bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Measurement of Femoral Version by MRI is as Reliable and Reproducible as CT in Children and Adolescents With Hip Disorders
Authors: Hesham Khalid , Carry Patrick M. , Freese Krister , Kestel Lauryn , Stewart Jamie R. , Delavan Joshua A. , Novais Eduardo N.
Published: December 2015

Background:

Femoral version measurement techniques based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies have been developed as an alternative to the high levels of ionizing radiation associated with computed tomography (CT)-based methods. Previous studies have not evaluated the reliability, repeatability, and accuracy of MRI-based femoral version measurements in an adolescent population.

Methods:

Subjects who underwent MRI and CT studies for clinical suspicion of hip pain secondary to hip dysplasia or femoroacetabular impingement between 2011 and 2013 were identified. Rapid sequence femoral version images were obtained from MRI Hip dGEMRIC and/or postarthrogram studies. Femoral version images were also obtained from bilateral CT lower extremity, without contrast, studies. Measurements were made by 1 fellowship-trained, pediatric hip preservation attending surgeon, 2 pediatric orthopaedic surgical fellows, and 1 fellowship-trained musculoskeletal radiologist on 2 separate occasions. Linear mixed models were used to estimate the reliability and repeatability associated with CT-based and MRI-based measurements (intraclass correlation coefficients) and to estimate the agreement (CT-MRI) between the 2 techniques.

Results:

The mean age of 36 subjects was 15.4 years (±4.1 y). Interrater reliability was 0.91 (95% CI, 0.86-0.95) for the CT technique compared with 0.90 (95% CI, 0.86-0.94) for the rapid sequence MRI technique. Intrarater reliability for the CT technique was 0.96 (95% CI, 0.91-0.98) compared with 0.95 (95% CI, 0.90-0.97) for the MRI technique. The agreement between the MRI-based and CT-based techniques (bias: 1.9 degrees, limits of agreement: −11.3 to 14.9 degrees) was similar to the agreement between consecutive MRI measurements (bias: 0.4 degrees, limits of agreement: −7.8 to 8.6 degrees) as well as consecutive CT measurements (bias: 0.5 degrees, limits of agreement: −8.8 to 9.9 degrees).

Conclusions:

The interrater and intrarater reliability and repeatability estimates (intraclass correlation coefficient values) associated with both techniques was excellent (>0.90). Acquirement of axial images at the pelvis and knee during MRI for investigation of adolescents with hip pain allows for reliable measurement of femoral version.

Level of Evidence:

Level II—diagnostic study.
Changes in Thirst Intensity During Optimization of Heart Failure Medical Therapy by Nurses at the Outpatient Clinic
Authors: Waldréus Nana , Hahn Robert G. , Lyngå Patrik , van der Wal Martje H. L. , Hägglund Ewa , Jaarsma Tiny
Published: December 2015

Background:

Thirst can be aggravated in patients with heart failure (HF), and optimization of HF medication can have positive impact on thirst.

Objectives:

The aims of this study were to describe changes in thirst intensity and to determine factors associated with high thirst intensity during optimization of HF medication.

Methods and Results:

Patients with HF (N = 66) who were referred to an HF clinic for up-titration of HF medication were included. Data were collected during the first visit to the clinic and at the end of the treatment program. Data were dichotomized by the median visual analog scale score for thirst, dividing patients into 2 groups: low thirst intensity (0–20 mm) and high thirst intensity (>20 mm on a visual analog scale of 0–100 mm). In total, 67% of the patients reported a higher thirst intensity after the HF up-titration program. There was no difference in thirst intensity between the patients who reached target doses and those who did not. Plasma urea level (odds ratio, 1.33; 95% confidence interval, 1.07–1.65) and fluid restriction (odds ratio, 6.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.90–20.5) were independently associated with high thirst intensity in patients with HF.

Conclusions:

Thirst intensity increased in two-thirds of the patients during a time period of optimization of HF medication. Fluid restriction and plasma urea levels were associated with high thirst intensity.
DanQ: a hybrid convolutional and recurrent deep neural network for quantifying the function of DNA sequences
Authors: Quang Daniel , Xie Xiaohui
Published: December 2015

Modeling the properties and functions of DNA sequences is an important, but challenging task in the broad field of genomics. This task is particularly difficult for noncoding DNA, the vast majority of which is still poorly understood in terms of function. A powerful predictive model for the function of noncoding DNA can have enormous benefit for both basic science and translational research because over 98% of the human genome is noncoding and 93% of disease-associated variants lie in these regions. To address this need, we propose DanQ, a novel hybrid convolutional and bi-directional long short-term memory recurrent neural network framework for predicting noncoding functionde novofrom sequence. In the DanQ model, the convolution layer captures regulatory motifs, while the recurrent layer captures long-term dependencies between the motifs in order to learn a regulatory “grammar” to improve predictions. DanQ improves considerably upon other models across several metrics. For some regulatory markers, DanQ can achieve over a 50% relative improvement in the area under the precision-recall curve metric compared to related models.

Availability and implementation

All source code is available at the github repositoryhttp://github.com/uci-cbcl/DanQ.
Transition between functional regimes in an integrate-and-fire network model of the thalamus
Authors: Barardi Alessandro , Garcia-Ojalvo Jordi , Mazzoni Alberto
Published: December 2015

The thalamus is a key brain element in the processing of sensory information. During the sleep and awake states, this brain area is characterized by the presence of two distinct dynamical regimes: in the sleep state activity is dominated by spindle oscillations (7-15 Hz) weakly affected by external stimuli, while in the awake state the activity is primarily driven by external stimuli. Here we develop a simple and computationally efficient model of the thalamus that exhibits two dynamical regimes with different information-processing capabilities, and study the transition between them. The network model includes glutamatergic thalamocortical (TC) relay neurons and gabaergic reticular (RE) neurons described by adaptative integrate-and-fire models in which spikes are induced by either depolarization or hyperpolarization rebound. We found a range of connectivity conditions under which the thalamic network composed by these neurons displays the two aforementioned dynamical regimes. Our results show that TC-RE loops generate spindle-like oscillations and that a critical value of clustering in the RE-RE connections is necessary for the coexistence of the two regimes. We also observe that the transition between the two regimes occurs when the external excitatory input on TC neurons (mimicking sensory stimulation) is large enough to cause a significant fraction of them to switch from hyperpolarization-rebound-driven firing to depolarization-driven firing. Overall, our model gives a novel and clear description of the role that the two types of neurons and their connectivity play in the dynamical regimes observed in the thalamus, and in the transition between them. These results pave the way for the development of efficient models of the transmission of sensory information from periphery to cortex.
Whole-genome sequencing uncovers cryptic and hybrid species among Atlantic and Pacific cod-fish
Authors: Halldórsdóttir Katrín , Árnason Einar
Published: December 2015

Speciation often involves the splitting of a lineage and the adaptation of daughter lineages to different environments. It may also involve the merging of divergent lineages, thus creating a stable homoploid hybrid species1that constructs a new ecological niche by transgressing2the ecology of the parental types. Hybrid speciation may also contribute to enigmatic and cryptic biodiversity in the sea.3,4The enigmatic walleye pollock, which is not a pollock at all but an Atlantic cod that invaded the Pacific 3.8 Mya,5differs considerably from its presumed closest relatives, the Pacific and Atlantic cod. Among the Atlantic cod, shallow-water coastal and deep-water migratory frontal ecotypes are associated with highly divergent genomic islands;6,7however, intermediates remain an enigma.8Here, we performed whole-genome sequencing of over 200 individuals using up to 33 million SNPs based on genotype likelihoods9and showed that the evolutionary status of walleye pollock is a hybrid species: it is a hybrid between Arctic cod and Atlantic cod that transgresses the ecology of its parents. For the first time, we provide decisive evidence that the Atlantic cod coastal and frontal ecotypes are separate species that hybridized, leading to a true-breeding hybrid species that differs ecologically from its parents. We refute monophyly and dichotomous branching of these taxa, and stress the importance of looking beyond branching trees at admixture and hybridity. Our study demonstrates the power of whole-genome sequencing and population genomics in providing deep insights into fundamental processes of speciation. Our study was a starting point for further work aimed at examining the criteria of hybrid speciation,10selection, sterility and structural chromosomal variation11among cod-fish, which are among the most important fish stocks in the world. The hybrid nature of both the walleye pollock and Atlantic cod raises the question concerning the extent to which very profitable fisheries12,13depend on hybrid vigour. Our results have implications for management of marine resources in times of rapid climate change.14,15
MBPpred: Proteome-wide detection of membrane lipid-binding proteins using profile Hidden Markov Models
Authors: Nastou Katerina C. , Tsaousis Georgios N. , Papandreou Nikolaos C. , Hamodrakas Stavros J.
Published: December 2015

A large number of modular domains that exhibit specific lipid binding properties are present in many membrane proteins involved in trafficking and signal transduction. These domains are present in either eukaryotic peripheral membrane or transmembrane proteins and are responsible for the non-covalent interactions of these proteins with membrane lipids. Here we report a profile Hidden Markov Model based method capable of detecting Membrane Binding Proteins (MBPs) from information encoded in their amino acid sequence, called MBPpred. The method identifies MBPs that contain one or more of the Membrane Binding Domains (MBDs) that have been described to date, and further classifies these proteins based on their position in respect to the membrane, either as peripheral or transmembrane. MBPpred is available online athttp://bioinformatics.biol.uoa.gr/MBPpred. This method was applied in selected eukaryotic proteomes, in order to examine the characteristics they exhibit in various eukaryotic kingdoms and phylums.
A coordinatively flexible hexadentate ligand gives structurally isomeric complexesM2(L)X3(M= Cu, Zn;X= Br, Cl)
Authors: Wegeberg Christina , McKee Vickie , McKenzie Christine J.
Published: December 2015

Polypyridyl multidentate ligands based on ethylenediamine backbones are important metal-binding agents with applications in biomimetics and homogeneous catalysis. The seemingly hexadentate tpena ligand [systematic name:N,N,N′-tris(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)ethylenediamine-N′-acetate] reacts with zinc chloride and zinc bromide to form trichlorido[μ-N,N,N′-tris(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)ethylenediamine-N′-acetato]dizinc(II), [Zn2(C22H24N5O2)Cl3], and tribromido[μ-N,N,N′-tris(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)ethylenediamine-N′-acetato]dizinc(II), [Zn2Br3(C22H24N5O2)]. One ZnIIion shows the anticipated N5O coordination in an irregular six-coordinate site and is linked by ananticarboxylate bridge to a tetrahedral ZnX3(X= Cl or Br) unit. In contrast, the CuIIions in aquatribromido[μ-N,N,N′-tris(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)ethylenediamine-N′-acetato]dicopper(II)–tribromido[μ-N,N,N′-tris(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)ethylenediamine-N′-acetato]dicopper(II)–water (1/1/6.5) [Cu2Br3(C22H24N5O2)][Cu2Br3(C22H24N5O2)(H2O)]·6.5H2O, occupy two tpena-chelated sites, one a trigonal bipyramidal N3Cl2site and the other a square-planar N2OCl site. In all three cases, electrospray ionization mass spectra were dominated by a misleading ion assignable to [M(tpena)]+(M= Zn2+and Cu2+).
Consumer xenocentrism in China: an exploratory study
Authors: Mueller Rene Dentiste , Wang George Xun , Liu Guoli , Cui Charles Chi
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– Marketing research has focussed more on in-group favoritism and out-group derogation (i.e. ethnocentrism) than out-group favoritism and in-group derogation (i.e. xenocentrism). The purpose of this paper is to explore the xenocentric behavior in the consumer sphere to explain why some consumers have a bias for foreign products even when domestic ones are qualitatively similar or better. As the Chinese economy has experienced more than three decades of near double-digit growth and increased openness to foreign products, it is important to examine phenomena related to the formation of Chinese attitudes toward foreign products with the rising tensions between the seemingly irreversible globalization and Chinese re-awakening nationalism.

Design/methodology/approach

– This study is based on a review of the extant literature and focus groups in three cities in China.

Findings

– This study has found that consumer xenocentrism (CX) is prevalent in China, especially among the new emerging wealthy classes, younger consumers, and the local elite. It appears that Chinese consumers are psychologically or sociologically orientated or predisposed toward foreign (Western) goods. The findings from this study suggest that both consumer ethnocentrism and CX are possible or even expected. The short review of Chinese history presented here has shown that these phenomena can be explained by traditional in-group/out-group theories. Specifically, when there are too many xenocentrics, national esteem is threatened and this prompts many individuals to become more ethnocentric.

Research limitations/implications

– This study is based on the literature and focus groups data, hence, the findings are not intended to be generalizable.

Practical implications

– The findings from this study should be of interest to business practitioners and policy makers.

Social implications

– The historical and cultural perspectives taken in this study indicate that understanding consumers’ xenocentric behavior entails knowledge and deep understanding of how cultural values and contemporary social-political forces interplay within consumers’ formation and change of attitudes toward the choice of domestic and foreign products.

Originality/value

– This study shows that the ability of foreign products to meet the individual’s need or enhance his/her self-esteem more so than domestic products is indicative of something more than simply an international, cosmopolitan, or modern orientation. The fact that consumer foreign bias is found with both mundane and widely available products, expensive and inexpensive products, and conspicuous and non-conspicuous goods challenges the assumption that this phenomenon is simply traditional prestige-consumption behavior. Future research needs to be directed at measuring the CX construct and examine potential antecedents of such a behavior.
Impact of culture on religiosity, cosmopolitanism and ethnocentrism
Authors: Deb Madhurima , Sinha Gautam
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of culture on religiosity, cosmopolitanism, and ethnocentrism on attitudes towards foreign products, among two religious classes in India.

Design/methodology/approach

– Quantitative data analysis was employed to attain the above objective. In order to explore the existence of difference between clothing preferences between two religious classes analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed. It was employed to analyse the difference between group means. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to test the hypothesized paths. SEM was used separately for both the religious classes to explore the possibility of difference between both of them. Before testing the measurement model confirmatory factor analysis was run to test the cleanliness of the measurement items. Data were analysed in two parts A and B. In part A SEM was employed to test the hypotheses developed and in part B ANOVA was used to test the difference between group means.

Findings

– It was found that both the religious classes were significantly different from each other in their apparel preference. It was also found that the Indians were not collectivist as often labelled in a stereotypical way.

Practical implications

– The findings of this study would provide useful in-depth knowledge on Indian religious groups for both international and national marketers. The study confirmed that ignoring the diversity of an emerging market and adopting a standardized marketing strategy could prove fatal. It provides better understanding about the cultural diversity and its impact on buying imported products. Such insight should enable marketers, policy makers, and social planners to act more effectively by designing their positioning strategies accordingly.

Originality/value

– Some unexpected differences was found in individualism and collectivism dimensions and it was also found that the inter-cultural differences between Hindus and Muslims have changed since the original Hofstede data were collected on Hindu and Muslim dominating countries.
Learning and teaching research methods in management education
Authors: Hoidn Sabine , Olbert-Bock Sibylle
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– In the context of the creation of a two-year Master of Science in Business Administration programme to offer a scientifically sound and practice-related management education in Switzerland, a curriculum for learning and teaching research methods had to be designed. Major pedagogic challenges were identified and addressed by curricular responses in terms of pluralism in knowledge production forms, a holistic approach to competence development and a learner-centred course design. The resulting design of the part of the curriculum on research methods is presented. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– To assess the outcomes and its response to the given challenges, the feedback from existing regular evaluations was used and additional surveys were conducted. Students’ perceptions and those of their teachers were combined to form a balanced view.

Findings

– The results indicate that the new curriculum is an appropriate approach- it led to gains in research methods knowledge and skills and improvements in research-related social and reflexive competencies. The assessment of the outcomes of learning research methods in management education reveals an interesting research gap.

Originality/value

– This paper assesses a newly developed research curriculum for management students implemented in a new master’s programme in Business Administration at a mid-size university of applied sciences in Switzerland. Three pedagogical challenges in teaching research methods were addressed to target the theory-practice gap in management education. The authors opted for a research methods curriculum that links management research and practice by encouraging pluralism in knowledge-production forms, a more holistic view of competence development in management education and a learning-centred course design.
Financial integration, global liquidity and global macroeconomic linkages
Authors: Belke Ansgar , Keil Jonas
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of financial integration on several macroeconomic variables from a global perspective.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors apply a cointegrated vector autoregression model using quarterly data for 1980-2009. Analysing the interactions of globally aggregated measures capturing cross-border financial transactions, monetary liquidity, output, consumer and commodity prices, the authors focus on the dissection of short-run and long-run dynamics.

Findings

– The authors find that increasing financial integration has a positive impact driving GDP. The authors also find evidence of two-way causality between commodity prices and financial flows. The results suggest that commodity prices are driven by financial integration and the gap between the dynamics of commodity prices and financial flows is closed by global liquidity injected by central banks.

Originality/value

– The paper contributes to the empirical literature by analysing the overall impact of global financial integration and of global liquidity on global macroeconomic variables in a unified framework.
The role of lifelong learning on political stability and non violence: evidence from Africa
Authors: Asongu Simplice A. , Nwachukwu Jacinta C.
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– Education as a weapon in the fight against conflict and violence remains widely debated in policy and academic circles. Against the background of growing political instability in Africa and the central role of the knowledge economy in twenty-first century development, this paper provides three contributions to existing literature. The purpose of this paper is to assess how political stability/non-violence is linked to the incremental, synergy and lifelong learning effects of education.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors define lifelong learning as the combined knowledge acquired during primary, secondary and tertiary education. Principal component analysis is used to reduce the dimensions of educational and political indicators. An endogeneity robust dynamic system Generalized Methods of Moments is used for the estimations.

Findings

– The authors establish three main findings. First, education is a useful weapon in the fight against political instability. Second, there is an incremental effect of education in the transition from secondary to tertiary schools. Third, lifelong learning also has positive and synergy effects. This means that the impact of lifelong learning is higher than the combined independent effects of various educational levels. The empirical evidence is based on 53 African countries for the period 1996-2010.

Practical implications

– A plethora of policy implications are discussed, inter alia: how the drive towards increasing the knowledge economy through lifelong learning can be an effective tool in the fight against violence and political insurgency in Africa.

Originality/value

– As the continent is nursing knowledge economy ambitions, the paper is original in investigating the determinants of political stability/non-violence from three dimensions of education attainment: the incremental, the lifelong learning and a synergy effect.
Internal and external determinants of banks’ profitability
Authors: Garcia Maria Teresa Medeiros , Guerreiro João Pedro Silva Martins
Published: December 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to analyze the profitability of 27 universal banks in Portugal over the period from 2002 to 2011.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper conducts ordinary least squares estimations with fixed effects using three measures of profitability: the return on average assets, the return on average equity and the net interest margin. Several independent variables were included concerning both bank-specific and macroeconomic and industry-specific characteristics which have not been considered in previous studies. In addition, the sub-sample between 2008 and 2011 was considered for comparative analysis.

Findings

– The authors concluded that the independent variables selected, with few exceptions, behaved accordingly to what was expected.

Originality/value

– To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first attempt to examine determinants of banks’ profitability in Portugal, both internal and external, using time series data, which have not been considered in previous studies.
Back‐projection stacking of P‐ and S‐waves to determine location and focal mechanism of microseismic events recorded by a surface array
Authors: Vlček J. , Fischer T. , Vilhelm J.
Published: December 2015

We present an automatic method of processing microseismic data acquired at the surface by a star‐like array. The back‐projection approach allows successive determination of the hypocenter position of each event and of its focal mechanisms. One‐component vertical geophone groups and three‐component accelerometers are employed to monitor both P‐ and S‐waves. Hypocenter coordinates are determined in a grid by back‐projection stacking of the short‐time‐average‐to‐long‐time‐average ratio of absolute amplitudes at vertical components and polarization norm derived from horizontal components of the P‐ and S‐waves, respectively. To make the location process more efficient, calculation is started with a coarse grid and zoomed to the optimum hypocenter using an oct‐tree algorithm. The focal mechanism is then determined by stacking the vertical component seismograms corrected for the theoretical P‐wave polarity of the focal mechanism. The mechanism is resolved in the coordinate space of strike, dip, and rake angles. The method is tested on 34 selected events of a dataset of hydraulic fracture monitoring of a shale gas play in North America. It was found that, by including S‐waves, the vertical accuracy of locations improved by a factor of two and is equal to approximately the horizontal location error. A twofold enhancement of horizontal location accuracy is achieved if a denser array of geophone groups is used instead of the sparse array of three‐component seismometers. The determined focal mechanisms are similar to those obtained by other methods applied to the same dataset.
Does the biogeographic origin of species matter? Ecological effects of native and non‐native species and the use of origin to guide management
Authors: Buckley Yvonne M. , Catford Jane
Published: December 2015

The introduction and success of non‐native species are both a consequence and a cause of rapid global change. Humans have created novel ecosystems through environmental modification and mass movements of organisms around the planet.

It has been argued that species biogeographic origin cannot explain or predict ecological impacts and the origin of a species should not influence ecosystem management. This rejection of ‘origin’ is overly simplistic. Origin effects can arise through biased sampling of the types of species transported, the environmental and evolutionary context of their source environments and the communities and environments to which they are introduced. Differences in co‐evolutionary histories between source and recipient environments, and adaptation of introduced species to modified environmental conditions, can also shape origin effects.

The high rates and long distances of human‐mediated dispersal have increased the sizes of regional species pools. In addition, human transported, non‐native species can change the function of recipient ecosystems through changes to community composition. We outline how origin effects can cascade through to ecological impact at population, community and ecosystem levels.

Synthesis. Non‐native species can have predictable and preventable effects on recipient communities. We identify multiple sources of origin effects and describe the ecological and evolutionary pathways through which origin effects lead to impacts. This functional understanding of origin effects must include human actions. However, species origin should not, on its own, be used as a shortcut for management decisions; origin effects should instead feed into a process whereby ecologists work together with managers, policymakers and broader society to guide decisions on how to respond to the effects of non‐native species.
Facilitating native land reacquisition in the rural USA through collaborative research and Geographic Information Systems
Authors: Barcus Holly R. , Smith Laura J.
Published: December 2015

A large proportion of American Indian reservation lands are owned by non‐Indian entities. A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a powerful tool for visualising land tenure changes, and public participation GIS (PPGIS) is one approach for using spatial technologies to facilitate the identification and reacquisition of reservation lands by tribes. While some tribes have successfully harnessed GIS for land management and for systematically identifying lands for reacquisition, others struggle to implement land management systems such as GIS for these purposes. This paper situates PPGIS in relation to other forms of participatory action research and outlines our use of a PPGIS framework to engage undergraduate geography students in the mapping of land tenure status on ten rural Minnesota Indian reservations as part of a collaborative partnership with the Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF). A PPGIS framework allowed us to collaboratively define research goals in response to tribal community needs and provided structure for student work with partner reservations to develop and implement tailored mapping and analysis techniques. Two sets of findings are significant. First, the assembly of a standardised set of maps for American Indian reservations in Minnesota provides a tremendous visual and analytical resource for ILTF and individual tribes to pursue land reacquisition within reservation boundaries. Second, from a PPGIS perspective, we found that working with a coordinating or ‘bridging’ organisation provided key benefits by enabling education of both the student–faculty partners and the individual tribes. The PPGIS model empowered both partners by allowing tribes to harness a powerful technology to assist in visualising land‐based assets and allowing students to contribute to native land reacquisition efforts through application of their GIS skills. This mapping helps facilitate economic and cultural viability in tribal communities by providing an important visual catalogue of existing land‐based assets, in support of future land acquisition and economic development planning.
Shooting up illicit drugs with God and the State: the legal–spatial constitution of Sydney's Medically Supervised Injecting Centre as a sanctuary
Authors: Prior Jason , Crofts Penny
Published: December 2015

In 1999, the Uniting Church opened a Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC) at the Wayside Chapel in the inner Sydney suburb of Kings Cross. The Uniting Church justified this overt act of civil disobedience against the State's prohibitionist model of drug usage by invoking the ancient right of sanctuary. This invocation sought to produce a specific sort of spatialisation wherein the meaning of the line constituting sanctuary effects a protected ‘inside’ governed by God's word – civitas dei – ‘outside’ the jurisdiction of state power in civitas terrena. Sanctuary claims a territory exempt from other jurisdictions. The modern assertion of sanctuary enacts in physical space the relationship between state and religious authorities and the integration and intersections of civitas terrena and civitas dei. This article draws upon conceptions of sanctuary at the intersection of the Catholic Christianity tradition and the State since medieval times to analyse the contemporary space of sanctuary in the MSIC, exploring the shifting and ambiguous boundaries in material, legislative, and symbolic spaces. We argue that even though the MSIC has now been incorporated into civitas terrena, it remains and enacts a space of sanctuary.
Lactic acid bacteria as a cell factory for riboflavin production
Authors: Thakur Kiran , Tomar Sudhir Kumar , De Sachinandan
Published: December 2015

Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of their health and nutritional requirements, and in this context, vitamins produced in situ by microbes may suit their needs and expectations. B groups vitamins are essential components of cellular metabolism and among them riboflavin is one of the vital vitamins required by bacteria, plants, animals and humans. Here, we focus on the importance of microbial production of riboflavin over chemical synthesis. In addition, genetic abilities for riboflavin biosynthesis by lactic acid bacteria are discussed. Genetically modified strains by employing genetic engineering and chemical analogues have been developed to enhance riboflavin production. The present review attempts to collect the currently available information on riboflavin production by microbes in general, while placing greater emphasis on food grade lactic acid bacteria and human gut commensals. For designing riboflavin‐enriched functional foods, proper selection and exploitation of riboflavin‐producing lactic acid bacteria is essential. Moreover, eliminating the in situ vitamin fortification step will decrease the cost of food production.
Recent developments in the behavioural and pharmacological enhancement of extinction of drug seeking
Authors: Chesworth Rose , Corbit Laura H.
Published: December 2015

One of the principal barriers to overcoming addiction is the propensity to relapse, even after months or years of abstinence. Relapse can be precipitated by cues and contexts associated with drug use; thus, decreasing the conditioned properties of these cues and contexts may assist in preventing relapse. The predictive power of drug cues and contexts can be reduced by repeatedly presenting them in the absence of the drug reinforcer, a process known as extinction. The potential of extinction to limit relapse has generated considerable interest and research over the past few decades. While pre‐clinical animal models suggest extinction learning assists relapse prevention, treatment efficacy is often lacking when extinction learning principles are translated into clinical trials. Conklin and Tiffany (Addiction, 2002) suggest the lack of efficacy in clinical practice may be due to limited translation of procedures demonstrated through animal research and propose several methodological improvements to enhance extinction learning for drug addiction. This review will examine recent advances in the behavioural and pharmacological manipulation of extinction learning, based on research from pre‐clinical models. In addition, the translation of pre‐clinical findings—both those suggested by Conklin and Tiffany () and novel demonstrations from the past 13 years—into clinical trials and the efficacy of these methods in reducing craving and relapse, where available, will be discussed. Finally, we highlight areas where promising pre‐clinical models have not yet been integrated into current clinical practice but, if applied, could improve upon existing behavioural and pharmacological methods.
Cocaine self‐administration induces changes in synaptic transmission and plasticity in ventral hippocampus
Authors: Keralapurath Madhusudhanan M. , Briggs Sherri B. , Wagner John J.
Published: December 2015

Allowing rats extended access to cocaine self‐administration is thought to recapitulate several key aspects of cocaine addiction in humans. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie drug‐induced neuroadaptations that persist in the brain after protracted periods of abstinence is crucial towards the goal of developing therapeutic interventions for this disease state. We have employed both whole‐cell voltage clamp and extracellular recording technique to assess changes in neurotransmission and long‐term potentiation (LTP) in stratum radiatum of the CA1 region using the rat ventral hippocampal slice preparation. Rats allowed to self‐administer cocaine daily, including ‘long access’ (6 hours) sessions, exhibited an increase in the α‐amino‐3‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl‐4‐isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA)/N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate current ratio and enhanced excitatory transmission following 3–5 weeks of abstinence. Inhibitory transmission was also significantly decreased in long‐access animals, and the AMPA/N‐methyl‐d‐aspartate ratio measured in the absence of GABAergic blockers was greatly enhanced. We also observed a significant reduction of LTP magnitude evoked in the long‐access cocaine rats. These findings suggest the presence of synergistic effects of enhanced AMPA and diminished gamma‐aminobutyric acid neurotransmission under physiological conditions in the CA1 region of cocaine‐taking animals, supporting the conclusion that persisting enhancement of AMPA‐mediated transmission and/or inhibition of gamma‐aminobutyric acid‐mediated transmission promoted a chronic state of potentiation that partially occluded further LTP. This increased output from the ventral hippocampus to other limbic areas would be among the drug‐induced neuroadaptations that persist following abstinence from cocaine self‐administration and therefore may contribute to the disease state of addiction.
Effectiveness of motivational interviewing to reduce illicit drug use in adolescents: a systematic review and meta‐analysis
Authors: Li Lili , Zhu Shimin , Tse Nick , Tse Samson , Wong Paul
Published: December 2015

Aims

Motivational interviewing (MI) is a commonly used intervention approach to promote reduction or cessation of substance abuse. Effects may be different for adolescents, so it is useful to assess the state of the evidence in this subpopulation. This paper aimed to assess evidence for MI effectiveness in adolescents.

Method

EBSCOhost, ProQuest and Digital Dissertation Consortium were searched using keywords. Ten randomized trials from the United Kingdom, United States and Taiwan, including 1466 participants, were identified and analysed using a random effects model. Primary outcome measures captured were: the extent of drug use, intention to use drugs and readiness to change. Each study received a high‐quality score based on the Miller Quality Scoring Coding System. Moderator analyses were also conducted to examine the impacts of follow‐up period, delivery setting and study design on the effectiveness of MI.

Results

No statistically significant effect of MI on was found change of drug use behaviours [d = 0.05, 95% confidence interval (CI) = −0.06, 0.17, P = 0.36]. A significant effect was found on attitude change (d = 0.44, 95% CI = 0.20, 0.67, P = 0.0002). The funnel plot was asymmetrical, suggesting publication bias favouring small studies with higher effect sizes.

Conclusion

Motivational interviewing has not been found thus far to reduce adolescent use of illicit drugs. It may influence intentions to change, but evidence of publication bias weakens confidence in this conclusion.
Exploring the Major Sources and Extent of Heterogeneity in a Genome‐Wide Association Meta‐Analysis
Authors: Pei Yu‐Fang , Tian Qing , Zhang Lei , Deng Hong‐Wen
Published: December 2015

Genome‐wide association (GWA) meta‐analysis has become a popular approach for discovering genetic variants responsible for complex diseases. The between‐study heterogeneity effect is a severe issue that may complicate the interpretation of results. Aiming to improve the interpretation of meta‐analysis results, we empirically explored the extent and source of heterogeneity effect. We analyzed a previously reported GWA meta‐analysis of obesity, in which over 21,000 subjects from seven individual samples were meta‐analyzed. We first evaluated the extent and distribution of heterogeneity across the entire genome. We then studied the effects of several potentially confounding factors, including age, ethnicity, gender composition, study type, and genotype imputation on heterogeneity with a random‐effects meta‐regression model. Of the total 4,325,550 SNPs being tested, heterogeneity was moderate to very large for 25.4% of the total SNPs. Heterogeneity was more severe in SNPs with stronger association signals. Ethnicity, average age, and genotype imputation accuracy had significant effects on the heterogeneity. Exploring the effects of ethnicity can provide clues to the potential ethnic‐specific effects for two loci known to affect obesity, MC4R, and MTCH2. Our analysis can help to clarify understanding of the obesity mechanism and may provide guidance for an effective design of future GWA meta‐analysis.
In Defense of Factions
Authors: Dewan Torun , Squintani Francesco
Published: December 2015

We model faction formation in a world where party politicians' objective is the development of an informed program of governance. Politicians' preferences reflect their own views and their information that, when aggregated via intraparty deliberations, influences the party manifesto. By joining a faction, a politician increases the influence of its leader on the manifesto, but foregoes his individual bargaining power. For broad model specifications, we find that a faction formation process allows power to be transferred to moderate politicians. This facilitates information sharing, increasing the capacity of the party to attain its objective. These positive welfare effects may hold even when factionalism restricts intraparty dialogue, and hold a fortiori when information is freely exchanged across factions. We conclude that the existence of ideological factions may benefit a party: It provides a means to tie uninformed or extremist politicians to more moderate and informed faction leaders.
Improving physiotherapy services to Indigenous children with physical disability: Are client perspectives missed in the continuous quality improvement approach?
Authors: Greenstein Caroline , Lowell Anne , Thomas David Piers
Published: December 2015

Objective

To compare the outcomes of two cycles of continuous quality improvement (CQI) at a paediatric physiotherapy service with findings from interviews with clients and their carers using the service.

Design

Case study based at one paediatric physiotherapy service

Setting

Community‐based paediatric allied health service in Northern Australia.

Participants

Forty‐nine clinical records and four staff at physiotherapy service, five Indigenous children with physical disability aged 8–21 years, and nine carers of Indigenous children aged 0–21 years (current or previous clients).

Interventions

The CQI process based on the Audit and Best Practice for Chronic Disease involved a clinical audit; a workshop where clinicians assessed their health care systems, identified weaknesses and strengths, and developed goals and strategies for improvement; and reassessment through a second audit and workshop. Twelve open‐ended, in‐depth interviews were conducted with previous or current clients selected through purposive and theoretical sampling. CQI and interview results were then compared.

Main outcome measure

Comparison of findings from the two studies

Results

Both CQI and interview results highlighted service delivery flexibility and therapists' knowledge, support and advocacy as service strengths, and lack of resources and a child‐friendly office environment as weaknesses. However, the CQI results reported better communication and client input into the service than the interview results.

Conclusion

The CQI process, while demonstrating improvements in clinical and organisational aspects of the service, did not always reflect or address the primary concerns of Indigenous clients and underlined the importance of including clients in the CQI process.
Comparing surgical experience with performance on a sinus surgery simulator
Authors: Diment Laura E. , Ruthenbeck Greg S. , Dharmawardana Nuwan , Carney A. Simon , Woods Charmaine M. , Ooi Eng H. , Reynolds Karen J.
Published: December 2015

Background

This study evaluates whether surgical experience influences technical competence using the Flinders sinus surgery simulator, a virtual environment designed to teach nasal endoscopic surgical skills.

Methods

Ten experienced sinus surgeons (five consultants and five registrars) and 14 novices (seven resident medical officers and seven interns/medical students) completed three simulation tasks using haptic controllers. Task 1 required navigation of the sinuses and identification of six anatomical landmarks, Task 2 required removal of unhealthy tissue while preserving healthy tissue and Task 3 entailed backbiting within pre‐set lines on the uncinate process and microdebriding tissue between the cuts.

Results

Novices were compared with experts on a range of measures, using Mann–Whitney U
‐tests. Novices took longer on all tasks (Task 1: 278%, P < 0.005; Task 2: 112%, P < 0.005; Task 3: 72%, P < 0.005). In Task 1, novices' instruments travelled further than experts' (379%, P < 0.005), and provided greater maximum force (12%, P < 0.05). In Tasks 2 and 3 novices performed more cutting movements to remove the tissue (Task 2: 1500%, P < 0.005; Task 3: 72%, P < 0.005). Experts also completed more of Task 3 (66%, P < 0.05).

Conclusions

The study demonstrated the Flinders sinus simulator's construct validity, differentiating between experts and novices with respect to procedure time, instrument distance travelled and number of cutting motions to complete the task.
Introduction of subspecialty examinations by the European Board of Ophthalmology (EBO) in close collaboration with European Subspecialty Ophthalmological Societies: FEBO‐SA
Authors: Aclimandos Wagih , Mathysen Danny G. P. , Creuzot‐Garcher Catherine , Sunaric‐Mégevand Gordana
Published: December 2015

The European Board of Ophthalmology (EBO) aims to establish common European standards in ophthalmology. The comprehensive EBO Diploma (EBOD) examination has been officially used since 1995 by an increasing number of European countries to assess the level of education in ophthalmology of their residents at the end of their training. The current comprehensive EBOD examination ensures a minimum standard of knowledge. We present an update on the EBO plans to establish a subspecialty advanced EBOD (AdEBOD) examination in order to award ophthalmologists who complete subspecialty training with formal recognition of their expertise. The purpose, structure and process of the AdEBOD examination are presented.
The Novel Evidenced Assessment of Tortuosity system: interobserver reliability and agreement with clinical assessment
Authors: Balaskas Konstantinos , Tiew Stephanie , Czanner Gabriela , Tan Ai Ling , Ashworth Jane , Biswas Susmito , Aslam Tariq
Published: December 2015

Purpose

Computer‐assisted assessment of vessel tortuosity is clinically useful in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). However, poor image quality is often prohibitive for accurate segmentation by fully automated systems and semi‐automated systems are prone to unreliability. In the present work, we describe a method of retinal vessel tortuosity measurement by means of purpose‐built image analysis software that does not require high image quality yet is also reliable.

Methods

Images were obtained from neonates at risk of ROP with Retcam Shuttle®. Individual vessels were assessed with the semi‐automated Novel Evidenced Assessment of Tortuosity (NEAT) system by two masked experimenters. Scores were compared to assess reliability. They were also compared against clinical scoring of individual vessels by two ROP screeners to assess relationship with clinical assessment. In a second image cohort, the mean of the most tortuous vessel in each of four quadrants in each eye (NEAT‐O) was compared against the documented gold standard clinical grading of plus disease.

Results

Reliability of the NEAT system for 50 individual vessels using Bland–Altman plots was excellent. NEAT tortuosity scores for 50 individual vessels compared to clinical scoring showed strong correlation (0.706). Correlation between the NEAT‐O score for average tortuosity and gold standard for 167 eyes was modest (0.578).

Conclusions

The NEAT system is intuitive, user‐friendly and robust enough to be clinically useful in poor‐quality images. It allows for a rapid, valid and reliable assessment of tortuosity of individual vessels and produces a tortuosity score that correlates well with severity of plus disease.