bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Forest Trees of Britain
Authors: Johns Charles Alexander
Published: December 2014

A keen collector and sketcher of plant specimens from an early age, the author, educator and clergyman Charles Alexander Johns (1811–74) gained recognition for his popular books on British plants, trees, birds and countryside walks. Flowers of the Field (1851), one of several works originally published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, is also reissued in this series. First published by the Society between 1847 and 1849, this two-volume botanical guide for amateur enthusiasts focuses on the trees found in British woodland. Johns describes each species, noting also pests and diseases, uses for the wood, and associated myths and legends. The work is noteworthy for its meticulous engravings of leaves, seeds and blossom, and of the trees in natural settings. Volume 2 (1849) covers such species as chestnut, birch, elm, willow, ivy, yew and cedar. An index to the whole work is also provided.
Practical Essay on the Strength of Cast Iron and Other Metals
Authors: Tredgold Thomas
Published: December 2014

Although cast iron was used in pagoda construction in ancient China, it was in Britain in the eighteenth century that new methods allowed for its production in quantities that enabled widespread use. An engineer who had educated himself tirelessly in technical subjects from carpentry to architecture, Thomas Tredgold (1788–1829) first published this work in 1822. It served as a standard textbook for British engineers in the early nineteenth century, and several translations extended its influence on the continent. Reissued here in the fourth edition of 1842, edited and annotated by the structural engineer Eaton Hodgkinson (1789–1861), who presents his own research in the second volume, this work addresses both practical and mathematical questions in assessing metallic strength. In Volume 1, wherever progress has been made since the original publication, Hodgkinson adds notes to Tredgold's original text, pointing out certain errors.
Journal of a Residence and Tour in the Republic of Mexico in the Year 1826
Authors: Lyon G. F.
Published: December 2014

The British naval officer George Francis Lyon (1795–1832) survived extremes of African heat and Arctic cold during his colourful career. Remembered chiefly for the engaging journals he kept, and for his watercolours of the Arctic, he was fascinated by the indigenous peoples of the lands he explored, notably being tattooed by Inuit and eating raw caribou and seal meat with them. In 1826 he sailed to Mexico, then recovering from its war of independence, to serve as a commissioner for an English mining company. His vivid and often entertaining two-volume account of his experiences was published in 1828. In Volume 2, Lyon encounters notorious bandits outside Guadalajara, ponders the potential navigation of rivers for commercial shipping, and writes of a visit to the Guadalajara theatre: 'had it not been for the universal smoking, and the silence and good manners of the audience, I might have almost fancied myself in England'.
A Brief Narrative of an Unsuccessful Attempt to Reach Repulse Bay
Authors: Lyon George Francis
Published: December 2014

This short work, featuring a number of attractive engravings, traces an abortive expedition to the Canadian Arctic. George Francis Lyon (1795–1832), naval officer and explorer, had accompanied William Parry on a previous expedition in search of the North-West Passage. In 1824 Lyon was instructed to return to Repulse Bay and to explore the mainland. Unfavourable weather conditions forced Lyon to turn back after a few months, and he published this account of the experience the following year. Lyon's text is notable for his descriptions of encounters with Inuit, with whom he spent a great deal of time. The book also includes the text of the official instructions issued by the Admiralty. Chronicling the 1821–3 expedition with Parry, The Private Journal of Captain G. F. Lyon (1824) is also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection, along with his Journal of a Residence and Tour in the Republic of Mexico (1828).
Caliban
Authors: Wilson Daniel
Published: December 2014

Having acquired a Shakespeare folio for a few shillings, anthropologist Daniel Wilson (1816–92) found in The Tempest a source of scientific intrigue. Writing more than two hundred years before Darwin propounded his theory of evolution, in his final play Shakespeare had created a missing link caught between the animal and the human. In this monograph, first published in 1873, Wilson uses the strange and unfortunate character of Caliban as a means through which to explore the principles of evolution. He traces many of the play's plot devices back to real events that perhaps inspired them - from storms in Bermuda to records of semi-human creatures around the world - and brings literary commentary into science as he links the relationships set out in the play to anthropological principles. This interdisciplinary approach makes the book both an entertaining exegesis of the play and a uniquely accessible explanation of contemporary scientific theories.
Chartularium Universitatis Parisiensis
Authors: Denifle Heinrich , Chatelaine Emile
Published: December 2014

An Austrian Dominican priest, Heinrich Denifle (1844–1905) carried out painstaking research in the archives of the Vatican and in libraries throughout Europe, resulting in several major publications on medieval history and theology. In 1887 he was appointed to edit the medieval records of the University of Paris, with the assistance of the palaeographer Emile Chatelaine (1851–1933). Paris was the centre of theological learning in Europe in the Middle Ages, and the records here contain important information regarding the university's organisation, teachers, students, relations with popes and kings, religious orders, and intellectual controversies. The four volumes published between 1889 and 1897 contain the texts of some 2,700 records, with references to many more in the notes. The university came into being around 1160, and Volume 1 (1889) covers the period up to 1286, with some 55 documents dating from before 1200.
An Account of a Geographical and Astronomical Expedition to the Northern Parts of Russia
Authors: Sauer Martin
Published: December 2014

Impressed by the discoveries of Captain Cook, and conscious that Russia was lagging behind other countries in terms of navigation and exploration, Catherine the Great commissioned an expedition in 1785 to chart the coastline in the far north-east of her empire. Born in Middlesex, Joseph Billings (1758–1806) had sailed under Cook but entered Russian service in 1783. He was chosen to lead the expedition, which would last for nine years. Written up by Martin Sauer, secretary and translator to the expedition, this illustrated account was first published in English in 1802, documenting the sheer scale of the task and the range of scientific activities carried out. Notable for producing the first accurate maps of the shoreline and islands of east Siberia, the expedition also contributed to the ethnographic and zoological knowledge of this most inhospitable of environments.
The English Spelling-Book
Authors: Mavor William Fordyce
Published: December 2014

Variously a teacher, clergyman and town mayor, William Fordyce Mavor (1758–1837) wrote prolifically on a range of literary, historical and educational topics. This work, first published in 1801 and reissued here in a corrected and improved edition of 1843, is Mavor's most famous. Intended to 'sow the seeds of useful learning', it is both a reading primer and a compendium of general knowledge. Beginning with the alphabet, with each letter illustrated by the delightful wood engravings of Thomas Bewick, the book presents vocabulary of increasing complexity together with simple and amusing stories for reading practice, as well as guidance on spelling and grammar. General knowledge is addressed through sections on such topics as weights and measures, geography, key dates in history, and the solar system. So successful was the work that it ran to 500 editions, had sold more than 2 million copies by 1823, and was translated into Hindi and French.
The Diary of Dr John William Polidori, 1816
Authors: Polidori John William
Published: December 2014

John William Polidori (1795–1821) was, for a brief period, the personal physician to Lord Byron. Half Italian, he was the uncle of the Rossetti siblings, and it was William Michael Rossetti, in his role as family recorder, who published Polidori's manuscript diary after nearly a century, in 1911. This account of his time with Byron (which ended two months later when they quarrelled and parted company) is the only contemporary account of the few weeks, crucial to the development of the Romantic movement, during which Mary Shelley's Frankenstein arose from a storytelling competition at the Villa Diodati. Polidori's later career as a physician and writer was hampered by a severe accident in 1817 which left him with brain damage. His most famous work, The Vampyre, was published in 1819, but attributed to Byron, leading both men to threaten the publisher with lawsuits. Polidori died (probably a suicide) two years later.
Passages of a Working Life during Half a Century
Authors: Knight Charles
Published: December 2014

Charles Knight (1791–1873), the son of a Windsor bookseller, was apprenticed to his father at fourteen. He read widely and systematically, and began to buy, collect and sell rare books. He also worked as a journalist, and, on moving to London, set up as a publisher, then took to freelance writing, and acted as manager of the publications of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. In 1832, he launched the Penny Magazine, offering the working classes useful information, within a moral context of thrift and self-discipline. Knight continued to write - on Shakespeare, on Caxton, on English history - while at the same time being at the centre of the British publishing industry. His 1864–5 three-volume autobiography (reissued here in its posthumous 1873 edition) provides insights into the economics as well as the personalities of the mid-Victorian publishing world. Volume 1 covers Knight's life up to 1826.
Fasti Hellenici
Authors: Clinton Henry Fynes
Published: December 2014

Educated at Christ Church, Oxford, Henry Fynes Clinton (1781–1852) distinguished himself as a classical scholar following an unsuccessful parliamentary career. He first published Fasti Hellenici in 1824; reissued here is the 1827 second edition, which contained a number of additions and corrections. The work received such a favourable reception that it was followed by further instalments in 1830 and 1834. His two-volume Fasti Romani (1840–5) is also reissued in this series. Featuring chronological tables of the civil, military and literary affairs of Greece from 560 to 278 BCE, Fasti Hellenici includes references in the extant sources to the rulers, philosophers and poets of the period. Alongside an essay on demography, the extensive appendices provide further information on kings, tyrants, orators, statesmen and other notables. A valuable contribution to the study of the ancient world, this work testifies to its author's immensely wide and methodical reading in Greek literature.
Claudii Ptolemaei opera quae exstant omnia
Authors: Ptolemy
Published: December 2014

Best known for his 1906 discovery of lost texts in the Archimedes Palimpsest, Danish scholar Johan Ludvig Heiberg (1854–1928), professor of classical philology at Copenhagen, published numerous editions of ancient mathematicians, including Archimedes and Apollonius of Perga (also reissued in this series). Between 1898 and 1907, he published in three parts the extant astronomical works of Ptolemy, active in second-century Alexandria. The Ptolemaic system, his geocentric model of the universe, prevailed in the Islamic world and in medieval Europe until the time of Copernicus. Volume 2, published in 1907, contains a brief preface and a substantial prolegomena in Latin, followed by the Greek text of Ptolemy's shorter astronomical works, including Phaeis aplanon asteron, a treatise on the phenomena of the fixed stars, and Hypotheseis ton planomenon, his planetary hypotheses representing the most influential statement of his geocentric model, provided here with a facing-page translation into German.
Der Vokalismus des Vulgärlateins
Authors: Schuchardt Hugo
Published: December 2014

The German linguist Hugo Schuchardt (1842–1927) made significant contributions to the study of the Basque and Romance languages, publishing also on pidgins and creoles. A critic of the Neogrammarian hypothesis of sound laws, he subscribed to the 'wave model' of language change. His Über die Lautgesetze: Gegen die Junggrammatiker (1885) has been reissued in this series in a volume with Die Verwantschaftsverhältnisse der indogermanischen Sprachen (1872) by Johannes Schmidt (1843–1901). Based on Schuchardt's doctoral dissertation and the painstaking study of extant sources, the present three-volume work appeared between 1866 and 1868. He explores here the development and characteristics of Vulgar Latin, the language of the general population, as opposed to the classical, literary variety. The work focuses on the distinctive vowel changes that took place in Romance vernaculars over many centuries. Volume 2 (1867) includes discussion of both qualitative and quantitative vowel changes.
Memoirs of the Life of Sir Samuel Romilly
Authors: Romilly Samuel
Published: December 2014

A friend of Wilberforce and Bentham, Sir Samuel Romilly (1757–1818) combined considerable legal expertise with commitment to progressive political causes such as the abolition of the slave trade. During his time in Parliament - he was Solicitor General in Lord Grenville's 'Ministry of All the Talents' - he sought to lessen the archaic severity of English criminal law regarding corporal and capital punishment. Though he met with resistance, his efforts raised awareness and influenced later reforms. Compiled by his sons and published in 1840, this three-volume collection of autobiographical writings and varied correspondence illuminates the development of his outlook and the principles which guided him. Volume 1 includes Romilly's two-part narrative of his life from 1757 to 1789, letters about English affairs sent to his brother-in-law in Lausanne (1780–3), letters from eminent friends such as the French revolutionary Mirabeau (1783–7), and selected correspondence with the Genevan writer Étienne Dumont and others (1788–91).
Prompt Dependency Beyond Childhood: Adults With Asperger's Syndrome and Intimate Relationships
Authors: Wilson Bronwyn , Beamish Wendi , Hay Stephen , Attwood Tony
Published: December 2014

Many children on the autism spectrum are dependent on prompts provided by adults for staying on-task, completing activities and transitioning between activities in the home, school and community environments (Bryan & Gast, 2000; Milley & Machalicek, 2012). Yet, prompt dependency beyond childhood has received little attention. This study explored the possibility that prompt dependency also applies to adults diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome (AS) when interacting with their neurotypical partner. In-depth interviews with nine couples (ages ranging from 29 to 69) were used to explore intimate relationships between partners in order to determine whether prompt dependency was evident. A grounded theory research strategy was applied to analyse interview data. Data analysed through constant comparison coding supported the hypothesis that adults with AS in the sample showed prompt dependency in their interactions with their partners. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.
Constitutional Design and Australian Exceptionalism in the Adoption of National Bills of Rights
Authors: Stone Bruce , Barry Nicholas
Published: December 2014

Why has Australia not followed Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom in adopting a formal bill of rights at the national level? We argue that the Australian Constitution has made the difference. The Constitution has underpinned a comparatively strong parliamentary check on the executive, weakening the rationale for a bill of rights and impeding legislative initiatives towards this end; thwarted the drive for a constitutional bill of rights; and helped delegitimize statutory approaches to a bill of rights in general and the “dialogue model” in particular. The article ultimately questions the notion that a common approach to rights protection can apply across Westminster democracies.
MODEL STRUCTURES ON TRIANGULATED CATEGORIES
Authors: YANG XIAOYAN
Published: December 2014

We define model structures on a triangulated category with respect to some proper classes of triangles and give a general study of triangulated model structures. We look at the relationship between these model structures and cotorsion pairs with respect to a proper class of triangles on the triangulated category. In particular, we get Hovey's one-to-one correspondence between triangulated model structures and complete cotorsion pairs with respect to a proper class of triangles. Some applications are given.
VANISHING OF COHOMOLOGY OVER COMPLETE INTERSECTION RINGS
Authors: SADEGHI ARASH
Published: December 2014

Let R be a complete intersection ring, and let M and N be R-modules. It is shown that the vanishing of ExtiR(M, N) for a certain number of consecutive values of i starting at n forces the complete intersection dimension of M to be at most n–1. We also estimate the complete intersection dimension of M*, the dual of M, in terms of vanishing of cohomology modules, ExtiR(M,N).
SYMMETRY AND EXISTENCE OF SOLUTIONS OF SEMI-LINEAR ELLIPTIC SYSTEMS IN HYPERBOLIC SPACE
Authors: HE HAIYANG
Published: December 2014

(0.1)
\begin{equation}\label{eq:0.1}
\left\{
\begin{array}{ll}
\displaystyle
-\Delta_{\mathbb{H}^{N}}u=|v|^{p-1}v x, \\
\displaystyle
-\Delta_{\mathbb{H}^{N}}v=|u|^{q-1}u, \\
\end{array}
\right.
\end{equation}

in the whole Hyperbolic space ℍN. We establish decay estimates and symmetry properties of positive solutions. Unlike the corresponding problem in Euclidean space ℝN, we prove that there is a positive solution pair (u, v) ∈ H1(ℍN) × H1(ℍN) of problem (0.1), moreover a ground state solution is obtained. Furthermore, we also prove that the above problem has a radial positive solution.
GK DIMENSION AND LOCALLY NILPOTENT SKEW DERIVATIONS
Authors: BERGEN JEFFREY , GRZESZCZUK PIOTR
Published: December 2014

Let A be a domain over an algebraically closed field with Gelfand–Kirillov dimension in the interval [2,3). We prove that if A has two locally nilpotent skew derivations satisfying some natural conditions, then A must be one of five algebras. All five algebras are Noetherian, finitely generated, and have Gelfand–Kirillov dimension equal to 2. We also obtain some results comparing the Gelfand–Kirillov dimension of an algebra to its subring of invariants under a locally nilpotent skew derivation.
REPRESENTATIONS OF ALTERNATIVE CLIFFORD ALGEBRAS OF QUADRATIC FORMS
Authors: MUSGRAVE STACY MARIE
Published: December 2014

This work defines a new algebraic structure, to be called an alternative Clifford algebra associated to a given quadratic form. I explored its representations, particularly concentrating on connections to the well-understood octonion algebras. I finished by suggesting directions for future research.
Gut microbiota and energy balance: role in obesity
Authors: Blaut Michael
Published: December 2014

The microbial community populating the human digestive tract has been linked to the development of obesity, diabetes and liver diseases. Proposed mechanisms on how the gut microbiota could contribute to obesity and metabolic diseases include: (1) improved energy extraction from diet by the conversion of dietary fibre to SCFA; (2) increased intestinal permeability for bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) in response to the consumption of high-fat diets resulting in an elevated systemic LPS level and low-grade inflammation. Animal studies indicate differences in the physiologic effects of fermentable and non-fermentable dietary fibres as well as differences in long- and short-term effects of fermentable dietary fibre. The human intestinal microbiome is enriched in genes involved in the degradation of indigestible polysaccharides. The extent to which dietary fibres are fermented and in which molar ratio SCFA are formed depends on their physicochemical properties and on the individual microbiome. Acetate and propionate play an important role in lipid and glucose metabolism. Acetate serves as a substrate for de novo lipogenesis in liver, whereas propionate can be utilised for gluconeogenesis. The conversion of fermentable dietary fibre to SCFA provides additional energy to the host which could promote obesity. However, epidemiologic studies indicate that diets rich in fibre rather prevent than promote obesity development. This may be due to the fact that SCFA are also ligands of free fatty acid receptors (FFAR). Activation of FFAR leads to an increased expression and secretion of enteroendocrine hormones such as glucagon-like-peptide 1 or peptide YY which cause satiety. In conclusion, the role of SCFA in host energy balance needs to be re-evaluated.
Co-occurring cryptic species pose challenges for conservation: a case study of the African dwarf crocodile (Osteolaemusspp.) in Cameroon
Authors: Smolensky Nicole L.
Published: December 2014

The conservation status of threatened taxa may be obfuscated by the detection of cryptic species complexes, in both vertebrate and invertebrate species. African dwarf crocodiles (Osteolaemusspp.) are hunted throughout their range but their conservation status is unknown. Few population assessments have been carried out and there has been a taxonomic revision of the number of species in the genus. The similar morphologies ofOsteolaemus tetraspisandOsteolaemus osbornipose a challenge for conservation in Cameroon, where they are still managed as a single species. Nocturnal spotlight surveys were conducted in three regions during August–November 2010 and December 2011–February 2012 to provide population assessments ofO. tetraspisandO. osborniand raise awareness of the two species in Cameroon. The mean encounter rates ofO. tetraspisandO. osborniwere 1.02 ± SD 1.34 (65 individuals in 39 surveys) and 0.61 ± SD 0.38 (three in four surveys) crocodiles per km, respectively. TheO. tetraspispopulation comprised juveniles predominantly and had a male-biased sex ratio. The fewO. osbornidetected comprised both adults and juveniles. Both species are threatened in Cameroon, based on low encounter rates, young population structures and the threats of habitat loss and hunting pressure. This study provides distribution maps and serves as a baseline to quantify population trends and inform conservation strategies.
Philosophy In the Inter-War Period: A Memoir
Authors: Reid Louis Arnaud
Published: December 2014

The following extracts come from a memoir of philosophical life between the wars and after, written in the 1970s by the Anglo-Scottish philosopher Louis Arnaud Reid (1895–1986).2 Today Reid is best known for his writings on aesthetics, and as the holder of the foundation chair in the philosophy of education at the University of London. Reid will also be familiar to those who have read A.J. Ayer's account of Ayer's appointment to the chair of philosophy at London, for Reid was the candidate strongly preferred by the philosophers on the selection committee.3 Reid regretted the rise of logical positivism in the later 1930s because it introduced a break with the earlier world of humane philosophical discourse.

In these extracts, edited by his grandson, Reid begins by giving a sense of the breadth of topics covered in philosophical conferences in the 1920s, before sketching some of the characters involved. He mentions of course a number of figures still familiar to us, from Moore to Russell to Wittgenstein, but tries more generally to give an impression of a philosophical world which is now largely lost. These are themes he continues elsewhere in the book, where he discusses the people he knew at Edinburgh, Aberystwyth, Liverpool, Newcastle and London.
Prevalence of Leptospira antibodies in wild boars (Sus scrofa) from Northern Portugal: risk factor analysis
Authors: VALE-GONÇALVES H. M. , CABRAL J. A. , FARIA M. C. , NUNES-PEREIRA M. , FARIA A. S. , VELOSO O. , VIEIRA M. L. , PAIVA-CARDOSO Md. N.
Published: December 2014

Leptospirosis is a zoonosis of worldwide distribution, caused by infection with pathogenic spirochaetes of the genus Leptospira. The wild boar (Sus scrofa), an important hunting species in Europe, seems to play a significant role in the epidemiological cycle of leptospirosis. A total of 101 serum samples from wild boar hunted in Northern Portugal were analysed for leptospiral antibodies detection by microscopic agglutination test. Sera were collected during hunting seasons (2011–2013) and tested with 17 different pathogenic serovars of Leptospira. Antibodies against nine serovars were detected in 66 (65·4%) of these sera. Serovars Tarassovi and Altodouro exhibited the highest seroreactivity rates (23·8% and 16·8%, respectively), followed by Autumnalis (7·9%) and Bratislava (6·9%). Age and district of origin were found to be risk factors for the presence of leptospiral antibodies in contrast to gender. From a One Health perspective, this study revealed that wild boar should be considered as a potential source of leptospirosis dissemination for humans and animal species (domestic and wild) in shared environments, particularly in the Trás-os-Montes region.
Previously diagnosed influenza infections and the risk of developing epilepsy
Authors: WILSON J. C. , TOOVEY S. , JICK S. S. , MEIER C. R.
Published: December 2014

Several epidemiological studies suggest a possible involvement of viral infection in the development of epilepsy. While recent research from in vitro studies increasingly supports the role of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in the pathogenesis of epilepsy, little is known about the role of other viral infections such as influenza. Using data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), we conducted a matched case-control analysis to assess the association between GP-diagnosed influenza infections and the risk of developing an incident diagnosis of epilepsy. During the study period 11 244 incident epilepsy cases and 44 976 matched control patients were identified. Prior exposure to influenza was reported in 7·5% of epilepsy cases and 6·7% of controls [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 1·12, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·03–1·22]. Prior history of ‘complicated influenza’, i.e. influenza associated with a possible super-infection, was associated with a slightly increased epilepsy risk (aOR 1·64, 95% CI 1·10–2·46), particularly if recorded within the 2 months preceding the epilepsy diagnosis (aOR 6·03, 95% CI 1·10–33·2). Our findings suggest that prior influenza exposure does not appear to materially alter the risk of developing epilepsy. By contrast, influenza episodes accompanied by complications were associated with a slightly increased epilepsy risk.
Left ventricular function by echocardiogram in children with sickle cell anaemia in Mumbai, Western India
Authors: Tidake Abhay , Gangurde Pranil , Taksande Anup , Mahajan Ajay , Nathani Pratap
Published: December 2014

Introduction

Cardiovascular events and complications are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in patients with sickle cell disease. Cardiac abnormalities occur frequently and at an early stage in sickle cell anaemia patients, despite being more evident in adulthood. Sickle cell anaemia patients are increasingly able to reach adulthood owing to improved healthcare, and may, therefore, suffer the consequences of chronic cardiac injury. Thus, the study of cardiac abnormalities is essential in children

Objective

The aim of this study was to determine the echocardiographic changes in left ventricular function in children suffering from sickle cell disease in Mumbai, Western India.

Methods

The study comprised of 48 cases of sickle cell anaemia and 30 non-anaemic controls with normal haemoglobin and electrophoresis pattern. M-mode, two-dimensional, and Doppler echocardiographic measurements of patients and controls were performed according to the criteria of the American Echocardiography Society.

Results

On Doppler study, the A wave height was increased and the E/A ratio was decreased, whereas the deceleration and isovolumetric relaxation times were prolonged, which is typically seen in slowed or impaired myocardial relaxation (p<0.001). Although chamber dilatations were present, echocardiographic parameters showed no statistically significant correlation with severity of anaemia and age among the sickle cell patients.

Conclusions

We conclude that the increased left ventricular stiffness, compared with controls, might be due to fibrosis related to ischaemia caused by SS disease in addition to wall hypertrophy.
Time trends in socio-economic inequalities in stunting prevalence: analyses of repeated national surveys
Authors: Restrepo-Méndez María Clara , Barros Aluísio JD , Black Robert E , Victora Cesar G
Published: December 2014

Objective

Much is known about national trends in child undernutrition, but there is little information on how socio-economic inequalities are evolving over time. We aimed to assess socio-economic inequalities in stunting prevalence over time.

Design

We selected nationally representative surveys carried out since the mid-1990s for which information was available on asset indices and on child anthropometry. We identified twenty-five countries that had at least two surveys over an interval of 10 years or more, totalling eighty-seven surveys. Stunting prevalence was calculated according to wealth quintiles. Absolute and relative inequalities were calculated and time trends were obtained by regression.

Setting

Nationally representative household surveys from twenty-five low- and middle-income countries.

Subjects

Children <5 years of age.

Results

National prevalence declined significantly in twenty-two of the twenty-five countries. In eighteen out of twenty-five countries, relative reductions were higher among the rich than among the poor. Overall, there was no indication that inequalities improved. Striking examples are Nepal, with a 17·0 percentage points decline in stunting per decade, but where inequalities increased sharply; and Brazil, where stunting fell by 6·7 percentage points and inequalities were all but eliminated.

Conclusions

Global progress in reducing stunting has not been accompanied by improved equity, but countries varied markedly in how successful they were in reducing prevalence among the poorest children. It is important to document how some countries were able to reduce inequalities, so that these lessons can be used to foster global progress, particularly in light of the increased importance of within-country inequalities in the post-2015 agenda.
DISTRIBUTED PROXIMAL-GRADIENT METHOD
FOR CONVEX OPTIMIZATION WITH INEQUALITY CONSTRAINTS
Authors: LI JUEYOU , WU CHANGZHI , WU ZHIYOU , LONG QIANG , WANG XIANGYU
Published: December 2014

We consider a distributed optimization problem over a multi-agent network, in which
the sum of several local convex objective functions is minimized subject to global
convex inequality constraints. We first transform the constrained optimization
problem to an unconstrained one, using the exact penalty function method. Our
transformed problem has a smaller number of variables and a simpler structure than
the existing distributed primal–dual subgradient methods for constrained
distributed optimization problems. Using the special structure of this problem, we
then propose a distributed proximal-gradient algorithm over a time-changing
connectivity network, and establish a convergence rate depending on the number of
iterations, the network topology and the number of agents. Although the transformed
problem is nonsmooth by nature, our method can still achieve a convergence rate, ${\mathcal{O}}(1/k)$, after $k$ iterations, which is faster than the rate, ${\mathcal{O}}(1/\sqrt{k})$, of existing distributed subgradient-based methods. Simulation
experiments on a distributed state estimation problem illustrate the excellent
performance of our proposed method.
THE INDIGENOUS REDEMPTION OF LIBERAL UNIVERSALISM
Authors: ROWSE TIM
Published: December 2014

Accounts of liberalism as an ideology of European imperialism have argued that when liberals discovered that colonized people were, in various ways, intractable, they questioned and then abandoned the postulated universal human capacity for improvement; the racial and cultural determinants of native “backwardness” seemed stronger than any universal susceptibility to the civilizing projects of liberal imperialism. While the intellectual trajectory of some canonical liberals illustrates this decline in liberal universalism, some colonized intellectuals—while acknowledging distinctions of race and people-hood—adhered to the universalist optimism of liberalism. In pursuit of a global history of liberalism, this essay examines writings by Peter Jones, Charles Eastman, Zitkala-Sa, Apirana Ngata and William Cooper to illustrate a robust indigenous universalism. Drawing on the intellectual heritage of Christianity and universal (or “stadial”) philosophy of history, these intellectuals affirmed emphatically that their people were demonstrating the capacities to be subjects of liberal civilization.
MODAL LOGICS OF METRIC SPACES
Authors: BEZHANISHVILI GURAM , GABELAIA DAVID , LUCERO-BRYAN JOEL
Published: December 2014

It is a classic result (McKinsey & Tarski, 1944; Rasiowa & Sikorski, 1963) that if we interpret modal diamond as topological closure, then the modal logic of any dense-in-itself metric space is the well-known modal system S4. In this paper, as a natural follow-up, we study the modal logic of an arbitrary metric space. Our main result establishes that modal logics arising from metric spaces form the following chain which is order-isomorphic (with respect to the ⊃ relation) to the ordinalω+ 3:

$S4.Gr{z_1} \supset S4.Gr{z_2} \supset S4.Gr{z_3} \supset \cdots \,S4.Grz \supset S4.1 \supset S4.$

It follows that the modal logic of an arbitrary metric space is finitely axiomatizable, has the finite model property, and hence is decidable.
Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Stability in Adult Obsessive Compulsive Behavior
Authors: Zilhão Nuno R. , Smit Dirk J. A. , den Braber Anouk , Dolan Conor V. , Willemsen Gonneke , Boomsma Dorret I. , Cath Danielle C.
Published: December 2014

This study investigates the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors to the stability of obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms in an adult population-based sample. We collected data from twin pairs and their siblings, using the Padua Inventory Revised Abbreviated, from the population-based Netherlands Twin Register (NTR) in 2002 (n= 10.134) and 2008 (n= 15.720). Multivariate twin analyses were used to estimate the stability of OC symptoms as a function of genetic and environmental components. OC symptoms were found to be highly stable, with a longitudinal phenotypic correlation of 0.63. Longitudinal broad sense heritability was found to be 56.0%. Longitudinal correlations for genetic (r= 0.58 for additive,r= 1 for non-additive genetic factors) and non-shared environment (r= 0.46) reflected stable effects, indicating that both genes and environment are influencing the stability of OC symptoms in adults. For the first time, evidence is reported for non-additive genetic effects on the stability of OC symptoms. In conclusion, this study showed that OC symptoms are highly stable across time in adults, and that genetic effects contribute mostly to this stability, both in an additive and non-additive way, besides non-shared environmental factors. These data are informative with respect to adult sample selection for future genetic studies, and suggest that gene–gene interaction studies are needed to further understand the dominance effect found in this study.
Influence of Individual Characteristics on Work Engagement and Job Stress in a Sample of National and Foreign Workers in Switzerland
Authors: Pocnet Cornelia , Antonietti Jean-Philippe , Massoudi Koorosh , Györkös Christina , Becker Jurgen , de Bruin Gideon P. , Rossier Jérôme
Published: December 2014

In most Western postindustrial societies today, the population is aging, businesses are faced with global integration, and important migration flows are taking place. Increasingly work organizations are hiring crossnational and multicultural workteams. In this situation it is important to understand the influence of certain individual and cultural characteristics on the process of professional integration. The present study explores the links between personality traits, demographic characteristics (age, sex, education, income, and nationality), work engagement, and job stress. The sample consisted of 618 persons, including 394 Swiss workers (200 women, 194 men) and 224 foreigners living and working in Switzerland (117 women, 107 men). Each participant completed the NEO-FFI, the UWES, and the GWSS questionnaires. Our results show an interaction between age and nationality with respect to work engagement and general job stress. The levels of work engagement and job stress appear to increase with age among national workers, whereas they decrease among foreign workers. In addition, work engagement was negatively associated with Neuroticism and positively associated with the other four personality dimensions. Finally, job stress was positively associated with Neuroticism and Conscientiousness, and negatively associated with Extraversion. However, the strength of these relationships appeared to vary according to the worker’s nationality, age, sex, education, and income.
Autonomy and Resistance to Authority
Authors: Auzoult Laurent
Published: December 2014

This research examines the impact of autonomy on the behavior of participants faced with an authority figure. More specifically, it examines obedience behaviors and behaviors related to subterfuge, as studied by Milgram in his work on obedience to authority. The protocol used here is a new measure of obedience and disobedience which allows us to record compliant behavior, withdrawal from the activity, and sabotage (subterfuge). A total of 105 participants, separated into groups, were asked to perform a tedious and pointless task (copy down a page from the telephone directory) after their autonomy had been assessed using Beck’s Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale. Only one participant refused to participate. The results show that autonomy is associated with disobedience. This study suggests that individuals faced with an authority figure show greater freedom than has been suggested by previous experiments, producing less visible forms of disobedience than the refusal to participate. The nature of the measure of obedience is discussed, particularly because of the role of attention in the activity.
Diagnostik der ADHS im Erwachsenenalter: Eine Bestandsaufnahme
Authors: Stieglitz Rolf-Dieter , Rösler Michael
Published: December 2014

Mit der Anerkennung, dass eine ADHS bis ins Erwachsenenalter fortbestehen kann, stellen sich Anforderungen an eine differenzierte Diagnostik, da viele Patienten in der Kindheit nicht abgeklärt worden sind. Zur Unterstützung des diagnostischen Prozesses existierten bis vor wenigen Jahren im deutschsprachigen Raum kaum Instrumente, was sich jedoch zwischenzeitlich grundlegend geändert hat und Gegenstand des vorliegenden Beitrages ist. Der Diagnostiker kann heute auf eine Reihe von Interviews und Ratingverfahren als Ergänzung zur umfassenden Anamneseerhebung zurückgreifen. Im diagnostischen Prozess gilt es jedoch auch die vielfältigen Komorbiditäten zu berücksichtigen. Das Ergebnis des diagnostischen Prozesses ist jedoch immer noch eine klinische Diagnose, da bisher keine apparativen Verfahren hierfür verfügbar sind.
Psychotherapie bei ADHS im Erwachsenenalter: Eine Bestandsaufnahme
Authors: Hoxhaj Eliza , Philipsen Alexandra
Published: December 2014

Die Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-/Hyperaktivitätsstörung (ADHS) im Erwachsenenalter ist eine komplexe psychische Erkrankung, die mit erheblichen psychosozialen Funktionseinschränkungen einhergeht und einen Risikofaktor für die Entwicklung komorbider Störungen darstellt. Auf dieser Grundlage hat sich der Einsatz psychotherapeutischer Behandlungen als sinnvoll und wirksam erwiesen. Die meisten bisherigen untersuchten Interventionen sind kognitiv-verhaltenstherapeutisch ausgerichtet. Die Therapiekonzepte verfolgen das Ziel, die mit der Störung assoziierten funktionellen Einschränkungen sowie dysfunktionalen Kognitionen, Selbstwert- und Interaktionsprobleme zu verändern und verbessern. Die Behandlungsprogramme zeigten insgesamt positive Effekte hinsichtlich des Schweregrades der zugrunde liegenden ADHS-Symptomatik sowie der damit verbundenen Symptome Depressivität und Ängstlichkeit. Sowohl nicht medizierte Patienten, als auch Patienten, die nach einer medikamentösen Behandlung noch Residualsymptome aufwiesen, profitierten von der psychotherapeutischen Behandlung.
Die Erfassung von Ängsten im Urteil von Kindern/Jugendlichen und ihren Eltern
Authors: Dose Christina , Görtz-Dorten Anja , Breuer Dieter , Goletz Hildegard , Döpfner Manfred
Published: December 2014

Zusammenfassung. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die Analyse der psychometrischen Qualität des Fremd- und des Selbstbeurteilungsbogens zur Erfassung von Angst- und Zwangsstörungen (FBB-ANZ/SBB-ANZ) in zwei klinischen Stichproben (n = 182 bzw. n = 130). Ergänzend wurde die Faktorenstruktur der Bögen in zwei Feldstichproben (n = 724 bzw. n = 281) untersucht. Für die Skalen beider Fragebögen ergaben sich größtenteils zufriedenstellende interne Konsistenzen (.59 ≤ α ≤ .93). Exploratorische Hauptachsenanalysen mit Promax-Rotation ergaben stichprobenübergreifend für beide Fragebögen Faktoren, welche die a priori definierten, ICD-10- und DSM-IV-basierten Subskalen weitgehend abbilden. Zwischen den Subskalen innerhalb der Fragebögen zeigten sich geringe bis moderate Interkorrelationen, die für eine gute Abgrenzbarkeit der Skalen sprechen. Es fanden sich größtenteils moderate Beurteilerübereinstimmungen zwischen den korrespondierenden Skalen des Fremd- und Selbstbeurteilungsbogens. Die Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass die Fragebögen überwiegend reliable und valide Instrumente darstellen. Weiterer Untersuchungsbedarf besteht insbesondere hinsichtlich der konvergenten und divergenten Validität der Subskalen.
Defective sarcoplasmic reticulum–mitochondria calcium exchange in aged mouse myocardium
Authors: Fernandez-Sanz C , Ruiz-Meana M , Miro-Casas E , Nuñez E , Castellano J , Loureiro M , Barba I , Poncelas M , Rodriguez-Sinovas A , Vázquez J , Garcia-Dorado D
Published: December 2014

Mitochondrial alterations are critically involved in increased vulnerability to disease during aging. We investigated the contribution of mitochondria–sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) communication in cardiomyocyte functional alterations during aging. Heart function (echocardiography) and ATP/phosphocreatine (NMR spectroscopy) were preserved in hearts from old mice (>20 months) with respect to young mice (5–6 months). Mitochondrial membrane potential and resting O2 consumption were similar in mitochondria from young and old hearts. However, maximal ADP-stimulated O2 consumption was specifically reduced in interfibrillar mitochondria from aged hearts. Second generation proteomics disclosed an increased mitochondrial protein oxidation in advanced age. Because energy production and oxidative status are regulated by mitochondrial Ca2+, we investigated the effect of age on mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake. Although no age-dependent differences were found in Ca2+ uptake kinetics in isolated mitochondria, mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake secondary to SR Ca2+ release was significantly reduced in cardiomyocytes from old hearts, and this effect was associated with decreased NAD(P)H regeneration and increased mitochondrial ROS upon increased contractile activity. Immunofluorescence and proximity ligation assay identified the defective communication between mitochondrial voltage-dependent anion channel and SR ryanodine receptor (RyR) in cardiomyocytes from aged hearts associated with altered Ca2+ handling. Age-dependent alterations in SR Ca2+ transfer to mitochondria and in Ca2+ handling could be reproduced in cardiomyoctes from young hearts after interorganelle disruption with colchicine, at concentrations that had no effect in aged cardiomyocytes or isolated mitochondria. Thus, defective SR–mitochondria communication underlies inefficient interorganelle Ca2+ exchange that contributes to energy demand/supply mistmach and oxidative stress in the aged heart.
Tax contributes apoptosis resistance to HTLV-1-infected T cells via suppression of Bid and Bim expression
Authors: Mühleisen A , Giaisi M , Köhler R , Krammer P H , Li-Weber M
Published: December 2014

The human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is the etiological agent of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL). HTLV-1 Tax has been shown to have a prosurvival role in infected T cells by enhancing expression of the Bcl-2 family of antiapoptotic proteins. In this study, we show that the expression of proapoptotic BH3-only proteins Bim (Bcl-2-interacting mediator of cell death) and Bid (BH3-interacting domain death agonist) is diminished in HTLV-1-infected leukemic cells. Using a Tax-inducible system and a transient overexpression approach, we demonstrate that Tax downregulates Bid and Bim expression at the transcriptional level. We show that reinforced expression of Bim and Bid in HTLV-1-infected T-cell lines sensitizes CD95/TRAIL- and anticancer drug-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, we show that Tax suppresses Bid and Bim expression by enhancing hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) protein expression. siRNA knockdown of HIF-1α or chemical inhibition of the transactivation activity of HIF-1α resulted in an increase in Bid and Bim expression and, consequently, in an increase in CD95/TRAIL- and anticancer drug-induced apoptosis in HTLV-1-infected leukemic T-cell lines. Our study provides evidence that besides upregulation of prosurvival Bcl-2 proteins, Tax may also confer apoptosis resistance to HTLV-1-infected T cells by suppressing the expression of the proapoptotic BH3-only proteins Bim and Bid.
SBF-1 exerts strong anticervical cancer effect through inducing endoplasmic reticulum stress-associated cell death via targeting sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase 2
Authors: Li W , Ouyang Z , Zhang Q , Wang L , Shen Y , Wu X , Gu Y , Shu Y , Yu B , Wu X , Sun Y , Xu Q
Published: December 2014

Cervical cancer is one of the most common carcinomas in the genital system. In the present study, we report that SBF-1, a synthetic steroidal glycoside, has a strong antigrowth activity against human cervical cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. SBF-1 suppressed the growth, migration and colony formation of HeLa cells. In addition, severe endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress was triggered by SBF-1, and 4-phenyl-butyric acid, a chemical chaperone, partially reversed SBF-1-induced cell death. To uncover the target protein of SBF-1, the compound was labeled with biotin. The biotin-labeled SBF-1 bound to sarco/ER Ca2+-ATPase 2 (SERCA2) and colocalized with SERCA2 in HeLa cells. Moreover, SBF-1 inhibited SERCA activity, depleted ER Ca2+ and increased cytosolic Ca2+ levels. 1,2-Bis(o-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid, a chelator of Ca2+, partially blocked SBF-1-induced ER stress and growth inhibition. Importantly, knockdown of SERCA2 increased the sensitivity of HeLa cells to SBF-1-induced ER stress and cell death, whereas overexpression of SERCA2 decreased this sensitivity. Furthermore, SBF-1 induced growth suppression and apoptosis in HeLa xenografts, which is closely related to the induction of ER stress and inhibition of SERCA activity. Finally, SERCA2 expression was elevated in human cervical cancer tissues (n=299) and lymph node metastasis (n=8), as compared with normal cervix tissues (n=23), with a positive correlation with clinical stages. In all, these results suggest that SBF-1 disrupts Ca2+ homeostasis and causes ER stress-associated cell death through directly binding to SERCA2 and inhibiting SERCA activity. Our findings also indicate that SERCA2 is a potential therapeutic target for human cervical cancer.