bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Seizure control and developmental trajectories after hemispherotomy for refractory epilepsy in childhood and adolescence
Authors: Ramantani Georgia , Kadish Navah Ester , Brandt Armin , Strobl Karl , Stathi Angeliki , Wiegand Gert , Schubert‐Bast Susanne , Mayer Hans , Wagner Kathrin , Korinthenberg Rudolf , Stephani Ulrich , van Velthoven Vera , Zentner Josef , Schulze‐Bonhage Andreas , Bast Thomas 
Published: March 2013

SummaryPurposeTo evaluate the seizure control and developmental outcomes after hemispherotomy for refractory epilepsy in childhood and to identify their predictive factors.MethodsWe retrospectively studied the clinical courses and outcomes of 52 children with refractory epilepsy who underwent hemispherotomy in the Epilepsy Center Freiburg between 2002 and 2011.Key FindingsMean age at epilepsy onset was 1.8 years (range 0–8 years) and mean age at surgery was 6.7 years (range 6 months–18 years). The underlying etiology was congenital in 22 (42%) children, acquired in 24 (46%), and progressive in 6 (12%). At final follow‐up of 1–9.8 years (mean 3.3), 43 children (83%) were seizure‐free. Seizure outcome was not correlated to etiology, with the exception of hemimegalencephaly that was linked to poor seizure control. Presurgical development was impaired in all but one child. Postsurgical development highly correlated with presurgical development. Patients with acquired or progressive etiology, later epilepsy onset, and subsequent later surgery exhibited higher presurgical developmental status that substantially determined postoperative developmental outcome. Improved postsurgical development was determined by acquired etiology and seizure freedom off antiepileptic drugs.SignificanceIn our study, most of the selected children and adolescents achieved seizure freedom, including those with congenital etiology. Developmental outcomes, however, were superior in patients with acquired etiology and older age at surgery, underscoring that it is never too late to reap the benefits of this procedure in terms of both epilepsy and development.
Male‐Biased Mate Competition in King Penguin Trio Parades
Authors: Keddar Ismaël , Andris Malvina , Bonadonna Francesco , Dobson F. Stephen 
Published: March 2013

AbstractDarwin devised sexual selection theory to explain sexual dimorphisms. Further developments of the theory identified the operational sex‐ratio (OSR) as one of its cornerstones, and it was commonly admitted that an OSR biased toward one sex would lead to stronger selection pressures toward that sex. Recent theoretical developments have challenged this view and showed that the OSR alone does not determine the direction of sexual selection, more particularly in mutually ornamented species exhibiting high and similar parental investment by both sexes. These developments, however, focused on mutual intersexual selection, and little is known about intrasexual selection of both males and females in species exhibiting such characteristics. The first aim of our study was to test the relative involvement of males and females in same‐sex contest over mates in the king penguin, a species exhibiting mutual ornamentation of the sexes, high parental investment by both sexes, and a male‐biased OSR. We investigated the sex composition of trio parades, which are groups of three individuals that compete for mates during pair formation. We found that these trios consist of a female trailed by two fighting males in 19 of 20 cases; the 20th trio was all male. The second aim of our study was to investigate the existence of within‐sex differences in colour ornaments between individuals involved in such trios and individuals already paired. While limited sample sizes precluded detection of statistically significant differences between trios vs. pairs, reflectance measurements suggested that the beak spot of males in trios were more strongly ultraviolet than the beak spot of males in pairs. We concluded that intrasexual selection in our colony follows the typical pattern of mate competition observed in species in which sexual dimorphisms and OSR are male biased, and discussed the ultraviolet difference within the framework of the king penguins' colour perception.
Rook, But Not Jackdaw, Post‐Conflict Third‐Party Affiliation Reduces Aggression for Aggressors
Authors: Logan Corina J. , Ostojić Ljerka , Clayton Nicola S. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractPost‐conflict (PC) affiliation refers to positive social interactions that occur after fights. Although this behavior has been widely studied, its functions are rarely tested. We examine a potential function of PC third‐party affiliation (affiliation between former opponents and bystanders) in rooks and jackdaws by investigating the hypothesis that conflicts lead to further aggression and that PC third‐party affiliation increases to reduce such aggression. The results show that PC affiliation reduces PC aggression for rook aggressors who were less likely to receive aggression after conflicts when they were affiliating with another vs. when they were alone. The opposite result was found for victims of both species who received more aggression after conflicts, and this aggression was not reduced by the act of affiliating. Finally, for jackdaw aggressors, the amount of aggression received after conflicts was not influenced by whether the individual was affiliating or alone, indicating that PC third‐party affiliation may serve a function that we did not examine. These findings highlight the importance of investigating functional differences in PC affiliative behavior according to the role played in the conflict.
Sensitivity to Seed Germination Schedule by Scatter‐Hoarding Pére David's Rock Squirrels During Mast and Non‐Mast Years
Authors: Xiao Zhishu , Gao Xu , Zhang Zhibin 
Published: March 2013

AbstractMast seeding by oaks (Quercus) and other seed species has fundamental impacts on the behavior of individual scatter‐hoarding animals as well as their population and community dynamics. Scatter‐hoarding squirrels are highly sensitive to acorn germination schedule and stop germination by removing the embryo of non‐dormant acorns to prevent losses of energy and nutrients by rapid germination. However, we know little about how this behavior is affected by mast seeding. We investigated foraging decisions made by free‐ranging Pére David's rock squirrel (Sciurotamias davidianus) with three species that produce non‐dormant seeds and two species that produce dormant seeds (Fagaceae) during mast and non‐mast years in Central China from 2007–2010. Consistent with the food perishability hypothesis that squirrels make decisions to minimize the perishability of their caches, non‐dormant seeds were hoarded at a lower rate, but had a higher probability of embryo removal than dormant seeds. Compared with non‐mast years, a lower proportion of seeds were harvested during mast years, but a higher proportion of the harvested seeds were hoarded. In addition, the probability of embryo removal in the hoarded seeds was higher during mast years. Squirrels also dispersed seeds at shorter distances during mast years. Moreover, the interactions between mast seeding and seed germination schedule had significant effects on squirrel foraging decisions, including embryo removal. This study is the first to demonstrate that squirrels show greater sensitivity to seed germination potential when seeds are abundant.
Clinal adaptation and adaptive plasticity in Artemisia californica: implications for the response of a foundation species to predicted climate change
Authors: Pratt Jessica D. , Mooney Kailen A. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractLocal adaptation and plasticity pose significant obstacles to predicting plant responses to future climates. Although local adaptation and plasticity in plant functional traits have been documented for many species, less is known about population‐level variation in plasticity and whether such variation is driven by adaptation to environmental variation. We examined clinal variation in traits and performance – and plastic responses to environmental change – for the shrub Artemisia californica along a 700 km gradient characterized (from south to north) by a fourfold increase in precipitation and a 61% decrease in interannual precipitation variation. Plants cloned from five populations along this gradient were grown for 3 years in treatments approximating the precipitation regimes of the north and south range margins. Most traits varying among populations did so clinally; northern populations (vs. southern) had higher water‐use efficiencies and lower growth rates, C : N ratios and terpene concentrations. Notably, there was variation in plasticity for plant performance that was strongly correlated with source site interannual precipitation variability. The high‐precipitation treatment (vs. low) increased growth and flower production more for plants from southern populations (181% and 279%, respectively) than northern populations (47% and 20%, respectively). Overall, precipitation variability at population source sites predicted 86% and 99% of variation in plasticity in growth and flowering, respectively. These striking, clinal patterns in plant traits and plasticity are indicative of adaptation to both the mean and variability of environmental conditions. Furthermore, our analysis of long‐term coastal climate data in turn indicates an increase in interannual precipitation variation consistent with most global change models and, unexpectedly, this increased variation is especially pronounced at historically stable, northern sites. Our findings demonstrate the critical need to integrate fundamental evolutionary processes into global change models, as contemporary patterns of adaptation to environmental clines will mediate future plant responses to projected climate change.
Rapid climate driven shifts in wintering distributions of three common waterbird species
Authors: Lehikoinen Aleksi , Jaatinen Kim , Vähätalo Anssi V. , Clausen Preben , Crowe Olivia , Deceuninck Bernard , Hearn Richard , Holt Chas A. , Hornman Menno , Keller Verena , Nilsson Leif , Langendoen Tom , Tománková Irena , Wahl Johannes , Fox Anthony D. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractClimate change is predicted to cause changes in species distributions and several studies report margin range shifts in some species. However, the reported changes rarely concern a species' entire distribution and are not always linked to climate change. Here, we demonstrate strong north‐eastwards shifts in the centres of gravity of the entire wintering range of three common waterbird species along the North‐West Europe flyway during the past three decades. These shifts correlate with an increase of 3.8 °C in early winter temperature in the north‐eastern part of the wintering areas, where bird abundance increased exponentially, corresponding with decreases in abundance at the south‐western margin of the wintering ranges. This confirms the need to re‐evaluate conservation site safeguard networks and associated biodiversity monitoring along the flyway, as new important wintering areas are established further north and east, and highlights the general urgency of conservation planning in a changing world. Range shifts in wintering waterbirds may also affect hunting pressure, which may alter bag sizes and lead to population‐level consequences.
Magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound evaluation of “healthy” joints in young subjects with severe haemophilia A
Authors: Di Minno M. N. D. , Iervolino S. , Soscia E. , Tosetto A. , Coppola A. , Schiavulli M. , Marrone E. , Ruosi C. , Salvatore M. , Di Minno G. 
Published: March 2013

SummaryMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasonography (US) are increasingly used in haemophilia A (HA) to detect early joint changes. A total of 40 clinically asymptomatic joints, never involved by bleeding events [“healthy joints” (HJ)], were evaluated by MRI and, in parallel, by US in 20 young subjects with severe HA (22.45 ± 2.72 years old; no history of arthritides, of viral infections or of inhibitors against factor VIII). The same joints were evaluated in 20 matched non‐haemophilic (no‐HA) subjects (mean age 23.90 ± 2.31 years, P = 0.078 vs. HA subjects). US images were obtained with specific probe positions according to validated procedures. A validated US score and progressive (P‐MRI) and additive (A‐MRI) MRI scores were employed for data collection and analysis. The US score was higher in HA than in no‐HA subjects (3.40 ± 1.72 vs. 0.80 ± 1.10, P < 0.001). Taking into account only moderate/severe alterations, joint effusion was found in 55% of HA and in 5% of no‐HA joints (P < 0.001); synovial hypertrophy was found in 20% of HA and in none of the no‐HA joints; cartilage erosion was found in 30% of HA and in none of no‐HA joints. MRI examinations confirmed these findings and the US score correlated with the A‐MRI (r = 0.732, P < 0.001) and with the P‐MRI (r = 0.598, P < 0.001) scores. MRI and US data significantly correlated as to effusion (r = 0.819, P = 0.002), synovial hypertrophy (r = 0.633, P = 0.036) and cartilage erosion (r = 0.734, P = 0.010). Despite inherent limitations, joint US examination identified subclinical abnormalities of HJ in young subjects with severe HA.
Voluntary organisations and marketisation: a dynamic of employment degradation
Authors: Cunningham Ian , Hearne Gary , James Philip 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThis article uses survey data to explore how far the terms and conditions of voluntary sector staff in Scotland are undergoing a process of reform against the backdrop of the sector's greater engagement in contracting for outsourced public services and a more challenging public expenditure environment. Its findings reveal that they have been undergoing a widespread process of diminution, which would appear to be becoming both deeper and broader. They further argue that this process has been intimately connected to a harsher funding environment and therefore raise the prospect of it intensifying further as the current British government's deficit reduction programme progresses.
Membership, influence and voice: a discussion of trade union renewal in the French context
Authors: Milner Susan , Mathers Andrew 
Published: March 2013

AbstractUnion density in France has fallen to exceptionally low levels, yet unions are able to mobilise millions of supporters against government austerity measures. Some authors therefore argue that the union revitalisation literature overemphasises density over other power resources. The article first confirms the decline of density and the scale of the challenges unions face in organising in the face of restructuring and casualisation. Second, it is argued that unions have retained some policy influence by forming strategic alliances among themselves, although pressures for fragmentation remain strong. Third, unions' mobilising capacity indicates the need to find new ways of coordinating action at all levels. The article thus not only confirms the inadequacy of density alone as a measure of union vitality but also highlights the challenges, and some opportunities, facing unions in hostile economic conditions.
The transition from individual to collective labour relations in China
Authors: Kai Chang , Brown William 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThe article discusses the current transformation of Chinese labour relations. The Labour Contract Law implemented in 2008 provided the legal framework for China's adjustment to individual labour relations; it also hastened the evolution of collective labour relations. The article discusses how two different aspects of the Chinese labour movement—top‐down and bottom‐up—have been interacting. Implications are drawn from the experience of the strike wave of the summer of 2010. It is argued that further legal intervention could facilitate the development of China's labour policy, but that the reform of collective labour law will require the strengthening of the collective rights of workers and the nurturing of institutions which can focus collective consciousness and organisation.
Does outpatient laboratory testing represent influenza burden and distribution in a rural state?
Authors: Thompson Deborah L. , Baumbach Joan , Jungk Jessica , Sewell C. Mack , Smelser Chad , Landen Michael 
Published: March 2013

BackgroundLaboratory testing results are often used to monitor influenza illness in populations, but results may not be representative of illness burden and distribution, especially in populations that are geographically, socioeconomically, and racially/ethnically diverse.ObjectivesDescriptive epidemiology and chi‐square analyses using demographic, geographic, and medical condition prevalence comparisons were employed to assess whether a group of individuals with outpatient laboratory‐confirmed influenza illness during September–November 2009 represented the burden and distribution of influenza illness in New Mexico (NM).Patients/MethodsThe outpatient group was identified via random selection from those with positive influenza tests at NM laboratories. Comparison groups included those with laboratory‐confirmed H1N1‐related influenza hospitalization and death identified via prospective active statewide surveillance, those with self‐reported influenza‐like illness (ILI) identified through random digit dialing, and the NM population.ResultsThis analysis included 334 individuals with outpatient laboratory‐confirmed influenza, 888 individuals with laboratory‐confirmed H1N1‐related hospitalization, 39 individuals with laboratory‐confirmed H1N1‐related death, 334 individuals with ILI, and NM population data (N = 2 036 112). The outpatient laboratory‐confirmed group had a different distribution of demographic and geographic factors, as well as prevalence of certain medical conditions as compared to the groups of laboratory‐confirmed H1N1‐related hospitalization and death, the ILI group, and the NM population.ConclusionsThe outpatient laboratory‐confirmed group may reflect provider testing practices and potentially healthcare‐seeking behavior and access to care, rather than influenza burden and distribution in NM during the H1N1 pandemic.
Le talon d'Achille de la conception à grande échelle dans l'administration de la sécurité sociale: le cas du crédit universel au Royaume‐Uni
Authors: Seddon John , O'Donovan Brendan 
Published: March 2013

RésuméLe présent article examine la manière dont le gouvernement britannique a conçu la réforme de l'allocation de crédit universel (CU). Il démontre qu'elle est condamnée à l'échec en raison de l'enjeu politique associé aux modalités de mise en place de cette prestation («numérique par défaut»). Selon les auteurs, un ensemble de théories liées à la gestion à grande échelle, invisibles mais omniprésentes, ont été utilisées pour déterminer le moyen dont le gouvernement entend réaliser son objectif de «rendre le travail plus attrayant». La manière dont les services d'allocations logement ont été définis au niveau local à partir de la «méthode Vanguard» cré
ée par John Seddon est ensuite étudiée à titre d'exemple pour illustrer une conception plus réussie. Ces services permettent notamment de traiter près de 50 pour cent de demandes en plus avec moins de ressources et en moitié moins de temps que celui prévu officiellement. Enfin, l'article appelle en conclusion à la mise en place d'une politique axée davantage sur les faits.
Protection vieillesse des femmes dans le régime de retraite espagnol
Authors: Cifre Concha Salvador 
Published: March 2013

RésuméL'exemple de l’Espagne confirme que les régimes de retraite par répartition reproduisent les inégalités entre les sexes qui proviennent de la structure du marché du travail et du partage des responsabilités familiales. En général, les femmes au foyer ne peuvent pas percevoir de retraite et dépendent de prestations d'un montant inférieur, telles que la pension de réversion (droits dérivés) ou une pension non contributive. Les femmes qui occupent un emploi à l'extérieur accumulent quant à elles des droits inférieurs à ceux des hommes et touchent par conséquent une pension de vieillesse ou d'invalidité plus faible (droits personnels). Cet article a pour objet d'examiner les chiffres de la répartition des retraites selon le sexe en Espagne, d'étudier certaines des mesures concernant les retraites qui ont été adoptées depuis 2000 et de proposer des actions visant à accélérer la transition des droits dérivés aux droits personnels. Ces propositions sont destinées à promouvoir l'égalité entre les sexes, qui désigne ici le droit à jouir des mêmes conditions de protection sociale et de sécurité financière à l'âge de la vieillesse.
Protein phosphorylation and photorespiration
Authors: Hodges M. , Jossier M. , Boex‐Fontvieille E. , Tcherkez G. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractPhotorespiration allows the recycling of carbon atoms of 2‐phosphoglycolate produced by ribulose‐1,5‐bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) oxygenase activity, as well as the removal of potentially toxic metabolites. The photorespiratory pathway takes place in the light, encompasses four cellular compartments and interacts with several other metabolic pathways and functions. Therefore, the regulation of this cycle is probably of paramount importance to plant metabolism, however, our current knowledge is poor. To rapidly respond to changing conditions, proteins undergo a number of different post‐translational modifications that include acetylation, methylation and ubiquitylation, but protein phosphorylation is probably the most common. The reversible covalent addition of a phosphate group to a specific amino acid residue allows the modulation of protein function, such as activity, subcellular localisation, capacity to interact with other proteins and stability. Recent data indicate that many photorespiratory enzymes can be phosphorylated, and thus it seems that the photorespiratory cycle is, in part, regulated by protein phosphorylation. In this review, the known phosphorylation sites of each Arabidopsis thaliana photorespiratory enzyme and several photorespiratory‐associated proteins are described and discussed. A brief account of phosphoproteomic protocols is also given since the published data compiled in this review are the fruit of this approach.
The Impact of Foreign Debt on Economic Growth in Malawi
Authors: Tchereni B.H.M. , Sekhampu T.J. , Ndovi R.F. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThis study analysed the impact of foreign debt on economic growth in Malawi using time series. Data for the period 1975–2003 from the Reserve Bank of Malawi, the IMF and the National Statistical Office was regressed in basic time series analysis. The dependent variable was economic growth and independent variables included level of foreign debt as the main variable. Other variables considered are the inflation rate, exchange rate and the prime lending rate, private and public investment. The results show a statistically insignificant and negative relationship between foreign debt and economic growth for the case of Malawi. The country should strive to provide incentives to local manufacturers who would want to export rather than relying on borrowing for growth inducement. Of interest was the relationship between inflation and economic growth which was positive.
Inflation Forecasting in Angola: A Fractional Approach
Authors: Barros Carlos P. , Gil‐Alana Luis A. 
Published: March 2013

AbstractThis paper forecasts inflation in Angola with an ARFIMA (autoregressive fractionally integrated moving average) model. It is found that inflation in Angola is a highly persistent variable with an order of integration constrained between 0 and 1. Moreover, a structural break is found in August 1996. Using the second subsample for forecasting purposes, the results reveal that inflation will remain low, assuming that prudent macroeconomic policies are maintained.