bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Hacks vs flaks: journalism and public relations
Authors: Hargreaves Ian
Published: April 2017

Journalists often get a bad press, being portrayed as crusaders, single-minded, and determined above all else to get the information they desire. ‘Hacks vs flaks: journalism and public relations’ considers the motivations of journalists, their public image, and asks in whose interest the journalist works: for the interest of an employer or for a wider ‘public good’? The answer may be both, but in the event of a clash, which interest takes priority? The roles of public relations practitioners, intermediaries, and spin doctors are discussed. Traditional public relations techniques of media management are no longer effective in a world of resource-depleted mainstream journalism and uncontrollable social media.
The spread of Christianity
Authors: Woodhead Linda
Published: April 2017

‘The spread of Christianity’ charts Christianity’s growth and spread, from being a tiny movement within a Jewish context to being the world’s largest religion with a global presence. How did Eastern Christianity develop differently from Western Christendom? Christianity’s growth was not smooth and uniform. It was most successful when in alliance with political powers, and least successful where other religions, such as Islam, were well established and it faced unfriendly political forces. Christianity has suffered repeated setbacks and retreats and at no time has it acted as a unified force. From the very start it has been internally divided, and it remains so.
Monastic and mystical Christianity
Authors: Woodhead Linda
Published: April 2017

‘Monastic and mystical Christianity’ looks at the development of a form of Christianity that locates authority in the spiritual experience of each individual. Mystical Christianity focuses not just on God the Father and Son, but more on the Spirit which lies beyond name and form. Mystical Christianity appears at the very start of Christian history and has been appropriated by Church Christianity through monasticism, an extremely important development of the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox faiths. Biblical Christianity has opened itself to the Mystical tendency in other ways, including in radical Reformation churches, the Holiness movement, and most successfully in modern Pentecostal and Charismatic forms of Christianity, which combine Word and Spirit.
1. Introduction
Authors: Wilson Catherine
Published: April 2017

The ‘Introduction’ outlines the philosophy of Epicureanism and its founder, Epicurus (341–270 bce), and considers why it was so divisive and controversial. It explains how Epicureanism embodied a comprehensive set of teachings about nature and its living inhabitants, especially human beings. Epicurean prescriptions for the conduct of life and the attitudes to take towards love, friendship, death, and politics, were presented as following from fundamental truths about the constitution of the universe. The Roman poet Lucretius presented the Epicurean philosophy of nature in his first century bce De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things), which had a considerable impact on science, anthropology, and moral theory when printed versions began to circulate in the 15th century.
Fungal diversity
Authors: Money Nicholas P.
Published: April 2017

‘Fungal diversity’ considers three species that illustrate the spectacular range of structural complexity found among fungi: Olpidium brassicae, Spirodactylon aureum, and Sphaerobolus stellatus. There are more than 70,000 species of fungi described by mycologists and over 90% of them are classified within Phylum Basidiomycota (basidiomycetes) and Phylum Ascomycota (ascomycetes). Half of the basidiomycetes produce mushrooms; the others include rusts and smuts that cause plant disease. The ascomycetes include the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, fungi with beautiful cup-shaped fruit bodies, truffles, and morels. The other major groups of fungi are less well known and include species whose cells swim in water.
5. Regulation and supervision of the banking industry
Authors: Goddard John , Wilson John O. S.
Published: April 2017

As financial intermediaries, commercial banks use liquid liabilities to finance illiquid assets. Banks hold only a small proportion of their assets in the form of reserves, and cannot cope if all depositors demand the return of their funds simultaneously. Together with leverage, this makes banks inherently fragile, and creates the potential for one distressed bank to cause a loss of confidence in others. ‘Regulation and supervision of the banking industry’ describes the causes of bank runs, the different regulatory authorities, banking licenses, and capital adequacy regulation, and the government safety net. Regulation and supervision of the banking industry aims to protect individual banks, and the financial system as a whole, from the possibility of collapse.
Cholera
Authors: Wayne Marta L. , Bolker Benjamin M.
Published: April 2017

Cholera is a water-borne, diarrhoeal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. For illness to occur, humans must consume vast amounts of the bacteria and cholera must possess a cluster of genes involved in creating the toxin co-regulated pilus. The gene for cholera enterotoxin must also be expressed. Treatment for cholera involves giving victims oral rehydration and antibiotics as a secondary defence. ‘Cholera’ explains that cholera gave rise to the foundation of epidemiology and Koch’s postulates, which state the requirements for identifying a particular organism as the causative agent of a disease. It also describes the ways in which cholera evolves antibiotic resistance, the interactions between Vibrio cholerae and the viruses that prey upon it, and possible reasons for the seasonality of epidemics.
5. Tragedy
Authors: Robertson Ritchie
Published: April 2017

Goethe lived in a great age of tragedy-writing. Goethe’s place in this tradition is assured by his most famous work, Faust; its two parts are subtitled respectively the First and Second Parts of the Tragedy. ‘Tragedy’ outlines the tragic themes of Goethe’s work: frequently there is a central character with exceptional gifts, and a charismatic appeal to the people around him, trapped in a world that is too small for him, and brought low by the intrigues of lesser people. Goethe’s Torquato Tasso (1790) is also discussed, which differs from a familiar model of tragedy as it lacks catharsis. In rejecting catharsis, Goethe has brought art dangerously close to reality.
6. Cognitive behaviour therapy
Authors: Burns Tom , Burns‐Lundgren Eva
Published: April 2017

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) brings together the strengths of behaviour therapy and cognitive therapy. ‘Cognitive behaviour therapy’ identifies three layers of thinking in CBT theory: negative automatic thoughts, underlying assumptions, and core beliefs (often called schemas). CBT is very structured and pretty prescriptive. Once negative automatic thoughts have been identified they need to be tested and examined. This is referred to as collaborative empiricism. Collaborative empiricism has two functions. The first, and most obvious, is to identify, test, and modify negative automatic thoughts. The second is to teach the patient to become her own therapist. Specialized CBT—mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and dialectical behaviour therapy—is also described.
Market and policy failures
Authors: Dixit Avinash
Published: April 2017

‘Market and policy failures’ begins with monopolies and oligopolies. What are the effects of monopoly power? Many actions of consumers or firms have beneficial or harmful side-effects such as pollution. These positive or negative externalities depend on whether a market puts the correct price on that action. For a market to function well, the transaction parties must know what they are buying or selling. But there are information asymmetries. The effects of these can be seen through the lens of externalities, and the market failures resulting from these externalities can be remedied by Coasian or Pigouvian methods. Moral hazards, adverse selection, collective goods, the political economy of policy, and the recent financial crisis are also discussed.
Introduction
Authors: Rubin Miri
Published: April 2017

The ‘Introduction’ presents the period called the Middle Ages as the story of Europe between c.500–1500. Considering it as a single ‘age’ is misleading as it was a period of constant transformation. European lives were shaped through diverse human exchanges and interactions: conquest, conversion, imitation, legislation, and persuasion. There was the legacy of the Roman Empire with its city life, its Christian intellectual heritage, its trade, and its principles of election to public office. There was also the growing influence of the values and capacities of the Germanic, kin-based societies—the barbarians—and the spread of Islam in Mediterranean countries from the 7th century.
The Weizmann era and the Balfour Declaration
Authors: Stanislawski Michael
Published: April 2017

The years 1904–14 witnessed the Second Aliyah, the emigration to Palestine of roughly forty thousand Jews, mainly from the Russian Empire. The first kibbutz, an egalitarian agricultural community, was founded south of the Sea of Galilee in 1909, and in the next decade eleven more collective settlements were created. They were revered as the purest expression of Zionism and socialism. “The Weizmann era and the Balfour Declaration” describes the importance of Chaim Weizmann, a chemist who came to Manchester University in 1904. In 1917 he secured the support of the British government for a national home for the Jewish people in Palestine in the form of the Balfour Declaration.
Zionism in a Jewish state, 1948–1967
Authors: Stanislawski Michael
Published: April 2017

After the declaration of independence, the history of Zionism became entangled with the history of the new State of Israel. But Zionism as an ideology continued to evolve. Challenges for the new state under the leadership of David Ben-Gurion included: the local Arab population; immigration; differences between the Ashkenazic and Mizrachi Jews; schooling; and ongoing squabbles between the Labor Zionists and the Revisionists. Zionism had to face the real-life implications of its definition of the Jews as a nation and not a religion. The “Who is a Jew?” debate continued to erode the consensus of what it meant to be a Jew in a secular Jewish state.
6. The watering of the West
Authors: Aron Stephen
Published: April 2017

‘The watering of the West’ describes the 1902 Reclamation Act (or Newlands Act) that established a National Bureau of Reclamation charged with constructing dams and irrigation projects in the western United States to reclaim the region from arid nature, open new lands for farmers, and restore the American dream for generations to come. The watering of the West required belief in new “scientific” propositions—many dubious—and entailed assigning added responsibilities to experts, often employed by the federal government, who took charge over not only the manipulation of western waters, but also the management of western lands and the regulation of other natural resources. This made westerners ever more dependent on federal stewardship and federal expenditures—and ever more resentful of federal oversight.
4. Struggles for control
Authors: Williams Heather Andrea
Published: April 2017

It took persistent effort on the part of slave owners and their allies to keep slavery in place, to make people work without pay, and to sustain the arguments that justified the forced labor of other human beings. ‘Struggles for control’ outlines the range of mechanisms deployed by white elites to gain and maintain control over enslaved people, including violence, legislation, slave patrols, religion, paternalistic demeaning behavior, and racist proslavery ideology. Enslaved people drew from a reservoir of strategies including literacy, religion, escape, malingering, and rebellion, to resist enslavement and its attendant hardships. Key influences on the enslaved were the Appeal of free man David Walker and preacher Nat Turner's 1831 rebellion in Virginia.
Epilogue
Authors: Williams Heather Andrea
Published: April 2017

Despite the abolition of slavery with the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, notions of black inferiority and white supremacy still persisted in both the North and the South. The ‘Epilogue’ outlines the profound struggles by African Americans to make their freedom meaningful. In 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to African Americans and promised equal protection under the law and, in 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment gave black men the right to vote. The modern civil rights movement of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s began to impact on the discriminatory Jim Crow laws and practices, but for many African Americans, struggles for equality, justice, and fairness continue into the twenty-first century.
1. Before Hollywood
Authors: Decherney Peter
Published: April 2017

‘Before Hollywood’ describes how early film technology and storytelling methods developed out of older media. It begins with Thomas Edison’s Vitascope and the first dedicated movie theaters—nickelodeons—which began to appear around 1903. Around 1908–9, filmmaking and the film industry underwent a number of changes: established film companies started to court a middle-class audience in order to expand the industry’s reach; production companies made films based on novels and Broadway plays; and stories began to be told in new ways. The creation of the trust, Motion Picture Patents Company, in 1908 and the rise of independents saw a restructuring of the American film industry.
2. The studio system
Authors: Decherney Peter
Published: April 2017

Carl Laemmle, Adolph Zukor, William Fox, and the other independents overthrew the Trust only to form their own closely linked group of industry power brokers. ‘The studio system’ describes how the independents moved to California and founded the Hollywood studios, including Universal, Paramount, and Fox. They brought in the stars system and created order through genres. Ever since, Hollywood has been dominated by around eight companies, although the ranks of the major studios have been shuffled many times. Much like the Trust, the Hollywood studios set out to standardize the industry through corporate control and risk management strategies. But Hollywood has proven to be more resilient than Edison and his partners.
6. The New Hollywood
Authors: Decherney Peter
Published: April 2017

After World War II, the Hollywood studio system entered a period of major transformation, and by the late 1960s a New Hollywood emerged. ‘The New Hollywood’ outlines some of the influences that remade Hollywood: Americans’ postwar flight to the suburbs and widespread adoption of television; the rise of the 1960s counterculture; the resolution of the ongoing antitrust case against the studios; the popularity of foreign films in the US; and the passing away of the original studio moguls to usher in a new wave of industry leaders. With pressure from all sides, the factory-like studios of Hollywood’s Golden Age morphed into multimedia conglomerates focused first on making personal films and later auteur-driven blockbusters.
8. Digital cinema and the internet
Authors: Decherney Peter
Published: April 2017

The incorporation of digital images into film and television is as much a revolution as sound, color, or widescreen cinema. And as competition from small and international media companies has increased, Hollywood has invested more and more in Computer Generated Images (CGI) blockbusters. ‘Digital cinema and the Internet’ discusses the rise of CGI in movies and how the internet unsettled Hollywood at its foundation. The internet brought another epochal change, undoing the broadcast model’s one-to-many distribution system and returning interactivity, local participation, and a many-to-many model of cultural exchange. Hollywood has reacted to rather than led this change, but the studio system has also adapted triumphantly to the age of media convergence and participation.
1. What is (and is not) exploration?
Authors: Weaver Stewart A.
Published: April 2017

‘What is (and is not) exploration?’ discusses what it means to explore and be an explorer by considering explorations and discoveries through history by Leif Eiriksson, Christopher Columbus, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, Alexander von Humboldt, Henry Morton Stanley, Richard Burton, John Hanning Speke, David Livingstone, and James Cook. Exploration is often fundamentally about mediation, intercession, cultural negotiation, and sometimes, even, symbiosis. Exploration also encouraged some form of occupation, conquest, or control. Explorers were the primary agents of contact not just between cultures and peoples, but between whole ecosystems and environments. To that joint anthropological and ecological extent, exploration ultimately means change: it is a particularly adventurous form of original travel involving discovery, cultural contact, and change.
5. Exploration and the Enlightenment
Authors: Weaver Stewart A.
Published: April 2017

‘Exploration and the Enlightenment ’ considers a “Second Great Age of Discovery” that came about during the eighteenth-century Enlightenment. It began with the 1735 Geodesic Mission to the Equator, designed to ascertain the true figure of the Earth. Never before had so large and learned a group of Europeans headed into the remote interior of the New World for an expressly scientific purpose or the results of an expedition been so elaborately publicized in maps, journals, and official reports back home. This trip is seen as the prototype of the modern exploring expedition. The voyages of Captain James Cook in the Pacific Ocean and Alexander von Humboldt's trip to South America provide further examples of Enlightenment exploration.
6. Exploration and empire
Authors: Weaver Stewart A.
Published: April 2017

‘Exploration and empire’ begins with Jefferson's famous “Corps of Discovery” up the Missouri River and into the heart of the Great Plains lead by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Its two overriding purposes were to find a practicable water route across the North American continent and to establish peaceful relations with the native peoples now manifestly destined to come under American rule. The essential colonial context of late-nineteenth-century exploration is seen in Mungo Park's exploration of the Niger region in Africa; the British exploratory efforts to find the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic; the race to the Antarctic; David Livingstone's attempts to find the Nile's source; and the search for the “forbidden city” of Lhasa, Tibet.
Estimation of time-varying growth, uptake and excretion rates from dynamic metabolomics data
Authors: Cinquemani Eugenio , Laroute Valérie , Cocaign-Bousquet Muriel , de Jong Hidde , Ropers Delphine
Published: April 2017

Motivation

Technological advances in metabolomics have made it possible to monitor the concentration of extracellular metabolites over time. From these data, it is possible to compute the rates of uptake and excretion of the metabolites by a growing cell population, providing precious information on the functioning of intracellular metabolism. The computation of the rate of these exchange reactions, however, is difficult to achieve in practice for a number of reasons, notably noisy measurements, correlations between the concentration profiles of the different extracellular metabolites, and discontinuties in the profiles due to sudden changes in metabolic regime.

Results

We present a method for precisely estimating time-varying uptake and excretion rates from time-series measurements of extracellular metabolite concentrations, specifically addressing all of the above issues. The estimation problem is formulated in a regularized Bayesian framework and solved by a combination of extended Kalman filtering and smoothing. The method is shown to improve upon methods based on spline smoothing of the data. Moreover, when applied to two actual datasets, the method recovers known features of overflow metabolism in Escherichia coli and Lactococcus lactis, and provides evidence for acetate uptake by L. lactis after glucose exhaustion. The results raise interesting perspectives for further work on rate estimation from measurements of intracellular metabolites.

Availability and implementation

The Matlab code for the estimation method is available for download at https://team.inria.fr/ibis/rate-estimation-software/, together with the datasets.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Efficient simulation of intrinsic, extrinsic and external noise in biochemical systems
Authors: Pischel Dennis , Sundmacher Kai , Flassig Robert J
Published: April 2017

Motivation

Biological cells operate in a noisy regime influenced by intrinsic, extrinsic and external noise, which leads to large differences of individual cell states. Stochastic effects must be taken into account to characterize biochemical kinetics accurately. Since the exact solution of the chemical master equation, which governs the underlying stochastic process, cannot be derived for most biochemical systems, approximate methods are used to obtain a solution.

Results

In this study, a method to efficiently simulate the various sources of noise simultaneously is proposed and benchmarked on several examples. The method relies on the combination of the sigma point approach to describe extrinsic and external variability and the τ-leaping algorithm to account for the stochasticity due to probabilistic reactions. The comparison of our method to extensive Monte Carlo calculations demonstrates an immense computational advantage while losing an acceptable amount of accuracy. Additionally, the application to parameter optimization problems in stochastic biochemical reaction networks is shown, which is rarely applied due to its huge computational burden. To give further insight, a MATLAB script is provided including the proposed method applied to a simple toy example of gene expression.

Availability and implementation

MATLAB code is available at Bioinformatics online.

Supplementary information

Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Industrial Injuries Compensation
Authors: Lewis Richard
Published: April 2017

This article highlights aspects of the tort system of compensation for personal injury by comparing the provision made for workers under the state’s industrial injury scheme. The relative significance of the two schemes has rarely been considered and has not been dealt with in any law journal. Although lawyers are ever-present in tort claims, they have little involvement with applications for social security benefit. Partly as a result, there is a stark contrast between the voluminous literature on the common law, on the one hand, and the very limited information about statute-based workers’ compensation on the other. This article tries to redress the balance by bringing the industrial scheme back into the spotlight. Comparisons are made of entitlement under both systems and the value of the compensation they provide. The industrial scheme is shown to pay benefits which, in the long term, can often exceed the lump sum paid in tort. A wide range of statistics is used to illustrate the relative importance and practical effect of the two regimes. In tracing the history of workers’ compensation the enduring significance of the industrial scheme is revealed together with other findings which may surprise those familiar only with litigation at common law.
Evidence appraisal: a scoping review, conceptual framework, and research agenda
Authors: Goldstein Andrew , Venker Eric , Weng Chunhua
Published: April 2017

Objective

Critical appraisal of clinical evidence promises to help prevent, detect, and address flaws related to study importance, ethics, validity, applicability, and reporting. These research issues are of growing concern. The purpose of this scoping review is to survey the current literature on evidence appraisal to develop a conceptual framework and an informatics research agenda.

Methods

We conducted an iterative literature search of Medline for discussion or research on the critical appraisal of clinical evidence. After title and abstract review, 121 articles were included in the analysis. We performed qualitative thematic analysis to describe the evidence appraisal architecture and its issues and opportunities. From this analysis, we derived a conceptual framework and an informatics research agenda.

Results

We identified 68 themes in 10 categories. This analysis revealed that the practice of evidence appraisal is quite common but is rarely subjected to documentation, organization, validation, integration, or uptake. This is related to underdeveloped tools, scant incentives, and insufficient acquisition of appraisal data and transformation of the data into usable knowledge.

Discussion

The gaps in acquiring appraisal data, transforming the data into actionable information and knowledge, and ensuring its dissemination and adoption can be addressed with proven informatics approaches.

Conclusions

Evidence appraisal faces several challenges, but implementing an informatics research agenda would likely help realize the potential of evidence appraisal for improving the rigor and value of clinical evidence.
Extracellular Adenosine in the Human Brain During Sleep and Sleep Deprivation: An in Vivo Microdialysis Study
Authors: Zeitzer Jamie M. , Morales-Villagran Alberto , Maidment Nigel T. , Behnke Eric J. , Ackerson Larry C. , Lopez-Rodriguez Faustino , Fried Itzhak , Engel Jerome , Wilson Charles L.
Published: April 2017

Study Objectives:

To examine the pattern of extracellular adenosine in the human brain during sleep deprivation, sleep, and normal wake.

Design:

Following recovery from implantation of clinical depth electrodes, epilepsy patients remained awake for 40 continuous hours, followed by a recovery sleep episode.

Setting:

Neurology ward at UCLA Medical Center.

Patients or Participants:

Seven male epilepsy patients undergoing depth electrode localization of pharmacologically refractory seizures.

Interventions:

All subjects were implanted with depth electrodes, a subset of which were customized to contain microdialysis probes. Microdialysis samples were collected during normal sleep, sleep deprivation, and recovery sleep from human amygdalae (n=8), hippocampus (n=1), and cortex (n=1).

Measurements and Results:

In none of the probes did we observe an increase in extracellular adenosine during the sleep deprivation. There was a significant, though very small, diurnal oscillation (2.5%) in 5 of the 8 amygdalae. There was no effect of epileptogenicity on the pattern of extracellular adenosine.

Conclusions:

Our observations, along with those in animal studies, indicate that the role of extracellular adenosine in regulating sleep pressure is not a global brain phenomenon but is likely limited to specific basal forebrain areas. Thus, if energy homeostasis is a function of sleep, an increased rate of adenosine release into the extracellular milieu of the amygdala, cortex, or hippocampus is unlikely to be a marker of such a process.

Citation:

Zeitzer JM; Morales-Villagran A; Maidment NT et al. Extracellular adenosine in the human brain during sleep and sleep deprivation: an in vivo microdialysis study.
Perceptions and Attitudes of Romanian People Toward Autopsy Procedures According to the Level of Knowledge
Authors: Marinescu Daniela , Gyurka Gellért Attila , Miclăuş Roxana , Nemet Codruţa , Rogozea Liliana
Published: April 2017

In the last decade, Romanian hospitals have been facing a decline in autopsy rates. This has had a negative impact on medical education and the training of young doctors. Quite a number of caregivers strongly oppose the carrying out of autopsies on their deceased loved ones who have died in hospital. Hence, this study was designed to evaluate how autopsies are perceived by an average person and whether improved knowledge about autopsies would help reduce people’s reluctance toward them. The study involved 216 willing participants who had either never had a loved one die in hospital or had never had the power to make a decision about their dead loved ones’ body. The method of data collection used was a medical inquiry–based questionnaire. Two questionnaires were used, one before and one after brief information regarding autopsy procedures. Only a small percentage of subjects really knew the meaning of an autopsy. Initially, they accepted that it was easier to consent to their own autopsy than to the autopsy of a loved one. This difference in opinion reduced after they were informed about autopsies. As for arguments against autopsies, the most frequent were integrity of the body and religious reasons. It is extremely useful to ensure people have proper information, in order to help them understand and appreciate the benefits of postmortem examinations. Religious, social, and cultural arguments might be put aside if proper information and new educational programs are put in place.
Incidence of Adhesive Bowel Obstruction After Colon Cancer Surgery and its Risk Factors
Authors: Seo Gi Hyeon , Choe Eun Kyung , Park Kyu Joo , Chai Young Jun
Published: April 2017

Objective:

To elucidate the incidence of adhesive postoperative bowel obstruction (PBO) after colon cancer surgery and its risk factors using nationwide claim data.

Background:

PBO has a significant impact on quality of life and medical costs after colectomy, though most of the literature consists of single-institution analyses.

Methods:

Data from 24,645 patients who underwent regional colectomy for colon cancer from 2010 to 2012 and had at least 3 years of follow up were obtained from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database. Patients who required nasogastric tube insertion or bowel obstruction surgery more than 30 days after index colectomy were defined as having PBO.

Results:

A total of 3083 (12.5%) patients experienced at least one PBO episode within 3 years after surgery. Logistic regression analysis showed that significant risk factors for PBO were elderly (odds ratio, OR = 1.13), male (OR = 1.27), open colectomy (OR = 1.99), and low-volume institution (OR = 1.17). Among 3083 PBO patients, 50.7% experienced their 1st PBO during the 1st year after the index colectomy, and 7.8% experienced recurrence within 3 years after index colectomy. The 3-year cumulative incidences of PBO according to risk factors of elderly, male, open colectomy, and low-volume institution were 14.6%, 14.3%, 19.5%, and 15.1%, respectively.

Conclusions:

We report several independent risk factors for PBO and its incidence after regional colectomy for colon cancer. These results are informative for medical providers as patients who will or have had the procedure and could be useful baseline data for further research on the active prevention or treatment of PBO after colectomy.
Spiking resonances in models with the same slow resonant and fast amplifying currents but different subthreshold dynamic properties
Authors: Rotstein Horacio G.
Published: April 2017

The generation of spiking resonances in neurons (preferred spiking responses to oscillatory inputs) requires the interplay of the intrinsic ionic currents that operate at the subthreshold voltage regime and the spiking mechanism. Combinations of the same types of ionic currents in different parameter regimes may give rise to different types of nonlinearities in the voltage equation (e.g., parabolic- and cubic-like), generating subthreshold oscillations patterns with different properties. We investigate the spiking resonant properties of conductance-based models that are biophysically equivalent at the subthreshold level (same ionic currents), but functionally different (parabolic- and cubic-like). As a case study we consider a model having a persistent sodium current and a hyperpolarization-activated (h-) current. We unfold the concept of spiking resonance into evoked and output spiking resonance. The former focuses on the input frequencies that are able to generate spikes, while the latter focuses on the output spiking frequencies regardless of the input frequency that generated these spikes. A cell can exhibit one or both types of resonance. We also measure spiking phasonance, which is an extension of subthreshold phasonance to the spiking regime. The subthreshold resonant properties of both types of models are communicated to the spiking regime for low enough input amplitudes as the voltage response for the subthreshold resonant frequency band raises above threshold. For higher input amplitudes evoked spiking resonance is no longer present, but output spiking resonance is present primarily in the parabolic-like model, while the cubic-like model shows a better 1:1 entrainment. We use dynamical systems tools to explain the underlying mechanisms and the mechanistic differences between the resonance types. Our results show that the effective time scales that operate at the subthreshold regime to generate intrinsic subthreshold oscillations, mixed-mode oscillations and subthreshold resonance do not necessarily determine the existence of a preferred spiking response to oscillatory inputs in the same frequency band. The results discussed in this paper highlight both the complexity of the suprathreshold responses to oscillatory inputs in neurons having resonant and amplifying currents with different time scales and the fact that the identity of the participating ionic currents is not enough to predict the resulting patterns, but additional dynamic information, captured by the geometric properties of the phase-space diagram, is needed.
Reproducibility of R-fMRI Metrics on the Impact of Different Strategies for Multiple Comparison Correction and Sample Sizes
Authors: Chen Xiao , Lu Bin , Yan Chao-Gan
Published: April 2017

Concerns regarding reproducibility of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI) findings have been raised. Little is known about how to operationally define R-fMRI reproducibility and to what extent it is affected by multiple comparison correction strategies and sample size. We comprehensively assessed two aspects of reproducibility, test-retest reliability and replicability, on widely used R-fMRI metrics in both between-subject contrasts of sex differences and within-subject comparisons of eyes-open and eyes-closed (EOEC) conditions. We noted permutation test with Threshold-Free Cluster Enhancement (TFCE), a strict multiple comparison correction strategy, reached the best balance between family-wise error rate (under 5%) and test-retest reliability / replicability (e.g., 0.68 for test-retest reliability and 0.25 for replicability of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) for between-subject sex differences, 0.49 for replicability of ALFF for within-subject EOEC differences). Although R-fMRI indices attained moderate reliabilities, they replicated poorly in distinct datasets (replicability < 0.3 for between-subject sex differences, < 0.5 for within-subject EOEC differences). By randomly drawing different sample sizes from a single site, we found reliability, sensitivity and positive predictive value (PPV) rose as sample size increased. Small sample sizes (e.g., < 80 (40 per group)) not only minimized power (sensitivity < 2%), but also decreased the likelihood that significant results reflect “true” effects (PPV < 0.26) in sex differences. Our findings have implications for how to select multiple comparison correction strategies and highlight the importance of sufficiently large sample sizes in R-fMRI studies to enhance reproducibility.
Smartphone chronic gaming consumption and positive coping practice
Authors: de Kervenoael Ronan , Schwob Alexandre , Palmer Mark , Simmons Geoff
Published: April 2017

Purpose

Chronic consumption practice has been greatly accelerated by mobile, interactive and smartphone gaming technology devices. The purpose of this paper is to explore how chronic consumption of smartphone gaming produces positive coping practice.

Design/methodology/approach

Underpinned by cognitive framing theory, empirical insights from 11 focus groups (n=62) reveal how smartphone gaming enhances positive coping amongst gamers and non-gamers.

Findings

The findings reveal how the chronic consumption of games allows technology to act with privileged agency that resolves tensions between individuals and collectives. Consumption narratives of smartphone games, even when play is limited, lead to the identification of three cognitive frames through which positive coping processes operate: the market-generated, social being and citizen frames.

Research limitations/implications

This paper adds to previous research by providing an understanding of positive coping practice in the smartphone chronic gaming consumption.

Originality/value

In smartphone chronic gaming consumption, cognitive frames enable positive coping by fostering appraisal capacities in which individuals confront hegemony, culture and alterity-morality concerns.
Using lateritic gravel as all-in aggregate for concrete production
Authors: Asiedu Richard Ohene
Published: April 2017

Purpose

The quest to reduce the cost of concrete which is a major construction input has prompted investigations into assessing the suitability of alternative sources of conventional materials. This paper aims to report the compressive strength and workability of lateritic gravel used as all-in aggregate for concrete production.

Design/methodology/approach

Three prescribed mixes from all-in aggregate concrete were compared with concrete from lateritic gravel. The paper investigated the variation in strength of four different mixes – 100: 0, 90: 10, 80: 20 and 70: 30 – when portions of the lateritic gravel were replaced with pit sand, respectively, using varying water cement ratios to achieve optimal workability.

Findings

The density and compressive strength of each cube was measured on the 7th and 28th test dates. An increase in slump and compressive strength was observed in the lateritic concrete, as portions of the lateritic gravel were replaced with sand. However, the rate of increase in the compressive strength tended to decrease with increase in part replacement of lateritic gravel with sand indicating that there was a threshold of percentage of sand increase after which the compressive strengths are likely to decrease. This work never reached this threshold, but it is estimated to be about 40 per cent.

Research limitations/implications

Investigations focused on lateritic gravel sampled from two sites to represent samples from both the forest and savannah belt.

Practical/implications

Lateritic gravel can be used as all-in aggregate for non-structural concrete.

Originality/value

The compressive strengths achieved were better than those for the available normal all-in aggregate used.
Role of the Dynorphin/Kappa Opioid Receptor System in the Motivational Effects of Ethanol
Authors: Anderson Rachel I. , Becker Howard C.
Published: April 2017

Evidence has demonstrated that dynorphin (DYN) and the kappa opioid receptor (KOR) system contribute to various psychiatric disorders, including anxiety, depression, and addiction. More recently, this endogenous opioid system has received increased attention as a potential therapeutic target for treating alcohol use disorders. In this review, we provide an overview and synthesis of preclinical studies examining the influence of alcohol (ethanol [EtOH]) exposure on DYN/KOR expression and function, as well as studies examining the effects of DYN/KOR manipulation on EtOH's rewarding and aversive properties. We then describe work that has characterized effects of KOR activation and blockade on EtOH self‐administration and EtOH dependence/withdrawal‐related behaviors. Finally, we address how the DYN/KOR system may contribute to stress–EtOH interactions. Despite an apparent role for the DYN/KOR system in motivational effects of EtOH, support comes from relatively few studies. Nevertheless, review of this literature reveals several common themes: (i) rodent strains genetically predisposed to consume more EtOH generally appear to have reduced DYN/KOR tone in brain reward circuitry; (ii) acute and chronic EtOH exposure typically up‐regulate the DYN/KOR system; (iii) KOR antagonists reduce behavioral indices of negative affect associated with stress and chronic EtOH exposure/withdrawal; and (iv) KOR antagonists are effective in reducing EtOH consumption, but are often more efficacious under conditions that engender high levels of consumption, such as dependence or stress exposure. These results support the contention that the DYN/KOR system plays a significant role in contributing to dependence‐ and stress‐induced elevation in EtOH consumption. Overall, more comprehensive analyses (on both behavioral and mechanistic levels) are needed to provide additional insight into how the DYN/KOR system is engaged and adapts to influence the motivation effects of EtOH. This information will be critical for the development of new pharmacological agents targeting KORs as promising novel therapeutics for alcohol use disorders and comorbid affective disorders.
Identification of the Residue in the Bolgar Medieval Sphero‐Conical Vessel by Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Pozhidaev V. , Kamaev A. , Nuretdinova A. , Kovalchuk M. , Yatsishina E. , Greshnikov E. , Sivitskiy M. , Devlet E.
Published: April 2017

The Golden Horde sphero‐conical vessel retrieved from the ruins of the medieval city of Bolgar (Russia, Republic of Tatarstan) during archaeological excavations, which contained residue in the form of encrustation on the bottom and the wall, was analysed in the NRC ‘Kurchatov Institute’ by X‐ray phase analysis and high‐performance liquid and gas chromatography with MS detectors (HPLC–MS, GC–MS). The GC–MS method established that the residue from the sphero‐conical vessel was comprised primarily of abietic acid derivatives (around 46%) and retene, which is polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (around 27%); this means that turpentine exuded from the stems of certain species of coniferous trees, called resin and subsequently heat‐treated, was poured into the vessel. Researchers have been trying to decipher the function of these mysterious vessels for 200 years, and this is the first time that resin stored in a sphero‐conical vessel has been documented. Potentially, this vessel was probably used as a personal ‘medical kit’.
Endoscopic management of acute cholangitis according to the TG13
Authors: Tsuchiya Takayoshi , Sofuni Atsushi , Tsuji Shujiro , Mukai Shuntaro , Matsunami Yukitoshi , Nagakawa Yuichi , Itoi Takao
Published: April 2017

The Tokyo Guidelines 2013 (TG13) recommend that endoscopic drainage should be the first‐choice treatment for biliary decompression in patients with acute cholangitis. Timing of biliary drainage for acute cholangitis should be based on the severity of the disease. For patients with severe acute cholangitis, appropriate organ support and urgent biliary drainage are needed. For patients with moderate acute cholangitis, early biliary drainage is needed. For patients with mild acute cholangitis, biliary drainage is needed when initial treatment such as antimicrobial therapy is ineffective. There are three methods of biliary drainage: endoscopic drainage, percutaneous transhepatic drainage, and surgical drainage. Endoscopic drainage is less invasive than the other two drainage methods. The drainage method (endoscopic nasobiliary drainage and stenting) depends on the endoscopist's preference but endoscopic sphincterotomy should be selected rather than endoscopic papillary balloon dilation from the aspect of procedure‐related complications. In the TG13, balloon enteroscopy‐assisted and endoscopic ultrasound‐guided biliary drainages have been newly added as specific drainage methods. Recent studies have demonstrated their usefulness and safety. These drainage methods will become more widespread in the future.
Different time trend and management of esophagogastric junction adenocarcinoma in three Asian countries
Authors: Hatta Waku , Tong Daniel , Lee Yeong Yeh , Ichihara Shin , Uedo Noriya , Gotoda Takuji
Published: April 2017

Esophagogastric junction (EGJ) adenocarcinoma has been on the increase in Western countries. However, in Asian countries, data on the incidence of EGJ adenocarcinoma are evidently lacking. In the present review, we focus on the current clinical situation of EGJ adenocarcinoma in three Asian countries: Japan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. The incidence of EGJ adenocarcinoma has been reported to be gradually increasing in Malaysia and Japan, whereas it has stabilized in Hong Kong. However, the number of cases in these countries is comparatively low compared with Western countries. A reason for the reported difference in the incidence and time trend of EGJ adenocarcinoma among the three countries may be explained by two distinct etiologies: one arising from chronic gastritis similar to distal gastric cancer, and the other related to gastroesophageal reflux disease similar to esophageal adenocarcinoma including Barrett's adenocarcinoma. This review also shows that there are several concerns in clinical practice for EGJ adenocarcinoma. In Hong Kong and Malaysia, many EGJ adenocarcinomas have been detected at a stage not amenable to endoscopic resection. In Japan, histological curability criteria for endoscopic resection cases have not been established. We suggest that an international collaborative study using the same definition of EGJ adenocarcinoma may be helpful not only for clarifying the characteristics of these cancers but also for improving the clinical outcome of these patients.
The impact of cash transfers on livelihoods, education, health and HIV – what's the evidence?
Authors: Taaffe Jessica E. , Longosz Andrew F. , Wilson David
Published: April 2017

Cash transfers are a development intervention aimed at alleviating shocks from chronic poverty and inequality by reducing the risks and vulnerabilities associated with them. Implementation of cash transfer programmes is growing rapidly around the world, providing a body of evidence demonstrating the impact of cash transfers in many development sectors, including livelihoods, education and health. Cash transfers have also been effective in influencing positive outcomes forHIVprevention synergistically with other development sectors. Yet, programme effectiveness is greatly influenced by context, including issues such as conditionality, durability and political will. Nevertheless, the evidence strongly supports the effectiveness of cash transfers in leading to positive and multi‐sectoral development outcomes, warranting greater use of such programmes.
State capacity and the quality of policies. Revisiting the relationship between openness and government size
Authors: Franco Chuaire María , Scartascini Carlos , Tommasi Mariano
Published: April 2017

Countries with different levels of state capacity have access to different sets of policies. In particular, countries with strong state capabilities are able to draw from a broader menu of policies than countries with lower capabilities. We apply and test this insight to the case of exposure to trade‐related risk. So far, most of the literature has considered that only one type of policy—the one that increases government size—can help to overcome the challenge imposed by openness. However, there are a number of policies that can mitigate trade‐induced risks, many of which do not have the necessary implication of increasing public spending. Yet, many such policies require governmental capabilities not available to any country. For that reason, while the choice of a particular policy within a menu depends on political conditions, the relationship between openness and the size of government might be mediated by the capabilities of states. This paper provides reduced form evidence confirming that the empirical relationship between openness and government size is conditional on state capabilities. Therefore, public policies cannot be assessed independently of the capacity of the State that would have to implement them.