bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Plasticity of crassulacean acid metabolism at subtropical latitudes: a pineapple case study
Authors: Rainha Nuno , Medeiros Violante P. , Câmara Mariana , Faustino Hélder , Leite João P. , Barreto Maria do Carmo , Cruz Cristina , Pacheco Carlos A. , Ponte Duarte , Bernardes da Silva Anabela
Published: September 2015

Plants with the crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) express high‐metabolic plasticity, to adjust to environmental stresses. This article hypothesizes that irradiance and nocturnal temperatures are the major limitations for CAM at higher latitudes such as the Azores (37°45'N). Circadian CAM expression in Ananas comosus L. Merr. (pineapple) was assessed by the diurnal pattern of leaf carbon fixation into l‐malate at the solstices and equinoxes, and confirmed by determining maximal phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) activity in plant material. Metabolic adjustments to environmental conditions were confirmed by gas exchange measurements, and integrated with environmental data to determine CAM's limiting factors: light and temperature. CAM plasticity was observed at the equinoxes, under similar photoperiods, but different environmental conditions. In spring, CAM expression was similar between vegetative and flowering plants, while in autumn, flowering (before anthesis) and fructifying (with fully developed fruit before ripening) plants accumulated more l‐malate. Below 100 µmol m−2 s−1, CAM phase I was extended, reducing CAM phase III during the day. Carbon fixation inhibition may occur by two major pathways: nocturnal temperature (<15°C) inhibiting PEPC activity and l‐malate accumulation; and low irradiance influencing the interplay between CAM phase I and III, affecting carboxylation and decarboxylation. Both have important consequences for plant development in autumn and winter. Observations were confirmed by flowering time prediction using environmental data, emphasizing that CAM expression had a strong seasonal regulation due to a complex network response to light and temperature, allowing pineapple to survive in environments not suitable for high productivity.
Snakebites are associated with poverty, weather fluctuations, and El Niño
Authors: Chaves Luis Fernando , Chuang Ting-Wu , Sasa Mahmood , Gutiérrez José María
Published: September 2015

Snakebites follow snake reproduction and El Niño Southern Oscillation and are exacerbated in economically poor settings.
An auditory feature detection circuit for sound pattern recognition
Authors: Schöneich Stefan , Kostarakos Konstantinos , Hedwig Berthold
Published: September 2015

Brain neurons form auditory feature detector circuit for song pattern recognition in acoustically communicating crickets.
Boramino acid as a marker for amino acid transporters
Authors: Liu Zhibo , Chen Haojun , Chen Kai , Shao Yihan , Kiesewetter Dale O. , Niu Gang , Chen Xiaoyuan
Published: September 2015

A new class of boramino acids (BAAs) has been developed as the general marker for imaging the expression of amino acid
transporters.
Genome-Wide RNA Sequencing Analysis of Quorum Sensing-Controlled Regulons in the Plant-Associated Burkholderia glumae PG1 Strain
Authors: Gao Rong , Krysciak Dagmar , Petersen Katrin , Utpatel Christian , Knapp Andreas , Schmeisser Christel , Daniel Rolf , Voget Sonja , Jaeger Karl-Erich , Streit Wolfgang R.
Published: September 2015

Burkholderia glumae
PG1 is a soil-associated motile plant-pathogenic bacterium possessing a cell density-dependent regulation system called quorum sensing (QS). Its genome contains three genes, here designated
bgaI1
to
bgaI3
, encoding distinct autoinducer-1 (AI-1) synthases, which are capable of synthesizing QS signaling molecules. Here, we report on the construction of
B. glumae
PG1 Δ
bgaI1
, Δ
bgaI2
, and Δ
bgaI3
mutants, their phenotypic characterization, and genome-wide transcriptome analysis using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technology. Knockout of each of these
bgaI
genes resulted in strongly decreased motility, reduced extracellular lipase activity, a reduced ability to cause plant tissue maceration, and decreased pathogenicity. RNA-seq analysis of all three
B. glumae
PG1 AI-1 synthase mutants performed in the transition from exponential to stationary growth phase revealed differential expression of a significant number of predicted genes. In comparison with the levels of gene expression by wild-type strain
B. glumae
PG1, 481 genes were differentially expressed in the Δ
bgaI1
mutant, 213 were differentially expressed in the Δ
bgaI2
mutant, and 367 were differentially expressed in the Δ
bgaI3
mutant. Interestingly, only a minor set of 78 genes was coregulated in all three mutants. The majority of the QS-regulated genes were linked to metabolic activities, and the most pronounced regulation was observed for genes involved in rhamnolipid and Flp pilus biosynthesis and the type VI secretion system and genes linked to a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-
cas
gene cluster.
Immunogenicity and safety of early vaccination with two doses of a combined measles-mumps-rubella-varicella vaccine in healthy Indian children from 9 months of age: a phase III, randomised, non-inferiority trial
Authors: Lalwani Sanjay , Chatterjee Sukanta , Balasubramanian Sundaram , Bavdekar Ashish , Mehta Shailesh , Datta Sanjoy , Povey Michael , Henry Ouzama
Published: September 2015

Objective

This study (NCT00969436) compared the immunogenicity and safety of measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) followed by MMR+varicella (V) vaccines to (1) 2 doses of combined MMRV and (2) MMR followed by MMRV, in Indian children.

Design

Phase III, open, randomised, non-inferiority study.

Setting

6 tertiary care hospitals located in India.

Participants

Healthy participants aged 9–10 months not previously vaccinated against/exposed to measles, mumps, rubella and varicella or without a history of these diseases.

Interventions

Participants were randomised (2:2:1) to receive 2 doses of either MMRV (MMRV/MMRV group) or MMR followed by MMRV (MMR/MMRV group) or MMR followed by MMR+V (MMR/MMR+V, control group) at 9 and 15 months of age. Antibody titres against measles, mumps and rubella were measured using ELISA and against varicella using an immunofluorescence assay.

Main outcome measures

To demonstrate non-inferiority of the 2 vaccination regimens versus the control in terms of seroconversion rates, defined as a group difference with a lower bound of the 95% CI >−10% for each antigen, 43 days postdose 2. Parents/guardians recorded solicited local and general symptoms for a 4-day and 43-day period after each vaccine dose, respectively.

Results

Seroconversion rates postdose 1 ranged from 87.5% to 93.2% for measles, 83.3% to 86.1% for mumps and 98.7% to 100% for rubella across the 3 vaccine groups. The seroconversion rates postdose 2 were 100% for measles, mumps and rubella and at least 95.8% for varicella across the 3 vaccine groups. Non-inferiority of MMRV/MMRV and MMR/MMRV to MMR/MMR+V was achieved for all antigens, 43 days postdose 2. The 3 vaccination regimens were generally well tolerated in terms of solicited local and general symptoms.

Conclusions

The immune responses elicited by the MMRV/MMRV and MMR/MMRV vaccination regimens were non-inferior to those elicited by the MMR/MMR+V regimen for all antigens. The 3 vaccination schedules also exhibited an acceptable safety profile in Indian children.

Trial registration number

NCT00969436.
Risk of myocardial infarction (MI) and death following MI in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): a systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors: Rothnie Kieran J , Yan Ruoling , Smeeth Liam , Quint Jennifer K
Published: September 2015

Objectives

Cardiovascular disease is an important comorbidity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We aimed to systematically review the evidence for: (1) risk of myocardial infarction (MI) in people with COPD; (2) risk of MI associated with acute exacerbation of COPD (AECOPD); (3) risk of death after MI in people with COPD.

Design

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods

MEDLINE, EMBASE and SCI were searched up to January 2015. Two reviewers screened abstracts and full text records, extracted data and assessed studies for risk of bias. We used the generic inverse variance method to pool effect estimates, where possible. Evidence was synthesised in a narrative review where meta-analysis was not possible.

Results

Searches yielded 8362 records, and 24 observational studies were included. Meta-analysis showed increased risk of MI associated with COPD (HR 1.72, 95% CI 1.22 to 2.42) for cohort analyses, but not in case–control studies: OR 1.18 (0.80 to 1.76). Both included studies that investigated the risk of MI associated with AECOPD found an increased risk of MI after AECOPD (incidence rate ratios, IRR 2.27, 1.10 to 4.70, and IRR 13.04, 1.71 to 99.7). Meta-analysis showed weak evidence for increased risk of death for patients with COPD in hospital after MI (OR 1.13, 0.97 to 1.31). However, meta-analysis showed an increased risk of death after MI for patients with COPD during follow-up (HR 1.26, 1.13 to 1.40).

Conclusions

There is good evidence that COPD is associated with increased risk of MI; however, it is unclear to what extent this association is due to smoking status. There is some evidence that the risk of MI is higher during AECOPD than stable periods. There is poor evidence that COPD is associated with increased in hospital mortality after an MI, and good evidence that longer term mortality is higher for patients with COPD after an MI.
Effect of zinc added to a daily small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplement on diarrhoea, malaria, fever and respiratory infections in young children in rural Burkina Faso: a cluster-randomised trial
Authors: Somé Jérôme W , Abbeddou Souheila , Yakes Jimenez Elizabeth , Hess Sonja Y , Ouédraogo Zinéwendé P , Guissou Rosemonde M , Vosti Stephen A , Ouédraogo Jean-Bosco , Brown Kenneth H
Published: September 2015

Objective

Preventive zinc supplementation in the form of tablets or syrup reduces the incidence of diarrhoea and acute lower respiratory tract infections (RTI), but its effect on malaria is inconsistent. When zinc is administered with other micronutrients or foods, its effect is also uncertain. We assessed the effects of different amounts and sources of zinc on the frequency of diarrhoea, malaria, fever and RTI in young children.

Design, setting and populations

This community-based, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cluster-randomised trial of 2435 children 9 months of age was carried out between April 2010 and July 2012 in rural southwestern Burkina Faso.

Interventions

Participants were randomly assigned at the concession level to receive daily 1 of 4 interventions for 9 months: (1) 20 g small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplement (SQ-LNS) without zinc and placebo tablet, (2) 20 g SQ-LNS with 5 mg zinc and placebo tablet, (3) 20 g SQ-LNS with 10 mg zinc and placebo tablet or (4) 20 g SQ-LNS without zinc and 5 mg zinc tablet. Participants were visited weekly in their homes for morbidity surveillance for 9 months, and those with uncomplicated diarrhoea and malaria received treatment from the study field workers in the community.

Main outcomes

Incidence and longitudinal prevalence of diarrhoea, malaria, fever, and lower and upper RTI by intervention group.

Results

The incidence of diarrhoea, malaria and fever was 1.10 (±1.03 SD), 0.61 (±0.66 SD) and 1.49 (±1.12 SD) episodes per 100 child-days at risk, respectively, and did not differ by intervention group (p=0.589, p=0.856 and p=0.830, respectively). The longitudinal prevalence of acute lower RTI (0.1%; 95% IC 0.1–0.2%) and of upper RTI (7.8%; 95% IC 7.1–8.4%) did not differ among groups (p=0.234 and p=0.501, respectively).

Conclusions

Inclusion of 5 or 10 mg zinc in SQ-LNS and provision of 5 mg zinc dispersible tablet along with SQ-LNS had no impact on the incidence of diarrhoea, malaria and fever or the longitudinal prevalence of RTI compared with SQ-LNS without zinc in this population.

Trial registration number

NCT00944281.
What would encourage help-seeking for memory problems among UK-based South Asians? A qualitative study
Authors: Mukadam Naaheed , Waugh Amy , Cooper Claudia , Livingston Gill
Published: September 2015

Objectives

People from Minority Ethnic groups tend to present late to dementia services, often in crisis. Culture-specific barriers to help-seeking seem to underlie this. We sought to determine these barriers to timely help-seeking for dementia among people from South Asian backgrounds and what the features of an intervention to overcome them would be.

Study design

Qualitative study to delineate barriers to and facilitators of help-seeking for South Asian adults with dementia through focus groups and individual interviews.

Setting

Community settings in and around Greater London.

Participants

To achieve a maximum variation sample, we purposively recruited 53 English or Bengali speaking South Asian adults without a known diagnosis of dementia through community centres and snowballing.

Results

Participants ranged in age from 18 to 83 years, were mostly female and were 60% Bangladeshi. We recruited people from different religions and occupational backgrounds and included those with experience of caring for someone with dementia as well as those without this experience. Participants identified four main barriers to timely diagnosis: barriers to help-seeking for memory problems; the threshold for seeking help for memory problems; ways to overcome barriers to help-seeking; what features an educational resource should have.

Conclusions

We have identified the features of an intervention with the potential to improve timely dementia diagnosis in South Asians. The next steps are to devise and test such an intervention.
E-cigarette marketing in UK stores: an observational audit and retailers’ views
Authors: Eadie D , Stead M , MacKintosh A M , MacDonald L , Purves R , Pearce J , Tisch C , van der Sluijis W , Amos A , MacGregor A , Haw S
Published: September 2015

Objectives

To explore how e-cigarettes are being promoted at point of sale in the UK and how retailers perceive market trends.

Setting

Fixed retail outlets subject to a ban on the display of tobacco products.

Participants

Observational audit of all stores selling tobacco products (n=96) in 4 Scottish communities, conducted over 2 waves 12 months apart (2013–2014), and qualitative interviews with small retailers (n=25) in 4 matched communities.

Primary and secondary outcome measures

The audit measured e-cigarette display characteristics, advertising materials and proximity to other products, and differences by area-level disadvantage. Interviews explored retailers’ perceptions of e-cigarette market opportunities and risks, and customer responses.

Results

The number of e-cigarette point-of-sale display units and number of brands displayed increased between waves. E-cigarettes were displayed close to products of interest to children in 36% of stores. Stores in more affluent areas were less likely to have external e-cigarette advertising than those in deprived areas. Although e-cigarettes delivered high profit margins, retailers were confused by the diversity of brands and products, and uncertain of the sector's viability. Some customers were perceived to purchase e-cigarettes as cessation aids, and others, particularly low-income smokers, as a cheaper adjunct to conventional tobacco.

Conclusions

E-cigarette point-of-sale displays and number of brands displayed increased over 12 months, a potential cause for concern given their lack of regulation. Further scrutiny is needed of the content and effects of such advertising, and the potentially normalising effects of placing e-cigarettes next to products of interest to children.
Long-term musculoskeletal morbidity after adult burn injury: a population-based cohort study
Authors: Randall Sean M , Fear Mark W , Wood Fiona M , Rea Suzanne , Boyd James H , Duke Janine M
Published: September 2015

Objective

To investigate if adults who are hospitalised for a burn injury have increased long-term hospital use for musculoskeletal diseases.

Design

A population-based retrospective cohort study using linked administrative health data from the Western Australian Data Linkage System.

Subjects

Records of 17 753 persons aged at least 20 years when hospitalised for a first burn injury in Western Australia during the period 1980–2012, and 70 758 persons who were age and gender-frequency matched with no injury admissions randomly selected from Western Australia's electoral roll.

Main outcome measures

Admission rates and cumulative length of stay for musculoskeletal diseases. Negative binomial and Cox proportional hazards regression modelling were used to generate incidence rate ratios (IRR) and HRs with 95% CIs, respectively.

Results

After adjustment for pre-existing health status and demographic characteristics, the burn cohort had almost twice the hospitalisation rate for a musculoskeletal condition (IRR, 95% CI 1.98, 1.86 to 2.10), and spent 3.70 times as long in hospital with a musculoskeletal diagnosis (95% CI 3.10 to 4.42) over the 33-year period, than the uninjured comparison cohort. Adjusted survival analyses of incident post-burn musculoskeletal disease admissions found significant increases for the 15-year post burn discharge period (0–6 months: HR, 95% CI 2.51, 2.04 to 3.11; 6 months–2 years: HR, 95% CI 1.77, 1.53 to 2.05; 2–15 years: HR, 95% CI 1.32, 1.23 to 1.42). Incident admission rates were significantly elevated for 20 years post-burn for minor and severe burn injury for a range of musculoskeletal diseases that included arthropathies, dorsopathies, osteopathies and soft tissue disorders.

Conclusions

Minor and severe burn injuries were associated with significantly increased post-burn incident admission rates, long-term hospital use and prolonged length of stay for a range of musculoskeletal diseases. Further research is required that facilitates identification of at-risk patients and appropriate treatment pathways, to reduce the long-term morbidity associated with burns.
Three centuries (1670–1970) of appreciating physical landscapes
Authors: Hose Thomas A.
Published: September 2015

Although modern geotourism, as a form of sustainable geoheritage tourism, was only recognized as such in the 1990s, its roots lie in the seventeenth century and the Grand Tour with its domestic equivalents. At that time, a few elite travellers recorded their experiences of landscapes, natural wonders, quarries and mines. Such travellers’ observations were supplemented by those of the antiquarians for much of the eighteenth century; at that century's close, the first modern geologists were recording their observations. The nineteenth century witnessed an explosion in public interest and engagement with geology, and field excursions were provided by the burgeoning natural history and geology societies. By the close of the nineteenth century, the Romantic movement had successfully promoted wild landscapes to a newly expanding urban population. The development of the Grand Tour and the landscape aesthetic movements, the various influential institutions, key personalities and locations are considered insofar as they provide an overview of the background to historical geotourism. All are underpinned by a theoretical consideration of the geotourism paradigm and how geotourism historical studies can contextualize modern geotourism.
Cenozoic evolution of the Pamir and Tien Shan mountains reflected in syntectonic deposits of the Tajik Basin
Authors: Klocke M. , Voigt T. , Kley J. , Pfeifer S. , Rocktäschel T. , Keil S. , Gaupp R.
Published: September 2015

The NE Tajik Basin in Central Asia, compressed between the ranges of the Tien Shan in the north and the Pamir in the south, is a key region for understanding the evolution of these mountain systems. Erosion and deposition history of the NE Tajik Basin and the adjoining orogens since the late Oligocene is reflected in the sedimentary record.

The sedimentary rocks of the NE Tajik Basin are composed of thick units of proximal braided river deposits. They reflect large fluvial plains extending from the margins of the Northern Pamir and the Southern Tien Shan mountains, but are not related to the established lithostratigraphic scheme. Almost all Oligocene–Pliocene synorogenic deposits of the NE Tajik Basin were derived from the northern Pamir ranges, except upper Miocene–Recent proximal deposits close to the active margin of the Tien Shan. Initial uplift in some areas of the SW Tien Shan since the Oligocene was followed by a phase of low-energy sedimentation and a predominance of the southern source area. Since the middle Miocene, erosion of the ranges has occurred with the proximal sedimentation of coarse fluvial deposits along the northern margin of the Tajik Basin.
Circadian molecular clock in lung pathophysiology
Authors: Sundar Isaac K. , Yao Hongwei , Sellix Michael T. , Rahman Irfan
Published: September 2015

Disrupted daily or circadian rhythms of lung function and inflammatory responses are common features of chronic airway diseases. At the molecular level these circadian rhythms depend on the activity of an autoregulatory feedback loop oscillator of clock gene transcription factors, including the BMAL1:CLOCK activator complex and the repressors PERIOD and CRYPTOCHROME. The key nuclear receptors and transcription factors REV-ERBα and RORα regulate Bmal1 expression and provide stability to the oscillator. Circadian clock dysfunction is implicated in both immune and inflammatory responses to environmental, inflammatory, and infectious agents. Molecular clock function is altered by exposomes, tobacco smoke, lipopolysaccharide, hyperoxia, allergens, bleomycin, as well as bacterial and viral infections. The deacetylase Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) regulates the timing of the clock through acetylation of BMAL1 and PER2 and controls the clock-dependent functions, which can also be affected by environmental stressors. Environmental agents and redox modulation may alter the levels of REV-ERBα and RORα in lung tissue in association with a heightened DNA damage response, cellular senescence, and inflammation. A reciprocal relationship exists between the molecular clock and immune/inflammatory responses in the lungs. Molecular clock function in lung cells may be used as a biomarker of disease severity and exacerbations or for assessing the efficacy of chronotherapy for disease management. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of clock-controlled cellular and molecular functions in the lungs and highlight the repercussions of clock disruption on the pathophysiology of chronic airway diseases and their exacerbations. Furthermore, we highlight the potential for the molecular clock as a novel chronopharmacological target for the management of lung pathophysiology.
From DNA Damage to Nucleic Acid Sensing: A Strategy to Enhance Radiation Therapy
Authors: Deng Liufu , Liang Hua , Fu Sherry , Weichselbaum Ralph R. , Fu Yang-Xin
Published: September 2015

Local irradiation (IR) is widely used in the treatment of primary and metastatic tumors. However, the impact of IR on the immune response is currently being defined. Local and distant relapse after radiotherapy often occurs. The current rationale for the use of IR is based on direct cytotoxicity to cancer cells; however, recent studies have shown that reduction of tumor burden following ablative (large-dose) IR largely depends on type I IFN signaling and CD8+ T-cell response. Here, we review recent findings indicating that antitumor effects of radiation are contributed by both innate and adaptive immune responses. We focus on immune mechanisms, including cytosolic DNA sensing pathways that bridge the traditional view of IR-mediated DNA damage to DNA-sensing immune pathways. Also, we discuss how the efficacy of radiotherapy might be enhanced by targeting nucleic acid–sensing pathways. These findings highlight the mechanisms governing tumor escape from the immune response and the therapeutic potential of synergistic strategies to improve the efficacy of radiotherapy via immunotherapeutic intervention. Clin Cancer Res; 22(1); 20–25. ©2015 AACR.
Molecular Pathways: Targeting ATR in Cancer Therapy
Authors: Karnitz Larry M. , Zou Lee
Published: September 2015

The human ATR gene encodes a kinase that is activated by DNA damage and replication stress as a central transducer of a checkpoint signaling pathway. Once activated, ATR phosphorylates multiple substrates, including the kinase Chk1, to regulate cell-cycle progression, replication fork stability, and DNA repair. These events promote cell survival during replication stress and in cells with DNA damage. Accordingly, there has been the tantalizing possibility that ATR inhibitors would be therapeutically useful, especially if they were more effective in tumor versus normal cells. Indeed, multiple studies have demonstrated that alterations that promote tumorigenesis, such as defects in the ATM-p53 pathway, constitutive oncogene activation, and acquisition of the alternative lengthening of telomeres pathway, render tumor cells sensitive to ATR inhibitor monotherapy and/or increase the synergy between ATR inhibitors and genotoxic chemotherapies. Now, nearly two decades after the discovery of ATR, two highly selective and potent ATR inhibitors, AZD6738 and VX-970, are in early-phase clinical trials either as monotherapies or paired with a variety of genotoxic chemotherapies. These trials will generate important insights into the effects of ATR inhibition in humans and the potential role of inhibiting this kinase in the treatment of human malignancies. Clin Cancer Res; 21(21); 4780–5. ©2015 AACR.
Socrates and Money
Authors: Natoli Anthony F.
Published: September 2015

The controversy over the translation of Plato, Apology 30b2-4 began officially with the publication of John Burnet’s Oxford edition and commentary in 1924. The aim of the present paper is to prove that the standard translation rejected by Burnet is both preferable on linguistic grounds and is also an accurate reflection of Socrates’ philosophical position in the Apology. In the first part of the paper, I present an augmented version of the argument of De Strycker and Slings and then provide three novel arguments of a philological nature based on linguistic parallels and popular usage in support of the standard translation. In the second part I examine the immediate context of the aphorism and conclude that Socrates held money to be a good for mankind (albeit a contingent good) when it is produced ex aretês, that is by the truly virtuous individual or state.
American Jews in Text and Context: Jacob Behrman and the Rise of a Publishing Dynasty
Authors: Krasner Jonathan
Published: September 2015

This article explores the career of Jacob Behrman (1921–2012) and the growth of Behrman House from a small Jewish bookseller to the leading publisher of Jewish religious school textbooks. Behrman’s success owed in part to his ability to appeal to the vast center, to gauge correctly his consumers’ needs and reflect their outlook and values, to eschew partisanship and play down ideological differences, and to swim with the tide. In addition, I make the case that Behrman House elevated the field of Jewish education by raising the quality of Jewish textbooks, and that through its ascendency played a role in redefining the goals of Jewish education and its undergirding ideological thrust. Behrman was not driven by a single model of Jewish education or a monolithic vision for the Jewish community, but rather, by business exigencies and a connection to Jewish peoplehood and culture.
Five Reasons to Put the g Back Into Giftedness
Authors: Warne Russell T.
Published: September 2015

Human intelligence (also called general intelligence, g, or Spearman’s g) is a highly useful psychological construct. Yet, since the middle of the 20th century, gifted education researchers have been reluctant to discuss human intelligence. The purpose of this article is to persuade gifted education researchers and practitioners to reincorporate modern human intelligence theory (as expressed in Cattell–Horn–Carroll, or CHC, theory) and research into their work on gifted children. There are five reasons to make intelligence part of gifted education research: (a) intelligence is one of the best studied constructs in psychology; (b) educators know more about how to adjust educational plans in response to intelligence than many other traits; (c) grounding research in CHC theory strengthens the links between gifted education and psychology, making gifted education more relevant to “outsiders”; (d) intelligence is an excellent predictor of long-term general life outcomes; and (e) many issues in gifted education (such as curriculum planning and underidentification) are best understood if considered in relation to intelligence and related cognitive abilities. The article ends with some caveats that gifted education researchers should keep in mind when integrating human intelligence research and CHC theory into their work.
Doing Politics in the Recent Arab Uprisings: Towards a Political Discourse Analysis of the Arab Spring Slogans
Authors: Al-Sowaidi Belqes , Banda Felix , Mansour Arwa
Published: September 2015

The present paper aims to analyse a number of those slogans collected from the sit-in quarters in Egypt, Libya and Yemen. Using political discourse analysis, it unravels various typical discourse structures and strategies that are used in slogans in the construction of a sub-genre of political discourse in the Arab world. Drawing data from several mediums, including banners, wall graffiti, audio-visual instruments, chanting, speeches and songs, this paper tries to show the extent to which the slogans serve as a medium by which political complaints and comments are dispensed and consumed. This paper draws on a rhetorical analysis to find out their persuasive effect on shaping the Arab intellect and on the change of the political atmosphere in the region. Lastly, this paper attempts to show to what extent the slogans meet the standards of political discourse and whether they can be considered as a sub-genre of political discourse or not.
Where Rebels Dare to Tread
Authors: Raleigh Clionadh , De Bruijne Kars
Published: September 2015

This analysis illustrates how violence patterns are shaped by local power concentrations. Disaggregated conflict analysis has led to major advances into understanding conflict trends, agents, and dynamics of violence but has not been matched by studies of disaggregated politics, in particular on the subnational level. This analysis details how conflict event location, frequency, and intensity is largely determined by levels of customary authority and development; while armed group bases and control networks are established in areas characterized by weak, co-opted local authorities, wealth generation possibilities, and proximity to other network nodes. This demonstrates that dominant opposition groups co-opt local elites and target those who cannot be easily co-opted or belong to alternative networks. Manifestations of conflict are therefore not well explained by the typically static resource, poverty, or state capacity measures. Local politics and customary authority determine where government, rebels, and militias dare to tread. Sierra Leone Local–Location Event Dataset—a new disaggregated data set on the Sierra Leone war and local source feature of Armed Conflict Location and Event Data—provides substantial evidence for our subnational conflict explanations.
The Artist as Developer and Advocate
Authors: Shkuda Aaron
Published: September 2015

Contemporary scholars have focused on creative placemaking and the role of the arts in urban development, but there is less of an academic understanding of how artists contribute to neighborhood revitalization “on the ground.” In New York’s SoHo ( South of Houston) neighborhood, artists created new methods of urban development in the 1960s by using their labor and design expertise to invent a new form of housing, the loft apartment, in former industrial space. They worked to legalize this novel form of residence through grassroots advocacy, lobbying, and collaborations with leading artists and politicians in New York. Their political advocacy, and the attractive loft homes they created, increased residential demand. By the 1970s, real estate speculation was rampant in SoHo, leading some artists to work with policymakers to rein in development and others to become investors themselves. SoHo’s history challenges the artist/developer binary usually associated with gentrification.
Seeing the City
Authors: Foulkes Julia L.
Published: September 2015

When West Side Story moved from stage to screen, the story became further enmeshed in the city of its setting. The filmmakers Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise used the cinematic elements of color, light, and camera angle to build a believable—but magical—place in which lovers sang and gang members danced. In the process, though, they also captured New York in the midst of urban renewal. The broad international distribution of the film spread an image of urban life that conveyed the abstract, aerial views of urban planners such as Robert Moses alongside the dynamic, street-level action of Jane Jacobs. While the filmmakers did not make pronouncements about urban theories, they visualized urban renewal in its grandeur and detail, animating cold concrete streets with dance and pitting vitality against human tragedy at the core of urban life.
Convergence analysis of the MCGNR algorithm for the least squares solution group of discrete-time periodic coupled matrix equations
Authors: Hajarian Masoud
Published: September 2015

The conjugate gradient normal equations residual minimizing (CGNR) algorithm is a popular tool for solving large nonsymmetric linear systems. In this study, we propose the matrix form of the CGNR (MCGNR) algorithm to find the least squares solution group of the discrete-time periodic coupled matrix equations

[Formula: see text]

with periodic matrices. We prove that the MCGNR algorithm converges in a finite number of steps in the absence of round-off errors, that is, this algorithm has the finite termination property. Also we show that the norms of the residual matrices of the MCGNR algorithm decrease monotonically during its iteration, that is, this algorithm has the residual reducing property. To show the efficiency of the MCGNR algorithm, two numerical examples are presented.
Robust feedback linearization of an isothermal continuous stirred tank reactor: H∞ mixed-sensitivity synthesis and DK-iteration approaches
Authors: Tofighi Saeed Reza , Bayat Farhad , Merrikh-Bayat Farshad
Published: September 2015

This paper studies the problem of designing a robust controller for the nonlinear multi-input multi-output continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) in the presence of uncertainties in parameters of the process model. For this purpose, by first using the feedback linearization method, the equivalent linearized model of the CSTR is obtained. In the second step, to cope with uncertainties, two robust controllers are designed; one using H∞ mixed-sensitivity and the other using DK-iteration method. In this step, the required performance and uncertainties are expressed in terms of the suitable weight functions. Finally, the performance of the resulting feedback system is verified through numerical simulations.
Teaching, researching and innovation
Authors: Notten Ton
Published: September 2015

This article is a follow-up to, or even a sharpening of, a presentation I offered, three years ago, in this journal TPA, about the closely related research-and-innovation-enrichment of the profession of mid-career students within their two-year part-time master’s course. I wrote then about my 12 years of experience at the Urban Education Masters Programme and about my research work at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. At the end of that article I introduced a Möbius strip metaphor, which expresses a teaching-and-researching chain, a strip which keeps unclear when and where teaching comes to an end and researching starts (and the reverse), or: ‘the conviction that a vivid and enriching two-way traffic offers good opportunities to strengthen both the students’ research skills and their reflective and innovating capacities’ (Notten, 2013a: 78–79). And then, in November 2013, a more than ‘very interesting’ advisory report was published by the Dutch Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR) which argues how dealing with dependencies, knowledge circulation and lifelong learning can be regulated better as they are vital preconditions for future sustainable competitiveness and for better results in the public sector. After summarising that very inspiratory WRR report, I will introduce another even more fruitful metaphor, I hope. A multi-levelled one about how to renew conditions for social intervention science.
Introduction to the special section on motivational self-regulation across the lifespan
Authors: Wrosch Carsten , Heckhausen Jutta
Published: September 2015

A special section of the International Journal of Behavioral Development (IJBD) devoted to the topic ‘Motivational Self-Regulation Across the Lifespan.’
Exploring collaborative work among graduate students through the C5 model of collaboration: A diary study
Authors: Shah Chirag , Leeder Chris
Published: September 2015

Collaborative work among students, while an important topic of inquiry, needs further treatment as we still lack the knowledge regarding obstacles that students face, the strategies they apply, and the relations among personal and group aspects. This article presents a diary study of 54 master’s students conducting group projects across four semesters. A total of 332 diary entries were analysed using the C5 model of collaboration that incorporates elements of communication, contribution, coordination, cooperation and collaboration. Quantitative and qualitative analyses show how these elements relate to one another for students working on collaborative projects. It was found that face-to-face communication related positively with satisfaction and group dynamics, whereas online chat correlated positively with feedback and closing the gap. Managing scope was perceived to be the most common challenge. The findings suggest the varying affordances and drawbacks of different methods of communication, collaborative work styles and the strategies of group members.
Liberalism’s disease: Civility above justice
Authors: Calabrese Andrew
Published: September 2015

Liberal societies depend on wide adherence to norms of civility in the interactions of everyday life and in maintaining hierarchies of social structure. Norms of civility often are instrumental in appeals to reason and in the informal enforcement of social order. The virtue of civility fits well within the ideals of liberalism because it is grounded in beliefs about the mutual benefits of moderation, temperance, tolerance and respect. However, civility can be at odds with arguably more compelling virtues, particularly justice. Few of us would wish to coexist with others in a continued state of incivility, and the aim of this essay is not to dismiss the value and importance of civility to communication in everyday life. Rather, the essay explores a potentially dysfunctional aspect of civility, namely, the problem of using appeals to civility to silence dissenting communication and expression about fundamental questions of social justice. Liberalism is premised on a strong belief in the benefits of ‘equality of opportunity’ in all spheres of life, but not all liberals give primacy to social justice as a virtue that is essential to a good society. Civility is unquestionably useful, but there are compelling reasons to assume that when calls for civility stem from asymmetrical efforts to regulate communication, the likelihood of unjust outcomes is increased significantly. This condition is a pathological affliction that is familiar to actually existing liberalism, and it is the central concern of this essay.
Live tweeting a political debate: The case of the ‘Italia bene comune’
Authors: Bentivegna Sara , Marchetti Rita
Published: September 2015

The practice of live tweeting while following a television programme is quickly becoming a widespread phenomenon. However, in Italy, commenting on a political debate via social media is a novelty. This article presents the first exemplary case study in an Italian context, the ‘Italia bene comune’ debate, hosted by SkyTg24 on 12 November 2012. This debate focused on elections to designate a candidate to lead the government from the centre-left coalition. The findings indicate the new hybridisation of media: television’s centrality is confirmed regarding its domination in the public space in which political discussion occurs, and the web demonstrates its own capacity for an active role in an event central to Italian politics. The new element was the active participation of a vocal minority who commented online as the media event unfolded live on television.
Multiple sclerosis lesion formation and early evolution revisited: A weekly high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging study
Authors: Guttmann Charles RG , Rousset Matthieu , Roch Jean A , Hannoun Salem , Durand-Dubief Françoise , Belaroussi Boubakeur , Cavallari Michele , Rabilloud Muriel , Sappey-Marinier Dominique , Vukusic Sandra , Cotton François
Published: September 2015

Background:

Several magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies investigated the evolution of multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms leading to blood-brain barrier breakdown and lesion formation. Only a few assessed the early natural history of MS lesions using short-interval longitudinal MRI.

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to characterize MS lesion occurrence and early evolution on high-resolution MRI acquired at weekly intervals.

Methods:

Active lesions were characterized on 3D fluid attenuation inversion recovery (FLAIR) and gadolinium-enhanced 3D T1-weighted MRI performed weekly (seven weeks) on five untreated patients with relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS).

Results:

Active lesions ( n=212) were detected in all patients. All showed contrast-enhancement on at least one time-point. Most new lesions (83.5%) were visible on FLAIR and post-contrast T1-weighted images at first detection; 11.2% showed activity on FLAIR images, one or more weeks before the appearance of contrast-enhancement; 12.5% enhanced before being apparent on FLAIR.

Conclusion:

Blood brain barrier disruption is a constant step in the natural history of active MS lesions, but does not always constitute the initial event. These findings are consistent with the existence of a subpopulation of lesions with an ‘inside-out’ genesis, where neurodegenerative processes might precede microglial activation, and a subsequent adaptive immune response.
Increased albumin quotient (QAlb) in patients after first clinical event suggestive of multiple sclerosis is associated with development of brain atrophy and greater disability 48 months later
Authors: Uher Tomas , Horakova Dana , Tyblova Michaela , Zeman David , Krasulova Eva , Mrazova Katerina , Seidl Zdenek , Vaneckova Manuela , Krasensky Jan , Weinstock-Guttman Bianca , Ramanathan Murali , Havrdova Eva , Zivadinov Robert
Published: September 2015

Background:

The utility of blood–brain barrier (BBB) biomarkers for clinical and magnetic resonance imaging progression in multiple sclerosis (MS) has not been extensively investigated.

Objectives:

To determine whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) measures of BBB at clinical onset predict radiological and clinical deterioration over 48 months.

Methods:

This longitudinal study included 182 patients after first clinical event suggestive of MS treated with weekly intramuscular interferon beta-1a. CSF and serum samples were analyzed for leukocytes, total protein, albumin, immunoglobulins, and oligoclonal bands. Optimal thresholds for the albumin quotient (QAlb) were determined. Mixed-effect model analyses, adjusted for age, gender, and treatment escalation, were used to analyze relationship between CSF measures and disease activity outcomes over 48 months of follow-up.

Results:

Increased QAlb at clinical onset was associated with enlargement of lateral ventricles ( p = .001) and greater whole brain ( p = .003), white matter ( p < .001), corpus callosum ( p < .001), and thalamus ( p = .003) volume loss over 48 months. Higher QAlb was associated with higher Expanded Disability Status Scale score over 48 months ( p = .002).

Conclusions:

Increased QAlb at clinical onset is associated with increased brain atrophy and greater disability in patients after first clinical event suggestive of MS.
Progressive MS: from pathophysiology to drug discovery
Authors: Salvetti Marco , Landsman Douglas , Schwarz-Lam Peter , Comi Giancarlo , Thompson Alan J , Fox Robert J
Published: September 2015

Progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) will be a major area of research interest for years to come. No treatments exist and success in the field will generalise to other neurological conditions where neurodegeneration coexists with neuroinflammation. The issue is complex, and interdisciplinary approaches – uniting scientists with different competences (neurobiology, immunogenetics, etc.) and ‘mindsets’ (academia and industry) – will be decisive. The International Progressive MS Alliance is catalysing this process through various initiatives, the most recent of which was a meeting where scientists from academia (also outside the MS field) and from industry reviewed data and strategies to determine the next steps towards the translation of current knowledge into effective therapies.

Key findings are: (i). Concerted efforts are essential to prioritise pathogenetic mechanisms according to impact on the disease and druggability. (ii). Combination therapies will probably be needed, possibly early in the disease, along with new trial designs and treatment schedules. (iii). Drug screenings are a pragmatic approach hopefully enriched by the use of neural and oligodendrocyte progenitors differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). (iv). The field of network biology will increase our ability to predict therapeutic targets. (v). Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) must try to identify variants associated with disease progression.
Higher intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids is associated with a decreased risk of a first clinical diagnosis of central nervous system demyelination: Results from the Ausimmune Study
Authors: Hoare Samuel , Lithander Fiona , van der Mei Ingrid , Ponsonby Anne-Louise , Lucas Robyn ,   for the Ausimmune Investigator Group, Chapman Caron , Coulthard Alan , Dear Keith , Dwyer Terry , Kilpatrick Trevor , Lucas Robyn M , McMichael Tony , Pender Michael P , Ponsonby Anne-Louise , Taylor Bruce , Valery Patricia C , van der Mei Ingrid , Williams David
Published: September 2015

Background:

There is contradictory evidence for a role of dietary fat in risk of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Objectives:

To examine the association between usual fat intake (total, saturated, monounsaturated (MUFA), polyunsaturated (PUFA), omega-3 and omega-6) and risk of a first clinical diagnosis of CNS demyelination (FCD).

Methods:

Multi-centre incident case-control study in four regions of Australia during 2003–2006. Cases were aged 18–59 years and had a FCD; controls were matched to a case on age, sex and location. Dietary data were collected using a validated food frequency questionnaire.

Results:

In 267 cases and 517 controls with dietary data, higher intake (per g/day) of omega-3 PUFA (adjusted odds ratio, AOR=0.61 (95% CI 0.40–0.93)), and particularly that derived from fish (AOR=0.54 (95% CI 0.31–0.93)) rather than from plants (AOR=0.75 (95% CI 0.39–1.43)) was associated with a decreased risk of FCD. Total fat intake and intake of other types of fat were not associated with FCD risk.

Conclusions:

There was a significant decrease in FCD risk with higher intake of omega-3 PUFA, particularly that originating from fish. There was no evidence to indicate that the intake of other types of dietary fat or fat quantity in the previous 12 months was associated with an altered risk of FCD.