bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Invasion success of alien plants: do habitat affinities in the native distribution range matter?
Authors: Hejda Martin , Pyšek Petr , Pergl Jan , Sádlo Jiří , Chytrý Milan , Jarošík Vojtěch 
Published: February 2009

ABSTRACTAim  To assess how habitat affinities in the native distribution range influence the invasion success of 282 central European neophytes (alien plants introduced after ad 1500).Location  Czech Republic.Methods  Classification trees were used to determine which native habitats donate the most alien species, the correspondence between habitats occupied by species in their native and invaded distribution ranges, and invasion success of species originating from different habitats.Results  The species most likely to naturalize in Central Europe are those associated with thermophile woodland fringes in their native range (81%), cultivated areas of gardens and parks (75%) and broad‐leaved deciduous woodlands (72%). The largest proportions of invasive species recruit from those that occur on riverine terraces and eroded slopes, or grow in both deciduous woodland and riverine scrub. When the relative role of habitats in the native range is assessed as a determinant of the probability that a species will become invasive in concert with other factors (the species’ residence time, life history, region of origin), the direct effect of habitat is negligible. However, the effect of native habitats on patterns of invasions observed in central Europe is manifested by large differences in the numbers of species they supply to the invaded region. More than 50 neophytes were recruited from each of the following habitats: dry grasslands, ruderal habitats, deciduous woodland, inland cliffs, rock pavements and outcrops, and tall‐herb fringes and meadows.Main conclusions  Casual species recruit from a wider range of habitats in their native range than they occupy in the invaded range; naturalized but not invasive species inhabit a comparable spectrum of habitats in both ranges, and successful invaders occupy a wider range of habitats in the invaded than in the native range. This supports the idea that the invasive phase of the process is associated with changes in biological features that allow for extension of the spectrum of habitats invaded.
An investigation of the effectiveness of ready‐to‐eat breakfast cereals in weight loss: comparison between single and mixed varieties
Authors: Lightowler H. J. , Henry C. J. K. 
Published: February 2009

SummaryThe present study investigated the effectiveness of ready‐to‐eat cereals eaten daily for breakfast for six weeks and as a substitute for lunch for two of these six weeks in achieving weight loss. Forty‐one overweight and obese subjects (body mass index 25–35 kg/m2) were randomised to either a single cereal (SC) or a variety cereal (VC) group. All subjects consumed their allocated cereal(s) for breakfast and lunch for two weeks followed by ad libitum intake for the rest of the day. For weeks 3–6, subjects continued with their allocated cereal(s) for breakfast only and ate ad libitum for lunch and dinner. Mean weight loss at weeks two and six was −1.1 kg and −1.4 kg, respectively. At the end of week two, 85% of subjects had lost weight, and at the end of the study period (week six), 73% of subjects had achieved weight loss. Greater weight loss was observed in the VC compared with the SC group at weeks two and six. Ready‐to‐eat cereals eaten daily for breakfast for six weeks and used as a substitute for lunch for the first two weeks resulted in significant weight loss at week two that was sustained at week six. This study has shown that ready‐to‐eat breakfast cereals eaten daily for breakfast and used as a meal substitute, in particular the provision of a variety of cereals, are an effective method of achieving weight loss.
Saturated fatty acid consumption: outlining the scale of the problem and assessing the solutions
Authors: Mason P. , Porter S. C. , Berry S. E. , Stillman P. , Steele C. , Kirby A. , Griffin B. A. , Minihane A. M. 
Published: February 2009

SummaryThe proportion of energy from saturated fatty acids (SFA) has fallen markedly over the past 20 years and now accounts for 13% of dietary energy. However, values still remain above the recommended 11% target. An elevated SFA intake is associated with raised plasma total and low density lipoprotein (LDL)‐cholesterol and increased risk of coronary heart disease. Replacing SFA with cis‐unsaturated fatty acids results in a favourable change in total/high density lipoprotein‐cholesterol but there is no significant change when SFA are replaced by carbohydrate. In order to achieve the target intake in the UK, the Food Standards Agency has launched its ‘saturated fat and energy campaign’. Lessons from other countries demonstrate the effectiveness of similar campaigns in improving their nation's health. The food industry is identified as playing a key role in achieving a population SFA reduction by the reformulation of products and relabelling of foods to provide and guide individuals towards healthier choices. This review outlines the current intakes and main dietary sources of SFA in the UK. It highlights the health implications of a SFA‐rich diet and identifies what strategies can be implemented to reduce average population SFA intakes.
Identification of a rice Actin2 gene regulatory region for high‐level expression of transgenes in monocots‡
Authors: He Chengkun , Lin Zhihong , McElroy David , Wu Ray 
Published: February 2009

SummaryWe have isolated and characterized the 5′ region of the rice actin2 gene (OsAct2), which contains 793 bp of sequence upstream of the OsAct2 transcription initiation site, 58 bp of the first non‐coding exon, 1736 bp of the 5′ intron and the first 8 bp (non‐coding sequence) of the second exon. It was found that the 5′ region of OsAct2 is an efficient gene regulatory region for driving the constitutive expression of foreign genes in transgenic rice. In situ histochemical results indicated that OsAct2::GUS (GUS, β‐glucuronidase) gene expression in transgenic rice plants is high in sporophytic and gametophytic tissues. It was demonstrated that a 2.6‐kb upstream sequence of the OsAct2 translation initiation codon contains all of the 5′ regulatory elements necessary for high‐level gus expression in transgenic rice tissues. OsAct2 promoter activity was significantly enhanced by the deletion of a 1590‐bp segment from the central region of the first intron. The +96 to +274 region of the intron negatively regulates gus expression in leaves. To identify regulatory elements within the OsAct2 promoter, nested truncations of the promoter region were made and fused to gus. The results showed that the region from –1 to –376 was sufficient for promoter activity. In addition, two OsAct2‐based expression vectors for use in monocot transformation were developed to promote the high‐level expression of foreign genes.
Brainstem transcription of speech is disrupted in children with autism spectrum disorders
Authors: Russo Nicole , Nicol Trent , Trommer Barbara , Zecker Steve , Kraus Nina 
Published: February 2009

Abstract Language impairment is a hallmark of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The origin of the deficit is poorly understood although deficiencies in auditory processing have been detected in both perception and cortical encoding of speech sounds. Little is known about the processing and transcription of speech sounds at earlier (brainstem) levels or about how background noise may impact this transcription process. Unlike cortical encoding of sounds, brainstem representation preserves stimulus features with a degree of fidelity that enables a direct link between acoustic components of the speech syllable (e.g. onsets) to specific aspects of neural encoding (e.g. waves V and A). We measured brainstem responses to the syllable /da/, in quiet and background noise, in children with and without ASD. Children with ASD exhibited deficits in both the neural synchrony (timing) and phase locking (frequency encoding) of speech sounds, despite normal click‐evoked brainstem responses. They also exhibited reduced magnitude and fidelity of speech‐evoked responses and inordinate degradation of responses by background noise in comparison to typically developing controls. Neural synchrony in noise was significantly related to measures of core and receptive language ability. These data support the idea that abnormalities in the brainstem processing of speech contribute to the language impairment in ASD. Because it is both passively elicited and malleable, the speech‐evoked brainstem response may serve as a clinical tool to assess auditory processing as well as the effects of auditory training in the ASD population.
Face processing at birth: a Thatcher illusion study
Authors: Leo Irene , Simion Francesca 
Published: February 2009

Abstract The present study was aimed at exploring newborns’ ability to recognize configural changes within real face images by testing newborns’ sensitivity to the Thatcher illusion. Using the habituation procedure, newborns’ ability to discriminate between an unaltered face image and the same face with the eyes and the mouth 180° rotated (i.e. thatcherized) was investigated. Newborns were able to discriminate an unaltered from the thatcherized version of the same face when stimuli were presented in the canonical upright orientation (Experiment 1), but failed to discriminate the same stimuli when they were presented upside‐down (Experiment 2). The results indicate that sensitivity to fine spatial information (defined as second‐order relational information) in processing upright faces is already present at birth.
Choosing your informant: weighing familiarity and recent accuracy
Authors: Corriveau Kathleen , Harris Paul L. 
Published: February 2009

Abstract In two experiments, children aged 3, 4 and 5 years (N= 61) were given conflicting information about the names and functions of novel objects by two informants, one a familiar teacher, the other an unfamiliar teacher. On pre‐test trials, all three age groups invested more trust in the familiar teacher. They preferred to ask for information and to endorse the information that she supplied. In a subsequent phase, children watched as the two teachers differed in the accuracy with which they named a set of familiar objects. Half the children saw the familiar teacher name the objects accurately and the unfamiliar teacher name them inaccurately. The remaining half saw the reverse arrangement. In post‐test trials, the selective trust initially displayed by 3‐year‐olds was minimally affected by this intervening experience of differential accuracy. By contrast, the selective trust of 4‐ and 5‐year‐olds was affected. If the familiar teacher had been the more accurate, selective trust in her was intensified. If, on the other hand, the familiar teacher had been the less accurate, it was undermined, particularly among 5‐year‐olds. Thus, by 4 years of age, children trust familiar informants but moderate that trust depending on the informants’ recent history of accuracy or inaccuracy.
A competitive nonverbal false belief task for children and apes
Authors: Krachun Carla , Carpenter Malinda , Call Josep , Tomasello Michael 
Published: February 2009

AbstractA nonverbal false belief task was administered to children (mean age 5 years) and two great ape species: chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus). Because apes typically perform poorly in cooperative contexts, our task was competitive. Two versions were run: in both, a human competitor witnessed an experimenter hide a reward in one of two containers. When the competitor then left the room (version A) or turned around (version B), the experimenter switched the locations of the containers. The competitor returned and reached with effort, but unsuccessfully, towards the incorrect container. Children displayed an understanding of the competitor's false belief by correctly choosing theothercontainer to find the reward. Apes did not. However, in version A (but not version B), apes looked more often at the unchosen container in false belief trials than in true belief control trials, possibly indicating some implicit or uncertain understanding that needs to be investigated further.
Slow echo: facial EMG evidence for the delay of spontaneous, but not voluntary, emotional mimicry in children with autism spectrum disorders
Authors: Oberman Lindsay M. , Winkielman Piotr , Ramachandran Vilayanur S. 
Published: February 2009

Abstract Spontaneous mimicry, including that of emotional facial expressions, is important for socio‐emotional skills such as empathy and communication. Those skills are often impacted in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Successful mimicry requires not only the activation of the response, but also its appropriate speed. Yet, previous studies examined ASD differences in only response magnitude. The current study investigated timing and magnitude of spontaneous and voluntary mimicry in ASD children and matched controls using facial electromyography (EMG). First, participants viewed and recognized happy, sad, fear, anger, disgust and neutral expressions presented at different durations. Later, participants voluntarily mimicked the expressions. There were no group differences on emotion recognition and amplitude of expression‐appropriate EMG activity. However, ASD participants’ spontaneous, but not voluntary, mimicry activity was delayed by about 160 ms. This delay occurred across different expressions and presentation durations. We relate these findings to the literature on mirroring and temporal dynamics of social interaction.
Consumption of sugars and body weight
Authors: Van Baak M. A. , Astrup A. 
Published: February 2009

SummaryThe role of dietary sugars in the current obesity epidemic is much debated and opposing views can be found in the lay as well as scientific literature. Here we have reviewed the recent scientific literature on consumption of sugars and body weight. Main focus was on three questions: (i) What is the evidence that intake of dietary sugars is associated with higher body weight than intake of non‐sugar carbohydrates? (ii) What is the evidence that sugars in liquid form are associated with higher body weight than sugars in solid form? (iii) What is the evidence that diets with a low glycaemic index (GI) or glycaemic load (GL) are associated with lower body weight than diets high in GI or GL? We conclude that (i) there is insufficient evidence that an exchange of sugar for non‐sugar carbohydrates in the context of a reduced‐fat ad libitum diet or energy‐restricted diet results in lower body weights; (ii) observational studies suggest a possible relationship between consumption of sugar‐sweetened beverages and body weight, but there is currently insufficient supporting evidence from randomized controlled trials of sufficient size and duration; (iii) at this moment there is insufficient evidence to support a difference between liquid and solid sugar intake in body‐weight control and (iv) there is some, although not consistent, evidence for a lower body weight on diets with a lower GL, but the effect is likely to be small. There is currently no convincing evidence for a role of GI independent of GL.
Diabetes, insulin resistance and sugars
Authors: Laville M. , Nazare J.‐A. 
Published: February 2009

SummaryInsulin resistance is associated with type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease and the dietary factors involved in these metabolic disorders are still misunderstood. In animal studies, sugars, particularly sucrose and fructose, have been shown to decrease insulin sensitivity, with potential association with an induced hypertriglyceridemia. But in humans, the effects of sugars on insulin sensitivity are still debated.The present work first gives an overview of the metabolic pathways that could be implicated in the development of insulin resistance by sugars. Then, a review of the studies (intervention, prospective and cross‐sectional) on the relationship between sugars, insulin resistance and diabetes is made in order to determine the level of proof concerning the association of sugars consumption and diabetes.All these studies failed to demonstrate an obvious relationship between the intake of total simple carbohydrates and glycaemic control or risk to develop a type 2 diabetes and particularly specific evidence is missing in terms of sucrose effect on diabetes.Concerning fructose, there are still discrepancies between studies' conclusions about the long‐term deleterious effect on diabetes development. But its effect on lipogenesis and triglyceridemia has to be taken into account, considering the growing use of fructose in food industry and sugar‐sweetened drinks.
Added sugars and micronutrient dilution
Authors: Livingstone M. B. E. , Rennie K. L. 
Published: February 2009

SummaryThere is increasing concern that high intakes of added sugars promote micronutrient dilution. However, the overall conclusion to emerge from the existing evidence base is that associations between reported intakes of added sugars and intakes of micronutrients are inconsistent and often non‐linear, both across and within age groups, and between the genders. If a nutrient displacement effect does exist, a high consumption of added sugar does not necessarily compromise overall micronutrient intakes and similarly, consuming less added sugar is no guarantee that micronutrient intakes will be optimized. Clarification of this issue has been beset by methodological and conceptual difficulties. The observed associations between added sugars and micronutrient intake have been heavily contingent on both the definition of sugars chosen and the analytical approach used for adjusting for differences in reported energy intake. These issues have been further compounded by mis‐reporting of food intake of unknown direction and magnitude and the cut‐offs used to determine ‘inadequate’ micronutrient intakes which vary over time and between studies and countries. In the absence compelling evidence that micronutrient intakes are compromised by a high consumption of added sugars, it may now be appropriate to question the legitimacy of the nutrient dilution hypothesis as it is highly likely that it is oversimplifying more subtle and complex dietary issues. Recommendations for further research are made to help bring resolution to these issues.
Working Time Mismatch and Subjective Well‐being
Authors: Wooden Mark , Warren Diana , Drago Robert 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThis study uses nationally representative panel survey data for Australia to identify the role played by mismatches between hours actually worked and working time preferences in contributing to reported levels of job and life satisfaction. Three main conclusions emerge. First, it is not the number of hours worked that matters for subjective well‐being, but working time mismatch. Second, overemployment is a more serious problem than is underemployment. Third, while the magnitude of the impact of overemployment may seem small in absolute terms, relative to other variables, such as disability, the effect is quite large.
Why has Irish Social Partnership Survived?
Authors: Teague Paul , Donaghey Jimmy 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThe present system of social partnership in Ireland is in its twentieth year. A range of explanations have been put forward to explain why social partnership has been so durable even though it does not possess the institutional endowments often considered necessary to sustain tripartite industrial relations arrangements. Although these accounts are considered to have merits, this article suggests that they also suffer from a range of weaknesses. The article suggests that the longevity of the social partnership regime is a result of it being part of an unorthodox system of institutional complementarities that triggered a spectacular period of economic and employment growth.
Accompaniment, Workplace Representation and Disciplinary Outcomes in British Workplaces — Just a Formality?
Authors: Antcliff Valerie , Saundry Richard 
Published: February 2009

AbstractThe Workplace Employment Relations Survey 2004 provides data that, for the first time, measure the extent to which workforce representation is part and parcel of grievance and disciplinary processes in British workplaces. This article explores the impact of the introduction of the statutory right to accompaniment at grievance and disciplinary hearings on rates of disciplinary sanctions, dismissals and employment tribunal applications. It concludes that there is little evidence to suggest that either the right to accompaniment or the operation of formal grievance and disciplinary procedures moderates disciplinary outcomes. Instead, it argues that trade union and employee representatives may be influential in facilitating the resolution of workplace disputes.
Likelihood Estimation for a Longitudinal Negative Binomial Regression Model with Missing Outcomes
Authors: Bond Simon J. , Farewell Vernon T. 
Published: February 2009

SummaryJoint damage in psoriatic arthritis can be measured by clinical and radiological methods, the former being done more frequently during longitudinal follow-up of patients. Motivated by the need to compare findings based on the different methods with different observation patterns, we consider longitudinal data where the outcome variable is a cumulative total of counts that can be unobserved when other, informative, explanatory variables are recorded. We demonstrate how to calculate the likelihood for such data when it is assumed that the increment in the cumulative total follows a discrete distribution with a location parameter that depends on a linear function of explanatory variables. An approach to the incorporation of informative observation is suggested. We present analyses based on an observational database from a psoriatic arthritis clinic. Although the use of the new statistical methodology has relatively little effect in this example, simulation studies indicate that the method can provide substantial improvements in bias and coverage in some situations where there is an important time varying explanatory variable.
Using Bayesian Inference to Understand the Allocation of Resources Between Sexual and Asexual Reproduction
Authors: Metcalf C. Jessica E. , Stephens David A. , Rees Mark , Louda Svata M. , Keeler Kathleen H. 
Published: February 2009

Summary
We address the problem of Markov chain Monte Carlo analysis of a complex ecological system by using a Bayesian inferential approach. We describe a complete likelihood framework for the life history of the wavyleaf thistle, including missing information and density dependence. We indicate how, to make inference on life history transitions involving both missing information and density dependence, the stochastic models underlying each component can be combined with each other and with priors to obtain expressions that can be directly sampled. This innovation and the principles described could be extended to other species featuring such missing stage information, with potential for improving inference relating to a range of ecological or evolutionary questions.