bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Social action in young adults: Voluntary and political engagement
Authors: Marzana Daniela , Marta Elena , Pozzi Maura 
Published: September 2011

ABSTRACTThe present study examines the antecedents of social action (Snyder & Omoto, 2007), understood as voluntary action and political action, by operationalizing Penner's constructs (2004). We affirm the essential homogeneity between these two forms of social action and their antecedents.The study has a twofold aim: 1) testing the identified antecedents on the volunteer participants by means of discriminant analysis, and 2) testing the same variables on youth engaged in politics.Participants were 706 young people – engaged and not engaged – distributed throughout Italy – aged 19‐29 (M = 22.36, SD = 1.10). The instrument used was a self‐report questionnaire.The findings reveal that several variables discriminate between engaged and not engaged youth. They also show the presence of several areas of overlap between variables considered in the engaged groups (political and voluntary action).
Ceylon cinnamon does not affect postprandial plasma glucose or insulin in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance
Authors: Wickenberg Jennie , Lindstedt Sandra , Berntorp Kerstin , Nilsson Jan , Hlebowicz Joanna 
Published: September 2011

Previous studies on healthy subjects have shown that the intake of 6 g Cinnamomum cassia reduces postprandial glucose and that the intake of 3 g C. cassia reduces insulin response, without affecting postprandial glucose concentrations. Coumarin, which may damage the liver, is present in C. cassia, but not in Cinnamomum zeylanicum. The aim of the present study was to study the effect of C. zeylanicum on postprandial concentrations of plasma glucose, insulin, glycaemic index (GI) and insulinaemic index (GII) in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). A total of ten subjects with IGT were assessed in a crossover trial. A standard 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was administered together with placebo or C. zeylanicum capsules. Finger-prick capillary blood samples were taken for glucose measurements and venous blood for insulin measurements, before and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 min after the start of the OGTT. The ingestion of 6 g C. zeylanicum had no significant effect on glucose level, insulin response, GI or GII. Ingestion of C. zeylanicum does not affect postprandial plasma glucose or insulin levels in human subjects. The Federal Institute for Risk Assessment in Europe has suggested the replacement of C. cassia by C. zeylanicum or the use of aqueous extracts of C. cassia to lower coumarin exposure. However, the positive effects seen with C. cassia in subjects with poor glycaemic control would then be lost.
Computer-Facilitated Assessment of Disaster Preparedness for Remote Hospitals in a Long-Distance, Virtual Tabletop Drill Model
Authors: Gillett Brian , Silverberg Mark , Roblin Patricia , Adelaine John , Valesky Walter , Arquilla Bonnie 
Published: September 2011

AbstractIntroduction: Emergency preparedness experts generally are based at academic or governmental institutions. A mechanism for experts to remotely facilitate a distant hospital’s disaster readiness is lacking.Objective: The objective of this study was to develop and examine the feasibility of an Internet-based software tool to assess disaster preparedness for remote hospitals using a long-distance, virtual, tabletop drill.Methods: An Internet-based system that remotely acquires information and analyzes disaster preparedness for hospitals at a distance in a virtual, tabletop drill model was piloted. Nine hospitals in Cape Town, South Africa designated as receiving institutions for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Games and its organizers, utilized the system over a 10-week period. At one-week intervals, the system e-mailed each hospital’s leadership a description of a stadium disaster and instructed them to login to the system and answer questions relating to their hospital’s state of readiness. A total of 169 questions were posed relating to operational and surge capacities, communication, equipment, major incident planning, public relations, staff safety, hospital supplies, and security in each hospital. The system was used to analyze answers and generate a real-time grid that reflectied readiness as a percent for each hospital in each of the above categories. It also created individualized recommendations of how to improve preparedness for each hospital. To assess feasibility of such a system, the end users’ compliance and response times were examined.Results: Overall, compliance was excellent with an aggregate response rate of 98%. The mean response interval, defined as the time elapsed between sending a stimuli and receiving a response, was eight days (95% CI = 8–9 days).Conclusions: A web-based data acquisition system using a virtual, tabletop drill to remotely facilitate assessment of disaster preparedness is efficient and feasible. Weekly reinforcement for disaster preparedness resulted in strong compliance.
Irregular migrants and the human right to health care: a case-study of health-care provision for irregular migrants in France and the UK
Authors: da Lomba Sylvie 
Published: September 2011

AbstractInternational human rights law attaches the right of health care to the person. States, however, predicate this right on membership in the national community and access to publicly subsidised health care is normally contingent on national membership. With this in mind, this article considers the significance of a human rights approach to access to health care and undertakes a comparative study of health-care provision for irregular migrants in France and the UK. Irregular migrants are ineligible for national membership because they have breached immigration laws. Consequently their right to health care may only arise from international human rights law. This comparative study, however, shows that states resist the idea of a right to health care for people they regard as a threat to national sovereignty. Yet the author posits that the exercise of the government's immigration power may be reconciled with the realisation of irregular migrants' human right to health care.
Geography
Authors: Ehlers Eckart 
Published: September 2011

By Definition, an Encyclopaedia is “A Work that Aims at Giving a comprehensive summary of all branches of knowledge… Encyclopaedias usually consist of articles on separate subjects arranged in dictionary or alphabetical order to facilitate use… .” A more differentiated view is given by the New Encyclopaedia Britannica, which describes encyclopaedias as follows: “Today most people think of an encyclopaedia as a multivolume compendium of all available knowledge, complete with maps and a detailed index, as well as numerous adjuncts such as bibliographies, illustrations, list of abbreviations and foreign expressions, gazetteers, and so on…”Unlike the Encyclopaedia Americana or the Encyclopaedia Britannica, whose primary goals have been and still are to serve as comprehensive and always up-to-date works of reference of general knowledge, the Encyclopaedia Iranica would fall under the category of specialized encyclopaedias “that have deliberately been planned for a special purpose” or even better: encyclopaedias of countries and regions “dealing with a single country and region.”
History: from the Saljuqs to the Aq Qoyunlu (ca. 1000–1500 C.E.)
Authors: Melville Charles 
Published: September 2011

The Half-Millennium of Persian History Between The Coming of the Saljuqs and the establishment of the Safavid dynasty is one of repeated upheaval and largely alien rule. The arrival of the Ghuzz tribes in the early 11th century was not an entirely peaceful affair—the author of the Tārīkh-i Sīstān regards it as a calamity for that formerly prosperous province—and much worse was to follow, with the Mongol invasions of the 13th century and Timur's campaigns in the late 14th, all of which caused enormous destruction, while leaving a profound impression on Persian society, culture, and political life.This long and eventful period is seldom treated as a whole; volume 2 of Marshall Hodgson's The Venture of Islam is still perhaps the nearest approach to a united vision of the “Middle Periods” of Islamic history, but of course his view is not confined to Iran. Traditionally, the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258 and the end of the Abbasid caliphate is taken as the defining turning point in medieval Persian history, an event that falls almost exactly in the middle of the period under review and which to some extent destroys its unity.
Descartes's ‘morale par provision’: A Re-evaluation
Authors: Gilby Emma 
Published: September 2011

Abstract

This article takes as its starting point Descartes's statement in his
Discours de la méthode
, ‘Je me formai une morale par provision, qui ne consistait qu'en trois ou quatre maximes’. It offers an overview of criticism on Descartes as ethical thinker, revisiting in particular Michèle Le Dœuff's thoughts on Descartes in her
L'Imaginaire philosophique
(1980), and gives a reconsideration of the ethical content of Descartes's work. Notably, it considers previous early modern uses of the term
par provision
, with special reference to the correspondence of Nicolas Peiresc. Analysing these earlier occurrences of the term can give us a more precise understanding of what Descartes sought to communicate in the maxims of the
morale par provision
, and of how the maxims may connect with his later work. The article concludes by suggesting that
par provision
can best be understood as relating to informality. The
morale par provision
grants this quality an ethical significance, as Descartes shows an enduring interest in retrospective justifications and informal adjustments.
Residue incorporation depth is a controlling factor of earthworm‐induced nitrous oxide emissions
Authors: Paul Birthe K. , Lubbers Ingrid M. , van Groenigen Jan Willem 
Published: September 2011

AbstractEarthworms can increase nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, particularly in no‐tillage systems where earthworms are abundant. Here, we study the effect of residue incorporation depth on earthworm‐induced N2O emissions. We hypothesized that cumulative N2O emissions decrease with residue incorporation depth, because (i) increased water filled pore space (WFPS) in deeper soil layers leads to higher denitrification rates as well as more complete denitrification; and (ii) the longer upward diffusion path increases N2O reduction to N2. Two 84‐day laboratory mesocosm experiments were conducted. First, we manually incorporated maize (Zea mays L.) residue at different soil depths (incorporation experiment). Second, 13C‐enriched maize residue was applied to the soil surface and anecic species Lumbricus terrestris (L.) and epigeic species Lumbricus rubellus (Hoffmeister) were confined to different soil depths (earthworm experiment). Residue incorporation depth affected cumulative N2O emissions in both experiments (P < 0.001). In the incorporation experiment, N2O emissions decreased from 4.91 mg N2O–N kg−1 soil (surface application) to 2.71 mg N2O–N kg−1 soil (40–50 cm incorporation). In the earthworm experiment, N2O emissions from L. terrestris decreased from 3.87 mg N2O–N kg−1 soil (confined to 0–10 cm) to 2.01 mg N2O–N kg−1 soil (confined to 0–30 cm). Both experimental setups resulted in dissimilar WFPS profiles that affected N2O dynamics. We also found significant differences in residue C recovery in soil organic matter between L. terrestris (28–41%) and L. rubellus (56%). We conclude that (i) N2O emissions decrease with residue incorporation depth, although this effect was complicated by dissimilar WFPS profiles; and (ii) larger residue C incorporation by L. rubellus than L. terrestris indicates that earthworm species differ in their C stabilization potential. Our findings underline the importance of studying earthworm diversity in the context of greenhouse gas emissions from agro‐ecosystems.
Direct comparison between continuous and coseasonal regimen for sublingual immunotherapy in children with grass allergy: A randomized controlled study
Authors: Pajno Giovanni B. , Caminiti Lucia , Crisafulli Giuseppe , Vita Daniela , Valenzise Mariella , De Luca Raffaele , Passalacqua Giovanni 
Published: September 2011

To cite this article: Pajno GB, Caminiti L, Crisafulli G, Vita D, Valenzise M, De Luca R, Passalacqua G. Direct comparison between continuous and coseasonal regimen for sublingual immunotherapy in children with grass allergy: A randomized controlled study. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2011: 22: 803–807.AbstractBackground:  Pre‐seasonal, pre‐coseasonal and continuous regimens of immunotherapy have been proposed, but their efficacy was never compared. This phase IV open study was designed to compare the clinical efficacy of a continuous and a coseasonal sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) for grass allergy over 3 years.Methods:  Children with rhinitis/asthma because of grass were randomized to SLIT given continuously (all year long) or coseasonally. The treatment started in October 2005 in the continuous SLIT group and in March 2006 in the coseasonal group Diary cards for clinical symptoms (from 0 = none to 3 = severe), and drug intake were recorded form March to June in 2005 (baseline), 2006 2007, and 2008. Specific IgE and IgG4 were evaluated every year.Results:  Eighty children (age range 8–16) were randomized and 72 completed the study. In the first year, the symptom + medication score improved by 44% in the continuous group and by 20% in the coseasonal group (p = 0.04). Symptoms, chest symptoms, and drug intake separately showed a greater decrease vs. baseline in the continuous group. In the second year, the global score decreased in both groups with no significant difference, whereas symptom score decreased more in the continuous group. In the 3rd year, there was no difference in clinical parameters between the two groups. Specific IgG4 were significantly higher vs. baseline since the 1st year in the continuous group and since the 2nd in the coseasonal group.Conclusion:  In grass pollen allergy, the continuous regimen performs better than the coseasonal in the first season, whereas in the subsequent years, the two regimens are nearly equivalent.
Protocadherin‐1 polymorphisms are associated with eczema in two Dutch birth cohorts
Authors: Koning Henk , Postma Dirkje S. , Brunekreef Bert , Duiverman Eric J. , Smit Henriette A. , Thijs Carel , Penders John , Kerkhof Marjan , Koppelman Gerard H. 
Published: September 2011

To cite this article: Koning H, Postma DS, Brunekreef B, Duiverman EJ, Smit HA, Thijs C, Penders J, Kerkhof M, Koppelman GH. Protocadherin‐1 polymorphisms are associated with eczema in two Dutch birth cohorts. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2012: 23: 270–277.AbstractBackground:  Eczema and asthma share a common genetic background and show linkage to chromosome 5q31‐33. Protocadherin‐1 (PCDH1) is located in this region and was identified as a susceptibility gene for bronchial hyper‐responsiveness (BHR), a hallmark of asthma. PCDH1 encodes an adhesion molecule, expressed in airway and skin epithelium. We determined whether PCDH1 polymorphisms, previously associated with asthma or BHR, also associated with questionnaire and UK Working Party (UKWP) defined eczema.Methods:  Four PCDH1 polymorphisms were genotyped in two Dutch birth cohorts, PIAMA (n = 967) and KOALA Birth Cohort Study (n = 1560). Association with eczema was determined by chi‐square tests and generalized estimating equations (GEE).Results:  Insertion deletion IVS3‐116 was associated with development of UKWP eczema in PIAMA [age 4, OR = 1.90 (1.14–3.18)] and borderline with questionnaire‐reported eczema in PIAMA [GEE, OR = 1.33 (0.98–1.81)]. Furthermore, IVS3‐116 was associated with questionnaire‐reported eczema in KOALA [age 1, OR = 1.44 (1.00–2.07)]. Pooled analysis of questionnaire‐reported eczema of both cohorts resulted in a significant association of IVS3‐116 with eczema [OR = 1.26 (1.01–1.58)]. Rs3822357 (A‐allele) associated with protection for eczema in PIAMA only [questionnaires, OR = 0.19 (0.06–0.63)].Conclusion:  PCDH1 gene variant IVS3‐116 associates with eczema in two independent birth cohorts. Combined with previous observations, this indicates a shared genetic susceptibility to BHR, asthma and eczema.
Pregnancy exposures and risk of childhood asthma admission in a population birth cohort
Authors: Algert Charles S. , Bowen Jennifer R. , Lain Samantha L. , Allen Hugh D. , Vivian‐Taylor Josephine M. , Roberts Christine L. 
Published: September 2011

To cite this article: Algert CS, Bowen JR, Lain SL, Allen HD, Vivian‐Taylor JM, Roberts CL. Pregnancy exposures and risk of childhood asthma admission in a population birth cohort. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2011: 22: 836–842.AbstractBackground:  There is increasing interest in the potential for in utero exposures to affect the risk of asthma. We used population data to explore the associations between perinatal conditions and the risk of hospital admission with asthma between the 2nd and 5th birthday.Methods:  The study population was 240,511 singleton infants born during 2001–2003. Birth records and longitudinally linked hospital admissions were used to identify asthma admissions and to model potential risk factors.Results:  A total of 7245 children (3.0%) had one or more childhood admissions with asthma. In utero infectious exposures associated with childhood asthma were maternal antenatal admission with a urinary tract infection (UTI) [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.49, 95% confidence interval (1.23–1.79)] and pre‐term pre‐labor rupture of membranes (PROM) [aOR = 1.23 (1.04–1.45)]. There was no evidence that gestational age at time of first antenatal UTI admission (<28, ≥28 wks) affected the risk of asthma (homogeneity test p = 0.6). Pre‐term birth was a risk factor for asthma admission, with the risk decreasing by 5.3% with each extra week of gestation. Autumn and winter conceptions were associated with an increased risk of childhood asthma admission: winter aOR = 1.15 (1.08–1.23), autumn aOR = 1.09 (1.02–1.16).Conclusions:  As in utero exposure to both UTI and PROM carry an increased risk of childhood asthma admission, this suggests that the immune system response generally is the relevant factor rather than a specific organism. The season‐associated risk is consistent with early pregnancy exposures such as the winter flu season or low vitamin D.
Histological predictors for renal prognosis in diabetic nephropathy in diabetes mellitus type 2 patients with overt proteinuria
Authors: OKADA TOMONARI , NAGAO TOSHITAKA , MATSUMOTO HIROSHI , NAGAOKA YUME , WADA TOSHIKAZU , NAKAO TOSHIYUKI 
Published: September 2011

ABSTRACT:Aim:  Although several clinical risk factors for end‐stage renal disease in diabetic nephropathy are known, the pathological findings that may help predict renal prognosis have not yet been defined.Methods:  We enrolled 69 diabetes mellitus type 2 patients with overt proteinuria and biopsy‐confirmed diabetic nephropathy with mesangial expansion, and retrospectively examined the association of histological and clinical findings with renal outcome. The median follow‐up duration was 52 months. Histological scoring was made according to that of Tervaert et al. Patients were divided into four groups according to glomerular classification (class 2a, mild mesangial expansion, n = 11; class 2b, severe mesangial expansion without nodular sclerosis, n = 15; class 3, nodular sclerosis, n = 36; class 4, global glomerulosclerosis observed in more than 50% of glomeruli, n = 7). Interstitial and vascular lesions were scored for each patient. A renal event was defined as a condition requiring the initiation of chronic dialysis or doubling of the serum creatinine level.Results:  Cox proportional hazard analysis showed that the glomerular classes were not significant variables, while interstitial fibrosis, tubular atrophy and interstitial inflammation were independent variables associated with renal end‐point (HR: 3.36 (95% confidence interval: 1.21–9.32), 4.74 (1.26–17.91)). There were no significant differences in the renal survival rates between the glomerular classes 2a and 2b combined group and the glomerular class 3 group (P = 0.17, log‐rank test).Conclusion:  Interstitial lesions but not glomerular lesions were a significant predictor for renal prognosis in diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetes patients with overt proteinuria.
Production of plant growth modulating volatiles is widespread among rhizosphere bacteria and strongly depends on culture conditions
Authors: Blom D. , Fabbri C. , Connor E. C. , Schiestl F. P. , Klauser D. R. , Boller T. , Eberl L. , Weisskopf L. 
Published: September 2011

SummaryRecent studies have suggested that bacterial volatiles play an important role in bacterial–plant interactions. However, few reports of bacterial species that produce plant growth modulating volatiles have been published, raising the question whether this is just an anecdotal phenomenon. To address this question, we performed a large screen of strains originating from the soil for volatile‐mediated effects on Arabidopsis thaliana. All of the 42 strains tested showed significant volatile‐mediated plant growth modulation, with effects ranging from plant death to a sixfold increase in plant biomass. The effects of bacterial volatiles were highly dependent on the cultivation medium and the inoculum quantity. GC‐MS analysis of the tested strains revealed over 130 bacterial volatile compounds. Indole, 1‐hexanol and pentadecane were selected for further studies because they appeared to promote plant growth. None of these compounds triggered a typical defence response, using production of ethylene and of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as read‐outs. However, when plants were challenged with the flg‐22 epitope of bacterial flagellin, a prototypical elicitor of defence responses, additional exposure to the volatiles reduced the flg‐22‐induced production of ethylene and ROS in a dose‐dependent manner, suggesting that bacterial volatiles may act as effectors to inhibit the plant's defence response.
Morphology of the cranial skeleton and musculature in the obligate carnivorous tadpole of Lepidobatrachus laevis (Anura: Ceratophryidae)
Authors: Ziermann Janine M. , Infante Carlos , Hanken James , Olsson Lennart 
Published: September 2011

AbstractZiermann, J.M., Infante, C., Hanken, J. and Olsson, L. 2011. Morphology of the cranial skeleton and musculature in the obligate carnivorous tadpole of Lepidobatrachus laevis (Anura: Ceratophryidae). —Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 00:1–12.Lepidobatrachus laevis (Ceratophryidae: Ceratophryinae) is a bizarre frog endemic to the Chacoan desert of central South America. Its tadpole is an obligate carnivore that can catch and consume live prey nearly its own size. Morphological adaptations associated with this unique feeding mode, including the larval skull anatomy and associated cranial musculature, have only been partly described. We studied the head of Stages 26–27 larvae using gross dissection, immunohistochemistry, and standard histology. Derived features of this tadpole compared to the microphagous, herbivorous larvae of most other anurans include simplified chondrocranial cartilages and very robust jaw muscles. The mm. suspensorio‐ et quadratoangularis do not take their origin from the processus muscularis of the palatoquadrate, as in most other tadpoles, but instead originate from the corpus of the palatoquadrate caudal to this process. The jaw levators are unusually large. The tadpole of Ceratophrys, another member of the ceratophryine clade, also consumes large animal prey, but its morphology is very different. It probably has evolved independently from a generalized, mainly herbivorous tadpole similar to the larva of Chacophrys, the third ceratophryine genus. Most specialized features of the larval head of Lepidobatrachus laevis are adaptations for ‘megalophagy’—ingestion of whole, very large animal prey.