bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Access to a Simulator is Not Enough: The Benefits of Virtual Reality Training Based on Peer‐Group‐Derived Benchmarks—A Randomized Controlled Trial
Authors: von Websky Martin W. , Raptis Dimitri A. , Vitz Martina , Rosenthal Rachel , Clavien P. A. , Hahnloser Dieter
Published: August 2013

Background

Virtual reality (VR) simulators are widely used to familiarize surgical novices with laparoscopy, but VR training methods differ in efficacy. In the present trial, self‐controlled basic VR training (SC‐training) was tested against training based on peer‐group‐derived benchmarks (PGD‐training).

Methods

First, novice laparoscopic residents were randomized into a SC group (n = 34), and a group using PGD‐benchmarks (n = 34) for basic laparoscopic training. After completing basic training, both groups performed 60 VR laparoscopic cholecystectomies for performance analysis. Primary endpoints were simulator metrics; secondary endpoints were program adherence, trainee motivation, and training efficacy.

Results

Altogether, 66 residents completed basic training, and 3,837 of 3,960 (96.8 %) cholecystectomies were available for analysis. Course adherence was good, with only two dropouts, both in the SC‐group. The PGD‐group spent more time and repetitions in basic training until the benchmarks were reached and subsequently showed better performance in the readout cholecystectomies: Median time (gallbladder extraction) showed significant differences of 520 s (IQR 354–738 s) in SC‐training versus 390 s (IQR 278–536 s) in the PGD‐group (p < 0.001) and 215 s (IQR 175–276 s) in experts, respectively. Path length of the right instrument also showed significant differences, again with the PGD‐training group being more efficient.

Conclusions

Basic VR laparoscopic training based on PGD benchmarks with external assessment is superior to SC training, resulting in higher trainee motivation and better performance in simulated laparoscopic cholecystectomies. We recommend such a basic course based on PGD benchmarks before advancing to more elaborate VR training.
Completely Removing Solitary Intraductal Papillomas Using the Mammotome System Guided by Ultrasonography Is Feasible and Safe
Authors: Yi Wenjun , Xu Feng , Zou Qiongyan , Tang Zhonghua
Published: August 2013

Background

Because of the potential for an intraductal papilloma to progress to malignancy and the likelihood of detecting unexpected coexisting malignant disease, complete removal of the intraductal papilloma is safer than merely sampling it. The purpose of this study was to estimate the feasibility and safety of excising a solitary intraductal papilloma using the Mammotome system guided by ultrasonography (US).

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed the clinical information of 136 patients who underwent excision of solitary intraductal papillomas using the 8‐gauge probe with the US‐guided Mammotome system between December 2005 and December 2011 at our institution. Their lesions had been suspected preoperatively or were occasionally diagnosed postoperatively.

Results

There were no local recurrences during the follow‐up period. Of the patients who showed atypia and underwent re‐excision, only 2 (6.1 %) had local ductal atypia. The patients with atypia were significantly older than the patients without atypia (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Using the US‐guided 8‐gauge probe Mammotome system to completely remove a solitary intraductal papilloma is feasible and safe. Close follow‐up may be considered for those whose lesions exhibit atypia.
Seating
Authors: Strobl Walter Michael
Published: August 2013

Introduction

Patients with neuromuscular disorders are not able to adapt their sitting posture continuously. Seating devices, like seating orthoses, braces, seating shells, and custom-made cushions for wheelchairs, however may improve their quality of life by stabilizing their pelvis and trunk. Sitting should be regarded as a dynamic process regulated by motor reactions of trunk and pelvic muscles due to endogenic and exogenic influences.

Methods

Prerequisites for the indication of high-quality and cost effective seating devices are guidelines for planning and fitting which consider both pathomorphologic mechanisms and the patient's personality. In order to avoid functional problems and pain caused by an insufficient seating device it is necessary to pay attention to the exact indication, time, and combination of technical options. Planning within a seating clinic needs teamwork. Primarily the goal of treatment is defined; it depends on the functional deficit, on the daily living activities of the patient, and on the social environmental factors. Secondly, fitting of the devices follows defined treatment guidelines.

Conclusion

By examination of the sensor and musculoskeletal system, it is possible to classify the patient's sitting or seating ability for simplifying indication: three groups of ACTIVE sitters who are able to change position of trunk and pelvis actively are differentiated from three groups of PASSIVE sitters who have to be seated.
Studies with the Plasmodium falciparum hexokinase reveal that PfHT limits the rate of glucose entry into glycolysis
Authors: Tjhin Erick T. , Staines Henry M. , van Schalkwyk Donelly A. , Krishna Sanjeev , Saliba Kevin J.
Published: August 2013

To characterise plasmodial glycolysis, we generated two transgenic Plasmodium falciparum lines, one expressing P. falciparum hexokinase (PfHK) tagged with GFP (3D7‐PfHKGFP) and another overexpressing native PfHK (3D7‐PfHK+). Contrary to previous reports, we propose that PfHK is cytosolic. The glucose analogue, 2‐deoxy‐d‐glucose (2‐DG) was nearly 2‐fold less toxic to 3D7‐PfHK+ compared with control parasites, supporting PfHK as a potential drug target. Although PfHK activity was higher in 3D7‐PfHK+, they accumulated phospho‐[14C]2‐DG at the same rate as control parasites. Transgenic parasites overexpressing the parasite's glucose transporter (PfHT) accumulated phospho‐[14C]2‐DG at a higher rate, consistent with glucose transport limiting glucose entry into glycolysis.
Inhibition effect of enteropeptidase on RANKL–RANK signalling by cleavage of RANK
Authors: Zhao Yunfeng , Jin Mengmeng , Ma Juan , Zhang Shiqian , Li Wei , Chen Yuan , Zhou Yingsheng , Tao Hong , Liu Yu , Wang Lei , Han Huamin , Niu Ge , Tao Hua , Liu Changzhen , Gao Bin
Published: August 2013

EP cleaves
mRANK
by cleavage assay (View interaction)
Excision of 8‐oxoguanine from methylated CpG dinucleotides by human 8‐oxoguanine DNA glycosylase
Authors: Kasymov Rustem D. , Grin Inga R. , Endutkin Anton V. , Smirnov Serge L. , Ishchenko Alexander A. , Saparbaev Murat K. , Zharkov Dmitry O.
Published: August 2013

CpG dinucleotides are targets for epigenetic methylation, many of them bearing 5‐methylcytosine (mCyt) in the human genome. Guanine in this context can be easily oxidized to 8‐oxoguanine (oxoGua), which is repaired by 8‐oxoguanine‐DNA glycosylase (OGG1). We have studied how methylation affects the efficiency of oxoGua excision from damaged CpG dinucleotides. Methylation of the adjacent cytosine moderately decreased the oxoGua excision rate while methylation opposite oxoGua lowered the rate of product release. Cytosine methylation abolished stimulation of OGG1 by repair endonuclease APEX1. The OGG1 S326C polymorphic variant associated with lung cancer showed poorer base excision and lost sensitivity to the opposite‐base methylation. The overall repair in the system reconstituted from purified proteins decreased for CpG with mCyt in the damaged strand.
Downregulation of miR‐16 promotes growth and motility by targeting HDGF in non‐small cell lung cancer cells
Authors: Ke Yang , Zhao Weiyong , Xiong Jie , Cao Rubo
Published: August 2013

MicroRNAs play important roles in the development and progression of non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). miR‐16 functions as a tumor‐suppressor and is inhibited in several malignancies. Herein, we validated that miR‐16 is downregulated in NSCLC tissue samples and cell lines. Ectopic expression of miR‐16 significantly inhibited cell proliferation and colony formation. Moreover, miR‐16 suppressed cell migration and invasion in NSCLC cells. Hepatoma‐derived growth factor (HDGF) was found to be a direct target of miR‐16 in NSCLC cell lines. Rescue experiments showed that the suppressive effect of miR‐16 on cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion is partially mediated by inhibiting HDGF expression. This study indicates that miR‐16 might be associated with NSCLC progression, and suggests an essential role for miR‐16 in NSCLC.
Acne severity and the Global Acne Grading System in polycystic ovary syndrome
Authors: Hacivelioglu Servet , Gungor Ayse Nur Cakir , Gencer Meryem , Uysal Ahmet , Hizli Deniz , Koc Evrim , Cosar Emine
Published: August 2013

Objective

To evaluate the association between acne, quantified by the Global Acne Grading System (GAGS), and abnormal clinical and laboratory markers of androgen excess in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Methods

The retrospective study included 133 patients with PCOS. Acne severity was quantified with the GAGS score, alopecia was graded with the Ludwig classification, and hirsutism was quantified with a modified Ferriman–Gallwey (FG) score.

Results

The mean GAGS score was significantly greater in younger women, those with a lower BMI, and those with a higher FG score. There was no relation between the mean GAGS score and waist circumference, waist/hip ratio, androgen hormone levels (free testosterone, total testosterone, or dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate), sex‐hormone‐binding globulin level, or menstrual irregularity. Alopecia was significantly associated with an increased waist/hip ratio; there was no relation between alopecia and age, waist circumference, body mass index, FG score, androgen hormone levels, or menstrual irregularity. A weak positive correlation was observed between the GAGS and FG scores.

Conclusion

The GAGS may provide more precise and comprehensive information about acne severity in obese or hirsute patients with PCOS because this grading system includes evaluation of the type (comedones, papules, pustules, nodules) and location (anatomic area) of acne lesions.
Quantitative proteomics analysis of varicose veins: Identification of a set of differentially expressed proteins related to ATP generation and utilization
Authors: Kuo Chao‐Jen , Liang Shih‐Shin , Hsi Edward , Chiou Shyh‐Horng , Lin Sin‐Daw
Published: August 2013

Although morphological and anatomical studies indicate that varicose veins are characterized by venous wall weakening and subendothelial fibrosis, the exact underlying biochemical mechanism of their development remains unknown. Additionally, no quantitative proteomic study of venous proteins leading to decreased contractility of varicose veins has been reported to date. Therefore, to elucidate the molecular mechanism of altered vascular contractility, this study performed shotgun proteomic analysis to obtain protein expression profiles in patients with varicose veins. Stable isotope dimethyl labeling coupled with nanoLC‐MS/MS revealed downregulation in 12 polypeptides, including myosin light chain kinase, creatine kinase B‐type, ATP synthase, phosphoglycerate kinase, and pyruvate kinase. However, analyses of protein species associated with cytoskeletal assembly or with cellular morphology showed no clear up‐ or down‐regulation. These results indicate that defects in ATP generation and utilization may account for the dysfunction of vascular smooth muscle following formation of varicose veins. Collectively, the severity of varicose veins depends on the regulatory roles of various protein factors in the metabolic coordination of physiological functions. This pilot study improves understanding of the pathogenesis of varicose veins and lays the foundation for further validation and clinical translation of biomarkers for targeted therapies in treating this disease.
EBV‐encoded small RNA1 and nonresolving inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis
Authors: Chiu Wen‐Chan , Chen Ching‐Mei , Cheng Tien‐Tsai , You Huey‐Ling , Yu Shan‐Fu , Weng Lin‐Hsiu , Huang Hsuan‐Ying , Huang Chao‐Cheng , Chen Chung‐Jen
Published: August 2013

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by perpetuated inflammation in multiple joints. To date, there is no cure for RA, and the causal factor for non‐resolving inflammation in RA remains unclear. In this study, we initially observed expression of Epstein–Barr virus‐encoded small RNA1 (EBER1) in the synovial tissue of all five patients who showed nonresolving RA inflammation. By contrast, EBER1 was detected in the synovial tissue of only one out of seven patients with advanced osteoarthritis (OA; p < 0.01, Fisher's exact test). To confirm this finding, we conducted a second study on synovial tissue samples taken from 23 patients with nonresolving RA inflammation and 13 patients with OA. All synovial samples from patients with nonresolving inflammation of RA showed positive expression of EBER1 (23/23, 100%), whereas none of the synovial samples from patients with OA showed expression of EBER1 (0/13, 0%; p < 0.001, by Fisher's exact test). In vitro, transfection of RA synovial fibroblasts with EBER1 induced the production of interleukin‐6. Taken together, these data strongly suggest that nonresolving RA inflammation is strongly related to the presence of EBER1, which might be, at least partially, responsible for synovial fibroblast interleukin‐6 production.
Oxygen uptake response to cycle ergometry in post‐acute stroke patients with different severity of hemiparesis
Authors: Chen Chun‐Kai , Weng Ming‐Cheng , Chen Tien‐Wen , Huang Mao‐Hsiung
Published: August 2013

This study evaluated the impact of severity of hemiparesis on oxygen uptake response in post‐acute stroke patients. Sixty‐four patients with a mean poststroke interval of 8.6 ± 3.8 days underwent a ramp cardiopulmonary exercise test on a cycling ergometer to volitional termination. Mean peak and work efficiency were measured by open‐circuit spirometry during standard upright ergometer cycling. Severity of the hemiparetic lower limb was assessed by Brunnstrom's motor recovery stages lower extremity (BMRSL). was 10% lower in hemiparetic leg with BMRSL V than in that with BMRSL VI, 20% lower in BMRSL IV, and 50% lower in BMRSL III. was higher for the group with increased BMRSL. The relations were consistent after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, stroke type, hemiparetic side, modified Ashworth Scale, time poststroke, comorbidities, and medications. Our findings revealed that O2peak is dependent on the severity of hemiparesis in leg, and along with ΔO2/ΔWR closely related to the severity of hemiparesis in post‐acute stroke patients, regardless of the types and locations of lesion after stroke, as well as the differences in comorbidities and medications.
Contradictions in Creating a Jihadi Capital: Sokoto in the Nineteenth Century and Its Legacy
Authors: Last Murray
Published: August 2013

The Sokoto caliphate in nineteenth-century northern Nigeria was an astonishing episode in the history of Africa: a huge, prosperous polity that created unity where none had existed before. Yet today its history is underexplored, sometimes ignored or even disparaged, both within Nigeria and in Europe and the U.S. Yet that history is extraordinary. Sokoto town was, and still is, an anomaly within Hausaland; built speedily on a “green-field” site as both a trading and a political center for the caliphate, it is a site of pilgrimage that to this day remains a rural town with no monumental buildings or fine edifices. As a by-product of a religious movement (jihad), Sokoto thus represents many of the dilemmas that faced and still face radically reforming Islamic groups if they expand rapidly and go to war. Thus Sokoto history remains deeply significant for modern Nigeria.
A Macro-Level Analysis of the Scope, Causes, and Consequences of Homophobia in Africa
Authors: Ireland Patrick R.
Published: August 2013

Although Africa has gained a reputation as one of the world’s most homophobic areas, there are cross-national differences in the extent and intensity of antigay laws. This article assesses the factors that have been advanced in the literature —albeit unsystematically and often mostly implicitly—to explain the observed patterns of homophobia: conservative religious beliefs, delayed political and economic development and resistance to globalization, political leadership strategies, and the legacy of colonialism. It argues that a more robust analysis suggests that a British colonial past, a large Muslim population, and the absence of economic freedom and openness explain at least one-third of the variance in sodomy laws. This finding has implications for efforts to fight African homophobia.
The Origins of Senegalese Homophobia: Discourses on Homosexuals and Transgender People in Colonial and Postcolonial Senegal
Authors: M’Baye Babacar
Published: August 2013

This article traces the history of homosexual and transgender behavior in Senegal from colonial times to the contemporary period in order to demonstrate the flimsiness of the claims, made by many political and religious leaders and scholars, that homosexuality is “un-African.” Such claims, which appear as reactions to neocolonialism and Western intervention in African affairs, usually are homophobic discourses that invoke patriotism, cultural difference, and morality in order to justify the subjugation of homosexual and gender nonconforming individuals (goor-jiggens) living in Senegal. In an attempt to understand the roots of Senegalese homophobia, the article analyzes several depictions of homosexuals and transgender people in contemporary Senegal and traces them to similar representations in European writings of the colonial period. As this approach reveals, homosexuals and transgender people in Senegal, from colonial times to the present, have been constructed as scapegoats, first of the French mission civilisatrice (civilizing mission) and then of Senegalese political and Islamic backlashes. Although they have always cohabited with the rest of the society, homosexuals and transgender people in Senegal have been treated largely as strangers in their own land. By analyzing the discourses of both French colonials and Senegalese, one finds a persistent binary opposing the West and Africa and denigrating sexual and gender variances and subcultures in Senegal as pathological European imports.
Remembering Work on the Tazara Railway in Africa and China, 1965–2011: When “New Men” Grow Old
Authors: Monson Jamie
Published: August 2013

In China, Tanzania, and Zambia, state officials participate in an ongoing articulation of official memory of the TAZARA railway project of the 1970s. In high-level diplomatic relations, the TAZARA project and its construction workers are continually held up as a foundational legacy for China–African development cooperation and friendship. However, the now-retired workers who built the railway tell very different kinds of stories about their experiences. In the context of recent economic liberalization policies, retired TAZARA workers draw on individual and collective memories of railway building to achieve both recognition and material security in a world in which they feel forgotten. They seek resolution of their grievances in old age through the telling and retelling of narratives of their youth. By doing so, they claim their own right to remember in the face of ongoing official efforts to reinvent heroic pasts.
Implications of the 2012 U.S. Election for U.S. Policy in Africa’s Great Lakes Region
Authors: Nzongola-Ntalaja Georges
Published: August 2013

While Africans are generally satisfied that a person of African descent was reelected to the White House following a campaign in which vicious and racist attacks were made against him, the U.S. Africa policy under President Barack Obama will continue to be guided by the strategic interests of the United States, which are not necessarily compatible with the popular aspirations for democracy, peace, and prosperity in Africa. Obama’s policy in the Great Lakes region provides an excellent illustration of this point. Since Rwanda and Uganda are Washington’s allies in the “war against terror” in Darfur and Somalia, respectively, the Obama administration has done little to stop Kigali and Kampala from destabilizing the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and looting its natural resources, either directly or through proxies. Rwanda and Uganda have even been included in an international oversight mechanism that is supposed to guide governance and security sector reforms in the DRC, but whose real objective is to facilitate Western access to the enormous natural wealth of the Congo and the Great Lakes region.
Chinese Devils, the Global Market, and the Declining Power of Togo’s Nana-Benzes
Authors: Sylvanus Nina
Published: August 2013

This article examines the shifting representations of and discourses produced about Chinese salesmen and their collaborators in the small West African nation of Togo. It suggests that in this context representations of China’s so-called New Scramble for Africa are troublesome, namely because they tend to silence the role of Togolese women traders as producers and as central historical and economic subjects in the making of a postcolonial commodity chain for printed African textiles. In so doing the article questions standard economic theories of global market forces, debunks stereotypes regarding the Chinese advance in West African markets, and challenges assumptions about the vulnerability of African societies.
Ghana, China, and the Politics of Energy
Authors: Rupp Stephanie
Published: August 2013

Since the discovery of the Jubilee oil field in the Gulf of Guinea in 2007, Ghana has emerged as an oil-rich nation and emerging exporter of high-quality crude oil. Simultaneously the energy supplies available to Ghanaian citizens in everyday life have become increasingly unreliable, marked by persistent rolling blackouts. This article seeks to understand the complex relationship that has developed between Ghana and China, to illuminate Ghanaian perspectives on their energy needs, and to investigate how energy has become entangled in national politics and bilateral relations between Ghana and China.
Hierarchies of chaotic maps on continua
Authors: HOEHN LOGAN , MOURON CHRISTOPHER
Published: August 2013

Let $f: X\longrightarrow X$ be a map of a continuum. In this paper we examine the following dynamical conditions on $f$: (1) $f$ is continuum-wise fully expansive; (2) $f$ is weakly continuum-wise fully expansive; (3) $f$ is mixing; (4) $f$ is weakly mixing. We first show that (1) implies (2), (2) implies (3) and (3) implies (4). Then we investigate what topological conditions will force the reverse implications to hold and give examples of when the reverse conditions do not hold. In particular, a map of the universal dendrite is given that is weakly mixing but not mixing.
Sharp large deviations for some hyperbolic systems
Authors: PETKOV VESSELIN , STOYANOV LUCHEZAR
Published: August 2013

We prove a sharp large deviation principle concerning intervals shrinking with sub-exponential speed for certain models involving the Poincaré map related to a Markov family for an Axiom A flow restricted to a basic set $\Lambda $ satisfying some additional regularity assumptions.
Subword complexity and Sturmian colorings of regular trees
Authors: KIM DONG HAN , LIM SEONHEE
Published: August 2013

In this article, we discuss subword complexity of colorings of regular trees. We characterize colorings of bounded subword complexity and study Sturmian colorings, which are colorings of minimal unbounded subword complexity. We classify Sturmian colorings using their type sets. We show that any Sturmian coloring is a lifting of a coloring on a quotient graph of the tree which is a geodesic or a ray, with loops possibly attached, thus a lifting of an ‘infinite word’. We further give a complete characterization of the quotient graph for eventually periodic colorings.
Using African Names to Identify the Origins of Captives in the Transatlantic Slave Trade: Crowd-Sourcing and the Registers of Liberated Africans, 1808–1862
Authors: Anderson Richard , Borucki Alex , Domingues da Silva Daniel , Eltis David , Lachance Paul , Misevich Philip , Ojo Olatunji
Published: August 2013

Between 1808 and 1862, officers primarily from the British navy liberated approximately 175,000 enslaved Africans from transatlantic slavers. Information on more than half of this group has survived in bound ledger books. Based on the assessment of extant data for more than 92,000 Liberated Africans whose information was copied in at times duplicate and triplicate form in both London- and Freetown-based registers, this essay explores the pitfalls and possibilities associated with using theRegisters for Liberated Africansas sources for historical analysis of the slave trade. The article explains the relationship of multiple copies of the registers to each other, demonstrates the link between the African names they contain and ethnolinguistic identities, argues for crowd-sourcing – drawing on the knowledge of the diasporic public and not just scholars – and, finally, shows the importance of such an approach for pre-colonial African history.
Available potential energy in Rayleigh–Bénard convection
Authors: Hughes Graham O. , Gayen Bishakhdatta , Griffiths Ross W.
Published: August 2013

The mechanical energy budget for thermally equilibrated Rayleigh–Bénard convection is developed theoretically, with explicit consideration of the role of available potential energy, this being the form in which all the mechanical energy for the flow is supplied. The analysis allows derivation for the first time of a closed analytical expression relating the rate of mixing in symmetric fully developed convection to the rate at which available potential energy is supplied by the thermal forcing. Only about half this supplied energy is dissipated viscously. The remainder is consumed by mixing acting to homogenize the density field. This finding is expected to apply over a wide range of Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers for which the Nusselt number is significantly greater than unity. Thus convection at large Rayleigh number involves energetically efficient mixing of density variations. In contrast to conventional approaches to Rayleigh–Bénard convection, the dissipation of temperature or density variance is shown not to be of direct relevance to the mechanical energy budget. Thus, explicit recognition of available potential energy as the source of mechanical energy for convection, and of both mixing and viscous dissipation as the sinks of this energy, could be of further use in understanding the physics.
Local Stellar Kinematics from RAVE Data: IV. Solar Neighbourhood Age–Metallicity Relation
Authors: Duran Ş. , Ak S. , Bilir S. , Karaali S. , Ak T. , Bostancı Z. F. , Coşkunoğlu B.
Published: August 2013

We investigated the age–metallicity relation using a sample of 5691 F- and G-type dwarfs from RAdial Velocity Experiment Data Release 3 (RAVE DR3) by applying several constraints. (i) We selected stars with surface gravities log g(cm s−2) ≥ 3.8 and effective temperatures in the $5310\le T_{\text{eff}}\text{(K)}\le 7300$ range and obtained a dwarf sample. (ii) We plotted the dwarfs in metallicity sub-samples in the $T_{\text{eff}}\text{--}(J-K_s)_0$ plane to compare with the corresponding data of González Hernández & Bonifacio (2009) and identified the ones in agreement. (iii) We fitted the reduced dwarf sample obtained from constraints (i) and (ii) to the Padova isochrones and re-identified those which occupy the plane defined by isochrones with ages t ≤ 13 Gyr. (iv) Finally, we omitted dwarfs with total velocity errors larger than 10.63 km s−1. We estimated the ages using the Bayesian procedure of Jørgensen & Lindegren (2005). The largest age–metallicity slope was found for early F-type dwarfs. We found steeper slopes when we plotted the data as a function of spectral type rather than Galactic population. We noticed a substantial scatter in metallicity distribution at all ages. The metal-rich old dwarfs turned out to be G-type stars which can be interpreted as they migrated from the inner disc or bulge.
Dental histology of mosasaurs and a marine crocodylian from the Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) of southern Sweden: incremental growth lines and dentine formation rates
Authors: GREN JOHAN A. , LINDGREN JOHAN
Published: August 2013

Mosasaurs are an extinct group of secondarily adapted aquatic lizards that became the dominant marine tetrapods in the Late Cretaceous oceans. They continuously shed and replaced their teeth in order to maintain a functional dentition at all times; however, the process of tooth development in mosasaurs is still incompletely known. Based on incremental line width measurements and growth line counts, we assess dentine formation rates in three mosasaur taxa (Dollosaurus, cf.PlatecarpusandTylosaurus) and one genus of marine crocodylian (Aigialosuchus), all from the lower Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) of southernmost Sweden. Two sets of periodic dentinal markings characterized by concentric, alternating opaque and transparent laminae are recognized: one set comprising thin bands situated 6–34 μm apart (depending on taxon), which is superimposed onto a second set of coarser bands where spaces vary between 102 and 275 μm. Assuming that the finer striations represent daily increments (i.e. lines of von Ebner), it is estimated that the deposition of dentine at the sectioned level of the tooth-crowns took 342 (cf.Platecarpus), 426 (Dollosaurus), 487 (Tylosaurus) and 259 (Aigialosuchus) days, respectively. The coarser bands contain between 11 and 13 thin striations each, and are thus considered to be homologous to similar periodic dentinal markings in extant vertebrates, i.e. Andresen lines. Prolonged tooth development times in large-toothed taxa, such asTylosaurus, presumably increased the risk of long-term incapacity to capture prey after dental trauma, an evolutionary trade-off which may have been compensated for by allometric modifications of the teeth.
IDEALS AND FINITENESS CONDITIONS FOR SUBSEMIGROUPS
Authors: GRAY R. , MALTCEV V. , MITCHELL J. D. , RUŠKUC N.
Published: August 2013

In this paper we consider a number of finiteness conditions for semigroups related to their ideal structure, and ask whether such conditions are preserved by sub- or supersemigroups with finite Rees or Green index. Specific properties under consideration include stability,$\mathcal{D}=\mathcal{J}$and minimal conditions on ideals.
A NOTE ON MEASURE HOMOLOGY
Authors: FRIGERIO ROBERTO
Published: August 2013

Measure homology was introduced by Thurston (W. P. Thurston, The geometry and topology of 3-manifolds, mimeographed notes (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1979)) in order to compute the simplicial volume of hyperbolic manifolds. Berlanga (R. Berlanga, A topologised measure homology, Glasg. Math. J. 50 (2008), 359–369) endowed measure homology with the structure of a graded, locally convex (possibly non-Hausdorff) topological vector space. In this paper we completely characterize Berlanga's topology on measure homology of CW-complexes, showing in particular that it is Hausdorff. This answers a question posed by Berlanga.
PROJECTIONS OF HYPERSURFACES IN ℝ4 WITH BOUNDARY TO PLANES
Authors: MARTINS LUCIANA F. , NABARRO ANA CLAUDIA
Published: August 2013

We study orthogonal projections of generic embedded hypersurfaces in ℝ4 with boundary to 2-spaces. Therefore, we classify simple map germs from ℝ3 to the plane of codimension less than or equal to 4 with the source containing a distinguished plane which is preserved by coordinate changes. We also go into some detail on their geometrical properties in order to recognize the cases of codimension less than or equal to 1.
LIE METABELIAN SKEW ELEMENTS IN GROUP RINGS
Authors: LEE GREGORY T. , SPINELLI ERNESTO
Published: August 2013

Let F be a field of characteristic p ≠ 2 and G a group without 2-elements having an involution ∗. Extend the involution linearly to the group ring FG, and let (FG)− denote the set of skew elements with respect to ∗. In this paper, we show that if G is finite and (FG)− is Lie metabelian, then G is nilpotent. Based on this result, we deduce that if G is torsion, p > 7 and (FG)− is Lie metabelian, then G must be abelian. Exceptions are constructed for smaller values of p.
STRICTLY SINGULAR PERTURBATION OF ALMOST SEMI-FREDHOLM LINEAR RELATIONS IN NORMED SPACES
Authors: ÁLVAREZ T.
Published: August 2013

In this paper, we introduce the notions of almost upper semi-Fredholm and strictly singular pairs of subspaces and show that the class of almost upper semi-Fredholm pairs of subspaces is stable under strictly singular pairs perturbation. We apply this perturbation result to investigate the stability of almost semi-Fredholm multi-valued linear operators in normed spaces under strictly singular perturbation as well as the behaviour of the index under perturbation.
POSITIVE ENERGY REPRESENTATIONS AND CONTINUITY OF PROJECTIVE REPRESENTATIONS FOR GENERAL TOPOLOGICAL GROUPS
Authors: NEEB KARL-HERMANN
Published: August 2013

LetGandTbe topological groups, α :T→ Aut(G) a homomorphism defining a continuous action ofTonGandG♯:=G⋊αTthe corresponding semidirect product group. In this paper, we address several issues concerning irreducible continuous unitary representations (π♯,${\mathcal{H}}$) ofG♯whose restriction toGremains irreducible. First, we prove that, forT=${\mathbb R}$, this is the case for any irreducible positive energy representation ofG♯, i.e. for which the one-parameter groupUt:= π♯(1,t) has non-negative spectrum. The passage from irreducible unitary representations ofGto representations ofG♯requires that certain projective unitary representations are continuous. To facilitate this verification, we derive various effective criteria for the continuity of projective unitary representations. Based on results of Borchers forW*-dynamical systems, we also derive a characterization of the continuous positive definite functions onGthat extend toG♯.
A DESCENT SPECTRAL SEQUENCE FOR ARBITRARY K(n)-LOCAL SPECTRA WITH EXPLICIT E2-TERM
Authors: DAVIS DANIEL G. , LAWSON TYLER
Published: August 2013

Let n be any positive integer and p be any prime. Also, let X be any spectrum and let K(n) denote the nth Morava K-theory spectrum. Then we construct a descent spectral sequence with abutment π∗(LK(n)(X)) and E2-term equal to the continuous cohomology of Gn, the extended Morava stabilizer group, with coefficients in a certain discrete Gn-module that is built from various homotopy fixed point spectra of the Morava module of X. This spectral sequence can be contrasted with the K(n)-local En-Adams spectral sequence for π∗(LK(n)(X)), whose E2-term is not known to always be equal to a continuous cohomology group.
Joseph Chamberlain and Workmen's Compensation
Authors: Mallalieu W. C.
Published: August 2013

The British Workmen's Compensation Acts of 1897 and 1899 were “astonishing” to contemporaries and have not been adequately explained by historians. Although passed under a Conservative-Liberal Unionist Cabinet, these acts put heavy burdens upon industry and agriculture, interests that were very influential in both of these parties. “It was no wonder that Tories asked themselves what they were coming to, nor that the usual answer to the question was that they were being swallowed by Mr. Chamberlain.”
The State as a Unit in Study of Economic Growth
Authors: Kuznets Simon
Published: August 2013

Empirical study of a process of change requires a definition of characteristics of change to be measured, and of units for which the measurable characteristics are to be observed. The choice of characteristics was discussed in “Measurement of Economic Growth,” and in that discussion the state was assumed to be the unit of observation. The purpose here is to explore the implications of that assumption, thus in a sense providing a lengthy footnote to the earlier paper.
The Terms of Trade of the United Kingdom, 1798–1913
Authors: Imlah Albert H.
Published: August 2013

Concepts of the terms of trade as a means of measuring a country's gain or loss from exchange of goods have been discussed by students of economic theory for a hundred years or more. Until comparatively recently they have remained concepts only, without substantive application, but the tremendous disturbances in trading relationships and monetary standards in the last three decades have quickened interest in the subject. The various formulas devised for the measurement of relative movements of prices and quantities of exports and imports are now used with increasing frequency for the study of relatively current situations. They have not been applied much as yet to illuminate earlier trading history, largely because of the labor involved in deriving and organizing the limited data available. Apart from this difficulty there seems to be no very strong reason why they should not be as useful for economic history as for current analysis.
Force and Enterprise in the Creation of Oceanic Commerce
Authors: Lane Frederic C.
Published: August 2013

Among the other excellent and extraordinary gifts that God has given to human kind is the knowledge of the motion of the spheres, the course of the planets and stars, and of the climatic zones under which is placed this marvelous world machine. With this knowledge we furrow that very great element, the water, and betake ourselves into almost any part of the world that we wish, with the same facility as if there were in the wide ocean a fixed road showing signs of its use, and a through highway.
Land Grants and Railroad Entrepreneurship
Authors: Cochran Thomas C.
Published: August 2013

The effects of Federal and state land-grant policies on railroad investment, railroad policy, and regional economic development are too varied to be treated in less than a volume. And such a book would require much research that has not as yet been attempted. The following discussion presents only brief notes on a few of the reactions of railroad entrepreneurs to land-grant policy. These notes were accumulated in the course of research on other problems and are in no instance complete enough to warrant broad generalizations.
Government and the Petroleum Industry of the United States to 1911
Authors: Hidy Ralph W.
Published: August 2013

Any attempt to analyze fully this comprehensive and extremely complex subject would require at least a book, not a short paper. Businessmen in the American petroleum industry came face to face with governmental institutions in the United States on every plane from townships, counties, towns, and cities to states and the Federal authority. Since petroleum products entered into American trade with practically every national entity on the globe, producers, manufacturers, and marketers of oil were vitally affected by foreign legislation and administration of the laws in the various lands. No scholar has ventured as yet to investigate fully and evaluate carefully the historical relationship between government and oilmen on a local or state level, much less on a national or world-wide basis. This paper can only show the breadth of the subject and the size of the task presented to the historian.
Government Financing of Economic Development Abroad
Authors: Tirana Rifat
Published: August 2013

The financing of economic development became a major concern of governments in liberal societies and economies largely during or after the Great Depression of the early thirties and the economic debates of that period. At first the state was assigned the role of minimizing or eliminating economic cycles. Later this role was enlarged to include the guiding and promotion of national economic activities toward progressive económic growth. The instruments advocated and used for these purposes have been mainly financial. The revolution which has occurred in the nature and scope of these instruments is far from complete, especially in the underdeveloped areas of the world.
The Schumpeterian System
Authors: Stolper Wolfgang F.
Published: August 2013

Joseph Schumpeter had more influence on professional economic thinking than any other economist of his generation with the one exception of Keynes. His influence was exerted through numerous articles and books written and published in many languages; it was exerted even more through his teaching; his world-wide fame attracted students from everywhere and through them his influence spread to all the corners of the world in which economics is taken seriously.
Levels of infection of intestinal helminth species in the golden jackal Canis aureus from Serbia
Authors: Ćirović D. , Pavlović I. , Penezić A. , Kulišić Z. , Selaković S.
Published: August 2013

During the past decade, golden jackal populations have substantially increased, yet little is known of their potential for transmitting parasites within animal and human hosts. In the present study, between 2005 and 2010, 447 jackals from six localities in Serbia were examined for intestinal parasites. Two species of trematodes (Alaria alata, Pseudamphistomum truncatum), three nematodes (Toxocara canis, Ancylostoma caninum, Gongylonema sp.), and seven cestodes (Taenia pisiformis, Taenia hydatigena, Multiceps multiceps, Multiceps serialis, Mesocestoides lineatus, Mesocestoides litteratus, Dipylidium caninum) were identified. Pseudamphistomum truncatum and M. serialis species were recorded for the first time. The overall prevalence of parasitic infection was 10.3%. No significant differences were found in the prevalence of infection between males and females (P>0.817), between localities (P>0.502), or with regard to annual cycles (P>0.502). In the infected jackal population, 65% harboured multiple infections and one individual was a host to five different types of parasite species, the highest number of parasites we recorded in a single host. These findings indicate that although the prevalence of gastrointestinal helminths in the jackal population in Serbia is significantly lower than expected from earlier studies, further monitoring is required given the jackal's rapid population increase.
Allergic fungal sinusitis and eosinophilic mucin rhinosinusitis: diagnostic criteria
Authors: Uri N , Ronen O , Marshak T , Parpara O , Nashashibi M , Gruber M
Published: August 2013

Background:

Chronic sinusitis is one of the most common otolaryngological diagnoses. Allergic fungal sinusitis and eosinophilic mucin rhinosinusitis can easily be misdiagnosed and treated as chronic sinusitis, causing continuing harm.

Aim:

To better identify and characterise these two subgroups of patients, who may suffer from a systemic disease requiring multidisciplinary treatment and prolonged follow up.

Methods:

A retrospective, longitudinal study of all patients diagnosed with allergic fungal sinusitis or eosinophilic mucin rhinosinusitis within one otolaryngology department over a 15-year period.

Results:

Thirty-four patients were identified, 26 with eosinophilic mucin rhinosinusitis and 8 with allergic fungal sinusitis. Orbital involvement at diagnosis was commoner in allergic fungal sinusitis patients (50 per cent) than eosinophilic mucin rhinosinusitis patients (7.7 per cent;p < 0.05). Asthma was diagnosed in 73 per cent of eosinophilic mucin rhinosinusitis patients and 37 per cent of allergic fungal sinusitis patients.

Conclusion:

Allergic fungal sinusitis and eosinophilic mucin rhinosinusitis have the same clinical presentation but different clinical courses. The role of fungus and the ability to confirm its presence are still problematic issues, and additional studies are required.
Modified use of Kocher's dissector in ligation of the superior thyroid pedicle
Authors: Syed M I , Jenkinson P W , Denholm S
Published: August 2013

Background:

More than a century has passed since Emil Theodor Kocher first described the use of ‘Kocher's thyroid dissector’ to secure the superior thyroid pedicle.

Method:

Despite the technological advances in thyroid surgery, the dissector remains an extremely useful instrument. This paper describes a modified use of the dissector, and reports on how this facilitates safer and easier surgery.

Results and conclusion:

Application of this simple, modified technique can improve the safety and efficiency of thyroid surgery, with negligible financial outlay.
Trophic habitat of the Pacific sharpnose shark,Rhizoprionodon longurio, in the Mexican Pacific
Authors: Alatorre-Ramirez Vanessa Guadalupe , Galván-Magaña Felipe , Torres-Rojas Yassir Edén
Published: August 2013

The Pacific sharpnose sharkRhizoprionodon longuriois caught seasonally by inshore artisanal fisheries in the Mexican Pacific. Our study focuses on the feeding ecology of this shark species in the southern Gulf of California. The prey species obtained from stomach contents were identified and quantified, and variations between sexes and maturity stages were determined. A total of 98 stomachs were analysed during two periods (2000–2001 and 2003–2004); 64% of stomachs contained food. The trophic spectrum was composed of four cephalopod species, three crustacean species, and 13 pelagic and benthic fish species. According to the index of relative importance (%IRI), the fishEchiophis brunneus(IRI = 14.4%),Opisthopterus dovii(IRI = 12.2%) andScomber japonicus(IRI = 9.6%) were the main prey items. Based on diversity values, IRI values and diet breadth,R. longuriois an opportunistic predator. The trophic position ofR. longuriowas above four in all categories, which indicates that this shark is a tertiary consumer.
Human activity negatively affects stone tool-using Burmese long-tailed macaquesMacaca fascicularis aureain Laem Son National Park, Thailand
Authors: Gumert Michael D. , Hamada Yuzuru , Malaivijitnond Suchinda
Published: August 2013

Animal traditions can affect survival by improving how individuals use their environment. They are inherited through social learning and are restricted to small subpopulations. As a result, traditions are rare and their preservation needs to be considered in biodiversity conservation. We studied Burmese long-tailed macaquesMacaca fascicularis aurealiving on Piak Nam Yai Island in Laem Son National Park, Thailand, which maintain a rare stone tool-using tradition for processing hard-shelled invertebrate prey along the island's shores. We found the population had 192 individuals in nine groups and most individuals used stone tools. This population is under pressure from the local human community through the development of farms and release of domestic dogsCanis familiarisonto the island. The level of anthropogenic impact varied in each macaque groups' range and juvenile–infant composition varied with impact. The proportion of young was smaller in groups overlapping farms and was negatively correlated with the amount of dog activity in their range. We also found that coastal use by macaques was negatively related to living near plantations and that the dogs displaced macaques from the shores in 93% of their encounters. We conclude that human impact is negatively affecting Piak Nam Yai's macaques and are concerned this could disrupt the persistence of their stone-use tradition. we discuss the impact and the potential consequences, and we recommend better protection of coastal areas within Laem Son National Park.
Elemental composition and bacterial incidence in firn-cores at Midre Lovénbreen glacier, Svalbard
Authors: Singh Shiv Mohan , Gawas-Sakhalkar Puja , Naik Simantini , Ravindra Rasik , Sharma Jagdev , Upadhyay Ajay Kumar , Mulik Ravindra Uttam , Bohare Priyanka
Published: August 2013

The present study was conducted to measure the elemental concentration and bacterial deposition in the firn-cores at the Midre Lovénbreen glacier, Svalbard. Firn-cores up to 1m deep were collected and divided into three subsections. These were subjected to elemental analysis using inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICPMS). In all 20 elements were analysed. The crustal enrichment factors calculated for these elements on the basis of Fe values, demonstrate that the elements have derived from both crustal and anthropogenic sources. For certain elements there also exists a possibility of input from sea salt spray. Total bacterial counts in these firn samples ranged from 1.03 × 105to 3.67 × 105per ml of meltwater. Culturability of these bacterial cells, in comparison to the total count was very low. At 4°C the maximum culturability was <1.4% of the total count while at 15°C it was still lower (~1%).