bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Fiscal Policy in Oil‐exporting Countries: The Roles of Oil Funds and Institutional Quality
Authors: Koh Wee Chian 
Published: November 2016

AbstractOil‐exporting countries face challenges in the conduct of fiscal policy owing to volatile oil revenues, especially in countries with weak institutions. Many oil exporters have established oil funds to delink government expenditure from oil revenues; however, their effectiveness remains unresolved. This paper examines the roles of oil funds and institutional quality in reducing fiscal procyclicality and macroeconomic volatility in 42 oil‐exporting countries from 1960 to 2014 using panel vector autoregression techniques. The results show that oil funds are effective in reducing fiscal procyclicality in countries with high institutional quality. There is also a reduction in the procyclical bias in those with low institutional quality but the statistical evidence is weak. Nevertheless, oil funds are associated with reduced volatility of government consumption and the real exchange rate in countries with low institutional quality. These findings give credence to the macroeconomic stabilization role of oil funds but also reinforce the importance of good institutions.
Mission Interference: How Competition Confounds Accountability for Environmental Nongovernmental Organizations
Authors: Balboa Cristina M. 
Published: November 2016

AbstractKramarz and Park (2016) claim that global environmental governance's increased accountability mechanisms are not matched with environmental gains. I assert that this “accountability paradox” develops for environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs) due to a convergence of trends: ENGOs’ increased governance roles coupled with competition for funding and agenda space produces a field riddled with opposing or diverging views. These organizations cannot fully satisfy other actors’ demands and achieve “balanced accountability” because of their differentiated and conflicting approaches to environmental problem‐solving. Instead, ENGOs face an accountability dilemma: let the various demands of accountability interfere with their ability to achieve mission or let their missions interfere with their efforts to be accountable. This constrained choice is delineated by Koppell's multiple accountabilities disorder and the new concept “single accountability disorder.” The qualitative case of the International Marinelife Alliance demonstrates how an ENGO moves through the multiple accountability states that constitute this paradox.
Holding Polluting Countries to Account for Climate Change: Is “Loss and Damage” Up to the Task?
Authors: Johnson Craig A. 
Published: November 2016

AbstractFormally established by the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2013, the Loss and Damage Mechanism represents what is for many an important effort on the part of developing countries (including China and the G77) to hold polluting countries to account for past and potential harms incurred as a result of climate change. This paper explores the viability of using the Mechanism as a means of holding polluting countries to account for the provisions outlined in the Framework Convention. In reviewing the history and recent policy within the UNFCCC, the paper makes the case that demands for greater accountability through the Loss and Damage Mechanism have been frustrated by a lack of consensus about the rights of poor countries to pursue carbon‐intensive development pathways, the obligations of current and future generations to the actions and decisions of their forebears, and the obligations of national governments to their own citizens and the UNFCCC. Instead of assigning responsibility for past and future losses and damages, the Mechanism has gravitated toward a more technocratic/bureaucratic exercise aimed at collecting data, enhancing knowledge, and making policy recommendations.
Blatant, Subtle, and Insidious: URM Faculty Perceptions of Discriminatory Practices in Predominantly White Institutions
Authors: Zambrana Ruth Enid , Harvey Wingfield Adia , Lapeyrouse Lisa M. , Dávila Brianne A. , Hoagland Tangere L. , Valdez Robert Burciaga 
Published: November 2016

Although modest gains are observed in the number of African American, Mexican American, and Puerto Rican faculty in higher education institutions, systemic issues of underrepresentation and retention remain problematic. This article describes how historically underrepresented minority (URM) faculty in Predominantly White Institutions perceive discrimination and illustrates the ways in which discriminatory institutional practices—such as microaggressions—manifest and contribute to unwelcoming institutional climates and workplace stress. Using a mixed methods approach, including survey data and individual and group interviews, findings show that respondents (n = 543) encounter racial discrimination from colleagues and administrators; experience discrimination differently based on their race/ethnicity and gender; and report difficulties in describing racist encounters. Qualitative data reveal three themes that inform the survey results on perceived discrimination: (1) blatant, outright, subtle, and insidious racism; (2) devaluation of scholarly contributions, merit, and skillset by colleagues and administrators; and (3) the burden of “representing minorities,” or a “racial/ethnic tax.” Propositions for how to change unwelcoming environments and create safe spaces for professional development to reduce the adverse effects of discrimination among URM faculty are discussed.
Validation of the multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification assay and its application on the distribution study of the major alleles of 17 blood group systems in Chinese donors from Guangzhou
Authors: Ji Yanli , Wen Jizhi , Veldhuisen Barbera , Haer‐Wigman Lonneke , Wang Zhen , Lodén‐van Straaten Martin , Wei Ling , Luo Guangping , Fu Yongshui , van der Schoot C. Ellen 
Published: November 2016

BACKGROUNDGenotyping platforms for common red blood cell (RBC) antigens have been successfully applied in Caucasian and black populations but not in Chinese populations. In this study, a genotyping assay based on multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification (MLPA) technology was applied in a Chinese population to validate the MLPA probes. Subsequently, the comprehensive distribution of 17 blood group systems also was obtained.STUDY DESIGN AND METHODSDNA samples from 200 Chinese donors were extracted and genotyped using the blood‐MLPA assay. To confirm the MLPA results, a second independent genotyping assay (ID Core+) was conducted in 40 donors, and serological typing of 14 blood‐group antigens was performed in 91 donors. In donors who had abnormal copy numbers of an allele (DI and GYPB) determined by MLPA, additional experiments were performed (polymerase chain reaction, sequencing, and flow cytometry analysis).RESULTSThe genotyping results obtained using the blood‐MLPA and ID Core+ assays were consistent. Serological data were consistent with the genotyping results except for one donor who had a Lu(a−b−) phenotype. Of the 17 blood group systems, the distribution of the MNS, Duffy, Kidd, Diego, Yt, and Dombrock systems was polymorphic. The Mur and Sta antigens of the MNS system were distributed with a frequency of 9% (18 of 200) and 2% (4 of 200), respectively. One donor with chimerism and one who carried a novel DI*02(A845V) allele, which predicts the depression of Dib antigen expression, were identified.CONCLUSIONSThe blood‐MLPA assay could easily identify the common blood‐group alleles and correctly predicted phenotype in the Chinese population. The Mur and Sta antigens were distributed with high frequency in a Southern Chinese Han population.
Lecane tenuiseta rotifers improves activated sludge settleability in laboratory scale SBR system at 13°C and 20°C
Authors: Kocerba‐Soroka Wioleta , Fiałkowska Edyta , Pajdak‐Stós Agnieszka , Sobczyk Mateusz , Starzycka Joanna , Fyda Janusz 
Published: November 2016

AbstractTwo experiments at different temperatures were conducted in five laboratory‐scale bioreactors with enhanced nutrient removal simulating the work of sequencing batch reactors (SBRs). The process was operated in three 8‐hour cycles. The oxygen concentration, pH and temperature were controlled and maintained at 1 mg of O2/L, 7 and 13°C, respectively, throughout the first two weeks and at 20°C for the next 10 days. The introduction of Lecane tenuiseta improved the settling properties of the activated sludge dominated by Microthrix parvicella at both temperatures tested. L. tenuiseta rotifers led to a reduction in filamentous bacteria abundance and did not negatively affect the chemical parameters of the effluent. For each temperature, there were no differences in COD, Ntot, N‐NH4 or P‐PO4 values between the treatment and control bioreactors. The results have shown that the application of L. tenuiseta is a promising biological tool for bulking prevention especially in a cold season.
LIFE ON THE ISLAND
Authors: Corey Elizabeth 
Published: November 2016

AbstractWalker Percy was both a medical doctor and a serious Catholic—a scientist and a religious believer. He thought, however, that science had become hegemonic in the twentieth century and that it was incapable of answering the most fundamental needs of human beings. He thus leveled a critique of the scientific method and its shortcomings in failing to address the individual person over against the group. In response to these shortcomings Percy postulates a religious understanding of human life, one in which man's life is understood as a pilgrimage or a search. The person who searches may not find the “object” of his search during his earthly life, but it is likely that he will come to a better understanding of himself by means of it.
PHILOSOPHER OF PRECISION AND SOUL: INTRODUCING WALKER PERCY
Authors: Marsh Leslie 
Published: November 2016

AbstractThis article introduces the work of philosopher‐novelist Walker Percy to the Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science readership. After some biographical and contextual preliminaries, I suggest that the conceptual collecting feature to Percy's work is his critique of abstractionism manifest in a tripartite congruence of Cartesianism, derivatively misapplied science, and social atomism.
Cortical and reticular contributions to human precision and power grip
Authors: Tazoe Toshiki , Perez Monica A. 
Published: November 2016

Key points
The corticospinal tract contributes to the control of finger muscles during precision and power grip. We explored the neural mechanisms contributing to changes in corticospinal excitability during these gripping configurations.
Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited by cortical, but not by subcortical, stimulation were more suppressed during power grip compared with precision grip and index finger abduction.
Intracortical inhibition was more reduced during power grip compared with the other tasks. An acoustic startle cue, a stimulus that engages the reticular system, suppressed MEP size during power grip to a lesser extent than during the other tasks at a cortical level and this positively correlated with changes in intracortical inhibition.
Our findings suggest that changes in corticospinal excitability during gross more than fine finger manipulations are largely cortical in origin and that the reticular system contributed, at least in part, to these effects.
AbstractIt is well accepted that the corticospinal tract contributes to the control of finger muscles during precision and power grip in humans but the neural mechanisms involved remain poorly understood. Here, we examined motor evoked potentials elicited by cortical and subcortical stimulation of corticospinal axons (MEPs and CMEPs, respectively) and the activity in intracortical circuits (suppression of voluntary electromyography) and spinal motoneurons (F‐waves) in an intrinsic hand muscle during index finger abduction, precision grip and power grip. We found that the size of MEPs, but not CMEPs, was more suppressed during power grip compared with precision grip and index finger abduction, suggesting a cortical origin for these effects. Notably, intracortical inhibition was more reduced during power grip compared with the other tasks. To further examine the origin of changes in intracortical inhibition we assessed the contribution of the reticular system, which projects to cortical neurons, and projects to spinal motoneurons controlling hand muscles. An acoustic startle cue, which engages the reticular system, suppressed MEP size during power grip to a lesser extent than during the other tasks and this positively correlated with changes in intracortical inhibition. A startle cue decreased intracortical inhibition, but not CMEPs, during power grip. F‐waves remained unchanged across conditions. Our novel findings show that changes in corticospinal excitability present during power grip compared with fine finger manipulations are largely cortical in origin and suggest that the reticular system contributed, at least in part, to these effects.
Role of TRPM7 in cerebral ischaemia and hypoxia
Authors: Sun Hong‐Shuo 
Published: November 2016

AbstractTransient receptor potential melastatin 7 (TRPM7) channel, a calcium‐permeable non‐selective divalent cation channel, is broadly expressed in various cells and tissues, including the brain. TRPM7 is thought to be coupled to the metabolic state and regulate calcium homeostasis in the cell. TRPM7 takes part in a wide range of cell biology processes that affect cell growth and proliferation, as well as in embryonic development and skeleton formation. TRPM7 plays a significant role in ischaemic and hypoxic brain injury and neuronal cell death. TRPM7, as a key non‐glutamate mechanism of cerebral ischaemia, also triggers an intracellular ionic imbalance and neuronal cell death in ischaemia and hypoxia. We have reported that TRPM7 is expressed in neurons of the hippocampus and cortex and activation of TRPM7 induced ischaemic neuronal cell death; suppression of TRPM7 with virally mediated gene silencing using siRNA reduced ischaemic neuronal cell death and improved neurobehavioural outcomes in vivo. Recently, we also demonstrated that inhibition of TRPM7 using pharmacological means promoted neuronal outgrowth in vitro and provided neuroprotection against brain injury to hypoxia in vivo. Thus, we have shown the contributions of TRPM7 in many physiological and pathophysiological processes, including hypoxia and ischaemia.
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Claims for fertility interventions: a systematic assessment of statements on UK fertility centre websites
Authors: Spencer E A , Mahtani K R , Goldacre B , Heneghan C 
Published: November 2016

ObjectivesFertility services in the UK are offered by over 200 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)-registered NHS and private clinics. While in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) form part of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance, many further interventions are offered. We aimed to record claims of benefit for interventions offered by fertility centres via information on the centres' websites and record what evidence was cited for these claims.MethodsWe obtained from HFEA a list of all UK centres providing fertility treatments and examined their websites. We listed fertility interventions offered in addition to standard IVF and ICSI and recorded statements about interventions that claimed or implied improvements in fertility in healthy women. We recorded which claims were quantified, and the evidence cited in support of the claims. Two reviewers extracted data from websites. We accessed websites from 21 December 2015 to 31 March 2016.ResultsWe found 233 websites for HFEA-registered fertility treatment centres, of which 152 (65%) were excluded as duplicates or satellite centres, 2 were andrology clinics and 5 were unavailable or under construction websites. In total, 74 fertility centre websites, incorporating 1401 web pages, were examined for claims. We found 276 claims of benefit relating to 41 different fertility interventions made by 60 of the 74 centres (median 3 per website; range 0 to 10). Quantification was given for 79 (29%) of the claims. 16 published references were cited 21 times on 13 of the 74 websites.ConclusionsMany fertility centres in the UK offer a range of treatments in addition to standard IVF procedures, and for many of these interventions claims of benefit are made. In most cases, the claims are not quantified and evidence is not cited to support the claims. There is a need for more information on interventions to be made available by fertility centres, to support well-informed treatment decisions.
A “Cold Path” for the Gulf Stream–Troposphere Connection
Authors: Vannière Benoît , Czaja Arnaud , Dacre Helen , Woollings Tim 
Published: November 2016

Abstract
The mechanism by which the Gulf Stream sea surface temperature (SST) front anchors a band of precipitation on its warm edge is still a matter of debate, and little is known about how synoptic activity contributes to the mean state. In the present study, the influence of the SST front on precipitation is investigated during the course of a single extratropical cyclone using a regional configuration of the Met Office Unified Model. The comparison of a control run with a simulation in which SST gradients were smoothed brought the following conclusions: a band of precipitation is reproduced for a single extratropical cyclone, and the response to the SST gradient is dominated by a change of convective precipitation in the cold sector of the storm. Several climatological features described by previous studies, such as surface wind convergence on the warm edge or a meridional circulation cell across the SST front, are also reproduced at synoptic time scales in the cold sector. Based on these results, a simple boundary layer model is proposed to explain the convective and dynamical response to the SST gradient in the cold sector. In this model, cold and dry air parcels acquire more buoyancy over a sharp SST gradient and become more convectively unstable. The convection sets a pressure anomaly over the entire depth of the boundary layer that drives wind convergence. This case study offers a new pathway by which the SST gradient can anchor a climatological band of precipitation.
Observed El Niño SSTA Development and the Effects of Easterly and Westerly Wind Events in 2014/15
Authors: Chiodi Andrew M. , Harrison D. E. 
Published: November 2016

Abstract
The unexpected halt of warm sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA) growth in 2014 and development of a major El Niño in 2015 has drawn attention to our ability to understand and predict El Niño development. Wind stress–forced ocean model studies have satisfactorily reproduced observed equatorial Pacific SSTAs during periods when data return from the TAO/TRITON buoy network was high. Unfortunately, TAO/TRITON data return in 2014 was poor. To study 2014 SSTA development, the observed wind gaps must be filled. The hypothesis that subseasonal wind events provided the dominant driver of observed waveguide SSTA development in 2014 and 2015 is used along with the available buoy winds to construct an oceanic waveguide-wide surface stress field of westerly wind events (WWEs) and easterly wind surges (EWSs). It is found that the observed Niño-3.4 SSTA development in 2014 and 2015 can thereby be reproduced satisfactorily. Previous 2014 studies used other wind fields and reached differing conclusions about the importance of WWEs and EWSs. Experiment results herein help explain these inconsistencies, and clarify the relative importance of WWEs and EWSs. It is found that the springtime surplus of WWEs and summertime balance between WWEs and EWSs (yielding small net wind stress anomaly) accounts for the early development and midyear reversal of El Niño–like SSTA development in 2014. A strong abundance of WWEs in 2015 accounts for the rapid SSTA warming observed then. Accurately forecasting equatorial Pacific SSTA in years like 2014 and 2015 may require learning to predict WWE and EWS occurrence characteristics.
Why Do Global Climate Models Struggle to Represent Low-Level Clouds in the West African Summer Monsoon?
Authors: Hannak Lisa , Knippertz Peter , Fink Andreas H. , Kniffka Anke , Pante Gregor 
Published: November 2016

Abstract
Climate models struggle to realistically represent the West African monsoon (WAM), which hinders reliable future projections and the development of adequate adaption measures. Low-level clouds over southern West Africa (5°–10°N, 8°W–8°E) during July–September are an integral part of the WAM through their effect on the surface energy balance and precipitation, but their representation in climate models has received little attention. Here 30 (20) years of output from 18 (8) models participating in phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (Year of Tropical Convection) are used to identify cloud biases and their causes. Compared to ERA-Interim reanalyses, many models show large biases in low-level cloudiness of both signs and a tendency to too high elevation and too weak diurnal cycles. At the same time, these models tend to have too strong low-level jets, the impact of which is unclear because of concomitant effects on temperature and moisture advection as well as turbulent mixing. Part of the differences between the models and ERA-Interim appear to be related to the different subgrid cloud schemes used. While nighttime tendencies in temperature and humidity are broadly realistic in most models, daytime tendencies show large problems with the vertical transport of heat and moisture. Many models simulate too low near-surface relative humidities, leading to insufficient low cloud cover and abundant solar radiation, and thus a too large diurnal cycle in temperature and relative humidity. In the future, targeted model sensitivity experiments will be needed to test possible feedback mechanisms between low clouds, radiation, boundary layer dynamics, precipitation, and the WAM circulation.
Ocean–Atmosphere State Dependence of the Atmospheric Response to Arctic Sea Ice Loss
Authors: Osborne Joe M. , Screen James A. , Collins Mat 
Published: November 2016

Abstract
The Arctic is warming faster than the global average. This disproportionate warming—known as Arctic amplification—has caused significant local changes to the Arctic system and more uncertain remote changes across the Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes. Here, an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) is used to test the sensitivity of the atmospheric and surface response to Arctic sea ice loss to the phase of the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO), which varies on (multi-) decadal time scales. Four experiments are performed, combining low and high sea ice states with global sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies associated with opposite phases of the AMO. A trough–ridge–trough response to wintertime sea ice loss is seen in the Pacific–North American sector in the negative phase of the AMO. The authors propose that this is a consequence of an increased meridional temperature gradient in response to sea ice loss, just south of the climatological maximum, in the midlatitudes of the central North Pacific. This causes a southward shift in the North Pacific storm track, which strengthens the Aleutian low with circulation anomalies propagating into North America. While the climate response to sea ice loss is sensitive to AMO-related SST anomalies in the North Pacific, there is little sensitivity to larger-magnitude SST anomalies in the North Atlantic. With background ocean–atmosphere states persisting for a number of years, there is the potential to improve predictions of the impacts of Arctic sea ice loss on decadal time scales.