bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Erosion of informed consent in U.S. research
Authors: Shepherd Lois , Macklin Ruth 
Published: November 2018

AbstractThis paper evaluates four recent randomized clinical trials in which the informed consent of participants was either not sought at all, or else was conducted with critical information missing from the consent documents. As these studies have been taking place, various proposals to conduct randomized clinical trials without consent have been appearing in the medical literature. Some of the explanations offered for why it is appropriate to bypass consent or disclosure requirements appear to represent a fundamental misunderstanding of applicable government regulations and even the research enterprise. Others are the result of conceptual disagreements about the importance and application of traditional research ethics norms to ‘comparative effectiveness research’ and modern research environments. Common among these explanations, however, is a failure to appreciate when a research intervention, rather than merely an observation or review of data, is taking place. Review committees and investigators are failing to see, or choosing to ignore, interventions in the lives of research subjects. When these studies have come to light, government agencies with oversight authority have done little or backed down. Prestigious medical journals have published research results knowing that the required consent was not obtained, or they have stood by the published studies even after the inadequacy of consent is discovered. This article critically examines this erosion of consent in theory and practice and calls for restoring the requirement of informed consent to its proper place as a priority in human subjects research.
Insight and the no‐self in deep brain stimulation
Authors: Specker Sullivan Laura 
Published: November 2018

AbstractEthical analyses of the effects of neural interventions commonly focus on changes to personality and behavior, interpreting these changes in terms of authenticity and identity. These phenomena have led to debate among ethicists about the meaning of these terms for ethical analysis of such interventions. While these theoretical approaches have different criteria for ethical significance, they agree that patients’ reports are concerning because a sense of self is valuable. In this paper, I question this assumption. I propose that the Buddhist theory of no‐self offers a novel approach to making ethical sense of patients’ claims following deep brain stimulation. This alternative approach is based on the value of insight into patterns of cause and effect among mental states and actions.
The common rule's ‘reasonable person’ standard for informed consent
Authors: Greenblum Jake , Hubbard Ryan 
Published: November 2018

AbstractLaura Odwazny and Benjamin Berkman have raised several challenges regarding the new reasonable person standard in the revised Common Rule, which states that informed consent requires potential research subjects be provided with information a reasonable person would want to know to make an informed decision on whether to participate in a study. Our aim is to offer a response to the challenges Odwazny and Berkman raise, which include the need for a reasonable person standard that can be applied consistently across institutional review boards and that does not stigmatize marginal groups. In response, we argue that the standard ought to be based in an ordinary rather than ideal person conception of reasonable person and that the standard ought to employ what we call a liberal constraint: the reasonability standard must be malleable enough such that a wide variety of individuals with different, unique value systems would endorse it. We conclude by suggesting some of the likely consequences our view would have, if adopted.
Erythropoietin and ferritin response in native highlanders aged 4–19 years from the Leh‐Ladakh region of India
Authors: Yanamandra Uday , Senee Harikishan , Yanamadra Sushma , Das Subrat K. , Bhattachar Srinivas A. , Das Reena , Kumar Suman , Malhotra Pankaj , Varma Subhash , Varma Neelam , Nair Velu 
Published: November 2018

SummaryThe pivotal role of erythropoietin (EPO) in hypoxic adaptation has led to various studies assessing the EPO and ferritin response in native highlanders from Andes and Tibet. We assessed the relationship between EPO, haemoglobin and ferritin in 335 native highlanders (172 boys and 163 girls, aged 4 to 19 years) from Leh‐Ladakh, India, who had no history of travel to lowland areas. Complete blood counts, serum EPO and ferritin levels were measured. We stratified study subjects based on age, gender, pubertal status and analysed the EPO and ferritin levels between the stratified groups respectively. The mean EPO level in boys was lower than girls. The mean ferritin level in boys was significantly higher (P = 0·013) than in girls. There was no significant variation in the EPO and ferritin levels amongst the various age groups in our study. Near normal EPO levels since childhood with a negative correlation with haemoglobin is suggestive of a robust adaptive mechanism to high altitude from the early years of life. Low ferritin levels are indicative of decreased iron stores in these native highlanders.
Accelerating the Development of Second‐Order False Belief Reasoning: A Training Study With Different Feedback Methods
Authors: Arslan Burcu , Verbrugge Rineke , Taatgen Niels , Hollebrandse Bart 
Published: November 2018

One‐hundred‐six 5‐year‐olds’ (Mage = 5;6; SD = 0.40) were trained with second‐order false belief tasks in one of the following conditions: (a) feedback with explanation; (b) feedback without explanation; (c) no feedback; (d) active control. The results showed that there were significant improvements in children's scores from pretest to posttest in the three experimental conditions even when children's age, verbal abilities, or working memory scores were controlled for. The training effect was stable at a follow‐up session 4 months after the pretest. Overall, our results suggest that 5‐year‐olds’ failures in second‐order false belief tasks are due to lack of experience and that they can be helped over the threshold by exposure to many stories involving second‐order false belief reasoning, including why questions.
Style Invariant Locomotion Classification for Character Control
Authors: Boehs G.E. , Vieira M.L.H. 
Published: November 2018

AbstractWe present a real‐time system for character control that relies on the classification of locomotive actions in skeletal motion capture data. Our method is both progress dependent and style invariant. Two deep neural networks are used to correlate body shape and implicit dynamics to locomotive types and their respective progress. In comparison to related work, our approach does not require a setup step and enables the user to act in a natural, unconstrained manner. Also, our method displays better performance than the related work in scenarios where the actor performs sharp changes in direction and highly stylized motions while maintaining at least as good performance in other scenarios. Our motivation is to enable character control of non‐bipedal characters in virtual production and live immersive experiences, where mannerisms in the actor's performance may be an issue for previous methods.
Long‐term muscle changes after hamstring lengthening in children with bilateral cerebral palsy
Authors: Salami Firooz , Brosa Julia , Van Drongelen Stefan , Klotz Matthias C M , Dreher Thomas , Wolf Sebastian I , Thielen Mirjam 
Published: November 2018

AimTo evaluate short‐term (1y postoperatively; E1) and long‐term (at least 4y postoperatively; E2) changes in hamstring muscle‐tendon length (MTL) and lengthening velocity after hamstring lengthening in children with bilateral cerebral palsy (CP).MethodThree‐dimensional gait analysis was performed in 19 children (16 males, 3 females; 36 limbs; mean age at surgery 9y [SD 3y]; range 6–10y) with flexed knee gait, preoperative ankle dorsiflexion lower than 20 degrees, and CP before bilateral hamstring lengthening (E0), at E1 and E2. Hamstring MTL (normalized by leg length) and velocity were assessed via OpenSim software.ResultsMTL increased from E0 to E1 (p=0.004) and decreased from E1 to E2 (p<0.020). Hamstring lengthening velocity did not change. In the subgroup with short, not slow hamstrings, the increase in MTL was maintained at E2.InterpretationHamstring lengthening is an efficient procedure to lengthen short and/or slow hamstrings short‐term. The desired outcome with maintenance of the postoperative changes in hamstring MTL is only achieved for preoperatively short, not slow hamstrings.What this paper adds

Surgical hamstring lengthening can be confirmed via musculoskeletal modelling in OpenSim software.

Surgical hamstring lengthening in cerebral palsy does not change hamstring lengthening velocity.

Short, not slow hamstrings present a long‐lasting muscle‐tendon length (MTL) increase after hamstring lengthening.

Changes in MTL after hamstring lengthening cannot be maintained for slow hamstrings.

MTL does not change after hamstring lengthening for neither short nor slow hamstrings.
Prefrontal and temporal cortical thickness in adolescents with traumatic brain injury
Authors: Vander Linden Catharine , Verhelst Helena , Verleysen Gregory , Caeyenberghs Karen , Deblaere Karel , Vingerhoets Guy 
Published: November 2018

AimTo investigate the impact of traumatic injury on the developing prefrontal‐temporal adolescent cortex, and correlated brain structural measures with neurocognitive functioning.MethodNineteen adolescents (12 males, 7 females, age range: 11–17y, mean 15y 8mo, standard deviation 1y 7mo, median 15y 11mo) with traumatic brain injury (TBI) were included. Cortical thickness of frontal and temporal lobes was assessed using magnetic resonance imaging. We correlated cortical thickness of prefrontal‐temporal regions with age, time since injury, and neurocognitive functioning, and compared these results with a matched control cohort without TBI.ResultsWe found thinner prefrontal (p=0.039) and temporal cortices (p=0.002) in adolescents with TBI compared to typically developing children. Furthermore, significant age effect was observed on the prefrontal (r=−0.75, p=0.003) and temporal (r=−0.66, p=0.013) cortical thickness in typically developing adolescents, but not in adolescents with TBI. Executive function (measured using the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function questionnaire, with lower scores meaning higher functioning) was correlated with prefrontal cortical thickness in typically developing adolescents (r=0.72, p=0.009). Opposite trends were found for correlations between cortical thickness and executive function in the TBI and control cohort.InterpretationStructural maturation in typically developing adolescents correlates with functional development: the older the adolescent, the thinner the prefrontal cortex, the better executive function. In adolescents with TBI we observed an opposite trend, that appeared significantly different from the control group: the thinner the prefrontal and temporal cortex, the worse executive functioning.What this paper adds

Cortical thickness is negatively correlated with age in typically developing adolescents.

Prefrontal cortex thickness correlates negatively with executive function in typically developing adolescents.

Correlations between cortical thickness and executive functioning rise for adolescents without traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Correlations between cortical thickness and executive functioning fall for adolescents with TBI.

Adolescents with TBI have a long‐term impairment of adaptive functioning in daily living.
Ethiopia's developmental state: A building stability framework assessment
Authors: Dejene Melisew , Cochrane Logan 
Published: November 2018

AbstractEthiopia has been lauded for its economic growth and progress in human development indicators. For some, that success is rooted in the developmental state approach advocated by the government. For others, the theory of the developmental state and the practice in Ethiopia were often at odds. Up until 2018, ideas that challenged the state and its approaches were not welcome, and politicians, academics and journalists were jailed for expressing alternative views. However, this appears to have changed, and in June 2018 the Deputy Prime Minister called for debate on the developmental state model. This article explores Ethiopia's developmental state model using the building stability framework, analysing its ability to establish fair power structures, foster inclusive economic growth, develop conflict‐resolution mechanisms, create effective and legitimate institutions, and enable a supportive regional environment. We find the developmental state was effective in a number of ways, but that this modality of governance appears to have passed its peak of securing advantage in Ethiopia. A shift from the developmental state to developmental democracy appears to be underway. Decision‐making and economic policies need to align with this change.
Foraging preferences of ants on a heterogeneous Brazilian sandy shore habitat
Authors: Vidal Mayra C. , Silva Ana K. , Sendoya Sebastián F. 
Published: November 2018

1. Ants may select their food in response to nutritional needs of the colony and forage in a way that optimises a complementary nutrition. Even though resource availability is known to affect ant colony and individual health, there is still no study that has investigated the plastic preferences of ants according to spatial resource availability in naturally heterogeneous conditions.2. Beaches are great biomes to test spatial foraging preference because a complete absence of nectaries can be found. Dorymyrmex nigra Pergande 1896 was found inhabiting a beach in southeastern Brazil, in which nectar sources are heterogeneously distributed. This study tested whether the foraging preference to sugar baits depended on the availability of nectar sources surrounding the nests.3. We found that more D. nigra workers foraged on sugar baits when the colonies lacked naturally occurring nectar in their vicinity compared with colonies with abundant nectar nearby.4. These results show that the foraging preference of ants depends upon resource availability. This is the first study to use a natural mosaic of resource availability to show that resource preference of ants is plastic and varies spatially.
Adaptive foraging of leaf‐cutter ants to spatiotemporal changes in resource availability in Neotropical savannas
Authors: Costa Alan N. , Vasconcelos Heraldo L. , Vieira‐Neto Ernane H.M. , Bruna Emilio M. 
Published: November 2018

1. Generalist herbivores feed on a wide and diverse set of species, but fine‐scale foraging patterns may be affected by the interplay between the quality, quantity and spatial distribution of host plants.2. The foraging patterns of a prevalent Neotropical herbivore, the leaf‐cutter ant Atta laevigata, in the Brazilian Cerrado savannas were examined in order to determine if patterns observed are in concert with central‐place foraging predictions.3. The results showed that A. laevigata acts as a polyphagous but highly selective herbivore, with ant attacks often resulting in partial defoliation of less‐preferred species and full defoliation of preferred ones. It was found, for the first time, that there is a strong and positive relationship between the relative attack frequency on plants from preferred species and foraging distance to the nest. This suggests a balance between the quality of plant resources harvested and costs involved in their transportation. It was also observed that colonies focused their harvest on preferred species in months with low availability of young leaves. Consequently, high herbivory rate was more frequent in plants attacked far away from the nest and in dry months.4. These assessments highlight the fact that Atta colonies may become more selective as foraging distance to the nest increases and in response to fluctuations in the availability of palatable resources throughout the year. The results also show some dissimilarities in the foraging behaviours of A. laevigata when compared with other locations, suggesting that widely distributed herbivores may modify foraging strategies across their geographic range.
An interspecific test of Bergmann's rule reveals inconsistent body size patterns across several lineages of water beetles (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae)
Authors: Pallarés Susana , Lai Michele , Abellán Pedro , Ribera Ignacio , Sánchez‐Fernández David 
Published: November 2018

1. Bergmann's rule sensu lato, the ecogeographic pattern relating animals' body size with environmental temperature (or latitude), has been shown to be inconsistent among insect taxa. Body size clines remain largely unexplored in aquatic insects, which may show contrasting patterns to those found in terrestrial groups because of the physiological or mechanical constraints of the aquatic environment.2. Bergmann's rule was tested using data on body size, phylogeny and distribution for 93 species belonging to four lineages of dytiscid water beetles. The relationship between size and latitude was explored at two taxonomic resolutions – within each independent lineage, and for the whole dataset – employing phylogenetic generalised least‐squares to control for phylogenetic inertia. The potential influence of habitat preference (lotic versus lentic) on body size clines was also considered.3. Within‐lineage analyses showed negative relationships (i.e. converse Bergmann's rule), but only in two lineages (specifically in those that included both lotic and lentic species). By contrast, no relationship was found between body size and latitude for the whole dataset.4. These results suggest that there may be no universal interspecific trends in latitudinal variation of body size in aquatic insects, even among closely related groups, and show the need to account for phylogenetic inertia. Furthermore, habitat preferences should be considered when exploring latitudinal clines in body size in aquatic taxa at the interspecific level.
Price shocks in regional markets: Japan's Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923
Authors: Hunter Janet , Ogasawara Kota 
Published: November 2018

AbstractJapan's Great Kantō Earthquake of 1 September 1923 devastated the area around Tokyo and the country's main port of Yokohama. This article uses the earthquake as a case study to inform our understanding of the economics of disasters and the history of market integration. It seeks to test two main assumptions: first, that shifting demand and supply curves consequent on a disaster will have some impact on prices; and second, that any local changes in the disaster region are likely to be diffused across a wider geographical area. We make use of a unique monthly wholesale price dataset for a number of cities across Japan, and our analysis suggests three main findings: that price changes in the affected areas immediately following the disaster were in most cases reflected in price changes in Japan's provincial cities; that cities further away from the devastation witnessed smaller price changes than those nearer to the affected area; and that the observed pattern of price changes reflects the regional heterogeneity identified by scholars who have worked on market integration in Japan.
The relationship between the temporal structure of magnetoencephalography recorded brain activity and capacity to form discrete auditory representations
Authors: Allen Christopher 
Published: November 2018

AbstractA function of oscillatory brain activity may be to align activity relative to threshold potentials and in doing so provide limited opportunities for representational neuronal assemblies to form. This low‐level function could apply across frequency bands and potentially affect the temporal dynamics of experience. To test these possibilities, a magnetoencephalography protocol was developed where capacity to form discrete auditory representations over time was assessed relative to oscillatory brain activity. Three sets of preregistered analyses were conducted. First, the capacity to form representations correlated with the prevalence and durations of activity localised to the auditory cortex. Second, brain oscillations became entrained to stimuli over a broad range of frequencies. Finally, a sequence of gamma (γ) band events predicted successful discrete representation, where previous research had indicated similar individuation‐related differences within the alpha (α) range. Together, these findings indicate that a low‐level function of cortical oscillations, which may apply across a range of frequency bands, is periodically to set conditions in which representational neuronal assemblies can manifest, limiting and so affecting the flow of experience.
Estimating effective population size of large marine populations, is it feasible?
Authors: Marandel Florianne , Lorance Pascal , Berthelé Olivier , Trenkel Verena M. , Waples Robin S. , Lamy Jean‐Baptiste 
Published: November 2018

AbstractSustainable exploitation of marine populations is a challenging task relying on information about their current and past abundance. Fisheries‐related data can be scarce and unreliable making them unsuitable for quantitative modelling. One fishery independent method that has attracted attention in this context consists in estimating the effective population size (Ne), a concept founded in population genetics. We reviewed recent empirical studies on Ne and carried out a simulation study to evaluate the feasibility of estimating Ne in large fish populations with the currently available methods. The detailed review of 26 studies found that published empirical Ne values were very similar despite differences in species and total population sizes (N). Genetic simulations for an age‐structured fish population were carried out for a range of population and samples sizes, and Ne was estimated using the Linkage Disequilibrium method. The results showed that already for medium‐sized populations (1 million individuals) and common sample sizes (50 individuals), negative estimates were likely to occur which for real applications is commonly interpreted as indicating very large (infinite) Ne. Moreover, on average, Ne estimates were negatively biased. The simulations further indicated that around 1% of the total number of individuals might have to be sampled to ensure sufficiently precise estimates of Ne. For large marine populations, this implies rather large samples (several thousands to millions of individuals). If however such large samples were to be collected, many more population parameters than only Ne could be estimated.