bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Striking a pose: Transparency and position taking in the Council of the European Union
Authors: Cross James P. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractIn recent years, transparency (or the lack thereof) has become a central concern of the European Union and its attempts to increase the democratic legitimacy of the legislative decision‐making process. The claim regularly made is that increasing transparency increases the potential for holding decision makers to account. This study investigates the manner in which transparency in the decision‐making process affects the policy positions taken by negotiators at the outset of negotiations. The findings presented suggest that increasing transparency tends to lead to polarisation of negotiations, with negotiators taking more extreme positions when they know that their positions can be observed by outside parties. The implication of this result is that advocates of transparency should be aware that there is an inherent trade‐off between increasing transparency, on the one hand, and increasing the incentives to grandstand during negotiations, on the other.
Representing the acquisition and use of energy by individuals in agent‐based models of animal populations
Authors: Sibly Richard M. , Grimm Volker , Martin Benjamin T. , Johnston Alice S. A. , Kułakowska Katarzyna , Topping Christopher J. , Calow Peter , Nabe‐Nielsen Jacob , Thorbek Pernille , DeAngelis Donald L. 
Published: November 2012

SummaryAgent‐based models (ABMs) are widely used to predict how populations respond to changing environments. As the availability of food varies in space and time, individuals should have their own energy budgets, but there is no consensus as to how these should be modelled. Here, we use knowledge of physiological ecology to identify major issues confronting the modeller and to make recommendations about how energy budgets for use inABMs should be constructed.Our proposal is that modelled animals forage as necessary to supply their energy needs for maintenance, growth and reproduction. If there is sufficient energy intake, an animal allocates the energy obtained in the order: maintenance, growth, reproduction, energy storage, until its energy stores reach an optimal level. If there is a shortfall, the priorities for maintenance and growth/reproduction remain the same until reserves fall to a critical threshold below which all are allocated to maintenance. Rates of ingestion and allocation depend on body mass and temperature. We make suggestions for how each of these processes should be modelled mathematically.Mortality rates vary with body mass and temperature according to known relationships, and these can be used to obtain estimates of background mortality rate.If parameter values cannot be obtained directly, then values may provisionally be obtained by parameter borrowing, pattern‐oriented modelling, artificial evolution or from allometric equations.The development ofABMs incorporating individual energy budgets is essential for realistic modelling of populations affected by food availability. SuchABMs are already being used to guide conservation planning of nature reserves and shell fisheries, to assess environmental impacts of building proposals including wind farms and highways and to assess the effects on nontarget organisms of chemicals for the control of agricultural pests.
The α5 Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Subunit Plays an Important Role in the Sedative Effects of Ethanol But Does Not Modulate Consumption in Mice
Authors: Santos Nathan , Chatterjee Susmita , Henry Andrea , Holgate Joan , Bartlett Selena E. 
Published: November 2012

BackgroundAlcohol use disorders (AUDs) are a major public health problem, and the few treatment options available to those seeking treatment offer only modest success rates. There remains a need to identify novel targets for the treatment of AUDs. The neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) represent a potential therapeutic target in the brain, as recent human genetic studies have implicated gene variants in the α5 nAChR subunit as high risk factors for developing alcohol dependence.MethodsHere, we evaluate the role of the α5* nAChR for ethanol (EtOH)‐mediated behaviors using male α5+/+ and α5−/− transgenic mice. We characterized the effect of hypnotic doses of EtOH and investigated drinking behavior using an adapted drinking‐in‐the‐dark (DID) paradigm that has been shown to induce high EtOH consumption in mice.ResultsWe found the α5 subunit to be important in mediating the sedative effects of EtOH. The α5−/− mice showed slower recovery from EtOH‐induced sleep, as measured by loss of righting reflex. Additionally, the α5−/− mice showed enhanced impairment to EtOH‐induced ataxia. We found the initial sensitivity to EtOH and EtOH metabolism to be similar in both α5+/+ and α5−/− mice. Hence, the enhanced sedation is likely due to a difference in the acute tolerance of EtOH in α5−/− mice. However, the α5 subunit did not play a role in EtOH consumption for EtOH concentrations ranging from 5 to 30% using the DID paradigm. Additionally, varenicline was effective in reducing EtOH intake in α5−/− mice.ConclusionsTogether, our data suggest that the α5 nAChR subunit is important for the sedative effects of EtOH but does not play a role in EtOH consumption in male mice. Varenicline can be a treatment option even when there is loss of function of the α5 nAChR subunit.
The tumour suppressor DiRas3 interacts with C‐RAF and downregulates MEK activity to restrict cell migration
Authors: Klingauf Mirko , Beck Matthias , Berge Ulrich , Turgay Yagmur , Heinzer Stephan , Horvath Peter , Kroschewski Ruth 
Published: November 2012

AbstractBackground informationThe mitogenic pathway, composed of RAF kinases, mitogen‐activated protein kinase kinases (MEK) and extracellular signal‐regulated kinases (ERK), promotes cell proliferation and migration and is upregulated in many tumours. DiRas3 (ARHI, Noey2), a mainly GTP‐bound Ras‐like protein with an unusual N‐terminal extension, is predominantly lost in ovarian and breast cancers. Its re‐expression in these tissues impairs cell proliferation, autophagy, apoptosis and cell migration. Further, loss of DiRas3 correlates with an increase in growth factor‐induced ERK phosphorylation. Therefore, DIRAS3 proves to be a curious gene with remarkable tumour suppressing capabilities. However, how DiRas3 interferes with ERK phosphorylation, has remained unknown.ResultsWe demonstrate that DiRas3 associates in vivo with C‐RAF and directly binds in vitro to C‐RAF, which is upstream of MEK and ERK. Direct binding of DiRas3 to C‐RAF is nucleotide independent, and DiRas3's N‐terminal extension alone is not sufficient for binding C‐RAF. DiRas3 expression inhibits the activating phosphorylations of MEK and ERK. Serum‐induced recruitment of DiRas3 to the plasma membrane depends mainly on its N‐terminal extension and less on its C‐terminus, bound nucleotide or the presence of Ras–GTP. Correspondingly, removal of the N‐terminal extension strongly decreases DiRas3's inhibition of MEK and ERK phosphorylations. Tyrosyl‐phosphatases do not contribute significantly to reduction of ERK‐phosphorylation byDiRas3. Consistently, downregulation of DiRas3 results in a small but significant and persistent increase in MEK and ERK phosphorylation, but does not increase phosphorylation of P38, AKT and c‐Jun NH2‐terminal kinase. Finally, downregulation of DiRas3 causes increased cell migration, through a mechanism that is MEK dependent.ConclusionsThese results support a model in which serum signals induce the recruitment of DiRas3 to the plasma membrane, where it is tethered via its N‐ and C‐termini. At the plasma membrane, DiRas3 interacts with C‐RAF to specifically suppress the activating phosphorylations on MEK and ERK, thus restricting migration of non‐cancer cells. This effect is relatively small, but it is also persistent, suggesting that it contributes to the maintenance of the non‐migratory phenotype of non‐cancerous tissues, in which DiRas3 is expressed.
Visual Narrative Structure
Authors: Cohn Neil 
Published: November 2012

AbstractNarratives are an integral part of human expression. In the graphic form, they range from cave paintings to Egyptian hieroglyphics, from the Bayeux Tapestry to modern day comic books (Kunzle, 1973; McCloud, 1993). Yet not much research has addressed the structure and comprehension of narrative images, for example, how do people create meaning out of sequential images? This piece helps fill the gap by presenting a theory of Narrative Grammar. We describe the basic narrative categories and their relationship to a canonical narrative arc, followed by a discussion of complex structures that extend beyond the canonical schema. This demands that the canonical arc be reconsidered as a generative schema whereby any narrative category can be expanded into a node in a tree structure. Narrative “pacing” is interpreted as a reflection of various patterns of this embedding: conjunction, left‐branching trees, center‐embedded constituencies, and others. Following this, diagnostic methods are proposed for testing narrative categories and constituency. Finally, we outline the applicability of this theory beyond sequential images, such as to film and verbal discourse, and compare this theory with previous approaches to narrative and discourse.
Uric acid for diagnosis and risk stratification in suspected myocardial infarction
Authors: Wildi Karin , Haaf Philip , Reichlin Tobias , Acemoglu Resat , Schneider Jeannine , Balmelli Cathrin , Drexler Beatrice , Twerenbold Raphael , Mosimann Tamina , Reiter Miriam , Mueller Mira , Ernst Susanne , Ballarino Paola , Zellweger Christa , Moehring Berit , Vilaplana Carles , Freidank Heike , Mueller Christian 
Published: November 2012

AbstractBackgroundHypoxia precedes cardiomyocyte necrosis in acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We therefore hypothesized that uric acid – as a marker of oxidative stress and hypoxia – might be useful in the early diagnosis and risk stratification of patients with suspected AMI.Materials and methodsIn this prospective observational study, uric acid was measured at presentation in 892 consecutive patients presenting to the emergency department with suspected AMI. The final diagnosis was adjudicated by two independent cardiologists. Patients were followed 24 months regarding mortality. Primary outcome was the diagnosis of AMI, secondary outcome was short‐ and long‐term mortality.ResultsUric acid at presentation was higher in patients with AMI than in patients without (372 μM vs. 336 μM; P < 0·001). The diagnostic accuracy of uric acid for AMI as quantified by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was 0·60 (95%Cl 0·56–0·65). When added to cardiac troponin T (cTnT), uric acid significantly increased the AUC of cTnT from 0·89 (95%Cl 0·85–0·93) to 0·92 (95%Cl 0·89–0·95, P = 0·020 for comparison). Cumulative 24‐month mortality rates were 2·2% in the first, 5·4% in the second and the third and 15·6% in the fourth quartile of uric acid (P < 0·001 for log‐rank). Uric acid predicted 24‐month mortality independently. Adding uric acid to TIMI and GRACE risk score improved their prognostic accuracy as shown by an integrated discrimination improvement of 0·04 (P = 0·007) respective 0·02 (P = 0·021).ConclusionsUric acid, an inexpensive widely available biomarker, improves both the early diagnosis and risk stratification of patients with suspected AMI.
Predator Generalization Decreases the Effect of Introduced Predators in the San Marcos Salamander, Eurycea nana
Authors: Davis Drew R. , Epp Kristen J. , Gabor Caitlin R. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThe introduction of novel predators into an environment can have detrimental consequences on prey species, especially if these species lack the ability to recognize these predators. One such species that may be negatively affected by introduced predators is the federally threatened San Marcos salamander (Eurycea nana). Previous research found that predator‐naïve (captive‐hatched) salamanders showed decreased activity in response to the chemical cues of both a native fish predator (Micropterus salmoides) and an introduced fish predator (Lepomis auritus), but not to a non‐predatory fish (Gambusia geiseri). We tested the hypothesis that E. nana recognized the introduced Lepomis (and other non‐native Lepomis) because they share chemical cues with other native congeneric Lepomis predators in the San Marcos River. We examined the antipredator response of predator‐naïve E. nana to chemical cues from (1) a sympatric native sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus; Perciformes: Centrarchidae); (2) a sympatric introduced sunfish (L. auritus); (3) an allopatric sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus); (4) a sympatric non‐native, non‐centrarchid cichlid (Herichthys cyanoguttatum; Perciformes: Cichlidae); and (5) a blank water control to determine whether individuals make generalizations about novel predators within a genus and across a family. Exposure to chemical cues from all fish predator treatments caused a reduction in salamander activity (antipredator response). Additionally, there were no differences in the antipredator responses to each predatory fish treatment. The similar responses to all sunfish treatments indicate that E. nana shows predator generalization in response to novel predators that are similar to recognized predators. Additionally, the antipredator response to H. cyanoguttatum indicates that predator generalization can occur among perciform families.
A Quantitative Index of Sociality and Its Application to Group‐Living Spiders and Other Social Organisms
Authors: Avilés Leticia , Harwood Gyan 
Published: November 2012

AbstractSpecies are often classified in discrete categories, such as solitary, subsocial, social and eusocial based on broad qualitative features of their social systems. Often, however, species fall between categories or species within a category may differ from one another in ways that beg for a quantitative measure of their sociality level. Here, we propose such a quantitative measure in the form of an index that is based on three fundamental features of a social system: (1) the fraction of the life cycle that individuals remain in their social group, (2) the proportion of nests in a population that contain multiple vs. solitary individuals and (3) the proportion of adult members of a group that do not reproduce, but contribute to communal activities. These are measures that should be quantifiable in most social systems, with the first two reflecting the tendencies of individuals to live in groups as a result of philopatry, grouping tendencies and intraspecific tolerance, and the third potentially reflecting the tendencies of individuals to exhibit reproductive altruism. We argue that this index can serve not only as a way of ranking species along a sociality scale, but also as a means of determining how level of sociality correlates with other aspects of the biology of a group of organisms. We illustrate the calculation of this index for the cooperative social spiders and theAfrican mole‐rats and use it to analyse how sex ratios and interfemale spacing correlate with level of sociality in spider species in the genusAnelosimus.
Healthcare burden of in‐hospital gout
Authors: Lee G. , Roberts L. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThe disease burden of inpatient gout has not been reported. Using a discharge diagnosis database and individual case record review, 77 patients who developed acute gout complicating a hospital admission for another reason were identified between January 2001 and April 2010 at The Townsville Hospital. A control group of 28 301 cases with identical principal diagnoses were similarly ascertained, along with a subgroup of 231 cases matched for age, gender and ethnicity. Patients with an admission complicated by acute gout stayed 6 days longer in hospital than matched control patients (9 days vs 3 days, P = 0.0005) with the same principal diagnoses and demographics. Patients with an attack of gout were more likely to be older, male or indigenous. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment may help to reduce the healthcare costs of this overlooked disease.
Designing Public Space for Mobility: Contestation, Negotiation and Experiment at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Authors: Nikolaeva Anna 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThe paper investigates airport design, using the example of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, from the point of view of managers, architects and designers. It is argued that existing accounts of the airport as a space of transit as well as a place for shopping and entertainment have underrated the complexity and interdependency of the interests at stake in the airport design, as well the value of an airport terminal as an urban design exercise. This is particularly relevant in the discussion of the transformation of spaces of mobility, such as airports or railway stations, into multifunctional public spaces and may also be valid for urban spaces where mobilities are becoming increasingly important. The paper analyses the challenges and opportunities that arise in such design situations, tracing the recent transformations of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol from the perspective of professionals who have played a key role in this process.
Do Mobile Lives Have a Future?
Authors: Urry John 
Published: November 2012

AbstractThis paper shows how oil has been central to the mobile civilisation that developed around the world during the twentieth century. Various aspects of this oil civilisation are examined, including the development of centres of high carbon living such asDubai. This paper explores the probable peaking of oil and its problematic consequences. It is shown how this has already had major economic and social consequences. New forms of indebtedness were directed to new kinds of property purchaser and the parcelling up of these debts into new financial packages. From the 1980s onwards many newAmerican suburbs were built distant from city centres but rising oil prices led to the collapse of the mortgages of those living in oil‐dependent suburbs and finance during 2007‐8 onwards. Some writers consider whether a more generalised ‘peaking’ is now occurring at least in the global north, of oil, gas, food and water.
Fire Mosaics and Reptile Conservation in a Fire‐Prone Region
Authors: NIMMO D. G. , KELLY L. T. , SPENCE‐BAILEY L. M. , WATSON S. J. , TAYLOR R. S. , CLARKE M. F. , BENNETT A. F. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractFire influences the distribution of fauna in terrestrial biomes throughout the world. Use of fire to achieve a mosaic of vegetation in different stages of succession after burning (i.e., patch‐mosaic burning) is a dominant conservation practice in many regions. Despite this, knowledge of how the spatial attributes of vegetation mosaics created by fire affect fauna is extremely scarce, and it is unclear what kind of mosaic land managers should aim to achieve. We selected 28 landscapes (each 12.6 km2) that varied in the spatial extent and diversity of vegetation succession after fire in a 104,000 km2 area in the semiarid region of southeastern Australia. We surveyed for reptiles at 280 sites nested within the 28 landscapes. The landscape‐level occurrence of 9 of the 22 species modeled was associated with the spatial extent of vegetation age classes created by fire. Biogeographic context and the extent of a vegetation type influenced 7 and 4 species, respectively. No species were associated with the diversity of vegetation ages within a landscape. Negative relations between reptile occurrence and both extent of recently burned vegetation (≤10 years postfire, n = 6) and long unburned vegetation (>35 years postfire, n = 4) suggested that a coarse‐grained mosaic of areas (e.g. >1000 ha) of midsuccessional vegetation (11–35 years postfire) may support the fire‐sensitive reptile species we modeled. This age class coincides with a peak in spinifex cover, a keystone structure for reptiles in semiarid and arid Australia. Maintaining over the long term a coarse‐grained mosaic of large areas of midsuccessional vegetation in mallee ecosystems will need to be balanced against the short‐term negative effects of large fires on many reptile species and a documented preference by species from other taxonomic groups, particularly birds, for older vegetation.Mosaicos de Fuego y la Conservación de Reptiles en una Región Propensa al Fuego
Poaching Risks in Community‐Based Natural Resource Management
Authors: KAHLER JESSICA S. , ROLOFF GARY J. , GORE MEREDITH L. 
Published: November 2012

AbstractPoaching can disrupt wildlife‐management efforts in community‐based natural resource management systems. Monitoring, estimating, and acquiring data on poaching is difficult. We used local‐stakeholder knowledge and poaching records to rank and map the risk of poaching incidents in 2 areas where natural resources are managed by community members in Caprivi, Namibia. We mapped local stakeholder perceptions of the risk of poaching, risk of wildlife damage to livelihoods, and wildlife distribution and compared these maps with spatially explicit records of poaching events. Recorded poaching events and stakeholder perceptions of where poaching occurred were not spatially correlated. However, the locations of documented poaching events were spatially correlated with areas that stakeholders perceived wildlife as a threat to their livelihoods. This result suggests poaching occurred in response to wildlife damage occurred. Local stakeholders thought that wildlife populations were at high risk of being poached and that poaching occurred where there was abundant wildlife. These findings suggest stakeholders were concerned about wildlife resources in their community and indicate a need for integrated and continued monitoring of poaching activities and further interventions at the wildlife‐agricultural interface. Involving stakeholders in the assessment of poaching risks promotes their participation in local conservation efforts, a central tenet of community‐based management. We considered stakeholders poaching informants, rather than suspects, and our technique was spatially explicit. Different strategies to reduce poaching are likely needed in different areas. For example, interventions that reduce human‐wildlife conflict may be required in residential areas, and increased and targeted patrolling may be required in more remote areas. Stakeholder‐generated maps of human‐wildlife interactions may be a valuable enforcement and intervention support tool.Riesgos de Cacería Furtiva en el Manejo de Recursos Naturales Basado en Comunidades
Asset Fire Sales and Purchases and the International Transmission of Funding Shocks
Authors: JOTIKASTHIRA CHOTIBHAK , LUNDBLAD CHRISTIAN , RAMADORAI TARUN 
Published: November 2012

ABSTRACTWe identify a new channel for the transmission of shocks across international markets. Investor flows to funds domiciled in developed markets force significant changes in these funds' emerging market portfolio allocations. These forced trades or “fire sales” affect emerging market equity prices, correlations, and betas, and are related to but distinct from effects arising purely from fund holdings or from overlapping ownership of emerging markets in fund portfolios. A simple model and calibration exercise highlight the importance to these findings of “push” effects from funds' domicile countries and “co‐ownership spillover” between markets with overlapping fund ownership.
On the Life Cycle Dynamics of Venture‐Capital‐ and Non‐Venture‐Capital‐Financed Firms
Authors: PURI MANJU , ZARUTSKIE REBECCA 
Published: November 2012

ABSTRACTWe use data over 25 years to understand the life cycle dynamics of VC‐ and non‐VC‐financed firms. We find successful and failed VC‐financed firms achieve larger scale but are not more profitable at exit than matched non‐VC‐financed firms. Cumulative failure rates of VC‐financed firms are lower, with the difference driven largely by lower failure rates in the initial years after receiving VC. Our results are not driven by VCs disguising failures as acquisitions or by certain types of VCs. The performance difference between VC‐ and non‐VC‐financed firms narrows in the post‐internet bubble years, but does not disappear.