bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Corporate Social Responsibility in the EU, 1993–2013: Institutional Ambiguity, Economic Crises, Business Legitimacy and Bureaucratic Politics
Authors: Kinderman Daniel 
Published: April 2013

AbstractWhat drives European Union (EU) policy change in a sensitive and contentious area? To answer this question, this article tells the story of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the EU from its beginnings until the present. The EU's role in EU CSR has changed from social‐liberal standard‐setter to neo‐liberal cheerleader and back. This article attempts to explain these shifts. It argues that Europe's institutional diversity hampers standard‐setting while economic crises and declining levels of business legitimacy facilitate it. Contention has been fuelled by CSR's inherent ambiguity: is CSR a means to regulate the economy, or a domain of voluntary activity that must remain free of state regulation? Fearful of regulation, business groups – German employers in particular – have forcefully advocated the latter view. In addition to converting EU CSR from social‐liberal to neo‐liberal, business has neutralized two of the Commission's standard‐setting advocates. The financial crisis, the power of arguments and discourse, and the impact of global policy developments in the field of CSR have re‐empowered standard‐setters. The article concludes with a critical analysis of the EU's renewed CSR strategy and non‐financial reporting agenda.
Treatment of multiple adjacent Miller class I and II gingival recessions with a Modified Coronally Advanced Tunnel (MCAT) technique and a collagen matrix or palatal connective tissue graft: a randomized, controlled clinical trial
Authors: Aroca Sofia , Molnár Bálint , Windisch Péter , Gera István , Salvi Giovanni E. , Nikolidakis Dimitris , Sculean Anton 
Published: April 2013

AbstractBackgroundA newly developed collagen matrix (CM) of porcine origin has been shown to represent a potential alternative to palatal connective tissue grafts (CTG) for the treatment of single Miller Class I and II gingival recessions when used in conjunction with a coronally advanced flap (CAF). However, at present it remains unknown to what extent CM may represent a valuable alternative to CTG in the treatment of Miller Class I and II multiple adjacent gingival recessions (MAGR). The aim of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes following treatment of Miller Class I and II MAGR using the modified coronally advanced tunnel technique (MCAT) in conjunction with either CM or CTG.MethodsTwenty‐two patients with a total of 156 Miller Class I and II gingival recessions were included in this study. Recessions were randomly treated according to a split‐mouth design by means of MCAT + CM (test) or MCAT + CTG (control). The following measurements were recorded at baseline (i.e. prior to surgery) and at 12 months: Gingival Recession Depth (GRD), Probing Pocket Depth (PD), Clinical Attachment Level (CAL), Keratinized Tissue Width (KTW), Gingival Recession Width (GRW) and Gingival Thickness (GT). GT was measured 3‐mm apical to the gingival margin. Patient acceptance was recorded using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The primary outcome variable was Complete Root Coverage (CRC), secondary outcomes were Mean Root Coverage (MRC), change in KTW, GT, patient acceptance and duration of surgery.ResultsHealing was uneventful in both groups. No adverse reactions at any of the sites were observed. At 12 months, both treatments resulted in statistically significant improvements of CRC, MRC, KTW and GT compared with baseline (p < 0.05). CRC was found at 42% of test sites and at 85% of control sites respectively (p < 0.05). MRC measured 71 ± 21% mm at test sites versus 90 ± 18% mm at control sites (p < 0.05). Mean KTW measured 2.4 ± 0.7 mm at test sites versus 2.7 ± 0.8 mm at control sites (p > 0.05). At test sites, GT values changed from 0.8 ± 0.2 to 1.0 ± 0.3 mm, and at control sites from 0.8 ± 0.3 to 1.3 ± 0.4 mm (p < 0.05). Duration of surgery and patient morbidity was statistically significantly lower in the test compared with the control group respectively (p < 0.05).ConclusionsThe present findings indicate that the use of CM may represent an alternative to CTG by reducing surgical time and patient morbidity, but yielded lower CRC than CTG in the treatment of Miller Class I and II MAGR when used in conjunction with MCAT.
In vitro bonding effectiveness of three different one‐step self‐etch adhesives with additional enamel etching
Authors: Batra Charu , Nagpal Rajni , Tyagi Shashi Prabha , Singh Udai Pratap , Manuja Naveen 
Published: April 2013

AbstractAimTo evaluate the effect of additional enamel etching on the shear bond strength of three self‐etch adhesives.MethodsClass II box type cavities were made on extracted human molars. Teeth were randomly divided into one control group of etch and rinse adhesive and three test groups of self‐etch adhesives (Clearfil S3 Bond, Futurabond NR, Xeno V). The teeth in the control group (n = 10) were treated with Adper™ Single Bond 2. The three test groups were further divided into two subgroups (n = 10): (i) self‐etch adhesive was applied as per the manufacturer's instructions; (ii) additional etching of enamel surfaces was done prior to the application of self‐etch adhesives. All cavities were restored with Filtek Z250. After thermocycling, shear bond strength was evaluated using a Universal testing machine. Data were analyzed using anova independent sample's ‘t’ test and Dunnett's test. The failure modes were evaluated with a stereomicroscope at a magnification of 10×.ResultsAdditional phosphoric acid etching of the enamel surface prior to the application of the adhesive system significantly increased the shear bond strength of all the examined self‐etch adhesives.ConclusionsAdditional phosphoric acid etching of enamel surface significantly improved the shear bond strength.
Two‐dimensional profiling of carriers in terahertz quantum cascade lasers using calibrated scanning spreading resistance microscopy and scanning capacitance microscopy
Authors: DHAR R.S. , BAN D. 
Published: April 2013

SummaryThe distribution of charge carriers inside the active region of a terahertz (THz) quantum cascade laser (QCL) has been measured with scanning spreading resistance microscopy (SSRM) and scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM). Individual quantum well‐barrier modules with a 35.7‐nm single module thickness in the active region of the device have been resolved for the first time using high‐resolution SSRM and SCM techniques at room temperature. SSRM and SCM measurements on the quantum well‐barrier structure were calibrated utilizing known GaAs dopant staircase samples. Doping concentrations derived from SSRM and SCM measurements were found to be in quantitative agreement with the designed average doping values of the n‐type active region in the terahertz quantum cascade laser. The secondary ion mass spectroscopy provides a partial picture of internal device parameters, and we have demonstrated with our results the efficacy of uniting calibrated SSRM and SCM to delineate quantitatively the transverse cross‐sectional structure of complex two‐dimensional terahertz quantum cascade laser devices.
Citicoline (CDP‐choline) increases Sirtuin1 expression concomitant to neuroprotection in experimental stroke
Authors: Hurtado Olivia , Hernández‐Jiménez Macarena , Zarruk Juan G. , Cuartero María I. , Ballesteros Iván , Camarero Guadalupe , Moraga Ana , Pradillo Jesús M. , Moro María A. , Lizasoain Ignacio 
Published: April 2013

AbstractCDP‐choline has shown neuroprotective effects in cerebral ischemia. In humans, although a recent trial International Citicoline Trial on Acute Stroke (ICTUS) has shown that global recovery is similar in CDP‐choline and placebo groups, CDP‐choline was shown to be more beneficial in some patients, such as those with moderate stroke severity and not treated with t‐PA. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the beneficial actions of CDP‐choline. We have now studied the participation of Sirtuin1 (SIRT1) in the neuroprotective actions of CDP‐choline. Fischer rats and Sirt1−/− mice were subjected to permanent focal ischemia. CDP‐choline (0.2 or 2 g/kg), sirtinol (a SIRT1 inhibitor; 10 mg/kg), and resveratrol (a SIRT1 activator; 2.5 mg/kg) were administered intraperitoneally. Brains were removed 24 and 48 h after ischemia for western blot analysis and infarct volume determination. Treatment with CDP‐choline increased SIRT1 protein levels in brain concomitantly to neuroprotection. Treatment with sirtinol blocked the reduction in infarct volume caused by CDP‐choline, whereas resveratrol elicited a strong synergistic neuroprotective effect with CDP‐choline. CDP‐choline failed to reduce infarct volume in Sirt1−/− mice. Our present results demonstrate a robust effect of CDP‐choline like SIRT1 activator by up‐regulating its expression. Our findings suggest that therapeutic strategies to activate SIRT1 may be useful in the treatment of stroke.
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Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) is implicated in a wide range of cellular functions. Regarding stroke, there is no direct evidence. We have demonstrated that citicoline increases SIRT1 protein levels in brain concomitantly to neuroprotection. Citicoline fails to reduce infarct volume in Sirt1‐/‐ mice. Our findings suggest that therapeutic strategies acting on SIRT1 may be useful in the treatment of stroke.
Medical students' attitudes towards science and gross anatomy, and the relationship to personality
Authors: Plaisant Odile , Stephens Shiby , Apaydin Nihal , Courtois Robert , Lignier Baptiste , Loukas Marios , Moxham Bernard 
Published: April 2013

AbstractAssessment of the personalities of medical students can enable medical educators to formulate strategies for the best development of academic and clinical competencies. Previous research has shown that medical students do not share a common personality profile, there being gender differences. We have also shown that, for French medical students, students with personality traits associated with strong competitiveness are selected for admission to medical school. In this study, we further show that the medical students have different personality profiles compared with other student groups (psychology and business studies). The main purpose of the present investigation was to assess attitudes to science and gross anatomy, and to relate these to the students' personalities. Questionnaires (including Thurstone and Chave analyses) were employed to measure attitudes, and personality was assessed using the Big Five Inventory (BFI). Data for attitudes were obtained for students at medical schools in Cardiff (UK), Paris, Descartes/Sorbonne (France), St George's University (Grenada) and Ankara (Turkey). Data obtained from personality tests were available for analysis from the Parisian cohort of students. Although the medical students were found to have strongly supportive views concerning the importance of science in medicine, their knowledge of the scientific method/philosophy of science was poor. Following analyses of the BFI in the French students, ‘openness’ and ‘conscientiousness’ were linked statistically with a positive attitude towards science. For anatomy, again strongly supportive views concerning the subject's importance in medicine were discerned. Analyses of the BFI in the French students did not show links statistically between personality profiles and attitudes towards gross anatomy, except male students with ‘negative affectivity’ showed less appreciation of the importance of anatomy. This contrasts with our earlier studies that showed that there is a relationship between the BF dimensions of personality traits and anxiety towards the dissection room experience (at the start of the course, ‘negative emotionality’ was related to an increased level of anxiety). We conclude that medical students agree on the importance to their studies of both science in general and gross anatomy in particular, and that some personality traits relate to their attitudes that could affect clinical competence.
Reasons Underlying Low Fish Consumption Where Availability Is Not an Issue. A Case Study in Brazil, One of the World's Largest Fish Producers
Authors: Mitterer‐Daltoé M.L. , Latorres J.M. , Queiroz M.I. , Fiszman S. , Varela P. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractThis research investigated consumer behavior toward fish in a population with low fish consumption, using the theory of planned behavior. A questionnaire was run on a sample of 200 fish consumers in the city of Rio Grande (RS, Brazil). The low frequency of fish consumption could be due to different barriers: a perceived difficulty in buying, preparing, cooking, the belief that it is expensive or the unpleasant sensory properties linked to fish (fishbones or smell). But there can also be cultural parameters determining habits and low consumption. Exploring the individual factors that determine fish consumption makes it possible to develop public policy strategies. Results showed that attitudes toward eating fish, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control all had a significant positive influence on the intention to eat fish. Intention and attitude both proved significant determinants of fish consumption frequency, with attitude inversely correlated to fish consumption. Habit appeared as an important discriminating variable for the consumption of fish. The findings show that the sampled population could be potentially bigger consumers of fish with the correct promotion strategies. The Brazilian government should plan campaigns to promote the habit of eating fish that use the idea of health‐consciousness, target younger people and increase the appeals to give the family healthy food.Practical ApplicationsThe practical application of the theory of planned behavior as a tool to study a population with low fish consumption is that it aids the understanding of the factors and barriers influencing this behavior and facilitates planning for future changes in eating behavior.
Validating forest types based on geological and land‐form features in central Amazonia
Authors: Figueiredo Fernando O.G. , Costa Flávia R.C. , Nelson Bruce W. , Pimentel Tania P. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractQuestionsAre topography‐based forest types floristically consistent between sites in central Amazonia? Do broad landform and geological features control site‐specific edaphic and floristic variation and therefore obfuscate the floristic classification based on local topographical classes? Is model‐based clustering a useful tool for floristic classification?LocationNon‐inundated forest of central Amazonia, north of the Amazon River.MethodsWe analysed species presence–absence of a group of terrestrial monocot herbs (Zingiberales) in 123 plots (250 × 2 m) concentrated in three sites of non‐inundated forests. Distances between plots were 1–140 km. Floristic patterns were extracted by dimensionality reduction using geodesic floristic distance. We applied a model‐based cluster analysis (MC) coupled with the Bayesian information criterion to determine the best floristic classification. We used geometric and non‐geometric internal evaluators to compare the performance of MC to the agglomerative hierarchical clustering method UPGMA. The floristic clusters were tested for differences in edaphic and topographic features. Landform‐geological classes were defined based on geological maps and a digital elevation model. We used the Kappa index and ANOVA to evaluate the agreement between landform–geological classes, floristic clusters and environmental features.ResultsThe best MC solution found four floristic clusters. Differences in soil chemical properties, which were linked with lithological classes and broad land‐form features, explained abrupt floristic changes and floristic differences between the same topographical habitats of different sites. Within poor soils, floristic classes defined by elevation along the soil catena (upland and valley forests) were fuzzy. Valley sandy forest was not floristically consistent across sites due to subtle edaphic variation. Using a non‐geometric internal evaluator, MC coupled with geodesic floristic distance estimation performed better overall than UPGMA.Main conclusionsGeological classes defined by lithology and broad landform features control the major variation of edaphic and floristic patterns in central Amazonia. MC proved to be a useful method to classify and interpret floristic patterns. Revised vegetation maps that account for lithology, broad land‐form features and edaphic conditions would therefore be a better proxy for regional floristic variation than the presently used simple classes based on position along the catena.
A Note on Measuring the Depth of Minimum Wage Violation
Authors: Bhorat Haroon , Kanbur Ravi , Mayet Natasha 
Published: April 2013

AbstractIn the empirical literature on minimum wage enforcement, the standard approach is to measure the number of violations, not their depth. In this paper we present a family of violation indices that, by analogy with poverty indices, can emphasize the depth of violation to different degrees. The standard measure is a special case of this family of indices, but other members of the family highlight the depth of violation. We present an application to South Africa to show that the depth of violation matters, and is not captured by the standard measure in actual situations.
Effects of coastal orientation and depth on the distribution of subtidal benthic assemblages
Authors: Martins Gustavo M. , Patarra Rita F. , Álvaro Nuno V. , Prestes Afonso C. L. , Neto Ana I. 
Published: April 2013

AbstractA better understanding of biological systems can only be gained if we understand what processes are important and how they operate to determine the distribution of organisms. Coastal orientation and depth can influence environmental conditions, including the degree of water motion and availability of light, which in turn may influence the horizontal and vertical patterns of organism distribution. Here, we used a mixed‐model design to examine the effects of coastal orientation and depth on the structure of benthic assemblages by comparing the abundance and distribution of macroalgae and invertebrates in shallow and deep waters on the opposing coasts of São Miguel. Generally, coastal orientation had little influence on the distribution of most taxa. In contrast, significant differences were generally associated with depth, although patterns were spatially variable at the scale of locations. This study suggests that depth, and processes operating at the scale of location, but not at the scale of the coast, have an important influence on these assemblages, and that failure to recognise such a scale of variability may hamper our ability to better understand the processes that structure these communities.
Genotyping of Rhodopirellula baltica organisms using multispacer sequence typing
Authors: Cayrou Caroline , Terra Anthony , Drancourt Michel 
Published: April 2013

AbstractRhodopirellula baltica is a ubiquitous Planctomycetes organism isolated from marine environments worldwide. Multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) has been the only method used to assess the diversity of R. baltica organisms. Here, we developed multispacer sequence typing (MST) genotyping and applied it to four R. baltica isolates from the French Mediterranean Sea and R. baltica DSM10527T type strain. While MLSA yielded interpretable sequences for two of nine genes in three R. baltica isolates, MST based on sequencing two intergenic spacers yielded an unambiguous, strain‐specific profile for each one of the four R. baltica isolates under investigation. We propose that MST could be used as an alternative R. baltica genotyping method to assess the diversity of these Planctomycetes organisms.
Interspecific temporal and spatial differences in the acquisition of litter‐derived nitrogen by ectomycorrhizal fungal assemblages
Authors: Pena Rodica , Tejedor Javier , Zeller Bernd , Dannenmann Michael , Polle Andrea 
Published: April 2013

Summary

The spatiotemporal dynamics of, and interspecific differences in, the acquisition of litter‐derived nitrogen (N) by natural assemblages of ectomycorrhizal root tips are poorly understood.

Small cylindrical mesh bags containing 15N‐labelled beech (Fagus sylvatica) leaf litter that permit hyphal but not root ingrowth were inserted vertically into the top soil layer of an old‐growth beech forest. The lateral transfer of 15N into the circumjacent soil, roots, microbes and ectomycorrhizas was measured during an 18‐month exposure period.

Ectomycorrhial fungi (EMF) showed large interspecific variation in the temporal pattern and extent of 15N accumulation. Initially, when N was mainly available from the leachate, microbes were more efficient at N immobilization than the majority of EMF, but distinct fungal species also showed significant 15N accumulation. During later phases, the enrichment of 15N in Tomentella badia was higher than in microbes and other EMF species. Roots and soil accumulated 15N with a large delay compared with microbes and EMF.

Because approximately half of the studied fungal species had direct access to N from leaf litter and the remainder to N from leached compounds, we suggest that EMF diversity facilitates the N utilization of the host by capturing N originating from early‐released solutes and late degradation products from a recalcitrant source.
Shoot desiccation and hydraulic failure in temperate woody angiosperms during an extreme summer drought
Authors: Nardini Andrea , Battistuzzo Marta , Savi Tadeja 
Published: April 2013

Summary

Plant water status and hydraulics were measured in six woody angiosperms growing in a karstic woodland, during an extreme summer drought. Our aim was to take advantage of an unusual climatic event to identify key traits related to species‐specific drought damage.

The damage suffered by different species was assessed in terms of percentage of individuals showing extensive crown desiccation. Stem water potential (Ψstem) and percent loss of hydraulic conductivity (PLC) were measured in healthy and desiccated individuals. Vulnerability to cavitation was assessed in terms of stem water potential inducing 50% PLC (Ψ50). Stem density (ρstem) was also measured.

Species‐specific percentage of desiccated individuals was correlated to Ψ50 and ρstem. Crown desiccation was more widespread in species with less negative Ψ50 and lower ρstem. Desiccated individuals had lower Ψstem and higher PLC than healthy ones, suggesting that hydraulic failure was an important mechanism driving shoot dieback. Drought‐vulnerable species showed lower safety margins (Ψstem − Ψ50) than resistant ones.

The Ψ50, safety margins and ρstem values emerge as convenient traits to be used for tentative predictions of differential species‐specific impact of extreme drought events on a local scale. The possibility that carbohydrate depletion was also involved in induction of desiccation symptoms is discussed.