bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Biogeographic variability of coastal perennial grasslands at the European scale
Authors: Del Vecchio S. , Fantinato E. , Janssen J.A.M. , Bioret F. , Acosta A. , Prisco I. , Tzonev R. , Marcenò C. , Rodwell J. , Buffa G. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractQuestionCoastal environments have often been described as azonal. While this characteristic is clear for the foredune system, it seems less evident for more inland fixed dunes, which host habitats of major conservation concern, whose features seem to be more related to local climatic conditions. We hypothesized that, unlike other coastal habitats, dune perennial grasslands differ floristically and structurally across their European range and that patterns of variation are linked to the corresponding climate.LocationEuropean coasts (Atlantic Ocean, Baltic, Mediterranean, Black Sea).MethodsWe used a large data set of phytosociological relevés, representative of coastal grasslands throughout their European range. The role of climatic variables (temperature, precipitation and continentality) in determining the variability in species composition and vegetation structure (by means of life forms) was investigated through CCA, DCA and GLM. The degree of concentration of species occurrences within groups was calculated through the Phi coefficient.ResultsThrough multivariate analyses we identified seven major types of coastal grassland, corresponding to different geographic areas. The groups significantly differed in their climatic envelope, as well as in their species composition and community structure.ConclusionOur results confirm the hypothesis that coastal dune perennial grasslands are subjected to local climate, which exerts significant effects on both floristic composition and community structure. As a consequence, coastal grasslands are particularly prone to the effect of possible climate change, which may alter species composition and distribution, and lead to shifts in the distribution of native plant communities.
The 2008 Wall Street Crash: A Failed Organizational Response to Complexity
Authors: Herbert Richard H. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractIn the period since the 2008 Wall Street crash, little consensus has emerged on its causes or actions to prevent a recurrence. Our capability for rational decision making was overwhelmed. Viewing the entire financial system as a huge, richly interconnected organization suggests that its structure and associated management practices are suited for a far simpler environment. An organization that is large relative to its environment and sufficiently complex to require the coordination of specialized expertise cannot function by enabling decision makers to respond only to local demands. The resulting inability to recognize critical interdependencies and the nature of their risk makes periodic catastrophic failure likely. Specifically, compartmentalization of information, influence, and reward creates a myopic decision environment in which individual decision makers are unlikely to make effective or ethical decisions. Useful criteria for evaluating solutions can be suggested by considering the interaction of two factors: limited human information processing capability and the effect of motivation on information processing. Taken together, they suggest that human information processing is both limited and opportunistic. We cannot process all information available and the information selected for processing narrows to that needed to achieve salient rewards. Because of this, the organization's reward practices and their effect on motivation are a critical variable. Large financial rewards contingent upon short term, local, simplistic measures inevitably narrow the focus of decision maker's attention to a small part of the system. In contrast, dominant intrinsic motivation is rooted in awareness of, and responsibility for, broader outcomes. Each type of motivation differs in its requirements for sharing of information, influence, and reward. These, in turn, determine the adaptability of the organization to complexity and change. While this has significant ethical implications, its logic rests on the limitations of human information processing and motivation. Aligning human motivation and information flow to the demands of a complex, turbulent financial environment is the challenge we must meet to prevent further cataclysms.
The impressive contribution of Canadian economists to fiscal federalism theory and policy
Authors: Boadway Robin , Cuff Katherine 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe study of fiscal federalism has been central to the research of Canadian economists since the Rowell–Sirois Report. To mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Canadian Economics Association, it is fitting to take stock of their contributions. We focus on the period since 1982 and emphasize the main scholarly publications of an inclusive array of Canadian economists and economists in Canadian universities. Our attention is devoted to applications in the context of federal and provincial governments, setting aside related issues in municipal government finance. We briefly discuss instances where the fiscal federalism literature has informed policy debates including through policy research institutes, government commissions and international organizations.
Listening for Safe Places: Networks of Playing and Chalcedon in Disaster Pastoral Care
Authors: Johannessen‐Henry Christine Tind 
Published: December 2017

AbstractDisaster pastoral care operates in diverse contexts, which may challenge clergy responders in ecclesiological meaning‐making of their practices of care. This article argues that pastoral care may be imagined as part of a larger “network” of caring acts understood as a collective, multiple care practice. Such practice reflects deep‐rooted movements described in psychoanalytical theory as playing, and the christological idea of communication of properties. Therein, spiritual “safe places” can be seen to emerge, even in the midst of traumatic events.
Positive Loss and Tragic Memory: On the Preservation of Community
Authors: Gregersen Niels Henrik 
Published: December 2017

AbstractTheologies of disaster have to recognize exceptional disasters in the framework of a general human exposure to vulnerability, while engaging in the formation of human and religious resilience. Resilience is about “bouncing back and forward” in and through precautionary and self‐adaptive responses to disasters. Drawing up a distinction between personal tragedies and socially shared disasters, the basic argument is that the reconnection of disrupted communities lies at the center of both tragedy and disaster. This article describes a post‐secular theology of tragedy and disaster that mainly stays in a vernacular language, referring to basic assumptions of the gospel while refraining from using the heavier repertoires of Christian doctrine.
Mourning, Melancholy, and Humor: Psychotheology in Freud and Söderblom1
Authors: Sigurdson Ola 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThis article aims at exploring the means for and hope of overcoming trauma, that is, violent emotional shock, through the use of humor and theology in conjunction. Both humor and the experience of the hope of some kind of redemption are ways of transcending the given. But is such overcoming possible without illusion or escapism? These issues are explored through the psychotheological perspectives on humor in the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud and the Swedish archbishop and theologian Nathan Söderblom.
Embodying Confident Agency: Luther's “Three Estates” as a Resource for Virtue Theory
Authors: Herman Stewart W. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractMartin Luther's social writings (volumes 44–47 in the American edition) provide a robust account of human agency that might help Lutheran social ethics address contemporary crises of confidence. When Luther addresses concrete moral issues, he enriches his two‐kingdoms frame with a focus on particular social roles such as ruler, merchant, soldier, parent, etc. This (often tacit) “three‐estates” approach creates room for a distinctly Lutheran contribution to contemporary virtue theory by focusing on the functions served by particular social roles more than on individual self‐chosen pathways of moral improvement. It also supports a prophetic affirmation of vocation against the contemporary breakdown of expectations and confidence in social roles.
The Graduating European Dentist—Domain IV: Dentistry in Society
Authors: Gallagher J. , Field J. C. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThis position paper outlines the areas of competence and learning outcomes of “The Graduating European Dentist” that specifically relates to Dentistry in Society. In addition to treating individual patients, a Dentist must be able to focus on promoting health, monitoring interventions and implementing effective strategies of care at community and population levels. This necessarily involves understanding population demography and health trends, engaging with health policy and promoting health. A Dentist must also understand population demography and health trends, in the context of the healthcare system within which they work.
Functional morphology of the sting apparatus of the spider wasp Cryptocheilus versicolor (Scopoli, 1763) (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae)
Authors: Kumpanenko Alexander S. , Gladun Dmytro V. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe females of the spider wasps (Hymenoptera: Pompilidae) hunt spiders to provision their larvae. The genital structures of pompilid females are modified in a sting that is used for paralyzing the prey (spiders) and defense. The skeleto‐muscular structure of the sting apparatus of a typical representative of the family (Cryptocheilus versicolor) is examined. The shape of sclerites, their relative positions and articulations are described. Some morphological adaptations are described for the first time. The wide anal arc of the tergum IX provides a stiff support for the muscles that move the valvulae. The resilin structures in the areas of articulation support the work of muscles and in some cases replace them. The 1st valvulae form a venom duct along their entire length, which provides the delivery of the venom to a specific point. An unpaired flap in the venom duct provides a dose of venom in the sting. This mechanism probably enhances the speed and accuracy of the wasp's sting movements. Functions of muscles and interactions of the structures of the sting apparatus of C. versicolor are discussed.
Dinámicas Ocultas: Culture and Psy‐Sociality in Mexican Family Constellations Therapy
Authors: Duncan Whitney L. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThis article takes the ethnographic case of Family Constellations therapy in Oaxaca, Mexico, to demonstrate how a nonnative therapeutic practice articulates with local cultural frameworks to foster novel forms of therapeutic experience and sociality. Family Constellations in Oaxaca promotes particular forms of what I call “psy‐sociality,” or sociality generated by globalizing psy concepts, diagnoses, and practices, which produce new sites for self‐work and subject‐formation, but also for jointly processing social suffering, familial conflict, and psychological distress in culturally salient ways. First, participantssocializein a structured way that promotes embodied connection to others. Second, participants aresocializedinto gendered ways of speaking, knowing, interpreting, and acting upon the self and the family. Finally, participants are also given explicit guidance forhow to confront current sociofamilial conflictswith which they are grappling. In the process, participants localize this foreign therapy according to the context of present‐day Mexico. [healing, globalization, family, sociality, self, Mexico]Este artículo toma el caso etnográfico de la terapia de Constelaciones Familiares en Oaxaca, México, para demostrar cómo una práctica terapéutica no originaria del lugar se articula con marcos culturales locales para fomentar nuevas formas de sociabilidad y experiencia terapéutica. La terapia de Constelaciones Familiares en Oaxaca promueve formas particulares de lo que yo llamo “psicosocialidad”, o socialidad generada por la globalización de conceptos, diagnósticos y prácticas psicológicas que producen nuevos escenarios para el trabajo con uno mismo y la formación de sujetos, pero también para procesar de manera conjunta el sufrimiento social, los conflictos familiares y la angustia psicológica en formas culturalmente notables. En primer lugar, los participantessocializanen una forma estructurada que promueve la conexión corporal con otros. En segundo lugar, los participantes sonsocializadosa través de maneras de hablar, conocer, interpretar y actuar con respecto a sí mismos y a la familia relacionadas con el género. Por último, los participantes también reciben instrucciones explícitas sobrecómo confrontar conflictos sociofamiliares actualescon los que están lidiando. En el proceso, los participantes adaptan esta terapia extranjera al contexto del México actual.
Structural characterisation and immunomodulatory effects of polysaccharides isolated from Dendrobium aphyllum
Authors: Liu Huifan , Ma Juanjuan , Gong Fan , Wei Fashan , Zhang Xiaoyuan , Wu Hui 
Published: December 2017

SummaryA crude polysaccharide extract of Dendrobium aphyllum (cDAP, yield 38.15 ± 0.20%) was generated. The D. aphyllum polysaccharide (DAP, Mw 471.586 kDa), purified by DEAE‐Sepharose and Sephadex‐G200 Fast Flow, was composed of mannose (71.3%) and glucose (28.7%), according to GC–MS analysis. Its backbone was composed of β‐d‐mannopyranose and β‐d‐glucopyranose residues, as revealed by infrared spectroscopic analysis. Its glycosidic bond was mainly 1, 4‐linked, and the O‐acetyl groups were mainly linked to mannose residues, according to periodate oxidation and Smith degradation analysis. The DAP units polymerised into a filiform‐shaped spatial pattern, as characterised by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. DAP treatment enhanced cytokine secretion (nitric oxide, interleukin‐6 and tumour necrosis factor‐α) and pinocytic and phagocytic capacities of RAW 264.7 mouse macrophages. The complement receptor 3 and mannose receptor were identified to be the receptors of DAP on RAW 264.7 cells, indicating that the Akt/mTOR/MAPK and IKK/nuclear factor‐ĸB pathways could be involved in DAP‐activated immunomodulation.
Development of antimicrobial gummy candies with addition of bovine colostrum, essential oils and probiotics
Authors: Bartkiene Elena , Ruzauskas Modestas , Lele Vita , Zavistanaviciute Paulina , Bernatoniene Jurga , Jakstas Valdas , Ivanauskas Liudas , Zadeike Daiva , Klupsaite Dovile , Viskelis Pranas , Bendoraitiene Joana , Navikaite‐Snipaitiene Vesta , Juodeikiene Grazina 
Published: December 2017

SummaryThe aim of this study was to develop antimicrobial properties of gummy candies based on bovine colostrum (BC), essential oils (EOs), lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains and their combinations. In addition, the heteropolysaccharide (agar), as a multifunctional polymer, was used for the antimicrobial candies preparation. The antimicrobial activities of BC, EOs (C. reticulata L., Eugenia caryophyllata, C. paradisi L., Thymus vulgaris), LAB strains (Lactobacillus plantarum LUHS135 and Lactobacillus paracasei LUHS244) and their combinations against pathogenic bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis, Streptococcus mutans) were investigated. The highest antimicrobial activities were demonstrated by Thymus vulgaris and Eugenia caryophyllata EOs and their emulsions (12%), and the best formulation of components for antimicrobial gummy candies production would incorporate the BC fermented with L. paracasei LUHS244 in combination with Thymus vulgaris or Eugenia caryophyllata EOs, which inhibited growth of all the tested pathogenic microorganisms (except Pseudomonas aeruginosa). Gummy candies formula consisting of the fermented BC (up to 3%) and thyme EO (up to 0.2%) with mandarin or grapefruit EOs (up to 0.2%) for taste‐masking, allowed obtaining good texture and high overall acceptability products containing desirable antimicrobials, thus antimicrobial gummy candies could be consumer preferred form of nutraceuticals.
Brexit, Trump, and Christ's Call to Discipleship
Authors: Ross Kenneth R. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractIn March 2018 the World Council of Churches will convene a Conference on World Mission and Evangelism at Arusha in Tanzania to address the theme “Moving in the Spirit: Called to Transforming Discipleship.” The verbs in the title give an important clue as to its meaning. It suggests an understanding of faith that is dynamic and relevant, provoking challenge and engendering change. This article seeks to sketch salient aspects of the contemporary global context that invite such transformative engagement. We are living through a time of rapid change in the “Overton window” – the acceptable range of beliefs and values in a culture at any particular time. This is illustrated by examining populist politics; fake news, post‐truth and alternative facts; the new age of xenophobia and racism; inequality and justice; and the earth at stake. Behind the forces driving the change in values are powerful vested interests that will not take kindly to being challenged. Discipleship is going to be costly. Deep personal transformation will shape agents of change who bring hope to a deeply troubled world. Disciples are called to carry their cross, yet at the same time, and no less fundamentally, they discover the source of infinite joy.
Pondering “The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today's World”: A Protestant Missiological Reflection
Authors: Bargár Pavol 
Published: December 2017

AbstractThe article explores “The Mission of the Orthodox Church in Today's World” (MOCT), one of the six official documents issued by the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church that took place on the island of Crete in 2016. It is the first official Orthodox statement on mission ever published. The aim of the present article is to offer a reflection of MOCT from a Protestant missiological perspective. The article argues that MOCT interprets mission as the service of the church to the world, motivated by love. It goes on to discuss six major thematic areas of the statement, namely, the dignity of the human person; freedom and responsibility; peace and justice; peace and the aversion of war; the attitude of the church toward discrimination; and the mission of the Orthodox Church as a witness of love through service. The article seeks to provide a constructive critique of MOCT, assessing both its weaknesses and its assets. It concludes by saying that despite certain theological question marks, the new Orthodox mission document represents an invaluable contribution to the ecumenical discussion on mission and evangelism.
Survival study of treatment adherence by patients given oral oxibutynin for hyperhidrosis
Authors: Millán‐Cayetano J.F. , del Boz J. , García‐Montero P. , García‐Harana C. , Rivas Ruiz F. , de Troya‐Martín M. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractIntroductionIn recent years, increasing use has been made of oral anticholinergics such as oxybutynin for the management of hyperhidrosis. The primary aim of this study is to determine the variables associated with adherence to this treatment, and secondarily to obtain data on its effectiveness, safety and adverse effects.Material and methodsThis is a prospective study of patients with hyperhidrosis, at any location, receiving treatment with oral oxybutynin in the period 2007–2016. Epidemiological variables, treatment details, effectiveness and adverse effects were recorded. Effectiveness was determined according to the Hyperhidrosis Disease Severity Scale (HDSS) at baseline, at 3 and 12 months and in successive visits. A descriptive analysis was performed, and Cox's bivariate and multivariate regressions were calculated to determine the variables associated with treatment adherence.ResultsA total of 201 patients (140 women) with a mean age of 34 years were included. The mean initial HDSS score was 3.8, and the median follow‐up period was 29 months. At 3 months, 84.57% of the patients had responded to treatment (excellent response: 72.94%), but adverse effects were reported by 68.2%. At 12 months, 54.23% had responded (excellent response: 79.82%), with adverse effects in 75.2%. The main variable associated with greater adherence was affected areas: palms of the hands and soles of the feet. The following variables were associated with poorer adherence: onset of hyperhidrosis in adolescence, failure to provide an incrementally increasing, individualized dose, initial HDSS score of 3 and partial initial response. The multivariate analysis confirmed the association between the onset of hyperhidrosis during adolescence, the failure to provide a progressively increasing dose and palmar affectation.DiscussionThis study was conducted to identify the variables associated with adherence to treatment by hyperhidrosis patients treated with oral oxybutynin. This information would facilitate selection of patients for this treatment and enhance our understanding of the biological behaviour of such anticholinergics when used to treat hyperhidrosis.
Skin injuries and joint contractures of the upper extremities in Rett syndrome
Authors: Hirano D. , Taniguchi T. 
Published: December 2017

AbstractObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence and type of skin injuries and joint contractures of the upper extremities in individuals with Rett syndrome.MethodsIn 2016, a questionnaire regarding skin injuries and joint contractures was sent to 1016 directors of schools for special needs education and 204 directors of departments of rehabilitation [consisting of 130 facilities for persons with severe motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID), 73 wards for patients with SMID, and the National Hospital Organisation and National Centre Hospital, National Centre of Neurology and Psychiatry] in Japan. Descriptive statistics were used to indicate frequency in each question.ResultsInformation was acquired from 216 cases (3–53 years old) with Rett syndrome. Skin injuries and joint contractures of the upper extremities were observed in 41% and 49% of individuals with Rett syndrome, respectively. Most of the skin injuries were observed on the hands (19%) and fingers (29%). The incidence of skin injuries was not affected by age or disease severity. Many joint contractures were observed in the shoulder (33%) and elbow (29%) joints. Joint contractures tended to occur in individuals aged over 10 years or with severe locomotor impairment.ConclusionAlmost half of the Rett syndrome subjects assessed in the present study had skin injuries and joint contractures. Especially, the incidence of joint contractures was affected by age and disease severity. Thus, it is important that medical staff attempt to prevent the occurrence of skin injuries and joint contractures in this patient population.