bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cytogenetic Biomonitoring in Buccal Mucosa Cells from Young Smokers
Authors: Pereira da Silva Victor Hugo , de Luna Antonio Raquel , Pompeia Sabine , Ribeiro Daniel Araki
Published: February 2016

Objective: Nowadays, much attention has been focused on the search for new non-invasive methodologies able to predict malignant transformation of oral mucosa cells. The aim of the present study was to comparatively evaluate DNA damage (micronucleus) and cellular death (pyknosis, karyolysis and karyorrhexis) in exfoliated oral mucosa cells from smokers and non-smokers in buccal mucosa cells. Study Design: A total of 24 young, healthy smokers and 14 non-smokers were included in this setting. Individuals had epithelial cells from the cheek mechanically exfoliated, placed in fixative and dropped in clean slides which were checked for the above nuclear phenotypes. Results: Smokers presented more (p < 0.05) micronucleated oral mucosa cells than non-smokers. Tobacco smoke was not able to increase other nuclear alterations closely related to cytotoxicity such as karyorrhexis, pyknosis and karyolysis. Conclusion: In summary, these data indicate that the cigarette is able to induce micronuclei in oral mucosa cells, so the micronucleus test is a suitable method for predicting oral cancer risk.
Interferon-Stimulated Gene 15, a Type I Interferon-Dependent Transcript, Is Involved in a Negative Feedback Loop in Innate Immune Reactions in Human Mesangial Cells
Authors: Imaizumi Tadaatsu , Shimada Taku , Matsumiya Tomoh , Yoshida Hidemi , Watanabe Shojiro , Tsuruga Kazushi , Kawaguchi Shogo , Murakami Manabu , Joh Kensuke , Tanaka Hiroshi
Published: February 2016

Background: Since innate immunity plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of glomerulonephritis, the activation of toll-like receptor (TLR) 3/type I interferon (IFN) cascades is important in glomerular inflammation. However, the role of IFN-stimulated gene 15 (ISG15), a type IFN-dependent transcript, in glomerular inflammation is unclear. We, therefore, examined the role of ISG15 in innate immune reactions induced by TLR3 signaling in cultured human mesangial cells (MCs). Methods: We treated MCs with polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly IC), an authentic double-stranded RNA, and analyzed the ISG15 expression by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. To examine the regulation of ISG15 expression, we subjected MCs to RNA interference (siRNA) against TLR3, IFN-β, ISG56, and melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5). Results: ISG15 expression induced by poly IC in MCs was inhibited by siRNA against TLR3 and IFN-β, whereas silencing of ISG56 or MDA5 had no effect. A knockdown of ISG15 upregulated the expression of ISG56, MDA5, CXCL10 and phosphorylated signal transducers and activators of transcription protein 1 (P-STAT1), while a knockdown of ubiquitin-like modifier activating enzyme 7, a key enzyme that conjugates ISG15 to target proteins, did not affect the expression. Knockdown of ubiquitin specific protease 18, an ISG15 isopeptidase, also upregulated P-STAT1, ISG56, MDA5 and CXCL10. Conclusion: Since unconjugated free ISG15 negatively regulates the phosphorylation of STAT1 and its downstream reactions, ISG15 dysregulation may be involved in the pathogenesis of glomerular inflammation. We believe that suitable interventions in these innate immune cascades is desirable for the future therapeutic strategies for glomerulonephritis.
Renal Biopsy in 2015 - From Epidemiology to Evidence-Based Indications
Authors: Fiorentino Marco , Bolignano Davide , Tesar Vladimir , Pisano Anna , Van Biesen Wim , D''Arrigo Graziella , Tripepi Giovanni , Gesualdo Loreto ,   On behalf of the ERA-EDTA Immunonephrology Working Group
Published: February 2016

Background: Although the number of patients reaching end-stage kidney disease without a biopsy-proven diagnosis is increasing, the utility of renal biopsy is still an object of debate. We analyzed epidemiological data and the main indications for renal biopsy with a systematic, evidence-based review at current literature. Summary: There is a high discrepancy observed in biopsy rates and in the epidemiology of glomerular diseases worldwide, related to the different time frame of the analyzed reports, lack of data collection, the different reference source population and the heterogeneity of indications. The evidence-based analysis of indications showed that renal biopsy should be crucial in adults with nephrotic syndrome or urinary abnormalities as coexistent hematuria and proteinuria and in corticosteroid resistant-children with severe proteinuria. The knowledge of renal histology can change the clinical management in patients with acute kidney injury significantly, after the exclusion of pre-renal or obstructive causes of kidney damage. Scarce evidence indicates that renal biopsy can be useful in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease and its use should always be considered after weighing the benefits and potential risks. Renal biopsy should be crucial in patients with renal involvement due to systemic disease. In patients with diabetes with atypical features, renal biopsy may be fundamental to diagnose an unexpected parenchymal disease mislabeled as diabetic nephropathy. Finally, in elderly patients, the indications and the risks are not different from those in the general population. Key Message: Renal biopsy still remains a concrete approach for managing a substantial percentage of renal diseases.
Spanish Consensus Guidelines on prophylaxis with bypassing agents in patients with haemophilia and inhibitors
Authors: Roca Carmen Altisent , Álvarez-Román Maria Teresa , Canaro Hirnyk Mariana Isabel , Mingot-Castellano Maria Eva , Jiménez-Yuste Víctor , Cid Haro Ana Rosa , Pérez-Garrido Rosario , Sedano Balbas Carmen , López-Fernández Maria Fernanda
Published: February 2016

Prophylaxis with the blood clotting factor, factor VIII (FVIII) is ineffective for individuals with haemophilia A and high-titre inhibitors to FVIII. Prophylaxis with the FVIII bypassing agents activated prothrombin complex concentrates (aPCC; FEIBA® Baxalta) or recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa; Novo-Seven®, Novo Nordisk) may be an effective alternative. It was our aim to develop evidence -and expert opinion- based guidelines for prophylactic therapy for patients with high-titre inhibitors to FVIII. A panel of nine Spanish haematologists undertook a systematic review of the literature to develop consensusbased guidance. Particular consideration was given to prophylaxis in patients prior to undergoing immune tolerance induction (ITI) (a process of continued exposure to FVIII that can restore sensitivity for some patients), during the ITI period and for those not undergoing ITI or for whom ITI had failed. These guidelines offer guidance for clinicians in deciding which patients might benefit from prophylaxis with FVIII bypassing agents, the most appropriate agents in various clinical settings related to ITI, doses and dosing regimens and how best to monitor the efficacy of prophylaxis. The paper includes recommendations on when to interrupt or stop prophylaxis and special safety concerns during prophylaxis. These consensus guidelines offer the most comprehensive evaluation of the clinical evidence base to date and should be of considerable benefit to clinicians facing the challenge of managing patients with severe haemophilia A with high-titre FVIII inhibitors.
High mortality in patients presenting with acute pulmonary embolism and elevated INR not on anticoagulant therapy
Authors: Wong Christopher , Lau Jerrett , Chow Vincent , Chen Vivien , Yong Andy , Sindone Andrew , Marwick Thomas , Kritharides Leonard , Ng Austin , Ng Arnold
Published: February 2016

The prognostic significance of patients presenting with pulmonary embolism (PE) and elevated International Normalised Ratio (INR) not on anticoagulant therapy has not been described. We investigated whether these patients had higher mortality compared to patients with normal INR. A retrospective study of patients admitted to a tertiary hospital with acute PE from 2000 to 2012 was undertaken, with study outcomes tracked using a state-wide death registry. Patients were excluded if they were taking anticoagulants or had inadequate documentation of their INR and medication status. Of the 1,039 patients identified, 94 (9 %) had an elevated INR (> 1.2) in the absence of anticoagulant use. These patients had higher mortality at six months follow-up (26 % vs 6 %, p< 0.001) compared to controls (INR ≤ 1.2). An INR > 1.2 at diagnosis was an independent predictor of death at six months post-PE (hazard ratio [HR] 2.9, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 1.8–4.7, p< 0.001). The addition of INR to a multivariable model that included the simplified pulmonary embolism severity index (sPESI), chest pain, and serum sodium led to a significant net reclassification improvement estimated at 8.1 %. The final model’s C statistic increased significantly by 0.04 (95 % CI 0.01–0.08, p=0.03) to 0.83 compared to sPESI alone (0.79). In summary, patients presenting with acute PE and elevated INR while not on anticoagulant therapy appear to be at high risk of death. Future validation studies in independent cohorts will clarify if this novel finding can be usefully incorporated into clinical decision making in patients with acute PE.
Oral anticoagulation, stroke and thromboembolism in patients with atrial fibrillation and valve bioprosthesis
Authors: Philippart Raphael , Brunet-Bernard Anne , Clementy Nicolas , Bourguignon Thierry , Mirza Alain , Angoulvant Denis , Babuty Dominique , Lip Gregory Y. H. , Fauchier Laurent
Published: February 2016

Vitamin K antagonists are currently recommended in patients with ‘valvular’ atrial fibrillation (AF), e. g. those having mitral stenosis or artificial heart valves. We compared thromboembolic risk in patients with ‘non valvular’ AF and in those with AF and biological valve replacement (valve bioprosthesis). Among 8962 AF patients seen between 2000 and 2010, a diagnosis of ‘non-valvular AF’ was found in 8053 (94 %). Among patients with ‘valvular’ AF, 549 (6 %) had a biological prosthesis. The patients with bioprosthesis were older and had a higher CHA2DS2-VASc score than those with non valvular AF. After a follow-up of 876 é 1048 days (median 400 days, interquartile range 12–1483), the occurrence of thromboembolic events was similar in AF patients with bioprosthesis compared to those with ‘non valvular’ AF (hazard ratio [HR] 1.10 95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.83–1.45, p=0.52, adjusted HR 0.93, 95 %CI 0.68–1.25, p=0.61). Factors independently associated with increased risk of stroke/TE events were older age (HR 1.25, 95 %CI 1.16–1.34 per 10-year increase, p> 0.0001) and higher CHA2DS2-VASc score (HR 1.35, 95 %CI 1.24–1.46, p> 0.0001) whilst female gender (HR 0.75, 95 %CI 0.62–0.90, p=0.002), use of vitamin K antagonist (HR 0.83, 95 %CI 0.71–0.98, p=0.03) were independently associated with a lower risk of stroke/TE. Neither the presence of bioprosthesis nor the location of bioprosthesis was independent predictor for TE events. In conclusion, AF patients with bioprosthesis had a non-significantly higher risk of stroke/TE events compared to patients with non-valvular AF. Second, the CHA2DS2-VASc score was independently associated with an increased risk of TE events, and was a valuable determinant of TE risk both in AF patients with non-valvular AF as well as those with bioprosthesis, whether treated or not treated with OAC.

Note: The review process for this paper was fully handled by Christian Weber, Editor in Chief.
Revisiting Cardiac Cellular Composition
Authors: Pinto Alexander R. , Ilinykh Alexei , Ivey Malina J. , Kuwabara Jill T. , D’Antoni Michelle L. , Debuque Ryan , Chandran Anjana , Wang Lina , Arora Komal , Rosenthal Nadia A. , Tallquist Michelle D.
Published: February 2016

Rationale:

Accurate knowledge of the cellular composition of the heart is essential to fully understand the changes that occur during pathogenesis and to devise strategies for tissue engineering and regeneration.

Objective:

To examine the relative frequency of cardiac endothelial cells, hematopoietic-derived cells, and fibroblasts in the mouse and human heart.

Methods and Results:

Using a combination of genetic tools and cellular markers, we examined the occurrence of the most prominent cell types in the adult mouse heart. Immunohistochemistry revealed that endothelial cells constitute >60%, hematopoietic-derived cells 5% to 10%, and fibroblasts <20% of the nonmyocytes in the heart. A refined cell isolation protocol and an improved flow cytometry approach provided an independent means of determining the relative abundance of nonmyocytes. High-dimensional analysis and unsupervised clustering of cell populations confirmed that endothelial cells are the most abundant cell population. Interestingly, fibroblast numbers are smaller than previously estimated, and 2 commonly assigned fibroblast markers, Sca-1 and CD90, under-represent fibroblast numbers. We also describe an alternative fibroblast surface marker that more accurately identifies the resident cardiac fibroblast population.

Conclusions:

This new perspective on the abundance of different cell types in the heart demonstrates that fibroblasts comprise a relatively minor population. By contrast, endothelial cells constitute the majority of noncardiomyocytes and are likely to play a greater role in physiological function and response to injury than previously appreciated.
RNA Splicing
Authors: van den Hoogenhof Maarten M.G. , Pinto Yigal M. , Creemers Esther E.
Published: February 2016

RNA splicing represents a post-transcriptional mechanism to generate multiple functional RNAs or proteins from a single transcript. The evolution of RNA splicing is a prime example of the Darwinian function follows form concept. A mutation that leads to a new mRNA (form) that encodes for a new functional protein (function) is likely to be retained, and this way, the genome has gradually evolved to encode for genes with multiple isoforms, thereby creating an enormously diverse transcriptome. Advances in technologies to characterize RNA populations have led to a better understanding of RNA processing in health and disease. In the heart, alternative splicing is increasingly being recognized as an important layer of post-transcriptional gene regulation. Moreover, the recent identification of several cardiac splice factors, such as RNA-binding motif protein 20 and SF3B1, not only provided important insight into the mechanisms underlying alternative splicing but also revealed how these splicing factors impact functional properties of the heart. Here, we review our current knowledge of alternative splicing in the heart, with a particular focus on the major and minor spliceosome, the factors controlling RNA splicing, and the role of alternative splicing in cardiac development and disease.
Extracellular Ribonucleic Acids (RNA) Enter the Stage in Cardiovascular Disease
Authors: Zernecke Alma , Preissner Klaus T.
Published: February 2016

Inflammatory and ischemic cardiovascular diseases, especially atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction, remain the number one cause of death in the Western world, whereas the therapeutic options currently available are still limited. Several recent findings have indicated that nucleic acids, particularly extracellular ribosomal RNA and micro-RNAs, significantly contribute to the adverse outcome of atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, and other cardiovascular diseases. Extracellular RNAs act as novel danger-associated molecular pattern signals and potent cofactors in cardiovascular inflammation and thrombosis, particularly when accumulating in the extracellular space under tissue-damaging or pathological conditions. In this concise review article, the different entities of extracellular RNAs, their cellular sources, and their putative functional contribution to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases will be discussed. In fact, it remains a tightrope walk for these polyanionic molecules outside cells to promote defense reactions on the one side but to provoke cardiovascular disease development on the other side, dependent on their concentration, the environmental conditions, and the cellular stimuli engaged. Thus, we will discuss the mechanisms and cellular responses by which extracellular RNAs operate between defense and disease. Finally, natural counteracting molecules, such as RNase1, will be focused on to elaborate their protective functions in the context of inflammatory and ischemic cardiovascular diseases with the possibility to apply them as novel interventional strategies.
Mutable Form and Materiality: Toward a Critical History of New Tapestry Networks
Authors: Gerschultz Jessica
Published: February 2016

This article raises two concerns underpinning the need for a critical history of fiber art in the 20th century. The first is a critique of aesthetic formalism predominant in the Lausanne Biennale during the 1960s and 70s, which overlooks artistic, ideological, and political milieus that drew together textile artists from localities formerly treated as peripheral in art history. The second holds to account Euro-American institutions and related historiographies for their curatorial exclusion of Arab and African fiber artists. Such inclusion, I argue, would have conjured tapestry's deeper incongruities, which emanated from unresolved questions at the core of modernism: the assigning and appropriating of artistic identities, the evaded issue of state patronage, and the persistent ideological and aesthetic problem of craft and its framing within economies. By comparing three artists: Magdalena Abakanowicz, Jagoda Buic, and Safia Farhat, I reassess New Tapestry networks, myths, and systems of state and institutional support. The circulation of Abakanowicz, Buic, and Farhat around a conflux of dimensions signals a new pathway for recovering and writing a history of fiber art, and perhaps a reflection on modernism at large.
Cultural Capital and Education in St. Petersburg: The Noble Cadet Corps, 1732–1762
Authors: Fedyukin Igor , Gabdrakhmanov Salavat
Published: February 2016

Two types of proxy indicators—father’s type of service to the state and previous exposure to Western learning—can help to assess the role that cultural capital played in the rank at which cadets graduated from the elite Noble Land Cadet Corps in post-Petrine Russia. The results suggest that even in the post-Petrine period, despite its overall institutional weakness, a framework that rewarded “Westernized” culture was still possible. Moreover, this analysis suggests that the post-Petrine state might have been able—as it promised—to sustain a meritocracy, at least within the confines of certain institutional and social oases.
The First Americans: The Current Debate
Authors: Klein Herbert S.
Published: February 2016

Scholars from multiple disciplines generally agree about new models for the origin and dating of migration to the Western Hemisphere, replacing the rigid Clovis-first model that had dominated texts for the past fifty years. This new research has not resolved all of the questions relating to this migration; serious controversies still exist. But the development of the new field of genetic studies and the recent opening of major South American archaeological sites has resolved many older debates and has provided a far more nuanced and complex early history of mankind in the Western Hemisphere than existed before.
Malthus and the North Atlantic Oscillation: A Reply to Kyle Harper
Authors: Brooke John L.
Published: February 2016

Subsequent to Harper’s review essay centered on Brooke’s Climate Change and the Course of Global History: A Rough Journey, Brooke concedes that he could have focused more attention on the problem of the Malthusian trap. He stresses, nevertheless, that his reservations regarding the concept of Malthusian crises in pre-industrial societies are well placed, given the concept’s prominence in the large-scale environmental histories written during the past several decades. Turning to the impact of climate change in late classical antiquity, Brooke discusses established and new evidence for increasing, sometimes catastrophic, precipitation from the Mediterranean area into central Asia after a.d. 500 and after 1250, as a result of shifts toward the negative mode of the North Atlantic Oscillation. He also surveys the evidence for emerging arguments that this cooling-driven precipitation may have triggered outbreaks of bubonic plague in Central Asia.
Assessing the Neural Correlates of Task-unrelated Thoughts during Episodic Encoding and Their Association with Subsequent Memory in Young and Older Adults
Authors: Maillet David , Rajah M. Natasha
Published: February 2016

Recent evidence indicates that young adults frequently exhibit task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs) such as mind-wandering during episodic encoding tasks and that TUTs negatively impact subsequent memory. In the current study, we assessed age-related differences in the frequency and neural correlates of TUTs during a source memory encoding task, as well as age-related differences in the relationship between the neural correlates of TUTs and subsequent source forgetting effects (i.e., source misses). We found no age-related differences in frequency of TUTs during fMRI scanning. Moreover, TUT frequency at encoding was positively correlated with source misses at retrieval across age groups. In both age groups, brain regions including bilateral middle/superior frontal gyri and precuneus were activated to a greater extent during encoding for subsequent source misses versus source hits and during TUTs versus on-task episodes. Overall, our results reveal that, during a source memory encoding task in an fMRI environment, young and older adults exhibit a similar frequency of TUTs and that experiencing TUTs at encoding is associated with decreased retrieval performance. In addition, in both age groups, experiencing TUTs at encoding is associated with increased activation in some of the same regions that exhibit subsequent source forgetting effects.
Boeotian Accentuation in the Ancient Editions of Boeotian Poetry
Authors: Vessella Carlo
Published: February 2016

This paper argues that the papyri containing Boeotian poetry provide no evidence in support of a dialect-specific accentuation of Boeotian. Lectional signs on the extant papyri of Boeotian poetry follow for the most part the current accentuation practice of the 2nd and 3rd centuriesce, equating Boeotian to the standard of Attic and the Koine: in their editions of Boeotian texts modern editors should refrain from introducing accentuation that does not follow that standard.
Senecas Thyestes und der ‚Fürstenspiegel‘ für Nero
Authors: Schwazer Oliver
Published: February 2016

For several centuries, there has been a vivid discussion on the purpose of Seneca’s tragedies. Throughout the 20th century, it has been questioned multiple times why Seneca philosophus would engage in writing drama as well. While contributions on the intertextual relationship between his philosophical treatises, mainly the Letters to Lucilius, and his tragedies, which have shown points of intersection in terms of Stoic dogmas, are widely accepted, the question of addressee has been controversially disputed. In this article I analyse the relationship between the prose treatise De clementia and the tragedy Thyestes, highlighting the similarities in content and finally proposing an interpretation of the latter as ‘mirror’ for the Emperor Nero. In due course, I shall point out that the two oeuvres are complementary and follow the same purpose: addressed at Nero, they aim at teaching him Stoic doctrines about the ideal emperor’s behaviour.
Post-Islamist Transformations in Morocco
Authors: Delgado Jibreel
Published: February 2016

This article explores the continuities and ruptures of modern Islamic social movements starting with the reformist salafiyya of Egypt, North Africa, and the Levant, moving through the Islamic political activism of the Muslim Brotherhood along with its various affiliated political parties in the Middle East and North Africa (mena), and finally the radical Jihadist militant groups calling for armed insurgency in parts of the mena as well as globally. After an extensive overview of the varied movements within Salafism in its global context, I will hone in on its articulation in Morocco, its relations with other Islamist movements, as well as with the Moroccan monarchical authoritarian system. I argue that in the wake of post-Islamist adopting of human rights discourse and notions of pluralism in the workings of the Justice and Development Party (pjd) government, the Salafi trend is also undertaking a transformation in Morocco. Placed in its historical and social contexts, however, I show that this trend has never been static and continues to change in relation to competing and collaborating Islamist trends as well as toward the Moroccan government.
Lepiota thailandica (Agaricaceae), a new species from Thailand

Authors: Sysouphanthong Phongeun , GUO JIAYU , HYDE KEVIN D. , XU JIANCHU , MORTIMER PETER E.
Published: February 2016

Lepiota thailandica, widely distributed across northern Thailand, is described as a new species and is recognizable by its tiny basidiomata, convex or umbonate pileus, covered with reddish brown squamules on a white fibrillose background, free lamellae, white cylindrical stipe sometimes with brown squamules at the basal zone, hyaline and ellipsoid to oblong ovoid basidiospores, clavate to utriform cheilocystidia, trichodermal structure of squamules on the pileus and stipe, and clamp-connections in all tissues. Morphological characters and nrITS sequence data indicate that the species belongs in the section Ovisporae, subsection Felininae, which contains species with a trichodermal pileus covering made up of long and short elements.
Rediscovery and new records of Adenocalymma (Bignonieae, Bignoniaceae) in Southeastern Brazil
Authors: Udulutsch Renata Giassi , Dias Pedro , Souza Vinicius Castro
Published: February 2016

Collecting expeditions carried out in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro states have led to the rediscovery of Adenocalymma bullatum, known previously only by three collections made 70 years ago.New records of Adenocalymma bullatum from São Paulo and A. cinereum from São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are reported. In addition, A. macrophyllum is rediscovered in Rio de Janeiro State after the type collections made 180 years ago by Friedrich Sellow. In this paper, we provide descriptions, comments on the affinities among closely related species, and conservation assessments, as well as illustrations.
Subtribal relationships in Cymbidieae (Epidendroideae, Orchidaceae) reveal a new subtribe, Dipodiinae, based on plastid and nuclear coding DNA
Authors: Li Ming-He , Zhang Guo-Qiang , Liu Zhong-Jian , Lan Si-Ren
Published: February 2016

The subtribal delimitation and relationship of Old World Cymbidiinae and Eulophiinae within Cymbidieae remain unresolved. Relationships among all subtribes of Cymbidieae (Orchidaceae: Epidendroideae) were estimated using the coding genes psaB, rbcL, matK, ycf1 and Xdh for 103 taxa. The results indicate that most of the clades are successively sister to the grade of clades representing previously recognized subtribes, and Dipodium does not belong in its previous classification of Cymbidiinae and Eulophiinae. Instead, this genus represents an additional isolated lineage.
A new genus and twenty new species of Australian jumping plant-lice (Psylloidea: Triozidae) from Eremophila and Myoporum (Scrophulariaceae: Myoporeae)
Authors: TAYLOR GARY S. , FAGAN-JEFFRIES ERINN P. , AUSTIN ANDY D.
Published: February 2016

The Triozidae is a diverse, cosmopolitan family of jumping plant-lice (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) from an exceptionally diverse range of plant families, but with few described Australian species. As a direct outcome of the Australian Biological Resources Study Bush Blitz species discovery program, many new Psylloidea from novel host plants in remote localities have been revealed. In this study a new genus Myotrioza Taylor gen. nov. and 20 new species are described from southern and central Australia which also establishes the first host plant records from Eremophila and Myoporum (Scrophulariaceae: Myoporeae). New species, delineated using a combination of morphological and mitochondrial COI sequence data, are: Myotrioza clementsiana sp. nov., M. darwinensis sp. nov., M. desertorum sp. nov., M. eremi sp. nov., M. eremophili sp. nov., M. flindersiana sp.nov., M. gawlerensis sp. nov., M. insularis sp. nov., M. interioris sp. nov., M. interstantis sp. nov., M. longifoliae sp. nov., M. markmitchelli sp. nov., M. myopori sp. nov., M. oppositifoliae sp. nov., M. pantonii sp. nov., M. platycarpi sp. nov., M. remota sp. nov., M. scopariae sp. nov., M. serrulatae sp. nov., and M. telowiensis sp. nov. Genetic divergence data, host associations, biogeographic data, diagnoses and a key to species are presented. Myotrioza appears to be particularly diverse in ephemeral southern Australia, especially in inland Western Australia and South Australia, matching regions of high diversity of the host genera; some species are likely to be short range endemics.
Contribution to the knowledge of Turkish stoneflies with annotated catalogue (Insecta: Plecoptera)
Authors: DARILMAZ MUSTAFA CEMAL , SALUR ALİ , Murányi DáVID , VINÇON GILLES
Published: February 2016

The stoneflies of Turkey are reviewed providing all known distributions and including new records. Additionally, ecological and biogeographical notes are given. The genus Taeniopteryx Pictet 1841 is reported from Turkey for the first time and 12 species new for the Turkish fauna: Leuctra joosti Braasch 1970, L. kopetdaghi Zhiltzova 1972, Protonemura rauschi Theischinger 1975, P. strandschaensis Braasch & Joost 1972, Nemoura asceta Murányi 2007, N. cambrica Stephens 1836, N. uncinata Despax 1934, Taeniopteryx caucasica Zhiltzova 1981, Brachyptera risi (Morton 1896), Pontoperla katherinae (Balinsky 1950), Siphonoperla neglecta (Rostock 1881), and Bulgaroperla mirabilis nigrita Zwick 1978.          Protonemura bithynica Aubert 1964 and Nemoura turcica Zwick 1972 are recognized as full species. The previously unknown female of Leuctra marilouae Vinçon & Sivec 2001 is described. The type locality is also given for each species located in Turkey.          The distributions of several rare endemic species are augmented by additional new records (Leuctra aculeata Zwick 1982, L. brachyptera Kazancı 1985, L. karcali Vinçon & Sivec 2001, L. kurui Kazancı 1983, L. marilouae Vinçon & Sivec 2001, L. sipahilerae Vinçon & Sivec 2001, L. theischingeri Vinçon & Sivec 2001, Protonemura bacurianica bacurianica Zhiltzova 1957, P. oreas Martynov 1928, P. spinulata Martynov 1928 (first confirmed records from Anatolia), P. triangulata Martynov 1928, Nemoura dromokeryx Theischinger 1976, N. martynovia Claassen 1936, and Brachyptera berkii Kazancı 2001.          Several species previously reported only from females are excluded from the Turkish fauna: Leuctra minuta minuta Zhiltzova 1960, L. svanetica Zhiltzova 1960, P. dilatata Martynov 1928. Other species are also excluded from the Turkish fauna: L. fusca fusca (Linnaeus 1758), N. carpathica Illies 1963, Siphonoperla burmeisteri (Pictet 1841), and S. libanica Alouf, 1992.          According to literature and our new faunistic data, 117 stonefly taxa representing 7 families and 24 genera are known from Turkey. Among them, 44 are endemic species from Anatolia.
A review of the genus Pycnoglypta Thomson, 1858 (Staphylinidae, Omaliinae, Omaliini) with notes on related taxa
Authors: SHAVRIN ALEXEY V.
Published: February 2016

A review of Pycnoglypta Thomson, 1858, including a redefinition of the genus, is given. Lectotype of Omalium luridum Gyllenhal, 1813 is designated. The seven species of the genus are placed into three species groups, including the new monotypic baicalica group. Dropephylla sibirica (Mäklin 1878) comb. nov. is transferred from the genus Pycnoglypta and redescribed; consequently, the Dropephylla sibirica species group, which had been diagnosed before by Gusarov within the genus Pycnoglypta, is reestablished in place of the Dropephylla puella species group erected by Jászay & Hlaváč based on erroneous identification of the nominate species. A new synonymy is established: Dropephylla linearis (Zetterstedt 1828) = D. puella (J. Sahlberg 1880) syn. nov. (=Phyllodrepa puella J. Sahlberg 1880). A key to all species of Pycnoglypta and all Siberian and Far Eastern Dropephylla species is provided. Both male and female genitalia and terminalia as well as other main morphological structures are figured anew; distributional data are provided and mapped for all the species discussed.
On the Structure and Dynamics of Indian Monsoon Depressions
Authors: Hunt Kieran M. R. , Turner Andrew G. , Inness Peter M. , Parker David E. , Levine Richard C.
Published: February 2016

ERA-Interim reanalysis data from the past 35 years have been used with a newly developed feature tracking algorithm to identify Indian monsoon depressions originating in or near the Bay of Bengal. These were then rotated, centralized, and combined to give a fully three-dimensional 106-depression composite structure—a considerably larger sample than any previous detailed study on monsoon depressions and their structure. Many known features of depression structure are confirmed, particularly the existence of a maximum to the southwest of the center in rainfall and other fields and a westward axial tilt in others. Additionally, the depressions are found to have significant asymmetry owing to the presence of the Himalayas, a bimodal midtropospheric potential vorticity core, a separation into thermally cold (~−1.5 K) and neutral (~0 K) cores near the surface with distinct properties, and the center has very large CAPE and very small CIN. Variability as a function of background state has also been explored, with land–coast–sea, diurnal, ENSO, active–break, and Indian Ocean dipole contrasts considered. Depressions are found to be markedly stronger during the active phase of the monsoon, as well as during La Niña. Depressions on land are shown to be more intense and more tightly constrained to the central axis. A detailed schematic diagram of a vertical cross section through a composite depression is also presented, showing its inherent asymmetric structure.
Growth Charts for Prader-Willi Syndrome During Growth Hormone Treatment
Authors: Butler Merlin G. , Lee Jaehoon , Cox Devin M. , Manzardo Ann M. , Gold June-Anne , Miller Jennifer L. , Roof Elizabeth , Dykens Elisabeth , Kimonis Virginia , Driscoll Daniel J.
Published: February 2016

The purpose of the current study was to develop syndrome-specific standardized growth curves for growth hormone–treated Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) individuals aged 0 to 18 years. Anthropometric growth-related measures were obtained on 171 subjects with PWS who were treated with growth hormone for at least 40% of their lifespan. They had no history of scoliosis. PWS standardized growth curves were developed for 7 percentile ranges using the LMS method for weight, height, head circumference, weight/length, and BMI along with normative 3rd, 50th, and 97th percentiles plotted using control data from the literature and growth databases. Percentiles were plotted on growth charts for comparison purposes. Growth hormone treatment appears to normalize stature and markedly improves weight in PWS compared with standardized curves for non–growth hormone–treated PWS individuals. Growth chart implications and recommended usage are discussed.
Firm Size vis-à-vis Industry Size and Innovation in a Dominant Firm-fringes Oligopoly Model
Authors: Shukla Richa , Bhattacharyya Surajit , Narayanan K.
Published: February 2016

This article explores the possibility of associating firm size vis-à-vis industry size with firm-level R&D led-innovation and the resultant impact(s) on industry level output and price. We consider an oligopolistic industry having one dominant firm and some fringes. Innovation by the dominant firm is viewed both as a technological breakthrough and as (cost) augmenting monetary expenditure. When innovation is considered as technological breakthrough, then for the benevolent industry leader, its scope for output expansion is more if R&D is induced by the industry size vis-à-vis firm size. However, when R&D led innovation is seen as cost augmenting, then the industry size induced innovation yields greater output if the dominant firm acts as a Stackelberg leader. Therefore, we show that exploiting the industry size renders a higher incentive to innovate for the industry leader in terms of capacity expansion.
Competition, Openness and Inequality of Firm Size in the Indian Manufacturing
Authors: Govinda Hariprasad
Published: February 2016

This article is an attempt to study the impacts of trade openness and competition on inequality of firm size in the Indian manufacturing during 1990–2010. A number of empirical studies have observed a positive skewness in the size distribution of firms (log-normal distribution) and an increasing concern over raising inequality of firm sizes in the industry.

I have attempted to study the direction of the causation between export openness and inequality of firm size distribution (FSD), which is not often studied so far, despite it being purely empirical. The empirical results clearly show that export openness is statistically significant (1 per cent) throughout all the models and has negative effects on inequality. This is one interesting and robust empirical finding that export openness has the capability to reduce inter-firm performance differences, and hence, reducing inequality in FSD.
Keep Your Scanners Peeled
Authors: Hergeth Sebastian , Lorenz Lutz , Vilimek Roman , Krems Josef F.
Published: February 2016

Objective:

The feasibility of measuring drivers’ automation trust via gaze behavior during highly automated driving was assessed with eye tracking and validated with self-reported automation trust in a driving simulator study.

Background:

Earlier research from other domains indicates that drivers’ automation trust might be inferred from gaze behavior, such as monitoring frequency.

Method:

The gaze behavior and self-reported automation trust of 35 participants attending to a visually demanding non-driving-related task (NDRT) during highly automated driving was evaluated. The relationship between dispositional, situational, and learned automation trust with gaze behavior was compared.

Results:

Overall, there was a consistent relationship between drivers’ automation trust and gaze behavior. Participants reporting higher automation trust tended to monitor the automation less frequently. Further analyses revealed that higher automation trust was associated with lower monitoring frequency of the automation during NDRTs, and an increase in trust over the experimental session was connected with a decrease in monitoring frequency.

Conclusion:

We suggest that (a) the current results indicate a negative relationship between drivers’ self-reported automation trust and monitoring frequency, (b) gaze behavior provides a more direct measure of automation trust than other behavioral measures, and (c) with further refinement, drivers’ automation trust during highly automated driving might be inferred from gaze behavior.

Application:

Potential applications of this research include the estimation of drivers’ automation trust and reliance during highly automated driving.
Neglect and hereditary risk: Their relative contribution to schizophrenia with negative symptomatology
Authors: Gallagher Bernard J , Jones Brian J
Published: February 2016

Background:

There is evidence that genetic and environmental stressors contribute to the genesis of schizophrenia. However, the relevant impact of each factor remains unclear. We tested for an interactive effect between childhood neglect and family history of serious mental illness. Data were further analyzed for a possible connection to type of schizophrenic symptoms.

Sampling/Methods:

Data for the study are taken from the medical records of 641 patients with schizophrenia from a large state hospital in the northeastern United States. Clinical assessments were divided into positive and negative symptomatology through application of the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS), the Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms (SAPS) and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Detailed information about childhood neglect and family history of serious mental illness was obtained through Social Service Assessment interviews at intake and during hospital stay.

Results:

Among clients with no family history of mental illness, childhood neglect does not meaningfully affect the risk of negative versus positive schizophrenia. For clients with such history, on the other hand, neglect significantly raises the risk of schizophrenia with negative symptomatology.

Conclusion:

Our central finding is that risk for negative symptoms of schizophrenia are elevated by childhood neglect combined with a history of serious mental illness within the family. This is the only report to combine schizophrenic symptoms, familial risk and childhood neglect to date. Implications for primary prevention and treatment are discussed.
The Trade Effects of Africa−India Trade Agreements
Authors: Kareem Olayinka Idowu
Published: February 2016

There have been trade interactions between Africa and some Asian countries, specifically India, a South–South trade relation, which are accompanied with outcomes that are based on output, macroeconomic stability and compliant with the agreements reached at different points in time. This study investigates the effects of Africa’s trade agreements with India on Africa’s exports. The findings suggest that there are potentials for Africa’s exports in India. The trade agreements in Africa−India trade relations were marginally trade-enhancing, while Indian high tariffs did not debar Africa’s exports access. However, the non-tariff barriers were more pronounced than the tariff barriers.
A Comparison of Goal Setting and Reputational Orientations of African Adolescents From Refugee Backgrounds in Intensive English Centers and Mainstream Secondary School Classrooms
Authors: Gunasekera Sashya , Houghton Stephen , Glasgow Ken , Carroll Annemaree , Hunter Simon C.
Published: February 2016

We compared the goals, reputations and behaviours of three groups: African adolescents from refugee backgrounds in Australian Intensive English Centres (IEC), African adolescents who have transitioned from an IEC into mainstream schooling, and Australian mainstream adolescents. We posit the need for African adolescents from refugee backgrounds to identify with the dominant social group within the IEC and mainstream settings is important for the goals they set, the reputations they choose, and the manner in which they pursue them. To this end, we conducted a cross sectional comparison through Reputation Enhancing Goals Theory, an approach congruent with sociocultural adaptation. We found African adolescents in IEC contexts set academic goals associated with a conforming reputation, whereas African adolescents in mainstream schooling set social goals associated with a non-conforming reputation. Australian mainstream students had an equal split between academic and social goals and conforming/non-conforming reputations. Each of the three groups indulged in behaviours congruent with the goals set and reputation sought. A series of multiple-mediation models revealed significant indirect effects on a number of variables via School Connectedness, Control over most important goal, and to a lesser extent Goals. African adolescents in mainstream schooling attempt to adapt to another dominant culture (i.e., mainstream peers) on transitioning from IEC, but face confusion about who they are and who they wish to be. The implications for adolescents from African refuge backgrounds is, that while placing them in IECs for up to two years is laudable, further support is needed when they transition to mainstream schooling.
The spatiality of counter-austerity politics in Athens, Greece: Emergent ‘urban solidarity spaces’
Authors: Arampatzi Athina
Published: February 2016

Grassroots responses and alternatives to austerity that have emerged in Athens and Greece call for a re-thinking of the recent neoliberal crisis through articulations of contestation ‘from below’. This paper addresses this yet nascent theoretical debate through the notion of ‘urban solidarity spaces’, focusing on the spatiality of counter-austerity politics that emerges in and out of places and expands across urban space and beyond. From survival tactics grounded in Athenian neighbourhoods, such as local solidarity initiatives; to solidarity structures and cooperatives; and broader strategies of transformation and alternatives, such as the formation of a solidarity economy. These aim to constitute an empowering process of solidarity-making ‘from below’, and open up spaces for the practice of bottom-up democratic politics vis-à-vis austerity, a ‘politics of fear’ and crisis. The arguments raised here methodologically draw on activist ethnographic research in the ‘Athens of crisis’, between 2012 and 2013.
Dealing with dislocation
Authors: Datta Ankur
Published: February 2016

This article addresses two questions: first, how do communities facing protracted displacement deal with the experience of migration and place-making? Second, how do notions of home mediate this relationship? I approach these questions by taking the case of Kashmiri Pandits, the upper caste Hindu minority of the Kashmir valley, who were displaced due to the outbreak of conflict in Jammu and Kashmir in 1989–90 and a significant section of whom were located in displaced persons’ camps during 1990–2011. The article draws upon discussions with Pandits who contrast nostalgia for life in Kashmir with experiences of re-establishing social and political relationships after displacement. Place and migration here are both treated as contexts and products of social activity that involve considerations of objects, physical environment and communal relationships. The article will argue that discussions of place and home are marked by a tension between desires for reclaiming home and security, and the condition of uncertainty faced by groups like Kashmiri Pandits in the present.
Possible Selves and Self-Regulatory Beliefs
Authors: Dark-Freudeman Alissa , West Robin L.
Published: February 2016

The present study identified middle-aged (ages 40–64) and older individuals (ages 65–90) who reported a highly important possible self related to health. The relationship between age, physical health, health efficacy, and psychological well-being were examined among these individuals. We tested a model in which health efficacy predicted both positive and negative psychological well-being. For both age groups, self-reported health predicted health self-efficacy; however, the direct effects of health efficacy on both positive and negative psychological well-being were also significant. Higher levels of health efficacy were associated with higher levels of positive psychological well-being and lower levels of negative well-being, as predicted. Physical health indirectly predicted well-being through its impact on health self-efficacy for middle-aged and older individuals who valued their health highly. Overall, these results support the notion that health efficacy related to a most important health self is a predictor of psychological well-being in mid and late life.