bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Inter- and Intraobserver Agreement of Morphological Grading for Central Lumbar Spinal Stenosis on Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Authors: Weber Clemens , Rao Vidar , Gulati Sasha , Kvistad Kjell A. , Nygaard Øystein P. , Lønne Greger
Published: May 2015

Study Design

Validation study of a morphological grading system for central lumbar spinal stenosis.

Objective

To evaluate and validate the inter- and intraobserver agreement of a morphological grading system for central lumbar spinal stenosis on magnetic resonance imaging between neurosurgeons and radiologists.

Methods

Two neurosurgeons and two radiologists independently assessed the morphological grading of lumbar spinal stenosis on pretreatment magnetic resonance imaging of 84 patients. Inter- and intrarater agreements were calculated by comparing the observers’ evaluations level to level on the grading method. The results of both clinicians were compared with the assessment of both radiologists.

Results

On axial magnetic resonance images, 189 lumbar disk levels were evaluated for the grade of stenosis. The interobserver agreement between the clinicians was substantial. The interobserver agreement between clinician 1 and both radiologists was substantial, and it was moderate between clinician 2 and both radiologists. The clinicians’ intraobserver agreement was almost perfect, and the radiologists’ intraobserver agreement was substantial.

Conclusions

The interobserver agreement of this morphological grading for lumbar spinal stenosis was high between both the clinicians and radiologists, whereas the intraobserver agreement was almost perfect. Experienced clinicians may safely evaluate lumbar magnetic resonance images using this morphological grading for central lumbar spinal stenosis.
The 100 Most Influential Articles in Cervical Spine Surgery
Authors: Skovrlj Branko , Steinberger Jeremy , Guzman Javier Z. , Overley Samuel C. , Qureshi Sheeraz A. , Caridi John M. , Cho Samuel K.
Published: May 2015

Study Design

Literature review.

Objective

To identify and analyze the top 100 cited articles in cervical spine surgery.

Methods

The Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge was searched for citations of all articles relevant to cervical spine surgery. The number of citations, authorship, year of publication, journal of publication, country of publication, and institution were recorded for each article.

Results

The most cited article was the classic from 1991 by Vernon and Mior that described the Neck Disability Index. The second most cited was Smith's 1958 article describing the anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion procedure. The third most cited article was Hilibrand's 1999 publication evaluating the incidence, prevalence, and radiographic progression of symptomatic adjacent segment disease following anterior cervical arthrodesis. The majority of the articles originated in the United States (65), and most were published in Spine (39). Most articles were published in the 1990s (34), and the three most common topics were cervical fusion (17), surgical complications (9), and biomechanics (9), respectively. Author Abumi had four articles in the top 100 list, and authors Goffin, Panjabi, and Hadley had three each. The Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan, had five articles in the top 100 list.

Conclusion

This report identifies the top 100 articles in cervical spine surgery and acknowledges those individuals who have contributed the most to the advancement of the study of the cervical spine and the body of knowledge used to guide evidence-based clinical decision making in cervical spine surgery today.
Magnetically tunable dual-band transmission through a single subwavelength aperture
Authors: Wang Qingmin , Bi Ke , Lei Ming
Published: May 2015

By placing two pairs of dielectric cubes and ferrite cuboids symmetrically on both sides of a single subwavelength aperture, we realize a magnetically tunable dual-band transmission. One transmission peak is induced by the Mie resonance of dielectric cubes, and the other one is induced by the ferromagnetic resonance of ferrite cuboids. The enhancement transmission controlled by the ferromagnetic resonance can be tuned by adjusting the applied magnetic field, which is confirmed by the experimental and simulated results. This work provides a way to realize tunable enhanced transmission through a single subwavelength aperture, which has greater potential for the tunable filters.
Catching the role of anisotropic electronic distribution and charge transfer in halogen bonded complexes of noble gases
Authors: Bartocci Alessio , Belpassi Leonardo , Cappelletti David , Falcinelli Stefano , Grandinetti Felice , Tarantelli Francesco , Pirani Fernando
Published: May 2015

The systems studied in this work are gas-phase weakly bound adducts of the noble-gas (Ng) atoms with CCl4 and CF4. Their investigation was motivated by the widespread current interest for the intermolecular halogen bonding (XB), a structural motif recognized to play a role in fields ranging from elementary processes to biochemistry. The simulation of the static and dynamic behaviors of complex systems featuring XB requires the formulation of reliable and accurate model potentials, whose development relies on the detailed characterization of strength and nature of the interactions occurring in simple exemplary halogenated systems. We thus selected the prototypical Ng-CCl4 and Ng-CF4 and performed high-resolution molecular beam scattering experiments to measure the absolute scale of their intermolecular potentials, with high sensitivity. In general, we expected to probe typical van der Waals interactions, consisting of a combination of size (exchange) repulsion with dispersion/induction attraction. For the He/Ne-CF4, the analysis of the glory quantum interference pattern, observable in the velocity dependence of the integral cross section, confirmed indeed this expectation. On the other hand, for the He/Ne/Ar-CCl4, the scattering data unravelled much deeper potential wells, particularly for certain configurations of the interacting partners. The experimental data can be properly reproduced only including a shifting of the repulsive wall at shorter distances, accompanied by an increased role of the dispersion attraction, and an additional short-range stabilization component. To put these findings on a firmer ground, we performed, for selected geometries of the interacting complexes, accurate theoretical calculations aimed to evaluate the intermolecular interaction and the effects of the complex formation on the electron charge density of the constituting moieties. It was thus ascertained that the adjustments of the potential suggested by the analysis of the experiments actually reflect two chemically meaningful contributions, namely, a stabilizing interaction arising from the anisotropy of the charge distribution around the Cl atom in CCl4 and a stereospecific electron transfer that occurs at the intermolecular distances mainly probed by the experiments. Our model calculations suggest that the largest effect is for the vertex geometry of CCl4 while other geometries appear to play a minor to negligible role.
Field alignment of bent-core smectic liquid crystals for analog optical phase modulation
Authors: Shen Y. , Goodhew L. , Shao R. , Moran M. , Korblova E. , Walba D. M. , Clark N. A. , Maclennan J. E. , Rudquist P.
Published: May 2015

A general method for aligning bent-core smectic liquid crystal materials is described. Alternating electric fields between interdigitated electrodes patterned on one cell surface create torques on the liquid crystal that result in uniform “bookshelf” orientation of the smectic layers. The aligned cell can then be driven in the conventional way by applying an electric field between all of the stripe electrodes connected together and a monolithic electrode on the other cell surface. Fast, analog, optical phase-only modulation is demonstrated in a device containing a polar, bent-core SmAPF material aligned using this technique.
Removing artificial Kapitza effects from bulk thermal conductivity calculations in direct molecular dynamics
Authors: Singh Amit , Tadmor Ellad B.
Published: May 2015

The direct method for computing thermal conductivity in nonequilibrium molecular dynamics gives rise to an artificial Kapitza resistance at the interface between thermostatted and unthermostatted regions. This resistance, which depends on the system size and the thermostat parameters, creates discontinuous jumps in the temperature and heat flux across the interface and therefore affects the measured thermal conductivity. In this paper, we propose a phenomenological relation for the Kapitza resistance that can be used to extract a value for the bulk thermal conductivity, which is independent of the system size and thermostat details. The paper also provides insight into the Kapitza phenomenon resulting from numerical thermostatting.
Ultra-sensitive Hall sensors based on graphene encapsulated in hexagonal boron nitride
Authors: Dauber Jan , Sagade Abhay A. , Oellers Martin , Watanabe Kenji , Taniguchi Takashi , Neumaier Daniel , Stampfer Christoph
Published: May 2015

The encapsulation of graphene in hexagonal boron nitride provides graphene on substrate with excellent material quality. Here, we present the fabrication and characterization of Hall sensor elements based on graphene boron nitride heterostructures, where we gain from high mobility and low charge carrier density at room temperature. We show a detailed device characterization including Hall effect measurements under vacuum and ambient conditions. We achieve a current- and voltage-related sensitivity of up to 5700 V/AT and 3 V/VT, respectively, outpacing state-of-the-art silicon and III/V Hall sensor devices. Finally, we extract a magnetic resolution limited by low frequency electric noise of less than 50 nT/Hz making our graphene sensors highly interesting for industrial applications.
Study of Ga incorporation in glassy arsenic selenides by high-resolution XPS and EXAFS
Authors: Golovchak R. , Shpotyuk Ya. , Nazabal V. , Boussard-Pledel C. , Bureau B. , Cebulski J. , Jain H.
Published: May 2015

Effect of Ga addition on the structure of vitreous As2Se3 is studied using high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and extended X-ray absorption fine structure techniques. The “8-N” rule is shown to be violated for Ga atoms and, possibly, for certain number of As atoms. On the contrary, Se keeps its 2-fold coordination according to “8-N” rule in the amorphous phase throughout all the compositions. Crystalline inclusions appear in the amorphous structure of the investigated glasses at Ga concentrations greater than 3 at. %. These inclusions are presumably associated with Ga2Se3 crystallites and transition phases/defects formed at the boundaries of these crystallites and host amorphous matrix. The existence of Ga–As and Se–Se bonds in the samples with higher Ga content is supported by present studies.
Electronic spectra and excited state dynamics of pentafluorophenol: Effects of low-lying πσ∗ states
Authors: Karmakar Shreetama , Mukhopadhyay Deb Pratim , Chakraborty Tapas
Published: May 2015

Multiple fluorine atom substitution effect on photophysics of an aromatic chromophore has been investigated using phenol as the reference system. It has been noticed that the discrete vibronic structure of the S1←S0 absorption system of phenol vapor is completely washed out for pentafluorophenol (PFP), and the latter also shows very large Stokes shift in the fluorescence spectrum. For excitations beyond S1 origin, the emission yield of PFP is reduced sharply with increase in excess vibronic energy. However, in a collisional environment like liquid hydrocarbon, the underlying dynamical process that drives the non-radiative decay is hindered drastically. Electronic structure theory predicts a number of low-lying dark electronic states of πσ∗ character in the vicinity of the lowest valence ππ∗ state of this molecule. Tentatively, we have attributed the excitation energy dependent non-radiative decay of the molecule observed only in the gas phase to an interplay between the lowest ππ∗ and a nearby dissociative πσ∗ state. Measurements in different liquids reveal that some of the dark excited states light up with appreciable intensity only in protic liquids like methanol and water due to hydrogen bonding between solute and solvents. Electronic structure theory methods indeed predict that for PFP-(H2O)n clusters (n = 1-11), intensities of a number of πσ∗ states are enhanced with increase in cluster size. In contrast with emitting behavior of the molecule in the gas phase and solutions of nonpolar and polar aprotic liquids, the fluorescence is completely switched off in polar protic liquids. This behavior is a chemically significant manifestation of perfluoro effect, because a very opposite effect occurs in the case of unsubstituted phenol for which fluorescence yield undergoes a very large enhancement in protic liquids. Several dynamical mechanisms have been suggested to interpret the observed photophysical behavior.
Stochastic lumping analysis for linear kinetics and its application to the fluctuation relations between hierarchical kinetic networks
Authors: Deng De-Ming , Chang Cheng-Hung
Published: May 2015

Conventional studies of biomolecular behaviors rely largely on the construction of kinetic schemes. Since the selection of these networks is not unique, a concern is raised whether and under which conditions hierarchical schemes can reveal the same experimentally measured fluctuating behaviors and unique fluctuation related physical properties. To clarify these questions, we introduce stochasticity into the traditional lumping analysis, generalize it from rate equations to chemical master equations and stochastic differential equations, and extract the fluctuation relations between kinetically and thermodynamically equivalent networks under intrinsic and extrinsic noises. The results provide a theoretical basis for the legitimate use of low-dimensional models in the studies of macromolecular fluctuations and, more generally, for exploring stochastic features in different levels of contracted networks in chemical and biological kinetic systems.
Gyrokinetic turbulence cascade via predator-prey interactions between different scales
Authors: Kobayashi Sumire , Gurcan Ozgur D.
Published: May 2015

Gyrokinetic simulations in a closed fieldline geometry are presented to explore the physics of nonlinear transfer in plasma turbulence. As spontaneously formed zonal flows and small-scale turbulence demonstrate “predator-prey” dynamics, a particular cascade spectrum emerges. The electrostatic potential and the density spectra appear to be in good agreement with the simple theoretical prediction based on Charney-Hasegawa-Mima equation |ϕ̃k|2∼|ñk|2∝k−3/(1+k2)2, with the spectra becoming anisotropic at small scales. The results indicate that the disparate scale interactions, in particular, the refraction and shearing of larger scale eddies by the self-consistent zonal flows, dominate over local interactions, and contrary to the common wisdom, the comprehensive scaling relation is created even within the energy injection region.
Peculiarities of measuring ion energy distribution in plasma with a retarding field analyzer
Authors: Bardakov V. M. , Ivanov S. D. , Kazantsev A. V. , Strokin N. A.
Published: May 2015

Presented are the results from tailoring the retarding field energy analyzer to measure the degree of charge compensation and regular patterns in the separations of ions of different mass, with the multicomponent ion flow spreading out in the plasma-optical mass separator model.
Three-dimensional micro-Raman spectroscopy mapping of stress induced in Si by Cu-filled through-Si vias
Authors: Kosemura Daisuke , De Wolf Ingrid
Published: May 2015

Three-dimensional (3D) micro-Raman spectroscopy mapping of mechanical stress induced by Cu through-Si vias (TSVs) in the Si substrate is reported. The 3D-map is obtained by combining 2D-maps measured at different positions along the cross-section of TSVs. The results highlight the relaxing effect of cross-sectioning on the stress field and show that conventional 2D-measurements on cross-sections can seriously underestimate the real stress values. Using this technique, the impact of post-plating anneal on the TSV stress is measured and shown to correlate very well with TSV stress data obtained from wafer bending experiments.
Ligand Constraints and Synthesis of Metal–Organic Polyhedra
Authors: Vardhan Harsh , Verpoort Francis
Published: May 2015

Metal–organic polyhedra are three dimensional discrete structures typically constructed by the self-assembly of metal ions and ligands. The synthesis and geometry of discrete structures entirely rely on the choice of metal ions, ligand constraints such as steric bulk, bend angle, and functionalities, and the nature of applied solvents. As a result, they provide tailorable internal volume and usually hydrophobic nature to the cavity that in turn makes them one of the prominent host molecules for a range of applications. This review highlights the intervention of ligand constraints, precisely bend angle (0°, 60°, 120°, and 180°), hydroxyl functionalities, and the role of concepts such as molecular panelling and subcomponent self-assembly in the synthesis of polyhedra.
IL-1α induces thrombopoiesis through megakaryocyte rupture in response to acute platelet needs
Authors: Nishimura Satoshi , Nagasaki Mika , Kunishima Shinji , Sawaguchi Akira , Sakata Asuka , Sakaguchi Hiroyasu , Ohmori Tsukasa , Manabe Ichiro , Italiano Joseph E. , Ryu Tomiko , Takayama Naoya , Komuro Issei , Kadowaki Takashi , Eto Koji , Nagai Ryozo
Published: May 2015

Intravital visualization of thrombopoiesis revealed that formation of proplatelets, which are cytoplasmic protrusions in bone marrow megakaryocytes (MKs), is dominant in the steady state. However, it was unclear whether this is the only path to platelet biogenesis. We have identified an alternative MK rupture, which entails rapid cytoplasmic fragmentation and release of much larger numbers of platelets, primarily into blood vessels, which is morphologically and temporally different than typical FasL-induced apoptosis. Serum levels of the inflammatory cytokine IL-1α were acutely elevated after platelet loss or administration of an inflammatory stimulus to mice, whereas the MK-regulator thrombopoietin (TPO) was not elevated. Moreover, IL-1α administration rapidly induced MK rupture–dependent thrombopoiesis and increased platelet counts. IL-1α–IL-1R1 signaling activated caspase-3, which reduced plasma membrane stability and appeared to inhibit regulated tubulin expression and proplatelet formation, and ultimately led to MK rupture. Collectively, it appears the balance between TPO and IL-1α determines the MK cellular programming for thrombopoiesis in response to acute and chronic platelet needs.
The shifting geography and language of cell biology
Authors: Mayor Satyajit
Published: May 2015

With the increase in scientific activity globally, the geographical focus of basic research is shifting away from the West. At the same time, multidisciplinary approaches are uncovering new layers in our understanding of how cells work. How will these trends affect cell biology in the near future?
Megakaryocyte rupture for acute platelet needs
Authors: Nieswandt Bernhard , Stritt Simon
Published: May 2015

Circulating platelets were thought to arise solely from the protrusion and fragmentation of megakaryocyte cytoplasm. Now, Nishimura et al. (2015. J. Cell Biol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201410052) show that platelet release from megakaryocytes can be induced by interleukin-1α (IL-1α) via a new rupture mechanism, which yields higher platelet numbers, occurs independently of the key regulator of megakaryopoiesis thrombopoietin, and may occur during situations of acute platelet need.
SUN protection for the skin
Authors: Short Ben
Published: May 2015

A component of the nuclear envelope–spanning LINC complex maintains the integrity of epidermal cell adhesions.
Petra Schwille: Taking a minimalist approach to membranes
Authors: Powell Kendall
Published: May 2015

Schwille’s group breaks down cell phenomena into their simplest parts.
Crude Fat Content and Fatty Acid Profile and Their Correlations in Foxtail Millet
Authors: Zhang Aixia , Liu Xiaodong , Wang Guirong , Wang Huijun , Liu Jingke , Zhao Wei , Zhang Yuzong
Published: May 2015

Crude fat and fatty acid profile of 35 foxtail millets including seven varieties planted in five different regions of China were studied. The fat content ranged from 3.38 to 6.49% (averaging 4.51%). The major fatty acid in foxtail millets was linoleic acid (averaging 66.68%), followed by oleic acid (averaging 16.11%), palmitic acid (averaging 7.42%), stearic acid (averaging 6.84%), and linolenic acid (averaging 2.48%). Two‐way ANOVA showed that fat content was significantly affected by millet variety and cultivation area (P < 0.05). Fatty acids including linoleic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, and linolenic acid varied significantly in different foxtail millet varieties (P < 0.05), except oleic acid (P > 0.05). Fatty acids including linoleic acid, oleic acid, palmitic acid, and stearic acid did not change significantly in foxtail millets from different regions (P > 0.05), except linolenic acid (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis indicated that oleic acid was negatively correlated with palmitic acid and linoleic acid (P < 0.05), and linolenic acid was positively correlated with palmitic acid and linoleic acid but negatively correlated with stearic acid (P < 0.05). The research showed that millets with good fat composition can be obtained through breeding techniques or cultivation management.
Detection of Phytophthora ramorum in Nurseries and Forest Lands in California in 2004 to 2009
Authors: Blomquist C. L. , Yakabe L. E. , Rooney-Latham S. , McRoberts N. , Thomas C.
Published: May 2015

From December 2004 through May 2009, samples were collected from California nurseries and wild lands to survey for Phytophthora ramorum and comply with federal regulations of nursery stock. Samples were prescreened by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) that detects Phytophthora spp. and tested by culture, P. ramorum-specific real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and nested PCR. Yearly percentages of infected samples ranged from 0.6 to 2.3%. Camellia spp., Rhododendron spp., Magnolia spp., Pieris spp., and Laurus nobilis tested positive the most frequently in the nurseries and Lithocarpus densiflorus, Umbellularia californica, and Quercus agrifolia tested positive most often from wild lands. Of the 118,410 samples isolated onto PARP media, 0.8% was identified as P. ramorum. Of 115,056 samples tested by ELISA, 5.9% tested positive for Phytophthora spp. Of the 6,520 samples tested by PCR, 12.4% tested positive for P. ramorum. The false-negative, positive, and internal control failure rates of the assays are discussed. After removing the seasonal effect of sampling strategy, isolation of the pathogen into culture was found to be seasonally dependent whereas detectability by PCR and ELISA was not. To our knowledge, this is the first evaluation of a regulatory testing program for a plant pathogen on this scale using standardized assays.
How does corporate social responsibility avoid the incidence of corruption in international expansion?
Authors: Khojastehpour Morteza
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to identify factors in avoidance of corruption in international expansion.

Design/methodology/approach

– Building on extensive literature, the paper includes three complexities, namely cultural, economic and regulation associated with corruption in an international context.

Findings

– The paper highlights that corruption can be addressed by three types of complexities.

Practical implications

– The findings of this study highlights the importance of corporate social responsibility for firms intend to expand internationally.

Originality/value

– The paper is one of the first to highlight the effect of corporate social responsibility on corruption in an international context.
An exploratory study of factors that affect the research progress of international PhD students from the Middle East
Authors: Khozaei Fatemeh , Naidu Sivabala , Khozaei Zahra , Salleh Nor Aini
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– Despite the critical issues involving Middle East countries such as war and a drop in currency exchange rates, a large number of students leave their country to pursue a higher education abroad, every year. The purpose of this paper is to understand the difficulties that these students face while conducting their research in a foreign country and in doing so hopes to enhance a greater awareness of the kind of hindrances they face to complete their studies.

Design/methodology/approach

– The respondents of this qualitative study are PhD students from the Middle East who were studying in a public university in Southeast Asia. This university has recorded an increasing enrollment of international students, particularly from the Middle East in the last few years. Data were collected using a series of unstructured interviews that elicited information on critical incidents that characterized the kind of difficulties students had to face in their research. The data obtained was further analyzed using a qualitative software package – NVivo (QSR International, 10).

Findings

– Six main themes emerged from the content analysis of the interviews, which are the role of the supervisor, student characteristics, family commitments, financial problems, psychological and research barriers which provide a holistic picture of student perspectives on the factors that affect research progress. While these students might have faced difficulties that might have been cited in existing literature, this paper argues that the respondents have indicated experiencing psychological barriers that were not described in earlier studies, such as the state of mind they were in as a result of being worried for family members due to war or violence in their home countries, drop in currency exchange rates and difficulties in acquiring money due to international sanctions imposed against their countries.

Originality/value

– This study provides important insights on the factors that affect the progress of PhD students from the Middle East, while at the same time revealing a serious gap in supervisors’ role which can contribute to the delay in the research progress of PhD students.
Analyst earnings forecast revision activity around profit warnings across four European countries
Authors: Aubert François , Louhichi Waël
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to report on research concerning financial analysts’ activity surrounding profit warnings issued by listed companies in the four largest European stock exchanges (France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK). The authors address three aspects of analysts’ forecasts: ex-post accuracy of forecasts, earnings forecast revisions, and consensus forecast dispersion. The goal of the analysis is to study the differences between financial analysts’ behavior within different regulatory settings, namely common law vs civil law countries.

Design/methodology/approach

– The sample is composed of 1,330 profit warnings issued by listed European firms during the period 2000-2010. The authors apply event study methodology and OLS regressions to highlight the impact of the legal information environment on analysts’ reactions.

Findings

– The empirical analysis reveals that analyst activity depends on each country’s legal context factors, such as the legal information environment of the firm and the index of investor protection. Accordingly, the authors show that both a richer legal information environment and stronger country-level investor protection substantially improve analyst accuracy around profit warnings.

Research limitations/implications

– The sample is only composed on firms from four European countries owing to a lack of firms from other European countries that disclosed PW during the period 2000-2010. It would be pertinent to conduct future research dealing with an international sample from different continents.

Practical implications

– The paper contributes to a deeper understanding of analysts’ reactions to profit warnings. The findings can influence firms’ reporting practices and lead to future regulation policies.

Originality/value

– This work is the first to examine the relationship between profit warning releases and the behavior of financial analysts in a pan-European context where there are different institutional levels of investor protection.
Board monitoring and internal control system disclosure in different regulatory environments
Authors: Michelon Giovanna , Bozzolan Saverio , Beretta Sergio
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate two research questions. Is internal control system (ICS) disclosure, as a monitoring mechanism, associated with the characteristics of the board of directors, particularly the audit committee as the main board committee devoted to the effectiveness of ICS? Does the regulatory environment, particularly the regulation on ICS disclosure as an external governance/monitoring mechanism play a role in shaping the relationship between board monitoring and ICS disclosure and, if so, how?

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors study the ICS disclosure of 149 companies listed in four European financial markets (London, Paris, Frankfurt and Milan), each with its own regulations about ICS disclosure, during a six-year period (2003-2008).

Findings

– The findings support an inverse association between the extent of ICS disclosure and the proxies for board monitoring. The authors also find a statistically significant negative relationship between board monitoring and substantial ICS disclosure but no relationship between board monitoring and formal ICS disclosure. The evidence also shows that the regulatory environment moderates the relationship between board monitoring and ICS disclosure by introducing trade-offs among monitoring mechanisms.

Research limitations/implications

– An important caveat of the research is that it does not explore if and how investors use ICS disclosure to evaluate the firm.

Practical implications

– The authors propose a framework for the analysis of ICS disclosure that overcomes limitations of previous literature that has neglected the importance of the content beyond the extent of ICS disclosure. Through this framework researchers, practitioners and standard setters are able to separate merely descriptive, formal un-useful disclosure (boilerplate information) on the composing elements of the ICS from substantial disclosure regarding the functioning of the ICS (monitoring function).

Originality/value

– The authors also provide evidence that the relationship between board monitoring and ICS disclosure varies with the content of the information communicated, thus offering guidance for future research not to focus on measuring the extent or quantity of disclosure but on the variety and complexity of the information communicated.
The adoption of IFRS 8 – no headway made? Evidence from segment reporting practices in Germany
Authors: Franzen Nina , Weißenberger Barbara E.
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to assess the changes in segment reporting practices of German listed firms under the new segment reporting standard IFRS 8.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors compare hand-collected segment disclosures of German firms in the first IFRS 8 year with those reported in the last IAS 14R year.

Findings

– The authors do not find substantial changes in the segment disclosures of German firms under IFRS 8. While the number of reportable segments slightly increased, the amount of information disclosed for each reportable segment decreased. The same applies to geographic areas reported as secondary segments under IAS 14R compared to entity-wide disclosures under IFRS 8. Furthermore, even though more country-specific information was provided, many firms still disclosed only broad geographic areas.

Research limitations/implications

– Future research should extend the analysis to consider more than one year of data following IFRS 8’s adoption and to examine the impact of the standard on smaller firms. Moreover, investigating economic benefits for investors and other financial statement users following IFRS 8’s adoption could be an avenue for future research.

Practical implications

– The findings indicate that the International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB) expectations regarding changes in segment reporting practices under IFRS 8 have only partially been met. The results also reveal some cases of segment reporting practice where compliance is at least questionable. Both findings are of interest to standard-setters and regulators.

Originality/value

– The paper provides new insights into the effects of IFRS 8’s adoption in Germany and thus contributes to the post-implementation review of IFRS 8 carried out by the IASB in 2012/2013. The study sheds light on the consequences of applying the “management approach” to segment reporting, thereby contributing to the theoretical discussion on the adequacy of the different concepts for disclosing segment information.
Disclosure, ownership structure, earnings announcement lag and cost of equity capital in emerging markets
Authors: Khlif Hichem , Samaha Khaled , Azzam Islam
Published: May 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of voluntary disclosure, ownership structure attributes and timely disclosure on cost of equity capital in the emerging Egyptian capital market.

Design/methodology/approach

– A content analysis of annual reports is used to measure the extent of voluntary disclosure. Earnings announcement lag (EAL) is used to measure the quality of voluntary disclosure (i.e. timely disclosure). Finally, the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) framework is used to estimate cost of equity capital.

Findings

– The authors find a negative relationship between the level of voluntary disclosure and cost of equity capital. More specifically, the authors document that this association is strongly significant under high ownership dispersion, low government ownership and shorter EAL. Finally, EAL is positively associated with cost of equity capital.

Research limitations/implications

– The authors use the CAPM framework as a proxy for the cost of equity since forecasted earnings per share are not communicated by financial analysts in the Egyptian Stock Exchange.

Practical implications

– The findings demonstrate for managers that the increased levels of voluntary and timely disclosure reduce the cost of external finance and improve the marketability of firms’ equities, which may directly impact growth opportunities especially when information is communicated to investors in a timely fashion. For regulators, it provides evidence that high government ownership reduces the value relevance of voluntary disclosure among investors, while free float as a proxy for high ownership dispersion improves it.

Originality/value

– The findings show that corporate disclosure policy depends more on the managers’ incentives to provide informative annual reports than on standards and regulations. The study also represents a first attempt that demonstrates how ownership structure and timely disclosure influence the relationship between disclosure and cost of equity capital.
Ustekinumab treatment in patients with psoriasis undergoing hemodialysis
Authors: Umezawa Yoshinori , Hayashi Mitsuha , Kikuchi Sota , Fukuchi Osamu , Yanaba Koichi , Ito Toshihiro , Asahina Akihiko , Saeki Hidehisa , Nakagawa Hidemi
Published: May 2015

Patients with psoriasis undergoing hemodialysis have additional difficulties in treatment compared with general patients. Conventional treatments such as cyclosporin, retinoids and methotrexate are not widely administrated due to the chances of an increase in adverse effects and the possibility of risk to patient survival. Recently, biologic treatments have been recognized as having sufficient efficacy for severe psoriasis with low incidence of organ toxicities. For this reason, biologic treatments may be more preferable for patients on hemodialysis; however, there is not sufficient evidence. We have treated three patients with psoriasis with ustekinumab for 1 year, who had been undergoing hemodialysis. They were previously treated with conventional treatments before ustekinumab treatments; however, they did not respond to these treatments sufficiently. Following treatment with ustekinumab, rapid and maintained improvement in psoriasis was observed. Over the course of treatments, two of the three patients encountered no adverse events during their first year of treatment. The other patient discontinued ustekinumab due to elevated levels of C‐reactive protein. These findings suggest that ustekinumab may be an appropriate treatment for patients undergoing hemodialysis who are suffering from psoriasis. However, the risk of developing infection remains higher than in general patients.
Correlation of disease activity and serum level of carcinoembryonic antigen in acquired idiopathic generalized anhidrosis: A case report
Authors: Honma Masaru , Iinuma Shin , Kanno Kyoko , Komatsu Shigetsuna , Minami‐Hori Masako , Ishida‐Yamamoto Akemi
Published: May 2015

Hypohidrosis and anhidrosis are congenital or acquired conditions which are characterized by inadequate sweating. Acquired idiopathic generalized hypohidrosis/anhidrosis (AIGA) includes idiopathic pure sudomotor failure (IPSF), which has the following distinct features: sudden onset in youth, increased serum immunoglobulin E and responds favorably to systemic corticosteroid. No clinical markers reflecting the disease severity or activity have been established. Here, we report a case of AIGA in a Japanese patient successfully treated with repeated methylprednisolone pulse therapy. In this case, serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels increased up to 19.8 ng/mL along with aberrant CEA immunoreactivity of eccrine sweat glands. Interestingly, the serum CEA level normalized as sweating improved with repeated methylprednisolone pulse therapy. Therefore, serum CEA level may serve as a useful clinical marker of hypohidrosis or anhidrosis.
Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci from Corydalis ambigua (Papaveraceae)
Authors: Dohzono Ikumi , Kaneko Shingo , Yokoyama Jun , Isagi Yuji
Published: May 2015

Primers for seven unlinked and highly polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed for Corydalis ambigua to investigate its mating system and population genetics. This species can be used to explore the impact of an alien bumblebee on plant reproduction. Genetic diversity and other population genetic parameters were estimated in two populations with and without the alien bumblebee. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 4 to 20, and observed heterozygosities ranged from 0.355 to 0.969. These markers can be applied to study mating systems and population genetics in C. ambigua.
‘For We Shall Prejudice Nothing’: Middle Way Conservatism and the Defence of Inequality, 1945–1979
Authors: Blackburn Dean
Published: May 2015

Recent descriptions of British Conservatism have often identiﬁed the defence of inequality as one of its core ideological features. By drawing upon Michael Freeden’s morphological conception of ideologies, this article will challenge such descriptions. Drawing upon the discourses of a particular formation of post-war Conservative thought, it will suggest that because Conservatives adhered to a particular set of epistemological and ontological beliefs, the defence of inequality could only obtain a subordinate status within their thought. And it will, in turn, critique dominant understandings of post-war party competition.
Homozygous Sequence Variants in the NPR2 Gene Underlying Acromesomelic Dysplasia Maroteaux Type (AMDM) in Consanguineous Families
Authors: Irfanullah  , Umair Muhammad , Khan Saadullah , Ahmad Wasim
Published: May 2015

Acromesomelic dysplasia Maroteaux type (AMDM) is an autosomal recessive skeletal disorder characterized by disproportionate short stature with shortening of the acromesomelic sections of the limbs. AMDM is caused by mutations in the NPR2 gene located on chromosome 9p21‐p12. The gene encodes the natriuretic peptide receptor B (NPR‐B) that acts as an endogenous receptor for C‐type natriuretic peptide (CNP). Both CNP and NPR‐B are considered as important regulators of longitudinal growth. The study presented here investigated three consanguineous families (A, B, C) segregating AMDM in an autosomal recessive manner. Linkage in the families was established to the NPR2 gene on chromosome 9p12‐21. Sequence analysis of the gene revealed two novel missense variants (p.Arg601Ser; p.Arg749Trp) in two families and a previously reported splice site variant (c.2986+2T>G) in the third family.
Using interviews to research body size: methodological and ethical considerations
Authors: Lloyd Jenny , Hopkins Peter
Published: May 2015

Fat studies has recently emerged as an interdisciplinary field of scholarship; it aims at challenging dominant, negative and medicalised discourses about fat bodies. Despite the growth of scholarship in this field in human geography, there has been limited discussion of the methodological and ethical issues involved in undertaking such work. This article draws on two research projects on body size – the first about expatriates in Singapore and the second about young people in the UK – in order to discuss some of the methodological and ethical considerations involved in using interviews to research the sized body.
A moving blocks empirical likelihood method for longitudinal data
Authors: Qiu Jin , Wu Lang
Published: May 2015

In the analysis of longitudinal or panel data, neglecting the serial correlations among the repeated measurements within subjects may lead to inefficient inference. In particular, when the number of repeated measurements is large, it may be desirable to model the serial correlations more generally. An appealing approach is to accommodate the serial correlations nonparametrically. In this article, we propose a moving blocks empirical likelihood method for general estimating equations. Asymptotic results are derived under sequential limits. Simulation studies are conducted to investigate the finite sample performances of the proposed methods and compare them with the elementwise and subject‐wise empirical likelihood methods of Wang et al. (2010, Biometrika 97, 79–93) and the block empirical likelihood method of You et al. (2006, Can. J. Statist. 34, 79–96). An application to an AIDS longitudinal study is presented.
Regularized outcome weighted subgroup identification for differential treatment effects
Authors: Xu Yaoyao , Yu Menggang , Zhao Ying‐Qi , Li Quefeng , Wang Sijian , Shao Jun
Published: May 2015

To facilitate comparative treatment selection when there is substantial heterogeneity of treatment effectiveness, it is important to identify subgroups that exhibit differential treatment effects. Existing approaches model outcomes directly and then define subgroups according to interactions between treatment and covariates. Because outcomes are affected by both the covariate–treatment interactions and covariate main effects, direct modeling outcomes can be hard due to model misspecification, especially in presence of many covariates. Alternatively one can directly work with differential treatment effect estimation. We propose such a method that approximates a target function whose value directly reflects correct treatment assignment for patients. The function uses patient outcomes as weights rather than modeling targets. Consequently, our method can deal with binary, continuous, time‐to‐event, and possibly contaminated outcomes in the same fashion. We first focus on identifying only directional estimates from linear rules that characterize important subgroups. We further consider estimation of comparative treatment effects for identified subgroups. We demonstrate the advantages of our method in simulation studies and in analyses of two real data sets.
Central Nervous System Demyelination and Remyelination is Independent from Systemic Cholesterol Level in Theiler's Murine Encephalomyelitis
Authors: Raddatz Barbara B. , Sun Wenhui , Brogden Graham , Sun Yanyong , Kammeyer Patricia , Kalkuhl Arno , Colbatzky Florian , Deschl Ulrich , Naim Hassan Y. , Baumgärtner Wolfgang , Ulrich Reiner
Published: May 2015

High dietary fat and/or cholesterol intake is a risk factor for multiple diseases and has been debated for multiple sclerosis. However, cholesterol biosynthesis is a key pathway during myelination and disturbances are described in demyelinating diseases. To address the possible interaction of dyslipidemia and demyelination, cholesterol biosynthesis gene expression, composition of the body's major lipid repositories and Paigen diet‐induced, systemic hypercholesterolemia were examined in Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis (TME) using histology, immunohistochemistry, serum clinical chemistry, microarrays and high‐performance thin layer chromatography. TME‐virus (TMEV)‐infected mice showed progressive loss of motor performance and demyelinating leukomyelitis. Gene expression associated with cholesterol biosynthesis was overall down‐regulated in the spinal cord of TMEV‐infected animals. Spinal cord levels of galactocerebroside and sphingomyelin were reduced on day 196 post TMEV infection. Paigen diet induced serum hypercholesterolemia and hepatic lipidosis. However, high dietary fat and cholesterol intake led to no significant differences in clinical course, inflammatory response, astrocytosis, and the amount of demyelination and remyelination in the spinal cord of TMEV‐infected animals. The results suggest that down‐regulation of cholesterol biosynthesis is a transcriptional marker for demyelination, quantitative loss of myelin‐specific lipids, but not cholesterol occurs late in chronic demyelination, and serum hypercholesterolemia exhibited no significant effect on TMEV infection.
Projecting a spatial shift of Ontario's sugar maple habitat in response to climate change: A GIS approach
Authors: Brown Laura J. , Lamhonwah Daniel , Murphy Brenda L.
Published: May 2015

Canada is the world's largest producer of maple syrup. Syrup production depends on weather and climatic conditions of the sugarbush. However, forest ecosystems are highly sensitive to climate change. The effect of rapidly changing precipitation and temperature patterns on tree species is of concern as these long‐lived organisms cannot quickly adapt to the new environmental conditions in which they find themselves. As temperatures increase it is expected that there will be a change in species' ranges poleward. This study uses Multi‐Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) and Geographic Information System (GIS) weighted sum analysis to project near future (2050) and distant future (2100) suitability maps of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) habitat in Ontario associated with three different Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) scenarios. Our maps project an overall decrease in the amount of suitable habitat within the current sugar maple range under the scenarios modelled, which intensifies in the later time period. Furthermore there is a projected shift in central and southern Ontario from a region dominated by suitable habitat to one dominated by unsuitable habitat.