bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Trajectories and Transformations of the Democratic Representative System
Authors: Castiglione Dario 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThis article suggests that there are many ways of characterizing the transformations of contemporary democracy, but that particularly Peter Mair's analysis of the ‘hollowing out’ of democracy suggests that we are witnessing a process of democratic disempowerment, with citizens becoming disaffected and political elites more insulated. A particular terrain of such a process is that of political representation. This article focuses on the conceptual and institutional transformations of the ‘standard version’ of political representation and whether the shift from a more formal and centralised system, based on authorization and control, to more informal, diffuse and trust‐based processes of representation may still meet the normative requirements of democratic politics.
Direct Democracy in Europe: Potentials and Pitfalls
Authors: Leininger Arndt 
Published: June 2015

AbstractDiagnoses of a democratic recession or ‘hollowing out’ of democracy are numerous and varied but usually encompass the following symptoms: a decline in turnout and other forms of political participation; policy making that is increasingly detached from ordinary citizens and their preferences; and an erosion of trust in government and satisfaction with democracy among citizens – all of which ultimately challenge the legitimacy of democratic institutions. Direct democracy is one of the most prominent, far‐reaching and popular remedies proposed in response to such diagnoses. It, by allowing citizens to directly vote on questions usually decided by representatives, seems intuitively appealing as an obvious extension and deepening of democracy. In this article I survey the potentials but also pitfalls of an increased institutionalization of direct democracy and use thereof in the countries of the EU focusing on the three key aspects identified above: representation, turnout and citizens’ political support.
The Hollowing and Backsliding of Democracy in East Central Europe
Authors: Greskovits Béla 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThe essay identifies two main dangers to East Central Europe's young democracies: ‘hollowing,’ or declining popular involvement in democracy, and ‘backsliding,’ or destabilization and reverting to semi‐authoritarian practices. It traces the malaise of some but not all postsocialist democracies to varied combinations of hollowing and backsliding. The main finding is an intricate pattern: in some cases the two syndromes coincide, in others they do not. There is also significant cross‐country variation in the gravity of syndromes. The region's pure neoliberal capitalist regimes are likelier to undermine popular political participation than those, which try to balance marketization with relatively generous social protection for its losers. At the same time, the article finds that while the hollowing of democracy before the global financial crisis has not necessarily been a curse, the massive participation of citizenry prior to the crisis has not been a generalized blessing from the viewpoint of democracy's resilience. This is substantiated by a comparative case study of Hungary and Latvia with lessons for activists of democracy promotion and civil society development.
Regional Normalization and National Deviations: EU Integration and Transformations in Europe's Eastern Periphery
Authors: Bruszt László 
Published: June 2015

AbstractIn debates about democratic backsliding in the new Eastern member states, the EU is pictured as an internally divided weak regional institution, momentarily unable or unwilling to impose elementary norms of democratic governance on deviating member states. In this article I argue that the EU, with its integration strategies, is at least as much part of the problem. It acts as a gigantic machinery of institutional monocropping, imposing uniform policies and institutions on dramatically different economies and societies. In the absence of regional mechanisms that could help European requirements and domestic demands to get in sync, domestic political entrepreneurs are rewarded for experimentation and deviation from European norms. The article highlights the governance problems linked to institutional monocropping by contrasting two major experiences of regional normalization and describes the EU strategies before and after accession. It ends with two alternative scenarios and some of the policy implications of the discussion.
Democracy in America, 2015
Authors: Kuo Didi , McCarty Nolan 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThe US faces a crisis of governance that lies in the deep, long‐term polarization of its party system. While exacerbated by the recent financial crisis and recession, polarizing trends can be detected as early as in the late 1970s. Over the course of four decades, a combination of ideological division and intense electoral competition has eroded the bipartisan glue that our fragmented policymaking institutions require to function. As a result, the US has generally been unable to address pressing long‐term policy problems within the ‘normal’ constitutional framework, if at all. First, the branch of government closest and most representative of the people, the Congress, has declined precipitously in terms of power and public standing. Second, our extremely divisive politics and unmet policy challenges have eroded citizens’ faith in the American government. Finally, polarization has created and reinforced widening economic disparities that have generated substantial political inequalities.
Political Culture, Political Satisfaction and the Rollback of Democracy
Authors: Weßels Bernhard 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThis article addresses the alleged rollback of democracy by looking at the development of political cultures and the quality of democracy at the institutional level in three groups of European countries: longstanding democracies of western Europe, the first third‐wave countries (Portugal, Spain and Greece) and the new democracies of the 1990s in central and eastern Europe. Political culture and political structures are examined by bringing in two aspects: the actual performance of democracy and the normative foundations of the democratic order. Pulling in a range of empirical evidence – comparative population surveys, macro‐level data on the quality of democracy and contextual factors – the findings show that the normative foundations of democracy have not been negatively affected over the last decade, either in terms of political culture or with regard to political structures. In contrast, performance‐related measures of democratic practice and subsequent support for democracy reveal significant negative developments. Thus, if there is a rollback of democracy it is in its practice, not in its normative foundations. However, the alarm is set: Europe cannot afford a continuing performance crisis if it wants to avoid a legitimacy deficit of democracy that goes beyond dissatisfaction with performance to eroding the support for the normative base of democracy.
Psychiatric Symptom Clusters as Risk Factors for Alcohol Use Disorders in Adolescence: A National Study
Authors: Harford Thomas C. , Yi Hsiao‐ye , Chen Chiung M. , Grant Bridget F. 
Published: June 2015

BackgroundFew epidemiologic studies have examined a full range of adolescent psychiatric disorders in the general population. The association between psychiatric symptom clusters (PSCs) and DSM‐IV alcohol use disorders (AUDs) among adolescents is not well understood.MethodsThis study draws upon the public‐use data from the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, including a study sample of 19,430 respondents aged 12 to 17. Logistic regression and exploratory structural equation modeling assess the associations between PSCs and DSM‐IV AUDs by gender. The PSCs are based on brief screening scales devised from the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Predictive Scales.ResultsSeveral PSCs were found to be significantly associated with DSM‐IV AUDs, including separation anxiety, generalized anxiety, depression, oppositional defiant disorder, and conduct disorder among both genders, and panic disorder and obsessive/ compulsive disorder among females. Consistent with the literature, the analysis of PSCs yields 3 factors identical for both genders—2 internalizing factors (fear and anxiety–misery) and 1 externalizing factor. Adolescents who scored higher on the externalizing factor tended to have higher levels of the AUD factor. Female adolescents who scored higher on the internalizing misery factor and lower on the internalizing fear factor also tended to have higher levels of the AUD factor.ConclusionsThe associations that we found between PSCs and AUDs among adolescents in this study are consistent with those found among adults in other studies, although gender may moderate associations between internalizing PSCs and AUDs. Our findings lend support to previous findings on the developmentally stable associations between disruptive behaviors and AUDs among adolescents as well as adults in the general population.
Diagnostic use of recombinant Tha p 2 in the allergy to Thaumetopoea pityocampa
Authors: Rodríguez‐Mahillo A. I. , Carballeda‐Sangiao N. , Vega J. M. , García‐Ortiz J. C. , Roques A. , Moneo I. , González‐Muñoz M. 
Published: June 2015

AbstractThaumetopoea pityocampa causes allergies and skin and ocular lesions. No commercial tools are currently available for the clinical diagnosis of this allergy. We aimed to develop an in vitro method for the diagnosis of this allergy to avoid patients undergoing in vivo tests with insect extracts. Recombinant Tha p 2 was produced and used in an ELISA validated with 15 allergic patients. Subsequently, 42 subjects recruited from a random sampling cross‐sectional study were analysed. The ELISA sensitivity and specificity were 93.3% and 100%, respectively, for the allergic patients and 71.4% and 95.3%, respectively, for the epidemiological study. The positive ELISA results correlated with the skin prick test areas with the whole body and the setae extracts. Professional exposure and short latency of symptoms onset were risk factors for a positive result in the ELISA. In conclusion, our ELISA is very useful for T. pityocampa allergy diagnosis and for epidemiologic testing.
Intrinsic properties of germinal center‐derived B cells promote their enhanced class switching to IgE
Authors: Ramadani F. , Upton N. , Hobson P. , Chan Y.‐C. , Mzinza D. , Bowen H. , Kerridge C. , Sutton B. J. , Fear D. J. , Gould H. J. 
Published: June 2015

AbstractBackgroundResearch on the origins and development of human IgE‐expressing (IgE+) cells is required for understanding the pathogenesis of allergy and asthma. These studies have been thwarted by the rarity of IgE+ cells in vivo and the low frequency of class switch recombination (CSR) to IgE ex vivo. To determine the main source of IgE+ cells, we investigated the relation between the phenotypic composition of tonsil B cells and the CSR to IgE ex vivo.MethodsHuman tonsil B cells were analyzed by flow cytometry (FACS) and cultured with IL‐4 and anti‐CD40 to induce CSR to IgE. Naïve, germinal center (GC), early GC (eGC), and memory tonsil B cells were isolated by FACS, and their capacities for IL‐4 and anti‐CD40 signaling, cell proliferation, and de novo class switching to IgE were analyzed by RT‐PCR and FACS.ResultsB cells from different tonsils exhibited varying capacities for CSR to IgE ex vivo. This was correlated with the percentage of eGC B cells in the tonsil at the outset of the culture. Despite relatively poor cell viability, eGC and GC B‐cell cultures produced the highest yields of IgE+ cells compared to naïve and memory B‐cell cultures. The main factors accounting for this result were the strength of IL‐4R and CD40 signaling and relative rates of cell proliferation.ConclusionsThis study shows that the maturation state of tonsil B cells determines their capacity to undergo class switching to IgE ex vivo, with the GC‐derived B cells yielding the highest percentage of IgE+ cells.
Adjusting for Undercoverage of Access-Points in Creel Surveys with Fewer Overflights
Authors: Béliveau Audrey , Lockhart Richard A. , Schwarz Carl J. , Arndt Steven K. 
Published: June 2015

Summary
Creel surveys are used in recreational fisheries to estimate angling effort, catch, and harvest. Aerial-access creel surveys rely on two components: (1) a ground component in which fishing parties returning from their trips are interviewed at some access-points of the fishery; (2) an aerial component in which the number of fishing parties is counted. A common practice is to sample fewer aerial survey days than ground survey days. This is thought by practitioners to reduce the cost of the survey, but there is a lack of sound statistical methodology for this case. In this article, we propose various estimation methods to handle this situation and evaluate their asymptotic properties from a design-based perspective. We also propose formulas for the optimal allocation of the effort between the ground and the aerial portion of the survey, for given costs and budget. A simulation study investigates the performance of the estimators. Finally, we apply our methods to data from an annual Kootenay Lake survey (Canada).
Treatment Decisions Based on Scalar and Functional Baseline Covariates
Authors: Ciarleglio Adam , Petkova Eva , Ogden R. Todd , Tarpey Thaddeus 
Published: June 2015

Summary
The amount and complexity of patient-level data being collected in randomized-controlled trials offer both opportunities and challenges for developing personalized rules for assigning treatment for a given disease or ailment. For example, trials examining treatments for major depressive disorder are not only collecting typical baseline data such as age, gender, or scores on various tests, but also data that measure the structure and function of the brain such as images from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI (fMRI), or electroencephalography (EEG). These latter types of data have an inherent structure and may be considered as functional data. We propose an approach that uses baseline covariates, both scalars and functions, to aid in the selection of an optimal treatment. In addition to providing information on which treatment should be selected for a new patient, the estimated regime has the potential to provide insight into the relationship between treatment response and the set of baseline covariates. Our approach can be viewed as an extension of “advantage learning” to include both scalar and functional covariates. We describe our method and how to implement it using existing software. Empirical performance of our method is evaluated with simulated data in a variety of settings and also applied to data arising from a study of patients with major depressive disorder from whom baseline scalar covariates as well as functional data from EEG are available.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Women During Pregnancy and Childbearing Years
Authors: Holden Selma C. , Gardiner Paula , Birdee Gurjeet , Davis Roger B. , Yeh Gloria Y. 
Published: June 2015

AbstractObjectivesLittle is known regarding complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use during pregnancy and the preconception period. Since half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended, understanding the patterns of CAM use among women of childbearing age has implications for fetal and maternal health.MethodsDescriptive statistics were generated from the 2012 National Health Interview Study (NHIS) to estimate weighted prevalence and patterns of CAM use by women of childbearing age. Comparisons were made between pregnant and nonpregnant respondents.ResultsIn this sample of 10,002 women, 7 percent (n = 727) were recently pregnant. Over one‐third of all the women used CAM during the previous year (34/38%, pregnant/nonpregnant, respectively) and only half disclosed CAM use to conventional providers (50/49%). In the adjusted model, taking multivitamins (OR 2.52 [CI 2.22–2.86]) and moderate to heavy alcohol use (OR 1.92 [CI 1.53–2.41]) were more likely associated with CAM use. The two most commonly used modalities were herbs (14/17%) and yoga (13/16%). The top reasons for CAM use were to improve general wellness or to prevent disease (33/35%) and to treat back pain (16/18%). When examining all pregnancy‐related symptoms treated with CAM, no difference was found in the rates of CAM use between pregnant and nonpregnant users.ConclusionsCAM use by women of childbearing age in the United States is common, with over a third of the population using one or more therapies. However, only half disclosed their use to conventional providers despite limited evidence on safety and effectiveness. This study highlights the important need for further research in this area.
Best friends and better coping: Facilitating psychological resilience through boys’ and girls’ closest friendships
Authors: Graber Rebecca , Turner Rhiannon , Madill Anna 
Published: June 2015

This is a novel investigation of whether, and how, a single close supportive friendship may facilitate psychological resilience in socio‐economically vulnerable British adolescents. A total of 409 adolescents (160 boys, 245 girls, four unknown), aged between 11 and 19 years, completed self‐report measures of close friendship quality, psychological resilience, social support, and other resources. Findings revealed a significant positive association between perceived friendship quality and resilience. This relationship was facilitated through inter‐related mechanisms of developing a constructive coping style (comprised of support‐seeking and active coping), effort, a supportive friendship network, and reduced disengaged and externalising coping. While protective processes were encouragingly significantly present across genders, boys were more vulnerable to the deleterious effects of disengaged and externalizing coping than girls. We suggest that individual close friendships are an important potential protective mechanism accessible to most adolescents. We discuss implications of the resulting Adolescent Friendship and Resilience Model for resilience theories and integration into practice.
Autophagy mechanisms in sputum and peripheral blood cells of patients with severe asthma: a new therapeutic target
Authors: Ban G.‐Y. , Pham D. L. , Trinh T. H. K. , Lee S.‐I. , Suh D.‐H. , Yang E.‐M. , Ye Y.‐M. , Shin Y. S. , Chwae Y.‐J. , Park H.‐S. 
Published: June 2015

SummaryBackgroundAutophagy and genetic predisposition have been suggested to potentially play roles in the development of asthma. However, little is known about the role of autophagy in the pathogenesis of severe asthma.ObjectiveWe compared autophagy in the sputum granulocytes, peripheral blood cells (PBCs) and peripheral blood eosinophils (PBEs) between patients with severe asthma and those with non‐severe asthma and investigated the functional effects of autophagy.MethodsWe enrolled 36 patients with severe asthma, 14 with non‐severe asthma and 23 normal healthy controls in this study. Sputum granulocytes, PBCs and PBEs were isolated from each subject. Autophagy was evaluated based on the expression of microtubule‐associated protein light chain 3 (LC3) by Western blot, confocal microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and flow cytometry. IL‐8 levels were measured by ELISA. To induce autophagy, HL‐60 cells, human primary small airway epithelial cells (SAECs) and A549 cells were treated with IL‐5, IL‐1β and TNF‐α. To inhibit autophagy, PI3K inhibitors (LY29400 and 3‐methyladenine [3‐MA]) and hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) were used. Knockdown of ATG5 and Beclin‐1 was performed in A549 cells, and the therapeutic effects of dexamethasone were evaluated.ResultsHigher autophagy levels were noted in sputum granulocytes, PBCs and PBEs from patients with severe asthma than from patients with non‐severe asthma and healthy controls (P < 0.05 for all). IL‐5 increased autophagy levels in both PBCs and PBEs (P < 0.05). 3‐MA attenuated the increased expression of LC3‐II and eosinophil cationic protein in HL‐60 cells induced by IL‐5 (P = 0.034 for both). Dexamethasone did not affect autophagy levels in PBEs. IL‐1β increased LC3‐II expression and IL‐8 production (P < 0.01) in SAECs, and this was attenuated by LY294002, 3‐MA, HCQ and knockdown of ATG5 and Beclin‐1 (in A549 cells) (P < 0.01).Conclusions and Clinical RelevanceAutophagy could play a role in the pathogenesis of severe asthma. Autophagy modulation may be a novel therapeutic target for conventional therapy‐resistant severe asthma.
Parallels Between Action‐Object Mapping and Word‐Object Mapping in Young Children
Authors: Riggs Kevin J. , Mather Emily , Hyde Grace , Simpson Andrew 
Published: June 2015

AbstractAcross a series of four experiments with 3‐ to 4‐year‐olds we demonstrate how cognitive mechanisms supporting noun learning extend to the mapping of actions to objects. In Experiment 1 (n = 61) the demonstration of a novel action led children to select a novel, rather than a familiar object. In Experiment 2 (n = 78) children exhibited long‐term retention of novel action‐object mappings and extended these actions to other category members. In Experiment 3 (n = 60) we showed that children formed an accurate sensorimotor record of the novel action. In Experiment 4 (n = 54) we demonstrate limits on the types of actions mapped to novel objects. Overall these data suggest that certain aspects of noun mapping share common processing with action mapping and support a domain‐general account of word learning.
Schwere arzneimittelinduzierte Hautreaktionen: Klinik, Diagnostik, Ätiologie und Therapie
Authors: Paulmann Maren , Mockenhaupt Maja 
Published: June 2015

ZusammenfassungArzneimittel können schwere Hautreaktionen auslösen, deren Reaktionsformen sich im klinischen Bild, in der Prognose und der Therapie unterscheiden. Neben Stevens‐Johnson‐Syndrom (SJS), toxisch epidermaler Nekrolyse (TEN) und generalisiertem bullösen fixen Arzneiexanthem (GBFDE) zählen auch die beiden nicht primär bullösen Reaktionen akute generalisierte exanthematische Pustulose (AGEP) und „drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms“ (DRESS) zu den schweren arzneimittelinduzierten Hautreaktionen. Im ersten Schritt sollte mittels exakter klinischer Untersuchung, der Entnahme einer Probebiopsie sowie durch spezielle Laboruntersuchungen bei Verdacht auf AGEP oder DRESS eine Sicherung der Diagnose erfolgen. Des Weiteren sind die schnelle Identifizierung sowie das Absetzen des auslösenden Agens entscheidend für die Prognose des Patienten. Hierfür sollte man die häufigsten Auslöser der jeweiligen Reaktionsform kennen, wobei einige Medikamente unterschiedliche Reaktionsformen auslösen können. Je nach Diagnosefindung wird neben der symptomatischen und supportiven Wundversorgung, eine systemisch immunmodulierende Therapie angewendet. In Abhängigkeit von Alter und Grunderkrankungen sowie dem Ausmaß der Hautablösung ist die Prognose bei SJS/TEN oftmals ungünstig. Die Prognose bei GBFDE ist etwas besser, aber schwerer verlaufende Rezidive sind beschrieben. Bei DRESS können langwierige und rezidivierende Verläufe auftreten, während bei der AGEP eine meist problemlose Abheilung vorliegt.