bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Discourses, Narratives and Purposeful Action – Unraveling the Social–Ecological Complexity within the Brahmaputra Basin in India
Authors: Varma Navarun , Mishra Arabinda 
Published: March 2017

AbstractIssues of disaster and governance in the Brahmaputra Basin of India have been part of different debates within the epistemic boundaries. This study of a social–ecological regime shift, from a prosperous paddy cultivated region within the north bank of the Upper Brahmaputra Valley to a sediment deposited wasteland, unravels the complex relations between narratives of a problem and purposeful action. It is found that policy and practice solutions may not always be grounded in the problem situation but can be shaped by wider discourses and social learning. The study illustrates the continuation of engineering solutions without deeper understanding of their influence on social dynamics, the typification of community behaviour with an ignorance of cultural legacies, and a lack of prioritization of adaptation needs in the novel social–ecological conditions of the region. The conceptual frameworks of flood control debates contribute to distinct discourses influencing policy and praxis, while the discontented riparian community is motivated, by actors influenced by identity and space politics, towards political autonomy. Such influences of opposing discourses may reinforce the narrative of a trust gap between the Indian polity and its Northeast Region. The study further identifies a latent capacity for flexibility in the community, which requires more attention from policy and praxis to explore management solutions in such a complex social–ecological system. The paper argues for science, policy and practice engagements in such contexts and the use of transdisciplinary heuristics for their design to facilitate shared understanding. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
Sustainability and the Governance of the Financial System: What role for full reserve banking?
Authors: Røpke Inge 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThe financial crisis demonstrated the importance of money and finance for the key concerns of ecological economics: inequality, wellbeing and the conditions for sustainability transitions. To cope with the combined challenge of economic and environmental crises, one of the most popular governance proposals within the ecological economics community is to introduce full reserve banking, where retail banks are required to fully back demand deposits with reserves of government‐issued money. Banks can have separate investment activities where they lend funds from time deposits and equity capital, but they are no longer allowed to create new money. In principle, money creation is left to the state and the central bank. Proponents argue that such a system would increase economic stability, remove the undue profits that banks earn due to money creation and make this money available for social purposes instead. However, the idea has met substantial criticism from Post‐Keynesians, who are seen as natural allies of ecological economics. The purpose of this paper is to explore the usefulness of the proposal as a response to the combined challenge of governing economic and environmental crises. First, the roots of the present economic crisis are sketched out, and the key ecological economic concerns related to the crisis are outlined. Then, the main arguments in the debate on full reserve banking are explored, concluding that an intermediate position that combines tough restrictions on finance with increased public money creation is a better option. Finally, the discussion is put into a broader perspective. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment
Sediment detachment and transport processes associated with internal erosion of soil pipes
Authors: Wilson Glenn V. , Wells Robert , Kuhnle Roger , Fox Garey , Nieber John 
Published: March 2017

AbstractSubsurface flow can be an important process in gully erosion through its impact on decreasing soil cohesion and erosion resistance as soil water content or pressure increases and more directly by the effects of seepage forces on particle detachment and piping. The development of perched water tables fosters lateral flow that can result in seepage at the surface and/or formation of soil pipes by internal erosion of preferential flow paths. Continued internal erosion of soil pipes can lead to gullies, dam and levee failures. However, the processes involved in particle and aggregate detachment from soil pipe walls and transport processes within soil pipes have not been well studied or documented. This paper reviews the limited research on sediment detachment and transport in macropores and soil pipes and applies the knowledge learned from the much more extensive studies conducted on streams and industrial pipes to hydrogeologic conditions of soil pipes. Knowledge gaps are identified and recommendations are made for future research on sediment detachment and transport in soil pipes. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An Investigation of the e‐rater® Automated Scoring Engine's Grammar, Usage, Mechanics, and Style Microfeatures and Their Aggregation Model
Authors: Chen Jing , Zhang Mo , Bejar Isaac I. 
Published: March 2017

AbstractAutomated essay scoring (AES) generally computes essay scores as a function of macrofeatures derived from a set of microfeatures extracted from the text using natural language processing (NLP). In the e‐rater® automated scoring engine, developed at Educational Testing Service (ETS) for the automated scoring of essays, each of four macrofeatures (grammar, usage, mechanics, and style [GUMS]) is computed from a set of microfeatures. Statistical analyses reveal that some of these microfeatures might not explain much of the variance in human scores regardless of the writing tasks. Currently, the microfeatures in the same macrofeature group are equally weighted to produce the macrofeature score. We propose an alternative weighting scheme that gives higher weights to the microfeatures that are more predictive of human scores in each macrofeature group. Our results suggest that even though there is negligible difference between the proposed and the current equal weighting schemes and the current model in terms of the prediction of human scores and the correlation with external measures, our scheme improves the consistency of the resultant macrofeature scores across writing tasks to a considerable extent.
On the association analysis of genome‐sequencing data: A spatial clustering approach for partitioning the entire genome into nonoverlapping windows
Authors: Loehlein Fier Heide , Prokopenko Dmitry , Hecker Julian , Cho Michael H. , Silverman Edwin K. , Weiss Scott T. , Tanzi Rudolph E. , Lange Christoph 
Published: March 2017

ABSTRACTFor the association analysis of whole‐genome sequencing (WGS) studies, we propose an efficient and fast spatial‐clustering algorithm. Compared to existing analysis approaches for WGS data, that define the tested regions either by sliding or consecutive windows of fixed sizes along variants, a meaningful grouping of nearby variants into consecutive regions has the advantage that, compared to sliding window approaches, the number of tested regions is likely to be smaller. In comparison to consecutive, fixed‐window approaches, our approach is likely to group nearby variants together. Given existing biological evidence that disease‐associated mutations tend to physically cluster in specific regions along the chromosome, the identification of meaningful groups of nearby located variants could thus lead to a potential power gain for association analysis. Our algorithm defines consecutive genomic regions based on the physical positions of the variants, assuming an inhomogeneous Poisson process and groups together nearby variants. As parameters are estimated locally, the algorithm takes the differing variant density along the chromosome into account and provides locally optimal partitioning of variants into consecutive regions. An R‐implementation of the algorithm is provided. We discuss the theoretical advances of our algorithm compared to existing, window‐based approaches and show the performance and advantage of our introduced algorithm in a simulation study and by an application to Alzheimer's disease WGS data. Our analysis identifies a region in the ITGB3 gene that potentially harbors disease susceptibility loci for Alzheimer's disease. The region‐based association signal of ITGB3 replicates in an independent data set and achieves formally genome‐wide significance.Software Implementation: An implementation of the algorithm in R is available at: https://github.com/heidefier/cluster_wgs_data.
An astroglial basis of major depressive disorder? An overview
Authors: Wang Qian , Jie Wei , Liu Ji‐Hong , Yang Jian‐Ming , Gao Tian‐Ming 
Published: March 2017

AbstractDepression is a chronic, recurring, and serious mood disorder that afflicts up to 20% of the global population. The monoamine hypothesis has dominated our understanding of the pharmacotherapy of depression for more than half a century; however, our understanding of the pathophysiology and pathogenesis of major depression has lagged far behind. Astrocytes are the most abundant and versatile cells in the brain, participating in most, if not all, of brain functions as both a passive housekeeper and an active player. Mounting evidence from clinical, preclinical and post‐mortem studies has revealed a decrease in the number or density of astrocytes and morphological and functional astroglial atrophy in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and in animal models of depression. Furthermore, currently available antidepressant treatments at least partially exert their therapeutic effects on astrocytes. More importantly, dysfunctional astrocytes lead to depressive‐like phenotypes in animals. Together, current studies point to astroglial pathology as the potential root cause of MDD. Thus, a shift from a neuron‐centric to an astrocyte‐centric cause of MDD has gained increasing attention during the past two decades. Here we will summarize the current evidence supporting the hypothesis that MDD is a disease of astrocyte pathology and highlight previous studies on promising strategies that directly target astrocytes for the development of novel antidepressant treatments.
The relationship of specific items on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory to caregiver burden in dementia: a systematic review
Authors: Terum Toril Marie , Andersen John Roger , Rongve Arvid , Aarsland Dag , Svendsboe Ellen J. , Testad Ingelin 
Published: March 2017

ObjectiveNeuropsychiatric symptoms (NPSs) are common in dementia, and they have been identified as important care‐recipient variables in terms of their impact on caregiver burden. The aim of this review was to describe how individual NPSs in dementia, assessed using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory, are associated with caregiver burden.MethodsWe performed a systematic review of English language, peer‐reviewed articles retrieved from MEDLINE, PSYCINFO, and EMBASE.ResultsA total of 13 studies met the inclusion criteria. Four studies examined the association between individual NPSs and caregiver burden using the Spearman rank correlation test, while three used Pearson's correlation test. Of the remaining studies, five used multiple regression analyses and one the chi‐squared test. The majority of included studies did not differentiate between dementia subtypes in the analysis or mainly included only caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease. The Clinical Dementia Rating score and mean Mini‐Mental State Examination score indicate mild to moderate dementia. The majority of caregivers were women, most of whom were children (53.8%) or spouses (36%). The data indicated that irritability, followed by agitation, sleep disturbances, anxiety, apathy, and delusion seem to impact caregiver burden the most.ConclusionOur principal finding is that irritability, agitation, sleep disturbances, anxiety, apathy, and delusion seem to exert the most impact on caregiver burden. Heterogeneity in the measures and statistical analyses used, however, makes it difficult to make conclusive interpretations. Future research in this field would benefit from standardization of the scientific methodology in use. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Performance Impact of Temporal Strategic Fit:Entrainment of Internationalization with Pro‐Market Reforms
Authors: Popli Manish , Akbar Mohammad , Kumar Vikas , Gaur Ajai 
Published: March 2017

Research summaryPro‐market reforms in emerging markets evolve in a temporal pattern, however extant studies examining the impact of pro‐market reforms have eschewed temporality. We propose that the net impact of reforms on firm performance is contingent on the temporal strategic fit of the firm's strategic choice with the external environment. Using internationalization as the strategic choice, we posit that a positive impact of internationalization is contingent on whether or not firms entrain (synchronize) the temporal parameters of their internationalization activities with those of pro‐market reforms. Robust empirical support for these arguments comes from longitudinal panel data related toIndian automotive firms from 2001 to 2010, contributing to our understanding of the role of the temporal strategic fit of firms’ strategic choices during institutional transitions.Managerial summaryManagers of emerging market (EM) firms have faced pro‐market reforms in their home markets, leading to a high degree of competition. Hence, it is pertinent forEMfirms to know the intricacies of their response during such changes. We suggest that managers should frame their strategic responses by considering not only the role of “what” and “how,” but also the impact of “when” and “at what rate.” We find firms that shape their responses in synchronization with the changes in the external environment are in the best position to mitigate the erosion of their profitability. As such, this study focuses on the impact of temporal fit of internationalization activities with pro‐market reforms byEMfirms and has implication for managers of economies in transition.
Cortical surface‐based threshold‐free cluster enhancement and cortexwise mediation
Authors: Lett Tristram A. , Waller Lea , Tost Heike , Veer Ilya M. , Nazeri Arash , Erk Susanne , Brandl Eva J. , Charlet Katrin , Beck Anne , Vollstädt‐Klein Sabine , Jorde Anne , Kiefer Falk , Heinz Andreas , Meyer‐Lindenberg Andreas , Chakravarty M. Mallar , Walter Henrik 
Published: March 2017

AbstractThreshold‐free cluster enhancement (TFCE) is a sensitive means to incorporate spatial neighborhood information in neuroimaging studies without using arbitrary thresholds. The majority of methods have applied TFCE to voxelwise data. The need to understand the relationship among multiple variables and imaging modalities has become critical. We propose a new method of applying TFCE to vertexwise statistical images as well as cortexwise (either voxel‐ or vertexwise) mediation analysis. Here we present TFCE_mediation, a toolbox that can be used for cortexwise multiple regression analysis with TFCE, and additionally cortexwise mediation using TFCE. The toolbox is open source and publicly available (https://github.com/trislett/TFCE_mediation). We validated TFCE_mediation in healthy controls from two independent multimodal neuroimaging samples (N = 199 andN = 183). We found a consistent structure–function relationship between surface area and the first independent component (IC1) of the N‐back task, that white matter fractional anisotropy is strongly associated with IC1 N‐back, and that our voxel‐based results are essentially identical to FSL randomise using TFCE (allPFWE<0.05). Using cortexwise mediation, we showed that the relationship between white matter FA and IC1 N‐back is mediated by surface area in the right superior frontal cortex (PFWE < 0.05). We also demonstrated that the same mediation model is present using vertexwise mediation (PFWE < 0.05). In conclusion, cortexwise analysis with TFCE provides an effective analysis of multimodal neuroimaging data. Furthermore, cortexwise mediation analysis may identify or explain a mechanism that underlies an observed relationship among a predictor, intermediary, and dependent variables in which one of these variables is assessed at a whole‐brain scale.Hum Brain Mapp 38:2795–2807, 2017. ©2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The health policy pendulum: Cost control vs activity growth
Authors: Tjerbo Trond , Hagen Terje P. 
Published: March 2017

SummaryBackgroundCost containment is a major policy challenge and one of the key drivers of health care reform. In this article, we focus on the role cost control has played as a reform driver in the Norwegian hospital sector between 1980 and 2014.MethodsWe use data on aggregate expenditure as well as on activity changes from year to year. We also use qualitative data for illustrative purposes.ResultsWe identify 4 phases in the period 1980 to 2014: two where activity increases have dominated the agenda and 2 where cost control has been emphasized. The desire to either increase activity or improve cost control has been important reform drivers.ConclusionCost control has been a major reform motivator in the period, and some of the policies aimed towards achieving cost control have been successful. But as cost control is achieved, waiting lists and popular dissatisfaction increase and new policies are implemented to increase activity.
Molecular characteristics of ofloxacin mono‐resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from new and previously treated tuberculosis patients
Authors: Wang Zhirui , Xie Tong , Mu Cheng , Wang Chunhua , Ju Hanfang , Zhao Hui , Sun Rui 
Published: March 2017

BackgroundOfloxacin (OFX) resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates have been increasingly observed and are a major concern in recent years. This study investigated the genetic mutations associated with OFX resistance among clinical OFX mono‐resistant MTB isolates from new and previously treated tuberculosis patients.MethodsA total of 50 unrelated OFX mono‐resistant MTB isolates were analyzed. For all isolates, the quinolone resistance determining regions of gyrA and gyrB were PCR amplified and sequenced.ResultsSingle mutations in the quinolone resistance determining regions of gyrA (positions D94A, G, N, and Y; A90V; and S91P) and gyrB (positions T539A and E540D) were observed in 62% (31/50) and 4% (2/50) of all OFX mono‐resistant isolates, respectively. No differences were detected between the proportions of isolates with mutations in gyrA/gyrB from new and previously treated tuberculosis patients (P=.820).ConclusionsAlthough mutations in gyrB were rare, they were as important as mutations in gyrA in predicting OFX resistance in MTB in Tianjin, China.
Insect Immunity Varies Idiosyncratically During Overwintering
Authors: Ferguson Laura V. , Sinclair Brent J. 
Published: March 2017

ABSTRACTOverwintering insects face multiple stressors, including pathogen and parasite pressures that shift with seasons. However, we know little of how the insect immune system fluctuates with season, particularly in the overwintering period. To understand how immune activity changes across autumn, winter, and spring, we tracked immune activity of three temperate insects that overwinter as larvae: a weevil (Curculio sp., Coleoptera), gallfly (Eurosta solidaginis, Diptera), and larvae of the lepidopteran Pyrrharctia isabella. We measured baseline circulating hemocyte numbers, phenoloxidase activity, and humoral antimicrobial activity, as well as survival of fungal infection and melanization response at 12°C and 25°C to capture any potential plasticity in thermal performance. In Curculio sp. and E. solidaginis, hemocyte concentrations remained unchanged across seasons and antimicrobial activity against Gram‐positive bacteria was lowest in autumn; however, Curculio sp. were less likely to survive fungal infection in autumn, whereas E. solidaginis were less likely to survive infection during the winter. Furthermore, hemocyte concentrations and antimicrobial activity decreased in P. isabella overwintering beneath snow cover. Overall, seasonal changes in activity were largely species dependent, thus it may be difficult to create generalizable predictions about the effects of a changing climate on seasonal immune activity in insects. However, we suggest that the relationship between the response to multiple stressors (e.g., cold and pathogens) drives changes in immune activity, and that understanding the physiology underlying these relationships will inform our predictions of the effects of environmental change on insect overwintering success.
Development of a novel, fibrin‐specific PET tracer
Authors: van Mourik Tiemen R. , Claesener Michael , Nicolay Klaas , Grüll Holger 
Published: March 2017

Fibrin deposition is observed in several diseases such as atherosclerosis, deep vein thrombosis, and also tumors, where it contributes to the formation of mature tumor stroma. The aim of this study was to develop a gallium‐labeled peptide tracer on the basis of the fibrin‐targeting peptide Epep for PET imaging of fibrin deposition. For this purpose, the peptide Epep was modified with a NOTA moiety for radiolabeling with 67Ga and 68Ga and compared with the earlier validated 111In‐DOTA‐Epep tracer. In vitro binding assays of 67Ga‐NOTA‐Epep displayed an enhanced retention as compared to previously published data showing binding of 111In‐DOTA‐Epep to human (84.0 ± 0.6 vs 66.6 ± 1.4 %Dose) and mouse derived fibrin clots (83.5 ± 1.7 vs 74.2 ± 2.4% Dose). In vivo blood kinetics displayed a bi‐phasic elimination profile (t1/2,α = 2.6 ± 1.0 minutes and t1/2,β = 15.8 ± 1.3 minutes) and ex vivo biodistribution showed low blood values at 4 hours post injection and a low uptake in nontarget tissue (<0.2 %ID/g; kidneys, 1.9%ID/g). In conclusion, taking into account the ease of radiolabeling and the promising in vitro and in vivo studies, gallium‐labeled Epep displays the potential for further development towards a PET tracer for fibrin deposition.
Influence of different processing times on the quality of Polygoni Multiflora Radix by metabolomics based on ultra high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry
Authors: Yu Xie‐an , Ge Ai‐hua , Zhang Lu , Li Jin , An Mingrui , Cao Jun , He Jun , Gao Xiu‐mei , Chang Yan‐xu 
Published: March 2017

A metabolomics method based on ultra high performance liquid chromatography with quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry was developed to evaluate the influence of processing times on the quality of raw and processed Polygoni Multiflora Radix. Principal component analysis and partial least‐squares discriminant analysis was used to screen the potential maker metabolites that were contributed to the quality changes. Then these marker metabolites were selected as variables in Fisher's discriminant analysis to establish the models that were used to distinguish the raw and processed Polygoni Multiflora Radix in the markets. Additionally, 36 compounds were identified. Twelve raw Polygoni Multiflora Radix samples and 23 processed Polygoni Multiflora Radix samples were distinguished. The results showed that the 12 raw Polygoni Multiflora Radix samples belonged to the group of processing time of 0 h, and two processed Polygoni Multiflora Radix samples were part of the group of processing times of 4 h, 12 samples belonged to group of processing times of 8 to 16 h, and nine samples were the group of processing times of 24 to 48 h. The results demonstrated that the method could provide scientific support for the processing standardization of Polygoni Multiflora Radix.