bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Neural substrate for higher-order learning in an insect: Mushroom bodies are necessary for configural discriminations
Authors: Devaud Jean-Marc , Papouin Thomas , Carcaud Julie , Sandoz Jean-Christophe , Grünewald Bernd , Giurfa Martin
Published: October 2015

Significance

Mushroom bodies are prominent structures of the insect brain that have been associated with the storage and retrieval of elemental forms of memory. We took advantage of the unique cognitive capabilities of honey bees to uncover a previously unidentified function for these structures. Because the honey bee is the only insect in which higher-order, configural learning has been demonstrated, we asked whether the mushroom bodies of this insect are necessary for this task. Disrupting reversibly mushroom body function upon configural conditioning, we show that these structures are required for the acquisition of configural, but not of elemental, learning. This functionality resembles that of the vertebrate brain, where different brain regions are recruited for learning forms of different complexity.
Transcriptome analyses reveal molecular mechanisms underlying functional recovery after spinal cord injury
Authors: Duan Hongmei , Ge Weihong , Zhang Aifeng , Xi Yue , Chen Zhihua , Luo Dandan , Cheng Yin , Fan Kevin S. , Horvath Steve , Sofroniew Michael V. , Cheng Liming , Yang Zhaoyang , Sun Yi E. , Li Xiaoguang
Published: October 2015

Significance

In this study, we used gene expression analyses to unveil mechanisms underlying NT3-chitosan–induced spinal cord regeneration. Using a powerful bioinformatics tool known as weighted gene coexpression network analysis, we have established gene modules and programs representing various events at different times after spinal cord injury (SCI) and also demonstrated that enhanced new neurogenesis and vascularization, as well as reduced inflammatory responses, are keys to conferring the effect of NT3-chitosan on regeneration. The objectivity of this approach and the use of big data processing have opened a new pathway in SCI research. Such quantitative, objective, and sensitive measures could provide a standardized approach in the future to reveal mechanistic insight into various potential interventions for SCI repair.
NT3-chitosan elicits robust endogenous neurogenesis to enable functional recovery after spinal cord injury
Authors: Yang Zhaoyang , Zhang Aifeng , Duan Hongmei , Zhang Sa , Hao Peng , Ye Keqiang , Sun Yi E. , Li Xiaoguang
Published: October 2015

Significance

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating medical condition with no cure at present time. In this study we have discovered that a biodegradable material, chitosan, when loaded with, Neurotrophin-3 (NT3), allowed for slow release of this neural trophic factor, providing an optimal microenvironment for regeneration. NT3-chitosan, when inserted into a 5 mm gap of completely transected and excised rat thoracic spinal cord, elicited robust activation of endogenous neural stem cells forming functional neural networks, which interconnected the severed ascending and descending axons, resulting in sensory and motor behavioral recovery. Our study suggests that enhancing endogenous neurogenesis by NT3-chitosan could be a novel strategy for treatment of SCI.
Quality of evidence revealing subtle gender biases in science is in the eye of the beholder
Authors: Handley Ian M. , Brown Elizabeth R. , Moss-Racusin Corinne A. , Smith Jessi L.
Published: October 2015

Significance

Ever-growing empirical evidence documents a gender bias against women and their research—and favoring men—in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Our research examined how receptive the scientific and public communities are to experimental evidence demonstrating this gender bias, which may contribute to women’s underrepresentation within STEM. Results from our three experiments, using general-public and university faculty samples, demonstrated that men evaluate the quality of research unveiling this bias as less meritorious than do women. These findings may inform and fuel self-correction efforts within STEM to reduce gender bias, bolster objectivity and diversity in STEM workforces, and enhance discovery, education, and achievement.
Catalogue of abrupt shifts in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change climate models
Authors: Drijfhout Sybren , Bathiany Sebastian , Beaulieu Claudie , Brovkin Victor , Claussen Martin , Huntingford Chris , Scheffer Marten , Sgubin Giovanni , Swingedouw Didier
Published: October 2015

Significance

One of the most concerning consequences of human-induced increases in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations is the potential for rapid regional transitions in the climate system. Yet, despite much public awareness of how “tipping points” may be crossed, little information is available as to exactly what may be expected in the coming centuries. We assess all Earth System Models underpinning the recent 5th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report and systematically search for evidence of abrupt changes. We do find abrupt changes in sea ice, oceanic flows, land ice, and terrestrial ecosystem response, although with little consistency among the models. A particularly large number is projected for warming levels below 2°. We discuss mechanisms and include methods to objectively classify abrupt climate change.
Temporal evolution of helix hydration in a light-gated ion channel correlates with ion conductance
Authors: Lórenz-Fonfría Víctor A. , Bamann Christian , Resler Tom , Schlesinger Ramona , Bamberg Ernst , Heberle Joachim
Published: October 2015

Significance

The passive movement of ions across biological membranes is controlled by channels. How these membrane proteins are activated and become permeable to ions, a process with high biomedical and biotechnological impact, has been the subject of numerous structural, functional, and computational studies. We have investigated the light-gated cation channel channelrhodopsin-2 from
Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
, widely used in optogenetics, by combining time-resolved infrared spectroscopy and electrophysiology. The temporal evolution of the hydration of transmembrane α-helices, identified by spectroscopic markers, matches the kinetics of ion conductance, as monitored by electrophysiology. Our results provide a solid experimental ground for previous computational studies suggesting that the thermodynamics and kinetics of hydration of the ion-conducting pore are key aspects to understand the regulation of ion channels.
Blue-phase liquid crystal droplets
Authors: Martínez-González José A. , Zhou Ye , Rahimi Mohammad , Bukusoglu Emre , Abbott Nicholas L. , de Pablo Juan J.
Published: October 2015

Significance

Blue phases represent distinct liquid states of matter having a high viscosity, finite shear modulus, and Bragg reflections in the visible spectrum. These properties arise from a highly ordered defect structure, unique amongst complex liquids, which is stable only over a narrow range of temperature. The number and characteristics of the corresponding unit cells could in principle be altered by confinement. In this work we show that the stability of blue phases can be increased by preparing them into small droplets. We demonstrate that defect structure, color, and morphology can be manipulated by controlling droplet size, temperature, and anchoring, thereby offering intriguing opportunities for optical devices based on chiral liquid crystals.
Bursts of beta oscillation differentiate postperformance activity in the striatum and motor cortex of monkeys performing movement tasks
Authors: Feingold Joseph , Gibson Daniel J. , DePasquale Brian , Graybiel Ann M.
Published: October 2015

Significance

Studies of beta oscillations, highlighted clinically because of exaggerated beta-band activity in Parkinson’s disease, have focused on measures averaged over multiple trials, and readers outside the field could have the misperception that beta oscillations persist over seconds. We show that brief bursts of oscillation are responsible for virtually all beta-band activity in healthy monkeys. The state called “beta synchronization” consists of numerous brief (∼40–120 ms) bouts of oscillation within a nonoscillatory background, and these bouts can also occur during periods of “desynchronization.” Thus, postmovement “synchronization” of beta represents a transient increase in oscillation probability, with different time courses in the motor cortex and striatum. We suggest that the timing and duration of these bursts are critical parameters for network function.
The HLA-G cycle provides for both NK tolerance and immunity at the maternal–fetal interface
Authors: Tilburgs Tamara , Evans J. Henry , Crespo Ângela C. , Strominger Jack L.
Published: October 2015

Significance

Decidual natural killer cells (dNK), the largest population of leukocytes at the maternal–fetal interface, have low cytotoxicity. They are believed to play a role in facilitating invasion of fetal HLA-G+ extravillous trophoblasts (EVT) into maternal tissues, a process essential for establishment of healthy pregnancies. dNK are low-cytotoxic while nonetheless containing cytotoxic granules and functioning in immunity to viral infections, illustrated here with human cytomegalo virus (HCMV). Interaction of dNK with EVT leads to acquisition of HLA-G by dNK (trogocytosis), followed by a cycle of internalization, degradation, and reacquisition of HLA-G. Cytokine activation facilitates HLA-G degradation and coincides with increased cytotoxicity by dNK. Thus, the cycle provides both for NK tolerance and antiviral immune function of dNK.
Functional group-specific traits drive phytoplankton dynamics in the oligotrophic ocean
Authors: Alexander Harriet , Rouco Mónica , Haley Sheean T. , Wilson Samuel T. , Karl David M. , Dyhrman Sonya T.
Published: October 2015

Significance

Blooms of phytoplankton can shift the ecosystem state of low-nutrient ocean regions between net heterotrophic and autotrophic conditions, increasing carbon sequestration and driving carbon export to the deep sea. Little is known about the traits that govern the timing and magnitude of these bloom events. We used metatranscriptomics to assess phytoplankton functional group-specific metabolic shifts experimentally during simulated blooms in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. The results indicate blooms form when phytoplankton are released from limitation by resources (nutrients, vitamins, and trace metals) and that the mechanistic basis for the success of one functional group over another may be driven by how efficiently the transcriptome is modulated following a nutrient pulse.
Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? The interweaving of values and science
Authors: Likwornik Helena
Published: October 2015

The role of values in the scientific process is widely debated. But evidence and values cannot be neatly separated. Instead, values infuse the entire scientific process, starting with the choice of research questions. Research avenues are selected based on prior beliefs about the workings of the world. In fact, informally assigned prior probabilities and normalizing constants play an essential role in distinguishing causes from correlations and ignoring irrelevant associations that would otherwise be suggested by raw data. But since these initial probabilities often have a heterogeneous pedigree – often not all that went into their formation is known or knowable – it becomes difficult to cleanly separate evidence from values. At the same time, this reality does not undermine science's unique status in generating knowledge. This is because it is not the evidence per se generated by science, but rather the method by which science generates it, that justifies science's privileged role.
Social values influence the adequacy conditions of scientific theories: beyond inductive risk
Authors: Brigandt Ingo
Published: October 2015

The ‘death of evidence’ issue in Canada raises the spectre of politicized science, and thus the question of what role social values may have in science and how this meshes with objectivity and evidence. I first criticize philosophical accounts that have to separate different steps of research to restrict the influence of social and other non-epistemic values. A prominent account that social values may play a role even in the context of theory acceptance is the argument from inductive risk. It maintains that the more severe the social consequences of erroneously accepting a theory would be, the more evidence is needed before the theory may be accepted. However, an implication of this position is that increasing evidence makes the impact of social values converge to zero; and I argue for a stronger role for social values. On this position, social values (together with epistemic values and other empirical considerations) may determine a theory's conditions of adequacy, which among other things can include considerations about what makes a scientific account unbiased and complete. I illustrate this based on recent theories of human evolution and the social behaviour of non-human primates, where some of the social values implicated are feminist values. While many philosophical accounts (both arguments from inductive risk and from underdetermination) conceptualize the relevance of social values in terms of making inferences from evidence, I argue for the need for a broader philosophical framework, which is also motivated by issues pertaining to scientific explanation.
Impact of peripheral myeloid cells on amyloid-β pathology in Alzheimer’s disease–like mice
Authors: Prokop Stefan , Miller Kelly R. , Drost Natalia , Handrick Susann , Mathur Vidhu , Luo Jian , Wegner Anja , Wyss-Coray Tony , Heppner Frank L.
Published: October 2015

Although central nervous system–resident microglia are believed to be ineffective at phagocytosing and clearing amyloid-β (Aβ), a major pathological hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), it has been suggested that peripheral myeloid cells constitute a heterogeneous cell population with greater Aβ-clearing capabilities. Here, we demonstrate that the conditional ablation of resident microglia in CD11b-HSVTK (TK) mice is followed by a rapid repopulation of the brain by peripherally derived myeloid cells. We used this system to directly assess the ability of peripheral macrophages to reduce Aβ plaque pathology and therefore depleted and replaced the pool of resident microglia with peripherally derived myeloid cells in Aβ-carrying APPPS1 mice crossed to TK mice (APPPS1;TK). Despite a nearly complete exchange of resident microglia with peripheral myeloid cells, there was no significant change in Aβ burden or APP processing in APPPS1;TK mice. Importantly, however, newly recruited peripheral myeloid cells failed to cluster around Aβ deposits. Even additional anti-Aβ antibody treatment aimed at engaging myeloid cells with amyloid plaques neither directed peripherally derived myeloid cells to amyloid plaques nor altered Aβ burden. These data demonstrate that mere recruitment of peripheral myeloid cells to the brain is insufficient in substantially clearing Aβ burden and suggest that specific additional triggers appear to be required to exploit the full potential of myeloid cell–based therapies for AD.
Tryptophan 207 is crucial to the unique properties of the human voltage-gated proton channel, hHV1
Authors: Cherny Vladimir V. , Morgan Deri , Musset Boris , Chaves Gustavo , Smith Susan M.E. , DeCoursey Thomas E.
Published: October 2015

Part of the “signature sequence” that defines the voltage-gated proton channel (HV1) is a tryptophan residue adjacent to the second Arg in the S4 transmembrane helix: RxWRxxR, which is perfectly conserved in all high confidence HV1 genes. Replacing Trp207 in human HV1 (hHV1) with Ala, Ser, or Phe facilitated gating, accelerating channel opening by 100-fold, and closing by 30-fold. Mutant channels opened at more negative voltages than wild-type (WT) channels, indicating that in WT channels, Trp favors a closed state. The Arrhenius activation energy, Ea, for channel opening decreased to 22 kcal/mol from 30–38 kcal/mol for WT, confirming that Trp207 establishes the major energy barrier between closed and open hHV1. Cation–π interaction between Trp207 and Arg211 evidently latches the channel closed. Trp207 mutants lost proton selectivity at pHo >8.0. Finally, gating that depends on the transmembrane pH gradient (ΔpH-dependent gating), a universal feature of HV1 that is essential to its biological functions, was compromised. In the WT hHV1, ΔpH-dependent gating is shown to saturate above pHi or pHo 8, consistent with a single pH sensor with alternating access to internal and external solutions. However, saturation occurred independently of ΔpH, indicating the existence of distinct internal and external pH sensors. In Trp207 mutants, ΔpH-dependent gating saturated at lower pHo but not at lower pHi. That Trp207 mutation selectively alters pHo sensing further supports the existence of distinct internal and external pH sensors. Analogous mutations in HV1 from the unicellular species Karlodinium veneficum and Emiliania huxleyi produced generally similar consequences. Saturation of ΔpH-dependent gating occurred at the same pHo and pHi in HV1 of all three species, suggesting that the same or similar group(s) is involved in pH sensing. Therefore, Trp enables four characteristic properties: slow channel opening, highly temperature-dependent gating kinetics, proton selectivity, and ΔpH-dependent gating.
Recombining plasma in the remnant of a core-collapsed supernova, Kes 17
Authors: Washino Ryosaku , Uchida Hiroyuki , Nobukawa Masayoshi , Tsuru Takeshi Go , Tanaka Takaaki , Kawabata Nobukawa Kumiko , Koyama Katsuji
Published: October 2015

We report on Suzaku results concerning Kes 17, a Galactic mixed-morphology supernova remnant. The X-ray spectrum of the whole Kes 17 is well explained by a pure thermal plasma, in which we found Lyα of Al xiii and Heα of Al xii, Ar xvii, and Ca xix lines for the first time. The abundance pattern and the plasma mass suggest that Kes 17 is a remnant of a core-collapsed supernova of a 25–30 M⊙ progenitor star. The X-ray spectrum of the north region is expressed by a recombining plasma. The origin would be due to the cooling of electrons by thermal conduction to molecular clouds located near the north region.
Assessing displays for supporting strategic emergency management
Authors: Huggins Thomas J. , Hill Stephen R , Peace Robin , Johnston David M.
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– Emergency management groups aiming to address community resilience work with complex systems which consist of multiple interacting dynamics. The purpose of this paper is to help ensure that information is displayed in a way which supports strategic performance, to address longer term challenges faced by these groups.

Design/methodology/approach

– Ten professional emergency managers completed an online simulation of complex, community resilience related tasks faced in their normal working lives. They responded to either table-or diagram-based information about a relevant emergency management strategy. Responses were rated by academic and practitioner experts using 0-5 point Likert scales.

Findings

– Analyses of the expert ratings found that certain components of macrocognitive performance reached large degrees of inter-rater reliability (ρ=0.76, p=0.003; ρ=0.58, p=0.03; ρ=0.53, p=0.05). Current situation awareness increased by an average of 29 per cent in the diagram condition. Prospective amendment quality also increased, by an average of 38 per cent. A small sample size meant that these increases are difficult to generalise.

Research limitations/implications

– Extensions of this pilot research could use larger samples and more generic simulation conditions, to increase confidence in the claim that certain displays help improve strategic emergency management planning.

Practical implications

– It is recommended that further research continues to focus on current and prospective situational awareness, as measures of strategic emergency management performance which can be reliably expert rated.

Originality/value

– This research provides novel methodological considerations for supporting a more strategic approach to emergency management, with a focus on longer term implications.
Entrepreneurship, corruption, and the size of US underground economies
Authors: Wiseman Travis
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– Using state-level data on productive and unproductive entrepreneurship, shadow economy size, and public official corruption, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether formal sector productive (unproductive) entrepreneurial activity is associated with lower (higher) levels of informal economic activity.

Design/methodology/approach

– Additionally, the author aims to connect US state-level entrepreneurship, shadow economy size, and corruption by asking whether corruption affects entrepreneurial outcomes primarily through its effects on the shadow economy. The author contends that if this is the case, then estimates of corruption should serve as a good instrument for shadow economy size in regressions on formal sector entrepreneurial outcomes.

Findings

– Results from OLS regressions suggest that shadow economy size shares a strong, negative (positive), and statistically significant relationship with productive (unproductive) entrepreneurship. These results are fairly robust to GMM estimation. Additionally, the author finds that corruption is a strong instrument for shadow economy size; one for which validity cannot be rejected in regressions on productive, and net entrepreneurship scores.

Research limitations/implications

– However, the author cannot safely assert that the author finds evidence of the shadow economy serving as a primary channel through which corruption affects observed entrepreneurial outcomes. Failure to reject validity of the corruption instrument is, at best, suggestive of the primacy of the entrepreneurial choice between formal and informal sector participation.

Originality/value

– This study, to the author’s knowledge, is the first to attempt “connecting the dots” between entrepreneurship, corruption, and shadow economy size.
Government roles in venture capital development: a review of current literature
Authors: Callagher Lisa Jane , Smith Peter , Ruscoe Saskia
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– Interest in venture capital markets continues to be of relevance to politicians and policy makers, recognizing the importance of government participation in venture capital market development. Yet advice regarding developing venture capital markets appears increasingly disparate. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors engage the assumptions that underpin three dominant policy approaches to the development of venture capital markets with regard to the role of governments in that process. The authors categorize existing empirical studies against three approaches and give examples of the different government policies associated with the various approaches.

Findings

– Direct and indirect approaches recognize the importance of active stock markets but largely ignore the dynamic processes of markets, asserting that the provision of capital, institutional changes, and financial incentivesex antewill cause a positive market reaction, regardless of the market’s context. The recent timed approached is purported as being more comprehensive in its awareness of the need to adapt to countries’ contexts and the need for varying policies at the different stages of market emergence.

Research limitations/implications

– Limited empirical research tests the voracity and limitations of the timed approach. The challenge in doing so is that evolutionary theories typically explain an event after it has occurred, thus its predictive power is often limited. Future research might investigate the efficacy of policy levers based on the timed approach.

Practical implications

– The authors highlight the need for the development of venture capital markets, rather than a venture capital industry.

Originality/value

– The authors extend the existing venture capital market development categories and evaluate each approach in terms of the efficacy of government’s roles in venture capital market development in light of the existing evidence of economic development and entrepreneurial activity.
National culture, institutions and economic growth
Authors: Ostapenko Nataliia
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential pathway of influence of formal and informal institutions and economic development on the business productive behaviour at the national level.

Design/methodology/approach

– In the paper SEM models and regression analysis are used to define the causal relationships. Using data from cultural dimensions of Hofstede, Inglehart and Tabellini, proxies for formal institutions and economic development this research empirically examines the way of influence of these factors on entrepreneurship performance in the national economy.

Findings

– This paper demonstrates that, stimulating by the economic growth, formal and informal institutions could affect business productive behaviour at the macro level in both direct and indirect ways through each other. Formal and informal institutions were found to act as substitutes. The author argues that the decision to act productively is not just a result of the formal institutional framework – “bad” outcomes of business development may also be a consequence of the activity of certain informal institutions as well as caused by poor levels of national economic development.

Practical implications

– Based on the findings of this research it is possible to improve the methods of formation of stimulation policy for driving business behaviour in a productive way by taking into account existing formal and informal institutions and the level of development of the national economy.

Originality/value

– This paper by using SEM techniques examines the causal relationships between the quality of formal and informal institutions and productivity of entrepreneurs at the national level.
Machine baptisms and heroes of the underground
Authors: van den Ende Leonore , van Marrewijk Alfons , Boersma Kees
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to apply the theory of sociomateriality to exhibit how the social and material are entangled and (re)configured over time and in practice in a particular organization of study.

Design/methodology/approach

– The authors conduct an ethnographic case study of the North-South metro line project in Amsterdam and use the methods of participant-observation, in-depth interviewing and a desk study.

Findings

– The authors showcase the process of sociomaterial entanglement by focussing on the history and context of the project, the agency and performativity of the material and sociomaterial (re)configuration via ritual performance. The authors found the notion of performativity not only concern the enactment of boundaries between the social and material, but also the blurring of such boundaries.

Research limitations/implications

– Sociomateriality theory remains difficult to grasp. The implication is the need to provide new lenses to engage this theory empirically.

Practical implications

– The authors provide a multi-layered lens for organization researchers to engage sociomateriality theory at a contextual, organizational and practice level.

Social implications

– Insights from a historical and contextual perspective can help practitioners to become aware of the diverse and dynamic ways in which social and material entities are entangled and (re)configured over time and in practice.

Originality/value

– The authors provide a unique empirical account to exhibit the entanglement and (re)configuration between the social and material in a particular organization of study. This paper studies a tangible organizational setting whereas prior research in sociomateriality mainly focussed on routines in IT and IS. Finally, the authors suggest the ethnographic method to study sociomaterial entanglement from a historical and contextual perspective.
The corporation performed: minutes from the rituals of annual general meetings
Authors: Nyqvist Anette
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– In this paper the annual general meetings (AGM) of corporations are conceptualized as front-stage performances and dramas where the three roles of the corporation – the shareholder, manager and director – perform the corporation as a particular type of organization. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

– Meeting ethnography conducted at four seasons of AGMs in Sweden.

Findings

– The study sheds light on how the required AGM of public companies may be seen as a ritualized, legitimizing and trust-building corporate performance where the different roles of the corporation are played out in positioning procedures and where the corporation as an organizational form is enacted.

Originality/value

– The topic is of this paper is clearly original. Looking at corporations from an anthropological angle, exploring foundation myths, rites and organizational cultures, have been employed earlier, but exploring AGMs from an anthropological angle, is new.
Online word-of-mouth as a predictor of television rating
Authors: Yeh Ching-Chiang
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– Despite the growing importance of online word-of-mouth (WOM) with regard to television (TV) ratings, it is usually excluded from early prediction models. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of online WOM in TV ratings predictions, focussing on whether the incorporation of online WOM could improve predictions of TV ratings, and extracts meaningful rules for decision-making.

Design/methodology/approach

– The author uses online WOM as a potential predictive variable in the TV ratings prediction model. The author matches a list of programs based on TV ratings for the movie channel with internet user reviews and TV ratings information from Yahoo! Movies (YM) and XYZ Company. The data set includes 71 movies, for which the data were analyzed with a hybrid model.

Findings

– Grey relational analysis shows that online WOM is a usefulex antedeterminant of TV ratings. As a predictive variable, it plays an essential role in enhancing TV ratings predictions. The experimental results also indicate that the proposed model surpasses other listed methods in terms of both accuracy and reduction of variables, while the proposed procedure yields a set of easily understandable decision rules that facilitate the interpretation of TV ratings information.

Practical implications

– This paper identifies critical predictors of TV ratings and suggests that online WOM messages are a credible source. A hybrid model is developed to illustrate an intelligent prediction system for TV ratings.

Originality/value

– The study demonstrates the effectiveness of online WOM and its impact on TV ratings. It offers an intelligent prediction system for TV ratings with practical implications for managers within the TV industry.
Metrics for an increasingly complicated information ecosystem
Authors: Stuart David
Published: October 2015

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to encourage recognition of the potential impact of an increasingly complicated information ecosystem on scientometric indicators.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper considers how new web technologies have impacted the role of time in scientometric indicators.

Findings

– The paper suggests that it is important to be aware of the limitations of scientometrics indicators in an increasingly complicated information environment, although without a more developed semantic web there is little that can be done.

Practical implications

– Users of scientometric indicators should refrain from claiming too much confidence in them.

Originality/value

– The paper considers scientometric indicators at a finer granularity that usual, and will be of interest to anyone concerned the application of bibliometric indicators and the changing nature of scientific discourse.
Effect of a family history of psoriasis and age on comorbidities and quality of life in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis: Results from the ARIZONA study
Authors: López‐Estebaranz Jose Luis , Sánchez‐Carazo Jose Luis , Sulleiro Sara
Published: October 2015

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease whose clinical characteristics vary from patient to patient. We aimed to analyze how comorbidities and quality of life (QoL, as per the Dermatology Life Quality Index [DLQI]) may be affected by a family history of psoriasis and by age. The ARIZONA study was a multicenter, cross‐sectional study in 1022 adult patients diagnosed with moderate to severe psoriasis at least 6 months prior to inclusion. The severity of psoriasis and the proportion of patients with comorbidities were not affected by the presence of a family history. The regression analysis revealed that the presence of a family history of psoriasis was associated with the effect on the patient's QoL (P = 0.002), regardless of disease severity. The mean DLQI total score varied significantly across age groups (5.1 ± 5.3 for the 18–30‐year group, 5.7 ± 6.5 for the 31–60‐year group and 3.8 ± 5.1 for the >60‐year group; P = 0.001). In conclusion, the presence of a family history of psoriasis appears to disrupt QoL in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis, but it hardly affected the prevalence of comorbid conditions. The effect of age on QoL was particularly noticeable in younger patients, highlighting its negative impact. As expected, older patients appeared to be burdened with a higher number of comorbidities than their younger counterparts.
Extending illumination using all multiples: application to 3D acquisition geometry analysis
Authors: Kumar Amarjeet , Blacquière Gerrit , Verschuur Eric
Published: October 2015

Recent advances in survey design have led to conventional common‐midpoint‐based analysis being replaced by subsurface‐based seismic acquisition analysis, with emphasis on advanced techniques of illumination analysis. Among them is the so‐called focal beam method, which is a wave‐equation‐based seismic illumination analysis method. The objective of the focal beam method is to provide a quantitative insight into the combined influence of acquisition geometry, overburden structure, and migration operators on the resolution and angle‐dependent amplitude fidelity of the image. The method distinguishes between illumination and sensing capability of a particular acquisition geometry by computing the focal source beam and the focal detector beam, respectively. Sensing is related to the detection properties of a detector configuration, whereas illumination is related to the emission properties of a source configuration. The focal source beam analyses the incident wavefield at a specific subsurface grid point from all available sources, whereas the focal detector beam analyses the sensing wavefield reaching at the detector locations from the same subsurface grid point. In the past, this method could only address illumination by primary reflections. In this paper, we will extend the concept of the focal beam method to incorporate the illumination due to the surface and internal multiples. This in fact complies with the trend of including multiples in the imaging process. Multiple reflections can illuminate a target location from other angles compared with primary reflections, resulting in a higher resolution and an improved illumination. We demonstrate how an acquisition‐related footprint can be corrected using both the surface and the internal multiples.
How to capture fish in a school? Effect of successive predator attacks on seabird feeding success
Authors: Thiebault Andréa , Semeria Magali , Lett Christophe , Tremblay Yann
Published: October 2015

Prey aggregations, such as fish schools, attract numerous predators. This typically leads to the formation of multispecific groups of predators. These aggregations can be seen both as a place of increased competition and as a place of possible facilitation between predators. Consequently, the functional role of such predator–prey aggregation is uncertain, and its effect on individual feeding success is virtually unknown.

Using underwater film footage of different predators feeding on fish schools during the sardine run in South Africa, we directly measured thein situfeeding success of individual Cape gannetsMorus capensisin different foraging situations.

We determined the types of Cape gannet attacks (direct plunge dive or plunge dive followed by underwater pursuit) and we measured the occurrences and timing of attacks from the different species (mostly Cape gannets and long‐beaked common dolphinsDelphinus capensis). We also estimated the size of the targeted fish schools. These observations were complemented with a simulation model to evaluate the cumulative effect of successive predator attacks on the prey aggregation structure.

The probability to capture a fish in one feeding attempt by Cape gannets averaged 0·28. It was lower when gannets engaged in underwater prey pursuit after the plunge compared to direct plunge (0·13 vs. 0·36). We found no effect of the number of prey on gannets’ feeding success. However, the timing and frequency of attacks influenced strongly and positively the feeding success of individuals. The probability to capture a fish was the lowest (0·16) when no attack occurred in the few seconds (1–15 s) prior to a dive and the highest (˜0·4, i.e. more than twice) when one or two attacks occurred during this time window. The simulation model showed that a prey aggregation disorganized just after an attack and that the maximum of disturbance was obtained a few seconds after the initiation of the successive attacks.

Our study suggests that, in multispecies predator assemblages, the cumulative effect (through disorganization of school cohesiveness) of the multiple species attacking a prey aggregation may increase the feeding success of each individual. Therefore, facilitation between predators is likely to overcome competition in these multispecific assemblages.
The impossible object: Relics, property, and the secular in post‐Soviet Russia (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)
Authors: Bernstein Anya
Published: October 2015

The article analyzes a recent court case concerning the relics of two 14th‐century Russian Orthodox saints, during which the Russian state ruled to confiscate the relics from the Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church. I examine the church's attempts to fight back, paying particular attention to how the conflicting parties have differently framed the disputed objects' materiality. In doing so, I link the ongoing debates over whether dead bodies can be considered property and who owns the bodies of saints, to the current battles in Russia over the boundaries between the sacred and the secular. The relics affair, I suggest, ultimately points to the issue of how politics itself is constituted through the battles to define these boundaries, who claims the power to draw these lines, and why issues dealing with dead bodies possess a certain affective charge that causes political action. I argue that the case of the Suzdal relics makes visible certain aporias in both secular law and religious discourse, which ultimately make this case impossible for the state to resolve in its favour through conventional judicial means without overruling the law. In this process, the object of dispute itself disappears from the discursive space, becoming buried in a sort of ‘black box’, the interior contents of which are ultimately unnameable and uncategorizable.
Public Administration in China and Australia: Different Worlds but Similar Challenges (中国和澳大利亚的公共行政管理：不同的世界，相似的挑战)
Authors: Podger (澳大利亚国立大学) Andrew , Yan (西安交通大学) Bo
Published: October 2015

Comparing systems of government in such different countries as China and Australia is immensely difficult. Both countries have their own distinct traditions of governance and understandings about how to organise and operate government and the services they provide. Australia with a long democratic history has developed traditions of ‘responsible government’ within a federal context and with competition provided by two predominant adversarial political parties. China since its revolution in 1949 has developed relatively authoritarian traditions with single‐party rule and gradational hierarchic controls within a decentralised polity. Despite these differences, increasing numbers of people in each country want to understand the other country's key features of public administration, and often they start such a journey by asking questions based on their knowledge of their own governmental system to investigate the features and principles of the other. This is the approach we have taken in this paper. After reviewing the different political contexts, we explore the institutions of governance as well as the political and financial relations between levels of governments (central, provincial, local). Finally, we come back to the implications for public management and future governance arrangements.
Fiscal Equalisation in Australia
Authors: Spasovejic (澳大利亚的财政平衡) John , Nicholas (联邦拨款委员会) Malcolm
Published: October 2015

Australia has a vertical imbalance between the revenue and spending powers of the Australian Government and the State governments and horizontal imbalances in the fiscal capacities of the States and Territories. The total revenue from the goods and services tax is provided to the States to reduce the vertical imbalance and it is distributed among them in a way that equalises their fiscal capacities. Fiscal equalisation in Australia is comprehensive, offsetting interstate differences in the capacity to raise revenue, the costs of providing services and the costs of acquiring the necessary infrastructure. The paper outlines the important features of the processes used to distribute the GST, the main factors causing differences in State and Territory fiscal capacities and some of the current issues surrounding inter‐governmental financial relations in Australia.
Accountability and Reforms to Australia's Federal Financial Relations (关键词:社会保障，就业，政策 。 联邦财政关系的问责和改革)
Authors: O'Loughlin (COAG改革委员会，执行委员和秘书长) Mary Ann
Published: October 2015

Australia recently introduced new accountability arrangements for all governments as part of a package of reforms to federal financial relations. This paper explains the new arrangements, beginning with an outline of the broader context — the Intergovernmental Agreement on Federal Financial Relations — in which they were introduced. The paper also identifies some of the lessons already learned from implementing the new arrangements. Some more details on the arrangements and the role of the COAG Reform Council may be found in O'Loughlin 2010.
Roles of causation and meaning for interpreting correlations
Authors: Atmanspacher Harald
Published: October 2015

The essays by Tougas and Willeford address, among other things, a number of ways to understand causation, which play crucial roles in the framework of thinking proposed by Pauli and Jung. The intention of my following reply is to say a few words about how these options are related to one another within our reconstruction of the Pauli‐Jung conjecture. In the tradition of the sciences, looking for causation has become a virtually innate reflex to interpret empirically observed correlations. The concept of synchronicity suggests looking for meaningful coincidences as an alternative, complementary interpretation, particularly appropriate for psychophysical correlations.
Review article: Improving the hospital clinical handover between paramedics and emergency department staff in the deteriorating patient
Authors: Dawson Sarah , King Lindy , Grantham Hugh
Published: October 2015

Clinical communication and recognising and responding to a deteriorating patient are key current patient safety issues in healthcare. The aim of this literature review is to identify themes associated with aspects of the hospital clinical handover between paramedics and ED staff that can be improved, with a specific focus on the transfer of care of a deteriorating patient. Extensive searches of scholarly literature were conducted using the main medical and nursing electronic databases, including Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Medline and PubMed, during 2011 and again in July 2012. Seventeen peer‐reviewed English‐language original quantitative and qualitative studies from 2001 to 2012 were selected and critically appraised using an evaluation tool based on published instruments. Relevant themes identified were: professional relationships, respect and barriers to communication; multiple or repeated handovers; identification of staff in the ED; significance of vital signs; need for a structured handover tool; documentation and other communication methods and education and training to improve handovers. The issues raised in the literature included the need to: produce more complete and concise handovers, create respectful and effective communication, and identify staff in the ED. A structured handover tool such as ISBAR (a mnemonic covering Introduction, Situation, Background, Assessment and Recommendations) would appear to provide a solution to many of these issues. The recording of vital signs and transfer of these data might be improved with better observation systems incorporating early warning strategies. More effective teamwork could be achieved with further clinical communications training.
Removal Kinetics of Antibodies Against Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase by Various Plasmapheresis Modalities in the Treatment of Neurological Disorders
Authors: Ohkubo Atsushi , Okado Tomokazu , Kurashima Naoki , Maeda Takuma , Miyamoto Satoko , Nakamura Ayako , Seshima Hiroshi , Iimori Soichiro , Sohara Eisei , Uchida Shinichi , Rai Tatemitsu
Published: October 2015

Plasmapheresis is one of the acute treatment modalities for neurological disorders associated with antibodies against glutamic acid decarboxylase (anti‐GAD). However, there is little information about the removal kinetics of anti‐GAD by various plasmapheresis modalities. Here, we investigated the removal rate of anti‐GAD and fibrinogen (Fib) by immunoadsorption (IA), plasma exchange using a conventional plasma separator (OP‐PE), and plasma exchange using a high cut‐off selective membrane plasma separator (EC‐PE) in two cases of anti‐GAD‐associated neurological diseases. In case 1, IA and OP‐PE were used, and the percent reductions were as follows: anti‐GAD: 38.2% and 69.1% and Fib: 67.7% and 68.2%, respectively. In case 2, OP‐PE and EC‐PE were used, and the percent reductions were as follows: anti‐GAD: 65.8% and 48.5% and Fib: 68.5% and 19.8%, respectively. OP‐PE could remove anti‐GAD more efficiently than IA. Further, EC‐PE could maintain coagulation factors such as Fib better than IA and OP‐PE. It is important to select the appropriate plasmapheresis modality on the basis of the removal kinetics.
Efficacy of Granulocyte and Monocyte Adsorption Apheresis for Treatment of Palmoplantar Pustulosis
Authors: Fujisawa Tomomi , Tawada Chisato , Mizutani Yoko , Doi Tomoaki , Yoshida Shozo , Ogura Shinji , Seishima Mariko
Published: October 2015

Palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) is characterized by neutrophilic pustules with erythema, which are limited to the hands and feet. Although granulocyte and monocyte adsorption apheresis (GMA) has shown remarkable effects on generalized pustular psoriasis, there are few reports of PPP treated with GMA. We treated three refractory PPP patients using GMA weekly for 5 weeks. The skin eruptions were assessed by a 5‐grade score for scales, pustules, and erythema. GMA decreased the total grade from 9 to 2 in patients 1 and 2, and from 7 to 3 in patient 3. The GMA effects were estimated to be excellent in all three patients. Pustule formation and pain disappeared in all cases. The treatment effect lasted for at least 5 months after GMA. GMA was also effective for relieving the arthralgia in one patient, but it recurred at 6 weeks. Based on these findings, GMA could be an effective therapy for refractory PPP.