bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Repetition pulse charging characteristics for homopolar inductor alternator with rectified capacitive load
Authors: Qingming Xin , Kexun Yu , Qilin You , Man Yuan
Published: November 2014

This paper presents the single pulse charging characteristics of a homopolar inductor alternator (HIA) with rectified capacitive load, and analyzes the relationship between HIA's voltage, HIA's frequency, charging voltage, and charging time. The process of energy conversion in the whole system and the proposed reasonable excitation current control method are also discussed. Experiments are carried out based on theoretical analysis and simulation. Both simulation and experimental results prove the validity and feasibility of the theoretical analysis and the excitation current control. We also prove the feasibility of high‐power and repetition pulse charging supply based on rotating storage. © 2014 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Plays Well With Others: A Study of EFL Learner Reciprocity in Action
Authors: Ozkose‐Biyik Cagri , Meskill Carla
Published: November 2014

Classroom observation studies suggest that the teacher‐calculus is complex and sensitive to learner behaviors. In language education, this becomes particularly important due to strong emphasis on productive interpersonal interaction. This study set out to understand what constitutes positive learning behaviors in an EFL context. The construct of learner reciprocity (Feuerstein, Feuerstein, Falik, & Rand, 2002; Lidz, 1991; Poehner, 2008; van der Aalsvoort & Lidz, 2002) was employed in analyzing classroom, interview, focus group, and research journal data amassed over a 2.5‐month period. Two focal students, one more reciprocal case and one less reciprocal case, provided contrasting data sets that exemplify the presence and absence of learner reciprocity. Contrasting illustrations of learner reciprocity in action as a component of understanding language teaching and learning are presented and discussed.
Synthesis of Some Novel Phthalocyanines with Methyl 2‐(oxy)‐2, 2‐diphenylacetate Substituents, Evaluation of Their Antioxidant‐ Antibacterial Activities and Electronic Properties
Authors: Ağırtaş M. Salih , Karataş Ceyhun , Gümüş Selçuk , Okumuş Veysi
Published: November 2014

The synthesis, characterization, spectral, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties of methyl 2‐(oxy)‐2, 2‐diphenylacetate substituted metallophthalocyanines (4–7) are reported. A novel phthalonitrile, methyl 2‐(2, 3‐dicyanophenoxy)‐2, 2‐diphenylacetate (3) was prepared and characterized. The new compounds were characterized by using electronic absorption spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. All compounds were tested for their antioxidant activity by using 2, 2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging ability, metal chelating, and reducing power. Furthermore, these compounds were screened for their in vitro growth inhibiting activity by disc diffusion method against four gram positive and two gram negative bacteria. The electronic data of the new compounds were obtained by computational calculations at B3LYP/6‐31G(d, p) level of theory.
Languages adapt to their contextual niche
Authors: WINTERS JAMES , KIRBY SIMON , SMITH KENNY
Published: November 2014

abstract

It is well established that context plays a fundamental role in how we learn and use language. Here we explore how context links short-term language use with the long-term emergence of different types of language system. Using an iterated learning model of cultural transmission, the current study experimentally investigates the role of the communicative situation in which an utterance is produced (situational context) and how it influences the emergence of three types of linguistic systems:underspecifiedlanguages (where only some dimensions of meaning are encoded linguistically),holisticsystems (lacking systematic structure), andsystematiclanguages (consisting of compound signals encoding both category-level and individuating dimensions of meaning). To do this, we set up a discrimination task in a communication game and manipulated whether the feature dimension shape was relevant or not in discriminating between two referents. The experimental languages gradually evolved to encode information relevant to the task of achieving communicative success, given the situational context in which they are learned and used, resulting in the emergence of different linguistic systems. These results suggest language systems adapt to their contextual niche over iterated learning.
Béarnais (Gascon)
Authors: Mooney Damien
Published: November 2014

The region of Béarn denotes the historically Romance-speaking part of the modern-day Pyrénées-Atlantiquesdépartementin south-western France. Thelangue d’ocor southern Gallo-Romance variety historically spoken in Béarn, commonly referred to as ‘Béarnais’, is a dialect of Gascon. This variety may also be referred to by its autoglossonym ‘Biarnés’ though the French term is the most widely used designation for the regional language. The number of Gascon speakers in south-western France increases steadily from north (Bordeaux) to south (the Pyrenees) and because Béarn is the area of linguistic Gascony with the highest recorded number of Gascon speakers (Moreux 2004), Béarnais may be considered the principal surviving dialect of Gascon, though other surviving dialects, such as ‘Gascon de Chalosse’, and ‘Landais’, are still spoken and written.
Durational properties of emphatically lengthened consonants in Japanese
Authors: Kawahara Shigeto , Braver Aaron
Published: November 2014

Languages can make use of phonetic duration to signal two kinds of meanings. The first is a lexical, phonological contrast. For example, in Japanese [kata] with a short [t] means ‘frame’ and [katta] with a long [tt] means ‘bought’. This sort of contrast is usually limited to a binary distinction, and its phonetic properties have been well studied for many diverse languages. The other use of phonetic duration is to express pragmatic emphasis. Speakers of some languages can use lengthening to express emphasis, as in the English exampleThank you sooooooo much. This lengthening can employ multiple degrees of duration, beyond the more standard binary contrast. This second use of duration has been understudied, and this paper attempts to fill that gap. To that end, this paper reports the first experimental documentation of the consonant lengthening pattern in Japanese, which expresses pragmatic emphasis. The results show that at least some speakers show six levels of durational distinctions, while other speakers show less clear-cut distinctions among different levels of emphatically lengthened consonants. Nevertheless, all but one speaker showed a linear correlation between duration and level of emphasis.
Northwest Sahaptin
Authors: Hargus Sharon , Beavert Virginia
Published: November 2014

Sahaptin is a Sahaptian language spoken in Washington and Oregon, U.S.A. Rigsby & Rude (1996) divide Sahaptin into three broad dialect areas: Northwest, Northeast, and Columbia River. This Illustration of the IPA reflects the Yakama (also spelled Yakima) subdialect (ykm) of Northwest Sahaptin. Sahaptin has fifty or fewer native speakers (Beavert & Jansen 2012). The second author is a native speaker of this dialect. Her voice is on the accompanying recordings.
In Memoriam
Authors: Keating Patricia A.
Published: November 2014

Regent Exeter (9 October 1959 – 26 March 2014), Shropshire, UK (Life member).

Prof. D. Dudley Knight (1 July 1939 – 25 June 2013), Professor Emeritus of Drama at the University of California, Irvine; actor and voice/dialect coach who taught the IPA to actors.

Prof. Dr. Horst Weinstock (25 June 1931 – 8 May 2013), Institut für Anglistik, Amerikanistik und Romanistik, Aachen University (Life member).
Surveying Hong Kong in the 1950s: Western humanitarians and the ‘problem’ of Chinese refugees
Authors: MADOKORO LAURA
Published: November 2014

At the end of the Second World War, there were over a million displaced persons and refugees in Europe alone. Hundreds of thousands of people were uprooted with the expansion of the Japanese empire across the Pacific Theater, and many others were similarly displaced when Japan was defeated. Others later fled civil conflicts, in South Asia, for instance, and in China, where thousands left the mainland during the final days of the Chinese Civil War. Among this massive displacement in Asia, unlike in Europe, only a few groups were identified as refugees. One such group consisted of the migrants in Hong Kong who, after 1949, were understood to be refugees fleeing communist oppression in the People's Republic of China. This article examines the critical role that surveys (population studies designed to account for, and define, refugee groups) played in shaping particular, Westernized Cold War understandings of the refugee experience in Hong Kong. These surveys were organized by non-state interests and undertaken with financial support from major American philanthropies. In examining the objectives and methodologies of the refugee surveys conducted in Hong Kong in the early 1950s, in contrast with studies undertaken contemporaneously in Europe, this article observes that, although at the time the flaws in the surveys were recognized and regularly disregarded in the pursuit of broad political objectives, scholars have failed to adequately recognize the subjective nature of the surveys' supposedly empirical evidence. As a result, the dominant European-based narrative about modern refugees has obfuscated the distinctive aspects of the refugee experience in Hong Kong.
The safety dance: biophysics of membrane protein folding and misfolding in a cellular context
Authors: Schlebach Jonathan P. , Sanders Charles R.
Published: November 2014

Most biological processes require the production and degradation of proteins, a task that weighs heavily on the cell. Mutations that compromise the conformational stability of proteins place both specific and general burdens on cellular protein homeostasis (proteostasis) in ways that contribute to numerous diseases. Efforts to elucidate the chain of molecular events responsible for diseases of protein folding address one of the foremost challenges in biomedical science. However, relatively little is known about the processes by which mutations prompt the misfolding ofα-helical membrane proteins, which rely on an intricate network of cellular machinery to acquire and maintain their functional structures within cellular membranes. In this review, we summarize the current understanding of the physical principles that guide membrane protein biogenesis and folding in the context of mammalian cells. Additionally, we explore how pathogenic mutations that influence biogenesis may differ from those that disrupt folding and assembly, as well as how this may relate to disease mechanisms and therapeutic intervention. These perspectives indicate an imperative for the use of information from structural, cellular, and biochemical studies of membrane proteins in the design of novel therapeutics and in personalized medicine.
Norm diffusion and health system strengthening: The persistent relevance of national leadership in global health governance
Authors: BROWN GARRETT WALLACE
Published: November 2014

Academics and policymakers often argue that global health policy greatly affects and influences national health systems because these policies transfer and implant ‘best practice’ norms and accountability techniques into local health systems. On the whole these arguments about the ‘diffusion of norms’ have merit since there is considerable evidence to suggest the existence of a positive correlation between global norms and national behaviour. Nevertheless, this article argues that traditional analytical frameworks to explain norm diffusion underplay the fact that norms are significantly ‘glocalised’ by national actors and further discount the role that national leadership plays in strengthening health systems. In response, this article presents a ten-year comparative paired study of the participatory governance mechanisms of the South African health system and its health strengthening measures. In doing so, the role of the national government in their relations with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (GFATM) will be examined and how key ‘partnership’ norms were amalgamated into health governance mechanisms. It will be argued that although global policy plays an important guiding role, health norms are never transcribed straightforwardly and a central element to successful health governance remains vested in the nation and the leadership role it exerts.
The Global Politics of Medicine: Beyond global health, against securitisation theory
Authors: HOWELL ALISON
Published: November 2014

This article makes the case for a new field in International Relations (IR): the Global Politics of Medicine. It argues that significant avenues of research can be opened up by focusing on medicine and the life sciences, in order to both challenge current IR theories, and develop new theoretical and empirical insights in IR. In particular, the article challenges the validity of securitisation theory, and specifically the argument that health has been securitised. Showing instead that medicine and warfare have been imbricated from the nineteenth century as strategies of population, it challenges securitisation theory's ahistoricism and its assumption that social security and international security (and the norm/exception) are analytically divisible. Bringing this into the present through the examples of triage, psychological resilience, and genetic intelligence in counterinsurgency, it traces how warfare and medicine now ambitiously seek to treat populations as sets of individual bodies. Arguing that we cannot retreat to some mythical state of politics ‘prior’ to securitisation, it draws out how the fields of war, health, and medicine are nonetheless highly contested. The article concludes by challenging the fields of Global Health, war, and security studies, but also suggests novel routes for pursuing the study of the Global Politics of Medicine.
Sitka spruce silviculture in Scottish forests
Authors: Low Alan J.
Published: November 2014

Synopsis

Sitka spruce is the most important species grown in Scottish forests thanks to its high yield potential, site tolerance and wood properties. It is easily raised from seed or cuttings, and can be readily established and tended under a wide range of site conditions using uncomplicated silvicultural techniques. Spaced furrow ploughing and site drainage are normally required for afforestation; and cultivation may also be desirable prior to restocking. Planting at 2500 trees/ha is done in late winter and spring. Weed control may be necessary, particularly to prevent Calluna-induced growth check. On poor sites, repeated fertiliser application prior to canopy closure can be essential to ensure satisfactory growth, and use of nursing mixtures may be worthwhile. Wherever possible, pole stage crops are thinned regularly to enhance stem quality and diameter growth, but on high windthrow hazard sites the onset of windthrow can be delayed by leaving crops unthinned. After an economic rotation of forty-five to sixty years, crops are clear felled and replanted. During establishment, deer control measures are often required to prevent browsing damage. Damage by insects and fungi is seldom serious, provided that bark-feeding insects are controlled by insecticide at time of replanting, and development of fungal butt rot is minimised by urea treatment of fresh stumps.
Singular Value Decomposition-based Robust Cubature Kalman Filtering for an Integrated GPS/SINS Navigation System
Authors: Zhang Qiuzhao , Meng Xiaolin , Zhang Shubi , Wang Yunjia
Published: November 2014

A new nonlinear robust filter is proposed in this paper to deal with the outliers of an integrated Global Positioning System/Strapdown Inertial Navigation System (GPS/SINS) navigation system. The influence of different design parameters for an H∞cubature Kalman filter is analysed. It is found that when the design parameter is small, the robustness of the filter is stronger. However, the design parameter is easily out of step in the Riccati equation and the filter easily diverges. In this respect, a singular value decomposition algorithm is employed to replace the Cholesky decomposition in the robust cubature Kalman filter. With large conditions for the design parameter, the new filter is more robust. The test results demonstrate that the proposed filter algorithm is more reliable and effective in dealing with the outliers in the data sets produced by the integrated GPS/SINS system.
Precise Point Positioning using Triple-Frequency GPS Measurements
Authors: Elsobeiey Mohamed
Published: November 2014

Precise Point Positioning (PPP) performance is improving under the ongoing Global Positioning System (GPS) modernisation program. The availability of the third frequency, L5, enables triple-frequency combinations. However, to utilise the modernised L5 signal along with the existing GPS signals, P1-C5 differential code bias must be determined. In this paper, the global network of Multi-Global Navigation Satellite System Experiment (MGEX) stations was used to estimate P1-C5 satellites differential code biases $(DCB_{P1 - C5}^S )$. Mathematical background for triple-frequency linear combinations was provided along with the resultant noise and ionosphere amplification factors. Nine triple-frequency linear combinations were chosen, based on different criteria, for processing the modernised L5 signal along with the legacy GPS signals. Finally, test results using real GPS data from ten MGEX stations were provided showing the benefits of the availability of the third frequency on PPP solution convergence time and the precision of the estimated parameters. It was shown that triple-frequency combinations could improve the PPP convergence time and the precision of the estimated parameters by about 10%. These results are considered promising for using the modernised GPS signals for precise positioning applications especially when the fully modernised GPS constellation is available.
Sociolinguistic convergence and social interactions within a group of preschoolers: A longitudinal study
Authors: Nardy Aurélie , Chevrot Jean-Pierre , Barbu Stéphanie
Published: November 2014

Sociolinguistic studies have shown that linguistic usage is closely related to social relationships and interactions between individuals. This has been established in adults and adolescents but developmental studies involving children are lacking. This paper studies whether and how peers influence the acquisition of social dialects in young children by using direct observations and quantitative analyses of spontaneous peer interactions and relationships at kindergarten. The longitudinal follow-up of one group of French-speaking children 4 to 5 years of age shows that the individual scores of sociolinguistic variables converge after one year of frequent contact. Moreover, we find that children who interact more frequently adopt similar usage of sociolinguistic variables, whereas other factors have no influence (teacher's speech, child's awareness of standard sociolinguistics norms, reported interpersonal attraction). These results provide the first evidence that social interactions within the peer group do have an influence on children's linguistic usage through daily interactions at an early age.
Genetic moderation of child maltreatment effects on depression and internalizing symptoms by serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), norepinephrine transporter (NET), and corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1 (CRHR1) genes in African American children
Authors: Cicchetti Dante , Rogosch Fred A.
Published: November 2014

Genetic moderation of the effects of child maltreatment on depression and internalizing symptoms was investigated in a sample of low-income maltreated and nonmaltreated African American children (N= 1,096). Lifetime child maltreatment experiences were independently coded from Child Protective Services records and maternal report. Child depression and internalizing problems were assessed in the context of a summer research camp by self-report on the Children's Depression Inventory and adult counselor report on the Teacher Report Form. DNA was obtained from buccal cell or saliva samples and genotyped for polymorphisms of the following genes: serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), norepinephrine transporter, and corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1. Analyses of covariance with age and gender as covariates were conducted, with maltreatment status and respective polymorphism as main effects and their Gene × Environment (G × E) interactions. Maltreatment consistently was associated with higher Children's Depression Inventory and Teacher Report Form symptoms. The results for child self-report symptoms indicated a G × E interaction forBDNFand maltreatment. In addition,BDNFand triallelic5-HTTLPRinteracted with child maltreatment in a G × G × E interaction. Analyses for counselor report of child anxiety/depression symptoms on the Teacher Report Form indicated moderation of child maltreatment effects by triallelic5-HTTLPR. These effects were elaborated based on variation in developmental timing of maltreatment experiences. Norepinephrine transporter was found to further moderate the G × E interaction of5-HTTLPRand maltreatment status, revealing a G × G × E interaction. This G × G × E was extended by consideration of variation in maltreatment subtype experiences. Finally, G × G × E effects were observed for the co-action ofBDNFand the corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1 haplotype. The findings illustrate the variable influence of specific genotypes in G × E interactions based on variation in maltreatment experiences and the importance of a multigenic approach for understanding influences on depression and internalizing symptoms among African American children.
Interpersonal cognitive biases as genetic markers for pediatric depressive symptoms: Twin data from the Emotions, Cognitions, Heredity and Outcome (ECHO) study
Authors: Lau Jennifer Y. F. , Belli Stefano R. , Gregory Alice M. , Eley Thalia C.
Published: November 2014

Childhood depressive symptoms may arise from genetic and environmental risks, which act to bias the ways in which children process emotional information. Previous studies show that several “cognitive biases” are heritable and share genetic and environmental risks with depressive symptoms. Past research suggests that many cognitive biases only reflect genetic risks for depressive symptoms from adolescence. The present study sought to identify (a) when interpersonal cognitions mature as risk factors for depressive symptoms by examining whether these factors are stable and predict symptoms across time in childhood, and (b) the extent to which interpersonal cognitions reflect inherited/environmental risks on children's depressive symptoms. Results showed that there was some stability for interpersonal cognitive biases from age 8 to 10 years (rs = .32–.43). Only the absence of positive self/other perceptions, and negative peer and mother expectations at age 8 predicted depressive symptoms at age 10 (after controlling for depressive symptoms at age 8). The absence of positive self/other perceptions shared genetic influences with depressive symptoms within and across time. Across middle to late childhood, interpersonal cognitions begin to operate as vulnerability-trait factors for depressive symptoms, gradually reflecting distal genetic risks on symptoms.
Dynamic changes in amygdala activation and functional connectivity in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders
Authors: Swartz Johnna R. , Phan K. Luan , Angstadt Mike , Fitzgerald Kate D. , Monk Christopher S.
Published: November 2014

Anxiety disorders are associated with abnormalities in amygdala function and prefrontal cortex–amygdala connectivity. The majority of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have examined mean group differences in amygdala activation or connectivity in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders relative to controls, but emerging evidence suggests that abnormalities in amygdala function are dependent on the timing of the task and may vary across the course of a scanning session. The goal of the present study was to extend our knowledge of the dynamics of amygdala dysfunction by examining whether changes in amygdala activation and connectivity over scanning differ in pediatric anxiety disorder patients relative to typically developing controls during an emotion processing task. Examining changes in activation over time allows for a comparison of how brain function differs during initial exposure to novel stimuli versus more prolonged exposure. Participants included 34 anxiety disorder patients and 19 controls 7 to 19 years old. Participants performed an emotional face-matching task during functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning, and the task was divided into thirds in order to examine change in activation over time. Results demonstrated that patients exhibited an abnormal pattern of amygdala activation characterized by an initially heightened amygdala response relative to controls at the beginning of scanning, followed by significant decreases in activation over time. In addition, controls evidenced greater context-modulated prefrontal cortex–amygdala connectivity during the beginning of scanning relative to patients. These results indicate that differences in emotion processing between the groups vary from initial exposure to novel stimuli relative to more prolonged exposure. Implications are discussed regarding how this pattern of neural activation may relate to altered early-occurring or anticipatory emotion-regulation strategies and maladaptive later-occurring strategies in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders.
Regulating sadness and fear from outside and within: Mothers' emotion socialization and adolescents' parasympathetic regulation predict the development of internalizing difficulties
Authors: Hastings Paul D. , Klimes-Dougan Bonnie , Kendziora Kimberly T. , Brand Ann , Zahn-Waxler Carolyn
Published: November 2014

Multilevel models of developmental psychopathology implicate both characteristics of the individual and their rearing environment in the etiology of internalizing problems and disorders. Maladaptive regulation of fear and sadness, the core of anxiety and depression, arises from the conjoint influences of ineffective parasympathetic regulation of emotion and ineffective emotion socialization experiences. In 171 youths (84 female,M= 13.69 years,SD= 1.84), we measured changes of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in response to sadness- and fear-inducing film clips and maternal supportive and punitive responses to youths' internalizing emotions. Youths and mothers reported on youths' internalizing problems and anxiety and depression symptoms concurrently and 2 years later at Time 2. Maternal supportive emotion socialization predicted fewer, and punitive socialization predicted more, mother-reported internalizing problems at Time 2 only for youths who showed RSA suppression to fear-inducing films. More RSA suppression to sadness-inducing films predicted more youth-reported internalizing problems at Time 2 in girls only. In addition, less supportive emotion socialization predicted more youth-reported depression symptoms at Time 2 only for girls who showed more RSA suppression to sadness. RSA suppression to sadness versus fear might reflect different patterns of atypical parasympathetic regulation of emotional arousal, both of which increase the risk for internalizing difficulties in youths, and especially girls, who lack maternal support for regulating emotions.
Two prospective studies of changes in stress generation across depressive episodes in adolescents and emerging adults
Authors: Morris Matthew C. , Kouros Chrystyna D. , Hellman Natalie , Rao Uma , Garber Judy
Published: November 2014

The stress generation hypothesis was tested in two different longitudinal studies examining relations between weekly depression symptom ratings and stress levels in adolescents and emerging adults at varied risk for depression. The participants in Study 1 included 240 adolescents who differed with regard to their mothers' history of depressive disorders. Youth were assessed annually across 6 years (Grades 6–12). Consistent with the depression autonomy model, higher numbers of prior major depressive episodes (MDEs) were associated with weaker stress generation effects, such that higher levels of depressive symptoms predicted increases in levels of dependent stressors for adolescents with two or more prior MDEs, but depressive symptoms were not significantly related to dependent stress levels for youth with three or more prior MDEs. In Study 2, the participants were 32 remitted-depressed and 36 never-depressed young adults who completed a psychosocial stress task to determine cortisol reactivity and were reassessed for depression and stress approximately 8 months later. Stress generation effects were moderated by cortisol responses to a laboratory psychosocial stressor, such that individuals with higher cortisol responses exhibited a pattern consistent with the depression autonomy model, whereas individuals with lower cortisol responses showed a pattern more consistent with the depression sensitization model. Finally, comparing across the two samples, stress generation effects were weaker for older participants and for those with more prior MDEs. The complex, multifactorial relation between stress and depression is discussed.
Coping with having a depressed mother: The role of stress and coping in hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis dysfunction in girls at familial risk for major depression
Authors: Foland-Ross Lara C. , Kircanski Katharina , Gotlib Ian H.
Published: November 2014

Having a depressed mother is one of the strongest predictors of depression in adolescence. We investigated whether the stress of having a mother with recurrent depression is associated with dysfunction in adolescents in the HPA axis and whether the tendency to use involuntary coping strategies in dealing with this stress is associated with exacerbation of dysfunction in this system. Sixty-four never-disordered daughters of mothers with recurrent depression (high risk) and 64 never-disordered daughters of never-disordered mothers (low risk) completed diurnal cortisol and stress assessments. High-risk girls secreted more diurnal cortisol than did low-risk girls. Whereas low-risk girls secreted higher levels of cortisol with increasing stress associated with having a depressed mother, no such relation was present in high-risk girls. Finally, in contrast to low-risk girls, girls at familial risk for depression who more frequently used involuntary versus voluntary coping exhibited the greatest elevations in diurnal cortisol. These findings indicate that a tendency to utilize involuntary, as opposed to voluntary, coping strategies in dealing with stress involving maternal depression exacerbates already high levels of cortisol in youth at risk for depression. Future research that examines whether interventions aimed at increasing the use of voluntary coping strategies normalizes HPA axis dysfunction is of interest.
Occupational Risk Factors in the Emergency Medical Services
Authors: Donnelly Elizabeth , Siebert Darcy
Published: November 2014

Introduction:

During a medical emergency, the American public often relies on the expertise of emergency medical technicians (EMTs). These professionals face a number of occupational hazards, and the literature suggests that EMTs are at a greater risk of developing physical and mental stress-related disorders. The purpose of this paper is to systematically examine gaps in the extant literature and to present a theoretically driven conceptual model to serve as a basis for future intervention and research efforts.

Methods:

A systematic review of the literature was conducted utilizing rele-vant databases (e.g., PsychInfo, Medline). All empirical articles regarding emergency medical responders were reviewed, but given the limited research available, relevant theoretical and conceptual literature on the constructs of interest in other, related populations also were included. Based on this extensive review, a modification of the stress process model is suggested to explain the relationships among occupational stress exposure, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and high-risk alcohol and other drug use.

Results:

Exposure to traumatic events was reported to be between 80% and 100% among EMTs, and rates of PTSD are >20%. High-risk alcohol and drug use rates among other emergency response professionals were reported to be as high as 40%. The proposed model suggests direct linkages between occupationally related stress exposure, including chronic and critical incident stress, PTSD, and high-risk alcohol and other drug use. Social support and personal resources (e.g., coping, locus of control) are proposed to have mediating and moderating influences on the three main constructs, and cohesion is introduced as an important, idiosyncratic influence in this population. The moderating influences of gender, age, ethnicity, marital status, and socioeconomic status, level of training, and years of service are included in the proposed model.

Conclusions:

High-risk alcohol and other drug use and post-traumatic symptomatology pose substantial risks for EMTs, and consequently, for the patients they serve. It is imperative that researchers develop and test a theoretically grounded model of risk and protective factors that will guide intervention development and future study. The model suggested in this paper, based on a comprehensive literature review and development of theory, represents a critical first step in the intervention research process.
Pitfalls and Challenges in Constructing Short Forms of Cognitive Ability Measures
Authors: Schipolowski Stefan , Schroeders Ulrich , Wilhelm Oliver
Published: November 2014

Especially in survey research and large-scale assessment there is a growing interest in short scales for the cost-efficient measurement of psychological constructs. However, only relatively few standardized short forms are available for the measurement of cognitive abilities. In this article we point out pitfalls and challenges typically encountered in the construction of cognitive short forms. First we discuss item selection strategies, the analysis of binary response data, the problem of floor and ceiling effects, and issues related to measurement precision and validity. We subsequently illustrate these challenges and how to deal with them based on an empirical example, the development of short forms for the measurement of crystallized intelligence. Scale shortening had only small effects on associations with covariates. Even for an ultra-short six-item scale, a unidimensional measurement model showed excellent fit and yielded acceptable reliability. However, measurement precision on the individual level was very low and the short forms were more likely to produce skewed score distributions in ability-restricted subpopulations. We conclude that short scales may serve as proxies for cognitive abilities in typical research settings, but their use for decisions on the individual level should be discouraged in most cases.
Testing the Assumption of Uncorrelated Errors for Short Scales by Means of Structural Equation Modeling
Authors: Beauducel André , Leue Anja
Published: November 2014

It is shown that a minimal assumption should be added to the assumptions of Classical Test Theory (CTT) in order to have positive inter-item correlations, which are regarded as a basis for the aggregation of items. Moreover, it is shown that the assumption of zero correlations between the error score estimates is substantially violated in the population of individuals when the number of items is small. Instead, a negative correlation between error score estimates occurs. The reason for the negative correlation is that the error score estimates for different items of a scale are based on insufficient true score estimates when the number of items is small. A test of the assumption of uncorrelated error score estimates by means of structural equation modeling (SEM) is proposed that takes this effect into account. The SEM-based procedure is demonstrated by means of empirical examples based on the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised.
The pool of preactivated Lck in the initiation of T‐cell signaling: a critical re‐evaluation of the Lck standby model
Authors: Ballek Ondřej , Valečka Jan , Manning Jasper , Filipp Dominik
Published: November 2014

The initiation of T‐cell receptor (TCR) signaling, based on the cobinding of TCR and CD4‐Lck heterodimer to a peptide–major histocompatibility complex II on antigen presenting cells, represents a classical model of T‐cell signaling. What is less clear however, is the mechanism which translates TCR engagement to the phosphorylation of immunoreceptor tyrosine‐based activation motifs on CD3 chains and how this event is coupled to the delivery of Lck function. Recently proposed ‘standby model of Lck’ posits that resting T‐cells contain an abundant pool of constitutively active Lck (pY394Lck) required for TCR triggering, and this amount, upon TCR engagement, remains constant. Here, we show that although maintenance of the limited pool of pY394Lck is necessary for the generation of TCR proximal signals in a time‐restricted fashion, the total amount of this pool, ~2%, is much smaller than previously reported (~40%). We provide evidence that this dramatic discrepancy in the content of pY394Lckis likely the consequence of spontaneous phosphorylation of Lck that occurred after cell solubilization. Additional discrepancies can be accounted for by the sensitivity of different pY394Lck‐specific antibodies and the type of detergents used. These data suggest that reagents and conditions used for the quantification of signaling parameters must be carefully validated and interpreted. Thus, the limited size of pY394Lck pool in primary T‐cells invites a discussion regarding the adjustment of the quantitative parameters of the standby model of Lck and reevaluation of the mechanism by which this pool contributes to the generation of proximal TCR signaling.
Environmental metabarcoding reveals heterogeneous drivers of microbial eukaryote diversity in contrasting estuarine ecosystems
Authors: Lallias Delphine , Hiddink Jan G , Fonseca Vera G , Gaspar John M , Sung Way , Neill Simon P , Barnes Natalie , Ferrero Tim , Hall Neil , Lambshead P John D , Packer Margaret , Thomas W Kelley , Creer Simon
Published: November 2014

Assessing how natural environmental drivers affect biodiversity underpins our understanding of the relationships between complex biotic and ecological factors in natural ecosystems. Of all ecosystems, anthropogenically important estuaries represent a ‘melting pot’ of environmental stressors, typified by extreme salinity variations and associated biological complexity. Although existing models attempt to predict macroorganismal diversity over estuarine salinity gradients, attempts to model microbial biodiversity are limited for eukaryotes. Although diatoms commonly feature as bioindicator species, additional microbial eukaryotes represent a huge resource for assessing ecosystem health. Of these, meiofaunal communities may represent the optimal compromise between functional diversity that can be assessed using morphology and phenotype–environment interactions as compared with smaller life fractions. Here, using 454 Roche sequencing of the 18S nSSU barcode we investigate which of the local natural drivers are most strongly associated with microbial metazoan and sampled protist diversity across the full salinity gradient of the estuarine ecosystem. In order to investigate potential variation at the ecosystem scale, we compare two geographically proximate estuaries (Thames and Mersey, UK) with contrasting histories of anthropogenic stress. The data show that although community turnover is likely to be predictable, taxa are likely to respond to different environmental drivers and, in particular, hydrodynamics, salinity range and granulometry, according to varied life-history characteristics. At the ecosystem level, communities exhibited patterns of estuary-specific similarity within different salinity range habitats, highlighting the environmental sequencing biomonitoring potential of meiofauna, dispersal effects or both.
Significance of archaeal nitrification in hypoxic waters of the Baltic Sea
Authors: Berg Carlo , Vandieken Verona , Thamdrup Bo , Jürgens Klaus
Published: November 2014

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) of the phylum Thaumarchaeota are widespread, and their abundance in many terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems suggests a prominent role in nitrification. AOA also occur in high numbers in oxygen-deficient marine environments, such as the pelagic redox gradients of the central Baltic Sea; however, data on archaeal nitrification rates are scarce and little is known about the factors, for example sulfide, that regulate nitrification in this system. In the present work, we assessed the contribution of AOA to ammonia oxidation rates in Baltic deep basins and elucidated the impact of sulfide on this process. Rate measurements with 15N-labeled ammonium, CO2 dark fixation measurements and quantification of AOA by catalyzed reporter deposition–fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed that among the three investigated sites the highest potential nitrification rates (122–884 nmol l−1per day) were measured within gradients of decreasing oxygen, where thaumarchaeotal abundance was maximal (2.5–6.9 × 105 cells per ml) and CO2 fixation elevated. In the presence of the archaeal-specific inhibitor GC7, nitrification was reduced by 86–100%, confirming the assumed dominance of AOA in this process. In samples spiked with sulfide at concentrations similar to those of in situ conditions, nitrification activity was inhibited but persisted at reduced rates. This result together with the substantial nitrification potential detected in sulfidic waters suggests the tolerance of AOA to periodic mixing of anoxic and sulfidic waters. It begs the question of whether the globally distributed Thaumarchaeota respond similarly in other stratified water columns or whether the observed robustness against sulfide is a specific feature of the thaumarchaeotal subcluster present in the Baltic Deeps.
Exosomes secreted by nematode parasites transfer small RNAs to mammalian cells and modulate innate immunity
Authors: Buck Amy H. , Coakley Gillian , Simbari Fabio , McSorley Henry J. , Quintana Juan F. , Le Bihan Thierry , Kumar Sujai , Abreu-Goodger Cei , Lear Marissa , Harcus Yvonne , Ceroni Alessandro , Babayan Simon A. , Blaxter Mark , Ivens Alasdair , Maizels Rick M.
Published: November 2014

In mammalian systems RNA can move between cells via vesicles. Here we demonstrate that the gastrointestinal nematodeHeligmosomoides polygyrus, which infects mice, secretes vesicles containing microRNAs (miRNAs) and Y RNAs as well as a nematode Argonaute protein. These vesicles are of intestinal origin and are enriched for homologues of mammalian exosome proteins. Administration of the nematode exosomes to mice suppresses Type 2 innate responses and eosinophilia induced by the allergenAlternaria.Microarray analysis of mouse cells incubated with nematode exosomesin vitroidentifies Il33r and Dusp1 as suppressed genes, and Dusp1 can be repressed by nematode miRNAs based on a reporter assay. We further identify miRNAs from the filarial nematodeLitomosoides sigmodontisin the serum of infected mice, suggesting that miRNA secretion into host tissues is conserved among parasitic nematodes. These results reveal exosomes as another mechanism by which helminths manipulate their hosts and provide a mechanistic framework for RNA transfer between animal species.
Ultralow mode-volume photonic crystal nanobeam cavities for high-efficiency coupling to individual carbon nanotube emitters
Authors: Miura R. , Imamura S. , Ohta R. , Ishii A. , Liu X. , Shimada T. , Iwamoto S. , Arakawa Y. , Kato Y. K.
Published: November 2014

The unique emission properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes are attractive for achieving increased functionality in integrated photonics. In addition to being room-temperature telecom-band emitters that can be directly grown on silicon, they are ideal for coupling to nanoscale photonic structures. Here we report on high-efficiency coupling of individual air-suspended carbon nanotubes to silicon photonic crystal nanobeam cavities. Photoluminescence images of dielectric- and air-mode cavities reflect their distinctly different mode profiles and show that fields in the air are important for coupling. We find that the air-mode cavities couple more efficiently, and estimated spontaneous emission coupling factors reach a value as high as 0.85. Our results demonstrate advantages of ultralow mode-volumes in air-mode cavities for coupling to low-dimensional nanoscale emitters.
Loss of PHD3 allows tumours to overcome hypoxic growth inhibition and sustain proliferation through EGFR
Authors: Henze Anne-Theres , Garvalov Boyan K. , Seidel Sascha , Cuesta Angel M. , Ritter Mathias , Filatova Alina , Foss Franziska , Dopeso Higinio , Essmann Clara L. , Maxwell Patrick H. , Reifenberger Guido , Carmeliet Peter , Acker-Palmer Amparo , Acker Till
Published: November 2014

Solid tumours are exposed to microenvironmental factors such as hypoxia that normally inhibit cell growth. However, tumour cells are capable of counteracting these signals through mechanisms that are largely unknown. Here we show that the prolyl hydroxylase PHD3 restrains tumour growth in response to microenvironmental cues through the control of EGFR. PHD3 silencing in human gliomas or genetic deletion in a murine high-grade astrocytoma model markedly promotes tumour growth and the ability of tumours to continue growing under unfavourable conditions. The growth-suppressive function of PHD3 is independent of the established PHD3 targets HIF and NF-κB and its hydroxylase activity. Instead, loss of PHD3 results in hyperphosphorylation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Importantly, epigenetic/genetic silencing of PHD3 preferentially occurs in gliomas without EGFR amplification. Our findings reveal that PHD3 inactivation provides an alternative route of EGFR activation through which tumour cells sustain proliferative signalling even under conditions of limited oxygen availability.