bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Production outsourcing offshore in the New Zealand printing, publishing and packaging industries
Authors: Skiffington Hayden , Akoorie Michèle E.M. , Sinha Paresha , Jones Glyndwr 
Published: August 2013

PurposeThe study aims to investigate the production offshore outsourcing practices of SMEs in the New Zealand printing, publishing and packaging industries. It identifies the techniques SMEs use to organise and manage their offshore outsourcing activities. The authors then develop a managerial framework to assist SMEs in their future offshore outsourcing ambitions.Design/methodology/approachThe study takes a qualitative approach; obtaining data from a sample of 22 New Zealand SMEs in the printing, publishing and packaging industries that are actively offshore outsourcing production tasks. Data was gathered in the form of semi‐structured interviews with SME managers who have carried out offshore outsourcing.FindingsTo mitigate offshore outsourcing costs, SMEs use the internet to locate suppliers and use short‐term reliable contracts that are managed remotely or by intermediaries. Customer involvement was highly important during the entire offshore outsourcing process. Most SMEs developed long‐term business relationships with reliable suppliers. These findings are integrated into the SME framework, which identifies ways SMEs can overcome resource constraints and minimise risks when offshore outsourcing.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is confined to a single country and reports on findings for several related industries, i.e. the printing, publishing and packaging industries in New Zealand. This limits its applicability to research in other settings and other industries. However, it identifies an area of research (offshore outsourcing activities in SMEs) that could be extended to other industries and countries by future research.Practical implicationsThe SME framework presents an easily understood approach that has been verified by SME managers who have successfully offshore outsourced production tasks. The research proves that SMEs can offshore outsource within the constraints of limited physical and managerial resources.Social implicationsThe study showed that the decision‐making process to outsource is supported by the transaction costs approach. Firms have to balance out total cost considerations in making their decision to offshore (including contingency costs) to ensure that the savings from outsourcing are greater than the transaction costs. The resource‐based view of the firm is also used to suggest that offshore outsourcing means that firms may be able to improve their own competences by providing (through their suppliers) access to more sophisticated and higher‐quality processes.Originality/valueThe research contributes to the growing area of SME offshore outsourcing research, providing detailed empirical evidence of SME offshore outsourcing activities occurring in New Zealand.
The distance decay of similarity in communities of ectomycorrhizal fungi in different ecosystems and scales
Authors: Bahram Mohammad , Kõljalg Urmas , Courty Pierre‐Emmanuel , Diédhiou Abdala G. , Kjøller Rasmus , Põlme Sergei , Ryberg Martin , Veldre Vilmar , Tedersoo Leho 
Published: August 2013

Summary

Despite recent advances in understanding community ecology of ectomycorrhizal fungi, little is known about their spatial patterning and the underlying mechanisms driving these patterns across different ecosystems.

This meta‐study aimed to elucidate the scale, rate and causes of spatial structure of ectomycorrhizal fungal communities in different ecosystems by analysing 16 and 55 sites at the local and global scales, respectively. We examined the distance decay of similarity relationship in species‐ and phylogenetic lineage‐based communities in relation to sampling and environmental variables.

Tropical ectomycorrhizal fungal communities exhibited stronger distance‐decay patterns compared to non‐tropical communities. Distance from the equator and sampling area were the main determinants of the extent of distance decay in fungal communities. The rate of distance decay was negatively related to host density at the local scale. At the global scale, lineage‐level community similarity decayed faster with latitude than with longitude.

Synthesis. Spatial processes play a stronger role and over a greater scale in structuring local communities of ectomycorrhizal fungi than previously anticipated, particularly in ecosystems with greater vegetation age and closer to the equator. Greater rate of distance decay occurs in ecosystems with lower host density that may stem from increasing dispersal and establishment limitation. The relatively strong latitude effect on distance decay of lineage‐level community similarity suggests that climate affects large‐scale spatial processes and may cause phylogenetic clustering of ectomycorrhizal fungi at the global scale.
Sigma factors in a thousand E. coli genomes
Authors: Cook Helen , Ussery David W. 
Published: August 2013

SummaryEveryone working with bacterial genomics is familiar with the phrase ‘too much data’. In this Genome Update, we discuss two methods for helping to deal with this explosion of genomic information. First, we introduce the concept of calculating a quality score for each sequenced genome, and second, we describe a method to quickly sort through genomes for a particular set of protein families. We apply these two methods to all of the current Escherichia coli genomes available in the The National Center for Biotechnology Information database. Out of the 2074 E. coli/Shigella genomes listed (June, 2013), only less than half (983) are of sufficient quality to use in comparative genomic work. Unfortunately, even some of the ‘complete’ E. coli genomes are in pieces, and a few ‘draft’ genomes are good quality. Six of the seven known sigma factors in E. coli strain K‐12 are extremely well conserved; the iron‐regulating sigma factor FecI (σ19) is missing in most genomes. Surprisingly, the E. coli strain CFT073 genome does not encode a functional RpoD (σ70), which is obviously essential, and this is likely due to poor genome assembly/annotation. We find a possible novel sigma factor present in more than a hundred E. coli genomes.
Critical Cartography and the Use of New Technologies for Conserving the Australian Coastline: A Case Study from Lord Howe Island
Authors: HAMYLTON SARAH 
Published: August 2013

AbstractMaps exert power. In this paper I explore the power of maps in relation to the technical methods employed and the political context of their production. The internal power of maps is realised in the actions taken by cartographers themselves when making maps, while the external power of maps is both realised by the patrons of cartography and wielded through the use of cartographic products as agents for natural resource management, in particular for defining conservation strategies. An Australian case study of coastal mapping is used to examine the methods employed and motivation behind map production through a series of recent remote sensing initiatives to map Lord Howe Island, New South Wales. Through this case study I explore the subjectivities associated with the placement of boundaries in the scientific practice of cartography. I argue that a new epistemological reading of maps is necessary, as sources of information on socio‐politically constructed worlds as much as the phenomenological world of objects. Such a reading is particularly important given recent advances in technologies, such as remote sensing, that are increasingly used to inform coastal management, and which propagate in profound new ways the power of maps.
Biology and trophic interactions of lucerne aphids
Authors: Ryalls James M. W. , Riegler Markus , Moore Ben D. , Johnson Scott N. 
Published: August 2013

Abstract

Lucerne or alfalfa Medicago sativa is the most important temperate forage legume worldwide. Only one or two varieties of lucerne were grown in the U.S.A. and Australia (the two leading exporters of lucerne) before the late 1950s and late 1970s, respectively. These dates coincided with the arrival of aphid species, which devastated lucerne stands and prompted the development of aphid resistant cultivars.
Lucerne-feeding aphids, including bluegreen aphids Acyrthosiphon kondoi, pea aphids Acyrthosiphon pisum, spotted alfalfa aphids Therioaphis trifolii maculata and cowpea aphids Aphis craccivora, however, still present significant risks for the lucerne industry worldwide and account for 25% of global production losses. Moreover, increased production costs, negative environmental effects and emerging aphid resistance to insecticide applications have led to a narrowing of management options against lucerne aphids.
Understanding lucerne aphid biology and trophic ecology will be needed to develop future management practices, including biological control. We review and synthesize research on the four lucerne aphid species, focussing on cultivar resistance and their interactions with other organisms, including predators, parasitoids, entomopathogens and bacterial symbionts. The effects of global climate change are considered, with a particular emphasis on the potential for compromised aphid resistance in lucerne cultivars under future climates.
We conclude by identifying future research questions and perspectives for the sustainable management of lucerne aphids. These include the characterization of plant secondary metabolites associated with natural enemy recruitment, an understanding of the role of endosymbionts in cultivar resistance and a better comprehension of multi-trophic interactions of lucerne aphids, both with other herbivores and higher trophic groups.
Acute fetal asphyxia after gastric rupture in a pregnant patient with a gastric band
Authors: Policiano Catarina , Rocha Pedro , Catanho Maria C. , Pinto Luísa , Valentim‐Lourenço Alexandre , Graça Luís M. 
Published: August 2013

AbstractWe report a 37‐year‐old primigravida with a gastric band who developed the clinical picture of abdominal pain, vomiting and regurgitation coexistent with a cardiotocogram with severe variable decelerations with absent variability at 33 weeks' gestation. After partial improvement with gastric band enlargement, new aggravation of symptoms and recurrence of a pathological cardiotocogram led to an emergency cesarean section. Intraoperatively, hemoperitoneum from gastric rupture was verified and partial gastrectomy was performed. After bariatric surgery, pregnant women are at increased risk of gastrointestinal complications, which may need prompt and multidisciplinary diagnosis and management in order to avoid maternal–fetal morbidity and mortality.
Effects of post‐windthrow salvage logging on microsites, plant composition and regeneration
Authors: Waldron Kaysandra , Ruel Jean‐Claude , Gauthier Sylvie , De Grandpré Louis , Peterson Chris J. 
Published: August 2013

AbstractQuestionsHow does windthrow influence plant diversity and composition as well as regeneration and microsite characteristics? What are the consequences of post‐windthrow salvage logging on these key attributes?LocationEastern black spruce–moss forest,Quebec,Canada.MethodsA total of 92 plots were sampled, each with a radius of 11.28 m; 49 of these plots were salvaged while 43 were unsalvaged. Regeneration density, plant diversity and seedbeds were characterized. We tested the effect of microtopography and windthrow severity on species richness and Shannon diversity index for salvaged and unsalvaged windthrows using a mixed model. Partial redundancy analysis (RDA) determined which environmental and stand characteristics were most important in explaining differences in plant species and forest floor types among the treatments. The effects of treatments (salvaged and unsalvaged windthrows), microtopography attributes, windthrow severity and regeneration species on seedling and sapling abundance were tested using a linear mixed model.ResultsSalvaged windthrow, with a large proportion of skid trails, dead mosses andSphagnum, had a lower degree of seedbed heterogeneity. Also, some understorey species present in the unsalvaged ecosystem were absent from the salvaged windthrow.Sphagnumand other moss species were clearly associated with the unsalvaged treatment. White birches were positively associated with mound microtopography in the unsalvaged windthrow.ConclusionFrom an ecosystem‐based forest management perspective, natural post‐windthrow understorey conditions and microsite heterogeneity can be in part maintained in salvaged cut blocks by incorporating retention patches that include downed and standing dead wood and living trees of diverse sizes. These steps should favour plant regeneration and augment diversity for salvage logging after wind disturbance.
Boldine improves endothelial function in diabetic db/db mice through inhibition of angiotensin II‐mediated BMP4‐oxidative stress cascade
Authors: Lau Yeh Siang , Tian Xiao Yu , Mustafa Mohd Rais , Murugan Dharmani , Liu Jian , Zhang Yang , Lau Chi Wai , Huang Yu 
Published: August 2013

Background and PurposeBoldine is a potent natural antioxidant present in the leaves and bark of the Chilean boldo tree. Here we assessed the protective effects of boldine on endothelium in a range of models of diabetes, ex vivo and in vitro.Experimental ApproachVascular reactivity was studied in mouse aortas from db/db diabetic and normal mice. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, angiotensin AT1 receptor localization and protein expression of oxidative stress markers in the vascular wall were evaluated by dihydroethidium fluorescence, lucigenin enhanced‐chemiluminescence, immunohistochemistry and Western blot respectively. Primary cultures of mouse aortic endothelial cells, exposed to high concentrations of glucose (30 mmol L−1) were also used.Key ResultsOral treatment (20 mg kg−1day−1, 7 days) or incubation in vitro with boldine (1 μmol L−1, 12 h) enhanced endothelium‐dependent aortic relaxations of db/db mice. Boldine reversed impaired relaxations induced by high glucose or angiotensin II (Ang II) in non‐diabetic mouse aortas while it reduced the overproduction of ROS and increased phosphorylation of eNOS in db/db mouse aortas. Elevated expression of oxidative stress markers (bone morphogenic protein 4 (BMP4), nitrotyrosine and AT1 receptors) were reduced in boldine‐treated db/db mouse aortas. Ang II‐stimulated BMP4 expression was inhibited by boldine, tempol, noggin or losartan. Boldine inhibited high glucose‐stimulated ROS production and restored the decreased phosphorylation of eNOS in mouse aortic endothelial cells in culture.Conclusions and ImplicationsBoldine reduced oxidative stress and improved endothelium‐dependent relaxation in aortas of diabetic mice largely through inhibiting ROS overproduction associated with Ang II‐mediated BMP4‐dependent mechanisms.
Natural killer T cell defects in multiple myeloma and the impact of lenalidomide therapy
Authors: Chan A C , Neeson P , Leeansyah E , Tainton K , Quach H , Prince H M , Harrison S J , Godfrey D I , Ritchie D , Berzins S P 
Published: August 2013

Summary
The causes of multiple myeloma (MM) remain obscure and there are few known risk factors; however, natural killer T (NKT) cell abnormalities have been reported in patients with MM, and therapeutic targeting of NKT cells is promoted as a potential treatment. We characterized NKT cell defects in treated and untreated patients with MM and determined the impact of lenalidomide therapy on the NKT cell pool. Lenalidomide is an immunomodulatory drug with co-stimulatory effects on NKT cells in vitro and is an approved treatment for MM, although its mode of action in that context is not well defined. We find that patients with relapsed/progressive MM had a marked deficiency in NKT cell numbers. In contrast, newly diagnosed patients had relatively normal NKT cell frequency and function prior to treatment, although a specific NKT cell deficiency emerged after high-dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) regimen. This also impacted NK cells and conventional T cells, but the recovery of NKT cells was considerably delayed, resulting in a prolonged, treatment-induced NKT cell deficit. Longitudinal analysis of individual patients revealed that lenalidomide therapy had no in-vivo impact on NKT cell numbers or cytokine production, either as induction therapy, or as maintenance therapy following ASCT, indicating that its clinical benefits in this setting are independent of NKT cell modulation.
Alterations in chemokine receptor expressions on peripheral blood monocytes in multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica
Authors: Cui Yi Wen , Kawano Yuji , Shi Nan , Masaki Katsuhisa , Isobe Noriko , Yonekawa Tomomi , Matsushita Takuya , Tateishi Takahisa , Yamasaki Ryo , Murai Hiroyuki , Kira Jun‐ichi 
Published: August 2013

AbstractObjectivesHuman peripheral blood monocytes comprise three different subtypes: CD14+CD16− (classical type), CD14lowCD16+ (non‐classical type) and CD14+CD16+ (intermediate type). These subsets are known to have different functions, but little is known about their roles in multiple sclerosis (MS), especially for maintaining remission. We aimed to clarify the alterations in monocyte subsets in patients with MS and neuromyelitis optica (NMO)/NMO spectrum disorder (NMOSD) in the remission phase.MethodsBlood samples were collected from 19 MS patients and 10 NMO/NMOSD patients in the remission phase, and 42 healthy controls (HC). The surface expressions of CCR2, CX3CR1, CD64 (FcγR1) and CD62L were analyzed in the monocyte subsets by flow cytometry.ResultsCCR2 expression was significantly decreased in classical monocytes from MS patients, regardless of interferon‐β (IFN‐β) treatment, but not in those from NMO/NMOSD patients. CX3CR1 expression was also decreased in all monocyte subsets from MS patients receiving IFN‐β, whereas CX3CR1 expression in classical monocytes was only decreased in NMO/NMOSD patients receiving prednisolone. In NMO/NMOSD patients on prednisolone, the percentages of CD14+CD16+ intermediate monocytes, CD14lowCD16+ non‐classical monocytes and CD64+CD14+CD16+ monocytes among total monocytes were significantly lower than in HC. CD62L expression on the monocyte subsets showed no significant differences among the patients and HC.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that alterations in chemokine receptor expressions on peripheral blood monocytes can occur in MS and NMO/NMOSD during the remission phase. Down‐modulation of CCR2 in MS, and CX3CR1 in MS and NMO/NMOSD could partly contribute to sustained remission by preventing monocyte infiltration into the central nervous system.
Are magnetic resonance imaging findings influenced by genetic background in multiple sclerosis patients?
Authors: Niino Masaaki 
Published: August 2013

AbstractThe genetic contribution to multiple sclerosis susceptibility is undeniable, and genetic background could influence clinical characteristics including magnetic resonance imaging findings. Huang et al. (Clin Exp Neuroimmunol, 4, 2013, 173–180) showed that genetic profiles differ between Japanese multiple sclerosis patients with and without Barkhof brain lesions seen on magnetic resonance imaging.
Soluble TWEAK plasma levels increase after renal transplantation and associate with the improvement of endothelial function
Authors: Yilmaz Mahmut I. , Sonmez Alper , Saglam Mutlu , Yaman Halil , Unal Hilmi Umut , Gok Mahmut , Cetinkaya Hakki , Eyileten Tayfun , Oguz Yusuf , Sari Sebahattin , Yildirim Ali Osman , Vural Abdulgaffar , Carrero Juan J. , Blanco‐Colio Luis M. 
Published: August 2013

AbstractBackgroundSoluble TWEAK (sTWEAK) and asymmetric dimethyl arginine (ADMA) concentrations have been associated with endothelial function in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). We tested the hypothesis that the improvement in endothelial function observed after renal transplantation is directly linked to the normalization of both sTWEAK and ADMA.Materials and methodsOne hundred and seventy‐five kidney transplant recipients (71% men; 31·6 ± 9·4 years) were studied immediately before and on the 180th day post‐transplantation. At each visit, blood samples were taken to assess circulating levels of sTWEAK and ADMA. Brachial artery endothelium‐dependent vasodilatation (FMD) assessments were also performed.ResultsRenal transplantation was followed by an improvement in FMD. This improvement was paralleled by an increase in sTWEAK and a reduction in ADMA after transplantation (P < 0·001 for all). Cross‐sectionally, both molecules associated with FMD before as well as after transplantation (P < 0·001 for all). Longitudinally, the changes observed in sTWEAK (β = 0·26, P < 0·001) and ADMA (β = −0·44, P < 0·001) levels were independently associated with the improvement of FMD (r2 = 0·30).ConclusionsRenal transplantation is followed by an improvement of FMD that is independently associated with the normalization of both sTWEAK and ADMA concentrations. We identify two surrogate biomarkers of endothelial function with potential as therapeutic targets.
The Coextensiveness Thesis andKant's Modal Agnosticism in the ‘Postulates’
Authors: Abaci Uygar 
Published: August 2013

AbstractIn theCritique of Pure Reason, following his elucidation of the ‘postulates’ of possibility, actuality, and necessity,Kant makes a series of puzzling remarks. He seems to deny the somewhat metaphysically intuitive contention that the extension of possibility is greater than that of actuality, which, in turn, is greater than that of necessity (A230/B283). Further, he states that the actual adds nothing to the possible (B284). This leads to the view, fairly common in the literature, thatKant holds that all modal categories, in their empirical applications, are coextensive. I diverge from the common view. First,Kant is not committed to the coextensiveness thesis, understood as above. Instead, he espouses a weaker, epistemological version of the coextensiveness thesis, namely that what we can assert to be really possible is coextensive with what we cognize to be actual. Second,Kant's remarks are not intended to introduce a positive ontological thesis about the extensions of modal categories. Rather, he means to criticize a certain conception of modalities that was prevalent among his rationalist predecessors, i.e., the conception of modalities as various determinations that enter the intensions of concepts of things.
Kant's Commitment to Metaphysics of Morals
Authors: Theunissen L. Nandi 
Published: August 2013

AbstractA definitive feature ofKant's moral philosophy is its rationalism.Kant insists that moral theory, at least at its foundation, cannot take account of empirical facts about human beings and their circumstances in the world. This is the core ofKant's commitment to ‘metaphysics of morals’, and it is what he sees as his greatest contribution to moral philosophy. The paper clarifies what it means to be committed to metaphysics of morals, whyKant is committed to it, and where he thinks empirical considerations may enter moral theory. The paper examines recent work of contemporaryKantians (BarbaraHerman,AllenWood, andChristineKorsgaard) who argue that there is a central role for empirical considerations inKant's moral theory. Either these theorists interpretKant himself as permitting empirical considerations to enter, or they propose to extendKant's theory so as to allow them to enter. With some qualifications, I argue that these interpretive trends are not supported by the texts, and that the proposed extensions are not plausiblyKantian.Kant's insistence on the exclusion of empirical considerations from the foundations of moral theory is not an incidental feature of his thought which might be modified while the rest remains unchanged. Rather, it is the very centre of his endeavours in moral philosophy. If we disagree with it, I argue, we have grounds for moving to a distinctly different theoretical framework.