bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Acacia caven nurses endemic sclerophyllous trees along a successional pathway from silvopastoral savanna to forest
Authors: Root‐Bernstein Meredith , Valenzuela Rafael , Huerta Margarita , Armesto Juan , Jaksic Fabián
Published: February 2017

The successional pathways linking the Acacia caven‐dominated savanna habitat “espinal” and the closed sclerophyllous forest of central Chile have long been debated. Previously, espinal was considered an invasive degradation of closed forest that tended toward desertification, could not be restored to forest, and had little ecological value. Recent GIS (Geographical Information System) research on land‐use change has, however, detected apparent regeneration of sclerophyllous forest from espinal. This suggests that there is a successional path linking espinal and sclerophyllous forest. Here, we used surveys of transects in espinals and espinal–sclerophyllous forest transitions to ask whether (1) A. caven is an invasive species or a pioneer species, (2) forest regenerates by sclerophyllous trees “filling in” spaces between A. caven individuals, and then shading them out (plant–plant competition), or (3) forest regenerates by plant–plant facilitation between A. caven and other species, and (4) how current and historical management and condition affect these potential successional mechanisms. We find that A. caven establishes primarily in full sunlight and is unlikely to degrade forests via invasion. We also find, for the first time, evidence that A. caven is a nurse tree to several sclerophyllous forest tree‐beneficiary species. Measurements of the under‐canopy microhabitat of A. caven, compared to Lithraea caustica, another possible nurse species, suggest that it provides a balance between shade and soil moisture retention, making it a regeneration site not only for directed bird‐dispersed seeds but also for undirected wind‐dispersed ones. Conservation and restoration of espinals, especially in drier areas, could provide capacity for future dynamic successional pathways in central Chile.
Inhibition of microRNA‐153 protects neurons against ischemia/reperfusion injury in an oxygen–glucose deprivation and reoxygenation cellular model by regulating Nrf2/HO‐1 signaling
Authors: Ji Qiong , Gao Jianbo , Zheng Yan , Liu Xueli , Zhou Qiangqiang , Shi Canxia , Yao Meng , Chen Xia
Published: February 2017

MicroRNAs are emerging as critical regulators in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury; however, their exact roles remain poorly understood. miR‐153 is reported to be a neuron‐related miRNA involved in neuroprotection. In this study, we aimed to investigate the precise role of miR‐153 in regulating neuron survival during cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury using an oxygen–glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R) cellular model. We found that miR‐153 was significantly upregulated in neurons subjected to OGD/R treatment. Inhibition of miR‐153 significantly attenuated OGD/R‐induced injury and oxidative stress in neurons. Nuclear factor erythroid 2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2) was identified as a target gene of miR‐153. Inhibition of miR‐153 significantly promoted the expression of Nrf2 and heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1). However, silencing of Nrf2 significantly blocked the protective effects of miR‐153 inhibition. Our study indicates that the inhibition of miR‐153 protects neurons against OGD/R‐induced injury by regulating Nrf2/HO‐1 signaling and suggests a potential therapeutic target for cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury.
Global assessment of cancer incidence and survival in adolescents and young adults
Authors: Bleyer Archie , Ferrari Andrea , Whelan Jeremy , Barr Ronald D.
Published: February 2017

In high‐income countries, cancer remains the commonest cause of disease‐related death in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) despite survival improvements. With more than 1,000,000 new diagnoses of cancer in AYAs annually worldwide, and their number of life‐years affected by cancer being greatest of all ages, the global burden of cancer in AYAs exceeds that in all other ages. In low‐ and middle‐income countries, where the great majority of the world's 3 billion AYAs reside, the needs of those with cancer have been identified and demand attention. Unique to the age group but universal, the psychosocial challenges they face are the utmost across life's spectrum.

This lead‐off article of a new series in Pediatric Blood and Cancer on AYA oncology attempts to assess the global status of this emerging discipline. The review includes the changing incidence and survival of the common cancers in AYAs—there is no other age group with a similar array of malignancies—and the specific challenges to quality and quantity of life that compromise their lives.
Selective Expansion of Skeletal Muscle Stem Cells from Bulk Muscle Cells in Soft Three-Dimensional Fibrin Gel
Authors: Zhu Pei , Zhou Yalu , Wu Furen , Hong Yuanfan , Wang Xin , Shekhawat Gajendra , Mosenson Jeffrey , Wu Wen-Shu
Published: February 2017

Muscle stem cells (MuSCs) exhibit robust myogenic potential in vivo, thus providing a promising curative treatment for muscle disorders. Ex vivo expansion of adult MuSCs is highly desired to achieve a therapeutic cell dose because of their scarcity in limited muscle biopsies. Sorting of pure MuSCs is generally required for all the current culture systems. Here we developed a soft three-dimensional (3D) salmon fibrin gel culture system that can selectively expand mouse MuSCs from bulk skeletal muscle preparations without cell sorting and faithfully maintain their regenerative capacity in culture. Our study established a novel platform for convenient ex vivo expansion of MuSCs, thus greatly advancing stem cell-based therapies for various muscle disorders.
Insight into the bacterial diversity of fermentation woad dye vats as revealed by PCR-DGGE and pyrosequencing
Authors: Milanović Vesna , Osimani Andrea , Taccari Manuela , Garofalo Cristiana , Butta Alessandro , Clementi Francesca , Aquilanti Lucia
Published: February 2017

The bacterial diversity in fermenting dye vats with woad (Isatis tinctoria L.) prepared and maintained in a functional state for approximately 12 months was examined using a combination of culture-dependent and -independent PCR-DGGE analyses and next-generation sequencing of 16S rRNA amplicons. An extremely complex ecosystem including taxa potentially contributing to both indigo reduction and formation, as well as indigo degradation was found. PCR-DGGE analyses revealed the presence of Paenibacillus lactis, Sporosarcina koreensis, Bacillus licheniformis, and Bacillus thermoamylovorans, while Bacillus thermolactis, Bacillus pumilus and Bacillus megaterium were also identified but with sequence identities lower than 97%. Dominant operational taxonomic units (OTUs) identified by pyrosequencing included Clostridium ultunense, Tissierella spp., Alcaligenes faecalis, Erysipelothrix spp., Enterococcus spp., Virgibacillus spp. and Virgibacillus panthothenicus, while sub-dominant OTUs included clostridia, alkaliphiles, halophiles, bacilli, moderately thermophilic bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, aerobes, and even photosynthetic bacteria. Based on the current knowledge of indigo-reducing bacteria, it is considered that indigo-reducing bacteria constituted only a small fraction in the unique microcosm detected in the natural indigo dye vats.
Anomalous behavior of displacement correlation function and strain in lanthanum cobalt oxide analyzed both from X-ray powder diffraction and EXAFS data
Authors: Efimov V. , Sikolenko V. , Troyanchuk I. O. , Karpinsky D. , Efimova E. , Tiutiunnikov S. I. , Savenko B. N. , Novoselov D. , Prabhakaran D.
Published: February 2017

A combined X-ray powder diffraction (XPD) and high-resolution extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) at the Co and Ga K-edges study has been performed for LaCoO3 and LaGaO3 ceramics, the latter sample was used as a reference without spin transitions. Based on the X-ray diffraction data, we have found that isotropic atomic displacement parameters (ADP) or mean-squared displacement of the Co–O bond exhibit gradual growth below ~50 K, wherein the strain dependencies testify rapid increase below 150 K for the LaCoO3 having rhombohedral structure. No similar features could be observed for LaGaO3 sample. Above ~100 K the isotropic ADP of the Co–O bond indicate a gradual growth, whereas strain curves show distinct bend near the spin-state transition temperature at about 150 K. According to the EXAFS data, the correlated parallel mean squared relative displacement (MSRD||) of Co–O and Ga–O bonds exhibit a gradual growth above 150 K; however, in the LaCoO3 this parameter is notably bigger. It is supposed that at low temperature the cobalt ions are dominantly in low-spin (LS) state, while certain amount of Co3+ ions located within the surface layer of the crystallines have high-spin state (HS). Temperature growth leads to a gradual transformation of the HS state of the cobalt ions into the highly-hybridized intermediate-spin (IS) state, while the cobalt ions located in the inner part of the crystallines remain LS configuration up to 150 K. Further temperature increase leads to a spin transition of the Co3+ ions located within the crystallines from the LS state into the IS one.
ABBÉ DE MABLY ON COMMERCE, LUXURY, AND “CLASSICAL REPUBLICANISM”
Authors: Ferrand Julie , Orain Arnaud
Published: February 2017

Ever since the French Revolution, Abbé de Mably has been portrayed as a forerunner of utopian communism and common ownership, and, more recently still, as a “classical republican” in the Age of Enlightenment. This article aims to reappraise Mably’s position. We attempt to show that he proposed a science of commerce in his Droit public de l’Europe (1746), and that his economic ideas displayed continuity and consistency throughout his lifetime. Far from being an enemy of trade, Mably sought a realpolitik in an attempt to strike a balance between the race for the enrichment of nations of the Moderns and the virtues and equality of the Ancients that he never thought possible to restore. The paper also examines his place in the history of economics. In particular, the similarities and differences between Mably’s ideas and those of the Gournay circle are studied, the issue of inequalities being the dividing line between them.
Effects of antifreeze glycoprotein 8 (AFGP8) supplementation during vitrification on the in vitro developmental capacity of expanded bovine blastocysts
Authors: Liang Shuang , Yuan Bao , Jin Yong-Xun , Zhang Jia-Bao , Bang Jeong Kyu , Kim Nam-Hyung
Published: February 2017

Cryopreservation is an effective method for the long-term storage of valuable germplasm in the field of reproductive research. The present study examined the developmental capacity of post-thaw bovine blastocysts during vitrification after supplementation with antifreeze glycoprotein 8 (AFGP8). Survival and re-expansion rates in culture during the 12 h after thawing were significantly higher in the AFGP8-treated than untreated group. In addition, blastocysts from the AFGP8-treated group exhibited lower rates of apoptosis. Real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that the expression of the Bcl-2 gene, coding for an anti-apoptotic protein, was increased significantly, whereas the expression of the pro-apoptotic gene Bax was decreased significantly in the AFGP8-treated group. The cellular proliferation rate and mitochondrial membrane potential were significantly higher in post-thaw re-expanded blastocysts from the AFGP8-treated compared with untreated group. In addition, outgrowth potential in post-thaw blastocysts in re-expanded blastocysts after vitrification was significantly increased in the AFGP8-treated compared with untreated group. Together, these results are the first to demonstrate that the addition of AFGP8 during vitrification can help protect bovine blastocysts against chill-induced injury.
Networks
Authors: Jagoda Patrick
Published: February 2017

Networks influence practically every subfield of literary studies. Unlike hierarchies and centralized structures, networks connote decentralization and distribution. The abstraction of this form makes it applicable to a wide variety of phenomena. For example, the metaphor and form of the network informs the way we think about communication systems in early American writing, social networks in Victorian novels, transnational circulation in postcolonial literature, and computer networks in late 20th-century cyberpunk fiction. Beyond traditional literary genres, network form is also accessible through comparative media analysis. Films, television serials, video games, and transmedia narratives may represent or evoke network structures through medium-specific techniques. The juxtaposition of different literary and artistic forms, across media, helps to defamiliarize network forms and make these complex structures available to thought. Across subfields of literary studies, critics may be drawn to networks because of their resonance with histories of the present and contemporary technoscience. Scholars may also recognize the sense of complexity and interconnection inherent in networks, which resonates with experiences of intertextuality and close reading itself. In addition to studying representations of networks, literary critics employ a variety of network-related methods. These approaches include historicist scholarship that uses network structures to think about social organization and communication in different eras, quantitative digital humanities tools that map networks of literary circulation, qualitative sociology of literature and reader-response theory that analyze networks of readers and publishers, and formalist work that compares network and aesthetic forms.
Australian Fiction, the 1980s, and the US Trade Paperback
Authors: Birns Nicholas
Published: February 2017

The emergence of the trade paperback in the 1980s crucially transformed the way in which Australian literature was received in North America. The publication history of Patrick White on the one hand and Glenda Adams and Peter Carey on the other shows how younger writers actually made more of a cultural impact, despite White’s Nobel Prize, because the form in which they met the reading public was one freed from the modernist binary between high and low culture. The 1980s saw the emergence of a more globalized and more culturally pluralistic world—though also one much more pervaded by multinational capital—in which Australian writers flourished.
Journalism and Explaining News Content
Authors: Albæk Erik , Skovsgaard Morten , de Vreese Claes H.
Published: February 2017

Three models are presented to explain variation in news content. In the first model the explanation is based on the individual journalist, in the second model on the professional journalist, and in the third model on the organized journalist. The individual journalist model focuses on how the background and values of individual journalists may impact their journalistic products; the professional journalist model considers the professional values and work norms that apply across individual journalists and across news organizations; the organized journalist model looks at how the organization within which journalists work may affect news content.
Climate Change Communication in Russia
Authors: Yagodin Dmitry
Published: February 2017

In the Russian case, climate change communication links to critical issues of domestic and foreign policy. Russia is one of the leaders in the global carbon market, but its outdated industrial sector needs modernization based on energy efficient technologies. Russia is an ambitious international player seeking high moral positions in addressing global problems such as climate change, but its growing isolation and authoritarianism strangle free public discussions about climate change on a national scale. This article reviews the development of climate change communication as practice and as a field of academic research in Russia. By outlining the relevant scholarly field, the article splits the discussion into two parts—the realities of communication in climate politics and environmental communication. The section on climate politics touches upon Russia’s climate policy, the development of environmental movement since the 1960s, and the question of indigenous peoples. The environmental communication section highlights historical and more recent roles of environmental journalism, points to a generally low volume of climate change coverage, and raises questions about the potential of alternative media. The article concludes that the Russian field of communication research focusing on climate change is growing, but needs a more systematic approach, international comparisons, and research designs that would include more types of empirical materials.
Solar Geoengineering Governance
Authors: Sugiyama Masahiro , Ishii Atsushi , Asayama Shinichiro , Kosugi Takanobu
Published: February 2017

Climate engineering, a set of techniques proposed to intervene directly in the climate system to reduce risks from climate change, presents many novel governance challenges. Solar radiation management (SRM), particularly the use of stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), is one of the most discussed proposals. It has been attracting more and more interest, and its pertinence as a potential option for responding to the threats from climate change may be set to increase because of the long-term temperature goal (well below 2°C or 1.5°C) in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Initial research has demonstrated that SAI would cool the climate system and reduce climate risks in many ways, although it is mired in unknown environmental risks and various sociopolitical ramifications. The proposed techniques are in the early stage of research and development (R&D), providing a unique opportunity for upstream public engagement, long touted as a desirable pathway to more plural and inclusive governance of emergent technologies by opening up social choices in technology. Solar geoengineering governance faces various challenges. One of the most acute of these is how to situate public engagement in international governance discourse; the two topics have been studied separately. Another challenge relates to bridging the gap between the social choices at hand and assessment of the risks and benefits of SRM. Deeper integration of knowledge across disciplines and stakeholder and public inputs is a prerequisite for enabling responsible innovation for the future of our climate.
Path Dependency in Foreign Policy
Authors: Leithner Anika C. , Libby Kyle M.
Published: February 2017

Path dependence has been employed more frequently in the field of foreign policy analysis, though it is still an emerging framework. The roots of path dependence are traced from the physical sciences and economics to the social sciences, and finally, foreign policy. The basic assumptions of path dependence are summarized, including the role of critical junctures, increased returns, and policy legacies that are produced and reproduced by a variety of causal mechanisms. The preferred methods employed by path dependence scholars are briefly outlined; framework’s applicability to the study of politics is addressed, and the major critiques of path dependence are reviewed. This leads to the general conclusion that despite conceptual and methodological challenges in the area of foreign policy, there is definite “value added” in path-dependent approaches.
Identity Development in Adolescence and Adulthood
Authors: Kroger Jane
Published: February 2017

Psychoanalyst Erik Erikson was the first professional to describe and use the concept of ego identity in his writings on what constitutes healthy personality development for every individual over the course of the life span. Basic to Erikson’s view, as well as those of many later identity writers, is the understanding that identity enables one to move with purpose and direction in life, and with a sense of inner sameness and continuity over time and place. Erikson considered identity to be psychosocial in nature, formed by the intersection of individual biological and psychological capacities in combination with the opportunities and supports offered by one’s social context. Identity normally becomes a central issue of concern during adolescence, when decisions about future vocational, ideological, and relational issues need to be addressed; however, these key identity concerns often demand further reflection and revision during different phases of adult life as well. Identity, thus, is not something that one resolves once and for all at the end of adolescence, but rather identity may continue to evolve and change over the course of adult life too.

Following Erikson’s initial writings, subsequent theorists have laid different emphases on the role of the individual and the role of society in the identity formation process. One very popular elaboration of Erikson’s own writings on identity that retains a psychosocial focus is the identity status model of James Marcia. While Erikson had described one’s identity resolution as lying somewhere on a continuum between identity achievement and role confusion (and optimally located nearer the achievement end of the spectrum), Marcia defined four very different means by which one may approach identity-defining decisions: identity achievement (commitment following exploration), moratorium (exploration in process), foreclosure (commitment without exploration), and diffusion (no commitment with little or no exploration). These four approaches (or identity statuses) have, over many decades, been the focus of over 1,000 theoretical and research studies that have examined identity status antecedents, behavioral consequences, associated personality characteristics, patterns of interpersonal relations, and developmental forms of movement over time. A further field of study has focused on the implications for intervention that each identity status holds. Current research seeks both to refine the identity statuses and explore their dimensions further through narrative analysis.
Plasticity of Stepping Rhythms in the Intact and Injured Mammalian Spinal Cord
Authors: Rossignol Serge
Published: February 2017

The spinal cord is a prime example of how the central nervous system has evolved to execute and retain movements adapted to the environment. This results from the evolution of inborn intrinsic spinal circuits modified continuously by repetitive interactions with the outside world, as well as by developing internal needs or goals. This article emphasizes the underlying neuroplastic spinal mechanisms through observations of normal animal adaptive locomotor behavior in different imposed conditions. It further explores the motor spinal capabilities after various types of lesions to the spinal cord and the potential mechanisms underlying the spinal changes occurring after these lesions, leading to recovery of function. Together, these observations strengthen the idea of the immense potential of the motor rehabilitation approach in humans with spinal cord injury since extrinsic interventions (training, pharmacology, and electrical stimulation) can modulate and optimize remnant motor functions after injury.
Modern Yoga
Authors: Jain Andrea
Published: February 2017

Modern yoga refers to a variety of systems that developed as early as the 19th century as a consequence of capitalist production, colonial and industrial endeavors, global developments in areas ranging from metaphysics to fitness, and modern ideas and values. Modern yoga systems transformed from largely controversial, elite, or countercultural ones to pop culture varieties when entrepreneurial gurus became strategic participants in a global market and succeeded in marketing yoga by establishing continuity between their yoga brands and dominant values and demands. Today, modern yoga is most frequently prescribed as a part of self-development believed to provide increased beauty, strength, and flexibility as well as decreased stress and that can be combined with other worldviews and practices available in the global market.
Legal Writing, Civil Litigation, and Agents in the 18th-Century Spanish Imperial World
Authors: Premo Bianca
Published: February 2017

This purpose of this essay is to reveal the diversity of writers responsible for creating the texts of lawsuits in the Spanish empire. It peeks behind the curtain of pages in civil complaints in an attempt to figure out how legal papers actually made it into the court record and who was doing their writing. While historians have recently thrown a spotlight on various official writers, from notaries to native procurators, in fact unidentified, unofficial writers penned quite a few petitions in civil suits. Knowing who wrote the filings in civil cases has a bearing on our understanding of Spanish imperial subjects, their interactions with the law, and ultimately how much of a hand they had in making their own historical record.
Distributed Morphology
Authors: Bobaljik Jonathan David
Published: February 2017

Distributed Morphology (DM) is a framework in theoretical morphology, characterized by two core tenets: (i) that the internal hierarchical structure of words is, in the first instance, syntactic (complex words are derived syntactically), and (ii) that the syntax operates on abstract morphemes, defined in terms of morphosyntactic features, and that the spell-out (realization, exponence) of these abstract morphemes occurs after the syntax. Distributing the functions of the classical morpheme in this way allows for analysis of mismatches between the minimal units of grammatical combination and the minimal units of sound. Much work within the framework is nevertheless guided by seeking to understand restrictions on such mismatches, balancing the need for the detailed description of complex morphological data in individual languages against an attempt to explain broad patterns in terms of restrictions imposed by grammatical principles.
Speech Acts
Authors: Green Mitchell
Published: February 2017

Speech acts are acts that can, but need not, be carried out by saying and meaning that one is doing so. Many view speech acts as the central units of communication, with phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic properties of an utterance serving as ways of identifying whether the speaker is making a promise, a prediction, a statement, or a threat. Some speech acts are momentous, since an appropriate authority can, for instance, declare war or sentence a defendant to prison, by saying that he or she is doing so. Speech acts are typically analyzed into two distinct components: a content dimension (corresponding to what is being said), and a force dimension (corresponding to how what is being said is being expressed). The grammatical mood of the sentence used in a speech act signals, but does not uniquely determine, the force of the speech act being performed. A special type of speech act is the performative, which makes explicit the force of the utterance. Although it has been famously claimed that performatives such as “I promise to be there on time” are neither true nor false, current scholarly consensus rejects this view. The study of so-called infelicities concerns the ways in which speech acts might either be defective (say by being insincere) or fail completely.

Recent theorizing about speech acts tends to fall either into conventionalist or intentionalist traditions: the former sees speech acts as analogous to moves in a game, with such acts being governed by rules of the form “doing A counts as doing B”; the latter eschews game-like rules and instead sees speech acts as governed by communicative intentions only. Debate also arises over the extent to which speakers can perform one speech act indirectly by performing another. Skeptics about the frequency of such events contend that many alleged indirect speech acts should be seen instead as expressions of attitudes. New developments in speech act theory also situate them in larger conversational frameworks, such as inquiries, debates, or deliberations made in the course of planning. In addition, recent scholarship has identified a type of oppression against under-represented groups as occurring through “silencing”: a speaker attempts to use a speech act to protect her autonomy, but the putative act fails due to her unjust milieu.
Pragmatics and Intonation
Authors: Clark Brady
Published: February 2017

Intonation impacts pragmatic meaning. A range of empirical evidence shows that the pragmatic functions of intonation are specifiable. The dimensions of meaning impacted by intonation include at-issue meanings (for example, what is asserted in an assertion), presuppositions, conversational implicatures, and conventional implicatures. Certain linguistic expressions (such as the English exclusive only) are dependent on intonation, and some of these dependencies impact at-issue meaning. Intonation can also trigger certain presuppositions, in particular a certain type of anaphoric presupposition associated with the discourse context. There is also a robust interaction between intonation and implicature. The intonational prominence associated with focus can trigger certain scalar, existence, and exhaustive conversational implicatures. Finally, certain intonational contours (for example, the rise-fall-rise contour) appear to define conventional implicatures.
Displacement in Syntax
Authors: Abels Klaus
Published: February 2017

Displacement is a ubiquitous phenomenon in natural languages. Grammarians often speak of displacement in cases where the rules for the canonical word order of a language lead to the expectation of finding a word or phrase in a particular position in the sentence whereas it surfaces instead in a different position and the canonical position remains empty: ‘Which book did you buy?’ is an example of displacement because the noun phrase ‘which book’, which acts as the grammatical object in the question, does not occur in the canonical object position, which in English is after the verb. Instead, it surfaces at the beginning of the sentence and the object position remains empty. Displacement is often used as a diagnostic for constituent structure because it affects only (but not all) constituents. In the clear cases, displaced constituents show properties associated with two distinct linear and hierarchical positions. Typically, one of these two positions c-commands the other and the displaced element is pronounced in the c-commanding position. Displacement also shows strong interactions with the path between the empty canonical position and the position where the element is pronounced: one often encounters morphological changes along this path and evidence for structural placement of the displaced constituent, as well as constraints on displacement induced by the path.

The exact scope of displacement as an analytically unified phenomenon varies from theory to theory. If more then one type of syntactic displacement is recognized, the question of the interaction between movement types arises. Displacement phenomena are extensively studied by syntacticians. Their enduring interest derives from the fact that the complex interactions between displacement and other aspects of syntax offer a powerful probe into the inner workings and architecture of the human syntactic faculty.
Safe Energy Source in Battery‐operated Toys for Children
Authors: Rossi Alfredo , Vignola Silvia , Nason Francesca , Boschetti Federica , Bramerio Manuela , Bailini Alessandro , Pinarello Giordano
Published: February 2017

Objectives:

Serious and even fatal consequences of disk batteries ingestion in children are well known. Among other applications, disk batteries are used to power small toys, from which they can be unexpectedly extracted and swallowed.

Methods:

We tested a new cell intended for little toys (green cell [GC]), after 6 and 12 hours of in vitro close contact with esophageal swine mucosa. The GC was compared with lithium and silver button batteries under the same experimental conditions.

Results:

Tissues in contact with the GC did not show pH variations nor histological alterations after 6 and 12 hours. In such conditions, statistically significant differences were found between the GC and the lithium and silver batteries.

Conclusions:

So far, multidisciplinary medical effort has been driven to both emergency approach and subsequent operative strategies in children with ingested batteries. Our trial demonstrates the possibility to primarily prevent battery‐induced damages by designing new‐generation safe cells with no tissue toxicity to power little toys intended for children.
Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma Presenting as a Primary Uterine Cervix Mass: A Report of a Rare Case
Authors: Kosari Farid , Niknejad Nakisa , Nili Fatemeh , Jahanbin Behnaz , Malek Mahrooz
Published: February 2017

Malignant lymphoma is a rare form of malignancy in the uterine cervix. Most of the previously reported cases were B-cell lymphomas. We present a case of primary peripheral T-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified, in the uterine cervix in a 49-year-old woman with a history of severe vaginal bleeding. The patient was treated with a CHOP (cyclophosphamide, adriamycin, vincristine, and prednisolone) chemotherapy regimen and 28 cycles of radiotherapy. Three months later, she presented with generalized lymphadenopathy and sudden left-eye ptosis as a complication of CNS involvement and died after 20 months from the initial disease presentation.
Reconnecting with place through events
Authors: Coghlan Alexandra , Sparks Bev , Liu Wei , Winlaw Mike
Published: February 2017

Purpose

Whilst academic research can capture an existing sense of place, the act of placemaking through strategies such as events depends upon the attitudes and actions of precinct managers and event organisations. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the collaborative research process between researchers and a precinct manager that highlighted an event’s ability to contribute to placemaking within that precinct.

Design/methodology/approach

Using the results of this event experience study, informal interviews with the SPA research partners, secondary data and a longitudinal, reflective account of the research collaboration, the research process itself was investigated to see how it assisted in the (re)design of the event within the precinct manager’s placemaking strategy to encourage a family-friendly, beach-centred culture within the precinct.

Findings

It is proposed that the research results combined with a collaborative research process itself facilitated a shift from the business imperative on the event’s economic performance indicators to a broader discussion of the event’s role in shaping local’s (and visitor’s) perceptions of place, and allowed a broader discussion of the role of events in driving a “liveability” and/or placemaking agenda, complementing the economic impact agenda, for the precinct manager.

Practical implications

The paper suggests how and why it is important for academics to work collaboratively with precinct managers to translate the concept of placemaking into the actual design of events within a place. To do so requires the researchers to bridge the gap between theory and practice. For the concept to be translated into action, greater attention was drawn to the placemaking role of events, positioning it along economic impact measures as a valuable outcome of events.

Originality/value

Few co-authored studies, representing both researchers and practitioners exist within the events sector, and this study contributes towards understanding process of research impact, by considering the forces capable of delivering a placemaking agenda through a precinct’s event portfolio.
Leadership and dynamic capabilities: the role of HR systems
Authors: Lopez-Cabrales Alvaro , Bornay-Barrachina Mar , Diaz-Fernandez Mirta
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the antecedents of the development of dynamic capabilities from an HRM perspective, considering the leading role of leadership styles and their potential impact on the orientation of HR systems and a firm’s capabilities.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors designed an empirical study of a sample of 107 Spanish industrial firms, asking HR, production and marketing managers to assess the CEO’s leadership styles, the system of HRM practices applied in their organizations and dynamic capabilities. They applied multiple regressions and mediation analysis.

Findings

The authors’ results suggest that both transactional and transformational leadership styles are positively associated with dynamic capabilities (sensing, seizing and reconfiguration), directly and indirectly, through their effects on HR systems.

Research limitations/implications

This paper approaches dynamic capabilities by using cross-sectional data. A longitudinal analysis would enrich this study. Also, the data aggregation in this paper does not allow to check different HR orientations from different departments. Finally, other HRM practices and strategic orientations could be assessed.

Practical implications

This paper highlights the need to develop CEOs who are able to combine leadership behaviors in such a way that they promote HR systems (skill-based development vs job-based development) and to use them as mediating mechanisms and in order to generate greater dynamic capabilities in the organization.

Originality/value

The authors are proposing that HRM can be applied to leverage a firm’s competitive advantage, as HR systems mediate for obtaining different dynamic capabilities. Second, it could be concluded that any CEO should combine or display traits of both forms of leadership styles (transformational and transactional) in order to develop the full range of dynamic capabilities. Finally, this paper can provide some insights into the way dynamic capabilities can be measured and approached, through HRM microfoundations.
The gendered impact of the National Pension Scheme on late-life economic well-being: evidence from the Korean retirement and income study
Authors: Park Seung-Min
Published: February 2017

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of the National Pension Scheme (NPS) on the economic well-being of older people in South Korea.

Design/methodology/approach

It analyses older people aged 60 and over sampled from the third wave of the Korean retirement and income study.

Findings

The analysis shows a gendered effect. The NPS is positively associated with the economic well-being of only older men. This gendered impact is probably attributable to the inherent patriarchal structure of the NPS that is based on the strong male bread-winner model.

Originality/value

The results suggest that promoting the female labour market participation, and also reforming the gender structure of the NPS and South Korean labour market, can be a potential policy option to amend gendered economic well-being in later life.
Festivals as strategic tools: exploring the Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity
Authors: Turnbull Sarah
Published: February 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to provide insight into the use of festivals as a strategy to position cities as creative hubs.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper has been prepared by an independent author who provides their views and personal experiences of festivals.

Findings

Festivals are an effective strategic tool for countries to use to engage business audiences and associate themselves with values such as creativity.

Originality/value

This paper shares highlights from the 2016 Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity. Three presentations have been chosen for review, and two of the developmental programmes are discussed. While these provide only a brief insight into the festival, they reflect the quality of speakers and the unique opportunities for professional development offered at this annual Dubai event.
Buyer and business partner relationship supporting purchasing performance
Authors: Zanardi Mylène
Published: February 2017

Purpose

In purchasing field, the author would like to demonstrate that purchasing performance can be improved by something else than hard skills. The soft skills have at present an important role to reach the objectives as a buyer, and more focus should be on that aspect of skills. The author proved, by facts and figures, that the soft skills are not used enough and can really improve purchasing performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology used was to interview professional people, manager, directors and buyer in purchasing function to prove the link between performance and soft skills. Indeed, the soft skills are linked to the personality and relationship build between the buyer and the business partner. The author investigated to see what is currently the relation between buyer function and business partner, based on their soft skills.

Findings

The author demonstrated through his interview, reading and analysis that there is a real link between the soft skills – relationship build between buyer and business partner – and purchasing performance.

Originality/value

The value of this paper is that he add a new skill to use to improve the purchasing performance. Indeed, instead of focusing only on saving or on hard skills, a focus can be used on the soft skills which will really improve the relationship and the performance-results in the purchasing function. The main aspect focusing on soft skill will be to act and react differently than we use to, started by listening to the business partner first, listening to their needs, understand their world, their job and their issues. The main change will be to listen before doing anything else. It is necessary to be in an active listening posture with them to be able then to give them answer and improve the own purchasing performance.
How purchasing became a strategic function: from purchasing to external resources management
Authors: Poissonnier Hugues
Published: February 2017

Purpose

This paper aims to show the most important evolutions of the purchasing function.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is a historical approach.

Findings

Purchasing is becoming more and more strategic.

Research limitations/implications

New skills are required for buyers.

Originality/value

This paper aims at explaining the evolution of purchasing which is the most evolving function in companies today. By becoming more and more strategic, purchasing contributes to the evolution of all the company.
Rapamycin treatment dose‐dependently improves the cystic kidney in a new ADPKD mouse model via the mTORC1 and cell‐cycle‐associated CDK1/cyclin axis
Authors: Li Ao , Fan Song , Xu Yuchen , Meng Jialin , Shen Xufeng , Mao Jun , Zhang Li , Zhang Xiansheng , Moeckel Gilbert , Wu Dianqing , Wu Guanqing , Liang Chaozhao
Published: February 2017

Although translational research into autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) and its pathogenesis has made considerable progress, there is presently lack of standardized animal model for preclinical trials. In this study, we developed an orthologous mouse model of human ADPKD by cross‐mating Pkd2 conditional‐knockout mice (Pkd2f3) to Cre transgenic mice in which Cre is driven by a spectrum of kidney‐related promoters. By systematically characterizing the mouse model, we found that Pkd2f3/f3 mice with a Cre transgene driven by the mouse villin‐1 promoter (Vil‐Cre;Pkd2f3/f3) develop overt cysts in the kidney, liver and pancreas and die of end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) at 4–6 months of age. To determine whether these Vil‐Cre;Pkd2f3/f3 mice were suitable for preclinical trials, we treated the mice with the high‐dose mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor rapamycin. High‐dose rapamycin significantly increased the lifespan, lowered the cystic index and kidney/body weight ratio and improved renal function in Vil‐Cre;Pkd2f3/f3 mice in a time‐ and dose‐dependent manner. In addition, we further found that rapamycin arrested aberrant epithelial‐cell proliferation in the ADPKD kidney by down‐regulating the cell‐cycle‐associated cyclin‐dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) and cyclins, namely cyclin A, cyclin B, cyclin D1 and cyclin E, demonstrating a direct link between mTOR signalling changes and the polycystin‐2 dysfunction in cystogenesis. Our newly developed ADPKD model provides a practical platform for translating in vivo preclinical results into ADPKD therapies. The newly defined molecular mechanism by which rapamycin suppresses proliferation via inhibiting abnormally elevated CDK1 and cyclins offers clues to new molecular targets for ADPKD treatment.
Nandrolone decanoate interferes with testosterone biosynthesis altering blood–testis barrier components
Authors: Barone Rosario , Pitruzzella Alessandro , Marino Gammazza Antonella , Rappa Francesca , Salerno Monica , Barone Fulvio , Sangiorgi Claudia , D'Amico Daniela , Locorotondo Nicola , Di Gaudio Francesca , Cipolloni Luigi , Di Felice Valentina , Schiavone Stefania , Rapisarda Venerando , Sani Gabriele , Tambo Amos , Cappello Francesco , Turillazzi Emanuela , Pomara Cristoforo
Published: February 2017

The aim of this study was to investigate whether nandrolone decanoate (ND) use affects testosterone production and testicular morphology in a model of trained and sedentary mice. A group of mice underwent endurance training while another set led a sedentary lifestyle and were freely mobile within cages. All experimental groups were treated with either ND or peanut oil at different doses for 6 weeks. Testosterone serum levels were measured via liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Western blot analysis and quantitative real‐time PCR were utilized to determine gene and protein expression levels of the primary enzymes implicated in testosterone biosynthesis and gene expression levels of the blood–testis barrier (BTB) components. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence were conducted for testicular morphological evaluation. The study demonstrated that moderate to high doses of ND induced a diminished serum testosterone level and altered the expression level of the key steroidogenic enzymes involved in testosterone biosynthesis. At the morphological level, ND induced degradation of the BTB by targeting the tight junction protein‐1 (TJP1). ND stimulation deregulated metalloproteinase‐9, metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2) and the tissue inhibitor of MMP‐2. Moreover, ND administration resulted in a mislocalization of mucin‐1. In conclusion, ND abuse induces a decline in testosterone production that is unable to regulate the internalization and redistribution of TJP1 and may induce the deregulation of other BTB constituents via the inhibition of MMP‐2. ND may well be considered as both a potential inducer of male infertility and a potential risk factor to a low endogenous bioavailable testosterone.
History of the low FODMAP diet
Authors: Gibson Peter R
Published: February 2017

It has long been known that many short‐chain carbohydrates can induce abdominal symptoms that are similar to those in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It was hypothesized that restricting the intake of all short‐chain carbohydrates that are either slowly absorbed or not digested in the small intestine should be considered together because they all have similar effects on the intestine by distending the lumen. These groups of carbohydrates were called, Fermentable, Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides and Monosaccharides and Polyols (FODMAPs), because of the lack of a known collective term. By reducing their dietary intake, it was also hypothesized that abdominal symptoms in patients with IBS would be alleviated in patients with visceral sensitivity and a low FODMAP diet was subsequently designed. Over the last 12 years, the mechanisms of action, food content of FODMAPs and efficacy of the diet, among other aspects have been intensively studied. In many parts of the world, the low FODMAP diet is now considered a front‐line therapy for IBS.