bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
M&As in the airline industry: motives and systematic risk
Authors: Evripidou Loukia 
Published: September 2012

PurposeThe purpose of the current study was first to identify the motives for mergers, and second to examine the effect of mergers on the systematic risk of bidder firms in the airline industry.Design/methodology/approachTo evaluate the effect of mergers in the systematic risk, two different market models are estimated for each company in the sample, one with pre‐merger data and one with post‐merger data. Then the results obtained from the two data sets are compared so as to identify possible differences.FindingsThe study has identified three diving motives behind the merges, namely cost efficiency, economies of scale, and market power. All of these motives are expected to affect the new firm's earnings stream and in turn affect its systematic risk. With the use of the market model the individual merger results are mixed and in line with the relevant literature. Nonetheless, the average results showed a decrease in the post‐merger systematic risk.Research limitations/implicationsA reduced post‐merger systematic risk indicates a success in achieving management objectives. Mergers can generate synergetic gains from increasing cost efficiencies and/or scale economies and can also increase shareholders value through the reduction in the new firm's cost of capital. However, to have a more valid perspective a larger number of mergers should be included in the sample together with alternative calculation of systematic risk to test the robustness of the results.Originality/valueTaking into account the current economic hardship this paper addresses the issue of shareholders wealth maximization through mergers.
City of Bristol College role in engineering higher level apprenticeships 2012
Authors: Catton Peter 
Published: September 2012

PurposeCity of Bristol College has significant experience of developing and delivering Higher Apprenticeships (HAs). The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of delivering HAs in the engineering sector.Design/methodology/approachInformation presented in the paper is drawn from the organisation's own experience delivering an HA programme and presents key issues and challenges that it has faced.FindingsRecent studies within the sector have highlighted dissatisfaction amongst employers that the competence and knowledge elements of apprenticeships traditionally offered were separated and that the “hand skills” elements were omitted from frameworks above level 3. Employers and sector‐wide bodies have worked together to develop a new framework containing all of these elements. Gaining recognition as an “undergraduate apprenticeship” this option is proving attractive for companies.Originality/valueThe paper is based on the author's own experience and employer consultation. It presents a case study of an apprenticeship programme specific to their organisation.
Association of maternal scaffolding to maternal education and cognition in toddlers born preterm and full term
Authors: Lowe Jean R , Erickson Sarah J , MacLean Peggy , Schrader Ron , Fuller Janell 
Published: September 2012

AbstractAimParental behaviour described as ‘scaffolding’ has been shown to influence outcomes in at‐risk children. The purpose of this study was to compare maternal verbal scaffolding in toddlers born preterm and full term.MethodsThe scaffolding behaviour of mothers of toddlers born preterm and healthy full term was compared during a 5‐min videotaped free play session with standardized toys. We compared two types of scaffolding and their associations with socio‐demographic, neonatal medical factors and cognition.ResultsThe mothers of toddlers born full term used more complex scaffolding. Maternal education was associated with complex scaffolding scores for the preterm children only. Specifically, the preterm children who were sicker in the neonatal period, and whose mothers had higher education, used more complex scaffolding. In addition, children born preterm, who had less days of ventilation, had higher cognitive scores when their mothers used more complex scaffolding. Similarly, cognitive and scaffolding scores were higher for children born full term.ConclusionOur findings highlight early differences in mother–child interactive styles of toddlers born preterm compared with full term. Teaching parents play methods that support early problem‐solving skills may support a child's method of exploration and simultaneously their language development.
Vegetation phenology can be captured with digital repeat photography and linked to variability of root nutrition inHedysarum alpinum
Authors: Nijland W. , Coops N.C. , Coogan S.C.P. , Bater C.W. , Wulder M.A. , Nielsen S.E. , McDermid G. , Stenhouse G.B. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractQuestionCan repeat (time‐lapse) photography be used to detect the phenological development of a forest stand, and linked to temporal patterns in root nutrition forHedysarum alpinum(alpine sweetvetch) an important grizzly bear food species?LocationEastern foothills and front ranges of theRockyMountains inAlberta,Canada. The area contains a diverse mix of mature and young forest, wetlands and alpine habitats.MethodsWe deployed six automated cameras at three locations to acquire daily photographs at the plant and forest stand scales. Plot locations were also visited on a bi‐weekly basis to record the phenological stage ofH. alpinumand other target plant species, as well as to collect a root sample for determination of crude protein content.ResultsRepeat photography and image analysis successfully detected all key phenological events (i.e. green‐up, flowering, senescence). Given the relation between phenology and root nutrition, we illustrate how camera data can be used to predict the spatial and temporal distribution and quality of a key wildlife resource.ConclusionsRepeat photography provides a cost‐effective method for monitoring vegetation development, food availability, and nutritional quality at a forest stand scale. Since wildlife responds to the availability and quality of their food resources, detailed information on changes in resource availability helps with land‐use management decisions and furthers our understanding of grizzly bear feeding ecology and habitat selection.
The challenge of delivering endocrine care and successful transition to adult services in adolescents with congenital adrenal hyperplasia: experience in a single centre over 18 years
Authors: Gleeson Helena , Davis Joanne , Jones Julie , O'Shea Elaine , Clayton Peter E. 
Published: September 2012

SummaryBackgroundCongenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) has implications throughout a patient's life. The challenges of organizing transition from paediatric to adult care in endocrinology are recognized.ObjectiveTo evaluate whether young people with CAH have been successfully transitioned from paediatric care to specialist adult services and the influence of the introduction of a Young Person Clinic (YPC) where the young person is introduced to the adult endocrinologist.Design, Patients and MeasurementsPatients aged 16+ years with CAH who had attended the adrenal clinic at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital between 1992 and 2009 were identified. Clinical information, attendance data in paediatric and adult services were obtained from patient records and the electronic appointment system.ResultsA total of 61 patients (27 men) were identified. Thirty‐six patients were referred to specialist adult services from the paediatric service; eighteen of these (50%) were lost to follow‐up (two were never offered an appointment). Only 53% of the whole group attended their first new and subsequent second appointment (i.e. good early attenders). There was no difference in engagement with adult services in those who transitioned through the YPC. Good early attenders were less likely to get lost to follow‐up compared with poor early attenders (11–33% lost to follow‐up compared with 63–71%).ConclusionsHalf of all young people with CAH referred to specialist adult services are no longer attending. Introducing the adult endocrinologist prior to transfer had no positive effect on engagement with adult services. Attendance at the first two appointments in the adult services should be seen as an indicator of ‘reasonable’ engagement.
Animal Research Ethics in Africa: Is Tanzania Making Progress?
Authors: Seth Misago , Saguti Fredy 
Published: September 2012

AbstractThe significance of animals in research cannot be over‐emphasized. The use of animals for research and training in research centres, hospitals and schools is progressively increasing. Advances in biotechnology to improve animal productivity require animal research. Drugs being developed and new interventions or therapies being invented for cure and palliation of all sorts of animal diseases and conditions need to be tested in animals for their safety and efficacy at some stages of their development. Drugs and interventions for human use pass through a similar development process and must be tested pre‐clinically in laboratory animals before clinical trials in humans can be conducted. Therefore, animals are important players in research processes which directly and indirectly benefit animals and humans. However, questions remain as to whether these uses of animals consider the best interests of animals themselves. Various research and training institutions in Tanzania have established some guidelines on animal use, including establishing animal ethics committees. However, most institutions have not established oversight committees. In institutions where there may be guidelines and policies, there are no responsible committees or units to directly oversee if and how these guidelines and policies are enforced; thus, implementation becomes difficult or impossible. This paper endeavours to raise some issues associated with the responsible use of animals in research and training in Tanzania and highlights suggestions for improvement of deficiencies that exist in order to bridge the gap between what ought to be practised and what is practised.
Apelin regulates the electrophysiological characteristics of atrial myocytes
Authors: Cheng Chen‐Chuan , Weerateerangkul Punate , Lu Yen‐Yu , Chen Yao‐Chang , Lin Yung‐Kuo , Chen Shih‐Ann , Chen Yi‐Jen 
Published: September 2012

Eur J Clin Invest 2012AbstractBackgroud  Apelin, a potential agent for treating heart failure, has various ionic effects on ventricular myocytes. However, the effects of apelin on the atrium are not clear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the acute effects of apelin on the electrophysiological characteristics of atrial myocytes.Method  Whole‐cell patch‐clamp techniques were used to investigate the action potential (AP) and ionic currents in isolated rabbit left atrial (LA) myocytes before and after the administration of apelin.Result  Apelin reduced LA AP duration measured at 90%, 50% and 20% repolarization of the amplitude by 11 ± 3%, 24 ± 5%, 30 ± 7% at 1 nM (n = 11), and by 14 ± 4%, 36 ± 6% and 45 ± 5% at 10 nM (n = 11), but not at 0·1 nM. Apeline (0·1, 1, 10 nM) did not change the amplitude, or resting membrane potential in LA myocytes. Apelin (1 nM) increased sodium currents, ultra‐rapid potassium currents and the reverse mode of sodium‐calcium exchanger currents, but decreased late sodium currents and L‐type calcium currents and did not change transient outward currents or inward rectifier potassium currents in LA myocytes.Conclusions  Apelin significantly changed the atrial electrophysiology with a shortening of AP duration, which may be caused by its effects on multiple ionic currents.
Insight into newly discovered innate immune modulation in atopic dermatitis
Authors: Park Chang Ook , Noh Seongmin , Jin Shan , Lee Na Ra , Lee Yun Sun , Lee Hemin , Lee Jungsoo , Lee Kwang Hoon 
Published: September 2012

AbstractAtopic dermatitis (AD) is a highly pruritic, chronic relapsing inflammatory skin disease characterized by innate and adaptive immune reactions. In AD, innate immune mechanisms such as pattern recognition receptors and antimicrobial peptides have been investigated in detail, but recently, epidermis‐derived cytokines, namely thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), IL‐25 and IL‐33, were shown to participate in innate immune reactions independently of adaptive immunity. In addition to conventional innate cells, such as mast cells, basophils and eosinophils, Th2 cytokine‐producing invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) and Th17/Th22 cytokine‐producing innate cells – iNKT cells and natural killer (NK)‐like cells – can participate in innate immune modulation in AD. Accordingly, early control of innate immune responses in AD before activation of adaptive immune responses by conventional T and B cells that perpetuate chronic skin inflammation may adequately alleviate acute exacerbations of AD. Therefore, we hypothesized that select immune modulators targeting the innate immune response could potentially be used for individualized treatment of AD.
Relating spatial and temporal scales of climate and ocean variability to survival of Pacific Northwest Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)
Authors: SHARMA RISHI , VÉLEZ‐ESPINO LUIS A. , WERTHEIMER ALEX C. , MANTUA NATHAN , FRANCIS ROBERT C. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractPacific Northwest Chinook, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, have exhibited a high degree of variability in smolt‐to‐adult survival over the past three decades. This variability is summarized for 22 Pacific Northwest stocks and analyzed using generalized linear modeling techniques. Results indicate that survival can be grouped into eight distinct regional clusters: (1) Alaska, Northern BC and North Georgia Strait; (2) Georgia Strait; (3) Lower Fraser River and West Coast Vancouver Island; (4) Puget Sound and Hood Canal; (5) Lower Columbia Tules; (6) Columbia Upriver Brights, Willamette and Cowlitz; (7) Oregon and Washington Coastal; and (8) Klamath River and Columbia River Summers. Further analysis for stocks within each of the eight regions indicates that local ocean conditions following the outmigration of smolts from freshwater to marine areas had a significant effect on survival for the majority of the stock groups analyzed. Our analyses of the data indicate that Pacific Northwest Chinook survival covaries on a spatial scale of 350–450 km. Lagged time series models are presented that link large‐scale tropical Pacific conditions, intermediate‐basin scale northeastern Pacific conditions, and local sea surface temperatures to survival of Pacific Northwest stocks.
Effects of cross host species inoculation of nitrogen‐fixing endophytes on growth and leaf physiology of maize
Authors: Knoth Jenny L. , Kim Soo‐Hyung , Ettl Gregory J. , Doty Sharon L. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractPlants that grow and thrive under abiotic stress often do so with the help of endophytic microorganisms. Although nitrogen‐fixing (diazotrophic) endophytes colonize many wild plants, these natural relationships may be disrupted in cultivated crop species where breeding and genotype selection often occur under conditions of intensive fertilization and irrigation. Many energy crops including corn may still benefit from diazotrophic endophyte inoculations allowing for more efficient biomass production with less input of petroleum‐derived fertilizer. A selection of diazotrophic endophytes isolated from willow (Salix sitchensis, Sitka willow) and poplar (Populus trichocarpa, black cottonwood) growing in nutrient‐poor river sides were used as inoculum in three experiments testing the effect on plant growth and leaf level physiology of a sweet corn variety under various levels of applied nitrogen fertilizer. We report substantial growth promotion with improved leaf physiology of corn plants in response to diazotrophic endophyte inoculations. Significant gains of early biomass with a greater root : shoot ratio were found for plants receiving endophytic inocula over the uninoculated control groups regardless of the nitrogen level. Furthermore, inoculated plants exhibited consistently higher rates of net CO2 assimilation than did those without endophytic inoculation. These results have beneficial implications for enhanced plant growth in a low‐input system on nutrient‐poor sites. The immediate increase of root mass observed in endophyte inoculated plants has the potential to provide better establishment and early growth in resource‐limited environments. The initial results of this study also indicate that the beneficial effect from endophytes isolated from poplar and willow species is not restricted to the species from which they were initially isolated.
Effects of stump extraction on the carbon sequestration inNorway spruce forest ecosystems under varying thinning regimes with implications for fossil fuel substitution
Authors: Alam Ashraful , Kellomäki Seppo , Kilpeläinen Antti , Strandman Harri 
Published: September 2012

AbstractThe overall aim of this work was to assess the effects of stump and root extraction on the long‐term carbon sequestration and average carbon storage in the integrated production of energy biomass and stemwood (pulpwood and sawlogs) under different thinning options (unthinned, current thinning and 30% increased thinning thresholds from current thresholds). The growth and development of Norway spruce (Picea abiesL. Karst.) stands on a fertile site (Oxalis‐myrtillus) in central Finland (Joensuu region: 62˚39΄N, 29˚37΄E) was simulated for two consecutive rotation periods (80 + 80 years/160 years). Stemwood and energy biomass production, carbon sequestration, and average storage and emission dynamics related to the entire production process of biomass were assessed. The assessment was done by employing a life cycle assessment tool, which combines simulation outputs from an ecosystem model and the related technosystem emissions. It was found that stump and root harvesting constituted 21–36% of the total biomass production (energy biomass and stemwood) depending on the thinning regimes and rotation period. No considerable effect was found in stemwood production when stump and root extraction was compared to the regime in which stumps and roots were left at the site. Stump and root extraction did not affect carbon sequestration on the following rotation and, in fact, an increase in forest growth was found for the unthinned and 30% increased thresholds compared to the first rotation. The results also showed that if current thinning threshold is increased, win‐win situations are possible, especially when climate change mitigation is the main concern. The substitution of coal with energy biomass is possible without reducing carbon storage in the forest ecosystem. The utilization of energy biomass, including stumps and roots, instead of coal could reduce up to 33% of emissions over two rotation periods depending on the thinning regimes. Even if stumps and roots were excluded, a maximum of 19% carbon emissions could be reduced by using only logging residues.
Cross‐reactive antibody response to the pandemic A (H1N1) 2009 influenza virus induced by vaccination with a seasonal trivalent influenza vaccine: a longitudinal study of three influenza seasons in Japan
Authors: Uno Shingo , Kimachi Kazuhiko , Matsuo Fujio , Miyazaki Keiichiro , Oohama Ayano , Kei Junko , Nishimura Tomohiro , Odoh Koichi , Kino Yoichiro 
Published: September 2012

ABSTRACTThe cross‐reactivity of antibody to the swine‐origin pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus induced by vaccination with a seasonal trivalent influenza vaccine was studied. Paired sera from a cohort of adult volunteers vaccinated with a trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine every year from 2006 to 2008 were collected each year and tested by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) for antibody against the pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus. There was little increase in the geometric mean titer overall; a slight increase was detected in the sera obtained in the 2007–2008 season but not in the other two seasons. The proportion of individuals with HI antibody titers ≥ 1:40 did not change significantly from year to year. These results indicate that cross‐reactivity of the antibodies induced by a trivalent seasonal vaccine to the pandemic influenza A (H1N1) 2009 virus is marginal.
Foliage response of young central European oaks to air warming, drought and soil type
Authors: Günthardt‐Goerg M. S. , Kuster T. M. , Arend M. , Vollenweider P. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractThree Central European oak species, with four provenances each, were experimentally tested in 16 large model ecosystem chambers for their response to passive air warming (AW, ambient +1–2 °C), drought (D, −43 to −60% irrigation) and their combination (AWD) for 3 years on two forest soil types of pH 4 or 7. Throughout the entire experiment, the influence of the different ambient and experimental climates on the oak trees was strong. The morphological traits of the Quercus species were affected in opposing ways in AW and D treatments, with a neutral effect in the AWD treatment. Biochemical parameters and LMA showed low relative plasticity compared to the morphological and growth parameters. The high plasticity in physiologically important parameters of the three species, such as number of intercalary veins or leaf size, indicated good drought acclimation properties. The soil type influenced leaf chlorophyll concentration, C/N and area more than drought, whereas foliage mass was more dependent on drought than on soil type. Through comparison of visible symptom development with the water deficits, a drought tolerance threshold of −1.3 MPa was determined. Although Q. pubescens had xeromorphic leaf characteristics (small leaf size, lower leaf water content, high LMA, pilosity, more chlorophyll, higher C/N) and less response to the treatments than Q. petraea and Q. robur, it suffered more leaf drought injury and shedding of leaves than Q. petraea. However, if foliage mass were used as the criterion for sustainable performance under a future climate, Q. robur would be the most appropriate species.
Do differences in plasticity during early growth lead to differing success in competition? A test using four co‐occurring annual Papaver
Authors: Milberg Per , Karlsson Jan , Wessman Lotta , Karlsson Laila M. 
Published: September 2012

AbstractPlant species differ in their ability to transform available resources to biomass and to respond in a plastic way to environmental circumstances; we hypothesized that such differences among four weed taxa of Papaver would explain differences in their competitive response. We first compared two populations each of Papaver rhoeas L., P. dubium L. ssp. dubium, P. dubium L. ssp. lecoqii (Lamotte) Syme and P. argemone L., grown in a greenhouse for 6 weeks in a nutrient gradient combined with two light treatments to elucidate possible differences in responses. As there were clear differences, a second experiment evaluated whether these differences also meant differences in competitive response, during early growth, when tested against two crops (wheat, rape). The assumption that competitive response was linked to the ability to transform nutrient and light to biomass was not supported: even though differences in extent of plasticity existed, the effect of competition was similar for the taxa. Thus, higher plasticity and ability to transform available recourses to biomass did not lead to stronger competitiveness for Papaver during early growth.