bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Enforcing ‘Progress’: A Story of an MDG 5 Indicator and Maternal Health in Malawi
Authors: Danielsen Lotte 
Published: May 2017

ABSTRACTConsidering the importance of metrics in current systems of global health accountability, this article analyses the dynamics behind a maternal health indicator. To achieve the target of Millennium Development Goal 5 (MDG 5) and increase the proportion of births attended by ‘skilled health personnel’, some districts in Malawi in 2010 introduced information campaigns to promote births in hospitals and a fine to punish mothers who delivered outside of biomedical health institutions. The study is based on ethnographic research in one Malawian village. While many mothers described the ill treatment and bad conditions in maternity wards, most women still started to publicly sanction institutional births. This apparent contradiction can be understood by looking at the positions and motivations of the various actors who participated in the performance of MDG 5 in the village and how their projects became tied to the focus on improving the indicator. Rather than expressing a demand for the existing maternal health services as such, the ethnography suggests that the actors’ practices expressed hopes and claims to wider material improvements in a context of inequality. The article highlights dynamics that are concealed if we restrict the analysis to one of biopower, and expands the purview of the study of metrics into the spaces which indicators are intended to represent.
Biology, ecology and demography of the tropical treehopper Ennya maculicornis (Hemiptera: Membracidae): relationships between female fitness, maternal care and oviposition sites
Authors: CACERES‐SANCHEZ LILIANA , TORRICO‐BAZOBERRY DANIEL , COSSIO ROMINA , REQUE KENIA , AGUILAR SANDRA , NIEMEYER HERMANN M. , PINTO CARLOS F. 
Published: May 2017

1. Treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae) exhibit a wide range of social behaviours related to maternal care and nymphal aggregation. Maternal care represents an investment in terms of time and energy leading to trade‐offs which bear a strong relationship with parity and can thus affect population dynamics. These trade‐offs can be modulated by biotic and abiotic features of the oviposition site.2. Preliminary observations on Ennya maculicornis (Membracidae: Similinae: Polyglyptini) show that females generally lay a single egg mass, and occasionally two or three egg masses, and that maternal care is a plastic trait because some females abandoned their egg mass before it hatched while other females remained with their offspring after egg hatching. These features make this species an interesting model to study the relationship between female fitness, maternal care and ecological factors such as oviposition site.3. The biology and natural history of E. maculicornis are described and the relationships in question analysed using demographic parameters estimated by matrix models. Ennya maculicornis showed sexual dimorphism and a longer developmental period than other species of the same tribe. Females exhibited maternal care that increased offspring survival, and preferred mature over young host leaves for oviposition. Finite rate of increase (λ) values were lower than 1, suggesting a tendency towards population decrease.4. The results represent the first detailed description of the life history and ecology for a species of this genus. Additionally, new hypotheses for treehopper sexual dimorphism, oviposition site choice and the ecological effects on population dynamics are proposed.
An ontology to document a quality scheme specification of a software product
Authors: Blas María Julia , Gonnet Silvio , Leone Horacio 
Published: May 2017

AbstractPressman's (2010) definition of software quality is the conformance to explicitly stated functional and performance requirements, explicitly documented development standards, and implicit characteristics that are expected of all professionally developed software. The achievement of quality is a complex activity that is related with the process quality and product quality. However, still, it is not clear how product quality should apply in the development process. Frequently, the development team does not know what characteristics influence a specific entity and how these characteristics compose the quality of the product. This lack of knowledge reflects the need to define some document that serve as a valid quality specification that should be evaluated along the development process. This contribution addresses this need by introducing an ontology for document a quality scheme based on the product quality model of ISO/IEC 25010. The proposal follows this model with aims to clarify the properties that are normally present in a product and its meaning. The ontology incorporates the metric concept to represent the way in which quality should be measure. The ontology was implemented using Protégé, and it was evaluated using a set of metrics that estimate the required structural characteristics.
Phytate dephosphorylation by Lactobacillus pentosus CFR3
Authors: Amritha Girish K. , Halami Prakash M. , Venkateswaran G. 
Published: May 2017

SummaryStudies on phytate‐degrading enzymes from lactobacilli are scarce, despite its potential in improving the nutritional quality of plant‐based foods. Therefore, the current investigation deals with the phytate‐degrading enzyme produced by a native Lactobacillus pentosus strain. Phytase activity was highest towards the end of the exponential phase. Activity increased in the presence of maltose (381.1%) compared with glucose. The presence of phytate in the media stimulated the enzyme production. The enzyme of interest was a 70 kDa protein with a pH and temperature optima of 5.0 and 55–60 °C, respectively. It retained 46% of activity after exposure to 70 °C for 20 min and also showed broad substrate specificity. It was completely inhibited by Hg2+, Fe2+ and PMSF while being activated by Co2+. This report is the first to show dephytinisation of autoclaved finger millet flour either by fermentation with L. pentosus or by treatment with the corresponding cell‐free extract.
Engagement, procedural fairness, and perceived fit as predictors of applicant withdrawal intentions: A longitudinal field study
Authors: Giumetti Gary W. , Raymark Patrick H. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractThe current study draws upon image theory to identify predictors of applicant withdrawal intentions and behavior. Applicants from a U.S. manufacturing organization completed measures of engagement, procedural justice, perceived fit, offer expectancy, perceived alternatives, and withdrawal intentions. Results indicate that withdrawal intentions were lower when candidates were more engaged in the selection process, perceived a higher level of procedural justice in the application process, perceived a greater degree of fit, and had higher offer expectancies. Additionally, the person–job fit–withdrawal intentions relationship was moderated by perceived alternatives such that this relationship was strongest when candidates reported having more alternatives. Withdrawal behavior was significantly predicted by person–organization fit, engagement, and withdrawal intentions. These results suggest that withdrawal intentions may be reduced via the development of engaging and procedurally fair selection procedures that help candidates determine their fit with the job and the organization.
Relationships of analytical, practical, and emotional intelligence with behavioral dimensions of performance of top managers
Authors: Baczyńska Anna , Thornton George C. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractThis study examined the relationships among analytical, practical, and emotional intelligence (EI) and five dimensions of managerial behavior. Two sets of hypotheses were tested: one set examined the relationship of each of the three types of intelligence with each of the behavioral dimensions; the second set examined the unique contribution of each type of intelligence to the prediction of each dimension. Twenty‐three one‐day assessment center sessions, including tests and simulation exercises, were administered to 163 top managers in Poland. The behavioral dimensions of leadership, initiative, goal orientation, change orientation, and employee development were related to analytical intelligence and practical intelligence, but not to EI. These findings make unique contributions to understanding the relationships of types of intelligence and managerial behavioral dimensions.
A Method for Assessing Shoreline Stability of Alpine Lake, West Virginia
Authors: Rando Carolina , Hopkinson Leslie , O'Neal Melissa , Fillhart Jason 
Published: May 2017

AbstractRapid stability assessments are tools commonly applied to stream reaches to evaluate potential for instability and are often used to prioritize management strategies. In this work, a rapid stability assessment was created to evaluate the stability of the shoreline of Alpine Lake in West Virginia, USA. First, the assessment tool was created considering the metrics of bank height, bank angle, erosion, armoring, wind and wave action, unconsolidated materials, protection measures, vegetation, and accretion. The resulting tool was applied to 83 reaches (20–100 m in length) of the lake shoreline. The reaches were rated in terms of potential instability: very low (14%), low (42%), moderate (33%), high (10%), and very high (1%). Second, erosion rates were monitored at eight locations using erosion pins. Average erosion rates up to 0.22 mm/d were observed. Measured erosion rates generally supported the rapid assessment results, but there were some exceptions. Additional categories that consider human activity along the lakeshore for recreation should be added. If used without continued erosion monitoring, the rapid assessment should be completed multiple times because the stability of the banks with little vegetation buffer varied by season. Lastly, reclamation strategies are discussed.
2D‐Fe3O4 Nanosheets for Effective Arsenic Removal
Authors: Luo Hongxi , Cheng Fangwei , Hu Weiming , Wang Jinpeng , Xiang Shuting , Fidalgo de Cortalezzi Maria 
Published: May 2017

AbstractFe3O4 adsorbent with 2D structures was synthesized via solvothermal method and its application in arsenic removal was investigated. Isotherms were generated at pH=4.7 and 7.6 and the results were best fitted by the Freundlich isotherm model; good As(V) adsorption capacity was achieved for the Fe3O4 adsorbent at both pH values. Furthermore, pH effects were evaluated; the optimal pH value for adsorption was 8.27 with the adsorption capacity and the removal efficiency being 18.55 mg/g and 93.69%, respectively. Based on the measurements of the zeta potential and particle size of the adsorbent, we proposed that the overall pH dependence was a result of the combined effects of the zeta potential, particle size of the adsorbent, and existing form of As(V). From kinetics studies, the As(V) adsorption by Fe3O4 adsorbent followed the pseudo‐second‐order model and could be described by a two stage mechanism. When initial As(V) concentration was 1 ppm, 73% of the As(V) was adsorbed within the first 2.5 minutes and an overall removal efficiency of 82.5% was achieved in 2 hours. Increased removal efficiency is expected at higher adsorbent loading, thus allowing the post‐treatment water to meet drinking water quality standards.
Improvement in health‐related quality of life after renal sympathetic denervation in real‐world hypertensive patients: 12‐month outcomes in the Global SYMPLICITY Registry
Authors: Kindermann Ingrid , Wedegärtner Sonja Maria , Mahfoud Felix , Weil Joachim , Brilakis Nicole , Ukena Julia , Ewen Sebastian , Linz Dominik , Fahy Martin , Mancia Giuseppe , Böhm Michael ,   the Global SYMPLICITY Registry Investigators
Published: May 2017

Renal denervation has been shown to reduce blood pressure in patients with uncontrolled hypertension, but less is known about its impact on quality of life. This analysis evaluated 12‐month blood pressure and quality of life outcomes in 934 patients from the Global SYMPLICITY Registry who completed the EuroQoL five‐dimensions three‐level questionnaire (EQ‐5D‐3L). At baseline, 32% of patients reported anxiety/depression and 48% reported pain/discomfort. At 12 months (n=496), office and 24‐hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure were reduced by 13.9±26.6 and 7.7±19.3 mm Hg, respectively, and 8% (P<.001) more patients reported no problems in anxiety/depression. Furthermore, numerically more patients reported no problems in pain/discomfort (4%, P=.08). Perceived health‐related quality of life (visual analog scale) improved from baseline to 12 months (68±18 vs 73±17, P<.001), and the improvement was largest among patients with severe anxiety/depression at baseline (50±24 vs 64±22, P=.005 [n=32]). In this analysis, renal denervation was associated with a significant improvement in health‐related quality of life, particularly anxiety/depression.
Spontaneously Reported Symptoms by Informants Are Associated with Clinical Severity in Dementia Help‐Seekers
Authors: Xu Jia‐Qi , Choy Jacky C. P. , Tang Jennifer Y. M. , Liu Tian‐Yin , Luo Hao , Lou Vivian W. Q. , Lum Terry Y. S. , Wong Gloria H. Y. 
Published: May 2017

ObjectivesTo investigate the predictive value of symptoms of dementia that the person or an informant noticed spontaneously in determining the clinical severity of dementia.DesignCross‐sectional.SettingCommunity‐based open‐referral dementia assessment service in Hong Kong between 2005 and 2013.ParticipantsHelp‐seekers for dementia assessment service and their informants (N = 965 dyads).MeasurementsParticipants underwent a clinical dementia interview based on the Clinical Dementia Rating. Spontaneous complaints that the person and the informant made that had prompted their help‐seeking of groups with interview results suggestive of no impairment, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia were compared. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the predictive value of spontaneous complaints for clinical severity. Independent raters blinded to clinical results coded spontaneously reported symptoms into theoretical themes: memory, executive function, language, time and place orientation, neuropsychiatric, mood, and avolition.ResultsMemory problems were the most frequently reported complaints for participants (87.7%) and their informants (95.5%), followed by self‐reported language (33.0%) and informant‐reported orientation (33.0%) difficulties. Informant‐reported but not self‐reported symptoms predicted clinical severity. Compared with the persons themselves, informants reported more pervasive symptoms corresponding to clinical severity. Persons with dementia self‐reported fewer types of symptoms than their healthy or mildly impaired counterparts. Spontaneously reported language and orientation symptoms by the informant distinguished persons with mild or worse dementia (P < .001, Nagelkerke coefficient of determination = 29.7%, percentage correct 85.6%).ConclusionThe type and pervasiveness of symptoms spontaneously that informants reported predicted clinical severity. This may provide a quick reference for triage.
Black Mothers' Perceptions of the Role of Race in Children's Education
Authors: Williams Amber D. , Banerjee Meeta , Lozada‐Smith Fantasy , Lambouths Danny , Rowley Stephanie J. 
Published: May 2017

AbstractMany Black parents consider racial climate and academic quality when thinking and making decisions about their children's schooling experiences. However, few studies have directly asked Black parents about the role they believe race will play in their children's schooling, if any. The authors interviewed 76 Black mothers (Mage = 34; SDage = 6.67) of children entering first grade (Mage = 6.13; SDage = 0.36), asking what role they believed race would play in their children's schooling. The authors found that mothers considered the racial composition of the school and the perspectives and behaviors of teachers and the administration to be important factors when assessing the role of race in their children's education. Mothers were also particularly concerned about the discrimination their sons may face because of their position as Black boys. Given these contextual factors, mothers considered themselves to be protective agents through their involvement in their children's academic lives.
Market size, occupational self‐selection, sorting, and income inequality
Authors: Behrens Kristian , Pokrovsky Dmitry , Zhelobodko Evgeny 
Published: May 2017

AbstractWe develop a monopolistic competition model with heterogeneous agents who self‐select into occupations (entrepreneurs and workers) depending on innate ability. The effect of market size on the equilibrium occupational structure crucially hinges on properties of the lower tier utility function—its scale elasticity and relative love‐for‐variety. When combined with the underlying ability distribution, the share of entrepreneurs and income inequality can increase or decrease with market size. When extended to allow for the endogenous sorting of mobile agents between cities, numerical examples suggest that sorting may increase inequality within and between cities.
Prices versus quantities in the presence of a second, unpriced, externality
Authors: Meunier Guy 
Published: May 2017

AbstractThis paper analyzes whether the presence of a second unregulated externality influences the choice between a price and a quantity instrument to address an externality. The author studies a situation in which two goods jointly generate an externality but only one of them is regulated. The two instruments differ because of the presence of uncertainty regarding the private value of the two goods. To ignore the unregulated good and apply Weitzman's classical result on the comparison of the slopes of marginal benefit and cost could be misleading because of the randomness of the unregulated good's quantity. Beside the relative slope of the marginal damage, the substitutability and the distribution of shocks play a role in the comparison. If there is a “cocktail effect” and the regulated and unregulated goods' quantities are negatively correlated, which occurs if they are substitutes, this reinforces the appeal of a price instrument. Furthermore, if the two goods are weak substitutes with correlated demands, the variance of the quantity of the unregulated good is larger under a quota than a tax, which further reinforces the appeal of the tax instrument.
Cryptosphaeria Canker of Populus nigra Caused by Cryptosphaeria pullmanensis, a New Threat to Poplar Industry in Iran
Authors: Rashid Aghdam Abdulrahman , Babai‐Ahari Asadollah , Karimi Kaivan , Arzanlou Mahdi 
Published: May 2017

AbstractTrunk diseases are potential threats to the poplar industry worldwide, including Iran. A survey on trunk diseases of Populus nigra in north‐western Iran revealed a new canker disease associated with dieback and decline of this host in West Azarbaijan Province of Iran. Wood samples were collected from poplar trees showing canker, dieback and decline symptoms and taken to the laboratory. A total of 173 fungal isolates were recovered from symptomatic tissues, of those 147 isolates had similar cultural and morphological features on potato dextrose agar. Based on a combination of morphological characteristics and phylogenetic inferences including DNA sequence data from the internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1, 5.8S rDNA, and ITS2), all 147 isolates were identified as Cryptosphaeria pullmanensis. The remaining 26 isolates were identified as Cytospora chrysosperma. Pathogenicity of Cr. pullmanensis on two‐year‐old P. nigra and Populus alba saplings under glasshouse conditions confirmed that Cr. pullmanensis is pathogenic on P. nigra and P. alba. Cryptosphaeria pullmanensis is here reported from Iran causing Cryptosphaeria canker on poplar trees for the first time. However, its host range, the extent of geographical distribution and management strategies remain to be examined.
Extinction debt in plant communities: where are we now?
Authors: Halley John M. , Monokrousos Nikolaos , Mazaris Antonios D. , Vokou Despoina 
Published: May 2017

AbstractIn many ecological communities, extinctions following habitat loss do not happen immediately. Understanding this delay is a major challenge, with conservation implications. In this issue, Otsu et al. show how landscape and management features affect the time lag. With this research as a starting point, we highlight the gaps and challenges still remaining in the study of extinction debt, especially in plant communities.
Marginal employment for welfare recipients: stepping stone or obstacle?
Authors: Lietzmann Torsten , Schmelzer Paul , Wiemers Jürgen 
Published: May 2017

AbstractMarginal employment (ME) is one of the largest forms of atypical employment in Germany. We analyse whether ME has a ‘stepping stone’ function for unemployed individuals, i.e., whether ME increases the subsequent probability of regular employment. We find differing treatment effects by unemployment duration. According to our results, ME increases the likelihood of regular employment within a 3‐year observation period only for those who take up ME several months after beginning to receive benefits. In contrast, for those starting ME within the first months of receiving benefits, there is no effect on the probability of regular employment. Although we took several measures to minimize the impact of unobserved heterogeneity, our results can only be interpreted as causal if the conditional independence assumption holds.
Evaluating hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines for tumour samples using within‐sample relative expression orderings of genes
Authors: Ao Lu , Guo You , Song Xuekun , Guan Qingzhou , Zheng Weicheng , Zhang Jiahui , Huang Haiyan , Zou Yi , Guo Zheng , Wang Xianlong 
Published: May 2017

AbstractBackground & AimsConcerns are raised about the representativeness of cell lines for tumours due to the culture environment and misidentification. Liver is a major metastatic destination of many cancers, which might further confuse the origin of hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. Therefore, it is of crucial importance to understand how well they can represent hepatocellular carcinoma.MethodsThe HCC‐specific gene pairs with highly stable relative expression orderings in more than 99% of hepatocellular carcinoma but with reversed relative expression orderings in at least 99% of one of the six types of cancer, colorectal carcinoma, breast carcinoma, non‐small‐cell lung cancer, gastric carcinoma, pancreatic carcinoma and ovarian carcinoma, were identified.ResultsWith the simple majority rule, the HCC‐specific relative expression orderings from comparisons with colorectal carcinoma and breast carcinoma could exactly discriminate primary hepatocellular carcinoma samples from both primary colorectal carcinoma and breast carcinoma samples. Especially, they correctly classified more than 90% of liver metastatic samples from colorectal carcinoma and breast carcinoma to their original tumours. Finally, using these HCC‐specific relative expression orderings from comparisons with six cancer types, we identified eight of 24 hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines in the Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia (Huh‐7, Huh‐1, HepG2, Hep3B, JHH‐5, JHH‐7, C3A and Alexander cells) that are highly representative of hepatocellular carcinoma. Evaluated with a REOs‐based prognostic signature for hepatocellular carcinoma, all these eight cell lines showed the same metastatic properties of the high‐risk metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma tissues.ConclusionsCaution should be taken for using hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines. Our results should be helpful to select proper hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines for biological experiments.