bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Biological parameters of interbreeding subspecies ofMeccus phyllosomus(Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) in western Mexico
Authors: Martínez-Ibarra J. A. , Nogueda-Torres B. , Cárdenas-De la Cruz M. Á. , Villagrán M. E. , de Diego-Cabrera J. A. , Bustos-Saldaña R. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractUnderstanding the biological parameters of some triatomine subspecies ofMeccus phyllosomus(Burmeister) is a crucial first step in estimating the epidemiological importance of this group. Biological parameters related to egg eclosion, egg-to-adult development time, number of blood meals to moult, percentage of females at the end of the cycle, number of laid eggs, and the accumulative mortality for each instar of threeM. phyllosomussubspecies [Meccus phyllosomus pallidipennis(Stål),Meccus phyllosomus longipennis(Usinger), andMeccus phyllosomus picturatus(Usinger)] as well as their laboratory hybrids were evaluated and compared. No significant differences (P> 0.05) were recorded among the experimental hybrids (M. p. longipennis×M. p. pallidipennis, M. p. longipennis×M. p. picturatus, M. p. pallidipennis×M. p. picturatus) and reciprocal cohorts. In five of the six studied parameters (egg eclosion, egg-to-adult development time, number of blood meals to moult, number of laid eggs and accumulative mortality), with the exception of the non-significant percentage of females obtained among all the studied cohorts, at least one of the parental cohorts in each set of crosses exhibited better fitness results than by those of their hybrid descendants. The lack of hybrid fitness in our study indicates the maintenance of reproductive isolation of parental genotypes. Moreover, the results lead us to propose that an incipient speciation process by distance is currently developing among the three studied subspecies, increasing the differences between them that modify the transmission efficiency ofTrypanosoma cruzito human beings in Mexico.
Detecting association of rare and common variants by adaptive combination of P-values
Authors: ZHOU YAJING , WANG YONG 
Published: October 2015

SummaryGenome-wide association studies (GWAS) can detect common variants associated with diseases. Next generation sequencing technology has made it possible to detect rare variants. Most of association tests, including burden tests and nonburden tests, mainly target rare variants by upweighting rare variant effects and downweighting common variant effects. But there is increasing evidence that complex diseases are caused by both common and rare variants. In this paper, we extend the ADA method (adaptive combination of P-values; Lin et al., 2014) for rare variants only and propose a RC-ADA method (common and rare variants by adaptive combination of P-values). Our proposed method combines the per-site P-values with the weights based on minor allele frequencies (MAFs). The RC-ADA is robust to directions of effects of causal variants and inclusion of a high proportion of neutral variants. The performance of the RC-ADA method is compared with several other association methods. Extensive simulation studies show that the RC-ADA method is more powerful than other association methods over a wide range of models.
Regulating the Activities of Oil Multinationals in Nigeria: A Case for Self-Regulation?
Authors: Ekhator Eghosa O 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe activities of oil multinational corporations (MNCs) in Nigeria, especially in the oil and gas sector, have come under focus in recent years. The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in the USA highlighted the negative or unintended consequences of the activities of MNCs. Also, oil MNCs in Nigeria have been at the centre of scandals about poor labour standards, environmental degradation and human rights violations amongst others. Furthermore, the extant state-oriented or command and control regulatory regime has been ineffective. Thus, self-regulation by oil MNCs has risen to help counter these negative consequences. This article contends that the self-regulatory regime is ineffective and advocates for reforms to remedy it.
Predictions of future grazing season length for European dairy, beef and sheep farms based on regression with bioclimatic variables
Authors: PHELAN P. , MORGAN E. R. , ROSE H. , GRANT J. , O'KIELY P. 
Published: October 2015

SUMMARYGrazing season length (GSL) on grassland farms with ruminant production systems can influence farm economics, livestock disease transmission, environmental impact, milk and meat quality, and consumer choice. Bioclimatic variables are biologically meaningful climate variables that may enable predictions of the impact of future climate change on GSL on European farms. The present study investigated the spatial relationship between current GSL (months) measured by EUROSTAT on dairy, beef and sheep farms in 706, 774 and 878 regions, respectively, and bioclimatic variables. A stepwise multiple regression model revealed a highly significant association between observed GSL and bioclimatic variables across Europe. Mean GSL was positively associated with the mean temperature of the coldest quarter and isothermality, and negatively associated with precipitation in the wettest month. Extrapolating these relationships to future climate change scenarios, most European countries were predicted to have a net increase in GSL with the increase being largest (up to 2·5 months) in the north-east of Europe. However, there were also predictions of increased variability between regions and decreases in GSL of up to 1·5 months in some areas such as the west of France, the south-west of Norway and the west coast of Britain. The study quantified and mapped the potential impact of climate change on GSL for dairy, beef and sheep farms across Europe.
Mutual influences between child emotion regulation and parent–child reciprocity support development across the first 10 years of life: Implications for developmental psychopathology
Authors: Feldman Ruth 
Published: October 2015

AbstractElucidating the mechanisms by which infant birth conditions shape development across lengthy periods is critical for understanding typical and pathological development and for targeted early interventions. This study examined how newborns' regulatory capacities impact 10-year outcomes via the bidirectional influences of child emotion regulation (ER) and reciprocal parenting across early development. Guided by dynamic systems theory, 125 infants were tested at seven time points: birth, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months and 5 and 10 years. Initial regulatory conditions were measured by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA; vagal tone) and neurobehavioral regulation (Brazelton, 1973) at birth. At each assessment between 3 months and 5 years, infant ER was microcoded from age-appropriate paradigms and mother–child reciprocity observed during social interactions. Four regulation-related outcomes were measured at 10 years: child RSA, empathy measured by mother–child conflict discussion and a lab paradigm, accident proneness, and behavior problems. An autoregressive cross-lagged structural model indicated that infant birth conditions impacted 10-year outcomes via three mechanisms. First, child ER and reciprocal parenting were individually stable across development and were each predicted by regulatory birth conditions, describing gradual maturation of ER and reciprocity over time. Second, better ER skills at one time point were related to greater reciprocity at the next time point and vice versa, and these cross-time effects defined a field of individual-context mutual influences that mediated the links between neonatal RSA and 10-year outcomes. Third, direct associations emerged between neonatal regulation and outcome, suggesting that birth conditions may establish a neurobiological milieu that promotes a more mature and resilient system. These mechanisms describe distinct “attractor” states that constrain the system's future options, emphasize the importance of defining behavior-based phenotypes of heterotypic continuity, and suggest that infants may shape their development by initiating unique cascades of individual-context bidirectional effects.
Social and economic antecedents and consequences of adolescent aggressive personality: Predictions from the interactionist model
Authors: Conger Rand D. , Martin Monica J. , Masarik April S. , Widaman Keith F. , Donnellan M. Brent 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe present study examined the development of a cohort of 279 early adolescents (52% female) from 1990 to 2005. Guided by the interactionist model of socioeconomic status and human development, we proposed that parent aggressive personality, economic circumstances, interparental conflict, and parenting characteristics would affect the development of adolescent aggressive personality traits. In turn, we hypothesized that adolescent aggressiveness would have a negative influence on adolescent functioning as an adult in terms of economic success, personality development, and close relationships 11 years later. Findings were generally supportive of the interactionist model proposition that social and economic difficulties in the family of origin intensify risk for adolescent aggressive personality (the social causation hypothesis) and that this personality trait impairs successful transition to adult roles (the social selection hypothesis) in a transactional process over time and generations. These results underscore how early development leads to child influences that appear to directly hamper the successful transition to adult roles (statistical main effects) and also amplify the negative impact of dysfunctional family systems on the transition to adulthood (statistical interaction effects). The findings suggest several possible points of intervention that might help to disrupt this negative developmental sequence of events.
Emergent patterns of risk for psychopathology: The influence of infant avoidance and maternal caregiving on trajectories of social reticence
Authors: Degnan Kathryn A. , Hane Amie Ashley , Henderson Heather A. , Walker Olga L. , Ghera Melissa M. , Fox Nathan A. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe current study investigated the influential role of infant avoidance on links between maternal caregiving behavior and trajectories at risk for psychopathology. A sample of 153 children, selected for temperamental reactivity to novelty, was followed from infancy through early childhood. At 9 months, infant avoidance of fear-eliciting stimuli in the laboratory and maternal sensitivity at home were assessed. At 36 months, maternal gentle discipline was assessed at home. Children were repeatedly observed in the lab with an unfamiliar peer across early childhood. A latent class growth analysis yielded three longitudinal risk trajectories of social reticence behavior: a high-stable trajectory, a high-decreasing trajectory, and a low-increasing trajectory. For infants displaying greater avoidance, 9-month maternal sensitivity and 36-month maternal gentle discipline were both positively associated with membership in the high-stable social reticence trajectory, compared to the high-decreasing social reticence trajectory. For infants displaying lower avoidance, maternal sensitivity was positively associated with membership in the high-decreasing social reticence trajectory, compared to the low-increasing trajectory. Maternal sensitivity was positively associated with the high-stable social reticence trajectory when maternal gentle discipline was lower. These results illustrate the complex interplay of infant and maternal behavior in early childhood trajectories at risk for emerging psychopathology.
Infant negative reactivity defines the effects of parent–child synchrony on physiological and behavioral regulation of social stress
Authors: Pratt Maayan , Singer Magi , Kanat-Maymon Yaniv , Feldman Ruth 
Published: October 2015

AbstractHow infants shape their own development has puzzled developmentalists for decades. Recent models suggest that infant dispositions, particularly negative reactivity and regulation, affect outcome by determining the extent of parental effects. Here, we used a microanalytic experimental approach and proposed that infants with varying levels of negative reactivity will be differentially impacted by parent–infant synchrony in predicting physiological and behavioral regulation of increasing social stress during an experimental paradigm. One hundred and twenty-two mother–infant dyads (4–6 months) were observed in the face-to-face still face (SF) paradigm and randomly assigned to three experimental conditions: SF with touch, standard SF, and SF with arms’ restraint. Mother–infant synchrony and infant negative reactivity were observed at baseline, and three mechanisms of behavior regulation were microcoded; distress, disengagement, and social regulation. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia baseline, reactivity, and recovery were quantified. Structural equation modeling provided support for our hypothesis. For physiological regulation, infants high in negative reactivity receiving high mother–infant synchrony showed greater vagal withdrawal, which in turn predicted comparable levels of vagal recovery to that of nonreactive infants. In behavioral regulation, only infants low in negative reactivity who received high synchrony were able to regulate stress by employing social engagement cues during the SF phase. Distress was reduced only among calm infants to highly synchronous mothers, and disengagement was lowest among highly reactive infants experiencing high mother–infant synchrony. Findings chart two pathways by which synchrony may bolster regulation in infants of high and low reactivity. Among low reactive infants, synchrony builds a social repertoire for handling interpersonal stress, whereas in highly reactive infants, it constructs a platform for repeated reparation of momentary interactive “failures” and reduces the natural tendency of stressed infants to disengage from source of distress. Implications for the construction of synchrony-focused interventions targeting infants of varying dispositions are discussed.
Emerging psychopathology moderates upward social mobility: The intergenerational (dis)continuity of socioeconomic status
Authors: Véronneau Marie-Hélène , Serbin Lisa A. , Stack Dale M. , Ledingham Jane , Schwartzman Alex E. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractSocioeconomic status (SES) is relatively stable across generations, but social policies may create opportunities for upward social mobility among disadvantaged populations during periods of economic growth. With respect to expanded educational opportunities that occurred in Québec (Canada) during the 1960s, we hypothesized that children's social and academic competence would promote upward mobility, whereas aggression and social withdrawal would have the opposite effect. Out of 4,109 children attending low-SES schools in 1976–1978, a representative subsample of 503 participants were followed until midadulthood. Path analyses revealed that parents’ SES predicted offspring's SES through associations with offspring's likeability, academic competence, and educational attainment. Interaction effects revealed individual risk factors that moderated children's ability to take advantage of intrafamilial or extrafamilial opportunities that could enhance their educational attainment. Highly aggressive participants and those presenting low academic achievement were unable to gain advantage from having highly educated parents. They reached lower educational attainment than their less aggressive or higher achieving peers who came from a similarly advantaged family background. Growing up with parents occupying low-prestige jobs put withdrawn boys and outgoing girls at risk for low educational attainment. In conclusion, social policies can raise SES across generations, with great benefits for the most disadvantaged segments of the population. However, children presenting with emerging psychopathology or academic weaknesses do not benefit from these policies as much as others, and should receive additional, targeted services.
The Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 17 December 2014 and the duty to ensure respect for international humanitarian law
Authors: Lanz Matthias , Max Emilie , Hoehne Oliver 
Published: October 2015

AbstractWhile international humanitarian law envisages the possibility of holding formal thematic discussions, only United Nations General Assembly resolutions prompted the depositary of the Geneva Conventions to consult the High Contracting Parties on the opportuneness of conflict-specific conferences. Recalling the precedents of 1999 and 2001 – convened on the basis of the support expressed by the States Parties during related consultations – this article focuses on the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 17 December 2014, which is likewise related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The result of the conference consists of a declaration reflecting the willingness of the States Parties to further implement Article 1 common to the four Geneva Conventions.
Kinesin-5 is a microtubule polymerase
Authors: Chen Yalei , Hancock William O 
Published: October 2015

AbstractKinesin-5 slides antiparallel microtubules during spindle assembly, and regulates the branching of growing axons. Besides the mechanical activities enabled by its tetrameric configuration, the specific motor properties of kinesin-5 that underlie its cellular function remain unclear. Here by engineering a stable kinesin-5 dimer and reconstituting microtubule dynamics in vitro, we demonstrate that kinesin-5 promotes microtubule polymerization by increasing the growth rate and decreasing the catastrophe frequency. Strikingly, microtubules growing in the presence of kinesin-5 have curved plus ends, suggesting that the motor stabilizes growing protofilaments. Single-molecule fluorescence experiments reveal that kinesin-5 remains bound to the plus ends of static microtubules for 7 s, and tracks growing microtubule plus ends in a manner dependent on its processivity. We propose that kinesin-5 pauses at microtubule plus ends and enhances polymerization by stabilizing longitudinal tubulin–tubulin interactions, and that these activities underlie the ability kinesin-5 to slide and stabilize microtubule bundles in cells.
Shadows of anyons and the entanglement structure of topological phases
Authors: Haegeman J. , Zauner V. , Schuch N. , Verstraete F. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe low-temperature dynamics of quantum systems are dominated by the low-energy eigenstates. For two-dimensional systems in particular, exotic phenomena such as topological order and anyon excitations can emerge. While a complete low-energy description of strongly correlated systems is hard to obtain, essential information about the elementary excitations is encoded in the eigenvalue structure of the quantum transfer matrix. Here we study the transfer matrix of topological quantum systems using the tensor network formalism and demonstrate that topological quantum order requires a particular type of ‘symmetry breaking’ for the fixed point subspace. We also relate physical anyon excitations to domain-wall excitations at the level of the transfer matrix. This formalism enables us to determine the structure of the topological sectors in two-dimensional gapped phases very efficiently, therefore opening novel avenues for studying fundamental questions related to anyon condensation and confinement.
Mechanically activated switching of Si-based single-molecule junction as imaged with three-dimensional dynamic probe
Authors: Nakamura Miki , Yoshida Shoji , Katayama Tomoki , Taninaka Atsushi , Mera Yutaka , Okada Susumu , Takeuchi Osamu , Shigekawa Hidemi 
Published: October 2015

AbstractUnderstanding and extracting the full functions of single-molecule characteristics are key factors in the development of future device technologies, as well as in basic research on molecular electronics. Here we report a new methodology for realizing a three-dimensional (3D) dynamic probe of single-molecule conductance, which enables the elaborate 3D analysis of the conformational effect on molecular electronics, by the formation of a Si/single molecule/Si structure using scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). The formation of robust covalent bonds between a molecule and Si electrodes, together with STM-related techniques, enables the stable and repeated control of the conformational modulation of the molecule. By 3D imaging of the conformational effect on a 1,4-diethynylbenzene molecule, a binary change in conductance with hysteresis is observed for the first time, which is considered to originate from a mechanically activated conformational change.
Terahertz-driven linear electron acceleration
Authors: Nanni Emilio A. , Huang Wenqian R. , Hong Kyung-Han , Ravi Koustuban , Fallahi Arya , Moriena Gustavo , Dwayne Miller R. J. , Kärtner Franz X. 
Published: October 2015

AbstractThe cost, size and availability of electron accelerators are dominated by the achievable accelerating gradient. Conventional high-brightness radio-frequency accelerating structures operate with 30–50 MeV m−1 gradients. Electron accelerators driven with optical or infrared sources have demonstrated accelerating gradients orders of magnitude above that achievable with conventional radio-frequency structures. However, laser-driven wakefield accelerators require intense femtosecond sources and direct laser-driven accelerators suffer from low bunch charge, sub-micron tolerances and sub-femtosecond timing requirements due to the short wavelength of operation. Here we demonstrate linear acceleration of electrons with keV energy gain using optically generated terahertz pulses. Terahertz-driven accelerating structures enable high-gradient electron/proton accelerators with simple accelerating structures, high repetition rates and significant charge per bunch. These ultra-compact terahertz accelerators with extremely short electron bunches hold great potential to have a transformative impact for free electron lasers, linear colliders, ultrafast electron diffraction, X-ray science and medical therapy with X-rays and electron beams.
Neuronal activity regulates remyelination via glutamate signalling to oligodendrocyte progenitors
Authors: Gautier Hélène O. B. , Evans Kimberley A. , Volbracht Katrin , James Rachel , Sitnikov Sergey , Lundgaard Iben , James Fiona , Lao-Peregrin Cristina , Reynolds Richard , Franklin Robin J. M. , Káradóttir Ragnhildur T 
Published: October 2015

AbstractMyelin regeneration can occur spontaneously in demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS). However, the underlying mechanisms and causes of its frequent failure remain incompletely understood. Here we show, using an in-vivo remyelination model, that demyelinated axons are electrically active and generate de novo synapses with recruited oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs), which, early after lesion induction, sense neuronal activity by expressing AMPA (α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid)/kainate receptors. Blocking neuronal activity, axonal vesicular release or AMPA receptors in demyelinated lesions results in reduced remyelination. In the absence of neuronal activity there is a ∼6-fold increase in OPC number within the lesions and a reduced proportion of differentiated oligodendrocytes. These findings reveal that neuronal activity and release of glutamate instruct OPCs to differentiate into new myelinating oligodendrocytes that recover lost function. Co-localization of OPCs with the presynaptic protein VGluT2 in MS lesions implies that this mechanism may provide novel targets to therapeutically enhance remyelination.