bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Five Factor Model of Personality and Consequential Outcomes in Childhood and Adolescence
Authors: De Fruyt Filip , De Clercq Barbara , De Bolle Marleen
Published: October 2016

The validity of the Five Factor Model (FFM) to describe personality differences in childhood and adolescence is well established. Personality differences can be reliably assessed in children and adolescents, and available research converges on the validity of the FFM as the predominant model to provide a comprehensive and manageable account of these notable differences. In addition, there is strong agreement that personality traits in childhood/adolescence are related to a broad range of short- and long-term consequential outcomes, underscoring their utility in research and assessment. The aims of the present chapter are threefold: first, to review FFM measures developed for children and adolescents; second, to discuss parallels and dissimilarities obtained with adults; and finally to summarize the significance and validity of the model in gaining an understanding of a broad series of outcomes, including interpersonal relationships, psychopathology, health and well-being, learning and learning outcomes, and long-term outcomes manifested in adulthood.
Looking Forward
Authors: Cortina Lilia , Kirkland Anna
Published: October 2016

Many questions remain unanswered within research on employment discrimination. This chapter focuses on three broad topics that seem especially important for future inquiry: (1) theories of intersectionality and double jeopardy that can complicate our understanding of employment discrimination but also bring greater ecological validity to this field of study; (2) contested categories and identities appearing in recently enacted laws, particularly around health, genetics, family responsibility, and lifestyle discrimination; and (3) expanded understanding of the “life cycle” of employment disputes beyond that addressed by the law, including attention to life before, during, and after perceived discrimination. More broadly, this chapter also highlights (4) newer, interdisciplinary fields that offer boundary-spanning vantage points, promising to move discrimination research in new directions; such fields include feminist studies, sociolegal studies, disability studies, queer studies, and critical race studies.
Contract Law and the Challenges of Computer Technology
Authors: Waddams Stephen
Published: October 2016

Many aspects of contract law, developed before the age of computer technology, require re-evaluation in the twenty-first century. The following matters will be considered: the postal acceptance rule in the digital age; e-mail messages, in particular whether a name or initial typed in the message constitutes a 'signature' for all purposes, and whether the sender's name in the address does so; clicking on a box on a computer screen as manifestation of assent, and whether it satisfies express statutory or contractual requirements of 'signature'; sealed instruments in the computer age; use of a website as manifestation of assent ('browse-wrap' so-called); and, more generally, problems of standard form contracts, consumer protection, and unfair terms, exacerbated (I would argue), though not originated, by computer technology. Illustrations are drawn both from English and from Canadian law.
In the Quest of Gallican Remnants in Gregorian Manuscripts
Authors: Nardini Luisa
Published: October 2016

This chapter examines Gallican components in liturgical chants copied in Gregorian manuscripts by focusing on a group of chants for the masses for the Holy Cross. These chants, copied in manuscripts from Aquitaine, bear signs of more remote pre-Gregorian roots that can be recognized in some textual and musical features, in aspects related to their liturgical collocation, and in the theological arguments they contain. Before undertaking an analysis of specific examples, the chapter first considers the extent to which royal decrees influenced chant practices in Carolingian and post-Carolingian Europe by contextualizing the process of standardization of chant within the projects of cultural reform of the Carolingians and the Merovingians. It then discusses issues of persistence and change in the transmission of liturgical repertories as well as the role of music censorship in the practice of liturgical chant.
Self-Regulatory Perspectives in the Theory of Planned Job Search Behavior: Deliberate and Automatic Self-Regulation Strategies to Facilitate Job Seeking
Authors: van Hooft Edwin
Published: October 2016

Because job search often is a lengthy process accompanied by complexities, disruptions, rejections, and other adversities, job seekers need self-regulation to initiate and maintain job search behaviors for obtaining employment goals. This chapter reviews goal/intention properties (e.g., specificity, proximity, conflicts, motivation type) and skills, beliefs, strategies, and capacities (e.g., self-monitoring skills and type, trait and momentary self-control capacity, nonlimited willpower beliefs, implementation intentions, goal-shielding and goal maintenance strategies) that facilitate self-regulation and as such may moderate the relationship between job search intentions and job search behavior. For each moderator, a theoretical rationale is developed based on self-regulation theory linked to the theory of planned job search behavior, available empirical support is reviewed, and future research recommendations are provided. The importance of irrationality and nonconscious processes is discussed; examples are given of hypoegoic self-regulation strategies that reduce the need for deliberate self-regulation and conscious control by automatizing job search behaviors.
Metaphorization and Other Tropes in the Prophets
Authors: O'Brien Julia M.
Published: October 2016

Although analysis of prophetic style often draws upon general studies of Hebrew poetry, the poetics of the prophets is distinctive—traversing prose, poetry, and rhetoric. This chapter first offers a historical overview of the study of prophetic poetry, positing the distinction between rhetoric (which seeks to advance comprehension) and poetry (which is often playful and obfuscating). It then explores key features of prophetic style, including parallelism, repetition/wordplay, irony, hyperbole, and metaphor. The chapter concludes with a discussion of feminist, queer, postcolonialist, and theological assessments of prophetic tropes, arguing that the fractures of poetic wordplay and repetition caution against identifying any single authoritative “meaning” of prophetic speech.
The Prophet as Persona
Authors: Holt Else K.
Published: October 2016

Taking the discussion of persona in literary theory as its point of departure, the chapter examines first the presentation of prophets in twentieth-century historical-critical scholarship. Here, the interest was moving from the early focus on the prophet as an historical person (e.g. Duhm, Skinner, Rudolph) to the historical background and development of the prophetic book (e.g. Zimmerli, Holladay, Carroll). Second, the genre of prophetic books is discussed in the light of ancient biography, suggesting a general cognitive demand for personal authentication of messages as being met by (the image of) the prophet. The third part of the chapter presents literary readings of the prophets as literarypersonae, i.e. as representations of the message of the prophetic books, with an emphasis on Hosea, Amos, Ezekiel and Jeremiah. The quest for the literary persona thus leads toward synchronic approaches to the theology of the books.
Medieval Reception of the Prophets
Authors: Callaway Mary Chilton
Published: October 2016

The chapter explores reception of the prophets in the context of broader questions about the Bible in medieval culture. The introduction complicates the legacy of the term “medieval.” It then examines a significant aspect of the medievalmentalité, the perception of biblical time as simultaneously punctiliar and linear, as key to understanding the interplay between Old Testament prophets and medieval society. The chapter argues that the prophets intersected with three contested areas of medieval society. First is the unstable meaning of the term “Bible,” which was always glossed, included apocryphal traditions, and was often abridged. Second is the uneasy relation between study of the Bible in the newly formed universities and the authority of Patristic exegesis. Third is the role of the prophets in the complex, fraught relation between Jews and Christians in medieval Europe. Examples from art, architecture, liturgical drama, polemic, and legend explore prophetic traditions in these three areas.
Materialist Analysis of the Prophets
Authors: Yee Gale A.
Published: October 2016

This chapter describes a methodological facet of ideological criticism, a materialist analysis, and then applies it to Amos 1:3—2:8. Also known as socioeconomic criticism, a materialist analysis investigates economic class relations in the prophetic texts, such as rich and poor, elite and peasant, empire and vassal state, and so forth. It involves a twofold analysis, investigating the socioeconomic and historical contexts in which the prophets ministered, as well as a literary-critical study of the prophetic texts themselves. Applied to Amos 1:3–2:8, the materialist analysis focuses on Amos’s geographical progression in the Oracles against the Nations toward its final indictment against Israel. It foregrounds the trade routes within these nations contiguous to Israel that brought enormous wealth, but also a dark underside of human trafficking and military aggression. Amos denounced the Israelite elite for its complicity in this trade, which adversely affected Israel’s rural agrarian base.
Postcolonial Readings of the Prophets
Authors: Davidson Steed Vernyl
Published: October 2016

This chapter interrogates the ready assumption of the prophetic corpus as possessing a thoroughgoing anti-imperial stance. Laying out the basic concepts of postcolonial theory as more than merely an anticolonial critique, but rather one that challenges various forms of concentrated power, the chapter provides a complex reading of prophetic literature. A distinction between the historical prophet and the literature produced in the name of that purported prophet by generations of tradents and elite scribes shows how the final form of prophetic books subscribe to the logic of empire. The consolidation of the final form of prophetic books between the collapse of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and the rise of the Persian Empire suggests the co-optation of earlier prophetic voices by imperializing ideas sympathetic to the Persian Empire and the notion of a benign empire. The chapter ends with an exploration of the book of Jonah as a counternarrative.
Prophecy and Diaspora
Authors: Middlemas Jill
Published: October 2016

A diaspora view of prophecy uncovers an emerging authoritative tradition, equal to that of the Law, that presents a coherent message of divine purposes for humanity, revealed in historical events made possible by the refraction and redaction of oracular traditions and texts from the eighth century B.C.E. onward. This chapter shows how prophetic oracles transcend individual figures and historical circumstances to reveal an overarching divine plan applicable to each new generation. In so doing, it explores the collating and updating of inherited oracular traditions and texts as found in Amos, Hosea, the Deuteronomistic History, as well as through the focus on authoritative prophetic figures like Jeremiah and Ezekiel and the anonymous Second or Deutero-Isaiah, as well as in the linking of the Minor Prophets. The situation of ongoing diaspora also reverberates in the development of apocalyptic figures and themes as exemplified by attention to the books of Obadiah and Daniel.
Queer Readings of the Prophets
Authors: Williams Jennifer J.
Published: October 2016

This chapter provides an overview of queer readings, identifies how queer readings of biblical texts are indebted to queer theory, feminism, and gender criticism, and examines recurring themes and arguments in queer readings of the prophetic material. Building from this, this chapter’s queer reading reclaims female embodiment and sexuality by unearthing positive valences of the prophets’ use of the threshing floor euphemism and the sexual and metaphorical potential of gardens, vineyards, and moist land. This reading demonstrates how the euphemism of the threshing floor and the sexualized fertility imagery of the garden and vineyard in prophetic materials can undermine the overriding negative message in prophetic literature that emphasizes a pejorative attitude toward female sexual activity. The prophetic metaphors work against themselves and leave open the possibility of a queered and positive reading of female sexual experience.
The Prophets and Theology
Authors: Craigo-Snell Shannon
Published: October 2016

Prophetic literature offers instruction in religious affections. The term “religious affections” refers to fully integrated beliefs, emotions, and intentions. Formed through practices over time, religious affections are steadfast rather than volatile. Finally, religious affections are formed in relationship with God and community, such that they constantly reference God. Religious affections—integrated, steadfast, and Godward—are vital to whole-personed Christian faith. However, contemporary culture in the United States inculcates disintegrated, malleable emotions that are easily swayed by consumerist advertising or simply overwhelmed by the constant onslaught of stimuli. The words of the prophets present a bimodal pedagogy of affections. Participating in the pathos of God, the prophets shatter apathy. Announcing the judgment of God, the prophets reject malformed affections that are fickle or idolatrous. In the same movements of participation and judgment, the prophets model well-formed religious affections that are integrated, steadfast, and Godward.
The Prophets and Pastoral Care
Authors: Koppel Michael S.
Published: October 2016

This article examines intersections between pastoral care and the prophets, and how each shapes personal and communal well-being. Traditionally, pastoral care has been understood as a field concerned with individual healing, while the prophets have been identified with social transformation. This bifurcated view is challenged and reframed in light of textual analysis and contemporary theory. The complex connections and disconnections raised by the mutual engagement of texts and pastoral care issues and dilemmas illustrate rich possibilities for pastoral theorists and biblical interpreters. Analysis in this chapter exposes potentially harmful care practices as well as beneficial care practices for individuals and communities in need of healing or recovery from trauma.
Textual Criticism of the Prophetic Corpus
Authors: Bons Eberhard
Published: October 2016

This chapter provides an introduction to the essential issues, questions, and methods of textual criticism of the prophetic books of the Hebrew Bible (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Twelve Minor Prophets). Particular focus is put on their major textual witnesses, i.e. the Masoretic Text (MT), the Septuagint as the oldest pre-Christian translation of the biblical text (LXX), the Qumran fragments of the prophetic corpus, and the Vulgate. The chapter confines itself to present basic text-critical issues of each of the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve Minor prophets. Attention is paid to new methods and procedures using a number of selected examples, each of which illustrates a specific category of problems.
Normative Legitimacy and the State
Authors: Levitov Alex
Published: October 2016

This article offers a critical overview of the major normative theories of political legitimacy from the seventeenth century to the present day, with a special focus on the leading representatives of the social contract tradition: the voluntarist theory, according to which legitimate political authority must derive from the free choices of its subjects; and the natural duty theory, which holds that a state’s legitimacy depends on the extent to which its institutions are just, regardless of whether it has been freely authorized by its subjects. The article then explores the prospects of a hybrid theory that would combine elements of the two and concludes by examining the ways in which the various conceptions of state legitimacy under consideration might be applied or adapted to the case of supranational political institutions.
Criminal Misdemeanor Theory and Practice
Authors: Natapoff Alexandra
Published: October 2016

The misdemeanor system is a powerful governance tool. Comprising the vast bulk of the U.S. criminal process, it exerts enormous influence over the disadvantaged populations that are its primary clientele, and profoundly shapes the general character of American criminal justice. Characterized largely by speed, informality, and law enforcement discretion, the petty offense process generates millions of criminal convictions and burdensome punishments in ways that depart significantly from the standard due process model of adversarial adjudication, with special implications for the poor and people of color. This article provides a theoretical overview of the petty offense process and its legal and institutional structures, and explains its sociolegal significance for the criminal system as a whole.
Freedom and Religion
Authors: Arneson Richard J.
Published: October 2016

The core of freedom of religion is that individuals should be free to form their beliefs about religious matters (and other matters) against a wide, secure background regime of freedom of speech and expression and should be free to join together with like-minded others to worship and proselytize. Controversy about religion and freedom centers on the question whether religious freedom should receive special protection. One view is that religious freedom merits special accommodation. Another is that the state ought not to adopt policies that cannot be justified except by appeals to controversial religious claims, nor promote one type of religion or church over any other or over nonreligious beliefs, practices, and institutions; there should be no establishment of religion. This chapter suggests answers to both the accommodation issue and the establishment issue.
Freedom and Influence in Formative Education
Authors: Ebels-Duggan Kyla
Published: October 2016

The principle that children’s freedom should be preserved in their upbringing is sometimes viewed as an alternative to imposing a particular conception of the good on them. But to sustain the alternative we must distinguish between those desires and proclivities that are educated into a person and those that are his own. Several philosophers appeal to innate or presocial tendencies to ground this distinction, but that approach fails. The ability to exercise first personal authority provides a better conception of what it is for a desire or commitment to be one’s own. However, states educated into a person may also be subject to her first personal authority. Thus, while the ideal of autonomy can provide guidance for child-rearing, it cannot substitute for teaching children a conception of the good.
Brachial Artery Reconstruction in Trauma Using Reversed Arm Vein from the Injured Upper Limb
Authors: Ramdass Michael J. , Harnarayan Patrick
Published: October 2016

Background:

Brachial artery repair may be technically challenging with a paucity of guidelines. The use arm vein (AV) from the traumatized limb is herein described.

Methods:

Data were prospectively collected from 2002 to 2016 on brachial artery injury including age, sex, mechanism/site of injury, and repair technique. Categories included AV and non-arm vein (NAV) groups. One-year outcomes were noted.

Results:

All 31 cases studied were of men with an age range of 16 to 73 years (mean = 28). Injuries included 13 gunshots, 7 stabbings, 6 glass injuries, 2 dislocated elbows, 1 crush, 1 impalement, and 1 avulsion. Site of injuries included the antecubital region in 25, midbrachial in 5, and proximal brachial in 1, with 4 associated fractures. Repair was done using reversed AV from the traumatized limb in 15 cases and NAV in 16. In the AV group, the adjacent basilic vein was used in 9 cases, the adjacent cephalic vein in 3, and the distal (or wrist area) cephalic vein in 3. The limb salvage rates in the AV versus NAV groups were 100% and 94%, respectively (Fisher’s exact t test, P = 1.00), with no major technique-related complications.

Conclusions:

The outcomes of using reversed AV from the traumatized limb are equivalent to those of other standard techniques such as primary repair, polytetrafluoroethylene, or reversed great saphenous vein, with a 1-year limb salvage rate of 100%. Additionally, advantages include decreased wound complications, better vein graft--artery caliber match, and shorter operating times while maintaining acceptable patency rates.
Treatment of the Open Glenohumeral Joint with the Anterior Deltoid Muscle Flap
Authors: Xipoleas George D. , Woods Daniel , Batac Joseph , Addona Tommaso
Published: October 2016

Upper extremity reconstruction is most often encountered in trauma patients. Although the rate of complications from elective orthopedic procedures remains relatively low, these complications are oftentimes in the form of open joints or joint infections that can be devastating. Classically, wounds of the shoulder girdle have been treated with large muscles such as the pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, and latissimus dorsi. Flaps more local to the area including the deltoid muscle flap have been overlooked due to their small size. Despite its size, the anterior deltoid can be used for shoulder girdle reconstruction with minimal functional deficit and allows for reconstruction of the glenohumeral joint without sacrifice of the larger muscles of the upper trunk. This study reports a case of a chronic shoulder girdle wound and successful management with the use of an anterior deltoid muscle flap.
Invaginating Brown Spot
Authors: Jacob Sharon E.
Published: October 2016

Teledermatology is a term to describe the provision of dermatologic medical services through telecommunication technology. In this modality, there is transfer of medical information electronically (including history and visual data) on a patient in one location to a provider who is in another location. The construct of this column is such that cases are presented in a standardized teledermatology reader format. This is a case of an invaginating brown spot on the thigh.
Healthy Life-Years Lost and Excess Bed-Days Due to 6 Patient Safety Incidents
Authors: Hauck Katharina D. , Wang Shaolin , Vincent Charles , Smith Peter C.
Published: October 2016

Background:

There is little satisfactory evidence on the harm of safety incidents to patients, in terms of lost potential health and life-years.

Objective:

To estimate the healthy life-years (HLYs) lost due to 6 incidents in English hospitals between the years 2005/2006 and 2009/2010, to compare burden across incidents, and estimate excess bed-days.

Research Design:

The study used cross-sectional analysis of the medical records of all inpatients treated in 273 English hospitals. Patients with 6 types of preventable incidents were identified. Total attributable loss of HLYs was estimated through propensity score matching by considering the hypothetical remaining length and quality of life had the incident not occurred.

Results:

The 6 incidents resulted in an annual loss of 68 HLYs and 934 excess bed-days per 100,000 population. Preventable pressure ulcers caused the loss of 26 HLYs and 555 excess bed-days annually. Deaths in low-mortality procedures resulted in 25 lost life-years and 42 bed-days. Deep-vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolisms cost 12 HLYs, and 240 bed-days. Postoperative sepsis, hip fractures, and central-line infections cost <6 HLYs and 100 bed-days each.

Discussion:

The burden caused by the 6 incidents is roughly comparable with the UK burden of Multiple Sclerosis (80 DALYs per 100,000), HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis (63 DALYs), and Cervical Cancer (58 DALYs). There were marked differences in the harm caused by the incidents, despite the public attention all of them receive. Decision makers can use the results to prioritize resources into further research and effective interventions.
Functional Status Scale in Children With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Prospective Cohort Study*
Authors: Bennett Tellen D. , Dixon Rebecca R. , Kartchner Cory , DeWitt Peter E. , Sierra Yamila , Ladell Diane , Kempe Allison , Runyan Desmond K. , Dean J. Michael , Keenan Heather T.
Published: October 2016

Objectives:

In children with traumatic brain injury, 1) to describe the hospital discharge functional outcome and change from baseline function using the Functional Status Scale and 2) to determine any associations between discharge Functional Status Scale and age, injury mechanism, neurologic examination, imaging, and other predictors of outcome.

Design:

Prospective observational cohort study, May 2013 to November 2015.

Setting:

Two U.S. children’s hospitals designated as American College of Surgeons level 1 pediatric trauma centers.

Patients:

Children less than 18 years old admitted to an ICU with acute traumatic brain injury and either a surgical or critical care intervention within the first 24 hours or in-hospital mortality.

Interventions:

None.

Measurements and Main Results:

The primary outcome was hospital discharge Functional Status Scale. Most, 133 of 196 (68%), had severe traumatic brain injury (admission Glasgow Coma Scale, 3–8). Overall hospital mortality was 14%; 20% among those with severe traumatic brain injury. Hospital discharge Functional Status Scale had an inverse relationship with Glasgow Coma Scale: for each increase in admission Glasgow Coma Scale by 1, the discharge Functional Status Scale decreased by 0.5 (95% CI, 0.7–0.3). Baseline Functional Status Scale was collected at one site (n = 75). At that site, nearly all (61/62) of the survivors had normal or near-normal (≤ 7) preinjury Functional Status Scale. More than one-third, 23 of 62 (37%), of survivors had new morbidity at hospital discharge (increase in Functional Status Scale, ≥ 3). Among children with severe traumatic brain injury who had baseline Functional Status Scale collected, 21 of 41 survivors (51%) had new morbidity at hospital discharge. The mean change in Functional Status Scale from baseline to hospital discharge was 3.9 ± 4.9 overall and 5.2 ± 5.4 in children with severe traumatic brain injury.

Conclusions:

More than one-third of survivors, and approximately half of survivors with severe traumatic brain injury, will have new morbidity. Hospital discharge Functional Status Scale, change from baseline Functional Status Scale, and new morbidity acquisition can be used as outcome measures for hospital-based care process improvement initiatives and interventional studies of children with traumatic brain injury.
Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes: Reducing Admission Rates for Diabetes Ketoacidosis
Authors: Ilkowitz Jeniece Trast , Choi Steven , Rinke Michael L. , Vandervoot Kathy , Heptulla Rubina A.
Published: October 2016

Background:

Diabetes ketoacidosis (DKA) is a life-threatening complication of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Reducing DKA admissions in children with T1DM requires a coordinated, comprehensive management plan. We aimed to decrease DKA admissions, 30-day readmissions, and length of stay (LOS) for DKA admissions.

Methods:

A multipronged intervention was designed in 2011 to reach all patients: (1) increase insulin pump use and basal-bolus regimen versus sliding scales, (2) transform educational program, (3) increased access to medical providers, and (4) support for patients and families. A before-after study was conducted comparing performance outcomes in years 2007-2010 (preintervention) to 2012-2014 (postintervention) using administrative data and Wilcoxon rank sum and Fischer exact tests.

Results:

DKA admissions decreased by 44% postintervention (16.7 vs 9.3 per 100 followed patient-years; P = .006), unique patient 30-day readmissions decreased from 20% to 5% postintervention (P = .001), and median LOS significantly decreased postintervention (P < .0001). Although not an original goal of the study, median hemoglobin A1C of a subset of the population transitioned from sliding scale decreased, 10.3% to 8.9% (P < .02).

Conclusions:

When clinical and widespread program interventions were used, significant reductions in DKA hospitalizations, 30-day readmissions, and LOS occurred for pediatric T1DM. Continuous performance improvement efforts are needed for improving DKA outcomes.
Detection of Thyroid Abnormalities in Aquaporin-4 Antibody–Seropositive Optic Neuritis Patients
Authors: Zhao Shuo , Zhou Huanfen , Peng Xudong , Tan Shaoying , Liu Zihao , Chen Tingjun , Xu Quangang , Wei Shihui
Published: October 2016

Objective:

This study retrospectively analyzed the frequency of anti-thyroid antibodies (ATAs) and thyroid disease in patients with optic neuritis (ON).

Methods:

Tests of serum thyroglobulin (TG) and thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibodies and thyroid function were performed in 97 ON patients. Blood also was drawn to test for AQP4-Ab using cell-based and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Comparisons of the frequencies of ATAs, thyroid diseases and thyroid function were performed based on AQP4-Ab status.

Results:

Seropositive AQP4-Ab was found in 47/97 (48.5%) patients. ATA was considered positive in 34/97 (35.1%) patients. The prevalence of ATA was two times higher (P = 0.019) in the AQP4-Ab+ group compared to the AQP4-Ab- group. AQP4-Ab+ ON patients exhibited lower FT3 (P = 0.006) and FT4 (P = 0.025) levels and a higher prevalence of definite Hashimoto thyroiditis (HT) (P = 0.005). Among AQP4-Ab+ patients, those with HT had a worse visual outcome than non-HT patients.

Conclusion:

A high prevalence of ATAs and HT was found in AQP4-Ab+ ON patients, and AQP4-Ab+ patients with HT exhibited worse visual outcomes than non-HT patients.
SCORPIUS improves trajectory inference and identifies novel modules in dendritic cell development
Authors: Cannoodt Robrecht , Saelens Wouter , Sichien Dorine , Tavernier Simon , Janssens Sophie , Guilliams Martin , Lambrecht Bart , Preter Katleen De , Saeys Yvan
Published: October 2016

1

Recent advances in RNA sequencing enable the generation of genome-wide expression data at the single-cell level, opening up new avenues for transcriptomics and systems biology. A new application of single-cell whole-transcriptomics is the unbiased ordering of cells according to their progression along a dynamic process of interest. We introduce SCORPIUS, a method which can effectively reconstruct an ordering of individual cells without any prior information about the dynamic process. Comprehensive evaluation using ten scRNA-seq datasets shows that SCORPIUS consistently outperforms state-of-the-art techniques. We used SCORPIUS to generate novel hypotheses regarding dendritic cell development, which were subsequently validatedin vivo. This work enables data-driven investigation and characterization of dynamic processes and lays the foundation for objective benchmarking of future trajectory inference methods.
Analysis of Arabidopsis Accessions Hypersensitive to a Loss of Chloroplast Translation
Authors: Parker Nicole , Wang Yixing , Meinke David
Published: October 2016

Natural accessions of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) differ in their ability to tolerate a loss of chloroplast translation. These differences can be attributed in part to variation in a duplicated nuclear gene (ACC2) that targets homomeric acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase (ACCase) to plastids. This functional redundancy allows limited fatty acid biosynthesis to occur in the absence of heteromeric ACCase, which is encoded in part by the plastid genome. In the presence of functional ACC2, tolerant alleles of several nuclear genes, not yet identified, enhance the growth of seedlings and embryos disrupted in chloroplast translation. ACC2 knockout mutants, by contrast, are hypersensitive. Here we describe an expanded search for hypersensitive accessions of Arabidopsis, evaluate whether all of these accessions are defective in ACC2, and characterize genotype-to-phenotype relationships for homomeric ACCase variants identified among 855 accessions with sequenced genomes. Null alleles with ACC2 nonsense mutations, frameshift mutations, small deletions, genomic rearrangements, and defects in RNA splicing are included among the most sensitive accessions examined. By contrast, most missense mutations affecting highly conserved residues failed to eliminate ACC2 function. Several accessions were identified where sensitivity could not be attributed to a defect in either ACC2 or Tic20-IV, the chloroplast membrane channel required for ACC2 uptake. Overall, these results underscore the central role of ACC2 in mediating Arabidopsis response to a loss of chloroplast translation, highlight future applications of this system to analyzing chloroplast protein import, and provide valuable insights into the mutational landscape of an important metabolic enzyme that is highly conserved throughout eukaryotes.
Brownian and advective dynamics in microflow studied by coherent X-ray scattering experiments
Authors: Urbani Raphael , Westermeier Fabian , Banusch Benjamin , Sprung Michael , Pfohl Thomas
Published: October 2016

Combining microfluidics with coherent X-ray illumination offers the possibility to not only measure the structure but also the dynamics of flowing samples in a single-scattering experiment. Here, the power of this combination is demonstrated by studying the advective and Brownian dynamics of colloidal suspensions in microflow of different geometries. Using an experimental setup with a fast two-dimensional detector and performing X-ray correlation spectroscopy by calculating two-dimensional maps of the intensity auto-correlation functions, it was possible to evaluate the sample structure and furthermore to characterize the detailed flow behavior, including flow geometry, main flow directions, advective flow velocities and diffusive dynamics. By scanning a microfocused X-ray beam over a microfluidic device, the anisotropic auto-correlation functions of driven colloidal suspensions in straight, curved and constricted microchannels were mapped with the spatial resolution of the X-ray beam. This method has not only a huge potential for studying flow patterns in complex fluids but also to generally characterize anisotropic dynamics in materials.
X-ray powder diffraction at the XRD1 beamline at LNLS
Authors: Carvalho A. M. G. , Araújo D. H. C. , Canova H. F. , Rodella C. B. , Barrett D. H. , Cuffini S. L. , Costa R. N. , Nunes R. S.
Published: October 2016

Various upgrades have been completed at the XRD1 beamline at the Brazilian synchrotron light source (LNLS). The upgrades are comprehensive, with changes to both hardware and software, now allowing users of the beamline to conduct X-ray powder diffraction experiments with faster data acquisition times and improved quality. The main beamline parameters and the results obtained for different standards are presented, showing the beamline ability of performing high-quality experiments in transmission geometry. XRD1 operates in the 5.5–14 keV range and has a photon flux of 7.8 × 109 photons s−1(with 100 mA) at 12 keV, which is one of the typical working energies. At 8 keV (the other typical working energy) the photon flux at the sample position is 3.4 × 1010 photons s−1and the energy resolution ΔE/E= 3 × 10−4.
Determination of the packing fraction in photonic glass using synchrotron radiation nanotomography
Authors: Ogurreck Malte , do Rosario Jefferson J. , Leib Elisabeth W. , Laipple Daniel , Greving Imke , Marschall Felix , Last Arndt , Schneider Gerold A. , Vossmeyer Tobias , Weller Horst , Beckmann Felix , Müller Martin
Published: October 2016

Photonic glass is a material class that can be used as photonic broadband reflectors, for example in the infrared regime as thermal barrier coating films. Photonic properties such as the reflectivity depend on the ordering and material packing fraction over the complete film thickness of up to 100 µm. Nanotomography allows acquiring these key parameters throughout the sample volume at the required resolution in a non-destructive way. By performing a nanotomography measurement at the PETRA III beamline P05 on a photonic glass film, the packing fraction throughout the complete sample thickness was analyzed. The results showed a packing fraction significantly smaller than the expected random close packing giving important information for improving the fabrication and processing methods of photonic glass material in the future.
A cadmium(II) coordination polymer formed from a third generation tetratopic tris(pyrazolyl)methane ligand
Authors: Semeniuc Radu F. , Reger Daniel L. , Smith Mark D.
Published: October 2016

The reaction of a third generation tetratopic tris(pyrazolyl)methane ligand, namely 1,2,4,5-{[2,2,2-tris(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)ethoxy]methyl}benzene {1,2,4,5-C6H2[CH2OCH2C(pz)3]4,L4}, and [Cd2(thf)5](BF4)4(thf is tetrahydrofuran) produces the coordination polymercatena-poly[[[bis[acetonitrilecadmium(II)]-μ4-1,2,4,5-{[2,2,2-tris(1H-pyrazol-1-yl)ethoxy]methyl}benzene] tetrakis(tetrafluoroborate)]–diethyl ether–acetonitrile (1/2/2)], {[Cd2(CH3CN)2(C54H54N24O4)](BF4)4·2C4H10O·2CH3CN}n. The CdIIcenter is coordinated in a κ3-fashion by one tris(pyrazolyl)methane group and in a κ2–κ0fashion by another, while the sixth coordination site on the CdIIcation is occupied by an acetonitrile molecule. This bonding mode of the ligand generates an infinite one-dimensional structure built upon 32-atom metallomacrocycles connected by the C6H2spacer. This compound is isostructural with the silver(I) analogue of this ligand,i.e.{[Ag2(L4)](BF4)2·4CH3CN}n, thus showing the tendency of this system to form metal-based macrocyclic architectures.
Crystal structure of Sr5Te4O12(OH)2, the first basic strontium oxotellurate(IV)
Authors: Weil Matthias , Shirkhanlou Mahdi
Published: October 2016

The asymmetric unit of the title basic strontium oxotellurate(IV), Sr5Te4O12(OH)2 {systematic name pentastrontium tetrakis[oxotellurate(IV)] dihydroxide}, comprises three SrII cations (one with site symmetry 2) and two TeIV atoms, as well as seven O atoms. The coordination numbers of the alkaline earth cations to nearby O atoms range from seven (2 ×) to eight, and the TeIV atoms are surrounded by three oxygen partners in the form of trigonal pyramids. The SrO
x
polyhedra share corners and edges to build up a three-dimensional framework structure encapsulating channels propagating along [010]. The TeIV atoms flank the framework O atoms and are situated at the outer array of the channels with the 5s
2 lone electron pairs protruding into the empty space of the channels (diameter ≃ 4 Å). Although the H atom of the OH group could not be located, bond-valence-sum calculations and typical O...O distances (range 2.81–3.06 Å) clearly indicate hydrogen bonding of medium to weak strengths.
D-Dalus VTOL – efficiency increase in forward flight
Authors: Schwaiger Meinhard , Wills David
Published: October 2016

Purpose

This paper aims to provide the international aeronautical community with details of the development of a new disruptive technology for aircraft propulsion.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper describes the results achieved by a small Austrian aeronautical innovations company in developing a cyclogyro propulsion system capable of vertical launch and efficient forward flight. The research team progressed from concept definition and simulation (2004-2006), through experimental validation and concept demonstration (2006), component optimization (2006-2012), full system demonstration (2012-2014) and examination of ability to scale (both larger and smaller) (2015 onwards). This paper provides details of the results of each of these stages.

Findings

The research team proved that cyclogyro propulsion can be used for the vertical launch, and that, in forward flight, it has the potential to achieve efficiency beyond the range of conventional fixed wing and rotorcraft.

Research limitations/implications

This research indicates that the efficiency increases with forward speed within the range achieved in standard wind tunnels (up to 35 m/s). This efficiency appears to be caused by a unique chamber effect within the cyclogyro rotor assembly. Future research should be conducted to analyse this chamber effect in greater detail and to test the cyclogyro rotor for speeds beyond 35 m/s.

Practical implications

This work indicates that cyclogyro propulsion could have the potential to provide vertical launch, high speed and highly efficient aircraft that have reduced wing span, no external rotors and exceptional agility. This technology could therefore be feasible for vertical take-off and landing aircraft that can safely form densely packed swarms.

Social implications

It could be researched as an efficiency increase in forward flight completely different to existing propulsion systems. This could open a way for a more efficient air traffic in future and faster reduction of CO2 and NOX emission an allow an environment-friendlier air travelling.

Originality/value

This paper provides the details of the first cyclogyro aircraft to have flown and will serve the aeronautical community by stimulating the debate on this new disruptive technology.
‘Tribalism’ gets a bum rap
Authors: Rosen Lawrence
Published: October 2016

Tribalism gets a very uneven press in the US, particularly in the present political climate. Images of tribes as exclusionary and pugnacious are both misleading and injurious. After briefly surveying some of the common misuses of the category, the article suggests that a view of tribes as characterized by their qualities of shape‐shifting, openness, and suspicion of power leads not only to a reconceptualization of a category worth maintaining by anthropologists but a realization, as Justice Cardozo said, that analogies can begin by assisting us only to end by enslaving us.
On the notion of dispersion: from dispersion to diversity
Authors: Gregorius Hans‐Rolf , Kosman Evsey
Published: October 2016

Dispersion and diversity are two variants of the notion of biological variation that are often not properly distinguished even though they address intrinsically disparate aspects. Dispersion focuses on the assessment of (variable) differences among individuals or types, while diversity focuses on the assessment of numbers of distinct types. Here, ‘type’ is a proxy for biological entities such as species, genotype and phenotype culminating in individuals at the highest level of resolution.

The present paper bridges the apparent gap between dispersion and diversity by showing how numbers of types and individuals can be treated as a dispersion characteristic (the number‐characteristic).

Drawing from the general concept of effective quantities, it is shown that the contribution of difference arrays to dispersion measures can always be summarized in terms of an effective difference. If the number‐characteristic is realized in addition, numbers of types (of individuals) can be determined that are effectively distinct at specified levels of difference. Whereas measures of diversity that replace abundances of types by differences of each type from other types can also be considered as numbers of effectively different types, they do not explicitly involve levels of distinctness among types. By contrast, dispersion effective numbers of types gain their sole validity from explicit reference to the degree to which types effectively differ from each other. In particular, dispersion effective numbers obey the diversity criterion only at levels of distinctness equal to or greater than the effective difference in that they do not exceed the actual number of types and become equal to that number only for uniform type distributions. The corresponding ‘proper dispersion effective number’ thus sets an upper limit to the effective number of types in a community and meets the characteristics of a diversity effective number.

Examples are outlined that have broader application in phylogenetics, population genetics and ecology.
RATING CHANGESAND COMPETING INFORMATION: EVIDENCE ON PUBLICLY TRADED INSURANCE FIRMS
Authors: Chen Leon , Pottier Steven W.
Published: October 2016

We examine the predictive ability of three competing sources of financial information—rating changes, profit changes, and excess stock returns. We find the following significant relations between current and lagged values of these three endogenous variables: (1) rating changes are positively related to past excess stock returns, (2) profit changes are positively related to past excess stock returns, and (3) profit changes and excess stock returns are mean reverting. In addition, profit changes are substantially more predictable than rating changes or excess stock returns, and past values of profit changes account for most of the observed ability to predict current profit changes. In contrast, past profit changes have little predictive ability in relation to excess stock returns or rating changes.
Exopolymer production as a function of cell permeability and death in a diatom (Thalassiosira weissflogii) and a cyanobacterium (Synechococcus elongatus)
Authors: Thornton Daniel C. O. , Chen Jie
Published: October 2016

Exopolymer particles are found throughout the ocean and play a significant biogeochemical role in carbon cycling. Transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) are composed of acid polysaccharides, and Coomassie staining particles (CSP) are proteins. TEPs have been extensively studied in the ocean, while CSP have been largely overlooked. The objective of this research was to determine the role of stress and cell permeability in the formation of TEP and CSP. The diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii and cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus were grown in batch cultures and exposed to hydrogen peroxide (0, 10, and 100 μM) as an environmental stressor. There was no correlation between TEP and CSP concentrations, indicating that they are different populations of particles rather than different chemical components of the same particles. CSP concentrations were not affected by hydrogen peroxide concentration and did not correlate with indicators of stress and cell death. In contrast, TEP concentrations in both taxa were correlated with a decrease in the effective quantum yield of photosystem II, increased activity of caspase‐like enzymes, and an increase in the proportion of the population with permeable cell membranes, indicating that TEP production was associated with the process of cell death. These data show that different environmental factors and physiological processes affected the production of TEP and CSP by phytoplankton. TEP and CSP are separate populations of exopolymer particles with potentially different biogeochemical roles in the ocean.