bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Antioxidant activity of prebiotic ginseng polysaccharides combined with potential probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum C88
Authors: He Zhongmei , Wang Xiaohui , Li Guofeng , Zhao Yujuan , Zhang Jian , Niu Chunhua , Zhang Li , Zhang Xue , Ying Dashi , Li Shengyu
Published: May 2015

The potential prebiotic properties of Panax ginseng polysaccharides were studied using ten strains of Lactobacillus plantarum isolated from traditional Chinese fermented foods. These probiotics showed different growth characteristics depending on the extract and strain specificity. L. plantarum C88 showed higher cell densities and growth rate when cultured on P. ginseng polysaccharides. In the in vitro antioxidant assay, P. ginseng polysaccharides combined with L. plantarum C88 were found to possess significant DPPH, ABTS and superoxide anion radicals scavenging activities, and acidic polysaccharides showed better antioxidant activity than neutral polysaccharides. Furthermore, we evaluated the antioxidant effect of acidic P. ginseng polysaccharide combined with L. plantarum C88 strain in natural ageing mice in vivo. Acidic P. ginseng polysaccharide and L. plantarum C88 together inhibited the formation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and increased the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐Px), catalase (CAT) and total antioxidant capacities (T‐AOC) in a dose‐dependent manner.
Effect of exogenous spermine on quality and sucrose metabolism of vegetable soya bean (Glycine max L.) during cold storage
Authors: Song Jiangfeng , Wang Yuan , Liu Chunquan , Li Dajing
Published: May 2015

Vegetable soya bean deteriorates quickly after harvest at ambient temperature due to loss of green colour and consequent yellowing of grains. To seek an effective method to control the postharvest quality, the effect of exogenous spermine on visual quality, sugar loss and sucrose‐metabolising enzyme activities of vegetable soya bean (Glycine max L.) during cold storage was investigated. The results showed that exogenous spermine (1.0 mmol L−1) noticeably prolonged shelf life, inhibited the increase of weight loss and decay index and retained the colour. It also significantly minimised sucrose loss by regulating the activities of sucrose‐metabolising enzymes. Sucrose content negatively correlated with acid invertase (AI) activity at P < 0.05, while positively with sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) activity at P < 0.01. There was no significant correlation with the activities of neutral invertase and sucrose synthase. These results indicated that the AI and SPS activities might play an important role in the control of sucrose metabolism resulting in reduction of sucrose loss.
Consanguineous Marriage in Turkish Families in Turkey and in Western Europe
Authors: Baykara-Krumme Helen
Published: May 2015

The paper compares the prevalence and development of consanguineous marriages between Turkish migrants in Western Europe and stayers from the same regions of origin in Turkey. Analyses draw from three-generational family data of the 2000 Families study. Findings suggest a decline of kin marriage over generations and time in both groups, but a higher prevalence of kin marriage among migrants. Parental impact was influential, but effects of transmission were lower among migrants. Kin marriage was strongly linked with cross-border partner choice. The results support previous findings and indicate the specific effect of migration on seemingly traditional patterns of marriage.
As French as Anyone Else: Islam and the North African Second Generation in France
Authors: Beaman Jean
Published: May 2015

Amid growing Islamophobia throughout Europe, Muslims in France have been described as “ethnoracial outsiders” (Bleich 2006, 3–7) and framed as a cultural challenge to the identity of the French republic. Based on ethnographic research of 45 middle class adult children of North African, or Maghrébin, immigrants, I focus on the actual religious practices of this segment of the French Muslim population, the symbolic boundaries around those practices, and the relationship between how middle class, North African second-generation immigrants understand their marginalization within mainstream society and how they frame their religiosity to respond to this marginalization. How respondents frame their practices reveals their allegiance with the tenets of French Republicanism and laïcité as well as shows how Muslim religious practices are being accommodated to the French context. This religiosity is not a barrier to asserting a French identity. Individuals frame their religious practices in ways that suggest they see themselves as just as French as anyone else.
Entering New Markets in the Presence of Competition: Price Discrimination versus Cannibalization
Authors: Siebert Ralph
Published: May 2015

This study focuses on firms' optimal entry strategies in new markets when products are differentiated in quality. We are interested in investigating how many products of different qualities firms should introduce into an empty market. One profitable strategy is that firms introduce multiple products to proliferate the product space such that entry by competitors is deterred. Our results show that firms' optimal strategy to enter new markets is described by introducing a single product only. Firms differentiate their products not only toward their rivals' products to soften price competition, but also toward their own goods in order to avoid cannibalizing their own (high quality) product demand.
Crowdfunding: Geography, Social Networks, and the Timing of Investment Decisions
Authors: Agrawal Ajay , Catalini Christian , Goldfarb Avi
Published: May 2015

We examine a crowdfunding platform that connects artists with funders. Although the Internet reduces many distance‐related frictions, local and distant funders exhibit different funding patterns. Local funders appear less responsive to information about the cumulative funds raised by an artist. However, this distance effect appears to proxy for a social effect: it is largely explained by funders who likely have an offline social relationship with the artist (“friends and family”). Yet, this social effect does not persist past the first investment, suggesting that it may be driven by an activity like search but not monitoring. Thus, although the platform seems to diminish many distance‐sensitive costs, it does not eliminate all of them. These findings provide a deeper understanding of the abilities and limitations of online markets to facilitate transactions and convey information between buyers and sellers with varying degrees of social connectedness.
Business Partners: Complementary Assets, Financing, and Invention Commercialization
Authors: Åstebro Thomas , Serrano Carlos J.
Published: May 2015

This paper assesses the relative importance of the complementary assets and financial capital that business partners may add to the original inventor‐entrepreneur. Projects run by partnerships were five times as likely to reach commercialization as those without business partners, and they had mean revenues approximately 10 times as great as projects run by solo entrepreneurs. These gross differences may be due both to partners impacting business success that is, who the particular partners were, and to selection of the type of project or of whom to select as a partner. After controlling for selection effects and observed/unobserved heterogeneity, the smallest estimate of partners' complementary assets approximately doubles the probability of commercialization and increases expected revenues by 29% at the sample mean. Our findings suggest that a critical policy option to increase commercialization rates and revenues for early‐stage businesses is to support the market for finding skilled partners.
Urban stormwater flood management in the Cordeiro watershed, São Paulo, Brazil: does the interaction between socio‐political and technical aspects create an opportunity to attain community resilience?
Authors: Borba M.L. , Warner J. F. , Porto M. F. A.
Published: May 2015

In the urban Cordeiro watershed, São Paulo, Brazil, the impervious surface has reduced stormwater infiltration and the drainage system has become insufficient. Engineering firms have been contracted, under government supervision, to implement the construction of six water reservoirs in order to decrease the frequent flood events in the watershed. The main purpose of this article is to contribute to the study of the relationship between technical and socio‐political aspects of urban stormwater drainage, as technical solutions alone have proven to be insufficient. Research conducted in the area shows that residents and businessmen construct individual infrastructure to protect their homes and businesses, independent of any interaction with engineering firms or local government officials. Relevant literature suggests that stronger interaction among these stakeholders offers an opportunity to evolve from self‐reliance into a collective strategy of resilience, enhancing the effectiveness of flood risk management practices.
The relationship between mother to child calories served and maternal perception of hunger
Authors: Stromberg S. E. , Janicke D. M.
Published: May 2015

Background

Research has examined self‐serving portions in adults and children and has shown that larger portion size is related to more calories consumed. The present study examines factors that may influence the portion sizes a mother serves her child at a mealtime.

Methods

The present observational study included a community‐based sample of 29 mother–child dyads. Dyads attended a 1‐h session in which they shared a meal together. A buffet of food was provided and the mother was asked to serve her child and herself. The amount of food served and consumed by the child was recorded. Main independent variables of interest included maternal body mass index (BMI), child BMI Z‐score, and maternal perception of personal and child hunger. The primary dependent variable was the total calories the mother served her child. Regression models and a moderated mediation were used to examine the relation between variables.

Results

Calories served to the child was positively associated with calories consumed by the child. Maternal perception of her own hunger was related to her perception of her child's hunger. Furthermore, maternal perception of child hunger explained the relationship between maternal perception of personal hunger and total calories served to the child, although only for obese mothers.

Conclusions

Mothers may be serving their children larger portion sizes based on their personal weight and their perception of their child's hunger. To help children obtain or maintain a healthy weight, obesity prevention and intervention programmes should help mothers serve more appropriate serving sizes to their children.
Adaptive optics in spinning disk microscopy: improved contrast and brightness by a simple and fast method
Authors: FRAISIER V. , CLOUVEL G. , JASAITIS A. , DIMITROV A. , PIOLOT T. , SALAMERO J.
Published: May 2015

Multiconfocal microscopy gives a good compromise between fast imaging and reasonable resolution. However, the low intensity of live fluorescent emitters is a major limitation to this technique. Aberrations induced by the optical setup, especially the mismatch of the refractive index and the biological sample itself, distort the point spread function and further reduce the amount of detected photons. Altogether, this leads to impaired image quality, preventing accurate analysis of molecular processes in biological samples and imaging deep in the sample. The amount of detected fluorescence can be improved with adaptive optics. Here, we used a compact adaptive optics module (adaptive optics box for sectioning optical microscopy), which was specifically designed for spinning disk confocal microscopy. The module overcomes undesired anomalies by correcting for most of the aberrations in confocal imaging. Existing aberration detection methods require prior illumination, which bleaches the sample. To avoid multiple exposures of the sample, we established an experimental model describing the depth dependence of major aberrations. This model allows us to correct for those aberrations when performing a z‐stack, gradually increasing the amplitude of the correction with depth. It does not require illumination of the sample for aberration detection, thus minimizing photobleaching and phototoxicity. With this model, we improved both signal‐to‐background ratio and image contrast. Here, we present comparative studies on a variety of biological samples.
Illustrating ontogenetic change in the dentition of theNile monitor lizard,Varanus niloticus: a case study in the application of geometric morphometric methods for the quantification of shape–size heterodonty
Authors: D'Amore Domenic C.
Published: May 2015

Many recent attempts have been made to quantify heterodonty in non‐mammalian vertebrates, but the majority of these are limited to Euclidian measurements. One taxon frequently investigated isVaranus niloticus, the Nile monitor. Juveniles possess elongate, pointed teeth (caniniform) along the entirety of the dental arcade, whereas adults develop large, bulbous distal teeth (molariform). The purpose of this study was to present a geometric morphometric method to quantifyV. niloticusheterodonty through ontogeny that may be applied to other non‐mammalian taxa. Data were collected from the entire tooth row of 19 dry skull specimens. A semilandmark analysis was conducted on the outline of the photographed teeth, and size and shape were derived. Width was also measured with calipers. From these measures, sample ranges and allometric functions were created using multivariate statistical analyses for each tooth position separately, as well as overall measures of heterodonty for each specimen based on morphological disparity. The results confirm and expand upon previous studies, showing measurable shape–size heterodonty in the species with significant differences at each tooth position. Tooth size increases with body size at most positions, and the allometric coefficient increases at more distal positions. Width shows a dramatic increase at the distal positions with ontogeny, often displaying pronounced positive allometry. Dental shape varied in two noticeable ways, with the first composing the vast majority of shape variance: (i) caniniformy vs. molariformy and (ii) mesially leaning, ‘rounded’ apices vs. distally leaning, ‘pointed’ apices. The latter was twice as influential in the mandible, a consequence of host bone shape. Mesial teeth show no significant shape change with growth, whereas distal teeth change significantly due primarily to an increase in molariformy. Overall, heterodonty increases with body size concerning both tooth size and shape, but shape heterodonty changes in the mandible are much less pronounced. Although it is unclear to what degreeV. niloticusspecializes in hard prey items (durophagy), previous studies of varanid feeding behavior, along with research on analogous durophagous vertebrates, indicate a division of labor along the tooth row in adults, due to a possible transition to at least a partial durophagous niche. The geometric morphometric method proposed here, although not without its own limitations, may be ideal for use with a number of dental morphotypes in the future.
Promoting graded exercise as a part of multimodal treatment in patients diagnosed with stress‐related exhaustion
Authors: Gerber Markus , Jonsdottir Ingibjörg H , Arvidson Elin , Lindwall Magnus , Lindegård Agneta
Published: May 2015

Aims and objectives

The purpose of this study was to examine, by using patient cohort data, the changes in exercise habits during a 12‐month multimodal treatment period, in patients seeking specialist care for stress‐related exhaustion.

Background

Randomised controlled trials have greatly contributed to the fact that both physicians and patients regard regular exercise participation as a highly valuable and effective treatment for mental health disorders. Nevertheless, little is known about the adherence to physical activity recommendations for patients with stress‐related mental problems in a clinical setting. Knowledge about what can be achieved within the clinical context, and how current treatments can be improved, is crucial for clinicians, researchers, educators, managers and policy makers involved in nursing practice.

Design

Longitudinal analysis of patient cohort data.

Methods

The sample consisted of 169 patients (79% women; mean age = 42·7 years) who were referred to a stress clinic due to stress‐related exhaustion. All patients received multimodal treatment with similar components. Two different approaches to promote exercise were used in the clinical work (general comprehensive instruction either with or without an 18‐week coached exercise programme). The self‐reported overall exercise level was assessed at baseline and at three, six and 12 months after the first visit. Group by time effects were examined with repeated measures analyses of variance.

Results

The frequency, duration and intensity of exercise increased substantially during the first three months of multimodal treatment. Although exercise levels tended to decrease thereafter, there was still a significant time effect at the 12‐month follow‐up showing that follow‐up exercise levels were higher than at baseline.

Conclusion

Both general exercise instructions and coached exercise were effective in promoting exercise involvement.

Relevance to clinical practice

Exercise can be successfully promoted as a part of multimodal treatment in patients with stress‐related exhaustion.
Discovering what works well: exploring quality dementia care in hospital wards using an appreciative inquiry approach
Authors: Scerri Anthony , Innes Anthea , Scerri Charles
Published: May 2015

Aims and objectives

To explore the quality dementia care in two geriatric hospital wards using appreciative inquiry with formal care workers and family members of inpatients with dementia.

Background

Care models such as person‐centred and relationship‐centred care have been developed to explain what ‘quality’ dementia care should be. However, their usefulness and relevance to clinicians has been questioned.

Design

Using an exploratory qualitative design within an appreciative inquiry framework, 33 care workers working in a geriatric hospital and 10 family members of patients with dementia were interviewed.

Methods

Open‐ended questions were asked to encourage care workers to narrate positive care experiences when the care was perceived to be at its best and to identify what made these experiences possible. Interviews were audio‐taped and transcribed whilst data were analysed thematically using a qualitative data analysis software to assist in data management.

Results

Positive care experiences can be understood within five care processes, namely building a relationship between the ‘extended’ dementia care triad, providing ‘quality time’ and ‘care in time’, going the ‘extra mile’, attending to the psychosocial needs and attending to the physical needs with a ‘human touch’. Factors facilitating these positive care experiences included personal attributes of care workers, and organisational, environmental and contextual factors.

Conclusions

This study provides an alternative and pragmatic approach to understanding quality dementia care and complements the body of knowledge on factors influencing dementia care practices in hospitals.

Relevance to clinical practice

By understanding the components of quality dementia care and how these can be achieved from different stakeholders, it is possible to develop strategies aimed at improving the care offered to patients with dementia in hospitals.
Parental satisfaction with inpatient care of children with cerebral palsy
Authors: Iannelli Maria , Harvey Adrienne , O'Neill Jenny , Reddihough Dinah
Published: May 2015

Aim

Children with cerebral palsy (CP) have complex health‐care needs. This study examines levels of parental satisfaction with inpatient care for children with CP at a tertiary care hospital to identify areas for improvement.

Methods

Parents/guardians of children with CP and parents/guardians of children without a disability admitted to hospital completed a custom‐designed questionnaire assessing six areas of the hospital admission: (i) the admission process; (ii) the child's personal care; (iii) the child's medical care; (iv) overall care of the child; (v) the parent's experience in hospital; and (vi) keeping up to date in hospital. Differences between the two groups were analysed using Student's t‐tests.

Results

Parents of children with CP were significantly less satisfied with the inpatient care as compared with parents of children without a disability in four of the six categories: ‘my child's personal care’ (P = 0.0033), ‘my child's medical care’ (P = 0.0350), ‘overall care’ (P = 0.0081) and ‘my experience in the hospital’ (P = 0.0209). When the overall questionnaire was compared between the two groups, parents of children with CP were less satisfied with care than parents of children without a disability (P = 0.0036).

Conclusion

Parents of children with CP are less satisfied with the inpatient care of their child compared with parents of children without a disability. This information should be instrumental in informing change to ensure that parent satisfaction levels improve to a level consistent with other children admitted to a tertiary care setting.
Undescended testis: Level of knowledge among potential referring health‐care providers
Authors: Lim Li Yan , Nah Shireen A , Lakshmi Narasimhan K , Yap Te‐Lu , Jacobsen Anette S , Low Yee , Ong Caroline CP
Published: May 2015

Aim

Studies report that most boys with undescended testis(UDT) are referred and operated beyond the recommended age of 1 year, possibly due to lack of awareness of treatment guidelines. We investigate the level of knowledge of UDT among potential referring health‐care providers.

Method

We devised a survey on the clinical features and appropriate management of UDT. Using convenience sampling, we approached health‐care professionals with regular contact with paediatric patients and final year medical students. Respondents were allowed to remain anonymous. They were categorised according to specialty and level of experience/training.

Results

Of 1179 approached, 203 responded. Thirty‐six (24%) of 149 qualified doctors had never seen a case of UDT. Median score was 6 (range 1–9). There was no significant difference in scores when comparing specialty. Mean scores decreased significantly in trend according to level of experience. When questioned regarding timings of referral and orchidopexy, 24% of qualified doctors would not refer until 9 months of age, and 66% thought orchidopexy should be done after 1 year old. Half would stop examining for UDT after 2 years old.

Conclusions

Inexperience with UDT and outdated knowledge may contribute to delays in referral for UDT. Many would stop examining for UDT at 2 years old, placing undue reliance on accurate physical examination in early childhood and indicating lack of awareness of the ascending testis. Community health initiatives must emphasise recent changes in guidelines for management of UDT.
Protective effects of polyphenol‐rich blackcurrant preparation on biochemical and metabolic biomarkers of rats fed a diet high in fructose
Authors: Jaroslawska J. , Wroblewska M. , Juskiewicz J. , Brzuzan L. , Zdunczyk Z.
Published: May 2015

The purpose of the study was to compare in vivo effects of dietary supplementation with blackcurrant pomaces containing variable level of phenolic compounds on blood and internal organ parameters in rats. Forty‐eight growing Wistar rats were allocated to six treatment groups in which they were fed ad libitum for 4 weeks the following diets: standard chow (group S), high‐fructose diet (group F), standard chow supplemented with 7.7% of either rich in polyphenols unprocessed blackcurrant pomace (UB) or polyphenol‐deprived processed pomace (PB) (groups SUB and SPB respectively), and high‐fructose diet with 7.7% of either UB or PB (groups FUB and FPB respectively). Blackcurrant pomace, irrespective of its phenolic content, selectively modulated the enzymatic activity of the colon microflora, reducing the activity of enzymes with potentially harmful properties and promoting activities of enzymes that might increase the use of carbohydrates that escaped digestion in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Although both pomaces increased antioxidant status of the liver and blood serum, the unprocessed pomace showed a greater ability to inhibit lipid peroxidation in heart and kidney than the pomace that was less abundant in polyphenols. Both of the examined pomaces had a positive influence on serum lipid profile, but better hypocholesterolemic effect was observed after supplementation of the diet with unprocessed preparation. The biochemical action of unprocessed pomace in the normalization of fructose‐induced disturbances was more distinct than those of pomace remaining after extraction.
Longitudinal Evaluation of Sexual Function in a Cohort of Pre- and Postmenopausal Women
Authors: Burri Andrea , Hilpert Peter , Spector Timothy
Published: May 2015

Introduction

Aspects of women's sexual functioning that have received relatively little attention are its stability and how changes in the different sexual response domains influence each other over time.

Aim

The aim of this study was to describe the changes and to evaluate the stability of self-reported sexual functioning over a 4-year period in a population sample of British women.

Methods

A 4-year follow-up study on N = 507 women, including 178 pre- and 329 postmenopausal women, was conducted. The validated Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) was applied.

Main Outcome Measure

A multigroup path analytical model was used to examine autoregressive effects (the effect of a domain on itself at a later point in time) and cross-lag effects (one variable affecting another variable at a later point in time) across all FSFI domains of sexual functioning between pre- and postmenopausal women.

Results

Overall, the proportion of postmenopausal women suffering from a sexual dysfunction at measurement point 1 (T1) was higher compared with premenopausal women (pre: 34.3% vs. post: 14.5%). However, both groups showed a comparable number of women developing a sexual problem (pre: 22.2% vs. post: 23.2%) or improving their sexual functioning (7.4% vs. 7.6%) after the 4 years. Furthermore, path model analyses revealed that each domain at T1 significantly predicted its level 4 years later (βs ranging from 0.33 for arousal to 0.57 for lubrication), with the exception of sexual satisfaction. In terms of cross-lag effects, the changes in all domains except for pain were predicted either by levels of desire, arousal, or orgasm at T1 (βs ranging from 0.18 to 0.36) in both groups.

Conclusions

Women's sexual functioning was moderately stable across the 4 years. The main predictors of changes in sexual functioning and satisfaction were desire and arousal, highlighting their role as possible key players in women's sexual health.
The Streptococcus pyogenes orphan protein tyrosine phosphatase, SP‐PTP, possesses dual specificity and essential virulence regulatory functions
Authors: Kant Sashi , Agarwal Shivani , Pancholi Preeti , Pancholi Vijay
Published: May 2015

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a human pathogen that causes high morbidity and mortality. GAS lacks a gene encoding tyrosine kinase but contains one encoding tyrosine phosphatase (SP‐PTP). Thus, GAS is thought to lack tyrosine phosphorylation, and the physiological significance of SP‐PTP is, therefore, questionable. Here, we demonstrate that SP‐PTP possesses dual phosphatase specificity for Tyr‐ and Ser/Thr‐phosphorylated GAS proteins, such as Ser/Thr kinase (SP‐STK) and the SP‐STK‐phosphorylated CovR and WalR proteins. Phenotypic analysis of GAS mutants lacking SP‐PTP revealed that the phosphatase activity per se positively regulates growth, cell division and the ability to adhere to and invade host cells. Furthermore, A549 human lung cells infected with GAS mutants lacking SP‐PTP displayed increased Ser‐/Thr‐/Tyr‐phosphorylation. SP‐PTP also differentially regulates the expression of ∼50% of the total GAS genes, including several virulence genes potentially through the two‐component regulators, CovR, WalR and PTS/HPr regulation of Mga. Although these mutants exhibit attenuated virulence, a GAS mutant overexpressing SP‐PTP is hypervirulent. Our study provides the first definitive evidence for the presence and importance of Tyr‐phosphorylation in GAS and the relevance of SP‐PTP as an important therapeutic target.
A conspectus of Indo‐Burmese Annonaceae
Authors: Turner I. M.
Published: May 2015

A list of the Annonaceae taxa native to the Indo‐Burmese Region is presented. Species are listed with synonyms and types, and the regional distribution is given by country (India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Burma). In total, 195 species from 28 genera are listed. Two new combinations, Monoon nitidum (A. DC.) I. M. Turner and Polyalthia malabarica (Bedd.) I. M. Turner, are included. Polyalthia corticosa (Pierre) Finet & Gagnep. is considered the correct name for P. obliqua in India and Bangladesh. Artabotrys cubittii Chatterjee is reduced to a synonym of A. burmanicus A. DC. Two new records for Burma, Polyalthia bullata King and Uvaria hahnii (Finet & Gagnep.) J. Sinclair, are presented.
Combination Systemic Fluorouracil and Radiation for the Treatment of Recalcitrant Condyloma with Associated Squamous Cell Carcinoma in an Immunocompromised 15‐Year‐Old Girl
Authors: Paul Suchismita , Cheng Carol E. , Kroshinsky Daniela
Published: May 2015

Condylomata acuminata (CA), or anogenital warts, are typically benign lesions caused by human papillomavirus infection. Although they are rare, immunocompromised individuals are at a higher risk of CA undergoing transformation into invasive anal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). These patients need aggressive evaluation and management. Treatment of CA is challenging, particularly for immunocompromised hosts, in whom warts are resistant to treatment and commonly recur. Currently, there is no gold standard treatment for CA, especially in children and immunodeficient individuals. We report the case of a 15‐year‐old immunocompromised girl with severe recalcitrant condyloma that resolved after a course of systemic 5‐fluorouracil, mitomycin C, and radiation therapy for SCC.
Nutritional levels of pregnant and postpartum tsetse Glossina pallidipes Austen captured in artificial warthog burrows in the Zambezi Valley of Zimbabwe
Authors: Hargrove John W. , Muzari Mutizwa O.
Published: May 2015

In Zimbabwe, female tsetse Glossina pallidipes Austen, collected from artificial warthog burrows and subjected to ovarian dissection and nutritional analysis, provide the first field estimates of resource allocation from mother to offspring across all of pregnancy. Approximately 45% of 1833 females captured are full‐term pregnant on entering the burrow. The remainder presumably use burrows as refuges at temperatures >32 °C. Maternal residual dry weight (RDW) increases by 1.5 mg after the first feed post‐larviposition but, thereafter, only by 1.4 mg by 90% of pregnancy completion. Uterine RDW changes little by 60% of pregnancy completion but increases by >6 mg by parturition. Between the times of 5% and 90% pregnancy completion, maternal RDW is approximately constant: it then declines 2.8 mg by parturition, balancing larval gains of 2.6 mg. Mothers accumulate 6.3 mg of fat in the first 80% of pregnancy, while uterine fat increases by only 0.8 mg. Thereafter, by parturition, larval fat increases by 4.1 mg, whereas maternal fat declines by 3.3 mg. The larva deposited is 5% heavier than its mother and has 52% more fat. RDW and fat levels, corrected for fly size and haematin, are 1 and 2 mg, respectively, lower in females from traps than those from burrows. Burrow catches provide an improved picture of tsetse pregnancy dynamics, highlighting a reproductive strategy involving resource commitment to the larva being delayed until late pregnancy when sufficient stores guarantee viable pupal production. Larval development in tsetse starts significantly later than the analogous changes during pregnancy in two mammals and two viviparous fish.
Enterobacter asburiae KE17 association regulates physiological changes and mitigates the toxic effects of heavy metals in soybean
Authors: Kang S.‐M. , Radhakrishnan R. , You Y.‐H. , Khan A.‐L. , Lee K.‐E. , Lee J.‐D. , Lee I.‐J.
Published: May 2015

This study aimed to elucidate the role played by Enterobacter asburiae KE17 in the growth and metabolism of soybeans during copper (100 μm Cu) and zinc (100 μm Zn) toxicity. When compared to controls, plants grown under Cu and Zn stress exhibited significantly lower growth rates, but inoculation with E. asburiae KE17 increased growth rates of stressed plants. The concentrations of plant hormones (abscisic acid and salicylic acid) and rates of lipid peroxidation were higher in plants under heavy metal stress, while total chlorophyll, carotenoid content and total polyphenol concentration were lower. While the bacterial treatment reduced the abscisic acid and salicylic acid content and lipid peroxidation rate of Cu‐stressed plants, it also increased the concentration of photosynthetic pigments and total polyphenol. Moreover, the heavy metals induced increased accumulation of free amino acids such as aspartic acid, threonine, serine, glycine, alanine, leucine, isoleucine, tyrosine, proline and gamma‐aminobutyric acid, while E. asburiae KE17 significantly reduced concentrations of free amino acids in metal‐affected plants. Co‐treatment with E. asburiae KE17 regulated nutrient uptake by enhancing nitrogen content and inhibiting Cu and Zn accumulation in soybean plants. The results of this study suggest that E. asburiae KE17 mitigates the effects of Cu and Zn stress by reprogramming plant metabolic processes.
The Strategy‐Focused Factory in Turbulent Times
Authors: Brumme Hendrik , Simonovich Daniel , Skinner Wickham , Van Wassenhove Luk N.
Published: May 2015

Few unfocused factories outperform competitors, but focus is elusive because the environment is constantly evolving and this requires changes to a factory's key tasks. So how can focus be achieved and sustained? We present insights derived from an historical analysis of the German Hewlett‐Packard server plant which went through a series of focus changes over the years. Using this example, we provide clues for the right timing of focus changes and discuss critical structural and infrastructural changes required during the focus transitions, as well as cross‐functional coordination and leadership challenges. Our assertion is that production operations constitute a system that can adapt to disruptive change by using the levers of manufacturing policies to stay focused on a limited but absolutely essential task which creates a strategic advantage.
Service Channel Choice for Supply Chain: Who is Better Off by Undertaking the Service?
Authors: Li Xiang , Li Yongjian , Cai Xiaoqiang , Shan Jun
Published: May 2015

In recent years, increasing interests have arisen in adding product value through the provision of service. This study considers the problem in which a demand‐enhancing service can be provided by different supply chain parties, resulting in four alternative service channels: (a) manufacturer undertaking service, namely M‐channel, (b) retailer undertaking service, namely R‐channel, (c) manufacturer outsourcing service to third‐party (3P), namely M‐3P‐channel, and (d) retailer outsourcing service to 3P, namely R‐3P‐channel. We quantitatively model these service channels and derive the optimal decisions with the following observations: When the service costs are equal for the different parties, there is a conflict in service channel choice since both the manufacturer and the retailer prefer to undertake the service or hire the 3P by themselves, although M‐channel generates the highest market demand and system profit; When the service costs are different among these parties, R‐channel and 3P‐channels are more preferable if the service cost is less sensitive to the service level and if the market demand is more sensitive to the service level. We also conduct an empirical study to test some of the insights developed from the analytical models; our empirical findings support the analytical results.
Multitasking: Effects of processing multiple auditory feature patterns
Authors: Miller Tova , Chen Sufen , Lee Wei Wei , Sussman Elyse S.
Published: May 2015

ERPs and behavioral responses were measured to assess how task‐irrelevant sounds interact with task processing demands and affect the ability to monitor and track multiple sound events. Participants listened to four‐tone sequential frequency patterns, and responded to frequency pattern deviants (reversals of the pattern). Irrelevant tone feature patterns (duration and intensity) and respective pattern deviants were presented together with frequency patterns and frequency pattern deviants in separate conditions. Responses to task‐relevant and task‐irrelevant feature pattern deviants were used to test processing demands for irrelevant sound input. Behavioral performance was significantly better when there were no distracting feature patterns. Errors primarily occurred in response to the to‐be‐ignored feature pattern deviants. Task‐irrelevant elicitation of ERP components was consistent with the error analysis, indicating a level of processing for the irrelevant features. Task‐relevant elicitation of ERP components was consistent with behavioral performance, demonstrating a “cost” of performance when there were two feature patterns presented simultaneously. These results provide evidence that the brain tracked the irrelevant duration and intensity feature patterns, affecting behavioral performance. Overall, our results demonstrate that irrelevant informational streams are processed at a cost, which may be considered a type of multitasking that is an ongoing, automatic processing of task‐irrelevant sensory events.
Prevalence of oropharyngeal antibiotic‐resistant flora among residents of aged care facilities: a pilot study
Authors: Etherton‐Beer Christopher D. , Inglis Tim , Waterer Grant
Published: May 2015

Residents in 11 long‐term care facilities, and presenting to a single tertiary hospital site, were sampled to estimate prevalence of oropharyngeal colonization with resistant Gram‐negative bacteria. From 124 residents, only one isolate (0.8%; 95% confidence interval 0.0%, 4.4) was multi‐resistant (an extended‐spectrum β‐lactamase producing Escherichia coli) indicating that different treatment recommendations for respiratory infections in this population may not be justified.
A novel HLA‐A allele, HLA‐A*02:544
Authors: Zhu X. , Yang T. , Tan R. , Su P. , Luo Z. , Zhen X.
Published: May 2015

The novel allele HLA‐A*02:544 has two nucleotide changes from its most closely related allele, HLA‐A*02:148. Firstly at nucleotide 255 where C → T (codon 60 GAC → GAT), resulting in a non‐coding change as GAC and GAT both code for the same amino acid aspartic acid. Secondly at nucleotide 368 where T → G (codon 98 TTT → TGT) resulting in a coding change, 98 phenylalanine is changed to cysteine.
Leviathan and the Experience of Sensory Ethnography
Authors: Pavsek Christopher
Published: May 2015

This article explores the genre of “sensory ethnography” through an investigation of the film Leviathan (2012, Lucien Castaing‐Taylor and Véréna Paravel) and the critical discourse that has arisen around the film. It argues that even as the film dynamically explores new aesthetic territory, some of its basic presuppositions about the ability for film to convey experience and to represent the sensory world remain unexamined for the ways in which they are themselves conventional.
Leviathan: An Ethnographic Dream
Authors: Stevenson Lisa , Kohn Eduardo
Published: May 2015

Leviathan, an experimental ethnographic film by Castaing‐Taylor and Paravel, is groundbreaking. By decoupling voice from any stable narrative perspective, it allows the viewer to be made over by a world beyond the human. It is, we argue, a form of dreaming—a modality of attention that can open us to the beings with whom we share this fragile planet. As such, Leviathan gestures to a sort of ontological poetics and politics for the so‐called Anthropocene.
Envisioning Multispecies Encounters: Photographing Fish in Illinois and Birds in Qatar
Authors: McClellan Kate
Published: May 2015

This essay examines the photographic documentation of multispecies encounters by fishermen in Illinois and birder‐photographers in Qatar. In the examples I illustrate here, photographs of nonhuman species form an important record of events in which humans encounter other species, be it through sight or sound, in the case of birder–photographers, or through the act of catching and sometimes killing and consuming, in the case of fishermen. Examining these photographs for their content, their composition, and their production reveals clues about the encounters between fishermen, birders, and the species they track. What can these images tell us about the ways in which multispecies imaginings, knowledge, and desires are enacted visually? How does engaging with different groups of species—in this case, fish and birds—require different modes of seeing and looking? I suggest in this essay that these photographs play an important role in how these groups both reflect and produce their relationships—and in particular, their encounters—with other species.
Ethics, Hunting Tales, and the Multispecies Debate: The Entextualization of Nonhuman Narratives
Authors: Rentería‐Valencia Rodrigo F.
Published: May 2015

As an object of anthropological inquiry, trophy hunting occupies a marginal position at best—due in part to the pronounced moral assessments it seems to provoke. Questioning this lack of attention, the present article interrogates the role that hunting, as a discursive practice, may have in what has been defined as the “species” turn in anthropology. Overall, the article argues that the type of narratives promoted under the multispecies ethos and the discursive renditions that hunters produce of their experiences share a similar semiotic mechanism in the way both genres incorporate nonhumans as active (even if tacit) coauthors of said narratives—via the works of a semiotic process defined as entextualization. In consequence, this analogous structuring allows for the recognition of a common ethical ground toward nonhumans in practices that may intuitively read as having radically divergent ethical agendas: an important lesson not only for wildlife conservation efforts, but also for the overall multispecies approach.
Disseminated lymphoma with large granular lymphocyte morphology diagnosed in a horse via abdominal fluid and transtracheal wash cytology
Authors: Mastrorilli Cinzia , Cesar Fernanda , Joiner Kellye , Wooldridge Anne A. , Christopherson Pete W.
Published: May 2015

A 22‐year‐old Tennessee Walking Horse mare was presented to the Auburn University Large Animal Teaching Hospital with a 3‐day history of lethargy, anorexia, and mild signs of colic. The mare had a several‐month history of weight loss and refractory cough. Physical examination revealed an increased respiratory rate, and crackles and wheezes were heard on thoracic auscultation. Thoracic ultrasonographic examination showed disseminated, minor, bilateral comet tail‐like lesions on the parietal pleural surfaces. Abdominal ultrasonographic examination was unremarkable. Trans‐rectal palpation revealed a firm small colon impaction with concomitant diarrhea. Laboratory data were characterized by a very pronounced acute inflammatory leukogram with severe neutropenia and significant left shift, evidence of hepatocellular damage/necrosis, cholestasis, and possibly mixed metabolic alkalosis and acidosis. On cytologic evaluation of a peritoneal fluid sample, there were many large granular lymphocytes (LGL). Large numbers of LGL were also observed on cytologic examination of a subsequent transtracheal wash. The final cytologic interpretation was disseminated lymphoma with LGL morphology. Due to worsening of the clinical signs and poor prognosis, the mare was euthanized. On necropsy and in histopathologic examination, disseminated lymphoma with LGL morphology was noted in a mesenteric lymph node, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys, and right dorsal colon. Lymphoma with LGL morphology is rarely diagnosed in the horse. This report provides unique cytologic findings of a case of disseminated lymphoma with LGL morphology in a horse, confirmed with histopathologic evaluation.
Simultaneous deformations and Poisson geometry
Authors: Frégier Yaël , Zambon Marco
Published: May 2015

We consider the problem of deforming simultaneously a pair of given structures. We show that such deformations are governed by an $L_{\infty }$-algebra, which we construct explicitly. Our machinery is based on Voronov’s derived bracket construction. In this paper we consider only geometric applications, including deformations of coisotropic submanifolds in Poisson manifolds, of twisted Poisson structures, and of complex structures within generalized complex geometry. These applications cannot be, to our knowledge, obtained by other methods such as operad theory.
Compensating for Operational Uncertainty in Man–Machine Systems: A Case Study on Intelligent Vehicle Parking Assist System
Authors: Su Dale , Chan Kuei-Yuan
Published: May 2015

The successful operation of man–machine systems requires consistent human operation and reliable machine performance. Machine reliability has received numerous improvements, whereas human-related operational uncertainty is an area of increasing research interest. Most studies and formal documentation only provide suggestions for alleviating human uncertainty instead of providing specific methods to ensure operation accuracy in real-time. This paper presents a general framework for a reliable system that compensates for human-operating uncertainty during operation. This system learns the response of the user, constructs the user’s behavior pattern, and then creates compensated instructions to ensure the completion of the desired tasks, thus improving the reliability of the man–machine system. The proposed framework is applied to the development of an intelligent vehicle parking assist system. Existing parking assist systems do not account for driver error, nor do they consider realistic urban parking spaces with obstacles. The proposed system computes a theoretical path once a parking space is identified. Audio commands are then sent to the driver with real-time compensation to minimize deviations from the path. When an operation is too far away from the desired path to be compensated, a new set of instructions is computed based on the collected uncertainty. Tests with various real-world urban parking scenarios indicated that there is a possibility to park a vehicle with a space that is as small as 1.07 times the vehicle length with up to 30% uncertainty. Results also show that the compensation scheme allows diverse operators to reliably achieve a desired goal.