bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Genomes and metagenomes of microbes and viruses
Authors: Kirchman David L.
Published: December 2013

The sequencing of entire genomes of microbes grown in pure cultures is now routine. Sequencing studies have found that bacterial genomes range from 0.18 Mb (intracellular symbiont) to 13 Mb (a soil bacterium), whereas genomes of eukaryotes are much bigger. One fungus has a 40 Mb genome. While bacteria and their small genomes often grow faster than eukaryotes, there is no correlation between genome size and growth rates among the bacteria examined so far, although one of the slowest-growing bacterium in the lab, Pelagibacter ubique, has one of the smallest genomes (1.3 Mb) among free-living bacteria. Genomic studies have also highlighted the importance of genes exchanged (‘lateral gene transfer’) between organisms seemingly unrelated, as defined by rRNA gene sequences. Microbial ecologists use new technology to sequence all microbes in a community. This metagenomic approach has revealed unsuspected physiological processes in microbes, such as the occurrence of a light-driven proton pump, rhodopsin, in bacteria (dubbed proteorhodopsin). Metagenomic studies contributed to establishing that archaea in the deep ocean are capably of chemoautotrophy fuelled by ammonia oxidation, and other studies suggest the occurrence of sulfide oxidation by chemoautotrophic bacteria in oxic surface waters. Metagenomic studies have been even more important in identifying viruses and in showing their huge diversity.
6 The Brownian motion model of asset prices
Authors: Richmond Peter , Mimkes Jürgen , Hutzler Stefan
Published: December 2013

This chapter shows that Bachelier predated Einstein with his PhD thesis entitled ‘Theorie de la Speculation’, a complete analysis of futures and options, based on the ideas of random fluctuations of stock prices, superimposed on a constant drift. Einstein's work, however, was immediately recognised as being highly relevant, not only since it provided a final proof for the existence of atoms, but also for its treatment of random motion. Bachelier's results, on the other hand, remained largely unknown in the scientific and economic communities until the 1960s. A number of issues arise in Bachelier's original model, some of which must have become clear to Bachelier himself when comparing his predictions to actual financial data.
Why markets crash
Authors: Richmond Peter , Mimkes Jürgen , Hutzler Stefan
Published: December 2013

This chapter presents and addresses more immediately relevant questions that usually concern investors, and which are much harder to address than those questions previously explored in the book. It begins by looking at the work of Sornette and colleagues who have developed a model of crashes, based on ideas originally applied to the study of earthquakes. The discussion then moves on to an examination of insights obtained by Bouchaud and Cont, using ideas rooted in agent models. Both approaches focus on basic concepts and have the benefit of being amenable to analytic treatment. Recent years have seen a number of significant booms and crashes in asset markets. A number of models have been developed to try to account for this kind of extreme behaviour.
An introduction to physical economics
Authors: Richmond Peter , Mimkes Jürgen , Hutzler Stefan
Published: December 2013

This chapter introduces the concept of physical economics, an approach based on two-dimensional calculus and a model first proposed by the French medical doctor Francois Quesnay. Inspired by the circulatory flow of human blood, Quesnay considered a production process as a circuit and, as such, is sometimes thought of as one of the first economists. He analysed the simple case of a closed agricultural economy where, each and every day, farmers from households go to work into the fields. The farmers have capital in the form of fields adjacent to the village. Each day, in return for their daily toil or work, they bring home consumer goods from the fields. The goods are the reward for labour; this labour is directly related to the output of produce.
NetCoffee: a fast and accurate global alignment approach to identify functionally conserved proteins in multiple networks
Authors: Hu Jialu , Kehr Birte , Reinert Knut
Published: December 2013

Motivation: Owing to recent advancements in high-throughput technologies, protein–protein interaction networks of more and more species become available in public databases. The question of how to identify functionally conserved proteins across species attracts a lot of attention in computational biology. Network alignments provide a systematic way to solve this problem. However, most existing alignment tools encounter limitations in tackling this problem. Therefore, the demand for faster and more efficient alignment tools is growing.

Results: We present a fast and accurate algorithm, NetCoffee, which allows to find a global alignment of multiple protein–protein interaction networks. NetCoffee searches for a global alignment by maximizing a target function using simulated annealing on a set of weighted bipartite graphs that are constructed using a triplet approach similar to T-Coffee. To assess its performance, NetCoffee was applied to four real datasets. Our results suggest that NetCoffee remedies several limitations of previous algorithms, outperforms all existing alignment tools in terms of speed and nevertheless identifies biologically meaningful alignments.

Availability: The source code and data are freely available for download under the GNU GPL v3 license at https://code.google.com/p/netcoffee/.

Contact: Jialu.Hu@fu-berlin.de

Supplementary information:  Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Bar slowdown and the distribution of dark matter in barred galaxies
Authors: Athanassoula E.
Published: December 2013

‘Conspiracy’ between the dark and the baryonic matter prohibits an unambiguous decomposition of disc galaxy rotation curves into the corresponding components. Several methods have been proposed to counter this difficulty, but their results are widely discrepant. In this paper, I revisit one of these methods, which relies on the relation between the halo density and the decrease of the bar pattern speed. The latter is routinely characterized by the ratio ${\cal R}$ of the corotation radius RCR to the bar length Lb, ${\cal R} = R_{\rm CR}/L_{\rm b}$. I use a set of N-body+SPH simulations, including subgrid physics, whose initial conditions cover a range of gas fractions and halo shapes. The models, by construction, have roughly the same azimuthally averaged circular velocity curve and halo density and they are all submaximal, i.e. according to previous works, they are expected to have all roughly the same ${\cal R}$ value, well outside the fast bar range (1.2 ± 0.2). Contrary to these expectations, however, these simulations end up having widely different ${\cal R}$ values, either within the fast bar range or well outside it. This shows that the ${\cal R}$ value cannot constrain the halo density, nor determine whether galactic discs are maximal or submaximal. I argue that this is true even for early-type discs (S0s and Sas).
Sex differences in the protection of host immune systems by a polyembryonic parasitoid
Authors: Nishikawa Hideki , Yoshimura Jin , Iwabuchi Kikuo
Published: December 2013

Endoparasitoids have the ability to evade the cellular immune responses of a host and to create an environment suitable for survival of their progeny within a host. Generally, the host immune system is suppressed by endoparasitoids. However, polyembryonic endoparasitoids appear to invade their hosts using molecular mimicry rather than immune system suppression. It is not known how the host immune system is modified by polyembryonic endoparasitoids. Using haemocyte counts and measurement of cellular immune responses, we evaluated modification of the host immune system after separate infestations by a polyembryonic parasitoid (
Copidosoma floridanum
) and another parasitoid (
Glyptapanteles pallipes
) and by both together (multi-parasitism). We found that the polyembryonic parasitoid maintains and enhances the host immune system, whereas the other parasitoid strongly suppresses the immune system. Multi-parasitization analysis revealed that
C. floridanum
cancelled the immune suppression by
G. pallipes
and strengthened the host immunity. This enhancement was much stronger with male than with female
C. floridanum
.
Multiscale instabilities in soft heterogeneous dielectric elastomers
Authors: Rudykh S. , Bhattacharya K. , deBotton G.
Published: December 2013

The development of instabilities in soft heterogeneous dielectric elastomers is investigated. Motivated by experiments and possible applications, we use in our analysis the physically relevant referential electric field instead of electric displacement. In terms of this variable, a closed form solution is derived for the class of layered neo-Hookean dielectrics. A criterion for the onset of electromechanical multiscale instabilities for the layered composites withanisotropicphases is formulated. Ageneralcondition for the onset of the macroscopic instability in soft multiphase dielectrics is introduced. In the example of the layered dielectrics, the essential influence of the microstructure on the onset of instabilities is revealed. We found that: (i) macroscopicinstabilities dominate at moderate volume fractions of the stiffer phase, (ii)interfaceinstabilities appear at small volume fractions of the stiffer phase and (iii) instabilities of afinitescale, comparable to the microstructure size, occur at large volume fractions of the stiffer phase. The latest new type of instabilities does not appear in the purely mechanical case and dominates in the region of large volume fractions of the stiff phase.
Adaptive foraging behaviour of individual pollinators and the coexistence of co-flowering plants
Authors: Song Zhiyuan , Feldman Marcus W.
Published: December 2013

Although pollinators can play a central role in determining the structure and stability of plant communities, little is known about how their adaptive foraging behaviours at the individual level, e.g. flower constancy, structure these interactions. Here, we construct a mathematical model that integrates individual adaptive foraging behaviour and population dynamics of a community consisting of two plant species and a pollinator species. We find that adaptive foraging at the individual level, as a complementary mechanism to adaptive foraging at the species level, can further enhance the coexistence of plant species through niche partitioning between conspecific pollinators. The stabilizing effect is stronger than that of unbiased generalists when there is also strong competition between plant species over other resources, but less so than that of multiple specialist species. This suggests that adaptive foraging in mutualistic interactions can have a very different impact on the plant community structure from that in predator–prey interactions. In addition, the adaptive behaviour of individual pollinators may cause a sharp regime shift for invading plant species. These results indicate the importance of integrating individual adaptive behaviour and population dynamics for the conservation of native plant communities.
“Gossip boys”: insider trading and regulatory ambiguity
Authors: L. Hansen Laura
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this viewpoint, case study analysis paper is to assist in understanding how history repeats itself in the case of insider trading, even with regulatory intervention.

Design/methodology/approach

– Qualitative methodology approach, using interviews of some of the watchdogs of Wall Street (SEC, US Attorney's Office) during the insider trading scandals of the 1980s. Key themes including ambiguity of money, regulation, and the networks of financial institution professionals are discussed.

Findings

– Findings suggest that regulation is difficult if nearly impossible, in the face of limited resources and regulatory ambiguity.

Practical implications

– This paper suggests a network approach to regulators, corporate decision makers, and academics in order to understand the structure of insider trading conspiracies.

Originality/value

– Continues the tradition of qualitative research in a niche of white-collar crime that is more often approached with strict statistic analysis. Value is that the data are allowed to “speak for themselves” and patterns of structure are allowed to emerge without prior biases of hypotheses.
Intellectual capital and performance of pharmaceutical firms in India
Authors: Vishnu Sriranga , Kumar Gupta Vijay
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between intellectual capital (IC) and performance of pharmaceutical firms in India. The secondary objective is to propose and test modified models of Value Added Intellectual Coefficient (VAIC™) method.

Design/methodology/approach

– Data on 22 large pharmaceutical firms collected for empirical investigation. Return on assets and return on sales are performance variables. IC and its components – human capital, structural capital and relational capital (RC), are predictor variables. Three extended and modified VAIC™ models (e-VAIC™) are proposed. Multiple regression technique is applied on pooled data to draw inferences.

Findings

– Results show instances of positive relationship between IC and performance variables. RC, the new variable, does not demonstrate statistically significant relationship with performance variables.

Research limitations/implications

– Due to inadequate reporting of IC and its components, availability of data on various proxies is difficult. The new models proposed in this paper can be a template for future research and model development.

Practical implications

– VAIC™ model, the proposed models (e-VAIC™) and the result analysis can be useful for evaluation and value creation purposes.

Originality/value

– Previous researchers use original VAIC™ model. This paper modifies and extends the model in accordance with contemporary description and typology of IC. Inclusion of RC as a variable in VAIC™ model and use of new proxies for components of IC are the novelties of this paper.
Recognition and measurement of intellectual capital in Spanish universities
Authors: Ramírez Yolanda , Gordillo Silvia
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a model for recognition and measurement of intellectual capital (IC) in Spanish universities.

Design/methodology/approach

– In this study the authors developed a questionnaire which was sent to members of the social councils of Spanish public universities in order to identify which intangible elements university stakeholders demand most. The study results served as a basis to develop a model of IC measurement for Spanish universities.

Findings

–The results of the empirical study are used to identify which intangible elements need to be measured and to define a battery of indicators.

Practical implications

– This paper aims to provide a set of IC indicators to help universities on the path to presenting useful information to their stakeholders, contributing to a greater transparency, accountability and comparability in the higher education sector.

Originality/value –

Although the scientific and professional literature has provided numerous proposals for measuring and reporting a firm's IC, further research is still needed since there are few empirically supported models for the measurement and reporting of IC in universities. This need is especially relevant when considering empirical supported IC models.
Coopetition and framework contracts in industrial customer-supplier relationships
Authors: M. Lacoste Sylvie
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The paper aims to investigate how business-to-business key accounts deal with the consequent tension between cooperation and competition, and how they can resolve that relational paradox, using framework contracts.

Design/methodology/approach

– The paper argues that the role played by framework contracts can be ambivalent: as a tool to define cooperation with suppliers while simultaneously organising competition within suppliers, but by formalising such ambivalence, it does help to ease the tensions that may arise. To clarify such a conceptual and counter-intuitive ambivalence, the paper uses a case study that shows how framework contracts are used to solve the inherent tensions between cooperation with “preferred suppliers” and their price competition with invited “challengers”, in a competitive bidding situation.

Findings

– This study is a first step in an investigation of the role of framework contracts in a customer-supplier relationship, aiming to explain their use as they highlight the “coopetitive” nature of the relationship, turning it into something tangible and psychologically acceptable.

Research limitations/implications

– Because of the complexity of vertical “coopetition” and the research method adopted, the findings may not be generally applicable.

Practical implications

– This research offers an enlarged perspective for suppliers as well as customers to think over their own relationships (in an industrial setting).

Originality/value

– Little research has been conducted to date on vertical coopetition and the role and effects of framework contracts in the context of such complex customer-supplier relationships. This case study offers insights for practising managers and academics into the effective use of framework contracts.
How small charities formulate marketing responses to major reductions in income
Authors: Bennett Roger
Published: December 2013

Purpose

– The purpose of the study was to examine how heads of small charitable performing arts organisations who did not possess backgrounds or qualifications in marketing interpreted the implications, for future marketing activities, of significant cuts in government funding and how their views on the value of marketing changed consequent to the cuts.

Design/methodology/approach

– Dervin's sensemaking interview method was employed to explore the processes, whereby the heads of 26 small nonprofit contemporary dance companies made sense of the marketing demands of newly constrained funding situations.

Findings

– Three groups of respondents were identified, respectively, labelled as marketing reductionists, knowledge seekers, and marketing activists. Many of the respondents did not distinguish between marketing and human resource management functions. Major confusions existedvis-à-vispricing policies and how to evaluate returns on marketing expenditures.

Research limitations/implications

– The study covered a single sector in just one country. Replication of the study in other sectors and countries would be worthwhile, as would the comparison of how small arts companies deal with various other types of financial crisis.

Practical implications

– National bodies that award performing arts qualifications need to include marketing in their curricula and syllabuses. Arts marketing associations should make available on their web sites instructional materials relating to marketing. The government should encourage the formation of marketing co-operatives among small performing arts companies.

Originality/value

– The study applied a qualitative interview technique unfamiliar to most researchers in the marketing field. It was the first to investigate the impact of cutbacks in government funding on the interpretations of marketing held by heads of small arts organisations.
Borehole study of compressional and shear attenuation of basalt flows penetrated by the Brugdan and William wells on the Faroes shelf
Authors: Schuler J. , Christie P.A.F. , White R.S.
Published: December 2013

We investigated the seismic attenuation of compressional (P‐) and converted shear (S‐) waves through stacked basalt flows using short‐offset vertical seismic profile (VSP) recordings from the Brugdan (6104/21–1) and William (6005/13–1A) wells in the Faroe‐Shetland Trough. The seismic quality factors (Q) were evaluated with the classical spectral ratio method and a root‐mean‐square time‐domain amplitude technique. We found the latter method showed more robust results when analysing signals within the basalt sequence. For the Brugdan well we calculated effective Q estimates of 22–26 and 13–17 for P‐ and S‐waves, respectively, and 25–33 for P‐waves in the William well. An effective QS/QP ratio of 0.50–0.77 was found from a depth interval in the basalt flow sequence where we expect fully saturated rocks. P‐wave quality factor estimates are consistent with results from other VSP experiments in the North Atlantic Margin, while the S‐wave quality factor is one of the first estimates from a stacked basalt formation using VSP data. Synthetic modelling demonstrates that seismic attenuation for P‐ and S‐waves in the stacked basalt flow sequence is mainly caused by one‐dimensional scattering, while intrinsic absorption is small.
Christopher Smart's Systema Naturae: Anti‐Newtonianism and the Categorical Impulse in Jubilate Agno
Authors: POWELL ROSALIND
Published: December 2013

This article explores Christopher Smart's poetic emphasis on reading the world correctly in the face of contemporary religious and empirical anxieties about the incapacity of human ideas to frame the natural world and the inadequacy of language to describe, name and categorise it. Tracing a development from religious restraint to a new kind of botany, the article concentrates on four themes: the inability to express the divine and the risk of vanity in science in the poet's early work, Smart's rejection of scientific language, and his categorical impulse in Jubilate Agno, which orders his natural subjects into a new physico‐theology.
Helping a 10‐Year‐Old Haitian Girl With Vaginitis
Authors: Leveille‐Tulce Anne Marie B.
Published: December 2013

Purpose

The purpose of this case study is to demonstrate how nurses who work with Haitian children and families can use NANDA‐I (diagnosis), the Nursing Outcomes Classification, and the Nursing Interventions Classification to assist a 10‐year‐old child with symptoms of vaginitis.

Data Sources

The case study derives from the author's experience and literature sources.

Data Synthesis

This case study demonstrates a nurse's clinical decision making while providing care to a 10‐year‐old girl with symptoms of vaginitis.

Conclusions

Increased knowledge and awareness about appropriate health behaviors can increase patients’ power and enable them to freely act and adopt health behaviors to improve health outcomes.

Implications for Nursing

Placing patients at the center of the nursing process and partnering with patients to plan and develop interventions enable them to take actions and improve health outcomes.
God–Mother–Baby: What Children Think They Know
Authors: Kiessling Florian , Perner Josef
Published: December 2013

This study tested one hundred and nine 3‐ to 6‐year‐old children on a knowledge‐ignorance task about knowledge in humans (mother, baby) and God. In their responses, participants not reliably grasping that seeing leads to knowing in humans (pre‐representational) were significantly influenced by own knowledge and marginally by question format. Moreover, knowledge was attributed significantly more often to mother than baby and explained by agent‐based characteristics. Of participants mastering the task for humans (representational), God was largely conceived as ignorant “man in the sky” by younger and increasingly as “supernatural agent in the sky” by older children. Evidence for egocentrism and for anthropomorphizing God lends support to an anthropomorphism hypothesis. First‐time evidence for an agent‐based conception of others' knowledge in pre‐representational children is presented.
Increased 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine in plasma and decreased mRNA expression of human 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase 1, anti-oxidant enzymes, mitochondrial biogenesis-related proteins and glycolytic enzymes in leucocytes in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus
Authors: Lee H-T , Lin C-S , Lee C-S , Tsai C-Y , Wei Y-H
Published: December 2013

We measured plasma levels of the oxidative DNA damage marker 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) and leucocyte mRNA expression levels of the genes encoding the 8-OHdG repair enzyme human 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase 1 (hOGG1), the anti-oxidant enzymes copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/ZnSOD), manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), catalase, glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx-1), GPx-4, glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione synthetase (GS), the mitochondrial biogenesis-related proteins mtDNA-encoded ND 1 polypeptide (ND1), ND6, ATPase 6, mitochondrial transcription factor A (Tfam), nuclear respiratory factor 1(NRF-1), pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 component alpha subunit (PDHA1), pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase isoenzyme 1 (PDK-1) and hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and the glycolytic enzymes hexokinase-II (HK-II), glucose 6-phosphate isomerase (GPI), phosphofructokinase (PFK), glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHa). We analysed their relevance to oxidative damage in 85 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, four complicated SLE patients undergoing rituximab treatment and 45 healthy individuals. SLE patients had higher plasma 8-OHdG levels (P < 0·01) but lower leucocyte expression of the genes encoding hOGG1(P < 0·01), anti-oxidant enzymes (P < 0·05), mitochondrial biogenesis-related proteins (P < 0·05) and glycolytic enzymes (P < 0·05) than healthy individuals. The increase in plasma 8-OHdG was correlated positively with the elevation of leucocyte expression of the genes encoding hOGG1 (P < 0·05), anti-oxidant enzymes (P < 0·05), several mitochondrial biogenesis-related proteins (P < 0·05) and glycolytic enzymes (P < 0·05) in lupus patients. The patients, whose leucocyte mtDNA harboured D310 heteroplasmy, exhibited a positive correlation between the mtDNA copy number and expression of ND1, ND6 and ATPase 6 (P < 0·05) and a negative correlation between mtDNA copy number and systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI) (P < 0·05), as well as plasma 8-OHdG (P < 0·05). In particular, four complicated SLE patients with increased expression of the genes encoding the anti-oxidant enzymes, GAPDH, Tfam and PDHA1, experienced better therapeutic outcomes after rituximab therapy. In conclusion, higher oxidative damage with suboptimal increases in DNA repair, anti-oxidant capacity, mitochondrial biogenesis and glucose metabolism may be implicated in SLE deterioration, and this impairment might be improved by targeted biological therapy.
Clinical outcomes of colo‐anal pull‐through procedure for complex rectal conditions
Authors: Patsouras D. , Yassin N. A. , Phillips R. K. S.
Published: December 2013

Aim

Pull‐through with colo‐anal sleeve anastomosis may be used as a last resort to avoid permanent diversion in patients with complex rectal conditions. This procedure allows the preservation of intestinal continuity by minimizing the hazards of deep dissection in an inflamed and fibrosed pelvis.

Method

A retrospective study was performed of colo‐anal pull‐through procedures carried out between January 1998 and December 2012 at St Mark's Hospital by one surgeon. Patients were identified from operative logbooks and their case notes were reviewed. Thirty‐four patients (21 women) with a median age of 54 (21–75) years underwent the pull‐through operation for complex rectal conditions involving fistulae and/or a hostile pelvis as a final attempt to restore intestinal continuity.

Results

The median length of hospital stay was 7.5 (5–45) days. Median follow‐up was 23 (3–71) months. There was no peri‐operative mortality. There were two (6%) outright failures. Early complications occurred in 14 (41%) patients and late complications in 10 (29%). Fistulae recurred in seven (25%) of 28 patients but with further treatment four healed, giving an overall healing rate of 89%. Normal continence was achieved in 19 (79%) of 24 patients who were evaluated.

Conclusion

In clinically difficult rectal situations the colo‐anal pull‐through procedure is a suitable salvage procedure to restore intestinal continuity before considering a permanent stoma.
Utilizing exhaled carbon monoxide measurement with self‐declared smoking cessation: enhancing abstinence effectiveness in Taiwanese outpatients
Authors: Chen Chiung‐Chu , Chang Chiu‐Hsia , Tsai Yuh‐Chyn , Tseng Ching‐Wan , Tu Mei‐Lien , Wang Chin‐Chou , Lin Meng‐Chih , Liu Shih‐Feng
Published: December 2013

Background

Presently, the Department of Health Taiwan has begun to fund a smoking cessation program, and the annual cessation rate was 8.9% in 2010. This study aims to see whether to enhance abstinence effectiveness by utilizing exhaled carbon monoxide (COExh) measurement with self‐declared smoking cessation.

Methods

The longitudinal prospective study gathered 33 subjects on quitting smoking with the motivation to join the grant program in chest outpatient from August 2009 to July 2010. Overall, subjects were given nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) in the first stage, and explored abstinence rate results in evaluation stage. The cutoff point of COExh 6 ppm or less than (≤) and patients' self‐declared abstinence reports confirmed a smoking cessation success status. Point abstinences were defined as the smokers refrained from smoking at least 7 days, while continuous abstinences were defined as nonsmoking at least 3, 6 and 12 months.

Results

The validities were 198 tracking results for two stages (P < 0.001 vs P < 0.001), and sensitivity (56.5% vs 60.0%), specificity (90.1% vs 82.6%), positive predictive value (63.4% vs 60.0%) and negative predictive value (87.2% vs 82.6%) were detected. Moreover, the validities were 33 results for point and continuous abstinences at 3 month (P < 0.001 vs P < 0.001), and higher successful rates. Point abstinence rates at 3, 6 and 12 months follow‐up for overall subjects were 27.2%, 15.2% and 18.1%, respectively. Continuous abstinence rates at 3, 6 and 12 months were 24.2%, 12.1% and 12.1%, respectively.

Conclusions

Utilizing COExh measurement with self‐declared smoking cessation enhanced abstinence effectiveness in Taiwanese outpatients.
Pre‐ and post‐training session evaluation for interobserver agreement and diagnostic accuracy of probe‐based confocal laser endomicroscopy for biliary strictures
Authors: Talreja Jayant P. , Turner Brian G. , Gress Frank G. , Ho Sammy , Sarkaria Savreet , Paddu Naveen , Natov Nikola , Bharmal Sheila , Gaidhane Monica , Sethi Amrita , Kahaleh Michel
Published: December 2013

Background and Aim

Current diagnostic modalities for indeterminate biliary strictures offer low accuracy. Probe‐based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) permits microscopic assessment of mucosal structures by obtaining real‐time high‐resolution images of the mucosal layers of the gastrointestinal tract. Previously, an interobserver study demonstrated poor to fair agreement even among experienced confocal endomicroscopy operators. Our objective was to assess interobserver agreement and diagnostic accuracy upon completion of a pCLE training session.

Methods

Forty de‐identified pCLE video clips of indeterminate biliary strictures were sent to five endoscopists at four tertiary care centers for scoring. Observers subsequently attended a teaching session by an expert pCLE user that included 20 training clips and rescored the same pCLE video clips, which were randomized and renumbered.

Results

Pre‐training interobserver agreement for all observers was ‘fair’ (Κ: 0.31, P‐value: <0.0001) and diagnostic accuracy was 72% (55–80%). Post‐training interobserver agreement for all observers was ‘substantial’ (Κ: 0.74, P‐value: <0.0001) and diagnostic accuracy was 89% (80–95%). Using a paired t‐test, we observed an increase of 17% (95% CI 7.6–26.4) in post‐training diagnostic accuracy (t = 5.01, df = 4, P‐value 0.007).

Conclusions

Interobserver agreement and diagnostic accuracy improved after observers underwent training by an expert pCLE user with a specific sequence set. Users should participate in such training programs to maximize diagnostic accuracy of pCLE evaluation.
Multidisciplinary diabetes team care: the experiences of young adults with Type 1 diabetes
Authors: Wiley Janice , Westbrook Mary , Long Janet , Greenfield Jerry R. , Day Richard O. , Braithwaite Jeffrey
Published: December 2013

Background

This research examined whether young adults with Type 1 diabetes engage with the multidisciplinary consultation process and if not, then why.

Methods

We designed a web‐based self‐reported survey, available online from February to May 2011, for Australian adults 18–35 years with Type 1 diabetes. Respondents were asked about which clinicians they consulted to assist with self‐management. To expand on the results of the survey, we interviewed 33 respondents.

Results

Survey: Respondents (n = 150) consulted with the following clinicians: endocrinologist and diabetes educators: 23.3%; endocrinologist only: 18.0%; endocrinologist, diabetes educators and dieticians: 14.6%; endocrinologist, diabetes educators, dietician and general practitioners (GP): 11.3%; endocrinologist and GP: 10.6%; GP only: 4.6%; all clinicians recommended to assist with self‐management: 1.3%; 2.7% did not consult any clinician. Interview: Participants (n = 33) reported eight key disincentives to consultation with multidisciplinary clinicians. These were time constraints; provision of conflicting advice; inaccessibility of health services; variation in service standards; cost constraints; failure of clinicians to refer to other clinicians; lack of opportunity to build a therapeutic relationship; and failure of clinicians to engage in shared decision making.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that high attrition rates of young adults with Type 1 diabetes from recommended diabetes health services is linked to the failure of those services to meet the needs and preferences of their patients. The identified needs and preferences included joint consultation with multi‐disciplinary team clinicians; flexible access to advice by email or telephone consultation; and shared decision making. Patient engagement in health‐service re‐design has implications for improved health‐service delivery and enhanced treatment outcomes.
Is Occupational Injury Risk Higher at New Firms?*
Authors: Seabury Seth A. , Mendeloff John , Neuhauser Frank
Published: December 2013

This paper studies whether newly created firms have higher injury rates than established firms. We use data on a large sample of single‐establishment firms in Pennsylvania from 2001–2005 to examine the relationship between firm age and the risk of lost workday injuries. Using the full set of firms, there appears to be little overall correlation between firm age and risk. If anything, newer firms appear less likely to have lost workday injuries. When we condition on having at least one injury reported in 2000, however, we find that in later years the injury risk of firms declines with age. This pattern is consistent with systematic underreporting of injuries by new firms.
Indicative and Updated Estimates of the Collective Bargaining Premium in Germany
Authors: Addison John , Teixeira Paulino , Evers Katalin , Bellmann Lutz
Published: December 2013

This study provides updated evidence on the union contract differential in Germany using establishment‐wide wage data and two estimation strategies. It provides pairwise estimates of the union differential based on separate samples of collective bargaining leavers and joiners vis‐à‐vis the corresponding counterfactual groups. We report that average wages increase by 3 to 3.5 percent after entering into a collective agreement and decrease by 3 to 4 percent after abandoning a collective agreement. Excluding establishments that experience mass layoffs does not significantly influence these net findings, although such establishments record wage losses—statistically insignificant for joiners but up to 10 percent in the case of leavers, as compared with the counterfactuals. The backdrop to these new indicative estimates, which are properly conditioned on establishment size and industry affiliation, inter alia, is one of wage stagnation and continuing union decline.
A mixed‐species exhibit for African water birds (including pelicans, flamingos, spoonbills and storks) at Odense Zoo, Denmark: breeding success, animal welfare and education
Authors: Klausen B.
Published: December 2013

Odense Zoo, Denmark, has built an aviary for large African birds, such as Greater flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus, Pink‐backed pelican Pelecanus rufescens, African spoonbill Platalea alba and Abdim's stork Ciconia abdimii. The decision to build the aviary was based on a strategic move that birds at Odense Zoo would no longer be pinioned. The aim was to enhance animal welfare and, at the same time, improve visitor experience. Overall, the aviary has been a success in terms of visitor experience and bird breeding. All species have bred in the aviary, including African spoonbills, Pink‐backed pelicans, Greater flamingos and Abdim's stork. No collision damage has been seen in the birds despite the fact that some have had ‘fast forward’ collisions into the side of the aviary. However, the flexible Dyneema netting used means the birds bounce off easily without sustaining any injuries that require veterinary intervention.
Preliminary Experience With Stenting for Management of Non‐Urolith Urethral Obstruction in Eight Cats
Authors: Brace Megan A. , Weisse Chick , Berent Allyson
Published: December 2013

Objective

To (1) describe minimally invasive transurethral antegrade and retrograde techniques for the placement of self‐expanding metallic stents (SEMS) to reestablish urethral patency in cats with non‐urolith urethral obstructions and (2) to report the procedural complications, incontinence rates, and long‐term effectiveness in maintaining a patent urethra.

Study Design

Case series.

Animals

Cats (n = 8).

Methods

Signalment, history, clinical signs, physical examination, severity of stranguria and incontinence, clinicopathologic data, diagnostic procedures performed, diagnosis, interventional technique, type and dimensions of stent placed, complications and final outcome of 8 cats treated with SEMS for the management of urethral strictures or masses are presented. Each cat was followed for ≥12 months. Follow‐up information was obtained from the medical record or by telephone interview of the owner and/or referring veterinarian.

Results

Four cats were continent after stent placement, 2 were moderately incontinent, and 2 were severely incontinent. Long‐term follow‐up (median, 462 days) was available. At follow‐up, 5 cats were alive and 3 had been euthanatized at 88, 233, and 305 days. Long‐term outcome, as assessed by the authors, was good (1) to excellent (3) in 4 cats, and fair (2) to poor (2) in 4 cats. Owner reported outcomes were excellent in 3/8, good to excellent in 1/8, good in 2/8, and poor in 2/8.

Conclusion

Palliative stenting of urethral obstructions is a minimally invasive method to re‐establish urethral patency in cats.
Great Moments in Statistics
Authors: Grajalez Carlos Gómez , Magnello Eileen , Woods Robert , Champkin Julian
Published: December 2013

How did the ancient Babylonians feed their people? How did Florence Nightingale transform nursing? How did the allies make D-Day a success? How do you know that smoking may kill you? The answers are all “by using statistics”. To accompany the timeline overleaf we present a selection of great statistical landmarks of the past – moments when statistics changed history.
Changes in Water Status, Membrane Stability and Antioxidant Capacity of Wheat Seedlings Carrying Different Rht‐B1 Dwarfing Alleles under Drought Stress
Authors: Kocheva K. , Nenova V. , Karceva T. , Petrov P. , Georgiev G. I. , Börner A. , Landjeva S.
Published: December 2013

Water deficiency is a major constraint to wheat productivity in drought prone regions. The wheat DELLA‐encoding height‐reducing genes (Rht) are associated with significant increase in grain yield. However, the knowledge of their benefit in dry environments is insufficient. The objective of the study was to examine the effect of induced drought on leaf water content, level of oxidative stress, cell membrane stability, accumulation of osmoprotectants and activity of some antioxidant enzymes in wheat near‐isogenic lines carrying the alleles Rht‐B1b (semidwarfing) and Rht‐B1c (dwarfing) in comparison with the tall control Rht‐B1a. Six‐day‐long water deprivation was imposed at seedling stage. Plants carrying Rht‐B1c and, to a lesser extent, those carrying Rht‐B1b performed better under stress compared with Rht‐B1a in terms of more sustained membrane integrity, enhanced osmoregulation and better antioxidant defence. These differential responses could reflect pleiotropic effects of the Rht‐B1 gene associated with the accumulation of the mutant gene product, that is, altered DELLA proteins, or might be related to allelic variations at neighbouring loci carrying candidate genes for proteins with a major role in plant water regulations and stress adaptation. These findings might be of importance to breeders when introducing Rht‐B1 alleles into wheat cultivars designed to be grown in drought liable regions.
Expression of CaV2.2 and Splice Variants of CaV2.1 in Oxytocin‐ and Vasopressin‐Releasing Supraoptic Neurones
Authors: Wang D. , Fisher T. E.
Published: December 2013

The magnocellular neurosecretory cells (MNCs) release vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT) from their axon terminals into the circulation and from their somata and dendrites to exert paracrine effects on other MNCs. MNCs express several types of voltage‐gated Ca2+ channels, including CaV2.1 and CaV2.2. These two channels types are similar in structure and function in other cells, but although influx of Ca2+ through CaV2.2 triggers the release of both OT and VP into the circulation, CaV2.1 is involved in stimulating the release of VP but not OT. Release of OT from MNC somata is also triggered by CaV2.2 but not CaV2.1. These observations could be explained by differences in the level of expression of CaV2.1 in VP and OT MNCs or by differences in the way that the two channels interact with the exocytotic apparatus. We used immunohistochemistry to confirm earlier work suggesting that MNCs express variants of CaV2.1 lacking portions of an internal loop that enables the channels to interact with synaptic proteins. We used an antibody that would recognise both the full‐length CaV2.1 and the deletion variants to show that OT MNCs express fewer CaV2.1 channels than do VP MNCs in both somata and axon terminals. We used the reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction and immunocytochemistry to test whether MNCs express similar deletion variants of CaV2.2 and were unable to find any evidence to support this. Our data suggest that the different roles that CaV2.1 and CaV2.2 play in MNC secretion may be a result of the different levels of expression of CaV2.1 in VP and OT MNCs, as well as the expression in MNCs of deletion variants of CaV2.1 that do not interact with exocytotic proteins and therefore may be less likely to mediate exocytotic release.
Sudden cardiac death in athletes
Authors: Schmied C. , Borjesson M.
Published: December 2013

A ‘paradox of sport’ is that in addition to the undisputed health benefits of physical activity, vigorous exertion may transiently increase the risk of acute cardiac events. In general, the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) approximately doubles during physical activity and is 2‐ to 3‐fold higher in athletes compared to nonathletes. The incidence of SCD in young athletes is in fact very low, at around 1–3 per 100 000, but attracts much public attention. Variations in incidence figures may be explained by the methodology used for data collection and more importantly by differences between subpopulations of athletes. The incidence of SCD in older (≥35 years) athletes is higher and may be expected to rise, as more and older individuals take part in organized sports. SCD is often the first clinical manifestation of a potentially fatal underlying cardiovascular disorder and usually occurs in previously asymptomatic athletes. In the young (<35 years), SCD is mainly due to congenital/inherited cardiac abnormalities, whilst coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most common cause in older athletes. Cardiac screening including family/personal history, physical examination and resting electrocardiogram (ECG) may identify individuals at risk and has the potential to decrease the risk of SCD in young athletes. Screening including the ECG has a high sensitivity for underlying disease in young athletes, but the specificity needs to be improved, whereas the sensitivity of screening without the use of ECG is very low. The screening modality recommended for young athletes is of limited value in older athletes, who should receive individualized screening with cardiac stress testing for patients with high risk of underlying CAD. As cardiovascular screening will never be able to identify all athletes at risk, adequate preparedness is vital in case of a potentially fatal event at the sporting arena/facility. Firstly, we will review the magnitude of the problem of SCD in athletes of different ages, as well as the aetiology. Secondly, we will focus on how to prevent SCD in athletes of all ages, reviewing cardiovascular screening recommendations as well as emergency preparedness and arena safety.
Effect of Community Size on Eligibility for Early Intervention for Infants With a Neonatal Intensive Care Experience
Authors: Roberts Holly , Needelman Howard , Jackson Barbara , McMorris Carol , Munyon Abbey
Published: December 2013

Purpose

To determine if population density (rural vs urban) in a child's home community influenced the decision of eligibility for early intervention (EI) services.

Methods

The sample included 356 infants with a gestational age of <31 weeks referred from a statewide child find program for an evaluation for EI services. A binary logistic regression analysis was completed to determine which variables predicted acceptance into EI services.

Findings

Infants less than 31 weeks gestation residing in rural areas were more likely to be eligible for EI services than premature infants (ie, <31 weeks gestation) with similar birth characteristics from urban areas. A binary logistic regression analysis revealed an odds ratio for eligibility for EI services among children living in rural areas compared to those living in urban areas was 3.007 (95% CI, 1.497 to 6.040). Additionally, the odds ratio for eligibility for males as compared to females was 1.908 (95% CI, 1.017 to 3.578). Participants who lived in a rural area and were male were more likely to be eligible for EI services than those who lived in urban locations and were female.

Conclusions

Factors such as community support, experience with high‐risk populations, and differences in interpreting eligibility criteria may influence the differences found between the rural and urban populations. Analysis of intervention cost versus effectiveness will be needed to determine whether the system as adopted in the rural versus urban environment is more appropriate for the provision of EI services.