bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A luminescence assay for natural product inhibitors of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis proteasome
Authors: Gunderwala Amber , Porter John
Published: January 2016

Introduction

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) causes a large global burden of disease, with a high mortality rate in healthy and immuno‐compromised patients. A number of molecular targets have been identified for treatment of this disease, including the Mtb proteasome. The Mtb proteasome enhances Mtb survival during nitrosative and oxidative stress in the latent, non‐replicative phase. Therefore, Mtb proteasome inhibition could help to combat Mtb infections that do not respond to current therapies.

Objective

To develop and validate a novel biochemical assay to assess Mtb proteasome activity in the presence of organic and aqueous plant test extracts.

Method

Fluorescence (photoluminescence) and luminescence (chemiluminescence) assays were investigated as potential methods to determine the robustness and repeatability for use in screening natural product extracts for Mtb proteasome inhibitors.

Results

The fluorescence assay, used widely for Mtb proteasome activity assays, was subject to interference due to the natural fluorescence of compounds in many of the extracts; there is little interference with the luminescence approach. As proof of principle, we used the luminescence assay to screen a small set of plant test extracts.

Conclusions

Luminescence is the more suitable assay for assay of plant natural product extracts. The sensitivities of the luminescence and fluorescence assays are comparable. A Z′‐factor of 0.58 for the luminescence assay makes it suitable for medium‐to‐high throughput screening efforts. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Copolymers with similar comonomers: Tuning frontier orbital energies for application in organic solar cells
Authors: Oliveira Eliezer Fernando , Lavarda Francisco Carlos
Published: January 2016

Today, there is an intense search for new electron donor polymers for the active layers of organic solar cells. The synthesis of copolymers, in which there is a mix of electron donor monomers with others that are electron acceptors, is a currently employed approach that is used to obtain new polymers with more interesting electronic properties. Usually, the comonomers have a very different structure and the energies of the frontier electronic levels are unpredictable. We demonstrate in this work that the approach of using similar comonomers allows for the provision of copolymers with predictable energies of the frontier electronic levels. We explore the properties of copolymers consisting of monomers of poly(3‐hexylthiophene), poly(3‐hexyloxythiophene) and some poly(3‐hexylthiophene) derivatives. The results indicate that the copolymers have intermediate frontier orbital energies when compared to the parent homopolymers and these energies are easy to predict. This approach is an alternative way of designing a copolymer with favorable tuning of the energies of the frontier electronic levels and is supported by experimental evidence. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 56:479–487, 2016. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers
Low‐Temperature Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Processes for “Green” Third Generation Photovoltaics
Authors: Mariotti Davide , Belmonte Thierry , Benedikt Jan , Velusamy Tamilselvan , Jain Gunisha , Švrček Vladimir
Published: January 2016

Atmospheric pressure plasmas (APPs) have achieved great scientific and technological advances for a wide range of applications. The synthesis and treatment of materials by APPs have always attracted great attention due to potential economic benefits if compared to low‐pressure plasma processes. Nonetheless, APPs present very distinctive features that suggest atmospheric pressure operation could bring other benefits for emerging new technologies. In particular, materials synthesized by APPs which are suitable candidates for third generation photovoltaics are reviewed here.
Surfaces With Roughness Gradient and Invariant Surface Chemistry Produced by Means of Gas Aggregation Source and Magnetron Sputtering
Authors: Petr Martin , Kylián Ondřej , Hanuš Jan , Kuzminova Anna , Vaidulych Mykhailo , Khalakhan Ivan , Choukourov Andrei , Slavínská Danka , Biederman Hynek
Published: January 2016

Surfaces whose properties change gradually along the sample length, so‐called gradient surfaces, are highly interesting for fundamental studies focused on the interaction between biomolecules or cells and surfaces. In this study, we investigate simple, vacuum‐based strategy for fabrication of surfaces with gradient nanoroughness and wettability. This approach is based on the application of gas aggregation source of nanoparticles combined with the magnetron sputtering of poly(tetrafluoroethylene). It is shown that this technique makes it possible to produce coatings with invariant surface chemistry, but with gradient roughness in the range 0.5–20 nm and wettability gradient that ranges from 100° up to 150°, i.e., coatings with hydrophobic to superhydrophobic character.
ABCA3 mutations led to pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema with pulmonary hypertension in an 8‐year‐old girl
Authors: Ota Chiharu , Kimura Masato , Kure Shigeo
Published: January 2016

ABCA3 is highly expressed in alveolar epithelial type 2 cells and is associated with surfactant homeostasis. Patients with ABCA3 mutations develop various respiratory complications, such as fatal respiratory distress syndrome or interstitial lung disease. We describe a patient with pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema with pulmonary hypertension, associated with compound heterozygous mutations of the ABCA3 gene. This is the first report showing that mutations in the ABCA3 gene lead to pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema, including combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema, in childhood. Treatment with prostacyclin analogue, warfarin, and inhaled oxygen was effective to improve patient's hemodynamic condition as well as pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2016;51:E21–E23. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
1,3,5‐Trinitroperhydro‐1,3,5‐triazine (RDX)‐Based Sheet Explosive Formulation with a Hybrid Binder System
Authors: Jangid Suresh Kumar , Singh Mrityunjay Kumar , Solanki Vasant Jadavji , Talawar Mahadev Bhimappa , Nath Tribhuvan , Sinha Rabindra Kumar , Asthana Srinandan
Published: January 2016

A plastic‐bonded explosive (PBX) in the form of a sheet was formulated comprising of 1,3,5‐trinitroperhydro‐1,3,5‐triazine (RDX) and an hybrid binder system containing a linear thermoplastic polyurethane and a fluoroelastomer (Viton). The effect of a fluoroelastomer on the explosive as well as mechanical properties and thermal behavior of sheet explosive formulations were investigated and compared with a control formulation containing 90 % of RDX and 10 % of natural rubber (ISNR‐5). The replacement of 10 % natural rubber by a hybrid binder system led to an increase in the velocity of detonation (VOD) of the order of 250–950 m s−1 and better mechanical properties in terms of tensile strength (1.9–2.5 MPa) compared to the control formulation (RDX/ISNR‐5 (90/10)). The compatibility of ingredients and thermal decomposition kinetics of selected sheet explosive formulations were investigated by vacuum stability tests and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results suggested better compatibility of RDX with the hybrid binder system (polyurethane/Viton), which is useful to reduce potential hazards in handling, processing, and storage.
Addendum to computational complexity and black hole horizons
Authors: Susskind Leonard
Published: January 2016

In this addendum to [arXiv:1402.5674] two points are discussed. In the first additional evidence is provided for a dual connection between the geometric length of an Einstein‐Rosen bridge and the computational complexity of the quantum state of the dual CFT's. The relation between growth of complexity and Page's “Extreme Cosmic Censorship” principle is also remarked on. The second point involves a gedanken experiment in which Alice measures a complete set of commuting observables at her end of an Einstein‐Rosen bridge is discussed. An apparent paradox is resolved by appealing to the properties of GHZ tripartite entanglement.
Double‐trace deformations and entanglement entropy in AdS
Authors: Miyagawa Taiki , Shiba Noburo , Takayanagi Tadashi
Published: January 2016

We compute the bulk entanglement entropy of a massive scalar field in a Poincare AdS with the Dirichlet and Neumann boundary condition when we trace out a half space. Moreover, by taking into account the quantum back reaction to the minimal surface area, we calculate how much the entanglement entropy changes under a double‐trace deformation of a holographic CFT. In the AdS3/CFT2 setup, our result agrees with the known result in 2d CFTs. In higher dimensions, our results offer holographic predictions.
Chemical and semisynthesis of modified histones
Authors: Maity Suman Kumar , Jbara Muhammad , Brik Ashraf
Published: January 2016

Post‐translational modifications (PTMs) of histones play critical roles in the epigenetic regulation of eukaryotic genome by directly altering the biophysical properties of chromatin or by recruiting effector proteins. The large number of PTMs and the inherent complexity in their population and signaling processes make it highly challenging to understand epigenetics‐related processes. To address these challenges, accesses to homogeneously modified histones are obligatory. Over the last decade, synthetic protein chemists have been devising novel synthetic tools and applying state‐of‐the‐art chemoselective ligation strategies to prepare precious materials useful in answering fundamental questions in this area. In this short review, we cover some of the recent breakthroughs in these directions in particular the synthesis and semi‐synthesis of modified histones and their use to unravel the mysteries of epigenetics. Copyright © 2016 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Electrical and structural properties of AlGaNAs alloys grown by chemical beam epitaxy
Authors: Kolhatkar Gitanjali , Boucherif Abderraouf , Ataellah Bioud Youcef , Fafard Simon , Ruediger Andreas , Aimez Vincent , Arès Richard
Published: January 2016

We correlate the structural properties of aluminium‐based dilute nitrides to their electrical properties. The effect of annealing on the carrier density and the mobility is measured on chemical beam epitaxy grown Al0.05Ga0.95N0.005As0.995 alloys. Both parameters increase with the annealing temperature due to the disappearance of N–C and N–H–VGa complexes. After annealing, a mobility of 60 cm2 V−1s−1 for a hole concentration of 1 × 1019 cm−3 are measured, which is similar to the values reported on GaAs with the same carrier concentration.
Hydroxysafflor Yellow A Attenuates Bleomycin‐induced Pulmonary Fibrosis in Mice
Authors: Jin Ming , Wu Yan , Wang Lin , Zang Baoxia , Tan Li
Published: January 2016

Hydroxysafflor yellow A (HSYA) is an active component of Carthamus tinctorius L., and we want to investigate whether HSYA attenuates pulmonary fibrosis induced by bleomycin (BLM) in mice. The mice received a BLM via oropharyngeal aspiration, and HSYA was intraperitoneally injected. Arterial blood gas analysis was performed. Morphological changes and hydroxyproline content were measured. mRNA expression of transforming growth factor‐β1 (TGF‐β1), connective tissue growth factor, α‐smooth muscle actin (α‐SMA), and collagen I was measured by real‐time polymerase chain reaction. α‐SMA‐positive cells in lung tissues were detected by immunohistochemical staining. A549 cell was cultured, and morphological changes were observed after TGF‐β1 and HSYA treatment. mRNA expression was detected by real‐time polymerase chain reaction. Phosphorylation of Smad3 was evaluated by western blotting. HSYA decreased the lung consolidation area and collagen deposition in mice with pulmonary fibrosis. The blood gas changes due to BLM were attenuated by HSYA. HSYA also alleviated the BLM‐induced increase of TGF‐β1, connective tissue growth factor, α‐SMA, and collagen I mRNA levels. HSYA treatment inhibited the increase of α‐SMA expression, Smad3 phosphorylation, the morphological changes in lung tissue. HSYA inhibits Smad3 phosphorylation and elevated expression of collagen I mRNA in epithelial–mesenchymal transition induced by TGF‐β1. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Parametric Study of Hydroforming of Paper Materials Using the Explicit Finite Element Method with a Moisture‐dependent and Temperature‐dependent Constitutive Model
Authors: Linvill Eric , Östlund Sören
Published: January 2016

A moisture‐dependent and temperature‐dependent constitutive model for paper materials was proposed and implemented into a finite element model of the paper hydroforming process. Experimental hydroforming was conducted at temperatures of 23°C and 110 °C and moisture contents of 6.9 and 10.6 (respectively corresponding to 50 and 80% relative humidity). The proposed model, which also included the effects of drying, captured the extent of forming of all experimental results within reasonable accuracy. For the moisture content and temperature conditions in this study, the phenomenon of drying was found to be the reason why the application of temperature had a much greater effect on the degree of forming than hydroforming at various moisture contents. A simulation‐based parametric study was conducted in order to identify the importance of various process and material parameters. This parametric study confirmed many previous empirical findings and was capable of quantifying the extent to which these process and material parameters affect the three‐dimensional formability of paper. The coefficient of friction was identified as one of the most important factors when determining the extent of forming. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Trace element analysis of extraterrestrial metal samples by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry: the standard solutions and digesting acids
Authors: Wang Guiqin , Wu Yangsiqian , Lin Yangting
Published: January 2016

Rationale

Nearly 99% of the total content of extraterrestrial metals is composed of Fe and Ni, but with greatly variable trace element contents. The accuracy obtained in the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP‐MS) analysis of solutions of these samples can be significantly influenced by matrix contents, polyatomic ion interference, and the concentrations of external standard solutions.

Methods

An ICP‐MS instrument (X Series 2) was used to determine 30 standard solutions with different concentrations of trace elements, and different matrix contents. Based on these measurements, the matrix effects were determined. Three iron meteorites were dissolved separately in aqua regia and HNO3. Deviations due to variation of matrix contents in the external standard solutions were evaluated and the analysis results of the two digestion methods for iron meteorites were assessed.

Results

Our results show obvious deviations due to unmatched matrix contents in the external standard solutions. Furthermore, discrepancy in the measurement of some elements was found between the sample solutions prepared with aqua regia and HNO3, due to loss of chloride during sample preparation and/or incomplete digestion of highly siderophile elements in iron meteorites.

Conclusions

An accurate ICP‐MS analysis method for extraterrestrial metal samples has been established using external standard solutions with matched matrix contents and digesting the samples with HNO3and aqua regia. Using the data from this work, the Mundrabilla iron meteorite previously classified as IAB‐ung is reclassified as IAB‐MG. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Gas chromatography/chemical ionization triple quadrupole mass spectrometry analysis of anabolic steroids: ionization and collision‐induced dissociation behavior
Authors: Polet Michael , Van Gansbeke Wim , Van Eenoo Peter , Deventer Koen
Published: January 2016

Rationale

The detection of new anabolic steroid metabolites and new designer steroids is a challenging task in doping analysis. Switching from electron ionization gas chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC/EI‐MS/MS) to chemical ionization (CI) has proven to be an efficient way to increase the sensitivity of GC/MS/MS analyses and facilitate the detection of anabolic steroids. CI also extends the possibilities of GC/MS/MS analyses as the molecular ion is retained in its protonated form due to the softer ionization. In EI it can be difficult to find previously unknown but expected metabolites due to the low abundance or absence of the molecular ion and the extensive (and to a large extent unpredictable) fragmentation. The main aim of this work was to study the CI and collision‐induced dissociation (CID) behavior of a large number of anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS) as their trimethylsilyl derivatives in order to determine correlations between structures and CID fragmentation. Clarification of these correlations is needed for the elucidation of structures of unknown steroids and new metabolites.

Methods

The ionization and CID behavior of 65 AAS have been studied using GC/CI‐MS/MS with ammonia as the reagent gas. Glucuronidated AAS reference standards were first hydrolyzed to obtain their free forms. Afterwards, all the standards were derivatized to their trimethylsilyl forms. Full scan and product ion scan analyses were used to examine the ionization and CID behavior.

Results

Full scan and product ion scan analyses revealed clear correlations between AAS structure and the obtained mass spectra. These correlations were confirmed by analysis of multiple hydroxylated, methylated, chlorinated and deuterated analogs.

Conclusions

AAS have been divided into three groups according to their ionization behavior and into seven groups according to their CID behavior. Correlations between fragmentation and structure were revealed and fragmentation pathways were postulated. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
A new system for evaluation of armrest use in robotic surgery and validation of a new ergonomic concept – armrest load
Authors: Yang K. , Perez M. , Perrenot C. , Hubert N. , Felblinger J. , Hubert J.
Published: January 2016

Background

The da Vinci robot provides a sitting position and an armrest to decrease workload and increase dexterity. We investigated the surgeon's ergonomic behaviour by installing force sensors on the dV‐Trainer® simulator's armrest to measure the 'armrest load' during the performance of simulated exercises.

Methods

Five experts and 48 novices performed two robotic simulation exercises on the dV‐Trainer. We calculated the armrest load and evaluated their armrest‐using habits. Overall score and workspace range were evaluated automatically by the simulator and compared with armrest load.

Results

Statistically significant differences exist for overall score, workspace range and armrest load between novices and experts.

Conclusion

The armrest load score is a direct, sensitive measure for the ergonomic evaluation of a simulator's armrest use. This experience‐dependent ergonomic difference between experts and novices (p = 0.007) highlights the importance of ergonomic training for novice robot users. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Learning in the Aftermath of Extreme Floods: Community Damage and Stakeholder Perceptions of Future Risk
Authors: Albright Elizabeth A. , Crow Deserai A.
Published: January 2016

Policy learning in the aftermath of extreme events can happen as a result of changes in beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions of stakeholders acting in a coordinated manner. Understanding the factors that impact these beliefs may prove critical in understanding policy learning and change, since these can mean the difference between ongoing flood vulnerability as a consequence of extreme weather events rather than long‐term resilience. Data from in‐depth interviews, stakeholder surveys, public meeting documents, and community demographics were used to analyze stakeholder processes and risk perceptions in seven Colorado communities that were flooded in 2013. Differences in extent of damages and resource capacity have led to a diversity of venues and participatory processes to manage flood recovery across the case communities. The results of the stakeholder survey suggest that perceptions of problem severity are linked to past flood experiences, type of expertise and job position. Taken together, these results suggest who participates in flood recovery processes, specifically their position and field of expertise, may influence how flood risks are perceived at the community level.
Investigation into the surface modification of aragonite whiskers
Authors: Jing Yanwei , Nai Xueying , Zhu Donghai , Dang Li , Wang Yabin , Li Wu
Published: January 2016

Aragonite whiskers (AWs) were treated with several fatty acid surfactants and silane coupling agent in order to determine the optimal modifier by using contact angle measurements. The results revealed that the AWs modified by fatty acids showed more remarkable increase in the contact angle than by silane, suggesting the former were preferentially applied in modifying AWs. While the samples coated with fatty acids exhibited hydrophobicity with contact angles ranging from 104.08° to 137.87° with increasing of carbon chain length. Therefore, the highest contact angle of AWs treated by oleic acid was discussed in detail as an example, which was characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermo‐gravimetry analyses (TGA), X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). FESEM and TEM results showed a thin layer coated on the modified sample surface. Both the results of TGA and XPS confirmed organic groups existed in the sample of AWs treated by oleic acid. FTIR demonstrated that calcium dioleate was formed in the modification process. Further, modification mechanism was proposed based on the obtained results. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
8‐(4‐aminophenyl)BODIPYs as fluorescent pH probes: facile synthesis, computational study and lysosome imaging
Authors: Zhang Yuan , Fang Hong‐mei , Zhang Xiao‐tai , Wang Shu , Xing Guo‐wen
Published: January 2016

Five novel BODIPY‐based dyes (3 a‐e) were facilely synthesized via Buchwald‐Hartwig cross coupling reaction. The 8‐(4‐aminophenyl)BODIPYs can be used as fluorescent pH probes with broad response ranges. Low fluorescence intensities of 3a–e were observed under neutral or weak acidic conditions, whereas, the fluorescence signals significantly increased with further decreasing pH values, indicating that they are highly sensitive to acidic pH alterations. Fluorescence response mechanism of the probes to pH is based on the photo‐induced electron transfer (PET), which was investigated by density functional theory (DFT) and time dependent‐density functional theory (TD‐DFT) calculations. Cell imaging experiments demonstrated 3 b (pKa 3.59) was a novel lysosome‐targeting probe with excellent membrane permeability, high sensitivity and selectivity, as well as low cytotoxicity. In addition, probes 3 a and 3 d with pKa 2.66, 2.51 could be potential for detecting extremely acidic conditions in bacteria.
Correlated components
Authors: Cox Trevor F. , Arnold David S.
Published: January 2016

Principal components analysis is a much used and practical technique for analysing multivariate data, finding a particular set of linear compounds of the variables under consideration, such that covariances between all pairs are 0. An alternative view is that when the variables are considered as axes in a Cartesian coordinate system, then principal components analysis is the particular orthogonal rotation of the axes that makes all the pairwise covariances equal to 0. It is this view that is taken here, but instead of finding the rotation that makes all covariances equal to 0, an orthogonal rotation is found that maximizes the sum of the covariances. The rotation is not unique, except for the two or three component case, and so another criterion can be used alongside so that it too can also be optimized. The motivation is that two highly correlated components will tend to measure the same latent variable but with interesting differences because of the orthogonality between them. Theory is given for identifying the correlated components as well as algorithms for finding them. Two illustrative examples are provided, one involving gene expression data and the other consumer questionnaire data. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Oxidized potato starch based thermoplastic films: Effect of combination of hydrophilic and amphiphilic plasticizers
Authors: Niazi Muhammad Bilal Khan , Broekhuis Antonius A.
Published: January 2016

Different combinations of hydrophilic (glycerol and water) and amphiphilic (isoleucine) plasticizers were studied in the production of thermoplastic starch (TPS) powders and films from oxidized potato starch. All powder samples had an irregular and shrivelled morphology. In all mixtures containing isoleucine, this additive exuded from the starch matrix and re‐crystallized during spray drying, resulting in hollow particles. The crystallinity and moisture sensitivity of freshly prepared films depended on the isoleucine content in the plasticizer formulation. Increasing the content led to a decrease in moisture absorption. Isoleucine formulated films showed the best tensile strength, whereas glycerol‐rich ones showed better strain at break values. All glycerol plasticized formulations and the spray dried non‐modified starch were amorphous. Glycerol reduced the glass transition temperature to 128°C and glycerol formulated films showed the highest moisture uptake due to its hydrophilic nature. At a relative humidity (RH) of 50%, the rate of retrogradation was low, but at RH 100% all TPS films showed a high rate of retrogradation.
Reconnect with historical roots to help university thrive
Authors: Sutton Halley
Published: January 2016

Brittany Budeski's path to the University of Great Falls started with her mother, who enrolled at the College of Great Falls (as it was then known) after a divorce left her with a high school education, poor career prospects and two small children. She went on to a career at the university, rising to the position of dean of students. “It's a very special institution,” Budeski said of Great Falls.
Transformational responses to climate change: beyond a systems perspective of social change in mitigation and adaptation
Authors: Gillard Ross , Gouldson Andrew , Paavola Jouni , Van Alstine James
Published: January 2016

There is a growing imperative for responses to climate change to go beyond incremental adjustments, aiming instead for society‐wide transformation. In this context, sociotechnical (ST) transitions and social–ecological (SE) resilience are two prominent normative agendas. Reviewing these literatures reveals how both share a complex‐systems epistemology with inherent limitations, often producing managerial governance recommendations and foregrounding material over social drivers of change. Further interdisciplinary dialogue with social theory is essential if these frameworks are to become more theoretically robust and capable of informing effective, let alone transformational, climate change governance. To illustrate this potential, ideas from Deleuze and Guattari's political writing as well as other approaches that utilize the notion social fields (as opposed to sociosystems) are combined to more fully theorize the origins and enactment of social change. First, the logic of systems is replaced with the contingency of assemblages to reveal how pluralism, not elitism, can produce more ambitious and politicized visions of the future. In particular, this view encourages us to see social and ecological tensions as opportunities for thinking and acting differently rather than as mere technical problems to be solved. Secondly, the setting of social fields is introduced to situate and explain the power of ideas and the role of agency in times of uncertainty. The potential of such insights is already visible in some strands of climate change mitigation and adaptation research, but more needs to be done to advance this field and to bring it into dialogue with the mainstream systems based literature. WIREs Clim Change 2016, 7:251–265. doi: 10.1002/wcc.384

This article is categorized under:

Climate and Development > Social Justice and the Politics of Development

Social Status of Climate Change Knowledge > Climate Science and Decision Making
Klimaanpassung in der Regionalplanung – Eine deutschlandweite Analyse zum Implementationsstand klimaanpassungsrelevanter Regionalplaninhalte
Authors: Schmitt Hanna Christine
Published: January 2016

Since the publication of the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change there has been scientific and planning political consensus on the ability of regional planning to implement climate change adaptation contents. To which extent the formal regional spatial planning meets this ability, is the key issue of this article. The analysis is a census for the regional planning territories of Germany. Their regional plans are examined regarding the presence and bindingness of adaptation-relevant designations. The action plan of spatial planning on prevention, mitigation and adaptation strategies with regard to the spatial consequences of climate change of the Conference of Ministers on Spatial Planning and its seven adaptation-related fields of action serve as a basis for the analysis. As a result, the state of implementation of adaptation-relevant regional plan contents is presented—both for each field of action as well as comprehensively. Furthermore, the results are reflected and further adaptation potentials are presented.
Preparation in Context: Comparative Outcomes of Alternative Clergy Training in the ELCA
Authors: Porter Nathaniel D.
Published: January 2016

Training requirements for ordained clergy vary widely between US denominations, but the most common qualifications include the Master of Divinity (MDiv), a 3-year professional degree typically earned in residence full-time at a seminary or school of theology following completion of an undergraduate degree. However, past research has found that denominations with more limited formal training requirements for clergy tend to grow more rapidly and that professionalized clergy may actually contribute to denominational decline. I test this with Cox regression, comparing job lengths of Lutheran (ELCA) pastors with MDiv degrees and those who completed an alternative training program (TEEM) where older students complete less extensive coursework while simultaneously serving a ministry context. TEEM candidates often continue serving in this context upon being ordained. The key finding is a persistent advantage for TEEM program graduates net of demographic controls, regardless of how age and experience are factored in. The advantage is not the result of ongoing embeddedness in a single context, suggesting it may result from a combination of differences in the structure of formal education and the simultaneous contextual application. Both life experience (age) prior to being ordained and experience in ordained ministry also provide some advantage, but the effects are largely limited to MDiv graduates in their first few years of ministry. The results provide further evidence for the promise of alternative ministry preparation programs, and help elaborate previous theories of clergy religious capital.
Could the mosaic pattern of chromosomal abnormality predict overall survival of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome?
Authors: Uyanik Mehmet Sevki , Demir Ahmet Muzaffer , Kurt Idris , Maden Muhammet , Puyan Fulya Oz , Gurkan Hakan , Umit Elif Gulsum , Pamuk Gulsum Emel
Published: January 2016

Objective/background:

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDSs) are a group of monoclonal hematopoietic diseases consisting of a number of various entities. The presence of differences in chromosomal content of cells within the same individual is known as chromosomal mosaicism. The impact of mosaic pattern on the prognosis of MDS has been unclear. In this study, we aimed to determine the impact of mosaic pattern on the survival of patients with MDS.

Methods:

We retrospectively evaluated 119 patients diagnosed with MDS at the Trakya University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Hematology. Giemsa-Trypsin-Giemsa banding was used to evaluate chromosomal abnormality.

The effect of chromosomal abnormality mosaicism on overall survival and transformation to acute leukemia was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.

Results:

The mean age at diagnosis was 66.3 years, and the mean disease duration was 24.2 months. Chromosomal abnormality was observed in 32.5% of patients. Patients with chromosomal abnormalities comprising at least 50% metaphases had significantly lower overall survival than patients with abnormality comprising up to 50% of all abnormal metaphases (p = .003). There were no differences in transformation to acute leukemia among patients with higher and lower chromosomal mosaicism (p = .056).

Conclusion:

The most important outcome of this study was to demonstrate worse overall survival rates in MDS patients with higher abnormal chromosomal mosaicism than patients with lesser abnormal chromosomal mosaicism. Higher levels of abnormal chromosomal mosaicism did not predict transformation to acute leukemia. The cause of worse outcomes of patients with higher abnormal chromosomal mosaicism may be related to clonal mass.
Post‐marketing surveillance on the long‐term use of dabigatran in Japanese patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation: Preliminary report of the J‐dabigatran surveillance
Authors: Inoue Hiroshi , Uchiyama Shinichiro , Atarashi Hirotsugu , Okumura Ken , Koretsune Yukihiro , Yasaka Masahiro , Yamashita Takeshi , Ohnishi Makiko , Yagi Nobutaka , Fukaya Taku ,   J‐Dabigatran Surveillance Investigators
Published: January 2016

Background/aim

A post‐marketing surveillance (PMS) study is being conducted to investigate the safety and effectiveness of the long‐term use of dabigatran etexilate (dabigatran) in Japanese patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Results of an interim analysis of this prospective cohort study including patient characteristics and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) collected up to September 17, 2014 are reported here.

Methods

Patients with NVAF who began to receive dabigatran for the first time from December 2011 to November 2013 were enrolled at 1042 study sites in Japan. Clinical parameters included patient characteristics, dabigatran dose strength, concomitant medications and outcome events. All outcome events were collected as serious and non‐serious adverse events (AEs). ADRs were evaluated in this report. Pre‐defined safety events of special interest for intensive survey were serious and non‐serious outcome events such as myocardial infarction, as well as the total number of hemorrhage and gastrointestinal disorders.

Results

A total of 6772 patients were registered. The safety analysis set included 6148 patients; mean age was 70.8±9.9 (SD) years: 2323 patients (37.8%) were aged 75 years or older. Males accounted for 66.8% of the patients. Mean CHADS2 score was 1.8±1.3; the CHADS2 score was 0 in 13.6%, 1 in 31.3%, 2 in 25.9%, 3 in 14.9%, and 4 to 6 in 11.1% of the patients. Of the 6148 patients, 1701 patients (27.7%) were switchers from warfarin and 4407 patients (71.7%) were non‐switchers (OAC naïve patients). Treatment adherence was assessed for the first 3 months from the start of treatment for this analysis. Total 5656 patients (92.0%) reported taking dabigatran twice daily (bid) every day according to the label recommendation. During the follow up period [mean duration of follow up: 498±259 days (corresponding to 8386 patient‐years)], pre‐defined safety events of special interest for intensive survey (reported as serious ADRs) were: myocardial infarction, reported in 5 patients (0.06 per 100 patient‐years); serious hemorrhage, reported in 46 patients (0.55 per 100 patient‐years); and gastrointestinal disorders (non‐hemorrhagic), reported in 11 patients (0.13 per 100 patient‐years). Fifteen patients had ADRs with fatal outcome.

Conclusions

The interim findings from this 6148 patient PMS study further corroborate the favorable safety profile of dabigatran as demonstrated previously in controlled clinical trials.

(ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01491178.)
The Difference Between Self-Reported and Perceived Survey Measures and the Implications for Political Socialization Research
Authors: Boonen Joris , Quintelier Ellen , Hooghe Marc
Published: January 2016

Within research on the political influence that social network members exert on one another, some studies rely on information obtained directly from different members in the network separately (self-reported measures), while others rely on information obtained from one key informant within the social network (measures based on perception). We investigate the difference between these self-reported and perceived measures by analyzing the correspondence of voting intentions within the family. On the one hand, we examine this correspondence using information obtained from only one family member. On the other hand, we use the self-reported measures obtained from all family members separately. We use data from the Parent-Child Socialization Study (PCSS), a survey conducted among 2,085 mothers, fathers and children in the Flemish region of Belgium (2012). Our analyses suggest that using perceptual measures could lead researchers to different or even opposite conclusions than using self-reported measures from all individual respondents.
‘THROUGH THE NARROW DOOR’: NARRATIVES OF THE FIRST GENERATION OF AFRICAN LAWYERS IN ZIMBABWE
Authors: Karekwaivanane George H.
Published: January 2016

Given the important role played by lawyers in formal legal systems, the study of legal professionals can help us understand the efforts to maintain law and social order in Africa. This article examines the narratives of two Zimbabwean lawyers, Kennedy Sibanda and Honour Mkushi, about their experiences as legal professionals between 1970 and 1990, and makes three main arguments. Firstly, these narratives reveal the complex interplay between individual agency, politics and law across the two decades. Secondly, lawyers' participation in the social and political struggles of the period were informed by a set of personal and professional ethics that were grounded in concerns about the welfare of the wider communities to which they belonged. This highlights the need to avoid a default cynicism with regard to African elites and move instead towards a more nuanced understanding of the motives of such individuals and their contribution to the social, economic and political struggles of which they are a part. Lastly, these lawyers were cross-cultural brokers who were constantly involved in a two-way translation. On the one hand, they translated the concepts and stipulations of state law for their African clients; on the other, they translated their clients' grievances into the language of the law. This process of translation acted as a catalyst in the reshaping of African subjectivities and their conceptions of their relationship with the state, and enabled Africans to assert themselves as rights-bearing citizens.
ETHNOGRAPHIES OF MARGINALITY
Authors: Beuving J. Joost
Published: January 2016

Africanist discourse today displays a strong, widespread and growing sense of optimism about Africa's economic future. After decades of decline and stagnation in which Africa found itself reduced to the margins of the global economic stage, upbeat Afro-optimism seems fully justified. One only needs to consider African economies' solid growth rates, the emergence of new export markets earning unprecedented quantities of foreign exchange, and the rise of novel groups such as innovative African entrepreneurs (Taylor 2012) and urban-based middle classes (Simone 2004). Ironically, Africa's bright future stands in strong contrast to the stagnancy of European and American economic powers, once seen as superior to their African relatives. Deeply held feelings of Afro-pessimism, affecting intellectuals as well as ordinary Africans, are thus giving way to almost millennial expectations of Africa's economic future: the continent's imminent catching up with a degree of private and public prosperity so commonly registered elsewhere on the globe. Some go as far as to declare the rise of a proper African renaissance wherein Africa can (finally!) claim its rightful position on the global stage.
BEHIND CLOSED GATES: EVERYDAY POLICING IN DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA
Authors: Cooper-Knock Sarah-Jane
Published: January 2016

Studies of everyday policing in predominantly white areas in South Africa often focus on the spectacle of secured architecture and private policing services, concluding that the growth of the private security industry has created atomized units of residence that are alienated from the state. Such conclusions are important but incomplete: they do not look sufficiently behind closed gates to explore how private security is justified, utilized, supplemented or avoided in daily life. In this article, I explore the everyday policing of theft and robbery in a predominantly white policing sector in Durban. I demonstrate that people have not simply transferred their dependence or allegiance from public to private policing. Instead, their approach to everyday policing straddles these two spheres, perpetually disrupts any simple dichotomy between them, and illustrates how all forms of policing are entangled in the wider inequalities and insecurities of post-apartheid South Africa. In making this argument, I highlight how residents remain reliant on the bureaucratic authority of the state police, are distrustful of their employees who supposedly protect them, and appear far more willing to take matters into their own hands than many interviewees admit or imagine.
Transpacific Mestizo: Religion and Caste in the Worlds of a Moluccan Prisoner of the Mexican Inquisition
Authors: Crewe Ryan
Published: January 2016

In 1643, a Moluccan mestizo soldier named Alexo de Castro was arrested by the Holy Office of the Inquisition in the multicultural Manila barrio of Binondo. Suspected of secretly observing the Muslim faith in Manila, Castro faced inquisitorial investigations that culminated in his trial and punishment in Mexico. Based on evidence from Philippine, Mexican, and Spanish archives, this article examines Castro’s inquisition trial in the broader context of the seventeenth-century Hispano-Asian Pacific world that stretched from Mexico to Manila and the Moluccas. Within its permeable and shifting maritime boundaries, this transpacific cosmopolis was shaped by notions of Catholic universalism and orthodoxy present both in Spanish imperial ideology and in local adaptations. This article draws upon the Castro trial to reveal the tensions of this expanding world. On the one hand, Alexo’s mestizo genealogy and conversion to Catholicism, his work as a go-between in the Moluccas, and long career as a soldier for Spain and Portugal all reveal, on an intimate scale, the innumerable transits that interconnected this seventeenth-century world. On the other, Castro’s trial exposes the political-religious anxieties of Manila’s inquisitors, who saw in Castro a global threat posed by cosmopolitan New Christians – the moriscos, conversos, and indigenous converts whose adaptability and mobility helped to build this transpacific cosmopolis but also seemed to undermine it. By juxtaposing Alexo’s court arguments with those of his inquisitors, this study explores the limits of pluralism, cosmopolitanism, and exclusivism on this volatile seventeenth-century Pacific frontier.
Uniqueness of the maximal ideal of operators on the ℓp-sum of ℓ∞n (n ∈ ) for 1 < p < ∞
Authors: KANIA TOMASZ , LAUSTSEN NIELS JAKOB
Published: January 2016

A recent result of Leung (Proceedings of the American Mathematical Society, 2015) states that the Banach algebra ℬ(X) of bounded, linear operators on the Banach space X = (⊕n∈$\mathbb{N}$ ℓ∞n)ℓ1 contains a unique maximal ideal. We show that the same conclusion holds true for the Banach spaces X = (⊕n∈$\mathbb{N}$ ℓ∞n)ℓp and X = (⊕n∈$\mathbb{N}$ ℓ1n)ℓp whenever p ∈ (1, ∞).
Quasivarieties and varieties of ordered algebras: regularity and exactness
Authors: KURZ ALEXANDER , VELEBIL JIŘÍ
Published: January 2016

We characterise quasivarieties and varieties of ordered algebras categorically in terms of regularity, exactness and the existence of a suitable generator. The notions of regularity and exactness need to be understood in the sense of category theory enriched over posets. We also prove that finitary varieties of ordered algebras are cocompletions of their theories under sifted colimits (again, in the enriched sense).
Suburbanization and cultural change: the case of club cricket in Surrey, 1870–1939
Authors: STONE DUNCAN
Published: January 2016

This article examines the social, economic and political origins of what was a new, distinctly elitist, culture of ‘non-competitive’ sport, and how these values, which emerged from a small group of metropolitan elites, spread throughout the south-east of England. It argues that a long-term analysis of sport provides a valuable contextual tool for urban historians. In this case, how the gradual adoption of a distinctly ‘metropolitan’ culture throughout Surrey, and the associated changes in the social structure and purpose of cricket, may contribute towards a more nuanced assessment of that county's ‘suburbanization’, and how this region interacted with the urban core.
TESTING CONSUMPTION OPTIMALITY USING AGGREGATE DATA
Authors: Gomes Fábio Augusto Reis , Issler João Victor
Published: January 2016

This paper tests the optimality of consumption decisions at the aggregate level, taking into account popular deviations from the canonical constant-relative-risk-aversion (CRRA) utility function model—rule of thumb and habit. First, we provide extensive empirical evidence of the inappropriateness of linearization and testing strategies using Euler equations for consumption—a drawback for standard rule-of-thumb tests. Second, we propose a novel approach to testing for consumption optimality in this context: nonlinear estimation coupled with return aggregation, where rule-of-thumb behavior and habit are special cases of an all-encompassing model. We estimated 48 Euler equations using GMM. At the 5% level, we only rejected optimality twice out of 48 times. Moreover, out of 24 regressions, we found the rule-of-thumb parameter to be statistically significant only twice. Hence, lack of optimality in consumption decisions represent the exception, not the rule. Finally, we found the habit parameter to be statistically significant on four occasions out of 24.
A NONLINEAR PROGRAMMING METHOD FOR DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING
Authors: Cai Yongyang , Judd Kenneth L. , Lontzek Thomas S. , Michelangeli Valentina , Su Che-Lin
Published: January 2016

A nonlinear programming formulation is introduced to solve infinite-horizon dynamic programming problems. This extends the linear approach to dynamic programming by using ideas from approximation theory to approximate value functions. Our numerical results show that this nonlinear programming is efficient and accurate, and avoids inefficient discretization.
WHAT EXPLAINS THE RECENT JOBLESS RECOVERIES?
Authors: Panovska Irina B.
Published: January 2016

This paper considers a correlated unobserved-components model for output, employment, and hours in order to disentangle the causes for the last three jobless recoveries. The composition of the structural shocks during recessions and the periods immediately following recessions has changed, as have the responses of employment and hours to those shocks. Recessions before 1984 were followed by recoveries driven by positive permanent shocks to output, whereas post-1984 recessions were followed by weak recoveries in demand. Employment is more sensitive to demand shocks post-1984, leading to weak recoveries in employment. In addition, hours and employment were complements before 1984, but are treated as substitutes after 1984. Much of the initial decrease in demand is now absorbed on the intensive margin.