bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Bioeconomic model and selection indices in Aberdeen Angus cattle
Authors: Campos G.S. , Braccini Neto J. , Oaigen R.P. , Cardoso F.F. , Cobuci J.A. , Kern E.L. , Campos L.T. , Bertoli C.D. , McManus C.M.
Published: January 2014

A bioeconomic model was developed to calculate economic values for biological traits in full‐cycle production systems and propose selection indices based on selection criteria used in the Brazilian Aberdeen Angus genetic breeding programme (PROMEBO). To assess the impact of changes in the performance of the traits on the profit of the production system, the initial values ​​of the traits were increased by 1%. The economic values for number of calves weaned (NCW) and slaughter weight (SW) were, respectively, R$ 6.65 and R$ 1.43/cow/year. The selection index at weaning showed a 44.77% emphasis on body weight, 14.24% for conformation, 30.36% for early maturing and 10.63% for muscle development. The eighteen‐month index showed emphasis of 77.61% for body weight, 4.99% for conformation, 11.09% for early maturing, 6.10% for muscle development and 0.22% for scrotal circumference. NCW showed highest economic impact, and SW had important positive effect on the economics of the production system. The selection index proposed can be used by breeders and should contribute to greater profitability.
Matching species traits to projected threats and opportunities from climate change
Authors: Garcia Raquel A. , Araújo Miguel B. , Burgess Neil D. , Foden Wendy B. , Gutsche Alexander , Rahbek Carsten , Cabeza Mar
Published: January 2014

Aim

Climate change can lead to decreased climatic suitability within species' distributions, increased fragmentation of climatically suitable space, and/or emergence of newly suitable areas outside present distributions. Each of these extrinsic threats and opportunities potentially interacts with specific intrinsic traits of species, yet this specificity is seldom considered in risk assessments. We present an analytical framework for examining projections of climate change‐induced threats and opportunities with reference to traits that are likely to mediate species' responses, and illustrate the applicability of the framework.

Location

Sub‐Saharan Africa.

Methods

We applied the framework to 195 sub‐Saharan African amphibians with both available bioclimatic envelope model projections for the mid‐21st century and trait data. Excluded were 500 narrow‐ranging species mainly from montane areas. For each of projected losses, increased fragmentation and gains of climate space, we selected potential response‐mediating traits and examined the spatial overlap with vulnerability due to these traits. We examined the overlap for all species, and individually for groups of species with different combinations of threats and opportunities.

Results

In the Congo Basin and arid Southern Africa, projected losses for wide‐ranging amphibians were compounded by sensitivity to climatic variation, and expected gains were precluded by poor dispersal ability. The spatial overlap between exposure and vulnerability was more pronounced for species projected to have their climate space contracting in situ or shifting to distant geographical areas. Our results exclude the potential exposure of narrow‐ranging species to shrinking climates in the African tropical mountains.

Main conclusions

We illustrate the application of a framework combining spatial projections of climate change exposure with traits that are likely to mediate species' responses. Although the proposed framework carries several assumptions that require further scrutiny, its application adds a degree of realism to familiar assessments that consider all species to be equally affected by climate change‐induced threats and opportunities.
Annual Research Review: Current limitations and future directions in MRI studies of child‐ and adult‐onset developmental psychopathologies
Authors: Horga Guillermo , Kaur Tejal , Peterson Bradley S.
Published: January 2014

Background

The widespread use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in the study of child‐ and adult‐onset developmental psychopathologies has generated many investigations that have measured brain structure and function in vivo throughout development, often generating great excitement over our ability to visualize the living, developing brain using the attractive, even seductive images that these studies produce. Often lost in this excitement is the recognition that brain imaging generally, and MRI in particular, is simply a technology, one that does not fundamentally differ from any other technology, be it a blood test, a genotyping assay, a biochemical assay, or behavioral test. No technology alone can generate valid scientific findings. Rather, it is only technology coupled with a strong experimental design that can generate valid and reproducible findings that lead to new insights into the mechanisms of disease and therapeutic response.

Methods

In this review we discuss selected studies to illustrate the most common and important limitations of MRI study designs as most commonly implemented thus far, as well as the misunderstanding that the interpretations of findings from those studies can create for our theories of developmental psychopathologies.

Results

Common limitations of MRI study designs are in large part responsible thus far for the generally poor reproducibility of findings across studies, poor generalizability to the larger population, failure to identify developmental trajectories, inability to distinguish causes from effects of illness, and poor ability to infer causal mechanisms in most MRI studies of developmental psychopathologies. For each of these limitations in study design and the difficulties they entail for the interpretation of findings, we discuss various approaches that numerous laboratories are now taking to address those difficulties, which have in common the yoking of brain imaging technologies to studies with inherently stronger designs that permit more valid and more powerful causal inferences. Those study designs include epidemiological, longitudinal, high‐risk, clinical trials, and multimodal imaging studies.

Conclusions

We highlight several studies that have yoked brain imaging technologies to these stronger designs to illustrate how doing so can aid our understanding of disease mechanisms and in the foreseeable future can improve clinical diagnosis, prevention, and treatment planning for developmental psychopathologies.
Improvement of Sugar Production From Potato Pulp with Microwave Radiation and Ultrasonic Wave Pretreatments
Authors: Miao Wenhua , Xu Xiaoyun , Zhou Bin , Pan Siyi , Wang Keqin , Fan Chuanhui , Wang Lufeng
Published: January 2014

Potato pulp was pretreated through the process of microwave and ultrasonic wave before they were hydrolyzed by cellulose. They were pretreated with microwave power of 240 W at microwave time of 7 min and with ultrasonic wave power of 200 W at ultrasonic wave time of 10 min, respectively. The reduction in sugar and glucose content in pretreated specimens under both pretreated conditions were measured by biotransformation method; the experimental results indicated that both the microwave and ultrasonic wave treatment could lead to significant improvement in sugar production, including reducing sugar and glucose, which provided potential strategies for widening practical application of potato pulp in the food industry.

Practical Applications

Energy and environment problems can be meaningfully addressed by fully using the by‐products of the agricultural products processing industry. And this research is also of practical relevance with regard to the biofuel industry. In this study, use of microwave and ultrasonic wave pretreatment could lead to significant improvement in sugar production, including sugar and glucose reduction, which means improvements in production yield and reductions in production costs. And this also provides potential strategies for widening practical application of potato pulp and some other by‐products of the agricultural products processing industry.
Legal Traditions and Initial Endowments in Shaping the Path of Financial Development
Authors: OTO‐PERALÍAS DANIEL , ROMERO‐ÁVILA DIEGO
Published: January 2014

This paper finds remarkable heterogeneity in the relationship between legal traditions and finance in former colonies. The effect of the British common law on financial development is conditioned by the level of initial endowments. In former colonies with low precolonial population density, the common law has promoted high financial development, but where endowments were abundant, this legal tradition has not worked well. In contrast, the effect of the French civil law on finance is invariant to endowments. British common law countries do not exhibit greater financial development levels than French civil law countries when endowments are sufficiently high.
Location Decisions of Foreign Banks and Competitor Remoteness
Authors: CLAESSENS STIJN , VAN HOREN NEELTJE
Published: January 2014

This paper examines the role of “competitor remoteness”—the weighted average distance of all competing banks to a host country—on the location decision of a foreign bank. It uses unique, bilateral data on 1,199 foreign banks from 75 home countries present in 110 host countries. It finds that, besides bilateral distance, competitor remoteness importantly drives foreign banks’ location decisions. The impact of distance and competitor remoteness is stronger for non‐OECD home and host countries, when the scale of foreign bank inward and outward investment is limited, and for host countries where foreign banks dominate.
Bank Earnings Management and Tail Risk during the Financial Crisis
Authors: COHEN LEE J. , CORNETT MARCIA MILLON , MARCUS ALAN J. , TEHRANIAN HASSAN
Published: January 2014

We show that a pattern of earnings management in bank financial statements has little bearing on downside risk during quiet periods, but seems to have a big impact during a financial crisis. Banks demonstrating more aggressive earnings management prior to 2007 exhibit substantially higher stock market risk once the financial crisis begins as measured by the incidence of large weekly stock price “crashes” as well as by the pattern of full‐year returns. Stock price crashes also predict future deterioration in operating performance. Bank regulators may therefore interpret them as early warning signs of impending problems.
Who Anticipated the Great Depression? Gustav Cassel versus Keynes and Hayek on the Interwar Gold Standard
Authors: IRWIN DOUGLAS A.
Published: January 2014

The intellectual response to the Great Depression is often portrayed as a battle between the ideas of Friedrich Hayek and John Maynard Keynes. Yet both the Austrian and the Keynesian interpretations of the Depression were incomplete. Austrians could explain how a country might get into a depression (bust following a credit‐fueled investment boom) but not how to get out of one (liquidation). Keynesians could explain how a country might get out of a depression (government spending on public works) but not how it got into one (animal spirits). By contrast, the monetary approach of Gustav Cassel has been ignored. As early as 1920, Cassel warned that mismanagement of the gold standard could lead to a severe depression. Cassel not only explained how this could occur, but his explanation anticipates the way that scholars today describe how the Great Depression actually occurred. Unlike Keynes or Hayek, Cassel analyzed both how a country could get into a depression (deflation due to tight monetary policies) and how it could get out of one (monetary expansion).
Divisia Monetary Aggregates, the Great Ratios, and Classical Money Demand Functions
Authors: SERLETIS APOSTOLOS , GOGAS PERIKLIS
Published: January 2014

King et al. () evaluate the empirical relevance of a class of real business cycle models with permanent productivity shocks by analyzing the stochastic trend properties of postwar U.S. macroeconomic data. They find a common stochastic trend in a three‐variable system that includes output, consumption, and investment, but the explanatory power of the common trend drops significantly when they add money balances and the nominal interest rate. In this paper, we revisit the cointegration tests in the spirit of King et al., using improved monetary aggregates whose construction has been stimulated by the Barnett critique. We show that previous rejections of the balanced growth hypothesis and classical money demand functions can be attributed to mismeasurement of the monetary aggregates.
The Ethics of Stats
Authors: Muers Rachel
Published: January 2014

This essay argues for the importance and interest, within and beyond theological ethics, of the ethical questions faced by professionals who are called on to be producers of statistics (herein “stats”) for management purposes. Truth‐telling, in the context of demands for stats, cannot be evaluated at the level of the individual statement or utterance, nor through an ethical framework primarily focused on the correspondence between thought and speech. Reflection on stats production forces us to treat truth‐telling as contextual and political, and to engage with the idea that the capacity to tell the truth is learned or acquired in communities, societies and institutions. I develop this engagement through a rereading of Dietrich Bonhoeffer on “telling the truth” and Michel Foucault on parrhēsia, identifying and exploring the relationship between the responsible use of stats and the “cynical” protest against them.
Communication, Punishment, and Virtue
Authors: Bourne Richard
Published: January 2014

This essay suggests that whileAntonyDuff's model of criminal punishment as secular penance is pregnant with possibilities for theological reception and reflection, it proceeds by way of a number of separations that are brought into question by the penitential traditions ofChristianity. The first three of these—between justice and mercy, censure and invitation, and state and victim, constrain the true communicative character of his account of punishment. The second set of oppositions, between sacrament and virtue, interior character and external action, and formal and moral reconciliation, subject the model of state punishment as secular penance to problematic liberal and libertarian constraints. A postsecular analogy, outlining a theology of the invitational nature of divine judgment, and drawing onThomasAquinas's account of penance as both sacrament and virtue, is proposed.
“Never Again War”
Authors: Norris Kristopher
Published: January 2014

This essay addresses the complexities of the Roman Catholic position on war by evaluating recent documentary evidence, attending to the contemporary challenges of terrorism and humanitarian interventions. It presents two arguments. First, attending to traditional Catholic resources for assessing war, papal criticism of recent military action, and debates about a recent shift in Catholic just war logic, this essay argues that Catholic teaching on war has undergone a repositioning in a pacifist direction. Second, it contends that recent critiques of this shift in position by scholars such as George Weigel and James Turner Johnson, however, are wrong to categorize this a “functional pacifism.” Though a development from within just war theory and pacifist reasoning, the Church's new stance does not operate as a type of pacifism, allowing too many possibilities for justified armed conflict to be labeled as “functional” pacifism. The essay concludes by examining the traditional Catholic theological commitments that place limits on any movement toward pacifism, precluding even a functionally pacifist position.
Challenging Sociological Reductionism
Authors: Gushee David P.
Published: January 2014

The author analyzes Christian Smith's What Is a Person? from a Christian theological‐ethical perspective, assessing the way in which he tackles sociological theories that reflect secularized and reductionist assumptions about the human person, and offering a friendly critique of the Christian personalist, humanist, and virtue ethic that he deploys to challenge his field.
Narrative Quests and Social Change
Authors: Kalbian Aline H.
Published: January 2014

In this response to Christian Smith's What Is a Person?, I raise questions about his conception of the human life as a narrative quest and his account of change in social structures and institutions. The metaphor of life as a quest suggests a solid, isolated, and integrated moral agent. I wonder whether the experiences of most moral agents render a different picture—one where life is fragmented and characterized by complex webs of relationships. Smith provides a detailed account of how social institutions change. I pose examples of more subtle and complex types of change as a way to press him to think about whether his account of change is too linear.
What Proportion of Preschool‐Aged Children Consume Sweetened Beverages?
Authors: Nickelson Jen , Lawrence Jeannine C. , Parton Jason M. , Knowlden Adam P. , McDermott Robert J.
Published: January 2014

BACKGROUND

Obesity affects nearly 17% of US children and youth 2‐19 years old and 10% of infants and toddlers under the age of 2 years. One strategy for addressing obesity is to discourage sugar‐sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption. Compared with their older school‐aged counterparts, children ≤5 years depend largely on parents for the purchase and serving of SSBs. Therefore, recognizing parental factors associated with children's intake of SSBs is important.

METHODS

This study used cross‐sectional data from parents of children ≤5 years old to examine SSB consumption and associated factors. Elements of the Health Belief Model and Theory of Reasoned Action facilitated data analysis and interpretation.

RESULTS

The most consistent predictor of SSB intake was child age. Nearly 94% of children aged 3‐5 years consumed sweetened milk products, 88% consumed fruity drinks, 63% consumed sodas, and 56% consumed sports drinks and sweet tea. Adjusting for all other factors, the only parental psychosocial factor associated with SSB intake was self‐efficacy (predicting fruity drinks consumption).

CONCLUSIONS

More children drink SSBs as they get older. Interventions designed to prevent SSB consumption should occur early, before children reach preschool age. Additional study of parental factors influencing SSB intake in early childhood is recommended.
Isolation of Trichoderma and Evaluation of their Antagonistic Potential against Alternaria porri
Authors: Abo‐Elyousr Kamal A. M. , Abdel‐Hafez Sobhy I. I. , Abdel‐Rahim Ismail R.
Published: January 2014

Nine isolates of Trichoderma were collected from Assiut Governorate, Egypt, as leaf surface and endophytic fungi associated with onion flora stalks. Four isolates were identified as Trichoderma harzianum, while five isolates were belonging to Trichoderma longibrachiatum. The antagonistic activity of these isolates against onion purple blotch pathogen Alternaria porri was studied in vitro using dual culture assay. All tested Trichoderma isolates showed mycoparasitic activity and competitive capability against the mycelial growth of A. porri. Mycoparastic activity of Trichoderma was manifested morphologically by the overgrowth upon the mycelial growth of the pathogen and microscopically by production of coiling hyphae around pathogen hyphae. Isolates of T. harzianum exhibited high ability to compete on potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium causing the maximum rate of pathogen inhibition (73.12%), while isolates of T. longibrachiatum showed inhibition rate equalling 70.3%. Chitinase activity of Trichoderma was assayed, and T. harzianum Th‐3013 showed the maximum value contributing 2.69 U/min. Application of T. harzianum Th‐3013 to control purple blotch disease in vivo under greenhouse conditions caused disease reduction up to 52.3 and 79.9% before and after 48 h of pathogen inoculation, respectively, while the fungicide Ridomil Gold Plus caused disease reduction comprising 56.5 and 71.7%, respectively. This study proved that T. harzianum Th‐3013 as a biocontrol agent showed significant reduction in onion purple blotch disease compared with the tested fungicide.
The Locus of Innovation: The Effect of a Separate Innovation Unit on Exploration, Exploitation, and Ambidexterity in Manufacturing and Service Firms
Authors: Blindenbach‐Driessen Floortje , van den Ende Jan
Published: January 2014

This paper investigates the effects of having a separate innovation unit on exploration, exploitation, and ambidexterity in manufacturing and service firms according to traditional paradigms of the innovation management discipline that innovation units should be organized in a separate department. Many manufacturing firms have such a unit while few service firms do. This paper sets out to investigate the advantages of having such a unit for exploration, exploitation, and ambidexterity, and whether there are differences between manufacturing and service firms that could help explain why such units are present or absent. The literature suggests that a separate innovation unit has a positive effect on exploration and ambidexterity in manufacturing firms. However, the effect on improving operational activities, that is, exploitation, is unclear. If exploration and exploitation are two ends of a continuum, as the literature suggests, more exploration comes at the cost of exploitation. On the other hand, others have suggested the possibility of an orthogonal relationship, where a separate unit can simultaneously enhance exploration and exploitation.

In this paper, theDutchCommunityInnovationSurvey (CIS) is used to investigate these relationships for manufacturing and service firms, with a question added to the survey regarding the locus of innovation within each firm, that is, mostly within a dedicated innovation unit or dispersed throughout the firm. Our findings show that a separate innovation unit increases exploration, exploitation, and ambidexterity in both manufacturing and service firms. It thereby provides support for the orthogonal view of ambidexterity. A separate unit enhances the ability to exploit and be ambidextrous equally in service and manufacturing firms, but has a weaker positive effect on exploration, and exploratory and ambidextrous performance in service firms. This finding implies that both manufacturing and service firms benefit from having a separate innovation unit, with the advantages being greatest for manufacturing firms. In service firms, such an innovation unit alone may not be sufficient, as such units are expensive to maintain, while they contribute less to ambidextrous performance than in manufacturing firms. Based on the latter finding, future studies should make a distinction between the ability to be ambidextrous in creating exploratory and exploitative innovations, and ambidextrous performance, the ability to gain financially from engaging in both types of activities simultaneously.
Measurement of thyroxine and cortisol in canine and feline blood samples using two immunoassay analysers
Authors: Higgs P. , Costa M. , Freke A. , Papasouliotis K.
Published: January 2014

OBJECTIVES

The AIA‐360 (Tosoh Corporation) is an automated immunoassay analyser. The aims of this study were to estimate the precision of thyroxine and cortisol AIA‐360 immunoassays in canine and feline samples and to compare the results produced with those obtained by a chemiluminescence analyser (Immulite® 1000, Siemens).

METHODS

Blood samples from 240 clinical cases (60 dogs and 60 cats for both thyroxine and cortisol) were analysed using both instruments.

RESULTS

Deming regression calculations showed excellent correlation (thyroxine, canine rs = 0 · 94, feline rs = 0 · 97; cortisol, canine rs = 0 · 97, feline rs = 0 · 97). Agreement between the two instruments was examined by Bland–Altman difference plots, which identified wide confidence intervals and outliers for thyroxine (canine n = 6, feline n = 4) and cortisol (canine n = 3, feline n = 4) results. Inter/intra‐run precision of the AIA‐360 was excellent for both cortisol and thyroxine (coefficients of variation <7%).

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

The instrument showed excellent correlation for cortisol and thyroxine in canine and feline samples demonstrating that the AIA‐360 can be used in clinical practice. The agreement studies suggest that the results from the AIA‐360 cannot be used interchangeably with those generated by the Immulite 1000 and should be interpreted using reference intervals that have been established specific to the AIA‐360.
Abundance, distribution and habitat preference of Hippocampus guttulatus and Hippocampus hippocampus in a semi‐enclosed central Mediterranean marine area
Authors: Gristina Michele , Cardone Frine , Carlucci Roberto , Castellano Laura , Passarelli Sergio , Corriero Giuseppe
Published: January 2014

Population abundance, distribution and habitat preference of the Mediterranean sympatric seahorses Hippocampus guttulatus and Hippocampus hippocampus were investigated in a semi‐enclosed sea system (Apulian coast, Ionian Sea). A total of 242 individuals of seahorses were sighted in the 11 transects surveyed in summer 2011. Hippocampus guttulatus (n = 225) were 14 times more abundant than H. hippocampus (17). The mean abundance of H. guttulatus for all the pooled sites was 0.018 m−2 (SE ± 0.003) ranging from a maximum of 0.035 (SE ± 0.007) to a minimum of 0.008 (SE ± 0.002). The size structure of long‐snouted seahorse shows a population ranging from 7 to 14 cm (SL) with a peak at 10 cm (TL). Juveniles (96.0 ± 8.0 mm) represent a significant fraction of the population, accounting more than 21% of the sighted individuals. In Mar Piccolo, H. guttulatus is able to shelter both in monotonous habitats, including the algal beds, and diversified ones, such as the rich filter‐feeder communities that colonize hard substrates. By contrast, H. hippocampus is mainly associated with habitats of low complexity. Today, the Mar Piccolo di Taranto is among the most heavily polluted water bodies in South Italy, with trace metals, hydrocarbons, pesticides and organic wastes affecting both biotic and abiotic matrices. However, despite the high level of degradation, the presence of a large mussel farm has avoided the impact of towed fishing gears, and eutrophication of water bodies has ensured a high trophic level that supports large crustacean populations, potential prey for seahorses.
Insulin‐Induced Changes in Microvascular Vasomotion and Capillary Recruitment are Associated in Humans
Authors: de Boer Michiel P. , Meijer Rick I. , Newman John , Stehouwer Coen D.A. , Eringa Etto C. , Smulders Yvo M. , Serné Erik H.
Published: January 2014

Objective

Insulin‐induced capillary recruitment is considered a significant regulator of overall insulin‐stimulated glucose uptake. Insulin's action to recruit capillaries has been hypothesized to involve insulin‐induced changes in vasomotion. Data directly linking vasomotion to capillary perfusion, however, are presently lacking. We, therefore, investigated whether insulin's actions on capillary recruitment and vasomotion were interrelated in a group of healthy individuals. We further assessed the role of capillary recruitment in the association between vasomotion and insulin‐mediated glucose uptake.

Methods

Changes in vasomotion and capillary density were determined by LDF and capillary videomicroscopy in skin, respectively, before and during a hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamp in 19 healthy volunteers.

Results

Insulin‐induced increase in the neurogenic vasomotion domain was positively related to insulin‐augmented capillary recruitment (r = 0.51, p = 0.04), and both parameters were related to insulin‐mediated glucose uptake (r = 0.47, p = 0.06 and r = 0.73, p = 0.001, respectively). The change in insulin‐augmented capillary recruitment could, at least statistically, largely explain the association between the neurogenic domain and insulin‐mediated glucose uptake.

Conclusions

Insulin‐induced changes in vasomotion and capillary recruitment are associated in healthy volunteers. These data suggest that insulin's action to recruit capillaries may in part involve action on the neurogenic vasomotion domain, thereby enhancing capillary perfusion and glucose uptake.
Reproduction, birth seasonality, and calf survival of bottlenose dolphins in Doubtful Sound, New Zealand
Authors: Henderson Shaun D. , Dawson Stephen M. , Currey Rohan J. C. , Lusseau David , Schneider Karsten
Published: January 2014

Understanding the reproductive parameters of very small or declining populations is of clear importance to conservation. From 1995 to 2011 we recorded calf production (n = 71) and calf survival for 27 breeding females in the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) population in Doubtful Sound, New Zealand; a population with a recent history of declining abundance. Overall, 67% of calves survived their first year, and 40% survived to 3 yr (or are 2 yr old and still alive). Most calves that died in the first year died in their first month (87%). Multiparous mothers (n = 18) showed high variation in calf survival. The most successful six had all but one of their 20 calves (95%) survive to 1 yr. Fourteen of the 20 (70%) survived to 3 yr, and another four are still alive and are 1 or 2 yr old. In contrast, the least successful seven mothers produced a similar number of calves (21), eight of which (38%) survived to 1 yr, and none to 3 yr. Here we describe calving seasonality and calf survival, observed over 16 yr, and show that large variation in reproductive success of individual females is an example of extreme demographic stochasticity in this small, endangered population.
Who Are You Calling Rude? Honor‐Related Differences in Morality and Competence Evaluations After an Insult
Authors: Shafa Saïd , Harinck Fieke , Ellemers Naomi , Beersma Bianca
Published: January 2014

In two studies, we examined honor‐related differences in morality versus competence evaluations as a way to tap into social judgment formation after an insult. In Study 1, we distinguished between high‐honor and low‐honor cultures. Participants' evaluations of a norm transgressor were gathered. Results indicated that high‐honor participants devalued the transgressor more strongly in terms of morality than competence in comparison with low‐honor participants. In Study 2, we distinguished between participants with high‐ and low‐honor values and investigated morality and competence in self‐perception. Participants were asked to respond to different types of insults gathered in Study 1. High‐honor participants were primarily harmed in their morality after being insulted, while this prominence was less apparent in low‐honor participants. Both studies showed that those who value honor highly moralize insults to a greater extent, because they take more offense to them.
Language Style Matching, Engagement, and Impasse in Negotiations
Authors: Ireland Molly E. , Henderson Marlone D.
Published: January 2014

Humans and animals alike are known to mirror the behavior of both allies and opponents. However, existing models of behavior matching focus primarily on its prosocial functions. The current study explores whether both prosocial and adversarial sides of behavior matching can be found at different stages of an egoistic negotiation. In negotiations conducted over instant messenger, 64 dyads attempted to reach an agreement on four issues within 20 minutes while focusing solely on personal gain. We measured behavior matching with the language style matching (LSM) metric, which quantifies function word (e.g., pronouns, articles) similarity between partners. Although pairs with higher LSM throughout negotiations were more socially engaged, they were also less focused on the task and more likely to reach an impasse during the negotiation. Furthermore, early but not late style matching predicted more positive, socially attuned interactions. Implications for negotiation and mimicry research are discussed.
Effects of transcutaneous tibial nerve stimulation on anorectal physiology in fecal incontinence: a double‐blind placebo‐controlled cross‐over evaluation
Authors: Bouguen G. , Ropert A. , Lainé F. , Pequin P. , Morcet J. , Bretagne J.‐F. , Siproudhis L.
Published: January 2014

Background

Transcutaneous electrical tibial nerve stimulation (TENS) is of growing interest for the treatment of fecal incontinence (FI), but its mechanism of action remains uninvestigated. We aimed to further assess the anorectal response to TENS in a dynamic model.

Methods

We performed a placebo‐controlled, randomized, double‐blinded crossover study in 19 patients suffering from FI to assess the effects of TENS on anorectal function. Anorectal physiology and perception were recorded through two sequences of rectal isobaric distension using an electronic barostat device to measure anal and rectal pressures, rectal volumes, and perception scores.

Key Results

Maximal rectal pressure and volume variation were affected by TENS, with higher mean maximal rectal pressure (5.33 and 4.06 mmHg in the active and sham TENS respectively, p < 0.0001) and lower volume variation (11.45 and 14.7 mL in the active and sham stimulation respectively, p < 0.05). Rectal compliance was not modified by active TENS. Pressure of the upper anal canal was significantly lower with raised isobaric distension in sequences assigned to active TENS.

Conclusions & Inferences

Acute TENS modified anorectal physiology by strengthening the myogenic response to distension rather than increasing muscle relaxation and related rectal compliance in patients with FI.
In a non‐human primate model, aging disrupts the neural control of intestinal smooth muscle contractility in a region‐specific manner
Authors: Tran L. , Greenwood‐Van Meerveld B.
Published: January 2014

Background

Incidences of gastrointestinal (GI) motility disorders increase with age. However, there is a paucity of knowledge about the aging mechanisms leading to GI dysmotility. Motility in the GI tract is a function of smooth muscle contractility, which is modulated in part by the enteric nervous system (ENS). Evidence suggests that aging impairs the ENS, thus we tested the hypothesis that senescence in the GI tract precipitates abnormalities in smooth muscle and neurally mediated contractility in a region‐specific manner.

Methods

Jejunal and colonic circular muscle strips were isolated from young (4–10 years) and old (18+ years) baboons. Myogenic responses were investigated using potassium chloride (KCl) and carbachol (CCh). Neurally mediated contractile responses were evoked by electrical field stimulation (EFS) and were recorded in the absence and presence of atropine (1 μM) or NG‐Nitro‐l‐arginine methyl ester (l‐NAME; 100 μM).

Key Results

The myogenic responses to KCl in the jejunum and colon were unaffected by age. In the colon, but not the jejunum, CCh‐induced contractile responses were reduced in aged animals. Compared to young baboons, there was enhanced EFS‐induced contractility of old baboon jejunal smooth muscle in contrast to the reduced contractility in the colon. The effect of atropine on the EFS response was lower in aged colonic tissue, suggesting reduced participation of acetylcholine. In aged jejunal tissue, higher contractile responses to EFS were found to be due to reduced nitregic inhibition.

Conclusions & Inferences

These findings provide key evidence for the importance of intestinal smooth muscle and ENS senescence in age‐associated GI motility disorders.
On the fiftieth anniversary Postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome: mechanisms related to pathogens
Authors: Grover M. , Camilleri M. , Smith K. , Linden D. R. , Farrugia G.
Published: January 2014

Background

Gastrointestinal (GI) infections resulting from bacterial, viral, and parasitic pathogens predispose to postinfectious irritable bowel syndrome (PI‐IBS) and other functional GI disorders. Existing literature supports the role of enterochromaffin cell hyperplasia, serotonin synthesis and reuptake, impaired barrier function, altered immune activation, and potentially mast cell activation in the pathophysiology of PI‐IBS.

Purpose

The objective of this review was to summarize from the literature the characteristics of the pathogens commonly implicated in PI‐IBS, their acute enteritis phases, and the changes seen in the postinfectious phase that may contribute toward development of IBS. A limitation of our current understanding is that the postinfectious GI sequelae reported in prior studies followed epidemic diarrheal outbreaks often involving more than one pathogen, or the studies focused on highly selected, tertiary referral patients. Understanding the mechanisms, natural history, and optimized management of individuals suffering PI‐IBS following the more typical sporadic infection requires larger studies of PI‐IBS following GI infections encountered in community settings. These studies should include genetic, physiological, and molecular studies to provide more generalizable information that can ultimately be used to diagnose, manage, and potentially prevent the development of PI‐IBS.
Teilhard's Take
Authors: ELLUL JACQUES
Published: January 2014

If the 20th Century was the century of physics, the 21st Century is the century of cybernetics, biology and ecology. Technological advance has both crossed new frontiers and discovered old limits.

Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine broke new ground with his understanding that nature, including its human component, seeks to establish order out of chaos by “self‐organizing,” not only according to pre‐determined laws, but through random creative choices as well that are responsible for the endless novelty and potentiality of being.

The technologically‐armed purposive role of humans in the Anthropocentric Age thus takes on a new significance: “What we do today depends on our image of the future rather than the future depending on what we do today” as Prigogine puts it. “The equations of the future are written in our actions as well as in nature. Time becomes construction.”

Nowhere is this truer than in the new science of genomics, which touches the soul, and in the effort to preserve the ecological balance that has enabled humanity to flourish within the narrow band of earth's livable climate.

In this section we bring together leading thinkers, scientists and technologists of our age to address these issues of mankind's fate.
The Century of Biology
Authors: VENTER J. CRAIG , COHEN DANIEL
Published: January 2014

If the 20th Century was the century of physics, the 21st Century is the century of cybernetics, biology and ecology. Technological advance has both crossed new frontiers and discovered old limits.

Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine broke new ground with his understanding that nature, including its human component, seeks to establish order out of chaos by “self‐organizing,” not only according to pre‐determined laws, but through random creative choices as well that are responsible for the endless novelty and potentiality of being.

The technologically‐armed purposive role of humans in the Anthropocentric Age thus takes on a new significance: “What we do today depends on our image of the future rather than the future depending on what we do today” as Prigogine puts it. “The equations of the future are written in our actions as well as in nature. Time becomes construction.”

Nowhere is this truer than in the new science of genomics, which touches the soul, and in the effort to preserve the ecological balance that has enabled humanity to flourish within the narrow band of earth's livable climate.

In this section we bring together leading thinkers, scientists and technologists of our age to address these issues of mankind's fate.
Neo‐Modern Ecology
Authors: TOURAINE ALAIN
Published: January 2014

If the 20th Century was the century of physics, the 21st Century is the century of cybernetics, biology and ecology. Technological advance has both crossed new frontiers and discovered old limits.

Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine broke new ground with his understanding that nature, including its human component, seeks to establish order out of chaos by “self‐organizing,” not only according to pre‐determined laws, but through random creative choices as well that are responsible for the endless novelty and potentiality of being.

The technologically‐armed purposive role of humans in the Anthropocentric Age thus takes on a new significance: “What we do today depends on our image of the future rather than the future depending on what we do today” as Prigogine puts it. “The equations of the future are written in our actions as well as in nature. Time becomes construction.”

Nowhere is this truer than in the new science of genomics, which touches the soul, and in the effort to preserve the ecological balance that has enabled humanity to flourish within the narrow band of earth's livable climate.

In this section we bring together leading thinkers, scientists and technologists of our age to address these issues of mankind's fate.
Theology not Ecology
Authors: BAHRO RUDOLF
Published: January 2014

If the 20th Century was the century of physics, the 21st Century is the century of cybernetics, biology and ecology. Technological advance has both crossed new frontiers and discovered old limits.

Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine broke new ground with his understanding that nature, including its human component, seeks to establish order out of chaos by “self‐organizing,” not only according to pre‐determined laws, but through random creative choices as well that are responsible for the endless novelty and potentiality of being.

The technologically‐armed purposive role of humans in the Anthropocentric Age thus takes on a new significance: “What we do today depends on our image of the future rather than the future depending on what we do today” as Prigogine puts it. “The equations of the future are written in our actions as well as in nature. Time becomes construction.”

Nowhere is this truer than in the new science of genomics, which touches the soul, and in the effort to preserve the ecological balance that has enabled humanity to flourish within the narrow band of earth's livable climate.

In this section we bring together leading thinkers, scientists and technologists of our age to address these issues of mankind's fate.
I Hope Artificial Intelligence Is Nice to Us
Authors: MUSK ELON
Published: January 2014

If the 20th Century was the century of physics, the 21st Century is the century of cybernetics, biology and ecology. Technological advance has both crossed new frontiers and discovered old limits.

Nobel laureate Ilya Prigogine broke new ground with his understanding that nature, including its human component, seeks to establish order out of chaos by “self‐organizing,” not only according to pre‐determined laws, but through random creative choices as well that are responsible for the endless novelty and potentiality of being.

The technologically‐armed purposive role of humans in the Anthropocentric Age thus takes on a new significance: “What we do today depends on our image of the future rather than the future depending on what we do today” as Prigogine puts it. “The equations of the future are written in our actions as well as in nature. Time becomes construction.”

Nowhere is this truer than in the new science of genomics, which touches the soul, and in the effort to preserve the ecological balance that has enabled humanity to flourish within the narrow band of earth's livable climate.

In this section we bring together leading thinkers, scientists and technologists of our age to address these issues of mankind's fate.
China and the Three Globalizations
Authors: BIJIAN ZHENG
Published: January 2014

The return of the Middle Kingdom to the center stage of history is the most significant geo‐civilizaitonal development of the 21st Century. China's rise raises anew the great question, thought settled after the Cold War, of what system of governance will stand on the right or wrong side of history. In this section the leading ideologists of the China model and its “peaceful rise” appear alongside the fiercest critics of China's way.
China Today: Misguided Socialism Plus Crony Capitalism
Authors: HUI WANG
Published: January 2014

The return of the Middle Kingdom to the center stage of history is the most significant geo‐civilizaitonal development of the 21st Century. China's rise raises anew the great question, thought settled after the Cold War, of what system of governance will stand on the right or wrong side of history. In this section the leading ideologists of the China model and its “peaceful rise” appear alongside the fiercest critics of China's way.
How China's New Leaders Think
Authors: BERGGRUEN NICOLAS , GARDELS NATHAN
Published: January 2014

The return of the Middle Kingdom to the center stage of history is the most significant geo‐civilizaitonal development of the 21st Century. China's rise raises anew the great question, thought settled after the Cold War, of what system of governance will stand on the right or wrong side of history. In this section the leading ideologists of the China model and its “peaceful rise” appear alongside the fiercest critics of China's way.
Busting the Masculine Mystique
Authors: FRIEDAN BETTY
Published: January 2014

For most of human history, the other half of the species, women, were on the sidelines. Now they are central actors in all our societies as we negotiate the fraught transition from male‐dominated tradition to modernity and beyond. In this section we hear the voices of powerful women who in their own lives are making this historic shift.
The Islamic Revolution: From the Shah to the Spice Girls
Authors: EBTEKAR MASOUMEH
Published: January 2014

For most of human history, the other half of the species, women, were on the sidelines. Now they are central actors in all our societies as we negotiate the fraught transition from male‐dominated tradition to modernity and beyond. In this section we hear the voices of powerful women who in their own lives are making this historic shift.
CYP3A5 genotypes affect tacrolimus pharmacokinetics and infectious complications in Chinese pediatric liver transplant patients
Authors: Xue Feng , Han Longzhi , Chen Yikuan , Xi Zhifeng , Li Qigen , Xu Ning , Xia Yun , Streicher Katie , Zhang Jianjun , Xia Qiang
Published: January 2014

Little information is available regarding the impact of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A5 on the metabolism of TAC in infant LTx. Therefore, the CYP3A5 genotype of Chinese pediatric recipients (intestine) as well as donors (graft liver) was performed for the purpose of establishing an optimal dosage regimen in children. Sixty‐four patients were divided according to CYP3A5 genotype (expression of *1 allele: EX and NEX) for each recipient (R) and donor (D), EX‐R/EX‐D (n = 21), EX‐R/NEX‐D (n = 8), NEX‐R/EX‐D (n = 8) and NEX‐R/NEX‐D (n = 27). Results indicated that initial TAC daily dose requirement was higher among EX‐R/EX‐D children compared with those who did not express CYP3A5 (0.28 ± 0.10 vs. 0.19 ± 0.08 mg/kg/day, p < 0.01). CYP3A5 expression contributed an overall of 38.35% to its C/D ratios, and graft liver was a key determinant. Additionally, the EX‐R/EX‐D group showed significantly higher incidence of infectious complications, lower immune response and was an independent risk factor for the development of infections (odds ratio 3.86, p = 0.025). Donor CYP3A5 expression partially explains TAC dose requirement, the effect of CYP3A5 variation may influence clinical outcomes; therefore, monitoring immune response may be important for preventing risks associated with under‐ and over‐immunosuppression.