bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Aquinas and the Natural Law
Authors: Seipel Peter 
Published: January 2015

AbstractRecent decades have seen a shift away from the traditional view thatAquinas's theory of the natural law is meant to supply us with normative guidance grounded in a substantive theory of human nature. In the present essay,Iargue that this is a mistake. Expanding on the suggestions ofJeanPorter andRalphMcInerny,Idefend a derivationist reading ofST I‐II,Q. 94,A. 2 according to whichAquinas takes our knowledge of the genuine goods of human life and their proper ordering to one another to be self‐evident only to the wise who are able to discern the truth about ourGod‐given human nature. I then show that this reading provides a better account ofAquinas's view than two recent alternatives:JohnFinnis's brand of inclinationism andDanielMarkNelson's virtue‐based interpretation.
Sexuality and Christian Tradition
Authors: Newheiser David 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThis essay aims to clarify the debate over same‐sex unions by comparing it to the fourth‐century conflict concerning the nature of Jesus Christ. Although some suppose that the council of Nicaea reiterated what Christians had always believed, the Nicene theology championed by Athanasius was a dramatic innovation that only won out through protracted struggle. Similarly, despite the widespread assumption that Christian tradition univocally condemns homosexuality, the concept of sexuality is a nineteenth‐century invention with no exact analogue in the ancient world. Neither heterosexuality nor homosexuality is addressed directly in Christian tradition; for this reason, the significance of older authorities for the modern debate is necessarily indirect. The dichotomy between progressive and conservative positions is therefore misguided: it is necessary neither to abandon tradition for the sake of progress nor to oppose innovation for the sake of fidelity.
Bone density assessment in a tertiary paediatric centre over 13 years: Referral patterns and limitations
Authors: Jones Alicia R , Zacharin Margaret R , Cameron Fergus J , Simm Peter J 
Published: January 2015

AimThis study aims to examine the referral practices for the Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) bone density service over the past 13 years and to demonstrate referral patterns and possible limitations to accessing paediatric bone densitometry.MethodsAll patients attending the RCH Healthy Bones Unit for bone densitometry from 1 July 1999 to 30 June 2012, aged under 18 years of age, were included. Densitometry results were downloaded directly from the Hologic scanner into an Excel document. However, the referring unit and indication for referral were collected manually from either the referral card or the hospital's scanned medical records system.ResultsA total of 5767 bone densitometry scans were performed over the study period on 3004 patients. The majority of referrals were made by the Endocrinology department, followed by Adolescent Medicine, Gastroenterology and Neurology. Relatively few referrals were made by general paediatrics. The most common indication for bone density test overall was eating disorders, followed by steroid use, osteogenesis imperfecta and other collagen disorders and inflammatory bowel disease. The lowest lumbar spine z‐scores by indication were for cerebral palsy and other causes of immobility.ConclusionsMultiple childhood diseases predispose to low bone density; however, paediatric bone densitometry is still underutilised and not appropriately supported by subsidies.
Exploratory study of bed‐sharing and maternal‐infant bonding
Authors: Mitchell Edwin A , Hutchison B Lynne , Thompson John MD , Wouldes Trecia A 
Published: January 2015

AimBed‐sharing with an infant is controversial due to the increased risk of sudden unexpected death in infancy versus postulated benefits of the practice such as enhanced breastfeeding and maternal‐infant bonding. This study evaluated the association between bed‐sharing and maternal‐infant bonding.MethodsFour hundred randomly selected mothers who had delivered in a large maternity unit in Auckland and whose infants were between the ages of 6 weeks and 4 months were sent a postal questionnaire asking about their bed‐sharing practices last night, usually, and in the last 2 weeks. Included in the questionnaire were factors 1 and 2 questions from the Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire to assess maternal‐infant bonding.ResultsResponders totalled 172 (43%), and infants were a mean age of 11 weeks. Fourteen per cent of infants slept in a bed‐sharing situation last night, 8% usually, and 41% had slept with an adult in the last 2 weeks. Nine per cent of mothers scored above the cut‐off for factor 1 for impaired maternal‐infant bonding. Infants of these mothers were more likely to bed‐share last night, usually, and in the last 2 weeks, and were less likely to use a pacifier and to breastfeed. Bed‐sharing mothers scored more highly on individual questions relating to being annoyed or irritated by their baby.ConclusionThere is an inverse association between bed‐sharing and maternal‐infant bonding, which is contrary to the often expressed belief that bed‐sharing enhances maternal‐infant bonding.
Intraspecific differentiation of Pleurospermum hookeri (Apiaceae), and its interspecific relationships with two close relatives in the genus Pleurospermum
Authors: Bai Xue , Ma Xiang‐Guang , Gao Yun‐Dong , Zhao Cai , He Xing‐Jin 
Published: January 2015

AbstractIn order to clarify the interspecific relationships of a lineage in Pleurospermum, P. hookeri C. B. Clarke, P. yunnanense Franch., and P. giraldii Diels, and to understand intraspecific divergence of P. hookeri, a phylogeographic study was carried out based on 198 individuals from 24 populations. Three chloroplast DNA regions, ndhF‐rpl32, trnL‐trnF, and trnQ‐rps16, were sequenced in the present study. The genetic relationship between P. hookeri and P. giraldii is not as close as previously assumed. Pleurospermum hookeri and P. giraldii may originate from an unknown ancestor located in the Qinling region. Pleurospermum yunnanense was found to be the closest relative of P. hookeri in all the species included in the phylogenetic analysis. The two haplotypes identified from P. yunnanense are shared with P. hookeri, which is potentially a result of both incomplete linkage sorting and introgression. Three large divergences within P. hookeri were identified, located at the northeastern edge, southeastern edge, and platform of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP), respectively. Long‐term history can explain the deep intraspecific divergence of P. hookeri. The uplift of the QTP played a key role in that divergence, and then were the climatic changes in the Quaternary. In addition, we found one refugium at the northeastern edge of the QTP, one at the southeastern edge, and at least one in the Hengduan Mountains region on the platform of the QTP.
Pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic assessments of 10 mg/kg tramadol intramuscular injection in yellow‐bellied slider turtles (Trachemys scripta scripta)
Authors: Giorgi M. , Salvadori M. , De Vito V. , Owen H. , Demontis M. P. , Varoni M. V. 
Published: January 2015

In reptiles, administration of opioid drugs has yielded unexpected results with respect to analgesia. The aims of this study were to assess the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) properties of tramadol and its active metabolite M1 and to evaluate the effect of the renal portal system on the PK/PD parameters in yellow‐bellied slider turtles. Turtles (n = 19) were randomly assigned to four treatment groups, according to a masked, single‐dose, four‐treatment, unpaired, four‐period crossover design. Group A (n = 5) received a single i.m. dose of tramadol (50 mg/mL) at 10 mg/kg in the proximal hindlimb. Group B (n = 5) received the same i.m. dose but in the forelimb. Groups C (n = 5) and D (n = 4) received a single i.m. injection of saline (NaCl 0.9%) of equivalent volume to the volumes of tramadol injected in the hind‐ and forelimb, respectively. Groups were rotated (1‐month washout period) until the completion of the crossover study. Tramadol plasma concentrations were evaluated by a validated HPLC‐FL method. An infrared thermal stimulus was applied to the plantar surface of the turtles' hindlimbs to evaluate the thermal withdrawal latency (TWL). The two PK profiles of tramadol differed in the first 2 h following administration, but overlapped in the elimination phases. The metabolite M1 was formed in both the treatment groups, showing similar pharmacokinetic trends, although the amount of M1 was significantly higher (20%) in the hindlimb vs. forelimb group. Turtles given tramadol in the hind‐ and forelimb showed a significant increase in TWL over the periods of 0.5–48 and 8–48 h, respectively. The calculated % maximal possible response (% MPR) was low (about 24%). The PK/PD correlations between M1 plasma concentrations vs. % MPR appeared to show a counterclockwise hysteresis loop shape.
Long‐term changes in composition, diversity and distribution patterns in four herbaceous plant communities along an elevational gradient
Authors: Sproull Gregory J. , Quigley Martin F. , Sher Anna , González Eduardo 
Published: January 2015

AbstractQuestionsHave species expanded their ranges upward in elevation? Have α‐ and β‐diversity changed over time? Have species richness changes along the gradient shown distributional patterns? Have community compositions changed over time, and if so, which plant families are responsible for variation? Do herbaceous changes correspond to increased warming, overstorey shifts and disturbance events at each site?LocationLong‐term Ecological Research (LTER) sites near Niwot Ridge, CO, US.MethodsWe surveyed four herbaceous plant communities along an elevational gradient for species composition, diversity and frequency. Our results were compared to those found in 1981 and 1996 in the same plots to determine long‐term community change at each site and along the elevational gradient. We evaluated changes in elevational species range expansion, community diversity, and composition. We related herbaceous change to tree data and site‐specific literature on climate and disturbance to analyze change patterns and drivers.ResultsOur investigation showed the upward range expansion of eight species. Alpha‐diversity changes were site‐specific, while species richness changes along the gradient did not exhibit distinctive patterns. Each community changed significantly (P < 0.05) in composition and in β‐diversity. Shade‐tolerant families increased in dominance at the three lower sites, which reflected succession‐driven canopy closure. Changes correlated to increased warming, overstorey shifts and disturbance.ConclusionsHerb aceous communities have changed in dynamic ways, as evidenced by shifts in composition, diversity and distribution. We confirm the need for more long‐term studies that can offer robust insights into the interplay between change drivers, such as climate, biotic interactions and disturbance, which work in concert to determine community assemblage.
Recent Developments in 17th and 18th‐Century English Catholic Studies
Authors: Gevirtz Karen 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThe last 15 years have brought a revolution to research in 17th‐ and 18th‐century English Catholicism. New approaches, shaped primarily by New Historicism and gender studies, have expanded the materials, questions, and methods driving scholarly investigations. The article describes several primary trends within this revolution: the development of inward‐oriented and outward‐oriented studies examining English Catholicism and English Catholicism's relationship with other discourses, respectively; a growing interest in women's experiences of and contributions to English Catholicism, particularly those of English nuns in exile; and a new narrative for 18th‐century English Catholicism revealing its public as well as private iterations and impacts. Overall, current scholarship draws on a plethora of materials including material objects, texts, and space to construct an increasingly detailed picture of English Catholicism as a complex, dynamic force, and community during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Between Freud and Coleridge: Contemporary Scholarship on Victorian Literature and the Science of Dream‐states
Authors: Schatz Stephanie L. 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThe aim of this essay is to provide an overview of recent scholarship on specific kinds of sleep and dream‐states in 19th‐century literature and science and to note areas where there is an apparent dearth in order to encourage further research. The categories surveyed here are general studies of sleep and dream‐states, mesmerism and related trance‐like states (such as hypnotism and animal magnetism), déjà vu, and nightmares or Incubus (more recently termed “sleep paralysis”). Given the plurality and fluidity of historical approaches to understanding “dreamy” mental states, this survey will expand the contemporary literary corpus on dream‐states by including historical, scientific, anthropological, and other studies alongside literary criticism in order to suggest possible points of comparison across disciplines that have not been fully explored. As this survey will demonstrate, Victorian discussions of dream‐states were highly interdisciplinary in nature, and so reading different contemporary methodological approaches to these topics can illuminate ideas, questions, and points of interest that are not necessarily apparent from a single theoretical or disciplinary perspective. This multi‐discipline approach allows for a more pluralistic account of scholarship on Victorian dream‐states and will encourage greater cross‐talk among scholars and journals about Victorian dream‐states and their continuing relevance in contemporary literature, culture, and science.
The fungal core effector Pep1 is conserved across smuts of dicots and monocots
Authors: Hemetsberger Christoph , Mueller André N. , Matei Alexandra , Herrberger Christian , Hensel Götz , Kumlehn Jochen , Mishra Bagdevi , Sharma Rahul , Thines Marco , Hückelhoven Ralph , Doehlemann Gunther 
Published: January 2015

Summary

The secreted fungal effector Pep1 is essential for penetration of the host epidermis and establishment of biotrophy in the Ustilago maydis–maize pathosystem. Previously, Pep1 was found to be an inhibitor of apoplastic plant peroxidases, which suppresses the oxidative burst, a primary immune response of the host plant and enables fungal colonization.

To investigate the conservation of Pep1 in other pathogens, genomes of related smut species were screened for pep1 orthologues. Pep1 proteins were produced in Escherichia coli for functional assays. The biological function of Pep1 was tested by heterologous expression in U. maydis and Hordeum vulgare.

Pep1 orthologues revealed a remarkable degree of sequence conservation, indicating that this effector might play a fundamental role in virulence of biotrophic smut fungi. Pep1 function and its role in virulence are conserved in different pathogenic fungi, even across the monocot–dicot border of host plants.

The findings described in this study classify Pep1 as a phylogenetically conserved fungal core effector. Furthermore, we documented the influence of Pep1 on the disease caused by Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei which is a non‐smut‐related pathosystem.
A gain‐of‐function mutation of plastidic invertase alters nuclear gene expression with sucrose treatment partially via GENOMES UNCOUPLED1‐mediated signaling
Authors: Maruta Takanori , Miyazaki Nozomi , Nosaka Ryota , Tanaka Hiroyuki , Padilla‐Chacon Daniel , Otori Kumi , Kimura Ayako , Tanabe Noriaki , Yoshimura Kazuya , Tamoi Masahiro , Shigeoka Shigeru 
Published: January 2015

Summary

Plastid gene expression (PGE) is one of the signals that regulate the expression of photosynthesis‐associated nuclear genes (PhANGs) via GENOMES UNCOUPLED1 (GUN1)‐dependent retrograde signaling. We recently isolated Arabidopsis sugar‐inducible cotyledon yellow‐192 (sicy‐192), a gain‐of‐function mutant of plastidic invertase, and showed that following the treatment of this mutant with sucrose, the expression of PhANGs as well as PGE decreased, suggesting that the sicy‐192 mutation activates a PGE‐evoked and GUN1‐mediated retrograde pathway.

To clarify the relationship between the sicy‐192 mutation, PGE, and GUN1‐mediated pathway, plastid and nuclear gene expression in a double mutant of sicy‐192 and gun1‐101, a null mutant of GUN1 was studied.

Plastid‐encoded RNA polymerase (PEP)‐dependent PGE was markedly suppressed in the sicy‐192 mutant by the sucrose treatment, but the suppression as well as cotyledon yellow phenotype was not mitigated by GUN1 disruption. Microarray analysis revealed that the altered expression of nuclear genes such as PhANG in the sucrose‐treated sicy‐192 mutant was largely dependent on GUN1.

The present findings demonstrated that the sicy‐192 mutation alters nuclear gene expression with sucrose treatment via GUN1, which is possibly followed by inhibiting PEP‐dependent PGE, providing a new insight into the role of plastid sugar metabolism in nuclear gene expression.
Statistical Data and Mathematical Propositions
Authors: Juhl Cory 
Published: January 2015

AbstractStatistical tests of the primality of some numbers look similar to statistical tests of many nonmathematical, clearly empirical propositions. Yet interpretations of probability prima facie appear to preclude the possibility of statistical tests of mathematical propositions. For example, it is hard to understand how the statement that n is prime could have a frequentist probability other than 0 or 1. On the other hand, subjectivist approaches appear to be saddled with ‘coherence’ constraints on rational probabilities that require rational agents to assign extremal probabilities to logical and mathematical propositions. In the light of these problems, many philosophers have come to think that there must be some way to generalize a Bayesian statistical account. In this article I propose that a classical frequentist approach should be reconsidered. I conclude that we can give a conditional justification of statistical testing of at least some mathematical hypotheses: if statistical tests provide us with reasons to believe or bet on empirical hypotheses in the standard situations, then they also provide us with reasons to believe or bet on mathematical hypotheses in the structurally similar mathematical cases.
Macroeconomic Volatility, Institutional Instability and the Incentive to Innovate
Authors: Masino Serena 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThis study investigates the channels through which macroeconomic and institutional instability hinders innovative investment undertakings financed by the domestic private sector. The analysis is based on a sample of 44 countries and considers various instability dimensions. The results suggest a negative impact of real, monetary and political instability on the aggregate level of R&D financed by the business sector. Thus, highlighting the importance of stable macro‐institutional environments in preventing avoidance or abandonment of private innovation undertakings.
Financial Development and Economic Activity in Advanced and Developing Open Economies: Evidence from Panel Cointegration
Authors: Chortareas Georgios , Magkonis Georgios , Moschos Demetrios , Panagiotidis Theodore 
Published: January 2015

AbstractThis study considers the effects of financial development on output in a panel cointegration framework, focusing on the implications of trade and financial openness. Our analysis indicates that after controlling for cross‐sectional dependence, the typical relationship between finance and output does not hold in the long run. This relationship, however, is re‐established once we account for economic openness. While trade openness emerges as more important for developing countries, financial openness is more important for advanced economies. In the long run, causality runs from financial development to output in the advanced economies, while in developing economies causality is bidirectional. There is no short‐run causality between financial development and output, however.
Network Model-Assisted Inference from Respondent-Driven Sampling Data
Authors: Gile Krista J. , Handcock Mark S. 
Published: January 2015

SummaryRespondent-driven sampling is a widely used method for sampling hard-to-reach human populations by link tracing over their social networks. Inference from such data requires specialized techniques because the sampling process is both partially beyond the control of the researcher, and partially implicitly defined. Therefore, it is not generally possible to compute the sampling weights for traditional design-based inference directly, and likelihood inference requires modelling the complex sampling process. As an alternative, we introduce a model-assisted approach, resulting in a design-based estimator leveraging a working network model. We derive a new class of estimators for population means and a corresponding bootstrap standard error estimator. We demonstrate improved performance compared with existing estimators, including adjustment for an initial convenience sample. We also apply the method and an extension to the estimation of the prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus in a high-risk population.
Realtime Nowcasting with a Bayesian Mixed Frequency Model with Stochastic Volatility
Authors: Carriero Andrea , Clark Todd E. , Marcellino Massimiliano 
Published: January 2015

SummaryThe paper develops a method for producing current quarter forecasts of gross domestic product growth with a (possibly large) range of available within-the-quarter monthly observations of economic indicators, such as employment and industrial production, and financial indicators, such as stock prices and interest rates. In light of existing evidence of time variation in the variances of shocks to gross domestic product, we consider versions of the model with both constant variances and stochastic volatility. We use Bayesian methods to estimate the model, to facilitate providing shrinkage on the (possibly large) set of model parameters and conveniently generate predictive densities. We provide results on the accuracy of nowcasts of realtime gross domestic product growth in the USA from 1985 through 2011. In terms of point forecasts, our proposal improves significantly on auto-regressive models and performs comparably with survey forecasts. In addition, it provides reliable density forecasts, for which the stochastic volatility specification is quite useful.
From Sample Average Treatment Effect to Population Average Treatment Effect on the Treated: Combining Experimental with Observational Studies to Estimate Population Treatment Effects
Authors: Hartman Erin , Grieve Richard , Ramsahai Roland , Sekhon Jasjeet S. 
Published: January 2015

SummaryRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) can provide unbiased estimates of sample average treatment effects. However, a common concern is that RCTs may fail to provide unbiased estimates of population average treatment effects. We derive the assumptions that are required to identify population average treatment effects from RCTs. We provide placebo tests, which formally follow from the identifying assumptions and can assess whether they hold. We offer new research designs for estimating population effects that use non-randomized studies to adjust the RCT data. This approach is considered in a cost-effectiveness analysis of a clinical intervention: pulmonary artery catheterization.