bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Convergent evidences from human and animal studies implicate angiotensin I-converting enzyme activity in cognitive performance in schizophrenia
Authors: Gadelha A , Vendramini A M , Yonamine C M , Nering M , Berberian A , Suiama M A , Oliveira V , Lima-Landman M T , Breen G , Bressan R A , Abílio V , Hayashi M A F 
Published: December 2015

AbstractIn schizophrenia (SCZ), higher angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) levels have been reported in patient’s blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Hereby, we propose to explore whether the ACE activity levels are associated to cognitive performance in SCZ. Seventy-two patients with SCZ or schizoaffective disorder diagnosis, and 69 healthy controls (HCs) underwent a cognitive battery with parallel collection of peripheral blood samples to measure ACE activity. Significant higher ACE activity levels were confirmed in the plasma of SCZ patients compared with HCs (Student’s t=−5.216; P<0.001). ACE activity significantly correlated to Hopkins delayed recall measures (r=−0.247; P=0.004) and Hopkins total (r=−0.214; P=0.012). Subjects grouped as high ACE activity (above average) had worse performance compared with low ACE activity level group for Hopkins delayed recall measure, even after correction for clinical condition, age, gender and years of education (P=0.029). The adjusted R squared for this final model was 0.343. This result was evident only comparing extreme groups for ACE activity, when splitting the sample in three groups with similar number of subjects. To clarify this finding, we performed an evaluation of the cognitive performance of transgenic mice with three copies of ACE gene in novel object recognition (NOR) test, which showed that such animals presented impairment in NOR (P<0.05) compared with two copies of wild-type animals. The results observed in SCZ patients and animal model suggest both the association of ACE to cognitive deficits in SCZ. This finding may support the evaluation of novel treatment protocols and/or of innovative drugs for specific intervention of cognitive deficits in SCZ envisioning concomitant ACE activity and behavior evaluations.
Effect of voluntary alcohol consumption on Maoa expression in the mesocorticolimbic brain of adult male rats previously exposed to prolonged maternal separation
Authors: Bendre M , Comasco E , Nylander I , Nilsson K W 
Published: December 2015

AbstractDiscordant associations between monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) genotype and high alcohol drinking have been reported in human and non-human primates. Environmental influences likely moderate genetic susceptibility. The biological basis for this interplay remains elusive, and inconsistencies call for translational studies in which conditions can be controlled and brain tissue is accessible. The present study investigated whether early life stress and subsequent adult episodic alcohol consumption affect Maoa expression in stress- and reward-related brain regions in the rat. Outbred Wistar rats were exposed to rearing conditions associated with stress (prolonged maternal separation) or no stress during early life, and given free choice between alcohol and/or water in adulthood. Transcript levels of Maoa were assessed in the ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens (NAc), medial prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, amygdala and dorsal striatum (DS). Blood was collected to assess corticosterone levels. After alcohol consumption, lower blood corticosterone and Maoa expression in the NAc and DS were found in rats exposed to early life stress compared with control rats. An interaction between early life stress and voluntary alcohol intake was found in the NAc. Alcohol intake before death correlated negatively with Maoa expression in DS in high alcohol-drinking rats exposed to early life stress. Maoa expression is sensitive to adulthood voluntary alcohol consumption in the presence of early life stress in outbred rats. These findings add knowledge of the molecular basis of the previously reported associations between early life stress, MAOA and susceptibility to alcohol misuse.
Characterization of brain mGluR5 binding in a pilot study of late-life major depressive disorder using positron emission tomography and [11C]ABP688
Authors: DeLorenzo C , Sovago J , Gardus J , Xu J , Yang J , Behrje R , Kumar J S D , Devanand D P , Pelton G H , Mathis C A , Mason N S , Gomez-Mancilla B , Aizenstein H , Mann J J , Parsey R V 
Published: December 2015

AbstractThe metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGluR5) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of mood and anxiety disorders and is a potential treatment target in major depressive disorder (MDD). This study compared brain mGluR5 binding in elderly patients suffering from MDD with that in elderly healthy volunteers using positron emission tomography (PET) and [11C]ABP688. Twenty elderly (mean age: 63.0±6.3) subjects with MDD and twenty-two healthy volunteers in the same age range (mean age: 66.4±7.3) were examined with PET after a single bolus injection of [11C]ABP688, with many receiving arterial sampling. PET images were analyzed on a region of interest and a voxel level to compare mGluR5 binding in the brain between the two groups. Differences in [11C]ABP688 binding between patients with early- and late-onset depression were also assessed. In contrast to a previously published report in a younger cohort, no significant difference in [11C]ABP688 binding was observed between elderly subjects with MDD and healthy volunteers. [11C]ABP688 binding was also similar between subgroups with early- or late-onset depression. We believe this is the first study to examine mGluR5 expression in depression in the elderly. Although future work is required, results suggest potential differences in the pathophysiology of elderly depression versus depression earlier in life.
A socio-pragmatic investigation of the persuasive strategies in "al-ittijāh al-muʿākis" (‘The Opposite Direction’) on Al-Jazeera TV
Authors: Issa Sadam 
Published: December 2015

This study is a socio-pragmatic analysis of persuasive strategies used by the participants in “al-ittijāh al-muʿākis”, “The Opposite Direction”, on the Al-­Jazeera TV channel. An ethnographic approach was adopted in the research; the analysis focused on the use of politeness strategies and face-saving and face-­threatening interactions in order to find out their persuasive factors. I observe that religious citations, prophetic sayings, proverbs, and metaphor are used predominantly by the participants in communicating various political issues. I argue that the persuasiveness of these rhetorical strategies stems from their aesthetic influence in establishing moral credibility and in evoking emotional responses. I also argue that these rhetorical strategies are speech acts that indirectly provoke responses and/or aim at saving the speakers’ and/or addressees’ face. The study concludes that persuasiveness is facilitated in part by transferring socio-pragmatic meanings through the use of some politeness and figurative devices such as honorific modes, metaphors and proverbs.
Green’s function and anti-holomorphic dynamics on a torus
Authors: Bergweiler Walter , Eremenko Alexandre 
Published: December 2015

We give a new, simple proof of the fact recently discovered by C.-S. Lin and C.-L. Wang that the Green function of a torus has either three or five critical points, depending on the modulus of the torus. The proof uses anti-holomorphic dynamics. As a byproduct we find a one-parametric family of anti-holomorphic dynamical systems for which the parameter space consists only of hyperbolic components and analytic curves separating them.
Do ETFs outperform CEFs in fixed income investing?
Authors: Chang C. Edward , Krueger Thomas M. , Witte H. Doug 
Published: December 2015

Purpose
– For a number of reasons ranging from their more recent introduction to their perceived lesser excitement relative to stock-based peers, there have been few studies of fixed income (mainly bond) exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The purpose of this paper is to fill the void by comparing performance measures of fixed income ETFs to fixed income closed-end funds (CEFs).

Design/methodology/approach
– This paper examines operating characteristics as well as risk and performance measures of all available fixed income ETFs and CEFs in the USA over the last five and ten years ending on December 31, 2014. Operating characteristics include expense ratios, annual turnover rates, tax cost ratios, and tracking error ratios. Performance measures include average annual returns, risks (measured by standard deviations), and risk-adjusted returns (measured by Sharpe ratios and Sortino ratios).

Findings
– This study finds material and significant difference in a variety of expenses, return measures, and risk measures. Sharpe and Sortino ratio significance is highly dependent on whether net asset values or market values serve as the dependent variable. ETFs would be the preferred choice of fixed income investors who are presumed to be focussing on market-based return measures.

Originality/value
– This paper empirically compares operating characteristics as well as risk and performance measures of US fixed income ETFs and fixed income CEFs in the same Morningstar categories over the last five and ten years.
Development of managers’ emotional competencies: mind-body training implication
Authors: Gruicic Dusan , Benton Stephen 
Published: December 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to research about the effect of mind–body training on the development of emotional competencies of managers.

Design/methodology/approach
– Quasi-experimental design, i.e. before and after (test–retest).

Findings
– Results showed that the experimental group, after training, achieved around 15 per cent higher scores compared to results before training on all three subscales of an emotional skills and competence questionnaire (ESCQ-45), a statistically significant improvement in scores. The control group (no training) scores showed no significant difference. This result indicates support for the view that emotional intelligence may be treated as a competency and is responsive to training programmes.

Research limitations/implications
– Emotional competencies are still a contested concept. The participants may provide socially desirable responses because of the self-assessment questionnaires. The sample is not a representative sample of European managers; hence, there is a limited generalisability of the results.

Practical implications
– These research findings indicate Mind–body training is a practical method for people to improve the management of their emotions, and hence impact positively on core organisational activities.

Originality/value
– This is the first research on this mind-body training (emotional relief technique) in an eight-week programme in a management context. The findings indicate the positive impact that can be achieved on emotional competencies scores from this method of self-development.
Land acquisition and industrial growth
Authors: Das Satya P. , Saha Anuradha 
Published: December 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to understand the impact of land acquisition and the provision of rehabilitation and remuneration (R
&
R) transfers included in it, toward the short-run and the long-run growth of an economy as well as on the welfare of farmers and industrialists over time.

Design/methodology/approach
– The authors develop a two-sector model of growth with agriculture and manufacturing in which land is an essential input to production in both sectors. Industrialists buy land from farmers and deals include R
&
R payments. Individuals live for one period and at its end, bequeath land and capital assets to their child. There is Hicks-neutral technical progress in each sector.

Findings
– The R
&
R policy has no effect on the long-run sectoral growth or land allocation. While such a policy benefits the farmers initially, after a certain period, it reduces their welfare. The R
&
R scheme makes the industrialist worse-off in all periods. It was found that besides the standard convergence effect, land acquisition by the industrial sector increases the growth rate of capital. This may lead to non-monotonic growth rate of capital.

Research limitations/implications
– The two-sector model abstracts from labor and labor markets. Hence, sectoral employment mobility or changes in the skill-wage premium over time are not captured.

Originality/value
– First, this paper developed a two-sector growth model with land as a factor of production and an asset. Second, it examined growth and distributive impacts of the R
&
R package embodied in land transactions.
Centralized vehicle leasing in humanitarian fleet management: the UNHCR case
Authors: Kunz Nathan , Van Wassenhove Luk N. , McConnell Rob , Hov Ketil 
Published: December 2015

Purpose
– Fleet management is a key function in humanitarian organizations, but is not always recognized as such. This results in poor performance and negative impacts on the organization. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrates how the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) managed to substantially improve its fleet management through the introduction of an Internal Leasing Program (ILP), in which headquarters procures vehicles and leases them to field offices.

Design/methodology/approach
– This paper develops a framework for fleet management based on a longitudinal case study with UNHCR. It compares fleet performance indicators before and after implementation of an ILP.

Findings
– At UNHCR, vehicle procurement was driven by availability of funding. Fleet management was highly decentralized and field offices had limited awareness of its importance. These systems and behaviors led to major challenges for the organization. The introduction of the ILP positively impacted fleet management at UNHCR by reducing fleet size, average age of fleet and procurement costs.

Practical implications
– This paper provides fleet managers with a tool for analyzing their fleet. The frameworks and actions described in this paper contain practical recommendations for achieving a well-performing fleet.

Originality/value
– This paper is the first to analyze fleet management before and after introduction of an ILP. It describes the benefits of this model based on empirical data, and develops frameworks to be used by researchers and practitioners.
Resolution of international trade disputes in the WTO and other Fora
Authors: Sacerdoti Giorgio 
Published: December 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to assess the success of the world trade organisation (WTO) dispute settlement system and its transferability to other fora.Design/methodology/approach– The paper compares the design and case law of trade and investment law, and seeks lessons for the settlement of trade and investment disputes in other fora.Findings– It concludes that despite its shortcomings, the WTO Appellate Body provides vital stability regarding legal interpretations, something notably absent from other fora.Originality/value– The paper offers the perspective of a former Member and Chairman of the WTO Appellate Body on the success of the dispute settlement system.
Operational risk capital charges (Basel II): factoring in external loss data to the internal datasets
Authors: Prorokowski Lukasz 
Published: December 2015

Purpose
– This paper aims to discuss ideas of factoring in external loss data to the internal loss data sets to obtain a true picture of operational losses for non-bank financial services firms, focusing on a case study of the interdealer brokers business and a specific Basel II category of the operational risk capital charges. As it transpires, financial services firms are increasingly required by regulators to merge external loss data with their internal data sets when using a loss distribution approach. However, there is a significant constrain on the availability and completeness of the external data for non-bank financial services firms.

Design/methodology/approach
– Embarking on a modified Kaplan-Meier method is a clever way of factoring in external loss data into the internal data set. It allows non-bank financial firms to choose which fragments of the data constitute “the best fit”. In choosing the external data, this paper posits that such firms need to rely on loss-type events that display similar patterns in probabilities of occurrence. This method eliminates over-reliance on the external data that are specific for a different entity. One of the most important assumption underpinning the method presented in this paper is the fact that constant time intervals between the recorded operational loss events are assumed. Hereto, reaching a certain level of loss is used as the event of interest in both groups. For simplification purposes and to eliminate the noise and capture significant losses, we set this level as a multiplicity of the interdealer broker’s loss threshold.

Findings
– Obtaining external loss data is difficult for the non-bank financial services firms. Furthermore, institutions operating as interdealer brokers are exposed to different levels of operational risk that affect their own Advanced Measurement Approach to capital charges under Basel II. The existing consortium data sets are not suitable for non-bank financial institutions. With this in mind, the non-bank firms should select only the parts of the external data that fit their business environment.

Originality/value
– This paper should be of interest to any financial services firms that is required by regulators to merge its internal loss data sets with external loss data. Furthermore, this paper makes strong recommendations for regulators who should understand that the contemporary operational risk consortium data sets are not suitable for non-bank financial services firms.
Being where the people are: the challenges and benefits of search engine visibility for public libraries
Authors: Dickinson Zoe , Smit Mike 
Published: December 2015

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges and benefits presented by search engine visibility for public libraries. This paper outlines the preliminary results of a pilot study investigating search engine visibility in two Canadian public libraries, and discusses practical approaches to search engine visibility.Design/methodology/approach– The study consists of semi-structured interviews with librarians from two multi-branch Canadian public library systems, combined with quantitative data provided by each library, as well as data obtained through site-specific searches in Google and Bing. Possible barriers to visibility are identified through thematic analysis of the interviews. Practical approaches are identified by the author based on a literature review.Findings– The initial findings of this pilot study identify a complex combination of barriers to visibility on search engines, in the form of attitudes, policies, organizational structures and technological difficulties.Research limitations/implications– This paper describes a small, preliminary pilot study. More research is needed before any firm conclusions can be reached.Practical implications– A review of the literature shows the increasing importance of search engine visibility for public libraries. This paper outlines practical approaches which can be undertaken immediately by libraries, as well as delving into the underlying issues which may be affecting libraries’ progress on the issue.Originality/value– There has been little original research investigating the reasons behind libraries’ lack of visibility in search engine results pages. This paper provides insight into a previously unexplored area by exploring public libraries’ relationships with search engines.
Getting acquainted with social networks and apps: Snapchat and the rise of ephemeral communication
Authors: Anderson Katie Elson 
Published: December 2015

Purpose
– The traditional library image that comes to mind upon hearing this word is of vertical files filled with newspaper clippings, photos, brochures, flyers on a popular topic or event.

Design/methodology/approach
– The modern image of ephemera, however, is now more nuanced and complex, as the increased creation of digital ephemera provides opportunities and challenges for libraries and archives.

Findings
– There now need to be considerations for dealing with digital materials and artifacts that are short-lived and temporary. These digital ephemera are increasing every day, with a presence in the world that is anything but temporary.

Originality/value
– The Library of Congress announced that it would be digitally archiving every public tweet since Twitter’s inception in March 2006 (Raymond, 2010). As of 2013, they had archived 170 billion tweets and were receiving nearly a half billion tweets a day (Allen, 2013). However, the magnitude of the project is being grappled with and currently the project appears to be in limbo (Scola, 2015).
Association of maternal smoking during pregnancy with aerobic fitness of offspring in young adulthood: a prospective cohort study
Authors: Hagnäs MP , Cederberg H , Jokelainen J , Mikkola I , Rajala U , Keinänen‐Kiukaanniemi S 
Published: December 2015

ObjectiveWe evaluated the association of maternal pre‐pregnancy body mass index (BMI), gestational weight gain (GWG), and maternal smoking with aerobic fitness in young men aged 19–20 years.DesignA 19–year prospective cohort study.SettingData from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (NFBC 1986) and the Sodankylä Jaeger Brigade, Finland, in 2005–6.PopulationMothers and the 508 offspring in the NFBC 1986 who entered military service at the Sodankylä Jaeger Brigade in 2005.MethodsAssociations of weight, 12–minute running test (Cooper test), and muscle fitness index (MFI) of offspring on entry to military service were evaluated with antenatal factors, including maternal smoking, pre‐pregnancy BMI, and GWG.Main outcome measuresAerobic and muscle fitness of the offspring were evaluated by the Cooper test and MFI.ResultsMaternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with lower aerobic fitness of male adolescents, measured by the Cooper test (2356 m; 95% confidence interval, 95% CI 2265–2446 m), compared with the offspring of mothers who did not smoke during pregnancy (2537 m, 95% CI 2499–2574 m). This association was independent of the BMIs of both the mother and the offspring, GWG, and the smoking and physical activity of offspring (regression coefficient −140.6 m, 95% CI −273.1 to −8.0 m). High maternal pre‐pregnancy BMI and excessive GWG were also associated with lower aerobic fitness of the offspring; however, this association was mediated via the weight of the offspring.ConclusionsMaternal smoking during pregnancy may have a negative impact on the aerobic fitness of the offspring.Tweetable abstractStudy shows that young men have lower aerobic fitness if their mothers smoked during pregnancy.