, the latter can be simultaneously recovered from measured data. The experiments were performed on a stage equipped with linear motors, while being driven by slow, quasi-harmonic excitation at frequencies of 1–40 Hz. The identified elastic force incorporates the inevitable nonlinear nature of the stage. The proposed identification technique can be useful for the analysis of modeling contact dynamics between moving and sliding parts in situ. This technique can possibly develop improved closed-loop control algorithms.
Dynamic Adaptive Robust Backstepping Control Design for an Uncertain Linear System
Authors: Hajieghrary Hadi , Ani Hsieh M.
Published: March 2016

This paper builds on the existing adaptive robust control (ARC) synthesis method introduced by Yao et al. and presents a new method to synthesize ARCs. Based on dynamic backstepping, the approach explicitly addresses the uncertain dynamics which enters into the system via the higher-order channels of the state-space model. As such, the proposed dynamic ARC (D-ARC) method addresses the inherent weakness of the original approach where uncertainty in the higher-order channels is ignored. The proposed approach is illustrated in simulations for controlling a voice coil motor (VCM) actuator that serves as a read/write head for a single-stage hard disk drive (HDD). The effectiveness of the resulting D-ARC controller is validated by considering the transient performance, tracking errors, and disturbance rejection of the VCM operating in both the track-seeking and track-following modes.
Dynamic Fracture of Aluminum-Bonded Composites
Authors: Khanikar Prasenjit , Wu Qifeng , Zikry M. A.
Published: March 2016

A dislocation density-based crystal plasticity framework, a nonlinear computational finite-element methodology adapted for nucleation of crack on cleavage planes, and rational crystallographic orientation relations were used to predict the failure modes associated with the high strain rate behavior of aluminum-bonded composites. A bonded aluminum composite, suitable for high strain-rate damage resistance application, was modeled with different microstructures representing precipitates, dispersed particles, and grain boundary (GB) distributions. The dynamic fracture approach is used to investigate crack nucleation and growth as a function of the different microstructural characteristics of each alloy in bonded composites with and without pre-existing cracks. The nonplanar and irregular nature of the crack paths were mainly due to the microstructural features, such as precipitates and dispersed particles distributions and orientations, ahead of the crack front. The evolution of dislocation density and the subsequent formation of localized plastic slip contributed to the blunting of the propagating crack(s). Extensive geometrical and thermal softening resulted in localized plastic slip and had a significant effect on crack path orientations and directions along cleavage planes.
Cold Metal Transfer Plug Welding of Aluminum AA6061-T6-to-Bare Mild Steel
Authors: Cao R. , Huang Q. , Zeng C. Z. , Ai B. Q. , Lin Q. , Chen J. H. , Wang Pei-Chung
Published: March 2016

It was known that it is challenging to join lapped aluminum and bare steel with cold metal transfer (CMT) process because of the formation of significant brittle intermetallics. In this study, another attempt was made to join aluminum AA6061-T6 and bare mild steel with CMT plug welding. Welding tests were performed and the bonding mechanisms, fracture modes, and strengths of CMT plug welded joints were systematically characterized. It was found that it is feasible to join 1 mm thick bare mild steel-to-1 mm thick aluminum AA6061-T6. The material stacking sequence and the presence of a predrilled hole significantly affected the weldability of CMT plug welding bare mild steel-to-aluminum AA6061-T6. By positioning bare steel with a predrilled hole in the top aluminum AA6061-T6 and aligning a torch in the center of an 8 mm hole improved significantly the weld appearance and joint strength.
Effect of microstructural evolution on mechanical and tribological properties of Ti-doped DLC films: How was an ultralow friction obtained?
Authors: Zhao Fei , Li Hongxuan , Ji Li , Wang Yongjun , Liu Xiaohong , Zhou Huidi , Chen Jianmin
Published: March 2016

This paper examined the evolution of microstructure and its effect on the mechanical and tribological properties of ultralow friction Ti-doped diamondlike carbon (DLC) films, by adjusting the CH4/Ar ratio under constant radio frequency discharge power and bias. The Raman, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, atomic force microscope and nanoindentation measurements consistently reveal or indicate the formation of curved graphene sheets or fullerenelike nanostructures with increasing CH4/Ar ratio. The superior frictional performance (0.008–0.01) of Ti-DLC films can be attributed to the special microstructure related to the development of embedded fullerenelike nanostructures as a result of incorporation of TiO2 clusters. The contributing factors include high hardness and cohesion, excellent toughness, high load-bearing capacity, as well as the ultralow shear resistance transform layer and the excellent antioxidation stability brought by the doped Ti.
Novel Trypanosomatid-Bacterium Association: Evolution of Endosymbiosis in Action
Authors: Kostygov Alexei Y. , Dobáková Eva , Grybchuk-Ieremenko Anastasiia , Váhala Dalibor , Maslov Dmitri A. , Votýpka Jan , Lukeš Julius , Yurchenko Vyacheslav
Published: March 2016

We describe a novel symbiotic association between a kinetoplastid protist,
Novymonas esmeraldas
gen. nov., sp. nov., and an intracytoplasmic bacterium, “
Candidatus
Pandoraea novymonadis” sp. nov., discovered as a result of a broad-scale survey of insect trypanosomatid biodiversity in Ecuador. We characterize this association by describing the morphology of both organisms, as well as their interactions, and by establishing their phylogenetic affinities. Importantly, neither partner is closely related to other known organisms previously implicated in eukaryote-bacterial symbiosis. This symbiotic association seems to be relatively recent, as the host does not exert a stringent control over the number of bacteria harbored in its cytoplasm. We argue that this unique relationship may represent a suitable model for studying the initial stages of establishment of endosymbiosis between a single-cellular eukaryote and a prokaryote. Based on phylogenetic analyses,
Novymonas
could be considered a proxy for the insect-only ancestor of the dixenous genus
Leishmania
and shed light on the origin of the two-host life cycle within the subfamily Leishmaniinae.

IMPORTANCE
The parasitic trypanosomatid protist
Novymonas esmeraldas
gen. nov., sp. nov. entered into endosymbiosis with the bacterium “
Ca.
Pandoraea novymonadis” sp. nov. This novel and rather unstable interaction shows several signs of relatively recent establishment, qualifying it as a potentially unique transient stage in the increasingly complex range of eukaryotic-prokaryotic relationships.
GP contact with patients after treatment for hip fracture: frequency and determinants
Authors: Thomas Matthew , Khan Sameer K , Phipps Norah , Shirley Mark D F , Aldridge Stephen , Fearon Paul V , Deehan David J
Published: March 2016

Background

Patients with hip fracture have complex medical issues, both at the time of admission and after discharge from hospital. We have observed a surge in patient-initiated and carer-initiated contacts with general physicians (GPs) for periods longer than those usually reported, in a series of patients sustaining fractures from July 2008 to September 2013.

Objectives

To establish (1) the frequency of contact with GPs (primary outcome) and (2) the factors influencing the frequency of different modes of contact.

Methods

Ten GP practices in West Northumberland were asked to retrospectively identify patients sustaining hip fractures, and to provide data on the number of GP contacts (patient visits to GP, telephone consultations, GP visits to patient's home) up to 1 year before and 1 year after fracture. Generalised linear models (GLM) were constructed using number of postfracture GP contacts as response variable; age, gender, residential status, number of prefracture contacts and days to contact postfracture were covariates.

Results

Each patient recorded cumulative 8.4 GP contacts before and 10.79 contacts after fracture. There were significantly more telephone contacts with GPs and GP home visits, but significantly fewer patient visits to GP clinics. In the GLM analysis, patient age and number of prefracture GP contacts predicted all types of postfracture contacts, while gender was not. Patients discharged home visited their GPs five times more frequently than those discharged to institutional care.

Conclusions

After hip fractures, telephone contacts and GP visits to patients' homes increase, but patient visits to GP clinics decrease, influenced by age and residential status.
Finite-range model potentials for resonant interactions
Authors: Deb Bimalendu
Published: March 2016

We show that it is possible to model two-body resonant interactions at low energy with a class of finite-range potentials based on the methods of Jost and Kohn. These potentials are expressed in terms of the effective range [Formula: see text] and the [Formula: see text]-wave scattering length [Formula: see text]. We derive continuum solutions of these potentials. By writing [Formula: see text], where the sign [Formula: see text] refers to positive(negative) scattering length, [Formula: see text] is of the form of Pöschl–Teller potential and [Formula: see text] is expressed as a power series of the small parameter [Formula: see text] when [Formula: see text] is large, we derive Green’s function of [Formula: see text]. Using the Green’s function, solutions of [Formula: see text] for [Formula: see text] can be obtained numerically by treating [Formula: see text] as a perturbation. We describe the threshold behavior of scattering phase shift for [Formula: see text]. This study may be important for developing a better understanding of physics of strongly interacting ultracold atomic gases with tunable interactions.
Understanding the Causes of Architecture Changes Using OSS Mailing Lists
Authors: Ding Wei , Liang Peng , Tang Antony , van Vliet Hans
Published: March 2016

The causes of architecture changes can tell about why architecture changes, and this knowledge can be captured to prevent architecture knowledge vaporization and architecture degeneration. But the causes are not always known, especially in open source software (OSS) development. This makes it very hard to understand the underlying reasons for the architecture changes and design appropriate modifications. Architecture information is communicated in development mailing lists of OSS projects. To explore the possibility of identifying and understanding the causes of architecture changes, we conducted an empirical study to analyze architecture information (i.e. architectural threads) communicated in the development mailing lists of two popular OSS projects: Hibernate and ArgoUML, verified architecture changes with source code, and identified the causes of architecture changes from the communicated architecture information. The main findings of this study are: (1) architecture information communicated in OSS mailing lists does lead to architecture changes in code; (2) the major cause for architecture changes in both Hibernate and ArgoUML is preventative changes, and the causes of architecture changes are further classified to functional requirement, external quality requirement, and internal quality requirement using the coding techniques of grounded theory; (3) more than 45% of architecture changes in both projects happened before the first stable version was released.
Vacuum Ultraviolet Photoionization of Complex Chemical Systems
Authors: Kostko Oleg , Bandyopadhyay Biswajit , Ahmed Musahid
Published: March 2016

Tunable vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) radiation coupled to mass spectrometry is applied to the study of complex chemical systems. The identification of novel reactive intermediates and radicals is revealed in flame, pulsed photolysis, and pyrolysis reactors, leading to the elucidation of spectroscopy, reaction mechanisms, and kinetics. Mass-resolved threshold photoelectron photoion coincidence measurements provide unprecedented access to vibrationally resolved spectra of free radicals present in high-temperature reactors. Photoionization measurements in water clusters, nucleic acid base dimers, and their complexes with water provide signatures of proton transfer in hydrogen-bonded and π-stacked systems. Experimental and theoretical methods to track ion–molecule reactions and fragmentation pathways in intermolecular and intramolecular hydrogen-bonded systems in sugars and alcohols are described. Photoionization of laser-ablated molecules, clusters, and their reaction products inform thermodynamics and spectroscopy that are relevant to astrochemistry and catalysis. New directions in coupling VUV radiation to interrogate complex chemical systems are discussed.
From CT to fMRI: Larry Shepp's Impact on Medical Imaging
Authors: Lindquist Martin A.
Published: March 2016

Larry Shepp worked extensively in the field of medical imaging for almost 40 years. He made seminal contributions to the areas of computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography (PET), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In this review, I highlight some of these important contributions, with the goal of illustrating the important role that mathematics and statistics played in their development.
P2Y Receptors in Synaptic Transmission and Plasticity: Therapeutic Potential in Cognitive Dysfunction
Authors: Guzman Segundo J. , Gerevich Zoltan
Published: March 2016

ATP released from neurons and astrocytes during neuronal activity or under pathophysiological circumstances is able to influence information flow in neuronal circuits by activation of ionotropic P2X and metabotropic P2Y receptors and subsequent modulation of cellular excitability, synaptic strength, and plasticity. In the present paper we review cellular and network effects of P2Y receptors in the brain. We show that P2Y receptors inhibit the release of neurotransmitters, modulate voltage- and ligand-gated ion channels, and differentially influence the induction of synaptic plasticity in the prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum. The findings discussed here may explain how P2Y1receptor activation during brain injury, hypoxia, inflammation, schizophrenia, or Alzheimer’s disease leads to an impairment of cognitive processes. Hence, it is suggested that the blockade of P2Y1receptors may have therapeutic potential against cognitive disturbances in these states.
Adaptive Noise Parameter Determination Based on a Particle Filter Algorithm
Authors: Cho Hyun-Tae , Mun Sungho
Published: March 2016

Due to the growing number of vehicles using the national road networks that link major urban centers, traffic noise is becoming a major issue in relation to the transportation system. Thus, it is important to determine noise model parameters to predict road traffic noise levels as part of an environmental assessment, according to traffic volume and pavement surface type. To determine the parameters of a noise prediction model, statistical pass-by and close proximity tests are required. This paper provides a parameter determination procedure for noise prediction models through an adaptive particle filter (PF) algorithm, based on using a weigh-in-motion system, which obtains vehicle velocities and types, as well as step-up microphones, which measure the combined noises emitted by various vehicle types. Finally, an evaluation of the adaptive noise parameter determination algorithm was carried out to assess the agreement between predictions and measurements.
Effects of Quorum Sensing Systems on Regulatory T Cells in Catheter-RelatedPseudomonas aeruginosaBiofilm Infection Rat Models
Authors: Feng Lei , Xiang Qingqing , Ai Qing , Wang Zhengli , Zhang Yunhui , Lu Qi
Published: March 2016

Background. Quorum sensing (QS) systems play an important role in modulating biofilm formation. Recent studies have found that the QS molecules had complex effects on the host immune systems. In addition, regulatory T cells (Tregs), known as important negative regulators in the immune system, have been found upregulated in multiple chronic infections. Therefore, the QS systems were hypothesized to be involved in modulating Tregs in biofilm-associated infections.Object. To explore the effects of QS systems on Tregs in catheter-relatedPseudomonas aeruginosabiofilm infection rat models.Method. Catheter-relatedPseudomonas aeruginosabiofilm infection rat models were established; the bacterial clearance rates, total cell counts in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, pathological changes of lungs, and the levels of Foxp3, TGF-β1, and IL-10 in PAO1 strain group were examined and compared with the QS-mutant ΔlasRΔrhlRandΔlasIΔrhlIgroups.Results. In PAO1 group, the bacterial clearance rates were lower, total cell counts were higher, pathological changes were severer, and the levels of Foxp3, TGF-β1, and IL-10 were significantly higher compared with QS-mutant groups(p<0.05). No significant difference was observed between the two QS-mutant groups(p>0.05).Conclusion. QS systems can trigger host immune system, accompanied with the upregulation of Tregs.
Robotic versus Open Thyroidectomy for Differentiated Thyroid Cancer: An Evidence-Based Review
Authors: Liu Shirley Yuk Wah , Ng Enders Kwok Wai
Published: March 2016

While open thyroidectomy (OT) is advocated as the gold standard treatment for differentiated thyroid cancer, the contemporary use of robotic thyroidectomy (RT) is often controversial. Although RT combines the unique benefits of the surgical robot and remote access thyroidectomy, its applicability on cancer patients is challenged by the questionable oncological benefits and safety. This review aims to analyze the current literature evidence in comparing RT to OT on thyroid cancers for their perioperative and oncological outcomes. To date, no randomized controlled trial is available in comparing RT to OT. All published studies are nonrandomized or retrospective comparisons. Current data suggests that RT compares less favorably than OT for longer operative time, higher cost, and possibly inferior oncological control with lower number of central lymph nodes retrieved. In terms of morbidity, quality of life outcomes, and short-term recurrence rates, RT and OT are comparable. While conventional OT continues to be appropriate for most thyroid cancers, RT should better be continued by expert surgeons on selected patients who have low-risk thyroid cancers and have high expectations on cosmetic outcomes. Future research should embark on prospective randomized studies for unbiased comparisons. Long-term follow-up studies are also needed to evaluate outcomes on recurrence and survival.
From Synthesis to Biological Impact of Pd (II) Complexes: Synthesis, Characterization, and Antimicrobial and Scavenging Activity
Authors: Sharma Nitin Kumar , Ameta Rakesh Kumar , Singh Man
Published: March 2016

The Pd (II) complexes with a series of halosubstituted benzylamine ligands (BLs) have been synthesized and characterized with different spectroscopic technique such as FTIR, UV/Vis, LCMS,1H, and13C NMR. Their molecular sustainability in different solvents such as DMSO, DMSO : H2O, and DMSO : PBS at physiological condition (pH 7.2) was determined by UV/Vis spectrophotometer. Thein vitroantibacterial and antifungal activities of the complexes were investigated against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microbes and two different fungi indicated their significant biological potential. Additionally, their antioxidant activity has been analyzed with DPPH•free radical through spectrophotometric method and the result inferred them as an antioxidant. The stronger antibacterial and antioxidant activities of the synthesized complexes suggested them as a stronger antimicrobial agent. Our study advances the biological importance of palladium (II) amine complexes in the field of antimicrobial and antioxidant activities.
A Novel Ratiometric Probe Based on Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Dots and Rhodamine B Isothiocyanate for Detection of Fe3+in Aqueous Solution
Authors: Liu Lin , Chen Lu , Liang Jiangong , Liu Lingzhi , Han Heyou
Published: March 2016

A ratiometric probe for determining ferric ions (Fe3+) was developed based on nitrogen-doped carbon dots (CDs) and rhodamine B isothiocyanate (RhB), which was then applied to selective detection of Fe3+in PB buffer solution, lake water, and tap water. In the sensing system, FePO4particles deposit on the surface of CDs, resulting in larger particles and surface passivation. The fluorescence (FL) intensity and the light scattering (LS) intensity of CDs can be gradually enhanced with the addition of Fe3+, while the FL intensity of RhB remains constant. The ratiometric light intensity of CDs LS and RhB FL was quantitatively in response to Fe3+concentrations in a dynamic range of 0.01–1.2 μM, with a detection limit as low as 6 nM. Other metal ions, such as Fe2+, Al3+, K+, Ca2+, and Co2+, had no significant interference on the determination of Fe3+. Compared with traditional probes based on single-signal probe for Fe3+detection, this dual-signal-based ratiometric probe exhibits a more reliable and stable response on target concentration and is characterized by easy operation in a simple fluorescence spectrophotometer.