bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Predator–prey dynamics and the plasticity of predator body size
Authors: DeLong John P. , Hanley Torrance C. , Vasseur David A.
Published: October 2013

Body size is of fundamental importance to the structure and function of natural systems, yet the factors selecting for certain body sizes are still not well understood. Resource supply levels clearly play a role in setting size, but in current theory, optimality functions for body size are not tied to the population dynamics that govern resource supply, minimizing our ability to understand how body size evolves in response to the ecological context.

We integrated the supply‐demand (SD) model of body size evolution with a model of predator–prey dynamics to create a dynamic SD model that describes predator body size variation through time. We tested the model with experimental data on body size and abundance dynamics in the Didinium–Paramecium predator–prey system. We used a new differential equation fitting approach along with independently estimated parameters to determine whether the model could simultaneously capture both abundance and body size dynamics.

The dynamics were well described by the model, supporting the notion that body size changes to match bodily demand for resources with the available supply of resources. Surprisingly, despite the 10‐fold variation in Didinium body size, we found that static model parameters were sufficient to describe the data, suggesting a lack of eco‐evolutionary dynamics.

A pressing need in ecology is to be able to predict changes in body size under novel scenarios, especially climate warming. The dynamic SD model does this by linking body size to the ecological context in an eco‐evolutionary framework. Our approach expands our ability to understand rapid linked changes in traits and abundance.
An allelopathic plant facilitates species richness in the Mediterranean garrigue
Authors: Ehlers Bodil K. , Charpentier Anne , Grøndahl Eva
Published: October 2013

Positive plant–plant interactions are known to increase species richness in stressful and poor habitats that are often species poor, but the role of facilitative interactions in species‐rich communities is less well understood. It has been proposed that allelopathic plants may create non‐transitive species interactions, which increase species coexistence, and that such indirect facilitation may be important in species‐rich communities.

We examined species richness in 12 different plant communities all dominated by the aromatic Thymus vulgaris that produces monoterpenes known to inhibit germination and growth of other plants.

We found consistently, and across communities, higher species richness in microsites with thyme than without. Species richness in microsites with, respectively without, two other perennial plants did not differ, suggesting that increased species richness in thyme microsites is due to the presence of thyme. We found a more similar species composition among thyme microsites and positive estimates of thyme on landscape richness enhancement, indicating that thyme also affect richness at the community level. However, across communities, we did not find species consistently confined to thyme microsites, albeit within communities some plants were exclusive to thyme.

Abundance of a dominant grass was reduced in microsites where thyme produces the monoterpene carvacrol, suggesting that one mechanism by which thyme facilitates species richness was by the repression of a superior competitor that could allow other species to persist. However, this does not explain higher species richness in microsites of thyme producing other monoterpenes. We discuss how chemical variation in thyme and adaptation of associated species to local monoterpenes may affect richness and community diversity.

Synthesis. Allelopathic plants are generally believed to negatively impact upon the performance of associated species. However, allelopathic plants may be important determinants of species richness at the community level by creating microenvironments where species‐specific interactions differ. Our finding shows that thyme increases species richness both locally and at the community level by creating a mosaic of thyme‐modified and unmodified microsites differing in richness and composition. We suggest that this may also apply to other aromatic plants common in Mediterranean vegetation.
Influences of social network sites on the occupational performance of adolescents in a secondary school in Cape Town, South Africa: A phenomenological study
Authors: Mthembu Thuli G. , Beets Charmaine , Davids Gafeedha , Malyon Kelly , Pekeur Marchelle , Rabinowitz Avital
Published: October 2013

Background/aim

The habit of using social networking sites among adolescents has grown exponentially; there is little accompanying research to understand the influences on adolescents' occupational performance with this technology. The majority of adolescents are engaging in social network as part of their daily routines. Occupational performance is the act of doing and accomplishing a selected occupation that results from the dynamic transaction among the person, the environment and the occupation components. This study aimed to explore the influences of social networking on occupational performance of adolescents in a high school in Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Methods

A phenomenological approach was used. Adolescents aged 13–17 years in a high school were purposively recruited for the study. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with four participants (two adolescents and two teachers) and two focus groups were undertaken with adolescents, analysed using thematic analysis.

Results

Four major themes emerged: ‘It's a good way to keep in touch’, ‘It's part of me and it's not a bad thing’, ‘There is a time and place for it’ and ‘There's an urgency to be on the phone’.

Conclusions

This study highlighted that social networking sites play a major role in the social life of adolescents, though it can result in occupational imbalance on their occupational performance. Furthermore, this study contributes to the knowledge of occupational therapists who work with adolescents in communities and health promoting school settings. Thus, collaboration between teachers, parents and occupational therapists can help to develop adolescents’ time management and learning skills.
Microbial community structure and functioning in marine sediments associated with diffuse hydrothermal venting assessed by integrated meta‐omics
Authors: Urich Tim , Lanzén Anders , Stokke Runar , Pedersen Rolf B. , Bayer Christoph , Thorseth Ingunn H. , Schleper Christa , Steen Ida H. , Øvreas Lise
Published: October 2013

Deep‐sea hydrothermal vents are unique environments on Earth, as they host chemosynthetic ecosystems fuelled by geochemical energy with chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms at the basis of the food webs. Whereas discrete high‐temperature venting systems have been studied extensively, the microbiotas associated with low‐temperature diffuse venting are not well understood. We analysed the structure and functioning of microbial communities in two diffuse venting sediments from the Jan Mayen vent fields in the Norwegian‐Greenland Sea, applying an integrated ‘omics’ approach combining metatranscriptomics, metaproteomics and metagenomics. Polymerase chain reaction‐independent three‐domain community profiling showed that the two sediments hosted highly similar communities dominated by Epsilonproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria, besides ciliates, nematodes and various archaeal taxa. Active metabolic pathways were identified through transcripts and peptides, with genes of sulphur and methane oxidation, and carbon fixation pathways highly expressed, in addition to genes of aerobic and anaerobic (nitrate and sulphate) respiratory chains. High expression of chemotaxis and flagella genes reflected a lifestyle in a dynamic habitat rich in physico‐chemical gradients. The major metabolic pathways could be assigned to distinct taxonomic groups, thus enabling hypotheses about the function of the different prokaryotic and eukaryotic taxa. This study advances our understanding of the functioning of microbial communities in diffuse hydrothermal venting sediments.
A three‐component signalling system fine‐tunes expression kinetics of HPPK responsible for folate synthesis by positive feedback loop during stress response of Xanthomonas campestris
Authors: Wang Fang‐Fang , Deng Chao‐Ying , Cai Zhen , Wang Ting , Wang Li , Wang Xiao‐Zheng , Chen Xiao‐Ying , Fang Rong‐Xiang , Qian Wei
Published: October 2013

During adaptation to environments, bacteria employ two‐component signal transduction systems, which contain histidine kinases and response regulators, to sense and respond to exogenous and cellular stimuli in an accurate spatio‐temporal manner. Although the protein phosphorylation process between histidine kinase and response regulator has been well documented, the molecular mechanism fine‐tuning phosphorylation levels of response regulators is comparatively less studied. Here we combined genetic and biochemical approaches to reveal that a hybrid histidine kinase, SreS, is involved in the SreK‐SreR phosphotransfer process to control salt stress response in the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris. The N‐terminal receiver domain of SreS acts as a phosphate sink by competing with the response regulator SreR to accept the phosphoryl group from the latter's cognate histidine kinase SreK. This regulatory process is critical for bacterial survival because the dephosphorylated SreR protein participates in activating one of the tandem promoters (P2) at the 5′ end of the sreK‐sreR‐sreS‐hppK operon, and then modulates a transcriptional surge of the stress‐responsive gene hppK, which is required for folic acid synthesis. Therefore, our study dissects the biochemical process of a positive feedback loop in which a ‘three‐component’ signalling system fine‐tunes expression kinetics of downstream genes.
NxrB encoding the beta subunit of nitrite oxidoreductase as functional and phylogenetic marker for nitrite‐oxidizing Nitrospira
Authors: Pester Michael , Maixner Frank , Berry David , Rattei Thomas , Koch Hanna , Lücker Sebastian , Nowka Boris , Richter Andreas , Spieck Eva , Lebedeva Elena , Loy Alexander , Wagner Michael , Daims Holger
Published: October 2013

Nitrospira are the most widespread and diverse known nitrite‐oxidizing bacteria and key nitrifiers in natural and engineered ecosystems. Nevertheless, their ecophysiology and environmental distribution are understudied because of the recalcitrance of Nitrospira to cultivation and the lack of a molecular functional marker, which would allow the detection of Nitrospira in the environment. Here we introduce nxrB, the gene encoding subunit beta of nitrite oxidoreductase, as a functional and phylogenetic marker for Nitrospira. Phylogenetic trees based on nxrB of Nitrospira were largely congruent to 16S ribosomal RNA‐based phylogenies. By using new nxrB‐selective polymerase chain reaction primers, we obtained almost full‐length nxrB sequences from Nitrospira cultures, two activated sludge samples, and several geographically and climatically distinct soils. Amplicon pyrosequencing of nxrB fragments from 16 soils revealed a previously unrecognized diversity of terrestrial Nitrospira with 1801 detected species‐level operational taxonomic units (OTUs) (using an inferred species threshold of 95% nxrB identity). Richness estimates ranged from 10 to 946 coexisting Nitrospira species per soil. Comparison with an archaeal amoA dataset obtained from the same soils [Environ. Microbiol. 14: 525–539 (2012)] uncovered that ammonia‐oxidizing archaea and Nitrospira communities were highly correlated across the soil samples, possibly indicating shared habitat preferences or specific biological interactions among members of these nitrifier groups.
Productivity and salinity structuring of the microplankton revealed by comparative freshwater metagenomics
Authors: Eiler Alexander , Zaremba‐Niedzwiedzka Katarzyna , Martínez‐García Manuel , McMahon Katherine D. , Stepanauskas Ramunas , Andersson Siv G. E. , Bertilsson Stefan
Published: October 2013

Little is known about the diversity and structuring of freshwater microbial communities beyond the patterns revealed by tracing their distribution in the landscape with common taxonomic markers such as the ribosomal RNA. To address this gap in knowledge, metagenomes from temperate lakes were compared to selected marine metagenomes. Taxonomic analyses of rRNA genes in these freshwater metagenomes confirm the previously reported dominance of a limited subset of uncultured lineages of freshwater bacteria, whereas Archaea were rare. Diversification into marine and freshwater microbial lineages was also reflected in phylogenies of functional genes, and there were also significant differences in functional beta‐diversity. The pathways and functions that accounted for these differences are involved in osmoregulation, active transport, carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism. Moreover, predicted genes orthologous to active transporters and recalcitrant organic matter degradation were more common in microbial genomes from oligotrophic versus eutrophic lakes. This comparative metagenomic analysis allowed us to formulate a general hypothesis that oceanic‐ compared with freshwater‐dwelling microorganisms, invest more in metabolism of amino acids and that strategies of carbohydrate metabolism differ significantly between marine and freshwater microbial communities.
Songbirds as general transmitters but selective amplifiers of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato genotypes in Ixodes rinicus ticks
Authors: Heylen Dieter , Matthysen Erik , Fonville Manoj , Sprong Hein
Published: October 2013

We investigated to what extent a European songbird (Parus major) selectively transmits and amplifies Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. bacteria. Borrelia‐naïve birds were recurrently exposed to Ixodes ricinus nymphs carrying a community of more than 34 5S–23S genotypes belonging to five genospecies (Borrelia garinii, Borrelia valaisiana, Borrelia afzelii, B. burgdorferi s.s. and Borrelia spielmanii). Fed ticks were screened for Borrelia after moulting. We found evidence for co‐feeding transmission of avian and possibly also mammalian genotypes. Throughout the course of infestations, the infection rate of B. garinii and B. valaisiana increased, indicating successful amplification and transmission, while the infection rate for B. afzelii, B. burgdorferi s.s and B. spielmanii tended to decrease. Within the B. garinii and B. valaisiana genotype communities, certain genotypes were transmitted more than others. Moreover, birds were able to host mixed infections of B. garinii and B. valaisiana, as well as mixed infections of genotypes of the same genospecies. We experimentally show that resident songbirds transmit a broad range of Borrelia genotypes, but selectively amplify certain genotypes, and that one bird can transmit simultaneously several genotypes. Our results highlight the need to explicitly consider the association between genotypes and hosts, which may offer opportunities to point out which hosts are most responsible for the Borrelia presence in questing ticks.
A copula‐based approach to the simultaneous estimation of group and meta‐frontiers by constrained maximum likelihood
Authors: Repkine Alexandre
Published: October 2013

Existing approaches to the meta‐frontier estimation consist of two stages where the estimates of the local frontier parameters obtained in the first step are used to estimate meta‐frontier parameters by means of a linear or quadratic minimisation procedure in the second. Since it was shown by Schmidt (Review of Economics and Statistics 58: 238) that the second step is equivalent to constrained maximisation of a likelihood function, we extend this idea and offer a copula‐based approach to the estimation of the parameters of both meta‐ and group frontiers in a one‐step setting. In this way, we ensure a single data‐generating mechanism for the estimated parameters, expand the set of potential meta‐frontiers and account for the fact that shocks to the individual production units may be correlated with shocks to the local technological environment as a whole. We apply our estimation methodology to a data set on the world agriculture and find that the deviations from the group frontiers are positively correlated with deviations from the meta‐frontier, which is a conclusion that is impossible to reach without accounting for stochastic dependence between the two deviation types represented by a copula.
Social Protection and Satisfaction with Democracy: A Multi-level Analysis
Authors: Lühiste Kadri
Published: October 2013

The aim of this article is to examine the link between the quality of social protection and citizens' satisfaction with the functioning of democracy — an association that has received very limited attention in the rich body of empirical research on popular satisfaction with democracy. To test the hypothesis that social protection levels influence citizens' satisfaction with democracy, the article conducts a multi-level regression analysis using European Social Survey (2008/9) data from 24 countries. The results of the analysis demonstrate that between-country differences are linked to variation in social protection levels, and within-country differences depend on individual satisfaction with social provision, while controlling for other relevant factors. The findings indicate that people do expect democratic regimes to provide social protection along with economic performance and thus suggest that democratic governments face a challenge in meeting simultaneous demands for social protection and economic prosperity. Altogether, the study contributes to debates about the implications of welfare policies and citizen satisfaction with regime performance.
Reshaping Tradition? Women Negotiating the Boundaries of Tradition and Modernity in Hong Kong and British Families
Authors: Jackson Stevi , Ho Petula Sik Ying , Na Jin Nye
Published: October 2013

In debates on social change and personal life, modernity has generally been conceptualized in opposition to tradition, though some have pointed to the persistence of traditional values and practices within modern family relations. In this paper we seek to extend these debates beyond their largely Eurocentric context. Drawing on a comparative qualitative study of women and social change in Britain and Hong Kong, we argue for an understanding of the traditional and the modern that takes account of the ways in which tradition is reshaped in the context of modernity. The accounts of young adult women and their mothers in Hong Kong and Britain reveal varied interpretations of family obligations and practices in relation to normative ideals of family life in each context. We consider how configurations of family life deemed ‘modern’ are inflected by the differing traditions and histories of Hong Kong and British society and argue that these differences are not only cultural, but also attributable to the material conditions under which family relationships are forged and negotiated.
The Embodiment of Neoliberalism: Exploring the Roots and Limits of the Calculation of Arbitrage in the Entrepreneurial Function
Authors: Lilley Simon , Lightfoot Geoff
Published: October 2013

How has neoliberalism achieved its sway? We address this question by tracing an alternative history of the economic theorization of ‘entrepreneurship’ that reveals the extent to which sociological transformation is attendant upon the construction, dissemination and change of the concepts of economy. Surveying the theoretical works of luminaries such as Kirzner, Mises and Simmel and reading them alongside ethnographies of the practices that instantiate a neo-liberal world we see the ways in which entrepreneurship is fashioned, realized and ramified and, in so doing, reveal new fault lines for exploitation by those who would rather seek to escape its pernicious embrace. For it is the notion of entrepreneurship that enables both the functioning of an apparently objective market to best deploy societal resources and the continuing capture of the benefits of such by a privileged elite who seemingly bear its mark in the most vivid of terms. By unpacking entrepreneurship we unpack the market, which is a vital first step in any attempt to trammel its seemingly inevitable and unstoppable march through an otherwise undefended social.
Using word study instruction with developmental college students
Authors: Atkinson Terry S. , Zhang Guili , Phillips Shannon F. , Zeller Nancy
Published: October 2013

This study investigates the effect of word study instruction on the orthographic knowledge of college students enrolled in a developmental reading course. Results revealed significantly greater improvement in orthographic knowledge in students who received word study instruction when compared with those in a control group, suggesting that the word study approach was effective for these students. Because of the influence of orthographic knowledge on spelling, writing and reading, additional research is merited to examine how word study intervention impacts the reading behaviours and academic achievement of college students enrolled in developmental education courses.
Discourse‐level reading comprehension in Chinese children: what is the role of syntactic awareness?
Authors: Tong Xiuhong , Tong Xiuli , Shu Hua , Chan Shingfong , McBride‐Chang Catherine
Published: October 2013

This study aimed to investigate the association between syntactic awareness and discourse‐level reading comprehension in 136 Hong Kong Chinese children. These children, aged 11, from a longitudinal study, were administered a set of cognitive and linguistic measures. Partial correlational analyses showed that children's performances in two syntactic tasks were significantly correlated with their discourse‐level reading comprehension. A multiple hierarchical regression analysis indicated that syntactic skills, especially the conjunction cloze task, accounted for unique variance in reading comprehension even when age, nonverbal IQ, phonological awareness, morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge, as well as the auto‐regressive effect of previous reading comprehension skill were statistically controlled in this study. Findings suggest that syntactic awareness is uniquely associated with discourse‐level reading comprehension in Hong Kong fifth graders.
Living standards and mortality since the middle ages
Authors: Kelly Morgan , Ó Gráda Cormac
Published: October 2013

Existing studies find little connection between living standards and mortality in England, but go back only to the sixteenth century. Using new data on inheritances, we extend estimates of mortality back to the mid‐thirteenth century and find, by contrast, that deaths from unfree tenants to the nobility were strongly affected by living standards. Looking at a large sample of parishes after 1540, we find that the positive check had weakened considerably by 1650 even though living standards were static at best, but persisted in London for another century despite its higher wages. In both cases the disappearance of the positive check coincided with the introduction of systematic poor relief, suggesting that government action may have played a role in breaking the link between harvest failure and mass mortality.
Contesting theIndian City: Global Visions and the Politics of the Local
Authors: Shatkin Gavin
Published: October 2013

This symposium brings together three empirical studies and one conceptual overview examining the politics of redevelopment in contemporaryIndian cities. Collectively these articles seek to redress the relative dearth of concerted attention to the institutional, economic and socio‐spatial changes that are shifting the terrain of urban politics in post‐liberalization India.
Equivalence salting and temporal dominance of sensations analysis for different sodium chloride substitutes in cream cheese
Authors: da Silva Thais L T , de Souza Vanessa R , Pinheiro Ana C M , Nunes Cleiton A , Freire Tassyana V M
Published: October 2013

The purpose of the study was to determine the potency and equivalence of salt substitutes (potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, monosodium glutamate, potassium lactate, calcium lactate and potassium phosphate monobasic) in cream cheese and to evaluate sensory flavour profiles. The methods used were magnitude estimation and temporal dominance of sensations (TDS). Equivalent salting of cream cheese containing 1% sodium chloride was obtained using: 1.2% potassium chloride, 2.56% monosodium glutamate, 2.5% magnesium chloride and 2.98% potassium phosphate. The TDS revealed that, other than salty taste, the most significant flavours produced were sour and bitter. The potencies of salt substitutes are much lower than that of sodium chloride.
Use of prescription contraceptive methods in the UK general population: a primary care study
Authors: Cea‐Soriano L , García Rodríguez LA , Machlitt A , Wallander M‐A
Published: October 2013

Objective

To determine prescription contraceptive use in the UK.

Design

Observational study using a primary care database.

Setting

The Health Improvement Network (THIN).

Population

Women in THIN aged 12–49 years in 2008, registered with their primary care doctor for at least 5 years, and with a prescription history of at least 1 year were included.

Methods

THIN was searched using the Read and MULTILEX codes for the following methods: combined oral contraceptives (COCs), progestogen‐only pills (POPs), copper intrauterine devices (Cu‐IUDs), the levonorgestrel‐releasing intrauterine system (LNG‐IUS), progestogen‐only implants, progestogen‐only injections, and contraceptive patches.

Main outcome measures

Prevalence, switching, and duration of prescriptions.

Results

A cohort of 194 054 women was identified. The prevalence of contraceptive use was: COCs, 16.2% (95% confidence interval, 95% CI 16.1–16.3%); POPs, 5.6% (95% CI 5.5–5.6%); Cu‐IUD, 4.5% (95% CI 4.4–4.5%); LNG‐IUS, 4.2% (95% CI 4.1–4.2%); progestogen‐only implants, 1.5% (95% CI 1.5–1.6%); progestogen‐only injections, 2.4% (95% CI 2.3–2.4%); and contraceptive patches, 0.1% (95% CI 0.1–0.2%). Within 1 year, 9.8% of new COC users switched to alternative COCs, and 9.0% changed to a different method. Among new COC users who did not switch method, 34.8% did not continue use beyond 3 months, and were no longer using a prescription contraceptive.

Conclusions

Among users of oral contraceptives who did not switch method, over one‐third did not continue use beyond 3 months. This supports current UK guidelines recommending a follow‐up consultation with a healthcare professional 3 months after the first prescription of COCs.
Holding governments accountable? Individual heterogeneity in performance voting
Authors: de Vries Catherine E. , Giger Nathalie
Published: October 2013

This study suggests that performance voting is characterised by extensive individual heterogeneity. Most economic voting studies to date treat voters as rather homogeneous in their reactions to economic performance of incumbents. Yet, a large and well‐established line of research from the American context demonstrates the conditional impact of political sophistication and salience on voters' political attitudes and behaviour. Building on this work, this article explores individual‐level variation in performance voting due to political sophistication and salience. Utilising cross‐national data from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES) including 25 democracies, performance voting is examined across an array of policy areas including the economy, social welfare, immigration and national security, and it is shown that political sophistication and salience are key moderators of performance voting. The findings suggest that holding governments to account for past performance is mainly the prerogative of the highly sophisticated and thus may be more laborious than previously assumed. At the same time, the results indicate that the sophistication gap in performance voting narrows when voters attach a higher degree of salience to a policy area. As long as voters care enough about government activities in a particular policy area, incumbents can expect credit or blame for policy outcomes. This should provide at least some impetus for responsive policy making.
Mental Health and High‐Cost Health Care Utilization: New Evidence from Axis II Disorders
Authors: Maclean Johanna Catherine , Xu Haiyong , French Michael T. , Ettner Susan L.
Published: October 2013

Objective

To analyze the associations between Axis II (A2) disorders and two measures of health care utilization with relatively high cost: emergency department (ED) episodes and hospital admissions.

Data Source/Study Setting

Wave I (2001/2002) and Wave II (2004/2005) of the National Longitudinal Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC).

Study Design

A national probability sample of adults. Gender‐stratified regression analysis adjusted for a range of covariates associated with health care utilization.

Data Collection

The target population of the NESARC is the civilian noninstitutionalized population aged 18 years and older residing in the United States. The cumulative survey response rate is 70.2 percent with a response rate of 81 percent (N = 43,093) in Wave I and 86.7 percent (N = 34,653) in Wave II.

Principal Findings

Both men and women with A2 disorders are at elevated risk for ED episodes and hospital admissions. Associations are robust after adjusting for a rich set of confounding factors, including Axis I (clinical) psychiatric disorders. We find evidence of a dose–response relationship, while antisocial and borderline disorders exhibit the strongest associations with both measures of health care utilization.

Conclusions

This study provides the first published estimates of the associations between A2 disorders and high‐cost health care utilization in a large, nationally representative survey. The findings underscore the potential implications of these disorders on health care expenditures.
Revolutions, Revolts and Protest Movements: Focusing on Violence and Transnational Action
Authors: O'Kane Rosemary H. T.
Published: October 2013

Revolutions, revolts and protest movements are viewed in the study of politics as belonging together because they take place outside political institutions and, through collective action, involve mobilisation against established practices and the values lying behind them. As the wide variety of cases covered in the four books reviewed show, however, the differences between these revolutionary and protest actions are also striking. These books show that, if carefully chosen, a great deal can be learned from the detailed study of cases about protest movements mobilising both within and across borders and that it furthers our understanding of social movements. Highly valuable lessons on the role of violence in politics are also learned from the studies of revolts and revolutions. Looked at critically, however, the books show that the differences between violence and terror should not be overlooked and that important factors such as ideology can be missed.
Characterization of Digital Cameras for Reflected Ultraviolet Photography; Implications for Qualitative and Quantitative Image Analysis During Forensic Examination
Authors: Garcia Jair E. , Wilksch Philip A. , Spring Gale , Philp Peta , Dyer Adrian
Published: October 2013

Reflected ultraviolet imaging techniques allow for the visualization of evidence normally outside the human visible spectrum. Specialized digital cameras possessing extended sensitivity can be used for recording reflected ultraviolet radiation. Currently, there is a lack of standardized methods for ultraviolet image recording and processing using digital cameras, potentially limiting the implementation and interpretation. A methodology is presented for processing ultraviolet images based on linear responses and the sensitivity of the respective color channels. The methodology is applied to a FujiS3UVIRcamera, and a modified Nikon D70s camera, to reconstruct their respective spectral sensitivity curves between 320 and 400 nm. This method results in images with low noise and high contrast, suitable for qualitative and/or quantitative analysis. The application of this methodology is demonstrated in the recording of latent fingerprints.
Screening Biological Stains with qPCR versus Lateral Flow Immunochromatographic Test Strips: A Quantitative Comparison using Analytical Figures of Merit
Authors: Simson Oechsle Crystal , Haddad Sandra , Sgueglia Joanne B. , Grgicak Catherine M.
Published: October 2013

Biological fluid identification is an important facet of evidence examination in forensic laboratories worldwide. While identifying bodily fluids may provide insight into which downstream DNA methods to employ, these screening techniques consume a vital portion of the available evidence, are usually qualitative, and rely on visual interpretation. In contrast, qPCR yields information regarding the amount and proportion of amplifiable genetic material. In this study, dilution series of either semen or male saliva were prepared in either buffer or female blood. The samples were subjected to both lateral flow immunochromatographic test strips and qPCR analysis. Analytical figures of merit—including sensitivity, minimum distinguishable signal (MDS) and limit of detection (LOD)—were calculated and compared between methods. By applying the theory of the propagation of random errors, LODs were determined to be 0.05 μL of saliva for the RSID™ Saliva cards, 0.03 μL of saliva for Quantifiler® Duo, and 0.001 μL of semen for Quantifiler® Duo. In conclusion, quantitative PCR was deemed a viable and effective screening method for subsequent DNA profiling due to its stability in different matrices, sensitivity, and low limits of detection.
Alcohol‐related violence presenting to the emergency department: Is ‘glassing’ the big issue?
Authors: Laing Anthony J , Sendall Marguerite C , Barker Ruth
Published: October 2013

Objective

The study aims to describe the characteristics of patients presenting to EDs within Queensland, Australia with injuries because of assault with a glass implement (‘glassing’) and to set this within the broader context of presentations because of alcohol‐related violence.

Methods

This is an analysis of prospectively collected ED injury surveillance data collated by the Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit between 1999 and 2011. Cases of injury because of alcohol‐related violence were identified and analysed using coded fields supplemented with qualitative data contained within the injury description text. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the characteristics of injury presentations because of alcohol‐related violence. Violence included interpersonal violence and aggression (verbal aggression and object violence).

Results

A total of 4629 cases were studied. The study population was predominantly men (72%) and aged 18 to 24 (36%), with men in this age group comprising more than a quarter of the study population (28%). Nine per cent of alcohol‐related assault injuries were a consequence of ‘glassing’. The home was the most common location for alcohol‐related violence (31%) and alcohol‐related ‘glassings’ (33%). Overall, the most common glass object involved was a bottle (75%); however, within licensed venues an even mix of a drinking glass (44%) and glass bottle (45%) was identified.

Conclusions

Contrary to public perception generated by media, ‘glassing’ incidents, particularly at licensed venues, constitute a relatively small proportion of all alcohol‐related violence. The current study highlights the predominance of young men injured following alcohol‐related violence, demonstrating a key focus area within the population for aiming prevention strategies.
Coexisting with Fire? A Commentary on the Scale Politics of Adaptation
Authors: HOWITT RICHARD
Published: October 2013

Australia's experience of bushfire in changing environmental, economic and social circumstances raises the need for learning to live with fire risk more effectively. But just what might it mean to coexist with fire? Rather than addressing the particular risk contexts created on fire grounds during fire events, this brief commentary considers the need to rescale questions of coexistence with fire and to reconsider just what coexistence with and adaptations to fire risk in Australian landscapes might mean.
Dietary patterns of adolescent girls attending schools in low‐income communities highlight low consumption of core foods
Authors: Schumacher Tracy L. , Dewar Deborah L. , Lubans David R. , Morgan Philip J. , Watson Jane , Guest Maya , Burrows Tracy L. , Callister Robin , Collins Clare E.
Published: October 2013

Aim

Overweight and obesity prevalence is high among adolescent girls of low socioeconomic position and this increases their risk of cardiovascular disease and metabolic disorders in adulthood. The aim of this present study was to describe the dietary patterns of adolescent girls in terms of the relative contribution of core food groups to overall diet and by weight status category.

Methods

Year 8 female students were recruited from schools in low‐income communities. Weight status (i.e. underweight, healthy weight, overweight, obese) was determined using age‐ and sex‐adjusted body mass index (BMI; z score). Dietary intakes were assessed using a validated semi‐quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Individual foods were collated into core food group or energy‐dense, nutrient‐poor categories in line with the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGHE) and the percentage contribution to total energy intake calculated.

Results

Participants (n = 332) were (mean ± SD) 13.7 ± 0.4 years old with BMI z score 0.63 ± 1.22. Few girls met AGHE core food group recommendations for daily serves; meat and substitutes 69.3%, vegetables 28.6%, fruit 23.8%, dairy 15.7% and breads/cereals 5.7%. Total percentage energy derived from energy‐dense, nutrient‐poor foods was 46.6% (37.2–54.6%) (median (interquartile range)), with takeaways 9.8% (7.0–13.6%), confectionery 7.0% (4.1–10.9%) and packaged snacks 6.8% (4.0–10.7%), with no significant differences by weight status.

Conclusions

Core food intakes are poor with excessive consumption of energy‐dense, nutrient‐poor foods in these adolescent girls. Nutrition education programs targeting this population are needed to address this imbalance. Strategies could include substitution of unhealthy snacks for core food items and greater inclusion of core foods within main meals.
New ideas for future studies of Helicobacter pylori
Authors: Lu Hong , Xiao Shu Dong
Published: October 2013

Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the inflammation‐associated cancers. Helicobacter pylori is now thought to be responsible for more than 95% of all GCs, and its development is associated with at least four mechanisms that lead to genetic instability of the gastric mucosa. The risk of developing GC can be predicted by assessing the extent and severity of corpus atrophy and the degree of risk can be estimated by using non‐invasive methods such as the pepsinogen test, or endoscopic or histological cancer risk scoring systems such as the operative link for gastritis assessment. The eradication of H. pylori will stop the progression of gastritis, prevent atrophy and thus decrease the risk of cancer. H. pylori eradication should follow the dictum “use what works best locally”. There are several new developments in the diagnosis and treatment of H. pylori infection including serological antibody, fluorescent in situ hybridization and antibiotic resistance tests. It is still necessary to develop a preventive or therapeutic vaccine to prevent GC.
Sequentially aerated membrane biofilm reactors for autotrophic nitrogen removal: microbial community composition and dynamics
Authors: Pellicer‐Nàcher Carles , Franck Stéphanie , Gülay Arda , Ruscalleda Maël , Terada Akihiko , Al‐Soud Waleed Abu , Hansen Martin Asser , Sørensen Søren J. , Smets Barth F.
Published: October 2013

Membrane‐aerated biofilm reactors performing autotrophic nitrogen removal can be successfully applied to treat concentrated nitrogen streams. However, their process performance is seriously hampered by the growth of nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB). In this work we document how sequential aeration can bring the rapid and long‐term suppression of NOB and the onset of the activity of anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AnAOB). Real‐time quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses confirmed that such shift in performance was mirrored by a change in population densities, with a very drastic reduction of the NOB Nitrospira and Nitrobacter and a 10‐fold increase in AnAOB numbers. The study of biofilm sections with relevant 16S rRNA fluorescent probes revealed strongly stratified biofilm structures fostering aerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in biofilm areas close to the membrane surface (rich in oxygen) and AnAOB in regions neighbouring the liquid phase. Both communities were separated by a transition region potentially populated by denitrifying heterotrophic bacteria. AOB and AnAOB bacterial groups were more abundant and diverse than NOB, and dominated by the r‐strategists Nitrosomonas europaea and Ca. Brocadia anammoxidans, respectively. Taken together, the present work presents tools to better engineer, monitor and control the microbial communities that support robust, sustainable and efficient nitrogen removal.
Evaluation of 11 single‐locus and seven multilocusDNAbarcodes inLamiumL. (Lamiaceae)
Authors: Krawczyk K. , Szczecińska M. , Sawicki J.
Published: October 2013

The aim of this work was to evaluate the suitability of selectedDNAregions in the barcoding of plants, based on the species belonging to the genusLamium(Lamiaceae). For this purpose, nine chloroplast barcodes, that is,accD,matK, rbcL, rpoA,rpoB,rpoC1,rpoC2,trnH‐psbA,trnL‐trnF, as well asITSnuclear region, and intron of mitochondrialnad5gene were tested. Among the single‐locus barcodes, most effective in the identification ofLamiumspecies was thetrnH‐psbAspacer andmatKgene. The high level of variability and resolving power was also observed in the case ofrpoAandrpoC2genes. Despite the high interspecies variability ofITSregion, it turned out to be inapplicable inLamiumidentification. An important disadvantage ofITSas a barcode is a limitation of its use in polyploid plants, samples contaminated with fungal material or samples with partially degradedDNA. We have also evaluated five‐two‐locus and two‐three‐locus barcode regions created from a combination of most effective single loci. The best‐performing barcode combinations werematK + trnH‐psbAandmatK + rpoA. Both of them had equally high discriminative power to identifyLamiumspecies.
Practical Considerations in the Use of Novel Oral Anticoagulants for Stroke Prevention in Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation
Authors: Deitelzweig Steven
Published: October 2013

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a highly prevalent cardiac arrhythmia associated with an increased risk of stroke. The role of anticoagulation therapy in the prevention of thrombosis and stroke is of critical importance for patients with AF. Limitations with vitamin K antagonists (VKAs), the current standard of care, have led to the development of novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) that target either thrombin (dabigatran etexilate) or activated factor X (rivaroxaban, apixaban, and edoxaban). In comparison with traditional VKAs such as warfarin, these NOACs offer several pharmacologic advantages, including rapid onset of action, no significant food interactions, low potential for drug–drug interactions, and no requirement for routine coagulation monitoring. Completed phase‐III clinical trials have demonstrated the therapeutic potential of dabigatran, rivaroxaban, and apixaban in comparison with warfarin for stroke prevention in patients with nonvalvular AF (NVAF). While the future utility of NOACs in preventing stroke in patients with NVAF looks promising, several practical issues, including the current lack of a reversal strategy and use of these agents in older patients with renal dysfunction, must be considered. Clinician and patient understanding of such issues will be important for the safe and effective use of NOACs.
SOAPBarcode: revealing arthropod biodiversity through assembly of Illumina shotgun sequences of PCR amplicons
Authors: Liu Shanlin , Li Yiyuan , Lu Jianliang , Su Xu , Tang Min , Zhang Rui , Zhou Lili , Zhou Chengran , Yang Qing , Ji Yinqiu , Yu Douglas W. , Zhou Xin
Published: October 2013

Metabarcoding of mixed arthropod samples for biodiversity assessment has mostly been carried out on the 454 GS FLX sequencer (Roche, Branford, Connecticut, USA), due to its ability to produce long reads (≥400 bp) that are believed to allow higher taxonomic resolution. The Illumina sequencing platforms, with their much higher throughputs, could potentially reduce sequencing costs and improve sequence quality, but the associated shorter read length (typically <150 bp) has deterred their usage in next‐generation‐sequencing (NGS)‐based analyses of eukaryotic biodiversity, which often utilize standard barcode markers (e.g. COI, rbcL, matK, ITS) that are hundreds of nucleotides long.

We present a new Illumina‐based pipeline to recover full‐length COI barcodes from mixed arthropod samples. Our new assembly program, SOAPBarcode, a variant of the genome assembly program SOAPdenovo, uses paired‐end reads of the standard COI barcode region as anchors to extract the correct pathways (sequences) out of otherwise chaotic ‘de Bruijn graphs’, which are caused by the presence of large numbers of COI homologs of high sequence similarity.

Two bulk insect samples of known species composition have been analysed in a recently published 454 metabarcoding study (Yu et al. 2012) and are re‐analysed by our analysis pipeline. Compared to the results of Roche 454 (c. 400‐bp reads), our pipeline recovered full‐length COI barcodes (658 bp) and 17–31% more species‐level operational taxonomic units (OTUs) from bulk insect samples, with fewer untraceable (novel) OTUs. On the other hand, our PCR‐based pipeline also revealed higher rates of contamination across samples, due to the Illumina's increased sequencing depth. On balance, the assembled full‐length barcodes and increased OTU recovery rates resulted in more resolved taxonomic assignments and more accurate beta diversity estimation.

The HiSeq 2000 and the SOAPBarcode pipeline together can achieve more accurate biodiversity assessment at a much reduced sequencing cost in metabarcoding analyses. However, greater precaution is needed to prevent cross‐sample contamination during field preparation and laboratory operation because of greater ability to detect non‐target DNA amplicons present in low‐copy numbers.
Using social structure to improve mortality estimates: an example with sperm whales
Authors: Whitehead Hal , Gero Shane
Published: October 2013

Estimates of mortality are fundamental to studies of population ecology and assessments of conservation status. Mortality is frequently estimated using individual identifications by means of mark–recapture methods. These estimates become biased with heterogeneity in identification and especially if patterns of heterogeneity change with time.

If animals are social, then survival may be inferred from the identifications of social partners. We produce a likelihood model for estimating mortality using such social data.

We show using simulation that this method can produce less biased and more precise estimates of mortality than standard methods when individuals are almost always identified with associates, and when there are time‐varying patterns of heterogeneity in identifiability. The method seems little affected by some change in social affiliations or by growth or decline in population size. SEs and confidence intervals of mortality estimates can be estimated using likelihood methods. We apply the method to data from a population of sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in the eastern Caribbean, obtaining estimates that are more precise and probably less biased than those from other methods.

The method should be useful in improving mortality estimates for social species.