bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Worlds Apart But Not Alone: How Wiki Technologies Influence Productivity and Decision‐Making in Student Groups
Authors: Heidrich Balázs , Kása Richárd , Shu Wesley , Chandler Nick 
Published: April 2015

ABSTRACTRegardless of the size of an organization, collaboration has become a fundamental element with regard to engagement between the organization and internal and external stakeholders. With the rapid advance of communication technologies and the free‐flow of information, the concept of collaboration extends beyond physical locations and time zones in the form of globally connected virtual teams. This study considers how modern Web 2.0‐based collaborative technologies (wikis) relate to higher decision quality and productivity, and identifies if these collaborative technologies are better suited to tasks requiring extensive asynchronous collaboration in an educational setting. Controlled experiments involving student teams that worked in technologically and demographically diverse groups showed that wiki technologies do not suit all kinds of tasks, and do not always increase productivity or the decision quality of team collaboration.
Two new species of Phraortes from the Ryukyus, Japan (Phasmatodea: Phasmatidae)
Authors: Saito Taro 
Published: April 2015

AbstractTwo new species of Phraortes are described from the Ryukyus of Japan. Phraortes kumensis sp. nov. is described from Kume‐jima Island, and P. yonaguniensis sp. nov. from Yonaguni‐jima Island. The morphology of the females, males and eggs of the new species is illustrated.
Virus disease in wheat predicted to increase with a changing climate
Authors: Trębicki Piotr , Nancarrow Narelle , Cole Ellen , Bosque‐Pérez Nilsa A. , Constable Fiona E. , Freeman Angela J. , Rodoni Brendan , Yen Alan L. , Luck Jo E. , Fitzgerald Glenn J. 
Published: April 2015

AbstractCurrent atmospheric CO2 levels are about 400 μmol mol−1 and are predicted to rise to 650 μmol mol−1 later this century. Although the positive and negative impacts of CO2 on plants are well documented, little is known about interactions with pests and diseases. If disease severity increases under future environmental conditions, then it becomes imperative to understand the impacts of pathogens on crop production in order to minimize crop losses and maximize food production. Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) adversely affects the yield and quality of economically important crops including wheat, barley and oats. It is transmitted by numerous aphid species and causes a serious disease of cereal crops worldwide. This study examined the effects of ambient (aCO2; 400 μmol mol−1) and elevated CO2 (eCO2; 650 μmol mol−1) on noninfected and BYDV‐infected wheat. Using a RT‐qPCR technique, we measured virus titre from aCO2 and eCO2 treatments. BYDV titre increased significantly by 36.8% in leaves of wheat grown under eCO2 conditions compared to aCO2. Plant growth parameters including height, tiller number, leaf area and biomass were generally higher in plants exposed to higher CO2 levels but increased growth did not explain the increase in BYDV titre in these plants. High virus titre in plants has been shown to have a significant negative effect on plant yield and causes earlier and more pronounced symptom expression increasing the probability of virus spread by insects. The combination of these factors could negatively impact food production in Australia and worldwide under future climate conditions. This is the first quantitative evidence that BYDV titre increases in plants grown under elevated CO2 levels.
Avoiding verisimilitude when modelling ecological responses to climate change: the influence of weather conditions on trapping efficiency in European badgers (Meles meles)
Authors: Noonan Michael J. , Rahman M. Abidur , Newman Chris , Buesching Christina D. , Macdonald David W. 
Published: April 2015

AbstractThe signal for climate change effects can be abstruse; consequently, interpretations of evidence must avoid verisimilitude, or else misattribution of causality could compromise policy decisions. Examining climatic effects on wild animal population dynamics requires ability to trap, observe or photograph and to recapture study individuals consistently. In this regard, we use 19 years of data (1994–2012), detailing the life histories on 1179 individual European badgers over 3288 (re‐) trapping events, to test whether trapping efficiency was associated with season, weather variables (both contemporaneous and time lagged), body‐condition index (BCI) and trapping efficiency (TE).PCAfactor loadings demonstrated thatTEwas affected significantly by temperature and precipitation, as well as time lags in these variables. From multi‐model inference,BCIwas the principal driver ofTE, where badgers in good condition were less likely to be trapped. Our analyses exposed that this was enacted mechanistically via weather variables drivingBCI, affectingTE. Notably, the very conditions that militated for poor trapping success have been associated with actual survival and population abundance benefits in badgers. Using these findings to parameterize simulations, projecting best‐/worst‐case scenario weather conditions andBCIresulted in 8.6% ± 4.9SDdifference in seasonalTE, leading to a potential 55.0% population abundance under‐estimation under the worst‐case scenario; 38.6% over‐estimation under the best case. Interestingly, simulations revealed that while any single trapping session might prove misrepresentative of the true population abundance, due to weather effects, prolonging capture–mark–recapture studies under sub‐optimal conditions decreased the accuracy of population estimates significantly. We also use these projection scenarios to explore how weather could impact government‐led trapping of badgers in theUK, in relation toTBmanagement. We conclude that population monitoring must be calibrated against the likelihood that weather conditions could be altering trap success directly, and therefore biasing model design.
Mismatch between health‐care professionals' and patients' views on a diabetes patient decision aid: a qualitative study
Authors: Lee Ping Yein , Khoo Ee Ming , Low Wah Yun , Lee Yew Kong , Abdullah Khatijah Lim , Azmi Syahidatul Akmal , Ng Chirk Jenn 
Published: April 2015

AbstractBackgroundMalaysia is an Asian country with population of diverse culture and health perceptions. Patient decision aid (PDA) is a new tool in Malaysia. Patients' and health‐care professionals' (HCPs) expectation of a PDA is unknown.AimWe aimed to explore patients' and health‐care professionals'(HCPs) views on the information needed in a patient decision aid (PDA) on insulin initiation developed for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).DesignWe used a qualitative design and thematic approach.SettingThree main primary health‐care settings in Malaysia: public university‐based primary care clinics, public health‐care clinics and private general practices.MethodWe conducted focus groups and one‐to‐one interviews with a purposive sample of health professionals and patients with type 2 diabetes.ResultsWe interviewed 18 patients and 13 HCPs. Patients viewed the content of the PDA as simple and clear. However, HCPs felt the PDA might be difficult for patients with low literacy to understand. HCPs thought the PDA was too lengthy. Nevertheless, patients would prefer more information. HCPs tended to focus on benefits of insulin, while patients wanted to know the impact of insulin on their quality of life and practical issues regarding insulin and its side‐effects. Patients preferred numbers to weigh the risks and benefits of treatment options. HCPs' views that presenting numbers in a PDA would be too complex for patients to understand.ConclusionIt is important to consider including issues related to psycho‐social impact of treatment to patients when developing a patient decision aid.
The Development of Statistical Computing at Rothamsted
Authors: Gower John C. 
Published: April 2015

SummaryAn account is given of the development of statistical computing at Rothamsted. It is concerned mainly with the period from 1954 (when the first electronic computer was delivered) until 1985 (when this article was written). Initially, many specialised programs were written, but it was soon realised that, for efficiency, general‐purpose programs—each unifying many statistical techniques—were required. The development of these programs was gradual and required corresponding developments in statistical theory. Now, the bulk of statistical work, not only for Rothamsted but also for the Agricultural and Food Research Service (AFRS) as a whole, is covered by a few programs, notably Genstat that has an international market. Further developments of these programs are required to make them more accessible to scientists who are not well versed in statistics and to take advantage of technological advances.
Parametric Portfolio Policies in the Surplus Consumption Ratio
Authors: Inkmann Joachim , Shi Zhen 
Published: April 2015

AbstractThe surplus consumption ratio plays a central role as a state variable in successful attempts to explain the time series properties of stock and bond prices with consumption‐based asset pricing models. In this paper, optimal portfolio policies for a strategic investor who maximizes the conditionally expected utility of terminal wealth are parameterized as a polynomial in the surplus consumption ratio. Optimal portfolio policies are estimated using a method of moments estimator based on Euler equations. Unconditional portfolio policies are rejected in favor of conditional policies. Lower order polynomials are rejected in favor of higher order polynomials. Optimal stock and bond allocations are clearly countercyclical.
Workers and social movements of the developing world: Time to rethink the scope of industrial relations?
Authors: SEN Ratna , LEE Chang‐Hee 
Published: April 2015

AbstractAgainst the background of decline in traditional industrial relations institutions in post‐Fordist economies, the authors review the patterns of counter‐movement to globalization that are emerging in the defence of workers in developing countries, with a particular focus on Asia. From the Marxian struggle they identify in China to the widely varied forms of protest and representational organization they observe in India, they argue for a more inclusive approach to industrial relations, both in practice and in research. The future, they suggest, will be shaped by the interplay of reform from above and the social movements spontaneously filling today's representational vacuum.
Arrow physicians: Are economics and medicine philosophically incompatible?
Authors: Tsang Sandro 
Published: April 2015

AbstractEconomics is en route to its further expansion in medicine, but many in the medical community remain unconvinced that its impact will be positive. Thus, a philosophical enquiry into the compatibility of economics and medicine is necessary to resolve the disagreements. The fundamental mission of medicine obliges physicians to practise science and compassion to serve the patient's best interests. Conventional (neoclassical) economics assumes that individuals are self‐interested and that competitive markets will emerge optimal states. Economics is seemingly incompatible with the emphasis of putting patients' interests first. This idea is refuted by Professor Kenneth Arrow's health economics seminal paper. Arrow emphasizes that medical practice involves agency, knowledge, trust and professionalism, and physician–patient relation critically affects care quality. The term Arrow Physician is used to mean a humanistic carer who has a concern for the patient and acts on the best available evidence with health equity in mind. To make this practice sustainable, implementing appropriate motivations, constitutions and institutions to enable altruistic agency is critical. There is substantial evidence that polycentric governance can encourage building trust and reciprocity, so as to avoid depletion of communal resources. This paper proposes building trusting institutions through granting altruistic physicians adequate autonomy to direct resources based on patients' technical needs. It also summarizes the philosophy bases of medicine and economics. It, therefore, contributes to developing a shared language to facilitate intellectual dialogues, and will encourage trans‐disciplinary research into medical practice. This should lead to medicine being reoriented to care for whole persons again.
Development of a bundle measure for preventive service delivery to infants in primary care
Authors: Brown Courtney M , Samaan Zeina M. , Morehous John F. , Perkins Alison A. , Kahn Robert S. , Mansour Mona E. 
Published: April 2015

AbstractRationale, aims and objectivesIn the United States, paediatric patients receive only 41% of indicated preventive services. Past improvement efforts have not bundled preventive services to measure the reliability with which infants' physical, developmental and emotional needs are all addressed. We aimed to create a comprehensive bundle measure that reflects reliable delivery of preventive services during primary care visits, as well as overall preventive service status of a population of patients served by three primary care centres.MethodData were collected from electronic health records for cohorts of infants < 14 months old with at least one visit to one of three primary care centres. Immunizations, lead screening, developmental screening and screening for biopsychosocial risk factors (gestational age, parental depression, food insecurity) were chosen by local expert consensus for inclusion in the preventive services bundle measure. Monthly measures of preventive service status at 14 months of age were constructed. A visit‐level bundle measure of preventive service delivery was also created. To obtain a baseline for improvement work, bundle completion rates were calculated for infants born in May 2011. Visit‐level performance was measured for visits from July to August 2012.ResultsAmong 278 patients born in May 2011, 22% of patients received the entire bundle of preventive services by 14 months of age. On a visit level, patients received all indicated services at 58% of visits.ConclusionA novel bundle measure can be used to characterize delivery of preventive services and drive improvement at both an individual visit level and a population level.
Development of a quantitative PCR assay for monitoring Streptococcus agalactiae colonization and tissue tropism in experimentally infected tilapia
Authors: Su Y‐L , Feng J , Li Y‐W , Bai J‐S , Li A‐X 
Published: April 2015

AbstractStreptococcus agalactiae has become one of the most important emerging pathogens in the aquaculture industry and has resulted in large economic losses for tilapia farms in China. In this study, three pairs of specific primers were designed and tested for their specificities and sensitivities in quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reactions (qPCRs) after optimization of the annealing temperature. The primer pair IGS‐s/IGS‐a, which targets the 16S‐23S rRNA intergenic spacer region, was finally chosen, having a detection limit of 8.6 copies of S. agalactiae DNA in a 20 μL reaction mixture. Bacterial tissue tropism was demonstrated by qPCR in Oreochromis niloticus 5 days post‐injection with a virulent S. agalactiae strain. Bacterial loads were detected at the highest level in brain, followed by moderately high levels in kidney, heart, spleen, intestines, and eye. Significantly lower bacterial loads were observed in muscle, gill and liver. In addition, significantly lower bacterial loads were observed in the brain of convalescent O. niloticus 14 days post‐injection with several different S. agalactiae strains. The qPCR for the detection of S. agalactiae developed in this study provides a quantitative tool for investigating bacterial tissue tropism in infected fish, as well as for monitoring bacterial colonization in convalescent fish.
vapA (A‐layer) typing differentiates Aeromonas salmonicida subspecies and identifies a number of previously undescribed subtypes
Authors: Gulla S , Lund V , Kristoffersen A B , Sørum H , Colquhoun D J 
Published: April 2015

AbstractSequence variation in a region of the virulence array protein gene (vapA; A‐layer) was assessed in 333 (‘typical’ and ‘atypical’) isolates of the fish pathogenic bacterium Aeromonas salmonicida. Resulting similarity dendrograms revealed extensive heterogeneity, with nearly all isolates belonging to either of 14 distinct clusters or A‐layer types. All acknowledged A. salmonicida subspecies (except ssp. pectinolytica, from which no vapA sequence could be obtained) were clearly separated, and notably, all isolates phenotypically identified as ssp. salmonicida formed a distinct and exclusive A‐layer type. Additionally, an array of un‐subspeciated atypical strains formed several equally prominent clusters, demonstrating that the concept of typical/atypical A. salmonicida is inappropriate for describing the high degree of diversity evidently occurring outside ssp. salmonicida. Most representatives assessed in this study were clinical isolates of spatiotemporally diverse origins, and were derived from a variety of hosts. We observed that from several fish species or families, isolates predominantly belonged to certain A‐layer types, possibly indicating a need for host‐/A‐layer type‐specific A. salmonicida vaccines. All in all, A‐layer typing shows promise as an inexpensive and rapid means of unambiguously distinguishing clinically relevant A. salmonicida subspecies, as well as presently un‐subspeciated atypical strains.
Value Relevance of Multinationality: Evidence from Korean Firms
Authors: Lee Sangno , Kim Minho , Davidson Wallace N. 
Published: April 2015

AbstractThe purpose of this study is to examine the valuation effects of multinationality in Korean firms and to identify the role of multinationality in internalization theory. We hypothesize that the market positively values the multinational activities of Korean firms, which are operating in a small open economy in which firms have strong motivations for internationalization. We use Ohlson's (1995, Contemporary Accounting Research, 11, 661) value model and document the positive effect for multinational firms compared to domestic firms, as well as the positive effect of multinationality on firm value. These results are robust across studies, as indicated by Tobin's q measure, as well as across years. We also hypothesize that multinationality mediates or moderates the relationship between intangibility and firm value that is proposed in internalization theory. We do not find supporting evidence for a mediated influence of intangibility through multinationality on firm value nor for a moderated influence of intangibility on firm value. We find that multinationality and intangibility directly and independently influence firm value, without any interference from each other. These results are also robust across studies, as indicated by Tobin's q measure. Finally, we find that multinationality in Korean firms has never lost its importance, even during the global financial crisis in the year 2008.
In vitro bone strain distributions in a sample of primate pelves
Authors: Lewton Kristi L. 
Published: April 2015

AbstractThe pelvis is a critical link in the hindlimb locomotor system and has a central role in resisting loads associated with locomotion, but our understanding of its structural biomechanics is quite limited. Empirical data on how the pelvis responds to the loads it encounters are important for understanding pelvic adaptation to locomotion, and for testing hypotheses regarding how the pelvis is adapted to its mechanical demands. This paper presents in vitro strain gauge data on a sample of monkey and ape cadaveric specimens (Macaca, Papio, Ateles, Hylobates), and assesses strain magnitudes and distributions through the bones of the pelvis: the ilium, ischium and pubis. Pelves were individually mounted in a materials testing system, loads were applied across three hindlimb angular positions, and strains were recorded from 18 locations on the pelvic girdle. Peak principal strains range from 2000 to 3000 με, similar to peak strains recorded from other mammals in vivo. Although previous work has suggested that the bones of the pelvis may act as bent beams, this study suggests that there are likely additional loading regimes superimposed on bending. Specifically, these data suggest that the ilium is loaded in axial compression and torsion, the ischium in torsion, the pubic rami in mediolateral bending, and the pubic symphysis is loaded in a combination of compression and torsion. Compressive strains dominate the pelves of all species representatives. Shear strains change with limb position; hip flexion at 45 ° induces smaller shear strains than mid‐stance (90 °) or hip extension (105 °). The pelvic girdle is a complex structure that does not lend itself easily to modeling, but finite element analyses may prove useful to generate and refine hypotheses of pelvic biomechanics.
Melatonin ameliorates amyloid beta‐induced memory deficits, tau hyperphosphorylation and neurodegeneration via PI3/Akt/GSk3β pathway in the mouse hippocampus
Authors: Ali Tahir , Kim Myeong Ok 
Published: April 2015

AbstractAlzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent age‐related neurodegenerative disease, pathologically characterized by the accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ) aggregation in the brain, and is considered to be the primary cause of cognitive dysfunction. Aβ aggregates lead to synaptic disorder, tau hyperphosphorylation, and neurodegeneration. In this study, the underlying neuroprotective mechanism of melatonin against Aβ1‐42‐induced neurotoxicity was investigated in the mice hippocampus. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) Aβ1‐42‐injection triggered memory impairment, synaptic disorder, hyperphosphorylation of tau protein, and neurodegeneration in the mice hippocampus. After 24 hr of Aβ1‐42 injection, the mice were treated with melatonin (10 mg/kg, intraperitonially) for 3 wks, reversed the Aβ1‐42‐induced synaptic disorder via increasing the level of presyanptic (Synaptophysin and SNAP‐25) and postsynaptic protein [PSD95, p‐GluR1 (Ser845), SNAP23, and p‐CREB (Ser133)], respectively, and attenuated the Aβ1‐42‐induced memory impairment. Chronic melatonin treatment attenuated the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein via PI3K/Akt/GSK3β signaling by activating the p‐PI3K, p‐Akt (Ser 473) and p‐GSK3β (Ser9) in the Aβ1‐42‐treated mice. Furthermore, melatonin decreased Aβ1‐42‐induced apoptosis through decreasing the overexpression of caspase‐9, caspase‐3, and PARP‐1 level. Additionally, the evaluation of immunohistochemical analysis of caspase‐3, Fluorojade‐B, and Nissl staining indicated that melatonin prevented neurodegeneration in Aβ1‐42‐treated mice. Our results demonstrated that melatonin has neuroprotective effect against Aβ1‐42‐induced neurotoxicity through decreasing memory impairment, synaptic disorder, tau hyperphosphorylation, and neurodegeneration via PI3K/Akt/GSK3β signaling in the Aβ1‐42‐treated mouse model of AD. On the basis of these results, we suggest that melatonin could be an effective, promising, and safe neuroprotective candidate for the treatment of progressive neurodegenerative disorders, such as AD.