bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
An ERP study on initial second language vocabulary learning
Authors: Yum Yen Na , Midgley Katherine J. , Holcomb Phillip J. , Grainger Jonathan 
Published: February 2014

AbstractThis study examined the very initial phases of orthographic and semantic acquisition in monolingual native English speakers learning Chinese words under controlled laboratory conditions. Participants engaged in 10 sessions of vocabulary learning, four of which were used to obtain ERPs. Performance in behavioral tests improved over sessions, and these data were used to define fast and slow learners. Most important is that ERPs in the two groups of learners revealed qualitatively distinct learning patterns. Only fast learners showed a left‐lateralized increase in N170 amplitude with training. Furthermore, only fast learners showed an increased N400 amplitude with training, with a distinct anterior distribution. Slow learners, on the other hand, showed a posterior positive effect, with increasingly positive‐going waveforms in occipital sites as training progressed. Possible mechanisms underlying these qualitative differences are discussed.
Not just noise: Individual differences in general startle reactivity predict startle response to uncertain and certain threat
Authors: Bradford Daniel E. , Kaye Jesse T. , Curtin John J. 
Published: February 2014

AbstractGeneral startle reactivity reflects defensive reactivity independent of affective foreground. We examined the relationship between general startle reactivity and startle response to threat in three tasks with distinct manipulations of threat uncertainty. General startle reactivity was a stronger predictor of startle response during threat (vs. no threat) and uncertain (vs. certain threat). These results confirm that including general startle reactivity in our analyses can increase the power and/or precision to test effects of other focal experimental manipulations or grouping variables. Moreover, this suggests that individual differences in defensive reactivity moderate responding to threats of various types in our environment. As such, individual differences in general startle reactivity may index important psychological attributes related to trait affectivity, premorbid vulnerability for psychopathology, and manifest psychopathology.
Prefrontal‐posterior coupling while observing the suffering of other people, and the development of intrusive memories
Authors: Reiser Eva M. , Weiss Elisabeth M. , Schulter Günter , Holmes Emily A. , Fink Andreas , Papousek Ilona 
Published: February 2014

AbstractWitnessing the suffering of others, for instance, in hospital emergency rooms but also through televised images in news or reality programs, may be associated with the occurrence of later intrusive memories. The factors contributing to why some people develop intrusive memories and others do not are still poorly understood. N = 121 healthy women were exposed to film scenes showing the suffering of dying, severely injured, and mourning people while their EEG was recorded. Individuals showing greater decreases of functional coupling between prefrontal and posterior cortices (greater decreases of EEG beta coherences) reported more intrusive memories of the witnessed events. This was shown for intrusions in the short term (immediately after viewing the film) as well as in the medium term (intrusive memories over 1 week). The findings illuminate brain mechanisms involved in the encoding of information in ways that make intrusive memories more likely.
Computed tomography assessment of airway dimensions with combined tiotropium and indacaterol therapy in COPD patients
Authors: Hoshino Makoto , Ohtawa Junichi 
Published: February 2014

AbstractBackground and objectiveCombining a long‐acting muscarinic antagonist with a long‐acting β2‐agonist has been shown to be pharmacologically useful in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the dual bronchodilator therapy on airway dimensions in COPD.MethodsPatients (n = 54) were randomly assigned to receive tiotropium (18 μg once daily), indacaterol (150 μg once daily) or tiotropium plus indacaterol for 16 weeks. Quantitative computed tomography (CT), pulmonary function and health status (St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire) were measured.ResultsCompared with tiotropium or indacaterol alone, combination therapy resulted in a significant decrease in percentage wall area (WA%) and wall thickness, corrected for body surface area, and an increase in luminal area (Ai/BSA). Concurrent treatment was superior to monotherapy in physiological indices, including forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and inspiratory capacity. The changes in WA% and Ai/BSA were significantly correlated with changes in FEV1 (r = −0.44, P < 0.01 and r = 0.37, P < 0.01). There were more significant improvements in SGRQ scores after treatment with combined therapy than with either treatment alone.ConclusionsConcurrent therapy with tiotropium and indacaterol is effective for COPD patients to promote reduction in airway wall thickness, bronchodilation, and improvements in lung function compared with a single inhaler.
Spillovers from Foreign Direct Investment in Spanish Manufacturing Firms
Authors: Sánchez‐Sellero Pedro , Rosell‐Martínez Jorge , García‐Vázquez José Manuel 
Published: February 2014

AbstractThis paper examines the effect of participation by foreign capital and the spillovers from a foreign presence on the technical progress of Spanish manufacturing firms. The results show that foreign direct investment (FDI) creates positive spillover effects for local firms, and when the presence of foreign capital and the absorptive capacity of spillovers from FDI are large, more technical progress ensues. Also, local companies in capital‐ and research and development (R&D)‐intensive industries experience larger positive FDI spillovers. For these reasons, government policies should aim to attract FDI, especially in the aforementioned industries.
The household‐level economic burden of heart disease in India
Authors: Karan Anup , Engelgau Michael , Mahal Ajay 
Published: February 2014

AbstractObjectivesTo estimate healthcare use and financial burden associated with heart disease among Indian households.MethodsData from the 2004 round household survey of the National Sample Survey in India were used to assess the implications of heart disease for out‐of‐pocket health spending, spending on items other than health care, employment and healthcare financing patterns, by matching households with a member self‐reporting heart disease (cardiovascular disease (CVD)‐affected households) to (control) households with similar socio‐economic and demographic characteristics. Propensity score matching methods were used.ResultsCompared with control households, CVD‐affected households had more outpatient visits and inpatient stays, spent an extra INT$ (International Dollars) 232 (P < 0.01) per member on inpatient care annually, had lower non‐medical spending (by INT$5 (P < 0.01) per member for a 15‐day reference period), had a share of out‐of‐pocket health spending in total household expenditure that was 16.5% higher (P < 0.01) and relied more on borrowing and asset sales to finance inpatient care (32.7% vs. 12.8%, P < 0.01). Members of CVD‐affected households had lower employment rates than members of control households (43.6% vs. 46.4%, P < 0.01), and elderly members experienced larger declines in employment than younger adults. CVD‐affected households with lower socio‐economic status were at heightened financial risk.ConclusionNon‐communicable conditions such as CVD can impose a serious economic burden on Indian households.
A pilot study to evaluate aflatoxin exposure in a rural Ugandan population
Authors: Asiki Gershim , Seeley Janet , Srey Chou , Baisley Kathy , Lightfoot Tracy , Archileo Kaaya , Agol Dorice , Abaasa Andrew , Wakeham Katie , Routledge Michael N. , Wild Christopher P. , Newton Robert , Gong Yun Yun 
Published: February 2014

AbstractObjectivesThe fungal metabolite aflatoxin is a common contaminant of foodstuffs, especially when stored in damp conditions. In humans, high levels can result in acute hepatic necrosis and death, while chronic exposure is carcinogenic. We conducted a pilot study nested within an existing population cohort (the General Population Cohort), to assess exposure to aflatoxin, among people living in rural south‐western Uganda.MethodsSera from 100 adults and 96 children under 3 years of age (85 male, 111 female) were tested for aflatoxin–albumin adduct (AF‐alb), using an ELISA assay. Socio‐demographic and dietary data were obtained for all participants; HIV serostatus was available for 90 adults and liver function tests (LFTs) for 99.ResultsEvery adult and all but four children had detectable AF‐alb adduct, including five babies reported to be exclusively breastfed. Levels ranged from 0 to 237.7 pg/mg albumin and did not differ significantly between men and women, by age or by HIV serostatus; 25% had levels above 15.1 pg/mg albumin. There was evidence of heterogeneity between villages (P = 0.003); those closest to trading centres had higher levels. Adults who consumed more Matooke (bananas) had lower levels of AF‐alb adduct (P = 0.02) than adults who did not, possibly because their diet contained fewer aflatoxin‐contaminated foods such as posho (made from maize). Children who consumed soya, which is not grown locally, had levels of AF‐alb adduct that were almost twice as high as those who did not eat soya (P = 0.04).ConclusionsExposure to aflatoxin is ubiquitous among the rural Ugandans studied, with a significant number of people having relatively high levels. Sources of exposure need to be better understood to instigate practical and sustainable interventions.
Rice LTG1 is involved in adaptive growth and fitness under low ambient temperature
Authors: Lu Guangwen , Wu Fu‐Qing , Wu Weixun , Wang Hong‐Jun , Zheng Xiao‐Ming , Zhang Yunhui , Chen Xiuling , Zhou Kunneng , Jin Mingna , Cheng Zhijun , Li Xueyong , Jiang Ling , Wang Haiyang , Wan Jianmin 
Published: February 2014

SummaryLow temperature (LT) is one of the most prevalent factors limiting the productivity and geographical distribution of rice (Oryza sativa L.). Although significant progress has been made in elucidating the effect of LT on seed germination and reproductive development in rice, the genetic component affecting vegetative growth under LT remains poorly understood. Here, we report that rice cultivars harboring the dominant LTG1 (Low Temperature Growth 1) allele are more tolerant to LT (15–25°C, a temperature range prevalent in high‐altitude, temperate zones and high‐latitude areas), than those with the ltg1 allele. Using a map‐based cloning strategy, we show that LTG1 encodes a casein kinase I. A functional nucleotide polymorphism was identified in the coding region of LTG1, causing a single amino acid substitution (I357K) that is associated with the growth rate, heading date and yield of rice plants grown at LT. We present evidence that LTG1 affects rice growth at LT via an auxin‐dependent process(es). Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis of this locus suggests that the ltg1 haplotype arose before the domestication of rice in tropical climates. Together, our data demonstrate that LTG1 plays an important role in the adaptive growth and fitness of rice cultivars under conditions of low ambient temperature.
Trade Effects of the European Union's Service Directive: Contrastingex anteEstimates with Empirical Evidence
Authors: Dettmer Bianka 
Published: February 2014

AbstractOne of the top priorities to improve the European Union's growth performance is the creation of a single market for services. The directive on services adopted by the Parliament and the Council by the end of 2006 aims at removing barriers to the free movement of service providers on the internal market. Previous studies quantifiedex antesizable effects of implementing the directive in its original form. This paper is a first attempt to evaluateex postthe trade effects induced by a directive – which excludes the country‐of‐origin principle – by performing a difference‐in‐difference‐(in‐differences) estimator on a sample ofEU‐ and non‐EUcountries in the period 2004 to 10. We account for non‐tariff trade barriers and the endogeneity of regional trade agreements and find that the service directive adds to a reallocation of business services trade within theEU. Accounting for the trade effect of past deregulations, theEUdirective fosters a deeper integration of the new member states into the European service value‐added‐chain and promotes business service exports from third countries towards theEUsignificantly more than trade of country pairs in the control group. The reorientation of theEU‐15 towards the new members is in turn associated with less intense intra‐EU‐10 businesses, while business trade betweenEU‐15 members is not significantly affected.
Criteria for designation of clinical substage in canine lymphoma: a survey of veterinary oncologists
Authors: Barber L. G. , Weishaar K. M. 
Published: February 2014

AbstractClinical substage is frequently reported to be prognostic in dogs with lymphoma, yet formal criteria for defining this parameter are lacking. The World Health OrganizationTNMClassification of Tumors of Domestic Animals simply defines substage as the absence or presence of systemic signs (substages a and b, respectively). We designed a survey to query veterinary oncologists on the criteria they use to determine clinical substage in practice. Gastrointestinal, constitutional and respiratory signs were the most commonly identified clinical factors, with greater than 90% respondents indicating that inappetence, vomiting, diarrhoea, changes in attitude, weakness and dyspnea were integral in assigning clinical substage. Nevertheless, more than three‐quarters of respondents also considered metabolic, neurologic and nutritional parameters when making this determination. For most factors, respondents reported mild‐to‐moderate severity of clinical signs was sufficient for substage b designation.
Contamination by organochlorine pesticides in the aquifer of the Ring of Cenotes in Yucatán, México
Authors: Polanco Rodríguez A. G. , Alberto J. A. Navarro , Sánchez J. Solorio , Rejón G. J. Mena , Gómez J. Marrufo , Del Valls Casillas T. A. 
Published: February 2014

AbstractBanned or restricted organochlorine pesticides in many countries worldwide are still in use in developing countries for agricultural and livestock activities, as well as for vector control in public health campaigns. The present study was conducted to map estimated concentrations of organochlorine pesticides in a karstic region in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, known as ‘Ring of Cenotes’. Water samples from 20 sinkholes (‘cenotes’) were collected during the dry and rainy seasons in 2010–11, analysed by gas chromatography and maps of pesticide concentrations were produced using geographical information system. Results show the presence of banned pesticides, all of them exceeding the limits stated by the Mexican Official Norm. The number and concentration of pesticides during the dry season were qualitatively and quantitatively higher than in the rainy season. The spatial distribution of pesticide concentrations shows that causes of pesticide pollution in the aquifer of the Ring of Cenotes are multifactorial.
Corneal blindness and xenotransplantation
Authors: Lamm Vladimir , Hara Hidetaka , Mammen Alex , Dhaliwal Deepinder , Cooper David K. C. 
Published: February 2014

AbstractApproximately 39 million people are blind worldwide, with an estimated 285 million visually impaired. The developing world shoulders 90% of the world's blindness, with 80% of causative diseases being preventable or treatable. Blindness has a major detrimental impact on the patient, community, and healthcare spending. Corneal diseases are significant causes of blindness, affecting at least 4 million people worldwide. The prevalence of corneal disease varies between parts of the world. Trachoma, for instance, is the second leading cause of blindness in Africa, after cataracts, but is rarely found today in developed nations. When preventive strategies have failed, corneal transplantation is the most effective treatment for advanced corneal disease. The major surgical techniques for corneal transplantation include penetrating keratoplasty (PK), anterior lamellar keratoplasty, and endothelial keratoplasty (EK). Indications for corneal transplantation vary between countries, withFuchs' dystrophy being the leading indication in theUSAand keratoconus inAustralia. With the exception of theUSA, whereEKwill soon overtakePKas the most common surgical procedure,PKis the overwhelming procedure of choice. Success using corneal grafts in developing nations, such asNepal, demonstrates the feasibility of corneal transplantation on a global scale. The number of suitable corneas from deceased human donors that becomes available will never be sufficient, and so research into various alternatives, for example stem cells, amniotic membrane transplantation, synthetic and biosynthetic corneas, and xenotransplantation, is progressing. While each of these has potential, we suggest that xenotransplantation holds the greatest potential for a corneal replacement. With the increasing availability of genetically engineered pigs, pig corneas may alleviate the global shortage of corneas in the near future.
NATURALIZED SACREDNESS? A REALIST, PANENTHEIST, AND PERENNIALIST ALTERNATIVE TO KAUFFMAN'S CONSTRUCTIVISM
Authors: Shani Itay 
Published: February 2014

AbstractIn his recent bookReinventing the Sacred, renowned biologist and systems theorist Stuart Kauffman offers an avenue for the revival of the sacred and for reconciling sacredness with a robust scientific outlook. According to Kauffman, God is a human cultural invention, and he urges us to reinvent the sacred as the ceaseless creativity in nature. I argue that Kauffman's proposal suffers from a major shortcoming, namely, being at odds with the nature, and content, of authentic experiences of the sacred, experiences which point invariably in the direction of a reality which transcends human imagination and capacity for cultural innovation. Correspondingly, I point in the direction of an alternative approach to the revival of the sacred rooted in what I call the path of direct spiritual awareness. I argue that, while being in better accord with the phenomenology of religious experience, this realist alternative to Kauffman's constructivism also avoids the unpleasant symptoms which often accompany traditional theism, namely, dogmatism, irrationalism, and incompatibility with a scientifically minded metaphysics.
IMAGO DEI AND HUMAN RATIONALITY
Authors: Vainio Olli‐Pekka 
Published: February 2014

AbstractThere is a pervasive trend in Western theology to identify imago Dei with human intellectual and cognitive capacities. However, several contemporary theologians have criticized this view because, according to the critics, it leads to a truncated view of humanity. In this article, I shall concentrate on the question of rationality, first, through theologies of Thomas Aquinas and contemporary Lutheran Robert Jenson, and second, in some branches of recent cognitive psychology. I will argue that there is a significant overlap between contemporary scientific interpretations of rationality and both a traditional Thomistic view and a contemporary ecumenical interpretation of imago Dei. Consequently, it is possible to give an account of imago Dei which takes structural features as central and which is in accord with contemporary science, without falling prey to the dangers that the critics of structuralism point out.
BUDDHISM, COMPARATIVE NEUROPHILOSOPHY, AND HUMAN FLOURISHING
Authors: Coseru Christian 
Published: February 2014

AbstractOwen Flanagan's The Bodhisattva's Brain represents an ambitious foray into cross‐cultural neurophilosophy, making a compelling, though not entirely unproblematic, case for naturalizing Buddhist philosophy. While the naturalist account of mental causation challenges certain Buddhist views about the mind, the Buddhist analysis of mind and mental phenomena is far more complex than the book suggests. Flanagan is right to criticize the Buddhist claim that there could be mental states that are not reducible to their neural correlates; however, when the mental states in question reflect the embodied patterns of moral conduct that characterize the Buddhist way of being‐in‐the‐world, an account of their intentional and normative status becomes indispensable. It is precisely this synthesis of normativity and causal explanation that makes Buddhism special, and opens new avenues for enhancing, refining, and expanding the range of arguments and possibilities that comparative neurophilosophy can entertain.
CO‐CREATING CO‐CREATORS? THE “HUMAN FACTOR” IN EDUCATION
Authors: Uytterhoeven Tom 
Published: February 2014

AbstractThis article presents an example of the contributions the field of science and religion could offer to educational theory. Building on a narrative analysis of Philip Hefner's proposal to use “created co‐creator” as central metaphor for theological anthropology, the importance of culture is brought to the fore. Education should support a needed revitalization of our cultural heritage, and thus enable humanity to (re‐)connect with the global ecological network and with the divine as grounding source of this network. In the concluding reflections of this article, the possibility of a secular interpretation of “created co‐creator,” in which “God” is reduced to “evolution,” is assessed.
GEOENGINEERING, THEOLOGY, AND THE MEANING OF BEING HUMAN
Authors: Clingerman Forrest 
Published: February 2014

AbstractBecause of the lack of a meaningful international response to global warming, geoengineering has emerged as a potential technological response to climate change. But, thus far, little attention has been given to how religion impacts our understanding of geoengineering. I defend the need to incorporate theological reflection in the conversation of geoengineering by investigating how geoengineering proposals contain an implicit anthropology. A significant framework for our assessment of geoengineering is the balance of human capability and fallibility—a balance that is at the center of theological and religious interpretations of the meaning of the human condition. Similarly, geoengineering challenges our past understandings of theological anthropology.
MORALITY AND NATURE: EVOLUTIONARY CHALLENGES TO CHRISTIAN ETHICS
Authors: De Tavernier Johan 
Published: February 2014

AbstractChristian ethics accentuates in manifold ways the unique character of human nature. Personalists believe that the mind is never reducible to material and physical substance. The human person is presented as the supreme principle, based on arguments referring to free‐willed actions, the immateriality of both the divine spirit and the reflexive capacity, intersubjectivity and self‐consciousness. But since Darwin, evolutionary biology slowly instructs us that morality roots in dispositions that are programmed by evolution into our nature. Historically, Thomas Huxley, “Darwin's bulldog,” agreed with Darwin on almost everything, except for his gradualist position on moral behavior. Huxley's “saltationism” has recently been characterized by Frans de Waal as “a veneer theory of morality.” Does this mark the end of a period of presenting morality as only the fruit of socialization processes (nurture) and as having nothing in common with nature? Does it necessarily imply a corrosion of personalist views on the human being or do Christian ethics have to become familiar again with their ancient roots?
WHO'S AFRAID OF THEOSCIENTOGRAPHY? AN INTERPRETATIVE HYPOTHESIS ON HARUN YAHYA
Authors: Bigliardi Stefano 
Published: February 2014

AbstractI scrutinize the ideas and works of the Turkish religious leader and author Adnan Oktar/Harun Yahya. I argue for a new definition of Yahya as the representative of what I call theoscientography, proposing to study his work according to such a model rather than in the light of his “Islamic creationism”