bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Global Circulation as Christian Enclosure: Legend, Empire, and the Nomadic Prester John
Authors: Taylor Christopher 
Published: July 2014

AbstractIn a global Middle Ages, there are few individuals, fictional or historical, who have exercised a stronger cosmopolitan pull than Prester John. A product of anxious cultural imaginings mixed with hope for historical change, Prester John has commanded consistent interest since 1145. Over the course of six centuries, Prester John figured centrally in Christendom's understanding of what the distant world was like: crusading aspirations depended on his materialization; missionary undertakings in the East leveraged their chances of converting the heathen against a presumption of his existence, and, mercantile‐minded men from Marco Polo through Christopher Columbus dreamt of the putative riches of his kingdom. From its inception in the twelfth century, the Prester John legend linked the impulse to explore a global landscape with the desire for this landscape to be revealed as a continuation of, rather than a departure from, the known: as already Christian. Nowhere is this better expressed than in the original Latin Letter, the primary source for the legend of John. Produced in the mid‐twelfth century at the zenith of the Crusading impulse, the legend situates John as a Christian sovereign ruling authoritatively over an East that is beyond Dar al‐Islam and, despite its exotic and strange landscape, remains decidedly Christian.
Global Souvenirs: Bridging East and West in the Malay Alexander Romance
Authors: Ng Su Fang 
Published: July 2014

AbstractAttention to Arabic translations that went eastward can uncover neglected connections and exchanges of stories. One such instance is the Malay Alexander Romance, Hikayat Iskandar Zulkarnain, translated from the Arabic version of Pseudo‐Callisthenes' Greek Alexander Romance. This Islamicization of the Alexander Romance also incorporates elements of Greek culture found elsewhere, such as Homer, suggesting a cultural bridging of east and west through traveling textual elements and stories that could be seen as accretionary globalism. These elements are global souvenirs, with varied origins, incorporated into a different Islamic and Southeast Asian mosaic. Such global souvenirs also come in the form of references to global religions, including, aside from Islam, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Buddhism. The wide‐ranging travels of the hero Iskandar bridges east and west, as he travels to the edges of the world, the Maghrib and Andalusia in the west and China in the east. In these travels, foreign elements are akin to global souvenirs collected and then assimilated into a larger frame that also is adapted to its new Southeast Asian context. The accretionary globalism of Hikayat Iskandar Zulkarnain, which assimilates narrative elements cross‐culturally, takes as its perspective the world itself, promiscuously crossing boundaries of nation, language, and faith.
New Arguments that Philosophers don't Treat Intuitions as Evidence
Authors: Molyneux Bernard 
Published: July 2014

AbstractAccording to orthodox views of philosophical methodology, when philosophers appeal to intuitions, they treat them as evidence for their contents. Call this “descriptive evidentialism.” Descriptive evidentialism is assumed both by those who defend the epistemic status of intuitions and by those, including many experimental philosophers, who criticize it. This article shows, however, that the idea that philosophers treat intuitions as evidence struggles to account for the way philosophers treat intuitions in a variety of philosophical contexts. In particular, it cannot account for philosophers' treatment of a priori intuitions, for nonpropositional uses of intuition, and for philosophers' failure to use intuition to exclude the counterintuitive. The article concludes that alternatives to descriptive evidentialism (some of which are sketched) must be developed, and that much of the recent debate between traditionalists and skeptics from, for example, experimental philosophy is probably based on a false presupposition.
What Would It Take to Change Your Mind?
Authors: Thielke Peter 
Published: July 2014

AbstractMost of us have settled views about various intellectual debates, and much of the activity of philosophers is devoted to giving arguments that are designed to convince one's opponents to change their minds about a certain issue. But, what might this process require? More pointedly, can you clearly imagine what it would take to make you change your mind about a position you currently hold? This article argues that the surprising answer to this question is no—you cannot imagine what would convince you to change your mind, since in doing so you would actually have to find those reasons compelling. The article then briefly looks at some implications of this conclusion.
The γ‐aminobutyric acid shunt contributes to closing the tricarboxylic acid cycle in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
Authors: Xiong Wei , Brune Daniel , Vermaas Wim F. J. 
Published: July 2014

SummaryA traditional 2‐oxoglutarate dehydrogenase complex is missing in the cyanobacterial tricarboxylic acid cycle. To determine pathways that convert 2‐oxoglutarate into succinate in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, a series of mutant strains, Δsll1981, Δslr0370, Δslr1022 and combinations thereof, deficient in 2‐oxoglutarate decarboxylase (Sll1981), succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase (Slr0370), and/or in γ‐aminobutyrate metabolism (Slr1022) were constructed. Like in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, N‐acetylornithine aminotransferase, encoded by slr1022, was shown to also function as γ‐aminobutyrate aminotransferase, catalysing γ‐aminobutyrate conversion to succinic semialdehyde. As succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase converts succinic semialdehyde to succinate, an intact γ‐aminobutyrate shunt is present in Synechocystis. The Δsll1981 strain, lacking 2‐oxoglutarate decarboxylase, exhibited a succinate level that was 60% of that in wild type. However, the succinate level in the Δslr1022 and Δslr0370 strains and the Δsll1981/Δslr1022 and Δsll1981/Δslr0370 double mutants was reduced to 20–40% of that in wild type, suggesting that the γ‐aminobutyrate shunt has a larger impact on metabolite flux to succinate than the pathway via 2‐oxoglutarate decarboxylase. 13C‐stable isotope analysis indicated that the γ‐aminobutyrate shunt catalysed conversion of glutamate to succinate. Independent of the 2‐oxoglutarate decarboxylase bypass, the γ‐aminobutyrate shunt is a major contributor to flux from 2‐oxoglutarate and glutamate to succinate in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.
System analysis of microRNAs in the development and aluminium stress responses of the maize root system
Authors: Kong Xiangpei , Zhang Maolin , Xu Xiangbo , Li Xiaoming , Li Cuiling , Ding Zhaojun 
Published: July 2014

SummaryMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of regulatory small RNAs (sRNAs) that down‐regulate target genes through mRNA cleavage or translational inhibition. miRNA is known to play an important role in the root development and environmental responses in both the Arabidopsis and rice. However, little information is available to form a complete view of miRNAs in the development of the maize root system and Al stress responses in maize. Four sRNA libraries were generated and sequenced from the early developmental stage of primary roots (PRY), the later developmental stage of maize primary roots (PRO), seminal roots (SR) and crown roots (CR). Through integrative analysis, we identified 278 miRNAs (246 conserved and 32 novel ones) and found that the expression patterns of miRNAs differed dramatically in different maize roots. The potential targets of the identified conserved and novel miRNAs were also predicted. In addition, our data showed that CR is more resistant to Al stress compared with PR and SR, and the differentially expressed miRNAs are likely to play significant roles in different roots in response to environmental stress such as Al stress. Here, we demonstrate that the expression patterns of miRNAs are highly diversified in different maize roots. The differentially expressed miRNAs are correlated with both the development and environmental responses in the maize root. This study not only improves our knowledge about the roles of miRNAs in maize root development but also reveals the potential role of miRNAs in the environmental responses of different maize roots.
The potato amylase inhibitor gene SbAI regulates cold‐induced sweetening in potato tubers by modulating amylase activity
Authors: Zhang Huiling , Liu Jun , Hou Juan , Yao Ying , Lin Yuan , Ou Yongbin , Song Botao , Xie Conghua 
Published: July 2014

SummaryPotato cold‐induced sweetening (CIS) is critical for the postharvest quality of potato tubers. Starch degradation is considered to be one of the key pathways in the CIS process. However, the functions of the genes that encode enzymes related to starch degradation in CIS and the activity regulation of these enzymes have received less attention. A potato amylase inhibitor gene known as SbAI was cloned from the wild potato species Solanum berthaultii. This genetic transformation confirmed that in contrast to the SbAI suppression in CIS‐resistant potatoes, overexpressing SbAI in CIS‐sensitive potatoes resulted in less amylase activity and a lower rate of starch degradation accompanied by a lower reducing sugar (RS) content in cold‐stored tubers. This finding suggested that the SbAI gene may play crucial roles in potato CIS by modulating the amylase activity. Further investigations indicated that pairwise protein–protein interactions occurred between SbAI and α‐amylase StAmy23, β‐amylases StBAM1 and StBAM9. SbAI could inhibit the activities of both α‐amylase and β‐amylase in potato tubers primarily by repressing StAmy23 and StBAM1, respectively. These findings provide the first evidence that SbAI is a key regulator of the amylases that confer starch degradation and RS accumulation in cold‐stored potato tubers.
Oxygen requirement and surfactant therapy in preterm infants after delivery
Authors: Toriyama Mihiro , Ishiguro Akio , Motojima Yukiko , Yamana Keiji , Sobajima Hisanori , Tamura Masanori 
Published: July 2014

AbstractBackgroundSeveral reports have shown the beneficial effects of early or prophylactic surfactant therapy for preterm infants, who often develop respiratory distress syndrome. No report, however, has addressed which infants should receive surfactant therapy in the delivery room. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the validity of identifying infants who need surfactant therapy based on fraction of inspiratory oxygen (FiO2) requirement in the delivery room.MethodsIn this observational, retrospective study, FiO2 given in the delivery room, use of surfactant therapy, stable microbubble test (SMT) results, and changes in FiO2 both before and after surfactant therapy were reviewed in infants born at <33 weeks' gestation.ResultsOverall, 170 infants were included. Forty infants were given oxygen with FiO2 ≥0.6, and all received surfactant therapy. Of these 40 infants, FiO2 could be reduced in 36 (90%) by an average of 0.46 after surfactant therapy. SMT was done in 22 of 40 infants, and surfactant insufficiency was suspected in 20 (91%). In contrast, 81 of 102 infants (79%) with FiO2 <0.4 did not need surfactant therapy within 48 h after birth.ConclusionsPreterm infants who need FiO2 ≥0.6 in the delivery room appear to be at high risk of surfactant insufficiency and would benefit from surfactant. Surfactant therapy would provide a more effective resuscitation method for preterm infants, and thus a larger prospective study is needed to confirm these results.
Is nectar reabsorption restricted by the stalk cells of floral and extrafloral nectary trichomes?
Authors: Cardoso‐Gustavson P. , Davis A. R. 
Published: July 2014

AbstractReabsorption is a phase of nectar dynamics that occurs concurrently with secretion; it has been described in floral nectaries that exude nectar through stomata or unicellular trichomes, but has not yet been recorded in extrafloral glands. Apparently, nectar reabsorption does not occur in multicellular secretory trichomes (MST) due to the presence of lipophilic impregnations – which resemble Casparian strips – in the anticlinal walls of the stalk cells. It has been assumed that these impregnations restrict solute movement within MST to occur unidirectionally and exclusively by the symplast, thereby preventing nectar reflux toward the underlying nectary tissues. We hypothesised that reabsorption is absent in nectaries possessing MST. The fluorochrome lucifer yellow (LYCH) was applied to standing nectar of two floral and extrafloral glands of distantly related species, and then emission spectra from nectary sections were systematically analysed using confocal microscopy. Passive uptake of LYCH via the stalk cells to the nectary tissues occurred in all MST examined. Moreover, we present evidence of nectar reabsorption in extrafloral nectaries, demonstrating that LYCH passed the stalk cells of MST, although it did not reach the deepest nectary tissues. Identical (control) experiments performed with neutral red (NR) demonstrated no uptake of this stain by actively secreting MST, whereas diffusion of NR did occur in plasmolysed MST of floral nectaries at the post‐secretory phase, indicating that nectar reabsorption by MST is governed by stalk cell physiology. Interestingly, non‐secretory trichomes failed to reabsorb nectar. The role of various nectary components is discussed in relation to the control of nectar reabsorption by secretory trichomes.
Plant stress biomarkers from biosimulations: the Transcriptome‐To‐Metabolome™ (TTM™) technology – effects of drought stress on rice
Authors: Phelix C. F. , Feltus F. A. 
Published: July 2014

AbstractMeasuring biomarkers from plant tissue samples is challenging and expensive when the desire is to integrate transcriptomics, fluxomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, proteomics, physiomics and phenomics. We present a computational biology method where only the transcriptome needs to be measured and is used to derive a set of parameters for deterministic kinetic models of metabolic pathways. The technology is called Transcriptome‐To‐Metabolome™ (TTM™) biosimulations, currently under commercial development, but available for non‐commercial use by researchers. The simulated results on metabolites of 30 primary and secondary metabolic pathways in rice (Oryza sativa) were used as the biomarkers to predict whether the transcriptome was from a plant that had been under drought conditions. The rice transcriptomes were accessed from public archives and each individual plant was simulated. This unique quality of the TTM™ technology allows standard analyses on biomarker assessments, i.e. sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, accuracy, receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve and area under the ROC curve (AUC). Two validation methods were also used, the holdout and 10‐fold cross validations. Initially 17 metabolites were identified as candidate biomarkers based on either statistical significance on binary phenotype when compared with control samples or recognition from the literature. The top three biomarkers based on AUC were gibberellic acid 12 (0.89), trehalose (0.80) and sn1‐palmitate‐sn2‐oleic‐phosphatidylglycerol (0.70). Neither heat map analyses of transcriptomes nor all 300 metabolites clustered the stressed and control groups effectively. The TTM™ technology allows the emergent properties of the integrated system to generate unique and useful ‘Omics’ information.
Startle modulation during emotional anticipation and perception
Authors: Sege Christopher T. , Bradley Margaret M. , Lang Peter J. 
Published: July 2014

AbstractThe startle reflex is potentiated when anticipating emotional, compared to neutral, pictures. This study investigated the time course of reflex modulation during anticipation and the impact of informative cuing on picture perception. Colors were used to signal the thematic content of emotional and neutral scenes; blink response modulation was measured by presenting acoustic startle probes 3, 2, or 1 s before picture onset or 2 s after picture onset. During anticipation of neutral scenes, blink magnitude showed increasing attenuation as picture onset approached, consistent with a modality‐directed vigilance account. Conversely, when anticipating emotional scenes, reflex magnitude did not change over time, and blinks elicited closest to picture onset were potentiated compared to neutral. During perception, the expected reflex potentiation for unpleasant pictures was not found, suggesting that cuing may dampen defensive activation.
Laughter as a social rejection cue: Gelotophobia and transient cardiac responses to other persons' laughter and insult
Authors: Papousek Ilona , Aydin Nilüfer , Lackner Helmut K. , Weiss Elisabeth M. , Bühner Markus , Schulter Günter , Charlesworth Canice , Freudenthaler H. Harald 
Published: July 2014

AbstractOther persons' laughter, normally perceived as a signal that persons are friendly and inviting others to approach, can also be perceived as a cue of social rejection. In this study, prerecorded laughter was placed in a realistic and personally relevant context, and participants' responses were related to gelotophobia, a trait predisposing to perceiving laughter as a cue of social rejection. Individuals with gelotophobia showed marked heart rate deceleration in response to the laughter stimulus, possibly indicating a “freezing‐like” response. Moreover, cardiac responses to anger provocation by overtly insulting statements indicated heightened aggressive anger in response to cumulated social threat. The study adds to recent research showing specific cardiac responses to social rejection and to the literature on social rejection sensitivity by demonstrating the value of using well interpretable physiological measures in this research context.
Differential classical conditioning selectively heightens response gain of neural population activity in human visual cortex
Authors: Song Inkyung , Keil Andreas 
Published: July 2014

AbstractNeutral cues, after being reliably paired with noxious events, prompt defensive engagement and amplified sensory responses. To examine the neurophysiology underlying these adaptive changes, we quantified the contrast‐response function of visual cortical population activity during differential aversive conditioning. Steady‐state visual evoked potentials (ssVEPs) were recorded while participants discriminated the orientation of rapidly flickering grating stimuli. During each trial, luminance contrast of the gratings was slowly increased and then decreased. Right‐tilted gratings (CS+) were paired with loud white noise but left‐tilted gratings (CS−) were not. The contrast‐following waveform envelope of ssVEPs showed selective amplification of the CS+ only during the high‐contrast stage of the viewing epoch. Findings support the notion that motivational relevance, learned in a time frame of minutes, affects vision through a response gain mechanism.
The hard oddball: Effects of difficult response selection on stimulus‐related P3 and on response‐related negative potentials
Authors: Verleger Rolf , Baur Nikolas , Metzner Marvin F. , Śmigasiewicz Kamila 
Published: July 2014

AbstractThe P3b component of ERPs has been proposed to reflect decisions or, alternatively, activation of stimulus‐response links or, alternatively, to depend on stimulus processing only. These three views make different predictions about how difficulty of response selection will affect the oddball effect. In three experiments, frequent and rare targets were accompanied by ancillary stimuli. Large oddball‐P3bs, evoked by rare targets, were greatly reduced when responses had to be selected by combining information from targets and ancillary stimuli. Difficult response selection with rare targets was also reflected by a large frontocentral negativity, which could be separated from P3b when intervals were varied between targets and ancillary stimuli, and, therefore, did not cause P3b reduction. It is concluded that the usual increase of P3b with rare task‐relevant targets depends on the existence of readily available stimulus‐response links.
Price‐Setting Behaviour in Lesotho: Stylised Facts from Consumer Retail Prices
Authors: Nchake Mamello Amelia , Edwards Lawrence , Rankin Neil 
Published: July 2014

AbstractThis paper documents some of the main features of price‐setting behaviour by retail outlets in Lesotho over the period March 2002 to December 2009. These features include the frequency, size, duration and synchronisation of price changes. In addition, the paper compares price‐setting behaviour in Lesotho and South Africa using a comparable set of products. The findings reveal considerable heterogeneity in price‐setting behaviour across products, outlets, locations and time. Variations in inflation are strongly correlated with the average size of price changes, but rising inflation raises the frequency of price increases and reduces the frequency of price decreases. Price decreases constitute an important determinant of inflation movements. Surprisingly, the frequency and size of price changes in Lesotho differ substantially from those in South Africa, despite the presence of common retail chains and their joint membership in a customs union and common monetary area. These findings open up opportunities for further research into the sources of heterogeneity across products and Lesotho and South Africa in the setting of prices.
Leadership for Evidence‐Based Practice: Strategic and Functional Behaviors for Institutionalizing EBP
Authors: Stetler Cheryl B. , Ritchie Judith A. , Rycroft‐Malone Jo , Charns Martin P. 
Published: July 2014

ABSTRACTBackgroundMaking evidence‐based practice (EBP) a reality throughout an organization is a challenging goal in healthcare services. Leadership has been recognized as a critical element in that process. However, little is known about the exact role and function of various levels of leadership in the successful institutionalization of EBP within an organization.AimsTo uncover what leaders at different levels and in different roles actually do, and what actions they take to develop, enhance, and sustain EBP as the norm.MethodsQualitative data from a case study regarding institutionalization of EBP in two contrasting cases (Role Model and Beginner hospitals) were systematically analyzed. Data were obtained from multiple interviews of leaders, both formal and informal, and from staff nurse focus groups. A deductive coding schema, based on concepts of functional leadership, was developed for this in‐depth analysis.ResultsParticipants’ descriptions reflected a hierarchical array of strategic, functional, and cross‐cutting behaviors. Within these macrolevel “themes,” 10 behavioral midlevel themes were identified; for example, Intervening and Role modeling. Each theme is distinctive, yet various themes and their subthemes were interrelated and synergistic. These behaviors and their interrelationships were conceptualized in the framework “Leadership Behaviors Supportive of EBP Institutionalization” (L‐EBP). Leaders at multiple levels in the Role Model case, both formal and informal, engaged in most of these behaviors.Linking Evidence to ActionSupportive leadership behaviors required for organizational institutionalization of EBP reflect a complex set of interactive, multifaceted EBP‐focused actions carried out by leaders from the chief nursing officer to staff nurses. A related framework such as L‐EBP may provide concrete guidance needed to underpin the often‐noted but abstract finding that leaders should “support” EBP.