bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Buckwheat and Millet Affect Thermal, Rheological, and Gelling Properties of Wheat Flour
Authors: Wu Kao , Gan Renyou , Dai Shuhong , Cai Yi‐Zhong , Corke Harold , Zhu Fan
Published: February 2016

Buckwheat (BF) and millet (MF) are recommended as healthy foods due to their unique chemical composition and health benefits. This study investigated the thermal and rheological properties of BF‐WF (wheat flour) and MF‐WF flour blends at various ratios (0:100 to 100:0). Increasing BF or MF concentration led to higher cold paste viscosity and setback viscosity of pasting properties gel adhesiveness, storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″) of dynamic oscillatory rheology, and yield stress (σ0) of flow curve of WF. BF and MF addition decreased peak viscosity and breakdown of pasting, gel hardness, swelling volume, and consistency coefficient (K) of flow curve of WF. Thermal properties of the blends appeared additive of that of individual flour. Nonadditive effects were observed for some property changes in the mixtures, and indicated interactions between flour components. This may provide a physicochemical basis for using BF and MF in formulating novel healthy products.
Political connections, auditor choice and corporate accounting transparency: evidence from private sector firms in China
Authors: Liu Ye , Li Xindan , Zeng Haijian , An Yunbi
Published: February 2016

This article investigates the way in which political connections impact auditor choice. Using a political connection index constructed based on the bureaucratic ranks of executive managers and board members in Chinese private sector firms, we find that for firms with weak political connections, the likelihood of hiring high‐quality auditors increases with the degree of political connectedness, while it decreases with political connectedness for firms with strong political connections. This inverse U‐shaped relationship is particularly pronounced for firms with ownership structures that intensify agency problems. Finally, we find that political connections and accounting transparency also have an inverse U‐shaped relationship.
Nationwide and population‐based prescription patterns in bipolar disorder
Authors: Kessing Lars Vedel , Vradi Eleni , Andersen Per Kragh
Published: February 2016

Objectives

The aim of the present study was to describe prescription patterns and changes in these patterns over the last decade for patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder in mental healthcare, using population‐based and nationwide data, and to relate the findings to recommendations from international guidelines.

Methods

A population‐based, nationwide study was carried out. It included register‐based longitudinal data on all patients with a first‐ever contact with mental healthcare with a diagnosis of mania/bipolar disorder from the entire Danish population, and all prescription data for this population during the decade from 2000 to 2011, inclusive.

Results

A total of 3,205 patients were included in the study. Lithium was prescribed less, and antiepileptic and atypical antipsychotic agents were prescribed substantially more during the study period. Lithium went from being the first drug prescribed to being the last, and was replaced by atypical antipsychotic agents. Antiepileptic agents went from being the fourth to the second drug class prescribed, and the prescription of antidepressants was virtually unchanged, at a high level, during the decade (one‐year value 40–60%). The prescription of lamotrigine and quetiapine increased substantially. Combination therapy increased for all drug combinations, except for lithium combined with antidepressants.

Conclusions

Major changes took place in drug prescriptions during the study period. The decrease in the use of lithium and the constant high use of antidepressants do not align with recommendations from international guidelines.
Diversity of palm communities at different spatial scales in a recently fragmented tropical landscape
Authors: Browne Luke , Karubian Jordan
Published: February 2016

Habitat loss and landscape fragmentation are often associated with changes in biological communities at different spatial scales. Our goal in this study was to identify fragment characteristics and environmental variables linked to palm species richness, abundance and community similarity at local and landscape spatial scales and to contrast these patterns between adults and juveniles. We sampled palm communities in 22 fragments of Chocó rainforest in and around the Mache-Chindul Ecological Reserve in north-western Ecuador, where we recorded 9991 individuals of 23 palm species. At the landscape scale, fragment size and surrounding forest cover were not associated with species richness or abundance for either adults or juveniles. However, community similarity of juveniles was related to surrounding forest cover and the abundance of juveniles and adults increased with elevation. At the local scale, adults and juveniles differed in their relationships to environmental variables and distance to fragment edge: juveniles showed reduced species richness and different community composition near fragment edges compared with interior habitat, but adults did not. These results provide baseline information on palm communities in a poorly studied conservation hotspot and highlight the importance of considering multiple spatial scales and life stages in studies of habitat fragmentation.
John Porter Lecture: Liberal Nationalisms Revisited
Authors: Kennedy James
Published: February 2016

Liberal Nationalisms: Empire, State and Civil Society in Scotland and Quebec soutient que l’émergence et le caractère du nationalisme sont directement liés aux changements des modèles de gouvernance politique, ainsi que les politiques libérales sur lesquelles repose cette gouvernance. L'article se concentre sur l’émergence au début du vingtième siècle de deux groupes nationalistes en Écosse et au Québec: les Young Scots’ Society et la Ligne nationaliste canadienne. Les deux groupes ont démontré des nationalismes libéraux différents: (1) en réponse aux politiques exploitatrices impériales de l'Empire Britannique; (2) face à la perception d’échec de leurs États à efficacement accommoder les nations Écossaise et Canadienne Française et, plus problématiquement, (3) à la place d'une religion organisée dans la société civile. Leurs réponses démontrent l’émergence de nationalismes libéraux très distincts : un dont l'emphase était sur les droits individuels universels et l'autre dont les groupes particuliers étaient clairement favorisés. Cet article offre une réflexion plus poussée sur la relation entre le nationalisme et le libéralisme, plus précisément sur l'existence d'une relation symbiotique et plus généralement sur le fait que le libéralisme est atteint avec succès lorsqu'intégré au nationalisme.
What the Polls Do Show: Toward Enhanced Survey Readings of Religion in Canada
Authors: Bibby Reginald W. , Grenville Andrew
Published: February 2016

Depuis près de vingt ans, les résultats obtenus par les sondages visant les activités religieuses et les croyances ont semés beaucoup de confusion sur leur passage, particulièrement du fait que ces derniers,  présentés par des chercheurs académiques et des firmes de sondage privées, différaient souvent de ceux publiés par Statistiques Canada.  Les auteurs se sont penchés sur quatre sondages nationaux de type omnibus tenus en 2012 pour déterminer à quel point ces différences pouvaient être liées à des variations de méthodes quantitatives.  Ne trouvant pas de disparités notables, ils ont tourné leur attention vers les méthodes d’échantillonnages utilisées.  Ils se sont servis de données illustratives datant de 2012 et 2015 pour proposer que les divergences de conclusions obtenues soient largement dues aux  différentes approches d’échantillonnages.  Quoiqu'extrêmement difficile, ils en conviennent, la résolution de ce problème demeure un objectif à poursuivre.
Biochemical analysis of the living human vitreous
Authors: Kokavec Jan , Min San H , Tan Mei H , Gilhotra Jagjit S , Newland Henry S , Durkin Shane R , Grigg John , Casson Robert J
Published: February 2016

Background

To date, our understanding of the biochemical composition of the living human vitreous relies on extrapolations from animal or human post‐mortem studies.

Methods

This was a cross‐sectional study of vitreous samples from 27 individuals scheduled for retinal surgery within a tertiary hospital. From each vitreous sample, the concentrations of sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium, glucose, lactate, β‐ hydroxybutyrate, copper, zinc, selenium, iron, ferritin and transferrin and osmolality were measured. Perioperative serum samples were also obtained for comparison.

Results

The following vitreous mean ± standard deviation (95% confidence interval of the mean) was observed for each analyte: sodium, 146.7 ± 3.3 (145.4–148.0) mmol/L; potassium, 5.73 ± 0.86 (5.39–6.08) mmol/L; chloride, 121.6 ± 2.6 (120.6–122.7) mmol/L; calcium, 1.128 ± 0.518 (0.923–1.333) mmol/L; magnesium, 0.900 ± 0.158 (0.838–0.962) mmol/L; glucose, 2.97 ± 0.98 (2.58–3.36) mmol/L; lactate, 3.97 ± 1.09 (3.54–4.40) mmol/L; osmolality, 289.5 ± 6.9 (286.6–292.5) mOsm/kg; BOHB, 0.0937 ± 0.0472 (0.0750–0.1124) mmol/L; copper, 0.519 ± 0.269 (0.412–0.625) µmol/L; zinc, 1.95 ± 1.09 (1.52–2.38) µmol/L; selenium, 0.1035 ± 0.0276 (0.0923–0.1146) µmol/L; iron, 3.11 ± 1.40 (2.56–3.66) µmol/L; ferritin, 19.5 ± 10.3 (15.5–23.6) µg/L; transferrin, 0.0878 ± 0.0526 (0.0670–0.1086) g/L. Vitreous biochemistry was not significantly different between male and female participants. Vitreous biochemistry was significantly different between non‐diabetic and diabetic participants. Vitreous biochemistry was significantly different from the vitreous substitute BSS Plus (Alcon, USA). The vitreous extracted from living humans was markedly different from the commonly reported reference values obtained from animal studies.

Conclusions

The current data provide hitherto unavailable information about the biochemical composition of the living human vitreous.
Late anastomotic leakage after low anterior resection in rectal cancer patients: clinical characteristics and predisposing factors
Authors: Lim S.‐B. , Yu C. S. , Kim C. W. , Yoon Y. S. , Park I. J. , Kim J. C.
Published: February 2016

Aim

The purpose was to examine the clinical characteristics and predisposing factors of late anastomotic leakage following low anterior resection for rectal cancer.

Method

We retrospectively evaluated the clinicopathological features of patients who experienced anastomotic leakage after low anterior resection for rectal cancer. Patients were divided into two groups according to the time to leakage: early leakage (within 30 days postoperatively) and late leakage (after 30 days postoperatively). Clinicopathological characteristics were compared between the two groups.

Results

Anastomotic leakage occurred in 141 patients. Anastomotic leakage was diagnosed at a median of 17 (range 0–886) days postoperatively; 85 (60.3%) and 56 (39.7%) were categorized as the early and late leakage groups, respectively. Radiotherapy (hazard ratio 5.007; 95% CI 2.208–11.354; P < 0.0001) was the only significant independent predisposing factor for late leakage. Diverting stoma did not protect against late leakage. The late leakage group more frequently had the fistula type (46.4% vs 10.6%; P < 0.001) and less frequently needed laparotomy (55.4% vs 78.8%; P = 0.001). The rate of long‐term stoma over 1 year was greater in the late leakage than the early leakage group (51.8% vs 29.4%; P = 0.009).

Conclusion

Late anastomotic leakages that develop after 30 days following low anterior resection are not uncommon and may be associated with the use of radiotherapy. Late leakage should be a different entity from early leakage in terms of the type of leakage, methods of management and subsequent sequelae.
Categories of Large Numbers in Line Estimation
Authors: Landy David , Charlesworth Arthur , Ottmar Erin
Published: February 2016

How do people stretch their understanding of magnitude from the experiential range to the very large quantities and ranges important in science, geopolitics, and mathematics? This paper empirically evaluates how and whether people make use of numerical categories when estimating relative magnitudes of numbers across many orders of magnitude. We hypothesize that people use scale words—thousand, million, billion—to carve the large number line into categories, stretching linear responses across items within each category. If so, discontinuities in position and response time are expected near the boundaries between categories. In contrast to previous work (Landy, Silbert, & Goldin, 2013) that suggested only that a minority of college undergraduates employed categorical boundaries, we find that discontinuities near category boundaries occur in most or all participants, but that accurate and inaccurate participants respond in opposite ways to category boundaries. Accurate participants highlight contrasts within a category, whereas inaccurate participants adjust their responses toward category centers.
Rater reliability and scoring duration of the Quality Function Measure in ambulant children with hyperkinetic movement disorders
Authors: Tustin Kylee , Gimeno Hortensia , Morton Erin , Marsden Jonathan
Published: February 2016

Aim

To examine intra‐ and interrater reliability/agreement, and time taken to score, when the Quality Function Measure (QFM) is applied to children with hyperkinetic movement disorders (HMD; e.g. dystonia, chorea, athetosis, tremor, and myoclonus).

Method

Fifteen ambulant children with HMD participated (eight males, seven females; mean age 13y 7mo, SD 3y 7mo). Three trained raters (two physiotherapists, one occupational therapist) independently scored the QFM using videos of each child performing Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) Stand and Walk/Run/Jump dimensions. Reliability was evaluated using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) model 2.1, Standard Error of Measurement (SEM), and Bland–Altman methods.

Results

Rater reliability was excellent for all five QFM attributes: intrarater ICCs ≥0.98 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.83–1.00), and interrater ICCs ≥0.96 (95% CI 0.91–1.00). SEM varied from 2.07% to 4.72% points for intra‐ and interrater scores across QFM attributes. Bland–Altman tests demonstrated close agreement between ratings, with absolute mean differences varying from 0.34% to 3.23% (intrarater) to 1.67% to 3.82% (interrater). Median scoring duration time was 83 minutes (range 56–144min, SD 16.02).

Interpretation

Low measurement error attributable to rater effects suggests the QFM has potential as an evaluative measure in research studies involving children with HMD, though its lengthy scoring requirements are an important consideration for clinical practice. Evaluation of test–retest reliability and responsiveness is required.
Clues from oculomotor phenotype to genotype in CACNA1A channelopathies
Authors: Bostan Alionka
Published: February 2016

This commentary is on the original article by Tantsis et al. on pages 639–644 of this issue.
Tuberculous meningitis: a diagnostic challenge and a devastating outcome
Authors: Mouchet Françoise
Published: February 2016

This commentary is on the original article by Rohlwink et al. on pages 461–468 of this issue.
PROCUREMENT AUCTIONS WITH RENEGOTIATION AND WEALTH CONSTRAINTS
Authors: Chang Wei‐Shiun , Salmon Timothy C. , Saral Krista J.
Published: February 2016

Renegotiation is a common practice in procurement auctions which allows for postauction price adjustments and is nominally intended to deal with the problem that sellers might underestimate the eventual costs of a project during the auction. Using a combination of theory and experiments, we examine the effectiveness of renegotiation at solving this problem. Our findings demonstrate that renegotiation is rarely successful at solving the problem of sellers misestimating costs. The primary effect of allowing renegotiation is that it advantages sellers who possess a credible commitment of default should they have underbid the project. Renegotiation allows these weaker types of sellers to win more often and it also allows them to leverage their commitment of default into higher prices in renegotiation from a buyer. (JEL C91, D44, D82)
Effects of fisheries zoning and environmental characteristics on population parameters of the tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) in managed floodplain lakes in the Central Amazon
Authors: Arantes M. L. , Freitas C. E. C.
Published: February 2016

Fisheries zoning and the influence of biotic and abiotic factors in the spatial distribution of Colossoma macropomum (Cuvier) in the Piagaçu‐Purus Sustainable Development Reserve, Central Amazon, during 2012–2013 were evaluated. The relative abundance and population parameters of the C. macropomum were compared between conservation (no‐take zone) and fishing (open to fishing zone) lakes. The fish were collected by experimental fishing in 2012 and 2013. A total of 296 individuals were captured, most of which were from the conservation lakes (62.8%). Higher proportions of larger adults and individuals were found in the conservation lakes, although no significant difference in the average C. macropomum catch‐per‐unit‐effort was found between the lake categories. Abundance was positively influenced by zooplankton density (r2 = 0.53, P < 0.03). Therefore, it is hypothesised that conservation lakes may serve as refugia for juveniles due to the high availability of planktonic food available during the dry season. Although there were environmental differences between the two lake types, the relative success of management models that use no‐take zones in freshwater habitats was highlighted. Finally, the importance of zooplankton as a factor in the distribution of C. macropomum among floodplain lakes was emphasised.
Spatial Distribution of City Tweets and Their Densities
Authors: Jiang Bin , Ma Ding , Yin Junjun , Sandberg Mats
Published: February 2016

Social media outlets such as Twitter constitute valuable data sources for understanding human activities in the virtual world from a geographic perspective. This article examines spatial distribution of tweets and densities within cities. The cities refer to natural cities that are automatically aggregated from a country's small street blocks, so called city blocks. We adopted street blocks (rather than census tracts) as the basic geographic units and topological center (rather than geometric center) to assess how tweets and densities vary from the center to the peripheral border. We found that, within a city from the center to the periphery, the tweets first increase and then decrease, while the densities decrease in general. These increases and decreases fluctuate dramatically, and differ significantly from those if census tracts are used as the basic geographic units. We also found that the decrease of densities from the center to the periphery is less significant, and even disappears, if an arbitrarily defined city border is adopted. These findings prove that natural cities and their topological centers are better than their counterparts (conventionally defined cities and city centers) for geographic research. Based on this study, we believe that tweet densities can be a good surrogate of population densities. If this belief is proved to be true, social media data could help solve the dispute surrounding exponential or power function of urban population density.
Philosophy in Schools: Can Early Exposure Help Solve Philosophy's Gender Problem?
Authors: Schouten Gina
Published: February 2016

In this article, I explore a new reason in favor of precollegiate philosophy: It could help narrow the persistent gender disparity within the discipline. I catalog some of the most widely endorsed explanations for the underrepresentation of women in philosophy and argue that, on each hypothesized explanation, precollegiate philosophy instruction could help improve our discipline's gender balance. Explanations I consider include stereotype threat, gendered philosophical intuitions, inhospitable disciplinary environment, lack of same‐sex role models for women students in philosophy, and conflicting “schemas” for philosophy and femininity. I argue that, insofar as some combination of these hypothesized explanations accounts for some portion of the underrepresentation of women in philosophy, those of us concerned to make things better have reason to participate in and promote efforts to share philosophy with younger students.
Combination therapy with β3‐adrenoceptor agonists and muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonists: Efficacy in rats with bladder overactivity
Authors: Furuta Akira , Suzuki Yasuyuki , Kimura Shoji , Koike Yusuke , Egawa Shin , Yoshimura Naoki
Published: February 2016

Objective

To investigate the efficacy of combination therapy of a selective β3‐adrenoceptor agonist (mirabegron) and muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonists (a selective muscarinic acetylcholine receptor2 antagonist: methoctramine hemihydrate or a selective muscarinic acetylcholine receptor3 antagonist; 4‐DAMP) compared with monotherapy of either agent in rats with oxotremorine methiodide (a non‐selective muscarinic acetylcholine receptor agonist)‐induced bladder overactivity.

Methods

Cystometry was carried out in conscious female rats with intravesical instillation of oxotremorine methiodide (200 μmol/L). Either mirabegron (0.3–3 mg/kg), methoctramine (0.1–1 mg/kg) or 4‐DAMP (0.03–0.3 mg/kg) was cumulatively applied intravenously. Also, the effects of combined application of mirabegron (3 mg/kg) plus methoctramine (1 mg/kg) or 4‐DAMP (0.3 mg/kg) on cystometric parameters were compared with those of single‐agent monotherapy.

Results

Intravesical instillation of oxotremorine methiodide induced bladder overactivity, as evidenced by decreases in threshold pressure and bladder capacity. In oxotremorine methiodide‐treated rats, single application of mirabegron (1, 3 mg/kg), methoctramine (0.3, 1 mg/kg) or 4‐DAMP (0.1, 0.3 mg/kg) decreased baseline pressure and increased bladder capacity. In addition, reductions in threshold pressure and maximal voiding pressure were also seen after the administration of 4‐DAMP (0.3 mg/kg). The combined treatment of mirabegron plus 4‐DAMP induced a larger increase in bladder capacity compared with monotherapy of either drug, whereas there were no significant changes in cystometric parameters between the combination therapy of mirabegron plus methoctramine and monotherapy of either drug.

Conclusion

These results suggest that the combination therapy of β3‐adrenoceptor agonists plus muscarinic acetylcholine receptor3 antagonists is more effective compared with monotherapy for the treatment of bladder overactivity. In contrast, the efficacy of β3‐adrenoceptor agonists might not be increased by the addition of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor2 antagonists.
The Influence of Partner Choice and Country of Origin Characteristics on the Naturalization of Immigrants in Sweden: A Longitudinal Analysis
Authors: Helgertz Jonas , Bevelander Pieter
Published: February 2016

Using data for the period 1968–2001, this article assesses the influence of partner choice and origin country characteristics on the propensity of immigrants to naturalize in Sweden. Marriage to a foreign-born Swedish citizen increases the naturalization propensity, and its effect increases strongly when the spouse naturalizes during the same year. The analysis suggests that a lower level of civic and political freedom or relative GDP per capita in the individual's country of origin is associated with an elevated probability of naturalization. During the period of study, originating from a country which allows for dual citizenship did not systematically elevate the probability to naturalize; this probability was accentuated, however, if the individual originated from a context characterized by a low degree of civic and political freedom.
The Ethics of Immigration Revisited: Response to Brock, Fabre, Risse and Song
Authors: Carens Joseph H.
Published: February 2016

To a large extent, the differences between my four interlocutors and me have more to do with the way we choose to frame a question or approach a problem than with substantive disagreements. In her discussion of temporary workers and the brain drain, Gillian Brock implicitly assumes a different background framework of moral responsibility from the one I adopt in my book. Similarly, Cécile Fabre asks important questions about the intersection of immigration and criminal justice, but ones that I chose not to pursue in quite the same way or, in some cases, at all. Matthias Risse says that political theory should be ‘action‐guiding’, and I try to problematize that claim, at least to the extent that it limits the questions we can ask. Finally, I applaud the attention that Sarah Song brings to the link between political community and social membership but resist her suggestion that this shows that political community is more fundamental than social membership. I also suggest the need to clarify further the limits to democratic self‐determination.
Review of Interventions to Enhance the Health Communication of People With Intellectual Disabilities: A Communicative Health Literacy Perspective
Authors: Chinn Deborah
Published: February 2016

Background

Communicative health literacy is a term relating to the range of competencies and capabilities patients bring to the task of seeking information about their health and sharing it with others. This exchange can be problematic for people with intellectual disabilities. The aim of this review was to synthesize findings from interventions designed to improve health communication for people with intellectual disabilities.

Materials and method

Available evidence was systematically reviewed, and findings from 14 articles were synthesized in a narrative review.

Results and conclusions

Interventions addressed communicative aspects of health consultations, taking into account emotional factors and social context. Questions remain about how such interventions might impact on real‐life health consultations and how issues of power might be resolved.
Molecular phylogeography of the Society Islands (Tahiti; South Pacific) reveals departures from hotspot archipelago models
Authors: Hembry David H. , Balukjian Brad
Published: February 2016

Aim

Phylogeographical and modelling studies have suggested that the biotas of oceanic hotspot archipelagos (such as the Hawaiian, Canary and Galápagos islands) diversify in parallel with the formation of the islands on which they live. Here, we review the phylogeography of the native terrestrial biota of the Society Islands, an archipelago formed < 4.6 Ma, to test this model.

Location

Society Islands, French Polynesia (Pacific Ocean).

Methods

We reviewed 49 phylogenetic and phylogeographical studies incorporating Society Island terrestrial animal and plant taxa. We ask: (1) Where are the sister groups of Societies lineages distributed? (2) Are Societies‐endemic ‘radiations’ monophyletic or polyphyletic? (3) What between‐island barriers are seen in the phylogeography of Societies taxa? (4) What within‐island barriers are seen in the phylogeography of Societies taxa? (5) How old is the Societies biota?

Results

Most Societies lineages are closely related to those in other tropical Pacific archipelagos, particularly the Cook, Austral and Marquesas Islands (< 2000 km distant). More genera show strong evidence for polyphyly (13 genera) than for monophyly (4 genera) in the Society Islands. The most common within‐archipelago phylogeographical barrier corresponds to the straits (150 km) between the Windward Society and Leeward Society Islands. Only a few groups, primarily species‐rich invertebrate radiations, show divergence among or within islands. Published divergence time estimates suggest that much of the Societies biota may be much younger than the age of the archipelago.

Main conclusions

Much of the Societies biota does not appear to have diversified in parallel with the formation of the archipelago, differing from ‘progression rule’ and general dynamic models for the diversification of oceanic archipelago biotas. Rather, many Societies ‘radiations’ may have been assembled via repeated, independent colonizations, which may have entailed extensive macroevolutionary turnover of colonizing lineages. These patterns have implications for the biogeography of other Pacific hotspot archipelagos.
Short‐Term and Long‐Term Reproducibility of Hypertension Phenotypes Obtained by Office and Ambulatory Blood Pressure Measurements
Authors: de la Sierra Alejandro , Vinyoles Ernest , Banegas José R. , Parati Gianfranco , de la Cruz Juan J. , Gorostidi Manuel , Segura Julián , Ruilope Luis M.
Published: February 2016

The authors aimed to assess the reproducibility of normotension and white‐coat, masked, and sustained hypertension in 839 untreated patients who underwent two separate assessments (median, 3; interquartile range, 0–13 months) by both office and ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring (ABPM). The proportion of patients falling into the same category in the two assessments was: 52% normotension and 55% white‐coat, 47% masked, and 82% sustained hypertension. The most frequent switch was to sustained hypertension (26% of white‐coat and 33% of masked hypertension). No clinical factors predicted the change in category, except for higher office diastolic BP in patients with masked hypertension who developed sustained hypertension, compared with those who remained with masked hypertension (84±4 mm Hg vs 80±5 mm Hg; P=.006). The reproducibility of hypertension phenotypes was highly dependent on the time between assessments. The authors conclude that white‐coat and masked hypertension phenotypes are only reproducible in the short‐term, while they frequently shift towards sustained hypertension in the long‐term.
Screening of Potato Germplasm Resistant Against Low Temperature Sweetening
Authors: Ali Arfan , Ahmad Nasir Idrees , Muzaffar Adnan , Shahzad Iqbal Muhammad , Qayyum Rao Abdul , Husnain Tayyab
Published: February 2016

Cold‐induced sweetening (CIS), which occurs when potatoes stored at low temperature for long‐term, causes changes in flavor and unwanted dark colors in fried and roasted potatoes. The culprit for CIS is an enzyme called invertase. Five potato cultivars A (FD3‐10), B (FD3‐9), C (TPS‐9801), D (393574‐61) and E (Laal‐e‐Faisal) were investigated for invertase activity at cold storage. The correlation between invertase enzyme, sugar content and certain acids is revealed in this study. Invertase activity at 4C was up to 6.3 nmol/min/mg of protein in the cultivars A and B; 2.5 times less in cultivar C; fructose 6.4 instead of glucose in cultivar D and 3.5 times less in the cultivar E compared with same at 4C. Malic acid concentration was found to be positively correlated with invertase activity at 4C and a significant increase at low temperature storage was revealed as compared with harvesting time. However, citric acid and oxalic acid concentrations were decreased in storage. The transcript level of invertase was found significantly high in potato tubers stored at 4C in cultivar A, B and D., less in cultivar C and negligible in cultivar E. In conclusion, LAAL‐E‐Faisal and TPS‐9801 may be used for future variety improvement programs through breeding and molecular approaches.

Practical Applications

Potatoes are consumed in natural as well as in processed form of foods. French fries and crisps are important subdivisions of the processing industry and denote more than 70% of the potato processing industries. Potatoes are mandatory for use throughout year, however, generating fresh potatoes all the way through the year is unrealistic and long term storage is needed. Presently cold‐induced sweetening (CIS) is considered as one of the serious issue in potato production and processing with potatoes tolerant of CIS becoming a priority in many potato research programme. Potatoes resistant to CIS can deliver numerous economic benefits, such as reduction in use of sprout inhibitors, decreased dry matter loss, easy handling of high relative humidity, decreased pathogen problems during storage and reduction of chilling injury during harvest, storage and transit. Vacoular acid invertase gene is the main culprit in causing CIS. Genetic manipulation can be the best solution to generate CIS resistant potato. Most importantly, level of the carcinogenic element acrylamide can be greatly reduced by using CIS resistant varieties as it is also the byproduct of CIS. The CIS resistant potato generated through transformation can also provide valuable source for screening as well.
Urban Food Consumption in Metro Manila: Interdisciplinary Approaches Towards Apprehending Practices, Patterns, and Impacts
Authors: Burger Chakraborty Laura , Sahakian Marlyne , Rani Uma , Shenoy* Megha , Erkman Suren
Published: February 2016

Food consumption is a local activity related to environmental impacts at different scales. Yet, the link between eating food as a social and cultural practice and the global implications of food consumption has not been sufficiently explored. We adopt a multidisciplinary approach to relate social practices with the biophysical flows of food products at the household level. Focusing on middle‐class households in Metro Manila, the Philippines, we conduct qualitative interviews to highlight preferences, habits, and perceptions about food consumption. In parallel, we collect quantitative information on food purchased. We relate our results to national trends by analyzing the recent evolution of national food expenditures. Finally, we review environmental impacts related to main food categories. Our research points to the significance of socioeconomic factors on food consumption, notably the presence of domestic help or the professional situation of household members. One main finding is the identification of eating out as an important and growing trend in Asian cities, which causes a shift of resource consumption and related environmental impacts from the household to the service sector.
Evaluation of estrogen in endometriosis patients: Regulation of GATA‐3 in endometrial cells and effects on Th2 cytokines
Authors: Chen Peng , Wang Dan‐Bo , Liang Yan‐Ming
Published: February 2016

Aims

Endometriosis (EM) is a hormone‐dependent chronic inflammatory disease, usually accompanied by a high level of localized estrogen and abnormal levels of cytokines, which are regulated by GATA‐3 in lymphocytes. This study aimed to investigate the role of estrogen on GATA‐3 expression and the relationship between GATA‐3 and cytokine response.

Methods

Endometrial tissues collected from 20 patients who underwent laparoscopic or open surgery were used. Immunohistochemistry, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blot analysis, cell transfection, estrogen treatments and enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays were performed to evaluate the effects of estrogen on GATA‐3 expression and the relationship between estrogen‐induced GATA‐3 and the Th2 immune status of EM.

Results

Estrogen regulated the expression of GATA‐3 in a dose and time‐dependent manner. GATA‐3 was relocated from the cytoplasm to the nucleus. Estrogen and GATA‐3 regulated Th2 cytokine expression in eutopic endometrial cells, including interleukin (IL)‐6, IL‐8 and IL‐10. Moreover, interferon‐γ and IL‐2 were highly expressed in the GATA‐3 knockdown groups.

Conclusion

In summary, GATA‐3 was induced by estrogen and may promote the occurrence and development of EM by regulating the secretion of cytokines in the eutopic endometrial cells of EM patients.
The Ethics of Visual Culture
Authors: Bucar Elizabeth M.
Published: February 2016

To introduce this set of essays on visual ethics, I address the conceptual and methodological contours, as well as difficult theoretical questions, that might emerge with a visual turn in religious ethics. In addition I situate the work represented in this focus issue within ongoing conversations about moral perception, culture as a topic of normative analysis, and the various roles of visual culture in the moral life.
H. Richard Niebuhr's Reading of George Herbert Mead: Correcting, Completing, and Looking Ahead
Authors: Daniel Joshua
Published: February 2016

In this essay, I reconstruct H. Richard Niebuhr's interpretation of George Herbert Mead's account of the social constitution of the self. Specifically, I correct Niebuhr's interpretation, because it mischaracterizes Mead's understanding of social constitution as more dialogical than ecological. I also argue that Niebuhr's interpretation needs completing because it fails to engage one of Mead's more significant notions, the I/me distinction within the self. By reconstructing Niebuhr's account of faith and responsibility as theologically self‐constitutive through Mead's I/me distinction, I demonstrate Niebuhr's deep yet unacknowledged agreement with Mead: the self is constituted by its participation in multiple communities, but responds to them creatively by enduring the moral perplexity of competing communal claims. I conclude by initiating a constructive account of conscience that follows from this agreement. Conscience is more ecological than dialogical because it regards our creative participation in multiple ecologies of social roles oriented by patterns of responsive relations.
CONSERVATION LAND AMENITIES AND REGIONAL ECONOMIES: A POSTMATCHING DIFFERENCE‐IN‐DIFFERENCES ANALYSIS OF THE NORTHWEST FOREST PLAN
Authors: Chen Yong , Lewis David J. , Weber Bruce
Published: February 2016

The 1994 Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) resulted in the protection of over 11 million acres of public forestland in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. This paper quantifies the amenity effect arising from protected NWFP lands on long‐run community economic growth. Using community fixed effects and postmatching panel regression to control for many sources of bias, we find highly localized and positive amenity impacts on the growth in median income, population, and property values for small communities close to protected NWFP land, as compared to communities far from the NWFP. We find no effect on medium‐sized communities.
The anti-inflammation and pharmacokinetics of a novel alkaloid from Portulaca oleracea L.
Authors: Meng Yihan , Ying Zheming , Xiang Zheng , Hao Dong , Zhang Wenjie , Zheng Yu , Gao Yucong , Ying Xixiang
Published: February 2016

Objectives

This study was to elucidate the pharmacokinetics of a novel alkaloid, 6-acetyl-2,2,5-trimethyl-2,3-dihydrocyclohepta[b]pyrrol-8(1H)-one, named oleracone isolated from Portulaca oleracea L., and to examine the anti-inflammatory ability with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulated macrophages.

Methods

The novel alkaloid, oleracone, was isolated from Portulaca oleracea L., and its structure was determined by spectroscopic analysis including HRESIMS, 2D NMR spectroscopic data and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The activity of anti-inflammation was assayed via the test with RAW 264.7 activated by LPS, and the pharmacokinetics of oleracone in rat plasma after intravenous and oral administration at dose of 2.5 mg/kg was, respectively, investigated by a rapid and sensitive ultra high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) method with bergapten as internal standard.

Key findings

Oleracone was a novel alkaloid first isolated from Portulaca oleracea L. and possessed unique structure in natural products, whose anti-inflammatory effecting on nitrite oxide production and several pivotal pro-inflammatory cytokines was found at the concentration of 50 μm, and the pharmacokinetic results indicated that oleracone was rapidly distributed with Tmax of 15.7 min after oral administration and presented a higher oral absolute bioavailability to be 74.91 ± 10.7%.

Conclusions

Oleracone as novel alkaloid presented remarkably anti-inflammatory effect, which was rapid distributed in rat with high bioavailability of 74.91 ± 10.7%.
Modeling Systematicity and Individuality in Nonlinear Second Language Development: The Case of English Grammatical Morphemes
Authors: Murakami Akira
Published: February 2016

This article introduces two sophisticated statistical modeling techniques that allow researchers to analyze systematicity, individual variation, and nonlinearity in second language (L2) development. Generalized linear mixed‐effects models can be used to quantify individual variation and examine systematic effects simultaneously, and generalized additive mixed models allow for the examination of systematicity, individuality, and nonlinearity within a single model. Based on a longitudinal learner corpus, this article illustrates the usefulness of these models in the context of L2 accuracy development of English grammatical morphemes. I discuss the strengths of each technique and the ways in which these techniques can benefit L2 acquisition research, further highlighting the importance of accounting for individual variation in modeling L2 development.

Open Practices

This article has been awarded an Open Data badge. All data are publicly accessible via the Open Science Framework at https://osf.io/dbuh4. Learn more about the Open Practices badges from the Center for Open Science:https://osf.io/tvyxz/wiki.
Description of a very dense meteorite collection area in western Atacama: Insight into the long‐term composition of the meteorite flux to Earth
Authors: Hutzler Aurore , Gattacceca Jérôme , Rochette Pierre , Braucher Régis , Carro Bertrand , Christensen Eric J. , Cournede Cécile , Gounelle Matthieu , Laridhi Ouazaa Nejia , Martinez Rodrigo , Valenzuela Millarca , Warner Michael , Bourles Didier
Published: February 2016

We describe the geological, morphological, and climatic settings of two new meteorite collections from Atacama (Chile). The “El Médano collection” was recovered by systematic on‐foot search in El Médano and Caleta el Cobre dense collection areas and is composed of 213 meteorites before pairing, 142 after pairing. The “private collection” has been recovered by car by three private hunters and consists of 213 meteorites. Similar to other hot desert finds, and contrary to the falls and Antarctica finds, both collections show an overabundance of H chondrites. A recovery density can be calculated only for the El Médano collection and gives 251 and 168 meteorites larger than 10 g km−2, before and after pairing, respectively. It is by far the densest collection area described in hot deserts. The Atacama Desert is known to have been hyperarid for a long period of time and, based on cosmic‐ray exposure ages on the order of 1–10 Ma, to have been stable over a period of time of several million years. Such a high meteorite concentration might be explained invoking either a yet unclear concentration mechanism (possibly related to downslope creeping) or a previously underestimated meteorite flux in previous studies or an average terrestrial age over 2 Myr. This last hypothesis is supported by the high weathering grade of meteorites and by the common terrestrial fragmentation (with fragments scattered over a few meters) of recovered meteorites.
At the interface of silica glass and compressed silica aerogel in Stardust track 10: Comet Wild 2 is not a goldmine
Authors: Rietmeijer Frans J. M.
Published: February 2016

In Stardust tracks C2044,0,38, C2044,0,39, and C2044,0,42 (Brennan et al. ) and Stardust track 10 (this work) gold is present in excess of its cosmochemical abundance. Ultra‐thin sections of allocation FC6,0,10,0,26 (track 10) show a somewhat wavy, compressed silica aerogel/silica glass interface which challenges exact location identification, i.e., silica glass, compressed silica aerogel, or areas of overlap. In addition to domains of pure silica ranging from SiO2 to SiO3 glass, there is MgO‐rich silica glass with a deep metastable composition, MgO = 14 ± 6 wt%, due to assimilation of Wild 2 Mg‐silicate matter in silica melt. This magnesiosilica composition formed when temperatures during hypervelocity capture reached >2000 °C followed by ultrafast quenching of the magnesiosilica melt when it came into contact with compressed aerogel at ~155 °C. The compressed silica aerogel in track 10 has a continuous Au background as result of the melting point depression of gold particles <5 nm that showed liquid‐like behavior. Larger gold particles are scattered found throughout the silica aerogel matrix and in aggregates up to ~50 nm in size. No gold is found in MgO‐rich silica glass. Gold in track 10 is present at the silica aerogel/silica glass interface. In the other tracks gold was likely near‐surface contamination possibly from an autoclave used in processing of these particular aerogel tiles. So far gold contamination is documented in these four different tracks. Whether they are the only tiles with gold present in excess of its cosmochemical abundance or whether more tiles will show excess gold abundances is unknown.
Combining intra‐dialytic exercise and nutritional supplementation in malnourished older haemodialysis patients: Towards better quality of life and autonomy
Authors: Hristea Dan , Deschamps Thibault , Paris Anne , Lefrançois Gaëlle , Collet Valérie , Savoiu Corneliu , Ozenne Sophie , Coupel Stéphanie , Testa Angelo , Magnard Justine
Published: February 2016

Protein‐energy wasting (PEW), defined as a loss of body protein mass and fuel reserves, is a powerful predictor of adverse outcomes in haemodialysis (HD) patients. Robust arguments suggest that intra‐dialytic exercise, combined with oral/parenteral nutrition, enhances the effect of nutritional interventions in HD patients. This pilot randomized controlled trial investigated the feasibility and the effects of a 6 month intra‐dialytic cycling program combined to a nutritional support on PEW, physical functioning (gait, balance, muscle strength) and quality of life (QoL) in older HD patients (mean age 69.7 ± 14.2 years).Twenty‐one patients fulfilling diagnostic criteria of PEW were randomly assigned to Nutrition‐Exercise group (GN‐Ex, n = 10) or Nutrition group (GN, n = 11). Both groups received nutritional supplements in order to reach recommended protein and energy intake goals. In addition GN‐Ex completed a cycling program. No significant difference between groups was found in the number of patients having reached remission of PEW. Likewise, no change was observed in serum‐albumin, ‐prealbumin, C‐reactive protein, body mass index, lean‐ and fat‐tissue index, or quadriceps force. Interestingly, we found positive effects of exercise on physical function and QoL for the GN‐Ex, as evidenced by a significant improvement in the 6‐min walk test (+22%), the absence of decline in balance (unlike the GN), and a noteworthy increase in QoL (+53%). Combining intra‐dialytic exercise and nutrition in HD patients is feasible, and well accepted, improves physical function and QoL but it appears not to have the potential to reverse PEW.