bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Reliable Information Content and Ontogenetic Shift in Begging Calls of Grey Warbler Nestlings
Authors: Anderson Michael G. , Brunton Dianne H. , Hauber Mark E. 
Published: March 2010

AbstractThe most critical assumption of communication models regarding parent–offspring conflict is that food solicitation displays of genetic offspring are honest signals to elicit beneficial parental care. A critical requirement of honesty is the reliable change of perceivable aspects of begging calls with physiological needs. We experimentally tested whether and how the acoustic structure and begging call rate of individual Grey WarblerGerygone igatanestlings change with hunger level and age. We also examined a rarely documented component of chick begging calls, namely the temporal dynamics of acoustic modulation after nestlings heard parental feeding calls. Begging call structure narrowed in frequency range and, surprisingly, decreased in amplitude as chick hunger levels increased. We also found that begging calls changed with chick age, with the frequency increasing and the duration decreasing for older chicks. These results indicate that the acoustic properties of nestling Grey Warbler begging calls are complex and may be used to signal several aspects of nestling traits, including hunger level and age (or size, a correlate of age). Overall, begging calls of Grey Warbler chicks appear to be honest, implying that parents are likely to benefit from relying on the acoustic features of their progeny’s calls which predict chick need. Our results have important implications regarding the reliability and information content of nestling solicitation signals for the brood parasite shining cuckooChrysococcyx lucidusexploiting Grey Warbler parental care, in that these begging‐call mimetic specialist cuckoos might also need to match closely the dynamics of acoustic features of their host chicks’ calls.
Morphological characters, inheritance and response to exogenous hormones of a cotton super‐dwarf mutant of Gossypium hirsutum
Authors: Zhang C. , Sun J.‐L. , Jia Y.‐H. , Wang J. , Xu Z.‐J. , Du X.‐M. 
Published: March 2010

With 2 figures and 4 tables AbstractA novel super‐dwarf mutant, named AS98, was discovered from an interspecific hybrid in 1998. Compared to the normal line LHF10W99, plant height and internode length were significantly shorter in AS98, but it had only slightly (3–5%) fewer internodes. Therefore, the shorter plant height was the result of shorter internodal length. AS98 was crossed with LHF10W99, and the F1, F2, BC1, and BC2 populations were used for genetic analysis of the dwarf trait. The results showed that the trait was controlled by a single incomplete‐dominant gene. Exogenous application of gibberellin acid (GA3), brassinosteroid and indol acetic acid showed a significant response to GA3, which could restore plant height in AS98. The results thus provide a basis for utilizing the dwarf trait in breeding and studying the biosynthesis of GA or signal transduction in cotton.
Accessory olfactory bulb function is modulated by input from the main olfactory epithelium
Authors: Slotnick Burton , Restrepo Diego , Schellinck Heather , Archbold Georgina , Price Stephen , Lin Weihong 
Published: March 2010

AbstractAlthough it is now established that sensory neurons in both the main olfactory epithelium and the vomeronasal organ may be activated by both general and pheromonal odorants, it remains unclear what initiates sampling by the vomeronasal organ. Anterograde transport of wheat germ agglutinin–horseradish peroxidase was used to determine that adequate intranasal syringing with zinc sulfate interrupted all inputs to the main olfactory bulb but left intact those to the accessory olfactory bulb. Adult male treated mice were frankly anosmic when tested with pheromonal and non‐pheromonal odors and failed to engage in aggressive behavior. Treated juvenile females failed to show puberty acceleration subsequent to exposure to bedding from adult males. Activation of the immediate early gene c‐Fos and electrovomeronasogram recording confirmed the integrity of the vomeronasal system in zinc sulfate‐treated mice. These results support the hypothesis that odor detection by the main olfactory epithelium is required to initiate sampling by the vomeronasal system.
Responses to cholecystokinin in the ventromedial nucleus of the rat hypothalamus in vivo
Authors: Sabatier Nancy , Leng Gareth 
Published: March 2010

AbstractThe peptide cholecystokinin (CCK) is a short‐term satiety signal released from the gastrointestinal tract during food intake. From the periphery, CCK signalling travels via the vagus nerve to reach the brainstem from which it is relayed higher into the brain. The hypothalamus is a key integrator of appetite‐related stimuli and the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMN) is thought to have an important role in the regulation of satiety. We investigated the effect of intravenous injections of CCK on the spontaneous firing activity of single VMN neurons in urethane‐anaesthetised rats in vivo. We found that the predominant effect of CCK on the electrical activity in the VMN is inhibitory. We analysed the responses to CCK according to electrophysiologically distinct subpopulations of VMN neurons and found that four of these VMN subpopulations were inhibited by CCK, while five were not significantly affected. Finally, CCK‐induced inhibitory response in VMN neurons was not altered by pre‐administration of intravenous leptin.
Phantom limb pain in cancer‐related pediatric amputees: recent experience at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Authors: Burgoyne L , Kaddoum R , Pereiras L 
Published: March 2010

The purpose of this retrospective study in children and young adults having cancer‐related amputation was to examine the incidence and factors associated with phantom limb pain. Of the 27 patients studied, most had osteosarcoma (59.3%), followed by the Ewing sarcoma family of tumors (14.8%). During the year following amputation, 70.4% of patients had experienced phantom limb pain at some time. After 1 year, though, only 8.7% still had phantom limb pain.Patients 18 and older were somewhat more likely to have phantom limb pain after 1 year (P = 0.060). There was no statistically significant difference in the number of patients who had phantom limb pain between the groups that did and did not have pre‐amputation pain, but the patients with pre‐amputation pain tended to have higher rates of moderate or severe pain.
The effect of nutrient deposition on bacterial communities in Arctic tundra soil
Authors: Campbell Barbara J. , Polson Shawn W. , Hanson Thomas E. , Mack Michelle C. , Schuur Edward A. G. 
Published: March 2010

SummaryThe microbial communities of high‐latitude ecosystems are expected to experience rapid changes over the next century due to climate warming and increased deposition of reactive nitrogen, changes that will likely affect microbial community structure and function. In moist acidic tundra (MAT) soils on the North Slope of the Brooks Range, Alaska, substantial losses of C and N were previously observed after long‐term nutrient additions. To analyse the role of microbial communities in these losses, we utilized 16S rRNA gene tag pyrosequencing coupled with community‐level physiological profiling to describe changes in MAT bacterial communities after short‐ and long‐term nutrient fertilization in four sets of paired control and fertilized MAT soil samples. Bacterial diversity was lower in long‐term fertilized plots. The Acidobacteria were one of the most abundant phyla in all soils and distinct differences were noted in the distributions of Acidobacteria subgroups between mineral and organic soil layers that were also affected by fertilization. In addition, Alpha‐ and Gammaproteobacteria were more abundant in long‐term fertilized samples compared with control soils. The dramatic increase in sequences within the Gammaproteobacteria identified as Dyella spp. (order Xanthomonadales) in the long‐term fertilized samples was confirmed by quantitative PCR (qPCR) in several samples. Long‐term fertilization was also correlated with shifts in the utilization of specific substrates by microbes present in the soils. The combined data indicate that long‐term fertilization resulted in a significant change in microbial community structure and function linked to changes in carbon and nitrogen availability and shifts in above‐ground plant communities.
PacC in the nematophagous fungus Clonostachys rosea controls virulence to nematodes
Authors: Zou Cheng‐Gang , Tu Hui‐Hui , Liu Xian‐Yong , Tao Nan , Zhang Ke‐Qin 
Published: March 2010

SummaryNematophagous fungi are commonly used as biological control agents of plant and animal parasitic nematodes. However, relatively little is known of the environmental attributes conferring pathogenicity in these fungi. In this report, we investigated the role of PacC‐mediated pH response in the pathogenesis of the nematophagous fungus Clonostachys rosea. We identified a pacC orthologue from this fungus and found that its transcript was elevated in C. rosea during the early stage of its infection of nematode. Disruption of pacC resulted in slowed growth at alkaline pH, altered filamentation, reduced conidiation and attenuated virulence to nematodes. The expression of an extracellular serine protease PrC, a putative virulence factor, was downregulated in the pacC mutants. The PrC transcript levels were significantly higher under alkaline growth conditions than under acidic growth conditions. Promoter activity analysis and electrophoretic mobility shift assay indicated that the regulation of PrC by pH via the PacC pathway occurred at the transcriptional level. In conclusion, PacC functions as a positive regulator of virulence to nematodes in C. rosea.
Events and event identity: under‐explored topics in nursing
Authors: Lipscomb Martin 
Published: March 2010

AbstractTheoretic interest in the nature of events and event identity is apparent across a wide range of fields. However, this interest has not yet made itself known in nursing. In this paper, it is asserted that nurse theoreticians and researchers should consider the problematic of events and event identity. It is suggested that engagement with these issues is important because the manner in which this component of explanation is integrated into argument has concrete implications for our understanding of healthcare practice. Indeed, refusal to engage with such issues may jeopardize explanatory coherence.
Qualitative interviewing as measurement
Authors: Paley John 
Published: March 2010

AbstractThe attribution of beliefs and other propositional attitudes is best understood as a form of measurement, however counter‐intuitive this may seem. Measurement theory does not require that the thing measured should be a magnitude, or that the calibration of the measuring instrument should be numerical. It only requires a homomorphism between the represented domain and the representing domain. On this basis, maps measure parts of the world, usually geographical locations, and ‘belief’ statements measure other parts of the world, namely people's aptitudes. Having outlined an argument for this view, I deal with an obvious objection to it: that self‐attribution of belief cannot be an exercise in measurement, because we are all aware, from introspection, that our beliefs have an intrinsically semantic form. Subsequently, I turn to the philosophical and methodological ramifications of the measurement theoretic view. I argue, first, that it undermines at least one version of constructivism and, second, that it provides an effective alternative to the residually Cartesian philosophy that underpins much qualitative research. Like other anti‐Cartesian strategies, belief‐attribution‐as‐measurement implies that the objective world is far more knowable than the subjective one, and that reality is ontologically prior to meaning. I regard this result as both plausible and welcome.
Développement financier, croissance économique et productivité globale des facteurs en Afrique Sub‐saharienne**
Authors: Aka Brou Emmanuel 
Published: March 2010

Résumé:  L’article analyse empiriquement les liens développement financier (DF)‐croissance économique, et développement financier‐productivité globale des facteurs (PGF) en Afrique Sub‐saharienne. L’étude est basée sur une approche VAR: tests de cointégration de Johansen et modèles à correction d’erreurs. L’échantillon comprend 22 pays et porte sur la période 1960–2002. Les résultats suggèrent que le DF et la croissance, et le DF et la PGF sont cointégrés, dans plusieurs pays. De plus, dans plusieurs cas, la relation entre le DF et la croissance est caractérisée par une causalité bidirectionnelle au sens de Granger, alors que la relation entre le DF et la PGF est caractérisée par une causalité unidirectionnelle allant du DF vers la PGF. Il apparaît, à quelques exceptions près, que le développement financier stimule la croissance dans les pays où cette croissance est soutenue par le progrès technique. L’implication de nos résultats est que toute mesure qui stimule le développement financier, va stimuler la croissance économique à travers l’accélération du progrès technique.Abstract:  The paper empirically analyzes the financial development (FD)‐growth nexus, and the financial development‐total factor productivity (TFP) link in sub‐Saharan Africa. The study is based on a VAR approach: Johansen cointegration tests and error correction models. The sample includes 22 countries over the period from 1960 to 2002. Results suggest that FD and economic growth and, FD and TFP are cointegrated for many countries. Moreover, in many cases, the relationship between FD and growth is characterized by bidirectional causality in the Granger sense, whereas the relation between FD and TFP is characterized by a unidirectional causality running from FD to TFP. With few exceptions, it appears that financial development spurs economic growth in countries where that growth is supported by technological progress. The implication of the findings is that any reform that causes betterment in the financial sector will foster economic growth through a sharp increase in technological progress.
EVALUATING CHANGING RESIDENTIAL SEGREGATION IN AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND, USING SPATIAL STATISTICS
Authors: JOHNSTON RON , POULSEN MICHAEL , FORREST JAMES 
Published: March 2010

ABSTRACTMuch work on residential segregation in urban areas has focused on aspatial indices of urban residential segregation, largely ignoring locational aspects of the degree of spatial separation of different ethnic groups. The adoption of measures of global and local spatial autocorrelation has recently been suggested as a way of introducing a more explicit spatial approach to studying segregation. This paper uses two of those measures – Moran's I and Getis and Ord's G*– to explore segregation of the four main ethnic groups in Auckland, New Zealand's largest and most multiethnic city, at the four most recent censuses held there. They are used to identify the clusters of census reporting units (meshblocks) where each group is significantly over‐ and under‐represented, and to chart the degree of segregation within such clusters.
Developing a questionnaire for conducting cross‐national studies –‘Self‐reported health and needs among elderly Iranians and Swedes’
Authors: Emami Azita , Momeni Pardis , Hossein Malek Afzali Ardakan , Maddah Sadat Seyed 
Published: March 2010

Scand J Caring Sci; 2010; 24; 372–379

Developing a questionnaire for conducting cross‐national studies –‘Self‐reported health and needs among elderly Iranians and Swedes’ Purpose:  This paper describes the process of developing and validating a questionnaire to investigate self‐reported health and care needs of elders in Iran and Sweden.Background:  Both developing and developed countries face dilemmas under the current condition of increasing mental and physical health morbidity globally. In order to fully assess and understand the extent of these dilemmas and the global and local factors that alleviate or worsen them, a comparison of the self‐reported health and care needs in a developed and a developing country is required. To these ends, two research teams within a joint international project worked together to construct a questionnaire to measure self‐reported health in elders in Sweden and Iran.Methods:  The questionnaire was developed according to a multiphase process, during which the researchers tested the validity and reliability of the questionnaire using various methods and modified it based on the test results. First, the concepts to be used were agreed upon and a literature review was conducted. Thereafter, face and content validity was measured in Iran, looking at the initial items that were developed. The questionnaire was then translated and back‐translated. Finally, both teams conducted a test of content validity using target groups in Iran and Sweden, respectively.Results:  Validity was established by testing face and content validity with the use of expert groups. Reliability was also determined according to two different dimensions, stability and internal consistency. Both methods gave satisfactory results, indicating that the instrument was reliable.Conclusion:  The questionnaire was thereby developed and titled, ‘Self‐reported health and health‐care needs’. The results confirm validity and reliability of the final version of the questionnaire.
Detecting intimate partner abuse within clinical settings: self‐report or an interview
Authors: Svavarsdottir Erla Kolbrun 
Published: March 2010

Scand J Caring Sci; 2010; 24; 224–232

Detecting intimate partner abuse within clinical settings: self‐report or an interview Background:  Routine screening for intimate partner abuse (IPA) has been recommended within health‐care settings. However, the instruments and methods that are most effective in detecting abuse continues to be debated in the literature.Objectives:  To evaluate the effectiveness of two screening procedures/methods, a self‐reporting questionnaire and an interview, in detecting women abuse within an emergency department (ED) and a high‐risk prenatal care clinic (HRPCC). Comparison was made related to missing data based on the frequency of missing data.Design:  Cross‐sectional design was used in the study.Settings:  Data were collected at one time in 2006, over a period of 7 months, from 101 women seeking health‐care services at an ED and 107 pregnant women in their first trimester attending a HRPCC.Methods:  Two methods were used, a self‐reporting instrument and a face‐to‐face interview with a nurse or a midwife to compare the frequency of women’s disclosure of abuse.Results:  A variety of prior and current abuse experiences were disclosed by each method. The women however disclosed physical abuse more often in the face‐to‐face interview. The women at the ED disclosed emotional and sexual abuse by an intimate partner more often when using the self‐reporting instrument; but the women at the HRPCC disclosed the same ratio of emotional and sexual abuse regardless of the method used. The face‐to‐face interview had fewer missing data regarding disclosure of abuse. Contradictory to what has previously been reported in the literature, there were no clear‐cut results found regarding which of the methods were more effective in revealing abuse; rather, for some of the women, disclosure was based on a combination of the two methods used and the type of abuse inquired about.Conclusion:  Implications might focus on using different methods within different clinical settings, e.g. face‐to‐face interviews at an ED, but questionnaire(s) at a HRPCC; or by using the mixed methods approach within the same clinical setting. Such a decision should however be based on the purpose of screening for women abuse and on how and in what way clinicians and researchers would intervene with the women.
Did the National Minimum Wage Affect UK Prices?*
Authors: Wadsworth Jonathan 
Published: March 2010

AbstractOne potential channel through which the effects of the minimum wage could be directed is that firms that employ minimum‐wage workers could have passed on any higher labour costs resulting from the minimum wage in the form of higher prices. This study looks at the effects of the minimum wage on the prices of UK goods and services by comparing prices of goods and services produced by industries in which UK minimum‐wage workers make up a substantial share of total costs with prices of goods and services that make less use of minimum‐wage labour. Using sectoral‐level price data matched to Labour Force Survey data on the share of minimum‐wage workers in each sector, it is hard to find much evidence of significant price changes in the months that correspond immediately to the uprating of the national minimum wage. However, over the longer term, prices in several minimum‐wage sectors – notably, take‐away food, canteen meals, hotel services and domestic services – do appear to have risen significantly faster than prices in non‐minimum‐wage sectors. These effects were particularly significant in the four years immediately after the introduction of the minimum wage.
Augurin stimulates the hypothalamo‐pituitary‐adrenal axis via the release of corticotrophin‐releasing factor in rats
Authors: Tadross JA , Patterson M , Suzuki K , Beale KE , Boughton CK , Smith KL , Moore S , Ghatei MA , Bloom SR 
Published: March 2010

Background and purpose:  The functional characterization of secreted peptides can provide the basis for the development of novel therapeutic agents. Augurin is a recently identified secreted peptide of unknown function expressed in multiple endocrine tissues, and in regions of the brain including the hypothalamus. We therefore investigated the effect of hypothalamic injection of augurin on the hypothalamo‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis in male Wistar rats.Experimental approach:  Augurin was given as a single injection into the third cerebral ventricle (i.c.v.) or into the paraventricular nucleus (iPVN) of the hypothalamus. Circulating hormone levels were then measured by radioimmunoassay. The effect of augurin on the release of hypothalamic neuropeptides was investigated ex vivo using hypothalamic explants. The acute effects of iPVN augurin on behaviour were also assessed.Key results:  i.c.v. injection of augurin significantly increased plasma ACTH and corticosterone, compared with vehicle‐injected controls, but had no effect on other hypothalamo‐pituitary axes hormones. Microinjection of lower doses of augurin into the PVN caused a similar increase in plasma ACTH and corticosterone, without significant alteration in behavioural patterns. Incubation of hypothalamic explants with increasing doses of augurin significantly elevated corticotrophin‐releasing factor (CRF) and arginine vasopressin release. In vivo, peripheral injection of a CRF1/2 receptor antagonist prevented the rise in ACTH and corticosterone caused by i.c.v. augurin injection.Conclusions and implications:  These data suggest that augurin stimulates the release of ACTH via the release of hypothalamic CRF. Pharmacological manipulation of the augurin system may therefore be a novel target for regulation of the HPA axis.