bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Scoring, Searching and Evaluating Bayesian Network Models of Gene-phenotype Association
Authors: Jiang Xia , Visweswaran Shyam , Neapolitan Richard E.
Published: December 2014

The arrival of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) has opened the exciting possibility of identifying genetic variations (single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)) that underlie common diseases. However, our knowledge of the genetic architecture of common diseases remains limited. One likely reason for this is the complex interactions between genes, the environment, and the studied disease. This chapter addresses three aspects which are expected to help make progress to reveal some of these complex interactions using GWAS data sets. First, results are shown that compare the performances of various Bayesian network scoring criteria. Second, developing heuristic search algorithms for learning complex interactions from high-dimensional data is a hot topic. Third, the hypothesis testing involved in genome-wide epistasis detection is substantially different from that involved in a standard GWAS analysis, where only a null hypothesis and an alternative are considered.
Prediction of Clinical Outcomes from Genome-wide Data
Authors: Visweswaran Shyam
Published: December 2014

Prognosis is an essential tool in medicine for estimating the likely outcomes of a disease and for preventing it. The traditional approach relies on measuring physiological and environmental parameters. With the recent availability of genome-wide data, it is now possible to incorporate the genetic information for predicting complex diseases. Probabilistic graphical models are well-known for their efficiency in predictive issue and thus represent good candidate models in this context. The probabilistic graphical model framework provides many assets: data uncertainty modeling, fast probabilistic inference algorithms, easy incorporation of expert knowledge and good predictive performance.
On the age and origins of spoken Arabic vernaculars
Authors: Wilmsen David
Published: December 2014

The labels ‘Old Arabic’, ‘Middle Arabic’, and ‘Neo-Arabic’ used in Arabic linguistics give the impression of a chronological sequence, implying that the oldest form of Arabic is something like the language that was codified as the Arabic of writing in the 8th–10th centuries ad. Not based in any linguistic principles, these labels have tended to channel inquiries into the history of Arabic into narrow, predetermined conclusions, one being that negation in the relatively young dialects of Arabic follows a Jespersen’s Cycle. Yet the Arabic dialects retain many archaic Arabic features, now rare in modern Arabic writing. Furthermore, they exhibit features shared with other Semitic languages that written Arabic lacks, indicating that the dialects, too, are old.
fīš wa biddīš
Authors: Wilmsen David
Published: December 2014

Explanations of the grammatical reflexes of the Arabic particle šī, especially in interrogation and negation, are generally mistaken on two counts: they begin their developmental sequences (clines) with the Arabic of writing, and they propose structures that, while appearing to be well-formed, are nevertheless not idiomatic. Assuming an origin in the Arabic of writing is especially perilous because, without supporting evidence, it assumes that that variety is the original, when the gatekeepers of Arabic writing proscribe the types of change proposed for the spoken language that are supposed to have originated with it. Consideration of the many grammatical functions of šī provides contrary evidence that the phenomena were always elements of the dialects, arising independently of and probably before writing.
Morphologically conditioned phonology
Authors: Inkelas Sharon
Published: December 2014

Morphologically conditioned phonology is the phenomenon in which a particular phonological pattern is imposed on a proper subset of morphological constructions (affixation, reduplication, compounding) and thus is not fully general in the word‑internal phonological patterning of the language. This chapter focuses on the types of morphological information that can condition phonological patterns and the types of phonological patterns that can be conditioned by morphology. The chapter addresses conditioning by lexical classes, part of speech, and individual morphological constructions. Also covered are several of the most influential theories of morphologically conditioned phonology, which aim to capture language‑specific as well as cross‑linguistic generalizations about the phenomenon. The range of variation that a given language can exhibit in its phonological patterns is discussed.
Interleaving
Authors: Inkelas Sharon
Published: December 2014

This chapter discusses the phonological properties of morphologically complex words, i.e. those formed by more than one word-formation process. This chapter discusses both “cyclicity”, in the strict sense of the same phonological alternation or constraint applying at each step of word formation, and “layering”, in which phonology is imposed at each step of word formation, but the phonological mappings associated with the individual morphological constructions in question are not identical. Both types of interleaving share the same essential property that phonology applies to nested subconstituents in a word from the inside out: the output of applying phonology to a daughter is the input to the application of phonology to its mother. The best treatment of interleaving effects is the subject of hot theoretical debate; approaches covered include Lexical Morphology and Phonology, Stratal Optimality Theory, cophonology theory, indexed constraint Theory, and Output-Output correspondence theory.
When phonology interferes with morphology
Authors: Inkelas Sharon
Published: December 2014

This chapter discusses cases in which morphological constructions are prevented from combining with certain bases, or from combining with each other in the expected manner, because of phonological conditions that the combinations would violate. These situations are described in Optimality Theoretic terms as instantiating the P » M ranking, in which a phonological consideration outranks a morphological consideration. Suppletive allomorphy, ineffability (blocking), haplology (e.g. the Repeated Morph Constraint), and phonologically conditioned affix ordering are explored, along with theoretical treatments of each. The chapter concludes that phonological interference with morphology, especially in the area of affix ordering, is not nearly as common as many theories predict that it should be.
Nonparallelism between phonological and morphological structure
Authors: Inkelas Sharon
Published: December 2014

This chapter explores cases in which it appears necessary to posit a prosodic parse of a word (into constituents like “Prosodic Root”, “Prosodic Stem”, “Prosodic Word” which do not line up perfectly with the morphological constituent structure of that word. This occurs most commonly in compounding constructions, with “noncohering” (vs. “cohering”) affixes, and in reduplication and infixation (exfixation). Mismatches are often phonologically driven by the need for subconstituents of a word to be phonologically well-formed. This chapter addresses the question of whether apparent cases of morphologically conditioned phonology might be subsumed under reference to prosodic structure, and concludes that the two phenomena are distinct.
Paradigmatic effects
Authors: Inkelas Sharon
Published: December 2014

Word formation and the phonological interpretation of words are sometimes influenced not only by properties of the word in question, but also by other words. This chapter explores the topic of paradigmatic cross-word correspondences and paradigmatic well-formedness, focusing on “leveling” or “Base-Identity” effects and on anti-homophony, or paradigmatic distinctiveness, effects. A number of cases suggest that the need to keep stem shape constant throughout a paradigm, or the need to keep cells of a paradigm distinct, can interfere with the otherwise normal operations of phonology and affixation. Questions addressed include the nature of the morphological relationship that is required for one word to influence another and whether leveling and anti-homophony are pervasive or whether they are sporadic, perhaps even epiphenomenal. The chapter also addresses the question of whether word-based paradigmatic constraints can do the work of cyclicity or interleaving, concluding that the two approaches are both needed.
The Silencing of God’s Dear Ministers
Authors: Davies Michael
Published: December 2014

This chapter addresses how ‘the silencing of God's dear Ministers’ in 1662 affected John Bunyan and the Independent congregation at Bedford. It examines the history of this congregation, from its establishment in the 1650s under Oliver Cromwell's regime, in order to reassess the impact of the ejections of 1660–2 upon the life of Bunyan's church and upon some of his later writings, including The Pilgrim's Progress. Focusing particularly on I Will Pray with the Spirit, this essay shows how the Act of Uniformity unsettled not just those ministers forced to leave their parishes on Black Bartholomew's Day but also Restoration nonconformists like Bunyan: typically considered ‘separatist’, and therefore as largely untouched by the events of 1662, and who would be left without a place in Edmund Calamy's famous account of the Great Ejection.
Crisis and Opportunity
Authors: Stanwood Owen
Published: December 2014

This chapter is an interpretation of New England's Restoration which argues that the return of Charles II, and more especially the Act of Uniformity and Great Ejection of 1662, started a process that led to the closer integration of New England into the nascent British empire. The result was a transformation of the region in ways that combined the dissenting and imperial visions. New England retained its peculiar religious culture—but the influx of new migrants led to a marked pluralism. And the imperial movement for reform did eventually lead to tighter control, but with safeguards for the practice of religion. In essence, imperial officials and the old Puritans learned to tolerate each other, and exist within the same empire—an interesting outgrowth of the events of 1660–2.
John Walker’s Sufferings of the Clergy and Church of England Responses to the Ejections of 1660–2
Authors: Burden Mark
Published: December 2014

John Walker, a Tory and High Churchman, published a book‐length rejoiner to Calamy's Abridgment (1702) of Baxter's life, titled An Attempt to Towards Recovering an Account of the Numbers and Sufferings of the Clergy. The full extent of the debate about 1662 is revealed by studying the 25 surviving volumes of Walker's Bodleian manuscripts for the first time in 70 years. These manuscripts include notes, drafts, indices and rejected passages in relation to the Attempt, alongside 1,000 letters between Walker and other clergymen, some sympathetic to his project, others hostile. Above all, Walker's correspondence reveals the inherited bitterness of many High Churchmen towards the ejected puritans, engendered by a combination of familial loyalty and a deep sense of former injustices.
Interrogation and Treatment of Detainees in the Global War on Terror
Authors: Jackson Dick
Published: December 2014

The U.S. practice on interrogation and treatment of detainees has been consistent and extensive since the adoption of the Geneva Conventions, through the war in Vietnam, the foreign internal defense missions in Central America, the first Gulf War, and the peacekeeping operations of the 1990s. U.S. service members were trained to apply the minimum humane treatment standards outlined in common article 3 of the Conventions and usually applied the more extensive provisions applicable to prisoners of war or civilian internees, as a matter of policy, even when the full Conventions did not apply as a matter of law. But U.S. policymakers changed that practice after 9/11, in an effort to free interrogators to apply “harsh interrogation techniques,” tantamount to torture. This chapter describes the arc of change in those policies from elimination of the standards to the congressional and public pressure that ultimately led to their return.
Constructor theory of information
Authors: Deutsch David , Marletto Chiara
Published: December 2014

We propose a theory of information expressed solely in terms of which transformations of physical systems are possible and which are impossible—i.e. in constructor-theoretic terms. It includes conjectured, exact laws of physics expressing the regularities that allow information to be physically instantiated. Although these laws are directly about information, independently of the details of particular physical instantiations, information is not regarded as an
a priori
mathematical or logical concept, but as something whose nature and properties are determined by the laws of physics alone. This theory solves a problem at the foundations of existing information theory, namely that information and distinguishability are each defined in terms of the other. It also explains the relationship between classical and quantum information, and reveals the single, constructor-theoretic property underlying the most distinctive phenomena associated with the latter, including the lack of in-principle distinguishability of some states, the impossibility of cloning, the existence of pairs of variables that cannot simultaneously have sharp values, the fact that measurement processes can be both deterministic and unpredictable, the irreducible perturbation caused by measurement, and locally inaccessible information (as in entangled systems).
Sexual deception in a cannibalistic mating system? Testing theFemme Fatalehypothesis
Authors: Barry Katherine L.
Published: December 2014

Animal communication theory holds that in order to be evolutionarily stable, signals must be honest on average, but significant dishonesty (i.e. deception) by a subset of the population may also evolve. A typical praying mantid mating system involves active mate searching by males, which is guided by airborne sex pheromones in most species for which mate-searching cues have been studied. TheFemme Fatalehypothesis suggests that female mantids may be selected to exploit conspecific males as prey if they benefit nutritionally from cannibalism. Such a benefit exists in the false garden mantidPseudomantis albofimbriata—females use the resources gained from male consumption to significantly increase their body condition and reproductive output. This study aimed to examine the potential for chemical deception among the subset of females most likely to benefit from cannibalism (poorly fed females). Females were placed into one of four feeding treatments (‘Very Poor’, ‘Poor’, ‘Medium’ and ‘Good’), and males were given the opportunity to choose between visually obscured females in each of the treatments. Female body condition and fecundity varied linearly with food quantity; however, female attractiveness did not. That is, Very Poor females attracted significantly more males than any of the other female treatments, even though these females were in significantly poorer condition, less fecund (in this study) and more likely to cannibalise (in a previous study). In addition, there was a positive correlation between fecundity and attractiveness if Very Poor females were removed from the analysis, suggesting an inherently honest signalling system with a subset of dishonest individuals. This is the first empirical study to provide evidence of sexual deception via chemical cues, and the first to provide support for theFemme Fatalehypothesis.
Fitness costs in spatially structured environments
Authors: Débarre F.
Published: December 2014

The clustering of individuals that results from limited dispersal is a double-edged sword: while it allows for local interactions to be mostly among related individuals, it also results in increased local competition. Here I show that, because they mitigate local competition, fitness costs such as reduced fecundity or reduced survival are less costly in spatially structured environments than in non spatial settings. I first present a simple demographic example to illustrate how spatial structure weakens selection against fitness costs. Then, I illustrate the importance of disentangling the evolution of a trait from the evolution of potential associated costs, using an example taken from a recent study investigating the effect of spatial structure on the evolution of host defense. In this example indeed, the differences between spatial and non-spatial selection gradients are due to differences in the fitness costs, thereby undermining interpretations of the results made in terms of the trait only. This illustrates the need to consider fitness costs as proper traits in both theoretical and empirical studies.
Presenting the History ofAfricans in ProvincialBritain:Norfolk as a Case Study
Authors: Maguire Richard C.
Published: December 2014

This article addresses the important topic of how we discuss the history of theAfrican population inBritain in our public historical spaces. In recent decades historians have established that theAfrican presence inBritain is long‐standing and we have also accepted the importance of discussing the impact of the system ofAtlantic slavery in our national history. In consequence, information aboutBritish involvement in the transatlantic slaving economy has entered school curricula, public historical spaces and public debate. This article suggests that we might want to revisit the presentation of this history as we gain more information about theAfrican presence away fromLondon and the major ports. It suggests that the story ofAfricans in the provinces is, perhaps, not best explained using the histories of large metropolitan centres and ports deeply entangled with slavery. It argues that the information fromNorfolk indicates that we should explore an idea that different regions might have responded to the arrival ofAfricans in different ways and we might be best served by assuming that there was no such thing as a ‘model’ ofBritish responses to this process. It suggests that we consider a presentation of the history ofNorfolk'sAfrican population that emphasizes integration, personal agency and the lack of antipathy towardsAfricans, and does not start from a default assumption of enslavement.
Black knights and elections in authoritarian regimes: Why and how Russia supports authoritarian incumbents in post‐Soviet states
Authors: Tolstrup Jakob
Published: December 2014

In the last decade, studies have documented how autocrats use elections as a way of legitimising and stabilising their regimes. Simultaneously, a literature on negative external actors (also known as ‘black knights’) has developed, emphasising how various international actors use anti‐democracy promotion strategies to undergird authoritarian regimes. In this article, these two literatures are fused in an attempt to shed light on the external dimension of authoritarian elections and what is termed ‘black knight election bolstering’. First, five mechanisms are elucidated, through which external assistance increases the chances of ‘winning’ elections in authoritarian settings (signaling invincibility, deterring elite defection, undermining opposition activities, dealing with popular protests, and countervailing pressure from foreign democracy promoters). Second, it is argued that external actors are most likely to offer election bolstering when they face a particularly acquiescent partner or when electoral defeat is perceived to lead to radical and undesired regime change. The relevance of both factors is augmented when uncertainty of the electoral outcome is high. Finally, four cases of Russian intervention during elections in three authoritarian neighbour countries (Ukraine in 2004, Belarus in 2006, and Moldova in 2005 and 2009) are analysed. The case studies corroborate the theoretical arguments: not only does Russia engage in all five types of black knight election bolstering, but it does so only when one or more of the three explanatory factors are present.
Reading abilities in school‐aged preterm children: a review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Kovachy Vanessa N , Adams Jenna N , Tamaresis John S , Feldman Heidi M
Published: December 2014

Aim

Children born preterm (at ≤32wks) are at risk of developing deficits in reading ability. This meta‐analysis aims to determine whether or not school‐aged preterm children perform worse than those born at term in single‐word reading (decoding) and reading comprehension.

Method

Electronic databases were searched for studies published between 2000 and 2013, which assessed decoding or reading comprehension performance in English‐speaking preterm and term‐born children aged between 6 years and 13 years, and born after 1990. Standardized mean differences in decoding and reading comprehension scores were calculated.

Results

Nine studies were suitable for analysis of decoding, and five for analysis of reading comprehension. Random‐effects meta‐analyses showed that children born preterm had significantly lower scores (reported as Cohen's d values [d] with 95% confidence intervals [CIs]) than those born at term for decoding (d=−0.42, 95% CI −0.57 to −0.27, p<0.001) and reading comprehension (d=−0.57, 95% CI −0.68 to −0.46, p<0.001). Meta‐regressions showed that lower gestational age was associated with larger differences in decoding (Q[1]=5.92, p=0.02) and reading comprehension (Q[1]=4.69, p=0.03) between preterm and term groups. Differences between groups increased with age for reading comprehension (Q[1]=5.10, p=0.02) and, although not significant, there was also a trend for increased group differences for decoding (Q[1]=3.44, p=0.06).

Interpretation

Preterm children perform worse than peers born at term on decoding and reading comprehension. These findings suggest that preterm children should receive more ongoing monitoring for reading difficulties throughout their education.
Larval traits of the Caribbean amphidromous goby Sicydium punctatum (Gobioidei: Sicydiinae) in Guadeloupe
Authors: Lejeune Léa , Tabouret Hélène , Taillebois Laura , Monti Dominique , Keith Philippe
Published: December 2014

Amphidromous fish are the biggest contributor to the diversity of fish communities in river systems of Caribbean islands. Among them, Sicydium punctatum Perugia, 1896, which is endemic to the West Indies, represents the vast majority of fish in these rivers. The otolith microstructure and the biometry of S. punctatum postlarvae from Guadeloupe were investigated to explore the dispersal modalities of this species through an appreciation of the growth pattern, the pelagic larval duration (PLD) and the size‐at‐recruitment. The study was made on one cohort of 83 recruited postlarvae, fished at the Capesterre River's mouth on 2 November 2011. The mean (±SD) size‐at‐recruitment of the postlarvae was 24.6 ± 1.3 mm (range of 20.5–28.1 mm, n = 83). We found a mean (±SD) PLD of 72.2 ± 10.5 days (range of 54–101.5 days, n = 67). The growth rate estimated from the otolith increments showed a globally decreasing pattern during the marine larval phase. Growth rates at the beginning of the larval stage were significantly different between hatching periods, suggesting a relation between the hatching period and the growth rate in S. punctatum. This study adds on to the general understanding of the life cycle of S. punctatum in Guadeloupe that will help implement strategies to manage amphidromous fish populations in the Caribbean region.
Underplanting degraded exotic Pinus with indigenous conifers assists forest restoration
Authors: Forbes Adam S. , Norton David A. , Carswell Fiona E.
Published: December 2014

We propose that nonharvest plantations could provide important opportunities for restoration of indigenous forest cover and related ecosystem services. We assessed the relative performance of three Podocarpaceae (podocarps) species planted into a degraded Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) plantation, central North Island, New Zealand. We hypothesised that the degraded pine plantation overstorey could provide suitable conditions for the development of a podocarp‐dominated forest structure within ca. 50 years of underplanting and that podocarp growth would differ depending on the species suitability to the site. Rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum) significantly outperformed both Totara (Podocarpus totara) and Kahikatea (Dacrycarpus dacrydioides) in height and diameter growth. Rimu was now the structurally dominant tree where it occurred rather than pine. Per annum scaled carbon storage within Rimu stands was significantly greater than the Totara, Kahikatea or Pine stands. All podocarp species had attained a greater stand density compared to the pine overstorey. Possible reasons for the differing podocarp growth performance include different light requirements, response to soil nutrients, elevational distributions and frost susceptibility. There were significant differences in understorey species richness among the different stands of podocarp species. Underplanting accelerated successional development by incorporating late‐successional indigenous canopy dominants within the forest succession and overcame limitations imposed on forest succession at the site from its isolation from indigenous forest tree seed sources.
Cytosolic dsDNA triggers apoptosis and pro‐inflammatory cytokine production in normal human melanocytes
Authors: Wang Suiquan , Liu Dongyin , Ning Weixuan , Xu Aie
Published: December 2014

Considerable evidence implicates that viral infection might be a participant factor in the pathogenesis of vitiligo. However, it is still unclear how viral infection leads to the melanocyte destruction. To elucidate the effects of viral dsDNA on the viability and cytokine synthesis of normal human melanocytes and to explore the underlying mechanisms, primary cultured normal human melanocytes were transfected with poly(dA:dT). The results demonstrated that poly(dA:dT) triggered apoptosis instead of pyroptosis in melanocytes. Knocking down AIM2 or RIG‐I by RNA interference partially reduced the poly(dA:dT)‐induced LDH release, suggesting the involvement of both nucleic acid sensors in the process of melanocyte death. Poly(dA:dT) induced the expression of pro‐inflammatory cytokine genes including IFN‐β, TNF‐α, IL‐6 and IL‐8 as well, whereas the pro‐inflammatory cytokine production was suppressed by RIG‐I siRNA, but not by AIM2 siRNA. Poly(dA:dT) treatment increased the phosphorylation of p38 and JNK and NFκB. Accordingly, NFκB inhibitor Bay 11‐7082 and JNK inhibitor SP600125 blocked the induction of the cytokine genes except IFN‐β. The production of IL6 and IL8 was also suppressed by p38 inhibitor SB203580. On the contrary, the Poly(dA:dT)‐induced melanocyte death was only decreased by SP600125. This study provides the possible mechanism of melanocyte destruction and immuno‐stimulation in vitiligo by innate immune response following viral infection.
Going back to basics in design science: from the information technology artifact to the information systems artifact
Authors: Lee Allen S. , Thomas Manoj , Baskerville Richard L.
Published: December 2014

The concept of the ‘information technology (IT) artifact’ plays a central role in the information systems (IS) research community's discourse on design science. We pose the alternative concept of the ‘IS artifact’, unpacking what has been called the IT artifact into a separate ‘information artifact’, ‘technology artifact’ and ‘social artifact’. Technology artifacts (such as hardware and software), information artifacts (such as a message) and social artifacts (such as a charitable act) are different kinds of artifacts that together interact in order to form the IS artifact. We illustrate the knowledge value of the IS artifact concept with material from three cases. The result is to restore the idea that the study of design in IS needs to attend to the design of the entire IS artifact, not just the IT artifact. This result encourages an expansion in the use of design science research methodology to study broader kinds of artifacts.
Procreation, Adoption and the Contours of Obligation
Authors: Rieder Travis N.
Published: December 2014

The goal of this article is to evaluate the defensibility of wide‐spread beliefs concerning the moral value of procreating. Very many of us are ‘pro‐natal’ — that is, we have a positive moral view of making more people — but pro‐natalism is under serious threat. In particular, I argue that combining several arguments in procreative ethics generates a powerful case for the Anti‐Natal Pro‐Adoption View (ANPA), or the view that we are obligated not to procreate, but instead to satisfy any parenting desires through adoption. Although this article ultimately serves as a defence against ANPA, it does so in a very limited way: while it is false that we are obligated to adopt‐rather‐than‐procreate, I contend, this does not mean that we are off the moral hook altogether. Failing in our obligations is only one way to fail morality. Our procreative acts may yet be bad, dishonourable, selfish, and open to multiple other criticisms. And indeed, I'm afraid many of them are.
Enhancing middle school students' scientific learning and motivation through agent‐based learning
Authors: Chen C‐H. , Chou M‐H.
Published: December 2014

Facing students' decreasing motivation to pursue scientific study, schools and educators need to coordinate new technologies with pedagogical agents to effectively sustain or promote students' scientific learning and motivation to learn. Although the provision of pedagogical agents in student learning has been studied previously, it is not clear what benefits the strategy might offer with regard to student motivation. This study proposes an agent‐based mechanism that integrates problem‐solving and inquiry‐based instructions to help students better understand complex scientific concepts and to sustain their motivation to learn science. In this study, a quasi‐experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance and feasibility of our proposed mechanism. The results revealed that the agent‐based mechanism was effective and feasible for enhancing students' learning and motivation to learn. The mechanism was associated with increases in the acquisition of knowledge when compared with the control group. Its effect in promoting and sustaining students' motivation was also statistically significant. Detailed discussions of the findings are provided in this study.
The influence of father's child feeding knowledge and practices on children's dietary diversity: a study in urban and rural districts of Northern Ethiopia, 2013
Authors: Bilal Selamawit M. , Dinant GeertJan , Blanco Roman , Crutzen Rik , Mulugeta Afework , Spigt Mark
Published: December 2014

Infant and young child feeding has been recognised as an essential element to improve growth of children, especially in developing countries where malnutrition among children and its dire consequences are very prevalent. However, little attention has been paid on the influence of fathers on child feeding practices, although fathers are very important in raising well‐adjusted, happy and successful children. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the influence of fathers' child feeding knowledge and practice on children's dietary diversity. A community‐based comparative cross‐sectional study was conducted among 850 eligible urban and rural households with children of 6–23 months. The father and mother of the child were interviewed on children's dietary diversity and fathers' knowledge and practice of child feeding. Nearly half (46%) of the children in the rural district did not meet the minimum dietary diversity, and in the urban district, the rate was even worse (72%). Grains were the common food group given to the children in both districts, whereas flesh food was the least commonly consumed food group. Additionally, low vitamin A‐rich food and other fruit and vegetable consumption seem to be a problem in both districts. Almost all dimensions of fathers' knowledge and practice were significantly related to children's minimum dietary diversity; especially, fathers' knowledge of food groups was an important predictor (P‐value < 0.001) in both districts. Interventions that focus on the fathers' knowledge of child feeding, especially about food groups, are recommended to improve children's dietary diversity in the study communities.
Long‐term experimental warming alters community composition of ascomycetes in Alaskan moist and dry arctic tundra
Authors: Semenova Tatiana A. , Morgado Luis N. , Welker Jeffrey M. , Walker Marilyn D. , Smets Erik , Geml József
Published: December 2014

Arctic tundra regions have been responding to global warming with visible changes in plant community composition, including expansion of shrubs and declines in lichens and bryophytes. Even though it is well known that the majority of arctic plants are associated with their symbiotic fungi, how fungal community composition will be different with climate warming remains largely unknown. In this study, we addressed the effects of long‐term (18 years) experimental warming on the community composition and taxonomic richness of soil ascomycetes in dry and moist tundra types. Using deep Ion Torrent sequencing, we quantified how OTU assemblage and richness of different orders of Ascomycota changed in response to summer warming. Experimental warming significantly altered ascomycete communities with stronger responses observed in the moist tundra compared with dry tundra. The proportion of several lichenized and moss‐associated fungi decreased with warming, while the proportion of several plant and insect pathogens and saprotrophic species was higher in the warming treatment. The observed alterations in both taxonomic and ecological groups of ascomycetes are discussed in relation to previously reported warming‐induced shifts in arctic plant communities, including decline in lichens and bryophytes and increase in coverage and biomass of shrubs.
A case of intracranial solitary fibrous tumor/hemangiopericytoma with dedifferentiated component
Authors: Maekawa Akira , Kohashi Kenichi , Yamada Yuichi , Nakamizo Akira , Yoshimoto Koji , Mizoguchi Masahiro , Iwaki Toru , Oda Yoshinao
Published: December 2014

We report the case of a 51‐year‐old Japanese man with an intracranial dedifferentiated solitary fibrous tumor/hemangiopericytoma (SFT/HPC) identified morphologically and immunohistochemically, comprised of a typical SFT/HPC with a high‐grade pleomorphic component. NAB2‐STAT6 fusion transcripts were detected by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction in both the conventional and high‐grade components. The tumor cells in both components showed the nuclear expression of STAT6 protein, indicating the diagnostic value of these examinations. Intracranial dedifferentiated SFT/HPC is a very rare but important differential diagnosis in intracranial pleomorphic tumors.
Understanding the challenges of palliative care in everyday clinical practice: an example from aCOPDaction research project
Authors: Hynes Geralyn , Kavanagh Fiona , Hogan Christine , Ryan Kitty , Rogers Linda , Brosnan Jenny , Coghlan David
Published: December 2014

Palliative care seeks to improve the quality of life for patients suffering from the impact of life‐limiting illnesses. Palliative care encompasses but is more than end‐of‐life care, which is defined as care during the final hours/days/weeks of life. Although palliative care policies increasingly require all healthcare professionals to have at least basic or non‐specialist skills in palliative care, international evidence suggests there are difficulties in realising such policies. This study reports on an action research project aimed at developing respiratory nursing practice to address the palliative care needs of patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The findings suggest that interlevel dynamics at individual, team, interdepartmental and organisational levels are an important factor in the capacity of respiratory nurses to embed non‐specialist palliative care in their practice. At best, current efforts to embed palliative care in everyday practice may improve end‐of‐life care in the final hours/days/weeks of life. However, embedding palliative care in everyday practice requires a more fundamental shift in the organisation of care.
Multiple shifts to different pollinators fuelled rapid diversification in sexually deceptive Ophrys orchids
Authors: Breitkopf Hendrik , Onstein Renske E. , Cafasso Donata , Schlüter Philipp M. , Cozzolino Salvatore
Published: December 2014

Episodes of rapid speciation provide unique insights into evolutionary processes underlying species radiations and patterns of biodiversity. Here we investigated the radiation of sexually deceptive bee orchids (Ophrys).

Based on a time‐calibrated phylogeny and by means of ancestral character reconstruction and divergence time estimation, we estimated the tempo and mode of this radiation within a state‐dependent evolutionary framework.

It appears that, in the Pleistocene, the evolution of Ophrys was marked by episodes of rapid diversification coinciding with shifts to different pollinator types: from wasps to Eucera bees to Andrena and other bees. An abrupt increase in net diversification rate was detected in three clades. Among these, two phylogenetically distant lineages switched from Eucera to Andrena and other bees in a parallel fashion and at about the same time in their evolutionary history.

Lack of early radiation associated with the evolution of the key innovation of sexual deception suggests that Ophrys diversification was mainly driven by subsequent ecological opportunities provided by the exploitation of novel pollinator groups, encompassing many bee species slightly differing in their sex pheromone communication systems, and by spatiotemporal fluctuations in the pollinator mosaic.
Correlation of serum‐ and glucocorticoid‐regulated kinase 1 expression with ischemia–reperfusion injury after heart transplantation
Authors: Yang Xuechao , Wu Xiang , Wu Kunpeng , Yang Dunpeng , Li Yangcheng , Shi Jiahai , Liu Yonghua
Published: December 2014

IRI of a transplanted heart may result in serious early and late disadvantageous effects such as increased allograft immunogenicity, primary graft dysfunction, and initiation of fibroproliferative cascades that compromise the survival of the recipient. Sgk‐1 has recently been linked to cell growth and survival. It has been reported that through a renal transplantation model, Dexa increases Sgk‐1 expression and therefore protects from renal IRI. In our current study, we aim to assess the expression of Sgk‐1 and its protective effects on cardiomyocyte IRI after heart transplantation. Heart allograft model was performed from Wistar into Lewis, and isograft model was from Lewis into Lewis. Grafts were then harvested at one, six, 12, or 24 h post‐transplantation for Sgk‐1 expression analyses. In some groups, part donors were treated with Dexa 2 h prior at doses of 0.05, 0.5 and 2 mg/BWkg, respectively. Sgk‐1 expression was markedly increased in grafted heart 6–12 h post‐transplantation in both the allogenic and isogenic models. Immunostaining experiments confirmed that Sgk‐1 was expressed in cardiomyocytes rather than infiltrated immune cells. Furthermore, Dexa treatment significantly increased Sgk‐1 expression and the donor cardiomyocyte injury was greatly minimized by Dexa treatment. These results suggest that induction of Sgk‐1 might explain some of the beneficial impact of corticosteroids in IRI and hence might have therapeutic implications.
Early mortality after hip fracture: what matters?
Authors: Dubljanin Raspopovic Emilija , Markovic Denic Ljiljana , Marinkovic Jelena , Radinovic Kristina , Ilić Nela , Tomanović Vujadinović Sanja , Kadija Marko
Published: December 2014

Background

Hip fractures in the elderly are followed by increased mortality, which is highest in the period immediately after the fracture. Predictors for early mortality have neither been well identified nor summarized. Identification of early postoperative mortality predictors enables the stratification of high‐risk patients and can help in the development of strategies aimed at reducing risk and improving outcome after hip fracture. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of 30‐day mortality. The secondary aim was to investigate factors related to early mortality.

Methods

We examined 384 elderly patients with hip fracture. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to explore independent prognostic factors for 30‐day mortality.

Results

By the end of the 30‐day follow‐up period, 22 patients (6.4%) had died. Postoperative delirium was the only variable independently related to 30‐day mortality after hip fracture. Older, male patients with a lower cognitive status had a higher chance of developing postoperative delirium.

Discussion

Postoperative delirium is a strong independent marker of high risk for 30‐day mortality. Older, male patients with more severe cognitive impairment are at increased risk of developing postoperative delirium. Identifying patients at risk for developing postoperative delirium upon admission and early detection of delirium enable the development of targeted prevention and intervention strategies in older patients with hip fracture.
Depressive symptoms associated with dabigatran: a case report
Authors: Eryilmaz Gul , Enez Darcin Asli , Saglam Esra , Gogcegoz Gul Isil
Published: December 2014

Several studies have reported that depression and anxiety are very common in atrial fibrillation due to impaired quality of life. Dabigatran is an anti‐aggregation agent used for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. In terms of drug interactions during treatment with dabigatran, patients suffering from minor depression are reported to be a population at risk. This report is about a 68‐year‐old man whose depressive symptoms were aggravated after taking dabigatran for atrial fibrillation. The case is discussed in terms of his aggravated depressive symptoms and the interaction between his prescription medications.
The use of nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs in critically ill horses
Authors: Cook Vanessa L. , Blikslager Anthony T.
Published: December 2014

Objective

To review the physiology of the cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes with reference to the beneficial effects of nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) related to their analgesic and antiendotoxic properties as well as the mechanisms responsible for adverse gastrointestinal, renal, and coagulation effects.

Data Sources

Human and veterinary peer reviewed literature

Veterinary Data Synthesis

NSAIDs are frequently administered to critically ill horses for their analgesic and anti‐inflammatory effects. However, NSAIDs have significant side effects principally on the gastrointestinal mucosa and kidneys. These side effects may be exacerbated in critically ill horses if they have gastrointestinal damage or are volume depleted

Conclusions

This review provides important information for equine veterinarians and criticalists on the advantages and disadvantages of using traditional NSAIDs and newer equine COX‐2 selective NSAIDs for the management of different conditions in critically ill horses.
AN EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE MECHANISM OF MILK SECRETION, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE ACTION OF ANIMAL EXTRACTS
Authors: Mackenzie Kenneth
Published: December 2014

1. The mammary gland is, as regards its secretory activity, not under the direct influence of the nervous system.

2. Agents which cause its activity and also those which produce inhibition of its action reach it by means of the blood‐stream.

3. The organs of the body which produce hormones possessing the power of stimulating the mammary gland to activity are (a) pituitary body, (b) corpus luteum, (c) pineal body, (d) involuting uterus, (e) the lactating mammary gland itself.

4. The pituitary body is in this respect the most powerful. Its active galactagogue substance is formed in the posterior lobe of the gland, and is not specific to mammals, being present also in the pituitary gland of the bird.

5. Hormones inhibitory of mammary secretion are produced by the fœtus and placenta.

6. Drugs such as pilocarpine, which cause marked activity of most other glandular organs, and others, such as atropine, which inhibit the secretion of most glands, have no effect upon the secretion of the mammary gland.

7. Since the action of these drugs in promoting or arresting secretion of ordinary glands is in all probability exerted through nerves which are distributed to the secreting cells, it is concluded that there are no such nerves in the mammary gland. This conclusion is supported by the fact that neither section of the nerve trunks supplied to this gland nor their faradic stimulation appears to have any influence on the secretion of milk.
THE EFFECT OF LOW TEMPERATURES ON COLD‐BLOODED ANIMALS
Authors: Cameron A. T. , Brownlee T. I.
Published: December 2014

1. Frogs freeze at a temperature of −0·44° ±0·02° C. in a manner very similar to that of solutions isotonic with their body‐fluid.

2. Specimens of R. pipiens obtained from the neighbourhood of Chicago will survive a temperature of −1° C. They will not survive a temperature of −1·8° C.

3. The heart tissue, whether exsected or in vivo, of these frogs survives a temperature of −2·5°, but is killed by a temperature of −3·0° C.

4. Since this is the case, and since similar experiments by other observers have shown that muscular tissue will survive a temperature of −2·9° C., while the peripheral nerves are not killed by much lower temperatures, it appears probable that the cause of death is connected with a specific temperature effect on the brain or cord.

5. It is unlikely that frogs survive the low temperatures of the air and superficial layers of the earth of a Manitoban winter. Their winter quarters are probably situated in a layer of mud or soil which retains a temperature in the neighbourhood of 0° C.
THE INFLUENCE OF EARLY REMOVAL OF THE THYROID AND PARATHYROID GLANDS UPON NITROGENOUS METABOLISM IN THE SHEEP
Authors: Hunter Andrew
Published: December 2014

From a study of three sheep, each of which had been deprived at an early age of its thyroid, and somewhat later of its parathyroids, it is concluded that such animals—

1. Excrete during a fast rather more nitrogen and rather more purine derivatives, in relation at any rate to body weight, than do normal animals;

2. Are liable, although by no means certain, to succumb very early to the effects of inanition;

3. May fail to exhibit such signs of hunger acidosis as a high output of ammonia, and the elimination of aceto‐acetic acid;

4. Excrete, while fasting, urine which is generally alkaline and never acid;

5. Invariably react to the withdrawal of food by the excretion of creatine in excess of creatinine;

6. Exhibit in the relations of the purine catabolites no evidence of diminished oxidative power;

7. Have a degree of sugar tolerance which is almost certainly above the normal.