bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Leaf-litter preferences of the introduced freshwater shrimps Atyaephyra desmarestii and Neocaridina davidi
Authors: Schoolmann Gerhard , Arndt Hartmut
Published: November 2017

Detailed knowledge of the significance of shrimps in freshwater food webs is very limited. However, determination of the current potential invasion of shrimps into European freshwater systems requires information on their ecology and feeding behaviour. Atyaephyra desmarestii has established stable populations in Western and Central Europe, while the ornamental species Neocaridina davidi was released in 2009 into a small tributary of the Erft River (North Rhine Westphalia, Germany), where it has thrived. Both species use leaf-litter as a significant food source. In this study, we assessed a reproducible method to compare the preferences of this two shrimp species for decaying leaves of four different species of deciduous tree: alder (Alnus glutinosa), Italian poplar (Populus x canadensis), pedunculate oak (Quercus robur) and goat willow (Salix caprea). We also determined the relevance of A. desmarestii and N. davidi in leaf-litter breakdown. Adults of both species showed a significant preference for leaves of alder and Italian poplar, whereas juvenile individuals did not favour any particular leaf species. A. desmarestii and N. davidi adults exhibited higher night-time than daytime activity. Diurnal consumption rates were determined for N. davidi. It consumed 51.0% leaf litter dry weight per body dry weight per day. Alnus and Salix leaves (including biofilm) made up the majority of the diet of Neocaridina, followed by Populus and Quercus leaves. Our results demonstrate the distinct relevance of leaf-litter in the diet of freshwater shrimps, and their role in leaf-litter breakdown. While the invasion potential of A. desmarestii seems to be relatively low, at least for now, N. davidi has thus far been a very successful invader. This is supported by its high feeding rates on leaf litter of the regional vegetation. Since there is no indigenous shrimp species in the study area, the potential implications of the invasion process merit further investigation.
Two new cryptic species of Artemia (Branchiopoda, Anostraca) from Mongolia and the possibility of invasion and disturbance by the aquaculture industry in East Asia
Authors: Naganawa Hidetoshi , Mura Graziella
Published: November 2017

Among each of the two different bisexual clades of the brine shrimp Artemia in Asia, at least two cryptic species of Artemia (one in each clade) were found in Mongolia in the present study. As in other, similar cases, once the discreteness of such units at species level is known, meticulous observations using light microscopy will reveal distinguishable morphological differences with other congeners, slight as those features may be. In such classifications, the emphasis usually lies on structures of the copulatory organs, as the small differences present in most cases are best expressed in those organs that primarily ensure the species’ reproductive isolation. Since physical differences in the reproductive organs will tend to (partly) obstruct effective mating, it may be presumed this is likely to result in (some degree of) reproductive isolation, the prime criterion for recognizing biological species.

Two cryptic species from Mongolia are described herein, and our results also showed for one of them an extremely rapid individual growth and very early maturity: in fact it makes the most extreme r-strategist documented, at least, as far as we know. One of the consequences of this observation could be, that where such Artemia cysts (i.e., resting eggs) are used as inoculations in aquaculture activities, these should be monitored closely and, as required, be subjected to adequate, perhaps more stringent regulations. The present authors are not aquaculture scientists but researchers of the genus Artemia, so for us, inoculation under natural conditions in the field is our direct concern. We report a highly reproductive Artemia species as new to science, but at the same time, we worry that this new species could escape from the aquaculture industry into the natural environment. This is because in this type of aquaculture no isolated basins are used but only incompletely separated, i.e., only partially screened off, parts of natural water bodies. Artemia franciscana Kellogg, 1906, as well as parthenogenetic populations of Artemia could be disturbed by escapees of that extremely prolific new species.
Life in a Dead Language
Authors: Nelson Matthew
Published: November 2017

Literature written in Sanskrit after the onset of British colonialism is sorely neglected. Modern Sanskrit, as it is often called, suffers from the bad image of being written in a dead language. Many of its writers would disagree with that image, but they would know that they are disagreeing. That defensiveness has come to shape their writing, a fact which I argue arises in response to the status of their work as an ultraminor literature, a status which was born with the formation of the “world literature” field and its elevation/absorption of classical Sanskrit at the expense of the latter’s perceived potential for contemporaneity.
Yoko Tawada’s Kafka Kaikoku
Authors: Rotaru Arina
Published: November 2017

Despite the vast body of scholarship on Yoko Tawada, an author who writes in both German and Japanese, her work has not been examined in light of the question of modernity. Through a close reading of her play Kafka Kaikoku and an examination of recent world literary theories, this paper situates Tawada’s work in relation to a complicated nexus that features as protagonists two contemporaneous authors, Franz Kafka and Izumi Kyōka, engaging with their migrations between pre-modern and modern pasts. How does this complicated temporal dimension re-imagine putative divisions between East and West in relation to modernity and modernities, and how does that affect our understanding of world literature? My paper proposes the notion of “interlaced modernities” to address these questions and reflects on its implications for world literature.
The Archeology of Minor Literature
Authors: Tuckerová Veronika
Published: November 2017

This article takes a “genealogical” approach to the concept of minor literature. It argues that the concept of minor literature originated with the idea of “triple ghetto” that emerged in the Prague Czech-German-Jewish environment and was applied to explain the work of Kafka and his fellow Prague writers. Minor literature is the most famous application of the “triple ghetto” concept. A close reconsideration of Kafka’s German/Czech/Jewish Prague reveals interesting relations among several “small,” “minor” and “ultraminor” literatures, relationships that Deleuze and Guattari overlooked. The relationships between various literary entities in Prague extend beyond the binary positioning of “minor” and “major” inherent in the concept of minor literature. In addition to Kafka’s relationship to German literature, we need to consider Kafka’s relationship to the “small” Czech literature, the marginal “ultraminor” German and German Jewish and Czech Jewish literatures of his times, and perhaps most interestingly, to writers who were equally at home in German and Czech.
Acrolejeunea meghalayensis, a new synonym of Acrolejeunea recurvata (Lejeuneaceae: Marchantiophyta)
Authors: MAJUMDAR SHUVADEEP , DEY MONALISA
Published: November 2017

Acrolejeunea meghalayensis is designated as a synonym under A. recurvata.
Reevaluation of the type species and redescription of five species of Edessa (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Edessinae)
Authors: SILVA VALERIA JULIETE DA , RIDER DAVID A. , FERNANDES JOSE ANTONIO MARIN
Published: November 2017

In accordance with the rules in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, the type species for the genus Edessa Fabricius, 1803 is now recognized to be Cimex antilope Fabricius, 1798 rather than the previously recognized Cimex cervus Fabricius, 1787. Edessa antilope is redescribed, as well as the following four species that have in the past been related or compared to E. antilope: E. arabs (Linnaeus, 1758) from French Guiana, Costa Rica and Panama (new record), E. helix Erichson, 1848 from Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, Suriname (new record), Guyana, Brazil (new record), Bolivia (new record) and Argentina (new record), E. ibex Breddin, 1903 from Costa Rica, Panama (new record), Ecuador, Brazil (new record), Peru and Bolivia (new record), and E. taurina Stål, 1862 from Mexico, Guatemala, Belize (new record), Honduras (new record). The distribution of Edessa antilope is expanded to Venezuela. The female of E. antilope and the male of E. taurina are described for the first time. Edessa antilope is removed from the synonymy of E. arabs and reinstated as valid species; additionally, E. costalis Stål, 1872 is removed from the synonym of E. helix and is placed as a junior synonym of E. antilope. Edessa saiga Breddin, 1903 is considered a junior synonym of E. ibex. Lectotypes are designated for all species. A key is provided for the identification of the species.
A new species of gecko (Squamata: Diplodactylidae: Strophurus) from central Queensland, Australia
Authors: VANDERDUYS ERIC
Published: November 2017

A new species of diplodactylid gecko in the genus Strophurus Fitzinger, from central Queensland, Australia, is described herein as Strophurus trux sp. nov. It is similar to the recently described Strophurus congoo Vanderduys from north Queensland and apparently shares a habitat preference for Triodia hummock open woodlands. It is notably different from the latter in possessing a vivid yellow to golden eye. It is only known from one small area of the Brigalow Belt Bioregion, although it is expected to occur more widely than the one area in which it has been found. It is likely that it is endemic to the Brigalow Belt Bioregion.
Role of Neuron-Glial Interaction Mediated by IL-1β in Ectopic Tooth Pain
Authors: Komiya H. , Shimizu K. , Noma N. , Tsuboi Y. , Honda K. , Kanno K. , Ohara K. , Shinoda M. , Ogiso B. , Iwata K.
Published: November 2017

Although many reports have demonstrated that ectopic pain develops in the orofacial region following tooth pulp inflammation, which often causes misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment for patients with pulpitis, the precise mechanism remains unknown. In the present study, we hypothesized that the functional interaction between satellite glial cells and neurons mediated by interleukin 1β (IL-1β) in the trigeminal ganglion (TG) is involved in ectopic orofacial pain associated with tooth pulp inflammation. The digastric muscle electromyogram (D-EMG) activity elicited by capsaicin administration into the maxillary second molar tooth pulp was analyzed to evaluate the noxious reflex and was significantly increased in rats with inflammation of the maxillary first molar (M1) versus rats injected with saline. A significant increase in the expression of connexin43 (Cx43), a gap junction containing protein, was observed in activated satellite glial cells surrounding second molar–innervating neurons in the TG after M1 pulpitis. Daily administration of Gap26, a Cx43 mimetic peptide and inhibitor, in the TG significantly suppressed the enhancement of capsaicin-induced D-EMG activity and the percentage of Fluoro-Gold (FG)–labeled cells encircled by glial fibrillary acid protein–immunoreactive (IR) + Cx43-IR cells after M1 pulp inflammation ( P < 0.01). The percentage of FG-labeled cells encircled by glial fibrillary acid protein–IR + IL-1β-IR cells, IL-1 type I receptor–IR cells labeled with FG, and TRPV1-IR cells labeled with FG significantly increased after M1 pulp inflammation ( P < 0.01). Daily administration of IL-1ra, an IL-1 receptor antagonist, into the TG significantly reduced the enhancement of capsaicin-induced D-EMG activity and the percentage of TRPV1-IR neurons labeled with FG after M1 pulp inflammation ( P < 0.01). The present findings suggest that satellite glial cell is activated in the TG via activated gap junctions composed of Cx43 following tooth pulp inflammation, which leads to the hyperactivation of remote neurons via IL-1β mechanisms and results in ectopic tooth pulp pain in the adjacent tooth.
For the greater credibility: Jesuit science and education in modern Portugal (1858–1910)
Authors: Malta Romeiras Francisco
Published: November 2017

Upon the restoration of the Society of Jesus in Portugal in 1858, the Jesuits founded two important colleges that made significant efforts in the promotion of hands-on experimental teaching of the natural sciences. At the Colégio de Campolide (Lisbon, 1858–1910) and the Colégio de São Fiel (Louriçal do Campo, 1863–1910) the Jesuits created modern chemistry and physics laboratories, organized significant botanical, zoological and geological collections, promoted scientific expeditions with their students to observe eclipses and to collect novel species of animals and plants, and engaged in original research work in physics, botany, and zoology. The successful implementation of modern scientific practices gained these colleges public recognition as the most prominent secondary institutions in nineteenth-century Portugal, and this made a major contribution to countering the widespread and commonly accepted anti-Jesuit accusations of obscurantism and scientific backwardness.
School Racial Climate and Academic Outcomes in African American Adolescents: The Protective Role of Peers
Authors: Golden Alexandrea R. , Griffin Charity Brown , Metzger Isha W. , Cooper Shauna M.
Published: November 2017

Using a risk and resilience framework, the current investigation explored the relationship between school racial climate and academic outcomes among African American adolescents. Additionally, this study examined whether positive peer characteristics (e.g., peer support; peer academic values) were a protective factor for African American youth who reported perceiving a negative school racial climate. Participants were 126 middle school students (65% female), ranging in age from 11 to 15 years, who resided in the Midwestern region of the United States. Moderating relationships partially supported hypotheses. Findings revealed that peer values moderated the association between interracial interactions and African American adolescents’ academic values, as well as the relationship between fairness and racial equity and classroom effort. Results suggest that peer academic values may be an important contextual factor for understanding the association between school racial climate and academic outcomes. Implications of findings for prevention programming are discussed.
Searching for God: Illness-Related Mortality Threats and Religious Search Volume in Google in 16 Nations
Authors: Pelham Brett W. , Shimizu Mitsuru , Arndt Jamie , Carvallo Mauricio , Solomon Sheldon , Greenberg Jeff
Published: November 2017

We tested predictions about religiosity and terror management processes in 16 nations. Specifically, we examined weekly variation in Google search volume in each nation for 12 years (all weeks for which data were available). In all 16 nations, higher than usual weekly Google search volume for life-threatening illnesses (cancer, diabetes, and hypertension) predicted increases in search volume for religious content (e.g., God, Jesus, prayer) in the following week. This effect held up after controlling for (a) recent past and annual variation in religious search volume, (b) increases in search volume associated with religious holidays, and (c) variation in searches for a non-life-threatening illness (“sore throat”). Terror management threat reduction processes appear to occur across the globe. Furthermore, they may occur over much longer periods than those studied in the laboratory. Managing fears of death via religious belief regulation appears to be culturally pervasive.
Academic researchers’ behavioural intention to use academic social networking sites: A case of Malaysian research universities
Authors: Salahshour Rad Maryam , Nilashi Mehrbakhsh , Mohamed Dahlan Halina , Ibrahim Othman
Published: November 2017

This study seeks to validate a comprehensive model of academic researchers’ intention in the context of academic social networking sites (ASNSs). It uses the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model with constructs of perceived security, perceived privacy, trust, attitude towards technology, and communication benefits as well as age, gender and experience as moderator variables. The survey results supported the positive relationships between the factors in the model, except effort expectancy, which had no significant effect on behavioural intention. However, the results of three moderator variables demonstrated that they had no significant effect on the adoption of ASNSs. The finding of this research will provide directions for ASNSs providers to support them in developing effective ASNSs for academic researchers.
Palliative care in patients with haematological neoplasms: An integrative systematic review
Authors: Moreno-Alonso Deborah , Porta-Sales Josep , Monforte-Royo Cristina , Trelis-Navarro Jordi , Sureda-Balarí Anna , Fernández De Sevilla-Ribosa Alberto
Published: November 2017

Background:

Palliative care was originally intended for patients with non-haematological neoplasms and relatively few studies have assessed palliative care in patients with haematological malignancies.

Aim:

To assess palliative care interventions in managing haematological malignancies patients treated by onco-haematology departments.

Design:

Integrative systematic review with data extraction and narrative synthesis (PROSPERO #: CRD42016036240).

Data sources:

PubMed, CINAHL, Cochrane, Scopus and Web-of-Science were searched for articles published through 30 June 2015. Study inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) published in English or Spanish and (2) containing data on palliative care interventions in adults with haematological malignancies.

Results:

The search yielded 418 articles; 99 met the inclusion criteria. Six themes were identified: (1) end-of-life care, (2) the relationship between onco-haematology and palliative care departments and referral characteristics, (3) clinical characteristics, (4) experience of patients/families, (5) home care and (6) other themes grouped together as ‘miscellany’. Our findings indicate that palliative care is often limited to the end-of-life phase, with late referral to palliative care. The symptom burden in haematological malignancies patients is more than the burden in non-haematological neoplasms patients. Patients and families are generally satisfied with palliative care. Home care is seldom used. Tools to predict survival in this patient population are lacking.

Conclusion:

Despite a growing interest in palliative care for haematological malignancies patients, the evidence base needs to be strengthened to expand our knowledge about palliative care in this patient group. The results of this review support the need to develop closer cooperation and communication between the palliative care and onco-haematology departments to improve patient care.
Caregiver quality of life in advanced cancer: Qualitative results from a trial of early palliative care
Authors: McDonald Julie , Swami Nadia , Pope Ashley , Hales Sarah , Nissim Rinat , Rodin Gary , Hannon Breffni , Zimmermann Camilla
Published: November 2017

Background:

Early involvement of palliative care improves patient quality of life; however, quantitative studies have not yet demonstrated a similar effect for caregivers, for whom the construct of quality of life is less well developed.

Aim:

To conceptualise quality of life of caregivers from their own perspective and to explore differences in themes between those who did or did not receive an early palliative care intervention.

Design:

Qualitative grounded theory study.

Setting:

Tertiary comprehensive cancer centre.

Participants:

Following participation in a cluster-randomised trial of early palliative care, 23 caregivers (14 intervention and 9 control) of patients with advanced cancer participated in semi-structured interviews to discuss their quality of life.

Results:

The core category was ‘living in the patient’s world’. Five related themes were ‘burden of illness and caregiving’, ‘assuming the caregiver role’, ‘renegotiating relationships’, ‘confronting mortality’ and ‘maintaining resilience’. There was thematic consistency between trial arms, except for the last two themes, which had distinct differences. Participants in the intervention group engaged in open discussion about the end of life, balanced hope with realism and had increased confidence from a range of professional supports. Controls tended to engage in ‘deliberate ignorance’ about the future, felt uncertain about how they would cope and lacked knowledge of available supports.

Conclusions:

Caregiver quality of life is influenced profoundly by the interaction with the patient and should be measured with specific questionnaires that include content related to confronting mortality and professional supports. This would improve delineation of quality of life for caregivers and allow greater sensitivity to change.

Registration:

clinicaltrials.gov NCT01248624
Causal Understanding in Film Viewing: The Effects of Narrative Structure and Personality Traits
Authors: Kovács András B. , Papp-Zipernovszky Orsolya
Published: November 2017

The aim of this research was to investigate the extent to which psychological factors interfere with conscious rational problem-solving in constructing a cinematic narrative’s causal connections during film viewing. Talk-aloud protocol was used to record subjects’ verbal reactions during watching films. Viewers’ texts were analyzed to determine the type and the quantity of causal inferences. This enabled us to determine which parts of the narratives provoked high matching of causal inferences. The results demonstrate recurring correlation between causal thinking and the personality trait openness to experience. In the second study, classical and nonclassical types of narrative were compared in terms of provoking causal inferences. The results demonstrate that classical narrative provokes significantly more causal inferences than nonclassical narrative, and that classical and nonclassical narratives rely equally on personality traits in causal construction.
FFRob: Leveraging symbolic planning for efficient task and motion planning
Authors: Garrett Caelan Reed , Lozano-Pérez Tomás , Kaelbling Leslie Pack
Published: November 2017

Mobile manipulation problems involving many objects are challenging to solve due to the high dimensionality and multi-modality of their hybrid configuration spaces. Planners that perform a purely geometric search are prohibitively slow for solving these problems because they are unable to factor the configuration space. Symbolic task planners can efficiently construct plans involving many variables but cannot represent the geometric and kinematic constraints required in manipulation. We present the FFRob algorithm for solving task and motion planning problems. First, we introduce extended action specification (EAS) as a general purpose planning representation that supports arbitrary predicates as conditions. We adapt existing heuristic search ideas for solving strips planning problems, particularly delete-relaxations, to solve EAS problem instances. We then apply the EAS representation and planners to manipulation problems resulting in FFRob. FFRob iteratively discretizes task and motion planning problems using batch sampling of manipulation primitives and a multi-query roadmap structure that can be conditionalized to evaluate reachability under different placements of movable objects. This structure enables the EAS planner to efficiently compute heuristics that incorporate geometric and kinematic planning constraints to give a tight estimate of the distance to the goal. Additionally, we show FFRob is probabilistically complete and has a finite expected runtime. Finally, we empirically demonstrate FFRob’s effectiveness on complex and diverse task and motion planning tasks including rearrangement planning and navigation among movable objects.
Financialising farming as a moral imperative? Renegotiating the legitimacy of land investments in Australia
Authors: Ruth Sippel Sarah
Published: November 2017

This paper investigates the debate about foreign investment in Australian farmland. Employing a moral perspective, it is argued that the apparent tensions over foreign land investments in recent years can be interpreted as a renegotiation of the legitimate grounds upon which farmland investments should take place. The analysis shows that elements of worth are being applied to farmland that go beyond the ‘pure’ treatment of land according to market principles. Most notably, national references, together with concerns about control over strategic resources and the involvement of foreign sovereign entities, have gained prominence. Reacting to these concerns, the investment of domestic superannuation capital has emerged as a moral imperative to keep farmland in ‘national hands’. The paper thus stresses the need for a more nuanced differentiation between different kinds of ‘capital’ and particularly the way they are morally evaluated. The paper furthermore reveals that the linkages between capital and ‘nature’ are not forged in a random or arbitrary way. They are crucially shaped by the societal understanding of the legitimacy of certain kinds of capital and their associated motives and intentions as part of the broader understanding about the rules and principles that should govern economic activities.
The Gift of the Godfather
Authors: Vasile Monica
Published: November 2017

Based on a large array of sources, from ethnographic fieldwork to Internet discussion forums and archive surveys, this article traces complex gift-giving practices between godparents and godchildren, as they developed and thrived in the region of Transylvania, Romania, from the 1950s onward. I examine, in particular, the monetization of gifts in connection to recent turning points in economic history. Through various case studies, I show how godparenthood relates to notions of calculation, exchange, obligation, debt, care, and charity. The findings suggest a tension at the heart of godparenthood narrative and practice, a tension with many interrelated facets, between exchange and charity, between calculation and solidarity, self-interest, and care. This tension emerges in everyday talk and lived experiences of Romanians and also in broader anthropological discussions about the possibility of altruistic gift and the pitfalls of reciprocity.
Folate Deficiency and Anemia Among Women of Reproductive Age (15-49 Years) in Senegal: Results of a National Cross-Sectional Survey
Authors: Ndiaye Ndèye Fatou , Idohou-Dossou Nicole , Diouf Adama , Guiro Amadou Tidiane , Wade Salimata
Published: November 2017

Background:

Widely spread throughout the world, folate and iron deficiencies are risk factors for many diseases. However, contrary to iron deficiency and anemia, which have been documented in depth, the prevalence of folate deficiency among women has not been well-studied.

Objective:

The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of folate deficiency and anemia and their association among Senegalese women of reproductive age.

Methods:

A national cross-sectional survey using a stratified 2-stage cluster sampling was conducted. Data were collected from 1012 women (aged 15-49 years). Plasma folate and hemoglobin (Hb), as well as protein markers of subclinical infections, were equally measured.

Results:

The mean folate concentration was 8.50 nmol/L (8.16-8.85 nmol/L), and 54.8% of the women were folate deficient (<10 nmol/L). Plasma folate concentration of rural women (7.27 nmol/L [6.89-7.68 nmol/L]) and urban women (10.45 nmol/L [9.88-11.05 nmol/L]) was significantly different ( P < .0001), the highest concentration being observed in women living in Dakar, the capital of Senegal. The breastfeeding women showed lower plasma folate concentration compared to nonbreastfeeding ones: 6.97 nmol/L (6.37-7.63 nmol/L) versus 9.03 nmol/L (8.61-9.46 nmol/L). Overall, 27% of the women were suffering from inflammation/infections. Mean Hb concentration was 116.86 (1.18) g/L, and 47.63% of the women involved in the study were anemic (pregnant women Hb <110 g/L; nonpregnant Hb <120 g/L). Also, a positive and significant correlation was found between plasma folate and Hb concentrations ( r = .07; P = .0167).

Conclusions:

This study showed a high prevalence of folate deficiency and anemia among Senegalese women (15-49 years), particularly those living in rural settings and breastfeeding women.
Chronic Circadian Misalignment without Circadian Arrhythmicity or Sleep Deprivation Does Not Impair Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis
Authors: Duy Phan Q. , Hattar Samer
Published: November 2017

Artificial light in modern society has led to the ubiquity of light exposure at night as individuals work night shifts and use light-emitting electronic devices before bedtime. These aberrant light conditions have detrimental consequences on cognitive and mental health, compelling the need to understand the mechanisms by which light affects brain functions. Although it was believed that aberrant light impairs health by first disrupting circadian rhythms and sleep, we showed that chronic exposure to a light cycle termed T7 (3.5 h of darkness, 3.5 h of light) caused mood and learning dysfunction in adult mice independent of sleep deprivation or circadian arrhythmicity, suggesting the direct effects of aberrant light on brain function. However, the mechanisms by which light directly causes mood and learning dysfunction remain poorly understood. In this study, we sought to determine whether exposure to the T7 cycle disrupts adult hippocampal neurogenesis, given that suppressed neurogenesis has been correlated with mood and learning dysfunction. After exposing adult mice to the T7 light cycle, we analyzed adult hippocampal neurogenesis by examining cellular proliferation and number of adult-born neurons. Contrary to our hypothesis that T7 would suppress neurogenesis, we found that adult mice exposed to 2 or 10 weeks of the T7 light cycle did not exhibit deficits in hippocampal neurogenesis. Our findings suggest that the direct effects of light on mood and learning do not depend on adult hippocampal neurogenesis.
Predictors of Place of Death for those in Receipt of Home-Based Palliative Care Services in Ontario, Canada
Authors: Guerriere Denise , Husain Amna , Marshall Denise , Zagorski Brandon , Seow Hsien , Brazil Kevin , Kennedy Julia , McLernon Robin , Burns Sheri , Coyte Peter C.
Published: November 2017

Many cancer patients die in institutional settings despite their preference to die at home. A longitudinal, prospective cohort study was conducted to comprehensively assess the determinants of home death for patients receiving home-based palliative care. Data collected from biweekly telephone interviews with caregivers (n=302) and program databases were entered into a multivariate logistic model. Patients with high nursing costs (odds ratio [OR]: 4.3; confidence interval [CI]: 1.8–10.2) and patients with high personal support worker costs (OR: 2.3; CI: 1.1–4.5) were more likely to die at home than those with low costs. Patients who lived alone were less likely to die at home than those who cohabitated (OR: 0.4; CI: 0.2–0.8), and those with a high propensity for a home-death preference were more likely to die at home than those with a low propensity (OR: 5.8; CI: 1.1–31.3). An understanding of the predictors of place of death may contribute to the development of effective interventions that support home death.
Palliative Care Information Needs in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States
Authors: Jünger Saskia , Klose Jasper , Brearley Sarah , Hegedus Katalin , Payne Sheila , Radbruch Lukas
Published: November 2017

In a cross-national survey, we examined the information needs and barriers to accessing palliative care information in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In total, 584 healthcare professionals from 22 countries completed the questionnaire. Information on legislation and official papers (67 percent) and information on education courses in palliative care (65 percent) were the most frequently reported information needs. Major barriers to accessing palliative care information were language and a lack of easily accessible and affordable, clinically relevant information. An informative Web site, an electronic newsletter, and regular meetings or conferences were rated as the most important information channels. We concluded that access to reliable and well-structured information should be facilitated for healthcare professionals in CEE and CIS countries to assist them in their clinical decision making. Most importantly, more in-depth qualitative research and dialogue with stakeholders in the different countries are needed to develop context-specific, tailor-made strategies.
The Practice of Continuous Palliative Sedation in Long-Term Care for Frail Patients with Existential Suffering
Authors: van Deijck Rogier H.P.D. , Hasselaar Jeroen G.J. , Krijnsen Petrus J.C. , Gloudemans Amadea J.M. , Verhagen Stans C.A.H.H.V.M. , Vissers Kris C.P. , Koopmans Raymond T.C.M.
Published: November 2017

Some guidelines and recommendations identify existential suffering as a potential refractory symptom for which continuous palliative sedation (CPS) can be administered under certain conditions. However, there has been little research on the characteristics of patients with existential suffering treated with CPS and the degree to which the preconditions are fulfilled. The aim of this study was to provide insight into this specific indication for CPS. Questionnaires were sent to nursing home physicians in the Netherlands, who described 314 patients. Existential suffering was a refractory symptom in 83 of the patients. For most of the patients with refractory existential suffering, other refractory symptoms were also reported, and life expectancy was seven days or less; informed consent for initiating CPS had been obtained in all cases. Consultation and intermittent sedation before the start of CPS were far less frequently reported than one would expect based on the guidelines. Multivariate analysis showed that being male, having previously requested euthanasia, having a nervous system disease, or having an other diagnosis were positively correlated with the administration of CPS for existential suffering. We conclude that more attention should be paid to the suggested preconditions and to the presence of existential suffering in male patients or patients with a nervous system disease.
Healthcare Needs of Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in Singapore: A patient-centred qualitative study from multiple perspectives
Authors: Ang Kexin , Umapathi Thirugnanam , Tong Jieli , Ng Justin , Tseng Liang Jun , Woo Ivan Mun Hong
Published: November 2017

Background

One challenge for those who manage amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is to understand patients’ needs.

Aim

The aim of this study was to examine the needs of Singapore ALS patients from their perspective as well as that of their caregivers and healthcare professionals in order to develop a template for better services.

Methods

A cross-sectional qualitative study was conducted, with one-to-one interviews and focus group discussions.

Results

All 30 participants, key stakeholders in the field of caring for ALS patients, identified these needs categories: psychological – diagnosis must be staged and comfortably paced, and efforts must be made to encourage patients’ resilience; social – positive relationships, open communication, and spiritual support must be developed; physical – attention should be paid to alleviating discomfort and disability; and environmental -appropriate services should be made available.

Conclusion

The identified needs categories do overlap, but there are significant differences. Our findings provide a template for developing individualized patient services, which should be done within the framework of a comprehensive palliative care program.
LSD experiments by the United States Army
Authors: Ross Colin A
Published: November 2017

Extensive LSD testing was conducted by the US Army at Edgewood Arsenal and other locations from 1955 to 1967. A number of different reports have been produced describing the health effects of this testing, including the Veterans Health Initiative Report in 2003. By and large, these reports gloss over and minimize the short and long-term side effects and complications of this testing. However, the reports themselves document frequent, severe complications of the LSD. These side effects were regarded by the Army as having been directly caused by the LSD exposure. In view of the current resurgence of interest in hallucinogens within psychiatry, the sanitized version of the effects of LSD exposure on US soldiers needs to be replaced with a more accurate account.
Opinions of nurses regarding conscientious objection
Authors: Toro-Flores Rafael , Bravo-Agüi Pilar , Catalán-Gómez María Victoria , González-Hernando Marisa , Guijarro-Cenisergue María Jesús , Moreno-Vázquez Margarita , Roch-Hamelin Isabel , Velasco-Sanz Tamara Raquel
Published: November 2017

Background:

In the last decades, there have been important developments in the scientific and technological areas of healthcare. On certain occasions this provokes conflict between the patients' rights and the values of healthcare professionals which brings about, within this clinical relationship, the problem of conscientious objection.

Aims:

To learn the opinions that the Nurses of the Madrid Autonomous Community have regarding conscientious objection.

Research design:

Cross-cutting descriptive study.

Participants and research context:

The nurses of 9 hospitals and 12 Health Centers in the Madrid Autonomous Community. The study was done by means of an auto completed anonymous questionnaire. The variables studied were social-demographical and their opinions about conscientious objections.

Ethical considerations:

The study was approved by the Ethical Community of Clinical Research of the University Hospital Príncipe de Asturias. Participants were assured of maximum confidentiality and anonymity.

Findings:

A total of 421 nurses answered the questionnaire. In total, 55.6% of the nurses confirmed they were religious believers, and 64.3% declared having poor knowledge regarding conscientious objection. The matters that caused the greatest objections were voluntary abortions, genetic embryo selection, refusal of blood transfusions, and therapy refusal.

Discussion:

Different authors state that the most significant cases of conscientious objections for health professionals are those regarding carrying out or assisting in abortions, euthanasia, the practice of assisted reproduction and, finally, the prescription and dispensing of the morning-after pill. In our study, the most significant cases in which the nurses would declare conscientious objections would be the refusal to accept treatment, the selection of embryos after genetic diagnosis preimplantation, the patient’s refusal to receive blood transfusions due to religious reasons and pregnant women’s request for voluntary abortions within the first 14 weeks.

Conclusion:

Nurses’ religious beliefs influence their opinions regarding conscientious objection. The nurses who declare themselves as religious believers object in a higher percentage than those without religious beliefs.
Valuation and Pricing of Indian IPOs
Authors: Gupta C.P. , Suri Sneha
Published: November 2017

It is believed that underpriced initial public offerings (IPOs) are undervalued. To empirically test this belief, the present study examines valuation of 292 Indian IPOs listed from 2004 to 2013. In this regard, three questions are posed: first, whether the valuation (P/E multiples) of the industry and comparable peer can explain valuation (‘offer price P/E’ multiple) of IPO firms; second, whether the IPOs are undervalued or overvalued in relation to industry peers; and third, whether the IPOs undervalued (overvalued) in relation to peers are underpriced (overpriced). The results suggest that industry and comparable peer valuations do explain IPO valuation. It was found that there are both undervalued and overvalued IPOs in India. However, IPOs can be underpriced regardless of whether they are undervalued or overvalued in relation to industry/peers. Therefore, retail investors should not consider all underpriced IPOs as undervalued and cheap. IPOs may be priced above industry and yet generate positive initial returns (be underpriced). The IPOs valued below the comparable peers can generate higher initial returns. Thus, the present study contributes in providing relation between pricing and valuation of IPOs in India using industry/peer benchmark provided in prospectus so that retail investors can take appropriate decision about subscribing for an IPO.
Changes in the Pharmacokinetics of Phenytoin in Dextran Sulfate Sodium–Induced Ulcerative Colitis in Mice
Authors: Kusunoki Yoshiki , Kido Yurika , Naito Yuichi , Kon Risako , Mizukami Nanaho , Kaneko Miho , Wakui Nobuyuki , Machida Yoshiaki , Ikarashi Nobutomo
Published: November 2017

We previously demonstrated that the expression levels of drug-metabolizing enzymes, cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, in the liver are significantly decreased in a murine model of ulcerative colitis (UC). In this study, we investigated changes in the pharmacokinetics of phenytoin, a CYP2C substrate drug, in the presence of UC. Colitis was induced by feeding male mice 3.5% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) dissolved in drinking water for 10 days. The messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of CYP2C29 and CYP2C37 and the protein expression of CYP2C in the liver were evaluated via real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting, respectively. In DSS-treated animals, both mRNA and protein expression levels of CYP2C in the liver were significantly reduced relative to those in control animals (by 20%-40%). Phenytoin (30 mg/kg) was administered orally in a single dose to mice, and plasma concentrations were measured. Plasma concentrations of phenytoin were higher in the DSS-treated group than in the control group at 12, 24, and 36 hours after administration. Animals given DSS also exhibited a higher area under the plasma concentration–time curve extrapolated to infinity (AUCinf, 315 μg·h/mL), a delayed elimination half-life ( T1/2, 8.1 hours), and a decreased body clearance (CL/F, 3.52 mL/h) compared with that of control animals (AUCinf, 215 μg·h/mL; T1/2, 3.6 h; CL/F, 5.58 mL/h). This study indicated that the presence of UC decreases CYP2C expression levels in the liver, thereby delaying the metabolism of CYP2C substrates, including phenytoin, and increasing blood concentrations of these substrates.
Rating of acoustic performance levels of NBR 15575 (2013) based on user perception: A case study in the Brazilian Amazon
Authors: Santana Wylliam Bessa , Maués Luiz Mauricio Furtado , Soeiro Newton Sure , Picanço Marcelo de Souza
Published: November 2017

The new Brazilian building performance standard is a landmark in terms of housing regulation in Brazil. Nevertheless, due to the standard recent release, it becomes essential to make its requirements compatible with users’ needs. This work has the objective to evaluate the acoustic performance requirements of buildings based on the users’ perceptions of acoustic comfort. In order to do this, field tests were performed and surveys were applied to the users. The results demonstrate that the requirements defined by the Brazilian norm are unsuitable to meet the users’ necessities. The correlation analysed shows a clear perception of the habitants in relation to the transmitted noise through the slabs and walls. These unsatisfactory results concern the acoustic performance of impact noise between slabs, as well as internal and external walls, showing that construction companies must implement new solutions that can provide greater acoustic performance to achieve acoustic comfort to the users.
Deep theorizing in International Relations
Authors: Berenskötter Felix
Published: November 2017

This article starts from the observation that International Relations scholars do not agree on what they mean by theory. The declining popularity of grand theory and the celebration of theoretical pluralism are accompanied by the relative absence of a serious conversation about what ‘theory’ is or should be. Taking the view that we need such a conversation, especially given the shallow theorizing of modern scholarship that conflates theory with method, and the postmodern view that abstract narratives must be deconstructed and rejected, this article puts forward the notion of ‘deep theorizing’ as the ground for grand theory. Specifically, it argues that deep theorizing is the conceptual effort of explaining (inter)action by developing a reading of drives/basic motivations and the ontology of its carrier through an account of the human condition, that is, a particular account of how the subject (the political actor) is positioned in social space and time. The article illustrates this angle through a discussion of realist, liberal and postcolonial schools of thought. It basically argues that, through their particular readings of the human condition, these approaches develop distinct conceptions of political agency and, hence of the nature and location of world politics.
Combined Single-Tract of Minimally Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy and Flexible Ureteroscopy for Staghorn Calculi in Oblique Supine Lithotomy Position
Authors: Leng Songbai , Xie Donghua , Zhong Yi , Huang Ming
Published: November 2017

Purpose. To present our experience of combined single-percutaneous tract minimally invasive percutaneous nephrolithotomy (MPCNL) and flexible ureteroscopic lithotripsy (FURL) in managing staghorn calculi (SC) in oblique supine lithotomy position and to define the safety, efficiency, and feasibility of this approach. Patients and Methods. Eighty-seven patients with SC treated with surgery in our hospital from March 2014 to January 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. The 87 patients were divided into 2 groups according to operative type: MPCNL combined with FURL (Group 1, n = 44) and MPCNL (Group 2, n = 43). The clinical data, perioperative parameters, and postoperative complications of the 2 groups were compared and analyzed. Results. There were no significant differences in age, gender, stone type, and size ( P = .873, .570, .448, and .593, respectively). The average operative time, the average hospitalization time after surgery, the hemoglobin level, and the complication rate of Group 1 were lower than that of Group 2 ( P < .05 each). The first and second time stone free rates of Group 1 were higher than that of Group 2 ( P < .05 each). Conclusion. Single-tract MPCNL combined with FURL in the oblique supine lithotomy position to treat SC could improve stone free rates, reduce operative time and length of hospital stay, decrease renal hemorrhage, and avoid other complications. We think this is an efficient and safe operative approach to manage SC.
The Fringe Value of Visual Data in Research
Authors: Roger Kerstin
Published: November 2017

Visual data are everywhere. This article explores the ambiguous role of visual data in academia by reflecting on a series of photovoice studies conducted by the author over several years. While academia proposes to have an innovative mandate for exploring what is new, in fact, visual data have not yet been accepted as a viable form of research. Five studies will assist the reader in reflecting on this topic. It is clear that the power of the visual image permeates our contemporary culture, however, this article explores how visual data may better be integrated and utilized in research.